Sweden, Kuwait and many other countries had been pressing for an immediate cease-fire as deaths mount in a Syrian bombing campaign in the rebel-held suburbs of Damascus known as eastern Ghouta where the death toll in a week of bombardment has risen to 500.

There is no set time for the ceasefire to take effect, but the resolution demands that it be followed immediately by access for humanitarian convoys and medical teams to evacuate the critically ill and wounded.

In his address to the Council, Vasily A. Nebenzya, the Russian Ambassador to the United Nations, said that immediate implementation of an earlier version of the resolution was "not feasible", as parties on the ground needed to make a concrete commitment to the pause in hostilities.

I welcome the unity shown today by the members of the Security Council in adopting a resolution demanding a sustained ceasefire of at least 30 days throughout Syria, humanitarian access, and medical evacuations.

Injured children receive medical attention inside a hospital Thursday after bombings in rebel-held Douma, Eastern Ghouta.

"The aim of fighting with terrorists should not become a disguise for solving this or that geopolitical issue of doubtful legitimacy, which is exactly what the United States is now doing in Syria", the Russian diplomat said after the unanimous UN Security Council vote to adopt a resolution on Syrian ceasefire.

It said attacks directed at extremists from the Islamic State group and all al Qaida affiliates, including the Nusra Front, will be allowed to continue.

With Russia's backing, the council voted unanimously to demand the truce "without delay" as Syrian war planes pounded the rebel-held enclave of Eastern Ghouta.

"Nothing would be worse than seeing this resolution remain a dead letter", he said.

"The UN says it is concerned and calls for a ceasefire, France condemns, but they have given us nothing", said Abu Mustafa, one of the few civilians on the streets of Douma Friday morning.

Russian Federation has been a main backer of Syrian President Bashar Assad since the country's conflict began seven years ago. Doctors Without Borders says the most affected by Syrian government shelling are women, children and the elderly.

World leaders have expressed outrage at the plight of civilians in Eastern Ghouta. In November, it used its veto to end a UN-led investigation of chemical weapons attacks in Syria. But all three rebel groups have refused.

The enclave is surrounded by government-controlled territory, and its 400,000 residents are unwilling or unable to flee the deadly siege.

She said that Russia's delay in approving the resolution caused the killing of additional civilians in eastern Ghouta.

Food supplies have been running dry, with bread no longer available on local markets.

The aid community has voiced its frustration at being prevented from assisting civilians in Eastern Ghouta, which has been under government siege since 2013.

Another 2,400 people have been wounded, SOHR said on Saturday.A policeman was shot dead during a raid by a police team in Tikamgarh district of Madhya Pradesh on the suspected hideout of criminals wanted in a robbery case, a police official said on Sunday.

Constable Rajbahadur Yadav, posted at Teherka police station, was shot dead on Saturday night at Khiston village, Superintendent of Police Kumar Prateek told the media here.

Neelu Dhimar, wanted in a murder case, was arrested while Ravinder Rajak, who has a Rs 25,000 bounty on his head, escaped during the raid.

A member of the Constable's family will be offered a job on compassionate grounds, Inspector General of Police Satish Saksena said.

--IANS

hindi/tsb/bg

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Reliance Industries Ltd plans to invest Rs 55,000 crore in Andhra Pradesh in energy and digital infrastructure sectors over next five years, officials said on Sunday.

The Mukesh Ambani-led group signed MoUs for this purpose with the Andhra Pradesh government on Sunday, the second day of the CII Partnership Summit.

India Gas Solutions Private Ltd, a 50:50 joint venture company of Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) and BP International Ltd (BP) in the business of marketing gas and LNG in India, signed a MoU with the state government.

RIL and BP plan to develop offshore gas discoveries in Block KGD6 in the Krishna Godavari basin, through three projects with investments up to Rs 40,000 crore, officials said.

Development of the three projects is expected to bring a total of 30-35 million cubic metres (1 billion cubic feet) of gas a day of domestic gas production on stream, phased over 2020-2022 and will create considerable direct and indirect employment during the construction phase over the next 5 years.

RIL and BP plan to pursue skill development programmes as part of the execution of these projects.

Reliance Jio Infocomm, a subsidiary of RIL, will also invest Rs 15,000 crores to create a world class manufacturing unit in Tirupati and world-class infrastructure in Amravati

This investment in the fields of digital infrastructure, citizen services and industrial development, is expected to generate over 20,000 new jobs.

The MoUs were signed by the officials of India Gas Solutions and Reliance Jio Infocom with the state government officials in presence of Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu and Kiran Thomas, President, Reliance Industries Ltd.

On the second day of the CII-Partnership Summit, the AndhraAPradesh government signed a total of 263 MoUs with various companies involving an investment of Rs 1.11 lakh crore. This is expected to generate employment for 1.70 lakh people.

The energy sector alone accounts for investment of Rs 64,000 crore. Nine MoUs worth Rs 9,341 crore were signed in aerospace and defence sectors.

On the first day of the Summit, the government had signed 77 MoUs that can bring in investments worth Rs 31,546 crore and create 98,291 jobs.

--IANS

ms/vd

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Tibetan Prime Minister-in-exile Lobsang Sangay on Sunday said he was saddened by the demise of Bollywood actress Sridevi in Dubai, saying that "like millions, he will miss her too".

"Sad to learn of unexpected death of Sridevi. Enjoyed all her movies during Delhi University days. Like millions, I will miss her too," Sangay said in a tweet.

Sridevi, 54, passed away due to a cardiac arrest on Saturday night. She was in Dubai to attend the wedding of actress Sonam Kapoor's cousin Mohit Marwah, along with husband Boney Kapoor and younger daughter Khushi.

The Tibetan administration is based in the northern hill town of Dharamsala where Tibetans live in exile along with their spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Sunday asked Lt. Governor Anil Baijal to take action against people who attacked a government school teacher here.

Sisodia took up the matter with Baijal, as Delhi Police falls under the jurisdiction of the Lt. Governor.

The Deputy Chief Minister was referring to the attack on the school teacher by a mob, who broke into the school in Narela area of north Delhi earlier this month.

"In a recent case of an alleged assault of a senior IAS officer, the Delhi Police has taken no-hold-barred action, including arrests within 24 hours, 50 police officers going for collecting evidence in the matter," Sisodia said, referring to the arrest of two AAP MLAs Amanatullah Khan and Prakash Jarwal.

"I would like to request the LG to ensure that the Delhi Police takes the same level of interest in the case of an assault of a teacher in SKV Narela. Otherwise, it would give a message that the security of teachers is far less important than that of IAS officers," the letter said.

Sisodia also requested the Baijal to ensure swift action in the case and to make adequate security arrangements for all government schools in the city.

--IANS

nkh/ksk

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)"Arre, maine kuch achieve nahi kiya (I havent achieved anything)... Theres a long way to go. I feel my career has just started. Haan... let me tell you that," said Sridevi, laughing.

Sridevi's lilting laughter -- much like her screen presence, beauty, grace and unmatchable talent -- lingers on as I remember my last conversation, in November 2017, with the actress, who spent 50 of her 54 years of life living the cinematic dream.

"I feel like a newcomer. I feel that my career is going to start now. It's not finished, It's going to start now," she asserted, dismissing any desire to treat her fans to an autobiography replete with stories from her glorious life -- starting as a child actor at four to superstardom in India.

Born in Sivakasi in Tamil Nadu on August 13, 1963, Sridevi began her career at the age of four in the devotional film "Thunaivan". That marked the beginning of a journey in filmdom that saw her work across Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and Hindi productions, leading her to become one of the most formidable actresses of the 1980s and 1990s in Bollywood -- in fact, the only female "superstar" the industry has seen.

As filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma put it, "She was like a creation of God which he does whenever he is in a very special mood as a very, very special gift to mankind."

Sridevi grew up to be known for not just her ability for slip into myriad roles -- whether the double role in "ChaalBaaz", as a woman with retrograde amnesia in "Sadma", a shape-shifting woman in "Nagina", a goofy crime journalist in "Mr. India", the warm mother act in "English Vinglish" or the fierce and revengeful mom in "Mom" -- but also for her expressive eyes, sheer comic timing and her fluid dancing skills, all of which made her a director's delight.

"Hawaa hawai", "Main teri dushman", "Morni", "Na jaane kahan se aayi ha"", "Mere haathon mein" are some of the iconic and classic dance numbers which gave cinema fans a chance to see the dancing talent of Sridevi.

As filmmaker Subhash Ghai, who directed her in "Karma", said: "Introvert by nature, she was electricity with thunder in front of the camera. She would shock directors with each shot -- be it dance, drama or romance. She was uncrowned queen of acting in all languages in her time."

In 2013, the government feted her with the Padma Shri, the country's fourth-highest civilian award. Her work was widely lauded with a slew of other richly-deserved honours.

Sridevi, who over the years became quite a fashion icon -- sometimes giving tough competition to her daughters -- commanded popularity like few others.

"Her popularity and stardom had to be seen to be believed. We were shooting for the climax in Nandyal for 'Kshana Kshanam' and the whole of Nandyal came to a standstill when they came to know that Sridevi was in town.

"Banks, government offices, schools, colleges everything in town closed as everyone wanted to see Sridevi," Ram Gopal Varma recounted in a tribute after the sudden demise of the actress in Dubai late Saturday of a cardiac arrest.

Sridevi could also be extraordinarily warm and compassionate.

Co-producer K. Ramji of Tina Films International, told IANS: "In 1986, while shooting for 'Sindoor', the heroine Neelam Kothari was staying in the same hotel as Sridevi. Neelam was a great fan and wanted to meet her, but was apprehensive about approaching an established star like Sridevi.

"Finally, when she took courage and entered her room, Sridevi got up to receive and welcome her, commented on Neelam's lustrous hair and they became instant friends."

In an industry where women beyond a certain age struggle to find roles, a 50-plus Sridevi proved she still had it in her when she carried two films -- her "comeback" vehicle "English Vinglish" and last year's "Mom" -- on her shoulders.

The 2012 film "English Vinglish" marked her return to films 15 years after the 1997 movie "Judaai". And what a comeback it was - playing the role of a traditional Indian housewife's struggle with the English language in the US, she was simply outstanding.

In real life, she was indeed a "purely traditional housewife -- a great mother and perfect host for guests at home", says Ghai.

A mother of two daughters, Janhvi and Khushi, whom she had with husband Boney Kapoor, Sridevi was as doting as a mom could get. She was excited for Janhvi's upcoming debut "Dhadak", just months away from its release.

Confident of the upbringing she gave her daughters, Sridevi said: "Janhvi has chosen this path and profession, and I have been in this industry for long. So I am mentally more prepared than her. She has been watching me, and knows what she is getting into.

"Nothing is going to be a cakewalk in any profession. So you have to work hard, and there will be challenges. I'm sure she is ready for it."

And to cite the unpredictability of life, who knew Sridevi wouldn't be there to see her daughter take baby steps into a world where she was the uncrowned queen for so many years.

(Radhika Bhirani can be contacted at radhika.b@ians.in)

--IANS

rb/sac/sug/ksk

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Veteran actress Sridevi, 54, passed away in Dubai after cardiac arrest, engulfing the entire country in a pall of gloom. From Indian stars to Indian political personalities to Pakistani icons, her fans and admirers expressed shock and disbelief.

The Padma Shri recipient passed away in Dubai on Saturday night due to cardiac arrest. Sridevi was there to attend the marriage function of actress Sonam Kapoor's cousin Mohit Marwah, along with husband Boney Kapoor and younger daughter Khushi. Her other daughter Janhvi stayed back reportedly due to work commitment towards her debut film "Dhadak".

In a moving gesture, Indian industrial magnate Anil Ambani has sent an aircraft to Dubai to bring back her body to India later on Sunday. The funeral is likely to take place on Monday, although there is no word from the family on this so far.

Born in Sivakasi in Tamil Nadu on August 13, 1963, Sridevi began her career at the age of four in the devotional film "Thunaivan". That marked the beginning of a journey in filmdom that saw her work across Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and Hindi productions, leading her to become one of the most formidable actresses of the 1980s and 1990s in Bollywood -- in fact, the only female "superstar" the industry has seen. She is remembered for her performances in some of the iconic Bollywood films like "Mr. India", "Nagina", "Sadma", "ChalBaaz", "Chandni", "Khuda Gawah", among many others in different Indian languages.

Sridevi, who made a comeback to Bollywood in 2012 with "English Vinglish" after a long break of 15 years, was last seen in "Mom" in 2017.

President Ram Nath Kovind, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress President Rahul Gandhi condoled the death of the veteran actress saying that she was an incredibly talented and versatile actress.

Union Minister of Textiles and Information and Broadcasting Smriti Irani, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, also mourned the loss.

Tibetan Prime Minister-in-exile Lobsang Sangay said that "like millions, he will miss her too".

From southern movie stars Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan, veterans like Lata Mangeshkar, Anupam Kher, Hema Malini and Madhuri Dixit-Nene and younger celebrities like Farhan Akhtar and Alia Bhatt -- the celebrities had a sense of disbelief.

"I'm shocked and very disturbed. I've lost a dear friend and the industry has lost a true legend," tweeted Rajinikanth, who featured with her in the memorable "ChaalBaaz".

Kamal Haasan, her co-star from "Sadma" -- one of her most evocative performances -- said: "Have witnessed Sridevi's life from an adolescent teenager to the magnificent lady she became. Her stardom was well deserved. Many happy moments with her flash through my mind including the last time I met her. Sadma's lullaby haunts me now. We'll miss her."

Her "Chandni" co-star Rishi Kapoor wrote: "Woken up to this tragic news. Absolute shock. Sad. Heartfelt condolences to Boney and their two daughters!"

Madhuri Dixit-Nene said, "The world has lost a very talented person who left behind a huge legacy in films".

Her "Mom" co-star Nawazuddin Siddiqui wrote: "It's a heartbreaking news, can't even imagine in the worst of my dreams - World loses the best performer."

Superstar Aamir Khan was "saddened by the untimely and tragic passing away of Srideviji". He said he has "always been an admirer of the grace and dignity with which she conducted herself".

Actress Priyanka Chopra offered her condolences to "everyone who loved Sridevi" and called it a "dark day".

While veteran filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt was "jolted" by the news of her sudden death, Sunny Deol, who has worked with her in films like "Sultanat", "ChaalBaaz" and "Ram-Avtar", said he is "going to miss her".

Pakistani stars like Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, Mahira Khan, Adnan Siddiqui and Ali Zafar said that she will live in their hearts and memories forever.

With tears in their eyes, flowers in their hands, her fans had also flocked to her residence here to bid farewell to their "Chandni" while police officers tried to control the frenzy.

Filmmaker Anurag Basu also said that he met Sridevi five times only, and regrets meeting her so late in life.

"She was a great painter, full of life. The death news is unfortunate, and more unfortunate because she could not see her daughter making debut in Bollywood," Basu said.

--IANS

qn-rb-aru-ks/sug/bg

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Sridevi's brother-in-law and actor Sanjay Kapoor has said the whole family was in shock with the sudden demise of the veteran actress. He also said that she had no history of heart ailment.

The actress, 54, died on Saturday night at around 11 p.m. after suffering a cardiac arrest.

In an interview to Khaleej Times, Sanjay said that she was in the hotel room here when it happened.

"We are completely shocked. She had no history of a heart attack," he said.

Sanjay landed in Dubai on Sunday morning.

was in Dubai to attend the marriage function of actress Sonam Kapoor's cousin Mohit Marwah, along with husband Boney Kapoor and younger daughter Khushi. She exuded elegance in her appearances -- photos and videos that were now being shared on social media as her "last".

Her elder daughter Jahnvi, who is due to make her Bollywood debut, was in Mumbai.

Her body is expected to be flown to Mumbai via a special chartered flight on Sunday evening for the last rites but the timings were not confirmed yet, according to official sources.

Sridevi, who stepped into showbiz at an age of four, is known for performances in "Mr. India", "Nagina", "Sadma", "ChalBaaz", "Chandni", "Khuda Gawah", among many others in different Indian languages.

The Padma Shri recipient made a comeback to Bollywood in 2012 with "English Vinglish" after a long break of 15 years. She was last seen in "Mom" in 2017.In a moving gesture, Indian industrial magnate Anil Ambani has sent an aircraft to Dubai to bring back Bollywood actress Sridevi Kapoor's body to India later on Sunday, sources said.

The 13-seater private jet, (Embraer-135BJ) belonging to Reliance Transport & Travel Ltd, left Mumbai for Dubai around 1.30 pm on Sunday.

"It is expected to return with the body and the immediate bereaved family members late tonight," the sources added.

The funeral is likely to take place on Monday, although there is no word from the family on this so far.

Sridevi, 54, passed away in Dubai late on Saturday night, plunging the entire country into a pall of gloom as her fans and admirers expressed shock and disbelief.

The actress breathed her last on Saturday night at around 11 p.m following cardiac arrest. She was rushed to the nearby Rashid Hospital but pronounced dead on admission.

Sridevi was in Dubai to attend the marriage function of actress Sonam Kapoor's cousin Mohit Marwah, along with husband Boney Kapoor and younger daughter Khushi.

The actress is remembered for her performance is some of the iconic Bollywood films like "Mr. India", "Nagina", "Sadma", "ChalBaaz", "Chandni", "Khuda Gawah", among many others in different Indian languages.

The Padma Shri recipient, who made a comeback to Bollywood in 2012 with "English Vinglish" after a long break of 15 years, was last seen in "Mom" in 2017.Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur on Sunday asked people in the state, especially government functionaries, to stop wearing political loyalties on their heads, literally.

Ending decades of practice that his predecessors promoted, he said at a public meeting in Solan town that the time has come to bid farewell to cap in the state.

A common practice is that if your cap is maroon in front, then you must be a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) supporter. And if it's green, then you are with the Congress.

The concepts of "green" and "maroon" stem from upper and lower areas of the state. The green symbolises descendants of upper Himachal, while the maroon represents lower Himachal.

It started with six-time Congress Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, who loves to don a green flap headgear almost throughout the year. His supporters too prefer to wear this colour of cap to express their political solidarity with him.

Likewise, BJP leader and two-time Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal has made the maroon flap his trademark.

Thakur, who did not wear the trademark maroon flap cap of the BJP at the oath taking ceremony on December 27, said he would not indulge in cap as he himself stopped wearing it.

Putting an end to cap without naming his predecessor Dhumal, he said "he prefers the caps as they are inseparable part of Himachali culture but not as a symbol of regional divide of upper and lower Himachal as considered during the previous Congress regime".

During the state Assembly elections last November, the BJP garnered support on the social media through photos of Prime Minister Narendra Modi wearing the traditional Himachali 'topi'.

The photo of Modi wearing the maroon cap during the remembrance ceremony for the Holocaust victims in Israel in July last year was taking a political hue in that election.

"Prime Minister Modi made the Himachali cap the crown in Israel. Thank you," tweeted Anurag Thakur, the BJP MP from Hamirpur and former BCCI president -- and Dhumal's son.

--IANS

vg/ksk/bg

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Actress Megan Boone has announced that her character in the hit TV series "The Blacklist" will no longer carry a rifle.

Boone, who portrays FBI agent Elizabeth Keen, also apologised for the show's attempt to make her having such a weapon look cool, reports nydailynews.com.

"Liz Keen will never carry an assault rifle again and I am deeply sorry for participating in glorifying them in the past. Yours, girl from Florida," she tweeted.

Boone has starred on the series since 2013. "The Blacklist" airs in India on Star World.

Her post came in the wake of the Florida high school massacre where Nikolas Cruz, 19, opened fire at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, and killed 17 people.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 25)  The 1986 EDSA People Power Revolution was not an end, but instead is a fresh start for Filipinos, former president Fidel V. Ramos said on Sunday.

"Ang 1986 EDSA People Power Revolution ay umpisa lamang ng ating pagbabago. Hindi yan ang katapusan," Ramos said during the commemoration at the People Power Monument on Sunday.

(Translation: The 1986 EDSA People Power Revolution was the beginning of change. It was not the end.)

Sunday's commemoration marked the 32nd year since millions of Filipinos gathered for a peaceful mass action in EDSA to seek the end of the 14-year military rule of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos.

The former president said Filipinos should also remember the values imbibed by EDSA: unity, solidarity, and teamwork in nation-building.

Ramos was also conferred the People's Power Heroes Award on Sunday for his role in the peaceful revolution.

The former president served as the Armed Forces vice chief of staff of Marcos. He, along with then Defense Secretary Juan Ponce Enrile, led the soldiers in EDSA in a standoff against Marcos.

Ramos also led the annual "Salubungan," the coming together of the military and civilians during the EDSA Revolution.

A mass was also held in EDSA prior to the commemoration.

President Rodrigo Duterte missed the EDSA anniversary event for the second time as he will be in Mindanao.

In his message from Malacanang, however, Duterte said he "joins the entire nation" in commemorating the People Power Revolution.

He said it has become "the enduring symbol of our determination to fight for what is right and... to defend and uphold our cherished democratic values."

"May this occasion foster unity and solidarity as we pursue our hopes and aspirations for our nation. Let us further enrich our democracy by empowering our citizenry, defending their rights and strengthening the institutions that safeguard their freedoms," Duterte added.

'Martyrs of martial law'

Some protesters in Mendiola, Manila offered candles and roses to pay tribute to survivors of Marcos' martial law.

Former Social Welfare (DSWD) Secretary Judy Taguiwalo and former Bayan Muna Representative Satur Ocampo, both martial law survivors, led the event.

They recounted the abuses they went through during the Marcos era.

The former DSWD secretary also responded to Communications Assistant Secretary Mocha Uson who said EDSA Revolution was just a propaganda.

"I was in Crame that time as a political prisoner. I know that people came out and put their lives at stake para lang mawakasan ang diktadurya (to avoid the dictatorship). Na sabihin na drama lang yun ay pagmamaliit sa sakripisyo ng napakaraming tao, ng napakaraming kababaihan (To say it was just a show is to belittle the sacrifices of many Filipinos, of many women)," Taguiwalo said.

Taguiwalo added Uson's comment shows she does not give importance to history.

Early Sunday, Uson's blog re-shared a photo of nuns in EDSA, with the caption "Propaganda ng EDSA."

Seek accountability

Political analyst Dindo Manhit told CNN Philippines on Sunday that Duterte must not forget how the People Power revolution contributed to his political career.

The President should remember that he would not have been mayor of Davao if EDSA also did not happen. He was appointed as part of the officer-in-charge in Davao, where his political career actually started, Manhit said.

He added that for the Philippines to progress, the citizens must remain vigilant in safeguarding their democratic rights.

Manhit said Filipinos must seek accountability from all the leaders of the country, regardless of political affiliation.

I remember in any study of why governance fail in our country is we lack that culture after election to demand accountability. In Filipino, we call it pananagutan, he said.

CNN Philippines correspondent Xianne Arcangel contributed to this report.The ten elected permanent members (E10) of the UN Security Council pushed the five permanent members (P5) to reach a compromise and got an unanimous vote on a resolution ordering a ceasefire "without delay" in Syria to allow humanitarian aid to reach areas under siege.

After two days of delays and several postponements, Russia and the three western permanent members -- Britain, France and the United States -- agreed on Saturday, on the final version negotiated by Kuwait and Sweden with the backing of the P10.

Kuwait's Permanent Representative Mansour Ayyad Al-Otaibi, who is the Council President for the month, said after the resolution passed that the unanimous vote was a "sign that the Security Council is united" and this could pave the way for finding a lasting political solution to the seven-year conflict.

Hoping to shame the permanent members locked in a standoff and push them to a compromise, all the the E10 representatives lined up together and held a news conference on Friday while the negotiations were on. "We want to show you the solidarity of the E10," Al-Otaibi declared: "We are all united, we want the resolution to be adopted."

The unrelenting push by Al-Otaibi and Sweden's Permanent Representative Olof Skoog won praise from every one of the Council members. It was a rare instance of the E10 bending the P5, instead of the other way around.

Besides the nation-wide ceasefire, the resolution calls for the lifting of all sieges, facilitation of medical evacuations, and permitting convoys of the UN and its partners carrying humanitarian supplies free access.

However, the resolution made one notable exception to the ceasefire: It allowed continued action against the Islamic State, Al-Qaeda, A1-Nusra Front and other terrorist organisations.

The key point of contention that held up the resolution since it was formally introduced by Kuwait and Sweden on Wednesday was the timing of when the ceasefire should start. The US demanded it should be immediate, while Russia wanted lag before it went into effect and the threat of a Moscow veto hung over it.

The resolution now says it will come into force "without delay," leaving an element of ambiguity subject to interpretations.

Speaking to reporters after the vote, Al-Otaibi said they debated about the timing during the negotiations all of Friday and into Saturday morning. "Without delay means" immediately, he said.

Russia's Permanent Representative Vassily Nebenzia was non-commital about. He told reporters that the reason his country held out on the wording of the timing was that it was logistical issue and a "painful process on the ground."

He added that another concern of Moscow was that resolution was not used as a pretext to launch an invasion of Syria.

With the drawn-out negotiations, Syria got three days to prepare for it.

Speaking in the Council after the vote, United States Permanent Representative Nikki Haley lashed out at Russia saying that during the time it held up the resolution to change a "few words and some commas," mothers lost their children to bombing and shelling.

"The Syrian people should not have to die waiting for Russia to organise their instructions from Moscow, or to discuss it with the Syrians," she added.

The action on the ceasefire was precipitated situation in East Ghouta, which UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called "hell on Earth". One of the few rebel-held territories, the Damascus suburb has been under a siege and bombed from the air by the Syrian government forces.

East Ghouta was specifically mentioned, along with several other areas, but the Kurdish city of Afrin was not. Intense fighting has been underway in the area between Turkey's military and Kurdish militias backed by Syrian government forces.

Asked about it by reporters, Al-Otaiby said the ceasefire applied to all of Syria and to all forces operating there.

(Arul Louis can be reached at arul.l@ians.in)

--IANS

al/pgh/

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said that machines were getting smarter through self learning and urged researchers to make use of artificial intelligence (AI) to make the lives of the "divyangs" (differently abled), farmers and the needy more simpler.

"The machines are getting smarter these days through self learning," Modi said in his monthly radio programme 'Mann ki Baat'.

"And this technology of AI should be used to improve the lives of the farmers, poor and the needy people."

Modi said that he attended a programme on AI at the University of Mumbai where he "urged the scientists and researchers to make use of AI to make the lives of the divyangs more simpler".

The Prime Minister said that through AI, "we can be alerted about natural calamities.Can we help the farmers to know about their crops return? Can it be used to improve the reach of the medical services and help in curing the diseases in more advanced way?"

"Science and technology are value neutral. They do not have their own intelligence but it depends on us what work we want to take from that machine. And here the human objective guides the outcome of the technology.

"The technology and machines should be used for the betterment of the humankind," he added.

Modi also referred to his last month visit's to Ahmedabad along with his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu.

"During my visit to the the iCreate Centre in Ahmedabad's Deo Dholera village, I saw how a youth had developed technology for people who cannot speak.

"He developed a device, where a dumb person, whatever he wants to speak just need to write which gets converted into a voice."

Modi also said that on February 28, the nation celebrates National Science Day, the same day when C.V. Raman discovered light scattering.

"It is being said that he discovered light scattering on February 28 and that was the reason why we celebrate the day as National Science Day. He was conferred with the Nobel Prize for his work," he said.

--IANS

aks/ksk

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)US India Business Council (USIBC) Executive Vice President Myron Brilliant on Sunday advised Andhra Pradesh to open an office in the US to promote business and trade.

Addressing CII Partnership Summit here, he said Andhra Pradesh should take the initiative as no Indian state has an office in the US while 12 states of the US have their offices in India.

Brilliant, who is also head of international affairs at USIBC, was all praise for the state for creating an investor-friendly environment and reaching the top position among Indian states in terms of ease of doing business.

At the session 'The reforms calculus: promoting ease of doing business' he said that India, which projected to grow from a $2.5 trillion economy to a $10 trillion economy in 15 years cannot be ignored.

He, however, suggested that the country should invest in inclusive growth to regain the trust deficit. "The government should invest in people and should also create an ecosystem to allow technology to flourish," he said.

While describing demonetisation and Goods and Services Tax as good instruments, he also underlined the need for flexibility in labour workforce. He said since new technology is resulting in disruption of the existing workforce, the government should evolve solutions to address the concerns.

Jamal Saif Al Jarwan, Secretary General, International Investor Council, United Arab Emirates said that his country is keen to learn from Andhra Pradesh which has transformed into one of fastest-growing states.

He said the UAE was taking steps to transform its oil-based economy into a knowledge-based economy. The official said he shared the vision of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu that technology and innovation is the way forward.

Indian Commerce and Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu said Andhra Pradesh was not considered a top performing state but within three years, it emerged the most attractive state in ease of doing business, overtaking the western states of India.

He said the rapid strides made by Andhra has made his job easier as it emerged as a model for others. "From ease of doing business, we should now move to please of doing business. We should enjoy doing the business," he said.

Prabhu said Andhra Pradesh not only made its investing processes totally transparent but also offered customised solutions to individual businesses.

Chandrababu Naidu said if Andhra Pradesh were a country, it would have ranked 88th in the World Bank's ease of doing business index against India's rank of 100.

He said that his goal is to take his state to "64th rank in the first phase and reach 40th rank in the second phase, with the ultimate goal of being among the top 5 investment destinations by 2050 globally".

"I am benchmarking my goals with the top countries of the world in the ease of doing business rankings," he said pointing out that already 30 per cent of business proposals are given approvals on the spot and the rest of the 70 are only taking a maximum of 21 days.

--IANS

ms/vd

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Dear Reader,

Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance.

We, however, have a request.



As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. Our subscription model has seen an encouraging response from many of you, who have subscribed to our online content. More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. We believe in free, fair and credible journalism. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practise the journalism to which we are committed.



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Digital EditorStressing on India's unity in diversity tradition, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said the world as it progresses technologically, will still need spiritual orientation.

Speaking at the Golden Jubilee week celebration function of the Auroville International Township in Villupuram district in Tamil Nadu, Modi said India has always allowed mutual respect and co-existence of different religions and cultures.

He said India was home to the age old tradition of Gurukul, where learning is not confined to classrooms. Auroville too has developed as a place of unending and life-long education.

He said India has been the spiritual destination of the world and many great religions of the world were born in this country.

According to him, as the world progresses materially through science and technology, it will increasingly long for and need spiritual orientation for social order and stability.

Modi said at Auroville, the material and the spiritual co-exist in harmony.

He said Auroville has brought together a huge diversity of people. Indian society is fundamentally diverse and has fostered dialogue and philosophic tradition.

According to Modi, it was important today to remember the vast extent of action and thought of Aurobindo - a man of action, a philosopher, a poet - there were so many facets to his character for the good of the nation and humanity.

Modi reached Puducherry earlier on Sunday from Chennai and visited the Aurobindo Ashram. He also met the students at the school in the Ashram.

--IANS

vj/ksk/bg

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Govt land can be sold without regulations

The Supreme Court last week ruled that a public corporation has vast powers to deal with land in its possession for promoting industries, including regularisation of encroachments. There is no need for formal regulations. The court reiterated that auction is not the only way to dispose of public properties; the government can devise other methods that do not violate the equality provisions in the Constitution. The court stated so in its judgment regarding the Odisha Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd vs Pitabasa Mishra case. In this case, the corporation had to deal with a number of encroachers on plots allotted for industrial use in Rourkela. When a plot in the commercial estate was regularised in favour of an encroacher, six others moved the Orissa High Court, alleging that it was in violation of the existing policy and regulations. They pointed out that there was no public auction. The High Court accepted these arguments and set aside the regularisation of land, leading to the appeal. Setting aside the High Court judgment, the Supreme Court stated that regulations are not essential in regularising encroachments and public auction should not be insisted as the only way to dispose of government land.

SC untangles knot in arbitration

The divergence of opinions among several High Courts over the mode of execution of arbitration award was resolved by the Supreme Court in the case, Sundaram Finance Ltd vs Abdul Samad. The issue was as to whether an award is required to be filed first in the court having jurisdiction over the arbitration proceedings for execution and then to obtain a transfer of the decree or it can be straightway filed and executed in the court where the assets are located. The Supreme Court ruled that execution application can be filed anywhere in the country where such decree can be executed and there is no requirement for obtaining a transfer of the decree from the court which would have jurisdiction over the arbitral proceedings". In this case, a person borrowed money from the Tamil Nadu firm and failed to repay it. The arbitration award was moved before Morena court in Madhya Pradesh. The court there ruled the application should be filed in Tamil Nadu and then transferred to Morena. The Supreme Court cut short the procedure in this judgment. It clarified that the contrary view taken by the High Courts of Madhya Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh was not good in law. The High Courts of Delhi, Kerala, Rajasthan, Allahabad, Punjab & Haryana reflected the correct legal position.

Tardy insurer cannot reject claim

If an insurance company rejects a proposal and payment of premium after an excessive delay, it would be implied that the firm had accepted it and the policy is active. We are of the that the rejection of the policy must be made in a reasonable time so as to be fair and in consonance with the good faith standards, the Supreme Court stated in its judgment, D Srinivas vs SBI Life Insurance Co. In this case, a bank issued a housing loan for a family along with SBI life insurance. One member died and it was intimated to the bank. The insurer denied the claim arguing that the deceased had not presented himself for medical examination. The bank returned the premium after more than one year five months. The Supreme Court remarked that the insurer is only trying to get out of the bargain, which they had willfully accepted. There is a clear presumption of the acceptance of the proposal in favour of the proposer, said the judgment, setting aside the decision of the National Consumer Commission.

Cheaper gas preferred for power

The Supreme Court has upheld the definition of fuel by the Andhra Pradesh Electricity Regulation Commission and set aside the ruling of the tribunal in the judgment, Transmission Corporation of AP Ltd vs GMR Vemagiri Power Generation Ltd. The issue was whether the word fuel used in the Power Purchase Agreement meant natural gas only or includes regasified liquefied natural gas (RNLG). The commission ruled that the term fuel meant only natural gas in its natural form and did not include RNLG. Only because the physical composition of the two gases is similar, it does not automatically entitle the power generation company to generate power with RLNG, which is more expensive and not domestically available, as ultimately the consumer will have to pay more.

Cable operators abused dominant position

By cancelling a contract with a broadcaster without providing reasons, multi-system operators have abused their dominant position in Punjab and Chandigarh, the Supreme Court ruled in the judgment, Competition Commission of India vs Fast Way Transmissions Ltd. Fast Way was a group of operators which had a contract with broadcaster Day and Night News. However, the contract was cancelled, leading to a complaint by the broadcaster. The Director-General of the CCI conducted an inquiry and confirmed the allegation of abuse of dominant position. The operators had 85 per cent market share. The CCI passed an order according to the finding. However, the appellate tribunal held since the broadcaster was not in competition with the operators, there was no abuse of dominant position. Allowing the CCI appeal, the Supreme Court stated that the latter issue was not relevant and declared that the CCI was right.

Injunction against Lupin diabetes drug

The Delhi High Court last week passed a permanent injunction against pharmaceutical firm Lupin Ltd on an application by Sun Pharma Laboratories Ltd. Sun alleged that the rival was infringing its trademark by introducing a medicine for the treatment of non-insulin diabetic patients. While Sun's product was named TRIVOLIB, Lupin introduced TRI-VOBIT. The High Court rejected the claim of Lupin that it had only added a prefix to its product. When we compare the two words, it is manifest that TRI-VOBIT is structurally and phonetically similar to the trademark of Sun, the court explained. Merely because Lupin was using Vobit earlier cannot be a ground to plead that the words have to be split and then compared as is sought to be done. Moreover, it is manifest from the certificate of registration issued by the Trade Marks Registry that the trademark TRIVOLIB is registered in the name of Sun Pharmaceutical Laboratory Ltd.Not many may now remember that the Indian Armys manpower, less than 300,000 before the India-China war of 1962, gradually increased to 825,000 following it. This was authorised by the Emergency Committee of the Cabinet (ECC) in 1964 on the premise that the country had to be prepared to fight wars with Pakistan and China simultaneously.

At this same time the Air Force was authorised 45 fighter squadrons. The Army has since seen further growth to over 1.2 million for different reasons, including the need to cope with internal insurgency and terrorism, while the Air Forces ...Questions: Reportedly, Financial Action Task Force (FATF) meeting is going to take place next week in Paris. What measures Pakistan has taken to avoid being included in the Grey list? What are your comments on the drum beating by Indian media regarding Pakistan prior to FATF meeting in Paris? Secondly, in its recent Worldwide Threat Assessment Report, US has referred to Pakistan as a regional security risk, projecting that its nuclear and military build up will imperil the security of its neighbours.

Dear Reader,

Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance.

We, however, have a request.



As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. Our subscription model has seen an encouraging response from many of you, who have subscribed to our online content. More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. We believe in free, fair and credible journalism. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practise the journalism to which we are committed.



Support quality journalism and subscribe to Business Standard.



Digital EditorMetro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 25)  Following his appearance in the Senate probe on the controversial Dengvaxia vaccine, former President Benigno Aquino III will also attend the House hearing on the issue on Monday.

Aquino's staff member confirmed his attendance to the hearing to CNN Philippines.

Former Health Secretary Janette Garin, Budget Secretary Butch Abad, incumbent Health Secretary Francisco Duque, Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno, Interior Secretary Eduardo Ano, Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre, and Education Secretary Leonor Briones are also invited to the probe.

In the Senate hearing on December 14, 2017, Aquino claimed no one advised him against procuring Dengvaxia from French pharmaceutical company Sanofi Pasteur.

"Bago nagdesisyon ang gobyerno sa Dengvaxia, habang nagdedesisyon, pagkatapos magdesisyon, at hanggang ngayon, walang nagparating sa akin ng pagtutol sa bakuna," he said.

[Translation: No one advised me against Dengvaxia during the decision-making process, after we procured, and until now.]

Health reform advocate Anthony Leachon said the former President could not be faulted if he was given "misleading" information on the vaccine.

The issue stemmed from an advisory released by Sanofi in December 2017, saying new studies showed those with no previous dengue infection and got vaccinated could contract "severe diseases." In response, the government halted its nationwide dengue vaccination program that began in 2016, after 837,000 children were immunized.

On February 12, the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption (VACC) and Vanguard of the Philippine Constitution, Inc. (VPCI) filed a joint complaint at the Justice Department against Aquino, Abad, Garin, former and current officials of the Health Department, as well as Zuellig Pharma and Sanofi Pasteur.

Among the charges are violation of the procurement law, graft, and technical malversation.

The complainants say testimonies of resource persons at House and Senate hearings support their claim that the respondents were "directly and proximately" responsible for the Dengvaxia mess. The complainants say the respondents should "be held to account not only for the ensuing deaths, but also for the undue injury caused any private party, including the government."

The complaint says Aquino and others illegally and anomalously funded and procured Dengvaxia, as well as "advisedly, thoughtlessly, and imprudently implemented the Dengue Immunization Program of the DOH en masse."

Officials from the Public Attorney's Office (PAO) also presented their findings on the bodies of the 22 children they autopsied, showing a link between their deaths and the dengue vaccine.

Health officials, however, claimed PAO's findings were inconclusive.

Meanwhile, through a parallel investigation on the death of 14 dengue patients, the University of the Philippines-Philippine General Hospital panel of experts said their findings showed no direct link between the deaths and Dengvaxia.

The House of Representatives had earlier conducted a probe on the allegedly anomalous purchase of the Dengvaxia vaccines worth P3.5 billion.It is now more than two weeks since the Nirav Modi-PNB scandal came to light. During these two weeks we have heard a lot of angry expostulation, sly innuendo and both sensible and impractical suggestions.

Thats par for the course when most debate is conducted by well-meaning but poorly informed citizens. This includes TV anchors and commentators in the print media.

But banking fraud is not a peculiarly Indian problem. Banking and other financial fraud happen all over the world.

Remember Nick Leesson who single-handedly brought down Barings Bank which was sold for a dollar after its collapse?

Remember Bernie Madoff who was charged with a fraud of $50 billion? He too was operating a ponzi scheme.

Clearly, even in the most stringently regulated and supervised banking jurisdictions, from time to time there are gigantic frauds. The list is depressingly long.

For an excellent discussion of bank fraud in India, however, read this 2013 paper by the former chairman of PNB and deputy governor of the RBI, K C Chakraborty.

After the initial rage attention is now beginning to shift towards the structural problems that afflict our banking system, where the public sector is the gorilla in the room. A key question in this regard is: does this huge government ownership of banks -- which in reality means control by politicians -- inherently encourage fraud? Or is the intent to defraud independent of ownership?

This question, of ownership and fraud comes up each time there is a problem of this nature. All sorts of solutions are talked of. And as always in India, to each solution there is an equal opposite problem and nothing, or very little, gets done.

The real reason

It is now clear that there is increasing incidence of these frauds in the public sector banks. There are at least a dozen reasons for this.

But if you ask me the main reason for this is that bank frauds have become a way of funding elections. Its the Indian version of state funding of elections.

Furthermore, as the cost of elections has increased so have the amounts involved. This is because the number of voters in each constituency has been steadily increasing and candidates have to spend more. The per capita expenditure per voter in a Lok Sabha election is now around Rs 2,000, compared to Rs about Rs 100 in 2004.

What happens now is this. A large borrower is allowed -- after being coerced -- to take a loan in excess of the projects needs. The excess is then passed on to some political party or politician. The businessman also keeps a bit for himself.

But when the time comes to repay, this excess becomes a non-performing asset. If you analyse the NPAs you will see that a large portion is because of accumulated interest on the whole loan because of the extra that has been foisted on the borrower. The whole thing is a political boondoggle.

What about plain incompetence in which the PSBs have a huge comparative advantage? How far is that a factor in generating and sustaining malpractice, if not actual fraud?

And are there problems of internal incentives for senior management that prevent fraud from being punished even when detected? Many former bankers say they are. Has this encouraged a lax culture?

Political coercion, incompetence, wrong incentives, bad technology and a host of lesser factors contribute to make frauds in PSBs easy. Indeed the surprise is that they are not more pervasive and larger in size.

Or are they and we dont know?

The solution

That is why it is necessary to privatise the banks or at least bring down government shareholding to less than 50 per cent. One level could be 33 per cent as suggested by the Narasimham Committee in the mid-1990s. But ideally it should be less than 26 per cent, say 25.9.

True, this will not prevent periodic frauds. But it will at least prevent politicians helping themselves to bank funds which are then made good by the tax payers via recapitalisation.

It is also true that fraud is an integral risk in any business and strive as you will, 100 per cent protection against them is impossible.

But 90 per cent protection is possible and worth striving for.The Congress, NCP and other opposition parties in Maharashtra today boycotted the customary tea party organised by the BJP-led government on the eve of the Budget session of the state legislature.

Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil (Congress) said the opposition boycotted the tea party to protest the government's "failure on several fronts".

Talking about the issues on which the opposition will try and corner the government, he said, "The BJP-Shiv Sena government failed miserably to attract investment during its 'Make In Maharashtra' drive held two years ago.

"We want a white paper on it, and we will continue to press the demand during the session which starts tomorrow. This government continues to lie about the investment (the state has attracted) and its job creation record," Vikhe Patil said at a press conference here.

He was accompanied by Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Council Dhananjay Munde (NCP) and Congress legislators Vijay Wadettiwar and Sanjay Dutt.

"The BJP government has issued a GR (government resolution) allowing the appointment of retired officers on special duty. This is against existing rules and regulations, but the BJP-led government has issued the GR only to pave way for (rehabilitation of) Radheshyam Mopalwar, who was removed as the chairman and MD of Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation)," the senior Congress leader alleged.

On the fire at two rooftop pubs in central Mumbai in December which claimed 14 lives, Vikhe Patil said chief minister Devendra Fadnavis subsequently asked the municipal commissioner to head an inquiry commission on the incident, but the commissioner himself had allowed rooftop hotels to come up in the city in the first place.

Munde targeted the government over the death of a farmer who consumed poison at the state secretariat to protest alleged injustice in a grant of compensation for land acquisition.

"Farmers like Dharma Patil are ending their lives, but the administration is least bothered about farmers' plight. The count-down for this government has started," Munde said.

Asked what was the opposition's action plan to put more pressure on the government outside the legislature, Vikhe Patil said, "We are seriously thinking of taking the legal route. There should be some petitions in courts so that this government functions properly."



The press conference was not attended by other opposition leaders such as Samajwadi Party's Abu Azmi, Dalit leader Jogendra Kawade, PWP leader Jayant Patil and AIMIM legislators.Importers from 12 countries will take part in the 23rd India International Leather Fair to be held here from tomorrow, the organisers said today.

The India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO), the organisers of the fair, said 70 Indian companies will also showcase their products.

"While the ITPO was footing the accommodation and conveyance expenses of buyers/importers from Malaysia, Germany, Japan and Spain, importers from eight other countries have also registered at the ITPO website for visiting the fair," ITPO Regional Manager Rumela Roy (Das) told PTI.

The eight other countries include Switzerland, Sweden, the UK, the USA, Canada and Bangladesh, she said.

The fair will be an interface between manufacturers-exporters and importers, the ITPO official said.

"We are getting support from the government of West Bengal and the fair will be a big step to show what Bengal can offer to the rest of world," she said.

ITPO spokesman Sanjay Vasishtha said the fair is in sync with the Centre's 'Look East' Policy to open new avenues of trade and commerce.

The second 'Tex-Styles India 2018', showcasing textile products, will also be held simultaneously at the Biswa Bangla Convention Centre from February 23.

"We are very much focused on textile and leather sectors in eastern India, which have vast potential for skill development and employment generation," Vasishtha said.

The two events are being organised by ITPO with support of the Indian Leather Products Association (ILPA).

West Bengal Finance Minister Amit Mitra will inaugurate the India International Leather Fair and the concurrent Tex-Styles India 2018 tomorrow.

Both fairs will end on February 28.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Two Delhi Police personnel were today arrested and the process for their dismissal initiated in connection with a firing incident during a marriage function here, officials said.

Both the personnel, including an assistant sub-inspector (ASI), were posted with the police's Special Cell.

In the incident, which took place last night, a man and a woman were injured. The shots were allegedly fired by Constable Naim after a quarrel broke out over clicking of photos at the function around 10:30 pm, police said.

"The accused constable, Naim, took the service pistol of ASI Intikhab Alam, both from the Special Cell, and fired three rounds. They have been arrested and are being dismissed from service," Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), North East, A K Singla said.

The incident took place at V R Vatika near the Sherpur Main Road Chowk in north east Delhi's Karawal Nagar.

The two policemen had gone to the reception function of Monu Gupta, a neighbour of Naim. He picked up a fight with a photographer in which Manoj Gupta intervened, the officer said.

Naim allegedly took Alam's pistol and fired, injuring Manoj and Pooja Gupta. Doctors said that both were out of danger, he said.

The DCP said that Alam allegedly made a false PCR call claiming his service pistol had been snatched.

Manoj and Pooja were taken to the GTB hospital. Manoj suffered a bullet injury on his hand while Pooja was shot in the leg.

Police have registered a case against the accused personnel under charges of attempt to murder, causing hurt and endangering life of others and provisions of the Arms Act at Khajuri Khas police station.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Four people were killed in a knife attack in China's Zixing City today, the second such assault in the country this month.

A 53-year-old man, identified by his surname Yuan, stabbed three of the victims to death in his home and wounded the fourth in Zixing City.

The fourth victim later died in hospital.

The suspect was taken into police custody and interrogated, state-run Xinhua agency reported.

This is the second knife attack in China this month.

A womanwas killed and 12 others injured when a disgruntled man went on a stabbing spree at a shopping mall in downtown Beijing on February 11.

Police have caught the suspect in that attack and identified him as 35-year-old surnamed Zhu.

The suspect has claimed responsibility for the attack and said he was motivated by personal grievances, police officials said.

Knifeattacks by disgruntled people in public places and schools to highlight their grievances have become common in China.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)At least six persons were killed when they were run over by a locomotive at Pilkhuwa railway station in Hapur district of Uttar Pradesh, railway police said.

SC Dubey, Superintendent of Police (GRP Moradabad), told PTI, "A group of seven youngsters was trying to cross the railway tracks. After seeing a train coming in front of them, they retracted their steps. But in the process, they were run over by a railway engine which was moving on the track behind them."



He added that five died on the spot, while one succumbed to his injuries at a hospital, later. Another one is undergoing treatment, he said.

The deceased have been identified as Aarif (18), Salim (20), Samir (15), Vijay (18) and Aakash, while the injured as Rahul, a resident of Sarvoday Nagar Pilkhuwa, Dubey said .

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Bollywood star Sridevi, who charmed the audience with stellar performances in several films such as 'Mr India', 'Chaalbaaz' and 'Lamhe' during her career spanning over four decades, passed away in Dubai last night.

She was 54.

The actor, wife of producer Boney Kapoor, died reportedly due to cardiac arrest in Dubai, where she had gone along with her family to attend her nephew Mohit Marwah's wedding.

Her mortal remains will arrive in India from Dubai tomorrow, her family said in a statement.

"Boney Kapoor, Jhanvi, Khushi (daughters) and the entire Kapoor, Ayyappan and Marwah family is deeply bereaved and shocked with the untimely loss of Sridevi Kapoor," the statement, issued this evening by the Yash Raj Films (YRF) on behalf of the family, said.

The mortal remains are expected to be brought by a chartered flight.

While some of her family members returned from Dubai after the wedding, Sridevi, Boney and her younger daughter Khushi stayed back.

Her elder daughter Janhvi had not travelled with the family because of a shooting schedule for her upcoming Bollywood film, her first in the industry.

Sridevi, a Padma Shri awardee, made her Bollywood debut in 1978 with "Solva Sawan". But it was only after five years with Jeetendra-starrer "Himmatwala" that she attained commercial success.

Before her entry into Bollywood, the actor had been a known face in South Indian films. She made her debut as a child artist in in Tamil film "Thunaivan" in 1969. She also worked in Malayalam, Telugu and Kannada films.

Sridevi's beguiling eyes, scintillating screen presence and acting prowess soon made her one of the most sought-after actors in the Hindi film industry.

While films such as "Mawaali" (1983), "Tohfa" (1984), "Mr India" (1987) and "Chandni" (1989) kept her at the top in the box-office game, her outings in "Sadma" (1983), "ChaalBaaz" (1989), "Lamhe" (1991), and "Gumrah" (1993) earned her critical acclaim.

She went on a hiatus for 15 years after starring in home production "Judaai", co-starring her brother-in-law Anil Kapoor and Urmila Matondkar. It was director Gauri Shinde's "English Vinglish" in 2012 that marked Sridevi's comeback.

Her nuanced performance as a middle-class woman, learning to speak English to feel accepted by her family, won accolades, and the film was also a commercial success.

Last year, she was seen in revenge-drama, "Mom", opposite Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Akshaye Khanna. She also shot for a special appearance in superstar Shah Rukh Khan's upcoming film, "Zero", which releases in December.

Sridevi was awarded the Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian honour, in 2013.

Minutes after the of her death broke, many Bollywood actors such as Amitabh Bachchan, Priyanka Chopra, Sushmita Sen, Sidharth Malhotra and Riteish Deshmukh took to Twitter to offer their condolences.

Personalities such as Lata Mangeshkar, Kajol, Hrithik Roshan and South superstars Rajanikanth, Kamal Haasan, Chiranjeevi, Nagarjuna Akkineni and "Baahubali" director S S Rajamouli also offered their condolences on the death of the legendary actor.

Director-producer Karan Johar recalled having a fan moment when he first met the superstar on the sets of his father's film "Gumrah".

President Ram Nath Kovind, Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Information and Broadcasting Minister Smriti Irani and Congress president Rahul Gandhi also condoled her death.

"Shocked to hear of passing of movie star Sridevi. She has left millions of fans heartbroken. Her performances in films such as Moondram Pirai, Lamhe and English Vinglish remain an inspiration for other actors. My condolences to her family and close associates #PresidentKovind," a tweet from the official Twitter handle of the President said.

Naidu tweeted, "Felt very sad over the sudden demise of popular actress Sridevi. She was an extremely versatile and talented film star, who had acted in Telugu, Hindi and other South Indian languages."



Modi said he was saddened by Sridevi's untimely demise.

"She was a veteran of the film industry, whose long career included diverse roles and memorable performances. My thoughts are with her family and admirers in this hour of grief. May her soul rest in peace," the PMO tweeted.

Irani, in an emotional letter published by News18, remembered the actor as her "favourite star who defined joy in my childhood".

Cameron Bailey, Artistic Director, Toronto International Film Festival, tweeted, "Shocked to hear of the passing of Indias legendary Sridevi. Honoured to have been in her presence in 2012 when she visited Toronto for English Vinglish. She made countless millions fall in love with her characters.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 25)  The case of slain domestic worker Joanna Demafelis is moving forward.

Speaking to CNN Philippines Sunday, Philippine Ambassador to Kuwait Renato Pedro Villa said murder charges are being prepared by the Kuwaiti government against Nader Essam Assaf and Mona Hassoun, Joanna's former employers. He said he learned of this development from a security official.

Villa said Kuwaiti officials would ask that both be extradited, but mentioned there could be laws preventing that.

"Sabi nung mga Kuwaiti authorities, they will ask for the extradition ng dalawa sa Kuwait. But, sabi rin nila malamang, of course baka may batas rin yung dalawang bansang iyon preventing yung extradition nila dito sa Kuwait for trial," he clarified.

[Translation: Kuwaiti authorities said they would ask for their extradition to Kuwait. But they also said that those two countries could have laws preventing their extradition to Kuwait for trial.]

However, Villa said the Philippines has embassies in Beirut and Damascus and those offices could probably help in that regard.

Villa added, "Aside from the prosecutor, we will hire perhaps a team of lawyers here to assist in the prosecution. Meron naman tayong legal assistance fund [We have a legal assistance fund]."

In Kuwait, a murder charge carries the death penalty. If proven true, it would mean death by hanging.

When asked if there were any developments regarding the request of the Demafelis family to get Joanna's things back, Villa said according to the security official he spoke with, no items belonging to Joanna have been recovered from where her body was found.

"Ang banggit ng official, maaring they disposed of all her things  kasi, di ba, they are covering up the crime? Isa ngang ginawa nila, kanilang inereport na nag-runaway raw si Joanna bago sila umalis dito noong November 2016," he said.

[Translation: The official said, they could have disposed of all her things  after all, aren't they covering up the crime? One of the things they did was report that Joanna ran away before they left in November 2016.]

Assam, a Lebanese national, was arrested last week and is now in the custody of Lebanese officials; while Hassoun, a Syrian national is with Syrian authorities.

READ: Suspect in Joanna Demafelis' murder in Lebanese custody

Both Assaf and Hossoun's arrests were confirmed by Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano in separate statements.

READ: Second suspect in Joanna Demafelis' murder now in Syrian custody

Both reportedly fled Kuwait in November 2016, after reporting Joanna ran away from them.

Joanna's body was found stuffed in a freezer in an abandoned apartment in Kuwait a year later.

READ: Body of Filipina found in freezer in Kuwait

CNN Philippines Digital Producers Pia Garcia, Amanda Lingao, and VJ Bacungan contributed to this reportThe documentary on Nobel laureate Amartya Sen will be released here on March nine after a beep on the word 'Gujarat' as recommended by the Censor Board, its director Suman Ghosh said today.

The hour-long documentary 'The Argumentative Indian had courted controversy after the Central Board of Film Certification, Kolkata, asked for muting nine words/phrases, but the CBFC, Mumbai finally let it pass with just one beep on the word Gujarat on July 11, 2017, Ghosh said.

"I started to shoot in 2002-2003 with a group of enthusiastic friends and we shot across three countries - in India, the UK and the USA. Finally in 2017, 15 years since I started the journey I completed the film," the director said.

Referring to the initial Censor hurdle in mid-July last year when the CBFC Kolkata had asked Ghosh to cut or mute six words/phrases - 'Gujarat', 'In India', 'Hindu', 'Cow', 'These days' and 'Hindutva' -- from the documentary for a 'U' certification, "At one point last year I thought that it was a losing battle," he said.

"But thanks to the media support all over the country and abroad it gave me the strength to fight it out. Finally the film is finding the light of day. A special thanks to (CBFC chief) Prasoon Joshi for this," Ghosh said.

Asking the people to watch the film, the director said, "Let's do this to honour one of the greatest living intellectuals of the world and a proud son of India Amartya Sen who received Bharat Ratna, the highest civilian award in India, in 1999.

I sincerely believe that such a "voice" is so needed in the current world scenario, he said.

"On January 12, Ghosh had told PTI, "I recognise that the decision (on removing the word 'Gujarat') is not the best but I strongly believe that the film should be shown to the public without further delay since beyond the controversies, which were unfortunate, I have a larger point in the film which needs to be communicated.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Union Commerce Minister Suresh Prabhu today launched a database of export-oriented aquaculture farms, alongwith e-Spice Bazaar, a project aimed at ensuring traceability of Indian spice farmers in international markets, at the ongoing Partnership Summit here.

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, Visakhapatnam MP Kambhampati Haribabu and others were present at the event.

The Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA) has compiled a GPS-based database of aquaculture farms in India, to ensure that shrimp and other exportable fish are free from banned antibiotics and other unwanted substances.

"Such a measure will go a long way in addressing concerns of USA, Japan and the EU for stringent quality controls over exports of seafood," said MPEDA chairman A Jayathilak.

Farms which produce shrimp, shellfish and other exportable varieties of fishare enrolled by providing cards carryinga Unique Identification Number (Farm ID) and Quick Response (QR) code containing basic information about the farms, Jayathilak said.

About one lakh aqua farms, spread over 1,95,994 hectares, are under shrimp culture in India. Of this, MPEDA has collected GPS data for 65,595 farms covering 1,48,321 hectares, while enrolment has been completed for 54,165 farms.

In Andhra Pradesh, a major exporter of marine products, more than 65,000 farmers with farms covering an area of over 75,000 hectares have been enrolled in nine coastal districts.

"The produce from enrolled units can be traced back from farm to end-consumer in case of detection of unwanted or unauthorised substances in the produce," Jayathilak said.

Meanwhile, the Spices Board has launched e-Spice Bazaar to ensure traceability of Indian spice farmers in the international markets and determine the quality and price of their produce for export.

"The e-Spice Bazaar ensures total integration of all the agencies involved in spices production and exports. The farmers are also helped through technological advise from scientists in universities and other research stations," Jayathilak, who is also the Chairman of Spices Board, said.

The e-Spice Bazaar Farmer Traceability Project, being executed with support from the Central Government's Department of Electronics, seeks to incorporate all commercial spices grown in the country, bring spice farmers in the global supply chain with identification of traceability at source, and generate direct linkage with exports to get a premium price, Jayathilak said.

The project currently covers 52,000 chili and turmeric farmers in Prakasam and Guntur districts of AP and Khammam and Warangal of Telangana.

In addition to chili and turmeric farmers in these four districts, the portal of the project also has the database of pepper and turmeric farmers from the tribal belt of Vizag Agency area and curry leaf growers of Krishna, Guntur and Prakasam districts.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)The Andhra Pradesh government signed a total of 364 memoranda of understanding with various business establishments, including the likes of Reliance Industries Limited, that could result in an investment of Rs 2,18,814 crore and creation of 3,84,662 jobs.

Reliance Industries Limited alone promised to invest Rs 52,000 crore in oil and gas and electronics manufacturing ventures in AP.

These MoUs were signed in the first two days of the ongoing three-day Partnership Summit at the Harbour Park here, State Industries Minister N Amarnath Reddy said.

The energy sector netted the highest investment proposals worth Rs 1,11,921 crore from 34 MoUs, the minister told reporters this evening.

About 22 MoUs were signed for an investment of Rs 39,281 crore in the industries, information technology and electronics sectors while 10 MoUs were signed for an investment of Rs 9,406 crore in the aerospace and defence sectors, Amarnath Reddy said.

On the second day of the Summit today, a total of 285 MoUs were signed that could fetch an investment of Rs 1,74,568 crore and provide employment opportunity to 2,86,371 persons, he added.

On the first day, 79 MoUs were signed to attract an investment of Rs 44,246 crore, including 15 MoUs in automotive sector for an investment of Rs 15,224 crore, the minister said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Noted architect Hafeez Contractor has offered to design free of charge 19 stations across the country, including several in Mumbai, as part of a redevelopment project being rolled out by the Railways.

Sanjeev Kumar Lohia, Managing Director and Chief Executive officer of the Indian Railway Stations Development Corporation Limited (IRSDC), the nodal agency for redeveloping 600 railway stations, said Contractor was among four who had offered to design railway stations free of cost.

Among the stations Contractor has offered to redesign are Dadar, Parel, Wadala, Bandra and Khar in Mumbai.

"We had an open invitation for professionals to work pro-bono for developing concepts and master plans for redevelopment of stations. Hafeez Contractor has shown an interest in 19 stations," Lohia said.

He said the corporation had received such offers from another noted architect and two firms.

However, we have not finalised any of the designs yet. It is at a preliminary stage," he said.

Contractor, who recently had discussions with Railway Minister Piyush Goyal, told PTI that the pro-bono offer was his way of "helping my country".

"The very reason that we (he and his firm) are doing it for free is to show them (the government) what can be done," the Padma Bhushan awardee said.

He said the country suffers when a "lousy job" is done.

"Normally, what happens is that all government jobs are given to those who quote the lowest tenders, who then do a lousy job. That way both the government and the country suffer. This is my way of helping the country and to tell them what standards have to be to be met," said Contractor, known for his eclectic style and iconic buildings.

Among the others who have offered to do pro-bono work is architect-activist, P K Das, one of the foremost voices on preservation of open spaces in Mumbai. Two other architecture firms have also shown an interest.

Lohia said the IRSDC has also started the process of empanelling architects who are experienced designers for the transport sector - metro, airports, bus terminals etc -- and have an expert on the railways working with him.

"We need architects as we have to redevelop as many as 600 stations. Designing for railways is different from any other modes of transport. One design error could cost lives. As of now, we have empanelled 11 architects/agencies," Lohia said.

Railway minister Goyal is also slated to hold an architects' meet soon to discuss ways to take the project further.

After redevelopment of stations, the railways plans to remain in the business of only running trains, leaving the management of stations to private players.

Under the current station redevelopment plan, the railways allocates operation and maintenance of stations to the developers, including of toilets on platforms, vendors, food stalls, parking and waiting rooms.

The Railway Board had recently also approved plans for giving out railway land on lease for 99 years, allowing construction of residential complexes, and also handing over revenue and operations of platform tickets stations to the developers who undertake station re-development.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)The has started implementing reforms aimed at readying a larger talent pool for crucial tasks and bringing down the age of those commanding key formations including along the borders with China and Pakistan.

Top sources in the defence establishment said the idea behind the reform initiative was to bring down the age of commands at all levels and ensure deploying the "right person for the right job" in a timely manner.

"We also want longer tenures of brigade commanders, divisional commanders and core commanders," a top military official told PTI, explaining the implementation of a new promotion policy as part of the overall reform initiative. The has begun putting the measures into effect.

The issue was discussed extensively at a meeting of top commanders of the last year when it was also decided that the organisation's human resource policy would be reoriented.

"The aim of the initiative is to improve overall functioning of the Army," the official said.

The sources said as part of the new promotion policy, selections for key assignments had been widened to encourage young officers and increase their motivation levels besides ensuring longer tenures at the level of command and director general.

The world's second largest standing Army has been undertaking a series of reforms and procuring various weapon systems to bolster its overall capabilities in the wake of evolving security threats including on India's borders with Pakistan and China.

"The broader aspect of the initiative is to having a bigger talent pool of young officers. A wider selection process is expected to result in better motivational levels among the officers," said the official, refusing to delve any deeper into the initiative.

The sources said under the new policy, corps commanders may be promoted as army commanders if they have at least 18 months of tenure left in their service as against the previous requirement of 24 months.

They said the top brass of the Army has also decided to sternly tackle incidents of indiscipline.

In August last year, the government had announced major reforms in the Indian Army such as redeployment of nearly 57,000 officers and other ranks as well as ensuring better utilisation of resources.

The reform initiatives were prescribed by a committee headed by Lt Gen DB Shekatkar (retd) which had a mandate to recommend measures for enhancing combat capability and re-balancing the defence expenditure of the armed forces to increase the "tooth to tail ratio".

The ratio refers to the amount of supply and support personnel (termed tail) for each combat soldier (or tooth).Realty firm Ashiana Housing Ltd will invest about Rs 500 crore over the next five years to develop kid-centric projects in Jaipur and Gurgaon.

The national capital-based company, which is known for development of retirement homes, has decided to enter into kid-centric projects in a big way, it's director Varun Gupta said.

"We have developed one kid-centric project in Bhiwadi comprising 1,150 units, of which 800 flats are sold out," Gupta told PTI.

Buoyed by the success of this project, he said the company has decided to develop two more projects in Jaipur and Gurgaon.

The company also roped in consultant from UK to develop required infrastructure for the kid-centric projects.

Ashiana Umang project in Jaipur has about 1,400 units, while Ashiana Anmol project at Sohna-Gurgaon has about 800 units. These two projects will be developed in the next 3-5 years.

"We have already invested Rs 500 crore in kid centric projects and is looking to invest Rs 500 crore more," Gupta said.

Rather than having simple swings and slides, the company has installed equipments related to rock climbing and jungle gyms that help children to develop more physical strength.

At Gurgaon and Jaipur projects, the company is developing learning centres for all-round development of children.

Gupta said there are very few players in India operating in this segment, including Gera Development in Pune and Rustomji in Mumbai.

Going forward, he said the company will continue to focus on both senior living as well as kid-centric projects.

In February 2015, the company had raised Rs 200 crore from global investors Goldman Sachs and Creador through its qualified institutional placement (QIP) issue.

Creador has sold it's stake in the company, while Goldman Sachs has divested some of its stake. Promoters have 61 per cent stake in Ashiana Housing.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)The police in Khandwa district of Madhya Pradesh have arrested an Assam Rifles jawan for allegedly killing his estranged wife.

Superintendent of Police Navneet Bhasin said Gajanan Saini alias Sonu (38), a lance naik with Assam Rifles, was arrested from the Army hospital in Bhopal on Friday evening.

A man wearing a mask shot dead Kirti Mali, Saini's wife, in Chhanera in Khandwa district on February 19 when she was on her way to a polytechnic where she was a lecturer, the SP said.

Mali, whose relations with her husband were strained, travelled to Chhanera from Khandwa daily by train.

Bhasin said the police contacted Army authorities when the woman's family expressed suspicion about Saini and the investigation pointed to his possible involvement.

Saini, meanwhile, got admitted in Army hospital at Bhopal after meeting with an accident. "After getting permission from higher authorities, the Army officials handed him over to us," the SP said.

Saini was on leave from February 2 to 24, the period during which the crime took place, he said.

Police also seized a pistol and three live cartridges following his questioning, Bhasin said.

Saini also told police during the questioning that one of his colleagues helped him get the weapon, the SP said, adding that police were investigating this claim.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)A Bangladeshi national was today arrested by the BSF after several silver anklets were seized from his possession while crossing the integrated check post (ICP)-Gede.

"The arrested person had no explanation about the materials he was carrying, following which he was arrested," a senior BSF official said.

Mohammed Habibur Rahaman, a resident of South Shemulia in Dhaka was arrested when nearly 237 silver anklets, weighing around 3.87 kg, was seized from him during a search, he said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)The British Broadcasting Company (BBC) has filed a lawsuit against a Chinese company for using its name to promote an English learning app.

The trademark infringement lawsuit, announced by a Beijing district court, accused iYuba of using the BBC's trademark and content on its apps, websites and social media without any authorisation.

The BBC is seeking 500,000 yuan (USD 78,950) in compensation and asked the company to cease infringing on its trademark registered in China.

The BBC claimed that it had sent letters to ask iYuba to remove its brand name from content and messages, and the Chinese company has yet to respond.

According to the court notice, the BBC has registered nearly 400 trademarks in China since the 1980s, 60 of which contain "BBC".

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Following are the business highlights at 1800 hours today:



DCM22 BIZ-IGST-REFUND-CBEC



New Delhi: As about 70 per cent of GST refunds stuck due to flawed information, the CBEC has asked exporters to amend the details in the final returns of subsequent month to enable the department to process the refund claims by March.

DCM6 BIZ-FPI-EQUITY OUTFLOW



New Delhi: Foreign investors have pulled out nearly Rs 10,000 crore (USD 1.5 billion) from the Indian stock market so far this month primarily due to PNB fraud jitters coupled with global cues.

DCM18 BIZ-OVL-IRAN



New Delhi: ONGC Videsh Ltd has shelved plans to build a USD 5 billion LNG export facility in Iran and has instead opted to only invest in developing a giant gas field in the Persian Gulf, for which a revised cost is being worked out, an official said.

DCM21 BIZ-DIRECT TAX-TARGET



New Delhi: Faced with a daunting target of Rs 10.05 lakh crore, the apex decision making body for direct taxes CBDT has asked its field officers to step up efforts and put more focus on better performing zones.

DCM22 BIZ-IGST-REFUND-CBEC



New Delhi: As about 70 per cent of GST refunds stuck due to flawed information, the CBEC has asked exporters to amend the details in the final returns of subsequent month to enable the department to process the refund claims by March.

DCM26 BIZ-MARKET OUTLOOK



New Delhi: Trading sentiment in the stock market will be driven by macroeconomic data and movement of rupee against the US dollar in a holiday-shortened week ahead, say experts.

DCM24 BIZ-PNBFRAUD-COVER



New Delhi: Rattled by a spate of frauds in the banking sector, lenders are now planning to increase insurance cover against delinquencies by their employees to protect their bottomlines.

DCM14 BIZ-COAL



New Delhi: The government may in near future scrap the present system of allocating coal mines for captive use and instead only auction mines for commercial use to private as well as foreign companies with a view to boost domestic product and cut imports, a top official said.

DCM35 BIZ-PNB-ICAI



New Delhi: With the alleged role of auditors coming into focus in the Rs 11,400 crore PNB fraud, chartered accountants' body ICAI said it has taken a statement from a senior official of the bank and emphasised it would not be prudent to draw any conclusion against the profession till disciplinary proceedings are completed.

DCM34 BIZ-JSW-ACQUISITION



New Delhi: Private steel maker JSW Steel is close to acquire Italy-based Aferpi steel firm for Rs 600 crore, a source in the know of the matter said.

DCM32 BIZ-PRABHU-WTO



Visakhapatnam: India today called for bringing changes in Geneva-based World Trade Organisation (WTO) to transform the global economy.

DCM28 BIZ-LOCKHEED MARTIN-DEFENCE



Visakhapatnam: American aerospace and defence major Lockheed Martin today urged India to work on couple of areas like fast-tracking defence procurement procedures with a view to attract companies in the sector.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 25)  The widow of one of Asia's top terrorists has been arrested.

Juromee Dongon, the widow of Zulkifli Bin Hir  aka Marwan  was apprehended on Sunday in Tubod, Lanao del Norte.

This was confirmed by the Philippine National Police - Police Regional Office in Region 10.

Separate joint operations led to Dongon's arrest as well as four family members:

SPO4 Andy Atta - brother-in-law

Lorlie Atta - sister

Romeo Dongon - father

Norein Santos - sister

Authorities alleged all were found to have violated Republic Act No. 10591 for the illegal possession of firearms, and Republic Act No. 9516 for the illegal possession of explosives. They said appropriate charges would be filed.

Found in their possession were grenades, blasting caps, guns, and magazines among others.

Marwan, Juromee's husband, was killed in Mamasapano, Maguindanao in January 2015.

Forty-four members of the Philippine National Police's Special Action Force were also killed in the encounter.

Juromee Dongon is also the sister of Abu Sayyaf member Reneer Lou Dongon, the husband of police Supt. Maria Cristina Nobleza who was revealed to be working with the Abu Sayyaff Group in 2017.

RELATED: Marwan had officiated marriage of policewoman, bandit  Dela Rosa

Military intelligence and reports also revealed that Juromee was married to Abu Sayyaff leader Khadaffy Janjalani, who died in a military encounter in 2006.The BJP is hopeful of a working majority in the Rajya Sabha following the biennial polls to 58 seats from 16 states next month as the ruling NDA's numbers are expected to go up significantly at the cost of opposition parties.

The saffron party will make handsome gains from Uttar Pradesh, where its massive majority in the assembly will fetch it at least eight out of 10 seats going to the polls against only one seat it has as of now.

Party leaders said it will also bag all three Rajasthan seats against the one it has and the party and its ally Shiv Sena will also bag four of the six seats in Maharasthra against the two they have.

Though NDA numbers are expected to fall from states like Bihar, where it holds all six seats going to the poll and is sure of winning only three, and Gujarat, where it is unlikely to retain more than two of the four seats; its overall gains will be significant.

BJP leaders said if the total NDA members following the polls are added to tallies of friendly parties like AIADMK, TRS, BJD and YSR, then they will have a majority in the 245-member House.

Though not part of treasury benches, these regional parties have often refrained from joining strident opposition parties like the Congress, TMC, the Left and Samajwadi Party in blocking the governments agenda, especially its bills.

We believe we will have a working majority in the Rajya Sabha following these polls, a senior BJP leader said.

Though the saffron party is yet to decide on its nominees, sources said some of its national office-bearers may make their maiden entry into the House.

Among its eight general secretaries, most powerful set of office bearers, none of them, except Bhupender Yadav, is an MP.

Sources said the party may pick some of them and also consider new faces from the ranks of its spokespersons.

General secretaries like Anil Jain, Arun Singh, Kailash Vijayvargiya, P Muralidhar Rao and Ram Madhav are being seen among the contenders.

The BJP has already surpassed the Congress to become the largest party in the Rajya Sabha with 58 seats against the latters 54 as the gap is set to widen further after the biennial polls.

Terms of several Union ministers, including Arun Jaitley, Prakash Javadekar, Ravi Shankar Prasad, Dharmendra Pradhan, J P Nadda, Thaawar Chand Gehlot and Ramdas Athawale are ending. The ruling alliance is expected to re-nominate them for a new term.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad today alleged that the BJP has 'internationalised' corruptions that are taking place in the country.

The Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha claimed that all the scams unearthed during the UPA regime were of much smaller in sizes.

"After the BJP came to power, corruption has been internationalised. Scams are of Rs 8,000 crore, Rs 11,000 crore and similar sizes are unearthed. The scamsters are easily going out (of the country) and never coming back," Azad said in a press conference here.

The Congress general secretary said the prime minister claims he has good relations with all the world leaders. "Then why can't he bring back all those accused such as Lalit Modi, Vijay Mallya, Nirav Modi and others by using his influence?"



Accusing the government and Prime Minister Narendra Modi of being involved in the scams, Azad alleged that that is why he is silent on the scams.

Attacking the BJP, he said the saffron party is trying to dictate everyone on what to wear, what to eat and what culture to follow, thereby threatening to attack the basic tenets of the Constitution.

"That is why, for the first time in the history of India, four senior most judges of the Supreme Court came out openly, addressed to the nation and said democracy has to be saved. If this is the opinion of the Supreme Court judges, then imagine what is going on in the country," he added.

Azad termed the central government as the "TV and advertisement government", which is misusing public money and dictating the media, especially the electronic media, what to report and what not.

"Even in reporting Parliament proceedings, we see only two per cent opposition voices, and 98 per cent government. But if you see actual footages in Rajya Sabha TV and Lok Sabha TV, the scenario is completely the opposite," the Rajya Sabha MP claimed.

During the tenure of the NDA government, the economic growth has stagnated and no new development projects have been announced, he said adding that it is re-launching old projects of the UPA government.

Regarding North East, Azad said the BJP government is threatening the diverse culture of the region by its policies.

"BJP does not know anything about the people of NE. I am concerned about the culture, food habits of these two regions," he added.

Azad charged the BJP with trying to capture power in Tripura, Meghalaya and Nagaland by muscle and money power.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)There is no space in Canada for religion to be used for political motives to promote any type of extremism, Canada's Sikh woman MP Ruby Dhalla has said while asserting her country believes in a united India.

Expressing her concern over talk about possible links between Canada and 'Khalistani' sympathisers demanding a separate state carved out of India, she said that at times all Sikhs in Canada were seen as sympathisers of extremism.

You cannot paint all Sikhs living in Canada with the same brush of being supporters of extremism. This is what is happening and it is unfortunate and painful, she told PTI.

Dhalla, who became the first Sikh woman to serve in the Canadian House of Commons, also emphasised that her country has zero tolerance towards extremism.

In Canada, there is no space for religion to be used for political motives to promote any type of extremism, she said.

However, she added that there might be fringe elements in Canada, but it was unfortunate this became a significant source of discussion during Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's just-concluded visit to India.

Dhalla, who is from the ruling Liberal Party in Canada, said she was confident that the law would take its own course against people listed by India who are living in Canada and are suspected of trying to revive Sikh separatist movement in Punjab.

Canada believes in a united India... Punjabis and Sikhs (in Canada) are interested in a united and strong India, she said.

She was part of the delegation of Trudeau who was on his maiden trip to India as Canada's Prime Minister.

Dhalla, who was born and raised in Canada, said she has always always worked for strengthening the relationship between the two countries.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)The number of cases in the Supreme Court where the government is a party has seen a spike in the last one year, with law ministry officials attributing the spurt to note ban, implementation of the GST and taxation issues.

According to latest law ministry data, between January 1 and December 31 last year, 4,229 cases were filed in the top court in which the Centre was a party.

In 2016, the number of such cases was 3,497, while between January 1 and December 31 of 2015, 3,909 such cases were filed.

This year, between January 1 and February 22, 859 cases have been filed in the apex court where the Union of India is a party.

The data states that in 2012, there were 4,149 cases involving the government in the top court and the figure went up to 4,772 in 2013.

In 2014, when the NDA government came to power, the number of cases was 4,748 but went down to 3,909 in 2015.

Officials in the law ministry said the spurt in cases could be attributed to litigations on note ban, implementation of the GST regime and taxation issues.

While the number of cases in the Supreme Court have increased, the number of law officers representing the Union of India has dwindled.

Though the number of law officers representing the government in the Supreme Court is set to go up to 10 next week, so far there is no word on who would become the next solicitor general.

The law ministry file recommending the names of Aman Lekhi, Madhvi Diwan, Sandeep Sethi and Bikramjeet Banerjee as additional solicitors general has reached the Prime Minister's Office for final approval.

Sources in the government said a final nod of the Appointments Committee of Cabinet on the four names is likely next week.

After Ranjit Kumar resigned as the solicitor general in October last year, the key post has been lying vacant and so far there is no word from the law ministry on who would be appointed to that post.

P S Patwali and N K Kaul had decided against a second term as additional solicitors general when their terms had ended in July last.

Maninder Singh, Tushar Mehta, P S Narasimha, Pinky Anand and Atmaram Nadkarni are the other ASGs.

Besides Attorney General K K Venugopal, five ASGs represent the Centre in the apex court. There are nine other ASGs who appear in various high courts.

Officials pointed out that since there are not many law officers, sensitive cases are also being handled by senior advocates who are on the law ministry panel. These lawyers are paid fees per appearance.The CBI has registered a case against Simbhaoli Sugars Limited, its Chairman Gurmit Singh Mann, Deputy Managing Director Gurpal Singh and others in connection with an alleged bank loan fraud of Rs 97.85 crore.

Simbhaoli Sugars Limited is one of the largest sugar mills in the country.

The company's Chief Executive Officer G S C Rao, CFO Sanjay Tapriya, Executive Director Gursimran Kaur Mann and five non-executive directors have also been booked by the agency.

Gurpal Singh is the son-in-law of Punjab Chief Minister Amrinder Singh.

The CBI today carried out searches at eight premises including residences of the directors, factory, corporate office and registered office of the company in Delhi, Hapur and Noida, CBI spokesperson Abhishek Dayal said.

The probe focuses on two loans -- Rs 97.85 crore which was declared fraud in 2015 and another corporate loan of Rs 110 crore which was used to repay the previous loan.

The second loan was declared NPA on November 29, 2016, nearly 20 days after scrapping of Rs 1,000 and old Rs 500 notes was announced, according to the CBI FIR.

The bank was allegedly cheated to the tune of Rs 97.85 crore, but the loss incurred by the bank is Rs 109.08 crore, the FIR read.

The lender, Oriental Bank of Commerce, complained to the CBI on November 17, 2017, but the agency registered a case of criminal conspiracy and cheating under the Prevention of Corruption Act on February 22.

According to the FIR, OBC sanctioned a loan of Rs 148.60 crore to the company in 2011.

The loan was sanctioned for financing 5,762 sugarcane farmers based on a tie-up agreement under an RBI scheme for supplying sugar produce to the company from January 25, 2012 to March 13, 2012.

The loan money was "dishonestly and fraudulently diverted by the company for its own needs", Dayal said.

According to an MoU, out of the price to be paid by Simbhaoli Sugars Limited to the farmers, loan liabilities were to be adjusted and the remaining amount was to be paid by the company to the growers, according to the FIR.

The account turned NPA on March 31, 2015 and was declared alleged fraud by the bank to RBI on May 13, 2015 for an amount of Rs 97.85 crore.

OBC alleged that in addition to the existing NPA, the bank, under multiple banking arrangements, sanctioned another corporate loan of Rs 110 crore to the company on January 28, 2015 to pay its outstanding loan of Rs 97.85 crore.

The bank adjusted the total liability of Rs 112.94 crore towards the company by way of deposit of the new corporate loan.

"The corporate loan, too, turned NPA on November 29, 2016," Dayal said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)The chemicals is expected more than double and touch $300 billion by 2025 from $147 billion now, according to Chemexcil.

"The chemical sector is expected to double to $300 billion by 2025, clocking an annual growth rate of 15-20 per cent. To achieve this, government is also working on a draft chemical policy that will focus on meeting the rising demand f0r chemicals and reduce imports," chemicals export promotion council (Chemexcil) chairman Satish Wagh told PTI here.

The is also targeting chemical exports of $18 billion by 2020 from $12 billion in FY17. In the first half of this fiscal, exports rose almost 27 per cent to $7.19 billion.

The domestic is the third largest in Asia and seventh in the world.

The impact of measures initiated by government will be visible from the current financial onwards, he said.

But he blamed the pollution control boards for the slower growth in the industry since the past five years. Production of certain chemicals has been significantly restricted by the various pollution control boards, Wagh said.

"We are unable to increase production to meet the demand. Over the past five years, there has been no capacity expansion by any of the because we don't get clearances from PCBs. This has dented our exports which provides huge opportunities and, of late, is also impacting domestic industries," said Wagh, adding this has led to large scale imports from China.

"The domestic industry is simply unable to meet the demand due to policy bottlenecks. This is why Chinese manufacturers are hurting our industry," Wagh said.

Several policy measures taken by the commerce ministry in its review of mid-term foreign trade policy for 2015-20 and incentives for MSMEs in the Budget will help us in achieving our growth target, he 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.)The Communist Party of (CPC) on Sunday proposed to remove presidential term limits from the Constitution, potentially allowing President Xi Jinping to continue in power after his second term, which ends in 2023.

The CPC Central Committee proposed removing the clause that the President and Vice-President shall serve no more than two consecutive terms from the countrys Constitution, state-run Xinhua news agency reported on Sunday.

The removal of the term limit, which was expected to be endorsed by the Plenum of the party to be held tomorrow was expected to give 64-year-old Xi, regarded as the most powerful leader in modern China, a limitless tenure. President Xi, who is also head of the CPC and military, began his second five-year tenure last year, following a national Congress of the CPC. A seven-man leadership committee unveiled last year included no potential successor, raising the prospect that Xi intends to govern beyond his second term. Since then, all organs of the party have declared him as the topmost leader of the party setting aside the principle of collective party leadership that was followed in the last three decades.

Xi was elected as the head of the Party and President in 2013 and later took over as head of the military. In 2016, the CPC officially gave him the title of core leader. The once-in-five-years Congress of the CPC last year approved Xis ideology to be written into its Constitution - an honour that had been reserved only to modern China's founder Chairman Mao Zedong and his successor Deng Xiaoping.

The thoughts of two of Xi's predecessors, Jiang Zemin and Hu Jintao, were mentioned in the Constitution but not their names. Any attempt to challenge Xi or his thinking would be seen as defiance against the party. Minutes after the announcement today, Xinhua reported that the party proposed to write Xis political theory  Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era  into the constitution. It also planned to list the new super anti-graft body, the National Supervisory Commission, as a new state agency in the constitution. The Central Committee also proposed to add core socialist values into China's Constitution.A Chinese man has been arrested by customs officials for allegedly trying to smuggle into the country gold valuing about Rs 92 lakh at Delhi airport, according to an official statement issued today.

The accused was intercepted after his arrival from Hongkong on Wednesday.

A detailed personal search of the passenger resulted in the recovery of three gold bars, weighing three kilograms, concealed inside specially designed pockets of the jeans worn by him, the statements issued by the customs said.

The gold bars, valued at Rs 91.88 lakh, has been seized, it said, adding that the Chinese man has been arrested.

Earlier this month also, four Chinese men were arrested by the customs for allegedly trying to smuggle into the country 10 kilograms gold at the airport.

The accused were intercepted by the customs officials after their arrival from Taiwan via Hong Kong on February 10.

A detailed personal and baggage search resulted in the seizure of 10 gold bars, collectively weighing 10 kg, wrapped in newspapers and concealed by the passengers in pockets of trousers worn by them.

The gold bars, valued at little over Rs 3 crore, was seized and the Chinese men were arrested.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)A Christian man accused of blasphemy in Pakistan reportedly jumped off the fourth floor of the building of an investigation agency here, according to officials.

Sajjad Masih, 28, who has been in critical condition at Mayo Hospital, said the FIA had called him to their headquarters at Regal Chowk to record statement. He said the officials allegedly tortured him and snatched his mobile phone.

They asked me to abuse myself, but I refused to do so. Later, they asked me to sexually assault my cousin, but I remained silent and jumped from the building, he said.

An FIA spokesman, however, rejected the allegation, saying the suspect was called for inquiry because he was a member of the Facebook group allegedly involved in sharing blasphemous material.

"The suspect was asked to unlock his mobile phone. He got panicky and jumped from the building. No one even had touched him (suspect)," the spokesperson added.

According to doctors, Masih had life changing injuries. "He has multiple fractures on his legs, ribs and jaw. However, his condition is out of danger," the doctors said.

Police had arrested Masih a few days ago after the activists of Tehreek-e-Labaik Ya Rasool Allah (TLYRA) and other religious parties gathered in Shahdara area and surrounded the Christian families living over there demanding producing him before them.

Police stopped them from entering the Christian colony and arrested Masih and shifted him at undisclosed location.

Later police handed Masih over to FIA. Maish is accused of posting blasphemous content about Muslim's holy places on his Facebook account.

A senior FIA official told PTI that the agency had suspended two officials for their negligence in the matter.

"A inquiry has been initiated against four officials. If found guilty punitive action will be taken against them," he said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)In a rare admonition for the state of affairs in its own backyard, the top appellate authority for RTI matters, the CIC, has pulled up its joint secretary (law) and other officials for a flagrant violation of the transparency law.

The rebuke came from Information Commissioner Divya Prakash Sinha when he observed serious violations of the processes and provisions of the RTI Act while hearing an appeal filed by legal and transparency activist R K Jain.

Jain had sought to know from the Central Information Commission the action taken on 113 communications received in its legal cell from its dak (mail) section during April-June, 2013. But he was not provided with any information.

"It is indeed mortifying to note that the public authority which ought to be setting examples for other public authorities to follow in matters of RTI Act has lent itself such a disdainful scenario of flagrant violation of the provisions of RTI Act, Sinha said.

During appeal proceedings before Sinha, Jain said he wanted to emphasise on the massive problem of dak receipt management in legal cell of the CIC and expressed serious concern over the "deplorable" projection of the cell before the higher courts.

Underlining the absurdity in the case, Sinha noted that central public information officer (CPIO) and the first appellate authority (FAA) were the same person in this case.

According to the RTI Act, however, only a senior official of the department can adjudicate the first appeal against the response furnished by the CPIO.

Sinha also said the officers dealing with the case later did not note the trail of the case, ignored the fact and that a timely response was not given.

Initially, the case was handled by SP Beck, who acted as the CPIO and later passed the order as the First Appellate Authority.

In his order as the First Appellate Authority, Beck directed the then CPIO Yogesh Singhal to provide information. The new CPIO also did not provide satisfactory response and referred the matter to FAA again.

...incumbent CPIO ignores trail of a particular case once he takes over charge of CPIO and provides a reply on his own accord and asks the applicant to again approach FAA, he noted.

It is rather preposterous to note that the same CPIO and JS Law i.e SP Beck is later presiding over as the FAA on the First Appeal filed against the RTI Application on which he was supposed to reply as the CPIO, Sinha said.

Sinha said that Beck, Singhal and Achala Sinha, the then Additional Secretary, CIC, have knowingly or unknowingly created a sheer mockery of the letter and spirit of the RTI Act by creating a situation of impasse by their whimsical approach towards the RTI application.

Sinha said the case not just indicates failure of individual officers but a "colossal and baffling failure of the system" within which the officers function.

In addition to Beck and Singhal, Sinha also chided K K Pukhral, the section officer in the legal team.

Serious concern is expressed over the situation of three-ring circus caused in the matter by all concerned, leaving the scope of taking penal action extremely difficult, Sinha said as he left the officials with a warning to be careful in future.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)(CNN)  President Donald Trump heard a series of heartfelt stories and pleas for change during a meeting Wednesday with people affected by some of the nation's highest-profile deadly school shootings, including the 1999 Columbine High School shooting, the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre and last week's shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.

Andrew Pollack, a father of one of the 17 victims who died in last week's Florida shooting, said he was speaking Wednesday because his daughter couldn't.

"We as a country failed our children," he said. "This shouldn't happen."

He asked how it was that America could protect its airports, its concerts, its embassies and even the elevators at the Department of Education, but not its schools.

"How many schools, how many children have to get shot? It stops here with this administration and me. I'm not going to sleep until it is fixed. And Mr. President, we'll fix it. Because I'm going to fix it. I'm not going to rest," he said.

"My beautiful daughter, I'm never going to see her again. It's simple. Let's fix it," he said.

Justin Gruber, 15, who was affected by the Parkland shooting, said he was born after Columbine, which marked a new era in history.

"I was born into a world where I never got to experience safety and peace. There needs to be a significant change in this country. This has to never happen again," he said. "People should be able to feel like when they go to school it can be safe. There needs to be a change. People need to feel safe. Parents shouldn't have to go through the idea of losing their child."

Trump responded to the series of emotional stories from the survivors and parents of victims from the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School by pledging to get to work on school shootings "two minutes" after the listening session.

"We don't want others to go through the kind of pain you have gone through," Trump said. "It wouldn't be right."

At the beginning of the event, the President pledged to "do something" about school shootings in the brief opening of his listening session.

"We are going to do something about this horrible situation that is going on," Trump said. "I want to listen and then after I listen, we are going to get things done."

Trump, flanked by the students, went around the room and shook hands before opening the event.

The event, hosted in the White House's State Dining Room, brought Trump face-to-face with students and parents who have demanded action on gun violence. The President -- who was elected with the support of the National Rifle Association -- has so far expressed support for regulating bump-fire stocks, which make it easier to fire rounds more quickly, and strengthening background checks for gun purchases.

During the listening session, Trump called for more mental institutions and hospitals and floated the idea of concealed carry for teachers and school staff.

"This would be obviously only for people who were very adept at handling a gun, and it would be, it's called concealed carry, where a teacher would have a concealed gun on them. They'd go for special training and they would be there and you would no longer have a gun-free zone," Trump said.

"Gun-free zone to a maniac -- because they're all cowards -- a gun-free zone is 'let's go in and let's attack because bullets aren't coming back at us,' " he said.

Latest massacre

The event comes a week after 17 people were killed at the shooting in Parkland, Florida, a massacre that has led students, parents and teachers from the school to call on Trump to take action. Students led protests in front of the White House over the weekend and another group of students walked out of schools on Wednesday gathered in front of the White House to demand action.

To date, the Trump administration has stuck to discussing taking action on guns, not actually lobbying Congress on moving any new legislation. But White House deputy press secretary Raj Shah said in a statement on Monday that Trump spoke with Sen. John Cornyn, a Texas Republican, on Friday about a bill he introduced with Sen. Chris Murphy, a Connecticut Democrat, that aims to strengthen how state and federal governments report offenses that could prohibit people from buying a gun.

"While discussions are ongoing and revisions are being considered, the President is supportive of efforts to improve the federal background check system," Shah said. Students, teachers and lawmakers have urged Trump and other Republican lawmakers to take action on guns in the wake of the Parkland shooting.

Any action on guns would be a balancing act for Trump. His political base of Republican voters overwhelmingly disapprove of most gun control actions and the President has enjoyed the support of the NRA.

Trump has not always been deeply tied to the NRA, though.

"I generally oppose gun control, but I support the ban on assault weapons and I support a slightly longer waiting period to purchase a gun," he wrote in his 2000 book, "The America We Deserve." "With today's Internet technology, we should be able to tell within 72 hours if a potential gun owner has a record."

Trump disavowed those statements during the 2016 campaign.

Polls have found, however, that most Americans blame Trump and Congress for not doing more on guns. A new Washington Post/ABC News poll released Tuesday found that 62% of respondents said Trump is not doing enough to prevent mass shootings and 77% say Congress is doing an inadequate job on the issue.

"We will be working very, very hard on that horrible, horrible issue that took place last week in Florida," Trump said at an event on Tuesday. "We're working very hard. We're going to come up with solutions. It's been many, many years, and there have been no solutions. We're going to come up with solutions."

This story was first published on CNN.com, Grieving father to Trump: 'We as a country failed our children'"Prime Minister on Sunday lashed out at the Congress saying that one family had ruled the country for over four decades and asked the people to compare the dynasty-led governments with the "development-oriented" NDA.

"One family either directly or indirectly ruled the country for 48 years," he told a public meeting organised by the BJP here, referring to the governments of Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi.

On the other hand, he said, there was the NDA government which will complete 48 months this May.

Intellectuals can debate the difference between what was achieved during the Congress regimes and the BJP-led NDA, he said.

Targeting the Congress government in Puducherry, he said the union territory had poor infrastructure and was a victim of "Congress culture".

Modi asserted that the BJP would win the coming Assembly elections in Karnataka and other states, and said the Congress would be left with only the V Narayanasamy government in Puducherry.

He did not refer to the Amarinder Singh-led Congress government in Punjab.

"I want to congratulate the Chief Minister of Puducherry because the Congress is going to exhibit him as a specimen after June," he said predicting the defeat of the Congress in the other states.

He claimed Puducherry had poor infrastructure and sectors such as transport and cooperation were in a shambles.

"The Congress has failed on all fronts in Puducherry," he said.Ahead of its plenary session, when the Congress will elect a new working committee, senior leader Ashok Gehlot has said the new party chief should be given the authority to select his own team, as has been done in the past.

The Congress Working Committee (CWC) is the highest decision-making body of the party and takes all major decisions.

Congress president Rahul Gandhi had recently dissolved the previous working committee and set up a 34-member steering committee to work in its place instead.

The Congress president has been given the right to select his working committee in the 135-year history of the party, except on a few occasions. I think Rahul Gandhi should select his own new CWC, Gehlot told PTI.

He said even when elections were held to elect the CWC, members resigned after the polls to give full authority to the party chief to have his or her own new team.

What is the use of holding such elections, he asking, adding that the Congress tradition should continue.

In the past, elections were held for CWC members on five occasions in the Congress's 135-year-old history.

The Congress Plenary session will be held in New Delhi from March 16 to 18, paving the path for the party ahead of the 2019 general elections.

Party leaders would brainstorm on future strategies and alignments with other parties seeking to oust the BJP from power.

Under the Congress party's Constitution, the 25-member CWC, which is the party's highest decision-making body, has 12 elected members and 11 nominated members, besides the Congress president and the chairperson of the Congress Parliamentary Party.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)A constable of the Madhya Pradesh police was shot dead during a raid to nab a criminal at Khiston village, about 60 kilometers from here, police said.

Constable Rajbahadur Yadav (50) took a bullet in the chest during police action yesterday night to catch Ravindra Rajak, a history-sheeter accused in several cases of loot and theft, Superintendent of Police Kumar Pratik said. The incident happened around 9pm.

Pratik said that a five-member police team, during the raid, had managed to catch Rajak's accomplice Neelu Dhimar.

"In an attempt to get Dhimar released, Rajak opened fire from his country made revolver, hitting constable Rajbahadur Yadav in the chest," he said.

Yadav was rushed to the Community Health Centre in Prithvipur town nearby where doctors declared him dead on arrival, he informed.

He said, "Rajak is a history-sheeter with 19 cases of loot, theft and other crimes registered against him in different police stations in Tikamgarh."



The police officer said that a case under IPC sections 302 (murder), 34 (criminal act done by several persons) had been registered and a hunt for Rajak and his other accomplices was underway.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)The ruling Communist Party of China Central Committee on Sunday proposed to remove a limit of two consecutive terms for the president and the vice president, paving the way for President to stay on beyond 2023.

The Central Committee proposed removing the clause that the President and Vice-President "shall serve no more than two consecutive terms" from the country's Constitution, state-run Xinhua news agency reported today.

President Xi, who is also head of the CPC and military, began his second five-year tenure last year, following a national Congress of the CPC.

Xi, 64, was elected as the head of the Party and President in 2013 and later took over as head of the military.

In 2016, the CPC officially gave him the title of "core" leader.

The removal of the term limit, which was expected to be endorsed by the Plenum of the party to be held tomorrow was expected to give Xi, regarded as the most powerful leader in modern China, a limitless tenure.CPI(M) today said it would work out 'suitable electoral tactics' to bring together secular and democratic forces, but sans any understanding with Congress,to defeat BJP in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

"The CPI(M)'s primary objective to remove BJP to create a better India. This will be achieved by bringing together democratic and secular forces,but not having any understanding or electoral alliance with the Congress', party secretary Sitaram Yechury said here.

He was addressing a rally on the conclusion of the four day conference of the state unit of the CPI(M).

Yechury said CPI(M) cannot ally with Congress to defeat BJP as it represents the same economic policies.

"We have said that at the time of elections, keeping this understanding in mind, suitable electoral tactics will be worked out to maximise the pooling of anti-communal votes in our country', he said.

Defeating BJP/RSS was 'absolutely imperative' to create a better India and better society, Yechury said.

The CPI(M) leader said that the coming party congress in Hyderabad would come out with a policy programme on how the party should move forward.

Alleging that the country was facing the worst form of exploitation and highest form of corruption under the Narendra Modi-led BJP government, he urged people to oust them from power.

The CPI(M) leader alleged that the Modi government allows industrialists and capitalists to loot and leave the country before they can be prosecuted.

Yechury said the BJP government was implementing the same reforms the erstwhile Congress regime did. In its first three years in power, 79 per cent of all additional wealth generated was taken over by one per cent of the population, he said.

"Farmers are committing suicide, youths were promised two crore jobs a year... but this year alone in eight major industries, there have been job losses of 84,000," he said.

Yechury alleged that about Rs 2.40 lakh crore loans of corporates had been written off by the Modi government in the last three years, but that it was not willing to waive Rs 80,000 crore loans of farmers.

"Our resources are being looted, our people are being impoverished, which cannot be accepted', he said.

"Never before has the hatred against religious minorities been so sharp. Muslims and Dalits are being attacked on false pretexts... Universities are being attacked, syllabus is being changed.." he said.

Stating that Kerala was being targeted by BJP-RSS as it was the only state which was truly secular, he said Marxist party workers were being attacked by them since the 2016 assembly polls in Kerala,



"They are creating a cycle of violence', he said, adding that CPI(M) cannot be wiped out by such attacks.

He also claimed that RSS-BJP represents "the darkness of the past" while the Communist party and its red flag represent the light of the future.

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and CPI(m)state secretary, Kodiyeri Balakrishnan were among those who spoke.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)The CRPF, in the thick of anti-Naxal operations in Chhattisgarh, has launched a unique bike ambulance initiative for providing basic healthcare facilities to those living in remote jungle areas of Bastar region.

Medical teams, accompanied by well-armed security personnel ride their motorcycles to help the sick and injured in about 70 villages of Bijapur district that shares its border with Dantewada -- the worst Maoist violence-hit district of the state -- and also adjoining Telangana and Maharashtra.

"We got these motorbikes a few years back for anti-Naxal patrols and operations as four-wheelers were easy for the ultras to target. Then we thought, why not use these two-wheelers to help the locals who are ill?," Commandant of the 85th CRPF battalion Sudhir Kumar told PTI.

The battalion is based in Bijapur.

A field surgical team, comprising a doctor, a paramedic and an assistant, are part of the bike ambulance team. They go to villages either as part of a patrol or are called in by the villagers in need.

The team has also visited villages that flank the 30km long Bijapur-Gangloor axis that has claimed lives of as many as 150 security personnel over the years.

"There are only two government health centres in the interiors of the district. Hence, we decided to send our medical teams on bikes to cater to the needy. These teams have helped in rushing the critically ill to the district headquarter and also provided Jaipur foot to a tribal who had to undergo amputation," Kumar.

According to the Commanding Officer (CO), even while on operations these teams carry medicines that are used to treat regular health issues prevalent in these areas like malaria and typhoid.

"There are risks involved too as there have been incidents when security personnel responded to a emergency call from locals and they were ambushed by Naxals. But, we take calculated risks and every such medical team is accompanied by a well-armed security squad," Kumar said.

This new initiative is also a step towards widening the Central Reserve Police Force's (CRPF) civic action work that is traditionally conducted to befriend the locals by providing household items to them using government funds.

"We are reaping rich dividends after the bike ambulance initiative was launched sometime back. Our troops got timely inputs from locals about some IEDs (improvised explosive devices) secretly concealed under roads by Naxals to ambush security forces, apart from getting cooperation in rendering our other duties," Kumar said.

With the success of this initiative, the 85th battalion of the CRPF is now sending its officials on bikes to hold few school sessions for students living in the interiors of Bijapur district, the Commanding Officer said.

A senior official at the command office in Raipur said the force has decided to replicate the Bijapur bike ambulance initiative in other areas of the Bastar region, worst-hit by Naxal violence.

"That would be on a case-by-case basis keeping in mind the security of the troops," the official said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)A designated PMLA authority has held that a Delhi farmhouse, attached by the ED in the name of RJD chief Lalu Prasad's daughter Misa Bharti and her husband, is "involved" in money laundering and ordered that the attachment of the asset should continue.

The central probe agency had provisionally attached the immovable asset, located on a 12-bigha land in south Delhi's Bijwasan area, in September last yearunder the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

"Considering the material (filed) in the original complaint (by the Enforcement Directorate)...I find the property provisionally attached is involved in money laundering.

"I, therefore, hereby confirm the attachment of the property...and order that the said attachment shall continue during the pendency of the proceedings related to the offence under the PMLA before a court and become final after an order of confiscation is passed by the special court," therecent order issued by Member (Law) of the Adjudicating Authority of the PMLA, Tushar V Shah, said.

The ED has now seized the property, agency sources said.

The property belongs to Misa Bharti and husband Shailesh Kumar and is held in the name of Ms Mishail Packers and Printers Pvt Ltd, the central probe agency had said.

The agency had said that its investigation found that the farmhouse was purchased "using Rs 1.2 crore involved in money laundering in the year 2008-09."



The ED is probing Misa Bharti, an RJD MP in the Rajya Sabha, and her husband as part of its criminal probe in a Rs 8,000 crore alleged money laundering case involving shell or bogus companies and two Delhi-based alleged entry operators Surendra Jain and Virendra Jain.

Jains were brothers and had been arrested by the ED in this case in the past.

It had also arrested an accountant, Rajesh Agrawal, who mediated and provided a cash amount of Rs 90 lakh to the Jain brothers in advance so as to invest in Ms Mishail Packers and Printers Pvt Ltd as share premium".

One of the firms that the Jain brothers dealt with was Mishail Printers and Packers Pvt Ltd. Bharti and her husband had been directors of this firm in the past.

The company, Mishail Packers and Printers, was registered at the address 25, Tuglak Road, New Delhi till the shares were bought by Misa Bharti.

It was only during the year 2009-10 that the address was changed to farm no 26 Palam Farms, VPO Bijwasan, New Delhi. Bharti and Kumar were the directors of the company during the relevant period, the ED had claimed.

The couple have been interrogated and their statements recorded by the ED.

The agency said the Jain brothers, accountant Agrawal and the daughter and the son-in-law of the former Bihar chief minister were the key persons behind the money laundering of Rs 1.20 crore.

The ED had also conducted raids at the farm house and few other locations linked to Misa Bharti, her husband and others in July last year.

The accused can appeal against this order, issued by the authority, before the Appellate Tribunal of the Act.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Democratic lawmakers released a partially-redacted rebuttal today of a controversial Republican memo alleging bias and abuse of power in the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.

The Democratic document -- which President Donald Trump dubbed a "political and legal BUST" -- is the latest salvo in a partisan fight over the Russia investigation, which was launched in 2016 and has come under repeated fire from Trump and other Republicans.

The Republican memo, which was released earlier this month over the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Department of Justice's objections, said that unsubstantiated Democrat-funded research was used to obtain a warrant to surveil Carter Page, a former Trump campaign aide.

"FBI and DOJ officials did not 'abuse' the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) process, omit material information, or subvert this vital tool to spy on the Trump campaign," the Democrats' text said, referring to the process under which secret surveillance warrants are obtained.

"In fact, DOJ and the FBI would have been remiss in their duty to protect the country had they not sought a FISA warrant and repeated renewals to conduct temporary surveillance of Carter Page, someone the FBI assessed to be an agent of the Russian government.

"DOJ cited multiple sources to support the case for surveilling Page," and "the warrant request was based on compelling evidence and probable cause," said the document.

The White House initially blocked the release of the Democratic memo, citing its inclusion of sensitive information, and Trump took aim at the now-redacted text.

"The Democrat memo response on government surveillance abuses is a total political and legal BUST. Just confirms all of the terrible things that were done. SO ILLEGAL!" he wrote on Twitter.

White House spokesman Raj Shah termed it a "political-driven document" that is "loaded with uncorroborated allegations" and "fails to answer serious concerns raised" in the Republican memo.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)At least two people were wounded as police fired live bullets and tear gas today to break up a banned protest against DR Congo President Joseph Kabila in Kisangani, the country's third largest city, a reporter said.

Hundreds starting marching after mass at the city's cathedral but were dispersed by security forces.

At least two people suffered bullet injuries, and the demonstrators fled back into the cathedral singing the national anthem, "Debout Congolais" (Arise Congolese), the AFP journalist said.

Three priests were arrested as they led a march in the Saint Pierre de Wagenia district in the east of the city. Officers took them away in a police jeep.

Young people in Kisangani's busy Mangobo district gathered on the streets just metres from soldiers of Republican Guard, the elite unit charged with protecting Kabila.

The church-backed protest against President Joseph Kabila's refusal to step down after his long expired mandate was banned by authorities.

It had been called by the Lay Coordination Committee (CLC), an organisation close to the church and an influential social and spiritual force.

Previous protests on New Year's Eve and January 21 saw a total of 15 people killed by security forces, according to tolls given by organisers and the United Nations. The government said just two people died in those protests.

Kabila was due to stand down from office in December 2016, ending his second elected term, but he has controversially stayed on under laws enabling him to retain power until his successor is elected.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Hyderabad-based e-education company PULSUS plans to invest Rs 500 crore in Uttar Pradesh, a senior company official said.

The company has already signed an MoU with Uttar Pradesh government for the proposed investment.

"We signed a pact during the recently concluded Investors Summit in the state capital," PULSUS Chief Executive Officer Srinubabu Gedela said.

As per the plan, a 1,000-seat global scientific literature language transformation centre will be set up in Noida, UP, with an investment outlay of 500 crore, he said.

The centre will focus on skill development and translation of global scientific and healthcare information to Hindi Telugu, Malayalam, Tamil, Gujarati and Bengali with the support from the Uttar Pradesh government.

To begin with PULSUS Noida centre will focus on translation and create jobs for life sciences and pharma graduates, graduating from government and other educational institutions in UP."



PULSUS Group operatesmore than 1,000 journals and 25 million pages literature in healthcare and scientific fields. Headquartered at Singapore, the group has presence in the UK, Canada and India.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)(CNN)  President Donald Trump announced Friday that the U.S. Treasury Department is imposing new sanctions against North Korea specifically targeting the country's shipping and trading companies and vessels in an effort to further isolate the rogue regime.

Senior administration officials told reporters on Friday that Trump would discuss new sanctions on North Korea during his speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference and touted the sanctions as the headline of the of the speech.

But it took the President nearly 80 minutes to mention the sanctions  which he did only briefly  at the end of his free-wheeling speech.

"North Korea, we imposed today the heaviest sanctions ever imposed by our country before. And frankly, hopefully something positive can happen. We will see, but hopefully something positive can happen," Trump said. "That just was announced and I wanted to let you know."

In its latest step to heighten its economic warfare against North Korea, the U.S. government imposed sanctions against 27 entities and 28 vessels either registered or flagged in several countries, including North Korea, China and Singapore.

In a statement on Friday, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the U.S. is "aggressively targeting all illicit avenues used by North Korea to evade sanctions, including taking decisive action to block vessels, shipping companies, and entities across the globe that work on North Korea's behalf."

Sixteen North Korean shipping companies were sanctioned including Chonmyong Shipping Company Limited, Hapjanggang Shipping and Korea Achim Shipping Co.

Nine international shipping companies and nine vessels were also added to the U.S. sanctions list: Asia Bridge 1, Hao Fan 2 and Xin Guang Hai. Along with international companies such as Shandong, China-based Weihai World-Shipping Freight and Shanghai, China-based Shangahi Dongfeng Shipping Co. Ltd.

The U.S. government also labeled a Taiwanese citizen, Tsang Yung Yuan, who has coordinated North Korea coal exports with a Russia-based North Korean broker.

Tsang has a record of sanctions evasion activities, according to Treasury.

Treasury, along with the State Department and U.S. Coast Guard, also warned the public of significant sanctions they could face if they help to enable any shipments to goods to and from North Korea in an advisory.

The agencies also alerted those industries of North Korea's deceptive shipping practices.

"The President has made it clear to companies worldwide that if they choose to help fund North Korea's nuclear ambitions, they will not do business with the United States," Mnuchin said.

North Korea has been known to falsify and conceal information displayed on North Korean vessels and conduct ship-to-ship transfers, currently prohibited by the United Nations.

While these sanctions solely focus on "elicit maritime activity," administration officials made it clear that they are part of the maximum pressure campaign aimed at denuclearization.

The point of these sanctions, an official said, is not just to punish the rouge nation, but to raise "the cost of doing business with North Korea" for other countries.

"The President is clearly frustrated, and rightly so, over efforts that have failed in the past and also over the uptick in testing and the advancements we have seen in the North Korean program in the recent period of time and over the last couple of decades," an official said.

The announcement comes while the President's daughter and senior adviser Ivanka Trump is in South Korea for the closing days of the 2018 Winter Olympics.

According to Mnuchin, she briefed South Korean President Moon Jae-in about the new North Korea sanctions.

"Ivanka Trump has been briefed on this," Mnuchin said. "She has been part of the team. She had dinner with President Moon and had a private discussion in advance about this occurring and this has been an interagency process."

Asked if she had the appropriate security clearance, Mnuchin said, "She has the appropriate access to brief the president."

During a pre-dinner briefing with Moon, Ivanka said her visit was to "reaffirm our commitment to our maximum pressure campaign to ensure that the Korean Peninsula is denuclearized." She added that discussions with South Korea would touch on "joint values and strategic cooperation as partners and allies."

During the dinner, President Moon said that the denuclearization dialogue and the inter-Korean dialogue on the Korean Peninsula cannot go separately, and this process should progress hand-in-hand, according to Yoon Young-chan, a spokesperson for the presidential Blue House in Seoul.

Moon also said it is important for South Korea and the US to cooperate closely, the spokesperson said.

Moon said North Korea's participation in the Olympics was an "opportunity" for inter-Korean dialogue, which had "led to lowering of tensions on the peninsula and an improvement in inter-Korean relations."

He also thanked "President Trump's strong support for inter-Korean dialogue."

This story was first published on cnn.com, "Trump announces new North Korea sanctions."Former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda today launched a scathing attack on the BJP government in the state, alleging that every section of the society, including farmers, traders and government employees were fed up with this "anti-people" dispensation.

He urged the people of Haryana to get rid of the "anti-people" BJP government in the state in the next Assembly polls.

At the launch of his "Jankranti Rath Yatra" in Anaj Mandi in Hodal the Congress leader alleged that the BJP had not fulfilled even one of the 154 promises it made before the Assembly elections three and a half years ago.

Hooda, who addressed the rally from a wheelchair after suffering an ankle fracture about two weeks ago, said all sections of the society including farmers, workers, government employees, traders, and youth, are suffering because of "anti-people policies" of the state government.

"The situation in the state is going from bad to worse," he alleged.

Hooda started his 'Rath Yatra' from Palwal's Hodal town, which is at the southern tip of the state, and would cover all 90 Assembly constituencies.

Alleging that farmers in the state are not getting even half the value of their crop, what they got during the Congress rule, he said, "The government has repeatedly used force against farmers whenever they raise their demands, like they did a few days ago."



The former chief minister said the BJP had promised to bring back black money stashed overseas and that Rs 15 lakh would be deposited to every bank account.

"But once in power they went back on this promise," he said.

Expressing concern over the law-and-order situation in the state, Hooda alleged that rape, loot, murder and dacoity were rampant.

About the Sutlej Yamuna Link canal issue, he said work on the canal was started from the Kapoori village in Punjab in 1982 by then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.

Most of the work on the canal was completed under the Congress rule but as soon as the BJP came to power in Haryana, it started closing the canal, Hooda alleged.

He claimed that northern parts of Haryana were irrigated mainly by tube-wells and the Congress government had started work on the Dadupur-Nalwi canal to replenish ground water but the BJP government in the state decided to scrap the project.

"The BJP government has no understanding of the consequences," Hooda said.

He called on Congress workers to take the message of party president Rahul Gandhi and former president Sonia Gandhi to every village and town in the state, and told them to prepare for the Jan Kranti Yatra, "which would be a movement for bringing back the lost glory of the state".

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)National Conference president Farooq Abdullah today expressed grief over Sridevi's death, saying the veteran actor's demise has created a void in the film industry.

"The of her death left me heartbroken. She was an iconic artiste and her performance, both in Bollywood and south Indian films, was matchless," Abdullah told reporters on the sidelines of a function here.

Sridevi, wife of producer Boney Kapoor, died reportedly due to cardiac arrest in Dubai, where she had gone to attend the wedding ceremony of her nephew, Mohit Marwah.

A Padma Shri awardee, Sridevi had an illustrious career spanning over four decades. She was 54.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)The high-octane Meghalaya and Nagaland poll campaign during which barbs flew thick and fast among parties ended today.

Voting in the two states, both having 60-member assemblies, will take place on Tuesday. The results will be declared on March 3 along with that of Tripura, where elections were held on February 18.

The BJP is making a determined bid to expand its footprint in the Northeast, buoyed by formation of its governments in Assam, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh.

Meghalaya, in particular, is important for the Congress, which has ruled it for 10 years.

But, this time the BJP is making a determined effort to throw them out of power and include Meghalaya, a next door neighbour of BJP-ruled Assam, in its kitty.

BJP's resolve could be gauged from the fact that Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself spearheaded the campaign. Party chief Amit Shah, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, I&B minister Smriti Irani and a host of other leaders also chipped in.

Union Minister of State for Tourism K J Alphons, a Christian from Kerala, stayed put in Meghalaya as the BJP in- charge of the state with a predominant Christian population.

From the Congress, its president Rahul Gandhi campaigned in the state. Its media chief Randeep Singh Surjewala and MP Shashi Tharoor extended helping hands.

With a total of 25 Lok Sabha seats and 14 Rajya Sabha berths, the eight states of the region are crucial for the BJP to add up to its number in 2019 general election.

At present, the BJP has eight Lok Sabha members from the region, and the Congress has seven.

In the Rajya Sabha, out of total 14 seats, the BJP has one and the Congress nine. The rest are with local parties.

As the clock ticked 4 pm, campaigning ended in both Meghalaya and Nagaland.

The Congress and the BJP are slugging it out in Meghalaya. The Congress has fielded 59 candidates, while the BJP has put up nominees in 47 constituencies.

Though they are fighting separately, in Meghalaya NPP of Conrad Sangma, son of former Lok Sabha Speaker P A Sangma, is the BJP's partner in NEDA (North East Democratic Alliance).

In Nagaland, the BJP's hope hinges on its alliance partner NDPP (Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party) of Neiphiu Rio which is contesting 40 seats. The BJP is fighting 20.

The Congress, which has given three chief ministers to Nagaland, is contesting only 18 seats, two less than the BJP.

Voting will take place for 59 seats each in Meghalaya and Nagaland.

In Meghalaya, election has been countermanded in Williamnagar in the wake of the killing of NCP candidate Jonathone N Sangma in an IED blast during campaigning.

In Nagaland, NDPP chief Neiphiu Rio has been declared elected unopposed from the Northern Angami-II constituency.

There are 370 candidates in the fray in Meghalaya whose fate would be decided by EVMs on February 27.

A total of 18.4 lakh voters are eligible to exercise their franchise at 3,083 polling stations in the state.

Chief Electoral Officer F R Kharkongor said 67 all-women polling stations and 61 model polling stations have been set up for the first time in the state.

Thirty-two women are in the fray, the maximum so far in electoral in the state, he said.

A total of 11,91,513 voters, including 5,89,806 women will exercise their franchise on February 27.

Voting will be held in 2,156 polling stations as 40 polling stations falls under the Northern Angami-II seat, from where Rio has won unopposed.

Election process in Nagaland started on a difficult note.

In view of no-election diktat from the Core Committee of Nagaland Tribal Hohos and Civil Organisations advocating "solution (to the Naga political issue) before election" , political parties initially kept away from poll.

Though filing of nominations started on January 31, the first batch of 22 contestants filed their nominations only on the penultimate day on February 6. The last day saw heavy rush of nominees filing papers.

After scrutiny and withdrawal, a total of 227 nominees are left in the field.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)A fire broke out at a textile mill run by the National Textile Corporation (NTC) here early today, but no injury or casualty was reported, an official said.

Around 2.30 am, the fire brigade received a call about the blaze at the textile unit located in Chandbarh area, Bhopal Municipal Corporation's (BMC) fire officer Sajid Khan told PTI.

Initially, two fire tenders were sent to the textile mill. However, as the blaze gradually spread in the premises, more fire tenders from the city and nearby towns of Mandideep and Sehore were rushed to the site, he said.

"Fire tenders of the Army and the police were also pressed into service. It took about seven hours for around 40 fire tenders to control the flames, but by then the entire unit was gutted," Khan said.

The BMC fire officer said there were inadequate arrangements for fire control in the mill campus.

NTC's general manager Ajay Kumar Dixit said the fire broke out in one of two units and the staff were working there.

"The gutted premises is one of two units of the textile mill. The second unit and godown in the campus are safe. Loss of property in the blaze is being estimated," he said.

Only usable yarn was in the unit which was gutted, Dixit said, adding the exact cause of the fire would be known after an inquiry.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Forest officials have seized a nine-feet-long leopard skin and arrested two Bhutanese nationals in Jalpaiguri district today.

A special team of the forest department, on the basis of a tip-off, conducted a raid at a house in Nagrakata and seized the skin from the duo, forest officials said.

During interrogation, they said that they were about to smuggle the leopard skin to Nepal, Forest Ranger Officer of Belakoba Range Sanjay Dutta said.

One such skin could fetch up to Rs 1 lakh, he added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)The city-based Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) wants artists and technicians from movie industries across the globe to come here and use its expertise to hone their skills.

The FTII has requested the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) to identify countries from where it can invite artists and technicians to take help of the prestigious institute's expertise in film training and education.

In the last nine months, the FTII has successfully conducted several short-term courses, like film appreciation, screen acting, digital cinematography, screenplay writing and fiction writing, in various institutions across the country for the film and TV industries, said the institute's director, Bhupendra Kainthola.

"Besides, a group of 20 actors from Nepal has been undergoing a short course in 'screen acting' here in the institute, which is the first initiative one of its kind by the Ministry of External Affairs," he said.

The FTII is regarded as a centre of excellence across the world and the films made by its students have been well received in festivals in India and abroad, apart from winning various national and international awards, he said.

The institute has a long list of prominent alumni, including filmmakers Adoor Gopalakrishnan, Girish Kasaravalli and Vidhu Vinod Chopra, and actors Om Puri, Naseeruddin Shah, Jaya Bachchan and Shabana Azmi.

"The FTII alumni have left an indelible imprint on all facets of the Indian cinema and television and have built an excellent reputation worldwide too," the director said.

"With these strengths, we now want to go international and have a global footprint," he said.

"We have approached the MEA and expressed our willingness to conduct short courses for artists and technicians from other countries, specially in Asia and Africa," he said.

He said, "When we talk of India's soft power, then not only cinema but (aspects like) film education, film learningand film training ought to be a part ofthe canvas."



"We have designed a lot of courses and trained our alumni as the resource persons and we are confident of taking a leap overseas and helping the film industries abroad with our expertise," he said.

Kainthola said the Indian embassy in Nepal had approached the FTII to consider facilitating a short course for some of the actors from the Himalayan nation.

With the help of the MEA, the 20-day course in 'screen acting' for 20 actors - 12 male and eight female - from Nepal started recently, he said.

"It is up to the MEA which countries to choose. If we get a green signal, we will barely need a month's time to finalise the nitty-gritty of the project," Kainthola said.

"Since all these short courses will be customised, if given a go ahead, we would first seek profiles of the target participants and according to their needs, the course material will be designed or modified," he added.

Siddharth Shasta, an associate professor in the FTII's acting department and the coordinator of the short course for the Nepalese actors, said their core staff will not be working on these training programmes.

"We have trained resources in the form of our alumni and they have been given the responsibility to conduct such courses," he said.

Right now, the 20 actors, aged between 25 and 35, who have taken up the course at the FTII, are all established names in the Nepal's film industry.

Some of these actors belong to families traditionally associated with the Nepalese film industry and others have worked in TV serials, commercials, music videos and theatre, Shasta said.

Nepalese actor Sabina Gopali, currently undergoing the course at the FTII, said she is confident that the training programme will benefit her in professional and personal life.

Another Nepalese film actor, Kamal Raj Bhatta, said he never came across such methods of acting in his country.

He is hopeful that the course will enhance his acting skills.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Ghulam Nabi Azad, today criticised Army Chief Gen. Bipin Rawat over his comment on Assam-based political party AIUDF and said the armed force should maintain its non-political character.

"We take pride in the fact that our Army is non-political unlike in some of our neighbouring countries. Since India's Independence, the Army has been a non-political outfit. It should remain like that," Azad said at a press conference here.

The senior Congress leader said, "We have great regard for the Army -- our protector. But it should not be concerned about which political party has grown or where it has got support from."



On February 21, Rawat had said the All India United Democratic Front's (AIUDF) grew "faster" than the BJP in the 1980s.

The Army chief was referring to reports of increase in the Muslim population in several Assam districts.

At a seminar in the national capital, the Army chief had also said that a "planned" influx of people from Bangladesh into the Northeast is taking place as part of proxy warfare by Pakistan, with support from China, with an aim to keep the area disturbed.

AIUDF president Badruddin Ajmal had alleged that Rawat had overstepped his "constitutional jurisdiction" while making the remarks.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Closure of Vodafone and Idea's mobile tower sale deal, and raising FDI limit in the Aditya Birla group firm are holding the government's approval to the merger of two operators' to create the largest Indian telecom player, according to sources.

According to a senior official, the government is awaiting for closure of Vodafone and Idea mobile tower sale transaction with American Tower Corporation.

"Approval to Idea and Vodafone will be granted once their mobile tower sale is completed," the senior government official, who was here to take part in the Mobile World Congress starting tomorrow, told PTI.

People closely involved in the Vodafone-Idea merger process said the transaction closure is a procedural issue, and will be done very soon as ATC has already applied for government's permission to make the investment in towers assets of the two

"Besides ATC deal closure, Idea has applied for raising FDI limit in the company to 100 per cent. The clearance on the same is awaited from the Ministry of Home Affairs," an industry source said.

ATC will pay a total of Rs 78.5 billion (Rs 7,850 crore) for purchasing Idea Rs 40 billion (Rs 4,000 crore ) and Vodafone's Rs 38.5 billion (Rs 3,850 crore) mobile towers.

When contacted, the Vodafone global spokesperson said "The standalone tower sale is not a condition to completing the merger with Idea."



The discussion around Idea and Vodafone exiting Indus Towers by selling stake to Bharti Infratel is not part of the process for government approval for the merger.

The merged Idea-Vodafone entity will have the second largest spectrum holding of 1,850 megahertz.

The amalgamation will also result in capex synergies, since it will eliminate the duplication of spectrum capacity and infrastructure related requirements.

Idea and Vodafone are separately paying rental for 6,300 mobile sites which will be synced for merged entity in two years.

However, the combined entity will breach the spectrum holding limit in five circles under the 900MHz band, one circle under the 1,800MHz band and two circles under the 2,500MHz band with the cumulative value of around Rs 9,000 crore as per the prices of latest auction.

This will be resolved if Cabinet approves raising of spectrum holding limit as recommended by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) and concurred by the Telecom Commission.

The regulator had recommended removing ceiling on spectrum held by mobile operators within a particular band. It suggested a 50 per cent cap on combined radiowave holding in efficient bands like 700 MHz, 800 MHz and 900 MHz.

Airtel will continue to be the largest spectrum holder with 1,976 Mhz after acquisition of Telenor, Tata Teleservices and Tikona airwaves.

The revenue market share of Vodafone-Idea merged entity will be slightly higher at 37.5 per cent compared to that of Airtel's at 37.3 per cent.The Delhi High Court has asked the trial court to review once a month progress of the probe into the disappearance of a St Stephen's Hospital doctor as well as into the alleged murder of his colleague of which he is accused.

A bench of justices S Muralidhar and I S Mehta passed the order disposing a plea filed by Vandana Gupta who had moved the court to ascertain the whereabouts of her son Dr Suyash Gupta.

The bench has recorded in its order that a status report was filed by the Delhi Police detailing the probe undertaken by the Sabzi Mandi Police to ascertain the whereabouts of the doctor.

It also stated that the report could not be shared with the doctor's mother at this stage. "This status report, therefore, be kept in a sealed cover by the registry and not be permitted for inspection except under orders of the court," it added.

The doctor, who has been missing since August last year, is a prime suspect in the death case of fellow doctor Shashwat Pande.

Addressing the concerns of the mother that the status reports were merely cut-paste copies of earlier reports and that no real progress was being made in the case, the bench noted that every possible effort was being made to find him.

"Having gone through the status reports presented thus far, including the one presented to it in a sealed cover, the court is unable to accept the above submission. The petitioner should rest assured that every possible effort is being made by the police from all possible angles to unearth the truth, the order states.

The high court has directed the metropolitan magistrate hearing the matter to list the case at least once every month to review the progress made in the investigation.

In her habeas corpus, the mother through her counsel Jayant Bhatt had sought the high court's intervention to direct the police to find her son who has been missing since the day of the killing.

Pande was working as an intern in the radiology department of the hospital and was found dead inside the hospital's CT scan lab in August last year. His throat had been slit, presumably with a surgical blade.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)The Jammu and Kashmir Congress today claimed that the heavy shelling by Pakistani troops has led to a "war-like situation" along the Line of Control and the International Border.

Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee chief G A Mir expressed concern over the repeated ceasefire violations by Pakistani troops in Uri sector in north Kashmir and urged the state government to ensure the safety of border residents.

"It was after over 15 years that Pakistan resorted to heavy shelling in Uri sector forcing local people to migrate to safer places," Mir said.

"The repeated ceasefire violations have led to a war-like situation time and again all along the Line of Control and the International Border in recent years, leading to heavy causalities of civilians and Army jawans," Mir said.

He questioned the success of the policy of the BJP government at the Centre towards the neighbouring country.

He said the BJP used to question the policy of the previous UPA government even though the situation was comparatively much better on the borders with Pakistan, with fewer ceasefire violations and lesser number of causalities.

"An unfortunate situation prevailing along IB and LoC in the state due to unabated ceasefire violations was adversely affecting the lives of border residents who had to suffer huge losses in recent years," he said.

Pakistani troops have resorted to heavy shelling of late.

At least 19 people - 10 security personnel and nine civilians - have died and more than 75 people injured in Pakistani shelling along LoC and IB in Jammu region this year until February 14.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)(CNN)  After a controversy-mired seven days in India, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau finally received an all-important hug.

Arriving at an official reception in New Delhi Friday, Trudeau was at last met by his Indian counterpart Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who clasped the Canadian leader in his arms.

Following bilateral talks, the two leaders appeared side-by-side at a press conference at Rashtrapati Bhavan, the Indian presidential palace, Friday afternoon.

Trudeau, who leaves India Saturday, reiterated the two countries rich shared history and natural kinship.

Discussing the possibility of expanding trade links, Trudeau described India as "a natural partner and a trusted friend for commercial cooperation."

Modi, too, appeared to underscore the links between the two countries.

"India has attached a high importance to pursuing its strategic partnership with Canada," he said. "Our ties are based on democracy, pluralism, the supremacy of law and the mutual interaction."

Trudeau's India trip has been at times overshadowed by a series of poorly-judged missteps and unfortunate headlines, including the suggestion he had been deliberately "snubbed" by Modi over the Canadian government's alleged indulgence of Sikh separatists.

The fact that the two leaders didn't meet  and hug  until seven days into the trip, has played in stark contrast with the recent visit of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who just last month was greeted with a trademark bear hug by Modi immediately upon landing in Delhi.

Other recipients of Modi's exuberant embrace include current and former U.S. presidents Donald Trump and Barack Obama.

Addressing the issue of extremism during the press conference, Modi said terrorism was a "threat to countries like ours and to fight these elements it is important for us to come together."

Modi's comments follow revelations Thursday that a militant Sikh separatist convicted of attempting to murder an Indian politician in Canada had been invited to dine with Trudeau at the Canadian High Commissioner's residence in New Delhi.

The official invitation, which was later rescinded, stirred outrage in parts of India, where the issue of Sikh separatism remains a highly charged and emotive topic.

Though he didn't reference Sikh separatism by name, Modi added that "there should be no space for those who seek to divide communities and promote separatism. We will not tolerate those who challenge unity and integrity of our countries."

Separatism returns

The relatively obscure issue of Sikh separatism has dogged Trudeau throughout the week-long trip.

Canada is home to about 468,000 Sikhs, comprising 1.4 percent of its population. A small but influential number of those Sikhs support the idea of Khalistan or the demand for a separate state for Indian Sikhs.

The separatist issue goes back decades in India, with one of the most important clashes occurring in 1984 when Indian Army soldiers stormed the Golden Temple in Amritsar, Sikhs' holiest site, in an effort to capture separatist leaders.

In retaliation, India's then-leader, Indira Gandhi, was assassinated by her two Sikh bodyguards.

According to official figures, the resulting anti-Sikh riots saw 2,733 people killed in the Indian capital alone. Human rights activists say the death toll was significantly higher.

In 1985, the violence spilled over into Canada, when Sikh separatists bombed an Air India plane that had taken off from Toronto airport, killing all 329 people aboard, including numerous Canadians of Indian descent.

The only person who was convicted in the bombing was released in 2017 by Canadian courts after two decades in jail.

An armed Sikh rebellion operated in Punjab, the heartland of the faith, from the 1980s to the early 1990s, when it was crushed. Today the majority of support comes from the Sikh diaspora, especially in Canada.

Trudeau has actively courted the Sikh vote, previously proclaiming that his cabinet has more Sikhs than Modi's.

Analysts say a particular area of contention during Trudeau's India visit, was his appearance at a Sikh event in Toronto last year, where separatist flags and posters depicting an extremist Sikh leader killed in the 1984 Indian Army operation were displayed.

Speaking to CNN Tuesday, India's former ambassador to Canada Vishnu Prakash said Sikh separatism was a matter of greater concern inside India than in Canada.

"It goes to the core of India's unity and integrity and that is an issue that needs to be sorted out between the two countries (Canada and India)," said Prakash, who described the event Trudeau attended in Toronto last year as "an out and out Khalistani platform."

This story was first published on cnn.com, "Trudeau's India trip, mired in controversy, ends with a hug."Chemical products manufacturer Hindcon Chemicals on Sunday said its initial public offer (IPO) will open tomorrow to raise up to Rs 77.3 million.

The company said it will use the proceeds to meet working capital requirements, general corporate purposes and expenses.

The IPO will put to offer 2,760,000 equity shares of face value of Rs 10 each at a cash price of Rs 28 per piece. The issue closes on February 28.

"With several decades of concrete experience in the field, wide range of products and strong R&D back-up, the company is poised for strong growth and well positioned to become a leader in the segment, increase its market share and profitability," Sanjay Goenka, Managing Director and Promoter of the company said in a statement.

In 2016-17, the company's net revenue of operations was Rs 339.4 million, of which 32.14 per cent came from exports to Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh.

The key product portfolio of Hindcon includes protective waterproofing coatings, sodium silicates, concrete & mortar admixtures, epoxy grouts & mortars, waterproofing compounds, shotcrete aids, remover cleaning compounds, sealants, tile adhesives, among others.is set to commission two new mills in Rajasthan with a joint capacity of 3 million tonnes (MT) of ore-treatment with an investment of Rs 6 billion, a top company official said.

After the commissioning of the new mills, the ore treatment capacity will increase to 17.5 MT from the current 14.5 MT per annum.

"Setting up of new mills is part of our plan to match growing demand of zinc in India. With over 3 MT of additional treatment of ore, we would be able to increase the substantial volume of metal.

"We are on our course to produce 1.2 MT of metal and moving steadily to produce 1.5 MT. We are investing close to Rs 6 billion to set up these two new mills," CEO Sunil Duggal told PTI.

Moving towards a fully under-ground mining company by FY2019, the company aims to take its zinc production to 1.5 MT in the next five years.

"Both the new mills are expected to be commissioned by Q3 of FY2019," Duggal said.

He said the first mill of 1.5 MT is being commissioned at Zawar mines, about 45 km away from Udaipur. Zawars current ore treatment capacity is 2.5 MT, and post setting up of new mill of 1.5 MT, the ore treatment capacities would increase to 4 MT.

Zawar has four mines with combined ore production capacity of 4 MT which is being expanded to 8 MT in the next five years through mechanisation and switching over to trackless mining.

Duggal said the second mill of 1.5 MT is being commissioned at Sindesar Khurd mine in Rajsamand district in Rajasthan. Sindesar Khurd mines current ore treatment capacity is 4.5 MT which would increase to 6 MT after commissioning of the mill.

Sindesar Khurd mine is known for its silver production.

Duggal said is transitioning to become a fully under-ground mining company by FY 2019.

The company is also setting up fumer plant to further improve recovery of metals from the slag to boost its metal production, particularly lead-silver with an investment of Rs 5.7 billion.

"Our fumer plant is also on track for commissioning soon. This will give us the technology to extract lead and silver from waste, Duggal said.

The company has plans to put-up three fumer plants overall at its locations in Rajasthan.

He said since disinvestment in 2002, Hindustan Zinc has invested over $3 billion in expansion programmes to reach the metal production capacity of 1 million tonne.

Analysts have projected the global zinc market to grow at a CAGR of 3.96 per cent during 2017-2021.The alleged assault on Delhi Chief Secretary Anshu Prakash has created a trust deficit between the bureaucracy and the AAP government that will be difficult to bridge, former chief secretaries feel.

Three former top bureaucrats of Delhi -- D M Spolia, P K Tripathi and Rakesh Mehta -- said the alleged attack on Prakash by AAP MLAs last week was a culmination of a series of events in which bureaucrats had been targeted for reportedly not toeing the line of the Arvind Kejriwal government.

Spolia, who had two stints as Delhi chief secretary and also worked under the AAP government briefly, said the incident was a case of "bad manners, lack of etiquette and lack of decency" while Tripathi alleged the Kejriwal government seemed to believe if it subjected "the bureaucracy to torture...then they (the bureaucracy) will toe the line."



"You can have differences of opinion, but you don't manhandle people," Spolia told PTI.

The incident had sent shock waves among civil servants, said Spolia, who was the chief secretary from January 2013 to January 2014 and then between August 2014 and February 2015.

He warned that no bureaucrat would now feel comfortable offering the right kind of advice for the fear of being assaulted.

Asked if the incident had created a trust deficit between the bureaucracy and the AAP government, Spolia said in Hindi, "Aankh se aankh mila ke kaam kaise karenge (How will they face each other and work)."



Spolia said, "When you abuse so completely and with such contempt, do you think the bureaucracy would like to face you? Would they like to come in your presence? Nobody would like to work with you. When cracks develop, you can paper over them, but you can hardly wipe them out. Injuries and scars are very different. Injuries heal, scars stay."Tripathi, who was the chief secretary of Delhi between 2011 and 2012, dismissed AAP's charge that the alleged assault was politically-motivated, saying no chief secretary would make such a wild allegation "unless, someone is actually subjected to this assault".

"Mr Anshu Prakash is a very mild person, very cultured. It is beyond him to make a false allegation," the former bureaucrat told PTI.

He held that this was a culmination of a series of events.

"Right from the time this government has taken charge, they have the belief it appears that if they subject the bureaucracy to torture...then they (the bureaucracy) will toe the line," Tripathi said.

Talking about the repercussions of the incident, he said it had created a trust deficit while pointing out that it was not normal for IAS officers to protest.

"We definitely want that at least the head of the government must come forward and establish trust. More the delay in taking remedial action, the trust will not be total," Tripathi said.

Asked if the incident was being considered by the bureaucracy as an assault on the right to work freely, Tripathi said, "Absolutely. I met a number of officers. I also met a number of my successors who have worked with the government and they all were humiliated and were issued notices and memos for no fault of their own."



Mehta, who was the chief secretary of Delhi between 2007 and 2011, said the alleged attack on the senior most civil servant of the government was an assault on the entire bureaucracy.

The incident, Mehta said, was the "culmination of the distrust" growing over a period of time.

Asked if the issue could be settled with an apology from the chief minister, he said, "It's too late. Already so much time has gone. If he had to apologise he would have done it a long time ago."



Mehta said creating trust between the bureaucracy and the AAP government was very difficult now.

Spolia said the alleged assault was the culmination of a number of incidents which had been reported in the media.

He claimed governance was rapidly being dismantled in the union territory of Delhi, with far-reaching consequences.

"Mrs (Sheila) Dikshit ran her government with the same very BJP government (at the Centre), when Mr Vajpayee was in power. If you seek cooperation, if you reach out, I am sure cooperation will be provided," he said.

Aam Aadmi Party legislators Prakash Jarwal and Amantullah Khan have been arrested by the police in connection with the alleged assault on Prakash during a meeting at Kejriwal's residence last week.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)With the alleged role of auditors coming into focus in the Rs 114 billion PNB fraud, chartered accountants' body ICAI said it has taken a statement from a senior official of the bank and emphasised it would not be prudent to draw any conclusion against the profession till disciplinary proceedings are completed.

Besides, issuing show cause notices to the auditors of Punjab National Bank and Gitanjali Gems, which is involved in the scam, the institute has constituted a high-powered group to study the issues in the case as well as suggest remedial measures for the banking system.

Against the backdrop of concerns in certain quarters about alleged lapses of auditors and others in detecting the fraud, the ICAI came out with a long statement saying that it supports every effort of strengthening the existing mechanism.

The ICAI's high-powered group on the PNB matter held its first meeting on February 23. "The officers of PNB were called by ICAI to appear and produce copy of all related documents in the said frauds. General Manager, Western Zone, PNB appeared and made his statement in Mumbai, it said.

The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) has already issued show cause notice to all central statutory auditors of PNB and the auditors of Gitanjali Gems.

"As such, ICAI's commitment to be pro-active regulator of the auditing and accounting profession through investigation is to ensure accelerated conclusion of proceedings and take action against those members of chartered accountant profession who are involved in the fraud at PNB.

"... till the time disciplinary inquiry is concluded, and the role of all those who acted in fiduciary responsibility is established in the matter, it would not be prudent to draw any conclusion against the profession," it noted.

Further, the institute said its disciplinary directorate suo moto has started investigation and has issued letters to Sebi, CBI and ED seeking details about the fraud.

Multiple agencies are probing the PNB case, which is one of the biggest frauds in the country's banking system.From his tweets to his unkempt hair, comedians in the United States have poked fun at every aspect of US President Donald Trump. So when Rajiv Satyal began his comedy show here, it was thought he would start with a joke targeting the American leader.

A U.S. government representative had earlier set the stage.

"I am speaking on behalf of the United States government... and my boss told me these guys can say whatever they want and about whoever they want," said the official at the American Center while opening an event called 'Cultural Connections Through Humour'.

But while the audience saw it as a cue for Satyal, the Indian-American comedian didnt think so.

The US President, Donald Trump, is for my rants and not jokes, he said, in conversation with writer and story-teller Maheep Singh at the Center recently.

"When people ask me 'why don't you do more of Trump jokes?' I say I don't because I am too pi**ed off. If you really want me to do what I really think then it is not going to be funny...it is going to be the opposite," said the funny guy in seemingly an angry tone.

However, his tirade was not limited to Donald Trump and the happenings in the USA alone.

The Los Angeles-based artist, who created the much watched I am an Indian video, said he was equally "mad" at India under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The 41-year-old comedian went on to call the two leaders the American president and Indian prime minister "fascist".

"You can tell because they put their face all over. That's a fascist cue. They put their name and face over everything. They always have a cult of personality," said Satyal, who did an opening act before Modi's appearance at the SAP Center in San Jose during the prime ministers visit to the US in 2015.

Satyal, however, stressed that the US was a country where dissent was encouraged



People know how to take jokes, he said, adding that India in this regard had a lot of catching up to do.

"I have done a number of gigs with the US Embassy, and I did one yesterday... in the car they told me 'You can be more outspoken; you can talk more'. What I am saying is, you ask a comedian to not do something and they tend to do exactly that.

Audiences in India had some acclimatising to do, he said.

In India, people generally are not self-deprecating. The audience here has some acclimatising to do and there is still a long way to go," he added.

On comedians picking up sensitive subjects, Satyal said they should do so when they have something "really funny" to say.

He gave the example of the Charlie Hebdo controversy -- where the satirical magazine published a cartoon mocking the Prophet and said it was anything but funny.

"I had a teacher who told me that 'if you cant be correct, be funny'. It was a big thing. She said 'If you want to make a joke in class, and it interrupts me you better hope that it is funny', he said.

The situation is not very different now, he said.

If you are attacking someone then the joke should be worth it," he said.

The stand-up comedian, on his second-comedy tour, had several shows here last week.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Prime Minister on Sunday said India has been the spiritual destination for the world for ages and always allowed mutual respect and coexistence of different religions and culture.

Several of the world's great religions were born in the country and they motivated people from all walks of life to take a spiritual path, he said at the international township, around 6 km from Puducherry.

Modi was addressing the Golden Jubilee celebrations of Auroville (City of Dawn) International Township.

The township was envisioned by Mirra Alfassa, a spiritual collaborator of Aurobindo and the 'Mother' of the Sri Aurobindo Ashram.

The prime minister said that as observed by the Mother, Auroville has become a universal town to realise human unity and the large gathering today reflects the idea.

He said for ages India has been a spiritual destination for the world.

"Many of the world's great religions were born here. They motivate people from all walks of life to take a spiritual path...," Modi said.

"Aurobindo's vision of India's spiritual leadership continues to inspire us even today, indeed Auroville is a manifestation of that vision," he said.

Prime Minister paying homage at the statue of Sri Aurobindo, in Puducherry. Photo: PTI

Over the last five decades Auroville has emerged as a hub of social-cultural, educational, economic, and spiritual innovation, the prime minister said.

It has brought together men and women, young and old from across boundaries and identities under the charter handwritten by the "divine Mother" herself, he said.

"It belongs to all the humanity and is a reflection of our ancient credo 'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam' the world is one family," he added.

Noting that Auroville was inaugurated in 1968 with delegates from 124 nations in attendance, Modi said that he learnt that today it had 2,400 residents from 49 countries.

The prime minister was given a standing ovation at the end his address, which he responded to with repeated bows.India on Sunday called for bringing changes in Geneva-based World Trade Organisation (WTO) to transform the global economy.

Commerce and Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu said that the global trade has benefitted all the nations in terms of creation of jobs and promoting economic activities.

"Now the question is whether we should make WTO better or forget it. Organisations need reformation all the time and it needs to be changed with change in times," he said here at the CIIs Partnership Summit.

Prabhu said the WTO was created on certain solid principles including democracy and transparency and even the smallest country has a say in the 164-member organisation.

"That is something which is a unique characteristic. Therefore, we must bring in transformation in the WTO itself to transform the world economy. To bring that transformation, we have to put constant efforts," he said.

As part of such efforts, Prabhu said, India is organising a mini-ministerial meeting on March 19 and 20.

India has invited representatives from several countries to discuss, debate and find out ways of how to move forward, he added.

"This forum is not meeting one against the other. It is not against any country in the world. This is a congregation, which will be represented by all countries in the world," the minister said.

The meeting, a sort of mini-ministerial, has been convened by India in the aftermath of the failure of trade talks at Buenos Aires last year on account of differences among the members of the World Trade Organisation (WTO).

India has invited ministers from the US, European Union, Australia, China, New Zealand and several African countries.

The talks at the WTO's 11th ministerial conference collapsed after the US went back on its commitment to finding a permanent solution to the public food stockholding issue, a key matter for India.

In a separate session, he said after achieving ease of doing business targets, we should move to peace of doing business as companies should enjoy doing the business.Though the Jewish settlement in Kochi is known the world over, there is very little awareness about the customs and traditions zealously preserved and followed by the community, says Elias Josephai, one of the few Jews left in the country.

"We staunchly follow our rules and that's why we could retain our history and traditions for centuries," Josephai said, while talking during the 'Abhimukham,' an endeavour by Sahapedia, an online initiative to revive the Indian arts and traditions, organised at Kadavumbagham Synagogue here.

Throwing more light on the subject, he elaborated on many of the customs strictly followed by the community over the centuries.

"There are rules and laws for everything including washing, bathing, cooking.

As far as food is concerned, we do not take meat and milk together. But they can be taken separately after a gap of three hours. Most importantly, the vessels used to store these items should be washed separately," he said.

Known as Babu locally, Josephai is one of the last handful of Jews left in Kerala.

He is the current custodian of the Kadavumbagam Synagogue at Mather Bazar in Kochi.

His family left for Israel in the seventies while he chose to stay back to watch over the synagogue.

During the 'Shabbat,' Jews do not work or even cook food.

"It's the day of rest.. In olden days, there used to be a kerosene stove which is usually warm and we keep food which has already prepared on it and this kept it warm," he said.

The programme was organised as part of IHWF 2018, collaborated by Sahapedia and YES Culture, the cultural division of YES Global Institute, a practising think tank of YES BANK, to encourage citizens to explore the tangible and intangible heritage of their cities and towns.

Through this initiative by Sahapedia, Elias explored the history of Jewish settlement in Kerala through his own personal narratives in the wake of a dwindling Jewish community in the city.

His efforts are of immense importance as he is one of the last Jews left in the state.

The month-long India Heritage Walk Festival 2018 being held from February 1-28 in various parts of the country, explores the diversity that characterizes the Indian cultural fabric, such as, food, heritage, nature, art and architecture.

There will be walks, talks, and films from across India covering a broad spectrum of Indian heritage and culture.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)With one of the largest delegations at the Mobile World Congress, India plans to highlight its readiness for 5G services and technology leadership including its numero uno position globally in terms of mobile data usage.

"We want to position ourselves not as a recipient of 5G technology but active contributor of the 5G technology. Whether it is core network technology, all services of application ecosystem," Telecom Secretary Aruna Sundararajan told reporters about India's participation in the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2018.

The global telecom event will begin from February 26 in Barcelona, Spain.

Telecom Minister Manoj Sinha will lead a 90-people strong delegation at the annual event.

The Indian government has set up a high-level committee to work on 5G technology roadmap for India including participation in global standards, test facilities etc.

Sundararajan said that most of the used cases being showcased for 5G services at present are largely for the developing advanced economies.

"We want to make sure that we start building in developmental used cases particularly in the field of health, agriculture etc. We should be an integral part of standards," she said.

Talking about technology leadership, she said that India now has leapfrogged from 155th position in terms of mobile data usage to the top position globally.

She said that India now houses the world's largest internet protocol based network with Reliance Jio and the largest solar-powered network deployed in the naxal-affected area.

"LWE (Left Wing Extremist affected area project) deployment that we have done in phase 1 that will be world largest green energy powered telecom network.

"Now what we will do for the (LWE project) remaining that will really cement India's position as leading player in the green network," Sundararajan said.

State-run firm BSNL through indigenous telecom gear makers Vihaan Networks and Himachal Futuristic Communications has deployed around 2,200 solar-powered mobile towers across nine states. The government is going to deploy 4,072 towers in the second phase of the project.

"We have now end to end spectrum of telecom capabilities which are relevant for other emerging countries on the ground that these are highly affordable and these are robust. Minister (Sinha) has already said that India is willing to collaborate with other countries for adoption of these technologies," Sundararajan said.

As per a GSMA official, there are over 90 people from government and industry participating from India in MWC 2018 making it the largest ever delegation from the country.

She said that the official delegation will focus on spreading the message that digital inclusion needs to be at the heart of all product technology services solutions otherwise 5 billion people in the world are likely to be left out of the new technologies.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)(CNN) The Trump administration will move its U.S. embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem in May, the State Department announced Friday, coinciding with Israel's 70th anniversary.

While symbolically important, the move is likely a preliminary step in a broader relocation effort initiated by the administration in December, which Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has said will take "years."

The embassy will first be set up in an existing U.S. facility in the West Jerusalem neighborhood of Arnona that "will contain office space for the Ambassador and a small staff," State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said in a statement announcing the plan.

The facility will function as the official embassy while plans to secure a permanent location and design a building are drawn up.

"By the end of next year, we intend to open a new Embassy Jerusalem annex on the Arnona compound that will provide the Ambassador and his team with expanded interim office space," Nauert added. "In parallel, we have started the search for a site for our permanent Embassy to Israel, the planning and construction of which will be a longer-term undertaking."

This latest timeline suggests the effort to settle officials into the temporary facility are being expedited.

In December, shortly after President Donald Trump announced the U.S. would recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, Tillerson told reporters the process would likely take more than a year.

As part of the process, he said, the State Department needed to acquire a site, make construction and building plans, ensure necessary authorizations and then build the embassy itself.

The State Department then decided to retrofit an existing U.S. consular facility in Arnona for use ahead of the permanent embassy's construction.

That building sits near the Green Line, the de facto border of Israel before the 1967 war.

But the timing of the move caused tensions between Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and U.S. Ambassador David Friedman, CNN reported last month.

Officials said Friedman had pushed to move the embassy this year, but Tillerson had successfully persuaded the President for more time to upgrade the security of the new facility.

"What you'll see from the secretary is that we will do this at the pace of security, not at the pace of politics," Undersecretary for Public Diplomacy Steve Goldstein said at the time.

On Friday, the Associated Press reported that the administration was considering a contribution from Republican donor Sheldon Adelson to help fund the new embassy.

A person close to Adelson confirmed to CNN that the idea was floated and discussed, but officials had not determined whether accepting such a donation was legally possible.

According to two senior State Department officials, there have not been any formal proposals submitted, and that the idea is the product of an informal conversation between Adelson and U.S. ambassador to Israel David Friedman, in which Adelson made the offer.

While agency lawyers are considering the matter, both officials said they didn't expect it to go anywhere.

The decision to move the embassy was widely condemned by the international community over concerns the action would undermine the prospects for peace deal between Israelis and Palestinians.

Both Israel and the Palestinians claim Jerusalem as their historic capital.

In December, the United Nations General Assembly voted overwhelmingly in favor of a non-binding resolution condemning the move.

But in a speech on Friday, Trump stood by his decision, which allowed him to follow through on a signature campaign promise.

"We officially recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel," Trump said to prolonged applause from a friendly audience at the annual Conservative Political Action Committee event just outside Washington, DC.

This story was first published on cnn.com, "US plans to move embassy to Jerusalem in May."India will host navies from at least 16 countries for an eight-day mega naval exercise from March 6 with an aim to expand regional cooperation and combat unlawful activities in critical sea lanes.

The biennial exercise 'Milan' is being organised at the Andaman and Nicobar Islands in the backdrop of China's growing military posturing in the Indo-Pacific region and officials said the issue is likely to figure during deliberations among chiefs of the participating countries at the event.

"The interactions during Milan encompass sharing of views and ideas on maritime good order and enhancing regional cooperation for combating unlawful activities at sea," Spokesperson of Indian Capt D K Sharma said.

He said the countries which are participating in the exercise include Australia, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritius, Myanmar, New Zealand, Oman, Vietnam, Thailand, Tanzania, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Kenya and Cambodia.

Besides fostering cooperation through naval exercises and professional interactions, Capt Sharma said 'Milan' will also provide an opportunity to the participating navies to nurture stronger ties in dealing with various security challenges.

India, the US and several other nations have been pressing for freedom of navigation in the disputed South China Sea.

Officials said China's military manoeuvres in the South China Sea may figure during discussions among chiefs of the participating countries at the event.

In November, India, the US, Australia and Japan gave shape to the long-pending quadrilateral coalition to develop a new strategy to keep the critical sea routes in the Indo-Pacific free of Chinese influence.

"From an event of sub-regional context, Milan has now grown into a prestigious international event and encompasses participation by maritime forces from not just the Bay of Bengal and South East Asia but the larger Indian Ocean Region (lOR)," Sharma said.

'Milan' was first held in 1995 with the participation of just five navies. The aim of the initiative was to have an effective forum to discuss common concerns in the Indian Ocean Region and forge deeper cooperation among friendly navies.

The exercise is being hosted by the Indian Navy under the aegis of the Andaman and Nicobar Command.

(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.)Britain's Indian-origin "chicken king" is planning to sell off his Irish fish supplying business to consolidate his food empire following a hygiene scandal at one of his chicken plants in the UK last year.

The 2 Sisters Food Group, owned by Ranjit Singh Boparan, is believed to be working with corporate finance advisers from Clearwater International on a possible disposal of the business, The Sunday Times reported.

An undercover investigation last year had showed workers appearing to change the dates on food labels and picking up dead poultry from the floor and returning it to the production line at a plant in West Bromwich. The company has since put a series of safety measures in place at all its chicken production units.

Earlier this month, 2 Sisters said it would close three of its factories, threatening the future of nearly 900 jobs.

Last month, Boparan sold the pizza brand Goodfella's to the owner of Birds Eye for 200 million pounds in cash.

The 51-year-old tycoon, based in the Midlands region of England, left school at 16 and turned 2 Sisters into Britain's largest poultry supplier through a series of acquisitions, including a 342-million-pounds takeover of quoted rival Northern Foods in 2011.

He also acquired turkey business Bernard Matthews and restaurant chains FishWorks, Giraffe and Harry Ramsden's.

According to the newspaper, the deal spree left 2 Sisters with debts of 824 million pounds at the end of last year, 5.4 times its underlying earnings although the Goodfella's sale will reduce that total. The company has 250 million pounds of bonds that will need to be repaid next year.

In November last year, the credit ratings agency Moody's downgraded its debt rating deeper into junk territory on fears over meagre profit margins and huge debts.

Boparan is also shouldering heavy pension payments after acquiring Northern Foods' final-salary pension scheme. The plan has about 17,000 members and had a 541 million pounds shortfall in March 2015, its most recent disclosures show.

2 Sisters has reportedly also held talks about merging its Fox's Biscuits brand with the Jammie Dodgers maker Burton's Foods, which is owned by a Canadian pension fund.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Iran's army chief-of-staff said today the UN Security Council resolution demanding a ceasefire in Syria does not cover "terrorist groups" in Eastern Ghouta and they would continue to be targeted by the Syrian military.

"We respect this resolution which is an international decision... but the zones on the periphery of Damascus which are in the hands of Al-Nusra and other terrorist groups are not covered by the ceasefire," said General Mohammad Bagheri.

"The offensives and clearing operations by the Syrian army will continue," said the general, quoted by the official IRNA agency.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Italian luxury kidswear brand Monnalisa is set to enter India later this year with its first outlet in Delhi.

The brand, which is entering India through a franchise route, plans to open its first store by September this year.

"Monnalisa plans to open seven stores in India in top metro cities in the next five years. Monnalisa has inked a pan-India contract with expansion plans in Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, Bangalore, and Kolkata with FranGlobal with total deal size of more than Euro 4 million," FranGlobal CEO Venus Barak told PTI.

FranGlobal is representing the brand and have appointed PDM University as the master franchisee for Monnalisa in India. The products will be fully imported and sold in India



"We plan to open first Monnalisa store in Delhi by September this year. Euro 4 million investment will go in setting up stores, inventory and marketing of the brand," PDM University CEO Chitresh Lather said.

This is the second attempt of Monnalisa to make inroads in the Indian market. In 2006, it had signed a licence agreement with an Indian company, but the deal did not go through.

Monnalisa is spread across 65 countries and is a leader company in the childrenwear high market segment. It competes with Armani Jr., Burberry etc. They have products that caters infants to teenagers for both boys and girls with average ticket size of Rs 8000-10,000.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)When it comes to security of the country's borders, the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) wants to leave no stone unturned and has now geared up to even break the language barrier with their Chinese counterparts.

With this aim, around 25 jawans and officials of the ITBP will take up a one-year certificate course in the Chinese language at the Sanchi University of Buddhist-Indic Studies in Madhya Pradesh's Raisen district.

The university's registrar, Rajesh Gupta, feels the step would be helpful for the ITBP, which has to deal with the Chinese-speaking people along the Sino-India border.

Two ITBP inspectors and as many jawans have already completed the course and are currently posted at the borders.

Now, more personnel of the force have been inspired to learn the Chinese language at the university, which is located around 12 kms from the UNESCO world heritage site of the Sanchi Stupa - the hemispherical brick structure built over the relics of Buddha.

"In the academic session 2016-17, four ITBP personnel had completed the one-year certificate course in the Chinese language. Subsequently, they have been performing their duties at the borders," Gupta told PTI.

Inspired by the skills developed in the foreign language by the first batch, now 25 more ITBP jawans and officials have enrolled for the certificate course, he said.

"We have got the list of the personnel who will take up the course in the university from July," Gupta said.

"Our course is designed as per the needs of the ITBP. Besides learning the Chinese language, the course also provides them an insight into the Buddhism religion," he said.

He said this will help the ITBP personnel in communicating with the followers of Buddhism residing in the Sino-India border region.

The course books are in three languages - Hindi, English and Chinese - so that students can understand and grasp the text easily.

"We have used pictures and same sentences in three languages to make them understand the Chinese language easily. There are several villages along the border in Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Jammu and Kashmir where the Chinese- speaking followers of Buddhism live," he said.

The university, founded in 2012, started the Chinese language certificate course from the 2016-17 academic session.

In the 2017-18 academic session, the institution has also started a diploma course for those who have already completed the certificate course.

"We will soon start an advance course in the Chinese language," Gupta said, claiming that the university is the only institution in Central India where the Chinese language is being taught to the ITBP personnel.

The Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in New Delhi and the Tezpur University in Assam also have courses in the Chinese language for the ITBP jawans and officials, he added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti today ordered a high-level inquiry into the procedural inadequacies in the selection process of the Khadi and Village Industries Board (KVIB), the results of which were declared a couple of days ago.

Mehbooba ordered the probe following severe criticism over the appointment of her own nephew Aroot Madni (37), son of ruling PDP vice-president Sartaj Madni, as an executive officer in the board.

"The inquiry will be held by a committee headed by the chief secretary and it has been asked to furnish its report in a short time," an official spokesman said here.

The board had issued an advertisement against vacancies on October 8, 2016. Shortlisted candidates took a written test in August 2017, and interviews for the position began in the last week of January.

The selection process was conducted by a private recruitment agency instead of the J&K Service Selection and Recruitment Board (JKSRB).

The chief minister's nephew declined to accept the employment offer from the board following the controversy generated by his appointment.

Opposition National Conference launched a scathing attack on the PDP over alleged nepotism and malpractice in the selection of candidates.

"The KVIB list is full of appointments made on the basis of relations and affiliations to the CM's family and party. Withdrawal of application by Sartaj Madni's son doesn't end the case but indicates he wouldn't have been able to stand the scrutiny of a probe," the party said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Two policemen were shot dead by militants today in two separate attacks, including one at a police post near the revered Chrar-e-Shareef shrine and another outside the residence of a Hurriyat leader, in the Kashmir Valley today, officials said.

Militants fired upon a police post near the shrine of Sufi saint Sheikh Noor-ud-Din Noorani in the Chrar-e-Shareef area in Budgam district this afternoon, an official said.

A Constable, Kultar Singh of Jammu and Kashmir Armed Police's 13th Battalion, suffered injuries. Singh was shifted to a hospital where he succumbed to injuries, the official added.

In the second incident, Constable Farooq Ahmed was killed when militants attacked a police post set up to outside the residence of Hurriyat leader Fazal Haq Qureshi, in the Soura area of Srinagar, a police official said.

Qureshi was injured in a militant attack in December 2009, he added.

The area has been cordoned off and a hunt is on to nab the assailants, the officials said.

Jammu and Kashmir DGP SP Vaid expressed his pain at the "martyrdom" of the two policemen.

"Be more careful boys, its the proxy war that we are fighting in Jammu & Kashmir," the state's top police official tweeted.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Japanese police are questioning an American man in custody after a decapitated head was found in an Osaka apartment he was renting, local media reported today.

Police believe the head, found in a suitcase, is likely to belong to a 27-year-old Japanese woman who went missing after visiting another apartment in western Osaka prefecture with the man earlier this month, according to public broadcaster NHK.

A local police spokesman declined to confirm the case.

The woman was last seen walking with the suspect, a 26-year-old man from New York, who was arrested last week after she was reported missing by her family.

He has reportedly denied the allegations.

The woman had told her friends that she was visiting Osaka to meet a man she had met on an app.

Local media reported that video footage from a surveillance camera showed the woman entering the condominium with the man, before the man was later seen coming in and out alone several times, carrying a large bag.

The man had arrived as a tourist in Osaka in January, the Asahi Shimbun daily reported.

Body parts other than the head have not been found.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Hollywood star Jennifer Lawrence is working on a docuseries about the #MeToo movement.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, the activist-actress and anchor Catt Sadler are working on a series project inspired by #MeToo, Time's Up movements and gender wage gap conversations in Hollywood with documentary filmmaker Stephanie Soechtig.

Soechtig is a documentary director known for exploring America's gun violence epidemic and its problem with obesity with films such as "Under the Gun" and "Fed Up".

Talking about the docuseries at a 20th Century Fox x The Wing? event? in New York City, Lawrence said, "I wasn't supposed to announce that but I am."



The actor has been an advocate for equal pay for women and had previously penned an essay for Lena Dunham and Jenni Konner's Lenny in 2015, addressing her own battles with making equal money to her male co-stars.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Jharkhand High Court Acting Chief Justice D N Patel was hospitalised after he felt giddy during a press conference here today.

Justice Patel, who came here to attend a programme of the State Legal Services Authority, is now stable, hospital sources said.

He felt giddy while talking to the media and he was taken to the Tata Main Hospital here. He was admitted to the Cath Lab, hospital sources said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)



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.Amid a rising graph of crime against women in the country, they constitute just 7.28 per cent of the force in India and at 2.47 per cent, their presence is the lowest in Naxal-hit Telangana, according to government data.

In militancy-affected Jammu and Kashmir, there are just 3.05 per cent women in a force which has a sanctioned strength of more than 80,000 personnel, Union home ministry statistics said.

The government data comes amid an increasing graph of crime against women in the country where overall crimes against them rose from 3,29,243 incidents in 2015 to 3,38,954 incidents in 2016.

The situation is pathetic despite the Union home ministry sending advisories in 2009, 2012 and 2016 to all the state governments and Union territories to increase the strength of women police personnel to 33 per cent, a senior ministry official told PTI.

All state and UTs have also been requested to create additional posts of women constables and sub-inspectors and fill up vacancies by recruiting them, the official said.

As on January 1 last year, Telangana had just 2.47 per cent women in the rolls of its police force which has a sanctioned strength of 60,700 personnel, the data said.

In Uttar Pradesh, the country's most-populous state, the police force has only 3.81 per cent women. It has a sanctioned strength of around 3,65,000 personnel.

The percentage of women in police forces in Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Meghalaya was also low, the statistics showed.

While Tamil Nadu has the highest number of women police personnel, the situation in Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra and Goa was relatively better.

Among the Union territories, Chandigarh has the highest number of women personnel while the Delhi Police, with a sanctioned strength of around 85,000 personnel, had just 8.64 per cent women in its roll as on January 1 last year.

The home ministry has taken a number of steps for increasing the strength of women in paramilitary forces, another official said.

Women are expected to soon account for one-third of constable-rank personnel in the Central Police Reserve Force and around 15 per cent in the border guarding forces  Border Security Force (BSF), Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) and Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), he said.

These forces together comprise around nine lakh personnel of whom only around 20,000 are women now.

The CRPF, considered to be world's largest paramilitary force, is mostly deployed for law and order duties and the anti-Naxal operations.

The year 2015 saw the registration of 34,651 cases of rape in the country and the figure increased to 38,947 in 2016.

Overall crimes against women also rose from 2015 to 2016, according to the data of the Crime Records Bureau.

The majority of cases categorised as crimes against women were reported under cruelty by husband or his relatives, followed by assault on woman with intent to outrage her modesty, kidnapping and abduction and rape.

The highest number of rapes have been reported from Madhya Pradesh followed by Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra in 2016.A student from Jammu and Kashmir, studying at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) here, has been missing for over a fortnight, police said today.

Suhail Aijaz, a resident of Kupwara district in the northern state and pursing MBBS at the institute since 2016, left his hostel on February 9, and has been missing since then.

The second year student had informed the authorities of the institute that he was going to Chandigarh with his friends to attend a wedding ceremony there and would be back on February 17, Commissioner of Police Y B Khurania said.

The authorities had lodged a missing complaint with the police on February 18, a day after the student's scheduled date of returning to the institute.

A note has been recovered from the hostel, Khurania said, without elaborating on its content.

"Efforts are on to trace the student. We are questioning the institute officials and the friends of the missing student," Khurania said.

He said the youth's last known location was somewhere in Howrah in West Bengal.

"We are in contact with the Howrah police and the CID West Bengal. The particulars of the student have also been shared with them," he said.

Meanwhile, Suhail's father Aijaz Ahmed reached here and met senior police officials seeking their help in tracing his son.

Ahmed told reporters that he had spoken to Suhail over phone for the last time on February 7.

He also said that the institute authorities were the first ones to tell him that his son had gone missing.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Kerala Chief Minister, Pinarayi Vijayan, today condoled the death of actress Sridevi and said her unexpected passing away was an 'irreparable loss' to the Indian film world.

In a Facebook post, Vijayan said the actress, who came to the filmdom as a child artist in Malayalam, had left behind a handful of unforgettable acting moments which her fans can cherish forever.

"The demise of Sridevi, known for her overwhelming presence in the Indian film world for the last five decades, was painful," he said.

The Chief Minister also said the sudden death of the actress, who immortalised several characters in different languages, was an "irreparable loss to the Indian film industry."



Meanwhile, several veteran Malayalam film personalities including yesteryear actors and filmmakers mourned the death of the 'Chandini' actress, who acted in over 20 Malayalam films, including 'Devaragam' opposite Arvind Swamy.

Sridevi had won the best child actress title in Malayalam for her performance in the film Poompatta (1971).

The actor (54) died late in the night reportedly due to cardiac arrest in Dubai, where she had gone to attend her nephew Mohit Marwah's wedding.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)A Bangladeshi court today extended the bail of former prime minister and main opposition BNP chief Khaleda Zia until tomorrow in a graft case, media reports said.

The 72-year-old three-time former prime minister was sentenced by Dhaka's Special Court on February 8 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.

Judge MD Akhteruzzaman of the Special Judge Court-5 here passed the order extending the bail after Zia's barrister Moudud Ahmed submitted a petition seeking an extension of her bail in the Zia Charitable Trust graft case, The Daily Star reported.

The same court on February 1 gave Zia, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) chief, ad-interim bail till today and asked her to appear before it, it said.

She could not appear before the court as she is lodged in jail after the conviction on February 8 in the Zia Orphanage Trust case, the report said.

Meanwhile, Public Prosecutor Mosharraf Hossain Kajol moved a petition for issuing a production warrant against Zia, the report said.

If the court passed the production warrant and the jail authorities produce her before the court tomorrow, Zia can seek bail in the case, it said.

The Zia charitable graft case, filed in August 2011, accuses four persons including Zia of abusing power to raise funds for the trust from unknown sources.

The three others are: Harris Chowdhury, political secretary of then prime minister Zia between 2001 and 2006; Ziaul Islam Munna, Assistant Private Secretary (APS) to Harris; and Monirul Islam Khan, APS of former Dhaka city mayor Sadeque Hossain Khoka.

The corruption 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.

The BNP has claimed that the cases are politically-motivated to keep its party chief out of the national elections.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar has said sought cooperation from the Centre and the governments of Delhi and Uttar Pradesh to make joint efforts to combat the Yamuna river pollution.

Khattar was speaking yesterday during the inaugural ceremony of Rangotsav in Barsana. The UP government organised the Rangotsav (festival of colours) in Barsana to commemorate the traditional Latthmaar Holi.

With the joint efforts of the Union government, Delhi government and the Uttar Pradesh government, efforts would be made to overcome pollution of holy Yamuna", Khattar said.

He also dropped a hint to provide water for irrigation to farmers.

Reacting to Khattar's remarks, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath exuded confidence that the cooperation of both the states would bring a change "beyond expectations".

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)President Ram Nath Kovind will inaugurate a museum dedicated to former Odisha chief minister Biju Patnaik next month.

The Museum and Learning Centre has been set up at Anand Bhawan, the ancestral house of Biju Patnaik in Cuttack.

This was stated by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, son of Biju Patnaik, after his return from New Delhi here today.

"I called on the honourable President at Rashtrapati Bhavan yesterday. Invited him to visit Odisha and dedicate the Anand Bhawan Museum and Learning Centre to the people," Patnaik said after his arrival here.

"The President has kindly agreed to the invitation and will inaugurate the museum either on March 17 or 18," the chief minister said.

The ancestral house of Biju Patnaik, which has been converted to a museum in memory of the late leader, houses rare articles belonging to him and will give visitors a comprehensive insight into the life of the legendary personality, he said.

The Anand Bhawan property has been donated to the district administration of Cuttack in 2015 to convert it into a museum dedicated to Biju Patnaik.

His rare photographs, furniture, clothes and household items, which were lying in Anand Bhawan, would be on display in the museum, sources said.

A library has also been developed in the building which has been renovated.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)passed away Saturday night, reportedly due to heart attack, at the age 54. Her sudden demise has left many people in shock. From Bollywood celebrities to sports stars and politicians, fans of took to Twitter to express condolences for the legendary actor.

The actor, wife of producer Boney Kapoor, died in Dubai, where she had gone to attend her nephew Mohit Marwah's wedding.

Confirming the news, a source close to the family said, "Yes it's true. She was in Dubai while some of the other family members came back to India. We hear it's cardiac arrest."

While some of her family members returned from Dubai after the wedding, Sridevi, Boney and her younger daughter Khushi stayed back. Her elder daughter -- Janhvi -- had not travelled with the family because of the shooting schedule for her upcoming Bollywood film, her first in the industry.

Minutes after the news of her death broke, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and many Bollywood actors like Amitabh Bachchan, Priyanka Chopra, Sushmita Sen, Sidharth Malhotra and Riteish Deshmukh took to Twitter to pay their condolences.

The first one, however, was megastar Amitabh Bachchan who in a cryptic tweet wrote, "Don't know why, feeling a strange restlessness."





Unbelievable Shocking & Heartbreaking to hear about the demise of #Sridevi, one of the talented Actress of Indian Cinema. Prayers and strength to the family. #OmShanti  Madhur Bhandarkar (@imbhandarkar) February 24, 2018

My condolences to @BoneyKapoor Ji and the Kapoor family. Deeply saddened to loose an icon like #Sridevi Ji.  Rahat Fateh Ali Khan (@RFAKWorld) February 24, 2018

Really Shocked and disturbed to hear that Maam is no more #RIP #Sridevi  Sidharth Malhotra (@S1dharthM) February 24, 2018

Heartbroken & shocked to hear that my all time favourite #Sridevi is no more. May god give peace to her soul & strength to the family #RIP  Preity zinta (@realpreityzinta) February 24, 2018

Oh, no! In her own way, she lit up the screen. Such a star! No age to go. #Sridevi.  Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) February 24, 2018

My heartfelt condolences to the entire family for a huge loss. Your contribution to Indian cinema will always be evergreen. #rip #Sridevi ji pic.twitter.com/5OD871JHxb  Pragyan Ojha (@pragyanojha) February 24, 2018

Sridevi, known for her versatility as an actor, made her Bollywood debut in 1978 with Solva Sawan. But it was only after five years with Jeetendra-starrer "Himmatwala" that she gained commercial success.

Before her entry into Bollywood, the actor had been a known face in South Indian films. She made her debut as a child artist in in Tamil film "Thunaivan" in 1969. She also worked in Malayalam, Telugu and Kannada films.

Sridevi's beguiling eyes, scintillating screen presence and acting prowess soon made her one of the most sought-after actors in the Hindi film industry. While films like Mawaali (1983), Tohfa (1984), Mr India (1987) and Chandni (1989) kept her at the top in the box-office game, her outings like Sadma (1983), ChaalBaaz (1989), Lamhe (1991), and Gumrah (1993) earned her critical acclaim.

She went on a hiatus for 15 years after starring in home production "Judaai", co-starring her brother-in-law Anil Kapoor and Urmila Matondkar. It was director Gauri Shinde's English Vinglish in 2012 that marked Sridevi's comeback.

Her nuanced performance as a middle-class woman, learning to speak English to feel accepted by her family, won accolades, and the film was also a commercial success. Last year, she was seen in revenge-drama, "Mom", opposite Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Akshaye Khanna. She also shot for a special appearance in superstar Shah Rukh Khan's upcoming film, "Zero", which releases in December.

Sridevi was awarded the Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian honour, in 2013.American aerospace and defence major today urged India to work on couple of areas like fast-tracking defence procurement procedures with a view to attract companies in the sector.

Phil Shaw, chief executive, India, said that the company wants to invest in India and include the country in its supply chain.

He said that besides improving ease of doing business, there are couple of things that need to be done by the central government to facilitate investments for the defence sector in India.

One, he said, is "length of defence procurement is pretty long " and in this area, states can collectively encourage the central government to speed up the process "to start to see some of the investments".

"Also the predictability of some procurement are a little bit suspect," he said here at CII's Partnership Summit here.

Shaw added that when a company spending many years talking about particular programmes and if they get cancelled or postponed, it is a bit disincentive for them.

He said Indian government wants to promote defence manufacturing under the Make in India initiative but "Make in India in defence is reliant on these procurement" decisions.

Shaw also said that the government focuses on lowest cost technically acceptable solution in defence, but if the country is looking at capability, establishing industrial footprint, green technology, creating jobs and ecosystem, one needs to look beyond costs and focus on the best interest of India.

has proposed to manufacture custom-built F-35 fighter jets in India, which its officials say would give Indian industry a unique opportunity to become part of the world's largest fighter aircraft ecosystem.The Maharashtra government has decided to digitise the functioning of private wholesale vegetable markets for better transparency and to prevent farmers from being cheated while selling their produce.

The Centre had earlier launched a pan-India electronic trading portal, called e-NAM (National Agriculture Market), to facilitate farmers, traders, buyers, exporters and processors with a common platform for trading commodities.

The e-NAM portal keeps a database of the movement of vegetable produce, its distribution, prices and fluctuations.

The Maharashtra government is now planning to bring the private markets under the ambit of e-NAM, while it is also digitising the functioning of some of the major Agriculture Produce Marketing Committees (APMCs) in the state.

"There are around 60 major APMCs in Maharashtra which are being digitised. All the farmers, traders and commission agents working there are shifting to the e-NAM platform. We have now also decided to make the e-NAM mandatory for private APMCs," the state's cooperation minister, Subhash Deshmukh, told PTI.

More than 30 APMCs have already started the e-auction of the daily produce while 17 market committees having been conducting the quality testing of vegetables and produce supplied there every day, he said.

As many as 2,24,487 farmers, 7,570 traders and 6,992 commission agents have so far registered on the e-NAM portal, said the minister.

"An APMC has a turnover of some hundreds of crores. Once it comes on the e-NAM platform, all the transactions will become transparent and activities like cheating farmers by tampering the weighing machines will be stopped," he said.

Maharashtra has private agriculture markets in Nashik, Vani in Yavatmal, Nanded, Washim and Buldhana.

"The state has also launched weekly markets for farmers to sell their fruits and vegetables. Now we want the daily transactions of these markets also to be digital, instead of the manual receipts," a senior official from the cooperation department said.

The state has 307 APMCs, including both major and small ones, the turnover of which is around Rs 66,000 crore annually. Besides, there are 45 private markets, which do a business of around Rs 4,500 crore in a year.

"If all these transactions go online, it will save a huge cost and check manipulation of prices," Deshmukh said.

The collective turnover of all the agriculture markets in Maharashtra is worth over Rs 1 lakh crore, the official from the cooperation department said.

There are 40,000 commission agents in Maharashtra, who daily sit in the APMCs and regulate the supply and demand of vegetables, fruits and food grains, he added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar was admitted to the Goa Medical College and Hospital here this evening after he complained of uneasiness, a GMCH official said.

Parrikar, 62, was brought to the GMCH on a wheelchair, the official said, adding that he was accompanied by a family member.

Parrikar was discharged from Mumbai's Lilavati Hospital on February 22, a week after he was admitted there and treated for a pancreatic ailment.

He had presented the Budget in the Assembly on February 22 upon his return to Goa from Mumbai.

When contacted, Goa Health Minister Vishwajit Rane said Parrikar was suffering from dehydration, but was responding to treatment at the GMCH.

"We have posted specialist doctors who are monitoring his health continuously," Rane said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Mexico and the US have shelved tentative plans for a visit to Washington by President Enrique Pena Nieto as tensions persist over a proposed border wall, US media has reported.

Pena Nieto had already cancelled a visit in January last year because of US President Donald Trump's insistence that Mexico pay for the wall, which he wants as part of his efforts to curb immigration.

The White House had said in mid-February that the two presidents were working on arranging a meeting.

But The Washington Post, which first reported cancellation of the provisional meeting, said both countries agreed to call it off after a testy telephone call ended in an impasse over the border barrier.

The phone call took place last Tuesday.

Citing US and Mexican officials, the Post said Trump "would not agree to publicly affirm Mexico's position that it would not fund construction of a border wall that the Mexican people widely consider offensive."



Pena Nieto's visit had been considered for February or March, the Post said, but the Mexican leader wanted to avoid public embarrassment.

Building the border wall was a primary pledge of the 2016 presidential campaign by Trump, who says the barrier is necessary for his country's security.

Asked about the reports, a Mexican presidential source told AFP there would be no comment.

"There's nothing additional to the last Tuesday statement," the source said, referring to comments after the phone call.

Both countries said at the time that they agreed in their call to boost cooperation on security, trade and migration.

In addition to disagreement over the wall, Trump's attacks on Mexican immigrants and threats to scrap the North American Free Trade Agreement have strained relations between the neighbors.

The leaders did meet once, on the sidelines of the G20 summit of major economies in Hamburg, Germany, last July.

Mexico goes to the polls this July as Pena Nieto approaches the end of his term, with his Institutional Revolutionary Party deeply unpopular.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)(MSE), formerly MCX-SX, said it has received approval from regulator Sebi to launch electronic book building mechanism to facilitate online bidding for private placement of debt securities.

The exchange is also expected to roll out products for the equity segment during the first quarter of fiscal 2018-19.

"As a part of our business strategy, we have undertaken several initiatives to introduce new offerings to gain traction. While many ideas are on the drawing board, we have a decent pipeline of roll-outs at advanced stages," MSE managing director and CEO Udai Kumar told PTI.

"EBP (Electronic Book Building Provider) has received approval from Sebi this mechanism is available on our exchange platform for issuance of debt instruments by corporates. With this the exchange will be able to attract new debt issues and their subsequent trading," he added.

Noting that exchange focus remains on equity bulk/block deals, Kumar said "we are working on some effective roll-outs that will help revive our equity segment as well."



MSE, earlier known as MCX-SX, was set up by Jignesh Shah-led Financial Technologies (India) Ltd (FTIL) and it commenced operations in the currency derivatives segment in October 2008. It began operating as a full-fledged bourse with launch of equity trading in February 2013.

While MCX-SX had witnessed a strong performance in the initial period of its launch, the turnover saw a sharp plunge amid a payment crisis at National Spot Exchange Limited (NSEL), which was also promoted by Jignesh Shah.

MCX-SX was renamed as MSE as part of turnaround strategy to give the exchange a new identity, and disassociate from its original promoters and help it shift to a high growth phase.

"Business revamp activity is in full force. Our talent strategy team under the guidance of the management team and the board has been instrumental in redefining roles to ensure alignment with changing business needs, macros and new-age consumer thinking," Kumar said.

The exchange has recently appointed a few top executives including a new CFO, head of listing as well as communications.is "very willing" to hold talks with the United States, its delegation to the Winter Olympics closing ceremony said on Sunday, according to Seoul's presidential Blue House.

In a meeting with the South's President Moon Jae-in, the North's delegation "agreed that inter-Korea talks and North-US relations should improve together", the Blue House said in a statement.

Pyongyang has frequently said it is willing to talk without preconditions, but Washington says it must first take concrete steps towards denuclearisation.North Korea today slammed the latest US measures against it as an "act of war", after US President Donald Trump announced the "heaviest sanctions ever" on the nuclear-armed regime.

The measures, which Washington says are aimed at forcing Pyongyang to roll back its banned nuclear and weapons programmes, target more than 50 North Korea-linked shipping companies, vessels and trade businesses.

"Like we have said repeatedly, we consider any restrictions on us as an act of war," the North's foreign ministry said in a statement carried by the state-run KCNA news agency.

It also vowed a retaliation if the US "really has the nerves" to confront the North in a "rough" manner.

Trump warned on Friday that, if the latest sanctions don't work, the US would "go to phase two" that "may be a very rough thing", without elaborating.

In response, the North also vowed to "subdue the US in our own way" if provoked, saying "Trump is trying to change us with such sanctions and hostile remarks, which shows his ignorance about us".

"We already have our own nuclear weapon -- a treasured sword of justice to protect us from such threats from the US," the foreign ministry said.

The comment came hours before the North's senior delegation led by Kim Yong Chol, a blacklisted military general, is set to attend the closing ceremony of the South's Winter Olympics, which will also be attended by Trump's daughter Ivanka Trump.US President Donald Trump has said that he has pushed for changing the World Trade Organisation, which in its current avatar is ripping off American economy and businesses.

The World Trade Organisation, an international governmental organisation that regulates international trade, has led to the economic emergence of China as a global economic power, he said, asserting that his administration is working to change this.

The World Trade Organisation deal, that's what really led to the emergence of China -- you look at China, they became rich when they made the World Trade Deal. The World Trade Organisation, WTO. We have to change it, Trump told Fox in an interview.

We can't allow our workers, our country, our companies to be ripped off like this and they understand that. And that's why they are starting to move back into the United States. Chrysler's coming back, Foxconn is coming in, the big company that makes the Apple, different things for Apple. Some of the biggest companies in the world, said the US President.

Trump made an unusual appearance over phone on Fox late last night after the Democratic side of the Senate Intelligence committee issued its own version of memo detailing into the allegations of Russian interference in 2016 presidential elections.

Trump described the release of such a memo as illegal. It's probably illegal to do it, he said, reiterating that there was no collusion between him or his campaign with the Russians. Discussions on such issues, though, is helping the Russians.

A lot of people are tearing our nation apart on this and other subjects. They are tearing our nation apart, he said, as he reiterated that the alleged Russian interference happened during the administration of his predecessor Barack Obama.

I have to say, Obama was the president during all of this meddling or whatever you want to call it with Russians and others possibly. He's the one that was supposed to take care of this and he didn't, he said.

Nobody brings that up. He was warned and he didn't which makes it even worse. But he was the president during this period of time, during the entire period of time and he did nothing about. So somebody should -- and I have to say, a lot of the fair people, and people frankly love my administration, they bring it up all the time, but Obama was the president, Trump alleged.

Trump said the American economy is "incredible" and he is renegotiating trade deals.

There are no trade deals ever negotiated that have been bad like the trade deals we've had negotiated whether it's NAFTA, the deal with South Korea, TPP -- I was able to keep us out of that, that would have been a total disaster, he said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has initiated the process for securing an Interpol Red Corner notice against Pakistani diplomat Amir Zubair Siddiqui, who was chargesheeted last week for allegedly conspiring to launch terror strikes on the US and Israeli consulates in South India.

Officials in the agency said the paperwork was being completed and would be sent soon to the Interpol headquarters based in Lyon in France for issuance of the Red Corner notice against Siddiqui, who during his stint at Pakistani High Commission in Sri Lanka during 2014 had conspired to carry out terror strikes in India.

He was named by a Sri Lankan resident Sakir Hussain, who is at present undergoing a simple imprisonment after pleading guilty in a court of law. He was arrested by the Tamil Nadu Police after the Intelligence Bureau busted the conspiracy in April 2014. His jail term will end next year.

Hussain had carried out reconnaissance of the US consulate in Chennai and Israeli consulate in Bangalore to facilitate a terror strike similar to 26/11. For this, two terrorists were to be flown in from Maldives.

Siddiqui was working as visa counsellor at the Pakistan High Commission in Colombo but had to be repatriated to Islamabad after India mounted pressure on Sri Lanka about his alleged activities targeting this country.

He was nailed after the NIA was handed over evidence by the US authorities. The documents handed over by the US to India established communication between Hussain and 'Shahjee', a Pakistani national introduced to the accused allegedly by a Pakistani diplomat working with its mission in Sri Lanka.

The NIA, which has carried out the probe into the conspiracy meticulously, had sent a request under Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty to the US for details from service provider whose email was being used by Hussain to communicate to his handler in Sri Lanka.

The response provided by US authorities following the request under the MLAT showed that the account was being operated by "Shahjee" who had provided the name while registering with the email account, the officials said. There have been communication with some email addresses in Pakistan and even personal account of Siddiqui, they said.

The email account is also alleged to have been operated under the Internet Protocol (IP) address of the Pakistan High Commission in Colombo, they said.

The code name for the terror plot to attack the US consulate in Chennai was "wedding hall" which was to be executed by "cooks", a code for terrorists who were to gain entry from Maldives into India.

Hussain had given a detailed description of his meetings with various Pakistani officials based in Sri Lanka as well as two "fidayeen" (suicide attackers) whom he had met in Bangkok.

Hussain was told by a Pakistani official, who was of a higher rank than Siddiqui, that the project to carry out the attack at the US consulate in Chennai would be code-named as "wedding hall" and "cooks" was the code for the two terrorists who would have executed the plan.

"Spice" was the code name for the bomb devices which were to be planted at the consulate, they said.

The NIA had taken over the case from the Tamil Nadu Police. It carried out a detailed probe into the matter after registering a case against Hussain for alleged criminal conspiracy to commit terrorist acts targeting a foreign consulate located in South India as well as to circulate high quality fake Indian currency notes and thereby threatening the security and monetary stability of the country.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Union minister Ramkripal Yadav today slammed the West Bengal government for not sending officials at a review meeting on Integrated Watershed Management Programme (IWMP) in West Midnapore district.

The objectives of the IWMP are to restore ecological balance by harnessing, conserving and developing degraded natural resources such as soil, vegetative cover and water.

"It's unfortunate that the Mamata Banerjee government is hampering development by showing non-cooperative attitude. We will write a strong letter to the state on this issue," the Union minister of state for rural development told PTI.

When contacted, a senior district official said on condition of anonymity that the administration was not informed about the minister's visit.

"It shows that administrative anarchy is prevailing in West Bengal. It is also possible that the state wants to hide corruption in implementing central government projects," Yadav said.

He alleged that the performance of West Bengal on key schemes like the MGNREGA and the Prime Minister Awas Yojna (PMAY) was also poor.

In the MGNREGA, the state has managed to achieve only 33 per cent in giving jobs to women, much below the national average of 65 per cent, the minister said.

In the PMAY too, he said, the state has so far built only 3.87 lakh houses against a target of building 14 lakh houses by 2019.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)One person was killed and over 20 were injured today as police fired live bullets and tear gas to disperse banned protests calling on DR Congo President Joseph Kabila to stand down. The church-backed protests in the Democratic Republic of Congo come after months of tension sparked by Kabila's prolonged rule and a long-delayed election in the vast and chronically unstable country. In the capital Kinshasa, one man was killed as police opened fire on demonstrators, according to a senior doctor at the city's St Joseph de Limete hospital. "Since 7:00 am we have received three injured people from the Catholic march. Two were seriously injured and one died from a bullet wound in the chest," Francois Kajingulu said. The brother of the man, who did not give his name, sobbed as he identified the deceased as political activist Rossy Mukendi Tshimanga. He said a police officer had "shot my brother at close range". AFP journalists at the scene saw an International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) team take the protester's body to a nearby morgue. The Catholic church confirmed the death, with spokesman Donatien Nshole saying: "We have registered a death in Kinshasa ... as well as several injured." Police however denied anyone had been killed at all on protest day, claiming that there had been "zero casualties". There were fears the victim's body could be "disappeared" by the security forces, as has been the case in similar instances in DR Congo, with the authorities eager to contain the anger on the streets. According to a preliminary toll compiled by state television, 22 protesters across the country were injured, including 13 police officers. Another eight were arrested, it added. An AFP journalist in the northeastern city of Kisangani said at least two people suffered bullet injuries as police fired on marchers. Hundreds began marching after mass at Kisangani cathedral but were dispersed by security forces who fired bullets and tear gas. The demonstrators fled back into the cathedral singing the national anthem, "Debout Congolais" (Rise Up Congolese). Three priests were arrested as they led a march in the Saint Pierre de Wagenia district in the east of the city. Officers took them away in a police vehicle, the journalist said. Police used tear gas to crush protests elsewhere in the sprawling nation, including in Kikwit in the southwest, and Goma and Bukavu in the east. In DR Congo's second city Lubumbashi, youths set vehicle tyres on fire and were then dispersed by riot police. The nationwide protests were called by the Lay Coordination Committee (CLC), an organisation close to the church and an influential social and spiritual movement. But authorities banned the demonstrations. Kabila was due to stand down from office in December 2016, ending his second elected term, but he has controversially stayed on under laws enabling him to retain power until his successor is elected. In January he accused the church of interfering in Congolese politics. Previous protests on New Year's Eve and January 21 saw a total of 15 people killed by security forces, according to tolls given by organisers and the United Nations. The government said just two people died. Internet access was cut across the country Sunday, with SMS and WhatsApp messaging services disabled as people took to the streets. Kinshasa police chief General Sylvano Kasongo said Saturday he was under orders to "take measures to ensure the security of the population, and to stop anyone who attempts to disturb public order." On Sunday, police spokesman colonel Pierrot-Rombaut Mwanamputu said "the goal to have zero casualties has been respected". Hundreds of ruling party supporters had stormed Kinshasa cathedral on Saturday, while police put up barricades, searched vehicles and checked people's IDs.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)ONGC Videsh Ltd has shelved plans to build a $5 billion LNG export facility in Iran and has instead opted to only invest in developing a giant gas field in the Persian Gulf, for which a revised cost is being worked out, an official said.

OVL, the overseas arm of state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC), had last year made its 'best' offer to spend $11 billion in developing the Farzad-B field in the Persian Gulf as well as in building the infrastructure to export the gas but Iran deterred on awarding the rights of the field to the Indian firm owing to differences over investments and price of gas.

The company has now agreed to do just the upstream field development part, leaving the marketing of the fuel to Iran, the official said.

As had been agreed during the visit of Iranian President Hassam Rouhani earlier this month, a team of officials will be visiting Tehran this week to discuss modalities of the upstream development.

"We had initially thought that the upstream field development would cost USD 6.2 billion. But, this is not the final cost. We will be able to arrive at a final cost only after we do at least well to appraise the discovery we had made about a decade back," he said.

Only after the appraisal well is drilled and data analysed to see the extent of the field and recoverable reserves can a final cost be put, he said, adding that would put forth the idea of being allowed to drill an appraisal well on the field.

The appraisal well, he said, may take 9-10 months to be drilled and completed.

Farzad-B was discovered by in the Farsi block about 10 years ago. The project has so far cost the OVL-led consortium, which also includes Oil India Ltd and Indian Oil Corp (IOC), over $80 million.

The field has an in-place gas reserve of 21.7 trillion cubic feet, of which 12.5 Tcf are believed to be recoverable.

The official said the field as high sulphur content and separate facility would be needed to separate gas from it. Costs of these facilities can be established only after appraisal well is drilled.

In the master development plan OVL submitted to Iran last year, it estimated the upstream part to cost USD 6.2 billion while another USD 5 billion will be required to build a liquefied natural gas (LNG) export facility.

While Iran believes the upstream investment should not be more than USD 5.5 billion, it wanted India to buy all of the natural gas produced from the Persian Gulf block at a price equivalent to the rate Qatar charges for selling LNG to India under a long-term deal.

Qatar, as per a revised formula agreed upon in December 2015, sells 7.5 million tonnes a year of LNG to Petronet LNG Ltd -- India's biggest gas importer -- at a price of USD 7-plus per million British thermal unit.

The rate being sought by Iran was triple of USD 2.3 per mmBtu rate OVL is willing to pay for the gas during low global oil prices. If global rates rise, OVL was willing to pay USD 4.3 per mmBtu, the official said.

OVL, he said, was willing to negotiate on the upstream cost but wants Iran to take up the marketing of the fuel, including building of LNG terminal, if it believes it can get a better price for the natural gas elsewhere.

India and Iran were initially targeting concluding a deal on Farzad-B field development by November 2016 but later mutually agreed to push the timeline to February 2017. The deadline to wrap up negotiations later targeted for September 2017. But, with deal stuck over pricing of gas, no new deadlines have been proposed.

Last year, India cut Iranian crude oil imports by about a quarter to 18.5 million tonnes in 2017-18 fiscal to put pressure on Tehran to quickly wrap up negotiations. It has so far not finalised the volumes it will buy in 2018-19 fiscal.A Palestinian was killed today when Israeli forces opened fire on a boat from the Gaza Strip after it left a zone where Israel allows Palestinians to fish, officials said. A spokeswoman for the Israeli army said the boat "deviated from the designated fishing zone in the northern Gaza Strip." Naval forces called on the boat to halt, then fired warning shots in the air before shooting toward it when the three people on board did not stop, the spokeswoman said. A severely wounded Palestinian later died from his injuries, she said. The other two Palestinian "suspects" were detained by security forces. The fishermen's union in Gaza said a boat with three fishermen was fired upon by Israel's military. Israel and Palestinian militants in Gaza, run by Islamist movement Hamas, have fought three wars since 2008 and the territory has been under an Israeli blockade for more than 10 years. Fishing off the northern part of the strip, adjacent to Israel, is limited to six nautical miles offshore and the Israeli navy regularly fires warning shots or at Palestinians who breach it. Such incidents rarely result in deaths. Hamas spokesman Abdel Latif Qanoua called the incident "an ugly crime the occupation is responsible for and a form of continuing aggression against our Palestinian people." The Gaza Strip's border with Egypt has also been largely closed in recent years.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Paras Healthcare is planning to double the bed capacity in the next three to four years, a top company official said.

The healthcare provider has 730 operating beds across five hospitals.

"We are expecting to double our bed capacity in next three to four years. We will be opening a multi-speciality tertiary care hospital in Panchkula in July this year," Paras Healthcare managing director Dharminder Nagar told PTI.

The company has already announced plans to set up a 300-bed hospital in Ranchi, while another will come up in Uttar Pradesh, he added.

When asked how the company plans to fund the expansion, Nagar said: "This will be mainly through equity which we have raised. We plan to follow an asset light model but are also open to other models."



The company had raised USD 42 million (around Rs 275 crore) in July 2017 from private equity firm Creador to fund growth and expansion plans.

"My focus has always been to serve the middle class and to manage the quality and be cost effective," he added.

Founded in 2006, Paras Healthcare has five hospitals, one each in Gurgaon, Patna, Darbhanga, Panchkula and in East of Kailash in New Delhi.

Panchkula and New Delhi hospitals are called 'Paras Bliss'.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Senior Nationalist Party on Sunday claimed that the Prime Minister has been selling the dreams of 2022 forgetting that he has to face the general election in 2019.

The Narendra government has projected a vision for a 'New India' that would be free of poverty, corruption, communalism, casteism and terrorism by 2022, three years beyond the NDA government's tenure.

"The PM is showing the dream of 2022 to the people, but he must understand that there will be a new mandate in 2019 itself," Anwar told reporters.

Both the central and state governments have lost popularity and support base among the people, the NCP general secretary claimed.

Anwar also claimed that by-elections for three seats in the state next month will follow the pattern.

The had won all three by-polls in and snatched Ajmer and Alwar seats and Mandalgarh Assembly seat from the BJP by huge margins earlier this month.

Similarly, the ruling JD(U)-BJP coalition would lose the by-elections for Bhabhua and Jahanabad Assembly seats, and Araria constituency to be held on March 11.

Anwar demanded that Joint Parliament Committee be set up to investigate the bank scam.Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday hit out at the one family dynastic rule of the Congress for 48 years and said it should be compared with the achievements of the development-oriented Democratic Alliance (NDA) in the past four years.

One family either directly or indirectly ruled the country for 48 years... for about 17 years our first Prime Minister ruled, and after that his daughter held the reigns for 14 years and following that her son was at the helm for five years, he said.

Modi, who was addressing a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) organised public meeting here, referred to the regimes of Jawaharlal Nehru, his daughter Indira Gandhi and her son Rajiv Gandhi without naming them.

His comments come weeks after Congress President Rahul Gandhi had dared Modi to spell out achievements of the NDA government instead of criticising his party.



You will have to tell the country during the elections what you did in the last five years. It is going to be five years and you have not even opened your account, Gandhi had said, making Modi the focal point of his attack in a series of roadside and public meetings in poll-bound Karnataka.



In his address here, Modi also said between 2004 and 2014, the same family ran the government with remote control, in an apparent reference to the Manmohan Singh-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) regime.

From Puducherry, I would like to give a message for the intellectuals of this country, he said. Intellectuals can debate the difference between what was gained and lost during the Congress regimes and what the BJP-led NDA has achieved in 48 months, he said.

Though nations that got Independence in 1947 like India have grown, the country still lagged behind and it warranted a serious thought on the lacunae vis-a-vis the functioning of the government and political culture that were holding back the nation, Modi said.

In an obvious reference to his oft-repeated slogan Congress mukt Bharat, Modi asserted the Congress would be left with only the V Narayanasamy government in Puducherry in the country, saying the BJP would win the coming Assembly elections in Karnataka and Northeast. He did not refer to the Amarinder Singh-led Congress government in Punjab.

Modi said the Union territory had poor infrastructure and was a victim of Congress culture. He claimed Puducherry had poor infrastructure and sectors such as transport and cooperation were in a shambles and charged the successive regimes with doing injustice for the people.

"The Congress has failed on all fronts in Puducherry," he said recalling the glorious history of the former French colony which was closely associated with the freedom movement sheltering the likes of Sri Aurobindo, and poet Subramania Bharathi.

He also came down on the Puducherry government for not holding civic polls for years together while the "party had been making tall claims from Delhi that it is the champion of democracy and rights of the people."

By delaying the civic polls the Congress government "is only gagging the voice of the people," he said.

Outlining the initiatives of his government like the 'Mudhra Yojana' and 'Jan Dhan Yojana', he said such schemes empowered the people across the country.

Modi said the Prime Minister's Mudra Scheme had been implemented expeditiously with around 3.25 million youth having been benefitted during the last three years.

Mudra scheme is of help to the youth who could get loans without any collateral security, he said urging the youths to make use of it and launch projects in Puducherry.

Udan Scheme providing regional air connectivity would be of help for Puducherry to promote tourism and generate employment, he said.

Citing the Ayushman Bharath Scheme, he said it will benefit the poor families to get free medical treatment upto Rs 5 lakh rupees per year.

The government was strengthening the ports and ushering in an era of port-led development, through the Sagarmala project.

Financial assistance were being given for long-liner trawlers for fishermen under the Blue Revolution Scheme, he said.

Modi also listed financial assistance given to various schemes such as smart city for the union territory.

(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.)Prime Minister Narendra Modi today visited the Sri Aurobindo Ashram here and paid homage to its founder spiritual leader Sri Aurobindo.

After arriving here from Chennai, Modi reached the ashram where he was received by the officials.

He paid floral tributes at the memorial of Aurobindo and meditated for a few minutes.

Later, he interacted with the children of the International School of Education run by the ashram.

He then left for Auroville (City of Dawn) International Township situated in neighbouring Villupuram district of Tamil Nadu where he will participate in the golden jubilee celebrations.

The international or universal project envisioned by the Mother of Aurobindo Ashram (Mirra Alfassa) is dedicated to the ideal of human unity.

Earlier on his arrival at the airport here, Modi was received by Lt Governor Kiran Bedi and Chief Minister V Narayanaswamy among others.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Fixing low price business deals advertised on online market websites may land you in the soup, especially in Rajasthan's Mewat region.

Over 85 people were arrested in nearly 50 cases of robbery and fraud registered in last one year in Bharatpur and Alwar district of Mewat region where robbers lured people from across the country through online retail stores in Mewat,police said.

The menace has forced the police to put up boards, flex sheets and raise awareness about it on social media cautioning people about the ruse.

Bharatpur Superintendent of Police, Anil Kumar Tank said that cases of robbery and fraud were not new in Mewat region. Earlier, fraudsters used to make random calls to invite prospective customers in Bharatpur by offering them gold bricks at lucrative rates. Now,some online retail marketing portals have become a convenient way to lure people by offering lucrative deals.

From January 2017 to January 2018, 46 cases of such online fraud and robbery were registered in Bharatpur, in which nearly 65 people were arrested and recovery was made.

He said that people get attracted to online lucrative deals and land up in soup after reaching Bharatpur and regions of Mewat. We have put up sign boards, flex sheets and also had to make people aware on social media to not fall pray to such advertisements.

In May last year, a Chennai-based scrap dealer was abducted for ransom of Rs 90 lakh from Jaipur International Airport and was taken to Pahari area in Bharatpur.

Three people, including two women were arrested. In August 2016, a Pune-based businessman was also abducted. He was released on a ransom of Rs 29 lakh.

The accused were arrested later, police said. It is quite a challenge to nail the accused as Mewat region comprises Bharatpur,Alwar and some parts of Harayana.

Being a neighbouring district of Uttar Pradesh, the challenge gets tougher, Tank said.

Every year, almost a similar number of cases are registered in the region, police said. In Alwar, nearly 20 people were arrested in over six online fraud and robbery cases in last one year. Being an adjoining district to Bharatpur, Alwar too is not spared from online fraudsters. Every year such cases are registered where people get lured by fancy car or other business deals and find themselves in major trouble.

We have arrested nearly 20 people in over half-a-dozen cases in Alwar in last one year,Alwar SP Rahul Prakash told PTI.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)BJP leader Vijender Gupta has lodged a complaint alleging that he was threatened on Twitter by an AAP functionary, following which a case was registered, a police officer said today.

The police registered a non-cognisable report (NCR) under the charge of criminal intimidation last night. Gupta on Friday alleged that AAP leader Dilip Kumar had threatened him with assault on the micro-blogging site, he said.

He lodged the complaint at the Parliament Street police station and the matter is being investigated, the officer said.

Gupta is also the Leader of Opposition in the Delhi Assembly.

The BJP leader, in a tweet, had commented against the alleged assault on the Delhi chief secretary by AAP MLAs at the chief minister's residence last week.

To this, Kumar, in a rely on Twitter, had allegedly warned Gupta not to go near Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal or he would be assaulted.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)BJP chief Amit Shah today demanded that Congress president Rahul Gandhi prove his charge that the Narendra Modi government waived loans taken by industrialists.

What Rahul Gandhi is saying is incorrect, Shah said and demanded that the Congress president make public any document which mentions that loans to industries were written off.

"I want to clarify one thing... one statement that the Congress president repeatedly makes is that the BJP waived thousands of crores, lakhs of crores of loans taken by industries. I can tell you with guarantee that after the Narendra Modi government came to power, not even a single paisa of loan taken by any single industrialist has been waived," he said during an interaction with sugarcane farmers.

"If he (Rahul Gandhi) has any records anywhere that industries' loans have been waived, let him make it public... I am ready to answer and seek an apology from farmers of Karnataka. What he is saying is wrong," the BJP national president said.

He said that tax had not been waived for industries, but it has "only been reduced a bit."



Shah is on a three-day visit to north Karnataka region, during which he will interact with party workers in Bidar, Kalaburagi and Yadgiri districts. State Assembly polls are expected to be held in a few months.

"There is already no income tax on anything related to farmers and there is no question of taxing them. Let anyone spread misinformation how much ever they want, government is not imposing any income tax on farmers," he said.

The BJP chief said the Centre's "full focus" was on farmers' welfare and after coming to power in Karnataka, his party would follow a pro-farmer strategy.

Listing out various initiatives taken by the Modi government for sugarcane farmers, Shah said the BJP's poll manifesto would include ensuring on-time payment to sugarcane growers.

"If the BJP comes to power in Karnataka... within 90 days sugar mills would have to make payment to the farmers, as done in Uttar Pradesh. We will include this in our manifesto," he said, adding after forming government in the state, sugar mills in the region would be re-opened.

Mentioning various 'pro-farmer' initiatives of the Union government, such as procurement of pulses, neem-coated urea and the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana, he accused the Congress government in Karnataka of not allowing benefits of some of the schemes reach the farmers.

The Congress government in the state fears that it may lead to further rise in Modi's popularity, Shah claimed.

He said Narendra Modi would attend a farmers' conclave at Davangere on February 27, after which BJP workers would visit their homes, collect a fistful of rice from each household, cook and eat it while pledging that once the party forms government in the state, it would be dedicated to work for farmers' welfare.

"We have come before you with an intention to form a pro-farmer government under the leadership of Yeddyurappa in Karnataka also," Shah said, adding the BJP won the 2014 Lok Sabha polls and several state elections after that only because of support from farmers.

The BJP national president visited the historic Gurdwara Nanak Jhira Sahib in Bidar.

He also visited the home of Shivaraj Basalingappa Alreddy, a farmer who committed suicide, at Mangalgi village in Bidar.

"During Siddaramaiah's tenure, about 3,781 farmers across Karnataka committed suicide, but he is busy in the of appeasement. I have not seen a government as irresponsible and insensitive as this," Shah tweeted.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Congress president Rahul Gandhi today expressed shock over the sudden death of actor Sridevi, whom he described as an incredibly talented and versatile actress.

He said her work spanned on a range of genres and languages.

Shocked to hear about the sudden and untimely death of one of Indias favourite actress, Sridevi. Sridevi was an incredibly talented and versatile actress whose vast body of work spanned a range of genres and languages. My condolences to her family. May her soul rest in peace,the Congress president said on Twitter.

The Padma Shri awardee, who had an illustrious career spanning over four decades, passed away last night. She was 54.

The actor, wife of producer Boney Kapoor, died late in the night reportedly due to cardiac arrest in Dubai, where she had gone along with her family to attend her nephew Mohit Marwah's wedding.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)The bid value of Air India will fall if the government asks buyers to keep the airline's employees on payroll, according to Turkish firm Celebi, which has expressed interest in buying a subsidiary of the disinvestment-bound national carrier.

Celebi, which offers ground-handling services, had written to the ministry of civil aviation last year expressing interest in the national carrier's ground-handling subsidiary, the Air India Air Transport Services Limited (AIATSL).

Celebi's expression of interest came months after the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved the disinvestment of the national carrier and appointed a group of ministers to chalk out a strategy for the stake sale.

"If they (the government) are asking maximum price (for Air India), but asking us to keep the old personnel, then it will not match. The value of the bid will be lowered. Not just keeping the personnel, but also their indemnity is an issue," Celebi's Board member Cana Celebioglu said in a media interaction recently.

The AIATSL has a presence across 60 destinations in the country and the Celebi hopes buying the AI subsidiary will help it achieve a wider penetration in the domestic aviation market in India.

Celebi's CEO for India, Murali Ramachandran, explained that there are other areas that the company needs a clarity on, such as Air India's future value.

"Today, Air India has grandfather rights at all the airports but we'd like to know for how long. Additionally, AIATSL has assured business from Air India flights but what will happen to that once Air India is sold," said Ramachandran.

Celebioglu said that if her firm wins the bid for AIATSL, it may take 5-10 years for the two companies to integrate fully.

"AI business is a very big chunk, which means you need to spend time, maybe 5-10 years. We need to adjust the existing company (AIATSL) to our standards. At the moment, they have their own way of training, dealing with their personnel and we have our own standards," she said.

The AIATSL has approximately 8,500 employees, according to its annual report for FY 2015-2016.

The Celebi currently offers ground-handling services at the Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport and the Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport. It also provides cargo and warehouse services at the Delhi airport.

Apart from Turkey, it is also present in Hungary, Germany, Austria.

Ground-handling services include aircraft cleaning and servicing, loading and unloading of food and beverages, besides cargo and luggage handling at the airports.

Celebi's operations in India account for 30 per cent of its total business globally, according to Ramachandran.

The government expects to complete the disinvestment of Air India by year-end and at least 51 per cent of AI's ownership will be transferred to a private player.

According to Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha, the national carrier would be offered for bidding as four different entities.

Air India, its low-cost arm Air India Express and subsidiary AISATS would be one entity while regional arm Alliance Air would be a separate entity.

Besides, Air India Air Transport Services Ltd (AIATSL) and Air India Engineering Services Ltd (AIESL) would be sold separately. The government is expected to float the tender for Air India's sale soon.



An assistant commandant of the RPF was killed and three others were injured when a constable of the force opened fire from his service rifle in Meghalaya's South West Khasi Hills district early today, following which the accused was arrested, the police said.

"The constable was arrested and his service rifle seized. Investigation into the incident is underway," Superintendent of Police H G Lyngdoh said.

Assistant Commandant Mukesh Tyagi was shot dead by constable Arjun Deshwal at the Railway Protection Force (RPF) camp in Mawkyrwat town of the district bordering Bangladesh, Meghalaya Chief Electoral Officer F R Kharkongor told PTI.

In the ensuing scuffle, another constable, Joginder Kumar, received bullet injury on his arm and was sent for treatment to the North East Indira Gandhi Regional Institute of Health and Medical Science here, he said.

Inspector Pradeep Meena and Sub-Inspector Om Prakash Yadav also suffered minor injuries, the CEO said.

Elections to Meghalaya's 60-member Assembly will be held on February 27. A large number of central security forces have been deployed in the state for the elections.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)The opposition YSR Congress has alleged that the TDP was trying to "purchase" a few of the former's MLAs to win all three Rajya Sabha seats from the state that will fall vacant on April.

The elections to these seats will be held on March 23.

Going by their strength in the Legislative Assembly, the TDP could comfortably win two seats while the YSR Congress could get one.

However the YSR Congress is left with just 44 MLAs as 22 of its legislators have defected to the TDP.

If the ruling party manages to bring over just a couple of YSRC MLAs to its side, the TDP could end up winning all three seats, said observers.

The YSRC has alleged that the TDP was trying to "purchase" some of its MLAs. "The TDP is adopting a carrot and stick policy and has stepped up its activity to bring about some more defections from our party in order to bag the third RS seat," YSRC MP V Vijayasai Reddy said.

He had petitioned the Election Commission of India in this regard a few days ago.

The YSRC has announced the name of industrialist from SPS Nellore district, Vemireddy Prabhakar Reddy, as its candidate for the Rajya Sabha poll.

The allegations have pushed the TDP on the backfoot with the party claiming that all talk of a third candidate was speculation.

"Talk of fielding a third candidate is speculation. We will win two seats. We will formally announce our plan soon," a politburo member of the TDP said.

Notification for the Rajya Sabha polls will be issued on March 5 and the last date for filing nominations is March 12. Elections, if required, would be held on March 23.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)South African special police unit Hawks have arrested an Indian-origin woman and her partner, both allegedly linked to ISIS, on charges of abducting a British couple.

Fatima Patel and Safydeen Aslam Del Vecchio also face charges of robbery and theft after they went on a spending spree using the couples credit cards, building up a stash of jewellery, camping equipment and electronic devices which were found at a remote location where an ISIS flag was being flown.

The Hawks declined to provide any further information due to the sensitive nature of the case as the search continues for the couple whose vehicle was found abandoned more than 300 kms away from where they were last seen on February 9.

But the weekly Sunday Times, quoting a charge sheet after their court appearance, reported that Patel and Del Vecchio also stand accused of contravening the Protection of Constitutional Democracy Against Terrorism and Related Activities Act by hoisting an ISIS flag at a modest homestead in a rural area.

Del Vecchio also faces another terrorism-related charge for allegedly participating in "extremist web forums that support ISIS and offering to supply phone numbers and sim cards that are not traceable."



Yousha Tayob, the lawyer representing Patel and Del Vecchio, confirmed that the pair had appeared in the court and were remanded in custody at Westville Prison in KwaZulu-Natal province.

The incident had prompted the British government to issue a travel advisory about possible terrorist attacks on foreign nationals in South Africa, but local Muslim organisations have dismissed this as an "overreaction".

Ebrahim Deen of the Afro-Middle East Centre told the weekly that South African Muslims posed no threat to travellers and that the incident was more related to crime than an ISIS attack.

"Muslims are largely integrated in (South African) society, are not disillusioned and they face little discrimination like in Europe and elsewhere," he said.

Martin Ewi of the Institute for Security Studies said South Africa was regarded as a "logistics base" for terror cells in transit, and is not traditionally a target for attacks, although the arrests of Patel and Del Vecchio confirmed the presence of an active terror cell in South Africa.

"We in the counter terror fraternity suspected that they were working as members of an active cell, and the kidnapping will confirm the presence of an active IS cell," Ewi said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Krisha Nayakodi and T Manorama Devi won the men's and women's elite category respectively of the Saksham Cyclothon Mumbai held here this morning.

Over6,000 participants took part in the event which was held in the categories, Elite (Men - 46 km/women - 32 km), Amateur (Men & Women 18 km), MTB and Hybrid and Amateur MTB Road Bike and the crowd favourite 8 km Green Ride.

The ride was flagged off by FI driverNarain Karthikeyan and actor Milind Soman, a media release said today.

While Nayakodi, who won the elite race in the men's category, went home richer by Rs 1.25 lakh, Mallappa Murtannavar stood second and Arvind Panwar secured third place, it said.

In the women's elite category, while T Manorama Devi from the Railways won and earned a cash prize of Rs 1 lakh, Lidiyamol M Sunny stood second and M Sonali Chanu secured the third position, the release added.

The Cyclothon was an initiative ofthe Petroleum Conservation Research Association (PCRA), under the aegis of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, to make citizens aware of conservation and effective utilization of petroleum products.

Winners: Male Elite Men (46km): 1st KrishnaNayakodifrom SSCB (Rs 1.25 lakh) 2nd position Mallappa Murtannavarfrom Railways (Rs 75,000), 3rd positionArvind Panwarfrom Railways (Rs 50,000)



Female Elite Women (32km): 1st positionT. Manorama Devifrom Railways (Rs 1 lakh), 2nd positionLidiyamol M Sunny(Rs 50,000), 3rd positionMSonali Chanu from Railways (Rs 40,000).

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Mining mogul Anil Agarwal has said the Supreme Court's decision to quash all iron ore mining permits in Goa will hamper India's economic growth as raw material for making steel will have to be imported, resulting in jobs being created outside the country rather than within.

He said iron ore mining in Goa gave the government Rs 6,000 crore in revenue, boosted exports by USD 7-8 billion and created about 3 lakh jobs.

"This is a pin prick which will destabilise our country," he told PTI here. "Are we going to shut our country?" he asked. "It will hamper our growth".

The Supreme Court had earlier this month quashed all 88 mining leases renewed by the state government saying the permits were hastily renewed just before an amendment to the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act made auction of leases mandatory for mining notified minerals like iron ore.

Agarwal's Vedanta Ltd is the biggest iron ore miner in Goa. It will be impacted by the apex court decision to stop mining in Goa, which produces low-quality iron ore, after March 15.

He said the likes of his company and Dempo are 70-year old firms who have invested billions of dollars in developing mines, process, infrastructure and steel plant in Goa.

"Unless consistency is there (in decision making) and stability is there, we (as a country) cannot grow. This (Supreme Court decision) sends very wrong signal," he said. "I get a feeling this will be resolved but this is not the way (to cancel all mining leases)."



India needs 450 million tonnes of iron ore to achieve Prime Minister Narendra Modi's target of producing 300 million tonnes of steel annually, he said, adding that the country produces just over third of its requirement and has to import the rest.

"India has best deposits of iron ore, bauxite, gold, oil and copper, yet everything we import," he said. "Why do we want to remain poor. Have we done any wrong by trying to eradicate poverty and create jobs here."



In absence of domestic resources being produced, raw material will have to be imported. "We are creating job outside India to produce this material and bring to India."Agarwal said Vedanta was doing research on how to blend the low-quality iron ore produced in Goa with normal grade iron ore to avoid the natural resource from being exported.

Most of Goa's iron ore is exported to china. Goa had exported about 50 million tonnes of iron ore a year before the court action against illegal mining shut the industry in the state for more than two years from 2012. The Supreme Court later limited production in the state to 20 million tonnes a year.

Vedanta expected to produce around 5.5 million tonnes of iron ore from Goa this fiscal.

Hoping that the issue would be resolved soon, he said the government has to take a lead in fixing the problem.

"Something which is not broken why to fix it," he said when asked what is the solution to the problem.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena today reshuffled the Cabinet in the backdrop of the ongoing political turmoil.

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has been appointed as the Minister of Law and Order in the unity government's second cabinet reshuffle.

The unity government of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) and the United National Party (UNP) was thrown into a crisis after former president Mahinda Rajapaksa's new party pulled off a stunning victory in local elections seen as a referendum on the ruling alliance.

Former strongman Rajapaksa's nearly a decade-long rule was ended by Sirisena in 2015.

Several portfolios have been reshuffled among the UNP members with some of them exchanging jobs.

"Taking (into account) people's message expressed at the recent local government election, the government needs to improve its policies, programmes and actions to serve people," Sirisena said in a tweet.

Handing out the new appointments Sirisena expressed hope that the changes will serve the people better.

Rajapaksa's new political party, Sri Lanka People's Party (SLPP), defeated Sirisena's SLFP and Wickremesinghe's UNP, winning 225 councils or two thirds of the 340 councils which went to polls earlier this month.

After registering the landslide win, Rajapaksa was quick to demand a snap general election which is scheduled to be held after August 2020.

Since the defeat, Sirisena has been seeking the removal of Wickremesinghe as the prime minister, attempting to form his own SLFP government, analysts have said.

However, in the absence of required numbers, Sirisena has to accept Wickremesinghe, they said.

Wickremesinghe has said that the result of the local body polls was a wake up call for the government.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Six persons, including a child and a forest guard, were today injured in attacks by a bear at different places here, a senior forest official said.

Deputy divisional forest officer S S Bhadauriya said, "A bear entered into the residential areas in the outskirts of Bhopal. It attacked and injured six persons including a forest guard Mansharam and a child".

He said the bear first attacked an individual at 7 am in Navibagh area.

"A Forest department team of 40 employees was pressed along with six vehicles and necessary equipments to catch the bear," the officer said.

Bhadauria said despite the day long efforts, the forest department has not been able to catch the bear.

The bear kept moving from one residential area to another, he said.

Bhadauria said the bear attacked and injured Mansharam, when he was going to catch the animal.

Efforts to capture the bear are on, the officer added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)The son of a slain Sikh lawmaker in Pakistan has accused Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Chief Minister Pervez Khattak and provincial assembly speaker of entering into a deal with his father's alleged murderer for a vote in the forthcoming Senate elections.

Sardar Soran Singh, a lawmaker from Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, was shot dead in April 2016 in Buner district of the province. Singh was elected to the provincial assembly on a minority seat.

His son Ajay Singh appealed to the KP Government not to bring the killer of his father in the provincial assembly for obtaining his vote for PTI Senate candidate in the upcoming Senate elections due for March 3, 2018.

Ajay alleged that Baldev Kumar, the second in the list of Tehreek-e-Insaf party's candidates for a reserved seat for minorities, was murderer of his father. Kumar has been facing a trial by an anti-terrorism court in Peshawar.

"But PTI for only one vote in KP Senate elections wanted to bring the killer in the provincial assembly," he claimed.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)The half a dozen police stations set up by state-run utility MSEDCL to probe electricity theft cases across Maharashtra will be closed and matters pending with them will be moved to local police stations, a senior official has said.

An order to this effect was issued by the home department on February 22, he said, adding these special police stations are facing closure due to logistical reasons.

The Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Ltd (MSEDCL) started six police stations - in Kalyan, Nashik, Pune, Jalna, Latur and Nagpur - in 2006 to investigate the cases of electricity theft.

Over 1.6 lakh electricity theft cases, involving Rs 19,170.59 lakh, were registered at these police stations since their inception, the officer said.

"Since the distance of the police station was very far from the actual place of offence, an investigating official was not able to work swiftly," he said.

Reaching the place of offence, making 'panchnamas' (recording observation) and starting investigation was a big challenge, he added.

However, there was nothing wrong in the functioning of these police stations. Officials posted at these stations had detected thefts of 59.43 million units of electricity, the officer added.

As per the data available till December 2017, these police stations had solved 68,099 cases, while 87,420 power theft cases were pending with them, the official.

"The government has decided to shutdown these police stations. All such cases will be now be registered (with some of the regular) police stations in the district concerned," Surendra Pandey, Additional Director General of Police and Director (Security and Enforcement) of MSEB Holding Company, told PTI.

The cases registered with the special police stations will be transfered to the regular ones within the next two months, Pandey said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)The sudden demise of veteran actor Sridevi has left the Indian film industry in shock with many Bollywood celebrities expressing their grief on social media.

The actor (54) died late in the night reportedly due to cardiac arrest in Dubai, where she had gone to attend her nephew Mohit Marwah's wedding.

Minutes after the of her death broke, many Bollywood actors like Amitabh Bachchan, Priyanka Chopra, Sushmita Sen, Sidharth Malhotra and Riteish Deshmukh took to Twitter to pay their condolences.

The first one, however, was megastar Amitabh Bachchan who in a cryptic tweet wrote, "Don't know why, feeling a strange restlessness."



"I have no words. Condolences to everyone who loved #Sridevi . A dark day. RIP," tweeted Priyanka, alongside a still of Sridevi from her superhit film "Mr India".

Comedian Johnny Lever, while expressing grief, sent prayers to the late actor's family, which includes husband Boney Kapoor and daughters Khushi and Janhvi.

"Deeply saddened and shocked to hear about #Sridevi Ji. My prayers and condolences to the family," he tweeted.

"Really Shocked and disturbed to hear that Sridevi Maam is no more. #RIP #Sridevi," wrote Sidharth.

Actor Shilpa Shetty's husband -- Raj Kundra -- posted, "Heartbroken by this news!! She was One of the finest kindest souls I ever knew. Speechless shocked. #RIP#Sridevi this is just not right at all! May god give all the family strength at this darkest hour."



Riteish tweeted, Terrible terrible Am shocked beyond words. SRIDEVI ji No More RIP,, while Sushmita wrote that she has been inconsolable since the broke. I just heard Maam Sridevi passed away due to a massive cardiac arrest. I am in shockcant stop crying"Actor Nimrat Kaur tweeted, Absolutely devastated to hear about the passing of #Sridevi. What a dark black terrible moment in time. Gutted.

Cameron Bailey, Artistic Director, Toronto International Film Festival, tweeted, "Shocked to hear of the passing of Indias legendary Sridevi. Honoured to have been in her presence in 2012 when she visited Toronto for English Vinglish. She made countless millions fall in love with her characters.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Indian embassy officials here are working closely with the local authorities to ensure that the mortal remains of Bollywood icon Sridevi, who passed away here last night, is taken to Mumbai on Sunday.

It is, however, unclear when the transfer will take place as local procedures need to be completed before the body is repatriated.

According to sources in the consulate, forensic and lab reports are still awaited following which the process of repatriation will begin.

"Since this was declared a natural death, post-mortem is unlikely to be carried out," another source added.

Consulate officials said the actor's body is currently at the police headquarters morgue in Al Qusais and a consulate employee is with the family. They are trying to help expedite the procedures for repatriation.

Vipul, Consul General of India in Dubai, said, "We are working with the Dubai Police to expedite the procedure to repatriate her (Sridevi) body to India."



State Bank of India (SBI) is set for a major restructuring of its business in the UK from April, Indias largest state-owned bank has said.

SBI's UK operations will transform into a subsidiary named State Bank of India UK Limited from April 1, in compliance with wider ring-fencing of capital requirements by the Bank of England.

The move will mean that all retail branches of SBI in the UK will fall under a new UK-incorporated banking entity instead of their previous status as overseas branches of the Indian entity.

"While there will be no visible change, the brand changes to State Bank of India UK Limited. The 12 retail branches that we have seven in London and the rest outside London will become branches of SBI UK Ltd. Apart from that, if we look at the day to day, there will be no dislocation," said Sanjiv Chadha, SBIs Regional Head for UK.

He explains that while customers would be able to carry on using their debit cards and other banking facilities as before, the move marks a strategic shift for the bank with a greater focus on the UK market.

"We will be looking to doing more business in the UK, expanding the products that are designed for the UK market," he said.

The move follows Bank of England's Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) directing foreign banks a few years ago to move from their retail status as overseas branches to independent entities in order to protect depositors in the UK from fluctuations in foreign markets.

"As a subsidiary, the capital will be ring-fenced and that brings an additional comfort level," said Chadha.

He highlighted that the restructuring marked a major endorsement for London as a financial capital of the world, despite uncertainties triggered by the 2016 referendum in favour of an exit from the European Union (EU).

"The UK market is one of tremendous interest and promise to us and that is unchanged regardless of Brexit. London is the best place for us to base our international business in, we find the regulatory climate proportionate and supportive," he added.

SBI's expansion in the UK market was welcomed as a vote of confidence by the City of London Corporation, which has a remit to support and promote the British capital as a world-leading financial and business hub.

"The move is a reflection of the continued strength of UK-India ties, particularly in financial services. SBI has long been a treasured partner of the City, opening an office here back in 1921. As the City of London looks towards its next decade of engagement with Asia, we also look forward to building on our 100-year relationship with Indias largest bank," said Catherine McGuinness, Policy Chairman at the City of London Corporation.

SBI operates seven branches in London and five each in Manchester, Birmingham, Wolverhampton, Leicester and Coventry all cities with a large concentration of Indian diaspora population.

The bank says that while the Indian-origin customer base will remain at the heart of its operations, it will use its expansion to cater to the wider UK market as a competitive local bank.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)A job application filled out and signed by Apple Inc co-founder Steve Jobs is expected to fetch USD 50,000 at an US auction.

Jobs enrolled at Reed College for the fall semester in 1972 but dropped out after just six months to preserve his parents meager funds.

However, he hung around campus for a year and a half to audit creative courses, including classes on Shakespeare, dance, and calligraphy - which helped shape his artistic worldview that influenced the innovation of the Macintosh computer.

The one-page questionnaire was filled out by Jobs in 1972 where he fills out his address, "reed college"; phone, "none"; and major, "english lit."



In the middle section, he wrote "yes" in response to 'Driver's License?' and "possible, but not probable," in reply to 'Access to transportation?'.

Concerning his skills, next to 'Computer' and 'Calculator,' he wrote, "yes (design, tech)."



At the bottom, he described his 'Special Abilities' as "electronics tech or design engineer. digital. - from Bay near Hewitt-Packard."In his 2005 Stanford commencement speech, Jobs had said "If I had never dropped in on that single calligraphy course in college, the Mac would have never had multiple typefaces or proportionally spaced fonts."In 1974, Jobs put his technical skills to work and secured a job as a technician at Atari, heavily relying on the help of Steve Wozniak.

In 1976, Jobs and Wozniak set out on their own and founded Apple, introducing the personal computer to the masses.

"It's a remarkable document that reveals Jobs's early aspiration to work in the fledgling tech industry that he would one day revolutionize," said Bobby Livingston Executive VP at Boston-based RR Auction.

The auction also features a Mac OS X technical manual signed by Jobs in 2001. The signature was obtained in a parking lot after a training session at Apple in California.

"Steve Jobs was a notoriously difficult signer and his autograph is incredibly scarce among contemporary figures," said Livingston.

The manual is also expected to sell for USD 50,000.

A newspaper clipping from, 2008, featuring an image of Jobs speaking at the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference for the introduction of the iPhone 3G, with the headline, "New, faster iPhone will sell for USD 199," signed by Jobs is also up for auction.

Bidding for the items ends on March 7.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)The diamond industry in Surat is hopeful that its business will not be affected adversely if tighten the lending norms in the wake of the Rs 114 billion fraud at Punjab National Bank (PNB).

The demand for bank credit from small and medium enterprises (SMEs) involved in cutting and polishing diamonds is likely to go up despite the fraud, industry representatives said.

PNB, the country's second largest state-run lender, recently detected Rs 114-billion fraudulent transactions at one of its branches in Mumbai.

Gems and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) regional chairman Dinesh Navadiya said out of the 6,000-odd diamond processing units in Surat, only about 100 large firms get borrowings from banks, while SMEs are largely dependent on private financiers.

According to him, the LoU facility is not widely used by the Surat-based diamond processing firms.

Navadiya also welcomed the crackdown on Nirav Modi and Choksi, who allegedly duped the PNB using the LoU facility.

The firms of diamond jewellers Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi allegedly acquired fraudulent letters of undertaking (LoU) from PNB's Brady House branch in South Mumbai to secure overseas credit from other lenders.

The LoUs were not recorded in the PSU lender's books and therefore were undetected for a long time.

"The LoUs are not used much in the Surat diamond industry. I strongly believe that a regular audit must be done in all the It will be good if the introduce stricter norms for lending," he said.

"As of now, we do not see any major impact on the business after the fraud has been unearthed," said Navadiya, who earlier served as the president of the Surat Diamond Association.

There are around 6,000 companies, including 100 large units, in Surat, he said.

"However, almost 90 per cent of the bank financing goes to those 100 large units only. The remaining small and medium units are dependent on market borrowings, which is much costlier in terms of interest on the loans taken," he said.

Navadiya, who also owns a medium-size diamond processing firm and claims to have been denied loan by banks in the past, said banks should also focus on SMEs.

Surat is considered as the world's largest diamond cutting and polishing hub and largely depends on credit for survival, he said.

Every year, the Surat-based units import rough diamonds worth Rs 1 trillion and exports polished diamonds worth Rs 1.58 trillion, Navadiya said.

Echoing views, Surat Diamond Association president Babubhai Gujarati claimed that as compared to the large companies, SMEs hardly default.

"Before this scam, hardly any businessmen in the industry knew about the LoU. I don't know how it happened," he said.

"I think banks will definitely double check before giving loans now. In a way, it was also necessary. I believe that banks should now focus on SMEs which, unlike these big firms, hardly default on payments," said Gujarati, who also owns a processing and exporting unit.

According to another diamond unit owner, Pravin Nanavati, the detection of the fraud and the subsequent crackdown is good for future.

"Out of all the units in Surat, less than 10 per cent are dependent on the bank Thus, even if banks introduce tough measures for the disbursement of loans, it will not have any major impact, as most firms are borrowing funds from the market," he said.

"Though SMEs form a major chunk of this business, we are still deprived of from banks. I think the banks should focus on SMEs, so that we do not have to rely on costly market borrowings," said Nanavati.Asserting that he was confident that Haryana would soon get its due share of water, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar today urged the state's opposition parties to exercise restraint and not hold any agitation on the Sutlej Yamuna Link (SYL) canal issue.

"I have full faith in the Supreme Court and the state would soon get its due share of water through the SYL," he told reporters after dedicating three projects costing Rs 83.64 crore to the residents of Panchkula, near here, today.

Khattar said the Supreme Court had given its decision in favour of Haryana.

"We have full faith in the Supreme Court and the opposition too should have faith. The Presidential reference was lying pending in the Supreme Court for over ten years. It is the present state government that strongly pleaded the case in the Supreme Court and ensured regular hearing. As a result of this, the apex court has given its decision in the favour of Haryana," he added.

INLD leader Abhay Singh Chautala has threatened to launch a stir if the Centre failed to give any assurance on the construction of SYL canal before the party's scheduled rally in Delhi on March 7.

Khattar also said that opposition parties should refrain from inciting public sentiments, and instead, give constructive suggestions.

"When the present government has already announced that student union elections would be held in the next academic session, agitation by the INLD on this issue is neither called for nor justifiable. Once consensus has been reached on any matter, petty should not be resorted to," he said, adding that "we do what we say or promise."



To another question, he said Anganwadi workers and helpers should call off their agitation in public interest.

All their genuine demands would be sympathetically considered by the state government, he said.

The state government is already paying more than its share to these employees, yet if they have any concerns, these would be addressed, Khattar said.

"Senior officers of the women and child development department held a meeting with the agitating employees three days ago to discuss their demands and concerns. Soon, I will also convene a meeting in this regard and whatever possible would be done," he added.

Anganwadi workers went on strike earlier this week. They are demanding a minimum wage of not less than Rs 18,000 per month.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)is seeking UK government backing for a 60-million-pound project at its Port Talbot steelworks in Wales, according to a media report on Sunday.

The project is aimed at overhauling a production line at Port Talbot to be able to make lighter steel for car-making, which is expected to secure the future of Britain's largest steel operation.

The Indian steel giant is believed to have informally requested financial support from the government to upgrade its Continuous Annealing Process Line (CAPL) to make lighter, thinner and stronger galvanised steels, the Sunday Times reported.

The move is aimed at meeting demands from the automotive sector, which is trying to slash the weight of cars to cut emissions.

Industry sources told the newspaper that UK taxpayer support for the CAPL upgrade was integral to Tata committing to reline an ageing blast furnace.

Without the extra investment, one of the two towering furnaces that convert iron ore into molten iron is due to finish operations by the end of next year.

is understood to be working on a plan to extend the furnace's life until about 2026. However, this plan falls short of a full relining, which would cost about 150 million pounds.

Maintaining Port Talbot's two furnaces is seen by workers' unions and the UK government as crucial to the survival of the plant, which has about 4,000 workers.

In September 2017, UK business secretary Greg Clark wrote to Natarajan Chandrasekaran, chairman of Tata Sons, asking for a "specific commitment" to the relining.

Chandrasekaran said overhauling the site would help "develop the business viability" for the reline but fell short of a commitment.The Mahasamund district police in Chhattisgarh has arrested three people, including a doctor, for allegedly printing and circulating fake currency notes, an official said today.

The police also recovered counterfeit currency notes with a face value of Rs 55,800 from the three men, he said.

A joint team of the Crime Branch and the city Kotwali police arrested the accused, identified as Dwarika Prasad Sahu (31), Akhilesh Dhruv (33) and Kundan Dhiwar, last evening, Mahasamund Superintendent of Police Santosh Singh told PTI.

The Crime Branch officials were keeping an eye on Sahu, who ran a photocopy shop in Mongra village, after getting a tip-off that he was involved in printing counterfeit currency notes, he said.

The police also got an information that Dhruv, who is a BAMS (Bachelor of Ayurvedic Medicine and Surgery) doctor, and Dhiwar used to visit Sahu's shop regularly and that they were also involved in the racket, he said.

Some policemen later went to the shop while posing as decoy customers and found that Sahu and Dhruv were allegedly engaged in the printing of counterfeit notes, Singh said.

The three accused were subsequently arrested and fake notes in the denominations of Rs 100 and Rs 500 and having a face value of Rs 55,800 were recovered from them, he said.

A computer, a colour printer, papers and other material used for making the currency notes, and three mobile phones were also seized from the shop, the SP said.

Singh said that during interrogation, the three accused admitted to have circulated fake currency notes with a face value of Rs 10,000 to Rs 20,000 in the market.

A case was registered in this connection, he said, adding that further investigation was underway.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Three people were arrested today for allegedly stealing over Rs 14 lakh of a Noida-based firm and then claiming that there had been a robbery, police said.

The accused were arrested by the Murad Nagar police. One of them Abhishek was a cash collection agent on contract with the firm, they said.

They had made a call on the '100' number yesterday claiming that two motorcycle-borne men had looted Rs 14.71 lakh from them near Duhai village on the Delhi-Meerut road, they said.

Following the call, police had put up barricades and launched a search operation to nab the robbers.

The call was received around 1 pm and police personnel were informed on wireless, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) H N Singh said.

However, later it was found that there had been no robbery and the accused had concocted the story, the SSP said.

Abhishek, who is looks after the firm's cash collection in Murad Nagar as he is a local, had made the call, police said.

Station House Officer (SHO), Murad Nagar, Ranvir Singh said that a complaint was lodged by the firm's manager Nishant six hours after the incident, and this raised suspicion.

During interrogation they confessed to the crime and fabricating the story, the SHO said.

The cash has been recovered. The money was collected over the past two days, police said, adding that one of their associates Sonu is at large.

One country-made pistol, a cartridge and a motorcycle have been seized, they said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)US wildcard Frances Tiafoe will be gunning for his first ATP title when he takes on Germany's Peter Gojowczyk in the final at Delray Beach, Florida.

The 20-year-old Tiafoe, ranked 91st in the world, defeated 46th-ranked Canadian Denis Shapovalov 7-5, 6-4 to reach his first final.

Gojowczyk defeated American Steve Johnson 7-6 (7/3), 6-3.

Tiafoe's semi-final victory came hours after he finished off eighth-seeded South Korean Chung Hyeon 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 in a quarter-final halted by rain the night before.

Tiafoe led that match 5-3 in the third when play was halted, and the players were kept until after midnight before organizers decided to postpone the finish until Saturday.

"The stress level was pretty high today," admitted Tiafoe, who had three chances to finish his quarter-final on Friday night and finally dispatched Chung on his eighth match point on Saturday.

Tiafoe took control against Shapovalov with a late break in the first set, closing out the frame with an ace.

He won the first three games of the second before Shapovalov converted his only break chance of the match to make it 3-1.

Still up a break, Tiafoe steadied and closed out the contest in 71 minutes, finishing it out confidently with a love game.

He and 64th-ranked Gojowczyk will be meeting for the first time in an ATP Tour match, although they have split a pair of non-tour contests.

The German is seeking a second tour title after capturing his first at Metz last year. To do so he'll have to get past a fourth straight American opponent having beaten sixth-seeded John Isner in the second round and wildcard Reilly Opelka in the quarter-finals before taking out Johnson.

He saved the only break point he faced against Johnson, and said a more aggressive style that he has been cultivating is paying off as he continues to rebuild in the wake of foot surgery in 2014.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)As many as six tigers would be relocated to the Buxa Tiger Reserve (BTR) in North Bengal after the arrangements, including augmentation of prey base and grassland were complete, a top forest official has said.

The relocation of the big cats is part of a plan to augment tiger population in the reserve which has been approved by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA).

"Six tigers would be brought from the national parks in neighbouring Assam which are genetically similar to Buxa," the state's Chief wildlife warden Rabi Kant Sinha told PTI.

He said the NTCA has already given the go ahead for the plan for tiger population augmentation in Buxa and the state government too has approved it.

"As part of the prey base augmentation programme in Buxa, initially we have brought spotted deer from other national parks and wildlife sanctuaries and they are put under quarantine. Later, they will be released in the tiger reserve," Sinha, who is also the principal chief conservator of forest (wildlife), said.

He said Sambar deer would also be released in the tiger reserve in the next 2-3 months.

Asked if tigers would be relocated from Kaziranga National Park in Assam, he said the decision rests with the Assam government if they want to relocate the big cats from Kaziranga, Orang or Pobitora.

He said that the six tigers would be introduced in phases once all the arrangements are in place.

Asked if relocating the tigers could be feasible in Buxa where there is human disturbance, Sinha said, "We need to tackle this problem".

Biswajit Roy Chowdhury, a conservationist and wildlife expert, said that human interference at Buxa is a cause for concern.

Roy Chowdhury, Secretary, Nature and Wildlife Society said that there are a number of villages in the tiger reserve area which should ideally be shifted elsewhere, he said.

"If tigers are relocated to the reserve after improvement in habitat, prey base and security, it will be good. But first and foremost thing is security which has to be tightened there," he said.

He said camera traps installed earlier by his organisation in the tiger reserve had even captured the presence of people with armns.

Sighting of tiger was not reported for long in Buxa although the forest department has claimed that the big cats were present in BTR.

BTR is located in Alipurduar sub-division of West Bengals Jalpaiguri District. The tiger reserve, which borders Bhutan, has an area of 760 square kilometre.

R P Saini, Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forests and a former field director of BTR, asserted that big cats do exist in the reserve, although their numbers are few.

"We found a bison killed in the BTR. Leopards cannnot kill a bison. It confirms the presence of tiger. We also found tiger scat there," he said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami submitted a memorandum to Prime Minister Narendra Modi here today on the state's development projects.

He submitted it while seeing off the Prime Minister at the airport this evening.

The memorandum also contained representations related to Tamil Nadu, an official release here said.

Further details of the memorandum were not immediately known.

Modi, who arrived here last evening to launch the Tamil Nadu government's 'Amma two-wheeler scheme,' stayed at the Raj Bhavan last night before leaving for neighbouring Puducherry this morning to attend various events there.

After concluding his Puducherry visit, he arrived here en route to Gujarat.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Hospitality group Treebo Hotels plans to expand the number of properties to 850 in the next 12 months, a top official said.

The group has forayed into the premium segment by launching 'Treebo Select' brand.

"We are bullish on expansion and in the next 12 months are looking at a total of 850 properties across the country. For this expansion we are looking at opportunities in top 20 cities, leisure destinations, pilgrimages, and small business towns," Treebo Hotels co-founder Sidharth Gupta told PTI.

Similarly, with the size of the company growing by 2.5 times more in next 12 months after the expansion, Gupta said, the revenue is also likely to increase in a similar proportion.

Founded in 2015, Treebo Hotels currently has an inventory of 7,500 rooms and 350 hotels in over 70 cities.

The company, which mainly operates in the budget segment with Rs 1,800-2,000 room tariff, has also forayed into the premium segment by launching 'Treebo Select' brand.

He said, 'Treebo Select' is a premium brand offering providing better amenities and services in the price range of Rs 2,500-5,000 per night.

"Our expansion plan also includes 40 properties in top 20 cities across the country under the 'Treebo Select' brand," Gupta added.

He said some Treebo Hotels will be upgraded to 'Treebo Select' as these properties have existing facilities and can easily be converted to premium category.

The company enjoys an average 75 per cent occupancy across all its properties, he said.

"We are bullish and this segment is going to witness explosive growth with growing economy as well aspirations of people wanting to travel," he said.

When asked about how the company will fund this, Gupta said, as the organisation follows asset-light franchise model, there will be no major investment requirement.

Last year in August, the Bengaluru-based Treebo Hotels had raised USD 34 million (Rs 220 crore) in its Series C funding round.

The investment was led by Hong Kong-based investment firms Ward Ferry Management and Karst Peak Capital. Existing investors SAIF Partners, Matrix Partners India and Bertelsmann India Investments also participated in the round.

Talking about venturing into the luxury segment in future, he said, the company is not actively thinking about it.

On overseas expansion, Gupta said, the company is currently focused in the domestic market for the next couple of years and will take a decision on this afterwards.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)The sudden demise of veteran actor Sridevi has sent shockwaves throughout the Indian film industry with many Bollywood celebrities such as Amitabh Bachchan, Rishi Kapoor, Kamal Haasan and Aamir Khan mourning and expressing their condolences.

The actor, who was 54, died late at Saturday night reportedly due to cardiac arrest in Dubai, where she had gone to attend her nephew Mohit Marwah's wedding.

The of Sridevi's death spread like wildfire with stars such as her contemporary Madhuri Dixit, Priyanka Chopra, Sushmita Sen and Riteish Deshmukh taking to social media to express their grief.

The first one, however, was Amitabh Bachchan who in a cryptic tweet wrote, "Don't know why, feeling a strange restlessness."



The megastar had worked with Sridevi in "Khuda Gawah" (1992).

Actor-turned-politician Kamal Haasan, who worked with Sridevi in "Sadma", the Hindi remake of their 1982 Tamil film "Moondram Pirai", wrote on Twitter that the lullaby 'Suramayi ankhiyon mein' from the movie haunts him now.

"Have witnessed Sridevi's life from an adolescent teenager to the magnificent lady she became. Her stardom was well deserved. Many happy moments with her flash through my mind including the last time I met her. Sadma's lullaby haunts me now. We'll miss her," Haasan wrote.

Her "Chandni" and "Nagina" co-star Rishi Kapoor said he is in complete shock to wake up to the of Sridevi's death.

"Woken up to this tragic Absolute shock. Sad. Heartfelt condolences to Boney and their two daughters!" he wrote. The actor has also changed his profile picture to an all-black image in mourning.

Aamir said the actor will always be remembered with love and respect.

"I am deeply disturbed and saddened by the untimely and tragic passing away of Srideviji. I have always been a huge fan of her work. Equally I have always been an admirer of her grace and dignity with which she conducted herself.

"My heartfelt condolences to everyone in the family. I join all the millions of her fans in mourning her demise..." Aamir wrote in a statement on Twitter.

Madhuri Dixit, one of Sridevi's contemporaries, also took to Twitter to mourn the demise of the actor.

"Just woke up to the terrible news of Sridevi passing. My heart goes out to her family. The world has lost a very talented person who left behind a huge legacy in film. #RIPSridevi."



"I have no words. Condolences to everyone who loved #Sridevi . A dark day. RIP," tweeted Priyanka, alongside a still of Sridevi from her superhit film "Mr India".

Riteish tweeted, Terrible terrible news. Am shocked beyond words. SRIDEVI ji No More RIP,, while Sushmita wrote that she has been inconsolable since the news broke. I just heard Ma'am Sridevi passed away due to a massive cardiac arrest. I am in shockcant stop crying"



Director Shekhar Kapur, who worked with Sridevi in the iconic "Mr India" called the actor's death the end of an era.

"Sridevi... gone. It's like an era is over. Like life turning a new chapter. A beautiful story just ended. An amazing spirit just vanished leaving us with amazing love, memories, and incredible grief," he wrote.

Director Subhash Ghai called the actor "the uncrowned queen of acting in all languages in her times".

"I am deeply grieved for this shocking loss. Sridevi has not been one of the finest actor but the finest actor of indian of cinema since 1985. Introvert by nature, she was electricity with thunder in front of camera. She would shock directors by her each shot taken on her on the sets, may it be dance drama or romance.

"She maintained her dignity and integrity as an actor and person both constantly at any cost in this demanding industry," Ghai said.

Actor-BJP MP Hema Malini said Sridevi's death is a loss to the Indian film industry, which would never be compensated.

"Sridevi's sudden passing away has left me in deep shock. Can't imagine how such a bubbly person, a wonderful actor, is no more.She has left a void in the industry that cannot be filled. Boney is a good friend and I've seen their daughters grow up. My prayers are with the family," she tweeted.

Anupam Kher, who has collaborated with Sridevi in films such as "Chaalbaaz", "Karma", "Laadla" and "Chandni" among others, said he cannot bring himself to talk about the actor in past tense.

"It is too uncomfortable to talk about someone you liked and admired so much in past tense. Can't talk much now," Kher told PTI.

Hansal Mehta said he was planning to approach the actor with a project but was too late.

"There will never be another #Sridevi. I was about to approach her for a film. That film will now be dedicated to her. If it finds an actor."



Actor Akshay Kumar wrote he had the fortune of working with the actor in "Meri Biwi Ka Jawaab Nahin", a film which was shot in 1994 but saw the theatrical release 10 years later.

"Shocked beyond words to hear about the sad and untimely demise of #Sridevi. A dream for many, had the good fortune of sharing screen space with her long ago and witnessed her continued grace over the years. Thoughts and prayers with the family. RIP," Akshay wrote.

Alia Bhatt wrote a condolence message for her "icon" on Twitter.

"Nothing makes sense. I have no words.. just completely shocked. RIP Sridevi. My icon forever. Love you," she tweeted.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)US President Donald Trump today said he would like to have a military parade, which he is proposing as an annual event to showcase the country's military might, on America's Independence Day on July 4, or on Veterans Day in November.

"We are talking about probably Veterans Day, it's preliminarily, you know, being discussed. But we're talking about probably Veterans Day. I like July 4 because July 4 in Washington DC would be beautiful," Trump told Fox last night.

Trump got the idea of a military parade when he attended the Bastille Day Parade in France last year.

The proposed parade, he said, would be up and down Pennsylvania Avenue in the US capital.

"A lot of it would be fly-overs. I was at the Bastille Day Parade in France with the president of the France, very good guy. It would just be a great representative parade. It would have a lot of plane fly-overs, I think it would be great for the spirit of the country," he said.

"We have a great country and we should be celebrating our country. So, we'll see if we can do it at a reasonable cost. And if we can't, we won't do it. But the generals would love to do it, I can tell you, and so would I. I think it's great for our country in terms of being a cheerleader and the spirit," Trump said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)US President has said that he is hopeful that a grand military parade can be staged in Washington on Americas Independence Day in July or on Veterans Day in November.

Earlier this month, Trump ordered the Pentagon to plan a grand parade to show "appreciation" for the armed forces, an unusual move aimed at showcasing the might of the world's most powerful military.

Trump last night said he is hopeful that a military parade with a lot of plane flypast can be staged in Washington on Veterans Day but acknowledged that the expense could be a concern.

We are talking about probably Veterans Day, it's preliminarily, you know, being discussed. But we're talking about probably Veterans Day. I like July 4 because July 4 in Washington DC would be beautiful, Trump was quoted as saying by the Fox News.

Trump got the idea of a military parade when he attended the Bastille Day Parade in France last year. The proposed parade, he said, would be up and down Pennsylvania Avenue.

A lot of it would be flypasts. I was at the Bastille Day Parade in France with the president of France, very good guy. It would just be a great representative parade. It would have a lot of plane flypast, I think it would be great for the spirit of the country, he said.

We have a great country and we should be celebrating our country. So, we'll see if we can do it at a reasonable cost. And if we can't, we won't do it. But the generals would love to do it, I can tell you, and so would I. I think it's great for our country in terms of being a cheerleader and the spirit, Trump said.

The parade Trump envisions would cost between $10 million and $30 million, White House budget director Mick Mulvaney was quoted as saying by The Washington Post earlier this month.

Trump's interest in having a large-scale military parade now is likely to receive a mixed reception, especially among those who are concerned about nationalism, militarism or the president's past praise for authoritarian leaders.

The tradition stretches back centuries, but has been typically been tied to the conclusion of wars, the daily said. The last such parade was held in Washington DC in June 1991 at the end of the Gulf War.

The parade was then held on the Constitution Avenue. Trump now wants this to be an annual feature.The Turkish government wants the Czech authorities to extradite a Syrian Kurdish leader detained this weekend to face terror charges in Turkey, it said today.

"Our wish is that he is extradited," Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdag said after the arrest in Prague of Saleh Muslim, the former co-chair of Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD), noting that both Turkey and the Czech Republic were parties to the European Convention on Extradition.

He said that three Turkish ministries -- the foreign ministry, the interior ministry and the justice ministry -- would be working with the Czech authorities to bring this about.

Bozdag confirmed that Muslim had been detained earlier this weekend at a Prague hotel at Ankara's request, describing him as the "head of a terror group".

The Turkish justice ministry said in a statement that "efforts have started for the extradition (of Muslim) to Turkey".

It said that if he is remanded in custody by a Czech court, a formal extradition request will be sent to Prague in line with the European Convention on Extradition.

The arrest comes as Turkey presses a military operation against the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) militia -- the military wing of the PYD -- in the western enclave of Afrin in northern Syria.

Turkey sees the YPG and PYD as the Syrian branch of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which for over three decades has waged an insurgency against the Turkish state and is banned by Turkey, the US and the European Union as a terror group.

Muslim is wanted by Turkey over a February 2016 bombing in Ankara that killed 29 people that the Turkish authorities blamed on the PKK.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)A television actor staying here has filed a complaint of cheating against an event organiser for not paying her for a show held in Africa, a police official today said.

The official said that actor Shikha Singh, who has acted in several television serials, has alleged that Deepak Chaturvedi, an event organiser, was yet to pay her Rs 11.30 lakh for a show he had organised in Ghana in west Africa.

He said that Chaturvedi had approached her for the show, held in November last year, and agreed on a remuneration of Rs 12 lakh of which Rs 70,000 was paid in advance.

Singh told police that since the show, the accused has been allegedly evading her and was not paying the rest of the agreed amount.

Officials said that Chitalsar police here had registered a case under section 420 (cheating) of the Indian Penal Code and investigations were underway.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivandrum Singh Rawat today expressed deep sorrow over the sudden demise of veteran actress Sridevi.

In his condolence message, Rawat prayed to god to give strength to her family in this hour of tragedy.

The chief minister said she would always be in our hearts because of her contribution to India cinema.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)The government expects to collect around Rs 3 billion annually from the levy on airlines flying on major routes towards the regional air connectivity scheme, a senior official said.

To partly raise money for viability gap funding requirement under the UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik) scheme, the civil aviation ministry has been collecting the levy since December 2016.

More routes are getting added under the UDAN scheme, which seeks to connect unserved and under-served airports as well as making flying more affordable.

With increasing number of UDAN routes, the ministry is also preparing to deal with higher funding needs in the coming months.

A senior ministry official said the response to UDAN flights has been very positive and many routes are having good occupancy.

Every year, the ministry expects to garner Rs 2.8 billion to 3 billion by way of levy collected from airlines flying on major routes.

An amount of Rs 5,000 is levied for each departure of flights on major routes. Initially, the levy was Rs 8.5 billion and was subsequently reduced.

To fund the ambitious regional connectivity scheme -- UDAN -- the civil aviation ministry is collecting a levy of Rs 5,000 per departure from airlines operating in major domestic routes, including Mumbai and Delhi.

With at least half of the seats in UDAN flights offered at subsidised fares, the participating carriers will be provided a certain amount of Viability Gap Funding (VGF) -- an amount shared between the Centre and the states concerned.

All the five operators -- Alliance Air, SpiceJet, TruJet, Air Deccan and Air Odisha -- that won routes in the first round of bidding under UDAN have already commenced operations.

IndiGo and Jet Airways are among the airlines that have won routes in the second round of bidding and are yet to start services under the scheme.

In his 2018-19 Budget speech, Finance Minster Arun Jaitley had said that 56 unserved airports and 31 under-served helipads will be connected under the regional air connectivity scheme.

The allocation for UDAN has been substantially raised to Rs 10.14 billion for the next financial year. The same was at Rs 2.00 billion for 2017-18 fiscal.United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres today welcomed the Security Council's demand for a 30-day ceasefire in Syria and said it must be "immediately" implemented.

With Russia's backing, the council voted unanimously to demand the truce "without delay" as Syrian war planes pounded the rebel-held enclave of Eastern Ghouta.

"The secretary-general stresses his expectation that the resolution will be immediately implemented and sustained, particularly to ensure the immediate, safe, unimpeded and sustained delivery of humanitarian aid and services, the evacuation of the critically sick and wounded and the alleviation of the suffering of the Syrian people," UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.

Guterres reminded all sides of their "absolute obligation" to protect civilians, adding that "efforts to combat terrorism do not supersede these obligations."



The long-delayed vote at the council came as the death toll from seven days of bombardment of Eastern Ghouta rose to more than 500.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)The United States is seeking to have the United Nations ban 33 vessels from ports worldwide and blacklist 27 shipping businesses for helping North Korea circumvent sanctions.

The US request to a UN sanctions committee, a copy of which was obtained by AFP, came as President Donald Trump announced Friday the "heaviest sanctions ever" on North Korea over its nuclear and ballistic missile tests.

Japan joined the United States in supporting the request concerning three of the 33 vessels for carrying out ship-to-ship transfers of oil destined for North Korea in violation of UN resolutions.

Council members have until Friday at 3:00 pm to raise objections to the proposed sanctions.

The measures will come into effect if none of the council members, including the North's ally China, block the request.

Only eight vessels have so far been banned from ports for sanctions-busting and the US request would significantly expand the blacklist in a bid to cripple North Korea's maritime network.

Last year, the Security Council adopted a series of resolutions to ban North Korean exports of commodities in a bid to cut off revenue to North Korea's military programs.

The measures severely restrict deliveries of oil and refined petroleum products to North Korea, but a recent report by a UN panel of experts found that Pyongyang was flouting sanctions.

North Korea earned $200 million in revenue last year from exports of coal, iron, steel and other banned commodities, the report said.

The United States and Japan are strong backers of sanctions as a way to pressure Pyongyang to come to the negotiating table and end its drive to develop nuclear weapons.The vice-president and the prime minister led politicians and leaders today in condoling the death of actor and Padma Shri awardee Sridevi and remembered her illustrious career that spanned over four decades.

The 54-year-old actor, wife of producer Boney Kapoor, died late last night reportedly due to cardiac arrest in Dubai, where she had gone along with her family to attend her nephew Mohit Marwah's wedding.

"Felt very sad over the sudden demise of popular actress Sridevi. She was an extremely versatile and talented film star, who had acted in Telugu, Hindi and other South Indian languages," Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu tweeted.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he was saddened by her untimely demise.

"She was a veteran of the film industry, whose long career included diverse roles and memorable performances. My thoughts are with her family and admirers in this hour of grief. May her soul rest in peace," the PMO tweeted.

Describing Sridevi as an incredibly talented and versatile actress, Congress president Rahul Gandhi said, "Her vast body of work spanned a range of genres and languages."



Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Smriti Irani, in an emotional letter published by News18 remembered the actor as her "favourite star who defined joy in my childhood".

"I pay homage to an actor who through her body of work ascertained that a female actress' place in a commercial Hindi movie is not only to compliment her male counterparts," Irani wrote in the letter.

"My memories of Sridevi are built through my journey from being a fan girl to an actor and then my role as a politician... She was a woman who knew her mind and despite the challenges that came her way, she approached life with a lot of dignity. The actor in me was influenced by her work in movies like 'Chalbaaz', 'Chandni', 'Sadma' and the effortless performance in 'Lamhe'," she said.

The minister described Sridevi as the first female superstar of the Indian film industry, who shouldered many '90s blockbusters alone.

Sridevi, known for her versatility as an actor, made her Bollywood debut in 1978 with "Solva Sawan". But it was only after five years with Jeetendra-starrer "Himmatwala" that she gained commercial success.

Before her entry into Bollywood, the actor had been a known face in South Indian films. She made her debut as a child artist in in Tamil film "Thunaivan" in 1969. She also worked in Malayalam, Telugu and Kannada films.

Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao said, Sridevi, who acted in Telugu, Hindi and several other regional films, had captivated the cine-goers with her beauty, dancing and acting skills, and had earned countless fans."



"It is unfortunate that Sridevi, who was still active in the film industry, died at a young age," he said in an official release.

Sridevi acted in several Telugu movies and starred in hit films opposite late N T Rama Rao, late Akkineni Nageswara Rao, and late Sobhanbabu.

Former Union minister Bandaru Dattatreya and Telangana BJP president K Laxman also expressed their condolences.

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, in a Facebook post, said the actress, who came to the filmdom as a child artist in Malayalam, had left behind a handful of unforgettable acting moments which her fans can cherish forever.

The chief minister also said the sudden death of the actress, who immortalised several characters in different languages, was an "irreparable loss to the Indian film industry."



Sridevi's beguiling eyes, scintillating screen presence and acting prowess made her one of the most sought-after actors in the Hindi film industry.

While films like "Mawaali" (1983), "Tohfa" (1984), "Mr India" (1987) and "Chandni" (1989) kept her at the top in the box-office game, her outings like "Sadma" (1983), "ChaalBaaz" (1989), "Lamhe" (1991), and "Gumrah" (1993) earned her critical acclaim.

She went on a hiatus for 15 years after starring in home production "Judaai", co-starring her brother-in-law Anil Kapoor and Urmila Matondkar. It was director Gauri Shinde's "English Vinglish" in 2012 that marked Sridevi's comeback.

BJP veteran L K Advani said her contribution transcended Bollywood.

"Sridevi was an iconic star of the Indian film industry. Her contribution transcended Bollywood, since she also starred in many Tamil, Telugu and other regional language films. In this sense, she symbolised Indian cinemas great role in national integration," he said.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said the actor's contribution to the field of cinema will be remembered for a long time.

In his condolence message, Fadnavis said Sridevi started her career at the age of four and continued to perform with ease in Hindi films and movies in several regional language.

"Her roles in movies such as Sadma, Chandni, Lamhe and English-Vinglish will be remembered for a long time," he said.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee described the actor as "one of the most popular actors of a generation" while her Bihar counterpart Nitish Kumar said Sridevi's death had caused an irreparable loss to the film fraternity.

Describing Sridevi a "strong actor", Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje said that Indian cinema had touched new heights through her vibrant and emotional acting.

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat expressed deep sorrow over the sudden demise of veteran actress while his Haryana counterpart, Manohar Lal Khattar said Sridevi had made a special place in the hearts of people through her acting.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Telecom network solutions provider VNL Ltd plans to invest Rs 450 crore in next three years to augment production capacity at its Manesar (Haryana) facility, according to Founder-Chairman Rajiv Mehrotra.

The company, which unveiled 4G LTE telecom system this week, also plans to ramp up the strength of its design centre in Gurgaon by 50 per cent by 2018-end.

"We will invest Rs 450 crore in coming three years to increase manufacturing capacity. This will be supported from internal accruals," Mehrotra told PTI.

Bulk of the investment will go into test equipment, Mehrotra said, adding that the current portfolio spans GSM products, broadband systems and LTE (Long Term Evolution) solutions.

On the design side, the company has 300 engineers in Gurgaon and will increase this strength by adding another 150 system level engineers in the next 6-8 months.

Last week, Telecom Minister Manoj Sinha launched Indias first locally developed 4G/LTE telecom system at an international buyers-sellers meet of telecom industry in the capital.

The system has been designed and developed by telecom equipment manufacturer VNL Ltd keeping in mind requirement for high-speed connectivity, particularly in rural areas.

The latest range of 4G LTE telecom products is the outcome of our strong in-house R&D capabilities and signify India's inherent strengths in the area of telecom equipment manufacturing," Mehrotra added.

Besides being a low cost solution for high speed connectivity, the system can also be deployed for variety of applications including emergency communication, communication needs of offshore oilfields, mines and other institutional needs.

VNL has executed several projects in countries like Peru, Mexico, Ghana, Nigeria, Indonesia, Myanmar and Bhutan. In India, VNL has executed a project to rollout mobile telecom network providing voice and data connectivity in the Left-Wing Extremist effected areas.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Continuing to target the prime minister in his campaign in poll-bound Karnataka, Congress president Rahul Gandhi today asked why Narendra Modi, who had described himself as the country's "chowkidar", was "silent" on the PNB fraud.

He also asked Modi as to why he was not taking any action regarding the alleged sudden increase in turnover of a company owned by BJP president Amit Shah's son Jay Shah.

"Modi ji comes to Karnataka and speaks about corruption. He had told the country not to make him prime minister but make him the chowkidar (watchman) of the country," Gandhi said.

In a Congress rally here, he said, "On one side there is his party's (former) chief minister (B S Yeddyurappa) who had gone to jail and on the other side are the other four former ministers of the BJP government who had gone to jail; sitting in between them, Modi speaks about corruption."



"Shah's son converts Rs 50,000 to Rs 800 million three in three months and the chowkidar of the country doesn't get it inquired and doesn't even utter a word," he alleged.

The BJP chief has rejected allegations of corruption against his son Jay Shah, who has filed a criminal defamation suit against a news portal which claimed his business fortunes had zoomed after the BJP came to power in 2014.

Gandhi is on the second leg of his three-day tour of northern parts of Karnataka. This is his second visit to the state in less than a fortnight.

Karnataka is slated to go to polls in a few months.

Hitting out at Modi on demonetisation, the Congress president said, "Modi ji told the country to stand in line (queues at banks) for the fight against corruption. You would have not seen a single rich person or someone wearing suit-boot inthe line."



He alleged that all the "thieves" in India had converted their black money into white with the help of Modi.

Attacking the prime minister on the Punjab Bank (PNB) fraud issue involving jewellery designer Nirav Modi, Gandhi questioned his silence.

"Nirav Modi has indulged in the theft of Rs 220 billion, he runs away from the country, but the chowkidar of this country does not even utter a word," he said.

Breaking his silence over the Rs 114 billion fraud at India's second-biggest PSU bank, Narendra Modi on Friday had warned of strict action against those involved in financial irregularities and said loot of public money would not be tolerated.

Gandhi, invoking 12th century social reformer Basaveshwara from Karnataka, said "Nudidante Nade" (practise as you preach), and asked the prime minister to walk the talk on such issues.

"Modi ji Nudidante Nade," he said in Kannada.

Basaveshwara is revered by the dominant Lingayat- Veerashiva community. They are predominantly present in northernparts of the state.

He also accused the prime minister of "failing" to fulfil the election promise of providing two crore jobs to youths in the country every year.

The Congress leader also said despite schemes such as Make in India,Start-up India and Stand-up India, "whatever you buy, from watches to shirts to shoes, every thing is Made in China".Continuing to target the Prime Minister in his campaign in poll-bound Karnataka, Congress president Rahul Gandhi today asked why Narendra Modi, who had described himself as the country's "chowkidar", was "silent" on the PNB fraud.

He also asked Modi as to why he was not taking any action regarding the alleged sudden increase in turnover of a company owned by BJP president Amit Shah's son Jay Shah.

"Modi ji comes to Karnataka and speaks about corruption. He had told the country not to make him Prime Minister but make him the chowkidar (watchman) of the country," he said at party rallies in Vijapura and Bagalkote districts in north Karnataka.

Gandhi said, "On one side there is his party's (former) chief minister (B S Yeddyurappa) who had gone to jail and on the other side are the other four former ministers of the BJP government who had gone to jail; sitting in between them, Modi speaks about corruption."



"Shah's son converts Rs 50,000 to Rs 80 crore in three months and the chowkidar of the country doesn't get it enquired and doesn't even utter a word," he alleged.

The BJP chief has rejected allegations of corruption against his son Jay Shah, who has filed a criminal defamation suit against a portal which claimed his business fortunes had zoomed after the BJP came to power in 2014.

Gandhi is on the second leg of his three-day tour of northern parts of Karnataka.

This is his second visit to the state in less than a fortnight.

Karnataka is slated to go to the polls in a few months.

At all rallies, Modi has remained the focal point of speeches by Gandhi, who, on the other hand, is projecting Siddaramaiah as party's face to take on Modi in the state, on whom BJP is banking heavily to boost its electoral fortunes.

Hitting out at Modi on demonetisation, the Congress president said, "Modiji told the country to stand in line (queues at banks) for the fight against corruption.You would have not seen a single rich person or someone wearing suit-boot in the line."



He alleged that all the "thieves" in India had converted their black money into white with the help of Modi.

Attacking the Prime Minister on the Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud issue involving jewellery designer Nirav Modi, Gandhi questioned his silence.

"Nirav Modi has indulged in the theft of Rs 22,000 crore, he runs away from the country, but the chowkidar of this country does not even utter a word," he said.

Breaking his silence over the Rs 11,400-crore fraud at India's second-biggest PSU bank, Modi on Friday had warned of strict action against those involved in financial irregularities and said loot of public money would not be tolerated.

"Nudidante Nade" (practise as you preach),Gandhi told Modi, invoking 12th century social reformer Basaveshwara from Karnataka.

Basaveshwara is revered by the dominant Lingayat- Veerashiva community,who are predominantly present in northern parts of the state and form a major support base for BJP,which is projecting Lingayat strongman Yeddyurappa as its Chief Ministerial candidate.

Gandhi also accused the Prime Minister of "failing" to fulfil the election promise of providing two crore jobs to youths in the country every year.

He said despite schemes such as Make in India, Start-up India and Stand-up India, "whatever you buy, from watches to shirts to shoes, every thing is Made in China".

Gandhi said the biggest reason for the progress that India has made during the last 70 years was democracy.

"People of the country, Congress party, Ambedkar together gave this country this Constitution," he said.

Noting that democracy came into practise in Britain and America about hundred or two hundred years ago, he added,"but Karnataka taught the world about democracy 900 years ago."



"When BJP people talk about changing the Constitution, when they try to invade democracy, they have to rememberthat they are working against Basavanna, his teachings and principles," Gandhi said.

Anubhava Mantapa, located at Basavakalyan in Bidar district,was founded by Basaveshwara as a religious parliament where spiritual issues could be debated leading to a caste less society and bring about equality.

"When any BJP worker assaults any adivasi or Dalit or anyone from the minority community, he is working against Basavanna, Akkamahadevi and Rani Chennamma," Gandhi said.

Saint Akkamahadevi was a 12th century Kannada poet, saint and mystic of the Veerashaiva Bhakti Movement.

Chennamma was the queen of Kittur, best known for leading an armed rebellion against the British East India Company in 1824.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Certain provisions of Wildlife Protection Act make states as mere rubber stamp and they need to be modified, the Madhya Pradesh government has suggested to the Centre.

It has also recommended changes in the 1972 Act to allow states to change buffer area inside a tiger reserve.

A buffer area is peripheral to critical tiger habitat where a lesser degree of habitat protection is required with adequate dispersal for the big cats and for promoting co-existence between wildlife and human activity.

The recommendations were formed on the basis of inputs received from various stakeholders, including, few secretaries of Madhya Pradesh government, chief of Dehradun-based Wildlife Institute of India and others.

The state government had asked them to share their input on changes in the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.

The state government move follows a letter from Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) to it in this regard. The MoEFCC had sought constructive suggestions from MP government on the law.

In its response to the Centre, the state government said it is surprising to note that sub-section one of Section 38 (V) of the Act makes it compulsory for states to follow recommendation of the Centre on notifying an area as a tiger reserve and sought changes in it.

Also, Section 38 (W) of the Act, makes states as rubber stamp to implement recommendation of Wild Life Board and National Tiger Conservation Authority, it said in a letter, a copy of which was received in response to an RTI query filed by Bhopal-based wildlife activist Ajay Dubey.

It is contrary to the federal structure enshrined in the Constitution, the recommendations said, seeking changes in the Wildlife Act.

No alteration in the boundaries of a tiger reserve shall be made except on a recommendation of the (National) Tiger Conservation Authority and the approval of the National Board for Wild Life, Section 38 (W) reads.

The state government has also sought changes in the law to allow private sector for wildlife tourism, as per the documents.

We will write to the NTCA and Ministry against the proposed changes as it will defeat the very purpose of wildlife protection, said Dubey.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)The father of Poonam Shroti, a woman achiever felicitated by the President, is seeking justice for his daughter who first slipped into depression and then landed in hospital after her application for LPG distributorship was rejected.

Poonam Shroti had approached Indian Oil Corp (IOC) with an application for setting up a LPG distribution agency in Madhya Pradesh's Tikamgarh district. However, her application was rejected after she refused to bribe IOC officials, claimed her father Rajendra Prasad Shroti.

IOC officials, however, denied the bribe charge and said her application was rejected due to wrong address furnished by her.

Poonam Shroti sought distributorship in Tikamgarh district while she is actually a resident of Bhopal, they said.

The 32-year-old was selected for IOC distributorship through a draw of lottery, Rajendra Shroti said and alleged company officials also made fun of her short height when she went to meet them regarding her pending application.

"Aggrieved by the rejection of her application and laughed at for being dwarf, Poonam first went into depression, then suffered a brain hemorrhage and slipped into coma.

"She is battling for life at Bansal Hospital in Bhopal," said Rajendra Shroti, an ex-armyman.

Hospital authorities said Poonam Shroti, who was admitted to the hospital on February 6, is occasionally kept on ventilator and is recovering now.

Poonam Shroti, who has rare brittle bone disease since childhood, is just a little over two feet in height.

Rajendra Shroti wrote letters to the Prime Minister's Office, Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, the MP Women's Commission and the MP Disabled Persons Commission, seeking justice for his daughter.

In a complaint to the Commissioner of Disabilities, MP Rajendra Shroti said on January 23 when his daughter went to meet senior IOC officials in Bhopal, they made fun of her disability.

A day earlier, IOC Madhya Pradesh General Manager (LPG) Vijay Kumar had even refused to meet her, he claimed.

"Besides, IOC officials demanded a Rs 2 lakh bribe from her, but she refused to grease their palms," said Rajendra Shroti, a former office-bearer of the BJP's cell for retired defence forces personnel.

When contacted, Kumar denied the allegations made by the woman. "Whatever allegations Poonam had levelled against me and other (IOC) officials are totally wrong and baseless," he told PTI.

"Poonam had applied for LPG distributorship at village Astoun in Tikamgarh district on August 29, 2017 under open category in response to an advertisement. In the ad, there is a condition that applicants should be residents of the village panchayat mentioned by them," Kumar said.

"But in her application and affidavit she has stated that she is a resident of Bhopal. Her Aaadhar card also has her Bhopal address. Therefore, her application for LPG distributorship was rejected in late January," Kumar said.

But, her father claimed she lives in Astoun and comes occasionally to Bhopal to spend time with family members.

Poonam Shroti was named among 100 women achievers by the Union Ministry of Women and Child Development under the category of Disability and Disadvantage.

On January 22, 2016, she was felicitated by then President Pranab Mukherjee for social work.

An MBA in finance, Poonam Shroti is also a motivational speaker and works for physically challenged persons through her NGO Uddip Foundation.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)When the Chinese government on Friday took control of Anbang Insurance Group Co Ltd, owner of New York's iconic Waldorf Astoria Hotel, it cited provisions in the country's insurance law designed to head off financial calamity. The manoeuvre was sudden but not altogether surprising, as the once aggressively acquisitive conglomerate had been under tightening government scrutiny for months, with its insurance revenue stream curtailed, regulatory teams supervising its operations since June and its chairman in police custody. Chinese law allows for similar takeovers across the ...As debate swirls on whether will be a boon or a curse for humanity, two Indian-American entrepreneur brothers are out to ensure the emerging technologies don't just benefit the richest in society.

Romesh and Sunil Wadhwani this week launched what is billed as the world's first nonprofit institute dedicated to putting AI to work improving lives of poor farmers, rural health care workers or teachers in communities with scant resources.

"AI will go where AI will go; it is difficult to predict where," Sunil Wadhwani said of the conflicting views on the emergence of computers more brilliant than their human creators.

"Our focus is how many tens of millions of lives can we improve in the next five or 10 years. Where AI goes in 100 years, it will go."



The entrepreneur brothers, who have a series of lucrative startups to their name, have committed $30 million over 10 years to the Wadhwani AI institute, established in Mumbai with the Indian government as a partner.

Areas targeted at the outset will include health care, education, agriculture and urban infrastructure.

The project's founders hope AI could help nurses in rural areas with diagnoses, advise how to optimize crops, translate text books into various languages as needed or even spot signs students might be on paths to dropping out.

"AI is a game-changing technology," said Sunil Wadhwani, who is based in Pittsburgh as a trustee for Carnegie Mellon University.

"A lot of developing countries are getting left behind; US and China are leapfrogging ahead."



Students from New York University and the University of Southern California will travel to Mumbai to collaborate, while the brothers also plan to partner with players in Silicon Valley, where Romesh Wadhwani is based.

The ethical issues raised by AI -- from its potential to destroy jobs to the power it could exert over people's lives -- will be front of mind, according to institute chief P. Anandan, a former Microsoft Research director.

"It has the potential to be used badly, or run away on its own," Anandan said of AI.

"At the end of the day, you are going to manage that by being aware of it from the start and applying it where intentions are good."



Internet giants have been investing heavily in creating software to help machines think more like people, boosted by super-fast computer processing power and access to mountains of data to analyze.

AI has been put to work in the form of virtual aides, for recognizing people's friends in photos, fighting "fake news," stymying the online spread of violent extremist messages and more.

But the rise of brings mighty new challenges too, and the new initiative coincides with the release of a report by AI scholars warning the has the potential to be exploited for nefarious purposes.

"These technologies have many widely beneficial applications," said the study produced by the Future of Humanity Institute, the nonprofit group OpenAI and others.

"Less attention has historically been paid to the ways in which can be used maliciously."



The Electronic Frontier Foundation, which took part in the study, expressed concern that "increasingly sophisticated AI will usher in a world that is strange and different from the one we're used to, and there are serious risks if this is used for the wrong ends."



High-profile figures who have expressed fears about the potential dangers of AI include tech visionary and innovator Elon Musk.

SpaceX founder and Tesla chief executive Musk in 2015 took part in creating the research organization OpenAI, which aims to develop artificial intelligence that helps rather than hurts

Microsoft, Amazon, Apple, Google, Facebook, IBM, and Google-owned British AI firm DeepMind are also members of a nonprofit "Partnership on AI" which seeks to promote the technology's use "to benefit and society."



Sunil Wadhwani has meanwhile promised an "aggressive" timeline at the brothers' eponymous institute, with testing of potential AI tools starting by the end of this year.China's copyright watchdog on Sunday said that 3,908 websites have been shut down in a crackdown on copyright infringement in the past five years.

The National Copyright Administration investigated 22,568 cases nationwide and deleted more than 6 million links to pirated publications during the period, reports Xinhua news agency.

The crackdown has been carried out for 13 consecutive years by the administration in cooperation with other departments, targeting online literature, music, videos, games, animation and software, as well as mobile apps, cloud storage and e-commerce platforms.

Online copyright infringement has been curbed and the public's awareness of copyright protection has been raised remarkably, said the administration.CHARLESTON, W.V. (AP)  The Latest on severe weather that moved through parts of the US (all times local):

3:15 p.m.

Storm crews have confirmed an EF2 tornado struck in south central Kentucky where a woman died at her home.

The National Weather Service says preliminary information from ongoing damage surveys in Logan County indicate the tornado Saturday had maximum-sustained winds of 135 mph (217 kph) and a maximum width of 400 yards (366 meters).

The Logan County Sheriffs Office says 79-year-old Dallas Jane Combs died after the tornado destroyed her Adairville home. Sheriff officials said Combs was inside the home when it collapsed on her. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

Authorities say Combs husband was outside putting up plastic to keep rain out of the home when he was blown into the basement area. He sustained minor injuries.



2:40 p.m.

Southwestern Michigan authorities say they found the body of a man in floodwaters.

Kalamazoo Public Safety Lt. David Thomas said the body was found floating in water Sunday on the citys east side. He said the medical examiner, detectives and others have been on the scene working to determine who the man was, what he was doing there and the cause of his death.

Thomas says the death doesnt appear suspicious.

Thomas adds the area saw significant flooding. Kalamazoo has been among the areas hard hit by flooding from last weeks heavy rains and melting snow.



2:15 p.m.

Authorities in western Kentucky say theyve found a body inside a submerged vehicle.

The Henderson Fire Department says on its Facebook page that it assisted in the recovery of the body inside a vehicle in a ditch. The Gleaner reports the body was found Saturday night near Morganfield, Kentucky.

The body has been sent to a medical examiner for an autopsy.



12:45 p.m.

Storm crews have confirmed an EF2 tornado touched down in Middle Tennessee over the weekend.

The National Weather Service in Nashville, Tennessee, says the tornado with maximum-sustained winds of 120 mph (193 kph) hit near Clarksville on Saturday.

Montgomery County Sheriffs Office spokeswoman Sandra Brandon told The Leaf-Chronicle that at least four homes were destroyed and dozens of others were damaged. She says 75 cars also were damaged at a tire plant parking lot.

Montgomery County Mayor Jim Durrett said Sunday that to look at what Im looking at and know we didnt lose anybody is just a miracle.

During the storm, a teenage girl was hit by falling debris at a basketball game after an apparent lightning strike knocked a hole in the arenas roof at Austin Peay State University. She was taken to a hospital as a precaution.



12 p.m.

A university official in Tennessee say a teenage girl was injured by falling debris at a basketball game after an apparent lightning strike.

Media outlets report lightning hit the roof at the basketball arena Saturday night at Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, Tennessee. Water leaked onto the court, and fans at the game between Austin Peay and Murray State took shelter in nearby hallways and athletic offices.

The game was halted for more than three hours while the court was cleaned up.

School director of marketing and digital media Kevin Young says the 15-year-old girl was taken to a hospital as a precaution. The extent of her injuries werent immediately released.

Clarksville is about 48 miles (77 kilometers) northwest of Nashville, Tennessee.



11:30 a.m.:

Authorities in Tennessee say a powerful storm system destroyed or damaged dozens of homes and injured a teenage girl who was hit by falling debris at a college basketball game.

An apparent lightning strike caused a hole in the roof of the basketball arena Saturday night at Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, Tennessee. The Leaf-Chronicle reports a 15-year-old girl who was hit by falling debris was taken to a hospital as a precaution.

The game between Austin Peay and Murray State was stopped with 5:49 left in the second half due to the leaky roof. Fans took shelter in nearby hallways and athletic offices before play resumed after a more than three hour delay.

Montgomery County Sheriffs Office spokeswoman Sandra Brandon says the storm destroyed at least four homes and damaged dozens of others.

The National Weather Service said it was sending crews to survey damage in a section of central Tennessee.

Clarksville is about 48 miles northeast of Nashville, Tennessee.



10:30 a.m.:

Police in south central Kentucky say the body of a male has been recovered from a vehicle found submerged in floodwaters.

The Simpson County Sheriffs Office says in a statement the body was recovered Saturday in a creek near the community of Franklin.

The victims identity is being withheld pending notification of relatives.

About 20 miles away, the Logan County Sheriffs Office tells media outlets that 79-year-old Dallas Jane Combs died after a suspected tornado destroyed her Adairville home earlier Saturday.

Transportation officials said Interstate 64 in parts of Kentucky were closed in both directions Sunday due to high water.



10 a.m.

Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb has declared a disaster emergency for 11 counties in the wake of widespread flooding and related damage.

Holcomb issued the order Saturday for Carroll, Dearborn, Elkhart, Fulton, Lake, Marshall, Perry, St. Joseph, Starke, Switzerland and White counties. Officials say others could be added with more storms forecast in southern Indiana.

The declaration means the state can provide expanded emergency services and request aid from the federal government.

An Emergency Operations Center activated Thursday has coordinated the delivery of roughly 700,000 sandbags, two water pumps and other equipment and services for disaster response and recovery. Officials say some areas of the state have received record-level rainfall and significant flood damage.

Other states have issued similar orders: Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens declared a state of emergency ahead of expected storms and flooding in southern parts of the state and Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner issued a state disaster proclamation for three counties hit by flooding.



1:30 a.m.

Authorities say at least two people have died as a strong storm system that included possible tornadoes pushed its way eastward through the central United States, leaving demolished homes, damaged vehicles and uprooted trees in its wake.

A man in northeast Arkansas and a woman in south central Kentucky both were killed as the storm that also included heavy winds, rain and hail muscled its way through the area.

In northeast Arkansas, an 83-year-old man was killed after high winds toppled a trailer home. Clay County Sheriff Terry Miller told KAIT-TV that Albert Foster died Saturday night after the home was blown into a pond.

In rural, south central Kentucky, 79-year-old Dallas Jane Combs died after a suspected tornado hit her Adairville home Saturday evening, Logan County Sheriffs Department told television station WKRN.

The storm activated tornado watches and warnings in multiple states.



11:55 p.m.

Authorities say a woman has died in in south central Kentucky after severe weather moved through the area.

The Logan County Sheriffs Department tells television station WKRN that 79-year-old Dallas Jane Combs died after a suspected tornado hit her home Saturday night. Sheriff officials say Combs was inside the home when it collapsed on her. Combs was pronounced dead at the scene.

Authorities say Combs husband was outside the house when the unconfirmed tornado hit and he sustained minor injuries.

Strom-related damage also was reported in Middle Tennessee, where Fox17 in Nashville reports extensive damage to homes and vehicles. Fox17 says at least a dozen homes were damaged in one Montgomery County subdivision.BATON ROUGE, La. (AP)  The Republican tax overhaul is giving most Americans a break on their federal income taxes. But fallout from the same law means many people could actually see their state income taxes rise.

For some state governments, the prospect of getting more revenue without actively raising taxes is almost too good to be true, but it also forces Republican governors and lawmakers into a corner. Do they stay true to the partys long-standing tax-cut philosophy or keep the extra money rolling in to address their states budget gaps and other spending priorities?

The answer so far in this years still-young legislative sessions: It depends.

Pushes to reduce taxes have arisen in Republican-leaning states including Iowa, Michigan, Utah and Georgia, where the GOP governor has proposed cuts after initially insisting the state should wait.

But in Louisiana, where the Democratic governor and Republican-controlled legislature are grappling with a financial morass, there has been no proposal to return to taxpayers the expected revenue increase of $300 million in the budget year that starts July 1.

Thats because the state is expecting a $1 billion shortfall and state legislatures, unlike Congress, are required to have balanced budgets.

It was a like a gift from God, Republican state Rep. Tanner Magee said of the extra tax revenue. If we werent in a billion-dollar shortfall, maybe we would have had those discussions. But when the money came in, everybody was like, Wow, the timing could not be better for the state.'

Workers in the state saw more in their paychecks in January when employers changed federal withholding, but noticed another change in February: Withholding was up a bit to reflect higher state taxes. Lawmakers said they have been getting questions from constituents about that.

Theyre still coming out ahead. Theyre still getting a benefit overall, said Rep. Nancy Landry, a Republican. I think they realize that. They know that were having a budget deficit. Nobodys asking that the money be returned to them.

States are still sorting out what the GOP tax overhaul adopted by Congress and signed by President Donald Trump in December will mean for them, and the answers depend largely on how each states tax policy is linked to federal law. In some states, the changes could be immediate; in others, theyre likely to take time.

In most states, if legislators fail to act, there will be an unlegislated tax increase in effect, said Jared Wolczak, a senior analyst at the conservative Tax Foundation.

One of the big changes under the new tax law is the elimination of personal exemptions. A bigger standard deduction, higher child tax credits and lower tax rate will mean lower federal taxes for most. But the loss of the exemptions in states means more of residents income is taxed.

In a handful of states, including Louisiana, the ability to deduct federal taxes paid on state income tax returns is a major factor. Anyone paying less in federal taxes can see their state bill rise.

States own estimates of the impact run from around $100 million annually in Idaho and Iowa to $800 million in Minnesota. Oregon expects revenue to be down.

Meg Wiehe, deputy director of the liberal Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, recommended against states making tax cuts now because the effects of the federal changes remain uncertain and many of them are technically temporary.

Since the GOP tax law took effect, Georgia has raised its forecast for how much new money it could bring the state. Officials now expect that if the state took no action, it would have an additional $5.2 billion over five years  from higher state taxes on Georgia residents.

A driving force there is a state law that requires people who use the standard deduction on federal returns to also use it when they file their state taxes. The higher federal standard deduction means itemizing isnt advantageous for as many people when they file federal taxes.

Gov. Nathan Deal, a Republican in his final year in office, initially called for waiting until the impact was clearer  and he was out of office  to address the state tax situation. That didnt sit well with three Republicans running to replace Deal who said any extra revenue should be returned to taxpayers.

Windfall is a very pleasant word, but we are debating whether to take more in taxes or not, said one of them, state Sen. Michael Williams. We can afford to adjust our budget to ensure Georgians are paying less in taxes.

The pressure worked. This month, Deal changed course and announced a plan that doubles the state standard deduction and cuts rates. A state projection found that with those measures in place, state revenue would be down by about $500 million over five years.

Kansas has had deep budget problems for years, after the income tax cuts championed by former Gov. Sam Brownback, a Republican, failed to provide the economic stimulus he had promised. Last year, lawmakers agreed to raise taxes, and the states top court ordered lawmakers to pump more money into public schools.

Mark Desetti, a lobbyist for the states largest teachers union, said thats why the $505 million expected to come to the state over three years because of the federal tax changes is so welcome.

It seems to me the wise thing to do would be to take advantage of this so that you dont have to raise taxes to deal with all of those things, or you can raise them less if you find you need to and see where it goes, he said.

But that might not be the course followed by the Republicans who control the Legislature.

House Taxation Committee Chairman Steven Johnson said he is working on a bill that would allow people to itemize on their state taxes even if they dont on their federal returns.



Mulvihill reported from Cherry Hill, New Jersey. Associated Press writers John Hanna in Topeka, Kansas, and Bed Nadler in Atlanta also contributed to this article.



Follow Deslatte at http://twitter.com/melindadeslatte and Mulvihill at http://twitter.com/geoffmulvihillJEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP)  Responding to complaints about partisan gerrymandering, a significant number of states this year are considering changing the criteria used to draw congressional and state legislative districts or shifting the task from elected officials to citizen commissions.

The proposals, being advanced both as ballot initiatives and legislation, are part of a larger battle between the political parties to best position themselves for the aftermath of the 2020 Census, when over 400 U.S. House districts and nearly 7,400 state legislative districts will be redrawn.

Since the start of this year, more than 60 bills dealing with redistricting criteria and methods have been introduced in at least 18 state legislatures, already equaling the total number of states that considered bills last year, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

The Ohio Legislature already has placed a redistricting measure on the states primary ballot in May. Citizen efforts are underway to get redistricting measures on the November ballot in a half-dozen other states, which would mark the greatest number of such initiatives in decades.

Supporters already have submitted thousands of petition signatures in Michigan and South Dakota. Petitions are currently being circulated in Missouri and Utah. Colorado has two groups working on potential ballot initiatives. And an Arkansas attorney launched an initiative effort this past week.

The basic bottom line is people want fairness, and they want balanced government, said Chuck Parkinson, a retired congressional staffer and customs official under Republican presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush.

Parkinson is chairman of a group pushing a South Dakota ballot measure to remove legislative redistricting from the hands of lawmakers and create a nine-member redistricting commission.

Although many redistricting proposals tout at least some bipartisan support, progressive activists and Democratic-aligned donors have helped fuel some of this years measures.

In South Dakota, where voters defeated a similar measure in 2016, the second attempt listed just four donors as of the start of this year  former Democratic U.S. Sen. Tim Johnson, who gave $50,000, and three unions that contributed a combined $18,500.

The top donor to Utahs redistricting initiative through the end of last year was former Democratic gubernatorial nominee Michael Weinholtz, who had given $200,000.

The president of the Michigan redistricting initiative was a supporter of Democrat Hillary Clintons unsuccessful 2016 presidential campaign, and the spokesman for Missouris initiative is a Democratic consultant.

The Missouri measure requiring a nonpartisan demographer to draw districts has taken in more than 16,000 individual donations of $25 or less, but much of the campaigns money has come from groups aligned with Democrats. That includes about $800,000 from unions and $250,000 from an organization founded by billionaire liberal philanthropist George Soros.

Matt Walter, president of the Republican State Leadership Committee, contends the initiatives are merely politics wrapped in some sort of illusion of citizen-participated good government.

What were seeing here right now is an organized, orchestrated effort by the progressive left to rig the system to their advantage, Walter said.

Democrats say its just the opposite  that Republicans rigged the system after the 2010 Census to expand the partys grip on political power and are trying to hold onto it. They often cite North Carolina, which has been subject to multiple lawsuits over how the GOP redrew the political boundaries. Democrats have a voter registration edge over Republicans in the state, yet Republicans legislators drew congressional districts in a way that gave them a 10-3 edge in U.S. House seats.

Across the country, Republicans currently control 33 governorships and about two-thirds of all legislative chambers. Democrats contend they want redistricting processes that are fair to voters, no matter which party is in power.

One of Democrats top targets has been Pennsylvania, where <a target=blank href=https://apnews.com/254907af4e2348ff9cc1cdbc7f8fa5b8/Pennsylvania%27s-new-congressional-map-could-boost-Democrats>the state Supreme Court redrew congressional districts</a> this past week after ruling that the 2011 boundaries drawn by the GOP-led Legislature were unconstitutionally gerrymandered. Statistical voting models of the courts new plan show Democrats could significantly cut into the GOPs 13-5 seat advantage in a state where registered Democrats outnumber Republicans.

The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to rule later this year on cases alleging illegal partisan gerrymandering by Republicans in Wisconsin and by Democrats in Maryland.

<a target=blank href=https://apnews.com/fa6478e10cda4e9cbd75380e705bd380>An AP analysis</a> of 2016 election data found four times as many states with Republican-skewed state House or Assembly districts than Democratic ones, based on a statistical formula cited in recent court cases. Among the two dozen most populated states that determine the vast majority of Congress, there were nearly three times as many with Republican-tilted U.S. House districts.

Democrats have since made redistricting a bigger priority. Former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder is heading the National Democratic Redistricting Committee, which is targeting or watching governors races, legislative elections and ballot issues in about 20 states.

Democrats want to end or diminish the legislatures role in redistricting in several Republican-led states and shift those duties to independent or bipartisan commissions, similar to the processes in place in Arizona and California. The roles are reversed in Maryland, where Republican Gov. Larry Hogan is proposing an independent redistricting commission in a state where registered Democrats outnumber Republicans 2-to-1 and have long controlled the redistricting process.

By and large, if a commission draws the map, it is going to be a more fair, less political, less-partisan-driven map, and thats a good thing, said Kelly Ward, executive director of the National Democratic Redistricting Committee.

But Republicans contend that even independent commissions typically are filled by people with partisan preferences.

Arizonas Republican legislative leaders have advanced a proposed constitutional amendment to give lawmakers greater say in appointing the states redistricting commission.

A compromise plan placed on the ballot by Ohios Republican-led Legislature would continue to give lawmakers the primary responsibility of congressional redistricting but would limit partisan gerrymandering by requiring a significant percentage of yes votes from the minority party to approve a 10-year map.

In Indiana, the Republican-led Senate voted along party lines last month to defeat a Democratic amendment that would have created a commission to recommend congressional and legislative districts. The Senate instead passed a bill setting criteria for lawmakers to consider. That bill is now in the House.

Indiana state Sen. Greg Walker, a Republican who sponsored the pending measure, said he hopes to eventually incorporate statistical analyses of partisan advantages into the Legislatures redistricting procedures.

If we can demonstrate that we have made a good faith effort to not eliminate political bias 100 percent but certainly minimize it  ultimately I dont think it matters who draws the maps, because the process will fine-tune itself, Walker said.



Follow David A. Lieb at: <a target=blank href=http://twitter.com/DavidALieb>http://twitter.com/DavidALieb</a>UNITED NATIONS (AP)  The U.N. Security Council unanimously approved a resolution Saturday demanding a 30-day cease-fire across Syria without delay to deliver humanitarian aid to millions and evacuate the critically ill and wounded.

U.N. humanitarian chief Mark Lowcock welcomed the vote saying: Words must now quickly become action  any cessation of hostilities must be real. Attacks must stop.

The vote was postponed for several days of lengthy and intense negotiations to try to get support from Russia, a key Syrian ally that said repeatedly an immediate cease-fire was unrealistic.

Sponsors Kuwait and Sweden amended the resolution late Friday in a last-minute attempt to satisfy Russia, dropping a demand that the cease-fire take effect in 72 hours.

The effort worked, though U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley was sharply critical of Russia for delaying the vote.

How many mothers lost their kids to the bombing and the shellings? due to the delay, she asked. How many more images did we need to see of fathers holding their dead children?

Sweden, Kuwait and many other countries had been pressing for an immediate cease-fire as deaths mount in a Syrian bombing campaign in the rebel-held suburbs of Damascus known as eastern Ghouta where the death toll in a week of bombardment has risen to 500.

Earlier this week U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged an immediate suspension of all war activities in eastern Ghouta, where he said 400,000 people are living in hell on earth.

Guterres welcomed the resolutions adoption and stressed his expectation that it will be immediately implemented and sustained so aid gets to the needy and sick, U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said. The U.N. stands ready to do its part.

While the spotlight is on eastern Ghouta, the resolution expresses grave distress at the humanitarian situation there as well as throughout the country including Idlib governorate, Northern Hama governorate, Rukhban and Raqqa.

It states that urgent humanitarian assistance is now required by 13.1 million people in Syria, including 5.6 million people in 1,244 communities in acute need. That includes 2.9 million in hard-to-reach and besieged locations such as eastern Ghouta.

The resolution calls on all parties to immediately lift the sieges of populated areas including eastern Ghouta, Yarmouk, Foua and Kefraya.

On the key issue of a cease-fire, the resolution demands that all parties cease hostilities without delay for at least 30 consecutive days throughout Syria for a durable humanitarian pause, to enable the immediate delivery of humanitarian aid and services and medical evacuations of the critically sick and wounded  and demands that all parties engage to this end.

The resolution also demands that a cease-fire be followed immediately by access for humanitarian aid.

Swedens U.N. Ambassador Olof Skoog told the council just before the vote that the U.N. convoys and evacuation teams are ready to go.

Kuwaits U.N. Ambassador Mansour Al-Otaiba, the current council president, said after the resolutions adoption that it cannot end the human suffering in Syria immediately.

However, it is a positive sign sent by the Security Council  a sign that the council is united and showed solidarity to stop the humanitarian suffering and stop hostilities immediately, he said. Now we must implement this resolution to save the lives of Syrian people and to deliver humanitarian aid.

Since the Syrian conflict began nearly seven years ago, the Security Council has been deeply divided, with Russia backing President Bashar Assads government and the U.S., Britain and France supporting the opposition. The result has almost always been paralysis and inaction.

Those divisions were evident Saturday in the tough language from the U.S. ambassador and the reply from her Russian counterpart after the vote.

Every minute the council waited on Russia the human suffering grew, Haley said. Getting to a vote became a moral responsibility for everyone, but not for Russia, not for Syria, not for Iran. I have to ask why? At least 19 health facilities have been bombed since Sunday in eastern Ghouta.

She expressed hope that Russias belated decision to support a cease-fire after trying every possible way to avoid it  will be a turning point, where Russia will join us in pushing for the political settlement to this conflict.

Russias U.N. Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia responded saying it took so much time to reach an agreement because an immediate cessation of hostilities, which was originally called for by the sponsors, was not feasible,  not possible.

What is necessary is for the demands of the Security Council to be underpinned by concrete, on-the-ground agreements, he said. It would be naive to think that difficult issues can be addressed overnight, momentarily. We trust that all parties with influence to bear will help to bring this about.

Another major issue in the negotiations was an exemption the Russians sought to keep up attacks against extremist groups.

The resolution allows attacks directed at extremists from the Islamic State group and all al-Qaida affiliates including the Nusra Front to continue. The Syrian government and its Russian allies say they are pursuing Islamic extremists they call terrorists  and U.S.-backed forces are also going after IS and al-Qaida militants.

Nebenzia accused the U.S. of using the fight against terrorists for geopolitical agendas with dubious legitimacy. Instead of scaling-up rhetoric against Russia, he called for the U.S.-backed coalition to promptly end its occupation which would improve the humanitarian situation in Syrias north and east.

Later, he told reporters that Russia also negotiated for so long to make sure the resolution is not used as a pretext for any military action. He pointed to worrying comments on that in recent days, and including today some very bellicose language.BAGHDAD (AP)  Long beset by toxic divisions, Iraq seems to be growing even more fragmented ahead of national elections scheduled for May, with Iranian influence set to grow and the minority Sunnis seething as they fend for themselves in areas of the country shattered by the three-year war against the Islamic State group.

The Sunnis, many of them in displacement camps, bore the brunt of the wars destruction and have been left so bereft that many dont even have the papers needed to register to vote. If they dont end up feeling the vote was fair, that could badly undermine the international communitys goal of bringing about the more inclusive government critical to maintaining a unified state and avoiding a repeat of the IS disaster.

Adding to the volatile mix are the Iranian-backed Shiite militias, now even more politically involved, which are allied with but not controlled by the Shiite-led Baghdad government, and appear set to gain influence that would alarm many in the region trying to check the power of Shiite, non-Arab Iran.

If divisions among Sunnis, Shiites and Kurds persist they could lead to more protracted talks to form a new government, potentially delaying the colossal task of rebuilding Iraq after IS overran nearly a third of the country in 2014, mostly Sunni towns, and then hung on as a U.S.-led coalition surrounded and bombarded the areas they controlled.

The extremist group was able to at least initially benefit from some popular support among Sunnis. After the ouster of Saddam Hussein, a Sunni, many Sunnis felt marginalized as parties led by Shiites were able to win elections by sheer numbers; Sunnis, in turn, felt they had lost their fair share of power.

Sunnis are worried that the Shiite influence mainly of the Iran-backed militias will grow in their areas if the Shiite-backed Sunni candidates win, and that will make it hard for them to come together in the future.

Aware of the problem, politicians now appear to be trying to distance themselves from openly sectarian rhetoric in the run-up to the vote, saying they will form diverse and cross-sectarian coalitions. But many expect the generally chaotic post-election creation of a parliament majority will be sectarian in nature nonetheless.

Differences now are deeper than before in that everyone is seeking influence in the next government, said Ali al-Adeeb, a leading Shiite politician. Thus, the process of forming the new government will be complicated and any further delay will further complicate the political and security scene.

Nearly 7,000 candidates will vie for 329 seats in parliament the May 12 elections, the fourth since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion that removed Saddam from power, according to the Independent High Electoral Commission.

Candidates have formed 27 political coalitions and last month, the electoral commission extended the deadline for registering the alliances as political parties worked to negotiate deals, but failed.

Sunni candidates are divided among three big alliances and up to seven small ones. Leaders had demanded a delay in elections for up to six months arguing that many of their voters are in areas that suffered some of the worst destruction in the war. Constituents would not have enough time to gather paperwork and update their personal information in time to cast their ballots, they argued. There are still nearly 2.5 million people displaced by the war around the country.

Sunni lawmaker Mohammed al-Karboli said Sunni candidates will have a difficult time facing more dominant Shiite political groups who have far more resources. The Sunnis will have a weak presence in the next parliament. We are not optimistic about the coming elections, he said.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announced he is seeking re-election with his recently formed Victory Alliance, running separately from rival Nouri al-Malikis State of Law coalition. Al-Maliki is currently vice president; he was prime minister from 2006 to 2014.

Both men are members of the Shiite Islamist Dawa party, which has said its supporters can vote for either candidate.

Primed to play a major role in the election is the Conquest Alliance, a coalition of popular Iran-backed militias led by Hadi al-Amiri, leader of the Badr Brigade, one of the countrys most prominent Shiite militia groups. Lawmaker Ahmed al-Asadi said the Conquest Alliance has its eye on the position of prime minister.

A deal had been announced between al-Abadis party and the Alliance but it lasted only two days. The breakup came at the behest of Qassem Soleimani, head of Irans elite Quds Force and a key adviser to the Shiite militias, two senior Shiite politicians said. Both spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to release information.

Soleimanis involvement suggests Iran is endeavoring to install its militia allies into power for its own political purposes.

A source who also asked to go unnamed said neither al-Abadi nor the Conquest Alliance could agree on what percentage of representation the Alliance would have inside al-Abadis coalition. Another source close to al-Abadi said it was Iran who first asked the Conquest Alliance to join al-Abadi and then withdrew in order to embarrass the prime minister in front of the West.

Lawmaker Mohammed Mahdi al-Bayati said he believes the militias, who were instrumental in defeating IS, will do well because of their popularity in both Shiite and Sunni areas. If they do well enough, they plan to propose al-Amri, the Badr Brigade leader, for prime minister, he said.

Iran stands with us in the fight, so it will be happy if we win in the elections, al-Bayati said.

The prime minister position is reserved for Shiites under an unofficial agreement dating back to 2003. The same agreement stipulates that the widely ceremonial president post be held by a Kurd, while the parliament speaker is Sunni.

Meanwhile, the followers of Iraqs firebrand Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr will also field candidates in their Marchers Alliance, while Shiite cleric Ammar al-Hakim, who previously split from the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq, will lead his National Wisdom Movement.

In the countrys north, ethnic Kurds who used to run on two or three lists inside and outside their self-ruled region are broken into at least six lists as differences have been exacerbated after the September referendum on independence resulted in harsh measures from Baghdad. Some prominent Kurdish politicians have joined Arab-led lists.

In his briefing to the United Nation Security Council on Feb. 20, special envoy to Iraq Jan Kubis said cross-sectarian and cross-ethnic coalitions across the political spectrum are essential.

Only a new government based on such an approach will guarantee the future of Iraq as a united, democratic, fully sovereign and independent federal state, as a factor of stability, cooperation and prosperity for its people and for the region, he said.BEIRUT (AP)  Czech authorities detained a former leader of a Syrian Kurdish political party under an Interpol red notice that was based on Turkeys request for his arrest, Turkish and Syrian Kurdish officials said Sunday.

Turkeys President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Salih Muslim, former co-chair of the Democratic Union Party, or PYD, was caught. Speaking in Sanliurfa Sunday, Erdogan said, Our hope, God willing, is that the Czech Republic will hand him over to Turkey.

Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdag said Turkey requested Muslims detention for extradition after locating him in a Prague hotel. Bozdag called Muslim the terrorist head.

A Kurdish official close to Muslim, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the former PYD leader was in Prague attending a conference. After a Turkish participant took a photograph of him, Czech police detained the Syrian politician Saturday, following a request by Turkey.

Czech police say that have arrested and placed in detention a 67-year-old foreigner at the request of Turkeys Interpol. No further details were immediately released by Czech police.

Muslim was put on Turkeys most-wanted list earlier in February with a $1 million reward.

The Turkish justice ministry said Muslim was being tried in absentia for his alleged involvement in a March 2016 car bomb attack on Turkeys capital, which killed 36 people and injured 125.

Turkey considers the PYD a terrorist group linked to outlawed Kurdish insurgents fighting within Turkeys own borders for more than three decades.

The party is the leading political Kurdish force in northern Syria, and Muslim remains highly influential even after stepping down as co-chair last year.

The PYD condemned in a statement Muslims detention, saying the move is an illegal and immoral act by Czech authorities and calling for his immediate release.

The group also accused Turkey of adopting dirty methods in chasing personalities that are playing a role in the fight against terrorism, highlighting Muslims major role in mobilizing international opinion in the fight against the Islamic State group.

The United States has been backing the PYDs armed wing, the Peoples Protection Units or YPG, in combatting the extremist IS. The alliance has tensed relations between Washington and Ankara, who are NATO allies.

On Jan. 20, Turkey launched an incursion into northern Syria, seeking to rout the YPG from the enclave of Afrin.

The Kurdish official said the former PYD leader was invited to Prague to take part in a conference held once every six months to discuss issues linked to the Middle East such as the Syrian crisis, Turkey, and the Arab-Israeli conflict.

The justice ministry said it was submitting an extradition request for Muslim. An extradition request would have to be approved by a Czech court and by the justice minister. Muslim is a Syrian citizen.

Turkey shares a 911-kilometer border with Syria. The YPG controls much of the territory along the border.



Bilginsoy reported from Istanbul and Karel Janicek in Prague contributed to this report.| BY Lynchy |

News Corp Australias new TV commercials themed Were for you, created by agency Big Red, Melbourne, have gone to air in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane Adelaide and Hobart.

The 15 TVCs (5x15sec; 5x30sec; 5x60sec), which are set to a cover of the Beatles classic A day in the life, promote The Daily Telegraph, Herald Sun, The Courier-Mail, The Advertiser and The Mercury, taking the News Corps Were for you brand positioning to the next level.

Says Tony Phillips, chief marketing officer of News Corp Australia: The Were For You tagline embodies how we wish to connect with our readers. Its a statement of commitment that were for the things that matter to our readers and their communities.

These commercials, tailored for each city, tap into the places, moments, and methods in which people consume our content, using a universally recognised Beatles song.

The TVCs show consumers in various situations in any given day, and how theyre connecting with reading the news. It evokes a sense of belonging to a community of people who know, share and discuss whats going on in the world around them.

The iconic Beatles song refers to a typical day  waking up, getting ready, having breakfast, commuting to work, and importantly, reading the news of the day.

Says Phillips: We hope that when people are humming the tune, they are emotionally connecting our newspapers as an everyday source of news and information, whether theyre on the go or having a relaxing Sunday read.

The TV commercials aired on the weekend during Channel 7s My Kitchen Rules and Channel 9s Married at First Sight and 60 Minutes.

Supporting this campaign over the coming weeks will be evolving print and digital ads, outdoor advertising across the transit network in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, as well as an extensive radio and cinema campaign.

Yesterday, every Sunday metro paper topped off a strong print campaign week, featuring double-page ads across pages 2 and 3, with each editors statement of commitment to their readers.

Client: News Corp Australia

Chief Marketing Officer: Tony Phillips

General Manager Metro & Regional Marketing: Bettina Brown

Head of Brand and Media Services: Louise DavisTreading lightly on Tanna We go on a new ecotourism adventure tour in North Tannanews, latest-news

Emergency services have received more than 200 calls for help from Canberrans hit by Sunday's deluge. Canberra received more than February's average rainfall on Sunday. It recorded 66.2mm by 2pm, compared with the average rainfall in Canberra for February of 51.2mm. Some parts of the city were hit by more than 60mm in just a few hours. It caused flash flooding in parts of the city and forced several roads to close. Police are pleading with Canberrans to drive to the conditions, and avoid flooded areas. The Bureau of Meteorology cancelled its severe thunderstorm warning about 1.20pm, after first issuing it about 9.15am. In the three hours to 10.45am, the bureau recorded 66.2mm at Woolshed Creek, 43mm at Oaks Estate and 39.2mm at the boat harbour on Lake Burley Griffin. The ACT Emergency Services Agency said storm water levels would continue to rise, as further rain was expected. "Avoid entering storm waters and don't allow children to play in, or near storm waters. Please avoid driving on unsealed roads," it said in a statement. "Do not drive into flood waters. If driving becomes too difficult pull over safely to the side of the road and wait until conditions improve. "The public are also advise to keep clear of waterways, which are likely to experience flash flooding in current conditions. When flooded waterways can become unpredictable and dangerous." Authorities temporarily closed several roads, including Macarthur Avenue in O'Connor and Brigalow Street in Lyneham, and Majura Road, but they are now reopened. Oaks Estate low-level crossing remains closed until further notice. Authorities also advise people avoid the following areas, which have been affected by storm water or debris. ACTION buses were diverted in the inner north for much of the day. Services returned to normal about 4pm. "Patrons can expect delays. We apologise for any inconvenience," it said in a statement on Sunday morning. The flooding also closed Dickson Library, and the Australian National University has cancelled all classes and events on Monday. "The closure is to ensure the safety of all students and staff as the university conducts essential safety checks on infrastructure including bridges, creek banks and electrical switchboards," the university said. ANU libraries will be closed and students have been told not to come to campus. Residential students were advised to stay away from affected areas, and staff should only come to campus if requested to do so for essential work. "The university is experiencing significant flooding and power interruptions across the campus," it said in a note to students. "The university has temporarily closed the area between Sullivans Creek Road and Melville Hall including the Chifley Library and ovals and grounds. Please keep clear of swollen waterways and do not enter flood water or creeks," the note said on Sunday. On Sunday evening, the ESA advised several locations had been reopened to the public: While the following roads remained closed: Drivers have been advised to avoid storm water affected areas at Northbourne Avenue and the intersection of Barry Drive, and Sherbrooke Street, Ainslie. Several rural roads in the territory are also closed: While another downpour of this size is not being forecast, the rain is not quite ready to go away. The bureau is forecasting a 60 per cent chance of another shower on Monday, although it is only expecting up to 6mm. It's predicting some drier days after that, before there's a 50-50 chance the rain returns on Friday and Saturday. For assistance during storms and flood call 132 500. For life-threatening emergencies call Emergency Triple Zero (000). The State Emergency Service advises people should:

/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/silverstone-ct-migration/5ad230b9-fc9b-4e2c-8da8-3d7b6a294f45/r0_121_2000_1251_w1200_h678_fmax.jpgnews, latest-news

A month's worth of rain fell across Canberra on Sunday, causing flash flooding, road closures, and prompting the Australian National University to close its city campus. The State Emergency Service responded to more than 100 calls for help, while at least one car was abandoned to flood waters. The deluge caused the ground floor of an apartment block in O'Connor to flood, with residents left to survey the damage to their soaked cars and belongings. Bureau of Meteorology forecaster Rob Taggart said Sunday's rain was a once or twice yearly event in Canberra. "There's been a trough sitting over western NSW for a couple of days, and that's drawn very humid, northerly air over the ACT. It's basically a tropical air mass," he said. "What happened this morning was, a front has come through the south coast and it moved inland as a south easterly and it interacted with that humid air." He said that collision produced a thunderstorm and the flash flooding. Mr Taggart said the rain that fell over the capital on Sunday had exceeded the monthly average for February, which is 56.4mm at Canberra Airport. Between 9am and 4.30pm, 50.2mm fell at the airport, on top of 19.6mm that fell on the previous 24 hours from 9am. The northern parts of the capital copped the worst. Several roads were closed, some buildings were flooded and the ACT State Emergency Service received more than 100 calls for help mostly for flooding. The rain fell hard and fast as people woke on Sunday morning. In the three hours to 10.45am, the bureau recorded 66.2mm at Woolshed Creek, 43mm at Oaks Estate and 39.2mm at the boat harbour on Lake Burley Griffin. In the 12 hours to 4.30pm, 78mm fell at Woolshed Creek, 55.6mm fell at Boat Harbour on Lake Burley Griffin and 59.2mm at Oaks Estate, the weather bureau said. The Australian National University said in a statement that it had been forced to close the campus on Monday following floods. "The closure is to ensure the safety of all students and staff as the University conducts essential safety checks on infrastructure including bridges, creek banks and electrical switchboards," the statement said. "All classes and all events on campus will be cancelled on Monday 26 February and all ANU libraries will be closed. "Students should not come onto campus, and residential students should stay away from affected areas." As of Sunday afternoon, waterways and Sullivan's Creek continued to move rapidly. The ACT State Emergency Service warned people to take care around flood waters and to avoid waterways. "Do not drive into flood waters. If driving becomes too difficult pull over safely to the side of the road and wait until conditions improve," its statement said. "The public are also advise to keep clear of waterways, which are likely to experience flash flooding in current conditions. When flooded waterways can become unpredictable and dangerous." On Dickson's Morphett Street, a red Mini Cooper was abandoned in the middle of the road at the peak of the floodwaters. Authorities had later moved it to the grass nature strip on the side of the road, where it sat with just one headlight on. The waterway that runs through Lyneham and O'Connor became a rapidly flowing river and water nearly rose above the concrete edges. Sullivan's Creek, which also passes through Turner, Lyneham and O'Connor, was overflowing and moving fast. In a paddock off Majura Parkway, several horses gathered in the middle of the grass field, surrounded by water. Authorities temporarily closed several roads, including Macarthur Avenue in O'Connor and Brigalow Street in Lyneham, but reopened them later on Sunday. Oaks Estate low-level crossing and Majura Road from Tambreet Street to Mustang Avenue were also closed. ACTION buses were diverted in the inner north for much of the day. Services returned to normal about 4pm. The Bureau of Meteorology cancelled its severe thunderstorm warning about 1.20pm, after first issuing it about 9.15am. But the rain has mostly passed, with the bureau forecasting only the chance of a shower coming into the new week.

/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/silverstone-ct-migration/9a1cce23-bc2e-4509-8933-8ee4934577dc/r0_118_2000_1248_w1200_h678_fmax.jpgUnfortunately, our website is currently unavailable in your country. We are engaged on the issue and committed to looking at options that support our full range of digital offerings to your market. We continue to identify technical compliance solutions that will provide all readers with our award-winning journalism.Photo: CTV FIle photo: A grower checks plants in Kelowna's largest legal grow operation.

At the present time there are more than 1,000 licenced medical marijuana grow operations within the city of Kelowna.

In a letter sent to the city last year, Health Canada informed the City there are currently 841 people licenced to grow medical marijuana for personal use and another 181 active licences allowing people to grow for themselves and up to four other people.

New Health Canada rules will force them to shut down by the end of March.

To prepare for the inevitable growth of new operations, Kelowna City Council put forth a series of new zoning and bylaw regulations concerning the growing and distribution of medical marijuana.

According to Health Canada the new regulations, set to take affect April 1, will treat marijuana as much as possible like any other narcotic used for medical purposes by creating conditions for a new, commercial industry that is responsible for its production and distribution.

Those conditions, regulating health and safety and also where facilities could or could not be located, are being left to individual municipalities across the country.

At the present time medical marijuana operations can be located anywhere within a city as long as the operator has a licence for production from Health Canada.

Monday, Kelowna City Council approval a text amendment to zoning bylaw 8000 permitting medical marijuana production facilities only in I2 (General Industrial), I3 (Heavy Industrial) and I4 (Central Industrial) zones.

Other industrial zones such as I1, I5 and I6 were not included, although Councillor Andre Blanleil did question the exclusion of I1 (Business Industrial).

Environment & Land Use Manager, Todd Cashin, says staff was looking for industrial zones that provided the least amount of conflict with typical users within those zones.

"When staff was looking through the different uses I1 definitely came up...it was on the bubble," says Cashin.

"If you review the existing I1 zones that are out there today there are a lot of regular type businesses - a lot less on the true industrial use side. Some are closer to residential areas and the I1's, in some cases, had a bit more opportunities for conflict so staff left it off."

Some of the primary land uses in the I1 zone include animal clinics, care facilities, child care while I2 has automotive, warehousing and production facilities, things that look and feel like what the city feels the marijuana production facilities will look like.

A second text amendment was also approved to prohibit medical marijuana production facilities from all Agriculture 1 (A1) zones by amending the definition of agriculture.

Councillor Robert Hobson supported the direction council has taken in eliminating the possibility of of these facilities within the agricultural zone.

"This is an industrial use and not an agricultural use that requires the kinds of servicing and road access that an industrial property would require," says Hobson.

"It's (marijuana) not an outdoor crop like corn. To me it makes sense to focus on industrial areas."

Greg Wise, Kelowna's bylaws manager, says the Medical Marijuana Producer Business Licence and Regulation Bylaw mirrors those of Health Canada.

Those include:

The applicant is obligated to ensure the location of the medical marijuana production facility meets all applicable stipulations of the City of Kelowna Zoning Bylaw 8000

The applicant is obligated to obtain the required permits prior to commencement of any building, plumbing, natural gas, propane and electrical installations on any development site or building

All new construction and tenant improvements must comply with the BC Building code, BC Fire Code and City of Kelowna Building Bylaw, Plumbing, Gas, Development Cost Charges, and Life Safety Bylaws

Submission of:

A ventilation plan used to control the environment detailing how such system(s) prevents the escape of pollen, and other particles through exhausted air ensuring no odours leaving the premises can be detected by a person with a normal sense of smell at the exterior of the premises

A plan that specifies the methods to be used to prevent the growth of harmful mould and achieve compliance with limitations on discharge into the waste water system of the City

A security and exterior lighting plan consistent with the requirements of the Health Canada MMPR regulations, including monitored alarm system

A plan of the placement and use of security cameras consistent with the Health Canada MMPR regulations

A storage plan for the medical marijuana produced and/or otherwise stored on the Premises

A plan for disposal of any medical marijuana or Infused marijuana that is not consumed by patients in a manner that protects any portion thereof being possessed or ingested by any person or animal

A plan for packaging and delivery of medical marijuana to patients, including the loading and transport of product

Provide a signed declaration that no pesticides or other toxic substance shall be used in medical marijuana production and that the operation will meet the Health Canada Technical Specifications for Dried Marihuana for Medical Purposes document

A Copy of the Heath Canada Medical Marijuana Producer licence

The names of every individual employed in the MMPR business and provide updates within 72 hrs. of any change in personnel

Documentation that the applicant and all employees have passed an RCMP criminal records check on an annual basis

The premises must be cleaned to the standard contained in the Nuisance Controlled Substance Bylaw 9510, as amended or replaced from time to time

City may inspect at any time to confirm any and all conditions are being met

Failure to meet any of the conditions will be grounds for a business licence suspension hearing [staff decision] or business licence revocation hearing [council decision]

Councillor Colin Basran did have some concerns with the provision allowing the city to inspect a facility at any time wondering if the RCMP would be accompanying staff members.

"Like with any business in our community there are those that are owned by very reputable people with good intentions and those that aren't," says Basran.

"I have some real concerns with our employees who are unarmed going into facilities that could potentially be run by people with not necessarily the best of intentions."

While businesses wanting to operate a production facility are required to undergo stringent background checks for themselves and all employees, City Clerk Stephen Fleming says if a bylaw officer feels there is an issue with their safety or public safety an RCMP member would come along.

Meantime, council had concerns over the cooperation or lack of from Health Canada in regards to how current facilities that will no longer be operational after March 31 are shut down.

While the RCMP and bylaws are working together to formulate an enforcement plan to ensure these operations are shut down as required by March 31, Health Canada is not providing the locations.

"This is something the RCMP is looking at nationally," says Fleming.

"There is an enforcement plan being worked upon to make sure those properties are subject to our grow-op bylaw where they have to be cleaned to a certain standard once the grow finishes. He have a high number of facilities subject to the bylaw with the challenge that Health Canada won't give us the specific addresses."

This did not sit well with council.

"I really find it discerning about Health Canada and I don't know if they really thought this through," says Maxine DeHart.

"It's really appalling to me and it's worth a discussion."

At the present time, Health Canada has approved eight licences across Canada including two in BC, one on Vancouver Island and the other in Maple Ridge in the Fraser Valley.Photo: DriveBC - file photo The Needles Ferry has broken down Saturday night.

UPDATE: 9:15 p.m.

DriveBC has confirmed the Needles ferry remains closed Saturday night due to mechanical issues.

"Just spoke with Needles Ferry master and can confirm it is not currently in operation," DriveBC tweeted.

"Your reader may have enjoyed the last crossing tonight."

DriveBC currently has no estimated time when the ferry will be back in operation.

UPDATE: 9 p.m.

A Castanet reader says their mother crossed the Needles ferry at 7:45 p.m. Saturday.

"It must have been a quick fix," the person said.

DriveBC is still reporting the ferry is out of service due to mechanical issues, and has not yet confirmed if the ferry is in fact back in operation.

ORIGINAL: 7:25 p.m.

The Needles ferry, east of Vernon, is closed Saturday night, due to mechanical issues.

The closure means Highway 6, which connects Vernon to Nakusp across Upper Arrow Lake, is closed in both directions.

DriveBC currently has no estimated time of reopening.Photo: The Canadian Press

For 10-year-old Isabelle Smit, finding new blood relatives through a long-shot DNA drive has been like a game of Connect the Dots.

Smit, who was adopted as an infant from Chongqing, China, and now lives in Esquimalt, B.C., describes a distant cousin she found in Holland.

"Her name is Yaya and she's the closest relative I've found. She's really tall, she's older than me. I think she likes Minecraft," Smit said.

"I don't know a lot about her, but she looks really, really cool."

Smit is one of 20 international adoptees from Chongqing who posted a video together to China's equivalent of Youtube, asking potential biological relatives to submit DNA samples.

The video gained thousands of hits after it was posted in December.

In the video, the adoptees introduce themselves, name the orphanage where they were adopted and where they live now. There are 19 girls and one boy ranging in age one to 16, who live in Canada, the U.S., the Netherlands and Belgium.

The video was picked up by Chinese media and the group's contact in China received a flurry of responses, Smit's mother Kristen Lundgren said.

From the initial 15 samples received from Chongqing, two American adoptees who weren't in the video found close matches. The results are entered into a larger DNA bank, so they aren't only tested against samples from the kids in the video.

In addition to Yaya, who was also featured in the video, Smit has matched with three other distant relatives, including one from Chongqing. But she's still holding out hope for her birth mother.

"We're hoping that maybe because these matches happened, it will get people talking," Lundgren said.

"Maybe more people will come forward who want to be tested."

An additional five samples that came in response to the video are still being processed. The group is working on more videos to keep it in China's public eye.

Lundgren said she was given very little information about Smit's birth family when she adopted her at 10 months old in 2007. But her guide told her most of the children were placed for adoption by families who couldn't afford the high fees of keeping a second child under China's one-child policy.

The one-child policy was phased out in 2015.

That year, almost 3,000 children out of 22,348 placed for adoption went to foreign families.

Lundgren's adoption agency emphasized the importance of birth family and culture for an adoptee, so Lundgren always wanted to help Smit connect with those parts of her identity, if her daughter expressed interest.

"I really strongly believe that the better you understand your own story, the better off you are. I have my own curiosity and I know I would want the best information possible," Lundgren said.

She said her daughter has written letters to her birth mother in China for as long as she's known how to write, but she's never had a place to send them.

"If she was really hesitant, I wouldn't do it. But she's always wanted that."

Lundgren said it's been a bit of a rollercoaster for her family, especially with no promise that the search will end with Smit's birth mom. But each time another family finds a match, it gives them hope.

"It's kind of incredible that 15 samples came back from China and [two] were matched with their birth families," Lundgren said.

"For a child, it's about understanding that it's a long-term process and our DNA is logged. And at some point, any point in the future, we could find someone who is a match."Photo: Erin Wiebe

UPDATED: 11:06 a.m.

A travel advisory remains in effect on Highway 5 between Hope and Merritt.

Travelers can expect poor visibility due to blowing snow and fog conditions between Britton Creek to the Portia Interchange, according to DriveBC.

Please be aware of slow moving maintenance equipment and crews working.

Travelers are advised to use caution, leave space and be prepared.

ORIGINAL: 8:41 a.m.

More snow is expected on higher level highways.

About 10 to 20 centimetres of snow is expected on the Coquihalla Highway Sunday morning between Hope and Merritt.

A trough of low pressure traversing the B.C. Interior is resulting in heavy snowfall on the Coquihalla Summit and Allison Pass early this morning, according to Environment Canada.

"Coquihalla coming out of Hope, no lanes plowed, minimal sanding, blowing snow, chain up is in effect for trucks," said a person on a road conditions Facebook page. "I drive this road a lot and this is the worst I've seen it, personally, this winter."

The snow is expected to ease throughout the morning but further accumulations up to 10 centimetres are possible.

Be prepared to adjust your driving to changing road conditions.

ShiftIntoWinter reminds drivers to know before you go. Adjust to winter driving behaviour and use winter tires and chains.

Road conditions are available at DriveBC.Photo: DriveBC

UPDATE: 11:45 a.m.

The section of Highway 1 is now open after a vehicle incident closed it on Sunday morning.

UPDATE: 9:40 a.m.

Traffic has been reduced to single lane alternating traffic after a vehicle incident near Three Valley Gap on Highway 1.

Drive BC said the incident occurred four kilometres west of Three Valley Gap.

ORIGINAL: 9:36 a.m.

Crews are responding to a vehicle incident on Highway 1 near Three Valley Gap on Sunday.

It is not clear how many vehicles were involved or what lead to the incident.

DriveBC said they are looking into the incident.Bobby Gordon Davis, 60, of Jasper, Tennessee, passed away Thursday, February 22, 2018.

Bobby was a member of Midway Baptist Church of South Pittsburg, Tennessee. He served his community by working at the Hale Town, Tennessee Fire Department for over 10 years.

He was preceded in death by his parents, James Davis Sr. and Virginia Rogers Davis; brothers, James Davis Jr. and Chris Williams Davis; and sister, Charlette Ann Davis.

Those left to cherish his memory are his wife of 40 years, Kay Dean Davis; brother, Sammy (Donna) Davis; sisters, Mary Jo Thomas and Daisy L. Sisk; and several nieces and nephews.

Visitation will be Saturday, Feb. 24, from 1 p.m. CST until time of services at 6 p.m. CST.

Funeral services will be conducted from the Tate Funeral Home Chapel Saturday, Feb. 23, at 6 p.m. CST with Bro. Todd Lint officiating.

In lieu of flowers please make donations to Tate Funeral Home LLC, 950 Mel Dixon Lane, Jasper, TN 37347.

Arrangements are by Tate Funeral Home LLC, Jasper, TN 37347.

Health officials in Weld County have confirmed that 10 people have been infected with Salmonella in connection to a Mexican restaurant in Colorado. Burrito Delight in Fort Lupton and its sister location in Dacono were forced to close after catering two Aims Community College events where several attendees allegedly fell ill. Food Safety News reports that one child was admitted to a local hospital.Oliver targeted Murray Energy Chief Executive Robert Murray during a segment last June that blasted his company and criticized the standards of the coal industry at large. In the segment, Oliver revealed that when a producer for his show tried to get in touch with Murray Energy, it responded with a cease and desist letter from its legal team. The company has a long history of threatening litigation against its critics.The auction house says the pen was inherited by Lincoln's grandniece who was also the custodian of Lincoln's home in Springfield. The grandniece, Mary Edwards Brown, sold the pen in the 1920s and then it was sold yet again in the late 1950s to a Lincoln memorabilia dealer.At the time of his death, Killingsworth was on electronic monitoring after being hit with a gun charge following his arrest the night of March 19, 2017, at what records identified at the time as his home in the 900 block of West 78th Street, according to court and police records. He was facing charges of being a felon in possession of a weapon and possessing a weapon without having a valid Firearm Owners Identification card, according to court records. He was due back in court on Tuesday.Jerry Washington, who suffers from dementia, had been seen at 4:30 p.m. Friday when someone dropped him off at the CTA station, 6300 S. Halsted St., according to a missing persons report issued by Area South detectives. Washington was located Sunday, according to police.Harris was then seen on CTA surveillance footage exiting at the Cicero Avenue station with the victims belongings, including an iPad and wallet, prosecutors said. The victim was discovered by CTA personnel three stops later at the Western Avenue station.Im sure United and American are going to try to make a land grab and gobble up as many gates as they can possibly get, Harteveldt said. Its really going to be up to the Chicago Department of Aviation to be the advocate for the non-hub airline, both U.S. and foreign flag, to ensure those carriers have adequate access and adequate number of gates. Its in the airports best interest to limit United and American.The stages of Paris trip shopping grief: In the course of a few days, I went from full-blown panic that I purchased too much during our trip to Paris and it would never fit in my suitcase and wed be barred from returning to Americato annoyance of hauling everything through the airportsto regret that I hadnt found a way to buy even more.

This was my first womens-only trip to France and the shopping potential that unleashed was impressive. The French just really, really (really) have the best things. The whole country is essentially the answer to the question: what if we all tried harder?

Anyway, to start: housewares. There was one store in Le Marais that broke our heart. Fleux is a home goods shop that covers across four different storefronts. Almost every beautiful thing that was in our elegant Paris apartment could be purchased here. Look at Jackies face here, its the wistful expression of someone questioning why chairs dont count as a carry-on:

Our two-bedroom Paris apartment had 9 varieties of lamps, including three of this very popular sort with a simple base and exposed bulb.

And I was drooling over the selection of hanging lamps, too:

Were there candles? Of course, there were. Scented and tapers.

I fell in love with this rattan sofa, made by House Doctor  a Danish brand that doesnt sell in the US.

And this velvet sofa, too. Both were reasonably priced, to add to the frustration. In the end, I bought a lightweight woven rug here to put on my shabby old couch at home and some half-price ribbon.

We brought a lot more home from the other houseware shop of our trip: E. Dehillerin is the place where Julia Child famously bought her cookware and was right around the corner from our apartment.

They have a system here where you have to look up the sticker on a pan you like and then run to a binder at the end of the shop to look up the price and it takes forever to do that while deciding which one to buy. But the staff is very helpful and speak perfect English.

Margaret took home a covered copper pan and took home an oval copper pan with an open top. And we all took handfuls of wood-handled cheese knives.

We also did some damage on the housewares front at the Galeries Lafayette home store. The Danish ceramics there were deadly good (do we need to go to Denmark next?). Next, on to clothes, perfume, chocolates and baby goods!"I couldn't disclose it then," he said. "That's not the way you do things, over a news camera. You do it individually. You meet privately with families. You have compassion. You don't do it at a public forum. And we weren't ready to do it anyway.""I'm a second-generation American, and my family came here based on merit," said Ross, as she waited in a throng of people trying to meet Nigel Farage. "We've had family members who were sent back - hey came to Ellis Island, and they didn't qualify to be here. That's how it goes. I think we should hold up on immigration for now, because there are so many Americans in poverty.""Somebody should look into it, because what they did, it's really fraudulent, and somebody should be looking into that, and by somebody, I'm talking about you know who," Trump said.According to Elgin Fire Department documents, a neighbor called in the fire just before 6:42 p.m. Jan. 21. Records state it took 77 seconds from dispatch for Engine 5 to bring a crew of three to the burning home along the 400 block of Sadler Avenue. The dispatcher also sent out an ambulance from nearby Station 5, a fire truck and battalion chief from Station 1, and fire engines from Stations 4 and 2. The second engine arrived 7 minutes, 29 seconds later after the dispatch, according to the documents."For too long, substance use has been stigmatized and dealt with as a criminal issue," the group stated in a release. "Substance use is a public health problem that needs to be addressed as such. Lake County Opioid Initiative is committed to developing innovative ways to create positive change in our community as it regards substance use and mental health."Judge calls mistrial after jury split on alleged child sex assault

A hung jury forced a mistrial Wednesday in the case of a 44-year-old former youth church group leader accused of sexually assaulting a child.The Communist Party of China Central Committee proposed writing Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era into the country's Constitution.

The Scientific Outlook on Development was also proposed to be included in the Constitution.

The proposal was made public on Sunday.

According to the proposal on the Constitution revision, under the leadership of the CPC and the guidance of Marxism-Leninism, Mao Zedong Thought, Deng Xiaoping Theory, the Theory of Three Represents, the Scientific Outlook on Development, and Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, the Chinese people of all nationalities will continue to adhere to the people's democratic dictatorship and the socialist road, persevere in reform and opening to the outside world, steadily improve socialist institutions, develop the socialist market economy, develop socialist democracy, improve the socialist rule of law, apply a new vision of development and work hard and self-reliantly to modernize the country's industry, agriculture, national defence and science and technology step by step and promote the coordinated development of the material, political, cultural and ethical, social and ecological advancement, to turn China into a great modern socialist country that is prosperous, strong, democratic, culturally advanced, harmonious, and beautiful and realize national rejuvenation.



The raids were reportedly spearheaded by civilian militias, who detained three of the young men in the northern village of Karbabad. A fourth person was arrested in Nuwaidrat after special forces raided his home.



(AhlulBayt News Agency) - At least four Bahraini youths were arrested by the kingdoms security forces earlier this week following a fresh wave of raids across the country.



The raids were reportedly spearheaded by civilian militias, who detained three of the young men in the northern village of Karbabad. A fourth person was arrested in Nuwaidrat after special forces raided his home.



Homes were also reportedly raided in Sanabis, Dumistan, Sitra, Karzakan, Shakhura, and Diraz.



There is no word yet on why the men were detained or what they are being charged with.



In recent years, Manama has jailed thousands without any legal justification as part of its onslaught against dissent.







/257Khadga Prasad Oli [Center], Prime Minister of Nepal [File photo]





Amidst India's efforts to cajole the victorious Left alliance, its leader Khadga Prasad Oli became the first Prime Minister of federal Nepal. Oli, also chair of the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist Leninist), received support from the other half of the alliance, the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Center), for his second term as the executive head of the Himalayan nation.

This is the first time Nepali communists formed a majority government to rid the nation of the prolonged transition that vitiated the country's ability to achieve stability and economic development. Moreover, the coalition government is in a better position to execute independent foreign policies and extract the country from the geopolitical tussles among the big powers.

The people gave the thumbs-up to the communists as the parties competed at the polls and promised eventual unity following the election. The formation of the Left alliance government marks a watershed moment in the country's politics. It is tasked to implement a socialist-oriented economy as spelt out in the new constitution promulgated in 2015.

Oli led the coalition to a resounding victory on the planks of stability, prosperity and good governance. Moreover, it is Oli's nationalistic stand taken during his 9-month premiership that enabled him to clinch a resounding victory in the polls held as per the roadmap of new constitution.

Oli has become the first prime minister of Nepal after it was converted into a federal republic. It is natural for the citizens to pin their hopes on Oli, who has emerged as the most influential and popular leader in the country's contemporary politics thanks to his pivotal role in promulgating the constitution and defying the Indian diktats against it.

Oli, who endured a 14-year-long jail sentence while opposing the autocratic Panchayat regime, has the challenge of pursuing pragmatic and balanced foreign policy. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has already shown his readiness to work with Oli, with Modi phoning Oli three times since the victory of the alliance in a positive gesture to mend ties with Nepal. India had imposed a cruel blockade on Nepal in 2015 after the latter refused to toe India's hegemonic line of keeping Nepal under its security umbrella. Oli served as the rallying point for anti-embargo protests.

In a major breakthrough, the country's two major communist parties were unified on Feb. 19, issuing a seven-point accord which is expected to deliver a stable government to the country for the next five years. They decided to name their unified party the Communist Party of Nepal (CPN), adopting a multiparty system with Marxism-Leninism as its guiding principle. A string of leaders have put their signatures on the merger blueprint and agreed to debate the topics of a multiparty people's democracy, Maoism and 21st-century democracy at the unity convention before coming up with a coherent ideology.

Unified Marxist Leninist chair Oli and Maoist Center chair Prachanda will jointly head the coalition party and lead the government on a rotating basis.

With the unification, the CPN has become the world's fourth-largest communist party, after the parties operating in China, Vietnam and Laos. This enabled the CPN to secure 174 seats out of the total 275 in the House of Representatives. It holds a solid majority in six out of seven provinces. The two parties had jointly fought the elections held in November and December last year.

Considered a historic gain for the 68-year Nepali communist movement, the unification has added impetus for the government to usher the country out of its previous era of turmoil.

Ritu Raj Subedi is an associate editor of The Rising Nepal.





Opinion articles reflect the views of their authors, not necessarily those of China.org.cn.



 Flash

The UN Security Council on Saturday unanimously adopted a resolution demanding a cease-fire of at least 30 days across Syria that would allow humanitarian access and urgent medical evacuations.

Photo taken on Feb. 24, 2018 shows the United Nations Security Council voting on a resolution demanding ceasefire in Syria at the UN headquarters in New York. The UN Security Council adopted a resolution demanding ceasefire in Syria on Saturday. (Xinhua/Li Muzi)





Resolution 2401 demands an immediate cease-fire for "a durable humanitarian pause for at least 30 consecutive days throughout Syria" to enable the safe, unimpeded and sustained delivery of humanitarian aid and services and medical evacuations of the critically sick and wounded.

It demands all parties engage immediately to ensure full and comprehensive implementation of the humanitarian pause.

According to the resolution, the cease-fire does not apply to military operations against the Islamic State, al-Qaida and Al Nusra Front and their associates, and other terrorist groups as designated by the Security Council.

The resolution demands that, immediately after the start of the cease-fire, all parties shall allow safe, unimpeded and sustained access each week for UN and partners' humanitarian convoys, including medical and surgical supplies, to all people in need in all parts of Syria, in particular to hard-to-reach and besieged locations.

It further demands that, immediately after the start of the cease-fire, all parties shall allow the United Nations and its implementing partners to undertake safe, unconditional medical evacuations, based on medical need and urgency.

The resolution also demands the immediate lifting of sieges on populated areas, including Eastern Ghouta, the last major rebel stronghold, which has seen heavy bombardment in the past week.

"(It) calls upon all parties to immediately lift the sieges of populated areas, including in Eastern Ghouta, Yarmouk, Foua and Kefraya, and demands that all parties allow the delivery of humanitarian assistance, including medical assistance, cease depriving civilians of food and medicine indispensable to their survival, and enable the rapid, safe and unhindered evacuation of all civilians who wish to leave," reads the resolution.

It warns that starvation of civilians as a method of combat is prohibited by international humanitarian law.

The resolution reiterates its demand that all parties immediately comply with their obligations under international law and international humanitarian law, including the protection of civilians and ensuring the respect and protection of all medical personnel and humanitarian personnel, as well as hospitals and other medical facilities.

The resolution was adopted after two weeks of tough consultations with twists and turns at the last minute.



 Flash

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) Saturday accused the United States of secretly making preparations to wage a large-scale cyberwar on Pyongyang prior to a real military attack.

The official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) and official daily Rodong Sinmun said the U.S. magazine Foreign Policy has disclosed in its Feb. 15 issue that Washington is ramping up its intelligence capabilities to focus on the Korean Peninsula.

U.S. agencies like the Central Intelligence Agency have been on standby for the attack for half a year with billions of U.S. dollars invested in the plan and many experts trained for it, they said.

U.S. media outlets like the NBC, Bloomberg News and the Washington Post have been reporting about "cyber terrorism" and "threats" from the DPRK, which means U.S. war moves against Pyongyang have reached the phase of practical implementation, they said.

The U.S. is sending a large number of cyber warfare experts to the war drills with South Korea, the KCNA said. Flash

The International Committee of the Red Cross said Friday more than 20 staffers have left the organization since 2015 after "paying for sexual services," as it called for change in a humanitarian sector facing "a watershed moment."





Following reports of sexual misconduct involving aid workers across multiple agencies, the secretary general of the ICRC, Yves Daccord, said the Geneva-based organization had conducted a thorough internal review.





"I have instructed my teams to scour the data we do have on sexual misconduct, and I can tell you that since 2015 weve identified 21 staff members who were either dismissed for paying for sexual services or resigned during an internal enquiry," Daccord said in a statement sent to AFP.





Two others did not have their contracts renewed over similar circumstances, he added, explaining that the decentralized nature of the organization with 17,000 staff worldwide made it difficult to compile figures.





Unlike crisis-hit British charity Oxfam, which did not explicitly bar its employees from hiring prostitutes, the ICRC has forbidden "the purchase of sexual services" since 2006, even in places where prostitution is legal, Daccord explained.





He voiced concern that a number of incidents have not been reported, or reported cases were mishandled, and vowed the ICRC was working to address the problem.





Broadly, the ICRC needed to "acknowledge the cultural shift required for the organization," Daccord said.





"This is a watershed moment for the humanitarian sector as a whole. We owe it to the people we serve to behave with absolute integrity."





The ICRC disclosures follow revelations that Oxfam was investigating 26 cases of sexual misconduct since a crisis erupted over its handling of a scandal involving prostitution in Haiti.





Three of Oxfam's senior leaders have apologized for the charity's handling of an internal investigation into the hiring of prostitutes by staff in Haiti following the devastating 2010 earthquake.





UNICEF's deputy director Justin Forsyth resigned following complaints of inappropriate behavior towards female staff in his previous post as head of British charity Save The Children.



Heads of 15 Islamic countries legal medicine organizations started a three-day regional meeting in Tehran Alzahra University on Sunday.

(AhlulBayt News Agency) - Heads of 15 Islamic countries legal medicine organizations started a three-day regional meeting in Tehran Alzahra University on Sunday.



The meeting is aimed at creating more interaction among countries and developing executive, training and research cooperation.



Representatives from Algeria, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Pakistan, Palestine, Syria, Turkey and Turkmenistan participated in the event.



Legal medicine is the branch of science and medicine involving the study and application of scientific and medical knowledge to legal problems, such as inquests, and in the field of law.







/129Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site.

0108263 License for publishing multimedia online



Registration Number: 130349 Registration Number: 130349"We have spoken a lot in Iran about the missile and defense issues. Iran, like all other states and as an independent country, doesnt allow anyone to interfere in its internal affairs and internal and missile policies," Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qassemi said on Saturday.

(AhlulBayt News Agency) - The Iranian foreign ministry once again categorically rejected talks with foreign states to work out a deal on Iran's defense and missile program.



"We have spoken a lot in Iran about the missile and defense issues. Iran, like all other states and as an independent country, doesnt allow anyone to interfere in its internal affairs and internal and missile policies," Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qassemi said on Saturday.



He referred to the Iraqi-imposed war against Iran in 1980s which was supported by many world powers, and said, "Had we enjoyed the necessary defense capabilities and had certain conditions not ruled us, certainly a mad person like Saddam couldnt have attacked us and engaged us in a devastating war for 8 years."



Elsewhere, Qassemi said that Saudi Arabia which has been entangled in the quagmire of Yemen is now after a hypothetical enemy and raises allegations against Iran on supplying the Yemenis with missiles, stressing that the Saudi claims are "a complete lie and irrelevant".



He expressed confidence that Saudi Arabia would one day leave Yemen after a dishonorable defeat.



In relevant remarks last Wednesday, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani reiterated his country's firm opposition to any kind of negotiation on its military and missile capabilities, saying Tehran wants talks on the West's boundless sales of destructive weapons to certain regional states.



"Given the historical experience (of the 8-year Iraqi-imposed war supported by the western states) against Iran's national security, the Iranian people are sensitive to any related issue and they truly and correctly believe that the country's defense power is not negotiable," President Rouhani said in a meeting with Dutch Foreign Affairs Minister Sigrid Kaag in Tehran.



"Meantime, we are interested in holding talks with our friends about the extensive sales of destructive weapons to the regional states, mainly by the western states; specially sales of the deadly aircraft and missiles which are used to kill and displace people and destroy the residential areas and infrastructures in Yemen," he added.



President Rouhani also dismissed allegations that Iran has supplied Yemen with missiles as "incorrect and baseless", and said instead of projecting the blame on others, efforts should focus on immediate halt in the war against Yemen and dispatch of humanitarian aid to the poor country to pave the ground for Yemeni-Yemeni talks.



Kaag, for her part, underlined that the Netherlands recognizes Iran's need to weapons program to defend itself as legitimate.









/129Evangelist Billy Graham, who died on Feb. 21 at the age of 99, left a lasting impact on the Christian community for his stand against abortion. His granddaughter, Windsor Dienert Bauders, shunned the act even as she had two unplanned pregnancies and one crucial health issue for the child she was carrying to term.

Bauders was just 16 when she became pregnant for the first time. With a promising life ahead of her, she admitted during a speech at a Celebrate Life banquet in 2015 that her own anti-abortion family mulled over her options.

Confusion clouded their choices, just like any other family faced with a predicament. Bauders, however, always knew that the best option for her was never abortion.

Bauders decided to give her firstborn, a girl, the gift of life and put her up for adoption. A few months later, the evangelist's granddaughter found herself pregnant again, and her mom, Ruth Graham Dienert, thought deep and hard over abortion.

"[But] I'm very grateful that my daughter, in both cases, did not consider it," Dienert said.

Bauders raised her second child, a baby boy, as a teenage single mom. A few years later, she met and married husband Todd and they had a daughter together.

Bauders eventually got pregnant for a fourth time but doctors told the couple some bad news. The baby would not be normal and would have medical challenges if she chose to carry him through term.

As with the previous pregnancies, she refused to abort this child and followed her grandfather's conviction. Graham once said that abortion caused America's downward spiral morally.

"Millions of babies have been aborted and our nation seems largely unconcerned," the famous evangelist wrote in an open letter titled "My Heart Aches for America" in 2012. "Self-centered indulgence, pride, and a lack of shame over sin are now emblems of the American lifestyle."The Holy See has raised its appeal to the United Nations to stop the detention of migrant and refugee children, according to Archbishop Bernardito Auza in a recent assembly.

Auza, the Vatican ambassador to the U.N., was one of the main speakers in the event called "Ending the Detention of Migrant and Refugee Children." The International Catholic Migration Commission, along with the Center for Migration Studies, Caritas Internationalis and the U.S. bishops' department of migration and refugee services organized the assembly.

The ambassador emphasized that the detention of children still persisted despite plenty of evidence showing it was harmful to them. He noted that there was a growing concern about the practice from international communities as well.

Meanwhile, Mgr. Robert Vitillo of the ICMC commended Italy's newly enacted law on minor refugees. Some 18,000 children, including those who had arrived unaccompanied to the country, have been entered into a guardianship program and would receive education and health care benefits while awaiting legalization.

Vitillo also cited the Belgium chapter of Caritas International for its work in providing administrative, legal and psychological support to minor refugees and their families. The organization launched a proper process to identify and register these children to arrange for their care and protection.

Child experts working with the U.N. have been pushing for a ban on migrant and refugee children detention for years. Renate Winter, the chair of the U.N. Committee on the Rights of the Child, urged European countries to take the first step. Currently, EU laws allow the detention of minors seeking asylum as a last resort.

"The claim that detention is necessary to protect children from going missing, being exploited or 'absconding' is misguided," Winter said. "Detaining children, whether unaccompanied or on the basis of their, or of their parents' immigration status, is never in the best interests of the child and constitutes a violation of the rights of the child."The mayor of Quincy, Massachusetts, is no longer aligned with the Democratic Party. Thomas Koch dropped his support for the group he had been with since he was 18 years old because of its pro-abortion policy.

Koch, now 55, changed his party registration shortly after Democratic National Committee chairman Tom Perez said in a speech that pro-life supporters had no place among Democrats. The former told the press on Wednesday that the chairman's message was "the last straw."

"The party platform is so far left on abortion it's sickening," the mayor said.

Koch, a Catholic, reflected on a similar experience that his father, Richard, had with then-Sen. Edward M. Kennedy years ago. When the senator campaigned for pro-choice, the older Koch slowly moved away from working for Kennedy's team.

The mayor also recalled that the abortion issue became a big deal in his family during the Roe vs. Wade landmark case of 1973, when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled for women's right to have an abortion. Koch had been only 10 years old at the time but he understood his family's convictions against abortion.

"I'm certainly a believer in life starts at conception," Koch said.

The state of Massachusetts considers abortion as legal for up to 24 weeks of pregnancy or in special medical cases that threatens the life of the mother. The Democratic Party underscored its support for abortion at any time during the pregnancy, including near the baby's full term, in its 2016 platform.

There are currently 22,569 registered Democrats in Quincy. A political science analyst, however, believes Koch will not lose support if he runs in the next elections.

"He's kind of safely occupied a middle ground in Massachusetts politics," Professor Peter Ubertaccio said. "I don't think most people in Quincy are going to bat an eyelash."

It is said that voters in Quincy are usually nonpartisan, and despite leaving the Democratic Party, Koch still supports Democratic U.S. Rep. Stephen Lynch in Congress.Most theatrical features based on the Bible usually center on Jesus Christ or the Old Testament, and rarely has there been a story about his followers. However, the film "Paul, Apostle of Christ," will finally arrive on the big screen on March 23 in the U.S.

The movie centers on the final days of one of the most important Biblical figures in the Apostolic Age or after the resurrection of Jesus. James Faulkner ("Game of Thrones") plays the revered apostle who wrote many letters that most Christians still read today, while Jim Caviezel ("Passion of Christ") joins the cast as the apostle Luke.

Executive producer Eric Groth believes that the story of Paul comes at the right time and has great significance to the present.

"It was real important to tell the story of God's mercy," the producer said. "His message of love, life and mercy is so important for us today."

Groth relayed that the movie, which has been rated PG-13 for violent content and images, can be shown to middle school students. The production was careful about depicting some scenes graphically, especially since Christians were condemned and tortured during this time period.

Comments from the audiences who have seen early screenings of "Paul, Apostle of Christ" sounded encouraging. Groth shared that he commonly hears how the Scripture was so ingrained in the story that even non-readers of the Bible could understand its context.

Caviezel relayed that "Paul, Apostle of Christ" centered on forgiveness amid oppression. In the movie, the Roman emperor imprisoned Paul for spreading the word of Christ, but the latter was the first to discourage his fellow believers from sowing the same form of violence.

"It's really easy to love people who think like you think; it's very hard to treat someone with a polar opposite view with the same dignity and respect you would treat a friend," the actor said. "That's this movie's core message."

"Paul, Apostle of Christ" will open in over 2,000 theaters around the United States on March 23 and it will also be shown in 15 other countries. The film also stars Olivier Martinez (Mauritius), Joanne Whalley (Priscilla), John Lynch (Aquilla) and Noah Huntley (Publius).We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on!

Go to formIsraeli soldiers shot, on Thursday evening, a Palestinian child with a gas bomb in his head, in Deir Nitham village, near the central West Bank city of Ramallah.

(AhlulBayt News Agency) - Israeli soldiers shot, on Thursday evening, a Palestinian child with a gas bomb in his head, in Deir Nitham village, near the central West Bank city of Ramallah.



Medical sources said the child, identified as Saleh Mahmoud Tamimi, only 10 years of age, and added that he was shot with a gas bomb in his head.



They added that the soldiers invaded the town and fired dozens of gas bombs at homes at homes in the town, after the army assaulted dozens of protesters.



The child suffered moderate wounds, and was rushed to the Istishari Hospital, in Ramallah.



It is worth mentioning that Deir Nitham is subject to daily Israeli military invasions, violent searches of homes, and constant abductions.



The soldiers are also constantly barricaded at the main entrance of the village, and frequently isolate it.







/129



A LOOK AT 2017 FILMS NOMINATED FOR PROMINENT OSCARS

(This review originally ran during the film's initial theatrical release in 2017)



BY MARK CERULLI

This so could have been a by-the-numbers genre movie: Sensitive boyfriend goes to meet hot girlfriends parents in secluded country home and mayhem ensues and thats exactly what happens in Get Out, the new thriller from writer/director Jordan Peele, but in a totally unexpected way.

The film turns every horror trope on its head while tackling racist stereotypes along the way. Daniel Kaluuya is excellent as Chris, an aspiring young photographer who happens to be black. His beautiful, Ivy League-ish girlfriend, Rose (Allison Williams from HBOs Girls) is bringing him home to meet her parents for the first time  a momentous occasion in any new relationship but even more so when its interracial, a fact the movie meets head on. Once at the family estate, Chris feels that something is truly off  from the mind-gaming father (Bradley Whitford) and his spooky psychiatrist wife (Catherine Keener) to Roses hostile brother (Caleb Landry Jones). Their all black staff goes out of their way to tell Chris how happy they are to be there, which just makes him more uncomfortable. And then theres the family gathering Rose forgot to tell him about, where cousins and uncles leer at Chris as if hes on display, making clueless, subtly racist comments in a perfect sendup of East Coast liberal elitism. Chris gamely endures all this while Rose seems genuinely mortified  but its all an act! Chris has been brought there for a sinister purpose and after Roses mom slyly hypnotizes him, that purpose is revealed and Get Out moves into high gear.

Writer/director Peele, who made his name acting and writing in comedies like MAD TV and Keanu, deftly blends laughs and horror, all leading up to a truly innovative climax as Chris desperately tries to escape. Daniel Kaluuya (Sicario) is spot on as a budding artist trying to navigate a difficult social situation. Allison Williams Rose is appropriately seductive and Milton Lil Rel Howery is hysterical as Chris loyal wingman, Rod, a TSA Agent who investigates when his friend goes missing. Produced by genre hitmeister Jason Blum (Paranormal Activity, Split, The Purge), Get Out is a mystery thriller that truly delivers while skewering todays pervasive racial stereotypes. Its also is a stunning directorial debut for Jordan Peele, who will doubtlessly be able to work in whatever genre he chooses.

CLICK HERE TO ORDER FROM AMAZON

EUCLID, Ohio - Mayor Kirsten Holzheimer Gail calls her city's newly approved master plan a roadmap to a better future.

Unanimously approved by Council on Feb. 5, the plan shows how an aging suburb just east of Cleveland could reboot itself by building on positives including a large industrial zone and four miles of Lake Erie shoreline.

The question is whether Gail, Council, and the city at large have the focus and money to follow up vigorously.

Whether they do matters far beyond Euclid because Cleveland's third biggest suburb is a case study in what's happening to older, inner-ring communities hit by sweeping regional and national trends.

Wages of sprawl

Sprawl development, for example, has lured jobs, energy and investment away from older urban core areas, saddling them with higher rates of poverty, racial tensions, weaker housing markets and struggling schools.

Euclid, one of Cleveland's most desirable suburbs after World War II, is seeing all those trends, despite having excellent highway access to downtown Cleveland and University Circle, plus engaged residents with strong sense of local pride.

"The perception of Euclid is that it's declining," Gail said. "We have to make sure people know things are happening and what we're doing is spurring investment. We're not giving up."

Euclid's issues may seem irrelevant to outsiders, especially because under Ohio's home rule system of local governance, individual communities are largely on their own when it comes to fixing their problems.

Winners and losers

But winners and losers among the region's communities are often determined by external factors such as the state's predilection for widening interstates and adding highway exits that stimulate growth in newer and more distant suburbs rather than older ones like Euclid.

Problems can also migrate across municipal boundaries, linking the fate of one community to that of its neighbors, despite the go-it-alone ethos suggested by home rule.

That's certainly the case with Euclid, whose 10.3 square miles are sandwiched between high-poverty areas of Cleveland to the west, and more prosperous suburbs of Lake County to the east.

Crafted over the last year by the Cuyahoga County Planning Commission at a cost to the city of roughly $16,000, with $50,000 in county in-kind services, the new master plan is Euclid's first since 1996. It's available on the city's website.

Urgent action needed

Daryl Langman, an outspoken, 17-year member of City Council, said it's urgent to act on the plan's recommendations.

"We're in a race against decline, quite frankly," he said. "If we do enough, we win. If we don't, decline will overtake the city."

Gail, a lifelong Euclid resident with a career in social services who previously served as Council president, sees the plan as a way to put Euclid "on the path to being once again that first choice, a vibrant city, a vibrant community.

"I won't say we should ignore our problems," she said. "But we have great assets. How do we use those assets to continue to grow the community?"

Euclid's challenges became highly visible last August when several dozen protesters rallied outside City Hall against police brutality after a violent struggle between a Cleveland man and two officers was recorded on a police dash cam.

Backstory

The backstory behind tensions over policing and other issues facing Euclid is spelled out by the master plan in a "SWOT" analysis, which stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.

On the plus side, Euclid has a 3-square-mile industrial zone south of I-90 that boasts 245 companies including Lincoln Electric, a global manufacturer of welding equipment.

Amazon is building its second Northeast Ohio fulfillment center nearby on the former site of the Euclid Square Mall, and plans to hire 1,000 employees.

The city's once drab downtown is showing signs of life, spurred in part by an earlier round of planning. And Euclid is implementing a highly innovative plan for a lakefront boardwalk and marina that could serve as a model for other lakefront communities.

Strengths and weaknesses

On the downside, the SWOT analysis shows that Euclid is threatened by rising poverty, a lack of high-end housing, deferred maintenance of infrastructure, and the harsh, north-south divide ironically create by I-90 and the industrial zone, which cut diagonally across the city's midsection.

City schools earned an F achievement grade in the most recent annual report card issued by the Ohio Department of Education.

Perhaps as a result, Langman said, demand is weakening for housing in Euclid, even though 98 percent of homes received good or excellent ratings for their condition in a detailed new survey by the Western Reserve Land Conservancy.

The county found that median price for a single-family home in 2015 was $52,657, far less than the countywide median of $119,500 or the eastern suburb median of $109,500.

Roughly half the homes in the city were rentals in 2014, up from 42 percent in 2009, the county analysis showed.

Declining values

Declining home values are bringing Euclid within reach of newcomers from the impoverished East Side of Cleveland and from East Cleveland, who aspire to improve their lives by moving.

Such in-migration is a factor in Euclid's recent change to becoming a majority black city. Roughly 56 percent of Euclid's 47,500 residents are African-American, a number that grew by 6,410 between 2009 and 2014 according to county data.

Encouraging harmonious race relations and stability are among the city's goals.

But race is far from Euclid's only challenge. Employment slid nearly 22 percent from 18,434 to 14,759 between 2004 and 2014, due to closures, consolidations and lack of succession for older firms, according to the county.

The master plan advocates for recruiting new companies to the 60 open acres on the once-contaminated site of Chase Brass Copper plant, later PMX Industry, now known as Bluestone Business Park.

New employment needed

Improving streetscapes, parks and greenways is on the plan's agenda for Euclid, along with building new housing on remaining available sites, promoting stronger enforcement on home maintenance and repair, and making the city better for older residents to age in place.

The plan also shows how the city could use public art to brighten the gloomy underpasses beneath I-90, and how it could capitalize on downtown's Shore Cultural Center, site of the 3rd Annual Lake Erie Folk Fest, held Saturday.

The plan has buy-in. It grew out of extensive community engagement that included a survey of 1,500 residents and numerous public meetings.

The big question now is what to do first, and how to pay for it.

Council members, who are confronting a $1 million deficit in the $40 million this year's budget, aren't sure about what to do next.

What next?

At a final review session of the master plan by Council's executive and finance committee on Jan. 10, Ward VI Councilman John Wojtila, called the plan, which includes 32 pages of goals and actions, "a little intimidating."

"I guess when you think about it, this is a kind of a menu of what you choose to pick from," he said.

Gail sees more in the plan. "It shows people we have a vision," she said. "It gives people confidence in their decision to invest, and it gives residents confidence that the community is strong."CLEVELAND, Ohio - If you were a superb landscape painter in 18th century Venice, you paid your bills in part by selling panoramic city views, or vedute, as souvenirs for rich English tourists on the Grand Tour to hang in their castles and country estates.

But the jobs you really coveted -- because they had way more prestige, more gravitas -- were those in which you would blend architecture, landscape and current events by documenting diplomatic or religious ceremonies, festivals or gondola races, or even fires, bread riots or an eruption of Mount Vesuvius outside Naples.

"Eyewitness Views: Making History in Eighteenth Century Europe," the highly entertaining new exhibition that opens today at the Cleveland Museum of Art, is the first to delve into the overlooked subgenre of 18th century view paintings tied to actual historical happenings in urban and sometimes rural settings.

Grand salons

The museum revamped its big special exhibition gallery for the new show as a series of grand salons painted in midnight blue, on which 37 paintings by leading artists such as Francesco Guardi, Giovanni Paolo Panini, Canaletto, and his nephew and protege, Bernardo Bellotto, appear to glow.

The paintings juxtapose the glitterati of the 18th century with vignettes of beggars, street vendors and the occasional wandering dog.

Organized by Peter Bjorn Kerber, former assistant curator of paintings at the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles, and now curator at the Dulwich Picture Gallery, England, the show is both visually dazzling and a tour-de-force of research that unearths the long overlooked historical meanings of the paintings on view.

As Kerber points out in the show's catalog, paintings like those in "Eyewitness" could lose their documentary meaning as the events they depicted faded from memory, sometimes within a matter of years.

Reviving faded memories

Kerber offers the example of a pair of paintings by Panini.

The paintings documented a visit to Saint Peter's Basilica and Saint Peter's Square by French Abbe of Canillac in 1756. After his death just five years later, the paintings were inventoried simply as depictions of the basilica and square without any mention of the poor abbe.

For centuries, the Panini paintings and others like them have retained their artistic power chiefly as examples of the kind of "topographic" urban views sold to wealthy tourists.

Kerber's innovation is to revive the forgotten meanings hidden in plain sight in the paintings.

For example, he explains in the catalog who wore what and why in a 1741 Antonio Joli painting of a procession in the vast courtyard of the Doge's Palace in Venice following the presentation of diplomatic credentials to the Doge by the newly arrived papal Nuncio, or ambassador, Giovanni Stoppani.

But fear not; the show itself is not accompanied by elaborate documentation of every tiny pinprick face of every forgotten prelate depicted in Venetian piazzas in the "Eyewitness" paintings.

Power and influence

As framed by the Cleveland museum's curator of European paintings and sculpture, Marjorie "Betsy" Wieseman, the show focuses less on microscopic details of protocol and rank than on the main point, which is that patrons commissioned images of urban spectacles to commemorate big moments in their professional lives, and to communicate power and influence.

You could think of the works in the show as precursors to the dueling photographs of crowds at the inaugurations of presidents Obama and Trump, respectively, in 2009 and 2017.

As the controversy over the interpretation of the photos demonstrated, crowd size and other indicators of power and popularity can matter a lot. That was just as true in the 18th century Europe as it is for the current U.S. president.

Kerber dubs the "Eyewitness" pictures as "reportorial view paintings," suggesting that Canaletto, Panini and their peers in some way performed a journalistic function.

The museum further plays with this trope by promoting the exhibition as a chance to "see all the news that was fit to paint," paraphrasing the motto of The New York Times.

But as the show indicates, the vedute painters often went for truthiness rather than strict truth.

Manipulating reality

Neither Kerber nor Wieseman suggest any of the painters produced fake news. Yet it's easy to see how the artists manipulated architectural or geographic details to give their paintings more oomph, or sometimes just to corral sprawling scenes within the confines of a rectangular canvas.

Artist Michele Marieschi didn't have a cell phone with a panorama function in 1735, so when he painted the ceremonial entry of a new Venetian patriarch into the city via the Grand Canal, he bent the waterway in a 180-degree turn that doesn't actually exist, so he could squeeze the view into his picture frame.

Paintings in the show can seem scrupulously realistic at times, but they're primarily a sublime form of PR and marketing, not journalism in the contemporary sense.

Have I got a deal for you!

Wieseman's installation alludes to that fact in a label describing how Panini's son and business partner, Giuseppe Panini, decorated the unfinished ballroom in the Palazzo Farnese in Rome, the French embassy, for a concert and ball marking the birth of the son of the dauphin, the eldest son of the king of France.

The younger Panini slathered the unfinished palace with glittery Rococo decorations in papier-mache and stucco, and his father recorded the subsequent event, creating a package deal for their French patron as if they were turnkey wedding planners.

Wieseman placed the Panini near a 1731 work by the same painter depicting preparations for a 1729 celebration in the Piazza Navona in Rome of the birth of the dauphin.

That's typical of groups of paintings in the show that depict events such as the 1782 visit by Pope Pius VI to Venice, marking the first time a pope had visited the city in six centuries.

Storytelling through art

Guardi documented that event in four paintings, three of which are in the show and two of which Wieseman brought out of storage at the Cleveland museum, giving them fresh attention in the perfect context.

Among other things the show enables a visitor to compare the pictorial techniques and skills of the painters whose works are on view.

Canaletto and Bellotto come across most convincingly for their astonishing ability to render complex architectural scenes in near microscopic detail.

One example is the ragged edge of the Campanile in the Piazza San Marco in a 1745 Canaletto that records the bell tower's appearance after a lightning strike, and before it was repaired.

Canaletto's paintings can seem almost quasi photographic, but researchers now believe he did not use a camera obscura, a pinhole box, to trace his panoramas.

Fragile foundations

The show includes subtle hints that science, industrialization and revolution would unseat the age of absolutist royalty.

Those signs include contrasts of wealth and poverty in grand public spaces across Europe, such as the beggar in the left foreground of Bellotto's 1778 "Procession of Our Lady of Grace in Front of Krasinsky Palace" in Warsaw.

More to the point is Joli's painting of a bread riot during a famine in Naples in 1763-34, showing starving workers storming a pair of huts outside the city's fortified castle where the king of Naples distributed loaves.

The painting hints more violent and decisive uprisings to come. But as "Eyewitness" shows, the world as depicted by the by the vedutisti was fun while it lasted and is a pure delight to revisit today.

Review

What's up:

"Eyewitness Views: Making History in Eighteenth Century Europe"

Venue:

Cleveland Museum of Art

Where:

11150 East Blvd., Cleveland

When:

Through Sunday, May 20

Admission:

$12. Call 216-421-7340 or go to clevelandart.org.The first attack targeted the mosque in Maribs Sirwah district, Yemeni news website Sahafah24 reported on Sunday.



(AhlulBayt News Agency) - Saudi Arabian warplanes have flattened a mosque in Yemen's west-central Marib Province, and stricken another in the northwestern Sada Province.



The first attack targeted the mosque in Maribs Sirwah district, Yemeni news website Sahafah24 reported on Sunday.



Yemens al-Masirah television network published a video released by the countrys War Media outlet showing the moment the structure fell into ruin.



A day earlier, the aircraft targeted a mosque and other religious centers in Saadas Razih District.



Two people were wounded in Saudi airstrikes in Saadas Sahar district. A woman was also injured in a Saudi attack targeting a road in the provinces Saqayn district.



The footage broadcast on al-Masirah also showed the aftermath of the attacks on Saada.



The Saudi military campaign was launched in March 2015 with the aim of reinstalling Yemens former Riyadh-backed government and crushing the countrys Houthi Ansarullah movement, which has been both running state affairs and defending the nation against the aggression.



Around 13,600 Yemenis have so far lost their lives in the war, which also recruits many of Saudi Arabias regional allies, and enjoys logistical, political, and arms support from the United States and the United Kingdom



Saudi Arabia has also imposed an all-out blockade over Yemens ports, saying it was aimed at preventing transfers of weapons to Ansarullah. The siege has been depriving the most impoverished Arab nation of direly-needed food and medicine.

/257CLEVELAND,Ohio -- Just as California-born Chloe Kim flew through the air to become the youngest woman to win an Olympic Snowboarding Gold Medal, her family's story flies in the face of President Trump's icy anti-immigration positions, in spectacular fashion.

Kim, who was born in Long Beach, is the daughter of immigrants from South Korea. Her father, Jong Jin Kim, came to the United States in 1982 with $800. He first worked as a dishwasher, then a cashier. Eventually he was able to work his way to entering El Camino College to become an engineer.

As his daughter competed in PyeongChang, South Korea, Jong Jin Kim cheered her on shouting "American Dream!" Kim told reporters that when he came to the United States, "this was my American hope. Now this is my American dream. I just want [Chloe] to study hard. She's got to go have a good experience in college. I just hope she lives as a happy girl. I just wish she was a little nicer to me! She's such a teenage girl."

Appreciating both her heritage and growing up in California, Chloe Kim told reporters, "I'm really lucky to be Korean. It never felt like a burden to balance two different cultures; it just came naturally. Chloe Kim is fluent is Korean, French and English.

When the immigration story of Kim's parents was reported, I was preparing to soon see ICE agents descending on the family to check their citizenship status, that's how excessive and out of control ICE enforcement has become under Trump.

Fortunately for Kim, her parents at least came from Trump-tolerated Asia, instead of what Trump deemed "S-hole" countries. Even still, under Trump's proposed merit-based immigration system, Kim's parents might not have been allowed into the United States of Trumpica.

Trump and John Kelly had initially assured everyone ICE would be focusing on just rounding up illegal aliens who had committed serious crimes. Instead, ICE agents have been going after low hanging fruit, breaking up families of taxpayers who have been an asset to the community, over what amounts to traffic tickets.

Trump admin: U.S. no longer a "Nation of Immigrants."

The U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services agency has officially changed its mission statement to eliminate the phrase "Nation of Immigrants."

This is the old statement that previous presidents thought was appropriate:

"USCIS secures America's promise as a nation of immigrants by providing accurate and useful information to our customers, granting immigration and citizenship benefits, promoting an awareness and understanding of citizenship. and ensuring the integrity of our immigration system."

This the new Trumpified mission statement:

"U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services administers the nation's lawful immigration system, safeguarding its integrity and promise by efficiently and fairly adjudicating requests for immigration benefits while protecting American, securing the homeland, and honoring our values."

Next look for Trump and Stephen Miller to remove the "Give us your tired..." poem from the Statue of Liberty.

Ivanka Trump and Sarah Huckabee Sanders were sent to the Olympics to represent the United States for Sunday's closing ceremony. Ivanka is the Princess of Nepotism Gone Amok. Huckster Huckabee Sanders lies to the public for Trump nearly everyday.

Ivanka Trump and Sarah Huckabee Sanders represent the Trump administration. Chloe Kim and her parents truly represent the United States of America, a nation of immigrants.LAKEWOOD, Ohio - A 21-year-old woman shot by her boyfriend early Friday at a Lakewood home has died, police say.

Sarah J. Mahmood, of New Port Richey, Florida, died at MetroHealth, the Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner's website states. Lakewood police are still waiting for the medical examiner to provide an exact manner and cause of death, a news release sent Sunday says.

Mahmood was shot before her boyfriend, 23-year-old Amer A. Ahmad, shot and killed himself, police said. The shooting happened about 2:30 a.m. Friday at a house on the 1400 block of Olivewood Avenue, just south of Detroit Road, police said.

Police received a 911 call stating that the caller's son had just shot his girlfriend. Patrol officers who arrived at the house found Ahmad in his neighbor's backyard. Ahmad ran behind a house before police heard a gunshot.

Ahmad was found with a self-inflicted gunshot wound. He died at the scene, Lakewood police said.

The investigation into the circumstances around the shooting is ongoing, police said.

If you'd like to comment on this post, please visit the cleveland.com crime and courts comments section.MOUNDSVILLE, W.Va. -- A West Virginia judge has dismissed a lawsuit brought by coal company Murray Energy against HBO host John Oliver.

A segment of Oliver's Sunday show "Last Week Tonight" in June poked fun at Murray Energy CEO Robert Murray, who blames regulatory efforts by the Obama administration for damaging the coal industry. Oliver said the 77-year-old looked like a "geriatric Dr. Evil."

A Circuit Court judge in Marshall County, West Virginia, ruled on Wednesday that Murray's company failed to state a claim. The two-page ruling from Senior Judge Jeffrey Cramer was posted online by The Hollywood Reporter.

The Ohio-based company was seeking financial damages and a court order barring rebroadcasts of the segment's "defamatory statements."

HBO had argued the show didn't violate Murray Energy's rights or those of Murray.CLEVELAND, Ohio -- St. Ignatius High School released photos of the people involved in the carjacking of a 17-year-old student.

The incident happened about 4 p.m. Thursday in the parking lot on West 30th Street and Lorain Avenue after the student went to lacrosse tryouts.

The student told police he got inside his mother's silver 2016 Kia Sportage and started typing out an email on his phone, police reports say.

Two men walked up, opened the door and said "Get out of the car and give me your cellphone," according to police reports.

The men grabbed him, threw him to the ground and stole his phone, reports say. They got in the SUV and took off, police said.

Another student saw the carjacking and police reviewed surveillance video from the high school.

Police searched the neighborhood for the SUV, but could not find it. The student was not hurt. No arrests have been made.

Anyone with information is asked to call Cleveland Police Second District at 216-623-5200.

If you'd like to comment on this story, visit Saturday's crime and courts comments section.BARCELONA, Spain, Feb. 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- nubia, the innovative smartphone brand which boldly defined 'bezel-less' with its 90.36% full-screen ratio, edgeless Z17S, is ready to wow the smartphone industry all over again at the 2018 Mobile World Congress, with 3 new products that are sure to bolster the Chinese tech giants' reputation for outstanding smartphone design. Firstly, nubia is excited to reveal a technological breakthrough at their innovation lab. With a diamond-cut, light-infused, nano-carbon graphite design, this top-secret project is ready to go public. Secondly, the brand new Z17miniS will make its much-awaited debut. It packs top-notch specs, including front & back dual-lens cameras + AI-powered NeoVision7.0, new camera features such as AI Portrait 2.0, light-painting, macro-camera and clone-camera. Its design features four-sided curved glass with glare glass magical optical reaction. It's a mini marvel, not to be missed. Lastly, nubia will showcase a range of new models which solve the full-screen/short battery-life design conundrum. The new full-screen, long battery-life N/V Series have arrived, which come equipped with Qualcomm processors and a whole lot of RAM, so mobile gamers better get their fingers ready. More surprises await at MWC, where nubia will feature deluxe smartphone accessories and loT products & solutions. There's sure to be rumblings of when nubia's own 5G prototypes will make their appearances in 2018, as official nubia 5G models are set to launch in 2019. Last year, nubia expanded its presence in the US, India, Germany, Spain, Indonesia and Thailand while embarking on fruitful partnerships with Amazon, Mediamax and Phone House. nubia also had a string of successful product releases including the Z, M and N Series - all of which means nubia's booth at MWC '18 is not to be missed. About nubia Founded in 2012, nubia brings premium, innovative smartphones to users looking to get an edge with their mobile device. Inspiring the world to "Be Yourself," nubia continues to elevate lifestyles with better handheld tech. Headquartered in China, nubia has operations globally, including North America, Europe, and Southeast-Asia. The brand is well known for its innovative smartphone features and professional mobile photography functions. More nubia info can be found on the official website: www.nubia.com/en. Follow @nubiasmartphone on Twitter, @nubiasmartphone on Instagram or www.facebook.com/ nubiasmartphone for the latest news. AIn her landmark Brexit speech at Lancaster House, Theresa May was clear. We will take back control, she said just over a year ago. And she was right. This morning, lots of people are indeed taking back control.

One of them is Jeremy Corbyn. Cynically, but adroitly, he is manoeuvring himself into position to outflank Mrs May on membership of the European customs union.

Last November, and then again in December, he sabotaged amendments from Labour moderates Ian Murray and Chris Leslie that would have produced precisely the same outcome as the one he will advocate on Monday.

We shall hear lots about protecting the Northern Ireland peace process in this volte-face. But the true reason for the shift is pressure from the unions, approaching London elections, and that Corbynite Holy Grail  forcing an early General Election.

Some others taking back control are Mays pro-EU rebels. Tired of the Kamikaze Brexiteers setting the agenda, the Kamikaze Remainers are flexing their own muscles. Anna Soubry, Ken Clarke and as many as a dozen of their colleagues are forming an unholy alliance with Corbyn in an effort to enforce a pudding-soft departure from the EU.

When John Major lost his crucial vote in 1993 on the Maastricht Treaty, he immediately tabled a motion binding acceptance of the Social Chapter to confidence in his Government. Were May to lose any equally vital vote on Brexit, its likely she, too, would be forced to present Soubry and her colleagues with a stark choice between sticking to their principles and forcing a General Election, or standing by their Prime Minister

In response, Jacob Rees-Mogg and his shadowy European Research Group have warned May against being held to ransom by the Soubryites, which is the Tory equivalent of Al Capone telling Eliot Ness to stop bullying him.

In fact, the one person no longer in control of events is the Prime Minister. For the first time since making her own Faustian pact with the DUP, Mays fate rests in the hands of others.

A combination of her own mismanagement, perennial bad fortune and ideological bloody-mindedness at the fringes of her party mean she is again starring into the political abyss. So within Downing Street, the lights are burning late in a fresh attempt to pull her back from the brink.

The first part of that survival strategy rests on the Cabinet. May knows that any major fracture within the Governments inner circle would now be terminal.

Hence Thursdays carefully choreographed bonding session at Chequers, which saw her deftly guiding guests between the ornate Great Hall, the more intimate Hawtrey Room, and finally the Great Parlour, where they assembled for what one Minister described as the hostage photo.

This morning, lots of people are indeed taking back control. One of them is Jeremy Corbyn. Cynically, but adroitly, he is manoeuvring himself into position to outflank Mrs May on membership of the European customs union

Despite such cynicism, the feeling was that May had done a commendable job in soothing competing egos and securing a workable consensus. She got us where we needed to be, said one guest at Chequers. By the end, everyone was basically happy. But keeping the Cabinet happy is not enough. May now has to find a way of neutralising the pincer movement being masterminded by the potentially lethal alliance of The Absolute Boy and The Absolute Soubry.

One option could simply be to ignore it. As a No10 insider explained, while the intention of the Soubry amendment to the Trade Bill is to force Britain to remain within the customs union, it may not necessarily have the desired binding effect.

When these things are tabled, a lot depends on legal interpretation of the detail. They dont always have the result those drafting the amendment expect, said the insider. But given the political symbolism of the issue, an insouciant shrug in defeat is not a viable response. Not least because it would be interpreted by Mays opponents as a further gratuitous assault on the primacy of Parliament.

John Wrobel, manager of Left-wing Soho eatery The Gay Hussar, has been following the Jeremy Corbyn spy rumpus with nostalgia. Michael Foot was a regular, he tells me. I remember when he came here to celebrate his 80th birthday. Hed just settled down to eat when our old fax machine sprang in to life. It was a message from Moscow. It just said Happy Birthday! Given the former Labour leader was facing false allegations of being the infamous Soviet Agent Boot, Wrobel suspects a hoax. Perhaps former Czech spy Jan Sarkocy could shed some light on the matter. Advertisement

Alternatively, she could cut her losses, explain to her Eurosceptic wing that there simply isnt parliamentary support for a hard Brexit, and accept the amendment.

At which point the Brexiteers would tear May, her Government and what was left of her party to shreds.

Thats why the preferred strategy of the Prime Minister and her advisers is to play it long. They believe time is their best friend.

This week, at a special Downing Street meeting, May will bind in the remaining Cabinet members to the position agreed at Chequers. Then on Friday she will deliver the long-anticipated Florence II speech.

And before the crunch Commons vote on the Trade Bill, there will be another European Council meeting, with the anticipation of more substantive progress on the terms and timetable of withdrawal.

One No 10 adviser said: Over the next few months were going to see real progress and that will create a significant change in the atmosphere.

Perhaps. But if it doesnt, then May has one more button to press. And it is bright red and embossed with a mushroom cloud. When John Major lost his crucial vote in 1993 on the Maastricht Treaty, he immediately tabled a motion binding acceptance of the Social Chapter to confidence in his Government.

Were May to lose any equally vital vote on Brexit, its likely she, too, would be forced to present Soubry and her colleagues with a stark choice between sticking to their principles and forcing a General Election, or standing by their Prime Minister. Officially, No10 says this is not a course of action they are contemplating. But unofficially they accept it is where their stance on exiting the customs union may ultimately lead them.

When I asked a Downing Street official if there were any circumstances where the Prime Minister could accept defeat on the issue, their response was a succinct No.

We have not yet reached the stage where Mrs May is having to take such a fateful gamble with her Governments survival. But she must find a way of taking back control. And she needs to do it quickly.

My appeal last week for Theresa May to protect her Chancellor from internal attacks prompted this text from one of Philip Hammonds Cabinet colleagues: He has no charisma, and zero support on the back-benches. He is a gauche mixture of arrogance, and political ineptness. He bears the imprint of the last city fat cat who sat on him. But apart from that?Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc (sixth from left) and other delegates

press buttons to start construction on Long Son Petrochemicals Complex (Source: VNA)



The event also saw the presence of Thai Ambassador to Vietnam Manopchai Vonghakdi besides local officials.

The 464ha project is invested by the Long Son Petrochemical Co. Ltd., a joint venture between Thailands Siam Cement Group (SCG) and the Vietnam National Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam), with a total capital of USD5.4 billion.

Once operational in 2022, the complex is expected to have a capacity of 1.6 million tonnes of olefin per year.

According to Chairman of Ba Ria-Vung Tau provincial Peoples Committee Nguyen Van Trinh, during construction, the project will create jobs for around 20,000 labourers. Once operational, it is expected to create jobs for over 1,000 technical workers and contribute about USD60 million per year to the provincial and the state budget.

Speaking at the event, PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc said that the start of the project was good news for Vietnams petrochemical sector.

As this was the initial phase of the project, the investor should exert efforts to ensure the projects progress and apply advanced technologies in order to ensure absolutely safe operation, he stated.

He asked Ba Ria-Vung Tau province to supervise the investors compliance to regulations on protecting the natural and social environments, maintaining locals traditional culture, and restoring local natural forests to serve sustainable and long-term development.

Given the large number of workers participating in the projects construction, the Government leader requested the investor, contractors and the province to strictly obey labour safety regulations.

The investor and locality also need to ensure long-term resettlement for locals, including vocational training, while local communities should facilitate the construction of the project, he said.

Emphasising that the projects success is Vietnams success, PM Phuc asked ministries, sectors, PetroVietnam and Ba Ria-Vung Tau to create favourable conditions for the project, which besides its economic value also has a great political significance in the context of the Vietnam-Thailand strategic partnership.

SCG is one of the leading corporations in Southeast Asia with interests in cement production, construction materials, chemicals and packaging. It now has over 200 subsidiaries and more than 57,000 employers. It began investing in Vietnam in 1992./.When Kevin Watkins celebrated his 60th birthday four years ago, he was joined by the aid industry elite. Guests such as Bob Geldof and Justin Forsyth, then head of Save The Children, sipped champagne until the early hours.

The event was hosted by his pal Baroness Vadera, a former Oxfam trustee and banker once dubbed Gordon Browns representative on earth, at her London home.

Watkins was then head of the Overseas Development Institute (ODI) think-tank  supported, of course, by taxpayers, like almost everything in the poverty sector. He had much to celebrate after a successful career in the development world.

Industry elite: Save the Children chairman Sir Alan Parker and former chief executive Justin Forsyth with Samantha Cameron

Although a trustee with Save The Children (STC), Watkins went on to succeed his friend Forsyth as boss of the charity  a move the Charity Commission calls unconventional. His appointment ensured he inherited a job with a salary higher than the Prime Ministers.

Watkins is at the pinnacle of the aid industry. Yet now he is caught up in a scandal over abuse of women by development charities and the exits of Forsyth and another old friend, Brendan Cox.

At heart of these sleazy revelations, however, lies a cosy nexus of connections between ambitious individuals in the aid sector, self-serving politicians from all parties, and patsy parts of the media. All failed in their respective duties.

And this scandal exposes the arrogance, the self-aggrandisement and insidious corruption that has left taxpayers shelling out 13.4 billion a year to meet an absurd aid target despite growing controversy over the dodgy cause.

Charity chief: Kevin Watkins with Bob Geldof. Watkins never formally joined the team but he was so close to Brown that the then Chancellor sent a statement when Watkins left Oxfam

Now step back in time. This saga dates back almost three decades to when a one-time chef called Justin Forsyth joined Oxfam as a policy adviser. His boss was a woman named Dianna Melrose, a former ambassador.

After working at the Department for International Development, today she is a trustee of both the ODI and Save The Children. These people flit around the sector a lot. Forsyth became friendly with Watkins, who spent 13 years from 1991 as head of research at Oxfam, and later with a young press officer called Brendan Cox.

Like others at Oxfam, they became close to key figures in the emerging New Labour, encouraging their new political pals to latch on to aid as an idea and assisting with policies on Africa and development.

So strong were the ties that Forsyth ended up working for both Tony Blair and Gordon Brown in Downing Street, driving the Make Poverty History campaign. Cox later joined him as special adviser to Brown on development.

Watkins never formally joined the team but he was so close to Brown that the then Chancellor sent a statement, read out by Vadera, when Watkins left Oxfam.

And Watkins was later reprimanded while working at the UN over an anti-Tory article he wrote in The Guardian.

Meanwhile, the aid budget began to surge, doubling under New Labour to more than 8 billion. Barbara Stocking, who was then Oxfam chief and is now at the heart of the Haiti prostitute scandal, was rewarded for her loyal support with a damehood. So what happened when Labour lost in 2010? Forsyth and Cox resurfaced on hefty salaries running STC, where their friend Watkins was, coincidentally, a trustee  and then cuddled up to David Camerons Conservatives to keep the state cash flowing.

Save the Children staff have demanded that Sir Alan Parker be removed as global chairman of the organisation

Forsyth is a skilled networker. I remember him sidling up at an event and inviting me on a foreign trip, then looking dismayed when I rejected his overture. He easily captured the Conservatives, who were keen to throw off their nasty party mantle.

Cameron committed to meeting the UN aid target, his wife Samantha became an ambassador for STC, and the then PM promoted their cause on trips abroad.

Forsyth was so keen to please his political paymasters that leaked emails revealed how he helped cook up the IF Campaign to shore up support for the aid target. This cynical stunt  intended as successor to Make Poverty History  duped the public for it was created in collaboration with the politicians who were the supposed target of the campaign.

Meanwhile, Forsyth boasted of boosting his charitys income by 50 million, which came largely from public funds. And he provoked fury among staff when he rewarded his old boss Blair with a global legacy award, despite the carnage caused in the Iraq War.

Now some brave women whistleblowers and this newspaper have exposed abuse and bullying under people like Forsyth and Cox at a major charity taking almost 100 million from taxpayers  and which trustees failed to prevent. Yet is it any wonder it took so long for this scandal to emerge when the tentacles of their network, their well-placed friends and their well-funded cause, reach so deep?

Former chief executive Justin Forsyth. The charity has apologised to women employers who complained of inappropriate behaviour

STC is chaired by the well-respected public relations guru Sir Alan Parker, another skilled networker renowned for his friends across the political and business establishment. There are claims

The Guardian newspaper failed to investigate an industry it holds so dear when whistleblowers tried to raise concerns.

Note how it earns money from this bloated sector through sponsored pages. And indeed, how so many other journalists and MPs have allowed big charities to fund trips abroad and determine their agendas.

There are also profound questions facing the BBC, which has treated charities and aid chiefs like secular saints in its reporting.

Surely it is wrong that our most influential media organisation spends tens of millions for the Government in aid and promotes a debatable cause through demeaning concepts such as Comic Relief?

Note again the close links between senior BBC figures and the poverty industry. Oxfam is chaired by its former chief operating officer. Comic Relief is chaired by the chief executive of BBC Worldwide. The BBCs Director of Content is among its trustees.

This scandal highlights questions I have been raising for years over abuse of power and lack of accountability in the aid world, with its reach stretching so far into the political and media establishment.

For if big charities cannot be trusted to care for their female staff, why should they dictate to developing countries and be allowed to care for the worlds most vulnerable people?It was only when Annabelle Chauncy was evacuated from Kenya to Uganda while she was on a six-month trip for 'time out' during her law degree that she found her true calling in life.

The then 21-year-old, from New South Wales, realised just how extreme the situation was there.

'I was moved beyond belief,' she told FEMAIL. 'I saw kids with absolutely nothing who wanted to help themselves.

Annabelle Chauncy (pictured) is the Australian founder of School For Life - FEMAIL spoke to her about how she came up with the idea

'They were trying to go to school even though they had nothing at home, no shoes on their feet and empty stomachs. It inspired me to do something as it doesn't take much to make a difference.'

Ten years later, Annabelle is at the helm of School For Life in Australia - a not-for-profit organisation that works on supporting local communities in rural Uganda and helping children break free from poverty by way of education.

Here, Annabelle shares her incredible story with FEMAIL.

It was only when Annabelle found herself in Uganda after being evacuated from a six month stay in Kenya that she was 'moved beyond belief' when she saw children living in poverty

Ten years later, Annabelle (pictured with school children) is at the helm of School For Life in Australia - a not-for-profit organisation that works on supporting local communities

According to Annabelle, who has received an Order of Australia in her time as the founding director of School For Life, while she always had an interest in service, it wasn't until she was in Uganda that she changed the course of her life by accident:

'I had been studying to be a lawyer and working as a paralegal when I took six months out to travel to Kenya and work as an English teacher,' she told Daily Mail Australia.

'When Kenya erupted into a civil war while I was there, I was quickly evacuated across the border into Uganda where I found myself at a bit of a loose end.

'After thinking about what I could do while I was there, I saw first-hand what was going on. 42 million people in need of so much help, with only 56 per cent of kids completing primary school.

'But they were so resilient. It was their resilience that inspired me to do something small and make a difference. By the time I boarded the plane back to Australia I was drawing up a business plan.

'It changed everything.'

By the time she boarded a plane back to Australia after her time in Uganda, Annabelle was drawing up a business plan for School For Life

To this day, the organisation has three schools, 680 children and 48 local teachers. By 2020, they expect to have an impressive 1,600 (pictured)

Annabelle spoke about the fact that when she launched School For Life, people would often say that she was young, naive and overly passionate at age 21 (pictured now at 31 in Uganda)

Soon after she arrived back in Australia, Annabelle started to put together plans for School For Life - and a project she could embark on to help local communities in Uganda:

'My law degree stood me in good stead,' she admitted. 'And I did finish it off for the next two year, but I also spent my time researching and meeting people.'

While the 31-year-old said it was 'hard' and 'exhausting' at times working 80 plus hour weeks, she was passionate:

'People would say to me that I was naive and overly passionate and that I should come back when I'd grown up a bit,' she said.

'But I knew what I wanted to do.'

And School For Life launched in 2008, with the first classrooms opening in Uganda in 2011.

To this day, the organisation has three schools, 680 children and 48 local teachers. By 2020, they expect to have an impressive 1,600.

Annabelle has huge plans for the organisation - and now splits her time between Uganda and the schools (pictured) and Australia, where she works on fundraising

The 31-year-old explained that, as an organisation, they are 'working towards a social uplifting of communities through education'

'Seeing the children's smiling faces makes it all so worth it,' she said. 'It can be overwhelming how much there is to do, but that's what also keeps me going,' she added

Annabelle spoke about how you can help the schools in Uganda (pictured), by donating just 30 cents a month or donating school supplies

These days, ten years after the launch of School For Life, Annabelle splits her time between Australia and Uganda, where she makes sure there are 'the right teachers' in place.

When she is at home in Sydney, she will work on 'fundraising and marketing':

'I speak at lots of schools, pitch for funds and work on the long-term strategy,' she said.

The 31-year-old explained that, as an organisation, they are 'working towards a social uplifting of communities through education':

'Seeing the children's smiling faces makes it all so worth it,' she said. 'It can be overwhelming how much there is to do, but that's what also keeps me going.'

Annabelle has received the Order of Australia, as well as countless other accolades for her services, but she said it's not what drives her - it's the children (pictured)

She has also recently launched a Travel4Good program to help parents and their kids visit Uganda and tour the schools in the School For Life Foundation

Speaking about how we at home can help, Annabelle revealed it's surprisingly easy:

'Money goes so far,' she said. '30 cents a month will give three meals a day out there, or you can give another kind of support - via donations of stationery, white boards and the like.

'If people have skills, those are also often useful.'

She has also recently launched a Travel4Good program to help parents and their kids visit Uganda and tour the schools in the School For Life Foundation.

TV host, Georgie Gardner, is an ambassador - and recently took part with her daughter, Bronte.

Lastly, Annabelle revealed how you can pursue philanthropic ambitions, and her business tips for others

She recommends you don't overthink and instead go with a gut instinct, as often it's not wrong

Lastly, Annabelle revealed how you can pursue philanthropic ambitions, and her business tips for others:

'Don't let over-planning de-mobilise you,' she explained.

'I was young and naive and passionate, but if you're passionate you will be successful. It's when you have no passion that things go wrong.'

Annabelle also recommends avoiding overthinking:

'People can get paralysed with fear when they overthink,' she said. 'Go with a gut instinct and you won't often be wrong.'

For more information about the School For Life, you can visit the website here.Two best friends have found global success in less than 12 months after breaking into the competitive beauty industry.

Elliot Barton, 26, and Charlotte Tiplady, 28, from England, met in high school and launched Tatti Lashes, which is now available in Australia, because they wanted to conquer the beauty market.

'Tatti Lashes started in a basement of a beauty salon and has grown into a million dollar business within its first year,' Elliot told FEMAIL.

'It is something that we could have only ever dreamed about.'

Elliot Barton, 26, and Charlotte Tiplady, 28, met in high school and launched Tatti Lashes because they wanted to conquer the beauty market (pictured)

Since their launch in April 2017, they've turned over AUD $1.7 million dollars in revenue and they've seen a 70 per cent increase in sales over the past three months.

'Having eight years of salon experience gave us an advantage as our knowledge of the eyelash industry was already advanced,' Charlotte explained.

'Tatti Lashes took six months of planning, testing, creating and implementation before launching.

'A turning point for us was July 2017 - Khloe Kardashian was seen wearing lashes TL6 and since then she has been seen wearing Tatti Lashes numerous times since.'

Since their launch in April 2017, they've had over just under two million dollars in revenue

'Kris Jenner was also seen wearing pairs TL4 and TL19. As a consequence of this we sold over 20,000 units in July - our best month at the time,' she continued.

The celebrity support doesn't end there, with Nicki Minaj having worn a pair for her music video to the song No Frauds.

Christina Aguilera and Paris Hilton are also both fans and YouTube sensation Nikkie Tutorials is a frequent customer of theirs.

The effect of these endorsements has helped increase brand awareness as well as sales.

'As a consequence of this, we have seen a significant spike in traffic from new markets, especially in the US,' Ryan Baron, their Digital Director explained.

'A larger proportion of our customers are based in California. Our longer term goal, albeit ambitious, is to be an industry leader within the US market.'

'A turning point for us was July 2017 - Khloe Kardashian was seen wearing lashes TL6 and since then she has been seen wearing Tatti Lashes numerous times,' Charlotte explained

Both Charlotte and Elliot had previously been salon owners which meant they had the confidence to start a brand of their own.

In the past they had worked with a variety of eyelash brands which meant they were also able to identify the pros and cons of existing brands.

They wanted to offer a high quality lash that was more accessible for people

'Being in the beauty industry for such a long time, we really noticed a gap in the market with regards to affordability and quality and we wanted to create the perfect pre-fanned Russian lash that enabled Lash Technicians to half the treatment time,' they said.

'We also wanted to offer a higher quality lash that was more accessible and saved both time and money.

'The key to sourcing the product range was to ensure the eyelashes were reusable for the everyday person.'

In the beginning they tested various materials, eliminating styles and designs that didn't work and began to move forward with production.

'We produced 50 pairs of each style initially and were worried that they weren't going to sell!' Charlotte said.

YouTube sensation Nikkie Tutorials is also a frequent customer of theirs (pictured)

Olivia Jade Atwood from season three of Love Island has also expressed her support of the lashes (pictured left and right)

'We now have an integrated operations team in our new warehouse. This has definitely helped with being able to leverage business growth through order demand,' she continued.

Having been best friends for ten years the duo knew that there could be risks with mixing business with pleasure.

'Two best friends being business partners can be difficult at times, but we feel that we are able to find a balance between friendship and business,' Charlotte said.

'Having a clear understanding of each others roles has helped the business grow.

'We never imagined that Tatti Lashes would grow so fast. At first we struggled to adapt to such a high demand for our products.'

The brands success can be partly put down to the fact that both Elliot and Charlotte were determined to ensure the brand succeeded.

Having been best friends for ten years the duo knew that there could be risks with mixing business with pleasure

'Working around the clock with little resource was part of the initial sacrifices that we made. We then learnt that we couldn't do everything ourselves,' Elliot said.

'One thing we lacked was digital strategy. Ryan Barton heads this department up; since he came on board, we have seen almost a 70 per cent increase in sales over the past three months.'

Although the past few months have been an absolute whirlwind they have learnt a lot from their experiences along the way that has helped their business.

'Working around the clock with little resource was part of the initial sacrifices that we made. We then learnt that we couldn't do everything ourselves,' Elliot said

'Customers are the focal point of your business. If you treat them right, they will always come back to you. You are only as strong as the team you have around you,' Elliot said.

'We feel that this is just the beginning for us. We have been working hard behind the scenes to launch new, exciting products that we know our loyal customers will love.'

Although the duo has seen a lot of success in the past year it's clear that they're not taking any of it for granted.

'We never in a million years imagined that our business would grow as much as it has over such a short period of time,' they said.

'We try to not take anything for granted and keep moving forward. We understand that there is still a lot of hard work to be done.

'It is a dream to us to see the success of something that we are so passionate about.'Prince Harry and Meghan have been warned not to invite the bride-to-be's 'fame hungry' half-sister to the royal wedding by her ex-husband.

Scott Rasmussen, 58, who is based in Albuquerque, New Mexico, said that his 'pushy' former wife Samantha Markle was never as close to Meghan as she claims she was.

He described Samantha as the 'last person who should be at Windsor Castle', and said that Harry and Meghan 'need to know the truth about her'.

Samantha, 53 - who has the same father as Meghan - has been vocal in the media about her relationship with Meghan, and is writing a book with the working title The Diary of Princess Pushy's Sister.

Samantha Markle's ex-husband said that his former wife should not be invited to half-sister Meghan's wedding in May

Speaking to The Mirror, Scott said he believed that ex-model Samantha was 'jealous' of younger sister Meghan.

'Samantha's the pushy one,' he said. 'I believe she resented Meghan because she had the life Samantha always wanted and she was jealous.'

'Harry and Meghan need to know the truth about her. She's the last person who should be at Windsor Castle.'

Describing what Meghan was like as a teenager, he added: 'She was all class and so polite, everything Samantha wanted to be.

Scott Rasmussen described his ex-wife as the 'last person who should be at Windsor Castle'

Firearms expert Scott, 58, suggested Samantha was 'jealous' of her younger half-sister, who he described as 'all class'

Scott, who is a firearms expert working on Margot Robbie's new film, added that he believed Samantha should be 'sent to the Tower of London' if he she comes to the UK.

Scott married Samantha in 1998, after they met while they were both working as actors but split in 2003. The couple share son Noel, who is now 19.

Samantha has hit back at Scott's comments, telling The Mirror that her ex-husband was trying to 'take advantage of my sisters high profile'.

Samantha, who is Thomas Markle's second child from his first marriage to Roslyn, has reportedly not spoken to half-sister Meghan for three years.

Samantha, who shares father Thomas Markle with Meghan, has been vocal about her relationship with her sister in the media

It is not yet know whether she or older brother Thomas Jr will be invited to the royal wedding, but it has been reported that their father will walk Meghan down the aisle.

Samantha has been vocal about her relationship with Meghan, slamming her sister for the 56,000 ($75,000) couture gown she wore for her engagement photos.

She told In Touch at the time: 'If you can spend $75,000 on a dress, you can spend $75,000 on your dad.'

Samantha also hit out at Prince Harry when he referred to the royal family as the 'the 'family she never had' when discussing Meghan's first Christmas at Sandringham.

Ex-model Samantha is Thomas Markle's second child from his first marriage to Roslyn

Posting on Twitter, she wrote: 'Actually she [Meghan] has a large family who were always there with her and for her.

'Our household was very normal and when dad and Doria divorced, we all made it so it was like she had two houses.

'No one was estranged, she was just too busy. Meg's family (our family) is complete with sister, brother, aunts, uncles, cousins, and the glue of our family, our amazing completely self-sacrificing father.'

However, last month, Samantha also asked Meghan to 'forgive her' for the negative comments she has made in the press.

It is believed that Samantha may commentate on the royal wedding for a US network if she does not receive an invitation for the big day on May 19.After a busy London Fashion Week, Lady Amelia Windsor has joined the style set in Milan for the latest round of shows.

The 22-year-old looked chic in a pair of tapered pinstriped trousers and a varsity-inspired leather jacket as she stepped out for the Emporio Armani show on Sunday.

Despite the 1C temperature, the young royal finished the outfit with a pair of open-toe strappy white sandals.

Pouting perfection: Lady Amelia Windsor at the Emporio Armani show at Milan Fashion Week

True blue: The 22-year-old braved the elements in a pair of pinstripe trousers and light jacket

The socialite, who recently starred in a spread for W magazine, added a touch of character to her outfit with her jewellery, including a charm bracelet and long necklace.

She carried her front row essentials in a simple silver metallic clutch bag.

Wearing her long blonde locks straight around her shoulders, Lady Amelia pouted for photographers before making her way inside.

Strike a pose: The young royal has been tipped as one of the next big stars in fashion

Attitude: Lady Amelia added some character to her outfit with her delicate charm jewellery

The socialite's appearance today comes after she attended the Shrimps show and the LOVE x Miu Miu Women's Tales dinner at Loulou's during London fashion week.

Lady Amelia, who was hailed 'the most beautiful member of the royal family' by Tatler magazine, is tipped to become one of the fashion industry's biggest stars.

All the signs of success are there. Lady Amelia has walked for Dolce & Gabbana and appeared in a film for footwear designer Penelope Chilvers since signing to Storm Model Management, the British agency that discovered Kate Moss, in 2017.

Fresh faced: The blonde style icon kept her hair and make-up simple for the outing

But Amelia explained in her interview with W that she ultimately sees herself embracing a more behind-the-scenes role, likely in digital media.

She pointed to the career of Grace Coddington, Vogue's creative-director-at-large, as inspiration for the path she hopes to take.

Lady Amelia is the daughter of George Windsor, Earl of St Andrews, and granddaughter of Edward the Duke of Kent, who is a first cousin of the Queen.

It makes her a distant cousin of Prince William, 35, and Prince Harry, 33.Advertisement

Flanked by nearly a dozen of the nation's most beautiful blue-bloods, Lady Kitty Spencer led the British invasion at the Dolce & Gabbana show on Sunday - but the group could barely manage a smile between them.

The 27-year-old looked every inch the fashion princess as she held court at the centre of the formidable girl gang - who looked surprisingly glum - as they waited for the Italian designer's Fall/Winter Milan Fashion Week showcase.

Seated on her right was her close friend Emma Thynn, the very glamorous Viscountess Weymouth, 31. On her other side sat the four Moncreiffe sisters, Eliza, 23, Lily, 19, Idina, 26, and Alexandra, 21, whose lineage dates back 800 years.

Pouting prettily to their right were the Manners sisters, Ladies Violet, 24, Alice, 22, and Eliza, 20.

Further down the row and out of shot were other British imports including Tatler cover girl Sabrina Percy, 28, and Maddi Waterhouse, the teenage sister of fashion sensation Suki.

Blue-blooded beauties: 1. Lady Violet Manners, 24; 2. Lady Alice Manners, 22; 3. Lady Eliza Manners, 20; 4. Emma, Viscountess Weymouth, 31; 5. Lady Kitty Spencer, 27; 6. Eliza Moncreiffe, 23; 7. Lily Moncreiffe, 19; 8. Idina Moncreiffe, 26; 9. Alexandra Moncreiffe, 21, take over the front row of the Dolce & Gabbana Fall/Winter 2018/19 show at Milan Fashion Week

The march of the It Girl: Model Hailey Baldwin, 21, donned a crown for her turn on the Dolce & Gabbana catwalk on Sunday

Sophisticated squad (left-right): Tatler cover girl Sabrina Percy, 28; model and photographer Bee Beardsworth; musician Daisy Maybe; Maddi Waterhouse, the teenage younger sister of model Suki; and Viscountess Weymouth on the front row

More is more: Models dripping in crowns, bejewelled sunglasses and ornate garments close the show at Dolce & Gabbana

Futuristic: Fashionistas snapped pictures on their phones as drones carried handbags and clutches down the catwalk

Aristocrats, young royals and celebrity offspring have become something of a fixture on the D&G front rows and fashion campaigns, with Lady Amelia Windsor, 22, among the others to have been given the call-up.

Many of these models were invited to walk in a special runway on Saturday night, which celebrated the Italian fashion house's evening wear collection ahead of the Pret-a-Porter show on Sunday.

The fashion extravaganza was a feast for the eyes with models including Hailey Baldwin, 22, daughter of Stephen and friend of the Hadid sisters, sent down the catwalk adorned in sumptuous silk, sequined and embellished garments and dripping in costume jewellery and crowns.

The wow-factor was completed by the addition of a dozen drones, which were used to carry D&G's latest collection of handbags down the catwalk, much to the delight of the style-savvy front row who snapped furiously on their mobile phones.

While some of the biggest names in fashion were in the room, there is little doubt that the British beauties stole the show. Here, FEMAIL takes a closer look at one of the poshest front rows in history...

Lady Violet, Lady Alice and Lady Eliza Manners

Triple threat: Fun-loving Ladies Violet, 24, Alice, 22, and Eliza Manners, 20, are a fixture of the London party scene

Fun-loving Violet, 24, Alice, 22, and Eliza Manners, 20, are a fixture of the London party scene. Once dubbed the 'Bad Manners' sisters for their raucous antics,

While their parents, the Duke and Duchess of Rutland, have an unusual living arrangement, each residing in their own wing of Belvoir Castle with their respective lovers, Eliza can be found dancing on tables into the small hours.

LINEAGE: Their great-grandmother was Margaret, Duchess of Argyll, notorious for her insatiable sexual appetite and a scandalous divorce in 1963. Her parents are the Duke and Duchess of Rutland.

EDUCATION: 29,000-a-year Queen Margarets in York. After secondary school, Alice attended the Conde Nast College of Fashion and Design. Lady Eliza is currently studying business management at Newcastle University

MODELLING: Lady Violet has been featured in Tatler and walked the runway for Dolce & Gabbana. Lady Alice, who is signed with Leni's Models agency, has also walked for D&G and has also worked with Matthew Williamson and Ralph Lauren, among others.

OTHER WORK: Lady Violet founded her own marketing and brand-strategy consultant company based in London. Lady Alice works as a personal shopper at Selfridges and has a fashion column in the Sunday Telegraph.

Emma, Viscountess Weymouth

Power pair: Viscountess Weymouth, 31, sits side-by-side with close friend Lady Kitty Spencer, 27, on the front row

Emma and her husband, Ceawlin have already made history  the Viscountess is the countrys first black British aristocrat following their 2013 marriage. He will one day become the Marquess of Bath and she his Marchioness.

Ceawlin took over running the 10,000-acre estate and safari park from his 85-year-old father in 2010.

LINEAGE: Emma was born to Suzanna McQuiston, an English socialite, and Chief Oladipo Jadesimi, a Nigerian oil magnate who is the executive chairman.

EDUCATION: Emma attended Queen's Gate School, in South Kensington, where she was head girl, and later attended the University College London to study art history. She went on to study at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art.

MODELLING: Visountess Weymouth works as a brand ambassador for Fiorucci. She has modeled for Dolce & Gabbana, walking in runway shows at Harrod's

MOTHERHOOD: Viscountess Weymouth gave birth to her first child, The Honourable John Alexander Ladi Thynn, on 26 October 2014. The couple welcomed another son, The Honourable Henry Richard Isaac Thynn, by surrogacy at a private clinic in West Hollywood on 30 December 2016.

Lady Kitty Spencer

Queen of hearts: Bardot-esque bombshell Kitty, 27, is a muse for D&G and has starred in catwalk shows and campaign shoots

Bardot-esque bombshell Kitty, 27, revels in posting details of her fabulous life online  with regular cleavage-baring shots in exotic locations.

LINEAGE: Her D&G appearance wasn't that surprising as her model mother, Victoria Lockwood, was once described by Ralph Lauren as 'the most beautiful girl in the world'. Her father is Princess Diana's brother, the 9th Earl Spencer.

EDUCATION: Raised in South Africa, she went to private school and the University of Cape Town, before moving to Regent's University London to study 'luxury brand management'.

MODELLING: A former Tatler cover girl, Kitty is a Storm agency signing. BruceOldfield dressed her for her Bal des Debutantes in Paris.

PERKS: Her Instagram pays tribute to a list of sponsors  from make-up artists and airlines, to fashion houses and jewellers. Often front row at Dior, Julien Macdonald and Schiaparelli.

Eliza, Lily, Idina and Alexandra Moncreiffe

High class Highlanders: (l-r) Eliza, 23, Lily, 19, Idina, 26, and Alexandra Moncreiffe, 21, have a lineage going back 800 years

High-class highlanders Idina, 26, Eliza, 23, Alexandra, 21, and Lily Moncreiffe, 19, all come from impeccable pedigree. A startlingly attractive quartet, they also have two brothers, Ossian, 26, and 17-year-old Euan.



LINEAGE: The Moncreiffes are Scottish aristocrats with a lineage going back 800 years. And though they look every inch a part of the Notting Hill set, they speak with a defiantly Scottish burr. Their father is chief of Clan Moncreiffe, and the younger brother of the 24th Earl of Erroll. They have homes in Scotland and Jersey.

Their net-worth is unknown, though Peregrine Moncreiffe is director of companies with a net value of 400 million.

EDUCATION: All four sisters are believed to have attended Ampleforth, the Catholic monastic school reserved mostly for boys in Yorkshire, where fees are 34,000 a year.

MODELLING: Idina and Alexandra were both named on Tatler's list of 26 New It Girls last year. Idina has modelled for Vivienne Westwood and Simone Rocha and walked for D&G on Saturday night.

She was joined on the catwalk by sister Alexandra, who is also studying 'nutrition and holistic healing'.A couple who tied the knot after seeing each other at the altar for the first time appear to be getting on swimmingly - until the groom makes a joke about chatting up the waitress.

Married at First Sight's Richard and Harriet are seen enjoying their first breakfast together in a preview of this Thursday's episode, before heading off to their honeymoon in Lisbon.

Richard, 28, a police sergeant, gushes over his new wife Harriet, 32 - saying he couldn't imagine 'being matched with someone better suited'.

However, he appears to put his foot in it when he jokes about using the Portuguese dictionary and phrase book to 'learn how to chat up the waitress'.

The couple legally tied the knot in last Thursday's episode of the Channel 4 show, with Harriet explaining how she had previously put her financial career first.

Married at First Sight's Richard and Harriet are seen enjoying their first breakfast together in a preview of this Thursday's episode

In a sneak peek of this week's episode, Richard is seen gushing over his new wife Harriet over breakfast.

'I can't imagine being matched with somebody better suited,' he says. 'We have a lot in common.'

Harriet adds: 'We probably have quite complimentary personalities as well.'

She then asks Richard who he would want as a dinner guest, if he was 'given the choice of anyone in the world' - to which he replied 'I'm going to say you'.

Harriet and Richard got married after meeting for the first time at the altar in Channel 4's Married at First Sight

However, Harriet appeared unimpressed when Richard told her how he was going to use his Portuguese phrase book to 'chat up the waitress' as they headed to their honeymoon in Lisbon.

She responds: 'No, because you've got your hot wife with you so you don't need that.'

It comes after Married at First Sight viewers fell for the charms of Richard, when he admitted he was looking for a 'sunshine and rainbows' kind of love.

The adorable moment Richard practised for his first dance with his beloved dog Merlin also melted hearts, as he lifted the spaniel to his chest and twirled to At Last by Etta James.

Things seemed to be go swimmingly, until Richard made a joke about 'chatting up the waitress' in Lisbon with his Portuguese phrase book

Richard, 28, had been gushing about how well suited he and Harriet are, and how much they have in common

The couple are seen heading to their honeymoon in Lisbon in this Thursday's episode

He got legally hitched to Harriet during Thursday night's episode of the Channel 4 show.

Viewers labelled him a 'keeper', with many declaring they'd love to marry him themselves.

Richard took the pooch for a twirl around the room after eating admitting he was in serious need of his some practice for his first dance with Harriet.

'I hope Harriet is a little less into licking faces than this one! But that will do for a first practice,' he said.

Viewers thought the moment was 'adorable', and took to Twitter to say they'd like to take Harriet's place as his bride.

One tweeted: 'If it doesn't work out with Richard & Harriet can I have a Richard please? He's lovely.'

Viewers fell for the charms of Richard, 28, after he slow danced with his dog to practise for his first dance with his bride

Many said they'd like to marry him themselves, with one calling him the 'perfect man'

'He dances with his dog and has made her wedding ring!! KEEPER!!!' another posted.

One said: 'How the f*** is (was) Richard single? He's the PERFECT man, surely?'

Another adorable moment saw Richard get a ring designed for his bride-to-be, which he made himself with the help of jeweler.

His bride Harriet had longed to find the one after long hours at her London-based job stopped her from having a regular dating life, and had been single for five years.

They twirled around the room to At Last by Etta James in the heartwarming moment

Another sweet moment saw him create a special wedding ring for Harriet after designing it himself

She said: 'After five years on my own I do worry about finding the person I'm going to be with. I look at my friends settling down and I just think ''Why haven't I got that yet? And when is it going to happen?'''

She'd said that when she went to weddings family members would ask when it would be her turn, and she was tired of telling them she was single.

Experts including a sex expert and a vicar paired her up with Richard, 28, who works anti-social hours including nights and weekends as a police sergeant.

The couple had both been workaholics who put their career before settling down, but worried they wouldn't meet the one

Harriet said her relatives would probe her about when she was going to settle down and started to get jealous of her friends who were settling down

Her father Robin said he didn't expect Harriet to get married in this way in his 'wildest dreams'

THE GRUELLING MATCH-MAKING PROCESS FOR MAFS Married At First Sight receives 1,000s of applications which makes the match-making process a complicated one. A team of experts  including psycho-sexual therapist and psychologist Jo Coker, biological anthropologist Dr Jake Dunn, registrar Cynthia Green, and clinical psychologist Martin Hald  work as a team to pair up people best suited to one another. In order to establish their varying personalities, likes and dislikes and morals candidates go through a series of hurdles so that they can be best placed. Those applying to the show are subjected to workshops, interviews, background checks, various tests and personality questionnaires (some of which can take over 12 hours to complete). Eventually the panel narrows the selection down to 15 candidates with just six paired up with 'dealbreakers' such as smoking used to cut out potential suitors. Advertisement

He'd had five serious relationships and signed up to a dozen dating websites, but had no luck finding the right partner to settle into his hectic life.

Richard explained: 'We work strange hours, we work evenings and weekends and it does have an impact on relationships but I'm definitely a romantic. The sort of love I'm looking for is the sunshine, the rainbows, the kind of skipping down the street at the end of the movie.'

THE PREPARATIONS FOR THE BIG DAY

Experts matched them together because of their desire to settle down quickly and their similar work ethic.

They were given six weeks to prepare for their wedding, buying a wedding dress, suits and rings without knowing any more than their future spouse's name.

Showing off his romantic side, Richard decided to make Harriet's wedding ring by hand as a symbol of his commitment to the process.

THE CEREMONY

When it came to their wedding day at Gibson Hall in London the pair were feeling the nerves, as a giggly Harriet walked down the aisle.

The crowd laughed as she failed to contain her giggles and gave Richard an awkward hello as she joined him at the altar.

Without another word the pair exchanged their vows and became man and wife, but didn't seal their union with a kiss on the lips - Richard awkwardly touched his head against hers.

After the ceremony they were given their first few moments together as a couple but an overwhelmed Harriet could only say 'oh my god' as they left the busy chapel.

When they first met at the altar Harriet giggled nervously and only managed to say 'hello' to Richard before they made their vows

The pair didn't kiss when they were pronounced man and wife but shared an awkward hug

Speaking to the camera afterwards, she admitted she was pleased with her new husband, saying: 'He seems really lovely and kind I have a really good feeling about it.'

Richard was equally impressed, saying: 'First impressions are really good she's really traditionally pretty, and she's really nice, she's got great sense of humour.'

He tried to ease her nerves making joked about his name, referring to himself as "Dick".

THE RECEPTION

At the reception Richard tried to win over the couple's doubters by giving a very crude speech about their union.

He joked that he was using the 'draft' version of the words that he'd written before he met Harriet's parents Robin and Janet and found out their names.

He said: 'I'd like to thank Montgomery and Shaniqua... I can only imagine what you went through when Harriet said she was going to marry someone that called himself Dick, but having narrowly avoided having to do CPR when I told my own parents I've got a pretty good idea.'

After the ceremony the pair went for a walk alone together where an overwhelmed Harriet tried to calm her nerves

Richard managed to help her relax at the reception by cracking crude jokes and paying her compliments

He said that his new wife had made a 'really good' first impression on her as he praised her looks and sense of humour

Both of their parents had been unsure about the experiment, with Richard's father Tony saying the legality of the marriage concerned him because if they split, the couple will have to divorce.

Harriet's dad Robin was also doubtful, but was excited to see how the match would work in practise, admitting: 'It isn't exactly what I would have thought of or dreamt of in my wildest, dreams but I think it is exciting and I'm looking forward to it.'

Richard's reception speech appeared to win over the parents and helped to ease Harriet's nerves, before the copper became more sentimental with his words.

He went on: 'Thank you for taking part in this experiment and thank you for marrying me this afternoon. You've shown what an incredible person you are. You're brave and open minded, and optimistic.'

They had been matched because of their desire to settle down quickly and their similar work ethic

Richard's dad had been doubtful of the experiment as he didn't like that it could end in divorce because they were legally married

After she calmed down Harriet said she was glad she went through with the marriage, saying all her 'anxiety is gone'

The couple finally shared their first kiss on the dancefloor during their first dance to the sound of applause from their families

The couple had their first dance to Marry You by Bruno Mars and let loose on the dancefloor as they became more comfortable with each other, and they finally shared their first kiss to the sound of applause from their families.

Despite her earlier nerves, Harriet said she was glad she decided to wed a total stranger.

She explained: 'All my anxiety is gone now and that's got to be a good thing. It's nuts, I didn't think I was going to get married, definitely didn't think I'd marry someone I'd never met, and now I have a ring of my finger.'

Harriet had admitted that she wasn't sure about having sex with Richard on their wedding night, saying she'd wait until they got to the bedroom to decide if she'd go through with it.

The rest of the series will follow the couple as they attempt to live as a married couple, documenting their day-to-day lives after the fairytale wedding.

Married at First Sight continues on Thursday at 9pm on Channel 4When Isabella Rossellini was 43, she was fired for being too old.

The renowned beauty and daughter of Ingrid Bergman had been an actress and the face of Lancomes skincare and cosmetics for 14 years.

She was beautiful, yes, but age was against her. I was told that advertisements represent womens dreams, not reality, and that women dream of looking young. So I had to go. It felt very unjust, she says.

The enforced retirement devastated her career. When the Lancome contract came to an end, all her other modelling and film work dried up, too. I cant say I wasnt sad, she says. I know how to pose. I know how to give expression, and I had all this wonderful experience, but I couldnt exercise it or offer it to anyone. Yes, it was painful. So, when she got a call from Lancomes new general manager, Francoise Lehmann, two years ago, inviting her back, you would have thought shed have told her where to stick her offer.

Isabella Rossellini, 65, (pictured) revealed why she agreed to be the face of Lancome twenty years after the brand fired her

Besides, 20 years on, Rossellini had a new life. In the interim, she had bought and moved to an organic farm on Long Island, a couple of hours drive east of New York, gained a Masters degree in animal behaviour and started to make funny films, just for fun, about such things as the sex lives of insects, for Robert Redfords Sundance Channel. She walked guide-dog puppies, kept bees and tended to her chickens.

Yet the Lancome offer was intriguing.

I was just so surprised! I said: You let me go at 43 and now Im 63. I havent got any younger! But I agreed to meet, because I was very curious.

Arriving early at the meeting, she saw a motorcycle draw up. A fantastic-looking woman got off, took off her casque [helmet] and this blonde hair fell out.

Then she walked up to me, shook my hand and said: Hi, Im Francoise, and, just with that, I knew things had changed. Before, I used to deal with 60-year-old men who were paternalistic and condescending.

I thought: My God, this is a revolution! I asked her: Why me? You are digging up an old story. But she said: We made a mistake. I want that story to be rewritten. Her courage in saying that touched me so much, I wanted to work with them again.

Now, two years on, her career is back on track with a vengeance. Alongside the worldwide Lancome campaign, she is in two forthcoming Hollywood movies  Vita And Virginia (about the love affair between Vita Sackville-West and Virginia Woolf) and Incredibles 2  has a book coming out about chickens and is about to start a theatre tour across Europe.

That Lancome is banking on a 65-year-old to front its multi-million-pound campaign marks a radical and welcome shift in the beauty industrys attitudes to women and ageing.

Yes, we have seen ads featuring 72-year-old Helen Mirren and 80-year-old Jane Fonda, but Mirren prides herself on looking years younger than she is, while Fonda has admitted shes had work done.

Isabella (pictured in 1990) says the new Lancome manager claimed the brand's previous decision to fire her was a mistake

To celebrate natural beauty such as Rossellinis  well, that feels genuinely ground-breaking for older women, as is the fact that the first product she is promoting, a radiance-boosting cream called Renergie, is aimed squarely at the 60-plus market.

On the day I meet Rossellini, in a flower-filled suite at the Savoy Hotel, I find myself trying not to stare too intently at a face that is beautiful, yes, but which also looks very definitely 65.

The bright, merciless London daylight pours in through the huge windows as I scan her face for telltale signs of anti-ageing help.

As a beauty journalist who has tested pretty much everything going for the past 20 years, I pride myself on my ability to spot even the subtlest of work.

Rossellinis default expression is a polite, animated smile that lifts up the contours of her face, bunches her still-full cheeks and starts up the crinkles in what can only be described as crows feet.

I didnt have cosmetic surgery because, frankly, Im afraid of it. And I cannot reconcile Botox with eating organic !

Her famously strong eyebrows, while neatly shaped, sit a fraction lower than they used to on her eyelids. Her lips have lost their youthful volume, but are still a beautiful shape, picked out in a deep-pink, matte lipstick (How can she get away with matte over 60? On anyone else, a shine-free finish would render the lips a pair of desiccated earthworms).

Her jawline has softened and the skin on her neck is thickened and creased  but her face has a glow to it, rather than that dull, papery finish age tends to confer.

Has she felt a need to preserve the face that has been her fortune?

I didnt feel this urge to preserve, she says, thoughtfully. I do not define elegance as being 60, but looking 58. What I have looked for in cosmetics is something to express elegance and sophistication. Its the same with my clothes, or the way I decorate my house.

Today, her clothes  long, loose, colourful layers  drape across a surprisingly normal, generous figure.

I dont think Ive ever met anyone in the beauty world who has such a clear lack of interest in looking younger, or whose face moves exactly as nature intended. When she tells me that she would never countenance cosmetic surgery, I dont doubt her.

Isabella (pictured) revealed she eats organic food and uses good cosmetics to maintain her health and wouldn't undergo plastic surgery

I didnt do it because, frankly, Im afraid of it, she says. I was born with a spinal deformity called scoliosis and Ive had two major back operations, one aged 13 and one five years ago. I couldnt walk for six months.

I had to have a nurse. Even if plastic surgery isnt this bad, just the word operation fills me with fear.

I can see she is telling the truth. But I ask her, just for good measure, hasnt she even tried Botox? I have an organic farm, she replies. I eat organic food not to look younger, but to preserve my health. I use good creams to take care of my skin. I cannot reconcile eating organic food and doing Botox [or Bott-ox, as she pronounces it].

Some of my friends do yoga, eat organic, avoid alcohol, but they do Botox. I say, how can you live with that? Its a total contradiction!

Her beauty routine is minimal. Every day, I use a cream, a lipstick and a perfume, she says. She even wears a slick of lipstick on the farm.

I sneak a glance at her hands, which look well-kept, with light liver spots on their backs. Her fingers are surprisingly long and strong-looking, with short, practical nails adorned only with clear varnish. They are the sort of hands that are good for working with animals. She will wear more make-up when she is meeting people but, day-to-day, she likes to keep things simple.

Isabella's mother Ingrid Bergman (pictured with children Ingrid, Isabella and Roberto) was widely regarded as one of the world's most beautiful women

Besides, she adds, her mum was Scandinavian and they are much more focused on a healthy, natural type of beauty.

Ah, yes, her mother, the actress Ingrid Bergman, widely regarded in her day as one of the worlds most beautiful women. Wasnt it difficult growing up in her shadow? She shrugs.

She was my mum! She was fun to be around. I liked to hug her and play with her. I didnt look at her and think: Wow, shes such a beauty. 

And what about Rossellinis non-identical twin sister, Ingrid? Has she ever been resentful that her sister stole the beauty genes?

Well, you know, we are 65, she says, in an amused, get real sort of tone. My twin is a scholar and she is incredibly shy. She couldnt care less about my looks. She has always had completely different interests.

Together with their siblings, the twins had an extraordinary upbringing.

Ingrid Bergman was already married, with a daughter, when she fell for film director Roberto Rossellini (also married, with two children) while filming Stromboli, in 1950.

The scandal intensified when she gave birth to Rossellinis son before leaving her husband. They married  Isabella and Ingrid were born in 1952  but, four years later, the marriage was already falling apart. After that, all the siblings lived first in a hotel in Paris, then an apartment in Rome, looked after by nannies, while their parents flitted in and out for work and argued about custody.

Isabella (pictured with her baby grandson) claims she fainted while her daughter was having her first grandchild

But it didnt make Rossellini think any less of her mother. Far from it: She was one of the first women to have a huge career and be the breadwinner and still be at home, she says. She gave me a wonderful example of how to reconcile work and family.

Rossellini herself has married and divorced twice  to director Martin Scorsese and model-turned-Microsoft exec Jonathan Wiedemann, with whom she had a daughter, Elettra, now 34, before later adopting her son, Roberto, now 24.

Just weeks ago, she became a grandmother for the first time. She had been in the delivery room with her daughter, hoping to help, but I was really bad, she admits with a peal of laughter.

The delivery took 24 hours, but I fainted within the first two. I didnt know emotion could be so strong that you could faint.

When I came to, my daughter said: Mama! Youre fired! I had to be taken home.

She was allowed back the next day and promptly Instagrammed a photo of herself, without a trace of make-up, exhausted, but beaming, a picture of happiness cradling her new grandson.

When I ask whether she sees herself as beautiful, she laughs so much she can barely answer.

She once said she felt like an impostor with her looks and had to put on lots of make-up to go to parties so that people who had seen her pictures wouldnt be too disappointed.

Isabella (pictured) as a teenager with her sister Ingrid who she describes as a shy scholar

Well, she says, in a kindly tone, when she finally regains her composure. You know those photos take three hours of make-up, the best lighting, the best photographers . . . sometimes, when people saw me, the real Isabella, they would say: You have the most beautiful sister!   and off she goes again into another gale of laughter.

She is truly puzzled as to where her appeal lay (I just thought: How lucky I am! ), though others could certainly see it.

She went into modelling late, at 28, but almost instantly won the cover of Vogue, notching up another 22 Vogue covers over the years. When she asked the magazine why, they told her a simple fact: more copies were sold when she was on the cover.

During this time, she worked extensively with Bruce Weber and when, earlier this year, the photographer was accused by 15 male models of subjecting them to unnecessary nudity and coercive sexual behaviour  allegations that he denies  Rossellini was quick to leap to his defence. What troubles her about the Me Too and Times Up movements, she tells me now, is that people like Weber, her friend of 40 years, have lost their jobs over accusations of sexual abuse, without due process.

He might have done something wrong, but innocent until proven guilty, and then, if guilty, you are given proportionate punishment.

Certainly, Webers shots of her were stunning, but then, so are the latest campaign images, albeit in a very different way.

Rather than that unattainable Eighties perfection, the new shots, by photographer Peter Lindbergh, look refreshingly real.

In one, she is leaning on her elbows, her face resting on one hand. If you try this pose at home, youll see it distorts the cheek youre leaning on. You can see this in the Lindbergh shot.

You can also see the pigmentation marks on her forehead, neither masked with foundation, nor blanked out by strong lighting, and the shadows under her eyes.

And yet, goodness, how her face draws you in!

Now, her looks still have power, but the years have softened them into something more accessible, to which other 60-year-olds might relate. And that, surely, is where her magic lies for Lancome.

Isabella Rossellini is the campaign face of Lancome Renergie Multi-Glow, 64, at Boots and lancome.co.uk from March 14.Business has been slow to wake up to the very real risks of a Labour government led by Jeremy Corbyn.

Executives might have been lulled into a false sense of security because of the experience of New Labour, which prided itself on being benign towards business.

Tony Blair and Gordon Brown were so intent on countering accusations that Labour governments would lay waste to the economy with socialist dogma that they went too far the other way.

Ruth Sunderland says business has been slow to wake up to the very real risks of a Labour government led by Jeremy Corbyn

The light touch regulation of that era, coupled with laissez-faire takeover rules, indulgence of tycoons and private equity barons and, latterly, a relaxed attitude to debt did not cause the financial crisis  but it certainly did little to stop it.

Corbyn makes no bones about the fact that if elected, he would like to take the City and business generally back to the pre-Thatcher period.

In a speech a few days ago to manufacturing group EEF, he blamed her Big Bang deregulation of the Square Mile in 1986, for unleashing a wave of speculative finance at the expense of real industry.

But there was no golden age in the City. Pre-Big Bang, it was infested with Tim-Nice-But-Dim types who indulged in a little light insider dealing (not illegal then) before a long lunch. There were no big foreign banks, but no women and no meritocracy either.

The Corbynites are also bent on undoing the privatisations of the Thatcher years. Now we mention it, why stop at nationalising utilities  with the excessive pay at Persimmon, housebuilders will be next in the partys sights.

The commitment to nationalisation is ideological rather than pragmatic. Labour studiously avoids costing out its nationalisation plans but they would be very expensive indeed.

Ruth says Corbyn makes no bones about the fact that if elected, he would like to take the City and business generally back to the pre-Thatcher period

The Centre for Policy Studies takes a stab at 176 billion, equivalent to 10 per cent of the national debt, or 6,400 for every household. You could build nearly three million council houses for that money.

Another think-tank, the Social Markets Foundation, puts the cost of privatising the water industry alone at 90 billion, plus another 100 billion of investment it reckons will be needed over the next 25 years.

A Labour government might try to expropriate the water, gas and electricity companies for less than their true worth, though that would cause untold damage to the UK as a destination for foreign investors.

And renationalising utility companies would put infrastructure at risk.

With the government as owner, bills would be political issues.

What Prime Minister clinging on to a slender majority would agree to raising household costs and risking his or her own career, even if the hike were urgently needed to finance investment?

Seizing back privatised companies for the people would hit ordinary voters in their pockets through their pension funds. Many employee-shareholders would be stripped of their small investment pots. There is no guarantee bills would come down or that customers would be treated any better.

Labour has not elaborated on how it might run businesses more efficiently. For proof that state control does not equal good management, we need look no further than the bailed-out banks.

Some of the worst gouging of customers went on at RBS and Lloyds after they had been put under government direction.

Even so, it is easy to see why nationalisation seems superficially attractive. Water companies that have used offshore tax havens and incurred big pollution fines have tarnished themselves and their industry.

Centrica, whose chief executive blamed a price cap for thousands of redundancies, is rightly unloved.

For enlightened capitalism to work, there need to be enlightened capitalists in charge, but these have been in too short supply. The biggest irony is that business only has itself to blame for the threat it faces from Corbynism.When world stock markets fell sharply earlier this month, it was the US that led the way. Yet, while US equity values have since bounced back, the same cannot be said of the UK.

The difference in fortunes is reflected in the recent performance of two popular funds, investing respectively in US and UK shares: Old Mutual North American Equity and Franklin Templeton UK Equity Income.

While the Old Mutual fund, managed by Ian Heslop, has seen its assets fall in value by 3.2 per cent over the last month, the Franklin fund has fallen by 5.9 per cent.

Investing strategy: The 'defensive' Ian Heslop of Old Mutual (left) and the 'optimist' Colin Morton of Franklin (right)

Colin Morton, manager of Franklin UK Equity Income, is somewhat perplexed. He says: The sneeze in world stock markets was caused by events in the United States, yet it is the UK market that has caught more of a cold.

Morton says a possible explanation for the divergence lies in the political and economic uncertainty that still grips the UK.

This is in contrast to the United States where despite President Trumps antics, the corporate world has been boosted by recent tax cuts.

At any time it looks as if Theresa May could be replaced as Prime Minister, says Morton.

If it happens, it could spark a General Election and then we have the prospect of a Corbyn-led government with its anti-market agenda.

There is also Brexit. Four months ago, it looked as if May had a momentum with regards to grappling with this thorn. But now, there seems to be a fallout between the UK and Europe.

Given these two key issues, it is no wonder that big international investors are nervous about the UK stock market and are looking elsewhere to put their money.

Old Mutuals Heslop has yet to make up his mind as to whether recent volatility in US equity prices is short term or indicative of a longer term sea change. If volatility has increased permanently, he will respond by altering the funds portfolio. He says: Our view is to take a step back, see if market conditions have changed and then make portfolio adjustments.

Heslops fund is already in defensive mode. It has more than 200 individual holdings with only three companies  Exxon, Alphabet and Apple  representing more than two per cent of the portfolio.

This contrasts with Mortons fund which only has 50 holdings with the largest  Royal Dutch Shell  representing 4.7 per cent of total assets.

If Heslop believes US equities are due a rough ride in the coming months, he will diversify the fund even more.

He says: Reducing individual stakes and exposure to specific sectors is the best way to take risk out of a portfolio.

He says the fund is more defensively set up than it has been since the beginning of last year.

Irrespective of the May and Brexit factors, Morton will not veer from his modus operandi, which is for all holdings to range between 1 and 5 per cent of the fund. Every stock, he says, must contribute to the funds overall performance.

Of the two hugely respected fund managers, Morton is more openly optimistic  Heslop keeps his cards close to his chest.

Morton is comforted by the 4 per cent plus yield on his fund which he says provides investors with a comfort factor.

He also sees great value in holdings such as Aviva, Legal & General and Land Securities which he says are all underpinned by attractive yields. The UK market looks good value, he adds. Ever the optimist.Minister of National Defence Sen. Lieut. Gen. Nguyen Chi Vinh

and US Ambassador to Vietnam Daniel J.Kritenbrink. (Photo: bqp.vn)



At a meeting with Vietnamese Deputy Minister of National Defence Sen. Lieut. Gen. Nguyen Chi Vinh in Hanoi on February 23rd, the Ambassador said security-defence collaboration is a highlight in the US-Vietnam bilateral ties.

Deputy Minister Vinh expressed the wish that the US would continue working with Vietnam to complete the Environmental Remediation of Dioxin Contamination project at Da Nang International Airport.

He also urged for the early start of a similar project at Bien Hoa airport in the southern province of Dong Nai.

Vinh said both nations should make efforts to realise agreements already reached on key issues in bilateral defence ties, while seeking new cooperative fields./.Lloyds executives plotted to profit from troubled clients at the height of the financial crisis, court documents claim.

The papers allege the exploitation of firms recently revealed to be prevalent at Royal Bank of Scotland was also happening at Lloyds.

Liquidators for a car auction site who are suing Lloyds have revealed the existence of an explosive 2008 memo.

It outlined a plan to double the income the bank would take from struggling businesses it was supposedly helping nurture back to health.

Lloyds executives plotted to profit from troubled clients at the height of the financial crisis, court documents claim

In a pre-trial hearing held last week the liquidators said: This document is, in effect, Lloyds equivalent of the now notorious RBS Dash for Cash manual for making money out of its business support activities.

An RBS executive in 2008 wrote a memo to staff outlining plans to extract fees from troubled firms, which he had called Project Dash for Cash.

An official report into RBSs global restructuring group  revealed by The Mail on Sunday earlier this month  found subsequently that the bank was focused on plundering clients for fees rather than getting them back on their feet.

The secret Lloyds memo threatens to drag the bank into the furore about the poor treatment of firms facing difficulties.

Lloyds has already faced criticism over its behaviour towards clients in its HBOS Reading branch. It inherited this operation when it took over the former Halifax Bank of Scotland in the financial crisis.

The court papers allege documents have been disclosed showing that Lloyds Business Support Unit was trying to profit by taking stakes in distressed companies at rock bottom prices. Staff were incentivised to carry out the plan to profit from struggling business owners, the papers allege.

Businessman Keith Elliot is suing the banks over the collapse of his car auctions business in Leeds

The 2008 memo outlined three key objectives. One of these was the doubling of income and another was moving from defenders to strikers, denoting a more aggressive approach to customers.

Lloyds planned to build a network of insolvency practitioners to help it carry out its plan, including people working for accountancy giants PwC and KPMG. The memo talks of making money from firms by buying the business at low value. The Lloyds executive who wrote it, Matthew Packham, aimed to maximise income and gains.

The full memo has not yet been made public. Its existence was revealed in a case brought by the liquidators of Premier Motor Auctions, a company set up and run by entrepreneur Keith Elliott which went into administration in late 2008.

The liquidators, Menzies, are suing PwC and Lloyds for 50 million over the collapse, claiming they conspired to remove Mr Elliott as part of a broader plan that allowed the bank to take a stake.

The car auction site was introduced to a PwC partner by Lloyds in 2008 after it had cashflow problems.

Premier Motor Auctions claims it was told the partner wanted to become a non-executive director. The company alleges the partner passed on confidential financial information to the bank, which led to PwC carrying out a review of the business. The firm was later put into administration and Lloyds took a stake.

Lloyds, which is disputing the claim, said its Business Support Unit (BSU) is not a profit centre and its objective is to restore customers troubled companies to financial health. It rejected any comparison to poor behaviour at banks such as RBS.

The bank added that the document set out theoretical ideas that were never fully put into practice.

Mr Elliott told The Mail on Sunday: We now have the smoking gun which proves that Lloyds had a concerted strategy to exploit distressed companies for its own financial gain. The BSU arrived at the doors of companies offering help, but it was a Trojan horse to get inside and take advantage.

The case will be heard at the High Court in April.Rumours: Sir Philip Green with wife Tina, left, and daughter Chloe

Official watchdogs are on alert amid rumours that Sir Philip Green is considering a sale of his Topshop-to-Dorothy Perkins retail business Arcadia.

The Pensions Regulator  which clashed with Green over the sale of his BHS chain  is among those monitoring the situation, according to The Mail on Sundays sources.

Green vehemently dismissed the sale speculation as malicious rumour-mongering.

Former BHS directors face possible censure from the Insolvency Service which is examining the collapse of BHS in 2015.

It is understood that a verdict on its investigation, which was originally not expected until 2019, is now due imminently.

If found guilty of any wrongdoing, former directors could face disqualification.

Greens family-owned fashion group Arcadia has a turnover of about 2 billion each year.

It has a 565 million pension deficit, which Green has promised to plug with 50 million payments over the next decade.

Green sold his BHS business for 1 in 2014 but it collapsed less than a year later leaving a 571 million pension hole.

He later paid out 363 million to help plug the gap.

The Pensions Regulator declined to comment.Housebuilding bosses including Persimmons Jeff Fairburn could be hauled in front of MPs to explain their multi-million pound bonuses.

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Vince Cable has written to Nicky Morgan, chairwoman of the Treasury Select Committee, and Rachel Reeves, chairwoman of the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee, demanding a joint inquiry into the bonus culture among the countrys biggest housebuilders.

He wants the chief executives and chairmen of Persimmon, Berkeley Group, Barratt Developments and Taylor Wimpey to explain their large bonuses.

Housebuilding bosses including Persimmons Jeff Fairburn (pictured above) could be hauled in front of MPs to explain their multi-million pound bonuses

On Friday, Fairburn caved in to pressure from investors and MPs and gave up 25 million of his 100 million bonus.

However, he still stands to make 75 million from the firms controversial incentive scheme, which has soared in value since the introduction of taxpayer-funded Help to Buy in 2013.

The firm also put a cap on the bonus, which is tied to share price performance, at 29 per share  5 higher than the current price.

Cable, the former Business Secretary, said in his letter that even with the cuts, Persimmons bonus structure smells of the worst style of fat cattery and financial engineering that helped create the credit crunch and financial crisis.

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Vince Cable said: The housebuilding sector appears to be out of touch with the public and political attitude towards excessive pay'

He said of the bosses: It cannot be right they are rewarded for a Government initiative that fuels demand and makes housing even more out-of-reach for first-time buyers and young families.

The housebuilding sector appears to be out of touch with the public and political attitude towards excessive pay. I believe a joint committee hearing could highlight this issue as well as give the executives the opportunity to explain why they use what appear to be overly generous payment schemes.

Cable highlighted the multi-million pound bonuses for Berkeleys bosses, and chief executive pay at Barratt and Taylor Wimpey.

Fairburn will face angry investors this week when he unveils the firms annual results. The housebuilders declined to comment.Santander has been rocked by revelations about the role of its UK chief executive Nathan Bostock (pictured) in the past at RBS

Top management at Santander have been rocked by fresh revelations about the role of its UK chief executive Nathan Bostock in a previous job at RBS.

The disclosures are a headache for Baroness Shriti Vadera who chairs Santanders British operation and is understood to be very supportive of Bostock.

He is expected to argue he was fighting to stabilise RBSs huge and volatile 2.2 trillion balance sheet at the time in question.

It has emerged that Bostock presided over the major committee overseeing GRG, the now notorious unit of RBS that plundered some of its business customers.

Leaked documents show that Bostock was the chair of the Executive Committee of GRG.

He also sat on two other major committees overseeing key aspects of the divisions activities. The regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority, is weighing action in relation to failings identified at GRG.

Bostock and one of his lieutenants, Chris Sullivan  who was also at RBS and is currently commercial banking boss at Santander  could be in the firing line.

Sources have suggested that the FCA could decide they are not fit and proper people to run a bank.

Bostock was the head of risk and restructuring at RBS from 2009 to 2013. An official report commissioned by the City regulator found that at that time GRG was pillaging small firms for cash when it should have been trying to help them.

Bostock managed Derek Sach, the man who was in day-to-day charge of GRG. But Bostocks direct involvement in major committees is less well known.

The saga is an embarrassment for Santander which is trying to build up its small business banking arm

Documents leaked to website BuzzFeed show he was on the Strategic Investment Group (SIG) Committee. SIG managed the property and share stakes the bank had seized from struggling businesses that fell into its hands, in the hope of making a profit from them.

Bankers frequently strongarmed entrepreneurs into handing over shares or property under threat of pulling the plug.

The official report was critical of this practice, saying that RBS should not have been taking stakes in small businesses in particular.

Bostock also sat on the Strategic Property Group committee. This oversaw West Register, a division of GRG that bought up properties from clients in financial difficulty.

Chris Sullivan, the former head of commercial banking at RBS, has been arguing in recent weeks that he had little to do with GRG.

But Sach told the Treasury Select Committee in 2014 that Sullivan was also on the executive committee which oversaw GRG.

The saga is an embarrassment for Santander which is trying to build up its small business banking arm. It wants to apply for cash from RBS to encourage customers to switch.

RBS is being forced by the European Commission to fund rivals to take its business banking clients as a condition of its 2008 bailout.

Smaller banks are complaining about rules that will allow Santander to apply, saying that as the bank is almost as large in business banking as the Big Four, boosting it will only replicate what the Big Four already offer and not increase competition.

There are several large pots of cash available, and the rules mean that only those who offer business current accounts and already operate at a major scale can apply, ruling out all but a handful of banks.

Santander declined to comment.An influential MP has written to Treasury Select Committee chair Nicky Morgan asking her to probe a claim against RBS involving thousands of the banks small investors.

The Mail on Sunday revealed last week that investors who last year won a 200 million payout from Royal Bank of Scotland  compensation for shares they feel they were duped into buying in 2008  are still awaiting their money.

Signature Litigation, which is working on the case, has concerns about the firm at the centre of the mass claim  the RBS Shareholders Action Group  and its co-founder, Gerard Walsh.

An influential MP has written to Treasury Select Committee chair Nicky Morgan asking her to probe a claim against RBS involving thousands of the banks small investors

Branded a fraudster by a Jersey court in 2014, he denies any wrongdoing.

The action group itself has filed a complaint against Signature to the Solicitors Regulation Authority.

Walsh is also a voluntary adviser to the separate RBS GRG Business Action Group, which says it represents 500 small firms seeking to sue the bank.

Norman Lamb, co-chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Fair Business Banking, has told Morgan: It is clear that the serious allegations raised must be thoroughly investigated.

One of the small investors in the claim, John Greenwood, from Huddersfield, said: The people involved in the management of the action group need to be questioned about this situation.

Signature has warned of further possible delays to the payout.Consumer goods titan Unilever will lose vital access to finance if it pulls out of London

Consumer goods titan Unilever will lose vital access to finance if it pulls out of London, major investors have warned.

Bosses at the Anglo-Dutch business  which produces everything from Dove deodorant to Marmite  are in talks over scrapping their City HQ and focusing on Rotterdam.

The firms board was severely rattled by a hostile 115billion bid from US rival Kraft Heinz last year.

It fought off the predator, but investors fear that management is running scared and wants to take refuge in Holland, where company law makes aggressive foreign takeovers much harder.

One major investor said: If they are going to unify, they should be unified to London.

'The rationale is more about takeover protection and the ability to do big merger and acquisition deals.The eye-catching fairy crown tattooed across Jessica Hodak's forehead is only skin-deep, but the young witch believes the magic which inspired it runs deep within and has helped her survive.

The 25-year-old writer from Canberra told Daily Mail Australia she uses her magic to spread love and light  and says it has helped her face her own mental health problems.

'I am a very spiritual person, I believe in fairies, I believe in magic and I believe in using it to spread happiness and kindness,' she said.

Jessica Hodak, pictured, is a 'Fairy of the Moon' and 'Forest Priestess' and says magic helps her spread love and light through the world

The 25-year-old Canberra woman is a practicing witch - she found Wiccan beliefs when she was 21 and said it just felt right

'If people are cruel towards me I will complete rituals that night to send love their way.

'I envision them and light a red candle, then I envision the love I have for my body and send it to them - to they can be surrounded by a red glow of love.'

Ms Hodak, who suffers from Dissociative Identity Disorder which means she shares her body with other people known as alters, one 'shares' her fairy crown.

The bold artwork was created for Celia - Ms Hodak's closest alter - a young girl who also believes in magic.

'It is a tiara we share - It is my fair crown but it is also Celia's - I got it done for her.'

The young witch first learnt about Wiccan ways when she was 21 - and incorporates magic into her cooking as well as taking part in other daily rituals.

'I cook with moon purified water or rose quartz water and certain herbs that I have blessed.

Ms Hodak suffers from Dissociative Identity Disorder but says finding magic has helped her

Pictured here with her mother Maggie who supports Ms Hodak - despite not wanting her to get any more tattoos

Ms Hodak is a writer and is currently working a on a book which will focus on the 'bright shards' in the dark and negative world

'At morning and night I do rituals with oils and I like to have certain types of flowers and plants.'

Ms Hodak considers her self a magical being - and says she feels better after finding witchcraft and using it to connect with the universe.

'I am planning on going to Nimbin this year with a friend to meet like-minded people,' she said.

Believing in magic has also helped the young woman who also suffers from borderline personality disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder and depression.

The young woman is heavily tattooed and has been adding to her body art since she was 17

'I think with my mental illnesses it helps me so much to know there is still magic in the world'

'It reminds me there is always light and love regardless of all the negativity.'

'I think with my mental illnesses it helps me so much to know there is still magic in the world.

'It gives me goosebumps to talk about - it makes me so excited for life when I have so many reasons no to be.

'It reminds me there is always light and love regardless of all the negativity.'

On her Instagram Ms Hodak describes herself as a Forest Priestess and a Fairy of the Moon.

On her Instagram Ms Hodak describes herself as a Forest Priestess and a Fairy of the Moon

The young woman says each of her tattoos help tell her story - and are just her birth marks showing themselves bit by bit

She is now writing a book filled with poetic verse focusing on the 'shards of light' within the darkness of the world.

The young woman says her mother Maggie has been a huge support - despite pleading with her not to get more tattoos.

'When I was younger I would put flour in my room - she would get up in the middle of the night and make tiny fairy footprints in it.

'That's what made me believe at first - and even though I know what she did it hasn't stopped me believing.'

The young woman says each of her tattoos help tell her story - and are just her birth marks showing themselves bit by bit.

The tiara tattooed on her forehead is a skin-deep representation of her magic



One Pennsylvania resident has been called to perform his civic duty a few years earlier than expected.

Jeanette Fox says her son came running to her with a summons from the Chester County court to appear for jury duty in March. Her son, Luke, is only 11 years old.

'I got summoned to jury duty,' Luke said. 'I'm only 11 so I didn't think it would ever happen.'

Fox says she tried to go online to request an exemption, but there was no option to select for those too young to serve. She says she made multiple phone calls, and a person who answered said the county had recently changed companies that pull the list for people who receive summonses.

The summons came with dress code recommendations for the day, tips on things to bring, and even directions on where to park a car - something that didn't apply to 11-year old Luke.

The error was eventually fixed, but Fox says her son was excited to go. Luke is a Boy Scout, and he toured the Chester County Courthouse last year.

Luke Fox, 11, was called for jury duty by Chester County, Pennsylvania authorities - despite the fact his age made him ineligible to serve

He was also interested in the fact that he'd get off from school for jury duty.

'They sit during the court case and listen to both sides of the story and they go into the back room, discuss it and take a vote on if the person is guilty or not,' he said.

'I think he would've done a great job,' Jeanette said. 'I would have worried more about the content he was hearing.'

A representative from the Chester County Courthouse said that if a minor gets a jury summons, they should request an exemption. It's not immediately clear how Luke's name got in the pool of names taken for jury duty.Marckles Alcius may face terrorism charges after he crashed a stolen truck into a New Jersey Planned Parenthood last week

A Massachusetts man who deliberately crashed a stolen bakery delivery truck into a New Jersey Planned Parenthood last week may face terrorism charges, according to the state attorney general's office.

Marckles Alcius, 31, began researching the locations of Planned Parenthood clinics more than a year before the crash that injured three people, including a pregnant woman, prosecutors said on Friday.

The Haitian national, who is not a U.S. citizen but is believed to be in the country legally, gave authorities an address in Lowell, northwest of Boston, that turned out to be an abandoned building, Assistant Essex County Prosecutor Adam Wells said.

Alcius indicated to investigators after his arrest that the act was intentional and that he was willing to die, Wells told a judge in seeking to deny Alcius's attorney's request that he be released while awaiting trial.

'It was personal, and I don't care what happens after that,' Alcius said during an interview, Wells told state Superior Court Judge Peter Ryan. Wells didn't discuss what might have motivated Alcius.

Alcius allegedly told investigators after his arrest that the act was intentional and that he was willing to die. The stolen bakery truck is seen above after it crashed into the New Jersey clinic

When asked if he would commit the crime again, Acius allegedly said he didn't know

'When I asked him if he would do it again, he paused for eight seconds and then said, "I don't know,'"' Wells added.

Ryan, rejecting a recommendation from pre-trial services to release Alcius with electronic monitoring, ordered him held in the Essex County jail. Alcius poses a significant threat to Planned Parenthood employees, he said.

Alcius, who prosecutors said has been living with relatives, including some who live in the Newark area, faces numerous charges, including aggravated assault and attempting to cause widespread injury or damage.

He allegedly stole a bakery delivery truck that was making deliveries on February 14 and drove it into the clinic in East Orange, just west of Newark.

Three people, including a pregnant women, were injured in the 'deliberate' crash

Evidence reviewed indicates Alcius had done online research on Planned Parenthood locations in Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New Jersey beginning in January 2017

A clinic staff member and two patients - including a pregnant woman - suffered minor injuries and were treated at a hospital and released, Wells said.

Alcius wasn't hurt.

Wells said electronic evidence reviewed by investigators indicates Alcius had done online research on Planned Parenthood locations in Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New Jersey beginning in January 2017.

Susan Freedman, a public defender representing Alcius, said her client has no criminal record and accused investigators of not properly instructing him of his rights to have a lawyer present at his interview.

Wells denied the allegation and noted that Alcius has four previous arrests in Massachusetts, including for burglary and assault and battery, though he didn't know the status of those cases.Prosecutors have submitted new charges against the girlfriend of John Ibrahim.

Sarah Budge could now face up to 14 years in prison if she is found guilty of accusations a loaded gun was found in her Sydney apartment.

A review of her case took place and new documents were submitted on February 2 following the alleged discovery by police last August at her home in Double Bay.

Sarah Budge appearing in court in Sydney on Tuesday this week wearing a $1200 outfit

The charges suggest the prosecution believe they may be successful in pushing for a heavier prison sentence if she is convicted, the Sunday Telegraph reports.

Police allegedly found a Glock handgun loaded inside her bedroom during a series of raids connected to a suspected drug syndicate allegedly involving Mr Ibrahim's brother, Michael Ibrahim, and son, and Daniel Taylor, 27.

His other brother, Fadi Ibrahim, 43, stands accused of being involved in an illegal tobacco deal.

She was previously charged with possessing an unauthorised firearm and ammunition without a permit - carrying maximum sentences of five years in prison and $5,500 fine respectively.

Ms Budge, who owns a plush bar in Potts Point, is now charged with one count of possessing an unauthorised pistol with a further charge of possessing a prohibited magazine.

The updated charges have been submitted after a review of the case by investigators from the Australian Federal Police, the Telegraph claims quoting a Director of Public Prosecutions spokesman.

The charges are now set to be heard in the district court and she will appear on May 16 for a committal hearing.

Prosecutors have issued new charges against John Ibrahim's (left) girlfriend Sarah Budge (right) over alleged possession of a gun. Mr Ibrahim faces no charges from police

Ms Budge turned heads this week when she appeared in court on Tuesday sporting a $1200 outfit.

She was seen arriving at the Downing Centre Court in Sydney CBD in a $699 Camilla and Marc blazer over a white dress and $470 Gianvito Rossi triple strap beige suede shoes.

John Ibrahim, 47, the Kings Cross nightclub tycoon with a $52 million property portfolio, has not been charged with any criminal offences and Ms Budge's case is unrelated to the alleged drugs and tobacco smuggling rings.

Neither are suggested to be connected with the alleged syndicate which reportedly had a network spanning across Europe, the Middle East and Australia.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Emma Chambers, star of The Vicar Of Dibley and Notting Hill, has died aged just 53.

She passed away on Wednesday but her death from natural causes was only announced yesterday.

Dawn French paid tribute to her former comedy co-star, saying: Emma was a very bright spark and the most loyal and loving friend anyone could wish for. I will miss her very much.

BBC comedy chief Jon Plowman, executive producer of The Vicar Of Dibley, told Radio 4s PM programme that the actress had died of a heart attack. She was so young, he said. Its no age, really, to have a heart attack, as I understand it.

Social media was awash with tributes from former colleagues and fans. Hugh Grant  who starred opposite Miss Chambers in Notting Hill  wrote on Twitter: Emma was a hilarious and very warm person and of course a brilliant actress. Very sad news.

The Vicar of Dibley actress Emma Chambers has died of natural causes aged 53, her agent has confirmed. Best known for playing Alice Tinker in the BBC sitcom which starred Dawn French (right), the Doncaster-born star also featured in Notting Hill alongside Julia Roberts

Emma Freud, the partner of Richard Curtis who wrote both The Vicar Of Dibley and Notting Hill, described her as a sweet, funny, unusual and loving human being. She added: How could you not love this girl? Born in Doncaster and married to fellow actor Ian Dunn, Miss Chambers won warm reviews for her portrayal of Charity Pecksniff in the 1994 TV adaptation of Charles Dickenss Martin Chuzzlewit.

But it was her starring role alongside Dawn French in the hit BBC sitcom The Vicar Of Dibley which earned her national recognition. Miss Chambers played the dimwitted but lovable Alice Tinker, who was an unlikely confidante of the Rev Geraldine Granger.

One of the shows most successful running gags was Tinkers inability to understand any of Grangers jokes which typically closed each episode.

Chambers proved an instant hit with viewers and in 1998 she won a British Comedy Award for Best Actress.

Paying tribute to the star, producer Plowman added: I think the thing Ill miss most was her laugh.

She was a very, very good comic actress and she was very bright. Alice appears to be potentially a bit stupid, but she wasnt stupid. Alice just lived in another world and Emma was wonderfully capable of taking us to that other world and playing it very sincerely.

She was a very good and gifted comic actress.

Fans of the show last night paid tribute. One wrote: Thanks for all the giggles, and another added: This is so shocking and sad. Ah God she was so marvellous.When two big-name stars from Downton Abbey started filming a new movie about the Nazi occupation of Guernsey, tourist chiefs on the Channel island should have been jumping for joy.

But they had to watch from afar as the historic events were recreated not on their own streets and beaches but on those nearly 200 miles away  in Devon.

A street in Bideford became a Nazi-occupied area of Guernsey and a sequence featuring an American Dakota aircraft landing on a beach was shot at nearby Saunton Sands.

A new movie about the Nazi occupation of Guernsey has been shot nearly 200 miles away, in Devon. Above, the crew films a Dakota landing on Devon's Saunton Sands

The film, The Guernsey Literary And Potato Peel Pie Society, is based on a best-selling 2008 novel. It tells the story of a book club which became a refuge for its members during the Nazi occupation. Pictured, star Lily James adjusts her wartime stockings and suspenders

Director Mike Newell, best known for Four Weddings And A Funeral, also recorded scenes in Clovelly and the stately home Hartland Abbey before moving on to Bristol Docks and Ealing Studios.

The film, The Guernsey Literary And Potato Peel Pie Society, is based on a best-selling 2008 novel.

It tells the story of a book club which became a refuge for its members during the Nazi occupation.

Lily James, who played Lady Rose in Downton, stars as author Juliet Ashton, who uncovers the story of the book club during a trip to Guernsey.

Lilys Downton co-star Jessica Brown Findlay, who played Lady Sybil, is Elizabeth Mckenna, the book club founder.

A source said: We didnt shoot in Guernsey as it didnt have any suitable locations left.

And a spokesman for film distributors Studiocanal said: It was too tricky to recreate the look and feel of 1940s Guernsey given how much the island has changed since that time.

Lily James, who played Lady Rose in Downton, stars as author Juliet Ashton, who uncovers the story of the book club during a trip to Guernsey (pictured)

Locals took to social media to express their anger, with one complaining: Im glad there is a movie based on our beautiful island but its disappointing that it looks nothing like Guernsey.

And Tony Brassell, a former film commissioner for Guernsey, said of the cliffs and countryside now being featured in the movie: They are beautiful but they dont look anything like Guernsey.

However, Mike Hopkins, of VisitGuernsey, insisted the films release in April, at the beginning of the tourist season, was perfect timing to capitalise on it.

He said the movie referenced the islands coastline and featured shots of iconic observation towers built by the Germans.

He added: As well as bringing the island to a potential new audience, the film will reignite interest from those who have not visited Guernsey for a while.He's yet to celebrate his second birthday but Queensland toddler Karthik Chavali is already being hailed as a child genius.

While others his age are learning to talk, the 22-month-old from Nundah in Brisbane's north east is streets ahead of them.

He can identify at least 38 countries on a map, name all of the planets in the solar system and his knowledge of capital cities around the world would put many adults to shame.

Scroll down for video

Karthik Chavali, pictured with proud parents Vishy and Sal, is being hailed as Australia's smartest toddler

Kazbekistan is one of the 38 countries the Brisbane toddler can identify on a map of the world

Karthik's parents unearthed his amazing talent when they began reading to him eight months ago.

'So when he was 14 months, we gave this to him and to our surprise, he was able to remember and tell it back. He could remember it and tell it the next day as well,' father Vishy Chavali told 7 News.

Both parents work in IT but don't plan to give their son any technological gadgets anytime soon.

They insist they aren't doing anything special in their parenting.

'We haven't given Karthik an iPad or anything,' his mum Sal Kandukuri told 7 News.

'Every child has an inner genius in them, so it's just parents identifying it.'

Her husband added: 'Making them far more attuned to the make-believe world of iPads and tablets and computers, kind of makes them move away from reality.'Rebel Tory MPs are plotting to ambush Theresa May before a crunch summit in Brussels next month by inflicting a Commons defeat on a key plank of her Brexit policy, The Mail on Sunday has learned.

The plan, to force an immediate debate on her intention to leave the customs union, has been hatched by grandees of the Select Committee system in defiance of Downing Streets attempt to block MPs from voting  because they fear it could topple the Government.

The revolt follows last weeks meeting of Mrs Mays Brexit war Cabinet at her Chequers country estate, which agreed that Britain would try to negotiate a process of managed divergence from EU rules after leaving the single market and customs union  then hope to strike a trade deal. The EU has given the UK a deadline of mid-March to set out our position at a summit of EU leaders.

Rebel Tory MPs are plotting to ambush Theresa May before a crunch summit in Brussels next month by inflicting a Commons defeat on a key plank of her Brexit policy (Pictured: Last week's meeting of Mrs May's Brexit 'war cabinet')

But last night the Prime Minister  who will outline her Brexit vision in a landmark speech on Friday  was under pressure on multiple fronts as:

Brussels warned that the Chequers strategy would be flatly rejected by the EU and urged Mrs May to ignore the demands of her hardline backbenchers, led by Jacob Rees-Mogg. One senior EU official said: There is clearly no Commons majority for a Mogg Brexit.

The Cabinets Brexiteers were said to be split over the Chequers deal, with Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson privately declaring victory  but Environment Secretary Michael Gove expressing scepticism that it would be accepted;

A defiant Mrs May declared that Britains best days lie ahead of us, as her full Cabinet prepared to meet twice this week ahead of the speech;

Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell told colleagues that Labour should back staying in the customs union as the best chance to trigger an early Election.

No.10 was thrown into a panic last week after a cross-party amendment to the Trade Bill was put down, which would have bound Mrs May to stay in the customs union  at a time when she was negotiating to leave it.

If she had lost the vote, Mrs Mays Government could have collapsed  and after Tory whips told Downing Street that they were not confident of winning, votes on the Bill were delayed until May.

But now the Commons Liaison Committee, comprising all 35 chairs of the Select Committees, intends to use its power to carve out Parliamentary time for a vote as soon as possible.

Tory MP Nicky Morgan, the pro-Remain chairman of the Treasury committee, has joined forces with Labours Yvette Cooper, chairman of the Home Affairs committee, and Rachel Reeves, chairman of the Business Committee, to put down the motion.

Tory MP Nicky Morgan (left), the pro-Remain chairman of the Treasury committee, has joined forces with Labours Yvette Cooper (right), the chairman of the Home Affairs committee

Other pro-Remain Tory MPs on the liaison committee include Sarah Wollaston, Bob Neill and Tom Tugendhat.

And though  unlike the Trade Bill amendment  the vote would not be formally binding, friends of Mrs Morgan said it was vital to send a message to Brussels that the Commons does not support leaving the customs union.

Such a vote could embolden EU negotiators, who would be reluctant to agree a deal that would only be thrown out by British MPs later.

Labour MP Chuka Umunna, who has joined forces with Tory MPs including Anna Soubry and Jonathan Djanogly to push for a vote on the customs union, said: It is undemocratic for the Prime Minister to put off a vote. She has no majority for taking us out of the EU customs union but continues to negotiate as if she has one.

If she delays these important votes, we will seek to instigate a vote from the backbenches to illustrate Parliaments position on this issue.

The Chequers meeting was designed to bridge the gap between the Brexiteers, led by Mr Gove and Mr Johnson, who are in favour of diverging from Brussels rules after Brexit, and the Remainers led by Mr Hammond, who want to limit any rule changes.

Sources present at Chequers said the Cabinet agreed that the rules we follow after leaving will remain substantially similar to the EUs regulations. Divergence would then be overseen by a trans-national committee split equally between EU and UK members.

Guy Verhofstadt, the EU Parliaments Brexit negotiator, told The Mail on Sunday: The plan appears to be one to keep the Tory party together rather than a realistic negotiating position'

The sources said that while Mr Johnson regarded this as a triumph, his fellow Brexit campaigner Mr Gove was more doubtful that the cherry-picking position would be accepted by Brussels  a view shared by Mr Hammond.

And yesterday, Guy Verhofstadt, the EU Parliaments Brexit negotiator, was scathing about the Chequers deal, telling The Mail on Sunday: The plan appears to be one to keep the Tory party together rather than a realistic negotiating position. Selectively picking which EU rules to follow, while seeking a competitive advantage by lowering standards in other areas, will be rejected.

A source close to Mr Verhofstadt, referring to the Commons pressure for a vote on the customs union, added: There is clearly no majority for a Mogg Brexit.

In a highly unusual move, the Cabinet will meet twice this week  on Tuesday, for a general discussion, and again on Thursday to hammer out the final unified position prior to Fridays speech.

But last night Mrs May struck an upbeat, patriotic note, saying that the Brexit deal must present an ambitious future for our great country.

She added: The decisions we make now will shape this country for a generation. If we get them right, Brexit will be the beginning of a bright new chapter in our national story, and our best days really do lie ahead of us.

Former Tory Cabinet Minister Baroness Sayeeda Warsi added to the sense of chaos by claiming that the country had been left up s**t creek by Brexit.

Baroness Warsi said: I find this really depressing... we are shimmying up a creek without a paddle.... We have a leader of our party who is a Remainer, who is leading a whole load of people who are Leavers. That is the political landscape we are dealing with.A former Trump aide who has been charged with conspiracy and money laundering by Special Counsel Robert Mueller is seeking permission to travel to New York so he can attend a family member's funeral.

Paul Manafort, the president's former campaign chair, filed court papers saying that his father-in-law died on Saturday and asked the judge overseeing his criminal case to allow him to attend the funeral and related services. Manafort has been placed on home confinement at his Virginia residence.

Manafort has been married to his wife, Kathleen, since 1978. The funeral and burial will take place Monday and Tuesday on Long Island.

Trump's former campaign chair, Paul Manafort, was charged with conspiracy and money laundering

In a court filing, Manafort said his father-in-law died and asked the judge overseeing his criminal case if he could attend the funeral in New York. Manafort is pictured above with his wife, Kathleen

The 68-year-old campaign manager, who worked with Trump for several months in 2016, was indicted in October with his business partner Rick Gates on charges related to their lucrative lobbying work for pro-Russian Ukrainian politicians.

Mueller, who is investigating alleged Russian ties to Trump's 2016 presidential campaign, charged Manafort and Gates with conspiracy and money laundering.

Mueller accused the business partners of secretly paying European politicians more than two million euros to lobby on behalf of Ukraine. They were also accused of duping banks into lending them money and other charges.

Gates, pleaded guilty on Friday to conspiracy against the United States and lying to investigators. He's also cooperating with Mueller's Russia probe.

Manafort, who maintains his innocence and is not cooperating with Mueller, was indicted yet again on Friday, just hours after Gates pleaded guilty.

Special Counsel Robert Mueller (pictured) indicted Manafort and his business partner, Rick Gates, on several charges accusing them of secretly paying European politicians to lobby on behalf of UkraineNew South Wales police are facing a rape scandal involving a senior constable who was off-duty at the time.

The 27-year-old cop was charged with sexual intercourse without consent and indecent assault.

He has now been suspended following the alleged rape at a Tamworth home at 3am on January 22.

New South Wales police are facing a rape scandal involving a senior constable who was off-duty at the time

The 27-year-old cop was charged at Dubbo Police station (pictured), granted conditional bail and will face the Dubbo Local Court on Wednesday 18 April

Police investigated after receiving reports three days after the alleged incident.

They executed a search warrant at a Canobolas Shire property and arrested the man.

He was charged at Dubbo Police station, granted conditional bail and will face the Dubbo Local Court on Wednesday 18 April.

A NSW police media spokesperson could not say if the alleged victim was male or female or knew the police officer.Hogg posted the tweet less than a week after Florida lawmakers rejected a ban against assault rifles

The shooting has led to fierce national debate over the wisdom of current gun-control standards

Nikolas Cruz stormed Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School with an AR-15 semiautomatic rifle and murdered 17 people in a shocking daytime attack

David Hogg urged spring breakers to take their business elsewhere via social media on Saturday as a way to motivate politicians

A survivor of this month's deadly Florida school shooting is calling for students to boycott of the state's annual spring break until lawmakers pass sensible gun control legislation.

Marjory Stoneman Douglas HS senior David Hogg urged spring breakers to take their business elsewhere via social media on Saturday as a way to motivate politicians to act against weapons in the state.

'Let's make a deal DO NOT come to Florida for spring break unless gun legislation is passed,' Hogg posted in a tweet to his 213,000 followers.

David Hogg (pictured) urged spring breakers to take their business elsewhere via social media on Saturday as a way to motivate politicians

Hogg posted the tweet less than a week after Florida lawmakers rejected a ban against assault rifles

'These politions (sic) won't listen to us so maybe the'll (sic) listen to the billion dollar tourism industry in FL,' he added.

On February 14, Nikolas Cruz stormed Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School with an AR-15 semiautomatic rifle and murdered 17 people in a shocking daytime attack.

The shooting has led to fierce national debate over the wisdom of current gun-control standards and what steps can be taken to stop mass killings on school campuses in the future.

The shooting has led to fierce national debate over the wisdom of current gun-control standards (Pictured: Florida Gov. Rick Scott)

The National Rifle Association, or NRA, has pushed back, however, arguing that law abiding citizens shouldn't have their second amendment right abridged due to a handful of deranged individuals.

Hogg posted the tweet less than a week after Florida lawmakers rejected a ban against assault rifles as survivors of the Parkland school shooting looked on, bursting into tears following the deliberative body's decision.

Republican governor of Florida Rick Scott said on Friday that he would be opened to instituting some modest reforms in the state, including raising the minimum age for gun purchases from 18 to 21 while calling for a police officer to be assigned to every campus.

The high school Senior also appeared on MSNBC's 'AM Joy' on Saturday to retell his experience during the Valentine's Day shooting and explain why he and so many of his classmates posted to social media during the incident.

'I wanted to make sure that even if our souls were left behind on that classroom floor, our voices would echo on to the halls of Congress,' he said.

'Because I didn't know if we were going to make it out on the time, I didn't know what was going to happen next. I just knew, if i did die, i wanted to die doing what I loved most and I wanted to die telling the most important story of my life.'

Cruz, 19, was expelled from Marjory Stoneman last February after officials at the high school claimed they documented at least five separate violent incidents involving the Florida native.

The incident marked the eighth time a shooting took place on a school campus involving one person being wounded since the beginning of 2018, according to CNN.Our Armed Forces do a magnificent job. Its my privilege to see the incredible work they do all around the globe, every hour of every day. In Iraq, Ive spoken to our impressive airmen and women who have been hammering barbaric Daesh [Islamic State] fighters to destroy the death cult that has brought bloodshed to the streets of Britain.

In Poland, Ive met inspirational soldiers  not simply supporting and leading Nato missions in Eastern Europe but underpinning our security at home.

And in the North Atlantic and the Gulf Ive listened to the sailors protecting our precious undersea communications cables and patrolling our vital trading routes.

All the while, our dedicated submariners maintain our nuclear deterrent, our nations ultimate armour against the most extreme threats to our way of life.

The Ministry of Defence is spending about 20 million a year on mental health services to treat the trauma life on the front line can bring, says Gavin Williamson (right)

These people are the greatest of their generation. And they have the right to expect more than simply the best jets, warships and tanks to help them do their duty.

It is also their right to expect the best possible support on and off the battlefield. In the not too distant past, that would have meant treating the physical scars of conflict. There wouldnt have been much thought about helping heal the invisible wounds war leaves behind. But times have changed.

We now understand the importance of a healthy mind as well as a healthy body. Thats why the Ministry of Defence is spending about 20 million a year on mental health services to treat the trauma life on the front line can bring. But while things have vastly improved, they are not perfect. We should never be too afraid or too timid to tackle the stigma of mental illness and look at new ways to offer help.

Thats why I want to commend The Mail on Sundays Helpline for Heroes campaign for shining the spotlight on this critically important issue. Its simply unacceptable that serving personnel with post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, depression, suicidal or negative thoughts, should suffer in silence.

So I have agreed to spend an extra 20 million over the next decade to improve mental health services in the Armed Forces  2 million more every year for vital services. Today we launch the Military Mental Health Helpline while bolstering the care currently on offer.

We are forming a deeper partnership with Combat Stress, the leading charity in the UK for supporting veterans with mental health problems. The charity already helps a small number of troops through their 24-hour helpline, but we will be enhancing this service with additional funds and creating the entirely new Military Mental Health Helpline with its own memorable number  0800 323 4444.

This will be specifically targeted at serving personnel and their families  allowing them to access help anywhere, any time. It will be staffed by professionals and will benefit from improved information-sharing with the military, so those in need get the vital help they need.

Gavin Williamson says he will personally be working with the service chiefs to make sure there isnt a single person in the Forces who doesnt know where to turn in times of trouble

We have examined the choices closely and believe this service will deliver the best clinical results for our Armed Forces. The freephone number will take calls 24/7 from midday today. And it will be backed up by a major internal marketing campaign.

The truth is weve not always been the best at talking about these issues in the military. So I will personally be working with the service chiefs to make sure there isnt a single person in the Forces who doesnt know where to turn in times of trouble.

But I dont just want people to know who to call when they need to talk to someone. I want them to know what else is on offer. I want them to know about the 20 sites providing mental health care for the military in the UK and abroad, bringing together psychiatrists, mental health nurses, clinical psychologists and social workers to help manage the mental health needs of those in difficulty.

I want them to know more about the Veterans Gateway, which offers current and former personnel support on everything from financial assistance to property problems.

I want them to know about our groundbreaking partnership with Prince Harry and the Royal Foundation, raising awareness about the importance of good mental fitness, drawing on the best research and putting a wealth of information online.

And I want them to know we have a mental health strategy that can work for them. Its about educating our chain of command and working with our people and their families.

Its about spotting the early warning signs of mental illness. Its about encouraging those who need help to get it quickly.

And its about prevention  building that vital awareness of good mental health fitness into training so that our troops are better equipped to deal with operational stress before, during and after combat as well as the stresses of day-to-day living that we all experience.

As the dangers our nation faces become ever more intense and ever more complex, whether from aggressive states such as Russia, from terrorism or from cyber warfare, its vital for us to keep our brave men and women at the top of their game both physically and mentally.

But theres always more we can do to help those who find themselves isolated or feeling low. So make no mistake, it is one of my top priorities as Defence Secretary to make sure everyone in the Armed Forces feels valued.

Our service personnel remain Britains finest. And if the ever-evolving nature of conflict demands that we keep adapting our approach then  have no doubt  we are ready and willing to do so.

No one in our Armed Forces need suffer in silence. Our heroic men and women are the backbone of our nation. They lay their lives on the line for us every single day.

They are the very best of British. And they deserve nothing less than the very best support.

'I'm stunned... an amazing breakthrough': Former RAF sniper whose mental breakdown inspired peer to act praises new helpline

Following the tragic suicide of Warrant Officer Nathan Hunt last month, former head of the British Army Lord Dannatt aligned himself with The Mail on Sunday and fought with this newspaper to see his aspiration for a dedicated 24/7 helpline for serving personnel finally realised.

Last night, an elated Lord Dannatt said: Sadly, there was no one to save W.O. Nathan Hunt when he died by his own hand. But now the helpline is here. The number 0800 323 4444 will connect callers straight away to MoD health professionals who will have immediate access to their medical records. This is a massive improvement. We all owe so much to those who serve to protect our peace and freedom.

Former RAF sniper Luke Huskisson (left) whose mental breakdown inspired Lord Dannatt (right) to call for the helpline said it was an 'amazing breakthrough'

Last night, Tory MP and former Army Officer Johnny Mercer said: Well done The Mail on Sunday. At a time when journalism is under fire, this is a reminder of what newspapers can achieve. And ex-RAF sniper Luke Huskisson, whose mental breakdown inspired Lord Dannatt to call for the helpline, said: Im shocked, really stunned. I didnt think wed ever get this. This is an amazing breakthrough.

Former British Army medic Chantelle Taylor added: I had no hesitation backing this campaign. The helpline for serving troops is one of those simple measures that could save lives. This is a really good result.Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce 'felt trapped in a loveless marriage and hadn't had sex in five years' when he started seeing Vikki Campion, inside sources have revealed.

On Friday Mr Joyce stood down as Nationals leader amid an investigation into fresh claims of sexual harassment. Mr Joyce has disputed the allegation, calling it 'spurious and defamatory'.

Mr Joyce, who has four daughters with estranged wife Natalie, confirmed he is expecting a son with his former staffer Ms Campion, 33, after their affair became public this month.

Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce 'felt trapped in a loveless marriage and hadn't had sex in five years' when he started seeing Vikki Campion (pair pictured in a Glebe bar)

The pair have remained silent on how their relationship bloomed, but sources close to the couple said they bonded over struggling relationships

Mr Joyce told Ms Campion of 'feeling trapped' in a 'loveless marriage.' He told her he had not 'had sex in five years' (Joyce is pictured with estranged wife Natalie)

The pair have remained silent on how their relationship bloomed, but sources close to the couple told The Daily Telegraph they bonded over struggling relationships.

Mr Joyce told Ms Campion of 'feeling trapped' in a 'loveless marriage.'

He told her he had not 'had sex in five years'.

In the initial stages of their relationship Mr Joyce told Ms Campion he was 'separated' but was worried what impact his actions would have on his daughters.

Ms Campion joined Mr Joyces office three months before her planned wedding in November 2016 to SBS journalist John Bergin.

The wedding was called off at late notice.

Mr Joyce told Ms Campion of 'feeling trapped' in a 'loveless marriage'

Barnaby Joyce has also reportedly been hunting for a home with his pregnant lover Vikki Campion (pictured)

Mr Joyce has also reportedly been hunting for a home with his pregnant lover the day after he stepped down as leader of the National Party.

The couple have been living rent-free in a millionaire friend's unit in Armidale.

They were spotted in the town of South West Rocks visiting a real estate agent, The Sunday Telegraph reports.

The woman who alleged she was sexually harassed by deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce said she never wanted her claims to be made public.

Her complaint was filed to the National Party earlier this week, the woman, named as Catherine Marriot, said through her lawyer on Saturday.

But she said she had 'never intended' for the issue to become in the public domain and had requested a confidential internal investigation by the National Party.

Catherine Marriott has been revealed as the woman who filed a sexual harassment complaint against deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce

The statement issued to 9News said Ms Marriot hoped her actions would change the situation generally preventing alleged inappropriate behaviour from happening 'towards woman in the future' by people 'in powerful positions'.

Ms Marriott's lawyer, Emma Salerno, said the complaint had not been taken to the police 'at this stage'.

The political fallout from the Joyce saga has taken its toll on the Turnbull government with a new poll showing it has dropped further behind the opposition Labor party.

A Sky News/ReachTel poll showed the coalition's primary vote had slipped one point to 33 per cent, while Labor gained one point to 37 per cent.

The Greens also gained one point and One Nation lost one point, resulting in the government dropping two points to 46 per cent on a two-party preferred basis against a two points rise to 54 per cent for Labor.

Malcolm Turnbull's standing as preferred prime minister also declined one point to 53 per cent, but was still ahead of Opposition Leader Bill Shorten on 47 per cent.Theresa May is facing calls to sack a Tory vice-chairman who admitted defaming Jeremy Corbyn by claiming the Labour leader sold British secrets to communist spies.

Ben Bradley was yesterday forced to apologise to Mr Corbyn and pay an estimated 35,000. He accepted the accusation  which he made in a tweet  was wholly untrue.

His comment followed allegations over the Labour leaders contact with a Czech intelligence agent in the 1980s.

Ben Bradley was yesterday forced to apologise to Mr Corbyn and pay an estimated 35,000

Mr Bradley, 28, will now make a donation to Labour, who will cover legal costs and pass the rest on to a homeless charity and a food bank in Mr Bradleys Mansfield constituency.

Labour said Mr Bradley had agreed to admit that his tweet was seriously defamatory.

Tory sources indicated they would stand by him, saying he had a lot to offer the party.

But one senior Tory MP called on Mrs May to sack him as a vice-chairman, saying: Ben does have a lot to offer, but at present that seems to be the Labour Party  not us.A suspected drug chief known as the 'Pablo Escobar of Ecuador' has been extradited to the U.S. Saturday.

Washington Edison Prado had tried unsuccessfully to prevent extradition by claiming membership in the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia - a status that would have made him eligible for a type of amnesty under a peace deal.

Colombia's prosecutor's office said in a statement that Prado was escorted by a detail of 50 commandos and agents of various police agencies as he was turned over to U.S. authorities.

This undated photo released by Colombia's National Police show officers escorting a man who police identify as Ecuadorean drug trafficker Washington Edison Prado

Colombian Police officers escort Ecuadorean Washington Prado Alava aka "Gerald" (C), during a press conference at the police headquarters in Bogota, Colombia on April 11, 2017

Prado led the most sophisticated mafia organization of the Colombian Pacific and was responsible for trafficking 250 tons of cocaine, authorities said

U.S. officials accuse Prado, also known by the alias 'Gerald,' of shipping more than 250 tons of cocaine to the United States.

Police say he ran the most sophisticated smuggling route on the Pacific coast of South America, and they compared it to Escobar's Medellin cartel of three decades ago because of it sought to dominate the entire cocaine supply chain from production to its distribution in the U.S.

Pablo Escobar (Pictured), the godfather of the Medellin Cartel in Colombia in February , 1988

Police say his group sent as many as 10 go-fast boats a week, each carrying around a ton of cocaine.

He allegedly began as a boatman running drugs along Ecuador's coast and rose to become head of a small army of smugglers spread across five countries.

Prado was arrested in Colombia in April on an indictment by a Florida federal court.

Pablo Escobar was the boss of one of the worlds most powerful criminal organizations and Colombias most-wanted fugitive.

Thousands of people were killed in violence unleashed by his Medellin cartel. Escobars fortune reached more than $30 billion in the early 1990s - an equivalent to about $57 billion in 2017 - making him one of the richest men in the world and wealthiest criminal ever, according to Forbes.

The feared drug trafficker and Medellins most infamous resident, was gunned down in the city in a U.S.-backed operation in 1993.The father of April Jones has forgotten her name and her murder after being left brain damaged by illness, his wife has revealed.

Paul Jones, 49, from Powys in Mid Wales, 'broke down' when he was forced to re-live what happened to five-year-old April, six years ago.

Mr Jones suffered memory loss due to the trauma of a brain condition called encephalitis.

Scroll down for video

Paul Jones (right), father of murdered five-year-old April (left), lies in hospital after suffering from encephalitis

His wife Coral, 46, April's mother, said: 'It was an awful conversation because he was so emotional and it was so hard for me to speak about it.

'I couldn't go on, I just couldn't tell him any more. It was like reliving it all over again.'

April was abducted and killed by paedophile Mark Bridger in October 2012.

Bridger was convicted of her murder and jailed for life after the youngster's blood and 17 fragments of skull were discovered in his house, in Ceinws, not far from Machynlleth, where April lived with her family.

After viewing child pornography and a rape scene on television at home, Bridger decided to abduct April, whose disappearance led to one of the biggest searches in British history.

He snatched and murdered her on the Bryn-Y-Gog estate, before 'lying through his teeth' by claiming he accidentally hit her with his car and was so drunk he did not know what happened to the body.

Mark Bridger (left) watched porn and rape scene on television before abducting April, whose disappearance led to a massive hunt (right)

After a five-week trial it took the jury just four hours to decide father-of-six Bridger was a fantasist, obsessed with child murder and child pornography.

Fitness fanatic Mr Jones was training for a triathlon to raise money for the Missing People charity when he developed a cold sore and started to develop flu-like symptoms.

Doctors took two weeks to diagnose encephalitis, which leads to the brain swelling.

Mrs Jones said the condition has led to substantial memory loss in her husband and he can no longer recall events from the past decade.

She said: 'Paul is so frustrated by his condition and that fills me with fear. He asked, ''What happened to April?''

'I had to tell him she was no longer with us and that she'd been killed.

'He broke down.'

'He's been through enough. Learning the awful details of how April died once is horrendous enough. He loved her so much I can't let him go through that again.

Mr Jones (left and right, with his wife) suffered memory loss due to the trauma of a brain condition called encephalitis

'I don't know what he'd do if he knew the truth of what had happened to our little girl. Yet I know everything could come flooding back further down the line and I worry it will drive him even deeper depression.

'How much more can my family take? I've already lost my daughter and now I have lost my soulmate and my rock and I feel so alone.

'Paul is the only person who can truly understand the pain I have felt over losing April. People said we'd split after she died but we beat the odds and it was us against the world.'

Mr Jones recognised their children Jazmin, now 22, and Harley, 16, but has forgotten events such as their wedding and family holidays.

His wife said: 'He remembers some people who were close to him, he can recognise their voices and their faces.

'Sometimes, he'll talk about things which happened years ago but most of the last decade is gone.

'We've talked to him about holidays we've gone on to Spain, Florida and Australia, but he doesn't remember being there.

Paul Jones, 49, 'broke down' when his wife Coral (both pictured) told him what had happened to their five-year-old daughter April, six years ago

Coral Jones said she has held back the details of what happened so as not to upset her husband

'He used to love walking his dogs on the hills around Machynlleth. This gave him so much comfort after April was taken.

'For a long time, he'd walk up into the hills every day and tie a pink ribbon around a gate in her memory.

'But now, he wouldn't even know how to get there. His memory is so bad that he would be lost as soon as he walked out of the front door.'

Mrs Jones also revealed that while he was being cared for in a hospital in Machynlleth he began to believe he was in jail.

'He felt really trapped there. On Christmas Day he tried to escape. He was allowed to come home for dinner but he ran off halfway through', she said.

'We had to phone the police. We spent nearly three hours searching. Eventually, he called me because he had no idea where he was.

'He wasn't far from the house. I told him to wait and the police picked him up. That was terrifying.'

Mrs Jones said that when he first fell ill her husband 'joked he had man flu'.

Coral and Paul Jones with their son Harley at April's funeral. He broke down when she told him what had happened to their daughter

'But one night he woke in the early hours, confused and hallucinating. I had to call an ambulance', she explained.

He was then rushed to hospital in nearby Aberystwyth, where doctors ran tests.

Mrs Jones was warned her husband's life was on the line as he drifted in and out of consciousness.

She said: 'I volunteered to feed him and shave him, all myself. I stroked his arm and told him I was here for him.'

Mrs Jones is plagued by thoughts of what might have been if the signs had been spotted earlier.

She said: 'I was absolutely gobsmacked when I was told Paul's illness had been caused by a cold sore.

'Some people suffer a little memory loss, but Paul's brain had swelled so much his was far worse.

'There are moments when I think, ''What if?'', would I have taken him to hospital earlier? 'Sometimes, I blame the doctors because it took them so long to figure out what was wrong.

'I wonder how much more we can take as a family. I'm on a lot of medication for depression but I try not to think, 'Why me?'.'

April (pictured) went missing from her home in Powys, Mid Wales, in October 2012

Mr Jones appeared to be over the worst but alarm bells sounded for his family early on when he could not recall his wedding, held six months before April went missing.

A week later, Paul was transferred to a rehabilitation unit in Northampton.

His wife visited faithfully, taking family photos in a bid to jog his memory.

She said: 'April was in some of them. I didn't tell him what had happened to her, but he seemed to recognise her.'

Mrs Jones had to explain why April hadn't visited her father. She said: 'It's a parent's worst nightmare. Imagine going through all those moments twice.'

She developed agoraphobia after April's death and struggled to leave the house without Mr Jones.

She is now attempting to adapt to the crushing loneliness of her new life.

She said: 'Paul and I were a team and I miss him every second of the day. I can't go to the shops without my daughter or a friend.

'I visit Paul and he continually asks why he can't come home with me. That's really hard.'

Mrs Jones added: 'I'm still hopeful one day I can get him home but only time will tell. I won't give up on him.

'The other day he held my hand and said, 'I am glad it was you I married, Coral'. Even though he can't remember our wedding, that's nice to hear.'

Encephalitis: Devastating brain condition that leads to memory loss Paul and Coral Jones, parents of murdered five-year-old April, arrive at Mold Crown Court in Wales, for trial of her killer, Mark Bridger in 2013 Encephalitis is an uncommon but serious condition in which the brain becomes inflamed. It can be life-threatening and requires urgent treatment in hospital. April Jones' father Paul, was struck down with the illness while training for a charity triathlon. He and his family have been forced to re-live the trauma of his five-year-old daughter's murder, back in 2012, after the condition led to loss of his memory. Amnesia is a side effect of Encephalitis, which can affect any age group. The illness can be caused by viral infections or a problem with a person's immune system. While some strains of the illness are spread by mosquito. The illness can starts with flu-like symptoms, such as a high temperature and headache. Encephalitis, which is not infectious, can take a long time to fully recover from. Some patients are left with long-term problems including, memory loss, frequent seizures personality and behavioural changes problems with attention and persistent tiredness. Source: NHS Advertisement



Night was falling in communist Prague, and my wife and I were lost and worried. The low-grade Warsaw Pact map wasnt much use and we were not even sure we were on the right tram.

Ill explain how we came to be there later, because it is important, but youll understand how pleased and relieved we were when a young man with perfect English offered to help us.

He wouldnt leave us. He became, in a way, our friend. When our spartan hotel claimed to have lost our reservation, he sorted it out. By that time the restaurant was shut, so he took us out to dinner in a place wed never have found, though I could have done without the pounding hangover I had the next day from the Bohemian wine.

He kept turning up. He even drove us out to Lidice, the village destroyed by the Nazis as a reprisal for the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich. He worked, he assured us, for a Prague newspaper. But he hinted that he was assigned to menial roles because he was considered politically unreliable, a story designed to appeal to us. I was an ex-Leftist, but by that time strongly pro-Nato, pro-Bomb and anti-Soviet.

Jeremy Corbyn (pictured) has faced allegations over meetings with Czech intelligence during the 1980s

My wife, far quicker at picking these things up than I am, said from the start that he was a spy. I simply didnt think that we merited such attention. She was right. As it happens we met plenty of other Czechs, and indeed some charming Cubans and an East German, all of them genuinely pleased to see Westerners in their dark, oppressed part of the world. This was 1978.

I will never forget the man who, with tears in his eyes, rapidly told us in a hushed voice how much the BBCs then marvellous World Service radio broadcasts meant to him.

But our friend (Ive entirely forgotten his name) wasnt like them. He was too good to be true. And once we got home, I started getting odd, suspicious letters from him, asking for details of life in Britain.

I suspected that, had I answered them, they might have ended up being published in Czech papers, in some compromising way. I dont know. But I have little doubt that a file on our long-ago visit has been mouldering for years in some cellar in Prague, perhaps near the one about Jeremy Corbyn.

We were there because we were adventurous about travel, and also because we had been urged to go by a very remarkable and rather fearsome woman  Evelyn Jones, wife of the trade union leader Jack Jones.

The Joneses (this is all so long ago I feel free to tell about it) had long been friends and neighbours of my wifes parents, who were themselves veteran Leftists. As it happened they, too, had a nasty experience in Prague in the early 1950s, nearly getting into serious trouble for openly criticising a show trial then under way.

They all seemed to know and take for granted the fact that Evelyn Jones had spent much of the 1930s as a courier for Stalins international communist organisation, the Comintern, carrying gold and messages to the West. The Kremlin had paid for her to wear expensive clothes and stay in the best hotels, because wealthy travellers were so much less likely to be searched.

And one evening she told us: You must go to Prague. I have such good memories of Prague. And it hasnt really changed. It is the last surviving great European city of the 1930s unwrecked by war.

And so we did. And she was right. It was thrilling. But what really matters about this? Was I targeted? Was it serious, or was it merely the old story of security men trying to make themselves look big by exaggerating the importance of those they follow and try to recruit?

I have little doubt that a file on our long-ago visit has been mouldering for years in some cellar in Prague (pictured), perhaps near the one about Jeremy Corbyn

The real story was that of Jack Jones, who has now been (in my view falsely) accused of taking money from the KGB. Ive no idea what he did with it, if so. He lived until his death in a small council flat, and took his holidays in a caravan in Devon. Power was the thing he longed for, not cash.

On the other hand I am more or less certain that Jack Jones was, in his heart and possibly in some secret filing cabinet, a serious lifelong communist. And, thanks to the fuzzy, unpatrolled border that lies on the eastern edges of the Labour Party, he was able to get the enormous power he sought. In fact, there was a time, especially in the 1970s, when the communists had an influence over our government wholly out of proportion to their size, thanks to their brilliantly organised penetration of the trade union movement.

That all ended when the Soviet Union collapsed. It was replaced by an equally concerted and far more dangerous takeover by Eurocommunists, smooth 1960s revolutionaries in expensive suits, who wanted and got a war against the married family, who destroyed MI5s files on the student Left, who wanted and got mass immigration and the handover of our independence to the EU, and who now run the country (and the Tory Party, too) because most people still dont understand whats going on.

They are the Blairites, supposedly so nice.

Thats the problem. There really are conspiracies, such as the one the Joneses were in... gold, secret messages, agents of influence and all. And they really work. But its a positive disadvantage to know about them. People will just mock you as a conspiracy theorist, laugh, and get on with their lives. Which is just what the secret revolutionaries hope you will do.

I hugely enjoyed the film I, Tonya, starring Margot Robbie as Tonya Harding, a blackly funny account of a wildly American true story  redneck skaters stupid, violent husband arranges to disable her chief rival for Olympic glory.

Likewise, I had a great time watching Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, another redneck drama. It seems to be the year of the redneck, perhaps a side effect of the Trump presidency.

I hugely enjoyed the film I, Tonya, starring Margot Robbie as Tonya Harding (pictured), a blackly funny account of a wildly American true story

But I hated the incessant crudity of both films, above all the four-letter words that never seemed to stop. Ill be told that its authentic, though it strikes me that film-makers used to manage very well without it.

But the people who tell me its authentic will be the same ones who say Im being silly when I criticise departures from the authentic truth in historical dramas such as The Kings Speech and Darkest Hour.

Just bear in mind, as you view the latest propaganda from Syria  always beautifully composed pictures of wounded children in the arms of gentle, unarmed young men  that the rebels and activists in the suburbs of Damascus are the people we used to call Al Qaeda. That is, they are the ones who blew up the Twin Towers. But Al Qaeda has now got some very good spin doctors, and theyre trying to spin you. I urge you to resist.

We were told last week that researchers had the final answer to the long-lasting controversy about whether antidepressants work for major depression. I very much doubt it. Not only did the study (of old research, much of it paid for by the drug companies themselves) show very limited success for these pills. We are only just beginning to scrape the surface of what I suspect may be one of the biggest drug scandals of all time. If anyone insists to you that all is well, ask them this: have they had access to the drug companies own full testing records?

If you want to comment on Peter Hitchens click hereThe United Nations Security Council last night voted for a 30-day ceasefire across Syria after relentless bombing by President Assads forces of the countrys Ghouta enclave near Damascus killed hundreds of civilians.

A unanimous vote was pushed through after Russia  which had backed the bombing  finally agreed to support the move after dropping an earlier demand for a 72-hour delay to the ceasefire.

A seven-day surge of rocket fire, shelling and air strikes has killed more than 500 people since Sunday night, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. The dead included more than 120 children.

The Security Council approved a resolution demanding a 30-day truce to allow aid deliveries and evacuations after a flurry of last-minute negotiations.

United Nation Security Council members voting unanimously for the resolution calling for a 30-day ceasefire

Following the UN vote, Swedish ambassador Olof Skoog said the humanitarian convoys are ready to go.

But rescuers in Ghouta warned the bombing would not let up long enough for them to count the bodies after one of the bloodiest air assaults of the seven-year war.

Medical charities have reported attacks on a dozen hospitals but the Damascus government and Russia, its key ally, say they only target militants. They have accused insurgents in Ghouta of holding people as human shields.

Around 400,000 people are in hiding as the rebel-held suburb crumbles around them.

Nikki Haley, US ambassador to the UN, condemned Russia, Syria and Iran, saying: As they dragged out the negotiation, the bombs from Assads jets continued to fall. In the three days it took us to adopt this resolution, how many mothers lost their kids?Donald Trump wasted no time in sharing sweet moments with his family on social media on Saturday, just hours after he returned home from a business trip to India.

President Donald Trump's oldest son was in Asia to promote Trump-brand luxury real estate, and make an appearance at a global business summit held on Friday in New Dehli.

Donald Jr was originally slated to speak on the topic of 'Reshaping the Indo-Pacific - The New Era of Cooperation,' but his appearance was changed to a 'fireside chat' where he spoke about his business and steered clear of foreign policy issues at the last minute.

The change was made on the advice of ethics experts who aid Donald Jr and believed he should avoid weighing in on policy issues as a private citizen.

Once the summit wrapped, the father-of-five was quick to share how excited he was to see his family in New York City.

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Donald Trump wasted no time in sharing sweet moments with his family on social media on Saturday, just hours after he returned home from a business trip to India; The father-of-five is seen here kissing his youngest child, Chloe, on the cheek

One video starts focused on his daughter, Chloe, seated on a printed couch and wearing a tiny-sized white polo shirt, before panning to the right to reveal one of his sons, as well

'Still on the plane coming back from India and just got this,' Donald Jr wrote with a video of two of his children, posted on Saturday.

'Missing my monkeys so much. Cant wait to see them,' he added.

The clip starts focused on his daughter, seated on a blue and white printed couch, wearing a tiny-sized white polo shirt.

'Chloe, who are we gonna see today?' his wife's voice can be heard asking their daughter, from off camera.

'Daddy!' the little girl responds, with a wide grin.

Then the camera pans to the right, and we see one of his sons, who also answers, 'Daddy!' in similar fashion.

The two youngsters are clearly excited about their fathers return, with their energy growing as they feed off of each other, chanting 'Daddy! Daddy!' at intervals, and then in unison.

Late on Saturday, Donald Jr added several selfies with daughter Chloe to this Instagram feed

The father's Instagram story showed a snap of Spencer and another one of his son's laughing and playing, on a large trampoline

Once Donald Jr got back, he spent quality time with his youngest son at an indoor rock climbing facility

Once Donald Jr got back, he spent quality time with his youngest son at an indoor rock climbing facility and also shared a picture of his son trampolining.

'Great to finally be back with the monsters,' Donald Jr wrote with this post. 'Go little man go. Spencer honing his climbing skills.'

Donald Jr's son glided up the rock wall, taking care to focus on safety first in a harness outfitted with adjustable leg loops.

His lime green climbing shoes gave the little tyke the grip he needed to nimbly scale the wall, as his proud father cheered him on.

'Still on the plane coming back from India and just got this,' Donald Jr wrote with a video of two of his children, posted on Saturday, showing their excitement for his return

'Chloe, who are we gonna see today?' Vanessa Trump's voice can be heard asking their daughter, from off camera. 'Daddy!' the little girl responds, with a wide grin

Then the camera pans to the right, and we see one of his sons, who also answers, 'Daddy!'

Donald Jr's Instagram story showed a snap of Spencer and another one of his son's laughing and playing, on a large trampoline.

Late on Saturday, Donald Jr added several selfies with daughter Chloe to this Instagram feed.

'Chloe time,' he wrote, sharing three images with his little girl.

The two were huddled close, cheek to cheek, as the bright-eyed toddler focused on the camera while her dad smiled, mimicked his girl's facial expression, and finally gave her a kiss on the cheek in the photo series.

It's clear the 40-year-old was missing his brood while he was away on business. On Thursday while he was still in Mumbia, India, he shared an image of his youngest child enjoying a cup full of chocolaty goodness, nearly 8,000 miles away in New York City.

'Always great to get pics of the monsters when Im away on business trips,' he wrote with the photo. 'I wish I liked anything as much as Chloe likes Oreos on ice cream.'

Donald Jr and his wife, Vanessa, have five children together. They are Kai Madison, 10; Donald III, 9; Tristan Milos, 6; Spencer Frederick, 5; and Chloe Sophia, 3.

The two have been married since 2005.

The two youngsters are clearly excited about their fathers return, with their energy growing as they feed off of each other, chanting 'Daddy! Daddy!' at intervals, and then in unison

On Thursday while Donald Jr was still in Mumbia, India, he shared an image of his youngest child, Chloe, enjoying a cup of chocolaty goodness, nearly 8,000 miles away in New York City

Donald Jr shared this photo from India on Wednesday, writing: 'Thanks for a great lunch at the iconic Birla House, adjoining Gandhi Smriti. I enjoyed meeting New Delhis business leaders. Thanks to the hosts - Shobhana Bhartia, Deepak Parekh and Milind Deora @milinddeora'

Concerns were raised about Donald Jr's trip, in his status as a private US citizen and executive in the Trump organization, but also son of the President.

US Senator Bob Menendez, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, wrote to the US ambassador to India this week to ask for guarantees that the embassy and the State Department would not offer any support to Donald Jr, beyond helping the US Secret Service to provide him with security.

'I am concerned that [his] speech will send the mistaken message that he is speaking on behalf of the president, the administration or the United States government, not as a private individual, or that he is communicating official American policy,' Menendez wrote.

On Thursday, White House spokeswoman Lindsay Walters said the Trump administration 'takes seriously its obligation to ensure that government resources are not used to provide a private benefit to anyone.'

'Donald Trump Jr is a private individual and neither the State Department nor the White House has provided any support for this trip beyond coordinating with his Secret Service protection,' Walters said.Australian students aren't meeting the minimum requirement for maths and reading levels, according to a report released by Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth.

'We are still on average only middle of the pack by international comparisons, and some outcomes have worsened since the last Report Card,' the report said.

It also says that three in 10 Year 4 aren't meeting the minimum maths standards.

Three in ten Year 4 students aren't meeting the minimum standard for maths in Australia

One in four Year 4 students are below the minimum standard for science and one in five students are not at the required reading level.

Preschool attendance in Australia ranks 35th out of 40 OECD countries.

The number of four and five-year-olds attending school has also dropped.

The rate of parents reading to their children at age two at least once a week has dropped, but for Indigenous families this figure is on the rise.

News for high school students was slightly better with more staying until Year 12.

However, one in five weren't achieving the standard that they should be for maths, reading and science.

Education Minister Simon Birmingham said: 'I am confident that what we will be doing is going back to the states and saying that more is required in terms of the focus we place in those early years around foundational skills.

'We're not going to be passive players in education.'

'We're not going to be passive players in education': Senator Birmingham takes a stand after Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth report released

The Senator is expecting a report from David Gonski next month on the best ways to spend money to fund schools. A deal signed earlier this year also requires state governments to sign deals with the federal government to reccive extra funding from them.

Education is not the only area Australia is falling behind according to the report.

Australian children are falling behind on immunisation. The number of two-year-olds being fully immunised is down from 92.7 per cent in 2008 to 90.5 per cent in 2017, according to the Daily Telegraph.

Indigenous and Torres Strait Islander children are still vulnerable and overall Australian kids face rising rates of mental illness.

Australia children are also falling behind in terms of vaccination and mental illness

But it isn't all bad news.

Smoking among young people in Australia is the lowest in the developed world and Australia leads in terms of parents spending time with their children and life expectancy.

Countries that were looked at for the study include North America, most of Europe and 'and advanced Asian, Latin American and Oceanic economies'.

The report has been released every five years since 2008.Two elderly neighbours who allegedly fought each other with a lawnmower and a knife in a long-standing dispute over whether a patch of grass should be mowed have been named.

Eulogio Bersais, 81, and 72-year-old John Reynolds reportedly clashed over a one-metre patch of grass outside their houses in Port Macquarie, New South Wales on Saturday morning.

Mr Bersais was rushed to hospital with severe hand, torso and leg injuries.

An alleged dispute between Eulogio Bersais and John Reynolds ended when a knife was pulled and a lawnmower used as a weapon. Pictured: The scene of the alleged dispute

Mr Bersais received hand, torso and leg injuries and was taken to hospital

One neighbour said the altercation was caused by a dispute about the fact Mr Reynolds wants the strip of lawn, located between the two men's houses, mowed while Mr Bersais does not.

'It's only a small strip of grass - about half a metre by a metre - and the younger man wants it mowed and for some reason the older man does not,' the neighbour told the Daily Telegraph.

'It seems like the issue came to a head when the younger man was going to mow the strip.'

Police allege both a 'large knife' and a lawnmower were used as weapons during the fight.

Inspector Stuart Campbell from the Port Macquarie Police Station said officers were collecting video footage of the incident and speaking with other neighbours.

'There are a few different versions of what's occurred, so we're trying to decipher the most correct one at the moment,' he said.

'No one has yet been charged in relation to the incident.'

'There are a few different versions of what's occurred, so we're trying to decipher the most correct one at the moment,' said Stuart Campbell of Port Macquarie police

A police statement on Saturday read: 'Police are investigating after a neighbour dispute left a man with severe hand and leg injuries, caused by a lawn mower, in Port Macquarie.

'About 9.30am emergency services were called to Crestwood Drive, following reports two men were fighting.

'Police have been told a large knife and a lawn mower were used during the fight.

'On arrival, officers from Mid North Coast Police District found an 81-year-old man with injuries to his hands, torso and legs.

'He was treated on scene by NSW Ambulance paramedics before he was taken to Port Macquarie Hospital.

'A 72-year-old man is speaking with police at Port Macquarie Police Station. A crime scene has been established and inquiries are continuing.'More than 20 Red Cross workers have been sacked or have quit their roles since 2015 because of sexual misconduct.

The charity revealed that 21 staff members were either dismissed for paying for sexual services or resigned after internal inquiries. A further two suspected of sexual misconduct did not have their contracts renewed.

The Red Cross charity is the latest to make disclosures of staff behavious following Oxfam scandal

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is the latest charity to make disclosures about staff behaviour following the Oxfam sex scandal.

Set up in 1863 to help victims of war, the ICRC said its decentralised structure meant it was difficult to accurately compile overall figures.

Director-general Yves Daccord said: This behaviour is a betrayal of the people and the communities we are there to serve.

It is against human dignity and we should have been more vigilant in preventing this.

The ICRC has more than 17,000 staff members worldwide. We are concerned that incidents that should be reported have not yet been reported, or were reported but not properly handled. We are taking action to address this.

Following the Oxfam scandal, the British Red Cross admitted a small number of cases of harassment reported in the UK  believed to be up to five. However, no British workers are among those who have been forced to quit.

Childrens charity Plan International also issued a statement yesterday, admitting six cases of sexual abuse and exploitation of children between July 2016 and June 2017.

One involved a staff member who was dismissed, while the others involved volunteers or partner organisations, whose contracts were terminated. Five of the cases were of a criminal nature and were reported to local authorities.

Director-general Yves Daccord , pictured here, said This behaviour is a betrayal of the people and the communities we are there to serve'

During the same period there were nine incidents of sexual harassment or misconduct by staff on other adults, which led to seven dismissals and two warnings about inappropriate language.

Plan International campaigns for childrens rights and provides aid for more than 50 countries.

Its UK chief executive Tanya Barron said: The painful but important truth to acknowledge is that sometimes things can go wrong. When they do, we are deeply sorry.

None of the incidents involved British staff or citizens.A father who was concerned about his teenage son posting photos of guns on social media alerted the police - only to discover that the boy was hiding something equally troubling.

Miami-Dade police received a call last week, just a few days after the Parkland school shooting, from a Miami father who said his 18-year-old son, Sean Mesa, had been posting images of himself holding guns on Snapchat and Instagram.

An officer went to Dr. Michael Krop Senior High, where Mesa is a senior, to speak to the teen about his fascination with guns, the Miami Herald reports.

Sean Mesa, 18, was arrested on Friday after his father contacted police about disturbing photos he was posting on Snapchat and Instagram

Mesa, a senior at Dr. Michael Krop Senior High in Miami, was posting images of himself holding guns, like in the picture above

Mesa's father became concerned about the photos and alerted Miami-Dade police who confiscated Mesa's two cell phones

Even after his phones were taken away, Mesa posted the above image of a pistol resting on his lap with the caption: 'Now they watching so I ain't stopping

Mesa reportedly told the officer that he 'likes guns and it was his right to post on social media whatever he wished'.

The father was called to the school and he agreed to turn over his son's two cell phones to police.

However, that didn't stop the teen from posting the alarming images. Police said Mesa used another electronic device to share a Snapchat photo of a pistol resting on his lap. In the caption, he wrote: 'Now they watching so I ain't stopping.'

A warrant stated that the Snapchat post alarmed students and staff at the high school, who were still on high alert following the massacre of 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland after 19-year-old gunman Nikolas Cruz opened fire with an AK-47.

According to the Miami Herald, the Secret Service examined Mesa's cell phones and found a disturbing video of a child under the age of 10 being sexually abused.

Mesa, pictured above in court, has been charged with improper display of a firearm and child pornography after police found a video on the teen's phone showing a child being sexually abused

Mesa's father contacted police a few days after 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz (pictured) killed 17 people at a Florida high school

Police said the video had been sent to two other people in a group chat.

Mesa was arrested Friday at the school and charged with possessing child porn. Because of the gun photos, the teen was also charged with improper display of a firearm.

If convicted, Mesa will face time behind bars and could have to register as a sex offender.Friends of a senior US Government official who told police she was sexually assaulted by Brendan Cox have accused him of acting like a bully by denying the claims.

A source close to the woman, who alleged she was assaulted by Mr Cox a month after he left Save The Children over a similar incident, said the victim stood fully by her version of events.

She is truthful, genuine and reliable, said the source.

He clearly hasnt learned anything. Bullies will be bullies. She has had a tough time.

The source was responding to Mr Coxs comments after The Mail on Sundays disclosure two weeks ago of his alleged attack of a woman he met at Harvard University late in 2015.

Mr Cox said the allegations were a massive exaggeration. He is also understood to have called the woman disturbed and suggested she was pressured into complaining by her husband.

Friends of a senior US Government official who told police she was sexually assaulted by Brendan Cox have accused him of acting like a bully by denying the claims

This newspaper is aware of the womans identity. She is in her 30s and we have spoken to her since the incident happened but agreed to hide her identity. She now works at a high level in the US administration and held a similar post at the time Mr Cox is said to have groped and abused her.

When Mr Cox resigned last week from two charities set up in the name of his late MP wife Jo Cox, he apologised for harassing women at Save The Children, where he worked until he left in disgrace in September 2015. But he denied the separate US allegation.

The woman was so outraged by his alleged behaviour in 2015, she complained to police in Cambridge, Massachusetts, home to Harvard.

Under the heading offender, the police report records the complaint as assault and battery. It says the woman went to a restaurant with Mr Cox and while there and on the walk back, he touched her ass, grabbed her by the hips several times, pulled her hair and forced his thumb into her mouth in a sexual way.

The woman reported Brendan Cox to American police, claiming he assaulted her late at night at Harvard University in 2015  although Mr Cox strongly denies the allegation. Above, part of her police report (we have obscured details to protect her identity)

He pulled her towards him and touched her stomach even though she had made it clear she wanted no sexual contact. She received a text later from Cox that read, Are you touching yourself?

He allegedly plied her with drink and kept saying, Lets go to your place or Lets go to my place after she had told him she wanted no physical contact. Unwanted touching took place between midnight and 1.30am and she felt extremely uncomfortable. The report says the woman did not want police to investigate further because she feared repercussions from the suspect.

Mr Coxs refusal to make a full apology for multiple allegations of sexual misconduct prompted a stinging rebuke yesterday from Sophie Walker, leader of the Womens Equality Party.

Ms Walker spoke after receiving a message from Mr Cox after she accused him of trying to minimise his wrongdoing.

Ms Walker said she was astonished that Mr Cox tweeted her: Would be good to talk to you about your views on what I should do.Former president Bill Clinton could have avoided impeachment if he had just settled the Paula Jones sexual harassment lawsuit against him out of court sooner, those involved in the case have revealed.

'The blue dress would have never been discovered, the lawsuit would have been dropped,' former Jones adviser, Susan Carpenter says on Sunday's sixth episode of Fox News' Scandalous series.

She adds: 'The Clintons have won many battles, but they lose major wars, and this was one of them.'

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When asked by former Deputy Independent Counsel Sol Wisenberg in 1998 to confirm an affidavit denying the Lewinsky affair was 'utterly false', Clinton gets into semantics

'It depends upon what the meaning of the word 'is' is. If 'is' means is and never has been, that is notthat is one thing. If it means there is none, that was a completely true statement,' Clinton said with what seems like a smirk on his face while trying to defend a false affidavit

Clinton's January 1998 deposition, in which he infamously denied having sexual relations with White House intern Monica Lewinsky, effectively gave special counsel Kenn Starr the perjury and obstruction of justice cases he needed for congress to begin looking into the president's misconduct.

The Jones lawsuit, where the former Arkansas state employee claimed the then-governor propositioned her, was eventually settled out of court for $850,000, but the damage had already been done.

Starr began his misconduct investigation focusing on alleged abuses surrounded the Whitewater investigation, the firing of White House travel agents, and the alleged misuse of FBI files.

But it was the Lewinsky revelation as he looked into the Jones case that gave Starr a case against Clinton.

Former U.S. attorney, Joseph DiGenova added: 'The complete strategy by [Clinton's] legal team to stretch this out and to use the publicity for their own aggrandizement was a terrible mistake. They hurt the president, they made him go through a deposition in essence forcing him to commit a crime.'

It was the Monica Lewinsky revelation as Starr looked into the Paula Jones case that gave the special counsel a case against Clinton. Pictured is a false affidavit where Lewinsky claims 'there is no sex of any kind, in any manner, shape or form with president Clinton'

Sol Wisenberg said: 'I guess because the president was not having sex with Ms Lewinsky at the moment that the question was asked by Paula Jones' attorneys, then it was technically true'

Months after lying under oath, Clinton would become the first sitting U.S. president to testify as the subject of a grand jury investigation.

During his grand jury testimony, Clinton questioned the exact meaning of the word 'is' in an attempt to defend a false affidavit in which Lewinsky claimed 'there is no sex of any kind, in any manner, shape or form with president Clinton'.

When asked by former Deputy Independent Counsel Sol Wisenberg, to confirm the affidavit was 'utterly false', the former president gets into semantics.

'It depends upon what the meaning of the word 'is' is. If 'is' means is and never has been, that is notthat is one thing. If it means there is none, that was a completely true statement,' Clinton said with what seems like a smirk on his face.

The Jones lawsuit, where the former Arkansas state employee claimed the then-governor propositioned her, was eventually settled out of court for $850,000. Paula Jones is pictured above in 2016

'The blue dress would have never been discovered, the lawsuit would have been dropped,' former Jones adviser, Susan Carpenter says on Fox News' Scandalous. Clinton is pictured with Lewinsky above

Wisenberg said: 'I guess because the president was not having sex with Ms Lewinsky at the moment that the question was asked by Paula Jones' attorneys, then it was technically true.'

Of course, as the world now knows, the president would later admit to the country during a televised address to the affair with Lewinsky, calling it 'wrong'.

By the end of 1998, Clinton became the second president ever to be impeached before being acquitted by a Senate impeachment trial on February 1999.

Former Minority Counsel to the House Judiciary Committee, Julian Epstein said: 'You realize that what is happening is incredibly important and incredibly historic, and kind of a once in a lifetime thing. It does not mean that any of us enjoyed it, but we knew it was important, and we knew it was important to be handled well.'

The penultimate episode of Scandalous airs Sunday, February 25, at 8pm on Fox News.Heroic British troops suffering battlefield stress will be able to turn to a dedicated round-the-clock helpline for the first time from today  thanks to The Mail on Sunday.

Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson has announced that the crucial service will be launched from midday  a landmark victory for our hard-hitting Helpline For Heroes campaign.

This newspaper has been calling for the vital move for the past two months in a bid to stem the shocking level of suicides among our Armed Forces.

Now Mr Williamson has pledged an extra 20 million over the next ten years to fund the helpline, and other new mental health initiatives.

This newspaper has been calling for the vital move for the past two months in a bid to stem the shocking level of suicides among our Armed Forces

Troops and their families are convinced that the long-overdue helpline will reduce the tide of troops suffering post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other mental conditions.

The Mail on Sunday launched its campaign last month with the former head of the British Army, Lord Dannatt, after the death of Royal Engineer Nathan Hunt. The 39-year-old had previously served in a desert reconnaissance unit with Prince Harry in Afghanistan, where he won a gallantry award for identifying Taliban roadside bombs.

Combat stress in numbers 400 troops have estimated to have killed themselves since 1995

troops have estimated to have killed themselves since 1995 393 troops medically discharged from UK Armed Forces in 2016/17 due to mental disorders

troops medically discharged from UK Armed Forces in 2016/17 due to mental disorders 6,137 troops assessed by MoD for mental health issues last year

troops assessed by MoD for mental health issues last year 317 new cases of post-traumatic stress disorder in the Armed Force in 2016/17

new cases of post-traumatic stress disorder in the Armed Force in 2016/17 1,630 new cases of adjustment disorders among UK troops last year

new cases of adjustment disorders among UK troops last year 1,672 new cases of mood disorders among UK troops last year

new cases of mood disorders among UK troops last year 96% rise in Royal Marines diagnosed with mental disorders since 2007

rise in Royal Marines diagnosed with mental disorders since 2007 129% rise in officers across Armed Forces seeking mental healthcare since 2007 Advertisement

But this extremely dangerous role wrought havoc with his mental health and, suffering from PTSD, he hanged himself on New Years Day.

Last night his mother Maria Hunt, 64, said of the new helpline: It is fantastic news, Im thrilled to bits. I am so glad that something good has come out of Nathans death.

And his widow Lainey, 41, said: This is brilliant news. Soldiers need someone to talk to. A lot of lads are put off talking to doctors and counsellors face-to-face, so the helpline will be very useful.

The free Military Mental Health Helpline  on 0800 323 4444  will be funded by the Ministry of Defence and run with the charity Combat Stress, which already provides a more limited service for those who have left the Armed Forces.

Crucially, the new helpline will be integrated with the MoDs existing mental health services. Officials hope that sharing information will spare troops having to retell their harrowing stories when they call.

Last night, Mr Williamson said: I want to commend The Mail on Sundays Helpline For Heroes campaign for highlighting this critically important and often hidden issue.

Gavin Mr Williamson has pledged an extra 20 million over the next ten years to fund the helpline, and other new mental health initiatives

It is our duty to ensure we do all we can for our world-class personnel. I will be working personally with the service chiefs to make sure there isnt a single person in the Armed Forces who doesnt know where to turn in times of trouble.

The tragic death that inspired MoS to campaign for a 24-hour helpline hailed by the parents who lost their son Nathan Hunts parents welcomed the helpline last night. His father Derek, 66  a former soldier who lives in Lincoln  said: Nathan was a hero in life and now the helpline, which you could say has come about because of his death, will mean he saves lives now and for years to come. I thank Lord Dannatt and The Mail on Sunday for making this happen. Nathans mother Maria, 64  left with her husband  said: It is nice to know someone in a dark place as Nathan was will have someone to ring. It should feel like they are calling a friend. Advertisement

The 24/7 helpline was also welcomed by Lord Dannatt, whose previous calls for such an initiative were rejected by top brass who baulked at the costs of setting it up and staffing it with around 40 counsellors with military expertise.

He said: Congratulations to Gavin Williamson and to The Mail on Sunday for realising there was a major issue that affected the mental health of our serving soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines, and their families. Sadly, there was no one to save Warrant Officer Nathan Hunt. Now, the helpline is there for all to call in those blackest, flashback moments. We owe so much to those who serve to protect our peace and freedom, the least we can do is make sure we are looking after them 24/7.

Lord Dannatts inspiration in calling for a helpline was former RAF sniper Luke Huskisson, who suffered PTSD after seeing his best friend killed in combat. He had a breakdown at 2am one night, and recalled: I was in a terrible state and was going to kill myself. But there was no help from the military at that time of night. The helpline is too late for me, my career has gone, but it is worth it for all the serving troops who might be suffering in silence.

Our campaign was also backed by General Sir Mike Jackson; Field Marshal Lord Guthrie; former Gulf War Top Gun John Nichol; Chantelle Taylor, the first British woman to kill in combat; and soldiers who won the Military Cross for bravery.

The numbers of troops diagnosed with mental disorders continues to rise, to more than 5,000 cases last year. A record 393 soldiers were medically discharged in 2016/17 due to mental health issues, and around 400 personnel have killed themselves since 1995.

Other members of Prince Harrys unit suffered mental issues as a result of their service, including a sergeant who tried three times to commit suicide.A former female employee at Save The Children last night called for the charitys chairman, public relations mogul Sir Alan Parker, to step down.

Alexia Pepper de Caires gave Save The Childrens chief executive Kevin Watkins until tomorrow to respond to a list of demands in the wake of the sexual harassment scandal.

She also called on Sir Alan and disgraced former executives Brendan Cox and Justin Forsyth to pay compensation to help prevent further sexual harassment.

In an open letter to Mr Watkins, Ms de Caires said: I am one of the many women who suffered at Save The Children while it was overseen by Justin Forsyth and Alan Parker.

Alexia Pepper de Caires (pictured) wrote an open letter to Save The Children's chief executive Kevin Watkins demanding that disgraced former executives including Brendan Cox pay compensation

She added that Sir Alan cannot be the best person to lead Save The Children through root and branch reform when he is one of the roots.

Ms de Caires said she had made a statement to the charity in 2015 after witnessing an alleged sexual assault by Mr Cox on another woman who worked there. Disciplinary proceedings against Mr Cox were called off when he resigned suddenly.

Ms de Caires also said she had been left more vulnerable when her named witness statement ended up in the hands of [Mr Cox] who left with his reputation intact.

She told Mr Watkins: You will immediately and publicly request contributions to be made by Brendan Cox, Justin Forsyth and Alan Parker for a fund to compensate women for their time in securing safety for women in the workplace.

A spokesman for Sir Alan denied any wrongdoing, while friends close to him said: He has always insisted that the investigation went further than the charitys guidelines, with the hiring of a QC and independent trustees.

Under his watch, Save The Children has looked after more children and raised more money than ever before.

A spokesman for Mr Forsyth denied the claims.Boris Johnson loves the trappings of office so much he has hopped on specially chartered RAF planes to gallivant around the globe on 34 occasions in the past year  at a whopping cost to the taxpayer of 180,000. Nine trips were to Brussels or Paris, which is a two-hour Eurostar ride away. Never has a Foreign Secretary travelled so far, at such cost, for so little return, snarls Labours Lord Adonis.

Farmers hearing a Michael Gove speech last week missed a cheeky jibe at Theresa Mays comment that running through fields of wheat was the naughtiest thing she had done. Tucked away in Goves speech was this: We dont want everyone walking through fields of wheat, it may connect us to the countryside but its not always right on farmland. Of course, fratricidal Gove has done naughtier things, as his knifed former friend Boris can testify.

A year after Mrs May hatched her disastrous snap Election plan, the chaotic operation at Tory HQ remains in denial. Happy birthday to the Rt Hon Ben Gummer, MP for Ipswich, chirruped a daily email bulletin from CCHQ last week. Small but perfectly formed Mr Gummer was turfed out by the voters in June.

Ex-Tory minister Baroness Angela Browning was taking her husband to hospital for a check-up when her heart stopped

Angela's heartfelt praise for the NHS

Ex-Tory Minister Baroness Angela Browning was in the right place when she had a heart attack. I had taken husband David for a routine check at my local Bournemouth hospital and was queuing for a coffee when my heart stopped and I collapsed, Angela, 71, said. It turned out the chap behind me was a senior consultant. The doctors fixed my heart and I now feel fit as a fiddle. Im still thanking my lucky stars  and the NHS!

The wheels are coming off Theresa Mays bid to combat Jeremy Corbyns yoof movement after two recent events organised by young Tory Stephen Canning ended in fisticuffs  the most recent, an alleged girl-on-girl glassing attempt in a Whitehall pub. Culture Secretary Matt Hancock, due to be star turn at a Canning karaoke night shortly, has now discovered hes washing his hair that evening.

A born Brexiteer...

Fresh from celebrating his sixth child  christened Sixtus, of course  Tory Brexiteer Jacob Rees-Mogg is also about to welcome a patriotically timed niece or nephew. Sister Annunziata, who had a tilt at getting into the Commons herself, is expecting her second child on June 23, the anniversary of the EU referendum. Top of the names list will be Brexitus or Brexita, says Nancy, hopefully in jest.

Legendary Guardian newspaper political commentator Ian Aitken, 90, who died last week, departed in a fitting manner for a proud champagne socialist. In Ians final hours, a loved one dipped a sponge in the finest bubbly and smeared it gently on his lips. A fitting finale for a Leftie gent and one of the great political scribes of his generation.The Defence Secretary, Gavin Williamson, deserves praise and gratitude. Today, on Mr Williamsons orders, the Defence Ministry will open a 24-hour helpline for servicemen and women suffering from combat stress.

Many will have cause to be grateful in future for this necessary and compassionate move, for which The Mail on Sunday has been campaigning since the beginning of this year.

The helpline is guaranteed for at least ten years, and it is hard to see how any future government of any stripe could want to reverse Mr Williamsons decision.

This laudable outcome is also a tribute to many others  especially to Warrant Officer Nathan Hunt, a comrade-in-arms of Prince Harry in Afghanistan.

The Defence Secretary, Gavin Williamson, deserves praise and gratitude. Today, on Mr Williamsons orders, the Defence Ministry will open a 24-hour helpline for servicemen and women suffering from combat stress (stock image)

This fine soldier took his own life after suffering severe and lasting stress. He had confided to fellow soldiers in the Royal Engineers that he was struggling to cope with the effects of battlefield trauma, and described the care provided to him by the Army as useless.

Others in this plight will now always have somewhere to turn, and this is surely a fitting memorial to him. Nothing can restore the honoured dead to us, alas, but if their loss helps to bring about genuine change for the better they have not died in vain. Many others in the Armed Forces, from General the Lord Dannatt down, have joined this campaign, and must today be feeling a quiet satisfaction that their good advice has been heeded.

Governments, and indeed senior military commanders, are not always ready to give way, even to good arguments made by good people. In this case, we can see what can be done when a free press, a grassroots discontent, a growing tide of military opinion, and an intelligent and flexible politician come together to make a good thing happen.

Case of #NotMeToo

We are only just beginning to grasp the extent of the cover-up of abuse and harassment at high-profile politicised charities. The Mail on Sundays revelations about the alleged behaviour of Brendan Cox, widower of the murdered Labour MP Jo Cox, have caused the Left-wing establishment to shrivel back into its shell like a salted snail.

Surely, this is the sort of behaviour that they have all been condemning at top volume for months, from Hollywood to Hackney. Yet voices that were loud and strident in the denunciation of Harvey Weinstein, and which immediately assumed the guilt of anyone accused, suddenly falter and grow hesitant when one of their own is exposed.

Is it now a case of #NotMeToo? It is mainstream newspapers, such as The Mail on Sunday, which have pursued this story far more thoroughly than the Left-wing media.

Governments, and indeed senior military commanders, are not always ready to give way, even to good arguments made by good people (stock image)

Both Mr Cox and his boss, Justin Forsyth were not only allowed to walk away when serious allegations were made against them, they failed upwards, slipping into new jobs better than the ones they had quietly left.

As one former Save the Children worker rightly asks, if white women with masters degrees are not safe in a charitys London workplace, what chance does a young black woman in Haiti have?

Having fashionable opinions, and friends in high places, should not protect anyone, anywhere.Sir Philip Green outlined his plan to sell Top Shop, his flagship high street brand, to a Chinese buyer over dinner with two bankers, it has been reported.

The Pensions Regulator is on alert amid after rumours that Sir Philip is considering a sale of part of his retail business Arcadia, which he previously dismissed as 'malicious rumour-mongering'.

It has a 565 million pension deficit, which Green has promised to plug with 50 million payments over the next decade.

Sir Philip Green had dinner to discuss the sale of Topshop it was reported

A leaked email written by David Barraclough, an HSBC managing director, details a dinner he and the bank's chief executive Ian Stuart had with Sir Philip.

The email, was written in February 2016, less than two months before the collapse of BHS and was called to discuss the problem of who would succeed Green at Arcadia, the Sunday Times reported.

Green's family-owned fashion group Arcadia has a turnover of about 2 billion each year but he was said to be concerned his children Brandon and Chloe would not be able to succeed him as chairman.

Barraclough emailed colleagues to say 'as emotions were running high, PG's thinking was the need to sell and having heard my comments' he 'sought our assistance and offered to meet any Chinese prospective buyer we consider appropriate'.

'After further discussions, PG agreed to source a sale solution. The strategy should be to sell Topshop/Topman separate to the rest of the Arcadia portfolio of lesser brands.'

Proceeds from the sale could be used to pay down Arcadia's pension deficit and Sir Philip realised it was his responsibility, Barraclough said.

Sir Philip is believed to have held talks with China's Shandong Ruyi textiles group, which owns Aquascutum and Gieves & Hawkes, and with US listed brands owner Oxford Industries.

BHS collapsed in 2015 and had a pension black hole of 571 million. Sir Philip later paid out 363 million to help plug the gap

Green sold his BHS business for 1 in 2014 but it collapsed less than a year later leaving a 571 million pension hole. He later paid out 363 million to help plug the gap.

Former BHS directors face possible censure from the Insolvency Service which is examining the collapse of BHS in 2015.

It is understood that a verdict on its investigation, which was originally not expected until 2019, is now due 'imminently'.

If found guilty of any wrongdoing, former directors could face disqualification.A man has died after being shot twice by police when a Taser failed to stop him from lunging at police with a knife.

The 31-year-old man from the Gold Coast was shot after police were called to a domestic incident in Brisbane's bayside suburb Wakerley on Sunday morning.

Police attempted to use a taser on the man before shooting him twice just before 10am.

A man has died after being tasered and shot by police - following an urgent triple-0 call about a 'man with a knife trying to break into a house'

Police have closed off the street in Wakerley, Brisbane to conduct an investigation

Police had tasered the man before retreating and were 'in fear of their lives'

Police say reports an officer was stabbed during the incident are incorrect

The man was taken to Princess Alexandra Hospital in a critical condition - but later died

'Police were in fear of their lives at the time,' Detective Chief Superintendent Mick Niland said.

'They tasered the man before retreating approximately 60 metres down the road.'

It is believed one of the officers, who were both junior members of the force, shot at the man twice.

The man was taken to Princess Alexandra Hospital in a critical condition - but later died. Police say reports an officer was stabbed during the incident are incorrect.

Residents of the small well-kept street told Daily Mail Australia they have 'no idea what is going on.'

'Police were in fear of their lives at the time,' Detective Chief Superintendent Mick Niland said

Queensland Police were called to an incident in Brisbane 's bayside suburb Wakerley on Sunday morning

One police officer shot at the 31-year-old man - he is believed to have been hit twice

The man was know to police as well as the people in the home who called triple-0

'I heard it on the news and poked my head out and found the whole street blocked off,' one woman said.

'I didn't hear the gunshots or anything - it is very concerning.'

Police said the man was 'armed and enraged' 'trying to break into the house' before police was called.

The 31-year-old is thought to have bikie links and is known to police.

Police said the man was 'armed and enraged' 'trying to break into the house' before police was called

Police said the man was 'armed and enraged' 'trying to break into the house' before police was calledUS President Donald Trump and Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto postponed plans for the Mexican leader's first visit to the White House, after a testy phone call involving Trump's push for a border wall, a senior US official said on Saturday.

'The two leaders agreed now was not the immediate right time for a visit but that they would have their teams continue to talk and work together,' the official said.

Mexican officials had been talking about a summit between Trump and Pena Nieto in the next few weeks, without specifying when.

The two leaders spoke for about 50 minutes on Tuesday, according to the Washington Post, which first reported the delay earlier on Saturday

Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto (left) is postponing a summit with Trump after the US President reportedly told him he'd keep saying Mexico will pay for the border wall

But the discussion led to an impasse when Trump would not agree to publicly affirm Mexico's position that it would not fund construction of the wall along the US-Mexico border.

A Mexican official said Trump lost his temper during the conversation, the newspaper reported.

But it said US officials described Trump as frustrated and exasperated, because he believed it was unreasonable for Pena Nieto to want him to back off his campaign promise of forcing Mexico to pay for the wall.

Mexicos foreign ministry said it had nothing to say about the call, other than a statement on Tuesday that said Trump had expressed condolences for a helicopter crash in Mexico and both sides had committed to advancing the bilateral agenda of trade, migration and security.

Trump asked Congress for $23 billion for border security, most of it for building the wall, but he has also said the US could recoup the cost through tariffs or taxes on remittances to Mexico

The wall, a key item for Trump's political base of supporters, has become a sticking point in talks to keep alive a federal program that protects from deportation young people who were brought to the United States illegally as children.

In his latest budget proposal to Congress, Trump requested $23 billion for border security, most of it for building the wall.

Pena Nieto, who met Trump in July on the sidelines of a G20 summit, canceled an earlier meeting after Trump threatened to impose a tax on Mexican imports to pay for the wall.

Trump also met the Mexican president once during the 2016 election campaign.Heavy rain, thunderstorms and flash floods are predicted to hit New South Wales, Canberra and Queensland.

Residents in Wollongong, Nowra, Bowral, Canberra, Goulburn and Yass should brace for severe thunderstorms and heavy rainfall that 'may lead to flash flooding in the next few hours', the Bureau of Meteorology warned.

The Bureau has also issued flood warnings for Charleys Creek, Dawson River, Bohle River, Mary River, Warrill Creek, Logan and Albert Rivers and the Gulf Country in Queensland.

With Queensland already being hit with up to 300mm rain this weekend, experts say it is one of the worst starts to the wet season on record.

Scroll down for video

Severe weather warnings have been issued for Queensland and New South Wales

It's been a gloomy day in Sydney with clouds on the harbour bridge setting the scene for an expected steady downpour of rain expected to continue until Monday

There has been a steady downpour in Sydney across Sunday afternoon, with showers expected to continue until Monday.

Some parts of Canberra were hit with 60mm of rain within two hours on Sunday, on top of heavy rain overnight.

More rain is expected for the afternoon as people battled flooded homes and road closures, including a major highway that allows trucks to bypass the city.

The State Emergency Service has advised people in Queensland to keep clear of creeks and storm drains and refrain from driving, walking or riding through floodwaters.

A social media post showing cloud cover in Brisbane as Queensland continues to get hit with severe weathert

The news of more bad weather comes as flash flooding in Queensland caused havoc and led to dramatic rescues of trapped residents.

A 66-year-old man was rescued by helicopter on Saturday after he became lost on a walking track in Gordonvale in southern Cairns.

Two people were rescued at 7pm Friday night after driving their car into floodwaters on Mount Sampson Road in Kobble Creek, north west of Brisbane.

The tourists' car had swept from a causeway and they were washed 200m downstream.

A Brisbane resident noted it was 'raining cats and dogs'

Canberra looked under water in parts as floods hit the nations capital

A dramatic rescue took place when four people were trapped in cars in Hervey Bay, Queensland

On Thursday night four people were trapped in two cars in Hervey Bay after trying to cross a flooded creek, while a man was charged after he abandoned a flooded car with two puppies inside. The dogs have since been re-homed.

A man abandoned his flooded car in Archer River Queensland, leaving two puppies in the car. Police charged the man and the puppies reportedly have a new home.

Queensland State Emergency Services responded to 400 calls for help in the 24-hours up to Saturday.

A spokesperson said most of the jobs had been 'leaking roofs' and people sandbagging their homes in response to the 'heavy rain'.

He said about 10 people had been rescued from floodwaters which he said was 'quite good' considering it had been 'fairly widespread'.

Friday's deluge continued into early Saturday morning, with several areas receiving more than their average monthly rainfall in 24 hours.

Emergency services have warned motorists in Queensland's south east are warned to not drive through flooded roads

Emergency vehicles coming to the aid of people trapped in flood waters in Queensland as people were rescued from cars

Tamborine Mountain received the most rain with more than 200mm in 24 hours, while Park Ridge had 167mm, Nambour 157mm and more than 150mm falling in some Brisbane suburbs.

SEQ Water has advised several dams are spilling and outflows have increased.

This motorist decided to take the risk and found themselves in a spot of bother

It appears some motorists aren't getting the message with Queensland Police having to help people get out of trouble near BrisbaneA man has been accused of stabbing his mother to death in her hospital room in Tallahassee, Florida.

Alexander J. Sparks, 22, was arrested at Capital Regional Medical Center after nurses saw him in Liese C. Spark's room, just before she was found dead, according to a press release from the Leon County Sheriff's Office.

The son told investigators his mother was a bad influence on him, LCSO Lieutenant Grady Jordan told the Tallahassee Democrat.

He was a caretaker for his mother, who was disabled and home-bound, according to a GoFundMe page she created in December 2016 to help her and her son with moving expenses.

Alexander J. Sparks, 22, was arrested at Capital Regional Medical Center in Tallahassee, Florida after nurses saw him in the room of his mother, Liese C. Spark, and then placing a knife on a nurse's desk, just before his mother was found dead of apparently multiple stab wounds

His mother, age 57, was reportedly found dead of what appeared to be multiple stab wounds after he rson was seen exiting her room, and placing a knife on a nurse's desk in the hallway.

In December 2016, the mother described Sparks as a 'wonderful son,' on the fundraising website where she had posted asking for financial assistance with an upcoming move in the city of Tallahassee.

'My son has managed to graduate high school, learned to play several different instruments, stay out of trouble and work a part time job,' she added.

'All at the same time he is responsible for taking care of all of our normal everyday chores such as cleaning and cooking. In addition he has also become my caretaker as I am unable to walk.'

The incident occurred at around 10.00 pm Eastern on Friday, on the fourth floor of Capital Regional Medical Center in Tallahassee

The LCSO statement said her son arrived to the fourth floor of the facility at around 10.00 pm Eastern on Friday.

Jordan told the Democrat that the woman's son brought the knife with him to the hospital.

Once there, he took a surgical mask and glove from a nurse's supply station, the statement said.

He placed the mask over his face, and the gloves on his hands, and entered his mother's room, where the LCSO reported he stayed for several minutes before nurse's were alerted by her beeping heart monitor.

The son told investigators his mother was a bad influence on him, LCSO Lieutenant Grady Jordan told the Tallahassee Democrat

Nurses entered his mother's room while the son was present, left the room, and then the son emerged from the room, 'seconds later,' according to the statement, holding a knife.

The son reportedly place the knife on a nurse's desk that was found in the hallway, and proceeded to an elevator where he was met by an LSCO Sheriff's deputy and hospital security.

The son was immediately taken into custody, transported to the Leon County Detention Facility, and charged with homicide, as a willful killing and premeditated murder.

The deceased woman's son currently remains in custody at the Leon County Jail. No bond has been set.

The pair had moved to Tallahassee 13 years ago, according to the fundraising website.

According to social media, it appears they first moved to Florida from Kansas City, Missouri.

The son's father and grandparents have preceded his mother in death.

It is not immediately known why the mother was hospitalized.The death of a crocodile in the Whitsundays has caused concerns for locals after its body was found tangled in a crab pot.

The crocodile was found where Goorganga Creek meets the Proserpine River.

Mark Norman, Whitsunday Crocodile Safari guide, said at first he was concerned the 4.1 metre crocodile had been illegally killed.

Mark Norman said he was starting to get to know the creature while doing his tours as it always swam in the opposite direction

But he clarified that he had been informed the struggling crocodile had been reported days earlier.

The Department of Environment and Science confirmed to Mr Norman the crocodile had been reported to them on February 17.

He said he doesn't blame them for the animal's death but found it frustrating they were based in Mackay, 120 kilometres south of where Mr Norman found the crocodile's body.

Mr Norman said to Yahoo7: 'It's also a very dangerous position for them to step into - if I could've done it myself I would have jumped in and cut the rope with a knife.'

He said he was starting to get to know this particular crocodile, recognisable due to missing a piece of its tail, while on tours.

It would typically swim in the opposite direction, he said.

A Whitsunday Fauna Rescue Association volunteer said she informed the Department of Environment and Science of the crocodile's situation while it was still alive

Liza Sparke, Whitsunday Fauna Rescue Association volunteer, said she informed the Department of Environment and Science, formerly the Department of Environment and Heritage Protection, while the animal was still alive.

'At this point I was optimistic that appropriate action would be taken in reasonable time. I had another call later from the original people that reported the situation to say that things were not looking good, that the croc's head was now underwater and there were bubbles presenting on the water surface,' according to the Daily Mercury.

A spokesperson for the Queensland Department of Environment and Science said because the crocodile was submerged there was nothing that could be done.

The statement continued: 'As the area is relatively remote, the carcass will be left in situ to deteriorate naturally and wildlife officers will continue to monitor the area.'President Donald Trump has called Rep. Adam Schiff a 'total phony' and fired back at the new Democrat memo justifying the FBI's methods to obtain wiretaps on a former Trump campaign advisor.

Trump approved the release of the memo, which defends the FBI's applications to obtain Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) court warrants to conduct surveillance of Carter Page, saying that British former spy Christopher Steele's 'dirty dossier' was only part of the information used in the applications.

'The Democrat memo response on government surveillance abuses is a total political and legal BUST. Just confirms all of the terrible things that were done. SO ILLEGAL!,' Trump tweeted on Saturday night.

Schiff, the US House Intelligence Committee's top Democrat, responded: 'Wrong again, Mr. President. It confirms the FBI acted appropriately and that Russian agents approached two of your advisors, and informed your campaign that Russia was prepared to help you by disseminating stolen Clinton emails.'

Scroll down for full memo

Trump has called Rep. Adam Schiff (right) a 'total phony' and fired back at the new Democrat memo justifying the FBI's methods to obtain wiretaps on a former Trump campaign advisor

'This whole Witch Hunt is an illegal disgrace...and Obama did nothing about Russia!,' Trump said in another tweet.

Trump wasted no time singling out Schiff, whose Congressional district includes Burbank, California.

Quoting Fox News, the President wrote: 'Congressman Schiff omitted and distorted key facts.' Trump added, 'So, what else is new. He is a total phony!'

Schiff responded: 'Wait a minute, Mr. President. Am I a phony, or sleazy, a monster or little? Surely you know the key to a good playground nickname is consistency. I thought you were supposed to be good at this.'

The new memo asserted several key points, including that the FBI presented the FISA court with other evidence than the Steele dossier, which was compiled on behalf of Hillary Clinton's campaign.

The memo also said that the FBI began investigating Page's ties to Russia seven weeks before receiving the Steele dossier.

The new memo also states that the warrant applications 'did not otherwise rely on Steel's reporting, including any "salacious" allegations about Trump, and the FBI never paid Steele for this reporting.'

The new Democrat memo also asserts that FBI lovers Peter Strzok and Lisa Page (no relation to Carter), whose anti-Trump text messages were revealed after they were removed from the Mueller probe, did not sign the affidavits used to obtain the surveillance warrants.

Also newly revealed in the memo is information about the four FISA court judges who approved the wiretap application and subsequent renewals. All were appointed by Republican presidents: two by George W. Bush, and one each by George H.W. Bush and Ronald Reagan.

Devin Nunes, the architect of the Republican memo, also criticized the Democratic rebuttal.

'What you're not gonna see is anything that actually rejects what was in our memo,' which aimed to show 'that FISA abuse had occurred,' Nunes said at an annual Republican conference.

Democrats 'are advocating that it's OK for the FBI and DOJ to use political dirt paid for by one campaign and use it against the other campaign,' he said.

'In the United States of America, that is unacceptable.'A man fighting for his life following a shocking road rage attack on a Queensland motorway could be in coma for weeks and had recently been stabbed and mourned the death of his father.

Gold Coast concreter Brock Prime, 29, was left for dead on the side of the M1 between Pimpama and Yatala on Saturday night.

Lawyer Campbell MacCallum told Daily Mail Australia he 'felt sick' when he received the news about his long standing client and friend on Sunday morning.

Scroll down for video

Brock Prime is 'in a bad way' at Gold Coast University Hospital following a shocking road rage attack on the M1. He will require a second operation on Monday

He had recently survived a stabbing, and he could be in a coma for weeks following the attack

Mr Prime was rushed to hospital in a critical condition after he was allegedly bashed with an unknown weapon on Saturday night

Police are yet to provide a description of Brock's attackers and have appealed with anyone in the vicinity of the M1 between Pimpama and Yatala between 9.30pm and 9.45pm on Saturday night to come forward

'He's in a bad way,' Mr MacCallum told Daily Mail Australia.

'From the information his mum has told me, he was attacked from behind with a tyre iron. He has lost 20 per cent of his brain function and will be operated on again tomorrow (Monday). He is expected to be in a coma for a number of weeks and is at risk of suffering a significant brain infection.'

Police were called to the M1 near the Gold Coast about 9.45pm after reports of an altercation between a man and the occupants of a white van or mini bus on the side of the motorway between Pimpama and Yatala on the Gold Coast.

Investigations suggest the van may have had up to 13 occupants.

Detective Inspector Mark Thompson told reporters on Sunday that a deadly game of cat and mouse began in the northbound lanes of the M1 at Yatala.

He said the chase came to an end near the 'Frosty Boy' warehouse at Yatala and witnesses reported the men who got out of the white van appeared to be aged in their 20s.

Mr MacCallum believed it was a random attack, and it said it followed the recent death of Mr Prime's father Darren.

He said in the past 12 months Mr Prime had also been the victim of a stabbing.

'Since then he has certainly shied away from any violence,' he told the ABC.

Brock Prime (pictured left) had been working 60 hours a week to support his younger siblings and mother following the recent death of his father Darren

Brock's family made a desperate plea for information from the public on Sunday.

'Our family is asking that anybody that has any information about the incident comes forward to help us get some answers and justice for this cowardly act,' they said.

'What was done last night could have only been done by a psychopath and a gang of disgusting people.

'Our boy was left for dead on the side of the road and is now fighting for his life and will be permanently injured as a result of this attack.'

Brock's sister also made a teary appeal for information, saying the attack came at a terrible time for the family.

'My family needs all the help we can get as my family passed away 5 weeks ago, and my brother Brock was working 10 hour days 6 days a week just to put a roof over our head and dinner on the table,' she said.

'So we'd really appreciate any information that we can get.'

Mr MacCallum described Brock as outgoing, adventurous and someone who loved to smile.

'The family are very distressed as they tragically lost her father six weeks ago,' Mr MacCallum told Daily Mail Australia.

'It's been a difficult time for everyone. Brock was working 60 hours a week to help support the household. He has two younger siblings going through university and had taken on the responsibility of supporting them.'

Family friends have set up an online crowd-funding page, which raised almost $3000 within hours.

'The back of his skull was caved in and significant brain damage has been done. His femur has a compound fracture and needs massive surgery,' the page states.

'Donna (Brock's mum) is currently out of work trying to deal with the loss of her life partner and father of her children and now will be facing extreme costs, medical bills and the general expenses of life.

'Donna herself has refused to ask for help but this family needs and deserves all the support they can get and the gratitude can't even be explained with words.'

Brock Prime was left for dead on the side of the M1 freeway between Pimpama and Yatala on Saturday night

Family and friends took to social media on Sunday to appeal for help so police can track down his attackers.

'Please share this around so we can find the cowards that did this to my brother,' Jonty Prime posted on Facebook on Sunday.

A friend posted: 'A bunch of cowards. What is the Gold Coast coming to. Sending my prayers and thoughts to Brock Prime and his loved ones.'

Jonty told the Courier Mail: 'I'd like everyone to know his character as well as he is a very loving hard working man who gives up everything to take care of my sister, mum and I as my dad recently passed just last month, Brock has done his best to take up his role.'

Police are investigating a number of leads.

Detectives have appealed to anyone who may have witnessed the incident or have dash cam footage taken in the vicinity of the M1 between Pimpama and Yatala between 9.30pm and 9.45pm to contact them.Two police officers have emotionally recalled the terrifying moment they entered the Florida school where a gunman was on the loose while a number of sheriff deputies cowered outside.

Coral Springs Police Department officers Chris Crawford and Sgt. Jeff Heinrich recounted their heroics during a local news conference on Friday, describing the 'surreal' events of that fateful Valentine's Day.

The incident 'was bad as you can imagine  times 10,' Crawford said in the aftermath of the campus shooting. 'I have a 2-year-old. I don't want to send him to school.'

Coral Springs Police Department officers Chris Crawford (L) and Sgt. Jeff Heinrich (R) recently recounted their heroics during a news conference

The incident 'was bad as you can imagine  times 10,' Crawford said in the aftermath of the campus shooting

A Marine veteran, Crawford recounted the 'awful' task of having to treat children suffering from gunshot wounds, adding that he wished he 'could have saved all of them.'

Crawford said that he stuffed 'combat gauze,' a medical dressing with a clotting agent, into the wounds of a 14-year-old boy who was shot in the back, and treated a young girl for a shrapnel injury.

He then entered into the school building, where students had barricaded themselves into a classroom, having to 'negotiate with [them] to come out' after sliding his ID badge under the door. 'I don't blame them,' he added.

The shooting was carried out by 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz (pictured), who admitted to the shooting less than 48 hours later

Meanwhile, Sgt. Jeff Heinrich, who was off duty when the shooting commenced, ran to Marjory Stoneman after quickly realizing his wife and son were at the school.

Arriving to the facility, Heinrich told the local broadcaster that he helped care for a wounded child before putting on a bullet proof vest.

'By the grace of God, my wife and my son who are at opposite ends of the school, [..] they both heard the fire alarm and decided to evacuate,' Heinrich said.

Soon after the deadly attack ended, it was discovered that at least four Broward County Sheriff's deputies failed to enter the Parkland, Fla., school building while a lone gunman wielding a semiautomatic AR-15-style assault rifle massacred 17 people.

Deputy Scott Peterson was initially the only law enforcement officer present on February 14 when the rampage started, Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel said.

Peterson's actions were caught on video during the massacre, which ranks as the second-deadliest shooting ever at a U.S. public school, carried out by 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz who admitted to the shooting less than 48 hours later.

'What I saw was a deputy arrive at the west side of Building 12, take up a position and he never went in,' said Sheriff Israel, referring to the building on campus, popularly known as the 'freshman building,' where authorities said the bulk of the shooting occurred.

Scot Peterson (Pictured right) was initially the only law enforcement officer present on February 14 when the rampage started

Israel told reporters the shooting in the Fort Lauderdale suburb of Parkland lasted six minutes, and that Peterson arrived at the freshman building about 90 seconds after the first shots were fired, then lingered outside for at least four minutes.

Asked what the deputy should have done, Israel replied: 'Went in. Addressed the killer. Killed the killer.'

Peterson has not given a reason for why he did not enter the building, Israel said.

Neither the deputy nor any representatives could immediately be reached for comment.

Israel said he would not release the video at this time and may never do so, 'depending on the prosecution and criminal case' against Cruz, the 19-year-old former student who is charged with 17 counts of premeditated murder in the assault.

Authorities have said that Cruz, who was expelled from Stoneman Douglas High last year for unspecified disciplinary problems, made his getaway moments after the shooting by blending in with students fleeing the school for safety.

Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel (pictured) said he had decided on the basis of his findings to suspend Peterson, but the deputy resigned first

Police officers arriving on the scene from the adjacent city of Coral Springs thought the gunman was still inside as they searched the building, based on a security camera video feed that they mistakenly believed was showing them real-time images but was actually footage from 20 minutes earlier.

Coral Springs Police Chief Tony Pustizzi told reporters on Thursday that the confusion stemmed from human error and a 'communication failure,' not malfunctioning equipment.

He insisted that the mishap did not put any lives in danger.

The Broward sheriff has said Cruz, after slipping away from the school, casually spent more than an hour drifting through a Walmart store and visiting two fast-food outlets before he was spotted and arrested.

Israel said he had decided on the basis of his findings to suspend Peterson, but the deputy resigned first.

Israel said two other deputies were placed on restrictive administrative assignment, stemming from their response to numerous calls for service and reports received by the sheriff's department pertaining to Cruz during the past 10 years.

Republican governor of Florida Rick Scott (Pictured) said that he would be opened to instituting some modest gun-control measures in the state

The shooting has led to a fierce national debate over the wisdom of current gun-control standards and what steps can be taken to stop mass killings on school campuses in the future.

The National Rifle Association, or NRA, has pushed back, however, arguing that law abiding citizens shouldn't have their second amendment right abridged due to a handful of deranged individuals.

Republican governor of Florida Rick Scott said that he would be opened to instituting some modest reforms in the state, including raising the minimum age for gun purchases from 18 to 21 while calling for a police officer to be assigned to every campus.

Earlier this week, President Donald Trump weighed into the conversation, floating an NRA approved idea that proposes putting weapons in the hands of highly trained teachers.

Trump tweeted the idea out on Wednesday, saying that up to 20 per cent of educators with military or special training experience should be allowed to carry firearms in the classroom.

He later doubled down on the proposal during a speech he delivered at the Conservative Political Action Conference, telling convention goers: 'A teacher would have shot the hell out' of Cruz.

The National Rifle Association has been pushing back against the call for tighter gun restrictions since the Florida school shooting earlier this month (NRA Executive Vice President and CEO Wayne LaPierre)

'When we declare our schools to be gun-free zones it just puts our students in far more danger,' he continued. 'Well-trained gun-adept teachers and coaches and people who work in those buildings' should be allowed to have 'concealed carry permits' for firearms.'

'They love their students! They don't want their students to be killed and to be hurt,' he said of 'patriots' who could become schools' first line of defense against crazed attackers.

Thousands leapt to their feet when Trump outlined a scenario in which an armed teacher might have met last week's Florida school shooter in the hallway  and 'would have shot the hell out of him before he knew what happened.'

As he left the White House for the event, the president told reporters that the National Rifle Association also 'wants to do the right thing.'

Trump also pledged: 'We're going to do something about it. We're going to make changes.'

Trump's deadly serious moments included a line urging Americans to back 'common sense measures that will protect the rights of law-abiding Americans while helping to keep guns out of the hands of those who pose a danger to themselves and to others.'

'It's not, "Do you love guns?" "Do you hate guns?"' he said. 'It's common sense.'

Trump needs to thread this needle if he hopes to drag Republicans a few inches toward a new gun control regime while also persuading Democrats to cede the credit for accomplishing it.

US President Donald J. Trump speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in National Harbor Feb. 23

Earlier this week, President Donald Trump weighed into the conversation, floating an NRA approved idea that proposes putting weapons in the hands of highly trained teachers

That, the White House has signaled, will be accomplished through a series of emotionally charged events like the one on Wednesday that saw grieving students and bereaved parents sit down with the president for a listening session.

'On Wednesday, I had the honor of meeting with students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, with families who have lost their children in prior shootings  great families, great people  and with members of the local community right here in Washington, D.C.,' Trump said.

'Our whole nation was moved by their strength and courage.'

'We listened to their heart-wrenching stories, asked them for ideas and pledged to them ... that we will act. We will do something,' he vowed, saying 'there are not enough tears in the world' for suffering families.

At the White House, however, he used the word 'coward' to describe an armed deputy at the school who stayed out of harm's way instead of confronting the shooter who ultimately claimed 17 lives.

'He was not a credit to law enforcement. That I can tell you,' trump said, adding: 'He was tested under fire, and that wasn't a good result.'

Trump emphasized the need for tighter mental-health screening of prospective gun buyers, while also arguing for giving schools the same level of firepower as other 'soft' targets.

From left, President Donald Trump, Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School student students Carson Abt, and Ariana Klein, listen as Carson's father Frederick Abt, speaks Feb. 21An Australian glamour model wants plastic and cosmetic surgery to be considered 'tax deductible business expenses' for people in her line of work.

Jasmin Shojai, 23, believes models should be able to claim back money spent on 'improving their image for the camera'.

'These procedures can cost thousands of dollars every year - and should be seen as a business investment like other tools of trade,' she told Daily Mail Australia.

Australian Glamour Model Jasmin Shojai, 23, wants cosmetic and plastic surgery to be tax deductible

The model says about 50 percent of women in her field have had work done

She believes this work is a business investment so should earn a tax break

'Getting cosmetic surgery like Botox or plastic surgery like breast augmentation is an investment but it all comes out of the model's pocket.'

The young model, who was the Australian Glamour Model of the year for 2017 said she can only claim back 'certain outfits needed for work'.

'Models have to invest a lot of money into their looks to get work,' she said.

'From cosmetics to these bigger procedure and then touch ups - it all adds up.'

She believes more people would be draw to the industry if they could claim these things on tax.

'I think more than 50 percent of models have something done - even though they don't like to admit it.

The model, whose hair and makeup here has been done by Tara Ashe, thinks more people will be able to join the profession if tax deductions are offered

She believes more people would be draw to the industry if they could claim these things on tax

'Getting cosmetic surgery like Botox or plastic surgery like breast augmentation is an investment but it all comes out of the model's pocket'

'From fillers and Botox to some of the bigger surgeries.'

Last year the brunette called for women to stop putting nude pictures of themselves online- because it de-valued the work of nude models in magazines.

'If men can get fresh pictures of hot girls from social media why would they need to go out and buy nude magazines,' she said.

'Women who are photographed for magazines now are paid so much less than they used to be  or are expected to do it for free.

Last year the brunette called for women to stop putting nude pictures of themselves online- because it de-valued the work of nude models in magazines

'From cosmetics to these bigger procedure and then touch ups - it all adds up'

Ms Shojai has had jawline contouring, and small amounts of dermal filler in her cheeks, lips and chin - she has also had Botox in her forehead

'I don't want to tell anyone what to do but they have to know they are destroying the industry,' she said.

Ms Shojai has had jawline contouring, and small amounts of dermal filler in her cheeks, lips and chin - she has also had Botox in her forehead.

She has been a professional model for over two years, she lives and works in Canberra.

She has been a professional model for over two years, she lives and works in Canberra.A key contender for the National Party leadership showdown to replace former leader and Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce has withdrawn because he 'doesn't have the numbers'.

Dr David Gillespie, the member for Lyne in NSW, withdrew from the leadership on Sunday, leaving only Veterans' Affairs Minister Michael McCormack vying for the top job.

Mr Joyce quit the leadership on Friday after allegations of sexual harassment and revelations of his affair with former staffer Vikki Campion, with whom he is expecting his first son.

Dr David Gillespie (left) has dropped out of the National Party leadership battle to replace former Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce (right), claiming he 'doesn't have the numbers' to be successful

But McCormack may face a last minute challenge from Queensland Agriculture Minister David Littleproud, with colleagues reportedly urging him to put his hand up for the top job.

Nationals deputy leader Bridget McKenzie told ABC's Insiders the job is not usually contested.

'Conventionally around leadership, there usually isn't a vote,' she said.

'Deputy leadership positions are obviously hotly contested, but convention has been in previous times that we have only ever had one candidate.'

Up against Barnaby Joyce in his last run for the leadership, McCormack received 10 out of 21 votes, making him the front runner in his current attempt.

Gay rights activists have expressed concern over the likelihood McCormack will become Australia's Deputy Prime Minister.

Current Deputy Leader of the National Party, Bridget McKenzie (pictured), suggested convention in the National Party is to just have one candidate, not a battle for the top job

The Veterans' Affairs minister has been forced to apologise throughout his career for a country newspaper editorial he penned in 1993 describing homosexuals as 'sordid' and blaming them for AIDS.

Just.equal spokesman Rodney Croome says many LGBTI Australians are 'justifiably concerned' about Mr McCormack potentially becoming deputy PM.

'The apologies Mr McCormack made in the past are welcome but given the hatefulness of what he said, and the high office he may step in to, he needs to walk the talk,' Mr Croome told AAP on Sunday.

'He needs to get behind initiatives that will reduce the unacceptably high levels of LGBTI isolation, prejudice and suicide that still exist in some parts of rural Australia.

'He needs to heal the wounds caused by the kind of prejudices he publicly expressed in the past.'

Deputy Leader of the House of Representatives Michael McCormack from NSW (pictured left) is the favourite, while colleagues of Queensland Minister David Gillespie (pictured right) are urging him to run

Sydney City Councillor Christine Forster, who was a vocal campaigner for gay marriage, says it's fair questions are asked, given Mr McCormack's 1993 column was 'abhorrent'.

'If you're in public life you have to expect to be subjected to that kind of scrutiny,' she told AAP.

But Ms Forster acknowledges the editorial was written a long time ago.

'He's said he doesn't hold those view anymore and you've got to take that at face value,' she said on Sunday, adding the Riverina MP 'did the right thing' by not opposing same-sex marriage reform in late 2017.

During the gay marriage debate, Mr McCormack once again apologised for the 1993 editorial in Wagga Wagga's Daily Advertiser.

'I have grown and learnt not only to tolerate but to accept all people, regardless of their sexual orientation, or any other trait or feature which makes each of us different and unique,' he said in a statement in August.

McCormack (pictured) has come under fire from gay rights activists for an editorial he penned in 1993 claiming homosexual people were 'sordid' and responsible for AIDS

The Turnbull government is hoping to move on from the Barnaby Joyce affair when parliament resumes on Monday.

The Prime Minister is on a high after his trip to the United States where he met US President Donald Trump with wife Lucy, state Premiers and business leaders.

A new poll released on Sunday showed support for the Coalition had decreased by only one per cent to 33, while Labor's increased by one point.

The Opposition is not expected to let the scandal of the past fortnight fall by the wayside though, with ministers expected to use recent comments from former Prime Minister Tony Abbott to their advantage.

The former Prime Minister used the parliamentary break to criticise ministers over their support for higher migration, and says the Joyce affair has been poorly managed 'at the most senior levels of government'.President Donald Trump urged the nation to 'come together' in the wake of the Florida massacre in an interview with Fox News on Saturday.

Trump spoke to Jeanine Pirro during her show 'Justice with Judge Jeanine' as he spoke about the FBI's investigation into 2016 presidential election meddling by Russians, what needs to be done in terms of gun control legislation and plans related to a border wall.

In the interview, the president urged the nation to 'come together,' following the tragic mass shooting at the hands of a 19-year-old who admitted to killing 17 people and injuring 15 others with an AR-15 at his former high school in Parkland, Florida on February 14.

President Donald Trump spoke to Fox News' Jeanine Pirro on Saturday about the FBI's investigation into 2016 presidential election meddling by Russians and gun control

Trump told Pirro that the Democrats' response to the memo drafted by Representative Devin Nunes, a Republican representing California and the chair of the House Intelligence Committee, actually confirmed that bias existed in the early days of the FBI's investigation into Russian meddling int he 2016 presidential election. It had been released earlier Saturday.

But the man who wrote the response, Representative Adam Schiff, a Democrat from California and ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, tweeted instead that his memo 'confirms the FBI acted appropriately and that Russian agents approached two of your advisors, and informed your campaign that Russia was prepared to help you by disseminating stolen Clinton emails.'

Democrats tried to release a version of this memo much sooner, but it was blocked by Trump, who claimed he could not declassify it, as it was first written, under the advice of White House counsel.

Trump tweeted that the Democrat's response to the Nunes memo actually confirmed it

Trump gave an interview by telephone to Fox News ' Jeanine Pirro during her show, 'Justice with Judge Jeanine,' on Saturday

But the man who wrote the response , Representative Adam Schiff, a Democrat from California and ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, tweeted instead that his memo 'confirms the FBI acted appropriately and that Russian agents approached two of your advisors, and informed your campaign that Russia was prepared to help you by disseminating stolen Clinton emails'

Trump then attacked intelligence operations, saying: 'We need intelligence that brings our nation together and a lot of people are tearing our nation apart, on this and other subjects.'

He went on to say that Democrats got scammed by talking with people they thought were Russians, but that there was a double standard for when his campaign actually spoke to Russians, when he said it 'had nothing to do with anything important.'

'We have to bring the country together, Jeanine,' Trump said.

One issue that people have a hard time agreeing on is that of gun control, which has been brought to forefront after Florida shooter Nikolas Cruz, 19, gunned down 17 and injured 15 others on Valentine's Day at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.

After this tragedy, Trump said earlier this week that the Attorney General would draft proposed legislation to ban bump stocks, which are permissible under current law and make a semi-automatic firearm function much more like am automatic weapon, such as a machine gun.

'Ive spoke to many senators, many congressman ... and I think were going to have a great bill put forward very soon having to do with background checks,' Trump added, when speaking to Pirro.

He clarified that is a 'champion of the Second Amendment' and protecting the rights of gun owners, and also repeated his comments that teachers should provide protection for students with 'concealed [carry] permits.'

'Somebody who is mentally ill should not have a weapon, should not have a gun,' he said. 'Were drawing up very strong legislation right now having to do with background checks, mental illness. I think youre going to have tremendous support.'

Trump speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland on Friday

'We have to bring the country together, Jeanine,' Trump said on Saturday

Watch the latest video at <a href="http://www.foxnews.com">foxnews.com</a>

Switching gears, Trump spoke briefly about his plans to build a border wall.

He said that Democrats have agreed, in part, to things related to the wall, but he said 'needs more' when it comes to immigration control.

Referring to what Trump would like to see from Democrats on the issue of immigration, he said: 'We want people to come in through merit.'

This comes after the Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto put off a scheduled trip to the US in March to meet with Trump, after a phone call on February 20 where the two got into a confrontation over who would pay for Trump's border wall.

The Washington Post reported on Saturday that both leaders 'called off the plan [to meet] after Trump would not agree to publicly affirm Mexico's position that it would not fund construction of a border wall.'

Trump also reiterated to Pirro that he liked to put the United States' military on display, for the world to see.

'Id like to have a parade, a lot of the generals would like to have a parade to celebrate what were doing,' he said, adding that the event could possibly be held July 4 or on Veterans Day in November.The grieving dad of a teenage girl who died in the Florida school shooting has lashed out at a deputy who was spotted cowering outside during the massacre.

'Unbelievable,' Andrew Pollack, father to 18-year-old Meadow, wrote in a Facebook post on Saturday.

'Without question school resource officer... Scot Peterson had ample enough time to make it to the 3rd floor and prevent 6 deaths including the death of my daughter Meadow,' he continued.

Peterson resigned in disgrace on Thursday, after he was chewed out by his sheriff, Scott Israel, for failing to engage with the shooter in the deadly massacre.

Eighteen-year-old Meadow is one of 17 who were killed at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on February 14. Her dad is speaking out to blast the deputy who hid outside

'Words can't describe how upset and angry I am,' wrote Pollack, seen left and right with his daughter Meadow. 'Scot Peterson had ample enough time to make it to the 3rd floor'

Peterson was initially the only law enforcement officer present on February 14 at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School when the rampage that killed 17 started.

He was seen on video hiding outside for at least four minutes during the shooting, Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel said.

'Words can't describe how upset and angry I am,' Pollack continued.

'This is a picture of my beautiful daughter that he allowed to be stalked and shot 9 times on the third floor.'

Peterson (right) was initially the only law enforcement officer present on February 14 at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School when the rampage that killed 17 started

Israel said he had decided on the basis of his findings to suspend Peterson, but the deputy resigned first.

It later emerged that in addition to Peterson, three other Broward County deputies were hiding outside the school when Coral Springs Police Department officers Chris Crawford and Sgt. Jeff Heinrich arrived and charged inside.

Former student Nikolas Cruz, 19, was arrested and charged with the murders.

Israel said two other deputies were placed on restrictive administrative assignment, stemming from their response to numerous calls for service and reports received by the sheriff's department pertaining to Cruz during the past 10 years.Another Florida student was questioned by police for posing with a gun and making a threat on social media.

Earlier this week, Miami-Dade police questioned a student at Terra Environmental Research Institute in Miami after he shared a Snapchat photo of himself holding an asault-style rifle with the caption: 'Here's a big fat F*** YOU to everyone'.

Police told the Miami New Times that they talked to the student and his parents and determined he did not pose a threat. The student's identity was not released because he wasn't charged with a crime.

A student at Terra Environmental Research Institute in Miami posted the above Snapchat photo showing himself posing with an assault-style rifle. Police questioned the teen and determined he was not a threat so charges were not filed

A spokesman for Terra Environmental Research Institute said the student could be facing disciplinary actions

The post was made one week after 17 students and staff members were killed at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland on February 14

The Parkland massacre is said to the second-deadliest shooting at a US public school.

School district spokesman John Schuster told the outlet although police decided charges were not warranted, the student may face disciplinary actions. determined by school officials.

'Miami-Dade Schools Police thoroughly investigated this incident, and although the student's actions clearly demonstrated a lack of judgment, they did not constitute a threat,' he said. 'School administrators will be meeting with the student's parents to discuss possible disciplinary measures, as outlined in the Code of Student Conduct.'

Terra Environmental Research Institute is about 50 miles from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, where 17 students and staff members were killed by 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz on February 14.

The Parkland massacre is said to the second-deadliest shooting at a US public school.

In the week since the devastating shooting, several students at schools across Florida have either been arrested or questioned by police for posting threatening messages online.

On February 15, one day after the attack at Marjory Stoneman, an 11-year-old Miami-Dade student was arrested for writing a threatening note and slipping it under the assistant principal's door, the Miami Herald reports.

According to police, the note read: 'I will being a gun to school and kill all of you ugly a** kids and teachers b****. I will bring the gun Feb, 16, 18. Be prepared b****!'

Last week, an 11-year-old Florida student was arrested for writing the above threatening note and slipping it under the door of her school's assistant principal

Nikolas Cruz, 19, was charged with 17 counts of premeditated murder following the Parkland school massacre

The message was written by Jasmine Powell, a sixth grader at Nova Middle School, who told police that a fellow classmate told her to write the letter and if she didn't she would be beaten up.

'So to avoid getting in a fight ... I put the letter under the door,' she said.

Police said surveillance video at the school captured the girl slipping the letter under the assistant principal's door. She was taken to the Miami-Dade County's Juvenille Assessment Center following the incident.

Last week, a 15-year-old student was questioned after he posted on Instagram that he was going to 'kill people' at Broward County schools, the same district as Marjory Stoneman.

The teen told police that he wrote the post to scare his cousin.President Donald Trump is willing to give up his plans for a military parade down Pennsylvania Avenue on Veteran's Day if it costs too much, he said on Saturday night.

'We'll see if we can do it at a reasonable cost. If we can't, we won't do it,' Trump said during a phone interview with Fox News host Jeanine Pirro.

'The generals would love to do it, I tell you, and so would I.'

Trump did not specify how much money exactly would be too much of a cost for the parade. White House budget director Mick Mulvaney has previously estimated the parade would cost between $10million and $30million.

'I think it's great for our country, being a cheerleader, and the spirit,' Trump said, adding that he would also settle for a July 4 parade.

The president said he would give up on the parade if it cost too much during a phone interview with Fox News host Jeanine Pirro on Saturday night

'The generals would love to do [the parade], I tell you, and so would I,' Trump told Pirro during his 21th interview with the network since taking office

The president then discussed the defense policy bill that included a $700billion budget for the military, which he said was 'depleted' before he took office.

'You know, our military was very depleted, it was going in the wrong direction, and I want to have by far the most powerful military in the world, I want it to be more powerful than we've ever had it.

'And we need that today, I see what's going on in the world better than anybody. The world is a tough place and we want to be stronger than we ever were,' he told Pirro during his 21th interview with the network since taking office.

Trump added that although he would have loved to cut the budget, he had to give funding to the military that has been 'so badly hurt for so many years, even beyond president Obama.'

'I was forced to give democrats many billions of dollars for things that I would normally not have done.

'They don't care so much about the military, sadly, they don't care about people pouring across the border and MS13, if anything they want to protect MS13,' he said.

As Routers points out, however, the military funding may never happen, as the budget defies spending caps set in the 2011 Budget Control Act, and Congress has not offered a plan to provide the extra money to the Pentagon.

Trump and Macron watch Bastille Day procession on Champs-Elysees, Paris from which he got the idea to hold a US version

National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster said the parade will take place on Veterans Day, November 11

In the interview the president also doubled down on his tweets against Democrat Rep. Adam Schiff, calling him a 'bad guy' and saying the rebuttal memo released by democrats in response to a GOP one claiming the FBI abused its power when investigating the Trump campaign was 'a nothing.'

He also once again denied any collusion between his campaign and Russia, and affirmed his commitment to defend the Second Amendment, again saying he believes in arming teachers.

Trump's statements come just weeks after the Pentagon announced his procession request, and a day after a senior official confirmed that National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster ordered the military to set the date for Veterans Day on November 11.

The idea for the military parade came after Trump's visit to France where alongside French president Emmanuel Macron he watched the Bastille Day procession that featured military tanks and ranks of soldiers march down Champs-Elysees.

Inspired by the Bastille Day parade (above), Trump plans for a US spectacle of military might to mark the 100-year anniversary of the end of World War I

Tanks, soldiers, and air force service people all contributed to the military display in France

The Veterans Day date was confirmed by a senior US official according to Fox news.

The procession is set to run from the White House to Capitol Hill.

2018's Veterans Day marks a timely choice for the parade as it will be the 100-year anniversary of the end of World War I.

When Macron visited the Capitol two months after the Bastille Day parade, Trump hinted at his plans to emulate the military ceremony.

'It was a tremendous day, and to a large extent because of what I witnessed, we may do something like that on July 4th in Washington. Were going to have to try to top it,' he said.

Trump's grand plans, however, do not sit well with several Democrat officials who have dismissed and mocked the parade as 'a waste of money'.

California Rep. Jackie Speier said on CNN earlier this month, 'I was stunned by it, to be quite honest. I mean, we have a Napoleon in the making here.'

The procession ran down the famous Champs-Elysees towards the Arc de Triomphe

Trump and Macron chatted as they watched the parade on July 14, 2017 in Paris

Melania, Trump and Macron watch the parade from an elevated platform

She added she thinks the spectacle will be 'a waste of money.'

Minnestota Rep. Tim Walz, who is also the highest ranking former enlisted soldier serving in Congress, told on MSNBC the parade was 'the stupidest thing I've ever heard'.

He added that those serving in the armed forces should not be used to display 'whatever the president's ego is trying to do. That is a terrible idea'.

California Rep. Ted Lieu took to Twitter to say that the Capitol would be better off investing the money elsewhere.

'You know what would be more useful than asking the Pentagon to waste money on a big military parade?' Lieu tweeted after the broadcast.

'Basically anything.'

He also dubbed the parade 'a waste of money for one man's ego' on CNN.

Other politicians were quick to note that Trump's parade may follow the fashion of his Inaugural Parade, which had noticeably empty sections.

Washington Rep. Rick Larsen tweeted an image of the low turn out at his Inaugural parade saying: 'There was already a #TrumpParade in DC. Not very well attended the first time, would be a waste of Pentagon time and resources the second time.'

The details of the procession are not yet clear.

It also remains unclear if Trump himself will participate in the spectacle as Macron did, riding in an open-top military vehicle, according to Politico.

California Rep. Jackie Speier said she was 'stunned' by Trump's massive military parade plans and said 'I mean, we have a Napoleon in the making here'

Minnesota Democratic Rep. Tim Walz called the parade 'the stupidest thing I've ever heard'Aareon Berryman (pictured), 18, has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder

Tennessee police say a teenager admitted to killing a married couple inside their Memphis apartment and then set the building on fire.

The Memphis Police Department charged 18-year-old Aareon Berryman with two counts of first-degree murder, aggravated robbery and aggravated arson on Saturday.

Berryman was also slapped with two drug-related offenses, including possession marijuana with the intent to manufacture or sell, and possession of ecstasy with the intent to manufacture or sell.

Police said that Berryman was taken into custody after officers responded to hearing two gunshot coming the Clearbrook apartment building, located in the 3500 block of Tall Oaks Circle, at around 12pm , AJC.com reported.

After arriving to the scene, officers say they saw the teenager running northbound from the building which had already been engulfed in flames.

The Memphis Fire Department discovered the bodies of Brandon and Regina Allen (pictured), who were pronounced dead on the scene

Berryman was also slapped with two drug-related offenses, including possession marijuana and ecstasy with the intent to manufacture or sell

Authorities caught Berryman following a brief foot chase, and asked him if anyone else was still in the burning apartment building.

The suspect responded by saying that two people remained inside the property where he 'left them.'

Police claim that Berryman admitted to killing both victims, stealing their property, and setting their home on fire

The Memphis Fire Department later discovered the bodies of Brandon and Regina Allen, who were pronounced dead on the scene.

'It's like a numbness. You're just speechless. You've got frustration not knowing. Not knowing, that's what bothers me,' said DJ Hewlett, Brandon's father, told local affiliate FOX13.

Police claim that Berryman admitted to killing both victims, stealing their property, and setting their home on fire.

AJC.com also reported that the suspect was in possession of a AR-15 semi-automatic rifle, a loaded handgun, two jars of marijuana, three plastic bags of marijuana, three prescription pill bottles, and a bottle of charcoal lighter fluid at the time of his arrest.

Fire Department officials said at least half of the 16 apartment units in the building were completely or partially destroyed in Saturday's blaze.

The total damage was estimated at $254,000 for buildings and $76,000 in its contents, AJC.com added.At least four people have died after a strong storm and possible tornadoes pushed its way eastward through central United States.

An 83-year-old man, Albert Foster, in northeast Arkansas and a 79-year-old woman, Dallas Jane Combs, in south central Kentucky were both killed as the storm that also included heavy winds, rain and hail muscled its way through the area, authorities reported.

Joseph Lee Nally, 77, was driving when he apparently underestimated the depth of the water and strength of the current, and was swept off the road in Union County.

Kim Nicholson sifts through the debris of her home on Sunday after the storm hit the area in Clarksville, Tennessee

Flood waters close Bellevue Beach Park on Sunday in Bellevue, Kentucky

Another man died after his vehicle submerged in Simpson County and early Sunday morning, the Henderson Fire Department in Kentucky recovered a body in a submerged vehicle in a ditch. The victim's identify was being withheld pending notification of relatives.

A teenage girl was hit by falling debris at a college basketball game after an apparent lightning strike knocked a hole in the arena's roof Saturday night.

School director of marketing and digital media Kevin Young said the 15-year-old girl was taken to a hospital as a precaution. The extent of her injuries weren't immediately released.

View looking north to Cincinnati as flood waters rise toward the intersection of Riverside Drive and Garrard Street on Sunday in Covington, Kentucky

The elderly man from Arkansas was killed Saturday night after high winds toppled a trailer home and it was blown into a pond, Clay County Sheriff Terry Miller told KAIT-TV.

About 50 miles away, the weather service said the roof was blown off of a hotel in Osceola, about 160 miles north of Memphis, Tennessee.

In south central Kentucky, Combs died after a suspected tornado hit her Adairville home on Saturday evening, Logan County Sheriff's Department told television station WKRN.

A home at the corner of Covey Rise Circle and Green Grove Way is reduced to rubble

Sheriff officials said Combs was inside the home when it collapsed on her. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

Authorities say Combs' husband was outside the house when the unconfirmed tornado hit and he sustained minor injuries.

Storm-related damage also was reported in Middle Tennessee, where Fox17 in Nashville reported extensive damage to homes and vehicles.

They said at least a dozen homes were damaged in one Montgomery County subdivision.

A car drives through floodwater as the swelling Ohio River floods historic areas in Downtown Louisville, Kentucky on Friday

Pictured here is the Ohio River flooding areas of Downtown Louisville, Kentucky on Friday

Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens signed an executive order earlier Saturday declaring a state of emergency ahead of the anticipated storms and flooding in parts of southern Missouri.

The order activates the resources of the Missouri National Guard and ensures state resources are available in the event of weather damage.

A levee breach along the Kankakee River in northwestern Indiana had local officials urging about 30 homeowners to evacuate.

The excessive rainfall is forecast to worsen, and the river is expected to peak over the weekend from Friday to Sunday

The violent storms continue to sweep central US as high winds, heavy rain and hail cause chaos

Keener Township Volunteer Fire Chief Randy Woods said the breach was relatively minor when it was discovered about 3 p.m. Friday near Demotte, about 50 miles southeast of Chicago.

Local residents tried to sandbag the breach 'to get it under control, but it just got bigger and bigger,' he said. Local firefighters were called to help them, but eventually everyone had to pull out for their own safety.

No injuries were reported.

The weather service said record flooding was occurring along the Kankakee following several days of heavy rains and snowmelt that sent streams out of their banks from the Ohio River to Michigan and Wisconsin.A group of cleaners facing the sack are furious for not being given a redundancy package and offered new jobs in New Zealand.

The four women, all aged in their 50s, from Wollongong in New South Wales will have to hang up pack up their buckets when they are made unemployed on Wednesday.

Two of the women worked for Spotless, which is based in Melbourne, for 14 years and have attacked the company they served for more than a decade.

Panayota Tzolakidis (lett) and Helen Hammond (right) have spoken out about their anger after being told they will not be offered redundancy pay

When the company decided not to renew their contracts they were offered positions elsewhere, The Age reports.

The closest was an hour's drive away in Nowra but they say the role did not offer enough hours on a casual basis as opposed to the full-time jobs they are leaving.

Most of the vacancies they were able to consider were in New Zealand in jobs other than cleaning.

The women say they are angry at being offered no redundancy pay - but the company insists it has done nothing illegal.

Union bosses have slammed the decision by Spotless saying the move is 'heartless and immoral' and called the suitability of current workplace laws into question.

Spotless has its head office based in St Kilda Road, Melbourne, and insists it has done nothing illegal

Lynne Davies, 58, said she was 'disgusted' and did not want to leave a job she loved.

She told The Age she felt it would be hard for her to find another job and was too young to retire.

Helen Hammond has worked for Spotless for 14 years alongside Ms Davies at an elderly care centre.

The 56-year-old added she needed to keep working.

Meanwhile, Panayota Tzolakidis said she was upset at the lack of positions on offer.

None of the women have been offered a redundancy pay package for their service as cleaners

'I'm not an electrician,' The Age reports. 'I've been working for 30 years as a cleaner. I've still got bills to pay.'

Spotless maintains everything it has done is within the law and said it was common for staff to have their employment terminated at the end of a specific contract.

A spokesman said: 'Spotless' view is that it can rely on the [ordinary and customary turnover of labour] exception to redundancy pay when employees lose their jobs due to the end of the client contract,'

This is a part of the Fair Work Act which states employees can be given redundancy pay if they are no longer required unless it is due to 'ordinary and customary turnover of labour'.Sydney will be battered with its heaviest downpour since winter on Sunday night.

Weatherzone meteorologists predicted the New South Wales capital would cop 50mm overnight, with experts saying it could be one of the worst wet seasons on record.

Sydney residents were also warned to brace for thunderstorms and flash flooding on Sunday night.

The Bureau of Meteorology also issued a severe weather warning for residents in Wollongong, Nowra, Bowral, Goulburn and Yass.

Forecasters expected the showers to continue well into Monday.

Sydney residents were also warned to brace for thunderstorms and flash flooding on Sunday night

It's been a gloomy day in Sydney with clouds on the harbour bridge setting the scene for an expected steady downpour of rain expected to continue until Monday

Severe weather warnings have been issued for Queensland and New South Wales

Meanwhile, torrential rain has brought parts of Canberra to a standstill, with some residents watching on as their homes were inundated with floodwater.

The ACT emergency services agency responded to more than 150 requests for assistance as Canberra was lashed by high winds and heavy rainfall on Saturday and Sunday.

Some parts of Canberra were hit with 60mm of rain within two hours on Sunday, following heavy rain overnight.

More rain is expected for the afternoon as residents battled flooded homes and road closures, including a major highway that allows trucks to bypass the city.

Meanwhile, Queensland was hit by up to 300mm of rain over the course of the weekend.

The State Emergency Service advised people in Queensland to keep clear of creeks and storm drains and refrain from driving, walking or riding through floodwaters.

The bad weather caused havoc at the weekend, with emergency services reporting a number of dramatic rescues.

A social media post showing cloud cover in Brisbane as Queensland continues to get hit with severe weathert

Canberra looked under water in parts as floods hit the nations capital

A 66-year-old man was rescued by helicopter on Saturday after he became lost on a walking track in Gordonvale in southern Cairns.

Two people were rescued at 7pm Friday night after driving their car into floodwaters on Mount Sampson Road in Kobble Creek, north west of Brisbane.

The tourists' car had swept from a causeway and they were washed 200m downstream.

On Thursday night four people were trapped in two cars in Hervey Bay after trying to cross a flooded creek, while a man was charged after he abandoned a flooded car with two puppies inside. The dogs have since been re-homed.

Queensland State Emergency Services responded to 400 calls for help in the 24-hours up to Saturday.

A man abandoned his flooded car in Archer River Queensland, leaving two puppies in the car. Police charged the man and the puppies reportedly have a new home.

A spokesperson said most of the jobs had been 'leaking roofs' and people sandbagging their homes in response to the 'heavy rain'.

He said about 10 people had been rescued from floodwaters which he said was 'quite good' considering it had been 'fairly widespread'.

Friday's deluge continued into early Saturday morning, with several areas receiving more than their average monthly rainfall in 24 hours.

Tamborine Mountain received the most rain with more than 200mm in 24 hours, while Park Ridge had 167mm, Nambour 157mm and more than 150mm falling in some Brisbane suburbs.

SEQ Water has advised several dams are spilling and outflows have increased.

A Brisbane resident noted it was 'raining cats and dogs'

This motorist decided to take the risk and found themselves in a spot of bother

Emergency services have warned motorists in Queensland's south east are warned to not drive through flooded roads

In the country's west, a thunderstorm has torn roofs off homes, and caused flash flooding across Perth.

The Department of Fire and Emergency Services attended dozens of call outs of storm damage in Perth's south, after a severe thunderstorm battered Rockingham.

Weatherzone meteorologists said winds of 130km/h were recorded off the coast, moments before the storm hit the mainland.

Hail and torrential rainfall caused flash flooding on suburban streets in Western Australia's capital.

The storm was expected to track through Western Australia and into the Great Southern.

A dramatic rescue took place when four people were trapped in cars in Hervey Bay, Queensland

Emergency vehicles coming to the aid of people trapped in flood waters in Queensland as people were rescued from cars

It appears some motorists aren't getting the message with Queensland Police having to help people get out of trouble near BrisbaneA huge fire has ravaged a winery, causing hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of damage.

Fire engines raced to the blaze at the winery called Ten Minutes by Tractor in Mornington Peninsula, Victoria at 4pm today.

Dramatic pictures from the scene show huge plumes of smoke billowing into the sky as the blaze raged below.

A huge fire has ravaged a winery, causing hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of damage

Fire engines raced to the blaze at the winery called Ten Minutes by Tractor in Mornington Peninsula, Victoria at 4pm today

Firemen at the scene tackle the blaze which ravaged the winery at 4pm today

Staff frantically evacuated customers from the winery's main building, with one brave worker suffering minor burns while making sure everyone got to safety.

He was treated by paramedics at the scene as firemen doused the flames.

It is not known how the fire started, a County Fire Authority spokesman told Daily Mail Australia.

Victoria police said the fire was not being treated as suspicious at this stage.

It is not known how the fire started, a County Fire Authority spokesman told Daily Mail Australia

Smoke billows into the sky as firemen douse flames at the winery on Sunday afternoon

Staff frantically evacuated customers from the winery's main building, with one brave worker (pictured) suffering minor burns while making sure everyone got to safety

Victoria police said the fire was not being treated as suspicious at this stage

This image shows some of the damage caused to the winery on Victoria's Mornington PeninsulaA man who police say was a known associate of the Comanchero bikie club has been identified as the 31-year-old shot and killed by police on Sunday morning.

Liam Scorsese was tasered by officers just before 10am after allegedly lunging at police while holding a knife, and then shot twice when he did not respond to the shock.

Witnesses claim Scorsese, 31, had screamed 'shoot me' to the officers, after he was caught trying to break into his ex-girlfriend's home, The Courier Mail reported.

Liam Scorsese (left) reportedly told police to 'shoot me' as he lunged at them with a knife on Sunday

Chireez Beytell (pictured right in both images) said her pain was 'unbearable' and suffering 'unimaginable' upon hearing the news of Scorsese's death

Police had been called to a domestic incident in Wakerly, Brisbane, and Detective Chief Superintendent Mick Niland told reporters officers present were 'in fear of their lives' when the shots were fired.

'They tasered the man before retreating approximately 60 metres down the road.'

It is believed one of the two officers present, who were both junior members of the force, shot at the man twice.

Though he was reportedly trying to break into his former girlfriend's home, it is not clear if the pair had rekindled their relationship.

Friends of Scorsese took to social media on Sunday evening to share their devastation at the news of his death.

Scorsese's friend, Chireez Beytell, said her pain was 'unbearable' and suffering 'unimaginable'.

'Four years wasnt enough, it wasnt the lifetime you promised me or yourself, now your're gone. May you fly with the angels, I will never let go bub I will never let go,' she wrote.

The pair appear to have been in a relationship, with Ms Beytell often thanking him for gifts and sharing messages between the pair on her social media account.

Scorsese was remembered fondly by friends as respectful and gentlemanly, and one woman noted the man had a 'sad mind'

His lawyer, Ashkan Tai (left) said he would be seeking to find out exactly how his friend's death had come about for the sake of his family

Scorsese (left), who has been linked to Comanchero gang members, was clearly well loved, with many friends grieving his death

One old friend fondly recalled starting high school with Scorsese, and being kicked out of the school together, and said he was 'angry and devastated' to hear of the man's death.

'Too many memories to think of, from starting high school together, sleeping at mine every weekend, turning the back yard or living room into a hotel so everyone could sleep over or putting up tents in the back yard for everyone to sleep in,' he wrote.

'Both being the first to be kicked out of the school to both of us living up on the Gold Coast living together making the Q1 go crazy every day.

'We went through the good and the bad together up there, but no matter what it was we did, we did it the way we wanted to do it and made the most out of it.

'Hearing about how you passed makes me angry and devastated at the same time. As much as I hate that place I'm coming to say a final goodbye.'

Another shared a photo of himself, simply writing 'R.I.P Liam', and the photo was used by a female friend an hour later, who described herself as 'shattered' and claimed he had always been a gentleman to her.

'[At] least your sad mind will be at rest my friend,' she wrote.

'Not cool,' commented one man.

'I really thought he'd make it after prison. R.I.P my friend.'

Scorsese died after being tasered and shot by police - following an urgent triple-0 call about a 'man with a knife trying to break into a house'

Police earlier closed off the street in Wakerley, Brisbane to conduct an investigation

Police had tasered Scorsese, 31, before retreating and were reportedly 'in fear of their lives'

The man was taken to Princess Alexandra Hospital in a critical condition - but later died

Defence lawyer Ashkan Tai shared a photo of himself with the 31-year-old and remembered him as respectful and gentlemanly.

'RIP Liam Scorsese. A life taken far too early,' he wrote.

'I am not sure what happened this morning when the police killed you, but I promise I will make sure your family knows the truth no matter what that might be.

'In all my professional dealings with you, you were a gentleman and always respectful. What an absolute tragedy regardless of the circumstances.'

Scorsese was convicted of assault on a Surfer's Paradise bus driver after pleading guilty in August, The Gold Coast Bulletin reported.

Police said earlier reports an officer was stabbed during the incident were incorrect

Detective Chief Superintendent Mick Niland fronted reporters after the incident on Sunday to explain the context of the situation

Queensland Police were called to an incident in Brisbane 's bayside suburb Wakerley on Sunday morning

One 'junior' police officer shot at the 31-year-old man twice

He also pleaded guilty to resisting arrest and obstructing emergency services officers in December 2016, after he had stabbed himself in the chest.

Scorsese was taken to Princess Alexandra Hospital in a critical condition after he was shot- but later died. Police say reports an officer was stabbed during the incident are incorrect.

Residents of the small well-kept street told Daily Mail Australia they have 'no idea what is going on.'

'I heard it on the news and poked my head out and found the whole street blocked off,' one woman said.

'I didn't hear the gunshots or anything - it is very concerning.'

Police said the man was 'armed and enraged' and 'trying to break into the house' before officers were called to the premises.

Scorsese is known to police and has been linked to members of the Comanchero gang.

The man was known to police as well as the people in the home, who called Triple Zero

Police said the man was 'armed and enraged' 'trying to break into the house' before emergency services were calledA secret club where members shared tips of how to end their own lives is said to have been visited by Lady Lucan months before she committed suicide last September.

Exit International, the club in question, is a non-for-profit organisation that advocates the legalisation of euthanasia, providing information, support and aid products for assisted suicide - both euthanasia and assisted suicide are illegal under English law.

Founded originally in Australia by physician Dr Philip Nitschke, Exit International has spread throughout the world with a membership of 20,000, according to the group, with the average age being around 75-years-old. Many of its members are significantly ill.

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Lady Lucan, pictured, was the 80-year-old widow of fugitive Lord Lucan had committed suicide in September, after wrongly self-diagnosing Parkinson's disease

The group's arrival in the UK struck controversy in 2008 when it began giving workshops on how people could 'choose and implement a peaceful death at a time of their choosing,' its website states.

A new chord when it began selling barbiturate-testing kits, costing approximately 35, online in Britain.

The kits allow users to know when lethal barbiturates are present in liquid, meaning a user can take their own life without fear that the drugs have expired or are not strong enough.

Exit meetings are also there to supply its members with advice on how to acquire drugs while not drawing attention to themselves from authorities.

Dragon Hall in Convent Garden, London, pictured, is said to be one of the meeting places where Exit International members meet to swap tips and give support on assisted suicide

Lady Lucan's meetings with Exit International emerged during an inquest earlier this year when her friend David Davies admitted to Westminster Coroner's Court that they had attended one together.

The 80-year-old widow of fugitive Lord Lucan had committed suicide in September, after wrongly self-diagnosing Parkinson's disease.

Her late husband - the 7th Earl John Bingham - is alleged to have killed family nanny Sandra Rivett after mistaking her for his estranged wife during a bitter custody battle over their three children in 1974.

Lady Lucan had lost her sense of smell, felt tired, anxious, suffered from insomnia and was becoming forgetful.

But the coroner said there was no formal diagnosis and an examination of her brain came back with 'normal' results. The Court also heard her diary entry about how she would commit suicide if she became frail and had books on assisted dying.

A pathologist concluded she died from respiratory failure caused by a lethal dose of drugs and alcohol poisoning.

After her death, the Mirror reports that Exit founder Dr Nitschke tweeted a photo of her, writing: 'More tangible evidence of the benefit of Exit International membership and Peaceful Pill workshop attendance.'

Peaceful Pill, pictured, is the name of the group's $80 (57) handbook for euthanasia and assisted suicide

Peaceful Pill is the name of the group's $80 (57) handbook for euthanasia and assisted suicide.

Completing euthanasia in Britain is a penalty of fourteen years in prison under the 1961 Suicide Act.

Most doctors, however, are now in favour of assisted suicide, according to a report of 776 published by the BMJ in February.

Dr Fiona Godlee, the BMJs editor-in-chief said: The BMJ supports the legalisation of assisted dying. The great majority of the British public are in favour and there is now good evidence that it works well in other parts of the world, as a continuation of care for patients who request it and are in sound mind.

We believe that this should be a decision for society and Parliament, and that medical organisations should adopt at least a neutral position to allow an open and informed public debate.

Others still maintain that the practice would put vulnerable patients at risk and undermine trust.

Assisted suicide is legal in Canada, the Netherlands and certain states in the USA including Oregon, California, Washington and Vermont.Advertisement

Britain is set to shiver under four days of snow and sub-Arctic temperatures next week as a bitterly cold wind dubbed 'the Beast from the East' sweeps in from Siberia.

Heavy snow showers of up to six inches will cause travel disruption and power outages, while the biting wind will make temperatures feel close to -10C even in the daytime.

Widespread snow is forecast, and the Met Office has issued yellow weather warnings for Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, with blizzard conditions continuing until Thursday.

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Intrepid ice climbers make their way up a frozen Helvellyn in the Lake District today, which is covered in deep snow and ice

Walkers makes their way across the frozen edges of Red Tarn on Helvellyn in the Lake District today as the UK braces itself for a freezing week ahead

Six-year-old Arthur looks across the frozen edges of Red Tarn on Helvellyn in the Lake District today, a small lake up to 82 feet deep

Walkers take a stroll by the River Trent in Nottingham today amid warnings of freezing weather sweeping into Britain next week

The prolonged cold weather has been put down to a rare phenomenon called 'sudden stratospheric warming', which sees warming air over the Arctic sending the cold to the west.

The snow could cause travel disruption and cancellations, power cuts and the possibility of rural communities becoming cut off.

The lowest temperature tonight, at Altnaharra in northern Scotland, is forecast to be minus 9.2C.

Alex Burkill, a Met Office meteorologist, told MailOnline: 'This weather event is probably going to be historic.

'The theme is very, very cold. We have an extremely cold east polar continental wind that is going to bring even lower temperatures than we've got at the moment and some significant snow.

'Today is not looking too bad, there is a lot of sunshine with highs of seven or eight, although a bit more in the way of cloud in the east of Scotland and the north east of England.

'Tonight across western parts of the UK it will be dry with clear skies, with temperatures generally a couple of degrees below freezing. Then in the east there will be snow showers early tomorrow morning.

'Then overnight temperatures could fall to minus 9.2C at Altnaharra in northern Scotland, and many places won't get higher than 1C.'

'It will be another cold day tomorrow and will feel even colder in the brisk easterly part of the UK. The showers in the east will feed westwards and for much of England and Wales we'll see scattered snow which could turn heavy.'

Mr Burkill said Tuesday will see 'more persistent' snow in eastern Scotland and perhaps north east England, before the showers spread their way further west.

Rowers take to the sea off the Dorset coast this morning as temperatures plummet across the country before a bitterly cold week

This team of seven rowers from Bridport Gig Club took to the water on a cold Sunday morning at West Bay off the coast in Dorset

As temperatures drop a rowing club makes the most of the sun along the river Trent in Nottingham today before The Beast from the East hits on Monday bringing snow and freezing temperatures

This jogger was wrapped up warm while running along the banks of the River Trent in Nottingham today, where temperatures hovered just above zero

A couple walk together by the River Trent in Nottingham today, where the placid conditions provided little warning of the chaos ahead

Fishermen build a fire and shelter to keep warm on West Bay beach in Dorset this morning as Britain braces itself for a week of extreme weather

This Ventu Sky graphic shows snow (in blue) covering much of the UK on Thursday, as cold air sweeps in from the Artic

A bitterly cold beach is pictured at Hengistbury Head by the English Channel in Dorset on Sunday morning

'The cold feel will be most notable on Wednesday and Thursday,' he said. 'It will become colder on Thursday, when in the daytime it will feel minus 10 for some people,' he said.

'There is the potential of heavy significant snow on Thursday night and Friday from the south, rather than the east. That's quite far away but it's something we're keeping an eye on.

'The cold will stay on the weekend, although temperatures might recover a bit in the south.

The Met Office's Marco Petagna said two to four inches of snow is expected in places on Monday and Tuesday, while four to six inches is expected on Wednesday afternoon.

Lows of -5C recorded over the weekend marked the lowest temperature in the week leading up to March 1, the first day of spring, since 1986.

The wind chill, which could see parts of the UK feeling as cold as -15C, rivals the temperatures forecast for parts of northern Norway and Iceland.

Wish you were here? Canaries on major weather alert as islands hit by storms with torrential rain and 130km an hour winds The Canary Islands are on urgent alert as popular holiday resorts are being battered by torrential rain and winds of more than 100 kilomiles an hour. Flights have been suspended or diverted on most of the seven islands and authorities have urged people to stay at home as the freak weather conditions continue to hit. La Palma has seen up to 49 litres per square metre of rain and both La Gomera and Tenerife are experiencing heavy rainstorms. The emergency services have been dealing with hundreds of incidents including landslides, fallen branches, trees on road, demolished roadsigns and power cuts. The Canary Islands are on urgent alert as popular holiday resorts are being battered by torrential rain and winds of more than 100 kilomiles an hour At one stage, operations were suspended at Tenerife south airport with some of the flights being diverted to alternative airports, including to Funchal. Wind gusts of 109 km per hour were recorded on La Palma whilst the emergency plan was activated on El Hierro where access roads to the western zone of the island and the tourist centres. Tenerife south airport had to battle against flooding and low visibility, as did the north airport of Los Rodeos. Both airports are now accepting traffic again. Two people had to be rescued when they became trapped in their car in the mountain area of Izana in Tenerife by SNOW. Members of two football teams were also trapped on El Hierro where they had flown for matches but were unable to return when the storms struck. The emergency services have been dealing with hundreds of incidents including landslides, fallen branches, trees on road, demolished roadsigns and power cuts Several luxury yachts have been damaged when battered by the wind in the port of Las Nieves in Las Palmas, Gran Canaria. In the last hour, the Canary Government has issued another warning, saying gusts of 130 km an hour were now being registered. Classes for tomorrow have been suspended in Tenerife, La Gomera, Gran Canaria, La Palma and El Hierro. The storms are expected to continue throughout the night and there is a warning about huge waves of up to five metres in height. Advertisement

Intrepid walkers tackle Striding Edge on Helvellyn in the Lake District today as the so-called 'Beast from the East' takes a grip on the UK with bitterly cold temperatures and significant snowfall expected to cause disruption this week

The wind chill, which could see parts of the UK feeling as cold as -15C, rivals the temperatures forecast for parts of northern Norway and Iceland. Pictured: Walkers on the frozen edges of Red Tarn

Lows of -5C recorded over the weekend marked the lowest temperature in the week leading up to March 1, the first day of spring, since 1986. Pictured: Ice climbers walk towards a frozen Helvellyn in the Lake DistrictTheresa May (pictured leaving church in Maidenhead today) has been warned that her Government could collapse this year maid fears Tory rebels will join with Labour to try to thwart her Brexit plans

Theresa May has been warned that her Government could collapse this year maid fears Tory rebels will join with Labour to try to thwart her Brexit plans.

Three different ministers warned the Prime Minister that her tenure in No10 is under threat as they met at Chequers on Thursday to finalise their Brexit plans.

The PM was warned she faces a three-pronged threat - from hardline Brexiteers, vocal Remainers and from the DUP who are propping her up in Downing Street.

Tory rebel Anna Soubry has tabled an amendment to a Government Bill calling for the UK to stay in a customs union with the EU.

And chief whip Julian Smith told Mrs May there is a 'very real threat' that 15 to 20 Tory MPs could unite with Labour to back it and inflict a humiliating defeat on the PM.

Senior ministers are reportedly in discussions to raise the stakes and turn the vote into a confidence vote, according to The Sunday Times.

This would mean the Tories would have to call another General Election if the PM was defeated.

Supporters of the move hope this would stop some Tories joining the rebels and kill off the vote - but it risks plunging the Government and its Brexit plans into crisis if it was lost anyway.

Meanwhile, Brexit Secretary David Davis told the PM that Eurosceptic MPs are 'militarising' against her.

He said Tory MP Jacob Rees-Mogg, leader of the powerful Tory Brexit-backing group, the European Research Group, was stirring up criticism of her.

And in a third threat, Northern Ireland Secretary Karen Bradley warned Mrs May that she cannot trust her allies the DUP to actually support her when it came to the crunch.

Mrs May entered into a confidence and supply deal with the DUP after losing the Tory majority at the election.

The DUP's ten MPs agreed to support the PM in big votes - like the budget - in return for a 1billion of funding for Northern Ireland.

Three different ministers warned the Prime Minister that her tenure in No10 is under threat as they met at Chequers on Thursday (pictured) to finalise their Brexit plans.

But the DUP have become entrenched in a bitter row with Sinn Fein over powersharing in Northern Ireland -which collapsed 13 months ago.

And Mrs Bradely warned the PM the party cannot be trusted to 'turn up' and vote to save her.

Meanwhile, other ministers are discussing the possibility that Sinn Fein's seven MPs could beak with history and take up their seven seats in the Commons to oust her.

The SNP has never taken up its seats in the British Parliament as it does not recognise its authority.

But if they changed their policy then Mrs May wafer-thin working majority - which hangs on the DUP voting with her - would be eroded even further.

Mrs May's tenure in Number 10 has been dogged by almost constant talk that she could face a leadership challenge.Tim Clamp, 60, had a flashback when he was waiting at a petrol station near Gatwick North. He is pictured on September 3, 2014, outside the Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red display at the Tower of London

A Gulf War veteran with PTSD was fined for overstaying by 20 minutes in a parking space while recovering from a flashback before having his appeal rejected despite providing medical evidence for his condition.

Tim Clamp, 60, had parked his Ford taxi at Gatwick North Shell petrol station while waiting to pick up a customer when a minor argument with another motorist sparked a 'very distressing' mental episode that left him immobilised.

After he recovered, the Royal Navy veteran and Sussex Police crime investigator explained what had happened to a shop assistant before driving off and 'blanking' the incident from his mind.

But five days later, on September 8, he received a letter from Euro Car Parks demanding 100 because he had overstayed the 20-minute maximum time by arriving at 7.51pm and leaving at 8.33.

Mr Clamp, from Storrington in West Sussex, wrote to the firm with evidence of his clinically-diagnosed chronic post-traumatic stress disorder but had the appeal rejected because he had not formally provided the information on the day.

The decision prompted his local MP to write to the chief executive of Euro Car Parks, which on January 12 increased the fine to 160 and threatened to take Mr Clamp to court if he did not pay up.

Another appeal to the parking appeals service, POPLA, was turned down after officials said it was not in their remit to rule on mitigating circumstances.

Mr Clamp received a penalty charge notice from Euro Car Parks for overstaying in a 20-minute maximum stay space. His is pictured embracing his son, David, on the deck of HMS Hecla after returning from the Gulf War in September 1991

Mr Clamp's flashback was to a time during the Gulf War when the chemical alarms aboard his ship sounded, indicating a possibly catastrophic incident.

He told MailOnline: 'I was absolutely staggered at Euro Car Park's lack of decency which fell below what I, perhaps naively, expected as a wounded veteran.

'When I received the penalty charge notice I resolved to be open and explain my medical background so expected some empathy and acceptance but my words fell on deaf ears.

'I have pursued my case because if people are roughing over me that shows what sort of attitudes other wounded veterans are having to try and deal with.'

Nick Herbert, MP for Arundel and the South Downs, told MailOnline: 'I think we need to be far more sensitive to the issues faced by veterans with PTSD, and I've asked the Chief Executive of Euro Car Parks to review their decision.

'Any fair-minded person can see that this brief overstay wasn't Tim's fault and appreciate the reasons why it happened. The company should do the decent thing and cancel the charge.'

Mr Clamp told MailOnline: 'I was absolutely staggered at Euro Car Park's lack of decency which fell below what I, perhaps naively, expected as a wounded veteran.' Pictured: The Shell petrol station where he was fined, where the parking is controlled by Euro Car Parks

Mr Clamp served with the Royal Navy for 23 years, joining as a junior radio operator and leaving as a master-at-arms in the Naval Police.

During the Gulf War, he spent three months on active service in the Persian Gulf from January to March 1991 aboard the command ship HMS Hecla.

He had a mental breakdown a year after returning and retired from the Royal Navy in November 1997, before becoming a security officer for P&O cruises.

Nick Herbert, MP for Arundel and the South Downs, told MailOnline that it was clear the brief over stay 'was not Tim's fault' and called on Euro Car Parks to withdraw the fine. File photo of the firm's headquarters in Ireland

Mr Clamp's PTSD led to another breakdown in March 1999 and the stress the condition put on his marriage prompted a divorce from his wife, with whom he had three children, in 2000.

His new job as a call advisor for Sussex Police was interrupted by further breakdowns. He tried private hydrotherapy treatment, which he said was semi-successful but gave him a false sense of confidence that he could cope.

Mr Clamp heard about the treatment offered by Combat Stress in 2010, but chose not to seek their help because he felt young casualties from Iraq and Afghanistan were more in need.

He suffered another breakdown in April 2014 and began treatment with the charity in early 2015 after it urged him to accept their help.

Two weeks of residential treatment followed by a further six-week intensive treatment programme taught him coping mechanisms for his chronic PTSD.

He met his second wife, Wendy, in 2002, and married her in February 2012. They have six children, three from each of their previous marriages, and four grandchildren from Wendys two daughters.

Mr Clamp said he still suffers from occasional flashbacks caused by his PTSD, but is thankful that the treatment he has received has allowed him to manage the condition.

Now Ive had treatment from this wonderful charity, I understand my PTSD more  as does my family  after many years of struggling on my own, he said.

I try to move on from what it has done to my children and my ex-wife, but I am happily married now and in semi-retirement.

What is post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)? Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is an anxiety disorder caused by very stressful, frightening or distressing events. People with PTSD often suffer nightmares and flashbacks to the traumatic event and can experience insomnia and an inability to concentrate. Symptoms are often severe enough to have a serious impact on the persons day-to-day life, and can emerge straight after the traumatic event or years later. PTSD is thought to affect about one in every three people who have a traumatic experience, and was first documented in the First World War in soldiers with shell shock. People who are worried they have PTSD should visit their GP, who could recommend a course of psychotherapy or anti-depressants, the NHS say. Combat Stress operate a 24-hour helpline for veterans, which can be reached on 0800 138 1619. Advertisement

For many years looking at the photo of me with my son, David, made me weep with frustration and incomprehension at what lay behind my eyes and in my mind. Now I can look at it with just joy.

Combat Stress said: 'We are disappointed that Euro Car Parks has not taken into consideration Mr Clamp's serious mental health condition.

'Post-traumatic stress disorder can be a debilitating condition, with symptoms worsened by a stressful environment.

'For veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder, the heightened security around airports can trigger difficult, traumatic memories.

'This results in the veteran feeling they're in a fight or flight mode as they prepare to face imagined danger, and makes them more at risk of experiencing a flashback.

'Car parks can have a similar effect, with former servicemen and women finding them stressful places, especially those whose military training involved checking vehicles for risks such as bombs.

'We know that car-related incidents trigger veterans' anger and anxiety, so a trip to the airport can be very provoking for many of the veterans we work with.'

Euro Car Parks, an Ireland-based firm with an office in Marylebone, London, was founded in 1976 and manages more than 1,000 car parks across the UK, Ireland and Europe.

The company has not responded to numerous requests for comment. Shell declined to comment when contacted today.At the opening ceremony on February 22, Vietnamese Ambassador to Ukraine Nguyen Anh Tuan noted that the festival is designed to help Ukrainian people learn more about Vietnam and the Vietnamese community in the country, who are integrating into and becoming a part of the host nation. They have served as a bridge for the friendship between Vietnam and Ukraine.

He also took the occasion to thank the Ukrainian government and Odessa authorities for creating favourable conditions for the embassy to organise the event.

Resnhikova Daroslava, a cultural official of Odessa city, expressed her delight over the organisation of the event, saying that it helps to maintain and promote the bilateral traditional relations and friendship between Ho Chi Minh City and Odessa city.Three other victims had wallets and phones stolen after robberies on Saturday

Victim was grabbed after parking his car and smashed his head on the ground

Police now trying to track down thugs who left 64-year-old man fighting for life

A man was rushed to hospital with bleeding on the brain after a gang of violent thieves dragged him to the ground.

The thugs remain at large after four random attacks in the space of 12 hours in Sydney's inner west on Saturday leaving four people injured.

Three other victims had wallets and mobile phones stolen in robberies in Enmore, Marrickville, Ashfield and North Strathfield between 12.20am and 1.30pm.

A man suffered bleeding on the brain after gang attacked him when he parked his car in Enmore, Sydney

Police are now trying to track down the thugs who left the 64-year-old man fighting for his life

Police are now trying to track down the thugs who left the 64-year-old man fighting for his life in hospital.

He was grabbed after getting out of his car when he parked in Newington Street, Enmore, at around 1pm.

He was approached by two men who pulled him to the ground and he smashed his head during the assault.

A witness saw them leaving the area in a dark-coloured hatchback.

The man's wallet was taken and he was rushed to the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital.

His condition has since improved and is now said to be in a stable condition surrounded by his family, according to 7News.

John Townsend was grabbed from behind as he walked home from the train station in Ashfield early on Saturday morning

'They caught me completely off guard,' Mr Townsend told 7News after he was assaulted

The first attack took place in Ashfield at 12.20am on Saturday, when John Townsend was grabbed from behind as he walked home from the train station.

'They caught me completely off guard, pushed me to the ground and started kicking my face and body,' he told 7News.

He suffered facial injuries and had his personal belongings stolen.

Forensics officers were at the scene to pick up evidence as the hunt for the gang was launched

Just five hours later, a 31-year-old man was walking in North Stratfield when he was targeted and threatened.

He decided to hand over his property to the men but during a struggle he suffered an injury to his elbow after falling to the ground.

The offenders were seen fleeing from the scene in a dark-coloured hatchback - similar to the one seen during the attack on the 64-year-old man.

The final attack just 30 minutes after the man was attacked in Enmore.

Four attacks in under 12 hours across Sydney's inner west started at 12.20am on Saturday

A 27-year-old man was walking in Marrickville when, again, he was grabbed from behind, pulled to the ground and lost consciousness.

When he came to he was aware of three men going through his pockets and taking his mobile phone and wallet.

They were seen getting into a black hatchback which had already been reported stolen, NSW Police said.

Inspector Geoff Olsen, from NSW Police, addressed the media after the random attacks

A police spokesman said: 'This car was located a short time later in a laneway in Dulwich Hill.

'Police believe the four incidents are linked.

'One male has been described as Black African appearance, aged in his early to mid 20s, 155-160cm tall, wearing track pants and a black jacket.

'Another has been described as Middle Eastern/Mediterranean appearance, aged in his early to mid 20s, 165-170cm tall, with a ponytail, track pants and a black jacket.'

Witnesses are urged to contact police or CrimeStoppers on 1800 333 000 or use the Crime Stoppers online reporting page.An Australian grandmother is walking across the the US to bring hope to people with quadriplegia, after her son was told he would never walk again following a horror snowboarding accident.

Kay Ledson's son Josh woke up a quadriplegic after he crash landed on a road in a horrific snowboarding accident 18 years ago.

He shattered three vertebrae and was told by doctors he would never walk again.

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Kay Ledson's son Josh (pictured in hospital) woke up a quadriplegic after he crash landed on a road in a horrific snowboarding accident 18 years ago

Despite this, Josh Wood walked out of hospital four and a half months after the accident.

His mother Ms Ledson said she wanted the world to know it was possible to recover from a spinal injury.

'My heart was broken, I was devastated. I was mad with the hospital because they'd given up on my son in nine hours,' she told Nine News.

In a bid to spread her message, Ms Ledson decided to walk from California to Washington DC on the other side of the country.

She has walked 32 kilometres every day, navigating the extreme cold, heat, trucks, and even wild dogs.

'My main aim is people need to understand you can get recovery,' she said.

Kay Ledson (pictured) has walked 32 kilometres every day, navigating the extreme cold, heat, trucks, and even wild dogs

Josh (pictured with his wife and young child) is pictured walking with the help of a walking stick

Josh said he was extremely proud of his mother for her hard work and ongoing passion for the cause.

He said the only way he knew how to properly thank her, was by maintaining a healthy body.

But he said it wasn't easy.

'It is a struggle every day, a fight every day just to get out of bed, and I'm just so grateful for what I have got,' he said.Lidl is urgently recalling two varieties of its Favorina Chocolate Dip Eggs because they pose a risk to those with food allergies  and the warnings are not written in English.

The Cocoa Creme and Milk Creme eggs  which have a best before date of July 30, 2018  contain milk and may also contain gluten, egg, peanut, soya and nuts.

The German discount supermarket said it ordered a recall of the product on Friday because the packages are not labelled in English.

Lidl is urgently recalling two varieties of its Favorina Chocolate Dip Eggs because they pose a risk to those with food allergies

A warning on the Food Standards UK website urged customers with allergies or intolerances not to eat the product.

They are told to instead return them to the store where they were purchased for a full refund.

Due to a labelling error, Lidl Ireland is recalling the above mentioned products as there is no English on the product label, Lidl said.

If you are allergic or intolerant to any of the above, do not consume this product, instead return the product to a Lidl store for a full refund.

MailOnline has contacted Lidl for further comment.Liam Fox today accused Jeremy Corbyn of undermining Britain's national security during the Cold War - branding him a 'useful idiot'.

The International Trade Secretary said the Labour leader was ' very useful' to the Communists by constantly trying to 'undermine' the arguments of the West.

He said the MP's call for the UK to voluntarily and give up its nuclear weapons was a threat to the national interest.

And he said the Labour left's glorification of the Soviet Union also played into the Communists' hands.

His comments came as former Czech spy Jan Sarkocy has given his first interview on British TV to declare that Mr Corbyn was a 'very good source'.

The minister told the BBC's Andrew Marr Show: 'I certainly think that the Labour left were the Soviet Union's useful idiots during that period.'

Liam Fox (pictured today on the Andrew Marr show) accused Jeremy Corbyn of undermining Britain's national security during the Cold War by having Communist sympathies

Former Czech spy Jan Sarkocy has given his first interview on British TV to declare that Jeremy Corbyn was a 'very good source' (pictured)

Archive records show that Mr Sarkocy met with Mr Corbyn several times in the 1980s when he was posted to London under the cover of being a diplomat.

He said: 'I certainly think it is true that Jeremy Corbyn and others were very useful to the Soviet Union during the Cold War because they undermined the arguments of the West.'

Ex Czech spy uses his first UK TV interview to say Jeremy Corbyn was a 'very good source' The ex secret agent met with the Labour leader several times during the Cold War, according to archive records Former Czech spy Jan Sarkocy has given his first interview on British TV to declare that Jeremy Corbyn was a 'very good source'. The ex secret agent met with the Labour leader several times during the Cold War, according to archive records. And in his first on-camera interview with a UK broadcaster, he has said that Mr Corbyn gave him useful information. He told the BBC: 'He was a very very good source.' Challenged by the reporter on whether the Labour MP was a 'good source' or a 'paid informant, the ex spy added: 'I am telling you he was a very good source.' Advertisement

He added: 'Well I think in the broadest sense he was undermining the security of our country by siding with the Soviet Union that side of the argument.

'I think that was very damaging the the country.

'Luckily it was our side of the argument not Jeremy Corbyn's that one the day

'I think the Labour left were undermining the security of the United Kingdom by their one-sided disarmament and their very clear preference for a Soviet style communism during that period.

'It was very clear Jeremy Corbyn and his fellow leftwingers were undermining our security.'

The Labour leader strong denies any wrongdoing and says the claims that have emerged over the past week are a bid to 'smear' him.

But the saga reared its head again today as Mr Sarkocy used his first on-camera interview with a UK broadcaster, he has said that Mr Corbyn gave him useful information.

He told the BBC: 'He was a very very good source.'

Challenged by the reporter on whether the Labour MP was a 'good source' or a 'paid informant, the ex spy added: 'I am telling you he was a very good source.'

The interview comes after over a week of claims and about the Labour leader's links with the Czech spy.

The former Communist agent has previously claimed Mr Corbyn was a paid informant of the Czech secret police during the Cold War

He has claimed to have recruited the MP, who was codenamed Cob, in the 1980s - meeting him several times.

But the claims have been strongly denied by Mr Corbyn and his aides who say there is no evidence that he was ever paid or knowingly gave a spy information.

Jeremy Corbyn (pictured in the West Midlands yesterday) and his aides who say there is no evidence that he was ever paid or knowingly gave a spy information

The saga erupted after archive records showed that Mr Sarkocy  who was posted to Britain as a diplomat under a fake identity  was hosted by Mr Corbyn in the House of Commons.

The pair also met in Mr Corbyn's north London constituency of Islington, according to the archive records.

The Labour leader insisted he had no idea Mr Sarkocy, who was actually working for the Czech secret police and was later expelled from Britain by Margaret Thatcher, was a spy.

And Czech archivists say they have found no evidence that the Labour MP was in the pay of the Czech Communist secret police.

Mr Corbyn's aides have described the claims as a 'ridiculous smear and entirely false'.

A Labour Party spokesman, said: 'Liam Fox should focus on his job and not give credence to claims that everyone knows are entirely false and ridiculous.'The stuffed corpse of famous 19th century thinker Jeremy Bentham (pictured) will leave its home at University College London for the first time to go to New York next month

Leading philosopher Jeremy Bentham is finally getting his wish of travelling to America - 250 years after he died.

The stuffed corpse of the famous 19th century thinker will leave its home at University College London for the first time next month.

His remains will be flown to New York as part of the Met Breuer's new show Like Life: Sculpture, Colour and the Body.

Bentham, long considered to be Britain's Aristotle, founded modern utilitarianism, but is better known these days as 'the man who got himself stuffed'.

He was so fascinated by the idea of the dead still being useful to the living he wanted his own corpse to become an 'auto-icon'.

So he instructed his friend Dr Southwood Smith to preserve his body by stripping out the flesh, preserving his genitals in wine containers, and dressing his skeleton in clothes.

Ever since his death in 1832 his body has been wired together, padded with hay and dressed in his original 19th century garb on display at UCL.

His head was almost destroyed in the preservation process and is usually locked away separately at the London university.

But now in preparation for his US adventure, experts have fashioned a wax head for him, so he looks more life-like when on display in New York.

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His remains, along with a wax impression of his head (pictured), will be flown to New York as part of the Met Breuer's new show Like Life: Sculpture, Colour and the Body

Who was Jeremy Bentham? Jeremy Bentham was an English philosopher, jurist and social reformer Jeremy Bentham was an English philosopher born in the late 1700s. He was also a jurist, social reformer and the founder of modern utilitarianism  the belief that true happiness comes from actions. London-born Bentham was a child prodigy and studied law at the age of 12. He championed the abolition of slavery and capital punishment, as well as campaigning for prison reform, women's rights, the decriminalisation of homosexuality and animal welfare. One of his key projects was a new prison building design called the Panopticon. Despite Bentham spending 16 years on it, it was never built. But the concept, whereby all inmates are be monitored by a single watchman, without knowing if they were actually being watched or not, was very influential. Although it would be impossible for a single watchman to keep an eye on an entire prison, it would encourage prisoners to act as though they were being watched. Panopticon was applauded by French philosopher Michel Foucault but was rejected by the King. Bentham believed he had thwarted his plans on purpose, leading him to reflect on the idea of 'sinister interest'  that powerful individuals favour their own vested interests instead of those of the public. He was more successful in tackling corruption in the Pool of London  part of the original Port of London. His and Patrick Colquhoun's work resulted in the Thames Police Bill of 1798 and the creation of the Thames River Police. He was also friends with lots of influential people, including Honore Mirabeau, a leader of the French Revolution. He wanted to become an 'auto-icon' after he died instructing friends to preserve his body by stripping out the flesh and stuffing it with hay. His head disintegrated in the process and was replaced by an artist's waxwork (pictured) In 1804 Napolean used his ideas to transform the European legal system. Many considered him to be highly eccentric, with some debating whether he had Asperger's syndrome. He would be often seen 'circumgyrating'  fast walking  around parks in London, where he would also play 'battledore'  keepy-uppies with a badminton racket and shuttlecock. Bentham had a pet cat called The Reverend John Langholme and a pig who slept with him in his bed. He claimed to have a 'sacred teapot' he called Dickey and referred to his walking stick as Dapple. His corpse has been on display at Univeristy College London ever since In 1831 he asked the London City Council if he would be allowed to replace the plants on his driveway with mummified corpses. His fascination with how dead bodies can still be of use to the living saw him write a bizarre set of instructions in his will. He wanted to become an 'auto-icon' when he died, so he told his friend Dr Southwood Smith to preserve his body by stripping out the flesh, preserving his genitals in wine containers, and dressing his skeleton in clothes. His bones are held together by metal rods and his body stuffed with hay. After his death in 1832 his stuffed corpse was dressed in his original garb and put on display in at the South Cloister at University College London. He wanted his head to be preserved by process of 'desiccation', a tradition from the Maoris of New Zealand. But when it was placed over sulphuric acid in a bid to melt the brain his features also disintegrated. A French artist was commissioned to create a wax head for him, which was used to attach Bentham's own hair. The original deformed head was found by a UCL conservator during the Second World War. It is kept stored away at the university, except for during a brief period when rival students at King's College London stole it and demanded a ransom to donate to charity. In 2018 Bentham's body is being moved out of London for the first time  to be used as part of an exhibition at New York's Met Breuer museum. Advertisement

A UCL spokesman said: 'It was always Bentham's ambition to go to America, but it's one he never achieved.

'Now we've mounted a meticulously-planned operation to enable him to achieve in death what he always wanted to do in life.

'To ready him for departure in March he's undergone a full inspection and spring clean  and it's revealed secrets which only museum conservators from UCL's past knew.'

Bentham's will read: 'Twenty years after I am dead, I shall be a despot, sitting in my chair with Dapple [his walking stick] in my hand, and wearing one of the coats I wear now.

'My skeleton put together in such a manner as that the whole figure may be seated in a chair usually occupied by me when living, in the attitude in which I am sitting when engaged in thought.'

Bentham (remains pictured), long considered to be Britain's Aristotle, founded modern utilitarianism, but is better known these days as 'the man who got himself stuffed'

The philosopher and jurist was so fascinated by the idea of the dead still being useful to the living he wanted his own corpse (pictured) to become an 'icon'

He instructed his friend Dr Southwood Smith to preserve his body by stripping out the flesh, preserving his genitals in wine containers, and dressing his skeleton in clothes. It is pictured in a lab at University College London

Ever since his death in 1832 he his body has been wired together, padded with hay and dressed in his original 19th century garb on display at UCL (pictured)

Before agreeing to send him stateside, experts at UCL had to check he wasn't infested with any creepy crawlies.

Jayne Dunn, head of collections management at UCL said: 'We don't want to send an object to another museum and infect their collection with pests.

'The first thing we had to do was to discover whether he was suffering from any infestations. If he had been we would have had to fumigate him,'.

'Carpet beetles love wool but they are less keen on linen which is why we think the vest, underpants and stockings have survived.

'He is wearing the original underwear (which has not got infested) and two sets of stockings, one over the other. That might have been the fashion then. Over the top he has a vest which is the original.'

In preparation for his US adventure, experts at UCL have been giving his corpse a spring clean

Over time Bentham's stuffing lost its shape, leaving a large lump protruding from his back.

Curators at UCL had to re-position his insides to make him look less like something out of a horror film.

The university's Subhadra Das said: 'When you have an old sofa everything settles into the bottom and you have to plump up the cushions.

'The same thing happened with Bentham. We've reapportioned where it is  so he looks a lot slimmer now.'

Jayne Dunn and Emilia Kingham, specialists in human remains, will accompany Bentham on his trip to New York.

They have decided to place him on his back in a seated position to minimise stress on his fragile skeleton.

A separate container will carry his wax head, coat, hat and cane.A Sydney psychologist who asked a homicidal teenage patient to 'come kill the jack hammer guy outside my house' will be allowed to continue to practice.

Elise Lowick, who is registered to practice psychology as Catherine Elise Denshire, sent the message as part of a string of texts to her 17-year-old patient, who had suffered homicidal ideations since he was in Year 7.

She had diagnosed the Year 12 student with Major Depressive Disorder in the moderate to severe range, Generalised Anxiety Disorder in the mild to moderate range, Narcissistic Personality Traits and Adjustment Disorder.

Sydney psychologist Elise Lowick (pictured), who is registered as Catherine Elise Denshire, sent texts to her homicidal teenage patient saying he should 'come kill the jack hammer guy outside my house'

Previously, he had been treated by counselors at his school, who were registered psychologists, and prescribed medication.

The NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal found a string of text messages sent on February 18, 2016 were 'misjudged and unprofessional'.

In the texts sent to the teenager, she implied his school counselors did not care about his well being, and made sarcastic remarks about something being 'all about you'.

Lowick, seemingly jokingly, told her patient it was 'nice' he liked one of the school counsellors, before telling him he could 'play with her head'.

'Told my family last night at dinner about your latest meat meat trick,' she wrote in one message.

'Oh they laughed!'

In one day, the Lane Cove based clinician sent a series of bizarre messages, including one telling her patient her family was laughing at him

Just four messages later, she suggested the homicidal teen kill a man who was working outside her home.

TEXTS FROM ELISE LOWICK TO HER HOMICIDAL PATIENT Message 6: 'Your welcome. I think they have to say hi so that they seemingly care about your well being.' Message 8: 'it's sad but true. It's really all about you. Not.' Message 10: 'Anyway nice that you like [Psychologist A]. You could probably play with her head! Ha! Told my family last, night at dinner about your latest meat meat trick. Oh they laughed!' Message 11: 'What do you mean by play with her head?' Message 14: 'If your planning on murder, can you come kill the jack hammer guy outside my house' Message 16: 'I'm just teasing you' Source: NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal Advertisement

'If your [sic] planning on murder, can you come kill the jack hammer guy outside my house,' she wrote.

Later, she said she had been 'just teasing' the youngster.

Three days later, Lowick revealed she had been texting the teenager off her daughter's phone, and shared her problems with her provider with her patient.

'I just realised that these text are coming from my daughters phone. That's a little awkward,' she wrote.

'You [sic] dr thinks the girl in the photos is cute.

'I am trying to fix my SIM cards up I've had Telstra dramas sorry. From Elise.'

However, during a hearing in front of the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal, her behaviour was found to be only 'misjudged and unprofessional'.

'We do not consider that the respondent's contraventions, when considered as a whole, are of a sufficiently serious nature to justify suspension or deregistration,' the Tribunal said.

'Dr Lowick's conduct, while unprofessional, does not warrant a finding of professional misconduct. It was the result of misjudgment, rather than incompetence in her diagnostic formulation.

'It involved no breach of the position of trust as between psychologist and patient, and did not occur over a long period of time.

'There has been a proper acceptance of responsibility for the conduct, and appropriate steps taken to address the failings and improve Dr Lowick's practices. These are all factors which militate against a finding of professional misconduct.'

Instead, she will be heavily supervised in her professional activity and undergo an online ethics course titled 'Professional Boundaries'.Paramedics feared the worst when they returned from a 999 call to find another note left on their ambulance.

But crew at West Midlands Ambulance Service were delighted that it turned out to be a thank you message hailing them as 'the hardest working' and 'most caring people'.

The glowing letter comes just days after jobless mother Kirsty Sharman was fined for abusing the same ambulance service and leaving an offensive note on one of their emergency vehicles parked on her drive in Stoke-on-trent.

Crew at West Midlands Ambulance Service were delighted to find a thank you message on their van

Paramedic and operations manager Rob Marsh (pictured) found the note and was delighted

Operations manager Rob Marsh tweeted to say the most recent note was 'much more like it'.

It reads: 'Thank you for all your hard work I know it's tough on you. If you need the loo or a hot drink come on in, the door is always open for you and your colleagues. Much love and respect, No 60.'

Last week Sharman, 26, left a note for 999 crews in the same service and told them: 'Move your f****** van'.

He tweeted to say the most recent note was 'much more like it' after a spiteful note was left for the same service last week

Kirsty Sharman (pictured) was arrested and charged with a public order offence after paramedics claimed she verbally abused them

Sharman had been arrested on suspicion of a public order offence after West Midlands Ambulance Service said a resident also verbally abused staff members during the emergency call-out in Tunstall, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire.

Sharman was arrested after she placed the note on the van, which said: 'If this van is for anyone but No.14 then you have no right to be parked here. I couldn't give a s*** if the whole street collapsed. Now move your van from outside my house.'

After being arrested and charged Sharman was handed a 120 fine for a section 5 Public Order offence.

West Midlands Ambulance Service was inundated with messages of support for its crews from around the world following the confrontation.

The 26-year-old (pictured) was fined 120 for leaving the spiteful message for paramedics on a 999 call

A spokeswoman said: 'We've been inundated with kind words with everyone saying they back us  it's lovely to see.

'It hasn't just been in the UK, it's been from all the world, including Australia and America.'

Despite online backlash to her expletive-ridden note, Sharman continued her abuse against the service.

An ambulance crew were shocked to receive this note from Sharman, who was angered the vehicle had parked in an area for residents only parking

A screenshot of just one of Sharman's outbursts after she was handed a fine in court

On Friday night she wrote a tweet saying: 'YOU MY DEAR ARE THE EXAMPLE OF A P**** IN UNIFORM,' to a paramedic.

Her tweet labeling a paramedic worker a 'p****' was just the latest in a string of offensive tweets she has written following her court appearance on Tuesday.

Sharman sparked outrage after she tweeted 'Got to admit though the NHS service is w*** though' on the same day as she was slapped with a 120 fine in court.

Her short-lived Twitter outbursts have been stopped after her account appears to have been deactivated.

On Thursday, Sharman revealed Facebook 'decided to put me on a three day ban', and attached an image of herself raising middle finger.

The 'nightmare' neighbour, 26, of Stoke-on-Trent, wrote: 'Ya'll going on like I hate the NHS ambulance service.

'Nahhh, I just hate the people in my street... it's that simple.'

She also tweeted: 'Sat comfortably in my home while the press sit outside trying to catch a pic. #kirstysharman and proud to be me. #noshame.'

Jobless Kirsty Sharman, who was fined 120 for leaving the note, said she was 'proud' and 'winning' while claiming threats have been made against her

Sharman added: 'You cretins think I need "air time" to apologise. #SorryNotSorry You lot know nothing!'

The account began posting tweets on Tuesday - the same day Sharman was stung with the 120 after pleading guilty to using threatening words or behaviour.

Her note was slammed across social media - leading Sharman to declare herself 'the most hated woman in the world right now'.Keith Jones, 65, has been missing since February 14

The distraught niece of a missing sailor whose boat was found floating in the sea 600km from where he set off has said he is 'almost certainly' dead and accused police of searching for his body in the wrong place.

Keith Jones, 65, left the Hervey Bay Marina in Queensland in his 34ft manitou yacht called Wayfarer on February 14.

Six days later New South Wales police found the abandoned boat floating in the sea of the coast near Iluka.

As police continue to search for Mr Jones, his niece Annette Keast-Jones said: 'He is almost certainly deceased.'

She believes her uncle was heading to Newcastle to visit family. The trip there from Hervey Bay is more than 1,000km and would have taken days.

'We believe the navigation system Keith had was an advanced one and would be able to make the Newcastle trip without Keith having to adjust it after he left Hervey Bay,' Ms Keast-Jones told the Gympie Times.

'He had emphysema and bad knees and if he was overcome by a coughing fit he could have been swept overboard,' she added.

Ms Keast-Jones also said police looking for his body should be focussing on Queensland beaches and creeks. She said her family wanted closure.

Mr Jones was last seen on his 34ft manitou yacht (pictured) in the Hervey Bay Marina

Queensland police said in a statement: 'Police are continuing to appeal for assistance to help locate a man reported missing from Hervey Bay.

'Keith Jones aged 65, was last seen leaving the Hervey Bay Marina on his boat on February 14.

Police undertook an extensive search for the boat in the area. It was located by New South Wales police off the New South Wales coast near Iluka on February 20. No one was found aboard.

'Queensland Police and other agencies are continuing a coastal search of area around the Fraser coast while New South Wales police are conducting their own search in the vicinity of where the boat was located.

'Mr Jones is described as Caucasian, 185cm tall, with blue eyes, a proportionate build and brown hair.'Former Dragons' Den star James Caan fathered a love child with a woman 27 years his junior while still married to his wife, it has been revealed.

Mr Caan, 57, described the woman, who is now 30, as 'phenomenal and fearless' to friends after meeting her at a trade fair in 2011, the Sun on Sunday reports.

The woman  who has not been named - was reportedly spotted on the businessman's yacht in Monaco after giving birth to their child.

Former Dragons' Den star James Caan (pictured with his wife Aisha Caan) fathered a love child with a woman 27 years his junior while still married to his wife, it has been revealed

Mr Caan, who has a net worth of 95 million, has now bought a flat with her after leaving Aisha, his wife of more than 30 years.

Friends said the woman managed to get Mr Caan's private equity firm Hamilton Bradshaw to invest in her business after meeting him.

'Suddenly her company had millions of pounds of investment,' one friend told the Sun on Sunday.

'There was a lot of gossip and it didn't take a genius to work out what was going on. Then one day, she just disappeared.'

Mr Caan (pictured) described the woman, who is now 30, as 'phenomenal and fearless' to friends after meeting her at a trade fair in 2011

Mr Caan's two daughters with his wife  Jemma-Lia, 30, and Hanah, 29  were reportedly devastated to find out about the woman.

He announced his split from his wife in 2016 and they are now divorcing.

Caan, who was born Nazim Khan, joined BBC's Dragons' Den in 2007 but quit in 2010.

He provoked criticism that year after cameras caught him offering to buy a baby after travelling to his native Pakistan after the worst floods in the country's history.A former Daily Telegraph reporter and British diplomat was today unmasked as a top Soviet agent who admitted sending state secrets to Moscow.

David Floyd confessed to helping Russian intelligence agents in July 1951 but escaped punishment and had a successful career before dying in 1997.

Foreign Office files released under freedom of information laws reveal officials decided not to prosecute Floyd and kept his spying activities secret.

David Floyd (pictured in an undated file photo) confessed to helping Russian intelligence agents in July 1951 but escaped punishment and had a successful career before dying in 1997

Floyd, a former Communist activist at Oxford University, was permitted to start a career as an art historian after providing a detailed confession, The Sunday Times reported.

The railwayman's son from Swindon was unmasked only a few weeks after Cambridge Five members Donald Maclean and Guy Burgess disappeared, sparking one of the UK's most notorious spy scandals.

The papers, requested by Burgess biographer Jeff Hulbert, reveal the director of public prosecutions decided their was 'insufficient' evidence to prosecute Floyd.

Floyd, who spoke fluent Russian, worked as a translator for the UK military mission in Moscow before moving to embassies in Prague and Belgrade.

The Foreign Office sacked him after his spying activities came to like but a memo noted that 'MI5  want to find him a job' - indicating he might have struck a deal with the security services to escape prison.

Floyd joined The Daily Telegraph after his return from Belgrade in 1951 and stayed for almost 30 years.

Sir Christopher Floyd, 66, (seen left in an undated file photo) Floyd's son by his second wife, Hajka, and now a lord justice of appeal, said the news was 'very shocking', but declined to comment further. The Telegraph's deputy editor when it hired Floyd was Malcolm Muggeridge (right, in April 1981) who worked for MI6

The paper's editor, Colin Coote, and deputy editor, Malcolm Muggeridge, had served with MI6.

Sir Christopher Floyd, 66, Floyd's son by his second wife, Hajka, and now a lord justice of appeal, said the news was 'very shocking', but declined to comment further.

Jonathan Haslam, from the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey, told the Sunday Times: 'The last thing the Foreign Office and security services wanted in July 1951 was yet another exposure of one of their people working for the Russians.

'They would have gone to any lengths to keep this from the Americans. For the safety of the alliance this had to be wrapped up quickly and quietly.'Addressing the meeting, Vinh highlighted some of the key issues in terms of defence cooperation between the two countries, stressing the need of greater efforts in applying the agreements reached by both sides whilst working out new elements for bilateral cooperation.

He called for the US sides continuous coordination in order to complete the dioxin detoxification project at Da Nang Airport and expeditiously begin the dioxin detoxification project at Bien Hoa Airport in Dong Nai province.

For his part, Ambassador Daniel J. Kritenbrink hailed cooperation on security and defence as a highlight of Vietnam-US relations.

The diplomat gave his affirmation that the US wishes to strengthen defence cooperation with Vietnam, especially in settling the aftereffects of war, aiming to enhance the mutual trust and understanding between sides.A not so glamorous Cinderella story! A private stash of 2416 stolen pairs of work boots and sneakers were found during a police raid in Melbourne's north-east

Thousands of stolen work boots and trainers were lined up in a hall in Melbourne on Sunday, with residents invited to try and identify their own pairs.

In what appeared to be a mass-Cinderella moment, victims of the bizarre theft walked up and down through rows of the shoes, trying them on in the hopes they had been the pair stolen from their front door.

The unglamorous footwear haul was found in the home of a 43-year-old man, who allegedly spent six years lurking outside suburban Melbourne homes looking for shoes to loot.

The prowler kept to a 25km radius, targeting shoes left outside the front doors of homes in Doreen, Mernda, Watsonia North and Craigieburn.

By the time he was caught, the sole-searcher had taken more than 2,400 pairs of boots.

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The shoes were neatly lined up at a community hall in Epping, Melbourne, and locals who had lost their footwear were invited to come and collect it

Thousands of work boots and trainers were allegedly taken by a man, 43, who had been prowling nearby homes in suburban Melbourne

The remaining shoes are yet to be fully counted, but those left behind will likely be donated to charity

A spokeswoman for Victoria Police told Daily Mail Australia no information was yet available on how many shoes had been reunited with their rightful owners, but remaining pairs would likely be donated to charity.

Investigators stumbled on the stash of footwear during a raid in Mernda last year. A search warrant led Mill Park police to uncover the footwear.

When asked why someone would take the shoes, First Constable James Gardiner said: 'I honestly couldn't tell you'.

'It's one of those things - it sort of baffles even me at times,' he said.

Residents acted as their own Prince Charming, trying on the stolen footwear themselves in the hope it

The man who allegedly spent six years collecting his bizarre stash of footwear will face court next month

Victims were invited to Epping Memorial Hall to make statements and retrieve their stolen shoes between 10am and 1.30pm.

Constable James Gardiner made no promises for any Cinderella moments. 'They can slide their own shoes on,' he said.

Locals flooded the community hall, desperate to find their footwear, which some claimed was worth at least $200.

All of them had lost shoes, which they'd left on their front porch, never imagining they would be nicked.

The 43-year-old man allegedly responsible for swiping the shoes was charged with theft and handle of stolen goods in November last year.

He is expected to appear in Heidelberg Magistrates Court on April 13.Nearly 7,500 violent incidents towards staff at one of Australia's biggest hospitals were reported in 2017 - with patients spitting, punching and hurling chairs at staff in the emergency room.

Shocking footage has been released by the Royal Melbourne Hospital as part of a new campaign about aggression in the Emergency Department.

Out of all the incidents taking place or about to take place in the ED, there were nine which included a weapon.

Shocking footage has been released by the Royal Melbourne Hospital as part of a new campaign

The hospital has released the footage highlighting the serious incidents staff have to deal with

This is a reported 85 per cent increase on the number of incidents just four years ago at the hospital's City Campus site, according to the Herald Sun.

But the hospital has released a new video highlighting the serious incidents staff have to deal with on an all-too regular basis.

Susan Harding, the hospital's Emergency Department nurse unit manager, said: 'We hope the video has a positive effect on people in the ED waiting room and watching this on social media.

'It incorporates examples of what emergency staff experience and CCTV footage of actual incidents.

Patients spitting, punching and even attacking medical staff with a chair have been caught on CCTV

Nearly 7,500 cases of violence on staff were reported at one of Australia's biggest hospitals in 2017

'We want our patients and visitors to understand we are committed to providing the best possible care for them, but to do this we must ensure the absolute safety of the people who provide that care.

'We understand long waits and being in hospital can be stressful but any act of violence and aggression is unacceptable.'

The video was launched ahead of a conference held in Melbourne last week looking at ways to improve hospital safety and security.

Susan Harding (pictured) made the plea and launched the video at a conference looking at ways to improve hospital safety and security

It is also now online and will be played inside the emergency room.

Some 95% of healthcare workers have experienced some from of assault, either verbal or physical, according to WorkSafe Victoria.

But staff on the frontline are calling for a complete change of mindset where violence and aggression in the workplace is not thought to be 'just part of the job', Ms Harding added.

'We really wanted to change the thinking and help our staff to understand that violence and aggression in their workplace is unacceptable, and that's not what they come to work for every day.'

The campaign follows another shocking incident in Perth when a doctor was put in a chokehold.

Staff at the Royal Melbourne Hospital's emergency department are hoping to raise awareness of the level of abuse they suffer from patients

Health chiefs in Western Australia have even taken the dramatic step to ensure staff are trained in self-defense techniques by the police.

Most of the reports at the RMH were for physical violence, threatening behaviour and harassment.

Just four years ago the number of incidents nudged just above the 4,000 mark.

The campaign is part of the overall bid to improve working conditions for staff backed by the Victoria government's Department of Health and Human Services and Worksafe Victoria's Occupational Violence and Aggression campaign, which kicked off in 2017.Police have claimed every beggar in one city is a fraud who makes a 'substantial amount of money'.

Officers have stated there are no genuine rough sleepers in Ely, Cambridgeshire, and are concerned the 'homeless' are misleading people.

Members of the public are being urged to give them food or warm drinks instead of money.

Police say there are no genuine rough sleepers in Ely, Cambridgeshire, and are concerned the 'homeless' are misleading people

According to latest figures there are around 600 homeless people in Cambridgeshire

Cambridgeshire Police say they've been responding to an increase in the number of beggars operating in the area but can confirm there are no rough sleepers in Ely.

According to latest figures around 4,751 of people are sleeping rough on any one night in the Britain and around 600 of them are in the Cambridgeshire area.

Police claim housing and support has been offered or given to everyone known to be involved in street begging in the city.

Officers say they are 'keen to impress upon people that there are no rough sleepers in Ely.

Officers have advised the public to give beggars food or a warm drink instead of money

It's claimed housing and support has been offered or given to everyone known to be involved in street begging in the city

Jack Johnson, 43, has been homeless for the past two years and sleeps rough in Ely

This issue is currently being tackled by East Cambridgeshire District Council (ECDC) in partnership with police.

Sergeant Phil Priestley said: 'There are no rough sleepers in Ely - all of the individuals that have been seen begging recently have been catered for with regards to housing and support.

'We do not want people to be mislead, because it can be a lucrative opportunity.

'It is natural to feel for anyone who appears to be living on the streets or who seems to be affected by hardship.

Sergeant Phil Priestley claimed beggars operating in Ely are making substantial amounts of money

'We urge anyone who wants to assist the issue of homelessness to donate to registered charity who will take a co-ordinated approach to tackling the problem.

'If you do feel moved to give something - offer food or a warm drink by all means - but please do not offer money.'

A spokesman for East Cambridgeshire District Council said it has taken thorough steps to ensure that rough sleepers find support.

Housing and community safety manager Angela Parmenter said: 'Sometimes people don't want to engage with us because it is possible to earn substantial amounts of money on the streets of Ely'

Angela Parmenter, housing and community safety manager at ECDC, said: 'Sometimes people don't want to engage with us because it is possible to earn substantial amounts of money on the streets of Ely.

'It may appear that the local authority is uncaring - but in truth we are making support available.'

However, one resident has commented on their Facebook page to disputed this.

She said: 'The man called Charlie who usually sits in the cloisters is genuinely homeless. Yes he has a phone but it's a basic 10 one that a man brought him.

'He doesn't do drugs or drink alcohol. He loves his hot chocolate and is very appreciative when you take him a hot drink.

'I know a lot of the others that also sit around asking for money ARE NOT HOMELESS.

'Charlie has been to see about trying to get room in the hostel. Hopefully he will get lucky and get a roof over his head very soon.'

The news in Ely comes after Conservative Simon Dudley said beggars in Windsor could present the town in a 'sadly unfavourable light' when Prince Harry marries American actress Meghan Markle in May.

He drew criticism from figures including Prime Minister Theresa May after a letter to police last month, in which he complained about 'aggressive begging and intimidation', and 'bags and detritus' on the streets.

Simon Dudley faced a vote of no confidence after he suggested rough sleepers in Windsor be moved on ahead of the royal wedding (Steve Parsons/PA)

But at an extraordinary meeting of the Tory-led council defeated a motion accusing Mr Dudley of bringing the authority 'into disrepute' by 43 votes to 9.

Mr Dudley told the meeting: 'I categorically disagree with the motion. I think it's driven by personal issues from some individuals which are longstanding and well known by this council.'

Mr Dudley had urged police to use their powers under the 1824 Vagrancy Act and the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 to 'protect residents and tourists'.A newly published French historical biography details the dark past of American socialite and secret Nazi collaborator Florence Gould.

The glamorous Gould, who passed away in March 1983, led a lavish life as heiress to French publisher, Maximilien Lacaze, and widow to philanthropist and casino magnate, Frank Jay Gould.

The shocking story about her past is revealed in Susan Ronald's February book titled, 'A Dangerous Woman: American Beauty, Noted Philanthropist, Nazi Collaborator  The Life of Florence Gould' - as the author takes the reader into the art, scandal and sex-filled life of the American expatriate.

'A revealing biography of Florence Gould, fabulously wealthy socialite and patron of the arts, who hid a dark past as a Nazi collaborator in 1940's Paris,' the Amazon description of 'Dangerous Woman' first goes on to say.

Nice, October 1931, Frank and Florence Gould host Charlie Chaplin (left) at the Palais Mediterranee

Details of Gould's dark past are revealed in Susan Ronald's February book titled, 'A Dangerous Woman'

At the early age of 11, the San Francisco-born Gould relocated to Paris with her French parents.

The socialite was the third wife to Frank Jay Gould - the wealthy hotel and casino magnate - who was also son to railroad millionaire Jay Gould, according to the biography page.

Gould 'guided Frank's millions into hotels and casinos, creating a luxury hotel and casino empire... she entertained Zelda and Scott Fitzgerald, Pablo Picasso, Joseph Kennedy, and many Hollywood stars, like Charlie Chaplin, who became her lover.'

At the time of the Wall Street Crash in 1929, Florence and her husband remained in France during the Nazi Occupation - where the socialite would prosper.

The socialite worked alongside her husband, Frank Jay Gould (pictured in 1935). Together, their 'empire encompassed 50 hotels, casinos, spas and hundreds of cafes across France'

'Florence took several German lovers and hosted a controversial salon... as the Allies closed in, the unscrupulous Florence became embroiled in a notorious money laundering operation for fleeing high-ranking Nazis,' another shocking line from the book says.

Gould had an affair with comic and filmmaker Charlie Chaplin - who would later offer her a role in one of his movies.

According to a New York Post report, the socialite politely declined his offer, as she didn't wish to part ways with her wealthy husband.

While working alongside her husband, the couple's 'empire encompassed 50 hotels, casinos, spas and hundreds of cafes across France,' according to the Post.

Gould (left) had an affair with comic and filmmaker Charlie Chaplin (right) - who would later offer Gould a role in one of his movies

'It's true, it's true, I love money,' the heiress, who also made a name for herself by designing clothing, once admitted.

Frank's promiscuous wife then carried on numerous other affairs - with American ambassador to France, William Bullitt and Nazi spy, Otto Abetz, to name a couple.

Following the war, Gould eventually became a respected artist who made contributions to the Metropolitan Museum and New York University.

In 1984, the year after Gould's death, at least two hundred Impressionist and post-Impressionist art works were auctioned off from her collection, a New York Times report said at the time.

Her high-profile life 'earned her friends like Estee Lauder who obligingly looked the other way,' the book on her life reveals.

'A seductive and utterly amoral woman who loved to say "money doesn't care who owns it" - Florence's life proved a strong argument that perhaps money can buy happiness after all.'President Trump misquoted Fox News in a Saturday night tweet as he attacked Rep. Adam Schiff, the House Intelligence Committee's top Democrat, over the release of the Democrats' memo.

'"Congressman Schiff omitted and distorted key facts" @Fox News So, what else is new. He is a total phony!' Trump tweeted.

In reality, Fox News had reported, 'Congressman Schiff, he argues the Republican memo omitted and distorted key facts  it was initially meant to be mislead the public.'

President Trump (left) misquoted a Fox News report Saturday night in order to attack Rep. Adam Schiff (right), the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee

In the original Fox News report, the anchor says that Schiff alleges that the Republicans 'omitted and distorted key facts' in their memo

CNN's Brian Stelter first pointed out the missing words, calling it 'worrisome' that the president would either purposely misquote a news report or misunderstood what he heard on TV

CNN's Brian Stelter first noticed the missing words, and tweeted about them Saturday night.

'Trump just deleted 5 words from the quote to allege the opposite meaning,' Stelter wrote. 'Either he truly misunderstood what he heard on TV, which is worrisome, or he purposefully misquoted it, which is also worrisome,' the television host also added.

Schiff has been a popular target of the president, who has taken issue with Congressional committees taking on the Russia matter.

'Wait a minute, Mr. President. Am I a phony, or sleazy, a monster or little? Surely you know the key to a good playground nickname is consistency. I thought you were supposed to be good at this,' Schiff responded Saturday to the president's insults.

It's only been made worse by the more recent battle over these dueling memos, with the Republican memo alleging FISA warrant abuse, and the Democratic memo saying federal authorities acted appropriately.

Trump approved the release of the Democratic memo, which defends the FBI's applications to obtain Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) court warrants to conduct surveillance of Carer Page, saying that British former spy Christopher Steele's so-called 'dirty dossier' was only part of the information used in the applications.

In a Twitter rant, President Trump suggested that he didn't buy it.

'The Democrat memo response on government surveillance abuses is a total political and legal BUST. Just confirms all of the terrible things that were done. SO ILLEGAL!,' Trump tweeted on Saturday night.

Schiff, the US House Intelligence Committee's top Democrat, responded: 'Wrong again, Mr. President. It confirms the FBI acted appropriately and that Russian agents approached two of your advisors, and informed your campaign that Russia was prepared to help you by disseminating stolen Clinton emails.'

'This whole Witch Hunt is an illegal disgrace...and Obama did nothing about Russia!,' Trump said in another tweet.

The new memo asserted several key points, including that the FBI presented the FISA court with other evidence than the Steele dossier, which was compiled on behalf of Hillary Clinton's campaign.

The memo also said that the FBI began investigating Page's ties to Russia seven weeks before receiving the Steele dossier.

The new memo also states that the warrant applications 'did not otherwise rely on Steel's reporting, including any "salacious" allegations about Trump, and the FBI never paid Steele for this reporting.'

The new Democrat memo also asserts that FBI lovers Peter Strzok and Lisa Page (no relation to Carter), whose anti-Trump text messages were revealed after they were removed from the Mueller probe, did not sign the affidavits used to obtain the surveillance warrants.

Also newly revealed in the memo is information about the four FISA court judges who approved the wiretap application and subsequent renewals. All were appointed by Republican presidents: two by George W. Bush, and one each by George H.W. Bush and Ronald Reagan.

Devin Nunes, the architect of the Republican memo, also criticized the Democratic rebuttal.

'What you're not gonna see is anything that actually rejects what was in our memo,' which aimed to show 'that FISA abuse had occurred,' Nunes said at an annual Republican conference.

Democrats 'are advocating that it's OK for the FBI and DOJ to use political dirt paid for by one campaign and use it against the other campaign,' he said.

'In the United States of America, that is unacceptable.'This is the terrifying moment an acrobat fell while performing a dating aerial stunt with his twin brother.

Anton Martynov, 33, plummeted 20ft and into the ground causing two breaks in his spinal cord and a serious head injury forcing doctors to put him in an artificial coma.

The acrobat is now recovering in intensive care in Elista, Russia as his wife and twin brother wait at his bedside.

The stuntman was performing an act he has practised 'hundreds of times' to an audience of children and their parents when he fell. He was not wearing any safety equipment when he crashed onto the hard circus floor.

Initially, there were reports a cable had broken but it later emerged a belt used in the act had slipped out of a carabiner - a metal ring with a spring clip.

Mr Martynov, was on tour with the Mstislav Zapashny circus from Moscow when the accident happened.

Circus tour official Parviz Gadzhiyev said: 'It was not a broken cable.

'It was due to a belt coming out of a carabiner.

'This can be seen even on the video.

'The artists were performing without safety devices.

Anton Martynov, 33, plummeted 20ft and into the ground causing two breaks in his spinal cord and a serious head injury forcing doctors to put him in an artificial coma

'Now an investigation is underway.'

Local doctors held a video conference with specialists from Moscow to decide on the treatment.

The circus said: 'Anton is in intensive care, his condition is stable.'

'A neurosurgeon is flying to examine him

'His wife and brother are in the hospital.

'They have a room in the ward.'

The circus is continuing the tour.

The stuntman was performing an act he has practised 'hundreds of times' to an audience of children and their parents when he fellTwo inmates who spent three weeks on the run after breaking free from a New York prison had smoked a celebratory cigar in their cells after finalizing their elaborate escape route.

Convicted murderers David Sweat and Richard Matt sparked a manhunt that captivated the country when they performed a Shawshank Redemption-style escape from the Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, New York back on June 6, 2015.

After three weeks on the run, Matt was eventually shot dead by authorities and Sweat was shot and captured a few days later near the Canadian border.

Sweat has now shed light on their escape for a new book 'Wild Escape: The Prison Break from Dannemora and the Manhunt that Captured America' written by reporter Chelsia Rose Marcius.

David Sweat and Richard Matt performed a Shawshank Redemption-style escape from the the Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, New York back on June 6, 2015

The convicted murderers spent weeks cutting through their prison cell walls (above) before leading authorities on a three week manhunt that captivated the country

Sweat spent about 85 nights climbing down into catwalks into the tunnels under the prison to explore possible escape routes.

He firstly had to cut through a steel wall in their cells using chisels, blades and power tools smuggled in by civilian employee Joyce Mitchell who ran the tailor shop where they worked.

Sweat also spent hours cutting through large steam pipes and the chain on the manhole cover that they eventually managed to escape through.

In an excerpt from the book published by the New York Daily News, Sweat detailed the lengthy process he went through to cut through the final metal steam pipe with a hacksaw blade - one inch an hour over several weeks.

He said he started the process in the May before his escape when the spring weather meant the prison had cooled its heating system, meaning Sweat could touch the pipe without scalding himself.

After successfully cutting the man-sized hole in the pipe, Sweat described walking in a passageway that ran along a two-block residential street Dannemora so he could inspect the various manholes above him.

After three weeks on the run, Matt was eventually shot dead by authorities and Sweat (pictured above on June 28) was shot and captured a few days later near the Canadian border

The men left a note (pictured above) for authorities to later find on one of the metal pipes they had cut through that said 'have a nice day' alongside a smiley face

The two men escaped under the prison and fled from this manhole on a residential street in Dannemora

Sweat managed to saw off a chain with the blade and peaked out to check he was outside the prison walls.

'This will be perfect,' he said to himself.

Sweat said he then ran back to his cell, lit the cigar and woke Matt to celebrate.

Six months earlier when they started hatching their plan, they had promised they would smoke the cigar when the route was finally ready.

They escaped the prison that night.

The men left a note on one of the metal pipes they had cut through that said 'have a nice day' for authorities to later find.

They were discovered missing the following morning during an early inmate count. Sweat had made a makeshift dummy to look like he was still sleeping in his cell.

Sweat was serving a life sentence for killing a sheriff's deputy in 2002, while Matt was Matt was in prison for 25 years to life for kidnapping, killing and dismembering a man in 1997.

The two inmates cut through the steel walls in their cells (above) using chisels, blades and power tools smuggled in by civilian employee

Pictured above are the chisels, punch, hacksaw blade pieces and unused drill bits were found left by Sweat inside the tunnel

They were discovered missing the following morning during an early inmate count. Sweat had made a makeshift dummy to look like he was still sleeping in his cell

The two men had enlisted the help of Mitchell, a married prison seamstress, to carry out their plan.

Sweat revealed details of his escape to reporter Chelsia Rose Marcius in her new book Wild Escape

It later emerged that they had manipulated her into believing they would all settle together in a place on the beach in Mexico when they got out.

The pair both had sexual relations with the mother-of-one while in prison.

The three-week manhunt that followed their escape enlisted the help of 1,300 law enforcement personnel.

Matt was eventually shot dead by officers on June 26 in a wooded area 30 miles west of the prison. Sweat was shot and captured two days later near the Canadian border.

Sweat pleaded guilty to escape charges and was ordered to pay restitution for some of the $573,000 in repair costs.

Mitchell, the tailor shop employee, pleaded guilty to charges related to providing hacksaw blades and other tools to the inmates.

Wild Escape: The Prison Break from Dannemora and the Manhunt that Captured America by Chelsia Rose Marcius will be on sale from Tuesday.

The two men had enlisted the help of Joyce Mitchell, a married prison seamstress, to carry out their plan. She pleaded guilty to charges related to providing the blades and tools to them

The three-week manhunt that followed their escape enlisted the help of 1,300 law enforcement personnelMegyn Kelly is under fire by past and present colleagues, who reveal that the NBC host is just as vicious in the work place as she is on screen.

Kelly, the highest-paid host at NBC, has made several shocking jabs on her show and co-workers confess that she is just as 'disrespectful' and 'rude' in the office.

The 47-year-old has reportedly made staffers cry, runs a 'tense' set, has lied to managers to get her way, and has kicked out subordinates from make-up sets in order to be served first.

Under fire: Co-workers of Megyn Kelly have come forward to reveal how the NBC host runs a tense set here staffers are left in tears and complainers have been fired

A former make-up artist for the anchor described her as 'disrespectful' and 'rude' and said, 'She's not for women. She's extremely mean and rude to women'

The news of Kelly's behavior on set is a sharp contrast from the kind and warm demeanor she displays on the show

Make-up artist Iren Halperin has come forward to share that when she worked with Kelly on Fox, the blonde anchor kicked out another reporter from the make-up chair in a fit, demanding to be served first. After her make-up was complete, Kelly then falsely alerted management that Halperin was late.

'She's disrespectful. She's not for women. She's extremely mean and rude to women,' Halperin said to Page Six.

Halperin, worked for Fox News as a make-up artist for 20 years and retired two years ago in 2016. She worked with Kelly when she co-anchored America's Newsroom with Bill Hemmer in 2009.

She recalled one day Kelly arrived 30 minutes early to her 8a.m. make-up slot time for the show, and tried to kick out a female reporter sitting in the make-up chair.

Iren Halperin (above) revealed Kelly's disrespectful behavior from her Fox days

'I told her, "Please have a seat in the greenroom or start your hair first" and she said, "No. I want to get done and want to get done now,"' Halperin said.

Kelly then snapped her finger and pointed to the reporter and ordered her to leave.

'You, get out of the chair,' she said.

Following the incident, Halperin, a mother-of-three was called in my her boss who revealed Kelly reported lies about her.

'The next day my boss called me. Megyn went and lied to management and said, "[Iren] cant come in on time because she has child-care issues,"' Halperin said.

The make-up artist then requested to work with another anchor instead.

'She was difficult and demanding. And if you didn't do what she wanted, she would try to get you in trouble,' she added.

A NBC source says that the make-up artists claims are 'total garbage'.

One other Fox employee said they too asked for reassignment because of Kelly's 'demanding' demeanor.

Sources from Kelly's set an NBC say she is 'is seen as tarnishing the brand, out-of-control and selfish'

Last month, Kelly shocked viewers when she threw verbal jabs at Jane Fonda who visited the episodes prior (above) because Fonda criticized the anchor for fixating on her plastic surgery

Debra Messing (third left) also publicly stated that she regretted going on the show due to Kelly's questions

Coming for Kelly: Ann Curry said the move was petty on The View and called Kelly 'mean,' while Joy Behar said Fonda should have asked: 'How much work have you had b****?'

As for her time on NBC, a high-ranking veteran who did not give their name revealed that staffers frequently 'cry' on the set of Kelly's show.



'She is hated inside the Today Show and is seen as tarnishing the brand, out-of-control and selfish,' the source said.

'The general feeling is that she will not last three years,' the sourced added.

Former head writer Kevin Bleyer (above) was fired after he complained about the bullying on Kelly's show

In January Kelly fired Kevin Bleyer, one of her head writers, after he complained about bullying by the show's two top bosses.

The office was described as a 'completely toxic' space.

Bleyer also said that young female assistants were 'abused and harassed' by executives who 'scapegoat' and launched f-word tirades.

NBC has paid Kelly $23million for a three-year contract.

Kelly shocked NBC executives and viewers when she attacked Jane Fonda on screen after Fonda shot down the host's attempts to discuss her plastic surgery in September.

Kelly then criticized Fonda in a subsequent episode for her actions during the Vietnam War and her infamous trip to Hanoi in 1972.

'Honestly, she has no business lecturing anyone on what qualifies as offensive,' Kelly said on her show.

'Plastic surgery is tough to ignore,' she added.

Since Matt Lauer's departure, Megyn Kelly (above on set of Today) is now the highest paid on-air personality of NBC

Kelly, above with Today Show host Savannah Guthrie last October, is reportedly mean to staffers and co-workers on her show, particularly to women

Megyn, above with Today Show host Hoda Kotb, has been described by sources as a 'loose cannon'

According to a NBC show contributor, producers avoid mentioning Kelly's name when attempting to book celebrity guests after the Fonda jab.

'The atmosphere is really negative . . . [producers] just want to get through this,' the source said.

Will & Grace star Debra Messing has also publicly stated that she regretted going on Kelly's show.

On the program Kelly asking questions asking if it was 'true that you became a lawyer - and you became gay - because of Will?' on air.

Kelly's actions are a huge contrast from her attempts to change her sharp political persona from Fox, into a more warm morning show host at NBC - embracing cooking and weight-loss segments in her programming.

Sources say however that she is viewed as 'unrelatable' for morning viewership.

'You take someone who had a show . . . on Fox about politics and then you say, "Well that wasnt really me." Thats ridiculous,' TV producer Shelley Ross said to Page Six.

Ross lobbied to be an Executive Producer on Kelly's show but was not considered, according to a NBC source.

One celebrity described her as a 'loose cannon' and doesn't advice clients to go on the show.

'Shes a little rough around the edges for the Today Show. Its my job to be smart and plan and I dont think shes a smart move,' the anonymous publicist said.

'I wont even let my NBC talent go on her show. Shes a loose cannon,' the publicist added.A mother and her 12-year-old son were tied up by two knife-wielding robbers who raided their home in the middle of the night.

The robbers broke into the house on Chambers Flat Road, south of Brisbane, at 4am on Sunday and woke up a terrified mother and her three children.

They tied the woman, and a 12-year-old boy up, whilst they raided the house before fleeing with cash and mobile phones.

A mother and her 12-year-old son were tied up by two knife-wielding robbers who raided their home in the dead of night (stock image)

The mother managed to free herself and call police. The three children aged under 10 who were not tied up witnessed the robbery. No-one was hurt.

Queensland detectives are appealing for anyone in the vicinity of Chambers Flat Road around 4am Sunday, who noticed anything suspicious, to contact police.

Police investigations are continuing.The parents of Stuart Kelly, who killed himself after spending one night at a university college, have called for a coronial inquest into their son's death.

Stuart Kelly, 18, committed suicide in July, 2016, four years after his brother Thomas was killed in a coward-punch attack during a night-out in Sydney's Kings Cross.

Ralph and Kathy Kelly suspect hazing at Sydney University's St Paul's College left their son 'broken' and are calling for O-Week rituals to be outlawed.

Ralph and Kathy Kelly (pictured) have called for a coronial inquest into their son's death after he killed himself after spending one night at a university college

Stuart Kelly, 18, committed suicide in July last year, four years after Thomas was killed by in a coward attack during a night out in Kings Cross

The Kelly family filed statements with the New South Wales police alleging their son was driven to suicide because he was assaulted at the college, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.

'I believe that he was assaulted, possibly sexually, this was something Stuart would never have recovered from,' Kathy Kelly said.

Speaking to 60 Minutes last year, Mrs Kelly said: 'He went off to university for one night at a college and he came home a different person the following day'.

'It just changed him, he was broken,' she said.

She said Stuart, who spent just one night at the college, burst into tears when she picked him up the next day.

'We hadn't seen him cry since Thomas died he was just sobbing uncontrollably,' Mrs Kelly said.

'He came home and he went into his room and he basically didn't come out for the next couple of months.

'So you can only assume that something catastrophic happened to him that made him feel the way he did.'

Stuart Kelly, 18, committed suicide in July last year, four years after Thomas was killed by in a coward attack during a night out in Kings Cross

'He went off to university for one night at a college, and he came home a different person the following day,' Kathy (pictured right with Stuart and Ralph) said

She said Stuart was held down and had alcohol forced down his throat in what she said was 'a horrific drunken initiation'.

'He asked them to stop but they went ahead and taunted him about the lock-out laws,' Mrs Kelly said.

'He lived at boarding school for six years it would take more than having alcohol forced upon him to spiral into depression.'

The Kelly family was a driving force behind Sydney's lock-out laws after their son Thomas was killed during a night out in December, 2012.

The University of Sydney supported the Kelly family's call for a coronial inquest and said they would have the full backing of the university.

'We would do anything in our power to help the Kelly family find answers,' vice-chancellor Michael Spence said.

Stuart Kelly, 18, is laid to rest in a public funeral for the student in 2016

The heartbroken mother of Stuart Kelly farewells her second son, four years after Thomas was killed in a coward-punch

Sydney University's St Paul's College - which has a long history of sexism, misconduct and bullying

Stuart and Thomas Kelly are pictured together as young children. Both died when they were just 18

Thomas (right) and Stuart (left) Kelly are pictured together as young boys

A new report delving into college culture in Australia, The Red Zone, has unveiled explicit details about on-campus living.

The report detailed traditions including male students masturbating into women's shampoo bottles, and first year students, or freshers, being forced to drink their own vomit.

The report also claimed there was a culture of sexual harassment embedded in colleges, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.

'Universities are failing to provide a safe learning environment for students,' The Red Zone co-author Nina Funnell said.

Mr Kelly said he was prompted to call for a coronial inquest into his son's death after St Paul's College said their internal investigation was over.

St Paul's hired external lawyers to investigate what happened, interviewing students and staff.

But the investigation was soon closed, leaving the Kelly family with no answers.

Ralph and Kathy Kelly arrive for a press conference in Sydney in 2014. Ms Kelly said their family's support for lockout laws had made them a target of abuse, including death threats

Thomas Kelly was killed in 2012 during a night out in Sydney's Kings Cross

Stuart was 14 years old when his older brother died after being randomly punched while walking in the Sydney nightspot with his girlfriend.

Stuart went on to campaign heavily against alcohol-fuelled violence and to support the work of the Thomas Kelly Foundation.

'I carry a deep scar that you cannot see. It's always there, it never leaves,' he said in a famous speech in 2015 calling for an increase in penalties for offenders.

The campaign, coupled with the death of one-punch attack victim Daniel Christie in 2013, eventually led to the controversial lockout laws being introduced by the NSW government the following year.

But Ms Kelly said their family's support for lockout laws had made them a target of abuse, including death threats.

'There were death threats and things like that to our family. What does that do to an 18-year-old?' she said.

'People were saying ''let's kill the rest of the Kelly dogs off'' and things like that.'

Ms Kelly said she believed Stuart would still be alive today had his brother not have been killed.

For confidential support call the Lifeline 24-hour crisis support on 13 11 14.At the meetings, Jamaican leaders expressed their admiration for Vietnams Doi Moi (Reform) and integration achievements, and affirmed their willingness to develop friendly relations and cooperation with Vietnam, especially in the field of economics.

Presenting his credentials to Governor-General of Jamaica, Patrick Allen, the Vietnamese diplomat emphasised that Vietnam attaches importance to facilitating ties with Jamaica, while suggesting that both sides should strengthen the exchange of high-level delegations and foster closer coordination at multilateral forums.

Patrick Allen spoke highly of Vietnams goodwill and voiced his wish to further accelerate cooperation between Jamaica and Vietnam.

Upon meeting with Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Michael Holness, Ambassador Nguyen Trung Thanh extended his congratulations on Jamaicas recent socio-economic and foreign affairs achievements, whilst proposing some issues of mutual concern for potential cooperation, such as the sharing of experience in response to climate change as well as in sustainable development.

Discussing the regional situation, including East Sea issues, Jamaican PM Andrew Michael Holness stressed the need to strengthen cooperation in attempts to promote peace, stability, security, the rule of law, and the peaceful settlement of disputes, including those at sea, on the basis of principles and regulations of international laws, especially the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

Ambassador Nguyen Trung Thanh also held meetings with Thomas Tavares-Finson, president of the Senate of Jamaica, and Kamina Johnson Smith, Jamaican Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade; participated in the activities of Jamaicas Diplomatic Day; and had a working session with the leader of Jamaicas trade promotion agency.

Two schoolgirls plotted to murder a classmate by stealing chemicals and drugging her water bottle.

The revelation comes after documents were released detailing the level of violence in public schools throughout Victoria.

The incident at the unnamed school took place last March and was reported to involve two girls believed to be in their first couple of years at high school.

The incident at the unnamed school in Victoria took place last March and was investigated by police

The plan to kill the other girl was uncovered by teachers who found chemicals inside one of the girls' lockers.

Details obtained by the Herald Sun under a Freedom of Information request highlighted more than 1,500 incidents of assault or aggressive behaviour by pupils.

It represented an increase of 399 on the previous year and involved police on 204 occasions - nearly an average of one per day in the school calendar.

The murder plot saw the girls plan to spike the girl's drink bottle 'with the intent to kill', an assistant principal's report said on April 24, the Herald Sun claims.

Police did investigate the incident at a school in the northern suburbs but the potential victim did not press further charges.

Papers also revealed the school investigated internally and two pupils were excluded

Papers also reveal the school investigated internally and two pupils were excluded and support arranged for the victim. But it is unclear if the three girls still attend the school.

Violence inside schools in Victoria increased by more than a third (36 per cent) in a year.

The 2017 figures for public schools throughout the state showed 229 incidents involved items which could be used as weapons.

They ranged from guns, knives, tasers, scissors, screwdrivers, an axe, rocks chairs and pencils.

In 68 incidents (29 per cent), school staff were targeted and 161 were against students.

Weapons used ranged from guns, knives, tasers, scissors, screwdrivers, an axe, rocks chairs and pencils

Among some of the incidents, knives were held up to the throats of teachers and pupils six times and some students had been threatened with guns on school grounds.

On one occasion an axe was swung at a member of staff who had taken a butterfly knife away from a student.

Multiple incidents of threats being made on Facebook were also reported and there were 50 times when knives were threatened to be used, leading to five stabbings.

The Victorian minister for education James Merlino told the newspaper there were a higher number of incidents after new reporting rules were introduced.



Three people who were once strangers have revealed the special relationship they have now formed after learning they were fathered by the Indiana fertility doctor who used his own sperm to impregnate unwitting patients.

Jacoba Ballard, Matt White and Julie Harmon, all aged in their 30s, now refer to themselves as brothers and sisters as they continue to wrestle with the shocking news about their identities.

Matt remembers that day in September 2016 when a mystery began to unravel that would change his life.

It started when White read a news report that Dr Donald Cline, a retired Indianapolis fertility specialist, faced charges for lying when he denied he'd inseminated unwitting patients with his own sperm decades earlier.

He found Cline's address online and recognized it as the location of his mother's former doctor. Then he Googled the doctor's name. When a photo popped up, he was stunned: He looked like Cline.

'It was just too similar to be coincidental,' he said.

White had long known he was a donor baby, but that day, he had an eerie feeling he was staring at the man who was likely his biological father.

Jacoba Ballard, Matt White and Julie Harmon (left to right) were among those linked through DNA tests, which they say proves ex-fertility doctor Donald Cline is their biological father

Around the same time, Julie Harmon saw a TV news story about Cline. She had discovered years earlier that her blood type indicated she was not the child of both her parents. She didn't follow up to find out why, but the report about Cline, her mother's fertility doctor, was unnerving.

'In the pit of my stomach,' she says, 'I knew something was wrong.'

The TV story featured Jacoba Ballard, whose mother had also gone to Cline and whose complaint to the state helped launched an investigation. Harmon contacted Ballard through Facebook and they traded photos. There were striking similarities.

'I looked at pictures of her, and I knew,' Harmon said. 'We even part our hair the same.'

These two women and White recently crowded into an Indianapolis courtroom to hear Cline receive a one-year suspended sentence for lying to investigators when he denied wrongdoing; DNA tests determined he is the biological father of Ballard and another woman whose mother was his patient.

Cline apologized 'for the pain my actions have caused' but didn't specify how often he used his own sperm in procedures - court documents say he told Ballard about 50 times.

Cline's sentencing, though, was not the end of this story. Instead, in an extraordinary epilogue, three one-time strangers - White, Harmon and Ballard - have forged a kinship as brother and sisters, even as they wrestle with the revelation about their identities.

They've also reached out to 21 other men and women, all in their 30s, who've been identified through DNA tests as half-siblings - evidence, they say, that Cline is likely their father, as well. About a half-dozen of them live in central Indiana.

Many stay in touch through a private Facebook page, and several gathered last fall for a cookout with their spouses, children and three mothers who had been Cline patients. Others have gone on social outings, shared childhood photos, taken note of similarities and, at times, confided in one another private details of their lives.

'It's a very surreal experience,' White said. 'I've shared personal stories that I haven't shared with anyone but my wife. You have almost this instant bond with people who are not only part of this horrible situation, but you can relate to them on an intimate level in a way you can't with anyone else.'

White says they have joked about having a ready pool of possible bone marrow and transplant donors. But this DNA discovery has left emotional scars, too. For the three public faces of this unique club, it has been a wrenching experience.

Cline (above in his mugshot) received a one-year suspended sentence for lying to police when he denied wrongdoing after he was accused of inseminating patients with his own sperm

Jacoba Ballard, Matt White and Julie Harmon (pictured in Times Square) have formed a special kinship, calling each other brother and sister as they've wrestled with the shocking news about their identities

Jacoba Ballard was angry when she sat in court in December, describing a three-year ordeal that determined Cline is her biological father.

'There has not been one part of my life that has not suffered,' she told the judge. 'I find myself mentally drained by thinking of this constantly. I now have anxiety, panic attacks... I isolate myself from family and friends.'

Ballard, 37, said Cline told her mother he used donor sperm from medical residents. She had known since she was 10 that she was a donor child, but in 2014, Ballard grew curious about her family history and thought she might be able to track down some brothers and sisters. She took a DNA test from 23andMe.com, a biotech company that uses saliva samples to determine ancestry and identify distant and close relatives, health risks and physical traits.

Clients can choose whether to be identified in a 'DNA relatives tool' that connects them to others. When Ballard's results came back, they listed seven half-siblings, all but one identified by name. Ballard and two others got together, assembled a family tree and realized one common thread: Their mothers had gone to Cline for fertility treatments.

Ballard and a half-sister arranged to meet with two of Cline's adult children. At first, she says, they denied their father had been a donor, then said he had done so in a small number of cases. About a month later, Ballard and a group of the half-siblings met with Cline himself, and she says he told conflicting stories, finally saying he'd donated sperm about 50 times to help unknowing patients who desperately wanted children.

When Ballard filed a complaint with the Indiana attorney general's office, Cline responded in a letter that anyone accusing him of being a donor 'was guilty of slander and/or libel.' At his sentencing, he acknowledged using his sperm. 'I was foolish in my actions, and I should not have lied,' he said.

Ballard's DNA match to Cline was 99.9997, court records show.

The case wasn't the first of its kind. In Virginia, Dr Cecil Jacobson was convicted in 1992 of fraud and perjury for using his sperm to impregnate patients without telling them. Cline was convicted of obstruction of justice for lying to investigators, but a measure pushed by Ballard and others was introduced in the Indiana Senate this year to make it a crime for doctors to treat patients for infertility by using their own sperm or egg without consent. The measure didn't receive a hearing, so it's dead for this session; its sponsor has not yet decided if he'll reintroduce it.

'I feel like our mothers were violated,' Ballard says. 'He has torn all of our lives apart.'

If there is any comfort, she says, it's in the camaraderie that's developed among several half-siblings. They've gotten together for concerts, an occasional softball game for one of their kids and a few Christmas celebrations. White and Harmon attended the high school graduation ceremonies of Ballard's two children, and the two women speak every day. They laugh about their similar tastes; they even prefer the same order at McDonald's - no onions.

But Ballard has regrets, too.

'He cheated himself out of knowing his children. That's what we are,' she said.

As for her half-siblings: 'We also feel cheated that we didn't get to know each other growing up.'

Cline apologized 'for the pain my actions have caused' during his sentencing but didn't specify how often he used his own sperm in procedures. Court documents say he told Ballard that he had done it about 50 times

Julie Harmon always believed she had a biological bond with her father.

'I grew up thinking I had these characteristics of my father - his eyes, his skin tone. I'm flat-footed; my dad was, too. But then, 35 years later, for that to be ripped away from you - it's really hard. I see a counselor to help with it, but I still cry about it every day.'

Harmon's mother, Dianna Kiesler, says that based on discussions with Cline, she thought her husband was her donor, and after many years of trying, she was able to conceive with the help of drugs Cline prescribed. After Julie's birth, her mother was so thrilled she visited the doctor to show her off.

Then decades later, Harmon took a 23andMe test at Ballard's urging. The results that identified her as a half-sibling were devastating.

'I've lost my entire identity,' says the 36-year-old nurse. 'Everything that I've known up until this point is not there.'

Barry Starr, a Stanford University geneticist, says if two people are identified as half-siblings from a DNA test and they don't have the same mother, they will share the same father, assuming they aren't grandparent and grandchild, uncle and niece or, in rare cases, first cousins.

Harmon says her father was crushed by the news. 'He doesn't talk about it to me,' she says. 'He was very worried my kids would think he wasn't their grandpa anymore. He's very angry.'

Her mother, though, says: 'No matter what happened, our daughter is our daughter. I carried her for nine months. He has helped her for 36 years... She knows who her real parents are.'

Harmon says whenever she receives an online notification that a DNA test has identified another half-sibling, either she, Ballard or White will check Facebook to see if they have mutual friends who can explain the situation. If not, one of the three will try.

'Most of these people who are taking these tests have no idea that they have just opened up Pandora's box,' she says. 'They have no idea how their lives have changed.''

Some prefer no further contact, but Harmon has formed deep friendships with others.

'I consider all of them my brothers and sisters,' she says. 'I have all these siblings that I can talk to and spend time with and rely on. I couldn't imagine going through this on my own. At least we all have each other, because no one truly understands this unless you've been through it. ... We're all in this together.'

The day after Matt White first saw a photo of Cline, he embarked on his own search for answers.

He contacted Ballard and took a 23andMe test, constantly checking for results. He'd known since he was a teen that he was conceived through a donor and had no interest in finding his biological father. Cline, he says, had told his mother her donor was a medical student - the same explanation he'd offered to many fertility patients.

'I went from not having a care to wanting to know everything,' says the 34-year-old White. He tracked down a medical school graduation photo of Cline and studied photos of Cline's son online, noticing similar facial traits - a round face and high forehead.

He's also detected a strong resemblance to Ballard.

'When I first met Jacoba, even to this day, I have a hard time not staring at her,' he says. 'I see so much of my face in her.'

The connection, though, goes beyond appearances. White says he clicked instantly with another half-sister who was a 99.998 DNA match to Cline. At their first meeting, White says, they talked for five hours, developing an instant rapport.

White, a biologist, says he's been able to open up with his new half-siblings, even discussing his own infertility problems, something he's spoken about with very few people. White and his wife have two children conceived through in vitro fertilization.

'I've pretty much given up all my life's secrets,' he says.

For a time, White says everywhere he'd go in the Indianapolis area, he'd be searching for anyone who resembled him, wondering: 'Are they my brother? Are they my sister?'

With DNA tests becoming more popular, White believes their group will grow. As recently as a few weeks ago, he learned of another half-sibling. All were born between 1979 and 1987, and considering that's a long span, he says:

'To think we've found all of us in a two-year period? That's not likely. There's got to be many more children out there.'China's ruling Communist Party has set the stage for President Xi Jinping to stay in office indefinitely.

The party's Central Committee proposed scrapping term limits for the country's president, appearing to lay the groundwork for the party leader to rule beyond 2023.

Since taking office more than five years ago, Xi has overseen a radical shake-up of the party, including taking down top leaders once thought untouchable as part of his popular war on deep-rooted corruption.

Sunday's announcement, carried by state news agency Xinhua, gave few details, but it proposed to remove from the constitution the expression that China's president and vice president 'shall serve no more than two consecutive terms.'

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China's ruling Communist Party has set the stage for President Xi Jinping (pictured) to stay in office indefinitely

'Xi Jinping has finally achieved his ultimate goal when he first embarked on Chinese politics - that is to be the Mao Zedong of the 21st century,' said Willy Lam, a political analyst at the Chinese University in Hong Kong, referring to the founder of communist China.

Xi, 64, cemented his status as the most powerful Chinese leader since Mao in the 1970s at last year's twice-a-decade Communist Party congress, where his name and a political theory attributed to him were added to the party constitution as he was given a second five-year term as general secretary.

It was the latest move by the party signaling Xi's willingness to break with tradition and centralize power under him.

Xi has taken control of an unusually wide range of political, economic and other functions, a break with the past two decades of collective leadership.

'What is happening is potentially very dangerous because the reason why Mao Zedong made one mistake after another was because China at the time was a one-man show,' Lam said.

Since taking office more than five years ago, Xi (third from left) has overseen a radical shake-up of the party

'For Xi Jinping, whatever he says is the law. There are no longer any checks and balances.'

Xi is coming to the end of his first five-year term as president and is set to be appointed to his second term at an annual meeting of the rubber-stamp parliament that starts March 5. The proposal to end term limits will likely be approved at that meeting.

Term limits on officeholders have been in place since they were included in the 1982 constitution, when lifetime tenure was abolished.

Political analysts said the party would likely seek to justify the proposed removal of the presidential term limit by citing Xi's vision of establishing a prosperous, modern society by 2050.

'The theoretical justification for removing tenure limits is that China requires a visionary, capable leader to see China through this multi-decade grand plan,' Lam said.

'But the other aspect of it could just be Mao Zedong-like megalomania; he is just convinced that he is fit to be an emperor for life,' he said.

It was the latest move by the party signaling Xi's willingness to break with tradition and centralize power under him

Hu Xingdou, a Beijing-based political commentator, said while Xi might need an extra five-year term or two to carry out his plans, the country is unlikely to return to an era of lifetime tenure for heads of state.

'President Xi may be in a leading position for a relatively long time,' Hu said. 'This is beneficial to pushing forward reforms and the fight against corruption, but it's impossible for China to have lifetime tenure again.'

'We have drawn profound lessons from the system of lifetime tenures,' Hu said, referring to the chaos and turmoil of Mao's 1966-1976 Cultural Revolution.

Xi's image dominates official propaganda, prompting suggestions that he is trying to build a cult of personality, and evoking memories of the upheaval of that era.

Party spokespeople reject such talk, insisting Xi is the core of its seven-member Standing Committee, not a lone strongman.

At last year's party congress, Xi hailed a 'new era' under his leadership and laid out his vision of a ruling party that serves as the vanguard for everything from defending national security to providing moral guidance to ordinary Chinese.

At the close of the congress, the party elevated five new officials to assist Xi on his second five-year term, but stopped short of designating an obvious successor to him.

Political analysts said the absence of an apparent successor pointed to Xi's longer-term ambitions.

Sunday's announcement on term limits came before the Central Committee was to begin a three-day meeting in Beijing on Monday to discuss major personnel appointments and other issues.

The son of a famed communist elder, Xi rose through the ranks to the position of Shanghai's party leader before being promoted to the all-powerful Politburo Standing Committee in 2007.

When Xi did assume the top spot in 2012, it was as head of a reduced seven-member committee on which he had only one reliable ally, veteran Wang Qishan.

He put Wang in charge of a sweeping anti-corruption crackdown that helped Xi eliminate challengers, both serving and retired, and cow potential opponents.

Xi, whose titles include head of the armed forces, has lavished attention on the military with parades and defense budget increases.

But he's also led a crackdown on abuses and a push to cut 300,000 personnel from the 2.3 million-member People's Liberation Army, underscoring his ability to prevail against entrenched interests.A decomposed body of a woman who died three years ago has been found in a funeral home, but her family thought she has already been cremated.

Mary Alice Pitts Moore from Spartanburg County, South Caroline, died from natural causes at 63 years old in March 2015.

Her family thought she was cremated after she died, but her decomposed body was found in Family First funeral home earlier this month.

Moore's body was discovered after an employee filed a complaint about it being stored for an excessive amount of time.

Mary Alice Pitts Moore died when she was 63 years old of natural causes. Her family thought she was cremated by Family First funeral home (pictured) in Spartanburg County, South Carolina. Instead, she was left to decompose for three years before an employee reported it

Spartanburg County Coroner Rusty Clevenger said his office was notified earlier this month about the body of the decomposed woman.

It took the office two weeks to identify her because unconventional means were not possible.

This means her body had decomposed to the point where regular means were not an option in deciphering the identity.

Clevenger said he spoke with Moore's family members after they identified the body.

The family members were reportedly upset because they believed Moore had already been cremated by the funeral home.

The Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation and the Spartanbugy County Corner's Office have launched an investigation into why Moore was not cremated three years ago.

It is unclear if the family received fake remains of Moore when they originally thought she was cremated.Advertisement

Putin's specialist military cadet schools for girls are set to get a major boost - teaching youngsters with frilly white bows in their hair to handle rifles and grenades.

Russian defence minister Sergei Shoigu wants to expand the country's special cadet schools for girls, and aims to open one in Crimea, the Black Sea peninsula his forces annexed from Ukraine in 2014.

Vladimir Putin's youth army, a separate organisation for boys and girls, has grown massively to 192,500 members since it was founded in May 2016.

Critics say both groups are a sign of increased militarisation in Russia and have likened them to the Hitler Youth.

Vladimir Putin's specialist military cadet schools for girls are set to get a major boost - teaching youngsters (pictured) with frilly white bows in their hair to handle rifles, pistols and grenades

Critics say the all-girl academies are a sign of increased militarisation in Russia and have likened them to the Hitler Youth

Girls at the academies (pictured) wear frilly white bows in their hair but are also receive daily lessons in handling Makarov pistols, Kalashnikov rifles, and hand grenades. Kitted out in their army-style uniforms they are taught to march like soldiers

But supporters claim the force is a way of encouraging patriotism and keeping children out of trouble.

Girls at the academies wear frilly white bows in their hair but are also receive daily lessons in handling Makarov pistols, Kalashnikov rifles, and hand grenades.

Their teachers claim the training will equip the 10 to 17-year-olds for future careers as soldiers or spies.

From 7am exercises to the evening task of ironing their army-style uniforms for the next day, the accent is on hard work, discipline, dedication, loyalty, impeccable manners, etiquette and aesthetics.

Make-up and mobile phones are banned - except for a few minutes each day when pupils are allowed to speak to their parents.

As well as learning to goose-step and shoot guns, the girls are taught intensively for six days a week.

Russian defence minister Sergei Shoigu (pictured) wants to expand the national programme for special cadet schools for girls, and aims to open one in Crimea, the Black Sea peninsula his forces annexed from Ukraine in 2014

They have lessons in core subjects, as well as being taught how to sew, cook, sing draw, fence and dance.

There are classes in first aid and self defence, foreign languages, and fighting terrorists.

The teaching style is traditional and demanding, with lessons starting so early the youngsters need a second breakfast delivered to their classrooms mid-morning.

They are also given a daily dose of caviar to build up their physical strength.

A cadet pupil aged 12 at the Moscow school for girls said: 'I want to be an FSB officerI'm dreaming about going into the secret services.

The pupils' teachers claim their training will equip the 10 to 17-year-old girls for future careers as soldiers or spies

The teaching style is traditional and demanding, with lessons starting so early the youngsters need a second breakfast

One female pupil is pictured at a Russian military cadet school perfecting her pistol skills as she takes aim at her target

'I like working with machine guns. I want to do something for the benefit of my Motherland like all of us here.'

Defence secretary Shoigu is seeking the 'development of cadet education for girls in pre-university military educational institutions in the country's regions', according to reports by RIA Novosti.

He is considering an elite military boarding school for girls in the Black Sea naval port of Sevastopol, Crimea.

The general, who often holidays with Putin, said: 'We have a very elaborate system of pre-university education, and we would like to develop schools for girls in the regions.

'In Moscow there is a Ministry of Defence boarding school for girls, where some amazing girls study. We will perhaps make the same decision about Sevastopol.'

On a recently trip to mountainous Tuva, his native region in Siberia, he boasted their military academies, for boys as well as girls, are 'the best in the world'.

He said: 'In accordance with the instructions of the Supreme Commander (Putin), in the course of the past five years, nine presidential (military) schools have been opened in the country, with about 3,000 cadets studying in them.'

Make-up and mobile phones are banned - except for a few minutes each day when pupils are allowed to speak to their parents

The girls (pictured) have lessons in core subjects, as well as being taught how to sew, cook, sing draw, fence and dance

One girl who attends the Moscow military cadet academy said: 'I like working with machine guns. I want to do something for the benefit of my Motherland like all of us here.'

They are heavily oversubscribed with one place for every seven male applicants - and one in 14 for girls.

Russian cadet schools date back to 1732 under Empress Anna, niece of Peter the Great, based on the Prussian model.

In Soviet times, elite schools were established for orphans training them as cadets in the NKVD, precursor to the KGB.

The aim was that recruits would owe their loyalty to no-one but the secret services.

The first Putin military academy for girls included some orphans but also the daughters of army and secret services families.A British father has been thrown in a Bangkok jail after flying to Thailand to recover his nine-year-old son he claims was abducted by the boy's mother.

Jodie Smith, 41, was held by police at an airport in Bangkok on Wednesday.

He was with Joleon, his nine-year-old child, who he says was kidnapped by his Thai mother Jintra Jummaimuang Smith, 31, in November.

Jodie Smith, pictured right, with his nine-year-old son Joleon, who he traveled to Thailand to find after he disappeared with his mum

Jodie, from South Queensferry, near Edinburgh, is now facing charges of abduction and trespassing after finding his son in a village in Sakon Nakhon Province, northern Thailand, and bringing him to the airport.

He was being held in Sakon Nakhon Prison and his legal fees are said to have already reached 5,000.

Jodie has denied any wrongdoing.

Joleons grandmother Lidia Smith, 67, has started a JustGiving site to help pay the mountain legal fees.

Speaking in The Mirror, she said: 'I believe Joleon has been returned to his mum.

A picture of Jodie Smith with his son Joleon is posted on a crowdfunding page where money is being raised to pay for his legal fees he's accumulated after being thrown into a Thai jail

'Ive had no contact with Jodie since and I have no idea what hes going through.'

Pictured, nine-year-old Joleon who is claimed to have been kidnapped by his mum

She added: 'Jodie has been thrown in jail on charges of trespass and abducting his son, even though Joleon was snatched by Jintra and he asked his dad to bring him home.'

Lidia says Jintra said she was taking her son on a holiday and was planning to return to the UK in the New Year, where the cleaning firm she was working for expected her back on 2 January 2018.

Jintra and Joleon never returned.

Police Scotland were informed of the mother and son's disappearance but little could be done with the pair being in Thailand.

Jodie decided to take matters in his own hands and, having tracked Jintra and Joleon down, traveled to Thailand along with Sean Felton, head of British support group Abducted Angels.

Sean was also detained by Thai authorities on Wednesday.

According to a statement made by Lidia in The Daily Record, the Foreign Office told her Jodie was released from jail.

She said: 'She told Jodie she would drop the charges for money and a plane ticket for her back to the UK.

'He rang me and I started asking family and friends to help me raise the money when he called again and said, "Dont send any money".'

Pictured, little Joleon slides down a pole in a funding page that's been set up for his father to help pay for his legal fees which he has accumulated after being thrown into a Thai jail

She said Jodie and Jintra met in 2006 in Thailand and the couple returned to the UK when Jintra became pregnant with Joleon. Things, she said, started going wrong when their son was about two-years-old.

The couple separated and had shared custody of their son until the disappearance, which prompted Jodie to get full custody on 5 February from Edinburgh Sheriff Court.Advertisement

WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT

President Bashar al-Assad's forces launched new air strikes shaking Syria's rebel enclave of Eastern Ghouta on Sunday and bringing the death toll to 527, including 129 children - despite a UN demand for a ceasefire to end one of the most ferocious assaults of the country's civil war.

After days of diplomatic wrangling, the Security Council on Saturday adopted a resolution calling for a 30-day ceasefire in Syria 'without delay', to allow for aid deliveries and medical evacuations.

Assad's forces launched a major bombing campaign against the enclave on the edge of Damascus a week ago, with more than 500 people killed since.

Ten-year-old Omar, who was injured in an air strike that killed several members of his family at their home in Otaybah, in Syria's rebel-held enclave of Eastern Ghouta, receives treatment at a make-shift hospital in Kafr Batna on Sunday

Doctors attend to ten-year-old Omar who was injured in an air strike that killed several members of his family on their home in Otaybah, in Syria's rebel-held enclave of Eastern Ghouta, as his father and seven-year-old sister, Manar, look on

The UN resolution has raised hopes of stemming the bloodshed but it remains unclear when or how broadly the ceasefire could be implemented.

Russia is a key ally of Assad's regime and in a phone call on Sunday German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron urged President Vladimir Putin to use his influence.

They called on Russia 'to exercise maximum pressure on the Syrian regime to achieve an immediate suspension of air raids and fighting', Merkel's office said in a statement.

Pope Francis also joined international calls for a ceasefire, saying in his Sunday Angelus prayers: 'All this is inhuman. One cannot fight evil with another evil.'

In Douma, the main town in Eastern Ghouta, fresh air raids and artillery strikes could be heard on Sunday, an AFP correspondent in the town said.

At least seven civilians were killed in strikes on Sunday, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group, bringing the total number of dead in the week to 527, including 129 children.

Seven-year-old Manar who was injured in an air strike on her home in Otaybah, receives treatment at a make-shift hospital

A Syrian man walks next to damaged buildings following regime air strikes in the Syrian rebel-held town of Douma, in the besieged Eastern Ghouta region on the outskirts of the capital Damascus

New regime air strikes and heavy clashes shook Syria's rebel enclave of Eastern Ghouta on Sunday despite a UN demand for a ceasefire to end one of the most ferocious assaults of Syria's civil war

Although there appeared to be fewer air strikes, fighting had intensified on the ground, Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman said.

Heavy clashes erupted in southern areas of Eastern Ghouta, he said, with at least 13 members of pro-regime forces and six fighters from the Jaish al-Islam rebel group killed.

'They are the most violent clashes to take place since the beginning of the month,' said Abdel Rahman, whose Britain-based group uses a network of sources across Syria to monitor the country's conflict.

Mohamed Alloush, a key figure in Jaish al-Islam, tweeted that the rebels were 'resisting' bids by regime forces to enter the region.

Eastern Ghouta, home to some 400,000 people, is surrounded by government-controlled territory and its residents are unwilling or unable to flee.

Assad's forces launched a major bombing campaign against the enclave on the edge of Damascus a week ago, with more than 500 people killed since

At least seven civilians were killed in strikes on Sunday, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group, bringing the total number of dead in the week to 527, including 129 children

The two main rebel groups controlling the enclave - Jaish al-Islam and Faylaq al-Rahman - welcomed the Security Council demand, but vowed to fight back in case of renewed attacks.

Jaish al-Islam said it was 'committed to protecting humanitarian convoys' but warned it would 'immediately respond to any violation'.

UN diplomats say Saturday's Security Council resolution was watered down to ensure it was not vetoed by Russia, which has provided diplomatic and military support to Assad's regime.

Language specifying that the ceasefire would start 72 hours after adoption was scrapped and the term 'immediate' was dropped in reference to aid deliveries and evacuations.

In another concession, the ceasefire would not apply to operations against the Islamic State group or Al-Qaeda, along with 'individuals, groups, undertakings and entities' associated with the terror groups.

Syria's former Al-Qaeda affiliate is present in Eastern Ghouta and Assad's regime routinely describes all of its opponents as 'terrorists'.

Eastern Ghouta, home to some 400,000 people, is surrounded by government-controlled territory and its residents are unwilling or unable to flee

The two main rebel groups controlling the enclave - Jaish al-Islam and Faylaq al-Rahman - welcomed the Security Council demand, but vowed to fight back in case of renewed attacks

UN diplomats say Saturday's Security Council resolution was watered down to ensure it was not vetoed by Russia, which has provided diplomatic and military support to Assad's regime

Iran's army chief-of-staff said Sunday that the Syrian military would continue to target 'terrorist groups' in Eastern Ghouta.

'The zones on the periphery of Damascus... are not covered by the ceasefire and the offensives and clearing operations by the Syrian army will continue,' said Mohammad Bagheri, according to the official IRNA news agency.

Iran has also been a key ally of Assad's regime.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, who has described Eastern Ghouta under the bombardment as 'hell on Earth,' said the ceasefire must be 'immediately' implemented.

In the enclave, news of the UN vote was greeted with a shrug.

'I don't think this decision will be implemented. It will be respected neither by the regime nor Russia,' said Douma resident Abu Mazen.

'We can't trust Russia or the regime. We are used to their betrayals,' he added.

The UN resolution has raised hopes of stemming the bloodshed but it remains unclear when or how broadly the ceasefire could be implemented

In Douma (pictured), the main town in Eastern Ghouta, fresh air raids and artillery strikes could be heard on Sunday

Russia has been pressing for a negotiated withdrawal of rebel fighters and their families from Eastern Ghouta, like the one that saw the government retake full control of Syria's second city Aleppo in December 2016.

But rebel groups have refused.

The rebels in Eastern Ghouta have also been firing into Damascus.

Around 20 people have been killed in eastern districts of the capital since February 18, according to state media.

A total of more than 340,000 people have been killed and millions driven from the homes in Syria's war, which next month enters its eighth year with no diplomatic solution in sight.



A hiker who went missing at Yosemite National Park has been found alive and well with minor injuries, officials announced over the weekend.

In a Friday press release, the National Park Service said Alan Chow, 36, was located around 12pm after he had been missing for six days. He was last seen on February 17.

Chow was found by helicopter near the Wapama Fall in the Hetch Hetchy, according to the report, following an extensive search which started Tuesday and involved at least 60 people.

The hiker, who ventured out to the park alone and got stranded at some point, came prepared with a tent as well as plenty of food and water.

Hiker Alan Chow, who went missing for six days in Yosemite, was found alive on Friday

In a Friday press release, the National Park Service said Chow, 36, was located around 12pm after he had been messing for six days

The National Park Service also took to social media to inform followers of the good news.

'UPDATE February 23: We are pleased to report that this #missing person in Yosemite National Park has been located in good condition,' the status said.

'Thank you to all who provided tips to help investigators & searchers find the missing hiker. He is being reunited with his family.#Yosemite #NPS'

Chow was found by helicopter near the Wapama Fall in the Hetch Hetchy with minor injuries

The hiker, who ventured out to the park alone, came prepared with a tent as well as plenty of food and water

Officials said Chow, a resident from Oakland, California, took the proper safety measures

Yosemite Park Ranger Scott Gediman said in a statement Chow took the appropriate safety measures.

'[He] did the right thing by setting up his tent, using melted snow for drinking water, had some food, had warm clothing and was able to stay put,' Gediman said, according to KTVU.

'The lesson here is for everybody, is that if you're out in the back country and you fall, you hurt yourself, you get lost, just stay put and don't try to walk around and get even more lost.'

Chow is a resident of Oakland, California - roughly 158 miles west of Yosemite National Park, and about a 2 h 51 minute drive.Bernie Sanders' stepdaughter is hoping the city that launched her stepfather's political career nearly 40 years ago will show her the same love in her run for mayor.

Carina Driscoll, the former city council member and state legislator, who now runs the Vermont Woodworking School, is challenging incumbent Democratic Mayor Miro Weinberger, who is seeking his third three-year term in the March 6 election.

Driscoll's race will test the strength of the senator's brand, as his only biological son, 48-year-old Levi,contemplates a Congressional bid in nearby New Hampshire.

Sen. Bernie Sanders' step-daughter Carina Driscoll is running for mayor of Burlington, Vermont, a job the 76-year-old Vermont senator had before he sought higher office

Carina Driscoll, the former city council member and state legislator, who now runs the Vermont Woodworking School, is challenging incumbent Democratic Mayor Miro Weinberger

Carina Driscoll's mother is Jane Sanders (left) and her step-father is Sen. Bernie Sanders (right), who ran for the Democratic nomination for president in 2016

Sen. Bernie Sanders' (right) only biological child Levi Sanders (left) is also contemplating jumping into politics, eyeing a Congressional seat in New Hampshire

From her campaign office in the working class neighborhood of the lakeside college city of about 43,000, Driscoll speaks with some of the same conviction as the Vermont senator about her community and the role of the mayor's office, but has said she is her own candidate.

She has the backing of the Progressive Party, described as a people-powered party engaged in grassroots organizing.

'Being Bernie's daughter is one small piece, but it's an important piece because it helps people understand the vision for Burlington that I'm talking about,' she told The Associated Press.

'I am very committed to these values and ideals of a progressive city and we have drifted far too far from that. For me, it was a choice of quietly letting that continue or turning us around. And that is what I'm trying to do,' she added.

She said under Weinberger, the city has catered to private investment rather than advocate for residents' vision of the city.

Another independent and political newcomer, Infinite Culcleasure, is also in the race.

Weinberger disagrees, saying in most major initiatives, the voters have gotten the ultimate say. He said his office has turned around Burlington's troubled financial past - mostly related to a city telecom project - worked to rebuild public trust and improved the northern waterfront and sidewalks and roads.

'It's our job to get great public input, but it's also our job to deliver results and I think that's what we've done over six years,' he said.

City Council President Jane Knodell, a Progressive, said residents are evaluating Driscoll on her own merits.

The candidate has faced questions about a federal investigation of a real estate deal her mother, Jane Sanders, was involved in as president of the now-defunct Burlington College.

The investigation is looking into allegations that Sanders made fraudulent claims and promises while seeking $10 million in financing for the real estate deal.

A Sanders' family spokesman said the allegations were politically motivated attacks.

The college closed in 2016 after struggling under the weight of the purchase of property and buildings it made in 2010 during Sanders' presidency.

Driscoll volunteered for her stepfather's 2016 presidential Democratic primary run.

When she announced her candidacy for mayor, Sanders said he and his wife want to be respectful of her desire to do this on her own.

While she said she was on her own political path, she posted a photo with him as a campaign ad on social media, saying she was Bernie's daughter, and 'one of thousands of people across the country inspired by Bernie to lead during this challenging time.'An Australian tourist, who has tested positive for a deadly disease, arrived in New York City on February 16.

Officials put out a public warning Friday after the man visited several hotels, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and various health facilities in Manhattan and Brooklyn.

The potential exposure of measles happened between February 16 and 21, while the tourist visited sites across New York City and Orange and Putnam counties, the state Department of Health reported.

An Australian tourist, who has tested positive for a deadly disease, arrived in New York City on February 16

The Australian man visited Excel Urgent Care on 1 Hatfield Lane, Goshen in New York, between 8:00 am and 11:30 am on February 21, 2018, pictured here

Anyone who might have been near the visitor between these dates could have been infected and should see a doctor if they develop symptoms, the Department of Health said Friday.

Symptoms of the disease include a rash, cough, fever and 'pink eye.' The symptoms usually show up within 10 to 12 days after the exposure.

The currently unidentified man also went to an urgent care center in Orange County and Orange Regional Medical Centers emergency department.

The risk of developing measles is very low, especially for people who have been immunized.



Pictured here are all the various places the tourist visited while in New York City

He also visited Best Western Hotel on 1324 Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn from February 19 until 12:00 pm on February 20, 2018

The man stayed at La Quinta Inn on 31 W. 71st Street in New York between February 16 and the morning of February 19, 2018

He went to the Oasis Bible Tours at The Metropolitan Museum of Art on 1000 5th Avenue in New York the morning of February 16, and the evening of February 17, 2018There is a background story to my interview with Francois Billig, the CEO of the Acrotec group, which is published today on WorldTempus. After the group made several important acquisitions over the course of 2017, and based on the findings of the 2017 Deloitte watch industry survey, I suggested that consolidation among suppliers in the watch industry might be one of the things to look out for in 2018. I mentioned Acrotec by name and they got in touch with me following the article.



It was only after a two-and-a-half hour drive up into the canton of Jura that I discovered that a slight nuance in the French translation of my article made the reference to Acrotec sound more like a warning. During the thirty-minute interview Mr Billig was keen to point out that, while the group had some very ambitious medium-term objectives, it was certainly not targeting any kind of domination in the watch industry. The recent acquisitions, as significant as they may be, had come about by the companies concerned contacting Acrotec, rather than Acrotec itself actively pursuing potential acquisitions.



Nevertheless, Acrotec has an ambitious target of 300 million Swiss francs in turnover over the medium term, which is a 50% increase over the current figure. This growth will also come from acquisitions, but most likely from outside the watch industry in sectors such as medtech and micromechanics. Its most recent acquisitions will also help the group tap new markets. As an example, after acquiring the only two independent jewel suppliers to the watch industry, Gasser Ravussin and Pierhor, last year, Acrotec could apply the high resistance of jewels to use in other applications, such as high-pressure nozzles used for cutting metals.



Compared with many watch brands, 300 million Swiss francs in turnover is a sizeable figure and shows that an unassuming company nestled in the Jura and making little noise can be a major contributor both to the Swiss watch industry and the Swiss economy as a whole. It is thanks to companies such as Vardeco, from which the Acrotec group emerged, that the micro-cluster around Lausanne producing precision connectors for industry emerged. These companies may not be as sexy as many of the watches you will find elsewhere on our pages, but they play a vital role in making what goes into them.The biggest investigation into child sexual exploitation needs 100 more officers to tackle the 'unprecedented scale of abuse' in Rotherham.

More than 1,500 potential victims and 110 suspects have been identified by the National Crime Agency, and figures are expected to rise further.

Paul Williamson, the senior investigating officer on Operation Stovewood, told the Guardian his team so far had only been able to contact 17 percent of the of the 1,510 possible victims due to a shortage of specially trained detectives.

Mr Williamson also said the investigation needed to be as big as Operation Resolve, the investigation into the Hillsborough disaster, as it was comparable in terms of complexity and scale.

The number of victims of child sexual exploitation in Rotherham has grown to more than 1,500 victims and detectives have identified 110 'designated suspects' in the scandal

'It's a really specialist area, engaging and interviewing vulnerable victims' he said.

'A lot of our victims were children when they were abused but they're now adults and have associated problems as a result of that abuse, including suicidal tendencies, mental health issues, drug and alcohol addiction.

'It's really complex. The progress will necessarily be influenced by the number of officers we've got on the team and we can see that.'

He added he was conscious of demands that are placed across law enforcement in the UK but that he needed 200-250 is officers to complete the task, he currently has 144 officers on Operation Stovewood.

Eighty percent of the suspects are said to be Pakistani and 90 percent of the victims are white girls. This woman says she was raped by an Asian gang in an alley not far from where she is sat

The NCA is conducting a huge investigation in the South Yorkshire town following the revelations in the 2014 Jay Report that children were groomed and abused there.

Professor's Alexis Jay's report sparked national soul-searching when it revealed that the large scale exploitation undertaken by gangs of men had been effectively ignored by police and other agencies for more than a decade.

Eighty percent of the suspects are said to be Pakistani and 90 percent of the victims are white girls.

Asked 'why Rotherham', Mr Williamson agreed that there was combination in the town of a failure to listen to and believe victims, to safeguard them and to investigate their reports

Operation Stovewood was launched after it was called in by South Yorkshire Police three years ago, and is now the biggest investigation in CSE in the UK.

It is 85 percent funded by the Home Office and 15 percent by South Yorkshire Police, and has cost more than 10 million so far.

More than 34 investigations have come out of Stovewood, and it has led to four individuals being convicted, 38 arrested, 18 charged, and two cautioned.Loretta Lee is suing Google for failure to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace. She worked for the tech giant at the Mountain View campus in California for eight years before she was fired for 'poor performance'

A female software engineer at Google sued the tech giant for creating a 'bro culture' where she was sexually harassed at work, a lawsuit claimed.

Loretta Lee worked for the company in Mountain View, California, near Silicon Valley for eight years before she was fired in February 2016 for 'poor performance'.

She filed a lawsuit to the Santa Clara County Superior Court alleging she was groped, slapped and sexually harassed by coworkers, according to The Mercury News.

Google has faced a series of claims in the last year of sexual misconducts and gender discrimination.

The company fired James Damore, former engineer for Google, after he circulated a memo stating there was a biological explanation to why woman were paid less.

The US Department of Labor and another former employee also accused the company of paying women less last year.

Now, Lee is filing her own lawsuit claiming male employees groped and slapped her before she was let go in 2016. She claims the company was notified by the continuous sexual harassment but did nothing to prevent it.

The suit described an incident where a co-worker popped up from underneath Lee's desk one night and told her 'she'd never know what he'd been doing down there'.

She reportedly was afraid he had left a camera or device installed underneath her desk.

The suit said 'Google's bro culture contributed to (Lee's) suffering frequent sexual harassment and gender discrimination, for which Google failed to take corrective action.

Google fired James Damore (pictured), former engineer for Google, after he circulated a memo stating there was a biological explanation to why woman were paid less

Google claims it followed its procedure when employees file complaints. But Lee said in the lawsuit she was wrongfully terminated and experienced sexual harassment daily from male colleagues. During one incident, a male colleague showed up to her apartment with alcohol unannounced. Pictured is Google's main campus in Mountain View, California

Lee was first hired for the company in 2008 at their Los Angeles campus before she was moved to the main location in Mountain View.

She claims the environment she experienced at the company for eight years was 'severe and pervasive' daily.

The lawsuit said she also experienced lewd comments, male colleagues spiking her drinks with whiskey, and males shoot her with Nerf balls.

One male colleague allegedly sent Lee a text message asking for a 'horizontal hug' and another showed up at her apartment unannounced with alcohol.

One male colleague grabbed her lanyard hanging form her neck to ask her for a name before he grazed his hand across her breasts, the lawsuit alleges.

Lee was told by her superiors in the company to file an official complaint the man who groped her, but she said she was afraid of being an 'informer'.

She was then written up for being uncooperative, which forced her to file her complaint

But then human resources said it found her claims 'unsubstantial' and did nothing, according to the lawsuit.

A Google spokesperson told DailyMail.com: 'We have strong policies against harassment in the workplace and review every complaint we receive.

'We take action when we find violations, including termination of employment.'

Lee is seeking an undisclosed amount from Google on top of $25,000 for failure to prevent sexual harassment, disability discrimination, wrongful termination and retaliation.Some 110 girls remain unaccounted for nearly a week after an attack on a school in the town of Dapchi, Nigeria, the country's information ministry said on Sunday.

Insurgents believed to be from the Islamist militant group Boko Haram invaded the school, with 906 students, in the northeastern state of Yobe on Monday.

Of the hundreds of students 110 have not been accounted for, information minister Lai Mohammed announced, while parents released a list of the girls they say are missing.

The fate of the girls is not yet known, though it is feared they have been abducted as brides for the Boko Haram extremists, who in 2014 kidnapped 276 girls from a boarding school in Chibok and forced them to marry their captors.

Information Minister Lai Mohammed speaks during his visit to the school in Dapchi in northeastern Nigeria

Unidentified girls, who say they fled during the attack by Boko Haram on their school, are pictured in Dapchi

Boko Haram recently released a video (pictured) in which they claimed school girls taken in a previous kidnap in Chibok do not want to return to their parents

The militants arrived on Monday evening, sending many fleeing into the surrounding bush amid the hail of gunfire.

While Nigeria's president has called the disappearances a 'national disaster', local officials at first falsely indicated that some had been rescued.

One parent, Bashir Manzo, earlier said parents compiled a list of 101 missing children and presented it to the governor.

Mr Manzo, whose daughter Fatima is still unaccounted for, said: 'This list did not come from the school management or any government source but collated by us from the parents of the girls,' he said.

The state governor, Ibrahim Gaidam, 'told us the girls have not been found and we should continue to pray for their safe return,' another parent, Rabiu Sani, said.

While it appears that many students at the school did go into hiding, Mr Manzo said those children are now back with their families.

A sign for the Government Girls Science and Technology College is pictured in Dapchi

The militants arrived at the school (pictured) on Monday evening, sending many fleeing into the surrounding bush amid the hail of gunfire

A girls' hostel is pictured at the school in Dapchi where dozens of school girls went missing after an attack on the village

'All those that fled into the bush had been brought back to the school on Tuesday, and a roll call was taken after which they had all gone home to meet their parents,' he said.

Boko Haram horrified the world when it abducted 276 girls from a boarding school in Chibok almost four years ago.

While some escaped and many others were released as part of negotiations, about 100 remain with their captors.

The extremist group has kidnapped thousands of people over the years.

The jihadists gained worldwide notoriety in April 2014 when they abducted 276 girls from their school in Chibok, in neighbouring Borno state

Boko Haram are led by Abubakar Shekau and have been fighting the government since 2009

Boko Haram fighters invaded Dapchi on Monday evening, forcing residents, including students of Government Girls Secondary school, to flee into the bushes.

Police and the state ministry of education initially denied claims that students were seized.

Student Aishatu Abdullahi was among those who escaped on foot and spent the night hiding in an abandoned house.

'They were shooting guns and everyone was confused,' she told reporters. 'We saw some people pushing some of the students to enter their vehicles.'

Nigeria's government has repeatedly claimed in the past year that Boko Haram has been defeated, but the group continues to carry out deadly suicide bombings and other attacks.

This latest attack poses a challenge for President Muhamamdu Buhari ahead of next year's elections.

The extremist group released images of the girls it kidnapped in 2014, 112 of whom are still being held

'I share the anguish of all the parents and guardians of the girls that remain unaccounted for,' Buhari tweeted on Wednesday evening.

'I would like to assure them that we are doing all in our power to ensure the safe return of all the girls.'

The Dapchi attack calls into question how far pledges to improve security at schools have been implemented nearly four years after Chibok.

The Chibok abduction in April 2014 brought sustained international attention to the insurgency for the first time, largely via the hashtag #BringBackOurGirls.

A total of 276 girls were seized, of whom 57 escaped in the immediate aftermath. Since May last year, 107 have either escaped or been released as part of a government-brokered deal.

Last month the group, led by Abubakar Shekau, released a new video of the kidnapped schoolgirls claiming they do not want to return to their parents.

Security analysts suggested government ransom payments to secure the release of the Chibok girls could have given the under-pressure group an incentive for financing.The Tory Party's newly appointed youth tsar has been left red-faced after his apology for defaming Jeremy Corbyn notches up 38,000 retweets in less than 24 hours.

Ben Bradley posted the apology on Twitter last night and it quickly became a surprise online hit.

Corbynistas were quick to seize upon the statement - which lawyers for the Labour leader has insisted included the line 'please retweet'.

The message quickly became the Tory MPs most liked and retweeted message on the website.

Tory Mp Ben Bradley's apology for defaming Jeremy Corbyn notched up 38,000 retweets in less than 24 hours

Mr Bradley, 28, who was promoted to be Tory vice-chairman for youth in the January reshuffle, admitted defaming the Labour leader sold British secrets to communist spies.

He forced to apologise to Mr Corbyn and pay an estimated 35,000. He accepted the accusation  which he made in a tweet  was wholly untrue.

His comment followed allegations over the Labour leaders contact with a Czech intelligence agent in the 1980s.

Mr Bradley has to foot the bill for Mr Corbyn's legal costs and will donate the rest of the cash to a homeless charity and a food bank in Mr Bradleys Mansfield constituency.

Ben Bradley was yesterday forced to apologise to Mr Corbyn and pay an estimated 35,000

Labour said Mr Bradley had agreed to admit that his tweet was seriously defamatory.

Tory sources indicated they would stand by him, saying he had a lot to offer the party.

But one senior Tory MP called on Mrs May to sack him as a vice-chairman, saying: Ben does have a lot to offer, but at present that seems to be the Labour Party  not us.

It is the latest gaffe by Mr Bradley, who was only elected to Parliament in the June snap election.

He apologised earlier this year after blog posts he sent several years ago suggesting men on benefits should get a vasectomy and stop relying on the welfare state to support their children.Heads turned to the sky last October when a mystery 'UFO' aircraft zoomed at high speed in Oregon.

The plane spooked air traffic control when it was unable to contact or track the plane and it stumped the F-15 fighter jets that were deployed to intercept it.

Recently released audio footage reveals the scramble to identify the mystery UFO aircraft, tracing how the plane appeared out of no where, alarmed pilots in air traffic, and then chillingly disappeared without a trace.

The meaning behind the unidentified flight spotted at 4:30p.m. on October 25, 2017 still remains a mystery.

Audio tapes obtained by The Drive reveal the hours of confusion that followed after the aircraft zipped across the sky.

Scroll down for audio

An unmarked 'UFO' plane flew over Oregon on October 25, 2017 and then disappeared without a trace, baffling air control officials that fruitlessly tried to contact and track it (file image)

Three Oregon F-15 Eagles fighter jets (above) were then deployed to intercept the aircraft, but even with their high tech senors, the fighters could not find a trace of the plane

The plane was last spotted near Portland International Airport (above) by airline pilots

Alarm was raised to Oakland Center Sector 31, near the border of Oregon about the plane.

The aircraft traveled over Crater Lake towards the Willamette Valley and was moving 'very fast at 37,000 feet' when it was first detected.

The Radar Operator raised concern saying, 'You know that target south of the boundary there? The 0027 code moving very fast at 37,000?'

The Oakland Center Controller said: 'Oh, look at that thing!'

The audio footage reveals the bewildered air control officers trying to sort out the craft's origin

'Yeah, it's crazy,' the operator said.

The Oakland Center Control was stumped on the origins of the plane.

'Huh, um and you dont have anything on him?' the control center asked.

'I've got nothing,' the operator said.

Officials followed the plane on the radar but were unable to track it or contact it as the aircraft did not have a working transponder.

Later a United Airlines flight called in, saying that the large white plane had no markings on it to identify itself.

'Hey it's United 612. Its just a white speck out there. We can see it, but theres no identification on it. Just uh, that its there,' the airline pilot reported.

Air control are clueless about the meaning of the craft in the extensive audio.

The plane dubbed the 'intruder' then quickly dropped off the radar.

According to the Oakland Center Control, the plane first appeared between sectors 13 and 14 in California before speeding off to Oregon

The plane was first spotted between sectors 13 and 14 but then flew off towards Oregon near sector 3

After it dropped off the radar, pilots began to report their shock at seeing the white unrecognizable plane in the middle of their traffic lanes.

The sightings of the plane continued for a half hour and stretched hundreds of miles.

The Drive said that the same report was called in over and over again: a white aircraft was seen cruising around 37,000 feet but it was to far away to decipher the type of plane it was or see markings upon it.

Just 27 minutes after the plane was spotted, F-15 fighter jets from Portland were deployed from Portland International Airport in an attempt to find and intercept the vehicle.

The controller on the audio repeatedly asks airlines to check their systems for the nearby aircraft in an attempt to position the mystery UFO, but by that point the plane was no where to be found.

When the jets were sent out, one craft asks for a location on the aircraft.

The air control agent reported no track on the craft saying it must be in 'stealth mode or something'.

Despite powerful sensors and speed, they couldnt locate the craft.

The last time it was spotted was by pilots descending into Portland International Airport.

The unexplained aircraft posed danger to air traffic and may be of potential national security concern.

After the plane was lost the FAA Seattle Center Official said, Where this guy ended up we dont know'.

'The fighter scramble they went out looking around a little bit but we, you know, we lost anybody having sight of the aircraft,' the official added.

'Wow thats weird,' another official said.

'Its really weird yeah,' the speaker responded.Former Italian premier Silvio Berlusconi charmed a theatre full of supporters in Milan on Sunday, a week ahead of a parliamentary election at which his coalition is expected to win the most votes.

The 81-year-old spoke for more than two hours at a rally as around 1,000 fans cheered, clapped and waved the flag of his centre-right Forza Italia (Go Italy!) party.

'You have a mandate to be missionaries of freedom and democracy this week,' he said, smiling and showing little of the fatigue that has marked his recent appearances.

The coalition, which also includes the eurosceptic League and nationalist Brothers of Italy, is leading in the final polls ahead of the March 4 vote, although it looks likely to fall short of a working majority.

Former Italian premier Silvio Berlusconi rallied a theatre packed with supporters in Milan on Sunday

Berlusconi held the rally a week ahead of a parliamentary election at which his coalition is expected to win the most votes

The 81-year-old was pictured greeting fans during the campaign event in Milan on Sunday

The rally was regarded as an unusual event in a campaign so far largely dedicated to TV talk shows.

'We need to have protagonists of so-called real life in the cabinet,' Berlusconi said. 'Protagonists of business, management, the professions, culture.'

The four-time premier cracked a stream of jokes, even on the topic of joblessness, which remains sensitive in a country with one of the lowest employment rates in the euro zone.

He described having read a university study which he said showed that by 2040 technological developments would mean only half the currently employed workforce would be necessary.

'We need to decide whether we all go to the park and look at other people's babysitters, or if we create something new, which would be preferable,' he said, to laughter from the crowd.

Support for Forza Italia has almost halved since 2001, but regained some ground in the last year and was ahead of its main coalition partner the League in most polls before a two-week blackout period kicked in.

Berlusconi is greeted by party colleague Mariastella Gelmini as they attend the pre-election gathering

Berlusconi gestures as he speaks at the rally, flanked by Attilio Fontana, mayor of Varese

Berlusconi is pictured during his election speech at the Teatro Manzoni in Milan on Sunday

Support for Forza Italia has almost halved since 2001, but regained some ground in the last year, according to opinion polls

Numerous legal cases, sex scandals, and a ban from office due to a 2013 tax fraud conviction have not reduced his personal appeal among die-hard fans.

'He just gets better, he's always so endearing,' said Vincenza Mattiello, a 43 year-old school worker from near Naples, in southern Italy, who attended Sunday's event with her son. 'Even if we don't see much of him, we believe in him.'

Berlusconi, who fell from power in 2011, has yet to formally announce who would be his prime minister candidate if Forza Italia gets more votes than its allies.

But he said on Sunday that the work of government should be undertaken by people with experience outside politics.

Berlusconi's centre-right coalition is leading in the final polls ahead of the March 4 vote but may fall short of a working majority

Berlusconi has yet to formally announce who would be his prime minister candidate if Forza Italia gets more votes than its allies

The four-time premier cracked a stream of jokes, even on the topic of joblessness, which remains sensitive in a country with one of the lowest employment rates in the euro zone

Numerous legal cases, sex scandals, and a ban from office due to a 2013 tax fraud conviction have not reduced his personal appeal among die-hard fans

The was regarded as an unusual event in a campaign so far largely dedicated to TV talk shows, such as a debate where Berlusconi appeared on Wednesday (pictured)

A coalition plan to introduce a flat tax for individuals and firms - a suggestion Berlusconi made while in power but never realised - has been one of the most discussed of the campaign.

'We need to have protagonists of so-called real life in the cabinet,' he said. 'Protagonists of business, management, the professions, culture.'

Such economic considerations are the main reason to vote Forza Italia, said Alberto Giovenco, a 34-year-old from Sicily who runs an agricultural company, and watched Sunday's event on a screen in the lobby of the theatre when seats ran out.

'If you cut taxes you can hire young people,' Giovenco said. 'Berlusconi is the only one who can really do something. He has experience, he's a businessman.'

Berlusconi was Italy's longest-serving post-war prime minister until a blaze of sleaze scandals and fears of a Greek-style financial collapse ended his stint in power in 2011.

Two years later he was forced out of parliament after his conviction for corporate tax fraud was upheld by Italy's highest court and he was sentenced to seven years in jail for paying for sex with a 17-year-old prostitute, though that conviction was later overturned.Flight attendants on a China Southern airplane were forced to move quickly after a fire broke out in the overhead storage.

A passenger and a flight attendant are seen throwing a bottle of water and another container of juice onto a bag in the overhead luggage.

Smoke is seen filling the cabin after a power bank caught fire. It continues to rage on but after a couple of attempts they eventually manage to put out the flames.

The fire was put out with the help of fire and security departments and did not cause further damage to the plane.

A passenger and flight attendant try their best to put out a fire in the overhead storage

Passengers were delayed for nearly three hours after the flight from Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport to Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport departed at 2.53pm China time on a replacement plane, according to live flight tracking site FlightAware.

The passenger whose bag caught alight as people were boarding flight CZ3539 was taken in by police questioning. It is not believed the power bank was in use at the time of the incident.

It does not appear as if there were any injuries from the fire.

Lithium-ion batteries, which are used in electronic devices such as mobile phone, laptops and power banks, are banned as cargo on passenger aircrafts but are usually allowed on as hand luggage.

Eventually the fire is put out by a female flight attendant, and the male passenger in shot throws another bottle to make sure it is completely extinguished

The shocking footage has gone viral on social media, raking thousands of retweets and likes on Twitter.

Shocked viewers expressed their dismay that flight attendants did not use a fire extinguisher on the flames.

Peter O'Tube tweeted: 'Where's the portable fire extinguisher?'

Kawasook tweeted: 'So much wrong with this. Thats a chemical fire. Water will not do.'

Philip added: 'Shocking treatment of the fire! Aircraft involved is shown to be B-2009, a Boeing 777-300ER, which, at least by European CS-25 standards, should be equipped with at least 4 hand fire extinguishers "conveniently located and evenly distributed".'The wife of a former body guard to the Nashville mayor filed for divorce after she discovered his nearly two-year affair with the lawmaker.

Penny Forrest, the wife of Sgt. Rob Forrest, filed for divorce on Friday after discovering the affair between her husband and Nashville Mayor Megan Barry.

Rob Forrest submitted retirement papers on January 17 and stepped down on January 31, the same day Barry admitted to the almost two-year affair.

He was the head of the police force in Nashville, Tennessee, for 31 years and served for three mayors, including Barry.

Surveillance footage revealed earlier this week showed that Forrest and Barry would meet in the early morning hours at the city cemetery during their love affair.

Nashville Mayor Megan Barry (left) admitted on January 31 that she had a nearly two-year affair with Sgt. Rob Forrest (right). She said the affair started in the spring of 2016

Forrest reportedly attended multiple out-of-town trips with Barry starting in June 2016. Barry claims all of those trips were business related

Penny Forrest filed for divorce from her husband on Friday after the affair was revealed

Footage shows Barry's white SUV entering the graveyard, usually after 7am, on several occasions during their two-year affair, before heading to the back of the site - sometimes re-emerging as little as 12 minutes later.

The reason for the taxpayer-funded trips remains a mystery but the mayor's spokesperson, Sean Braisted, told NewsChannel5, which uncovered the footage, that Barry 'finds it to be a peaceful place to start her day'.

'Sometimes she would go for a walk, other times she would sit in the car and either reflect, make calls, catch up on emails, or report issues with vandalism in the cemetery,' he added.

Penny filed for divorce on Friday at the Davidson County Circuit Court in Nashville, Tennessee.

Robert Forrest's lawyer, David Louis Raybin, responded to the divorce filing in an emailed statement to the Tennessean.

He said: 'Mr. Forrest is aware he will shortly be served with divorce papers. He deeply regrets that his conduct will cost him his marriage.

'Given the intensely personal nature of a divorce, Mr. Forrest asks for privacy for his family at this difficult time.'

Barry has continued with her duties as mayor since she revealed the affair

Forrest was ordered to hand over his city-issued phone to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. His wife wants to use the phone during her divorce because her and her lawyer believe it could help her case

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation subpoenaed Forrest's city-issued cellphone in February to investigate the affair.

State investigators have found a nude photo and partially nude photo of a woman that they believe were taken with Forrest's work cellphone.

Barry's lawyer said his client turned in her personal cellphone during the investigation and believes she will be cleared of any 'criminal wrongdoing'.

Barry told USA Today in Tennessee that it started in the spring of 2016. Forrest accompanied her on out-of-town trips beginning in June 2016.

The mayor claims all the trips were for business purposes.

A lawyer for Penny Forrest requested the contents of the cell phone after the it was done being investigated because it may contain 'important information' during the divorce proceedings.Two new polls show President Trump again suffering from record low numbers, as Americans are showing more support for tightening gun laws.

Polls from CNN and USA TODAY/Suffolk University both show Trump at his lowest level of support for each survey, at 35 per cent and 38 per cent respectively.

Meanwhile, CNN's pollsters found that 70 per cent of American adults support stricter gun laws, while 61 per cent of registered voters surveyed for the USA Today/Suffolk University poll agreed.

Scroll down for video

Two new polls show President Trump again suffering from record low numbers, as a CNN survey said his approval stands at 35 per cent

At the same time, the percentage of Americans supporting tougher gun laws has increased in the wake of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Here student Emma Gonzalez is seen speaking

Protesters are seen outside the federal courthouse in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. A new poll found that nearly two-thirds of voters believe something can be done to prevent the next mass shooting, a big uptick from sentiments following past massacres

Last month, things were looking up for Trump.

The CNN survey had him up by five points, to 40 per cent.

His previous low water mark in the CNN survey was 35 per cent approval, which he received in December 2017 as well.

Even a Rasmussen Reports survey on Friday had Trump at 50 per cent approval, one of the highest polling measures he's seen since being sworn into office last January.

But these latest numbers will likely discourage a White House, which is already reportedly suffering from low morale.

USA Today points out that the 38 per cent approval rating for Trump represents a 'steep drop' from the president's standing a year ago, when his first joint address before Congress was considered a success.

Another warning sign in those numbers is that they've gotten more firm, with a larger per cent of respondents now saying they 'strongly disapprove' of the job Trump has done.

39 per cent told pollsters they strongly disapprove of the president, while just 16 per cent say they strongly approve of Trump.

The president has found himself in a politically precarious position on the issue of guns, as students from the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School have demanded action from their government in the wake of the Valentine's Day shooting, which killed 17.

The CNN survey found that 33 per cent approved of Trump's handling of the gun issue while another 54 per cent disapproved.

Americans tend to be more pro-gun control directly after a school shooting, which is what pollsters saw this time around too.

The bump was bigger this time, it's yet to be seen if it's more enduring.

But in the CNN survey, support for stricter gun laws spiked to the highest level of support pollsters had seen since 1993.

Back then it also stood at 70 per cent.

The intensity of the backing for gun control has ticked up too, with 52 per cent telling CNN that they 'strongly' favor stricter laws, which is well above the previous high marker of 37 per cent back in 2013.

At the same time, just 14 per cent said they strongly opposed enacting stronger gun laws.

Additionally, after the Parkland shooting, a bigger chunk of respondents  64 per cent  said they believed government and society can take actions that will prevent future shootings than after any of the previous mass shootings over the last couple of years.

That's compared to the 47 per cent who believed in that statement after last year's Las Vegas shooting, the 46 per cent who agreed after the Orlando Pulse nightclub shooting, the 35 per cent who believed that after the Charleston church massacre, the 46 per cent who thought something could be done after the Sandy Hook Elementary school murders and the 33 per cent who said so after the Tuscon, Arizona shooting, in which a gunman shot Democratic Rep. Gabrielle Giffords in the head.

The USA Today/Suffolk University poll found that 63 per cent of registered voters surveyed believed that semi-automatic weapons, like the AR-15 used by the Florida shooter, should be banned.

Another 29 per cent of respondents disagreed.

Also, 76 per cent of voters said that those treated for mental illness should be barred from having a firearm.

In this case, 12 per cent disagreed.

Republicans were more likely than Democrats to support a mental illness ban, as GOP lawmakers have often pointed to mental illness over guns as the biggest problem to tackle in the aftermath of a mass shooting.

But similar to numbers found in a Politico/Morning Consult poll on gun views, nearly half of Republicans are supportive of strengthening gun laws, despite the party's historically pro-Second Amendment stance.

The CNN survey found that 49 per cent of Republicans wanted more gun control, while 46 per cent said no.An Iranian couple who arrived to Australia by boat five years ago have allegedly been flooding the streets of Sydney with the deadly drug 'ice'.

Ali Maleki and Yosra Rabieh, from the city's north-west, are two of several Iranians in Australia on temporary protection visas recently arrested over alleged meth trafficking, The Daily Telegraph reported.

The couple, who share two young daughters, were arrested last week after police allegedly seized more than 36kg of ice, over $260,000 in cash, three luxury cars and more than 100 ampules of steroids at homes in Hornsby and Asquith.

Ali Maleki and Yosra Rabieh, from Sydney's north-west, are two of several Iranians in Australia on temporary protection visas recently arrested over alleged meth trafficking

The couple, who share two young daughters, were arrested last week after police raided homes in Hornsby and Asquith

Police allegedly seized more than 36kg of ice, over $260,000 in cash and three luxury cars

Maleki and Rabieh have each been charged with supply large commercial quantity of prohibited drugs and participate in a criminal enterprise.

A third Iranian has been charged with being an accessory after the fact of supplying drugs.

In a separate bust last week, two Iranian nationals were arrested in Sydney, allegedly trying to import almost 10 kilograms of ice hidden in honey jars on a cargo flight to Australia.

Two men, aged 28 and 31, were arrested by Australian Federal Police officers on Wednesday following an operation that was sparked by a drug seizure in Turkey last October.

The AFP said 1.8kg of methamphetamine, bound for an address in Granville, was seized by authorities in Turkey in 2017, prompting the Australian operation.

The men, who have been charged with importing a commercial quantity of methamphetamine, appeared before Sydney Central Local Court on Thursday, where they did not apply for bail and it was formally refused.

Maleki and Rabieh have each been charged with supply large commercial quantity of prohibited drugs and participate in a criminal enterprise

A third Iranian has been charged with being an accessory after the fact of supplying drugsWhen I suggested in a side note to my article on the challenges that the watch industry faces in 2018 that the Acrotec group might be one to watch over the coming years, I didnt expect to be contacted by the group itself with an offer to meet its CEO, Francois Billig. As it turned out, he shared my analysis that the industrys suppliers and sub-contractors are the ones to watch, but he was also keen to play down any suggestions that the Acrotec group has designs above its station. The fact that the group acquired four companies in 2017 that supply the watch industry is more a result of opportunities that were too good to refuse rather than an aggressive acquisition strategy.



Covering industry suppliers is not the main focus of WorldTempus as a consumer-oriented website, but a glimpse into the world of the Acrotec group is interesting for two reasons. Firstly, it sheds some light on who really makes what in your watch movement. Secondly, it shows how suppliers work and how they think, and thus highlights the differences with watch brands.



Acrotecs history started in 2001, when Mr Billig bought the Vardeco profile-turning company in Develier with a group of investors. Here too, it was a question of opportunity. It was a coincidence, he says. Im not from the region and I didnt know anything about profile turning, but thanks to personal contacts and happenstance I found myself running a profile-turning company with 40 employees.

Vardeco, in Develier, canton Jura (Switzerland)





At the time Vardeco was working mainly for the electronics industry, but Mr Billig noticed that his competitors in the region were also working for watch industry. They seemed to be smiling more than me, he says. We were producing components by the billion and selling them by the thousand for the same price that our competitors were selling to the watch industry by the hundred. The promise of juicier margins is what drew Mr Billig towards the watch industry and five years later, in 2006, the Acrotec group was established and KIF Parechoc was acquired. Three years later the group acquired Decovi and Generale Ressorts and with them the capacity to produce the key components for the mainspring barrel that provides the energy in every mechanical watch movement.

Machining is at the very heart of Acrotecs activities  Acrotec

We really started growing from around 2014, says Mr Billig, and it was mainly thanks to our customers, who were pushing us to go further so that they could have a one-stop shop. This is why we acquired STS, so that we could deliver finished, coated profile-turned components to our customers.

Over the past two years the group has acquired eight suppliers mainly to the watch industry, including Gasser Ravussin and Pierhor, the only two independent jewel suppliers to the industry (the other two are Comadur, which belongs to the Swatch Group, and Lapierrette, which is owned by Rolex). The group now has a strong presence in the watch industry, which accounts for 55% of its business, including a one-third market share for shock absorbers and barrel springs. But although the group now has the capacity to produce balance springs, through its 50% holding in Sigatec, there are no plans to branch out into complete movement manufacturing. We would be crazy to develop our own movement, stresses Mr Billig, because it would put us in direct competition with our own customers. And it would cost us a fortune! He also dismisses suggestions that the group has a monopoly. We are not a monopoly, we are an alternative. Our main strength is that we are independent and our product offer is complementary. Our customers know that we are unlikely to be sold to Richemont, Rolex or the LVMH group, for example.

With this in mind, how does the group plan to develop further and achieve its ultimate objective of an initial public offering on the Swiss stock exchange? We want to stay in the field of micromechanics, which is one of Switzerlands main strengths, explains Mr Billig, and diversify into other customer segments beyond watchmaking. For example, we could use our jewels in high pressure jets that are used to cut metals. The group also keeps ahead of its competitors by investing around 10% of its turnover in new machines. Future acquisitions are planned in the medical sector rather than the watch industry, always centred around the groups core competence of micro-mechanics. Our aim is for the company to remain Swiss and our centre of decision-making to remain in the Jura region, says Mr Billig. To do this, we need to achieve 300 million Swiss francs in annual turnover. At the moment we are approaching 200 million, but our planned acquisitions should allow us to reach this objective.The parents of one of the young survivors of the Parkland shooting, which left 17 dead say they have received death threats from anti-gun control activists.

David Hogg, 18, ended up taking refuge in a closet during the school massacre.

Despite the terrifying circumstances, his instinct led him to film interviews with his fellow students while in hiding and the video went viral.

Parents of Florida school shooting survivor David Hogg have spoken out to say their family received death threats because he and another survivor were accused of being crisis actors

Hogg's father, Kevin, works for the FBI which have been seen by conspiracy theorists to be anit-Trump. Some have suggested the Hogg's are actors trying to bring down Trump

David Hogg (pictured with classmate Kelsey Friend) has faced death threats after urging lawmakers to take action in a number of inspirational interviews outside his school

Rebecca Boldrick, Hogg's mother said that her family has received numerous threats since conspiracy theories started surfacing that her son was a crisis actor

But his experience in recent days both he and his parents have faced death threats.

Hogg's father is a retired FBI agent and right-wing conspiracy theorists believe the agency is behind a shadowy campaign to bring down Trump.

The FBI is an organization in Trump's crosshairs over its probe into Russian meddling in his election campaign and the school shooting served as further conspiracy fodder.

A YouTube video presenting the theory was the site's most shared footage on Tuesday last week with around 200,000 views before it was taken down.

Senior David Hogg, 18, was in his Environmental Science class when he heard a gunshot ring out. He began to film and interview his classmates to record what was happening

Rebecca Boldrick, Hogg's mother, told The Washington Post that her family has received numerous threats since the conspiracy theories started surfacing, saying, 'I'm under so much stress.'

'I'm angry and exhausted,' she added. 'Angry, exhausted and extremely proud.'

Other bizarre allegations include suggestions the Hogg's were paid crisis actors on social media under the hashtags #CrisisActors and #ParklandHoax, triggering immediate calls for the accounts to be blocked.

Hogg has been credited for his well-spoken, calm demeanor and well-reasoned thoughts

The younger teen Hogg who is an aspiring journalist has been attacked and harassed online, and even accused of being a 'crisis actor' paid to travel to tragedies to propagate liberal viewpoints.

'I am not a crisis actor,' Hogg said. 'I'm someone who had to witness this and live through this and I continue to be having to do that. I'm not acting on anybody's behalf.'

During an interview about the suggestions Hogg said: 'Unlike the people who are tweeting that stuff about me and my dad, I haven't lost hope in America and my dad hasn't either.'

'It's annoying. I hate it. But it's part of American democracy,' Hogg said in an interview with the Post. 'Am I an actor? No. Am I a witness? Yes.'

There had been allegations made that Hogg is in favour of repealing the Second Amendment however he argued that he doesn't 'want to take a constitutional right away from American citizens'.

He said that American's should have access to guns as long as they are mentally stable and don't have any previous convictions.

Hogg added: 'We have a right to live just as we have a right to bear arms.'

Cameron Kasky, another of the young survivors of the Parkland shooting, which left 17 dead, has quit Facebook after claiming he too received death threats from anti-gun control activists

The Hoggs are not the only family to have received threats of violence.

Cameron Kasky, 17, who created the hashtag #NeverAgain after the massacre at his school wrote on Twitter: 'Temporarily got off Facebook because there's no character count so the death threats from the cultists are a bit more graphic than those on Twitter.'

On the day of the shooting, Kasky addressed pro-gun advocates with a scathing Facebook post: 'I'm safe... Thank you to all the second amendment warriors who protected me.'

Two days after shooter Cruz carried out the massacre, Kasky launched the #NeverAgain campaign, urging his supporters to make it go viral - which it did.

Kasky, 17, created the hashtag #NeverAgain after the February 14 massacre at his school Marjory Douglas Stoneman High in Florida

Since then, he and fellow survivors have started getting harassed online.

Kasky and others at the youthful vanguard of the anti-gun campaign plan to create a 'Badge of Shame' for politicians who continue to accept money from the National Rifle Association.

'At this point, any politician on either side who is taking money from the NRA is responsible for events like this,' Kasky told ABC's This Week.

'The NRA is fostering and promoting this gun culture in which people like Nikolas Cruz can gun down 17 innocent lives in our school.'

Cruz, 19, was expelled from Marjory Stoneman last February after officials at the high school claimed they documented at least five separate violent incidents involving the Florida native.

The incident marked the eighth time a shooting took place on a school campus involving one person being wounded since the beginning of 2018.

Survivors of the shooting are planning a March For Our Lives event in Washington, DC, on March 24.The student survivors of the Majory Stoneman Douglas shooting in Florida are raising a battle cry to boycott all companies in affiliation with the National Rifle Association.

And a growing list of US companies are listening.

FedEx is the latest company to feel the public pressure to part with the NRA, but has refused to divest.

Stoneman pupils David Hogg and Emma Gonzalez have taken to Twitter to rally support for boycotts against each company affiliated with the NRA, in an attempt to cut off the gun lobby's support.

#BoycottFedEx was a trending topic today in an attempt to pressure the Tennessee-based company to part with the NRA, but it has refused.

Student activist: David Hogg, a student survivor of the Stoneman Douglas massacre in Florida is using his voice to encourage boycotts against companies associated with the NRA

He used Twitter to lead the boycott, demanding the packaging company divest from the gun lobby

Student Emma Gonzalez, also a survivor of the shoot, also used social media to rally support for the divestment movement, and thanks the companies that did sever ties

The packaging company based in Tennessee and run by Republican CEO Fred Smith is now in the hot seat as it has refused to divest, despite a slew of other companies doing so

Hogg rallied his Twitter followers to boycott FedEx and call in requesting the company divest from the gun lobby.

'FedEx chairman is Fred Smith. Apparently he's a huge republican donor. #BoycottFedEx,' he said.

FedEx has not changed their relationship with the NRA. The packaging company has not replied to Dailymail.com's request for comment.

More than two dozen companies have cut ties with the NRA, with airlines Delta and United Airlines being the latest ones to do so.

The airline companies announced they were cutting ties with the NRA, removing discounts for group members and removing the company names from the NRA website.

But that's not all the pupils seek to boycott.

Hogg demanded spring break vacationers avoid flocking to his home state, until gun laws are reformed.

'Let's make a deal DO NOT come to Florida for spring break unless gun legislation is passed. These politicians won't listen to us so maybe the'll listen to the billion dollar tourism industry in FL. #neveragain (sic),' he said.

Hogg proposed students travel to Puerto Rico to stimulate the island's recovering economy.

'Better Idea: Spend your spring break in Puerto Rico, it's a beautiful place with amazing people. They could really use the economic support that the government has failed to provide,' he said.

Hogg pointed towards the Republican tie between FedEx and the NRA

Journalist and author Kurt Eichenwald supported the divestment movement, ushering followers to use UPS as a FedEx alternative

Twitter users shamed FedEx for supporting the gun lobby in the wake of the Florida massacre

Hogg requested spring breakers skip a Florida trip this year until gun reform laws pass

Support Puerto Rico: He posted that the money could be better invested in the recovery economy of the hurricane-battered island

The American business drop out was incited by the heartbreaking shooting that took place on February 14 in Parkland, Florida that saw 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz armed with an AR-15 murder 14 children and three school staffers in a brutal killing spree.

Coupled with the pressure for business to part ways with the NRA, is the demand for stricter gun control in the wake of the mass shooting.

For a fourth consecutive day, companies listed on NRA site have dropped out of the partner deals.

According to a list by ThinkProgress, 18 out of 27 known and listed companies that partner with the NRA, have divested. The two airlines make a total of 20 companies.

The NRA released a statement on Saturday saying the drop in partners would not affect membership.

'Some corporations have decided to punish NRA membership in a shameful display of political and civic cowardice. In time, these brands will be replaced by others who recognize that patriotism and determined commitment to Constitutional freedoms are characteristics of a marketplace they very much want to serve,' the statement said.

'Let it be absolutely clear. The loss of a discount will neither scare nor distract one single NRA member from our mission to stand and defend the individual freedoms that have always made America the greatest nation in the world,' it said.

The NRA released a statement on Saturday saying that the loss in partnerships would not change anything for their members

National Rifle Association Executive Vice President and CEO Wayne LaPierre (pictured) spoke about the school shooting on Thursday as growing number of US companies distance themselves from the lobby group

ThinkProgress, a news site owned by the Center for American Progress Action Fund, has been following the number of companies that have left the gun lobby's partnership

On Saturday United and Delta Airlines announced that they will end their discounted rates for NRA members

The airlines join more than two dozen companies that have recently divested from the NRA

The rental car company Hertz tweeted on Friday that it has notified the NRA that it is ending the lobby's discount program

Insurer Chubb Ltd. said was ending participation in the NRA's gun-owner Carry Guard insurance program but it provided notice three months ago

The insurance company MetLife Inc. discontinued its discount program with the NRA on Friday

First National Bank of Omaha, one of the nation's largest privately held banks, announced that it would not renew a co-branded Visa credit-card with the NRA

LIST OF COMPANIES THAT CUT TIES TO NRA: Hertz

Chubb

Met Life

Symantec

Teladoc

Simplisafe

Best Western

Wyndham Hotels

Alamo Rent A Car

National Rent A Car

Enterprise Rent A Car

First National Bank of Omaha

Delta Airlines

United Airlines Advertisement

On Friday car service Hertz, insurance company MetLife Inc., and software company Symantec Corp., which makes Norton Antivirus technology, ended partnerships with the NRA.

National Rifle Association Executive Vice President and CEO Wayne LaPierre said at the Conservative Political Action Conference that those advocating for stricter gun control were exploiting the Florida shooting

Insurer Chubb Ltd. said Friday it was ending participation in the NRA's gun-owner Carry Guard insurance program, but it provided notice three months ago. The program that provided coverage for people involved in gun-related incidents or accidents had been under scrutiny by regulators over marketing issues.

Those defections arrived a day after the car rental company Enterprise Holdings, which also owns Alamo and National, said it was cutting off discounts for NRA members.

First National Bank of Omaha, one of the nation's largest privately held banks, announced that it would not renew a co-branded Visa credit-card with the NRA.

Nearly two dozen corporations nationwide offer incentives to NRA members, according to ThinkProgress.com, a news site owned by the Center for American Progress Action Fund.

Amazon.com Inc and other online streaming platforms are also facing demands to drop the online video channel NRATV, featuring programming produced by the group.

Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, founded after 20 first-graders were shot and killed at a school in Connecticut in December 2012, sent letters to Apple Inc, AT&T Inc , Amazon, Alphabet Inc's Google and Roku Inc on Friday, asking them to drop NRATV from their products. None of the companies immediately responded to requests for comment on the letters.

#BoycottNRA was the second most trending topic on Twitter

Comedian Tommy Campbell applauded the boycott but called on politicians to follow suit

There was also plenty of backlash on Twitter in response to the NRA boycott

Some supporters of the gun lobby rushed to join the NRA in response to the calls for a boycott

'We have been just disgusted by NRATV since its beginning,' Shannon Watts, founder of the Moms Demand Action group, told Reuters.

'It really propagates dangerous misinformation and inflammatory rhetoric.

'It tries to pit Americans against one another, all in an attempt to further their agenda of selling guns.'

Hogg, one of the outspoken student survivors of last week's attack who launched the #NeverAgain anti-gun violence movement, said the students would target any company with ties to the NRA, in addition to lawmakers who accept donations.

NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre said in a blistering speech delivered on Thursday at the Conservative Political Action Conference that those advocating for stricter gun control are exploiting the Florida shooting which killed 17 people, mostly high-school students.

'Evil walks among us and God help us if we don't harden our schools and protect our kids,' LaPierre said.

'The whole idea from some of our opponents that armed security makes us less safe is completely ridiculous.'

Parkland school shooting survivor David Hogg, who launched the #NeverAgain anti-gun violence movement, said the students would target any company with ties to the NRA

President Donald Trump has aligned himself with the NRA, suggesting some teachers could be armed so that they could fire on any attacker.

American corporations are moving in the other direction.

On Friday, a large Wall Street money management firm said that it wanted to engage with major weapons manufacturers about what comes next.

Blackrock Inc., which manages $6trillion in assets, has become one of the largest stakeholders gun manufacturers like Sturm Ruger & Co., American Outdoor Brands Corp. and Vista Outdoor Inc. through indirect investments.

The money is placed in index funds, so Blackrock cannot sell shares of individual companies within the index. Its fund clients invest in indexes that might contain companies like Ruger.

On Friday, spokesman Ed Sweeney said Blackrock will be 'engaging with weapons manufacturers and distributors to understand their response to recent events.'

Blackrock, through indirect investments, holds a 16.18 percent stake in Sturm Ruger, an 11.91 per cent stake in Vista, and a 10.5 percent stake in American Outdoor, according to the data firm Factset.

Shares of gun companies mostly fell in trading Friday.A Nationals MP who once described gay relationships as 'sordid' and presided over the bungled 2016 Census could soon be Australia's acting prime minister.

Michael McCormack has been elected Barnaby Joyce's replacement as Nationals leader, making him Australia's new Deputy Prime Minister following more than a fortnight of scandal.

The Veterans Affairs Minister, who hails from the Mafia-linked Riverina region in southern New South Wales, was elected by his Nationals colleagues shortly after 8am on Monday at Parliament House in Canberra.

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Veterans Affairs Minister Michael McCormack is Australia's new Deputy Prime Minister

Barnaby Joyce had a solemn expression as Mr McCormack delivered his first media conference as Nationals leader

With Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull in the United States, Mr McCormack could potentially be running Australia in a few hours if Acting PM Mathias Cormann, a Liberal, hands him the reins.

Nationals Whip Michelle Landry announced the result after the party room vote, which Mr McCormack won following a contest against maverick north Queensland MP George Christensen.

Mr McCormack's first media conference as leader was awkward, with the new Nationals boss asked if he was keeping the seat warm for Mr Joyce.

'I have been elected to do the job by the National Party,' he told reporters, as Mr Joyce looked on with a solemn expression.

'Barnaby Joyce will play an important part in our party and in our nation going forward.

'I've always been good mates with Barnaby.'

The 53-year-old former newspaper editor (left) is Australia's new Deputy Prime Minister, flanked by his gun-loving deputy Bridget McKenzie

Mr McCormack saw off a challenge from maverick Queensland MP George Christensen

His past is also set to haunt him.

The 53-year-old former newspaper editor controversially penned a Daily Advertiser editorial in 1993 which described gay relationships as a 'sordid' lifestyle linked to AIDS.

'Unfortunately gays are here and, if the disease their unnatural acts helped spread doesn't wipe out humanity, they're here to stay,' he said.

While he apologised for those remarks published in Wagga Wagga's daily newspaper, he was also the face of the bungled 2016 Census, which was conducted online.

It was the only Census to have been plagued with logistical problems since Australia became a nation in 1901 and as Small Business Minister, Mr McCormack took responsibility for the fiasco.

He has replaced accident-prone Barnaby Joyce, who quit as Nationals leader last week following saturation coverage of his affair with his former media adviser Vikki Campion.

Mr Joyce had a solemn facial expression as he watched his replacement deliver his first media conference as Deputy Prime Minister

Mr McCormack replaces Barnaby Joyce (pictured) who resigned as Nationals leader over his affair with a former media adviser 17 years his junior

The former Deputy Prime Minister (left) told colleagues he felt trapped in a 'loveless' marriage with Natalie (right) and hadn't had sex in five years

Mr Joyce 'felt trapped in a loveless marriage and hadn't had sex in five years' when he started seeing Ms Campion, inside sources have revealed on the eve of the Nationals leadership contest.

On Friday Mr Joyce stood down as Nationals leader amid an investigation into fresh claims of sexual harassment. Mr Joyce has disputed the allegation, calling it 'spurious and defamatory'.

Mr Joyce, who has four daughters with estranged wife Natalie, confirmed he is expecting a son with his former staffer Ms Campion, 33, after their affair became public this month.

The 50-year-old former Deputy Prime Minister is reportedly looking for a new home with his much younger girlfriend after they were given rent-free accommodation in Armidale by millionaire businessman Greg Maguire.

Mr McCormack's potential challengers David Gillespie, from NSW, and first-term Queensland MP had pulled out of the race.

Mr Joyce's affair with his former media adviser Vikki Campion ended his reign as Deputy PM

Ms Campion, who is pregnant with a boy, has been at the centre of a political storm which brought down Mr Joyce

Ms Campion's relationship with Mr Joyce has been the catalyst for a Nationals leadership change

'Now is not the time for internal contests. Now is the time for all individuals to be team players. Now is the time to think about stability and the good of the party,' Mr Littleproud said in a statement before the vote.

Victorian MP Andrew Broad, who last week called on Mr Joyce to resign, likened Mr McCormack to former leader Warren Truss, who was regarded as a safe pair of hands.

'Michael is going to be a good guy. I think he will be a very solid performer, but it's the team that wins elections,' he told ABC radio on Monday.

Mr McCormack has previously been criticised for penning a 1993 column when he was a former newspaper editor describing homosexuality as 'sordid behaviour'. He has since apologised.

Nationals Whip Michelle Landry announced Mr McCormack had won the leadership ballot

First-term MP David Littleproud pulled out of the Nationals leadership contest ahead of Monday's vote

Mr Broad doesn't believe Mr McCormack still holds those views.

'Michael has become a very savvy parliamentarian and we've all said silly things in our past,' he said.

Nationals backbencher Darren Chester said Mr McCormack, whose name is relatively unknown amongst the broader Australian public, should not be underestimated.

'People will like Michael McCormack when they get to know him. He is a hell of a nice fellow but he's also a determined guy,' the Victorian told ABC TV.

'They wouldn't want to underestimate him. He fights hard for his community.'

NSW Nationals Senator John Williams also gave his support to Mr McCormack.

'He's good at achieving,' he said.

Mr McCormack (pictured second right) was elected as Nationals leader on Monday morning

Acting Prime Minister Mathias Cormann found out about Mr Joyce's resignation before Malcolm Turnbull did

Finance Minister Mathias Cormann, who was Acting Prime Minister when Mr Joyce rang to say he was standing down, said Mr McCormack would do an excellent job.

'He's a very decent, fierce advocate for rural and regional Australia,' he told ABC radio.

Deputy Nationals leader Bridget McKenzie, who is also a gun enthusiast, was hoping for a smooth leadership transition.

She also wanted the Nationals' coalition agreement with the Liberals, made after the 2016 election, to remain in place.

Labor frontbencher Joel Fitzgibbon said Australians should be allowed to know what's in the agreement signed by the Prime Minister and the Nationals leader.

'If he (Malcolm Turnbull) is going to rely on the support of a dysfunctional National party, surely the Australian people need to know what is in that agreement.'But a recording by Winston Churchills former aide has revealed the politician did have an illicit romance with Doris Castlerosse (pictured)

It was the alleged affair that kept historians guessing for decades.

But a recording by Winston Churchills former aide has revealed the politician did have an illicit romance with Doris Castlerosse, great-aunt of model Cara Delevingne.

The former prime minister was rumoured to have been unfaithful to wife Clementine with the London socialite in the 1930s, but it had never been proved.

Now the discovery of a taped interview with Churchills former private secretary Sir John Jock Colville confirms the affair.

Two years before his death in 1987, Sir John told archivists at Cambridge Universitys Churchill College: Winston Churchill was not a highly sexed man at all, and I dont think that in his 60 or 55 years married life he ever slipped up, except on this one occasion.

He added: Lady Churchill was not with him and by moonlight in the south of France he certainly had an affair, a brief affair with Castlerosse as I think she was called. Doris Castlerosse, yes, thats right.

The admission was uncovered by Dr Warren Dockter, of Aberystwyth University, who told the Sunday Times the tape had been long and dull until he heard the bombshell.

Doris Castlerosse and Winston Churchill are pictured together on a beach near the Chateau de L'Horizon, in southern France, in the mid-1930s

Lady Castlerosses niece Caroline Delevingne confirmed the fling, in an interview for Channel 4 documentary Churchills Secret Affair. They had an affair, she said. When Winston was coming to visit her, the staff were all given the day off  the next day Doris confided in my mother about it.

The romance lasted from 1933 to 1937, when Churchill was not in office, according to the programme. They would meet at a French chateau owned by actress Maxine Elliott. Churchill painted at least two portraits of Lady Castlerosse, one of her reclining on a chaise longue.

In a 1934 letter found by Professor Richard Toye, of Exeter University, Churchill wrote to his mistress: What fun we had at Maxines. It was beautiful having you there. You were once again a manifest blessing and a ray of sunshine around the pool.

After the affair ended the pair met in the US in 1942. Lady Castlerosse was desperate to return to the UK and, with the portrait safely in her possession, persuaded her ex-lover into helping her travel to London.

Doris Castlerosse, who had an affair with Winston Churchill, was the great-aunt of model Cara Delevingne (pictured)

Churchill warned it would damage relations between the US and the UK if the painting fell into the wrong hands, according to Lady Castlerosses husband Valentine.

The socialite was found dead at the Dorchester hotel two months later, after an overdose. She had also had a fling with Churchills son Randolph earlier in the 1930s when he was 21.

The Channel 4 documentary airs on March 4 at 8pm.The author of an explosive Donald Trump biography has stormed out of an Australian TV interview after he was quizzed over his claims the president is having an affair.

Michael Wolff, whose 'Fire and Fury' has prompted a furious response from Trump, discussed North Korea and gun control on Channel Nine's Today show before host Ben Fordham turned to the president's alleged infidelity.

'You said during a TV interview last month you are absolutely sure that Donald Trump is currently having an affair behind the back of the First Lady. I repeat, you said you were absolutely sure,' Fordham said.

'Last week you backflipped and said, "I do not know if the President is having an affair'. Do you owe the President and the First Lady an apology, Mr Wolff?'

Michael Wolff, the author of an explosive Donald Trump biography, has stormed out of an Australian TV interview after he was quizzed over his claims the president is having an affair

Wolff then began to adjust his earpiece and claimed he could no longer hear the breakfast show host.

'Hold on I can't... I can't hear you. Hello?' he said.

Fordham repeated his question and noted there had been no previous technical issues during the interview.

'I'm not getting anything,' Wolff said, to which Fordham responded: 'You are not hearing me, Mr Wolff?'

The interview was then ended as Wolff walked off set and repeated he 'couldn't hear anything.'

Wolff began to adjust his earpiece and claimed he could no longer hear breakfast show host, Ben Fordham

Wolff told Bill Maher in an interview last month he was 'absolutely sure' Trump was cheating on the First Lady

Fordham's co-host Georgie Gardner noted: 'Gee, that was an unfortunate question to miss, wasn't it?'

'I think he may have heard it,' Fordham responded.

Gardner replied: 'I think he did. He absolutely did.'

The awkward exchange came after Wolff told Bill Maher in an interview last month there was something in his book readers may have missed.

'There is something in the book that I was absolutely sure of but it was so incendiary, that I just didn't have the ultimate proof,' Wolff said to Maher.

'Is it a woman thing?' Maher asked.

'I didn't have the blue dress,' Wolff responded, referencing the dress that became the centrepiece of the Bill Clinton-Monica Lewinksy affair scandal.

Wolf's book 'Fire and Fury' has prompted a furious response from U.S President Donald Trump

Donald Trump has called Wolff's biogrphy a 'Fake Book' about his presidency

That tipped off Maher to what Wolff might be referring to.

'Oh, it's somebody he's f***king now,' Maher said, to which Wolff responded: 'It is. You just have to read between the lines.'

Wolff appeared to backflip on his claims during an interview on Dutch television last week, when he said he 'did not know' if the president was having an affair.It has been revealed that Nikolas Cruz who killed 17 people after he opened fire at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School called the police distressed after his mother passed away just months ago

It has been revealed that the infamous 19-year-old Florida school shooter who killed 17 people after he opened fire at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School called the police distressed after his mother passed away just months ago.

Nikolas Cruz called authorities just after Thanksgiving, saying he had been in a fight and was struggling with the death of his mother. 'The thing is I lost my mother a couple of weeks ago, so like I am dealing with a bunch of things right now,' he told police.

On January 5, just a month before the shooting, a woman who knew Cruz called the FBI tip line and said 'I know he's going to explode. 'She said her biggest fear was that he might resort to entering a school and just start 'shooting the place up.'

Forty days later Cruz opened fire at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida killing 17 people and injuring fourteen, five with life-threatening injuries.

Three months before the deadly shooting a friend dialed 911 concerned about Cruz' weaponry possessions. 'I need someone here because I'm afraid he comes back and he has a lot of weapons,' the friend said.

Cruz called authorities just after Thanksgiving, saying he had been in a fight and was struggling with the death of his mother. 'The thing is I lost my mother a couple of weeks ago, so like I am dealing with a bunch of things right now,' he told police

Authorities have acknowledged they underestimated many warning signs that Cruz was a deeply troubled kid. They were aware of his disturbing social media posts and social services visited his home several times.

There were dozens of calls to police with several people fearing he was capable of violence and murder.

On November 29 family friend Rocxanne Deschamps, who was looking after Cruz after his mother Lynda died in early November, told the dispatcher that Cruz already had about eight guns that he kept at a friend's house.

In the voice recording Deschamps can be heard telling police 'all he cares about is his gun,' reported the NY Times.

In another call to police she said 'It's not the first time he put a gun on somebody's head,' she also said that he once did that to his mother.

Deschamps has refused to comment and her lawyer has not responded to phone messages and emails.

On January 5, just a month before the shooting, a woman who knew Cruz called the FBI tip line and said 'I know he's going to explode. 'She said her biggest fear was that he might resort to entering a school and just start 'shooting the place up

Cruz opened fire at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida killing 17 people and injuring fourteen, five with life-threatening injuries

On November 30 an anonymous caller from Massachusetts told police that Cruz 'could be a school shooter in the making,' and that he was collecting guns and knives.

Additionally, two years ago authorities said they received information from the son of one of Cruz's neighbors that he 'planned to shoot up the school on Instagram.'

Despite multiple signs and calls to police and authorities, the bureau failed to investigate Cruz who had a 'desire to kill people,' according to several sources.

The FBI also received a tip from someone in Mississippi in September about a suspicious comment left on his YouTube channel by a 'nikolas cruz' who professed a desire to be a 'professional school shooter.'

They claimed they did not have enough information to determine if 'nikolas cruz' was a real name or a pseudonym, and the bureau said it could not justify keeping a file on the tip open, so they closed it in October.

Coral Springs Police Sgt. Jeff Heinrich speaks during a news conference at the Coral Springs police department on Friday

FBI deputy director, David L. Bowdich, spoke about the case on Friday and acknowledged the bureau's failure to investigate.

A tipster provided four Instagram accounts for Cruz, which she said showed photos of sliced up animals and the firearms he had collected. Apparently Cruz had used money from a life insurance policy after his mother's death to purchase the weaponry.

'If you go onto his Instagram pages, you'll see all the guns,' the woman said.

Coral Springs Police Officer Chris Crawford displays a combat field dressing kit similar to the one he used to dress a student's wounds while responding to the shootings at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School

Two deputies have been placed on restricted duty while they investigate how two calls regarding Cruz' dangerous behavior could have been mishandled or disregarded.

Before she died in early November, Cruz's mother, Lynda, had called the authorities numerous times over the past decade to report her son.

She said he had hit her with the plastic hose from a vacuum, and once threw her against the wall after she took his Xbox away.

He suffered from anger issues as well as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Cruz allegedly shot a neighbor's chicken with a BB gun, cut himself, and possibly swallowed gasoline in a failed suicide attempt.When she visited her GP complaining of stomach pain and bloating, Kayleigh Donnelly was sent home with reassurances that she just had tummy trouble.

But as her symptoms failed to subside, her mother knew something was seriously wrong with her daughter. And she was right.

At just 13 years old, Kayleigh had developed ovarian cancer  one of the youngest cases ever diagnosed  and was just days from death.

It was only when she was taken to A&E that doctors finally discovered a 12-inch tumour weighing a staggering 7lb. The cancer had already spread to her liver, spleen, bowel and pelvis.

At just 13 years old, Kayleigh (pictured) had developed ovarian cancer  one of the youngest cases ever diagnosed  and was just days from death

It was only when she was taken to A&E that doctors finally discovered a 12-inch tumour weighing a staggering 7lb. The cancer had already spread to her liver, spleen, bowel and pelvis

Mrs Donnelly, from Lancaster, said: We feel lucky that she has survived, but she has been incredibly unlucky to get such a rare cancer like this'

Her mother Lorraine, 38, said: The doctors told me that if I hadnt taken her to A&E when I did then she wouldnt be here today. After several operations and chemotherapy, Kayleigh is in remission from the disease, which usually affects women in their 50s.

Mrs Donnelly, from Lancaster, said: We feel lucky that she has survived, but she has been incredibly unlucky to get such a rare cancer like this.

Kayleigh, who has six brothers and sisters, started developing symptoms in January 2016. Mrs Donnelly said: She hadnt been to the toilet in weeks and she was feeling poorly. So I took her to the doctor who said she was constipated and gave us some laxatives to take home.

But they didnt make any difference at all. So I went back to the doctor another four times, and rang up five times too over the next four weeks. And each time I was told the same thing  just to give her laxatives as she was constipated.

Kayleighs doctor finally referred her to the Queen Victoria Centre in Morecambe for a scan. But when she arrived, hospital staff said they didnt carry out scans for constipation and she was sent home again. The next day  two months after first visiting the GP  Kayleighs condition worsened and her mother took her to the A&E at Royal Lancaster Infirmary.

She was constantly being sick and her stomach was getting bigger. Her skin was waxy and pale. I knew that something was really wrong with her, she said.

Kayleigh said: I felt so ill, I didnt really know what was going on. But my mum was crying her eyes out. Pictured right: Kayleigh's stomach. Left: With her mother, Lorraine

Mrs Donnelly said: She hadnt been to the toilet in weeks and she was feeling poorly. So I took her to the doctor who said she was constipated and gave us some laxatives to take home'

Kayleigh said: I felt so ill, I didnt really know what was going on. But my mum was crying her eyes out.

She now has check ups every month after finishing her chemotherapy in August.

Dr David Walker, medical director at University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust, apologised on behalf of the Trust for any distress to Kayleigh and her family and said an investigation was being carried out.Jeremy Corbyn was accused of a Brexit betrayal last night as he prepared to set out plans that would keep Britain shackled to Brussels.

The Labour leader is expected to say he will sacrifice the ability to strike new trade deals in order to keep Britain locked in an EU customs union  and allow free movement to continue.

In his most significant Brexit speech since the referendum today, he will also call for a close relationship with the single market, citing Norway and Switzerland as examples of the kind of deal he is seeking.

Brexit Secretary David Davis said Mr Corbyn seems certain to break the commitments he made to Labour voters at the last election.

Pro-Brexit Labour MPs warned their leader he risked betraying millions of party supporters who voted to take Britain out of the EU. Former minister Frank Field said keeping the country shackled to Brussels would be to rat on the peoples decision to leave.

The Labour leader is expected to say he will sacrifice the ability to strike new trade deals in order to keep Britain locked in an EU customs union  and allow free movement to continue

Kate Hoey, another former Labour minister, said: I hope Jeremy realises that to divert from the recent manifesto would be a hammer blow to those Labour supporters all across the country who came back and voted for us precisely because of our unequivocal position on leaving the EU.

Labour Eurosceptic Graham Stringer said it was vital to keep the partys pledge to make a clean break with the EU, adding: Anything less would be a betrayal.

But pro-EU Labour MP Chuka Umunna welcomed what he called a clear change of position. In todays speech in the West Midlands, Mr Corbyn is expected to:

Confirm that Labour would keep Britain in the customs union after Brexit, closing the door on the dream of taking back control of Britains trade policy;

Demand a bespoke deal that would keep Britain in the single market in all but name, while demanding the right for a future Labour government to tear up EU competition rules to subsidise failing nationalised industries;

Signal that Labour is ready to join forces with Tory Remainers over the customs union in the hope of forcing a Commons defeat that could topple Theresa May;

Leave the door open to a second referendum on the final Brexit deal before the UK leaves;

Accept free movement should continue with only minor curbs to stop firms exploiting cheap agency labour from abroad.

The move comes barely six months after Mr Corbyns shadow international trade secretary Barry Gardiner warned that staying in a customs union after Brexit would be a disaster. Shadow Brexit secretary Sir Keir Starmer said Mr Gardiner had been speaking very much for himself, adding: A lot of waters gone under the bridge since then.

Sir Keir said there had been unanimous agreement in the shadow cabinet that Labour should switch to a policy of pursuing a customs union with the EU  opening up a clear divide with the Government.

He acknowledged the shift would make it impossible for the UK to pursue independent trade deals but claimed: Wed be better off doing that with the EU.

Labour sources suggested Mr Corbyn would take a more nuanced position in his speech, but admitted it would include joining some sort of customs union.

He and shadow chancellor John McDonnell are lifelong Eurosceptics who have railed against the EU and its customs union for years. In 2005, Mr Corbyn said EU tariffs were destroying agriculture in the developing world, adding: The practice is simply crazy and must be stopped.

But he has come under intense pressure from Labour members and the unions to soften the partys line on Brexit. Labour strategists also believe the shift could wreck Mrs Mays hopes of keeping the fragile Tory coalition on Brexit together.

Mr McDonnell is said to have told Labours top team that inflicting a Commons defeat on Mrs May over the customs union is the best chance of an early election.

You won't get a penny! Mogg threat to Brussels Brussels needs to be reminded it will not get a penny of the 40billion Brexit divorce bill if it blocks a good trade deal with the UK, Jacob Rees-Mogg has said. The Eurosceptic Tory MP told the Daily Mail it was time for Theresa May to get tough with Brussels, which rejected the Cabinets trade demands last week before they have even been published. He called on ministers to ensure Britain feels different on the day after we leave the EU in March next year, suggesting immediate curbs to free movement and the slashing of EU tariffs on things the UK does not produce. He denied holding the Government to ransom, and accused some pro-EU campaigners of colonial attitudes by suggesting other countries standards could never match those of Brussels. Advertisement

Sir Keir said: The crunch time is now coming for the Prime Minister because the majority in Parliament does not back her approach to a customs union.

Mr Corbyn will today pay lip service to the Brexit vote, saying: We respect the result of the referendum. But he will add: Every country that is geographically close to the EU without being an EU member state, whether its Turkey, Switzerland, or Norway, has some sort of close relationship to the EU, some more advantageous than others.

Britain will need a bespoke relationship of its own. Labour would negotiate a new and strong relationship with the single market that includes full tariff-free access and a floor under existing rights, standards and protections.

Despite the EU insisting it will not accept cherry picking of single market rules, the Labour leader will demand the right for the UK to tear up the EUs state aid rules to ensure we can deliver our ambitious economic programme.

Tory MP Nadine Dorries warned Remainers in her own party not to fall into Mr Corbyns cynical trap. She said: Millions of Labour voters took Corbyn at his word when he promised to respect the referendum result and help deliver Brexit.

Those same voters will punish him and any Tory Europhile rebels who are considering backing him.

First Secretary of State David Lidington will today warn devolved governments not to use Brexit as an excuse to break up the UK. He will pledge to ensure most EU powers relating to devolved areas will be transferred to Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast, rather than being hoarded by Westminster.

But Mr Lidington will warn the new powers must not be used to sever ties holding the UK together, warning this would make the whole country weaker and poorer.

Brexiteers get close to the PM at the Chequers SummitFears are growing for a missing Sydney girl who was last seen riding her blue pushbike on Sunday.

The 14-year-old Sydney girl left her house at 11am on Sunday on a bike-ride and is still lost.

The young girl was reported missing to police at 4.30pm when she still had not returned home at Dunbier Avenue Lurnea in Sydney's South West.

Sydney girl Abigail Brewster, 14, has been missing since Sunday morning when she went on a bike ride

The girl's disappearance has been described as 'out of character' and police are concerned for her welfare.

Abigail was last seen riding a blue push bike wearing blue jumper with white writing and black tights with a green backpack.

She is of Pacific Islander appearance, has black shoulder length hair and is 160cm tall.

Panicked family members took to social media on Sunday night and Monday morning appealing for help to find her.

Panicked family members took to social media on Sunday night and Monday morning to appeal for more information

She did not return home after going out for a bike ride at Dunbier Avenue Lurnea (pictured) in Sydney's South West

Mother Hannah Brewster Tuli-Manua took to social media to appeal for help on Sunday evening.

'My daughter Abigail Brewster left home at 11.30am to go for a bike ride. She has not returned home for almost 8 hours' she said.

'She left with her blue bike, a green backpack and a pink helmet. Please if anyone has seen her please keep me posted.'

Mother Hannah Brewster Tuli-Manua took to social media to appeal for help to find her lost child on Sunday evening.

Her auntie shared photos of the girl on Instagram Sunday night saying: 'My niece Abigail Brewster has been missing since 11am this morning'.

'Someone is bound to see her face, the more exposure on social media the more chances someone will recognise her and notify her worried family or police.'

One friend of the family said she 'didn't sleep at all' and posted to Abigail's mother her 'prayers are with you and the family.

Annita Gebrail described missing Abigail as 'my son's best friend' and urged people to contact the police.

Police are appealing for help from the public and asked for anyone with information to contact police immediately.Schools opened by Islamic clerics linked to an Abu Hamza terror school that was shut down are still running.

Jameah Islameah was closed ten years ago after a police raid and dire Ofsted inspections.

Set in a Victorian mansion in the East Sussex countryside, it was a suspected jihadi training camp.

Now it has emerged that other schools set up by the founders are still operating  and they are trying to reopen Jameah Islameah for pupils aged 11 and up.

Hook-handed Hamza  now serving life in a US prison for terror offences  allegedly presided over exercises with AK47 rifles, handguns and a mock rocket launcher.

Fellow hate cleric Omar Bakri Mohammed also lectured at camping trips held at the school, where children were taught sick songs praising terrorists, including one that began: Come, mister Taliban, come bomb England.

Jameah Islameah (pictured) was closed ten years ago after a police raid and dire Ofsted inspections

Islamic preacher Abu Hamza al Misary as his trial is expected to begin in New Yor

After anti-terror police and MI5 swooped in 2006, and following a series of Ofsted inspections, the Government forced the schools closure in 2007. But now The Mails findings highlight how powerless officials are to crack down on breeding grounds for religious intolerance.

The new Education Secretary Damian Hinds signalled a war on illegal schools and out-of-hours tuition centres. The Jameah Islameah former school building has been owned since 1997 by Islamic scholars Bilal Patel, Muhammad Anas and two others.

They are a band of Deobandi Muslims  the strict Islamic movement that gave birth to the Taliban in Afghanistan  and have never given up on their mission to educate the next generation of Islamic scholars.

Bid to reopen college shut by raid Jameah Islameah was shut in 2007 following anti-terror raids and a failing Ofsted report but is set to reopen under the same name. The school near Crowborough, East Sussex, is inviting children aged 11 and up to apply for boarding places costing 3,000 a year. The principal is Bilal Patel, a cleric who has owned the 54-acre site with three others since 1993. At the time of the raids in 2006, which followed an MI5 surveillance operation, security sources said Jameah Islameah operated a sophisticated training regime, designed to indoctrinate recruits into the extremist Islamic cause. Abu Hamza was among those who preached there. Children were taught to sing, Come, mister Taliban, come bomb England to the tune of the Banana Boat Song. Fourteen men were arrested in a series of linked operations, including Mohammed Hamid, who called himself Osama Bin London and was jailed indefinitely after grooming young Muslims at terror training camps across Britain. Five months after the raid, the Government closed the school on Ofsteds advice. For the past ten years, it has lain in disrepair, occasionally being rented out for weekend study courses by Islamic groups. In 2016, footage showed missing windows and floorboards and crumbling ceilings. But the schools new website states: We are in the process of establishing entry to students aged 11+... please contact us for more details and an application form. Builders are beginning restoration of the 100-room mansion. Mr Patel, who has not responded to questions, has presided over attempts to restart classes at least twice since 2007. Last year, his son began advertising a fee-paying sixth form centre at the site. Yesterday a spokesman for Jameah Islameah denied the school was reopening, and said the website advertising places must be a mistake. Advertisement

Mr Patel and Mr Anas have been allowed to establish schools elsewhere. A legal loophole means part-time schools are not required to be registered with the Department for Education nor inspected by Ofsted, making it impossible to monitor its curriculum. At Al-Ashraaf, a secondary boys school in East London, the chairman Mufti Shah Sadruddin was filmed in 2013 saying all people who insult Islam should be put to death.

In a damning report published in October, Ofsted branded the 34-pupil school inadequate, its worst possible grade.

Failures included its legal duty to follow the Governments Prevent strategy, which aims to stop pupils being drawn into terrorism. Mr Anass second school, Imam Zakariya Academy in East London, is also deemed inadequate by Ofsted. Inspectors said pupils could recite the Koran but were not making enough progress in the wider curriculum such as science and art.

Mr Anas and Mr Patel are rarely seen in public, but the latter has appeared on panel events with other controversial clerics.

Abu Hamza pictured in jail in the US, without his hooks

Mr Anas said he was on the deeds of Jameah Islameah but was not involved in any activities, decision making or anything else to do with the school, which he said he left in 1997.

A spokesman for Jameah Islameah denied the school was reopening, and said the website advertising courses and boarding places must be a mistake.

The Department for Education has pledged additional resources to take whatever action is required against illegal and unsafe schools.To enhance the art of enamelling and engraving, so proudly mastered in the Vallee de Joux workshops, the Grande Maison had the idea of giving its Reverso pieces two faces revealing a work of art, the result of the artisans innovative work. On the front, a finely hand-guilloched dial, covered in translucent Grand Feu enamel which is in harmony with the back of the watch. On the reverse, an enamelled miniature of a painting.



In 2018, following the pieces dedicated to Van Gogh or Magritte, Jaeger-LeCoultre chose three techniques representative of an iconic style: pointillism, ink wash painting, and Japanese woodblock printing. In order to represent these three techniques, never before applied to enamel in miniature at Jaeger-LeCoultre, three of their greatest masters were selected through one of their works: Georges Seurat, Xu Beihong and Katsushika Hokusai.



For these pieces of art, the Reverso Tribute Enamel, with its iconic Art Deco styling, was chosen. A case in white gold was created especially to host the enamel miniature.

Each of these models is issued in an eight-piece limited edition and available exclusively in Jaeger-LeCoultre Boutiques.

Reverso Tribute Enamel - Georges Seurat, A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte

The artisan guillocheur delicately decorated the reverse of the piece using a century-old machine which requires considerable expertise. The dial is guilloched with small lozenges, which are embossed under a deep green translucent enamel. Hours of research were required in order for this colour to perfectly match the painting on the reverse.

Reverso Tribute Enamel - Georges Seurat, A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte  Jaeger-LeCoultre

Painted between 1884 and 1886, A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte is one of the most beautiful examples of the pointillist technique created by Georges Seurat (1859-1891). The technique of pointillism consists of juxtaposing minuscule dots of colour, rather than using larger brushstrokes, with the spectators eye naturally mixing the colours. It took Georges Seurat two years to complete this nearly 2 by 3 metre canvas. The painting is set on the banks of the Seine, near Paris, in a place where the locals would come to enjoy the water and a pleasant, unspoilt setting.



The artisan enameller had to take on a great number of challenges. The first was reproducing a more than 3-metre-wide painting onto a 3 cm2 surface. He also had to create his own pointillism technique and his own tools, including, for example, an extremely fine yet hard brush which frequently needed to be replaced. Pointillism on enamel is extremely complex. Several protective enamel layers must be superimposed upon one another after the completion of the painting, altering the intensity of the colour of the piece. A darker shade than the original was used in order to plan for this. In total, more than 70 hours were required to finish this creation, not counting the initial hours of research for the perfect colour.

Reverso Tribute Enamel Inspired by a painting by Xu Beihong

The dial was delicately guilloched in lengthwise geometric patterns and covered in opalescent ivory-coloured enamel, rendered as subtle as mother-of-pearl.



Xu Beihong (1895-1953) was one of the most renowned painters of the 20th century in China. He was known for his oil paintings, his drawings, his pastels and his calligraphy. His representations of horses made him very popular. The original, over 5-metre-wide painting shows ten horses galloping through a natural Chinese landscape. The enameller was inspired by the representation of two horses from the painting.

Reverso Tribute Enamel Inspired by a painting by Xu Beihong  Jaeger-LeCoultre

Again, there were several challenges in creating this miniature. The sense of movement, the fluidity and the lightness conveyed by the ink wash technique had to be reproduced despite the protective layers of the enamel, which reduce the images spontaneity. As such, the artisan spent many hours finding the right movement to best represent the horses energy. Additionally, it was a real challenge to portray the smallest details, such as the horses manes. Lastly, it should be noted that working practically in monochrome is another challenge for an artist such as an enameller, who is used to playing with colours.

Reverso Tribute Enamel  Katsushika Hokusai, The Great Wave off Kanagawa

On the front, the dial is delicately guilloched with small waves, like an echo of the drawing found on the reverse. It is then covered with a translucent enamel, coloured with a blue as deep as the ocean represented by The Great Wave off Kanagawa.

Reverso Tribute Enamel  Katsushika Hokusai, The Great Wave off Kanagawa  Jaeger-LeCoultre

Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849) was a Japanese artist known for his woodblock print series, Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji. It has remained iconic as it was the first time that the concept of perspective was integrated into the themes of the Japanese tradition of art. This series included The Great Wave off Kanagawa, which brought the artist fame not just in Japan, but in the rest of the world.



Once more, it was necessary to plan in order to achieve the desired colour as well as the tiniest elements which create the movement of the waves and the splashes of foam, without which the piece would lose all of its character and strength. It was also very difficult to reproduce such a calm and smooth sky, without a single brushstroke appearing. As such, this work presented the difficulties of the two preceding creations, demanding both an almost pointillist level of detail and the delicacy of Xu Beihong's expansive painting.The 'Cambridge Five' spying scandal rocked the Establishment by revealing Soviet double agents at the heart of many of Britain's most important institutions.

Kim Philby, Guy Burgess, Donald Maclean and Anthony Blunt all met at the University of Cambridge, where Blunt was an academic and the other three were undergraduates.

The older man recruited the students to the Soviet cause before the Second World War - and they remained devoted to the USSR even after the start of the Cold War.

Donald Maclean (left) and Kim Philby (right) were also members of the infamous Cambridge Five spy ring

Philby was head of counter-intelligence for MI6, while Maclean was a Foreign Office official and Burgess worked for the BBC.

Blunt was the most eminent of all, as director of the Courtauld Institute and keeper of the royal family's art collection.

In 1951, Burgess and Maclean were exposed as double agents - but after being tipped off by Philby they were able to escape to Moscow.

Despite the suspicion surrounding Philby, he avoided detection until 1963, when he too defected to the USSR.

Blunt escaped exposure for even longer - it was not until 1979, when Margaret Thatcher named him as a suspect in the House of Commons, that he confessed to his treachery and was stripped of his titles.

The 'fifth man' in the spy ring has never been definitively identified, but was named as John Cairncross by KGB defector Oleg Gordievsky.

The story of the unlikely traitors has been dramatised several times, including in John le Carre's classic book Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy and a 2003 BBC series titled Cambridge Spies.International Trade Secretary Liam Fox urged Tory backbenchers not to rebel over the crucial vote to try to keep the UK in a customs union

Tory Remainers preparing to rebel to force the Government to sign up to a customs union with the EU have been urged to fall into line.

Tory rebel Anna Soubry has tabled an amendment to demand the UK stays in a union after Brexit.

And she has said she has cross party support for the amendment - raising the sprectre that the PM will suffer a humiliating defeat over it.

International Trade Secretary Liam Fox urged Tory Remainers to keep an 'open mind' and not defy the PM.

He told BBC One's The Andrew Marr Show: 'I would say to my colleagues that Theresa May has kept a broad range of views on the European issue for a reason.

'We sat down with those differing views, we set out the issues, we looked at the options and we came to an agreement that we are all happy with.'

He added: 'I hope that they will have an open mind and listen to what the Prime Minister says because I think that what the Prime Minister will set out will deal with a lot of the reservations that they have.'

Asked if legislation was being delayed because the Government would lose, he replied: 'We want to persuade our colleagues of the merits of our argument before we take the bill forward.'

Tory former leader Iain Duncan Smith said: 'I say to my colleagues, who might want to change some of this, just be very careful on this one because you're being invited into a Labour party tactical game which will actually end up in real damage to the UK.'

Ms Soubry indicated she could decide not to push the amendment to a vote - but only if Theresa May makes major concessions in her Brexit speech this Friday.Advertisement

There's an old saying, that if something seems too good to be true, it probably is.

And anyone perusing a ski chalet website should certainly bear this in mind, because fake sites have been scamming customers by offering high-end chalets for thousands of euros a day less than they should be.

Several outraged skiers have told MailOnline how they thought they'd booked a luxury chalet, but actually wired money to scammers  with one victim losing 30,000 euros. They then discovered the banks were powerless to do anything about it. So just how were they duped?

Alps-stay.com (which was also called AVO Chalets) was a fake site (left). It took pictures from real ski chalet sites and offered them under different names at vastly reduced rates. The image on the left had been taken from Firefly Collection (right), which is a bona fide agent for luxury chalets

Firstly, because the scam sites are very professional looking  and use pictures of real luxury chalets, often with descriptions and terms and conditions ripped from bona fide websites.

And the correspondence they send in reply to enquiries is polite, efficient and helpful.

Plus they carry an https encryption stamp in their urls. Many see this as a sign that a site is above board, but as we explain later, that just means, in many cases, that information sent to that site is encrypted, not that the site is trustworthy.

Alps-stay.com was one such fake site (it also went by the name AVO Chalets). The account has now been suspended.

It carried an https certificate and was jam-packed with pictures of beautiful chalets, all slickly presented with gallery carousels and enticing descriptions.

However, the pictures had been taken from real ski chalet sites and offered under different names at vastly reduced rates.

One it sold was called 'Chalet Bertin', listed as being 'over five hundred square metres of luxury living space' in the 'Cospillot area of Courchevel' and up for rent from 1,500 euros per night.

But this wasn't Chalet Bertin. It was actually called Chalet Maria, available through a genuine operator called www.ultimateluxurychalets.com (sister site of www.skiinluxury.com) from 46,000 euros a week, or 6,500 euros a night.

It's clear that ultimateluxurychalets.com is a genuine site. It has high-definition photographs, a UK-based landline for customers to call and a Twitter feed with over 1,700 followers that's been active since 2012.

AVO Chalets advertised a property called 'Chalet Bertin' (left), described as being 'over five hundred square metres of luxury living space' in the 'Cospillot area of Courchevel' and up for rent from 1,500 euros per night. But this wasn't a picture of Chalet Bertin. It's actually called Chalet Maria, available through a genuine operator called www.ultimateluxurychalets.com (right) from 46,000 euros a week, or 6,500 euros a night

Alps-stay.com also listed a Chalet Irvina (left), which is actually Chalet Fontanet and is rented through www.firefly-collection.com (right) from 28,000 euros a week

Alps-stay.com also listed a Chalet Irvina, described as 'spacious and beautifully designed'.

It certainly is.

But it doesn't cost from 850 euros per night, which is the price AVO Chalets listed.

It's actually called Chalet Fontanet and is rented through www.firefly-collection.com from 28,000 euros a week. Or 4,000 euros a night.

Firefly Collection was shortlisted for the World's Best Ski Travel Agent in the 2016 and 2017 British Travel Awards and is well-known throughout the travel industry as being a top operation.

Another of its chalets - Perce Neige - appeared on alps-stay.com, but as Chalet Cazal.

In this instance the scammers had reduced the price from 75,000 euros a week (or over 10,000 euros a night) to 1,800 euros a night.

One of its chalets is also being offered on the cheap by yet another scam website - premiumswisschalets.com.

This one doesn't change the chalet names but instead seems to rely on looking swish to lure people in. It's listing Zermatt Peak chalet in Switzerland for 4,500CHF (3,440) per night, but it actually costs from around 7,800CHF (6,000) through Firefly Collection.

MailOnline emailed and called premiumswisschalets.com several times to ask it about its pricing and for a response on allegations that it's a scam site, but received no response in writing and no one picked up the phone.

The picture on the left appears on a scam site called www.swissalpschalet.com. Interhome.co.uk, right, is a genuine agent for the chalet (right)

Note how www.swissalpschalet.com (top) appears to have copied swathes of text from Interhome.co.uk (bottom)

How do I make sure I'm not scammed? Kevin Pratt, consumer affairs expert at MoneySuperMarket, said: If a ski chalet operator insists you pay by bank transfer rather than a credit card, that should set off alarm bells. A trader or merchant has to be approved by card providers before it can accept plastic card payments, so if it aggressively refuses to take plastic, you might want to question why. Is it actually a legitimate business? If you pay by credit card, you have the protection of Section 75 of the 1974 Consumer Credit Act. This means that, if your chalet bill is between 100 and 30,000, you can claim against the card provider if you are ripped off. This advice about credit cards is also advocated by Barclays and the Metropolitan Police. Further tips: Is the offer too good to be true? Do your research. If a villa is advertised at half the going rate and has great availability in peak season when everywhere else is full, this should tell you something. Do an internet search on the location. If the accommodation is advertised by other companies under another name, this may also be a warning sign. Look for companies that have a real location and real phone numbers. Be suspicious of businesses that will only communicate via email and mobile phones. Its worth checking the address or even looking at the location through an online, street-view map. You can also use an online image search (right-click on the image) to see if a companys images are used on other sites. If this function has been disabled, be wary. Look, too, for online reviews about the company. Keep up to date. Scammers are constantly innovating in order to stay one step ahead of the game, so follow sites such as the polices own Action Fraud. If you believe that you have been the victim of a scam, contact your bank as soon as it is possible to do so. Sources: Barclays, Action Fraud, MoneySuperMarket, Metropolitan Police. Advertisement

Then there's SwissAlpsChalet.com, which appears to be stealing text and photographs from www.interhome.co.uk - and has even posted Google ads, though these have now been taken down.

It has been named as a scam site by the Zermatt tourist office. It picked out an example, a listing for 'Chalet Z21' in Zermatt, and said: 'We confirm that the following page is fake www.swissalpschalet.com/properties/chalet-z21.

'The chalet which you can see there is called chalet A la Casa and belongs to Anita und Andreas Perren (www.matterhorn.org). Anita and Andreas Perren confirmed that they were not working together with swissalpschalet.'

Interhomes said, in regard to swissalpschalet.com: The mentioned website is not an official sales partner of Interhome.

Elijah Lawal, Google spokesperson, said: 'We have a set of policies which govern what ads we do and do not allow on Google. These policies make it clear that we do not allow fraudulent or misrepresentative sites. If we discover sites that are breaking this policy, we quickly take appropriate action.'

We asked swissalpschalet.com for a comment, but received no response.

More tell-tale signs of a scam, from a disabled Google image search to refusing to take credit card payments

Aside from suspiciously low prices, duplicated photographs and chalet names changing, what are the other clues that a site might be a scam?

One is that Google 'image search' has been disabled, which AVO Chalets did, no doubt in an attempt to stop potential victims cross-referencing the pictures to find out if they appear on other sites.

Image search is normally an option that comes up by right-clicking on a picture.

MailOnline found a work-around by using the 'Snip' tool and moving the image into another programme, where Google image search then worked.

And likewise, alarm bells should ring if you can't copy and paste the text in order to cross-reference it.

Other signs include only listing one mobile number as a contact, a lack of social media activity, not having an office that has a physical location that you can check on Google Streetview and showing almost constant availability for chalets.

Being asked for a passport number during the booking process - which AVO Chalets did when we tried to make a 'ghost' booking - is also a sign you're about to be scammed.

This isn't normal procedure according to a source we spoke to at Abta and several reputable hotel firms we contacted.

But one of the surest signs, however, is that the site refuses to take payment from a credit card and instead demands a bank transfer.

To be clear, there are legitimate sites that use bank transfers, but if that's the only method of payment it's accepting, alarm bells should ring.

One skier told MailOnline that she smelled a rat when swissalpschalet.com demanded she paid by bank transfer and pulled out of the deal before she was duped.

The reason scammers love bank transfers is partly because setting up credit card systems requires approval from card providers, but also because the money simply arrives in their account faster.

By the time that the site is rumbled and it's apparent a scam has been inflicted on someone, the money is long gone.

As a Barclays spokesperson told MailOnline: 'Scammers love bank transfers. The money goes straight from your account to theirs and then they take it straight out and disappear.'

The money is often syphoned out within minutes, according to Barclays, leaving the banks powerless to retrieve it.

This is the unfortunate scenario that befell several people who contacted MailOnline.

If a site is showing constant availability for a chalet, then alarm bells should ring. This image is from premiumswisschalets.com - an alleged scam site

One lost nearly 10,000 euros to the now-offline 'whychalets.com' using a bank transfer, another lost 1,700 to a scam site called whitealpschalets.com and another victim lost over 2,000 euros to chaletonealps.com, whose operatives, including a 'Steve Lloyd', used a suspiciously similar email autosignature to that used by AVO Chalets.

On occasions the thieves get away with huge amounts.

One person who wrote to MailOnline explained that he'd lost 30,000 euros (26,500/$37,000), transferred to 'onealpschalets.com'. The arrangements were made by the same 'Steve Lloyd' from chaletonealps.com.

It seems that the scammers have a favourite auto-signature template. The top one is from a case study who was scammed by Chalets One Alps. The one below is from a ghost booking MailOnline tried to make with the now off-line AVO Chalets. Steve Lloyd became David Esco

Using a credit card when making a booking is the advice from most money experts. That's because Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act means the credit card company is jointly liable for breaches of contract or misrepresentation. So you're much better protected against fraud.

'The onslaught of scam chalet booking sites seems relentless'

One ski chalet travel agent, who wished to remain anonymous, said that the scam problem is getting worse.

He told MailOnline: 'The past two years has seen the biggest increase of both scam websites and the progression of their tactics to snare people in their trap. We have definitely been into the upper 10s, if not the 20s in terms of the number of fraud websites that have popped up on an annual basis in the past few years. And alps-stay.com and SwissAlpsChalet.com are two of the key ones at the moment [alps-stay.com is now off-line, as previously mentioned].'

He told MailOnline that more than one of his clients had either been duped by them or had a close encounter.

He continued: 'They will pay for Google ad campaigns around the key search phrases or even established company names. They thrive on those that dont look at organic listings but instead trust in Google that they wont advertise fraudulent websites.'

This grab shows how scam site www.swissalpschalet.com was able to book a Google ad. The search engine has now taken the advert down

Tim Latimer, director of Firefly Collection, is similarly frustrated with the rise of the scam website.

He told MailOnline: 'The onslaught of scam chalet booking sites seems relentless.

Not enough is being done to shut these fake websites down and the criminals prosecuted Tim Latimer, director of Firefly Collection

'We regularly get clients calling to say they have lost thousands via scam booking websites. The usual scenario is that they have been quoted a fraction of the true price. If it is too good to be true, it usually is.

'As with Alps-stay.com, the scammers often steal the images of one chalet and use them to illustrate a completely fake chalet in a different resort. Frustratingly, they often take our descriptions, which we had written at great expense, and use it word for word.'

As for premiumswisschalets.com, he said that the fact it's still up and running highlights that not enough is being done to tackle the scam problem.

He added: 'This one has been around a while and we have had clients tell us they have been taken in by them. Occasionally people have even turned up at chalets with their whole family thinking they have booked a property and they find out the hard way that their booking doesnt exist. Its heart-breaking. Their holidays are ruined and they are left standing on the street with nowhere to stay, and are thousands out of pocket.

'Not enough is being done to shut these fake websites down and the criminals prosecuted. The fact that this one is still operating proves that. We saw this site operating back in November 2017 but no doubt it was up and running well before that.'

Why https doesn't mean a site is legitimate

Comodo CA, which certified scam site alps-stay.com, said that under browser rules, firms don't need to prove they're legitimate to get clearance to use a certificate that enables https

Regarding the fact that scam websites can still carry https in their urls, which many regard as being a sign of something genuine, New Jersey-based Comodo CA, which certified alps-stay.com, said that under browser rules, firms don't need to prove they're legitimate to get clearance to use a certificate that enables https.

It said there are three types of certificates, but alps-stay.com requested only 'domain validation', the lowest level. In this instance, it merely means that the site has an encrypted connection, so that information passed to it is secure.

Comodo CA said: 'In this instance the certificate does not validate the company that owns the website domain, only that it has control over the domain. In this case, the entity was able to prove control.'

It said that consumers should try to do business with websites that use extended validation (EV). To be awarded this, the site must pass a vetting process to establish that its legitimate.

Comodo added: The EV validated website will display the company name in green font, instead of only the url, the latter being the sign of a DV [domain] validated url.

It said that suspected cases of fraud should be reported to ssl_abuse@comodoca.com.

'I've told our disruption team': The official response to MailOnline's allegations

When evidence of alps-stay.com's scam was put to Action Fraud, it said: 'We cant comment on specific companies or websites.'

The information was, however, passed on to its disruption team, according to a spokesman. MailOnline does not know if the disruption team took the site off-line.

The case studies: How the scammers duped victims with professional invoices, slick sites and even offers of picking them up from the airport

Case study 1 - 10,000 euros lost to a bank account in Portugal

Frederick was scammed out of nearly 10,000 euros, having fallen victim to a swish-looking website.

He said: 'I was looking for a luxury chalet for the Christmas holidays. I landed on a website that was very accurate and detailed, with pictures and remarks. It looked very professional.'

The website was www.whychalets.com. But it was a scam.

Frederick continued: 'I chose a chalet called Chalet Pichard in Tignes and got an email from whychalets.com asking to fill out a contract and send a copy of my passport. They sent me the bank details to transfer 9,845 euros to someone called Vasil Gradina using a bank account in Faro, Portugal, with Novo Banco.

'I did the transfer for this amount.

'The following day I got the suspicion that something was wrong, because when I was checking the reservation period on their website, the chalet was correctly displayed rented, but only from my computer, because a friend of mine did the same inquiry for the same chalet for the same period and from her computer the chalet was available. Seems they trucked my IP address. I tried to call the UK number, but they never responded.

I called the tourism authority in Tignes and they checked with the owner of the chalet if my reservation was legitimate. We discovered that the name was different and the agency who rented me the chalet did not exist.

The real deal: This is a picture of the chalet that Frederick was trying to book, as seen on a genuine website

'In fact, the legitimate agency was www.ultimateluxurychalets.com/luxury-chalet-opale-tignes and as you can see the name is Opale and not Pichard.

'At that point I was sure I was scammed and I tried to recall my bank transfer, but the beneficiary bank [Novo Banco] said "if the client is not willing to send back the money we cant help".

'The name of the company displayed was real - Magnus Properties [whychalets.com]. I checked online. But they probably used this name only to appear real.'

He added: 'It seems like a joke, but this was the cruel reality.'

MailOnline has asked Novo Banco for a comment.

Case study 2 - 'he said he would personally collect us'

Janet was scammed by a website called www.whitealpschalets.com, having been lured in by its professionalism. This invoice from the scammers shows just how genuine their documents appear to be

Janet was scammed by a website called www.whitealpschalets.com, having been lured in by its professionalism.

She told MailOnline: 'We happened upon a website, very professional with lots of information on it - White Alps Chalets. The property cost 175 euros per night and there was availability. So we decided this was worth looking into. It was comfortably expensive.

'We heard back from "Guillaume" the property manager via email. It was a professional looking email, he was very polite and he told us that transfers were included as well as end-of-stay cleaning. He said he would personally collect us and would be available for any issues we had.

'He said that if we paid for the booking upfront as well as the deposit of 1,000 euros, that we would get 10 per cent off the total.

'We went through the website, checking all links. We also clicked through on Google Maps and could see the property, its location and where it sat within Morzine, in France. We checked the booking form, all terms and conditions of the rental, all of which were quite standard and acceptable.

'We decided to book this accommodation.

'We know full well that a credit card should be used for online bookings such as this. But Guillaume came back to us saying that they had been scammed with cards before so they were only taking online bank transfers. Our friends going with us had stayed in Florida and this is how they had paid, so we accepted this. We paid online and received an invoice receipt.

'A few weeks after, we realised the website link wasnt working - the account had been suspended. It was then that we googled the company name - it was all over the internet as being a scam.'

Janet lost 1,700 altogether from a Nationwide account that was paid into a Barclays account. She informed Nationwide and Action Fraud.

Nationwide told Mailonline: 'We sympathise with the situation the customer finds themselves in, but no error has been made by the Society. Unfortunately, by the time they had notified us of the issue the funds had been withdrawn.'

Barclays told MailOnline: 'We have every sympathy and acted swiftly to close the account as soon as the scam was reported. Unfortunately, by the time that we were alerted, the scammer had withdrawn all of the available funds.'

Action Fraud told MailOnline: 'The case is still being assessed at this stage. It appears to be an isolated incident at the moment.'

Case study 3 - 30,000 euros lost to the mysterious 'Steve Lloyd'

Pablo, from Mexico, lost an eye-watering amount to a scam site called onealpschalets.com - 30,000 euros.

He said: 'A guy by the name of "Steve Lloyd" from a UK office sent us bank account details to pay into after we asked him what was included with the chalet.

'He answered every email. After that we sent them the money.

'Then after we did the wire transfer the site closed and the phone number became unavailable. We sent some friends to verify the address but found nothing. It was fake as we thought. There was no One Alps Chalets or Steve Lloyd at that address.'

Case study 4 - over 2,000 euros lost to 'Steve Lloyd'

John was scammed by onealpschalets.com, which stole 2,075 euros from him. The image above is the invoice the scam site sent him

John was scammed by Steve Lloyd, too, for over 2,000 euros.

But the elusive Mr Lloyd on this occasion was working for a variation on onealpschalets.com - chaletonealps.com.

John told MailOnline: 'We found the website while searching for accommodation options in St. Anton.

'A few e-mails were exchanged with a man called "Steve Lloyd, booking executive", in which he confirmed a chalet called Chalet Adela.

'He sent me a reservation form. The payment method was a bank transfer to a bank located in London. I paid the sum of 2,075 euros. I got a confirmation. In January, about one month later, a member of our party told me that the website was down. When I tried to reply to the previous e-mail we had been using, there was an automated answer - no such user.'

He added: 'I was a fool and paid with bank transfer and not by credit card, theres nothing the bank can do without police involvement. I have quite good insurance coverage, but none of it covered this kind of deficit.'

John lost money to a NatWest account.

NatWest told MailOnline: 'As soon as we were alerted to this scam we shut the account down. Unfortunately no money was remaining in the account by the time we had been alerted.'

Case study 5 - 3,485 lost to a fraudulent Santander account

Harriet was scammed by "Jean" from www.frenchalprentals.com  yet the logo on her invoice is almost identical to that used by Steve Lloyd. She lost 3,485 to a fraudulent Santander account.

She told MailOnline: 'In December 2016 I booked a chalet in Morzine, which I found on www.frenchalprentals.com. I was asked to pay the owner of the chalet, Mr Andrei Vijai Rezmives, directly for the chalet. I made a payment of 3,485 by bank transfer from my Barclays account to a Santander account. I received confirmation and didn't think any more of it.

'A few weeks later, I emailed Jean to ask him something and it was only when I didn't receive a reply that the alarm bells rang. I realised it was a fraudulent website and reported it to the National Fraud Cyber Team, Barclays and Santander.

Santander wouldn't speak to me as I wasn't their customer. The fraud squad responded and said there was lots of it going on but we never got anywhere. We took action against Barclays but got nowhere apart from 200 compensation for my "upset".'

These invoices are from the site that scammed Harriet. Note that the company name has changed, but the logo is almost identical to that used on the invoice sent to our case study No4, John

Barclays told MailOnline: 'We acted swiftly to contact Santander in an attempt to reclaim the funds. As some time had passed since the payment was made, unfortunately no funds remained in the account. We understand this matter has been reported to Action Fraud and we hope that they bring the criminals to justice.'

Santander told MailOnline: 'We are very disappointed to hear about this experience. The transaction was made on the 23rd December 2016, and we werent informed that the payment could be part of a scam until 1st February 2017.

'We are unable to say much about the specific case given client confidentiality, but we can confirm we take these matters seriously and working with industry and customers to see how we can avoid these unfortunate circumstances arising.'

The Metropolitan Police told MailOnline: We received a referral of an allegation of fraud from Action Fraud on 1 February.

The allegation was investigated, however no viable lines of enquiry were identified. As such the investigation has been closed, subject to any further information becoming available.

Case study 6 - a close call with AVO Chalets

Charlie was almost scammed by AVO Chalets, but he was lucky, because his bank, Rabobank, was on the ball and it alerted him to a potential risk.

He said: 'When I was doing the payment a warning was sent by my bank that this could be a risky payment.

After emailing them and telling them the payment was on hold they called me. I asked the gentleman some details about the location and the local person we would meet. The gentleman spoke very bad English and promised me that he would sent me the info within the hour.

'I never heard from them again.'Sophie Cookson, pictured, has been spotted out with actor Stephen Campbell

The Crown star Claire Foy and her actor husband Stephen Campbell Moore surprised the showbiz world last week when they announced that their four-year marriage was over.

But I wonder whether Stephen is being comforted after the split by pretty young actress Sophie Cookson, his co-star in a forthcoming KGB spy drama?

My spy spotted Sophie, 27, and Stephen looking cosy at a West End theatre shortly before Christmas. The pair were at the press night of The Grinning Man at the Trafalgar Studios and they were seen buying cigarettes at the interval.

They later left together to attend the after-party, while Claire  a Golden Globe winner for her portrayal of the Queen in Netflixs The Crown  was nowhere to be seen.

At the time I thought nothing of it, as I had recently questioned Claires PR team over rumours about her separation from Stephen, 38, but was told categorically that those rumours were untrue. Now it seems there was, sadly, a split on the cards after all.

Stephen and Sophie spent much of last year together filming the drama Red Joan, the story of the KGBs longest-serving British spy. Sophie plays the agent during her younger days. The film also features Judi Dench and Victorias Tom Hughes.

Sophie, who previously appeared in Kingsman: The Secret Service, got engaged to fellow actor Andrew Gower in 2014, but they never made it down the aisle.

Claire, 33, and Stephen, who have a two-year-old daughter, revealed their split last week and admitted they had been apart for some time.

The announcement came just months after Stephen had life-saving surgery to remove a brain tumour.

Claire Foy, left, and Stephen Campbell Moore stunned the showbiz world when they announced they had split months after he had life-saving brain surgery

Royals rile the ragamuffin

Buckingham Palace has risked the wrath of supermodel Adwoa Aboah  by getting her name wrong on an invitation.

Sharing the snap on social media, Adwoa grumbled: Even the Royals cant spell my name right! In case you havent spotted it yet, an extra H was added.

Perhaps it was courtiers taking revenge after the 25-year-old arrived at the Palace last year looking like an underdressed ragamuffin  her words, not mine.

Adwoa Aboah, right, complained online after receiving an invitation from Buckingham Palace which spelled her name wrong, leftHe's the lovable Aussie comedian, who's known for bringing the laughs.

But Wil Anderson, 44, admits that a previous arrest in Wagga Wagga was certainly no laughing matter and claims that it left him suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.

Despite the humiliating incident, which occurred last year, the TV personality said he doesn't care what critics think and he used the arrest as inspiration for his latest comedy show.

'I don't care what people think': Wil Anderson has spoken out about a shock plane arrest that left him suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder

'I don't care what people think of me. Why would I?' he told Stellar Magazine on Sunday.

'I am not running for parliament. I don't need everyone to like me. You would drive yourself crazy trying to please everybody. I've always been of the opinion that if you try to please everybody, you'll please nobody.

He added: 'The show has been really healing.'

Candid: 'I don't care what people think of me. Why would I?' he told Stellar Magazine on Sunday

Wil was arrested in June last year after an incident on a flight from Sydney to Wagga Wagga.

He had been pacing up and down the plane due to a sore back and he says his behaviour was misinterpeted by Qantas staff.

'I have a sore back and I was up and about pacing and there was a misinterpretation in the intentions of my pacing,' he previously told Channel Nine.

Plane incident: Wil was arrested in June last year after an incident on a flight from Sydney to Wagga Wagga

'I'm very confident and happy that the whole thing was based on a misunderstanding and I think we're going to sort it all out and I think once everybody has heard their sides of the story, that we'll all be on the same page,' he said.

The star has now written a new comedy show about the incident, WILEGAL, for which he will tour around Australia.

At the time, the ABC reported a Tweet from the comedian's account which read:'A big f*** you to the crew at Qantas for their no help today. Sorry Wagga if I can't walk when I get off the plane today.'

That was reportedly deleted and he instead called the entire thing a 'misunderstanding,' saying he believed they would 'sort it out.'

WILEGAL will start its run at the Adelaide Fringe Festival on March 1.He's back in the West London district with which he will be forever linked  but Hugh Grant could hardly look less delighted to have returned to Notting Hill.

The star pulled a most peculiar face last week as he stood outside the famous blue door that played such a pivotal part in the 1999 romcom.

In the Richard Curtis movie, his character  a bookshop owner  opened the door to find a crowd of paparazzi because of his romance with a Hollywood star, played by Julia Roberts.

Hugh Grant seemed less than happy after he was spotted filming in Notting Hill last week

Here, the actor opens the door during the filming of hit romcom Notting Hill in 1999

The door has been a tourist attraction in Notting Hill ever since the popular British movie

Rhys Ifans also appeared outside the same door gyrating in only his underpants for the photographers benefit. The door has been a tourist attraction ever since.

But last week, 57-year-old Grant faced just a small film crew on the very same spot.

And as he emerged, he acknowledged: The last time I came through this door there was rather a lot of press people outside

At one stage, the actor was spotted holding up a sign which read: Picnic with me.

Curtiss partner Emma Freud tells me that its a clue to a new celebrity charity project being launched next month.

I hate to burst the bubble of those who believe they saw Millie Mackintosh carrying Meghan Markles wedding dress, but friends of both parties are aghast at the suggestion.

They say it is more likely that Millie was lugging her own wedding gown around last week.

Says a pal: Why would Millie bung the Royal dress in her Range Rover? Everyone seems to have forgotten that Millie is getting married.

The 28-year-old is engaged to Made In Chelseas Hugo Taylor.She wowed her fans performing at the BRIT Awards in London on Wednesday.

But Rita Ora didn't bask in the glory of a successful show for too long as she was spotted arriving for a recording session in Miami on Saturday.

The 27-year-old songstress was accompanied by her boyfriend Andrew Watt as they made their way to The Hit Factory.

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Pop sensation: Rita Ora, 27, was spotted arriving for a recording session in Miami on Saturday

Daring to impress, the When It Hurts Hard hit-maker rocked a casual ensemble for the work-related jaunt.

She sported a white Chanel T-shirt that belied her fabulous figure underneath as it was over sized and baggy.

Her gorgeous gams were swathed in grey Burberry sweatpants that featured elastic hems at the ankles.

Adding a touch of glamour to the low key style, the British bombshell threw on a pair of animal print sandals and orange retro shades.

Impressive: Daring to impress, the When It Hurts Hard hit-maker rocked a casual ensemble for the work-related jaunt

Hidden figures: She sported a white Chanel T-shirt that belied her fabulous figure underneath as it was over sized and baggy

She kept her trademark golden tresses long and loose as they cascaded over her petite shoulders.

Throwing caution to the wind, Rita went virtually makeup free with just a slight smokey eye and a dab of berry lip.

Her boyfriend kept it casual as well as he sported a white tee, floral designed loose pants, and black loafers.

Loved up: The songstress was accompanied by her boyfriend Andrew Watt as they made their way to The Hit Factory

Hair story: She kept her trademark golden tresses long and loose as they cascaded over her petite shoulders

Meanwhile, Rita performed her smash hit For You with duet partner Liam Payne at the BRIT Awards.

Viewers noted that Rita kept her distance from Liamon stage out of respect for his girlfriend Cheryl who was watching from the audience, after they had battled split rumours.

Twitter went wild over the reserved performance and couldn't help but speculate that it was because of Cheryl's presence a few feet in front of them.

They wrote: 'Did that performance between Rita Ora and Liam Payne look mega awkward? it's as if Cheryl told him not to go near her #BRITs2018 #BRITS.'

'Liam and Rita looked a bit awkward on stage, probs because Cheryl was there nonetheless she looked fit #brits,' another penned.Actress Andrea Demetriades has revealed she's been racially harassed at work in the past due to her Greek heritage.

The Crownies star admitted she always felt she had to 'work a bit harder' than everyone else to succeed in the 'cut-throat' industry.

The 35-year-old Perth native did however concede that on the whole, Australia is 'doing very f**king well' at accepting multi-culturalism.

Barriers: Actress Andrea Demetriades has revealed she's been racially harassed at work in the past due to her Greek heritage

'I've always had to work a bit harder. I don't know if I've ever been naturally good at anything,' she told The Sydney Morning Herald's Sunday Life magazine.

The brunette beauty's Cypriot-born father, Costas, is a translator and a teacher while her mother Athena worked in the canteen at a Greek language school.

She explained that her strong work ethic comes from her grandmother's tales of the struggles her family faced while trying to build new life in Australia.

Despite revealed she had faced 'moments' of racial discrimination in the job, Andrea said she was proud of how Australians were accepting different ethnicities.

Prejudice: The Crownies star admitted she always felt she had to 'work a bit harder' than everyone else to succeed in the 'cut-throat' industry (seen in stage production of Closer)

'I think Australia is doing very f**king well at [accepting its multiculturalism] and I'm very proud to be a part of it,' she said.

Meanwhile, Andrea is dating long-term love, actor Joseph del Re - who she dubbed the 'love of my life'.

The smitten couple live together in Sydney and have starred opposite each other on several productions after being set up by a mutual pal a few years ago.

The actress, who made her name as the Muslim lawyer Lina Badir in ABC legal drama Crownies, is now carving a career in comedy.

Family ties: The brunette beauty's Cypriot-born father, Costas (pictured), is a translator and a teacher while her mother Athena worked in the canteen at a Greek language school

Andrea is now appearing in ensemble comedy Squinters on ABC - a series shot entirely in cars and following the lives of commuters travelling to and from work.

She plays Romi, awoman from marketing who agrees to share a car with delivery-driver Paul, who has a crush on her.

It's a far cry from her typical roles in dark drama, like Crownies and a high-class prostitute on Seven Types Of Ambiguity.

While she's enjoying flexing her acting muscles in a comedy, Andrea admitted she's still keen to crack Los Angeles and land an acting job in 'magical' Hollywood.He's become the highly regarded young surgeon on hit American drama The Good Doctor.

And it has been confirmed Freddie Highmore will head Down Under from March 9 for a publicity tour.

'With this being my first trip to Australia, I'm very much looking forward to exploring a country that I have always dreamed of visiting,' the 26-year-old confirmed.

He'll be making hearts skip! The Good Doctor's Freddie Highmore will head down to Australia for his first tour of the country

'I am likewise excited to meet all those who have so warmly embraced The Good Doctor.'

Freddie plays Dr Shaun Murphy - an extremely gifted surgeon who suffers from autism and has savant syndrome.

While he's initially doubted by many of his colleagues, Dr Shaun uses his intuition to save lives and ultimately earns respect at the prestigious San Jose St. Bonaventure Hospital.

Starring role! Freddie, who plays Dr Shaun Murphy, is extremely gifted as a surgeon because of his autism and savant syndrome

And it's not just his character on The Good Doctor that's astoundingly intelligent, Freddie speaks Spanish, Arabic and French fluently, in addition to his native English.

The English actor was nominated for Best Actor at the Golden Globe Awards for his part in the ABC series but didn't walk away with the win.

He started his career in comedy film Women Talking Dirty before making a name for himself in Finding Neverland, Bates Motel and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

The boyishly charming lad was born into a showbiz family.

His mother, Sue Latimer, is a talent agent whose clients include actors Daniel Radcliffe and Imelda Staunton.

Meanwhile his father and younger brother Bertie are also actors.She recently claimed her Doctor Who role 'didn't catapult her anywhere'.

However, Karen Gillan proved to be at the top of her game as she released her directorial debut, The Party is Just Beginning on Saturday.

The 30-year-old actress, who also wrote the film, shone as she attended the world premiere of the comedy drama at the Glasgow Film Festival.

Dazzlinh: Karen Gillan, 30 who also wrote the film, shone as she attended the world premiere of her directorial debut, The Party is Just Beginning, at the Glasgow Film Festival on Saturday

The Guardian's of the Galaxy actress dazzled in a gemstone-encrusted gown which swept along the red carpet.

Most of the dress was covered in grey velvet, however it was diagonally split across her chest - with the other half an off-white, littered in tiny jewels.

The star's manicured hands clutched a small rectangular evening bag as she posed for paparazzi at the premier.

Shining: The Guardian's of the Galaxy actress dazzled in a gemstone-encrusted gown which swept along the red carpet

Her auburn tresses were worn in beachy waves, which fell forward, framing her pretty features.

Karen gave her rosy complexion an edgier look with a grey smokey-eye and a swipe of black eyeliner.

The former Doctor Who sidekick recently admitted that she realised that she had a lot of personal work to do in order to hone her skills.

Bejewelled: Most of the dress was covered in grey velvet, however it was diagonally split across her chest - with the other half an off-white, littered in tiny jewels

Appearing in The Circle, alongside Tom Hanks and Emma Watson, Karen admitted it was the former Hollywood legend who reassured her after she had re-thought her craft.

'[Tom] came up to me and told me I was good,' she told The Guardian. 'And it was one of those life moments. Maybe I've achieved some of what I wanted to, after realising how s**t I was!'

Karen became a household name after starring in three series of Doctor Who as companion Amy Pond and has since broken into Hollywood with major roles in the likes of Guardians of the Galaxy alongside Chris Pratt.

Wavy: Her auburn tresses were worn in beachy waves, which fell forward, framing her pretty features

She told the publication that her success comes from the fact she had a re-evaluation of herself as an actress having been over-confident about her talent for many years.

She said: 'I was delusional about my own acting abilities. When I was acting, I was really confident that I was good at it. I had suffered so many rejections, but it's like it has never phased me.

'Then I had an awakening when I realised I wasn't as good as I thought I was - I watched myself in something and thought, "Oh my God, this is terrible, I need to get back to work on this and figure out how this is done."'

Sidekick: Karen - who was the 11th companion to Matt Smith's Doctor Who from 2011 TO 2013 -has her next big blockbuster project lined up

She also said of Doctor Who that it 'never really catapulted me anywhere'; yet she has now stepped behind the camera and directed, written and starred in her own black comedy The Party's Just Beginning.

The movie - which will premiere at the Glasgow Film Festival this weekend with Karen herself in attendance - follows a young woman who turns to sex and alcohol to cope with her grief following the suicide of her best friend.

And despite being her directorial debut, she said it felt 'natural' to go behind the camera and direct.Following the ouster of King Farouk I as a result of the 1952 revolution, Mohamed Naguib, the leader of the Egyptian armed forces, was appointed the first president of Egypt by a vote of the Egyptian Revolutionary Command Council.



In 1954 Egypt passed its first post-revolution constitution. The articles of the constitution on presidential elections stated that the president of Egypt is the head of the state and any candidate for the post should be an Egyptian citizen, with an Egyptian father and grandfather, and should not be younger than 45 years on the day of the elections.



Moreover, the constitution specified the president be elected by a secret ballot from a body composed of members of the parliament, along with delegates from upper and lower chambers, who would number three times the number of elected members of both the lower and upper chambers. It also specified that no candidate should be elected to the presidency for more than two consecutive terms.

1956: Presidential referendum and new constitution



Naguib was relieved of duty by the Revolutionary Command Council in 1954, which announced in November that the presidents post was vacant.



The council appointed the leader of the revolution, Gamal Abdel-Nasser, as prime minister, while the presidency remained vacant for two years. The council also passed a new constitution in January 1956 to replace the 1954 constitution.



The 1956 constitution was approved by a public referendum in June, while in the same referendum Gamal Abdel-Nasser was approved as president. He would be president for 16 years, until his death in 1970.



The 1956 constitution on presidential elections stated that the president of Egypt oversees the executive authority and any candidate for the post should be an Egyptian citizen, with an Egyptian father and grandfather and should not be younger than 35 years on the day of the elections.



The National Assembly is to nominate by the absolute majority of its members the president, and present the candidate for vote in a public referendum.



The term of office shall be six calendar years from the date of the announcement of the result of the referendum, stated the constitution.



In 1958 and 1965 Nasser was re-elected as the country's president by a vast majority of votes in public referendums based on the 1956 constitution and later the 1958 constitution of unity with Syria, by which he was president of the United Arab Republic.



October 1970: Nasser's death and Sadat as president



Nasser died on September 1970, and one month later his deputy Anwar El-Sadat was elected by majority vote by the National Assembly and named the third president of the republic.



In accordance with the country's constitution, El-Sadats presidency was put to the vote in a public referendum, with 90 percent of voters approving.



In September 1971, Sadat demanded that the People's Assembly (formerly the National Assembly) suggest another constitution for the country. It was approved the same month by a public referendum and named Egypt's permanent constitution, and would regulate the presidential election process for the next 40 years.



The 1971 constitution redefined the articles on the conditions and the laws regulating the presidential ballot process.



Articles 73,74,75,76 and 77 state that the president should be an Egyptian citizen born to Egyptian parents and should enjoy civil and political rights. His age must not be less than 40 years.



The constitution also stated that the president should be elected by direct, public, secret ballot.



In 1976, El-Sadat was re-elected as president for the second term by a public referendum, with an absolute majority.



In 1980, the Egyptian parliament passed a controversial amendment to the 1971 constitution, allowing the president to run for successive terms.



El-Sadat was assassinated in 1981,and vice president Hosni Mubarak was nominated as president by the majority of the People's Assembly.

A public referendum approved him as the fourth president of the country with 98.1 percent of the vote.

Presidential referendums were held in 1987, 1993 and 1999 to renew Mubaraks presidency, in all cases with a majority of voters approving.



2005: First multi-candidate presidential elections

Fifty-two years after the establishment of the republic, the country saw the first multi-candidate presidential elections after an amendment to the country's 1971 constitution, which replaced the public referendum system with elections.



However, the amendments to the constitution, which came due to public pressure and calls for political freedom and reform, ignored Article 77, which stated the president may be re-elected for other 'successive terms.'



In September 2005, ten candidates ran in the country's first multi-candidate presidential elections, including leaders of opposition parties and prominent Egyptian politicians.

Mubarak, who was also leader of the National Democratic Party, secured 88 percent of votes in the elections. Ayman Nour, the then-leader of Al-Ghad opposition party came second with 7 percent, and Nooman Gomaa, the leader of the historic Wafd party came third with 2 percent of the vote.



There was some criticism of the elections due to the lack of international monitoring and the opposition's claims of political suppression under the years of Mubaraks rule.

2011: Revolutionary change



On 28 January 2011, crowds of protesters took to the Egyptian streets against the longtime rule of Hosni Mubarak. On 11 February he stepped down, having ruled Egypt for thirty years, handing power to the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces.



In March 2011, Egyptians voted in favour of a constitutional amendment to replace the 1971 constitution, which had been suspended in the wake of the revolution.

The approved constitutional amendments stipulated for the first time in the history of the country that "the president of the state is elected for four-year terms, renewable only once."



Based on the 2011 constitutional amendments and following a one-year transitional period, the country's second multi-candidate presidential elections were held.

The June 2012 presidential elections resulted in a run-off round between the Muslim Brotherhood candidate Mohamed Morsi and Mubarak-era prime minister Ahmed Shafiq, with the Brotherhood candidate winning.

Parliamentary elections had been held in the winter of 2011, and members of a constituent assembly were selected by MPs in 2012 and went on to draft a new constitution. The constitution was passed by popular referendum in December 2012.

On 3 July 2013, and as a result of four days of nationwide protests against his rule in June 2013, Morsi was ousted and the head of the Supreme Constitutional Court, Adly Mansour, was appointed as an interim president until a new constitution was drafted and new parliamentary and presidential elections were held.

2014: A new constitution and presidential elections



In January 2014, a new constitution was approved by the majority of Egyptians in a public referendum. It stated that the president should be elected for a four-year term, which is renewable once.

The amendments also granted more flexibility to political parties and independent candidates to run for the presidential elections.

The 2014 constitution stated that the president must be an Egyptian born to Egyptian parents, and neither he or his parents nor his spouse may have held any other nationality. He must enjoy civil and political rights, must have performed military service or have been exempted by law, and must not be less than forty years of age on the day of commencing candidacy registration.



New elections took place in May of 2014; Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi, the defence minister during the ouster of Morsi, became the country's elected president after securing a majority of 96 percent of votes, against his sole competitor, leftist Hamdeen Sabahi.



With President El-Sisi's first term due to end on 7 June 2018, Egyptians will head to the polls once more on 26-28 March to decide the leader of the country for the next four years.

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Seen here as a chubby-cheeked baby, this TV personality shot to fame on one of Channel Ten's highest rating reality shows.

Known for his chiseled-chest and sandy hair, he's originally a tradesman from Perth who went on to model for agency, Chadwick.

He made his TV debut to much fanfare in 2016, but was then involved in a shocking love triangle that left him heartbroken.

Guess who? Can you guess who this model and reality star is pictured in the tray of his sister's bike. With the youngster giving somewhat of a pensive expression

And while his flawless face and body might have won him a legion of female fans, he's not afraid to get his hands dirty as a ropes access technician.

The baby in question is none other than season four Bachelor himself, Richie Strahan.

Taking to Instagram on Sunday, the hunky heartthrob showed his emotional side when he gushed over his big sister for her birthday.

In the vintage snap, baby Richie is seen sitting in the bucket of a red bike his sister is writing in the backyard of what appears to be a childhood home.

Did you guess it? If you guessed season four's Bachelor Richie Strahan, you'd be right. With the former reality star posting the throwback snap of him and his sister, Alana Walsh, for her birthday

In the adorable snap Richie can be seen pulling a pensive expression.

'Happiest of Birthdays to my big sister @_alanawalsh_,' the 32-year-old wrote, adding love heart emojis to the caption.

'Thank you for always looking after me.'

Fans of the hunky reality star were obviously touched by the tribute, with Instagram follower writing 'this is the cutest,' while another added, 'I love sibling love...'

'Thank you for always looking after me': The siblings are obviously close with the former Chadwick model gushing over his older sister

More recently, handsome Richie has been travelling around Vietnam for ten days.

But he told Daily Mail Australia earlier this month that he's over the heartbreak following his shock split with Alex Nation.

'I feel pretty good...I'm good,' Richie said nearly a fortnight ago.

'I love sibling love...': A number of Richie's followers commented on his heartfelt post, wishing sister Alana a happy birthday with a cutesy throwback snap

'Last year was quite exciting, there was a lot happening but this year I want to focus on myself and things I'm passionate about,' Richie added.

'I've always loved travel, I've traveled so much in Australia, I've seen almost everything...I want to travel abroad more.'

Siblings abroad: The pair are known to be close, with Alana (pictured) accompanying Richie on his recent 10-day trip to VietnamIt's was reported earlier this month that she's currently 'being wooed' by Perth-based financier, Sam Nelson.

But former escort Samantha X, real name Amanda Goff, has hit out at the dating rumours, saying she's 'happily single.'

Speaking to The Sunday Telegraph, the former journalist said despite the rumours she's still unattached after her shock split from Channel Seven's Ryan Phelan.

'Happily single': Samantha X, 44, has hit out at rumours she's dating Perth-based financier Sam Nelson (L) saying she's unattached after her high-profile split from Channel Seven presenter, Ryan Phelan (R)

'Despite any rumours, I'm happily single,' Samantha, who celebrated her 44th birthday this week, told the publication.

'The last thing I want to do is jump into another relationship,' she said, adding that she wasn't ruling out love for her future, just 'not right now.'

Earlier this month, controversial Samantha said Sam, who is 26-years her junior, was her 'rock,' after her shock split from TV personality Ryan.

'The last thing I want to do is jump into another relationship,': Former escort Samantha X, 44, has revealed she's still unattached following her break-up to Channel Seven presenter Ryan Phelan

'Yes, Sam has been a rock to me recently and has been a very supportive friend,' she said, hinting their might be something more.

Channel Seven personality Ryan and former escort Sam revealed their relationship in November of last year, with Sam hanging up her heels after the news broke, despite being one of the highest paid sex workers in the country.

However their romance was short lived, with Amanda confirming last month that she and Ryan had parted ways.

'Not right now': the busty former escort said she sees love in her future but isn't looking for it at the moment

'Ryan and I have decided to end our relationship,' she revealed. 'The love was very deep between us, but sometimes love isn't enough.'

Samantha, who is a mother-of-two, confirmed she won't be going back to escorting, instead, opting to study a Master's Degree in psychology.

Taking to Instagram on Friday, Samantha shared a post celebrating her birthday and herself with a make-up free selfie.

'Her rock': Earlier this month, the controversial personality praised her new friend, Sam Nelson for being 'her rock,' but has insisted they are just friends

In the zoomed-in shot, the mother of two's glowing skin is seen close-up.

'No filter, a few wrinkles, can't be bothered with the make up these days, who cares!' she spilled.

'44 today and happy I've made it this far! What I've learnt at uni so far is being authentic makes for a happier life.'

Whirlwind romance: Samantha and Ryan split after three months of dating, with the couple obviously sharing an intense bondShe underwent a boob job back in December after years of being 'insecure'.

And Amber Turner proudly showed off her surgically-enhanced cleavage in a skimpy leopard print top as she headed for a night out in Essex on Saturday.

The TOWIE star, 24, also flashed her dazzling new teeth after flying to Turkey for a set of pearly white veneers.

Busty: Amber Turner proudly showed off her surgically-enhanced cleavage in a skimpy leopard print top as she headed for a night out in Essex on Saturday

The Essex beauty paired the skimpy bralet with high-waisted black trousers, which clung to her hourglass figure.

Amber looked thrilled with her new mega-watt smile as she posed up a storm for the cameras while making her way to Essex's celeb hotspot, Faces.

She styled her long blonde tresses in soft curls and amped up the glamour with dramatic eye-lashes, blush-swept cheeks and a glossy pink lip.

Mega-watt smile: The TOWIE star, 24, also flashed her dazzling new teeth after flying to Turkey for a set of pearly white veneers

The starlet had her teeth done at Dental Centre Turkey, two months after she had a breast enhancement in the country due to her feeling 'insecure and uncomfortable' for years as a B cup.

The television beauty gushed she feels '100 times more confident' with her enhanced assets.

Although she said plastic surgery has been 'life changing', the singleton confessed her cleavage hasn't attracted much more attention from men.

Killer curves: The Essex beauty paired the skimpy bralet with high-waisted black trousers, which clung to her hourglass figure

She told The Sun: 'I love them, I'm so happy with them. I got them for me, not anyone else, and I feel more 100 times more confident. They've changed my life.

'I haven't really got much more attention from blokes, I just feel better about myself.'

Amber confirmed she had a boob job with her 403,000 fans via her Instagram stories last month.

The TOWIE star confessed it was something she had been researching and planning for years because of her body insecurities.

Glam: She styled her long blonde tresses in soft curls and amped up the glamour with dramatic eye-lashes, blush-swept cheeks and a glossy pink lip

She revealed: 'Every time summer came round the one thing that I felt so so insecure and uncomfortable with was my boobs. I was a 34B so I did have a bit of boob but I felt not in proportion.

'I also had one boob that was slightly smaller than the other (this is very common) & I wanted them both to to be even size.'

Amber shared she was happier than ever with her new curves which now brought her up to a 34D cup.

'I am so so happy four weeks later with the results. I am now a 34D. They are settling more and more every day and I can't recommend them more I am now super happy and confident in my body and that truly is all that matters!'Officials in South Dakota have issued an arrest warrant for Teen Mom 2's Adam Lind, saying that he's behind in child support by a total of at least $21,122.

The Minnehaha County Sheriff's Department told TMZ on Saturday that the arrest warrant was issued February 14, about six months after a local court issued two judgments for Lind to pay, for respective totals of $12,365 and $8,757.

Lind, 28, has two children: Aubree, eight, with Houska, 26; and Paislee, four, with former girlfriend Taylor Halbur.

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In trouble: Teen Mom 2's Adam Lind, 28, has an arrest warrant in his name after officials said he didn't remit court-ordered child support payments of at least $21,122

Authorities told Radar that 'the warrant is for $2,025.'

The deficits are linked to his support arrangement with Halbur, a source told the site, as 'he owes her [more than] $16,000 in child support.'

Lind on February 12 had his child support toward Halbur set to $500 a month, a Minnehaha County Court clerk told the site.

Lind's child support to pay to Halbur was set at $1,203 a month last year, according to the site.

Cute: Lind has a daughter named Aubree, eight, with his ex, MTV's Chelsea Houska, 26

Adorable: Lind is also father to a four-year-old daughter named Paislee, pictured here with her mom and Lind's ex-girlfriend Taylor Halbur

Lind has not only abandoned his responsibilities in regards to support, but visitation as well, an insider close to Halbur told the site, noting that 'he hasnt seen Paislee since August,' 'doesnt call or check in' and that Paislee 'doesnt even see his family.'

It's not Lind's first experience with child support debts, as he was in arrears for more than $9,000 in money owed to both Houska and Halbur in 2016, eventually settling up after a pair of arrest warrants had been issued, the site reported.

Claim to fame: Lind shot to relevance on MTV as Houska appeared on the Teen Mom series

Difficult stretch: In addition to his child support woes, Lind has also found himself in hot water as result of a domestic assault case stemming from an incident last November

Lind has had other legal entanglements in recent months, as he was jailed for two days in December after authorities said he violated conditions of his probation after he'd been arrested the previous month in connection with domestic assault against Stasia Huber, another former girlfriend.

The reality star was first seen on MTV in 2010 alongside Houska on the series 16 & Pregnant.

Houska has since welcomed another child, a one-year-old boy named Watson with her husband of two years, Cole DeBoer.Their marriage has been tested after his affair with Davina Rankin.

And on Saturday, it seemed there's still trouble in paradise for Married At First Sight's Dean Wells and wife Tracey Jewel.

The pair were seen looking tense as they had drinks together at a Sydney bar.

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Still in the doghouse? MAFS' Tracey Jewel (L) and Dean Wells (R) appear tense during lunch in Sydney after his 'affair' with Davina Rankin

Is everything ok? At one point during the outing, villain Dean was seen standing next to a sitting Tracey, with the pair having an animated discussion

Tracey looked glammed up wearing red lipstick, with her long dark locks worn loosely over her shoulders.

Dean kept his look casual in a mustard yellow T-shirt and sports cap.

At one point, Dean was seen standing next to his wife, who was seated, while the pair had an animated discussion.

On shaky ground: Their 'marriage' has been tested after his 'affair' with Davina Rankin

Low-key: Dean kept casual in a mustard T-shirt and cap

Fancy seeing you here! The pair were joined on the day by fellow MAFS star, Alycia Galbraith, who looked casual with her hair up in a messy bun

Wonder what they're talking about! The trio could be seen talking at the table and at one point even shared a laugh

Scandal: Last week, Dean and Davina enjoyed a secret date and exchanged flirtatious texts behind their spouse's backs

Confrontation: Earlier this week, Tracey confronted Davina about pursuing her 'husband' Dean, causing Davina to break down in tears

The pair were joined on the day by fellow MAFS star, Alycia Galbraith, who looked casual with her hair up in a messy bun.

The trio could be seen talking at the table and at one point even shared a laugh.

When asked about the seemingly tense lunch, Tracey told Daily Mail Australia on Sunday that they were 'just hanging out.'

Daily Mail Australia has also contacted Dean Wells for comment in relation to this article.

No bad blood? Tracey told Daily Mail Australia that they were 'just hanging out'

Controversial: On the show, Tracey has taken back Dean after his 'affair' with Davina Rankin. On Friday, Tracey revealed her marriage dilemma, saying that while she chose to stay in her 'union' with Dean, he's certainly 'not off the hook'

On the show, Tracey has taken back Dean after his affair with Davina Rankin, who is married to Ryan Gallagher.

On Friday, Tracey revealed her marriage dilemma, saying that while she chose to stay in her 'union' with Dean, he's certainly 'not off the hook.'

Taking to Instagram on Friday, the 34-year-old shared a snap of the couple from Wednesday night's dinner party and the caption suggested that her 39-year-old hubby needs to work to regain her trust.

The single mother wrote: 'I'm not giving up but I'm not letting him get off easily!'

Speaking out: Taking to Instagram on Friday, the 34-year-old shared a snap of the couple from Wednesday night's dinner party and the caption suggested that her 39-year-old hubby needs to work to regain her trust

Holding her ground: The single mother wrote: 'I'm not giving up but I'm not letting him get off easily!'

'Own it': In the face of adversity, Tracey claims she's 'stepping up' as she accompanied her Instagram post with a number of self-empowerment hashtags

In the face of adversity, Tracey claims she's 'stepping up' as she accompanied her Instagram post with a number of self-empowerment hashtags.

They included 'own it, be humble, stepping up and not off the hook.'

On Thursday, the Brunette beauty took to social media to admit she felt judged after making the unpopular decision to give Dean a second chance at love.

Wednesday's explosive episode saw Tracey confront Davina over filthy text messages exchanged with her 'husband' Dean.

The revelations occurred during a tense dinner party, with Tracey admitting that it was Davina who instigated the 'secret relationship' with Dean.She revealed she's 'over her blonde hair' in a tweet she wrote on Saturday.

And hours later, Kim Kardashian pulled her platinum locks away from her face with a wide headband.

The 37-year-old entrepreneur sizzled in a cleavage-revealing blazer and trousers set while heading to the Create & Cultivate event, where Kim Crawford Wines poured exclusively, in Los Angeles.

Sultry: Kim Kardashian pulled her platinum locks away from her face with a wide headband; pictured arriving to the Creat & Cultivate event on Saturday in Los Angeles

The mother of three chose a baggy black blazer - opting to forgo a shirt or bra - for Create & Cultivate.

She paired the sexy jacket with equally loose bottoms in the same color; the wide headband was also in black.

The stunning star added a pop of contrast with crisp white mules.

Kim opted for brown shadow dusted on her lids with nude matte lipstick on her full pout, opting for a touch of contour on her cheeks.

Fancy: The 37-year-old entrepreneur sizzles in a cleavage revealing blazer and trousers ensemble while heading to the Create & Cultivate event in Los Angeles

Effortless glam: The stunning star added a pop of contrast with crisp white mules

Flawless: The mother of three chose a baggy black blazer - opting to forgo a shirt or bra

Beautiful: She paired the sexy jacket with equally loose bottoms in the same color as well as the wide headband

Kim styled her tress sleek and loose to round out her edgy yet chic ensemble.

Chrissy Teigen covered up her growing baby bump in a mustard and white hued jacket, adding silken trousers.

The robe-like cover up featured geometric shapes with a belted waist; the black bottoms paired perfectly with the long-sleeved top.

Details: The wide headband worked perfectly with her revealing jacket, which she wore without a shirt or bra underneath

Amazing lady: Kim styled her tress sleek and loose to round out her edgy yet chic ensemble

It factor: Kim opted for brown shadow dusted on her lids with nude matte lipstick on her full pout, opting for a touch of contour on her cheeks

Beautiful: Chrissy Teigen covered up her growing baby bump in a mustard and white hued jacket, adding silken trousers

The model wore strappy stilettos with coral lipstick, chunky gold earrings and pulled back tresses to finish off her chic look.

Chrissy, 32, is pregnant with her second child; she and husband John Legend are expecting a boy.

Lauren Conrad looked chic to perfection as she stepped out to attend the highly anticipated Create & Cultivate Conference as well.

The 32-year-old designer slash entrepreneur is scheduled to speak at the event with The Little Market co-founder Hannah Skvarla.

Glowing: The robe-like cover up featured geometric shapes with a belted waist; the black bottoms paired perfectly with the long-sleeved top

Pretty: The model wore strappy stilettos with coral lipstick, chunky gold earrings and pulled back tresses to finish off her chic look

Cool girl! Lauren Conrad looked chic to perfection as she stepped out to attend the highly anticipated Create & Cultivate Conference in Los Angeles on Saturday

Lauren dressed to impress as she donned a stylish emerald green jumpsuit that featured flare-leg bottoms, finished off with a long beige coat.

The Laguna Beach Alum added height to her frame with fashionable nude heels that strapped around her ankles.

Lauren tastefully accessorized her look with a light pink handbag, a dainty gold necklace, and nude-framed sunglasses.

The mother-of-one styled her iconic blonde tresses in loose waves and wore natural makeup to accentuate her beauty.

Fashionista! The 32-year-old designer slash entrepreneur is scheduled to speak at the event with The Little Market co-founder Hannah Skvarla

O so chic! Lauren dressed to impress as she donned a stylish emerald green jumpsuit that featured flare-leg bottoms, finished off with a long beige coat

Putting her fashionable foot forward! The Laguna Beach Alum added height to her frame with fashionable nude heels that strapped around her ankles

All smiles! Lauren tastefully accessorized her look with a light pink handbag, a dainty gold necklace, and nude-framed sunglasses

Hugs! The mother-of-one styled her iconic blonde tresses in loose waves and wore natural makeup to accentuate her beauty

Also at the blogger and influencer event was model- actress Molly Sims, 44.

The stunner looked stylish in a orange floral dress that featured ruffles around the sleeves and neckline.

She kept her blonde tresses in loose curls while covering her face behind orange-frame blue-lens sunglasses.

Molly finished off her look with a leather brown handbag and taupe-colored miniature heels.

Floral fancy! Also at the blogger and influencer event was model- actress Molly Sims, 44

As pretty as a petal: The stunner looked stylish in a orange floral dress that featured ruffles around the sleeves and neckline

The details! Molly finished off her look with a leather brown handbag and taupe-colored miniature heels

Pregnant Tia Mowry also joined the amazing influencers at the event, as she sported a black maxi dress and a plaid blazer.

Nina Dobrev - who will be speaking about Reebok - stepped out in black workout leggings, a striped shirt, and a blue blazer.

The Create & Cultivate Conference will also feature some of Hollywood's biggest stars such as Kim Kardashian and Chrissy Teigen.

The conference is presented by LinkedIn as a way for creatives to learn and network with each other.

Create & Cultivate is a two-day event that features panel discussions and happy hour.

Monochrome magic: Pregnant Tia Mowry also joined the amazing influencers at the event, as she sported a black maxi dress and a plaid blazer

Trail blazer: Nina Dobrev - who will be speaking about Reebok - stepped out in black workout leggings, a striped shirt, and a blue blazer

Making a statement! Cara Santana and Busy Philipps both stepped out in bold statement shoes

Back in black! Tess Holiday looked Gorgeous in a black see-through dress while walking to the event

Bosses: Lauren and Hannah are co-founders of the little market

Creative minds: Lauren shared a cute boomerang on her Instagram account

Beaming: After the Create & Cultivate event, Chrissy headed to the airport

What a beauty: Chrissy carried a snap and her large handbag while arriving to LAX airport

Luxe: The social media superstar posed alongside Ouai Haircare's founder Jen Atkin

Speaking out: The 32-year-old model chatted with Atkin in front of the crowd at the Create & Cultivate Los Angeles conference in the Simon G. Jewelry Green Room

Opening up: Teigen is one of the most relevant celebs on social media, boasting more than 16 million Instagram followers and another 9.7 million on Twitter

Beaming: Lauren Conrad flashed her beautiful smile as she posed at the proceedings

Chit-chat: (L-R) The Hills alum was joined onstage by businesswomen Hannah Skvarla and Sophia Rossi

Big event: The crowd was full of people intently listening to the speakers

One for the gram: Kim shared this enhanced shot on her Instagram account amid the long day

Kim speaks in front of the influencer crowd

The KKW Beauty founder will also be at the event on SundayLast week, he appeared to rubbish rumours he'd be taking The Bachelor baton from Matty 'J' Johnson in the upcoming dating series' sixth season.

And Cameron Cranley appeared as happy as ever on Friday as he enjoyed a casual outing with a mystery woman in Bondi.

The firefighter hunk, 28, was all smiles as he sat down to eat lunch at new venue, Upper East Side, with the lady.

Lunch for two? Hunky firefighter Cameron Cranley enjoys Bondi meal with a mystery lady... after hinting he's turned down The Bachelor role

Cameron originally appeared as a suitor on TV journalist Georgia Love's season of The Bachelorette in 2016.

Appearing in high spirits, Cameron flashed his pearly whites as he showcased his ear-to-ear grin at the table.

Dressed casually, he highlighted his bulging biceps and muscular torso in a white singlet and lightning-bolt print shorts.

All smiles! Appearing in high spirits, Cameron flashed his pearly whites as he showcased his ear-to-ear grin at the table

Lunch date? Cameron was joined by a brunette in a white blouse and black trousers

Cameron was joined by a brunette who kept her look casual in a white blouse and black trousers.

There wasn't a frown in sight during their lunch outing, with the mystery woman smiling as she kept her sunglasses on.

The pair appeared to be marking the occasion with a camera, snapping photos of their meal and of Cameron while at the venue.

Looking good! Dressed casually, he highlighted his bulging biceps and muscular torso in a white singlet and lightning-bolt print shorts

Capturing the moment: The pair appeared to be marking the occasion with a camera, snapping photos of their meal and of Cameron while at the venue

Valued opinion: They asked each other for advice on the pictures, both getting close to look at the camera's display screen

They asked each other for advice on the pictures, both getting close to look at the camera's display screen.

Burgers, salads, chips and drinks were on display, including a green tiki cup drink that Cameron drank from using a straw.

Cam uploaded a picture to his Instagram with his arm outstretched across the table, writing: 'Always time for a Bondi pit stop when in Sydney.'

While he didn't tag the woman, he did tag PR company Sweaty Betty, with the venue managed by Roxy Jacenko's company.

When Daily Mail Australia reached out to Cameron Cranley for comment, he said: 'I was catching up with a Sydney friend for lunch. Nothing really sussed about it.'

Feed: Burgers, salads, chips and drinks were on display, including a green tiki cup drink that Cameron drank from using a straw

Promo pal? While he didn't tag the woman, he did tag PR company Sweaty Betty, which may mean the mystery lady was helping in promotions for the venue, which is managed by Roxy Jacenko's company

The outing follows the reality star breaking his silence on being the next Bachelor, saying: 'I don't know if I'd do it.'

The Perth-native revealed he turned down a chance to join Bachelor In Paradise as he thought his chances of finding love were slim and hinted The Bachelor wasn't on his radar either.

He told Confidential: 'It's really flattering that people think it's going to be me... I don't know if I'd do it.'

However, when pressed on whether he would take the opportunity if presented to him, the recently single charmer said he was unsure of putting himself out there in that way.

The reality show heartthrob cited his family as his biggest hurdle saying: 'there is no guarantee if you go back into that world that you will come out the same.'She always turns heads on a night out.

And Yazmin Oukhellou ensured all eyes would be firmly on her as she donned a figure-hugging jumpsuit at Faces Nightclub in Essex on Saturday.

Oozing glamour as she headed out with boyfriend James Lock, the 24-year-old reality starlet was a vision of beauty on the night.

Dazzling: Yazmin Oukhellou ensured all eyes would be firmly on her as she donned a figure-hugging jumpsuit at Faces Nightclub in Essex on Saturday

Showcasing her ample cleavage, the reality starlet dazzled in a taupe jumpsuit that featured a plunging neckline.

Cinching in at her tiny waist, the garment flared out to skim over her towering nude heels as she teetered in front of her beau.

Yazmin finished off the look by slicking her raven locks back into a ponytail and toting a small nude handbag.

Perfect pair: Oozing glamour as she headed out with boyfriend James Lock, the 24-year-old reality starlet was a vision of beauty on the night

Yazmin and James began dating last year, after the breakdown of his four-year relationship with fellow TOWIE star Danielle Armstrong.

The pair have been going strong ever since, and even celebrated Christmas as well as their anniversary at her father's villa in Marrakech.

Yazmin recently revealed their romance first began in Morocco as she 'started talking' to James, after meeting him through her brother, during a month-long visit in 2016.

Chest a glimpse! Showcasing her ample cleavage, the reality starlet dazzled in a taupe jumpsuit that featured a plunging neckline

She told the Daily Star: 'Last year my family and I went out there for a month and that's when I started speaking to James.

'I'd known him a long time as he was close to my brother but we'd always been off-limits out of respect to my brother and because he had a girlfriend. We spoke everyday for a month. And look at us now!'

However, the brunette went on to admit a proposal was still 'a couple of years' away, and would only occur if he were to ask her father's permission.She's considered one of the world's most beautiful women.

And Molly Sims proved worthy of the title as she turned heads wearing floral couture in Los Angeles on Saturday.

The 44-year-old supermodel commanded attention in the multicolored dress as she arrived at the Create & Cultivate Conference.

Stunner: Molly Sims, 44, turned heads wearing floral couture in Los Angeles on Saturday; at the Create & Cultivate Los Angeles conference took place in the Simon G. Jewelry Green Room

Daring to impress, the Cover Girl wrapped her flawless physique in the cream colored number that featured pink and orange flowers.

The ruffled neckline covered her delicate decolletage as the outfit had matching ruffled cuffs.

Her gorgeous gams were thrust on center stage as the dress cut above the calf.

Impressive: Daring to impress, the Cover Girl wrapped her flawless physique in the cream colored number that featured pink and orange flowers

The American beauty paired the bohemian chic look with a set of grey high heels and retro style shades.

Molly's stunning complexion was heightened by a touch of nude pink lip and a hint of mascara.

Her blonde tresses were left to naturally fall over her shoulders as part of her casual ensemble.



Bohemian chic: The ruffled neckline covered her delicate decolletage as the outfit had matching ruffled cuffs

Molly's last regular role on TV was Delinda Deline on Las Vegas, which she played from 2003 to 2008.

Since then she has only appeared in the odd episode of various shows, but has no doubt been kept busy by her brood of three.

She shares five-year-old son Brooks, two year-old daughter Scarlett, and one-year-old son Grey with producer husband of seven years, Scott Stuber.Turkish MP Ali Arkscon told reporters in Cairo Saturday that in spite of political differences between Egypt and Turkey he is sure that these differences will be ironed out gradually.

"Egyptian-Turkish relations are based on strong foundations, and so I think that the two countries should do their best in the future to resolve differences between them," said Arkscon.

Arkscon, who was speaking on the sidelines of a meeting held by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean in Cairo Saturday, said: "Egypt and Turkey are two powerful Islamic countries in the Muslim world and the Middle East and it is not good that they still have political differences."

"I can say that in official and popular terms Turkey respects Egypt very much," Arkscon added. "Also, as Turkish MPs we think we should play a greater role in settling differences between Islamic countries in general."

"I came here to Cairo to sit down with Egyptian MPs and with deputies from different countries and we accepted that the meeting be headed by an Egyptian (parliament speaker Ali Abdel-Aal), and that shows that any differences or difficulties between Egypt and Turkey can be settled gradually and that we as Turkish MPs have a strong wish to recover strong bilateral relations with Egypt."

Arkscon also said that "as a Turkish MP I am very happy to be here in Cairo today to help thawing the ice between Egypt and Turkey and let me thank Egypt's parliament speaker and Egyptian MPs for hosting us and for their generosity and hospitality."

Arkscon, who is a member of Turkish President Rcept Tayyib Erdogan's ruling Justice and Development Party, argued that Turkey has no maritime border problem with Egypt. "Turkey is just defending its water rights in the Mediterranean and its maritime borders with Cyprus."

He said he does not expect the dispute between Turkey and Cyprus to reach the stage of military confrontation.

Political relations between Egypt and Turkey have rapidly deteriorated since the 2013 ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi. Erdogan led a hostile campaign against Cairo, refusing to recognise the regime led by President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi.

Egyptian officials and MPs have repeatedly accused Turkey and Qatar of supporting the banned Muslim Brotherhood group, helping some of its leading officials in Istanbul to own satellite television channels to target El-Sisi in person.

Egypt's interior ministry has also charged that many of the terrorist attacks in Egypt since 2013 have been masterminded by fugitive Brotherhood loylists in Turkey.

A parliamentary statement indicated Saturday that Egypt's parliament speaker Ali Abdel-Aal led a meeting of the bureau of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean. "This is the second meeting of the Assembly under Egyptian chairmanship, and it was attended by parliamentary representatives from Italy, Turkey, France and Egypt," said the statement.

The statement also indicated that the meeting discussed the financial conditions of the Assembly and the necessity of building its headquarters very soon.

"Some proposed that the headquarters be set up in Marseilles in France or Barcelona in Spain," said the statement, indicating that "it was agreed that member countries submit proposals in this respect until 30 March so that the coming plenary meeting of the Assembly, scheduled in Cairo for the end of April, would discuss it and make a decision."

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She's a professional dancer and judge on World Of Dance.

And Jenna Dewan supported her area of the arts as she was spotted arriving at the 12th Annual Los Angeles Ballet Gala on Saturday.

The 37-year-old stunner commanded attention in a gorgeous strapless number for the red carpet event at the Beverly Wilshire Four Seasons Hotel.

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Arrived in style: Jenna Dewan, 37, was spotted arriving at the 12th Annual Los Angeles Ballet Gala on Saturday

Daring to impress, the Step It Up alum showcased her flawless physique in the sophisticated couture.

Her delicate decolletage was thrust on center stage as the shimmering eggplant gown was strapless.

The bedazzled bodice highlighted her ample cleavage and showcased her trim figure as it was cinched at her lithe waist.

The ethereal translucent black fabric covered the lower half of the dress as it belied her gorgeous gams underneath.

Stunner: The stunner commanded attention in a gorgeous strapless number for the red carpet at the Beverly Wilshire Four Seasons Hotel

Ethereal: The ethereal translucent black fabric covered the lower half of the dress as it belied her gorgeous gams underneath

Daring: Daring to impress, the Step It Up alum showcased her flawless physique in the sophisticated couture

Jenna's stunning complexion was heightened by a touch of nude pink lip and a hint of mascara.

She threw her trademark raven tresses back in a loose bun allowing her petite shoulders and youthful face to shine.

Adding glamour to the exquisite look, Jenna donned a pair of pink gemstone drop dangle earrings.

Delicate: Her delicate decolletage was thrust on center stage as the shimmering eggplant gown was strapless

Model moment:The bedazzled bodice highlighted her ample cleavage and showcased her trim figure as it was cinched at her lithe waist, posing with Brad Goreski

Later in the evening, she posted an Instagram story featuring her friends and family that attended the gala.

One adorable snap had the star posing with her stunning mother who rocked a revealing dress.

Although her husband Channing Tatum was not present, Jenna told Health that her relationship with the actor is still strong and shared what makes their union work.

Famous friends: Jenna posed with the beautiful Sofia Carson

Girlfriends: The girls posed for a selfie

Gangs all here: Derek Hough joined the fabulous group

Gangs all in: Later in the evening, she posted an Instagram story featuring her friends and family that attended the gala

She said: 'I think there are such things as great fits. It is a great fit as long as you are growing together, and I think up until this point we've really grown together. Even if one starts to grow, the other catches up and vice versa.

'But I think a couple needs to be conscious and to want to do the work and be willing to look at the parts of you that need work. Both of us have been pretty aware and willing to do that. We've always had the same values.'

Beyond growing together and being on the same page, Dewan shared that the physical chemistry between the two stars is pretty intense.

Family affair: One adorable snap had the star posing with her stunning mother who rocked a revealing dress

Make up game:Jenna's stunning complexion was heightened by a touch of nude pink lip and a hint of mascara

Pucker up: Jenna puckered her lips for the selfie

She revealed: 'I'm a very sensual person, same with Chan. It is just how we're made up, and it's a big part of how we connect. There's a real tangible physical connection. You know when Oprah asks, "What do you know for sure?" The body does not lie.

'You can convince your mind of things, think you're in love, but your body doesn't lie. If your stomach is clenching or you feel attracted, that's all for a reason. You can't convince your body to feel something it doesn't.'

The married couple met on the set of their film Step Up in 2006. They began dating shortly after filming for the movie wrapped and became engaged in Maui September 2008.

They got married on July 11, 2009, at Church Estates Vineyards in Malibu, California.

Dewan gave birth to Everly a few years later in London during May 2013.

Hot couple: James and Kim Van Der Beek attended the gala

Pretty as a petal: Camilla Belle rocked a floral gown to the event

Dapper: Derek cut a dapper figure in a tan overcoatScreenings are usually a lighthearted, joyous occasion.

But on Saturday the cast of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. looked like they meant business, as almost all of the women showed up in some version of a suit.

Chloe Bennet, 25, led the cadre of stars for the event, which celebrated Marvel's Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D's 100th episode.

Professional woman! Chloe Bennet, 25, led the cadre of stars at the Agents of Shield event, and definitely embraced the business casual vibe of the evening

The Nashville vet opted for a black blazer with frilly lapels layered over a white collarless shirt.

Standard black trousers and black pointed toe pumps rounded out her look.

Multiple rings and some very large multi-hoop earrings added a dash of bling.

Her silky brunette locks were parted on the right and fell in loose curls down past her shoulders.

Black and white! On Saturday the cast of Agents of Shield looked like they meant business, as almost all of the women showed up in some version of a suit

Classy: The Nashville vet opted for a black blazer with frilly lapels layered over a white collarless shirt

Twinning! Natalia Cordova-Buckley, 35, chose a very similar outfit composed of a black blazer and trouser combination

Subtle blush, pale rose lipstick and a smokey eye ensured the Chicago native was ready for her walk down the red carpet.

Natalia Cordova-Buckley, 35, chose a very similar outfit composed of a black blazer and trouser combination.

Her white shirt did in fact have a collar however, and was buttoned closed with a silver clasp.

She added some glam with a pair of towering silver metallic heels.

All black: Briana Venskus, 33, went even more formal than her colleagues, donning what appeared to be a black tuxedo jacket with satiny lapels and a matching pair of trousers

Peek-a-boo! The pixie-cut-wearing actres definitely spiced things up by forgoing a shirt, which instead put her black bra on full display

Briana Venskus, 33, went even more formal than her colleagues, donning what appeared to be a black tuxedo jacket with satiny lapels and a matching pair of trousers.

The pixie-cut-wearing actres definitely spiced things up by forgoing a shirt, which instead put her black bra on full display.

Ming-Na Wen, 54, went in a slightly different direction with her outfit, as her blazer was actually a sleeveless affair that hung more like a dress, even while boasting the classic lapels and hip pockets.

Unique: Ming-Na Wen, 54, went in a slightly different direction with her outfit, as her blazer was actually a sleeveless affair that hung more like a dress, even while boasting the classic lapels and hip pockets

Mixing it up! Young star Dove Cameron, 22, wore a very classic black frock with leather accents, and paired it with some glossy black grunge-worthy boots

A white sheer blouse dotted with miniature spheres and sporting a turtle neck added some pizzazz.

Of course there were also some women who decided to go for a more feminine aesthetic.

Young star Dove Cameron, 22, wore a very classic black frock with leather accents, and paired it with some glossy black grunge-worthy boots.

Stripes galore! Entourage actress Constance Zimmer, 47, chose a black and white frock for the evening, which fell all the way to her ankles

Contrasting designs: Brett Dalton, 35, went especially casually with a black suit layered over a white Mickey Mouse hoodie

Entourage actress Constance Zimmer, 47, chose a black and white frock for the evening, which fell all the way to her ankles.

Bright crimson platform heels lent a splash of color to the monochrome garment.

Interestingly, the men on hand all kept things quite laid back in the wardrobe department.

Brett Dalton, 35, went especially casually with a black suit layered over a white Mickey Mouse hoodie.It takes work to get a toned tummy like that.

And Elle Fanning certainly wasn't shirking off as she was spotted leaving the gym for the second day running.

The 19-year-old showed off the fruits of her labor in a tiny polka dot crop top by KiraGrace on Saturday.

Hard work: Elle Fanning certainly wasn't shirking off as she was spotted leaving the gym for the second day running on Saturday

The actress also wore tight navy leggings and trainers, so warm from her work out she carried her jacket over her arm.

Her famous golden locks she kept tied back in a pony, while the Georgia-born beauty went virtually make-up free.

The day before, Elle posted a sweet birthday tribute to sister Dakota with a throwback snap and the caption: 'You are my favorite person in this world.'

'My best friend. The greatest sister. I love you. Happy Birthday,' the Beguiled star added congratulating Dakota on turning 24.

Beaming: The 19-year-old showed off the fruits of her labor in a tiny polka dot crop top from KiraGrace on Saturday

Natural beauty: Her famous golden locks she kept tied back in a pony, while the Georgia-born beauty went virtually make-up free

The adorable photo featured the siblings as toddlers celebrating one of Dakota's earlier birthdays as they opened presents in a balloon filled room.

Another pictured had a young Elle leaning over and hugging Dakota who wore a wide brimmed hat and a huge smile.

The Maleficent actress has a whirlwind 2018 ahead, with four projects in the pipeline for this year and two more in early development.

Her flicks Teen Spirit and A Rainy Day In New York are currently in post-production while her upcoming film, The Vanishing Of Sidney Hall premieres March 2.

Beyond that, she's been announced as a lead in drama/romance All the Bright Places and the thriller Beware That Girl.

Tribute: The day before, Elle posted a sweet birthday tribute to sister Dakota with a throwback snap and the caption: 'You are my favorite person in this world.'She's the high-flying Sydney PR queen who recently ventured to the west coast to promote women in business.

But it turned out to be quite a costly adventure, with the one-way ticket costing a hefty $3,400 after she missed her initial 8am flight.

Speaking on The Real Roxy YouTube show, the glamorous publicist laughed off the cash splash with her signature humour.

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'I could be in New York right now!': Sydney PR queen Roxy Jacenko dropped $3,400 on a one-way ticket to Perth after missing an early morning flight to a women in business event

'This morning I missed an 8am flight and paid $3,400 for a 10am flight, one way,' she says in the video diary, which was posted on Sunday.

She continues: 'I could have been in New York right now! But I'd rather be in Perth.

Acting as an ambassador for ENJO cleaning products, Roxy lent her voice to a women in business seminar taking place at Crown Perth.

Enterprising Roxy spoke candidly about her own trials and tribulations in business during the event.

Busy schedule: Acting as an ambassador for ENJO cleaning products, Roxy lent her voice to a women in business seminar taking place at Crown Perth

'(When I first started) I had no f***king idea what I was doing,' she said.

'I won't lie. It didn't matter because I just kept going. You just learn how to do it better the next time.'

It comes after Roxy revealed that her sponsored social media posts can be quite lucrative.

'[When I first started] I had no f***king idea what I was doing': Enterprising Roxy spoke candidly about her own trials and tribulations in business during the event

'We've done a $12,000 deal before for one post,' she said. 'Sadly, it was not me!'

She continued: 'You have to make hay while the sun shines... Instagram is a serious cash cow.

'It was for a jeans brand,' she continued. 'It did well, she's got posts since then.'

Roxy currently boasts well over 200,000 followers on her own Instagram account.

'We've done a $12,000 deal before for one post!' It comes after Roxy revealed her sponsored social media posts can be quite lucrative

Roxy uses the account to promote brands that her PR companies represent, as well as to promote her own personal endorsement deals.

She is an ambassador for Toni & Guy hair salons, streaming service Stan, and shopping outlet Birkenhead Point.

Roxy has also launched her own line of tanning products with Skinny Tan.

Infamy: The mother-of-two recently admitted that her Instagram fame significantly increased after the publicity surrounding her husband Oliver Curtis' incarceration in 2016

The mother-of-two recently admitted that her Instagram fame significantly increased after the publicity surrounding her husband Oliver Curtis' incarceration in 2016.

'I'm not going to lie, it took my Instagram following from some 30,000 followers to, like, 150,000 in two weeks,' she told Perth Now.

'People wanted to understand how I was managing it, with two kids, three businesses, a husband in jail and this flashy life. It was intriguing for people.'She's earned the title of 'PR queen' for balancing her successful public relations firm Sweaty Betty with her own lucrative, social media-savvy personal brand.

But Roxy Jacenko has refuted any suggestion she is a 'sell out' and insists that she genuinely likes and uses all of the products she promotes to her followers online.

The Sydney-based publicist revealed in part two of her YouTube series 'The REAL Roxy' that no amount of money would tempt her to become a 'sell out'.

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'What you see is what you get!' Roxy Jacenko has refuted any suggestion she is a 'sell out' and insists she genuinely likes and uses all of the products she promotes to her followers online

Roxy, 37, is currently an ambassador for five well-known brands - including ENJO, Birkenhead Point, Stan Australia, Skinny Tan and TONI&GUY.

In the video uploaded on Sunday, Roxy says: 'This is one thing I'll say to you, there's been so many opportunities of ambassadorial roles and one thing I've maintained is that I'm only an ambassador for brands that I would use.'

Aside from being an ambassador for several Australian brands, Roxy is also known for posting sponsored content on social media and tagging clients in her posts.

'I'm only an ambassador for actually brands that I would use': Roxy is currently an ambassador for five well-known brands, including ENJO, Birkenhead Point, Stan, Skinny Tan and TONI&GUY

Always on-brand! Roxy's clients are regularly featured on her personal social media profiles

Roxy's powerful personal brand has resulted in collaborations with Skinny Tan and Chargrill Charlie's, for whom she has created a range of healthy salads.

In the video, Roxy explains: 'Yes, there's a financial element to it. But, at the same time, I want to be spruiking something that I actually like or use. Otherwise... it's a bit of a sell-out.'

'I think my Instagram following has grown on the back of that - what you see is what you get,' she continues. 'It's actually my life, it's not like they gave me money so I posted it.'

Somebody's popular! Roxy's powerful personal brand has resulted in collaborations with Skinny Tan and Chargrill Charlie's, for whom she has created a range of healthy salads

Roxy's personal Instagram page has more than 212,000 followers, while her publicity company Sweaty Betty PR boasts over 119,000 followers.

Balancing a busy business and a young family, Roxy shares two children with her husband Oliver Curtis: three-year-old son Hunter and six-year-old daughter Pixie.

Thanks to her mother's marketing genius, schoolgirl Pixie already has a successful business in the form of accessories brand Pixie's Bows.

A-list fans include Katie Holmes' daughter Suri Cruise, 11, Jessica Alba's daughter Haven, five, and Sarah Jessica Parker's eight-year-old twins Marion and Tabitha.

Social media savvy: Roxy's personal Instagram page has more than 212,000 followers, while her publicity company Sweaty Betty PR boasts over 119,000 followersShe's not shy when it comes to showing off her body.

And on Saturday Rita Ora was at it again as she stepped out for dinner in Miami.

The 27-year-old Hot Right Now songstress's very short mini dress provided a clear glimpse of her remarkably toned legs.

Leggy lady! Rita Ora's very short mini dress provided a clear glimpse of her remarkably toned limbs on Saturday night

The black leather garment also featured a plunging scoop neckline that showed off her decolletage as well.

Alongside the zipper down the middle was a yellow detail emblazoned with the phrase 'handle with care.'

Matching black leather zipper booties completed the pop sensation's simple but chic ensemble.

Accessories were quite plentiful and included a small black purse with a star motif, spangly bracelets, and several chain necklaces.

Sure-footed: Matching black leather zipper booties completed the pop sensation's simple but chic ensemble

No problem! Though it was night, she still opted for a pair of orange frame sunglasses with smokey lenses

Though it was night, she still opted for a pair of orange frame sunglasses with smokey lenses.

Her dirty blonde tresses were parted in the middle and fell straight down just past her shoulders.

A slick of crimson lipstick and very subtle blush adorned her flawless visage.

A bit of exposure: She's not shy when it comes to showing off her body

Meanwhile, the Kosovo-born star wowed her fans while performing at the Brit Awards in London on Wednesday.

She performed her smash hit For You with duet partner Liam Payne.

Viewers noted that Rita kept her distance from Liam on stage out of respect for his girlfriend Cheryl who was watching from the audience, after they had battled split rumors.

Twitter went wild over the reserved performance and couldn't help but speculate that it was because of Cheryl's presence a few feet in front of them.She's admired by fans all over the world for her dazzling beauty, exceptional voice and daring creativity.

And at 69 years old, Grace Jones proved age is nothing but a number during a majestic performance at Sydney City Limits on Saturday night.

With her standout vocals on display, Grace captivated her audience with her sultry tones and enchanting stage presence.

Fierce! At 69 years old, Grace Jones proved age is nothing but a number during a majestic performance at Sydney City Limits on Saturday night

Legend: With her standout vocals on display, Grace captivated her audience with her sultry tones and enchanting stage presence

The legendary recording artist didn't disappoint as she put on another uniquely spellbinding show.

The Jamaican-born star wore a gold skull mask which featured a black feathered head piece while singing for thousands of partygoers.

Grace arrived onstage with black material wrapped around her front, before letting it go to reveal her barely-there ensemble.

She proudly displayed her lean and toned physique while delivering an awe-inspiring nighttime performance.

Bold statement! Grace arrived onstage with black material wrapped around her front, before letting it go to reveal her barely-there ensemble

She's still got it: The Jamaican-born star wore a gold skull mask which featured a black feathered head piece while singing for thousands of partygoers

Bust a move: Grace also had white bodypaint across her face, chest, arms and down her legs

Grace also had white bodypaint across her face, chest, arms and down her legs.

The Pull Up To The Bumper star enhanced her dramatic look with dark lipstick and makeup around her eyes.

Earlier in the day, 14,000 fans were treated to a spectacular line-up of local and international artists.

Fun times: Live Nation kicked off the day with an exclusive industry event at the Centennial Homestead, with DJ Flex Mami on the decks playing a variety of groovy tunes

An audience of 14,000 were treated to a spectacular line-up of local and international artists

Live Nation kicked off the day with an exclusive industry event at the Centennial Homestead, with DJ Flex Mami on the decks playing a variety of groovy tunes.

Vance Joy, Future, Gang of Youths, AllDay, Thundercat, Ocean Alley and Tash Sultana all played moving sets.

Winston Surfshirt, Car Seat Headrest, LDRU and Dune Rats also made the most of their time onstage.

To round out the sensational day of music, French electronic duo Justice finished the night with a remix of their smash hit D.A.N.C.E.

Homegrown talent: Singer-songwriter Vance Joy blew fans away, playing a selection of his well-known hits including RiptideShe's known for flaunting her incredible physique at London's hottest social haunts.

And F1 heiress Petra Ecclestone cut a fine figure as she stepped out from a night out at Mayfair's C London restaurant on Saturday.

The 29-year-old's outing comes a few weeks after she was awarded sole custody of her three children following her divorce battle with ex-husband James Stunt, 36.

Ready for night: Petra Ecclestone, 29, turned heads in a fuchsia pink coat and thigh high boots as she enjoyed a glamorous evening out at a trendy Mayfair restaurant on Saturday

The blonde beauty slipped on a black top which she tucked into a tight-fitting black mini skirt, and she paired the ensemble with knee-high boots.

Petra shielded herself from the bitter February weather with a fluffy fuchsia pink coat, which contrasted her sombre ensemble nicely and made sure she stood out from the crowd.

The socialite's enviable blonde locks were set in waves that cascaded over her shoulders and was parted in the middle to perfectly frame her face.

Brushing on a glamorous make-up look that highlighted her pout and piercing eyes, Petra looked stunning as she left the trendy restaurant.

Paint it black: The blonde beauty slipped on a black top which she tucked into a tight-fitting black mini skirt, and she paired the ensemble with knee-high boots

In late January, Petra was given sole custody of four-year-old Lavinia and two-year-old twins James and Andrew.

Petra's father Bernie Ecclestone branded his daughter's billionaire ex 'an idiot' after she was granted permission to quit Britain and move to Los Angeles with her children.

The Formula One boss said James 'used to be an honourable person' as he welcomed the decision of a judge to allow his daughter Petra to emigrate to the US.

A judge told Petra that she would have sole custody of the three children she had with her ex-husband.

Time to celebrate: In late January, Petra was given sole custody of four-year-old Lavinia and two-year-old twins James and Andrew following her divorce from ex-husband James Stunt, 36

But the Central Family Court in London ruled that an agreement had been reached that Mr Stunt could 'spend time with the children'.

In a brief public statement, Her Honour Judge Gillian Brasse told the court: 'There have been lengthy proceedings in relation to the arrangements following the preceding divorce of Petra and Mr Stunt.

'The financial matters between them were agreed last year. Also an agreement at the end of last year that Miss Ecclestone could relocate to Los Angeles with her children was agreed.'

Her Honour Judge Brasse added: 'After a hearing I've ordered that the children will live with their mother Miss Ecclestone and I will make an order as to how much time they can spend with their father.'

Heading to court: The warring former couple of Petra and James had been back and forth to court for 12 months while they geared up for the 5.5 billion divorce battle

The warring former couple of Petra and James had been back and forth to court for 12 months while they geared up for the 5.5 billion divorce battle.

But when their legal teams came before a judge in October, it emerged lawyers had agreed what is believed to be one of Britain's biggest ever divorce settlements.

Petra and James had been expected to fight over their 158 million mansion in Los Angeles and a Grade II-listed home in London's Chelsea, worth up to 100 million.

At a hearing last year, a court was told James had signed a prenuptial agreement worth 16 million.Nobody was more surprised than Laura Byrne to discover she was 'engaged' over the weekend.

The Bachelor winner shared a photo of OK!'s latest cover to Instagram on Sunday, which featured the headline: 'Matty J confirms, "Laura and I are getting married!"'

Of course, the magazine had jumped the gun slightly because Matty has not yet proposed to his girlfriend - and Laura couldn't resist poking fun at the article online.

Say I do? Nobody was more surprised than Laura Byrne to discover she was 'engaged' after reading about boyfriend Matty J's proposal in a gossip magazine over the weekend

She captioned her photo of the magazine cover: 'When you find out you're getting married... Mum, bust out the dowry!'

While engagement rumours have been swirling for months, it is doubtful Matty will propose to Laura through a magazine interview without telling her beforehand.

It is more likely the couple will announce their engagement later this year in typical Bachelor style, via a glamorous Instagram photo shoot.

'When you find out you're getting married': Laura shared a photo of OK!'s cover to Instagram on Sunday, which featured the headline: 'Matty J confirms, "Laura and I are getting married!"'

Of course, if Matty takes relationship advice from Australia's first Bachelor, Tim Robards, fans could be waiting years for him to pop the question.

It comes after former Bachelor star Florence Alexandra Sophia told Daily Mail Australia earlier this week that she is convinced the couple will get married.

'I think they're getting married. I really think so,' the 27-year-old model said at the Tinder and Cosmopolitan Bachelor Of The Year event in Sydney.

Taking his sweet time! While engagement rumours have been swirling for months, it is doubtful Matty will propose to Laura through a magazine interview without telling her beforehand

'I don't know (when they will get engaged). I just know they're really smitten and they're not in a rush.'

Florence added: 'I'm glad that they're happy and it's great that we're all friends and that everyone gets along so well.'

The Bachelor Australia franchise returns to Network Ten later this year with Bachelor In ParadiseHe's the Married At First Sight contestant who took his wife Davina Rankin to meet his parents only last week - despite the fact she'd already had an affair.

And Ryan Gallagher has now revealed what his mother and father REALLY thought of his spouse after they learned about her infidelity.

Speaking during a Facebook Live Q&A on Sunday, the 29-year-old tradesman said: 'They don't hate Davina at all, not even one bit.'

'She did some terrible things': Married At First Sight's Ryan has revealed what his mum (left) and dad REALLY think of cheating bride Davina Rankin (right) after her affair with Dean Wells

He added: 'My parents are very genuine and nice people, they don't hate people for little things. It's not a major thing.'

'Yeah, she (Davina) did some terrible things, but they don't hate her,' he repeated.

Ryan's comments come less than a week after an awkward MAFS episode saw Davina meet with his parents just days after he learned of her 'affair' with Dean Wells.

Forgiving: Ryan said in a Facebook Live Q&A on Sunday, 'My parents are very genuine and nice people, they don't hate people for little things. It's not a major thing'

While sitting around the dinner table, Davina broke down in front of Ryan's parents when he refused to tell them that their relationship was going well.

Last week, Ryan told the Goulburn Post that his father Bob suffers from Parkinson's Disease, and so he frequently returns to his parents' property to lend a helping hand.

'I always come down here (to Goulburn) to see my parents,' he said.

Last week, Ryan told the Goulburn Post that his father Bob (pictured) suffers from Parkinson's Disease, and so he frequently returns to his parents' property to lend a helping hand

'I'm usually down here... maybe even once a week usually.

'My old man's got Parkinson's as probably a lot of people know and he needs a hand around the property doing a lot of things. So, I tend to come down here, give it about two days a week, so I usually stay at least one night and go back to Sydney.'

On Sunday's episode, Ryan and Davina both decided to leave the social experiment, bringing to an end the most controversial saga in the show's history.

Married At First Sight continues Monday at 7:30pm on Channel NineEgypt's official State Information Service (SIS) has described a recent BBC report on human rights and torture in the country as containing "lies and allegations," saying it will summon the head of the BBC's office in Egypt "to receive an official letter" of response.

The SIS, acting on an official request, called on the BBC to take an "unmistakable and clear stance to address the flagrant professional violations of its correspondent."

The 5000-word BBC article and video report, titled The Shadow over Egypt, was published and broadcast on Friday.

It contains interviews with families of alleged victims of torture and enforced disappearances by security agents.

The SIS said late on Saturday that the author of the report, Orla Guerin, aimed to "impose her biased personal views and impressions, without any factual basis, in violation of internationally recognised professional norms and those of the BBC itself."

Guerin, the author, is an Irish journalist and news presenter who previously worked as the BBC's Egypt correspondent from 2013 to January 2018.

The SIS said the report failed to provide any information about a woman which it claimed was subjected to forced disappearance.

The agency also pointed out the report's lack of evidence for police involvement in the case, adding that they tried twice to contact the author to get information about the case, but she could not be reached.

"Apart from photos and video of her mother and house, the report on so-called 'Zubeida' -- a girl who has allegedly been forcibly disappeared -- did not refer to any data or information on her status so as to enable us to follow up on her case," the SIS said.

The agency also criticised Guerin for citing on unidentified sources, including "lawyers, human rights campaigners and former prisoners" without revealing their identities despite the "seriousness" of their claims.

It added that the report was "replete with contradictions," showing the writer's "preconceived bias to portray an offensive image of the conditions in Egypt."

The SIS also criticized Guerin for describing the 2013 uprising as a "coup," even though it "had a mass support."

The agency responded to the author's claim that "brutality is routine in Egyptian prison" by stating she failed to report on conditions of currently-imprisoned activist Alaa Abdel-Fattah, whose wife regularly brings him food, fresh laundry and cigarettes in prison.

Abdel-Fattah is currently serving a five-year term for protesting without permission.

The SIS noted that Guerin did not report any quotes from his family alleging torture.

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As one of the biggest names in men's fashion, most designers would be desperate for him to attend their exclusive soirees.

But it appeared Jordan Barrett ran into a little problem while arriving at Anna Dello Russo's party during Milan Fashion Week on Saturday night.

The 'bad boy' model, 20, and his friend Alana O'Herlihy appeared to be turned away from one of the entrances and told to take another route into the venue.

What's going on here? It appeared Jordan Barrett ran into a little problem while arriving at Anna Dello Russo's party during Milan Fashion Week on Saturday night

Jordan looked typically stylish as he went shirtless under a black blazer, revealing his bare chest and several gold necklaces.

He completed his look with black trousers and dress shoes and accessorised with several items of statement jewellery.

His female companion Alana, an accomplished artist and photographer, wore a matching all-black outfit for the evening.

Famous faces: The Australian 'bad boy' model, 20, and his friend Alana O'Herlihy appeared to be turned away from one of the entrances and told to take another route into the venue

She completed her grungy look with thick-heeled black shoes, designer shades and a slick of bold red lipstick.

In photos taken outside the venue, Jordan and Alana were seen talking with a bouncer who seemed to be in charge of admitting guests.

It appears that the two friends were politely instructed to go to another entrance.

Should we go over there? In photos taken outside the venue, Jordan and Alana were seen talking with a bouncer who seemed to be in charge of admitting guests

Model behaviour: As one of the biggest names in men's fashion, most designers would be desperate for Jordan to attend their exclusive soirees

While rumours previously circulated that Jordan and Alana were romantically involved, it appears they are just friends.

In the past, the Australian 'male supermodel' has been linked to some of the fashion world's most desired women.

It was even speculated he was dating Bella Hadid after the pair were spotted in New York last year after her split with The Weeknd.Last month, he shocked Strictly Come Dancing fans when he revealed that he had been let go from the popular TV contest after 25 seasons.

But Brendan Cole, 41, recently found himself caught in the midst of an even more dramatic moment away from the BBC ballroom, when his bus suddenly burst into flames during his national All Night Long dancing tour.

'The bus caught fire it was quite horrific,' he told Daily Star Sunday, adding of his dancers: 'All of them were standing there in their underpants in the middle of the night and had to go to Tesco to get a change of clothing so they could go to work the next day. It just shows how amazing they are. But we are OK. The show goes on.'

Up in flames: Former Strictly Come Dancing star Brendan Cole has revealed that his tour bus recently burst into flames in the midst of his national All Night Long dancing tour

He continued: 'We had two shows that day a matinee and an evening performance. I would not have been surprised if they had said, "We are a bit in shock, we are going to have to stay off you will have to do it without us," but they didnt.'

He added: 'All sorts of things happen over the course of a 56-date tour. But I work with the best and they showed their true mettle. Luckily, everyone was OK.'

MailOnline has contacted a representative for Brendan Cole for further comment.

News of the bus fire comes days after Brendan's former Strictly co-stars Janette Manrara and Aljaz Skorjanec weighed in on alleged shock sacking.

When it rains it pours: Just last month, he revealed that he had been let go by Strictly bosses

Appearing on Wednesday's Good Morning Britain, the couple were quizzed over reports the he was axed from the much-loved show after he broke protocol and waltzed with the Duchess of Cornwall at Buckingham Palace in December.

Janette, 34, hinted the stars of the show were unaware of the protocol when they appeared at a charity fundraiser with the royals - in a point which seemed to concur with Brendan's denial as he said: 'There was no brief from BBC.'

Brendan, who announced his shock departure from Strictly last month, has been subject to reports in The Sun, that he left show bosses furious after he disobeyed orders and asked Camilla to dance during the series' Christmas special.

Reports stated that Brendan's actions left show runners up in arms that he broke his rank, which was allegedly the 'last straw' and proved he 'couldn't be controlled'.

Happy days: Brendan's former Strictly Come Dancing co-stars Aljaz Skorjanec and Janette Manrara recently weighed in on the show stalwart's shock sacking

Claims: Appearing on Wednesday's GMB, they addressed reports he was axed after he broke protocol and waltzed with the Duchess of Cornwall at Buckingham Palace in December

The reported breach happened as he joined his pros and show judges at a tea dance in aid of an osteoporosis charity, which was organised by Craig Revel Horwood.

GMB hosts Kate Garraway and Charlotte Hawkins have previously appeared on the show, in 2007 and last year respectively, so were naturally keen to probe the duo on news of Charlotte's former dancer partner Brendan's alleged dismissal.

Aljaz and Janette, who were present at the event, were adamant this was not the case as she said: 'It was such a beautiful event, it was so nice and a beautiful charity and she seemed to be really enjoying Strictly and the cast and the dancing...

'I dont know protocol but she seemed happy to get a little waltz in there. It was a nice event and I dont think it crossed any of our minds that it would be a bad thing.'

Happy days: Aljaz and Janette, who were present at the event, were adamant this was not the case as she said Camilla 'seemed to be really enjoying Strictly and the cast and the dancing'

A good sport: The Duchess of Cornwall appeared to be in good spirits during the tea dance

Her husband went on: '(The show) will definitely be odd without him. We still think of ourselves as newbies. Ill never forget our first year, he was always there for advice'.

Kate asked if they were informed over royal protocol, to which Janette responded: 'I dont remember, I was just so excited to be there. You get scared youre around royalty but I was just so excited.'

Charlotte meanwhile jumped to his defence, saying: 'He did the gentlemanly thing and asked her to dance!', while Janette added: 'She had a huge smile on her face. She loved meeting all of us and talking about the show.'

When reports hit, a senior Strictly source told The Sun: 'The event had been very carefully orchestrated, largely due to Craigs friendship with Camilla  and everyone, including Brendan, had been given an extremely clear briefing.

Then: The Duchess of Cornwall (C) posed alongside President of the National Osteoporosis Society and (L-R) Strictly dancers Neil Jones, Amy Dowden, Brendan, Janette Manrara, presenter Tess Daly, head judge Shirly Ballas, judge Craig Revel Horwood, and dancers Anton du Beke, Chloe Hewitt, Pasha Kovalev, Dianne Buswell, Karen Clifton and Oti Mabuse

Happy days: Viewers threw their support behind the pair, as users took to Twitter to pen: 'Aljaz loved seeing you & Janette on GMB. You two are absolute sweethearts'

'...Each of the professionals was to pair up with the guests while Craig danced with Camilla. But Brendan being Brendan had to make it about him and ignored everyone and made a beeline for Camilla  who politely didnt cause a scene.'

The source added: 'Everyone was outraged by the cheek of his actions, he always has to be centre of attention. It was the final straw for everyone involved with the show and the BBC. They just realised he couldnt be controlled.'

Viewers threw their support behind the pair, as users took to Twitter to pen: 'Aljaz loved seeing you & Janette on GMB. You two are absolute sweethearts.

'Strictly wont be the same without Brendan, but you two make up for the loss. One of you had better lift the glitter ball this coming season. Xx... How lovely is @JManrara and @AljazSkorjanec on gmb! Supporting @BrendanCole forever!!!'

Excitement: Brendan shared his excitement for getting invited to the Palace ahead of event, sharing a snapshot of the invitation on Instagram as he expressed his joy

Following his dance floor stint with the royal, Brendan discussed the encounter on his Instagram feed in November, which has since been deleted.

He shared: 'I love this. I asked the delightful Duchess of Cornwall if it was OK to ask her to dance? Luckily she said yes. What a charming host and wonderful day.'

In light of the claims, a spokeswoman for Brendan denied the reports to MailOnline: 'I can confirm that these assertions are absolutely, categorically untrue. There was no such brief from BBC.'

MailOnline has also contacted a rep for Strictly Come Dancing.

Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield also discussed the incident on Wednesday's edition of This Morning.

Denial: In light of the claims, a spokeswoman for Brendan denied the reports to MailOnline

'When the Duchess came in, Camilla was asking Ruth {Langsford] all about Strictly. Shes obviously a massive fan. I would be surprised if she hadnt said something [to Brendan]', Phil said.

The latest reports come after furious Strictly producers 'sacked fiery Brendan after 13 years and 15 series on the show for creating negative press and for his on-air outbursts,' saying that 'no one is bigger than the show', sources told MailOnline late last month.

The professional dancer broke down in tears on ITV's Lorraine as he revealed he has been axed - and a source told MailOnline: 'Producers were said to be furious over his recent interview, in which he criticised his celebrity partners.

'Theyve always tolerated his rows with the judges as it creates drama and acceptable headlines but this was a step too far.'

Another source said: 'The producers believe no one is bigger than the show.'

Partners: Brendan was partnered with GMB presenter Charlotte during his final stint on Strictly

'Theyve been struggling to recruit celebs in recent years and the producers thought this interview was a step too far in terms of negative press for the show, made it more difficult to recruit celebrities and was may have been a factor in the decision to not renew his contract.'

Brendan previously said about his celebrity partners in the interview with The Sun: 'I dont have a say in who I am partnered with. I dont think you would do it if you knew who some of them were. Can I say that? Im going to get fired, arent I?'

He also said: 'I have not liked a few of them. It is more than 50 per cent of them I have liked. When you meet people and work with them you dont necessarily like all of them.'

The emotional star, who famously rowed with new head judge, Shirley Ballas, during the last series, as well as Bruno Tonioli, talked about his shock sacking on rival channel, ITV, and said: 'This is hard to talk about. The BBC havent renewed my contract.'

Special: Brendan was paired with with Katie Derham during 2017's Strictly Come Dancing Christmas Special

He added: 'They have made an editorial decision not to have me back on the show. I have had 15 incredible series on the show, they are a great team. I am very disappointed. Its an editorial decision. I will never know the ins and outs.'

Meanwhile, a second source told MailOnline: 'The judges did not want him back. The rows he had in the last series with judges Shirley Ballas and Bruno Tonioli were the last straw.

'Brendan was stubborn and did not back down, which created an atmosphere backstage at the last series.

'The producers believe no one is bigger than the show. Not one judge has reached out to him which says a lot. He was not popular. His time was up and it seemed like Brendan was the last to know.'

The BBC told MailOnline last month: 'Wed like to thank Brendan for being part of the show since the beginning - winner of the first series - and for the contribution he has made to its success. We wish him all the very best for the future.'She's known for looking glamorous as a judge on Strictly Come Dancing.

And it seems Shirley Ballas is comfortable rocking any kind of look as she was spotted outside her home with curlers in her hair.

Cradling her new rescue dog Bertie in her arms, the 57-year-old looked cheerful as she spoke amicably with a neighbour in Los Angeles last week.

Showing off her pooch: Strictly Come Dancing judge Shirley Ballas stepped out in curlers while cuddling her new rescue dog Bertie in Los Angeles last week

Dressed in a long-sleeved white floral top and black skinny jeans, Shirley cuddled with her new pet pooch as she chatted away.

But rather than the little fluffball taking all the attention, it was the many large white curlers in Shirley's hair that drew people's eye.

Although her hair was in the middle of being styled, Shirley still made sure she stepped out with a full face of makeup as she rocked bold red lipstick and smokey black eye shadow to accentuate her natural features.

The terrier was recovering from a broken hip in a rescue centre in California when the dancer found him earlier this month.

New pet: The terrier was recovering from a broken hip in a Californian rescue centre when the dancer found him, and she said 'he is sooo sweet and kind. Even if he waddles when he walks'

Talking about her adorable companion, Shirley said: 'He is sooo sweet and kind. Even if he waddles when he walks.'

Bertie's white and grey fur looked like it had been preened to perfection as he sported a fluffy head of hair.

Shirley made her debut on the current series of Strictly Come Dancing to replace former head judge Len Goodman.

And recent reports have claimed that Shirley will be asked to return to Strictly Come Dancing again.

Taking on the new role: Shirley made her debut on the current series of Strictly Come Dancing to replace former head judge Len Goodman

While she has yet to make an official announcement, show insiders have said that Shirley has signed up to the BBC show for another year.

Despite initially impressing fans, Shirley found herself criticised for her 'harsh' marking of last year's contestants, which caused outrage when Aston Merrygold was voted out of the competition much earlier than anticipated, but she has always remained firm in her judgement and unfazed by the upset.

Not letting the backlash get to her, the beauty has told The Sun that she is eager to resume her judging duties on Strictly, amid claims the BBC are keen to ask her back.

She said: 'It would be an honour if one was asked to be asked back for such a magnificent show.'She teased fans with a plethora of lingerie-clad snaps on Valentine's Day.

And Kelly Brook set pulses racing again on Sunday as she posed topless in bed during a romantic holiday inParis with her boyfriend Jeremy Parisi.

The model, 38, put on a sizzling display as she struck a coquettish pose in the smouldering Instagram snap.

Steamy: Kelly Brook set pulses racing again on Sunday as she posed topless in bed during a romantic holiday in Paris with her boyfriend Jeremy Parisi

Wrapping herself up in opulent cream and gold sheets, the star left little to the imagination as she teased fans with her seductive pose.

She slicked her brunette tresses back in a tight bun and showed off her glowing complexion with a minimal make-up look.

The television personality captioned the shot: 'Waking up in Paris. Such a lovely few days at this beautiful Hotel. You feel the Story and the wonderful staff here are more than happy to tell it.'

Date night: In another shot, Kelly cosied up to her handsome beau as the couple indulged in cocktails

Kelly has been documenting her stay at the legendary 5-star Hotel Raphael during her trip to the French capital.

In another Instagram post, Kelly cosied up to her handsome beau as the couple indulged in cocktails.

The star looked effortlessly glamorous in a silky jade green shirt and matching trousers, which skimmed over her sensational figure, while Jeremy looked dapper in a fitted black shirt and brown brogues.

Wow factor: The star looked effortlessly glamorous in a silky jade green shirt and matching trousers which skimmed over her sensational figure

Kelly recently revealed she proposed to Jeremy during their romantic holiday to Antigua earlier this month - but he turned her down because he was so embarrassed by her public display of affection.

The 38-year-old beauty took it on the chin, however, confessing during an interview with OK! magazine that the mortified French hunk immediately shut her down.

Kelly said: 'When we were in Antigua and the sun was setting and we were up at Shirley Heights I said to Jeremy, "Will you marry me?" and he said, "Be quiet there are people around!"

'So I tried to propose but he said it was too busy and told me to be quiet! Ive asked him, but it wasnt private enough!

In love: Kelly recently revealed she proposed to Jeremy during their romantic holiday to Antigua earlier this month

The brunette beauty moved viewers when she broke down in tears during a recent appearance on Loose Women, confessing she wished shed thought about having children earlier.

Discussing why she was so overcome with emotion during the TV interview, she elaborated: I just thought when I got pregnant, Id have a really easy pregnancy and have a baby and everything would be great, and that didnt work out for me [Kelly suffered a miscarriage in 2011], so you just have to bear in mind that its not always going to be as straightforward as you think.

'If Id known that in my twenties, I may have taken it more seriously and slowed down a bit.

Kelly insisted she's come to terms with the idea of not having children, claiming that she can't see herself 'slowing down' any time soon.

To be honest, I cant see my life slowing down any time soon so if I dont have children it wont be the end of the world because I love my life and Id be giving up a lot to have children, so its not top of my list', she said.He's one of the biggest names in fashion right now.

And Jordan Barrett lead the style pack on Sunday as he attended the Tommy Hilfiger Fall/Winter show at Milan Fashion Week.

The Australian model's appearance came after he and a female friend appeared to be turned away from one of the entrances of a Milan party on Saturday night.

Blue steel! Jordan Barrett makes an appearance at Tommy Hilfiger show ... after being 'turned away' from Milan nightclub

Jordan wore a jumper featuring Tommy Hilfiger's signature shades of navy, red and white.

The 20-year-old paired it with a pair of black pants and fashion-forward combat boots.

Jordan's appearance at Tommy Hilfiger's show comes after he appeared to run into a little problem while arriving at Anna Dello Russo's party during Milan Fashion Week on Saturday night.

Signature brand: Jordan wore a jumper featuring Tommy Hilfiger's signature shades of navy, red and white

The model and his friend Alana O'Herlihy appeared to be turned away from one of the entrances and told to take another route into the venue.

In photos taken outside the venue, Jordan and Alana were seen talking with a bouncer who seemed to be in charge of admitting guests.

It appears that the two friends were politely instructed to go to another entrance.

Fashion's 'bad boy': Hailing from Byron Bay north of Sydney, Jordan has walked for some of the biggest names in fashion.

Hailing from Byron Bay north of Sydney, Jordan has walked for some of the biggest names in fashion.

As well as being associated with labels such as Tom Ford and Balmain, Jordan has also been linked to some of the world's most beautiful women.

He has been spotted getting cosy with Paris Hilton, Bella Hadid, Lara Stone and Kate Moss.They appear to be one of the strongest couples on Married At First Sight this season.

But fan favourites John Robertson and Melissa Walsh have reportedly broken up, with a close friend of the couple claiming they were pressured to 'fake their relationship' for the cameras.

'John can't fail twice, so production pretty much told Mel to just smile and nod and enjoy the ride,' a source close to the couple allegedly told New Idea this week.

However Melissa strongly denied that the couple had split, telling Daily Mail Australia on Monday afternoon that New Idea's story was 'totally false.'

'They are just very different people': Married At First Sight's Melissa Walsh and John Robertson SPLIT after 'faking their relationship' for the cameras

According to the publication, there was never a spark between unlucky in love Melissa and John.

An insider claimed different interests and both John and Melissa being unwilling to move to where the other lived as reasons behind it not working out.

'They get on well, but they are very different people,' the source revealed to New Idea.

Unlucky in love: Melissa decided to go on Married At First Sight after being married twice but never being in love

Distance: An insider claimed different interests and both John and Melissa being unwilling to move to where the other lived as reasons behind it not working out

Didn't have a romantic connection: According to the publication, there was never a spark between unlucky in love Melissa and John

According to the insider, the couple were told to 'carry on playing happy ever after' in order to 'protect' the Married At First Sight brand.

Daily Mail Australia has contacted Channel Nine, Melissa and John for comment.

John made his second appearance on Married At First Sight this year, after previously failing to connect with 'bride' Deborah Brosnan.

Deborah and John parted ways after bickering on their honeymoon, with Deborah saying she was disappointed that John had not been Polynesian as she requested.

Didn't work out: John made his second appearance on Married At First Sight this year, after previously failing to connect with 'bride' Deborah Brosnan

Different expectations: Deborah and John parted ways after bickering on their honeymoon, with Deborah saying she was disappointed that John had not been Polynesian as she requested

Meanwhile Melissa decided to go on Married At First Sight after being married twice but never being in love.

The journalist previously told The Fix that she had been relieved to walk down the aisle with John, who she had watched on last year's series of Married At First Sight.

'Like the whole of Australia, I guess I thought, "Oh god, that poor guy". I thought he was really lovely,' Melissa said.

'And then when I saw him (at the wedding) I was so rapt! I was like "Oh my god", like, "You're not a stranger!"'

'John can't fail twice, so production pretty much told Mel to just smile and nod and enjoy the ride': An insider alleged they were told to fake their romanceTheir flame appears to have well and truly fizzled after an explosive commitment ceremony on Sunday night.

And in Monday's NW magazine, it's been claimed that Married At First Sight's Nasser Sultan has 'refused to step foot' in his TV wife's home during homestay week, making her 'rent out an Airbnb'.

The reports come after the 50-year-old fitness instructor brutally admitted to not having 'sexual chemistry' with Gabrielle Bartlett, 44, after their honeymoon.

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'He made her rent an Airbnb': MAFS' Nasser Sultan, 50, 'refused to step foot' in Gabrielle Barlett's home ... after brutally admitting he didn't have 'sexual chemistry' with his TV wife after their honeymoon

'Nass didn't think it was tidy enough and up to his standards,' a source alleged to NW, describing the reality star's alleged refusal to step foot in Gabrielle's home.

'He had her rent out an Airbnb instead, but even then it was a huge issue for him to be in someone else's home,' the insider went on to claim.

Daily Mail Australia has reached out to Nasser for comment.

Claims: 'Nass didn't think it was tidy enough and up to his standards,' a source alleged to NW of the reality star's refusal to step foot in 44-year-old Gabrielle's home

The reports follow the couple's emotional commitment ceremony on Sunday night, where Nasser revealed he didn't feel any sexual attraction towards his wife - despite the fact that they slept together on their honeymoon.

'I'm in the friend zone, physically and sexually,' he told the relationship experts.

Nasser continued: 'I mean, I respect Gabby but just that part of it... it's just, I'm stuck.

'At the moment, I have no sexual connection.'

Despite Nasser's cold response towards Gabrielle, the blonde beauty admitted that she was attracted to the personal trainer.

'At the moment, I have no sexual connection': Nasser revealed that he has no sexual attraction to Gabrielle on Sunday's episode

'I'm very attracted to Nasser and I am absolutely willing and open to explore what's possible,' she said.

But despite her openness, Gab voted to 'leave' the experiment. In an unexpected twist, Nasser voted to stay.

'I have to move forward to the man that I might meet out there, who does want to love me,' Gabrielle wept.

'I need to go and find that man and I'm wanting to check that you're not it.'

Troubled relationship: 'I mean, I respect Gabby but just that part of it... it's just, I'm stuck,' said Nasser, despite still voting to stay in the experiment

Gab's honesty didn't go down too well with Nasser, who lashed out after her decision was revealed.

'You know what, I wish I said leave. I really do,' he raged. 'I will never convince you in any way, shape, or form things take time. I need time, this experiment needs time.'

However, after calming down, Nasser agreed to fight for Gabrielle for one more week to see if the relationship could survive.

Married At First Sight continues tonight at 7:30pm on Channel NineA teenage girl is in custody after allegedly assaulting three police officers and a woman in Queensland's outback.

It's alleged the 17-year-old girl from Eagleby, south of Brisbane, got into an argument with a 34-year-old woman in the street at Roma, in western Queensland, around 2:10am on Sunday.

Police say she then attacked the woman, punching her in the face and pulling her hair before fleeing the scene.

When police later found the girl and tried to arrest her, it's alleged she punched a male constable in the head and struck a female constable in the mouth, before assaulting a male sergeant who took her into custody.

The three officers suffered bruises and were treated at Roma Hospital.

The girl been charged with three counts of serious assault police and one count of assault occasioning bodily harm and is due to appear in Roma Magistrates Court on Monday.Business Council of Australia chief Jennifer Westacott says the energy created among US businesses following President Donald Trump's corporate tax cut is palpable, changing the economic landscape.

Ms Westacott was part of a business delegation that joined Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull on his visit to the US and was able to gauge first hand the impact of slashing the corporate tax rate from 35 per cent to 21 per cent.

"There is no doubt that reducing taxes drives investment, drives higher wages, creates more jobs, that's what US companies are telling us," she told Sky News on Sunday.

"It's real, this is happening, it's not trickle down economics, this is actually having a huge effect on the US economy."

The US tax cut is immediate, whereas the Australian government wants to cut the company tax rate from 30 per cent to 25 per cent for all businesses over the next decade.

Ms Westacott said while it is not "like for like", if the reduction is passed by the Senate it will send a signal so companies can make decisions now.

"If we don't act, companies will make decisions to go where they will get better returns on their investments," she said.

Asked whether she would like to see firms layout what they would do with a company tax cut in terms of wages, she said companies have started to do that but it's going to be on a company by company basis.

"It's very difficult to ask Australian companies to promise a wage increase off a company tax cut when they are not going to receive the benefits for a decade," she said.

Tax cuts have already been passed for Australian companies with a turnover of up to $50 million but the government looks like struggling to get them reduced for all businesses.

The Nick Xenophon Team and One Nation senators have already said they will block the legislation in the Senate, joining Labor and the Greens who are opposed to the cuts.The $10.3 million expansion of Hobart's Cascade brewery will secure 86 jobs and create 20 new ones while making Tasmania a leading producer of craft beer.

The expansion will result in a 65 per cent increase in production at Cascade, with most of Carlton and United Breweries' small batch and craft beers to be made in the island state, Premier Will Hodgman announced while on the campaign trail on Sunday.

"This is a growing visitor market, with about 230,000 travellers visiting a brewery or distillery in the year to September, an 18 per cent increase on the previous year," he said in a statement.Short link:



Egypt has condemned the double car-bombing attack in the Somali capital Mogadishu on Friday that left up to 45 people dead.In a statement issued on Saturday, the Egyptian foreign ministry offered the support and condolences of the Egyptian government and people to those of Somalia.The ministry added that such terrorist attacks would not stop Somalia fighting terrorism and rebuilding state institutions.On Friday, a car-bomb blast occurred near Somalia's intelligence headquarters in Mogadishu, followed minutes later by another car bomb at a checkpoint about 300 metres from Somalias presidential palace.The Al-Shabab Islamist militant group claimed responsibility in a statement posted online, saying it was targeting the government and security services.Opposition Leader Bill Shorten wants reference to charities removed from the Turnbull government's legislation to crack down on foreign political donations, saying the sector shouldn't be silenced.

The bill requires charities whose "political expenditure" in past the four years has exceeded $100,000 to be registered as a political campaigner, which the sector believes will bind them in red tape and temper democratic debate.

"I believe we can clean up donations without silencing our charities," Mr Shorten told AAP on Sunday.

He said Labor would continue to work with the government to reform political donations and ban foreign donations, an issue his party has led the way on.

"Labor is not interested in laws which punish Australian charities."Former United States president Barack Obama will visit Australia next month as part of a trip that will also see him speak in New Zealand.

The New Zealand United States Council announced on Sunday it would host Mr Obama at speaking events in Auckland and Sydney on March 22 and March 23 respectively.

"President Obama's presidency had an extraordinary impact on the world and during his service both Australia's and New Zealand's deep relationships with the United States were strengthened politically, culturally, in trade and investment, innovation and security," council chairman Leon Grice said in a statement.

The council is an advocate for the expansion of trade and economic links between the US and New Zealand including a comprehensive free trade agreement.

News Corp Australia reports the Sydney event will be held at Art Gallery of NSW.Matthew Renshaw made a classy half-century as Queensland went to lunch at 3-109 on the opening day of their Sheffield Shield clash at Adelaide Oval.

Renshaw brought up his 50 just before lunch, with Sam Heazlett the other unbeaten batsman at the break.

Joe Mennie (2-14) was the pick of the South Australia bowlers before lunch.

He picked up the wickets of Marnus Labuschagne (three) and Charlie Hemphrey (nine).

Daniel Worrall (1-32) dismissed Lachlan Pfeffer for 15 early in the first session.

Queensland are top of the Shield table with the Redback fourth, with two rounds of matches to come.A man who crashed a car into the southwest Sydney home of an elderly woman before running from the scene has been described as a "coward" by police.

The Holden Commodore caused extensive damage when it crashed through the front of the property on Arthur Street, Punchbowl, in the early hours of Sunday.

The 92-year-old was at home at the time but wasn't injured and police are now searching for the driver, who was last seen running away wearing a black jumper and cap.

Acting Inspector Jeffrey Harkness urged any witnesses to come forward.

"It's very cowardly that the driver ran away and didn't check on the occupants of the house," he told reporters on Sunday.Gay rights activists are "concerned" that Michael McCormack is on the cusp of becoming deputy prime minister but they're willing to accept he no longer holds the homophobic views he expressed more than 20 years ago.

Mr McCormack is tipped to replace Barnaby Joyce as Nationals leader when the party room votes on the issue in Canberra on Monday morning.

The Veterans' Affairs minister has been forced to apologise throughout his career for a country newspaper editorial he penned in 1993 describing homosexuals as "sordid" and blaming them for AIDS.

just.equal spokesman Rodney Croome says many LGBTI Australians are "justifiably concerned" about Mr McCormack potentially becoming deputy PM.

"The apologies Mr McCormack made in the past are welcome but given the hatefulness of what he said, and the high office he may step in to, he needs to walk the talk," Mr Croome told AAP on Sunday.

"He needs to get behind initiatives that will reduce the unacceptably high levels of LGBTI isolation, prejudice and suicide that still exist in some parts of rural Australia.

"He needs to heal the wounds caused by the kind of prejudices he publicly expressed in the past."

Sydney City councillor Christine Forster, who was a vocal campaigner for gay marriage, says it's fair that questions are asked, given Mr McCormack's 1993 column was "abhorrent".

"If you're in public life you have to expect to be subjected to that kind of scrutiny," she told AAP.

But Ms Forster acknowledges the editorial was written a long time ago.

"He's said he doesn't hold those view anymore and you've got to take that at face value," she said on Sunday, adding the Riverina MP "did the right thing" by not opposing same-sex marriage reform in late 2017.

Ms Forster - whose brother, former PM Tony Abbott, opposes marriage equality - insists people can "evolve" over time.

"Happily homosexuality is not something that has to be closeted anymore and most Australians have family members, friends, colleagues or neighbours who are gay - and of course that interaction with other human beings can change people's views."

An Equality Campaign spokesman on Sunday said regional Australians overwhelming voted Yes to gay marriage because they believed everyone should be treated equally.

"They expect the leadership of the Nationals, like all parties, to adhere to the wishes of the majority of Australians who believe our LGBTI family and friends deserve the same level of respect," he told AAP.

During the gay marriage debate, Mr McCormack once again apologised for the 1993 editorial in Wagga Wagga's Daily Advertiser.

"I have grown and learnt not only to tolerate but to accept all people, regardless of their sexual orientation, or any other trait or feature which makes each of us different and unique," he said in a statement in August.South Australia could become the "Saudi Arabia of the south" by tapping into a huge revenue stream from building a high-level nuclear waste dump in the state's north, the Australian Conservatives say.

Launching the party's campaign for the state election, founder and federal leader Cory Bernardi said it was time to take the "ideological blinkers" off and revive the conversation over the construction of a dump and the development of a nuclear power plant.

Acknowledging the party's proposals were a "long burn" given the revenue from a dump would take years to flow, Senator Bernardi said it would allow for $3 billion in annual taxes to be scrapped, including payroll tax and the emergency services levy.

It would also allow for $550 million to spent on the state's hospitals, $250 million more on education and $250 million more on roads.

Senator Bernardi said the dump would generate about $6.7 billion in annual revenue which could retire all state debt and build a wealth fund that would climb to $445 billion over the 100-year lifespan of the dump.

"We would be an economic powerhouse. We would be the strongest state in the commonwealth," he told about 100 party members at the launch on Sunday.

South Australia's role in the nuclear fuel cycle was the subject of a royal commission which recommended in 2016 that the state government pursue the idea of a dump because of the revenue potential at the same time finding a nuclear power plant would be unviable.

However, the idea of a dump was dropped by the government after a citizens' jury, made up of 300 randomly selected people, came out strongly against the proposal.

On Sunday, Premier Jay Weatherill said simply that the debate over the issue was "dead" at the same time dismissing the Australian Conservatives as another Liberal "schism".

"There's a lot of choice on the conservative side of politics," he said.

But Australian Conservatives state leader Dennis Hood said reviving the nuclear debate represented a better way for South Australia as he called on both Labor and the Liberals to back his party's approach.

"We could be the Saudi Arabia of the south," he said.

At present, the Australian Conservatives have just two MPs in the upper house, Mr Hood and Rob Brokenshire, with Mr Brokenshire up for re-election on March 17.

Both were elected to parliament as Family First MPs before merging with Senator Bernardi's group last year.

The Australian Conservatives are also running candidates in 33 of the state's 47 lower-house seats.Ainsley Gotto, the principal private secretary to former prime minister John Gorton, has died aged 71.

Ms Gotto was appointed to the role in her early 20s, and worked Mr Gorton between 1968 and 1971 before becoming a well-regarded businesswoman.

Former PM Tony Abbott paid tribute Ms Gotto, describing her as a 50-year "stalwart" of the Liberal Party.

"She was a proud Liberal and throughout her life gave back to (Liberal Party) including during my time as opposition leader," he tweeted on Sunday night.

Dumped Gorton-era minister Dudley Erwin famously described Ms Gotto by saying: "it's shapely, it wiggles, and it's name is Ainsley Gotto".As South Australian Anne Boulter pounds the pavements with her walking frame for the annual Red Cross Calling appeal, she has a simple message for the rest of the country: Don't think, just do it.

"Everyone is too busy with other things," the 83-year-old says. "I have arthritis in my spine, I use a walking frame. Yet it's simple for me."

Her comments come as a new survey reveals one in two Australians (53 per cent) believe we should be doing more than thinking about helping others in need - we should be taking individual action.

The Red Cross report, released on Sunday, surveyed more than 2000 Australians aged 18 and above on their beliefs and generous actions.

Half of respondents said they would like to do more for their communities, with regional Australians more generous than city dwellers.

More than one in two people (51 per cent) in regional areas have intervened to help out a neighbour or contributed to their community compared to 46 per cent of people in capital cities.

The survey also revealed nearly half (49 per cent) of regional respondents have looked out for others, compared to 38 per cent of those in capital cities.

Veteran volunteer and great-grandmother Mrs Boulter said donating her time with the Red Cross in her Victor Harbour hometown, south of Adelaide, has given her a sense of community.

"Everyone knows me. Being a member of a community means that you're involved with the community, or you should be," she told AAP.

For Sydneysider Samantha Kimber, community means music festivals.

The 32-year-old IT specialist said she was a music festival patron five years ago when she met Save-a-Mate volunteers who inspired her to join their ranks.

"I've had a couple of confronting situations. If at the end of my shift I feel like I've helped at least one person, well that's a really nice feeling to go away with at the end of the day," she said.

Over a typical six hour shift her helpful tasks range from charging people's phones and doling out sunscreen to responding to overdoses and intoxicated patrons.

"We have a no dob policy. You want to try and save everyone."

Her advice to Australians wanting to take action is to find a program that's a right fit: "I enjoy festivals, I enjoy the atmosphere and being able to help people."Today's Birthday, February 26: Jacqui Lambie, Australian politician, (1971 - ).

A fiery senator who attracted criticism and sympathy in almost equal measure, Jacqui Lambie tearfully announced her resignation from the Senate at the end of 2017 after she confirmed her dual citizenship.

Lambie was renowned for showing passion and authenticity, with famous addresses to Parliament including her plea over the Turnbull Government's proposal to cut welfare to low-income earners.

"I want you to know that's what it's like to be at the bottom of the crap pile, through no fault of our own, for many of us," an emotional Lambie told the Senate in March.

Courting controversy, she said supporters of Sharia Law should leave Australia while introducing legislation banning Muslim women from wearing the burqa in public.

Attorney-General George Brandis said the Senate had benefited from her wisdom, experience and passion, while Labor frontbencher Doug Cameron said federal politics needed "less lawyers, more Lambies."

Born in north-western Tasmania, Lambie was raised in a public housing estate in Devonport. She left school in Year 11 and joined the army, rising to corporal over several years of service.

Lambie was medically discharged after sustaining injuries during a field exercise. This was followed by a 10-year battle with the Department of Veterans' Affairs over compensation claims.

A single mother of two boys, Lambie's decade-long battle for compensation from the defence forces - culminating in treatment for depression as well as alcohol and pharmaceutical abuse - sent her life into a downward spiral.

After a suicide attempt, Lambie received psychological help and turned her life around.

Her first foray into politics was with Tasmanian Labor senator Nick Sherry. She then campaigned as an independent before joining the Palmer United Party in 2012. Two years later she left the party following a nasty spat with leader Clive Palmer.

She founded the Jacqui Lambie Network in 2015.

Since resigning from the Senate at the end of 2017 Lambie told a Tasmanian radio station "You can't keep a bloody Lambie down. I'm going to have another swing at it."

Most recently Lambie expelled her Senate replacement, the mayor of north-west Tasmania Steve Martin, from her party after he refused to step aside, accusing him of not upholding the party's values of mateship, respect and integrity.Two men and a woman have been charged following the discovery of nearly 40 kilograms of methamphetamine on Sydney's north shore.

On Wednesday police raided three Hornsby homes and two in Asquith where they seized more than 36kg of methamphetamine, more than 100 ampules of steroids, more than $260,000 in cash, three luxury cars, an electronic control device and a cash-counting machine.

Two men, aged 29 and 34, and a 29-year-old woman have been charged with supplying a large commercial quantity of prohibited drugs and participating in a criminal enterprise.

They were remanded in custody and will appear at Central Local Court on Thursday 1 March 2018.Egypt's President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi met on Saturday with the leaders of a Christian evangelical community delegation from the United States that is visiting Cairo, holding discussions on recent developments in the war of terrorism.

According to a statement from the president's office, El-Sisi welcomed the delegation led by Mike Evans, US President Donald Trump's advisor on faith, exchanging views on how the US and Egypt could advance the battle against extremism by way of international collaboration.

The US delegation expressed their appreciation for Egyptian president's role in fighting terrorism, as well his policies on economic development and reform in Egypt.

Also present at the meeting was Abbas Kamel, acting head of Egypt's General Intelligence Directorate.

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A West Australian parliamentary inquiry into end of life choices is set to resume this week, reigniting the divisive voluntary euthanasia debate.

The Joint Select Committee inquiry is due to hear from CarersWA and Doctors for Assisted Dying Choice on Monday.

The committee is continuing its review into WA's current laws on end of life care, including the role of palliative care and voluntary euthanasia.

Launched last August, the committee is expected to deliver its findings by August 23, paving the way for a free parliamentary vote on voluntary euthanasia which could happen before the end of the year.

Victoria late last year passed legislation to set up the country's only voluntary assisted-dying scheme.

The Victorian scheme is expected to start operating by mid-2019, open to terminally ill adults who have lived in the state for at least 12 months.Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull arrives back in Canberra early on Monday, after a whirlwind visit to the US to celebrate 100 years of mateship.

Mr Turnbull declared his visit to Washington DC a success after "frank and productive meetings" with President Donald Trump, military leaders, business executives and more than 40 state governors.

Mr Turnbull and his wife Lucy departed the US for Canberra on Sunday morning AEDT.

He'll have a new mate beside him on the frontbench when the Nationals elect a leader to replace Barnaby Joyce, who quit the role and the deputy prime ministership on Friday.

The government is hoping Mr Joyce's decision, after a fortnight of political and media attention over his extra-marital affair with a staffer, will be a circuit breaker.

A Sky News/ReachTEL poll on Sunday had Mr Turnbull's and the government's approval ratings slipping on the back of the Joyce affair.

The new Nationals leader and deputy prime minister is expected to be little-known Veterans Affair Minister Michael McCormack, who'll probably be asked about the coalition deal with the government at his first question time.

The federal opposition is also still interested in whether Mr Joyce breached any ministerial standards, or expenses guidelines, over his affair with Vikki Campion, who is pregnant with their child.

Labor will also exploit the battle between former prime minister Tony Abbott and his former cabinet colleagues. They expect Mr Joyce to follow suit.

The outspoken MP has promised not to "snipe" from the backbench.

"They will be like Statler and Waldorf from the Muppet Show, the government's greatest critics, trying to bring Malcolm Turnbull and the government down," Labor frontbencher Jason Clare said.

The former prime minister has used the parliamentary break to criticise ministers over their support for higher migration, and says the Joyce affair has been poorly managed "at the most senior levels of government".

Meanwhile, Senate estimates hearings will probe ministers and senior officials from government agencies and departments.Election hopefuls across South Australia have just hours to nominate as a candidate ahead of the state election.

Nominations with the electoral commission close at midday on Monday, with the final list to have an impact on preference flows and possibly shape the result on March 17.

Both the major parties will contest all 47 lower-house seats and run tickets for the upper house.

While Nick Xenophon's SA-BEST party is expected to run in 36 seats and the Australian Conservatives in 33.

But there will also be a swag of independents, including some who could shape the outcome.

Among those are Geoff Brock, who is expected to retain his mid-north seat after serving in the Labor government's ministry since the 2014 poll.

Also keenly watched will be Duncan McFetridge who is expected to poll well in his southern suburbs seat of Morphett after losing Liberal preselection and deciding to go it alone.

While on the Labor side, Frances Bedford is standing again in Florey after quitting the party last year, also after a row over preselection.

On the campaign trail, the promises will continue to flow though may not be as controversial as the plans outlined by the Australian Conservatives on Sunday.

They want to revive the debate over the construction of a high-level nuclear waste dump in SA's north and the development of a nuclear power plant.

The party says a dump would generate $6.7 billion in annual income, allowing the government to scrap $3 billion in taxes and build a wealth fund of $445 billion over the next 100 years.

"We would be an economic powerhouse. We would be the strongest state in the commonwealth," federal party leader and founder Cory Bernardi told the party's campaign launch.Canberra residents are mopping up after a day of heavy rainfall, with some areas hit with more than 50mm of rain in an hour.

The ACT State Emergency Service had received more than 200 calls for help on Sunday evening as heavy rainfall closed roads and led to some flash flooding.

Woolshed Creek, in Canberra's northeast, received about 45mm of rain in the hour to 10am Sunday, according to the Bureau of Meteorology.

Many residents posted images on social media showing flooded basements and swollen creeks as authorities urged people not to drive through flooded roads.

The majority of the rain fell in the morning, however it persisted throughout the afternoon as a trough gradually contracted to the northeast.

Bureau of Meteorology forecaster Steph Spackman said there would only be light showers and drizzle overnight.

"It will start to clear out about mid morning Monday and we'll still have those southeasterlies, but the precipitation should be gone by then," she told AAP.

The Australian National University announced its Acton campus would be closed on Monday due to the flooding.

The university said while child care centres would open as usual, students and staff shouldn't come to the campus as "essential safety checks on infrastructure including bridges, creek banks and electrical switchboards" were being conducted.A young woman whose 21st birthday cruise on Sydney Harbour was marred by a brawl has distanced herself from the troublemakers.

Lana Battaglia was celebrating with friends on a Constellation Cruises vessel that left about 5.30pm Saturday, but it had to return about 11pm to offload a "severely intoxicated person", according to police.

Officers were called to the Darling Harbour wharf following reports of an unrelated fight.

There, they also had to contend with a woman who'd jumped from the dock into the water, believed to be unrelated to the cruise function.

A fight then broke out on the vessel during which a number of people were assaulted, police said.

Ms Battaglia, who was herself bruised when confronted during the saga, told AAP those who started the trouble weren't part of her celebration.

"I wasn't at fault, it was nothing I did," she said.

"Unfortunately people got involved that I didn't know from the city."

By the end of the drama, four women and two men aged between 23 and 26 had been charged with a range of offences including common assault and hindering police.

They are all due to face Downing Centre Local Court on March 14.A major investigation is underway after Queensland police shot dead a knife-wielding man in a Brisbane street.

It's alleged the man, named by media as Comancheros bikie club associate Liam Scorsese, threatened the occupants of a home in Goulburn Street at Wakerley on the city's bayside shortly before 10am on Sunday.

He tried to break into the property and the occupants called police who tried Tasering the "enraged" 31-year-old but were unable to subdue him.

The two police officers then retreated 50 to 60 metres down the street but the Scorsese pursued them and threatened them with the knife, police say.

Detective Chief Superintendent Mick Niland told reporters the officers feared for their lives and one of them fired two shots at the man.

"He was armed, he has threatened police and as a result of those threats one officer has fired two shots," Detective Chief Superintendent Mick Niland told reporters.

"Police were in fear of their lives at the time."

The officers and a neighbour performed CPI on the man before paramedics arrived.

He was taken to the Princess Alexandra Hospital in a critical condition and subsequently died.

The Queensland Police Service's Ethical Standards Command has launched an investigation into the incident on behalf of the State Coroner, with the assistance of the Crime and Corruption Commission.

Chief Supt Niland said the incident was "traumatic" for both the family and the police involved and the officers were receiving counselling.

It is the second shooting incident involving Queensland police in less than two weeks, after a 16-year-old boy was shot after allegedly lunging at officers with a knife at Springfield, southwest of Brisbane on February 14.

He was later charged after being released from hospital after treatment for non-life threatening injuries.Two men are due to appear in court over a vicious road rage assault on southeast Queensland's M1 Motorway that left a man fighting for life in hospital.

Brock Prime, 29, was violently attacked by a group of up to 13 people, some of whom may have been armed, at the side of the M1 highway Pimpama and Yatala around 9.45pm on Saturday.

He was taken to the Gold Coast University Hospital where he remains in a critical condition.

Early on Monday police said they had arrested a 26-year-old Surfers Paradise man and 27-year-old Ormeau man and charged them with grievous bodily harm.

The group, who'd been travelling in a white van, fled the scene before emergency services arrived and police initially appealed to the public for help in finding those responsible.

Detective Inspector Mark Thompson said the incident began when the van and Mr Prime's black Subaru Forester came close to colliding on the M1 around Coomera.

A "cat and mouse game" then began, with the two vehicles ducking and weaving through traffic in wet conditions on the motorway before they both finally pulled over.

"The actions of both of these vehicles were extremely dangerous," he told reporters.

Mr Prime's sister condemned the culprits as cowards.

"I just felt sick to my stomach still thinking about it, how people could to that to such a beautiful person," Daisy Prime told the Nine Network on Sunday.

Brock's friend Mia Cole said the incident comes just five weeks after the sudden and unexpected death of Brock's father Darren.

"Brock is his mother, younger brother and sisters rock and they rely on him heavily especially after the passing of their father," Ms Cole wrote on a GoFundMe page set up to support the family.

Detectives have called for anyone who may have witnessed the incident and has not yet contacted them, or has dash cam footage taken in the vicinity of the M1 between Pimpama and Yatala from around 9:30pm to the time of the incident to get in touch.Two men armed with knives have tied up a woman and a boy, with three other children left to witness the terrifying home invasion south of Brisbane.

Police say the woman, the 12-year-old boy, and the other children, all aged under 10, were asleep when the intruders broke into their Logan home and threatened them before dawn on Sunday.

They tied up the woman and the boy, with the other children left to watch in fear as the intruders ransacked the house and fled with stolen property.

The woman managed to free herself and call police. No-one was physically harmed and police are still hunting for the offenders.Advocacy group GetUp is encouraged federal Labor is not supporting the Turnbull government's bill to crack down on foreign political donations while it tries to silence charities.

The bill requires charities whose "political expenditure" in the past four years has exceeded $100,000 to be registered as a political campaigner, which the sector believes will bind them in red tape and temper democratic debate.

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten told AAP on Sunday Labor is not interested in laws which punish Australian charities and believes donations can be cleared without silencing our charities and the not-for-profits sector.

However, Labor would continue to work with the government to reform political donations and ban foreign donations, an issue Mr Shorten says his party has led the way on.

GetUp national director Paul Oosting said he was encouraged by Labor's stance and its focus was now on the government and the crossbench to ensure the dangerous "charity gag" bill is not passed into law.

"We will continue to fight this dangerous law, which would result in fewer people being afforded a voice in public debate, less ability for civil society to advocate for the values millions of Australians care deeply about, and a greatly reduced contest of ideas," Mr Oosting said in a statement on Monday.If you write to the head of the government's weather service about its predictions, the forecast is there's a high chance you'll get a personal response.

Bureau of Meteorology head Andrew Johnson told senators on Monday he spends a few hours each week replying to correspondence addressed to him personally.

"I think if people go to the effort of writing to me I should pay them the respect of writing back," he told the Senate estimates hearing in Canberra.

"I don't regard correspondence from the community as chewing up my time. I think it's an important part of my job."

The bureau receives far more correspondence about the weather than climate change, he said.

The percentage of letters received denying climate change or attacking the bureau for its work in the climate sphere was "surprisingly small", Dr Johnson said.

Most of the feedback from the public was around weather, water and flood-related issues.Short link:



Sudan's ambassador to Cairo will return to the Egyptian capital within days, ending an absence of several weeks since January, Sudanese Foreign Minister Ibrahim El-Ghandour announced on Saturday in Khartoum.In an interview with Sudanese TV channel Ashorooq, El-Ghandour said that Ambassador Abdel Mahmoud Abdel Halim was participating in the Sudanese ambassadors' conference, which is currently being held in Khartoum and will head to Cairo as soon as the conference finishes. The conference starts on Monday and concludes on Wednesday.Sudan recalled its ambassador to Khartoum for consultations in January.Relations between the two countries have been strained in recent months due to Sudans claims of sovereignty over Egypts Halayeb Triangle region, as well as the Sudanese stance in the talks on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD).Relations began to smooth following meetings between Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi and his Sudanese counterpart President Omar El-Bashir, as well the four-way meetings between the two countries' ministers of foreign affairs and heads of general intelligence.Concerning the Halayeb Triangle region, El-Ghandour said in the interview that the officials from both countries have decided not to escalate the matter, but rather to maintain the status quo.El-Ghandour added that the resolution of the Halayeb Triangle issue has been left to the Egyptian and Sudanese presidents to decide.Investor Warren Buffett, seen here speaking at an event early last year in New York with fellow billionaire Bill Gates, says in his new newsletter that his company received a $29 billion bonus in 2017 thanks to a new US tax law

Berkshire Hathaway, the holding company of US billionaire investor Warren Buffett, received a stunning $29 billion last year from the US government, thanks to a new tax law that massively lowered corporate tax rates.

In his much-anticipated annual letter to shareholders, Buffett explained that the company's net gain of $65.3 billion in 2017 was only partly due to his employees' efforts.

"Only $36 billion came from Berkshire's operations," he wrote. "The remaining $29 billion was delivered to us in December when Congress rewrote the US Tax Code."

Still, Buffett assured stockholders, "The $65 billion gain is nonetheless real -- rest assured of that."

The new law, greatly touted by President Donald Trump, lowered the tax rate paid by US corporations from 35 percent to 21 percent, allowing many to undertake major new outlays and others to book significant fiscal gains.

Berkshire Hathaway wholly owns dozens of companies -- from Dairy Queen to Duracell -- and holds significant shares in large and diverse corporations including American Express, Apple, Bank of America, Charter Communications, Coca-Cola, Delta Air Lines, General Motors, Goldman Sachs, Moody's, Wells Fargo and Southwest Airlines.

- 'The Oracle of Omaha' -

Buffett's newsletters are read with intense interest on Wall Street and beyond.

Known as the "Oracle of Omaha" -- after his birthplace in the Midwestern state of Nebraska -- he is one of the world's most successful investors and one of its richest men. Now 87, he has been investing since he first bought stock at the age of 11.

His latest newsletter reports that Berkshire's net earnings rose last year from $24.07 billion to $44.94 billion.

In the letter, he added: "2017 was far from standard: A large portion of our gain did not come from anything we accomplished at Berkshire."

The year also saw the company's war chest swell to $116 billion in cash and US Treasury bills, financial manna that Buffett wants to use to make significant new acquisitions.

Berkshire's often-impressive pace of acquisitions had slowed last year, he noted, when the prices asked for businesses "hit an all-time high," amid what he called "a purchasing frenzy."

"Price seemed almost irrelevant to an army of optimistic purchasers," Buffett noted.

Still, he said, the company "will have opportunities to make very large purchases" going forward, with emphasis on those available at "a sensible purchase price."

Buffett said Berkshire would stick with a "simple guideline: The less the prudence with which others conduct their affairs, the greater the prudence with which we must conduct our own."

- A hit from hurricanes -

Buffett also said that while Berkshire's insurance holdings would take a $2 billion after-tax hit from losses caused by hurricanes last year in Florida, Texas and Puerto Rico, other reinsurance companies did far worse.

And he estimated the chances of a "mega-catastrophe" this year -- one causing losses of at least $400 billion -- at two percent.

"No one, of course, knows the correct probability," he added.

Buffett concluded with a little advice to fellow investors: "Though markets are generally rational, they occasionally do crazy things."

"Seizing the opportunities then offered does not require great intelligence... (or) a degree in economics," but rather "an ability to both disregard mob fears or enthusiasms and to focus on a few simple fundamentals," he added.

Forbes magazine estimates Buffett's personal worth at some $87 billion.

He has undertaken -- as part of the so-called Giving Pledge he co-founded with Bill Gates and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg -- to donate more than 99 percent of his fortune to charities, and has already given away some $32 billion.Amid advances in robotics and artificial intelligence, concerns are growing on whether new technologies will be used for beneficial purposes

As debate swirls on whether artificial intelligence will be a boon or a curse for humanity, two Indian-American entrepreneur brothers are out to ensure the emerging technologies don't just benefit the richest in society.

Romesh and Sunil Wadhwani this week launched what is billed as the world's first nonprofit institute dedicated to putting AI to work improving lives of poor farmers, rural health care workers or teachers in communities with scant resources.

"AI will go where AI will go; it is difficult to predict where," Sunil Wadhwani said of the conflicting views on the emergence of computers more brilliant than their human creators.

"Our focus is how many tens of millions of lives can we improve in the next five or 10 years. Where AI goes in 100 years, it will go."

The entrepreneur brothers, who have a series of lucrative startups to their name, have committed $30 million over 10 years to the Wadhwani AI institute, established in Mumbai with the Indian government as a partner.

Areas targeted at the outset will include health care, education, agriculture and urban infrastructure.

The project's founders hope AI could help nurses in rural areas with diagnoses, advise how to optimize crops, translate text books into various languages as needed or even spot signs students might be on paths to dropping out.

"AI is a game-changing technology," said Sunil Wadhwani, who is based in Pittsburgh as a trustee for Carnegie Mellon University.

"A lot of developing countries are getting left behind; US and China are leapfrogging ahead."

Students from New York University and the University of Southern California will travel to Mumbai to collaborate, while the brothers also plan to partner with players in Silicon Valley, where Romesh Wadhwani is based.

The ethical issues raised by AI -- from its potential to destroy jobs to the power it could exert over people's lives -- will be front of mind, according to institute chief P. Anandan, a former Microsoft Research director.

"It has the potential to be used badly, or run away on its own," Anandan said of AI.

"At the end of the day, you are going to manage that by being aware of it from the start and applying it where intentions are good."

- Strange new world -

Internet giants have been investing heavily in creating software to help machines think more like people, boosted by super-fast computer processing power and access to mountains of data to analyze.

Artificial intelligence is being programmed into a growing number of devices including Sony's new "aibo" robot

AI has been put to work in the form of virtual aides, for recognizing people's friends in photos, fighting "fake news," stymying the online spread of violent extremist messages and more.

But the rise of artificial intelligence brings mighty new challenges too, and the new initiative coincides with the release of a report by AI scholars warning the technology has the potential to be exploited for nefarious purposes.

"These technologies have many widely beneficial applications," said the study produced by the Future of Humanity Institute, the nonprofit group OpenAI and others.

"Less attention has historically been paid to the ways in which artificial intelligence can be used maliciously."

The Electronic Frontier Foundation, which took part in the study, expressed concern that "increasingly sophisticated AI will usher in a world that is strange and different from the one we're used to, and there are serious risks if this technology is used for the wrong ends."

High-profile figures who have expressed fears about the potential dangers of AI include tech visionary and innovator Elon Musk.

A visitor at Intel's Artificial Intelligence Day walks past a signboard during the event in the Indian city of Bangalore on April 4, 2017

SpaceX founder and Tesla chief executive Musk in 2015 took part in creating the research organization OpenAI, which aims to develop artificial intelligence that helps rather than hurts people.

Microsoft, Amazon, Apple, Google, Facebook, IBM, and Google-owned British AI firm DeepMind are also members of a nonprofit "Partnership on AI" which seeks to promote the technology's use "to benefit people and society."

Sunil Wadhwani has meanwhile promised an "aggressive" timeline at the brothers' eponymous institute, with testing of potential AI tools starting by the end of this year.Adelina Sau's death sparked widespread anger in Indonesia

Trafficked to Malaysia, forced to sleep outside with a dog before dying from serious injuries -- the latest abuse case involving an Indonesian maid highlights a failure to protect domestic helpers despite repeated government pledges, critics say.

Adelina Sau died earlier this month in hospital a day after being rescued from her employer's house in Malaysia's Penang state, with wounds covering her body.

Her 60-year-old employer was charged with her murder this week, and in Indonesia, two people have been arrested on human-trafficking charges for allegedly using fake documents to send her abroad.

About 2.5 million Indonesians work in more affluent Malaysia -- many illegally -- in sectors ranging from agriculture to construction, including an estimated 400,000 female domestic helpers.

Allegations of abuse are common. These range from overwork, to beatings and sexual abuse, and the issue is a regular diplomatic flashpoint between the Southeast Asian neighbours.

Sau's death sparked widespread anger in Indonesia. Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi has branded it unacceptable while Jakarta is reportedly considering reimposing a ban on sending domestic helpers to Malaysia.

Jakarta last banned sending maids to Malaysia in 2009 after a series of shocking cases, only lifting the measure two years later following lengthy negotiations that resulted in an agreement to give Indonesian helpers better conditions.

However, abuse and exploitation is still regularly reported, and activists lament that pledges made to better protect maids appear to have had little effect.

Glorene Das, executive director of Tenaganita, a Malaysian rights group that deals with migrant workers' cases, said Sau's death was "symptomatic of a widespread and deep-seated malaise in our society".

She said there was an "utter disregard for the dignity and rights of migrant workers in general and migrant domestic workers in particular".

- String of abuse cases -

The plight of Indonesian helper Erwiana Sulistyaningsih sparked international outrage and made her the face of a movement fighting to force change

There has been a string of headline-grabbing abuse cases in recent years involving maids in Malaysia and other Asian countries where helpers are employed.

In 2014, a Malaysian couple were sentenced to hang for starving their Indonesian maid, Isti Komariyah, who weighed just 26 kilogrammes (57 pounds) when she died.

The plight of Indonesian helper Erwiana Sulistyaningsih in Hong Kong, who was badly beaten and starved by her employer, sparked international outrage and made her the face of a movement fighting to force change for the city's army of maids.

And the death of a Filipina maid in Kuwait, whose body was found this month stuffed in a freezer, has sparked outrage in the Philippines and prompted the government to impose a departure ban on Filipinos planning to work in the country.

In Malaysia, Tenaganita believes a major cause of the problems is that maids lack proper legal protection.

Das said that a 1995 employment law supposed to protect domestic workers defines them as "servants" rather than workers, meaning some employers have few qualms about meting out abuse.

Live-in Indonesian maids in Malaysia earn as little as around 1,000 ringgit ($250) a month, far lower than in wealthier places such as Hong Kong or Singapore.

- 'Chaos' and corruption -

But critics say the problems in Indonesia are just as bad, with authorities failing to protect poor women from being illegally trafficked abroad.

Wahyu Susilo, executive director of Indonesian NGO Migrant Care, said there was "chaos" in the recruitment process.

"There is a tendency to falsify documents to speed up the process and ignore rules about age limits," he told AFP.

Domestic helpers are legally meant to be at least 21 to work abroad but many are younger.

Sau -- from a remote village in impoverished East Nusa Tenggara province -- was believed to be 19 when she died, and her family claims an unscrupulous recruiter falsified documents to make it look like she was six years older.

Susilo added there was little oversight of recruiters in poor villages such as Sau's where women are commonly hired, and corrupt officials were sometimes involved in illegally sending helpers abroad.

Activists accuse governments in both countries of failing to take the issue seriously, pointing out that the deal struck in 2011 to improve maids' conditions in order to lift the ban had expired two years ago.

Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has insisted Sau's death was an isolated case and called for a new deal to replace the 2011 agreement.

"We are concerned about the welfare of maids from Indonesia," he said.China has moved aggressively over the past year to slam the brakes on companies like Anbang

Beijing's unprecedented takeover of private insurer Anbang confirms that toxic risks lurk in the world's second-largest economy while signalling the state's tightening grip on China Inc. despite reform rhetoric, analysts said.

Government regulators seized control of the Anbang Insurance Group on Friday, saying its debt-fuelled foreign acquisition binge left the company in financial peril and that high-flying founder and former chairman Wu Xiaohui would be prosecuted for fraud.

The takeover, to last at least a year, was the most striking step yet by regulators to rein in dizzying debt levels and a clear sign that the government saw something frightening in Anbang's books.

"This move has huge significance. If something went wrong with Anbang it would lead to massive bad loans in the financial system," said Beijing-based economist Hu Xingdou.

China has moved aggressively over the past year to slam the brakes on companies like Anbang, which ran up gargantuan debts to fund pricey overseas acquisitions.

Such companies have become known as "grey rhinos" -- financial beasts that could charge quickly, with damaging results.

Despite expert warnings that China's spiralling debt could spark a meltdown with global repercussions, the communist regime has steadfastly insisted that any risks remain controllable.

- 'Serious problem' -

Anbang spent billions on acquisitions overseas, including New York's iconic Waldorf Astoria hotel

But a look under Anbang's hood has clearly spooked Beijing, analysts say.

Anbang raked in cash largely by selling short-term policies promising some of the highest returns in the market, and rose from obscurity to quickly become one of China's biggest insurers.

With the proceeds, the Beijing-based firm spent billions overseas, snapping up New York's iconic Waldorf Astoria hotel in 2015 for nearly $2 billion, adding other pricey hotel and financial assets around the globe, and even making an aborted $15-billion bid for Starwood Hotels.

But Beijing's clampdown on risky financial practices since 2016 crippled Anbang's fund-raising.

"It's a serious problem. There may now be a flood of redemptions coming through," said Christopher Balding, a Peking University economics professor.

"If you are a $315-billion company like Anbang and have to write down even just 20 percent of your assets, that's almost a $100-billion hole. That's big even by China's standards."

Many Anbang holdings look likely to be sold off.

Attention will now shift to other acquisitive "grey rhinos" like HNA, Fosun and the Wanda Group.

Those companies have already been pulling back, with Wanda in particular selling off billions in assets recently to stay solvent, and are not yet seen as imminent government takeover targets.

- Growing state control -

President Xi Jinping has become the most powerful Chinese leader in decades by pushing a programme of party control in all walks of life

But the Anbang move sets a precedent of state intervention in the private sector that is expected to recur.

President Xi Jinping has become the most powerful Chinese leader in decades by pushing a programme of party control in all walks of life.

Fraser Howie, co-author of a book on China's financial system, said Anbang's takeover is a fresh example.

In an essay, he wrote that government promises of economic reform to let market forces lead "really have no weight anymore".

"While further regulatory takeovers may be unlikely, government-orchestrated bailouts and restructurings are almost certain to come," Howie said.

"Xi's China seems to care less and less about the distinction between the private and state sectors."

China's debt crackdown is generally lauded as necessary to avert a credit crisis, but growing state control worries economists too.

It curbs the natural and healthy distribution of capital, and prevents an efficient modern economy from developing, said Julian Evans-Pritchard, China economist with Capital Economics.

"China won't be able to achieve the growth rates that it could with better resource allocation," Evans-Pritchard said.

"State control gives the appearance of stability, but growth continues to slide and in a decade you're at three percent growth."

China's GDP grew 6.9 percent in 2017, robust but well down from double-digit growth a decade ago.

- Blaming Beijing -

Anbang's takeover also means that the Communist Party is now the ultimate owner of the Waldorf Astoria and other Anbang assets, and the spectre of such state involvement could deter foreign regulators from approving some future Chinese investments overseas, analysts add.

With its vast war chest, China's all-powerful government is expected to contain financial risks.

But the current mess is Beijing's own fault, said Balding, the Peking University professor.

Xi's government and state media extolled the then-accelerating wave of overseas acquisitions just a few years ago, apparently oblivious of the risks.

Chinese regulatory approval is necessary for major overseas acquisitions by the country's firms, meaning regulators allowed many now considered questionable, he added.

"You have to lay the blame at Beijing's feet," Balding said.

"Companies like Anbang clearly got drunk and got behind the wheel, but Beijing was plying them with beer and giving them the keys."US President Donald Trump's administration on Friday announced measures targeting more than 50 North Korea-linked shipping companies, vessels and trade businesses

Beijing has protested against Washington's decision to impose sanctions against Chinese companies accused of conducting illicit economic deals with North Korea, the foreign ministry said.

US President Donald Trump on Friday announced measures targeting more than 50 North Korea-linked shipping companies, vessels and trade businesses, hailing the package as the "heaviest sanctions ever" levied on the nuclear-armed regime.

The measures, which the US says are aimed at forcing Pyongyang to roll back its banned nuclear and weapons programmes, apply to companies located or registered in North Korea, China, Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Marshall Islands, Tanzania, Panama and Comoros.

Washington has been locked in a nuclear standoff with Pyongyang, which is trying to develop missiles that could deliver an atomic weapon to major US cities, and the sanctions are designed to put the squeeze on North Korea's already precarious economy and fuel supply.

"China is strongly opposed to the United States' long-arm jurisdiction and unilateral sanctions on Chinese entities and individuals," foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said on Saturday.

"We have lodged solemn representations to the United States and asked the U.S. to immediately cease the wrong practice so as to avoid undermining relevant cooperation between the two sides," he added.

China, North Korea's only major ally, has steadfastly rebuffed Washington's calls for a full oil embargo -- fearing the chaotic collapse of the Pyongyang regime -- but has accepted caps agreed at the United Nations.

"We will never allow Chinese citizens or companies to be engaged in activities that violate resolutions from the United Nations Security Council," Geng said.

But Washington says its latest measures target entities that have helped Pyongyang evade UN sanctions.

The North Korean military and broader economy depend heavily on imports of coal and oil from Russia and China, with the latter accounting for some 90 percent of the country's trade.

Last year, the Security Council adopted a series of resolutions to ban North Korean exports of commodities, including coal, iron and steel.Supporters of presidential candidate Samura Kamara in Sierra Leone, which will go to the polls on March 7

Sierra Leone goes to the polls on March 7 for a general election that will select a new president, parliament and local councils.

With President Ernest Bai Koroma stepping down after a decade in power marred by corruption, an Ebola outbreak and deadly mudslides, what are the main issues facing the West African country's 3.1 million voters?

- New parties and old faces -

Sierra Leone is dominated by a two-party system comprising the ruling All Peoples Congress party (APC) and opposition Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP).

A new party, the National Grand Coalition (NGC), was formed by its presidential candidate Kandeh Yumkella when he broke away from the SLPP.

Sierra Leone's President Ernest Bai Koroma will remain party chairman after leaving power, leading many to worry he will exert outsize influence over the APC

Although Yumkella is unlikely to win, his charisma and alternative voice could split the vote and cause a run-off.

President Koroma personally anointed former foreign minister Samura Kamara as his chosen successor, presenting him as a continuity candidate.

But Koroma has stated he will remain party chairman after leaving power, leading many to worry he will exert outsize influence over the APC.

The SLPP's candidate Julius Maada Bio, who briefly led a junta government in 1996, is running for a second time after losing to Koroma in 2012, and has hit out at corruption on the campaign trail.

"A run-off between the APC and SLPP candidates is the most likely scenario," said Jamie Hitchen, director at AREA Consulting. "But (NGC) may have a significant role to play in who wins the run-off."

In total 16 candidates are running for president and 132 MPs will be elected to parliament.

- Regional divisions -

Sierra Leone is sharply divided along regional lines that overlap with ethnicity, with the APC broadly reliant on the Temne and Limba people in its northern strongholds and the SLPP more popular in the south with the Mende ethnic group.

Presidential candidate and former foreign minister Samura Kamara was personally anointed by President Koroma as his successor

"This is also reinforced by the perception, at least, that development is also driven by regional considerations," noted Hitchen.

However the capital city Freetown is more ethnically diverse than the rest of the country and is home to a third of voters, meaning candidates have to work harder there to demonstrate broad appeal.

Though three presidential candidates are former APC members, and Yumkella split from the SLPP, their new parties therefore cannot hope for the automatic support the two big parties enjoy in the regions.

- Corruption and Ebola -

An Ebola graveyard in Sierra Leone, where almost 4,000 people died of the virus nationwide between 2014 and 2016

Extremely high levels of corruption in Sierra Leone have long eroded faith in government, no more so following the 2014-2016 Ebola crisis which killed almost 4,000 people nationwide.

Government auditors found in February 2015 that 30 percent of Ebola funds under parliament's control could not be accounted for, amounting to $5.7 million (4.6 million euro).

Several candidates have seized on this perceived failing of the APC, including former vice-president Samuel Sam-Sumana, who was sacked by Koroma in 2015 and has since founded his own Coalition for Change (C4C) party.

"Meagre salaries for government workers are a recipe for corruption," he said during a February 15 public debate, pledging to increase salaries for all government workers and enforce the law.

Voters want concrete plans for reform and to rebuild trust, but the country's Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has had a string of failed prosecutions and foreign donors have doubts over its efficacy.

- Women and FGM ban -

The situation of women in Sierra Leone, who already face economic marginalisation and one the highest rates of maternal mortality in the world, is demonstrated by their dismal representation in the presidential race.

Just two of the 16 candidates in the race are female and the three largest parties -- the APC, NGC and SLPP -- have no women on their presidential or vice-presidential tickets.

Meanwhile police have banned female genital mutilation ceremonies during campaigning, in a country where close to 90 percent of women have been cut, accusing candidates of paying for the procedure in return for votes.

Many women, who vastly outnumber men in their support of the procedure, have rejected the police's actions.

Fuambai Sia Ahmadu, the founder of pro-FGM organisation Sierra Leone Women are Free to Choose, told local media: "that is what we women do in Sierra Leone".

She added that cutters had been "viciously disgraced by white women importing and imposing their own worldview on women they apparently feel are socially inferior".

A proposed abortion bill passed by parliament has been stalled at the president's office since 2016.

- Controversy over Chinese investment -

Two major Chinese projects, a toll road and a new airport, also provided fuel for the presidential candidates' debate as the country reconsiders years of free rein for foreign developers.

Mohamed Kamarimba of the left-wing Alliance Democratic Party (ADP) said he would scrap the initiatives while Yumkella called for a review of the road, which is seen as unaffordable.

Bio of the SLPP went further and told the audience "most of the Chinese infrastructural projects in Sierra Leone are a sham with no economic and development benefits to the people".Tearful South Korea fell agonisingly short in their fairytale bid for women's curling gold on Sunday at their home Olympics as they were beaten 8-3 in the final by ruthless Sweden

Tearful South Korea fell agonisingly short in their fairytale bid for women's curling gold on Sunday at their home Olympics as they were beaten 8-3 in the final by ruthless Sweden.

Skip Anna Hasselborg's Swedes saw off the so-called "Garlic Girls" in Pyeongchang for the Scandinavians' third Olympic title, after Vancouver in 2010 and Turin four years earlier.

For the Koreans this was the end of a remarkable journey from the eighth-ranked team in the world to Olympic silver medallists.

Skip Kim Eun-jung and her high school team-mates cried as they waved to the crowd after conceding the final after the ninth end.

The Swedes' success, watched by King Carl XVI Gustaf, helped alleviate their male counterparts' pain at losing gold to the United States 24 hours earlier.

Hasselborg was expertly assisted by Sara McManus, Agnes Knochenhauer, Sofia Mabergs and Maria Prytz.

Team Kim's unexpected rise has made them headline news in a country where curling was barely heard of a fortnight ago.

Now it's the hot topic of conversation across the nation.

And of course in their home town of Euiseong too, famous for garlic farming where thousands gathered at a local gymnasium to watch the final from a large projector and cheer on Pancake, Yogurt, Steak, Cookie and Sunny, the nicknames the girls chose to avoid confusion as they all share the same surname, Kim.

- Hammer blow -

Friends and families of the curlers packed the gym, where banners proclaimed: "Let's dig for gold with the same strength we dig for garlic!"

Under the assured guidance of Skip Kim (Yogurt) the 2018 Winter Games' hosts were smart out of the blocks, bagging the first point but the Swedes were 3-1 ahead by the fourth end.

With charismatic Kim biting her lip pensively her opposite number Hasselborg secured another point to put the Swedes 4-1 up at the halfway point of the 10-end game.

Team Kim pulled one back after the restart but their dream was dealt a hammer blow with Sweden picking up three points in the seventh end to make it 7-2.

Urged on by noisy support from the near 3,000-crowd at the Gangneung Curling Centre the Koreans nicked a point to go 7-3 but the Swedes got two in the next and skip Kim extended her hand to her opposite number to concede the final.

Japan defeated Britain to claim the bronze medal.Sameh, a mother of two who suffered psychological abuse at the hand of her husband, speaks to a reporter in Tunis on February 20, 2018

After years of "manipulation" by her husband, mother of two Sameh is filing for divorce, thanks to a new Tunisian law broadening the definition of violence against women.

The law, passed in July, entered into force on February 1, finally providing Sameh with the tool she needs to divorce her husband who she says has been psychologically and financially abusing her.

For the past 15 years, Sameh, a teacher and 45-year-old mother of two teenage girls, has been forced to hand over her entire salary to her husband.

She told AFP it took her that long to realise that he had been "manipulating" her, but when she woke up to the reality she decided to act.

But since then, her husband has started provoking her, she said during a meeting at a help centre for women victims of violence set up by the Tunisian Association of Democratic Women (AFTD).

"He wants to drive me crazy," said Sameh, who declined to give her full name.

Her husband would whisper insults into her ear to try to make her snap in front of their teenage daughters.

Her eldest daughter has sensed the tensions and lately began to hurt herself by lacerating her skin.

"I am psychologically exhausted," said Sameh, adding that she has been taking anti-depressants.

Sameh said she had tried to file for divorce two years ago but her husband refused, and she was afraid of being separated from her daughters and of ending up penniless out on the street.

"It's very difficult to prove psychological abuse and even then, there was a risk it would not be accepted," as a cause for divorce by the authorities, she said.

- 'Changing lives' -

But the new law has changed all that for Sameh, and other victims of domestic abuse.

"When I heard about this law I said to myself, 'This will bring me justice'," she said, adding she would file for divorce on moral and financial grounds.

The law considerably widens the definition of unacceptable violence against women.

It recognises physical, moral and sexual abuse as well as abuse in the form of financial exploitation.

"It is real progress... that could change lives," said Ahlef Belhadj of the AFTD association.

She said the July law was the result of 25 years of campaigning by Tunisian human rights activists.

Tunisia is seen as a pioneer of women's rights in the Arab world.

The North African country, birthplace of the Arab Spring protests that ousted several autocratic rulers, adopted a new constitution in 2014 which guarantees equality between men and women.

Article 21 of the constitution states: "All citizens, male and female, have equal rights and duties, and are equal before the law without any discrimination."

A Personal Status Code adopted in 1956 abolished polygamy, by which a Muslim man can have up to four wives, and repudiation, or the man's right to terminate a marriage unilaterally.

- 'Tip of the iceberg' -

Nevertheless, in Tunisia one woman out of two has been the victim of abuse, according to official estimates.

"This is only the tip of the iceberg," said Belhadj.

The new law is seen by many as a landmark step to protect women's rights because it criminalises sexual harassment in public places and the employment of children as domestic workers.

It also slaps fine on employers who pay women less than their male counterparts.

However, Belhadj said there is still a lot left to be done and that more funding needs to be allocated to carry it through.

"It's not enough to pass laws, we must make sure of the conditions of their implementation."

Human Rights Watch said the law stipulates the creation of shelters for women victims of violence but does not provide for a mechanism to fund them.

Meanwhile, Tunisia's interior ministry has set up two units tasked with investigating violence against women.

Radhia Jerbi, president of the National Union of Tunisian Women, said the next steps were to spread the word about the new law across the country and to persuade sceptics.

"The problem is our mentality," she said.Protesters burn tyres during a demonstration calling for Joseph Kabila to step down

One person was killed and over 20 were injured Sunday as police fired live bullets and tear gas to disperse banned protests calling on DR Congo President Joseph Kabila to stand down.

The church-backed protests in the Democratic Republic of Congo come after months of tension sparked by Kabila's prolonged rule and a long-delayed election in the vast and chronically unstable country.

In the capital Kinshasa, one man was killed as police opened fire on demonstrators, according to a senior doctor at the city's St Joseph de Limete hospital.

"Since 7:00 am we have received three injured people from the Catholic march. Two were seriously injured and one died from a bullet wound in the chest," Francois Kajingulu said.

The brother of the man, who did not give his name, sobbed as he identified the deceased as political activist Rossy Mukendi Tshimanga.

He said a police officer had "shot my brother at close range".

AFP journalists at the scene saw an International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) team take the protester's body to a nearby morgue.

- 'Zero casualties' -

The Catholic church confirmed the death, with spokesman Donatien Nshole saying: "We have registered a death in Kinshasa ... as well as several injured."

Police however denied anyone had been killed at all on protest day, claiming that there had been "zero casualties".

There were fears the victim's body could be "disappeared" by the security forces, as has been the case in similar instances in DR Congo, with the authorities eager to contain the anger on the streets.

According to a preliminary toll compiled by state television, 22 protesters across the country were injured, including 13 police officers.

Another eight were arrested, it added.

An AFP journalist in the northeastern city of Kisangani said at least two people suffered bullet injuries as police fired on marchers.

Hundreds began marching after mass at Kisangani cathedral but were dispersed by security forces who fired bullets and tear gas.

The demonstrators fled back into the cathedral singing the national anthem, "Debout Congolais" (Rise Up Congolese).

Three priests were arrested as they led a march in the Saint Pierre de Wagenia district in the east of the city. Officers took them away in a police vehicle, the journalist said.

Police used tear gas to crush protests elsewhere in the sprawling nation, including in Kikwit in the southwest, and Goma and Bukavu in the east.

This protester succumbed to his injuries after police opened fire on demonstrators

In DR Congo's second city Lubumbashi, youths set vehicle tyres on fire and were then dispersed by riot police.

The nationwide protests were called by the Lay Coordination Committee (CLC), an organisation close to the church and an influential social and spiritual movement. But authorities banned the demonstrations.

Kabila was due to stand down from office in December 2016, ending his second elected term, but he has controversially stayed on under laws enabling him to retain power until his successor is elected.

In January he accused the church of interfering in Congolese politics.

Previous protests on New Year's Eve and January 21 saw a total of 15 people killed by security forces, according to tolls given by organisers and the United Nations. The government said just two people died.

- Internet back -

Internet access was re-established Sunday evening after being cut for 10 hours across the country, with SMS and WhatsApp messaging services disabled as people took to the streets.

Kinshasa police chief General Sylvano Kasongo said Saturday he was under orders to "take measures to ensure the security of the population, and to stop anyone who attempts to disturb public order."

On Sunday, police spokesman colonel Pierrot-Rombaut Mwanamputu said "the goal to have zero casualties has been respected".

Hundreds of ruling party supporters had stormed Kinshasa cathedral on Saturday, while police put up barricades, searched vehicles and checked people's IDs.

On Friday, the European Union, Switzerland and Canada issued a joint statement underscoring the "importance of respecting fundamental rights including the right to demonstrate."

Political tensions in DR Congo have been mounting since September 2016, when clashes between youths and security forces left dozens of people dead in Kinshasa.

Fears have multiplied that the country, which experienced wars from 1996-97 and from 1998-2003, could explode into violence once more.

Two previous anti-Kabila protests saw a total of 15 people killed by security forces, according to tolls given by organisers and the United Nations.

The latest timetable to hold elections is for December 23 this year, two years later than scheduled.

But Kabila has refused to state clearly whether he intends to stand again.Supporters hold flowers during a "Sympathy Walk" in suburban Manila in 2015 for the 44 police commandos killed as they hunted the Malaysian Zulkifli bin Hir

The widow of two slain militant leaders has been arrested for allegedly supporting extremist groups and possessing firearms and explosives, Philippine police said Sunday.

Juromee Dongon was married to a senior leader of the notorious Abu Sayyaf kidnap-for-ransom group, Khadaffy Janjalani. After his death in 2006 she married Malaysian bombmaker Zulkifli bin Hir, alias Marwan, who was killed in 2015 in the Philippines, police said.

Authorities arrested Dongon along with her relatives in her home in Lanao del Norte province in the restive southern region of Mindanao where they found firearms, ammunition and bomb-making components, a police statement said.

"She assists, associates, networks and supports terrorist groups," regional police spokesman Superintendent Lemuel Gonda told AFP.

"Juromee is linked with Abu Sayyaf during the time of Janjalani and then later Jemaah Islamiyah," he added, referring to a Southeast Asian militant group.

Marwan was a leading member of Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) and a suspect in the 2002 Bali nightclub bombings that killed 202 people as well as in two deadly Philippine attacks.

He died in a raid in the southern Philippines that also left 44 police commandos dead. The US had offered a $5 million bounty for him.

In two operations on Sunday, police arrested Dongon as well as her two sisters and father, Gonda said, adding the family had "connections with terrorists".

The Dongons faced charges of illegal possession of firearms and explosives.

Abu Sayyaf is an Islamist militant group which was set up in the 1990s with seed money from the Al-Qaeda network, and has been blamed for the worst terror attacks in the Philippines' history, including bombings.

The Abu Sayyaf had harboured JI militants in their bases in remote southern islands, including key suspects in the Bali bombings.

Security analysts have said widows of militant leaders played important roles in extremist groups as they enhanced the status of their second husbands.The number of the victims of the building collapse in Cairos Manshiyet Nasser rose to 12 on Sunday, the head of the district's municipal council Mohamed Abdel-Gelil told Ahram Online.

The building collapsed on Thursday in the densely-populated working-class district in the eastern part of the city.

The health ministry issued a statement on Sunday, saying that 19 people were injured in the collapse but that only two patients are still receiving treatment in the neighborhood's Sheikh Zayed hospital.

Relief teams finished their rescue mission on Sunday, while an engineering committee formed by the housing ministry is still investigating the reasons behind the accident, Abdel-Gelil added.

The victims include five men and five women, according to Abdel-Gelil. The body of a three year-old child was the first to be dragged out of the rubble.

The governor of Cairo ordered officials on Friday to provide housing to the residents of the collapsed building.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Social Solidarity has formed a relief committee to temporarily house affected residents in a youth center.

The ministry also alloted EGP 100 to each resident for daily living expenses.

Short link:

Regime air strikes and artillery have been pounding the rebel enclave of Eastern Ghouta near Damascus since February 18

Syria's regime carried out new air strikes Sunday on the rebel enclave of Eastern Ghouta, a monitor said, despite a UN Security Council demand for a ceasefire "without delay".

The strikes on Sunday morning included two on the outskirts of Douma, the main town in Eastern Ghouta, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Regime air strikes and artillery have been pounding the enclave near Damascus since February 18, with at least 519 dead since the bombing campaign was launched, according to the Observatory.

The Security Council on Saturday unanimously demanded a 30-day ceasefire to allow for humanitarian aid deliveries and medical evacuations. The measure did not specify when the truce would go into force beyond saying it should be "without delay."

Rocket and artillery fire also hit at least three parts of Eastern Ghouta, including Douma, Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman said.

There was no information immediately available on casualties in the latest violence.

Abdel Rahman said there were also clashes in the south of Eastern Ghouta between regime forces and fighters from the Jaish al-Islam rebel group. Fighting in the area is frequent so it was not immediately clear if the clashes represented a change on the ground.

An AFP correspondent in Douma was able to hear the air raids and artillery strikes.Washington says the sanctions are aimed at forcing Pyongyang to roll back its banned nuclear and weapons programmes

North Korea on Sunday slammed the latest US measures against it as an "act of war", after US President Donald Trump announced the "heaviest sanctions ever" on the nuclear-armed regime.

The measures, which Washington says are aimed at forcing Pyongyang to roll back its banned nuclear and weapons programmes, target more than 50 North Korea-linked shipping companies, vessels and trade businesses.

"Like we have said repeatedly, we consider any restrictions on us as an act of war," the North's foreign ministry said in a statement carried by the state-run KCNA news agency.

It also vowed a retaliation if the US "really has the nerves" to confront the North in a "rough" manner.

Trump warned on Friday that, if the latest sanctions don't work, the US would "go to phase two" that "may be a very rough thing", without elaborating.

In response, the North also vowed to "subdue the US in our own way" if provoked, saying "Trump is trying to change us with such sanctions and hostile remarks, which shows his ignorance about us".

"We already have our own nuclear weapon -- a treasured sword of justice to protect us from such threats from the US," the foreign ministry said.

The comment came hours before the North's senior delegation led by Kim Yong Chol, a blacklisted military general, is set to attend the closing ceremony of the South's Winter Olympics, which will also be attended by Trump's daughter Ivanka Trump.Ten-year-old Omar who was injured in an air strike that killed several members of his family was treated at a make-shift hospital in Syria's rebel-held enclave of Eastern Ghouta

Desperate civilians trapped in one of the most ferocious assaults of Syria's civil war awaited aid and medical help Monday after regime air strikes pounded rebel-held Eastern Ghouta despite UN ceasefire demands.

More than 500 people have been killed in a major bombing campaign by President Bashar al-Assad's forces that has hammered the enclave on the edge of Damascus for over a week.

After days of diplomatic wrangling, the United Nations Security Council on Saturday adopted a resolution calling for a 30-day ceasefire in Syria "without delay" to allow for aid deliveries and medical evacuations.

The resolution raised hopes of stemming the bloodshed, but after clashes continued on Sunday it was unclear when or how broadly the ceasefire would be implemented.

Russia is a key ally of Assad's regime. In a phone call on Sunday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron urged President Vladimir Putin to use his influence to reach a truce.

They called on Russia "to exercise maximum pressure on the Syrian regime to achieve an immediate suspension of air raids and fighting," Merkel's office said.

In Douma, the main town in Eastern Ghouta, fresh air raids and artillery strikes could be heard Sunday, an AFP correspondent said.

- Chemical attack claims -

At least 14 civilians including three children were killed in strikes on Sunday, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor, bringing the total number of dead in the week to 530, among them over 130 children.

A child died and at least 13 other people suffered breathing difficulties after a suspected chemical attack on Sunday in a Syrian rebel enclave under intense regime bombardment, said the Observatory and a medic who treated those affected.

The Syrian American Medical Society, which supports a hospital in the besieged area, posted pictures on Twitter of small children using breathing apparatus.

The UN Security Council voted unanimously to demand a 30-day ceasefire in Syria

"We confirm that 16 patients, including 6 children & 4 women, suffering from symptoms indicative to exposure to chemical compounds were treated" at the facility, it said.

Russia's defence ministry said "leaders of armed groups are preparing a provocation to use toxic substances to accuse the regime of using chemical weapons", in a statement that also said the situation in Eastern Ghouta "continued to worsen".

An aid worker in Douma, quoted by British charity Save the Children, said a brief pause in bombing had prompted people to emerge after a week sheltering in basements.

"Some people had no food to eat for two or three days," the unnamed aid worker said.

Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman said there appeared be fewer air strikes but that fighting had intensified on the ground.

Heavy clashes erupted in southern areas of Eastern Ghouta, killing at least 13 members of pro-regime forces and six fighters from the Jaish al-Islam rebel group, he said.

The Britain-based group uses a network of sources across Syria to monitor the country's conflict.

Mohamed Alloush, a key figure in Jaish al-Islam, tweeted that the rebels were "resisting" bids by regime forces to enter the region.

- 'Used to betrayals' -

Eastern Ghouta, home to some 400,000 people, is surrounded by government-controlled territory and its residents are unwilling or unable to flee.

The two main rebel groups controlling the enclave -- Jaish al-Islam and Faylaq al-Rahman -- welcomed the Security Council demand, but vowed to fight back if there were renewed attacks.

UN diplomats say the resolution was watered down to ensure it was not vetoed by Russia, which has provided diplomatic and military support to Assad's regime.

Language specifying that the ceasefire would start 72 hours after adoption was scrapped and the term "immediate" was dropped in reference to aid deliveries and evacuations.

In another concession, the ceasefire would not apply to operations against the Islamic State group or Al-Qaeda, along with "individuals, groups, undertakings and entities" associated with the groups.

Air strikes and heavy clashes shook Eastern Ghouta despite the UN call for a truce

Syria's former Al-Qaeda affiliate is present in Eastern Ghouta.

The head of the army in Iran, another key Assad ally, said the Syrian military would continue to target "terrorist groups" in Eastern Ghouta.

Assad's regime and its allies routinely describe all opposition forces as "terrorists".

"The zones on the periphery of Damascus... are not covered by the ceasefire and the offensives and clearing operations by the Syrian army will continue," said Mohammad Bagheri, according to the official IRNA news agency.

UN chief Antonio Guterres, who has described Eastern Ghouta under the bombardment as "hell on Earth," said the ceasefire must be "immediately" implemented.

Eastern Ghouta, home to some 400,000 people, is surrounded by government-controlled territory and its residents are unwilling or unable to flee

In the enclave, news of the UN vote made little impact.

"I don't think this decision will be implemented. It will be respected neither by the regime nor Russia," said Douma resident Abu Mazen.

"We can't trust Russia or the regime. We are used to their betrayals."

Rebels in Eastern Ghouta have also been firing into Damascus.

Around 20 people have been killed in eastern districts of the capital since February 18, according to state media.

A total of more than 340,000 people have been killed and millions driven from the homes in Syria's war, which next month enters its eighth year with no diplomatic solution in sight.Wickremesinghe is taking over the law and order ministry

Sri Lanka's prime minister took over the key law and order ministry Sunday as part of a cabinet reshuffle, after a local election defeat sparked calls for his resignation.

Premier Ranil Wickremesinghe was sworn in to the ministerial post Sunday, a week after the minister in charge of the police, Sagala Ratnayaka, resigned amid accusations he had failed to prosecute members of the former regime.

Several other ministerial changes were also made Sunday while another reshuffle will be carried out within two weeks, President Maithripala Sirisena said after the swearing-in ceremony.

"These changes as well as those soon to be made on the UPFA side of the government will strengthen us to better serve our people," Sirisena said referring to his United people's Freedom Alliance, the junior partner in government.

Coalition members had demanded urgent reforms after they were heavily defeated in the February 10 local council elections by the new party of former strongman president Mahinda Rajapakse.

Wickremesinghe said last week the defeat was due to the government's failure to prosecute those responsible for high-profile murders of journalists and major corruption during Rajapakse's decade in power.

Wickremesinghe will hold the Law and Order ministry in addition to being the minister of National Policies and Economic Affairs.

Last week, he dismissed calls for his resignation and insisted that he could be removed only by parliament, where his party enjoys a comfortable majority.

However he has admitted that his administration was slow to deliver on a 2015 election promise to prosecute corrupt members of the former regime.

Rajapakse, whose family wields enormous influence in Sri Lanka, has staged a dramatic comeback since launching his Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna or People's Front party.

Rajapakse's party comfortably won in all regions apart from the battle-scarred north and east where, as president, he brutally crushed a separatist Tamil movement to end the island's ethnic war in 2009.

The ex-president has demanded a snap general election and challenged his successor's right to govern after his drubbing in the polls.Iranian-Canadian environmentalist Kavous Seyed Emami died in prison

An ex-intelligence minister in Iran on Sunday criticised the handling of an environmentalist's death in prison, saying the public would not believe he was a spy unless the case was handled by a "competent agency".

Ali Younessi, who was intelligence minister under reformist president Mohammad Khatami between 2000 and 2005, shone a rare light on the turf war between Iran's multiple security agencies in his interview with the daily Iran newspaper.

He referred to the case of Kavous Seyed Emami, 63, the Iranian-Canadian citizen who founded the Persian Heritage Wildlife Foundation. He died in prison this month after being arrested along with seven members of his NGO on espionage charges.

"Unfortunately the intelligence ministry has no jurisdiction over this case," said Younessi, who now serves as an advisor to President Hassan Rouhani on religious minority affairs.

"I believe the case should be given to the intelligence ministry... Given the events that have occurred, if a competent and legal agency does not intervene and doesn't give its opinion on the dead individual or those under arrest, public opinion will not believe they are spies even if they are convicted."

The authorities say Emami committed suicide, but the family have questioned the verdict and say they were threatened by security forces.

Iran has a wide array of security agencies, which often act independently of each other and are responsible to competing centres of power.

Younessi did not name the agency running the case, but the Revolutionary Guards run a powerful intelligence service that is separate from the government's intelligence ministry.

- Photographer murder case -

Younessi also gave details of the infamous case of Zahra Kazemi, an Iranian-Canadian photographer who died from head injuries after being arrested for taking photos outside Evin prison in 2003.

"The prosecutor at the time insisted she was a spy," he said, referring to the notorious Tehran prosecutor Said Mortazavi, who was last year jailed for his part in another custodial death during protests in 2009.

"We sent two counter-espionage experts from the ministry to investigate this woman in a hotel. After the interview, the two experts concluded that from a technical and scientific standpoint, Zahra Kazemi was not a spy," said Younessi.

But Mortazavi refused to listen to their verdict, he said, and handed the case back to the police.

In Younessi's version of events, Kazemi, who was 54, died from a brain haemorrhage caused at the moment of her arrest.

She "was beaten because she refused to hand over her items and her head hit a concrete road divider, which caused a haemorrhage", he said.

That goes against a statement from the reformist government at the time, which said Kazemi was violently beaten in prison -- a view supported by her family and their lawyer who say she was tortured and sexually assaulted.

The judiciary initially claimed she died of a stroke and only later that she was injured in a fall.

An intelligence agent, Mohammad Reza Aghdam Ahmadi, was acquitted of her murder in November 2005 and subsequent trials failed to find anyone accountable, while Canada blocked an attempt by the family to sue the Iranian government.

Younessi said the handling of the case had damaged Iran's international reputation.

"For having reacted badly, with stubbornness, and for accusing others and politicising the affair, the Islamic republic of Iran imposed a heavy political cost on itself," he said.

The case soured relations with Canada for years.

Canada withdrew its ambassador after Iran refused to hand over Kazemi's body for an independent post-mortem, and eventually severed diplomatic relations entirely in 2012 over a range of differences.Denis Urubko, 44, poses for a photograph at the K2 base camp

A Russian-Polish mountaineer has launched the first solo attempt to summit Pakistan's K2 -- the world's second-highest park -- during winter, in what fellow climbers described as a reckless decision.

Denis Urubko, 44, was part of a team of Polish mountaineers attempting to be the first to scale the 8,611-metre (28,251 feet) K2 in winter, but broke away from the group after a series of disagreements.

The climber left behind his team at K2's base camp on Saturday, with sources close to the expedition citing his increasing frustration at his fellow climbers' pace.

"He was trying to persuade the team to push for the summit in February," a porter accompanying the group told AFP Sunday, adding Urubko argued that conditions in March would make a summit difficult.

"He has had a heated debate with the team leader and left for the summit without saying a word," the porter added on condition of anonymity.

The Polish team confirmed the incident, saying Urubko left Camp Two without a radio after refusing to speak to the expedition's leader.

Pakistani sources said the latest incident followed mounting dissatisfaction after Urubko became upset when the team abandoned a planned route to the peak earlier this month.

Fellow mountaineers expressed concerns over Urubko's attempt to summit K2 alone, in what is largely considered one of the world's most difficult climbs.

"A solo attempt of K2 in winter is completely suicidal," said Pakistani climber Mirza Ali.

Karim Shah, an experienced mountaineer and friend of Urubko, described the attempt as "very risky".

"He is known as the 'Himalayan expert' among the mountaineering community... but his decision is not correct and does not suit someone of his stature," added Shah.

Urubko made headlines across the world as part of a two-member team that saved a French mountaineer in a daring night-time rescue on Pakistan's Nanga Parbat last month.

Following the rescue, Urubko returned to K2 to join the effort to become the first team to summit the peak in the winter.Ciriaco Lagunzad (C), Philippine deputy minister of labour and employment, speaks to the Filipino community at his country's embassy in Kuwait City on February 24, 2018 after Manila imposed a departure ban on Filipinos seeking jobs the Gulf emirate

A delegation of Philippine labour officials were in Kuwait City Sunday to assess the impact of a new ban on Filipinos working in the emirate, a source of much-needed remittances.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte earlier this month announced a departure ban for Filipinos planning to work in Kuwait, after the murder there of 29-year-old Joanna Demafelis.

Her body was found in a freezer and a Lebanese-Syrian couple suspected of her murder have been arrested in the Syrian capital, Damascus, after an Interpol manhunt.

Philippine Deputy Minister of Labour and Employment Ciriaco Lagunzad said the delegation was looking at the side effects of the ban, which will likely impact many families dependent on remittances from relatives who work in Kuwait.

Speaking on the sidelines of a meeting with the Filipino community in Kuwait, he told AFP the ban would not be lifted until his government secured safety guarantees.

"I would like to find out from the associations, the organisations of Filipinos whether the other Filipinos working here are in good condition and safe," he said.

"It cannot be business as usual. Unless the conditions change -- and that will be subject to negotiations -- the ban stays."

Among the key demands are that Filipino workers be allowed to keep their cellphones and passports, which currently can be confiscated by employers.

Anna del Mundo, who met the delegation at the Philippines' embassy on Saturday, said her recruitment agency had already been hurt by the ban.

She said the agency had hired around 100 nurses for a Kuwait hospital but they were now stuck home due to the ban.

Anna Bunda, who also works in the recruiting sector, said she planned to lobby the Philippines' Overseas Workers Welfare Administration to lift the ban for skilled workers -- who she said enjoy greater protection under a different entry visa.

"There are a lot of opportunities for the Filipinos" in Kuwait, she said. "I hope that the government will hear us."

But the attendees also included domestic workers, tied to their employers by the "kafala" or sponsorship system prevalent in the Middle East.

"I had to go to the embassy because I was in a car accident and my sponsor demanded that I pay for the treatment," said a former maid, who said she fled her employer.

A second labour delegation tasked with negotiating a bilateral treaty for domestic workers is slated to arrive in Kuwait City next week, Philippines Ambassador Renato Pedro Ovila told AFP.

Authorities in Manila say some 252,000 Filipinos work in Kuwait, many as maids. They are among over two million employed in the region, whose remittances are a lifeline to the Philippine economy.The coup was thwarted by street protesters and support from the army

More than 80 people go on trial before a military court on Tuesday over the failed 2015 coup in Burkina Faso, including two top generals accused of masterminding the plot.

The case is being seen as a test of the credibility of justice in the former French colony which has been blighted by numerous coups and mutinies since gaining independence in 1960.

The two main defendants among the 84 on trial are generals Djibrill Bassole and Gilbert Diendere -- key allies of former president Blaise Compaore who was chased from power in October 2014.

They are accused of involvement in a coup launched the following year by Compaore's old presidential guard against the transitional government that took power after the veteran leader's fall.

The elite unit known as the RSP briefly took the country's leaders hostage before the coup was thwarted by street protesters and support from the army which attacked the plotters' barracks.

Fourteen people died and 270 were injured in the unrest.

Coup leader Diendere, the former head of the RSP, and his co-defendants are accused of a range of crimes including undermining state security and murder.

Former foreign minister Bassole is also accused of treason over a recording of him reportedly telling the speaker of parliament in neighbouring Ivory Coast of his support for the coup plot.

All risk heavy penalties, including the death sentence, according to judicial sources.

Security will be high for the opening of what is expected to be a lengthy trial, with hundreds of members of the security forces at the court and its environs, according to security sources.

Djibril Basole (L) and Gilbert Diendere are accused of involvement in a failed 2015 coup which was thwarted by street protesters

Christophe Lompo, the deputy secretary general of the ABCE, an association set up for victims of the attempted coup, said the trial "would give them hope that they can heal their wounds and seek reconciliation".

It should be an opportunity for those in the dock to "admit their crimes and demand forgiveness from the people", he added.

- 'We want the truth told' -

"We are hoping for the light to be shed, the truth to be told and for damages and compensation to be given to relatives of the victims and to those injured," ABCE president Honore Sawadogo added.

The Burkinabe Movement for Human and People's Rights (MBDHP) described the case as a "life-size test of the credibility of the Burkinabe judiciary", often accused of being under the control of those in power.

Bassole's party, the New Alliance for Faso (NAFO), denounced what it said was the "government's stranglehold on the military tribunal".

"Too many unfair and arbitrary decisions have been made against me in flagrant violation of my rights for me to be able to have confidence in military justice," Bassole himself said in an interview with the private newspaper Le Pays on Tuesday.

Diendere has hired five lawyers for the case, according to a member of his entourage, speaking on condition of anonymity.

"He is ready for this trial, he is ready for everything to come out," he said.

"This is also a trial for Burkina Faso... it is through this that the people will test our judiciary."

Diendere has called for senior army officials to appear as witnesses in the case, along with current president Roch Marc Christian Kabore and transitional leader Michel Kafando, according to judicial sources.

Some analysts say the trial could also shed light on other non-resolved cases in Burkina Faso, such as the assassination of Thomas Sankara in 1987 or journalist Norbert Zongo in 1998, where the names of Diendere or Campaore's presidential guard often come up.A Kurdish man waves a large flag of the Democratic Union Party (PYD), during a demonstration in the northeastern Syrian city of Qamishli on February 4, 2016

One of the most prominent leaders of Syria's Kurdish community has been arrested in Prague on a Turkish warrant, Kurdish political parties said Sunday.

Saleh Muslim, the former co-chair of the Democratic Union Party (PYD), was arrested late on Saturday in the Czech capital, according to a statement by a coalition of political parties that includes the PYD.

Turkish state news agency Anadolu reported that Saleh was detained based on an Interpol red notice issued by Turkish authorities. It said he was due to appear in a Czech court and that the Turkish authorities would press for his extradition.

Muslim was among several prominent Kurdish officials indicted by Turkey over a February 2016 bombing in Ankara that killed 29 people.

He faces 30 life sentences if convicted. Ankara said the PYD and its military wing, the People's Protection Units (YPG), were responsible for the bombing, which targeted military vehicles.

Muslim features on a Turkish interior ministry wanted list, with a 4 million lira (860,000 euro) bounty for his arrest. He has denied any involvement in the attack.

Ankara considers the PYD and YPG as extensions of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which has waged a three-decade insurgency against the Turkish state and is classed as a terror group by Ankara and its Western allies.

Ankara last month launched a military operation against the YPG militia in the enclave of Afrin in northern Syria.

Muslim was replaced as co-chair of the PYD last year, but remains a member of the diplomatic committee of the TEV-DEM political coalition that issued the statement on his arrest.

He was in Prague for a meeting supported by the United States and had been due to leave the city on Sunday, a Kurdish official told AFP.Ultra-Orthodox Jewish mourners carry the body of Rabbi Shmuel Auerbach, 86, a radical Israeli rabbi who led opposition to attempts to force ultra-Orthodox religious students to serve in the military, during his Jerusalem funeral on February 25, 2018

Thousands of mourners took part in the funeral Sunday in Jerusalem of a radical Israeli rabbi who led opposition to attempts to force ultra-Orthodox religious students to serve in the military.

The funeral procession for Rabbi Shmuel Auerbach, who died aged 86, moved slowly through the city towards the cemetery in the Givat Shaul neighbourhood where large crowds were expected for his burial.

Auerbach led a relatively small but fervent group of followers, known as the Jerusalem Faction, who opposed more mainstream ultra-Orthodox Jewish leaders.

He was among the strongest opponents of attempts to force ultra-Orthodox Jewish students to serve in the military like their secular counterparts.

A series of protests in recent months against such moves drew huge crowds and led to scuffles with police.

Israel's ultra-Orthodox Jews follow a strict interpretation of religious law and account for some 10 percent of the country's eight million people.

More mainstream ultra-Orthodox Jews participate in politics and their political parties have often played a kingmaker role in forming governments.

But groups such as Auerbach's decline political participation under the belief that a Jewish state cannot be formed until the coming of the Messiah.

They refuse to serve in the military out of fear their religious lifestyle will be compromised in the largely secular setting, arguing too that religious study is just as important to Israel as military service.

Israeli law requires Jewish men to serve two years and eight months in the military on reaching the age of 18, while women must serve for 24 months.

Benny Brown, an expert on the ultra-Orthodox at the Hebrew University, said Auerbach broke off from the main ultra-Orthodox leadership in 2012 over their willingness to enable young men's to join the army and work market in limited numbers.

"The Jerusalem Faction's reaction was to that," said Brown, and caused a schism among the so-called Lithuanian ultra-Orthodox sector, hitherto unified under one rabbi.

Auerbach was considered "young and healthy" with no immediate successor, said Brown, and it was unclear what would become of his movement.A top Egyptian security delegation arrived in the Palestinian Gaza Strip Sunday to follow up on the implementation of a stumbling political reconciliation agreement between rival Palestinian factions Hamas and Fatah.

According to media reports, the Egyptian delegation is headed by Major General Sameh Nabil from the Egyptian Intelligence, Egypt's general consul to Ramallah Khaled Samy as well as other officials.

Earlier Saturday, Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said the Egyptian delegation will follow up on the execution of the reconciliation agreement, which was signed in Cairo in October 2017, adding that talks with Egyptian officials in Cairo early this month were positive.

"Hamas will present needed facilitations and necessary measures to help the Egyptian delegation succeed in implementing the reconciliation and boosting steps of confidence-building to achieve the desired national unity, especially in light of huge challenges facing the Palestinian cause and threats to the rights of the Palestinian people," Barhoum said in a Facebook post Saturday evening.

In a tweet Saturday, senior Hamas official Mousa Abu Marzouk said that he hopes that the Palestinian people don't lose hope in full reconciliation and national unity and can face "conspiracies that aim to eliminate the Palestinian cause", mentioning the so-called "Deal of the Century".

The "Deal of the Century"  a plan under development by the US  will reportedly exclude Jerusalem from a future Palestinian state, as a solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

"What has been accomplished as understandings until now is enough for a re-launch of the (reconciliation) accord and stop the pain and agony for our people," Abu Marzouk said.

In media statements, Fatah spokesman Atef Abu Saif said Saturday that he hopes the visit by the Egyptian delegation would end up with an understanding granting "more powers to the Palestinian government and removing hurdles facing its activities in the Strip."

Sunday's visit comes a few weeks after a Hamas delegation led by the head of its politburo, Ismail Haniyeh, arrived in Cairo discuss with Egyptian officials the security, reconciliation and humanitarian conditions in Gaza.

Negotiations between the two main Palestinian factions Hamas and Fatah to achieve Palestinian reconciliation, brokered by Egyptian Intelligence, led to an inked agreement in October to end the 10-year-old row between the two groups.

However, implementation of the agreement has since suffered setbacks, including an exchange of accusations of non-commitment to the deal brokered by Egypt.

Hamas and Fatah agreed to hand over control of the Rafah Crossing on the Palestinian side to a unity government as part of the deal.

The crossing was opened by Egyptian authorities last Wednesday for four days for humanitarian cases, and to allow stranded Palestinians to return to the Strip, the second time Egypt has opened the crossing in two weeks after an almost two-month closure.

The Rafah border crossing is the main gateway to the outside world for 1.8 million Palestinians living in Israeli-besieged Gaza, and is the only crossing point not controlled by Israel.

Short link:

The Islamic State group flag is seen in Al-Qaim in western Iraq on November 3, 2017

An Iraqi criminal court on Sunday sentenced to death 15 Turkish women after finding them guilty of belonging to the Islamic State group, a judicial official said.

Another Turkish woman accused of joining the jihadist group was given a life sentence, the official said, adding they had all acknowledged the charges against them.

Four of the women, all of whom were dressed in black, were accompanied by young children, he said.

Aged between 20 and 50, the women said they had entered Iraq illegally to join their husbands who were heading to fight for the self-proclaimed "caliphate" straddling vast areas of Iraq and Syria, the official added.

One of them told the judge she had taken part in fighting against Iraqi forces alongside the jihadists, he said.

Supreme Judicial Council spokesman Abdel Sattar Bayraqdar told AFP the women had a month to appeal.

Last week, another group of foreign widows of IS fighters told a court hearing attended by an AFP journalist that they had been fooled or threatened by their husbands to head to Iraq.

Iraq, which has detained at least 560 women, as well as 600 children, identified as jihadist or relatives of suspected IS fighters, is wasting no time in putting them on trial.

In January, a court sentenced a German woman to death on charges of providing logistical support to IS, and a Turkish woman was earlier this month also handed the death penalty.

Human Rights Watch denounced the rulings as "unfair".

Earlier this week, a Baghdad court sentenced a French woman, Melina Boughedir, to seven months in jail for entering Iraq illegally but ordered her release on time already served.

Baghdad declared military victory over IS in December, after having expelled the jihadists from all urban centres they had held in northern and western Iraq since 2014.

Experts estimate that 20,000 people are being held in jail in Iraq for alleged membership of IS. There is no official figure.

Separately, authorities in Iraqi Kurdistan said in early February they had detained some 4,000 suspected IS members, including foreigners.

Iraq's anti-terrorism law empowers courts to convict people who are believed to have helped IS even if they are not accused of carrying out attacks.

It also allows for the death penalty to be issued against anyone -- including non-combatants -- found guilty of belonging to IS.Syrian Kurdish leader Saleh Muslim, shown at a 2015 press conference in Paris, has reportedly been detained on a Turkish warrant in Prague

Authorities in the Czech Republic detained one of the most prominent leaders of the Syrian Kurds at the request of Turkey, officials said Sunday, as Ankara pushes a military operation against Kurdish militia in northern Syria.

Saleh Muslim, long a figurehead of the Syrian Kurdish movement, was detained on Saturday night at an upmarket Prague hotel, Czech and Turkish officials said.

Turkish officials said Ankara was already working to have Muslim, the former co-chair of the main Syrian Kurdish political movement, the Democratic Union Party (PYD), extradited to face terror charges in Turkey.

The arrest comes as Turkey presses a military operation against the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) militia -- the military wing of the PYD -- in the enclave of Afrin in northern Syria.

Ankara sees the YPG and PYD as the Syrian branch of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which for over three decades has waged an insurgency against the Turkish state and is banned by Turkey, the US and the European Union as a terror group.

Muslim is wanted by Turkey over a February 2016 bombing in Ankara that killed 29 people that the Turkish authorities blamed on Kurdish militants.

He has been charged in the case and faces 30 life sentences if found guilty. Muslim has rubbished the charges.

"The PYD chief has been arrested," President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told cheering crowds in the southern city of Sanliurfa. "Our hope is the Czech Republic will hand him over to Turkey."

- 'Interpol notice' -

Czech police confirmed a 67-year-old foreigner was being held after being detained on Saturday based on a Turkish Interpol notice.

"Ankara Interpol staff were informed of the arrest. The police will take the standard steps in line with the law," it said.

"Our wish is that he is extradited," Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdag said, noting both Turkey and the Czech Republic were parties to the European Convention on Extradition.

The Turkish justice ministry said if Muslim is remanded in custody by a Czech court, a formal extradition request will be sent to Prague.

Turkey's desire to see Muslim tried is a far cry from the early phase of the seven year Syrian civil war when he was a relatively frequent visitor to Ankara for talks.

Ankara was hopeful it could persuade the PYD turn against the Damascus regime of President Bashar al-Assad but this never came to fruition.

Muslim features on a Turkish interior ministry wanted list, with a 4 million lira (860,000 euro, $1 million) bounty for his arrest.

- 'Contrary to law' -

Should Muslim be extradited to Turkey, his arrest would be one of the biggest captures of a wanted Kurdish leader by Turkey since the detention of PKK founder Abdullah Ocalan in a 1999 operation in Kenya.

Muslim was replaced as co-chair of the PYD last year, but remains a member of the diplomatic committee of the TEV-DEM political coalition that administers the Kurdish-controlled areas of northern syria.

"This act is contrary to the general values and international laws. The Turkish State has no right to prosecute or arrest any person who is not one of its citizens," TEV-DEM said in a statement, confirming Muslim is a Syrian citizen.

Muslim was in Prague for a meeting supported by the United States and had been due to leave the city on Sunday, a Kurdish official told AFP in Beirut.

Muslim has moved freely around Europe in recent years and it was unclear why Czech authorities would have decided to move now on the Turkish arrest warrant.

Turkey meanwhile has insisted a unanimous demand by the UN Security Council for a 30-day ceasefire in Syria would have no effect on its Afrin offensive.

"It will continue until the final terrorist is destroyed," Erdogan said, claiming that "bit-by-bit, Afrin is falling".

Syria's Kurds have taken advantage of the country's devastating civil war to seize control of large parts of their traditional heartland in the north, declaring autonomous rule.

This has raised deep concerns in Turkey, which fears that the establishment of a successful Kurdish political entity on its southern border could serve as an example and rear base for the PKK.

bur-tgg-mm-sjw/serCambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen votes at a polling station in Kandal province

Cambodia's ruling party swept controversial Senate elections on Sunday, early results suggest, in a vote derided as a "farce" by critics as it proceeded without a viable opposition.

Strongman Premier Hun Sen has overseen a crackdown on the press, civil society and the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), which was disbanded following a court ruling last November not long after its leader was arrested on treason charges.

The Senate vote arouses little interest in Cambodia because the upper house is seen as a rubber-stamp body and candidates are elected by other officials rather than the public, but the result is a sign of things to come in the general election set for July.

Preliminary results released by the National Election Committee late Sunday showed that Hun Sen's ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP) received around 11,200 votes, which should give it enough to win the seats up for grabs.

In the Senate election 58 seats are voted on by local commune councillors and lawmakers, while the country's king and the National Assembly each put forward two candidates to reach a total of 62.

The former opposition CNRP had no say in the poll as its parliamentary and commune seats were redistributed to other parties following its dissolution, with the CPP holding some 95 percent of the local positions.

Despite the lopsided line-up, ruling party spokesman Sok Eysan described the win as a "big victory", saying the CPP "may have won all 58 seats."

In an earlier interview he brushed off allegations that the election was undemocratic.

"CPP is regretful that we lost a main challenger but we cannot help them because they violated the law," he said, referring to the opposition party.

Final results are expected in early March.

Turnout was more than 99 percent, the NEC said at a press conference after voting closed. A total of four groups, including the royalist Funcinpec Party, took part.

It was the first time that the Senate election had been held without a main opposition party. The six-year-term Senate was formed in 1999 and its first election was held in 2006.

Opposition figure Sam Rainsy, who helped co-found the Cambodia National Rescue Party, said in a statement from abroad that the Senate election was a "farce" and urged the international community to condemn it.

Western democracies and rights groups have slammed Hun Sen's effort to push out rivals.

The EU and the US have withdrawn support for the July election, while Germany has suspended preferential visa treatment for private travel for Hun Sen and his family.

Sebastian Strangio, author of "Hun Sen's Cambodia", said the main effect of the CPP's recent clampdown "has been simply to remove the pretence (of a functional democracy) and entrench a new era of less apologetic one-party domination".A pilgrim prays outside the closed gate of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem's Old City on February 25, 2018

Christian leaders took the rare step on Sunday of closing Jerusalem's Church of the Holy Sepulchre, built where tradition holds Jesus was buried, in protest at Israeli tax measures and a proposed property law.

It was not clear how long the closure of the church, announced by Christian officials at a news conference from around noon (1000 GMT), would last. Church officials said only that it would be until further notice.

The church is considered the holiest site in Christianity, built where Christians believe Jesus was crucified, buried and resurrected, and is a major pilgrimage site.

"As a measure of protest, we decided to take this unprecedented step of closure of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre," Greek Orthodox, Armenian Apostolic and Catholic leaders said in a statement read out in front of the church's large wooden doors.

They said recent Israeli measures seemed to be "an attempt to weaken the Christian presence in Jerusalem".

A spokesman for the Palestinian Authority condemned the move as a "new aggression against the city of Jerusalem" that could see Israel exert control over land belonging to churches.

The decision to close the church was extremely rare.

In 1990, Christian sites including the Holy Sepulchre were closed for a day to protest the installation of Jewish settlers near the church, located in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem.

Christian sites were shut for two days in 1999 to protest the planned construction of a mosque near Nazareth's Church of the Annunciation, where tradition holds the Angel Gabriel announced to Mary she was to become the mother of Jesus.

Christian leaders deliver a statement to the press on February 25, 2018 outside the closed doors of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem's Old City

Christian leaders have been angered over attempts by Israeli authorities in Jerusalem to enforce tax collection on church property they consider commercial, saying exemptions only apply to places of worship or religious teaching.

Separately, Christian leaders say legislation being considered by Israel's government would allow church property to be expropriated.

"This reminds us all of laws of a similar nature which were enacted against the Jews during a dark period in Europe," the statement said.

An Israeli ministerial committee on Sunday delayed action on the bill for a week.

- 'Very disappointing' -

Confused tourists stood in front of the church's closed doors in Jerusalem's Old City after the announcement, as tour guides sought to explain why they could not visit.

One man knelt and prayed as workers began putting metal barriers around the entrance.

Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat said in a statement that the city was due 650 million shekels ($186 million, 152 million euros) in uncollected taxes on church properties, which he called "illegal and irrational".

Barkat stressed the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and all other churches were exempt from the taxes and would remain so, with the changes only affecting establishments like "hotels, halls and businesses" owned by the churches.

Christian leaders say the measure jeopardises their ability to conduct their work, which includes not only religious but also social services to those in need.

According to Israeli media, the foreign ministry has been critical of the Jerusalem mayor's decision on church taxation. Officials have said the move was harmful to a decades-long status quo.

A separate bill seeks to allay the fears of Israelis who live in homes on lands previously held by the Greek Orthodox Church and which were sold to private developers, according to Rachel Azaria of the centrist Kulanu party, who is proposing the legislation.

Recent land sales by the Greek Orthodox Church -- a major landowner in Jerusalem -- to unknown buyers have drawn fire from both Israelis and Palestinians.

Palestinians fear the sales will favour Israeli settlement construction in east Jerusalem, while Israelis are concerned over private developers' intentions for the land.

The bill would allow certain lands sold by the Greek Orthodox Church to be handed over to the state, which would then compensate those who bought it from the church.

A Russian tourist in her 20s who only gave her name as Elona said "it is very disappointing" that she could not visit the church on Sunday.

"It is one of the main religious attractions, and to us it was very important to visit it because it is our first time (here)," she said.

She said she does not feel "her mission is accomplished" as she was only visiting for a few days.

The cave where Christians believe Jesus was buried is located within the church, while the traditional site of his crucifixion is a short walk away, also inside the church.

The tomb is encased in an elaborate shrine, whose recent restoration was unveiled in March 2017 after months of delicate work.

A 19th-century shrine surrounds the tomb with an onion-shaped dome above.

The Greek Orthodox, Armenian and Roman Catholic denominations share custody of the church.Egyptian moderate Islamist presidential candidate Abdel Moneim Abul Fotouh arrives at a polling station to vote in Cairo on May 23, 2012

Egypt has frozen the assets of leading government critic Abdel Moneim Abul Fotouh, arrested earlier this month over alleged links to exiled members of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood, the prosecution said Sunday.

His February 14 arrest came after he joined a call for a boycott of a presidential election next month that the incumbent, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, is expected to win easily after most rivals were sidelined or withdrew.

Abul Fotouh was detained shortly after arriving from London, where he gave interviews in which he was critical of the Egyptian government.

He was remanded in custody for 15 days and placed on the Egyptian blacklist of "terrorists".

On Sunday, the public prosecutor's office said it had decided to "sequester the assets of the Muslim Brotherhood leader (Abul Fotouh) and other people who have been placed on terrorist lists".

It said an ongoing judicial probe had shown Abul Fotouh's funds were being "used to carry out terrorist activities".

The interior ministry said following his arrest that Abul Fotouh, a former leading member of the Muslim Brotherhood and candidate in the 2012 presidential election, had contacts with the group's members in exile "to sow trouble and instability".(L to R) Mexican Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo, Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland and US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer speak to reporters in Montreal on January 29, 2018 -- as the last round of NAFTA talks wrapped up

Negotiators from the United States, Mexico and Canada opened a new round of talks Sunday on overhauling the North American Free Trade Agreement, with the Mexican hosts warning of turbulence but analysts expressing cautious optimism.

Mexican Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo said the renegotiation of the 24-year-old trade deal is entering a critical phase as the three countries begin their seventh round of talks, set to run through March 5.

"It's going to be a difficult meeting," Guajardo told journalists, noting that negotiators have moved from general discussions to "highly complex issues" like the amount of content in automobiles produced in the region that must be US-made.

Adding to the tensions, a planned visit to Washington by President Enrique Pena Nieto has been cancelled after President Donald Trump, in a contentious phone conversation, insisted that Mexico pay for a controversial border wall, the Washington Post reported, citing sources in both countries.

After the last round of talks, in Montreal, US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said the three sides were making progress, but "very slowly."

Trade trends among NAFTA partners

The uncertainty looming over the deal is only increasing as the clock ticks on.

Mexico, which sends some 80 percent of its exports to the United States, is gearing up for elections on July 1.

The presidential frontrunner, the fiery leftist Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, has sent mixed signals on NAFTA, saying at one point that he would restart the negotiations and "make Donald Trump see reason."

Washington has also sent mixed signals since Trump triggered the renegotiation of what he has described as the worst trade deal in history.

While Trump's message that NAFTA costs American jobs has played well with his base, the US business sector and many big players in his own Republican Party oppose sweeping changes.Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu chairs Israel's weekly cabinet meeting at his Jerusalem office on February 25, 2018

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is to be questioned as a suspect in a further case of alleged corruption and as a witness in another, Israeli media reported Sunday.

The police, who have questioned the prime minister seven times since the beginning of 2017, in mid-February recommended the premier be indicted for graft, fraud and breach of trust in two other cases.

The cases have fuelled speculation he could be forced to step down or call an early election.

Public radio and television on Sunday reported he would be questioned on Friday as a suspect in alleged attempts to seek positive media coverage through favours to telecommunications giant Bezeq.

He would also face interrogation as a witness in suspected corruption around Israel's purchase of three submarines from German industrial giant ThyssenKrupp.

A police spokesperson could not immediately confirm the reports.

The Bezeq case involves the main shareholder of Israel's top communications group, Shaul Elovitch and his wife, as well as group CEO Stella Handler and four others who were arrested in mid-February.

According to press reports, investigators are focusing on allegations that Shaul Elovitch, Bezeq's controlling shareholder, gave Netanyahu positive coverage on his Walla! news site in exchange for policies benefiting the business.

Shlomo Filber, a Netanyahu ally for more than 20 years and former director general of the communications ministry, is expected to agree to turn state witness in exchange for avoiding jail, according to Israeli media reports confirmed by police.

A gag order prevented publishing any details of the deal.

Filber is suspected of mediating between Netanyahu and Elovitch and promoting regulatory changes worth millions to Bezeq.

The police on Sunday also extended the custody of Eli Kamir, a communications adviser suspected of being involved in the Bezeq case.

Kamir is also suspected, alongside Nir Hefetz, a fellow former media adviser to the Netanyahu family, of offering a judge promotion in exchange for dropping a case against the premier's wife over alleged misuse of public funds.

The police have already recommended Netanyahu's indictment in two cases.

In one, he and family members are suspected of receiving one million shekels ($285,000, 230,000 euros) of luxury cigars, champagne and jewellery from wealthy personalities in exchange for financial or personal favours.

In the other case, investigators suspect the premier of trying to reach an agreement with the owner of Yediot Aharonot, a top Israeli daily newspaper, for more favourable coverage.

The decision on whether or not to indict him now rests with the attorney general.MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) - Execution team members stuck an inmate repeatedly in the lower legs, ankles and groin in effort to find a usable vein before the state called off the lethal injection, according to a Friday court filing by the inmate's lawyer.

Attorney Bernard Harcourt said he is seeking more information about what happened during the attempted execution of his client, 61-year-old Doyle Lee Hamm, on Thursday night.

U.S. District Judge Karon Bowdre on Friday ordered a medical examination of Hamm and directed the state to maintain material related to the attempt.

This image provided by the Alabama Department of Corrections shows Doyle Lee Hamm, an inmate scheduled to be executed Thursday, Feb. 22, 2018 in Alabama. Alabama is set to execute Hamm, who argues his past drug use and cancer have too badly damaged his veins and will make the lethal injection unconstitutionally painful. (Alabama Department of Corrections via AP)

Hamm, who has battled lymphoma, was to be executed Thursday for the 1987 slaying of motel clerk Patrick Cunningham. However, prison officials announced about 11:30 p.m. Thursday that they were halting the execution because medical staff did not think they could obtain "the appropriate venous access" before a midnight deadline. The announcement came about 2  hours after the U.S. Supreme Court cleared the execution to proceed.

The state prison commissioner said the execution was delayed because of a "time issue."

"I wouldn't necessarily characterize what we had tonight as a problem. ... The only indication I have is that in their medical judgment it was more of a time issue given the late hour," Commissioner Jeff Dunn said early Friday.

Harcourt said the execution was botched and that he had argued in court filings since July that lethal injection would be difficult and painful because Hamm's veins have been severely compromised by lymphoma, hepatitis and prior drug use.

Two execution team members, working on each side of Hamm's body, tried multiple times to insert the intravenous line on his left and right legs and ankles, and later turned him over and slapped the back of his legs to try to get a vein, Harcourt said. They then tried unsuccessfully to connect the line through his groin, he said.

"He's in great pain from yesterday evening, physically, from all of the attempts to access his veins in his lower extremities and in his groin," Harcourt told The Associated Press.

Early Friday, shortly after officials announced that the execution had been halted, Corrections Commissioner Jeff Dunn said the only obstacle to a successful execution was that the team lacked sufficient time. Dunn said he didn't know how long the medical team attempted to connect the line. The Alabama attorney general's office didn't respond to a request for comment.

Harcourt asked Bowdre to let the physician who conducted Hamm's medical exam to review the notes state officials took during the attempted execution.

He argued that the lapse of more than two hours before the state halted the execution was a sign that something was wrong. The past four executions in the state began about an hour after final permission was given from the U.S. Supreme Court.

Records from Georgia show that it typically takes that state less than 20 minutes to prepare an inmate for lethal injection, although there have been exceptions. In 2016, it took more than an hour to prepare a 72-year-old inmate when staff were unable to insert an IV in one arm and ended up connecting to a vein in his groin.

Alabama carries out executions by lethal injection unless an inmate requests the electric chair.

Hamm was convicted in the 1987 killing of motel clerk Patrick Cunningham. Cunningham was shot once in the head while working an overnight shift at a Cullman motel. Police said $410 was taken during the robbery. Hamm gave police a confession and he was convicted after two accomplices testified against him in exchange for being allowed to plead guilty to lesser offenses, according to court documents.

Executions were also scheduled to take place Thursday in Texas and Florida.

In Florida, Eric Scott Branch , 47, was pronounced dead at 7:05 p.m. Thursday after a lethal injection at Florida State Prison. Branch was convicted of the rape and fatal beating of University of West Florida student Susan Morris, 21.

In Texas, Gov. Greg Abbott accepted the recommendation of the state's parole board and granted clemency for Thomas "Bart" Whitaker , on death row for masterminding the fatal shootings of his mother and brother at their suburban Houston home in 2003.

___

Associated Press writers Jay Reeves in Birmingham, Alabama and Kate Brumback in Atlanta contributed to this report.LAKE PLACID, N.Y. (AP) - When he skated onto the Olympic speedskating oval on Saturday, the one that still sits in front of Lake Placid High School, the past came roaring back for Eric Heiden.

"All the memories come back, you know, fond memories," he said. "And you get to share it with your kids. How cool is that?"

It was the first trip back here for the 59-year-old Heiden since he won a stunning five speedskating gold medals at the 1980 Lake Placid Games. All were in Olympic record time and outdoors, no less, where skating against the wind was a given on every lap.

And when he skated back onto that ice for a lap around the oval with his 14-year-old son, Heiden was greeted almost like a rock star by the approximately 3,000 people at the village's Winterfest celebration, people rushing up to take selfies with an Olympic hero like no other.

Heiden retired from speedskating at 21, one month after winning gold in the 500 meters, the 1,000, the 1,500, the 5,000 and the 10,000 at Lake Placid. He and swimmer Michael Phelps, at Beijing, are the only five-time gold medalists in individual events at a single Olympics. Mark Spitz won seven swimming golds at the 1972 Munich Games, but three came in relays.

On this day, Heiden was wearing sunglasses, a brown knit hat, blue jeans and blue hoodie with the United States Olympic Team logo on the front, and he soaked in everything the trip had to offer.

"We started driving down Main Street. The town has not changed at all," Heiden said. "The shops are all the same. There might be different names, but Lake Placid has kind of held its own. Here's the hotel we used to stay at. Here's where we used to run. There's the ice rink in front of the high school that we raced at.

"They looked at that and they just can't believe they held an Olympics there. You're probably never going to see any place like this again host the Olympics."

Heiden's once shaggy hair is now short and gray, but he retains the same easy smile and low-key manner that made him a hit in 1980. He said raising a family and his work as an orthopedic surgeon had prevented him from coming back over the past 38 years.

"It looked like a lot of emotions that kind of came flooding into his mind," said Jon Lundin of the Olympic Regional Development Authority, which manages the Olympic venues in the Lake Placid area.

Heiden, who learned to skate on a pond near his grandfather's house in Madison, Wisconsin, said skating came so easy for him. And if he could turn back the clock?

"I'd probably be good, pretty competitive with these guys (today)," he said. "I get more impressed with what I did in 1980. The sport has progressed. There's a lot of specialization."Abul-Fotouh was arrested last week, a day after he returned from London where he had given interviews critical of the government. The former Islamist presidential candidate and 15 others were also placed by a court decision on the country's terrorist list for alleged ties to the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood group.

The asset freeze orders described Abul-Fotouh as a leading member of the Muslim Brotherhood.

The terrorist designation followed a request from State Security prosecutors after investigations showed Abul-Fotouh and the others "led and joined a group established in violation of the law with the aim of harming the interests of the Egyptian state," state news agency MENA said, in reference to the Muslim Brotherhood.

The list includes Maha Azzam of the Chatham House think tank in London and the head of the so-called "Egyptian Revolutionary Council," Mahmoud Ezzat, the London-based acting Muslim Brotherhood Supreme Guide.

According to Egypt's "Terrorism Entity" law, individuals placed on the terrorism list are banned from travel, added on a watchlist, and subjected to an asset freeze. The designation decision can be appealed.

Egypt designated the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organisation in December 2013.

Abul-Fotouh was ordered remanded into custody for 15 days pending investigations into charges including "publishing and broadcasting false news harming national interests" and "leading an illegal group" that aims to topple the regime and disrupt public order.

He was detained days after an interview with the Qatari-based new outlet Al-Jazeera Mubasher, which Egypt has banned, in which he criticised President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi for involving the military in politics and mishandling the economy.

The interior ministry accused him of holding secret meetings with leaders of the international Muslim Brotherhood organisation in London earlier this month to carry out a plot aimed at sparking off unrest and instability in the country.

Abul-Fotouh was among several Egyptian politicians who called last month for a boycott of the upcoming presidential elections, due in late March.

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TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - A newly built avant-garde mosque in the heart of Iran's capital would have hard-liners shouting from the minarets - if there were any.

The architects behind the Vali-e-Asr mosque dispensed with the traditional rounded domes and towering minarets, opting instead for a modern design of undulating waves of gray stone and concrete, which they say complements the surrounding architecture and evokes the austerity of early Islam.

The new structure has infuriated hard-liners, who see it as part of a creeping secular onslaught on the Islamic republic. An editorial posted on the Mashregh news website compared the curvature to that of a Jewish yarmulke, accusing authorities of "treason" for approving it. The "completely neutral" design betrays an "atheistic approach," it said.

In this Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2018, photo, pillars and the spiral ceiling of the Vali-e-Asr mosque are seen, in Tehran, Iran. The architects behind the Vali-e-Asr mosque dispensed with the traditional rounded domes and towering minarets, instead opting for a modern design of undulating waves of gray stone and concrete, which they say complements the surrounding architecture and evokes the austerity of early Islam.(AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

The mosque has emerged as the latest battleground in a longstanding culture war between hard-liners and Iran's vibrant artistic community, which has hoped - often in vain - for greater openness since President Hassan Rouhani, a relative moderate, was elected in 2013.

The 25,000-square-meter (270,000 sq. feet) structure rises smoothly from a major intersection, in a popular shopping area near Tehran University that also hosts cultural and artistic events. It's adjacent to the City Theater of Tehran, an iconic building dating back to before the 1979 Islamic Revolution, and the mosque includes its own library, reading halls, classrooms and amphitheater.

Reza Daneshmir, one of the architects, said he struggled for months before finally convincing authorities that a traditional mosque would look out of place at the site. He even argued his case before a parliamentary committee.

City officials "objected and said it did not look like a mosque, did not resemble the conventional form of a mosque, and that it couldn't be done," he said. "I explained who the real audiences of this mosque are," he said, referring to the young, bohemian Iranians who frequent the neighborhood. "I finally succeeded in persuading them."

"We wanted it to be an avant-garde project, not a conservative and backward one," he added.

He and his co-designer, Catherine Spiridonoff, point out that mosques come in many shapes and sizes, and that the first mosque ever built, at the time of the Prophet Muhammad, was a simple structure without domes or minarets.

The dome structure, which had been used in pagan and Christian architecture for centuries before the arrival of Islam, was only adopted later, as were minarets. In the past, a muezzin would climb a spiral staircase to the top of the minaret five times a day to call the faithful to prayer, but that practice has all but disappeared across the Muslim world, where most mosques are now equipped with loudspeakers.

Those arguments carry little weight with Iran's hard-liners and conservatives, who fear that the questioning of traditional structures - including the concrete variety - could erode the foundations of the Islamic republic. Mashregh says the architects sacrificed traditional design "at the foot of the City Theater."

The structure was nevertheless completed, after 10 years and at a cost of $16 million. It is expected to be opened to the public within the coming months.

Nima Borzouie, an 18-year-old student, acknowledged that he was initially unaware the building included a mosque, but said he approved of the idea.

"The spiritual aspect of a mosque is more important than its architecture," he said. "It's no big deal if it does not follow the stereotypical architecture of mosques that have domes or minarets. It is a place of worship."

In this Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2018, photo, pillars and the spiral ceiling of the Vali-e-Asr mosque are seen, in Tehran, Iran. The architects behind the Vali-e-Asr mosque dispensed with the traditional rounded domes and towering minarets, instead opting for a modern design of undulating waves of gray stone and concrete, which they say complements the surrounding architecture and evokes the austerity of early Islam. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

In this Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2018, photo, Catherine Spiridonoff, co-architect of the Vali-e-Asr mosque walks on its second floor and women's prayer hall, in Tehran, Iran. The architects behind the Vali-e-Asr mosque dispensed with the traditional rounded domes and towering minarets, instead opting for a modern design of undulating waves of gray stone and concrete, which they say complements the surrounding architecture and evokes the austerity of early Islam. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

In this Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2018, photo, Reza Daneshmir, right, gestures as he talks with his wife Catherine Spiridonoff, both architects of Vali-e-Asr mosque, while they walk on one of the mosque's ramps, in Tehran, Iran. The architects behind the Vali-e-Asr mosque dispensed with the traditional rounded domes and towering minarets, instead opting for a modern design of undulating waves of gray stone and concrete, which they say complements the surrounding architecture and evokes the austerity of early Islam. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

In this Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2018, photo, Catherine Spiridonoff, co-architect of the Vali-e-Asr mosque looks at niche or mihrab of the mosque on its first floor in men's prayer hall, in Tehran, Iran. The architects behind the Vali-e-Asr mosque dispensed with the traditional rounded domes and towering minarets, instead opting for a modern design of undulating waves of gray stone and concrete, which they say complements the surrounding architecture and evokes the austerity of early Islam. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

In this Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2018, photo, Catherine Spiridonoff, co-architect of the Vali-e-Asr mosque touches colored tiles decorating the niche or mihrab of the mosque on its first floor in men's prayer hall, in Tehran, Iran. The architects behind the Vali-e-Asr mosque dispensed with the traditional rounded domes and towering minarets, instead opting for a modern design of undulating waves of gray stone and concrete, which they say complements the surrounding architecture and evokes the austerity of early Islam. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

In this Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2018, photo, Catherine Spiridonoff, left, and his husband Reza Daneshmir, both architects of Vali-e-Asr mosque, attend at the mosque's first floor in men's prayer hall, in Tehran, Iran. The architects behind the Vali-e-Asr mosque dispensed with the traditional rounded domes and towering minarets, instead opting for a modern design of undulating waves of gray stone and concrete, which they say complements the surrounding architecture and evokes the austerity of early Islam.(AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

In this Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2018, photo, roof of the Vali-e-Asr mosque is seen, in Tehran, Iran. The architects behind the Vali-e-Asr mosque dispensed with the traditional rounded domes and towering minarets, instead opting for a modern design of undulating waves of gray stone and concrete, which they say complements the surrounding architecture and evokes the austerity of early Islam. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

In this Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2018, photo, roof of the Vali-e-Asr mosque and residential buildings are seen, in Tehran, Iran. The architects behind the Vali-e-Asr mosque dispensed with the traditional rounded domes and towering minarets, instead opting for a modern design of undulating waves of gray stone and concrete, which they say complements the surrounding architecture and evokes the austerity of early Islam. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)BEIJING (AP) - China's ruling Communist Party has proposed scrapping term limits for the country's president, the official news agency said, appearing to lay the groundwork for party leader Xi Jinping to rule as president beyond 2023.

The party's Central Committee proposed to remove from the constitution the expression that China's president and vice president "shall serve no more than two consecutive terms," the Xinhua News Agency said Sunday.

"Xi Jinping has finally achieved his ultimate goal when he first embarked on Chinese politics - that is to be the Mao Zedong of the 21st century," said Willy Lam, a political analyst at the Chinese University in Hong Kong, referring to the founder of communist China.

FILE - In this Oct 25, 2017, file photo, Chinese President Xi Jinping claps while addressing the media as he introduces new members of the Politburo Standing Committee at Beijing's Great Hall of the People. On a proposal made public Sunday, Feb. 25, 2018, China's ruling Communist Party proposes removing a limit of two consecutive terms for the president and vice president. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan, File)

Xi, 64, cemented his status as the most powerful Chinese leader since Mao in the 1970s at last year's twice-a-decade Communist Party congress, where his name and a political theory attributed to him were added to the party constitution as he was given a second five-year term as general secretary.

It was the latest move by the party signaling Xi's willingness to break with tradition and centralize power under him. Xi has taken control of an unusually wide range of political, economic and other functions, a break with the past two decades of collective leadership.

"What is happening is potentially very dangerous because the reason why Mao Zedong made one mistake after another was because China at the time was a one-man show," Lam said. "For Xi Jinping, whatever he says is the law. There are no longer any checks and balances."

Xi is coming to the end of his first five-year term as president and is set to be appointed to his second term at an annual meeting of the rubber-stamp parliament that starts March 5. The proposal to end term limits will likely be approved at that meeting.

Term limits on officeholders have been in place since they were included in the 1982 constitution, when lifetime tenure was abolished.

Political analysts said the party would likely seek to justify the proposed removal of the presidential term limit by citing Xi's vision of establishing a prosperous, modern society by 2050.

"The theoretical justification for removing tenure limits is that China requires a visionary, capable leader to see China through this multi-decade grand plan," Lam said.

"But the other aspect of it could just be Mao Zedong-like megalomania; he is just convinced that he is fit to be an emperor for life," he said.

Hu Xingdou, a Beijing-based political commentator, said while Xi might need an extra five-year term or two to carry out his plans, the country is unlikely to return to an era of lifetime tenure for heads of state.

"President Xi may be in a leading position for a relatively long time," Hu said. "This is beneficial to pushing forward reforms and the fight against corruption, but it's impossible for China to have lifetime tenure again."

"We have drawn profound lessons from the system of lifetime tenures," Hu said, referring to the chaos and turmoil of Mao's 1966-1976 Cultural Revolution.

Xi's image dominates official propaganda, prompting suggestions that he is trying to build a cult of personality, and evoking memories of the upheaval of that era. Party spokespeople reject such talk, insisting Xi is the core of its seven-member Standing Committee, not a lone strongman.

At last year's party congress, Xi hailed a "new era" under his leadership and laid out his vision of a ruling party that serves as the vanguard for everything from defending national security to providing moral guidance to ordinary Chinese. At the close of the congress, the party elevated five new officials to assist Xi on his second five-year term, but stopped short of designating an obvious successor to him.

Political analysts said the absence of an apparent successor pointed to Xi's longer-term ambitions.

Sunday's announcement on term limits came before the Central Committee was to begin a three-day meeting in Beijing on Monday to discuss major personnel appointments and other issues.

The son of a famed communist elder, Xi rose through the ranks to the position of Shanghai's party leader before being promoted to the all-powerful Politburo Standing Committee in 2007.

When Xi did assume the top spot in 2012, it was as head of a reduced seven-member committee on which he had only one reliable ally, veteran Wang Qishan. He put Wang in charge of a sweeping anti-corruption crackdown that helped Xi eliminate challengers, both serving and retired, and cow potential opponents.

Xi, whose titles include head of the armed forces, has lavished attention on the military with parades and defense budget increases. But he's also led a crackdown on abuses and a push to cut 300,000 personnel from the 2.3 million-member People's Liberation Army, underscoring his ability to prevail against entrenched interests.

FILE - In this Oct. 25, 2017, file photo, Chinese President Xi Jinping waves while addressing the media as he introduced new members of the Politburo Standing Committee at Beijing's Great Hall of the People. China's official news agency said Sunday, Feb. 25, 2018, the ruling Communist Party proposed removing a limit of two consecutive terms for the country's president and vice president. The move, if approved, appears to lay the groundwork for party leader Xi to rule as president beyond 2023. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan, File)AMMAN, Jordan (AP) - The U.N. agency for children said Sunday that 85 percent of Syrian refugee children in Jordan live in poverty, 38 percent are not in school and almost half of those under the age of five don't have access to proper health care.

The findings by UNICEF are based on responses from about 1,000 families among Jordan's 660,000 registered refugees. Some 5.5 million Syrians have fled civil war in their homeland since 2011, most settling in neighboring countries where they struggle to survive, and millions more have been uprooted inside Syria.

The UNICEF study is the latest of six to be conducted among refugee families at six-month intervals and reflects a continued deterioration in the lives of Syrian children, said Robert Jenkins, the agency's Jordan representative.

"The overwhelming message of this study is that Syrian refugee families are becoming increasingly vulnerable in Jordan," he told The Associated Press. He called on donor countries to step up at a time of growing need. In Jordan, UNICEF has a $145.7 million funding shortfall for child and youth programs in 2018.

The study found that 94 percent of Syrian refugee children under the age of five lack at least two of the five basics, such as access to health care and preschools. In this group, 45 percent don't have access to proper health care, including vaccinations. Among those of school age, 38 percent are not enrolled in schools and four out of 10 are food insecure.

After years in exile and with savings depleted, refugees are increasingly resorting to "negative ways" of coping to survive, including permitting daughters to get married before age 18 and sending teen boys to work, said Maha Homsi, the agency's chief of child protection in Jordan.

She said that Jordan's economic downturn, including rising prices and unemployment, will further harm refugees.MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (AP) - Nigeria's government acknowledged Sunday that 110 girls remain missing nearly a week after Boko Haram militants attacked their town. Frustrated family members already had compiled a list of missing girls after saying officials were being slow to respond.

The fate of the girls is not known, but witnesses said the Islamic extremists specifically asked where the girls' school was located. Some eyewitnesses reporting seeing young women taken away at gunpoint.

Information Minister Lai Mohammed made the announcement Sunday after meetings were held with family members and others, some of whom have criticized the government for taking days to make such an announcement.

This image taken from video shows the exterior of Government Girls Science and Tech College in Dapchi, Yobe State, Nigeria on Thursday Feb. 22, 2018. Parents in northern Nigeria say more than 100 girls are still missing three days after suspected Boko Haram extremists attacked their school. The announcement comes after government officials in Yobe state acknowledged that some 50 young women remained unaccounted for in the Monday evening attack. (AP Photo)

Air Force spokesman Olatokunbo Adesanya said in a press statement Sunday that "the renewed efforts at locating the girls are being conducted in close liaison with other surface security forces."

Many fear the girls were abducted as brides for Boko Haram extremists. The group kidnapped 276 girls from a boarding school in Chibok in 2014 and forced them to marry their captors. About 100 of the Chibok girls have never returned to their families in nearly four years.

The militants arrived Monday evening in the town of Dapchi in Nigeria's Yobe state, sending many fleeing into the surrounding bush amid the hail of gunfire. While Nigeria's president has called the girls' disappearances a "national disaster," local officials at first falsely indicated that some of those abducted were rescued while others were hiding and would return in the coming days.

Bashir Manzo, whose daughter Fatima is among the missing, said the chances the children are merely hiding in the bush are slim.

"All those that fled into the bush had been brought back to the school on Tuesday, and a roll call was taken after which they had all gone home to meet their parents," he said.

Nigeria's president said earlier no effort will be spared to locate them.

"The entire country stands as one with the girls' families, the government and the people of Yobe State. This is a national disaster. We are sorry that this could have happened and share your pain. We pray that our gallant armed forces will locate and safely return your missing family members," President Muhammadu Buhari said earlier in the week.

___

Olukoya reported from Lagos, Nigeria. Associated Press writer Krista Larson in Dakar, Senegal also contributed.

In this image taken from video, Lai Muhammed, Nigerian Minister of Information, speaks to the media in Dapchi, Yobe State, Nigeria, on Thursday Feb. 22, 2018. Parents in northern Nigeria say more than 100 girls are still missing three days after suspected Boko Haram extremists attacked their school. The announcement comes after government officials in Yobe state acknowledged that some 50 young women remained unaccounted for in the Monday evening attack. (AP Photo)

FILE- In this Monday, Dec. 7, 2015, file photo children displaced by Boko Haram during an attack on their villages receive lectures in a school in Maiduguri, Nigeria. About 50 young women remain missing Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2018, after Boko Haram extremists attacked a town in northern Nigeria that is home to a boarding school for girls, provoking fear that they may have met the same fate as those kidnapped from Chibok nearly four years ago. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba, File)LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) - A Pakistani official says a blasphemy suspect who suffered serious injuries after jumping off a federal building is now in stable condition.

Khwaja Hammad, a senior official of Federal Investigation Agency, said Sunday that Sajid Masih is recovering at a hospital in Lahore. He denies that the suspect was abused or tortured.

Masih was summoned by the Cyber Crime Wing on Friday for allegedly posting blasphemous material on Facebook.

Sajid told local media that officials tortured him and confiscated his mobile phone.

Police had earlier arrested his cousin, Patras Masih, also for allegedly posting blasphemous material on Facebook.

Rights groups say Pakistan's harsh blasphemy laws, which can carry the death penalty, are often misused or exploited to settle personal scores.GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) - A team of Egyptian officials is in the Gaza Strip to renew efforts to push for reconciliation between the rival Fatah and Gaza factions.

Two Egyptian intelligence officials and a diplomat arrived in Gaza on Sunday, along with several government ministers from the Fatah-led Palestinian Cabinet in the West Bank.

Hamas seized control of Gaza from Fatah forces in 2007.

In November, the Islamic militant Hamas handed over control of Gaza's border crossings to the Palestinian Authority. It was the first tangible concession in years of Egyptian-brokered reconciliation talks. But negotiations have bogged down since then.

A delegation of Hamas leaders has been in Egypt since Feb. 9 in what is believed to be a stepped up Egyptian pressure campaign on the group.NEW YORK (AP) - In a room in the 9/11 museum, there are a police captain's poignant notes and a flashlight that illuminated the way to safety. Nearby, a letter from a trapped man tells his family, "I love you very much.... Do wonderful things in your life."

The artifacts aren't from Sept 11, 2001. They are reminders of a terror attack that foreshadowed it: the deadly World Trade Center bombing, 25 years ago Monday.

That shadow fell personally on Lolita Jackson. As a young finance worker, she picked her way down 72 flights of blacked-out stairs on Feb. 26, 1993, and fled the trade center's south tower again in 2001.

The names of the six people who died in the Feb. 26, 1993 truck bomb attack at the World Trade Center are inscribed in the bronze border of the north reflecting pool of the National September 11 Memorial, in New York, Friday, Feb. 23, 2018. It was a terror attack that foreshadowed Sept. 11: the deadly World Trade Center bombing that happened 25 years ago Monday. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

The bombing "tends to be forgotten because 9/11 was such a cataclysmic event," she says, but the blast has its own place in the lives and memories of an estimated 50,000 people who were in the twin towers that snowy afternoon.

The explosion killed six people, injured over 1,000, manifested the growing terror threat from Islamic extremism and led to safety improvements credited with helping some people survive Sept. 11.

It "was, in many respects, a precursor to 9/11," says museum President Alice Greenwald.

A bomb exploded in a rented van in a basement parking garage shortly after noon, causing a crater several stories deep and a boom felt many floors above.

The blast killed visitor John DiGiovanni and five people who worked at the trade center - Robert Kirkpatrick, Stephen Knapp, William Macko, Wilfredo Mercado and Monica Rodriguez Smith. Smith was pregnant.

Power was knocked out and pipes were severed, flooding backup generators. Elevators got stuck. A group of kindergartners was stranded for hours on an observation deck. Other people were trapped in the debris-filled garage. Police helicopters plucked nearly two dozen people, some disabled, from rooftops.

Some office workers broke out windows to try to clear smoke while awaiting help. Others made their way down, emerging coated in soot.

Jackson didn't feel fearful at first. What was terrifying was the 2 1/2-hour trek down the pitch-dark, crowded, smoky stairs, wondering what she would see at the bottom.

"You didn't know what was going to happen," recalls Jackson, who now works in city government.

Alone in a stalled elevator with smoke wafting in and no idea why, trade center worker Carl Selinger began to think he might not get out alive. So Selinger wrote a letter to his wife and children and waited. He was rescued after 5  hours.

"I dealt with what I had to deal with," Selinger said at a recent discussion at the Sept. 11 museum.

Within days, a fragment of the rented van began leading investigators to Muslim extremists who sought to punish the United States for its Middle East policies, especially its aid to Israel, according to prosecutors.

As they pursued that case and learned about another plot to bomb New York City landmarks, then-Manhattan U.S. Attorney Mary Jo White "saw red lights blinking everywhere about how serious I thought this threat was from international terrorists," she told an audience Thursday at the museum.

Indeed, a letter found on an accused bombing conspirator's laptop made it chillingly clear the threat wasn't over.

"Unfortunately, our calculations were not very accurate this time. However, we promise you that next time it will be very precise and the World Trade Center will continue to be one of our targets," it said.

Six bombing suspects were convicted and sentenced, including accused mastermind Ramzi Yousef - a nephew of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who would later become the self-professed architect of 9/11. A seventh bombing suspect, Abdul Rahman Yasin, remains at large and is on the FBI's list of most wanted terrorists.

After the bombing, the government-run trade center banned underground parking, installed battery-operated lights in stairwells and added security cameras, among other safety upgrades.

A memorial fountain was destroyed on Sept. 11. But bombing victims' names are now inscribed on one of the waterfall pools that bear the names of the nearly 3,000 killed on 9/11. A room in the Sept. 11 museum is devoted to the bombing, and a special temporary installation marks the 25th anniversary.

After poring through the installation one day recently, 15-year-old Raven Rucinski, of Michigan, was surprised she'd never heard much about the bombing. Catlin Roberts, 39, from Swansea, Wales, reflected on the legacy of an event she had only dimly recalled.

"I don't think, when this happened, people understood what the people who did it represented," she said.

___

This story corrects the spelling of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.

A visitor to the National September 11 Museum, in New York, Friday, Feb. 23, 2018, reads a letter by Carl Selinger to his wife and children as he waited 5-1/2 hours to be rescued in a stuck elevator during the Feb. 26, 1993 truck bomb attack at the World Trade Center. It was a terror attack that foreshadowed Sept. 11: the deadly World Trade Center bombing that happened 25 years ago Monday. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

A visitor to the National September 11 Museum, in New York, Friday, Feb. 23, 2018, looks at a timeline of events of the Feb. 26, 1993 truck bomb attack at the World Trade Center. It was a terror attack that foreshadowed Sept. 11: the deadly World Trade Center bombing that happened 25 years ago Monday. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

A visitor to the National September 11 Museum, in New York, Friday, Feb. 23, 2018, looks at a model of the World Trade Center parking garage created by the FBI to demonstrate the scale of the bomb crater of the Feb. 26, 1993 attack. It was a terror attack that foreshadowed Sept. 11: the deadly World Trade Center bombing that happened 25 years ago Monday. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

A fragment of a memorial fountain, that was constructed after Feb. 26, 1993 truck bomb attack at the World Trade Center and was destroyed on Sept. 11, 2001, is displayed at the National September 11 Museum, in New York, Friday, Feb. 23, 2018. It was a terror attack that foreshadowed Sept. 11: the deadly World Trade Center bombing that happened 25 years ago Monday. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

A piece of the rented van, and rental agreement, that began leading investigators to Muslim extremists who sought to punish the United States for its Middle East policies, according to prosecutors, in the Feb. 26, 1993 attack at the World Trade Center, are displayed at the National September 11 Museum, in New York, Friday, Feb. 23, 2018. It was a terror attack that foreshadowed Sept. 11: the deadly World Trade Center bombing that happened 25 years ago Monday. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

FILE - In this Feb. 26, 1993 file photo, emergency vehicles and personnel fill New York's West Street following an underground explosion that rocked the World Trade Center. It was a terror attack that foreshadowed Sept. 11: the deadly World Trade Center bombing that happened 25 years ago Monday. (AP Photo/Betsy Herzog, File)

FILE - In this Feb. 26, 1993 file photo, firefighters remove a victim on a gurney outside one of the World Trade Center's twin towers in New York, after a car bomb in an underground garage rocked the complex. It was a terror attack that foreshadowed Sept. 11: the deadly World Trade Center bombing that happened 25 years ago Monday. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

FILE - In this Feb. 27, 1993 file photo, Port Authority and New York City Police officers view the damage caused by a truck bomb that exploded in the garage of New York's World Trade Center. It was a terror attack that foreshadowed Sept. 11: the deadly World Trade Center bombing that happened 25 years ago Monday. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)A schoolgirl was able to buy bleach from London shops, despite retailers agreeing to prevent sales of corrosive substances to children amid a spate of acid attacks, an investigation has revealed.

BBCs 5 Live Investigates was present during an undercover sting led by Newham Council and the Metropolitan Police this week, in which a 14-year-old girl was able to buy bottles of household cleaning bleach from three out of five high street retailers in Newham.

The London borough had been dubbed the acid attack capital of Britain in reports after Met Police figures showed it had the highest rates of attacks in the UK.

Food delivery riders demonstrated in Parliament Square following moped acid attacks after five separate male victims were targeted in the north and east of the capital (Yui Mok/PA)

The Government is currently reviewing the regulation of sales of corrosive substances.

Retailers are currently being encouraged to sign up to voluntarily self-regulate sales of corrosive substances to minors.

In Newham, 182 retailers reportedly signed up to a voluntary scheme preventing such sales shoppers aged under 21.

The results of the sting caused alarm, with Newham Council demanding the Government urgently bring forward legislation to introduce a total ban on the sale of corrosive liquids to children, 5 Live reports.

The sting operation was organised by Newham Council and the Met Police (Anthony Devlin/PA)

The Home Office told the programme, which aired the report on Sunday, that it was considering responses to its consultation on a proposal to ban sales of corrosive products to under-18s, and creating a new possession offence.

The programme also obtained new figures from 25 of 46 police forces asked for their data; showing acid attacks were three times higher in 2017 than in 2013  with 646 attacks recorded in England and Wales last year.

The majority of the attacks were recorded in London, with 464 incidents in 2017, followed by Greater Manchester, with 44.

Met Police told 5 Live there was evidence of a reduction in the number of attacks during the second half of 2017, with last December recording as having the lowest monthly number since November 2015.Ben Stokes long-awaited England return was confirmed when he was named in Eoin Morgans team at the toss for the first one-day international against New Zealand in Hamilton.

Stokes has been unavailable for his country for the past five months since he was arrested after a late-night incident outside a Bristol nightclub last September.

He was cleared to return only after pleading not guilty to a charge of affray at Bristol Magistrates Court this month.

Ben Stokes was back for England (John Cowpland/AP)

The match-winning all-rounders comeback in Sundays series opener forced England into a change at the top of the order, with Alex Hales dropped  while Mark Wood was also missing because of a minor recurrence of his ankle trouble, and David Willey therefore came in to complete the seam contingent.

New Zealand won the toss and chose to bowl first on a used pitch, under sunny skies for the day-night fixture.

Like England, the hosts picked two spinners  Ish Sodhi accompanying Mitch Santner.Dressed in military uniform, Egypt's President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi inaugurated on Sunday the East of the Suez Canal Counter-Terrorism command, a statement by presidential spokesman Bassam Rady said.

Several top state and army officials attended the event, including Prime Minister Sherif Ismail, Minister of Defence Sedki Sobhi, Army Chief of Staff Mohamed Farid and others.

The inauguration comes during the ongoing comprehensive Operation Sinai 2018, which was launched on 9 February by the Egyptian Armed Forces to counter terrorism in North Sinai and other areas across the nation.

"The inauguration of the Eastern Suez Canal counter-terrorism command comes within the framework of developing the Armed Forces' capabilities to carry out their sacred duty of protecting the homeland with maximum efficiency," the statement said.

"The president was briefed on the forces and the command's facilities before he visited the East of the Canal Command's headquarters, where tactics for Operation Sinai 2018 are planned," the statement added.

El-Sisi was also briefed by Army Chief of Staff Mohamed Farid on the results of the operation over the last 15 days.

"The president clarified that the current operation in Sinai already began in 2014 and will carry on until 2022, and said that Sinai's development expenses are expected to reach EGP 225 billion, a huge figure that requires the solidarity of all Egyptians to acquire," the statement added.

Last week, the army said that 71 takfiris have been killed and more than 1,000 targets destroyed since the start of the ongoing anti-terrorism operation.

Operation Sinai 2018 involves land, naval and air forces, as well as the police and border guards.

The operation targets "terrorist and criminal elements and organizations" in northern and central Sinai, as well as parts of the Nile Delta and the Western Desert, the army announced at the start of the operation.

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Astronaut Tim Peake is to be given the freedom of his home city.

Chichester City Council will award the highest honour it can bestow on Major Peake at a ceremony on Sunday.

Mayor Peter Evans will present the title at the Chichester Festival Theatre before Maj Peake, 45, talks about the European Space Agencys Principia Mission.

Young people in the audience will have the chance to quiz the first British astronaut to carry out a spacewalk and meet him.

Children will get the chance to meet Tim Peake (Portsmouth University/PA)

Maj Peake was born in Chichester and attended the West Sussex citys High School For Boys, which has named its science centre after him.

He was also a member of the areas air training corps and his parents live in nearby Westbourne.

The Freedom of Chichester is an honour adopted in 1901, but its origins date back to the 12th and 13th centuries.The co-founder of fashion chain Superdry has revealed how he relaxes when not at the helm of the company he called his obsession: fishing.

Multimillionaire Julian Dunkerton told the Sunday Times he has a boat set up with angling gear on the River Avon, which flows through Gloucestershire north of the firms headquarters in Cheltenham.

The 52-year-old also said he does not have a smartphone and other people do my emails to ensure he does not get distracted from his job.

Julian Dunkerton revealed his only downtime is escaping to fish on a river near his office (Superdry/PA)

In the papers magazine he said: I know I should exercise more, but its hard to make the time.

Occasionally, if I find myself with an unexpected hour spare, Ill go fishing.

The office is close to the River Avon and Ive got a little boat moored there with my rods all set up. Ill put on bait and see if a pike, roach or zander takes a bite.

I love the tranquillity. Its the only downtime I take.

Mr Dunkerton founded the business in 1985 from a market stall in Cheltenham.

The clothing retailer  famous for its hoodie tops and T-shirts  floated on the London Stock Exchange in 2010.

In January he scooped 17.8 million after offloading a chunk of shares in the fashion retailer.

Now the firms product and brand director, he sold one million shares at 17.80 each, or 1.23% of the group, following 12 months of share price gains for the firm.

In February 2016, Mr Dunkerton sold just under 50 million of shares to fund his divorce settlement with his wife Charlotte Abbot.

Describing his commitment to Superdry, he told the Sunday Times: I have other businesses, but Superdry is my obsession. Its success is down to great product design and branding.

The only other people who think in the same way are at Gucci or Louis Vuitton.

I live, breathe and wear Superdry and I am very focused. Part of that discipline is not having a smartphone.

I watch other people clog up their time with emails and fill their heads with thoughts they dont need, but I dont want any distractions to affect my ability to do my job.

So I keep it simple  other people do my emails.Ben Stokes memorable return to action in Englands near miss against New Zealand left his captain Eoin Morgan measuring delight and frustration after an eventful day in Hamilton.

Stokes, in his first international match since he was arrested outside a Bristol nightclub five months ago, hauled England back into contention with two wickets in his second spell as New Zealand nonetheless chased a target of 284 for eight with four balls to spare.

They also had three wickets in hand, thanks to Ross Taylors 18th one-day international century in a stand of 178 with Tom Latham (79) and then some late muscle from Mitchell Santner  who hit four sixes and two fours from 27 balls in his unbeaten 45 from number eight.

Ben Stokes celebrates taking the wicket of Colin de Grandhomme (John Cowpland/AP)

New Zealand therefore clinched their ninth successive ODI victory to go 1-0 up with four to play.

When you lose, its always frustrating  but there are big positives to take, said Morgan.

Jos Buttler (79) and Joe Root (71) contributed the majority of Englands runs in a patchy total after they were put in on a slow, used pitch.

Stokes could muster only 12 from 22 balls but bowled admirably for figures of two for 43, including the wicket of Latham.

Reflecting on the all-rounders comeback performance, Morgan said: Im really pleased.

I thought he adapted to conditions perfectly well, using slower balls well.

The captain was able to report too that Stokes himself was in his element back on the international stage.

Hes delighted to be back  hes told everybody that.

Its an awesome feeling, when youve been away and youre back in a fun environment, with lots of good friends around.

I can vouch for that.

I spend a lot of time away while the Tests are on. You come back, and it puts a smile on your face.

It was a surprise to see Stokes recalled for a second spell after four tidy overs at his first attempt  but it was a move which very nearly paid off.

After the first spell, he said he could have bowled longer, but we didnt really need him at that stage, added Morgan.

We needed something to happen, and hes the kind of player who can make something happen.

Adil Rashid did too, having Taylor stumped for 113, only to then concede successive sixes to Santner to reduce the runs required from 34 off 18 balls to 22 from 16.

Taylor had praise for both Stokes and Santner as he assessed a thrilling contest.

Of Englands returning all-rounder, he said: He bowled heavy, (and then) he bowled a lot of change-ups.

He adapted well  along with (Tom) Curran, he was quite hard to hit.

Im sure hell be better for the hit-out, (but) there are definitely no cobwebs there.

Sitting alongside Santner at his post-match press conference, Taylor added: Credit to this guy  Tommy and I did well, but the way he was able to get us across the line was very important.

If you get a hundred and you lose, it doesnt mean much.Thousands of people have marched in central Moscow to mark the third anniversary of the killing of Russian opposition politician Boris Nemtsov.

Mr Nemtsov was shot and killed on February 27, 2015 while walking on a bridge near the Kremlin.

His death sent shock waves through Russias beleaguered opposition.

Demonstrators at the front of Sundays anniversary event carried a banner reading: These bullets are in all of us.

People march in memory of opposition leader Boris Nemtsov in Moscow (Pavel Golovkin/AP)

Two candidates in Russias presidential election next month  Ksenia Sobchak and Grigory Yavlinsky  participated in the march.

An officer in the security forces of Chechnyas Kremlin-backed leader Ramzan Kadyrov was convicted of firing the shots that killed Mr Nemtsov and received a 20-year prison term.

Four other men convicted of being involved in Mr Nemtsovs death received 11 to 19 years.Alejandro Valverde won the Abu Dhabi Tour after claiming victory in the final stage on Sunday.

The 37-year-old Spaniard, riding for Movistar, went head-to-head with Astanas Miguel Angel Lopez on the summit of Jebel Hafeet after the pair broke clear with four kilometres remaining.

And it was Valverde who came out on top to win the stage and the overall race, finishing 17 seconds ahead of Team Sunwebs Wilco Kelderman.

Alejandro Valverde triumphed in Abu Dhabi (Mike Egerton/PA)

Overnight leader Rohan Dennis struggled on the climb and could not keep the pace while time trial world champion Tom Dumoulin suffered a mechanical problem for the second time in as many days.Police have issued a warning over MDMA tablets after six teenagers were taken to hospital.

The 13-year-olds were taken to Crosshouse Hospital in Kilmarnock after falling unwell at around 6.25pm on Saturday and were kept in overnight for observations.

Police in Ayrshire said they believed the teenagers, who all knew each other, may have taken a type of MDMA.

Police said they believed the teenagers may have taken a type of MDMA (Andrew Milligan/PA)

Detective Inspector Fraser Normansell, said: Police were informed of six children who had been taken to Crosshouse Hospital after taking unwell.

One line of enquiry is that they had taken a type of MDMA tablet, believed to be red, green or brown in colour bearing an owl logo.

We want to remind the public that any drug can be dangerous and that you are putting your health at risk if you do take anything unknown to you.

Anyone who feels unwell, or knows anyone who appears unwell after taking these substances should seek medical treatment as soon as possible.Two weeks after President Donald Trump blocked its full release, the US House Intelligence Committee has published a partially censored version of a classified Democratic memo aiming to counter a Republican narrative that the FBI and Justice Department conspired against the US president as they investigated his ties to Russia.

The documents release was the latest development in an extraordinary tussle between Republicans and Democrats about the credibility of multiple inquiries into links between the Trump campaign and Russia, and the integrity of the top US law enforcement agencies.

The document attempts to undercut and add context to some of the main points from a declassified Republican memo made public earlier this month. In that memo, Republicans went after the FBI and the Justice Department over the use of information compiled by former British spy Christopher Steele in obtaining a secret warrant to monitor the communications of one-time Trump campaign foreign policy adviser Carter Page.

The partizan feud between Democrats and Republicans continues (AP)

The Republican memo included the assertion that the FBI obtained a surveillance warrant without disclosing that Mr Steeles anti-Trump research was paid for by Democrat Hillary Clintons campaign and the Democratic National Committee (DNC).

The Democratic memo said the Justice Department disclosed the assessed political motivation of those who hired him and that Mr Steele was likely hired by someone looking for information that could be used to discredit then-candidate Mr Trumps campaign.

Republicans said that is not enough, because the Clinton campaign and the DNC were not named. Mr Trump seized on this point in a tweet on Saturday evening: Dem Memo: FBI did not disclose who the clients were  the Clinton Campaign and the DNC. Wow!

On February 9, the White House had objected to the Democratic memos release, citing national security concerns. That sent the Democrats back to negotiations with the FBI, which approved a version with parts of it blacked out. It was then declassified and released.

Mr Trump had no such concerns about the Republican memo, which he declassified in full on February 2 over strong objections from the FBI about the memos accuracy.

The Democratic memo asserts that the FBIs concerns about Mr Page long predate the compilation of memos drafted by Mr Steele, now known as the Trump-Russia dossier, and that the governments application to monitor Mr Pages communications details suspicious activities he undertook during the 2016 presidential campaign. That includes a July 2016 trip to Moscow in which he gave a university commencement address.

The memo contends that the Justice Department provided additional information from multiple independent sources that corroborated Steeles reporting in the dossier. Most of the details of the corroborated information are blacked out, but they do appear to reference Mr Pages meeting with Russian officials. The memo said the Justice Department did not include any salacious allegations about Mr Trump contained in the Steele dossier in the governments application to seek a warrant under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA).

The memo also details Russian attempts to cultivate Mr Page as a spy. It cites a federal indictment of two Russian spies suspected of targeting Mr Page for recruitment and notes that the FBI interviewed him based on those suspicions in March 2016.

The Democrats said the FBI made made only narrow use of Steeles sources in the governments FISA application for Mr Page.

Republicans say that is still too much.

Again, the fact the minority cannot outright deny that a DNC/Clinton funded document was used to wiretap an American is extremely concerning, the Republican National Committee said in a statement.

Mr Trump has said the Republican memo vindicates him in the ongoing Russia investigation led by special counsel Robert Mueller. But congressional Democrats and Republicans, including House Speaker Paul Ryan and congressman Trey Gowdy of South Carolina, who helped draft the Republican memo, have said it should not be used to undermine the special counsel.At least three people are reported to have been killed amid violence in Syria despite a resolution from the UN Security Council demanding a 30-day ceasefire.

Activists and residents in Damascus reported low-level clashes on the southern edge of its rebel-held suburbs, known as eastern Ghouta, and two air strikes late on Saturday night, shortly after the resolution was adopted.

During the day on Sunday, some more shelling and air strikes were reported by activists in eastern Ghouta.

(SANA via AP)

The relative calm came after a week of intense air strikes and shelling that killed more than 500 people in eastern Ghouta and left dozens dead or wounded in the government-held Damascus, which rebels pelted with mortar shells.

This has been the calmest night since last Sunday, said Rami Abdurrahman who heads the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, referring to the start of the bombing campaign on February 19.

The Observatory said Sundays shelling killed three people and wounded 27 in several areas in eastern Ghouta. The oppositions Syrian Civil Defence, also known as White Helmets, said the three were killed in the towns of Saqba, Beit Sawa and Hammouriyeh.

One civilian killed in #Saqba city and another in #Hamouriya city so far, many others injured due to renewed aerial and artillery bombardment of most of the cities and towns of #EastGhouta.#SaveGhouta #Syria 25 Feb pic.twitter.com/mNE3ZdcXPS  The White Helmets (@SyriaCivilDef) February 25, 2018

State news agency SANA said insurgents breached the truce by firing 15 shells on Sunday on government-held areas on the edge of Ghouta.

Ghouta-based opposition activist Anas al-Dimashqi said the night was calm but warplanes and drones were flying over rebel-held areas. He said several explosions were heard on Sunday in Ghouta.

Dr Sakhr al-Dimashqi, a surgeon at a clinic in Ghouta, told The Associated Press that several shells hit some towns in the suburbs, adding that they received six wounded people at the clinic where he works.

The shelling today is not as intense as over the past week, he said.

The two largest and most powerful rebel factions in Ghouta, Failaq al-Rahman and Army of Islam issued statements saying they will abide by the ceasefire unless they are forced to fire in self-defence. Both called for the immediate delivery of emergency aid.

If implemented, this #Syria resolution means cessation hostilities, delivery humanitarian aid, urgent medical evacuations. Much more needed: ao political solution, accountability, return of refugees.

My Security Council statement here. pic.twitter.com/ejw2ox9ol3  Karel van Oosterom (@KvanOosterom) February 24, 2018

The resolution excludes members of the Islamic State group and al Qaida-linked fighters. Ghouta is also home to a few hundred members of the al Qaida-linked Levant Liberation Committee.

Russias Foreign Ministry said on Sunday that the fight against IS and al Qaidas affiliate will continue, despite what it described as attempts by certain external players to engage international terrorists and groups of opposition militants joining them to implement plans that are still nurtured to overthrow the legitimate authorities of Syria and dismember the country.

It added that the terrorists wont get any respite.

Damascus residents said there is more traffic in the streets, compared to previous days and most schools and universities were open on Sunday. They said some private schools were still closed, especially those close to the front lines with Ghouta.

APEuropean Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker has urged Macedonia to resolve a long-standing naming dispute with neighbouring Greece so the country can open membership talks with the European Union.

Mr Juncker arrived in Macedonia to kick off a Western Balkans tour that will also include stops in Albania, Serbia, Kosovo, Bosnia and Montenegro, all countries aspiring to EU membership.

He met Macedonian Prime Minister Zoran Zaev in the capital, Skopje.

Mr Juncker praised Macedonia for the pace of reforms needed to join the EU and for concluding a friendship treaty with neighbouring Bulgaria.

He also noted the recent progress Greece and Macedonia have made to settle their differences over the Macedonia name.

Greece argues that Macedonias use of it when it gained independence in 1991 implies territorial claims to its Macedonia province.

Once the 25-year dispute is resolved, Macedonia, which has been a candidate for EU membership since 2005, would be invited to accession talks within months, Mr Juncker said.

Do your job with Greece, he said. I do not intend to lecture those involved.

As a goodwill gesture to Greece, Macedonia is changing the name of its main airport, Skopje Alexander the Great Airport, to Skopje International Airport, and the airport operator has started removing the lettering.

Mr Juncker said he was enchanted (to find) that something has changed at the airport.

Mr Zaev reaffirmed that he was willing to accept a geographical qualifier in Macedonias name to reach a compromise, but insisted the new name must respect the dignity of people in both countries.

To satisfy Greece, the United Nations and other international institutions officially recognise Macedonia as the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.

Discussions are under way to come up with an alternative.

Mr Juncker was due to meet Macedonian President Gjorge Ivanov later Sunday before flying to Albania.Krisnan Inu scored two tries as Widnes took advantage of Leeds injury woes to inflict more misery on the Rhinos at Halton Stadium.

Brian McDermotts side had lost on their previous three visits and they arrived on Sunday without 12 first team players following their trip Down Under for the World Club Challenge.

The depleted Rhinos produced a gutsy performance but Widnes eventually wore them down to earn their second win of the Super League season with a 23-6 success.

Krisnan Inu touched down twice as Widnes beat Leeds (Martin Rickett/PA)

Joe Mellor put Widnes in front but Brad Dwyer darted over for his first try for Leeds to give the visitors a 6-4 half-time lead.

Inu went over and added two goals before Danny Cravens one-pointer ended the Rhinos resistance.

Young hooker Danny Walker crossed and Inu scored his second to add gloss to the result and make it a weekend to forget for Super Leagues globetrotters following defeats for Wigan and Hull on their returns from Australia.

Leeds enjoyed a bright start but could not turn territory into points and Widnes quickly took the initiative.

Craven bombed a two-on-one chance and Inu dropped Tom Gilmores high kick with the tryline begging before the Vikings broke through after 20 minutes.

Wellington Albert made an immediate impression after his introduction from the bench with a superb offload that created the space for Mellor to cruise over out wide.

Gilmore missed the conversion but Widnes had their tails up and looked set to extend their lead when Rhys Hanbury made a break through the middle, only for Ashton Golding and Harry Newman to deny Mellor his second try.

The Vikings continued to pile on the pressure but Leeds dug deep on their own line and then took a rare chance at the other end.

Dwyer had only been on the field a matter of minutes when he went himself from dummy half and showed impressive strength to touch down.

Kallum Watkins added the extras to nudge the champions ahead at half-time and they had a man advantage after Hep Cahill was sin-binned two minutes after the restart following a scuffle.

But Leeds failed to take advantage and Widnes retook the lead when Inu added the finishing touches to Gilmores brilliant cross-field kick after Golding had pulled down Hanbury just short of the line.

Inu converted his own try to make it 10-6 and then added another two points from a penalty for a ball steal.

Leeds briefly threatened when Richie Myler had an effort chalked off for obstruction but there was no way back following Cravens drop goal.

Walker took advantage of tired Rhinos defence to go over from acting half before Inus powerful effort rounded off a tough afternoon for McDermotts men.The Turkish government wants the Czech authorities to extradite a Syrian Kurdish leader detained this weekend to face terror charges in Turkey, it said on Sunday.

"Our wish is that he is extradited," Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdag said after the arrest in Prague of Saleh Muslim, the former co-chair of Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD), noting that both Turkey and the Czech Republic were parties to the European Convention on Extradition.

He said that three Turkish ministries -- the foreign ministry, the interior ministry and the justice ministry -- would be working with the Czech authorities to bring this about.

Bozdag confirmed that Muslim had been detained earlier this weekend at a Prague hotel at Ankara's request, describing him as the "head of a terror group".

The Turkish justice ministry said in a statement that "efforts have started for the extradition (of Muslim) to Turkey".

It said that if he is remanded in custody by a Czech court, a formal extradition request will be sent to Prague in line with the European Convention on Extradition.

The arrest comes as Turkey presses a military operation against the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) militia -- the military wing of the PYD -- in the western enclave of Afrin in northern Syria.

Turkey sees the YPG and PYD as the Syrian branch of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which for over three decades has waged an insurgency against the Turkish state and is banned by Turkey, the US and the European Union as a terror group.

Muslim is wanted by Turkey over a February 2016 bombing in Ankara that killed 29 people that the Turkish authorities blamed on the PKK.

Short link:

BBC Breakfasts Steph McGovern has said posh people earn more than her for doing similar jobs.

The presenter, who is from Middlesbrough in Yorkshire, received a pay rise following the gender pay gap row but told The Sunday Times she has only just now reached a six-figure salary and that posh women  are paid a hell of a lot more than me.

She said while there is a lot of focus on representing different cultures, there needs to be more emphasis on encouraging working class people into broadcasting.

Steph McGovern, left, with some of her BBC Breakfast colleagues (Yui Mok/PA)

McGovern, 35, said: Throughout my career Ive had to argue about (pay). Its not as simple as a gender issue, its partly down to class.

There are a lot of women who do a similar job to me who are paid a hell of a lot more  who are a lot posher than me.

She said: We concentrate too much on ethnic diversity and not enough on class.

Its dead important to represent loads of different cultures. But what the BBC doesnt do enough of is thinking about getting people from more working-class backgrounds. Its just posh.

The presenter said a lot of people in management are from the same background.

Were talking about: How do we represent more working class people? when they themselves are not working class. So how do they know? she said.

McGovern also recounted an incident where a manager said she was too common to be a BBC presenter.

A BBC spokesperson said in a statement that more than 80% of the BBCs workforce was educated in state schools and the BBC is more diverse than it has ever been.

The statement added: The BBC has a clear commitment to finding and developing new talent.

We offer hundreds of apprenticeships to ensure the BBC is open to people from all backgrounds and a range of programmes to help people develop their career once theyve joined, but theres always more to do and we have an ambitious diversity strategy which sets out our commitment to fully reflecting and representing the whole of the UK.

McGovern later went on Twitter to further explain her comments, telling her followers: Theres a lot in the press today about my comments on class. Here is what happened.

Theres a lot in the press today about my comments on class. Here is what happened: pic.twitter.com/H0rC221BGB  Steph McGovern (@StephLunch) February 25, 2018

Her message said: I was asked to do an interview with the education editor at the Sunday Times about my work with Young Enterprise; a charity helping young people learn about business which I have been heavily involved with for many years.

Towards the end of the interview I was asked about BBC pay and culture. I said I thought that the issue wasnt just about gender, but also about class.

I also said that we talk a lot in the BBC about how to be better at ethnic diversity, which is important because were not good enough at it. However we never talk about class and I suggested that if we did it would make us more diverse in lots of ways, including ethnicity.

I am in a very fortunate position; I love my job and never dreamed I would have such an amazing career and salary. I grew up in Middlesbrough, a town that is often portrayed in a negative light, but one I love.

I want the people I grew up with and everyone from a place deemed as poor to know that they should never be held back from achieving the best in life and they should be proud of where theyre from. Thats it.PSV Eindhoven went seven points clear at the top of the Eredivisie with a 3-1 victory at Feyenoord after second-placed Ajax were held 0-0 at home by ADO Den Haag.

PSV were 2-0 up at half-time at De Kuip following goals from Santiago Arias in the 23rd minute and Steven Bergwijn in the 34th.

Tonny Vilhena pulled one back for champions Feyenoord eight minutes into the second half, with Gaston Pereiro then restoring the visitors two-goal advantage five minutes later.

Santiago Arias was on target in PSV Eindhovens victory (Simon Cooper/EMPICS)

It was an eighth win in nine league games for Phillip Cocus table-toppers.

Ajax were left frustrated after the closest they came to making a breakthrough against Den Haag was Siem de Jong heading against a post in the 66th minute.

Feyenoord have dropped a position to fifth, swapping places with FC Utrecht, who came from behind to win 3-1 at home against FC Twente.

After Haris Vuckic gave the away side a 10th minute lead, Utrecht equalised just before half-time through Sean Klaiber, and Sander van de Streek and Yassin Ayoub added efforts in the 67th and 77th minutes respectively.

Sundays other game saw Willem II beat second-bottom Roda JC 1-0 at home, Ben Rienstra netting the winner just before the quarter hour mark.Nigerias government has acknowledged that 110 girls are still missing nearly a week after Boko Haram militants attacked a town.

The fate of the girls is not known, but witnesses said the Islamic extremists specifically asked where the girls school was located after the raid in Dapchi, Yobe state.

Some eyewitnesses reported seeing young women being taken away at gunpoint.

Information minister Lai Mohammed made the announcement about the girls still being missing on Sunday after holding meetings with family members.

Many Nigerians fear the girls were abducted as brides for the Boko Haram extremists, who in 2014 kidnapped 276 girls from a boarding school in Chibok and forced them to marry their captors.

About 100 of the Chibok girls have never returned to their families nearly four years later.

Frustrated family members had already compiled a list of missing girls after saying officials had been too slow to respond.

Air Force spokesman Olatokunbo Adesanya said the renewed efforts at locating the girls are being conducted in close liaison with other surface security forces.

Lai Muhammed, Nigerian minister of information, speaks to the media in Dapchi (AP)

The militants arrived in Dapchi on Monday evening, sending many fleeing into the surrounding bush amid a hail of gunfire. While Nigerias president has called the girls disappearances a national disaster, local officials at first falsely indicated that some of those abducted were rescued while others were hiding and would return in the coming days.

Bashir Manzo, whose daughter Fatima is among the missing, said the chances that the children are merely hiding in the bush are slim.

He said: All those that fled into the bush had been brought back to the school on Tuesday, and a roll call was taken after which they had all gone home to meet their parents.

Nigerias president said earlier no effort will be spared to locate the missing youngsters.

Muhammadu Buhari said earlier in the week: The entire country stands as one with the girls families, the government and the people of Yobe State. This is a national disaster.

We are sorry that this could have happened and share your pain. We pray that our gallant armed forces will locate and safely return your missing family members.Dancing On Ice fans were left scratching their heads when Holly Willoughby wore what appeared to be a wedding dress on the show.

The stylish stars weekly wardrobe choices have been a talking point for fans of the ITV programme.

And Sunday night was no exception when she stepped out on to the rink in a frothy, floor-length white dress.

Holly Willoughby (Matt Crossick/PA)

The gown, picked for the celebrity ice-skating shows fairytale week, featured a strapless bodice and a ruffled skirt.

Willoughby, 37, teamed the Halfpenny London dress with pearl earrings.

Fans were confused by the bridal choice, with many asking on social media: Why is Holly wearing a wedding dress?

One person wrote on Twitter: Nice of Holly to jib out of her wedding to host #dancingonice #whatswiththedress?

Just tuned in to #DancingOnIce why is holly wearing a wedding dress? Am I missing the point, wondered another.

Just tuned in to #DancingOnIce why is holly wearing a wedding dress? Am I missing the point   Sabs. (@SiobhanCarter90) February 25, 2018

One person joked: Holly willoughby may I borrow that dress for my wedding day?? Will have to lose 1872722 stone but its not gonna be any time soon so. X plenty of time for that. X.

Holly willoughby may I borrow that dress for my wedding day?? Will have to lose 1872722 stone but it's not gonna be any time soon so. X plenty of time for that. X #DancingOnIce  lucy dawson (@ludawinthesky) February 25, 2018

This weekends episode saw Max Evans perform with a different professional skater  Brandee Malto  after his partner Ale Izquierdo was taken ill.

Izquierdo wrote on Twitter that she was suffering with the flu.

She said: Sad to announce that unfortunately I wont be able to take part of the competition this Sunday due to being diagnosed with the flu.

Wishing the best to my partner this Sunday. He will be skating with my really good friend Brandee! Im sure they will do really good! @maxevans13.

Sad to announce that unfortunately I wont be able to take part of the competition this Sunday due to being diagnosed with the flu.

Wishing the best to my partner this Sunday. He will be skating with my really good friend Brandee! Im sure they will do really good! @maxevans13 pic.twitter.com/3HO4iJMPJB   Ale Cat  (Ale Izquierdo) (@ALEIZK) February 23, 2018

The other contestants still in the running are Brooke Vincent, Jake Quickenden and Kem Cetinay and Alex Beresford.

The show has returned after a four-year hiatus with Phillip Schofield and Willoughby back as hosts.Thousands of people were left stranded in freezing temperatures and police had to be called after trains were cancelled and an inadequate number of buses were sent to carry the passengers.

Engineering works yesterday meant trains from Redhill Station to Gatwick were cancelled, leading some passengers to miss flights.

Melany Dominguez was among those who missed their flights and blamed poor planning and crowd management by the rail service.

Southern Rail users say they have missed flights as an overcrowded rail replacement service caused crowds to bottleneck at Redhill station

An overcrowded rail replacement service caused crowds to bottleneck at the station in Surrey

She said she saw three police officers trying to manage the crowd which she estimated numbered in the thousands: 'People were getting agitated.'

By the time she managed to get onto a bus it took her to the wrong terminal, she said.

'I and a few young guys were running all the way to the airport to the terminal  I think they just made it. I was on the 5pm to Madrid so I just missed it.'

She checked the next mornings flight on the bus, and it was 80, but by the time she missed her flight and went to rebook it was 95.

Police were called to the scene where frustrated people trampled on children and old people according to a witness

Passengers trapped in freeing conditions at Redhill reportedly broke down in tears when they realised they had missed their flights from Gatwick

Ms Dominguez said she would be sleeping in the airport overnight, as the cost of the new flights left her unable to afford a hotel.

She hoped travellers who missed their flights would be compensated by the rail company.

'That would be ideal Im not really optimistic but Im going to try. But if maybe all those people in there stick together we could say you need to sort this situation out".'

Cory Acasio told of witnessing chaotic scenes of frustrated commuters tripping over and pushing one another as the crowds grew.

'I stopped at the very front entrance to try and let an elderly person on, but no sooner did I make the gap that someone just barged right through, literally pushing me against the entrance.'

He also saw passengers nearly trampling one another.

'Not sure if there were injuries as I was focused on moving forward, but I did look back and saw the people who tripped get up and some people did help, but most were just aggravated and focused on getting in the bus.'

The crowds were a 'nightmare' for passengers travelling with children, he said.

'I also saw a child screaming because she lost her mom, but luckily a stranger grabbed her and alerted her mom who was battling with getting through with a pram.'

Passengers were pictured crammed outside the station as they struggle to secure places on inadequate replacement buses

Disgruntled passengers took to twitter at the Surrey station to complain and post photos of the chaos.

One Twitter user said that only three members of staff from Southern Rail were present and also tweeted: 'trying to manage thousands of passengers, including children, disabled and elderly, on tight stairways and lifts. Sort it - or someone going to get hurt.'

The chaos comes as Southern Rail shut the line between Redhill and Gatwick for planned engineering works, but later stated they had received a higher than expected number of passengers.

A spokesman for Southern Rail said: 'Very sorry about this, there has been a higher than expected footfall resulting in the bus replacement services being very busy.'

Police were drafted to help control the scrums, and extra buses were also sourced, another tweet said: 'Questions should be asked about why police have to get involved, they are over stretched and have better things to do than crowd control for a commercial business.'

One woman said when she finally got on the bus it took all the way to Gatwick - only to drop her off at the wrong terminal

One traveler tweeted: 'Questions should be asked about why police have to get involved, they are over stretched and have better things to do than crowd control for a commercial business.'

Another wrote: 'We've lost our Easy Jet flight from Gatwick Airport after waiting 2h in Redhill and now we have to pay for our new flights. NOBODY warned us in Victoria Station that 3 HOURS from London to Gatwick wouldn't be enough??'

A spokesman for Southern Rail said: 'Due to overcrowding between London Victoria and #Redhill services are subject to disruption. We have sourced additional bus replacement services to help ease the volume of passengers.'

Frustrated crowds continued to swell into the evening as they waited for buses.

Southern Rail had advised during the week that it would be operating a bus replacement service for the Gatwick Express between Redhill and Gatwick Airport while 'essential maintenance work' was carried out.

The rail services Twitter account responded to some customers, saying they could apply for a refund for their Gatwick Express tickets.

National Rail and British Transport Police have been approached for comment.

The travel chaos marks the first of three Sundays where the track modernisation work on the Brighton Main Line will halt all Gatwick Airportand South Coast-bound passengers.

The Reigate, Redhill and District Rail Users Association chairman Stephen Trigg said the group had written to Southern weeks ago warning themto book enough replacement buses for the planned works.

He said a poorly-designed new platform access point had contributed to the bottleneck, and added: 'I believe they should suspend the works until they work how to do it properly.'

A British Transport police spokesperson said four officers were sent in before 2pm to manage overcrowding and queuing at the station. By 8pm, officers were still on scene.

RMT General Secretary Mick Cash said: 'RMT has been warning for years that SouthernGTR arent fit to run a bath let alone a railway and the terrifying pictures from Redhill today show why it is such a scandal that the union has been ignored.

'This is a company that has shown repeatedly that public safety is of little or no concern to them, and that is why our members on Southern have been engaged in a fight with GTR for nearly two years now.

'GTR should be stripped of this franchise and the public sector brought in before theres a major tragedy.'

NHS worker Laura Knight said it was evident little planning had gone into the day, despite the works being planned. The rail operator had not prepared queuing gates, and staff seemed to be relying on police to control the crowds, with some people pushing to get onto the few buses available.

'People were missing their flights,' she said. 'I saw blokes crying because they had missed their flights, saw really little old people, children, families getting stomped on.'Karen Khachanov lifted his second ATP World Tour title with a 7-5 3-6 7-5 victory over Lucas Pouille at the Open 13 Provence in Marseille.

Khachanov has now won both of his two tour-level finals after triumphing at the inaugural Chengdu Open in 2016.

The Russian world number 47 hit 16 aces in the 109-minute contest to outlast home favourite Pouille, the recent Open Sud de France champion.

Karen Khachanov claimed his second ATP World Tour title in Marseille (Gareth Fuller/PA)

Karen Khachanov wins his second ATP World Tour  after squeezing past Lucas Pouille in Marseille.



Read More  https://t.co/L5QPnIZfeb pic.twitter.com/9ezR7zg5oh  ATP Tour (@atptour) February 25, 2018

I just need to keep working and keep going, Khachanov told Sky Sports.

I think both of us played a good match, really solid, and just a few points made the difference.

Frances Tiafoe beat Peter Gojowczyk 6-1 6-4 to win the Delray Beach Open in Florida.

Tiafoe, 20, needed just over an hour for victory and becomes the youngest American to win an ATP World Tour title since 19-year-old Andy Roddick at Houston in 2002.

I just cant believe it. If you would have asked me 10 years ago if I was going to win a title at 20 years old, I probably would have laughed, Tiafoe said.

Diego Schwartzman, from Argentina, overcame Fernando Verdasco 6-2 6-3 to be crowned the Rio Open champion for the biggest title of his career.Nationalist Movement activist Gevindu Cumaratunga,

in an interview with the Daily Mirror , analysed the current political situation in the country. He shared the following:-

LG election formula made a serious assault on democracy

Peoples verdict is against Yahapalana conspirators

It is a verdict against Govt ridiculing national conscience

How do you rate the recent election results?

Like the British colonial rulers crippled village leadership of our country after the Kandyan rebellion, the present Government undermined the local leadership after assuming office in 2015. The Government delayed the local elections for three years and denied village level political leadership to people. Today, people have elected to office the political activist, the political party that struggled against such denial. Also, people got the opportunity to compare and contrast the three-year rule of this Government with the government of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa. People have overwhelmingly rejected the policies of the current rule. Also, people expressed their firm objection to what this Government intends to do  alienation of national assets, ETCA agreement with India, separatist constitutional reforms etc.

As we see it, this is also a verdict against the Government ridiculing national conscience. In fact, this Government took steps to sing the Buddhist devotional song Danno Budunge in opera style, at the Independence Day celebrations. The Prime Minister came out to insult the original version. Then they made a mess of our national anthem. There cannot be a national anthem which is sung after an event and another before the event. For a nation, there cannot be two separate national anthems. In constitutional reform proposals, there were serious assaults on the national identity of this country. The Government pursued the same harmful policy of insulting and harassing war heroes and Buddhist monks.

As in 1956, people have spoken out at this election against these shameful, harmful acts. They have demanded a new leadership, a new path for the country.

"Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa emerged as an iconic figure as he gave leadership to the war against scourge of terrorism that threatened our motherland. He stood up to reactionary forces in certain sections of the international community"



Yet, the Govt maintains that the total amount of votes polled collectively by the political parties that stood together at the last Presidential Election is much higher than the total votes polled by SLPP. How do you view it?

This argument will be valid only if all these forces contested together under one banner. Or if all these parties  UNP, SLFP, UPFA, JVP, and TNA were upholding the actions of the past 3 years, they were asking for a mandate to continue together. As we know, not only did they contest separately SLFP and UPFA led by President and JVP were asking for a mandate against the present Government policies. UNP also was asking for a mandate to form a pure UNP Government. If they contested as a front under a common symbol and asked for the peoples verdict on their performance during the past three years, this argument will hold some water. It did not happen that way.What did the President say? He said the way the economy was handled by the UNP was a total failure. He said people were reeling under the high cost of living. He sought a mandate from the people to change the economic policies. He asked for a mandate to secure national assets. He asked for a mandate to punish Bond thieves. So, the majority of the 13% votes polled by combined SLFP plus UPFA is a protest vote against the policies of this so-called national Government.

We heard JVP Leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake expressing the view that the SLPP failed to poll more than 50%. We ask whether the JVP got votes in favour of selling national assets? Whether they got votes in favour of this governments economic policies? Whether they got votes in favour of signing of the ETCA with India? If so, the 6% they polled can be considered as an endorsement of the present Government policies. If not, that 6% also has to be considered as a protest vote against this Government. The JVP should spell it out clearly.

SLPP polled 44.6%. The UPFA/SLFP got 13.38%. The JVP 6%. That is a total of 63%. It is a huge percentage against the performance of the Prime Minister. It is a protest vote against the policies of the current Government. It is a protest vote against the so-called National Government. So, the Prime Minister should step down. Party leaders should get together and form a caretaker Government. People should be given an opportunity to form a new Government according to their wishes.

"The constitutional amendments, brought about by this Government, created confusion within confusion in administration. It is an attempt to prevent the formation of a stable Government in Sri Lanka"



Yet, this election is seen merely as something meant for the selection of members for local administration. How do you respond to that argument?

If so, why do they argue about national percentages now? Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) won more than 70% of local bodies. It is a landslide victory gained after weathering all odds placed in its way by the present rule. Yahapalana pundits should be humble enough to accept the peoples verdict.

At the same time this election cannot be considered only as a Local Government Election. Not only SLPP, UNP, SLFP-UPFA and JVP all parties asked people to exercise their franchise considering national policies; national leadership. We find newspaper advertisements placed by the UNP asking for a mandate based on its performance during the past three years. They said the vote for the UNP is a vote for your future. In this advertisement, nothing is mentioned about matters related to local administration. The SLFP/UPFA also carried out paid advertisements asking for a mandate for the Presidents leadership; to punish bond fraudsters; to safeguard national assets. Again, these are matters of national significance. The JVP also teamed up with NGO elements and sought a mandate for a new beginning; for a turning point of national politics. So all parties, in this manner, asked people to vote considering issues of national significance; national leadership. However, people rejected the policies of all these parties and chose the newly formed SLPP instead. Nobody can deny the fact that this is an election of national significance.

Polls outcome impacted PMs performence

SLPP emerge victors in more than 70% of the local bodies

TNA polled 339,675 against 515,963 at 2015 Parliamentary elections

Polls outcome a big blow to conspirators against a unitary Sri Lanka



UNP polled 5,098,927 at the 2015 Parliamentary Elections. In this February 10 elections, it polled only 3,625,510. After governing the country for 3 years and Ranil Wickremesinghe being Prime Minister for 3 years, they have lost 1,473, 417 votes! SLFP-UPFA led by President Sirisena polled 4,732,669 at the 2015 Parliamentary Elections. In this February 10 elections SLFP-UPFA collectively polled 1,487,960 only. So under the Presidents leadership SLFP-UPFA has lost 3,244,709 votes! Shouldnt the President, Prime Minister and their collective Government resign? Not only should they resign from public office, they should resign from the leaderships of the respective parties. 515,963 votes at the 2015 Parliamentary elections. The TNA has also lost a lot of votes. They polled 515,963 votes at the 2015 Parliamentary elections. This February 10th they polled only 339,675. They have lost 176,228 votes. One of my Tamil friends told me that the votes they received this time represented the correct figure; the amount they have lost  which is more than one hundred and seventy five thousand was the amount they rigged (hora chanda) at the 2015 parliamentary elections! Explanation is due from the TNA leadership, who is shamelessly holding on to the Opposition leaders post.

"UNP polled 5,098,927 at the 2015 Parliamentary Elections. In this February 10 elections, it polled only 3,625,510. After governing the country for 3 years and Ranil Wickremesinghe being Prime Minister for 3 years, they have lost 1,473, 417 votes!"



You work against the Constitution making process of this Government. The Government has been defeated at the local elections, so, do you think it is a blow to the constitution making process as well?

Its a blow to the conspirators against a unitary Sri Lanka. Its a victory for the Motherland.

The Government was taking many steps that were disastrous to the country. People have spoken out clearly against them. We wonder whether the Government would shelve such harmful measures now after the electoral defeat or proceed with them hoodwinking the masses. This week, the Government started the latest round of talks on ETCA to finalize the process. Where are the champions of good governance? Where are the NGO pundits who teach us about governing according to peoples wishes? Where are the Western ambassadors who are ever willing to teach us about the value of democracy?

We regret to see some Buddhist monks even belittling the significance of this election and asking the President and the Prime Minister to proceed as usual.Ever in the history, this is the first time people voted against the Government at a local poll. The religious dignitaries, especially Buddhist monks, and the intelligentsia should view this election results with due seriousness and prevail upon the rulers to act accordingly. They should ask leaders of this so-called national government to stop their harmful acts immediately. They should ask them to step down and pave the way for General Elections, so that people can choose a new government, new leadership according to their wishes.



Do you see whether the SLPP should have a departure from its past policies?

Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa emerged as an iconic figure as he gave leadership to the war against scourge of terrorism that threatened our motherland. He stood up to reactionary forces in certain sections of the international community. We have to deal with the international community regardless of whatever party is in office. People hold him in high esteem over his action to protect sovereignty of Sri Lanka. He also appeared for the protection of Sri Lankas national assets. In business, some make profits, some make losses. Then you have to face criticism. Yet, the Rajapaksa administration didnt take the easy option of selling or disowning of national assets.

Driven by westerns attitudes and funding, no one has done a proper study into innovative development works undertaken during the Rajapaksa rule. People always talked about mega development projects. Yet, we have to consider the projects such as Divineguma, Gamaneguma and Maganeguma. There were many local level projects which enabled families with new income avenues, which uplifted the life of the villager. As for the road network, the villages that remained cut-off were linked with the towns and cities. They were opened up from isolation. No one has done proper academic study on these matters. We should proceed with such development work.

We defeated the LTTE under MRs leadership. Yet, it could not be recognized in the constitution. During his second term, we could not transform our country in line with this great victory. Thats what the SLPP should thrive to achieve.

"Government delayed the local elections for three years and denied village level political leadership to people. Today, people have elected to office the political activist, the political party that struggled against such denial"



As the professional front/national front linked with SLPP, what do you plan to do to topple this Government?

First, the Prime Minister and Government should resign. We need a parliamentary election without any delay.

The constitutional amendments, brought about by this Government, created confusion within confusion in administration. It is an attempt to prevent the formation of a stable Government in Sri Lanka. Not only at the national level, local Government as well as provincial councils have been made a waste by this Government and their backers.

The new electoral system, introduced under the leadership of MP Dinesh Gunawardane, was supposed to elect 70% under the ward system and the rest under Proportional Representation.Then, people would have more say in these councils as 70% were chosen directly by them. Also, the councils would have got clear, stable leadership. These Yahapalana racketeers changed it to be 60% for wards and 40% for proportional representation. This new formula introduced by this Government has created confusion. The party that won even eight out of ten wards cannot form a stable administration. With more members elected, with more cost to the people, yet without leadership! Yet, without usefulness!!This is an affront to democracy.

The worst will happen to the provincial councils. For them, thanks to the Yahapalana coalition led by JVP and Muslim Congress tribal leadership, the formula is 50-50. Even if a party wins all the electorates, in some councils it will not get a clear majority. Until it is corrected, there is no use of conducting elections in the provincial councils.

So, we agitate for correcting these Yahapalana sins; for a new parliament; for a new leadership.Showery condition is expected in the coming days over the island due to a disturbance in the vicinity of Sri Lanka, the Meteorology Department said today.

It said that showers or thundershowers would occur at times in the Eastern, Uva, Central and the North-central Provinces and in the Hambantota District.

Showers or thundershowers will occur at several places elsewhere particularly after 2 p.m. it said.

Meanwhile, itr said heavy falls above 100 mm could be expected in some places in the Eastern, Uva, Central and the Sabaragamuwa Provinces and in the Galle, Matara, Kalutara and the Polonnaruwa Districts.

The Department said that fairly strong gusty winds between 40 to 45 kmph could be expected in Northern half of the island and in the Hambantota District as a result.

It also added that there could be temporary localized strong winds during thundershowers therefore requested the general public to take adequate precautions to minimize damages caused by lightning activity. (Thilanka Kanakarathna)Drones are evolving into poor mans precision guided munition

On January 6, 2018, a milestone in asymmetric warfare occurred in Syria. A Russian Air Force detachment at Khmeimim Air Base and at the Tartus Naval station came under attack from a swarm of drones.



It is believed that up to 13 drones were used for these two attacks making it an unprecedented use of drone airpower by a non-State actor.

There may have been several other unsuccessful attacks using drones in the same week, however, the exact number of attacks is disputed.

Analysts of the Russian Ministry of Defence revealed at a press conference that the drones were guided by using GPS and could have been launched from up to 100km away.

The Russian Ministry of Defence claimed that several drones were detected and shot down and displayed two samples they had recovered.

According to Janes Defence Weekly, rebels had claimed that they have destroyed and damaged several Russian aircraft at Khmeimim. However, in a press release, the Russian MoD denied any losses or damage due to the incident.

TASS, the Russian News Agency, quoted the press release Engineering solutions used by terrorists when attacking Russian facilities in Syria could have been received only from a country with high technological potential on providing satellite navigation and distant control of firing competently assembled self-made explosive devices in appointed place which is a sign of the growing tensions between the USA and Russia.

Both Russia and the USA support, supply and train different fractions waging war in Syria. However, contrary to claim by the Russian MoD on the GPS technology, such GPS based navigation technology has been available in the civilian market for many years.

The use of drones by insurgent groups and terrorists is a growing trend in the Iraq-Syria conflict zone during the past few years.



The Islamic State (ISIS) and other groups such as Hezbollah and Jabhat Fateh al-Sham have been known to use drones for their activities in the past and continue to do so today.

The proliferation of unmanned aerial systems (UAS) technologies, ease of access to commercially available components, availability of commercial drones and recreational craft is viewed as a concern by Janes Terrorism and Insurgency Centre (JTIC).

The number of Airborne Improvised Explosive Devices (ABIEDs) have been increasing since the start of the Syrian war and have been used in Iraq as well.

According to JTIC and other sources, drones have mostly been used for reconnaissance, fire correction and to strike ground targets with small munitions or IEDs (Improvised Explosive Devices).

The use of drones offers insurgents unprecedented tactical advantages to coordinate attacks and gather intelligence, especially in urban environments. Further, imagery captured by drones make valuable propaganda material for groups like ISIS, who rely heavily on online visual content for recruitment.

Captured Qasef-1 Kamikaze style drone, on exhibit by US DoD, photo - EJ Hersom, DoD News

ISIS is believed to be the most prolific user of drones up to now. Most of the drones used in Iraq and Syria by non-State actors have been commercial Quad Copters, most of which are small enough to be carried and used by one individual. Multi-rotor platforms have also been used by different fractions. The quadcopter configuration offers a stable slow and low altitude platform and comes with easy to master controls, real-time video downlink and simple navigation systems.

When used for aerial attack, quadcopters often used with small airdropped IEDs (ABIEDs).

The Quadcopters ability to hover over a target offers relatively good accuracy, making them ideal for non-State actors who can purchase online at a low cost.

The most frequently found ABIEDs have been made of 30mm or 40mm grenade launcher ammunition with an improvised tail-fin assembly. The ISIS is also known to have designed and manufactured in numbers, several types of AIEDs, projectile bombs and related fuses in Syria.

However, according to military analyst Nick Waters, the ABIEDs recovered after the Khmeimim attack may be specifically built for a drone-borne attack.

The downed drones displayed by the Russian MoD indicate that they were purpose built.

Designed in a conventional aircraft (fixed wing) configuration and powered by a small diesel engine, it is clear that this drone was designed to have greater range and higher payload capacity.

These facts indicate that the Khmeimim Air Force Base attack was a progression in the tactics of drone-borne ABIED use by a non-state actor.

Further, the use of commonly available off the shelf components make it difficult to track its origins and builders, adding a layer of deniability to the drone user.

It is believed that up to 13 drones were used for these two attacks...

Threats to critical infrastructure, aviation and soft targets are a significant security concern.

Nations are enacting smart regulatory practices regarding the sale and use of commercial, recreational drones

It is important that Sri Lankan security policymakers pay attention to the evolving threat landscape

Use of off the shelf components make it difficult to track its origins and builders, adding a layer of deniability to the drone user.



Fixed wing drones, which have been used by groups in Iraq-Syria for the past few years, but fewer in number than the prolific quadcopter and multirotor variants.

There have been reports of Drones and ABIED being used in the ongoing civil wars in Yemen and Libya. The United States of America in December 2017, has used a recovered drone amongst other exhibits as evidence for alleged Iranian state sponsoring of Yemeni rebel and terrorist groups. Laura Seal, a US Defence Department Spokesperson referred to the Qasef-1, UAS an ABIED Kamikaze style drone which had been recovered from Houthi groups by the Saudi Forces. Seal claimed that Only Iran makes the Qasef-1. It is a member of the Ababil UAV family, designed and produced by the Iranian government. Due to such claims, it is prudent to expect that more sophisticated UAS technology and more advanced types of drones may be fielded by non  state actors in the future.

Drones such as the Qasef-1, give non-state actors a degree of stand-off range precision strike capabilities which were previously only available to Government forces. In 2017, the US Army awarded a contract worth USD $16 million to develop and field a mobile Counter-UAS (C-UAS) system for the US Army by 2018. Therefore, the security threats posed by drones as an asymmetric threat are very much a concern for security planners and practitioners around the world. The increasing sophistication of such ABIEDs and drones used indicates that they are on an evolutionary path to becoming a more common insurgent  terrorist tool in the coming years.

Off the battlefield, drone-borne threats to critical infrastructure, aviation and soft targets are a significant security concern.

One of the UAVs is displayed upside-down to show its IEDs mounted on rails. Source: Russian Ministry of Defence Via HIS Janes DW



In 2014, drones breaching restricted airspace above several nuclear power plants caused the French authorities to introduce several measures to counter illegal drone intrusions over critical infrastructure and defence related sites.

Last year, a drone flown by an amateur photographer, landed on the latest British aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth while she was in Port.

In 2015, a drone carrying radioactive sand landed on the Japanese Prime Ministers residence.

Police later arrested a man who had intended to protest against Japans Nuclear energy policies with the drone landing. Such acts demonstrate that Drones or UASs can be used to deliver small Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) payloads. The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released a document on Critical Infrastructure security where it notes that drones can be a significant security threat to national security and the potential for drone use in an attack was on the rise.

Recovered ABIEDs use in the Khmeimim AFB attack. Source: Russian Ministry of Defence



Internationally, nations are enacting smart regulatory practices regarding the sale and use of commercial drones and recreational drones while the military  security establishments are actively researching and fielding robust Counter  UAS (CUAS) systems. Utility services networks such as the national power grid, water distribution system and filtration plants, telecommunication networks, ports and oil refineries are key to maintain the economy running smoothly. It is important that Sri Lankan security policymakers pay attention to the evolving threat landscape, especially in relation to critical infrastructure protection.

I have discussed Sri Lankas drone regulatory structure, security and safety concerns, drone detection and possible countermeasures in my commentary on the topic which can be read at http://www.insssl.lk/preview.php?id=79.

The need for greater awareness amongst the security establishment, research and smart regulation is timelyJan 8 vs Feb 10:19 A Pruned Presidential Powers through - 33 (a)

Insertion of 6:- A new Article 33[a] in the Constitution says,

The following Article is hereby inserted immediately after Article 33, and shall have effect as Article 33A of the Constitution:- 33A. The President shall be responsible to Parliament for the due exercise, performance and discharge of his powers, duties and functions under the Constitution and any written law, including the law for the time being relating to public security, HEs wings clipped?

Does it mean that the Executive Presidents decisions can be overruled by the Parliament? Over to you the Constitutional Experts!



State Machinery Ground to a Halt?

Work at ministries and departments has ground to a halt under the political turmoil following the announcement of LG election results. The whole state machinery is working at a snails pace with many officials adopting a cautious wait and see approach in exercising their administrative functions. The Maithri-Ranil unity government is undergoing a crisis after the crushing defeat faced by the two main parties of the coalition, and an unexpected triumph to the new party, the SLPP backed by the former president. We correctly predicted in these columns just before nominations, warning the Sirisena faction to face elections as a combined force with its governing partner to prevent a situation of fighting for fourth place with JVP.

There are of course so many reservations about the Maithri-Ranil Yahapalana administration. It is a disappointment in the model of governance. Socio-economic issues of the majority of the people are not addressed; Reconciliation front not progressed much as expected.

They say it is only a RED light. Red, Amber and Green the traffic lights are seen. The red is on top, it says, You must stop. The green at the bottom says, You may go. The amber stands in between.



Tale of Winning Independent

As reported, [I fail to recollect the source] a villager and an octogenarian candidate who was successfully elected to a local government body as a member of the winning independent group has been tracked with greatest difficulty by a provincial scribe. After an exchange of pleasantries, our man in a congratulatory note had asked for his views on governing the particular local authority and on his plans for his ward in a council situated far away in an urbanized town. A surprised February 10 winner had repeated the name of his ward and that of the constituency as related by the stranger, had abruptly rejoined,

Now, where is all that and what have I won?

We highlight the above saga to help the readers who failed to comprehend the reality listening to the pundit political analysts and spin-doctors who cover a lions share in the electronic and print media for the past few days. They are entangled in a mathematical quagmire attempting to turn and twist the results, even add and subtract percentages in the process. Back to our newly elected Member who happened to be the grandfather of the Independent group team leaders driver, a cultivator from a remote village who had little knowledge of what transpired in his own Pradeshiya Sabha on February 10. Wouldnt it be suffice to understand the reality with results without the help of mischievous politicians and the so called analysts. Simply, in urban, sub-urban and in the village, they voted en masse not for Pohottuwa candidates, but for Mahinda Rajapaksa.

The conclusions are being interpreted in all possible forms. Winners being confirmed losers, and losers are made winners depending on ones point of view and biases. Whichever way the result of the competition is understood, the fact is that it has shocked the entire political institution. Accordingly, the current focus is how to bring into line forces and continue to remain in power. However, there is a clear message in the election results. It is the anger of the people for disregard for their concerns and priorities.

It reflects a vast detachment between the voter and their representatives and the civil society activists who persuade them.

Green is also for an acceptable result, that we are on target, while Amber stands, there may be a problem, we should investigate -It s further says, Wait for the red or for the green.

and Red  an unacceptable result, there is a problem that needs rectification. Some believe it is not a red light to National Unity governmentis Amber for the Rajapaksas to get prepared and await the Green.



Doom and Gloom

The majority of our politicians; this applies to all Parties, are good for nothing scoundrels who cannot be trusted. Since the few, so-called good men have done nothing to dispose of or remove the bad ones; therefore, they too cannot be trusted or depended upon. There are no statesmen or leaders among the educated and uneducated politicians, but only totally corrupt [the educated are even worse, for they know how to plan meticulously and getawaythe sophisticated art of doing things] who are in the political game for abusing their power for the purposes of making money. Now they are talking about drastic changes, but in view of crucial issues before them no changes can be envisaged. The worsening political values over decades obviously identify disappointment in the future.

As reported in media, National List MP Dr. Jayampathy Wickramaratne, the Constitutional expert and architect of the 19A has said that it guaranteed the continuance of the cabinet and Prime Minister Wickremesinghe.

He further stressed that the 19A disallowed the President making his discretion on critical issues at a crisis. Dr. Wickramaratne believed the Amendment had reinforced the parliamentary powers [ over that of Executive Presidency?] 19A is certainly adequate to disappoint likely movers against the national government. Cabinet appointments or removals, according to him couldnt be made without the consent of the PM.

Dr. Wickramaratne has assured that provisions had been incorporated to guarantee governments stability.



19A diluted executive powers further

It is laughable that some analyst advocate the failure to prosecute Rajapaksas and their cronies before law as a reason for the high percentage of votes received by Rajapaksas and their cronies. Doesnt it sound idiotic?

SLFPs Maithri faction had been asked by President Sirisena to remain with government for the Supreme Court interpretation of the 19A giving authority to him to remove Ranil Wickremasinghe as PM, as announced by Thilanga Sumathipla in Parliament on Monday. President Sirisena it seems to continue his acrobatics under stress.



Appointment and removal of a PM

19th Amendment says:- 42. (4) The President shall appoint as Prime Minister the Member of Parliament, who, in the Presidents opinion, is most likely to command the confidence of Parliament.

46. (2) The Prime Minister shall continue to hold office throughout the period during which the Cabinet of Ministers continues to function under the provisions of the Constitution unless he - (a) resigns his office by a writing under his hand addressed to the President; or (b) ceases to be a Member of Parliament.

However, there is a little ambiguity with regard to Prime Ministers position that exist in two articles in the 19A, as quoted below which needs expert attention.

47.(2) Notwithstanding the death, removal from office or resignation of the Prime Minister,.

48. (1) On the Prime Minister ceasing to hold office by death, resignation or otherwise, except during the period intervening betweenNew regime air strikes and heavy clashes shook Syria's rebel enclave of Eastern Ghouta on Sunday despite a UN demand for a ceasefire to end one of the most ferocious assaults of Syria's civil war.

After days of diplomatic wrangling, the Security Council on Saturday adopted a resolution calling for a 30-day ceasefire in Syria "without delay", to allow for aid deliveries and medical evacuations.

President Bashar al-Assad's forces launched a major bombing campaign against the enclave on the edge of Damascus a week ago, with more than 500 people since killed.

The UN resolution has raised hopes of stemming the bloodshed but it remains unclear when or how broadly the ceasefire could be implemented.

Russia is a key ally of Assad's regime and in a phone call on Sunday German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron urged President Vladimir Putin to use his influence.

They called on Russia "to exercise maximum pressure on the Syrian regime to achieve an immediate suspension of air raids and fighting", Merkel's office said in a statement.

Pope Francis also joined international calls for a ceasefire, saying in his Sunday Angelus prayers: "All this is inhuman. One cannot fight evil with another evil."

In Douma, the main town in Eastern Ghouta, fresh air raids and artillery strikes could be heard on Sunday, an AFP correspondent in the town said.

At least seven civilians were killed in strikes on Sunday, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group, bringing the total number of dead in the week to 527, including 129 children.

Although there appeared to be fewer air strikes, Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman said, fighting had intensified on the ground.

Heavy clashes erupted in southern areas of Eastern Ghouta, he said, with at least 13 members of pro-regime forces and six fighters from the Jaish al-Islam rebel group killed.

"They are the most violent clashes to take place since the beginning of the month," said Abdel Rahman, whose Britain-based group uses a network of sources across Syria to monitor the country's conflict.

Mohamed Alloush, a key figure in Jaish al-Islam, tweeted that the rebels were "resisting" bids by regime forces to enter the region.

Eastern Ghouta, home to some 400,000 people, is surrounded by government-controlled territory and its residents are unwilling or unable to flee.

The two main rebel groups controlling the enclave -- Jaish al-Islam and Faylaq al-Rahman -- welcomed the Security Council demand, but vowed to fight back in case of renewed attacks.

Jaish al-Islam said it was "committed to protecting humanitarian convoys" but warned it would "immediately respond to any violation".

UN diplomats say Saturday's Security Council resolution was watered down to ensure it was not vetoed by Russia, which has provided diplomatic and military support to Assad's regime.

Language specifying that the ceasefire would start 72 hours after adoption was scrapped and the term "immediate" was dropped in reference to aid deliveries and evacuations.

In another concession, the ceasefire would not apply to operations against the Islamic State group or Al-Qaeda, along with "individuals, groups, undertakings and entities" associated with the terror groups.

Syria's former Al-Qaeda affiliate is present in Eastern Ghouta and Assad's regime routinely describes all of its opponents as "terrorists".

Iran's army chief-of-staff said Sunday that the Syrian military would continue to target "terrorist groups" in Eastern Ghouta.

"The zones on the periphery of Damascus... are not covered by the ceasefire and the offensives and clearing operations by the Syrian army will continue," said Mohammad Bagheri, according to the official IRNA news agency.

Iran has also been a key ally of Assad's regime.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, who has described Eastern Ghouta under the bombardment as "hell on Earth," said the ceasefire must be "immediately" implemented.

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Angered by "unfair" pay cuts, UN staff in Geneva are planning a half-day strike on Tuesday, as dozens of ministers and other dignitaries attend high-level events at the organisation's European headquarters.

"We have tried other forms of protest before, to no avail... They have left us no choice," Ian Richards, who heads the UN staff unions association in Geneva, told AFP Sunday.

He said it remained unclear how many of around 9,500 UN staff members in Geneva would participate in Tuesday's work stoppage, or what impact it would have, pointing out that "this is not like a bus company where the buses just stop."

"But we certainly expect this to have an impact," Richards said.

It comes as UN staff received their first pay slips showing a 3.5-percent salary cut, and with the knowledge that the cut will swell to five percent by June, he said.

The half-day work stoppage will take place during what is arguably one of the busiest weeks of the year at the United Nations in Geneva, with around 100 heads of state, government ministers and country representatives from around the world set to attend the main annual sessions of the UN's top human rights and disarmament bodies.

A spokeswoman for the UN in Geneva, Alessandra Vellucci, told AFP in an email that staff should be "reminded that actions which disrupt or interfere with official activity of the Organisation may be considered contravening staff obligations."

She stressed though that "UN Geneva recognises and respects the right of staff to freedom of association and acknowledges the dissatisfaction of staff" linked to pay cuts.

She said "contingency plans" had been put in place to "minimise the consequences of the possible work stoppage in a period of intense diplomatic activity".

According to a letter sent to all UN agency chiefs late last week by the unions and representatives of UN civil servants, Tuesday will mark only "a first day of action (and will) be followed by others."

The signatories said staff had "lost confidence" in the International Civil Service Commission (ICSC) -- a body appointed by the UN General Assembly to govern UN employees which has ordered deep cuts to pay and benefits for many staff around the globe.

There has been a "substantial deterioration in the employment conditions of UN staff around the world, caused by ICSC's findings, recommendations and decisions," the letter complained, accusing the body of pursuing an "austerity agenda driven by certain member states."

Although the letter did not mention the member states by name, the United States, which has long been the top UN contributor, is clearly among them.

Since President Donald Trump, a vocal UN critic, took office last year, Washington has demanded significant belt-tightening and has threatened deep budget cuts to many UN agencies.

UN employees are considered to be among the highest paid civil servants in the world, with their salaries often complemented by multiple benefits including subsidies for rent, healthcare and educational grants for their children.

Contrary to common perception though, UN staff do pay tax, although it is through an internal UN arrangement in which the organisation deducts the proceeds collected from the membership dues owed by its staff's countries of origin, Vellucci said.

Richards said some review and reform of the UN payment system was not unreasonable, but insisted that "it has to be done in a transparent, balanced and fair way."

For Geneva, ICSC initially said last year a 7.5-percent pay cut was warranted after determining that the cost of living adjustment given to staffers in the pricy Swiss city was excessive.

The unions, which mounted protests over what they termed "significant errors and methodological flaws" in the body's calculations, said they eventually received assurances the cuts would be only 2-3 percent.

"Now finally it is five percent, so the ICSC has gone back on its word," Richards said.

He stressed that Geneva staff were not the only ones feeling the squeeze.

Staff in Bangkok have for instance been informed of a 10-percent cut, while staff in Tokyo are looking at 25 percent, without sufficient justification, he said.

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On Tuesday, 20 February, Alexei Bukin, vice president of the Russian Cultural and Science Centre (RCSC) in Dokki, inaugurated Narratives, an exhibition by the Egyptian Australia-based painter Bakr El-Shaarawi, in the centre's main exhibition hall.



The opening was attended by members of the Russian diplomatic mission in Egypt. Over 40 paintings were on display, varying between oil and aquarelle paintings depicting topics such as human suffering and the relationship between man and woman.



El-Shaarawi adopts different art styles, passing between surrealism, expressionism, cubism and realism, mirroring the internal dynamics of heart and mind.



Director of the cultural programme at the Russian Centre Sherif Gad told Ahram Online that it is El-Shaarawis first exhibition in Cairo.

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On Thursday, 22 February, the 11th round of the Cairo International Animation Forum closing ceremony took place at the Hanager Arts Centre in Cairo.



Director of the Cultural Development Fund Fathy Abdel-Wahab and director of the Egyptian Association for Animation Rashida Abdel-Raouf honoured 11 industry figures and handed out awards to the winning animation filmmakers and films.

Abdel-Wahab expressed his happiness that the forum has extended for over 10 years. Over 20 different countries participated in this round with 116 films. The forum included interactive workshops for adults, children and those with disabilities.

Abdel-Wahab thanked the contributors and supporting authorities for their efforts. Abdel-Raouf described the forum as a step forward towards globalised cultural diversity.

Among the 11 honourees were lyricist Shawqy Hegab, actress Leqaa Swedan, TV presenter Ahmed Amin, and veteran actor Mahmoud Hemeda for his special appearance in the promo prepared for the forum.

The winners announced included the recipient of a Cultural Development Fund grant of LE50,000, going to Mostafa Mahdys animated film Al Agala (The Wheel).



The Portuguese film Fragments by Jose Miguel Ribeiro won Best Short Film.



The Honesty episode from Dokkan Aam Fendy (The Shop of Uncle Fendy) by Hasan Nourel Din won the award for Best Animated Series.



The German film Too Tame Zu Zahm by Rebecca Bleocher won the Experimental Creativity award.



The German film The Real October-1917 by Katrin Rothe won the long film competition.



Productions representing Egypt, France, Spain, Croatia and Luxembourg won multiple awards in different competitions in the forum.

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The organisers of the Sharm El-Sheikh Film Festival held a press conference held last week in Cairo giving details of the upcoming festival due to take place 3-9 March in the South Sinai city.

The press conference started a minute's silence for late critic Aly Abu Shady, who passed away 16 February.

The festival will dedicate its 2nd edition to his memory, on the suggestion of star Laila Taher, guest of honour of the festival.



Festival president Gamal Zayda underlined that the event aims to increase cooperation worldwide, presenting an inclusive cinematic culture open to all.

Zayda thanked Minister of Culture Ines Abdel Dayem, Youth Minister Khaled Abdel Aziz and South Sinai Governor General Khaled Fouda for their support.

Critic Osama Abdel Fatah, cinema manager of the festival, explained that this year's guest of honour is the independent American cinema movement and not a specific country. A number of movies will be screened representing that cinematic stream.

The opening movie I Tonya, nominated for three Oscar awards, is not yet released commercially in Egypt.

Dreams I Never Had, with Egyptian director Mahmoud Kamel as assistant director, is among the important independent movies to be screened during the festival.

The second edition of Sharm El-Sheikh Festival will also celebrate the memory of director Youssef Chahine who died 10 years ago. Three of his famous movies will be screened on this occasion: Farewell Bonaparte, The Immigrant and Destiny.

The festival will be honouring Laila Taher for her contribution in Egyptian cinema. Her movie A Wife Wanted is scheduled to be shown at the festival.

Director Aly Badrakhan will also be honoured and three of his movies shown.

Star Hassan Hosny will be honoured in appreciation of his acting talent, underappreciated according to the organisers.

Maxwell Stoneman, deputy press attache at the US embassy, expressed his pleasure to be present at the press conference and spoke of partnership with the festival, especially that independent American cinema is this year's focus.

Cultural activities constitute people to people diplomacy, he added.

For more arts and culture news and updates, follow Ahram Online Arts and Culture on Twitter at @AhramOnlineArts and on Facebook at Ahram Online: Arts & Culture



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Mumbai: Sridevi breathed her last on Sunday morning, where she was in Dubai after attending her nephew Mohit Marwahs wedding there.

As per the latest reports, Sridevis body will leave from Dubai at 9.30 pm IST and will arrive in Pawan Hans Mumbai at midnight, around 2 am-3 am.

An official statement from the team said, Boney Kapoor, Jhanvi, Khushi and the entire Kapoor, Ayyappan and Marwah family is deeply bereaved and shocked with the untimely loss of Sridevi Kapoor. They thank the entire media for their prayers, support and sensitivity during their time of grief. Late Sridevi Kapoors body will arrive in India tomorrow.

Celebrities will supposedly pay their respects to her from around 7 am to 10 am on Monday at her bungalow in Versova, which will be followed by her last rites, which will be held at approximately 1 pm in Pawan Hans, Vile Parle.

Also Read: Bollywood actor Sridevi passes away in Dubai at 54

This will reportedly be followed by Chautha that will be held on Tuesday i.e. on February 27.

The latest being heard is that Anil Ambani has sent a chartered flight to Dubai to collect Sridevis mortal remains.

The delay in issuing of final reports to start the remaining procedures for repatriation, led to the much-delayed departure from Dubai.

This will take time, an official source told Gulf News at around 4:15pm.

Also Read: RIP Sridevi: The scintillating filmography of an iconic actress

The actress reportedly fainted due to the massive cardiac arrest and was rushed to the hospital but she was declared dead before her arrival.

Last seen in Mom, the last film to have her on-screen presence will be Shah Rukh Khan and Aanand L. Rais upcoming romantic sci-fi movie Zero. The actress plays a cameo role in the movie.Mumbai: The sudden demise of veteran actor Sridevi has left the Indian film industry in shock with many Bollywood celebrities expressing their grief on social media.

The actor (54) died late in the night reportedly due to cardiac arrest in Dubai, where she had gone to attend her nephew Mohit Marwah's wedding.

Minutes after the news of her death broke, many Bollywood actors like Amitabh Bachchan, Priyanka Chopra, Sushmita Sen, Sidharth Malhotra and Riteish Deshmukh took to Twitter to pay their condolences.

The first one, however, was megastar Amitabh Bachchan who in a cryptic tweet wrote, "   ,        !! (Don't know why, feeling a strange restlessness)"

T 2625 -    ,        !!  Amitabh Bachchan (@SrBachchan) February 24, 2018

"I'm shocked and very disturbed. I've lost a dear friend and the industry has lost a true legend. My heart goes out to her family and friends. I feel the pain with them #RIPSridev ... you will be missed," tweeted 'Thalaivar'.

Im shocked and very disturbed. Ive lost a dear friend and the industry has lost a true legend. My heart goes out to her family and friends. I feel the pain with them #RIPSridev ... you will be missed.  Rajinikanth (@superstarrajini) February 25, 2018

Kamal Haasan tweeted, "Have witnessed Sridevi's life from an adolescent teenager to the magnificeint lady she became. Her stardom was well deserved. Many happy moments with her flash through my mind including the last time I met her. Sadma's lullaby haunts me now. We'll miss her"

Have witnessed Sridevi's life from an adolescent teenager to the magnificeint lady she became. Her stardom was well deserved. Many happy moments with her flash through my mind including the last time I met her. Sadma's lullaby haunts me now. We'll miss her  Kamal Haasan (@ikamalhaasan) February 25, 2018

"I have no words. Condolences to everyone who loved #Sridevi . A dark day. RIP," tweeted Priyanka Chopra.

I have no words. Condolences to everyone who loved #Sridevi . A dark day . RIP  PRIYANKA (@priyankachopra) February 24, 2018

Comedian Johnny Lever, while expressing grief, sent prayers to the late actor's family, which includes husband Boney Kapoor and daughters Khushi and Janhvi.

"Deeply saddened and shocked to hear about #Sridevi Ji. My prayers and condolences to the family," he tweeted.

"Really Shocked and disturbed to hear that Sridevi Maam is no more. #RIP #Sridevi," wrote Sidharth Malhotra.

Really Shocked and disturbed to hear that Sridevi Maam is no more #RIP #Sridevi   Sidharth Malhotra (@S1dharthM) February 24, 2018

Actor Shilpa Shetty's husband -- Raj Kundra -- posted, "Heartbroken by this news!! She was One of the finest kindest souls I ever knew. Speechless shocked. #RIP#Sridevi this is just not right at all! May god give all the family strength at this darkest hour."

Im in a state of shock, cant get over this heartbreaking news.Such a beautiful soul, may you rest in peace Sri ji . Will miss u terribly #Sridevi pic.twitter.com/v6cL9rWkC5  SHILPA SHETTY KUNDRA (@TheShilpaShetty) February 25, 2018

Riteish tweeted, Terrible terrible news . Am shocked beyond words. SRIDEVI ji No More RIP,, while Sushmita wrote that she has been inconsolable since the news broke. I just heard Maam Sridevi passed away due to a massive cardiac arrest. I am in shock cant stop crying "

Terrible terrible news.... Am shocked beyond words. SRIDEVI ji No More ...  RIP  Riteish Deshmukh (@Riteishd) February 24, 2018

Actor Nimrat Kaur tweeted, Absolutely devastated to hear about the passing of #Sridevi. What a dark black terrible moment in time. Gutted.

Compelled at this unfortunate hour to be reminded of the age old idiom -    ,    ... numb at this grave untimely loss. There never was, nor will there ever be anyone quite like you. What a profoundly sad night. #TheOriginalEverything #RIPSridevi pic.twitter.com/tH04Rgzj7C  Nimrat Kaur (@NimratOfficial) February 24, 2018

"An absolute icon. Gone too soon, #Sridevi. Too soon," Jacqueline Fernanadez tweeted.

An absolute icon. Gone too soon, #Sridevi. Too soon...  Jacqueline Fernandez (@Asli_Jacqueline) February 24, 2018

Just woken up to the tragic and shocking news of the passing of our dear Sridevi ji. Heartfelt condolences to Boneyji and her family, tweeted Boman Irani.

Just woken up to the tragic and shocking news of the passing of our dear Sridevi ji. Heartfelt condolences to Boneyji and her family.  Boman Irani (@bomanirani) February 25, 2018

Woken up to Absolute Shock and Disbelief ! Tragic news ! Im at a loss of words,cant comprehend this at all! Why? Gone Too soon ,Sri , my heart goes out to Boneyji,jahnvi and Khushi at this moment. Condolences and Prayers, tweeted Raveena Tandon.

Woken up to Absolute Shock and Disbelief ! Tragic news ! Im at a loss of words,cant comprehend this at all! Why? Gone Too soon ,Sri , my heart goes out to Boneyji,jahnvi and Khushi at this moment. Condolences and Prayers . #sridevi  Raveena Tandon (@TandonRaveena) February 25, 2018

"I just heard Maam Sridevi passed away due to a massive cardiac arrest. I am in shock...cant stop crying...", Sushmita Sen tweeted.

I just heard Maam Sridevi passed away due to a massive cardiac arrest. I am in shock...cant stop crying...  sushmita sen (@thesushmitasen) February 24, 2018

"Life is so fragile & unpredictable ! You will always live in our hearts forever . #RIPSridevi #Chandani", actress Preity Zinta tweeted.

Life is so fragile & unpredictable ! You will always live in our hearts forever . #RIPSridevi #Chandani pic.twitter.com/mQl7ou8eze  Preity zinta (@realpreityzinta) February 24, 2018

Sridevi was seen in last year's revenge-drama "Mom" opposite Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Akshaye Khanna. She shot for a special appearance in superstar Shah Rukh Khan's upcoming film "Zero" which releases in December.

Sridevi is survived by husband Boney Kapoor and two daughters Janhvi and Khushi.Mumbai: A few days back Mumbai Mirror reported that some fan clubs have flagged off a documentary on veteran actress Sridevi. But the actress had an untimely heart attack in Dubai, because of which she left for the heavenly abode.

In half a century of her career span, the actress, who started her career as a child artist, had worked in over 300 films.

The report stated that the film, a documentary, went on floors only after husband Boney Kapoor gave his nod to let the one-hour documentary, a culmination of archival footage, extensive interviews with late Sridevis co-stars from Hindi and South films, as well as her family, pick on its journey.

The first film will chronicle Sridevis career as a child artist in MA Thirumughams Thunaivan at four, and her work as a child actor in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada films. The second and third films will portray her Bollywood debut as a child artist in the 1975 hit Julie and her first adult role at 13 with the Tamil film Moondru Mudichu. As a leading lady, she debuted in Solva Sawan (1978) and gained widespread recognition with Himmatwala (1983), Mr. India (1987), Chandni (1989), Sadma (1983), Nagina (1986), Chaalbaaz (1989), Lamhe (1991), Khuda Gawah (1992), Gumrah (1993) and Laadla (1994), a source had told the daily.

Not only that, the film was supposed to focus on Sris 15-year hiatus and comeback with Gauri Shindes 2012 hit English Vinglish and the Padma Shri honour, along with some transcribes of her feature interviews and magazine covers from the 80s.

But the question which arises here is that like her career span, her death was also a tragic incident. So will the documentary cover that aspect too? Will Boney Kapoor let that incident be covered for the world to see?Mumbai: The film industry and millions of cinema lovers were robbed of the immense talent and grace of legendary actor Sridevi, 54, who succumbed to a cardiac arrest late on Saturday night after attending the wedding of Mohit Marwah, the nephew of her husband, producer Boney Kapoor, in Dubai. The actor was accompanied by Kapoor and her younger daughter Khushi. As the actors sister also lives in Dubai, both sides of her family surrounded her in her last moments.

The actors mortal remains are to be flown in a chartered flight arranged by Anil Ambani on Monday. Sources said the last rites are likely to be conducted on Monday. After the news of the icons sudden untimely demise broke out, her And-heri bungalow was inundated by grieving fans, who came to pay their last respects to the only female actor who earned the superstar title. One of the inconsolable fans who had gathered outside the residence said, It is just unbelievable. I will not trust the news until I see her body for myself. I shall not move from here until then.

The film fraternity also took to social media to mourn the sudden demise of the superstar. Sridevi started her career as a child artiste in south Indian films at the age of four and went on to enjoy a career spanning 50 years. She was a known face in the South Indian film indu-stry before setting foot in Bollywood in 1979. Her credits include some of the most-watched films of the 1980s and 1990s. She conferred Indias fourth highest civilian award, the Padma Shri, in 2013.Director Puri Jagannadh has completed the shooting of his forthcoming film Mehbooba. The romantic drama, which features Puris son Aakash and Neha Shetty, may have a summer release. The plot is an intense and passionate love story set in the backdrop of the 1971 India-Pakistan war. The teaser, which was released recently, has garnered a great response from the audience.

Charmme, who is the executive producer shared, Successfully completed the total shoot of #Mehbooba.. feeling light n going back home happy n satisfied.. thanks to each n everyone who fought this journey along with us ?????? #PCfilm @PuriConnects @PuriConnects @ActorAkashPuri @Neha__Shetty @ActorVishuReddy @TheFilmMehbooba (sic).

Mehbooba was shot in picturesque locales of Himachal Pradesh, Punjab and Rajasthan. Sandeep Chowta is the music composer of the film, which is produced by Puri himself. The scenes shot at the border promise to enthrall the audience.Dublin: Popular cosmetics brand Winky Lux are well-known for their fragrant flower-filled lip balms and their colour-changing lipsticks.

Love coffee shops? Check out these three unique cafe's in NYC with your bestie or bae. #BoyByeStarbucks #weekendvibes  https://t.co/HAL9QVl6W8 pic.twitter.com/154oDt4bQS  Winky Lux (@WinkyLux) February 23, 2018

This time again, they have gone one step ahead of others by tempting fashion freak women with their latest collection.

Winky Lux have recently unveiled their Coffee Collection range. Each product is also named after the brew. As you get aroused by the smell of the coffee, it will leave you mesmerised and tantalising.

According to her.ie, first up is the Coffee Palette, which includes a nine matte, satin and shimmer shades from brown to Sienna, a reddish-brown colour. It costs around 20 pounds.

Then there are two bronzers that are available to purchase- Latte, which will give you a subtle, slightly-bronzed, post-vacation glow, and Mocha which gives you the final touch, costing around 16 pounds.

The coffee-infused product has been described as a "moisture powerhouse" which gently hydrates and soothes all skin types, according to Winky Lux.

The great thing about this coffee-make up collection is that it is a multi-use product. It can be applied in the mornings to serve as a primer. At night, it can be applied to help nourish your skin while you are sleeping.India is mourning over the loss of a Bollywood legend, actor Sridevi, who passed away from a cardiac arrest on Saturday night.

Her brother-in-law Sanjay Kapoor confirmed to IndianExpress.com, "Yes, it is true that Sridevi passed away. I just landed here, I was in Dubai and now I am flying back to Dubai. It happened roughly around 11.00-11.30. I dont know more details yet."

The 54-year-old actor was in Dubai with her husband Boney Kapoor and daughter Khushi to attend the wedding ceremony of Mohit Marwah.

Cardiac arrest and other cardiovascular diseases have become a growing health issue for women in recent times.

A US study revealed women suffering from cardiac arrest are less likely than men to receive life-saving treatments, and less likely to survive.

Compared to men, fewer women received cooling therapy to prevent brain damage, imaging studies known as angiography or treatment for blocked arteries.

Traditionally women have not been treated as aggressively as men, said lead author Dr. Luke Kim, of Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City.

Cardiac arrest occurs when the hearts electrical system malfunctions and the heart suddenly stops working, according to the American Heart Association.

More than 300,000 cardiac arrests occur outside of hospitals in the US each year, the researchers write in the Journal of the American Heart Association. Survival rates after out-of-hospital cardiac arrests have risen from about 6 percent in 2005 to about 8 percent in 2012.

For the new study, the researchers reviewed data from 2003 to 2012 on nearly 1.44 million cardiac arrests. Some of the patients had been in the hospital when their heart stopped. Others had survived long enough after a cardiac arrest out in the community to be brought to a hospital.

About 45 percent of the patients were women, who tended to be older and sicker than the men.

Over the course of the study, in-hospital deaths fell from about 69 percent to about 61 percent in women and from about 67 percent to about 57 percent in men.

Overall, roughly 64 percent of women died in the hospital after cardiac arrest, compared to about 62 percent of men, according to the report.

Women were 25 percent less likely than men to undergo coronary angiography. They were also 25 percent less likely to have an angioplasty procedure to open blocked arteries and 19 percent less likely to undergo therapeutic hypothermia, which cools the body to prevent brain damage.

Their lower rates of these treatments arent the only reason women are more likely to die in hospitals after cardiac arrest, Kim and his colleagues say.

A subset of women who received the appropriate treatments still had worse survival, they found.

It could be that women are less likely to have cardiac arrests that respond to treatment with a defibrillator and less likely to have cardiac arrests in the presence of other people who can call for help, the authors suggest.

Dr. Leslie Cho, director of the Womens Cardiovascular Center at the Cleveland Clinic, emphasized that the women in the study tended to be older and sicker than the men.

Sometimes the difference can be due to older patients being less likely to want more aggressive procedures, said Cho, who was not involved with the new study.

She was surprised, however, that women were less likely to be treated with cooling therapy, because that is a decision made by doctors - not patients.

We need to treat both men and women aggressively, Cho said.

She advises women to watch for signs of heart trouble, including chest pressure or tightness and increasing shortness of breath.

It again speaks to the fact that if you feel like something is wrong with you, its important to be seen by a health care provider, Cho said.The entrepreneur brothers have committed $30 million over 10 years to the Wadhwani AI institute in Mumbai. (Photo: Pixabay)

As debate swirls on whether artificial intelligence will be a boon or a curse for humanity, two Indian-American entrepreneur brothers are out to ensure the emerging technologies dont just benefit the richest in society.

Romesh and Sunil Wadhwani this week launched what is billed as the worlds first nonprofit institute dedicated to putting AI to work improving lives of poor farmers, rural health care workers or teachers in communities with scant resources.

AI will go where AI will go; it is difficult to predict where, Sunil Wadhwani said of the conflicting views on the emergence of computers more brilliant than their human creators.

Our focus is how many tens of millions of lives can we improve in the next five or 10 years. Where AI goes in 100 years, it will go.

The entrepreneur brothers, who have a series of lucrative startups to their name, have committed $30 million over 10 years to the Wadhwani AI institute, established in Mumbai with the Indian government as a partner.

Areas targeted at the outset will include health care, education, agriculture and urban infrastructure.

The projects founders hope AI could help nurses in rural areas with diagnoses, advise how to optimize crops, translate textbooks into various languages as needed or even spot signs students might be on paths to dropping out.

AI is a game-changing technology, said Sunil Wadhwani, who is based in Pittsburgh as a trustee for Carnegie Mellon University.

A lot of developing countries are getting left behind; US and China are leapfrogging ahead.

Students from New York University and the University of Southern California will travel to Mumbai to collaborate, while the brothers also plan to partner with players in Silicon Valley, where Romesh Wadhwani is based.

The ethical issues raised by AI  from its potential to destroy jobs to the power it could exert over peoples lives  will be front of mind, according to institute chief P. Anandan, a former Microsoft Research director.

It has the potential to be used badly, or run away on its own, Anandan said of AI.

At the end of the day, you are going to manage that by being aware of it from the start and applying it where intentions are good.

Internet giants have been investing heavily in creating software to help machines think more like people, boosted by super-fast computer processing power and access to mountains of data to analyze.

AI has been put to work in the form of virtual aides, for recognizing peoples friends in photos, fighting fake news, stymying the online spread of violent extremist messages and more.

But the rise of artificial intelligence brings mighty new challenges too, and the new initiative coincides with the release of a report by AI scholars warning the technology has the potential to be exploited for nefarious purposes.

These technologies have many widely beneficial applications, said the study produced by the Future of Humanity Institute, the nonprofit group OpenAI and others.

Less attention has historically been paid to the ways in which artificial intelligence can be used maliciously.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation, which took part in the study, expressed concern that increasingly sophisticated AI will usher in a world that is strange and different from the one were used to, and there are serious risks if this technology is used for the wrong ends.

Chinas tech industry catching up with Silicon Valley faster than expected

High-profile figures who have expressed fears about the potential dangers of AI include tech visionary and innovator Elon Musk.

SpaceX founder and Tesla chief executive Musk in 2015 took part in creating the research organization OpenAI, which aims to develop artificial intelligence that helps rather than hurts people.

Microsoft, Amazon, Apple, Google, Facebook, IBM, and Google-owned British AI firm DeepMind are also members of a nonprofit Partnership on AI which seeks to promote the technologys use to benefit people and society.

Sunil Wadhwani has meanwhile promised an aggressive timeline at the brothers eponymous institute, with testing of potential AI tools starting by the end of this year.Bengaluru: A 22-year-old Nepali girl was allegedly raped and cheated by a 40-year-old man after promising her a job in the city. The Banaswadi police have arrested the man from a train at Bhubaneswar railway station on Saturday.

The accused has been identified as Suresh, a native of Nepal and a resident of Banaswadi. He was working as a cashier in a hotel.

According to the police, the victim, came to the city in search of a job and met Suresh on February 20, who promised to get her a job in a household. He took her to the hotel where he worked and he allegedly raped her in one of the rooms after promising to marry her.

Next day, the victim learnt that he was married and confronted him. The very next day on February 23, he fled the city. She immediately lodged a complaint with the Banaswadi police station.

The police had formed three special teams to arrest the accused and within 24 hours, he was arrested from Bhubaneswar railway station while he was travelling in a train bound for Guwahati.

Banaswadi police have registered a rape and cheating case against Suresh.The Mahalakshmi Layout police have arrested three people, including the wife of the deceased, on charges of murder on Saturday. (Representational Image)

Bengaluru: Two days after a 34-year-old pani puri vendor was brutally hacked to death in front of his wife at his residence in Kurubarahalli, the Mahalakshmi Layout police have arrested three people, including the wife of the deceased, on charges of murder on Saturday.

The prime accused, Anitha (22), wife of the deceased Narasimhamurthy, hatched the plan to eliminate her husband along with her paramour Roshan (24), an AC technician at a sugar factory and his colleague Somaraj (27).

Anitha initially misled the police by stating that the murder was carried out by her ex-paramour Praveen and later confessed to killing her husband along with her present paramour Roshan and his friend Somaraj.

Anitha got married to Narasimhamurthy seven years ago and the couple has a five-year-old child. She told the police that she and Roshan had an affair and used to meet at her residence in Kurubarahalli, when Narasimhamurthy was away.

One day Narasimhamurthy returned home early and caught them in a compromising position. Since then he used to torture her, Anitha told her interrogators. She told police that she wanted to get rid of Narasimhamurthy, as he was becoming a hindrance in her affair with Roshan.

Anitha met Roshan on FB

It all started a few months ago when Anitha received a friend request from Roshan, a native of Chamarajanagar. They started chatting and soon exchanged their mobile numbers. They began calling each other and later got into a sexual relationship.

After some time, Anitha began calling up Roshan to her house, while Narasimhamurthy was away. After Narasimhamurthy got to know about this, he started consuming alcohol regularly and used to fight with Anitha.

She along with Roshan executed their plan to kill her husband on Thursday when Narasimhamurthy came home drunk.

How Anitha misled police

In her complaint, Anitha said that Murthy returned home at around 10.30 pm on Thursday. As they chatted after dinner, three armed men barged in, sprayed something on her, knocking her unconscious and presumably proceeded to attack Murthy. She regained consciousness in the morning and found her husbands body stuffed in a gunny bag.Based on a tip off, the police raided Concord Container Freight Terminal in Thiruvottrityur and found five containers meant for Jai Amba Transport stationed inside. (Representational image)

CHENNAI: City police on Saturday arrested two persons at Thiruvottriyur for smuggling banned gutka into Tamil Nadu.

Based on a tip off, the police raided Concord Container Freight Terminal in Thiruvottrityur and found five containers meant for Jai Amba Transport stationed inside.

On examination, the police found and seized 23 bags of banned tobacco products weighing 2.3 tonnes and arrested distributor V. Surya (26) and delivery boy, S.Murugan (30) hailing from Thiruvottriyur. They are remanded in judicial custody.Bengaluru: The 63rd Sessions Court on Saturday allowed advocate Alam Pasha, founder of the NGO 'The Helping Citizen and People's Court,' to submit his observations on the assault of a diner at UB City by a city Congress MLA's son, Mohammad Nalapad and assist Special Public Prosecutor, Shyam Sundar, in the case.

Mr Nalapad's lawyer, Tomy Sebastian had objected to the involvement of a third party in the case, but the court set aside his argument and ordered Mr Pasha to submit his observation in writing Meanwhile, adjourning Nalapad's bail plea to Monday, the court gave Sundar time till Monday to file his objections to it.

Nalapad, who was reportedly unhappy at the hearing of his bail plea being adjourned, is said to have called his father, N A Harris and asked him to "do something and get him out of prison." All the seven accused in the case, including Nalapad, are in judicial custody till March 7.

AAP workers manhandled

A few Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) workers took out a protest march from Nanjappa Circle to different Wards of Shanthinagar condemning the hooliganism of Nalapad. The AAP workers, however, were allegedly manhandled by the supporter of MLA Haris.

The AAP workers who marched shouting slogans against Nalapad were protesting Nalapad and his henchmens act while demanding strict action against all the accused.

On the night of Feb 14, Vidwath and Praveen were at Farzi Cafe for dinner when Nalapad arrived with his henchmen. A quarrel erupted between Vidvat and Nalapad when the former's leg allegedly touched his. Nalapad demanded an apology, which was refused. Nalapad then called a band of some 15 men who proceeded to beat Vidvat mercilessly until he lost consciousness. Praveen rushed him to Mallya Hospital for treatment but Nalapad and his gang arrived there to threaten them.

Praveen lodged a complaint with Cubbon Park police, who were reluctant to register it. After registering an FIR, the police, instead of arresting Nalapad, allowed him time to escape under the pretext of a preliminary investigation.

Home Minister Ramalinga Reddy asked the city police Commissioner to suspend Cubbon Park station inspector, Vijay Hadagali for dereliction of duty. The police had also failed to register an FIR under Section 307, which was added on MOnday night.

Five of the goons were arrested on Sunday evening while Nalapad, who evaded custody for 36 hours, surrendered before Cubbon Park police on Monday morning, henchmen in tow. All seven accused were produced before the 8th ACMM court on Monday and were sent to police custody till WednesdayKOZHIKODE: Collector U.V. Jose has called for a combined effort by the district administration and the public to convert the district as a zero waste zone. On March 17, there will be a mass meeting here to make a master plan for it, he said at a conference held as part of the district development project along with the peoples representatives and government officials.

Along with this, we will also check why the works of Vadakara General Hospital got halted for no reasons in spite of sufficient funds. The collector also directed officials to take steps quickly to install CCTV cameras at Thamarassery-Wayanad Ghats. All the MPs, MLAs and the peoples representatives of all the areas that have created issues regarding the zero waste project, will be called for the meeting seeking suggestions for its timely implementation," he said. We also aim to alleviate the fear of the public regarding the project. The government has already allotted necessary funds, but due to the intervention of some people, we are not able to move ahead.Bengaluru: In order to ensure the safety of children in schools the state government has formulated Child Protection Policy, but most schools authorities are casual about it. The state has more than 1,37,810 schools and many of them are yet to implement it.

Dr Kripa Amar Alva, Chairperson, Karnataka State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (KSCPCR) said, The schools have taken the policy very lightly. They should have adopted it when it was approved and the education department had passed the order to implement it.

The State Cabinet had approved Child Protection Policy in April 2016, to curtail incidents of sexual violence against children in schools.

According to the Karnataka State Child Protection Policy, every safe school must have a child-centric approach and the active involvement of children in all the school-related activities.

It also stated that it is necessary to ensure that all communication with or dealings with children, are child-friendly, age-appropriate and do not intimidate or offend, humiliate or degrade their self-respect and dignity.

Tussle between two depts

Its a must to implement the policy for schools. The reason why this policy is still lying on papers is because of the blame game between Women and Child Welfare department and Education department. The responsibility of the Women and Child development was just to make the policy and Education department had to implement it, said Nagasimha G. Rao, Director of Child Rights Trust.

He also said that no training was being provided to the teachers on this and private schools are not even considering this seriously. This policy was made when there was rise in child abuse, now that the momentum is gone, no one is bothered, Nagasimha added.

No training

A Principal of a private school in Bengaluru said, We had formed the committee long back, but we dont have any orientation class or particular teachers assigned for it. A private school teacher from Chitradurga also said that the committee was formed for the sake of it and nothing is been done in the school now.

While Likith, administrator of Euro School said, The Child Protection Policy was adopted year back along with the committee and we are creating awareness for children every day,The new policy also stipulates that all schools must include child protection in staff appraisals and is applicable to all the schools including CBSE, ICSE and international schools.This policy plays a vital role in bringing down the kind of offence that takes place at school level and it is extremely important for the schools to adopt it, Dr Alva added.

In next academic year

An official from Department of Primary and Secondary Education said, We are making it mandatory for schools to implement the policy from the upcoming academic year and we have also recently issued a circular to the schools to implement the policy within six months.Puducherry: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday, while addressing a public rally in Puducherry, took a swipe at the Congress government for the "underdevelopment" of the Union Territory.

He said Puducherry has poor infrastructure and transport system and is a victim of "Congress culture".

"Puducherry has all resources and will-power but why is its development not up to the mark?" he asked.

Accusing the Congress of doing injustice to the people of the state, the PM asked, "Why is it not number one? Are women and youth getting opportunities to move ahead? Are the industries prospering here?"

Modi asserted that even after attaining independence as early as 1947, India was far behind several countries who gained freedom much later.

"We need to ask ourselves what did we lack in our political culture, our system that we are still lagging behind several nations," he said.

Modi also accused the Gandhi family of having governed the nation using a "remote control".

"Our first PM (Jawaharlal Nehru) governed this nation for 17 years. His daughter (Indira Gandhi) did that for 14 years. Then her son (Rajiv Gandhi) held the post of PM for 5 years. In last 10 years from 2004-14 you saw how the family governed the nation through remote control," he said.

He said one family overtly or covertly ruled India for 48 years and asked the people to compare it with that of the 48 months of BJP rule.

Taking potshots at the Chief Minister V Narayanasamy, Modi congratulated him saying that the Congress would "exhibit" him as a specimen after June.

Velu Narayanasamy is a senior Congress leader who has been serving as the Chief Minister of the south Indian Union Territory of Puducherry since June 2016.

PM Modi arrived in Puducherry on Sunday on the second day of his two-day tour to Tamil Nadu.

Earlier on Saturday, Modi launched the Tamil Nadu government's Amma Two-wheeler Scheme in Chennai and batted for women empowerment.The woman's mother said that her daughter took the extreme step after watching the video in her college. (Photo: Representational/File)

Jabalpur: A 20-year-old woman attempted suicide on Saturday in Madhya Pradesh after her father was allegedly humiliated by a BJP leader.

The man was allegedly forced to bend down with a bottle of water on his back, and the videos were circulated on WhatsApp, according to a report in NDTV.

In the video clip, the head of the BJP cell in Jabalpur, Mohammed Shafique alias Heera was seen harassing the man, threatening him for speaking against him following a financial dispute.

The woman's mother said that her daughter took the extreme step after watching the video in her college.

"After she returned home in the evening, she consumed some poisonous substance. We want the police to arrest these men and take strict action," the mother was quoted as saying by NDTV.

She also alleged that her husband was held captive for two-three hours near Raddi Chowki area on Monday.

Congress chief spokesman KK Mishra has demanded strict action against the BJP leader.

BJP spokesperson Rahul Kothari also said that necessary action will be taken against the guilty.

"There is no place for such a worker in BJP," he added.Nirav Modi's 'planned' exit from India, is similar to one by Winsome Diamond Group promoter Jatin Mehta, who is also considered one of the biggest corporate defaulters. (Photo: Facebook)

Mumbai: The disgraced diamond czar Nirav Modi and his family have moved to his new hideout, Sylvan St Kitts, located in the eastern Caribbean, according to a report in Mumbai Mirror.

Sources in the diamond trading communities of Mumbai and Surat said that the 48-year-old diamantaire has also bought a villa at St Kitts, which is helping him in acquiring citizenship of the Caribbean island nation.

He has been planning this for a while now. In fact, he visited St Kitts along with his family last week, a source revealed to Mumbai Mirror.

St Kitts has become the perfect place for Nirav Modi to stay as it does not have an extradition treaty with India, despite being part of the Commonwealth.

While Indias treaty partners have treaty obligations to consider Indias requests, in the absence of a treaty, it is a matter for the foreign country to consider, in accordance with its domestic laws and procedures, whether the country can agree to Indias extradition request on the basis of an assurance of reciprocity.

According to the St Kitts and Nevis governments website, applicants can win citizenship through an investment program.

Applicants may qualify for citizenship through a contribution to the Sugar Industry Diversification Foundation (SIDF). For a single applicant, a non-refundable contribution of Rs 1.6 crore (USD 250,000) is required.

Applicants may also qualify for citizenship through an investment in a pre-approved real estate project, which may include hotel shares, villas, and condominium units. The minimum real estate investment required by law is Rs 2.6 crore (USD 400,000) for each main applicant.

Now that his passport has been revoked by the MEA, he will set up another diamond trading unit in either Singapore or Hong Kong," another source said.

He can do this and continue to evade Indian authorities, because neither of these countries will extradite him, since he will be a St Kitts citizen soon, he added.

The Indian Government on Saturday revoked the passports of celebrity jeweller Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi, key accused in Rs. 11, 400 crore Punjab National Bank scam.

Also Read: PNB fraud case: Government revokes passports of Nirav Modi, Mehul Choksi

The ministry of external affairs (MEA) sent an email informing Nirav that his passport stands revoked under section 10 (3) (C) of the Passport Act.

Modi, Choksi and others are being investigated by multiple probe agencies after the fraud came to light recently following a complaint by the Punjab National Bank. The complaint alleged that they cheated the nationalised bank to the tune of Rs 11,400 crore, with the purported involvement of a few employees of the bank.

Nirav along with his wife Ami, brother Neeshal and Mehul Choksi left India in the first week of January before the Punjab National Bank accused them of committing the fraud. They have not returned to India since then.

Nirav Modi's "planned" exit from India, is similar to one by Winsome Diamond Group promoter Jatin Mehta, who is also considered one of the biggest corporate defaulters.

Jatin Mehta, who is now a citizen of Saint Kitts owes Rs 6,800 crore to 15 banks in India.

Until the PNB declared its fraudulent transactions, the Winsome Diamond Group scam was country's second largest banking fraud after Kingfisher Airlines.'She was a veteran of the film industry, whose long career included diverse roles and memorable performances. My thoughts are with her family and admirers in this hour of grief. May her soul rest in peace,' Modi tweeted. (Photo: Twitter)

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday mourned the death of veteran Bollywood actress Sridevi on Twitter.

"Saddened by the untimely demise of noted actor Sridevi. She was a veteran of the film industry, whose long career included diverse roles and memorable performances. My thoughts are with her family and admirers in this hour of grief. May her soul rest in peace," he tweeted.

Saddened by the untimely demise of noted actor Sridevi. She was a veteran of the film industry, whose long career included diverse roles and memorable performances. My thoughts are with her family and admirers in this hour of grief. May her soul rest in peace: PM @narendramodi  PMO India (@PMOIndia) February 25, 2018

Taking to his Twitter handle, President Kovind also expressed condolences and recalled the work of the legendary actor and wrote that she would always be an 'inspiration for others'.

"Shocked to hear of the passing of movie star Sridevi. She has left millions of fans heartbroken. Her performances in films such as Moondram Pirai, Lamhe, and English Vinglish remain an inspiration for other actors. My condolences to her family and close associates (sic)," President Kovind Tweeted.

Shocked to hear of passing of movie star Sridevi. She has left millions of fans heartbroken. Her performances in films such as Moondram Pirai, Lamhe and English Vinglish remain an inspiration for other actors. My condolences to her family and close associates #PresidentKovind  President of India (@rashtrapatibhvn) February 25, 2018

Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu also expressed sadness at the demise and recalled the diverse roles she played in her long career.

Naidu extended condolence to her bereaved family members.

"Felt very sad over the sudden demise of popular actress Sridevi. She was an extremely versatile and talented film star, who had acted in Teulgu, Hindi and other South Indian languages," the vice president tweeted.

According to the family sources, the actor, wife of producer Boney Kapoor, reportedly died due to cardiac arrest late in the night in Dubai, where she had gone, along with her family, to attend her nephew Mohit Marwah's wedding.

Information and Broadcasting Minister Smriti Irani, an actress herself, also grieved the veteran actress's death on twitter.

"Sridevi - a powerhouse of acting , a long journey embellished with success comes to a sudden end. My condolences to her loved ones and fans," she said.

Sridevi - a powerhouse of acting , a long journey embellished with success comes to a sudden end. My condolences to her loved ones and fans.  Smriti Z Irani (@smritiirani) February 25, 2018

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu also expressed grief.

"As a multilingual actress, especially for the Telugus, she( #Sridevi) became the most favorite heroine. She remains as a proud actress of India with her unparalleled acting skills," he said.

The actor is survived by husband Boney Kapoor and two daughters Janhvi and Khushi.Bengaluru: Almost 34 years after travelling to space, Indias only space traveller Rakesh Sharma is hopeful of seeing a successor soon. On the sidelines of Sangam, the annual alumni meet held at International Institute of Information Technology Bangalore (IIIT-B) on Saturday, he said the time is near as ISRO is close to making it a reality through its various indigenous projects. Excerpts from his chat with Deccan Chronicle:

It has been more than three decades after you became the first Indian citizen to visit space and you are yet to witness a successor. What are your hopes on the same and how far are we from making that happen?

Almost 34 years down the line, technology has changed and this has helped more innovative solutions to take form towards many initiatives led by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), with the manned space programme being one among them. With a good share of preliminary work already taking place at ISRO, over time we have proved that there is no question of a capability deficit. ISROs own recovery vehicle landing back in the designated landing area at Bay of Bengal and some of the other major technologies required for the space flight being tested successfully repeatedly prove that the time is near. Continuity of funding is essential for the overall development of the programme. Once it is done and priorities are set, well soon see more Indians making it to the space and beyond. I have also been interacting with them over these years and in fact, I would be visiting them at Ahmedabad next week. Alongside proper funding, the programme should be time-bound and well thought with a proper plan of action identifying strengths and constraints  something which teams at ISRO are always capable of.

With the debate of science v/s superstition garnering more traction, amid remarkable technological advancements, have you ever felt that the latter is gaining more popularity within our societies?

I personally havent felt that superstition is getting popular nowadays, but yes, modifying societal behaviour is something that has to be thought of. As a society, our upbringing has also played an influential role in this. Therefore, getting scientific exposure is quintessential. The more people are exposed to science, the more we will move away from superstition.

Travelling to and being at space, what has been your biggest learning and experience?

Watching sunrise and sunset from space, which is a beautiful sight, has been a personal privilege I have attained while being there. Another reflection from within I felt was that there was nothing which was neither visible and nor with a supportive environment as to how Planet Earth is. That later led me to the realisation with force that the environment needs to be conserved and protected by all means.

Your advice to aspiring astronauts from India?

The future is very bright for young Indians as work has already started towards making their dreams a reality. It is high time we realise that you cannot keep humanity away from space and beyond. Such aspirations will become even more meaningful once the manned space programme takes an official form and is announced. As days pass, a lot more career options will open, probably, when space gets colonised. We have to be prepared in all aspects to make the most of the situation being future-ready with passion, innovative ability, attitude and integrity being co-travellers always with the individual.NEW DELHI: The state-of-the-art Arjun Main Battle Tank Mk II is facing a challenging task in trying to shed weight from 68.6 tonne to less than 65 tonne. So far, by using lighter fitments and making adjustments we have been able to lose only about 1.5 tonne which is far above the Armys requirement of less than 65 tonne tank. Redesigning and assessments are on, said a military source familiar with the weight loss effort who did not want to be named.

The Arjun MBT Mk II is an improved version of Mk I and has been developed with 73 tank-fittable improvements of which 15 are major tank-fittable improvements as a result of which an additional tonnage was gained over the Arjun MBT Mk I. But additional weight has resulted in problems relating to agility, mobility and operational employability.

That is why it is important to reduce the weight of the tank. The weight reduction effort is now being undertaken by the Defence Research and Development Organisation and Combat Vehicles Research and Development Establishment mainly by redesigning the hull and turret structure by using innovative material to replace the conventional structure. The Army had ruled out an agility and mobility test of Arjun tank that was to be pitted against the Russian-made T-90 saying that the Arjun MBT Mk II and T-90 are of different class and weight classifications and their deployment is as per assigned operational roles.The woman, Ramya (name changed) reached the city last Friday. In May last year, the woman who was working as a nurse went to Kuwait through an agent.

Chennai: A 45-year-old woman from Coimbatore who was harassed by her employer in Kuwait for more than six months was rescued by officials recently.

The woman, Ramya (name changed) reached the city last Friday. In May last year, the woman who was working as a nurse went to Kuwait through an agent.

On reaching there, she was met with another agent who confiscated her passport and made her sign on three blank notes.

According to a representative of the National Domestic Workers Movement who helped in rescuing the woman from her employer, the nurses workload was slowly increased after a month and she was made to work for over 20 hours on days. Apart from her nursing duties, she was also made to do a range of work including housekeeping, the representative said.

Ramya managed to contact her husband, after which her phone was also seized. When she questioned the harassment, she was told to repay the loan of `2 lakh she took from the employer with interest and was also threatened with consequences. Meanwhile, two nurses from Kerala who relieved themselves from the employer told Ramyas husband about the ordeal she was facing there, after which he filed a complaint with the authorities.

Meanwhile, NDWM also coordinates and rescues the woman with the help of the Indian Embassy in Kuwait. Ramya was issued an emergency passport and sent home. She reached the City airport last Friday.The PM is scheduled to address a mammoth rally in Davangere on February 27 to mark the birthday of the BJPs chief ministerial candidate B.S. Yeddyurappa and that could well mark the beginning of a determined onslaught by the party to capture this Lingayat-dominated district.

Once known as Manchester of Karnataka, Davangere in the heart of the state is slowly but steadily warming up to the Assembly polls. This is the land of the mouth-watering Benne Dose which has captured millions of hearts across the state and the land where the Communists held sway for a long time because of the several cotton mills which employed thousands of workers. The district has a 16.5 lakh electorate and eight Assembly seats and is no stranger to drought or water scarcity which have left the arecanut growers in dire straits more than once. The problems confronting Bhadra canal tail-end farmers and drinking water issues in rural areas are other poll issues which could soon become raging topics of discussion in the district. The BJP sank its roots in the district in the 2008 election winning six seats and wresting Jagalur constituency through Operation Lotus. But the Congress had its revenge winning seven Assembly seats in the next polls in 2013. As D-Day approaches, the Congress is riding high on the development plank of the state government while the BJP is posing a tough challenge by trying its best to revive the Narendra Modi magic. The PM is scheduled to address a mammoth rally in Davangere on February 27 to mark the birthday of the BJPs chief ministerial candidate B.S. Yeddyurappa and that could well mark the beginning of a determined onslaught by the party to capture this Lingayat-dominated district. Vittal Shastri analyses the unique political trends in Davangere and finds out if voters will continue to repose their trust in the Congress and its veteran leader Shamanur Shivashankarappa or decide its time to break with the past.

Once upon a time, the cacophony of cotton textile mills used to be reverberate in Davangere reflecting the dominance of the working class. The Communist party ruled the roost for two decades in the Assembly and city municipality polls before the BJP and Congress wrested control during the 1990s and after the Ayodhya-Babri Masjid row.

More than fifty per cent of the population was dependant on the textile sector in one form or the other as the town was known for producing quality dhotis, saris and other clothing. The Communists had to bite the dust after the shutdown of all seven mills which its leaders attribute to the agreement on tariff and trade (GATT). More than twenty thousand textile labourers employed in these mills were forced to migrate or take up petty business to eke out a living. The townships that have come up in the vast areas these textile mills once occupied, stand mute testimony to the period of Communist dominance. With the disappearance of the cotton based industry, there was a shift to paddy and sugarcane from cotton which was then grown in more than 20,000 hectares.

The centre point of Karnataka is a much sought after venue for all political parties to launch their poll campaigns as it helps them mobilise a large number of voters from across the state. And here, like in many other parts of the state, its one family, belonging to the predominant Lingayat community- which comprises almost half of the electorate- which determines whats good and bad for Davangere.

Read | No effect of Lingayat religion row on my poll prospects: Shamanur Shivashankarappa

As the polls approach, freebies are in full flow-clothes and many other gifts. This is the place when CPI candidate Pampapati won elections three times by getting notes as well as votes from the public. The people used to serve food to us and our party workers when we visited their doorstep seeking votes. Our party had won the Assembly poll in Davangere even when there was a Congress wave after Indira Gandhis assassination. Now, our vote share is restricted to a few thousands as the working class has deserted the city after closure of the textile mills, said 77-year old Communist leader H.K. Ramachandrappa, who is one among the six CPI leaders who has served as president of the Davangere city municipality. These Communist leaders have no option but to stay away from politics due to increasing money power and the predominance of caste in polls. Their activities are confined to organizing workers in unorganized sectors such as Anganwadis, mid-day meal scheme workers and construction workers.

For the Congress, the leading face has always been Akhila Bharata Veerashaiva Mahasabha president Shamanur Shivashankarappa, who runs educational institutions and industries. He has his own helicopter to fly to Bengaluru for attending Assembly sessions and for work in other cities. Unmindful of his old age, the octogenarian is keen to enter the poll fray again from Davangere South. He has already intensified his campaign to woo voters. But the three-time legislator may face a tough challenge from BJP district president Yashvant Rao whose name is doing the rounds for the poll ticket. It is rumoured that the Congress may deny the ticket to Shivashankarappa citing his old age as his son and horticuture minister S.S. Mallikarjun is set to contest from Davangere North. There is pressure to give the ticket to a Muslim or a woman candidate in one of these constituencies as dynasty politics has continued for more than a decade in the city with the father-son duo calling the shots.

Though riding high on his achievements to develop the city, the horticulture minister will face a tough challenge from his traditional rival and BJP leader S.A. Ravindranath.

Former chief minister J.H. Patels son and JD(U) state president Mahima Patel is also testing his election fortunes by trying to capitalise on the image of his late father in the arecanut growing belt of Channagiri assembly constituency. Though the chances of his victory are remote, the few thousand votes he may bag, could wreck the prospects of the BJPs Madalu Virupakshappa or current Congress legislator Vadnal Rajanna, who are locked in a close contest. The Congress legislator had managed to win the previous polls due to division of votes between the now defunct KJP and BJP. The JD(S) has already declared its State Scheduled Tribe Cell president Hodigere Ramesh as its candidate.

Caste politics has played a pivotal role in Harihar Assembly constituency as only two dominant Lingayat and Kuruba community leaders have been elected till date. A close fight is on the cards between JD(S) MLA H.S. Shivashankar and BJP ticket aspirant B.P. Harish who had lost in the previous election due to a division of party votes after the entry of the KJP candidate.

Internal bickering has been posing a threat to the BJP in Harapanahalli constituency as two factions led by former minister Karunakar Reddy, who has distanced himself from brother Gali Janardhan Reddy and B. Sriramulu, and local leader Kotresh are vying for the party ticket. The tug of war between the two factions had forced B.S. Yeddyurappa to cancel his Parivarthana rally in the town. Kotresh enjoys the support of the Reddy brothers. The constituency is expected to witness a direct fight between Congress MLA M.P. Ravindra and the BJP candidate.

In Honnalli, Congress MLA D.G. Shantangouda will face a tough challenge from BJP ticket aspirant and former minister M.P. Renukacharya who is a close confidant of Yeddyurappa. He had lost in the previous election while contesting on a KJP ticket.

In the ST-reserved Jagalur constituency, it will be a cakewalk for the BJPs S.V. Ramachandrappa if the Congress gives the ticket to its present MLA H.P. Rajesh who is facing the wrath of his own party workers for not taking them into confidence. The constituency is expected to witness a direct fight between both national parties with Congress ZP member K.P. Palayya too a ticket aspirant as he is loyal to Congress leader Satish Jarkiholi.

In the ST-reserved constituency of Mayakonda, both the BJP and Congress have a tough time shortlisting their candidates owing to the big list of aspirants. Sources said current legislator Shivamurthy Naik is unlikely to get the ticket again.

Politics has undergone a drastic change in Davangere where economic factors have forced the Communists out with the Congress and BJP now ruling the roost. Will the Lingayat religion campaign which the Congress had to put on the back-burner after it turned out to be too hot an issue to handle, affect its prospects? Will Yeddyurappa, with a generous helping hand from the PM, salvage the pride of the BJP after the disastrous show in 2013? Or will it be Shamanur again, calling the shots to ride the Congress to victory? With the poll scene still too hazy for a definite forecast, the sweltering heat in Davangere is sure to extract its share of sweat from every candidate in the fray, toiling for victory.Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami and Deputy Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam pay tribute after unveiling of a statue of former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister late J. Jayalalithaa at party headquarters on the occasion of her 70th birth anniversary in Chennai on Saturday.  DC

Chennai: Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami and Deputy Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam on Saturday unveiled the statue of AIADMK leader Jayalalithaa at party headquarters here on Saturday. Both CM Palaniswami and his deputy asserted that no one in Tamil Nadu can dislodge the ruling AIADMK from power.

In his speech, Palaniswami said there are vested interests trying to create a rift between AIADMK functionaries, but their thoughts will not materialise as 1.5 crore party cadres are united and are fighting like soldiers to protect the party and the government like their eyelids.

Heaping praise on party founder MGR and former CM Jayalalithaa deputy CM Panneerselvam said that the AIADMK party would thrive for the next 100 years.

After the demise of Amma new political outfits have mushroomed in TN and the people behind these outfits project them as a saviour of Tamils. Mark my words these outfits would soon burst out like balloons in the sky. Balloons will be colourful for some time, but they will come down when they burst, he said in veiled attack on actors Kamal Haasan and Rajinikanths political plunge .

Puja was performed for the life-size statue of Jayalalithaa and cadres celebrated by distributing sweets and bursing crackers. Both the AIADMK coordinators Panneerselvam and Palaniswami also launched the partys official Tamil daily Namadhu Puratchi Thalaivi Amma, (Our Revolutionary Leader Amma) on the occasion.Prime Minister Narendra Modi launches the Tamil Nadu governments Amma two-wheeler scheme for working women by handing over a vehicle key to a beneficiary in Chennai on Saturday. TN Governor Banwarilal Purohit, Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami, Deputy CM O. Panneerselvam and Speaker P. Dhanapal are also seen.  N. Sampath

CHENNAI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi pitched for women empowerment, saying empowering women tantamounts to empowering the entire family. His BJP-led NDA government is working on this concept to facilitate the development of the nation.

When we empower women in a family, we empower the entire household. When we help with a womans education, we ensure that the family is educated.

When we facilitate her good health, we help keep the family healthy. When we secure her future, we secure future of the entire home, he said while launching the Amma two-wheeler scheme at a packed Kalaivanar Arangam near Marina beach here on Saturday.

The Amma two-wheeler scheme for working women and also the planting of 70 lakh saplings marked the 70th birth anniversary celebrations of former Chief Minister and AIADMK general secretary J. Jayalalithaa, here. The AIADMK governments scheme was announced in the run-up to the 2016 Assembly elections. It provides 50 per cent subsidy to working women to buy two-wheelers.

I am glad to be able to launch one of her dream projects  the Amma two-wheeler scheme. I am told that on Amma's 70th birth anniversary, 70 lakh saplings will be planted across Tamil Nadu. These initiatives will go a long way in empowerment of women and protection of nature, the PM said while addressing the huge gathering.

We made a change in the Factory's Act and suggested states to allow women to work in night shifts as well. We also extended maternity leave from 12 to 26 weeks. Under the PM Awaas Yojana, the registry of the House is done in the name of the woman, Mr Modi said. Lashing out at the Congress, he said, during the UPA regime Tamil Nadu had received `81,000 crore under the 13th Finance Commission. But after the NDA came to power, this state received `1,80,000 crore under the 14th Finance Commission.

Over `24,000 crore worth projects are currently being implemented through the Government of India in Tamil Nadu. After NDA came to power, we sanctioned `3,700 crore for the Chennai Metro Rail Project, he said listing out the schemes for the state. As part of its mission to provide housing for all by 2022 and TN has been given `700 crore during 2016 - 17 and `200 crore for rural housing during 2017  18 respectively besides `6,000 crore under the Urban Housing scheme.

The Union government has been working towards modernisation of fishing in TN and has given Rs.100 crore for long line trawling.

On Sunday, the PM will visit Puducherry. At Aurobindo Ashram, he will offer floral tributes to Shri Aurobindo, and interact with students of Sri Aurobindo International Centre of Education.

He will also release a commemorative a postage stamp on the golden jubilee celebrations of Auroville.

PM floors Dravidian stalwarts with extempore oratory

In the Dravidian state where the political stalwarts are known for their fiery speeches albeit from carefully prepared and rehearsed texts, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday stunned all at the Amma scooter function with his extempore oratory that froze many dropped jaws on the decorated dais.

Not just that, he also made it clear that he did not have to subscribe to the Amma agenda set by the host government and used most of his 20 minutes at the mike to explain in his signature stentorian tone the many schemes that his NDA Government had done for the people in general and for the women in particular; for India in general and for Tamil Nadu in particular.

He did not care to touch on Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswamis appeal to speed up the setting up of the Cauvery Management Board and the Cauvery Regulation Committee as per the directions of the honourable Supreme Court.

That would be the business of the officials already vested with the responsibility and there was no need to play to the gallery by making fancy promises for the sake of crowd applause, the PM must have thought.

On the other hand, his speechprepared with great care and in deliberate detailserved as a clear warning to the Dravidian politicos and their well-entrenched parties that it would be possible to hold an audience even on home turf by dumping the filmi rhetoric and sticking to hard facts backed by real statistics.

It was clear that the men on the podium were clean bowled by the manner in which the PM spoke on the many national projects his government had implemented to help the people.

The huge audience in the hall-and surely the thousands watching on TV at homes-were clearly impressed. But what must have stunned them even more was that he did not need to refer to any notes when he listed out the projects done for Tamil Nadu.

Over `24,000 crore worth projects are currently being implemented through the Government of India in Tamil Nadu, said the PM. After NDA came to power, we sanctioned `3,700 crore for the Chennai Metro Rail ProjectCentre is working to provide housing to every person by 2022. TN has been given `700 crore during 2016 - 17 and R`200 crore for rural housing during 2017 - 18.

Under the Urban Housing scheme, TN has been given `6,000 crore. The Union government has been working towards modernisation of fishing in TN and has given `100 crore for long-line trawling.

All that had come straight from the mind, not from any written text under the mike-light.

But lo, Prime Minister Modi does not have anyone worth the saffron tinge in Tamil Nadu who could learn from his public speaking skills and challenge the Dravidian leaders on the many rival podiums-none at all.

Understanding the heaviness of the burden the boss was leaving behind on that Kalaivanar stage, Union minister Pon Radhakrishnan sat stunned as he listened to the PM not just speak about his government's development and welfare projects but also roll out specific statistics to punctuate that. How on earth was he going to try anything like that ever in his life, Ponnar might have thought as he listened spellbound; or perhaps, drew images of himself doing something like that at his own public rallies down the districts.Vijaypura: An impressive crowd converged at the Gandhi Chowk to get a glimpse of Congress president Rahul Gandhi who embarked on a short road show from Tikota to Vijayapura.

Mr Gandhi visited Tikota to interact with the Stree Shakti Samooha (women self-help groups) before leaving for Vijayapura by road in a bus. He discussed the challenges they face and help expected from the government. As his bus proceeded towards Vijayapura, a large number of curious onlookers and party workers lined up on both sides of the road to see Mr Gandhi.

When the bus entered Vijayapura city, Mr Gandhi stood on the foot board and waved at the cheering crowd. A few of them managed to shake hands with Gandhi despite Special Protection Group (SPG) cover. Soon many others lined up to shake hands with him. The SPG commandos had a tough time driving away people who came too close in bulk to touch him. A grand welcome awaited Mr Gandhi at the Gandhi Chowk where hundreds of party workers received him dancing, whistling and sloganeering. A human pyramid was also formed to welcome him. At the request of a few party workers, Mr Gandhi walked a few distance with them and posed for selfie too. He also had tea and biscuits at a small eatery of a Congress worker in the city.

In Tikota, Mr Gandhi said that his party would get the women's reservation bill passed in Parliament once it comes to power at the Centre.

He also asked the party's Karnataka unit to ensure that more women aspirants get tickets during the coming Assembly elections in the state. We worked towards ensuring reservation for women in Panchayatraj; we had brought a bill aimed at providing reservation for women in Parliament, which the BJP has not implemented till today, Gandhi said. Addressing a Sthree Shakti Samavesha here, he said, Once the Congress party comes to power in New Delhi, it will do and show you women's reservation in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.New Delhi: In the Rajya Sabha, where many crucial bills of the BJP-led NDA government remain pending due to the lack of a majority, the ruling party is hopeful that it will secure a working majority after the March 23 biennial polls to 58 seats in the Upper House, including 10 from UP. Besides the biennial elections, polling will also be held for the Kerala seat vacated after the resignation of JD-U member M.P. Veerendra Kumar in December. Mr Kumars term was due to end in April 2022. The ruling partys floor managers in the Upper House claim that the NDA will get a majority in the 245-member House if members of friendly parties like the AIADMK, TRS, BJD and YSR are also added to the ruling alliance tally.

The seats falling vacant are from Andhra Pradesh (3), Bihar (6), Chhattisgarh (1), Gujarat (4), Haryana (1), Himachal (1), Karnataka (4), Madhya Pradesh (5), Maharashtra (6), Telangana (3), Uttar Pradesh (10), Uttarakhand (1), West Bengal (5), Odisha (3), Rajasthan (3) and Jharkhand (2). In UP, where the maximum seats will fall vacant, the BJP expects to win at least nine. In Rajasthan, now under BJP rule, the BJP hopes to bag all three against the one it has, and in Maharashtra the party and its ally Shiv Sena are expected to bag four of the six seats against the two they have at present.

The NDAs numbers are expected to fall in states like Bihar, where it could win three, unlike the six it currently holds, while in Gujarat it is unlikely to retain more than two of the four seats. Though not a part of treasury benches, regional parties like the AIADMK, TRS, BJD and YSR have often refrained from joining the Opposition camp led by the Congress in blocking the governments agenda. The BJP has already surpassed the Congress to become the largest party in the Rajya Sabha, with 58 seats, in contrast to the latters current tally of 54. The terms of several Union ministers, including Arun Jaitley, Prakash Javadekar, Ravi Shankar Prasad, Thaawar Chand Gehlot and Ramdas Athawale are ending.Thrissur: Thekkinkad Maidan in the heart of the city turned a red sea on Sunday afternoon with thousands of CPM workers carrying red flags thronging for the conclusion of 22nd state conference. Clad in red clothes 25,000 volunteers including 10,000 women marched to the meeting place after camping in four different locations before the public meet commenced. State secretariat member Baby John delivered the welcome speech. State secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan presided over the meeting which was inaugurated by general secretary Sitaram Yechury.

The state conference was held as a run-up to the national congress to be held in Hyderabad in April, which will chalk out the latest policies and strategies of the party to end the exploitation of poor and the working class by the capitalist and those in power. Defeating of the BJP government in power at the centre is the primary objective for our march towards socialism and create a better India, he said. He said that it would be achieved by unifying the democratic forces and not by having an electoral alliance with the Congress.

Congress has the same policies as that of BJP. CPM national congress will resolutely workout a clear-cut plan on poll strategies to be employed to maximise anti-BJP votes. At present, 73 percent of the wealth created is owned by the one percent of the population, he noted. He further said that the Modi government is working as a middleman for the corrupt corporate houses. The government which is unwilling to write off Rs 80,000 crore farm loans had informed the Parliament that loans worth Rs 2.4 lakh crore to corporates had turned NPAs of public sector banks. Politburo members Prakash Karat, S Ramachandran Pillai, Pinarayi Vijayan, M.A. Baby and central committee members V.S. Achuthanandan, E.P. Jayarajan, K.K. Shailaja, A. Vijayaraghavan among other took part.When we adopted our Constitution in 1950 and became a Republic, our heart was in the right place. But somewhere, this heart has transmuted itself to hurt. Anyone and everyone has assumed that they have the right to be hurt about what anyone or everyone is doing! If not vigilant, we are fast becoming the Republic of Hurt Feelings, simply on the assumption that what an individual or a group does not like entitles them, under the misuse of the freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution, to protest in any manner that they chose to. The latest case in this saga of hurt is the song of Priya Prakash Varrier.

I must confess that when I saw the clipping of the song from the forthcoming Malayalam film Oru Adaar Love, I was absolutely charmed. It was, to my mind, a captivating enactment of adolescent love, and had just the right mix of sensuality and innocence that anyone who has gone through love or infatuation at that age will vouch for. The folk song was written as far back as 1978 by a Muslim, P.M.A. Jabbar, and was first sung by another Muslim, Thallesery Rafeeq, in praise of the Prophet and his wife Beevi Khadija. But now, some Muslim organisations have protested that the song hurt their religious sentiments. Where was their hurt for the last three decades, and what has made them suddenly voice it today? What is worse, in order to harass the makers of the film, and Ms Varrier, the hurt brigade filed multiple criminal proceedings in Telengana state and Maharashtra, but none in Kerala itself!

We have to be eternally grateful to the Supreme Court that, on a petition filed by Ms Varrier, it has stayed all criminal action or FIRs or private complaints against her, and the films director and the producer. Those who claimed that their religious sentiments were hurt by the song were, in reality, a fringe group who believe that on the basis of their own narrow thinking, and their ossified religious fanaticism, they can use the law with impunity to browbeat creativity and freedom of expression, and make the state hostage to their ridiculous machinations. The Supreme Court has given a befitting riposte to their nefarious designs.

But, to be hurt is not the monopoly of one group of people or religion. You will find the hurt brigade on every side of the national spectrum. Actress Sunny Leone was to participate in a New Year eve event on December 31 last year in Bengaluru. But the Karnataka Rakshana Vedike Yuva Sene (KARAVE) announced that an invitation to her would be an assault on the citys culture. The secretary of KARVE said that he would have no objections if she attended the programme wearing a sari as per Indian culture. But if she wore anything else the members of his organisation would commit suicide. For days they took out rallies and burnt effigies of Ms Leone. Reportedly, the Karnataka police refused to provide the requisite security to the event or the organisers. Finally, the hurt brigade won. The event was cancelled.

The kind of morality outrage that was witnessed in Bengaluru is on display in many parts of the country, including, most visibly, in UP on February 14, Valentines Day. Now I am not a great votary of Valentines Day, nor am I against it. At one level, its a cute Western transplant  like so many other things in our lives  and at another a bit of mindless mimicry. But that is not the question here. For hoodlums to chase young couples because their being together on this occasion is against Indian culture is so absurd that I dont know whether to laugh or cry. Have these lumpen protesters heard of Vatsyayana and know in which period he lived? Are they aware of the Radha-Krishna love lore, and ever read Jayadevas beautifully erotic rendering of it in the Gitagovinda?

Do the names of great poets like Chandidasa, Vidyapati, Bihari, Keshavdasa, Mira, Andal sound familiar to them, and are they even remotely informed about the sensual lyricism with which they describe the dalliance between Radha and Krishna? What do they know about the legendary stories of romance between Sohni-Mahiwal, Laila-Majnu? The hurt of the moral brigade is mostly in directly proportion to their abysmal ignorance of Indian culture. And, when they strut about using violence and abuse to protect it, they are not protecting Indian culture ,but reinforcing a Victorian morality that was used by our colonial masters to condemn Indian culture.

The other day I finally found time to see the film Padmaavat. I could not for the life of me understand why the Karni Sena was so hysterically hurt about this film. In fact, the film bent backwards to glorify the legacy of Rajput traditions and culture, and there was nothing whatsoever to be hurt about its contents. But no matter. Most of those of this Sena who resorted to threats and violence and abuse to vent their hurt had, amazingly enough, not even seen the film. For months they held the release of the film hostage to their misplaced sense of hurt, and it was only, once again, when the SC firmly intervened that sanity prevailed.

In a mature democratic republic, there is room for citizens to have their own opinion, and the right to express it. This right is protected by the Constitution. But neither the Constitution nor basic civility gives the right to some to be perennially hurt whenever they so please, and believe that they can either manipulate the law to harass those that dont agree with them, or worse, take the law into their own hands to express their hurt. The lawless community of hurt people in our country is proliferating at an alarming pace, and there seems to be no boundaries on what can hurt whom: What one wears, or eats, or drinks, or does to prove ones patriotism. At this rate, what will really be hurt is the freedom of choice and expression that our republic guarantees to every citizen, and which elected governments, at the Center and in the states, are duty bound to protect, not encourage.Having shunned the media these past four years, the BJP ministers have now started courting press persons. The reason for this outreach is not far to see. The government needs the media since it is clearly on the backfoot with regard to the multi-crore bank fraud involving celebrity jeweller Nirav Modi and the Rafale aircraft deal sealed with France. In addition, the government is worried that its last full-fledged Budget failed to make any impact despite various populist announcements. Consequently, two women ministers invited a select group of journalists separately for an informal interaction to explain the governments position and also to get feedback about the prevailing public mood. One minister admitted that the governments image had taken a hit as it had lost the perception war on the Rafale deal, while the Opposition had scored over it on this issue. In fact, the minister expressed her frustration with the complex functioning of the government machinery which, according to her, can be daunting for a newcomer. Another minister was unhappy that the provisions of the Budget were were not explained properly to them. In fact, she hinted obliquely that finance minister Arun Jaitley had probably erred when he declared in his speech that there would be no changes in the income tax proposals which ended up negating the positive announcements made by him.

The CPM may have decided to keep its distance from the Congress as far as future alliances are concerned, but the grand old party is happy to come to the aid of the Marxists to ensure that liberal and secular forces are not swept aside by a resurgent BJP. As a result, the Congress took a policy decision to keep a low profile in the recent Tripura Assembly polls in order to leave the field open for the Left government. But as polling day drew close, the Congress suddenly realised that it was being wiped out in the north-eastern state where it was once the main Opposition party, while an aggressive BJP had emerged as a major political force. In fact, there is talk that the BJP could even dethrone the 19-year-old Manik Sarkar government in Tripura. The Congress pressed the panic button and hurriedly summoned extra forces to shore up its non-existent campaign. But there was little they could do to improve the partys prospects.

Louise Khurshid, Congress politician and wife of former Union minister Salman Khurshid, started making pickles over a decade ago to tide over the loss of her young daughter. Over time, the therapeutic exercise has developed into a passion. Ms Khurshid now makes a variety of pickles with brinjal, ginger, mango, mandarin orange and grapefruit which are much sought-after as return gifts on the couples annual Christmas party. Ms Khurshid now plans to go a step further and leverage her pickle-making skills in the next elections. She has already had one stint as a legislator in the UP Assembly, but failed to make it subsequently though she contested both Assembly and Lok Sabha elections from the Farrukhabad constituency. So she has now decided to make the pickles in bulk and present them  in bottles labelled, Louise Khurshid ki Rasoi Se  to the women in her constituency when she hits the campaign trail.

Rama Pilot, the wife of the late Congress leader Rajesh Pilot and mother of Rajasthan Congress president Sachin Pilot, has been a politician in her own right. She was a member of the Rajasthan Assembly and also won the Dausa Lok Sabha seat. She, however, decided to take a backseat after her son began his political journey in 2004. But she keeps herself occupied. Having authored a book on her late husband, Rajesh Pilot: A Biography, she is currently penning a book on her son which is expected to come out this year-end to coincide with the Rajasthan Assembly polls. It is being hoped that the book will boost Mr Pilots image in the polls, a major test for him since he took charge of the party.It appears the recent observations of the Army chief, General Bipin Rawat, on socio-political trends in Assam, have not been appreciated for the context in which these were made. At a seminar of military professionals on the North East Region of India  Bridging gaps and Securing Borders, organised by the Centre for Warfare Studies and the Integrated Headquarters of the Defence ministry, the Army chief noted that a regional party of Assam, the AUDF, had grown faster than the BJP. This has been misunderstood in some quarters to mean that he favoured one party over another, while the context suggests that he was referring to an underlying trend with an impact on the security matrix. He noted that the ISI was engaged in a long-term exercise of pushing illegal Bangladeshi immigrants into northeastern India.

It is not clear from his reported remarks if he said that illegal immigrants voted AUDF. It is well-known, however, that the AUDF, led by Badruddin Ajmal, is not an exclusive Muslim party, and that it draws voters and candidates from non-Muslims as well. The Indian Army is known for its apolitical nature. Indeed, not long ago, General Rawat had urged, in the Kashmir context, that any temptation to politicise the armed forces must be eschewed. While speaking on the northeast, he pointedly noted that Muslims in Assam arrived in the early 13th century, before the arrival on the scene of the Ahoms (from Thailand), who make up the Hindu society in the state. As such, he noted, it would be wrong to discriminate against them in any manner when illegal immigrants were being identified. Political leaders should take note.There is a lot that India and Canada can do together, and yet the relationship has not lived up to its potential. Indias economic growth in the past two decades has drawn international attention, and leading countries have sought to enhance trade and investment ties with it. Canada is a G-7 member and advanced Western economy. Indias nuclear programme was initiated with Canadas assistance in the 1950s, when Ottawa provided India an experimental small nuclear reactor in the context of the Atoms for Peace programme. And yet, India-Canada relations need to be worked upon, primarily by Ottawa.

This would have become clear to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau  whose father Pierre Trudeau, an important world figure and Canadas leader, had sought to foster close relations with India  in the course of his just-ended week-long visit to India. The ties between the two countries have been hobbled by the factor of Khalistani separatists and extremists, who operate freely in Canada in spite of the fact that the biggest terrorist attack on civil aviation was mounted by Canada-based Sikh extremists against Air Indias Kanishka. The Sikhs, settled in Canada over generations, are around 40 per cent of the total Indian diaspora of 1.4 million people, and their votes are eagerly cultivated by politicians, especially democrats and liberals, in the name of promoting diversity. The Canadian PM has also attended gurdwara services in his country where convicted terrorists have been lauded. It is for this reason that Punjab Chief Minister Amrinder Singh had refused to meet Canadas defence minister, a Sikh gentleman, two years ago. Mr Trudeau also got to meet Mr Singh earlier this week only after he made it clear that his government did not promote extremism and terrorism in any form.

This basic idea was reinforced when the visiting dignitary met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday, some five days after he arrived in India  a fact commented on widely in the media. At any rate, Mr Trudeau would have been left in little doubt that the Sikh in Punjab is a different species from the extremist contingents who seek to control the political discourse on India in Canada, and distort the contents of Indian democracy and its complex negotiations with the idea of diversity. It is noteworthy that two joint statements were issued after the Prime Ministers met. One, titled the Framework for Cooperation between India and Canada on Countering Terrorism and Violent Extremism, named Pakistan-based terrorist outfits, the al-Qaeda and Islamic State, as well as Babbar Khalsa and the International Sikh Youth Federation. This is an important step forward, and will add content to bilateral cooperation in the areas of Canadian uranium exports to India, agriculture, education and S&T, for which agreements were signed during the Trudeau visit.Lok Sabha elections will be held on schedule said Ram Vilas Paswan, Union minister for consumer affairs, food and public distribution dismissing speculation that the NDA will seek mandate for another term in 2018 itself. Mr Paswan, whose Lok Janshakti Party is an NDA partner, told Pramod Kumar that advancing Lok Sabha polls has never been a good strategy. Mr Paswan is the only leader to serve as Union minister under six different Prime Ministers.

Several leaders of the BJP have supported the idea of an early Lok Sabha election. Will the government call elections by the end of this year instead of April-May 2019?

Being an NDA partner, I can confidently tell you that Lok Sabha polls will be held on time. Advancing Lok Sabha polls has never been a good idea at all. People are aware of the outcome of the Atal Bihari Vajpayee governments decision to advance the 2004 Lok Sabha elections.

President Ram Nath Kovinds pitch for simultaneous Lok Sabha and Assembly polls in his Parliament address fueled speculation of an early election. What are your views on holding national and Assembly elections simultaneously?

The need for holding simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha and state Assemblies has been voiced for several years now. Even a parliamentary standing committee examined the issue and submitted its report. It was referred to the Law Commission and the Election Commission of India. While the desirability of holding simultaneous elections is undeniable, the problem lies in the implementation.

What are these problems?

The basic problem in holding simultaneous elections is that the terms of the Lok Sabha and the state Assemblies do not coincide though that was the original intent of the Constitution. Holding simultaneous polls will be tough for the Election Commission also which is stretched both in terms of staff and funds. A logistical challenge for the EC would be procuring EVMs, two to three times more than their present number.

Be specific. Are you in favour of holding early Lok Sabha polls or not?

I would like to repeat the slogan of Prime Minister  Sabka saath, sabka vikas. With this slogan the NDA will win 2019 Lok Sabha polls with thumping majority. Thats all I would like to say.

Ahead of 2019 elections, why are the BJPs allies upset? What would you like to say about the cracks appearing in the NDA? The BJPs oldest ally, Shiv Sena, is not happy and its southern partner TDP is annoyed.

Its not like that. The NDA is intact and there is no question of resentment at all. We work like a family. I am sure that the issues raised by certain allies, which you also have mentioned, will be resolved amicably.

Apart from major regional players, smaller parties too, like Union minister Upendra Kushwahas RLSP in Bihar, are angry that the BJP joined hands with JD(U) in Bihar?

I would not like to comment on that. I will only say that the leader of dalits and mahadalits is Ram Vilas Paswan and I am with the BJP-led NDA. The support for me is not divided on caste lines, people of all castes like me. The voters of Ram Vilas Paswan in the entire country are with me, they are not bothered about issues which are being raised by the Opposition parties. Dalits and mahadalits are with me only, they are not with anybody else, especially in Bihar.

Contrary to your claims, former Bihar chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi, who is also a partner of the NDA, says he is the real leader of the dalits in the state, and not you.

What should I say to that? He knows the answer. No need to further react on that. People of my state know that I am the only leader of dalits and mahadalits. The chapter is closed now. One can claim anything but its difficult to prove. I have proved it.

What would you like to say about your arch political rival and your old friend RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav who has been convicted in the infamous fodder scam?

Mr Lalu Prasad Yadav and his family have no political future. He is now finished. Not only fodder scam, they are facing several other corruption cases as well.

Mr Yadav and his family also amassed property using shell companies set up by other people and then bought back the companies along with the landholdings. The electorate of Bihar will not vote for his party again.

The RJD leader alleges that the court verdict depicts a conspiracy by the BJP and chief minister Nitish Kumar to defame Mr Yadav. Is that so?

Let them say whatever they want to say. Its a judicial decision; we should not react on it. All the corruption cases in which they (RJD leaders) are involved are very old; that was the time when they (RJD leaders) were at the helm of affairs. They should think twice before leveling such allegations.Nirav Modi joins the list of smart young Gujarati men, including Harshad Mehta, Hiten Dalal, Jatin Mehta and Ketan Parekh, each of whom has taken thousands of crores from taxpayers in the last few years. I say taxpayers because though the money vanished from public sector banks, it is the citizens money that is being stolen.

On Thursday, the Punjab National Bank (PNB) said it would be raising about Rs 5,500 crore from the government by selling its shares at Rs 163. The market price of the share is Rs 113 and falling. And so you and I are paying a premium of `50 per share for investing in an incompetent bank that has squandered our money. We are being assured that once this extra money is pumped in, all will be fine. This, of course, is bogus and a repeat of what has happened to us in the same way several times before as well and is bound to happen again. What we know as the stock market scam was actually a banking fraud just like Nirav Modis and Jatin Mehtas.

The journalists, Debashish Basu and Sucheta Dalal, wrote a book called The Scam: From Harshad Mehta to Ketan Parekh. They revised it with the title Also Includes JPC Fiasco and Global Trust Bank Scam. I fear they will have to keep revising it because this wretched nation seems to have no shortage of huge banking frauds. Of the Harshad Mehta matter, Mr Basu and Ms Dalal write that the scam was so gigantic that it was easy to lose perspective  larger than the health budget, larger than the education budget, it made millions of rupees look like loose change. As the stock prices started crashing all over the country, following the most explosive and absurd rise over the previous six months, the scam  fifty times the size of Bofors  invaded middle-class homes like a whirlwind.

Mehta bought securities for the State Bank of India but did not deliver them; instead he used the money to speculate. Mr Basu and Ms Dalal write that in this scheme, he was aided by the blue-blooded ANZ Grindlays Bank and the National Housing Bank, the fully-owned subsidiary of the Reserve Bank of India. Both freely credited cheques to Harshads account. Harshad also managed to operate SBIs account maintained with the RBI as his own, putting through fictitious purchases and sales through that account and having his own bank account credited or debited corresponding to such buying/selling.

The infection, as is absolutely clear, is total. It is absurd to pin it on one or two employees of any bank. The one and only cure is to ensure that there is rule of law. Not in any specific case but in all cases  from traffic violations to murder. The criminal justice system must be functional. The state must respect and follow due process  always and without exception  even when it may appear to be going soft on the accused. This is very, very hard work but there is no other cure. Is this cure being administered by the government when we look at recent high profile cases and at events around us? I will leave it for the readers to judge.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has still to address the Nirav Modi matter. Without naming him or the bank, the PM, on Friday, said, I want to appeal to those who have been given the task of framing rules and maintaining ethics in financial institutions to perform their duty with full faith, particularly those who have been given the responsibility of monitoring and supervision.

He said, We will continue to take action, and that the inappropriate use of the peoples money would not be accepted by the new system created by the government. Of course, others have said the same thing before when the money was lost under them but the scams have continued. As a nation and a culture, we seem to have no immunity at all against the smooth-talking Gujarati youth who can easily take our banking system for a ride. Harshad Mehta called his investment philosophy replacement cost theory. The idea was to value an established companys shares not based on its current earnings but what it would require to replace it if it did not exist. Only in his early 30s when he was named Big Bull, he was celebrated and lionised as a genius.

We are informed that Nirav Modi had begun milking PNB seven years ago. It cannot be a coincidence that he and his family, uncles and all, vanished from India only days before the scam was discovered. Surely someone senior in the government alerted him that the scandal was about to break. In that same speech referred to above, the PM appealed to those entrusted with the task of monitoring and vigilance to do their job with full diligence. I wish to make it clear that this government will take stringent action against financial irregularities The system will not accept irregular accumulation of public money. This is the basic mantra of new economy  new rule. Whether or not one believes these words, given the track record, we should all hope that our country develops greater immunity to the plunder of public funds. An end to the sequence of Mehta, Dalal, Parekh and Modi would be a relief. Meanwhile, it would be a blessing on all of us if the PM could stop, at least, this aspect of the Gujarat model from visiting the rest of the country again.There is growing disconnect between the Centre and the J&K government on several issues. Now a senior cops promotion seems to have deepened the fissures. Even as the Mehbooba Mufti-led state government promoted a 2000-cadre IPS officer B.S. Rath to the rank of IGP, the Union ministry of home affairs has questioned the state governments decision. Rather, it has called for action against the cop for alleged violation of service rules. Mr Rath is no stranger to controversy. He has been the subject of an inquiry by the IB for his articles in the media and his flamboyant style of functioning. But MHAs concerns seem to have left the state government unmoved. The J&K government has chosen to remain silent over the MHAs view; it has not just elevated the cop to IGP rank, but also and named him chief of the state traffic police.

The officer everyone covets:

The unexpected repatriation of B. Chandrakala, a 2008-batch IAS officer, to her state cadre of Uttar Pradesh has baffled babu-watchers. Less than a year after she was appointed deputy secretary in the ministry of drinking water & sanitation (DWS), the UP government has wrested her back. Those in the know say that initially there was a proposal to appoint her as a personal secretary (PS) to Sadhwi Niranjan Jyoti, minister of state for food processing, but the scenario suddenly changed and her batchmate from Bihar cadre, Ashima Jain, was appointed PS to Ms Jyoti. Ms Chandrakala was lauded by none other than DWS secretary P. Parameshwaran Iyer, the retired IAS officer who was handpicked by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to lead the Swachchh Bharat Mission, when she made Bijnor an open-defecation free district. She was brought to the capital in recognition of her efforts. Sources say that Mr Iyer made serious efforts to retain her in the ministry, but UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath prevailed.Aditya Arya may have begun photography back in 1980, but his passion clearly hasnt died down. The photographer recently travelled to Jerusalem where he captured the Jerusalem Stone, known not only for its spiritual, historic and regional significance, but also for its remarkable durability as a high-quality building material. The stone is why ancient streets, buildings and monuments of Jerusalem remain perfectly intact for the past 3,000 years. I hadnt planned to focus on the yellow Jerusalem stone until I reached Jerusalem. Every building there is constructed with this stone  its Jewish identity, says the eminent photographer.





After graduating in History from St. Stephens College, Delhi University in 1980, he worked in the Mumbai film industry for some of the leading directors. He soon moved back to Delhi. Aditya is not only known for his commercial and travel portfolio, but also for his expertise in the field of advertising and corporate photography, specialising in products, interiors and food. Photography is about seeing. A photograph is formed in my head even before I click the photo. Unlike this generation, where photographers click hundreds of photos. Each photo has one decisive moment, he says.





Aditya was in Jerusalem for a week and he says that it was a fantastic experience. From a man entering the mosque, a shop window to a lady stepping on the footpath, his photos are stunning. However, the one that stands out is without doubt a white bird and its shadow on the Wailing Wall. Israel is a place with conflict, but it was good to see both sides of the story, says Aditya.





Aditya has documented historic photographic works from the famous Kulwant Roy Collection of the pre and post independence era. He has played a pivotal role in the establishment of India Photo Archive Foundation and the Neel Dongre Awards/Grants for Excellence in Photography. And now, he is coming up with Museo Camera  the only photography and camera museum in India. With more than 1,000 rare and iconic cameras and other equipment, this museum traces the history of photography from the 1870s to the Digital Era.





Its set to open in Gurugram by the end of this year. The museum is 22,000 square feet. People can learn and experience vintage photography apart from being mentored by senior photographers and setting up their galleries, he says. Adityas advice for amateur photographers: Go to a new place. Pre-visualise your shots and do not depend on technology.Xiaomi and Microsoft to deepen the cooperation around cloud computing, AI and hardware, in order to make Xiaomis products and services better fit global market

Xiaomi and Microsoft signed a Strategic Framework Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to further deepen the partnership between the two companies. Microsofts technologies in cloud computing and AI will help in strengthening Xiaomis acceleration of its international expansion.

Based on the strategic MoU, Xiaomi and Microsofts cooperation will focus on the following aspects:

Cloud support: Xiaomi is in the process of expanding its user base in the global market. Xiaomi and Microsoft will explore utilising Microsoft Azure cloud platform to support Xiaomis user data storage, bandwidth, computing and other cloud services in international markets.

Laptop-type devices: Xiaomi will leverage Microsofts support for joint marketing, channel support, and future product development for Xiaomis laptop and laptop-type devices to penetrate international markets.

Microsoft Cortana and Mi AI Speaker: Both companies are discussing opportunities to integrate Cortana with Mi AI Speaker. Senior executives from both parties are involved to drive technology integration and collaboration for AI-powered speakers.

AI services collaboration: Xiaomi and Microsoft intend to explore multiple cooperative projects based on a broad range of Microsoft AI technologies, such as Computer Vision, Speech, Natural Language Processing, Text Input, Conversational AI, Knowledge Graph and Search, as well as related Microsoft AI products and services, such as Bing, Edge, Cortana, XiaoIce, SwiftKey, Translator, Pix, Cognitive Services and Skype. This cooperation in AI technologies and products, on top of Xiaomis experience in hardware, big data, and its device ecosystem, as well as the significant breakthroughs in core artificial intelligence technologies and products that Xiaomi has achieved, aims to generate even more synergy between hardware and software to the end-user experiences on Xiaomi devices.

Since 2015, Xiaomi has adopted Microsoft Azure operated by 21Vianet in China to run its Mi Cloud service for smartphone users; in June 2016, the two companies reached a global-scale partnership, and Xiaomi began to pre-install Microsoft Office and Skype apps on its Android-based smartphones and tablets, to benefit its customers with modern workforce and communication tools; at the same time, Microsoft and Xiaomi also reached intellectual property agreements, to help Xiaomis product go global compliantly.

On October 31st, 2017, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella visited Xiaomis retail store with Lei Jun, the founder, Chairman and CEO of Xiaomi, and Satya showed interest in Xiaomis products and services. The strategic MoU signed today, further expands the potential of the cooperation between the two companies, and reveals more possibilities for technological innovations, new products and breakthrough businesses in the future.

(Source)

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Click on Deccan Chronicle Technology and Science for the latest news and reviews. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter.Rio De Janeiro: The ghosts of Brazils dictatorship are stirring in the wake of President Michel Temers order for the army to take over policing in Rio de Janeiro. Theres no direct comparison between the Rio operation and the 1964 coup that brought two decades of military rule to Latin America's biggest country. In this case, the military isnt overturning a president  its just taking charge of Rio states security situation after months of escalating crime.

However, the echoes have been loud enough to force the government into extraordinary denials. Im going to tell you how many marks I give the idea of a military coup: zero, Temer told Radio Bandeirantes on Friday. The centre-right president went on to say that there was no mood in the military or population for a coup.

Earlier, the defence minister, Raul Jungmann, stated there is no risk to democracy.... On the contrary, we are strengthening democracy. Over the last decade, Rio residents have grown used to seeing camouflaged soldiers support the police in their battle against powerfully armed drug gangs. Some 8,500 troops arrived last July in an ongoing deployment to help with operations in favelas, the latest of which took place on Friday in western Rio. During the 2016 Olym-pics, troops focused on securing tourist areas, patrolling with rifles among the bathing-suit clad crowds of Copac-abana and Ipanema. But the intervencao, as its called in Portuguese, is different this time.Hundreds gathered on a rainy night outside the Roman amphitheatre that is a symbol of the martyrdom of early Christians to hear the husband and daughter of Asia Bibi. (Photo: File)

Rome: Rome's ancient Colosseum was lit in red on Saturday in solidarity with persecuted Christians, particularly Asia Bibi, a woman condemned to death under Pakistan's blasphemy laws.

Hundreds gathered on a rainy night outside the Roman amphitheatre that is a symbol of the martyrdom of early Christians to hear the husband and daughter of Asia Bibi.

The Catholic woman has been living on death row in Pakistan since 2010, when she was condemned for allegedly making derogatory remarks about Islam after neighbours objected to her drinking water from their glass because she was not Muslim.

Human rights groups such as Amnesty International say the blasphemy law is increasingly exploited by religious extremists as well as ordinary Pakistanis to settle personal scores.

"The aim of the blasphemy laws is crush people who believe differently," Archbishop Nunzio Galantino, secretary-general of the Italian bishops conference, told the gathering.

The law does not define blasphemy and evidence might not be reproduced in court for fear of committing a fresh offence. There are no penalties for false accusations.

Asia Bibi's case drew international attention after the murder of two politicians who tried to intervene on her behalf.

At the Rome gathering, her husband Ashiq Masih said his wife was innocent of blasphemy. "This is just hate against Christians, who are considered impure," he said.

The husband and daughter, who broke down in tears as she addressed the group, were earlier received by Pope Francis, who told her: "I think often of your mother and I pray for her".

European Parliament President Antonio Tajani, who has been tipped as a possible Italian prime minister after next week's election, said that persecution of Christians was "a genocide".

"A message must be sent from this place. It is the duty of Europe to defend these values (of religious liberty) wherever on earth they are trampled on," Tajani said.

Rebecca Bitrus, a Nigerian Christian woman who was held for two years after she was abducted by Boko Haram Islamist militants, told of how she was repeatedly beaten and raped.

During the event, organised by the Catholic group "Aid to the Church in Need," there were live link-ups with Aleppo, Syria and Mosul, Iraq, both of whose minority Christian populations have been hit hard by wars.Nearing the end of his first term, Xi Jinping will be formally elected to a second at the annual meeting of China's largely rubber-stamp parliament opening on March 5. (Photo: File)

Beijing: China's ruling Communist Party on Sunday set the stage for President Xi Jinping to stay in office indefinitely, with a proposal to remove a constitutional clause limiting presidential service to just two terms in office.

Xi, 64, is currently required by the country's constitution to step down as president after two five-year terms. Nearing the end of his first term, he will be formally elected to a second at the annual meeting of China's largely rubber-stamp parliament opening on March 5.

There is no limit on his tenure as the party and military chief, though a maximum 10-year term is the norm. He began his second term as head of the party and military in October at the end of a once-every-five-years party congress.

The announcement, carried by state news agency Xinhua, gave few details. It said the proposal had been made by the party's Central Committee, the largest of its elite ruling bodies. The proposal also covers the vice president position.

"The Communist Party of China Central Committee proposed to remove the expression that the President and Vice-President of the People's Republic of China 'shall serve no more than two consecutive terms' from the country's Constitution," Xinhua said.

The Central Committee also proposed inserting "Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era" into the constitution, Xinhua said in a separate report, referring to Xi's guiding political thought that is already in the arguably more important Communist Party constitution.

Constitutional reform needs to be approved by parliament. That is stacked with members chosen for their loyalty to the party, meaning the reform will not be blocked.

There has been persistent speculation that Xi wants to stay on in office past the customary two five-year terms.

One of his closest political allies, former top graft buster Wang Qishan, stepped down from the party's Standing Committee - the seven-man body that runs China - in October.

Aged 69, Wang had reached the age at which top officials tend to retire. But he has been chosen as a parliament delegate in 2018 and is likely to become vice president, sources with ties to the leadership and diplomats say.

The move is significant because if Wang does not retire, that could set a precedent for Xi to stay on in power after he completes the traditional two terms in office.

However, the role of party chief is more senior than that of president. At some point Xi could be given a party position that also enables him to stay on as long as he likes.The e-way bill system for inter-state movement of goods under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) will be re-introduced from April 1.



After the meeting of a Group of Ministers to monitor the launch of e-way system, its chairperson and Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Shushil Kumar Modi told reporters that e-way bill should come from April 1.

He said, the system of e-way bill within the state will be introduced in a phased manner and after watching the success of its inter-state application.

On February 2, the implementation of e-way bill was postponed for an indefinite period in the wake of some technological glitches.

Thereafter, the government had asked the GST Network, which is the IT backbone of the GST, to come up with a fool proof e-way system before making it mandatory.

Once implemented, the e-way bill will be mandatory for every inter-state movement of goods beyond 10 km, which have a value of Rs 50,000 and above.

The e-way bill can be generated through various modes like Web (Online), Android App, SMS, API based site-to-site integration. Consolidated e-way bill can be generated for vehicle carrying multiple consignments.

There is a provision for cancellation of e-way bill within 24 hours by the person who have generated the same. The recipient can also reject the e-way bill within 72 hours of generation. The validity of e-way bill is fixed as one day for every 100 km.

The GoM also deliberated on simplification of return filing under GST but the discussion remained inconclusive.

When it comes to the security of the country's borders, the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) wants to leave no stone unturned and has now geared up to even break the language barrier with their Chinese counterparts.



With this aim, around 25 jawans and officials of the ITBP will take up a one-year certificate course in the Chinese language at the Sanchi University of Buddhist-Indic Studies in Madhya Pradesh's Raisen district.

The university's registrar, Rajesh Gupta, feels the step would be helpful for the ITBP, which has to deal with the Chinese-speaking people along the Sino-India border.

Two ITBP inspectors and as many jawans have already completed the course and are currently posted at the borders.

Now, more personnel of the force have been inspired to learn the Chinese language at the university, which is located around 12 kms from the UNESCO world heritage site of the Sanchi Stupa - the hemispherical brick structure built over the relics of Buddha.

"In the academic session 2016-17, four ITBP personnel had completed the one-year certificate course in the Chinese language. Subsequently, they have been performing their duties at the borders," Gupta told PTI.

Inspired by the skills developed in the foreign language by the first batch, now 25 more ITBP jawans and officials have enrolled for the certificate course, he said.

"We have got the list of the personnel who will take up the course in the university from July," Gupta said.

"Our course is designed as per the needs of the ITBP. Besides learning the Chinese language, the course also provides them an insight into the Buddhism religion," he said.

He said this will help the ITBP personnel in communicating with the followers of Buddhism residing in the Sino-India border region.

The course books are in three languages - Hindi, English and Chinese - so that students can understand and grasp the text easily.

"We have used pictures and same sentences in three languages to make them understand the Chinese language easily. There are several villages along the border in Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Jammu and Kashmir where the Chinese- speaking followers of Buddhism live," he said.

The university, founded in 2012, started the Chinese language certificate course from the 2016-17 academic session.

In the 2017-18 academic session, the institution has also started a diploma course for those who have already completed the certificate course.

"We will soon start an advance course in the Chinese language," Gupta said, claiming that the university is the only institution in Central India where the Chinese language is being taught to the ITBP personnel.

The Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in New Delhi and the Tezpur University in Assam also have courses in the Chinese language for the ITBP jawans and officials, he added.The ruling Communist Party of China Central Committee today proposed to remove a limit of two consecutive terms for the president and the vice president, paving the way for President Xi Jinping to stay on beyond 2022.



The Central Committee proposed removing the clause that the President and Vice-President "shall serve no more than two consecutive terms" from the country's Constitution, state-run Xinhua news agency reported today.

President Xi, who is also head of the CPC and military, began his second five-year tenure last year, following a national Congress of the CPC.

Xi, 64, was elected as the head of the Party and President in 2013 and later took over as head of the military. In 2016, the CPC officially gave him the title of "core" leader.

The removal of the term limit, which was expected to be endorsed by the Plenum of the party to be held tomorrow was expected to give Xi, regarded as the most powerful leader in modern China, a limitless tenure.Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly Jagadish Shettar has claimed that 12 departments of the state government have not utilised even 50% of the total budgetary allotment made for 2017-18.



Speaking to mediapersons here on Sunday, he said, of the total Rs 1.86 lakh crore budget for this financial year, the Congress government had spent only Rs 1.12 lakh crore in the first 10 months and in the next two months they cannot spend the remaining Rs 74,415 crore as the model code of conduct will come into force soon. Apart from the 12 'poor performing departments,' nine other departments had spent less than 60% of the budgetary allotment, he said.



"In every public rally, Congress president Rahul Gandhi is praising Chief Minister Siddaramaiah of giving good governance. Is this (less than 50% utilisation of funds) good governance," he asked and said Rahul should question the chief minister over the poor performance of several key ministers including H K Patil and M B Patil.



Insult to Basavanna



Shettar charged that the mispronunciation of Basavanna's vachana at a public rally in Vijayapura by Rahul Gandhi was an insult to Kannada and Basavanna. He advised the state Congress leaders to train the Congress head, so that he does not insult the language further. Rahul does not even know 10% of what Prime Minister Narendra Modi knows about Basavanna, the former chief minister said.



Rahul's mispronunciation of the vachana has gone viral on social media and invited crirticism from many people.The Thane Police's Crime Branch would be questioning some film personalities in connection with the Call Detail Record (CDR) racket that was busted here in January, a senior official said.



He, however, refused to divulge the names of these persons stating that it would hamper the probe.

The racket was revealed on January 24 when police, acting on a tip-off, nabbed four private detectives from Kalwa in the district.

The four,whom the police identified as Makesh Pandian (42), Prashant Palekar (49), Jigar Makwana (35) and Samresh Jha (32) alias Pratik Mohpal, revealed the name of renowned woman detective Rajani Pandit who too was subsequently arrested.

So far, police officials said, over a dozen people had been probed for the racket which involved the illegal procurement and sale of CDRs of private individuals.Social welfare minister H Anjaneya said that he was prepared to face any sort of inquiry into the alleged irregularities in the implementation of the Ganga Kalyana Yojana scheme.



BJP MP Shobha Karandlaje had alleged irregularities in implementation of the state government's Ganga Kalyana Yojana.

Ganga Kalyana Yojane provides irrigation to agricultural land through lift irrigation and wherever river water is not available, bore wells are drilled at the water points identified by geologists.

"Their (BJP's) own government is in power at the centre. Let them order a inquiry by CBI or of any by other agency; and I am willing to face it," he dared.

"I have no time to debate this subject with her (Karandlaje) and she is not such an important person for me to debate with. My constituency's problems are more important for me.

"BJP leaders have many land grabbing cases against them. Let them first come out of them, " he shot back."We want to benchmark ourselves against the top nations in the world and have drawn specific action plans to improve the ranking in various sectors to the global level," Naidu said at the ongoing CII Partnership Summit here on Sunday. He was participating in a special plenary session on "Reform Calculus: Promoting Ease of Doing Business".

Giving a power-point presentation on his government's plans to improve Ease of Doing Business in various categories such as sanction of licenses, registration of property, providing electricity and construction permits, the Chief Minister said that the aim was to improve the global ranking from the present 84 to 64 in three months and to 40 in the next nine months.

Naidu said that AP was doing extremely well across all parameters of Ease of Doing Business that fall under the jurisdiction of the state. "We will work in close coordination with the Centre on all aspects so that the country's ranking goes up further," he told the gathering of policymakers, industry leaders and entrepreneurs. Over 2,500 delegates from 60 countries are attending the three-day summit aimed at attracting the investments into the state.

The Union Commerce and Industries Minister Suresh Prabhu, who is chairing the investors meet assured full cooperation from the Centre to facilitate the creation of the business-friendly environment. AP, he said, had shown the way during the last 3 years in adopting technologies to improve governance and transparency.

"India's ability to develop as a great nation was restricted because the entrepreneurship was not encouraged and allowed to blossom in the past. The concept of Ease of Doing Business was neglected. However, things are rapidly changing now and we have taken legal, administrative and policy measures to improve the investment climate. The time has now come for us to move from Ease of Doing Business to Please of Doing Business," Prabhu said.



But he chose not to visit the temple as he was unwell. One has to wade through knee-deep water to reach the ancient cave shrine.





Local BJP leaders believe that Shah's visit to the cave, where the shrine is in the form of a naturally-evolved saligrama, could have helped turn the BJP's fortunes in Bidar district, where the party holds just one out of the total six Assembly seats.





"There's no other temple like this in the world. One has to wade through water for a distance of 600-700 metre to catch a glimpse of the shrine," said Suryakanth Nagamarapalli, who had made arrangements at the temple. Suryakanth is the son of former minister, the late Gurupadappa Nagamarapalli.





Shah, however, chose to begin his tour by visiting the historic Gurudwara Nanak Jhira Sahib, where he sought blessings, followed by a visit to the Buddha Vihar here. Later in the day, Shah visited the Sharana Basaveshwara temple in Kalaburagi.

BJP president Amit Shah was supposed to begin his tour of the Hyderabad-Karnataka region with a visit to the famous Jharni Narasimha temple in Bidar on Sunday morning.The Andhra Pradesh state government is considering to provide hyperlink transportation facility between Vijayawada and Amaravati. Once completed the Hyperloop will complete the 40 km distance in six minutes.



The chairman and co-founder of Hyperloop Transportation Technologies, Bibop Gresta, speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the CII Partnership Summit here said that it has the potential to transform the mass transportation system in the country.

Gresta explained that the new river-front capital being built by the AP government will be suitable for the unique transportation facility. "You have a density of population and a need for a faster, sustainable and efficient way to move people and goods," Gresta said. He said that the technology is different from the existing ones.

"We have created a system that uses a combination of renewable energy to generate more electricity than it consumes. This ensures affordable cost of construction and maintenance. The capsule can move at a very high speed consuming very little energy, making the system highly efficient,"

AP government in September last year said that it would kick-start a study to develop a Hyperloop between Vijayawada and Amaravati, after the AP Economic Development Board (AP-EDB) and US-based Hyperloop Transportation Technologies (HTT) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU). "Once the feasibility and profitability study is done and if the chief minister gives us the go-ahead, we will be ready to roll out the project," Gresta said. It could take around four to five years to complete the project, the company he said.

Hyperloop, an idea originally floated by Tesla CEO and SpaceX Founder Elon Musk, involves a futuristic and technology-intensive transportation system that propels a pod-like vehicle through a near-vacuum tube at nearly 1,100 km per hour. The pod lifts off the track using magnetic levitation and glides at aircraft speeds for long distances, owing to ultra-low aerodynamic drag.

The Los Angeles-based company "Hyperloop One" announced a proposal in March last year to evaluate construction of five Hyperloop lines in India. The five proposed lines include Bengaluru to Chennai, Mumbai to Chennai via Bengaluru, Bengaluru to Thiruvananthapuram, Mumbai to Delhi and Mumbai to Kolkata.

If the Hyperloop line is completed, people can travel from Bengaluru to Chennai in 20 minutes. The 1,102 km Mumbai to Chennai via Bengaluru line will cover the distance in 50 minutes.Prime Minister Narendra Modi today lashed out at the Congress saying that one family had ruled the country for over four decades and asked the people to compare the dynasty-led governments with the "development-oriented" NDA.



"One family either directly or indirectly ruled the country for 48 years," he told a public meeting organised by the BJP here, referring to the governments of Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi. On the other hand, he said, there was the NDA government which will complete 48 months this May.

Intellectuals can debate the difference between what was achieved during the Congress regimes and the BJP-led NDA, he said. Targeting the Congress government in Puducherry, he said the union territory had poor infrastructure and was a victim of "Congress culture". Modi asserted that the BJP would win the coming Assembly elections in Karnataka and other states, and said the Congress would be left with only the V Narayanasamy government in Puducherry.

He did not refer to the Amarinder Singh-led Congress government in Punjab. "I want to congratulate the Chief Minister of Puducherry because the Congress is going to exhibit him as a specimen after June," he said predicting the defeat of the Congress in the other states. He claimed Puducherry had poor infrastructure and sectors such as transport and cooperation were in a shambles. "The Congress has failed on all fronts in Puducherry," he said.Allegedly angry with his 70-year old father after the latter passed stool inside the house, a youth first tried to behead him and then made an attempt to re-join the severed part with an adhesive in Uttar Pradesh's Basti district.



The septuagenarian was admitted to the hospital, where his condition is stated to be critical.

According to the police sources here, the youth, identified as Jagadish Mishra, a resident of Bhaisahva village in the district, got angry after his father Ramdeo Mishra, a retired government servant, passed stool inside the house on Saturday evening.

Ramdeo was said to be suffering from ''bowel incontinence'' (inability to control bowel movements causing leakage of stool).

An angry Jagadish brutally assaulted his father and then tried to kill him, sources said. He tried to behead Ramdeo with a kitchen knife. The old man tried to shout for help but Jagadish increased the volume of the TV in a bid to prevent the neighbours from hearing the cries.

As Ramdeo bled profusely, Jagadish got panicked and tried to re-join the severed part of the neck with an adhesive. He later bolted the door from outside and fled with his family.

The neighbours later rushed Ramdeo to the hospital. The doctors said that the old man had suffered serious injuries on his neck and was critical.

Police said that a case had been registered and a hunt was launched to nab the culprit.The Army has started implementing reforms aimed at readying a larger talent pool for crucial tasks and bringing down the age of those commanding key formations including along the borders with China and Pakistan.



Top sources in the defence establishment said the idea behind the reform initiative was to bring down the age of commands at all levels and ensure deploying the "right person for the right job" in a timely manner.



"We also want longer tenures of brigade commanders, divisional commanders and core commanders," a top military official told PTI, explaining the implementation of a new promotion policy as part of the overall reform initiative.



The Army has begun putting the measures into effect. The issue was discussed extensively at a meeting of top commanders of the Army last year when it was also decided that the organisation's human resource policy would be reoriented. "The aim of the initiative is to improve the overall functioning of the Army," the official said.



The sources said as part of the new promotion policy, selections for key assignments had been widened to encourage young officers and increase their motivation levels besides ensuring longer tenures at the level of command and director general.



The world's second largest standing Army has been undertaking a series of reforms and procuring various weapon systems to bolster its overall capabilities in the wake of evolving security threats including on India's borders with Pakistan and China. "The broader aspect of the initiative is to have a bigger talent pool of young officers. A wider selection process is expected to result in better motivational levels among the officers," said the official, refusing to delve any deeper into the initiative.



The sources said under the new policy, corps commanders may be promoted to army commanders if they have at least 18 months of tenure left in their service as against the previous requirement of 24 months. They said the top brass of the Army has also decided to sternly tackle incidents of indiscipline.



In August last year, the government had announced major reforms in the Indian Army such as redeployment of nearly 57,000 officers and other ranks as well as ensuring better utilisation of resources.



The reform initiatives were prescribed by a committee headed by Lt Gen DB Shekatkar (retd) which had the mandate to recommend measures for enhancing combat capability and re-balancing the defence expenditure of the armed forces to increase the "tooth to tail ratio". The ratio refers to the amount of supply and support personnel (termed tail) for each combat soldier (or tooth).State BJP president B S Yeddyurappa announced on Sunday that former minister Haratalu Halappa would be the party's candidate from the Sagar constituency, while another former minister and actor Kumar Bangarappa would be fielded from Sorab.

He was addressing reporters in the city. Yeddyurappa said Belur Gopalakrishna, another ticket aspirant for the Sagar seat, would be given a suitable position.

He said he was not aware of reports that Leader of the Opposition in the Council K S Eshwarappa was certain to get the ticket to contest from the Shivamogga city constituency. A clear decision would be taken in the next couple of weeks, Yeddyurappa said.Apparently worried over the fallout of attacks on Dalits in some parts of the country in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections next year, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat on Sunday sought to reach out to the community saying that all Hindus, irrespective of their social status, were brethren.



Addressing RSS workers at Meerut in Uttar Pradesh, about 500 km from here, Bhagwat also sought to end the debate on Hindu "extremism" saying that it only denoted "liberalism".

"We must accept that every Hindu, irrespective of the caste, is our brother," the RSS chief said.

He also said that everyone, irrespective of his religion, who considered India to be his "mother" was an Indian.

Bhagwat invoked Lord Rama to stress that serving the humanity was the best service.

In an apparent jibe at the critics over Hindu extremism, the RSS chief said that extremism was only for liberalism and non-violence.

"More Hindu extremism means more non-violence..the world accepts good deeds only when there is some power behind it," he remarked.The second Mahamastakabhisheka of the century and 88th in the series for Bhagwan Bahubali concluded on Sunday. The next Mahamastakabhisheka will be held at the Jain pilgrimage centre in the year 2030.

President of India Ramnath Kovind, Vice President Venkaiah Naidu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and a number of dignitaries and devotees from across the country visited Shravanabelagola and offered prayers. Jain munis and matajis from across the country who were a part of the mega event will be leaving Vindhyagiri to their respective places. Vindhyagiri, Chandragiri and Gommatanagar, which were abuzz with activity for the past one month with lakhs attending the ceremony, will return to their calm self.

The statue was anointed with holy water, milk, sandal paste, red sandal paste, saffron, turmeric, kashaya and other items.

The last day of the mahamajjana had the same enthusiasm and devotion to it, amid singing and dancing to the tune 'Kesariya kesariya Bahubali Swami Jagakella Swami...' Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh had darshan of Bahubali sitting in a helicopter on the last day.

Abhishekas up to June

Jain seer Charukeerthi Bhattaraka Swami said the special abhisheka will be held every Sunday up to June, to enable more devotees to visit Shravanabelagola. If necessary, it will be extended up to August.

"I will visit the satellite towns on Monday and offer gratitude to the people for making the event a success," he said. The Jain Mutt has decided to utilise the funds collected by selling kalashas for the welfare of the people.After his election as Congress President, Rahul Gandhi has embarked on 'mission reconciliation' in his efforts to strengthen the party ahead of the Lok Sabha election next year.



With a semblance of peace returning to Delhi and Rajasthan units of the Congress, Rahul has now turned his attention to Madhya Pradesh, where the party is aiming to make a comeback after being voted out in 2003.

The Congress is divided into three broad factions led by Digvijaya Singh, Kamal Nath and young turk Jyotiraditya Scindia.

Having quit state politics after his defeat in 2003, Singh has embarked on a spiritual quest to circumambulate River Narmada, a journey that touches more than 100 Assembly seats in the state.

Both Scindia and Nath are keenly watching Singh's moves as he has dropped enough hints about his role in politics. Feelers have also been sent to leaders who had quit the Congress ahead of the Lok Sabha elections in 2014 to join the BJP.

Last week, Rahul also met Rajasthan leaders Ashok Gehlot, Sachin Pilot, C P Joshi among others and asked them set aside differences to work as a team as the Congress aims to dislodge Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje in the year-end Assembly elections.

Former Delhi Congress President Arvinder Singh Lovely, who had joined the BJP last year, was welcomed back into the party by Rahul recently.

Expelled BSP leader Naseemuddin Siddiqui joined the Congress last week along with hundreds of supporters giving some hope for the party that has been relegated to the margins in Uttar Pradesh.

"This is an indication of changing times. Now, instead of joining other political parties, many are wanting to work with the Congress under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi," AICC General Secretary Ghulam Nabi Azad said.

In January, BJP leader Nana Patole re-joined the Congress after quitting his Lok Sabha seat in Vidarbha. He was appointed as the Vice President of the Maharashtra Congress.

Rahul had made an early beginning on his 'mission reconciliation' last year, when he brought the various factions of the Karnataka Congress to the discussion table and asked them sink their differences to retain power in the state.

Congress' Karnataka managers admit that the ceasefire in the state unit has held so far and they expect a 'trouble free' election.Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar was admitted to the Goa Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) here on Sunday evening after he complained of uneasiness, a GMCH official said.



Parrikar, 62, was brought to the GMCH on a wheelchair, the official said, adding that he was accompanied by a family member.

Parrikar was discharged from Mumbai's Lilavati Hospital on February 22, a week after he was admitted there and treated for a pancreatic ailment.

He had presented the Budget in the Assembly on February 22 upon his return to Goa from Mumbai.

When contacted, Goa Health Minister Vishwajit Rane said Parrikar was suffering from dehydration, but was responding to treatment at the GMCH.

"We have posted specialist doctors who are monitoring his health continuously," Rane said.For all the optimism, innovation and wealth that are produced here in San Francisco, the Bay Area can also feel like a place that doesn't work quite right.



The cost of housing has priced out teachers and line cooks. Income inequality is among the widest in the nation. The homeless crisis never seems to ebb. Traffic is a mess. On bad days, transit is, too. And local governments are locked in conflict.

Clearly, the region has not been optimised. "It could be so much better," said Ben Huh, who moved to San Francisco in 2016 after running the Cheezburger blog empire in Seattle. "There's so much wealth. There's so much opportunity."

In the maddening gap between how this place functions and how inventors and engineers here think it should, many have become enamoured with the same idea: what if the people who build circuits and social networks could build cities, too? Wholly new places, designed from scratch and freed from broken policies.

Huh leads a project begun by the startup accelerator Y Combinator to explore the creation of new cities. Hundreds applied to work on what looked like "the ultimate full-stack startup." Last October, Sidewalk Labs, an Alphabet company, announced it would team up with a government agency in Toronto to redevelop a stretch of the city "from the internet up."

For others in tech - intrigued by word of a proposed smart city in Arizona, a big Bitcoin land grab in Nevada, a special economic zone in Honduras - fantasising about newly built cities has become a side gig. They dream of utopias with driverless cars, radical property-ownership models, 3-D-printed houses and skyscrapers assembled in days.

While some urban planners roll their eyes, it is true that America's cities have always been built on someone's hubris, whether the characters who plotted New York's street grid or those who imagined the Golden Gate Bridge.

"Who were these guys who were thinking so big? Then the question is, where are those people now?" said Paul Romer, the former chief economist at the World Bank, whose ideas (and TED talks) on new "charter cities" have influenced some in tech. "Tech types - as much as people might talk about the parochial way they're approaching it - deserve credit for thinking bigger than anybody in government right now."

Their interest has an internal logic to it. The tech industry tries to produce better versions of familiar things - cheaper phones, smaller computers, faster chips. But cities like San Francisco don't seem to be evolving into more efficient versions of themselves.

And if you take literally the economist Ed Glaeser's assertion in "Triumph of the City" that cities are our greatest invention, it ought to be possible to reinvent them. The idea isn't such a stretch, the dreamers say, when Elon Musk is already shooting rockets into space and trying to bore tunnels for a transit "hyperloop."

"You now have a lot of people who have seen a lot of success thinking, 'Well, how can I one-up that? What's bigger than starting a multibillion-dollar company?' " said JD Ross, the 27-year-old co-founder of Opendoor, a homebuying company that has been valued by investors at more than $1 billion. "We have the home screen on our phone, we have the home button in every app. But it really comes down to people's actual homes - that's much more important."

To planners and architects, all of this sounds like the naivete of newcomers who are mistaking political problems for engineering puzzles.

Utopian city-building schemes have seldom succeeded. What we really need, they say, is to fix the cities we already have, not to set off in search of new ones. But it is hard to overstate the degree to which these tech entrepreneurs are looking at the world in ways that would be almost unrecognisable to anyone already working on urban problems.

The idealised city

The model cities Huh and others in tech describe are not so different from what many urbanists want. They aspire to tame NIMBYism and private cars. They want to create walkable neighbourhoods, albeit around hyperloop lines that would travel faster than any bullet train. They're focused on affordable housing, though the shortage of it looks to them less like a matter of policy than a problem that better construction technology can solve.

"We have not affected the fundamental building blocks of infrastructure and society," Huh said. "We've made this better," he added, gesturing to his laptop. "We've made the new things better. We haven't made the old things better."

In thinking about how to do that, people in tech prize "first principles," a concept that suggests that historical awareness and traditional expertise can get in the way of breakthrough ideas. The approach has worked before.

Uber wouldn't exist if Travis Kalanick had begun by researching how taxis were regulated around the world. Uber instead produced a service that violated those rules, and changed how millions of people travel.

With cities, this means stripping away the histories of other utopias, the building codes that shape San Francisco, the political dynamics that block change.

The tabula rasa is alluring not just for the lack of buildings, but also the absence of rules. Huh and others proudly say this leads them to odd-sounding questions: How much does a city cost? Why can't you construct a skyscraper in days? Could you fit a city's rulebook into a hundred pages?

Technologically optimised cities, said Nicholas de Monchaux, a designer and Berkeley professor, failed then for the same reason they would be unsuccessful now. Technology can help reduce traffic, or connect you faster to a ride home. "But a city is not at its fundamental level optimisable," he said. A city's dynamism derives from its inefficiencies, from people and ideas colliding unpredictably.

It's also unclear what you'd optimise an entire city for. Technologists describe noble aspirations like "human flourishing" or "quality of life." But noble goals come into conflict within cities. You could optimise for affordable housing, but then you may create a more crowded city than many residents want. You could design a city so that every home receives sunlight (an idea the Chinese tried). But that might mean the city isn't dense enough to support diverse restaurants and mass transit.

These trade-offs demand political choices. And so technologists hoping to avoid politics are bound to encounter them again.

Of the techno-urbanists, Alphabet's Sidewalk Labs seems to be closest to actually creating something. The company, run out of New York City by former deputy mayor Dan Doctoroff, concluded after a year of study that it needed a not-quite-blank slate to truly innovate.

With too many people or buildings already in place, it could never install an energy grid, or test what happens when you ban private cars. But a stand-alone city in the middle of nowhere wouldn't work, Doctoroff said, because people wouldn't want to move there.

"The smart city movement as a whole has been disappointing in part because it is hard to get stuff done in a traditional urban environment," Doctoroff said. "On the other hand, if you're completely disrespectful of the urbanist tradition, I don't think it's particularly replicable. And it's probably pretty naive."Minister K J George on Sunday said he did not regret being the Bengaluru in-charge minister as he considers the garbage crisis in the city as a challenge.



Garbage is such a subject which people do not want to even to discuss.

But with the help of officials and citizens garbage is being segregated at the source, processed and composted, he said at the inauguration programme of a hi-tech park at 1st Block Kalyanagara in HRBR Layout.

The park, developed by the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA), is spread across two acres of land.

The objective of the park is to educate people about rainwater harvesting and spread awareness on the importance of water. Borewell water is used for the park's maintenance.

"At present, the park does not have the rainwater harvesting mechanism. But it has many models to educate people on its importance and its method of implementation. This is the first ever theme-based park created by the authority," a BDA official said.

The BDA has developed the park at a cost of Rs one crore on the existing civic amenity site.

The members of various resident's welfare associations have also associated with the authority to develop the park.

It has children play area, open-air gym, sculptures, walking track, public toilets and security guards.

The BDA has also planted 20 species of ornamental and native saplings like Tabubia, Royal Palm, Ashoka, Rain Tree, Pongamia, Mahogany and Tacoma in the park.The government should support screenings of experimental movies if it has to thrive alongside commercial cinema, veteran Kannada filmmaker P Sheshadri has said.



Speaking at an interactive session at Biffes in Orion Mall, Sheshadri regretted the fact that he could not release his movie 'Beti' 14 months after getting certification.

"Am I making these movies for festival circuits? How do I reach the public?" he asked, noting that filmmakers increasingly find a dead-end in their attempts to beam experimental movies in television channels as there are no buyers of satellite rights for a movie without a star cast.

"The government should support us in the exhibition aspect by reserving some screens to regularly show meaningful cinema," he added.

Sheshadri spoke of nurturing an audience that could appreciate tasteful cinema. "Don't refer to experimental cinema as 'award winning' as it seems to put off people," he said. "Instead, distinguish cinemas as good and bad."

Mohsen Gharale, director of the Iranian film 'Blockage', said audiences in his country prefer commercial movies like in other countries though he would like to make both commercial and socially relevant ones.

"People in China like to watch Hollywood films, and even Bollywood flicks like 'Secret Superstar' tend to be popular. When it comes to experimental films, they are restricted to the big cities," said Chinese director Qiao Liang.

Liang's movie 'Crested Ibis' - dealing with the thorny subject of pollution - was screened at the festival on Saturday. He said the Chinese government offers subsidy to award-winning movies.

On Sunday, a minute of silence was observed before the first show in all the screens owing to the untimely demise of superstar Sridevi, who died of a massive cardiac arrest in Dubai late on Saturday night.A 45-year-old man doused himself with petrol and then put a match in front of the Mico Layout traffic police station, South Bengaluru, in the early hours of Sunday, after police refused to release his scooter seized during a drunk-driving check. He succumbed to the injuries in the Victoria Hospital hours later.



The family of Manikanta (39) alias Mani, of CK Palya near Silk Board, suggested that police harassment had driven him to commit suicide.

Manikanta lost control of his TVS Jupiter near the Shoppers Stop junction around 2.15 am. Three policemen from the Mico Layout traffic police, led by assistant sub-inspector Murthy, were checking motorists for drunk-driving and saw Manikanta falling off the bike. They rushed to the spot and asked him to take a breathalyser test, but he refused. The policemen seized his scooter and asked him to produce the documents.

Manikanta came to the police station 20 minutes later and asked the police to return the scooter. He also kept screaming about how the police were corrupt. The policemen warned him and asked him to return in the morning to get the scooter. He left but came back after some time. Carrying a bottle of petrol, he poured it on himself and set himself ablaze.

Police later learnt that the victim had borrowed the scooter from a friend named Ravi. Ravi had initially refused to lend him the scooter, saying he had to distribute wedding invites but gave in on Manikanta's requests. Police informed Ravi after finding his wedding card on the scooter.

Manikanth hailed from Tamil Nadu and worked as a truck driver at a supermarket on Bannerghatta Road.Having received treatment for six days at the Intensive Care Unit of Mallya Hospital, Vidwath, the victim of a brutal pub attack, was moved to the general ward on Sunday afternoon.



Doctors treating Vidwath have said he is recovering fast. "The swelling on his face and nose has reduced by 85%," said Dr Anand K, plastic surgeon at Mallya Hospital, confirming that Vidwath is able to eat and drink normally.

The doctor also said Vidwath's vital health parameters remain in the normal range. "He is allowed to walk with crutches as he had earlier suffered a fracture on the right ankle," he added.

The doctor said that Vidwath has considerably lesser pain than what he felt while getting admitted to the hospital six days ago. He also said Vidwath will be in observation for three to four days, though a decision on releasing him cannot be made right now.

On February 17, Vidwath was beaten to a pulp by Mohammed Nalapad and his friends following an argument between him and Nalapad's friends.

Nalapad's father and Shantinagar MLA N A Haris was expelled from the Congress for six years, while Nalapad himself has surrendered to the Cubbon Park police.

The attack had left Vidwath with a broken nose, ribs and cheek bones.Country

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Some Alabamans also are thinking about weather this weekend, but in a forward looking way. The Yellowhammer State's severe weather preparedness sales tax holiday kicked off yesterday, Friday, Feb. 23, and runs through Sunday, Feb. 25.

During this time, Alabama's 4 percent state sales tax is waived on eligible purchases. Many cities and counties also have chosen to participate in the tax-free event, meaning some shoppers can net tax savings up to 10 percent on covered items

Tax free storm products: This weekend's Saturday Shout Out goes to the Alabama Retail Association, which has done a nice job of outlining the tax savings.

Taxes are not collected on the following items that are sold for $60 or less.

Flashlights and lanterns,

Batteries,

Cell phone chargers,

Battery-powered or hand-crank radio

Weather radios,

Two-way radios,

First-aid kits,

Manual can openers,

Tarps and plastic sheeting,

Duct tape,

Fire extinguishers,

Tie-down kits, bungee cords or rope,

Coolers, ice chests and ice packs,

Plywood,

Window film and

Smoke, fire and carbon monoxide detectors.

In addition, portable generators and power cords costing $1,000 or less are also tax free.

The Alabama Department of Revenue (a second shout out here for these state officials) has a full list of covered items.

Three more hurricane tax holidays coming: Alabamas tax holiday is the earliest among the four states with a severe weather preparedness sales tax holiday.

Alabama online tax pal Brad Garland tells me that the fast-approaching spring severe thunderstorm/tornado season is the prime motivation behind his state's tax holiday.

Other states will be following suit, with an eye toward their coastlines as well as skies, a bit later.

Here in Texas, emergency preparation supplies will be tax-free from April 28-30. I'm sure that with folks still recovering from Hurricane Harvey, sales will be brisk those three days.

A Texas National Guard soldier rescues a woman from her Hurricane Harvey flooded Houston neighborhood. (Photo by 1Lt. Zachary West, 100th MPAD, via Flickr Creative Commons)

Neighboring Louisiana, which has its own tragic hurricane history, holds its hurricane preparedness tax holiday on part of the Memorial Day weekend, May 27-28. That's just before meteorologists mark the official June 1 hurricane season opening.

Virginia's hurricane tax holiday is now incorporated into the state's overall back-to-school, energy efficient appliances and clothing tax-free weekend later this summer, specifically Aug. 3-5. That's about a month before the Atlantic hurricane season hits its traditional activity peak.

Getting ready early: About that coming tropical storm season, the National Hurricane Center is experimenting with a seven-day tropical system forecasts. Currently, the hurricane experts project the storms' paths over five days.

If it works out, the longer-range predictions of where a hurricane or tropical system might hit could provide folks more time to prepare and/or evacuate.

And although we're still months away from official start of the 2018 hurricane season, Mother Nature works of her own calendar. Storms have been known to form early. That's why folks, especially those in coastal areas, need to prepare early.

When any natural disaster  hurricane, tornado, severe winter weather  approaches, retailers often sell out of emergency items. So that you're not left in a bind following a weather catastrophe, get your supplies before there's a threat.

And definitely take advantage of sales tax breaks if you live in one of the four states with emergency preparations tax holidays this year. Stay tuned to the ol' blog. I'll remind you as they near.

You also might find these items of interest:(Photo: LWF / Albin Hillert)

The Lutheran World Federation has welcomed a recent resolution by the German Catholic bishops' conference to make it possible for Catholic-Lutheran married couples to receive the Eucharist together.

This development follows the Joint Catholic-Lutheran Commemoration of the Reformation in 2016.

Then, the LWF and the Catholic Church expressed it as a joint pastoral responsibility to "respond to the spiritual thirst and hunger" of many of their members "who yearn to receive the Eucharist at one table, as the concrete expression of full unity."

At the on Feb. 22, the Catholic bishops agreed to provide an orientation that would help local Catholic priests and their bishops to formally decide on a case-by-case basis to open the Eucharist to Protestant spouses.

In Germany this would include Lutherans, Reformed and members of united churches.

The Catholic bishops said in a statement that they "have a special responsibility in view of the...high proportion of mixed denominations in Germany."

The handout wants one for the specific case of the denominational marriage

Give assistance and greater clarity and security to the pastoral and pastoral community

Spouses create. Here is the German Bishops' Conference in a special

Responsibility in view of the already mentioned high proportion of mixed denominations in Germany.

We will publish the document, which can still be incorporated, in the coming weeks. I may add that we had an intense debate on this subject in the Assembly and did not make the decision easy.

LWF General Secretary Rev. Martin Junge, "For us Lutherans this is a hopeful step on the journey towards the shared Eucharistic table, to which we are called by our Lord Jesus Christ."

He said this resonated with the Joint Statement signed by the LWF and the Catholic Church in Lund:

"Many members of our communities yearn to receive the Eucharist at one table, as the concrete expression of full unity," said Junge.

"We acknowledge our joint pastoral responsibility to respond to the spiritual thirst and hunger of our people to be one in Christ. [...] This is the goal of our ecumenical endeavors, which we wish to advance, also by renewing our commitment to theological dialogue."

The LWF's assistant general secretary for Ecumenical Relations Rev. Kaisamari Hintikka said, "We are grateful to hear about this decision, which is made in the spirit of pastoral ecumenism.

"At his meeting with Pope Francis in December, LWF President Panti Filibus Musa, referred to pastoral ecumenism and said in that context, the Eucharist is not only a goal, but a provision for our faith journey and a crux of our relationship."(Photo: Osservatore Romano)World Council of Churches general secretary, Rev. Olav Fykse Tveit, with Pope Francis in an audience at the Vatican on October 3, 2013.

Pope Francis says that dialogue with the World Council of Churches that began 50 years ago "must continue" despite divisions that inhibit Christian unity.

Pope Francis wrote a 50th anniversary message June 24 to Rev. Olav Fykse Tveit, general secretary of the WCC, for ecumenical endeavors of the Joint Working Group of the world council and the Catholic Church.

"Reflecting on these past 50 years, we should be encouraged by the collaboration which the Joint Working Group has promoted, not only in ecumenical issues, but also in the areas of interreligious dialogue, peace and social justice, and works of charity and humanitarian aid," said Pope Francis in his message to Tveit.

Church leaders in Rome are celebrating 50 years of work of the joint group in the week starting June 22.

"The unity agenda remains at the heart of all our efforts for common witness and contributions to more justice and peace for people and creation," said Tveit addressing Roman Catholic leaders in the Italian capital.

"We are grateful and even proud of 50 years as a working group between these great major ecumenical instruments in the world, The Pontificial Council for Promoting Christian Unity and the World Council of Churches," he noted.

SECOND VATICAN COUNCIL

The Joint Working Group is an ecumenical legacy of improved relations among churches growing from the Second Vatican Council under and it began in 1965.

Over the past 50 years, Roman Catholics have become full members of the Faith and Order Commission coordinated by the WCC.

They have provided staff in the WCC areas of evangelization and theological education and sent observer delegations to participate in WCC assemblies and other major conferences.

Reciprocal arrangements have been implemented, with active Orthodox and Protestant participation in Catholic forums.

"We must recognize, though, that in spite of the many ecumenical achievements of the past half century, Christian mission and witness still suffer due to our divisions.

"Disagreements on various subjects - in particular anthropological, ethical and social issues, as well as issues related to the understanding of the nature and conditions of the unity we seek - demand further sustained efforts," said Francis in his letter.

He turned to areas where more work on Christian unity is needed.

"Looking at the present state of the ecumenical landscape and the world at large, we have to confess that divisions among Christians are there, that we are not sharing the gifts of the Triune God and the fruits of the works of our hands through the holy Eucharistic fellowship."

While common purpose has been achieved between Roman Catholics and those in WCC member churches on baptism, the Roman Catholic Church does not allow shared Eucharist.

Tveit said there needs to be an awareness "of this deeper theological reading of our context" in a new phase of cooperation.

"What we do cannot have, is business as usual. It must be an expression of our faith and a witness to the love of God revealed in Christ.

Tveit told Vatican Radio But he says it is a significant scandal no being able to celebrate the Eucharist together, "not even in families in mixed marriages (and) that is a wound which is really hurting."

The Geneva-based WCC represents more than 500 million Christians, including most of the world's Orthodox churches, scores of Anglican, Baptist, Lutheran, Methodist and Reformed churches, as well as many united and independent churches.Now that Michael B. Jordan has starred in Marvel's Black Panther, he has become one of the most talked-about actors. Fans have become so engulfed into Jordan's role as Killmonger in the film that it has led them to take an interest in his personal life.

In a new interview with First We Feast, the Creed star opened up about his current living situation and his love for anime.

Although the 30-year-old had already revealed that he lives with his parents during an interview with Vogue, he stated it again. He also remarked that he would love to go to Japan because he enjoys anime.

While fans may be enjoying getting to know the actor on a personal level, one Twitter user explained that Jordan's status is the only reason he is able to get away with these characteristics.

Michael B Jordan Is A 59 Adult Man That Loves Anime & Lives With His Parents....Yall Told Me All Of Those Things Were Unacceptable Though  Chris (@chrisfrom_216) February 22, 2018

Michael Clears The Air

As expected, the tweet went viral and was even able to catch Jordan's attention, causing him to clap back just like any other celebrity would if a troll tried to come for them.

Jordan responded and made sure to set the record straight on the circumstances of his home and joked about his appreciation for anime.

First of All Im 6ft and they live with ME, put some respeck on my name. LOL...aaaand goku & naruto are real ones lol https://t.co/QspyHD2zwH  Michael B. Jordan (@michaelb4jordan) February 23, 2018

Recently, while appearing on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Jordan further revealed that although he loves his parents, the living circumstances do also have their share of difficulties.

"You get home-cooked meals, but then you also have random trips to the kitchen in the middle of the night. Just the random run-ins that just might be a little uncomfortable from time to time," Jordan said.

Chrissy Defends Michael

Following the exchange between Jordan and the social media user, Chrissy Teigen decided to come to the actor's defense.

The Lip Sync Battle host responded to Jordan's tweet and added that his height, the fact that he lives with his parents, and his taste in anime are probably the only difference between the two, or is it not?

Yes Im sure those are the ONLY differences between you and him lol  christine teigen (@chrissyteigen) February 23, 2018BMW SA Open hosted by the City of Ekurhuleni

Glendower GC, City of Ekurhuleni, Gauteng, South AfricaHi All

Recently I have got both Australia PR(189-Visa SC) and Canada PR(Ontario PNP). Now I am in Dilemma. Which option to take?

I am a software test engineer with 12 years of experience. Not sure which place (Sydney or Toronto) is good?



From initial search in internet shows both of the places have advantages and dis-advantages. Suggestions are welcome



One last query is - While processing Canada PR I have 10Lakh Fund proof as Fixed Deposit in my account.

As I have received PR now can I encash it? Consultant says we should hold it until we enter into Toronto. Is it true?



Thanks in advance for your help and advise on this

Regards

-EswarThe titre de sejour is valid only for France. You can visit within the Schengen zone for up to 90 days out of any 180 day period, but if you want to move you'll have to satisfy the visa requirements of the country you move to.



Technically speaking, the titre de sejour is valid as long as the job contract you used to obtain the visa. What that means when you lose your job is kind of unclear. As far as employers are concerned, the old "competences et talents" visa was considered a "work permit" and they can hire a foreigner already in France on a c&t visa, but the Service Public site doesn't specifically mention this with regard to the Passeport Talent.

Cheers,

BevHas anyone with permanent residence been issued a smart id card or are they still issuing the id books?Hi

After 35 years in the rat race have finally got the golden handshake . We are moving to Costa Blanca area in June, will be bringing personal stuff , and clothes etc but what is the best way to get a few boxes that won't fit in the car sent over. Few tools, Christmas decs , Smart tv in a box etc .

Any advice on best cost effective way please

ThanksIt looks like a proposed new building for the Blue Earth Chamber of Commerce is going to come to fruition, with a lot of help from the city of Blue Earth.

In fact, the Blue Earth City Council voted last Monday night to basically take over the project and came up with a plan to make it happen.

When the bids for the combination Blue Earth Chamber of Commerce office, tourist information welcome center and Giant Museum came in, they were higher than expected. A lot higher.

The low bid came from United Builders, Inc., of Blue Earth, at $938,900. But when an additional cost for a metal roof, instead of asphalt shingles, was tacked on, the total was just under $1 million at $997,900.

Blue Earth mayor Rick Scholtes presented a plan that he said would be a way the new Chamber building could become a reality, with help from the city.

My thought is the city needs to help pay for some of it, then bond for the remaining amount, Scholtes said. The city would then lease the building to the Chamber for 20 years and at the end of that time, sell it to them for one dollar.

Scholtes numbers worked out this way.

First, the Chamber would add in their $300,000 state grant money. Then the city would add in a $200,000 one time contribution, which would come from the citys liquor store funds.

The city would then do a $500,000 bond to finance the rest, which would be paid back over 20 years.

The bond payment would be around $33,000, Scholtes said. But if we could do a TIF District for the building, it could lower the payment by $12,000.

Scholtes said the Chamber of Commerce could manage an $18,000 to $20,000 payment per year. And Chamber of Commerce director Cindy Lyon, who was present at Mondays meeting, agreed.

The mayor had one more idea to help out the building project and it involved the Blue Earth Economic Development Authority (EDA).

I want to suggest the EDA buy back the land the new building will be built on, Scholtes said. At a cost of $50,000, which would go to the Chamber.

The EDA had previously granted a loan to the Chamber of $50,000 for the purchase of the land and the old building that was on it. Last month the Chamber had paid the $50,000 back to the citys EDA.

After discussion both at the councils work session before the regular meeting, and at the regular meeting itself, the council passed several motions dealing with the new building.

First, they voted to proceed with the new building and accepted the low bid from United Builders of $997,900, which includes special track lighting and the metal roof.

Secondly, they voted to authorize the one-time $200,000 contribution to the building fund, which would come out of the liquor store reserve fund.

City administrator Tim Ibisch said the exact details of the amount of the bond and the sale of the bond could come later.

The bids are only valid for 30 days so we do need to let the contractor know right away, Ibisch said. Plus I am sure he needs to order materials for the construction of the building.

Mayor Scholtes said the fact the city is going to take over the construction of the building is a good thing.

This building is going to be what welcomes people to the city of Blue Earth, he said. So we want to make sure it is going to be done and do what we can to make it happen.

City councilman Russ Erichsrud agreed.

We are all in your corner, Cindy, he said to the chamber director. This is a big deal, and we want to help make it work.

While he agreed with the others about financing the new building, councilman Glenn Gaylord also had a caution.

I am concerned we are starting to own too many buildings, he said. Like the Ag Center, the Three Sisters and now this new museum building. Maybe we need to think about selling the Ag Center.

Other councilmen said that could happen down the road, but they are committed to the Ag Center for now.

Mayor Scholtes pointed out the goal is to not own the new chamber building, but to eventually transfer ownership to the chamber itself.

He also pointed out the investment in the new building will not cost the taxpayers any money.

The council also spent some time discussing another building project, one that they will own and operate.

Bids came in for the proposed new Public Works building, which will be built in a city-owned area behind Kwik Trip. The former municipal liquor store building will be torn down and a new large building replacing.

The low bid was for $809,995 and came from Ankeny Builders, Inc., of Blue Earth.

There were eight bids received. The bids included paving the parking area around the city buildings, but did not include the cost of demolition of the old liquor store building.

Administrator Ibisch said the cost, which city engineer Wes Brown estimated to be about $50,000, could come from the Public Works Department 2018 budget.

The council decided to delay a vote and decision on the Public Works building until their March 5 meeting.During their regular meeting, United South Centrals School Board learned their students who are participating in the Southern Plains Education Cooperative may be moving to new facilities.

As the board went through their agenda, information on facility needs and recommendations for the Southern Plains Educational Cooperative (SPEC) was presented.

The SPECs current facility is located in Winnebago at its former school. And, according to information from SPEC, those facilities were never meant to be permanent.

In the spring of 2015 all of the programs were moved into the Winnebago School building which had recently been closed by the Blue Earth Area School District. At that time, it was very clear by all parties that this was a temporary solution, reads the information in the School Boards packet. The Blue Earth Area District acknowledged that although the Winnebago building had been maintained to provide an adequate learning environment, there were significant deferred maintenance concerns.

Deferred maintenance concerns that could cost approximately $5 million to repair. Those repairs would have included new heating and ventilation, tuck pointing to address moisture and mold issues, new windows that are currently inefficient as far as energy savings, a backup in a sanitary sewer line that causes sewage backup in a classroom, and electrical issues regarding fuses being blown regularly. Issues with doors, roofing, flooding, and a lack of video camera monitoring were also addressed.

And the cost to conduct repairs at this point have come out of the SPEC fund balance, which has been depleted significantly. SPEC board members say the future costs will need to be billed to the member districts and come from their general funds.

The SPEC board, consisting of Jesse Haugh from Blue Earth Area, Julie Laue of Fairmont Area, Bryan Nowicki from Granada-Huntley-East-Chain, Wendi Russenberger of Martin County West, Mike Pfeil of Truman and Mike Schrader of USC, considered many options during their discussions regarding moving locations.

Those options were considered and minimized down to three viable choices including renovating the Lincoln Building in Fairmont without any additions, renovating Lincoln with additions, and constructing a new building altogether, which was eliminated due to high costs.

The facilities committee, consisting of SPEC?board members, stated the most economical option that meets the needs of all of the students services within the SPEC programs is to purchase the Fairmont building, renovate it, and create an addition of approximately four classrooms, with additional space for Southern Plains offices and itinerant staff.

The USC?School Board did not need to take action on the matter, but rather discussed how it would affect USC?students.

The only thing that would really impact them, is a longer drive to their classrooms, said Mike Schrader, who is also on the SPEC board.

Stacy Whiteside, USCs financial director, also informed the board that mileage was 100 percent reimbursed, so it would not be a loss to the school.

Also during their meeting, School Board members heard from first-year teachers and acclimated teachers regarding their experience in the teacher mentoring program.

All of the feedback the board received was positive.

I am greatful for the existence of this program, especially with being in an unfamiliar area, it has been super helpful, said one first-year teacher.

I have taught for many years, but it is still different. Im in a different school, in a different district, teaching a different grade level. It has been so beneficial to have someone, specifically, I can turn to and ask questions, another mentee shared.

Mentors in the program chimed in, too.

We have some great new staff here and I am very proud of them, said a USC teacher who volunteered to be a mentor to one of the new teachers. It is a great program for people coming into our district.

During their meeting, the USC?School Board also:

Reviewed both the revised 2017-18 General Fund budget as well as the initial 2018-19 budget based on preliminary assumptions. Whitehead informed the board the preliminary working budget for the next school year still has multiple unknown variables before the final budget is set. Those variables include title allocation, State Aid formula changes, Special Ed aid, and MA IEP funds.

Considered and carried out a motion to deem their outdated drumline equipment as surplus property.

Approved the final 2017-18 seniority list.

Authorized Board Policy 5250, outlining violence prevention.The next step in the Oza Tanka Wind Project took place during last Tuesdays Faribault County Board meeting.

Two conditional use permits to install one metrological tower in Barber Township, and one in Prescott Township, were authorized by the board.

EDF Renewable Energy reached an agreement with Dennis Becker for the tower project in Barber Township, and the energy supplier came to terms with the Darrell Zimmerman family trust for the project in Prescott Township.

According to the Faribault County Planning and Zoning Commission, the proposed use of both properties will not have an adverse impact on health, safety, and the general welfare of other properties and residents. Additionally, the proposed use of both properties meet the standards of the Faribault County Zoning Ordinance.

While the permits were accepted by the board, District 5 commissioner Tom Warmka abstained from both votes.

Also at the meeting, Muir Library director Heidi Schutt came before the board to ask for support of increased state funding for Faribault County libraries.

According to Schutt, public libraries within the county have been trying to gather support for the 2018 Minnesota Library Association (MLA) and Information and Technology Educators of Minnesota (ITEM) legislative platform.

The MLA and ITEM platform supports a state plan which would increase funding from $13.57 million annually. Under the plan, these resources would be distributed to all regional public library systems. Additionally, funding would increase from $1.3 million to $2 million annually to help support communication and resource sharing with other Minnesota libraries.

The board approved Schutts request for support, as well as a revision of the current funding formula. On Tuesday, Feb. 13, Schutt received a similar approval for additional library funding from the Winnebago City Council.

Other items from the meeting included:

Two separate motions were passed to hire Dustin Anderson as drainage water management technician and Mary Eckhardt as technical administrative assistant in the county attorneys office.

Lamar Piper was sworn in as special assistant county attorney. Piper fills the recently vacated position following the departure of former assistant county attorney Graham Berg-Moberg. He will be available indefinitely until a permanent replacement is found. Piper has served as the countys assistant attorney in the past.

A motion was passed to set a final redetermination hearing for County Ditch 3 on March 27, at 9 a.m. in Hamilton Hall.

Meanwhile, the hearing for County Ditch 64 will take place at 10:30 a.m. on the same date at the same location. A repair petition for CD 64 was also accepted. Chuck Brandel of ISG in Mankato was authorized by the board to serve as engineer for the project.

The County Board accepted county engineer Mark Dalys request to purchase a Trimble model S7 total station robotic unit from the state in the amount of $31,107.75.

According to the Trimble website, the total station robotic unit allows contractors to perform tasks more efficiently than conventional mechanical systems.

A work session was scheduled for March 20 at 1 p.m. to discuss solid waste policies and issues.There is a beautiful piece of hallowed ground located near the small rural town of Margraten in the Netherlands.

And, it has an interesting connection to Faribault County. Please keep reading to find out what that connection is.

Nestled among the grain fields and orchards is a large U.S. military cemetery. Its official name is Netherlands American Cemetery and Memorial. There are 8,301 American servicemen buried there.

All these American soldiers and airmen were killed during air operations over Germany and Allied military campaigns in Europe starting in September, 1944, and continuing forward.

At one time there were over 16,000 servicemen brought to Margraten and buried in temporary graves. Many were brought home, but just over half of them still remain there.

And, from the moment the first American was buried there, the local Dutch people placed flowers on these graves of their liberators, an act which they have never stopped doing. The graves were adopted by local families and the honorable duty passed on from generation to generation.

Every single one of the 8,301 graves and 1,722 names of missing in action listed on a wall at the cemetery have been adopted.

The local Dutch citizens are not the only people who are making sure these soldier heroes are not forgotten.

Minnesota-based Medtronics operates the Bakken Research Center in Maastricht, just a few miles away from Margraten and the cemetery.

A few years back the employees of this Medtronics facility in the Netherlands volunteered to place Minnesota state flags on the graves of the 140 soldiers from Minnesota who are buried at the Margraten cemetery.

And, they have been doing it for every Memorial Day in May ever since. The flags came from the office of the governor of Minnesota.

Now there is a new initiative involving the cemetery at Margraten and Medtronics.

According to Joek Hulsmann, a manager at the Medtronics Bakken Research Center, the goal is to find a photo for every U.S. soldier resting at Margraten Military Cemetery. And currently they have found photos for about half of all those who are buried there, or are among the missing in action listed on the wall.

Hulsmann says they have joined with their colleagues in Minneapolis to find a photo for every one of the 140 soldiers from our state who are buried at Margraten.

Now for the connection to all of us. Four of those Minnesota soldiers whom they do not have photos for are from Faribault County.

Hulsmann wonders if we can help him get some type of photograph for each one of the four.

We said we would try to help.

The four include Rueben Bernhard Albert Burmeister. He was killed on May 17, 1945.

Burmeister is the only one of the four that Hulsmann has any background information on. The soldier was born in 1919 in Waseca and his father was August Gottlieb Erdman Burmeister and his mother was Alice Alma Tolzmann Burmeister. He was a Technician Fifth Class.

The other three dont have that much information. All were private first class. There is Kenneth H. Madetzke, killed April 7, 1945; Ervin A. Sandness, killed on March 24, 1945; and James W. Scott, killed on May 17, 1945, the same day as Rueben Burmeister.

If you know who these men were, or are related to them, or know someone who is, let us know.

We will try and gather up photos of the four, scan them and send them off to the Netherlands to be included in this big project, which has been named The Faces of Margraten 2018.

There is a slight sense of urgency to this project.

The goal is to have a photo on every grave marker and next to every name on the wall during the Dutch Memorial Day.

That date is May 4, and the plan is to put up the photos every other year. Two years ago there were photos for nearly half of all the names of soldiers in the cemetery.

Last year no photos were put up, so this is the year to do it once again.

So, if you know anything about these four heroes from Faribault County who are buried in the Netherlands, the time to speak up is now.

Call (507) 526-7324 and ask for Chuck or email me at chunt@faribaultcountyregister.com.

And, of course, I will keep you all updated on any and all responses we get to this very intriguing request.GROWERS from WAs Ord River region have had the opportunity to taste snack food made from Kimberley corn during a relationship building tour with a key customer in South Korea.

Nine people  including representatives of the Ord River District Co-operative (ORDCO), growers, seed suppliers and grain traders  made their way to the east Asian country in early February for a five-day tour of port and processing facilities.

WA grower opportunities in the South Korean market were given a boost two years ago, after ORDCO struck an export deal with a key customer in 2016 which saw 10,000 tonnes of corn shipped out of the Wyndham Port.

A further 10,000t of corn from ORDCO was shipped out of the Wyndham Port to South Korea late last year, with plans to double exports to 20,000t in 2018.

The Kimberley corn is used to produce several products including thickeners, corn flour, soups, polenta and snack foods including corn chips.

Among those on the trip was ORDCO chief executive officer David Cross, who said the tour gave those involved a greater understanding of the entire journey of their corn from port to packet.

Mr Cross said the group toured one of the regions processing facilities, and tasted corn chips produced from Kimberley grain.

Its nice to see our grain at the other end, we physically got to see some of our grain being transferred from storage into the facility, Mr Cross said.

It was insightful to understand exactly what happens to our grain and where it ends up.

Mr Cross said customers had been impressed with the quality of exports out of the Ord, with varieties grown in the region well-suited to the South Korean market.

He said the Ord regions ability to irrigate ensured a good quality, consistent product.

Its about ensuring that the right varieties can be produced in our region and fortunately the varieties that the customer is looking for, those varieties do grow well here in the Ord, so thats a plus, Mr Cross said.

Its really about large kernel size and consistency and thats what our ability to irrigate gives us  the capacity to be able to consistently supply that quality.

Between 2500 and 3000 hectares of corn is expected to be planted in the Ord this year, with planting set to begin in April.

With corn plantings in the region up from about 1500ha last year, Mr Cross was optimistic the industry would continue to grow beyond 2018.

That growth has come from some growth in the export market but we also sell it in the local pastoral market here as a high energy grain so theres been growth on that side as well, Mr Cross said.

Were hoping to export 20,000t this year and certainly were looking to build this further.

Kimberley Agricultural Investments (KAI) general manager Jim Engelke was also involved in the tour.

Mr Englelke said the trip left the group encouraged about the potential for an expansion of the corn industry in the Ord.

We didnt know an awful lot about the Korean market but it was nice to sit in front of various business people and look for opportunities where they might exist in the capacity of what we do in the Ord, Mr Engelke said.

It was just to understand a bit further what the Korean market is doing, consumer trends and to look at how we might be able to become a part of that in the future.

It was positive in giving us a better understanding of the markets and its certainly going to be beneficial, certainly for us in the Ord, but more generally for the Australian growers and suppliers.A COUPLE in the midst of moving properties to pursue a passion for livestock are the winners of the 2018 Farm Weekly & WA Angus Breeders win 10 Angus heifers competition.

Having sold his half of the farm at Northam which has been in his family for four generations, Michael ONeill and his wife Vicki will continue farming at Boyup Brook and it will now be with the addition of 10 Southern Sensations Angus heifers and a brand new Can-Am black Angus motorbike.

The haul makes a prize pool valued at $25,400.

You (expletive) beauty, Mr ONeill burst out when told the news, which was quickly followed by Oops, sorry for swearing!

I am so happy like you wouldnt believe.

I cant think what will happen when I tell the rest of the crew.

The rest of the crew is the couples sons  23-year-old Tom, a shearer and sheep pregnancy scanner and 21-year-old Callum, a boiler maker, who both hot foot it back to the farm at every opportunity.

Its Toms birthday today too you know.

Ironically Mr ONeill was on his way home from attending a bull sale at Narrogin in his role as a member of the Elders stud stock team when Farm Weekly caught up with him.

We were going to buy some more cattle for the new property but now we wont, he said.

And there is always room for another bike.

Mr ONeill said they made the decision to move from their 350 millimetre annual rainfall grainbelt property at Northam to the 600 acre holding 30 kilometres north of Boyup Brook, where they can expect almost double the rainfall at 700mm per annum.

We much prefer livestock to cereal growing and we will take a number of our Ejanding blood Merino ewes, our Annagh Downs Suffolk and White Suffolk stud sheep, as well as our small herd of Hereford-Red Poll cattle with us, he said.

The winning ticket was drawn by stalwarts of the Angus breed who are celebrating their 50th year as members of the WA Angus Society, John and Beth McKay.

The couple previously ran the super successful Wilson Downs Angus stud, Cunderdin.

They held the Australian record for the top-priced Angus bull for 23 years with Wilson Downs Zenith, which sold to New Zealand in 1981 for $40,000, three-quarter share and possession and Mr McKay is a former WA Angus Society chairman and Federal association delegate.

The 10 Angus heifers were sourced from the Kalgan-based herd of Jarrod and Sarah Carroll, Rayview Park Pty Ltd and the motorbike from Seadoo Sport & Leisure, Belmont, with both provided courtesy of Farm Weekly and WA Angus breeders.

The competition is in its 11th year and its popularity continues to grow, evidenced this year with more than 14,000 entries received which was 40 per cent more than last years record number.

WA Angus Society vice chairman Mark Hattingh said it was exciting for the breed to see the success of the competition.

We are very grateful to Farm Weekly for making this possible, Mr Hattingh said.

I also want to thank member Bruce Campbell for his efforts in helping with the promotion and organisation and in particular to the 32 Angus breeders who contributed this year.

Hopefully well have even more next year.

This is a great promotion for our breed at a very opportune time during springing heifer and bull selling season.

Farm Weekly general manager Trevor Emery said his company was very happy to continue partnering with WA Angus breeders in a competition that was so keenly appreciated by Farm Weekly readers.

You only have to look at the number of entries to see the level of interest and engagement from our readers and that is good for us and good for WA Angus, Mr Emery said.

We thought we had done something pretty special last year for the 10th anniversary with 10 heifers and a trip to the Sydney Royal Easter Show, but this year we took it to another level with the introduction of the Can-Am motorbike, especially painted black and with Angus logos and for help with this we acknowledge the team at Seadoo Sport & Leisure.THE State government has defended Education Minister Sue Ellery and hit back at claims of disunity between its country and city party members over regional education cuts.

In a statement released last week The Nationals WA called for Ms Ellery to step down after Labor Albany MLA Peter Watson made comments on ABC Radio that indicated country members of the party were pushing for a reversal of several cuts to education.

It comes after the government announced it would close the Moora Residential College, sell-off camp schools and take funds from an agricultural education trust fund in December.

Despite backflipping on several other education cuts in January, the aforementioned savings measures were kept on the table as part of the State governments plans to save $41 million.

The Nationals WA leader Mia Davies said comments made by Mr Watson reflected a divide within the Labor Party and called upon country Labor members to make their positions on the education cuts known.

Despite the protest of some regional Labor MPs, its clear who rules the Labor party room  the city members, Ms Davies said.

Labors country members have failed to convince the Premier of the damage these cuts will impact across regional Western Australia.

Regionally-based Labor MPs, including those ministers in the McGowan Cabinet representing country electorates, must now declare publicly if the Education Minister retains their support.

The Member for Albany has belled the cat and if the minister no longer enjoys the support or confidence of a section of the caucus and Cabinet, she must do the right thing and resign.

Ms Ellery has dismissed calls for her resignation and said she would not be taking career advice from the opposition party.

Their irresponsible budget management is the reason these tough decisions had to be made, Ms Ellery said.

Mr Watson has since publicly declared his support for Ms Ellery and said country and city MPs were unified on issues related to regional education cuts.

While he understood the discontent surrounding the closure of the Moora Residential College, he said difficult decisions had to be made in order to repair the States finances.

Since then it has been explained to me that its millions of dollars  and around the Moora area theres empty beds at all of these other facilities, Mr Watson said.

The National Party had the opportunity when they were in to do something about it and they didnt, so Im a little bit disappointed theyre coming out and making comments about what should be done when they had eight and a half years and didnt do anything.

When you look at how much money does go into regional areas from the Labor government I think its a bit harsh to blame everything on the minister.

Theres been a couple of backflips but that happens when youre trying to make hard decisions  I think she (Ms Ellery) is doing a good job, shes very passionate for the job.

Agricultural Region MLC Darren West has also declared his support for Ms Ellery, saying while there had been robust discussions within the party room over the education cuts, all MPs understood the States financial predicament.

He said it was now time to focus on moving forward and support those affected by the education changes.

As regional MPs were certainly not backwards in coming forwards in airing our views about things and there certainly was some pretty frank discussions early on about some of the changes which were reversed, Mr West said.

Theres no split or anything, its just as regional MPs we get in there and bat for regional areas, just as they do in every other party.

We all understand the minister is in a difficult position and has to make some hard decisions, Ive accepted that thats the decision that its going to be and were moving on.

East Metropolitan Region MLC and Liberal Party spokeswoman for Education and Training Donna Faragher said the fight was not over, and opposition parties would continue to advocate to see all remaining education cuts reversed.

Ms Faragher said it was clear that regional communities would not back down following a well-attended rally held by the Country Womens Association of WA (CWA) at State Parliament last week.

About 400 people attended the CWAs first political demonstration its 94-year history last Tuesday, in support of its bid to see a backflip of the remaining cuts to country education.

I was very pleased to see the number of people there who were from a broad range of both the country and the city in support of the CWA, I think that was a very clear demonstration of the significant concern that continues to be felt right across the State, Ms Faragher said.

I am continuing to meet and discuss with various groups and individuals who are impacted across the board with respect to these cuts, and thats both in country WA as well as the city.

I will definitely be taking a lead fight when we return to parliament next month and Im continuing to advocate very strongly with all of my Liberal colleagues and National colleagues for these cuts to be reversed.THE Cowcher family celebrated the 30th anniversary of its annual Willandra Simmental and Red Angus bull sale at Williams last week with a strong sale result.

Widespread support from the southern and eastern agricultural areas saw its loyal band of clients and new buyers warm to the top annual line-up of 51 traditional Simmental and Red Angus bulls, lifting the sales overall clearance and gross returns from last year.

With bellies full of what was described by several pundits as among the best steaks at a WA bull sale, the Landmark selling team led by auctioneer Michael Altus got to work to clear 43 of 51 bulls (84 per cent) at auction to average $6023 overall.

Compared to last years sale three more bulls had sold from the same number offered with the gross improving $13,250 from $245,750 to $259,000 while the overall average slipped slightly by $121 from $6144 to $6023.

Broken down, the results varied between breeds.

The Simmentals felt the pinch of some selective bidding which saw six of the 35 bulls overlooked at auction with 29 (83pc) selling under the hammer to average $6103.

This was back $421 on average compared to last years sale where 31 of 34 bulls sold at auction to average $6524.

But the team of Red Angus bulls sold strongly to turn around last years modest results.

At the end of selling, 14 of the 16 bulls (88pc) had sold at auction to average $5857 which was significantly up by $1024 compared to last years average of $4833 from the nine of 17 bulls (53pc) to sell.

The sales top prices for both breeds were recorded twice with the Simmentals selling to $11,500 and the Red Angus to $9000.

- Simmental

First to pay top dollar from the outset was Landmark national livestock manager Leon Giglia who was bidding via phone for the Baker familys Woonallee Simmental stud, Millicent, South Australia - one of Australias foremost Simmental herds.

The $11,500 price tag was paid for Willandra Marmaduke M7 (P) in lot one, an early April 2016 drop son of Topweight Jack Arta and Willandra Olive K12 weighing just 33 kilograms at birth.

The 904kg polled bull was extremely high indexing with below average birthweight and solid growth ranking in the breeds top 1-5pc for all indexes +$62 domestic maternal (DMI), +$39 northern terminal (NTI), +$88 export maternal (EMI), +$52 vealer terminal (VTI), top 20-25pc for all growth intervals, top 15pc for carcase weight (CW) (+34) with positive fats.

Mr Giglia said the Bakers were looking for a soft skinned, good fleshing and lower birthweight bull to use over their heifers.

The Baker and Cowcher families have sourced Simmental genetics from each others herds in the past.

Danny Partridge and Jenny Maye, Tullamore Park Simmental stud, Busselton, paid the equal $11,500 top price for the next lot containing Willandra Muscles M72.

Muscles was born in late April, 2016 to homebred Willandra parents Hannibal and Evita D14 and was another high indexing sire.

The 892kg bull ranked in the top 1pc (+$40) for northern terminal index (NTI) and top 5-10pc for the balance +$53 DM, +$85 EM, +$46 VT, top 10pc for 600-day weight (+65), top 15pc 200-day weight (+25), top 25pc CW and top 30pc for 400-day weight and IMF.

Mr Partridge said it was the second sire they had purchased from Willandra after being very happy with the performance of their first bull they bought a couple of years ago.

He said Muscles would be used over their herds mainly polled second calvers for a late April early May calving.

Coat type and style is important to us, he is a soft bull with good weights, fats and growth, Mr Partridge said.

Tullamore Park sells bulls on-farm privately and has sold two sires to WA studs this year.

Kalgan operation Price Family Farms paid the sales next highest price of $9500 deep into the Simmental run for Willandra Marvel M88 in lot 31.

The 834kg late April 2016 drop son of Woonallee Genuine recorded strong performance data including all indexes in the top 5-20pc, top 15-20pc for all growth intervals, top 20pc CW and positive fats.

Familiar faces at the Willandra sale the Foster brothers, FJ & M Foster & Sons, Cowaramup, paid $9000 for their new Simmental bull Willandra Morrison M105.

The 842kg was another high-indexing polled son of Topweight Jack Arta, ranking in the top 1pc for NTI and top 5-10pc for other indexes, top 15-20pc for growth, top 15pc for CW and positive fats.

Other higher prices in the Simmental draft include $8500 paid by F Pessotto & Sons, Manjimup for a polled Jack Arta son and the Topweight Simmental stud, Forest Grove, who outlaid $8000 for a huge indexing, high growth son of Willandra Huckleberry.

But it was 20 years plus Willandra client Gordon Atwell, Welldon Beef, Williams, who dominated proceedings in the Simmentals, collecting 10 bulls costing from $4000 to $6500.

The bulls will join the battery to cover the familys large Angus herd with the resulting April-May Simmental-Angus steer and heifer calves destined for their own feedlot.

Other multiple Simmental bull buyers with two bulls each were JB & H Wringe, Donnybrook, Yandilla Grazing, Manypeaks and Deeside Muirs, Manjimup.

- Red Angus

New Red Angus stud Granite Hills, North Dandalup and Quindanning, was the first to pay the sales $9000 top Red Angus price for the sixth bull into the ring Willandra Mobster M25.

The 890kg bull was sired by Willandra parents Highgate H50 and Red May G15 and displayed a balance set of EBVs.

This included ranking in the top 10-15pc for all growth intervals at +33 200-day, +52 400-day and +65 600-day weights, top 10pc for CW (+45) and VTI (+$44), top 20pc for milk (+14) and eye muscle area (EMA) (+1.7) and top 20-25pc for remaining indexes.

Granite Hills stud principal John Doyle said they registered the stud in 2016 with Tronar and Jutland Park heifers which are ran at the Quindanning property.

He said its their second year at the Willandra sale as they build their numbers towards 200 breeders.

A well-bred moderate birthweight bull that will be good for our young heifers with excellent figures and a nice temperament, Mr Doyle said.

Four bulls later and return buyer Malcolm Auld, Napier, had secured Willandra Mack M8 for the equal $9000 top price.

The 838kg Mack was AI bred by Willandra General and out of Wilson Downs Red Betty Z23 born late March 2016 that also displayed a balance set of strong EBVs.

All its indexes ranked in the top 15pc at +$43 VTI, +45 supermarket (SMI) and +$47 NTI, top 10pc for 400-day (+52) and 600-day weights (+70) and CW (+46) and top 20pc for 200-day weight, milk and EMA.

Malcolm Auld is an advocate of the Red Angus and Simmental breeds and their crosses and is a commercial member of both associations.

He said its the fourth Red Angus bull he had purchased from Willandra that was selected for its grunt, moderate birthweight and growth.

It will join the battery to go over the familys Simmental cross herd that produces calves targeted at the vealer market.

Well-known commercial Red Angus producer and return Willandra buyer Preston Downs Farming Company, Esperance, bid at the top-end of the market for their two new bulls.

They paid $8000 for the second bull into the ring Willandra Macoy M62, an 840kg son of Willandra Highmark H37 and $8500 for Willandra Maguire M76 in lot 41, an 840kg son of Willandra Highgate H50.

The final bull offered, Willandra MacDonald M137, finished the sale in style when it sold for the next highest price of $6500.

MacDonald was a replacement low birthweight bull by Willandra Highmark H37 and was purchased by EK & L Kennedy, Willams.

Other buyers to invest in two Willandra Red Angus sires were Landmark Williams agent Ben Kealy and Landmark Margaret River agent Jock Embry, representing Shellcol Pty Ltd, Jindong.Kim Cattrall attended a memorial service in honour of her late brother on Saturday (24.02.18).

Kim Cattrall (c) Instagram

The 'Sex and the City' actress thanked her friends and Revd Peter Sutton for making her laugh as she lit a candle for Christopher Cattrall - whose body was found in the grounds of his home in Canada earlier this month - at a church in Scotland.

She shared a lighthearted photo on Instagram of herself smiling with the vicar and wrote: "Thank you to St Cuthbert's Parish Minister in Edinburgh Reverend Peter Sutton and our wonderful, joyful Scottish friends for making us laugh today. Lighting a candle in memory of our brother, son, father & husband, Christopher Adrian Alexander Cattrall. Forever in our thoughts. RIP xo.(sic)"

The 61-year-old actress revealed on Twitter on February 4 that her brother's body had been found, shortly after she had appealed for information after he'd gone missing.

She wrote at the time: "It is with great sadness that myself and my family announce the unexpected passing of our son and brother, Chris Cattrall.

"At this time we ask for privacy. We want to thank you all on social media for your outpouring of love and support in this trying time."

The tragedy sparked a public feud between Kim and her former 'Sex and the City' co-star Sarah Jessica Parker, after the 'Divorce' actress reached out on Instagram to offer her condolences following Christopher's death.

Commenting on the Instagram post in which Kim confirmed the news, Sarah, 52, wrote: "Dearest Kim, my love and condolences to you and yours and Godspeed to your beloved brother. Xx (sic)"

But days later the 'Mannequin' star fumed: "I don't need your love or support at this tragic time @sarahjessicaparker (sic)"

And captioning the picture, she added: "My Mom asked me today 'When will that @sarahjessicaparker, that hypocrite, leave you alone?' Your continuous reaching out is a painful reminder of how cruel you really were then and now.

"Let me make this VERY clear. (If I haven't already) You are not my family. You are not my friend. So I'm writing to tell you one last time to stop exploiting our tragedy in order to restore your 'nice girl' persona. (sic)"Reese Witherspoon has urged people to elect more women into office.

Reese Witherspoon

The 'Wild' star has called for more females to be elected into power in a bid to "share and protect each other from unsafe work environments" in response to the #MeToo movement.

Speaking at the 2018 Watermark Conference for Women in San Jose, she said: "We have to share and protect each other from unsafe work environments. It's imperative that we aren't silent with our sisters. We're chopping away at this problem by coming at it the way we know how. But we cannot continue to exist in an environment where we're not represented. We will never have our rights if we do not elect more women."

Meanwhile, Reese has been a big supporter of the #MeToo movement in the wake of Hollywood's sexual harassment scandal and she recently admitted she finds "strength" in "helping other women".

She said: "There are moments that you have to evaluate whether silence is going to be your only option. And certain times that was our only option. But now is not that time. You know, we have public voices. We have resources. But women who are workers in this country have nothing to gain in certain times by coming forward. But we want to help. It gives me strength to hopefully help other women."

And the 41-year-old actress has insisted sexism and sexual harassment has been "rampant" in Hollywood for years.

She quipped: "I don't know if you guys heard, but there's been a lot of stuff going on in Hollywood. I don't know if you guys have read the news or anything, but we've been dealing with some really ugly truth of sexism and sexual harassment and it has been rampant for far longer than I've been an actress, but it's brought back a lot of painful memories for people and it's been a real time of reckoning for us and there is definitely a growing realisation that we need to take the time to really examine the biases that exist in our industry & make much needed change."Matt LeBlanc isn't showing his real self on 'Top Gear'.

Matt LeBlanc

The former 'Friends' star is returning as co-host of the motoring show for the third series, but he insists he isn't really a presenter, just an actor playing a part.

He told The Sun on Sunday newspaper: "I'm not a host. I'm an actor playing the part of a presenter. Is it really me you see on 'Top Gear'? Probably not. It's the 'me' that suits the film we're making."

But the 50-year-old actor is having a great time working with Rory Reid and Chris Harris and has no plans to move onto other things any time soon.

He added: "I'm not looking for other projects. Spielberg's not calling, let's be honest!"

Though the trio are show is still compared to previous hosts Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May - who now from Amazon's 'The Grand Tour' - Matt insists he only ever hears positive comments from viewers.

He said: "The reception for our show's been pretty good. People who don't like it, are they gonna come to my face and say it sucks? They might shout that from across the street, but I'm kinda deaf!"

The new series of the programme sees the host hunt for Big Foot in the woods of California and it was Matt's favourite escapade on the show to date.

He said: "That was my favourite adventure.

"You take two guys - one believer and one sceptic - and send them to find Big Foot.

"It lends itself to a fun idea for a film. I push through the jokes. That's my thing. Chris is all about the stats, and Rory is sort of in the middle, so you get a good balance."Talk about animal shelters and youll get different reactions from different people. From warm happy smiles to anger, tears and visions of unimaginable neglect. There are those who find the thought of visiting and animal shelter too upsetting and those who, however upsetting they find it, rush to help the many vulnerable and needy animals, giving practical, as well as financial, support.

Last week, one such volunteer, contacted Fethiye Times to highlight the desperate struggle of the animal shelter at Koycegiz and invited us to go along for a visit. This is what we found

The animal shelter at Koycegiz

Saturday dawned bright and sunny after the heavy rains of the day before. Beautiful blue skies and the freshness and clarity that the day after the rain always brings. A lovely day for a road trip.

In Koycegiz, tantalising glimpses of the lake held the promise of a post visit walk and a snack in one of the lakeside cafes.

Sat nav delivered me directly to my destination. Id arrived!

Little did I know of the daily struggle going on behind the gate of the shelter.

Too many dogs

The shelter opened in March 2014 with 37 dogs. It now houses 430 dogs that have been abandoned, rescued, dumped outside and even thrown over the fence.

The dogs are categorised and kept in different areas; new arrivals; small, medium-sized and large dogs; those who need to be quarantined and need medical care; puppies; unsociable dogs; quiet dogs; sponsored dogs  you get the idea.

Fethiye Times at the Koycegiz Animal Shelter from Lyn Ward on Vimeo.

The shelter operates a strict no kill policy, refusing to euthanize healthy animals however challenging it is to rehouse them. Many of the dogs will live out the rest of their days at the shelter.

The shelter is set on land near to the lake at Koycegiz, a location that brings a whole set of problems of its own.

The ground has no drainage and, as a result, the rains leave most of the shelter waterlogged and the dogs living spaces filled with mud.

Some kennels have been raised up on pallets or wooden platforms that have been donated or built by volunteers but generally, at this time of year, the dogs spend their time in muddy pens, some of which is stagnant and vile smelling.

The summer brings a different set of problems. The shelter struggles to offer shade to dogs in allocated areas with no trees.

The shelter also has a problem with rats.

Too few humans

If you were asked to guess how many people work at the shelter, youd probably guess wrongly. There are only eight:

Two Belediye workers, Hasan & Ismail, work six days a week and carry out cleaning and repairs

Mukaddes Paulsen (Chairperson) volunteers one day a week at the weekend. Mukaddes is the main Belediye contact and Turkish liaison.

Sarah Browne (Deputy Chairperson and shelter Manager) volunteers four days a week. Sarah is also the English liaison and manages English social media, donations, adoptions, sponsorship and carries out general duties.

Hakan Paulsen (Medicine Man) volunteers six days a week and administers medicines, vaccinations etc. The shelter can only afford to use the vet for more serious conditions and where an operation is needed.

Evelyn Girod volunteers two mornings a week, poop scooping, feeding puppies and general cleaning.

Sybil (Secretary/Treasurer) volunteers every Wednesday.

Nurdan started last week and volunteers four days looking after the hospital, quarantine, sick new arrivals and puppy areas.

Monthly volunteer visits

There are various groups of volunteers who visit the shelter to help with cleaning, repair the dog kennels and pens and generally help out wherever is needed. They also bring donations of food and other essential items.

Groups from Icmeler and Marmaris, Kayakoy, Fethiye and Hisaronu arrange monthly trips for people who want to help. The next trip from Fethiye is on Sunday 18th March 2018. Please contact Tracy Coglan if you would like to go along and help out.

Not enough money

For the first two years, the shelter had no official help of any kind. Two years ago, the shelter applied for, and was awarded, non-profit charitable status.

The Belediye currently provide 210 x 15 kg bags of food a month. This is not guaranteed and could be stopped at any time. It is enough to feed the adult dogs for 21 days. The remainder, as well as tinned food, puppy food (pasta, rice, chicken) is all funded by donations.

The shelter also relies heavily on donations to pay for innoculations, medication, vet bills, cleaning materials, building materials and tradesmen (there are some jobs they just cant do for themselves).

There is still so much to do and the shelter desperately needs your help.

How can you help?

Volunteer at the shelter

Make a cash donatation

Donate items to be sold or auctioned

Hold a fundraising event

Adopt a dog and give it a home. If youre not in a position to adopt a dog, you can sponsor one instead.

How does the Sponsorship Program work?

Choose the dog you would like to sponsor.

The costs are:

100TL for food for the first month (pasta, rice, conserve, chicken and biscuits.

Second month onwards (unless very thin or ill)  50TL for one bag of biscuits per month. You can supply other food too if you wish.

Spaying or neutering  one-off cost of 90TL

Vaccinations (Distemper/Rabies/Kennel Cough/Bronchitis)  40TL each. The shelter requires distemper and rabies as a minimum.

The sponsored dog needs a kennel at a cost of 200 TL (one-off payment). Both the name of the sponsor and the dog is painted on the kennel, which will be their home for the duration of their stay at the shelter.

Adopt a dog from Turkey

You can also adopt a dog from Turkey and have it transported to your home in the UK or other countries. Details of the scheme can be found on the shelters Facebook group, details below.

A whole lot of love

The shelter may not have enough helpers or money, but there is one thing it has in spades  LOVE!

The end of our visit

That brings us to the end of our visit to the Koycegiz Animal Shelter for today. It may be the end of our visit but we hope its the beginning of more help and support for Sarah and the team who, against all the odds, do an absolutely incredible job.

For more information or to contact the shelter, please visit them on Facebook.Category Select Category Apparel/Garments Textiles Fashion Technical Textiles Information Technology E-commerce Retail Corporate Association Press Release

SubCategory Select Sub-CategorySecurity Solutions Enable Consumers to Connect with Confidence on the Go and at Home

MWC - Today at Mobile World Congress, McAfee announced it is extending its long-standing partnership with Samsung to safeguard consumers from cybersecurity threats on the new Galaxy S9 smartphones, Galaxy Note8, Smart TVs, PCs and notebooks.

As the cyber threat landscape has evolved and grown over the years, consumers have taken notice of new risks. In a recent McAfee survey, 61% of respondents claimed they are more worried about cybersecurity today than they were five years ago, and 73% either own or plan to purchase antivirus software. Unfortunately, only 19% currently own a personal virtual private network (VPN) solution to ensure their data stays secure while using a public or unsecured Wi-Fi connection, which underscores the need for companies to build security in from the start, to help keep consumers stay protected.

Smartphones

The Samsung Galaxy S9 and Galaxy Note8 will come pre-installed with anti-malware protection powered by McAfee VirusScan and Samsung Secure Wi-Fi service, for which McAfee provides the backend infrastructure. Samsung takes consumer security seriously and among multiple layers of security offered by its defense-grade secured platform, Samsung's Secure Wi-Fi helps ensure sensitive information can be encrypted and protected, which will reduce the security threats associated with using unprotected public and private Wi-Fi spots while on the go.

Last year McAfee announced that the Samsung Galaxy Note8 will come pre-installed with secure Wi-Fi in the U.S. The offering is now being extended across Europe. Current Galaxy Note8 users can update their software through the operating system update to take advantage of new features. Samsung provides 250MB of monthly data volume at no cost, with the option for users to purchase unlimited bandwidth.

Smart TVs

McAfee Security for TV technology now comes pre-installed on Samsung smart TVs in 175 countries worldwide, following the U.S. and South Korea launch last year. McAfee Security for TV scans the apps that run on Samsung smart TVs to identify and remove malware.

PCs and Notebooks

Following last year's announcement, McAfee LiveSafe, which offers cross-device security, has been extended to all 2018 Samsung PCs and notebooks. All Samsung PC users can now enjoy a 60-day free trial and after the trial period, will receive a special offer.

"People are using connected devices in more places than ever and it's never been more important to help safeguard their online lives," said John Giamatteo, executive vice president, consumer business group, McAfee. "In a time of increased vulnerabilities and threats, we're proud to strengthen our partnership with Samsung, to offer customers utmost peace of mind and confidence whenever and wherever they connect."

About McAfee

McAfee is the device-to-cloud cybersecurity company. Inspired by the power of working together, McAfee creates business and consumer solutions that make our world a safer place. By building solutions that work with other companies' products, McAfee helps businesses orchestrate cyber environments that are truly integrated, where protection, detection and correction of threats happen simultaneously and collaboratively. By protecting consumers across all their devices, McAfee secures their digital lifestyle at home and away. By working with other security players, McAfee is leading the effort to unite against cybercriminals for the benefit of all. www.mcafee.com

McAfee, the McAfee logo, and McAfee LiveSafe, are trademarks or registered trademarks of McAfee LLC or its subsidiaries in the United States and other countries.

Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180225005027/en/

Contacts:

McAfee

Michelle Spencer

michelle_spencer@mcafee.com

or

Hotwire Global

mcafeemwc2018@hotwireglobal.comSEOUL, South Korea, February 25, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

TABhas started 2018 with exciting news of the opening of its new office in Seoul, South Korea. Sooah Lee has been announced as Senior Account Manager and started the growth of the new office. TAB is already present in Berlin, Santa Monica and India, a move into South Korea was a natural progression as it already has several clients in the region.

(Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/645135/TAB_Logo.jpg )

TAB has big plans to expand the new office and create a new hub for widening operations in Asia. Sooah is proud of making good progress and taking on the responsibility. Being the first employee in a new country is always a challenge but she expects TAB and herself to grow exponentially, and is excited to work with global intelligence. Sooah has already started with the expansion of local business and clientele, additionally in getting general things ready - translations, back and forth emails, and most importantly building a positive relationship with future and current partners.

To make the opening of the new office as smooth as possible, Scott Park, the Co-Founder & Chief Revenue Officer in TAB's Santa Monica office visited Seoul during one of the coldest weeks in South Korean history. Scott had this to share about the recent expansion - "South Korea has understandable, clear and orderly regulations familiar to the Western world and it was safest to start from there due to cost and productivity." Some of the noticeable things he experienced during his visit were the high usage of mobile phones, some carrying two phones around as well as Apple launching their first store in Seoul.

If you are interested in working with TAB or joining the company you can email korea@tab.companyand the team will be happy to meet you in Seoul.

Vera Belinskaya

vera.belinskaya@tab.company

+49-17684914809AAP appealed to bureaucrats protesting the alleged assault on the Chief Secretary not to obstruct Delhi government's work.

New Delhi: The Aam Aadmi Party on Saturday appealed to bureaucrats protesting the alleged assault on the Chief Secretary not to obstruct Delhi government's work, even as a forum of city officials met the Cabinet Secretary and apprised him of the "difficult working conditions" they were facing.

As the standoff between the bureaucrats and the AAP government continued, Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal met Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, two days after he submitted a preliminary report over the alleged assault on Delhi chief secretary Anshu Prakash at Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's residence.

In the meeting, the Lieutenant Governor briefed Singh about the incident and the prevailing situation under the AAP government, sources said.

With the governance of the Delhi government hit, the AAP sought to extend an olive branch to the officers. "We appeal to the officers that the government work should not suffer," Saurabh Bharadwaj, chief spokesperson of the AAP's Delhi unit, said.

On Friday, Kejriwal and his Cabinet colleagues had also met the Lieutenant Governor and sought his intervention in defusing tensions between the AAP government and the bureaucrats. During its meeting with Cabinet Secretary PK Sinha, the country's top bureaucrat, a joint forum of employees and officers of the Delhi government apprised him about the "difficult working conditions" prevailing under the AAP dispensation.

"The Cabinet Secretary gave a patient hearing to all officials and officers present and acknowledged that they are working in a difficult environment," the forum said in a statement. "He assured all employees of complete administrative and moral support. However, he cautioned that citizens should not be put to inconvenience and delivery of services should go on, to which all the officers assured complete dedication," it said.

To register their protest against the alleged assault on Prakash, bureaucrats of the IAS and Delhi, Andaman and Nicobar Islands Civil Service (DANICS) have not been attending meetings with the AAP ministers for the last three days. According to the officers, they would only maintain written communication until the chief minister apologises for the incident.

Meanwhile, Delhi BJP president Manoj Tiwari said that there should be no place for violence in politics and administrative work.

During the last few days, the chief secretary was attacked in the presence of Kejriwal and after that in place of taking an action against the guilty MLAs, the chief minister tried to "cover up" the incident which has shocked everyone, Tiwari alleged.

On Friday, former bureaucrat Dhir Jhingran also resigned from the Delhi government's State Advisory Council For Education to express solidarity with Prakash.

In an unprecedented move, a Delhi Police team on Friday seized a hard disk containing CCTV footage from Kejriwal's residence in connection with the alleged assault. Union minister Hansraj Gangaram Ahir on Friday hinted that Kejriwal might be questioned by the police in connection with the alleged assault on the bureaucrat. "Whosoever it may be, the police will question all those in whose presence the incident took place," he had said.India and France are likely to sign a framework agreement for expediting the Jaitapur nuclear power plant project during French President Emmanuel Macrons visit next month, sources from the Indian side have said

New Delhi: India and France are likely to sign a framework agreement for expediting the Jaitapur nuclear power plant project during French President Emmanuel Macrons visit next month, sources from the Indian side have said.

The six-reactor project with a capacity of 1650-MW each will be the largest nuclear power park in the country.

Talks between the two countries are on to decide the terms of the agreement, the French side added.

However, it may not be a General Framework Agreement (GFA), which lays down the details like the cost and technical aspects of the Jaitapur nuclear power plant, that will be built in the Ratnagiri district of Maharashtra.

An agreement is expected to be signed between French company EDF and the Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL  a nuclear power-generating PSU under the Department of Atomic Energy). But it may not be a final general framework agreement. Both sides are yet to finalise crucial aspects of the project, said an Indian government official requesting anonymity.

The agreement could be on how to expedite the project.

The Indian official added that the two countries are yet to decide on several important aspects like terms of credit, which the EDF will give to the NPCIL, and the techno-commercial aspect, that includes cost per unit.

The EDF will be building six European Power Reactors in Jaitapur but the reference plant to be shown by the company is not yet operational. It is mandatory that the EDF presents a reference plant before a deal could be signed.

Such a plant is also required before getting a nod from the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AREB), the nuclear watchdog in India, sources said.

More importantly, the EDF is facing financial problems and the Indian atomic energy establishment is not keen to sign a GFA until that part is sorted out, they said.

Sources also said the French side is seeking an assurance over the liability clauses under the Civil Liability Nuclear Damage Act 2010.Skirmishes between Indian and Pakistani forces were only adding to people's sufferings and governments of both the countries should find a way to restore peace at the borders, National Conference chief Farooq Abdullah said.

Jammu: Skirmishes between Indian and Pakistani forces were only adding to people's sufferings and governments of both the countries should find a way to restore peace at the borders, National Conference chief Farooq Abdullah said.

Unless they (India and Pakistan) find a way out, away from this (border skirmishes), people on both sides will continue to suffer and many will die. Many of our soldiers will also die and a similar situation will be on their side," he said. The Government of India must find a way forward, the National Conference chief said.

What that way forward is, is up to the prime minister to decide. I am too small to suggest anything to him. But I will say the same thing to the Pakistani side, to the premier of that side. The time has come when this bloodshed must stop, and peace must be restored on the border and in the state here as well as in the area they hold on their side," the former chief minister told reporters at the sidelines of a function.

In response to a question about heavy Pakistani shelling along the Line of Control (LoC) in Uri sector of north Kashmir, he said the shelling was not one sided but going on from both sides. "They are shelling us and we are shelling them back. They shell us one percent, we shell them 10 percent as army chief has said," he said.

On Pakistani troops targeting civilians, Abdullah said a bomb does not know where it is going to fall. The shelling is resorted to frighten the people, he said. The leader's comment comes against the backdrop of a series of ceasefire violations by the Pakistani forces along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir.

Asked about amnesty granted by the state government to stone-pelters, the member of parliament said those released should realise that the time has come when they have to think of their careers and how to take the state out of turmoil. "We are a tourist state and no tourist will come if there is turmoil. People will suffer, they will continue to suffer and in the long run it will be the state that will become backward," he said.

On reports of pelting of stones on a military station at Sunjuwan on Saturday, Abdullah said he had no knowledge about it. However, he said, if it had happened, the government should investigate and see whether the stone-pelters released by it were involved in the case or someone else.

Expressing concern over attempts to pitch one community against another, he said Prime Minister Narendra Modi should try and build an India of our dreams which is for all of us, whether you are a Muslim, Hindu, Sikh or Christian. He said the prime minister is not only for Gujarat, but for the whole country.

Abdullah also sought to defend former Union minister Mani Shankar Aiyar over his purported casteist slur against Modi. Asked about Aiyar's presence at Congress headquarters, he said, One thing you must know, Aiyar is a Tamil and Urdu is not his language. He has picked up some Urdu during his posting in Paksitan. And when he used that term, he did not mean what was made out of it by the BJP, Abdullah said.Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad criticised army chief General Bipin Rawat over his comment on Assam-based political party AIUDF and said the armed force should maintain its non-political character.

Guwahati: Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad criticised army chief General Bipin Rawat over his comment on Assam-based political party AIUDF and said the armed force should maintain its non-political character.

"We take pride in the fact that our army is non-political unlike in some of our neighbouring countries. Since India's Independence, the army has been a non-political outfit. It should remain like that," Azad said at a press conference.

The senior Congress leader said, "We have great regard for the Army -- our protector. But it should not be concerned about which political party has grown or where it has got support from."

On 21 February, Rawat had said the All India United Democratic Front's (AIUDF) grew "faster" than the BJP in the 1980s.

The army chief was referring to reports of increase in the Muslim population in several Assam districts.

At a seminar in the national capital, the army chief had also said that a "planned" influx of people from Bangladesh into the North East is taking place as part of proxy warfare by Pakistan, with support from China, with an aim to keep the area disturbed.

AIUDF president Badruddin Ajmal had alleged that Rawat had overstepped his "constitutional jurisdiction" while making the remarks.The chief ministers of Haryana and Uttar Pradesh on Saturday decided to work together to improve the law and order situation in both the states by taking steps to check illegal mining.

Chandigarh: The chief ministers of Haryana and Uttar Pradesh on Saturday decided to work together to improve the law and order situation in both the states by taking steps to check illegal mining and resolving common issues affecting the people of the two neighbouring states.

The decision was taken at a meeting between Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar and Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath in Mathura, a Haryana government spokesman said here.

"It has been decided that Directors General of Police from both the states would meet every three months on a regular basis. Senior officers of Delhi Police would also attend the meeting. Yogi Adityanath said both the states would work together on common issues to facilitate people," he said.

The chief secretaries of both states would meet soon to ensure availability of adequate amount of irrigation water in Agra canal.

The two states would also work together for the construction of a bridge on the Yamuna river near Hasanpur in Palwal district of Haryana, the spokesman said.

"To solve excise related issues, a meeting of senior officers of both states would be held along with officers from Rajasthan, Delhi, and Madhya Pradesh. Both states would jointly work to put a check on illegal mining," he added.

The two states also agreed to exchange cultural activities on a regular basis.

Khattar said that the '84 Kos Parikrama' falling in Braj area of Haryana would be renovated. Besides, renovation work of some religious and pilgrimage places in Braj area will also be undertaken, he announced.In his 41st edition of monthly radio address Mann ki Baat, Prime Minister Narendra Modi stressed upon the importance of science and technology in India's overall development.

Addressing the nation via the 41st edition of monthly radio programme, Mann Ki Baat, Prime Minister Narendra Modi stressed upon the importance of science and technology and the potential of artificial intelligence in India's growth trajectory.

Modi began his address with a phone call from Komal Tripathi of Meerut, who reminded listeners of National Science Day on 28 February. National Science Day is celebrated each year on this day to mark CV Raman's discovery of "Raman Effect". Tripathi also urged Modi to speak on the importance of scientific temper and education in helping India's growth.

Hailing the scientific community in India, Modi invoked the names of some of the most popular Indian-origin scientists. "From Sir Jagdish Chandra Bose and Har Gobind Khorana to Satyendra Nath Bose, scientists have been India's pride. In fact, the famous 'boson' particle is named after Satyendra Nath Bose," Modi said.

The prime minister also invoked the names of rishis who helped create the ancient India's knowledge systems. "On the one hand, we have mathematicians like Bodhayana, Bhaskar, Brahmagupta and Aryabhatta, on the other hand Charaka and Sushruta are our pride in the field of surgery," Modi said.

Speaking on the hot topic of artificial intelligence, Modi claimed that machines are getting smarter through self learning and urged researchers to make use of AI to make the lives of "divyangs" (differently-abled), farmers and the needy more simpler.

"We can be alerted about natural calamities. Can we help the farmers to know about their crops return? Can it be used to improve the reach of the medical services and help in curing the diseases in more advanced way?" he asked. Modi also said that he had attended a programme on artificial intelligence at the University of Mumbai.

"Science and technology are value neutral. They do not have their own intelligence but it depends on us what work we want to take from that machine. And here, the human objective guides the outcome of the technology. The technology and machines should be used for the betterment of the humankind," he said.

Modi also referred to his last month visit's to Ahmedabad along with his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu. "During my visit to the the iCreate Centre in Ahmedabad's Deo Dholera village, I saw how a youth had developed a technology for people who cannot speak. He developed a device, where a dumb person, whatever he wants to speak just need to write which gets converted into a voice."

Modi also stressed on the importance of public and occupational safety, urging citizens to inculcate safety in their day-to-day lives. "India has to become a risk-conscious society. Day-to-day safety needs to become an integral part of our lives," Modi said.

Modi also praised the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) for leading the way in disaster management and said, "Not only does the NDMA helps citizens during natural calamities, it also holds training camps for volunteers."

"Most of the accidents barring national disasters in some way or the other occur due to our negligence. If we remain vigilant and follow rules then we can avoid such situations," Modi added.

Like many times in the past, Modi again dwelt into his pet project "Swacch Bharat Abhiyan", while introducing his government's GOBAR-Dahan initiative.

"In this budget, emphasis was laid on 'waste to wealth' and 'waste to energy'. We are taking forward the 'Swacch Bharat' initiative through the'GOBAR-Dhan' (Galvanising Organic Bio-Agro Resources) initiative," he said. The prime minister lauded the idea of "kacchra utsav", which began in Raipur and has now spread to various cities of India, and urged citizens to come up with innovative ideas to make clean India.

Ahead of International Women's Day on 8 March, Modi also invoked Swami Vivekananda to pay tribute to Indian womanhood. "On this occasion, I remember Vivekananda's words: The idea of perfect womanhood is perfect independence. In today's world, it is our responsibility to make sure that Indian women are equal partners in social and economic spheres," Modi said.

While reiterating his vision for "New India" by 2022, Modi said that the country was looking beyond the concept of women's development and talking in terms of development being led by women.

With inputs from agencies

Modi also congratulated the administration for beginning electricity supply to Gharapuri Isle, which houses the Unesco World Heritage site Elephanta Caves, adding that it was a "new beginning of a period of development".

"I was just watching the TV news two days ago that electricity has reached three villages of the Elephanta Island after 70 years of independence, and this has led to much joy and enthusiasm among the people there," Modi said.

"It is a very important tourist destination and the Elephanta caves are marked as a World Heritage site by UNESCO and attracts tourists from all over the country and abroad. I was surprised to know that despite being such a prominent centre of tourism and its close proximity to Mumbai, electricity hadn't reached Elephanta after so many years of independence," he added.



With inputs from agenciesIndia will host navies from at least 16 countries for an eight-day mega naval exercise from 6 March with an aim to expand regional cooperation and combat unlawful activities in critical sea lanes

New Delhi: India will host navies from at least 16 countries for an eight-day mega naval exercise from 6 March with an aim to expand regional cooperation and combat unlawful activities in critical sea lanes.

The biennial exercise 'Milan' is being organised at the Andaman and Nicobar Islands in the backdrop of China's growing military posturing in the Indo-Pacific region and officials said the issue is likely to figure during deliberations among navy chiefs of the participating countries at the event.

"The interactions during Milan encompass sharing of views and ideas on maritime good order and enhancing regional cooperation for combating unlawful activities at sea," Spokesperson of Indian Navy Capt DK Sharma said.

He said the countries which are participating in the exercise include Australia, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritius, Myanmar, New Zealand, Oman, Vietnam, Thailand, Tanzania, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Kenya and Cambodia.

Besides fostering cooperation through naval exercises and professional interactions, Captain Sharma said 'Milan' will also provide an opportunity to the participating navies to nurture stronger ties in dealing with various security challenges.

India, the US and several other nations have been pressing for freedom of navigation in the disputed South China Sea.

Officials said China's military manoeuvres in the South China Sea may figure during discussions among navy chiefs of the participating countries at the event.

In November, India, the US, Australia and Japan gave shape to the long-pending quadrilateral coalition to develop a new strategy to keep the critical sea routes in the Indo-Pacific free of Chinese influence.

"From an event of sub-regional context, Milan has now grown into a prestigious international event and encompasses participation by maritime forces from not just the Bay of Bengal and South East Asia but the larger Indian Ocean Region (IOR)," Sharma said.

'Milan' was first held in 1995 with the participation of just five navies. The aim of the initiative was to have an effective forum to discuss common concerns in the Indian Ocean Region and forge deeper cooperation among friendly navies.

The exercise is being hosted by the Indian Navy under the aegis of the Andaman and Nicobar Command.Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Saturday rejected claims that he raised the issue of separatism in Quebec with Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Saturday rejected claims that he raised the issue of separatism in Quebec with Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh, said media reports.

On 21 February, Singhs media adviser, Raveen Thukral had said that Trudeau cited a separatist movement in the Canadian province of Quebec and told his host that he had dealt with such threats and was fully aware of the dangers of violence.

According to The Times of India report, Trudeau, in his interaction with the Canadian media in New Delhi on Saturday, however, said, "The reports are false. I said nothing of the sort. On the contrary, I have always said I'm very proud of the lessons that Canada and Quebec have to share on differences of opinion shared in peaceful ways and pluralism and diversity that is positive for our community."

Before Trudeaus denial, a Canadian government source, according to Montreal Gazette, told the Presse Canadienne, a national news agency, that while he "spoke about Quebec" to Singh, "in no case did he draw a comparison between the Sikh and Quebec independence movements, especially not about violence".

The comments attributed by Thukral to Trudeau have sent shock waves through Quebec, a predominantly French-speaking province in eastern Canada which has been asking for independence.

"To identify the current Quebec independence movement with violence is false and disrespectful to millions of Quebecers," Parti Quebecois leader Jean-Francois Lisee was quoted as saying by Montreal Gazette.

Trudeau in his visit with Singh had also asserted that Canada believes in united India and assured Punjab chief minister that it did not support "any separatist movement in India or elsewhere", The Hindu had reported.

According to Reuters, a list of suspected Sikh separatists in Canada was handed to Trudeau during the meeting.

Canada is home to an influential Sikh community and Indian leaders say there are some fringe groups in the country that are still sympathetic to the cause of Khalistan, the report added.

Trudeau's first bilateral visit to India was hit by a controversy over the dinner invitation to convicted Khalistani terrorist Jaspal Atwal by the Canadian High Commissioner in New Delhi.

With inputs from agenciesAn 18-year-old Keralite law student has complained of cyber bullying, allegedly by right wing groups, over a poem on her Facebook page about taboos attached to menstruation.

Thiruvananthapuram: An 18-year-old Keralite law student has filed a police complaint alleging cyber bullying by right-wing groups after she posted a poem on her Facebook page on taboos attached to menstruation.

The abusers alleged that the poem on a menstruating goddess hurt their religious sentiments, Navami Ramachandran from Mallappally in Pathanamthitta district said.

The woman claimed she received threats on social media.

An activist of the Students Federation of India, the teenager posted the poem to extend support to another youngster who had also faced a similar threat for speaking out on menstruation on social media.

Navami alleged that even her school-going sister was not spared and was threatened by a group of unidentified people earlier this week.

A few bike-borne persons, with their faces obscured by masks, threatened Lekshmi, her younger sister, she alleged in another post.

"Taking into account other recent incidents, there is no doubt that the RSS was behind the act," Navami alleged.

Based on a complaint by her family about the alleged attack on Lekshmi, police registered a case and began a probe.Sixteen persons have been arrested in connection with the lynching to death of a tribal man for allegedly stealing articles from some shops in Palakkad district even as the Centre sought a report from the state over the incident.

Palakkad/Thiruvananthapuram: Sixteen persons have been arrested in connection with the lynching to death of a tribal man for allegedly stealing articles from some shops in Palakkad district even as the Centre sought a report from the state over the incident.

The arrest was made after the post-mortem report revealed that the deceased Madhu had injuries on the head and bruises all over the body, police said. There was internal bleeding and he had broken ribs, the report said.

The post-mortem was conducted at the Thrissur Medical College. Sixteen persons have been arrested in the case, police said.

Madhu was beaten to death by a group of persons for allegedly stealing food articles from some shops in the forest-fringe Agali town.

Thrissur Range IG MR Ajith Kumar said cases under various IPC sections, including murder, and SC/ST Atrocities Prevention Act would be registered against the accused.

According to doctors, who performed the post-mortem, the death was due to the severe internal head injuries, he said.

Police would also explore the possibility of registering cases under the IT Act against them for circulating his photo on social media, the IG said.

Body brought to tribal settlement

After the post-mortem, the body was taken to Attappady, where people from various walks of life thronged to pay tributes. Attappady is one of the most backward tribal settlements in the state.

Earlier in the day, Union Tribal Affairs minister Jual Oram said a report has been sought from the state chief secretary over the tribal man's death on Thursday.

"Our ministry has sought a report from the chief secretary about the incident and the action taken by the state government," the minister told a television channel.

The state government decided to provide a financial assistance of Rs 10 lakh to the bereaved family.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan directed the chief secretary to hand over the amount to Madhu's family at the earliest.

Madhu, who was said to be mentally unsound, was living in a cave in the forest for the past several months, his family said.

His mother, Mallika and sister Chandrika told television channels that a group of nearly 10-15 persons went to the forest and thrashed him. "After being beaten up, Madhu was made to walk over four km with a heavy sack on his back," they alleged.

When he asked for water, he was mocked at, they alleged, quoting eye-witnesses. They also alleged that some forest officials had allowed the local people to go to the area and attack Madhu.

The opposition Congress and BJP observed "hartal" at Mannarcaud taluk, under which Attappady falls. Tribal activists staged a protest this morning, blocking traffic at Attappady.Modi said that he attended a programme on AI at the University of Mumbai where he 'urged the scientists and researchers to make use of AI to make the lives of the divyangs more simpler'.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said that machines were getting smarter through self learning and urged researchers to make use of artificial intelligence (AI) to make the lives of the "divyangs" (differently abled), farmers and the needy more simpler.

"The machines are getting smarter these days through self learning," Modi said in his monthly radio programme 'Mann ki Baat'.

"And this technology of AI should be used to improve the lives of the farmers, poor and the needy people."

Modi said that he attended a programme on AI at the University of Mumbai where he "urged the scientists and researchers to make use of AI to make the lives of the divyangs more simpler".

The Prime Minister said that through AI, "we can be alerted about natural calamities.Can we help the farmers to know about their crops return? Can it be used to improve the reach of the medical services and help in curing the diseases in more advanced way?"

"Science and technology are value neutral. They do not have their own intelligence but it depends on us what work we want to take from that machine. And here the human objective guides the outcome of the technology.

"The technology and machines should be used for the betterment of the humankind," he added.

Modi also referred to his last month visit's to Ahmedabad along with his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu.

"During my visit to the the iCreate Centre in Ahmedabad's Deo Dholera village, I saw how a youth had developed technology for people who cannot speak.

"He developed a device, where a dumb person, whatever he wants to speak just need to write which gets converted into a voice."

Modi also said that on 28 February, the nation celebrates National Science Day, the same day when CV Raman discovered light scattering.

"It is being said that he discovered light scattering on 28 February and that was the reason why we celebrate the day as National Science Day. He was conferred with the Nobel Prize for his work," he said.Stressing on India's unity in diversity tradition, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the world as it progresses technologically, will still need spiritual orientation

Chennai: Stressing on India's unity in diversity tradition, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said the world as it progresses technologically, will still need spiritual orientation.

He said India was home to the age-old tradition of Gurukul, where learning is not confined to classrooms. Auroville too has developed as a place of unending and life-long education.

He said India has been the spiritual destination of the world and many great religions of the world were born in this country.

According to him, as the world progresses materially through science and technology, it will increasingly long for and need spiritual orientation for social order and stability.

Modi said at Auroville, the material and the spiritual co-exist in harmony.

He said Auroville has brought together a huge diversity of people. Indian society is fundamentally diverse and has fostered dialogue and philosophic tradition.

According to Modi, it was important today to remember the vast extent of action and thought of Aurobindo  a man of action, a philosopher, a poet  there were so many facets to his character for the good of the nation and humanity.

Modi reached Puducherry earlier on Sunday from Chennai and visited the Aurobindo Ashram. He also met the students at the school in the ashram.Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday visited the Sri Aurobindo Ashram here and paid homage to its founder Sri Aurobindo. After arriving in Puu from Chennai, Modi reached the ashram where he was received by the officials.

Puducherry: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday visited the Sri Aurobindo Ashram in Puducherry and paid homage to its founder Sri Aurobindo. After arriving in Puducherry from Chennai, Modi reached the ashram where he was received by the officials.

He paid floral tributes at the memorial of Aurobindo, a spiritual leader, and meditated for a few minutes. Later, he interacted with the children of the International School of Education run by the ashram. He then left for Auroville (City of Dawn) International Township situated in neighbouring Villupuram district of Tamil Nadu where he will participate in its golden jubilee celebrations.

The international or universal project envisioned by the mother of Aurobindo Ashram, Mirra Alfassa, is dedicated to the ideal of human unity.

Earlier on his arrival at the airport, Modi was received by Lt Governor Kiran Bedi and Chief Minister V Narayanaswamy among others.Jeweller Nirav Modi joins a list of smart young Gujarati men  including Harshad Mehta, Hiten Dalal, Jatin Mehta and Ketan Parekh  who have in the last few years easily taken thousands of crores each from Indian banks

Nirav Modi joins a list of smart young Gujarati men  including Harshad Mehta, Hiten Dalal, Jatin Mehta and Ketan Parekh  who have in the last few years easily taken thousands of crores each from taxpayers. I say taxpayers because though the money vanished from public sector banks, it is the citizens money that is being stolen.

On Thursday, the Punjab National Bank said it would raise about Rs 5,500 crore from the government by selling its shares at Rs 163. The market price of the share is Rs 113 and falling. And so, you and I are paying a premium of Rs 50 per share for investing in an incompetent bank that has squandered our money.

We are being assured that once this extra money is pumped in, all will be fine. This is, of course, bogus and a repeat of what has happened to us several times before, and is bound to happen again. What we know as the stock market scams (involving Harshad and Parekh), were actually banking frauds just like Niravs and Jatins.

The journalists Debashish Basu and Sucheta Dalal wrote a book called The Scam: From Harshad Mehta to Ketan Parekh. They revised it with the title 'Also includes JPC fiasco and Global Trust Bank scam'. I fear they will have to keep revising it because this wretched nation seems to have no shortage of huge banking frauds.

Of the Harshad matter, Basu and Dalal write that the scam was so gigantic that it was easy to lose perspective. Larger than the health budget, larger than the education budget, it made millions of rupees look like loose change. As the stock prices started crashing all over the country, following the most explosive and absurd rise over the previous six months, the scam  fifty times the size of Bofors  invaded middle-class homes like a whirlwind."

Harshad bought securities for State Bank of India but did not deliver them, instead using the money to speculate. Basu and Dalal write that in this scheme, he was aided by the blue-blooded ANZ Grindlays Bank and the National Housing Bank, the fully-owned subsidiary of the Reserve Bank of India. Both freely credited cheques to Harshads account. Harshad also managed to operate SBIs account maintained with RBI as his own, putting through fictitious purchases and sales through that account and having his own bank account credited or debited corresponding to such buying/selling.

The infection, as is absolutely clear, is total. It is absurd to pin it on one or two employees of any bank. The one and the only cure is to ensure that there is rule of law. Not in any specific case but in all cases  from traffic violations to murders.

The criminal justice system must be functional. The state must respect and follow due process  always and without exception  even when it may appear to be going soft on the accused. This is very hard work but there is no other cure. Is this the cure being administered by the government when we look at recent high profile cases and at events around us? I will leave it for the reader to judge.

Prime minister Narendra Modi has still not addressed the Nirav matter. Without naming him or the bank, Modi said on Friday, I want to appeal to those who have been given the task of framing rules and maintaining ethics in financial institutions to perform their duty with full faith, particularly those who have been given the responsibility of monitoring and supervision.

The prime minister also said we will continue to take action, and that the inappropriate use of the peoples money would not be accepted by the new system created by the government.

Of course, others have said the same thing before when money was lost under them, and yet the scams have continued. As a nation and a culture, we seem to have no immunity at all against the smooth-talking Gujarati youth who can easily take our banking system for a ride.

Harshad called his investment philosophy replacement cost theory. The idea was to value an established companys shares not based on its current earnings but what it would require to replace it if it did not exist. Only in his early 30s when he was named Big Bull, Harshad was celebrated and lionised as a genius.

We are told Nirav had begun milking Punjab National Bank seven years ago. It cannot be a coincidence that he and his family, uncles and all, vanished from India only days before the scam was discovered. Surely someone senior in the government alerted him that the scandal was about to break.

In that same speech referred to above, the prime minister appealed to those entrusted with the task of monitoring and vigilance to do their job with full diligence. I wish to make it clearthat this government will take stringent action against financial irregularities The system will not accept irregular accumulation of public money. This is the basic mantra of New Economy  New Rule.

Whether or not one believes these words given the track record, we should all hope that our country develops greater immunity to the plundering of public money. An end to the sequence of Harshad, Dalal, Jatin, Parekh, and Nirav would be a relief.

Meanwhile, it would be a blessing on all of us if the prime minister could stop at least this aspect of the Gujarat Model from visiting the rest of the country again.Pakistan on Saturday summoned Indian Deputy High Commissioner JP Singh in Islamabad for the fifth time in a month and condemned alleged firing across Line of Control by Indian forces.

Islamabad: Pakistan on Saturday summoned Indian Deputy High Commissioner JP Singh in Islamabad for the fifth time in a month and condemned alleged firing across Line of Control by Indian forces.

The Pakistan Foreign Office said Director General (SA & SAARC) Mohammad Faisal summoned Singh over "unprovoked ceasefire violations" by Indian forces on 23 February in Nikial sector. Faisal said the firing killed a man in Thurti Narr village located some 1,200 meters from the LoC and three other people were injured.

The Foreign Office had earlier summoned India's deputy high commissioner on 5, 15, 20 and 22 February. "This unprecedented escalation in ceasefire violations by India is continuing from the year 2017 when Indian forces committed more than 1,970 ceasefire violations," he claimed. He said the alleged ceasefire violations by India are a threat to regional peace and security and may lead to a strategic miscalculation.

Pakistani troops on Saturday fired mortar shells targeting villages along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir's Rajouri district, Indian police said. "Pakistani troops fired mortar shells and small arms from across the border in the Lam area of the Nowshera sector around 6.15 pm," a police official said.

He said Indian troops retaliated and the exchange of fire continued for 15 minutes. There was no casualty reported in the Pakistani firing, the official said.The CBI has examined PNB's executive director KV Brahmaji Rao for the second day on Sunday in connection with the Rs 11,400 crore PNB scam.

New Delhi: The CBI has examined Punjab National Bank's executive director KV Brahmaji Rao for the second day on Sunday in connection with the Rs 11,400 crore PNB scam allegedly involving jewellers Nirav Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi, officials said.

Rao, who started his career in banking 35 years ago as a probationary officer in Vijaya Bank, handled the Mumbai zone, among others, in the bank where the crime was allegedly detected, they said.

The officials said several other officers of the bank were being questioned by the agency as well. They said the examination was focused on understanding how the crime was detected by the bank and other procedural issues and their violations. They were not being treated as accused, the officials said.

It was alleged that fraudulent guarantees worth Rs 11,400 crore were issued to Modi and Choksi through 293 Letters of Undertakings.

According to the website of the PNB, Rao is in-charge of the integrated risk management division, credit (operations), monitoring of accounts with exposure of above Rs 50 crore, including stock audit and Portfolio Management Service (PMS), industrial rehabilitation and action taken on borrowal frauds reported from Mumbai, where the alleged fraud took place.Nirav Modi, his wife, and uncle Mehul Choksi sauntered into the airport and left the country when the probe into their activities was already well on its way, proving once again the legit way is also the safest way to escape

Folks like Lalit Modi, Vijay Mallya and now Nirav Modi could well start a movement called the art of leaving. The dark humour aside, the trick, as they have proven, in departing before the cloudbursts, is to do it brazenly and in public sight. It's akin to hiding something in plain sight.

Whether their casual and relaxed 'normal' departure lulls the intelligence agencies into a false sense of security cannot be second-guessed, but it has happened often enough. Mallya, for example, took a Jet Airways flight and was spotted with a lady friend in the First class lounge enjoying a pre-flight drink and being his normal hearty self. There was nothing secret about it. Several dozen people including the airport police, Immigration, and Customs officials probably flung ingratiating smiles at the man as he passed through the formalities. Nobody had been alerted to hold him back even though the Mallya empire was teetering on the brink of the abyss.

In the case of Win Chadha, who was at the centre of the Bofors investigation, his contention was that the media had falsely accused him of escaping India to avoid being questioned. Chadhas submission was that he had gone to Germany for health reasons. He bought a ticket to Frankfurt on Lufthansa airlines, drove to the Delhi airport, checked in with other passengers and waited for the flight announcement, so, where was the question of running away.

The common factor in these two cases is that while the individuals are coming in from different doors, the balloon goes up very soon. Their departure, thereby, underscoring the element of a guided escape. But the grey area that manifests itself in the wake of the departure is that they all leave without restraint when they are already in the crosshairs of an inquiry into fiscal malfeasance. Mallya was struggling to keep his nose above the water as banks beat a path to his door. Chadha knew the pressure was on even then he insisted to the end that he was innocent.

Modi probably realised the party was nearly over, so it was time to scarper. Even when he yanked his son out of school no one thought to ask why. His family members all left within a couple of days of each other in early January.

Whether they received help from the powers that be is a matter of conjecture but it is pretty clear that the legit way is also the safest way. The luxury of a private jet like the one that George Bush laid out for titled Saudis the day after 9/11 is not for them. They could afford it but that would raise too many red flags in India. Also, not an option for them is the underground where smuggling humans in vehicles or tramp steamers run rife.

High-net scamsters like Vikram Kothari of Rotomac and Jatin Mehta of the Winsome group also made good their escape via natural departure.

Modi, his wife, and uncle Mehul Choksi also sauntered into the airport and left when the probe into their activities was already well on its way. It's almost as if the authorities were waiting for the all-clear before issuing the show cause letter or alerting the points of departure with a notice.

Which brings one to the next murky mystery: how difficult could it possibly be to track where they are in this hi-tech era where even dead mobile phones can be traced and tracked and used to gather personal data? Lalit applied for a St Lucia passport and travels extensively. Nirav has to be in the system even if he is lying low. Mallya makes legal noodles of the so-called extradition treaty with the UK. Airport surveillance, city CCTV saturation coverage, and the fact that an average Indian is probably in 100 databases and a man like Modi in at least 500, finding him should be childs play. Unless we dont want him found.In a bid to provide relief to school students, the NCERT syllabus will be reduced by half from the 2019 academic session, HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar has said.

New Delhi: In a bid to provide relief to school students, the NCERT syllabus will be reduced by half from the 2019 academic session, HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar has said. He said the school syllabus was more than that of BA and BCom courses, and it needed to be reduced by half so that students get time for other activities for their all-round development.

"At the stage of development of cognitive skills, students need to be given full freedom. I have asked NCERT to reduce the syllabus by half and it will be effective from the 2019 academic session," he told Rajya Sabha TV in an interview.

Elaborating on the reforms in school education under consideration, the minister said examinations and detentions would be introduced. He said a Bill in this regard will be considered in Parliament in the next part of the Budget Session. "Without examination, there is no competition and no target. There must be an element of competition for better outcomes," he said.

If a student fails in March, he would get another chance in May. If student flunks both the times, then only he/she would be detained, he added. Javadekar also expressed concerned over the poor quality of teachers, which he said was resulting in poor learning outcomes. "The basic task of teachers is to assess the strengths and weaknesses of students and mentor them accordingly," he added.

He also informed that under the Right to Education Act, 20 lakh teachers were to be trained by 2015 but only five lakh of them could be covered. Over 14 lakh teachers were undergoing a skill upgradation programme. It should lead to better results, he added.

Regarding the much talked-about New Education Policy, Javadekar informed that a report in this regard will be submitted by the end of next month and it would be unveiled soon thereafter after necessary approvals.A batch of petitions challenging discharge ofsenior IPS officers in fake encounter case of Sohrabuddin Shaikh has been assigned to a new single-judge bench

Mumbai: A batch of petitions challenging the discharge of some senior IPS officers in the alleged fake encounter case of Sohrabuddin Shaikh has been assigned to a new single-judge bench of the Bombay High Court, three weeks after a judge started day-to-day hearing on the matter.

A notice published on the high court website this evening said that Justice Revati Mohite-Dere, who was dealing with the petitions, will no longer hear criminal revision applications.

Apart from Justice Mohite-Dere, the assignment of cases of some other judges has also been changed.

Justice Mohite-Dere will now hear matters concerning anticipatory bail applications, while Justice NW Sambre will deal with all criminal revision applications, the notice said.

Revision pleas filed by Sohrabuddin's brother Rubabuddin, challenging the discharge of IPS officers DG Vanzara, Dinesh MN and Rajkumar Pandian, and two revision applications filed by the CBI against the discharge of former Gujarat IPS officer NK Amin and Rajasthan police constable Dalpat Singh Rathod were being heard by Justice Mohite-Dere.

She had already heard a major part of arguments by all the parties in the case on four out of the five revision applications.

Senior advocate Mahesh Jethmalani, who is representing Vanzara, Amin, Pandian and Dinesh MN, was to complete his arguments on behalf of Pandian on Monday, and the single-judge bench was to begin hearing arguments on the plea challenging Vanzara's discharge after that.

During the course of the hearing, Justice Mohite-Dere had made some sharp observations about the CBI, saying the court was not getting enough help from the agency.

Earlier, Justice Mohite-Dere had also overturned the trial court's gag order which had barred the media from reporting the trial proceedings.

Rubabuddin's lawyer Gautam Tiwari said he has the option of approaching the Acting Chief Justice of Bombay High Court, VK Tahilramani, on Monday and request that the partially heard matter be allowed to continue before Justice Mohite-Dere.

Tiwari, however, said he was yet to receive clear instructions on the matter from his client.

Jethmalani said he had not received any information on the change of assignment, and added that if it was true, there was no need to "read too much into it".

"Assignments in courts change everyday. There's no reason to read too much into it," he said.

Sohrabuddin Shaikh, a gangster with alleged terror links, and his wife Kausar Bi were killed in a suspected fake encounter by the Gujarat police in November 2005. Shaikh's aide Tulsiram Prajapati was killed in another alleged fake encounter by the Gujarat and Rajasthan police in December 2006.

Of the 38 persons named by the CBI as accused, 15, including senior IPS officers DG Vanzara, Pandian, Dinesh MN, and BJP president Amit Shah, were discharged by the CBI court in Mumbai between August 2016 and September 2017.RJD said the speeding vehicle that killed nine school students and injured 24 in Bihar's Muzaffarpur district belongs to BJP leader Manoj Baitha from Sitamarhi district

Opposition RJD on Saturday said the speeding vehicle that killed nine school students and injured 24 in Bihar's Muzaffarpur district belongs to a BJP leader and demanded stern against those responsible for the death of innocent children.

Quoting district police officials, IANS said that the speeding vehicle  a Bolero  belongs to Manoj Baitha, a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader from Sitamarhi district. Baitha was reportedly present in the vehicle at the time of the accident, but he along with the driver fled and has reportedly gone underground since then.

Leader of Opposition Tejashwi Yadav, after visiting the injured, said that the families of the victims told him that the killer vehicle belonged to the BJP leader and no arrest had been made so far. "The vehicle has a BJP board attached to it and the driver was drunk at the time of the incident. BJP leaders are totally drunk in power," he said.

Reacting to Yadav's allegations, BJP spokesperson Rajiv Ranjan said: "The party banner on the vehicle appears to be fake. Nevertheless, the party's district president for Muzaffarpur has been asked to look into the matter and if the owner or the driver turns out to be connected with the party at any level, stern action will be taken".

According to The New Indian Express, the car allegedly bore a BJP flag and nameplate that said it belonged to BJP state general secretary Manoj Baitha. The locals said that Baitha was general secretary of BJPs state Dalit wing. However, the party said there was no leader by that name. Anyone can put a BJP flag in their vehicle. Our party has no leader named Manoj Baitha. Police should be allowed to carry out investigation, BJP leader Devesh Chandra Thakur told The New Indian Express.

The incident took place near a school on NH 77 under Minapur block of the district. Angry over the death of school children, local residents vandalised the school, beat up teachers and set ablaze chairs and benches.

Muzaffarpur Senior Superintendent of Police Vivek Kumar said the speeding vehicle run over the children when they were crossing the road, and all the injured children were admitted to a hospital in the city.

Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar has expressed grief and sorrow over the incident. The state government has announced a compensation of Rs 4 lakh to the next of kin of each child killed in the accident.

With inputs from agenciesNumber of cases in Supreme Court where govt is a party has seen a spike in the last one year due to note ban, implementation of the GST and taxation issues

New Delhi: The number of cases in the Supreme Court where the government is a party has seen a spike in the last one year, with law ministry officials attributing the spurt to note ban, implementation of the GST and taxation issues.

According to latest law ministry data, between 1 January and 31 December last year, 4,229 cases were filed in the top court in which the Centre was a party.

In 2016, the number of such cases was 3,497, while between 1 January and 31 December of 2015, 3,909 such cases were filed.

This year, between 1 January and 22 February, 859 cases have been filed in the apex court where the Union of India is a party.

The data states that in 2012, there were 4,149 cases involving the government in the top court and the figure went up to 4,772 in 2013.

In 2014, when the NDA government came to power, the number of cases was 4,748 but went down to 3,909 in 2015.

Officials in the law ministry said the spurt in cases could be attributed to litigations on note ban, implementation of the GST regime and taxation issues.

While the number of cases in the Supreme Court have increased, the number of law officers representing the Union of India has dwindled.

Though the number of law officers representing the government in the Supreme Court is set to go up to 10 next week, so far there is no word on who would become the next solicitor general.

The law ministry file recommending the names of Aman Lekhi, Madhvi Diwan, Sandeep Sethi and Bikramjeet Banerjee as additional solicitors general has reached the Prime Minister's Office for final approval.

Sources in the government said a final nod of the Appointments Committee of Cabinet on the four names is likely next week.

After Ranjit Kumar resigned as the solicitor general in October last year, the key post has been lying vacant and so far there is no word from the law ministry on who would be appointed to that post.

PS Patwali and NK Kaul had decided against a second term as additional solicitors general when their terms had ended in July last.

Maninder Singh, Tushar Mehta, PS Narasimha, Pinky Anand and Atmaram Nadkarni are the other ASGs.

Besides Attorney General KK Venugopal, five ASGs represent the Centre in the apex court. There are nine other ASGs who appear in various high courts.

Officials pointed out that since there are not many law officers, sensitive cases are also being handled by senior advocates who are on the law ministry panel. These lawyers are paid fees per appearance.Two people were injured in firing allegedly by a Delhi Police constable during a marriage function at the Karwal Nagar area in New Delhi

New Delhi: Two people were injured in firing allegedly by a Delhi Police constable during a marriage function at the Karwal Nagar area in New Delhi, police said on Sunday.

The incident took place around midnight at BR Vatika in southwest Delhi.

Though sources claimed that the incident was related to celebratory firing, police said it occurred during a quarrel.

The police said that a PCR call was received about a quarrel and firing at BR Vatika near the Sherpur Main Road Chowk around midnight.

Constable Naeem, posted with the Special Cell, allegedly fired three rounds from a police pistol during the marriage function, deputy commissioner of police (DCP), North East, AK Singla, said.

Manoj Gupta and Pooja Gupta, both in their twenties, suffered bullet injuries. They are out of danger, he said.

The DCP said another call was received by the police regarding a "quarrel" and snatching of Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) Irtkhab Alam's service pistol.

Alam is also an officer of the Special Cell.

However, police found that the ASI's pistol was taken for firing by Naeem.

The pistol used for firing has been seized, and a search launched to nab the accused constable, he said.

The Special Cell policemen were guests at the marriage function. Following the incident, people chased them. Though Naeem escaped, Alam was caught and thrashed, the DCP said.

Manoj and Pooja were taken to the GTB hospital, while Alam was provided treatment at the Jag Pravesh Chandra hospital, police said.

Police have registered a case against the accused under charges of attempt to murder, causing hurt and endangering life of others at Khajuri Khas police station and also under provisions of the Arms Act.

The role of the Special Cell ASI is also under the scanner, police said.Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the country in the 41st edition of his radio show Mann ki Baat.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the country in the 41st edition of his radio show Mann ki Baat on Sunday. In his address, he focused on the rise of artificial intelligence in the scientific world and its benefits in the context of India's growth story. Ahead of the National Science Day, Modi hailed several eminent Indian-origin scientists while invoking the names of several rishis who helped in building India's ancient knowledge bank. Modi also spoke on his pet project Swacch Bharat Abhiyan and the importance of public safety in day-to-day lives. With International Women's Day on 8 March, Modi also stressed on women empowerment and urged Indians to strive for a more gender just country.

Here is the full-text of the prime minister's address:

My dear countrymen, Namaskar.

[Let us begin todays Mann Ki Baat with a phone call.]

Phone Call...

Thank you very much for your phone call. My young friends have asked me many questions related to Science; they keep writing on quite a few points. All of us have seen that the sea appears blue, but we know from routine life experiences that water has no colour at all. Have we ever thought why water acquires colour in rivers and seas? The same thought occurred to a young man in the 1920s. The same question gave rise to a great scientist of modern India. When we talk about Science, the first name that strikes us is that of Bharat Ratna Sir C.V.Raman. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for his outstanding work on light scattering. One of his discoveries is famous as the Raman Effect.

We celebrate the 28th of February as National Science Day since on this very day, he is said to have discovered the phenomenon of light scattering, for which the Nobel Prize was conferred upon him. This land has given birth to many a great scientist. On the one hand, there has been a tradition of great Mathematicians like Bodhayan, Bhaskar, Brahmagupt and Aryabhatt; on the other, in the field of medicine, Sushrut & Charak have bestowed upon us a place of pride. Right from Sir Jagdish Chandra Bose and Hargobind Khurana to Satyendranath Bose have brought laurels to India. The famous particle BOSON has been named after Satyendranath Bose. Recently I got an opportunity to take part in a programme in Mumbai  the inauguration of the Wadhwani Institute for Artificial Intelligence. It was interesting to know about the ongoing miraculous accomplishments in the field of Science. Artificial Intelligence aids in making robots, Bots and other machines meant for specific tasks. Through self learning, machines today can enhance their intelligence to a smarter level. This technology can be harnessed to better the lives of the underprivileged, the marginalized and the needy. In that programme on Artificial Intelligence, I urged the scientific community to deliberate on how Artificial Intelligence could help us make life easier for our divyang brothers & sisters. Can we make better predictions of natural disasters using Artificial Intelligence? Can we use it to provide assistance to farmers on crop yield? Can Artificial Intelligence be used as tool to simplify the outreach of health services and modernize medical treatment?

A few days ago, I got an opportunity to accompany the Prime Minister of Israel to Ahmedabad, Gujarat for the inauguration of I create. There a young person referred to developing a digital instrument that converts the written word into voice. This is to aid those who are incapable of speech to converse normally like any other person. I feel we can harness Artificial Intelligence in many such fields.

Science and Technology are value neutral. They dont possess any value in themselves. Any machine will work the way we want it to. It entirely depends on us what task we want it to perform. Here human objectives assume significance; the use of Science for the sole purpose of human welfare, with the endeavour to assist human lives touch the greatest heights.

Thomas Alva Edison, the inventor of the light bulb, failed many a time in his experiments. Once, on being asked about it, he quipped, I have devised ten thousand ways of how NOT to make a light bulb. What I mean to say is, Edison transformed even his failures into his own strength. Coincidentally, I am fortunate today to be in Auroville, the land, the karmabhoomi of Maharshi Arvind. As a revolutionary, he challenged British rule, fought against them and questioned subjugation. Thus, as a great sage, he questioned every facet of life. Extracting answers, he showed the right path to humanity. The relentless quest to ask questions for knowing the truth is very important. And this is the very essence, the real inspiration behind scientific inventions and discoveries. Never rest till every why, what & how are answered. I congratulate our scientists, and all those connected with Science on the occasion of National Science Day. May our young generation be inspired for the quest of truth & knowledge; may they be motivated to serve society through Science. I wish them the best.

Friends, safety in the times of crises, disasters are topics on which many messages keep coming in- people keep writing to me. In a comment posted on Narendra Modi Mobile App, Shriman Ravindra Singh from Pune has referred to occupational safety. He writes that in our country, safety standards at factories and construction sites are not upto the mark. Since the 4th of March is National Safety Day, the Prime Minister should include safety in the Mann Ki Baat programme in order to raise awareness on safety. When we refer to public safety, two aspects are very important- proactiveness and preparedness. Safety is of two kinds  one is safety during disasters and the other is safety in everyday life. If we are not aware of safety in daily life, if we are not able to attain a certain level, it will get extremely difficult during the time of disasters. We often read signboards on streets bearing lines such as        Lose alertness  invite mishaps or    ,      One mistake can cost you dear- rob you of your joy & smile or     ,       Dont be in a hurry to leave this world  embrace the culture of safety or            Dont play around with safety, your life will be treated cheap. Beyond that, these sentences serve no purpose in our lives. Leave aside natural disasters; most of the mishaps are a consequence of some mistake or the other on our part. If we stay alert, abide by the prescribed rules & regulations, we shall not only be able to save our own lives but we can prevent catastrophes harming society. There are times when we come across many slogans on safety at the work place but none following their letter and spirit. I urge the fire brigade under corporations and municipalities to visit school children once a week or once a month and perform mock drills for them. This will have a dual benefit  the fire brigade will undergo an exercise in readiness and the new generation will get lessons in alertness. And all this at no added cost. In a way it will a natural part of the overall learning curve. India is a land of geographic and climatic diversities. As far as disasters are concerned, this country has borne the brunt of many a natural as well as man made disaster, such as chemical & industrial mishaps. Today, the National Disaster Management Authority, NDMA is the vanguard when it comes to dealing with disasters in the country. During earthquakes, floods, cyclones, landslides, NDMA reaches the area within no time. They have issued guidelines; simultaneously they keep imparting training on a regular basis for capacity building. In Districts prone to floods and cyclones, an initiative names Aapada Mitra has been launched for training Volunteers. Training and awareness have a very important role to play. Two- three years ago, thousands of people would lose their lives every year due to heat-wave. After that, NDMA organized workshops on heat wave management as part of a campaign to raise awareness in people. Mass participation led to good results. In 2017, the death toll on account of heat wave remarkably came down to around 220 or so. This proves that if we accord priority to safety, we can actually attain safety. I laud the role played by innumerable individuals, citizens who immediately embark upon rescue and relief operations wherever a disaster strikes. And there are numerous such unnamed, unsung heroes. Our Fire & Rescue services, National Disaster Response Forces Armed Forces, Paramilitary Forces these brave hearts go beyond the call of duty to help people in distress, often risking their own lives. Organisations like NCC and Scouts are also contributing in this task; they are getting trained too. Recently we have made an attempt to have joint exercise for disaster management between countries on the lines of joint military exercise involving different countries of the world. India has made a pioneering effort  BIMSTEC, Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Bhutan & Nepal  a joint disaster management exercise involving these countries was undertaken. It was a novel humanitarian experiment on a large scale. Well have to turn ourselves into a risk conscious society. In our culture, we often talk of safety of values; we now need to realize the values of safety. Well have to make it part of our life, our being. In day to day life, during air travel, we must have frequently come across air hostesses giving out a rather longish speech, safety instructions at the beginning of a flight. We must have heard it hundreds of times. But today if one of us is taken inside an aircraft and asked about the location of equipments, say life jackets, and how to use them, I can say for sure that none of us will be able to give the right answer. So, was there a provision for giving our information? Yes, there was. Was there a scope of direct visibility when the information was given? Of course there was. But we did not respond actively. WHY? Because by nature, we are not conscious. And that is why our ears hear when we sit in the aircraft, but no one realizes that these instructions are for me. We experience this in all walks of life. Let us not think that safety is only meant for someone else. If all of us become conscious and aware of our own safety, the essence of safety of society will be inbuilt.

My dear countrymen, in the current budget, emphasis has been laid on turning waste to wealth and waste to energy through Bio gas, under the Swachch Bharat Campaign. An effort was initiated which was named GOBAR-Dhan - Galvanizing Organic Bio Agro Resources. The aim of this GOBAR- DHAN scheme is ensuring cleanliness in villages and generating wealth and energy by converting cattle dung and solid agricultural waste into Compost and Bio Gas. India is home to the highest cattle population in the world, close to 300 million in number, with a daily output of 3 million tonnes of dung. Some European countries and China use animal dung and other Bio-waste to produce energy. But India was lacking full capacity utilization. Under the Swachch Bharat Mission (Rural), we are taking rapid strides in this direction.

A target has been set to use cattle dung, agricultural waste, kitchen waste to produce Bio gas based energy. Under the Gobardhan Scheme our farmer brothers & sisters in rural India will be encouraged to consider dung and other waste not just as a waste but as a source of income. Under the aegis of 'GobarDhanYojana', many benefits will accrue to rural areas. It will be easier to keep the village clean and sanitized, livestock health will improve and farm yields will increase. Biogas generation will increase self-reliance in energy utilized for cooking and lighting. Farmers and cattle herders will be helped in augmenting their income. There will be novel opportunities for newer jobs linked to waste collection, transportation, biogas sales etc. An online trading platform will be created for better implementation of 'Gobar Dhan Yojana', it will connect farmers to buyers so that farmers can get the right price for dung and agricultural waste. I urge entrepreneurs, especially our sisters residing in rural India, to step forward, and through creation of self-help groups and cooperative societies extract full advantage from this opportunity. I invite you to become part of the movement comprising clean energy and green jobs, to become a part of the initiative to convert waste in your village to wealth and by converting dung into Gobar dhan.

My dear countrymen, till date, we have been hearing about the myriad types of festivals - be it music festivals, food festivals, film festivals and many other kinds of festivals. But in a unique endeavor in Raipur, Chhattisgarh, the state's first 'Trash Mahotsav' was organized. The objective behind this festival sponsored by Raipur Municipal Corporation was to generate awareness about cleanliness and the methods using which city's waste can be creatively used and inculcate awareness about various ways to recycle the garbage. A plethora of activities were organized during this festival, which found full participation of students and adults. Different types of artifacts were made utilizing garbage. Many Workshops were organized to inform people on the entire aspects of waste management. Music performances linked to the theme of hygiene were held and art works were created. Raipur inspired various types of such garbage or trash festivals in other districts too. Many individuals taking initiative on their own behalf shared innovative ideas, held discussions, conducted poetry recitals. A festive atmosphere regarding cleanliness got geared up. The way the school children took part in the entire endeavor was amazing. For the innovative manner in which importance of waste management and cleanliness were displayed in this festival, I congratulate the people of Raipur Municipal Corporation, the entire populace of Chhattisgarh, its government and administration.

Every year on March 8, 'International Women's Day' is celebrated. There are many programs that are held in our country and the world. On this day, women are also felicitated with 'Nari Shakti Puraskar' who have performed exemplary tasks in different sectors in the past. Today the country is moving forward from the path of Women development to women-led development. On this occasion, I remember the words of Swami Vivekananda. Hed said 'The idea of perfect womanhood is perfect independence' - This idea of Swami ji about one hundred and twenty five years ago expresses the contemplation of woman power in Indian culture. Today, it is our duty to ensure the participation of women in every field of life, be it social or economic life, it is our fundamental duty. We are part of a tradition where men were identified due to women-Yashoda-Nandan, Kaushalya-Nandan, Gandhari-Putra, these were identities of a son. Today our woman power has shown inner fortitude and self-confidence, has made herself self-reliant. Not only has she advanced herself but has carried forward the country and society to newer heights.

After all, our dream of 'New India' is the one where women are strong and empowered and are equal partners in the development of the country. A few days ago, a gentleman had given me a very sound proposition. He had suggested that on 8th March myriad events herald 'Women's Day' Why cannot we felicitate mothers and sisters who have completed 100 years in every Indian village or city,? Can a program of paying respect for such centenarians be held and cannot we reflect upon a life lived long? I liked the idea and Im bouncing it with you will find many examples of what woman power can achieve, If you look around near yourself many such inspiring stories will appear. I just received news from Jharkhand wherein under the 'Swachh Bharat Abhiyan', about 1.5 million women in Jharkhand  and this figure is not a small one organized a hygiene campaign for an entire month! Under the auspices of this campaign starting from January 26, 2018, these women constructed 1 lakh 70 thousand toilets in just 20 days and made a record of sorts. There were about one lakh Sakhi Mandals, 14 lakh women, 2 thousand women Panchayat representatives, 29 thousand water carriers, 10 thousand female cleaners and 50 thousand women masons were involved in this campaign. You can imagine what a mammoth undertaking it was! These women of Jharkhand have shown that women power is an integral component of Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, which will change the course of the campaign of cleanliness in general life, the effective role of hygiene in the nature of the people ingeneral.

My dear Brothers and sisters, I was just watching the TV news two days ago that electricity has reached three villages of the Elephanta island after 70 years of independence, and this has led to much joy and enthusiasm among the people there. You all know very well, that Elephanta is located 10 kms by the sea from Mumbai. It is a very important tourist destination. The caves of Elephanta are marked as the World Heritage sites by UNESCO and draw tourists from all over the country and abroad. I was surprised to know that despite being such a prominent center of tourism its close proximity from Mumbai, electricity hadnt reached Elephanta after so many years of independence. For 70 years, the lives of the denizens of three villages of the Elephanta Island, Rajbunder, Morbandar and Centabandar, were engulfed by darkness, which has got dispelled now and there is brightness in their lives. I congratulate the administration and the populace there. I am glad that now the villages of Elephanta and the caves of Elephanta will be lighted due to electrification. This is not just electricity, but a new beginning of a period of development. There is no greater contentment and joy than the fact that the lives of the countrymen be full of shine and there be happiness in their lives.

My dear brothers and sisters, we just celebrated the festival of Shivaratri. And now the month of March beckons us with ripe crops in the fields, playful golden earrings of wheat and the captivating blossom of mango pleasing to the mind are the highlights of this month. But this month is also very special to all of us because of the festival of Holi. On 2nd March the entire country immersed in joy will celebrate the festival of Holi. In The festival of Holi, the importance of colors is as important as the ceremony of 'HolikaDahan' because it is the day when we burn our inherent vices in the fire. Holi makes us forget our rancours and gives us an opportunity to be a part of each other's happiness and glad tidings, and it conveys the message of love, unity and brotherhood. I wish a very joyous festival of Holi to all my countrymen, I further wish you colour laden felicitations. I wish and hope that this festival forever remains a festival of colourful cheer in the lives of all the countrymen- this is my wish. My dear countrymen, thank you very much.

The text has not been edited by Firstpost for style or grammar. The full-text was taken from prime minister's personal website.For people in Nagaland, the upcoming Assembly election is likely to be about voting a stable government to power to facilitate peace talks on the Naga political issue

The Tata Sumo that he drives across the bumpy roads in Nagaland is Zoel Lotha and his familys only source of livelihood. Every morning Lotha goes to the Sumo stand in Kohima to carry passengers to their destinations and returns home late at night with his days earning.

"But a big chunk of my earning is taken away by UGs," he said with a helpless tone of voice while steering his vehicle across a haze of dust that drifted from the muddy road to Wokha.

UG is a short form to underground groups operative in Nagaland. A good chunk of the money that people earn here is to be paid to these groups.

"If we do not pay, we run the risk of losing our lives," said Zoel who shells out Rs 30,000 a year to these groups as 'tax', which is another word for the extortion money that citizens in Nagaland pay to these groups.

Businessmen or servicemen, small or big, no one is spared from this 'tax' bracket. The money is purportedly collected to purchase arms and ammunition.

Zoels father, a government employee died paying this 'tax' all his life, and the responsibility to continue it now lies on him.

Long before India became an independent country, the Naga cessationist groups began the struggle for a sovereign Naga nation. In the year 1975, the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN) was born demanding sovereignty and integration of 'Naga territories' in Assam, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh as well as in Myanmar

The Government of India signed a ceasefire agreement with National Socialist Council of Nagaland  Isac-Muivah [NSCN(IM)], the biggest insurgent outfit in the state in the year 1997 and has now begun peace talks with six other such groups. These efforts, though heartening, have hardly changed anything on the ground as these gun-holding groups are still capable of doing whatever they want.

"These groups are now demanding a solution from the peace process in the name of Naga community. What solution are they talking about after looting us for generations? he fumed.

Presently, there is a growing demand among various civil society organisations to resolve the 'Naga political issue', as the Naga insurgency problem is fondly referred to by Naga nationalist groups as well as Naga insurgent outfits in the North East.

Lotha still believes that the Government of India should accelerate the peace process at least to save them from being extorted, if not for anything else.

The BJP was quick to sense the popular sentiments in Nagaland, hence the Centre not only signed a framework agreement with NSCN(IM) in 2015 but has also made the peace talks its main political plank for the ensuing Nagaland Assembly elections.

It was not surprising that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was applauded in Nagaland when he said, while addressing a rally attended by thousands of people in Tuensang on 22nd February, "I am confident that in the next few months, the people of Nagaland will get an honourable solution to the Naga peace process, for which we are taking all on board who believes in democracy of this country."

If BJP was claiming credit to the peace talks, could the Congress party abstain from doing the same? The Congress party also began making claims of its share of credit.

In an exclusive interview with Firspost, K Therie, president of Nagaland Congress, said, "It was former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi who had offered to talk with the rebel groups without any pre-condition. Similarly, in the year 1996, PV Narasimha Rao made the same offer. Only after these offers that the rebel groups came to peace talks in the year 1997."

The ruling Naga Peoples Front is quite sober in its claim to credit though.

"The main political agenda of Naga Peoples Front has been (to find) a peaceful and amicable solution of the India-Naga political problem. For other parties, this may be a new thing. But NPF was born because of this issue. The party has been upholding this cause since 1963. It is the only political party in India which has the agenda of Naga political issue in its constitution, said KG Kenye, secretary general of NPF, while speaking with Firstpost.

Amidst these claims and counter-claims, the voter in Nagaland seems undecided on whom to trust, especially at a time when nothing is known what the peace process is leading them to.

Mhao Humtsoe, a leader of the Lotha tribe said, "People have no clue about what kind of solution the peace process is attempting to bring about. They know nothing about the charter of demands. So they wish to know about it."

Significantly, many tribal organisations in Nagaland had demanded postponement of the Assembly election until the peace talks were completed. They also made political parties sign an undertaking that they will not field any candidate if the election was held before any solution to the peace process was reached.

The slogan raised by them was: Solution before election.

The development was seen as a major embarassment to BJP as it cast shadow on the progress made on the peace talks so far. To counter the narrative, BJP came up with the slogan 'Election for solution, which transcribed the idea that to solve the peace process a stable government is required in Nagaland. BJP portrayed the election as a possible facilitator to the peace process .

Talking about the requirement of political stability in the state M Abu, a leader in the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha, the youth wing of BJP said, We hope people will form a stable government to ensure that the ongoing peace process gets undivided attention from both the Centre and the state."

The move soon picked up momentum as all the political parties backed out of the undertaking and filed nomination. The deadlock caused by the Naga tribal group's movement for 'solution before election' was done away with.

But will the election truly lead to a solution as many like Zoel wish to see? Will it lead to the formation of a stable government to facilitate peace as BJP has cliamed? The answer to these questions lie in the future.

Click here to follow LIVE updates on the Nagaland election results

Click here to follow LIVE updates on election results in all three states

Click here for the seat sharing pattern in all three statesContinuing to target the prime minister in his campaign in Karnataka, Congress president Rahul Gandhi asked why Narendra Modi was 'silent' on the PNB fraud

Mulawad (Karnataka): Continuing to target the prime minister in his campaign in poll-bound Karnataka, Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Sunday asked why Narendra Modi, who had described himself as the country's "chowkidar", was "silent" on the PNB fraud.

He also asked Modi as to why he was not taking any action regarding the alleged sudden increase in turnover of a company owned by BJP president Amit Shah's son Jay Shah.

"Modi ji comes to Karnataka and speaks about corruption. He had told the country not to make him prime minister but make him the chowkidar (watchman) of the country," Gandhi said.

In a Congress rally in Mulawad, he said, "On one side there is his party's (former) chief minister (BS Yeddyurappa) who had gone to jail and on the other side are the other four former ministers of the BJP government who had gone to jail; sitting in between them, Modi speaks about corruption."

"Shah's son converts Rs 50,000 to Rs 80 crore in three months and the chowkidar of the country doesn't get it inquired and doesn't even utter a word," he alleged.

The BJP chief has rejected allegations of corruption against his son Jay Shah, who has filed a criminal defamation suit against a news portal which claimed his business fortunes had zoomed after the BJP came to power in 2014.

Gandhi is on the second leg of his three-day tour of northern parts of Karnataka. This is his second visit to the state in less than a fortnight.

Karnataka is slated to go to polls in a few months.

Hitting out at Modi on demonetisation, the Congress president said, "Modi ji told the country to stand in line (queues at banks) for the fight against corruption. You would not have seen a single rich person or someone wearing suit-boot in the line."

He alleged that all the "thieves" in India had converted their black money into white with the help of Modi.

Attacking the prime minister on the Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud issue involving jewellery designer Nirav Modi, Gandhi questioned his silence.

"Nirav Modi has indulged in the theft of Rs 22,000 crore, he runs away from the country, but the chowkidar of this country does not even utter a word," he said.

Breaking his silence over the Rs 11,400-crore fraud at India's second-biggest PSU bank, Narendra Modi on Friday had warned of strict action against those involved in financial irregularities and said loot of public money would not be tolerated.

Gandhi, invoking 12th-century social reformer Basaveshwara from Karnataka, said "Nudidante Nade" (practise as you preach), and asked the prime minister to walk the talk on such issues.

"Modi ji Nudidante Nade," he said in Kannada.

Basaveshwara is revered by the dominant Lingayat-Veerashiva community. They are predominantly present in northern parts of the state.

He also accused the prime minister of "failing" to fulfil the election promise of providing two crore jobs to youths in the country every year.

The Congress leader also said despite schemes such as Make in India, Start-up India and Stand-up India, "whatever you buy, from watches to shirts to shoes, everything is made in China".Prime Minister Narendra Modi hit out at the 'one family' dynastic rule of Congress for 48 years and said it should be compared with the achievements of the 'development-oriented' NDA in the last four years

Puducherry: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday hit out at the "one family" dynastic rule of Congress for 48 years and said it should be compared with the achievements of the "development-oriented" NDA in the last four years.

"One family either directly or indirectly ruled the country for 48 years... for about 17 years our first prime minister ruled, and after that, his daughter held the reigns for 14 years and following that her son was at the helm for five years," he said.

Modi, who was addressing a BJP organised a public meeting in Puducherry, referred to the regimes of Jawaharlal Nehru, his daughter Indira Gandhi and her son Rajiv Gandhi without naming them.

His comments come weeks after Congress President Rahul Gandhi had dared Modi to spell out achievements of the NDA government instead of criticising his party.

"You will have to tell the country during the elections what you did in the last five years. It is going to be five years and you have not even opened your account," Gandhi had said making Modi the focal point of his attack in a series of roadside and public meetings in poll-bound Karnataka.

In his address in Puducherry, Modi also said "between 2004 and 2014, the same family ran the government with remote control," in an apparent reference to the Manmohan Singh-led UPA regime.

"From Puducherry, I would like to give a message for the intellectuals of this country," he said.

Intellectuals can debate the difference between what was gained and lost during the Congress regimes and what the BJP-led NDA has achieved in 48 months, he said.

"We are talking about people's development, ease of living for the common man," he said.

Though nations that got independence in 1947 like India have grown, the country still lagged behind and it warranted a serious thought on the lacunae vis-a-vis the functioning of the government and political culture that were holding back the nation, Modi said.

In an obvious reference to his oft-repeated slogan "Congress mukt Bharat", Modi asserted the Congress would be left with only the V Narayanasamy government in Puducherry in the country, saying the BJP would win the coming assembly elections in Karnataka and North East.

He did not refer to the Amarinder Singh-led Congress government in Punjab.

"I want to congratulate the chief minister of Puducherry in advance because the Congress is going to exhibit him as a specimen after June," he quipped predicting the defeat of the Congress in other states.

"Elections are going to be held in North East where the Congress has a government and it will go. After that, polls are to be held in Karnataka and there too the Congress will go, so the Narayanasamy government will be the only one to be left," the prime minister said.

The jibe drew laughter from the large crowd that had gathered to listen to Modi, who became the first prime minister to address a public meeting in this former French colony in 33 years.

Rajiv Gandhi was the last prime minister to address a rally in Puducherry in 1984.

Targeting the Congress government in Puducherry, Modi said the union territory had poor infrastructure and was a victim of "Congress culture".

He claimed Puducherry had poor infrastructure and sectors such as transport and cooperation were in a shambles and charged the successive regimes with doing injustice for the people.

"The Congress has failed on all fronts in Puducherry," he said recalling the glorious history of the former French colony which was closely associated with the freedom movement sheltering the likes of Sri Aurobindo, and national poet Subramania Bharathi.

He also came down on the Puducherry government for not holding civic polls for years together while the "party had been making tall claims from Delhi that it is the champion of democracy and rights of the people."

By delaying the civic polls the Congress government "is only gagging the voice of the people," he said.

Outlining the initiatives of his government like the 'Mudhra Yojana' and 'Jan Dhan Yojana', he said such schemes empowered the people across the country.

Modi said the Prime Minister's Mudra Scheme had been implemented expeditiously with around 3.25 lakh youth having been benefitted during the last three years.

Mudra scheme is of help to the youth who could get loans without any collateral security, he said urging the youths to make use of it and launch projects in Puducherry.

Udan Scheme providing regional air connectivity would be of help for Puducherry to promote tourism and generate employment, he said.

Citing the Ayushman Bharath Scheme, he said it will benefit the poor families to get free medical treatment up to Rs 5 lakh rupees per year.

The government was strengthening the ports and ushering in an era of port-led development, through the Sagarmala project.

Financial assistance was being given for long-liner trawlers for fishermen under the Blue Revolution Scheme, he said.

Modi also listed financial assistance given to various schemes such as smart city for the union territory.BJP leader Vijender Gupta on Friday filed a complaint after he received a threat from Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) activist Dalip Kumar.

New Delhi: BJP leader and Leader of Opposition in the Delhi Assembly Vijender Gupta on Friday filed a complaint after he received a threat from Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) activist Dalip Kumar.

Gupta, along with Delhi BJP general secretary Rajesh Bhatia and spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor, filed a complaint against Kumar at the Parliament Street Police Station.

The BJP leader filed the complaint after an AAP activist wrote on Twitter, tagging Gupta, that he should not go to Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal's residence, as "his goons would not only slap you but will beat on the street with rods and sticks".

Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari also strongly condemned the threat of physical assault by the AAP activist to Gupta.

"In the present volatile situation, this threat by an AAP activist to a senior leader of Opposition cannot be made without the consent of AAP leadership," Tiwari alleged.

He went on to say that this should also be seen as "an addition to a reported statement made by AAP MLA Naresh Balyan on Friday that officials should be beaten up" if they object to MLAs' proposals.

Tiwari was referring to the statement of Balyan, a legislator from Uttam Nagar constituency, who, speaking at a public rally justified the alleged assault on Chief Secretary Anshu Prakash, saying: "Anyone obstructing the work for common man deserves a beating."

"They are taking up to three to six months for doing work which should be done in three days. Why? Because Delhi Chief Minister abolished the commission system which earlier reigned. And as this system was eradicated, they (bureaucrats) started sitting on the files.

"Whatever happened to the chief secretary... I say they should be beaten up, they should be thrashed... Whoever obstructs the work being done for the common man, should be meted out the same treatment," Balyan said at the party rally.

It was on Tuesday that Prakash alleged that he was beaten up by two AAP MLAs  Amanatullah Khan and Prakash Jarwal  in the presence of Kejriwal at the chief minister's residence on Monday night, where he had been called for an emergency meeting.

Slamming the Delhi government, the BJP leader said: "After Friday threat to Gupta by an AAP activist and the threatening statement by Balyan, it seems AAP anarchy and naxalism has reached its peak like in January 2014 and people will soon throw this government out of power."

Tiwari also demanded the immediate arrest of Balyan and the AAP activist. "They should be arrested immediately for their statements inciting violence."Stray incidents of violence marred the polling in 95 wards of Ludhiana Municipal Corporation today, with opposition parties claiming that the ruling Congress indulged in 'booth capturing' and 'bogus voting'.

Ludhiana: Stray incidents of violence marred the polling in 95 wards of Ludhiana Municipal Corporation on Saturday, with opposition parties claiming that the ruling Congress indulged in "booth capturing" and "bogus voting".

About 60 percent eligible voters cast their vote, though the exact percentage of voting could be known, officials said. The counting of votes will take place on February 27. As many as 494 candidates were in the fray for the elections. Nearly 10.50 lakh voters were eligible to cast their votes to elect their representatives in the 95 wards.

Reports said members of the ruling party and opposition parties clashed in several wards. In ward number 75, suspected Akali workers fired a shot from his revolver after clashes between supporters of Congress candidate Varsha Rampal and Akali candidate Sukhwinder Kaur Bhinda. Two cars were badly damaged in the clashes. The person who opened fire was arrested, a police official said.

AAP MLA and Leader of Opposition in Punjab Assembly Sukhpal Singh Khaira and Lok Insaf Party leader Simarjit Singh Bains accused the Congress of indulging in "booth capturing". The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) charged the ruling party with resorting to "widespread violence and intimidation".

In a statement in Chandigarh, SAD spokesman Daljit Singh Cheema alleged that Congress leaders and legislators led mobs into polling booths to drive out SAD polling agents. Cheema said Congress legislator Bharat Bhushan Ashu allegedly threatened SAD workers and people accompanying him indulged in "bogus voting" in ward number 72. However, Congress MP Ravneet Singh Bittu refuted the charges, stating that the opposition parties have accepted defeat even before the results are declared.

Ashwani Dhir of BJP was declared elected to the Municipal Council of Jagraon. He defeated his nearest rival from Congress, Madan Lal Bansal, by 792 votes, officials said. Congress candidate Munish Aggarwal defeated SAD-BJP candidate Kavita Bajaj in ward number 2 with a margin of 1,292 votes.

Reports said Congress won the municipal council bypolls in two wards in Kapurthala and Sultanpur Lodhi. In Sultanpur Lodhi, Congress candidate Jatinderjit Singh defeated SAD-BJP candidate by more than 400 votes.IANS

To make further inroads in China, Google has partnered with three Chinese Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) to bring its Augmented Reality (AR) service to the country.

Company's AR SDK for Android "ARCore" was launched in full in China following its announcement in November, TechCrunch reported late Friday.

According to Google, there are 100 million devices that support ARCore right now in the market.

Most Google services in China do not work due to the censorship, but Xiaomi, Huawei and Samsung have all signed on to release devices that will include ARCore support over the coming months, the report added.

These devices would be "higher-end" smartphones. The software side is "trickier since the Google Play Store is not available in the country and the third-party app store is fragmented", Xiaomi, Huawei and Samsung would release ARCore apps through their own app stores.

As ARCore itself works on device  without the Cloud  once apps are downloaded to a phone, there is nothing that China's internet censors can do to disrupt them.

Last year, the company launched Google Translate app, which was also offered via a number of third-party Android stores and a direct download.

Recently, Google partnered with Tencent, invested in China-based startups and announced an AI lab in Beijing.

Google also gained a large tech presence in Taiwan via the completion of its acquisition of a chunk of HTC and it opened a presence in Shenzhen.tech2 News Staff

HMD Globals 2017 Nokia 6 was something of a disappointment. It was a great-looking phone with excellent build quality and a lovely display. However, its biggest shortcoming was its chipset, which should never have left the budget end of the market.

The 2017 Nokia 6 was powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 430, a chip thats perfectly fine for devices retailing for less than Rs 10,000, but too crippling at the Rs 18,000 price Nokia demand for the 6.

In 2018, Nokia has finally fixed that most egregious of flaws and announced that the new Nokia 6 will be powered by the more powerful Snapdragon 630 SoC. The 630 is vastly superior to the 430, especially in the graphics department, and should go a long way towards making the phone more usable.

An upgrade to a 630 isnt the only new feature, however. The new phone will support wireless charging (50 percent in less than 30 minutes) as well as Bothie features, which use the front and rear camera simultaneously to capture an image.

Interestingly, the phone will also support face unlock, though its not clear if this will be as secure as Face ID.

The Nokia 6 will go on sale at an average price of EUR 279 in Blue Gold, Copper White and White with iron accents.

Be sure to follow our MWC 2018 Live Blog, Twitter and Facebook channels for LIVE updates from the show floor.

Disclaimer: Tech2 was invited to MWC 2018 by Huawei, who were responsible for all expenses related to travel and accommodation.23:25 (IST)

Eui Suk Chung, head of software and AI on stage, to talk about using AI to help you out

"We want to use software to make your user experience more useful," says Chung.

"Samsung Pay is available in 20 markets.

Samsung Health lets people live healthy lives.

Samsung Smart Things has the largest IoT ecosystem under a single umbrella

With Bixby we have an intelligence platform making it easier for you to use your phone the way you want it." says Chung.IANS

Samsung Electronics Co. has announced that it will cooperate with Qualcomm Technologies Inc to produce 7-nanometre chips for fifth-generation (5G) network service amid rising demand for semiconductors.

The two companies will expand their decade-long cooperation into Extreme Ultra Violet (EUV) lithography process technology, including the manufacture of future Qualcomm Snapdragon 5G mobile chipsets using Samsung's 7-nanometre Low Power Plus (LPP) EUV process technology, said the South Korean tech giant.

Samsung and Qualcomm have been maintaining close ties through foundry business in the production of 10 nm and 14 nm technologies, Yonhap News Agency reported.

"We are pleased to continue to expand our foundry relationship with Qualcomm Technologies in 5G technologies using our EUV process technology," Charlie Bae, Executive Vice President of the Foundry Sales and Marketing Team at Samsung Electronics, said in a statement.

He added that the collaboration is an "important milestone" for the firm's foundry business.

Foundry business refers to making chip designs for other companies that do not have a semiconductor fabrication plant.

Using the 7LPP EUV process technology, Snapdragon 5G mobile chipsets will offer a smaller chip footprint, giving more usable space inside upcoming products to support larger batteries or slimmer designs, it said.

Samsung introduced 7LPP EUV, its first semiconductor process technology to use an EUV lithography solution, in May 2017.COVID-19 booster dose not main priority now: Govt

Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said 20 per cent of India's adult population have received both doses of COVID-19 vaccine and 62 per cent have got at least one dose.IANS

Taking on Apple and Google, Microsoft and Chinese electronics major Xiaomi have signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to develop Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered budget speakers and smartphones.

The companies would work closely in cloud computing, AI and hardware. Since they have chosen to sign a memorandum, their partnership is not legally binding and it is unclear if any financials are involved, The Verge reported late on Friday.

Microsoft is planning to allow Xiaomi to use its cloud computing products, including Azure, to develop upgraded phones, laptops and smart devices.

At the same time, the partnership will also give Microsoft more reach and access to the Chinese market.

According to the Chinese player, it stands to benefit from "Microsoft's globally leading technologies in Cloud computing and AI."

We have signed a Strategic MoU today with @Microsoft to collaborate in cloud support, AI and laptop-type devices. This will help accelerate our pace to bring more exciting products and services to our users, and also allow Microsoft to reach more users using Xiaomi products! pic.twitter.com/7AHhDVQQhu  Wang Xiang (@XiangW_) February 23, 2018

Xiaomi might also integrate Microsoft Cortana with the Mi AI speaker  a budget speaker with a modern look.

So far, Microsoft has only developed one Cortana smart speaker "Harman Kardon Invoke" that has struggled to compete with other popular digital assistant speakers from Amazon, Google and Apple.

Microsoft and Xiaomi are also in talks about projects that will use several Microsoft AI technology, including conversational AI and speech and services like Bing, Edge and Skype, the report said.

Microsoft and Xiaomi have ties that date back to 2015, when they signed a deal to test Windows 10 on Xiaomi devices.

Last year, Xiaomi was the world's fifth most popular smartphone company, shipping 92.4 million phones, trailing the likes of Apple, Samsung and Huawei, according to numbers released by market research firm International Data Corporation (IDC).Beijing has protested against Washington's decision to impose sanctions against Chinese companies accused of conducting illicit deals with North Korea

Beijing: Beijing has protested against Washington's decision to impose sanctions against Chinese companies accused of conducting illicit economic deals with North Korea, the foreign ministry said.

US President Donald Trump on Friday announced measures targeting more than 50 North Korea-linked shipping companies, vessels and trade businesses, hailing the package as the "heaviest sanctions ever" levied on the nuclear-armed regime.

The measures, which the US says are aimed at forcing Pyongyang to roll back its banned nuclear and weapons programmes, apply to companies located or registered in North Korea, China, Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Marshall Islands, Tanzania, Panama and Comoros.

Washington has been locked in a nuclear standoff with Pyongyang, which is trying to develop missiles that could deliver an atomic weapon to major US cities, and the sanctions are designed to put the squeeze on North Korea's already precarious economy and fuel supply.

"China is strongly opposed to the United States' long-arm jurisdiction and unilateral sanctions on Chinese entities and individuals," foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said on Saturday.

"We have lodged solemn representations to the United States and asked the US to immediately cease the wrong practice so as to avoid undermining relevant cooperation between the two sides," he added.

China, North Korea's only major ally, has steadfastly rebuffed Washington's calls for a full oil embargo - fearing the chaotic collapse of the Pyongyang regime - but has accepted caps agreed at the United Nations.

"We will never allow Chinese citizens or companies to be engaged in activities that violate resolutions from the United Nations Security Council," Geng said.

But Washington says its latest measures target entities that have helped Pyongyang evade UN sanctions.

The North Korean military and broader economy depend heavily on imports of coal and oil from Russia and China, with the latter accounting for some 90 percent of the country's trade.

Last year, the Security Council adopted a series of resolutions to ban North Korean exports of commodities, including coal, iron and steel.Communist Party of China Central Committee proposed to remove a limit of two consecutive terms for the president and the vice-president, paving the way for President Xi Jinping to stay on beyond 2022

Beijing: China's ruling Communist Party on Sunday proposed to remove presidential term limits from the Constitution, potentially allowing President Xi Jinping to continue in power after his second term, which ends in 2023.

The CPC Central Committee proposed removing the clause that the president and vice-president "shall serve no more than two consecutive terms" from the country's Constitution, state-run Xinhua News Agency reported on Sunday.

The removal of the term limit, which was expected to be endorsed by the plenum of the party to be held on Monday was expected to give 64-year-old Xi, regarded as the most powerful leader in modern China, a limitless tenure.

President Xi, who is also head of the CPC and military, began his second five-year tenure last year, following a national Congress of the CPC.

A seven-man leadership committee unveiled last year included no potential successor, raising the prospect that Xi intends to govern beyond his second term.

Since then, all organs of the party have declared him as the topmost leader of the party setting aside the principle of collective party leadership that was followed in the last three decades.

Xi was elected as the head of the party and president in 2013 and later took over as head of the military.

In 2016, the CPC officially gave him the title of "core" leader.

The once-in-five-years Congress of the CPC last year approved Xi's ideology to be written into its Constitution  an honour that had been reserved only to modern China's founder Chairman Mao Zedong and his successor Deng Xiaoping.

The thoughts of two of Xi's predecessors, Jiang Zemin and Hu Jintao, were mentioned in the Constitution but not their names.

Any attempt to challenge Xi or his thinking would be seen as defiance against the party.Florida Governor Rick Scott, a loyal ally of the US gun lobby under mounting pressure to act in the aftermath of last weeks deadly mass shooting, urged state lawmakers on Friday to tighten access to firearms for young people and the mentally disturbed.

Parkland: Florida Governor Rick Scott, a loyal ally of the US gun lobby under mounting pressure to act in the aftermath of last weeks deadly mass shooting, urged state lawmakers on Friday to tighten access to firearms for young people and the mentally disturbed.

Scott said he would work with the Republican-controlled legislature over the next two weeks to raise the minimum legal age for buying any gun in Florida from 18 to 21, with some exceptions for younger individuals serving in the military or law enforcement.

That proposal put the Republican governor at odds with the National Rifle Association (NRA), which has opposed higher age limits in Florida, where a person must be at least 21 to buy a handgun but can be as young as 18 to purchase an assault rifle.

But Scott, who has been endorsed by the NRA and received its highest rating for supporting the rights of gun owners, said he opposed an outright ban on assault rifles, as some gun control advocates have demanded.

He also backed adoption of a law, like those enacted in a handful of other states, allowing police and family members to obtain restraining orders to bar people suspected of posing a threat of violence from possessing guns.

Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel, who is leading the investigation of the 14 February shooting rampage at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, welcomed Scotts plan as a strong first step in giving us the proactive ability to keep Florida safer.

But critics of the plan, which closely mirrored proposed measures unveiled on Friday by leaders of the state legislature, said it failed to go far enough.

He is doing the bare minimum, said US Senator Bill Nelson, a Florida Democrat widely expected to face a re-election challenge this year from Scott.

Julie Kessel, president of the League of Women Voters of Florida, called Scotts proposals very small, incremental changes.

The 17 people slain in the Fort Lauderdale suburb of Parkland were shot with a semiautomatic AR-15-style assault weapon, which authorities say was purchased legally last year by the accused gunman, Nikolas Cruz, when he was 18 years of age.

Cruz, now 19, a former Stoneman Douglas student who authorities said had a history of run-ins with the law and was expelled from school for disciplinary problems, has been charged with 17 counts of premeditated murder.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Broward County Sheriffs Office have since acknowledged receiving several tips over the past two years from callers saying they had reason to believe Cruz was inclined to commit a school shooting.

In one of those tips, an unidentified caller warned the FBI about the gunmans possible intentions a month before the shooting, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Hes going to explode, the woman, who was close to Cruz, told to a tip line operator on 5 January, according to a transcript reviewed by the Journal.

In addition to age limits, Scott said he wanted to change state laws to make it virtually impossible for anyone who has mental issues to use a gun, echoing similar calls by U.S. President Donald Trump.

The governor called in particular for a new program allowing a family member, police officer or community welfare expert to seek a special court order barring the purchase or possession of a firearm by anyone shown to pose a safety threat due to mental illness or violent behavior.

Scott also urged amending state law so that anyone involuntarily hospitalized as dangerously mentally ill be stripped of all access to firearms, with a court hearing required before their gun rights could be restored.

Renewed focus on background checks

Federal law bars possession of firearms by anyone found by a court or other legal authority to be a danger to themselves or others. Convicted felons, fugitives and people with a record of drug addiction also are banned from owning guns.

But many states have been slow in furnishing mental health records to the FBI database used in flagging prospective buyers who are supposed to be prohibited from owning a weapon.

The governors proposals come amid a reignited national debate on gun rights, led in part by some of the student survivors of last weeks massacre, ranked as the second deadliest U.S. public school shooting on record.

Students and parents calling for tougher gun controls traveled earlier this week to meet with politicians in Tallahassee, the state capital, and with Trump at the White House.

Trump has suggested arming teachers as a way of curbing gun violence in schools, as advocated by the NRA. He has also called for raising the legal age for buying rifles nationally to 21, and for beefing up background checks on prospective gun buyers.

On Capitol Hill on Friday, a group of 18 House Republicans urged House Speaker Paul Ryan to schedule a vote on legislation strengthening background checks.

The legislation already passed the House in December. But it was coupled with a controversial measure aimed at significantly expanding permits for carrying concealed weapons.

The group of House Republicans urged Ryan to bring it to the House floor as a stand-alone bill so that it will have a greater chance of approval by the Senate and enactment into law.

Scott also called for posting law enforcement officers in every public school and for mandatory active shooter training for students and faculty.

He spoke as staff members were returning to Stoneman Douglas for the first time since the massacre.

Everything was quiet, and looked like it was frozen in time, social studies teacher Greg Pittman said.

Outside the school, some teachers gazed at flowers and makeshift memorials. One woman who brought balloons to add to the displays fell to her knees in tears.

Classes are due to resume next Wednesday, but the building where most of the bloodshed occurred will remain closed.

Speaking to reporters on Friday, Trump criticized the armed sheriffs deputy assigned to the school for doing a poor job. The deputy, Scot Peterson, resigned after an internal investigation found he failed to go inside and confront the shooter, the Broward sheriff said on Thursday.

Reporting Zachary Fagenson in Parkland, Florida, Richard Cowan in Washington and Jonathan Allen, Gina Cherelus and Dan Trotta in New York; Writing by Jonathan AllenA Bangladeshi court on Sunday extended the bail of former prime minister and main Opposition BNP chief Khaleda Zia until on Tuesday in a graft case, media reports said.

Dhaka: A Bangladeshi court on Sunday extended the bail of former prime minister and main Opposition BNP chief Khaleda Zia until on Tuesday in a graft case, media reports said.

The 72-year-old three-time former prime minister was sentenced by Dhaka's Special Court on 8 February in connection with the embezzlement of 21 million taka (about $2,50,000) in foreign donations meant for the Zia Orphanage Trust, named after her late husband Ziaur Rahman, a military ruler-turned-politician.

Judge MD Akhteruzzaman of the Special Judge Court-5 here passed the order extending the bail after Zia's barrister Moudud Ahmed submitted a petition seeking an extension of her bail in the Zia Charitable Trust graft case, The Daily Star reported.

The same court on 1 February gave Zia, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) chief, ad-interim bail till today and asked her to appear before it, it said. She could not appear before the court as she is lodged in jail after the conviction on 8 February in the Zia Orphanage Trust case, the report said.

Meanwhile, Public Prosecutor Mosharraf Hossain Kajol moved a petition for issuing a production warrant against Zia, the report said. If the court passed the production warrant and the jail authorities produce her before the court on Monday, Zia can seek bail in the case, it said.

The Zia charitable graft case, filed in August 2011, accuses four persons including Zia of abusing power to raise funds for the trust from unknown sources.

The three others are: Harris Chowdhury, political secretary of then prime minister Zia between 2001 and 2006; Ziaul Islam Munna, Assistant Private Secretary (APS) to Harris; and Monirul Islam Khan, APS of former Dhaka city mayor Sadeque Hossain Khoka.

The corruption 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. The BNP has claimed that the cases are politically-motivated to keep its party chief out of the national elections.Mexico and the United States have shelved tentative plans for a visit to Washington by President Enrique Pena Nieto as tensions persist over a proposed border wall, US media reported Saturday.

Washington: Mexico and the United States have shelved tentative plans for a visit to Washington by President Enrique Pena Nieto as tensions persist over a proposed border wall, US media reported Saturday.

Pena Nieto had already cancelled a visit in January last year because of US president Donald Trump's insistence that Mexico pay for the wall, which he wants as part of his efforts to curb immigration.

The White House had said in mid-February that the two presidents were working on arranging a meeting.

But The Washington Post, which first reported cancellation of the provisional meeting, said both countries agreed to call it off after a testy telephone call ended in an impasse over the border barrier.

The phone call took place last Tuesday.

Citing US and Mexican officials, the Post said Trump "would not agree to publicly affirm Mexico's position that it would not fund construction of a border wall that the Mexican people widely consider offensive."

Pena Nieto's visit had been considered for February or March, the Post said, but the Mexican leader wanted to avoid public embarrassment.

Building the border wall was a primary pledge of the 2016 presidential campaign by Trump, who says the barrier is necessary for his country's security.

Asked about the reports, a Mexican presidential source told AFP there would be no comment.

"There's nothing additional to the last Tuesday statement," the source said, referring to comments after the phone call.

Both countries said at the time that they agreed in their call to boost cooperation on security, trade and migration.

In addition to disagreement over the wall, Trump's attacks on Mexican immigrants and threats to scrap the North American Free Trade Agreement have strained relations between the neighbors.

The leaders did meet once, on the sidelines of the G20 summit of major economies in Hamburg, Germany, last July.

Mexico goes to the polls this July as Pena Nieto approaches the end of his term, with his Institutional Revolutionary Party deeply unpopular.North Korea on Sunday slammed the latest United States measures against it as an 'act of war', after United States president Donald Trump announced the 'heaviest sanctions ever' on the nuclear-armed regime.

Seoul: North Korea on Sunday slammed the latest United States measures against it as an "act of war", after United States president Donald Trump announced the "heaviest sanctions ever" on the nuclear-armed regime.

The measures, which Washington says are aimed at forcing Pyongyang to roll back its banned nuclear and weapons programmes, target more than 50 North Korea-linked shipping companies, vessels and trade businesses.

"Like we have said repeatedly, we consider any restrictions on us as an act of war," the North's foreign ministry said in a statement carried by the state-run KCNA news agency.

It also vowed a retaliation if the United States "really has the nerves" to confront the North in a "rough" manner.

Trump warned on Friday that, if the latest sanctions don't work, the United States would "go to phase two" that "may be a very rough thing", without elaborating.

In response, the North also vowed to "subdue the United States in our own way" if provoked, saying "Trump is trying to change us with such sanctions and hostile remarks, which shows his ignorance about us".

"We already have our own nuclear weapon  a treasured sword of justice to protect us from such threats from the United States," the foreign ministry said.

The comment came hours before the North's senior delegation led by Kim Yong Chol, a blacklisted military general, is set to attend the closing ceremony of the South's Winter Olympics, which will also be attended by Trump's daughter Ivanka Trump.Romes ancient Colosseum was lit in red in solidarity with persecuted Christians, particularly Asia Bibi, a woman condemned to death under Pakistans blasphemy laws

Rome: Romes ancient Colosseum was lit in red on Saturday in solidarity with persecuted Christians, particularly Asia Bibi, a woman condemned to death under Pakistans blasphemy laws.

Hundreds gathered on a rainy night outside the Roman amphitheatre that is a symbol of the martyrdom of early Christians to hear the husband and daughter of Asia Bibi.

The Catholic woman has been living on death row in Pakistan since 2010 when she was condemned for allegedly making derogatory remarks about Islam after neighbours objected to her drinking water from their glass because she was not Muslim.

Human rights groups such as Amnesty International say the blasphemy law is increasingly exploited by religious extremists as well as ordinary Pakistanis to settle personal scores.

The aim of the blasphemy laws is to crush people who believe differently, Archbishop Nunzio Galantino, secretary-general of the Italian bishops conference, told the gathering.

The law does not define blasphemy and evidence might not be reproduced in court for fear of committing a fresh offence. There are no penalties for false accusations.

Asia Bibis case drew international attention after the murder of two politicians who tried to intervene on her behalf.

At the Rome gathering, her husband Ashiq Masih said his wife was innocent of blasphemy. This is just hate against Christians, who are considered impure, he said.

The husband and daughter, who broke down in tears as she addressed the group, were earlier received by Pope Francis, who told her: I think often of your mother and I pray for her.

European Parliament President Antonio Tajani, who has been tipped as a possible Italian prime minister after next weeks election, said that persecution of Christians was a genocide.

A message must be sent from this place. It is the duty of Europe to defend these values (of religious liberty) wherever on earth they are trampled on, Tajani said.

Rebecca Bitrus, a Nigerian Christian woman who was held for two years after she was abducted by Boko Haram Islamist militants, told of how she was repeatedly beaten and raped.

During the event, organised by the Catholic group Aid to the Church in Need, there were live link-ups with Aleppo, Syria and Mosul, Iraq, both of whose minority Christian populations have been hit hard by wars.Sri Lankan president Maithripala Sirisena reshuffled the Cabinet in the backdrop of the ongoing political turmoil. Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has been appointed as the Minister of Law and Order in the unity government's second Cabinet reshuffle.

Colombo: Sri Lankan president Maithripala Sirisena reshuffled the Cabinet in the backdrop of the ongoing political turmoil. Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has been appointed as the Minister of Law and Order in the unity government's second Cabinet reshuffle.

The unity government of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) and the United National Party (UNP) was thrown into a crisis after former president Mahinda Rajapaksa's new party pulled off a stunning victory in local elections seen as a referendum on the ruling alliance. Former strongman Rajapaksa's nearly a decade-long rule was ended by Sirisena in 2015.

Several portfolios have been reshuffled among the UNP members with some of them exchanging jobs. "Taking (into account) people's message expressed at the recent local government election, the government needs to improve its policies, programmes and actions to serve people," Sirisena said in a tweet.

Handing out the new appointments Sirisena expressed hope that the changes will serve the people better. Rajapaksa's new political party, Sri Lanka People's Party (SLPP), defeated Sirisena's SLFP and Wickremesinghe's UNP, winning 225 councils or two thirds of the 340 councils which went to polls earlier this month.

After registering the landslide win, Rajapaksa was quick to demand a snap general election which is scheduled to be held after August 2020.

Since the defeat, Sirisena has been seeking the removal of Wickremesinghe as the prime minister, attempting to form his own SLFP government, analysts have said.

However, in the absence of required numbers, Sirisena has to accept Wickremesinghe, they said. Wickremesinghe has said that the result of the local body polls was a wake up call for the government.United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres today welcomed the Security Council's demand for a 30-day ceasefire in Syria and said it must be 'immediately' implemented.

United Nations: With Russia's backing, the UN Security Council on Saturday unanimously demanded a 30-day ceasefire in Syria to allow for humanitarian aid deliveries and medical evacuations.

The resolution demanding the ceasefire "without delay" was adopted as Syrian government forces pounded the rebel-held enclave of Eastern Ghouta, where hundreds have died during a week-long assault. "We are late to respond to this crisis, very late," US Ambassador Nikki Haley told the council after the vote, accusing Russia of stalling the vote.

The resolution demands a cessation of hostilities "without delay" throughout Syria to allow the "safe, unimpeded and sustained" deliveries of aid and evacuations of the sick and wounded.

More than 500 people, including more than 120 children, have been killed in seven days of relentless airstrikes in Eastern Ghouta, which UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres described as "hell on earth."

To win Russia's approval, language specifying that the ceasefire would start 72 hours after the adoption of the draft was scrapped, replaced by "without delay," and the term "immediate" was also dropped in reference to the aid deliveries and evacuations.

Diplomats said they were confident that this would not open the door to postponing the ceasefire, as council members had made clear in negotiations that the truce must quickly come into force. Guterres is to report to the council in 15 days on the ceasefire, diplomats said.

In another concession to Russia, the resolution said the ceasefire will not apply to operations against the Islamic State group or Al-Qaeda, along with "individuals, groups, undertakings and entities" associated with the terror groups.

That would allow the Syrian government offensive to continue against Al-Qaeda-linked jihadists in Idlib, the last province in Syria outside the control of Damascus.

The text demands the lifting of all sieges including in Eastern Ghouta, Yarmouk, Foua and Kefraya and order all sides to "cease depriving civilians of food and medicine indispensable to their survival."SLOT4D, DAFTAR SLOT 4D, LOGIN SLOT4D, LINK ALTERNATIF SLOT 4D Selamat datang di slot4d yang merupakan daftar situs judi slot deposit pulsa tanpa potongan resmi slot4d dan slot 4d Indonesia terpercaya. Selain itu slot4d juga merupakan agen judi slot deposit pulsa tanpa potongan terbaik serta terlengkap no 1 di Indonesia yang telah menjadi bandar judi slot4d terbesar di Indonesia. Slot4d juga adalah situs judi slot 4d online terbaik 2021 dengan nama nama situs judi slot online resmi deposit pulsa xl dan telkomsel tanpa potongan. Slot4d menyediakan banyak permainan judi online seperti taruhan bola online, casino, slot, togel, poker, balak play, idn poker, arcade game, sabung ayam, tembak ikan, dan masih banyak permainan menarik lainnya. Hanya dengan 1 user id anda sudah bisa bermain semua permainan. Slot4d akan memberikan banyak jackpot progresif dari mesin slot yang kami tawarkan kepada anda. Sebagai salah satu nya game slot ternama dan sangat terkenal di seluruh dunia sebagai tempat perjudian judi casino online yang terpercaya dan terbaik di indonesia saat ini. Seperti yang kita ketahui kalau permainan slot sudah menjadi permainan terpopuler di Indonesia, Dimana para pecinta judi slot online deposit pulsa tanpa potongan mudah sekali mendapatkan kemenangan lewat situs judi slot yang sering memberikan kemenangan untuk mereka. Tetapi anda tidak boleh salah dalam memilih provider slot dan situs slot, Karena tidak semua agen judi slot sering memberi slot gacor pragmatic play dan pg soft. Untuk anda yang ingin sering mendapatkan kemenangan besar dan jackpot besar hanya disini tempatnya yaitu slot4d situs slot4d terpercaya. Slot4d yakin kalau provider slot 4d yang kami sediakan mudah menang serta gampang menang dan bahkan akan memberikan jackpot terbesar untuk semua member baru dan member lama yang bermain di slot4d.

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The warehouse chain has revealed they are now selling a hazelnut and chocolate spread under its Kirkland brand, and its much cheaper than the original Nutella version.

NUTELLA FANS ARE FUMING OVER RECIPE CHANGE

At Costco, a package of two 35.2 ounce jars of the Kirkland Signature Hazelnut Spread in-store will cost customers $7.99. Online, the spread is listed at a slightly higher $9.99  however, both of these are less expensive than Nutella, which clocks in at $13.99 for two 33.5 ounce jars on Costcos online store.

As Food & Wine points out, the Costco version is seven cents cheaper per unit than Nutella, charging $0.14 per ounce verse $0.21 per ounce for Nutella.

No word yet on how the Costco version stacks up to the original, but if its other Kirkland-brand items touted for their high-quality are any proof, Nutella enthusiasts will probably be pleased with the cheaper Costco option.

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Nutella is known for their obsessed fans, who recently caused riots in France when a supermarket offered a deep discount of 70 percent off each jar of the spread. The one-day only deal led to the French Minister of Economy and Finance to hold an emergency meeting disapproving of such extreme markdowns on the cult-favorite.The story behind a favorite hot snack is being turned into a serious feature-length film  and it sounds pretty good.

A biopic detailing the creation of Flamin Hot Cheetos, cheesy Cheetos spicier sibling, has been greenlit after a highly competitive sale, with multiple studios vying for the project, Variety reported. Fox Searchlight and DeVon Franklin are set to produce the film, Flamin Hot, which depicts the true-life  and accidental  rags-to-riches story that started a billion-dollar snack flavor.

CELEB CHEF OPENS CHEETOS-INSPIRED POP-UP RESTAURANT IN NYC

Robert Montanez, the person responsible for the chip, was a Mexican-born janitor working at the Frito-Lays Rancho Cucamonga plant in 1976. According to Fox News Latino, Montanez immigrated to California as a child, dropped out of high school and worked as a farm hand on SoCal farms before ending up at Frito-Lay, where a plant mess-up changed his life.

A problem on a production line left a batch of Cheetos without cheese dust one day, according to GrubStreet. Not wanting the food to go to waste, Montanez took them home and decided to spice them up a bit.

Working off of a favorite Mexican street food, elotes, which is grilled corn smothered in salt, lime juice, chile powder, and typically mayonnaise and cotija cheese, Montanez decided to create the same flavor profile and coat the bare Cheetos in it.

I see the corn man adding butter, cheese, and chile to the corn, he told Fox, and thought, what if I add chile to a Cheeto?

His creation was a success and started a buzz so strong that it landed him a meeting with the Frito-Lays president, who asked him to work up a presentation for the company executives in two weeks.

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Montanez, who struggled to learn English, told Fox he copied a marketing strategy from a book he found at the library for his presentation.

Im a little bit of an artist so I even designed the bags and put the Cheetos in it, Montanez told Fox.

The executives liked the idea and started making Flamin Hot Cheetos  which became Frito-Lays highest-selling snack.

The story has an even happier ending  after Montanezs billion-dollar idea, he was promoted and now is executive vice-president of multicultural sales at PepsiCo.

Many times, greatness will come in ridiculous forms, a ridiculous idea might be a billion dollar idea, he told Fox.An Australian tourist infected with measles visited several locations in New York City, included the famed Metropolitan Museum of Art, before seeking treatment, health officials warned Saturday.

The New York State Department of Health said in a news release the sightseer was visiting between Feb. 16 and Feb. 21 and stayed at several hotels in the greater-New York area.

The visitor originally checked into a La Quinta Inn on Manhattan's Upper West Side on Feb. 16, where the person stayed until Feb. 19, according to health officials. During that time period, the sick person was part of an Oasis Bible Tour group at The Metropolitan Museum of Art on Feb. 16 and the evening of Feb. 17.

After checking out of the Manhattan hotel, the tourist then stayed overnight at a Best Western Hotel on Atlantic Ave. in Brooklyn from Feb. 19 to Feb. 20 before staying at the Comfort Inn & Suites Goshen in Orange County until Feb. 21, according to the health department.

The tourist also made a trip to the Watchtower Educational Center in Putnam County during that time period.

The person eventually sought treatment at an urgent care in Goshen, located about 66 miles north of New York City, and was taken to Orange County Regional Medical Center.

CHICAGO O'HARE TRAVELERS POSSIBLY EXPOSED TO MEASLES

Measles is a highly contagious respiratory disease caused by a virus that is spread by direct contact with nasal or throat secretions of infected people, according to health officials. "People first develop a fever, then may have a cough, runny nose and watery eyes, followed by appearance of the rash," the DOH said.

The virus can also remain alive in the air and on surfaces for up to two hours.

"Those individuals lacking immunity or who are not sure if they have been vaccinated, should contact their health care provider if they develop measles symptoms," the health department warned. "Symptoms include a fever, rash, cough, conjunctivitis or runny nose. Symptoms usually appear in 10-12 days after exposure. Individuals who may have been exposed and who lack immunity could begin experiencing symptoms at this time."

PHYSICIAN: WE NEED A UNIVERSAL FLU VACCINE -- NO MORE EXCUSES

Dr. Robert Glatter with Lenox Hill Hospital told ABC7 that people are contagious about a week after symptoms begin, and someone can get measles just by being in the room of someone else infected.

"Somebody who is sneezing and coughing puts others at risk," Glatter said.

Last year, The World Health Organization said that measles cases in Europe skyrocketed with at least 35 children who died from the highly-infectious disease.

The biggest outbreak was in Romania, where there were 5,562 cases. In that country, the large rural population often do not vaccinate their children and may not take them to hospitals promptly when they fall ill, The New York Times reported at the time.NEW You can now listen to Fox News articles!



It should come as no surprise that partisan anti-Trump Democrats on the House Intelligence Committee issued a partisan anti-Trump memo Saturday attempting to rebut an earlier memo by committee Republicans dealing with abuses of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) Court.

The new Democratic memo  examining how the FISA Court approved surveillance of former Trump campaign aide Carter Page  was part of an ongoing round-the-clock campaign to weaken President Trump, delegitimize his election, and make him look like a Russian puppet who needs to be impeached.

Democrats are basing their political strategy to win back congressional majorities in November on turning the American people against President Trump. To further this objective, they produced a memo that reads like talking points for one of the anti-Trump tirades that take up much of the day and night on CNN or MSNBC.

In fact, the Intelligence Committees ranking member, Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif.  who few people had ever heard of before last year  has parlayed the endless Democratic conspiracy theories against President Trump into TV stardom. He gave 21 hours of TV interviews in 2017 to push his narrative that the Trump campaign colluded with Russia to defeat Hillary Clinton in 2016.

The release of the Democratic memo was delayed because the Democrats deliberately included highly classified information that was difficult to declassify, so they could cry foul when the Trump administration refused to release this information. As a result, several sentences of the declassified memo were blacked out.

The new Democratic memo  was part of an ongoing round-the-clock campaign to weaken President Trump, delegitimize his election, and make him look like a Russian puppet who needs to be impeached.

Typical for a Schiff media interview, the Democratic rebuttal starts off with wild accusations against Republicans for a transparent effort to undermine the FBI, Justice Department, Special Counsel Robert Muellers Russia probe and congressional Russia investigations.

Among the major points of the rebuttal, the Democrats claim:

(1) The Justice Department followed proper procedures and had compelling national security reasons for seeking a FISA warrant to conduct surveillance of Carter Page.

(2) The FISA Court was properly informed about the partisan sponsorship of the Steele dossier, a series of memos compiled by former British spy Christopher Steele for the Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee.

(3) The Steele dossier did not drive the FBI investigation of Page or a FISA warrant application to spy on him.

The Democratic rebuttal tries to justify the Justice Departments October 2016 FISA warrant application to spy on Page with sensationalistic claims that he was on the FBIs radar for years due to his alleged contacts with Russian spies.

The rebuttal also makes claims about Pages interactions with Russians in mid-2016, when he reportedly was offered dirt on Hillary Clinton. It claims a supposed Russian-linked source told Page that Russia had thousands of Clintons emails that it could leak to hurt her campaign.

However, many of Pages alleged 2016 interactions with Russians have not been corroborated. Some come from the Steele dossier which, despite claims in the rebuttal, is still uncorroborated. Parts of the dossier have been shown to be untrue.

The Democratic rebuttal also omits that Page had a brief, low-level role in the Trump campaign and was disparaged by a Russian intelligence officer in 2015 as an idiot.

Like Schiffs frequent TV news interviews, the rebuttal misrepresents or omits many inconvenient facts. Two of these make the entire rebuttal impossible to take seriously.

First, the Republican memo said that Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe testified in a closed session in December 2017 that no warrant to spy on Page would have been sought from the FISA Court without the Steele dossier information. This is one of the most crucial points in the Republican memo, but the Democrats ignored it.

Instead, the Democratic rebuttal dances around McCabes statement by stating that other information drove the FBI investigation. The Democratic memo says the Justice Department provided additional information obtained through multiple corroborated sources that corroborated Steeles reporting in the FISA warrant application.

This is a major omission. Either McCabe did or did not say the Steele dossier was the crucial information that drove the FISA warrant request.

The committees Republicans should declassify the transcript of McCabes remarks to expose what is very likely a huge Democratic misrepresentation.

Second, the Democratic rebuttal engages in verbal gymnastics to dispute Republican claims that the Justice Department failed to inform the FISA Court about the political sponsorship of the Steele dossier.

The rebuttal tries to do this by citing a vague sentence from a footnote in the October 2016 FISA warrant request that said: The FBI speculates that the identified U.S. Person was likely looking for information that could be used to discredit Candidate 1s [Donald Trumps] campaign.

The identified U.S. person was Glenn Simpson, co-founder of Fusion GPS, a company that was paid by the Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee and in turn contracted with Steele to produce the dossier critical of Trump. This was not revealed to the FISA Court.

This gobbledygook on the FBI speculating that an unidentified U.S. person was seeking information to discredit the Trump campaign was designed to conceal from the FISA Court that the Steele memo was paid for by the Democratic National Committee and the Clinton campaign. Incredibly, the Democratic rebuttal has no references whatsoever to the Democratic National Committee or the Clinton campaign.

In fact, the footnote cited by the Democrats strengthens the Republican claim that the October FISA warrant request omitted crucial information on the veracity of the Steele dossier.

The FISA judge obviously should have been told that a political party and a presidential campaign from one party funded a dossier to justify a FISA warrant to spy on a former member of a presidential campaign of the other political party. The Democrats claim that the Justice Department accurately informed the court about this matter is laughable.

The highly misleading Democratic rebuttal is already having the intended effect by giving talking heads on TV news shows talking points to claim that the rebuttal disproved the Republican memo and provides evidence of collusion by the Trump campaign and Russia.

Expect Adam Schiff to be on TV as often as he can in coming days claiming his memo corrects the record. But the reality is that the Democratic rebuttal is full of the same unsubstantiated partisan claims that Schiff and other House Intelligence Committee Democrats have been making for over a year. It fails to rebut any of the serious allegations made by the committees Republicans.

The bottom line: dont believe Adam Schiff when he hawks this fake rebuttal. He didnt lay a glove on the Republican memo on serious abuses of the FISA process by the Justice Department, and the FBI to undermine the Trump presidential campaign.

NEW You can now listen to Fox News articles!

Every time a consumer swipes his or her credit card, the credit card company collects a fee. Do most consumers know this? Probably not. Thats because American Express rules prohibit retailers from educating consumers about these fees or giving consumers benefits for using lower-cost cards.

Although retailers are fighting for the right to disclose these fees, credit card companies are determined to keep consumers in the dark.

To change these rules, retailers support a lawsuit that will be argued before the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday. The case, Ohio et al. v. American Express, began when the federal government and 11 states sued American Express, claiming that its rules violate U.S. antitrust laws.

After weeks of testimony and extensive briefing, a federal district court agreed. An appellate court later reversed the decision. Now the final determination will be made by the Supreme Court.

Retailers have been fighting the credit card networks unfair rules and anti-competitive practices for decades. The rules the Supreme Court will consider are but one example. They prevent consumers from getting basic information about the true costs of their payment choices, and prevent retailers from offering their own incentives or rewards to consumers who choose lower fee payment options.

Keeping consumers in the dark has allowed the banks and credit card networks to control the rewards they give to select customers while jacking up the fees charged to merchants  fees that are ultimately passed on to every customer in the form of higher prices.

For retailers, the solution is simple: let in the light.

Consumers crave transparency. They want to know the origins of their salmon and their T-shirts. They want to know what chemicals are in their water bottles and the calorie content of their breakfast. They use smartphones to read reviews and to compare prices on products right in the store.

Consumers use this information to make purchasing decisions that best fit their lifestyles and their budgets. Why shouldnt they be allowed to know how much theyre paying to use their credit cards? Or be given the option at checkout to choose additional benefits for using a less expensive payment option?

The informed consumer is at the core of modern retail. Empowered consumers increase retail competition, which in turn gives consumers more choices and lower prices.

The absence of similar transparency in the credit card market  because of American Expresss rules  has stifled competition in the payments space. The resulting higher fees increase prices for all consumers whether they pay by card, cash, check, or government benefits.

Transparency is the best way to prevent those with market power from stifling competition and innovation. Amexs rules are the antithesis of the free market principles retailers embrace.

As the U.S. Supreme Court hears this case, Americas retailers hope the court will strike down American Expresss rules in order to allow transparency, marketplace competition and consumer choice to prevail.Former Republican National Committee Chairman Mike Steele on Saturday challenged CPAC organizer Matt Schlapp over a group spokesmans suggestion that Steele was appointed to lead the RNC only because he is black, and Schlapps response.

The exchange occurred on a Sirius XM radio show amid the annual Conservative Political Action Conference, in Washington, D.C., and one day after CPAC Communications Director Ian Walters said: We elected Mike Steele as chairman because he was a black guy. That was the wrong thing to do.

Schlapp, chairman of the American Conservative Union, which organizes CPAC, apologized for the situation and said he loved Steele and considered him a friend. However, Steele took issue with Schlapp saying that he wasnt going to separate himself from Ian.

Several minutes later, Schlapp, who, like Steele, is a Sirius satellite radio host, said, Those words that tumbled out of his mouth, I believed were unfortunate words.

Steele, a former Maryland lieutenant governor, called the words stupid, not unfortunate.

Call it what it is, Steele, RNC chairman from 2009 to 2011, continued in the roughly nine-minute exchange. It is stupid to sit there and say that we elected a black man chairman of the party and that was a mistake. Do you know how that sounds to the black community?

Walters apologized to Steele for the remarks.

Schlapp suggested throughout the exchange that some of the criticism directed at Steele is because of how he ran the RNC, and over his more recent criticism of the Republican Party.

Schlapp said he understood how such remarks, made at a Friday night dinner, are being perceived by African-Americans and the rest of America.

I've spent 41 years in this party, Steele later said. I have taken crap you have no idea about, and I have carried this baggage. And for him to stand on that stage and denigrate my service to this party, and for you as a friend to sit there and go, Well, you have been critical of this party ...' There is only one word I can say, and I can't say it on this air."The House Intelligence Committee on Saturday released the Democratic rebuttal to a GOP memo that outlined alleged government surveillance abuses during the 2016 presidential campaign. And that rebuttal came with heavy redactions.

The Democratic memo was voted out of committee earlier this month but was redrafted after the White House demanded that sensitive information be stripped out before the document was made public. The Justice Department and the FBI claimed the initial draft would reveal information about sources and methods, ongoing investigations, and other sensitive information.

DEMS' REBUTTAL TO GOP FISA MEMO IS RELEASED; TRUMP DEEMS IT A 'BUST'

That 10-page memo was significantly redacted, and left readers with a mystery to ponder: What's under the black bars blocking sometime-lengthy segments of text.

The majority of redactions appear to be related to intelligence about Russian activities, particularly in regard to contacts that former Trump adviser Carter Page had with Russian-linked individuals. Republicans claim that in seeking a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) warrant against Page, the DOJ and the FBI abused the process by omitting information about the political motivations and funding behind an anti-Trump dossier the agencies purportedly relied on in pursuit of that warrant.

One section that has multiple redactions is under the heading of "Pages connections to Russian Government and Intelligence Officials. Segments redacted include what Page had an extensive record of doing before he joined the Trump campaign. It also redacts the details of a Russian intelligence officers alleged targeting of Page for recruitment.

One lengthy redaction relates to another Trump aide, George Papadopoulos, who had a conversation with individuals linked to Russia in April 2016. The information those individuals passed to Papadopoulos is redacted, but the memo says that it was that information which led the FBI to initiate a counterintelligence investigation in July 2016.

A line in the same paragraph gives some indication as to the redacted information by saying that the committee would later learn that the information the Russians could assist by anonymously releasing were thousands of Hillary Clintons emails.

In another section, it redacts the name of an FBI agent, as well as appearing to redact the number and name of individuals into whom the FBI had opened sub-inquiries. It also redacts information related to compensation that the FBI considered giving to dossier author and former British spy Christopher Steele.

Perhaps most significantly, in the process of countering the Republican claim that the DOJ relied on the anti-Trump dossier for its FISA warrant, the Democratic rebuttal outlines additional information obtained through multiple independent sources that corroborated Steeles reporting. It then provides three bullet-pointed paragraphs, almost all of which are redacted.

While Democrats claimed that the memo undermines many of the claims in the GOP memo, Republicans were quick to dismiss the Democrats' memo -- even issuing their own lengthy rebuttal to the rebuttal.

President Trump, meanwhile, took to Twitter to declare it a total political and legal BUST.President Trump on Saturday dismissed a Democratic rebuttal to the GOP memo outlining government surveillance abuses in the 2016 campaign as a total political and legal bust," claiming that it only confirms the terrible things that were done by the nations intelligence agencies.

The rebuttal, written by Democrats on the House Intelligence Committee, concluded that officials at the FBI and Justice Department did not abuse the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) process, omit material information, or subvert this vital tool to spy on the Trump campaign.

Democrats sought to counter claims made in a Republican memo released this month that the FBI and DOJ relied on a Democrat-funded anti-Trump dossier to ask the FISA court for a warrant to monitor Trump adviser Carter Page.

Democrats have vehemently claimed that the Republican memo left out important information.

But Trump was unimpressed by the 10-page memo that resulted.

Ranking Democrat Adam Schiff, D-Calif., countered by saying it confirmed that intelligence officials acted appropriately.

Republicans had found that the DOJ and FBI left out Democratic National Committee and Hillary Clinton campaign funding of the dossier, as well as the anti-Trump motivations of author and former British spy Christopher Steele, in its request for a warrant. Indeed, Republicans have pointed to this as proof that intelligence agencies abused surveillance powers.

The Democratic rebuttal, though it did not directly challenge some of the key findings of the earlier one from Republicans, backed the FBI and DOJ in their pursuit of that FISA warrant to surveil Page.

In fact, DOJ and the FBI would have been remiss in their duty to protect the country had they not sought a FISA warrant and repeated renewals to conduct temporary surveillance of Carter Page, someone the FBI assessed to be an agent of the Russian government, the rebuttal said, adding that the DOJ met the rigor, transparency, and evidentiary basis needed to meet FISAs probable-cause requirement.

The memo said the Page surveillance warrant produced intelligence deemed reliable, and sufficient to justify renewals every 90 days.

The rebuttal said the FBI had an "independent basis" for investigating Page's motivations, and that he had been targeted for recruitment by the Russians. It also claimed that the DOJ "repeatedly informed the Court about Steele's background, credibility, and potential bias." And it maintained that the Justice Department infomed the FISA court that Steele had been hired by "politically motivated U.S. persons and entities and that his research appeared intended for use "to discredit" Trump's campaign.

The rebuttal added that the DOJ only made "narrow use" of information from Steele's sources and that in later FISA renewals the DOJ provided "additional information obtained through multiple independent sources" that backed up Steele's reporting. It challenged the Republican assertion that the FBI authorized payment to Steele, saying that it neglected that the payment was canceled.

The memo, however, did not directly challenge the Republican assertion that former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe testified to the House Committee that they would not have sought the Page surveillance warrant had it not been for that infamous dossier.

The new memo also asserted that the dossier had been corroborated by multiple sources. However, in June 2017 testimony to the Senate Intelligence Committee, former FBI Director James Comey said the opposite -- that three months after the warrant on Page had been granted he still considered the dossier "unverified" and "salacious" when he briefed incoming President Trump in January 2017 at Trump Tower.

The rebuttal was voted out of committee earlier this month but a redraft was ordered after the White House demanded that sensitive information be stripped out before the document be made public. The Justice Department and FBI claimed the initial draft would reveal information about sources and methods, ongoing investigations and other sensitive information.

Schiff said the minority's memo should "put to rest" any concerns about conduct by the intelligence agencies.

READ THE GOP MEMO

His confidence notwithstanding, it seemed unlikely to mark an end to the ongoing fight over the FISA application and the role of that infamous dossier. Indeed, while the two parties clash over whether that dossier was a primary or secondary driver of the surveillance application, the newly declassified criminal referral for Christopher Steele from Senators Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said the FBI and DOJ relied "heavily" on the controversial and salacious document for the FISA application.

And upon the new memo's release, Republicans on the intel committee responded with rebuttals to the rebuttal, providing more evidence that this battle has legs. For instance, while the Democrats say that the court was given information about the political motivations of Steele, Republicans say that such a statement is "buried in a footnote" that obscures rather than clarifies his motives.

The American people now clearly understand that the FBI used political dirt paid for by the Democratic Party to spy on an American citizen from the Republican Party," Committee Chairman Devin Nunes, R-Calif. said in a statement.

"Furthermore, the FISA court was misled about Mr. Pages past interactions with the FBI in which he helped build a case against Russian operatives in America who were brought to justice. It defies belief that the Department of Justice and FBI failed to provide information to a secret court that they had provided to an open federal court regarding their past interactions with Mr. Page," he said.

The White House called the rebuttal a "politically driven document" that fails to answer the concerns raised by the Republican memo.

"As the Majoritys memorandum stated, the FISA judge was never informed that Hillary Clinton and the DNC funded the dossier that was a basis for the Department of Justices FISA application," Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement.

"In addition, the Minoritys memo fails to even address the fact that the Deputy FBI Director told the Committee that had it not been for the dossier, no surveillance order would have been sought," she added.

Democrats have claimed that the original Republican memo was an effort to attack FBI Director Robert Muellers investigation into alleged Russian interference in 2016. Trump had previously said that the memo "totally vindicates" him in the investigation.

Fox News Catherine Herridge, Jennifer Bowman and Jason Donner contributed to this report.The House Intelligence Committee on Saturday released a long-anticipated Democratic rebuttal that attempts to dismantle claims made in a GOP memo alleging the government used improper surveillance tactics during the 2016 presidential campaign.

The rebuttal claims that officials at the FBI and Justice Department did not abuse the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) process, omit material information, or subvert this vital tool to spy on the Trump campaign.

The Democratic rebuttal backed the FBI and DOJ in its pursuit of the FISA warrant, saying that the agencies would have been remiss in their duty to protect the country had they not sought a FISA warrant and repeated renewals to conduct temporary surveillance of Carter Page, someone the FBI assessed to be an agent of the Russian government.

They added that the DOJ met the rigor, transparency, and evidentiary basis needed to meet FISAs probable cause requirement.

The GOP memo, released in early February, asserted that the FBI and DOJ relied on a Democrat-funded anti-Trump dossier to ask the FISA court for a warrant to monitor Page, a one-time adviser to President Donald Trump. They also claimed that the agencies left out the DNCs funding of the dossier and the anti-Trump motivations of author Christopher Steele, a onetime British spy, in its request for a warrant.

The Democratic memo was voted out of committee earlier this month but a redrafting was ordered after the White House demanded that sensitive information be stripped out before the document be made public. The Justice Department and FBI claimed the initial draft would reveal information about sources and methods, ongoing investigations and other sensitive information.

President Trump tweeted following the rebuttal memo's release, calling it "a total political and legal BUST."

He added: "Dem Memo: FBI did no disclose who the client were - the Clinton Campaign and the DNC. Wow!"

Here are some other reactions to the memo:

White House

White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders calls the rebuttal a politically driven document which fails to answer serious concerns raised by the Majoritys memorandum about the use of partisan opposition research from one candidate, loaded with uncorroborated allegations, as a basis to ask a court to approve surveillance of a former associate of another candidate, at the height of a presidential campaign.

Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif.

Ranking Democrat Adam Schiff, who spearheaded the rebuttal's release, said it should "put to rest" any concerns about conduct by the intelligence agencies. Along with a copy of the memo, he tweeted Saturday: "Some time ago, Republicans on our committee released a declassified memo that omitted and distorted key facts in order to mislead the public and impugn the integrity of the FBI. We can now tell you what they left out."

In a follow-up tweet, Schiff responded to Trump's comment about the memo confirming "all of the terrible things that were done."

"Wrong again, Mr. President," Schiff said. "It confirms the FBI acted appropriately and that Russian agents approached two of your advisors, and informed your campaign that Russia was prepared to help you by disseminating stolen Clinton emails."

Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif.

House Intelligence Committee chairman Rep. Devin Nunes, D-Calif., who spearheaded the release of the GOP memo, said in a statement that Americans "now clearly understand that the FBI used political dirt pair for the by Democratic Party to spy on an American citizen from the Republican Party."

"Furthermore, the FISA court was misled about Mr. Page's past interactions with the FBI in which he helped build a case against Russian operatives in America who were brought to justice," Nunes said. "It defies belief that the Department of Justice and the FBI failed to provide information to a secret court that they had provided to an open federal court regarding their past interactions with Mr. Page."

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., tweeted that "the Schiff memo is a well-considered rebuttal to the misinformation in the Nunes memo," which she added, "shouldn't have seen the light of day."

Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said the Democratic memo indicated "that Chairman Nunes cherry-picked and distorted information from sensitive inteligence to sow discord and undermine" the FBI.

"By initially delaying the release of hte memo, the president purposefully silenced any Democratic rebuttal to the fabricated conspiracy theories pushed by Chairman Nunes," he added. "Obviously, there is something the president is afraid of."

Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.

House Minority Leader Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., in a statement said the Democratic response "helps set the record straight on Republicans' attempts to obstruct the investigation into the Trump-Russia scandal."

She added that it was "imperative" for lawmakers on the other side of the aisle to "end their political charades" and said Congress needed to "take real action to investigate the Russian attacks on our democracy."

Sen. Mark Warner, D-VA

Sen. Mark Warner, D-VA, called the FBI's actions "fully appropriate and entirely lawful" and said it was "deeply unfortunate that House Republicans decided to the release classified information in order to mislead the American people for partisan political purposes."

"Now that the Nunes memo has been thoroughly debunked, the White House and its allies in Congress must put a stop to the dangerous partisan sideshows that jeopardize classified sources and methods and focus on Russia's unprecedented interference in our election."

Fox News' Adam Shaw, Madeline Farber and Kaitlyn Scallhorn contributed to this report.President Donald Trump urged the nation to all come together Saturday night as he discussed the Democrats' FISA rebuttal memo, potential new gun legislation and plans for a border wall in an exclusive interview with Fox News.

Speaking with Jeanine Pirro, host of "Justice with Judge Jeanine," Trump said the Democrats' FISA rebuttal memo verified the contents of Republican U.S. Rep. Devin Nunes' memo, which was released previously.

The president asserted that that was likely the reason why Democrats didnt push hard for their own memo to be released.

Nunes, R-Calif., chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, asserts in his document, made public Feb. 2, that the FBI may have relied on questionable sources to obtain a surveillance warrant in connection with the investigation into possible Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

The Democrats' memo, released Saturday, defends the FBI's actions.

Pirro noted that months of investigation into possible ties between the Russians and the Trump campaign and administration have not led to any reference of collusion.

There is no collusion, Trump replied.

I don't want to sound braggadocious, but I was a far better candidate than [Hillary Clinton]. ... Frankly, that's what it was all about. It was nothing to do with Russians, he said.

I don't want to sound braggadocious, but I was a far better candidate than [Hillary Clinton]. ... Frankly, that's what it was all about. It was nothing to do with Russians.  President Donald Trump

When asked about Twitter comments by U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee and a harsh critic of the president, Trump responded by calling for national unity rather than division.

We need intelligence that brings our nation together and a lot of people are tearing our nation apart. ... We have to come together as a nation.

'I get things done'

The president was also asked about the accomplishments of his administration during its first year -- and what made them possible.

I think that Ive had a lot of good ideas and I have a lot of energy. I get things done, Trump said.

Trump added that the Republicans' tax cut bill -- signed into law in December -- was a key reason why his approval ratings were high, but suggested that cuts in regulations may have been even more popular.

I dont think any administration has done as much as weve done in the first year, I dont think its even close, Trump said.

Action on guns

He also spoke about gun regulation in wake of the Feb. 14 massacre in Parkland, Fla.

Ive spoke to many senators, many congressman ... and I think were going to have a great bill put forward very soon having to do with background checks, Trump said.

But he added there was no bigger champion of the Second Amendment protecting the rights of gun owners than him -- and reiterated his stance that teachers should be able to protect schools through with concealed [carry] permits.

Trump said that assuring gun purchasers' mental stability would also be a strong part of improving background checks.

Somebody who is mentally ill should not have a weapon, should not have a gun, he said. Were drawing up very strong legislation right now having to do with background checks, mental illness. I think youre going to have tremendous support.

'I'd like to have a parade'

Trump also spoke about his idea of having a military parade to celebrate the nation's service members and veterans.

Id like to have a parade, a lot of the generals would like to have a parade to celebrate what were doing, he said, adding that the event could possibly be held July 4 or on Veterans Day in November.

Trump also discussed his progress with immigration legislation, saying that although Democrats have agreed to support a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, he needs more in order to finalze a comprehensive immigration plan.

We need something to do with chain migration, we need something to do with visa lottery ... We want people to come in through merit, he said.

Trump ended with some thoughts on first daughter Ivanka Trumps visit to South Korea for the Winter Olympics.

There is no better representative we can have go over to a pretty tough place right now in the world," he said. "We cannot have a better, smarter representative.The California Democratic Party will not endorse Sen. Dianne Feinsteins re-election bid this year, with delegates at the partys annual convention giving the majority of votes to her top primary challenger, progressive State Sen. Kevin de Leon.

De Leon got 54 percent of the vote, compared to 37 percent for the more moderate Feinstein, according to results released Sunday. But neither Democrat will receive the state party endorsement because they failed to reach the 60 percent threshold.

The vote totals were not a surprise, considering the state partys liberal leaning.

And Feinstein leads de Leon by 29 percentage points in the primary race, according to the most recent RealClearPolitics polls average.

The outcome of todays endorsement vote is an astounding rejection of politics as usual, and it boosts our campaigns momentum as we all stand shoulder-to-shoulder against a complacent status quo, said de Leon, according to Politico. California Democrats are hungry for new leadership that will fight for California values from the front lines, not equivocate on the sidelines.

Feinstein, the oldest member of the Senate at 84, is seeking a sixth term.

Feinstein took heat last fall from some on the left after appearing to voice optimism about Trump becoming "a good president. Feinstein also recently said that former President Barack Obamas Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, which Trump is ending, was on shaky legal ground.

DACA provides a level of amnesty to certain illegal immigrants -- many of whom came to the U.S. as children.

Still, Feinstein will be difficult to beat, considering her establishment support and standing among independents and women, two key voting blocs.

It will be tough to outflank her in that capacity, Ben Tulchin, a San Francisco-based pollster, recently said.This month's massacre in Parkland, Fla., seems like a key moment in the nation's ongoing debate about the Second Amendment, former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said during a radio interview Friday.

I think it is time to have a conversation about what the right to bear arms means in the modern world, Rice told radio host Hugh Hewitt on Friday. I dont understand why civilians need to have access to military weapons. We wouldnt say you can go out and buy a tank.

More specifically, Rice said weapons like the AR-15 rifle that authorities say shooting suspect Nikolas Cruz, 19, used to kill 17 students and teachers Feb. 14, shouldn't be available to civilians, the Washington Times reported.

NIKOLAS CRUZ CHARGED IN FLORIDA SCHOOL SHOOTING

But Rice, who served under President George W. Bush, made clear that she remains a believer in the Second Amendment.

We cant throw away the Second Amendment and keep the First, she said, adding that she considers the first two amendments to the Constitution to be indivisible.

We cant throw away the Second Amendment and keep the First.  Condoleezza Rice, former U.S. secretary of state

Hewitt then asked if Rice -- being an educator herself as a political science professor at Stanford University -- supports the idea of teachers carrying guns as a deterrent to potential campus shootings.

Rice said she doesnt think that is going to be the answer, the Washington Times reported.

I dont really like the idea, frankly, of a gun in my classroom, she said.

Rather, she supports looking to law enforcement and guards as ways for protection.

Rice, 63, was exposed to senseless violence at an early age, having grown up in Birmingham, Ala., where the bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in 1963 resulted in the deaths of four young girls. She has written and spoken frequently about the impression the horrific event made on her.

She told Hewitt that despite her reservations about weapons in the classroom, the proposal merited a serious discussion.

Look, if people need to train people to protect our schools, and perhaps even communities want to consider whether or not they need guards to protect the schools, its a sad thing to think that we might, then thats something that we should look at, Rice said.

She told Hewitt that talking across our differences is extremely important and that communities have to pull together.

We have to start listening to each other, first and foremost, Rice said of the people from all sides of the debate on gun control.

Click here for Hugh Hewitts full interview with Condoleezza Rice.A top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee said Sunday that the memo his party released this weekend regarding alleged abuses in the federal governments Russia investigation proves the so-called Steele dossier was only part of the evidence used to get a critical, court-approved surveillance warrant, disputing Republicans argument about the importance of the document.

The memo released Saturday is essentially a rebuttal to the one by Republicans on the GOP-controlled committee that argues the FBI and Justice Department relied on the loosely-vetted dossier to get the warrant on onetime Trump campaign adviser Carter Page from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court.

The application to warrant Carter Page was not based on the Steele dossier, Connecticut Rep. Jim Himes, the second-ranking Democrat on the committee, told Fox News Sunday. The dossier was just a small part of the application.

The memo was compiled by former British spy Christopher Steele and was financed in part by the Democratic National Committee and the 2016 presidential campaign of Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, who was competing against Donald Trump for the White House.

President Trump, who authorized the release of both parties' memos, blasted the one by Democrats within minutes of the intelligence committing releasing it.

The Democrat memo response on government surveillance abuses is a total political and legal BUST, Trump tweeted. Just confirms all of the terrible things that were done. SO ILLEGAL!

And he argued that the Democrats memo didnt challenge a key point in the Republican memo that the Obama administrations FBI didnt disclose to the FISA court who paid for the dossier.

Dem Memo: FBI did not disclose who the clients were -- the Clinton Campaign and the DNC. Wow!, Trump also tweeted.

California GOP Rep. Devin Nunes, chairman of the House Intelligence committee, told Fox News Fox & Friends on Sunday that people should be scared by a political party that says, Dont worry American public, its OK. We do this all the time, were going to go dig up dirt on our opponent, get it from Russians, get it from the Brits and were going to take it to the FBI and open up an investigation into another campaign. Thats what the Democratic memo says.

He also urged the FBI and Justice Department to assure Americans that they would never use political dirt like this again to go to the FISA court.

Himes on Sunday also disputed an argument in the GOP memo, released earlier this month, about then-FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe telling the committee that his agency wouldn't have applied for the warrant without the dossier.

He did not say that a FISA warrant would not have been requested but for the Steele information, said Himes, who argued that he witnessed the closed-door testimony while Nunes did not.

When pressed by Fox host Chris Wallace about why that point wasnt in the Democrats memo, Himes said McCabes testimony was classified, but acknowledged that the ex-FBI official said the dossier was indeed important.

The congressman also argued that Steele was unaware of who was paying for the opposition research -- also known as the anti-Trump dossier -- that he was compiling.

The Democratic rebuttal said: In fact, DOJ and the FBI would have been remiss in their duty to protect the country had they not sought a FISA warrant and repeated renewals to conduct temporary surveillance of Carter Page, someone the FBI assessed to be an agent of the Russian government.

The memo also stated the Page surveillance warrant produced intelligence deemed reliable and sufficient to justify renewals every 90 days, after Republicans questioned in their memo why the FISA court continuously renewed the warrant.

Himes on Sunday also wouldnt comment on whether the investigations, including the Justice Department one now being led by Special Counsel Robert Mueller, would find evidence that the Trump campaign colluded with Russia during the 2016 presidential race.

Im not jumping to conclusions as to what the investigations that are not finished yet are going to show, he said.

But when you have 20 indictments, some of which are, most of which are, Russian related, lets just say without trying to prejudice where this investigation is going to go, its like you cant say that theres absolutely no there there.Former first lady Michelle Obamas forthcoming memoir will hit shelves around the world Nov. 13, Penguin Random House announced Sunday.

The memoir, titled Becoming, will be released in print and digital formats in the U.S. and Canada, and Obama will record an audio edition. The book will simultaneously be published in two dozen languages worldwide.

Upon release of her memoir, Obama will embark on an international book tour. The book will sell for $32.50 in the U.S.

The books publisher said with her book, Obama invites readers into her world, chronicling the experiences that have shaped her  from her childhood on the South Side of Chicago to her years as an executive balancing the demands of motherhood and work, to her time spent at the worlds most famous address.

Penguin Random House described the book as an unusually intimate reckoning from a woman of soul and substance who has steadily defied expectations  and whose story inspires us to do the same.

Click for more from the Washington Examiner.Washington is cranking up pressure on Huawei Technologies Co., the Chinese telecommunications-equipment maker that U.S. officials view as a potential tool for state-sponsored spying.

But across the Atlantic, one of Americas closest allies has taken a different approach. British Prime Minister Theresa May met Huawei Chairwoman Sun Yafang in Beijing earlier this month. Days later, Huawei announced it would invest 3 billion ($4.2 billion) in the U.K. over the next five years.

Britains embrace of Huawei is widening a gulf between the U.S. and several important allies over American allegations the company poses a cybersecurity threat. Some Washington lawmakers have recently expressed worry that Huaweis inroads in countries with close security ties to the U.S. could make their telecommunications networks more vulnerable to Beijing snooping.

A 2012 U.S. congressional report labeled Huawei a national-security threat, saying its equipment could allow China to spy or disable telecommunications networks. Smaller U.S. carriers use Huawei gear, but the report made it politically difficult for bigger ones, such asAT&T Inc., to do so.

Almost everywhere outside the U.S., Huawei has become a colossus. It is the worlds third-largest smartphone company, after Samsung Electronics Co. and Apple Inc. And it has leapfrogged Ericsson and Nokia Corp. to become the worlds largest maker of telecom equipmentthings like switches, routers and cellular-tower gear.

As wireless carriers around the world prepare to upgrade to a faster generation of network technology called 5G, Huawei has emerged as one of the industrys biggest players.

The broad concern in Washington is that Beijing could force Huawei to use its knowledge of its own hardwares design to spy on Americans or cripple communications. Some intelligence officials also fear Huaweis equipment might have security vulnerabilities that could be exploited to remotely control or disable the gear.

Were deeply concerned about the risks of allowing any company or entity that is beholden to foreign governments that dont share our values to gain positions of power inside our telecommunications networks, said Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Christopher Wray, at a Senate committee hearing earlier this month. Lawmakers in the House and Senate have introduced separate bills to bar the U.S. government and its contractors from using Huawei gear.

"Were deeply concerned about the risks of allowing any company or entity that is beholden to foreign governments that dont share our values to gain positions of power inside our telecommunications networks.  FBI Director Christopher Wray

A Huawei spokesman said the company is employee-owned and no government has ever asked it to spy on another country. The company said it poses no greater cybersecurity risk than other vendors, since the telecom-equipment industry shares global supply chains and production capabilities.

Huawei is aware of a range of U.S. government activities seemingly aimed at inhibiting Huaweis business in the U.S. market, the company said in a statement. Huawei is trusted by governments and customers in 170 countries worldwide.

That is what worries some in Washington. Of particular concern is Huaweis major presence in countries in the Five Eyes intelligence-sharing partnership with the U.S. Governments of Britain, Canada and Australia allow major phone carriers in their respective countries to use Huawei equipment but give special scrutiny to Huawei gear. New Zealand, where Huawei gear is also used widely, is the fifth coalition member.

Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger (D., Md.), co-author of the 2012 report, and Rep. Mike Conaway (R., Texas), who introduced the House bill, both cite use of Huawei equipment by Five Eyes allies as a U.S. national-security vulnerability.

Our partners willingness to jeopardize their systems in terms of infiltration puts at risk the information we share and the coordinated actions that might be developed, said Michael Wessel, a member of the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission. The body reports to Congress on the national-security implications of the trade and economic relationship between the two countries.

Britains National Cyber Security Centre, an intelligence-agency division, said telecom systems related to U.K. national security are managed differently than carrier-operated networks the general public uses. In a statement on behalf of the British government, the NCSC called Huawei a globally important company. It said the government and British telecoms operators work with Huawei at home and abroad to ensure the U.K. can continue to benefit from new technology while managing cyber security risks.

The U.K. was the first major European market to welcome Huaweis telecommunications equipment. In 2005, Huawei landed a big contract to supply BT Group PLC with telephone switches and other infrastructure.

British intelligence officials at the time expressed reservations to BT about using Huawei equipment but lacked the authority to stop a private company from doing so, a person familiar with the matter said. A BT spokeswoman declined to comment.

Today, two of the countrys biggest phone carriers, BT and Vodafone Group PLC, use Huawei equipment. Huawei last year opened a joint lab with the University of Edinburgh to research data management and processing.

Huawei has roughly 1,500 employees in the U.K. It has recruited British business and government luminaries, such as John Browne, former CEO of oil giant BP PLC, to populate the board of its U.K. business.

In 2009, British intelligence chiefs warned lawmakers that China could use Huawei to remotely disrupt or disable a telecommunications network. To ease concerns, Huawei the next year opened a testing lab in Banbury, England, near Oxford.

There, about 30 people with U.K. security clearances disassemble Huawei equipment and evaluate hardware and software for security vulnerabilities. Huawei funds and operates the lab, and the staff are Huawei employees. Overseeing the operation is a board composed of mostly senior British intelligence and government officials, as well as three Huawei representatives.

David George-Cosh in Toronto contributed to this article.This is a rush transcript from "Fox News Sunday," February 25, 2018. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

CHRIS WALLACE, "FOX NEWS SUNDAY" HOST: I'm Chris Wallace.

House Democrats release a memo countering GOP claims the feds abused their power surveilling a Trump campaign advisor. And grieving parents and students push school safety to the top of the nation's agenda.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANDREW POLLACK, FATHER OF VICTIM MEADOW POLLACK: How many schools, how many children have to get shot?

DELANEY TARR, SENIOR, MARJORY STONEMAN DOUGLAS HIGH SCHOOL: We have nothing to lose. The only thing we have to gain at this point is our safety.

WALLACE: In the wake of the Florida school massacre, students confront lawmakers, walk out in protest and take their calls all the way to the White House.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I want to listen and then after I listen, we're going to get things done.

WALLACE: We'll discuss what's next with Florida Governor Rick Scott who just announced his plan to improve school safety.

GOV. RICK SCOTT, R-FLORIDA: I have broken my action plan down into three sections.

WALLACE: It's a FOX NEWS SUNDAY exclusive.

Then, we'll talk with two members of the Parkland Community whose lives are changed forever by the mass shooting.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm pissed because my daughter I'm not going to see again!

WALLACE: Andrew Pollack, father of Meadow, who was murdered in the rampage. And student Delaney Tarr, who's mobilizing for change with other survivors.

Plus, the debate over the Trump-Russia investigation intensifies with release of the Democratic rebuttal to that controversial House Republican memo. We'll sit down with Congressman Jim Himes, the number two Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee.

And our power player of the week, a dinosaur hunter makes an amazing find.

All, right now, on "Fox News Sunday."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WALLACE: And hello again from Fox News in Washington.

Lawmakers here in the nation's capital and in statehouses across the country are grappling with how to keep students safe after the deadly mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School just a week and a half ago. In a few minutes, we'll speak with Andrew Pollack, who lost his daughter Meadow, and Delaney Tarr, a student who survived the shooting, about how they're coping and what they're asking of the nation's leaders.

But first I sat down earlier with Florida's Governor Rick Scott to discuss his new package to prevent gun violence.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WALLACE: Governor Scott, welcome back to "Fox News Sunday."

SCOTT: It's great to be here. Thanks for what you do.

WALLACE: Thank you.

Let's start with an outline of the plan you've just announced. Raise the age to buy all guns to 21, ban sale of bump stocks, pass a "red flag law", that let families or authorities go to court to take guns away from mentally ill or violent people, $450 million to harden schools and putting law enforcement in every school, $50 million for mental health.

Briefly, what's the thinking that's behind what you decided to do and what you decided not to do?

SCOTT: Chris, what I did was I listened to a lot of people -- law enforcement, educators and mental health, students, parents and said, what's going to fix this problem? Right?

One, we have to make sure our schools are safe -- law enforcement. Harden the schools. We've got to make sure we deal with the fact that there are people out there that have mental illness issues, they shouldn't have access to a gun. If you threaten people or yourself -- you shouldn't have access to a gun.

So, everything I'm doing is how do you solve the problem? I'm a business person. You go in, you solve the problem, and that's why I'm doing it.

WALLACE: How confident are you that the Florida legislature will pass this package? You've only got two weeks left in this session.

SCOTT: Right. I'm in my -- I'm starting -- I'll be in my last two weeks in session. I've been talking to the House and the Senate. I actually spoke to them this morning.

I'm going to work every day, between now and the end of session, on one purpose -- get this passed. Make sure we get the $500 million funding. Make sure we have the law enforcement, the mental health issues, make sure we're not -- people are not going to have access to a gun. I'm going to make sure parents feel confident in sending their child to school.

WALLACE: During your eight years as governor, you have gotten an A-plus rating from the NRA, but in this package, you've broken with them on a few things -- raising the age to buy rifles from 18 to 21, the red flag law -- why?

SCOTT: You know, I'm an NRA member. I believe in Second Amendment. I believe in the First Amendment, all the amendments.

I think most members in the NRA agree with me, this is logical. I'm sure there's going to be some that disagree. But I'm a dad. I'm a granddad and I'm a governor. I want my state to be safe. I want every child to be in a safe environment when they're trying to be educated.

WALLACE: But you've been a hardliner for the NRA and gun rights. There's a reason they gave you an A-plus. Back in 2011, you signed something called the Docs versus Glocks law, which prohibited doctors from asking any of their patients whether or not they had guns.

In 2016, after the terrible mass shooting at the Orlando Pulse nightclub, you said the Second Amendment doesn't kill people, evil kills people.

And just this last April, here's you in talking to the NRA. Here you are.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SCOTT: We need a majority that has the capacity to comprehend that these three words in the Constitution: shall not infringe.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALLACE: To the degree that you now want to limit some gun rights, some would say that you want to infringe -- Governor, were you wrong back then?

SCOTT: No. Here's what you have to do in this job. You have to weigh individual rights, which I clearly believe in, right? I believe in the Second Amendment.

But you also have to make sure you protect your, you know, your citizens, your kids. And so, you've got weigh each of these things. What I did here is say -- I'm going to do what I can to make sure guns are not in the hands of the wrong people.

If you have a mental illness, you shouldn't have a gun. If you've threatened others or you threaten yourself, you shouldn't have a gun.

So I'm going to do everything I can to do that, at the same time, harden our schools, significant law enforcement presence and also make sure we share information. That's one of the issues that we deal with. We've got to share information when we know somebody has mental problems, you've got to be -- all the agencies, whether it's law or, you know, state agencies have to share information.

WALLACE: One of the things you're not doing that many Parkland students want is you're not banning assault weapons. Why not?

SCOTT: Well, I'm not into banning, you know, specific weapons. I think what you need to do is ban specific people from having weapons. Focus on the problem. We've got to focus on solutions that work -- banning the people that are going to potentially cause the problems. So it's all these things together.

But I'm against people that are going to potentially cause the harm and we know they are. There are so many -- I mean, look at what's common. These people are talking about what they're doing. They're threatening others.

This individual -- look at all the problems he had and it wasn't stopped.

WALLACE: Yes, I'm going to pick up on the lapses and that's certainly a big part of the problem, at least in this particular case.

But I want to focus on the guns just one more time. Look at these mass shootings in just a little over the last two years.

December 2015, San Bernardino, 14 dead. June 2016, Orlando, 49 dead. October 2017, Las Vegas, 58 dead. November 2017, Sutherland Springs, Texas, 26 dead. And now Parkland, 17 dead.

I understand, it's the person who fires the weapon. As you say, it's evil. But don't these assault weapons allow an evil person to kill more people, more quickly?

SCOTT: You know, when you think about any of these things -- I went to Pulse. You know, we had the airport shooting a little over a year ago and now, we have this -- I mean, your heart goes out to everybody that's been impacted.

So, you've got to weigh. You've got to weigh our constitutional rights, which I believe in, against public safety. So, and that's what I'm trying to do with this. And that's why it's not just one thing. It's everything.

I listened, I listened to law enforcement. I brought them up. I listened to educators. I listened to mental health people. I listened to students. I've talked to parents.

And I believe what we're doing will -- I believe it will stop this from happening. That's my goal. I want to do everything I can in my job right now to make sure this doesn't happen again.

WALLACE: President Trump wants to train and pay teachers to patrol the schools and if there's a shooter, to take them on. Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: And a teacher would have shot the hell out of him before he knew what happened.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALLACE: He's talking about that a lot. You oppose arming teachers.

SCOTT: I disagree with him. I believe you've got to focus on people that are well-trained law enforcement, that are trained to do this. I want to make sure we have significant law enforcement presence on top of hardening the schools -- metal detectors and bulletproof glass, better perimeter fencing, all these things.

And the other thing is I want to give our sheriff's department in each county the authority to do, create the program on a per school basis, and that parents can feel comfortable that their child is going to a safe school.

WALLACE: But why not, if there's a teacher and -- you know, not every teacher, only teachers that are trained, only teachers that volunteer, that if there's a teacher in a classroom and the shooter doesn't know where that teacher is, why not?

SCOTT: I want our teachers to teach and I want our law enforcement officers to be able to protect the students. I want each group to focus on what they're good at.

WALLACE: As you mentioned, there were a number of security lapses in this particular case.

Last month, someone called the FBI tip line and said this: I know he, the shooter, is going to explode.

In November, the woman whose home the shooter was staying in called the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Department, the 911, number and gave this warning.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

ROXANNE DESCHAMPS, HOUSED NIKOAS CRUZ: I cannot have him on the premises now. He put the gun in the head of this brother before, so -- it's not the first time and he did that to his mom.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

WALLACE: And reportedly, not one but several of the Broward County sheriff's deputies failed to get into the school while the attack was going on. What are you going to do about that?

SCOTT: First off, can you imagine being a parent that lost a loved one and know that all these failures, right? I mean, we've got to have accountability in this country.

With the FBI -- what happened? Tell us. They still -- this is -- you know, a week and a half after -- who was called? What was the process? How was it broken?

Give us the facts. Hold people accountable.

The local sheriff's department, they've got to be completely transparent. We have to do a thorough investigation and whoever didn't do their job has to be held accountable.

I talk to law enforcement around the state. There's no one I talk to that is not disgusted that the local sheriff's deputy that was there did not go in and kill that individual.

WALLACE: Governor, if the Florida legislature passes your entire package, if Congress passes everything that President Trump is talking about, what can you say to the young people, the students who are watching you right now? Will they be safe?

SCOTT: I'm going to do everything I can -- remember, I'm a father, I'm a grandfather -- one of the first things I said when this happened, I called each of my daughters and I said: Unfortunately, in your lifetime, you're going to have to teach your children how to deal with an acting shooter, that's unfortunate we're going to have to do that, we're going to do everything we can, but each one of us is going to have to be prepared.

WALLACE: Governor Scott, thank you. Thanks for coming in and we'll obviously be following how your package goes in the Florida legislature.

SCOTT: Thanks, Chris.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WALLACE: Coming up we will speak with two members of the Parkland community who lived through the school massacre and are now calling on lawmakers to make sure a tragedy like this never happens again.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WALLACE: One of the big differences between previous mass shootings and the tragedy in Parkland, Florida, has been the active response and eloquence of the survivors and the victims' families. Students like senior Delaney Tarr.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DELANEY TARR, SENIOR, MARJORY STONEMAN DOUGLAS HIGH SCHOOL: The only reason that was gotten so far is because we are not afraid of losing money, we are not afraid of getting reelected or not getting reelected. We have nothing to lose. The only thing we have to gain at this point is our safety.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALLACE: And parents like Andrew Pollack, who lost his daughter Meadow.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDREW POLLACK, FATHER OF VICTIM MEADOW POLLACK: There should have been one school shooting and we should have fixed it. And I'm pissed because my daughter I'm not going to see again! She's not here. She's not here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALLACE: Delaney and Andrew join us now from Coral Spring, Florida, and I want to say right at the start how sorry all of us are for your loss and what you've had to go through.

Andrew, when you were at the White House, at that very raw, emotional moment, you said after 9/11 we fixed the situation. We made it a lot harder for people to get onto planes with guns. When you hear what Governor Scott just said, when you hear what President Trump is saying, would that fixed the problem?

POLLACK: It's not going to be fixed because I just heard what you said. What you are focusing on, polarizing this event, the murder of these kids. You are talking about gun control. I just had to listen to you and Governor Scott talk about gun control.

Gun control is a big issue. No one in America is going to gun together on gun control, Chris. We're here -- you didn't say one thing about fixing it. The American people, we could get together on school safety, but when you polarize it, this event and every other media, we don't care about gun control right now. That's a big issue in the country and you are not going to get everyone together on it.

But we are going to get everyone together on fixing our schools and I just listen to you. So, I just listen to you. You didn't talk -- you didn't mention one question to Governor Scott about what are we going to do about the security of our children? How are we going to do that?

But you are just talking about gun control, which is going to just give you more ratings and every other media or event. My daughter is dead, I want to know our kids are going to school in Kentucky on Monday, how are those kids safe? How about bringing that up to the media? How about bringing that up to Governor Scott?

Not about guns. It's not about guns now. Today, it's not about guns. It's about the safety in our schools.

And that's what you ask Governor Scott about and I got to listen to that at my house. My kid is not here because the schools weren't safe, that's the main thing. If you go into a courthouse, the judge is safe. The stenographer is not worried someone is coming in with a gun because they can't get in with a gun.

The American people, we just want our school safe. We don't want to talk about guns right now.

WALLACE: Well, let me bring -- let me bring in Delaney, I very much respect what you have to say, sir.

Delaney, your thoughts about what you are hearing from the governor and from the president, which is about a lot more than just guns. Guns as part of it, but they also are talking about hardening schools, about arming teachers. Your thoughts on what you are hearing?

TARR: It is -- it's a very multidimensional issue and he does -- Andrew did say, he said this is about school safety, and personally, I think that there is also an issue with the fact that he was able to access this weapon, this gun.

I -- personally, I do not believe that arming teachers is a solution here. I know many people, Marco Rubio, Rick Scott, they have also said that arming teachers is not a solution here. But there are many different issues that need to be addressed.

WALLACE: What do you think, Delaney? What are the issues that you think need to be addressed?

TARR: I absolutely do agree that we need to -- we need to address the failures that have created a situation like this, a horrible situation like this, all of the things that have failed us, all of the systems that have failed us. I think that we do need to focus on improving our school safety a little bit, on improving our officers, and I also believe that we need to make it harder for people to access guns when they are not mentally stable, when they are young, when they are not in a place where they should be owning a weapon like this.

WALLACE: Andrew, I want to go back -- I understand your strong feelings, but isn't this issue -- isn't this issue of mental health and trying to make sure that sick people don't have access to guns, isn't that part of the problem?

POLLACK: OK. But was that -- was that a big issue when we were protecting airports? Was that a big issue? I'm not saying it's not an issue, Chris. But when we were protecting our federal issues, is that a big issue?

We have our children in these classes which is -- that's the issue is OK. That could be worked out. But right now, the country just wants to come together and make our schools safe for our kids.

There is no other issue than our kids going to class and not thinking about some monster is going to stalk (ph) them in the hallway. That's what we need to focus on and we could all come together as Americans instead of other issues and those other issues -- I agree with you there are other issues there, but the main issue right now is fixing the schools.

WALLACE: So, let's talk specifically about that, sir. When you say fix the schools -- I mean, you've compared it to airports. Are you saying school security, ID checks? You tell me what it is that you would like to see.

POLLACK: I think that -- I'm not -- I'm not an expert in it but I think we need to hire the experts and check every school individually and make sure they are safe for the children, you know? There's a serious problem. Like I said, if the new norm has to be our kids are safe in school. This can't happen again. I can't let it happen to another kid in another state.

Like right now, Governor Scott, Governor Scott is doing what he had to do, but he also had to go visit the parents of dead kids for two weeks. I'm on right now today because I want to tell every governor in every other state -- they need to be proactive right now. They need to get a bill in place what all -- and we are going to put all America together and work with these governors to protect our schools.

We can't have another shooting in this country. I can't live with it and I'm -- this has -- this has to stop with Parkland and my daughter's death can't be in vain. It has to be the last one.

WALLACE: Andrew, what do you think about the teacher issue? And, you know, I know this must be incredibly painful, but now we hear the stories that there were police on the scene and they didn't go in, at least three sheriff's deputies were there and didn't go in. What --

POLLACK: Yes. One deputy that worked there, Peterson. He worked there and he's a coward. He was -- he stood by the door. I know is a fact he could have made it to the third floor and saved all six victims if he wasn't some little -- I can't even -- words can't even describe the way I think about him. But I'm not trying to think about that stuff because that's just negative and it's just going to make me toxic.

So, I just want to get the word out to the governors of every state that they have to do something now, today. Get together, they can call me, I have other dead parents here, we all want to help them, and let's make the school safe.

WALLACE: Delaney, when you hear that -- and it's not just the sheriffs or the deputies that didn't come in but all --

(CROSSTALK)

POLLACK: A lot of failures, Chris, that needs to be -- there's a lot of incompetence all around. I could write you a book on all the incompetence that happened at that school. But that's -- that's not going to fix it or bring any of our dead kids back. I just don't want any more dead kids.

And all that stuff is going to come out and I don't want to focus on that. I'm on with you, Chris, today to tell the American people that are messaging me, what we need to do is fix it now in every other school, make it the new norm now. You've got to have metal detectors. It's got to be like a courthouse, like a federal building, like an airport. That's how we need our schools now.

WALLACE: Delaney, you go back to school this week, how are you feeling about that?

DELANEY TARR, SENIOR, MARJORY STONEMAN DOUGLAS HIGH SCHOOL: It's very daunting to imagine going back to a place that just two weeks prior held such horrors and it's scary because I don't know if I'm going to be safe there, but I know that I have to. I know that now more than ever I am proud of who I am and I feel like I need that sense of normalcy because in all of this, it's like I can't even be a high schooler anymore and I just want to be a high school senior again. And it's so hard to think about even doing that at this point.

WALLACE: Andrew, when we heard you at the president's listening session, and I speak as a parent and a grandparent, my heart broke for you, I'm sure a lot of people did around the country. How are you doing, sir?

POLLACK: It's rough. I have my moments, you know? It's like a wave. A wave of emotions but I have this fury, fire inside of me that's driving me that I can't explain it. I can walk through flames right now. I could -- there's nothing I can't do.

And I just want to get the word out to everybody in this country that it could happen to you. I'm a real. I'm a real guy. I grew up in Long Island. I didn't mean -- I never thought this could happen, and it happened.

There's parents here that came here to support me today. This young lady has to live within. It stops. And it's an easy fix, Chris, you know? You just need some competent people to get together and put the right plan in place and make it so the kids are safe. That's all -- you know, they've got to be safe in school.

WALLACE: Andrew, Delaney, thank you both for sharing your stories. Our hearts go out to both of you, but more important, we're going to stay on the story. I promise you, Andrew, I understand that it is not just a gun-control issue, and we are going to do everything that we can to make our schools safer and you are both welcome back anytime as part of that effort. Thank you both.

POLLACK: Thanks, Chris.

TARR: Thank you.

WALLACE: Up next, we'll bring in our Sunday group to discuss the push to respond to another mass murder and whether this time will be any different.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WALLACE: Coming up, the Democrats released their response to the Republican FISA memo.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: That was really just a confirmation of, if you call it the Republican memo or the Nunes memo, it's referred to as a lot of things, but that was nothing but a confirmation.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

WALLACE: We'll speak with a key Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WAYNE LAPIERRE, NRA CEO: Chris Murphy, Nancy Pelosi and more cheered on by the national media eager to blame the NRA and called for even more government control.

DANA LOESCH, NRA SPOKESPERSON: Many in legacy media love mass shootings. You guys love it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALLACE: NRA officials Wayne LaPierre and Dana Loesch going after Democrats and the media in the wake of the mass shooting in Florida.

And it's time now for our Sunday group.

GOP strategist Karl Rove, reporter for Axios Jonathan Swan, former Democratic Congresswoman Donna Edwards, and Kimberley Strassel of The Wall Street Journal.

Kim, you didn't go nearly as far as the NRA folks did, but you wrote a pretty tough column in "The Wall Street Journal" on Friday. I want to put some of it up.

You write, age limits and gun restrictions aren't an answer, they're a sideshow.

Do you agree with what we just heard from Andrew Pollack, with that's not the focus and it has to be on keeping school safe, hardening them like airports?

KIMBERLEY STRASSEL, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: The -- the -- I think that we're having progress this time after this because we are finally talking about the things that actually really matter. And they are, one, protecting vulnerable communities. It is no accident that these shooters go to places that are gun free zones because they know they'll be the only bad person with a weapon and no one there to stop them. And, two, mental health, particularly those with severe mental illness and how we both have to get treatment for these people, help them overall, but make sure that they do not have easy access to guns. And these have been the failings that have been consistent in nearly every one of these events.

WALLACE: Congresswoman Edwards, Kim writes in her column that raising age limits, banning weapons are empty gestures. Do you agree with her?

DONNA EDWARDS, FORMER U.S. CONGRESSWOMAN (D-MD): Well, I mean, I think clearly somebody who's 19 or 21 who has a diagnosed mental illness that presents a danger is not going to be stopped from buying a gun. But what we have to do is that the difference in the -- in mass shootings is that somebody who shows up who has a weapon that's turned into an automatic weapon changes that place, kills more people. And so I think we do have to reinstate the assault weapons ban. I think that we do have to make sure that people who are prohibited really are prohibited and can't slip through and get a weapon anyway. And so these are things that are common sense measures that most Americans support. And the NRA has proven this last week, is completely out of -- out of step with the vast majority of the American people.

STRASSEL: Can I just -- I want to --

WALLACE: Go ahead.

STRASSEL: No one -- no one has used an automatic weapon in any event.

EDWARDS: They convert it. They have converted semiautomatic weapons to make them effectively automatic. The AR-15 --

STRASSEL: With a bump stock.

EDWARDS: The ARK-15, with a -- with a bump stock, with a magazine clip that, you know, fires in a rapid speed and -- and -- and more ammunition turns that into a much more dangerous --

WALLACE: But, congresswoman, there was -- you know, and I got a stern talking to from Andrew Pollack. And -- and part of what he's saying is, which -- which actually, I think, is a -- is a -- is an argument, you can argue whether he's right or wrong, is, you're going to have that argument. You and Kim are going to disagree. People in Congress are going to disagree. And their -- let's be honest, we're not going to ban assault weapons anytime soon. And he's saying, let's do what we can agree on, which is harden schools. Make them like airports, metal detectors, security guards, all of that.

EDWARDS: Well, we -- we could turn our schools into prisons and it's still not going to keep people who are able to go and get a weapon that they couldn't ordinarily get across a counter and in some other way from turning those weapons into weapons of war in our schools and our shopping malls and our churches. I mean we've seen this over and over again. And if the NRA wants to use its money to stand in the way of sensible gun legislation, they can do that. But I think these children have demonstrated, these young people have demonstrated this last week, that that is no longer acceptable.

WALLACE: Kim, and then I want to bring the gentleman in.

STRASSEL: But, no, we -- we need to be talking about mental illness. These people are -- getting rid of -- by the way, too, what Chris just said matters so much. You know and I know, we both know, no one's reinstating an assault weapons ban anytime soon. So we can spend the next two years fighting about that or we can actually do something proactive in the schools and in other vulnerable communities, churches. Again, no accident that these are the places that the targeters go out and go after.

WALLACE: Karl, we've seen all this way too many times and we almost know the script before it happens. There's a massacre. There is all this demand for change. There's a debate. And nothing happens.

President Trump said this week, this time is going to be different. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We're talking about common sense. And it's a great thing. And the NRA will -- will back it. I really feel very confident the NRA will back it and so will Congress and so will the Senate.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALLACE: Is he right? Is the president right? Is this time different?

KARL ROVE, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: It feels like it because principally the focus, while we've had the -- the traditional debate we've always had about weapons and guns, this debate, as Mr. Pollock so powerfully put it, is focused on keeping our school safe.

And, look, think about this. We had so many failures of our local law enforcement, 39 times this kids was -- the police were called about this kid. We had 911 warnings about his mental state. We had social media postings. The system failed.

We had an armed guard at -- stationed at the school who stood outside for four minutes while shots rang out inside. We had him joined by at least three other deputies who, again, stood outside while shots rang out and people were killed. And we had failures -- the FBI -- the FBI received on its -- on its -- on its --

WALLACE: So what's the answer?

KARL: Well, the -- the answer is, take a look at every one of those failures of those systems and fix them. Find out what other failures there are. This bill by Senators Cornyn and Murphy, a bipartisan answer to fix the problems in the federal registry. We had an action taken by the secretary of the Air Force which was far-reaching. She was the -- she was the one charged with -- after the shooting in Sutherland Springs, Texas, with -- with fixing the problem of the federal government having 7,000 Air Force personnel, I believe the number was, who should not have had weapons who were not in the database that would have kept them from getting weapons.

So -- but I think Mr. Pollack has hit it. This is about looking at our schools.

I had breakfast yesterday morning with my goddaughter, who's in high school in Frisco, Texas. And she talked about how it is routine for their teachers to lock the doors in the classroom. Now, I can't remember that when I went to high school.

WALLACE: No (ph).

ROVE: I cannot. But that's the world in which we live. And we've got to look at these places and say, what can we do to limit the number of access points, to increase the security, and to make it more less likely that if somebody attempts this kind of an act, they can be stopped and thwarted.

WALLACE: Jonathan, what are you hearing at the White House? Is the president -- how hard is he prepared to push the package that we're hearing about, some of which involve guns, some of which doesn't involve guns, and is it realistic to think that he's going to be able to bring, as he claims, Republican leaders who have killed gun legislation and a lot of these issues before, and the NRA along, because there're some issues here like the red flag law, like raising the age that are going to be very tough for the NRA to swallow?

JONATHAN SWAN, NATIONAL POLITICAL REPORTER, AXIOS: Well, the few issues that he's hung up on, the -- raising the age limit, he's very passionate about that. Privately, immediately since the -- this terrible tragedy, he was saying kids can't be allowed to have done. He just kept saying that. And people would try to work out what he meant. And then finally he put a number around it. He said, if you're under 21, you shouldn't have a gun.

Well, I don't see that flying through Congress. I mean the right are not happy about that. And, you know, I've been getting text messages this morning, even just pointing to his interview last night with Jeanine Pirro, Judge Jeanine, he kept pushing that point. I don't see that getting anywhere in Congress.

The Cornyn bill, people talk about it like it's a fait accompli, you know, fixing this national instant background check. That's even going to be like, you know, not the easiest thing in the world. I think they can get it through. But the problem is, people will want to turn this into a Christmas tree. They'll want to attach every little thing that they've been wanting in terms of gun control. And that's the way you kill these bills.

So I think if they keep it kind of narrow and focused, they can get something done there. But the school safety issue seems to be the one that culturally Trump is most passionate about. And I think he's probably in the best position to change the conversation --

WALLACE: But -- but even on that issue, Jonathan --

SWAN: It's a state issue, right?

WALLACE: I was going to -- well, one is a state issue. Also the idea of the teachers.

SWAN: Right. Very controversial.

WALLACE: Even Governor Scott's against that.

SWAN: (INAUDIBLE). Yes.

STRASSEL: Well, look, I mean, too, I think you have to put it in the right framework. If you're talking about forcing or requiring teachers to do something like -- that's not going to fly. But, look, we know that probably the most law-abiding part of the public are people who have concealed carry permits. They've had to go through a lot of background checks. They've had to go through training. There's surely some teachers out there, quite a few probably, who have concealed carry permits. If they want to be more protected in the classroom, should we tell them no? I think that's a debate that needs to happen out there.

Otherwise ways just for teachers to protect, maybe give them a flash bang or something so that when someone runs in, they have some opportunity to help protect their kids. But those are the debates we need to be having.

EDWARDS: We don't have enough money to put firearms in schools. What we need to do is to make sure that our children are safe by making sure that people who have mental illnesses, who are otherwise prohibited, should not be able to get a weapon and take these weapons of war off the streets.

STRASSEL: (INAUDIBLE).

WALLACE: All right, we have to -- we have to break away here. I just -- I just want to say, though, as I listen to you, frankly, I'm discouraged because the same divisions that have stopped progress in the past, I'm worried that maybe it's going to stop it again.

ROVE: Be more optimistic.

STRASSEL: Yes.

WALLACE: Be more optimistic?

EDWARDS: Young people.

WALLACE: Well, I have to say, they have been --

EDWARDS: They will change it.

WALLACE: The one silver lining in this whole thing, the students.

Thank you, panel. See you next Sunday.

When we come back, the Democrats counter memo on alleged government surveillance abuses is not public. We'll speak with a key member of the House Intelligence Committee, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHRIS WALLACE, FOX ANCHOR: Breaking now, the Democratic rebuttal to that Republican memo that alleged the FBI and Justice Department abused their powers to surveil a former Trump campaign official.

Joining us now from Connecticut, Congressman Jim Himes, the number two Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee.

Congressman, the Republican memo says that the FBI and the Justice Department based their application to the FISA court to surveil that Trump campaign adviser, Carter Page, based it on the so-called Steele dossier. In the memo, the Democratic memo, you say that's not true. Explain.

REP. JIM HIMES, D-CONN., INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE: Yes. So, Chris -- and -- and thanks for having me on.

You know, as the Democratic memo now makes plain, the application to the FISA court for a warrant to monitor Carter Page was not based on the Steele information. And -- and if we have time, we'll cover the question of whether the Steele information has been -- the Steele dossier has been in any way discredited because it largely hasn't. But, nonetheless, the point is that the -- as memo makes clear, Carter Page was of interest for his connections to the Russians for years before 2016. October of 2016. He had had all sorts of contact. He had been with the Russians. He'd been interviewed by the FBI. And so there's a long history of which the dossier is just a small part of that application to the Republican judges for a warrant.

WALLACE: But -- but let me -- but let me pick up on that because in the GOP memo that was put out by the majority, Devin Nunes and the majority, they make this statement. And I'm going to put up the quote from the memo. Deputy FBI Director McCabe testified before the committee on -- in December 2017 that no surveillance warrant would have been sought from the FISC, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, without the Steele dossier information.

Congressman, nowhere in your ten page memo do you and the other Democrats rebut that.

HIMES: That is true, but I was in the room. Devin Nunes was not in the room when Andrew McCabe was interviewed. And I will tell you that he did not say that. He did not say that a FISA warrant would not have been requested but for the Steele information.

Now he --

WALLACE: Well, then, why didn't you put that in your memo?

HIMES: Well, because the transcript of our conversation with Andrew McCabe was classified. And the Democratic memo -- this is important, Chris. The Democratic memo, unlike the Republican memo, contained no additional classified information that was made -- that was made public. So, again, I was in the room. Andrew McCabe did not say that the FISA warrant would not have been sought.

What he did say was that the warrant as -- the application itself, which, of course, went through all sorts of scrutiny at DOJ and then was scrutinized by a Republican federal judge, that all of its pieces were important. But he absolutely did not say that it would not have been filed had it not been for the dossier and for (INAUDIBLE).

WALLACE: All right, I want to get to this question of classified information in a moment, but I just want to follow up on the Steele dossier.

One of the Republicans' main complaints is that the government never informed the court -- when it sought the warrant to monitor Carter Page -- never informed them that the dossier had been paid for by the Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee.

You -- in writing the memo -- I say you collectively -- quote this from the application for the warrant. The FBI speculates that the identified U.S. person -- and you identify him as Glenn Simpson of Fusion GPS -- was likely looking for information that could have been used to discredit candidate number one's -- that's Donald Trump's -- campaign speculates likely.

Shouldn't the FBI have been a lot clearer to the court that the Steele dossier was bought and paid for by the Clinton campaign?

HIMES: Well, remember when Steele is doing this work, he doesn't know that fact. In other words, he's been hired by Fusion GPS, which has been hired by a law firm, which has been hired by the DNC and the Clinton campaign.

But to answer your question directly, Chris, you can read, and the American public can read, what was actually shown to the judge. It says that the individual who did this work was acting in a way that was designed to find dirt, not the exact word, but designed to find dirt on Donald Trump, was being paid, so why didn't the FBI, in the FISA, application name Clinton, DNC and Fusion GPS? It's a great question, Chris, because it has always been policy of the DOJ and the FBI, when you are doing these things, if there is an individual, an American individual, who is not under scrutiny, to refer to them as U.S. person one, U.S. person two.

And I remind you that the last fall scandal that Devin Nunes generated was around whether there had been improper unmasking of U.S. person information by Susan Rice, by Sam Power. We went through a whole investigation around that. And so now the Republicans are saying, well, they didn't specifically name Clinton and DNC. Well, that, of course, is the policy that FBI and DOJ have observed forever on these applications, not to name U.S. citizens.

WALLACE: Here is the reaction yesterday from the Republican chair of the House Intelligence Committee, Devin Nunes.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. DEVIN NUNES, R-CALI., INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE CHAIR: They are advocating that it's OK for the FBI and DOJ to use political dirt paid for by one campaign and use it against the other campaign. And I don't care who you are, a Republican, a Democrat or an independent, in the United States of America that is unacceptable.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALLACE: Doesn't Nunes have a point, sir?

HIMES: No, he doesn't. And, furthermore, he has no credibility. Again, we know that Devin -- Devin of the midnight run where he goes to the White House to get information to suggest that there had been wiretapping of Donald Trump. We know that that's not true. I referred to the unmasking scandal, which turns out not to be true. Now it turns out that the FBI used, as part of a much larger FISA application, some information that it received from Christopher Steele, a highly trusted source with a long history with the FBI --

WALLACE: But, wait. But at a certain point James Comey testified -- I think it was to your committee -- that the Steele dossier was unverified and salacious. So was it --

HIMES: So --

WALLACE: Was it reliable or was it unverified and salacious?

HIMES: Well, remember, unverified does not mean unreliable. Unverified means that the FBI has not been able to do all of their work to determine what is true and what is not true. That's the nature of raw intelligence.

But, Chris, I'm glad you bring up Jim Comey, because the whole premise of Devin's campaign here is that the FBI and the DOJ were biased against Donald Trump.

Chris, let's take a big step back here. In the campaign itself, while -- and now we know because you can read about it in the Democratic memo -- while there was an FBI investigation of the Trump campaign and of multiple individuals in the Trump campaign, you do not hear a word from the FBI about that very serious investigation about the possibility of Russian collusion with the campaign, but you hear Jim Comey, time and again out there, saying, we are investigating Hillary Clinton, now we're not investigating Hillary Clinton, now we're back to investigating Hillary Clinton.

A lot of people believe that Jim Comey's actions may have prevented Hillary Clinton from becoming president of the United States. But Devin's contention is that, oh, well, the FBI and the DOJ are actually biased against Donald Trump. I've got to tell you, if there was any bias within the FBI and the DOJ, they should -- they had a very, very weird way of showing it during the campaign itself.

WALLACE: Well, here you're getting to -- to the bottom line because all -- for all the talk about dueling memos, which I think are confusing a lot of people, and the surveillance of Carter Page, most people want to know one thing, is there hard evidence that Donald Trump and/or his campaign colluded with the Russians to interfere with the 2016 election? As you sit here today as the number two Democrat on the House Intel Committee, do you have any evidence of that or not?

HIMES: What we know -- and I'm not going to sort of preview what any of the investigations are going to do -- what we know is that two of the Trump campaign's foreign policy advisors have now either pled guilty or -- or been indicted. And the national security advisor for Donald Trump has pled guilty to lying about contacts with Russia. We know that those contacts exist. We know that George Papadopoulos had conversations with Russia. Carter Page --

WALLACE: But -- but -- but-- but forgive me, sir, there's no evidence in any of that, at least so far, that there was collusion.

HIMES: Well, it depends on how you define collusion. When George Papadopoulos hears from somebody associated with the Russians that they're about to release a whole bunch of information and then they do, when Donald Trump Jr. invites Russians into his office in order to get dirt on the Clinton campaign. Chris, you tell me if that crosses your threshold for collusion. But that is hardly really (INAUDIBLE) innocent (ph).

WALLACE: Well, frankly, sir, as long as you asked, no, it doesn't. I mean -- I mean you can say that they were conversations, but that certainly doesn't indicate there was a conspiracy by the Trump campaign and the Russian -- and the Kremlin to -- to interfere. I mean that indicates that there were -- there were contacts, but it certainly doesn't -- are you basing it on -- on that?

HIMES: Well, again, I'm not jumping to conclusions as to what the investigations that are not finished yet are going to show. I'm just going to tell you that if nothing else, if the president of the United States' son says, boy, do I want to get dirt on Hillary Clinton and I can't wait to release it during the summer when it will do the maximum damage, and he knows that the individuals concerned are Russian -- and, by the way, this is not the investigation, this is Donald Trump Jr. admitting to this meeting when, you know, you have 20 indictments, some of which are -- most of which are Russian related, let's just say, without trying to prejudice where this investigation is going to go, it's like -- it's -- you can't say that there is absolutely no there there. There were multiple contacts.

WALLACE: Congressman --

HIMES: There was a desire to get information. You know, there's more work yet to be done here, Chris.

WALLACE: Congressman -- Congressman Himes, thank you. Thanks for your time. Let's continue this conversation. We'll stay on top of where your committee goes from here.

HIMES: Thanks very much, Chris.

WALLACE: Up next, our "Power Player of the Week." How one man's hoppy led to a discovery 100 million years in the making.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WALLACE: Dinosaurs, space flight, a time machine. This story has it all. Is it this summer's blockbuster movie? No, it's our "Power Player of the Week."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RAY STANFORD, ARMATURE PALEONTOLOGIST: It was almost unbelievable. I couldn't sleep for two nights. It's like you've walked into the twilight zone and you -- you can't believe what you've seen.

WALLACE (voice over): Ray Stanford is a 79-year-old amateur paleontologist.

STANFORD: Well, that's interesting.

WALLACE: And he's talking about what he saw in the summer of 2012 after having lunch with his wife Sheila who worked at the Goddard Space Flight Center.

STANFORD: From my car, about 90 feet away, I spotted a smooth, light brown rock sticking out. And it looked like the kind of material that we sometimes find tracks in.

WALLACE: When he says tracks, Stanford is talking about dinosaur tracks.

STANFORD: Much to my surprise, the nicest, nodosaur track that I've ever seen anywhere, I think. Then it dawned on me, this is Goddard Space Flight Center. They're looking out into space millions of years ago, (INAUDIBLE) down to the earth 110 million years ago. And I thought, wow, this is a wonderful paradox. I want to write some poetry.

WALLACE: Stanford's excitement is understandable because he's been hunting dinosaur fossils and tracks for the last quarter century. And he's made hundreds of finds.

STANFORD: Yes, this is a mammal footprint from 110, 112 million years ago.

WALLACE: One of them is in the Smithsonian.

STANFORD: It was the first hatchling nodosaur, an armored dinosaur, that

had never been found in the whole world.

WALLACE: But there was a problem with his latest discovery. The Gotthard Center was putting up a new building there, so they excavated the 4 tons stone and made a fiberglass cast of it, which Stanford got to study in his basement. And that's when the excitement really started.

STANFORD: Well, this was the nodosaur track, the first find with the baby walking right -- right across it.

WALLACE (on camera): So this is the big dinosaur and this is a baby.

STANFORD: That's the baby of the same species.

WALLACE (voice over): But along what appears to have been a prehistoric floodplain, there were more than 70 tracks of eight different species.

STANFORD: Mammal tracks here, some scratching around over there, mammal tracks here. You had theropods flesh eating small (INAUDIBLE) walking across here.

WALLACE (on camera): So the theropods are here tracking the mammals?

STANFORD: That -- well it certainly would appear because they're walking so slowly.

WALLACE: How do you know that they're walking slowly?

STANFORD: Because they're so close together.

WALLACE: They're creeping.

STANFORD: Yes. And we've -- we've done a calculation. They're moving less than a half-mile-per-hour.

WALLACE (voice over): That's what Stanford says was so exciting. Fossils show how these animals died, but tracks showed how they lived.

STANFORD: I was looking into a time machine and could see these big flying reptiles landing and the little theropods sneaking around, looking down at these little mammals digging in -- maybe that wouldn't affect most people that way, but it sure affected me that way.

WALLACE: Stanford's find was announced in January. He calls it a snapshot created before more animals had a chance to cover the tracks.

STANFORD: I suspect that a flood came after this had had a chance to dry out just a little bit, a flood came and covered it and preserved it.

WALLACE (on camera): So Washington really was a swamp?

STANFORD: Oh, indeed. It's been a swamp for over 110 million years.

WALLACE (voice over): Stanford will keep looking for signs of dinosaurs. But he knows where this discovery ranks.

STANFORD: If anybody tells me I'm going to find anything more interesting and important than, I'll tell them they're probably crazy. It's -- it absolutely is like hitting the jackpot. Not monetary wise, but in the wonderful satisfaction of contributing something the world of scientists and paleontology has never seen before. That, to me, makes my 80 years' worth living.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WALLACE: Ray Stanford refuses to sell any of his finds. Instead, he donates them to be studied by scientists and share with the public.

And that's it for today. Have a great week and we'll see you next "Fox News Sunday."

END

Content and Programming Copyright 2018 Fox News Network, LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Copyright 2018 CQ-Roll Call, Inc. All materials herein are protected by United States copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without the prior written permission of CQ-Roll Call. You may not alter or remove any trademark, copyright or other notice from copies of the content.Passengers were forced to disembark from a China Southern Airlines flight to Shanghai after a power bank caught fire in an overhead compartment Sunday.

Channel News Asia reported that passengers were boarding the flight when smoke started to pour into the cabin and a passengers bag was seen in flames in the overhead bin.

ORLANDO AIRPORT EVACUATED AFTER EXPLODING CAMERA BATTERY MISTAKEN FOR BOMB

In a video recorded by a passenger, a flight attendant and fellow passenger are seen attempting to extinguish the flames with bottles of water and juice. Security and fire departments came to the scene and the fire was put out with their assistance.

The passenger responsible for the fiery package was escorted off by the police to help in the investigation. Evidence shows that the power bank, most likely powered by a lithium-ion battery, was not being used when it caught fire, the airline said.

The news site also reported that no other damage was caused because of the fire.

A replacement aircraft was brought in to the Guangzhou Baiyun International, where it departed for Shanghai Honggiao International Airport at 2:53 local time, three hours after the original scheduled time according to FlightAware.

FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK FOR MORE FOX LIFESTYLE NEWS

Lithium-ion batteries  used in cell phones, laptops and power banks  have been known to catch fire. The batteries are banned from checked luggage, but are allowed in carry-on luggage, as long as they can be turned off.

In January, some airlines banned smart luggage because of the potential risk posed by lithium-ion batteries.A sleek new plane designed with customer comfort in mind hit the skies this weekend.

Qatar Airways unleashed its new A350-1000 with premium airplane upgrades on Saturday between London and Doha, Qatar.

The new aircraft boasts millions of ambient anti-jet lag LED lights, hospital-grade air filters, and the lowest cabin altitude in an airplane on the market, the Daily Mail reports. Cabin altitude is what scientists identify as attributing to jet lag symptoms  feeling of fatigue and shortness of breath  at 6,500 feet. The A35-1000 maintains an altitude of only 6,000 feet.

MYSTERIOUS ABANDONED BOEING 737 IS TURNING INTO A TOURIST DESTINATION

The plane also claims the quietest twin-aisle cabin, larger overhead bins, higher ceilings and window seats where every seat has a window.

And these perks are just in economy  business class is treated to even swankier digs with the Qsuite seats, which offer the first-ever in-flight double beds for those on long-haul flights who want to recline and take a snooze.

Qatar Airways always demands the very best for its customers, so it is right that we are the first airline in the world to fly the Airbus A350-1000, said Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, Mr. Akbar Al Baker to the Daily Mail.

This remarkable state-of-the-art aircraft will become a firm part of Qatar Airways fleet and will keep us ahead of the curve, allowing us to continue to offer our passengers outstanding levels of comfort and service, he added.

Though the passenger-focused flight isnt just about customer comfort. Fabrice Bregier of Airbus said the new carrier is fiscally practical, as well.

FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK FOR MORE FOX LIFESTYLE NEWS

Fabrice Bregier said, the Daily Mail reported, It is a huge pride for us to deliver the very first A350-1000 to our launch customer Qatar Airways. Bringing major advantages in fuel and cost efficiency along with unmatched passenger comfort, the A350-1000 is the ideal aircraft to showcase Qatar Airways' legendary customer service.

Airbus says the A350-1000 will be 25 percent cheaper to operate than the older competing Boeing 777-300ER.Crowds lined the route Saturday as the final journey of the Rev. Billy Graham, who died Wednesday at age 99, got underway in his native North Carolina.

Graham's casket was taken about 130 miles -- from a funeral home in Asheville to the Billy Graham Library in Charlotte. Later this week his body will lie in honor in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda in Washington before a return to Charlotte for a funeral and burial Friday.

President Donald Trump is scheduled to be among the 2,300 people expected for the final rites of the man who was known as "America's Pastor."

On Saturday a 10-car motorcade accompanied by a police escort passed thousands of admirers -- many of whom held signs with messages such as Thank You. Others snapped cellphone photos, or waved American and Christian flags, the Charlotte Observer reported.

He was a powerful speaker who made you pay attention, one spectator watching the motorcade said.

I grew up going on field trips to his library, said Kristin Whittaker, 24, a production worker for NASCAR. She said Grahams sermons were influential on the older members of her family.

Grahams son, Franklin, tweeted from the route, The outpouring of love we are seeing as we travel from Asheville to Charlotte via the motorcade with my father @BillyGraham is overwhelming. People lining the streets, the overpassThank you.

Lindsay Higgins, 33, a neighbor who lived near Graham in Montreat, N.C., said, Its very sad. You can definitely feel it in Montreat. Just knowing hes not here  there arent enough people like him in the world, so its really sad.

The motorcades arrival at the Billy Graham Library was greeted by the late reverends family. The casket was carried into the library for a private service.

Saturdays procession initiated a week of mourning for Graham. Ceremonies this week will highlight Grahams life and achievements.

Former President George W. Bush said he plans to visit the Graham library Monday to pay respects. Bush has credited Graham for helping him give up alcohol and changing his life. He penned an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal after Grahams death.

On Wednesday and Thursday, when the reverends body reaches the Capitol Rotunda, Graham will join a very exclusive list of Americans so honored, according to the Associated Press.

Graham visited the Capitol many times during his career, saying prayers during inaugurations and offering solace in times of crisis.

Finally, a funeral and burial service will be held beginning at noon Friday on the library grounds in Charlotte.

The service will be take place under a massive tent as a simulation of Grahams famous 1949 crusade in Los Angeles that first put him on the map. The event drew 350,000 people and was widely covered by the media.Shots rang out during an armed robbery at an Oklahoma liquor store on Thursday night after a man threatened a mother and daughter for the money in the register, Tulsa World reported.

The scary scene happened at Forest Acres Liquor in Tulsa while Tina Ring, 53, and her daughter Ashley Lee, 30, were working, the outlet said.

Surveillance video, obtained by Tulsa World, captured the moment the hooded suspect walked into the liquor store and pointed what appears to be a weapon at Lee, who was behind the counter.

After a brief exchange behind the register, the suspect rummages around before ultimately disappearing from the video. Lees mother then appears, at which point Lee grabs something from beneath the counter and hands it to her, the video showed.

Ring told Tulsa World on Friday that during the incident, her biggest concern was Lees safety.

I didnt want him to hurt my daughter, Ring said. That was my main thought.

"All I was thinking was 'Just give him the money and go,' and next thing I know, I see him back in my face," she added.

The video showed women hiding behind the counter. After the suspect reappeared, Ring appeared to fire a weapon a number of times, continuing as the suspect retreated from the building.

The suspect soon reappeared and, after seemingly getting shot, gets into a physical fight with Ring over the weapon.

Lee then appears to fire a second weapon at the thief, giving herself and her mother the opportunity to leave the building.

"I think I'm still in shock," Ring told Tulsa World. "I dont think I have really processed everything yet."

The suspected robber was identified as Tyrone Lee, a man in his thirties, Tulsa World reported, citing Sgt. Brandon Watkins of the Tulsa Police Departments robbery unit. The suspect is not related to the store employee, Ashley, the outlet said.

According to the departments Twitter page, a man matching his description turned up at a local hospital with several gunshot wounds.Florida Gov. Rick Scott is facing a growing number of calls to remove Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel from his position over the departments response to the high school shooting that killed 17 people.

Florida House Speaker Richard Corcoran, R-Pasco County, sent a letter to Scott on Sunday asking the governor to suspend Israel. A day earlier, State Rep. Bill Hager, R-Boca Raton, urged Scott to relieve Israel from his duties for neglect of duty and incompetence," the Palm Beach Post reported.

In addition, a survivor of the shooting told Fox News on Sunday that the sheriff had to go.

He failed to act on so many different levels and him himself, he is responsible for this massive failure. It could have been easily stopped both by the FBI and the sheriff's department had they acted, Kyle Kashuv told America's News HQ.

Scott does have the power to remove Israel due to the states Statute 112.52, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported. He said the Florida Department of Law Enforcement would launch an investigation, adding, There must be an independent investigation and that is why I asked the FDLE Commissioner to immediately start this process.

Hager cited reports from the media that several Broward sheriffs deputies waited outside rather than rush in as the alleged gunman, Nikolas Cruz, gunned down students. The Valentines Day shooting unfolded at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland. The allegations emerged a day after veteran Broward Deputy Scot Peterson resigned when reports emerged that he failed to enter the school and confront the gunman. Peterson had been assigned to guard the school.

Hager also cited reports that there were 23 calls to the Broward Sheriffs Office relating to Nikolas Cruz and his home, as well a 39 visits by Broward Sheriff Deputies.

The Sheriff was fully aware of the threat this individual presented to his community and chose to ignore it, Hager wrote.

Israel said he office would fully cooperate with the FDLE investigation, as we believe in full transparency and accountability.

The sheriff also responded to Hager, calling his letter reckless and riddled with factual errors, unsupported gossip, and falsehoods.

SEVERAL BROWARD DEPUTIES WAITED OUTSIDE DURING FLORIDA SCHOOL SHOOTING, REPORT SAYS

Israel disputed Hagers claim that three deputies were on the schools campus during the shooting. The sheriff claimed there was only one law enforcement officer [Peterson] on the campus during the attack.

He also disputed the calls made to the office regarding Cruz and his family.

BSO [Broward Sheriffs Office] had a total of 23 calls for service involving Nikolas Cruz or his family; and 18 of those involved Nikolas directly [the others involved his brother]. Of the 18, nearly all but two involved routine calls from the mother relating to parenting issues, Israel wrote.

The sheriff called on Hager to publicly apologize for helping to spread this false gossip and misinformation.

NRA DEFENDS ITSELF AFTER CORPORATIONS PULL AWAY

At a news conference Thursday, Israel said Peterson should have went in. Addressed the killer. Killed the killer.

Two additional Broward deputies are also under investigation over whether they mishandled warnings about Cruz in the months leading up to the shooting. The FBI has admitted it failed to investigate similar claims, and the Florida child welfare agency looked into concerns about Cruz, but concluded he wasnt a risk to himself or others.

Cruz was arrested and charged with 17 counts of premeditated murder.

Fox News Robert Gearty and Leland Vittert contributed to this report.For the first time since 17 people were killed on their school campus on Valentines Day, students, parents and teachers made an emotional return Sunday for a voluntary orientation at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.

The thousands of students returned to a campus covered in signs, balloons, flowers and memorials honoring their classmates, teachers and friends who were shot in one of the deadliest massacres in modern U.S. history.

Members of the Stoneman Douglas community who are scheduled to meet with administrators to discuss the schools reopening  planned for Wednesday  appear to have mixed emotions upon their return.

Mikayla Strabitz, while set on making a change, told WSVN shes scared to go back.

I dont know if I could feel safe again in a school like that, Strabitz said. Especially knowing there are so many entrances to that school and not knowing how Nikolas Cruz got in, thats one scary thing.

The student said she doesnt expect everyone to return to campus right away, just because I know a lot of people were in the freshman building, so going back and not being able to go to those classes, seeing their classmates is going to hit them.

During his return to Stoneman Douglas on Sunday, Liam Kiernan, 15, brought his father to the band room closet where he hid as the shooting occurred.

I walked in and showed him, thats where I was, Kiernan told the Miami Herald. His father, David, told the newspaper, his voice breaking: It was tough. So tough.

In addition to showing his father the fateful spot where he hid as more than 30 others were shot, Liam said he saw the teacher who saved his life and gave him a big hug. That was definitely a moment.

Im anxious to get back. Im happy to get back. I think we need to be  itd be nice for us all to be together.  Jim Gard, teacher at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School

Another student, 16-year-old Janna Volz, told the Herald that while it was still nerve wracking to be back on campus Sunday, shes ready to make it back to school.

Student Cameron Kasky, whos become a prominent figure of the students #NeverAgain gun control movement following the shooting, echoed Volzs sentiment, tweeting Sunday that its good to be home.

Teacher Jim Gard, who told Fox News in the wake of the Feb. 14 massacre that the gunman was his math student, said that hes anxious to return to his school.

Im anxious to get back. Im happy to get back, Gard told WSVN.  I think we need to be  itd be nice for us all to be together.

Freshman Kailey Brown expressed a similar attitude, telling The Associated Press last week that shes not scared to return to school.

"I am going to come back strong with my friends and show that we love each other so much and we are going to get through this," Brown, who was in the building where the shooting took place, said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.A man armed with a hunting knife stabbed a woman to death Saturday inside a public library in Massachusetts, authorities said.

When police arrived, they found that an elderly man also had been stabbed, Boston's Fox 25 reported.

"There were three to four police cars here, there was an ambulance and there was a woman taken out," Russ Ganz, a Winchester resident, told the station.

The suspect -- identified as Jeffrey Yao, 23 -- allegedly approached the 22-year-old woman from behind as she was seated at a table in the reading room of Winchester Public Library, Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan said.

The blade was said to be 10 inches long and the suspect reportedly stabbed the woman multiple times.

During the attack, the young woman suffered injuries to her head and upper torso, Ryan said. As she struggled toward the door, onlookers reportedly tried to help her escape.

A 77-year-old man who tried to help the woman was also injured in the attack, suffering a non-life-threatening stab wound to an arm, Ryan said.

Authorities have opened an investigation into the attack and were working to determine a motive, a news release from the district attorneys office said.

It wasnt clear if Yao knew the woman, but the suspect was known to police, Ryan said. The womans identity was being withheld until her family could be notified, she added.

The suspect was charged with murder and armed assault with intent to murder, the news release said. He was being held without bail and was expected to appear in court Monday.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.Less than a week after the Florida high school massacre that claimed 17 lives on Valentines Day, police were called to a Louisiana high school after fears were sparked by a student drawing the square-root sign, the Ledger-Enquirer reported.

Detectives launched an investigation on February 20 at Oberlin High School after students expressed concern during a math session that the standard symbol, which refers to a number multiplied by itself to produce a new quantity, resembled a gun.

After several students reportedly made such a comment, one student  who was helping a classmate solve the math problem using the square root sign  said something that they may have interpreted as a threat out of context, prompting the involvement of authorities.

The police did not specify what the comment was, but the students home was searched. No guns were found, nor was there any evidence that the student had access to guns or intended to carry out any crimes.

Allen Parish Sheriff Doug Hebert later indicated that gossip among students had distorted the comment to make it sound as though the student was a potential threat, planning to bring a weapon to school with the intent on committing a mass shooting, the Ledger-Enquirer reported. The controversial comment made, according to Superintendent Michael Doucet, ran along the lines of now lets get to work before I shoot you with a pistol.

School officials have since concluded in its report that while the student used extremely poor judgment in making the remark, there was clearly no evidence to support charges.

HOW CALIFORNIA GUN OWNERS ARE LEGALLY KEEPING THEIR AR-15 RIFLES

TRUMP TALKS DEMS' MEMO, GUNS AND BORDER WALL IN EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH FOX NEWS

However, further disciplinary action may be imposed on the student, as Doucet emphasized that the school board has since approved stricter guidelines for shooting threats in response to the incident.

The first thing were going to do is remove that student from the premises with proper authority, Doucet told a local ABC affiliate. Then, were going to have a home visit done by detectives of the sheriffs department, and if no charges are filed, were going to conduct a threat assessment on the student.

As of Thursday, the student reportedly remained banned from the property and is awaiting an expulsion hearing.

Schools across the country have been on especially high alert since the Florida shooting earlier this month, which has set the stage for a nationwide gun control debate and student movements calling for a tightening of laws regarding access to weapons.The slow thaw from this winter's bitter cold has caused potholes to open up across Michigan, but one crater in particular was large enough to fit a police officer up to his knees on Friday.

The Grand Blanc Police Department said in a Facebook post the crater was discovered on McWain Road in Grand Blanc Township, located about 65 miles northwest of Detroit.

The department posted a photo showing Officer David Clark standing inside a pothole. Clark, who police said is 6 feet 5 inches tall, stood in the pothole for perspective to show how large the crater was.

Clark fit in the large hole all the way up to his knees.

The roadway had to be closed until the Genesee County Road Commission made temporary repairs, according to police.

The large crater is just the latest in an issue causing headaches for drivers across the region.

Tire service calls across Michigan are 32 percent higher than this time last year, a representative from AAA told FOX2 Detroit on Thursday.

Motorist Jim Harrison told the television station he blew out four of his tires after striking a huge pothole on Interstate 696.

"I hit it so hard the front window snapped," he said.The mother of a South Carolina woman who gouged her eyes out with her hands earlier this month is speaking out on the risks of illegal drug use.

Kaylee Muthart, 20, terrified churchgoers in Anderson County, S.C., after they witnessed the woman removing her eyeballs on Feb. 6, 2018. People magazine reported the woman was hallucinating at the time of the incident.

Fox Carolina reported a few officials had to subdue her enough so she could start receiving medical assistance.

It took two or three of our guys and two EMTs to subdue her enough that she could start receiving medical assistance, Sheriff Chad McBride of the Anderson County Sheriffs Office said.

Mutharts mother, Katy Tompkins, told People that doctors informed her that her daughter was blind from the incident.

SOUTH CAROLINA WOMAN SEEN OUTSIDE CHURCH GOUGING OUT HER EYES WITH HER OWN HANDS, POLICE SAY

That was a struggle, I cant even explain that feeling when I found out, it was horrifying. Complete terror, Tompkins said. I was thankful she was alive, but I knew something was wrong with her.

Tompkins said doctors believed her daughter used methamphetamine laced with another substance which caused her to hallucinate.

Tompkins said Muthart believed the world was upside down and she heard voices that told her to sacrifice her eyes in order to make it to heaven.

She said her daughter started using methamphetamine last year when she moved out. Tompkins said she tried to get her daughter to get help just days before the incident.

The day before it happened, which was my birthday, I was getting ready to have her committed, just to get her off the streets and away from it, Tompkins said. But I was too late.

Despite the horrific episode, Tompkins said her daughter is recovering well, but will have a long recovery period.

Shes been doing wonderfully. Each day at a time, she just gets a little better and better, she said. Shes getting all different kinds of treatment, but shes going to have to re-learn everything. Its like shes almost starting life over again.

MISSING 4-YEAR-OLD SOUTH CAROLINA GIRL FOUND SAFE IN ALABAMA

Tompkins said her daughter would move back in with her after she is discharged from the hospital. She has set up a GoFundMe page to raise money for a seeing-eye dog for her daughter.

The mother said she has spoken to other parents whose children have struggled with drugs.

This is something you never think is going to happen to you, but it did, Tompkins said. A lot of the mothers I talked to have kids that have been addicted to heroin for 10, 15 years and Im like, How did you get through it? My daughter was doing it for six months and it literally tore me up.

Tompkins said Muthart would like to tell her story one day to help others.

I dont know how Im getting through it, but she has given me strength. Its weird to say, but she uplifts me right now and shes the one that cant see. Thats just the kind of person she is, Tompkins said. Im thankful. Its a horrible thing, but Im still thankful because God spared her life.

Fox News' Paulina Dedaj contributed to this report.Will the 1991 murder of a Washington state teenager finally be solved?

New sketches of a suspect in the cold case of 16-year-old victim Sarah Yarborough have been released, Q13 Fox reports.

Thats the frustrating thing about this case, Jim Allen, a retired sheriff's detective with the King County Sheriffs Office, told the station. Its been solvable from the beginning. We had witnesses, we had a real tight solid timeline, we had a full DNA profile from the beginning. Thousands of tips, you would have thought the case would have been solved by now.

The girl's body was found around Federal Way High School, after she had reportedly headed there.

Yarborough drove to the school on a Saturday in December 1991, and had planned to take a 9 a.m. bus from there to another school for a function, the Seattle Times reported.

A witness saw her pull her into a back parking lot at 8:10 a.m., according to the report.

No one saw her outside of her car, retired Detective Tom Jensen told the newspaper. Essentially thats all we know till about 9:15.

Sarah's body reportedly was discovered later; she had been strangled.

Sarah was kind of the girl next door, everybody could relate to her as a victim, Allen said. They could be their sister, their friend, their daughter, so I think the whole community kind of rallied behind this case.

It doesnt get any easier this many years later.  Andrew Yarborough

A DNA tech company called Parabon NanoLabs used DNA to make composites of what the suspect could look like in the present day, as well as when he was 25 and 18 years old, the News Tribune reports.

Was the guy passing through, is he deceased, or we just havent got the right person? Allen asked. He might be out there; he might be walking around.

Sarah's brother, Andrew Yarborough, told Q13 Fox, It doesnt get any easier this many years later.At least five people are dead as a storm system that stretched from Texas to the Canadian Maritime provinces roars eastward across the central U.S., spawning tornadoes and floods and leaving a path of destruction in its wake from the Upper Midwest to Appalachia.

In southwestern Michigan, the body of a 48-year-old man was found floating in floodwaters Sunday in Kalamazoo, city Public Safety Lt. David Thomas said. Police were withholding the release of his name until notifying relatives.

Thomas said the death didnt appear suspicious but the cause wasnt known. An autopsy was planned as early as Monday. Kalamazoo had been hard-hit by flooding from last weeks heavy rains and melting snow.

Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin said late Saturday two people died in the western part of state due to severe weather events as the storm that also included strong winds, hail and heavy rain slammed the region.

Please take weather watches/warnings seriously, and stay safe, Bevin said on Twitter.

In rural, south central Kentucky, 79-year-old Dallas Jane Combs died after a suspected tornado hit her Adairville home Saturday evening, Logan County Sheriffs Department told television station WKRN. Sheriff officials said Combs was inside the home when it collapsed on her. Combs was pronounced dead at the scene.

Authorities say Combs husband was outside the house when the unconfirmed tornado hit and he sustained minor injuries.

In northeast Arkansas, an 83-year-old man was killed after high winds toppled a trailer home. Clay County Sheriff Terry Miller said in a Facebook post that Albert Foster died Saturday night after the home was blown into a pond in Knobel.

Storm-related damage also was reported in Middle Tennessee, where Fox 17 in Nashville reported extensive damage to homes and vehicles. Fox 17 added that at least a dozen homes were damaged in one Montgomery County subdivision.

The National Weather Services office in Nashville said a storm survey team has confirmed EF-2 tornado damage from winds of 120 mph on the east side of Clarksville near Interstate 24 and Rossview Road.

Rep. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., said that her thoughts and prayers were with those affected by the horrible damage.

FOX NEWS WEATHER CENTER

In Mississippi County, Arkansas, crews were cleaning up after a confirmed tornado touched down in the town of Keiser, located about 50 miles northwest of Memphis.

Its going to be devastating for a lot of the people because it is a small community but it is a very tight-knit community. So everyone been out, weve had people going door to door, checking on their neighbors, in the areas that they could because we advised them not to because of the downed power lines, Keiser Police Chief Mike Griffin told KAIT.

The storms were caused by a system associated with a cold front moving east, which caused flood watches and warnings to be issued across multiple states as of Sunday morning, while a wind advisory remained in effect for nearly all of Lower Michigan. Heavy rain also spread into the Northeast, which caused greater flooding fears.

Its right along that line weve seen the most rain activity here throughout the weekend, Fox News Meteorologist Adam Klotz said Sunday on Fox & Friends Weekend.

Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens signed an executive order earlier Saturday declaring a state of emergency ahead of the anticipated storms and flooding in parts of southern Missouri. The order activates the resources of the Missouri National Guard and ensures state resources are available in the event of weather damage.

A levee breach along the Kankakee River in northwestern Indiana had local officials urging about 30 homeowners to evacuate.

The Ohio River is expected to reach 60.6 feet in Cincinnati by Sunday afternoon, according to the National Weather Service.

The expected river crest would easily make it the worst flooding Greater Cincinnati has seen since March 5, 1997, when the river hit 64.7 feet, Fox 19 reported.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.Yet another church community in Greenville County went to Sunday service only to be welcomed by satanic messages spray painted on to the church walls, some of it involving Billy Graham.

The vandalism discovered at Life Spring Community Church in Simpsonville on Sunday was one of four to occur in the County in less than a month.

At this time, no suspects have been identified.

Anyone with information regarding the vandalism is asked to contact Crime Stoppers at 864-23-CRIME.

Read more from Fox Carolina.A survivor of the Florida high school massacre and a father whose daughter was killed called for wide-reaching changes to school safety in an interview Sunday with Fox News.

Delaney Tarr, a senior at the school, has been one of the most prominent student activists calling for changes to gun laws, a ban on certain weapons and improved care for the mentally ill since a shooter slaughtered 17 people at the Parkland high school on Valentines Day.

We need to address the failures that have created a situation like horrible situation like this. All of the things that have failed us, all of the systems that have failed us, she said on Fox News Sunday. I also believe we need to make it harder for people to access guns when they are not mentally stable, when they are young, when they are not in a place where they should be owning a weapon like this.

Seventeen people were killed in the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland by alleged teen gunman, Nikolas Cruz, who used an AR-15 and who had a history of emotional problems, according to investigators.

One of the victims fathers, Andrew Pollack, whose daughter, Meadow, died in the shooting, spoke about the need to make change now: The new norm has to be our kids are safe in the school. This cant happen again, I cant let it happen to another kid in another state.

He told Fox News' Chris Wallace: I want to tell every governor in every other state, they need to be proactive right now. They need to get a bill in place and were going to put all America together, work with these governors to protect our schools. We cant have another shooting in this country. I cant live with it. This has to stop with Parkland, and my daughters death cant be in vain. It has to be the last one.

Cruz was arrested and charged with 17 counts of premeditated murder.

Pollack said that he has been making his grief actionable. Its rough, I have my moments you know. Its like a wave of emotions, he said about the fire that drives him now. I cant explain it, I could walk through flames right now, theres nothing I cant do.

Tarr has been one of the most vocal advocates for change since the shooting, but she knows first and foremost shes a student.

Its very daunting to imagine going back to a place that just two weeks prior held such horrors, and its scary because I dont know if I am going to be safe there, but I know that I have to, she said about returning to school. I know now more than ever Im proud of who I am, and I feel like I need that sense of normalcy because its, like, I cant even be a high schooler anymore.At least four people were killed in a massive building explosion in the English city of Leicester, police said Monday.

Leicestershire police said four people were still hospitalized, including one with serious injuries.

There are four confirmed fatalities at this stage and a number of people still undergoing treatment in hospital, Leicestershire police superintendent Shane ONeill said. The building consisted of a shop premises on the ground level and a two-story flat above it. We believe there may be people who have not yet been accounted for and rescue efforts continue in order to locate any further casualties.

The explosion occurred just after 7 p.m. Sunday on a crowded street that leads into Leicesters city center. Six fire engines and a hazardous material response team were initially deployed to the scene.

The street is a mix of apartments and small shops and restaurants. Police said a number of buildings near the fire were damaged. Police said it was still unclear what caused the explosion, but authorities said the blast did not appear to be terror related.

The cause of the explosion and fire is still yet to be determined and we will work closely with colleagues from the police as our enquiries into the circumstances continue today, ONeill said.

Video footage from the scene showed a building that appeared engulfed in towering flames and a number of police cars and ambulance stationed nearby.

This footage shows the aftermath of an apparent explosion in the Hinckley Road area of Leicester. Police have declared a "major incident." More information as we get it. pic.twitter.com/ghVIGEYjdk  BBC East Midlands (@bbcemt) February 25, 2018

A nearby resident told the Leicester Mercury newspaper they heard a huge bang and ... came out of the house and saw the flames.

Another neighbor said there was an awful lot of smoke, Sky News reported. She added that the building, described as a store, "doesn't appear to be there anymore."

Leicester is 110 miles north of London.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.Sixteen Turkish women have been sentenced to death by hanging after having been found guilty of joining ISIS, Iraqi judiciary officials announced Sunday.

It was proven they belong to the Daesh terrorist group, Judge Abdul-Sattar al-Birqdar stated, referring to the militant group using its common name in the Middle East, noting the sentences were handed out after the women confessed to marrying Daesh elements or providing members of the group with logistical aid or helping them carry out terrorist attacks.

Iraq is currently holding some 500 foreign women, each of whom is either facing or slated to face trial.

Another Turkish female also was handed a death sentence last week for her ISIS participation, while 10 other foreigners were given life behind bars. Last month, a German woman was sentenced to execution, as was a Russian woman last year.

However, Iraqi authorities recently handed over four Russian women to their government after determining during a trial that they were tricked into traveling and becoming a part of the hardline group, which was officially defeated in December.

All sentences are subject to appeal.

Nonetheless, the trials and harsh sentences have aroused deep concern among many international human rights groups.

Iraqs courts are sentencing women to life in prison and even to death for non-violent crimes, Human Rights Watch stated. It is just one indicator of how people viewed as colluding with ISIS are receiving unfair trials. The women have been charged with illegally entering Iraq and, in some cases, aiding, abetting or having membership in ISIS, which carries the penalty of life in prison or death under Iraqs counterterrorism law.

INSIDE SADR CITY: HOW THE DEADLY SLUM BECAME THE 'PLACE OF PEACE'

HUNDREDS OF YOUNG TURKISH CHILDREN JAILED ALONGSIDE THEIR MOMS AS PART OF A POST-COUP CRACKDOWN

Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, the Iraqi Minister for Labor and Social Affairs, told Fox News last month that all foreign wives will be tried in Iraq, and not in their country of citizenship, to determine what if any level of involvement they had in the fighting. He insisted that they will be given a fair trial in their system.

The majority of the foreign wives and children are documented to be from Turkey and Russia. Authorities are still in the process of trying to determine the nationality of many female detainees, who are without proper documentation.

In addition to the 1,500 ISIS wives and children being detained, more than 7,000 foreign ISIS males are being held across Iraq while waiting to face trial. More than 90 have already been executed for their ISIS crimes.An Israeli Navy vessel fired on a boat Sunday after it ignored warnings and strayed from a fishing area in the northern Gaza Strip toward Israel, a military spokeswoman said.

A Palestinian from the Gaza Strip, who was traveling in the boat with two others, was killed in the incident.

The Gaza fishermans union said the boat was targeted as it made its way back to Gaza, and Nizar Ayyash, the secretary of the Gaza fishermans syndicate, said in a statement to Reuters that the men did not violate the maritime limit.

Israel has maintained a blockade of the Gaza Strip, which is dominated by Hamas Islamists, for more than a decade. It patrols the waters to prevent arms smuggling and protects citizens from any terrorist or militant attack from the sea.

Israeli forces targeted a Palestinian fishing boat which was on the way back to Gaza shore, which led to the death of one fisherman and wounding two others, the fishermens union said, reports Reuters.

PAPUA NEW GUINEA HIT BY EARTHQUAKE

But the military spokeswoman said a Palestinian vessel with three suspects aboard was shot at after it had deviated from the designated fishing zone in the northern Gaza Strip.

Naval forces called on the suspects to stop and when they did not comply, warning shots were fired into the air. Upon their continued advancement, shots were fired toward the vessel. Subsequently, one of the suspects was severely injured and he later succumbed to his wounds. The other two suspects were handed to security forces for interrogation, she said.

Fishing is one of the biggest industries in the Gaza Strip, a coastal enclave of almost 2 million inhabitants.

Reuters reports that over the past two years, Israel has detained dozens of Gaza fishermen who have strayed beyond the border, a senior naval commander said.

Boats are not allowed to stray beyond a fixed limit to the north toward Israeli waters. Israel restricts fishing to a seasonally adjusted zone of between 6 and 9 nautical miles.Saleh Muslim, a leader of the main Syrian Kurdish political party, has been arrested in the Czech capital Prague at the request of the Turkish government, the party announced Sunday.

Muslim reportedly was on Turkey's most-wanted list. Ankara had issued a warrant for his arrest in November 2016 after a court charged him with a litany of offenses, including breaking the state and countrys unity. New red notices were issued on February 13, with officials offering just over $1 million for his return.

Czech police confirmed that a 67-year-old man had been apprehended in Prague at the behest of Turkish Interpol, but did not specify the suspects name.

In a statement Sunday, the PYD party insisted that the prominent Kurdish figure has full citizenship rights as a Syrian and was in Europe to conduct official business engagements. The party, of which Muslim was the former head, accused the Turkish state of demanding the arrest of individuals who are not citizens, without any legal justifications.

Tensions between Turkey and Kurdish groups have escalated sharply in recent weeks, following Ankaras launch of a military offensive last month in Syrias Afrin region against the Kurdish YPG, an armed associate of the PYD, which it has considered a border threat.

IRAQ SENTENCES 16 TURKISH WOMEN TO DEATH FOR ISIS MEMBERSHIP

Turkish officials have claimed the PYD and YPG, despite being armed and allied with the United States, were part of the outlawed PKK terrorist group.

Officials in Ankara were in the process of securing the extradition of Muslim, who remained in detention in Prague. According to the pro-government Turkish media outlet Daily Sabah, his arrest came over the weekend after its sister publication Sabah reported he had been sighted at a Marriott hotel in Prague where he reportedly conducted two meetings.

TURKISH OFFENSIVE IN KURDISH-HELD SYRIAN ENCLAVE SETS UP COLLISION COURSE WITH UNITED STATES

Turkish officials accused Muslim of sharing fake photos at a news conference in Belgium last week, claiming he used photos from the rebel-held Syrian region of Eastern Ghouta  which has been under heavy attack from Syrian government forces  to illustrate abuses being waged by Turkish forces in Afrin.

However, Kurdish activists have long claimed abuses by the Turkish leadership, insisting they have been persecuted.Despite a drop in intensity, shelling and bombardment in the Syrian capital and its embattled eastern suburbs killed at least six people Sunday following the U.N. Security Council's unanimous approval of a resolution demanding a 30-day cease-fire across Syria, opposition activists and residents of Damascus said.

Attacks on residential areas appear to have shifted to strikes on front lines where some of the most intense fighting took place throughout the day between government forces and their allies against insurgents. State media said that troops pushed into the eastern suburbs, reports that the opposition denied.

Opposition activists reported clashes on the southern edge of the rebel-held suburbs, known as eastern Ghouta, and two airstrikes late on Saturday night, shortly after the resolution was adopted. During the day Sunday, more shelling and airstrikes were reported in eastern Ghouta and Damascus.

The drop in violence came after a week of intense airstrikes and shelling that killed more than 500 people in eastern Ghouta and left dozens dead or wounded in the government-held Damascus, which rebels pelted with mortar shells.

"This has been the calmest night since last Sunday," said Rami Abdurrahman who heads the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, referring to the start of the bombing campaign on Feb. 19. He added that clashes between troops and rebels on Sunday were the most intense this month.

Syrian state TV said that the army captured several buildings in the rebel-held suburb of Harasta and pushed into several other areas on eastern Ghouta that is besieged by government forces from all sides. It also said that troops captured the small towns of Nashabiyeh, Hazrama and Housh al-Salihiyah on the southeastern edge of eastern Ghouta.

The Ghouta Media Center, an activist collective, said members of the Army of Islam insurgent group repelled the Syrian army's attacks on several fronts adding that many soldiers were killed.

The push by the army, although still limited, appears to be similar to steps taken in rebel-held eastern neighborhoods of the northern city of Aleppo that government forces captured one after another until rebels eventually agreed to leave the city in December 2016, marking President Bashar Assad's biggest victory since the conflict began in 2011.

"The Assad regime and his allies have shown no respect to the Security Council by launching their most intense offensive on Ghouta from several directions hours after the resolution was adopted," said Ghouta-based activist Ahmad Khanshour. He added that government forces "did not succeed in advancing one meter."

Asked whether people were able to leave their underground shelters where they have been hiding for days with little food and water, Khanshour said: "We are still underground and dying." Khanshour added that he is hiding with 45 others in a shelter and they have been surviving on rice, crushed wheat and pasta.

The Observatory said Sunday's airstrikes and shelling killed eight people and wounded dozens in several areas in eastern Ghouta. The opposition's Syrian Civil Defense, also known as White Helmets, said the six were killed in the towns of Saqba, Beit Sawa, Arbeen and Hammouriyeh.

State news agency SANA said insurgents breached the truce by firing 15 shells Sunday on government-held areas on the edge of Ghouta.

Dr. Sakhr al-Dimashqi, a surgeon at a Ghouta clinic, told The Associated Press that several shells hit some towns in the suburbs, adding that they received six wounded people at his clinic.

"The shelling today is not as intense as over the past week," he said.

The two largest and most powerful rebel factions in Ghouta, Failaq al-Rahman and Army of Islam issued statements saying they will abide by the cease-fire unless they are forced to fire in self-defense. Both called for the "immediate delivery" of emergency aid.

The resolution excludes members of the Islamic State group (ISIS) and Al Qaeda-linked fighters. Ghouta is also home to a few hundred members of the Al Qaeda-linked Levant Liberation Committee.

Russia's Foreign Ministry said Sunday that the fight against ISIS and Al Qaeda's affiliate will continue, despite what it described as attempts by certain external players to engage "international terrorists and groups of opposition militants joining them to implement plans that are still nurtured to overthrow the legitimate authorities of Syria and dismember the country."

It added that "the terrorists won't get any respite."

Damascus residents said there's more traffic in the streets, compared to previous days and most schools and universities were open on Sunday. They said some private schools were still closed, especially those close to the front lines with Ghouta.

Some residents of the capital said they were unhappy with the truce, adding that they believe the rebels will violate it and that the Syrian army should crush the gunmen outside the capital.

"The army has given them many truces, more than they deserve and the result was more shells," said Damascus resident Abdul-Razzak Khaleifah, 37. "The army has the right to retaliate to defend the homeland and the civilians."

Saturday's vote at the United Nations came after the vote was delayed from Friday. Russia's U.N. Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia had repeatedly called an immediate cease-fire unrealistic.

In a bid to get Russian support, sponsors Kuwait and Sweden amended the draft resolution late Friday to drop a demand that the cease-fire take effect 72 hours after the resolution's adoption.

After two hours of additional negotiations on Saturday, the Security Council unanimously approved the resolution demanding a 30-day cease-fire across Syria "without delay" to deliver humanitarian aid to millions and evacuate the critically ill and wounded.

After the vote, many council members urged stepped-up efforts to ensure a cease-fire and get assistance to millions in need.

Russia has been a main backer of Assad since the country's conflict began. In 2015, Moscow joined the war on Assad's side tipping the balance of power in his favor.

In northern Syria, the Observatory and the Lebanon-based Al-Mayadeen TV said Turkish troops shelled the Kurdish enclave of Afrin where Turkey and Syrian opposition fighters it backs have been on the offensive since Jan. 20.

The Turkish military and their allies took three more villages from the U.S.-backed Kurdish militia near the town of Afrin on Sunday, according to the Turkey's official news agency. The military announced one Turkish soldier was killed on Saturday, bringing the army's death toll to 33 since the launch of the Afrin operation last month.

The main Kurdish militia, known as YPG, said in a statement that it will abide by the U.N. cease-fire but will continue fighting as usual against ISIS.Free Freightnet Membership

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Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription to continue reading.Nine Texas projects are on a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers list to receive part of $360 million in funding for Hurricane Harvey recovery projects, but details about when those projects will start and what they will entail aren't exactly clear.Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily!

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Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items.Hey Long Beach! It's that time of year again, it's time for Long Beach Gives! There are 200 charities that could use your help Long Beach so please watch this video (below) all about the Long Beach Gives event and...The mass shooting that left 17 people dead in Parkland, Fla., on Valentine's Day has put gun laws and school safety in the national spotlight. On Monday, governors from around the country are scheduled to meet with President Trump to discuss school safety.But this weekend, at their winter meeting in Washington, D.C., both gun laws and school safety were noticeably absent from the National Governors Associations agenda and when its leaders addressed their peers, suggesting that -- despite some Republicans' recent embrace of gun control -- there is still a lack of bipartisan agreement about how to address these issues.Outside of the meeting and in interviews, however, governors on both sides of the aisle have either backed some of Trumps proposals or offered their own.The president has voiced support for banning rapid-firing bump stocks (which were used in last year's mass shooting in Las Vegas), improving background checks, raising the minimum age to buy assault weapons, and most controversially, arming teachers.GOP Gov. Brian Sandoval of Nevada, chair of the NGA, met with Vice President Mike Pence on Friday, where the two discussed school shootings. Sandoval supports the presidents proposal to ban bump stocks but expressed trepidation about arming teachers.At first blush [that proposal] concerns me, he told reporters at the Canadian Embassy on Friday.Other Republican governors are skeptical about the practicality of arming teachers.Im not certain I see arming teachers as being the answer because I think theres a very small percentage of teachers who say yes, I want to do that, Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam told Politico on Saturday.Arizona GOP Gov. Doug Ducey similarlyhe would prefer the people with guns in schools to be resource officers.I want teachers teaching," he said.Florida Gov. Rick Scott, also a Republican, announced some key gun control proposals on Friday, including raising the minimum age to purchase any gun to 21, banning bump stocks and taking guns away from mentally ill people deemed a threat. Florida House and Senate leaders back the plan and have also suggested a three-day waiting period on all firearms. Currently the waiting period only applies to handguns.Tennessee GOP Gov. Bill Haslam said last week that he would support a bill to ban bump stocks and raise the age people can buy assault weapons to 21.Vermont Gov. Phil Scott, a Republican in a relatively liberal state, pled with his legislature last week to fast-track a bill that would remove guns from people deemed a threat. He said hes  changed completely  on gun issues since the Parkland shooting.But some Republicans avoided discussing the issue this weekend.When asked by reporters about gun laws , Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker said, "I'm not talking about that right now, no. I'm not here as a national figure, I'm here as a governor."Similarly, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum ignored a reporter's questions about what, specifically, should be done to make schools safer.On the other side of the aisle, Democrats are in virtually unanimous agreement that gun laws need to change and more Republicans need to take action.Members of the Democratic Governors Association (DGA) held a press conference at the NGA meeting on Saturday morning, sharply criticizing Republicans for their inaction on gun control.Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, who chairs the DGA, said that he suspects gun safety will be used as a bargaining chip during the White House meeting on Monday, according to Route Fifty This is a president whose Homeland Security director, at this meeting one year ago, told me to my face that the Dreamers had nothing to worry about  And now theyre trying to throw the Dreamers out every chance they get, refusing to do anything but using them as a bargaining chip. And I sadly kind of suspect that might be the case here or will be very soon, he said.Gov. Phil Murphy of New Jersey, who also led the DGA press conference, said that one of his goals for the NGAs winter meeting was to build on his new coalition around gun control. On Thursday, Murphy announced the creation of a group called States for Gun Safety. The other members so far are Andrew Cuomo of New York, Dannel Malloy of Connecticut and Gina Raimondo of Rhode Island -- all Democrats. Those states will share intelligence on protective orders that prohibit people from purchasing firearms and will create a cross-state task force to confiscate illegal guns.During the bipartisan groups sessions, however, the governors avoided the controversial subject. The sessions focused on cooperation between states and international governments, the future of agriculture and food, the opioid epidemic, higher education, veterans' treatment and economic development.BAIC Motor Corporation and Daimler AG will co-invest more than RMB 11.9 billion (US$1.9 billion) to expand production in China to meet the demands of the future market there.

The new production base of their joint venture, Beijing Benz Automotive Co., Ltd. (BBAC), will manufacture various Mercedes-Benz products in China including new energy electric vehicles, and will be equipped with the complete high-quality premium automobile manufacturing system to further improve the overall production capacity of Beijing Benz.

In July 2017, Daimler and BAIC announced a framework agreement to deepen cooperation at BBAC. The two companies pledged to co-invest a total of RMB 5 billion (about US$790 million) in the production of Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs) under the Mercedes-Benz brand at the local production hub of BBAC in Beijing. (Earlier post.)

As part of this strategic framework agreement, the two companies said they would locally produce Battery Electric Vehicles by 2020 at BBAC, and provide the necessary infrastructure for battery localization using Chinese cells, as well as research and development capacities.

Beijing Benz was founded in August 2005 and integrates R&D, engine and whole vehicle production, as well as sales and post-sales services.Canada-based MGX Minerals Inc. will proceed with its previously announced partnership with Highbury Energy Inc. to develop a detailed thermochemical gasification process to extract metals such as nickel, vanadium, cobalt and hydrogen from petroleum coke (petcoke).

Petcoke samples were obtained from Alberta oil sands (Sample #1) and refinery (Sample #2) sales stockpiles of available petcoke. Samples were analyzed by Acme Labs of Vancouver, British Columbia using standard ICP analyses. Results were as follows:

Sample Vanadium (V) ppm Cobalt (Co) ppm Nickel (Ni) ppm Sample N 1 421 4.8 76.8 Sample N 2 458 1.3 53.4

Further analysis of concentrate post-gasification ash samples is now underway with ash amounting to 3% of oil sands petcoke by weight and less than 1% of the refinery petcoke sample. MGX expects that the concentrations of metals will directly correspond with the reduction in material, approximately 30x and over 100x, respectively. Analyses of the ash concentrate is expected shortly.

A Phase II study is currently being completed by Highbury and will include analyses of potential site locations, inclusion of pilot scale gasification, advanced metals extraction process design and initial plant design parameters.

Background. Petcoke is a carbon material by-product of the oil and gas industry that forms during the oil refining process. As refineries have become more efficient at processing extra heavy crude oils (bitumen) over the last two decades, output of Petcoke globally has risen significantly. Because Petcoke originates from heavier petroleum fractions, its denser impurities such as metals and sulfur compounds are concentrate in it.

The majority of Canadian Petcoke output occurs in close proximity to oil sand producing regions, where bitumen is upgraded into synthetic crude oil. Specifically, the Province of Alberta is known to host vast stockpiles of petcoke. According to the Alberta Energy Regulator, petcoke inventories are estimated to have reached 106 million tonnes in 2016.In an open access paper on their work is published in the journal Advances In Mechanical Engineering , the team reports that their method can improve motor performance with more stable speed and torque output.

Researchers at Wuhan University of Science and Technology in China have proposed a control method based on a speed loop structure-variable sliding mode controller (SMC) for interior permanent magnet synchronous motors in electric vehicles. The method combines maximum torque per ampere with a vector control strategy.

A structure-variable sliding mode control is a kind of nonlinear control method which can self-adjust in accordance with the current state of the system. The researchers reported that, comparing with the conventional proportionalintegral controller, their proposed sliding mode control algorithm has more reliable control performance.

In the electric vehicle driving system, the motor speed should closely follow a specified reference trajectory, regardless of any load disturbance, parameter variation, and model uncertainty. Additionally, a wide speed range covers the constant torque, and the constant power region is desired. For electric vehicles, there exist inevitable interferences such as current coupling, friction force, parameter variation, as well as load disturbance during the running process. Due to the presence of these interferences, it is difficult to describe IPMSM with accurate mathematical model, and it is hard to quickly suppress these disturbances with a linear control method. Structure-variable sliding mode control  does not require accurate mathematical model and can purposefully force the system to move according to the scheduled sliding mode trajectory. The sliding mode trajectory can be set artificially in advance, and it is irrelevant to the object parameters and disturbances. Liu et al.

Conventionally, when the motor runs below the base speed maximum torque per ampere (MTPA) is used for constant torque control. MTPA is often implemented using look-up table method or a curve fitting method; due to poor real-time performance of the former, the latter is often used in engineering practice, the researchers noted.

Also conventionally, when the motor runs above the base speed, the flux-weakening (FW) algorithm is usually employed to implement constant power control. Common methods for FW control strategy include formulation calculation method; gradient descent algorithm; look-up table method; and negative i d current compensation method. Negative i d current compensation method has been widely used in practice because it does not need motor parameters, and the algorithm is simple and reliable, the authors noted.

Based on the existing research results, a kind of FW control system combined with the rotor field-oriented vector control algorithm is proposed in this article. The combination of the MTPA algorithm and the FW algorithm improves the performance and efficiency of the electric vehicles by regulating the current of the motor in the whole running process. To consider the constraint of the battery capacity of the electric vehicles and to improve the utilization rate of the direct current (DC) bus voltage of the inverter, a kind of space vector pulse-width modulation (SVPWM) over-modulation method is adopted. Meanwhile, a kind of feed-forward compensation method is introduced to realize the decoupling control and then improve the dynamic response of the current regulator. In order to depress motors internal and external interferences, and to achieve faster response, stronger adaptability, and higher control precision, a kind of SMC is designed to replace common proportionalintegral (PI) controller. To prevent the voltage saturation of current controller, a kind of anti-windup integral controller is employed to improve the dynamic performance of the loop. Liu et al.

ResourcesiStock/Thinkstock(PARKLAND, FLa.) -- Florida is launching an investigation into the law enforcement response to the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on Feb. 14 that killed 17 students and staff, according to the state's governor's office.



The probe comes at the request of Gov. Rick Scott after the Broward County sheriff said video shows at least one deputy taking up a defensive position outside the building at the Parkland, Florida, school where the massacre occurred, but never going in to engage the gunman.



Scott's announcement was made shortly after the governor met with Rick Swearingen, commissioner of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.



Swearingen's agency said it will "immediately" begin the investigation at the governor's request.



Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel told ABC News that his office has launched an internal investigation into reports that, besides the deputy seen on video, at least three other Broward County sheriff's deputies remained outside the school building during the rampage rather than entering the school.



"If there is no wrongdoing in the part of our deputies, we'll move on," Israel said Friday. "If there is wrongdoing on the part of our deputies, we'll handle it accordingly, as I have for five years as sheriff."



He announced at a news conference on Thursday his decision to suspend Deputy Scot Peterson, the armed resource officer at the school, after reviewing video from the shooting and taking statements from witnesses and Peterson himself, Israel said.



He said the footage showed Peterson was armed and in uniform on campus during the shooting. He said Peterson should have gone in to address the killer, kill the killer.



Peterson, who met requirements for retirement, opted to resign after he was told he was being suspended, Israel said.



Copyright  2018, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.Machars Ex Advisor Sentenced To Death

The High Court in Juba on Friday sentenced the former military adviser to the former First Vice President, Dr. Riek Machar to death by hanging.

Riek Machar's former Advisor, William Endley during his sentencing in court in Juba, [Photo|Ojwe Lumara]

By Ojwe Lumara



JUBA, 24th February 2018[Gurtong]-William Endley, 55 year old retired South African colonel was accused of spying and conspiring to overthrow the government of South Sudan through the services he provided to Dr. Riek Machar.



The South African was hired in 2016 to advise former First Vice President Dr. Riek Machar when he was in Juba for implementation of the agreement for Resolution of Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan.



Col. Endley was first sentenced to two years starting from the 18th August 2016, for having contravened the provisions section 38, paragraph 2 of the Immigration Law, according to Lado Eriminio Sekwat, a High Court judge who read out the sentence.



The accused was sentenced to death by hanging for having contravened provisions of section 67 of South Sudan Procedure Acts and section 57 of the National Security Act 2008, said Judge Sekwat.



He was also sentenced to 7 years imprisonment starting from 18th August 2018 for allegedly breaching section 68 of the South Sudan Criminal procedure Act 2008.



All the sentences shall be carried out consecutively, Judge Sekwat said, adding that Endley was given 15 days to appeal the verdict.



The defence lawyer, Gardit Abel Gar said the decision to sentence the South African was procedural which he said has occasioned miscarriage of justice in the country.



It has also offended the constitutional and substantial law of the nation and contravened it and inconsistent with the Cessation of Hostility Agreement which expressively stated that all prisoners of war and political prisoners should be released within 72 hour which has not been done, advocate Gar said.



Advocate Gar said he will appeal against the judgment because the court has not administered the procedure or interpreted the laws accordingly.



He argued that the accused attended two sessions without any defence lawyer demonstrating that the court was either incompetent or impartial.



Japan Externs $ 34 Million Assistance Support fFor South Sudan Humanitarian

The Japanese Ambassador to South Sudan on Thursday announced a new extension of $ 34 million humanitarian assistance for South Sudan.

By James Deng Dimo



WAU, 25 February 2018 [Gurtong] - In a press statement released by the Japanese Ambassador to South Sudan,Seiji Okada following his short visit to Wau State on Thursday, Japan decided to provide a new assistance package of $ 34 million for South Sudan through its partnership with International Organizations,



Since December 2013, South Sudan has been witnessing a continuous population displacement, both with and outside South Sudan. It is estimated that more than 4 million south Sudanese, approximately one-third of its total population are displaced and remains at dire

humanitarian conditions, reads the statement.



Japan continue to provide humanitarian assistance to refugees, IDPs and other vulnerable persons, so that their lives will be saved, their dignity respected and their suffering alleviated.

According to Japan, the above life- saving humanitarian assistance must continue, Japan also considers that assistance as a form of capacity building must also continue simultaneously according to the statement.



As part of its effort to promote Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Japan continues to support South Sudan, the young country in the world, so that its institutions will have capacity to effectively serve for the economic and social welfare of its citizens and more South Sudanese will be empowered to improve their lives by their own wills and efforts.



Among others, Japan also pleaded its support to empower South Sudanese women, Improve healthcare through WHO and UNICEF.





Clerics Criticise Leaders For Not Achieving Peace At HLRF

Catholic Bishops of South Sudan have criticised the leaders of the country for not reaching an agreement at the High Level Revitalization Forum (HLRF) that would bring peace to the country.

Archbishop Paulino Lukudu Loro with retired Episcopal Bishop Enock Tombe(R) and Bishop Peter Pal (L) [Gurtong file Photo]

By Ojwe Lumara



JUBA, 25 February, 2018 [Gurtong]-The Bishops who had a meeting in Juba from 21st to 23rd February 2018, expressed their gratitude to the Holy Father Pope Francis for calling the whole world to pray and fast for peace in South Sudan, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and other conflicts.



We are dissatisfied that our leaders, in both government and opposition, have so far been unable to put their own interests aside and make peace for the good of the people and the nation. We implore them in the words of Psalm 95:8, Harden not your hearts, the bishops said.



They called on end the South Sudanese conflict which has displaced millions of people from their homes since 2013.



We reiterate our past messages; the killing must stop. It is unacceptable to be negotiating positions and percentages while the killing continues, read a statement from the Catholic Bishops conference.



We are encouraged by the Holy Fathers personal interest in our nation and we renew our invitation to him to visit us when the time is right, it added.



The Catholic Bishops thanked the international and regional bodies for their commitment in the revitalisation process of the peace Agreement and hoped that phase three of the High Level Revitalisation Forum will end the violence.



The bishops said that they fear the leaders do not know how to make peace, for they are confused and are military people who see the world through the lens of violence.



They added that the leaders need help, not so much with the technical and political details but with the spiritual and moral courage to make peace, to hold a vision of the future which includes peace.



Many of them are traumatised, like many of the people of South Sudan. Trauma can paralyse people, make them behave inappropriately, erode their morale and morals and lead to self-pity and denial. They need trauma healing, the statement of the bishops said.



To continue fighting is easier for them than to take the risk of making peace. They fear not only international justice, but they fear what their own people will do to them when they fail, the statement stated.



They have already failed. More than four years of war, tens of thousands of deaths, millions of people displaced, looting, rape, hunger, economic collapse, breakdown of the rule of law, destruction of the nations infrastructure, children denied education, families denied health care these represent failure. How many more deaths does there need to be, how many more failures, before they will admit that they have failed and that they dont know what to do?



The Bishops called on the people of good will to join them in prayer and fasting for peace and to continue with the prayer and fasting on a regular basis in the coming months.



The statement was signed by His Grace, Archbishop Paolino Lukudu Loro, the Metropolitan Archbishop of Juba, H.L. Bishop Erkolano Lodu Tombe, the Bishop of Yei Diocese, Monsignor Roko Taban Mousa, Apostolic Administrator of Malakal Diocese, Bishop Paride Taban, Bishop Emeritus of Torit Diocese, Fr. John Mathiang Machol, Diocesan Coordinator of Rumbek Diocese and Fr. Marco Mangu Adilio, the Diocesan Coordinator of Wau Diocese.



#economic assessment Uncertainty lingers over private spending recovery: ministry The South Korean economy is facing continued uncertainty about the recovery of domestic demand as the latest resurgence in COVID-19 cases is denting person-to-person service sector...

#NCT 127 NCT 127 drops 3rd studio album 'Sticker' K-pop boy band NCT 127 released their third studio album "Sticker" Friday, offering a mix of genres from hip-hop and R&B to pop and dance in a total of 11 tracks. In an onli...



Haiti - Security : Traffic of narcotic, dragnet in Petion-ville !





Friday near the Place Boyer, the police officers of the police station of Petion-ville intercepted a suspicious vehicle Toyota 4Runner, registered BB-37515 in which the police discovered bags of narcotics which can be Marijuana and cocaine, USD$9,400, 3 caliber 38 and 9 millimeter weapons, ammunition and several cell phones. During the operation 8 people were arrested accused of drug trafficking and criminal conspiracy.



The drugs, the weapons and other objects as well as the vehicle were seized, confirmed the principal police commissioner of Petion-ville, Gospel Monelus who did not want to provide the identity of the individuals, specifying that they were put in custody while awaiting trial.



Commissioner Monelus thanked the good cooperation of the residents of Petion-ville who do not hesitate to communicate information whenever they observe something abnormal.



PI/ HaitiLibre





















Haiti - Economy : SUNY Maritime presents an ambitious project to SEMANAH





This week Captain Dieudonne Bruno, Director General of Maritime Navigation Service of Haiti (SEMANAH) accompanied by Carlo E. Cerome, Director of Planning, its Director of Cabinet Wilbert Dede and senior executives of the institution, held a major working meeting at its Delmas 31 central office, with a delegation of "SUNY Maritime" (one of six US maritime academies located in New York) consisting of Joe Hoffman (Principal ai and Vice President for Academic Affairs), Christopher Clott (Global Business and Transportation), Captain Ernest Fink (Professional Mariner Training Courses), Richard Burke (Professor Engineering) and several other professionals and experts: Erick Johsoson, Ralf Shwari, Rosemary Ortlied and Rolande Toussaint .



"SUNY Maritime" had come to present their ambitious project to SEMANAH, which aims first and foremost to set up a shipping company that will ensure the transport of passengers and goods by boat and ferries across the country and the creation of a maritime academy in the Bay of Arcahaie, to contribute to the training of operators in the maritime industry.



In addition, this project also provides for the repair / construction of 15 small ports across the country for passengers - The construction of a shipyard in Arcahaie Bay and the acquisition of 50 water taxis and ferries between other



The Director of Cabinet Mr. Wilbert Dede elaborated on the numerous constraints facing the Haitian maritime sector and on several issues related to maritime safety, the protection of the users of the sea and the training of seafarers



At the end of this meeting, Carlo E. Cerome accompanied the delegation of "SUNY Maritime" for a visit to the port of Port-au-Prince.



to be continued...



HL/ S/ HaitiLibre





















Haiti - Diaspora : Call for participation at the International Tourism Fair of Berlin





Haiti will be in the spotlight at the world's largest World Tourism Fair (ITB) in Berlin (Germany) from March 7 to 11, 2018, with Minister of Tourism Colombe Emilie Jessy Menos.



In view of this important event, the Embassy of the Republic of Haiti in the Federal Republic of Germany, will take advantage of this event to organize an evening on Friday, March 9 at the French Institute of Berlin (Kurfurstendamn 211, 10719 BERLIN) from 6h30 pm to 9pm, to present during the Cocktail-debate, to the Germans and friends of Haiti the tourist potential of Haiti. The whole Haitian Community of Germany and neighboring countries is invited to this evening.



From March 7 to 11, 2018, let us float the Haitian flag proudly in the sky of Berlin. In the program: Haitian gastronomy (Manje lakay), stands of Haitian culinary art (restoration) with its rice djon-djon, its pikliz, its grill...; Groups of folk dances and traditional Haitian songs; paintings and crafts.



Dr. Jean-Bony Alexandre, the new Charge d'Affaires ai of the Embassy of Haiti in Germany, thanks in advance the members of the Haitian Community of Germany, the Haitian and German Associations based in Germany working for Haiti and all the Friends of Haiti who will contribute to the success of this week.



The Embassy of Haiti in the Federal Republic of Germany wishes the mobilization of all the Haitian evolving among others in the fields of the reception, the Performing Arts, the Plastic Arts, as well as in all the fields of our popular culture, whether it's cooking, crafts, literature, musicians, storytellers, dancers etc... (amateur or professional).



The Embassy thanks you in advance for your cooperation.



For additional information : +49 (30) 88554134



Read also to participate : https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-23396-icihaiti-itb-show-call-for-participation-message-from-the-embassy-of-haiti-in-germany.html



HL/ HaitiLibre





















Haiti - Politic : Inauguration of the new road Cap-Haitian/Labadee





Saturday to Fort Bourgeois President Jovenel Moise, accompanied by Prime Minister Jacques Guy Lafontant, Ministers Fritz Caillot (Public Works), Menos Colombe Emilie Jessy (Tourism), Senators of the Department of North and a delegation of the World Bank, inaugurated the new Cap-Haitien / Labadee road that will facilitate access to this tourist site and the economic development of the Great North in particular.



Recall that the locality of Labadee, the first tourist port of Haiti, receives the visit of nearly 600,000 cruise passengers per year through the "Royal Caribbean Cruise Line".



President Jovenel Moise remains convinced that the establishment of such an infrastructure is essential in the strategy to put the country in the dynamics of development in the long term.



Recall that the construction of this road long of 6km width of 5.5 meters was financed to the tune of $ 8.6 million by the World Bank (IDA). This work was spread over a period of 2 years and was entrusted to the Dominican firm Coamco.



See also :

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-23552-haiti-politic-soon-opening-of-the-new-road-cap-haitien-labadee.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-11858-haiti-reconstruction-infrastructure-work-continues-in-the-north.html

https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-19573-haiti-cruise-a-first-in-haiti.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-16432-haiti-flash-good-news-return-of-tourists-to-labadee.html



HL/ HaitiLibre





















Haiti - Politic : D-1, Haiti ready to receive the 29th Conference of Heads of State of CARICOM





Friday the Haitian Ambassador to CARICOM, Peterson Noel, the Director General of the Ministry of Commerce Daniel Denis and the Deputy Spokesman of the National Police of Haiti (PNH), Inspector Gary Desrosiers confirmed that all the provisions were taken to ensure the smooth running of the 29th Meeting of the CARICOM Conference of Heads of State and Government to be held at the Mariott Hotel in Port-au-Prince on Monday 26th and 27th February 2018.



This important event will bring together 14 delegations of the members of the Caribbean Community as well as 3 associate members (Cayman Islands, Montserrat and the Turks and Caicos Islands). 10 Heads of State and Government confirmed their presence in Haiti.



Inspector Gary Desrosiers, while calling on drivers' understanding and cooperation to facilitate movement on the related sections of road at the event headquarters, said 454 police will be deployed on this occasion.



For his part, Ambassador Peterson Noel recalled that during this event several points will be debated https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-23622-haiti-politic-d-5-10-heads-of-state-and-government-expected-in-haiti.html including :



Security at the Caribbean level :

The high incidence of crime and violence across the Community will also be examined. Heads at their last meeting discussed key initiatives directed towards combatting transnational organized crime which, they noted, continues to be one of the most immediate and significant threats facing the Region. They also directed their focus towards the development of a CARICOM Counter terrorism Strategy which is being finalized for adoption.



The CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME) :

The Meeting will seek to advance plans to further strengthen key elements of the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME) including those related to travel and trade. Discussion will also focus on key transportation issues including Regional Air Services, and on advancing regional initiatives in Tourism aimed at stimulating further sustainable growth in the sector.



The case of member countries on the American blacklist :

Heads will look at the impact on CARICOM Member States of blacklisting actions. Last December the EU included four Member States on a list of countries it deemed non-cooperative tax jurisdictions. There is also ongoing concern about the de-risking strategies by global banks and the labelling of CARICOM Member States in some quarters as tax havens.



The Meeting, at the Mariott Port-au-Prince Hotel, opens on Monday with a brief Opening Session at which remarks will be presented by CARICOM Secretary-General Ambassador Irwin LaRocque; the immediate-past CARICOM Chairman, Prime Minister Dr. Keith Mitchell of Grenada and the current Chairman, President Jovenel Moise of Haiti.



HL/ HaitiLibre

















A COMMUNITY bus service for the Goring area is celebrating its first anniversary by expanding.

Going Forward, which was founded by villager Mike Ward to take over the 134 from Goring to Wallingford, is trialling a new commuter route to Goring station from South Stoke.

There are two departures from Glebe Cottages in South Stoke at 7.10am and 7.40am which run along Ferry Road and the B4009 then Icknield Road, Springhill Road and Elvendon Road in Goring. These connect to the 7.30am and 8am trains to Paddington.

There will then be an evening service following the same route in reverse which will depart shortly after the 5.18pm train from London arrives at 6.09pm. This will set down on request at any point where it is safe to do so.

Travel is free of charge during the trial period, which started on Monday, but the non-profit company is encouraging donations towards running costs.

The trial route will become permanent if it proves popular.

Mr Ward, an accountant who lives in Elvendon Road, launched the company after Go Ride, the 134s previous operator, pulled out for logistical reasons. He believed it was still viable and wanted to keep it going because many Goring residents are elderly and could become isolated if they couldnt get out.

Now the service is thriving and offers extra afternoon and evening journeys and a Saturday service.

Mr Ward has since launched several new routes, including the 142, which replaced part of Thames Travels 143 service from Whitchurch Hill and Whitchurch to Reading via Tilehurst.

This covers a larger route including Goring, Crays Pond, Cane End, Chazey Heath and Caversham.

The company also runs the 133 from Goring to Wallingford via Moulsford, the 138 from Watlington to Wallingford via RAF Benson and Ewelme, the 144 from Goring to Reading via Beale Park and Basildon Park and the 138, which links Wallingford with villages to the north.

It also runs a school service to Wallingford School from South and North Stoke and has organised special trips to various events.

Extra journeys are to be added to the 144 this summer and there are plans to launch a Sunday service from Goring to Henley via Wallingford, Benson and Nettlebed but this would require additional drivers.

Going Forward started with a fleet of two 14-seater minibuses but now has five as well as four paid drivers and a roster of volunteers who fill in when staff are away or ill.

Since its launch, it has completed more than 9,800 trips and cancelled only 15, most of which were due to snow in December.

There have been 37,587 individual passenger journeys, of which 85 per cent were made by concessionary bus pass holders.

Each vehicle costs about 160 per day to run and most of the money comes from fares and bus pass reimbursements from Oxfordshire County Council, West Berkshire Council and Reading Borough Council.

The company has also received grants from parish councils including Goring Heath and private donations including 1,550 from South Stokes community barbecue and 500 from Goring Fire Brigade Trust.

Mr Ward said: Theres definitely demand for this kind of service. However, people say they want it but dont always use it regularly, which is the main problem we currently face. You cant expect it to be there if you only travel every six months because how will it survive in the meantime?

Only the 134 pays for itself at the moment but were working on ways to increase usage on the others.

Our passengers give very positive feedback as were a lifeline they wouldnt otherwise have.

The county council no longer subsidises any buses due to budget cuts while commercial operations wouldnt run it.

The past year has been an interesting experience and very different from anything Ive done previously. Theres been a lot to learn, from publicity to hiring drivers and managing the payroll, but statistics show weve been very reliable.

Another problem is volunteers will cover shortages but wont commit to a regular rota.

Non-profit operations are probably the way forward in rural areas across the country but I still think councils should reconsider some kind of subsidy.

The company needs more volunteers to either drive buses or help with marketing and administration. For more information, call 07484 605888 or email littlebluebus@

yahoo.comAs an existing print subscriber it is easy to get FREE access to all our online content.

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After your account is created it will ask you to either add a subscription for online access or click on the print subscriber button. Click the print subscriber button header and it will open a dropdown, now click on get started. The page will reload and you will be prompted to enter an account number and a zip code.

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If you are already a print subscriber and want online access, it is free, you simply have to create an online account and then attach your print subscription account number to the online account you create.Imperial Valley News Center

Opening of U.S. Embassy Jerusalem

Washington, DC - In May, the United States plans to open a new U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem. The opening will coincide with Israels 70th anniversary. The Embassy will initially be located in the Arnona neighborhood, in a modern building that now houses consular operations of U.S. Consulate General Jerusalem. Those consular operations, including American citizen and visa services, will continue at the Arnona facility without interruption, as part of the Embassy.

Consulate General Jerusalem will continue to operate as an independent mission with an unchanged mandate, from its historic Agron Road location. Initially, the interim Embassy in Arnona will contain office space for the Ambassador and a small staff. By the end of next year, we intend to open a new Embassy Jerusalem annex on the Arnona compound that will provide the Ambassador and his team with expanded interim office space. In parallel, we have started the search for a site for our permanent Embassy to Israel, the planning and construction of which will be a longer-term undertaking. We are excited about taking this historic step, and look forward with anticipation to the May opening.Littoral Combat Ship Helps the Homeless in Montreal

Montreal, Quebec - A group of Sailors from the littoral combat ship USS Little Rock (LCS 9) participated in a community outreach event in Montreal, Quebec, Friday.

Sailors volunteered at the Welcome Hall Mission where they assisted with daily operations by bagging groceries, building chairs and packaging food for the homeless, single parents and at-risk youth.



One of the volunteers, Operations Specialist First Class Petty Officer Aaron Huckabaa said, "It was nice to give back to the community. Especially since the people of Montreal have been so welcoming and kind, as a visiting American it was nice to give back to the community."



Throughout the day, Sailors were able to interact with local citizens both on the side of people receiving the food and those who manage and operate the program.



"All of the people running this program were so passionate about serving the community and helping as many people as possible," said Operations Specialist Senior Chief Petty Officer Tarius Williams. "It was shocking to see how many people they feed and support here every week."



According to managers, Welcome Hall Mission was established in 1892 and offers support for the homeless, young single mothers, and at-risk youth in the Montreal urban community. The free grocery store provides basic food and living supplies for those in need.



USS Little Rock is visiting Montreal following its commissioning in Buffalo last December. Sailors continue to focus on training, readiness, and certifications, while also giving back to the local community through volunteer service.Tax Cuts - Americans Believe the Results More Than the Spin

Washington, DC - On January 11, less than three weeks after President Donald J. Trump signed the most sweeping tax overhaul in American history, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) stuck to the Democrats party line. The crumbs that they are giving to workers to kind of put the schmooze on is so pathetic, Congresswoman Pelosi said.

She again referred to the benefits from business tax reformmore than 2 million U.S. workers have gotten a bonus or pay raise as a direct result of tax cutsin terms of crumbs two weeks later at a town hall meeting in Florida. And as for what investments American companies would make as a result of lower business taxes? I think its insignificant, Rep. Pelosi said last month.

Those comments havent aged well: It took less than two months for the results from tax reform to drown out the political spin.

According to new New York Times poll conducted by SurveyMonkey in early February, a majority of Americans now approve of the tax law signed by President Trump in December. There is little mystery as to why. As of February 21, no fewer than 400 companies have announced worker bonuses, raises, or 401(k) boosts as a result of tax cuts, according to the nonprofit Americans for Tax Reform.

A few examples: Walmart raised its minimum wage to $11 an hour and issued bonuses of up to $1,000. Fiat Chrysler issued $2,000 bonuses, and Southwest Airlines donated $5 million to charity on top of $1,000 bonuses for its workers.

Note that none of this happened because of mandates from Washington. The real power of tax reform is that it lets Americans choose what is most important for their businessesor their familiesto get ahead. For some companies, that means bonuses. For others, such as H&K Equipment in Pennsylvania, it means millions of dollars in capital investment to grow a business.

What does that all add up to? The Council of Economic Advisers estimates the impact of tax reform could be more than $4,000 annually for the average American familyand that only accounts for reforms on the business tax side.

This months New York Times poll is no outlier. Other surveys indicate that tax cuts are driving optimism throughout the economy. The Small Business Confidence Index, produced by CNBC and SurveyMonkey, hit a new high this month in its first survey since President Trump signed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act in December.

Democrats are taking notice. Pelosi takes to the road to tamp down growing enthusiasm for Trump tax cuts, the San Francisco Chronicle reported this week. To their credit, a few top Democrats have broken rank. I would not describe it as crumbs, Democratic National Committee Vice Chairman Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN) told Business Insider last week regarding Rep. Pelosis comments.

Indeed, the partys liberal wing may soon find itself isolated on its antitax cuts message. I wouldnt say a couple thousand dollars a year is crumbs, Rep. John Yarmuth (D-KY) said.

As the results from tax reform continue to pour in, watch for more Democratic legislators to acknowledge the importance of tax relief for their working- and middle-class constituents.

Jon Cohen, chief research officer for SurveyMonkey, summed it up briskly for The New York Times: Public opinion is moving in the direction of this bill.Acting Assistant Secretary Molly Phee Travel to Geneva

Washington, DC - Acting Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs Molly Phee will travel to Geneva, Switzerland, from February 26 - March 2, for the opening of the 37th Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC).

Acting Assistant Secretary Phee will deliver the U.S. national statement at the Council on February 28, outlining U.S. priorities at the HRC.

While in Geneva, the Acting Assistant Secretary will also meet with leaders of several international organizations, including the World Health Organization, International Telecommunication Union, and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.Deputy Secretary Sullivan Travels to Haiti

Washington, DC - Deputy Secretary of State John J. Sullivan will travel to Port-au-Prince, Haiti to meet with Haitian President Jovenel Moise and Caribbean leaders attending the twenty-ninth Inter-Sessional Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) from February 26-28.

The Deputy Secretary will focus discussions on issues of mutual interest to the United States and the Caribbean, including energy diversification, regional security, and economic development. The United States is an enduring partner to the Caribbean as underscored in the Caribbean 2020 strategy, which strengthens security, diplomacy, prosperity, energy, education, and health in the region.

While in Haiti, the Deputy Secretary will also engage with U.S. Embassy staff, as well as representatives from the business community and civil society, and make a visit to the Haitian National Police School, which receives funding from the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement.Have a story idea or tip about something happening in the East Village? Or maybe a photo? Or several photos? Or video! We'd love to hear about it. Or see it. Or something. Please go here to submit a tip.Under Secretary Shannon's Travel to Ecuador, Colombia, and Chile

Washington, DC - Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Thomas A. Shannon, Jr. will travel to Ecuador, Colombia, and Chile February 25-March 3. The Under Secretary will underscore long-standing U.S. support for bilateral priorities and reaffirm U.S. engagement to promote a safe, prosperous, and democratic hemisphere.

In Quito, Ecuador on February 25-27, Under Secretary Shannon will meet with Ecuadorian President Lenin Moreno to discuss the strengthening of the bilateral relationship and expanded collaboration in areas of mutual interest. In meetings with other Ecuadorian officials, he will discuss trade and investment, counter-narcotics cooperation, and regional and international issues.

Under Secretary Shannon will then travel to Bogota, Colombia on February 28, where he will meet with Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos and Vice President Oscar Naranjo to discuss the U.S. partnership with Colombia to combat narcotics trafficking and transnational crime, support sustainable peace, and improve regional security.

On March 1, Under Secretary Shannon, with U.S. Deputy National Security Advisor Ricky Waddell, will co-lead the U.S. delegation to the United States-Colombia High Level Dialogue, where he will discuss initiatives to achieve increased stability, prosperity, and opportunities for the citizens of both countries. Under Secretary Shannon will meet in this context with Foreign Minister Maria Angela Holguin.

The Under Secretary will then travel to Santiago, Chile on March 2 to meet with President Michelle Bachelet and Foreign Minister Heraldo Munoz. During these meetings, he will discuss the United States strong partnership with Chile on bilateral and regional efforts to advance security, prosperity, and democratic governance.Concerns for Democracy in Venezuela

Washington, DC - The United States respects the decision by Venezuelan opposition parties, most recently the Democratic Unity Roundtable, to reject President Maduros terms and conditions for April presidential elections. We reject ruling party calls to replace the democratically elected National Assembly simultaneously, rather than in 2021, as provided for under the 1999 Constitution. Deepening the rupture of Venezuelas constitutional and democratic order will not solve the nations crises.

We reiterate our call for the establishment of a legitimate and independent National Electoral Council, selected by the National Assembly as required by the Constitution. We renew our call for the establishment of an electoral calendar in compliance with the Constitution and in consultation with the legitimate National Assembly. We note that the lack of agreed terms for an election seriously compromises the integrity of the process. A free and fair election should include the full participation of all political parties and political leaders, the immediate and unconditional release of all political prisoners, a proper electoral calendar, credible international observation, and an independent electoral authority.

The United States stands with democratic nations around the world in support of the Venezuelan people and their sovereign right to elect their representatives through free and fair elections.



This Isnt Our Last Love Letter



Dear Don Don,

Way back in 92



I walked into the room and knew



Never felt this way before



I shook your hand while gazing into your eyes



And the feeling grew



As I took a seat I knew



A love that would have my heart



Forever



I knew



Way back in 92





They say love at first sight doesnt always last or isnt true



We were the exception to that rule



Our love had no where to hide



A spark set fire



As if this is how the universe started





I never doubted our love or what we could do



Together we grew



Forming a bond everlasting



That became our glue



My euphoria was YOU



Im eternally grateful for the love and life we shared



For how fortunate we were :



to have and to hold

through sickness and in health

Til death do us part



Until we are together again



This isnt our last love letter



I love you with all my heart and soul



Yours forever,



Deirdre (Mrs. Hank Snow)





Im fortunate to have fallen in love with, marry and make a life with the sharpest, coolest, funniest, most rare, bad ass, tender loving, loyal man on the planet, my husband Don Imus.









A True American Hero

I dont know why it has been so hard for me to write about my dear friend Don Imus.



I certainly know what he meant to me, my family, my charity, my hospital and the millions of fans that listened and loved him for so many years.



I keep reading all the beautiful condolences that people are writing about how much a part of their lives were effected by listening to him over the years.

But what most people dont talk enough about is what he did for all of us.

In every sense of the word, he was an American Hero. His work with children with so many different illnesses and his dedication to their future was unmatched by anyone I have ever known or heard about.



Besides raising over $100,000,000 for so many causes, he took care of young people for over 20 years in a state where he could not breathe. Along with his incredible wife Deirdre, he created a world where children were not defined by their disease. That was a miracle! He was a miracle.

I will miss him ever day for the rest of my life.

I was blessed to be a part of his and Deirdes life.

No one will ever do what he did.

I love you Don Imus - A TRUE AMERICAN HERO





David Jurist

IMUS IN THE MORNING

FIRST DAY BACK!A tough water-saving regime and the generosity of farmers have given South Africas main tourist hub welcome respite from a severe drought and helped push back a dreaded Day Zero when Cape Towns taps are expected to run dry.

On Tuesday, the city of four million moved its estimate for Day Zero to 9 July from 4 June due to a decline in water usage, and after the Groenland farmers association also released 10 billion litres of water from their private reservoirs into the Steenbras storage dam.

A pipe used to pump water lies in the polluted Kuils river (REUTERS)

South Africa has declared a national disaster over the drought afflicted southern and western regions, including Cape Town, which means the government could spend more money and resources to deal with the crisis.

Cape Town, which attracts about two million visitors each year, wants to become more resilient as the effects of climate change are felt, similar to other dry cities including Melbourne and California.

Newlands swimming pool in Cape Town lies empty (REUTERS)

We know that while we are going through a challenging time, we are building a world-class green economy that will be a beacon of hope for many places around, said Tim Harris, chief executive for Wesgro, a regional trade and tourism agency.

The chronic drought is hurting visitor numbers and knocking a rare economic bright spot, officials said previously.

A man carries a bucket used to collect water from a small roadside spring (REUTERS)

According to the South African Weather Service, two of the driest seasons ever recorded for the city since observations started in 1921 happened in the last three years: In 2015, when 549mm (21in) fell, and last year  the driest year on record  when annual rainfall totalled 499mm.

But, faced with severe water restrictions and punitive levies, residents of Cape Town have cut collective consumption by more than half in the last three years, as the city targets a daily consumption rate of no more than 450 million litres.

Rainwater flows down off Cape Towns Table Mountain (REUTERS)

At the moment, restrictions make it compulsory for residents to use no more than 50 litres per person per day, as city officials look to see out the hot summer months into winter, when Cape Town usually gets rain.

We must all keep doing absolutely everything in our power to reach the target set by the national department to reduce our urban usage by 45 per cent, said Ian Neilson, the deputy mayor.

The Theewaterskloof dam, which supplies most of Cape Towns potable water, is seen from above near Villiersdorp (REUTERS)

Already hundreds of Cape Town residents are being forced to queue overnight to stock up on water in South Africas second largest economic hub and tourism attraction.

However, several desalination plants are planned and together with underground water reserves, are expected to help augment water sources well into the future.Viewed from some angles, the yellow house appears a restatement of Ottoman elegance, its high arches and elevated terraces overlooking a district of tower blocks.

From others, it is an eyesore, its crumbling sandstone walls riddled with bullets and saved from collapse by grey steel girders.

It is supposed to be a symbol of remembrance and reconciliation.

Recommended Piles of rubbish wash up on Beirut beach amid national waste crisis

If the architects think that thing is meant to represent me, then theyre wrong, says Saad Youssef, looking up at the building. Its ugly. They should tear it down.

His friend, Mustafa Khattib, disagrees. It has to stay. The Lebanese need to see this every day, because they need to remember what they did.

During Lebanons 15-year civil war, the building commanded a crossroads known then as the intersection of death. The Christian militia that occupied the house turned it into a snipers nest.

Funded with an $18m (12.9m) grant from Lebanese and French authorities, Beit Beirut was envisioned by its architects as the first memorial of its kind: a museum, archive and visitor centre to commemorate the countrys civil war. The renovation has merged the buildings skeleton into a light-filled glass one, adding archive space for a raft of documents and pods in which research staff could examine them.

Inside the old apartment building, ceilings are scorched black and a barrier of sandbags divides a room on the second floor. In makeshift bunkers  one of them formerly a blind womans bedroom that had been reinforced with concrete  slits have been gouged into the stonework, offering killers a view of the surrounding streets. They left graffiti, too. One just reads: Hell.

The questions of memory and forgiveness that Beit Beiruts founders hope to raise are far from abstract in a country that remains heavily divided and without a common understanding of the war years.

It is not taught in history books. There is no official death toll, and thousands of families remain without answers over the fate of disappeared husbands, brothers or daughters.

Youssef Haidars $18m renovation envisioned the first memorial of its kind: a museum, archive and cultural centre to commemorate the war ((Diego Ibarra Sanchez/MeMo/For The Washington Post))

The idea was to create a space that finally allows people to come together. We have a lot of monuments in this country. Every community has its own martyrs and statues that they visit a few times a year with flowers, says Youssef Haidar, the architect who oversaw the renovation.

But although Beit  or house of  Beirut has officially been open for months, visitors only trickle in and the gate remains closed for weeks at a time. The citys municipal authority has yet to appoint a management committee or recruit staff, and some wings are even closed off to its architects, now that their jobs are done.

For the projects supporters, the delays reflect the unwillingness of the political establishment to interrogate painful memories. The municipalitys cultural office says the building is in a transitional period while officials establish a legal framework for its operations.

Stretching from 1975 to 1990, Lebanons civil war pitted sectarian militias against each other as outside powers fuelled the violence. By the end, Beirut was a shattered city and the countrys social fabric had been tattered. No community escaped the wars massacres.

The people who carried out the war are still the ones in power, and I wonder if they are ready for this, Haidar says.

High-ranking members of the current government  which reflects a delicately balanced confessional system shaped through a post-war accord  have links to the Christian and Muslim militias that slugged it out across the citys front line.

This is a building that tells the real story of what we did, Haidar says.

Perched on the edge of downtown Beirut, the Barakat building became a home for both Christians and Muslims  many of their faces now immortalised in the negatives of a destroyed photography studio downstairs.

Construction began in 1924, and it was the architecture that brought the place to life. High-ceilinged balconies were arranged around a central atrium so neighbours could lean out and chat. Wide windows opened views over the bustling city.

It was that openness that would later make the building deadly, offering snipers a panoramic view.

The area they had presided over is barely recognisable today. Once the heart of the city, downtown Beirut was largely levelled during the war, and the multibillion dollar renovation is sterile by comparison and empties out when night falls.

For some, Beit Beirut is a symbol of remembrance and reconciliation; for others, its an eyesore riddled with bullets and memories ((Diego Ibarra Sanchez/MeMo/For The Washington Post))

Only in Beit Beirut have the traces of destruction been intentionally preserved. At the base of the building, stones are still piled up where its occupiers destroyed the lower stairwell to prevent attackers from entering. Steel girders maintain the structural integrity in places, making clear where the original stonework was lost to shelling, bullets or fire.

Although the properties in downtown Beirut are so expensive that you cant keep hundreds of buildings for this purpose, you can keep one to remind of what happened here, says Reina Sarkis, a psychoanalyst and researcher on the trauma of the Lebanese war.

How the building will be used in the future is uncertain. In the surrounding blocks this week, residents voiced a mix of bemusement and frustration.

Its not even got proper signs, says Najat Moubarak, sitting surrounded by stone angels in her familys hardware store. If its not advertised widely then how can it have an impact?

She had guided three foreign tourists in Beit Beiruts direction earlier that morning. They came in here asking for the yellow house, so of course I showed them. Pulling out a recent tourist map, she searched the pages for Beit Beirut  it was not marked.

Too often, the projects of dedicated individuals and organisations like the museum fail to win crucial backing from politicians, says Sarkis, who has worked extensively on her own initiatives to rehabilitate war survivors.

Right after the war, the first people to reflect were the artists, and they have produced a lot. Journalists, writers, historians, says Sarkis. The problem is that if you want to take it to a different level, you need a political decision and a political will.

Suzan Haidamous in Beirut contributed to this report

 The Washington PostWhether you like yours toasted and slathered in butter or simply as it is, hot cross buns are undeniably one of the best Easter foods.

So its worrying news that this year, hot cross buns may no longer be one a penny, two a penny, as the song dictates.

In fact, hot cross bun prices are set to soar due to a raisin shortage in California.

Recommended Hummus prices rise by a third due to chickpea shortage

Bakeries are facing higher costs for the dried fruits due to the crop shortages  US raisin prices have risen by 50 per cent since September.

Farmers have been producing fewer and fewer sultanas, currants and raisins and focusing on other crops due to low profits over the past few years.

But the situation has reportedly been exacerbated by a heatwave.

Its estimated that 275,000 tons of raisins will be produced in 2017-18 in California, which is a reduction of 8 per cent compared to the previous year and 15 per cent below the five-year average.

The shortage in the US has forced British bakers to look elsewhere for dried fruits, turning to Turkey and Greece.

However the increased demand has resulted in Turkish sultana prices soaring by 30 per cent.

Some UK bakers are looking to Australia to fill the gap, but earlier this month it was reported that harvesting of the 2017 sultana crop was running two or three weeks behind the previous season.

This is mainly a result of unfavourable weather conditions and is expected to lead to a 20 to 25 per cent smaller harvest than the previous year.

Theres only one thing for it  eat as many hot cross buns while you still can, and then turn to chocolate chip versions.Artists and other social media users are flocking to a new site called Vero.

The app and social network is being touted as the new Instagram. But it has already been found to have a number of potential issues  including the fact that it isn't actually working for many people, and the fact that it will eventually start charging subscription fees.

Vero launched years ago, setting itself in direct opposition to other apps like Facebook and Instagram. But it has been gradually gathering pace in recent days, with a wide range of influential Instagram users posting that they are going to start using the site.

Gadget and tech news: In pictures Show all 25 1 /25 Gadget and tech news: In pictures Gadget and tech news: In pictures Gun-toting humanoid robot sent into space Russia has launched a humanoid robot into space on a rocket bound for the International Space Station (ISS). The robot Fedor will spend 10 days aboard the ISS practising skills such as using tools to fix issues onboard. Russia's deputy prime minister Dmitry Rogozin has previously shared videos of Fedor handling and shooting guns at a firing range with deadly accuracy. Dmitry Rogozin/Twitter Gadget and tech news: In pictures Google turns 21 Google celebrates its 21st birthday on September 27. The The search engine was founded in September 1998 by two PhD students, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, in their dormitories at Californias Stanford University. Page and Brin chose the name google as it recalled the mathematic term 'googol', meaning 10 raised to the power of 100 Google Gadget and tech news: In pictures Hexa drone lifts off Chief engineer of LIFT aircraft Balazs Kerulo demonstrates the company's "Hexa" personal drone craft in Lago Vista, Texas on June 3 2019 Reuters Gadget and tech news: In pictures Project Scarlett to succeed Xbox One Microsoft announced Project Scarlett, the successor to the Xbox One, at E3 2019. The company said that the new console will be 4 times as powerful as the Xbox One and is slated for a release date of Christmas 2020 Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures First new iPod in four years Apple has announced the new iPod Touch, the first new iPod in four years. The device will have the option of adding more storage, up to 256GB Apple Gadget and tech news: In pictures Folding phone may flop Samsung will cancel orders of its Galaxy Fold phone at the end of May if the phone is not then ready for sale. The $2000 folding phone has been found to break easily with review copies being recalled after backlash PA Gadget and tech news: In pictures Charging mat non-starter Apple has cancelled its AirPower wireless charging mat, which was slated as a way to charge numerous apple products at once AFP/Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures "Super league" India shoots down satellite India has claimed status as part of a "super league" of nations after shooting down a live satellite in a test of new missile technology EPA Gadget and tech news: In pictures 5G incoming 5G wireless internet is expected to launch in 2019, with the potential to reach speeds of 50mb/s Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures Uber halts driverless testing after death Uber has halted testing of driverless vehicles after a woman was killed by one of their cars in Tempe, Arizona. March 19 2018 Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures A humanoid robot gestures during a demo at a stall in the Indian Machine Tools Expo, IMTEX/Tooltech 2017 held in Bangalore Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures A humanoid robot gestures during a demo at a stall in the Indian Machine Tools Expo, IMTEX/Tooltech 2017 held in Bangalore Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures Engineers test a four-metre-tall humanoid manned robot dubbed Method-2 in a lab of the Hankook Mirae Technology in Gunpo, south of Seoul, South Korea Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures Engineers test a four-metre-tall humanoid manned robot dubbed Method-2 in a lab of the Hankook Mirae Technology in Gunpo, south of Seoul, South Korea Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures The giant human-like robot bears a striking resemblance to the military robots starring in the movie 'Avatar' and is claimed as a world first by its creators from a South Korean robotic company Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures Engineers test a four-metre-tall humanoid manned robot dubbed Method-2 in a lab of the Hankook Mirae Technology in Gunpo, south of Seoul, South Korea Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures Waseda University's saxophonist robot WAS-5, developed by professor Atsuo Takanishi Rex Gadget and tech news: In pictures Waseda University's saxophonist robot WAS-5, developed by professor Atsuo Takanishi and Kaptain Rock playing one string light saber guitar perform jam session Rex Gadget and tech news: In pictures A test line of a new energy suspension railway resembling the giant panda is seen in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China Reuters Gadget and tech news: In pictures A test line of a new energy suspension railway, resembling a giant panda, is seen in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China Reuters Gadget and tech news: In pictures A concept car by Trumpchi from GAC Group is shown at the International Automobile Exhibition in Guangzhou, China Rex Gadget and tech news: In pictures A Mirai fuel cell vehicle by Toyota is displayed at the International Automobile Exhibition in Guangzhou, China Reuters Gadget and tech news: In pictures A visitor tries a Nissan VR experience at the International Automobile Exhibition in Guangzhou, China Reuters Gadget and tech news: In pictures A man looks at an exhibit entitled 'Mimus' a giant industrial robot which has been reprogrammed to interact with humans during a photocall at the new Design Museum in South Kensington, London Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures A new Israeli Da-Vinci unmanned aerial vehicle manufactured by Elbit Systems is displayed during the 4th International conference on Home Land Security and Cyber in the Israeli coastal city of Tel Aviv Getty

But that interest has led the app itself to stop working. Many people are finding that they can't sign up because of technical issues, and then finding themselves unable to actually post once they do.

A flurry of posts from Vero's Twitter account make clear that it is struggling to deal with the rapidly growing interest in the site.

Recommended Instagram lets you send pictures that disappear after one view

"Due to very large traffic, we're experiencing intermittent technical issues," it posted. "We're working to resolve them as soon as possible."

Other posts say that there has been a problem with signing up, with posting, and even with getting on the site at all. "Thanks for your patience while we continue to work to resolve the current service outage," one reads, while another thanks users for their "support and understanding" during the issues.

Others have also drawn attention to Vero's terms of service, which appear to be of particular concern to the artists and other creatives who are moving to use the app. Part of them, for instance, gives the company the right to use the content posts there, without paying royalties, forever and anywhere.

Similar terms are present in most major social media companies' terms, and the firms claim they are necessary to allow pictures posted there to be shared and embedded. The company said that its terms had caused "confusion", and that they have been updated to "clarify".

Vero has been transparent about the fact that it will eventually charge people to have accounts on the service. "We made our business model subscription-based," a 'Manifesto' on the company's website reads, "making our users our customers, not advertisers".

Eventually users will have to pay an annual fee to get onto the site. Companies will also have to pay if they use a "buy now" feature that will let people buy things directly from their posts.

(Vero)

But, for now, the first million users to sign up will receive free accounts.

"We're so excited to welcome so many new users as part of our first million who get Vero free for life!" Vero posted on Twitter. "We still have room before we hit our first million users."

The rest of Vero's manifesto mostly makes clear that it will try and avoid the problems of other sites like Instagram. It has a chronological feed that includes everything people post, which isn't decided by an algorithm and means that companies or people can't pay to boost posts, as they often do on other platforms.

It also claims that it will avoid the aggressive data collection techniques of sites like Facebook. "Vero only collects the data we believe is necessary to provide users with a great experience and to ensure the security of their accounts," the manifesto reads.Before smashing into Saturn last September, Nasas Cassini spacecraft sent back some of the most spectacular images of the planet ever seen.

Now Nasa has revealed an image showing the spot on the planets surface where the probe met its end.

Stitched together from some of the very last images captured by Cassinis cameras, the mosaic shows the location where the spacecraft would enter the planets atmosphere just hours later.

Composite image created from some of Cassini's final pictures shows where probe crashed into Saturn a few hours later (NASA)

Setting off from Earth in 1997, the craft spent two decades exploring the solar system, first entering orbit around Saturn in 2004 and later embarking on a seven-year mission to explore the planet and its 60-plus moons, some of which were previously unknown.

Cassinis mission was extended twice during its 20-year life, but the probe was sent to its final resting place in September last year, burning up on the surface of Saturn to stop it spreading alien bacteria carried there from Earth.

This composite image of Saturn was created from a number of pictures taken by Cassini on its final trip around the planet (NASA)

But while the majority of the probe was destroyed, Nasa revealed in December that one small piece of the craft - an aluminium cover for the Cosmic Dust Analyzer (CDA) - became detached and discarded early in the mission and is still floating somewhere in the solar system, possibly in a vague orbit around the Sun.

The view of Saturn released by Nasa this week looks towards the planets night side, lit by sunlight reflected from the rings.

The series of images was taken with the crafts wide-angle camera on 14 September, 2017  just one day before its final dive  at a distance of approximately 394,000 miles from the planets surface.

According to Nasa, this is as close to Saturn as any probe has ever come.

The images were taken using red, green and blue spectral filters and combined to show the scene in near natural colour.

Data and images sent by the probe before its dramatic end continue to be a rich source of information about the solar systems second largest planet.

Cassini's mission to Saturn Show all 9 1 /9 Cassini's mission to Saturn Cassini's mission to Saturn In this handout image released on April 30, 2013 by NASA, the spinning vortex of Saturn's north polar storm is seen from NASA's Cassini spacecraft on November 27, 2012 in the Saturnian system of space. The false-color image of the storm resembles a red rose surrounded by green foliage which was made by using a combination of spectral filters sensitive to wavelengths of near-infrared light at a distance of approximately 261,000 miles from Saturn NASA via Getty Images Cassini's mission to Saturn The planet Saturn is seen in the first color composite made of images taken by NASA's Cassini spacecraft on its approach to the ringed planet, October 21, 2002. The probe's arrival is still 20 months away. The planet was 285 million kilometers (177 million miles) away from the spacecraft, nearly twice the distance between the Sun and Earth, when Cassini took images of it using various filters NASA/Getty Images Cassini's mission to Saturn Nasa's Cassini spacecraft is shown diving through the plume of Saturn's moon Enceladus in 2015 Nasa/JPL-Caltech/Reuters Cassini's mission to Saturn NASA's Cassini spacecraft captured this view of planet Earth as a point of light between the icy rings of Saturn NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute Cassini's mission to Saturn The giant plumes of ice on Enceladus seen by the Cassini spacecraft in 2009 Nasa Cassini's mission to Saturn The image of Titan is actually a composite of a number of pictures taken by Cassini during the flyby Cassini's mission to Saturn REUTERS/NASA/JPL-Caltech/SSI/Hampton/Handout Cassini's mission to Saturn REUTERS/NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute/Handout Cassini's mission to Saturn REUTERS/NASA/JPL/University of Arizona/DLR/Handout

Scientists expect to be analysing the data for several years to come.

"This is the final chapter of an amazing mission, but its also a new beginning," said Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator for NASA's science mission directorate at NASA headquarters in Washington, shortly after the completion of the mission.

"Cassinis discovery of ocean worlds at Titan and Enceladus changed everything, shaking our views to the core about surprising places to search for potential life beyond Earth."The father of murdered five-year-old April Jones has had to learn of his daughters death for a second time after a virus damaged his memory, it has been revealed.

Paul Jones, 49, reportedly asked his wife Coral why their daughter had not been to see him as he recovered from a severe case of encephalitis, a potentially lethal brain condition that left him unable to remember much of the previous decade.

Ms Jones said her husband had recognised April in family photos used to jog his memory.

She said: He asked, What happened to April?

I had to tell him she was no longer with us and that shed been killed.

He broke down. It was an awful conversation because he was so emotional.

I couldnt go on, I just couldnt tell him any more. It was like reliving it all over again.

April, five, was snatched from outside her home in Machynlleth, Wales, on 1 October 2012. Her disappearance sparked the largest missing person search in UK police history.

Hundreds of people searched local fields and farmland for the missing girl, with volunteers coming from as far away as Manchester and Bristol to help.

Prime Minister David Cameron also made a televised appeal for any information that might help this family find their lovely child.

UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 11 September 2021 Arsenals Takehiro Tomiyasu attempts to control the ball during the Premier League match at The Emirates Stadium PA UK news in pictures 10 September 2021 People paddle board during a misty morning in Ullswater, the second largest lake in the Lake District, Cumbria PA UK news in pictures 9 September 2021 Troops from Wiltshire based 4 Armoured Close Support Battalion Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers during final inspection at Wellington Barracks in London, ahead of providing troops for the Queens Guard PA UK news in pictures 8 September 2021 Workers cross London Bridge during the morning rush hour in London Reuters UK news in pictures Mixing it up: Painting it up press view in London A gallery employee poses for photographers next to a painting entitled Prairie by British artist, Louise Giovanelli during the exhibition 'Mixing it up: Painting it up' at the Hayward Gallery in London EPA UK news in pictures 6 September 2021 Traders in the Ring at the London Metal Exchange, in the City of London, after open-outcry trading returned for the first time since March 2020, when the Ring was temporarily closed due to the pandemic PA UK news in pictures 5 September 2021 People enjoy the warm weather on Sandbanks beach, Poole PA UK news in pictures 4 September 2021 Demonstrators from Animal Rebellion and Nature Rebellion protest in Trafalgar Square in London. PA UK news in pictures 3 September 2021 South Africa's Ntando Mahlangu (centre) wins the Men's 200 metres T61 Final ahead of second placed Great Britain's Richard Whitehead at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games PA UK news in pictures 2 September 2021 A young common seal on the beach at Horsey Gap in Norfolk, as hundreds of pregnant grey seals come ashore ready for the start of the pupping season. PA UK news in pictures 1 September 2021 Goldfinches fighting over food in a garden in Strensham, Worcestershire PA UK news in pictures 31 August 2021 Gold Medallist Sarah Storey of Britain celebrates on the podium Reuters UK news in pictures 30 August 2021 Extinction Rebellion protesters hold a a tea party on Tower Bridge in London EPA UK news in pictures 29 August 2021 A police office tussles with a demonstrator on Cromwell Road outside the Natural History Museum during a protest by members of Extinction Rebellion in London PA UK news in pictures 28 August 2021 Members of the British armed forces 16 Air Assault Brigade walk to the air terminal after disembarking a Royal Airforce Voyager aircraft at Brize Norton, Oxfordshire POOL/AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 27 August 2021 Fabio Quartararo crashes during a MotoGP practice session at the British Grand Prix, Silverstone Circuit Action Images via Reuters UK news in pictures 26 August 2021 An Extinction Rebellion activist holds a placard in a fountain surrounded by police officers, during a protest next to Buckingham Palace in London Reuters UK news in pictures 25 August 2021 Gold Medallist Great Britains cyclist, Sarah Storey, celebrates after winning the Womens C5 3000m Individual Pursuit Final at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. It was her 15th Paralympic gold Reuters UK news in pictures 24 August 2021 A demonstrator dressed as bee during a protest by members of Extinction Rebellion on Whitehall, in central London PA UK news in pictures 23 August 2021 Former interpreters for the British forces in Afghanistan demonstrate outside the Home Office in central London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 22 August 2021 Police officers form a line in front of the entrance to the Guildhall, London, where protesters have climbed onto a ledge above the entrance during an Extinction Rebellion stage a protest PA UK news in pictures 21 August 2021 People take part in a demonstration in solidarity with people of Afghanistan, in London Reuters UK news in pictures 20 August 2021 People zip wire across the sea from Bournemouth pier towards the beach. PA UK news in pictures 19 August 2021 Supporters of Geronimo the alpaca gather outside Shepherds Close Farm in Wooton Under Edge, Gloucestershire PA UK news in pictures 18 August 2021 Former Afghan interpreters and veterans hold a demonstration outside Downing Street, calling for support and protection for Afghan interpreters and their families PA UK news in pictures 17 August 2021 Military personnel board the RAF Airbus A400M at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, where evacuation flights from Afghanistan have been landing Reuters UK news in pictures 16 August 2021 Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer takes part in a minute's silence at Wolverhampton police station for the victims of the Plymouth mass shooting last week PA UK news in pictures 15 August 2021 2Storm, a ten-metre tall puppet of a mythical goddess of the sea created by Edinburgh-based visual theatre company Vision Mechanics, makes its way alongside the seafront at North Berwick, East Lothian, during a performance at the Fringe By The Sea festival PA UK news in pictures 14 August 2021 A woman and two young girls look at floral tributes in Plymouth where six people, including the offender, died of gunshot wounds in a firearms incident PA UK news in pictures 13 August 2021 Forensic officers in the Keyham area of Plymouth where six people, including the shooter, died of gunshot wounds in a firearms incident on Thursday evening PA UK news in pictures 12 August 2021 Children ride horses in the River Eden in Appleby, Cumbria, during the annual gathering of travellers for the Appleby Horse Fair PA UK news in pictures 11 August 2021 Stella Moris (left) reacts after talking to the media outside the High Court in London, following the first hearing in the Julian Assange extradition appeal, n London, following the first hearing in the Julian Assange extradition appeal. The US government has won the latest round in its High Court bid to appeal against the decision not to extradite Julian Assange on espionage charges PA UK news in pictures 10 August 2021 Students react after they receive their A-Level results at the Ark Academy, in London Reuters UK news in pictures 9 August 2021 The final athletes from Great Britain arrive home including Jason Kenny, Laura Kenny and Katie Archibald (front left-right) at Heathrow Airport, London following the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games PA UK news in pictures 8 August 2021 Great Britain's Laura Kenny during the closing ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at the Olympic stadium in Japan PA UK news in pictures 7 August 2021 People from the Glasgow Southside community take part in the Govanhill Carnival, an anti-racist celebration of pride, unity and the contributions immigrants have made to the community in Govanhill, at Queen's Park, Glasgow PA UK news in pictures 6 August 2021 Chijindu Ujah of Britain, Zharnel Hughes of Britain, Richard Kilty of Britain and Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake of Britain celebrate winning silver as they pose with Asha Philip of Britain, Imani Lansiquot of Britain, Dina Asher-Smith of Britain and Daryll Neita of Britain after they won bronze in the women's 4 x 100m relay during Olympic Games Day 14 Getty UK news in pictures 5 August 2021 A protester places flowers on a photograph of an executed man during a demonstration organised by supporters of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) to protest against the inauguration of Iran's new president Ebrahim Raisi in central London AFP via Getty UK news in pictures 4 August 2021 England's Joe Root looks on as India's KL Rahul doesn't make it to a catch during day one of Cinch First Test match at Trent Bridge, Nottingham PA UK news in pictures 3 August 2021 Great Britain's Laura Kenny and Jason Kenny with their silver medals for the Women's Team Pursuit and Mens Team Sprint during the Track Cycling at the Izu Velodrome on the eleventh day of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Japan PA UK news in pictures 2 August 2021 Great Britains Charlotte Worthington competes during the Womens BMX Freestyle Final at the Tokyo Olympics PA UK news in pictures 1 August 2021 EPA UK news in pictures 31 July 2021 James Guy, Adam Peaty and Kathleen Dawson celebrate winning the gold medal in the mixed 4x100m medley relay final at the Tokyo Olympics AP UK news in pictures 30 July 2021 Great Britain's Bethany Shriever and Kye Whyte celebrate their Gold and Silver medals respectively for the Cycling BMX Racing at the Ariake Urban Sports Park on the seventh day of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Japan PA UK news in pictures 29 July 2021 Team GB's Mallory Franklin during the Womens Canoe Slalom Final on day six of the Tokyo Olympic Games. She went on to win the silver medal Getty UK news in pictures 28 July 2021 Canoers on Llyn Padarn lake in Snowdonia, Gwynedd. It was announced that the north-west Wales slate landscape has been granted UNESCO World Heritage Status PA UK news in pictures 27 July 2021 A view of one of two areas now being used at a warehouse facility in Dover, Kent, for boats used by people thought to be migrants. PA UK news in pictures 26 July 2021 A woman is helped by Border Force officers as a group of people thought to be migrants are brought in to Dover, Kent, onboard a Border Force vessel, following a small boat incident in the Channel PA UK news in pictures 25 July 2021 Vehicles drive through deep water on a flooded road in Nine Elms, London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 24 July 2021 Utilities workers inspect a 15x20ft sinkhole on Green Lane, Liverpool, which is suspected to have been caused by ruptured water main PA

The search continued for six months.

Aprils body, however, was never found.

Police, though, were able to prove she had been murdered by paedophile Mark Bridger.

He was convicted of murder, child abduction and perverting the course of justice, but refused to tell detectives what he had done with Aprils body  even though officers had recovered fragments of her skull from his fireplace.

Mr and Ms Jones attended every day of Bridgers six-month Crown Court trial.

Now, though, Ms Jones has revealed that the bereaved family is having to cope with her husband Pauls illness, which she said began 18 months ago.

Ms Jones, 46, told the Sunday People: How much more can my family take?

Ive already lost my daughter and now I have lost my soulmate and my rock and I feel so alone.

Paul is the only person who can truly understand the pain I have felt over losing April.

The infection and resulting brain swelling caused Mr Jones to lose his memory of most of the last decade.

Before his illness hit, he had spoken eloquently of his devastation at losing his daughter. With his wife, he co-wrote the book April: A Mother And Fathers Heart-Breaking Story Of The Daughter They Loved And Lost.

He raised funds for charity in Aprils honour, with the money going to help the families of other missing people. Before one event in 2015, Mr Jones told the BBC: We know first-hand the feeling of absolute despair when someone you love disappears.

Ms Jones said she has so far kept the worst details of the case from her husband.

She fears, however, that the full horror of what happened to his daughter will come back to Mr Jones, forcing him to relive the whole ordeal for a second time, while also struggling to cope with his illness.

Ms Jones said: He loved her so much. I dont know what hed do if he knew the truth of what had happened to our little girl. Yet I know everything could come flooding back further down the line, and I worry it will drive him even deeper into depression.

Although her body was never found, the family and the close-knit community of Machynlleth held a funeral service for April in September 2013.

Bridger, 52, was sentenced to a whole life tariff, meaning he will die behind bars.

His cottage in Ceinws, Powys, where April is believed to have been murdered, was demolished in 2014. Mr and Ms Jones watched the house being destroyed.

The Encephalitis Society offers support and information to anyone affected by the condition, and can be contacted on the following number: +44 (0)1653 699599. You can also email them at support@encephalitis.info.A former Daily Telegraph journalist spied for Communist Russia, it has been alleged.

David Floyd spent nearly 30 years as the right-wing newspapers communist affairs correspondent.

But it is now claimed that before joining the Telegraph in the early 1950s, Floyd had passed information to the Soviets while working in Moscow as a diplomat between 1944 and 1947.

The revelations come days after Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn accused the Telegraph and other newspapers of going a little bit James Bond in the way it was reporting the allegations he had met a Czech spy in the 1980s.

Writing in The Sunday Times, the historian Jeff Hulbert, who uncovered secret Foreign Office documents about the Floyd case, said there appeared to have been a cover-up after the Oxford graduate confessed to spying in 1951.

Despite having a clear confession, the Director of Public Prosecutions is said to have declared that the evidence was clearly insufficient to support a criminal case.

Instead, Mr Hulbert reports, within a year of Floyd returning from a diplomatic posting to Belgrade in disgrace, he had been given the communist affairs correspondent job by The Daily Telegraphs deputy editor Malcolm Muggeridge, who had worked for MI6 during the Second World War.

Mr Hulbert suggested that the British might have wanted to hush everything up because weeks before Floyd confessed, the Cambridge spies Guy Burgess and Donald Maclean had fled to the Soviet Union.

The defections had left the US intelligence agencies highly disturbed and demanding the British clean house.

Revealing another British turncoat, this time an Oxford graduate, might have been seen as embarrassing and damaging to the special relationship.

Floyds case, Mr Hulbert said, was potentially all the more embarrassing because the British seem to have sent him to Moscow without having bothered to vet him properly.

Had they checked, they would have discovered that as a student in the 1930s he was secretary of the Oxford University branch of the Communist Party.

While at Oxford, Mr Hulbert said, Floyd met Arthur Wynn, who would go on to have a distinguished civil service career but would be unmasked, after his death, as KGB Agent Scott, the man who recruited Oxford students as Soviet spies.

Floyd married Joan Dabbs, a fellow Oxford communist, in 1939, but he was still sent to Moscow in 1944 as a translator for the wartime British military mission to the Russian capital. Later Floyd, a fluent Russian speaker, worked at the British embassy.

When his spying was finally detected, Britains then Foreign Secretary Herbert Morrison is said to have scribbled in despair across one secret memo: Why must we employ such doubtfuls?

Mr Hulbert reported that it was only in 1950 that the Foreign Office realised it had never done background checks on Floyd, who had been hired on a temporary basis.

The secret files reportedly show this happened after the alarm was raised by chance when an Oxford graduate working in the Ministry of Defence recognised Floyd and remembered he had been a student communist.

 Jeremy Corbyn hits back at communist spy claims

Floyd, by now based in Belgrade in what was then communist Yugoslavia, was investigated, but, perhaps incredibly, cleared.

His student radicalism was reportedly dismissed as youthful indiscretion. Mr Hulbert said one senior colleague assured others that Floyd was a simple person who could not possibly conceal a double loyalty.

Mr Hulbert added it was not entirely clear why Floyd then confessed about a year later to passing what he insisted had been very low-grade secrets to the Russians between 1944 and 1947.

One possibility seems to have been that in the hue and cry following the Burgess and Maclean defections, Floyd feared that Russian agents  who had approached him in Belgrade  might abduct him and take him to the safety of Moscow.

The historian quoted a top secret Foreign Office summary as saying: Mr Floyd claims that he has turned Kings evidence because he had come to the conclusion that he was unfitted to remain in the foreign service and it was the honest thing to do.

He has also been influenced by the Maclean and Burgess episode. There is also an indication that he was frightened that the Russians might kidnap him.

The documents also say Floyd may have become disillusioned with communism and sincerely repentant. He is said to have given a statement declaring: I wished to make a clean breast of the affair so that I might eventually begin life anew with a clear conscience.

In this, the British appear to have been keen to help him, rather than prosecute him.

Despite declaring himself greatly distressed to learn of Floyds spying, Sir Charles Peake, the ambassador in Belgrade, reportedly lent his wayward subordinate the use of his country cottage while he sorted himself out.

At about the same time, Mr Hulbert reports, a Foreign Office memo noted: He is already in touch with MI5, who want to find him a job.

Within a year of returning to Britain in disgrace, Floyd was working for the Telegraph where the editor, Colin Coote, was, like his deputy Muggeridge, a former MI6 man.

Secrets and spies: book takes a peek inside classified files of MI6 Show all 3 1 /3 Secrets and spies: book takes a peek inside classified files of MI6 Secrets and spies: book takes a peek inside classified files of MI6 457923.bin Secrets and spies: book takes a peek inside classified files of MI6 457921.bin Secrets and spies: book takes a peek inside classified files of MI6 457922.bin

In his Sunday Times article, Mr Hulbert, who has written a biography of Guy Burgess, speculates: Did the Telegraph, wittingly or not, provide Floyd with the perfect cover to carry on spying, this time as a double agent obliged to work for Britain in return for his freedom?

Was some kind of deal struck by the security services to keep Floyd out of jail? Or was Floyd more cunning than anyone realised and still working for Moscow, now as a triple agent?

The files seen by the historian remain heavily redacted.

One former colleague described Floyd to Mr Hulbert as a very odd fellow who created this aura of inscrutability and mystery.

His spying for the Soviets was never made public during his lifetime, and when Floyd died aged 83 in 1997, his obituary hailed him as one of Fleet Streets most knowledgeable Kremlinologists.

His son Sir Christopher Floyd, 66, now a lord justice of appeal, told The Sunday Times he found the allegations about his father very shocking, but declined to comment further.

Among Floyds scoops was revealing, in the 1960s, that the spy Kim Philby was working as an adviser to the KGBs British desk after escaping to Moscow.

The Sunday Times also reports that Floyd was at a Garrick Club lunch in London where his editor, Coote, introduced the Soviet naval attache Captain Yevgeny Ivanov to society osteopath Stephen Ward.

Ivanov would go on to sleep with Wards friend Christine Keeler, as would John Profumo, Britains secretary of state for war. Coote appears to have thought Ivanov would be a useful journalistic contact for Floyd.

In 1978 Floyd was also mentioned in a Guardian report alleging that the Information Research Department (IRD) of the Foreign Office had secretly doubled as an anti-communist propaganda unit for 30 years.

Without suggesting Floyd knew of the departments covert exploits, the Guardian noted he had been commissioned by IRD to write a booklet about China.

Perhaps ironically given Floyds secret past, the Guardian also reported that the IRD was being shut down because a Labour foreign secretary, Tony Crosland, had objected to its links with certain right-wing journalists.

By this time Floyd had established a reputation as something of an implacable foe of communism.

It was in reference to what he reported on, rather than his own political leanings, that younger journalists are said to have given him the nickname Pink Floyd.Police have issued a warning over MDMA after six 13-year-olds were taken to hospital.

The children became unwell at around 6.30pm on Saturday and were rushed to Crosshouse Hospital in Kilmarnock, Scotland, where they were kept overnight for observation.

Police in Ayrshire said they believed the teenagers, who all knew each other, may have ingested a type of MDMA pill with an owl logo.

Detective Inspector Fraser Normansell said: Police were informed of six children who had been taken to Crosshouse Hospital after taking unwell.

One line of enquiry is that they had taken a type of MDMA tablet, believed to be red, green or brown in colour, bearing an owl logo.

We want to remind the public that any drug can be dangerous and that you are putting your health at risk if you do take anything unknown to you.

Anyone who feels unwell, or knows anyone who appears unwell after taking these substances should seek medical treatment as soon as possible.

UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures Mixing it up: Painting it up press view in London A gallery employee poses for photographers next to a painting entitled Prairie by British artist, Louise Giovanelli during the exhibition 'Mixing it up: Painting it up' at the Hayward Gallery in London EPA UK news in pictures 6 September 2021 Traders in the Ring at the London Metal Exchange, in the City of London, after open-outcry trading returned for the first time since March 2020, when the Ring was temporarily closed due to the pandemic PA UK news in pictures 5 September 2021 People enjoy the warm weather on Sandbanks beach, Poole PA UK news in pictures 4 September 2021 Demonstrators from Animal Rebellion and Nature Rebellion protest in Trafalgar Square in London. PA UK news in pictures 3 September 2021 South Africa's Ntando Mahlangu (centre) wins the Men's 200 metres T61 Final ahead of second placed Great Britain's Richard Whitehead at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games PA UK news in pictures 2 September 2021 A young common seal on the beach at Horsey Gap in Norfolk, as hundreds of pregnant grey seals come ashore ready for the start of the pupping season. PA UK news in pictures 1 September 2021 Goldfinches fighting over food in a garden in Strensham, Worcestershire PA UK news in pictures 31 August 2021 Gold Medallist Sarah Storey of Britain celebrates on the podium Reuters UK news in pictures 30 August 2021 Extinction Rebellion protesters hold a a tea party on Tower Bridge in London EPA UK news in pictures 29 August 2021 A police office tussles with a demonstrator on Cromwell Road outside the Natural History Museum during a protest by members of Extinction Rebellion in London PA UK news in pictures 28 August 2021 Members of the British armed forces 16 Air Assault Brigade walk to the air terminal after disembarking a Royal Airforce Voyager aircraft at Brize Norton, Oxfordshire POOL/AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 27 August 2021 Fabio Quartararo crashes during a MotoGP practice session at the British Grand Prix, Silverstone Circuit Action Images via Reuters UK news in pictures 26 August 2021 An Extinction Rebellion activist holds a placard in a fountain surrounded by police officers, during a protest next to Buckingham Palace in London Reuters UK news in pictures 25 August 2021 Gold Medallist Great Britains cyclist, Sarah Storey, celebrates after winning the Womens C5 3000m Individual Pursuit Final at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. It was her 15th Paralympic gold Reuters UK news in pictures 24 August 2021 A demonstrator dressed as bee during a protest by members of Extinction Rebellion on Whitehall, in central London PA UK news in pictures 23 August 2021 Former interpreters for the British forces in Afghanistan demonstrate outside the Home Office in central London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 22 August 2021 Police officers form a line in front of the entrance to the Guildhall, London, where protesters have climbed onto a ledge above the entrance during an Extinction Rebellion stage a protest PA UK news in pictures 21 August 2021 People take part in a demonstration in solidarity with people of Afghanistan, in London Reuters UK news in pictures 20 August 2021 People zip wire across the sea from Bournemouth pier towards the beach. PA UK news in pictures 19 August 2021 Supporters of Geronimo the alpaca gather outside Shepherds Close Farm in Wooton Under Edge, Gloucestershire PA UK news in pictures 18 August 2021 Former Afghan interpreters and veterans hold a demonstration outside Downing Street, calling for support and protection for Afghan interpreters and their families PA UK news in pictures 17 August 2021 Military personnel board the RAF Airbus A400M at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, where evacuation flights from Afghanistan have been landing Reuters UK news in pictures 16 August 2021 Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer takes part in a minute's silence at Wolverhampton police station for the victims of the Plymouth mass shooting last week PA UK news in pictures 15 August 2021 2Storm, a ten-metre tall puppet of a mythical goddess of the sea created by Edinburgh-based visual theatre company Vision Mechanics, makes its way alongside the seafront at North Berwick, East Lothian, during a performance at the Fringe By The Sea festival PA UK news in pictures 14 August 2021 A woman and two young girls look at floral tributes in Plymouth where six people, including the offender, died of gunshot wounds in a firearms incident PA UK news in pictures 13 August 2021 Forensic officers in the Keyham area of Plymouth where six people, including the shooter, died of gunshot wounds in a firearms incident on Thursday evening PA UK news in pictures 12 August 2021 Children ride horses in the River Eden in Appleby, Cumbria, during the annual gathering of travellers for the Appleby Horse Fair PA UK news in pictures 11 August 2021 Stella Moris (left) reacts after talking to the media outside the High Court in London, following the first hearing in the Julian Assange extradition appeal, n London, following the first hearing in the Julian Assange extradition appeal. The US government has won the latest round in its High Court bid to appeal against the decision not to extradite Julian Assange on espionage charges PA UK news in pictures 10 August 2021 Students react after they receive their A-Level results at the Ark Academy, in London Reuters UK news in pictures 9 August 2021 The final athletes from Great Britain arrive home including Jason Kenny, Laura Kenny and Katie Archibald (front left-right) at Heathrow Airport, London following the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games PA UK news in pictures 8 August 2021 Great Britain's Laura Kenny during the closing ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at the Olympic stadium in Japan PA UK news in pictures 7 August 2021 People from the Glasgow Southside community take part in the Govanhill Carnival, an anti-racist celebration of pride, unity and the contributions immigrants have made to the community in Govanhill, at Queen's Park, Glasgow PA UK news in pictures 6 August 2021 Chijindu Ujah of Britain, Zharnel Hughes of Britain, Richard Kilty of Britain and Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake of Britain celebrate winning silver as they pose with Asha Philip of Britain, Imani Lansiquot of Britain, Dina Asher-Smith of Britain and Daryll Neita of Britain after they won bronze in the women's 4 x 100m relay during Olympic Games Day 14 Getty UK news in pictures 5 August 2021 A protester places flowers on a photograph of an executed man during a demonstration organised by supporters of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) to protest against the inauguration of Iran's new president Ebrahim Raisi in central London AFP via Getty UK news in pictures 4 August 2021 England's Joe Root looks on as India's KL Rahul doesn't make it to a catch during day one of Cinch First Test match at Trent Bridge, Nottingham PA UK news in pictures 3 August 2021 Great Britain's Laura Kenny and Jason Kenny with their silver medals for the Women's Team Pursuit and Mens Team Sprint during the Track Cycling at the Izu Velodrome on the eleventh day of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Japan PA UK news in pictures 2 August 2021 Great Britains Charlotte Worthington competes during the Womens BMX Freestyle Final at the Tokyo Olympics PA UK news in pictures 1 August 2021 EPA UK news in pictures 31 July 2021 James Guy, Adam Peaty and Kathleen Dawson celebrate winning the gold medal in the mixed 4x100m medley relay final at the Tokyo Olympics AP UK news in pictures 30 July 2021 Great Britain's Bethany Shriever and Kye Whyte celebrate their Gold and Silver medals respectively for the Cycling BMX Racing at the Ariake Urban Sports Park on the seventh day of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Japan PA UK news in pictures 29 July 2021 Team GB's Mallory Franklin during the Womens Canoe Slalom Final on day six of the Tokyo Olympic Games. She went on to win the silver medal Getty UK news in pictures 28 July 2021 Canoers on Llyn Padarn lake in Snowdonia, Gwynedd. It was announced that the north-west Wales slate landscape has been granted UNESCO World Heritage Status PA UK news in pictures 27 July 2021 A view of one of two areas now being used at a warehouse facility in Dover, Kent, for boats used by people thought to be migrants. PA UK news in pictures 26 July 2021 A woman is helped by Border Force officers as a group of people thought to be migrants are brought in to Dover, Kent, onboard a Border Force vessel, following a small boat incident in the Channel PA UK news in pictures 25 July 2021 Vehicles drive through deep water on a flooded road in Nine Elms, London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 24 July 2021 Utilities workers inspect a 15x20ft sinkhole on Green Lane, Liverpool, which is suspected to have been caused by ruptured water main PA UK news in pictures 23 July 2021 Children interact with Mega Please Draw Freely by artist Ei Arakawa inside the Turbine Hall at the Tate Modern in London, part of UNIQLO Tate Play the gallery's new free programme of art-inspired activities for families PA UK news in pictures 22 July 2021 Festivalgoers in the campsite at the Latitude festival in Henham Park, Southwold, Suffolk PA UK news in pictures 21 July 2021 A man walks past an artwork by Will Blood on the end of a property in Bedminster, Bristol, as the 75 murals project reaches the halfway point and various graffiti pieces are sprayed onto walls and buildings across the city over the Summer PA UK news in pictures 20 July 2021 People during morning prayer during Eid ul-Adha, or Festival of Sacrifice, in Southall Park, Uxbridge, London PA

According to National Records Scotland, ecstasy was implicated in, or potentially contributed to, 28 deaths in Scotland in 2016.

Meanwhile, cocaine was blamed for 123 deaths and opiates or opioids, including heroin and methadone, were implicated in 765 deaths.

Press Association contributed to this reportThe bodies of two men have been found in the Scottish Highlands by mountain rescue services.

One has been identified as Jim Stalker, 55, a keen hill walker who has been missing since 11 February after falling through an overhanging edge of snow on the mountain Beinn aChaorainn.

A team of 38 people, including volunteers and members of Lochaber, Tayside and RAF Mountain Rescue Teams assisted by the Coastguard Search and Rescue Helicopter, were part of the search effort.

UK hit by snow in pictures Show all 6 1 /6 UK hit by snow in pictures UK hit by snow in pictures Peak District Snow covers the landscape in the Hope Valley, Peak District National Park. PA UK hit by snow in pictures London A woman waits as her pet dog sniffs along the first snow to settle in the year. REUTERS UK hit by snow in pictures Mam Tor A man walks his dog near Mam Tor in the Peak District National Park, PA UK hit by snow in pictures Berkshire A young child walks through snow in reading, Berkshire. PA UK hit by snow in pictures London People walk in the first snow to settle in the year in Wanstead. REUTERS UK hit by snow in pictures Mam Tor People take a photograph near a snowman on the trig point of Mam Tor in the Peak District National Park, PA

Mr Stalkers fall from the 3,440ft peak had been reported by his climbing partner who descended the Scottish munro (a mountain with a height of over 3,000 feet) to report it, but rescue service leaders said conditions had made the search difficult.

Separately, another mans body was discovered on Saturday, apparently after falling from Sgurr Thuilm, a mountain north of Glenfinnan, and has yet to be formally identified.

A Police Scotland spokesman said: Fort William police would like to extend their condolences to Jims family and friends and thank all who have been involved in searching for him.

Lochaber Mountain Rescue Team said they had attended three call-outs on Saturday.

In a statement on Facebook, they said: We had 38 people on Beinn aChaorainn. Thanks to the Tayside team and RAF Lossie who assisted us.

We had two other calls, one in Glenfinnan area and one on Ben Nevis. Special thanks to R951 who provided brilliant support all day.

It was a day of fantastic effort by all the people involved in all the rescues, unfortunately tinged with more than a fair bit of sadness.

Our thoughts are with the families and friends of all the casualties we have had on Scottish mountains this winter.

Today we have reached 20 call outs with over 3,300 volunteer hours on rescues this year. Please stay safe.

Two other men missing on Scotlands hills this winter have yet to be found.

Neil Gibson, 63, failed to return from a planned walk with his brother in the Achnashellach area in Strathcarron on 8 February.

The body of his brother, Alan, was found two days later in the Beinn Liath Mhor area and the remains of their dog were recovered this week, but Mr Gibson has not been located.

Marcin Bialas, 36, was reported missing in an area close to Observatory Gully and Gardyloo Gully on Ben Nevis on 21 January, but helicopter and foot searches have found no trace of him.

Additional reporting by PAThe author of a controversial expose on Donald Trumps administration has called Tony Blair a complete liar for denying seeking a job at the White House.

Michael Wolff, who wrote Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House, said Mr Blair attempted to get a job as part of the so-called Middle East Quartet, an international group mediating the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.

But Mr Blair denied the claims, calling them a complete fabrication.

Asked about the allegations on BBC Ones The Andrew Marr Show, Mr Wolff said he saw the former Prime Minister sucking up to Mr Trumps son-in-law and senior adviser, Jared Kushner.

He said: I sat in the White House on the couch listening, I wasnt supposed to overhear this, but they were standing right there, with Tony Blair and Jared Kushner standing not 15 feet in front of me with Tony Blair, let me choose my words carefully, sucking up to Jared Kushner.

Asked about Mr Blair labelling the story a complete fabrication, Mr Wolff said: Tony Blair is a complete liar.

A spokesperson for Tony Blair said the former Prime Minister had not sought, nor was offered, such a role from Mr Kushner.

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

They added: As Tony Blair has said, this story is a complete fabrication. Michael Wolff has never been present at any conversation between Jared Kushner and Mr Blair.

He neither sought such a role from Jared Kushner nor was offered one. And we note that many people have had the same experience with Michael Wolff.Labour is ready to team up with Tory rebels to force Theresa May to agree a customs union with the EU, Sir Keir Starmer has signalled.

The Brexit Secretary said "crunch time is coming for the Prime Minister" as he claimed Ms May did not have enough support in Parliament to push through plans to leave the vital EU trade agreements.

Ahead of a major Brexit speech by Jeremy Corbyn on Monday, Sir Keir confirmed the party had "unanimously agreed" to back staying in a customs union with the EU after Brexit.

He told the BBC's Andrew Marr Show: "The customs arrangements at the moment are hard-wired into the membership treaty so I think everyone now recognises there has to be a new treaty. It will do the work of the customs union so it's a customs union."

Sir Keir indicated that Labour would support rebel amendments to a key Brexit bill tabled by pro-EU Tories Anna Soubry and Ken Clarke, which would put customs union membership back on the table.

He said: "The Labour front bench put down a number of amendments paving the way for the option of a customs union - they went down a few weeks ago.

"Now these cross-party amendments have gone down essentially saying the same thing and to put it bluntly crunch time is coming for the Prime Minister."

Asked whether Labour would back the cross-party amendments, he said: "We haven't made a final decision on that but they are so close to our amendments ... but whether it's our amendments or cross-bench amendments, crunch time is now coming for the Prime Minister because the majority of Parliament does not back her approach to a customs union.

"The majority in Parliament needs to be heard and it will be heard sooner rather than later."

The amendment to Ms May's trade bill is shaping up to be a crucial flash point, as a growing number of Tory MPs are likely to support remaining in a customs union with the EU.

It is also backed by the small group of Tory "mutineers" who inflicted an embarrassing defeat on the Government last year by winning a meaningful vote for MPs on the final deal.

Eurosceptic cabinet minister Liam Fox urged Tory Remainers to keep an "open mind" as he suggested Ms May's Brexit war cabinet on Thursday has agreed proposals that would deal with their fears.

The International Trade Secretary told The Andrew Marr Show: "I would say to my colleagues that Theresa May has kept a broad range of views on the European issue for a reason.

"We sat down with those differing views, we set out the issues, we looked at the options and we came to an agreement that we are all happy with."

He added: "I hope that they will have an open mind and listen to what the Prime Minister says because I think that what the Prime Minister will set out will deal with a lot of the reservations that they have."

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 next stage of the bill has been pushed back until April, partly due to attempts by government whips to manage the rebellion.

Asked if legislation was being delayed because the Government would lose, Dr Fox replied: "We want to persuade our colleagues of the merits of our argument before we take the bill forward."

If passed, the amendment would make it an objective of an appropriate authority to take all necessary steps to implement an international trade agreement which enables the UK to participate after exit day in a customs union with the EU in the same terms as existed before exit day.Liam Fox has waded into the row over Jeremy Corbyns Cold War links by claiming the Labour leader was very useful to the Soviet Union and undermined national security.

Just a day after his Tory colleague Ben Bradley issued a grovelling apology for making false claims about Mr Corbyns meetings with a communist spy, the International Trade Secretary said the Labour left had been useful idiots and acted in a way that damaged the country.

Critics of Mr Corbyn have seized on allegations that he met with a Czech agent, who was posing as a diplomat, on several occasions in the 1980s, but the polls suggest that the attacks have had almost no effect on the Labour leaders popularity ratings.

Recommended Labour takes lead in polls after Czech spy claims fail to hurt Corbyn

Mr Corbyn has dismissed the claims as ridiculous smears and demanded an apology and a substantial donation to charity from Conservative MP Ben Bradley, who tweeted false claims about his links to Cold War agents.

Mr Bradleys Twitter apology has received more than 32,500 retweets so far.

Mr Fox said it was right for Mr Bradley to apologise, telling the BBCs Andrew Marr Show: If you say something that is untrue you have to say so.

However he distanced himself from Defence Secretary Gavin Williamsons claim that Mr Corbyn had betrayed Britain by meeting Jan Sarkocy, a former agent with the Czechoslovakian security service.

Mr Fox said: I certainly think that the Labour left were the Soviet Unions useful idiots during that period.

I certainly believe and I think it is true that Jeremy Corbyn and others were very useful to the Soviet Union during the Cold War because they undermined the arguments of the West.

I think in the broadest sense he was undermining the security of our country by siding with the Soviet Union in that argument and I think that was very damaging to the country.

He said it was very clear that Jeremy Corbyn and his fellow left wingers were undermining the case for our security.

Commons Leader Andrea Leadsom also weighed in, saying Mr Bradley was a very good man and he was right to raise concerns about some of Mr Corbyns friends and allies.

She told Sky News: He has apologised for a tweet which accused Jeremy Corbyn of some things which Jeremy Corbyn was not shown to have done to have been guilty of and he has done the right thing in apologising profusely for that.

I think he was right in his concerns about some of Jeremy Corbyns friends, I think he is right to have raised that point.

I think it should be of concern to all of us that Jeremy Corbyn does seem to have friends amongst people who are not acting in the UKs interest.

The Labour leader accepts he met a Czech diplomat once in 1986, as one of many meetings with ambassadors, politicians and activists, but insists he had no idea the man was a spy.

UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 11 September 2021 Arsenals Takehiro Tomiyasu attempts to control the ball during the Premier League match at The Emirates Stadium PA UK news in pictures 10 September 2021 People paddle board during a misty morning in Ullswater, the second largest lake in the Lake District, Cumbria PA UK news in pictures 9 September 2021 Troops from Wiltshire based 4 Armoured Close Support Battalion Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers during final inspection at Wellington Barracks in London, ahead of providing troops for the Queens Guard PA UK news in pictures 8 September 2021 Workers cross London Bridge during the morning rush hour in London Reuters UK news in pictures Mixing it up: Painting it up press view in London A gallery employee poses for photographers next to a painting entitled Prairie by British artist, Louise Giovanelli during the exhibition 'Mixing it up: Painting it up' at the Hayward Gallery in London EPA UK news in pictures 6 September 2021 Traders in the Ring at the London Metal Exchange, in the City of London, after open-outcry trading returned for the first time since March 2020, when the Ring was temporarily closed due to the pandemic PA UK news in pictures 5 September 2021 People enjoy the warm weather on Sandbanks beach, Poole PA UK news in pictures 4 September 2021 Demonstrators from Animal Rebellion and Nature Rebellion protest in Trafalgar Square in London. PA UK news in pictures 3 September 2021 South Africa's Ntando Mahlangu (centre) wins the Men's 200 metres T61 Final ahead of second placed Great Britain's Richard Whitehead at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games PA UK news in pictures 2 September 2021 A young common seal on the beach at Horsey Gap in Norfolk, as hundreds of pregnant grey seals come ashore ready for the start of the pupping season. PA UK news in pictures 1 September 2021 Goldfinches fighting over food in a garden in Strensham, Worcestershire PA UK news in pictures 31 August 2021 Gold Medallist Sarah Storey of Britain celebrates on the podium Reuters UK news in pictures 30 August 2021 Extinction Rebellion protesters hold a a tea party on Tower Bridge in London EPA UK news in pictures 29 August 2021 A police office tussles with a demonstrator on Cromwell Road outside the Natural History Museum during a protest by members of Extinction Rebellion in London PA UK news in pictures 28 August 2021 Members of the British armed forces 16 Air Assault Brigade walk to the air terminal after disembarking a Royal Airforce Voyager aircraft at Brize Norton, Oxfordshire POOL/AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 27 August 2021 Fabio Quartararo crashes during a MotoGP practice session at the British Grand Prix, Silverstone Circuit Action Images via Reuters UK news in pictures 26 August 2021 An Extinction Rebellion activist holds a placard in a fountain surrounded by police officers, during a protest next to Buckingham Palace in London Reuters UK news in pictures 25 August 2021 Gold Medallist Great Britains cyclist, Sarah Storey, celebrates after winning the Womens C5 3000m Individual Pursuit Final at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. It was her 15th Paralympic gold Reuters UK news in pictures 24 August 2021 A demonstrator dressed as bee during a protest by members of Extinction Rebellion on Whitehall, in central London PA UK news in pictures 23 August 2021 Former interpreters for the British forces in Afghanistan demonstrate outside the Home Office in central London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 22 August 2021 Police officers form a line in front of the entrance to the Guildhall, London, where protesters have climbed onto a ledge above the entrance during an Extinction Rebellion stage a protest PA UK news in pictures 21 August 2021 People take part in a demonstration in solidarity with people of Afghanistan, in London Reuters UK news in pictures 20 August 2021 People zip wire across the sea from Bournemouth pier towards the beach. PA UK news in pictures 19 August 2021 Supporters of Geronimo the alpaca gather outside Shepherds Close Farm in Wooton Under Edge, Gloucestershire PA UK news in pictures 18 August 2021 Former Afghan interpreters and veterans hold a demonstration outside Downing Street, calling for support and protection for Afghan interpreters and their families PA UK news in pictures 17 August 2021 Military personnel board the RAF Airbus A400M at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, where evacuation flights from Afghanistan have been landing Reuters UK news in pictures 16 August 2021 Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer takes part in a minute's silence at Wolverhampton police station for the victims of the Plymouth mass shooting last week PA UK news in pictures 15 August 2021 2Storm, a ten-metre tall puppet of a mythical goddess of the sea created by Edinburgh-based visual theatre company Vision Mechanics, makes its way alongside the seafront at North Berwick, East Lothian, during a performance at the Fringe By The Sea festival PA UK news in pictures 14 August 2021 A woman and two young girls look at floral tributes in Plymouth where six people, including the offender, died of gunshot wounds in a firearms incident PA UK news in pictures 13 August 2021 Forensic officers in the Keyham area of Plymouth where six people, including the shooter, died of gunshot wounds in a firearms incident on Thursday evening PA UK news in pictures 12 August 2021 Children ride horses in the River Eden in Appleby, Cumbria, during the annual gathering of travellers for the Appleby Horse Fair PA UK news in pictures 11 August 2021 Stella Moris (left) reacts after talking to the media outside the High Court in London, following the first hearing in the Julian Assange extradition appeal, n London, following the first hearing in the Julian Assange extradition appeal. The US government has won the latest round in its High Court bid to appeal against the decision not to extradite Julian Assange on espionage charges PA UK news in pictures 10 August 2021 Students react after they receive their A-Level results at the Ark Academy, in London Reuters UK news in pictures 9 August 2021 The final athletes from Great Britain arrive home including Jason Kenny, Laura Kenny and Katie Archibald (front left-right) at Heathrow Airport, London following the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games PA UK news in pictures 8 August 2021 Great Britain's Laura Kenny during the closing ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at the Olympic stadium in Japan PA UK news in pictures 7 August 2021 People from the Glasgow Southside community take part in the Govanhill Carnival, an anti-racist celebration of pride, unity and the contributions immigrants have made to the community in Govanhill, at Queen's Park, Glasgow PA UK news in pictures 6 August 2021 Chijindu Ujah of Britain, Zharnel Hughes of Britain, Richard Kilty of Britain and Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake of Britain celebrate winning silver as they pose with Asha Philip of Britain, Imani Lansiquot of Britain, Dina Asher-Smith of Britain and Daryll Neita of Britain after they won bronze in the women's 4 x 100m relay during Olympic Games Day 14 Getty UK news in pictures 5 August 2021 A protester places flowers on a photograph of an executed man during a demonstration organised by supporters of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) to protest against the inauguration of Iran's new president Ebrahim Raisi in central London AFP via Getty UK news in pictures 4 August 2021 England's Joe Root looks on as India's KL Rahul doesn't make it to a catch during day one of Cinch First Test match at Trent Bridge, Nottingham PA UK news in pictures 3 August 2021 Great Britain's Laura Kenny and Jason Kenny with their silver medals for the Women's Team Pursuit and Mens Team Sprint during the Track Cycling at the Izu Velodrome on the eleventh day of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Japan PA UK news in pictures 2 August 2021 Great Britains Charlotte Worthington competes during the Womens BMX Freestyle Final at the Tokyo Olympics PA UK news in pictures 1 August 2021 EPA UK news in pictures 31 July 2021 James Guy, Adam Peaty and Kathleen Dawson celebrate winning the gold medal in the mixed 4x100m medley relay final at the Tokyo Olympics AP UK news in pictures 30 July 2021 Great Britain's Bethany Shriever and Kye Whyte celebrate their Gold and Silver medals respectively for the Cycling BMX Racing at the Ariake Urban Sports Park on the seventh day of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Japan PA UK news in pictures 29 July 2021 Team GB's Mallory Franklin during the Womens Canoe Slalom Final on day six of the Tokyo Olympic Games. She went on to win the silver medal Getty UK news in pictures 28 July 2021 Canoers on Llyn Padarn lake in Snowdonia, Gwynedd. It was announced that the north-west Wales slate landscape has been granted UNESCO World Heritage Status PA UK news in pictures 27 July 2021 A view of one of two areas now being used at a warehouse facility in Dover, Kent, for boats used by people thought to be migrants. PA UK news in pictures 26 July 2021 A woman is helped by Border Force officers as a group of people thought to be migrants are brought in to Dover, Kent, onboard a Border Force vessel, following a small boat incident in the Channel PA UK news in pictures 25 July 2021 Vehicles drive through deep water on a flooded road in Nine Elms, London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 24 July 2021 Utilities workers inspect a 15x20ft sinkhole on Green Lane, Liverpool, which is suspected to have been caused by ruptured water main PA

Mr Sarkocy  who claims the Czech government was responsible for organising Live Aid  has been branded a fantasist by Mr Corbyns allies.

The Labour leaders spokesman also challenged records of supposed meetings, as Czech secret service files recorded one as taking place in the House of Commons on a Saturday when the Labour MPs own diaries record he was attending a conference in Derbyshire.

A Labour Party spokesman said: Liam Fox should focus on his job and not give credence to claims that everyone knows are entirely false and ridiculous.A former Tory health secretary is calling on Theresa May to urgently review a visa-cap system she created which now risks plunging the NHS into a staffing crisis.

Stephen Dorrell told The Independent that the cap on visas for non-EU skilled workers must be rethought in the light of a squeeze on NHS workers coming from Europe.

The monthly limit was reached for the first time since 2015 in December and has been hit every month since, as health trusts and firms scramble to hire globally to make up for lower arrivals across the channel since the referendum.

Official data released only this week again showed EU net migration falling, with 130,000 Europeans leaving the country  the highest recorded level since the 2008 financial crisis.

Former health secretary Mr Dorrell, who also chairs the NHS Confederation, said: We know there is a staffing shortage, a recruitment problem for our health service.

We also know theres been a numerical fall in the number coming in from the EU and a compensating increase, to the extent allowed, has come from non-EU workers.

But if the staffing requirements are not being met in our current circumstances then, then we need to look at what can be done. Any visa quota absolutely should be looked at again.

 Thousands protest in London over NHS crisis

Ms May introduced an annual quota of 20,700 for tier-2 work visas when she was home secretary in 2011, with a set number of places allocated each month, but the limit was never hit until the end of 2017.

With more applications now going in, the minimum salary for a job to qualify for a skilled work visa  previously 30,000  was hiked to 55,000 in December and in January, 46,000, making staff more expensive to hire.

NHS employers, thought to account for around a third of all the places allocated, have been pushing the Home Office to exempt medical workers from the quota as they recruit beyond the EU.

Last year, data obtained through a freedom of information request showed that the number of nurses from the EU registering to work in the UK dropped by a staggering 96 per cent  from 1,304 in July 2016, to 46 in April 2017.

UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 14 September 2021 Heavy rain covers the A149 near Kings Lynn in Norfolk PA 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

Shadow Health Secretary Jon Ashworth said: We have a workforce crisis in the NHS thanks to Theresa Mays utter incompetence over many years.

Theresa Mays red tape is stopping hospitals from recruiting the staff needed. Patients deserve better.

A Home Office spokesperson said: It is important that our immigration system works in the national interest, ensuring that employers look first to the UK resident labour market before recruiting from overseas.

The tier-2 visa route is intended to fill gaps in the labour market. When demand exceeds the months allocation of tier-2 (general) visas, priority is given to applicants filling a shortage or PhD-level occupations.

The published shortage lists include a range of medical professionals, including consultants specialising in clinical radiology, emergency medicine and all nurses, and we estimate that around a third of all tier-2 places go to the NHS.Gun-control activists are organising boycotts of companies with ties to the National Rifle Association  and theyre already producing results.

People on social media are calling for boycotts of companies that offer or have offered special deals to NRA members who, as part of their membership, receive discounts on things like car rentals and prescription drugs.

While companies such as FedEx and Hertz still offer such discounts, other companies have cut ties.

Here are all the brands that have cut ties with the gun-rights group after the recent boycotts as well as past efforts by gun-control activists.

Delta Airlines

The company have asked for the group to remove their information from their website (EPA)

On Saturday, the airline tweeted that it is reaching out to the NRA to let them know we will be ending their contract for discounted rates through our group travel programme. We will be requesting that the NRA remove our information from their website.

United Airlines

The airline announced on Saturday that it is cutting ties to the NRA.

United is notifying the NRA that we will no longer offer a discounted rate to their annual meeting and we are asking that the NRA remove our information from their website, the company tweeted.

Hertz

On Friday, Hertz tweeted, We have notified the NRA that we are ending the NRAs rental car discount programme with Hertz.

Allied Van Lines

In a statement to Business Insider, an Allied representative said the moving company is discontinuing its discount program with the NRA immediately. We have asked them to remove our listing from their benefits site, the representative said.

MetLife

MetLife told Business Insider on Friday that it would discontinue its NRA discounts program. We value all our customers but have decided to end our discount program with the NRA, a representative said in an emailed statement.

SimpliSafe

On Friday, the home-security company SimpliSafe told Business Insider that it would withdraw from the NRA discount program. We have discontinued our existing relationship with the NRA, SimpliSafe CEO Chad Laurans said in a statement.

First National Bank of Omaha

On Thursday, the bank said it would not renew a contract with the NRA that allowed members to receive an NRA-branded Visa card. Customer feedback has caused us to review our relationship with the NRA, the bank said on Twitter in response to a call for a boycott. Previously, First National Bank offered members of the gun-rights organisation an NRA Visa card, which offered a $40 cash-back bonus (28.50p).

Paramount Rx

On Friday night, Paramount Rx released the following statement to Business Insider: The prescription discount program that is made available to NRA members is offered through a third-party vendor. We are working with that vendor to discontinue the program and remove the offering.

Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Alamo Rent a Car and National Car Rental

The car-rental giant Enterprise Holdings announced on Thursday that it would end its NRA discount program, effective March 26. The three car-rental brands that Enterprise operates  Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Alamo Rent a Car and National Car Rental  will stop offering discounts to NRA members.

A representative did not respond to Business Insiders follow-up questions about why Enterprise was ending the program, though the company has been flooded with boycott threats on social media. Avis Budget Group and Hertz, two rivals of Enterprise, still offered NRA discounts as of Friday morning.

Symantec

The company is one of the US's largest security providers (AFP/Getty Images) (AFP/Getty)

The cybersecurity company announced on social media Friday that it had stopped its discount program with the National Rifle Association.

Best Western

Best Western has been targeted by boycott efforts because it has offered discounts to NRA members as recently as 2016. In response, the hotel chain has tweeted dozens of times that it does not have an affiliation with and is not a corporate partner of the National Rifle Association.

Best Western ended any association with the NRA in 2014, a representative said in a statement to Business Insider.

Best Western has been targeted in past NRA boycott efforts.

In 2012, after the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, the activist group Avaaz organised a boycott of Best Western and Wyndham Hotel Group, calling for them to cut ties with the NRA. At the time, both hotel chains were listed on the gun-rights groups website as friends of the NRA and offered members discounts at hotels.

Wyndham Hotel Group

While Wyndham Hotel Group previously offered a 10 per cent discount to NRA members, the hotel chain cut ties with the organisation late last year. In response to boycott threats this week, the Twitter accounts for Wyndham and its rewards programme tweeted dozens of times that the hotel chain was no longer affiliated with the NRA.

Republic Bank

The NRA Prepaid Card program was previously under review. Upon conclusion of this review, we decided to discontinue the offering, a representative said in a statement.

Avis and Budget

The group made the announcement on Friday (Getty)

A representative for Avis and Budget told Business Insider that the brands would stop the NRA rewards programme, effective 26 March 2018.

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Read the original article on Business Insider UK.  2018. Follow Business Insider UK on Twitter.Condoleezza Rice has said it is time Americans questioned what the Second Amendment means in the modern world.

The rare intervention from the influential Republican and former US Secretary of State comes amid growing debate around the country's gun laws in the wake of the school shooting in Parkland, Florida.

The massacre saw 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz kill 17 students and teachers using an AR-15 assault-style rifle, prompting renewed calls from a number of survivors and some figures on the right for greater weapons restrictions.

And Ms Rice, who served under President George W Bush, said: "I think it is time for us to have a conversation about what the right to bear arms means in the modern world."

Florida shooting  in pictures Show all 10 1 /10 Florida shooting  in pictures Florida shooting  in pictures Police arrest a suspect in connection with the shooting at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida Reuters Florida shooting  in pictures Parents wait for news after reports of a shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida AP Florida shooting  in pictures Anxious family members wait for news of students AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee Florida shooting  in pictures Students being evacuated from the school AP Florida shooting  in pictures Students being evacuated from the school Getty Florida shooting  in pictures People gather waiting for word from students AP Florida shooting  in pictures Parents waiting for news on their children AP Florida shooting  in pictures People gather at a hotel where students were taken after the shooting Getty Florida shooting  in pictures Florida Governor Rick Scott speaks to the media as he visits Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School following the shooting AFP/Getty Florida shooting  in pictures Dr. Igor Nichiporenko, Medical Director Trauma, left, and Dr. Evan Boyer, Medical Director, Emergency Services, speak about treating victims and the suspect at a press conference outside Broward Health North hospital AP

"I dont understand why civilians need to have access to military weapons. We wouldnt say you can go out and buy a tank," Ms Rice told Hugh Hewitt, an American radio talk show host. So I do think we need to have that conversation.

The Stanford University political science professor is one of several conservatives to call for a conversation about the right to bear arms in the US.

However, she said she believed the rights that we have in the Constitution are indivisible, adding: We cant throw away the Second Amendment and keep the First.

 Donald Trump says teacher could have 'shot the hell out of' Florida school shooter

Donald Trump has called for raising the minimum age for purchasing semi-automatic rifles, a move opposed by the National Rifle Association.

The NRA has faced a growing backlash following the shooting, with two of the three largest US-based airlines - Delta and United Airlines - cutting ties to the gun advocacy group.

A growing number of large companies have announced they are cutting or reducing ties with the association after it launched a counter-offensive against a student-led campaign for tighter gun laws in the US.

Rental car company Hertz will no longer offer a discount program to NRA members and First National Bank of Omaha, one of the nations largest privately held banks, said it would not renew a co-branded Visa credit card it has with the NRA.

Enterprise Holdings, another rental car company, which also owns Alamo and National, said it was also ending discounts for NRA members.

Other companies, including Wyndham Hotels and Best Western hotels, let social media users know they were no longer affiliated with the NRA, though they did not make clear when the partnerships ended.

Signs left during a march at the US Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale, Florida (REUTERS/Joe Skipper) (Reuters)

In an email on Saturday, the NRA called the companies' actions a shameful display of political and civic cowardice and said the loss of corporate discounts and other perks will neither scare nor distract NRA members.

In time, these brands will be replaced by others who recognise that patriotism and determined commitment to Constitutional freedoms are characteristics of a marketplace they very much want to serve, the statement said.

When Ms Rice was asked what she, as a lecturer, thought about Mr Trumps NRA-aligned proposal to arm some teachers to fire on attackers, she said: I dont really like the idea, frankly, of a gun in my classroom.

I think that we need to have law enforcement protect us. Look, if people need to train people to protect our schools, and perhaps even communities want to consider whether or not they need guards to protect the schools, its a sad thing to think that we might, then thats something that we should look at. But I dont think that just arming people in the classroom is going to be the answer.

Additional reporting by agenciesDemocrats on the House Intelligence Committee have released a classified memo rebutting Republicans' claims that the FBI improperly surveilled the Trump campaign.

The heavily redacted document claims the FBI did not rely on faulty evidence when securing a warrant to surveil former Trump campaign aide Carter Page  an allegation Republicans made in a memo the committee released last month.

Donald Trump blocked the release of the memo two weeks ago, citing security concerns. Democrats have since gone back and forth with the FBI over possible redactions, according to the New York Times.

Responding to the Democrats' memo on Saturday evening, Mr Trump said it was a "total political and legal BUST".

He added: "Just confirms all of the terrible things that were done. SO ILLEGAL!"

The version that the White House approved for release on Saturday states that FBI and Department of Justice (DOJ) officials "did not 'abuse' the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) process, omit material information or subvert this vital tool to spy on the Trump campaign".

"In fact," the memo continues, "DOJ and the FBI would have been remiss in their duty to protect the country had they not sought a FISA warrant and repeated renewals to conduct temporary surveillance of Carter Page, someone the FBI assessed to be an agent of the Russia government."

Mr Page has denied any wrongdoing in his work for the Trump campaign.

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 rebuts claims that the FBI relied exclusively on information in the so-called "Steele dossier"  an opposition research document funded by Mr Trump's election rival  in launching its investigation of the Trump campaign. The memo claims the FBI only received the Steele dossier in September of 2016  seven weeks after the FBI started its Trump team investigation.

Democrats on the committee also took issue with the inclusion of information about FBI agent Peter Strzok and attorney Lisa Page in the Republican memo. Mr Strzok worked on the FBI's investigation of the Trump campaign, and both he and Ms Page worked briefly on special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation.

Republicans have made much of the fact that Mr Strzok and Ms Page exchanged pro-Clinton, anti-Trump sentiments via text message during their investigations. The Democrats' memo, however, says the information is irrelevant, as neither one worked directly on the FISA application.

 Donald Trump says Nunes memo is declassified and Congress will "do whatever" with it

The White House said Mr Trump chose to release the memo in the interest of transparency, but took issue with several of the Democrat's points.

"This politically driven document fails to answer serious concerns raised by the Majoritys memorandum about the use of partisan opposition research from one candidate, loaded with uncorroborated allegations, as a basis to ask a court to approve surveillance of a former associate of another candidate, at the height of a presidential campaign," Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said.

The release of the memo marks the latest salvo in a battle between Republican and Democrats on the Intelligence Committee over what information should be released to the public. Republicans said they wanted to release their memo to inform Americans of abuses by the FBI. Democrats claimed the memo was the GOP's attempt to undermine ongoing FBI and DOJ investigations of the Trump campaign.

Announcing the memo's release on Saturday, ranking Democrat Adam Schiff tweeted: "Some time ago, Republicans on our committee released a declassified memo that omitted and distorted key facts in order to mislead the public and impugn the integrity of the FBI. We can now tell you what they left out."The National Rifle Association (NRA) has pushed back against proposals by President Donald Trump to raise the age limit to buy certain guns, as the fierce debate over Americas gun control laws in the wake of the school shooting in Florida shows no sign of slowing.

Mr Trump has called for raising the age limit to buy certain types of guns  including the AR-15 assault rifle believed to have been used in the shooting  from 18 to 21 and banning bump stocks, which enable semi-automatic weapons to fire hundreds of rounds a minute. However, the countrys most powerful gun rights lobby group has said it does not back such a move.

The NRA doesnt back any ban, spokeswoman Dana Loesch said on ABCs This Week.

The interview comes amid a growing debate across America about gun control in the wake of the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, with former student Nikolas Cruz, 19, having been charged with 17 counts of premeditated murder. Survivors of the shooting have filled the airwaves over the last 10 days calling for action over guns and threatening to vote out any legislator that does not back it.

Marjory Stoneman Douglas student David Hogg, 17, told the same programme that he believed the NRA is an organisation that is a completely broken and that Ms Loesch is not serving the people of the NRA.

Such high-profile and sustained calls for action appears to have shifted the public mood. According to a new CNN poll, 70 per cent of people now say they back stricter gun laws, up from 52 per cent who said so in an October poll not long after a mass shooting in Las Vegas killed 58 people. Support for stronger gun laws has not been so high in CNN polling since December 1993, with just 27 per cent of the more than 1,000 adults surveyed opposing stricter laws.

Florida shooting  in pictures Show all 10 1 /10 Florida shooting  in pictures Florida shooting  in pictures Police arrest a suspect in connection with the shooting at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida Reuters Florida shooting  in pictures Parents wait for news after reports of a shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida AP Florida shooting  in pictures Anxious family members wait for news of students AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee Florida shooting  in pictures Students being evacuated from the school AP Florida shooting  in pictures Students being evacuated from the school Getty Florida shooting  in pictures People gather waiting for word from students AP Florida shooting  in pictures Parents waiting for news on their children AP Florida shooting  in pictures People gather at a hotel where students were taken after the shooting Getty Florida shooting  in pictures Florida Governor Rick Scott speaks to the media as he visits Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School following the shooting AFP/Getty Florida shooting  in pictures Dr. Igor Nichiporenko, Medical Director Trauma, left, and Dr. Evan Boyer, Medical Director, Emergency Services, speak about treating victims and the suspect at a press conference outside Broward Health North hospital AP

Facing calls for change, Mr Trump is seeking to take action without angering supporters who oppose gun control. As well as declaring his support for the age increase, and talking about stronger background checks  although without going into detail  he has conducted listening sessions at the White House about the issue.

Mr Trump was endorsed by the NRA during the presidential election and has often touted his support of the constitutional right to own guns. He is likely to tread carefully over the issue, particularly considering a number of companies have cut ties with the NRA after the Florida shooting.

Ms Loesch tried to play down the emerging differences between the NRA and the White House on Sunday. I know that people are trying to find daylight between President Trump and five million law-abiding gun owners, she said. Hes really looking for solutions ... so far nothings been proposed yet.

These are just things that hes discussing right now, Ms Loesch added

Democrats and Republicans who back more stringent background checks are hopeful that intervention from the President will help get changes through Congress. Republican Senator Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania, a sponsor of a bill that would require background checks for weapons sold at gun shows and on the internet, said the President could have a big impact.

Our President can play a huge and in fact probably decisive role in this. So I intend to give this another shot, Mr Toomey said on NBCs Meet the Press.

 Florida officer brought to tears recounting finding wife and kids during shooting

Legislation to close background check loopholes failed to clear the 60-vote threshold in the US Senate after a shooter killed 26 children and teachers in 2012 at an elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut.

Despite opposition to gun law changes within the Republican party, it is clear that the conservation over gun control has become harder to dismiss for some in the GOP.

Floridas governor, Rick Scott, a long-time gun rights advocate, has also said he would endorse raising the age to purchase a rifle, along with a handful of other gun control compromises.

Mr Scott told Fox News Sunday: You know, Im an NRA member. I believe in the second amendment... I think most members in the NRA agree with me, this is logical. Im sure theres going to be some that disagree. But Im a dad. Im a granddad and Im a governor. I want my state to be safe.

Condoleezza Rice, former US Secretary of State under George W Bush, has also stepped into the debate.

I think it is time for us to have a conversation about what the right to bear arms means in the modern world, she said.

I dont understand why civilians need to have access to military weapons. We wouldnt say you can go out and buy a tank, Ms Rice told American radio talk show host Hugh Hewitt. So I do think we need to have that conversation.

The most controversial idea that Mr Trump has thrown his support behind, is possibly arming teachers in order to deter would be shooters. NRA spokeswoman Ms Loesch said the group  who had floated such an idea in 2012  believes individual schools should decide whether to arm teachers.

The idea has sparked as much opposition as support  if not more  with Ms Rice a dissenting voice. I dont really like the idea, frankly, of a gun in my classroom, she said.

She added: I think that we need to have law enforcement protect us. Look, if people need to train people to protect our schools, and perhaps even communities want to consider whether or not they need guards to protect the schools... then thats something that we should look at. But I dont think that just arming people in the classroom is going to be the answer.

Ms Loesch said more emphasis should be placed on how the FBI and local police  the Broward County Sheriffs Office  missed warning signs and tips about the alleged shooter, calling it an abdication of duty.

Responding to such criticism, Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel said on Sunday he would not resign and that an investigation was being conducted into how tips and reports that had been received before the shooting were handled.

One sheriffs deputy who was at the scene, Scot Peterson, resigned after being placed on leave for not entering the school building to confront the shooter as gunfire was happening. The actions of the armed deputy seems to at least partially undermine Mr Trumps argument for putting more guns in schools and Mr Israel said he would investigate any other reports of inaction.

I was disgusted. I was just demoralised with the performance of former deputy [Scot] Peterson, Sheriff Israel told CNN.

Reuters contributed to this reportThe unrecognisable body of a woman has been discovered at a South Carolina funeral home, three years after she was meant to have been cremated.

A complaint about the excessive amount of time the body had been stored for was filed by a former employee, sparking an investigation by the coroners office.

Spartanburg County Coroner, Rusty Clevenger, said they had since identified the woman as 63-year-old Mary Alice Pitts Moore, who died of natural causes in March 2015.

World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty

Mr Clevenger said the family had been informed on Friday and the identities of those responsible have been passed to police, though there was no information on possible charges.

They are understandably upset at the revelation since her final disposition was to be cremated in 2015, Mr Clevenger said in a news release.

I will be exploring legal means to have her families wishes carried out for final rest. I have been contacted by SLED officials and the State Attorney General about this case and I will be providing any info my office may have.

Ms Pitts Moores family have met with representatives of the funeral home in Greenwood.

The complaint filed to the Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation led to investigators from the Department and coroners office discovering the body being stored at the funeral home.

It is unclear whether the family were given what they believed to be Ms Pitts Moore's remains following her death or whether a ceremony of any kind was held.The signs that Chinas President Xi Jinping was looking for more than his two terms as leader were there last October at the Communist partys 19th National Congress.

It was there that Mr Xi was elected for a second five-year term of the partys chief, a title that has in recent times been served concurrently with the presidency, as well as the title of chairman of the Central Military Commission, which controls the armed forces. It was then that a new line-up for the all powerful Politburo Standing Committee (PBSC) was unveiled  without an heir apparent to Mr Xi.

In line with other PBSC roles, the post of General Secretary of the Party does do not have official term limits like the presidency. But there is an informal agreement that officials will retire at age 68. Of the five new faces in the seven-member committee, the youngest will be 65 in 2022, when Mr Xi, currently 64, finishes his second term as leader.

Recommended China clears path for Xi Jinping to rule beyond 2023

That has been backed by the latest pronouncement in Xinhua, Chinas official news agency, on Sunday, that the party leadership proposed to remove the expression that the president and vice president of the Peoples Republic of China shall serve no more than two consecutive terms from the countrys Constitution. The proposed constitutional changes were released in the name of the Central Committee, a council of hundreds of senior party officials, who will meet from Monday for three days.

The move to get rid of the two-term limit on the presidency is certainly dramatic and would mark the biggest political move the party has made in decades, leaving the door open for Mr Xi to rule well into the next decade, and possibly much beyond that. The changes need to be passed by the party-controlled legislature, the National Peoples Congress, which holds its annual full session from 5 March. But that would appear little more than a formality, with the Congress having never voted down a proposal from party leaders. Mr Xi will also be elected to second term as president during that March meeting.

While the presidency is seen as the least important of the three roles Mr Xi currently performs, the removal of the term limit would mean the greatest accumulation of personal power by a leader in China since Mao Zedong, who founded the Peoples Republic.

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 state-run Global Times suggested in an article on Sunday, quoting an academic source, that the move to abolish presidential term limits would keep the trinity of the roles of party leader, military leader and president together and allow China to move forward.

Especially in the period from 2020 to 2035, which is a crucial stage for China to basically realise socialist modernisation, China [needs] a stable, strong and consistent leadership. So removal of the section of the clause about the presidency in the Constitution is serving the most important and fundamental national interest and the Partys historic mission, the paper quoted the academic as saying.

At the Communist partys National Congress in October, Mr Xi also had the political thesis bearing his name, Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, written into the partys charter, with Mao the only other leader to have that honour while still alive. In another win for Mr Xi, the latest announcement on Sunday also states that among the amendments to the countrys constitution, his Thought will also be added.

The Central Committee is said to have approved the constitutional changes last month, but the official announcement at the time made no mention of the dramatic extent of the changes, which show Mr Xi has amassed enough power to rewrite the rules that had constrained his predecessors, Hu Jintao and Jiang Zemin, both of whom stepped down after two terms. It is a power base that resembles Vladimir Putins centralisation of authority, but would be the envy of even the Russian president.

The absence of term limits would also reverse a trend that began 40 years ago under Deng Xiaoping who aimed at preventing the reappearance of the cult of personality that had surrounded Mao and ensuring more peaceful transitions of power.

Jude Blanchette, an expert in Chinese politics from New Yorks Conference Board research group tweeted: This is extraordinary ... were seeing the rapid dismantling of the Deng era project to de-Maoify Chinese politics

With the power of Chinese leaders tending to begin to wane about halfway through their second term, analysts have cautioned that a clearer picture of whether Mr Xi will stay on for decades will come depending on what China looks like in 2020 or 2021  but all the signs are there for Mr Xi to hold all the major power for at least a decade and it will be up to him what he does with it.

A stark warning came from Joshua Wong, the pro-democracy leader in Hong Kong who was at the forefront of student protests against Chinese rule there.

The announcement, he tweeted, marks the beginning of The era of Emperor Xi.Thousands of African asylum seekers, migrants and their supporters are protesting against Israels plans to deport them.

The government has given the group until 1 April to leave the country for an unnamed African destination in exchange for $3,500 (2,500) and a plane ticket.

They face indefinite imprisonment if they refuse.

Recommended Israel begins jailing African asylum seekers refusing deportation

Demonstrators carrying signs saying Were all humans and Refugees and residents refuse to be enemies marched through the streets of the south Tel Aviv neighbourhood of Neve Shanaan, where there is a large migrant community.

Channel 10 TV estimated 15,000 people joined the protest, while Haaretz said the march drew a 20,000-strong crowd.

According to the UN refugee agency, there are 27,000 asylum seekers from dictatorial Eritrea and 7,700 from war-torn Sudan currently living in Israel.

It is reported that the asylum seekers will be deported to Rwanda and Uganda, although both deny they have struck any kind of deal with the Israeli government.

Those who have already arrived in Rwanda report having their documents confiscated and having basic rights denied.

UNHCR said in a recent report that only nine asylum seekers deported to Rwanda have actually stayed there.

Israel considers the vast majority of the migrants to be job seekers and says it has no legal obligation to keep them. But critics including Israeli doctors, writers and Holocaust survivors have called the government plan unethical and a stain on Israels image as a refuge for Jewish migrants.

Israel's prison service has also criticised the plans, saying it cannot house the migrants indefinitely.

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

Most asylum seekers travel overland to Israel via the border with Egypt and claim they cannot return because of the threat of persecution by their home countries authoritarian governments.

Associated Press contributed to this reportFresh fighting has broken out around Eastern Ghouta in the suburbs of the Syrian capital Damascus as air strikes and shelling continued despite the UN calling for a 30-day ceasefire.

Rebel groups fighting forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said they clashed with pro-Damascus fighters on several fronts as rescuers and residents said Syrian warplanes struck some towns in the insurgent enclave.

A new wave of bombings left nine people dead and injured 31, bringing the death toll from a week of bombardment to more than 500 with 2,500 injured, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. The dead included more than 120 children, the UK-based monitoring group added. The Syrian army made no comment. However, the Observatory said the bombing on Sunday was less intense than attacks over the past week.

There were also reports from the ground that a number of people were taken into hospitals with symptoms that indicated possible use of chlorine gas.

The government of Mr Assad has been repeatedly accused of using chemicals against citizens, with a UN report blaming it for the use of Sarin on the town of Khan Sheikhoun in April 2017. The government has always denied any such use.

 Scenes of devastation in Syria after deadly shelling and airstrikes and eastern Ghouta

The unanimous Security Council vote on Saturday, which followed seven consecutive days of bombing by pro-government forces on Eastern Ghouta, demanded a truce to allow for aid access and medical evacuations.

Iran had said that they and Syria would uphold the ceasefire. However, Iranian General Mohammad Baqeri said that parts of the suburbs of Damascus, which are held by the terrorists, are not covered by the ceasefire and clean-up [operations] will continue there, according to the Tasnim news agency.

The resolution does not cover militants from Isis, al-Qaeda, and Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, previously known as Jabhat al-Nusra,

Bashar Jaafari, Syrias ambassador to the UN, also said the fight against what he called terrorism would continue regardless.

Our government will reserve the right to respond as it deems appropriate in case those terrorist arms groups are targeting civilians in any part of Syria with even one single missile, Mr Jaafari said.

The two main rebel factions in Ghouta  Faylaq al-Rahman and Jaish al-Islam  said after the vote that they would implement the truce and facilitate aid access. but also vowed to respond to any attacks.

Eastern Ghouta bombings: Syrian war in pictures Show all 14 1 /14 Eastern Ghouta bombings: Syrian war in pictures Eastern Ghouta bombings: Syrian war in pictures A Syrian woman and children run for cover amid the rubble of buildings. AFP/Getty Eastern Ghouta bombings: Syrian war in pictures Smoke rises from buildings following the attack on the village of Mesraba in the rebel-held besieged Eastern Ghouta region on the outskirts of the capital Damascu. AFP/Getty Eastern Ghouta bombings: Syrian war in pictures Injured children receive medical treatment. EPA Eastern Ghouta bombings: Syrian war in pictures A Syrian man carries a child injured. AFP/Getty Eastern Ghouta bombings: Syrian war in pictures An injured child receives treatment following bombings on several areas of eastern Ghouta. EPA Eastern Ghouta bombings: Syrian war in pictures A child reacts inside a hospital after relatives were injured in the bombing. EPA Eastern Ghouta bombings: Syrian war in pictures Syrian children cry at a make-shift hospital in Douma following air strikes on the Syrian village of Mesraba. AFP/Getty Eastern Ghouta bombings: Syrian war in pictures Syrian Civil Defense group extinguishing a store during airstrikes and shelling by Syrian government forces. AP Eastern Ghouta bombings: Syrian war in pictures A wounded 12-year-old Syrian boy, cries as he receives treatment at a make-shift hospital. AFP/Getty Eastern Ghouta bombings: Syrian war in pictures Syrians carry a wounded man. AFP/Getty Eastern Ghouta bombings: Syrian war in pictures An injured man covered with blood at a medical point. Reuters Eastern Ghouta bombings: Syrian war in pictures People sit a medical point in the besieged town of Douma, Eastern Ghouta. Reuters Eastern Ghouta bombings: Syrian war in pictures Syrian Civil Defense running to help survivors. AP Eastern Ghouta bombings: Syrian war in pictures Injured children receive medical treatment. EPA

The leaders of Germany and France have urged Russias President, Vladimir Putin, to put maximum pressure on the Syrian government to stop fighting in Eastern Ghouta.

Several previous ceasefires have fallen apart during Syrias eight-year civil war, where support from Iran and particularly Russia have helped turn the conflict in favour of the regime.

The German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron, argued a ceasefire was the basis for progress towards a political solution in the framework of the UN-led Geneva peace process, a German government spokesman said.

However, while UN resolution called for the truce to begin without delay it did not set a specific timeframe, after Russia objected to such a move.

While air strikes and other bombardments appear to have slowed, the continuing fighting is a blow to the UNs authority and will likely increase Russian scepticism about the UN-led process, as they continue their own efforts at peace talks despite being heavily involved in the conflict.

In a further sign of the fractious nature of the civil war, Turkey said its military operations in the north of Syria would not be affected.

In Ankara, Turkeys Deputy Prime Minister, Bekir Bozdag, said the UN resolution would not affect Turkeys offensive against Kurdish fighters in Syrias Kurdish-held Afrin.

Last month, Turkey launched an assault on Afrin, seeking to drive out the Syrian-Kurdish YPG militia which it deems a menace along its border.

Members of the Syrian Civil Defense group, known as the White Helmets, carry a young man who was wounded during air strikes and shelling by Syrian government forces in Eastern Ghouta (AP)

Moscow has blamed fighters from al-Nusra, al-Qaedas former branch in Syria, for provoking the situation in Eastern Ghouta.

Both main Islamist rebel factions in turn have accused their enemies of using the presence of a few hundred jihadi fighters as a pretext for attacks.

The Syrian government and Russia deny hitting civilians during the siege of Eastern Ghouta. Moscow and Damascus say they seek to stop mortar attacks by militants that have injured dozens in Damascus.

Nearly 400,000 people live in Eastern Ghouta, according to the United Nations. The rebel-held enclave, the final insurgent bastion left near the capital, has been under Syrian government siege since 2013.

Additional reporting by agenciesThree hours, 44 minutes: that is how long it took by train to get from St Pancras International station in London to Amsterdam in the Netherlands. I paid 35 for a seat aboard the inaugural Eurostar rail departure from the UK to the Dutch capital.

A couple of minutes after the Amsterdam Express arrived, I was admiring the handsome facade of Centraal station. The visionary architect was Pierre Cuypers, who also designed the citys Rijksmuseum: he saw mass transportation and fine art as equally deserving of grand design.

I had little time to appreciate the gracious structure, though. I was heading straight back to St Pancras  the hard way, by plane. I wanted to see how long it took to link the same points as the train, but in a much straighter line: flying from Schiphol airport to Gatwick.

Remarkably, the answer was three hours, 44 minutes.

It might look like a tie, but the plane wins. Heres how. The flying time included arriving at the airport an hour ahead of departure. But 224 minutes for the the train journey didnt take into account the half-hour check-in requirement for Eurostar (in Business Premier, its down to 10 minutes).

Yet the smooth rail experience put into sharp relief the clunky nature of 21st-century aviation. Some high-tech tweaks and low-tech sense could have made flying so much better.

When I booked the flight the night before, for a very reasonable 58 (52), British Airways tried to sell me a hotel and car rental in London, simply obstacles to my online progress. What BA didnt offer was a rail ticket from Amsterdam to Schiphol or from Gatwick to London.

I defer to IT boffins on how that might work. But since both airport links are high-frequency, no-advance-booking trains, it appears to a mere traveller that selling an e-ticket (with a pound or two premium for the time-saving) might not be that tricky. And if I bought one, a bit more software might enable British Airways to see I was booked on the 2.50pm flight, and send a quick note saying: We recommend that you catch the 1.31pm, which normally leaves from platform 11b.

Or if easyJet got there first with such useful embellishments, I would be tempted to book from the orange kingdom with the orange airline.

Schiphol is a great transit airport and wins lots of awards. (Perhaps thats why the UK Department for Transport used a picture of it to illustrate Fridays press release about aviation security.) But it gets no prize from me for clarity.

In common with perhaps one-third or half of passengers starting their journey from Schiphol airport, I had already checked in. All I wanted to see at the airport railway station was a screen telling me the gate number, or at least an indication of the area of the huge terminal to aim for, plus a big sign pointing to the appropriate security channel. Instead, I was despatched to BA check in, from where it was not at all obvious or intuitive where I needed to go.

After a half-hour route march (partially through poor wayfaring on my part), I was relieved to board the plane, and experience what I expect will be the closest I get to an upgrade this year: an instantly wider seat. I was sitting in 5F, two rows behind the business-class curtain. Seat 5E was empty, and the cabin service manager demonstrated how on that particular Airbus A320, some of the forward rows have moveable armrests which expand the size of your seat (so to speak).

BAs new location at Gatwick South Terminal should appeal to time-pressed travellers because it removes the extra few minutes involved in getting the North Terminal shuttle. Even though the aircraft tied up at the furthest possible gate from passport control, I thought I had a sporting chance of catching a train 10 minutes after arrival. But then I saw the queue for immigration, and that only 10 of 25 e-passport gates were working.

Gatwick now offers premium passport control, offering a fast track for 7. But anyone with a train to catch who is tempted to jump the queue needs to have registered online between six months and four hours in advance. Turning up with a credit card is not acceptable. The train to St Pancras left while I was halfway along the slow-moving line.

Had I caught the train, the rail/plane/rail combo would have comfortably won the race. Which, as you may already have concluded, was an artificial construct.

There are very many reasons why, even if your travel plans involve Amsterdam, the train is irrelevant. Unless you live within reasonable reach of London, it will save cash as well as time to fly: the Dutch capital is the best-connected foreign city from the UK, with links from 25 airports.

And even if you are going from London to Amsterdam, the number of real people (ie not Eurostar staff) who will ever want to travel exactly from St Pancras to Centraal station is vanishingly small.

Most of us want to get from home or work to hotel or business location. And that shifts the balance even further in favour of aviation, especially since Londoners have six airports from which to choose, and many businesses and hotels in Amsterdam are on the Schiphol side of town.

But many travellers will gladly surrender some speed in return for less stress. Unless the aviation industry shapes up to ease the pain points, a significant proportion of the four million passengers who shuttle between London and Amsterdam each year will be heading for the train.Theres an interesting passage in Michael Wolffs Fire and Fury about Donald Trumps thinking on the Middle East which the author depicts as follows: There are basically four players...: Israel, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Iran. The first three can be united against the fourth. And Egypt and Saudi Arabia, given what they want with respect to Iran...will pressure the Palestinians to make a deal. Voila. As Wolff has it, this is in line with a wider Trump foreign policy doctrine, which, apart from doing the opposite of whatever Obama did, is to reduce the board to three elements: powers we can work with, powers we cannot work with, and those without enough power whom we can functionally disregard or sacrifice.

Nobody knows how far the Trump administrations plan (which his UN Ambassador Nikki Haley suggested last week was nearing completion) for what the President calls the ultimate deal to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict will fit Wolffs stark summary. But the two big steps which Washington has so far taken seem all too consistent with a White House view that the Palestinians can be functionally disregarded or sacrificed.

The first was Trumps decision to break an international consensus by recognising Jerusalem as Israels capital. And the second, potentially at least as destabilising, was for a cut of up to $300m in the annual $360m donation Washington makes to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), providing education, primary health care, and other services to 5.3 million Palestinians living in Gaza, the West Bank, Syria, Lebanon and Jordan. These are the families of over 700,000 refugees who fled or were driven out of their homes in the 1947-8 war which gave birth to the state of Israel. And never allowed to return.

To describe the forfeited funds as mission-critical is a laughable understatement. Assuming that the shortfall isnt made up  and there is so far little sign it will be  almost a million Palestinians by the end of next month will be without food aid in Gaza, where the economic and humanitarian crisis is already so dire that senior figures in the Israeli military have repeatedly warned it significantly increases the already mounting risks of a new war. In Syria, emergency aid  including cash  is likely to run out soon afterwards. Then there is every chance that the UNRWAs 700 schools will not open in September. In Gaza alone, that would add 10,000 teachers to the already record unemployment total. And leave 270,000 children without education, perhaps the only benefit which offers any sense of a future to its imprisoned people.

Pierre Krahenbuhl, UNRWAs Commissioner General is on an international tour to drum up alternative donations  as well he might be given that a $500m appeal he launched in response to Trumps decision has raised precisely $1.1m. And so far no western governments  perhaps in deference to the US decision  have offered new money to close the funding gap.

 Donald Trump threatens to stop aid to Palestine in Davos meeting

Krahenbuhl said last week that he had been repeatedly asked at the Munich Security Conference if he was concerned about the further risk of radicalisation in the region.

Of course were are concerned, he had replied wearily. Thats exactly why we are investing in UNRWA [which] stands for hope, opportunity and a measure of regional stability. The kind of mass migration which engulfed Europe in 2015 is what happens when that hope is lost; and its estimated to cost seven times as much to provide for a refugee family in the West as it does for UNRWA to make their life bearable at home. Weve allowed them the choice to stay in the region, Krahenbuhl told me.

Whatever Washingtons reasons, it cant be that UNRWA was under-performing. UNRWAs management and plans were warmly approved when Krahenbuhl visited Washington last November. Understandably. A 2014 World Bank study estimated that UNRWA students were a year ahead of those in Palestinian Authority and Jordanian government schools.

Its immunisation programme is judged by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as above the average for middle income countries. Some UNRWA work is heroic  notably in Syria where 45 staff are either dead or missing after keeping schools and clinics going through the worst of the war in Aleppo alone. Some leading politicians in Israel and the US heartily dislike UNRWA because they claim it perpetuates the 1948 refugee narrative. But, at least until now, Israel has not wanted to see it collapse, leaving as Peter Lerner, a former senior officer in the Israeli military has put it: Hundreds of thousands of people without basic needs. That could potentially lead to more violence...

So why has Trump done this? The decision was taken in the aftermath of his angry threats to countries that opposed his Jerusalem announcement. But the explanations from Administration officials have only confused. And in terms of the US budget the sums are trifling. So could slicing away at UNRWA instead be part of his plans for the ultimate deal ?

Palestinians clash with Israeli troops during 'Day of Rage' Show all 18 1 /18 Palestinians clash with Israeli troops during 'Day of Rage' Palestinians clash with Israeli troops during 'Day of Rage' Israeli forces scuffle with Palestinians at Damascus Gate in Jerusalem's Old City AFP/Getty Images Palestinians clash with Israeli troops during 'Day of Rage' A Palestinian protester hurls stones as tear gas is fired by Israeli troops Reuters Palestinians clash with Israeli troops during 'Day of Rage' A Palestinian protester runs during clashes with Israeli troops REUTERS Palestinians clash with Israeli troops during 'Day of Rage' Israeli forces scuffle with Palestinians at Damascus Gate in Jerusalem's Old City AFP/Getty Images Palestinians clash with Israeli troops during 'Day of Rage' Palestinian protesters run during clashes REUTERS Palestinians clash with Israeli troops during 'Day of Rage' Israeli border policemen and a Palestinian protesters clash REUTERS Palestinians clash with Israeli troops during 'Day of Rage' Palestinian protesters react to tear gas REUTERS Palestinians clash with Israeli troops during 'Day of Rage' Israeli border policemen hold on to a Palestinian protester REUTERS Palestinians clash with Israeli troops during 'Day of Rage' Palestinian protesters react to tear gas fired by Israeli troops REUTERS Palestinians clash with Israeli troops during 'Day of Rage' Israeli border policemen and Palestinians scuffle after Friday prayers in Jerusalem's Old City REUTERS Palestinians clash with Israeli troops during 'Day of Rage' A Palestinian protester moves a burning tire during clashes with Israeli troops REUTERS Palestinians clash with Israeli troops during 'Day of Rage' Worshippers chant as they hold Palestinian flags after Friday prayers Reuters Palestinians clash with Israeli troops during 'Day of Rage' A Palestinian protester hurls back a tear gas canister fired by Israeli troops REUTERS Palestinians clash with Israeli troops during 'Day of Rage' A wounded Palestinian protester is evacuated during clashes with Israeli troops REUTERS Palestinians clash with Israeli troops during 'Day of Rage' Israeli border policemen and a Palestinian youth scuffle REUTERS Palestinians clash with Israeli troops during 'Day of Rage' Israeli border policemen detain a Palestinian man REUTERS Palestinians clash with Israeli troops during 'Day of Rage' A Palestinian protester uses a sling to hurl stones towards Israeli troops REUTERS Palestinians clash with Israeli troops during 'Day of Rage' Journalists react to tear gas fired by Israeli troops REUTERS

Until now the US, EU including Britain, the Palestinian authority and, since 2002, almost all Arab leaders including Saudi Arabia have been officially united on the basis for an end to the conflict. This would be a Palestinian state on the territories Israel has occupied since the 1967 Six Day War: Gaza and the West Bank with a capital in East Jerusalem; and a negotiated package of measures for Palestinian refugees.

Borders, Jerusalem, and refugees, in other words, have long been the cornerstone of any negotiations between Palestinians and Israel. Nobody believed that millions of refugees would return to their old homes of 70 years ago in what is now Israel in a two-state solution rather than perhaps a token return of a small minority, coupled with ample compensation for the rest. But the refugees rights and status, underpinned by successive UN resolutions, was one of the few bargaining cards the Palestinians held.

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Does Trump now believe he can end that status? And that by making a financial offer that, say, the Jordanian government cannot refuse, he can make a start by persuading it to take over responsibility from the UN for the two million refugees there? And that just as he boasted he had taken Jerusalem off the table  to the unalloyed delight of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu  he can now also take the refugees long standing right of return off the table?

If so, its a strategy with some questionable assumptions, including that dissolving UNRWA can somehow dissolve the refugee problem. And that anyone apart from UNRWA  the Jordanian government and the Palestinian Authority included  has the resources, let alone the desire, to take responsibility for the refugees ahead of an agreed peace deal.

For even if a Saudi or Egyptian government, desperate to cosy up to Israel because of their hostility to Iran, were to sanction such a plan, its doubtful that any Palestinian leader could accept an imposed rather than a negotiated solution of the refugee issue. Nikki Haley said last week that the Israelis and the Palestinians would neither like nor hate the now imminent Trump plan. But for the Palestinians not to hate it, it will need a lot of pleasant surprises for them. So far the surprises have all been unpleasant ones.

Donald Macintyre is the author of Gaza: Preparing for DawnPlainly a man who embodies and epitomises the phrase quiet ambition, President Xi has, astute as ever, chosen a moment of maximum leverage to try to extend his term in office.

Having just won approval for a second five-year term and with his popularity on a high, the Chinese Communist Party has proposed to change the constitution so that the two-term limit on a presidential tenure is abolished. It is a proposal that is purely a matter of form and etiquette: Mr Xi will be President, if all goes well, for life or such time as he wishes to retire. It is quite a moment.

In doing so he will, or so he must hope, cement his position as the third great leader of his nation since the revolution of 1949. In preserving the national unity and integrity that Mao restored; in extending the free market reforms that Deng Xiaoping began in the 1980s and in completing Chinas ascent to economic and military superpower status, Mr Xi will have made his mark on Chinese and world history. And all without even so much as a memorable quote.

Mr Xi is still a young man, certainly by Chinas standards. He may feel that, at a mere 64 years of age and in power since 2013 he is only just ending his apprenticeship for the task he is undertaking. Interestingly, he is the first Chinese leader since the 1950s to be younger than the American president. He is also the first to be born after the end of the Second World War. In Beijing he is something of a whizz kid.

His ambitions for the country are already obvious. China wishes to secure its economic and financial security through a network of transnational economic assets  the so-called Belt and Road initiative. This comprises the infrastructure of road, rail and sea routes to link China with the West, including ports and shipping plus the possession and protection of sources of national resources across Asia and Africa. It has been called a form of colonialism, though it is not so very different to, say, the giant Western oil and mining firms following policies congruent with the interests of Western governments.

Still, a power emerging as forcefully as China cannot but disturb its neighbours  all of them. The dozens of micro-territorial disputes across the South China Sea represent a wider, more fundamental fear that China is getting too big and, more to the point, cannot entirely be trusted to allow for free movement by rivals on vital trade routes and a fair exploration of whatever oil, fishing and other resources are available in the region. From Japan to the Philippines and Brunei, Chinas ever more visible naval presence causes nervousness. Worries among Americas allies are only heightened by a corresponding lack of faith in the will and ability of the Trump White House to defend their interests.

As for President Trumps policy towards China itself, it is at least not as complicated nor compromised as it is with Russia. Apart from the geopolitical tensions in the South China Sea it centres on North Korea and on trade. Both are, mercifully, looking less problematic than even a few months ago, thanks to the ironic thaw in relations between the two Koreas during the Winter Olympic Games, and the restraint that both Washington and Beijing have shown.

Despite making trouble for one another and sparking tensions on trade, for now the uneasy partnership between President Trump and President Xi is a relatively stable factor.

Which leaves the small matter of the governance of China, and how far it can sustain the model of development that has served it so well and which President Xi appears committed to. How long, in other words, can Chinas overinvestment, underconsumption, undervalued currency, unstable banks, waste and trade surpluses continue before there is a moment of reckoning? The greatest global economic imbalance remains the US-China trade relationship, and it remains the biggest single underlying threat to the world economy.

How long too, it may be asked, can a one-party state with such a poor record on human rights sustain an economy that relies on a certain degree of individual freedom and exposure to the outside world? How long also before China has to take even tougher action to make its economic renaissance a greener one?

These questions, while urgent, are ones that Chinas leader now seemingly wants to take his time over. It might be too easy to see that habitual Chinese caution drift into complacency and carelessness. After all, this is a regime which is rarely troubled by its media or internal challenges, and it is about to take another step towards authoritarianism. Modes of thought and policy are not being criticised, tested or questioned, and mistakes are all the more likely for the lack of competition in people or ideas.

All in all, this is a regressive move for a nation so set on forwards development.It was meant to be a pleasant diplomatic trip with little on the agenda. A tour, a few photos, trips to the Taj Mahal and the Golden Temple. The usual. But even before Justin Trudeau touched down in India this week, the cold wind had started blowing in. The Prime Minister of India wouldnt greet him at the airport as he has other leaders. Narendra Modi didnt even bother sending out a welcoming tweet. Officials denied it but the word snub was all over the Indian press.

Why have relations between India and Canada suddenly turned chilly? Blame the Sikh diaspora. The Indian government says it is concerned Trudeau is too close to Sikh separatists and their growing influence poses a threat to Indias unity. A lot of these claims are hyperbole, but they reveal a broader concern among Indias elite.

Their concern is more than just about Canada. What really worries the Indian government is the prospect of Sikhs in Britain, Canada and the US getting into positions of power and challenging the abuse of Sikh civil rights in India. The Indian government mentions the revival of Sikh militancy in India too, but it is highly exaggerated. Among Indian elites there is palpable concern that Western foreign policy towards India will increasingly be shaped by Sikhs willing to challenge its interests. Hence the alarmist talk about Sikh separatism.

India has good reason to worry. Until recently the south Asian giant could broadly count on the West to put trade ahead of human rights.

World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. 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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. 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But the political environment is changing. There are roughly half a million Sikhs in Britain, Canada and the US each. Canadians elected 20 Sikh MPs in 2015, the highest number ever. There are four Sikh cabinet ministers including Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan, and the unofficial leader of the opposition party NDP, Jagmeet Singh, is also a Sikh. In Britain two visibly Sikh MPs were elected just last year and both have embraced Sikh issues with gusto. American Sikhs are a much smaller proportion of the population, but most of them are concentrated in California and many are working to mobilise them too. Its merely a matter of time before American Sikhs become more politically prominent too.

These elected officials are far from Sikh separatists. Trudeaus ministers are proud Canadian citizens who serve their own country. None has called for an independent Sikh state, let alone agitated for one. So why the accusations?

Sikh separatists exist; there is little doubt about that. Nor is there any doubt about their antagonism towards India (which I do not share). In recent weeks, over a hundred Sikh gurdwaras in the West have explicitly banned Indian officials on government business, claiming internal interference and citing the arrest of British citizen Jagtar Singh Johal. But the popularity of a Sikh state is much exaggerated, not just by the Indian establishment but separatists themselves.

The problem is this: Indian elite sees any demand by Sikhs for justice over the anti-Sikh pogroms in 1984 as a sign of separatism. Last year Ontarios state parliament passed a motion describing the events of 1984 as a genocide against Sikhs. The Indian media, which largely prefers the term riots (as a way to continue the pretence that both Sikhs and Hindus were to blame), cited the motion as proof that Sikh separatism was growing in Canada.

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But if raising awareness of human rights abuses is a sign of separatism, India may as well condemn all Sikhs. I have no desire to see an independent Khalistan  the name and the objective of the Sikh nationalist movement. Yet coming from a Sikh family Im painfully aware of what hundreds of thousands of Sikhs went through in 1984 and afterwards.

The Indian government is shooting itself in the foot. Younger diaspora Sikhs are more attached to their religious identity than their parents and are more willing to speak out. But neither of Indias major parties will openly admit that Sikhs were systematically targeted in 1984, let alone deliver justice 30 years later. They prefer living in denial, thus fanning the flames of anger and giving further ammunition to separatists. If the government went further in assuaging anger over 1984 it would easily undercut the Sikh separatists narrative.

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Most Sikhs call for a Khalistan not because they want to live in a theocracy but because they want a state where their Sikh brethren are treated equally and with dignity. They want a state that will protect Sikhs, not cover up thousands of extrajudicial killings. Instead India is going in the opposite direction: the rise of the Hindu nationalist Hindutva movement has minorities more concerned about their safety than ever before.

Justin Trudeau wont leave India feeling dejected or snubbed  au contraire, his main aim was to learn more about the background of Canadian Sikhs. The rise of Jagmeet Singh is a bigger concern for the Canadian PM than the Indian media. Instead it is India that has lost out from this cackhanded diplomacy. It could have used this opportunity to mend fences with Sikhs and grow trade with Canada but it has done neither.Chief Executive Officer of Uber Dara Khosrowshahi (L) and Amitabh Kant (2nd R), CEO of the Indian government think-tank NITI Aayog, walk in for a conference on 'sustainable mobility' hosted by the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum in New Delhi on Feb. 22, 2018. Khosrowshahi, an Iranian-American entrepreneur, Feb. 23 said U.S. restrictions on immigration were "bruising" the brand "American Dream, which he said was the "single most incredible brand" in the world. (Chandan Khanna/AFP/Getty Images)Western Lies about Lies over Syrias East Ghouta

By Finian Cunningham

February 24, 2018 " Information Clearing House " - Western governments, their corporate news media, and even the United Nations chief Antonio Guterres are once again playing a disgusting, emotive propaganda game over the Syrian war.

UN Secretary General Guterres told the Security Council this week that the East Ghouta enclave near the capital Damascus was hell on Earth and called for an immediate ceasefire. His ceasefire call was echoed by French President Emmanuel Macron.

Where is Guterres public concern about hellish conditions elsewhere? In Gaza where more than a million people are starving under a years-long blockade by a US-backed Israeli regime  in violation of countless UN resolutions? Where is Guterres legal or moral authority for Palestinians?

Or for Raqqa, the Syrian city razed to the ground by US air strikes? Or for Iraqs Mosul, likewise obliterated along with thousands of civilians by US air strikes? Or for Sanaa, the Yemeni capital being bombarded by American-supplied Saudi warplanes?

We dont recall seeing the UN chief pointedly addressing the Security Council about those situations, and dramatically invoking hell on Earth.

The trouble with the Western-orchestrated concern over Syrias East Ghouta is that is so selective, cynical and a sickening sleight of hand.

Western media outlets have this week stepped up airing one-sided footage out of the militant-held East Ghouta suburb, along with shrill demands for the US and other governments to take action. The implicit message is for greater military intervention in Syria by NATO nations to confront the Syrian government.

The Syrian government and its ally Russia are being accused of massacring civilians with air strikes on East Ghouta. Russia has denied its forces are deliberately attacking civilian centers, while the Syrian government claims that militants from East Ghouta are launching deadly mortar attacks on nearby Damascus, and therefore has the right to put an end to the insurgents fire.

One wonders how Washington, London or Paris would react if in a similar position? Ruthlessly and self-righteously, rebuffing any international concerns as interfering in its sovereign affairs.

Shamelessly, Western media outlets are once again giving one side of the story in Syria and a very distorted side too.

They are making tenuous comparisons with the conflict over East Aleppo back in 2016. Back then the Syrian government and Russia forces ended the siege of Syrians second largest city by routing militants who had held the eastern quarter for nearly four years.

A victory for the Syrian people was perversely distorted by the Western media to appear as a brutal conquest involving massacre of civilians. This week the Aleppo myth is being reprised in the Western media with the same barefaced lies.

The Washington Post admonished this week, The world sits by as another massacre unfolds in Syria. It goes on: The scenario is similar to the regimes [sic] slow, destructive reconquest in 2016 of rebel-held [sic] areas in Aleppo.

Quoting activists from East Ghouta, the Post depicts an infernal scenario of hospitals overflowing with blood, graves filled with body parts, and children sitting alone amid rubble.

This is an exact replay of the Western narrative over East Aleppo, when Syria and Russia were accused then of war crimes and compared to Nazi Germany.

One pressing corrective question is this: why have Western and UN officials, as well as Western media, not gone to report on Aleppo since the city returned to full Syrian government control for over a year now?

Why have these hand-wringing protagonists who were hysterically protesting war crimes and slaughter in Aleppo not followed up to check on their earlier claims of mass slaughter? Yet they are making the same scripted claims again with regard to East Ghouta.

One reason is that they would find in Aleppo a population which has happily returned to peaceful normalcy after the Syrian and Russian forces liberated the city from the death-grip of terror groups like Al Nusra Front.

Thats why Aleppo is not in the Western news any longer. It doesnt their propaganda narrative.

During the liberation of Aleppo, the Western media relied solely on videos and claims issued by the so-called humanitarian responders and activists of the White Helmets. This pseudo first-aid group has been unmasked by Vanessa Beeley and other investigative journalists, to be a media arm of the Nusra terror network and its various Islamic State (IS) affiliates.

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In East Ghouta, the Western media are again relying on the White Helmets for their information about what is going in that enclave, just as they had done in their fabrications over East Aleppo.

Western media are not reporting on a war; they are part of the war, disseminating propaganda for terror groups like Al Nusra, who are covertly sponsored and directed by US, British and French military intelligence to destabilize the country.

The Washington Post deceptively fabulates about East Ghouta as the last bastion of opposition rebels. It published a map apparently showing East Ghouta as rebel-held and distinct from another area which was designated under the control of Islamic State.

All the Western media engage in this sophistry of contriving a seeming separation between good rebels and the terrorists.

The fact is that East Ghouta has been held under siege by Jaysh al Islam (formerly Liwa al Islam) for the past four years. This group is an affiliate of the cult terror-network comprising Al Nusra and so-called Islamic State. They rule over captured areas with a bloody sword, decapitating anyone deemed to be an infidel.

The comparison of East Ghouta with East Aleppo is real enough, but not in the make-believe propaganda nonsense way that Western media are portraying.

Audacious falsification by the Washington Post was further compounded this week when it tried to underscore the suffering in East Ghouta by claiming the area was hit with chemical weapons in 2013 by the regime [sic].

That is an outrageous lie that has been already exposed by several independent journalists, such as Seymour Hersh, who showed that it was the Jaysh al Islam militants (the so-called good rebels) who carried out the 2013 atrocity against civilians under its control as a deliberate false flag attempt to trigger US military intervention in Syria. Similar to the stunt pulled last April in Khan Sheikhoun, in Idlib Province, which President Trump reacted to three days later with a barrage of 57 Tomahawk cruise missiles slamming into Syria.

The repugnant irony of Western media and the UN chief calling for tougher Western government intervention in Syria is that it is precisely because of Western governments intervening in Syria for regime change that has resulted in the present devastation and suffering of the country.

Western media will never tell the full story of how past US administrations in league with their NATO allies, Israel and other regional client regimes were plotting for years to destroy Syria as part of a wider war plan to control the oil-rich Middle East.

The proxy war in Syria for the past seven years has followed the war plan laid out by pro-Israeli American imperialists in Washington like Richard Perle and Douglas Feith. In their Clean Break plan from as far back as 1996, Syria and Iraq were a priority for roll back or regime change. The list of Mideast countries targeted by the US for regime change, including Syria and Iraq, was confirmed by American General Wesley Clark in 2007.

This is how the suffering in Syria we are witnessing today has come about.

Want to end the misery and horror in Syria? Then the US and its accomplices, including Britain and France, should get out of Syria and stop waging their covert war for regime change.

Western media will never elucidate that truth because their purpose is to tell lies about lies, and to manipulate Western public into supporting ever-more criminal war.

Finian Cunningham has written extensively on international affairs, with articles published in several languages. He is a Masters graduate in Agricultural Chemistry and worked as a scientific editor for the Royal Society of Chemistry, Cambridge, England, before pursuing a career in newspaper journalism. He is also a musician and songwriter. For nearly 20 years, he worked as an editor and writer in major news media organisations, including The Mirror, Irish Times and Independent.

This article was originally published by " Strategic Culture Foundation " -

====

The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Information Clearing House.

Join the DiscussionWhen Will Congress Investigate All Interference in Elections?



By Philip M. Giraldi



February 24, 2018 " Information Clearing House " - The atmosphere in the United States regarding possible Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election is something like hysteria, with a real danger that bilateral relations might break down completely as a result. Indeed, a number of politicians and senior government officials have described the allegations that Moscow sought to influence the election results as an act of war with Congressman Jerold Nadler even declaring that it was similar to Pearl Harbor.



Assuming that the indictment against 13 Russians and 3 Russian companies filed last week by Special Counsel Robert Mueller is accurate, the reported activity of the Internet Research Agency could indeed have been part of an intelligence operation seeking to influence developments in the US, but the organizations employees also displayed considerable amateur behavior, suggesting that they were not professional spies, supporting the stronger argument that it was not a Russian government-run operation at all.



And the United States is hardly innocent when it comes to interfering in the domestic politics of both friends and enemies. That is very often what intelligence agencies are designed to do, and no one is more active in interfering in foreign governments and elections than the United States of America. The Russian election featuring Boris Yeltsin in 1996 was arranged by Washington working with the International Monetary Fund, and more recently there was the $5 billion invested in bringing democracy to Ukraine in 2014. The US was also involved in many of the elections in post-war Europe, most particularly in countries whose own democratic systems were still evolving. The CIA worked to keep communists out of the government in Italys 1976 national election. Conservative parties received sacks of money and articles warning about communism appeared in all the major newspapers. The major covert action proceeded even though Italy was a NATO member and the corruption that the intervention brought with it has blighted Italian politics to this day.



And then, there are Americas friends who in similar fashion interfere in US politics to support their own national agendas. Most active recently have been Israel and Saudi Arabia, both of which have an identical foreign policy goal, which is to end what they describe as the Iranian threat in their region. As neither has the resources to go it alone, both seek to involve the United States in what would likely be a catastrophic war for all involved, leaving Riyadh and Tel Aviv standing on the sidelines to pick up the pieces.



The Saudi lobby in the United States operates largely below the surface, working on individual congressmen and through the funding of think tanks. Israels manipulation of the US is, however, much more in the open. One can argue that what we are now calling Russiagate all started when Trump National Security Adviser designate Michael Flynn called Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak, on December 22, 2016. The call was made at the direction of Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner, who, in turn, had been approached by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to change a U.N. vote critical of Israel.

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Kushner asked Flynn, the soon-to-be National Security Adviser, to help Israel by undermining what was being done by the still-in-power American government in Washington headed by President Barack Obama. In legal terms this most certainly could be construed as covered by the conspiracy against the United States statute that the Mueller investigation has exploited in the recent Russian indictments.



Muellers indictment specifically claimed that the Russians created false US personas while also stealing actual identities. But the Russians are being accused of involvement in activity that Israel engages in openly. It has interfered in US elections, to include promoting Mitt Romney over Barack Obama in 2012, and has a powerful and well-funded lobby in AIPAC that intervenes aggressively in American foreign and domestic policy. And the Israeli governments propaganda arm uses its hasbara to use false internet identities to confuse and deflect critical stories. They do so routinely and do not even try to hide what they are doing. Part of their agenda is to smear critics and elect politicians favorable to them.



So, when will Mueller and the several congressional committees that are investigating the Russians move on to the topic of Israel and Saudi Arabia to find out what really effective foreign influencing operations looks like? Given the power of Israel and the Saudis over Congress, probably never.

Phil Giraldi is a former CIA Case Officer and Army Intelligence Officer who spent twenty years overseas in Europe and the Middle East working terrorism cases. He holds a BA with honors from the University of Chicago and an MA and PhD in Modern History from the University of London.

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The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Information Clearing House.

Join the DiscussionDid Trump Cut a Deal on the "Collusion" Charge?

By Mike Whitney

February 24, 2018 " Information Clearing House " - Heres your legal koan for the day: When is an indictment not an indictment?

Answer When there is no intention of initiating a criminal case against the accused. In the case of the 13 Russian trolls who have just been indicted by Special Counsel Robert Mueller, there is neither the intention nor the ability to prosecute a case against them. (They are all foreign nationals who will not face extradition.)

But, if thats the case, than why would Mueller waste time and money compiling a 37-page document alleging all-manner of nefarious conduct when he knew for certain that the alleged perpetrators would never be prosecuted? Why?

Isnt is because the indictments are not really a vehicle for criminal prosecution, but a vehicle for political grandstanding? Isnt that the real purpose of the indictments, to add another layer of dirt to the mountain of unreliable, uncorroborated, unproven allegations of Russian meddling. Mueller is not acting in his capacity as Special Counsel, he is acting in his role of deep state hatchet-man whose job is to gather scalps by any means necessary.

Keep in mind, the subjects of the indictment will never be apprehended, never hire an attorney, never be in a position to defend themselves or refute the charges, and never have their case presented before and judge or a jury. They will be denied due process of law and the presumption of innocence. Muellers ominous-sounding claims, which were the centerpiece of his obscene media extravaganza, made sure of that. In most peoples minds, the trolls are guilty of foreign espionage and thats all there is to it. Case closed.

But the indictments themselves suggest that Muellers narrative is wrong. The objective was not to influence the election, but make money by getting viewers to click on advertisements. Check it out:

Defendants and their co-conspirators also used the accounts to receive money from real U.S. persons in exchange for posting promotions and advertisements on the ORGANIZATION-controlled social media pages. Defendants and their co-conspirators typically charged certain U.S. merchants and U.S. social media sites between 25 and 50 U.S. dollars per post for promotional content on their popular false U.S. persona accounts, including Being Patriotic, Defend the 2nd, and Blacktivist.

That sounds like a money-making scheme to me not an attempt to subvert US democracy. So why is Mueller in such a lather? Isnt this all just an attempt to divert attention from the fact that the Nunes investigation has produced proof that senior-level officials at the FBI and DOJ were improperly obtaining FISA warrants to spy on members of the Trump Campaign? Isnt that whats really going on?

If we can agree that the indictments were not intended to bring the accused to justice, then dont we also have to agree that there must have been an ulterior motive for issuing them? And what might that ulterior motive be? What are the real objectives of the investigation, to cast a shadow on an election that did not produce the results that powerful members of the entrenched bureaucracy wanted, to make it look like Donald Trump did not beat Hillary Clinton fair and square, and to further demonize a geopolitical rival that has blocked Washingtons imperial ambitions in Syria and Ukraine? Which of these is the real driving force behind Russiagate or is it all of the above?

Nothing will come of the indictments because the indictments were not designed reveal the truth or bring the accused to justice. They were written to shape public perceptions and to persuade the American people that Trump cheated in the elections and that Russia poses a serious threat to US national security. The indictments have no legal merit, they are a form of domestic propaganda and disinformation. The real target is the American people.

Its worth noting, that if Mueller really wanted to get to the bottom of the Russia-gate allegations, he would interview the people who have first-hand knowledge what actually happened. He would question Julian Assange (WikiLeaks) and Craig Murray, both of whom have stated publicly that they know who stole the Podesta emails. Mueller hasnt done that, nor has he contacted the VIPs (Ray McGovern, William Binney, Skip Folden, etc) who did extensive forensic investigation of the hacking allegations and proved that the emails were not hacked but leaked. Mueller has not pursued that line of inquiry either. Nor has he interviewed California Congressman Dana Rohrabacher, who met with Assange personally and who has suggested that Assange may reveal the name (of the DNC leaker) under the right conditions. Instead of questioning witnesses, Mueller has spent a great deal of time probing the online activities Russian trolls who were engaged in a money-making scheme that was in no way connected to the Russian government, in no way connected to the Trump campaign, and in no way supportive of the claims of hacking or collusion. None of this reflects well on Mueller who, by any stretch, appears to be either woefully incompetent or irredeemably biased.

The indictment states that the organization that employed the trolls had the strategic purpose of sowing political discord in the United States. This seems to be a recurrent theme that has popped up frequently in the media as well. The implication is that the Russians are the source of the widening divisions in the US that are actually the result of growing public angst over the lopsided distribution of wealth that naturally emerges in late-stage capitalism. Moscow has become the convenient scapegoat for the accelerated parasitism that has seen 95% of the nations wealth go to a sliver of people at the top of the foodchain, the 1 percent. (But thats another story altogether.) Heres a brief clip from the portentous-sounding indictment:

The general conspiracy statute creates an offense [i]f two or more persons conspire either to commit any offense against the United States, or to defraud the United States, or any agency thereof in any manner or for any purpose.

The intent required for a conspiracy to defraud the government is that the defendant possessed the intent (a) to defraud, (b) to make false statements or representations to the government or its agencies in order to obtain property of the government, or that the defendant performed acts or made statements that he/she knew to be false, fraudulent or deceitful to a government agency, which disrupted the functions of the agency or of the government. It is sufficient for the government to prove that the defendant knew the statements were false or fraudulent when made.

The above statement helps to prove my point that the indictments are not a vehicle for criminal prosecution, but part of a politically-motivated information campaign to damage Trump and vilify Russia. No one seriously believes that Mueller would ever try to prosecute this case based on the spurious and looney claims of a criminal conspiracy. The whole idea is laughable.

There are a couple interesting twists and turns regarding the indictments that could be significant, but, then again, maybe not. We found it interesting that Rob Goldman, who is the Vice President of Facebook Ads, tweeted this revealing disclaimer on Monday which Trump posted on Twitter:

I have seen all of the Russian ads and I can say very definitively that swaying the election was *NOT* the main goal.

Then there are the puzzling comments by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein who said on Friday:

Theres no allegation in this indictment that any American had any knowledge. And the nature of the scheme was the defendants took extraordinary steps to make it appear that they were ordinary American political activists, even going so far as to base their activities on a virtual private network here in the United States so, if anybody traced it back to that first jump, they appeared to be Americans.

Do you notice anything unusual about Rosensteins remarks?

Theres no mention of Trump at all, which is a striking omission since all of previous public announcements have been used to strengthen the case against Trump. Now thats changed. Why?

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Naturally, Trump picked up on Rosensteins omission and blasted this triumphant message on Twitter:

Deputy A.G. Rod Rosenstein stated at the News Conference: There is no allegation in the indictment that any American was a knowing participant in this illegal activity. There is no allegation in the indictment that the charged conduct altered the outcome of the 2016 election. Donald Trump

So, whats going on here? Mueller and Rosenstein are smart guys. They must have known that Trump would use the dates and the absence of anything remotely suggesting collusion as vindication. Was that the purpose, to let Trump off the hook while the broader propaganda campaign on Russia continues?

This is the great mystery surrounding the indictments, far from helping to establish Trumps culpability, they appear to imply his innocence. Why would Mueller and his allies want to do that? Are the Intel agencies and the FBI looking for a way to end this political cage-match before a second Special Counsel is appointed and he starts digging up embarrassing information about the involvement of other agencies (and perhaps, the White House) in the Russiagate fiasco?

Just think about it for a minute: There is nothing in the indictments that suggests that Trump or anyone in his campaign was involved with the Russian trolls. There is nothing in the indictments that suggests Trump was acting as a Russian agent. And theres nothing in the indictments that suggests the Russian government helped Trump win the election. Also, the timeline of events seems to favor Trump as does Rosensteins claim that the online activity did not have any effect on the outcome of the election.

Bottom line: The indictments were very good news for Donald Trump, but very bad news for Robert Mueller who appears to have run into a brick wall. But has he? Has Mueller abandoned the attacks on Trump or is there something else going on just below the surface?

I can only guess at the answer, but it looks to me like Trump may have made a deal to support the attacks on Russia provided he is acquitted on charges of collusion. Thats what hes wanted from the beginning, so, maybe he won this round? Heres one of his recent tweets that helps to support my theory:

I never said Russia did not meddle in the election, I said it may be Russia, or China or another country or group, or it may be a 400 pound genius sitting in bed and playing with his computer. The Russian hoax was that the Trump campaign colluded with Russia  it never did! Donald Trump

Hmmm? So Trump now Trump is okay with blaming Russia as long as hes not included too? Is that what hes saying? Heres more in the same vein:

If it was the GOAL of Russia to create discord, disruption and chaos within the U.S. then, with all of the Committee Hearings, Investigations and Party hatred, they have succeeded beyond their wildest dreams. They are laughing their asses off in Moscow. Get smart America! Donald Trump

Okay, so now Trump is turning the tables and saying, Yeah, maybe Russia has been sowing discord, but the Democrats are the ones you should be blaming not me.

So Trump is not opposed to demonizing Russia, hes just opposed to demonizing Donald John Trump. Thats where he draws the line.

Whats wrong with that? If Trumps enemies want to provide him with a Get-Outta-Jail-Free card, then why shouldnt he snatch it up and put this whole goofy probe behind him? Thats what most people would do.

The problem is that Trumps biggest supporters want him to continue struggle against The Swamp. They want him to fight for their interests and expose the crooked goings-on behind the Russiagate scandal. They want him to lift up the rock that conceals the activities of the National Security State so everyone can see the maggots squirming below. Thats what they want, a modern-day Samson who shakes the temples pillars and brings the whole crooked system crashing down around him.

These same people are hopeful that the Nunes memo and the Grassley-Graham criminal referral are just the tip of the iceberg that will inevitably lead to the bigger fish involved in this deep-state conspiracy, namely former CIA Director John Brennan, former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, Former FBI Director James Comey, and very likely, Barack Hussein Obama himself. What role did these men play in spying on the Trump campaign? Were they actively trying to sabotage the elections by giving Hillary an edge? Should a second Special Counsel be appointed to investigate whether crimes were committed in their targeting of the Trump team?

All of these questions need to be answered in order to clear the air, hold the guilty parties accountable and restore confidence in the government. Trumps backers hope that he is principled and pugnacious enough to go nose-to-nose with these Intel agency serpents and give them the bloody whooping they so richly deserve. Unfortunately, I dont see any evidence that thats what he has in mind. Well see.

Mike Whitney lives in Washington state. He is a contributor to Hopeless: Barack Obama and the Politics of Illusion (AK Press). Hopeless is also available in a Kindle edition . He can be reached at fergiewhitney@msn.com .

This article was originally published by " Unz Review " -

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The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Information Clearing House.

Join the DiscussionQuad Version of Belt and Road Feels Like a South China Sea Watch



Australia, like others, will surely realize that in terms of its own national interests, BRIs economic benefits outweigh the prospect of antagonizing its top trade partner



By Pepe Escobar

February 24, 2018 " Information Clearing House " - The Quad  comprising the United States, Japan, India and Australia  was set up a decade ago, ostensibly as an Asia-centered security cooperation mechanism. Funnily enough, Beijing always suspected it actually represented a containment strategy.

Last November, in Manila, the Quad met on the sidelines of the Asean and East Asia summits. Their topic of discussion: alternatives to China in terms of pan-Asian infrastructure financing

Then came a recent think tank summit in New Delhi. As reported by Asia Times, the alleged star of the show was Admiral Harry Harris, soon to leave his post as head of US Pacific Command in Hawaii to become the next US ambassador to Australia.

Harris had already told Congress America must prepare for the possibility of war with China. And he insisted Australia would help uphold the international rules-based system in the Indo-Pacific.

In New Delhi, he said: The reality is that China is a disruptive transitional force in the Indo-Pacific, they are the owner of the trust deficit in the region. He was apoplectic in stressing that Beijings intent is crystal clear to dominate the South China Sea and that its military might soon rival American power across almost every domain.

Significantly, Vice Admiral Tim Barrett, Australias Chief of Navy, called for concrete action against the PLAs Navy in the South China Sea.

This all fits into Washingtons recent terminological pivot from Asia-Pacific to Indo-Pacific, with the new emphasis  inbuilt in the new Pentagon Defense Strategy  that China is a revisionist power bent on undermining the international, rules-based order, especially via predatory economics which will find full expression through its New Silk Roads, or Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

So, the increasing perception in Beijing that the Quad is out to undermine BRI comes as no surprise.

Dont mess with my ChAFTA

An unnamed senior US official was quoted in the Australian Financial Review earlier this week as saying the Quads strategy is nascent and wont be ripe enough to be announced as Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull visits the US.

The Quad strategy, added the official, should be seen as an alternative rather than a rival. With Turnbull, as well as Foreign Minister Julie Bishop and Trade Minister Steven Ciobo, preferring to keep mum, its fair to wonder whats really goin on.

China is Australias top trading partner, as well as a crucial source of investment. After much hand-wringing, a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on BRI cooperation was finally signed between Beijing and Canberra last September.

China and Australia already had a bilateral investment treaty (BIT), which has existed for three decades now. In 2015, they added a China-Australia Free Trade Agreement, known as ChAFTA. Inbuilt in this agreement is a review of BIT in 2018.

Deepening its involvement in BRI would allow Australia to attract more projects on its own soil, while also expanding the reach of its pan-Asian infrastructure investment ambitions.

According to the Asian Development Bank (ADB), pan-Asia infrastructure investment must reach a staggering US$1.7 trillion a year to allow d eveloping Asia to maintain its growth momentum [and] tackle poverty.

Australian businesses are undeniably into BRI . Theres even a lively Australia-China Belt and Road Initiative  a forum established to help Australian business gain clarity on BRI opportunities. China and northern Australia have started to build particularly strong ties.

Aussies, like Indians, joke that Australia never flinches in terms of putting its national interest behind that of the US. Australia has long taken its lead from Washington; former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd had the rare talent among Anglosphere leaders of being able to speak Chinese, but even his administration was not particularly close to Beijing.

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But informed Australians know  just as informed Brazilians or Argentinians know  that the key issue exercising the US is the degree to which other countries closer commercial and investment relations with China strategically impinge on Washingtons interests.

Quad vs. BRI, the redux

Australia could perhaps use a few hints from another Quad member, Japan, on whether the Quad is likely to be just another pivot to Asia mechanism, replacing the Obama / Hillary version but still conceived by Washington as a vehicle for strategic containment of China.

Tokyo has pledged to come up with an ambitious US $200 billion for the infrastructure investment game. Australia could never match that.

What we have here is essentially Tokyo  and the ADB  competing head-on against Beijing and the Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), to extend loans around the world, incuding to an array of African nations (already Beijings clients) and even to Russia.

And yet Japans Ministry of Foreign Affairs does not even try to disguise the real purpose: Japan will promote strategic and effective development cooperation to advance its foreign policy, including the Free and Open Indo-Pacific Strategy.'

The Japanese are careful to emphasize that this Free and Open Indo-Pacific Strategy implies building high-quality infrastructure  a not-exactly subtle dig against Chinese competition.

So the stage is set for an Indo-Pacific Quad against BRI. The either-or overtones are certainly not helpful to the interests of the needy in scores of emerging pan-Asian nations.

Canberra certainly does not have what it takes  fund-wise  to splurge on regional infrastructure building. In terms of Australian national interests, BRIs economic benefits certainly outweigh antagonizing its top trade partner. Australia should aim to be a bridge, not a wall.

BRI, as seen from Beijing, is open: you can join in any time you want, do whatever you want, and help whoever you choose. Compared to BRI, the Quad strategy looks like too little, too late. Trade and investment? Not really. More like a pumped-up South China Sea Watch.

Pepe Escobar is correspondent-at-large at Asia Times

This article was originally published by " Asia Times " -

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The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Information Clearing House.

Join the DiscussionDemocrats Memo Released Countering GOP Account of Russia Probe

By Billy House

February 24, 2018 " Information Clearing House " - The House Intelligence Committee released a rebuttal by House Democrats to a Republican memo alleging bias and misconduct by the FBI and Justice Department early in their investigation of Russian election interference.

The White House quickly weighed in, terming the document politically driven.

President Donald Trumps approval for the public posting of the counter-memo came after an agreement was reached on redacting parts of an earlier version for national security reasons. With the response memos release, Democrats on the committee got to lay out their case: that the panels Republican majority had cherry-picked and distorted information in an effort to undercut the probe thats now being led by Special Counsel Robert Mueller.

FBI and DOJ officials did not abuse the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act process, omit material information, or subvert this vital tool to spy on the Trump campaign, Democrats said in the 10-page document written by Representative Adam Schiff.

Americans now have two clashing, partisan accounts that claim to be true interpretations of a detailed court document that they cant read for themselves because it remains classified.

This politically driven document fails to answer serious concerns raised by the Majoritys memorandum about the use of partisan opposition research from one candidate, loaded with uncorroborated allegations, as a basis to ask a court to approve surveillance of a former associate of another candidate, at the height of a presidential campaign, White House Secretary Sarah Sanders said in an emailed response.

The four-page Republican memo was written under Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes and was released with Trumps approval on Feb. 2. It contends that a judge issued a surveillance warrant on Carter Page, a former low-level Trump campaign adviser, primarily based on an FBI warrant application that relied on a dossier of unverified allegations against Trump written by former British spy Christopher Steele.

The Republican memo also asserts that the judge wasnt told in the application that the dossier was funded by Trumps campaign opponent Hillary Clinton and the Democrats. The FBI had opposed the release of the GOP memo, citing inaccuracies.

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Democrats counter that the Steele dossier wasnt the only grounds cited for the warrant sought under the Foreign Surveillance Intelligence Act, and they say a footnote in the application did disclose that its origins were politically motivated. They also included details of subsequent warrant applications that were obtained to continue surveillance of Page.

Trump delayed release of the Democratic memo, saying that he was responding to concerns about sensitive classified information in the document.

The Democrats also sought to combat the impression that the surveillance warrant on Page was an original sin that tainted the Russia investigation: The Republican memo itself notes that the Federal Bureau of Investigation started investigating George Papadopoulos, another low-level Trump adviser with Russian contacts, in July 2016, three months before it first sought a warrant on Page.

Muellers Probe

Some Republicans have used the GOP memo to question Muellers continuing investigation into whether anyone close to Trump colluded in Russias campaign interference and whether the president sought to obstruct justice.

Trump tweeted after the Republican memo was released that this memo totally vindicates Trump in probe even as the Russian Witch Hunt goes on and on. Sanders reiterated in her statement that as the President has long stated, neither he nor his campaign ever colluded with a foreign power during the 2016 election, and nothing in todays memo counters that fact.

Schiff has described the Republican memo as an effort to circle the wagons around the White House and distract from the Russia probe.

But Representative Trey Gowdy -- the only Republican on the Intelligence Committee who actually saw the classified intelligence used to write the memo -- has said it has nothing to do with other aspects of the Russian investigation, which Mueller took over last year.

Theres going to be a Russia probe, even without a dossier, Gowdy said this month on CBSs Face the Nation.

This article was originally published by " Bloomberg " -

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The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Information Clearing House.

Join the DiscussionSyria - The UNSC Mandated Ceasefire Will Not Hold By Moon Of Alabama February 25, 2018 " Information Clearing House " - Last night the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 2401 demanding a 30 day ceasefire in all of Syria. The text of the adopted resolution does not seem to be available yet. A copy of the original draft resolution is here . The Russian government had offered several amendments to it. It demanded that the U.S. side guarantees that the enemies of the Syrian state would stick to such a ceasefire. The resolution was initiated by Sweden and Kuwait on behalf of the U.S. It follows after preparation by the Syrian army to liberate the east-Ghouta area next to the capital Damascus had reached a critical point. East-Ghouta is occupied by several terrorist groups including al-Qaeda and militant Salafist groups. Together they have for years been sponsored to harass the 7 million inhabitants of the capital with random mortar and missile attacks. The U.S. initiated a propaganda campaign to "save Ghouta" because it wants to keep the threat from Ghouta towards the Syrian capital alive.

bigger The ceasefire does not apply to Al-Qaeda, ISIS and associated terrorist groups. The war against them will continue. In east-Ghouta al-Qaeda (HTS) is allied with Failaq al-Rahman.

bigger The UN resolution is said to allow for the liberation of some significant areas of east-Ghouta including Harasta, Arbin, Zamalka, Ein Tarma and Kafar Batna. The Syrian Arab Army ground attack to liberate these and other parts of east-Ghouta began today, only hours after the resolution was adopted. It is already making good progress. The huge propaganda campaign about east-Ghouta is certainly not over humanitarian concern or over adherence to some legal rules of war. Last year the U.S. destroyed Raqqa with more than 31,000 artillery rounds and a large air campaign and killed more than 3,200 civilians. It even destroyed the water pipeline to Raqqa that supplied the inhabitants of the city - a clear war crime. Back then the UN requested a ceasefire to evacuate civilians. The U.S. rejected that out of hand . It latter let the remaining Islamic State fighters escape from Raqqa and is now retraining them for further attacks on the Syrian state. Never Miss Another Story Get Your FREE Daily Newsletter The campaigns around Ghouta are part of cold war between the USA and Russia which is dividing Syria. The current U.S. campaign to keep east-Ghouta under terrorist is in support of four goals: to demonstrate to the word that the Syrian government is unable to keep Damascus safe

to show that Russia was wrong in claiming victory in Syria

to protect ISIS and al-Qaeda as they are still needed as U.S. proxy foot-soldiers

the justify the U.S. occupation of north-east Syria and its oil fields and to thus limit the financial resources of the Syrian state. (This also gives the U.S. and Israel an operational area for further attacks on the Syrian state.) One interesting aspect of the UNSC ordered ceasefire is its application to the Turkish invasion of the Kurdish held Afrin area in north-west Syria. The Kurdish YPG, which is defending Afrin against the Turkish onslaught, is not an internationally recognized terrorist group. Thus Turkey is now under pressure to stop or end its campaign. U.S. President Trump has again confused his private position with that of the ruling administration: President Donald Trump appeared to contradict his own State Department during a press conference on Friday by saying that the US is in Syria to defeat ISIS and then leave. In January, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson outlined five goals for the US in Syria  to defeat ISIS and al-Qaida, resolve the conflict between the Syrian regime and people, to curb Iranian influence, to create conditions so that refugees can safely return, and to create a Syria free of weapons of mass destruction. Tillerson also said that the US seeks to resolve the conflict between the Syrian regime and people. The Trump administration also decided this week that it could continue to maintain US troops in Syria indefinitely, even in areas where ISIS fighters have been cleared, without new Congressional authorization. The is no basis in international law for a U.S. occupation of parts of Syria. The reasoning with which the administration tries to justify its military presence in Syria is laughable: [It] said that the continued potential threat from the Islamic State provided a legal rationale for the Trump administration to keep American troops deployed there indefinitely. A "preventive" military presence in a foreign country because some terrorist group might evolve there could be used to occupy any piece of land on this planet. This is evidently bullshit but it is currently unlikely that Congress will get involved and stop this criminal behavior. The UNSC mandated ceasefire will fail. The various groups in east-Ghouta are disunited but have a common interest in keeping the war going. It is their sole source of income and purpose. They will continue to harass Damascus which will then justify more attacks on them. The U.S. campaign to "save Ghouta" will thus go down in the same way the earlier campaign to "save Aleppo" has failed. The Syrian government will liberate and secure the area by the appropriate means and with the least possible casualties and damage. The U.S. will then move its propaganda campaign to some other area and will continue to use dirty tricks, but not an open battle, to prolong the war on Syria and to pursue its unrealistic aims. This article was originally published by " Moon Of Alabama " - ==== The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Information Clearing House. Join the Discussion It is not necessary for ICH readers to register before placing a comment. This website encourages readers to use the "Report" link found at the base of each comment. When a predetermined number of ICH readers click on the "Report" link, the comment will be automatically sent to "moderation". This would appear to be the most logical way to allow open comments, where you the reader/supporter, can determine what is acceptable speech. Please don't use the report feature simply because you disagree with the author point of view. Treat others with respect, remembering that "A man convinced against his will, is of the same opinion still."- Benjamin Franklin. Please read our Comment Policy before posting -On Thursday 22nd February , MTV Stay Alive Foundation treated some corps delite and stakeholders in Nigerian showbiz, movie enthusiasts and media practitioners to a private screening of popular Pan-African drama series MTV Shuga season 6.



Ahead of its March 6th, premiere, heres a scoop on what to expect as gathered from the screening.

Family planning

With this season, the organisers are seeking to sensitize and provide viewers with meaningful informations on family planning and child spacing.

Dr Adebimpe Adebiyi, the Federal ministry of health delegate who was present at the screening offered compelling admonishment on the importance of child spacing and how it can help in curbing the economic downturn that Nigeria is faced with.



The population of Nigeria is increasing at a very troubling rate and more troubling is the fact that most parents are barely able to provide the basic needs of these kids, She cited, stressing that couples should explore various family planning measures in a bid to avoid unwanted pregnancies and biting financial crisis. Produce with sense, Mrs. Adebimpe Adebiyi urged.

Right from the earlier scenes of this season, one will denote that the organizers are poised on providing viewers with insight in regards to this subject.

Reinvented characters

MTV Shuga made its Nigerian debut in 2013 (and held two consecutive seasons) before heading over to South Africa where the fifth season was hosted.

The past four years have introduced a lot of personal and social changes and all of these will be represented in the lives of the characters.

A typical example; Tobi who was a naive virgin in the preceding seasons has transformed into a successful showbiz entrepreneur who delights in exploiting the skills and emotions of people. Requesting the nudes of his vulnerable girlfriend, Leila abusing the loyalty of his friend, a budding music producer and championing transactional sex are some of his best practices.

On child molestation

According to a 2015 report by UNICEF on sexual abuse in Nigeria, one in four girls and one in ten boys had experienced sexual violence before the age of 18 and more harrowing is the fact that most of these monstrous misdoings are perpetrated by close associates (family members, neighbours, etc..).

This season will shine a light on the biting reality of child abuse using the characters Tare (a naive child) and Uncle Martins (a seeming sexual predator).

The new season will be airing on MTV Base (Dstv Channel 322) on the 6th of March. Join the conversation on social media with the hashtags #MTVShugaNaija #NothingStaysTheSame

Leave a CommentRenowned 80-year-old monarch, Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi III is the latest father in town, as he just welcomed a set of twins with one of his young wives, Memunat.

The photos of the beautiful kids has already surfaced online Doom the monarch who has four wives.

See the beautiful twins below:

Not many people know that Alaafin of Oyo, HRM Oba Lamidi Olayiwola Adeyemi III has lovely children that are doing wonderfully well for themselves, across different sectors, apart from the likes of Prince Akeem Adeyemi AKA Skimeh, the two-term Chairman, Atiba Local Government and the present honourable representing Afijio/Oyo East/ Oyo West/ Atiba Federal Constituency in the House of Reps; Princess Adetutu Adeyemi-Akhigbe, the Honourable Commissioner of Culture in Governor Ajimobis first term and Princess Folasade Adeyemi, a cultural ambassador and CEO, Arewa House of Culture.

These three seem to be the most prominent out of Alaafins children.

PRINCE BABATUNDE ISRAEL ADEYEMI

The crown-prince of Oyo Babatunde could be best described as humility personified. He is a professional to the core; a qualified lawyer and graduate of Utman-Dan-Fodio University, Sokoto. Prince Babatunde is a pastor in his fifties and happily married with lovable kids. He works in the legal department of the Oodua Investment Limited. His wife, Omolara Adeyemi is a Justice of Oyo State High Court.

PRINCESS FOLASADE ADEYEMI

Arewa Omoba as she is fondly called is the brain behind most of the cultural activities in Oyo. She is the C.E.O Arewa House of Culture, a company which is into cultural promotions and seminars. She schooled in the United States of America, but deeply rooted in Yoruba culture and tradition. She is also a politician and women leader in Oyo.

Source  akpraiseMusic producer, Solomon Oyeniyi, aka K-Solo few days ago had a confrontation with a follower on social media after he criticized Big Brother Naijas Khloe for being disqualified from the house.

K-Solo was asked by the follower to resurrect his dead career instead of criticizing a more popular personality.

But in his reaction to that he mentioned that if Don Jazzys last hit was in years back, then his career could be considered dead too.

Now in a new interview with SUNDAY SCOOP, The producer said he could not ignore the attack on him because he was human too.

In his words;

I usually ignore them but at times, I feel the need to reply some people. Even as a celebrity, I should have my own opinion on things. I am human and the person I talked about is someone I know very well. I feel bad that she was evicted and I came to Twitter to speak my mind. I was upset that someone attacked me for it,

He believes he is not doing badly in his chosen field. The music producer added,

I released a video in November last year, Wish Me Well. I dont know what people mean by a dead career in Nigeria. I still help the new ones regularly.You cannot say Bola Tinubu has no political career again unless you are dumb. The only difference between Tinubu and Governor Ambode now is that one is a former governor while the other is current and active. But that doesnt make Tinubu irrelevant. Do you call Don Jazzys career dead too because the last time he produced a hit song, Godwin, was years ago. If something fresh comes up and people embrace it, it doesnt mean that others dont exist any longer. Cobhams Asuquo last had a major hit song seven years ago when he produced Asas album. But he did the GT Bank advert we all listen to and many people dont know this. I have been working; I do lots of adverts. When I was very popular, I didnt have the money Im making now. I laugh when people say rubbish about me because they dont know my worth. The good thing is that I used my time well and things I did are still there for all to see.

K-solo also said there was nothing to miss about his days in the limelight.

As a matter of fact, I dont want those days to come back again. I lost friends, family members and loved ones. People became my enemies because I didnt have their time. I didnt do that deliberately; I was just too busy because I had many artistes I was working with. But I am friends with many people now and I can have long discussions with people too, he said.

Source: NaijaloadedEkiti state governor, Ayodele Fayose has again asked President Muhammadu Buhari to take a bow. The governor in a statement issued by Lere Olayinka, his spokesman, said the abduction of 105 pupils of Government Girls Technical College, Dapchi, Yobe state and Nigerias regression in Transparency Internationals perception of corruption report were further proof that the president needs to take a bow. Here are 4 things in the statement, you should be aware of

Buharis failed promise

President Buhari promised Nigerians that he will bring back the missing Chibok Girls and defeat Boko Haram within three months. After more than 32 months in office, Boko Haram is still killing Nigerians, with herdsmen also on killing spree.

Nigerias new challenge

Painfully, the same Boko Haram they claimed to have defeated suddenly became strong enough to kidnap over 100 students. Now, Nigeria is not only looking for the remaining Chibok Girls, another over 100 innocent students have joined, this is unacceptable.

Nigerians already paying the ultimate price

Funny enough, a few days ago, the President called on all Nigerians to be prepared to pay the ultimate price for the progress and unity of the nation and I wish to ask him what other price he wants Nigerians to pay. Already, Nigerians are sacrificing their lives by getting killed while seeking what to eat. Some have even committed suicide. Yet, the same President who is enjoying all the benefits of his office is calling on Nigerians to forego personal pleasures and pay the ultimate price.

Buhari has nothing to campaign with ahead of the 2019 elections.Punch

President Muhammadu Buharis Senior Special Assistant National Social Investment Programme, Ismaeel Ahmed, has said Buhari and Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo are more committed to Nigerian electorate rather than elections.

Vanguard

Presidency, NASS set to review trade treaties

An aide to the President of the Senate, Bamidele Omishore says the Presidency and National Assembly are partnering to review treaties and conventions entered into by Nigeria.

The Sun

President Muhammadu Buhari has pledged to make Nigeria among the most safest and attractive investment destinations in the world.

Thisday

Parents of the girls kidnapped on Monday from Government Girls Science Technical College, Dapchi, in Yobe State, at the weekend submitted to the school authorities the identities of 105 schoolgirls that remained unaccounted-for after Mondays raid on the school by gunmen suspected to be members of Boko Haram.

Daily Times

Presidency faults TI on corruption rating in Nigeria

The Presidency has faulted the recent report of Transparency International (TI) that corruption is getting worse in Nigeria.

Guardian

Troops arrest herdsman with bullet-proof vest Troops on patrol have arrested a herdsman with a locally made bullet proof and cutlass at Chegba village in Logo Local Government Area of Benue.

Daily Trust

The national chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, has promised to support the partys national leade, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, on the reconciliation assignment given to him by President Muhammadu Buhari.

Tribune

GOVERNOR of Yobe State, Ibrahim Gaidam has blamed the security personnel helping in the management of the insurgency in the state for escalating the insurgency in the state by applying the wrong strategy in the state.

The NationNollywood comic actor, John Okafor, popularly known as Mr Ibu has bragged about his sex game in a latest interview with Inside Nollywood.

In the interview, the actor revealed that he is sweet in bed and can satisfy any woman. He even went further to urge any woman out there to come try to see for themselves.

His words:

Persistence and true spirit of sportsmanship have kept me on. Aside that, Im also sweet in bed, I am good and very proud of myself. Try me and you will be amazed. I deliver very well. I can drive women crazy. People keep asking the secret of my good looks, but the fact remains that I dont take alcohol or sugary drinks. I dont smoke. I also dont take carbohydrates. I live on vegetables and smoothies. All these keep me going and looking very healthy,

Recently, armed robbers attacked the Lagos residence of comic actor while his wife, children and in-law were sleeping. The robbers reportedly carted away 4 phones, N1m cash and his 12 expensive wristwatches and some other properties on January 4th. Three of the suspected armed robbers have been arrested by the Lagos Police command. Mr. Ibu made this known to the public when he was contacted about the update on the robbery incident, and he added that the Police have already commenced investigation into the matter. He went further to reveal that 2 of the 3 robbery suspects were exposed by the CCTV cameras that were installed in his home. Mr Ibu narrated  My wife told me that the operation started at about 3am and lasted till about 4:25am on Saturday morning after which they left with all my property and cash,.

Source  KemifilaniThe King of Fuji Music, Dr. Saheed Osupa is one of the most celebrated Fuji Stars in Nigeria.

He is the darling of traditional rulers, transporters, artisans, students and even entertainers in the Yoruba genre of Nollywood.

Mr Rights investigation reveals that, Saheed Osupa earns over N312 million annually from performing in shows alone. This is apart from the cash usually spread on the artist while performing.

However, investigation reveals that, the cash usually spread at shows, is sometimes far above the fees collected for performance.

A careful peruse of Saheed Osupas facebook page indicated that, on weekly basis, the artist perform in an average of 4 shows and going by his performance fee, which is valued at N1.5 million,

Saheed Osupa earns an average of N312million as performance fee annually.

In addition to his performance fee, Saheed Osupa equally earns money spread at shows, which is somethings more than the performance fees, depending on the caliber of guests at the event. This brings in an average of N100 million to the king of music.

Furthermore, the artist also makes additional income from selling video of his live performances, which is usually contracted to marketers and producers. This rakes in another average of N50 million.

This is not to mention income earned through releases of albums, which is mostly multiple releases in a year, endorsements for corporate brands and organizations such as etisalat, Peak milk and others, public appearances and others.

From the above, it is obvious that the artist earn above the stated sum, but due to lack of verifiable facts, Mr rights pegged it as that for readers imagination.

Source: NaijaloadedYou have permission to edit this article.

Edit CloseToday

Rain early. A mix of sun and clouds by afternoon. High 102F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 30%.

Tonight

Partly cloudy skies. Low near 75F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph.

Tomorrow

Mainly sunny. High 102F. Winds WSW at 10 to 20 mph.Jennifer Dorsey is chief copy editor for the News&Guide and one of the editors for local articles printed in the Jackson Hole Daily.FILE- In this Thursday, Feb. 22, 2018, file photo, National Rifle Association Executive Vice President and CEO Wayne LaPierre, speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), at National Harbor, Md. LaPierre said at the conference that those advocating for stricter gun control are exploiting the Florida shooting which killed over a dozen people, mostly high-school students. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)Rick Hansen speaks at the Invictus Games Opening Ceremony in Toronto on Saturday, September 23, 2017. New research suggests that failing to make accessibility for people with disabilities a higher priority for Canadian businesses would cost the country billions of dollars in lost economic growth. The findings from the Conference Board of Canada focused on people with physical disabilities, a population group comprising an estimated 2.9 million Canadians that's expected to grow to 3.6 million by 2030. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris DonovanA pit bull goes for a walk at the SPCA in Montreal on June 14, 2016. Following the suspension of the city's pit bull ban, Montrealers weighed in on the future of animal control in the city in a series of public consultations that began Saturday.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan RemiorzPremier Kathleen Wynne and Premier Philippe Couillard speak to reporters after an event at the Washington international trade association in Washington, D.C., , Friday, Feb.23, 2018. A new concern about Canada's relationship with the United States is emerging in the foreground, with threats of global steel and aluminum tariffs now competing with NAFTA uncertainty as a source of economic anxiety. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Alex PanettaFILE - In this Oct 25, 2017, file photo, Chinese President Xi Jinping claps while addressing the media as he introduces new members of the Politburo Standing Committee at Beijing's Great Hall of the People. On a proposal made public Sunday, Feb. 25, 2018, China's ruling Communist Party proposes removing a limit of two consecutive terms for the president and vice president. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan, File)FILE--In this file photo taken Oct. 20, 2017, sales clerk Tom Wallitner holds up a Mossberg 715T .22-caliber semi-automatic rifle during an auction at Johnny's Auction House in Rochester, Wash. When selling weapons, sheriff's offices and police departments have also sold AR-15s, AK47s and other assault weapons, a practice criticized by some law enforcement officials. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson, file)EUGENE, Ore. - Students of all ages from all over the state of Oregon gathered at North Eugene High School on Saturday, February 24, for the newly launched Rubik's Cube Competition.

The students competed both in six different teams as well as individual events. In the team events a group of 6-10 students competed for the fastest time to solve 25 cubes, and in the individual events it was a speed competition with one cube.

Cody Rosenburg, the co-organizer of the event and North Eugene math teacher, said he's been using Rubik's Cubes for the last three years to teach geometry students. He said it not only teaches them about algorithmic patterns, but also patience, perseverance, and how to follow complex instructions.

"It's helped me with my focus and the advantage of learning something new and going for it," said Audrey Parker, a competing student from Gilham Elementary.MASON CITY, Iowa - Mason City High School released a statement saying in part:

"The safety and well-being of our students and staff are the number one priority of the Mason City Community Schools. At no time during the investigation of this incident was there a direct threat to students or staff."

The school district says they will continue to work closely with the Mason City Police Department on this investigation.

PREVIOUS STORY:

MASON CITY, Iowa - Police say a juvenile is facing charges for a threat of terrorism in connection to a school threat Friday at Mason City High School.

Police say the MCPD School Resource Officer was alerted at 4 p.m. Friday about someone saying they were going to bring a weapon to school to harm others.

The student who made the threat was referred to Juvenile Court Services on charges related to the incident.

Iowa law prohibits information to be released that would identify the student involved.By Jarrett Renshaw

Philadelphia, Feb 21 (Reuters) - Republican Senator Ted Cruz of Texas will speak at a rally against the U.S. Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) on Wednesday hosted by bankrupt refiner Philadelphia Energy Solutions Inc - a company that blames the controversial biofuels policy for its financial demise.

The rally comes as the oil industry and the corn lobby clash over the causes of the Philadelphia-area refiner's insolvency, which has become a touchstone in the debate over whether the RFS needs to be rewritten or replaced.

The decade-old regulation requires U.S. refiners to blend biofuels like corn-based ethanol into their fuel, or buy credits from those who do. While it has created a lucrative market for corn states like Iowa and Nebraska, refiners like PES that have no blending facilities say it is unfair and costly.

Philadelphia Energy Solutions (PES), which employs more than a thousand people in the Philadelphia area, declared bankruptcy in January and placed the blame squarely at the feet of the RFS.

The corn industry has pushed back, pointing out that other refining companies are raking in their biggest profits in years, and suggesting PES's problems may have had more to do with regional refining economics and management choices.

Reuters reported that PES's investor backers - led by the Carlyle Group - withdrew more than $594 million in a series of dividend-style distributions from PES since 2012, most of them backed by loans the company ultimately could not repay. The distributions, combined with a shift in U.S. energy economics, made complying with RFS challenging for PES. Cruz, who represents the big refining state of Texas, has been leading an effort to reform the RFS, putting holds on presidential nominations favored by corn-state lawmakers and organizing meetings with administration officials.

The oil and gas industry is among Cruz's top financial backers, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. Cruz has suggested putting a cap of 10 cents on credit prices - a fraction of their current value - a move that would save refiners millions of dollars but which was roundly rejected as unworkable by the biofuels industry.

PES is asking a bankruptcy judge to shed roughly $350 million of its current RFS compliance costs as part of its restructuring package. Complying with the RFS was more expensive than the company's payroll, and ranked only behind purchasing crude oil as its biggest cost.

(Reporting By Jarrett Renshaw; Editing by Richard Valdmanis and Jonathan Oatis)By Davide Barbuscia

MANAMA, Feb 25 (Reuters) - Aluminium Bahrain (Alba) , owner of one of the world's largest aluminium smelters, will raise by the end of this year's first quarter the final debt amount needed to fund its Line 6 expansion project, a company official told Reuters.

With Line 6, Alba will become the world's largest single aluminium smelter complex, increasing production capacity by 540,000 metric tonnes to a total capacity of 1.5 million tonnes per year, the company says.

The project involves capital expenditure of around $3 billion. Of this amount, $1.5 billion was funded through a syndicated loan raised in 2016, $400 million was funded internally, and $700 million was borrowed last year through loans guaranteed by export credit agencies.

This means there is around $400 million left of financing, also backed by export credit agencies, which will be completed by the end of March, deputy chief executive Ali Al Baqali told Reuters in an interview last week.

BNP Paribas, Citigroup, Commerzbank, Credit Agricole and Standard Chartered are among major commercial banks involved in the ECA funding for Alba, said Al Baqali. The ECAs backing this second phase of ECA funding include Germany's Euler Hermes, Canada's EDC and Japan's NEXI.

Line 6 is on track to start production at the beginning of 2019, after which Alba will need about six months to ramp up output fully, Al Baqali added.

Alba, majority-owned by the Bahraini government through state fund Mumtalakat, has launched this year Titan 3, which is the third phase of a cost reduction programme that is expected to save the company around $60 million in 2018. "In order to be competitive in the market, as we don't have control on prices, we need to focus on the cost reduction programme. What is in our hands is our cost, to be more efficient and to produce more," said Al Baqali.

"We put Titan 3 on the budget of 2018, just to have a clear track of it and to push everyone to reach the target."

(Editing by Andrew Torchia)ABU DHABI, Feb 25 (Reuters) - First Abu Dhabi Bank , the largest bank in the United Arab Emirates, expects to enter Saudi Arabia's banking market in 2018, a senior executive said on Sunday.

The bank has applied for a commercial banking licence in the kingdom, Karim Karoui, the bank's group head of subsidiaries, strategy and transformation, told reporters.

FAB, created by last year's merger between National Bank of Abu Dhabi and First Gulf Bank, recently was given the go-ahead by Saudi Arabia's regulator to conduct arranging and advising activities in the securities sector. The move comes as other international banks have also increased their presence in the kingdom in recent months including Goldman Sachs and Citigroup .

James Burdett, FAB's group chief financial officer said, the bank's plan to issue sukuk or Islamic bonds will depend on market conditions.

(Reporting by Stanley Carvalho; Writing by Saeed Azhar; Editing by Tom Arnold)By Davide Barbuscia

DUBAI, Feb 25 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabian real estate developer Dar Al Arkan met fixed income investors last week for a so-called non-deal roadshow, discussions that were not linked to any specific plan for a bond issue, sources familiar with the matter said.

Dar Al Arkan , which issued $500 million of Islamic bonds last April, held the meetings to update investors on the company's business, but no concrete bond issue plan was discussed, said one source, declining to be named because of commercial sensitivities.

The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The roadshow was held last week in Dubai and arranged by Emirates NBD.

Dar Al Arkan has $450 million of sukuk due in June this year, $400 million of sukuk due in 2019 and a further $500 million of sukuk - those issued last year - maturing in 2022.

The company, rated B1 by Moody's, issued its last sukuk with Alkhair Capital, Deutsche Bank, DIB, Emirates NBD, Goldman Sachs, Noor Bank and QInvest as joint bookrunners. The sukuk offered a profit rate of 6.875 percent per annum.

(Additional reporting by Marwa Rashad in Riyadh; Editing by Andrew Torchia)Shenandoah, IA (51601)

Today

A mix of clouds and sun. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 77F. Winds NNW at 10 to 15 mph..

Tonight

Some clouds. Low 59F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph.By Jhoo Dong-chan



After the government introduced another regulation to deal with soaring housing prices in Seoul's affluent southern districts of Gangnam, Seocho and Songpa, it brought about an outcome diametrically to what it had hoped for.



The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced Monday it will toughen the assessment standards on the eligibility for apartment reconstruction, making it more difficult for older buildings with few structural stability problems to be rebuilt. The measure will be effective as of the end of March.



A ministry official added reconstruction has been often allowed even for structurally stable apartments, causing an unnecessary waste of social resources.



Under the current law, local governments are in charge of on-site inspections to decide whether to reconstruct old apartments. If the new regulation is implemented, public organizations will participate in the inspection process. Also, apartments already granted conditional permission for reconstruction will have to go through a safety assessment by the Korea Infrastructure Safety Corporation.



"Many buildings in Europe are used for more than a 100 years," said a ministry official.



"There are a number of apartment complexes in Seoul that are still stable enough for another 10 to 20 years. It will be a great social loss if we bulldoze them to rebuild."



Residents whose apartments are eligible for reconstruction this year under the government's 30-year limit immediately complained.



"The government's Aug. 2 housing price measure rather added fuel to already soaring apartment prices in southern Seoul," said a real estate broker in Seoul's northern district on Nowon-gu.



"The measure to toughen the assessment standard for reconstruction will be another hurdle for residents here in rebuilding their old apartments."



Residents in Seoul's southwestern district of Yangcheon-gu, in which 25,000 households are affected, also denounced the government's decision.



"Yangcheon-gu has the largest number of apartments that are expected to be reconstructed this year, but the government pushed ahead with its plan unilaterally without prior consultations with us," said a resident.



"Reconstruction is a part of the private economy where residents should decide the best for themselves. The government shouldn't attempt to control it on its own."



Due to the newly announced measure, apartment prices in the affected areas are expected to suffer depreciation.



"Homeowners who have multiple apartments are expected to release their houses here this month before the toughened real estate transfer tax law is implemented in April," said a real estate broker in Yangcheon-gu.



"Currently, prices are about 20 million to 30 million won lower than usual. The drop is expected to continue for awhile."



Southern Seoul districts of Gangnam, Seocho and Songpa area are, however, said to be less effected by the measure since most old apartment complexes have already been reconstructed.



"Those new apartments that have just been completed will be scarce. Prices will be even higher than anticipated," said Real Estate 114 Research Center head Ham Young-jin.





YouTube beauty expert Hunion



By Rachel Lee



More men are becoming courageous enough to change the country's strict conventions, especially in beauty and fashion, and Hunion is one of the brave ones.



The YouTube beauty expert, whose Korean name is Park Sang-hoon, calls himself a beauty creator who specializes in cosmetics product reviews. He has over 54,000 followers.



"I have always been interested in skincare products rather than makeup tips, which is why my YouTube videos are more focused on the products themselves," Park told The Korea Times last week.



Park was always interested in grooming since young -- he had a dream of becoming a beauty editor after he watched the television program "Get It Beauty" in 2012.



Since then, Hunion began his work on YouTube, posting makeup videos daily for two years.



In Korea, online personalities dominate the industry as consumers spend more time on social media. Online stars -- especially on Instagram and YouTube -- have become powerful enough to replace household names as they know how to convey messages about content and make it attractive.



Hunion was lucky to have parents who supported him in pursuing his career in a society that still has certain stereotypes of conventional femininity and masculinity in fashion and beauty.



"Without my parents, I would not have been able to overcome such barriers and it still remains to break the country's conventions on gender," Park said.



"I am aiming to improve myself as a male beauty creator. Beyond just some content designed to show off, I am trying to inspire some diversification."



Hunion has also tried to fight against restrictions. Negative comments on his YouTube channel hurt him, but his supporters have helped him be proud and more responsible in what he does.



In order to upload three "original" videos three times per week, he usually gets only four hours of sleep a night.



In Korea, an increasing number of men use makeup for self-grooming. According to industry data, sales of men's skincare products have gone up by 80 percent over the last five years. The country, the world's sixth-largest exporter of cosmetics, has a beauty market estimated to be worth about $10 billion, 10 percent of which comes from men's products.



Despite a surge in the consumption of male beauty products, there still exist certain stereotypes of conventional femininity and masculinity in fashion and beauty in Korea.



In Europe, a growing number of brands such as Yves Saint Laurent and Tom Ford sell makeup designed specifically for men, including "guyliner" eye pencils, bronzing creams and concealers.



Men are less afraid of wearing a tinted skin primer or BB cream on nights out, and some even expertly pluck their eyebrows.

By Park Si-soo



A high-level North Korean delegation led by a hawkish military general has arrived in the South to attend the closing ceremony of the PyeongChang Winter Olympics.



The eight-member delegation led by Kim Yong-chol crossed the heavily-fortified inter-Korean border into the South on Sunday morning, said Seoul's unification ministry said.







Kim Yong-chol, right, vice chairman of the ruling Workers' Party's Central Committee of North Korea, walks into Walkerhill Hotel in Seoul, Sunday. Kim and other high-level North Korean delegates will stay at the hotel for three days. / Yonhap



By Park Si-soo



North Korea again chose Seoul's Walkerhill Hotel for its high-level delegation's lodgings during the delegates' three-day visit. The North Korean leader's sister, Kim Yo-jong, and other delegates stayed there three weeks ago.



A question then arises: why does the North prefer the hotel out of numerous luxury five-star hotels in Seoul?



An irony lies in the hotel's name. It was named after U.S. Army general Walton Harris Walker, who died in an unfortunate car accident during the 1950-53 Korean War. Walker was credited with crushing North Korean troops in many battles, paving the way for the ultimate victory of the combined forces of South Korea and the United Nations.



Experts cite security as the first and foremost reason.





Walkerhill HotelPresident Moon Jae-in at the PyeonChang 2018 Winter Olympics' closing ceremony, Sunday. President of the International Olympic Committee Thomas Bach, Ivanka Trump, senior White House adviser, and member of the North Korean delegation, Kim Yong-chol, attend the closing ceremony. / REUTER



No official meeting arranged between N. Korea, US delegates

By Kim Bo-eun

North Korea is willing to have a dialogue with the U.S., its delegation told South Korean President Moon Jae-in in a meeting ahead of the closing ceremony of the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, Sunday.

The North Korean delegation led by Kim Yong-chol, head of the Workers' Party of Korea's United Front Department, agreed Washington-Pyongyang relations must develop together with inter-Korean relations.

"Moon said talks between the U.S. and North Korea must take place as soon as possible for improvement of inter-Korean relations and denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula," presidential spokesman Kim Eui-kyeom said.

"Saying the North has enough willingness for Washington-Pyongyang talks, the delegation agreed the inter-Korean relations and U.S.-North Korea relations should develop together."

As Moon stressed the improvement of inter-Korean relations, the delegation said North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has the same commitment, according to the spokesman.

Moon had a one-hour meeting with all eight members of the delegation, who arrived in the South earlier in the day. Among the delegates is Ri Son-gwon, chairman of the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland.





Kim Yong-chol, back row right, head of the Workers' Party of Korea's United Front Department, watches the closing ceremony of the Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, Sunday. In the front row, from left are South Korean President Moon Jae-in, first lady Kim Jung-sook and U.S. President Donald Trump's daughter Ivanka Trump. / AP-Yonhap



Although the North expressed willingness for Washington-Pyongyang talks, there were no official meetings between the North Korean delegation and the U.S. one led by U.S. President Donald Trump's daughter and adviser Ivanka Trump.

Kim and the junior Trump did not greet each other at the beginning of the closing ceremony even though both were in the VIP box of the stadium along with other dignitaries including Moon.

The U.S. delegation is heading back on Monday, while the North Korean delegates will stay here until Tuesday. The latter's itinerary has not been disclosed, but Kim is likely to meet with Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon for follow-up discussions on proposed inter-Korean talks.

Earlier, attention had grown over possible talks between the North and the U.S., especially because the North's delegation includes a foreign ministry official, and among the U.S. delegates is Allison Hooker, a National Security Council official specializing in Korean affairs.

In a meeting between Ivanka Trump and Moon on Friday, the former reaffirmed maximum pressure against Pyongyang, and the same message was delivered in a press conference on Saturday by White House Correspondent Sarah Huckabee Sanders and U.S. Senator James Risch, who are part of the U.S. delegation.

The pressure campaign is backed by the largest yet set of sanctions the U.S. is imposing on North Korea _ measures have been taken against more than 50 vessels and maritime transport companies based out of North Korea, as well as China and Singapore, to block them from working for the regime.

Earlier this month when U.S. Vice President Mike Pence visited for the opening ceremony of the Games, a secret meeting with Kim Jong-un's sister Kim Yo-jong had been arranged, but fell through after the Pyongyang delegation canceled it at the last minute.

The cancellation was seen as stemming from discomfort over Pence's visit to memorials for South Korean sailors killed by the North's maritime attacks and his meeting with North Korean defectors, in which he denounced Pyongyang's human rights violations.

When Kim Yo-jong came to the South for the Games' opening ceremony, she invited Moon to Pyongyang for talks on behalf of her brother.

Meanwhile, Kim Yong-chol's visit met protest by conservatives, who blocked a bridge to the South, because he has been accused of orchestrating the North's torpedo attack on a South Korean navy frigate in 2010 which killed 46 sailors on board. He is currently in charge of inter-Korean affairs for North Korea.

Regarding the controversy, the unification ministry said, "We decided to accept Kim's visit after considering that Kim, currently in charge of inter-Korean affairs, is an appropriate figure to discuss the improvement of inter-Korean relations and denuclearization, and that the North Korean delegation's visit will contribute to development of inter-Korean relations and achievement of peace on the Korean Peninsula."By Jung Da-min





First lady Kim Jung-sook gave a pair of indoor shoes she designed as a surprise present to Ivanka Trump, U.S. President Donald Trump's daughter and adviser, who came to Korea for the closing ceremony of the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, when the latter visited Cheong Wa Dae for dinner with President Moon Jae-in Friday.







According to the presidential office, Saturday, Kim prepared the shoes because Trump might feel uncomfortable at having to take off her shoes according to Korean indoor etiquette. The dinner was at Sangchunjae, a traditional house-style building in the Cheong Wa Dae compound usually used for receiving foreign dignitaries.







The shoes were made of brown and red silk with gold thread embroidered as flowery patterns. "Kim selected the silk and decided on the design," the presidential office said.







When Kim asked Trump if she liked them, the U.S. first daughter said, "I love it. Thank you." Then Kim told her to take them with her, offering them as a surprise present.







On Saturday, Kim and Trump also watched the snowboarding competition at Alpensia Ski Jumping Center in PyeongChang, together with Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha and South Korean International Olympic Committee member Ryu Seung-min.







After cheering on the American athletes and participating in the closing ceremony Sunday, Trump is due to leave for Washington today.

Han Man-sam Ha Yong-bu Jo Min-ki, Bae Bien-u Cho Jae-hyun Han Myeong-ku Oh Dal-soo Yun Ho-jin Oh Tae-suk

More actors implicated in sexual misconduct



By Lee Kyung-min



The ongoing #MeToo movement has spread to the Catholic Church here after a priest was found to have tried to rape a woman doing overseas voluntary mission work. The Catholic diocese in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, suspended the priest, Han Man-sam, after the woman said he tried to rape her "countless times" while they were in Sudan as part of overseas volunteer mission work in 2011.



Kim Min-kyung said she had to stay up all night fearing that Han would break into her room and rape her. She said Han pounded on her door for hours into the dawn. On one day, he broke the lock and came into her room saying, "I cannot control my body, so you should help me." Kim said she barely managed to escape from the room. Kim said she told two other priests who were there, but they did nothing. Han resigned from an advocacy group known as "Catholic Priests for Social Justice," a much-revered social activist group that spoke out against dictatorial military regimes in Korea.



In addition, new sexual misconduct allegations have surfaced against more veteran actors and noted cultural figures. Veteran actor Cho Jae-hyun apologized on Sunday over a sexual harassment allegation raised by a female staff member at a public broadcaster. Cho said through his agency that he would "put everything down." In a statement released by his agency, Cho said, "In over 30 years of acting, I have committed various wrong acts toward my fellow (actors and actresses) and staff. I am very ashamed of myself and sorry. I will spend my life repenting for my sins."

The staff member earlier claimed that Cho called her up to the rooftop during the filming of a drama in Gyeonggi Province in June 2016, and pushed her against the wall. Cho kissed her without consent, touched her breasts under her clothes and tried to touch inside her pants, which she barely managed to stop. He then grabbed her wrist and put her hand in his pants, saying, "You have something that turns me on. You make me crazy, so you should go out with me. I know Busan well, so let's go there together." She ran out, but she said he still would touch her buttocks whenever they were in an open area. She quit after the final episode of the drama aired.



A similar allegation was made against comic actor Oh Dal-soo. An internet user said Oh put his hand on her "private parts" and "circled his fingers" while looking straight into her eyes in the early 1990s in Busan. She said the experience was so traumatic that she had been taking anti-depressants for more than two decades. She said Oh habitually but quietly harassed actors many years his junior, and that she hoped he would be punished. Oh has made no public comment about the allegation. He is a protege of renowned theatrical play director Lee Yoon-taek, 67, who apologized last week for alleged multiple acts of sexual misconduct, including rape, over the past two decades.



The Cultural Heritage Administration said it had stopped providing a subsidy of more than 1.3 million won ($1,100) a month to Ha Yong-bu, a state-designated intangible cultural heritage, following a woman's allegation last week that he raped her in Miryang, South Gyeongsang Province, 10 years ago. If Ha is convicted following law enforcement authorities' investigation, corresponding administrative measures will be imposed on him, the organization said.

Korea Tourism Organization said Ha had been removed from a heritage list that received subsidies from municipal governments.



ACOM Arts Communications CEO Yun Ho-jin, a renowned musical producer and director of "The Last Empress" and "Hero," apologized to alleged victims, saying he would offer apology in a manner that satisfied them and asked them to call him in person. But the women who raised allegations online without revealing their names, claimed this was a ruse to identify them so they could be "permanently removed" from theatrical circles. Many victims posted online comments alleging he touched them in his car and after work get-togethers. Yun said he would postpone the media briefing for his new work "Wednesdays," which deals with the agony of former sex slaves under Japanese occupation during WWII. The postponement follows fierce criticism that he was at the height of hypocrisy for pretending to understand the victims when he carried out the very crimes for which the World War II victims had suffered throughout their lives.



The National Theater Company of Korea issued a statement vowing to prepare for measures that could root out sexual misconduct. "We feel great responsibility for the recent series of allegations," the company said in a statement. "We will seek legal counsel to clearly state what constitutes sex crimes in employee contracts. "We will also conduct employee training programs and set up protocols to follow in case any such allegations arise. New people will be appointed to monitor human rights violations including those of sexual nature."



A veteran actor and professor at the Seoul Institute of the Arts, Han Myeong-ku, apologized for sexually harassing many female students, a story similar to that of another veteran actor Jo Min-ki, who reversed a "categorical" denial hours after alleged victims came forward to dispute his claim. Jo resigned as an acting professor at Cheongju University following a three-month suspension from teaching imposed by the university after an internal investigation concluded that he had sexually harassed women students for years.



Suncheon City, South Jeolla Province, shut down an art studio for Bae Bien-u, a professional photographer, following allegations that he sexually harassed many female students and colleagues. The city said his work displayed in the studio would be removed soon and that state support would be rescinded. Bae, professor at Seoul Institute of the Arts, is a globally recognized figure for his themes concentrated on pine trees, with a reputation of "capturing the characteristic sentiments of Korea."



Meanwhile, a similar allegation has been made against another high-profile director, Oh Tae-suk. An actress said Oh touched her thighs and genitals under a table at a restaurant in Daehangno, Seoul.





By Lee Min-hyung



Hundreds of members of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party (LKP) staged a sit-in protest against the arrival of a high-level North Korean delegation that included a controversial figure, Sunday, seeking to block its travel route to Seoul.



The conservative party members and their supporters conducted the protest for more than 16 hours since Saturday night at the southern part of the Unification Bridge in the border city of Paju, Gyeonggi Province.



The protesters criticized the government's decision to accept the three-day visit by the North Korean delegation led by Kim Yong-chol, head of the Workers' Party of Korea's United Front Department, which came to participate in the closing ceremony of the PyeongChang Winter Olympics.



Kim is suspected of orchestrating the torpedo attack on the South Korean Navy's warship Cheonan in 2010.



The protesters chanted slogans like "Retract the visit by Kim Yong-chol, who is the main culprit of the frigate Cheonan attack," using expressions like "murderer." They held a large South Korean flag and some of the protesters laid on the ground to block the way.



They clashed fiercely with police at times, but failed to block the delegation, which took a different path east of the bridge.



It is wrong for police to obstruct the rally by the nation's main opposition party," LKP Chairman Hong Joon-pyo said. "Kim Yong-chol went through a dog hole, due to our protest to guard the bridge."



The LKP - seeking to step up its criticism on what it calls President Moon Jae-in's pro-North Korean policies - plans to stage another protest in central Seoul, Monday, when the delegation is likely to meet Moon.



Rep. Kim Sung-tae, the party's floor leader, said he could not understand why President Moon was pushing ahead with such a generous stance toward North Korea.



"The LKP believes Kim Yong-chol should not step foot on the territory of South Korea, because he stood at the center of a series of the regime's military provocations, including the sinking of the Cheonan and an artillery attack on the South's Yeonpyeong Island," Kim said.



A reconciliatory atmosphere between the two Koreas reached its peak during the Olympics, with Kim Yo-jong, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's younger sister, delivering an invitation to Moon to attend a summit in Pyongyang as soon as possible.



Despite the thaw in bilateral relations, internal conflicts in South Korea are expected to intensify for months.



South Korea and the U.S. will announce details about resuming their regular joint military exercises - which were delayed until after the Olympics - late next month. The regular military drills between have been the key reason North Korea cites for its military provocations.



While conservatives claim the delayed drills should be resumed immediately after the Olympics, some liberals say the allies need to consider suspending them further to keep the peace momentum alive.

By Lee Kyung-min



Police detained a man in his 30s who sent letters to 70 families living in apartments in Seoul, threatening to kill one of their family members unless they paid him 15 million won ($12,000) in bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies. The Seoul Gwangjin Police Station said the man, whose identify is being withheld, was taken into custody on Geoje Island in South Gyeongsang Province.



He told police he committed the crime because out of financial desperation. He also said he needed to pay living expenses as he had long remained unemployed. Police found the addresses of 94 households, 70 to whom he sent letters. Of the total, 20 households filed a report with police, and 47 took no action, with five letters returned to the sender.

He told police he thought he would easily get money from those living in apartments. He had invested 3 million won in cryptocurrency trading but it failed to yield much return. Police warned against responding to such letters containing threats, adding an immediate report to the police is required.



The detention is the latest case involving cryptocurrency. Two men in their 30s committed suicide in connection with their cryptocurrency investments earlier this month. The two were found to have invested more than 10 million won in cryptocurrencies. The deaths, police said, came as the government was preparing for regulatory measures against the overheated cryptocurrency market. While the price of bitcoin more than halved this year, concerns remain that the value of the first and representative cryptocurrency might go down even further, possibly increasing the number of such desperate young people who heavily invested in the "life-altering opportunity." According to CoinMarketCap, which tracks prices and other data about bitcoin and other virtual currencies, the number of cryptocurrencies it deals with was 1,500 as of Feb. 10, down from 1,523 from a few days earlier.

Korea should strive to prove harmful effects



South Korea has decided to appeal the World Trade Organization's ruling on its seafood import restrictions imposed following the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster.



The decision came after a WTO dispute panel ruled the restrictions were justified right after the nuclear meltdown, but continuing them violated the WTO's sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) agreement.



The ruling, however, does not mean the Seoul government should lift the limits immediately. As it decided to appeal, the country can keep them in place until the world body makes a final ruling which may come in the latter half of the year at the earliest.



Whatever the reason, the government should take the responsibility for losing out to Japan. It has taken only seven samples of affected Japanese seafood. It has failed to publish any reports about this matter in the past seven years. In addition, a committee of civilian radioactivity experts stopped its operations monitoring Japanese seafood. In a word, the authorities were ill-prepared for the dispute.



The seafood row began in May 2015 when the neighboring country filed a complaint against Korea over the restrictions. Korea imposed an import ban on 50 types of seafood caught in the waters near the disaster area. It also took further steps to limit fishery imports from seven other prefectures in 2013.



Those measures were to protect Korean consumers from the potential harmful effects of radioactive contamination. But the government has so far failed to prove such effects exist. Thus, it is no surprise Japan won the case.



Now, related government ministries and agencies should waste no efforts to collect scientific and objective data to prove the harmful effects. They also need to address Japan's refusal to cooperate in probing seawater contamination near the disaster-hit area.



South Korea also needs to ask for help with 24 countries, including the U.S., Russia and Argentina, which also took measures against Japanese seafood after the Fukushima catastrophe. It must keep in mind that food safety is crucial to ensuring the people's health.



By Tong Kim





As the PyeongChang Winter Olympics closed Sunday, Olympics diplomacy ended without finding a possible solution to the North Korean nuclear issue.



Yet, Olympics diplomacy has remarkably earned an improved inter-Korean relationship through dialogue and interactions on the highest level of both sides with full endorsement of the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.



Without cooperation from Washington and Pyongyang, PyeongChang would not have been a success. Although a scheduled meeting between U.S. Vice President Mike Pence and Kim Yo-jong, the sister of the North Korean leader, was aborted at the last minute, tensions calmed down during the Olympics. Joint Korea-U.S. military drills were suspended, and no missile or nuclear test was conducted.



If there was a propaganda war, it involved two mutual adversaries _ North Korea and the United States. And the winner appeared to be North Korea, which sent Kim Yo-jong, along with North Korea's nominal head of state Kim Yong-nam to attend the opening of the Olympics and to invite President Moon Jae-in to Pyongyang.



Pence intentionally ignored the North Korean representatives at a reception and the opening ceremony, sitting stone faced next to the South Korean president during the entry of a unified South and North Korean team. While the North Korean arts troupe and its cheering squad were waging an effective charm offensive, the vice present tried hard to prevent "Pyongyang's hijacking of the Olympics," calling the regime "tyrannical" and "a prison state."



Pence warned the toughest and most aggressive sanctions are yet to be imposed against the North. To underscore the North's abuses of human rights, he met with North Korean defectors and invited to PyeongChang the parents of Otto Warmbier, an American student who died a week after his release from North Korea. To capture on the threatening nature of North Korean provocation, he visited the wreckage of a South Korean naval vessel that was said to be destroyed by a North Korean torpedo.



Watching Pence's harsh rhetoric, on top of his total disregard for their presence at the opening events, the North Koreans pulled out from the scheduled meeting with him. They must have correctly determined that there was nothing new to hear from him, other than a heavy-handed demand for denuclearization and a maximum pressure campaign backed up by military action to that end.



Kim Yong-chol, a vice chairman of the ruling Workers' Party's Central Committee and director of the United Front that deals with South Koreans affairs, headed the delegation to attend the Olympics' closing ceremony. He is a hard-liner and a controversial figure, who is suspected as the mastermind behind the sinking of the Cheonan navy vessel. U.S. President Donald Trump sent his daughter Ivanka to PyeongChang.



To sum up the impact of Olympic diplomacy, there is no change in the Trump administration's policy on North Korea. Nor any change in Pyongyang's position _ that is to continue finishing an operational nuclear missile capability to strike the U.S. homeland. However, thanks to Seoul's hard work and its own calculations, the North had accepted a meeting with the U.S., albeit cancelled.



President Moon cautioned a summit with the North can only take place when the right conditions are met. The conditions include Washington's endorsement. The White House, whose goal is to denuclearize the North, not to seek collapse or regime change in the North, has said any improvement in South-North relations must move along with the process of denuclearization.



If inter-Korean relations continue to improve, it might be easier to persuade Pyongyang than Washington to soften on its position and to seek serious "exploratory talks" with Washington. Pyongyang says they now have "everything we need" for deterrence. The world recognizes that the North has a formidable nuclear capability.



As a minimum, Pyongyang can release three American detainees, which should be easy and at no cost to the regime. Then it can extend their pause from additional tests, to maintain an atmosphere for engagement to stop the threats of war.



Moon is walking on a fine line between Pyongyang and Washington, regarding the alliance between war and peace.





Tong Kim (tong.kim8@yahoo.com) is a Washington correspondent and columnist for The Korea Times. He is also a fellow at the Institute of Korean-American Studies.

Ivanka Trump claps while watching the third heat of the four-man bobsled competition final at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, Sunday. / Yonhap



Casey Lartigue Jr., co-founder of the Teach North Korean Refugees Global Education Center, compiled these statements from interviews with the refugees.



Questions



1. What do you think about Vice President Pence meeting with North Korean refugees?



2. What do you think about Ivanka Trump's decision not to meet NK refugees?



-----------------------------------------------------------------



Ji young, female, arrived in South Korea in November 2017



I am thankful that Trump and Pence took time to meet refugees; it was really encouraging to see. In contrast, the South Korean government is doing everything it can to cozy up to the North Korean regime, treating them like royalty, but not having any public meetings with defectors to balance things out.



I recently arrived in South Korea. If there is reunification soon, I could be in danger because South Korea may be willing to embrace reunification under North Korea's terms. Because of the way South Korea has catered to North Korea, it is important for the U.S. to pressure the North Korean regime.



I just heard about Ivanka Trump coming here. She doesn't have real power, so I guess that her role is to improve relations with the South Korean government, which may be upset that the U.S. has highlighted the refugees while North Korea was here.



Han, female, arrived in South Korea in 2015.



This is fantastic. I have been disappointed that the South Korean media has had such positive coverage about North Koreans visiting here. The most shocking thing was to hear the South Korean media presenting Kim Jong-Un's sister as being humble, because she was wearing simple clothes.



It isn't true, she is a thief, even the clothes she wears are possible because her family exploits North Koreans. She doesn't respect the individual rights of North Koreans. The South Korean media is spreading North Korean propaganda, judging her on superficial things. She is from a family of murderers, we can't forget about that.



That's why Pence's visit was so important, even comforting. It lets me and other refugees know that the U.S. will remember us when it is dealing with North Korea. Pence meeting with refugees here in South Korea was a good chance to remind the world that North Korea is a murderous regime that brutalizes its own people.



Even the South Korean government can't deny the fact, with photos of the US Vice-President meeting directly with people who escaped from North Korea. It is OK that Ivanka doesn't meet with refugees. She has her own role. And the U.S. has also shown its priorities because both Trump and Pence have already met with them.



If she was the only person who was visiting or dealing with South Korean, then we might judge her visit in isolation. But Trump and Pence have already proven their priorities within the last month. The U.S. strategy won't change just because of this third meeting. Personally, I wish I could meet her. She is a model who has become a politician. I would like to meet her, to talk to her.



Sookhee, female, arrived in South Korea in 2010



I have concerns on all sides, I hope it makes sense. I worry that Trump and Pence are being provocative, I'm not sure about their intentions. It does seem they are pouring cold water on negotiations between North and South Korea.



I do worry about the South Korean government being so determined to include North Korea in the Olympics. It may have been concerned about North Korea setting off a missile, but the North already does that all the time.



The invitation to North Korea has probably led to a crackdown on the border and anyone watching foreign media that could present negative information about North Korea's participation in the Olympics. North Korea does not want the U.S. to take credit for anyone escaping now -- it would be really embarrassing.



I think Ivanka is not really interested in the North Korean issue. I wouldn't mind meeting her, just out of curiosity because she's female, so beautiful, and people around the world want to know more about her. But I think we would not have a long conversation about North Korea because she probably isn't really interested.



Sam, male, arrived in South Korea in 2006.



It was really good to see the meetings that refugees had with Trump and Pence, this is a positive development. Pence's concern is not a personal issue, this is from the U.S. perspective.



Pence or Trump may be more open to immigration by North Korean refugees after this, such as allowing or helping North Korean refugees to flee directly from China to the U.S. Because of Pence and Trump meeting with refugees, NK human rights have gained more attention internationally.



Ivanka may not meet refugees publicly, perhaps she will be more low-key in meeting them privately. It is OK, we can't expect leaders and representatives from the U.S. government to meet refugees every time they come to South Korea.



Pence and Trump have already shown interest in NK human rights, plus Pence ignored Kim Jong-Un's sister, but met refugees. It shows that the U.S. considers refugees to be a priority in its strategy, which seems to be a new policy. Ivanka's role may be to soften things somewhat.



I have heard some people criticizing refugees who met Trump and Pence, saying they are being used. On the other hand, people are trying to say that it is a big deal that Ivanka is not meeting refugees.

The WildCat robot, manufactured by U.S. robotics company Boston Dynamics, is the world's fastest free-running robot with four legs, capable of running at 32 kilometers per hour. The development of the robot that can be used in the battlefield was funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the Pentagon's research arm. Noel Sharkey, a professor of artificial intelligence and robotics at the University of Sheffield, said, "We do not know what military purpose it (the WildCat) will serve but certainly it is a step towards a high-speed ground robot that could be weaponized to hunt and kill," according to UPI. / Courtesy of Boston Dynamics



Controversy remains on whether autonomous arms are really necessary



By Jun Ji-hye



Hanwha Systems, the country's leading defense business, and state-run science research university Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) have launched a project to co-develop artificial intelligence (AI) technologies to be applied to military weapons, joining the global competition to develop autonomous arms.



The two parties recently opened a joint research center at KAIST, where researchers from the university and Hanwha will carry out various studies into how technologies of the Fourth Industrial Revolution can be utilized on future battlefields.



Twenty-five researchers from KAIST will participate in the center, while the defense arm of Hanwha Group will dispatch its researchers in accordance with subjects of research, according to a PR official from the firm.



AI arms, which would search for and eliminate targets without human control, are called the third revolution in the battleground after gunpowder and nuclear weapons.



Such weapons would include an AI-based missile that can control its speed and altitude on its own and detect an enemy radar fence in real time while in flight. AI-equipped unmanned submarines and armed quadcopters would also be among autonomous arms.



The Hanwha official said the joint research center will focus on four tasks by priority _ developing an AI-based command system, an AI algorithm for an unmanned sub's navigation, an AI-based aviation training system and an AI-based object-tracking technique.



"Our goal is to complete such developments by the end of the year," the official said.



Chang Si-kweon, CEO of Hanwha Systems, said his company is well-prepared to lead the development of defense technologies of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, based on its advanced skills and achievements it has made so far in the area of defense electronics.



"We will make our full efforts and keenly cooperate with KAIST to provide innovative AI technologies to our customers," he said. "We will also work to secure technology competitiveness in global markets."





Korea Internet and Security Agency President Kim Sung-hwan speaks with reporters at the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts in Seoul, Friday. / Courtesy of Korea Internet and Security Agency



By Jun Ji-hye



The state-run Korea Internet and Security Agency (KISA) has vowed to boost industry related to blockchain technology as part of efforts to find growth engines in the Fourth Industrial Revolution.



Agency President Kim Sung-hwan said the KISA would push a strategy, dubbed "I-Korea 4.0," in which it would find ways to promote blockchain-related enterprises and establish a clear vision and road map for action.



Kim made the remarks during a meeting with reporters in Seoul on Friday.



"We will push for a project to verify the feasibility of utilizing blockchain technology so we can support enterprises at an early stage," he said.



Core areas in which blockchain technology can be utilized were energy, logistics and copyright, he said.



Promising to search for new business models, Kim said the agency would also review ways to connect blockchain technology to the fintech industry.



Blockchain refers to a peer-to-peer network where many people participate to provide computing power for the security of the decentralized system. It has a built-in payment system _ well-known examples are those involving bitcoin and Ethereum.



Unlike conventional systems, blockchain does not need third-party intermediaries. It therefore has no single failure point, which is why blockchain is safer than middle-men-backed old institutions like banks, brokerages and governments.



It is practically impossible to hack the system because of its unique structure and great computing power offered by distributed users. Even the combined computing power of the world's 500 most powerful supercomputers cannot match the bitcoin blockchain.



KISA said the blockchain market was expected to grow rapidly worldwide, but in Korea, attention has been mostly focused on outside issues such as cryptocurrency exchanges, rather than the technology itself.



The agency said there was an urgent need to create a blockchain market based on technology.



Kim also vowed to achieve a smooth transformation from paper to electronic documents, setting a goal to expand the usage rate of electronic documents by up to 70 percent by 2021.



The agency will work with the National Assembly to revise relevant laws and carry out demonstration projects to help the people get used to electronic documents more easily.



Te revised laws would stipulate that electronic documents had the same authority as paper ones.



Kim also said the agency would support the big data industry, promising to consider ways to guarantee the protection and use of personal information.



"We will set up a big data center by December with an investment of 2.8 billion won," he said.



He then promised to enhance the ability to cope with cyber terrorism, which had advanced considerably.



"We will build an analysis system based on machine learning to detect and respond to attack more promptly," he said.



Machine learning, the most widely used form of artificial intelligence, refers to computer algorithms that can learn on their own by accumulating data.



Kim added that KISA was considering hosting a "Hack the KISA" contest in a bid to find the security vulnerability of the agency itself.









A banner for Samsung Electronics' Galaxy S9 at Fira Gran Via in Barcelona, Sunday. / YonhapThank you for reading!

Please purchase a subscription to read our premium content. If you have a subscription, please log in or sign up for an account on our website to continue.Kendallville, IN (46755)

Today

Sun and clouds mixed. High around 85F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Mainly clear. Slight chance of a rain shower. Low 61F. Winds light and variable.Alaska State Troopers have arrested a 16-year-old male for allegedly sexually assaulting a student at the Galena Interior Learning Academy. The teen now faces charges for six counts of second-degree sexual assault.

AST in Galena say they received a report of a student being "inappropriately touched" on Feb. 13 around 9:30 a.m. Troopers arrested a 16-year-old male for sexually assaulting a 15-year-old female student later that day. The male was arrested and remanded to the Fairbanks Youth Facility.

Channel 2 spoke to John Riddle, the principal of GILA, who said "student safety is our first priority." Riddle directed other questions about the alleged incident to the Galena School District superintendent, Chris Reitan, who was not immediately available for comment.Ive always had this voice, Ava DuVernay said Friday night, comparing her deep, full-bodied voice to her mothers little Minnie Mouse voice.

DuVernay, the director of Walt Disney Pictures highly anticipated A Wrinkle in Time, which launches March 9, spoke about her mother and growing up in Compton during her appearance at the What She Said series in Hollywoods W Hotel.

She recalled how bill collectors calling her familys home sounded skeptical that her mother, Darlene, with the high-pitched voice, was the head of the household. Darlene would then hand the phone to Ava, her oldest daughter.

Well pay next week, DuVernay would tell them. The filmmaker re-created the scene in front of an audience of about 75 people by simulating a phone receiver with her fist, drawing laughter from the room.

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DuVernay now is using her voice to demand that Hollywood be more inclusive of women and people of color. Although Patty Jenkins directed last years blockbuster Wonder Woman and Ryan Coogler directed Black Panther, the biggest film so far this year, DuVernay questioned whether true progress is being made to correct the longstanding gender and racial imbalance in Hollywood.

There are some moments that are happening, DuVernay said. But Im an anomaly, Ryan Coogler is an anomaly, Barry Jenkins [Moonlight] is an anomaly, and Dee Rees [Mudbound] is an anomaly. When you can name us all on two hands that aint change.

She questioned whether the current trend will be sustainable. A recent USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative report, for example, documented that women made up only 4.3% of all directors of the 1,100 top films released from 2007 to 2017. And only four black females, three Asian females and one Latina directed any of those 1,100 films. The picture is only slightly better for African American males.

We kind of sit on the top of a broken system, said DuVernay, who worked as a TV and movie publicist before pursuing a film career. Until that system is fertile ground for real growth, then we will just kind of sit on top of it as sparkly, shiny things for people to feel good.

The W Hotels What She Said series  which launched in 2016, before the #MeToo movement sprang up in the wake of the Harvey Weinstein sexual harassment scandal  was designed by its organizers as a celebration of femininity in all its forms, nuances and glory. DuVernays appearance kicked off this years series of conversations.

With A Wrinkle in Time, DuVernay becomes the first African American woman to direct a live-action film with a budget of more than $100 million. She also is executive producer of Queen Sugar for the Oprah Winfrey Network: OWN, which is owned by Discovery Communications.

After her 2014 film, Selma, and her prison reform documentary, 13th, on Netflix established her as a strong and vibrant voice, Disney invited DuVernay to direct the fantasy based on the 1962 childrens classic by Madeleine LEngle. DuVernay described her new film as a blessing after spending years on films about weighty topics.

It saved me in a lot of ways, she said. Im the kind who will stay on Twitter all day, stewing and tweeting mean things to the president. And this kept me from doing that.

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She cast Winfrey, Reese Witherspoon and Mindy Kaling as the three Mrs. characters, the celestial guides for the young protagonist Meg Murry, played by Storm Reid.

I wanted the Mrs. of all different shapes, sizes, ages, cultures, races, DuVernay said.I knew I wanted a black one and a white one and someone who was not either.

Kaling, who is of Indian descent, was actually the first one who came to mind, DuVernay said. I dont think people really give Mindy credit. Shes a woman of color with a show with her name on it.  She represents someone you never see in television and on film; she is so important to the culture in that way.

She described Witherspoon as a force, who has expanded to become a producer who champions stories about women. Shes a blond, pretty actress and she could have just been that. In this town, thats enough, but she has a fire in her.

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And Winfrey? What is there to say about the woman who needs no name? DuVernay asked. Sometimes I sit with her and forget that she is a billionaire two times over I wont even think about that  until the butler walks in.

DuVernay said she hopes A Wrinkle in Time will be something cool for kids to see. She tried to capture some of the awkwardness and lack of confidence that she remembered from her own youth in the Meg character. And, yes, she might have even incorporated the subtle influence of her mother, Darlene.

She was a soft heart in a hard world, DuVernay said. My mother was always my Mrs., my champion.

meg.james@latimes.com

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@MegJamesLATIn recent months, corporate Americas corner office has gotten a little less diverse when it comes to the number of African Americans.

With American Express Chief Executive Kenneth Chenault stepping down, there are just three black CEOs in the Fortune 500. And with the departure of former CEO Ursula Burns from Xerox, announced in 2016, there are no black female CEOs leading companies in the S&P 500 index.

New research featured in the latest issue of Harvard Business Review doesnt offer much hope that those numbers will improve any time soon. Even among graduates of Harvard Business School  arguably the most elite graduate business program in the country  only 13% of black female Harvard MBAs over the last 40 years have reached the senior-most executive ranks. Thats compared with 40% of non-African-American Harvard MBA degree holders who reach those top ranks.

The analysis, the first of its kind to examine the career paths of Harvard Business Schools black female alumnae, found that 532 African American women graduated from the program between 1977 and 2015, but just 67, or 12.6%, had reached chair, CEO or other C-level executive status. (About 19% of black male graduates had attained similar positions.)

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The authors of the report  professors at Georgetown University and Harvard Business School and Morehouse College President David Thomas  interviewed 30 of those women, asking about the skills, attributes and workplace strategies they felt were important for getting ahead.

Its ironic  with a group of professionals who have such high credentials, in terms of graduate and undergraduate degrees and test scores and career ambition, you would think the odds would be stacked in their favor for success and advancement, said coauthor and Georgetown University professor Laura Morgan Roberts.

The analysis looks only at the career tracks of men and women with similar advanced, elite degrees. As a result, its less likely that educational background or lack of career ambition can explain the disparities in advancement.

This group is very highly credentialed, and given those particular assumptions, they should rise at the same level, said Anthony Mayo, a coauthor and professor at Harvard Business School. There is not an indication there is a drop-off in desire.

The analysis, which was done in conjunction with the 50th anniversary of the founding of Harvard Business Schools African American Student Union, captures the career trajectories of the majority of female black graduates who have earned degrees from the school. (Lillian Lincoln Lambert, the first black woman to receive a Harvard MBA, graduated in 1969.)

It also helps to bolster other figures that show the particularly low numbers of black women among the top rungs of major businesses. Research by the nonprofit research firm Catalyst, for instance, finds that just 1.3% of executives and senior-level managers in S&P 500 companies are black women. Almost 5% are women of color, and nearly 22% are white women.

One answer thats almost cliche for many leaders but runs in opposition to conventional wisdom for black women is the need to be authentic on the job.

Much of the advice that minorities are often given around advancing and succeeding emphasizes the ways in which they may need to conform or assimilate  to see whos in power and emulate those models of power, Roberts said. These women are saying, Look, my secret sauce, or my competitive advantage or my unique valuable resources, will come from the combination of all of the distinctive experiences that I bring.

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Yet they also recognized openly they couldnt be themselves at work with the same nonchalance as their average middle-age white male peer. Instead, they had to pay careful attention to remaining flexible, navigating internal politics and paying attention to the responses of others at all times with a sophisticated emotional intelligence.

If that sounds exhausting, it is. We heard that, she said. She pointed to one senior woman they interviewed who is quoted in the article saying, Im forever exhausted by people thinking the reason I have the senior role Im in is that Im black, not that Im excellent.

Their research also found that many of the women had careers characterized by lateral moves and changes in industry or employer to get ahead. They displayed uncommon resilience, were adept at being able to view how others were seeing them, built relationships with managers who advocated on their behalf and worked in organizations that gave them room to slip up.

McGregor writes a column on leadership for the Washington Post.Melanie Griffith is 60, single and free to do whatever she wants.

Play Mrs. Robinson in a stage production of The Graduate?

She jumped at the chance when the Laguna Playhouse approached her with the offer.

A quick trip to Austria to attend the Vienna Opera Ball?

I can do [stuff] like that now, says the actress, whos quick to laugh and peppers her sentences with expletives. Its an extraordinary thing to see. I just thought, why not?

Just back from Vienna, where she was a guest of Austrian billionaire Richard Lugner, the Golden Globe winner and Oscar nominee (for Working Girl) chatted with The Times by phone during rehearsals in Laguna Beach, where The Graduate runs through March 25. Griffith was candid, vulnerable and easygoing in the conversation, which has been edited for length.

How are you feeling leading up to opening night?

Its pretty scary for me.

Your performance as Roxie Hart in the musical Chicago on Broadway received rave reviews.

I know. But that was 15 years ago. And this is a whole different thing. Its really exciting. But you know when you get into the middle of the rehearsal process and its like Oh  what if I dont know it? Im sort of right there at this point.

What made you decide to take on playing Mrs. Robinson?

My son Jesse [Johnson] had done a couple of plays at the Laguna Playhouse that were really great. One of them was The Roger Miller Story. So Annie Wareham, who runs the playhouse, asked me if I wanted to do The Graduate. I said, Why not? Im old enough to be Mrs. Robinson.

Whats the most fun thing about playing Mrs. Robinson?

The way Michael Matthews is directing it is going to be so cool. All of the other actors are spectacular. Im just trying to keep up with them. Hopefully, Ill be as good as they are.

Youre a single, mature woman. Have you had any flings with younger men?

You know what? I have not. I probably shouldnt say that. I probably should say, Yeah, I have three young lovers right now. [Laughs]

The late Mike Nichols, who directed the film version of The Graduate, also directed Working Girl.

I know. Thats why I thought this would be cool. I could do a little homage, send a little prayer up to Mike thanking him for letting me be Working Girl.

Speaking of Working Girl, theres a Broadway show of the movie in the works. What are your thoughts on that?

I think Cyndi Lauper is doing [the music], so it should be awesome.

This year is the 30th anniversary of Working Girl. Where do you think Tess McGill would be today?

Running Google.

What are you thoughts on the current conversation surrounding the Times Up and #MeToo movements?

I think its a wonderful, strong conversation. I think that its not just Hollywood, though. Its everywhere. But I do think that by [having the conversation] in Hollywood, its getting a lot of attention.

Melanie Griffith in the Laguna Playhouse. Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times

I dont think its right that men or women sexually harass people. Its just got to stop. But I also think that parents should be teaching their girls and boys that its not OK.

Its been going on forever. In the past, what Ive observed, is that youve had to deal with it yourself. I was lucky in a way because my mother [worked] with Hitchcock, so I knew. [Griffiths mother, Tippi Hedren, accused director Alfred Hitchcock of sexual harassment.] So that didnt happen to me very often. Sometimes people tried, but I was very strong.

How is your mom? Will she come see you in The Graduate?

Of course. Shes amazing. She just turned 88 and she is a trip. She lives on her own with her 35 lions and tigers.

Since your divorce from Antonio Banderas in 2015, youre living on your own now too. Would you and your mom ever consider being roommates?

[Laughs] No. Her place is full.

Your daughter Dakota Johnson is experiencing success with the Fifty Shades film franchise. Have you offered her any advice?

Shes so powerful. I havent watched the Fifty Shades movies, but I just watch her. I give her advice when she asks me. She doesnt really ask me advice about acting. She knows what shes doing. And she worked hard to get there. And my other kids are amazing too. Theyre all different. Thats whats so beautiful.

Last year, you appeared in movies (The Disaster Artist, The Pirates of Somalia) and on TV (The Path) and now youre working in theater. Looking forward, do you see yourself doing more theater, film or TV?

Im not really sure. Im at a crossroads in my life. I really like the theater thing.

Its so alive and its so different from movies. Its a bigger job. And I think its kind of nice, being an older woman. I hate saying that, but its just more of a challenge. Its harder. Its more time you get to give to the audience right there. Acting is a giving thing, youre making people feel something. So Im excited, and maybe this is the way that Ill go now. Maybe Ill just do theater, I dont know.

What are you watching right now?

Im not watching anything right now because Im studying for this play all the time. But I did just see this great show called The Halcyon on Netflix that I loved. It was so good.

See all of our latest arts news and reviews at latimes.com/arts.

MORE THEATER

Meredith Baxter and Sharon Lawrence in 'The City of Conversation'

Tim Robbins Actors' Gang and the immigrant story of America

Jeff Daniels to star in Aaron Sorkin's 'Mockingbird' on BroadwayForever Flamenco Guitarist Jose Tanaka and company perform, with featured dancers Manuel Gutierrez, Mizuho Sato and Daniela Zermeno. The Fountain Theatre, 5060 Fountain Ave., L.A. Sun., 8 p.m. $30-$50. (323) 663-1525.

Stepping Out Dublin Irish Dance celebrates Celtic culture. Younes and Soraya Nazarian Center for the Performing Arts, 18111 Nordhoff St., Northridge. Sun., 3 p.m. $33 and up. (818) 677-3000.

6th Annual Los Angeles Dance Festival This years festival celebrates Womens History Month with local female-led companies performing works by female choreographers. Theatre Raymond Kabbaz, 10361 W. Pico Blvd., L.A. Thu.-Sat., 8 p.m. $15-$25. (310) 286-0553.

Ay! Eva Yerbabuena The international flamenco star performs solo dance pieces, with live accompaniment. Irvine Barclay Theatre, 4242 Campus Drive, Irvine. Sat., 8 p.m.; next Sun., 4 p.m. $50-$100. (949) 854-4646.

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Benita Bikes DanceArt The L.A.-based modern dance company performs. La Crescenta Library, 2809 Foothill Blvd., La Crescenta. Sat., 2 p.m. Free. (818) 248-5313.

Jose Costas  Contempo Ballet The O.C.-based company mixes ballet with other genres. Marsee Auditorium, El Camino College, 16007 Crenshaw Blvd., Torrance. Sat., 8 p.m. $22; discounts available. (800) 832-2787.

Swan Lake Los Angeles Ballet closes their 12th season with a remount of their popular staging of the Tchaikovsky classic. The Alex Theatre, 216 N. Brand Blvd., Glendale. Sat., 7:30 p.m. (also in Redondo Beach, March 10; and Westwood, March 16-17). $31-$99; discounts available. (310) 998-7782.Final Space, a cartoon sci-fi serial premiering Monday on TBS, comes from Olan Rogers, a popular internet personality who also runs a t-shirt-and-things company (images of Star Wars characters with cat heads a specialty) and a successful Nashville confectionery called the Soda Parlor.

The series has its origins in a barely animated cartoon, Gary Space, posted in 2010 on Rogers YouTube channel, in which an astronaut named Gary encounters a round little alien, which he feeds a Pez. These characters, such as they were, were later the basis of a professionalized pilot  a sort of trailer, really, featuring fragments of scenes  that Rogers and David Sacks (a veteran of The Simpsons and 3rd Rock from the Sun) have refined and given context and back story. (Both these versions are available on the YouTube channel.) Conan OBrien is an executive producer of the series.

We are in an interstellar far future in which dudes still say, Dude. Gary (Rogers) is nearing the end of a five-year prison term on a space ship  in the course of trying to impress a girl, he destroyed 92 star cruisers and a small family-owned Mexican restaurant. His only companions are robots, who have either no personality (Tom Kenny as the HAL-like HUE, pronounced Hugh, who runs the ship and denies Gary cookies) or an excess of it (Fred Armisen as the hyperactive KVN, or Kevin, his deep space insanity avoidance companion).

As a child, Gary wanted to have bunches and bunches of adventures, but now that hes in space, hes just locked up in it, let out only to do repair work on satellites and such. (I suppose this justifies the expense of keeping him in his own robot-staffed rocket ship.) And one day, while he is out sort of working  in fact, he is watching The Princess Bride projected onto the void  a round little alien hurtles into his lap. He names it Mooncake, after an old pet caterpillar, and takes it home.

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It turns out that Mooncake (also voiced by Rogers) is a valuable property on the run. This brings in Avocato (Coty Galloway), a sardonic cat-headed bounty hunter Gary calls Mr. Whiskers before being told never to do that again, and the Lord Commander (played in an American accent by an unrecognizable David Tennant), the pint-sized villain Mooncake is attempting to escape.

Quinn (Tika Sumpter) is the space patrol captain he accosts in a bar as she sketches an internal inconsistency in Plancks constant. Its she that Gary is trying to impress when he accidentally blows up stuff. I like a girl with a lot of phones, he tells her, mistaking the equation she is writing for her number(s).

As a satire on science-fiction and the world we ordinarily live in, it is not as clever as Futurama or The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy or Galaxy Quest, works with which it shares certain features. The comedy leans toward things adolescent boys find funny: There is a scatological flavor to the japes and epithets  crap is a much-used word. Jerk nuts and douche canoe are also phrases you will hear. That thing where a powerful being speaks in banalities, long a feature of Adult Swim cartoons, that happens here. (Lord Commander to underling: I like the much littler kind of biscuits, I have told you, Eric.) Living things are hacked or torn apart for a laugh.

But it clips along and looks good  the space backgrounds and a bioluminescent planet in black-light colors are especially lovely  and there are not so many animated space serials around that, even with its faults, Final Space doesnt have a niche to fill. On top of that, Rogers brings his own following; it must not have hurt his pitch that his YouTube channel has nearly a million subscribers.

Like many of the sketches and shorts its creator has put online, Final Space both mocks and celebrates genre films. And like them, and the apparently true stories Rogers addresses directly to the YouTube viewer, it has a quality of being at once loud and a little melancholy; that air of sadness may be its most original feature.

Wherever else Final Space falls flat, it succeeds completely with Gary and Mooncake, a relationship of care and trust that echoes the way we feel about the animals in our life, if we are lucky enough to have animals and feelings. In addition to proving to be a kind of weapon, the little alien  who benefits from having to speak only of a couple of unintelligible phrases (Chookity pok is one)  is also weapons-grade adorable, ready-made to be reproduced in vinyl or plush. Indeed that plush Mooncake is already available for purchase, along with a pin, a patch and a poster.

Final Space

Where: TBS

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When: 10:30 p.m. Monday

Rating: TV-14 (may be unsuitable for children under the age of 14)

robert.lloyd@latimes.com

Follow Robert Lloyd on Twitter @LATimesTVLloydLike a lot of failed sitcoms, CBS new Living Biblically probably seemed like a good idea at the time.

Inspired by A.J. Jacobs 2007 best-seller The Year of Living Biblically: One Mans Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible  a title that works as a tidy elevator pitch itself  the show arriving Monday centers on Chip (Jay R. Ferguson, best known as the amply bearded Stan Rizzo from Mad Men), a newspaper film critic and lapsed Catholic who follows in Jacobs footsteps to enter a sticky world of ancient absolutes to the chagrin of his friends, family, and so on. Presumably, the facial hair will make a comeback too.



For the record: An earlier version of this story misspelled Lindsey Krafts name as Lindsey Craft.

Except in the case of Jacobs  the writer of similar journalistic gadget-plays such as attempting to outsource his life and embarking on an effort to read every volume of Encyclopedia Britannica  the dip into the Bible was driven by a book that also examined other perspectives among the devout about faith and religious practice. Produced by Big Bang Theorys Johnny Galecki, Living Biblically flips the concept by placing Chip at a personal crossroads between the death of a best friend and the prospect of impending fatherhood, two factors that lead him to follow the Bible in the hopes of becoming a better person.

While Chip is eventually encouraged to turn his efforts into a column at his paper, the motivational switch seems driven by an urge for a tidier narrative, which is part of the problem. Living Biblically adheres to sitcom tropes so strictly, its as if those have also been written in stone, perhaps somewhere on a CBS backlot.

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You have the preternaturally patient wife (Lindsey Kraft), who weathers the complications spurred by her husbands impulsive pursuit; the wisecracking coworker (Tony Rock); the intimidating boss (a wasted Camryn Manheim); and even a local bar where Chip talks theological matters with a willing rabbi and a priest (David Krumholtz and Ian Gomez, respectively), whom he dubs his God squad.

Centuries of religion and decades of television have proved such strictures can be useful guides if coupled with good works  in this case, strong jokes and writing. But thats where Living Biblically falls short.

A spiritual crisis of the kind that would lead someone to return to their faith is rich material from a character standpoint, but you never get the sense that Chip is much more than a tourist. His Bible study leads him to consider his phone a false idol in the second episode, which is a promising idea, but Living Biblically mostly uses it as a way to show its hard to live without one in 2018.

And rather than giving Chip a moral compass strong enough to tell a bro-code-spouting adulterer in the office to shut his mouth in the first episode, Chip eventually follows the Old Testaments way, which strangely feels far less direct. In the early going, the shows conceit is less of a means to consider faith, self-improvement and how both mingle with modern life than it is a desire to be told what to do.

For the most part, Chip doesnt seem to be finding religion as much as a few quirky new habits. Though his faith seems renewed in the last of the three episodes CBS made available for preview (featuring JoBeth Williams as his judgmentally atheist mother-in-law), his advocating for surrendering to something greater through prayer is undercut by the episodes simplistic reinforcement of the practice as a means to get what you want.

But even setting aside the shows lack of interest in the complexity of faith, its greatest sin is simply not being funny enough. The characters are too thin and familiar to generate laughs on their own, and some jokes rely too heavily on references while others just dont make sense. Who are you? Kramer? his priest asks as Chip barges into someones confessional, having evidently not yet discovered The Golden Rule.

Come on, you gotta have faith, Chip implores to his wife in the series pilot. What about sunsets, or Season Four of The Wire? Ive listened to that line multiple times and still cant figure out why it gets a laugh.

The shows failures are a shame because religion is a powerful enough presence in our culture to be approached with honesty and genuine wit. The British import Rev comes to mind as a compelling recent example, as well as HBOs stand-up comedy-centric Crashing, which follows its own bent spiritual journey. To do it right, however, you have to be willing to break a few rules.

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See the most-read stories in Entertainment this hour 

Living Biblically

Where: CBS

When: 9:30 p.m. Monday

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Rating: TV-PG-L (may be unsuitable for young children with an advisory for coarse language)

chris.barton@latimes.com

Twitter: @chrisbarton

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ALSO:

Underrated/Overrated: Letitia Wright shines in Black Panther, and The Push looks grim

Sunday Conversation: NBCs curling reporter Trenni Kusnierek on the sports cult appeal

Review: Black Mirror returns with more grim looks at the futureThe eight-part drama McMafia, premiering Monday on AMC, is one of those productions that regularly wash up on our shores, with exotic locations and multinational casts involved in international skulduggery. The title, which comes from Misha Glennys 2008 nonfiction book, McMafia: A Journey Through the Global Criminal Underworld, is explained within the series when a character compares the drug trade to a fast food franchise: The one with the most locations wins.

But beyond that, the series, created by Hossein Amini and James Watkins, does not really go deeply into particulars, other than to offer some money-laundering montages, highlight the use of shipping containers and picture the enterprise as run by men in expensive suits speaking politely, often in nice restaurants or fancy parties. Its business is almost all personal.

Alex Godman (James Norton, the priest-detective in the Masterpiece: Mystery series Grantchester) is a Russian-born investment banker raised in British boarding schools and polished at Harvard. He has a small but successful firm he has been careful to keep apart from all things Russian or connected with his family, which has a criminal past.

Without going too much into spoilery detail, things occur that put Alex reluctantly in cahoots with Semiyon Kleiman, a drug-running Israeli politician (David Strathairn, oddly cast but not uninteresting), who is attempting surreptitiously to undermine his Russian rival, Vadim Kalyagin (Merab Ninidze). (That the Godmans, too, are Jewish, is expressed only by the men wearing yarmulkes at funerals, and Alexs remembering being called a Yid at school.)

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The unsuccessful target of an assassination attempt in one of the series early scenes, Vadim is also the reason the Godman family is in exile, which has left papa Dimitri (Aleksei Serebryakov) an extravagantly sorrowful drunk, dreaming only of the day he can safely return to Moscow. In the meantime, he has a dangerous habit of going up to the roof with a bottle of what I can only suppose is vodka, forcing his children to keep the windows locked. He is not particularly a candidate for your sympathy.

Merab Ninidze plays a Russian drug lord in the AMC series McMafia. (Nikola Predovic / Cuba Pictures )

With scenes set in London; Tel Aviv; Moscow; Mumbai, India; Prague, Czech Republic; and Istanbul, Turkey, among other passing locations, the series does not lack for incidental glamour. (There is a yacht, too.) At the same time, the photography, even in the action sequences, remains calm and naturalistic  it is, one might say, a matte finish approach, rather than a glossy one.

That it is long and slow is not in itself a problem; Rubicon, which ran on AMC in 2010, set the gold standard for effective, appropriate slowness. And there are enough sequences that break a sweat to call McMafia at least occasionally a thriller. The larger set pieces feel reasonably well populated and a computer-assisted heist (those shipping containers, mentioned above), accomplished by minor but vividly portrayed characters, is more convincing than such sequences usually are.

Whats difficult is caring what happens to most of these characters for any amount of time, given how much time there is  a task complicated by the fact the person you may be rooting for in one scene, is the person you may have rooted against in the previous one, or will in the next. That they may love their children or friends  whose lives may be endangered by that love  may briefly soften a viewers heart. Some (Kirill Pirogov as a Russian security agent) get by on actorly charisma. But apart from the women  the wives, girlfriends, daughters and a kidnapped beautician (Sofia Lebedeva), adding human trafficking to the drug business  most of the main characters are bad people doing bad things for bad reasons.

Admittedly, I have less taste than many for shows whose protagonists are, you know, creeps. After a couple of seasons of The Sopranos and Breaking Bad, I was quite ready for Tony and Walter to get their just desserts. The Godfather movies are great works of American art I may never watch again. Indeed, there is a little of Michael Corleone in Alex Godman.

There is something undeniably appealing in Alexs nearly unflappable sangfroid  dressed in a tuxedo for a party at Versailles he might be the next James Bond  and we are shown him training in hardcore martial arts to let us see that he is disciplined and plausibly capable of surviving an action scene or two. At the same time, Nortons performance is so measured that whatever internal struggles Alex is experiencing on his journey through the dark side remain obscure to the viewer.

Alex believes he is working mainly to ensure the safety of his family and his fiancee, Rebecca Harper (Juliet Rylance), who works for an ethical capitalist. He is not even sure he is doing wrong, just moving money around  though he is sufficiently unsure to lie about it  and convinced in any case that it is only for a while. He thinks hes in control, and maybe he is and maybe he isnt, but he does make some poor choices on the way to filling up eight hours of television.

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McMafia

Where: AMC

When: 10 p.m. Monday

Rating: TV-14-LSV (may be unsuitable for children under the age of 14 with advisories for coarse language, sexual content and violence)

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robert.lloyd@latimes.com

Follow Robert Lloyd on Twitter @LATimesTVLloydThe California Democratic Party decided not to endorse in the U.S. Senate contest on Saturday, an embarrassing rebuke of veteran Sen. Dianne Feinstein.

Feinstein, who has represented California in the Senate for a quarter-century, is facing an insurgent bid by fellow Democrat, state Senate leader Kevin de Leon. Though De Leon did not get the endorsement, his success in blocking Feinstein from receiving it shows that his calls for generational change and a more aggressively liberal path have resonated with some of the partys most passionate activists.

Feinstein has never been a state party glad-hander, while De Leon has cultivated relationships with the partys delegates. He still faces a significant challenge in trying to topple Feinstein, who trounces De Leon in all public polling and fundraising.



The party also did not endorse a Democrat for California governor, an expected outcome.

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Votes cast by delegates at the partys annual convention Saturday splintered among the four top Democrats in the race: Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, state Treasurer John Chiang, former state schools chief Delaine Eastin and former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.

A candidate had to capture 60% of the delegates votes to win the partys seal of approval, considered unlikely given the field of politicians in the race with deep ties to the state party.

There were also no endorsements in the races for lieutenant governor or state attorney general.

In the other statewide races, delegates of the state Democratic Party voted to endorse the following party members: incumbent Betty Yee for state controller; state Sen. Ricardo Lara for insurance commissioner; incumbent Alex Padilla for secretary of state; Board of Equalization member Fiona Ma for state treasurer; and Assemblyman Tony Thurmond for state superintendent of public instruction.North Hollywood High School bested the competition Saturday in the Los Angeles Department of Waters 25th Annual Power Science Bowl regional competition.

The San Fernando Valley schools A Team took top honors, marking the 19th win in the last 21 years for North Hollywood High School, said Walter Zeisl, DWPs manager of education outreach.

The North Hollywood team displayed an outstanding grasp of advanced science, math and technology concepts, quick reflexes and grace under pressure, according to a news release from the utility.

Modeled after a television game show, the Science Bowl quizzes the five-member teams on math, science and technology.

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A total of 50 teams from 29 schools in the greater Los Angeles area participated in Saturdays all-day event, which was held in downtown L.A.

The Los Angeles Center for Enriched Studies in Faircrest Heights. came in second and North Hollywood High Schools B Team came in third.

Each member of the winning team received $1,000 courtesy of Hitachi and an all-expenses-paid trip to Washington to represent L.A. in the U.S. Department of Energy National Science Bowl in April.

The National Science Bowl is among the countrys largest science-based academic competitions and the only one sponsored by a federal agency, according to the utility.

The last year the LADWP regional champion won the national competition was 2001, Zeisl said.

dakota.smith@latimes.com

Twitter: @dakotacdsmithHolding pink balloons, dozens of protesters gathered across the street from the downtown site of the Los Angeles Mayors Prayer Breakfast early Saturday to urge the city to provide emergency shelter for 1,000 homeless women in the next six months.

The protest, part of what organizers are calling the She Does movement, intensified growing pressure on local officials to clear the street encampments that have overtaken the city while a 10-year, $4.6-billion homeless housing and supportive services program slowly unfolds. Several councilmen have also called for large-scale shelter expansion.

But Mayor Eric Garcetti did not attend the annual breakfast for the second year in a row. He was slated to speak Saturday morning at the California Democratic Party convention in San Diego.

According to the 2017 homeless count, 11,000 women in Los Angeles County live in the streets without shelter, including nearly 7,000 in the city. Mel Tillekeratne, a volunteer for Monday Night Mission, which provides food for the homeless on skid row, said women in tents are being sexually assaulted and forced into prostitution by gang members while the city sleeps.

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Right now there is no leadership, he said. Someone has to come forward and take the charge.

In an emailed statement, Garcetti spokeswoman Anna Bahr said: Mayor Garcetti shares the concern, frustration, and horror of the Angelenos who started the She Does effort, and is grateful for their engagement on the issue of womens homelessness. We are working with the organizers to get the word out that more shelter beds for homeless women - and all unsheltered Angelenos - is the citys most urgent priority.

The breakfast, which began in the early years of Mayor Tom Bradleys tenure, draws Christians from scores of churches throughout the Los Angeles region to pray for elected officials, the city and its residents. Now in its 45th year, the event was held at the Westin Bonaventure Hotel and Suites in downtown Los Angeles.

The She Does campaign was organized by volunteer homeless service groups including L.A. on Cloud 9, Operation Healthy Hearts, A Million Drops and Monday Night Mission. Their YouTube video poses #SheDoes as the answer to the questions Does she deserve safety shelter? The coalitions online petition has drawn 6,000 signatures.

Protesters on Saturday stretched for nearly a city block. As the breakfast started, they live-streamed themselves chanting She Does on Facebook and Instagram.

Most of the citys resources are going to cleanups to kick them out, not to services, said demonstrator Estuardo Ruano, a budget advocate for the citys unified Neighborhood Councils. We have eyes. Every day I walk by them in the streets, I see them lying down barefoot, or with a blanket.

Councilman Jose Huizar and Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger, who attended the breakfast, expressed support for the campaigns aims.

Huizar noted the groups proposal dovetails with a motion he proposed last week calling for a major triage response to get 2,000 homeless people off the streets of skid row and into emergency shelter.

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Women and children first, Huizar said.

Barger pointed out that the county already turned the Sylmar armory into a year-round womens shelter. The She Does protesters also want to see the Inglewood and West Los Angeles armories given over to homeless women.

Barger said she was open to the idea, but added, I want to make sure I dont commit to something that displaces another group.

The Rev. Andy Bales of Union Rescue Mission, which co-sponsored the breakfast, called Garcettis scheduling conflict unfortunate but said he was happy he sent such a capable representative, Kirkpatrick Tyler, the mayors South L.A. liaison, in his place.

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Addressing the breakfast guests, Tyler said it was exciting time to work for the city, with unprecedented resources rolling out to resolve the homeless crisis. He urged faith leaders to become soldiers in the march against homelessness.

gale.holland@latimes.com

Twitter: @gehollandHundreds of Malibu High School students and their families participated in a march and a rally on Sunday calling for stricter gun control laws.

The Call to Action March at Zuma Beach was prompted by the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla. on Feb. 14 that took the lives of 17 students and school personnel and wounded 16 others.

The shootings reignited a national debate on gun laws, particularly over the accessibility of semi-automatic weapons like the kind used in Florida. The 19-year-old suspect, a former student at the school, had legally bought his AR-15 semiautomatic rifle and ammunition magazines.

Many in the crowd Sunday waved signs that said Enough is Enough, No Guns and Never Again. The students marched from the beach to Malibu High School, where several spoke out against gun violence and called on local, state and federal leaders to take action.

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Survivors of the Florida shooting are organizing a March for Our Lives rally in Washington, D.C., on March 24, and are expecting up to 500,000 people to attend. Similar marches are planned in cities around the country.

carlos.lozano@latimes.comChances are, youve had this experience: Youre behind the wheel at a stop sign or traffic light and have the right of way, when a pedestrian, looking down at a cellphone, steps off the curb in front of your car.

Now, one Southern California city is trying to tackle so-called distracted walking, making it a ticket-worthy offense to cross the street while on the phone. In Montclair, a 5.5-square-mile town just east of Pomona, pedestrians cant text, talk on the phone, or listen to music or podcasts with two earbuds in while in a crosswalk. 911 calls are an exception.



For the record: A previous version of this article incorrectly suggested that the only group of road users that have experienced a rise in fatalities in recent years were pedestrians.

The youth admit that they are distracted by their cellphones, City Manager Edward Starr said. This has turned out to be a reminder for them that their lives are on the line.

Starr said he was pondering a way last fall to address distracted walking in the city, so he turned to Google. He came across some creative  and probably not entirely serious  ways cities around the globe have tackled the problem.

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At an amusement park in Chongqing, China, called Foreigners Street, Starr said, theres a 100-foot phone lane to prevent people from bumping into each other. A similar installment exists in Antwerp, Belgium. As it turned out, the mobile lane experiment was first executed in Washington, D.C.

I thought, Well, we cant do that,  Starr said. Because the issue is really about them being distracted as theyre crossing the street.

Eventually, he discovered a distracted walking ordinance implemented last year in Honolulu. Taking cues from Hawaiis capital, Starrs staff drafted a law that was approved by the City Council in December.

For now, first-time offenders will get a warning. Authorities will start giving out tickets in August. The penalty for an infraction? A $100 fine.

Statistics show pedestrian fatalities have increased nationwide in recent years.

In 2016, 5,987 pedestrians were killed in traffic collisions, a 9% increase from the year before (5,495) and 22% increase from 2014 (4,910), according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

The agency does not keep data on how many of those pedestrians were distracted, but safety experts suspect cellphone usage is tied to the increase.

Everyones using them, weve got them glued to our hands, whether we are on foot or behind the wheel  its definitely worth exploring more, said Kara Macek, a spokeswoman with the Governors Highway Safety Assn. But because distracted pedestrian laws are so new, she said, the jurys still out as to whether its actually going to make a difference.

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City officials in Montclair, a city of about 38,000 residents, said a string of accidents in which pedestrians were injured had something in common.

Police noticed that ones that rose to the top as a significant concern involved the use of a cellphone, Starr said, pointing to a 2012 incident that was particularly devastating.

Yessica Gonzalez, at the time a 15-year-old high school student, was walking to Montclair High School one morning in September. As she stepped into a marked crosswalk, she was hit by an oncoming vehicle.

The crash left Gonzalez hemiplegic and with severe brain damage. She has mental wherewithal of between a 1- and 3-year-old, said her attorney, Ernest Algorri.

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City officials say she was on her phone, with her earbuds in. Algorri, who is suing the city for damages, disputes that and called the new law an attempt to taint the jury in his upcoming trial.

We had been discussing this issue, just safety in general, as were seeing people blindly walking across the street, staring at their phones without paying attention, said Jon Hamilton, the citys director of administrative services. Its an issue that has become more and more prevalent based on the increased usage of cellphones, particularly among younger residents.

One of them, Nicola Martinez, said she sees fellow students walking home every day from Our Lady of Lourdes School with their devices out.

I feel this [law] is actually really needed, she said.

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But another resident criticized the law as an example of government overreach.

We shouldnt invent a law just because you have the authority to do so ... to solve something that isnt prolific and an epidemic within the city borders, resident Benjamin Lopez told the City Council in December.

Since then, officials have launched an aggressive public awareness campaign in schools.

The city plans to paint stencils on every crosswalk corner, designed to catch the eye of someone looking down at a cellphone. And at the citys more than 50 signalized intersections, crews have stuck up decals depicting a no-cellphone symbol below the words: Dont be distracted.

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Some decals have since gone missing. We have to keep putting them up. They disappear, Starr said, laughing. I would say its a early protest by young people.

Not everyone has heeded the warnings.

In recent weeks, city officials said, a junior high school student leaving campus was sideswiped after she walked into the path of an oncoming car. She was on her phone.

alene.tchekmedyian@latimes.com

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Twitter: @AleneTchekSo a horse walks onto the 91 freeway  no joke.

It was an unusually flip beginning for a tweet from the California Highway Patrol.

But then, it was an unusually zany incident, once it was all over and no one was injured  not horse, not rider, nor arresting officer.

The tweet, posted at 6:51 p.m. Saturday by the CHPs Santa Fe Springs office, continued in earnest to report that the man who rode his horse onto the freeway was arrested on suspicion of DUI.

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Dont put yourself, your beautiful animal, or others in danger of being killed in traffic, it concluded.

The suspect, identified as Luis Alfredo Perez of Placentia, was reported to have been celebrating his 29th birthday when he rode his white Arabian, Guera, onto the 91 Freeway at Paramount Boulevard.

Perez had exited at Downey Avenue and ridden into Bellflower when CHP officers, alerted by a 911 call, stopped him and administered a field sobriety test. He was recorded with a blood alcohol level of 0.21%, more than twice the legal limit, the City News Service reported.

Perez is being held in lieu of more than $50,000 bail, according to the L.A. County sheriffs online records, which show additional cases pending against Perez.

In a follow-up tweet posted a few hours later, the CHP doubled down on its offbeat tone.

We get a chuckle out of the interesting situations we encounter from time to time, but one thing the CHP does not do is horse around with DUI, the agency tweeted a few hours later.

Besides touching off a small media flurry, the tweets also stimulated a give-and-take with the public on the CHPs Twitter account.

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What about the horse? someone asked.

Guera the White Arabian Horse was released to the suspects mother immediately after the arrest, was the reply.

Then followed a light-hearted discussion of the law. A pair, identifying themselves as former law enforcement officers in their 70s and 80s, asked the CHP a bit sarcastically for a definition of the D in DUI, which they doubted would apply to horses.

Is there really a horsey deuce section now? they asked.

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A David Sampson chimed in, saying, Im no expert, but Im not seeing anything except motor vehicles that require a license described in 21050 VC, referring to the California Vehicle Code.

Dead serious at last, the CHP referred the skeptics to the same section, which states that a person riding an animal upon a highway is subject to all of the same rights and DUTIES as someone operating a vehicle upon a highway.

Yes, there is a horsey-deuce section.

doug.smith@latimes.com

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Twitter: @LATDoug

UPDATES:

12:05 p.m.: This article was updated with new information on Luis Alfredo Perezs bail.

This article was originally published at 11:10 a.m.Admirers took photos on their phones, firetrucks parked on freeway overpasses, and police officers saluted as a motorcade carrying the body of the Rev. Billy Graham crossed the evangelists beloved home state of North Carolina for four hours Saturday from his mountain chapel to namesake library in the states largest city.

Residents in some of Grahams most cherished places paid tribute to Americas pastor, starting at the training center operated by his evangelistic association in Asheville. The motorcade rolled through Black Mountain, where he shopped and caught trains, and Montreat, where he lived.

Well-wishers lined sidewalks and medians as the motorcade reached Charlotte. Pallbearers, followed by family members, carried the coffin into the Billy Graham Library, which will serve as a backdrop for the funeral.

Franklin Graham said he was fulfilling a promise to his father to bring his body to Charlotte. He said he was overwhelmed by the outpouring of love.

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Leighton Ford, the evangelists brother-in-law, said the procession brought gratitude and a tinge of sadness.

I think hed say, Its not about me. Its about the Lord, said Ford. I remember at his last stadium meeting here in Charlotte, the mayor of Charlotte told us he was riding out on the platform with Billy, and everybody was cheering, and Billy said, Wait a minute. Its not about us. Its about Him.

Graham, who died Wednesday at his home in North Carolinas mountains at age 99, reached hundreds of millions of listeners around the world with his rallies and his pioneering use of television.

A viewing will be held at the library in Charlotte on Monday and Tuesday. Graham will also lie in honor in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda on Wednesday and Thursday, the first time a private citizen has been accorded such recognition since civil rights hero Rosa Parks in 2005.

The procession was part of more than a week of mourning that culminates with his burial Friday.

Adults and children stood behind wooden barricades and yellow tape along a route that included parts of Interstate 40. A man played bagpipes at a highway rest area near Marion, where an overpass was draped with flags from about 15 nations. In Black Mountain, a group sang Amazing Grace.

He has never really reveled in all of the celebrity. Its come with the territory, said Joe Tyson, a family friend who runs a furniture store in Black Mountain, where he watched the procession.

The library in Charlotte was closed, but admirers came to watch and lay flowers.

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He was so bold. He so boldly confessed the word of God, said Madeline Reid. And I believe because of his service to humanity, that hes truly going to be great in the kingdom of heaven.

Graham will be laid to rest at the foot of a cross-shaped walkway at the library, buried in a simple prison-made plywood coffin next to his wife, Ruth, who died in 2007. His coffin was built by inmates at the Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola, La., who typically construct caskets for fellow prisoners who cannot afford one.

The funeral will be held in a tent in the main parking lot of Grahams library in tribute to the 1949 Los Angeles tent revivals that propelled him to international fame, family spokesman Mark DeMoss said. About 2,000 people are expected at the private, invitation-only funeral.Instead of rushing in, several Broward County sheriffs deputies waited outside Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School while a killer gunned down schoolchildren, according to other officers on the scene.

The sheriffs office is investigating the reports by Coral Springs, Fla., police officers, Sheriff Scott Israel told the South Florida Sun Sentinel.

The allegations emerged a day after another deputy, assigned to guard the school, resigned under pressure, also for failing to enter the building during the shooting.

In all, at least three deputies waited outside, including School Resource Officer Scot Peterson, police sources told the Sun Sentinel.

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The allegations add to a series of failures that have come to light since a gunman, whom authorities identified as 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz, killed 17 people and wounded 16.

Two additional deputies are being investigated over whether they mishandled warnings about Cruz in the months before the shooting; the FBI has admitted it failed to investigate similar claims; and the Florida Department of Children and Families, which looked into concerns about Cruz, concluded that he was no risk to himself or others.

Coral Springs Mayor Skip Campbell said the city wants answers to the allegations. If proved true, it not only makes me angry, it makes me furious, he said.

Israel said three Coral Springs officers said one or more sheriffs deputies did not go into the school building when they should have, and the officers concerns were relayed to the sheriffs office by the Coral Springs police chief.

The sheriff said his office plans to interview the Coral Springs officers who lodged the complaint.

If our investigation shows that our deputies made no mistakes or did things right, or its not corroborated, there will be no issue, Israel said.

If we find out, as we did with Peterson, that our deputies made mistakes and didnt go in, Ill handle it like I always have. Ill handle any violations of policy or procedures or whatever accordingly.

At a news conference Thursday, Israel said Peterson should have gone into the school and addressed the killer  killed the killer. Video showed Peterson did none of that, Israel said.

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The sheriff did not say when the Coral Springs police made their allegations. He did not bring it up at his televised news conference Thursday.

We will do an accurate, meticulous investigation, Israel said.

Asked how he feels about such an accusation being leveled against his deputies  by other law enforcement officers, no less  the sheriff did not say he was shaken by the thought.

Being in police work as long as I have, Ive seen allegations that end up being accurate and allegations that end up being inaccurate, he said. I dont really have an opinion on allegations. I deal with facts, not allegations. Well want to see where the facts are, and well go from there.

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The Coral Springs city manager angrily confronted Israel the day after the shooting about the deputies response, sources told the Sun Sentinel.

Late Friday, City Manager Mike Goodrum would say only: We had a heated discussion. But Im not going to disclose the aspects of the conversation, and our agencies have a good working relationship.

Citing the continuing investigation, Campbell said he wanted to make sure the two police agencies continue to work well together.

In a statement late Friday, the Coral Springs Police Department said it hadnt officially commented about the allegations.

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Any actions or inactions that negatively affected the response will be investigated thoroughly, and the information will be released officially, Sgt. Carla Kmiotek said in a statement. There were countless deputies and officers who responded on that fateful day from multiple jurisdictions, whose actions were nothing short of heroic.

Huriash and OMatz write for the Sun Sentinel.Cynthia Sanford sat in a Clark County Museum storage room and fretted over the email she was about to send to Jeff Schwartz, president of the Parkland Historical Society in Florida.

Im not sure if I should overwhelm him with tips, Sanford said.



For the record: In an earlier version of this story, the curator of collection at the Littleton Museum of Colorado was misidentified as Jenny Harkinson. Her name is Jenny Hankinson.

In the quiet, she began typing: Try to get on the same page as the public works department or whoever owns the land where the memorials are located.

She paused. Typed some more: You cant save everything. Flowers, food and other organic materials cant be saved. Paper items blow away, fragile items get broken and large items can be a public hazard.

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It had been about five months since Sanford was in Schwartzs place. Las Vegas was then the focal point of tragedy after a gunman killed 58 people attending the Route 91 Harvest country music festival. People began leaving candles, posters, flowers and crosses at the Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign at the south end of the Strip.

The Clark County Museum is small and, even though Sanford has a degree in anthropology and a certificate in museum studies, the curating and archiving of more than 15,000 items was daunting. She knew she needed help. She got it from a museum in Orlando, Fla., site of the Pulse nightclub shooting.

Since Columbine High School in 1999, police, schools and hospitals have offered each other advice, and sympathy, after each mass shooting. Now add museums to the unlikely mix of those groups forced to forge a plan on how to deal with the rise of massacres.

Museums have created an informal support network  each site of a mass shooting passing along lessons learned about preserving items left at makeshift memorial sites. Charleston, S.C., helped Orlando. Orlando helped Las Vegas. Las Vegas is now helping Parkland.

Last year, the American Assn. for State and Local History hosted a panel titled Commemorating Tragedy, Healing Wounds: Mother Emanuel, AME Charleston, S.C. The group will probably hold a similar panel at a convention in Kansas City this year.

Workers remove a makeshift memorial honoring the victims of the Oct. 1 mass shooting in Las Vegas. (John Locher / Associated Press )

John Dichtl, president of the association, said establishing protocols that museums can follow is an emerging area for history museums and that it can help them do a better job getting in front of the collecting challenges in mass tragedies.

Museums are planners by nature, moving slow and contemplating the weight of exhibits before mounting a display that puts a moment of time in historical context. They keep most of their artifacts in storage under exacting conditions to slow deterioration. When items are received by a museum, its usually a few at a time.

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Mass shootings and the memorials that spring up are exactly the opposite. Thousands of items are subject to rain, heat and sometimes snow and build up quickly. Intake, cataloging and archiving can take years.

Jenny Hankinson , curator of collections at the Littleton Museum in Colorado, said after the Columbine High shooting more than 10,000 items were left at sites around the school. It took seven years to sort and archive such an array of items, including Beanie Babies, cassette tapes, track shoes.

Keeping it all presents special challenges  emotion verses pragmatism. Special boxes usually are used to store artifacts, but museums are learning to buy cheap boxes in the early stages of gathering materials. Hankinson cried at times  the toll was overpowering. But she had to steel herself for the difficult choices about what to keep and what to discard.

Theres a lot of pressure on museums to keep items as long as we can, which in our industry is forever. But stuff takes up space, Hankinson said. There also are humidity and temperature controls to consider. All of that costs in the long run, she said.

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Cynthia Sanford of the Clark County Museum in Nevada catalogs memorial items. (Chase Stevens / Las Vegas Review-Journal )

Pamela Schwartz, chief curator at the Orange County Regional History Center in Florida, with items collected from memorials honoring the victims of the Pulse nightclub massacre in Orlando. (Joe Burbank / Orlando Sentinel )

When the Aurora, Colo., theater shooting happened in 2012, more than 5,000 items were left near the site where 12 people were killed during a screening of The Dark Knight Rises.

Jennifer Kronk, curator of collections at the Aurora History Museum, said museum staff were only half way through sorting items left at two memorial sites.

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She said they talked with the Littleton Museum about preserving, storing and archiving the items.

Just hearing from them that it took seven years to sort through the collection  and that was OK  helped ease the pressure a little, Kronk said. Its not something you can spend all your time on because its emotionally draining.

Museums have found that memorials serve as time capsules, reflecting the era or location of a shooting and giving each a distinct sociological fingerprint.

Columbine occurred when Beanie Babies were popular and hundreds were left as tokens of compassion. Batman and comic book items appeared in Aurora. Cowboy boots, hats and  because of Las Vegas international draw  flags from Canada, New Zealand and Japan were left at the Las Vegas sign.

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The Pulse nightclub memorials featured LGBTQ rainbow flags, Disney items and votive candles with Our Lady of Guadalupe.

Virginia Tech, where 32 people were killed in 2007, was flooded with 90,000 items, many related to the schools mascot, Hokies.

One place that took a different tack to mementos left behind was Newtown, Conn., site of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting that left 26 people dead, including 20 first-graders.

Kyle Lyddy, chairman of the Sandy Hook Permanent Memorial Commission, said the outpouring and volume of items were so overwhelming to the small town, it was initially difficult to see how it could follow what Littleton and Aurora did. He says Newtown doesnt have a museum.

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With 50,000 teddy bears alone arriving from all over the world, the task of honoring peoples expression of grief and solidarity bumped up against the realities of physical space.

Pamela Schwartz with items collected from memorials after the Pulse nightclub shooting. (Joe Burbank / Orlando Sentinel )

We are a small community, and to drive down the street and see thousands of teddy bears and the crosses and messages  it stops you in your tracks, Lyddy said. Right after the new year, it had to come down. It was wet and soggy and wasnt attractive. But in its time after the tragedy, it was so spontaneous and so incredibly powerful. Thats what you want to preserve.

Lyddy said the town ended up turning the mementos  including the teddy bears  into ash and will integrate that ash into the permanent memorial site.

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But most places have seen the items left to museums to handle.

Orlando, which before Las Vegas had the highest mass shooting casualty count, had more than 6,000 items left at sites. Pamela Schwartz, chief curator of the Orange County Regional History Center, spoke with George McDaniel in the immediate aftermath of the Pulse nightclub massacre.

McDaniel had been through the shooting in Charleston, where nine people were killed at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church a year before.

He said people sent Bibles, quilts and an abundance of origami cranes. McDaniel met with other historians seven days after the shooting to figure out what to do with it all.

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I think in the future, anthropologists will look at the artifacts left behind and see strong commonalities because of our human condition, McDaniel said. Unfortunately, that human condition shows we are flawed, and you see incidents where hate prevails. But the reason this is so important is because it also shows how people want to express themselves just by being there. There is a deep-seated human need to communicate in these times of grief, and its natural to want to leave something behind to express that. We want to honor that.

Sanford is still in the early stages of the painstaking process of cataloging the Las Vegas memorials. Sitting with two other people who were photographing, labeling and cleaning items on a January morning, she picked up a small ornament that had been left at the cross for Michelle Vo, one of the 58 people killed.

It was item No. 58.84. She entered its description into the laptop computer, talking as she typed.

Glitter gold painted star with MV in black at the center, she said. Condition: good. Detail: dirty.

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She carefully laid it on the table. It was photographed, labeled and placed in a special bag to preserve it. She has gotten volunteers to help  a tip she picked up from Orlando and one she passed on to Jeff Schwartz in Parkland.

Schwartz said the last week had been overwhelming and he was grateful there is a support network of museums that have been through it before. The Parkland Historical Society doesnt have its own building yet.

Weve been tasked to archive as much as we can, but its also such a morbid event. Its part of our history now, he said. But its also a way to show that this happened in the past, so as to try and prevent it from happening again in the future.

A Sandy Hook Elementary School memorial in 2012 in Newtown, Conn. (Spencer Platt / Getty Images )

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david.montero@latimes.com

Twitter: @davemonteroAs part of its pitch to prospective members, the National Rifle Assn. touts a host of benefits for those joining the organization, including huge savings on car rentals, hotels and travel.

In recent days, however, several travel and hotel companies severed ties with gun lobby group as outrage continues over the shooting that left 14 students and three adults dead at a Florida high school this month.

On Thursday at 1:05 p.m., First National Bank of Omaha was one of the first companies to announce via Twitter that it would end its relationship with the NRA, saying it would not renew its contract to issue the NRA Visa card.

Soon after, Enterprise Holdings, which operates Enterprise Rent-A-Car, National Car Rental and Alamo Rent A Car, said it would end its discount program with the NRA, effective March 26.

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Then on Friday morning, California-based cybersecurity company Symantec joined the list. Then came MetLife, Hertz and North American Van Lines, a trucking company.

Friday night, TrueCar, an automotive price comparison website, tweeted that it would end its buying service agreement with the group effective Feb. 28.

We have notified the NRA that we are ending the NRAs rental car discount program with Hertz.  Hertz (@Hertz) February 23, 2018

Next, on Saturday morning, Delta Air Lines shared on social media that it had plans to tell the NRA it would end the groups contract for discounted rates through Deltas group travel program.

We will be requesting that the NRA remove our information from their website, Delta said in a tweet.

Delta is reaching out to the NRA to let them know we will be ending their contract for discounted rates through our group travel program. We will be requesting that the NRA remove our information from their website.  Delta (@Delta) February 24, 2018

United Airlines followed Deltas move, saying in a tweet that the company no longer would offer a discounted rate to the NRAs annual meeting.

United is notifying the NRA that we will no longer offer a discounted rate to their annual meeting and we are asking that the NRA remove our information from their website.  United Airlines (@united) February 24, 2018

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Over the last week, gun control activists and their followers have used social media to call out companies with business relationships with the NRA, with threats that consumers who support the movement would not spend money with the company until the relationship with the NRA ends. Progressive websites listed companies that offer benefits to NRA members, which helped rouse gun control supporters to speak out about the boycotts.

Students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., where the Feb. 14 massacre occurred, have spoken openly and angrily about their experiences, rallying young people across the country to walk out of their schools and planning continued protests to change gun laws in the United States.

The NRA has been making the same arguments about 2nd Amendment rights it always makes, said Mary-Hunter McDonnell, a management professor at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania who studies how companies respond to social activism.

But when you have someone from the NRA facing a student who just went through that experience, and still making that argument, it sounds very tone deaf, McDonnell said. And ultimately this pressure on firms is not about cutting the sponsorships to the NRA. Its ultimately about demonstrating to politicians that links to the NRA are dangerous.... This is sending a strong signal to politicians that they need to rethink their relationship with the NRA.

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NRA spokesman Andrew Arulanandam said in a statement that the loss of a discount would have no impact on NRA members, as they still believe in the mission of the organization.

The law-abiding members of the NRA had nothing at all to do with the failure of that schools security preparedness, the failure of Americas mental health system, the failure of the National Instant Check System or the cruel failures of both federal and local law enforcement, Arulanandam said. Despite that, some corporations have decided to punish NRA membership in a shameful display of political and civic cowardice. In time, these brands will be replaced by others who recognize that patriotism and determined commitment to constitutional freedoms are characteristics of a marketplace they very much want to serve.

After the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in 2012 in Newtown, Conn., a global advocacy site, Avaaz.org, urged its followers to go on Facebook and call out Best Western International and Wyndham Hotel Group for affiliating with the NRA.

On Facebook, Wyndham responded to the negative comments about its connection to the NRA by saying it tried to be responsive and respectful to it customers and partners. In a statement, it said, As part of our Companys core values, we serve diverse individuals and organizations.

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This time, companies are taking a different approach.

On social media, Best Western and Wyndham both responded more than 100 times on Twitter to users asking about their relationship to the NRA.

Best Western Hotels & Resorts does not have an affiliation with and is not a corporate partner of the National Rifle Association, the company wrote to users.

Hello. Please know, Wyndham is no longer affiliated with the NRA, the Wyndham Rewards account said.

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Business and political experts say the next thing to watch will be the actions of Republican lawmakers.

After the 2016 shooting at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Fla., Democratic lawmakers in Florida attempted and failed several times to ban assault weapons.

On Friday, Republican leaders of the Florida Senate and House announced they would file companion bills to increase the minimum age for buying firearms from 18 to 21 and ban bump stocks, which modify a semiautomatic weapon to fire like an automatic rifle. Lawmakers also proposed imposing a three-day waiting period for gun purchases in the state.

Such proposals marked a break with the NRA. The states Republican governor, Rick Scott, also called for legislation to tighten gun laws, though not as strictly at the Parkland students and gun control advocates had hoped.

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However, changing the minimum age, and the other proposed gun law changes, are marginal concessions that Republicans are making, and theyre still shying away from taking substantially different stances on gun policy, said Timothy Werner, associate professor of business, government and society at University of Texas.

I think that its completely admirable, and I would never want to dissuade anyone from any persuasion from participating in politics, but I think the roadblock theyre going to hit in terms of actual change is that while getting firms to distance themselves from the NRA might be easy, getting people who have institutional power to change is going to be very difficult, he said.

We value all our customers but have decided to end our discount program with the NRA.  MetLife (@MetLife) February 23, 2018

TrueCar is ending its car buying service relationship with the NRA effective February 28, 2018.  TrueCar (@TrueCar) February 24, 2018

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Mayor Pro-Tem Dwaine Caraway wants to keep @NRA out of #Dallas for @AnnualMeetings. RT to let him know #NRA members wont back down, and well see him in May! Read More: https://t.co/Ble1o5OBoZ pic.twitter.com/dthnO2agmz  NRA Blog (@NRAblog) February 21, 2018

jaclyn.cosgrove@latimes.com

@jaclyncosgrove

Special correspondent Jenny Jarvie contributed to this report.

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UPDATES:

6:30 p.m.: This article was updated throughout, adding comments from Mary-Hunter McDonnell, Timothy Werner and Andrew Arulanandam.

This article was originally published at 9:50 am.A portion of corporate America has been rethinking its relationship with the National Rifle Assn., taking a closer look at investments, co-branding deals and other ties to the gun industry in the months following a Florida school shooting that left 17 people dead.

The NRA has aggressively resisted calls for stricter gun control in the wake of the Feb. 14 massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.

But companies that partner with the NRA to offer members-only deals, ranging from life insurance to wine clubs, have faced pressure from customers to take a stand. More than a dozen have ended business partnerships with the group.

Some retailers have also taken steps to restrict gun sales, and several financial firms have announced new policies for doing business with those who sell or manufacture firearms.

Heres a list:

First National Bank of Omaha

The bank announced Feb. 22 that it will not renew a contract with the NRA to issue a branded Visa card.

Enterprise Holdings Inc.

The car rental company, which also owns Alamo and National, announced Feb. 22 that it plans to cut off discounts for NRA members starting March 26.

Allied and North American van lines

The moving services providers, which share the parent company Sirva Inc., both announced Feb. 23 that they have terminated discounts for NRA members.

Avis and Budget car rental

The car rental companies, which are both operated by Avis Budget Group, told multiple social media users on Feb. 22 and 23 that they will end discounts for NRA members as of March 26.

Hertz Corp.

The car rental company announced Feb. 23 that it has ended its discount program for NRA members.

TrueCar

The automotive price comparison website tweeted Feb. 23 that it will end its buying service agreement with the NRA effective Feb. 28.

Chubb Ltd.

The insurer announced Feb. 23 that it is ending participation in the NRA's Carry Guard gun-owner insurance program, though a spokesman said the company provided notice of the change three months ago.

The program that provided coverage for people involved in gun-related incidents or accidents had been under scrutiny by regulators over marketing issues.

MetLife Inc.

The insurer announced Feb. 23 that it has decided to terminate discounts that had been offered to NRA members via the NRA website.

Symantec Corp.

The software company that makes Norton Antivirus technology announced Feb. 23 that it has ended its discount program with the NRA.

Simplisafe

The home security company on Feb. 23 told the left-leaning news website ThinkProgress that it will no longer offer NRA members two months of free monitoring with the purchase of a new security system.

Best Western

On Feb. 24, the hotel chain told multiple social media users that it is no longer affiliated with the NRA and said that decision had been made in 2014.

Wyndham Hotels

In tweets sent Feb. 23 and 24, the hotel chain told social media users it is no longer affiliated with the NRA without specifying when that decision was made.

Delta Air Lines

The airline announced Feb. 24 that it will no longer offer discounted fares to NRA members to attend annual meetings and asked the NRA to remove any reference to the company from its website.

United Airlines

On the heels of Deltas announcement, United also announced Feb. 24 that it will no longer offer discounted fares to NRA members and asked that reference to the company be removed from the NRAs website.

Paramount Rx

The pharmacy benefits management company announced Feb. 24 that it is working to discontinue a prescription discount program for NRA members, though it did not provide a timetable.

Starkey Hearing

The hearing aid company announced Feb. 24 that it will not renew a discount program for NRA members, though it did not say when the program will be discontinued.

Lockton Affinity Inc.

The insurance company announced Feb. 26 it no longer would sell NRA-endorsed insurance policies. That includes Carry Guard, promoted to gun owners as a policy to help cover civil and criminal legal costs in cases in which policy holders shoot someone in self-defense.

Insurance regulators had been scrutinizing the program after gun-control groups raised concerns that the NRA was marketing the policy in a way that could encourage gun owners to shoot rather than try to avoid confrontations. The groups also questioned whether the NRA was illegally receiving commissions from sales of the policy.

Dicks Sporting Goods

The retailer said Feb. 28 that it would immediately stop selling assault-style rifles and ban the sale of all guns to anyone under 21. Its CEO took on the NRA by demanding tougher gun laws.

Walmart

The nation's largest retailer announced Feb. 28 that it would no longer sell firearms or ammunition to people younger than 21. It had stopped selling AR-15s and other semiautomatic weapons in 2015.

Kroger Co.

The nation's largest grocery chain announced March 1 that its Fred Meyer stores would no longer sell guns to anyone under 21.

The company said that since the mass shooting in Florida, it's become clear that gun retail outlets must go beyond what current U.S. law requires.

L.L. Bean

The retailer, which says it only sells firearms at its flagship store in Maine and only guns specific to hunting and target shooting, released a statement March 1 saying that it would no longer sell firearms or ammunition to anyone under 21.

The company also told multiple social media users that it does not and never has supported the NRA.

REI

The Seattle-based outdoor retailer said March 1 that it was halting future orders of some popular brands  including CamelBak water carriers, Giro helmets and Camp Chef stoves  whose parent company, Vista Outdoor, also makes assault-style rifles.

REI issued a statement noting that while it does not sell guns, it expects companies that do to help prevent mass shootings.

Citigroup Inc.

On March 22, the New York company became the first Wall Street bank to announce changes to its policies in the wake of the Florida school shooting.

Citigroup said in a post on its website that it would require all of its clients and business customers to refrain from selling firearms to anyone who hasn't passed a background check or is under the age of 21. The financial giant said that it also would prohibit its customers from selling bump stocks, which can transform semiautomatic guns into automatic weapons; or high-capacity magazines and that it was reviewing its banking relationships with gun manufacturers.

Bank of America Corp.

The bank announced April 10 that it planned to stop lending to manufacturers of assault-style firearms that are sold for nonmilitary use, though it did not provide a timetable. A company official also said the bank would stop underwriting securities issued by those gun manufacturers.

Vista Outdoor Inc.

One of the countrys largest ammunition makers announced May 1 that it planned to seek buyers for its firearms manufacturing business and instead would focus on products for outdoor enthusiasts. The Utah company said it would continue to sell ammunition.

The decision followed months of pressure from retailers that sell Vista Outdoors other goods, like Bell bicycle helmets and CamelBak water carriers. REI announced March 1 that it was suspending all orders from Vista because the company refused to say if it would continue to manufacture weapons.

REI did not say whether it would resume doing business with Vista after the May 1 announcement.

Support our journalism Please consider subscribing today to support stories like this one. Get full access to our signature journalism for just 99 cents for the first four weeks. Already a subscriber? Your support makes our work possible. Thank you.

UPDATES:

1:40 p.m., May 2: This article was updated with Vista Outdoors announcement that it planned to seek buyers for its firearms manufacturing business.

5:10 p.m., April 26: This article was updated with Citigroup Inc. announcing restrictions on firearm sales by its business customers and Bank of Americas decision to stop lending to some gun manufacturers.

5:30 p.m., March 2: This article was updated with Dick's Sporting Goods, Walmart, Kroger and L.L. Bean announcing that they're restricting their gun sales, and with REI's decision to halt future orders of some brands whose parent company also makes firearms.

2:20 p.m., Feb. 28: This article was updated with Lockton Affinity Inc. announcing that it no longer will sell NRA-endorsed insurance policies.

6:50 p.m., Feb. 25: This article was updated with Starkey Hearing announcing that it will not renew an NRA discount program.

3:25 p.m., Feb. 25: This article was updated with Paramount Rx announcing plans to end a prescription discount program for NRA members.

This article was originally published Feb. 24 at 8:25 p.m.There are few sights in the world like nighttime in skid row, the teeming Dickensian dystopia in downtown Los Angeles where homeless and destitute people have been concentrated for more than a century.

Here, men and women sleep in rows, lined up one after another for block after block in makeshift tents or on cardboard mats on the sidewalks  the mad, the afflicted and the disabled alongside those who are merely down on their luck. Criminals prey on them, drugs such as heroin and crystal meth are easily available, sexual assault and physical violence are common and infectious diseases like tuberculosis, hepatitis and AIDS are constant threats.

Skid row is  and long has been  a national disgrace, a grim reminder of mans ability to turn his back on his fellow man. But these days it is only the ugly epicenter of a staggering homelessness problem that radiates outward for more than 100 miles throughout Los Angeles County and beyond. There are now more than 57,000 people who lack a fixed, regular or adequate place to sleep on any given night in the county, and fewer than 1 in 10 of them are in skid row.

Homelessness burst its traditional borders several years ago, spreading first to gloomy underpasses and dim side streets, and then to public parks and library reading rooms and subway platforms. No matter where you live in L.A. County, from Long Beach to Beverly Hills to Lancaster, you cannot credibly claim today to be unaware of the squalid tent cities, the sprawling encampments, or the despair and misery on display there.

There are close to 58,000 homeless people in Los Angeles county. Thats a stunning, bewildering, tragic number  in a region thats home to some of the richest people in the world. This is an L.A. Times editorial series.

At last, the problem became so acute  and so visible  that Los Angeles took extraordinary action. To your credit, to all of our credit, the citizens of this city and this county voted in November 2016 and again in March 2017 to raise our own taxes to fund an enormous multibillion-dollar, 10-year program of housing and social services for the homeless.

As a result, Los Angeles now has its best chance in decades to combat homelessness  an opportunity that surely all can agree must not be wasted. It is neither desirable nor morally acceptable nor practical for this city or this county to blithely tolerate the signs of destitution more commonly associated with 1980s Calcutta or the slums of Rio de Janiero or medieval Europe. We cannot go on shutting our windows to beggars at freeway offramps or stepping casually over men and women curled up in sleeping bags or turning away when people who have no access to public bathrooms use the city streets as toilets. We cannot indefinitely roust people who have nowhere to go or confiscate their belongings or criminalize their struggle for basic necessities. Such desperate stopgap measures are not solutions, but emblems of a deteriorating city, admissions of failure. We now have the opportunity to do better.

Without a Home Theyre part of the Los Angeles streetscape, as familiar as the swaying palm trees and idling traffic, living under freeways, alongside riverbeds and on canyon hillsides. The mentally ill, the drug addicts, the economically disadvantaged, many with their life belongings in a backpack or shopping cart. In this ongoing series, Without a Home, The Times is examining the crisis of homelessness in our region. Full coverage

But heres the bad news: Passing Measures H and HHH was the easy part. Money alone doesnt solve problems, and in the end the tougher questions are how to spend it, where to spend it, on whom to spend it and how to measure success. If we hope that the crisis will be gone  or, more realistically, under control  when the money runs out in 10 years, we need city and county officials to explain what actions theyre taking and why, how many people theyve housed or failed to house, what they expect to accomplish by the end of the year and by the end of the decade  so that we can hold them accountable for their actions.

Furthermore, those politicians who have for too long shamefully shirked their responsibility to address the festering problems must now exercise real leadership; they must stop pandering to the vocal minority of residents who object to housing for homeless and low-income people in their neighborhoods. Years of infighting, mixed messages and failures of political will must come to an end.

All the regions politicians must step up, but especially Mayor Eric Garcetti  whose legacy and political future will rise or fall on how he handles this colossal urban crisis  and the members of the Los Angeles City Council, who have too often allowed political expediency and timidity to guide their actions. Homelessness in the city of Los Angeles has risen every year since Garcetti took office in 2013. Over the course of his tenure, it is up 49%.

County officials have made some progress  breaking down bureaucratic silos, leveraging new federal Medicaid dollars, setting sensible goals and priorities, using Measure H money to quadruple the number of homeless outreach teams, add shelter beds and help with rental subsidies  but they too have an enormous task ahead of them. And homelessness, which does not recognize municipal boundaries, is also present in most of the other 87 cities in L.A. county, many of which have historically tried to push the poor and homeless out, hoping the problem would go away. Only three cities in the county are on track to meet their fair share housing construction goals.

(Los Angeles Times)

How did we get here? From the founding of this newspaper in 1881, the pages of The Times have been filled with stories of those we have called, at various times, vagrants, hobos, tramps, transients and drifters. And for as long as there have been homeless people, there has been a tendency to blame the victims themselves for their condition  to see their failure to thrive as an issue of character, of moral weakness, of laziness. Since the deinstitutionalization of the mentally ill in the second half of the 20th century, and the subsequent failure of government to provide the promised outpatient services for those who had been released, the problem has grown significantly worse.

Today, a confluence of factors is driving people onto the streets. The shredding of the safety net in Washington and here in California is one. (Consider the inexcusable shortage of federal Section 8 vouchers for subsidized low-income housing, or the dismally low level of general relief payments for the countys neediest single adults.)

At the same time, California is experiencing a severe housing shortage. Gentrification is taking more and more once-affordable rental units off the L.A. market, and restrictive zoning laws along with high construction costs and anti-development sentiment make new affordable units hard to build. Over the last six years, the rent for a studio apartment in Los Angeles has climbed 92%, according to UCLA law professor emeritus Gary Blasi, so that even people who have jobs can find themselves living on the streets after a rent spike or an unexpected crisis. As Blasi notes: In America, housing is a commodity. If you can afford it, you have it; if you cant, you dont.

In America, housing is a commodity. If you can afford it, you have it; if you cant, you dont. Gary Blasi, UCLA law professor emeritus

Contrary to popular belief, the homeless in Los Angeles are not mostly mentally ill or drug addicted, raving or matted-haired or frightening  although a sizable minority meet some of those descriptions. They are not mostly people who drifted in from other states in search of a comfy climate in which to sponge off of others; the overwhelming majority have lived in the region for years. Today, a greater and greater proportion of people living on the streets are there because of bad luck or a series of mistakes, or because the economy forgot them  they lost a job or were evicted or fled an abusive marriage just as the housing market was growing increasingly unforgiving.

It will surprise no one to learn that it is the most vulnerable among us who usually end up without a place to live. According to the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, more than 5,000 of the countys 58,000 homeless people are children and more than 4,000 are elderly. About one-third are mentally ill. Some 40% are African American. Also heavily represented: Veterans. The disabled. Young people from the countys overwhelmed juvenile justice system and its foster care programs. Men and women just released from jail, without the tools or skills needed for reentering society. Patients released from public hospitals  often with untreated cancers, infections, heart disease or diabetes. Victims of domestic violence.

All the great social issues of American society play out in homelessness  inequality, racial injustice, poverty, violence, sexism. Naturally, life expectancy for the homeless is short: about 47 years, according to skid row doctor Susan Partovi, compared with 78 in the population as a whole.

(Los Angeles Times)

Solutions to the problem vary, depending on which portion of the homeless population youre trying to help. In the months and years ahead, many more supportive housing units (which include access to social services and treatment) must be sited and built for the chronically homeless, as promised by Measure HHH  in all parts of the city, not just where the backlash will be weakest. To this end, city politicians (who have control over land-use policies) must lead rather than be led by a vocal minority of obstructionist constituents. At the same time, for the regions economically homeless, the states broader housing crisis must be addressed by new laws and incentives that encourage construction, especially of subsidized affordable housing. For the good of the city itself, short-term needs must be weighed against long-term solutions and officials must find the right balance between managing the homelessness problem and eradicating it. The rights of people living on the streets must be protected and balanced against the needs of the city.

The challenges are enormous, even if everyone is pulling in the same direction. That reality was driven home this month by a new Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority report showing that the countys homeless population is increasing faster than the supply of new housing, despite the millions of dollars already flowing in from the two ballot measures.

In the worlds richest nation, homelessness on this scale should be shameful and shocking. But most Angelenos are no longer either shocked or shamed. Increasingly, we are uncomfortable, irritated, disgusted, scared or oblivious. Compassion is being replaced by resignation.

Yet we all know the truth: The men curled up in the sleeping bags and the women pushing the overflowing shopping carts or talking to invisible interlocutors on the subways could, if the world were just a slightly different place, be our mothers, our brothers, our friends, ourselves.

It is imperative that we act now so that we dont wake up in five, 10 or 20 years wondering where we were or what we could possibly have been thinking or why we kept quiet and did nothing as this unconscionable catastrophe took hold.

This is the first in a series of editorials.Gavin Newsom releases ad that highlights his push to allow same-sex couples to marry By Phil Willon A new ad from Democratic gubernatorial candidate Gavin Newsom features Phyllis Lyon, who with her partner, Del Martin, received the first marriage license after Newsom vowed to allow same-sex couples to marry when he was mayor of San Francisco in 2004. The current lieutenant governors push for marriage equality thrust him into the national spotlight and he has emphasized that effort to portray himself as a bold, progressive leader. Facebook

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Failed California housing bill was not a bad idea, Gov. Jerry Brown says By Liam Dillon Gov. Jerry Brown (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press) Earlier this month, high-profile housing legislation that would have allowed for four- to five-story apartments and condominiums near transit stops failed to advance in the state Legislature. But had it reached his desk, would Gov. Jerry Brown have signed it? Maybe. I think that was not a bad idea, Brown said of Senate Bill 827 at a meeting with business leaders from the Bay Area Council on Monday afternoon. The bill, written by Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), attracted national attention and a maelstrom of opposition in part because it would have eliminated single-family zoning near transit stops in favor of apartments or condominiums. Brown said that a relative of his who lives in West Portal, a low-density neighborhood in San Francisco, told the governor he was horrified by the bill. Brown also lamented dramatically rising housing costs. He said he bought his first house in Los Angeles in 1973 for $75,000 at a time when his salary as secretary of state was $35,000. Now, he said, buying a house for a little over twice ones annual salary is virtually impossible anywhere in the state. FOR THE RECORD

May 1, 9:32 a.m.: This post originally misstated the year Brown purchased his house as 1970. It was 1973. Facebook

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John Cox begins California barnstorm with the delivery of gas tax repeal signatures By Javier Panzar Gubernatorial candidate John Cox, left, and Assembly candidate Bill Essayli load boxes of signatures for the gas tax repeal initiative. (Francine Orr) GOP gubernatorial candidate John Cox strolled up to the stack of 12 boxes in front of the Los Angeles County registrar-recorders offices in Norwalk on Monday and placed his hands on top of his partys hope for success in 2018. The boxes, stacked four across and three high, contained 211,000 signatures for an initiative to repeal recent increases in Californias gas tax and vehicle fees. Cox says the effort has gathered more than 940,000 signatures from registered voters to put the measure on the ballot  far more than the 585,407 signatures that are required. The aim: to bring out the partys base to the polls this November and help candidates in tough congressional and legislative races down the ticket. A USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times poll in November found 54.2% of registered voters surveyed said they would repeal the tax and fee hike, but a survey a month earlier by another group said a majority would vote to keep the higher taxes. Cox was flanked by Bill Essayli, a former federal prosecutor who is challenging Democratic Assemblywoman Sabrina Cervantes of Riverside in the June primary. Cervantes voted for the gas tax and Essayli plans to use that vote against her. He even launched his campaign at a 76 gas station in Norco. This is a central issue in my campaign, he said. Cox also submitted signatures in San Diego on Monday and is headed to Bakersfield, Fresno and Sacramento, as well as Shasta and Butte counties in coming days. We are going all across the state, Cox said. The whole state is paying this tax and the whole state wants it gone. Facebook

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All Californians would be able to serve on state boards  even people in the U.S. illegally  under new bill By Jazmine Ulloa Sen. Ricardo Lara (D-Bell Gardens) (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press) State lawmakers on Monday introduced legislation that would allow all Californians to serve on state boards and commissions regardless of immigration status. Senate Bill 174, by Sen. Ricardo Lara (D-Bell Gardens) and Assemblywoman Wendy Carrillo (D-Los Angeles), comes as the state is locked in a broader legal battle with the Trump administration over state immigration laws and his call for mass deportations. Lawmakers point to what they say is the states own discriminatory history as their basis for introducing the legislation. The proposal would amend an 1872 provision that was first adopted to exclude Chinese immigrants and other transient aliens from holding appointed civil positions. At the time, antipathy toward the Chinese had been building in California, though, Chinese immigrants opened hundreds of businesses across the state and would play a critical role in building the transcontinental railroad. The Senate bill would delete the phrase transient aliens from the government code and make clear that any person, regardless of citizenship or immigration status, can hold an appointed civil office if they are at least 18 years old and a resident of the state. That would allow any Californian to serve on hundreds of boards and commissions that advice in an array of policy areas, including farm labor, history and employment development. Californias two million undocumented immigrants are a source of energy for our state, Lara said in a statement. It is shocking to read the words of fear and exclusion that are still in California law but belong in historys trash can. Facebook

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Tony Mendozas fundraising dries up after resignation amid harassment inquiry By Patrick McGreevy Former state Sen. Tony Mendoza (D-Artesia). (Steve Yeater / Associated Press) Political contributions to Tony Mendoza, who resigned from the state Senate under pressure amid sexual harassment allegations, have nearly dried up. New documents he filed with the state in his bid to reclaim the seat he once held show that his support has eroded. As a result, five other candidates for the 32nd District senate seat in the June 5 election have raised more than Mendoza so far this year. With the June 5 election approaching, Mendoza has reported raising just $7,750 in cash from six supporters during the nearly four-month period from Jan. 1 to April 21. Mendoza, a Democrat from Artesia, went on a leave of absence from the Senate Jan. 3 and resigned a month later under the threat of expulsion from colleagues. An investigation ordered by the Senate found a pattern of unwanted flirtatious or sexually suggestive behavior based on testimony from six women. Mendoza has denied wrongdoing. Last year, Mendozas reelection campaign raised $412,600, or an average of about $34,000 per month, from more than 350 supporters. Most of Mendozas 2018 total was contributed by the political arm of the Southern California Pipe Trades District Council 16 on Jan. 22, a month before Mendoza resigned. Mendoza also reported that his campaign loaned $125,000 this year to his legal defense fund. That left him with $446,600 in his campaign account at the end of April. Mendoza is running against eight Democrats and two Republicans. Democrat Bob J. Archuleta, a Pico Rivera city councilman, raised the most, $210,000, during the period. On Monday, Mendoza suffered another setback when the State Legislative Womens Caucus endorsed Democrat Vicky Santana, a member of the Rio Hondo College Board. Facebook

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Newsom and Villaraigosa affairs coming to TV ads in California By Phil Willon An independent political committee backing Republican John Cox for governor released an ad blasting both Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom and former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa for their past sexual affairs. The California Deserves Better ad, which was first reported by Politico, criticizes Newsom for having an affair with a woman on his staff in 2005 while he served as mayor of San Francisco. It also goes after Villaraigosa for having an extramarital affair with a television reporter in 2007 while he was mayor of Los Angeles. The ad, which begins airing on Fox stations in the states top media markets Monday, links Newsom and Villaraigosa to the men accused of sexual impropriety in the #MeToo movement, including movie mogul Harvey Weinstein and disgraced Today show veteran Matt Lauer. Powerful men are finally being held to account, punished for inappropriate sexual conduct with women over whom they exercise power, the ad begins. Newsom and Villaraigosa think the rules shouldnt apply to them. The independent campaign committee, called Restore Our Values, already has raised more than $100,000, said Leigh Teece of Emeryville in Northern California, co-founder of the group. Teece, the CEO of a nonprofit that helps line up students with professional mentors, said the campaign will actively support Cox. She called him a true conservative and noted that he supports cutting taxes and opposes Californias sanctuary state policy. John is a business person who has demonstrated integrity, Teece said. Facebook

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Was that Cisneros in the voicemail? Dispute is latest espisode of Democratic infighting in crowded primary races By Christine Mai-Duc Gil Cisneros speaks during a forum at Fullerton College in January. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times) With less than five weeks to go before Californias primary, insults and accusations are flying with abandon in the most crowded races Democrats hope to ultimately win. The latest example of this is in the 39th Congressional District, where a half dozen Democrats are vying for a chance to replace Rep. Ed Royce, whos retiring. Its one of several California contests where Democratic leaders are already worried that divisions could ultimately split votes and shut Democrats out of key pickup opportunities. In that race, millionaires Gil Cisneros and Andy Thorburn are going negative  about going negative. Cisneros was recently elevated to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committees Red to Blue program in hopes it would serve as a signal to Democratic activists and donors that his campaign was the most viable. But both Cisneros and Thorburn have poured millions into the race, which promises to be a knock down, drag out fight through June 5. At the center of the latest controversy is a voicemail, allegedly left by Cisneros on Thorburns home answering machine earlier this month. The recording, which the Thorburn campaign turned over to media outlet The Intercept, lasts less than 10 seconds. Hi Andy, its Gil Cisneros. Im gonna go negative on you, a mans voice is heard saying. Cisneros campaign manager Orrin Evans denied the candidate made the call, posting a cease and desist letter to The Intercept on Twitter. The letter, sent by a Cisneros campaign attorney, called the voicemail fabricated and demanded that the story be taken down, calling it defamatory. It gave the publication until 3 p.m. Friday to take down the story before they pursue all legal rights and remedies. An attorney for The Intercept, in a letter to Cisneros, said the publication confirmed with multiple sources familiar with Mr. Cisneros that his voice was on the recording, and that it stands by its reporting. Thorburns camp says it flatly rejects Cisneros denial, and that the timing of a negative website filled with unflattering background on Thorburn, released three days later, suggests it was him. Track the California races that could flip the House According to The Intercepts report, Cisneros campaign manager did not respond to initial inquiries about the voicemail, calling its questions ridiculous. In a follow-up statement Friday, Evans said called the episode a dirty, desperate trick by the Thorburn campaign and said they are readying to pursue legal action for defamation and false light against both him and the publication. It sounded like him to me! said Thorburns wife, Karen, in a statement released by the campaign. She was the one who first heard the voicemail, they said. Thorburn campaign manager Nancy Leeds called Cisneros threats Trump-like tactics and accused the candidate of trying to harass and intimidate anyone who stands in his way. Its not the first time candidates from the same party have clashed in the lead-up to the June 5 primary, and its all but certain to not be the last. Cisneros sued two of his opponents, Thorburn and Sam Jammal, over their ballot descriptions until they had to change them. Earlier this month, Democrat Bryan Caforio asked his opponent, Katie Hill, to sign a pledge rejecting the use of independent expenditure committees, entities that neither of them can legally coordinate with, in the race to unseat Rep. Steve Knight (R-Lancaster). Hill refused and called the attempt hollow and likened it to political theater, while Caforio accused her of empty campaign promises. Facebook

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California Politics Podcast: The money raised in the race for governor hints at a race thats now red hot By John Myers With less than six weeks before election day, the cash raised in the California governors race mirrors the overall dynamics: one major front-runner and a heated race for second place. This weeks podcast episode offers a glimpse into those cash reports and how the Republican field seems more settled in a new statewide poll than the battle between Democrats. We also examine the reasons why a nationally talked-about housing bill in Sacramento was killed by the Democratic authors own allies. Im joined by Times staff writers Melanie Mason and Liam Dillon. You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, SoundCloud and Stitcher. Facebook

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L.A. County politician sexually assaulted woman when she was 16, lawsuit claims By Dakota Smith A woman sued an unnamed politician in Los Angeles County on Friday, alleging the man sexually assaulted her when she was a teenager after he gave her an unusual-tasting drink. The politician, identified as John Doe, was in his early 40s and a public figure at the time of the 2007 assault, according to the lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court. The man is an elected official today and lives in Los Angeles, said attorney Lisa Bloom, who is representing the woman identified in the lawsuit as Jane Doe. Bloom declined to say what branch of government the man represents. Read More Facebook

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Villaraigosa touts his working-class upbringing, accomplishments as mayor in first TV ad By Phil Willon Democrat Antonio Villaraigosa released his first TV ad in the governors race Friday, touting his record and accomplishments as mayor of Los Angeles when up against the economic downturn during the recession. The 30-second television spot opens with a sweeping shot of Los Angeles and cuts to Villaraigosa sitting on a bus. In kindergarten, my sister and I took three buses to get to school. As mayor, I remembered that, Villaraigosa says into the camera. And despite the recession, we built more new schools and rail lines than any city in America, added 200,000 living wage jobs, built 20,000 units of affordable housing and nearly doubled graduation rates. Campaign spokesman Luis Vizcaino said the ad will air statewide over the next week at a cost of approximately $1 million. The commercial will being airing Saturday. Two Democratic rivals in Californias race for governor, Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom and state Treasurer John Chiang, also launched ads this week, signaling the biggest ramp-up of the campaign as the June 5 primary approaches. Newsom is the front-runner, while Villaraigosa is battling for second place with Republican John Cox. One recent poll has Villaraigosa trailing both Cox and Republican Assemblyman Travis Allen of Huntington Beach. Chiang has been stuck in the single digits in almost all polling in the race. Last week, an independent expenditure group called Families and Teachers for Antonio Villaraigosa for Governor, funded largely by a trio of wealthy charter school backers, launched a spot in support of the former mayor of Los Angeles. That ad campaign is focused on increasing Villaraigosas chances of coming in second in the June 5 primary and moving on to the general election. Villaraigosas ad, titled Three Buses, emphasizes the struggles he faced growing up in East Los Angeles and addresses one of his central campaign themes  that hes the candidate best suited to help working-class Californians. I know how far a bus can take you, Villaraigosa says in the ad. Facebook

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Sen. Dianne Feinstein wont participate in pre-primary debate By Sarah D. Wire (Tom Williams / CQ Roll Call) California Sen. Dianne Feinstein will not participate in a proposed pre-primary debate because there are too many candidates in the race, her campaign spokesman said Thursday. Political activists with the group Indivisible Los Angeles said they had a venue and date  May 5  reserved for a debate with four of the Senate candidates. But they said if Feinstein does not participate, it will be canceled. Feinstein faces 31 primary opponents in her bid for a fifth full term representing California in the Senate. Feinstein staffers initially said she had a prior commitment on May 5 in San Francisco. When organizers offered to let her campaign pick another date, her campaign said it wasnt fair for the group to invite only some of the candidates when there is such a big field, said Tudor Popescu, volunteer community organizer with Indivisible Los Angeles. The invited candidates, all Democrats, were Feinstein, state Sen. Kevin de Leon, political action committee director Alison Hartson and lawyer Pat Harris. They were selected based on fundraising and poll numbers. There are 11 Republicans, 10 Democrats, nine independents and 2 third-party candidates running for Senate on the June ballot. Indivisible Los Angeles is still hoping Feinstein will pick another date, Popescu said. Feinstein spokesman Jeff Millman pointed to a San Francisco Chronicle endorsement of Feinstein, which indicates that she told the editorial board she would be willing to have a debate ahead of Novembers general election. Senator Feinstein looks forward to debating her opponent in the general election, Millman said in an email. Feinstein holds a substantial lead in both fundraising and in the polls. Front-runners in statewide races have routinely declined to debate their challengers, knowing that its free publicity for candidates who dont have the cash to increase their name recognition on their own. De Leon spokesman Jonathan Underland said the state senator has done candidate forums before, but planned to attend the May 5 debate only if Feinstein did. We basically said well clear his calendar 100%, well clear his calendar if Feinstein shows up, Underland said. Wed love to make it happen, but we want her to be there. Facebook

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NRA, Olympic shooter sue California over its restrictions on ammunition sales By Patrick McGreevy Olympian Kim Rhode is a plaintiff in a lawsuit filed by the NRA and its state affiliate against California. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) The National Rifle Assn. and its state affiliate have filed a fourth lawsuit against California over its gun control laws, this time challenging new restrictions on the sale and transfer of ammunition. The NRA and the California Rifle and Pistol Assn. filed a challenge in federal court to a requirement that ammunition sales and transfers be conducted face to face with California firearms dealers or licensed vendors, ending purchases made directly from out-of-state sellers on the internet. The lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Southern District of California also challenged a requirement starting next year for background checks for people buying ammunition. The lawsuit was filed in the name of Kim Rhode, a six-time Olympic medal-winning shooter, and others. It challenges Californias new ammunition sales restrictions as a violation of the 2nd Amendment and the commerce clause of the United States Constitution. Restrictions on ammunition purchases were included in Proposition 63, approved by voters in 2016, and in bills approved by the Legislature. As a result of these laws, millions of constitutionally protected ammunition transfers are banned in California, Chris W. Cox, executive director of the NRAs Institute for Legislative Action, said in a statement. Californias law-abiding gun owners are sick of being treated like criminals and the NRA is proud to assist in this fight. Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, who is running for governor, defended his initiative and vowed to fight the NRA lawsuit. We wrote Proposition 63 on solid legal ground and principle: If youre a felon banned from possessing guns in California, then you should not be able to purchase the ammunition that makes a firearm deadly, Newsom said in a statement. California voters said loudly and clearly that guns and ammunition do not belong in the hands of dangerous individuals  but once again, the NRA has prioritized gun industry profits over the lives of law-abiding Californians. Facebook

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Republicans hope to ride a gas-tax repeal to victory By Patrick McGreevy In a Central Valley barn decked out in red, white and blue, dairyman and state Senate candidate Johnny Tacherra drew cheers from a crowd of fellow farmers when he said he opposes the California Legislatures hike on gas taxes and vehicle fees. I would not have voted for that. It is not the time to be voting on (raising) the gas tax, said Tacherra, a Republican running against Democratic Assemblywoman Anna Caballero, who voted for the tax increase last year. Three hundred miles away the same week, a campaign mailer arrived at homes in Orange County from an Assembly candidate with a message blaring from the cover in bold type: Republican Greg Haskin  tough enough to stand up to Jerry Brown and repeal the gas tax. Read More Facebook

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Treasurer John Chiang launches ad in governors race touting his record as a fiscal steward By Seema Mehta In his first television ad in the governors race, state Treasurer John Chiang touts his record on fiscal issues as California faced the recession. Some thought we were done, Chiang says in a voiceover in the 30-second spot he released Thursday, with images of him standing seriously at a lectern and complimentary headlines about his work as controller and treasurer. But I knew better. I made the tough calls. And brought California back from the brink of financial disaster because you trusted me to manage our economy. Chiangs campaign is spending about $500,000 to air the ad in Los Angeles and San Diego in coming days. That buy is dwarfed by seven-figure purchases for ads supporting Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom and former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. Newsom is the front-runner, while Villaraigosa is battling for second place with Republican businessman John Cox. Chiang has been mired in the single digits in almost all polling in the race. His ad, called Quiet Storm, tries to portray Chiang as a progressive who is effective and can move policy in Sacramento. Chiang points to his work challenging Wells Fargo before arguing that he could accomplish what doubters say is impossible to improve the states healthcare, housing and schools. I say, we got this, Chiang concludes. Facebook

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Been ignoring the race for California governor? Thats OK, in some ways its just starting By Mark Z. Barabak On a recent trip to Iowa, Eric Garcetti  the mayor of Los Angeles and a possible 2020 White House contestant  raised eyebrows with a bit of exuberant outreach. Los Angeles and Iowa, Garcetti insisted, have a ton in common, and he didnt simply mean both are inhabited by carbon-based life forms needing oxygen to survive. Urban or rural, farmer or fashion plate, all of us harbor the same hopes and dreams, the mayor suggested, and if it wasnt a terribly original thought it also wasnt the most egregious sort of political pandering  like, say, ordering that every home in Los Angeles be powered by Iowa-produced ethanol. Read More Facebook

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California voters should expect to decide on an $8.9-billion water bond in November By Liam Dillon (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) A proposal to borrow $8.9 billion for improvements to Californias water quality systems and watersheds and protection of natural habitats is eligible for the statewide ballot in November, Secretary of State Alex Padilla announced in a press release Wednesday. Padilla said the measure, which is backed by agricultural interests, had exceeded the 365,800 valid signatures it needed to qualify for the general election ballot. The bond measure will appear on the ballot unless proponents withdraw it by June 28, the release said. The bond is one of many voters could decide on in 2018. A $4-billion bond for parks and water infrastructure improvements will appear on the June 5 ballot. State lawmakers approved it last year. Facebook

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They came for Darrell Issa. They stayed with their inflatable chicken, blue wall and signs for political therapy By Christine Mai-Duc (John Gibbins / San Diego Union-Tribune) A mother of two turned ringleader of the resistance and more than a hundred of her faithful followers gathered on Tuesday morning outside Rep. Darrell Issas office in a northern San Diego County suburb. Across the street was her foil, a wedding DJ in a red Make American Great Again cap, setting up hefty speakers for an upcoming war of words. For about 65 weeks the deep divide in America played out along this 100-yard stretch of road in Vista. Here, at 10 a.m. every Tuesday, passersby found signs, chants, songs and, if they were lucky, sometimes a 20-foot-tall inflatable chicken with a Trump-esque coif. Theyd also glimpse the state of the body politic in 2018, a time when shock has turned to anger and post-2016 calls for reconciliation have morphed into grudging acceptance that each side might be better off in their respective corners. Or in this case, their sides of the street. On Tuesday, the anti-Issa, anti-Trump contingent fought this particular battle for the last time, declaring it their final protest at the congressmans office. They said they planned to use their energy to knock on doors and get out the vote, with an occasional protest on the side. Their pro-Trump rivals vowed to show up wherever they do. Read More Facebook

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Efforts to regulate bail companies have some unlikely allies: bail agents By Jazmine Ulloa Jane Un, chief executive and founder of Abba Bail Bonds, works with a client. ( Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) In recent years, the seriousness and number of official complaints related to the bail industry in California have significantly increased while bail agents and bounty hunters face limited oversight, putting vulnerable communities at risk of fraud, embezzlement and other forms of victimization. This year, as Gov. Jerry Brown has pledged to work with lawmakers in a push to overhaul how courts assign defendants bail and to better regulate bail agencies, even some who profit from the court practice admit its time for regulation. These bail and bail-recovery agents could become unlikely allies, saying they advocate for change because theyve seen the system abuse the poor. Read More Facebook

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California voters: Get ready for an onslaught of television ads By Seema Mehta After a sleepy campaign, California voters are now being bombarded with television advertisements in the governors race, an onslaught that is expected to ramp up in coming weeks. The ads most frequently seen on television are those promoting Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, the front-runner in the race, and former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who is trying to secure the second spot in the June primary. Newsoms campaign and an outside group backing Villaraigosa are spending seven figures weekly on these efforts, according to filings with the California secretary of states office and a media buyer who asked not to be identified in order to freely discuss the ads. Other gubernatorial candidates are expected to hit the airwaves soon, the media buyer said. State Treasurer John Chiang has reserved a half-million dollars in the coming days in the Los Angeles and San Diego markets, and Villaraigosas campaign has requested availability in at least five of the states biggest TV markets. The GOP candidates in the race, who will be seeking the state Republican Partys endorsement at its convention next weekend, have been much less active. Businessman John Cox in recent weeks has been spending about $90,000 per week, but doubled that this week in Los Angeles and added small buys on KFI-AM radio and cable in markets including Fresno, Bakersfield and Salinas. State Assemblyman Travis Allen of Huntington Beach, who has been scooping up Republican Party endorsements across the state, has yet to make a notable television or radio buy, though he and Cox have received some attention as commentators on Fox News. Facebook

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Republicans ready to turn in signatures for ballot measure to repeal California gas-tax increase By Patrick McGreevy A Chevron gas station in Sacramento shows prices last year. (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press) Republican activists said Tuesday that they have collected at least 830,000 signatures for an initiative to repeal recent increases in Californias gas tax and vehicle fees, more than enough to qualify the measure for the November ballot. The activists need 585,407 signatures of registered voters to qualify the ballot measure. Because signatures are still being processed and counted by the campaign, backers hope to have 900,000 by the time they begin turning them in to the counties on Friday, according to Carl DeMaio, a former San Diego City Council member and organizer of the drive. The breadth and depth of voter anger over the car and gas tax hikes is just amazing, said DeMaio, who hosts a radio talk show. We are seeing Democrats, independents and Republicans sign the petition and volunteering to carry the petition, people from all walks of life. The initiative targets a law approved in April 2017 by the Legislature and Gov. Jerry Brown that is expected to raise $5.4 billion annually for road and bridge repairs and improvements to mass transit. The money comes from a recent 12-cents-per-gallon increase in the gas tax, a 20-cent increase in the diesel fuel excise tax and a new annual vehicle fee ranging from $25 for cars valued at under $5,000, to $175 for cars worth $60,000 or more. The petition drive raised more than $2 million with significant contributions from the California Republican Party and Republican members of Congress from California, including House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy of Bakersfield and Reps. Ken Calvert of Corona and Mimi Walters of Irvine. Republicans hope the issue will help their candidates for office in this years election and hurt Democrats who support the higher taxes. I think this is going to put Democrats in real bad spot, DeMaio said. A spokesman for Brown declined to comment until the signatures are filed. DeMaio said there were approximately 20,000 volunteer petition circulators who brought in more than 250,000 signatures, with the rest collected by paid circulators who received $1 to $2.50 per signature. Its a pretty comfortable margin [of signatures] that we have been able to hit here, DeMaio said. Opposition will grow, he said, as more Californians get their annual vehicle registration notice. The repeal campaign hopes to raise $5 million for the campaign to pass the constitutional amendment, which would not only repeal the increase in the gas tax and vehicle fees but require future increases to be submitted to voters. We know that Gov. Brown and his cohorts are going to spend an amazing amount of money to mislead voters, DeMaio said. But I feel pretty confident that we will repeal the gas tax. Read More Facebook

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Rep. Duncan Hunter sets up trust to raise money for legal expenses amid ongoing criminal investigation By Morgan Cook Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Alpine, has filed paperwork to establish a legal expense fund amid an ongoing federal criminal investigation into misused campaign cash. Hunter filed the required paperwork March 27, seeking a rarely granted Legal Expense Fund through which members of Congress under investigation or being sued in connection with doing their jobs or running for office can raise money for their legal expenses. Such funds are administered by an independent trustee and allow donors to give above the maximum amount they can contribute a candidates campaign. Hunter has spent more than $600,000 of campaign money on lawyers. Read More Facebook

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Kamala Harris says she wont take corporate donations anymore By Sarah D. Wire (Jose Luis Magana / Associated Press) California Sen. Kamala Harris says she will no longer accept money from corporate political action committees. In an interview with WWPM-FMs The Breakfast Club, in New York that aired Monday, the senator said she wasnt expecting a question at a town hall this month about whether she would accept money for corporations or corporate lobbyists. At the time, Harris said it depends, but she said on Monday that she had reflected on the matter and changed her mind. Money has had such an outside influence on politics, and especially with the Supreme Court determining Citizens United, which basically means that big corporations can spend unlimited amounts of money influencing a campaign, right? Harris said. Were all supposed to have an equal vote, but money has now really tipped the balance between an individual having equal power in an election to a corporation. So Ive actually made a decision since I had that conversation that Im not going to accept corporate PAC checks. I just  Im not. You can watch the video of the interview here. (Harris corporate money comments come about 30 minutes in.) Harris wouldnt be on the ballot for a second Senate term until 2022, though its widely believed that she is planning a presidential bid in 2020. Other potential 2020 presidential candidates, including Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), have also ruled out taking corporate PAC money. Soon after Mondays show aired, Harris campaign sent out a fundraising request noting her new stance. As corporate PACs continue to corrupt our politics and twist Congress priorities at your expense, were going to focus on raising money from small-dollar, individual donors like you, the email says. Facebook

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With money tied up in court, California lawmakers try again with new plan to spend $2 billion on homeless housing By Liam Dillon A man sleeps on the sidewalk in front of the Union Rescue Mission in the skid row neighborhood of Los Angeles. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times) A measure to spend $2 billion on housing homeless Californians could be on the November statewide ballot. State Sen. Kevin de Leon (D-Los Angeles) is pushing the idea to deal with what he said was a burgeoning humanitarian crisis whose epicenter is here in California. De Leons new measure is a do-over for a 2016 plan passed by the Legislature to redirect $2 billion toward building homeless housing from a voter-approved 1% income tax surcharge on millionaires that funds mental health services. A Sacramento attorney sued over that decision, arguing that the move violated constitutional rules on approving loans without a public vote and that lawmakers shouldnt take money away from mental health treatment. The case remains active in Sacramento Superior Court and its unclear when, or if, the state will be able to spend the $2 billion. De Leons Senate Bill 1206 would put the $2-billion loan on the ballot in November, freeing up the money if voters approve the measure. De Leon said had he been able to predict the 2016 plan would end up in court, he would have sought a ballot measure at the time. We thought this was like apple pie and baseball and puppies, De Leon said. Who would oppose the idea of repurposing the dollars to build immediate housing as a permanent solution for homelessness? Obviously with a crystal ball, had I anticipated the litigation, I would have worked to place it on the ballot. De Leon noted that the 2016 plan had bipartisan supermajority support in the Legislature, something his new bill also will need to get on the ballot. Sen. John Moorlach (R-Costa Mesa) is a coauthor of the plan. SB 1206 is scheduled for its first hearing in the Legislature on Wednesday. Should De Leons measure be approved, it will join a crowded list of housing issues before voters in November. Californians will decide on a separate $4-billion bond to help finance new low-income housing and home loans for veterans. De Leon said hes not worried those two measures will compete against each other because voters are aware of the scale of the states housing problems and the proposed homeless housing bond redirects existing dollars instead of raising taxes. Once [voters] know that the impact on their pocketbook is not existent, Im confident that theyll join me and my colleague John Moorlach in support of this measure, De Leon said. Facebook

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California lawmakers say too many former felons are being denied professional licenses By John Myers Assemblyman David Chiu (D-San Francisco) along with supporters of bills to allow more former felons to receive professional licenses. (John Myers/Los Angeles Times) A trio of California Assembly members urged colleagues on Monday to pass legislation that would prohibit state commissions and agencies from rejecting a professional license for those who were once convicted of less serious crimes. We cant say we want to rehabilitate people, and then block them from getting the jobs that they need when theyre released, said Assemblyman David Chiu (D-San Francisco). That leads to more recidivism and to more crime. The bills, scheduled to be heard in Assembly committees Tuesday, would ban the use of arrest or conviction records as the reason for denying a professional license. The bill would not apply to Californians who served time for any of the offenses on the states list of violent crimes. The authors, all Democrats, said that a government-issued professional license is required for some 30% of all jobs in the state. Their bills would change the licensing process at the California departments of Consumer Affairs and Social Services and agencies that certify emergency medical technicians. The bills would block prior convictions from leading to the delay or denial of a license unless that crime is directly related to the profession the person intends to pursue. Two of the bills also specifically say convictions less than 5 years old could continue to play a role in licensing decisions. Last year, Gov. Jerry Brown signed a law that keeps private sector employers from inquiring about a job applicants conviction history prior to an offer of employment. Advocates joined the lawmakers at a press conference in Sacramento to point out that limits on awarding licenses should focus only on those whose prior criminal activity could pose a threat to consumers. Continuing to hold people back for crimes that are 6, 7, 8, 10, 20 years old does not actually make sense if youre looking at public safety, said Jael Myrick of the East Bay Community Law Center. One of the proposals, Assembly Bill 2293, seeks to make it easier for ex-felons to get a license allowing a job with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection  the same agency that often uses prison inmates to battle blazes around the state. If a person is good enough to risk their life fighting fires for the state of California as an inmate, said Assemblywoman Eloise Gomez Reyes (D-Grand Terrace), their previous actions should not prevent from having a job utilizing the skill set that they learned. Facebook

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Assembly speaker rebukes building trades union after it targets Assemblywoman Cristina Garcia By John Myers ( (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press)) The decision by a politically powerful labor group to openly campaign against an embattled Los Angeles-area lawmaker drew a sharp rebuke on Friday from Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon. The Lakewood Democrat lashed out hours after the State Building and Construction Trades Council of California filed paperwork for a political action committee to defeat Assemblywoman Cristina Garcia (D-Bell Gardens). Garcia, whos seeking her fourth term, took an unpaid leave of absence in February following allegations of sexual misconduct. She has denied the reports and an Assembly investigation remains underway. Rendon didnt criticize the labor group by name, insisting instead that the decision was driven by oil and gas industry interests. This is a thinly veiled attempt by Big Oil and polluters to intimidate me and my members. It is an affront to my speakership, Rendon said in a statement. We are proud of the work that the Assembly has done to increase jobs and wages while defending our environment. We will vigorously defend the members of our caucus from any ill-advised political attack. A statement from the labor group, which sparred with Garcia last year on her effort to link new climate change policies with a crackdown on air pollution, said it had decided to reverse past support for her. The Trades have thousands of hard working members in Garcias district, and we look forward to lifting up another Democrat in the 58th Assembly to better represent them and their families, said the statement. The political action committees campaign finance filing on Friday listed nonmonetary in kind contributions from Erin Lehane, a public affairs consultant aligned with the building labor group. Lehane said she had begun researching Garcia in November. In January, a former legislative staffer accused her of groping him in 2014. Lehane, who identified herself as a spokesperson for the labor groups political action committee, said on Friday that she believed Garcias hypocrisy threatened a movement that will dictate how much harassment and abuse my daughter will face in her work life. Garcia, who has been an outspoken advocate for women in the #MeToo movement, has complained that her political opponents helped fan the flames of the accusations. Through a campaign consultant, she declined to comment on Friday. Rendons critique came on the heels of a full-page ad in The Times on Friday, partly paid for by the Trades Council, that criticized well-funded ivory tower elites who push proposals that hurt the oil and gas industry. We are the real jobs that fuel the real California economy, read the advertisement. Facebook

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Legal tiff breaks out over independent committees ad backing Antonio Villaraigosa for governor By Phil Willon An attorney representing Gavin Newsoms campaign for governor is demanding that California television stations cease airing an ad by an independent political committee supporting his Democratic rival Antonio Villaraigosa. Attorney Thomas A. Willis, in a letter to the stations, said the ad is false and misleading and violates California law because it uses snippets of video footage from Villaraigosas own campaign ads. Willis called that illegal coordination between the campaign and PAC. Under California law, advertisements made by entities other than a candidate are presumed to be coordinated  and thus not independent expenditures  when the advertisement replicates, reproduces or disseminates substantial parts of a communication, including video footage, created and paid for by the candidate, the letter states. A representative for the independent expenditure committee  Families & Teachers for Antonio Villaraigosa for Governor  fired back. Attorney Brian T. Hildreth says those allegations have no merit and accused the Newsom campaign of being misleading. Hildreth sent a letter to the television stations in response, urging them to ignore the Newsom campaigns accusations. He said the Newsom camp appears to intentionally misrepresent the law and that the video use was permissible. He said only six seconds of video from Villaraigosas campaign ads was used, which is well within the legal limits. The independent committee is sponsored by the group California Charter Schools Assn. Advocates, according to the California secretary of states office. The ad is airing on broadcast and cable stations statewide. The committees ad is focused on Villaraigosas record as Assembly speaker and as mayor of Los Angeles when there was a drop in crime. Facebook

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Governors race snapshot: Californians are generally upbeat but not focused on the campaign By Mark Z. Barabak Armand Werden, a 29-year-old community college student who works the taps at Dust Bowl Brewery in Turlock, said the state is on the upswing. (Phil Willon / Los Angeles Times) As California chooses a new governor  one of just a handful in the last 40 years not named Jerry Brown  the state seems to be enjoying something unusual in these tumultuous political times: a feeling of relative contentment. Not to say things are perfect. Still, more than 100 random interviews conducted over the length and breadth of the state  from Redding in the north to Santee in the south, from the Pacific coastline to the edge of the Sierra Nevada  found most saying things are looking up, at least so far as Californias direction is concerned. Read More Facebook

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Sierra Club backs Gavin Newsom for California governor By Phil Willon Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks with members of the public following a debate at USC in January. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) The Sierra Club endorsed Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom in the race for California governor, with officials in the established environmental group praising the Democrats record on climate change and clean energy. He has a proven record for leading on environmental protection, public health and clean energy, Kathryn Phillips, director of Sierra Club California, said in a statement released by the Newsom campaign. He understands that we are feeling the effects of climate change and that California must reduce carbon emissions and reach 100% renewable energy to achieve our climate goals. Phillips said the Sierra Clubs extensive network of volunteers will campaign for Newsom as the June 5 primary approaches. Sierra Club executive director Michael Brune also praised the Democrat, saying he will protect California from Donald Trumps attacks on our clean air and water. The Sierra Club joins a series of other influential groups in California that have backed Newsom. The California Medical Assn., the powerful state doctors lobby, announced its endorsement of Newsom on Thursday. The California Nurses Assn. and the Service Employees International Union, one of the most powerful labor unions in the state, also support Newsom. Newsom is the races front-runner in polls and fundraising. A poll released earlier this month by the nonpartisan Public Policy Institute of California found that 26% of likely voters backed Newsom. John Cox, a Republican from Rancho Santa Fe, was favored by 15% of likely voters and former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, a Democrat, by 13%. Facebook

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Californias GOP House members are taking their challengers more seriously and the numbers show it By Christine Mai-Duc For much of last year, consultants and campaign managers for some of Californias most vulnerable Republican incumbents maintained a bullish tone on the prospect that the GOP would hold the House in this years midterms. The National Republican Congressional Committee insisted that longtime Republican incumbents in California had built up reputations as effective champions of local issues that would help them weather a flood of Democratic enthusiasm. Since then Rep. Ed Royce (R-Fullerton) and Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Vista) have decided not to seek reelection and the NRCC has opened a West Coast headquarters in Orange County. Read More Facebook

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California officials say Pentagon has confirmed National Guard funding despite Trump threat By John Myers (Evan Vucci / Associated Press) The awkward dance between Gov. Jerry Brown and the federal government over the National Guard jerked back toward discord on Thursday, when Trump said he would refuse to pay for a new deployment of troops  just hours after his administration said otherwise. And a few hours later, California officials said they had received written confirmation from the Pentagon that the mission would indeed be funded. Trump had earlier called Browns decision to approve 400 troops for a mission focused on combating transnational crime and drug smuggling a charade in a tweet. We need border security and action, not words! the president wrote. Governor Jerry Brown announced he will deploy up to 400 National Guard Troops to do nothing. The crime rate in California is high enough, and the Federal Government will not be paying for Governor Browns charade. We need border security and action, not words!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 19, 2018 A spokesman for Brown pointed to a tweet written Wednesday night by Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, thanking the California governor for his efforts. Trump was meeting on Thursday with Nielsen at his Mar-a-Lago estate not long after his tweet was posted. A tweet later posted by the California National Guard said that almost three hours after Trumps comment, the state received written confirmation from the Pentagon to fund the mission as outlined by Brown the day before. In short, nothing has changed today, said a subsequent Guard tweet. Just spoke w @JerryBrownGov about deploying the @USNationalGuard in California. Final details are being worked out but we are looking forward to the support. Thank you Gov Brown!  Secretary Kirstjen M. Nielsen (@SecNielsen) April 19, 2018 Brown was the last of the nations border governors to respond to Trumps insistence earlier this month that National Guard troops were needed to assist with immigration-related duties at the U.S.-Mexico border. And he has consistently refused to allow California troops to engage in any mission related to federal immigration law. This will not be a mission to build a new wall, Brown wrote last week to Nielsen and Defense Secretary James N. Mattis. It will not be a mission to round up women and children or detain people escaping violence and seeking a better life. Exactly what the California operations will cost remains unclear, as state officials have said it will depend on decisions made once the mission begins. The funds would not be transferred to the state, but instead would be paid directly by the Department of Defense. Trump has critiqued California several times over the past few days, often writing tweets that embrace the actions by some cities and counties to join his administrations lawsuit against the states sanctuary immigration law. He made similar comments to reporters on Thursday afternoon. If you look at whats happening in California with sanctuary cities  people are really going the opposite way, Trump said. They dont want sanctuary cities. Theres a little bit of a revolution going on in California. 2:26 p.m.:This article was updated with additional information from the California National Guard and with remarks from Trump. This article was originally published at 9:51 a.m. Facebook

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Gay conversion therapy services would be banned under measure advancing in California By John Myers (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press) The California Assembly voted Thursday to add gay conversion therapy to the states list of deceptive business practices, following a debate that focused on the personal experiences of several lawmakers and hinted at potential lawsuits to come. It is harmful and it is unnecessary, Assemblyman Evan Low (D-Campbell), the bills author and one of the Legislatures most vocal LGBTQ members, said of the practice. Low, who told Assembly members that he explored conversion therapy as a teenager and suffered depression over his sexual orientation, insisted that the bill would be limited to efforts that involve the exchange of money. Theres nothing wrong with me, he said in an emotional speech on the Assembly floor. Theres nothing that needs to be changed. The bill, which now heads to the Senate, has become the focal point of intense debate on social media. Some religious groups have said that such a law would be a violation of their constitutional rights, while advocates insist the provisions are narrow and theres no credible evidence that the services work. One key part of the debate centers on whether Assembly Bill 2943 would stretch beyond businesses that charge for these programs and extend to printed documents, even Bibles. An analysis by the Assembly Judiciary Committee says the bill would apply only to services that purport to change a persons sexual orientation and offered on a commercial basis, as well as the advertising and offering of such services. Lawmakers who spoke in support of AB 2943 also made clear that they believe those kinds of services have been discredited. This is fraudulent, it should not be occurring, said Assemblywoman Susan Eggman (D-Stockton). But you can still try to pray the gay away, if you like. Assemblyman James Gallagher (R-Yuba City), who said the bill addresses a difficult issue, nonetheless said that its important to ensure laws dont tamper with religious freedom. We have to think about the legitimate experience of people who have gone through conversion therapy and said this was a good thing for them, Gallagher told his colleagues. California law already bans the use of conversion therapy by mental health professionals on those under age 18. Lows bill would expand the states efforts beyond minors. It would join a list of commercial activities deemed unfair or deceptive acts or practices and therefore banned under state law. Facebook

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Gavin Newsom gets backing from doctors group, despite differences over single-payer healthcare By Melanie Mason Gavin Newsom speaks at the California Democrats State Convention in San Diego on Feb. 24. (Kent Nishimura) Californias doctors are siding with Gavin Newsom in the governors race, even though they dont see eye-to-eye on a defining issue of the campaign: single-payer healthcare. The California Medical Assn., the state doctors lobby and a political heavyweight, announced its endorsement of the lieutenant governor on Thursday. Gavin is a lifelong champion for health care in California, and we know he will continue to fight for pragmatic solutions to our most crucial health care challenges, including working to achieve universal access and tackling our states physician shortage, CMA President Theodore M. Mazer said in a statement. Newsom has made his support for state-financed healthcare a centerpiece of his campaign, and he earned the early backing of the most ardent single-payer supporters, the state nurses union. The doctors, meanwhile, oppose the nurses bill, SB 562, which emerged as a flashpoint in the healthcare debate last year. The CMA said the bill would dismantle the healthcare marketplace and destabilize Californias economy. Newsom has said SB 562 should advance in the Legislature, but also said it has open-ended issues that still need to be addressed. The doctors group is also battling with another prominent Newsom endorser, the Service Employees International Union, over a new measure that would impose price caps on an array of medical services paid for by commercial health insurers in the state. The SEIU is a leading sponsor of the proposal; the doctors fiercely oppose it. Newsom and the physicians group have a history of political alignment. Newsom was the first statewide official to support Proposition 56, a 2016 tobacco tax pushed by the CMA that raised revenue in part to increase money for doctors who saw Medi-Cal patients. That year, the association also endorsed two initiatives championed by Newsom: Proposition 63, which imposed new gun control measures, and Proposition 64, which legalized recreational marijuana. Facebook

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Independent committee backing Antonio Villaraigosa for governor hits the airwaves with first ad By Phil Willon Antonio Villaraigosa speaks at the 2018 California Democratic Party Convention in San Diego in February.. (Denis Poroy / Associated Press) A well-financed independent committee backing Antonio Villaraigosas bid to be Californias next governor released its first television ad Thursday, praising his record for working with Republicans and as a candidate for all of California. The ad, which is to air statewide on broadcast and cable stations, is focused on Villaraigosas record as Assembly speaker and mayor of Los Angeles, including on education and a drop in crime while he was at City Hall. To move California forward, we need to help more Californians get ahead, the ad says. Thats why Antonio Villaraigosa brought both parties together to balance the state budget with record investments in public schools and new career training programs. The independent expenditure committee behind the ad campaign, Families & Teachers for Antonio Villaraigosa for Governor 2018, is sponsored by the California Charter Schools Assn. Advocates, according to the California secretary of states office. The committee is spending seven figures per week on the ad buy, said Josh Pulliam, a political consultant for the committee. As mayor of Los Angeles, Villaraigosa clashed with teachers unions, starting with his failed attempt to take political control of the Los Angeles Unified School District. His fight with those unions continued after he left office in 2013. Money has poured into the committee this month from wealthy charter schools supporters: Reed Hastings, chief executive of Netflix, donated $7 million, and Los Angeles billionaire and philanthropist Eli Broad donated $1.5 million. On Wednesday, former Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan donated $1 million. The independent expenditure committee is expected to provide a boost to Villaraigosas campaign. Democratic front-runner Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom has a major advantage in fundraising over all other candidates in the race and has received the backing of the California Teachers Assn. and other education unions. A recent Public Policy Institute of California poll also showed Villaraigosa lagging in third place in the race, trailing Newsom and Republican businessman John Cox. The candidates who finish in the top two in the June 5 primary will advance to the November general election, regardless of their party affiliation. Facebook

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Gov. Jerry Brown says Trump administration will fund his National Guard mission  without immigration duties By John Myers (Alex Wong / Getty Images) Gov. Jerry Brown formally mobilized 400 California National Guard members Wednesday for transnational crime-fighting duties, thus preventing any effort by President Trump to have the troops focus on immigration enforcement on the Mexican border. The governor announced that federal officials have agreed to fund the plan he announced last week  a mission to combat criminal gangs, human traffickers and illegal firearm and drug smugglers in locations around California, including near the border. The order Brown signed makes clear that the troops will not be allowed to perform a broader set of duties as envisioned by Trumps recent comments. California National Guard service members shall not engage in any direct law enforcement role nor enforce immigration laws, arrest people for immigration law violations, guard people taken into custody for alleged immigration violations, or support immigration law enforcement activities, the order read. The cost of the mission, a spokesman for Brown said, will be paid directly by the federal government. No initial estimate has been made, as the exact amount will depend on exactly how the troops will be used. Though the duties of California Guard members were outlined last week, the state had been waiting for an agreement by federal officials to pay for the operations. Since that time, the president has taken Brown and the state to task over its decision to avoid any immigration-related duties at the border. On Wednesday morning, Trump tweeted, Jerry Brown is trying to back out of the National Guard at the Border, but the people of the State are not happy. Want Security & Safety NOW! There is a Revolution going on in California. Soooo many Sanctuary areas want OUT of this ridiculous, crime infested & breeding concept. Jerry Brown is trying to back out of the National Guard at the Border, but the people of the State are not happy. Want Security & Safety NOW!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 18, 2018 Looks like Jerry Brown and California are not looking for safety and security along their very porous Border. He cannot come to terms for the National Guard to patrol and protect the Border, Trump tweeted Tuesday. There was no immediate reaction from the White House to Browns announcement. On Tuesday, Brown told reporters in Washington that his plan was consistent with a safer border. That sounds to me like fighting crime, the governor said. Trying to catch some desperate mothers and children, or unaccompanied minors coming from Central America, that sounds like something else. The order Brown issued Wednesday after returning from a brief trip to talk climate change in Toronto and to speak to a national trade union and visit with reporters in Washington is set to expire at the end of September. It specifically says no Guard service member may participate in a mission that would exceed the mission scope and limitations related to transnational crime activity. It also says troops cannot help build any new border barrier. 5:27 p.m.: This article was updated with information related to the cost of the Guard mission and Browns trip to Washington. This article was originally published at 5:13 p.m. Facebook

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California bill aims to end practice that keeps workplace misconduct cases out of court By Melanie Mason A California bill would prohibit employers from requiring workers to use private arbitration to settle disputes, a practice that critics say shields improper workplace conduct from public view. The bill by Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher (D-San Diego) would bar businesses from making employees, when they are hired, waive their future rights to take any harassment, discrimination or other claims to court. Arbitration can be a highly effective dispute resolution method when both parties can choose it freely, when both parties are equal, Gonzalez Fletcher said at a news conference on Wednesday. It is far less successful when the more powerful party forces the other to accept those terms, especially as a condition of employment. Forced arbitration has come under increasing scrutiny since the #MeToo movement, with high-profile figures such as former Fox News anchor Gretchen Carlson pointing to the practice as shielding workplace abusers from public disclosure because arbitration resolutions often include nondisclosure agreements. Last year, a bipartisan bill was introduced in Congress to end mandatory arbitration in employment agreements. Gonzalez Fletcher said she was pursuing an unusual tool to draw attention to the issue  a subpoena issued by the Legislature to compel testimony from a worker bound by a nondisclosure agreement as a result of arbitration. The Legislature has subpoena power but it is rarely used. The bills sponsors believe lawmakers last issued a subpoena in 2001 while investigating price manipulation by Enron. Gonzalez Fletcher said she has requested Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon (D-Lakewood) to issue the subpoena to require Tara Zoumer, who sued the company WeWork in 2016 for overtime pay, to testify before the Assembly Judiciary Committee next week. Zoumers suit was moved to arbitration and resolved. She is now subject to a nondisclosure agreement and could face a financial penalty for speaking publicly about her case. A spokesman for Rendon said the subpoena request is under consideration. Business groups oppose the bill, AB 3080. The California Chamber of Commerce has dubbed it a job biller, claiming it would dramatically increase legal costs for businesses. Banning such agreements benefits the trial attorneys, not the employer or employee, the group said. The bill must first advance from the Assembly Labor Committee on Wednesday. Facebook

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At least 240 House lawmakers want a vote on immigration. California supporters say they arent ready to force one By Sarah D. Wire Rep. Jeff Denham (R-Turlock), flanked by Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-Redlands) and Rep. Will Hurd (R-Texas) speak about DACA legislation (Bill Clark / CQ Roll Call) Rep. Jeff Denham says at least 240 of the 430 current House members have signed onto his resolution to hold votes on four immigration bills, and he hopes House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) and President Trump are paying attention to the show of support. But, the Republican from Turlock and his allies said Wednesday that they are not yet willing to commit to forcing Ryans hand through a little-used procedural move called a discharge petition; they acknowledged theres no guarantee that all of 47 Republicans and 193 Democrats House co-signers will back them up if they try to force the issue. Im sure that it is something that will be discussed in the coming weeks. You should not need a discharge petition. When you can show the overwhelming majority of the House, the support of it, you should not need a discharge petition, but it is something we would talk about in the future, Denham said. It is far too early to talk about next steps. Ryan said last week that he opposes Denhams effort, saying its a waste of time for the House to vote on bills the president might veto. Denhams resolution would prompt debate and votes on four very different immigration bills: one favored by the Trump administration, one preferred by Democrats, one bipartisan proposal and another immigration bill of Ryans choice. Whichever got the most votes would move forward to the Senate. All four bills would help Dreamers to differing degrees and include varying levels of border security or immigration enforcement. For example, the Trump-backed bill would also dramatically reduce legal immigration, while the Democrats would only deal with legal status for Dreamers. Democrats say they dont expect the show of support will sway Ryan. Congressional Hispanic Caucus Chairwoman Rep. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D-N.M.) said Tuesday night she expects Ryan will have to be forced into allowing a vote. It doesnt matter how many signatures we get. We could have every signature, technically, except his, on the floor of the House and... if he doesnt want to, it doesnt happen, Lujan Grisham (D-N.M.) said. Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-Redlands), who gathered the Democratic co-sponsors for Denham, also wouldnt give a deadline for House leaders to act, but said the co-sponsors are only willing to wait weeks not months. We do want to give them an opportunity to bring up the rule and to use whatever process they want, Aguilar said. They do have options, but I think they need to understand that we have options too. Facebook

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Billionaire Democratic activist Tom Steyer endorses Kevin de Leon in his insurgent bid against Sen. Dianne Feinstein By Seema Mehta Tom Steyer, left, and California state Sen. Kevin de Leon (D-Los Angeles). (Getty Images; Los Angeles Times) Billionaire Democratic activist Tom Steyer is endorsing state Sen. Kevin de Leon in his insurgent challenge to Sen. Dianne Feinstein, and did not rule out funding an outside effort to boost De Leons chances. I think hes the kind of young progressive that reflects California and would be a very strong advocate for our state nationally, Steyer said in an interview on Tuesday, pointing to De Leons efforts on issues such as immigration, climate change and gun control while he was the state Senate leader. I know him well and hes a friend. We share a lot of values. Steyer, who flirted with running for the Senate seat, did not criticize Feinstein as he has in the past. Sen. Feinstein has been an outstanding public servant who has dedicated the bulk of her adult life to the service of our state and the country, he said. These are two strong, very good Democrats. I just believe Kevin is the true progressive and he reflects something we need representing California going forward. I have nothing bad to say about Dianne Feinstein. I have a lot of good to say about Kevin de Leon. De Leon faces enormous odds as he tries to oust Feinstein, who has served in the Senate for a quarter-century, is well known to the states voters and has daunting leads in polls and fundraising. But De Leon has gained notable endorsements, most recently from the 2.1-million-member California Labor Federation last week. Campaign finance reports released this week show that Feinstein has more than $10 million in the bank, while De Leon has just more than $670,000. Feinstein, a multimillionaire and one of the wealthiest members of the Senate, has already lent her campaign $5 million and could easily write another check. But Steyer, a billionaire former hedge fund manager, could write a larger one. He is among the largest Democratic donors in the nation and has already committed more than $50 million to push for the impeachment of President Trump and to register young voters. He was noncommittal when asked if he would fund an independent expenditure group on behalf of De Leon. I dont have any concrete plans for that, he said. Read More Facebook

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Californias largest pension fund sends next years invoice to state government: $6.3 billion By John Myers The California Public Employees Retirement System building (Max Whittaker / Getty Images) As part of a shift toward less optimistic expectations for investment returns to pay for government worker pensions, board members of the California Public Employees Retirement System voted Tuesday to require an almost $6.3-billion payment from the state budget in the fiscal year that begins on July 1. The action, which could receive final approval on Wednesday, reflects a gradually higher annual contribution to public employee pensions by the state and from local governments across California. In 2016, CalPERS approved a half-percentage point decrease in its official estimate of the long-term investment return on its $353.3-billion portfolio. That shift was designed to happen over several years, in hopes it would lessen the financial shock of shifting more of the costs onto government employers. The highest costs are also, in part, a reflection of increases in the size of the states payroll. The states CalPERS payment will be about $450 million more than the total paid in the current fiscal year and more than double what it was only a decade ago. CalPERS board members voted on Tuesdays staff proposal with little discussion, save for a question about the increase in contributions also required from workers hired after a pension overhaul that took effect in June. It seems like it will be a ding on peoples salaries, said Theresa Taylor, the chairwoman of CalPERS finance committee and a member of SEIU Local 1000, the union that represents some 96,000 state employees. The $6.299-billion payment required from Californias state government must now be factored into the budget crafted by the Legislature and signed into law by Gov. Jerry Brown in late June. Brown had already assumed a similarly sized payment in his budget proposal unveiled in January. In February, a coalition representing city governments warned about the effects of rising pension costs under the expectations of less money from Wall Street investments. The report issued by the League of California Cities projected an average increase of more than 50% in annual pension payments made by the states largest cities over the next seven years. A CalPERS staff report notes that the net return on all of the funds investments for the fiscal year that ended in July was 11.2%. But expectations on profits over the next 30 years remain significantly more modest, and theres long been a robust debate about how to properly set those future expectations. The lower the rate of projected investment return, the larger the share of pension costs that must be covered by taxpayers and some employees. Overall, CalPERS officials believe the system has assets to cover 71% of its long-term obligations. Facebook

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California warns legal pot sellers not to participate in unlicensed 4/20 events By Patrick McGreevy Marijuana on display at a dispensary in Los Angeles. ( (Frederic J. Brown / AFP/Getty Images)) The state issued a warning Tuesday that businesses holding licenses to sell marijuana could face penalties if they participate in unlicensed temporary events away from their stores, including on Friday, April 20, which has become an annual celebration for counterculture groups. The warning was issued ahead of 4/20 by the state Bureau of Cannabis Control. Since Jan. 1, the bureau has issued more than 700 state licenses to sell marijuana for medical or recreational use. The bureau has issued 47 temporary event licenses to groups that are limited to holding the marijuana celebrations on county fairgrounds that have authorized such events with city approval. Any bureau licensee participating in an unlicensed cannabis event may be subject to disciplinary action, the warning said, adding that lawful participation by bureau licensees in any temporary cannabis event that allows sales and/or consumption is dependent upon issuance of the appropriate licenses from the bureau. While many Californians have been issued medical approval to sell or use marijuana, the law does not allow them to participate in unlicensed events, also referred to as Proposition 215 events after the ballot measure that legalized medical pot two decades ago in the state. Participation in such events may lead to civil penalties for unlicensed commercial cannabis activity, the warning said. Meanwhile, a survey of some 1,000 marijuana users that was released Tuesday by the firm LendEDU found that the average 4/20 participant plans to spend $71 on marijuana to celebrate the unofficial holiday, and about 35% of respondents are planning to take off work Friday. Facebook

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California police groups shift position on officer discipline records, now consider support for making some of them public By Liam Dillon Los Angeles Police Department recruits at a graduation ceremony in April (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) Some major law enforcement groups signaled Tuesday they are willing to support making part of police officer disciplinary records public, a dramatic departure from their past positions. Local and national attention on police shootings and misconduct has led law enforcement organizations to reconsider their blanket opposition to proposals that would give public access to some internal disciplinary investigations of officers. Were going to be open to supporting efforts that would allow for some records to be released, said Ryan Sherman, a lobbyist with the Riverside Sheriffs Assn. Debate over secrecy provisions in officer disciplinary files came during a legislative hearing on Senate Bill 1421 from Sen. Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley). Skinners bill, which advanced out of the Senate Public Safety Committee on Tuesday, would require public disclosure of all internal officer shooting investigations and confirmed cases of sexual assault and lying while on duty. Currently, all police discipline information is confidential outside of a courtroom in California, which has some of the nations strictest standards against public disclosure. Unfortunately, the fact that we have such strict restrictions on any access to public records has affected certain communities trust towards our law enforcement, Skinner said during the hearing. Prior to Skinners effort, other have tried to loosen these rules, some of which date back 40 years. Most recently in 2016, a bid by then-Sen. Mark Leno (D-San Francisco) failed in a Senate committee. In debate two years ago, no major law enforcement groups indicated they would accept changes to state laws that would make individual internal investigations public, saying they were essential to protect officer privacy and safety. But Tuesday, Sherman and other lobbyists including those representing the states largest police labor organization, signaled they might be willing to entertain changes. They said they were negotiating with Skinner on the bills details. Law enforcement groups still have major concerns about SB 1421 as written. Ed Fishman, an attorney for the Police Officers Research Assn., told legislators that the bill would wrongfully expose police officers who acted within departmental policy to invasions of their privacy. It has unintended consequences that are extreme and will hurt the public, Fishman said. Tuesdays hearing featured testimony from many who have had relatives killed by police officers in recent years advocating for the bill. Senators on the Public Safety Committee also gave public rebukes to law enforcement lobbyists, criticizing them for a lack of diversity and insensitivity to concerns raised by communities of color. I think that you are completely and utterly out of touch with the realities of how those you are representing are perceived by major segments of California, said Sen. Holly Mitchell (D-Los Angeles). You are not going to be able to continue to lobby your way out of it. The bill faces at least one more committee hearing in the Senate before reaching the floor. It will have to pass both houses of the Legislature by the end of August. Facebook

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Newest member of the California Assembly arrives ready to work on criminal justice issues By John Myers Assemblywoman Sydney Kamlager-Dove prepares for the oath of office from Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon with her husband, Austin Dove. (California Assembly Democrats) Two weeks after winning a Los Angeles special election, the newest member of the California Assembly says she hopes to focus on reforms to the states criminal justice system during her time in Sacramento. Assemblywoman Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-Los Angeles) took the oath of office on Monday, filling one of three vacant seats representing Los Angeles County in the lower house. The Democrat, a former community college trustee and legislative staffer, thanked her mentors in remarks from the Assembly rostrum. So many women, and in my life so many black women, have paid in giving me the kind of morals and integrity and grit that is required to fight on behalf of people that you know, and people that you dont know, she said. Kamlager-Dove won handily on April 3, receiving 70% of the votes cast in the 54th Assembly District which encompasses communities west of downtown Los Angeles, from Crenshaw to Culver City and as far north as Westwood. She will serve the remaining eight months of the term of former Assemblyman Sebastian Ridley-Thomas, who resigned last year citing health concerns. She has said she hopes to focus her attention on poverty issues and on reform of the states criminal justice system. I think we have an opportunity to really push the needle in terms of how we look at rehabilitation, how we look at incarceration, and how we look at changing the lives oftentimes of poor men and women of color, Kamalager-Dove said on Monday in a video released by Assembly Democrats. Facebook

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Survivors of violent crime raise their voices in California to call for a new approach to criminal justice By Jazmine Ulloa Aaliyah Smith marches with her cousins. (Jazmine Ulloa / Los Angeles Times) Her father, uncle, a cousin and two older brothers. Those are some of the family members 16-year-old Aaliyah Smith has lost to gun violence. Then there are her friends. Jermaine Jackson Jr., 27, was shot and killed in 2016 while he painted over graffiti in San Francisco. Toriano Tito Adger, 18, was shot there a year later at a bus stop. He called Smith, who was nearby, and warned her to run. She made it inside a library moments before the crack of gunfire. Last week, Smith was among hundreds who gathered in Sacramento for annual National Crime Victims Rights Week events, where calls were issued for a new approach to criminal justice and public safety in California, one that puts survivors at the center of policy. But a debate is brewing over what that entails. Read More Facebook

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California expects $14 billion in tax payments this month By John Myers State workers handle income tax returns at the California Franchise Tax Board offices. (Laura Morton / For The Times) Gov. Jerry Browns proposed state budget is built on what taxpayers might find an audacious assumption: almost $14 billion in tax payments in the month of April, an average of $83 million collected per hour on every business day of the month. Most of that money will come from the taxes Californians pay in advance of Tuesday nights filing deadline for income tax returns. If history is any guide, the rate of payment could quadruple by weeks end. While tax rules have shifted some of the payment schedules to other months, April remains a vitally important month to the fiscal health of state government. The state controllers office reports more than 15% of all personal income tax revenues in 2017 were collected in April. In the recession years of a decade ago, tax revenue predictions were frequently off the mark by hundreds of millions of dollars. The last two state budgets have seen significant windfalls of personal income tax revenue, thanks in part both to an improving economy and to the continuation of a temporary surcharge on the wealthiest taxpayers  extended by voters in 2016. In the budget plan he sent to lawmakers in January, Brown projected a $6.1-billion windfall and proposed using a sizable amount to top off Californias rainy-day fund ahead of schedule. The independent Legislative Analysts Office reports that through the end of last week, the months income tax tally stood at $3 billion, slightly ahead of projections. By the end of the current week, a single days total could be almost that large. Lawmakers began reviewing the governors $190.3-billion spending plan during the winter, but few decisions are made until they get a look at Aprils tax revenues. The governor will release a revised plan based on the new data next month; lawmakers are required to send him a completed budget no later than June 15. Facebook

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Feinstein war chest tops $10 million while Kevin de Leon struggles to keep pace By Sarah D. Wire Sen. Dianne Feinstein widened her already-massive fundraising advantage in the run-up to Junes primary, raising twice as much in the first quarter than her strongest Senate challenger has sitting in the bank. Feinstein raised $1.3 million between January and March, bringing her war chest to just over $10 million as Californias U.S. Senate race begins in earnest, according Federal Election Commission reports. Former state Senate leader Kevin De Leon, the best known of the more than 30 people who will appear with Feinstein on the June primary ballot, raised just $575,991 in that same period, bringing his cash on hand to $672,331, according to his quarterly FEC report. Read More Facebook

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Trump has met his match, says Gov. Jerry Brown in promoting climate action on a quick trip to Canada By John Myers (Rich Pedroncelli/Associated Press) Gov. Jerry Brown told a Canadian audience Monday that he believes President Trumps efforts to reverse course on climate change policy are a momentary deviation as others in the United States seek limits on greenhouse gas emissions. Thats very temporary, I can assure you, Brown said at a joint event in Toronto with Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne. The governors quick international trip, announced only late last week, comes as Wynnes Liberal Party faces a stiff challenge in Junes election from the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario and its leader, Doug Ford. Critics of Wynnes party have called for Ontario to pull out of the Western Climate Initiative, a cooperative agreement between three Canadian provinces and California on efforts to limit greenhouse gases. Brown sought to link the efforts of Canadian conservatives with Republicans in the United States who oppose existing climate change programs. In contrast, he told the audience, several GOP lawmakers voted last summer to renew Californias cap-and-trade program. I would say to the conservatives of Canada, wake up and see what your friends in California are doing, he said. The Democrat took particular notice of Trumps efforts to shift away from climate change policies from the administration of former President Obama, as well as a push by the Environmental Protection Agency to cancel Californias strict limits on automobile emissions. If Trump tries to change that, well have litigation well beyond his term in office, Brown said while also noting Chinese government efforts to produce more low-emissions vehicles. Between California and China, Trump has met his match. What hes saying is not going to happen. Many of the governors remarks, though, were aimed at the tough political situation in which Wynne finds herself with seven weeks to go before Ontarios parliamentary elections. Dangers abound, but success is right in our hands, Brown said. So dont blow it! Facebook

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California voters are getting to know the states attorney general through his aggressive stance challenging Trump By Patrick McGreevy Less than two months from his first statewide election, California Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra has become adept not only at challenging President Trump but at using the bully pulpit of his office to raise his profile with voters. The aggressive effort may help boost the former Los Angeles congressmans chances at winning a full term in office this fall, almost two years after he was appointed to replace Sen. Kamala Harris in 2017. Appointed by Gov. Jerry Brown, Becerra took office as attorney general four days after Trumps inauguration. Thats afforded him an opportunity to get in front of Californians  and potential voters  on an array of issues including immigration, healthcare and the environment. Read More Facebook

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Gov. Jerry Brown forms commission for 2020 census outreach By Melanie Mason In an effort to make sure California has a strong showing in the next national census, Gov. Jerry Brown on Friday established a state commission to prepare outreach for the decennial count. It is vitally important for California to do everything it can to ensure that every Californian is counted in the upcoming census, Brown said in a prepared statement. The commissions formation comes on the heels of a Trump administration plan to ask about citizenship status as a part of the census. State officials fear that such a question, which has not been asked in a census since 1950, could chill participation among California residents. That could result in the state losing billions of dollars in federal funds and a seat in Congress. The 23-member panel, appointed largely by Brown as well as picks by legislative leaders, comes from private- and public-sector backgrounds, including civil rights groups, religious institutions and educational institutions. Facebook

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Garcetti kicks off Iowa visit with 2020 on his mind and a hardhat on his head LA Mayor - and 2020 prospect - Eric Garcetti makes his Iowa debut at the Carpenters Union Training Center. Fearlessly flaunts the never be photographed in head gear/safety glasses rule. pic.twitter.com/14bUOPXMvF  Mark Z. Barabak (@markzbarabak) April 13, 2018 Facebook

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Asm. Rocky Chavez takes the lead in race to replace Issa, while Doug Applegate slips By Joshua Stewart A new poll shows that Republican Assemblyman Rocky Chavez has taken a clear lead over 15 other candidates running to replace Rep. Darrell Issa in Congress and has overtaken Democrat Doug Applegate, the previous frontrunner. In a SurveyUSA poll by 10News and The San Diego Union-Tribune, Chavez, R-Oceanside, has support of 16 percent of likely voters, putting him ahead of Applegate, a lawyer, who was favored by 12 percent of voters and is in second place. The top two vote-getters in June, regardless of party, will proceed to a November runoff election. Competing with Applegate for the No. 2 spot is Democrat Mike Levin, also a lawyer, with support of 9 percent of voters. Several other candidates were right at his heels. Democratic Businessman Paul Kerr and Board of Equalization Member Diane Harkey, R-Dana Point, were tied for fourth at 8 percent each. Read More Facebook

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Pro-Kevin de Leon group launches ad castigating Dianne Feinstein By Seema Mehta A group that is supporting Kevin de Leons bid for the U.S. Senate launched a blistering ad against Sen. Dianne Feinstein on Thursday, questioning her progressive principles and tying her to President Trump. The ad buy from A Progressive California is minuscule  $10,000 to air it in Los Angeles for one day on CNN and MSNBC during programming such as The Rachel Maddow Show, Hardball with Chris Matthews and Anderson Cooper 360. The minute-long ad features news clips about Feinstein not getting the California Democratic Party endorsement earlier this year, as well as footage of Feinstein saying that Trump can be a good president and appearing to share a laugh with Trump. That moment actually came during a White House meeting in the aftermath of the Parkland, Fla., school shooting when the president suggested an assault weapons ban should be included in a bipartisan bill to expand gun background checks. It also features extensive clips of de Leons speech at the state partys convention. De Leon, who just ended his final term as leader of the state Senate, announced last year he would run against fellow Democrat Feinstein as she seeks her fifth full term. Feinsteins longtime political advisor dismissed the ad, noting the size of the buy. Its not really a buy, said Bill Carrick. Ten thousand dollars in cable in L.A. Poof, its gone. Still, he said he planned to have the campaigns lawyers review the ad to see if it violates campaign law that limits what outside groups like A Progressive California can do. Such groups cannot coordinate with campaigns or candidates, and are limited in how much their messages can support a candidate. Ann Ravel, the former chair of the Federal Election Commission and the California Fair Political Practices Commission, said if the ad was in a state race, she is certain that the state commission would open an investigation into potential coordination with de Leons campaign because of the messaging and the types of footage in the ad. But the bipartisan federal commission cant agree on how to enforce the federal regulations, she said. The problem is [outside groups] understand that given the lack of very strong enforcement at the federal level, theres the ability to stretch the law, she said. A spokeswoman for the FEC declined to comment. Dave Jacobson, a spokesman for A Progressive California, disputed the suggestion that the ad violated campaign law. This frivolous allegation shows that Sen. Feinstein is afraid of the public seeing an ad which showcases her own words, that Donald Trump can be a good president, he said. Facebook

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Dispute over money emerges in campaign to repeal Californias gas tax increase By Patrick McGreevy A motorist prepares to gas up her vehicle in San Rafael, Calif., in 2015. (Justin Sullivan / Getty Images) A proposed initiative to repeal hikes to Californias gas tax has been caught in the middle of a dispute involving Republican rivals in the governors race. Assemblyman Travis Allen, a Republican candidate for governor, decided in January to drop plans for his own initiative and said he would urge supporters to sign a separate petition being supported by several Republican members of Congress. Then last week, the committee Allen formed to finance his ballot measure reported a $300,000 contribution from PISF Inc., a Novato, Calif., real estate firm. Now, an organizer of the still active Give Voters a Voice committee is urging the Allen committee to immediately donate their funds in support of the ongoing signature gathering efforts. There is only one gas tax repeal measure currently in circulation and that is the measure sponsored by the Give Voters a Voice Committee, said Dave Gilliard, a consultant to the group. PISF Inc., he said, gave to repeal taxes a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Amid an increasingly passionate nationwide debate over gun safety, the National Rifle Assn. on Sunday rejected President Trumps call for a federal ban on rifle sales to those younger than 21, but a spokeswoman sought to play down the disagreement, suggesting Trump could change his mind.

The exchange illustrated the ways in which both allies and opponents of gun-law reform will have to maneuver gingerly when dealing with a president known for fluidity in his policy positions, especially in matters on which public opinion is at odds with the traditional views of his Republican party.

NRA spokeswoman Dana Loesch, interviewed on ABCs This Week on Sunday, said the gun lobby does not believe the age for purchases should be raised from 18.

You do not want to raise the age? interviewer George Stephanopoulos asked. Thats correct, Loesch replied.

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But she swiftly sought to minimize any policy differences with the White House, saying: I know that people are trying to find daylight between President Trump and 5 million law-abiding gun owners.

Raising the age requirement, Loesch said, was only a step that Trump was mulling, not a hard-and-fast commitment.

These are just things that hes discussing right now, she said.

Federal law includes several different age limits for gun purchases. Licensed gun dealers cannot sell a handgun to a person younger than 21, but can sell a rifle to anyone 18 or older. Unlicensed sellers, such as those at gun shows, can sell handguns to those 18 or older and rifles regardless of age.

The older age limit for handgun purchases was put into law in 1968, when concealed handguns were the focus of gun control efforts and sales at gun shows had not yet emerged as an issue.

It should all be at 21, Trump said Thursday, predicting the NRA would support that limit. He has repeated that call several times.

The suspect identified by authorities as having shot and killed 17 people, mostly teenagers, at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., is 19.

The debate in the aftermath of that shooting has left the NRA on the defensive amid a widening boycott campaign aimed at businesses with ties to the group.

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Politicians, too, have been called out by a movement spearheaded by student activists, including some survivors of the mass shooting.

Among those young activists is David Hogg, a Stoneman Douglas student who in the wake of the shooting has emerged as an ardent and highly visible gun-safety advocate.

Interviewed Sunday on ABCs This Week, Hogg said the NRA seeks to put forth the false impression that elected officials who receive campaign donations are not beholden to it.

Its just disgusting. They act like they dont own these politicians. They still do, said Hogg. Theyve gotten gun legislation passed before in their favor, in favor of gun manufacturers.

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A few elected officials whose positions have long aligned with those of the NRA, including Trump and Florida Gov. Rick Scott, have expressed newfound support for raising the age limit for gun sales, either nationwide or at the state level.

Im an NRA member, a supporter of the 2nd Amendment and the 1st Amendment, and the entire Bill of Rights for that matter, Scott said Friday in announcing his support for a package of gun control measures, including the age limit.

Im also a father and a grandfather and a governor, he said. We all have a difficult task in front of us balancing our individual rights with our obvious need for public safety.

Many congressional Republicans have remained silent on the issue of tightening gun laws, however. Some have gotten behind Trumps suggestion that some teachers should be issued weapons and trained in their use, an idea that has drawn strong criticism from educators.

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What you need is some of the teachers who are armed, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) said on NBCs Meet the Press on Sunday.

In the interview, Massie also voiced strong opposition to weapons-free zones in and around schools, and likened calls for more stringent background checks to putting lipstick on a pig. He added that background checks and similar measures offer false senses of security.

Criminals are going to get ahold of guns, he said.

Another Republican lawmaker, Sen. Patrick J. Toomey of Pennsylvania, said he doubted the efficacy of raising the minimum age to buy a gun.

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Toomey, who previously led a bipartisan bid to strengthen the background check system for gun purchases, said on NBC that the vast majority of people between the age of 18 and 21 were law-abiding citizens who arent a threat to anyone and thus increasing the age limit would not be a significant help.

So Im very skeptical, he said.

Like Scott in Florida, several Republican governors are finding themselves under pressure to change their state laws.

Ohios Republican Gov. John Kasich said on This Week that people needed to search your heart on this, saying that the issue was finding reasonable approaches to keep our community safe.

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Family members of some of those slain in the Parkland shooting vowed to keep up the pressure. Andrew Pollack, whose daughter Meadow was among the dead, told Fox News Sunday that my daughters death cannot be in vain.

laura.king@latimes.com

@laurakingLATEmblematic of the division splitting the nations liberals, the California Democratic Party decided not to endorse in the U.S. Senate or gubernatorial contests Saturday at their annual convention in San Diego. The move was a notable rebuke of veteran Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who has represented California in the upper house for a quarter-century.

Feinstein, 84, is facing an insurgent bid by fellow Democrat Kevin de Leon, who is calling for generational change and a more aggressive and confrontational approach to President Trump. Though De Leon did not get the endorsement, he and his advisors noted that a large percentage of the states Democratic leaders opposed the endorsement of Feinstein, a remarkable opposition to a woman who is a part of the party firmament.

The outcome of todays endorsement vote is an astounding rejection of politics as usual, and it boosts our campaigns momentum as we all stand shoulder-to-shoulder against a complacent status quo, De Leon said. California Democrats are hungry for new leadership that will fight for California values from the frontlines, not equivocate on the sidelines.

Feinstein, De Leon make their cases to delegates ahead of California Democratic Party endorsement vote >>

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As Feinstein addressed the thousands of Democrats gathered in San Diego for their annual convention, she touted her tenure, notably her efforts on gun control. After she failed to obtain the state party endorsement, her longtime advisor argued that Feinstein, as a senior senator in Washington, D.C., could not shower party regulars with as much attention as De Leon could.

He spent a lot of time working the party stuff over the years, said Bill Carrick, Feinsteins senior aide. Shes obviously a senator in Washington with a very serious day job.

He also noted that the party endorsement contest drew the partys most fervent activists, not the average voter.

I dont want to denigrate anybody, but as a subset, this is not a primary election, Carrick said.

Coverage of California politics 

In the governors race, none of the top Democrats in the running will go into the June 5 primary election with the partys endorsement.

Heres what Californias Democratic candidates for governor said in their endorsement pitches to party delegates >>

Votes cast by delegates at the convention splintered among the four top Democrats in the race: Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, state Treasurer John Chiang, former state schools chief Delaine Eastin and former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.

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A candidate had to capture 60% of the delegate votes to win the partys seal of approval  which was considered unlikely given the field of politicians in the race with deep ties to the state party.

Newsom received the most votes  39%  winning a consolation prize of bragging rights. He was trailed by Chiang at 30%, Eastin at 20% and Villaraigosa at 9%. Villaraigosa was expected to have a tough battle for votes: He has not regularly attended party conventions or run for statewide office.

There were also no endorsements in the races for lieutenant governor or state attorney general.

In other statewide races, delegates of the state Democratic Party voted to endorse the following party members: incumbent Betty Yee for state controller; state Sen. Ricardo Lara for insurance commissioner; incumbent Alex Padilla for secretary of state; Board of Equalization member Fiona Ma for state treasurer; and Assemblyman Tony Thurmond for state superintendent of public instruction.

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seema.mehta@latimes.com

Twitter: @LATSeema

phil.willon@latimes.com

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Twitter: @philwillonThe California Legislature has a 49-page set of rules that govern all kinds of activity under the state Capitol dome: when to introduce bills, whether to cover the expenses of committee staff members, the power to draw the boundaries of fish and wildlife districts.

What you wont find is an explanation of the behavior that can get a member of the Assembly or Senate reprimanded or, even worse, kicked out.

Last Thursday, for one of the only times in California history, a formal expulsion was mere moments away from being debated in open session. The legislator in question, state Sen. Tony Mendoza (D-Artesia), quickly resigned before the resolution could be brought to the floor.

On Tuesday of this week, it will be exactly 113 years since the Legislatures last expulsions  four senators who were removed for accepting bribes of $350 each. Newspaper reports from the era show the scandal played out quickly, with less than a month between the time the money was offered and the vote taken that ousted them from office.

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So what standard was used in 1905 to mete out the punishment? Its hard to say, but it certainly seems different than the one used in 2014, when two senators accused of corruption and a third of voter fraud were punished with the lesser discipline of suspension.

The satisfying thing would be to expel them immediately, then-Senate leader Darrell Steinberg told his colleagues during a floor speech. But I reluctantly conclude that what would be satisfying and popular would also run afoul of the most basic American principle of due process and the idea that people are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Californias Legislature has disclosure rules that apply to no other part of government 

The fear seems to be that a different standard, maybe one more akin to you know it when you see it, can lead to accusations that partisan politics have crept in. Might those in power banish one of their own to quash a PR crisis, or come down hard on a member of the other party in hopes of winning that seat on election day? These arent theoretical questions in this era where one party routinely controls a supermajority of seats in both houses  the same number of votes it takes to oust a lawmaker.

And its not just expulsion that has no firm rules. The same is true for censure of a lawmaker or suspension  the latter, until voters stepped in to amend the California Constitution, once came with a guaranteed paycheck. The ambiguity of what triggers these serious sanctions is at the heart of a lawsuit Mendoza filed against the Senate almost two weeks ago in which he insists that his leave of absence was unconstitutional.

In short, lawmakers generally have taken the position that its voters who decide whether someone should hold elected office. Californias electorate can use whatever standard it chooses to make those decisions. Even the infrequently used power of recalling an elected official is allowed for subjective reasons  from an Assembly Republican removed in 1995 for helping Democrats stay in power to former Gov. Gray Davis 2003 recall for failing in general to deal with the states major problems.

The acute conversation about sexual harassment may be changing the reluctance of lawmakers to impose discipline. As the Legislature considers new internal workplace rules  from defining zero tolerance of harassment and abuse to how complaints are investigated and judged  it may want to also consider a clear standard for imposing the ultimate punishment on politicians.

Everyone agrees that actions in the legislative workplace should have consequences. The question is whether that includes the kind of consequences written about in history books.

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john.myers@latimes.com

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Updates on California politicsChinas Communist Party plans to eliminate presidential term limits, paving the way for Xi Jinping to stay in office and solidify control over the worlds most populous country.

Senior officials proposed removing from the constitution language that permits the president and vice president to serve no more than two consecutive terms, the official New China News Agency announced Sunday.

Xi began his presidency in 2013 and is required to step down after two five-year terms. The proposed change  a spectacular shift from his recent predecessors  could make him the longest-running Chinese leader in decades.

The proposed change brushes aside the collective leadership strategy created after the protracted reign of Mao Tse-tung, the countrys volatile founder, intended to ward against unchecked power.

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This is extraordinary because it represents a real clear and fundamental break with the four-decade-long process of trying to normalize Chinese politics after the chaos of the Cultural Revolution and the Mao era, said Jude Blanchette, a researcher at the Conference Board in Beijing, who is writing a book about Maos legacy. It puts to rest any doubt that Xi designs to stay in office much longer than we originally thought.

The news comes a day before the Communist Partys Central Committee, which includes some 200 high-ranking party officials, is expected to meet in Beijing to weigh major personnel decisions. The committee approved the amendment last month, according to state media, but only released it on Sunday.

A full party-run legislature will convene in early March to vote on amendments, a largely rubber-stamp affair with choreographed clapping and long speeches. The crucial decisions will already have been determined.

We are now dealing with a situation where the second-largest economy in the world, and arguably, the other super power, is careening pretty rapidly to de-institutionalization of the highest offices in the land, Blanchette said. This move makes the black box of Chinese politics even more opaque.

Such an amendment seemed almost inconceivable when the party initially elevated a reserved, adequate bureaucrat to the presidency because leaders thought Xi was someone who could be controlled. Since then, the 64-year-old Xi has rooted out dissent  from human rights lawyers to political rivals  and consolidated power to a degree unseen since Mao.

The news wasnt a complete surprise. Xi declined to name an heir at a twice-a-decade party congress in October, breaking with precedent and leading analysts to speculate that he might seek to extend his tenure.

This is a very dangerous proposition, said Willy Lam, an expert on elite politics at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. We now have the theoretical and constitutional underpinning for an emperor for life.

Only his presidential title has carried formal term limits; Xi also serves as general secretary of the Communist Party and commander in chief of the military, even more substantial roles. Jiang Zemin, who stepped down as president in 2003 after two terms, continued to wield power as leader of the countrys military. Hu Jintao, Xis immediate predecessor, yielded complete control when his term ended.

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The Global Times, a party newspaper, portrayed the change as a means to ensure stability while China achieves Xis vision of a modern, resurgent country.

China and the party need a strong, stable and consistent leadership, said Su Wei, professor at the Party School of the Chongqing municipal committee, according to the paper. The shift is serving the most important and fundamental national interest and the partys historic mission.

In another sign of Xis influence, officials suggested adding to the constitution his main themes  Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era.

Xis rise often draws comparisons to Russian President Vladimir Putin, an authoritarian-style leader who also has amassed remarkable power. But Putin didnt change the constitution. Instead, he helped install an ally as president for a term and took on the role of prime minister. He returned to the presidency in 2012.

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Putin, at least, was willing to serve some rules, Lam said. With Xi, what he says is the rule.

Meyers is a special correspondent.

Twitter: @jessicameyers

ALSO

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Chinas Communist Party elders picked Xi Jinping because they thought they could control him. They were wrong

Good morning, its the Communist Party: Loudspeakers in China take Xis ideological campaign to new levels

China unveils new leadership with no clear successor to Xi JinpingIsrael declared independence on May 14, 1948, so why is it celebrating its 70th anniversary on April 18?

And why are Palestinians infuriated by the Trump administrations decision to move the American Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem on May 14?

The answer lies in two calendars.

Israel marks its public holidays using the Hebrew calendar. May 14, 1948, corresponds to the fifth day of the Jewish month of Iyar in the year 5708.

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This spring the fifth day of Iyar  in the year 5778  lines up with April 18. Israel will celebrate with parties, barbecues, fireworks over the Knesset, Israels parliament, and an air force flyover along Tel Avivs shore.

Yet the State Department statement announcing the U.S. Embassys move to Jerusalem said, In May, the United States plans to open a new U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem. The opening will coincide with Israels 70th anniversary.

Is the State Department unaware of the scheduling of Israeli public holidays?

No question, they didnt consider that, lamented Daniel Shapiro, the former U.S. ambassador to Israel.

Palestinians, however, have noticed.

In May, Palestinians observe Nakba Day, or the day of catastrophe.

They deliberately chose a tragic day in Palestinian history, the Nakba, as an act of gratuitous cruelty adding insult to injury, tweeted a livid senior Palestinian official, Hanan Ashrawi.

For Palestinians, who mark their national days according to the Gregorian calendar, May is not a festive month. And to complicate things further, Palestinians observe the day of catastrophe on May 15, the first day of the new states existence rather than May 14, the day independence was declared.

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Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat issued a statement condemning the U.S. decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israels capital and now to move its embassy on the eve of marking 70 years since the Nakba  and provoke the feelings of the Palestinian people, as well as of all Arabs, Muslims and Christians around the globe.

Hamas, the Islamist Palestinian militia that rules Gaza warned that that this will be the trigger which would detonate the whole area in the face of the Israeli occupation.

Ron Dermer, Israels ambassador to United States, tried to finesse the awkwardness of the timing of the U.S. Embassy move in a tweet.

May 14th 1948, President Truman recognizes Israel, he tweeted. May 14th 2018, @POTUS Trump will move the US Embassy to Jerusalem. 70 years apart. Two historic decisions. One united capital.

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Palestinians claim the eastern part of Jerusalem as their capital in a future independent state. Israel, meanwhile, claims Jerusalem as its eternal and undivided capital. In December, Trump reversed decades of U.S. and international policy when he announced that he was recognizing Jerusalem as Israels capital.

On Saturday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu released a 14-second statement thanking Trump: This is a great moment for the state of Israel. President Trumps decision to move the American Embassy to Jerusalem will make our Independence Day celebrations even happier. Thank you, President Trump, for your leadership and your friendship.

Tarnopolsky is a special correspondent.Three Italian men who went missing in Mexicos Jalisco state last month were handed over to an organized crime group by local police, the state attorney general said Saturday.

Four police officers from the town of Tecalitlan  where the Italians were apparently abducted  have been arrested in connection with their disappearance, Raul Sanchez Jimenez, Jaliscos top law enforcement official, told reporters in Guadalajara, the state capital.

The four officers  three men and a woman  confessed to having turned over the three to an unspecified organized crime organization, the prosecutor said.

The four are suspected of the forced disappearance of the three, a crime that carries a prison term of 40 to 60 years upon conviction.

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The three Italians  Raffaele Russo, 60, his son, Antonio Russo, 25, and his nephew, Vicenzo Cimmino, 29  went missing on Jan. 31 in the farming town in southern Jalisco, a region known for its mariachi heritage and its narco-violence.

All three missing men were residents of the southern Italian metropolis of Naples, where family members and friends have publicly demanded their release and blamed Mexican police for their disappearance. The case has sparked outrage in Naples.

Authorities say a manhunt in the region has yet to turn up the missing men or the two vehicles that they were driving.

What the Italians were doing in isolated Tecalitlan  100 miles south of Guadalajara  has remained a matter of mystery and conjecture. Police have deployed trained sniffer dogs in an effort to find them, officials said.

On Saturday, the prosecutor said the Italians were driven away in the direction of the nearby town of Jilotlan de los Dolores.

Jalisco is home to a number of organized crime groups, including the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, considered one of the countrys most ruthless drug-trafficking organizations.

The motive behind the mens seizure by the Mexican police officers remains unclear, the state attorney general said.

But one theory in the case has been that local police were acting on orders from criminal elements. Corrupt Mexican police have sometimes served the role of foot soldiers for the countrys powerful gangs.

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The police chief of Tecalitlan has left town, his destination unknown, and about 30 members of the police force have been reassigned for training, officials have said.

State police are meantime providing security in the town of 16,000, which subsists largely on agriculture and remittances sent home by former townsfolk now living in the United States.

While the three Italians were initially described as tourists, Mexican authorities now say the trio may have been part of a ring peddling fake machinery.

The father, Raffaele Russo, had been arrested in the southern state of Campeche three years ago for selling false goods, according to the Jalisco attorney general.

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Another Italian man linked to the three was recently arrested in Guanajuato in central Mexico with welding machinery ... and false invoices, the attorney general said.

Mexican police are requesting information on the missing men from Italian diplomatic and law enforcement officials, who are cooperating in the case, officials said. It is not clear if any of the men had a criminal record in Italy.

The family of the missing Italians says the men were not linked to Naples infamous organized crime networks and that Raffaele Russo is a long-time salesman who has hawked generators and other items in various countries for years.

The father is a pensioner who suffers from hypertension and sold jackets and perfume in the streets before arriving in Mexico last year, his son, Francesco Russo, told Spains EFE news agency.

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On the day he disappeared, the father said in a cellphone conversation that he had gone to Tecalitlan to have a look and see if he could earn something, though he didnt know anyone there, the son said. The family last contacted the father on his cellphone mid-afternoon on Jan. 31, his son said. Relatives became concerned when the father failed to respond to later calls.

We thought maybe he had had an accident, Francesco Russo, speaking from Naples, told EFE. But we never thought something like this would happen.

Antonio Russo and his cousin, Cimmino, drove to Tecalitlan later in the day to look for the missing man, Francesco Russo said. They had been staying in the city of Ciudad Guzman, 25 miles to the north. Police in Tecalitlan intercepted them, Francesco Russo said, citing telephone messages from his brother Antonio before he dropped from sight.

According to the family, Antonio Russo said in the messages that police stopped him and his cousin at a gas station, forced them to follow a motorcycle cop, and eventually surrounded them on a road. The family says it was subsequently unable to reach the pair.

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patrick.mcdonnell@latimes.com

Twitter: @PmcdonnellLATTentative plans for a trip by Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto to the White House have been scrapped after he and President Trump spoke by phone and tangled once again over Trumps plans to erect a border wall, according to news reports.

The two leaders spoke for about 50 minutes on Tuesday and devoted much of the conversation to the wall, the Washington Post reported Saturday. Citing anonymous sources, the Post said Trump once again insisted that Mexico pay for the wall. Pena Nieto once again said Mexico would not.

The Post said one Mexican official said Trump lost his temper, while U.S. officials described him being more exasperated.

While both Washington and Mexico city confirmed Saturday that Trump and Pena Nieto spoke Tuesday, both sides provided only sketchy official accounts of the call. Reuters reported that both governments agreed now was not the time for Pena Nieto visit to Washington.

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The two leaders expressed mutual condolences about the deaths from the high school shooting in Florida and from the crash of a military helicopter in Mexicos Oaxaca state, according to the Mexican governments account of the call.

Both leaders reiterated their commitment to advance ... the bilateral agenda in terms of security, commerce and migration, through the coordinated forces of their work groups, Mexico said of the call.

Mexican authorities had never confirmed that Pena Nieto was scheduled to travel this month to Washington, despite accounts in the Mexican media that such a trip was planned.

Reports suggested that Pena Nietos advisors had been closely weighing both the potential benefits and pitfalls of such a meeting since the Mexican secretary of foreign relations, Luis Videgaray, returned from Washington this month with word that Trumps team was receptive to a visit.

But ultimately the volatility of Trump and the lack of certainty about his commitments and actions led Mexican officials to defer the meeting, wrote columnist Raymundo Riva Palacio on Friday in the El Horizonte newspaper of Monterrey.

The major sticking point: the possibility that the Mexican president could end up looking bad or even being humiliated should the unpredictable Trump renew his vow that Mexico would pay for his plan to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.

The theme is the same that they have clashed about publicly on other occasions, the border wall, Riva Palacio wrote.

Mexicos cautious approach suggests that Mexican officials were seeking to stage-manage the visit in such a way as to avoid awkward moments for Pena Nieto, who never gives news conferences and is most comfortable in heavily choreographed political events.

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Any public perception emerging from a White House confab that Trump bullied Pena Nieto  or that the Mexican president was submissive to his U.S. counterpart  could have substantial political blowback in Mexico during a presidential election year.

Polls have shown Pena Nietos Institutional Revolutionary Party off to a slow start in the run-up to Julys elections.

Pena Nieto has already taken political heat in Mexico for not being more confrontational with Trump, even though the Mexican president called off a planned White House trip in January 2017 amid Trumps insistence that Mexico would pay for the wall. The tense relationship between the two neighbors has eased considerably in the past year, but the wall remains an incendiary issue.

On the positive side, a Pena Nieto-Trump get-together could have served to calm jittery markets just as Mexico, the United States and Canada head into a seventh round of talks on the future of the North American Free Trade Agreement. The seventh round of talks is slated to begin Monday in Mexico City.

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Trump has repeatedly threatened to scuttle the 23-year-old trade pact as a job-killer for the United States, while Mexico views the trade deal as vital for its economy, which is heavily dependent on U.S. trade.

The photo of the two presidents would help to send a message to the markets that apart from the complexity of some of the chapters [of NAFTA] that are still to be resolved, it is not likely that Trump would repudiate the accord, Riva Palacio wrote.

Ultimately, though, it appears that Pena Nietos advisors concluded that the potential economic benefits of a Trump-Pena Nieto handshake session were outweighed by the potential that the Mexican president could be embarrassed or coming out looking weak.

Patrick McDonnell and Cecilia Sanchez contributed from Mexico City.Two people were injured when a tractor-trailer reversed during stopped traffic, causing a chain reaction of crashes along Interstate 78 in Allentown.

The crash happened at 6:27 p.m. Thursday in the eastbound lanes at mile marker 58.5. Pennsylvania State Police in Fogelsville said the accident began when all five vehicles were stopped in traffic and Juarez E. Hill, 48, of Newark, who was operating a 2013 Cascadia Freightliner, began to travel in reverse in the center lane.

Hill crashed into a 2006 Honda Accord driven by Linda V. Galietta, 45, of Doylsetown, who was stopped behind the rig, police said. The impact caused the Honda to become pinned underneath the trailing unit, causing the car to rotate counter clockwise, according to police.

As the Honda rotated, it then crashed into a 2011 Cascadia Freightliner driven by Eduardo C. Romeiro, 48, of Framingham, Massachusetts, which was stopped in the right lane, police said. The Honda also crashed into a 2011 Nissan Maxima, driven by Michelle A. Amaro, 44, of Bethlehem, who was stopped behind the Honda Accord, police said.

The Nissan Maxima then struck a 2010 Toyota Camry, driven by Tracy C. Carluccio, 69, of East Amwell, who was stopped behind the Nissan, police said.

Hill, Romeiro and Carluccio were not injured. Galietta complained of head and neck pain and was taken to Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest in Salisbury Township for treatment. Amaro also had neck pain and was taken to the same hospital, according to police.

Their conditions were not immediately available Sunday. Police said all drivers were wearing seat-belts at the time of the wreck.

Towed from the scene was the 2013 freightliner, Honda and Nissan, which also sustained disabling damage. The 2011 rig had minor damage as did the Toyota.

Also responding was Upper Saucon Emergency Medical Services and Emmaus Emergency Medical Services. Hill was issued a summons for limitations on backing.

Pamela Sroka-Holzmann may be reached at pholzmann@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow her on Twitter @pamholzmann. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.Post-Columbine, a generation of American students have grown up in a world where lockdown drills are a part of their school day.

Just as a generation of students once crouched hiding under their desks during the Cold War, today's children know how to huddle together in a closet or corner of their locked classroom as far away from doors and windows as possible.

Teachers, administrators, kids and parents alike all hope these drills are just that, practice for a scenario that never unfolds in their own school.

The Valentine's Day mass high school shooting that left 17 people dead in Parkland, Fla., is certainly not the first that Lehigh Valley schools have had to grapple with. But it is the first school shooting they watched play out in real time on social media.

As former student Nikolas Cruz, 19, fired an AR-15-style rifle into the freshman building of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, as his former classmates hid, fearing for their lives, they posted harrowing videos on social media.

During Columbine, television news looped helicopter footage of students, their hands on their heads, running from the school. Today, social media means anyone could see what students saw as police -- who were urging them to look this way and not that way -- rescued them from their classrooms.

"Now, you saw everything -- phone footage from students in the high school to media publications and testimonials," Freedom High School Principal Michael LaPorta said. "I really think it brought a sense of more realness to everybody, myself, teachers and students. It made it very real."

Freedom senior class President Rachel Black said she was struck that Stoneman Douglas has the same desks and chairs as her own classrooms.

"School shootings have been going on throughout our entire lives. As technology and social media increases, our lives are on the Internet," Black, 17, of Bethlehem, said Thursday. "We're seeing what happened in Parkland, Fla., we saw firsthand. We put ourselves in the shoes of those students and we felt exactly what they were feeling. We saw their individual memorials for their friends and their hashtags. They were doing the same things we would have been doing if that every happened to us."

Finding peer inspiration

As the grieving students from Stoneman Douglas are channeling their anger into advocacy, it is inspiring students in the Bethlehem Area School District.

The night of the shooting Black sent a letter to Congressman Charlie Dent, her elected representative, but she says that is just her first step.

District Superintendent Joseph Roy was already scheduled to meet with his high school student advisory council Tuesday, so he decided to shift the agenda to focus on students' thoughts and feelings in the wake of the shooting.

"I think it is the power of social media now, it felt so much more personal," Roy said.

About 35 students from Freedom and Liberty gathered to discuss how the district can prevent students from feeling isolated and what form they want their advocacy to take.

A 17-minute national school walkout is planned for March 14 at 10 a.m. -- one minute for every person killed on the one-month anniversary of the Parkland school shooting.

The Bethlehem school district is not backing the walkout, but they also won't prevent kids from participating, Roy said.

The students gathered Tuesday landed on organizing a district-wide day of advocacy and inviting in local legislators to meet with students.

"They were viewing that as a more effective strategy than everybody walking outside and coming back in," Roy said. "We are hoping that all the students will get behind those student leaders' efforts."

He acknowledged with 5,000 high school students in his district it is hard to predict what every students will choose to do March 14.

"A lot of students really have been getting on board with finding ways we can treat each other better," Black, the Freedom student, said.

Talk centered on finding ways to confront school violence in a way that effects change in Bethlehem schools.

"Whether that be nobody sits alone at lunch; we look out for our peers more; we catch warning signs of people that might be dangerous," Black said. "Instill messages in our schools so people know they have resources if they need help."

District students will be participating in a a live-broadcast community conversation on school safety that on Friday PBS39 announced it will be hosting Thursday, March 1, in its Bethlehem studio.

Members of the studio audience will be able to question panel members while viewers will be able to submit questions via social media.

"This is an important opportunity for PBS39 to fulfill its role in the Greater Lehigh Valley; to act as the catalyst to promote civic engagement, and to connect our community through civil discourse around important issues," said Tim Fallon, chief executive officer of PBS39. "Objective, unbiased and fact-based journalism is a hallmark of our brand promise."

Panelists will include students from Dieruff, East Stroudsburg, Liberty, Parkland and other high schools; Parkland Superintendent Richard Sniscak along with other school leaders; a school psycholgist and adolescent trauma specialist; local politicians and law enforcement and security personnel. A representative of the National Rifle Association has also been invited.

Teenagers morphing into activists

Black, the Freedom student, said her peers need to know that they can make a difference and get elected officials to hear their voices.

"Before this incident, teenagers were very much seen, not heard, almost brushed off by adults," Black said. "Now, the teenagers from Stoneman Douglas have been so insitent that change be made, they are starting this whole revolution where teenagers and high school students are becoming more respect and our opinions are being valued."

Going forward, she said, everyone must come together and compromise to reach what everyone wants: safe schools and no more school shootings.

"This movement belongs to the students from Florida, but students like me and all over the country are going to walk in their footsteps and we are going to lead from our own schools," Black said. "This is their fight, but it is still our battle and we are all in this together."

Sara K. Satullo may be reached at ssatullo@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow her on Twitter @sarasatullo and Facebook. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.A Pennsylvania Hemp Industry Council test plot of hemp grows in July 2017 on Lehigh University land along Center Valley Parkway in Upper Saucon Township. Hemp grown under Pennsylvania's research program for fiber and seed won't get anyone high. It must maintain a concentration of the psychoactive chemical tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) below the 0.3 percent legal threshold.

Courtesy photo | For lehighvalleylive.com

By Kurt Bresswein | For lehighvalleylive.com

Pennsylvania growers are ready to begin their second straight year of hemp cultivation under a research program started in 2017.

A statewide group is looking to grow the versatile crop in the Lehigh Valley and is already beginning to look beyond planting and harvesting.

The Pennsylvania Hemp Industry Council, based in Berks County, proposes to partner with Lehigh University in Bethlehem and Jefferson University in Philadelphia on what would be called the National Industrial Hemp Center for Excellence, council President Geoffrey Whaling said.

"We're going to take it up a notch and look at studying the supply chain," Whaling said Friday. "Collectively we're going to study what is it going to take, because there is no equipment in America to study processing industrial hemp on a commercial level."

Tied to the proposed non-profit center would be a for-profit processing facility in the Lehigh Valley, Whaling said. He could not pinpoint a location, but said he has a European partner with the knowhow and equipment to bridge the gap from research to modern-day applications.

"We're going to set up a processing center in the Lehigh Valley," Whaling told lehighvalleylive.com. "It's a multi-million-dollar initiative. ... It's going to be this year."

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Potentially a new cash crop with myriad uses, hemp grown by Delaware Valley University is displayed Jan. 9, 2018, at the 102nd Pennsylvania Farm Show in Harrisburg.

Pennlive.com file photo | For lehighvalleylive.com

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Pennsylvania launched its Industrial Hemp Research Pilot Program in December 2016 after Gov. Tom Wolf signed Act 92 in June 2016.

The 2014 federal Farm Bill paved the way for the program, allowing researchers from institutions of higher education and individual growers to apply for permits to grow industrial hemp for research purposes.

Hemp is regulated under federal law as a member of the Cannabaceae family, which also includes marijuana. But unlike marijuana, hemp grown under Pennsylvania's research program for fiber and seed must maintain a concentration of the psychoactive chemical tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) below the 0.3 percent legal threshold, according to the state Department of Agriculture.

So instead of offering psychotropic effects as an illegal recreational drug or component in Pennsylvania's approved medical marijuana products, hemp is useful in more than 25,000 products worldwide, a 2015 report from the Congressional Research Service found.

That includes automotive interiors, textiles, paper, foods, beverages and nutritional supplements.

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MORE: Medical marijuana now sold in the Lehigh Valley

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Industrial hemp was grown commercially in the United States and in Pennsylvania through the World War II era, but became regulated along with marijuana in the 1950s and 1960s, and its cultivation became illegal, the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture says.

Today, China and Canada dominate hemp production, with the United States being the world's largest importer  at $600 million a year  of the crop.

State Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding announced Feb. 15 the approval of 39 industrial hemp research applications for 2018. If all applicants complete the permitting process, including paying a $2,000 fee, nearly 1,000 acres of hemp will be planted this spring.

For comparison, last year 14 growers grew a total of 36 acres statewide. About one-third of those who applied to grow hemp this year are renewal requests, according to the ag department.

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Seeds from the first legal crop of industrial hemp grown on JD Farms in Eaton, New York, are displayed Sept. 25, 2016. The farm harvested New York's first legal hemp that fall under a university research partnership.

AP file photo | For lehighvalleylive.com

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Wolf announced in December the research program's expansion in 2018 to up to 50 growers.

The 39 approved projects are spread among 25 counties, including Lehigh, the Department of Agriculture said. Each project can sow up to 100 acres of hemp apiece. Institutions of higher learning are in a different tier under Act 92 and can grow unlimited amounts, department spokeswoman Shannon Powers said.

"An individual grower can be part of a university's project and grow hemp with university oversight," she explained in an email. "That doesn't raise the ceiling on an individual's acreage."

Redding noted in a news release earlier this month "last year was the first year in seven decades industrial hemp was grown and harvested in Pennsylvania, and it was clear there was considerable interest. So when Gov. Wolf announced that Pennsylvania would expand its research program, we were eager to see how many researchers would apply and how many acres they intended to plant.

"We're pleased with the response and the enthusiasm around this promising and versatile crop. And we're especially pleased that so many of our first-year growers have committed to continue their research."

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A man stands beside hemp growing as high as 22 feet tall in Kentucky, in a photo provided by the Pennsylvania Hemp Industry Council. The cash crop reaches maturity in 90 to 120 days without pesticides or fertilizer and is useful in 25,000 products worldwide.

Courtesy photo | For lehighvalleylive.com

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The department has not identified the 39 projects.

The Pennsylvania Hemp Industry Council says it has one of the state research permits and is looking to plant 1,000 acres on non-contiguous properties under its proposed center of excellence partnership with Lehigh and Jefferson universities. The council put out a call last week to farmers in the greater Lehigh Valley and Berks County region to offer up acreage.

"The institutions have yet to sign anything formally," Lehigh University Assistant Vice President for Economic Engagement Cameron McCoy said about the center for excellence proposal. "The best way probably to describe it is we're exploring the possibility of developing a national center for the study of industrial hemp that explores the entirety of the research supply chain and contributes to the economic development of the region and the nation."

Hemp fits in with Lehigh's mission begun by its founder, industrialist Asa Packer, in 1865 with the donation of 57 acres on South Mountain and gift of $500,000.

"The way we look at it is: I like to think of Lehigh's development originally, and institutionally we were developed to support a particular material, at least from a research perspective," McCoy said. "And that particular material happened to be steel, and if you replace the word steel with industrial hemp, now you're talking about things like structural capabilities, material science, logistics and supply chain  numerous opportunities that really align quite well with Lehigh's existing factor endowment."

For the 2018 growing season, the Pennsylvania Hemp Industry Council says it is looking to import 35,000 to 40,000 pounds of seed under a U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency permit.

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"Hemp grows like corn," the council's Whaling said. "It's planted with a grain drill. It grows in rows and depending on the variety, can grow 10 to 20 feet in 120 days. The crop that we planted last year grew 16 feet tall in 90 days."

It requires neither pesticides nor fertilizer, and its benefits include soil stabilization and reduced runoff. One of last year's test plots was on a former zinc mine Lehigh University owns near the Promenade Shops at Saucon Valley. The idea was to see how well hemp would limit erosion and runoff onto Center Valley Parkway, Whaling said.

Beyond growing, harvesting and processing hemp on a commercial level present major challenges, which is where the proposed National Industrial Hemp Center for Excellence comes in, according to Whaling, who is also chairman of the National Hemp Association.

"I know what the biggest challenges are," he said. "Processing by far is the biggest challenge for the industry, and we're going to address that here and as a result we will become the leader."

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Kurt Bresswein may be reached at kbresswein@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @KurtBresswein. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.In the wake of the mass shooting that killed 17 people at a Parkland, Fla., high school, several companies announced they're ending preferred deals for members of the National Rifle Association. Many of the businesses are responding to demands for boycotts on social media, notably a tweet under the hashtag #boycottNRA.

United Airlines and Delta said they'll no longer offer special rates to NRA members for the group's annual meeting. Hertz, Enterprise and Avis Budget are ending discounted NRA rates for car rentals. First National Bank of Omaha said it's discontinuing a Visa rewards card for NRA members.

The NRA condemned the actions, saying it won't be deterred in defending Second Amendment rights, including ownership of semiautomatic rifles such as the AR-15 -- the model used in the Florida killings. An NRA spokesman said corporations deciding to punish NRA membership "is a shameful display of political and civic cowardice."

Rescinding these perks is unlikely to have much impact on the NRA or gun laws. But banks could exert significant pressure if they refuse to deal with retailers that sell assault-type weapons, high-capacity magazines and "bump stocks." Last week New York Times columnist Andrew Ross Sorkin said several bank executives he interviewed expressed support for the idea, though none has taken that step.

What do you think? Should banks and other corporations join a boycott against the NRA? Is this type of advocacy misplaced? Have a say in our informal poll, and feel free to elaborate in the comments section.A Phillipsburg man had a blood-alcohol level nearly three times the legal limit during a single-vehicle crash in Lopatcong Township, police said.

The crash happened at 1:25 a.m. Sunday on the first block of Fox Farm Road. Thomas L. Boylan, 23, of the 400 block of James Street, was traveling along Fox Farm Road when his vehicle left the roadway and traveled into a ditch, according to police.

Officers at the scene found Boylan climbing out the passenger side of the car, police said. An officer detected the odor of an alcoholic beverage on Boylan's breath and conducted several field sobriety tests, which Boylan failed, police said.

Boylan later provided breath samples, showing his blood alcohol content level was 0.22; penalties for most drivers in New Jersey start at 0.08. Boylan was charged with drunken driving and other traffic offenses.

Boylan was released to a friend pending a court appearance.

Pamela Sroka-Holzmann may be reached at pholzmann@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow her on Twitter @pamholzmann. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, Feb. 25, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Wealth Migrate, the blockchain-based global online real estate platform, has been selected to showcase its newest technology at Finovate Middle East 2018 (Dubai, February 26-27). Finovate is the premier demo-based conference for innovative start-ups and established companies in the banking, financial technology, and payments sectors.

Founded in 2010 by global fintech and real estate investors Scott Picken and Hennie Bezuidenhoudt, Wealth Migrate opens the opportunity for retail investors to collaboratively invest in international commercial real estate while simultaneously reducing complexity through its proprietary Global Investment Due Diligence System (GIDDS). The platform simplifies the entire real estate discovery and transaction process from taxation and structuring through to meeting KYC and AML verification requirements for cross-border transactions.

Since opening our new Dubai office this winter, we have seen a huge demand from investors in the region for recession resistant real estate in developed global market, said Lee Rush, CEO at Wealth Migrate UAE. Presenting at Finovate Middle East is a wonderful way for us to connect with other leaders and investors in the area.

The company has already executed over 1,700 transactions to a value of $69.7 million with funds coming in from 44 countries. The total Deal Value of all projects stands at a value of $380 million.

We are pleased and honoured to have been selected to present our technology at Finovate Middle East, said Scott Picken, CEO Wealth Migrate. Our platform, combined with our soon to be launched WealthE coin cryptocurrency, enables access to real estate investment opportunities previously accessible only to institutional investors and high net worth individuals. And importantly, our technology fosters a frictionless transaction environment while reducing middlemen costs and offering greater transparency, trust, security and compliance throughout the entire process.

With a global footprint, Wealth Migrate helps its member community across 109 countries to invest internationally. The company recently opened new offices in the UK and UAE to add to the firms current operations in Australia, Hong Kong, Shanghai, South Africa and the USA.

Finovate Middle East, held in partnership with the United Arab Emirates Ministry of Finance will take place at the Madinat Jumeirah Conference and Events Centre, Dubai. Wealth Migrates on-stage demonstration will take place on the first day of the event, February 26, during Demo Session One.

To organise a meeting with the Wealth Migrate team connect here.

For more information please visit https://www.wealthmigrate.com/.

MEDIA CONTACT: wealthmigrate@transform.pr

About Wealth Migrate

Wealth Migrate is a global real estate investment marketplace that offers investors direct access to institutional grade real estate investment opportunities in premier markets around the world. Wealth Migrates mission is to empower people by providing access to quality real estate investments that were previously accessible only to high net worth individuals and institutional investors. Almost half of the world's wealth is held in real estate, but only 12.9% of the populations have the disposable income to access it. Through the Wealth Migrate platform investors benefit from the extensive experience of the Wealth Migrate executive team, which has collectively invested more than $1.4 billion for clients in international real estate transactions over the last three decades.



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FinovateMiddleEast is Finovate's newest event which brings together the Middle East's fintech community to showcase cutting-edge banking, financial and payments technology. See the latest fintech innovations demoed live on stage and hear insights from global financial services experts.

For more information on the event or to view videos of previous demos visit finovate.comJapanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe isnt having the best Olympics. Over the weekend, at a meeting with South Korean President Moon Jae-in ahead of the opening ceremonies, Abes goal was to secure a commitment that Seoul would resume joint military drills with the U.S. after the Paralympics end in March and to sustain sanctions pressure on Pyongyang, while refraining from spiking a 2015 accord intended to resolve lingering animosity over Japanese abuses in World War II. According to South Korean media, Moon told Abe not to meddle in the Souths sovereignty and internal affairs, and essentially sent Abe to his room to think about Japans past bad behavior.

Abe also had to watch as the nascent detente between the two Koreas picked up pace, culminating with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un inviting Moon to an inter-Korean summit in Pyongyang. During his meeting with the North Korean delegation headed by Kims sister, Moon reportedly declined to press Pyongyang to denuclearize, heightening concerns among the U.S., Japan and hawks in South Korea that Moons government may be laying the groundwork to weaken sanctions pressure on the North and potentially extend the temporary freeze in U.S.-South Korea joint exercises. Adding apparent insult to injury was yet another show of support from the Chinese for South Koreas pursuit of reconciliation with the North, stoking concern that Beijing is succeeding in using the Korean crisis to drive a wedge between Seoul and its stalwart allies.

All of this highlights an uncomfortable reality for Japan: It is perhaps the country most vulnerable to a nuclear North Korea  including even South Korea  but also, of all the key players involved in the standoff, the one with the least ability to independently shape the outcome of the crisis. Its a peripheral player and likely will be until the crisis is settled one way or another. But its also on a path to ensure that it doesnt find itself confined to the sidelines in this sort of situation again. Seoul Keeps Its Enemies Closer The weakness of Japans hand is reflected in the peculiar dynamic that has emerged between South Korea and the two rivals on its flanks.

Seouls apparent embrace of Beijing while giving the cold shoulder to Tokyo may seem mystifying. After all, it was China that implemented informal economic sanctions on South Korea last year over Seouls decision to go forward with the U.S. deployment of the THAAD ballistic missile defense system  a strategically dubious (and ultimately futile) attempt to coerce Seoul into prioritizing Chinese security over its own in the middle of a crisis. During a high-profile visit to Beijing last fall, when the two sides made a show of unity by jointly declaring that war could not be allowed on the peninsula, Beijing signaled that it would continue to inflict economic pain on the South whenever it strayed from Chinese wishes  despite Seoul agreeing to refrain from additional THAAD deployments. And its China that is helping keep the North Korean regime afloat more than any country, except possibly Russia, by blocking U.S.-led attempts to strengthen U.N. sanctions on Pyongyang, particularly with regard to oil imports.

Yet South Korea has reportedly remained reluctant to implement parts of a landmark intelligence-sharing pact with Japan brokered by the U.S. in 2016. Some of this has to do with Seouls lingering resentment over Japans prewar occupation of Korea and unease about Japans growing determination to shed its postwar pacifist constraints . Some of it has to do with the perception that Japan is acting merely as a U.S. proxy to pave the way for a U.S. military operation on the peninsula over Seouls objections  a move that would put the South Korean capital region at risk of massive North Korean shelling . But mostly it has to do with the fact that China simply matters more than Japan in the current crisis.

That said, Chinese influence in Pyongyang has waned considerably since Kim Jong Un came to power. Though China has thrown its rhetorical support behind Moons detente with Pyongyang, its unclear what Beijing could really do to push talks toward a resolution that both it and Seoul would find acceptable. Chinas overriding goals are to expel the U.S. from the peninsula and to ensure that a friendly, or at least not overtly hostile, government rules the North. These, along with the long-term threat China poses to South Korea, limit how far Seoul can align itself with Beijing in the current crisis  especially if Seoul succeeds in persuading the U.S. to refrain from a unilateral operation to disarm the North.

Nonetheless, Beijing still has as much leverage over North Korea as anyone. Even if it cannot bring Pyongyang fully to heel without harming its own core interests on the peninsula, it at least has some latent ability to alter Pyongyangs cost calculations and, if enough stars align, potentially help the North Koreans save enough face to be willing to stand down. At minimum, China doesnt want to see a war on the peninsula that puts U.S. forces on the Yalu River and a pro-U.S. government in Pyongyang, which means Beijing certainly isnt going to try to thwart Seouls efforts to forestall a conflict through dialogue. This makes Seouls alignment with Beijing at this stage low risk. As was made clear when Vice President Mike Pence said that the U.S. was open to talks with the North without preconditions , at this point, maximum pressure and dialogue need not be seen as automatically conflicting.

Japan, in comparison, just doesnt have the ability to either substantially further or frustrate Seouls objectives. Of all the relevant players, it has the least leverage over Pyongyang. It cannot yet act on its own militarily to eliminate the threat, as its slow remilitarization is still in its very early stages . Even new landmark procurements that would give it at least limited ability to strike the North, such as long-range cruise missiles, are expected to take years to complete . The best it can do for the foreseeable future is align itself with the U.S.

Thus, to South Korea, Japan may either lend a helping hand or become a threat, but at the moment theres little downside to pushing Tokyo on politically explosive but strategically unimportant issues such as wartime comfort women and tiny islands in the Sea of Japan. In fact, its convenient to do so at a time when Moon is facing heavy criticism from South Korean conservatives and widespread public skepticism about his hearty welcome of the North Koreans at the Olympics. Japans Long Game To be clear, Japan can be a pivotal player in support of how the U.S. and South Korea decide to proceed. The Americans would lean heavily on Japanese help to facilitate and contain the fallout of a U.S. military operation. Short of war, Japan could play a valuable role in implementing a blockade on the North. Its already using its diplomatic and economic influence across Asia and beyond to quash North Koreas efforts to circumvent sanctions. If and when everyone simply decides to live with a nuclear North, Japans superb intelligence, submarine warfare, anti-ballistic missile systems and anti-mining capabilities would be invaluable in deterring Northern aggression.

But no country with Japans combination of untapped power and inherent vulnerabilities would be content with the role of good team player executing someone elses strategy indefinitely. Tokyo is certainly not sitting on its hands. Japan may not have many options today, but its moving to ensure that it doesnt find itself in this sort of situation in the future.

This is why Japan has been spearheading efforts to lay the groundwork for a tightened defense framework anchored by Australia and India , while also gradually ramping up security and economic assistance to strategically important ASEAN states locked in territorial disputes with China. Alongside this effort , Japan has also been the driving force behind the revival of the strategic Trans-Pacific Partnership , that, despite appearing dead following the U.S. withdrawal early last year, appears set to be finalized by the remaining 11 members later this year. Finally, at home, Japan is moving methodically to shed legal and political constraints on remilitarization , while slowly building up military capabilities that will give it greater ability to step out from under the U.S. security umbrella and secure its vital interests farther afield.

None of these efforts appears ready to come to fruition quickly, whether due to conflicting interests among the regional states Japan is trying to shepherd toward tighter cooperation, or due to powerful and unpredictable political currents at home. Nevertheless, the disquieting realities exposed by the Korean impasse  the limits of U.S. power in the Indo-Pacific, uncertainties about whether South Korea will remain a part of the U.S.-led alliance structure, and Chinese disinterest in working to preserve the established order  have certainly helped them gain traction. In this way, being confined to the sidelines in todays crisis may ultimately help Japan get where deeper geopolitical forces are urging it to go.The Rick Nash sweepstakes might be coming to a close soon, and the Boston Bruins are reportedly right in the middle of the frenzy.

Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman tweeted Saturday night that the Bruins are in on the Rangers winger, adding that Boston 'appear(s) to be (the) leading contender' for the veteran.

TSN's Darren Dreger also linked Boston to Nash just minutes prior to Friedman's tweet, noting that both the Bruins and Rangers are having 'ongoing discussions", but figuring out cap space will be a hurdle in a potential move.

Nash, who will become an unrestricted free agent in this upcoming offseason, is a prime candidate to join New York's growing fire sale. Earlier this week, the Blueshirts dealt winger Michael Grabner to the New Jersey Devils for a second-round pick and a prospect.

Despite sitting out New York's last game, Nash has raised his trade value over the last month -- scoring nine goals in his last 16 games played. The winger has tallied 18 goals and posted 28 total points over 60 games this season -- averaging 17:06 of ice time per game.

Even with an expiring contract, the price for Nash will likely be high, with Bob McKenzie reporting on TSN's Insider Trading earlier this month that New York is seeking "a first-round pick, a top prospect and another lesser player or prospect or pick for Nash.

TSN's Bob McKenzie mentioned Bruins prospects such as Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson, Ryan Lindgren and Trent Frederic in a potential deal for Nash.

No surprise BOS a potential front runner for Rick Nash. Bruins have their own first-round picks, plus quite a bevy of really solid prospects, such as Jakob Forsbacka-Karlsson, Ryan Lindgren, Trent Frederic etc etc, all of which would be attractive to NYR: https://t.co/2vQI0tC0iR  Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) February 25, 2018

Of course, with the trade deadline now just days away, that price might be much more affordable with the Blueshirts desperate to get a return.

---

McKenzie added later that the anticipated return on a potential Nash trade might end up being a first-round pick and a solid prospect.Boston police are searching for a person of interest in connection with a break-in and sexual assault Saturday.

Authorities say police were called to the area of Hemenway Street and Westland Avenue around 6 a.m. Saturday for a report of a breaking and entering.

"On arrival, officers spoke to the victim who stated that a male suspect entered her apartment and indecently assaulted her," police said. "According to the victim, she immediately screamed and scared the suspect off."

Police described the suspect as a black male with short hair, dark-colored shirt, light-colored pants and sneakers.

The Boston Police Sexual Assault Unit is investigating. Anyone with information relative to the case is asked to contact detectives assigned to the Sexual Assault Unit at 617-343-4400.CHICOPEE - Three long-term police officers described as "valuable assets" to the department were promoted in a Friday ceremony.

Eric Watson was promoted to captain, Hamilton Wray was promoted to lieutenant and Jan Wegrzynek was promoted to sergeant. The three are filling existing vacancies in the department, Chief William R. Jebb said.

"I thank the mayor and the City Council for their continued support. I also would like to thank the families for their support through this time-consuming and difficult process," Jebb said. "These officers are valuable assets to the department and I look forward to continuing to work with them."

All three hold degrees in criminal justice and have worked for the Chicopee Police Department for a minimum of 15 years.

"I am pleased that we are able to continue to maintain the level and quality of leadership in public safety in the city of Chicopee," Mayor Richard J. Kos said during the swearing-in ceremony.

Watson was first hired as a Chicopee Police officer in 1999, was promoted to sergeant in 2009 and became a lieutenant in 2014. He holds a master's degree in criminal justice, a graduate certificate in forensic criminology from the University of Massachusetts at Lowell and a bachelor's degree in criminal justice from Westfield State University. He has completed more than 2,600 hours of law enforcement training at the Massachusetts State Police Academy, U.S. Department of Homeland Security and other places, city officials said.

He will take over as commander of the midnight to 8 a.m. shift.

Hamilton Wray first worked for the Springfield Police Department and transferred to Chicopee in 2003. He was promoted to sergeant in 2013. He holds a master's degree in criminal justice from Curry College and is a member of the department's Special Response and Boat teams, officials said.

He will work as the supervisor and second in command of the midnight to 8 a.m. shift.

Jan Wegrzynek was hired as a Chicopee police officer in 2000. He holds a bachelor's degree in criminal justice from Curry College and served as the head of the Firearms Records Bureau for the department, officials said.

He will serve as a street supervisor for the midnight to 8 a.m. shift.1. Fill in your name or an alias. Do not leave blank or use the name 'guest' or 'anonymous'.

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. Since its discovery, CRISPR has been co-opted by scientists eager to selectively snip and repair genomes. In the new study, Doudna and her colleagues show that CRISPR biology can be used in another way, too - as a DNA homing beacon.DETECTR relies on Cas12a, an enzyme described in 2015. Like its molecular cousin Cas9, which Doudna and colleague Emmanuelle Charpentier turned into a genome editing tool in 2012, Cas12a snips DNA. But instead of snipping only the DNA strand it binds, Cas12a chops other DNA, too. "We started to see this surprising activity where it would just start cutting random stuff," says study coauthor Lucas Harrington, a graduate student in Doudna's lab.Under certain circumstances, the enzyme turns into a DNA shredding machine, slicing up any single-stranded DNA nearby, the researchers saw. But this wasn't indiscriminate destruction. For the machete action to begin, Cas12a first has to find a precise DNA target. Researchers can program that target by adding a guide - an RNA molecule that tells Cas12a what to look for. "It's so easy to reprogram this to find any piece of DNA that you want to detect," Harrington says.Once Cas12a locks onto and snips the target, it then begins shredding all of the single-stranded DNA it can find. But for the system to be useful, Doudna and colleagues needed a way to see when Cas12a starts this molecular mayhem, signaling that it has found its target. So the researchers used a glowing molecule - an easy-to-spot flare - linked by a single strand of DNA to a suppressor molecule that prevents the glow. When Cas12a turns into a machete, it slices the DNA strand that links these two molecules together. This removes the suppressor, letting the glowing molecule shine - a signal researchers can detect.The team then put their DNA detective to the test. Working with Dr. Joel Palefsky and his team at the University of California, San Francisco, they hunted for DNA signals from two types of cancer-causing HPV: type 16 and type 18. Researchers obtained 25 DNA samples taken from people who had no HPV infection, one type of virus, or both types. For HPV16, DETECTR made the right call for all 25 of the samples. For HPV18, DETECTR got it right for 23 of 25 samples. The ones it missed gave weak signals that can likely be improved with different guide RNA design, Doudna says.," Harrington says. That could make the system useful in resource-limited health clinics and for point-of-care diagnostics.About 79 million Americans carry HPV, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates, and more than 4,000 women die from cervical cancer each year. Together, HPV16 and HPV18 cause 70 percent of cervical cancers and precancerous lesions, according to the World Health Organization.Doudna's team's method could easily be applied to other types of viral or bacterial infections, and even cancer markers, chromosomal abnormalities, or other genetic signals, Harrington says. More generally, the results highlight the promise of basic biology. Basic research on an ancient bacterial defense system keeps turning up new surprises, and new potential uses. CRISPR "is a treasure chest that we keep digging into and finding new things," Harrington says.Source: EurekalertAdvertisement

"That is, after imagined speaking in your mind, the actual sounds you hear will become softer--the louder the volume during imagery, the softer perception will be," explains Tian, assistant professor of neural and cognitive sciences at NYU Shanghai. "This is because imagery and perception activate the same auditory brain areas. The preceding imagery already activates the auditory areas once, and when the same brain regions are needed for perception, they are 'tired' and will respond less."According to Tian, the study demonstrates that perception is a result of interaction between top-down (e.g. our cognition) and bottom-up (e.g. sensory processing of external stimulation) processes. This is because human beings not only receive and analyze upcoming external signals passively, but also interpret and manipulate them actively to form perception.The findings are the team's latest in a series of studies using mental imagery paradigms to investigate speech monitoring and control in production processnamely, a motor-based predictive process, which can extend and predict low-level auditory attributes such as loudness."Combining perception and speech production monitoring and control, this study can implicate the mechanisms of mental disorders," Tian says. "The most relevant one is auditory hallucination mostly in schizophrenia."The project has been supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China and the Science and Technology Commission of Shanghai Municipality, as well as funding from the three universities.Source: NewswiseWe attempted to send a notification to your email address but we were unable to verify that you provided a valid email address. Please click here to update your email address if you wish to receive notifications. Otherwise, you may click here to disable notifications and hide this message.live bse live

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RN Bhaskar

The tea leaves predict more pain in the coming months for the Indian economy. This is notwithstanding the encouraging remarks made by the Economic Survey 2018 that it expects real GDP growth to reach 6.75 percent for the year as a whole, rising to 7-7.5 percent in 2018-19, thereby reinstating India as the worlds fastest-growing major economy.

There are three reasons for this author to take the claims of the Economic Survey with a pinch of salt.

First, yes, GDP will grow, but not because of actual economic growth. You can have jobless economic growth as well, as has been witnessed during the last few years of the previous government. If you have growth without job formation  so very critical in a populous country like India  that growth remains unsustainable. There are good reasons to believe that some of the economic growth witnessed in the data provided to the country could have been because of e-payments.

E-payments alone have the potential of pushing up economic growth by around 2 percentage points per annum over the next 4-5 years. But its contribution is concealed in the figure for services. Given the nascent form of this industry, it would be safe to assume that 1-2% of GDP growth came from merchant discounts paid on the value of the transactions. It might be worth remembering that even when one considers the (now extant) Rs 1,000 note, cash was always a cheaper option than e-payments. The cost of printing a Rs.1,000 note was Rs 34. The currency note was good enough to last out some three years (let us assume 1,000 days). According to date provided by the RBI, the note used to have a velocity of one transaction a day on an average. Thus over 1,000 days, the total cost of transacting through cash was only Rs 34  which is the cost of printing the note.

When you consider e-payment, every transaction of Rs 1,000 could result in merchant discounts (MDR) of around Rs 10. Thus over a period of 1,000 days, the total MDR payout is Rs 10,000. Now compare the Rs 34 with Rs 10,000 and you will realise why GDP can swell with the introduction of e-payment.

There is a possibility that Indias GDP will continue to grow because of this MDR for the next few years. But it wont create jobs unless the country focuses on forensics and systems audits as well.

Second, economic growth takes place when there is some investment for embarking on a new type of (or enhanced) economic activity. This is known as gross capital formation. Indias GCF has been declining as a percentage of GDP (see chart).

This does not augur well for healthy economic growth. In fact, this and a set of other figures has been brought out quite succinctly in a recent paper (20 February, 2018) by CARE Ratings. The only bright spot in the picture appears to be growth in capital goods.

But even here the picture is a bit mixed. This growth came because of non-electrical machinery, computers and electronics. The big worrisome decline was in electrical machinery. This does cause anxiety because electrical machinery is what makes factories hum. A 15% decline on this front is naturally a bit disconcerting.

The most threatening of clouds appear to be those relating to new investments and new projects. This is where one suspects that cause is the slowing down on fresh foreign investments.

Much of foreign investment had begun to dry up because of the reluctance on the part of the Indian government to allow any investor to opt for international arbitration in a seat outside of India. The government wants such litigants to approach other centres of arbitration  outside of India  only after exhausting all available courses of legal redress within India first.

As pointed out previously, such a move has had the unfortunate, but expected, reaction of slowing down foreign direct investment into India. The last thing any foreign investor wants is to get bogged down by the cumbersome processes of Indias law enforcement and judicial processes. This is where reform is urgently needed. Since that is not possible, investors prefer to take recourse to a speedier judicial resolution in centres outside of India  as allowed by the Geneva convention to which India is a signatory.

India is believed to have allowed this benefit to Japan in the recently concluded CEPA (Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement) between the two countries where India is believed to have allowed Japans investment managers to opt for international arbitration in seats outside this country (neither the Japanese nor Indian bureaucrats are willing to confirm or deny this). But hardly had the ink dried on this agreement that the government slapped a taxation charge against Nissan. When the Japanese company tried to approach an overseas centre for arbitration, it was dragged to Indian courts challenging such a move. The matter remains in the courts at the moment.

Not surprisingly, the numbers relating to investments and proposals have been terrible. The number of proposals declined from 1,728 in 2016 to 1415 in 2017. This number could continue to fall, unless remedial steps are taken.

Even the intent to investment numbers registered a decline from Rs.3.53 lakh crore (or Rs.3.53 trillion) to Rs.3.09 lakh crore in 2017.

Naturally, this was bound to have resulted in actual investment in India (see chart). During the April-December period, total investments in new projects almost halved from Rs.9.21 lakh crore in 2016 to Rs.4.43 lakh crore in 2017. Projects completed also reduced by a third (see chart). The number of projects dropped swelled, while the number of projects revived held out no cheer at all.

There is a possibility that foreign investments in the biggest job producing areas will continue to shrivel, till the government agrees to allow investors the right to approach other judicial redressal centres. At the same time, the government should work hard to ensure that credibility in Indias redressal systems goes up. This is going to be extremely difficult if the government goes slow on the appointment of judges (in spite of the existing numbers being short of the sanctioned vacancies).

The mood in the markets has become so bad that private placement in the corporate debt market has shrunk.

Good companies did resort to debt markets because they could get better rates from investors than from banks. The banks, saddled with the leftovers, were a bit shy.

However, what is alarming is that these leftovers could not raise money from debt markets either. The confidence that promoters showed in the past appears to have been shaken. And the manner in which government and the law enforcement authorities have gone about handling the Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi cases leaves much to be desired.

Compare the manner in which Indian banks recover money from the approaches made by Standard Chartered Bank (Stanchart) in recovering the money owed to them by the Ruias of Essar. The amount owned to Stanchart was at least five times the amount allegedly embezzled by Nirav Modi. But there was no public outcry, no public shaming and naming, no move to involve either the police or the Enforcement Directorate. Stanchart is believed to have got Rosneft to acquire some of Essars assets and thus got its money back.

In fact, watching Stancharts moves, ICICI Bank and YES Bank threatened to file cases in the US for attachment of Essar assets, and both managed to recover some of the money that the Ruias owed them.

Indian government-owned banks and the law enforcement authorities have still not learnt the way to recover money without killing a corporate brand or a business activity. The government did this when it banned commodity markets to punish NSEL. It has done the same again this time as well. The only time the government protected a business was in the Satyam case. In most other cases, it has allowed the business to die, and often allowed the errant promoter to flee the shores of India, as outlined here.

Thus the country is confronted with a depressed market sentiment. People who want to invest in India have deferred their plans till they see improvements on three fronts.

They want to see an improvement in judicial redressal systems. In fact, it is surprising to see constitutional posts like Supreme Court judges and the chief Justice of India not being guaranteed a minimum tenure of five years, as is the case with other constitutional posts.

Till such systems are put into place, and till they have confidence in such systems, foreign investors want recourse to international arbitration in a seat outside of India. It is no use having the government declare that it has an arbitration centre in Mumbai, or that it will ensure speedy trials. It is for the investors to say that judicial processes are fair and effective.

Finally, most investors are also alarmed by the selective approach towards enforcement activities. Consider how the police swooped down on the Delhi CMs residence in the case of a senior bureaucrat being slapped. Now compare this with the muted response of the government and the law enforcement machinery when another elected representative beat up a public servant 12 times and broke his spectacles. Even the courts did not take suo moto cognizance of the way rights and civil liberties were trampled upon. How does one explain the difference in tackling such effrontery on the part of elected representatives? It is this inability to check such brazenness that also worries investors.

The government appears to have forgotten that money is always skittish. It disappears at the first sign of trouble. Then, if it does choose to return, it will ensure that the risk-related charges will be high and that too after third party guarantees are put into place.

India is rapidly hurtling towards such a situation. The willingness to name and shame rather than resolve is a big problem. Consider how BOC Aviation, a Singapore company could  without too much of fanfare -- get damages of US$ 9 million from Vijay Mallya. Yet the Indian government could not. Its inability to guarantee protection of rights and privacy is another factor that worries global players. Its penchant for naming and shaming horrifies investors. They know how much work is involved in building a brand, and how easily it can be damaged because of reckless government action  it is worth recalling the nightmarish moments Nestle had to go through in its battle against the food control authorities.

Will India learn to get back to basics and practice responsible judicial and law enforcement processes? Your guess is as good as mine.

The author is consulting editor with MoneycontrolCommerce and Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu on Saturday said the Andhra Pradesh government has decided to work on his suggestion on making a big auto hub on the east coast.

"The state has responded positively and the state authorities have decided to take the next step forward in this direction. So, I am sure that in the next few years' time, India will drive cars made in Andhra Pradesh," he said here at the CIIs Partnership Summit.

He said that an MoU was exchanged between Automotive Component Manufacturers Association of India, Society of Indian Automobile Manufactures and Andhra Pradesh Economic Development Board to develop the automotive industry in the state.

Prabhu also informed that the ministry is also working on sectors like gems and jewellery and agriculture to promote exports.

Export promotion council for gems and jewellery is identifying areas in which they will set up jewellery making only for exports.

Speaking at the occasion, DIPP Secretary Ramesh Abhishek said that industrial revolution 4.0 is changing the land scape of manufacturing.

He informed that FDI in the country is growing at a rapid pace and India has received "USD 208 billion" foreign inflows since April 2014 because of rapid reforms and ease of doing business.

"India offers huge opportunities for both domestic and foreign investors," he added.

At the summit, foundation stone ceremony was held for the Lulu International Convention Centre, hotel and mall. It will be constructed by UAE based Lulu Group with an investment of over Rs 2,000 crore.

Chairman of Lulu Group, MA Yusuff Ali said that the company will try to complete the project in 36 months and it would create a direct employment to about 5,000 people.

But, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu urged him to complete the project in 30 months.

An MoU was also inked between the state government and Google India under which 25,000 wifi spots would be set up to provide internet services in about 13,000 villages, according to CII.

Naidu asked to complete the project by end of the year.The Nifty which started on a positive note managed to build further momentum towards the closing of the trade and closed its crucial 100-days exponential moving average placed around 10,418 making a strong bullish candle on the daily charts.

However, on a weekly basis, Nifty made a Dragonfly Doji kind of pattern which suggests that a reversal in the trend could be in the offing.

A Dragonfly Doji pattern signals indecision among traders but it also points to the fact that bulls managed to bring the index towards the opening level. The index has to sustain above 10,400 for the bullish sentiment to continue.

Investors are advised to stay long on the index with a strict stop loss below 10,300 levels on closing basis. The March series started with a strong upmove and hopefully, it should take Nifty towards 11,000 levels in near future.

The Nifty which opened at 10,408 rose to an intraday high of 10,499. It slipped marginally below 10,400 to hit its intraday low of 10,396 before closing 108 points higher at 10,491.

Finally, a much-awaited pullback rally materialised on the last trading session of the week with a robust up move which resulted in a Dragon Fly Doji kind of reversal formation on the weekly charts, Mazhar Mohammad, Chief Strategist  Technical Research & Trading Advisory, Chartviewindia.in told Moneycontrol.

Interestingly, the strength of this up move with broad-based participation as suggested by advance-decline ratio accompanied with a decisive close above its 100-day EMA is pointing towards more upsides which can get extended initially up to 10600 kinds of levels, he said.

Mohammad is of the view that the real test for bulls lies in clearing the hurdle of its 50 days EMA, whose value is placed around 10,559 levels, which offered resistance twice on a pullback attempt from the lows of 10276 levels. A close above the said average can be an initial sign of strength towards trend reversal in favor of bulls, he said.

India VIX fell down by 4.25 percent at 14.20. VIX has declined by more than 13 percent in this week which has given a short-term stability to the market.

We have collated the top fifteen data points to help you spot profitable trade:

Key Support & Resistance Level for Nifty

The Nifty closed at 10,491.0. According to Pivot charts, the key support level is placed at 10,425.43, followed by 10,359.87. If the index starts to move higher, key resistance levels to watch out are 10,527.83 and 10,564.67.

Nifty Bank:

The Nifty Bank closed at 25,302.5. Important Pivot level, which will act as crucial support for the index, is placed at 25,061.8, followed by 24,821.1. On the upside, key resistance levels are placed at 25,444.2, followed by 25,585.9.

Call Options Data:

Maximum call open interest (OI) of 30.35 lakh contracts stands at strike price 10,700, which will act as a crucial resistance level for the index in the March series, followed by 10,500, which now holds 28.76 lakh contracts in open interest, and 11,000, which has accumulated 27.23 lakh contracts in OI.

Call writing was seen at a strike price of 10,500, which saw the addition of 8.39 lakh contracts, followed by 10,900, which added 7.59 lakh contracts, and 10,700, which added 5.31 lakh contracts.

Call unwinding was seen at 10,500, which saw shedding of 1.06 lakh contracts, followed by 10,000 at 0.42 lakh contracts.

Put Options Data:

Maximum put OI of 35.73 lakh contracts was seen at strike price 10,000, which will act as a crucial base for the index in March series, followed by 10,400, which now holds 30.84 lakh contracts and 10,300 which has now accumulated 27.36 lakh contracts in open interest.

Put Writing was seen at the strike price of 10,300, which saw addition of 10.06 lakh contracts, along with 10,400, which added 9.19 lakh contracts and 9,900, which added 6.04 lakh contracts.

There was hardly any Put unwinding seen.

FII & DII Data:

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold shares worth Rs 486.32 crore, while domestic institutional investors bought shares worth Rs 1,514.03 crore in the Indian equity market, as per provisional data available on the NSE.

Fund Flow Picture:

Stocks with high delivery percentage:

High delivery percentage suggests that investors are accepting the delivery of the stock, which means that investors are bullish on the stock.

162 stocks saw long build-up:

32 stocks saw short covering:

A decrease in open interest along with an increase in price mostly indicates short covering.

17 stocks saw short build-up:

An increase in open interest along with a decrease in price mostly indicates short positions being built up.

High Rollovers

Bulk Deals:

Fortis Healthcare: BNP Paribas Arbitrage has bought 42.75 lakh shares at Rs 154.91 apiece.

Crossland Trading traded around 38.31 lakh shares at Rs 154.456 apiece.

Jaiprakash Associates: Adroit share and Stock Broker traded 1.67 crore shares at Rs 18 apiece.

Indus Portfolio bought 1.53 crore shares at Rs 17, while it sold 1.31 crore shares at 18.09.

IndusInd Bank Client A/c sold 1.1 crore shares at Rs 13.65.

Jubilant Life Sciences: Copthall Mauritius Investment bought 27.50 lakh shares at Rs 914.

Jubilant Advisors sold 22.38 lakh shares at Rs 917.43, while Jubilant Consumer Pvt Ltd sold 27.36 lakh shares.

Ruchi Soya: Manav Patel traded 20.85 lakh shares at Rs 17 apiece.

(For more bulk deals click here)

Analyst or Board Meet/Briefings:

Investors will be meeting the management of M&M on March 14, 2018.

Aegis Logistics will be having a roadshow between February 26 and 28, 2018 in New York and Boston.

Stocks in news:

Idea Cellular: Raised Rs 3,500 crore through qualified institutional placement (QIP).

DCM Shriram: Second interim dividend declared at 170% i.e Rs 3.40 per equity share of face value Rs 2 for FY 2017-18

IDBI Bank: Shareholders approve shares up to Rs 2,729 crore To government On preferential basis.

Bharti Airtel & Motorola Partner For 4G Smartphones Starting At Rs 3,999

Magma Fincorp to seek approval of members wrt issuance of debt securities upto an overall ceiling pf Rs 2000cr on private placement basis

PNB - IndRa updates rating of various bonds to "Rating watch negative"

Sakuma Exports submits expression of interest for acquiring Ruchi Soya

Dena Bank fixes share price at Rs 16.89 for issue of shares to GoI on preferential basis

Welspun Enterprises lowest bidder for NHAI Tamil Nadu road project.

Sadbhav Infra subsidiary completes debt refinancing

Reliance Power meeting of the board on Feb 28 to approve raising of funds via QIP

2 stocks under ban period on NSE

Security in ban period for the next trade date under the F&O segment includes companies in which the security has crossed 95 percent of the market-wide position limit.

Securities which are banned for trading include names such as Fortis and JP Associates.Rattled by a spate of frauds in the banking sector, lenders are now planning to increase insurance cover against delinquencies by their employees to protect their bottomlines.

"Frauds of such magnitude and scale  PNB fraud Rs 11,400 crore and OBC fraud Rs 390 crore  has forced us to consider substantially much higher risk cover than the basic banker's indemnity policy which various banks have right now," a top public sector bank official said.

Besides, tightening internal risk mechanism and vigilance, banks have to look for higher cover to guard against such fraud where employees are involved, the official said, adding, this will help insulate the balance sheet.

Punjab National Bank had only bought a basic banker's indemnity policy, which covers employee fraud, to the extent of Rs 2 crore which would not cover even 0.2 per cent of Rs 11,300 crore fraud done allegedly by Nirav Modi, Mehul Choksi and his associates in connivance with officials of a Mumbai branch.

Soon after this, a case of alleged swindling of Rs 390 crore from Oriental Bank of Commerce (OBC) was registered against a Delhi-based diamond jewellery exporter. In between there was a fraud case of Rs 3,695 crore by Rotomac Pen company owner Vikram Kothari in which the CBI filed cases and effected several arrests.

For example, SBI alone in 2016-17 reported frauds of Rs 2,424.74 crore (837 cases). Out of this, an amount of Rs 2,360.37 crore (278 cases) represents advances declared as frauds.

With faith on their own internal audit system and risk management, banks were not keen for higher cover but a series of frauds in the system have compelled them and in the recent Indian Banks' Association meeting also the issue came up for the deliberation, the official of another public sector lender said.

However, the official said, cover can be for fraud not for the wilful default where number of lenders are involved and these two have to be dealt separately.

The official said for example the cases of Winsome Diamond Group and Nirav Modi are completely different, and the legal treatment and provision for both are diverse.

In the Winsome Diamond Group's case, the company took a loan of Rs 6,800 crore from a consortium of banks, including PNB. However, Nirav Modi primarily cheated PNB by getting fake LoUs made in connivance with various bank officials.

Besides, there is allegation of forgery and unauthorised use of global payment network SWIFT for unauthorised issuance of credit instrument (LoU) while lenders issued standby letters of credit in favour of international bullion banks to supply gold to Winsome Group companies.

Out of Rs 6,800 crore outstanding, Winsome's associate Forever Precious Diamonds and Jewellery owes another Rs 2,121.82 crore to a set of banks led by PNB.

At the same time, Winsome so far is seen and tried at various courts of law as case of commercial default by an old customer Haytham and due to cross-default clause in standby letters of credit (SBLC) resulting in cumulative large default on banks.

Recently, the Sharjah Federal Courts have passed decrees in favour of Winsome Diamond and its associate Forever and against the overseas customers controlled by Jordanian national Al Haytham in the suits for recovery of money.

The court process involved institution of an experts' committee which concluded that the transactions were genuine and money is owed by Haytham companies to Winsome. The order also attributed the cause of Haytham default to his losing money in derivatives trading.The Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry has kept on hold the 100th or the final slot of smart cities mission for Shillong, which was recently selected for its inclusion in the scheme, as the city is yet to submit its proposal due to elections in Meghalaya, an official said.

"The 100th slot is kept on hold for Shillong. It is yet to submit the proposal. They are busy in the election. It is expected that the city will submit the proposal after the elections," the ministry official said. Meghalaya goes to poll on February 27.

The number of cities selected under the project stands at 99.

Under the scheme, each city will get Rs 500 crore from the Centre for implementing various projects.

An equal amount, on matching basis, will have to be contributed by the state or urban local bodies.

The 100 Smart Cities Mission was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on June 25, 2015.

As on January, 189 projects worth Rs 2,237 crore have been completed, while another 2,948 projects worth Rs 1.38 lakh crore are in various stages of implementation.

Under the mission, the cities proposed to take up various project, including "smart" roads, rejuvenation of water bodies, cycle tracks, walking paths, smart classrooms, skill development centres, upgradation of health facilities and pan city projects like integrated command control centre.

In January 2016, 20 cities were announced under the Smart Cities Mission, followed by 13 cities in May 2016, 27 cities in September 2016 and 30 cities in June 2017 and nine cities in January this year. It had kept the slot for the tenth city, Shillong, vacant as it could not submit its proposal on time.State Bank of India (SBI) is set for a major restructuring of its business in the UK from April, Indias largest state-owned bank has said.

SBI's UK operations will transform into a subsidiary named State Bank of India UK Limited from April 1, in compliance with wider ring-fencing of capital requirements by the Bank of England.

The move will mean that all retail branches of SBI in the UK will fall under a new UK-incorporated banking entity instead of their previous status as overseas branches of the Indian entity.

"While there will be no visible change, the brand changes to State Bank of India UK Limited. The 12 retail branches that we have  seven in London and the rest outside London  will become branches of SBI UK Ltd. Apart from that, if we look at the day to day, there will be no dislocation," said Sanjiv Chadha, SBIs Regional Head for UK.

He explains that while customers would be able to carry on using their debit cards and other banking facilities as before, the move marks a strategic shift for the bank with a greater focus on the UK market.

"We will be looking to doing more business in the UK, expanding the products that are designed for the UK market," he said.

The move follows Bank of England's Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) directing foreign banks a few years ago to move from their retail status as overseas branches to independent entities in order to protect depositors in the UK from fluctuations in foreign markets.

"As a subsidiary, the capital will be ring-fenced and that brings an additional comfort level," said Chadha.

He highlighted that the restructuring marked a major endorsement for London as a financial capital of the world, despite uncertainties triggered by the 2016 referendum in favour of an exit from the European Union (EU).

"The UK market is one of tremendous interest and promise to us and that is unchanged regardless of Brexit. London is the best place for us to base our international business in, we find the regulatory climate proportionate and supportive," he added.

SBI's expansion in the UK market was welcomed as a vote of confidence by the City of London Corporation, which has a remit to support and promote the British capital as a world-leading financial and business hub.

"The move is a reflection of the continued strength of UK-India ties, particularly in financial services. SBI has long been a treasured partner of the City, opening an office here back in 1921. As the City of London looks towards its next decade of engagement with Asia, we also look forward to building on our 100-year relationship with Indias largest bank," said Catherine McGuinness, Policy Chairman at the City of London Corporation.

SBI operates seven branches in London and five each in Manchester, Birmingham, Wolverhampton, Leicester and Coventry  all cities with a large concentration of Indian diaspora population. The bank says that while the Indian-origin customer base will remain at the heart of its operations, it will use its expansion to cater to the wider UK market as a competitive local bank.Berkshire Hathaway's annual shareholder meeting is akin to a pilgrimage to financial advisors and investors. In May 2017, Berkshire Hathaway held its annual shareholder meeting at the CenturyLink Center in Omaha, United States. The next is May 2018. (Image: Reuters)

The event is marked by the attendance of scores of Warren Buffett admirers who line hours before the investment guru's and Berkshire CEO Warren Buffett's speech. (Image: Reuters)

Unlike many multinational conglomerates, Berkshire Hathaway's annual meet allows guests to bring along their children. In fact, the company makes arrangements such as bringing in cartoon characters and shopping stalls. (Image: Reuters)

Food requirements for investors who arrive from around the world too are taken care of. (Image: Reuters)The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has told the Delhi High Court that it has not fixed the notice period for pilots but has just laid down the guidelines under the Civil Aviation Requirements (CARs) , and the power to decide the duration has been left with the airlines.

The aviation regulator told the court that the CARs (or rules) on the notice period were issued after airlines approached it expressing concern over any sudden efflux of pilots. The airlines also claimed they spend considerable time and effort in training them.

The lawyer representing the DGCA told Justice Rajiv Shakdher the regulator does not cancel the licence of a pilot for violation of the CARs on notice period, and instead the airlines decide (on cancellation) according to the contract they have with the pilot concerned. "How can airlines be given the power (of cancellation of licence)?" the court asked and listed the matter for further hearing on May 16.

The court was hearing pleas moved by several pilots' associations challenging the CARs of 2009 and 2017 issued by the DGCA on notice period to be served by commander pilots and co-pilots.

Under the CARs of 2009, the notice period was increased to six months from the earlier three months, which is the international practice, the pilots associations have said. While the CARs of 2009 were under challenge in the high court, the 2017 CARs were issued which increased the notice period to be served by the commander pilots to one year.

However, the notice period to be served by co-pilots was not changed. The associations, including the Society for Welfare of Indian Pilots, Indian Pilots Guild and Federation of Indian Pilots, have contended that violation of the CARs has legal consequences -- the cancellation of their licence. They have also contended that notice periods are a matter of contract between the airline and the pilot.

Under the CARs of 2017, the notice period may be reduced if the airline provides a no-objection certificate to a pilot and accepts his resignation earlier than the period stipulated in the amended rules.Actress Sridevi Kapoor

Veteran Bollywood actor and Padma Shri awardee Sridevi, who had an illustrious career spanning over four decades, passed away. She was 54.

The actor, wife of producer Boney Kapoor, died late in the night reportedly due to cardiac arrest in Dubai, where she had gone along with her family to attend her nephew Mohit Marwah's wedding.

Confirming the news, a source close to the family said, "Yes it's true. She was in Dubai while some of the other family members came back to India. We hear it's cardiac arrest."

While some of her family members returned from Dubai after the wedding, Sridevi, Boney and her younger daughter Khushi stayed back. Her elder daughter  Janhvi  had not travelled with the family because of the shooting schedule for her upcoming Bollywood film, her first in the industry.

Minutes after the news of her death broke, many Bollywood actors like Amitabh Bachchan, Priyanka Chopra, Sushmita Sen, Sidharth Malhotra and Riteish Deshmukh took to Twitter to pay their condolences.

The first one, however, was megastar Amitabh Bachchan who in a cryptic tweet wrote, "Don't know why, feeling a strange restlessness."



I have no words. Condolences to everyone who loved #Sridevi . A dark day . RIP

 PRIYANKA (@priyankachopra) February 24, 2018

"I have no words. Condolences to everyone who loved #Sridevi . A dark day. RIP," tweeted Priyanka, alongside a still of Sridevi from her superhit film "Mr India".

Comedian Johnny Lever, while expressing grief, sent prayers to the late actor's family, which includes husband Boney Kapoor and daughters Khushi and Janhvi.

"Deeply saddened and shocked to hear about #Sridevi Ji. My prayers and condolences to the family," he tweeted.

"Really Shocked and disturbed to hear that Sridevi Maam is no more. #RIP #Sridevi," wrote Sidharth.

Actor Shilpa Shetty's husband -- Raj Kundra -- posted, "Heartbroken by this news!! She was One of the finest kindest souls I ever knew. Speechless shocked. #RIP#Sridevi this is just not right at all! May god give all the family strength at this darkest hour."

Riteish tweeted, Terrible terrible news. Am shocked beyond words. SRIDEVI ji No More RIP,, while Sushmita wrote that she has been inconsolable since the news broke. I just heard Maam Sridevi passed away due to a massive cardiac arrest. I am in shock cant stop crying"

Actor Nimrat Kaur tweeted, Absolutely devastated to hear about the passing of #Sridevi. What a dark black terrible moment in time. Gutted.

Cameron Bailey, Artistic Director, Toronto International Film Festival, tweeted, "Shocked to hear of the passing of Indias legendary Sridevi. Honoured to have been in her presence in 2012 when she visited Toronto for English Vinglish. She made countless millions fall in love with her characters."Former finance minister P Chidambaram

Former Union minister P Chidambaram today advised the NDA government to appoint "good managers" to implement its various welfare programmes.

The government is "good owners of programmes but incompetent managers", he said.

Referring to the Economic Survey, he said some of the flagship programmes such as Swachh Bharat, Rural Electrification and LPG distribution are yet to produce tangible and measurable outcome.

Toilets were built under the Swachh Bharat scheme, but they lacked water connection and waste disposal system, he said, citing reports.

"Nobody is questioning the intentions of the government or the prime minister. I am sure the intentions are good. But what it proves is while they (government) are good owners of the programme, they are very incompetent managers of programmes. "If you want to have toilet programme to be implemented, you must have a competent manager," the former finance minister said at Manthan, a forum that promotes public discussions.

On the Union Budget, Chidambaram said it failed to address the issues of farmers, youth and education.

The Economic Survey had indicated that agricultural growth was stagnant, which was not a good sign as over 50 per cent of our population depends on the farm sector, the Congress leader said.

The Budget also failed the test of fiscal consolidation, he said.

Indian economy has "decoupled" from the rest of the world, and the Narendra Modi Government was very late to notice the decline of growth rate, Chidambaram said.

"The government is whistling in dark. It has become intolerant, and as a result the voices (of concern or dissent) are not heeded. If you don't listen or heed voices, nobody is going to tell you the truth," he said.

To a question, the former finance minister said people of the country may not accept privatisation of all public sector banks.Pakistan on Saturday summoned Indian Deputy High Commissioner JP Singh here for the fifth time in a month and condemned alleged firing across Line of Control by Indian forces.

The Pakistan Foreign Office said Director General (SA & SAARC) Mohammad Faisal summoned Singh over "unprovoked ceasefire violations" by Indian forces on February 23 in Nikial sector.

Faisal said the firing killed a man in ThurtiNarr village located some 1,200 meters from the LoC and three other people were injured.

The Foreign Office had earlier summoned India's deputy high commissioner on February 5, 15, 20 and 22.

"This unprecedented escalation in ceasefire violations by India is continuing from the year 2017 when Indian forces committed more than 1,970 ceasefire violations," he claimed.

He said the alleged ceasefire violations by India are a threat to regional peace and security and may lead to a strategic miscalculation.

Pakistani troops today fired mortar shells targeting villages along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir's Rajouri district, Indian police said.

"Pakistani troops fired mortar shells and small arms from across the border in the Lam area of the Nowshera sector around 6.15 pm," a police official said.

He said Indian troops retaliated and the exchange of fire continued for 15 minutes.

There was no casualty reported in the Pakistani firing, the official said.21: 15 We wind up with a post from the tech sector. Huawei has unveiled its new laptop, the Matebook X Pro. Packed with a 13.9-inch screen with incredibly small bezels, the company has built a tiny

webcam that pops up right out from the keyboard. The pricing starts from USD 1,842.

19:49 Spike in SC cases where govt is party; note ban, GST possible reasons

The number of cases in the Supreme Court where the Centre is a party has seen a spike in the last one year, with law ministry officials attributing the spurt to the note ban, GST and other taxation issues.

Between January 1 and December 31 last year, 4,229 cases were filed in the top court in which the government was a party as against 3,497 in 2016, according to the latest data from the law ministry.

Officials in the ministry said the spurt could be attributed to a slew of cases on government policies such as demonetisation, the GST regime and taxation issues in the last one year.

In 2014, when the NDA government came to power, the number of such cases was 4,748 but dipped to 3,909 in 2015.

From January 1 to February 22 this year, 859 such cases have already been filed in the apex court.

A number of cases relate to demonetisation, announced in November 2016, GST which came into effect last year and other taxation issues, a ministry functionary said.

According to the data, 3,909 cases where the Union of India is a party were filed between January 1 and December 31, 2015, 4,772 cases in 2013 and 4,149 in 2012.

While there has been a rise in litigation over such matters, the number of law officers representing the Union of India has dwindled.

18:58 Pharma major Dr Reddy's today said it has received the establishment inspection report (EIR) from the US Food and Drug Administration for its its formulations facility in Srikakulam, Andhra Pradesh.

The company, without mentioning the contents of the EIR, said the USFDA has maintained OAI (Official Action Indicated) status at its API manufacturing plant in Srikakulam.

The US drug regulator has asked the company for more details, it said.

"FDA has asked us for more details. We are providing those details and continuing to engage with FDA for resolution of pending issues," Dr Reddy's said in a regulatory filing.

An OAI status is equivalent to finding of objectionable conditions at the audit site and also an indicative of regulatory and/or administrative sanctions by FDA.

The USFDA issues an EIR to an establishment that is the subject of an FDA or FDA-contracted inspection when the agency decides to close the inspection.

In April 2017, the company had informed about completion of the audit at its API manufacturing plant in Andhra Pradesh and issuance of two observations by the US drug regulator.

Dr Reddy's had said that it was addressing those issues.

17:15 DRDO successfully flew its Rustom 2 today at its Aeronautical Test Range (ATR) at Chalakere at Chitradurga, according to a PIB statement. "The flight assumes significance due to the fact that this is the first flight in user configuration with higher power engine. All parameters were normal."

Secretary Department of Defence (R&D) & Chairman DRDO S Christopher, Director General of Aeronautical System CP Ramanarayanan, DG Electronics & Communication Systems J Manjula, alongwith senior scientists witnessed the flight and congratulated the Rustom team, the statement said.

15:55 Hindcon Chem IPO opens tomorrow to raise Rs 7.73 cr

Chemical products manufacturer Hindcon Chemicals today said its initial public offer (IPO) will open tomorrow to raise up to Rs 7.73 crore.

The company said it will use the proceeds to meet working capital requirements, general corporate purposes and expenses.

The IPO will put to offer 27,60,000 equity shares of face value of Rs 10 each at a cash price of Rs 28 per piece. The issue closes on February 28.

"With several decades of concrete experience in the field, wide range of products and strong R&D back-up, the company is poised for strong growth and well positioned to become a leader in the segment, increase its market share and profitability," Sanjay Goenka, Managing Director and Promoter of the company said in a statement.

In 2016-17, the company's net revenue of operations was Rs 33.94 crore, of which 32.14 per cent came from exports to Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh.

The key product portfolio of Hindcon includes protective waterproofing coatings, sodium silicates, concrete & mortar admixtures, epoxy grouts & mortars, waterproofing compounds, shotcrete aids, remover cleaning compounds, sealants, tile adhesives, among others.

14:37 Communist Party of China removes two-term limit for President Xi Jinping

The ruling Communist Party of China Central Committee today proposed to remove a limit of two consecutive terms for the president and the vice president, paving the way for President Xi Jinping to stay on beyond 2022.

The Central Committee proposed removing the clause that the President and Vice-President "shall serve no more than two consecutive terms" from the country's Constitution, state-run Xinhua news agency reported today.

President Xi, who is also head of the CPC and military, began his second five-year tenure last year, following a national Congress of the CPC.

Xi, 64, was elected as the head of the Party and President in 2013 and later took over as head of the military. (PTI)

13:58 India congratulates China on FATF post, hopes Beijing will be balanced

India today congratulated China for becoming the vice chair of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), a global body mandated to combat terror financing, and hoped Beijing would "uphold and support" the objective of the watchdog in a balanced and objective way.

In its plenary meeting in Paris on Friday, the FATF extensively deliberated on ways to combat terror financing and money-laundering but did not put Pakistan on its international terror-financing watch list. It gave Islamabad time till June to prepare an action plan against terror groups operating from Pakistan. (PTI)

13:23 Taxmen asked to step up collections to meet Rs 10.05 lakh crore target

Faced with a daunting target of Rs 10.05 lakh crore, the apex decision making body for direct taxes CBDT has asked its field officers to step up efforts and put more focus on better performing zones.

In the 2018-19 Budget, the government has hiked the direct tax, which includes personal income tax and corporate tax, collection target to Rs 10.05 lakh crore, from Rs 9.80 lakh crore budgeted initially. (PTI)

12:52 PM Modi visits Aurobindo Ashram in Puducherry

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today visited the Sri Aurobindo Ashram here and paid homage to its founder spiritual leader Sri Aurobindo.

After arriving here from Chennai, Modi reached the ashram where he was received by the officials.

He paid floral tributes at the memorial of Aurobindo and meditated for a few minutes.

Later, he interacted with the children of the International School of Education run by the ashram. (PTI)

12:22 Day-to-day safety should be part of our lives: PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today urged the people to inculcate safety in their day-to-day lives, stressing that India had to become a "risk-conscious" society.

In his monthly 'Mann ki Baat' radio broadcast, he also said the country was looking beyond the concept of women's development and talking in terms of development being led by women.

Women today were leaders in various spheres of life, he said, calling it a positive step.

Modi also urged women in rural areas to become a part of an initiative for "clean energy and green jobs" through the recently-launched "Gobar dhan" programme under which livestock waste including cow dung in villages would be used to generate clean energy. (PTI)

12:09 Government may allow only commercial mining of coal in future: Secretary

The government may in near future scrap the present system of allocating coal mines for captive use and instead only auction mines for commercial use to private as well as foreign companies with a view to boost domestic product and cut imports, a top official said.

The move, which would not just help attract foreign investment but also bring in efficiency and promote competition, follows government's decision of opening up the coal sector to commercial mining by private entities. (PTI)

11:38 TV makers to go for price hike of up to 7 percent

Leading TV manufacturers like Sony, LG, Panasonic and Samsung are set to increase prices of their LED/OLED sets by up to 7 per cent to offset impact of increase in customs duty.

Some of them are also expecting a short-term impact on sales and the Consumer Electronics and Appliances Manufacturers Association (CEAMA) has already initiated a dialogue with the government to roll back the duty hike.

Panasonic is going for a hike of 2-7 percent on its range of LED/OLED TVs.

"The increase in the prices of LED/OLED TVs and thereby, an impact on the consumer demand will be imminent with the proposed custom hike. In line, we will be increasing our prices by 2 per cent to 7 percent," Panasonic India Business Head Consumer Electronics Division Sales Neeraj Bahl told PTI.

According to industry sources, Samsung is also planning for a hike of around 5-6 per cent.

When asked about the hike, LG Electronics India Managing Director Ki Wan Kim said there is "no way to avoid it."

However, on being asked about the price increase, he said LG is still working on it. (PTI)

11:09 213 railway projects report cost overrun of Rs 1.73 lakh crore

More than three-fifths of the total 349 delayed central projects belong to the railways sector causing a cost overrun of Rs 1.73 lakh crore, according to a report by the statistics ministry.

A total of 213 projects of railways are facing delays due to various reasons, leading to cost overrun of Rs 1.73 lakh crore, the report of the Statistics and Programme Implementation ministry for October 2017 mentioned.

The statistics ministry monitors central sector projects envisaging an expenditure of Rs 150 crore and above each on regular basis.

According to the report, the original cost of these 213 railway projects was Rs 123,103.45 crore. The total anticipated cost of the projects has ballooned to Rs 2,96,496.70 crore now due to delays, which shows overall cost escalation of 140.85 per cent.

The ministry monitored 350 projects of Indian Railways in October this year. (PTI)

10:43 Smart city slot for Shillong kept on hold due to polls: Government

The Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry has kept on hold the 100th or the final slot of smart cities mission for Shillong, which was recently selected for its inclusion in the scheme, as the city is yet to submit its proposal due to elections in Meghalaya, an official said.

"The 100th slot is kept on hold for Shillong. It is yet to submit the proposal. They are busy in the election. It is expected that the city will submit the proposal after the elections," the ministry official said. (PTI)

10:15 China will deal 'seriously' with North Korea sanctions breaches

China will "seriously" deal with any breaches of UN Security Council resolutions on North Korea should they be found, a Chinese official said, soon after the third report this month of a ship-to-ship transfer suspected of violating sanctions.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said yesterday that Beijing still "firmly opposes the US imposing unilateral sanctions and 'long-arm jurisdiction' on Chinese entities or individuals."

China had said Thursday it was "highly concerned" about and was investigating the ship-to-ship transfer Japan reported this past week. (PTI)

09:52 India beat South Africa by 7 runs to clinch tour finale and T20I series 2-1

India brought curtains on a highly successful South Africa tour by clinching the Twenty20 series 2-1 with a comfortable seven-run win in the deciding third match at Newlands, on Saturday.

India's challenging tour had started at this very ground on January 5 and it culminated with a convincing win, which came in the absence of skipper Virat Kohli who did not play today's match due to stiff back.

South Africa 165/6 in reply to India's 172/7.

09:31 Aged 54, Sridevi passes away following a cardiac arrest in Dubai

Veteran actor Sridevi, who had a glorious career spanning over four decades, passed away, at the age of 54.

The actor, died late in at night due to cardiac arrest in Dubai, where she had gone along with her husband Boney Kapoor and daughter Khushi, to attend her nephew Mohit Marwah's wedding.

In 2013, Sridevi was awarded the Padma Shri, Indias fourth highest civilian honour. She is survived by her husband and two daughters  Jahnvi and Khushi.

Good morning readers! Welcome to Moneycontrols live news blog. Stay tuned to this space for the latest updates from the country and across the world.India's Health Minister J.P. Nadda speaks to the media at his office in New Delhi January 14, 2015. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi (INDIA - Tags: HEALTH POLITICS) - RTR4LE7B

Union Health Minister J P Nadda today said while other countries have set a target to eliminate Tuberculosis by 2030, India was looking forward to eradicating the disease by 2025.

Nadda was speaking at a national conference of the National Medicos Organization organised here today, according to an official release.

He said the central government has set a target to establish government or private medical colleges in each district of the country.

On the occasion, Haryana Finance Minister Abhimanyu said the current government has given a new direction to the medical sector. PTI CHS GVS GVS .An aeroplane graveyard exists in eastern Bangkok, situated in Ramkhamhaeng where MD-82 planes have been abandoned. The place was left to ruin after an effort to turn it into a venue and a bar failed. (REUTERS)

These planes are usually stripped of their interiors, but their outlining structure and frames are kept intact, along with the carpeting, overhead bins and bathrooms. All over the damaged plane are oxygen masks, safety manuals and debris scattered carelessly. (REUTERS)

The wasteland houses several poor Thai families and frequented by many tourists, who are charged 300 baht (6.60) per person. The poor families that have taken refuge in this wasteland act as caretakers for the site as well. (Reuters)

Many photographers from Bangkok have found the ghostly ruins worthy of their lens and have clicked many pictures of the hollow MD-82 jetliners, originally owned by Orient Thai Airlines.February 25, 2018 Syria - The UNSC Mandated Ceasefire Will Not Hold Last night the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 2401 demanding a 30 day ceasefire in all of Syria. The text of the adopted resolution does not seem to be available yet. A copy of the original draft resolution is here. The Russian government had offered several amendments to it. It demanded that the U.S. side guarantees that the enemies of the Syrian state would stick to such a ceasefire. The resolution was initiated by Sweden and Kuwait on behalf of the U.S. It follows after preparation by the Syrian army to liberate the east-Ghouta area next to the capital Damascus had reached a critical point. East-Ghouta is occupied by several terrorist groups including al-Qaeda and militant Salafist groups. Together they have for years been sponsored to harass the 7 million inhabitants of the capital with random mortar and missile attacks. The U.S. initiated a propaganda campaign to "save Ghouta" because it wants to keep the threat from Ghouta towards the Syrian capital alive.

bigger The ceasefire does not apply to Al-Qaeda, ISIS and associated terrorist groups. The war against them will continue. In east-Ghouta al-Qaeda (HTS) is allied with Failaq al-Rahman.

bigger The UN resolution is said to allow for the liberation of some significant areas of east-Ghouta including Harasta, Arbin, Zamalka, Ein Tarma and Kafar Batna. The Syrian Arab Army ground attack to liberate these and other parts of east-Ghouta began today, only hours after the resolution was adopted. It is already making good progress. The huge propaganda campaign about east-Ghouta is certainly not over humanitarian concern or over adherence to some legal rules of war. Last year the U.S. destroyed Raqqa with more than 31,000 artillery rounds and a large air campaign and killed more than 3,200 civilians. It even destroyed the water pipeline to Raqqa that supplied the inhabitants of the city - a clear war crime. Back then the UN requested a ceasefire to evacuate civilians. The U.S. rejected that out of hand. It latter let the remaining Islamic State fighters escape from Raqqa and is now retraining them for further attacks on the Syrian state. The campaigns around Ghouta are part of cold war between the USA and Russia which is dividing Syria. The current U.S. campaign to keep east-Ghouta under terrorist is in support of four goals: to demonstrate to the word that the Syrian government is unable to keep Damascus safe

to show that Russia was wrong in claiming victory in Syria

to protect ISIS and al-Qaeda as they are still needed as U.S. proxy foot-soldiers

the justify the U.S. occupation of north-east Syria and its oil fields and to thus limit the financial resources of the Syrian state. (This also gives the U.S. and Israel an operational area for further attacks on the Syrian state.) One interesting aspect of the UNSC ordered ceasefire is its application to the Turkish invasion of the Kurdish held Afrin area in north-west Syria. The Kurdish YPG, which is defending Afrin against the Turkish onslaught, is not an internationally recognized terrorist group. Thus Turkey is now under pressure to stop or end its campaign. U.S. President Trump has again confused his private position with that of the ruling administration: President Donald Trump appeared to contradict his own State Department during a press conference on Friday by saying that the US is in Syria to defeat ISIS and then leave. In January, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson outlined five goals for the US in Syria  to defeat ISIS and al-Qaida, resolve the conflict between the Syrian regime and people, to curb Iranian influence, to create conditions so that refugees can safely return, and to create a Syria free of weapons of mass destruction. Tillerson also said that the US seeks to resolve the conflict between the Syrian regime and people. The Trump administration also decided this week that it could continue to maintain US troops in Syria indefinitely, even in areas where ISIS fighters have been cleared, without new Congressional authorization. The is no basis in international law for a U.S. occupation of parts of Syria. The reasoning with which the administration tries to justify its military presence in Syria is laughable: [It] said that the continued potential threat from the Islamic State provided a legal rationale for the Trump administration to keep American troops deployed there indefinitely. A "preventive" military presence in a foreign country because some terrorist group might evolve there could be used to occupy any piece of land on this planet. This is evidently bullshit but it is currently unlikely that Congress will get involved and stop this criminal behavior. The UNSC mandated ceasefire will fail. The various groups in east-Ghouta are disunited but have a common interest in keeping the war going. It is their sole source of income and purpose. They will continue to harass Damascus which will then justify more attacks on them. The U.S. campaign to "save Ghouta" will thus go down in the same way the earlier campaign to "save Aleppo" has failed. The Syrian government will liberate and secure the area by the appropriate means and with the least possible casualties and damage. The U.S. will then move its propaganda campaign to some other area and will continue to use dirty tricks, but not an open battle, to prolong the war on Syria and to pursue its unrealistic aims. Posted by b on February 25, 2018 at 13:12 UTC | Permalink CommentsMaintaining independence and editorial freedom is essential to our mission of empowering investor success. We provide a platform for our authors to report on investments fairly, accurately, and from the investors point of view. We also respect individual opinionsthey represent the unvarnished thinking of our people and exacting analysis of our research processes. Our authors can publish views that we may or may not agree with, but they show their work, distinguish facts from opinions, and make sure their analysis is clear and in no way misleading or deceptive.

To further protect the integrity of our editorial content, we keep a strict separation between our sales teams and authors to remove any pressure or influence on our analyses and research.

Read our editorial policy to learn more about our process.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.Florida House Speaker Richard Corcoran has called for the suspension of Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel following the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland.

FL House Speaker calls for sheriff's suspension

Richard Corcoran says Broward Co. Sheriff ignored warning signs



RELATED: Rick Scott calls for FDLE investigation into Parkland shooting

Corcoran sent a letter to Gov. Rick Scott on Sunday, urging him to suspend Israel for incompetence and dereliction of duty.

In the years leading up to this unspeakable tragedy, Sheriff Israel, his deputies, and staff ignored repeated warning signs about the violent, erratic, threatening, and antisocial behavior of Nikolas Jacob Cruz, Corcoran wrote.

The letter is supported by 73 other Republican members of the Florida House.

The Broward County Sheriffs Office has faced criticism in the days following the shooting. In the last week, it was reported that the School Resource Officer, deputy Scot Peterson, did not enter the school to confront the shooter.

Israel appeared on CNNs State of the Union on Sunday and said he would not be resigning. His response came after Florida Rep. Bill Hager called for Israel to be removed from his post.

Meanwhile, Scott asked the Florida Department of Law Enforcement on Sunday to investigate the law enforcement response to the mass school shooting.By Online Desk

Veteran Bollywood actor Sridevi, who had an illustrious career spanning over four decades, passed away after suffering a cardiac arrest in Dubai late in the night. She was 54.

The actor, wife of producer Boney Kapoor was in Dubai, where she had gone along with her family to attend her nephew Mohit Marwah's wedding.

A shocked Ram Gopal Varma who has reportedly 'expressed his love' for the actress on several occassions has written a brief letter on Facebook in praise of the late actress.

Here's the full letter posted by the director on Facebook:

I HATE GOD FOR KILLING SRIDEVI AND I HATE SRIDEVI FOR DYING

RGVSUNDAY, 25 FEBRUARY 2018

I HATE GOD FOR KILLING SRIDEVI AND I HATE SRIDEVI FOR DYING .

I have a habit of constantly dreaming and waking up every once in a while in the night to check out my cell phone and I suddenly saw a message that Sridevi is no more ..I thought that either its a nightmare or a hoax and I went back to sleep ..An hour later I woke up to check and there were around 50 messages informing me of the same

Back in the times when I was in engineering college in Vijayawada, I happened to see her first telugu film padaharella vayasu.. I was awestruck with her Beauty and I walked out of the theatre in a daze thinking that she cannot be a real person and she has to be some fantasy form who somehow has taken a human shape. Then I saw her various other films,all of which constantly created a higher bench mark of both her talent and her beauty ..To me she looked like some being who has come from some other world in the outer space as a favour to bless us for a little while for all the good we might have done in this world .

She was like a creation of God which he does whenever he is in a very special mood as a very very special gift to mankind. My journey to Sridevi started when I was preparing for my debut film Shiva. I used to walk from Nagarjunas office in Chennai to a neighbouring street where Sridevi used to live and I used to just stand and watch Sridevis house from outside her gate.

I just couldnt believe that the goddess of beauty lives in that stupid looking house. I say stupid because I believed that no man made house deserved to house that beauty called SRIDEVI. I used to so desperately hope to catch a glimpse of her as she went in or out of her house. But sadly no such thing ever happened.

And then after Shiva released and became a big hit,a producer came to me and asked if I was interested in doing a film with Sridevi. I said Are you mad or what? I will die to just see her, let alone make a film with her!He arranged a meeting with her and took me to meet her at that very same house where I used to stand outside the gate and stare. At night we went and as luck would have it there was a power cut in her house. so I was sitting in her living room in candle light along with the producer waiting for the angel to appear and my heart was thumping like mad.

Her mother told us she was busy packing as she was about to catch a flight to go to Mumbai. As we were waiting, every once in a while Sridevi was rapidly crossing the living room as she was moving from one room to another room in a rush to finish her packing even as she apologetically smiled at me for the delay. Everytime she was appearing and disappearing in a flash and the director in me started slow motioning her and running her backward and forward for my visual pleasure.

Finally she came and sat in the living room, just said a mandatory few lines that she would very much like to work with me and then she left for Mumbai. I continued talking to her mother with enormous respect and awe because she actually gave birth to Sridevi. I went back to my place feeling like I was in the seventh heaven. The way Sridevi sat in front of me in the candle light got imprinted in my mind like an exquisite painting and with her image completely filling both my mind and my heart I started writing Kshana Kshanam.

I wrote Kshana Kshanam with the one and only purpose so as to impress Sridevi. Kshana Kshanam was intended by me as a love letter to her. Throughout the making of Kshana Kshanam,I just couldnt take my eyes off her charm, her beauty,her personality and her demeanour was a new discovery for me.

She had an invisible wall around her and she does not let anyone cross that. Behind that wall she maintains her dignity and her self-respect and she never lets anyone inside. Also during the course of working with her and observing her technique of acting I began to understand more and more as a director about the nuances of performances and characterizations because for me she formed the epitome of cinematic acting

Her popularity and stardom had to be seen to be believed. We were shooting for the climax in Nandyal for Kshana Kshanam and the whole town of Nandyal came to a standstill when they came to know that Sridevi was in town. Banks, Govt offices, Schools, Colleges everything in town closed as everyone wanted to see Sridevi.

She stayed in a travellers bungalow in Nandyal and at a little distance i was staying in another bungalow. There used to be a crowd of atleast 20,000 people around her bungalow throughout the night just staring at it. There were about 50 tough guys along with a 100 strong police force who used to continuously guard her.

When we were at location we used to know that Sridevi started from her bungalow to come to location because we used to see a column of dust travelling towards us from the distance. The dust was due to the thousands of people running behind her car. I have never seen more of a super star and now she just got extinguished

Sridevi is the most beautiful and the most sensuous woman,God ever created and I think he creates such exquisite pieces of art like her only once in a thousand years. Though she is no longer there, we her directors fortunately have her captured as a goddess of beauty in our cameras and our cinematic angel has now just become a divine angel

I thank God for creating Sridevi and I thank Louis Lumiere for creating the movie camera for giving us an opportunity to contain her forever. I still cant believe that she is no more and I am lying in bed writing about my memories of her

I so hope I am still having a bad dream,but I know I am not

I hate Sridevi.

I hate her for making me realise that she too is finally only just a human being.

I hate that her heart too has to beat to live.

I hate that,she too has a heart which can just stop like anybody elses.

I hate that I lived to see the messages informing me of her death

I hate God for killing her

And I hate Sridevi for dying .

I love you Sri wherever you are and I will always love you.

- Ram Gopal Varma

Director RGV has worked with Sridevi in two Telugu films, 'Kshanam Kshanam' and 'Govinda Govinda'.By PTI

MUMBAI: Veteran Bollywood actor and Padma Shri awardee Sridevi, who had an illustrious career spanning over four decades, passed away. She was 54.

SEE PHOTOS | 'Hawa Hawai' no more: Iconic Sridevi passes away

The actor, wife of producer Boney Kapoor, died late in the night reportedly due to cardiac arrest in Dubai, where she had gone along with her family to attend her nephew Mohit Marwah's wedding.

Confirming the news, a source close to the family said, "Yes it's true. She was in Dubai while some of the other family members came back to India. We hear it's cardiac arrest."

VIEW GALLERY: Rare photos of veteran actress Sridevi

While some of her family members returned from Dubai after the wedding, Sridevi, Boney and her younger daughter Khushi stayed back.

Her elder daughter -- Janhvi -- had not travelled with the family because of the shooting schedule for her upcoming Bollywood film, her first in the industry.

WATCH VIDEO:

Sridevi, known for her versatility as an actor, made her Bollywood debut in 1978 with "Solva Sawan".

But it was only after five years with Jeetendra-starrer "Himmatwala" that she gained commercial success.

Before her entry into Bollywood, the actor had been a known face in South Indian films.

She made her debut as a child artist in in Tamil film "Thunaivan" in 1969.

ALSO READ: From Sridevi to Kareena to Anushka, unrealistic beauty standards fuel a disturbing trend

She also worked in Malayalam, Telugu and Kannada films.

Sridevi's beguiling eyes, scintillating screen presence and acting prowess soon made her one of the most sought-after actors in the Hindi film industry.

Her last photograph: Sridevi and family at nephew Actor Mohit Marwah's wedding with Antara in Dubai on Sunday. (Instagram | @sridevi.kapoor)

While films like "Mawaali" (1983), "Tohfa" (1984), "Mr India" (1987) and "Chandni" (1989) kept her at the top in the box-office game, her outings like "Sadma" (1983), "ChaalBaaz" (1989), "Lamhe" (1991), and "Gumrah" (1993) earned her critical acclaim.

She went on a hiatus for 15 years after starring in home production "Judaai", co-starring her brother-in-law Anil Kapoor and Urmila Matondkar.

IN PICTURES | Four Filmfare Award-winning performances by late Superstar Sridevi

It was director Gauri Shinde's "English Vinglish" in 2012 that marked Sridevi's comeback. Her nuanced performance as a middle-class woman, learning to speak English to feel accepted by her family, won accolades, and the film was also a commercial success.

Last year, she was seen in revenge-drama, "Mom", opposite Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Akshaye Khanna.

She also shot for a special appearance in superstar Shah Rukh Khan's upcoming film, "Zero", which releases in December.

Sridevi was awarded the Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian honour, in 2013.

#Mumbai: Visulas from outside the residence of deceased actress Sridevi in Andheri. pic.twitter.com/DLSsmnKcLN  ANI (@ANI) February 24, 2018

Minutes after the news of her death broke, many Bollywood actors like Amitabh Bachchan, Priyanka Chopra, Sushmita Sen, Sidharth Malhotra and Riteish Deshmukh took to Twitter to pay their condolences.

The first one, however, was megastar Amitabh Bachchan who in a cryptic tweet wrote, "Don't know why, feeling a strange restlessness. I have no words."

"Condolences to everyone who loved #Sridevi . A dark day. RIP," tweeted Priyanka, alongside a still of Sridevi from her superhit film "Mr India".

Rajya Sabha MP Amar Singh too mourned the untimely demise of veteran actress, and recalled her as one of the few genuine people he met from the cinema industry.

"In this industry, there are only a few people I have met who are the same from within as they are outside, who have sentiments off the camera as well. I found people full of selfishness, who would give you a hug and then laugh at your back. In this artificial world, Sridevi was a genuine person," he told ANI.

"A woman who entered into the skin of her character and was capable of taking on that image, but as soon as the camera clicked off, (she) went completely quiet, and detached from the outside world if ever I saw such a woman it was Sridevi," he added.

Singh also shared that he too was at the wedding ceremony that the actress attended and where she breathed her last.

Comedian Johnny Lever, while expressing grief, sent prayers to the late actor's family, which includes husband Boney Kapoor and daughters Khushi and Janhvi.

"Deeply saddened and shocked to hear about #Sridevi Ji. My prayers and condolences to the family," he tweeted.

"Really Shocked and disturbed to hear that Sridevi Maam is no more. #RIP #Sridevi," wrote Sidharth.

Saddened by the untimely demise of noted actor Sridevi. She was a veteran of the film industry, whose long career included diverse roles and memorable performances. My thoughts are with her family and admirers in this hour of grief. May her soul rest in peace: PM @narendramodi  PMO India (@PMOIndia) February 25, 2018

Actor Shilpa Shetty's husband -- Raj Kundra -- posted, "Heartbroken by this news!! She was One of the finest kindest souls I ever knew. Speechless shocked.#RIP#Sridevi this is just not right at all! May god give all the family strength at this darkest hour."

Riteish tweeted, "Terrible terrible news. Am shocked beyond words. SRIDEVI ji No More RIP," while Sushmita wrote that she has been inconsolable since the news broke.

"I just heard Madam Sridevi passed away due to a massive cardiac arrest. I am in shock, can't stop crying."

Shocked to hear of passing of movie star Sridevi. She has left millions of fans heartbroken. Her performances in films such as Moondram Pirai, Lamhe and English Vinglish remain an inspiration for other actors. My condolences to her family and close associates #PresidentKovind  President of India (@rashtrapatibhvn) February 25, 2018

Actor Nimrat Kaur tweeted, "Absolutely devastated to hear about the passing of #Sridevi. What a dark black terrible moment in time. Gutted.

Cameron Bailey, Artistic Director, Toronto International Film Festival, tweeted, "Shocked to hear of the passing of India's legendary Sridevi. Honoured to have been in her presence in 2012 when she visited Toronto for English Vinglish. She made countless millions fall in love with her characters."

Saddened at the untimely passing away of Sridevi, one of the most popular actors of a generation. Condolences to her family, her colleagues in the industry and fans  Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) February 25, 2018

Congress President Rahul Gandhi offered condolences to the family of the veteran actress.

"Shocked to hear about the sudden and untimely death of one of Indias favourite actress, Sridevi. Sridevi was an incredibly talented and versatile actress whose vast body of work spanned a range of genres and languages. My condolences to her family. May her soul rest in peace," Gandhi tweeted.

The Twitter handle of the Congress Party also paid tribute to Sridevi.

"We regret to hear about the passing away of Sridevi. An actor par excellence. A legend who will continue to live in our hearts through her stellar body of work. Our deepest condolences to her loved ones," the tweet read.

Deeply saddened by the untimely demise of versatile actor #Sridevi. Her contribution to Hindi cinema is unparallel and will be remembered for generations to come. My condolences to her family and countless admirers.  Piyush Goyal (@PiyushGoyal) February 25, 2018

The sports fraternity too expressed grief over the veteran Bollywood actress's demise.

Legendary cricketer Sachin Tendulkar expressed shock.

I have no words to express how I feel. We have grown up seeing her. It is difficult to digest that she is not with us. My heartiest condolences to her family, Tendulkar told ANI.

Meanwhile, Union Minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore took to Twitter to express grief over Sridevi's demise.

Shocked to hear about the sudden demise of Sridevi ji, a legend of Indian Cinema. May god give peace to her soul & strength to family, friends and fans. ? ?????, said Rathore.



Veteran cricketer and commentator Harsha Bhogle took to Twitter and said, Oh, no! In her own way, she lit up the screen. Such a star! No age to go. Sridevi.

Ace Badminton player P. V. Sindhu also took to Twitter to express her emotions.

Such sad and shocking news. My condolences to the family RIP Sridevi, she added.

Former Indian opener Virender Sehwag also sent out his condolences to the actress's family.

Shocked to hear about the demise of #Sridevi ji. Heartfelt Condolences to the family. Om Shanti, he tweeted.

(With Inputs from ANI)By Online Desk

The Dubai police on Sunday evening completed the autopsy on actress Sridevi who died of a cardiac arrest. Before this unfortunate incident, Sridevi along with her husband and producer and younger daughter Khushi was attending her nephew Mohit Marwah's wedding in Dubai.

After the initial reports came out about the untimely death of the actress, some netizens raised concerns on social media. These speculations caught their attention especially after the Dubai authorities asked for an autopsy.

According to Khaleej Times, Sridevi fainted in her hotel bathroom and was rushed to Rashid Hospital in Dubai, UAE. However, conducting a postmortem of a deceased person from a different country is a routine. This invariably caused a delay in bringing back the celebrated actress' remains to India. The remains are expected to be brought by a chartered flight on Monday.

We have been receiving several queries regarding the sad untimely demise of the noted actor Sridevi Boney Kapoor in Dubai last night. Consulate is in constant touch with high authorities of Dubai police to expedite formalities so that the mortal remains can depart for India ASAP.  India in Dubai (@cgidubai) February 25, 2018

Many, including Sridevi's brother-in-law Sanjay Kapoor, had shared that the actress was not known to have a history of heart disease.

It must be noted that The New Indian Express cannot verify the circumstanes and does not support any rumours surrounding the actress' death.

READ: Actress Sridevi passes away at 54 in Dubai; film fraternity, politicians and sportspersons mourn

The rumours attributed the cause for her death to the multiple cosmetic surgeries the actor had allegedly undergone.

I'll remember #Sridevi as THE early exponent of cosmetic surgery. Gave Michael Jackson a serious run on the nose front. Won't be surprised if her demise was caused by Botulinus poisoning.  Abhimanyu Singh Rana (@abhimanyusrana) February 25, 2018

Sridevi, Boney and their younger daughter Khushi. (Instagram)

While some of her family members returned from Dubai after the wedding, Sridevi, Boney and their younger daughter Khushi stayed back.

Her elder daughter -- Janhvi -- had not travelled with the family because of the shooting schedule for her upcoming Bollywood film 'Dhadak', her first in the industry.

Sridevi, known for her versatility as an actor, made her Bollywood debut in 1978 with "Solva Sawan".

But it was only after five years with Jeetendra-starrer "Himmatwala" that she gained commercial success.

Before her entry into Bollywood, the actor had been a known face in South Indian films.

ALSO READ: From Sridevi to Kareena to Anushka, unrealistic beauty standards fuel a disturbing trend

While films like "Mawaali" (1983), "Tohfa" (1984), "Mr India" (1987) and "Chandni" (1989) kept her at the top in the box-office game, her outings like "Sadma" (1983), "ChaalBaaz" (1989), "Lamhe" (1991), and "Gumrah" (1993) earned her critical acclaim.

She went on a hiatus for 15 years after starring in home production "Judaai", co-starring her brother-in-law Anil Kapoor and Urmila Matondkar.

The actress marked her comeback with the bilingual movie 'English Vinglish' in 2012. Her last appearance was a cameo in Shah Rukh Khan's 'Zero'.Ever wanted to drive your own Portsmouth police cruiser? Now you can.

localSuccess! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.One of Editor & Publishers 10 That Do It Right 2021Reporter

Tim Mitchell is a reporter at The News-Gazette. His email is tmitchel@news-gazette.com, and you can follow him on Twitter (@mitchell6).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).Widely regarded as India's first female superstar, legendary actress Sridevi, 54, passed away after suffering a cardiac arrest in Dubai.

Sridevi had gone to attend her nephew Mohit Marwah's wedding with husband Boney Kapoor and daughter Khushi Kapoor after which some of the family members had returned whereas Sridevi and Boney stayed back.

She made her acting debut in 1978 with Solva Sawan and went on to become a household name with Jeetendra-starrer Himmatwaala.

She is survived by husband Boney and two daughters- Khushi and Jhanvi; Jhanvi is all set to make her Bollywood debut with Dhadak.

Shocked fans took to Twitter to mourn the death of their dear star.

Sridevi will live on in our hearts forever and be dearly missed.  pic.twitter.com/LcYliXuL5v  (@DesiObsession_) February 25, 2018

Boney Kapoor's estranged first wife, Mona Kapoor, died a month before the release of her son Arjun Kapoor's first film. Today, #Sridevi died from massive cardiac arrest a month before the release of her daughter Jhanvi Kapoor's first film. Such shocking fate! Rue (@RueRants) February 24, 2018

I cannot believe what Im reading about #Sridevi. It feels like a personal loss! Goosebumps. Dr. Malvika Iyer (@MalvikaIyer) February 24, 2018

man my heart is hurting. sridevi was such a blindingly bright, iconic star. Imaan Sheikh  (@sheikhimaan) February 24, 2018

She was my favourite heroine. She is my favourite heroine and she will always be my favourite heroine.Cannot imagine that the heartful chuckle and sinewy voice are no more. May her soul find peace. #RIPSridevi pic.twitter.com/eBTqHapigj Dr. Kiran Kumar Karlapu, IRS (@scarysouthpaw) February 25, 2018

Life is so fickle. Keep your loved ones close to you, let them know what they mean to you, stop fussing about small issues. Pakchikpak Raja Babu (@HaramiParindey) February 25, 2018

Oh, no! In her own way, she lit up the screen. Such a star! No age to go. #Sridevi. Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) February 24, 2018

What a sad sad day for us all. #Sridevi was one of the greatest actresses ever to have graced our screens. Her charm, her smile, those eyes, those expressions... absolutely unmatchable. The comic timing and natural dancing flair... they just dont make them like her anymore. pic.twitter.com/OhqWDGrI0Y Haroon Rashid (@iHaroonRashid) February 24, 2018

An actor that made her every movie character - a reference point for generations to come, Sridevi, maybe no more, but Chandni will live on, the legend will sing along. pic.twitter.com/UplpHhR89j Food Revolution (@AanchalDiet) February 25, 2018

My fave anecdote of Sridevi was that she was offered a role in Jurassic Park by Steven Spielberg. She refused because it wasn't a starring role & it would have meant taking a hiatus from Bollywood, where she knew she was a leading lady. RIP Queen  pic.twitter.com/o7p1lUX12I Megha Mohan (@meghamohan) February 24, 2018

Manju in Chaalbaaz was the 1st feminist i came across in films. Seema in Mr India was the 1st journo. #Sridevi played some powerful female characters. Still recall her line: "mai mardo ki duniya me apne shart pe jeena chahti hun" (Chaalbaaz). V sad to hear about her demise. RIP pic.twitter.com/jJUSBGNaMp Aditya Menon (@AdityaMenon22) February 25, 2018

an icon for the ages pic.twitter.com/LgN3ktJQB9 Imaan Sheikh  (@sheikhimaan) February 24, 2018

#Sridevi dressed like a Queen hours before her death. Now mourned & will be wrapped in White clothing. Life is not short, death is just unpredictable... pic.twitter.com/OAj5Z0LnTi Shuj' (@ChocMilkSheikh) February 24, 2018

Just woke up and learned about Sridevi and thought its a nightmare. Turns out its true. Such a beautiful performer, gone too soon. Rest in peace. pic.twitter.com/oEBy6Axg5R NRK (@PWNeha) February 25, 2018

Indian president Ram Nath Kovind took to Twitter express his grief.

The prez wrote, "Shocked to hear of passing of movie star Sridevi. She has left millions of fans heartbroken. Her performances in films such as Moondram Pirai, Lamhe and English Vinglish remain an inspiration for other actors. My condolences to her family and close associates #PresidentKovind"

Shocked to hear of passing of movie star Sridevi. She has left millions of fans heartbroken. Her performances in films such as Moondram Pirai, Lamhe and English Vinglish remain an inspiration for other actors. My condolences to her family and close associates #PresidentKovind President of India (@rashtrapatibhvn) February 25, 2018

Several members of the film industry also took to Twitter to express their grief over her shocking demise and offered condolences to family and fans.

Im shocked and very disturbed. Ive lost a dear friend and the industry has lost a true legend. My heart goes out to her family and friends. I feel the pain with them #RIPSridev ... you will be missed. Rajinikanth (@superstarrajini) February 25, 2018

May her soul rest in peace Condolences to her family. pic.twitter.com/R8RUwdG5B2 Mohanlal (@Mohanlal) February 25, 2018

Have witnessed Sridevi's life from an adolescent teenager to the magnificeint lady she became. Her stardom was well deserved. Many happy moments with her flash through my mind including the last time I met her. Sadma's lullaby haunts me now. We'll miss her Kamal Haasan (@ikamalhaasan) February 25, 2018

Shocked beyond words to hear about the sad and untimely demise of #Sridevi. A dream for many, had the good fortune of sharing screen space with her long ago and witnessed her continued grace over the years. Thoughts and prayers with the family. RIP  Akshay Kumar (@akshaykumar) February 25, 2018

I am shocked . I have no words. My condolences to the family , friends and fans of cinemas darling ... Sridevi ji .. #RIPSridevi Anushka Sharma (@AnushkaSharma) February 24, 2018

So heartbreaking to hear about #Sridevi maam ... we just lost our finest .... gone way too soon.... pic.twitter.com/VXrEZQlh7u Neha Dhupia (@NehaDhupia) February 24, 2018

Shocked stunned. Still see her laughing talking. Unbelievable. Actor par excellence. A school in herself.. learnt so much from her. Still cant believe it . A huge loss. #Sridevi Kajol (@KajolAtUN) February 25, 2018

I just heard Maam Sridevi passed away due to a massive cardiac arrest. I am in shock...cant stop crying... sushmita sen (@thesushmitasen) February 24, 2018

I have no words. Condolences to everyone who loved #Sridevi . A dark day . RIP PRIYANKA (@priyankachopra) February 24, 2018

Heartbroken & shocked to hear that my all time favourite #Sridevi is no more. May god give peace to her soul & strength to the family #RIP Preity zinta (@realpreityzinta) February 24, 2018

First Reema Lagoo , now Sridevi ...two absolutely gorgeous women on screen ... gone in a flash ... ................... then again .... ......................maybe its a blessing ... ............... Juhi Chawla (@iam_juhi) February 25, 2018

CANNOT believe this. I have no words. Rip Sridevi maam. You were the most beautiful. Strength to Boney uncle, jahnvi, khushi and the whole family.  Parineeti Chopra (@ParineetiChopra) February 25, 2018

Heartbroken & shocked to hear that my all time favourite #Sridevi is no more. May god give peace to her soul & strength to the family #RIP Preity zinta (@realpreityzinta) February 24, 2018

Terrible terrible news.... Am shocked beyond words. SRIDEVI ji No More ...  RIP Riteish Deshmukh (@Riteishd) February 24, 2018

Shocked and devastated. An amazing talent and my favourite performer passes on. A tremendous loss to the industry.Bijli giraane main hoon aayi, kehte hain mujhko hawa Hawaii RIP dear #Sridevi. pic.twitter.com/nBrhmAlPlz Jaaved Jaaferi (@jaavedjaaferi) February 24, 2018

Why are you crying Sridevi? We are the only ones who should be doing that for what you did to us! pic.twitter.com/TNhllCImRk Ram Gopal Varma (@RGVzoomin) February 25, 2018

Deeply saddened and shocked to hear about #Sridevi Ji. My prayers and condolences to the family. Johny Lever (@iamjohnylever) February 24, 2018

Cant believe it, my most fav actress #Sridevi ji is no more. Its a huge loss. Met her so many times in last couple of months and she was always so kind and gracious. Youll be missed maam. We all love you and very proud of you and your achievements. Rajkummar Rao (@RajkummarRao) February 25, 2018

This is too sudden & unexpected. #Sridevi no more, just sounds wrong. So young and so much more talent yet to be explored... RIP Sridevi... Arshad Warsi (@ArshadWarsi) February 25, 2018

Woken up to Absolute Shock and Disbelief ! Tragic news ! Im at a loss of words,cant comprehend this at all! Why? Gone Too soon ,Sri , my heart goes out to Boneyji,jahnvi and Khushi at this moment. Condolences and Prayers . #sridevi Raveena Tandon (@TandonRaveena) February 25, 2018

RIP @SrideviBKapoor ...Condolences to the whole family :( A.R.Rahman (@arrahman) February 24, 2018

Amitabh Bachchan, who has worked with Sridevi in several films, took to Twitter a night before and shared that he felt an unusual uneasiness.

T 2625 -    ,        !! Amitabh Bachchan (@SrBachchan) February 24, 2018

Sridevi had featured in multilingual films including Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, and Kannada.

She made a comeback with 2012s English Vinglish and subsequently, Mom, in 2017.

She had been cast in Dharma Productions' yet-to-start Shiddat, directed by 2 States' Abhishek Varman.Lucknow: A 13-year-old Dalit girl reportedly committed suicide after starving for two-days in Nighasan area of Uttar Pradeshs Lakhimpur Kheri. The SDM has started investigating the matter. The family of the girl used to live in the outer area of Nighasan where families troubled by the erosion of land used to live. The father of the deceased girl, Chote Lal passed away some time ago and the family was run by her mother Jagrana who works as a daily-wage labourer. Jagrana used to stay in a hut along with her three kids and the family was facing acute food shortage for some time.

There was no grain in the house and she had gone to borrow some food, in the meanwhile her 13-year-old daughter got some chapattis from the neighbourhood. She wanted to share the food with her younger brother but her other sister also insisted on eating the food. Estranged by the hunger and the situation, she hanged herself, girls mother Jagrana said.

The girl was later taken to the district hospital where she was declared dead by the doctors. However, SDM Akhilesh Yadav said that the family is poor but they have a ration card and ration for the month of January was taken by the family. Also, the SDM has asked Nayab Tehsildar for a detailed report of the incident.

Although the Administration is not accepting that her death was due to hunger and poverty but circumstances are clearly indicating what led the girl to commit suicide. Even SDM Akhilesh Yadav is accepting that the family received ration for the month of January, which means the family was waiting for Februarys ration.

According to the villagers, Jagrana was not getting the widow pension which she should have got after the death of her husband. Jagrana was taking care of her three children by working on daily wages. The SDM might have sent his report to the DM but there was no mention of Jagrana not getting the widow pension.

The sad story of Jagrana started when she lost her house due to flood, then she lost her husband and now she lost her daughter, allegedly, due to hunger. Jagrana had four daughters and one of them was married some time back, post which she was laden with debt too.Jammu: Minutes after the Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti ordered a high level probe into the appointments of Jammu & Kashmir Khadi & Village Industries Board (KVIB), Aroot Madni, the son of Sartaj Madni and first cousin of the CM, declined to accept the offer of appointment as Executive Officer from the Board.

PDP General Secretary Rafi Ahmed Mir said: "Aroot Madni the son of Sartaj Madi has voluntarily declined to accept the appointment as Executive Officer Jammu & Kashmir Khadi & Village Industries Board.

Chief Secretary B B Vayas has been named the head of a high level committee constituted for probing the KVIB appointments and the committee has been asked to come up with its fact finding reports in short time.

Madni, defending his selection, said he was "paying the price for belonging to a political family".

"I am convinced that I have been selected purely on the basis of merit and performance in the exams. There are many other candidates in the selection list who came from all kinds of family background. They too have found their place on the basis of their merit and performance. I don't want that my selection end its politicisation should affect their prospectus, as the selection process has been uniformly fair in every case. I therefore tender my resignation from the post of Executive Officer KVIB," said Madni.

Madni blamed it on the smear campaign and said his resigning from the post was a small price to pay to "uphold the fair name of my father".

The appointment of 37-year-old Syed Aroot Madni as an executive officer in the KVIB prompted dropped candidates to file an RTI seeking their marks in the written test and interview.

One candidate even wrote to to Prime Minister Narendra Modi ahead of his interview expressing fears of nepotism and malpractice.

A letter by state law secretary Abdul Majid Bhat, who was also controller of the KVIB recruitment exam, to IGP CID has surfaced which hints that the exam process may have been rigged.

CNN-News18 is in possession of a letter written by Bhat which claims there were some unfair means reported during the conduct of exams.

Bhat, writes in the letter, that there are "some complaints against the examination process" and asks the CID department to make in depth verification so that the examination process remains transparent and no one is favoured.

Peer Mansoor, vice chairman, KVIB, a close aide of CM Mufti and senior PDP functionary, told CNN-News18 that proper recruitment norms were followed in the selection.

"This is the fairest selection in the history of KVIB. We are nowhere in the picture. We outsourced the conduct of exams to a private reputed agency and they handed over the final list," he said.

Aroot's selection, however, is being questioned by candidates who have alleged rules were flouted to accommodate him.

The candidates alleged that the selection of candidates for various posts was handed over to a private recruitment agency instead of the Jammu and Kashmir Services Selection and Recruitment Board (JKSSRB) or Jammu and Kashmir Public Services Commission (JKPSC) which conducts all such exams for non-gazetted posts.

They also said 15 to 18 candidates were shortlisted for interview to fill in a single post against a set norm of 3:1 or 5:1. Calling so many candidates for interview was done to manipulate selection, they alleged.

Further, they alleged 30 marks were kept for the interview and only 60 for the written test. The JKSSRB and JKPSC generally keeps 80 and 20 marks for written and interviews for filling up government vacancies. The remaining 10 marks earmarked for 'work experience'.

Defending the selection Mansoor said Mansoor said KVIB follows its own recruitment rules. Farooq Peer, former JKSSRB boss, wrote on Facebook that it would have been proper had the KVIB referred the vacancies to JKPSC or JKSSRB since they are credible bodies for recruitments.

The KVIB had advertised various posts, including that of executive officer, on October 8, 2016. The shortlisted candidates appeared in the written test in August 2017 and the interviews were held in the last week of January.Kochi/New Delhi: M M Akbar, Islamic preacher and managing director of Peace International School, was arrested in Hyderabad on Sunday.

According to highly placed sources, Akbar had arrived in Hyderabad from Australia, and was scheduled to board a flight to Doha on Monday. However, he was held from Telanganas capital before fleeing the country.

Police sources told News18 that they are looking into the details and procedure to take the controversial preacher to Kerala.

M M Akbar, also known as Keralas Zakir Naik, came to limelight earlier in January after Kerala government decided to shut down his school near Kochi for promoting enmity among different groups on the basis of religion.

It was the same school which recently hit the headlines after 21 people went missing from Kerala to reportedly join the ISIS in Afghanistan and Syria.

Among the missing, was Abdul Rasheed, who is suspected to be the ring leader of this group and was an employee of the Peace School. His wife Yasmin Ahmad, also missing, had earlier taught at the school.

Akbar is the managing director of Peace International School, which has 13 branches in different districts of Kerala. According to reports, a chapter of the textbook taught in class II of the school was leaked by parents and some others to the media, following which the state government initiated an investigation.

The probe also revealed that the school was not following textbooks of SCERT, NCERT or CBSE but using books which were out of syllabus and published by private companies.

The officers conducting the investigation said that textbooks, published by Navi Mumbai-based Burooj Realization, were distributed in Class II of all the branches of the school. The books allegedly propagated Islamic orthodoxy and conversion.

The investigation team had apprehended three people earlier who admitted that their aim was to radicalise children in the age group of 5-13 years.

After the arrest of Mohamed Vaid, 38, Sameed Ahammed Sheikh, 31, and Sahil Hameed Sayed, 28, Burooj Realization had withdrawn the textbooks distributed to schools across the country.

They confessed that there were errors in the books and claimed that corrected books will be distributed from the next academic year, an officer said.Feb 25, 2018 11:29 (IST)



After 70 years of independence, power supply has finally reached the Elephanta Caves near Mumbai. A 7.5-km-long undersea cable has brought electricity to the world-famous Gharapuri Isle, which houses the UNESCO world heritage site. A tourism guide said that the step would now increase tourism and more people would visit the site. The development will also benefit three nearby villages. I am happy that now Elephanta caves will be lighted. This is a new beginning of the development phase: Prime Minister Narendra Modi via Mann Ki BaatNew Delhi: A young married woman was arrested for allegedly throwing her 25-day-old daughter in a garbage dump in east Delhi.

Accused Neha, a resident of East Vinodpur, was arrested after her infant daughter died at the GTB hospital on Saturday, a senior police officer said on Saturday.

"The woman admitted throwing the infant in a garbage dump saying she did so due to anger and frustration over looking after the baby girl," he said.

The incident was reported on Friday and a case of kidnapping was filed. During the search for the baby, suspicion fell on Neha as a witness came forward who saw the woman throw something in the garbage dump, the officer said.

During questioning, the accused revealed the location she had dumped the infant, he added.

A police team found the infant alive and rushed her to the LBS hospital. She had sustained fractures in her skull, the officer said.

The baby was later shifted to the GTB hospital, where she died on Saturday, he added.New Delhi: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has initiated the process for securing an Interpol Red Corner notice against Pakistani diplomat Amir Zubair Siddiqui, who was chargesheeted last week for allegedly conspiring to launch terror strikes on the US and Israeli consulates in South India.

Officials in the agency said the paperwork was being completed and would be sent soon to the Interpol headquarters based in Lyon in France for issuance of the Red Corner notice against Siddiqui, who during his stint at Pakistani High Commission in Sri Lanka during 2014 had conspired to carry out terror strikes in India.

He was named by a Sri Lankan resident Sakir Hussain, who is at present undergoing a simple imprisonment after pleading guilty in a court of law. He was arrested by the Tamil Nadu Police after the Intelligence Bureau busted the conspiracy in April 2014. His jail term will end next year.

Hussain had carried out reconnaissance of the US consulate in Chennai and Israeli consulate in Bangalore to facilitate a terror strike similar to 26/11. For this, two terrorists were to be flown in from Maldives.

Siddiqui was working as visa counsellor at the Pakistan High Commission in Colombo but had to be repatriated to Islamabad after India mounted pressure on Sri Lanka about his alleged activities targeting this country.

He was nailed after the NIA was handed over evidence by the US authorities. The documents handed over by the US to India established communication between Hussain and 'Shahjee', a Pakistani national introduced to the accused allegedly by a Pakistani diplomat working with its mission in Sri Lanka.

The NIA, which has carried out the probe into the conspiracy meticulously, had sent a request under Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty to the US for details from service provider whose email was being used by Hussain to communicate to his handler in Sri Lanka.

The response provided by US authorities following the request under the MLAT showed that the account was being operated by "Shahjee" who had provided the name while registering with the email account, the officials said. There have been communication with some email addresses in Pakistan and even personal account of Siddiqui, they said.

The email account is also alleged to have been operated under the Internet Protocol (IP) address of the Pakistan High Commission in Colombo, they said.

The code name for the terror plot to attack the US consulate in Chennai was "wedding hall" which was to be executed by "cooks", a code for terrorists who were to gain entry from Maldives into India.

Hussain had given a detailed description of his meetings with various Pakistani officials based in Sri Lanka as well as two "fidayeen" (suicide attackers) whom he had met in Bangkok.

Hussain was told by a Pakistani official, who was of a higher rank than Siddiqui, that the project to carry out the attack at the US consulate in Chennai would be code-named as "wedding hall" and "cooks" was the code for the two terrorists who would have executed the plan.

"Spice" was the code name for the bomb devices which were to be planted at the consulate, they said.

The NIA had taken over the case from the Tamil Nadu Police. It carried out a detailed probe into the matter after registering a case against Hussain for alleged criminal conspiracy to commit terrorist acts targeting a foreign consulate located in South India as well as to circulate high quality fake Indian currency notes and thereby threatening the security and monetary stability of the country.New Delhi: Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar was admitted to the Goa Medical College and Hospital on Sunday evening after he complained of uneasiness, a GMCH official said.

Parrikar, 62, was brought to the hospital on a wheelchair, the official said, adding that he was accompanied by a family member.

When contacted, Goa Health Minister Vishwajit Rane said Parrikar was suffering from dehydration, but was responding to treatment at the GMCH.

"We have posted specialist doctors who are monitoring his health continuously," Rane said.

It was only on Thursday that Parrikar was discharged from the Lilavati Hospital in Mumbai, where he was undergoing treatment for a pancreatic ailment since February 15.

Soon after he flew in to his state and presented the budget.

Parrikar, who looked weak, spoke only for five minutes while presenting the budget at around 3 pm, and left the House after it was adjourned sine die at around 3.30 pm.New Delhi: The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh is all set for a massive show of strength in western Uttar Pradeshs Meerut on Sunday with more than 2 lakh volunteers participating in the event.

Called Rashtrodaya Sammelan, the event will be attended by RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat.

This would perhaps be the largest mobilisation in the country in recent years where registered volunteers from RSSs pashchim prant  comprising of districts in western UP and Uttarakhand  will participate.

RSS holds such large scale gatherings in a decade or so in different regions  this is done to reach out to the new generation as they are curious about the Sangh. It is a one day gathering in uniform, and we are expecting a large turnout of over a lakh, Manmohan Vaidya, RSS's akhil bharat prachar pramukh told News18.

Bhagwat recently addressed a large gathering in Assam, the RSS first big mobilization in the north-east. The tribal, regional heads were also invited and leaders of the BJP were also present. Two years ago, a similar programme took place in west Maharashtra.

According to Sangh, the purpose of the exercise is to expand the reach of the organization, and attract more people to the Sangh. The mammoth gathering is expected to instill confidence in the karyakarta working in remote regions, they said.New Delhi: The students of Tata Institute of Social Sciences are up in arms against a notification issued by the institution changing the fee structure.

They have been on strike, called by the TISS students' union, since February 21 against privatisation of education, and the withdrawal of financial aid to GOI-Post Matric Scholarship students from SC/ST category across all its campuses.

The union alleged that while the members of the administration did meet the students but they have been heard only selectively.

Demands were heard by them but they did not hold any discussion on them, they said.

The students are demanding the notification for present GOI-PMS students (2016-18 and 2017-19) to pay for fees (tuition, Dining Hall and Hostel) to be retracted with immediate effect.

The Student Union have presented a charter of demands to Shalini Bharat, acting director, Tata Institute of Social Sciences.

The notification gives us no choice but to voice against policies that will not only leave marginalized students across TISS campuses to fend for their own selves, but also mar institutes reputation and its claim to social justice, the charter said.

The abandonment of core ethos is to be withstood by each student of TISS. All students will rise in union to stop the onslaught on their rights, it added.

More than 500 students have been holding a protest at the main gate of TISS Mumbai while there have been protests in Hyderabad, Guwahati, Tuljapur campuses of the institute as well. Students have also contacted different ministries like Ministry of Social Welfare and Ministry of Tribal Affairs to intervene.

The TISS administration have appealed to the students to call off the strike, offering to waive off hostel charges are waived off and deferring dining hall charges till the students have the mean to pay for the batch of 2018. For 2019 batch and 2020 batches, they have waived off course fee including the tuition fee for the SC/ST students eligible for GOI PMS. Only the hostel and dining hall charges on actuals shall be payable.

The students, however, have refused to call of the strike till the notification has been withdrawn.

The student body allege the new notification will adversely impact the enrollment of students from Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe communities. They said that the number of OBC student has dropped sharply because of withdrawal of financial aid to OBCs students in 2015. The enrolment of students from OBC category has already dropped in the institute. An estimated 9% drop has already been witnessed and now the SC/ ST students will also be dropping out if the situation continues, it said.

In the charter presented to the administration they said, As it has been noticed that from the year the roll back of the fee waiver has been announced by TISS administration for OBC (NC) students the enrollment of OBC students has undergo with sharp decline. So, this will lead to curb down the accessibility of education by the students coming from marginalized community. Over 500 students in different levels of their degree are impacted and stand to be further impacted by these policies.

Students on the campus complain that along with this notification, TISS has been constantly hiking fees due to which many students have been forced to drop out. The kind of fee that TISS demands, the withdrawal of financial aid along with central government cutting funds are completely against the spirit of affirmative action which seeks to provide opportunity to students to study in universities like TISS, said the statement.

The students have found support with the teachers association. TISS SC/ST Employees Welfare Association and the TISS Teachers Association met the students at the main gate of the Mumbai campus to extend their support and solidarity. Around 22 faculty members of TISS Hyderabad have issued a solidarity statement, while 33 faculty members from TISS Guwahati has sent a letter in support.Weel Done, Cutty-Sark! And in an instant all was dark. Tam Shanter was on his way home from an inn all drunk. He stopped midway. He got curious when Tam heard strange noises trickling out from a nearby church. Nosy guy he was. Now, drunken too. He entered the holy premises only to find a bare-breasted witch dancing in a voluptuous cutty-sark, a short skirt.

An excited Tam could not hold out for long. He cried out: Weel done Cutty-Sark! And in an instant all was dark. What followed was high drama down the road with the witch chasing our poor Tam to clean up the only witness.

Finally, our hero managed to escape but not without paying the price for seeing what was taboo to human eyes. The witch reached forward, snatched and ripped the grey tail of his poor pony on which Tam rode off.

Robert Burns in his 1791 poem, Tam o Shanter, thus immortalized Cutty-Sark, the sexy witch in short-skirt. But dont think that was the last we would see her in history. The witch came back to haunt the 19th century as the figurehead of a British clipper ship, named after her.

Inspired by the prowess and the agility of the witch, her mascot and her muse, the clipper ship became one of the fastest things moving over water in the 19th century. On the hull was depicted the witch Cutty-Sark, still holding that tuft of grey hair, that ponys tail in her hand, the only thing she could yank off from Tam o Shanter.

Cutty-Sark was a masterpiece of the ship manufacture industry; it caught the imagination of the youth of the times.

So in 1923, when three men sat in the parlour of 3, St James Street in London, and decided to take the spirit industry head on, they were not asking around for a name for their new product. One of the men at the lunch was James McBey, a sailor and artist. He knew what the name Cutty Sark would do if was lifted out of the ocean.

Incidentally, the famous clipper ship had also homed recently after its long service in the ocean. So, Cutty-Sark was in very much in the headlines. The name was ringing in the background when the three men sat down that day for lunch.

McBey pulled out a napkin from the table and drew a rough picture of the ship as it would appear on the bottle of whisky they would soon launch. Francis Berry and Hugh Rudd, who were already in the spirit business, immediately realized this would be dynamite. To peg it into a different class, McBey named the new drink, Scots rather than the common Scotch.

So what is the deal? The US was still reeling under prohibition at the turn of the century. But word was already in the air that the ban would soon be lifted. Good news! The new circumstances would leave the wine and cocktail clientele in the US aspiring for a promotion. They would look out to Scotland.

Bad news: The dark, heavy whiskies that came from Scotland during the times would hardly live up to the sensitive palates of the New World now fine-tuned to wines and cocktails due to prohibition, they reasoned.

Take cocktail. Anything heavy would run roughshod over all the mild ingredients in cocktail, spoiling the symphony. Go light, they nodded.

Blend the finest whiskies. Add little caramel. If you could bottle the natural pale colour of whisky without doping it with artificial colours you have the wine bibbers and cocktail lovers corked in with the new drink. Simple thinking. Risky too.

Cutty Sark was launched to immediate international acclaim. The idea of going light became a bumper hit in the US. The company claims that the drink became a rage in such a short time that it gave rise to the English expression, the real McCoy (now a synonym for integrity and authenticity) during the prohibition. Cutty was the preferred maal of Captain Bill MacCoy, the legendary smuggler-teetotal. He bootlegged it across the Atlantic.

Apart from bringing out a series of successful whiskeys of different ages, Cutty Sark fell back recently on the folklore from which its name was born. If you are lucky you will hold one of the 5,000 limited edition bottles of 25-year old Cutty Sark Tam o Shanter in your hand and appreciate the depiction of the famous chase scene envisioned by Robert Burns.

The witch chasing Tam all around the bottle! Another reason to go gaga over the sensuous short skirt.

(Manu Remakant is a freelance writer who also runs a video blog - A Cup of Kavitha - introducing world poetry to Malayalees. Views expressed here are personal)Mumbai: Veteran actor Sridevi, who had an illustrious career spanning over four decades, passed away in Dubai. She was 54.

According to the family sources, the actor, wife of producer Boney Kapoor, reportedly died due to cardiac arrest late in the night in Dubai, where she had gone, along with her family, to attend her nephew Mohit Marwah's wedding.

While some of the family members returned from Dubai after the wedding, Sridevi, Boney and Khushi stayed back.

A versatile actor, Sridevi made her Bollywood debut in 1978 with "Solva Sawan".

But it was only after five years with Jeetendra-starrer "Himmatwala" that she gained commercial success. Her beguiling eyes, scintillating screen presence and acting prowess soon made her one of the most sought-after artistes in the Hindi film industry.

While films like "Mawaali" (1983), "Tohfa" (1984), "Mr India" (1987) and "Chandni" (1989) kept her at the top in the box-office game, her outings like "Sadma" (1983), "ChaalBaaz" (1989), "Lamhe" (1991), and "Gumrah" (1993) earned her critical acclaim.

She went on a hiatus for 15 years after starring in home production  "Judaai"  co-starring her brother-in-law Anil Kapoor and Urmila Matondkar. It was director Gauri Shinde's "English Vinglish" in 2012 that marked Sridevi's comeback.

Her nuanced performance as a middle-class woman, learning to speak English to feel accepted by her family, won accolades, and the film was also a commercial success.

Last year, she was seen in revenge-drama  "Mom" opposite Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Akshaye Khanna. She shot for a special appearance in superstar Shah Rukh Khan's upcoming film  "Zero"  which releases in December.

But by the time she made her entry into Bollywood, the actor was a known face in South Indian films. She made her debut in Tamil films as a child artiste with "Thunaivan" in 1969. As an adult, she debuted in Tamil cinema in late 70s. She also worked in Malayalam, Telugu and Kannada films.

Besides Boney and Khushi, she is survived by older daughter Janhvi Kapoor, who is currently working towards making her entry into the Hindi cinema. Sridevi was step-mother to actor Arjun Kapoor and his sister Anshula, who Boney had from late first wife Mona.Following the death of Sridevi on Saturday night, at her nephew's wedding in Dubai, her body will reportedly be released tomorrow, by the medico-legal authorities in the Emirate, after standard post-mortem tests and procedures. The late Bollywood icon's body will be flown to Mumbai tomorrow, with funeral rites expected to be held later in the day.

A statement issued by YRF Communications went as follows:

"Boney Kapoor, Jhanvi Kapoor, Khushi Kapoor and the entire Kapoor, Ayyappan and Marwah family is deeply bereaved and shocked with the untimely loss of Sridevi Kapoor.

They thank the entire media for their prayers, support and sensitivity during their time of grief.

Late Sridevi Kapoor's body will arrive in India tomorrow. We will update you on all further information as and when it's available to us.

Request you to kindly reach out to us on everything related to this and we urge you to please not call the family for information on the same."

People from all over India, and indeed many other parts of the world, are still reeling from the sudden and tragic demise of Sridevi, who succumbed to a major cardiac episode last night in Dubai, where she was attending the wedding of her nephew Mohit Marwah, along with husband Boney Kapoor, and the younger of her two daughters, Khushi. What began as an already closely-followed happy family celebration ended in grief and increased scrutiny.

The news first spread as celebrities, civil servants and civilians all came together on social media to express their sorrow and perhaps process their grief. Regarded as the countrys first female superstar, Sridevis 54-year old actor's long and lustrous career, spanned close to five decades with roots in all the various woods of Bolly, Tolly, Molly as well as Tamil and Kannada language cinema. Perhaps self-ironically then, after a 15 year-long hiatus from acting, she marked her return to cinema with the critically acclaimed English Vinglish (2012) in which she magnificently portrayed an Indian housewife, unable to speak or understand a single word of English, who lived with her family in New York.

Despite her absence from the screens, Sridevi had never faded from public memory, having etched a special place for herself in the cinemas of languages across the country. During her heyday of the '80s and '90s she was the most incandescent pan-Indian film star in the world, adept at both comedy and drama, delivering nuanced performances in each of her films, whatever the language. Her comic timing was impeccable and she was equally versed in both romanticism and gravitas. With the passing of such a luminescent star then, it's perhaps no wonder that the grieving is universal.Following the death of Sridevi, actor Arjun Kapoor has arrived from the airport, at the house of his uncle Anil Kapoor, where a crowd of mourners has already collected. Since the sudden and tragic news of Sridevi's demise, crowds of fans have gathered to pay their respects outside the apartment complex which she shared with husband Boney Kapoor and their two daughters, as well as the home of Anil Kapoor.

Arjun Kapoor at the Airport Arjun Kapoor arrives at his uncle's residence

Regarded India's first female superstar, the 54-year old actor succumbed to a surprise but massive cardiac arrest in Dubai late on Saturday night, where she was attending the wedding of nephew Mohit Marwah. Her body is being flown back via a private jet to Mumbai, and will arrive later this evening.New Delhi: There was an outpouring of grief from celebrities on Twitter soon after news broke of Sridevis untimely demise. But one tweet by Amitabh Bachchan, posted hours before reports of the veteran actors demise, stood out.

At 1:15am, Bachchan tweeted that he was feeling an unusual unease.

T 2625 -    ,        !! Amitabh Bachchan (@SrBachchan) February 24, 2018

Around 3am, reports started trickling in of Sridevis death due to cardiac arrest in Dubai. Soon, Twitterati began pointing towards the eerie coincidence.

OMG thats some weirdly correct tweet.#RIPSridevi Faizah Lubaba Shristy (@FaizahShristy) February 24, 2018

well the day before Amitabh was badly injured while shooting the film Coolie, actress Smita Patil has premonition about it. She phone called Amitabh before the accident and asked if he was ok because she was feeling weird.  Anik K.Gupta (@BoyOfBengal) February 24, 2018

Sridevi, who was married to producer Boney Kapoor, reportedly died due to cardiac arrest late in the night in Dubai, where she had gone to attend her nephew Mohit Marwah's wedding. While some of the family members returned from Dubai after the wedding, Sridevi, Boney and Khushi stayed back.

A versatile actor, Sridevi made her Bollywood debut in 1978 with "Solva Sawan". But it was only after five years with Jeetendra-starrer "Himmatwala" that she gained commercial success. Her beguiling eyes, scintillating screen presence and acting prowess soon made her one of the most sought-after artistes in the Hindi film industry.

While films like "Mawaali" (1983), "Tohfa" (1984), "Mr India" (1987) and "Chandni" (1989) kept her at the top in the box-office game, her outings like "Sadma" (1983), "ChaalBaaz" (1989), "Lamhe" (1991), and "Gumrah" (1993) earned her critical acclaim.

She went on a hiatus for 15 years after starring in home production  "Judaai"  co-starring her brother-in-law Anil Kapoor and Urmila Matondkar. It was director Gauri Shinde's "English Vinglish" in 2012 that marked Sridevi's comeback.

Her nuanced performance as a middle-class woman, learning to speak English to feel accepted by her family, won accolades, and the film was also a commercial success.

Last year, she was seen in revenge-drama  "Mom"  opposite Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Akshaye Khanna. She shot for a special appearance in superstar Shah Rukh Khan's upcoming film  "Zero"  which releases in December.

Superstar Rajinikanth tweeted on Sunday morning that he had lost a friend and the industry had lost a legend.

Im shocked and very disturbed. Ive lost a dear friend and the industry has lost a true legend. My heart goes out to her family and friends. I feel the pain with them #RIPSridev ... you will be missed. Rajinikanth (@superstarrajini) February 25, 2018

"I have no words. Condolences to everyone who loved #Sridevi . A dark day. RIP," tweeted Priyanka Chopra, alongside a still of Sridevi from her superhit film "Mr India".

Comedian Johnny Lever, while expressing grief, sent prayers to the late actor's family, which includes husband Boney Kapoor and daughters Khushi and Janhvi.

"Deeply saddened and shocked to hear about #Sridevi Ji. My prayers and condolences to the family," he tweeted.

"Really Shocked and disturbed to hear that Sridevi Maam is no more. #RIP #Sridevi," wrote actor Sidharth.

Cameron Bailey, Artistic Director, Toronto International Film Festival, tweeted, "Shocked to hear of the passing of Indias legendary Sridevi. Honoured to have been in her presence in 2012 when she visited Toronto for English Vinglish. She made countless millions fall in love with her characters."Mumbai: Bollywood actress Sridevi, star of films like Mr India, Chaalbaaz, Chandni, and Lamhe, widely considered one of Indian cinemas finest leading ladies, passed away after suffering a massive cardiac arrest in Dubai on Saturday.

The actress, who was 54, was in Dubai this week with her husband Boney Kapoor and younger daughter Khushi to attend the wedding of Boneys nephew Mohit Marwah.

Sridevi, who had been working in the movies for nearly five decades, received six Filmfare Awards over the years, and in 2013 was conferred with the Padma Shri by the Government of India.

The actress, who was a favorite with both movie-goers and critics, leaves behind a formidable body of work that includes popular commercial hits and strong performance-driven pictures. She has not only been hailed for her versatility, but is also unanimously considered the best female comic star to grace the Indian screen.

Sridevi first faced the camera at the age of four in the 1969 Tamil film Thunaivan, and continued to work in Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam films as a child artiste before she landed her first lead role in 1976 in the Tamil film Moondru Mudichu.

Just three years later, in 1979, she starred in her first Hindi film, Solva Saavan, even while continuing to make her name in the South. In 1983, she starred in Himmatwala. That film was a runaway success, and a milestone in her career, and marked the beginning of a winning partnership with Jeetendra. In 1983, Sadma, a remake of her own Tamil film, became a turning point for Sridevi when it revealed her as-yet-unseen phenomenal acting skills.

By the time the super-hit snake film Nagina released in 1986, Sridevi was a star of reckoning in the Bombay film industry. The following year she cemented her position as the Number One female actress in Bollywood with the runaway success of Mr India. That film remains, to date, one of the most enduring films of our time, and who can forget her Charlie Chaplin impression in one of the films best comic sequences?

In Chaalbaaz and Chandni, she found commercial films that gave her scope to flex her acting chops. In Lamhe, despite the films failure, she made a big impression playing both mother and daughter in a bold, complex love story.

By now, she was the top choice of leading filmmakers and starred in some of the biggest films of the day, including Khuda Gawah opposite Amitabh Bachchan, and Roop Ki Rani Choron Ka Raja. In 1997, she starred in Judaai with Anil Kapoor, and subsequently retired from acting after announcing that she was pregnant with her first child from her marriage to already married film producer Boney Kapoor.

In 2004, she made her television debut in the short-lived sitcom Malini Iyer, but did not return to the movies until 2013 when she starred as an under-confident housewife who changes her life when she takes English lessons on a trip to America in the winning comedy English Vinglish. It had been 15 years since shed been on a film set but she returned with a tour de force performance that earned her a whole new generation of fans.

In 2017, she chewed up the scenery again, this time playing a mother determined to avenge the rape of her teenage daughter in the vigilante thriller Mom, which was billed as her 300th film release.

Sridevi repeatedly reassured her fans that she would continue to act, but selectively. Of late she was grooming her older daughter Jhanvi, who is currently shooting her first film Dhadak, a Hindi remake of the Marathi superhit Sairaat.

Reinventing herself from Miss Thunder Thighs in her early acting years into one of the most stylish divas; learning to speak Hindi fluently from not knowing a word of the language; fighting the industrys stigma against married actresses; Sridevi overcame many challenges to emerge one of the most successful leading ladies of India, and an artiste whose enduring performances inspire a whole generation of film-buffs and serve as a masterclass for younger actors.

Her brilliance, her versatility and her range can be determined also from the fact that its impossible to pick just ONE definitive Sridevi performance. She leaves us with extraordinary body of work that will be celebrated for a long time to come.The news of actor Sridevi's untimely demise in February shocked the film fraternity and her fans worldwide. One of Bollywood's most beloved stars passed away at the age of 54, due to cardiac arrest in Dubai, yet her legacy remains and her presence will continue to illuminate screens of all shapes and sizes the world over.

When Sridevi made her big screen debut as a child artist nearly five decades ago, little could anyone have guessed that in the years to follow she would become an inseparable part of Indian cinema, establishing herself as the industrys biggest female superstar.

However, that is just what happened when the 'Hawa Hawai' girl floored critics and audiences alike, courtesy her unique style statement, incredible personality, and acting prowess. The songs in her films were as influential and powerful as her acting potential. From Hawa Hawai to Mere Haathon Mein Nau Nau Chhodiya and the title track of Nagin,filmmakers always kept their trust in her dramatic eyes and her skills as a dancer.

Today, on the 55th birth anniversary of one of Indian cinema's most cherished female actors, here's a playlist to celebrate her great legacy.Iconic actor Sridevi, 54, died late last night reportedly due to cardiac arrest in Dubai, where she had gone, along with her family, to attend her nephew Mohit Marwah's wedding.

According to reports, the autopsy has been completed and the family is awaiting laboratory reports.

Sridevi's body could not be repatriated on Sunday as the final investigation reports from Dubai Police were not ready by late evening, officials dealing with the legal formalities were quoted by media reports.

Officials also said that as per protocol, these tests take up to 24 hours in the case a person has died outside a hospital in Dubai. The same safety and administrative protocols are being followed by the police in this case as well.

The actor reportedly had a fainting spell in her bathroom and was immediately rushed to Rashid Hospital in Dubai.

Sridevi's brother-in-law and actor Sanjay Kapoor said that she had no history of heart ailment.

"We are completely shocked. She had no history of a heart trouble," said Sanjay.

Her body is expected to be flown to Mumbai via a special chartered flight for the last rites but the timings were not confirmed yet, according to official sources.

Sridevi was accompanied by husband Boney Kapoor and younger daughter Khushi. Her elder daughter Jahnvi couldn't make it to the wedding since she was shooting for her debut film Dhadak in Mumbai.

The untimely and sudden death of the megastar has jolted the people and fans alike. There has been an outpouring of grief on the social media with fans paying their respects to the versatile actor. Also the the last recorded pictures from the Dubai wedding are being widely shared on social media.

The PM, President, Vice President and various chief ministers have expressed their sorrow on this tragedy.

Sridevi, who stepped into showbiz at the age of four, is known for performances in Mr. India, Nagina, Sadma, ChalBaaz, Chandni, Khuda Gawah, among many others in different Indian languages.The loss of Bollywood greats is undoubtedly tough, but it gets tougher when their demise comes much before it was their time to leave. Legendary Bollywood actress Sridevi left the world rather abruptly after she succumbed to cardiac arrest at the age of 54, her family has said.

Sridevi was reportedly with her husband Boney Kapoor and daughter Khushi in Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates to attend a family wedding.

Credit: @ Sridevi Kapoor

Credit: @ Sridevi Kapoor

Born as Shree Amma Yanger Ayyapan, the actress was barely 4 when she made her Bollywood debut in 1975 drama Julie.

With films like Sadma, Chandni, Himmatwala, Mr India, ChaalBaaz, Nagina, Khuda Gawah, Mawali and others, she went on to become one of one of the most iconic female stars of India.

Sridevi, who was last seen in Mom, has often made headlines for her heartwarming moments with her daughters Jhanvi and Khushi. Take a look.

While she has already been giving us some serious vacation goals with her social media posts, she has often raised the bar of mother-daughter bonding a notch up with her personal photos.

In this photo, actress can be seen having a scrumptious meal with her daughter Jhanvi Kapoor in Batumi.

Binging in Batumi  A post shared by Sridevi Kapoor (@sridevi.kapoor) on May 6, 2016 at 4:12am PDT

In an interview to IANS, Sridevi had called her daughters "sensible kids" who never gave her a chance to be strict with them.

Credit: @ Sridevi Kapoor

In another interview to DNA, she had said that her elder daughter, Jhanvi was more 'obedient' and 'seeks more attention' than her younger child, Khushi.

Credit: @ Sridevi Kapoor

"Jhanvi, I feel is more like me - absolutely obedient. Both my children are extremely attached to us. Jhanvi seeks more attention from me while Khushi can manage things on her own. Though Jhanvi's grown up now, sometimes I still have to feed her. She won't eat properly at certain times so I have to make sure that she eats properly. Sometimes she tells me to put her to sleep so all these nakhras she does. Khushi has always been a very independent person right since childhood," Sridevi had said.

Credit: @ Sridevi Kapoor

Sridevi married filmmaker Boney Kapoor in 1996 and her daughter Jhanvi was born a year later in March.

Credit: @ Sridevi Kapoor

Khushi was born in November 2000.

Credit: @ Sridevi Kapoor

While Sridevi doesn't face any difficulty in handling the media spotlight, she did feel worried when her daughters had to face something similar. On being asked how she guided her daughters, Sridevi told DNA, "Earlier, I used to get a bit rattled and worried because I didnt want them to get into the spotlight. But in todays time you cant help this. You are clicked at every event and everywhere. Now, I believe that we have learnt to live with it and they have learnt to cope with it."

Like any parents, she has also expressed her concern for daughters security in interviews. Im of course worried when they go out, but luckily, they know their limits and they are very responsible children. When you have responsible children, half the battle is over. So, you dont have to worry. But you are concerned. The concern will never go, and youll always be conscious about them, she had said in an interview to IANS.

Credit: @ Sridevi Kapoor

Like any parents, she has also expressed her concern for daughters security in interviews. Im of course worried when they go out, but luckily, they know their limits and they are very responsible children. When you have responsible children, half the battle is over. So, you dont have to worry. But you are concerned. The concern will never go, and youll always be conscious about them, she had said in an interview to IANS.

Credit: @ Sridevi KapoorSridevi's brother-in-law and actor Sanjay Kapoor has said the whole family was in shock with the sudden demise of the veteran actress. He also said that she had no history of heart ailment. The actress, 54, died on Saturday night at around 11 p.m. after suffering a cardiac arrest.

In an interview to Khaleej Times, Sanjay said that she was in the hotel room here when it happened. "We are completely shocked. She had no history of a heart attack," he said. Sanjay landed in Dubai on Sunday morning.

Sridevi was in Dubai to attend the marriage function of actress Sonam Kapoor's cousin Mohit Marwah, along with husband Boney Kapoor and younger daughter Khushi. She exuded elegance in her appearances  photos and videos that were now being shared on social media as her "last".

Her elder daughter Jahnvi, who is due to make her Bollywood debut, was in Mumbai. Her body is expected to be flown to Mumbai via a special chartered flight on Sunday evening for the last rites but the timings were not confirmed yet, according to official sources.

Sridevi, who stepped into showbiz at an age of four, is known for performances in Mr. India, Nagina, Sadma, ChalBaaz, Chandni, Khuda Gawah, among many others in different Indian languages.

The Padma Shri recipient made a comeback to Bollywood in 2012 with English Vinglish after a long break of 15 years. She was last seen in Mom in 2017.New Delhi/Mumbai: The news of veteran actor Sridevi's death comes as a shock and it'll perhaps take a long time for the fans and the members of film fraternity to come to terms with it.

The actor died after suffering a cardiac arrest in Dubai. The actor had gone to attend her nephew Mohit Marwah's wedding with husband Boney Kapoor and daughter Khushi Kapoor after which some of the family members had returned whereas Sridevi and Boney stayed back.

She made her acting debut in 1978 with Solva Sawan and went on to become a household name with Jeetendra-starrer Himmatwaala. She is survived by husband Boney and two daughters- Khushi and Jhanvi; Jhanvi is all set to make her Bollywood debut with Dhadak.

Several stars and politicians took to Twitter to express their grief over her shocking demise and offered condolences to family and fans.

Im shocked and very disturbed. Ive lost a dear friend and the industry has lost a true legend. My heart goes out to her family and friends. I feel the pain with them #RIPSridev ... you will be missed. Rajinikanth (@superstarrajini) February 25, 2018

Actor Kamal Haasan, Sridevis co-star in several movies, said Sadmas lullaby haunts him now.

Have witnessed Sridevi's life from an adolescent teenager to the magnificeint lady she became. Her stardom was well deserved. Many happy moments with her flash through my mind including the last time I met her. Sadma's lullaby haunts me now. We'll miss her Kamal Haasan (@ikamalhaasan) February 25, 2018

Another southern superstar, Mohanlal, also condoles Sridevis demise on Twitter.

May her soul rest in peace Condolences to her family. pic.twitter.com/R8RUwdG5B2 Mohanlal (@Mohanlal) February 25, 2018

Amitabh Bachchan, who has worked with Sridevi in several films, took to Twitter a night before and shared that he feels an unusual uneasiness.

T 2625 -    ,        !! Amitabh Bachchan (@SrBachchan) February 24, 2018

PM Narendra Modi remembered Sridevi as a veteran of the film industry, while Union Minister Smriti Irani called her a powerhouse of acting.

Saddened by the untimely demise of noted actor Sridevi. She was a veteran of the film industry, whose long career included diverse roles and memorable performances. My thoughts are with her family and admirers in this hour of grief. May her soul rest in peace: PM @narendramodi PMO India (@PMOIndia) February 25, 2018

Sridevi - a powerhouse of acting , a long journey embellished with success comes to a sudden end. My condolences to her loved ones and fans. Smriti Z Irani (@smritiirani) February 25, 2018

Sridevi - a powerhouse of acting , a long journey embellished with success comes to a sudden end. My condolences to her loved ones and fans. Smriti Z Irani (@smritiirani) February 25, 2018

Shocked to hear of passing of movie star Sridevi. She has left millions of fans heartbroken. Her performances in films such as Moondram Pirai, Lamhe and English Vinglish remain an inspiration for other actors. My condolences to her family and close associates #PresidentKovind President of India (@rashtrapatibhvn) February 25, 2018

Priyanka Chopra took to Twitter and wrote, "I have no words. Condolences to everyone who loved #Sridevi . A dark day . RIP"

I have no words. Condolences to everyone who loved #Sridevi . A dark day . RIP  PRIYANKA (@priyankachopra) February 24, 2018

She further shared a line from her popular song 'Ye Lamhe' from film Lamhe. "Ye Lamhe , ye pal hum har pal yaad karenge.. ye mausam chale gaye toh hum fariyad karenge.. #RIPSridevi."

Ye Lamhe , ye pal hum har pal yaad karenge.. ye mausam chale gaye toh hum fariyad karenge.. #RIPSridevi  PRIYANKA (@priyankachopra) February 24, 2018

Actor Richa Chadha wrote, "Oh man!The screen is blurry. Gutted! Was so excited after Mom and English Vinglish,that wed see more of her.Childhood,love,inspiration. Gone too soon... legend. Exceptional talent. #RIPSridevi this loss feels personal."

Oh man!The screen is blurry. Gutted! Was so excited after Mom and English Vinglish,that wed see more of her.Childhood,love,inspiration. Gone too soon... legend. Exceptional talent. #RIPSridevi this loss feels personal.  TheRichaChadha (@RichaChadha) February 24, 2018

Sushmita Sen, who couldn't contain the grief, shared that she's in shock. "I just heard Maam Sridevi passed away due to a massive cardiac arrest. I am in shock...cant stop crying..."

I just heard Maam Sridevi passed away due to a massive cardiac arrest. I am in shock...cant stop crying...  sushmita sen (@thesushmitasen) February 24, 2018

Sidharth Malhotra also expressed his grief and wrote, "Really Shocked and disturbed to hear that Sridevi Maam is no more #RIP #Sridevi"

Really Shocked and disturbed to hear that Sridevi Maam is no more #RIP #Sridevi   Sidharth Malhotra (@S1dharthM) February 24, 2018

Neha Dhupia also expressed her shock on the microblogging site and wrote, "So heartbreaking to hear about #Sridevi maam ... we just lost our finest .... gone way too soon...."

So heartbreaking to hear about #Sridevi maam ... we just lost our finest .... gone way too soon.... pic.twitter.com/VXrEZQlh7u  Neha Dhupia (@NehaDhupia) February 24, 2018

Here is what others from the film fraternity had to say:

I am shocked . I have no words. My condolences to the family , friends and fans of cinemas darling ... Sridevi ji .. #RIPSridevi  Anushka Sharma (@AnushkaSharma) February 24, 2018

RIP @SrideviBKapoor ...Condolences to the whole family :(  A.R.Rahman (@arrahman) February 24, 2018

Heartbroken & shocked to hear that my all time favourite #Sridevi is no more. May god give peace to her soul & strength to the family #RIP  Preity zinta (@realpreityzinta) February 24, 2018

Shocked and devastated. An amazing talent and my favourite performer passes on. A tremendous loss to the industry. Bijli giraane main hoon aayi, kehte hain mujhko hawa Hawaii RIP dear #Sridevi. pic.twitter.com/nBrhmAlPlz  Jaaved Jaaferi (@jaavedjaaferi) February 24, 2018

An absolute icon. Gone too soon, #Sridevi. Too soon...  Jacqueline Fernandez (@Asli_Jacqueline) February 24, 2018

Shocked stunned. Still see her laughing talking. Unbelievable. Actor par excellence. A school in herself.. learnt so much from her. Still cant believe it . A huge loss. #Sridevi Kajol (@KajolAtUN) February 25, 2018

Growing up in the 80s meant #Sridevi was a part of life... dancing to her songs mere hathon mein nau nau choodiyan hain, na jaane kahan se aayi hain to bijli girane mein hoon aayi and so many more... her powerful performance in Sadma had an indelible impact on me... Dia Mirza (@deespeak) February 25, 2018

Im in shock. Havent been able to move since i heard the news of #Sridevi passing on. Theres a pit in my stomach. Shes been a part of India's collective consciousness for generations. Its like a part of all of us has died with her. RIP angel - go drop that bijli on the heavens now Suchitra Krishnamoorthi (@suchitrak) February 25, 2018Meerut: The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) on Sunday held a massive show of strength in Meerut, with RSS Sarsanghachalak Mohan Bhagwat presiding over the event himself. The event, called 'Rashtroday Sammelan', was touted to be the RSS's "biggest event ever". The aim of the mega event, said an RSS functionary, was to ensure that there was an RSS worker in every western UP village. The Sarsanghachalak's speech, however, was laden with references to caste.

In 2014, the BJP had swept the western UP hinterland after communal riots had polarised the electorate along religious lines. If the BJP made electoral gains, its parent outfit RSS made major inroads into Western UP's polarised badlands. But those gains may soon be slipping away as caste fissures are back in the region.

The diverse social coalition of "Hindus" was tested first after the Saharanpur riots last year, when Dalits in the western UP district clashed with Rajputs. This led to the subsequent rise of the Bhim Army, a radical Dalit Rights outfit. This, a senior VHP leader told News18, has sent alarm bells ringing in the Sangh. Moreover, the communal fault-lines of Muzaffarnagar, which saw massive riots in 2013, are also repairing themselves.

That is why Bhagwat, addressing over a lakh Swayamsevaks from across western UP, chose his words carefully. "We have all heard of unity in diversity. But there is also diversity in unity. Our unity has enough space for diversity. We respect and celebrate diversity," Bhagwat said.

The event, called 'Rashtroday Sammelan', was touted to be the RSS's "biggest event ever".

The RSS chief added that Hindus must not forget their own strengths. "People recognise the good in you only when you are strong. Even Gods don't honour the weak. Those who recognise their own strengths will not prosper. Lord Hanuman had forgotten his own strength in the Ramayana but had to be reminded of it," he said, adding, "Garv se kaho hum Hindu hain (Say with pride that we are Hindu). We are one because we are Hindu. Our country alone allows for such diversity."

As the speech went on, Bhagwat spoke of caste more explicitly, urging all Hindus to unite. "Hindus must unite because we are responsible for this country. If this country doesn't do well, questions will be asked of us. We forgot who we were and fought over caste and language. All Hindus are my brothers," he said.

Bhagwat's 34-minute address was rife with talk of internal divisions within Hindu society and those who seek to divide it. Hinduism, the Sarsanghachalak insisted, had enough room for diversity.

"What is our role for the future?" he asked the Swayamsevaks, adding: "The world is tired after 2,000 years of experimenting and thinks India has a way to achieve holistic wellness in life. We must help the world achieve that. Secondly, there are many divisive forces within India and we must come together, despite all these forces acting against us."

The RSS said that Swayamsevaks had gone to each of western UP's 10,500 villages and the exact number of people who had signed up to attend the event was 3,11,578 (Over 3.11 lakh). However, the total number of Swayamsevaks at the venue was just over a lakh.Puducherry: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday hit out at the "one family" dynastic rule of Congress for 48 years and said it should be compared with the achievements of the "development-oriented" NDA in the last four years. "One family either directly or indirectly ruled the country for 48 years... for about 17 years our first Prime Minister ruled, and after that, his daughter held the reigns for 14 years and following that her son was at the helm for five years," he said.

PM Modi, who was addressing a BJP organised public meeting here, referred to the regimes of Jawaharlal Nehru, his daughter Indira Gandhi and her son Rajiv Gandhi without naming them. His comments come weeks after Congress President Rahul Gandhi had dared Modi to spell out achievements of the NDA government instead of criticising his party.

"You will have to tell the country during the elections what you did in the last five years. It is going to be five years and you have not even opened your account," Gandhi had said making Modi the focal point of his attack in a series of roadside and public meetings in poll-bound Karnataka.

In his address here, Modi also said "between 2004 and 2014, the same family ran the government with remote control," in an apparent reference to the Manmohan Singh-led UPA regime. "From Puducherry, I would like to give a message for the intellectuals of this country," he said.

Intellectuals can debate the difference between what was gained and lost during the Congress regimes and what the BJP-led NDA has achieved in 48 months, he said. "We are talking about people's development, ease of living for the common man," he said.

Though nations that got independence in 1947 like India have grown, the country still lagged behind and it warranted a serious thought on the lacunae vis-a-vis the functioning of the government and political culture that were holding back the nation, Modi said.

In an obvious reference to his oft-repeated slogan "Congress-mukt Bharat", Modi asserted the Congress would be left with only the V Narayanasamy government in Puducherry in the country, saying the BJP would win the coming assembly elections in Karnataka and northeast.

He did not refer to the Amarinder Singh-led Congress government in Punjab. "I want to congratulate the Chief Minister of Puducherry in advance because the Congress is going to exhibit him as a specimen after June," he quipped predicting the defeat of the Congress in other states.

"Elections are going to be held in North East where the Congress has a government and it will go. After that, polls are to be held in Karnataka and there too the Congress will go, so the Narayanasamy government will be the only one to be left," the Prime Minister said.

The jibe drew laughter from the large crowd that had gathered to listen to Modi, who became the first Prime Minister to address a public meeting in this former French colony in 33 years. Rajiv Gandhi was the last Prime Minister to address a rally here in 1984.

Targeting the Congress government in Puducherry, Modi said the union territory had poor infrastructure and was a victim of "Congress culture". He claimed Puducherry had poor infrastructure and sectors such as transport and cooperation were in a shambles and charged the successive regimes with doing injustice for the people.

"The Congress has failed on all fronts in Puducherry," he said recalling the glorious history of the former French colony which was closely associated with the freedom movement sheltering the likes of Sri Aurobindo, and national poet Subramania Bharathi.

He also came down on the Puducherry government for not holding civic polls for years together while the "party had been making tall claims from Delhi that it is the champion of democracy and rights of the people." By delaying the civic polls the Congress government "is only gagging the voice of the people," he said.

Outlining the initiatives of his government like the 'Mudhra Yojana' and 'Jan Dhan Yojana', he said such schemes empowered the people across the country. PM Modi said the Prime Minister's Mudra Scheme had been implemented expeditiously with around 3.25 lakh youth having been benefitted during the last three years.

Mudra scheme is of help to the youth who could get loans without any collateral security, he said urging the youths to make use of it and launch projects in Puducherry. Udan Scheme providing regional air connectivity would be of help for Puducherry to promote tourism and generate employment, he said.

Citing the Ayushman Bharath Scheme, he said it will benefit the poor families to get free medical treatment up to Rs 5 lakh rupees per year. The government was strengthening the ports and ushering in an era of port-led development, through the Sagarmala project.

Financial assistance was being given for long-liner trawlers for fishermen under the Blue Revolution Scheme, he said. Modi also listed financial assistance given to various schemes such as smart city for the union territory.Lucknow: Riding on CM Yogi Adityanaths popularity in Gorakhpur, the BJP is leaving no stone unturned to retain the eastern UP seat, with the chief minister set to address series of rallies in his hometown on Monday and Tuesday.

Adityanath, who was an MP from the city for five years, will address a public rally in Pipraich on Monday, following which he will attend a programme at Gorakhpur Club. The next day, he will attend a conference in Pipiganj, address public in Sahjanwa and interact with rural workers at Gorakhpurs Indraprastha Lawn.

The UP CM will celebrate Holi in his hometown, and will resume with public meetings following the festival. The saffron party is making complete use of Adityanaths popularity in his home turf to garner support for BJP candidate Upendra Shukla ahead of Gorakhpur byelections on March 11.

Recently, at a rally in Baghagada, Singh said that he would take forward Adityanaths legacy by contesting and winning from the CMs parliamentary seat. The Gorakhpur seat had to be vacated after Adityanath was sworn in as UP CM.

Born as Ajay Singh Bisht in Uttarakhands Panchur, Adityanath arrived in Gorakhpur in his twenties after he met Gorakhnath Temple mahant Avaidyanath in Rishikesh and was impressed by religious inclination and ideologies. The Uttarakhand boy came to the eastern UP city and became Avaidyanaths disciple. Since then, Gorakhpur has been his hometown.

Over the years, Adityanath gained popularity in the region through his social work and public meetings held at Gorakhnath Temple. At a time when the city was mired in corruption with mafia bigwigs taking law into their hands, Adityanaths janta darbar became the seat of justice in Gorakhpur.

Now, with Adityanath in the state capital, Gorakhpur needs a strong leader to get people's issues across the Centre.

Upendra Shukla, a well-known face among Brahmin voters and partys regional president, has been declared as BJPs candidate. It is said that his selection is an attempt to woo Brahmin voters. Shukla has been associated with the BJP for quite some time and even tried to contest the assembly elections, but could not get a ticket at that time.New Delhi: Former Karnataka CM BS Yeddyurappa is BJPs chief ministerial candidate in the upcoming assembly elections. Both Prime Minster Narendra Modi and party president Amit Shah have endorsed his candidature on more than one occasion. But as the poll pitch reaches a crescendo, there are signs that the BJP may be seeking votes in the name of Modi instead.

Yeddyurappa, the 74-year veteran state BJP president, is fast becoming an undertone in a high-decibel battle. Amit Shah, in an interaction with booth workers at Dakshin Kannada district, is reported to have urged party workers to just look at the Lotus symbol (the partys symbol) and Modis photo while seeking votes.

This alteration in the partys strategy to make Karnataka elections a Modi vs Siddaramaiah contest may be driven by ground-level feedback and inputs from other sources. The party may have made an assessment of its prospects if these elections were made a direct contest between the incumbent CM and the BJPs official CM candidate.

This inflection in BJPs campaign strategy makes for an interesting analysis purely from the standpoint of political communication for electoral mobilisation.

In the recent past, there have been enough indications that the BJP in general and the Prime Minister in particular are making Karnataka a personality-centric fight between Modi and the Karnataka CM. A section of the Prime Ministers intervention in Parliament on presidential address in the face of constant heckling by Congress MPs was directed at Siddaramaiah.

The Chief Minister, it seems, is also enjoying this verbal duel. Hes quick and sharp in engaging the Prime Minister.

Among the current lot, Modi remains the BJPs biggest vote catcher. Since assuming power at the Centre in 2014, the BJP has more often than not sought to build its campaign in provincial elections around the Prime Minister as the central character. On most occasions, this strategy has paid rich electoral dividends.

Two notable exclusions are Delhi and Bihar assembly elections in 2015.

There were a lot of similarities in the two election campaigns:

 Opposition in both instances was led by a strong provincial leader pitted against the Prime Minister

 The provincial leader was leading a non-Congress party

 There was no corruption taint on the leader

 By the end of the campaign, the elections had turned broadly into a bi-polar contest.

Both Arvind Kejriwal and Nitish Kumar were able to convince the voters that the elections were being held to elect a Chief Minister who would cater to local needs, and not for the Prime Minister of the country.

In the build-up to the Karnataka elections, Siddaramaiah has played happily along with the BJPs attempt to make it a CM vs PM contest. Hes quite consciously weaved a sub-nationalist undertone to his poll narrative. The only difference is that Siddaramaiah, like Tarun Gogoi and quite unlike Kejriwal and Nitish, is not a regional satrap but a Congress CM leading the party campaign.

All this notwithstanding, every election is a unique exercise in socio-political-economic churning.

Many believe the JD(S)-BSP combine may turn the contest tri-polar leading to a hung assembly. In the last five years, very few states have done that. Not even Punjab last year where the contest was genuinely multi-cornered between the AAP, the Congress and the Akalis.

Will Karnataka be any different?Washington: Democratic lawmakers released a partially-redacted rebuttal on Sunday of a controversial Republican memo alleging bias and abuse of power in the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.

The Democratic document  which President Donald Trump dubbed a "political and legal BUST"  is the latest salvo in a partisan fight over the Russia investigation, which was launched in 2016 and has come under repeated fire from Trump and other Republicans.

The Republican memo, which was released earlier this month over the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Department of Justice's objections, said that unsubstantiated Democrat-funded research was used to obtain a warrant to surveil Carter Page, a former Trump campaign aide.

"FBI and DOJ officials did not 'abuse' the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) process, omit material information, or subvert this vital tool to spy on the Trump campaign," the Democrats' text said, referring to the process under which secret surveillance warrants are obtained.

"In fact, DOJ and the FBI would have been remiss in their duty to protect the country had they not sought a FISA warrant and repeated renewals to conduct temporary surveillance of Carter Page, someone the FBI assessed to be an agent of the Russian government.

"DOJ cited multiple sources to support the case for surveilling Page," and "the warrant request was based on compelling evidence and probable cause," said the document.

The White House initially blocked the release of the Democratic memo, citing its inclusion of sensitive information, and Trump took aim at the now-redacted text.

"The Democrat memo response on government surveillance abuses is a total political and legal BUST. Just confirms all of the terrible things that were done. SO ILLEGAL!" he wrote on Twitter.

White House spokesman Raj Shah termed it a "political-driven document" that is "loaded with uncorroborated allegations" and "fails to answer serious concerns raised" in the Republican memo.Abuja: One hundred and ten girls remain unaccounted for following an attack on a school in the town of Dapchi in the northeastern Nigerian state of Yobe by suspected members of Boko Haram, the country's information ministry said on Sunday.

The students' disappearance may be one of the largest such incidents since the jihadist group abducted more than 270 schoolgirls from the town of Chibok in 2014. That case drew global attention to the insurgency and spawned high profile social media campaign Bring Back Our Girls.

"The Federal Government has confirmed that 110 students of the Government Science and Technical College in Dapchi, Yobe State, are so far unaccounted for, after insurgents believed to be from a faction of Boko Haram invaded their school on Monday," the information ministry said in a statement.

Information Minister Lai Mohammed also said police and security officials had been deployed to schools in the state while efforts were being stepped up to rescue the missing girls.

Yobe state government on Wednesday said dozens of the schoolgirls had been rescued by the military, sparking celebration in the streets, but a day later it issued a statement saying the girls were mostly still unaccounted for.

Boko Haram, whose name translates as "Western education is forbidden" in the Hausa language widely spoken in northern Nigeria, has killed more than 20,000 people and forced two million to flee their homes in a violent insurgency that began in 2009.Juba: The witness accounts remain appalling. One South Sudanese man returned home after hiding from government soldiers to find they had blinded his mother, gouging out her eyes with spears.

She had tried to defend her 17-year-old daughter from being raped by more than a dozen soldiers and didn't succeed. Seventeen soldiers then raped her. The family's father was beheaded.

The latest report on human rights abuses in South Sudan's five-year civil war, released on Friday by a United Nations commission, for the first time identifies more than 40 senior military officials, including three state governors, "who may bear individual responsibility for war crimes" and crimes against humanity.

"I did not expect to be confronted with so much ritual humiliation and degradation deliberately done for multiple reasons. The suffering and cruelty was worse than anyone could have imagined," Andrew Clapham, a commission member, and international law professor, told The Associated Press.

One South Sudanese woman told the commission that her 12-year-old son was forced to have sex with his grandmother to stay alive, the report says.

The findings, with "sufficient evidence" against both President Salva Kiir's government forces and rebels, will be presented to the U.N. Human Rights Council next month. They also will be made available to judicial mechanisms such as a hybrid court for South Sudan, which long has been urged by the international community but has never appeared.

The names of alleged perpetrators, kept private to help protect witnesses, are being given to the U.N. human rights office in Geneva.

Untold tens of thousands have been killed in South Sudan since the conflict erupted in December 2013, just two years after independence from Sudan. More than two million people have fled the country, the largest refugee crisis since the Rwandan genocide 24 years ago. Millions who remain at home face hunger.

The new U.N. report is an account of the gang-rapes, castrations, ethnic violence and other abuses that have left much of the impoverished East African nation in despair, while international frustration with the warring sides grows. An attempt at a cease-fire in late December was violated within hours. Disgusted, the United States announced a largely symbolic arms embargo and urged the U.N. Security Council to do the same.

South Sudan's government on Friday said it was asking the U.N. Commission for the names of the accused senior military officials and will investigate. "We can't condone anyone committing crimes and taking the law in their own hands," spokesman Ateny Wek Ateny said, though he added that such reports "can sometimes be cut-and-paste and based on hearsay."

Opposition spokesman Lam Paul Gabriel told the AP: "The human rights body should start putting the blame directly on the regime instead of blaming both sides."

The report, based on 230 witness statements and other materials, is the second since the U.N. commission was established in 2016 and the first since it was given a stronger mandate to preserve evidence and conduct investigations instead of simply monitoring and reporting.

South Sudan's conflict is splintering into chaos, the new report says. What began as a "power struggle" between Kiir and former Vice President Riek Machar has fractured into an estimated 40 armed groups across the country, with many fighting each other.

But consistent patterns stand out, such as government attacks on unarmed, fleeing civilians in areas where no opposition forces were present, the report says. "There is a clear pattern of ethnic persecution, for the most part by government forces," Clapham said.

Despite the latest accounts of abuses, South Sudan experts are skeptical that anything will change amid what the report calls a "grave" lack of accountability.

"The recommendations of these human rights reports have not been implemented in South Sudan, making them useless," Jacob Chol, senior political analyst, and professor at the University of Juba, told the AP. He said human rights abusers should be barred from the South Sudan peace talks in neighboring Ethiopia.

The talks reached a stalemate last week but are expected to pick up again next month.New York: Berkshire Hathaway, the holding company of US billionaire investor Warren Buffett, received a stunning $29 billion last year from the US government, thanks to a new tax law that massively lowered corporate tax rates.

In his much-anticipated annual letter to shareholders, Buffett explained that the company's net gain of $65.3 billion in 2017 was only partly due to his employees' efforts.

"Only $36 billion came from Berkshire's operations," he wrote. "The remaining $29 billion was delivered to us in December when Congress rewrote the US Tax Code."

Still, Buffett assured stockholders, "The $65 billion gain is nonetheless real  rest assured of that."

The new law, greatly touted by President Donald Trump, lowered the tax rate paid by US corporations from 35 percent to 21 percent, allowing many to undertake major new outlays and others to book significant fiscal gains.

Berkshire Hathaway wholly owns dozens of companies  from Dairy Queen to Duracell  and holds significant shares in large and diverse corporations including American Express, Apple, Bank of America, Charter Communications, Coca-Cola, Delta Air Lines, General Motors, Goldman Sachs, Moody's, Wells Fargo and Southwest Airlines.

'THE ORACLE OF OMAHA'

Buffett's newsletters are read with intense interest on Wall Street and beyond.

Known as the "Oracle of Omaha"  after his birthplace in the Midwestern state of Nebraska  he is one of the world's most successful investors and one of its richest men. Now 87, he has been investing since he first bought the stock at the age of 11.

His latest newsletter reports that Berkshire's net earnings rose last year from $24.07 billion to $44.94 billion.

In the letter, he added: "2017 was far from standard: A large portion of our gain did not come from anything we accomplished at Berkshire."

The year also saw the company's war chest swell to $116 billion in cash and US Treasury bills, the financial manna that Buffett wants to use to make significant new acquisitions.

Berkshire's often-impressive pace of acquisitions had slowed last year, he noted, when the prices asked for businesses "hit an all-time high," amid what he called "a purchasing frenzy."

"Price seemed almost irrelevant to an army of optimistic purchasers," Buffett noted.

Still, he said, the company "will have opportunities to make very large purchases" going forward, with emphasis on those available at "a sensible purchase price."

Buffett said Berkshire would stick with a "simple guideline: The less the prudence with which others conduct their affairs, the greater the prudence with which we must conduct our own."

A hit from hurricanes -

Buffett also said that while Berkshire's insurance holdings would take a $2 billion after-tax hit from losses caused by hurricanes last year in Florida, Texas and Puerto Rico, other reinsurance companies did far worse.

And he estimated the chances of a "mega-catastrophe" this year -- one causing losses of at least $400 billion -- at two percent.

"No one, of course, knows the correct probability," he added.

Buffett concluded with a little advice to fellow investors: "Though markets are generally rational, they occasionally do crazy things."

"Seizing the opportunities then offered does not require great intelligence... (or) a degree in economics," but rather "an ability to both disregard mob fears or enthusiasms and to focus on a few simple fundamentals," he added.

Forbes magazine estimates Buffett's personal worth at some $87 billion.

He has undertaken  as part of the so-called Giving Pledge he co-founded with Bill Gates and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg  to donate more than 99 percent of his fortune to charities, and has already given away some $32 billion.The late MDC-T leader Mr Morgan Tsvangirai nudged Zanu-PFs centralised philosophy of national governance to that of an open democracy, a senior official has said.



Secretary for Media, Information and Broadcasting Services and Presidential spokesperson Mr George Charamba also said Mr Tsvangirais death was a great loss to the nation.



He was speaking to Zimpapers Television Network at Mr Tsvangirais burial in Humanikwa Village, Buhera, last week.





Mr Tsvangirais death is great loss to Zimbabwe, not only in the sense of his political role, but also at a human level, he said.





I think one major lesson we are drawing from this is how in fact artificial politics is, and that beneath the superficies of politics, there is that underlying bond which connects us  one unto the rest as Zimbabweans; and that is primary in terms of establishing and underpinning stability in a country.





Mr Charamba said one thing which cannot be taken away from the MDC during Mr Tsvangirai era was making Zanu-PF recognise that individual rights were at the core of social advancement.

There are those who fight for Independence and bring the nation to a certain stage.

Then there are others who bring a certain input by way of democratising that liberation project and you should not see that as alien; it is in fact part of repertoire of values that enables people to move forward.





Mr Charamba was a nephew to Mr Tsvangirai, and The Sunday Mail also gathered that acting MDC-T president Advocate Nelson Chamisa is his son-in-law.

In another interview at the funeral, leader of the National Super Alliance of Kenya Mr Raila Odinga said he was encouraged by political developments in Zimbabwe.

Elections in Africa were becoming a mere ritual were there was an emergence of electoral autocracy and we are very encouraged by the obtaining political developments in Zimbabwe which are seeking to level the political playing field, he said.





Also present at the burial were Zanu-PF national chair Cde Oppah Muchinguri-Kashiri, members of the diplomatic community and representatives of various political parties. Sunday MailJudge: Prince Philip's Will to Be

Kept Under Wraps for 90 Years(Newser)  The UN Security Council unanimously approved a resolution Saturday demanding a 30-day cease-fire across Syria "without delay" to deliver humanitarian aid to millions and evacuate the critically ill and wounded, the AP reports. The vote was delayed for two days to try to get support from Russia, which said repeatedly that an immediate cease-fire was unrealistic. Sponsors Kuwait and Sweden amended the resolution late Friday in a last-minute attempt to satisfy Russia, dropping a demand that the cease-fire take effect in 72 hours. The effort worked, though US Ambassador Nikki Haley was sharply critical of Russia for delaying the vote, saying it cost lives.

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There is no set time for the cease-fire to take effect, but the resolution demands it be followed immediately by access for humanitarian convoys and medical teams to evacuate the critically ill and wounded. The resolution states that 5.6 million people in 1,244 communities are in "acute need." Sweden's UN Ambassador Olof Skoog told the council just before the vote that "the UN convoys and evacuation teams are ready to go." Sweden, Kuwait, and many other countries have been pressing for immediate UN action as deaths mount in a Syrian bombing campaign in the rebel-held suburbs of Damascus. The Security Council authorized one exemption from the cease-fire. It said attacks directed at extremists from the Islamic State group and all al-Qaida affiliates including the Nusra Front will be allowed to continue.

(Read more Syria stories.)(Newser)  In the battle of John Oliver vs. coal mogul Bob Murray, Oliver has come out on top in one big way. Murray sued Oliver for defamation over the late-night host's Last Week Tonight takedown of the coal industry in general and Murray in particular, but last week, a West Virginia judge dismissed the lawsuit. The judge found that Murray's company failed to state a claim, the AP reports. But, the Hill reports, Murray Energy has vowed to appeal the decision to the state's Supreme Court. "This decision contains absolutely no legal reasoning, whatsoever, and instead blindly adopts the defendants deeply flawed arguments," the company said in a statement Saturday. "This is a flagrant disregard of the law, the facts, and the substantial damages intentionally inflicted by the defendants."

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HBO, which airs Last Week Tonight, had defended Oliver's show. "The fact that Murray found this speech embarrassing or disagreeable does not remove it from the broad protection of the First Amendment. The Supreme Court has stated time and again that the type of speech at issue herenews and commentary about public figures and issues of public importance'occupies the highest rung of the hierarchy of First Amendment values, and is entitled to special protection,'" the network said in a statement asking the judge to dismiss the case. (Read more John Oliver stories.)(Newser)  The president of the International Olympic Committee has declared the Pyeongchang Games closed, reports the AP, marking the end of this year's Winter Olympics. Thomas Bach made the declaration during closing ceremonies held before tens of thousands on the eastern end of the Korean Peninsula. As part of the ceremony, the Winter Games were "handed off" to Beijing, which will host them in 2022 after staging the 2008 Summer Olympics. Bach called Pyeongchang the "games of new horizons."

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Bach gave the Olympic flag to the mayor of Beijing, Chen Jining, symbolizing the Winter Games' journey over the next four years from Pyeongchang to the Chinese capital in 2022. Beijing will be the first city to host both the summer and winter games. It hosted the summer edition in 2008. The handover of the Olympic flag from one host city to the next was followed by a high-tech lightshow where illuminated giant pandas and dancers skated around the Olympic Stadium. The final medal count saw Norway skate away on top, with 39 medals, reports the New York Times; the United States finished fourth, behind Germany and Canada, with 23. During the closing, the South Korean president's office announced that a North Korean delegate had said Pyongyang is willing to hold talks with the US. (Read more 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics stories.)(Newser)  In what the San Jose Mercury News calls a "snub" and Politico calls a "sharp rebuke" for Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the California Democratic Party has declined to endorse her as she runs for a fifth full term. Feinstein's main opponent in the primary is State Senate leader Kevin de Leon, who won support from 54% of the delegates at this weekend's state party convention to Feinstein's 37%. Sixty percent of the votes are needed to secure an endorsement from the party.

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The Mercury News says the snub highlights the belief of many liberals that Feinstein isn't doing enough to challenge President Trump; de Leon, on the other hand, has a strong relationship with the left flank of the party. Feinstein, however, is leading in the polls, has more financial resources, and has support from big-name Democrats including California's junior US senator, Kamala Harris, and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi. (Read more Dianne Feinstein stories.)(Newser)  The Las Vegas airport has installed boxes where folks leaving Sin City can dispose of their stash of marijuana before flying, no questions asked. Per SFGate, the city's main hub for air travel, McCarran International Airport, installed the "amnesty boxes" following a vote by the Clark County Commission last year to ban marijuana possession on airport property. While Nevada has legalized the use and possession of the drug, marijuana remains illegal under federal law. Because airports fall under federal jurisdiction, officials installed the boxes in order to keep airport policy in line with federal laws. The amnesty boxes also help prevent flyers from getting into trouble as they pass through the airport security line. All told, county officials plan to install 20 of the boxes at McCarran.

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Other airports have installed similar boxes before. Like Nevada, the state of Colorado has legalized recreational use of marijuana. And, like Nevada, some of Colorado's airports installed similar boxes after the state passed a recreational marijuana law in 2012, reports CNN. The boxes have been designed to allow travelers to toss their marijuana and marijuana products while preventing any passersby looking for a free high from reaching inside. Colorado and Nevada are among nine states, along with the District of Columbia, where recreational marijuana use has been legalized. (Read more Las Vegas stories.)(Newser)  Michelle Obama's memoir, one of the most highly anticipated books in recent years, is coming out Nov. 13. Michelle Obama's memoir, one of the most highly anticipated books in recent years, is coming out Nov. 13. The former first lady tweeted Sunday that the book, to come out a week after the 2018 midterm elections, is called "Becoming." She and her husband, former President Barack Obama, last year reached a joint agreement with Penguin Random House for their respective books. The deal is believed to be well in excess of $30 million. The book will be published simultaneously in 24 languages, from Swedish to Arabic, and Michelle Obama expects to promote "Becoming" in the U.S. and overseas. She will also narrate the audio version, per the AP.

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"As first lady of the United States of America  the first African-American to serve in that role  she helped create the most welcoming and inclusive White House in history, while also establishing herself as a powerful advocate for women and girls in the U.S. and around the world," the publisher said in a statement. "In her memoir, a work of deep reflection and mesmerizing storytelling, Michelle Obama invites readers into her world, chronicling the experiences that have shaped herfrom her childhood on the South Side of Chicago to her years as an executive balancing the demands of motherhood and work, to her time spent at the world's most famous address." Barack Obama, who has written the million-sellers "Dreams from My Father" and "The Audacity of Hope," has not yet scheduled his memoir. He is expected to focus on his eight years in the White House.

(Read more Michelle Obama stories.)Sorry!

This content is not available in your regionFairbanks, AK (99707)

Today

Sunshine and a few afternoon clouds. High 57F. Winds light and variable..

Tonight

Partly cloudy this evening with more clouds for overnight. Low 34F. Winds light and variable.The Comstock cabin along Eldorado Creek in Kantishna in 1994. The "stream" pictured is actually the access road up the valley, which was co-opted by Eldorado Creek into a new stream channel.The Daily News-Miner encourages residents to make themselves heard through the Opinion pages. Readers' letters and columns also appear online at newsminer.com. Contact the editor with questions at letters@newsminer.com or call 459-7574.

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Bollywood veteran actress Sridevi passed away on Saturday night due to massive cardiac arrest in Dubai. The news has been confirmed by her brother-in-law Sanjay Kapoor.

The 54-year old actress was in Dubai to attend a wedding ceremony in UAE with family.

In talks with IndianExpress, Sanjay said, Yes, it is true that Sridevi passed away. I just landed here, I was in Dubai and now I am flying back to Dubai. It happened roughly around 11.00-11.30. I dont know more details yet.

According to the media reports, her mortal remains will be brought to India on Sunday evening and she will be cremated in Mumbai.

According to an Airports Authority of India source, a private jet is being flown to Dubai to carry the late actor's mortal remains.The aircraft which will bring Sridevi's body is likely to depart from Mumbai around 1 pm and will arrive in Dubai at 4 pm.

It is expected to reach Mumbai around 8 pm.

The air outside Sridevi's residence is heavy with grief as fans of the veteran actor continue to queue up to catch one last glimpse of their 'Chandni'.

The Padma Shri actress has been known for her films in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada. She began her career as a child artist and became one of the most popular actresses of all time.

Some of her blockbusters include Chandni, Lamhe, Mr India, Nagina and many more. She was reintroduced in Bollywood with English Vinglish released in 2013.

Also Read | Sridevi's LAST Instagram post shows her family love, will leave you teary-eyed (see pics)

Her last appearance was in 2017 film MOM featuring Nawazuddin Siddiqui in a pivotal role. Her daughter Jhanvi Kapoor will debut her Bollywood career this year with Dhadak opposite Ishaan Khattar.

Never known anyone who was so painfully shy, so quiet off screen, who just transformed into a force of nature when the cameras came on. She was an interviewers nightmare, but the movie-buffs dream. You will be missed, Sridevi. Thank you for the movies.  Rajeev Masand (@RajeevMasand) February 24, 2018

I am at a loss for words & jolted as if struck by lightening at this late hour of the night to learn about the shocking & tragic news & untimely demise of #Sridevi ji. Heartbroken. She was Indias sweetheart, an incredible artiste & a beautiful human being. Gone too soon. RIP.Y pic.twitter.com/VEIveFY4tw  Adnan Sami (@AdnanSamiLive) February 24, 2018

Shocked by this news.Thoughts and prayers to the https://t.co/zsGqrGWG7Y #Sridevi Ji.  Yo Yo Honey Singh (@asliyoyo) February 24, 2018

It's so hard to believe, this absolute diva that I met sometime back at one of the award nights is no more. I wish it was just a nightmare. Strength to the entire family. #RIP #SriDevi  Daisy Shah (@ShahDaisy25) February 24, 2018

Terrible terrible news.... Am shocked beyond words. SRIDEVI ji No More ... YY RIP  Riteish Deshmukh (@Riteishd) February 24, 2018

I have no words. Condolences to everyone who loved #Sridevi . A dark day . RIP  PRIYANKA (@priyankachopra) February 24, 2018

An absolute icon. Gone too soon, #Sridevi. Too soon...  Jacqueline Fernandez (@Asli_Jacqueline) February 24, 2018

Really Shocked and disturbed to hear that Sridevi Maam is no more #RIP #Sridevi Y  Sidharth Malhotra (@S1dharthM) February 24, 2018

#Sridevi maam just gone from this world like poof..Just cant come to terms with it!!! Such a powerhouse of talent and such a huge loss for all of us. May she rest in peace ... really sad  ARMAAN MALIK (@ArmaanMalik22) February 24, 2018

For all the Latest Entertainment News, Bollywood News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.New Delhi:

Millions of people gathered outside Sridevi's Lokhandwala residence to bid adieu to the 54-year-old actress, who breathed her last in the wee hours of Sunday.

Sridevi, who was attending nephew Mohit Marwah's wedding in Dubai, suffered a cardiac arrest and declared death at Rashid Hospital.

According to Indian ambassador in UAE Navdeep Suri, right now, police are engaged in forensics report and her body will be released after completion of all the routine procedures.

Post that, Sridevi's mortal remains will be brought back to Mumbai in late hours of Sunday and last rites are expected to take place at Pawan Hans crematorium at Juhu, Mumbai at 11 AM on Monday.

"Mortal remains of #Sridevi expected to be brought via a chartered flight today: Mumbai Airport Sources," earlier ANI reported.

Meanwhile, in a moving gesture, Indian industrial magnate Anil Ambani has sent his private jet to bring her body back to India later on Sunday, sources said.

The 13-seater private jet, (Embraer-135BJ) belonging to Reliance Transport & Travel Ltd, left Mumbai for Dubai around 1.30 PM on Sunday.

Meanwhile, two police vans and a large number of security guards have been deployed to avoid any commotion outside her residence.

The actor's sudden death has left the entire nation into shock and film and television fraternities have been mourning such a huge loss of the Indian cinema.

Also Read: Sridevi's LAST video from nephew Mohit Marwah's wedding in Dubai

Sridevi managed a permanent place in a million of hearts for her roles in iconic movies like 'Sadma', 'Lamhe', 'Mr India', 'Chandni' and 'Himmatwala'.

The actress tied the knot with producer Boney Kapoor back in 1996 and was blessed by two beautiful daughters Jhanvi Kapoor and Khushi Kapoor.

From Arjun Kapoor to several other Bollywood biggies have started heading towards Anil Kapoor's residence.

Here are the latest updates:

#11:46 PM: Amar Singh visits residence of Anil Kapoor in Mumbai's Juhu

#9:44 PM: Mumbai: Anupam Kher, Shilpa Shetty at the residence of Anil Kapoor Sridevi

Mumbai: Anupam Kher, Shilpa Shetty at the residence of Anil Kapoor #Sridevi pic.twitter.com/4lRGLPWFVq  ANI (@ANI) February 25, 2018

# 9:18 PM: Late Sridevi Kapoors body will arrive in India tomorrow. We'll update you on further info as & when its available to us. Request you to kindly reach out to us on everything related to this & we urge you to please not call the family for info on the same: Boney Kapoor's Spokesperson

# 9:17 PM: Boney Kapoor, Jhanvi, Khushi & the entire Kapoor, Ayyappan and Marwah family is deeply bereaved and shocked with the untimely loss of #Sridevi Kapoor. They thank the entire media for their prayers, support and sensitivity during their time of grief: Boney Kapoor's Spokesperson

# 9:00 PM: Arjun Kapoor at the residence of actor Anil Kapoor Sridevi

Arjun Kapoor at the residence of actor Anil Kapoor #Sridevi pic.twitter.com/s9qVKxLGM6  ANI (@ANI) February 25, 2018

For all the Latest Entertainment News, Bollywood News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.New Delhi:

Bollywood actress Sridevi who won millions of hearts with her amazing performance passed away on Saturday in Dubai after a cardiac arrest. She was 54.

The Chandi actor was in Dubai along with her husband Boney Kapoor and daughter Khushi Kapoor to attend the wedding of nephew Mohit Marwah. The beautiful actor was considered as the first female superstar in the Hindi film industry.

Bollywood celebrities mourned the death of the Padma Shri awardee on social media. The sudden demise of the Mr. India actress has shocked her fans who reached outside her house.

Sridevi made her acting debut at the age of four and went on to impress the audience with her amazing comedy timing. The actress gave some of the biggest hits to the industry, be it, Mr India, Naagina or Sadma.

Seeing Bollywoods Chandni on the silver screen was nothing short of magic. It was a treat to see the Bollywood diva dance on the songs in her films which later turned out to be blockbusters.

As the nation mourns the death of one of its most loved stars, we pay our tribute to Sridevi by going down the memory lane and revisiting some of her top songs.

1- Har Kisi Ko Nahi Milta Yahan Pyaar Zindagi Mein (Janbaaz)

2- Mitwaa (Chandni)

3- Surmayee Akhiyon Mein (Sadmaa)

4- Naino Mein Sapna (Himmatwala)

5- Morni Baga Ma Bole (Lamhe)

6- Navrai Majhi (English Vinglish)

7- I Love You (Mr. India)

8- Na Jane Kahan Se (Chaal Baaz)

9- Aye Zindagi Gale Lagaa Le (Sadma)

10- Main Teri Dushman (Nagina)

For all the Latest Entertainment News, Bollywood News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.New Delhi:

Veteran actor Sridevi Boney Kapoor passed away on Saturday night, much to the shock and dismay of everyone. Her sudden death due to cardiac arrest has left the whole family and fans of her grieving.

Sridevi, who was aged 54, was in Dubai where she attended her nephew Mohit Marwahs wedding. Sridevis brother-in-law, Sanjay Kapoor, said that the whole family was in shock with the sudden death of the legendary actress, and also clarified that she did not have any past history of heart attacks.

We are completely shocked. She had no history of a heart attack, Sanjay Kapoor told the Khaleej Times in an interview.

Sridevi was accompanied by her husband Boney Kapoor and younger daughter Khushi to the wedding in Dubai, while her elder daughter, Jhanvi Kapoor, was in Mumbai as she is set to soon make her Bollywood debut with Karan Johars Dhadak alongside Shahid Kapoors brother, Ishan Khattar.

The last pictures which Sridevi shared on her Instagram profile were those of Mohits wedding, where even Arjun Kapoor and Sonam Kapoor were present.

Also Read: Amitabh Bachchans tweet minutes before Sridevis demise will leave you shocked!

The veteran actresss body is expected to be brought to Mumbai from Dubai on Sunday. Many Bollywood celebrities and politicians have paid their condolences to the actress on social media. Sridevis co-star, Kamal Hassan, grieved at her demise and said that their movie Sadmas lullaby will haunt him now.

Have witnessed Sridevi's life from an adolescent teenager to the magnificeint lady she became. Her stardom was well deserved. Many happy moments with her flash through my mind including the last time I met her. Sadma's lullaby haunts me now. We'll miss her  Kamal Haasan (@ikamalhaasan) February 25, 2018

For all the Latest Entertainment News, Bollywood News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.New Delhi:

Popular Bollywood actress Sridevi who rule the hearts of millions of fans breathed her last on Saturday in Dubai. The aChandnia star was 54.

Considered as one of the first female superstar of Bollywood, the beautiful actress was attending a wedding function of Mohit Marwah in Dubai when she suffered a cardiac arrest. This eventually resulted in her death.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday expressed his grief on the untimely demise of the English Vinglish actress. He took to Twitter to recall her memorable career and also state that his thoughts are with her family.

Saddened by the untimely demise of noted actor Sridevi. She was a veteran of the film industry, whose long career included diverse roles and memorable performances. My thoughts are with her family and admirers in this hour of grief. May her soul rest in peace: PM @narendramodi a PMO India (@PMOIndia) February 25, 2018

President Ram Nath Kovind also mourned the death of the aSadmaa actress. He said that her performances in films like Lamhe and Moondram Pirai remain an inspiration for others.

Shocked to hear of passing of movie star Sridevi. She has left millions of fans heartbroken. Her performances in films such as Moondram Pirai, Lamhe and English Vinglish remain an inspiration for other actors. My condolences to her family and close associates #PresidentKovind a President of India (@rashtrapatibhvn) February 25, 2018

Congress President Rahul Gandhi who is currently on a visit to Karnataka also expressed his condolences to Sridevias family. He mentioned, '' Sridevi was incredibly talented andA versatile actress whose vast body of work spanned a range of genres and languages''.

Shocked to hear about the sudden and untimely death of one of Indiaas favourite actress, Sridevi.



Sridevi was an incredibly talented and versatile actress whose vast body of work spanned a range of genres and languages.



My condolences to her family. May her soul rest in peace. a Office of RG (@OfficeOfRG) February 25, 2018

Information & Broadcasting and Textiles Minsiter Smriti Irani called the Bollywood diva a powerhouse of acting and expressed her condolences to her loved ones.

Sridevi - a powerhouse of acting , a long journey embellished with success comes to a sudden end. My condolences to her loved ones and fans. a Smriti Z Irani (@smritiirani) February 25, 2018

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh also expressed his anguish at the sudden demise of the 'Himmatwala' actress.

Anguished to learn of the sudden demise of veteran film actor Sridevi. She had a long & successful career in the film industry with several remarkable performances. Her demise is a big loss to the film industry. My thoughts are with her family & fans. May her soul rest in peace. a Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) February 25, 2018

Other political leaders also took to Twitter to express their grief at the great loss.

Deeply saddened by the untimely demise of versatile actor #Sridevi. Her contribution to Hindi cinema is unparallel and will be remembered for generations to come. My condolences to her family and countless admirers. a Piyush Goyal (@PiyushGoyal) February 25, 2018

"Let your presence ring out like a bell into the night.

And if the earthly no longer knows your name,

whisper to the silent earth: I am flowing.

To the flashing water say: I am."

--Rainer Maria Rilke: Sonnets to Orpheus#srideviRIP a Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) February 25, 2018

For all the Latest Entertainment News, Bollywood News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.New Delhi:

Sridevi, the first female superstar of Bollywood died in the wee hours of Sunday after a cardiac arrest. She was 54.

The actress was attending nephew Mohit Marwahs wedding along with husband Boney kapoor and younger daughter Khushi Kapoor in Dubai.

Fans and followers went into a huge shock after the news of her sudden demise broke into the internet.

Confirming the news of her death, Sanjay Kapoor, brother of Boney Kapoor said, Yes, it is true that Sridevi passed away. I just landed here. I was in Dubai and now I am flying back to Dubai. It happened roughly around 11.00-11.30. I dont know more details yet, reported Indian Express.

From fans and well wishers to entire film and television fraternity, everyone has been mourning the loss of the actress.

Meanwhile, paying his tribute to the 'Lamhe' actress, Filmmaker Subhash Ghai said, "Sri Devi worked with me in karma as an actor in 1985. A quite lady with bundle of talent. A pure magical screen actor of india. We can never get other sri Devi again on screen."

"I am deeply grieved for this shocking loss. . she has not been one of the finest actor but the finest actor of indian of cinema since 1985.

Introvert by nature she was electricity with thunder in front of camera. She Wud shock directors by her each shot taken on her on the sets. May it be dance drama or romance. She was uncrowned queen of acting in all languages in her times. I knew her as a person for being my friend Boney's wife," he added.

"She was purely traditional house wife. Great Mother n perfect host for guests at home . We all loved her with great respect. Best thing in her life I observed that she maintained her dignity n integrity as an actor n person both constantly at any Cost in this demanding industry. Her work on screen will be written in text books of acting. May it be first sadma or Mom the latest God bless her soul peace," Ghai concluded.

Also Read: Sridevi's LAST video from nephew Mohit Marwah's wedding in Dubai

Expressing her grief over Sridevi's demise actress Jaya Prada told ANI, It feels like a bad dream. I couldn't believe until I saw it on TV. We worked together in several movies. Sridevi was a wonderful actress and mother. It was her dream to see her daughters rule silver screen just like her, but Jhanvi couldn't meet her mother in her last time.

It feels like a bad dream. I couldn't believe until I saw it on TV.We worked together in several movies.#Sridevi was a wonderful actress&mother. It was her dream to see her daughters rule silver screen just like her, but Jhanvi couldn't meet her mother in her last time:Jaya Prada pic.twitter.com/pwUkrP0uVA  ANI (@ANI) February 25, 2018

It's shocking. No one had thought that this would happen. She had just returned to films. As an actor she could carry films on her shoulders. She was a pan-Indian actress and an icon of our industry. My heart goes out to her family, said filmmaker Sudhir Mishra who was shaken by the news of Sridevi's death.

It's shocking. No one had thought that this would happen. She had just returned to films. As an actor she could carry films on her shoulders. She was a pan-Indian actress & an icon of our industry. My heart goes out to her family: Sudhir Mishra, Film Director on #Sridevi pic.twitter.com/I7jgpQuSRG  ANI (@ANI) February 25, 2018

It's a big loss not only for all film industries of India but also for the nation. She was a legend of the film fraternity. As an actor I think my journey is incomplete because I didn't get to do a film with her. Her name, her work will live on forever, said Vivek Oberoi on Sridevi.

It's a big loss not only for all film industries of India but also for the nation. She was a legend of the film fraternity. As an actor I think my journey is incomplete because I didn't get to do a film with her. Her name, her work will live on forever: Vivek Oberoi on #Sridevi pic.twitter.com/uCiLwgUkAZ  ANI (@ANI) February 25, 2018

For all the Latest Entertainment News, Bollywood News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.New Delhi:

Bollywood's veteran actress Sridevi breathed her last on Saturday. The actress has passed away due to cardiac arrest. Sridevi, who was married to producer Boney Kapoor, was in Dubai along with her family to attend the wedding of her nephew Mohit Marwah.

Her sudden demise has come as a grave shock and everyone has been mourning the loss of one of India's biggest superstars.

In fact, ever since the news of Sridevi's sudden demise broke, several Bollywood celebrities took it to micro-blogging site Twitter to pay their condolences

Amongst the first ones tweet about Sridevi's death was her Khuda Gawah co-star Amitabh Bachchan. He wrote, "Don't know why, feeling a strange restlessness".

T 2625 - a aaaa aaaaa , aa aaaa aa aaaaaaY aa aaa aa !! a Amitabh Bachchan (@SrBachchan) February 24, 2018

Preity Zinta wrote, "Heartbroken & shocked to hear that my all-time favourite Sridevi is no more. May God give peace to her soul & strength to the family RIP".

Heartbroken & shocked to hear that my all time favourite #Sridevi is no more. May god give peace to her soul & strength to the family #RIP a Preity zinta (@realpreityzinta) February 24, 2018

Race 3 actress Jacqueline Fernandez too wasn't able to come in term with demise of Bollywood's 'Hawa Hawai'.

An absolute icon. Gone too soon, #Sridevi. Too soon... a Jacqueline Fernandez (@Asli_Jacqueline) February 24, 2018

Adnan Sami tweeted, I am at a loss for words & jolted as if struck by lightening at this late hour of the night to learn about the shocking & tragic news & untimely demise of #Sridevi ji. Heartbroken. She was Indiaas sweetheart, an incredible artiste & a beautiful human being. Gone too soon. RIP."

I am at a loss for words & jolted as if struck by lightening at this late hour of the night to learn about the shocking & tragic news & untimely demise of #Sridevi ji. Heartbroken. She was Indiaas sweetheart, an incredible artiste & a beautiful human being. Gone too soon. RIP.Y pic.twitter.com/VEIveFY4tw a Adnan Sami (@AdnanSamiLive) February 24, 2018

Riteish Deshmukh wrote, "Terrible terrible news.... Am shocked beyond words. SRIDEVI ji No More ... RIP"

Terrible terrible news.... Am shocked beyond words. SRIDEVI ji No More ... YY RIP a Riteish Deshmukh (@Riteishd) February 24, 2018

Priyanka Chopra cited it as a 'dark day' as she paid her condolences over Sridevi's death.

I have no words. Condolences to everyone who loved #Sridevi . A dark day . RIP a PRIYANKA (@priyankachopra) February 24, 2018

Ye Lamhe , ye pal hum har pal yaad karenge.. ye mausam chale gaye toh hum fariyad karenge.. #RIPSridevi a PRIYANKA (@priyankachopra) February 24, 2018

Vir Das said, "Cannot believe the heartbreaking news about Sridevi Our industry lost a shining light today, way too early. Love and light to her family."

Cannot believe the heartbreaking news about #Sridevi Our industry lost a shining light today, way too early. Love and light to her family. a Vir Das (@thevirdas) February 24, 2018

Comedian Ali Asgar also admitted of beingA devasted with the news of Sridevi's death

Shocked and devastated .. #Sridevi..prayers and condolences to the family members YY a Ali Asgar (@kingaliasgar) February 24, 2018

Aiyaar actor Sidharth Malhotra wrote, "Really Shocked and disturbed to hear that Sridevi Maaam is no more"

Really Shocked and disturbed to hear that Sridevi Maaam is no more #RIP #Sridevi Y a Sidharth Malhotra (@S1dharthM) February 24, 2018

Pakistani actress Mahira Khan wrote, "So grateful to have grown up and lived in the times of Sridevi. Thank you for the movies, thank you for the magic. You shall live on forever.."

So grateful to have grown up and lived in the times of #sridevi . Thank you for the movies, thank you for the magic. You shall live on forever.. pic.twitter.com/jS2YJU1zoq a Mahira Khan (@TheMahiraKhan) February 25, 2018

It's really shocking. For the longest time in the morning I thought it's a rumor. She had groomed her daughter & made her what she is today, it will be sad that she will not be able to watch her on screen. Life is unpredictable: Anurag Basu, Film Director & Producer on #Sridevi pic.twitter.com/cnSSuNqICO a ANI (@ANI) February 25, 2018

There are a few things which you find tough to believe. She was a phenomenal actress, a superstar. There was nothing that she couldn't do. She was a role model. My condolences to the entire family. This is an irreparable loss. God bless her soul: Divya Dutta on #Sridevi pic.twitter.com/8G7pTiCOdg a ANI (@ANI) February 25, 2018

It's a big loss not only for all film industries of India but also for the nation. She was a legend of the film fraternity. As an actor I think my journey is incomplete because I didn't get to do a film with her. Her name, her work will live on forever: Vivek Oberoi on #Sridevi pic.twitter.com/uCiLwgUkAZ a ANI (@ANI) February 25, 2018

We're talking about someone who not only made the screen look beautiful but also mastered the art of acting. What is even traumatic is the suddenness of it, especially when her daughter is venturing into the films & needs her the most. 54 is gone too soon: Babul Supriyo #Sridevi pic.twitter.com/WqeQiM3KZ8 a ANI (@ANI) February 25, 2018

Sridevi is survived by husband Boney Kapoor and two daughters Jahnvi and Khushi. Reportedly, her mortal remains will be brought to India on Sunday.

For all the Latest Entertainment News, Bollywood News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.New Delhi:

Brigadier YS Ahlawat on Sunday said that the Pakistan Army has been displaying extreme cowardice and unprofessionalism by carrying out ceasefire violations along the Line of Control (LoC).

He also said that the Indian Army has retaliated heavily and accurately, and villagers and people have been evacuated from places where mortar shelling is expected.

While addressing the media, Ahlawat said that the Pakistan Army is continuously carrying out ceasefire violations since February 19, but the army had swung into action and provided immediate relief to the villagers, including food, medicine, drinking water and provisioned sleeping bags.

Since 19 Feb, Pakistan Army has been continuously carrying out ceasefire violations along the LoC in Uri sector. Displaying extreme cowardice & unprofessionalism, it has been targeting innocent villagers & causing damage to their houses through mortar shelling, said Ahlawat.

He added, Indian Army has retaliated accurately on the Pak Army post.Villagers have been evacuated to govt school in Uri. Army has swung into action & provided immediate relief to villagers including food, medicine, drinking water & have provisioned sleeping bags in view of winter.

As per official reports, a total of six civilians were killed and 13 others were injured in heavy Pakistani shelling along the LoC in Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir during the last 10 months.

Also Read: PoK starts evacuation plan amid LoC ceasefire violations

Nowshera and Manjakote sectors were worst hit and accounted for a majority of the damage in the shelling from across the border, District Development Commissioner, Rajouri, Shahid Iqbal Choudhary told PTI.

He said, As many as 169 residential houses and 12 government buildings were damaged in the shelling from May 1, 2017, to February 25, 2018. 4,600 people migrated from the affected villages along the LoC during the past 10 months even as the local administration constructed 86 underground bunkers at various places in the twin sectors for the safety of the people. Over 80 schools, which were near the border, were closed to ensure safety of the students.

Choudhary said the administration is making all efforts to reach out to the affected populace to mitigate their problems and has set up rehabilitation and relief camps for the border migrants with adequate facilities.

However, as per media reports, the government of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) has readied evacuation plan to relocate locals to safe areas due to recent "provocation" by Indian forces at the Line of Control (LoC).

PoK Prime Minister Raja Farooq Haider has directed the district machinery and local authorities in the areas located along LoC to make standby arrangements for relocating thousands of people whose lives have come under direct threat after the tension at the border.

(With agency inputs)

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.Beijing:

Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale visited Beijing and held talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and discussed a range of issues amidst continuing tensions in bilateral ties.

The visit of Gokhale, who was also the former Indian envoy to China, was announced today by the Indian Embassy here through a tweet.

"Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale is visiting China to discuss the bilateral agenda, exchange plans and visits for 2018. He met with FM Wang Yi on February 23," the tweet said.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry issued a statement late last night on Gokhale's talks with Wang.

Wang said that the two sides should enhance strategic mutual trust and accelerate common development in line with the political consensus of the leaders of the two countries, according to the statement.

"We hope that the Indian side will handle sensitive issues prudently and work with China to promote the sound development of China-India relations," Wang said, apparently referring to a host of sensitive issues between India and China, including the current political crisis in the Maldives.

China and India are both representatives of emerging markets and big developing countries, Wang said, adding that commonality cannot be replaced.

According to the press release, Gokhale said he was pleased to visit China at the very beginning of his term. Gokhale succeeded S Jaishankar as foreign secretary last month.

He said India attached great importance to its relations with China and was willing to work with it to implement the consensus of leaders, strengthen strategic communications, take care of each other's core concerns and create a good atmosphere for the sustained and steady development of bilateral relations.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to visit China in June this year to take part in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit to be held at Qingdao city.

The visit of Gokhale, who reportedly held the key negotiations to resolve the 73-day standoff at Dokalam, came in the backdrop of difficult bilateral and trilateral issues being dealt with by the two countries.

The Dokalam standoff ended on August 28 after the Chinese military stopped road building close to the strategic Chicken Neck corridor in an area claimed by Bhutan.

Besides the tensions along the 3,488 km long Line of Actual Control (LAC), the two countries faced a range of issues, including India's objection to the USD 50 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, China blocking efforts at the UN to list JeM chief Masood Azhar as a global terrorist as well as India's entry into the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG).

The current political crisis in the Maldives also emerged as an irritant in bilateral ties.

The Maldives was plunged into a crisis when President Abdulla Yameen declared a 15-day emergency on February 5 and ordered the arrest of the Chief Justice and a former head of state after the Supreme Court termed "unconstitutional" the imprisonment of nine MPs and former President Mohammed Nasheed.

China which has made large-scale investments in the Maldives, called for the crisis to be resolved by relevant parties internally and opposed any external intervention. Beijing also opposed to even UN mediation to resolve the crisis.

Former president Nasheed, who is currently in exile in Sri Lanka, however, had called for the Indian intervention to resolve the crisis.

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.New Delhi:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the nation on Sunday through his monthly radio show Mann Ki Baat on Sunday.A The 41st edition of Mann Ki Baat was broadcasted on Doordarshan, All India radio and Narendra Modi mobile app.

PM Narenda Modi started his address by remembering CV Raman andA Jagadish Bose and their contribution to the field of science.A HeA urged the scientists to discover new ways of using artificial intelligence through which lives of 'divyang' people can be enhanced.

PM Modi also said that technology and artificial intelligence must be used only for welfare of mankind. Ahead of Women's Day on March 8, he also said that India is movingA from women development to women-led development.

He also added that ensuring equal participation of women in every sphere of economic and social life is the duty of the government.

Mann Ki Baat Highlights

#11:28 AM-A PM Narendra Modi wishes the nation ahead of Holi on March 2. He says, ''Holi gives us the message of spreading peace and unity among all.

Holi gives the message of spreading peace, brotherhood & unity among all. #MannKiBaat pic.twitter.com/ESxyvojlXa a PMO India (@PMOIndia) February 25, 2018

#11:25 AM-A PM Modi mentions Elephanta Islands as three of its villages have got electricity for the first time after spending 70 overs in darkness. ''I congratulate the administration & people for this', says ModiA

#11:22 AM- Ahead of International Womenas Day, PM Modi recalls Swami Vivekananda's words, athe idea of perfect womanhood is perfect independencea.

#11:20 AM- We areA moving from women development to women-led development says PM Modi

Moving from Women Development to Women Led Development.#MannKiBaat pic.twitter.com/eA4ROFOA86 a PMO India (@PMOIndia) February 25, 2018

#11:18 AM-A We hear of music festivals, food festivals & film festivals but in a unique move Chhattisgarh celebrated 'Trash Mahotsav'. the objective behind it was to utilise waste creatively & to spread awareness about ways to reuse garbage

#11:16AM- PM Modi mentions aGOBAR-Dhan Yojanaa in his talk, says this will be beneficial for the people living in rural areas.

PM @narendramodi speaks about 'GOBAR-Dhan Yojana' and how it will immensely benefit people living in rural areas. #MannKiBaat pic.twitter.com/A7tUGDjUDH a narendramodi_in (@narendramodi_in) February 25, 2018

#11:12 AM- PM ModiA lauds heroes who work inA rescue and relief operations after any disaster takes place

I appreciate the heroes who work in relief & rescue operations across the country. #MannKiBaat pic.twitter.com/VT6twikxEc a PMO India (@PMOIndia) February 25, 2018

# 11:10 AM-A Most of the accidents barring national disasters in some way or the other occur due to our negligence. If we remain vigilante & follow rules then we can avoid such situations says PM Narendra Modi

Remain vigilant and follow rules to avert any accident. #MannKiBaat pic.twitter.com/1VgLvT15cb a narendramodi_in (@narendramodi_in) February 25, 2018

#11:09 AM-A On National Science Day, I would like to congratulate all our scientists and all those who work in the field of science



#11:07 AM- Science and Technology is value neutral. Technology must be used only for welfare of mankind.

#11:06 AM-A A I urge our scientists to discover ways through which we can enhance and improve the lives of 'divyang' people through artificial intelligence.

#11:06 AM-A Technology and artificial intelligence must be used towards ensuring welfare of poor and underprivileged says PM Modi

#11:05 AM- We celebrate National Science Day every year on 28th February because CV Raman discovered the phenomenon of light scattering on this day

#11:02 AM- Narendra Modi mentions scientist CV Raman and Jagadish Bose and theirA contribution to the field of science

#11.01 AM- Narendra Modi's address begins with a phone call.

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.New Delhi:

Day after the pet scheme inauguration of J Jayalalithaa, the subsidised scooter scheme for working women, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday visited the Sri Aurobindo Ashram in Puducherry and paid homage to its founder Sri Aurobindo.

After arriving in Puducherry from Chennai, PM Modi reached the ashram where he was received by the officials.

On the occasion of Auroville's 50th anniversary celebrations, Modi paid floral tributes at the memorial of the spiritual leader, and meditated for a few minutes. Later, he interacted with the children of the International School of Education run by the ashram.

He then left for Auroville (City of Dawn) International Township situated in neighbouring Villupuram district of Tamil Nadu where he will participate in its golden jubilee celebrations.

The international or universal project envisioned by the mother of Aurobindo Ashram, Mirra Alfassa, is dedicated to the ideal of human unity.

Earlier on his arrival at the airport, PM Modi was received by Lt Governor Kiran Bedi and Chief Minister V Narayanaswamy among others.

It was PM Modi's first visit to Puducherry after becoming the prime minister.

Later in the day PM Modi released the commemorative postage stamp on the occasion of Auroville's golden jubilee.

Also Read | Mann Ki Baat: India is moving from women development to women-led development says PM Narendra Modi

Post that the Prime Minister addressed a public meeting in Puducherry and said, "It is important today to remember the vast extent of action and thought of Shri Aurobindo. A man of action, a philosopher, a poet, there were so many facets to his character. And each of them was dedicated to the good of the nation and humanity. Auroville has brought together men and women, young and old, cutting across boundaries and identities. I understand that Auroville's Charter was hand-written in French by the Divine Mother herself. According to the Charter, the Mother set five high principles for Auroville."

"Maharishi Aurobindo's philosophy of Consciousness integrates not just humans, but the entire universe. This has been translated by Mahatma Gandhi to mean "everything down to the tiniest atom is divine," PM said.

"As the world progresses materially through science and technology, it will increasingly long for and need spiritual orientation for social order and stability. At Auroville, the material and the spiritual, co-exist in harmony," Modi added.

"The fact that Auroville has brought together such huge diversity of people and ideas makes dialogue and debate natural. Indian society is fundamentally diverse. It has fostered dialogue & a philosophic tradition. Auroville show-cases this ancient Indian tradition to the world," Modi stated later.

Also Read | Rahul Gandhi in Karnataka: BJP govt in Gujarat is giving away lands to big industrialists, says Congress President

"India has always allowed mutual respect & co-existence of different religions and cultures. India is home to the age old tradition of Gurukul, where learning is not confined to classrooms. Auroville too has developed as a place of un-ending and life-long education."

Moreover, expressing his grief over Puducherry's poor infrastructure and transport system he slams his rival party Congress and said the Union territory is the victim of Congress culture.

Lashing out at the Congress Modi said that one family had ruled the country for over four decades and asked the people to compare the dynasty-led governments with the "development-oriented" NDA.

"One family either directly or indirectly ruled the country for 48 years," he told a public meeting organised by the BJP here, referring to the governments of Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi.

On the other hand, he said, there was the NDA government which will complete 48 months this May. Intellectuals can debate the difference between what was achieved during the Congress regimes and the BJP-led NDA, he said.

Targeting the Congress government in Puducherry, he said the union territory had poor infrastructure and was a victim of "Congress culture".

Modi asserted that the BJP would win the coming Assembly elections in Karnataka and other states, and said the Congress would be left with only the V Narayanasamy government in Puducherry.

It's unfortunate that PM, holding the highest position, said this. Congress will win Mizoram, Meghalaya, Karnataka. We are in a winning position in Haryana & Maharashtra. Situation is changing today, people want Congress' govt: V Narayanasamy , #Puducherry CM on PM Modi's speech pic.twitter.com/6yqKW5xFTs  ANI (@ANI) February 25, 2018

He did not refer to the Amarinder Singh-led Congress government in Punjab.

Also Read: India congratulates China on FATF post, hopes Beijing will be balanced

"I want to congratulate the Chief Minister of Puducherry because the Congress is going to exhibit him as a specimen after June," he said predicting the defeat of the Congress in the other states.

He claimed Puducherry had poor infrastructure and sectors such as transport and cooperation were in a shambles.

"The Congress has failed on all fronts in Puducherry," he said.

However, concluding his speech an excited Modi said that he felt "lucky to be in Puducherry."

(With inputs from agencies)

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.New Delhi:

Two policemen were shot dead by militants today in two separate attacks, including one at a police post near the revered Chrar-e-Shareef shrine and another outside the residence of a Hurriyat leader, in the Kashmir Valley on Sunday, officials said.

On Sunday morning, a group of militants attacked a police post near the revered Chrar-e-Shareef shrine in central Kashmir's Budgam district killing a policeman, an official said. The militants fired upon a police post near the shrine of Sufi saint Sheikh Noor-ud-Din Noorani in the Chrar-e-Shareef area this afternoon, the official said.

The policeman, identified as Kultar Singh, sustained injuries in the firing and was shifted to a hospital where he succumbed to injuries, the official added.

In a second attack of the day, heavily armed gunmen attacked a police guard at the residence of Hurriyat leader Fazal Haq Qureshi at Bilal Colony, Soura in Srinagar on Sunday. Constable Farooq Ahmad Itoo of Chadoura Budgam was shot dead. The rifle has been snatched away.

Constable Farooq Ahmed was killed in the attack.

The area has been cordoned off and a hunt is on to nab the assailants, the officials said.

Also Read: Brig YS Ahlawat says Indian Army has retaliated heavily to Pakistans unprofessional ceasefire violations

Jammu-Kashmirs DGP Shesh Paul Vaid said, Pained at the loss of a valued colleague SGCt Kultar Singh JKAP 13 Bn who attained martyrdom in an attack on J&K Police guard for protection of Charari Sharief shrine.

Pained at the loss of a valued colleague SGCt kultar Singh JKAP 13 Bn who attained martyredom in an attack on J&K Police guard for protection of Charar - e - shareif shrine.  Shesh Paul Vaid (@spvaid) February 25, 2018

He also expressed his pain at the "martyrdom" of the two policemen.

"Be more careful boys, its the proxy war that we are fighting in Jammu & Kashmir," the state's top police official tweeted.

We have lost another precious life when Constable Farooq Ahmad was martyred today in Srinagar. Be more careful boys, its the proxy war that we are fighting in Jammu & Kashmir.  Shesh Paul Vaid (@spvaid) February 25, 2018

(With agency inputs)

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.Beijing:

In an unprecedented move, China's ruling Communist Party on Sunday prepared the ground for President Xi Jinping to stay in power indefinitely after the end of his second term in 2022 as it proposed to remove presidential term limits from the party's Constitution.

The CPC Central Committee proposed removing the clause that the President and Vice-President "shall serve no more than two consecutive terms" from the country's Constitution, state-run Xinhua news agency reported on Sunday.

The removal of the term limit, which is expected to be endorsed by the Plenum of the party to be held tomorrow would give 64-year-old Xi, regarded as the most powerful leader in modern China, a limitless tenure.

Xi's predecessors, Jiang Zemin who was in power from 1993 to 2003 and Hu Jintao from 2003 to 2013 stepped down as the General Secretary of the party as well as the president after widely followed rule as well as a convention of two terms to promote collective leadership system in the one-party state.

If China pushes ahead with the proposal, Xi would become the country's most powerful leader since Mao Zedong, who ruled for more than three decades through 1976.

President Xi, who is also the general secretary of the CPC and chairman of the Central Military Commission, began his second five-year tenure last year, following a national Congress of the CPC.

A seven-man leadership committee unveiled last year included no potential successor, raising the prospect that Xi intends to govern beyond his second term.

Since then, all organs of the party have declared him as the topmost leader of the party setting aside the principle of collective party leadership that was followed in the last three decades.

The CPC Central Committee also on Sunday proposed writing Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era into the country's Constitution.

Also Read: Beijing protests US sanctions on Chinese firms over North Korea ties

This would make Xi the only leader after Mao and his predecessor Deng Xiaoping whose thoughts were written into the Constitution. It would place him above the rest of the leaders of the party.

Robert Lawrence Kuhn, an American scholar on China who moved closely with Chinese leaders and scholars for decades, told PTI earlier that the inclusion of Xi's thoughts in the Constitution and his "core leadership" status conferred on him by the party previously put him "substantially ahead of others" in the party.

Besides the two-term rule, top Chinese leaders also followed a convention of retiring after 68 years.

With the status of "core leader" and his name written into the Constitution, the retirement age limit is not expected to be applicable to Xi. As per the existing convention, he is due to retire after 2022. Observers say as "core leader" Xi could continue as General Secretary of the CPC.

The new amendment to the Constitution removing the two-term rule would clear the last impediment for him to continue as the president for an unprecedented third term after 2022.

Since Xi took over power he consolidated his hold on power with massive anti-graft campaign in which over a million officials from the top to bottom were punished.

The three-day party plenum beginning here tomorrow is also expected to change the top echelons of the Chinese government by packing the powerful posts with Xi's loyalists.

Saturday the CPC Central Committee meeting headed by Xi discussed a list of proposed candidates for state leadership positions, Xinhua reported without disclosing details.

The names would be referred for the approval of China's parliament, the National People's Congress (NPC), which would begin its annual session on March 5.

The NPC often referred to as rubber stand parliament for its routine approval of CPC proposals will hold its session along with the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), a consultative body.

Also Read: Mumbai 9/11 mastermind, JuD chief Hafiz Saeed claims US plotting against him for his patriotic work

Xi was elected as the head of the Party and President in 2013 and later took over as head of the military.

In 2016, the CPC officially gave him the title of "core" leader.

The thoughts of two of Xi's predecessors were mentioned in the Constitution but not their names.

Any attempt to challenge Xi or his thinking would be seen as defiance against the party.

For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.Police have arrested Abigail Hernandez, a student in the Rochester City School District, after she allegedly made a threat to East High School.

Rochester Deputy Mayor Cedric Alexander and Deputy Chief La'Ron Singletary announced the arrest Friday.

According to police, an alleged threat was posted on Feb. 15 to the East High School Facebook page saying "I'm coming tomorrow morning and I'm going to shoot all you bi-----."

On Feb. 20, police arrested 21-year-old Hernandez at home and found a shotgun inside the home. Police did not say if the shotgun was registered to Hernandez or someone else living at the home.

Press Conference with Deputy Mayor Alexander and Deputy Chief Singletary regarding a terroristic threat made at East High School. An arrest was made! Excellent job by all involved! Posted by Rochester NY Police Department on Friday, February 23, 2018

It took investigators time to track down the Hernandez because it came from an anonymous Facebook account, according to police. Alexander said the alleged threat referenced a shooting and sympathy with the school shooting in Parkland, Fla.

Hernandez has been charged with a felony of making a terroristic threat. She has no prior arrests. Hernandez is a student in the Rochester City School District, but she is not a student at East.

During the investigation, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents determined Hernandez was an undocumented immigrant who was in the United States under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.

DACA is a program that allows young people who were brought to the United States illegally as children to stay in the country. However, applicants cannot have a criminal record in order to live and work legally in the U.S. for renewable two-year periods.

Hernandez has been transferred to federal custody. She is being held at an ICE detention center in Batavia.The Defence Headquarters, on Saturday, denied that troops withdrew a few days before the abduction of schoolgirls in Dapchi, Yobe State....

The Defence Headquarters, on Saturday, denied that troops withdrew a few days before the abduction of schoolgirls in Dapchi, Yobe State.It explained that the troops were located just 30 kilometres from the school.The Director, Defence Information, Brig. Gen. John Agim, in a text message to one of our correspondents, said there was no truth in the allegation that the military withdrew a few hours to the attack.Agim said, There is no truth in the allegation because the military has been in a location that is about 30 kilometres to the school.Efforts to get the spokesperson for the Nigeria Police Force, Moshood Jimoh, did not succeed as he neither returned calls to his mobile nor responded to an SMS sent to him.A national newspaper had reported on Saturday that the Yobe State Governor, Ibrahim Gaidam, said security men withdrew from Dapchi a few hours to the attack.Gaidam stated this when the Kano State Governor, Abdullahi Ganduje, paid him a visit in Damaturu, the state capital.The Boko Haram insurgents, who abducted the girls, were reported to have arrived at Dapchi at 7pm on Monday and left at 9pm.Prince Kazeem Afegbua, spokesman for former head of state, General Ibrahim Babangida (IBB), stirred the hornets nest recently after he ...

Prince Kazeem Afegbua, spokesman for former head of state, General Ibrahim Babangida (IBB), stirred the hornets nest recently after he signed a statement, purportedly on behalf of his principal, that was critical of President Muhammadu Buhari, and for which the police declared him wanted.In this interview, he regrets that the controversy generated by the statement took the shine out of the message, insisting, however, that it is in the best interest of Buhari not to run for second term.Excerpts:Well there was no problem in the first place, except that that police and the DSS wanted to make a mountain out of a mole hill. As a law abiding Nigerian, I needed to show appearance when I was declared wanted and, of course, I also took the necessary legal steps to redeem my image and my person. They discovered, at the end of the day, that it was pointless inviting me and the brouhaha created by the statement took the shine out of the message. We spoke about state police, we spoke about insecurity in the country, we spoke about the need for new generation leadership, we spoke about leadership dynamism, we spoke about quite a number of issues that the former military president was concerned about, but rather than allow Nigerians to digest the message and deal with it, my harassment took the shine out of it. This is our country, we have nowhere to go. We are all stakeholders in the democratic process, and I remain resolute in being part and parcel of it; I do not have any apology for that because, through that, you can enthrone credible leadership. My case is still in court and my lawyer is waiting for it to be assigned to a judge so that I will know the next action to take.I was getting funny telephone calls. There was a particular text message which somebody used to rain abuse on me and said get out of hiding or we smoke you out. And having been a victim before, of government high handedness (in 2006), when I was attacked in my home, I still have scars all over my body, I needed to raise the alarm for Nigerians to know that my life was in the hands of government and that, if anything happened to me, they should know where to go to. I cannot be deterred by text messages from people trying to intimidate me. My mind is made up on what I desire for myself in 2019. I have made it clear that I wont be supporting President Buhari if he chooses to seek re-election. If the party chooses another person, I will support him; if not, I will withhold my vote.I see injustice here and there. Of course, I am aware that Asiwaju Bola Tinubu is trying to reconcile the different issues and factors that created cleavages within the party. I wish him good luck but I want to give you a scenario. In the six states of the South-South, Edo State scored the highest vote for the APC. We got 44 per cent of the vote and that is after the PDP manipulated some figures and invalidated almost a hundred thousand of those votes. Apart from Edo, no other state in the South-South gave the party up to 10 per cent votes. They could not meet up with the 25 per cent for presidential election.So if you are favouring any state in the South-South, Edo should be number one. But what did we get?; we got Minister of State for Health and the Minister was a member of CPC, and someone who was not part and parcel of the rigorous campaign that Comrade Oshiomhole led us through in that election. We went round the entire 18 local government areas of the state; we did not see this Minister. After winning the election and the ministerial list came out, we saw Minister of State, Dr Ehanire, on the list. Of course he is a known name but he was not part of the political process in Edo.And the other states that scored 10 per cent or even five per cent got senior Minister. Amaechi could not deliver 10 per cent in Rivers State even when he was an incumbent governor. But today he is Minister of Transport. Cross Rivers State the same, yet they have Minister of Niger Delta. Akwa Ibom the same thing, they have Minister of National Planning. Bayelsa had five per cent vote but they have Minister of State Agriculture. Delta has Minister of State Petroleum; that is someone who was never a member of the APC. So Edo, we are just hanging. But in politics, even if you dont have this kind of representation by way of appointment, there should be a deliberate government policy that will touch the lives of the people of the state. Our roads are in bad shape.I have asked the question, what are we going to campaign with? If, for instance, President Buhari decides to run what are we going to be telling our people? The last time we told them for affordable electricity and kerosene, vote for Buhari. Now kerosene is not affordable for the common man, electricity is out of the reach of even the rich; so what are we going to be telling the people this time? Our people will ask the question that the last time we supported him, what did they give to us? The President has not visited Edo in the last three years to say thank you. So we have cause to agonize, cause to lament, that we have not been cared for in a proper way that justice demands. So when people see me talk, I am like helpless defending this government. I have been a strong defender of this government in my face book wall, my write ups.Nothing went wrong other than the fact that some Nigerians like to form an opinion over a book without reading the book. When that statement was issued, the headlines in the social media were misleading. There were headlines that did not capture the message of that statement. IBB has given red card to Buhari, IBB says Buhari should not contest, no. As far as we are concerned, President Buhari has not told anybody that he is going for second term. So on the basis of that, we cannot begin to guess whether he is going to contest or not, no. We issued a statement saying that Nigerians should cooperate with the current President for him to end his tenure in 2019, that is, when the present mandate will terminate.Now, we say that in the interest of moving forward, IBB was the author of new breed politics, he said new hands, new generation leadership should be encouraged to come and take over the leadership of this country through democratic process. And that there is insecurity everywhere and that, even as we were offering the advice, Buhari had a right to vote and be voted for. There was actually no room for the kind of tempers that it generated but for the fact that people will not apply little patient to go through statements, they will just read headlines and form an opinion. That is why all manner of statements were now coming out purported from IBB to say it was a rebuttal. But thank God I enjoyed his confidence and I am very proud of that.I will not do anything that will undermine him, undermine his stature or put him in bad light. I have defended IBB more than any other Nigerian in the last fifteen years and I am proud to say that if I am clear cut when I am with someone, I believe in what you represent, I will go all out for you. It was good he spoke with Thisday Newspapers affirming that he actually authorized the statement and that put a lot of things to rest.If President Buhari is my father, I will graciously advise him. I will say, Daddy, it is time to go home and manage the rest of your life. It is time to leave the stage where people will be abusing you. I will not bring out my dad to be so vilified if I were to be his son. So it is not about changing policies, it is about the fact that this is the age of retirement, this is the age of having more time for yourself and family than committing to public service. When General Babangida clocked 70, I was one of those who prevailed on him to quit partisan politics. I told him, Sir, now you are 70, I do not want any journalist to push you here and there. We prepared a statement for him; at a public event in Abuja, he announced his retirement from partisan politics.That is the hallmark of a statesman. Now anybody that wants to run for election both in APC and PDP go to him in Minna for advice. So some of us who are saying that President Buhari should not seek re-election are more of his friends than those who are urging him on. Now the President has told us that his doctors told him to eat more and sleep more. But this country needs a President who will be awake when the country is sleeping. Or who will be awake when the country is awake. India is awake at night, 24 hours because they want to catch up with lost time. We cannot afford the luxury of having a President who will sleep when we have insecurity everywhere, herdsmen here and there. We need a President that has the capacity to go round and preach peace to all the ethnic groups.Nigeria is more sharply divided now more than ever before and that is where some of us expressed huge worry and huge danger. We now look at ourselves as strangers occupying the same geographical mass. It should not be, we should be partners in progress and we should be able to own our country. We are all Nigerians, we need a President that can speak on these issues, understand the intricate logic of the Nigerian federation, the dynamism of the processes and, at the end, take a decision that will be far reaching and that will be seen to be just and fair to all the ethnic configurations of the country. It is not an accident of history that President Obasanjo said this government is nepotistic. There are clear signs; we have seen actions and inactions. We need a President that will speak the language of peace, we dont want people to be cocooned in the Villa and we are just working with body language; that does not help us as a country.The score was nothing short of stunning for an affluent community such as Westfield, with its pricey school taxes and impressive SAT scores.

On a scale of 0-100, Westfield Senior High School scored a 63.1 in a new school rating system released by the state last month, placing it in the 66th percentile.

That's worse than 120 other New Jersey high schools, according to an NJ Advance Media analysis of the results.

"(The score makes it) appear that something is wrong," said Paul Pineiro, the district's assistant superintendent for curriculum, instruction and programs. "And that's just not the case."

Pineiro is correct: By all evidence, there is nothing seriously wrong with a high school that consistently ranks on Newsweek's list of the best high schools in the entire county.

But what helped sink the state rating for the school -- where more than half of high school students opted out of their state math exam -- is a change in federal law that mandates counting thousands of students who skipped their annual state exams as if they had flunked them.

The new way of accounting for students who opted out of the controversial PARCC exams in Westfield and other districts dragged down federal proficiency rates in English and math, which count for about a third of a high school's overall state rating.

And it has left a number of high schools with low test participation rates little chance to rank among the state's best, school superintendents told NJ Advance Media.

"That we are then punished for a decision made by students and their parents... is unfair," said Thomas Smith, superintendent of Hopewell Valley Regional School District, where high school PARCC participation was about 75 percent. "And I think it calls into question the validity of those state ratings."

Prior to the 2016-17 school year, New Jersey calculated a school's proficiency rate by dividing the number of students who passed a standardized test by the number of students who took it.

The state Department of Education was forced to change that under the Every Student Succeeds Act, the federal law Congress passed in 2015 to replace the George W. Bush-era No Child Left Behind, department spokesman Mike Yaple said.

Both laws called for schools to test at least 95 percent of their students as sort of safeguard to prevent schools from discouraging low-performing students from taking state exams.

But, now, schools must report proficiency rates as if 95 percent of students took the tests - even if they didn't, according to the Education Commission of the States, an organization that tracks education policy.

In other words, if a school has 100 students eligible to take a PARCC test, only five students can opt out before a state starts counting skipped tests as students who couldn't pass the exam.

That leaves some schools with especially high opt-out rates -- including those in affluent areas where parents and students have enthusiastically embraced the anti-PARCC movement -- facing deceivingly low proficiency rates.

"States are jammed in the sense that they have to do this," said Bob Schaeffer, public education director for FairTest, a national non-profit group critical of standardized tests. "The dilemma that states face is complying with federal law while recognizing that their required calculation can be misleading."

Misleading is how several superintendents described their high school's state ratings, which are based 35 percent on PARCC proficiency, 50 percent on graduation rate and 15 percent on chronic absenteeism.

Each category is weighted 50 percent on a school's overall performance and 50 percent on the performance of important subgroups, such as African American, Hispanic, special education or economically disadvantaged students.

For some schools, such as Chatham High School, opt-outs made all the difference. Only 62 percent of students took the state English test and 43 percent took the math exam, making Chatham's ratings look like this:

90th percentile for four-year graduation rate

90th percentile for chronic absenteeism

73rd percentile for five-year graduation rate

71st percentile for English proficiency

The school's final score in the state ratings? A 73.6 on the 100-point scale, placing it 76th-best among the state's high schools. That's significantly worse than Chatham's seventh-place rating in U.S. News and World Report's list of best New Jersey high schools and its 32nd-place ranking for average SAT score.

Michael LaSusa, the district superintendent, suggested the state incorporate results from tests his students are actually taking, such as the SAT or Advanced Placement exams.

"For some of us that don't have many students taking PARCC, it just seems like such an arbitrary selection of criteria," LaSusa said.

While opt outs aren't the only reason for surprisingly low scores in some districts, they were a factor in the state ratings of Ridge High School, Montclair High School, Princeton High School and Colts Neck High School, all of which saw high opt-out rates and scored outside of the state's top 100 high schools.

The state has downplayed the significance of the new ratings, which were devised to identify the bottom five percent of schools -- those that need extra attention to help improve performance.

The Department of Education did not publish the ratings on the summary report cards designed for parents and it has acknowledged the ratings don't tell the full story of a school's strengths and weaknesses.

The ratings and data points are meant to start conversations about how schools can improve, the state said.

"There are a number of indicators that are not affected by the participation rate," Yaple, the department spokesman said. "We encourage people to look not just at one particular indicator, but rather all indicators."

The New Jersey Education Association, the state's largest teachers union, said the opt-out effect on state ratings only adds to its concerns about PARCC tests.

"If you need an example of why these proficiency ratings are meaningless, I can't think of a better one," spokesman Steve Baker said.

Staff writer Carla Astudillo contributed to this report.

Adam Clark may be reached at adam_clark@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on twitter at @realAdamClark. Find NJ.com on Facebook.An 18-year-old man has been arrested after he allegedly posted a social media threat that led to the lockdown of James Caldwell High School on Saturday, police said.

Michael Schmitt was charged with false public alarm after a social media post. The threat caused the lockdown and search of the high school in West Caldwell on Saturday. An all-day musical program was interrupted and students and audience members were told to shelter in place while police swept the school.

Schmitt was later arrested without incident, authorities said. The incident touched nerves in the wake of the recent fatal school shooting in Florida.

Carolyn Jones, who lives on Caldwell Road next to the high school, said she saw people coming out of the auditorium single-file around 2 p.m. She got a robocall from the school that left a message saying there was a lockdown at the school. Around 4:30 p.m., there was still a heavy police presence in front of the school, she said. "No one's allowed to go in front of the school." A lot of cars were coming and going fast, to pick up people from the school.

The investigation is continuing and police ask anyone with information to call 973-226-4114.

Staff writer Joe Brandt contributed to this report.

Bill Duhart may be reached at bduhart@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @bduhart. Find NJ.com on Facebook.Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tipsWhen the students at Marjory Stoneman Douglas return to class on Wednesday, they'll be greeted by a mosaic of hand-painted hearts from their peers in Newark, New Jersey.

Students at Ann Street School are hoping their art -- made more than 1,200 miles from South Florida -- can bring some color and comfort to Parkland school hallways after a 19-year-old gunman killed 17 students and teachers during one of the deadliest school shootings in history.

The Valentine's Day massacre has prompted an outflow of support from students and schools across the country.

Using bright reds and pinks, yellows and greens, about 150 students from Ann Street School painted hearts and murals to mail to the Parkland students.

Students at Ann Street School in Newark sent artwork to Parkland for when the students return to class.

"Having our students participate in the creating of art work for Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida as a sign of our support the students of Parkland in the recent tragedy is admirable and empathetic," Linda Richardson, principal of Ann Street wrote to administrators.

The students made collages, used crayons and watercolors, writing "Our hearts are with you," on one of the large murals.

The artwork was mailed out on Friday and is expected to arrive in time for the students' return to school on Wednesday.

The mass shooting in Florida has moved students across the state to action. Last week, several hundred students walked out in solidarity with their Parkland peers as they demanded action on gun control.

A larger school walk-out is planned for March 14.

U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., is holding a rally for common sense gun legislation on Sunday in Livingston with survivors of the Parkland shooting.

Karen Yi may be reached at kyi@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter at @karen_yi or on Facebook.PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- Seth Lugo was battling for a back-end starting spot a year ago when he injured his elbow. Now, not much has changed, except for the strength in his right arm, which he says is better than ever.

Lugo knows what's on the line this spring, but he also knows that there's no reason to go out and pitch any different than he ever does. If manager Mickey Callaway wants a curveball, then Lugo, the owner of the best spinner in the big leagues, will give him a curveball.

"I've always enjoyed throwing the curveball," Lugo said Saturday, following his first Grapefruit League start of the year. "I was like, 'Cool. I can do that.'"

The Mets lost 10-5 on Saturday against the St. Louis Cardinals at First Data Field, but it was through no fault of Lugo. The right-hander tossed two scoreless innings, allowing one hit and striking out one.

It was a solid outing to build off of and Lugo is satisfied with what he threw and how his arm feels.

"It feels stronger, but they have me doing a lot of stretching stuff too, so it feels looser," he said. "It feels good."

Callaway also came away from Lugo's Grapefruit League performance impressed, calling it "encouraging."

Dom didn't oversleep

One day after being benched for showing up late, Dominic Smith returned to the lineup and went 1-for-1 with two runs scored. There was no missed alarm clock this time, he was at the field by 6 a.m., well before the morning team meeting.

"When you make mistakes, you're probably very cautious not to make them again," he said. "Last night, I probably woke up every 25 minutes. I made sure that I wasn't late and I'm sure tonight I'll probably wake up every 25 minutes again."

Plawecki knocks in 3

He did some damage but also got a little over-aggressive. Catcher Kevin Plawecki scored Dominic Smith in the first inning by drawing a bases-loaded walk and plated two in the third inning with a two-run single, but was thrown out trying to stretch it into a double.

What's next

Robert Gsellman and the high-leverage "closer committee" will pitch Sunday, but Callaway also named the starters through Thursday. Noah Syndergaard will make his first start Monday in West Palm Beach, against the Houston Astros, Steven Matz will pitch Tuesday at home against Houston and Matt Harvey will go Wednesday in Orlando against the Atlanta Braves. Jacob deGrom will likely make his long-awaited spring training debut Thursday against the Miami Marlins, although Callaway wouldn't confirm it.

Yoenis Cespedes and Asdrubal Cabrera will also get into games for the first time Sunday. Jay Bruce and Juan Lagares are dealing with minor injuries and are likely to play Tuesday. Callaway described Bruce's injury as plantar fasciitis and Lagares has some sort of left soreness.

Abbey Mastracco may be reached at amastracco@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @abbeymastracco. Find NJ.com on Facebook.A New Brunswick Middle School student is the latest person charged in a string of recent false threats of violence against schools in New Jersey.

The 14-year-old was arrested Friday after allegedly commenting while in the school that he had a gun in his backpack, New Brunswick police said Saturday.

Authorities said the boy -- who had no gun -- was charged with creating a false alarm.

Police said the boy, whom they did not identify, made the false threat at the end of the school day, and a teacher was told of the boy's comment. New Brunswick detectives and school officials said they quickly determined there was no gun.

When interviewed, the boy said he was "just joking" about having a weapon, police said. Police also went to the boy's home but said they did not find a weapon there, either.

New Brunswick authorities said they take all such threats seriously and urge anyone who sees or hears something suspicious to report it.

There have been a rash of false threats against schools since the Feb. 14 shooting at a high school in Parkland, Florida, that left 17 people dead. A former student was arrested and charged in that case.

Bill Gallo Jr. may be reached at bgallo@njadvancemedia.com. Follow Bill Gallo Jr. on Twitter @bgallojr. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tipsA Piscataway cop punched a handcuffed man in the back of his cruiser and, when the man tried to tell another officer about the assault, claimed the man had kicked him "in the nuts," a police video shows.

The officer in the video, Todd Ritter, 54, of Millstone (Monmouth County), has been charged in the Feb. 12 altercation and suspended without pay.

The handcuffed man also claims in the video from inside the police car, which was released Saturday by the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office, that he was assaulted by another officer during his arrest.

No other officers have been charged with wrongdoing in the incident.

(The full video, edited by NJ Advance Media only for language, appears at the bottom of this story.)

"I didn't resist. ... I ain't resist at all," the man, whose name has not been released, says in the video to the other officer about his arrest. "This [expletive] just slammed me on my head and put his knee, kneed me in my face."

"You think it's funny?" the man asks. "... He got mad because I said something, and he gone and slammed me. ... I said I can't breathe, then he threatened and said he was going to [expletive] me up and everything."

The video shows the man kick the glass separating the front and back seats multiple times and threaten to kill the officers.

"I'm gonna break it," the man yells. "... Why you gotta lie? ... I'm gonna kill all you all [expletive], watch!"

Ritter stops the cruiser about 10 seconds later, opens the back door, grabs the cuffed man and with his left hand near the man's throat, punches the man with his right hand, the video shows.

"Stop kicking. Stop stressing. Stop kicking me in the balls," the officer says as he holds the man down in the back seat.

"Put me in a different car," the man yells to another officer. "Yo, this guy just punched me in my face."

"This a--hole just kicked me in the nuts," Ritter says to the other officer in response.

"He's lying! I swear to God, he's lying! He punched me in my face!" the man yells.

"Shut up," Ritter responds as he wrestles the man out of the cruiser.

Prosecutors have also accused Ritter -- who joined the force in 1996 and earns $120,948 annually, according to state pension records -- of filing false records to try to cover up the incident.

He faces charges of tampering with public records, falsifying and tampering with records, and assault.

Ritter is scheduled to appear in Superior Court in New Brunswick on March 15.

Olivia Rizzo may be reached at orizzo@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @LivRizz. Find NJ.com on Facebook

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.

Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tipsRoses and candles marked a vigil Saturday in memory of a 10-year-old boy killed this week when someone shot at the Asbury Park home he shared with his family.

The ceremony outside the city's Boys & Girls Club was mostly silent, except for a few remarks from officials and the sister of the slain child, Yovanni Banos-Merino.

"It was just a community coming together over a tragic incident that happens many times across America every day," Mayor John Moor said in a phone interview. "And the city of Asbury Park is joining hands and having a vigil, saying enough is enough."

Prosecutors said the target of the shooting on the 400 block of Ridge Avenue was likely a family friend who was in the home at the time, but was not hurt. They have not publicly identified a potential motive for the violence.

A 16-year-old boy was arrested at Neptune High School on Thursday and charged with murder in the shooting that also wounded Yovanni's mother, Lilia Merino.

The Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office said they believe the boy was an accomplice of the shooter, who has not been found.

The 16-year-old, whom prosecutors did not identify because he is a juvenile, also faces charges of conspiracy to commit murder, aggravated assault, unlawful possession of a weapon and possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose.

Merino, 38, was treated for non-life threatening injuries at Jersey Shore University Medical Center after the shooting and has since been released.

Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to call prosecutor's office Detective Brian Weisbrot at 800-533-7443 or Asbury Park police Detective Sean DeShader at 732-774-1300.

Anonymous tips can be submitted through Monmouth County Crime Stoppers at 1-800-671-4400, or by texting "MONMOUTH" and their tip to 274637. Tipsters can also submit information at www.monmouthcountycrimestoppers.com.

Marisa Iati may be reached at miati@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @Marisa_Iati or on Facebook here. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tipsWhen Maria Jas and her family fled Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria struck, they had to leave behind their dog, Tyson.

They could not afford to bring him when they came to the continental United States, Jas said, so they left him behind with other family members.

Jas and her three children were reunited with Tyson on Saturday at an event in Madison reconnecting displaced Puerto Rican families with their four-legged companions.

"A lot of people told me it wouldn't be possible," Jas said through a Spanish translator. "But I remained hopeful."

Tyson was one of 30 dogs and six cats that boarded a plane early Saturday to reunite with their loved ones at the event run by St. Hubert's Animal Welfare Center. The animal shelter partnered with Puerto Rico Animal Unite to enable 10 families to take home their pets the same afternoon.

Airplanes regularly fly from San Juan, Puerto Rico, to Morristown to bring pets to St. Hubert's, which puts them back in their families' arms on site or brings them to people who have resettled in other areas of the country.

Shelter staff say so far they have reunited 200 pets with their families through monthly plane trips, and they are aiming for 1,000.

Many residents of Puerto Rico had to leave their pets behind because of logistics or lack of funds when Hurricane Maria battered the island in September.

Gov. Phil Murphy earlier this month signed an executive order creating a commission to provide services to the tens of thousands of Puerto Ricans who have been displaced to New Jersey.

Olivia Rizzo may be reached at orizzo@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @LivRizz. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tipsA recent ad in the Wall Street Journal featured an artist's rendering of a luxury condo complex in Miami. Underneath it read, "Live in the Land of Sun, Sand, Surf - and no state income tax."

The ad went on to note that recent federal tax reform greatly restricted the deductibility of state and local taxes (SALT for short). Among the taxpayers hardest hit are those in New York and New Jersey.

So why not move to Florida?

Some research was in order. As it happened, my sailing buddy the Captain was headed down there. He had bought a condo in Florida and was towing a U-Haul. He needed me to help unload it.

Or in other words, I would be getting a free trip to Florida. That appealed to my cheapskate soul, so I signed on as first mate for the voyage.

Though I have driven as far south as Costa Rica on my various surfing trips, I had never driven to Florida in my adult life. I thought of Florida as the land of strip malls, tacky tourist traps and cranky old geezers - or in other words aging baby-boomers like the Captain and me.

The actual trip went quite quickly, perhaps because we drove till 3 a.m. and then, in true cheapskate fashion, slept at a Georgia rest stop for four hours in the front seats of what the Captain likes to call his "Honda Hotel."

The next day we drove down the East Coast of Florida, passing what appeared to be half the strip malls and tourist traps in the universe.

This recent ad entices residents of the greater New York Area to move to Florida to cut their taxes.

By afternoon, we were at the condo complex unloading. This brought endless comments from what the Captain calls "condo commanders." These are cranky sorts who told us what we should and shouldn't do - mostly shouldn't.

After a while my curiosity got the better of me. I asked the Captain a question:

"Is this condo complex age-restricted? Or is everyone in Florida really old?"

It turns out the place wasn't age-restricted, except by the laws of economics. Older people are more likely to have the money to live near the beach. Younger people mostly live inland and have to drive to the water.

The Captain's condo cost a mere $250,000 but it was within three blocks of the beach. When we biked down there, we saw plenty of young people having a great time.

I quickly noticed that the ocean was two things New Jersey's ocean is not at this time of year: blue and warm. The day is longer as well, with sunset coming a half-hour after it hits Jersey.

Furthermore the beaches lack all of those regulations that make Jersey beaches comparable to minimum-security prisons. Dogs. Beer. Surfing during daylight hours. All were permitted.

And then there were the waterside bars. Florida lacks New Jersey's commerce-crushing liquor laws, so anyone can open a bar virtually anywhere. The competition keeps prices at half what you'd pay here.

The Captain and I visited a former bait shop on an inlet that has been turned into a tiki bar called "The Square Grouper." Jimmy Buffett and Alan Jackson shot the video for "It's Five O'Clock Somewhere" there.

A "square grouper," by the way, is the term for the bales of marijuana that used to wash up on the beach during the golden age of pot smuggling. That's the side of Florida life that Buffett made legendary in songs like "A Pirate Looks at 40."

As for the side I encountered, it was much better than I'd expected. If you're sitting in the sand on an 80-degree day in February drinking a beer, you can't avoid the feeling that this beats the hell out of being in Jersey during the winter months - if you can afford it.

Lots of Jersey residents can. I learned that when I got talking to the real estate dealer who sold the Captain his condo, Beth Palacio. She said that when northerners learn the price of houses in Florida, they often reply, "That's the price? That's nothing!"

And then there are the property taxes. Condos like the Captain's are taxed at a mere $3,500 a year, Palacio told me, about a quarter what you might pay on a similar place at the Jersey Shore.

"There are a lot of northerners coming to this area and buying along the beach," she said. "It's a second home until they retire and then they can be here full-time."

Or they can just stay for six months and declare Florida residency. That's a common cheapskate maneuver.

This is bad news for the New Jersey state treasurer: The more money you make, the more you save on taxes by buying in Florida.

That's the problem. As for the solution, that's up to Gov. Murphy.

But it was a fun trip to Florida - and really cheap, too.

ADD:

The primary reason I'd never gone to Florida on a vacation/surf trip is that there are places with much better waves and better surroundings at about the same price.

Last year, for example, I took a United flight out of Newark to the Costa Rican town of Liberia, which is less than a half-hour drive from some of the nicest beaches you ever saw.

I stayed in a hotel on the beach called "Las Tortugas" in the town of Playa Grande. It had a pool, hot tubs and hammocks and it cost a mere $40 a night.

But I have to say that prices have risen quite a bit from when I first went to Costa Rica in 1987. Then, it cost a mere $8 a night for a nice hotel in the beach town of Tamarindo, and there were few other Americans.

Now Tamarindo has high-rises and a slew of surfing schools filling the lineups with people learning to surf.

Also, a good dinner was about $3 back then. Now prices are competitive with Florida. Beer actually costs more in Costa Rica, with a six-pack running about $8 compared to $6 in Florida.

And if you want a beachfront house you better work on Wall Street. They go for half a million bucks, more than they'd cost in many Florida towns.

And when it comes to obnoxious old geezers, the Costa Rican town of Coco Beach, where my friend stayed last year, actually has more American retirees than a typical Florida town. And they're even more obnoxious.

I still prefer Costa Rica, but only because I learned Spanish in that part of the world and greatly enjoy conversing with the locals, who are some of the nicest people you will ever meet.

But I could see why many people prefer Florida. It's a mere 20-hour drive. Costa Rica is a multi-week drive, with lots of border crossings.

But you have a lot of fun on the way.

Bookmark NJ.com/Opinion. Follow on Twitter @NJ_Opinion and find NJ.com Opinion on Facebook.By Blair Bess

In the wake of last week's mass shooting in Parkland, Florida, new heroes have emerged. They are the young men and women who survived and have made their horrifying experience a defining moment in the lives of all Americans.

The students of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School are demonstrating more commitment than their government when it comes to putting an end to unregulated access to weapons of mass destruction, which is exactly what AR-15s and similar, modified semi-automatic firearms are.

Young people are mobilizing in a way not seen since the Vietnam War. They believe that lives are at stake, and unresponsive leaders - fueled by special interest campaign contributions - are thwarting any effort to do something about gun violence.

Florence Yared, a 17-year-old survivor of the shooting, spoke at a protest in Tallahassee this week. Addressing members of Congress, she said, "You are directly responsible for every community that has lost people to gun violence, and you have the power to change this. If you don't, then we will change you."

That has become a rallying cry among many in Florida where, on Tuesday, less than a week after the massacre, state legislators voted down an attempt to revive a ban on assault weapons, much to the horror of many of the young survivors.

Their senator, Marco Rubio, has said that most of the tougher gun restrictions being proposed wouldn't have prevented the slaughter at Stoneman Douglas. The response of many Floridans? They flew a banner along the coastline proclaiming "Shame on you Marco Rubio and NRA."

Last month, the president urged Florida Governor Rick Scott to run for the U.S. Senate, saying "We need business guys like you."The implication being that "business guys" make for strong, decisive leaders. Yet, when asked about gun control and a ban on assault weapons, Gov. Scott chose to point a finger and place blame squarely on the shoulders of the FBI. Gov. Scott can personally move gun control legislation forward, but takes no responsibility and shows no leadership. He has, however, earned an A-plus rating from the NRA.

On NBC's "Meet the Press," Parkland survivor Emma Gonzalez said, "These people who are being funded by the NRA are not going to be allowed to remain in office when midterm elections roll around."

If more articulate young people like Ms. Gonzalez and fellow student David Hogg (who right-wing media has shamelessly branded a "crisis actor") step forward, unresponsive politicians from both parties will be voted out of their jobs.

Young people are speaking up all over the country. Many of them will be at the polls for the first time, in November, exercising their right and their ability to bring about real change when it comes to gun control and who represents them.

Many of their peers, however, are NRA members. They will fight for their beliefs as well, and continue funding that lobby in the future. Rather than do battle, both sides must come together. Their elders clearly cannot address the issue of guns and gun violence reasonably, nor are they willing to turn their backs on, or close their purses to, one of the most powerful group of lobbyists in America. Perhaps these boys and girls on the threshold of adulthood will succeed in a way we "grown-ups" have failed them. Their voices will not be silenced, nor will their attempts to bring reason to the issue of gun violence be thwarted.

The Vietnam era saw the emergence of political activism among the nation's young. In time, many members of their parents' generation marched beside them, hopeful that together they might unify our country.

Today, we stand on a precipice. We can look out and see a brighter, safer future on the horizon - a future without weapons of war on our streets. Or we can continue forward, leading our children by the hand as we step into the abyss.

Fortunately for all Americans, the courage and political might being displayed by today's young men and women bodes well for a more enlightened time in decades to come. A new spirit of hope has arisen.

Blair Bess is a Los Angeles-based television writer, producer, and columnist. He edits the online blog Soaggragated.com, and can be reached at BBess.soaggragated@gmail.com.WASHINGTON, D.C. - Nineteen House Republicans, led by Rep. Leonard Lance, urged House Speaker Paul Ryan to bring up legislation to improve the database that licensed gun dealers search before selling weapons.

The legislation would take steps, including requiring regular reports and offering incentives, to ensure that federal agencies and state governments submit information to the background check database that would render individuals ineligible to buy guns.

The lawmakers, who also included Reps. Frank LoBiondo, R-2nd Dist., Tom MacArthur, R-3rd Dist., Chris Smith, R-4th Dist., and Rodney Frelinghuysen, R-11th Dist., made the request in a letter to Ryan, R-Wis., in the wake of this month's mass shooting at a South Florida high school.

"Background checks are the first line of defense in law enforcement's efforts to keep guns out of the hands of criminals, domestic abusers and those deemed dangerously mentally ill," said Lance, R-7th Dist.

House Republicans added a similar provision to legislation requiring all states to honor concealed carry gun permits issued elsewhere, even in states like New Jersey that currently don't allow them. That measure is pending in the Senate.

LoBiondo, MacArthur and Frelinghuysen voted for the bill, while Lance, Smith and all seven House Democrats from New Jersey voted no.

President Donald Trump has called for improved background checks in his response to the Florida shooting, and MacArthur reversed his earlier opposition and embraced checks for all gun purchases.

Talk of gun legislation dominated discussion on Saturday among Democratic governors, including Gov. Phil Murphy.

Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy said the current background checks capture just 60 percent of gun transactions, and Murphy said more than 80 percent of the crimes involving guns in his state are committed with weapons brought in from out of state.

"We have to - please God - keep Congress' feet to the fire to make sure ultimately, finally, at long last after too many tragedies, we get legislation in Washington," Murphy said.

House Republicans last year passed two measures to reduce the names of individuals that needed to be added to the database. One bill, signed into law by Trump, overturned the requirement that the Social Security Administration report to the gun database the names of those with mental illnesses who need representatives to handle their disability and supplemental benefit checks.

In addition, the House voted to prevent the Department of Veterans Affairs from reporting the veterans it deemed mentally incompetent to the database. Lance was one of only two Republicans to vote no.

House Democrats held a sit-in on the House floor in June 2016 in an unsuccessful attempt to press Ryan to allow a vote on gun safety measures, including expanded background checks. The next year, congressional Republicans voted to penalize lawmakers who hold similar protests.

The National Rifle Association spent more money on politics in 2016 than any other interest group, $55 million in independent expenditures, political action committee contributions and communications with its members. according to the Center for Responsive Politics, a Washington-based research group.

Almost all of that money went to support Republican candidates, including more than $30 million to help elect Trump.

"There's only one reason we don't have universal background checks - it's the NRA and the people they purchased in Congress," Malloy said.

Jonathan D. Salant may be reached at jsalant@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JDSalant or on Facebook. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.BRADENTON, Fla. -- Day by day, little by little, touted Yankees middle infielder prospect Thairo Estrada is making progress in his recovery from being shot in the right thigh on Jan. 28 during a robbery in Venezuela, his politically and economically troubled homeland.

Eight days after Estrada discussed his scary ordeal in detail with reporters a few minutes after the Yankees finally announced what happened a couple weeks earlier, manager Aaron Boone provided an encouraging update Saturday morning before bussing from Tampa to Bradenton for a Grapefruit League game against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

"I think he graduated to the elliptical," Boone said. "He's doing upper body stuff. I get the feeling, just in talking with him, that the last couple of days he feels like a little more progress has been made."

Although a bullet is still in Estrada's thigh and probably will stay there for good, he's expected to make a full recovery quickly enough to play most of the 2018 season. He's expected to be optioned to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre after last season hitting .301 with six homers in 122 games for Double-A Trenton and then batting .324 in 20 Arizona Fall League Games.

"I think with the wound and everything, they're being a little more conservative before he gets going," Boone said. "But he seems to be -- when I checked in with him (on Friday) -- I could tell he felt like he was getting a little bit better."

Estrada, 22, was out to dinner with his wife in his hometown of Bejuma when two teenagers that he guessed were 15 or 16 approached with pointed guns and demanded his wallet and cellphone.

"Because of the situation in Venezuela, people don't walk around with cash and I didn't have my cell phone at the time," Estrada said on Feb. 16. "It just happened quickly. They asked for the money and my phone. They searched my pockets. That's when I got shot."

Estrada says that he initially didn't realize he'd been shot.

"Right after it happened, I didn't have any (pain)," he said "I was walking around fine. Eventually when I looked around, I noticed a small wound. That's when I decided to go to the hospital."

Estrada underwent surgery, but surgeons elected to leave the bullet in his thigh, possibly to avoid nerve damage.

"I don't think (the bullet is) going to affect me at all," he said. " I don't think it will be a problem."

Randy Miller may be reached at rmiller@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @RandyJMiller. Find NJ.com on Facebook.Honors

:





An American Library Association Notable Children



s Book 2009







A Junior Library Guild Selection







A Children



s Choices title 2009







A Capitol Choices Noteworthy Book for Children and Teens 2009







An Association for Library Service to Children Notable Children



s Book 2009







A Sydney Taylor Notable Book of Jewish Content 2009







Kirkus Reviews



best of 2008



list







New York Public Library



s



100 Titles for Reading and Sharing



2008







Starred reviews

:







Vibrant and well-researched...Nobleman details this achievement with a zest amplified by MacDonald



s...punchy illustrations



 Publishers Weekly







[T]his robust treatment does [Shuster and Siegels] story justice



 Booklist







The battle for truth and justice is truly never-ending



 Kirkus Reviews





Other coverage

:











[N]o library in the world could object to the books style and panache. [T]his is one biography thats going to lure the kids like nothing else. More fun than any childrens biography has any right to be



Fuse #8 ( School Library Journal ; four out of five stars)







Fascinating



 Horn Book







Sure to become a classic example of the genre



Families Online







Wonderfulyoung readerswill find thistitle appealing and thereby ensure that future generations recall the amazing story behind Supermans creation as well. Wait, did I say recall? Strike thatmake it will be inspired by instead. This book is that good



Firefox News







[T]ouching... The illustrated section...is upbeat, entertaining, and informative...the [well-crafted] afterword shows the shadow side of the great American dream. ...Nobleman is equally adept at both stories



 Boston Globe







Surprisingly poignant



 San Francisco Chronicle







Haunting



 Geek Monthly







Excellent



GeekDad (WIRED)







A-minus



A.V. Club







Engrossing...wonderful



Scripps Howard News Service







I was completely mesmerized by this book from the first instant I opened it. I loved every page, and every word.

Boys of Steel

transported me; it made me feel young; it moved me to tears. Honest to God, it did! It caused my black heart to melt. The book is absolutely fantastic, the book is tremendous, the book is a huge achievement



Robby Reed, DIAL B for BLOG







Expertly crafted...entertaining and good looking...a real winner



 Tripwire







I have to praise this wonderful book. It has something for children and adults, fans of comics and otherwise...I don



t use the word a lot, but the book is very charming



PLAYBACK:stl







Terrific...elegantly laid down



Comics Waiting Room



An 8-year-old boy was robbed at gunpoint in the Little Woods area of New Orleans East on Saturday afternoon (Feb. 24), the New Orleans Police Department said.

The boy was approached by a man who demanded the boy give him his keys, according to a preliminary NOPD report. When the boy refused, the man pulled out a gun and said, "Give me the keys or I will kill you." The boy gave him his keys and the man fled. No arrests have been made, said the NOPD. The incident was reported in the 7200 block of Culpepper Drive.

A10-year-old boy was robbed at gunpoint by three unknown people at 4:19 p.m. on Saturday in the 3000 block of Bruxelles Street near the intersection of Paris Avenue and Gentilly Boulevard, according to police. One of the robbers pulled out a gun and reached into the boy's pockets, taking an unknown amount of money. The three people then fled, police reported.

Meanwhile, in the 400 block of Bourbon Street in the French Quarter, a 19-year-old woman was robbed at 4:06 p.m. A man approached the woman and demanded her property. She gave him her things and he fled, police said.

No further information was immediately available.

Stay with NOLA.com for updates.Authorities arrested a man riding a horse along a California freeway for driving under the influence, CBS Los Angeles reported.

The California Highway Patrol says Luis Perez of Placentia, California, had a blood-alcohol level of more than double the legal limit when he rode onto Route 91.

Officers say the 29-year-old piloted the horse into the nearby county of Bellflower, where he was arrested.

The horse was unharmed and returned to Perez's mother following the freeway ride.

Perez was being held in lieu of more than $50,000 bail.Dead and Company, a revival of America's original jam band, the Grateful Dead, took the Smoothie King Center on a lively four-hour trip down memory lane on Saturday (Feb. 24). The group, including three septuagenarian members of the original Dead -- Bob Weir, Bill Kreutzmann, and Mickey Hart -- treated the seemingly full center to everything from electric folk to blues ballads to spacey improvisation jazz.

Note: If you don't believe the Dead will never die, you might as well stop reading right now. The rest of this review is for those of you whose hearts flutter at the site of the electric skull -- you know who you (we) are.

Feels Like A Stranger

The central question of the show was whether guitarist John Mayer could do the impossible by credibly replacing the irreplaceable Jerry Garcia on guitar? Garcia died in 1995, but his compositions and his memory remain central to all subsequent iterations of the Dead. All those present on Saturday will have to agree that the answer is YES. Mayer certainly delivered Garcia's playful, calliope-like licks and boyish vocals with aplomb. As importantly, Mayer managed to blend into the ensemble as if he'd been standing to Weir's right for 50 years.

The Music Never Stopped

The Dead have never been terribly chatty, in part because they rarely pause between songs. Still it was surprising that Mayer made no mention of his appendicitis attack that cancelled the Dead and Company's New Orleans performance on Dec. 5. The cancelled show was rescheduled for Saturday.

In fact, the only time any member of the band uttered a word was when Weir introduced New Orleans bassist extraordinaire George Porter.

Sugaree

Porter, one of the members of the Meters, was born to play the bassline of the Grateful Dead cover "Smokestack Lightning" and their classic "Bertha." Better yet, his vocals on Garcia's forlorn ballad "Sugaree" were so soulfully sublime that he momentarily stole the show. A young woman standing near me said the song made her cry. I second that emotion. Bravo, Mr. Porter.

Truckin'

The most explosive applauds during Saturday's show took place when the band launched into the shuffling rhythm of the song 'Truckin.'" Back in 1970, you see, the Dead added to the mystique of New Orleans and New Orleans added to the mystique of the Dead, when NOPD busted members of the band for drug possession (I know, you're shocked).

The Dead claimed the dope was planted and didn't play in New Orleans for another decade - which was a bad thing. But they wrote the song "Truckin'" - which was a good thing. Here's the line we sardonically sang along with Saturday.

"Sittin' and starin' out of the hotel window.

Got a tip they're gonna kick the door in again

I'd like to get some sleep before I travel,

But if you got a warrant, I guess you're gonna come in.

Busted, down on Bourbon Street, set up, like a bowlin' pin.

Knocked down, it gets to wearin' thin.

They just won't let you be, oh no."

Friend of the Devil

I gave away my John Denver records and started listening to the Dead in 1975. I'll admit, on Saturday night as the band walked through the bluegrassy intro to "Friend of the Devil" I got chills. And I gotta tell you, you don't get chills that often at my age.

With his splendid Gold Rush mutton chop/ mustache combo, Weir never looked more like someone who cheated Satan and could happily hide out "in Utah

in a cave up in the hills." At 70 he seemed to be in full voice and in full command of his electric six-string. Likewise, drummers Kreutzmann, 71, and Hart, 74, danced at their twin kits more or less like they did in the days of old.

On Saturday we were all friends of the old devils.

One More Saturday Night

The Dead were the inventors of the psychedelic Americana style that begat a generation of similarly inclined bands such as Phish and Widespread Panic. They were anarchistic apolitical leaders of a cultural revolution. They were unlikely geniuses of commercial branding, while trying not to be commercial. They are the favorites of hairy, melted old guys like myself, and, surprisingly, young dudes who don't yet need to shave.

Dead and Company closed the show on Saturday with the rocker "One More Saturday Night," but all in attendance will agree, it was more than that. Were you there? What was your favorite moment?

Correction: Bob Weir is 70 not 71 as originally reported.

Doug MacCash has the best job in the world, covering art, music, and culture in New Orleans. Contact him via email at dmaccash@nola.com. Follow him on Twitter at Doug MacCash and on Facebook at Douglas James MacCash. As always, please add your point of view to the comment stream.New Orleanians found out just how vulnerable our city is on Aug. 29, 2005. The wetlands that once shielded us from storms had been shredded. The levees and floodwalls surrounding New Orleans weren't strong enough to block the massive surge from Hurricane Katrina.

After the disaster, the Army Corps of Engineers put in 350 miles of levees, floodwalls, storm surge gates and pumps to help keep New Orleans dry. Federal, state and local governments invested $20 billion to create that integrated flood protection system.

New Orleans has been fortified, but a 10-month examination by NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune and New York Times reporters reveals that the city is still in danger of flooding in Katrina-like storms.

Tellingly, the Corps of Engineers dropped the word protection and calls the system of floodwalls, gates and pumps a "hurricane and storm damage risk reduction system."

The $20 billion spent post-Katrina essentially bought us protection from so-called 100-year floods, which actually have a 1 percent chance of occurring in any given year. Congress told the corps to look at safeguarding New Orleans from Category 5 storms, which the corps interpreted as 500-year protection. Others argued it should be much greater than that, especially in light of rising sea levels fueled by climate change.

There are many reasons that hasn't happened: cost, expediency, lack of political will and a constantly eroding landscape.

"It's difficult to sell, on the state level, elevating New Orleans protection to 500 when you have places such as Jean Lafitte, Terrebonne Parish, Houma, New Iberia and other places that have zero level of protection, or at best 10-year protection," state Rep. Jerome Zeringue, who represents Lafourche and Terrebonne parishes, told reporters.

New Orleanians, he said, "should lessen their expectations." No, we should not.

New Orleans is one of the world's great cities located on one of the world's great rivers. Bienville staked a claim on this curve in the Mississippi River 300 years ago because of its strategic value. The city is essential to the state's and the nation's economic well-being and cultural vitality.

Lower expectations? We should raise them.

New Orleanians, our political leaders and all Louisianians must fight for the resources we need to rebuild our damaged coast and strengthen our ability to deal with floodwaters, today and in the future.

"People say we can't afford to do this -- I would say we can't afford not to," said U.S. Rep. Garret Graves, a Baton Rouge Republican who represents the 6th District.

The cost of rebuilding is higher than the cost of strengthening our defenses. The price of rebuilding devastated communities after Katrina and the levee breaches was between $120 billion and $150 billion, he said. Louisiana's coastal master plan is projected to cost $90 billion over 50 years.

We're facing a big financial challenge, no doubt. The state only has about $20 billion of that money lined up so far. Louisiana also owes $100 million a year for the next three decades just to pay its share of the cost of the hurricane protection system built after Katrina. And the state and local governments must find millions more each year to maintain the new system and keep it elevated to deal with rising seas.

St. Bernard Parish residents have twice voted down property taxes to pay for maintenance on the $1.4 billion in levee improvements made around Lake Borgne. The annual cost would have been only $38.25 per year for the average home, but voters said, "No."

That is in a parish in which essentially every home was damaged by storm surge during Katrina. Their argument is that St. Bernard is being asked to pay the full cost to maintain levees that also protect New Orleans and Jefferson Parish.

That is a fair point. Leaders across the region must find a funding solution, and voters must be ready to pay their share.

There are signs that Louisianians would pay more to protect the coast. More than half of people surveyed in a recent poll by Lucid for NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune said they would be willing to pay higher taxes for coastal restoration. Louisianians feel strongly -- more than 72 percent -- that government and the oil and gas industry should share the cost of restoring wetlands, according to the poll.

There is a sense of pessimism reflected in the poll, too. Only a small portion of people are confident that the coastal master plan will succeed.

It must. Restoring Louisiana's coast is essential not only to Jean Lafitte and New Iberia, but to New Orleans. The Gulf of Mexico is moving ever closer to the city.

"Climate change is turning that 100-year flood, that 1 percent flood, into a 5 percent flood or a 20-year flood," said Rick Luettich, a storm surge expert who is vice chairman of the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority-East. New Orleanians saw that last August, when a heavy rainstorm overwhelmed the city's aging drainage system.

In 200- to 500-year storms, the corps says that New Orleans could still have levee breaches. During a 500-year flood, as much as five feet of water could inundate neighborhoods that are below sea level.

Those of us who've inherited this amazing city must do whatever we can to hold back that water.A fatal crash in St. Helena Parish claimed the life of a 19-year-old Greensburg man Saturday morning (Feb. 24), according to Louisiana State Police.

Justin Blaine Milton Jr. was the second of two teens killed in crashes in St. Helena Parish over the past four days, according to state trooper Dustin Dwight. Both teens were not wearing seatbelts, Dwight said.

According to state police, Milton was driving a Ford F-150 southbound on Louisiana 43 near Lee and Busby Lane shortly before 7:30 a.m. Saturday when the vehicle veered into the left lane and into a ditch. The truck hit a culvert and a concrete driveway and Milton sustained fatal injuries, according to state police. He was pronounced dead on the scene by the St. Helena Parish Coroner's office.

Although the investigation is still ongoing, police said impairment is not suspected but a toxicology report will be processed during Milton's autopsy.

Four days earlier, 17-year-old Lacie Marie Randall was killed, and two other teens were injured when Randall lost control of her vehicle while driving west on Louisiana 10 in St. Helena.

"Please take a moment to speak with your loved ones about the importance of their safe decisions behind the wheel," Dwight said in a press release Saturday. "Remind them to always wear a seatbelt, never drive impaired, and to avoid distractions. The conversation could be the difference in a serious crash."Today

Thunderstorms likely. Rainfall will be locally heavy at times. High 83F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 90%. Rainfall may reach one inch.

Tonight

An isolated thunderstorm possible this evening, then occasional showers overnight. Low around 75F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 50%.

Tomorrow

Rain showers in the morning with numerous thunderstorms developing in the afternoon. High around 85F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 70%.Feb 24, 2018

She passed away in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates, where she was attending a wedding ceremony.

Popularly hailed as the first female superstar of Hindi cinema, the actress had many big hits like "Chandni" and was especially noted for her impeccable timing as a comedienne.

Starting her acting career at the age of four, she had worked in films in the Tamil, Telugu, Malaylam, Kannada and Hindi languages.

She debuted as a lead actress in a Bollywood film in 1978, soon becoming one of India's biggest film stars.

During her acting career spanning five decades, she worked on countless hit movies and was seen by industry experts as one of the first truly solo female film stars, able to sell movies in her own right.

In 2013, the Indian government awarded her the Padma Shri - the fourth highest civilian honour.

Sridevi PicturesThose who testified to Portland City Council on Feb. 21 against the Fremont Apartments project with sincere and insightful comments on livability, community, esthetics, stewardship and much more, were cunningly and subtlety dismissed ("Pearl District residents seek to block proposed apartment tower over bridge, river views," Feb. 21). Mayor Ted Wheeler essentially put blinders on what the hearing would consider as valid arguments because of his supposedly being bound by the scope of the hearing.

Translation: "If you can't make a technical in-the-weeds argument quoting Oregon Revised Statutes and Building Code Regulations, it will be listened to, but not considered as having merit." Really? So why call it a hearing in the first place?

How else does the community express its concerns and objections other than by individuals telling stories through their minds' eyes? Rather than being a leader who actually heard their pleas from a common sense perspective, the Wheeler behaved like a weak-kneed bureaucrat.

-- Ezra Rabie, Northwest PortlandIt might have seemed like an open-and-shut case when prosecutors charged a 62-year-old Coos County man with drunken driving.

An Oregon State Police trooper detained John Charles Hedgpeth under suspicion of driving his motorcycle while under the influence of intoxicants. When Hedgpeth took a breath test back at the station, his blood alcohol content registered a .09 percent. The legal limit for driving is .08 percent.

A strong case, right?

Coos County Circuit Judge Richard Barron thought so. The judge convicted Hedgpeth of driving under the influence of intoxicants in October 2014.

Thursday, however, the Oregon Court of Appeals reversed that conviction -- finding that there was a major hole in the prosecutions case: An hour and 45 minutes had elapsed from the time Hedgpeth was stopped to the time police tested for his blood alcohol content.

The Appeals Court ruled that its possible that Hedgpeth was still legally sober when he was stopped -- but in the time he was in police custody, more liquor entered his bloodstream and raised his alcohol content to an illegal level. In other words, Hedgpeth could have slammed some drinks moments before he was stopped on March 21, 2014.

The court also said its possible that Hedgpeths blood alcohol content at the time of the stop was higher than .09 percent -- and the hour and 45 minutes gave his body time to burn off some of that alcohol.

The problem is that the prosecution didnt present evidence to prove which theory was actually true, the Appeals Court said.

Hedgpeths defense attorney, Paul Burgett, told The Oregonian/OregonLive on Saturday that hes not sure if an hour and 45 minutes is an exceptionally long amount of time to pass before administering a breath test. He said in some rural parts of the state the nearest breath-test device could be a considerable drive away.

Handheld devices that measure alcohol content by the side of the road are an option in some states, Burgett said.

You get a reading right there, Burgett said. But in Oregon, Burgett said the Legislature hasnt approved those devices for police use.

It's also worth noting that prosecutors don't need a .08 percent test result to prove a defendant is guilty of DUII. Prosecutors can prove impairment in other ways -- such as through a police officer's observation that a defendant was swerving or failed sobriety tests.

But in Hedgpeths case, the trooper pulled him over not for bad driving, but because he wasn't wearing his helmet while operating his motorcycle.

Whats more, police gave Hedgpeth field sobriety tests, but the results werent entered into evidence for reasons that are unclear.

Hedgpeth was previously arrested for DUII in 2008 and pleaded guilty. But the charge was dismissed after he completed a diversion program that included treatment and listening to victims of drunken driving talk about their experiences.

Read the Appeals Court's majority and dissenting opinions here.

Two of 13 judges dissented. They were Steven Powers and Joel DeVore.

-- Aimee GreenThe National Weather Service has issued a winter storm warning for Sunday in the northern Oregon Cascades, including Mount Hood.

Travel will be very difficult to impossible, states the warning. Expect significant reductions in visibility at times.

Forecasters say two to three feet of snow could fall at Mt. Hood Meadows and Timberline Saturday afternoon through Sunday. On Sunday, the winds also are expected to pick up.

"Blizzard like conditions are possible above 5500 feet where strong winds and blowing snow will likely result in very poor visibilities," the warning states.

For reference, Mt. Hood Meadows lodge sits at about 5,400 feet. Timberline Lodge sits at almost 6,000 feet.

Some blustery conditions didnt stop crowds from flocking to the mountain on Saturday. Many skiers and snowboarders were delighted by fresh, fluffy snow.

But on the way home Saturday afternoon, thousands of people hit a major traffic jam -- with a few disabled vehicles blocking Oregon 26. That included a semi-tractor-trailer truck. Eastbound lanes of Highway 26, eight miles west of Oregon 35, were closed for a spell. But transportation workers were able to re-open those lanes shortly after 5 p.m.

Made it to Government Camp, no problem. Now have been sitting for 20 minutes. ODOT and one policeman passed us. Cars is all you can see. Need to be in Sandy by 5. Praying hard!! Posted by Karen Shannon on Saturday, February 24, 2018

Meanwhile, Oregon Department of Transportation cameras showed hundreds of cars inching along, bumper to bumper, toward Portland on roadway packed with ice and snow. Traction tires or chains were being required.

-- Aimee GreenDana Parks appeared in a Multnomah County courtroom last month armed with a four-page, typed statement. In December, her ex-boyfriend, who'd already pleaded guilty once to assaulting her, had pleaded guilty to a second assault charge and to violating his probation regarding his first assault conviction. Now, Zachary Ball, 22, was in court to be formally sentenced.

But while she attempted to read her victim impact statement, Judge Kenneth R. Walker interrupted three times and ultimately walked out of the courtroom without allowing her to finish, according to a tape of the hearing.

"I don't know if he was preoccupied or had another appointment, but he silenced me in front of my abuser," Parks, 27, said. "I felt so embarrassed."

It's hard enough for victims of domestic violence to feel heard in the legal system. After leaving Walker's courtroom, Parks said she questioned herself: "Am I being hysterical?"

Oregon law gives victims the right at sentencing to "reasonably express any views concerning the crime, the person responsible, the impact of the crime on the victims, and the need for restitution and compensatory fine."

There's no word limit. No time cut-off.

Parks just wanted 20 minutes.

She began by talking briefly about her childhood, saying that her mother had schizophrenia and died by suicide, and that her foster family in California was physically and emotionally abusive. As a teenager, she reconnected with her biological grandparents, but both died within a year and a half of each other, she said.

After that, she moved to Portland and met Ball.

"So it's really not difficult to trace what shaped me to be so vulnerable to a narcissistic abuser like Zachary," she said.

She described him initially as charming, but then deceptive, controlling and later violent.

"I lost all self-esteem for myself."

"I mistook his jealousy for love."

"It all happened a little at a time so when I finally started to feel that things weren't right, I doubted myself."

When she began to speak about a time she said Ball allegedly sexually assaulted her, Walker interrupted.

"Ma'am, please don't tell me the details of this," the judge said, according to an audio recording of Ball's sentencing hearing.

"Why?" Parks asked.

"I don't want to hear this. Continue with your message."

Ball never faced any sexual assault charges involving Parks, but her victim's advocates hadn't said anything was out-of-bounds for her statement. If the judge had told her she wasn't allowed to say that, Parks wouldn't have felt so stung.

But it wasn't "You can't say that."

It was "I don't want to hear it."

Parks began to read comments people had left on her Instagram post of the bruises Ball had caused. Ball's attorney, Jonathan Sarre, objected, saying comments from others went beyond her right to make a statement about personal experiences.

"Don't tell me what other people said to you," Walker instructed. "Tell me about your statement."

A best practices guide from the Oregon Department of Justice offers only broad suggestions for a victim's impact statement. It encourages victims to include how the crime has affected them, any suggestions on the sentencing, and "anything else you would like the court to know."

Parks had one paragraph left  about her complaints regarding the court system  when Walker said, "OK, I've heard enough. Thank you. Thank you."

Assistant District Attorney Jessica Bostwick spoke up.

"Your honor, respectfully, I do think she"

Walker cut her off: "I know what you think."

He told Parks to sit down and proceeded to hand down the sentence already agreed upon by both parties  36 months in prison and credit for time served.

"And if the court would allow," Bostwick said at the close of the decision, "I do believe Ms. Parks would like to finish her statement to the court."

"I think Ms. Parks has said enough," Walker said. Then he left the courtroom. On the recording, it sounds like a door slammed behind him.

The last words on the recording are from a bewildered Parks asking the district attorney, "How come I ... had to go through that?"

The Oregon Crime Victims Law Center has filed a request for a new sentencing hearing on Parks' behalf. Attorney Yazmin Wadia wrote that the victim's constitutionally protected right to speak at sentencing was violated "because the court did not allow (her) to finish her statement and left the bench."

Ball's attorney, Sarre, said, "I certainly think she got a lot off her chest."

"Whether or not it was appropriate for the court to tell her to sit down... as far as what Judge Walker was thinking or doing, I think you have to ask him."

I tried, but Walker's office said he had no comment.

Ball's entire sentencing hearing lasted 27 minutes. Perhaps Walker expected it to last only five.

The docket shows the judge had eight other hearings that day. What's simply his routine work morning is a crossroads for someone else's life.

Parks had waited nearly a year to pour her heart out in that courtroom, and if she crossed a line of what was appropriate, she could have been treated with more empathy and more patience.

The least we can do for a victim is give her 20 minutes of the court's time.

-- Samantha Swindler is a columnist for The Oregonian/Oregonlive

@editorswindler / 503-294-4031

sswindler@oregonian.comAfter an unusual snowy Portland week, an estimated 1,500 polar plungers dashed into the frigid Columbia River on Saturday to raise money for Special Olympics Oregon. The annual Portland Polar Polar Plunge took place on Broughton Beach in Northeast Portland and included a 5k race, costume contest and a small group of super plungers, who plunged 24 times in 24 hours raising $65,000.

Participants were split into 16 groups. Each group plunged once over the course of about an hour. The final plunge of the day was the ColorPlunge, which is inspired by the festival of Holi, a Hindu festival heralding the coming of spring.

Multnomah County Sheriff Mike Reese and members of the Timbers Army also took a dip.

In 2017, the event raised $450,000 between donations from both the public and sponsors. The final tally for this year's event is not out.

--Mark GravesA growing bipartisan number of state governors have joined calls for a reconsideration of gun laws and school safety measures after the mass shooting in Parkland, Florida, a sign that resulting legislative changes could extend far beyond Florida in the coming months.

The impact of the shootings rippled through the winter meeting of the National Governors Association in Washington this weekend, as state leaders expressed willingness to consider new limits on gun ownership and stepped up efforts to address mental-health factors. But most said they were opposed to President Donald Trump's proposal to allow more teachers to be armed.

The comments came as students and grieving families continued to push lawmakers to pass new measures to address the murder of 17 students and faculty members at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.

"I just want to get the word out to the governors of every state that they have to do something today," said Andrew Pollack, whose daughter, Meadow Pollack, was killed at the school, in an interview on "Fox News Sunday." "My daughter's death can't be in vain."

Individual governors said they would be open to raising the age limit for the purchase of long guns to 21, a measure opposed by the National Rifle Association, or said they believed there should be better ways for family members or others to take concerns about unstable individuals to a judge and have weapons confiscated.

Both measures were endorsed Friday by Florida's Republican governor, Rick Scott, a longtime supporter of the NRA, who opposed new gun laws after the 2016 mass shooting at the Pulse nightclub in Florida and the 2017 mass shooting at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.

"What I ask people to do is, you've got to search your heart on this," Ohio Gov. John Kasich, a Republican, said Sunday in an interview on ABC's "This Week." "Nobody wants to take everybody's guns away. Nobody wants to repeal the Second Amendment - oh, a few people. But this is about reasonable approaches to keep our community safe."

Like other Republicans, Kasich has shifted his position in recent weeks, even removing pro-Second Amendment language from his website and replacing it with a call for "common sense" on the issue of guns. He won re-election with the endorsement of the NRA, but he now says he is open to reconsidering a ban on the sale of assault weapons such as the AR-15 police say was used in the Florida shooting.

Other Republicans have said they are taking a fresh look at the gun issue. "Obviously it's being a catalyst to bring that discussion to the forefront," said Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder. "We've had too many of these shootings. We should be trying to find common ground and move them ahead."

Snyder also said he hoped for "a very open discussion" on a so-called red flag law to make it easier to take weapons out of the hands of unstable individuals after petitioning a court. Michigan does not currently have such a law.

Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam, a Republican, said he was open to moves to deny assault rifles to those under 21. "I haven't heard a good answer to: Why should a 20-year-old be able to buy an assault rifle and not a beer?" he said. "The issue around bump stocks, I don't hear a lot of people defending why we should have that."

Democratic governors were pointed in calls for their fellow Republicans to buck the NRA and praised Scott for the measures he is taking in Florida.

"You're seeing some of the Republicans show some tiny glimmer of throwing off the masters of the NRA," said Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, a Democrat. "The youthful voices (calling for steps to restrict guns) have been very powerful and very inspirational."

The NRA opposes a ban on the sale of assault weapons and is waiting to review legislative language before it takes a position on a new proposal to allow the removal of guns from people deemed a threat in Florida.

"There are laws on the books in Florida that would have prevented this tragedy, and it is mind-boggling that focus isn't on the systematic breakdown and the many failures to implement those current laws instead of punishing law-abiding gun-owners for the acts of a deranged person by taking away their constitutional right to self-protection," said Jennifer Baker, an NRA spokeswoman.

The proposals come as President Donald Trump and some congressional leaders have called for possible actions on the federal level. These could include a bipartisan measure to improve the information that states provide to the federal background check system, a renewed effort to require background checks for private gun sales and an effort to raise the federal minimum age for long gun purchases to 21.

Federal law requires purchasers of handguns from a licensed gun dealer to be 21, but the minimum age for buying rifles and shotguns is set at 18. The alleged shooter in Parkland, Nikolas Cruz, 19, legally purchased the weapon police say he used.

"The role of the federal government obviously can spur the issues in terms of the grant funding, and hopefully that will be available to us," Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, a Republican, said during an appearance Sunday on CBS's "Face the Nation." "But largely the security side and the safety side will be the governors."

Governors interviewed during the NGA meeting said for the most part that they did not have proposals ready to take to their legislatures and said that, with limited time in legislative sessions, action might not be speedy.

A number of governors said they opposed arming teachers, saying that educators should teach and not become law enforcement officers. "Putting more guns into the mix is not something I believe is an answer," Snyder said.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, said his state already has moved to do exactly as Trump has proposed and that at this point nearly 20 percent of Texas schools have trained and armed educators. There are signs outside schools in the Argyle Independent School District that read, "Please be aware that the staff at Argyle ISD are armed and may use whatever force is necessary to protect our students."

The Texas governor said the culture of his state is different from some others and that opposition to restrictions on guns is strong. But he also said the Florida shooting could become a pivotal moment in moving forward on other factors that could contribute a reduction in mass shootings like the one that occurred at the First Baptist Church in November in Sutherland Spring, Texas.

"When a shooting takes place, people want to rush to simple solutions," Abbott said. "It's time to tackle the tough solutions, and that's mental health."

Meanwhile, the Democratic governors of Connecticut, New York, New Jersey and Rhode Island announced the creation of a four-state compact to establish a task force to trace and intercept guns and a consortium for research on gun violence.

"We're at the point where we're allowing ourselves to be terrorized by ourselves," Democratic Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper said on ABC's "This Week." "If you want to weaken this country, what better way to do it than to make children afraid to go to school?"

(c) 2018 The Washington Post. Michael Scherer and Dan Balz wrote this story. The Washington Post's John Wagner contributed reporting.A sailor has died after he was struck by a helicopter blade at the Camp Pendleton Marine Corps base, north of San Diego.

The Marine Corps says the sailor was hit by the spinning tail rotor of a Venom helicopter Wednesday evening and died at a hospital shortly before 6 a.m. Saturday.

The helicopter was on the ground at the time.

The sailor was assigned to the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing. The sailor's name and other details of the accident haven't been released.

-- The Associated PressAkua Aama Shabaka is ahead of the curve, already known at 20-years-old for her extravagant Afrocentric street-style and her many modeling appearances (from numerous Vogue features to Alessandro Michele's Gucci's Pre-Fall 2017 campaign film). The Parsons design student has gained a significant following on social media, which coincides neatly with the new ways in which we digest the carefully curated collections and moments at New York Fashion Week. Now, Shabaka is ready to show off her talents beyond being a muse for coveted luxury house.

Akua Shabaka is amongst an age of designers who have opted out of the traditional fashion calendar system. Shabaka and her mother Rebecca have even flipped the new See-Now-Buy-Now culture on its head by releasing the collection " BLOODROOT" on Black Friday, and showing it during the following fashion week. "We felt 'BLOODROOT' needed to exist beyond the digital landscape and we wanted to bring our support into the world of the rootworker," said Shabaka when asked about the decision to place the clothing on sale before presenting. She presented her first collection, "BLOODROOT" from her brand House of Aama during 2018 NYFW.

PAPER spoke with Shabaka about social media, goals for the future and the challenges of being a young black designer:

Tell me a little bit about your brand House of Aama and why you started it.

My middle name is Aama  it's Egyptian which is why our logo is a hieroglyphic symbol. My mother and I were going just to have it be a hieroglyphic symbol,as the name of our brand but we decided to add House of Aama above it as it would be more comfortable for people to recognize. Aama means "the benevolent one" or "one of kindness." So it means House of the benevolence.

I started my brand when I was fifteen, around the same time Instagram began to take off. Initially, it began as an Etsy shop where I would resell vintage clothing with a few custom pieces here and there. I would make a post on Instagram wearing one of the items I was selling on Etsy, and people responded to it.

How has your social media presence played a part in the success of House of Aama?

Social media is such an interesting thing. I noticed at Parsons there are a lot of talented students, but they have no idea how to present and get their clothing in front of the right people which is vital when you're getting a clothing line off the ground. I try to use my online platform to market and push my brand while creating a following for it. I know if people are a fan of my online persona they might be interested in House of Aama.

With my brand, though, it's not solely about social media. Publications have begun to pull from us for shoots regardless of how many followers we have online because of the quality and craftsmanship. The quality of the garments is fantastic, and as House of Aama continues to grow, I hope people fuck with it because of that.

What made you decide to make the shift from being an Etsy shop with few original pieces to crafting an entire Ready-to-Wear collection?

After a year we decided to expand House of Aama by offering original designs that mixed urban silhouettes with traditional African fabrics and opened up a vending booth at Afropunk Festival in Brooklyn. We also collaborated with Senegalese artisans and donated the profit back to them. After doing all of that, we knew it was time to rebrand. We spent a lot of time brainstorming and crafting our new vision. My mother and I knew we wanted our designs to stay culturally rooted, but we needed to elevate and freshly express our heritage. We didn't want to lose the voice of our people, and that's how we came up with "BLOODROOT."

What does "BLOODROOT" mean?

It's named after the rare herb bloodroot which inspired the collection. My mother's family has been using the bloodroot herb as powerful guardian for the family. The collection is also an ode to Southern Creole spirituality and African Roots.

How did you keep the cultural authenticity of House of Aama while translating to a high fashion audience?

In the past year we changed our lens and design aesthetic but held true to our values. We are still using African fabrics in our collection, and our clothes have become more refined. We researched the silhouettes worn by Creole people in the 1900s and repurposed them for this collection. The clothes we crafted are timeless and nostalgic which resonates with fans of the brand. We feel with "BLOODROOT," everyone can feel comfortable in the clothing.



As a young black designer with a very black collection, what has this journey been like for you?

[ laughs] Whew! Well, in the past it's been so good! As a young black designer a lot of people hesitate to take you seriously. Though I'm fortunate enough to be doing well, the reality is that if my brand was based in white culture and if I was a white woman there would be a lot more access to different fashion spaces. Ultimately, I feel black designers have to work a lot harder to push their brands and to be taken seriously.

What's next?

With my journey as a designer, I'm so excited to see how this is going to go because I was on one trajectory for three years, and in the past year we've decided to rebrand and change our course. We have so many new opportunities since we placed "BLOODROOT" for sale on Black Friday. Lately, I've been taking a more significant interest in the business side of things. I've been trying to figure out how to translate press into sales and get my clothing into department stores. I think it's cool when an artist can sustain themselves from their craft and that is the goal with House of Aama. But, overall I'm just trying to stay positive in everything that I do! I'm super excited to be working and just want to see where all of this goes.

Film credits:

Video: Kanya Iwana

Designer and stylist: Rebecca Henry and Akua Shabaka

Creative Producer: Ella-Paule Franklin

Art Director: Rebecca Henry and Akua ShabakaGucci's wild Fall 2018 collection at Milan Fashion Week on Wednesday made a huge splash, with its reptile accessories (including a baby dragon) and severed heads. Now, the Italian brand has announced another headline-making move: a $500,000 donation to the March For Our Lives rally organized by student survivors of the deadly Florida school shooting and Everytown for Gun Safety.

"I am truly moved by the courage of these students," Alessandro Michele told WWD. "I am standing with March for Our Lives and the strong young women and men across the United States who are fighting for their generation and those to come."

The march will take place on March 24 and is expecting a crowd of at least 500,000 attendees.

Learn more about the march here, and for ways to help survivors of the shooting, head here.

Image via Getty

It is a week to the implementation of governments controversial tax stamp policy but beverage manufacturers, importers and exporters still maintain paper stamps are not the way to go.



At a press conference organised by the Food and Beverage Association of Ghana (FABAG), with support from Ghana Union of Traders Associations (GUTA), the Ghana Institute of Freight Forwarders (GIFF), and Importers and Exporters Association of Ghana, the business leaders served notice to government to suspend or risk non-compliance on their part.



We call on the Ministry of Finance (MoF) to, as a matter of urgency, suspend the implementation to re-engage stakeholders at the policy table so that we can adopt the best practicable and workable technology for the good of mother Ghana.



On the other hand, we call on the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) to stop the deceit being perpetuated out there and suspend the advert that is being run on some radio stations as if the stamps are free and seeking to create the impression that importers excisable goods are not paying duties, Samuel Aggrey, General Secretary of FABAG said.



Mr. Aggrey added that the association will be calling on parliament to fully investigate the tax stamp policy because they believe investors and the tax payer are being short changed because this is not value for money.



Government has decided on March 1, to commence the enforcement of the tax stamp policy, where paper stamps are supposed to be affixed to every bottle of excisable beverages or water, as well tobacco and tobacco products.



But the manufacturers and importers argue that whilst they are not against the policy in principle, affixing paper stamps to bottles on high speed production lines would slow down the production process by at least 10percent and would lead to avoidable losses.



The companies are proposing that instead of the paper stamps, government should consider allowing them to digitally print tax codes onto the bottles, which would save production time and would be less costlier to both parties.



It is evident that each stage of the tax stamp implementation process comes with huge cost to businesses. The undue high cost of compliance of the tax stamp policy is unacceptable, but seeing the belligerent posture adopted by the state, this leaves us with very little option, Mr. Aggrey added.



Governments insistence on rolling out the policy, for which a law was passed back in 2013, appears to lie in the fact that the paper stamps have already been procured, and the American company behind the supply of the stamps and the machines to be used for affixing them Authentix Inc.  is eager to see results.



If the policy takes effect on March 1, it would mean that, aside cigarettes and other tobacco products, all alcoholic or non-alcoholic beverages and water, whether bottled, canned, contained in kegs for sale or packaged in any other form, would have to have the paper tax stamps affixed to them.



Controversy over how to affix stamps



Section 8 (2) of the Excise Tax Stamp Act 873 of 2013 states that the stamps shall be affixed on a product unit in a manner that ensures that the stamp will be broken or will be rendered unusable when the product unit is opened.



To do this, the Tax Stamp Implementation Committee has indicated that the stamp on the beverages be affixed to the top of the bottles or across the crown cork. The idea is to ensure that one stamp is not used more than once.



Industry people argue, however, that affixing the stamps in the manner the law prescribes is impracticable since the bottles may be wet at the time of labelling due to condensation, making it difficult for the stamps to stick on them.



Authentix Inc. has carried out trials, but there is a disagreement between the manufacturers on the one hand and the government and Authentix on the other, as to whether the trials worked. Whilst Authentix insisted that they worked, the companies argue that the trials were a complete failure.



Upon further consultations, the parties agreed to carry out further trials between January and February 2018. Here, again, there is a stalemate in that government has asked that any company interested in partaking of the trials should cough up US$10,000 to cover costs, since Authentix has said it would not absorb the cost the second time.



Background



The Government of Ghana, in December 2012, entered into an agreement with Authentix Inc. of the USA for the supply of tax stamps, tax stamp applicator and consultancy services for tracking of excisable goods sold in Ghana.



Following that, parliament, in 2013, ratified the agreement with Authentix and an Excise Tax Stamp Bill was introduced and passed as Excise Tax Stamp Act 2013 (Act 873). After receiving Presidential assent in January 2014, the law came into force.

Source: thebftonline.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Corporal Dianatah Nicodemus, the Policeman who shockingly resigned ahead of the 2016 general elections to campaign for then Presidential candidate Nana Akufo-Addo has been gainfully employed by the state, Acting General Secretary of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) John Boadu has revealed.



Speaking on Starr FM, John Boadu refused to disclose where exactly the said policeman is working, except to say hes working within the system.



It is believed the Police Officer is working within the State security setup based on his competence.



Corporal Dianatah Nicodemus, who was with the New Juaben Municipal Police Command in the Eastern region in a daring move, resigned in January 2016 to devote his time and energy to support the Presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party ahead of the presidential elections.



He tendered in his resignation letter to then IGP, John Kudalor who in accordance with the Police Service Act, approved the resignation of the young law enforcer. After his resignation was granted by the IGP, Corporal Nicodemus joined the campaign activities of the NPP mostly in Ashanti and Northern regions.







Source: kasapafmonline.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 Ghana Education Service (GES) has threatened to withdraw all teachers from the AngloGold Ashanti (AGA) School in Obuasi by the end of this academic year if AngloGold Ashanti Mines insists on privatising the school.



The mining firm, owners of the school, has written to the GES for the school to revert to the company in order to affirm its principles and values and maintain its standard.



The Obuasi Municipal Director of Education, Mr Maxwell Amoako, told the Daily Graphic on the sidelines of the commissioning of the first-ever educational institution at Nyhieso, a suburb of Obuasi by the AGA Community Trust Fund, that a tripartite meeting between the GES, the mining company and the municipal assembly had been initiated to address the impasse.



Leading school



The AGA School, one of the leading schools in the Ashanti Region, was established in 1987 with the aim of providing quality education to children of workers of the mines. It was a collaboration between the mines and the GES at the time until the government took over completely recently.



However, per the last correspondence between the school and the GES, the schools authority insisted it reverts to AGA.



Mr Amoako who is leading the mediation team was, however, optimistic that a common ground would be found for the company and the GES to continue to collaborate.



Project commissioning



The AGA Community Trust Fund, a welfare fund of the company, constructed and handed over a two-unit pre-school to the people of Nhyieso at GH306,553.85.



Hitherto, children had to trek long distances to Apetikooko, Anyinam or Bediem to attend school.



The presentation by AGA-Community Trust Fund followed the building of a Child Welfare Clinic at Amamom, provision of an educational grant for 100 students and other facilities valued at GH223,200.03.



The Sustainability Manager of AGA, Nana Ampofo Bekoe, expressed the hope that more money will be invested into the fund once the mines commenced operation.



Currently, the mining firm is undergoing care and maintenance following its restructuring and subsequent lay-off of workers some four years ago.



Nana Bekoe said the fund which was established in 2012 was to make beneficial investment in social and economic development in the communities in which the mines operated.



The Municipal GES Director, Mr Amoako, said plans were afoot by the assembly to add a six-classroom primary school block to the pre-school.



The Chief of the town, Nana Peprah Abu-Bonsrah, appealed to the Member of Parliament (MP) for Obuasi, Mr Kwaku Kwarteng, to honour his word by building a junior high school for the community.









Source: Daily Graphic









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Featured VideoThe U.N. peacekeeping mission in South Sudan has recalled a Ghanaian police unit working at one of its protection camps while it investigates allegations that some of them were involved in sexual abuse, it said on Saturday.



The United Nations Mission in South Sudan said it had asked the 46-member unit to return to the capital Juba from its Protection of Civilians site in Wau, northwest of Juba, after an investigation was launched into a complaint that members of the unit were having sexual relations with women living at the camp.



UNMISS said in a statement that its head, David Shearer, and other mission leaders were briefed about the initial investigation and a decision was made to withdraw the unit from the site.



The information received indicates that some members of the FPU (Formed Police Unit) allegedly engaged in transactional sex. This is a clear breach of the U.N. and UNMISS Code of Conduct which prohibits sexual relationships with vulnerable individuals, including all beneficiaries of assistance, it said.



UNMISS has informed U.N. headquarters in New York of the allegations, which in turn notified the Member State that the matter was being investigated by the United Nations. There is no indication that this behavior is more widespread within the Mission.



South Sudan, which won independence from Sudan in 2011, descended into civil war in 2013 months after President Salva Kiir fired his deputy Riek Machar. Tens of thousands of people have been killed and a third of the population have fled their homes.



The United Nations has six civilian protection sites across the country, housing some 204,501 people.



UNMISS comprises over 17,000 peacekeeping personnel including 13,000 soldiers and 1500 police officers.

Source: Reuters









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Featured VideoThe Acting Chief Executive Officer of the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), Mr. Jonathan Nash, has expressed his and the appreciation of the MCC to the President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, for his leadership in trying to find a lasting solution to the political impasse in Togo.



According to Mr. Jonathan Nash, the Millennium Challenge Corporation was considering an investment in Togo, but had to postpone it because of the ongoing political crisis in that country.



The acting CEO explained that last fall, we finalised preparations for this programme (in Togo). It is a threshold programme, which is smaller than the Compact. However, given the challenges on the ground, and the unfolding political situation, our board of directors decided to postpone approving the programme.



He continued, One of the things we were looking for was the launch of a dialogue. Because of your leadership, and what you have done on the ground, we are now prepared to take this investment to our Board of Directors in the coming weeks. Assuming that things continue to move in a positive direction, hopefully our board will approve it, and we can begin an investment to Togo.



To this end, Mr. Jonathan Nash told President Akufo-Addo that on behalf of the MCC, we want to thank you for your leadership.



Mr. Jonathan Nash made this known on Saturday, 24th February, 2018, when he paid a courtesy call on President Akufo-Addo, ahead of the holding of the Winter Meeting of the National Governors Association of the United States of America, where the President will become the first African leader to address the 50 US Governors at an NGA meeting.



On his part, President Akufo-Addo noted that the interests of Ghanaians and of Ghanas political leaders are in the peace and stability of Togo, and the freedom of the Togolese people, which, he explained, was not negotiable.



The President was hopeful that sooner rather than later, a solution will be found to the impasse in Togo, so that peace, stability, the consolidation of democracy and the rule of law, which are the demands of the Togolese people, will be realised in Togo.

Source: Peacefmonline.com









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Featured VideoDr Chukwuemeka B. Eze, the Executive Director, West Africa Network for Peacebuilding (WANEP), has hailed President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addos mediation efforts in addressing the ongoing political crises in Togo.



I am very excited and commend the efforts of President Akufo-Addo. I am shocked that he is managing the process as somebody who already has wealth of experience and I think that the outcome of the Togo mediation will lead him to places. I wish him and his team very well Dr Eze stated at the weekend in an interview with the Ghana News Agency in Accra.



Dr Eze said mediation and dialogue for that matter was a process and not an event; stating that there were important considerations before going into mediation and before making even somebody a mediator and in this instance, President Akufo-Addo as the lead mediator on behalf of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of States and Governments.



He said both the opposition parties and the ruling party in Togo had all agreed in the choice of President Akufo-Addo as the mediator.



Dr Eze said sometimes it was difficult to find in official mediators the capacity and skills of the mediator.

In otherwise, sometimes you could have good offices, you could have the confidence of the disputants, but you now lack the requisite skills to mediate. But I am exquisitely overwhelmed and commend the efforts of President Akufo-Addo so far, he said.



He said President Akufo-Addos opening statement at the maiden meeting with both the ruling party and the opposition parties in Togo and his approach to the issue was very clinical and praised President Akufo-Addo for informing the parties within the confines of the ethics of mediation that he was not a judge and that he had no interest, and that his role was to manage the process.



Dr Eze said for a mediation process to succeed, two key things were needed, The first is the process and the second is the willingness of the parties to resolve. I did not expect that conflict that has taken several years, including perceptions of mistrust and realities views, that just in one engagement, that the parties will say okay everything is fine.



So I expected that there will be even walk outs from the process, but I think that what is clear to me is that the presence of both the ruling party and the opposition political parties in the room, signalled to me the willingness to resolve. What is now important is to sustain the process.



On how relevant it was resolving the Togo crisis to Ghana and the sub-region, Dr Eze said, In my opinion if Togo goes into flames, and the conflict is uncontrollable, the first country to be a victim will be Ghana.

He also urged the ECOWAS Community to provide the mediation team with the necessary support to resolve Togos political crises.



Dr Eze, said the support could be in terms of some technical areas like gender expertise, process design and management expertise, constitutional drafting and agreement drafting expertise and issues relating to electoral process and explained that President Akufo-Addo would need these key areas as back door support to be able to move the process forward.



Otherwise, the danger in initiating the process of mediation is that if he fails in some aspects or all the aspects, it is usually very difficult to reconvene. Because it increases the possibility of mistrust, it increases also the hardening of positions of parties in the dispute, which for me will be a tragedy for this process.

In my opinion, since it is the first mediation efforts that President Akufo-Addo is leading on behalf of the sub-region, it is important that he succeeds, so that such capacities will be sustained within the sub-region, he added.



Dr Eze said the peace and stability of Togo was very crucial for Ghana and the West Africa sub-regions socio-economic development.



He said we now have the 15 member states of ECOWAS all on the path of periodic election guided by the ECOWAS Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance;and that for me, will be huge achievement for the sub-region.



No other region in Africa has recorded this kind of achievement within the progress made in democracy, which of course include periodic elections and clear term limits.....it is only West Africa.

And if we get it right in Togo, we will say all the 15 ECOWAS Member States are now on the path of prosperity.

Source: GNA









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Featured VideoLeadership of the Convention Peoples Party (CPP) has urged President Akufo-Addo to effectively tackle corruption in the country.



According to CPP, President Akufo-Addo would succeed in the fight against corruption and self-seeking attitude in the Ghanaian society because he has the unique qualities of late President Dr Kwame Nkrumah.



A statement issued yesterday by the CPP to remember the 1966 coup that ousted ex-President Dr Nkrumah said, You will sleep soundly if you boldly tackle the cancer of corruption that has infested all areas of national life.



The party, in a statement, saidToday, February 24, 2018 fills us with pride that our sense of discipline and loyalty to the state has given meaning to the principle and cause of loyal opposition and we are all the beneficiaries of the continuation of good governance.



Most of the good things being done by the Akufo-Addo-led New Patriotic Party (NPP) administration such as the development of the Zongos, industrialization of the country were things that Nkrumah started but were later abandoned by successive governments after his overthrow 52 years ago.



Meaningful projects with social purpose initiated by departing regimes must be continued and not abandoned out of spite as was done with the projects the CPP built and had initiated, the CPP said.



Despite the good works being done by President Akufo-Addos government, the CPP stated that corruption is still a major issue confronting the country which ought to be nipped in the bud.



But we have the devil of corruption to tackle as Dr Nkrumah sought to do with his dawn broadcast of 8 April 1961 aimed at his own party for the insect that will bite you is found in your own clothes.



It was a call to action to revitalize the CPP to end self-seeking to energize the efforts of the people towards socialism, it added.



Some party members in Parliament pursue a course of conduct in direct contradiction of our party aims. They are tending, by virtue of their functions and positions, to become a separate social group aiming to become a new ruling class of self-seekers and careerists.

Source: Daily Guide









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Featured VideoFormer President John Dramani Mahama has criticised the New Patriotic Party (NPP) for implementing a broad Free Senior High School (SHS) policy in a haste which has resulted in the programme taking all government resources and stifling other developmental projects.



The problem this government is facing and it is in their own interest, is that, Free Senior High School is absorbing all the fiscal space they have and so almost every money you have, you are having to put it into Free Senior High School. So you cant pay District Assemblies Common Fund, you cant pay NHIS (National Health Insurance Scheme), you cant pay GETFund (Ghana Education Trust Fund), you cant pay other salaries and things because all your money is going into Free Senior High School, Mr Mahama said on Saturday, 24 February 2018, during the Unity Walk organised by the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) at Somanya in the Eastern region.



According to him, individuals who cannot meet the financial requirements must be identified and the Free SHS programme designed to meet their needs and we must adopt a system where those who can afford to pay are able to pay to free up the burden on the countries resources to be allocated to critical sectors.



I can afford to pay my sons Secondary School fees why should you give me free SHS? Identify those who need it and cannot afford to pay and give them bursaries so that they can pay those fees and those who can afford to pay let them go ahead and pay, he added.



He was concerned that the problems associated with the Free SHS policy will escalate because in subsequent years it will be expanded to cover continuing students and more funds will be needed to sustain the programme.



For him, a stakeholders conference and review of the Free SHS programme will free up space for them to be able to put money into their One-District-One-Factory, One-Village-One-Dam.



You dont put all your money into education alone and when people dont have water then you say but you have Senior High School. You put all your money into one thing and when people say they dont have electricity then you say you have Senior High School. You put all your money into one thing and when people say they dont have food then you say you have Senior High School"



Saturday's Unity Walk in Somanya is the 5th in the series after similar exercises were held in the Northern, Greater Accra, Central and Western regions.

Source: citifmonline.com









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Featured VideoAfter threats were reported at more than a dozen school districts in the region, two more incidents in Perry County have been reported by the state police today.

Both occurred in the Greenwood School District in Millerstown, according to the Pennsylvania State Police at Newport.

Around 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday, troopers were dispatched to the Greenwood Elementary School for a report of a threat. In that case, an 11-year-old was charged with terroristic threats. Specifics about the threat were not immediately available.

Troopers also went to the Greenwood High School on Friday for a report of threats made against the school on Wednesday and Thursday. Police say a student overheard another student saying he was going to "shoot up the school" with a Glock 19.

The student who overheard this reported the statements to a teacher Friday. Charges of terroristic threats are pending.

Also in Perry County, police announced charges last week against a 14-year-old student at West Perry High School, whom they say threatened 34 people, whose names were on a list on a school computer.

These incidents are part of a wave of threats that have plagued schools around the country since the Feb. 14 Parkland school shooting that killed 17. The state police count 75 distinct threats in Pennsylvania since then.

One such threat closed the Harrisburg School District on Friday.

A Cedar Cliff High School student was arrested Saturday, accused of threatening to "shoot up" his school the day before.

And the Central York School District was closed for a third day on Friday as police investigated a "direct and specific" threat.Lebanon police are investigating a shooting that sent one man to the hospital early Saturday.

And they are asking the public to help them track down two suspects.

The case began as a criminal mischief report that was called in just before 6:30 a.m. in the 500 block of Cumberland Street. Officers were on the scene when they were told a man had just arrived at Good Samaritan Hospital with a gunshot wound.

Spent shell casings were found at the scene, police said, and they confirmed a shooting had occurred just after 6 a.m., apparently resulting from a series of fights/

Police said they learned the first fight erupted at the Mama Juana dance club on North Ninth Street. The second fight occurred when the combatants moved to the Kalembo Social Smoke Lounge four blocks from the shooting scene on Cumberland Street.

Fighting broke out again among the same people during an after party at Sixth and Cumberland streets, police said. They said the victim, a 28-year-old Allentown man whom they didn't identify, was shot by two men as he left the after party. The victim sustained a non-life-threatening wound to his buttocks, police said.

They said three buildings in the area were hit by gunfire.

Both suspects were wearing dark clothing, police said. They said one is believed to be Hispanic and the other is Hispanic or black.

Anyone with information can call police at 717-272-2054.Two months after a Philly.com report accused Pa. Sen. Daylin Leach of sexual misconduct, Leach announced he was ending his bid for what is now Pennsylvania's 4th Congressional District.

Leach had suspended his campaign in the days after the report was released.

A Facebook post Saturday night made the announcement. In it, Leach, a Democrat, talked about his initial ambitions to be a member of Congress and the effect the past two months have had on his family. Leach also discussed about his efforts to make amends for his conduct, including a Philly.com op-ed that talked about what he's learned.

"I typically do not back down from a challenge, but the more these individuals direct attacks at my family - including my children - the more we, as a family asked, "is this worth it?" and "what's the big payoff?" Leach wrote.

"I find myself looping back to how unappealing Congress has become, and I think about the life experience I want our 17 and 15 year-old children to have as they go through the stress of adolescence and applying for college. I don't want to spend their last years of childhood at a Quality Inn in DC, or making four hours of fundraising calls a day. I've decided it is just not worth it."

STATEMENT I am announcing today that I will not be a candidate for Congress in the fourth district this year. I... Posted by Daylin Leach on Saturday, February 24, 2018

Leach initially announced his bid for Pennsylvania's 7th Congressional District in July 2017, saying then that "we all have a moral obligation to do whatever we can to get America back on track." The Supreme Court's new Congressional map now places this in the 4th Congressional District.

In the days after the initial Philly.com report came out, calls were made for Leach to resign from his state Senate seat, including from Gov. Tom Wolf. Leach remains in his Senate seat and has undergone mandatory sexual harassment training.The bald eagles at the nest monitored by the Pennsylvania Game Commission nestcam near Codorus State Park at Hanover are now tending two eggs.

The female laid her second egg of 2018 at about 6 p.m. Friday, February 23. She laid the first egg at about 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, February 20.

This year's eggs came more than a week after last year's, which she laid the first on February 10 and the second on February 13. The first egg hatched March 20 and the second on March 21. By June 7 both eaglets were experimenting with flying away from the nest.

In 2016, eggs were laid on February 18 and 21. One of the eggs hatched March 28, but the nestling died two days later, perhaps injured by a branch being moved in the nest. The other egg never hatched and remained in the nest until May 23, when one of the adults removed the remnants from the nest.

In 2015, eggs were laid on February 14 and 17. Adult eagles were covered in snow on the nest on March 5, drawing international attention. The eggs hatched on March 24 and 25, and the two young eaglets fledged about June 22.

The camera is livestreaming its fourth season of round-the-clock video through the website of the Pennsylvania Game Commission, which partners in the project with HDOnTap, Comcast Business and Codorus State Park, in January.

Some had wondered if the nest cam would be placed into operation in the same tree as its previous three seasons. The nest, which partially collapsed only to be rebuilt by the bald eagle pair for the 2017 nesting season, collapsed again after the 2017 livestream ended last July.

But the eagles again repaired the nest, which was welcome news to the 1.5 million viewers who have watched the nest on their devices in past years.

According to the commission, the first record of an active nest in this area is from 2005. Records indicate that eaglets have fledged eight times, most often two at a time. There are no records indicating that any of the adult nesting eagles have been banded or otherwise marked.

Comcast Business and HDOnTap provide a static IP address and 100 Mbps broadband service near the nesting site.

Last year, viewers enjoyed more than 6.8 million hours of 24-7, live HD video and audio from the nest, as well as daily time-lapse clips on screens worldwide.Isabelle Smit, 10, is photographed with her mother Kristen Lundgren in Esquimalt, B.C., on Tuesday, February 20, 2018. Through an online video the mother and daughter are hoping to find Isabelle's birth parents or relatives. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chad HipolitoIn the Friday, February 9, 2018 photo, Thomas Bach, president of the International Olympic Committee, speaks during the opening ceremony of the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea. The International Olympic Committee executive board has recommended upholding the ban of Russia from the Pyeongchang Winter Games. The full membership will vote on the proposal Sunday ahead of the closing ceremony. (Clive Mason/Pool Photo via AP)Former Comcast Corp. employee Rylinda Rhodes has launched a petition on coworker.org, claiming a culture of sexual harassment at the cable company's call centers. Read more

A former Comcast Corp. call-center employee who filed a lawsuit claiming a sexually hostile workplace has launched a petition on the activist site coworker.org that, by Friday, had garnered more than 4,000 signatures, according to the group's website.

Rylinda Rhodes, who worked at Comcast call centers in Washington and Maryland between 2007 and 2012, claimed in her 2014 federal lawsuit that her male coworkers directed lewd sexual language toward her and there were incidents of being touched on her breasts. When she brought the behavior to the attention of human resources, she felt that the company's managers retaliated against her.

This is just the latest #metoo moment for the Philadelphia cable and entertainment conglomerate.

Jezebel, an online fashion and women's issues publication, reported Thursday on the petition and an five additional women in Colorado, Tennessee, Florida, South Carolina, and Virginia who also claimed inappropriate sex-related behavior such as male coworkers making them uncomfortable hugging them, commenting on their bodies, discussing sex lives, and one supervisor asking an female employee for her lingerie size.

"The culture of sexual harassment at the Comcast call centers I worked at was pervasive and difficult to escape. I felt constant fear and anxiety around certain male colleagues, and would try to avoid and limit contact if possible," Rhodes said in her petition. She was not available for comment by email and her attorney did not return a call. Rhodes, who earned $32,000 a year, is seeking $2 million, according to court documents.

Comcast could not comment on Rhodes because the case is being litigated.

The company says it investigates all sexual harassment complaints and that its employees participated in antiharassment training in 2017. They will have refresher courses on the topic this year. Some of the allegations in Jezebel article dated back a decade and the complaints could not be found. Another incident was not reported to Comcast. In the Tennessee incident, Comcast investigated the claim and dismissed the supervisor.

Comcast employees can report harassment complaints anonymously on the "Comcast Listens" hotline and portal, the company says.

"Sexual harassment, or harassment of any kind, is not tolerated at Comcast," spokeswoman Jennifer Moyer said. "The company was founded on a foundation of respect, integrity, and trust. We have strong policies against sexual and other forms of harassment and encourage employees to report any harassing behavior. Any allegation of harassment is taken very seriously."

There has been heightened awareness of sexual harassment after the publication of stories in 2017 on movie mogul Harvey Weinstein's alleged sexual misconduct with movie actresses, with the #metoo movement toppling powerful media, Hollywood and political figures. Comcast-owned NBC fired Today anchor Matt Lauer after several woman last year came forward claiming sexual misconduct by the high-profile TV personality.Thousands of teachers and school personnel descended on the state Capital to demonstrate at the Capitol building on the second day of the teacher walkout in Charleston, W.V., on Friday. Read more

America debated an utter fantasy version of what it means to be a schoolteacher this weekend, even as we missed a powerful reality in the hidden hills of West Virginia.

The unreal version came courtesy of our fantasist-in-chief, President Trump, who  forced to deal with the crisis of 17 dead in a Parkland, Fla., high school after ignoring education for the first 13 months of his Fox & Friends presidency  tweeted out his Rambo-like vision of 21st-century "Armed Educators." They'll be able to stop a 19-year-old legally toting an AR-15 semiautomatic, thanks to a yearly bonus (money that is coming from  where, exactly?) to cover training them into dutiful gun-toting acolytes of a still-powerful NRA.

The truth for today's teachers was hiding in plain sight amid the Appalachian Mountains not too far west of Trump's Oval Office, where every public school in the state of West Virginia will be shut down on Monday for a third straight day by educators consumed not by the need to be packing heat in their classroom, but a desire for a living wage and the other tools they need to do their job.

Even if "Armed Educators" wasn't a terrible idea that would not make our schools safer, where does Trump expect to find the money to equip thousands of teachers with firearms and properly train them in gun safety  when a place like West Virginia currently pays teachers such low wages that many need to work in fast-food joints or other second or third jobs simply to support their families?

"I knew teaching wouldn't make [me] billions, but I thought it would be enough," Rebecca Diamond, a second-grade teacher at a school in Wayne County, W.V. , recently told the Huffington Post. She said she works the cash register at a Hardee's  for $8.75 an hour  so that she and her husband, also a teacher, will have enough money to send their two teenagers on school field trips. Diamond, a 19-year veteran, makes about $39,000 a year as a teacher  less than the statewide average of $45,622, which is actually shrinking and places West Virginia fourth from the bottom among the states.

Diamond and thousands of her colleagues have been striking since Thursday  shutting down schools in all 55 counties of West Virginia  for higher pay, insulted by legislation that would only raise their paychecks by about 4 percent between now and 2021. It's a dramatic story  thousands of strikers have flooded the state capital in Charleston, while others have set up food banks and other programs to help poor rural kids who typically depend on the schools for free lunch. And it's been all but ignored by a mainstream media that offers coverage 24 hours a day, but invests most of it on one or two Trump-fired stories, often the probe into Russia's election meddling.

But what's happening in West Virginia should demand our attention for two reasons. For one thing, it's a case study in how voters continue to be sold a bill of goods. In 2016, Trump won a landslide victory in West Virginia, fueled by his promises to bring back the American coal industry. But despite a flurry of new regulations meant to stack the deck in favor of coal and other dirty fossil fuels  even as the reality of climate change is pushing the rest of the world into renewable energy  there is no coal comeback in West Virginia, or anywhere else. Since Trump took office, despite government favoritism, U.S. coal has gained about 130 jobs. That's not a typo.

What will save West Virginia in the 21st century? Good schools, that will prepare kids for a very different economy than their parents'. But because of the huge teacher pay gap, well-trained educators are leaving for jobs in neighboring states like Ohio or Pennsylvania, where they can earn $12,000 to $15,000 a year more to support their own families. Like many other states, West Virginia's GOP-led legislature is much more focused on regulatory and tax breaks for Big Energy than properly funding the public schools. But lack of resources for schools is a problem everywhere. Across Pennsylvania, teachers spend hundreds of dollars a year or more out of their own pockets to buy everyday supplies for their classrooms that cash-strapped districts aren't able to provide.

Which brings us to the other big phenomenon taking place almost completely off the radar screen. That would be the American people trying to take back the debate about inequality and unfairness in American society that was rising throughout the 2010s, only to be starved for oxygen by Trump and his stranglehold on setting the terms of what the media has covered in Trump's America, and what it doesn't. Do you remember the days of Occupy Wall Street and "We are the 99 percent!"? It wasn't that long ago. And the fact that the broader economy has improved in the second half of this decade shouldn't obscure the fact that the benefits of recovery flowed unevenly to the top 1 percent  and that was before the Republican tax bill written to widen the gap even further.

The causes that consumed the left and a growing number of moderates in 2017  the so-called Trump Resistance, the Women's March  are still here, but increasingly energy is flowing back toward an agenda that is not set by the president and his warped Twitter feed. At the same moment that teachers were walking the picket line in West Virginia, thousands of labor activists were on the march here in Philadelphia and elsewhere around the country, calling on the government to #UnrigTheSystem against the American worker.

"We just want a piece of the pie," said Keenan Field, a shop steward for unionized food workers in the Philadelphia region. The backdrop to the protests is another little-noticed story, a looming Supreme Court ruling that  thanks to the clout of new Justice Neil Gorsuch, the right-wing Trump-appointed jurist for whom Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell subverted the Constitution for an entire year  could further diminish the clout of labor unions, which were once the bulwark against income inequality.

The outlines for 2018 are starting to take shape. The people are fighting to take back the American conversation for things that actually matter to the people, and not to the political establishment. It is a movement that is drawing much of its energy from the young  from the teenagers in Parkland, who are taking back the gun debate from their nonsensical arm-the-teachers elders and achieving things that didn't seem possible less than two weeks ago. Already, we are seeing the unchallenged power of the NRA beginning to melt in front of our eyes, as Americans are refusing to do business with the corporations that once did business with the gun lobby.

And that's just the beginning. Here in Pennsylvania, everyday citizens frustrated by gerrymandered lawmakers who won't respond to their needs undertook the audacious strategy of taking their case to the courts  and won. There is increasing optimism  not just here in the Keystone State, but around the nation  that we are less than nine months away from electing a brand new Congress and state lawmakers who will start to fight for giving people what they need. Living wages. Fairness for middle-class workers. And resources for our schools, not more firearms.

In a way, it's understandable that Trump, his allies in Congress and the NRA are so fixated on giving more people more guns. They are so afraid right now of the teachers in West Virginia, the blue collars in Philly, the kids in Florida, and the awesome weapon that they don't know how to control  the firepower of the human spirit.Larry Krasner supporters shortly after Krasner won the primary for District Attorney. The Campaign Workers Guild seeks to unionize teams running campaigns, like Krasners primary run. Read more

Every time she worked on a campaign, often pulling more than 80 hours a week for little pay, Julia Ackerly told herself she'd never do it again. And as soon as the campaign ended, sure enough, she'd suffer from a sort of willful amnesia. "OK," she'd ask herself, "what's the next campaign I'm going to work on?"

The last one was different.

After a three-month local campaign many considered a long shot, Ackerly's slate of candidates won. But the victory party was bittersweet, tainted by what she called a toxic culture in which her manager had guilted staffers into working long hours, saying that if they didn't, they must not truly care.

On top of that, Ackerly was broke.

No win bonus, no gas reimbursement, no pay through the end of the month. The checks they got two weeks before Election Day, it turned out, were their last. No one had prepared the team for that.

The experience was a wake-up call for Ackerly, 27, who declined to identify the campaign in question.

It wasn't just about the money but also the message: that campaign workers weren't valued; that once they finished the job, they were disposable.

Political veterans may be thinking: Yup. Welcome to the business.

But Ackerly  and a growing chorus of millennial campaign workers  are refusing to accept the status quo.

She is one of 17 campaign staffers running a new nationwide union called the Campaign Workers Guild, which aims to combat what they describe as the exploitative nature of the work. The movement, which went public just ahead of the midterm elections, intersects with the current cultural and economic moment: the way millennials are leading the growth in unionization, the fight for worker rights in the gig economy, and #MeToo.

"We want to set a precedent for what campaign culture can be," said Ackerly, of West Philadelphia, who has worked on several Democratic campaigns, including District Attorney Larry Krasner's primary race.

The point, she said, is to build a more sustainable career path for those who go into this industry. Instead of working young campaign staffers to the bone, only to have them burn out in a few years, why not develop practices that will support them and encourage them to stay in the political arena?

The union's goal is a collective-bargaining agreement that covers all Democratic campaign workers  the party that already leans pro-labor  but right now, the group is proceeding campaign by campaign. So far, three staffs have reached such agreements with their employers, including two Democratic congressional candidates: the eight-member team running the campaign for Randy Bryce, the pro-union challenger to Speaker of the House Paul Ryan in Wisconsin's First District, and the three-member team behind Jess King in Lancaster, who is running in Pennsylvania's 16th District. More are in the works, according to guild spokeswoman Meg Reilly, though she declined to identify them until the deals are finalized.

"I believe all work has value and all workers have rights," candidate King said. "So I was excited that we could embody that in our campaign."

The agreements include a salary floor ($2,500/month for King's, $3,000/month for Bryce's), health-care reimbursement, and a sexual harassment policy  particularly important, Ackerly said, in a workplace that often lacks a formal HR policy, where the next gig relies heavily on networking and connections, and where it's drilled into staffers that they must not do anything to jeopardize the campaign, which can lead to sexual harassment and discrimination going unreported.

Lauren Hitt, who left her post as Mayor Kenney's communications director to join Bryce's campaign in January and is now a member of the Guild, said a union contract with salary floors could help diversify campaign staff.

If the industry is peopled only by those without student debt or who can afford low pay, "then we're really going to have a divide in how campaigns are run," she said, adding that she might not have considered campaign work right out of school if she had college loans to repay.

This is also the first year that Hitt, 26, cannot be on her parents' health insurance. So the health-care reimbursement in the agreement is "a huge relief."

Democratic political consultant Aren Platt says the philosophical reasons for working on a campaign can create an environment ripe for exploitation.

"When I was doing it, everyone was doing it for the greater good," Platt said. "It's very hard to separate out the work that you do from this place of emotion, from trying to change the world."

If you're sitting down the hall from the candidate who's spending all day fund-raising, he said, it can be hard to ask for more money. You know it could be spent on mailers or granola bars for volunteers.

Political consultant Dan Fee says he agrees with the union's insistence on living wages, but he thinks salary floors could do campaigns more harm than good.

"It'll chase true grassroots candidates out of the races because they simply can't raise enough money," Fee said. "It'll make the impact of big money even more outsized."

He also warns against salary ceilings, contending that they could make campaigns less competitive.

But Jessica Cosme, a political consultant and former Democratic staffer, pointed out that the salary floor on Bryce's campaign is "very obtainable" and pretty much the going rate.

"Money is always important in every race, and every cycle, more is required to compete," she said. "This wouldn't have much of an impact."

The organizing effort has left some local veteran politicians scratching their heads. They point out that campaigns are short-term positions without many of the benefits of more traditional jobs, and that's explained upfront.

"The hours these people work are crazy, but that's what the business is," said former State Sen. Vince Fumo, who was incredulous that such a union would exist. "That's just what it's been forever."

He added, "Unions have their place. I don't think this is one of them."

Former Gov. Ed Rendell said it would be difficult to negotiate a contract covering all workers because of the variables involved: the size and length of a campaign, but especially the money behind it, given the unpredictability of fund-raising.

"You're talking to someone who's been pro-union all his life," Rendell said. "But it doesn't lend itself to commonsense negotiation because the biggest variable is missing: the resources."

His suggestion to campaign workers who feel they're being exploited?

"Move carefully at the beginning," he advised, "and if the conditions are lousy, then don't sign up."

Besides, he said, most people don't get into this for the money.

On that, the Campaign Workers Guild agrees. A living wage is important, Ackerly said, but it's not the sole issue in the fight.

The union leaders want training and reporting procedures around sexual harassment. They want open dialogue between management and staff. They want that elusive concept, one that might sound a touch too millennial to old-school ears: respect.

That kind of work environment, they say, would only benefit candidates.

"The stakes have never been higher to elect progressive candidates," Ackerly said. "Now is the time to lay the groundwork. This is our moment."Towns across the country that want to promote development and generally make life better for businesses and homeowners have long battled the enemy within  bureaucracy.

Now they are looking at common sense steps to get out of their own way.

Take the case of solar energy, where bureaucracy has cast a shadow over efforts to promote its use as a renewable alternative to traditional, polluting energy sources. Some officials say experiences with solar might even provide a road map for promoting efficiencies in local government.

Municipalities in the region and across the country have simplified the permitting and zoning processes with standardized procedures, an online checklist of requirements and assessments to identify unnecessary barriers to remove.

It's too soon to say if clearing some of the red-tape obstacles will translate into a steady surge of new solar energy consumption. But some of the early signs are, well, bright.

A national program launched in 2016 called SolSmart uses U.S. Department of Energy funds to spur the removal of solar roadblocks at the local level.

More than 180 municipalities across the country have committed to simplify solar permitting, including Philadelphia; Pottstown Borough, Montgomery County; the city of Chester, Delaware County; and Cheltenham Township, Montgomery County.

New Jersey has been a solar pioneer and is well ahead of Pennsylvania in the solar market.

LeAnne Harvey, a spokeswoman in Philadelphia's Office of Sustainability, acknowledged getting a permit "can be such a hassle," especially for families and small solar panel installers, so the city streamlined the steps.

"Generally speaking, shorter is cheaper," said Sean Gallagher, vice president of state affairs for the national trade group Solar Energy Industries Association, which estimates that solar could account for 5 percent of all electrical generation by 2022.

Both developers and towns see the savings.

The online checklist that lays out exactly what applicants need to submit saves local officials money, because it saves time, said Art Noel, assistant director of building and planning for Lower Merion Township, Montgomery County.

"There's less time spent on our part having to call an applicant saying, 'You're lacking this. Go get an engineer to certify this. You don't have a plan that shows what portion of the roof (solar panels are) going on,'" Noel said.

Complex local processes can add up to $700 to the cost of a typical residential solar installation, while streamlining local regulations can reduce the cost by $2,500, according to the Interstate Renewable Energy Council and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Installation costs can run past $10,000.

In Philadelphia, "it used to be we would have to go physically there, drop a permit off and wait and not have any idea what the process was or when we'd get a response," said Skyler Willman-Cole, chief operations officer of Solar States, a Philadelphia-based solar installation company. "It was a very difficult process. Not to say that it's perfect, but it's a lot better than it was."

And it will get better when permitting moves online later this year. Already, simple residential projects, such as solar panels for single-family homes, typically get responses from the city's Department of Licenses and Inspections in five days. The city used to require both building and electrical permits for solar projects. In 2016, it dropped the building permit requirement.

Philadelphia has "seen a significant uptick" in solar applications, especially in the last year, as solar costs drop, according to the sustainability office. The trend is nationwide.

The U.S. Department of Energy gave Philadelphia a grant a decade ago to encourage solar development in the city, some of which the city used to improve the permitting process, write guidebooks for solar projects and make solar development a right instead of a special exception in the zoning code. In 2012, City Council passed a bill to reduce permit costs by excluding the cost of solar panels and certain other equipment.

Outside the city, municipal practices in Pennsylvania and New Jersey vary. Some require solar developers and homeowners to mail certified letters to neighbors and testify at a zoning hearing. Some ask them to mail in their applications and wait for mailed responses. Some require applicants to drop off paperwork in person and come back for an answer with a check. Each generally has their own permitting process solar developers have to learn as they move from municipality to municipality.

Fees also vary. In Solar States' experience, a permit in Philadelphia can cost a couple hundred dollars while a permit outside the city recently cost $900.

Standardization eases the burden on homeowners, developers and local governments.

Lower Merion set its standard permit fee for a home's roof installation at $400. That's down from the $1,500 range the township charged when it based fees off installation costs. Employees can turn around solar permit applications in three business days now instead of the 15 days Pennsylvania code allows.

Before the changes, the township issued about 80 building permits for solar installations over a decade. It has issued 13 in the last eight months.

"We're a progressive community," said Noel, explaining Lower Merion's interest in the solar program. "We're not married to the way we've always done things."Aimee Turner, a 22-year-old Drexel University senior from Overbrook, was crowned Miss Philadelphia Saturday night at Drexel's Mandell Theater. Turner, who has won numerous awards at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair and was MVP of the 2016 Collegiate International Lacrosse Tournament, received a $4,000 scholarship, along with the crown and title. For the talent competition, she performed aerial acrobatics to the music of Beyonce.

Turner is working toward a bachelor's degree in interdisciplinary science with a minor in legal studies. She plans to pursue a career in data analytics.

The first runner-up was Sarah Pennington, who performed a comedy sketch for her talent and her personal platform is "Capable, Not Disabled."

As part of her Miss Philadelphia role, Turner will embark on a citywide speaking tour, advocating for her platform promoting STEM programs.

Fifteen contestants  the competition is open to women from the five counties  competed in four phases of competition: swimsuit, talent, evening gown and interview. In June, Turner will compete in the Miss Pennsylvania pageant.

Three Miss Philadelphias have won Miss America since the first pageant in 1921.FILE- In this March 7, 2012 file photo, Illinois gun owners and supporters file out National Rifle Association applications while participating in an Illinois Gun Owners Lobby Day convention before marching to the Illinois state Capitol in Springfield, Ill. U.S. companies are taking a closer look at investments, co-branding deals and other ties to the gun industry and its public face, the National Rifle Association, after the latest school massacre. Read more

The National Rifle Association lashed out at corporations rushing to abandon it on Saturday, as companies from United Airlines to Best Western have cut ties with the gun lobby group under pressure from a boycott movement following a Feb. 14 high school shooting.

Without context, twin announcements from Delta and United airlines on Saturday morning might look trivial: The end of flight discounts to the NRA's annual convention, which few outside the gun rights organization likely knew existed before they became boycott targets.

"Delta is reaching out to the NRA to let them know we will be ending their contract for discounted rates through our group travel program. We will be requesting that the NRA remove our information from their website," the airline announced on Twitter.

"United is notifying the NRA that we will no longer offer a discounted rate to their annual meeting and we are asking that the NRA remove our information from their website," United said on Twitter.

But in abandoning the NRA, the airlines followed car rental giants Avis, Hertz and Enterprise, the Best Western hotel chain, the global insurance company MetLife, and more than a dozen other corporations that have severed affiliations with the gun group in the last two days.

In a statement released Saturday afternoon, the group accused companies of "a shameful display of political and civic cowardice."

"Let it be absolutely clear. The loss of a discount will neither scare nor distract one single NRA member from our mission to stand and defend the individual freedoms that have always made America the greatest nation in the world."

While it's unclear what effect the corporate snubs will have on the NRA, they have given the nascent #BoycottNRA a string of rapid, prominent victories and exposed vulnerabilities in a gun rights lobby that had seemed untouchable before 17 students are Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, were gunned down last week.

The NRA claims 5 million members and takes in tens of millions of dollars each year through supporters, which it uses to fight gun regulations in the name of the U.S. Constitution, which guarantees Americans the right to bear arms.

The group has faced public anger before  after the massacre of schoolchildren at Sandy Hook Elementary in 2012, for example. But it has always fought back against pushes for new gun laws, and efforts to significantly restrict firearms inevitably die out as public fury over the shootings ebbs.

But outrage over the Parkland shooting  sustained in part by politically active teenagers who survived the massacre  has shown no signs of fading. Police say a former student killed 17 people with a legally purchased semiautomatic rifle, one of at least 10 guns he owned.

As calls for gun control have spread, the NRA has increasingly become a target of activists, with social media hashtags urging boycotts of any corporation found to be linked with it.

Delta and United are the latest to submit to the pressure.

First National Bank of Omaha, one of the largest private U.S. banks, may have been the first to respond publicly to the boycott calls. The bank had previously advertised the "Official Credit Card of the NRA," according to the Omaha World-Herald  a Visa card with 5 percent back on gas and sporting good purchases.

"Customer feedback has caused us to review our relationship with the NRA," the bank said in a statement published Thursday, eights days after the Parkland shooting. "As a result, First National Bank of Omaha will not renew its contract with the National Rifle Association to issue the NRA Visa Card."

Enterprise followed suit a few hours later. "All three of our brands have ended the discount for NRA members," effective March 26, the car rental company wrote on Twitter Thursday afternoon. Hertz, Avis Budget Group and TrueCar would soon join Enterprise and end their NRA discounts. So did movers North American Van Lines and Allied Van Lines.

On Friday morning, Symantec announced that the boycott movement had spread to the software industry. NRA members will now have to pay the same price for its anti-virus software as everyone else.

On the same day, insurer Chubb Limited announced that it will stop underwriting "NRA Carry Guard," a policy marketed to NRA members who face legal or civil lawsuits after they shoot someone, which gun opponents sometimes call "murder insurance." A spokesman for Chubb told Reuters that the company had made the decision months ago, but its announcement of the fact on Friday only increased the perception of a boycott movement swelling against the NRA.

It has now spread across numerous industries and affected some of the world's largest corporations. The global insurance company MetLife said it has terminated discounts for NRA members. Best Western and Wyndham Hotels announced they are no longer affiliated with the NRA.

Facing questions from the liberal outlet ThinkProgress about its discounts for NRA members flying to the group's convention in May, a Delta spokesman at first defended the program as "routine." The airline "has more than 2,000 such contracts in place," the spokesman said, ThinkProgress wrote Friday evening.

Come daybreak, Delta abruptly discontinued the discounts and asked the NRA to take the airline's name off its website. United Airlines followed suit the same morning.

Like other companies that ditched the NRA, the airlines faced an immediate backlash from gun rights supporters.

Some other companies have, so far, not been moved by the boycott calls. FedEx, for example, still gives NRA Business Alliance members up to a 26 percent discount on shipping expenses. Google, Amazon, Apple, AT&T and Roku all stream an NRA-produced video channel despite pressure from gun-control groups.

This follows a week when NRA leaders spoke defiantly at public appearances, blaming the fury on media manipulation.

"Many in legacy media love mass shootings," Loesch said Thursday at a conservative political conference. "Crying white mothers are ratings gold."

"They want to make us all less free," NRA chief executive Wayne LaPierre said when he took the microphone. The correct response to the Florida shooting, he said, was more armed security on school campuses  not fewer guns in the United States.

Pressure campaigns have become a favorite tool of liberal groups during Trump's presidency  from early efforts to boycott Trump-branded products to a Twitter campaign that identified and exposed people seen marching at a far-right protest in Charlottesville this past summer. Social media and Internet companies began to ban far-right personalities from their sites after that rally turned violent.

So far, for all the companies that have signed on, the NRA boycotts have managed only to wipe out a few peripheral perks for the group's members. But if the movement keeps spreading, there are signs it could threaten the financial and political cornerstones of the gun lobby. Still, the long-term effects are unknown.

After the Parkland shooting, a prominent City Council member in Dallas said the city no longer wants the NRA to hold its convention there in May, Fox News reported. But officials in Kansas and Nebraska have invited the gun group's business.

Florida Gov. Rick Scott and other Republicans have endorsed banning rifle sales to anyone under age 21  which the NRA opposes. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., on the other hand, at a recent CNN town hall this week said he would continue to accept political contributions from the gun rights group.

According to Business Insider, the NRA is funded largely by the gun industry, which has contributed tens of millions of dollars and helped the gun lobby build alliances and power networks across the U.S. political system.

The same industry, of course, also makes many off the hundreds of millions of guns believed to be in the country. So the most ambitious gun-control advocates would love to cut off that financial backing.

The Parkland shooting and its negative publicity caused the investment giant BlackRock to explore ways of letting its clients disinvest from gun companies, Bloomberg News reported. Teachers in Florida are pressuring their pension fund managers to do the same. But gun industry stocks are widely held. CNBC reported this week that some of Wall Street's largest exchange-traded funds include holdings in several gunmakers.

And investors may be hesitant to dump gunmakers' stocks as long as the companies remain lucrative.

New York Times financial columnist Andrew Ross Sorkin, five days after the Parkland shooting, made a proposal: Banks and credit companies could effectively ban assault weapons right now, simply by prohibiting customers from using their services to buy them.

Financial companies ban the purchase of products like cryptocurrency with credit cards, Sorkin wrote, and some executives were considering policies that would lead "assault weapons [to] be eliminated from virtually every firearms store in America because otherwise the sellers would be cut off from the credit card systems."

Gunmakers, of course, also use credit to make purchases, so banks could throttle them from the supply side, as well. Whether banks would do this, however, is in question. In 2012, Snopes investigated a report that Bank of America was cutting off credit lines to gun manufacturers. A spokeswoman for the bank denied the report, saying it had no policies against doing business with the firearms industry and pointing to a $250 million deal with a gunmaker that same month.

Six years later, amid the growing outrage from the Stoneman Douglas massacre, the bank sounds very different.

Axios reported on Saturday that Bank of America was "reexamining" its relationship with AR-15 rifle manufacturers who do business with it.

"We are joining other companies in our industry to examine what we can do to help end the tragedy of mass shootings," Bank of America said in a statement.



The Washington Post's Fred Barbash, Lindsey Bever, T.J. Ortenzi, Keith McMillan, Desikan Thirunarayanapuram and Steven Zeitchik contributed to this report.Author Steve Coll has covered Afghanistan for almost 30 years, an odyssey that began when The Washington Post dispatched him to India in 1989 to report on South Asia. His deep regional knowledge and dazzling investigative skills were showcased in his 2005 Pulitzer Prize-winning book "Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the C.I.A., Afghanistan, and Bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001," a best-selling chronicle of Afghanistans descent into violence and terrorism, beginning with the Soviet takeover of the remote country and ending the day before 9/11.

In 2011, Coll announced that he would write a sequel. That book was released Feb. 6, coincident with an ominous escalation of violence in Afghanistan. A recent BBC investigation estimates that the Taliban, the fundamentalist Islamist political group that harbored al-Qaida after the 9/11 attacks, threatens up to 70 percent of the country, and the fight has become more deadly with the entry of the Islamic State into the fray.

"Directorate S: the C.I.A. and Americas Secret Wars in Afghanistan and Pakistan" (Penguin Press, $35), is named for a wing of the Pakistani secret service that aids and supports the Taliban and other terrorist groups. It takes up the story after the U.S. victory over the Taliban in 2001, a moment of hope and optimism that descended into confusion and conflict as the U.S. became distracted from its Afghanistan mission by the war in Iraq, and as a corrosive mistrust developed between the Afghan government and the U.S.

Its deeply sourced  Coll, a New Yorker writer and dean of Columbia Universitys graduate school of journalism, conducted more than 550 interviews. Its sad, frightening and moving in its depiction of the human toll of the conflict. Coll answered questions about the book on the telephone: This is an edited version of the conversation.

Reading your book helped me appreciate the U.S. government employees, many in the CIA, who have sustained their commitment to solving the Afghanistan/Pakistan riddle, despite the horrors of the conflict and bureaucratic warfare between U.S. spies, the military and other officials. I imagine the rate of burnout must be tremendous. Why do they stick with it?

I think its out of affection for the country. Its a special place. It has suffered so much, and its suffered at the hand of outsiders.

Theres a generation (of Americans) that went on the hippie trails in the VW buses when Afghanistan was a peaceful, magical place. It was a country that didnt invade anyone and didnt have a lot of internal violence from 1910 to 1979. One of the binding forces of the national culture was poetry read on the radio. It had a jaw-dropping landscape and deep hospitality. And then this nightmare of the Soviet Unions making began; its been going on ever since.

I think every American who went over there was moved by the truth of the Afghan people who poured home after we defeated the Taliban (in 2001)  They thought wow. Were going to get our country back. A number of Americans were very sympathetic to that.

How did you get people on all sides of the conflict to talk to you? Why did officials in Pakistans secret service, the Inter-Service Intelligence agency (ISI), cooperate? What is their interest in seeing a comprehensive book like this published?

In "Ghost Wars" and in this volume, I have had an ambition to write with equal empathy across borders. I have such a long history, from the original accident of assignment (to South Asia), that  I can work with people. People know who I am, they have read my stuff.

I desperately want to get this as right as I can, since a lot of this information will remain classified (in the U.S.), and in Pakistan and Afghanistan there wont ever be any records. It will be as accessible and thorough a history as there will be for a while.

Your book shows how officers within the ISI have continued to support the Taliban in Afghanistan, despite numerous deadly attacks within Pakistan and on Pakistanis by branches of the Taliban operating there. What is the motivation?

The Pakistani officer class  and they are ultimately the directors of the spy service as well  have a proud nationalistic tradition. Theres a conviction that India is under every pillow, that its out to destroy Pakistan. Over the years that (belief) has become a rationale for army influence in Pakistani politics  the whole country has moved to the right as the years have gone by.

The practical reason is that Pakistan feels vulnerable to Afghanistan. They share a long and open border, and the people along the border dont even recognize its legitimacy. The fear is that without a buffer strategy of political influence, that India will use Afghanistan to destabilize Pakistan.

What is Indias role in Afghanistan?

Its nowhere near as significant as Pakistan thinks it is. It has had a long relationship with the Afghan government, and supported Afghanistan when the government was reconstituted in 2001. Its soft power  roads, hospitals, some military training. They dont want to  further provoke the paranoia of ISI. As long as we (the United States) are in there fighting the terrorists, they can free-ride on our military commitment.

Islam is the state religion of Pakistan  how does religious faith affect the motives of the ISI?

Its a very diverse officer corps. The junior officers are more pious; the senior officers are ardently nationalist, more nationalist than even 20 years ago, given the violence and pressure they have come under. When you talk nationalism youre talking about a country that was founded on the basis of Islam. I think Americans have always struggled to figure out how personal faith among Pakistani officers may affect their political judgment. The lazy way is to take them out for a drink. That doesnt work with these guys.

How do you see Afghanistans future unfolding?

Im not a great forecaster, but I dont think anything is likely to change. The presence of the U.S. military makes it very difficult for the Taliban to win. They dont have an air force, they dont have anti-aircraft weapons. They dont have the amazing technology of the opposition.

The Afghan government is stuck. In 40 percent or more of the countrys rural districts, the Taliban are embedded. They are present in other parts of the country where they dont have ethnic or religious roots  Its even more complicated, because now all this violence has created an ethnic polarization in the rest of the country, and theres a constitutional crisis in Kabul thats been going on for three-and-a-half years.I am en route back from Washington after spending the last three days at the American Conservative Unions annual CPAC event. I hadnt been to CPAC for a number of years, but it was much the same as I remember. Here are a few observations:

1) An event like this makes you feel better about the conservative movement. I have no idea how many attended, but it was a lot, and at least half the crowd was young. The event was held at the Gaylord Convention Center in Maryland, an enormous complex that is part of a development that has sprung up in the last few years.

2) I attended CPAC on behalf of Center of the American Experiment, the think tank/conservative activism center that I run. We had a booth in the Hub, where a wide range of organizations were exhibitors. Facebook had a booth, and Google advertised in the CPAC programboth organizations probably realizing that they need to mend fences with conservatives. Turning Point USA is a growing force in the conservative movement. This was their booth at the Hub:

3) The conferences highlight was President Trumps speech on Friday morning. My wife and daughter attended, along with the Center staffer who accompanied me. They all thought Trump was terrific, and were especially struck by how funny and entertaining he was. I didnt catch Trumps speech because I was filling in for Laura Ingraham on her radio show. Why? Because she, too, was speaking at CPAC that morning. I did hear significant chunks of the speech because we broadcast it live for a couple of segments, and I could also listen during breaks. The president spent the first half-hour or so talking about his administrations first-year achievements, which are indeed remarkable.

At one point a single demonstrator stood up and started yelling, just a couple of rows from where my wife and daughter were sitting. He was hustled out by security and immediately was drowned out by USA! cheers from the audience. In Lauras studio in D.C., I could see the cable news networks coverage. It was interesting to observe how CNN and MSNBC began to spin the speech and its reception the moment it was over.

On a personal note, broadcasting from Lauras very modern studio was fun for me, as I got to meet a producer and booker with whom I have long worked remotely.

4) CPAC always makes news, some of it of the fake variety. Thus, there were breathless reports that Mona Charen was booed during a panel on feminism and left the event with security, after she criticized conservatives for tolerating President Trump and Roy Moore. I attended the latter part of that session, and was present when she made those comments. They were booed by some and cheered by others; I confess that any reference she made to the president got by me, and I only caught her observations on Judge Moore. There was, in my view, nothing newsworthy either about Charens comments or about their reception by the crowd.

5) The panel on feminism was followed by an all-star panel on the topic #TrumpedUp: Unmasking the Deep State. It was moderated by Andy McCarthy and included Byron York, Sara Carter and Chuck Ross. The discussion was excellent, although most was familiar to obsessive followers of the news. McCarthy posed the question, why is it so hard to get to the bottom of the Obama scandals, with both Congress and the Department of Justice ostensibly in Republican hands? The answer, Andy thinks, is that bureaucratic imperatives appear to trump everything else, even with Trumps appointees.

There is hope, however: the DOJ Inspector Generals report, which will focus on the FBIs investigation of Hillarys server fiasco, is due in April or May. Twenty-seven leak investigations are ongoing, and Phase 2 of Devin Nuness investigation is under way as well. The House Intelligence Committee has posed questions to former Obama officials, and if they fail to respond they will be subpoenaed. This group includes John Brennan, James Comey and James Clapper. This brought a rousing ovation from the crowd.

Byron York made a great point: those who allegedly lied to the FBI during its Trump/Russia investigation are being criminally charged. On the other hand, people like Huma Abedin, Cheryl Mills and Hillary herself obviously lied to the FBI during the illegal server investigation. Those individuals apparently got nothing but the FBIs thanks for participating.

6) The foreign press always takes an interest in CPAC; it is an opportunity to study that exotic species, the American conservative. I gave a rather lengthy interview to a Swiss television station. I doubted that it would ever see the light of day, as my observations on President Trump, firearms and the conservative movement probably werent what they were looking for. But we had dinner with Paul Mirengoff last night, and he told us that his wife, who is French, saw a portion of the interview with me on French television. My daughter also was interviewed by the BBC, and they included a couple of sentence fragments from that interview in the story they did.

The bottom line, for me, is that spending three days in the company of conservatives, including legions of young people, gives hope for the future.As I quickly read the Dems memo proclaiming that everything was beautiful in the counterintelligence investigation of Russian election interference, I was struck by its argumentative nature. It is not a trustworthy document. It plays fast and loose with facts and argument. It refutes claims the Nunes memo didnt make. It liberally trashes Carter Page. It omits the testimony of Andrew McCabe on the critical role played by the Steele Dossier in the FBIs decision to seek a FISA warrant on Page. It vouches for the credibility of Christopher Steele, when the issue would be the credibility of his (alleged) anonymous alphabetized sources.

Whereas John Milton sought to justify the ways of God to men, the Democrats seek to justify the ways of James Comey to Americans. According to the Dems memo, the FBI achieved perfection in the case.

Whatever the FBI did, they somehow overlooked the assistance of the friends of Vladimir Putin to the Clinton campaign via the Perkins Coie law firm, Glenn Simpson/Fusion GPS, and Christopher Steele. And the sleuths of the FBI somehow failed to deduce the source of Michael Isikoffs September 23, 2016 Yahoo News story about the FBI investigation of Carter Page was their old friend Christopher Steele. This must count as part of the FBIs perfection in the eyes of the Democrats.

I posted the Democrats memo here and the response of Devin Nunes here. Here is additional reading on the Dems memo:

 Byron York, Washington Examiner: Assessing the new Democratic intel memo.

 Fred Fleitz, FOX News: Democrats new Russia memo is a political attack.

 Peter Hasson, Daily Caller: What the Democrats left out of their memo.

 Mark Wauck, Meaning in History: The Schiff memo and the scandal of FISAgate.

I should add once again that we badly need the FISA warrant application and related representations in renewal proceedings redacted and released.

UPDATE: To the readings above I would add this one, posted on Sunday evening:

 Andrew McCarthy, NR: The Schiff memo harms Democrats more than it helps them.( Read 3681 Times)

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Holi is a most popular festival in India. Holi, also known as - "festival of colors" or the "festival of love". It is one of the happiest religious Hindu festival celebrated with lots of preparations in the month of Phalgun. It gives us the message of all freely. There is no difference between the rich and the poor. A celebration of friendship and goodwill. On this occasion, we forget our old quarrels and mix with Holi related to the Hiranyakashyap, Prahlad, and Holika. Holi celebrations start on the night before Holi with a Holika bonfire where people gather, do religious rituals in front of the bonfire, and pray that their internal evil should be destroyed as the bonfire starts. The next morning is celebrated as Rangwali Holi - a free-for-all carnival of colors, where participants play, chase and color each other with dry powder and colored water, with some carrying water guns and colored water-filled balloons. At this day, people use red color or red abir which is not only a red color but it is the symbol of love and affection to each other. This is the festival when we see no difference among people as everyone looks colorful. It is the happiest festival especially for the kids as they get new clothes and people enjoy delicious foods and sweets. Phagwah or Deol in the Assam, Dol Purnima in the Bengal, Dol Jatra in the West Bengal, Fagu in the Nepal and etc according to the customs and traditions. The festival of colors in these parts is called Rangapanchami and occurs on the fifth day after Poornima. The festival also symbolizes a new beginning for Hindus to end conflicts and let go of emotional impurities from the past.Different PeopleDifferent ColourOne CelebrationWishing you a Happy & Colorful Holi!:- Priyanka Kothari( Read 4385 Times)

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Udaipur. The arrest of peasant leaders in Sikar and other parts of the state to suppress the movement demanding the waiver of all the loans given to the farmers is a fascist decision taken by the anti- people BJP government of Rajasthan. This was stated by all the leaders and workers of the left parties in Udaipur who demonstrated against the governments apathy towards the peasants at the gate of the collector s office of Udaipur on Tuesday. Addressing the demonstration the city secretary of CPI(M) Advocate Rajesh Singhvi said that the state government had agreed to waive loans up to Rs 50000 which would benefit 8 lakh farmers and to purchase groundnut, green gram and urad dal at minimum support price (MSP) at all district headquarters within 7 days, withdraw the hike in electricity rates for drip irrigation, pay the arrears of SC/ST/OBC scholarships immediately, relax the restrictions on the sale of cattle, take measures to protect crops from stray cattle and wild animals etc. The government had also agreed in principle to increase pension to Rs 2000 per month and write to the government of India seeking implementation of Swaminathan Commission recommendations on MSP.But all these promises have been simply hollow words after six months. Comrade Shanker Lal Choudhary, state committee member of CPI(ML) said that the budget provisions proposed by the state government have laid down such conditions that none of the promises made earlier can be fulfilled. He said that farmers will not be afraid and shall continue their struggle. Comrade Birdi Lal Chhanwal said that the jails of the state government will be flooded by the peasants and the government shall not be able to contain the peasants .The secretary of Loktantrik Adhikar evam Sadbhavna Manch Prof. Hemendra Chandalia said that the people of Rajasthan will teach a lesson to BJP in the coming elections. The demonstration was addressed by Comrade Mohan al Khokawat, district secretary of CPI(M), Dr. Chandra Dev Ola, district secretary of CPI (ML), Saurabh Naruka of AICCTU and many other leaders of the left parties.( Read 24577 Times)

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Banswara. ( Dr. Sulabha Kothari)The competence of communication in English is the key to empowerment of the youth of India. The youth of India are good at the contents of their core subjects but just because of their weakness in communication in English they lose many opportunities. This was stated by Prof. H.S.Chandalia, Chief Guest of the National Conference on Acquisition of Vocational Communication Competence organized by Government Engineering College, Banswara on Friday. He said that in a multicultural and multilingual country like India the more languages one knows the better it is. NO language is superior and no language is inferior, he said. One must acquire his mother tongue, learn the official language of the Union and also should learn English which is the language of opportunities since it is the language of governance as well as the language of world market. Prof. Chandalia said that Banswara is the richest part of the state in terms of its mineral resources, ecology and water resources, it is not a backward district. The youth must empower themselves with the necessary skills and make the best of it. Presiding over the Inaugural function Dr. Mahipal Singh Rao, Director Research, Govind Guru Tribal University said that language and communication skills come handy in a situation when you have no one around to seek help from. One can make his way in a foreign land with good communication skills. Dr. M.S.Wankhede, Nagpur addressed the audience as a guest of honour. He said that all the four basic skills of language are required for acquiring communication competence. The students must make an effort to acquire a command on all these skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing. Another guest of honour Prof. Rajesh Lidiya fro Rajasthan Technical University, Kota stated that Engineering students need to develop communication skills because this is what makes them employable. He said that 70% of the chance of absorption depends on communication skill and only 30% depends on subject knowledge. ADM Himmat Singh Barhat, Executive Engineer Deepak Shrivastav and Dr. Yeshpal also expressed their views. Lokesh Bhatt , Lecturer in Siddhi College, Sagwara, who had obtained a doctorate in English was felicitated by the organizing body. Dr. Shiv Lal , Principal of the college, presented a report on the pioneering steps taken and targets achieved during his tenure. He said that events like the conference will add to the efforts in the image building of the institution. Dr. Sulbha Kothari convened the programme. The inaugural function was followed by two technical sessions in which twenty four delegates made their presentations. One session was chaired by Prof. H.S.Chandalia and Co-chaired by Dr. Mehzbeen Sadriwala while the other session was chaired by Prof. M.S.Wankhede. Post lunch technical sessions were held in which more than thirty papers were presented. Dr. Shiv Lal, Principal of the college told that this was the second conference in two months. Earlier in December an international conference was organized by the college.Apollo Hospitals to train Paramedics from Africa

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Udaipur. Further strengthening India-Africa ties in healthcare, the Apollo Hospitals Group announced the commencement of a specialized training program for paramedical staff from nine African countries. Previously, the hospital chain had trained over 100 medical doctors from 24 African countries at its five facilities in New Delhi, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bangalore and Ahmedabad.

The move comes as the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India and African national governments look to further deepen ties in capacity building and training of health workers in multiple African nations. This follows the over two decade long engagement between India and Africa along with health partners like Apollo to strengthen health systems across the continent. The MEA had previously collaborated with Apollo to start the first of its kind training program for medical doctors to ensure the successful commencement of a long-term commitment to training of healthcare professionals. The program was well received by the participants and Governments alike and has helped establish a successful public-private partnership to train the healthcare workforce.

Commenting on the training program, Dr. NeenaMalhotra, Joint Secretary (E&SA), Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India said, This program is aligned to our composite engagement with African nations in diverse fields including health and education. The program, which began with doctors, will help strengthen the health systems of participating nations and it was our endeavor to expand it to other healthcare professionals. The training of paramedical staff is a natural and welcome progression. We remain committed to capacity building in the African continent and would encourage our African partners to fully utilize this program. The new batch of 25 paramedical staff will come from nine African countries - Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, Sao Tome & Principe, Seychelles, Sudan, South Sudan, Tanzania and Zambia. Speaking on the launch of the training program, Dr. K Hariprasad, President - Hospitals Division, Apollo Hospitals Group, said, This training program highlights the further deepening of the ties between MEA, Apollo and African Governments to strengthen healthcare human resources in the continent. We are thankful to the MEA and African Governments for entrusting us with this responsibility. Our commitment to the continent to strengthen its health systems, provide medical care of highest quality and partner shoulder to shoulder in the rise of Africa remains steadfast. We hope that the training provided will benefit the health system and nationals of the delegate countries. The Apollo Hospitals has been engaged with the African continent for over two decades with regular clinical engagements, doctor visits, partnerships with national and regional health ministries and Governments, knowledge exchange and capacity building initiatives. The Group has further strengthened doctor-doctor and patient-doctor engagement through the successful deployment of Telemedicine and e-health initiatives across the continent. The Group was part of the Pan African e-Network Project successfully launched by the Government of India in the past.





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Got news tips, gossip, suggestions, complaints?E-mail us: progressivecharlestown@gmail.com We strive to avoid errors in our articles. Our correction policy can be found hereWashington, Feb 21 : Pyongyang cancelled "at the last minute" a meeting with US Vice President Mike Pence scheduled to be held during the PyeongChang Winter Olympics in South Korea, Washington has said.

US State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert in a statement on Tuesday said that during Pence's visit, "the possibility arose of a brief meeting with the North Korean delegation leaders," but at the last minute, the North Korean officials "decided not to go forward with the meeting. We regret their failure to seize this opportunity," she said.

Nauert's statement came after The Washington Post published an exclusive about North Korea cancelling the meeting with Pence.

On February 10, less than two hours before Pence and his team were to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's sister Kim Yo-jong and North Korea's nominal head of state Kim Yong-nam, Pyongyang pulled out of the scheduled meeting, according to Pence's office.

The North Korean decision to withdraw from the meeting came after Pence used his trip to denounce the North's nuclear ambitions and announce the "toughest and most aggressive" sanctions yet against the regime, while also taking steps to further solidify the US alliance with Japan and South Korea, the Post reported.

The cancellation also came as the North Korean leader, through his sister, invited South Korean President Moon Jae-in to Pyongyang for talks.

Kim's call for Moon to hold talks would likely cause consternation in Washington, where the Trump administration has been leading a campaign to put "maximum pressure" on the North Korean regime to give up its nuclear programme.

Pence's actions and rhetoric in the run-up to the Olympics contrasted with the image of progress being promoted by the South Koreans, who would have been eager to involve the US in direct talks with the North.

The North's state-run Korean Central News Agency had unleashed a torrent of vitriol against the Vice President, saying that "Pence must know that his frantic acts of abusing the sacred Olympics for confrontational ruckus are as foolish and stupid an act as sweeping the sea with a broom".

Pence's stony demeanor and ramrod posture at the Opening Ceremonies earned snarky reviews in the South Korean media, with some grousing that he had snubbed the North Koreans and even disrespected the Olympic Games.Kolkata, Feb 22 : Border Security Force personnel on Thursday seized foreign currency worth $30,000 from West Bengal's Krishnanagar sector but failed to arrest the smuggler, a BSF official said.

Acting on a tip off about smuggling of foreign currency in the area, BSF troopers from Vijaypur outpost laid an ambush along the India-Bangladesh border and challenged a motorcyclist on Thursday morning.

"BSF tried to stop the motorcycle rider but he ran away towards the Indian side of the fence leaving behind his two wheeler and a few packets.

"On thorough search the troopers recovered two packets of foreign currency worth $30,000 (Rs. 19.5 lakh) from the area," Deputy Inspector General of BSF's south Bengal frontier RPS Jaswal said in a statement.

"The seized currency and the motorcycle have been handed over to the customs officials in Banpur for further legal action," he added.Mogadishu, Feb 24 : At least 18 people have been killed and 20 others injured in twin bomb attacks in Somali capital Mogadishu, officials said.

Aamin Ambulance Director Abdukadir Abdirahman said 18 people died in Friday's twin bombings, one of which targetted the presidential palace, Xinhua news agency reported.

"I can confirm to you that we have recorded 18 bodies. Another 20 were injured and we have transported them to various hospitals in the city," Abdirahman said.

Somali security forces managed to thwart an attack at the presidential palace, repulsing militants pushing to enter the compound. A vehicle loaded with explosives exploded near Villa Somalia as security forces pursued it.

Earlier, police told Xinhua security forces manning Villa Somalia repulsed militants who were trying to storm into the palace, killing three of them.

"They tried to storm into Villa Somalia but our forces fought them back. The forces were pursuing the vehicle as it headed towards the palace but exploded before reaching the target," police officer Ahmed Abdulle told Xinhua.

The first explosion went off at around 6 p.m. on Friday, when a vehicle loaded with explosives hit the newly opened Dorbin hotel, near the intelligence headquarters.

A second explosion went off shortly after near Villa Somalia.

Witnesses recounted of the turn of the events.

"We heard a huge explosion followed by a lot of gunfire near the parliament building. We were told Sayidka hotel was being attacked," Yasmin Mohamed said.

Militant group Al-Shabaab has claimed responsibility for the attack, which came barely a day after Security Minister Mohamed Islow warned of a minivan loaded with explosives in Mogadishu.

Security forces have in the past week cordoned off roads and launched major security operations in the city amid reports of an impending attack.New Delhi, Feb 24 : Close on the heels of a massive Rs 11,300 crore PNB scam, three fresh financial frauds have come to light including the alleged involvement of a Delhi-based jeweller, who has been accused of defrauding the Oriental Bank of Commerce (OBC) to the tune of about Rs 390 crore through Letters of Credit.

The fresh exposure provided Congress President Rahul Gandhi an opportunity to attack Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying that like Vijay Mallya and Nirav Modi, these promoters have also disappeared while the government looked the other way.

On Thursday, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) registered a case against Delhi's Karol Bagh-based diamond jewellery exporting firm Dwarka Das Seth International for an alleged bank loan fraud of Rs 389.85 crore involving the Oriental Bank of Commerce (OBC).

The agency on Wednesday filed a case against businessman Amit Singla and others on a complaint of the Bank of Maharashtra (BoM) of criminal misappropriation of a loan he had taken through forged documents.

The same day, the agency also filed a case against Inder Chand Chundawat, the then Senior Branch Manager in the Punjab National Bank's (PNB) Barmer office in Rajasthan, for alleged abuse of his official position by depositing various government subsidies to the tune of Rs 1.57 crore in a fictitious account. The official was suspended following an internal inquiry.

Last week, the banking sector was rocked by major financial frauds -- involving Rs 11,300 crore by diamantaire Nirav Modi and Rs 3,695 crore by Rotomac owner Vikram Kothari -- surfaced in which the CBI has filed cases and made several arrests.

After the PNB and the Bank of Baroda, the OBC, BoM and Barmer office of the PNB rushed to the CBI with their complaints of fraud, leading to the agency filing three separate cases.

The OBC has alleged that it was defrauded by Dwarka Das Seth International and its owner Sabhya Seth. The loans turned into non-performing assets (NPAs) way back in 2014, but the bank approached the agency on August 16 last year, after the company had folded up and Seth fled the country.

The CBI has started tracing India-based directors and partners of the company.

The OBC complaint has alleged that Dwarka Das Seth International took loans by way of letters of credit and other such credit facilities for gold jewellery export/import between 2007 and 2012 but failed to pay back.

A probe by the bank found that the company had indulged in round-tripping of funds through fictitious companies abroad and had utilised funds by discounting bills based on the letters of credit of foreign banks, which were either non-existent or had negative ratings.

Similarly, BoM has approached the CBI to lodge a loan default complaint against a Delhi businessman Amit Singla. The loan had turned into an NPA in 2013 and the bank has even sold a property kept as collateral to recover its dues, sources said.

The BoM's FIR names Singla, the proprietor of Delhi-based Ashirwad Chain Co, loan guarantor Roshan Lal Bhalotia, property valuation firm Tech Mach International and unknown officials of the bank.

It is alleged that Singla and his company took loans of Rs 9.5 crore through cash credit facility from the bank between 2010 and 2012. The accused allegedly submitted three properties in Delhi and Haryana as collaterals. The properties, at the time of taking the loan, were valued at over Rs 18 crore by Tech Mach International.

But, after the loans turned into NPAs, the actual market value of the properties were found to be only Rs 2.5 crore. One of the properties, a double-storied house owned by Roshan Lal in Rohtak, Haryana, was valued at Rs 4.85 crore while sanctioning the loan. When the bank sold it off to recover its dues, it fetched only Rs 73 lakh.

Similarly, a commercial property owned by the accused at Chandni Chowk in Delhi was valued by Tech Mach at the time of disbursal of the loans at Rs 4.95 crore, but it was actually worth Rs 31 lakh only. Tech Mach was later removed from the panel of valuers by the bank.

In the complaint, the BoM said: "The overvalued valuations were deliberately given in connivance with the borrowers and the guarantors ... to fraudulently induce the bank to finance the borrower."

The FIR also alleged that Singla had submitted inflated stock audit reports and balance sheets, apart from diverting the loans to sister concerns.

In the light of the emergence of three fresh cases of fraud, Rahul Gandhi attacked the Prime Minister.

"Under Modiji's 'Jan-Dhan Loot Yojana', another scam! 390 crore, involving a Delhi-based jeweller. Same Modus operandi as Nirav Modi. Fake LOUs," wrote Gandhi in Twitter.

"Predictably, like Mallya and Nirav, this promoter too has disappeared while the Govt looked the other way," he added with hashtag #ModiRobsIndia.

Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said on Saturday the discourse needed to move on from ease of doing business to that of Indian industry's responsibility to become ethical in the way it does business.

He said political corruption at the Centre had "reduced significantly" after the ruling NDA government ended the administration's discretionary powers in awarding contracts and allocation of resources.

The sale of electoral bonds from next week, he added, would be a decisive step in cleaning up the system of political funding in the country.

On Friday, Modi spoke about the bank fraud for the first time at the ET Global Business Summit saying government would take "stern action" against irregularities.United Nations, Feb 25 : UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has welcomed the adoption of a Security Council resolution that demands a 30-day ceasefire in Syria.

"The Secretary-General welcomes the Security Council's adoption of a resolution demanding a cessation of hostilities throughout Syria for at least 30 days," Stephane Dujarric, Guterres' spokesman, said in a statement on Saturday, Xinhua news agency reported.

"The Secretary-General stresses his expectation that the resolution will be immediately implemented and sustained, particularly to ensure the immediate, safe, unimpeded and sustained delivery of humanitarian aid and services, the evacuation of the critically sick and wounded and the alleviation of the suffering of the Syrian people."

The secretary-general reminds all parties of their absolute obligation under international humanitarian and human rights law to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure at all times. Similarly, efforts to combat terrorism do not supersede these obligations, it said.

Resolution 2401 was adopted unanimously by the Security Council on Saturday after two weeks of tough negotiations against the backdrop of escalating violence in the country, particularly in Eastern Ghouta, the last major rebel enclave near Damascus.

The resolution demands an immediate cessation of hostilities for "a durable humanitarian pause for at least 30 consecutive days throughout Syria" to enable the safe, unimpeded and sustained delivery of humanitarian aid and services and medical evacuations of the critically sick and wounded.

It demands that, immediately after the start of the cessation of hostilities, all parties shall allow safe, unimpeded and sustained access each week for UN and partners' humanitarian convoys, including medical and surgical supplies, to all people in need in all parts of Syria, in particular to hard-to-reach and besieged locations.

It further demands that, immediately after the start of the cease-fire, all parties shall allow the United Nations and its implementing partners to undertake safe, unconditional medical evacuations, based on medical need and urgency.

The resolution also demands the immediate lifting of sieges on populated areas, including Eastern Ghouta.Tehran, Feb 25 : South Korea will invest in the construction of a solar power plant in Zarandieh county in Iran, the media reported.

A South Korean delegation visited the solar power plant site in Markazi province, the official with the Zarandieh Governorate, Mohammad Ghanati, told IRNA news agency on Saturday, Xinhua reported.

An area of 28 hectares has been allocated for the implementation of the project, Ghanati was quoted as saying.

The South Korean side will finance $44 million, which amounts to 70 per cent of the total investment, and the Iranian side will undertake the rest, he said.

The power plant with a production capacity of 17 megawatts of electricity will be constructed in 15 months.New Delhi : "Arre, maine kuch achieve nahi kiya (I havent achieved anything)... Theres a long way to go. I feel my career has just started. Haan... let me tell you that," said Sridevi, laughing.

Sridevi's lilting laughter -- much like her screen presence, beauty, grace and unmatchable talent -- lingers on as I remember my last conversation, in November 2017, with the actress, who spent 50 of her 54 years of life living the cinematic dream.

"I feel like a newcomer. I feel that my career is going to start now. It's not finished, It's going to start now," she asserted, dismissing any desire to treat her fans to an autobiography replete with stories from her glorious life -- starting as a child actor at four to superstardom in India.

Born in Sivakasi in Tamil Nadu on August 13, 1963, Sridevi began her career at the age of four in the devotional film "Thunaivan". That marked the beginning of a journey in filmdom that saw her work across Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and Hindi productions, leading her to become one of the most formidable actresses of the 1980s and 1990s in Bollywood -- in fact, the only female "superstar" the industry has seen.

As filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma put it, "She was like a creation of God which he does whenever he is in a very special mood as a very, very special gift to mankind."

Sridevi grew up to be known for not just her ability for slip into myriad roles -- whether the double role in "ChaalBaaz", as a woman with retrograde amnesia in "Sadma", a shape-shifting woman in "Nagina", a goofy crime journalist in "Mr. India", the warm mother act in "English Vinglish" or the fierce and revengeful mom in "Mom" -- but also for her expressive eyes, sheer comic timing and her fluid dancing skills, all of which made her a director's delight.

"Hawaa hawai", "Main teri dushman", "Morni", "Na jaane kahan se aayi ha"", "Mere haathon mein" are some of the iconic and classic dance numbers which gave cinema fans a chance to see the dancing talent of Sridevi.

As filmmaker Subhash Ghai, who directed her in "Karma", said: "Introvert by nature, she was electricity with thunder in front of the camera. She would shock directors with each shot -- be it dance, drama or romance. She was uncrowned queen of acting in all languages in her time."

In 2013, the government feted her with the Padma Shri, the country's fourth-highest civilian award. Her work was widely lauded with a slew of other richly-deserved honours.

Sridevi, who over the years became quite a fashion icon -- sometimes giving tough competition to her daughters -- commanded popularity like few others.

"Her popularity and stardom had to be seen to be believed. We were shooting for the climax in Nandyal for 'Kshana Kshanam' and the whole of Nandyal came to a standstill when they came to know that Sridevi was in town.

"Banks, government offices, schools, colleges everything in town closed as everyone wanted to see Sridevi," Ram Gopal Varma recounted in a tribute after the sudden demise of the actress in Dubai late Saturday of a cardiac arrest.

Sridevi could also be extraordinarily warm and compassionate.

Co-producer K. Ramji of Tina Films International, told IANS: "In 1986, while shooting for 'Sindoor', the heroine Neelam Kothari was staying in the same hotel as Sridevi. Neelam was a great fan and wanted to meet her, but was apprehensive about approaching an established star like Sridevi.

"Finally, when she took courage and entered her room, Sridevi got up to receive and welcome her, commented on Neelam's lustrous hair and they became instant friends."

In an industry where women beyond a certain age struggle to find roles, a 50-plus Sridevi proved she still had it in her when she carried two films -- her "comeback" vehicle "English Vinglish" and last year's "Mom" -- on her shoulders.

The 2012 film "English Vinglish" marked her return to films 15 years after the 1997 movie "Judaai". And what a comeback it was - playing the role of a traditional Indian housewife's struggle with the English language in the US, she was simply outstanding.

In real life, she was indeed a "purely traditional housewife -- a great mother and perfect host for guests at home", says Ghai.

A mother of two daughters, Janhvi and Khushi, whom she had with husband Boney Kapoor, Sridevi was as doting as a mom could get. She was excited for Janhvi's upcoming debut "Dhadak", just months away from its release.

Confident of the upbringing she gave her daughters, Sridevi said: "Janhvi has chosen this path and profession, and I have been in this industry for long. So I am mentally more prepared than her. She has been watching me, and knows what she is getting into.

"Nothing is going to be a cakewalk in any profession. So you have to work hard, and there will be challenges. I'm sure she is ready for it."

And to cite the unpredictability of life, who knew Sridevi wouldn't be there to see her daughter take baby steps into a world where she was the uncrowned queen for so many years.

(Radhika Bhirani can be contacted at radhika.b@ians.in)Guwahati, Feb 25 : Accusing the BJP of playing the politics of religion, senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad on Sunday said the party had been entering the people's kitchen to see what meat they were eating.

"They have gone to the kitchens of people or hostels to see what meat is being eaten or kept in the fridges there. That has never been the responsibility of the ruling party in India," he said at a press conference here after returning from Meghalaya, where polls will be held on February 27 along with Nagaland.

"Ours is a country with diversity. India is not used to such interferences by the government on people's food habits or who goes to a temple, mosque, church, or gurdwara," Azad said.

He also accused the Bharatiya Janata Party of forming the government in Manipur by misusing constitutional offices.

"They are somehow managing the governments in these two states with borrowed leaders. Now they are using muscle and money power to win elections in Meghalaya, Nagaland and Tripura," the former Union Minister said.

Referring to a presser by four Judges of the Supreme Court in Delhi over the functioning of the apex court, he said: "It is perhaps the first time in the history of the world that four Judges have to speak to save democracy in the country."

He said the BJP had done great injustice to the country, particularly the northeastern states.

"The previous United Progressive Alliance government earmarked the northeastern states as special category states, which entitled them to 90 per cent central grants for most projects. However, the BJP has removed these states from special category," Azad said while appealing to the Nagaland and Meghalaya voters to carefully exercise their franchise.New Delhi, Feb 25 : The CBI on Sunday registered a bank fraud cases against a Uttar Pradesh based private sugar company, its top officials along with unknown bank officials for allegedly causing loss of Rs 109 crore to Oriental Bank of Commerce, officials said.

According to Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) officials, the Hapur-based Simbhaoli Sugars Ltd in 2011 fraudulently diverted funds received as loans for sugarcane farmers and self help groups.

CBI also conducted searches at offices of the company and residences of its officials at eight places, including one location each in Hapur and Noida, and six locations in Delhi.

"Searches are being conducted at eight premises including residences of Directors, factory, corporate office and registered office of the company in Delhi, Hapur and Noida," CBI spokesperson Abhishek Dayal told IANS.

The agency has named the company's Chairman and Managing Director, its Directors, CEO, Chief Financial Officer and unknown bank officials and other private persons, under charges of criminal conspiracy, cheating, forgery slapping sections under Prevention of Corruption Act for causing loss to the bank.

Officials said that the Bank sanctioned a loan amounting to Rs 148.60 crore in 2011 to the private company for financing individual, Joint Liability Groups, Self-Help Groups under the tie-up arrangement under the RBI Scheme to 5,762 sugarcane farmers supplying sugar produce to said private company during the period from January 25 to March 13, 2012. It has been alleged that the company has diverted funds for personal use.

According to complaint, the account turned Non Performing Asset (NPA) on March 31, 2015 and was later declared as alleged fraud by the bank to RBI on May 13, 2015 for an amount of Rs 97.85 crore.

It was further alleged that in addition to the existing NPA as on March 31, 2015, the bank, under multiple banking arrangements, had sanctioned another corporate loan of Rs 110 crore to the sugar company on January 28, 2015, to pay its outstanding loan of Rs 97.85 crore, and adjusted the total liability of Rs. 112.9 crore of said private company on June 30, 2016 by way of deposit of this new corporate loan.

The corporate loan, too turned into an NPA on November 29, 2016, thus resulting in its first outstanding loan of Rs 97.85 crore (as alleged fraud) and the corporate loan of Rs 109.08 crore (as fresh outstanding).

CBI is now investigating the matter, officials said.Jaipur, Feb 25 : A meeting of the Kirad Mahasabha held in Kota on Sunday witnessed a melee for some time after Sadhna Singh, wife of Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, was named its President.

The 11th convention of the body was addressed by Chouhan as also Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje Scindia, who was the chief guest on the occasion.

The trouble started when a group of persons present at the function did not appreciate the announcement made at the fag end of the convention about Chouhan's wife Sadhna Singh becoming the mahasabha chief, creating a ruckus for a while.

However, police presence helped the situation from turning ugly, informed sources said. The event was chaired by Chouhan.

Earlier, speaking at the convention, she talked of ambitious schemes introduced in the state for the welfare of farmers and growth of villages.

"Loans of Rs 50,000 have been waived off, which will benefit 25 lakh farmers in Rajasthan," she added.New Delhi, Feb 25 : The Indian military's Andaman and Nicobar Command is going to host biennial multinational naval event 'Milan-2018' at Port Blair from March 6 to March 13 with the underlying theme of "friendship across the seas", it was announced on Sunday.

The event will see a mix of professional exercises and seminars, social events and sporting fixtures. The inaugural address will be delivered by Navy chief, Admiral Sunil Lanba.

The social interactions planned during Milan 2018 include display by Indian army and navy bands, ship visits and colourful cultural evenings. Several events will be open to the public including displays by sky diving team, Beating the Retreat and naval continuity drill, an official release said.

An International City Parade will be held along the Marina Park Road, with marching contingents from all participating foreign naval ships as well as the Indian armed forces.

The parade will include a flypast and aerobatic display by military aircraft and demonstrations of various military operations. Besides, visiting foreign ships will also be open for visits by school children and local public. Milan-2018 will culminate with passage exercise at sea by all the participating naval ships.

"Milan 2018 aims to showcase the rich heritage and pristine natural beauty of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands to the foreign visitors," the release said.

Besides fostering co-operation through naval exercises and professional interactions, the event is also aimed at providing an opportunity to the participating navies to come together in a spirit of collaboration to nurture stronger ties.

"The growing participation over the years bears testimony to the success of this multilateral initiative. From an event of sub-regional context started in 1995, Milan has now grown into a prestigious international event and encompasses participation by maritime forces from not just the Bay of Bengal and South East Asia but the larger Indian Ocean Region (IOR)," it said.

The interactions during Milan encompass sharing of views and ideas on maritime good order and enhancing regional cooperation for combating unlawful activities at sea.

The theme of this year's Milan International Maritime Seminar is "In Pursuit of Maritime Good Order -- Need for Comprehensive Information Sharing Apparatus".

The Indian Navy has also appealed to the public in Port Blair to "reach out to the visiting navies and make their stay a memorable one".Baghdad, Feb 26 : An Iraqi court has sentenced 16 Turkish women to death for joining the militant group Islamic State (IS), a judicial spokesman said.

Abdul Sattar al-Biraqdar, spokesman for Iraq's Supreme Judicial Council, said on Sunday the convicted women confessed that they married IS militants and provided them logistical support, Xinhua news agency reported.

Biraqdar added that all the sentences are preliminary and subject to review by the Court of Cassation.

Last week, the court issued a verdict of death penalty for a female Turkish citizen and issued 10 verdicts of life sentences for other women from different countries, according to an earlier statement by Biraqdar.

On Thursday, the Iraqi authorities handed over four women and 27 children from IS families to Russia, after being cleared of charges of involvement in terrorist operations against civilians or security forces, Iraqi Foreign Ministry said.

Also on Thursday, an Iraqi newspaper reported that more than 1,500 foreign women and children from the families of IS militants are being held by the Iraqi authorities, which are coordinating with the countries of origin to decide their fate.

Saad al-Hadithi, spokesman of Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi's media office, confirmed that all "foreign nationals who committed crimes and violations against the people of Iraq, whether directly or by supporting the terrorist IS militants, will be subject to the Iraqi law."

"This also applies to foreign women (of IS families) who committed such actions inside the Iraqi territories," Hadithi said.

After the Iraqi forces defeated IS in Iraq in 2017, hundreds of IS loyalists were killed or captured, while many others are still at large in hideouts in Iraq or abroad.The time to act is now. Thoughts and prayers for victims and families are simply not enough. We need the will of Congressional leadership to lead.

American Academy of Nursing Calls for National Commission on Mass Shootings

Today, the American Academy of Nursing urges Congressional leadership to launch a bipartisan National Commission on Mass Shootings within the next thirty days.

The time to act is now. Thoughts and prayers for victims and families are simply not enough. We need the will of Congressional leadership to lead, said Karen Cox, PhD, RN, FAAN, President of the American Academy of Nursing and Executive Vice President/COO, Children's Mercy Kansas City. We need common sense gun laws.

The American Academy of Nursing recommends the National Commission on Mass Shootings should be charged with identifying strategies for:

1. Creating a universal system for background checks designed to highlight an applicants history of dangerousness and require that all purchasers of firearms complete a background check.

2. Strengthening laws so that high-risk individuals, including those with emergency,temporary, or permanent protective or restraining orders or those with convictions for family violence, domestic violence and/or stalking are prohibited from purchasing firearms.

3. Banning the future sale, importation, manufacture, or transfer of assault weapons,incorporating a more carefully crafted definition of the term semiautomatic assault weapon to reduce the risk that the law can be evaded.

4. Ensuring that health care professionals are unencumbered and fully permitted to fulfill their role in preventing firearm injuries by health screening, patient counseling, and referral to mental health services for those with high risk danger behaviors.

5. Focusing federal restrictions of gun purchase for persons on the dangerousness of the individual and fully funding federal incentives for states to provide information about dangerous histories to the National Instant Check System for gun buyers.

6. Supporting enriched training of health care professionals to assume a greater role in preventing firearm injuries by health screening.

7. Researching the causes of and solutions to firearm violence.

# # #

About the American Academy of Nursing

The American Academy of Nursing (http://www.AANnet.org) serves the public and the nursing profession by advancing health policy and practice through the generation, synthesis, and dissemination of nursing knowledge. The Academy's more than 2,400 fellows are nursing's most accomplished leaders in education, management, practice, and research. They have been recognized for their extraordinary contributions to nursing and healthcare.

CONTACT:

Barry Eisenberg

202-777-1174

Barry_Eisenberg@aannet.orgDowntown Chicago City Model in Infraworks software using CyberCity 3D Buildings We are constantly looking for tools and resources that help our clients create better designs with data

MasterGraphics.aec (MG.aec), the Madison, Wisconsin-headquartered firm has offices in Milwaukee, Chicago, Minneapolis, Denver and Spokane., who is a leading systems integrator to the AEC, building and civil construction industries, today announced its new reseller partnership with CyberCity 3D, Inc. (CC3D). CC3D is a global leader in modeling and streaming 3D content for smart cities and organizations that build them.

Based in Los Angeles County CA, CC3Ds patented, high-resolution, 3D models created from stereo imagery establish the foundation of MG.aecs new, subscription-based service. MG.aec pairs these smart buildings with a network of platform partners to bring new depth to 3D mapping. From analysis and monitoring to city-wide asset management, these blazing fast 3D maps work in all environments including desktops, tablets and mobile devices.

We are constantly looking for tools and resources that help our clients create better designs with data, stated Scott Bailey, Principal of MG.aec. Were excited to be one of the first CyberCity 3D reseller partners in the United States, and we look forward to offering the companys solutions to our client base.

MG.aecs passion for streamlining work flows to assist their clients in designing, building, and anticipating future needs makes it a perfect match for CyberCity 3D, Inc.

Its advantageous to add this strong partner, MG.aec, to our team, noted Kevin DeVito Chief Executive Officer at CyberCity 3D, Inc. This collaboration will extend our customer reach, enabling more AEC industry clients to utilize our second-to-none 3D buildings to elevate their projects to new heights. In addition, our interoperable 3D buildings work on all commercial formats, and can easily be streamedincreasing their value to MG.aecs clients.

About MasterGraphics.aec

MasterGraphics.aec has been a leading provider of design technology, consulting, and solutions for the AEC Industry for over 75 years, with offices in the Midwest, West and Pacific Northwest. Serving as a trusted partner to its clients, MG.aec helps streamline workflows to better design, build or re-imagine spaces while remaining nimble to anticipate future changes in expectations. For more information, visit http://www.mg-aec.com.

About CyberCity 3D, Inc.

CyberCity 3D, Inc. (http://www.cybercity3d.com) is a state-of-the-art 3D geospatial modeling company specializing in 3D GIS buildings. Based in Southern California, the Company provides best-in-class information for the built environment. CC3D empowers your projects with accurate 3D city models boasting nearly unlimited uses. Our 3D GIS models also provide invaluable attribute information to assist in urban planning and analysis, visualization, real estate, solar, rainwater, and sustainability.Author Mardi Jo Link "I believe that writing is a craft, like mechanics, graphic design, and carpentry. Practice makes you better at it. Quantity is absolutely necessary for quality to be achieved."

Visiting Writers Series Presents Mardi Jo Link on March 28 and 29

Kalamazoo Valley's Visiting Writers series hosts author Mardi Jo Link on Wednesday, March 28 and Thursday, March 29 in the Student Commons Theater at the Texas Township campus. She will read from her work from 10 to 10:45 a.m. both days and shell present craft talks from 2:15 to 3 p.m.

Link is the author of the non-fiction books When Evil Came to Good Hart and Isadore's Secret, winner of the Michigan Notable Book Award. Other books include two memoirs, Bootstrapper: From Broke to Badass on a Northern Michigan Farm and The Drummond Girls: A Story of Fierce Friendship Beyond Time and Chance as well as numerous stories and articles in a variety of publications.

She studied journalism at Michigan State University and earned a Master of Fine Arts degree from Queens University of Charlotte. She has been a newspaper reporter, magazine editor, and a freelance journalist. The Detroit native is married with three grown sons.

When Link comes to Kalamazoo, she will have just finished a month-long position as Journalism Fellow in the Traverse City Public Schools teaching reporting to a class of juniors and seniors at the Career-Tech Center. Im also working on something brand new for me, a podcast, which will bring attention to the re-release of my first book, When Evil Came to Good Hart, Link said. In April of this year the University of Michigan Press is releasing a special tenth anniversary edition of that book with a new afterword. And, Im in the throes of researching a new memoir about my family history.

During her talks in Kalamazoo, Link said she plans to help demystify the writing and publishing process for students. Here is the biggest lesson I can offer, she said. You are not supposed to know what you are doing. That is the essence of being a writer - to learn what you are doing, what you are writing, who you are, who your characters are, what the story is - by writing it!

Link said her audience can expect some very real stories about getting published, about the writers life, and about the resolve required to make writing a life-long practice.

She tells new writers to remain true to themselves. Be as much like yourself as you can, she advises. Be more like yourself in your writing than you are in your real life if you can. As Oscar Wilde said, Everyone else is already taken. Your voice as a writer is your very best asset. Dont dilute it, or smother it by trying to write like or sound like someone else. Be honest but gentle in your criticism of yourself and your writing. The whole world is ready and willing to edit you. When youre just starting out, dont give the world any help. Dont edit yourself too harshly. Instead, be your own encourager in chief.

Link believes everything can be considered valid fodder for a writer. All your writing experience fits in somewhere, she said. Journals, lists, letters, school assignments, it all adds to your skill level. I believe that writing is a craft, like mechanics, graphic design, and carpentry. Practice makes you better at it. Quantity is absolutely necessary for quality to be achieved.

Kalamazoo Valley English instructor Rob Haight coordinates the Visiting Writers series to give students and community members an opportunity to talk with professional writers and listen to their work. Haight has written three books of poetry and said he thinks its important for writers to collaborate. Writing communities tend to be proactive for everyone concerned, he said, noting that a number of Kalamazoo Valley alumni have gone on to become successful writers.

To prepare for Links visit, many English classes at Kalamazoo Valley will read her memoir Bootstrapper: From Broke to Badass on a Northern Michigan Farm as a book in common for the winter semester.

Links presentations are free and open to the public. For more information, contact Rob Haight at rhaight(at)kvcc(dot)edu or 269.488.4452 or go to https://www.kvcc.edu/campuslife/visitingwriters/.

For more information contact

Rob Haight, Instructor

Kalamazoo Valley Community College

rhaight(at)kvcc(dot)edu or 269.488.4452Welcome Guest! You Are Here:Speaking at Somanya in the Eastern Region on Saturday, Mr Mahama said there was no dispute about the concept of free education and that it is the mode of implementation that continue to divide opinions.

He refuted claims his criticism of the programme makes him a doomsayers, urging the government to be open to suggestions from opponents on the policy.

"I want to tell Nana Addo that it is not too late to hold a national stakeholders conference on free Senior High School. We all agree on the concept of free senior high school, where we differ is about progressively," he said.

He added: "Someone decides we want to implement it within three years, we don't have enough dormitories, we don't have enough classrooms, we don't have enough textbooks, we don't have enough laboratories, we don't have enough dinning halls, we don't have enough administration blocks, and yet we say in three years, for a programme that is so fundamental, you have no policy, two, you have no guidelines, you are just implementing it in an adhoc manner and we say, slowdown.

"Bring parents, bring teachers, bring political parties, bring the religious leaders, bring the chiefs, bring the headmasters, bring all of us together and let us decide on how we can implement it and resolve the problem that we are facing.Wisa was giving his evidence in chief in a matter in which he has been accused of displaying his manhood on stage during a performance.

He said a member of his management team knew of this scheme to show off this fake penis.

He said it was after the event that he heard the news that he brought his penis to show it to the public and it was all over the internet which led the police to invite him for interrogation.

Wisa said he went to radio and television stations to apologise to the public because of the perception people were having at that moment including members of his family and his management so that all concerned would forgive and forget.

The case was adjourned to March 1st for continuation. The Court Presided over by Mrs Abena Oppong Adjin-Doku, at the last sitting on February 5, ordered Wisa to get ready to open his defence on February 21, however when the matter was called, Wisa was without his counsel.

Wisa informed the court that his lawyer Jerry Avernorgbor had called him saying that he was caught up at a Police Station hence could not attend court. According to Wisa, his lawyer was therefore praying for a short adjournment. The court, thereafter ordered Wisa to open his defence on Thursday with or without counsel.

Wisa, of the Ekikimi fame, was arrested for allegedly exposing his penis while performing at the Accra International Conference Centre on December 24, 2015.

He has, however, denied a charge of gross indecent exposure and is on a GH8,000.00 bail with one surety.

According to GNA files, on December 25, 2015, the Accra Regional Police was alerted over a nude video posted on the Internet from an unknown source, in which Wisa intentionally exposed his penis, while performing live on stage.

According to the Prosecutor, Detective Inspector Judith B. Asante said the Police contacted the managers of Artiste to produce him at the Regional Police Headquarters for investigations, which they did.

The prosecution said investigations into the matter disclosed that on December 24, Airtel Communications Company and Citi FM, an Accra-based radio station, organised an event dubbed: December to Remember, which included the accused as a guest artiste.

In the course of the show, the accused, while dancing with a female dancer identified as Monica Kumadeh, suddenly removed his penis out of his pair of jeans and began to caress the buttocks of the dancer.The development expectedly received condemnation from community members of Agba village located in Aguata Local Government of Anambra State.

Observers found Ezeibekwe's interest in marrying his sibling to be a thing of surprise.

The faith of the family who were described as Sabbatharian in a report by The Sun News appeared to be the motivation for the strange marriage between the pair.

I am a Sabbatharian, I am a Christian that observes Sabbath and in the process of searching through the scripture we discovered that it is possible to marry your relative, your blood relative, your cousin, uncle, your sister, and on account of that we went on.

"Then people started hearing about it and that was the uproar and everything, so I married my younger sister.

We are not really wedded in the church. It wasnt true that we wedded in the church; we are just a family gathering here.

"Every Sabbath we observe Sabbath, we dont do any other thing, we are just a family. There is a church that was here before, but we are no more with them; they have found a place and stayed there and we are now on our own, we just observe Sabbath on Sabbath days.

We dont have any name, we dont have any signboard, we just observe Sabbath here and worship. He is not really the head, my elder brother, Chijioke, is rich in the scripture.

It was me that pronounced our marriage, that my sister and myself were going to marry. Our parents were around. Mother, because of what she believed, supported it.

"Then the two of us went to our father and he asked us, why should this come to pass, did we consult people, did we ask very, very well or are we just playing with it? We told him we were not playing with it, that I could not play with something like that.

"He asked again whether God told us to do it and did we search through the scripture? We told him that we searched through the scripture and we believed it. He said there was no problem, that if God signed it he could not reverse it," says the 25-year-old man.

Opposition from his eldest brother appears to be the main headache for Ezeibekwe who revealed that his sibling, one of 10 children isn't in support of the marriage.

The latter who is based in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, travelled from his residence in a bid to understand the situation.

Discoveries he made inspired more reproach having learned that the unusual union had received the support of his parents who were quick to endorse the marriage between their children.

Chief Gabriel Ezechukwu, the Traditional Prime Minister of Ekwulobia had a similar take on the matter.

He reportedly consulted Lewis who claimed to have withdrawn support for the marriage according to The Sun News.

According to reports, a parish priest has fixed a date, March 17, 2018, set aside to dissolve the union.

Prior to this announcement, Ezechukwu who has expressed a keen interest in the issue, sent 17-year-old Chibuzor to a doctor for a pregnancy test which came out negative.

Polygamous husband shows off lovely wives, thanks God for happy union

A polygamous man, Agusi Oyeintari, cut the reflection of a fulfilled man following a picture he shared of himself in company of two lovely wives who he seemed quite smitten about.

In a Facebook post he put up on Tuesday, December 26, 2017, Oyeintari thanked God for a successful union, expressing pride about having the women in his life.

One of his social media posts showed him sandwiched between his partners who also looked delighted in a picture.

He was captured with his hands on the belly of one of his wives who wore a blue blouse. The latter appeared pregnant based on a sighting of her protruded belly.

In other posts, Agusi Oyeintari was seen in images displaying his children, two boys and two girls. An expression of fulfillment lingered in the eyes of the daughters who were seen rocking the same outfit.READ MORE: Two missing boys found dead in taxi

The state's Police Commissioner, Cyril Okoro, said the police have launched investigations into the matter following a report in December 2017.

He said the pastor killed his victims in a bid to cover up pregnancy scandal with one of his church choristers, Uloma Onweagbo, who is twenty five years old.

The victims were strangled and killed with their bodies buried in shallow graves in different locations of Oyigbo Local Government area of Rivers state, Daily Post reports, quoting the police commissioner.

He also said that the pastor's church has been sealed and that he will be process for court next week.

Pulse.ng quoted him as saying: The pastor in a most bizarre manner gruesomely murdered three of his own flock, including an unborn child.

"The pastor had a sexual relationship with Onweagbo, which resulted in a pregnancy.

"On December 11, 2017, Ada Ezeawa and Onweagbo, along with her baby strapped to her back, set out to confront the pastor over the pregnancy.

"He ingeniously separated his accusers, by luring Ada Ezeawa to an uncompleted building, while he told Onweagbo to stay three poles away.

"The pastor strangled Ezeawa in the uncompleted building. Moments after, the suspect rejoined Onweagbo and left with her and the baby on a tricycle (keke) to Afam Roundabout.

"From the roundabout, they took a motorbike to an isolated bush on Igberu Road where he murdered his second victim in the isolated bush, using the wrapper with which she strapped her baby to the back to suffocate her.

The baby was equally discovered dead."

READ MORE: Pastor miraculously resurrects after being declared dead

Pastor Okoroafor is reported to have told the media that he was tempted by the devil.The corpses were recovered from within the premises of the church, Alter of Grace Ministries near Izuom market in oyigbo.

The Police said:

We discovered that the Pastor was having an amorous affair with one of the deceased, Uloma. The Pastor manipulated the two women on the 10th of December by first luring Concila to an uncompleted building and killed her thereAfter strangulating the late Concilia, he then took Uloma with Christabel in a tricycle to an isolated farm at Igberu road and gruesomely murdered her in the surrounding overgrown Bush with the baby strapped to her back She was suffocated with the wrapper she used in strapping the baby to her back.

The Rivers State Police Command further said that suspect will be charged to court next week as his church, located Izuoma-Afam in Oyigbo Local Government area has already been sealed.READ MORE: Troops peacekeeping allowance cut by government

A statement from UNMISS said the Special Representative of the Secretary-General, David Shearer, and other Mission leaders, were briefed on the preliminary investigation and a decision was made to remove police unit from their duty stations.

"The information received indicates that some members of the FPU allegedly engaged in transactional sex. This is a clear breach of the UN and UNMISS Code of Conduct which prohibits sexual relationships with vulnerable individuals, including all beneficiaries of assistance," the statement said.

It added: "UNMISS has informed UN headquarters in New York of the allegations, which in turn notified the Member State that the matter was being investigated by the United Nations. There is no indication that this behaviour is more widespread within the Mission."

The statement also noted that on the whole, Ghanaian peacekeepers and police serving with UNMISS have made an excellent contribution to the protection of civilians and building of durable peace in South Sudan.Mr Pele was sentenced to six years imprisonment for woefully causing financial loss to the state in the Ghana Youth Employment and Entrepreneurial Agency (GYEEDA) scandal.

His accomplice, Philip Assibit, was jailed 12 years for defrauding the state.

Speaking on the matter at the party's Unity Walk in the Eastern Region, Mr Vanderpuye said the plight of Abuga Pele should not dampen the spirit of the rank and file the NDC.

READ MORE: NPP man collapses after losing electionAnd guess who was waiting to pounce? You guessed right!

Daddy freeze was quick to share a post on Hinn's admission, saying that "the thieves have started confessing."

Read his post below:

Daddy Freeze has also revealed via another Instagram post that when creating the branding for his drive, Free Nation, it was "ministered to me to make it about Christ, NOT about me."

See the post below:

Benny Hinn

Benny Hinn, 65, is one of the most famous pastors in the world. Benny Hinn whose real name is Toufik Benedictus Hinn was immensely popular in Nigerian in the late 80s and 90s (the Pentecostal era) for his style of preaching, anointing and miracles.

Hinn is known for laying his hands on people during his crusades and making them fall under the anointing. Pastor Chris Oyakhilome's style of healing and anointing is highly influenced by Benny Hinn's style.

In 1993, Benny Hinn got into controversy when Inside Edition (a weekly news program in America) ran an expose on him. It was reported that he was living in a $685,000 home and driving a Mercedes Benz. His numerous miracles were called into question by several media outlets such as the Los Angeles Times.

In 2010, Benny Hinn and his wife Suzanne Harthern got divorced. They later got re-married in 2013.

On February 23, 2018, Benny Hinn's nephew, Costi Hinn, advised Christians on how to deal with loved ones who have been caught up in false teachings.The Guardian reports that the country could be the first European country to outlaw the circumcision of boys for non-medical reasons.

If passed, anyone found guilty will face six years imprisonment.

Silja Dogg Gunnarsdottir, the lawmaker for the centrist Progressive Party, who introduced the bill this month, says, This is fundamentally about not causing unnecessary harm to a child."

For her, male circumcision is a violation of human rights since boys are not able to give an informed consent of an irreversible physical intervention.

ALSO READ: 6 weird traditions you probably never knew existed in Nigeria

Religious leaders on Icelands proposed ban on male circumcision

Numerous sources say European religious leaders are not happy with the proposed bill, a 4,000-year-old religious practice for Jews and Muslims.

Imam Salmann Tamimi addressed the ban during Friday services, according to New York Post.

In his words, Circumcision is harmless if its done at a hospital. This bill is appealing to peoples emotion, not evidence. This is an attack on all religion and especially Judaism.

He was supported by Rabbi Avi Feldman of the Chabad Jewish Center, who recently became Icelands first permanent rabbi.

Speaking with the AP, he said he is hopeful that the rights for people of all faiths will be preserved and respected.

Feldman added that circumcision is a bedrock for Jews and a core Jewish practice.

The president of the Catholic Church in the European Union, Cardinal Reinhard Marx, also said that proposal is a dangerous attack on religious freedom.

Protecting the health of children is a legitimate goal of every society, but in this case this concern is instrumentalized, without any scientific basis, to stigmatize certain religious communities. This is extremely worrying,  Marx said, according to the Catholic News Agency.The controversial housemate has now sworn to report her former strategic partner to Big Brother if he ever dares touch her again.

She said this during a conversation with fellow housemate, Angel.

Cee C frustration is being savoured on social media as she has made herself the most hated housemate on the show, thanks to her treatment of Tobi.

Now that things are no longer going her way, Cee C is furious but there's little she can do to change her situation as she seems to have lost her hold on her former partner.

Cee C and Tobi

Cynthia Nwadiora popularly known as Cee.C has quickly garnered the hatred of Nigerians because of her behaviour on the Big Brother Naija show.

Cee C's older sister has been doing an awesome job of handling Cee Cs page that has been pummelled with all sorts of insults and hate messages.

Tobi has also made a name for himself albeit for all the wrong reasons. Cee C's maltreatment of the young man has made him the butt of jokes on social media.

So much so that Davido tweeted about it, trolling Tobi with the wordings of his song, 'FIA'.

However, the tables were turned on Cee C when Tobi walked out on her during one of her tantrums and Twitter Nigeria cannot have enough of the moment.

The 'breakup' has seen several fans of Tobi hailing his move while others literally troll Cee-C, who has always nagged about one thing or the other while the relationship lasted.

Few viewers were already waiting for the breakup when the two had intimate talks about the next step of their relationship on Sunday night, February 18, 2018 after eviction when Cee-C had told Tobi that she would be selfish and would want to try new things outside Tobi in the house.

ALSO READ: Tobi finally shares passionate kiss with Cee-C

This came barely four days after the as they finally let loose to pour out their emotions and feelings for each other.

Khloe describes Cee C as "loud and rude"

Khloe still has an axe to grind with former co-housemate, Cee C, as she brands her "rude and loud."

The ex-Big Brother Naija housemate who was disqualified after her strategic partner, K-Brule, got three strikes in the house, said this during an interview with TheNETng.

According to TNS.ng, Khloe did little to hide her dislike for the housemate.

She is rude, Khloe said after she was asked about her feelings towards the controversial housemate.The Grade 9 student at a high school in Verulam, was arrested by officials of Reaction Unit, South Africa, after being caught with 24 wraps of marijuana on Friday morning, February 23.

Instablog9ja reports that the officers received information that the suspect was in possession of narcotics with the intention of selling them to other pupils during their lunch break.

According to the reports, the suspect reportedly confessed that the marijuana had been given to her by her 17-year-old sister who is a grade 11 student at the same school.

She also added that due to her sisters absence from school on the day of her arrest, she was asked to hand it over to another student who was meant to approach her during the lunch break and assist her in selling the drugs to other students at R5.00 each.

The course of action taken by the officers remains unclear but the fact is that there has been a significant rise in drug usage amongst African youth in the last two years.

The rise of illicit drugs among Nigerians

In May 2017, a Twitter user @Olubaba60detailed how he nearly died from an overdose on Tramadol and codeine. He also frequently used Refnol. His story is just another story of thousands of young Nigerians who are into these dangerous drugs.

In November 2016, Eromo Egbejule published a story titled "Is there a growing drug epidemic in Nigeria?".

In his article, he states that there is a serious drug culture in Northern Nigerian ranging from cocaine, codeine to sniffing fermented human waste known as Jenkem which produces hallucinatory effects.

In March 2016, the undefined for the illicit production of methamphetamine located at Asaba, Delta.

The laboratory had the capacity of producing between 3,000kg and 4,000kg of methamphetamine per production cycle.

In the 80s and the 90s, Nigeria was mostly a trafficking point for narcotics from South American cartels who wanted to smuggle drugs to Europe. Nigeria's security system was poor which made it ideal to move drugs.

The situation has grown worse. Nigeria is still a trafficking point but now we have turned into a country who produces and consumes these drugs.

Cartels in South America produce meth in Nigeria because of cheap labour and poor security network. Nigerians don't just move cocaine anymore, they now consume it. The expensive nature of the drug makes sure its clientele is mostly the rich and wealthy.Olawale who was a Pastor with the Mountain of Fire and Miracles (MFM) in Ikorodu, reportedly slumped and died during a church service at his home on Sunday, February 18.

Instablog9ja reports that a friend of the deceased, Moshood Isamotu, relayed the incident and revealed that he was buried two days after the shocking occurrence.

As earlier reported, the deceased was left bruised, battered after the Badoo attack last year and was forced to spend weeks at the Lagos Island Hospital.

May the soul of the deceased rest in peace.

Baddo Cultists

Of all the criminal activities that dominated news headlines in Lagos State in 2017, the serial ritual killings in Ikorodu area, also known as Badoo Killings, was perhaps the most talked about among Lagosians last year.

What generated further fear among residents was the peculiar modus operandi of Badoo and its seemingly intractable and invisible nature. As the killings went on for months, the affected communities and state security apparatus appeared clueless until it was nip in the bud toward the end of the year.

It all started after a suspect, described by some residents of Ikorodu area as a serial rapist and ritual killer, was arrested at Ibeshe. His name was given simply as Badoo.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) gathered that after every attack, the perpetrators would write I am Badoo and paste on the door of victims.

This continued in a seemingly invincible manner until he was caught after he raped and killed a 27-year-old woman and her nine-month-old child.

The suspect was arrested by the community, allegedly after some rituals were performed.

Many had believed that the arrest of the suspect would bring an end to badoo operations. But that did not happen as it marked the beginning a journey into new dimension of ritual killings in the area as many more family members were murdered at night.

For several months, Badoo operations in Ikorodu area reverberated across the state and created fear among Lagosians at large.

The police appeared overwhelmed. Human and vehicular movements in parts of Ikorodu were restricted during the period. Many communities imposed dusk-to-dawn curfew while some residents moved out to other areas for safety.

Embarrassed by the continuous Badoo killings, the then Commissioner of Police in Lagos, Fatai Owoseni, met with traditional rulers in the areas and read riot acts to royal fathers who might be complicit in the killings.

Residents did not watch idly either, as many resorted to jungle justice, killing those identified as Badoo cult members during mob actions after losing faith in police ability to arrest the ugly trend.

According to NAN findings, Badoo members carried no guns or machetes. Their weapons are primarily stones, preferably household grinding stones and mortar, clubs and pestle. They carried out their operations by sneaking into targets homes at night and smash their heads with grinding stones or mortars, then collect their blood with handkerchiefs, which were sold for ritual purposes.

Unofficial sources say more than 30 persons were sent to their early graves while Badoo reign of horror lasted.According to a report by Linda Ikeji, the truck irked the angry mob when it crushed down a motorcycle killing the motorcyclist and two passengers - two male school children.

An angry mob comprising of youths and students went on rampage and set the truck ablaze. One other truck that drove into the scene was reportedly set ablaze too.

To calm the tension, security agencies comprising the, Nigerian Police Force, Nigerian Army as well as the officers of the NSCDC arrived the scene.

However, a female pupil on the same bike survived but sustained severe injuries.

Confirming the incident, Clement Oladele, the Ogun State Sector Commander, Federal Road Safety Corps Ago Iwoye, said rescue team reported promptly and succeeded in rescuing the young female child to Blessed Hospital Oru Ijebu for immediate treatment.According to Instablog9ja, the suspected kidnappers were apprehended after they stopped their vehicle at the AP filling station before Aradagun Bus stop in Badagry, Lagos.

Two suspected kidnappers (male) and a pregnant woman who was their victim was discovered in the vehicle.

In a positive twist of event, the pregnant woman who sustained some injuries, was reportedly rushed to Ola-Oki hospital, Ibereko, where she was immediately delivered of a bouncing baby boy.

The reports also reveal that the two suspects were almost burnt to death by an irate mob when some soldiers arrived at the scene and arrested them.Instablog9ja reports that 25-year-old Ezeibekwe who works in a secondary school in the Aguata LGA of Anambra state said that God sanctioned the marriage to his sister.

According to the reports, angry youths burned down the church where the brother and sister were reportedly wedded.

ALSO READ: Farmer remanded for raping daughter

The Sabbath church was reportedly located in the teachers compound.

Discussing the controversial topic with Vanguard, the teacher who is the sixth of 10 children said, I am a Sabbath and in searching through the scriptures, I discovered that one could marry his sibling.

"So, we went ahead with the arrangement to marry my younger sister. God told me to marry my sister and she also saw same vision. There are places in the Bible that support such marriage.

"Those in doubt should read Songs of Solomon chapters 4 and 5 and 1st Corinthians Chapter 7. Since we took this decision, I have not felt anything unusual, or felt that I did anything wrong. .

"In the school where I teach, many people ask me about it and I boldly refer them to the Bible. Besides, by marrying ones sibling, there will not be the possibility of introducing ugly situations, like diseases or social vices into the family.

The traditional prime minister, Gabriel Ezeukwu, said the angry youths had initially considered

He added that everyone was relieved to learn that the girl is not yet pregnant.

Before coming to me, they were considering various options, including whether to involve the police, resort to jungle justice or parade those involved round the town before subjecting them to other rituals.

"However, I ensured that the girl in question was subjected to a rigorous pregnancy test to ascertain that she had not been impregnated by her brother and, after several tests, it was confirmed that she was not pregnant, which is a relief, he said.

Incest: A rising trend?

The word incest exists because sexual relations between blood relatives happen. Bible scholars can point out to a few cases of incest in the Old Testament. And if you are not into religion at least you watch "Game Of Thrones" and can see freaky things happened between a brother and his sister back in the day.

At the heart of this story is that are we born with the knowledge that incest is bad or is it something that must be taught by parents?

Granted sex education in Nigeria is nothing to write home about. As a young Nigerian, you are expected to figure out hormones and puberty by yourself. The closest you can get to an explanation is when your Biology teacher gets to the Reproduction part of the syllabus.

Our prudish attitude towards sex reflects on issues such as sexual consent, rape, sexual violation amongst others. We don't talk about sex. We just know people have it.

Without sexual education it's hard to believe that some kids do not see incest as a taboo of sorts. Every human being has a moral consciousness, a conscience you might say wired in his or her DNA.

Children know killing is bad because they are born with a moral framework of good and bad. Our parents didn't have to lecture us that killing is wrong. We just know. I would like to believe the same goes with incest.

ALSO READ: Man arrested for raping daughter

However, one cannot dismiss the numerous tales of siblings sleeping with each other. There are too many sordid stories of incest on the Internet.

These stories will make you wonder if parents have a role to play so that their children don't engage in incestsexual relationships?The movie's production designer, Hannah Beachler recently made this known in a report by Indie Wire.

Nsibidi from Calabar area of Nigeria and isiXhosa, the South African language spoken throughout the movie are the two African languages employed in the movie.

It was a secretive language, based on pictography, so it was about how you put the symbols together and the image you create, said Beachler.

Beachler further said: The language needed to evolve from the older hieroglyphs into a more modern version. We used it in a pictography way but the numerical system stayed the same.

or instance, in the Throne room, where TChalla/Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman) sits, there are traditional Nsibidi symbols inscribed on a large column behind him. However, smaller columns contain the more modern version of the language denoting the various names of the tribes.

On how she came about Nsibidi for the movie

Bleacher said: Ryan Coogler wanted a newer script that felt African but was really advanced.

I started looking at different cave drawings, we looked at LA graffiti artist Retna and were inspired by his being able to create these characters that were fresh, and started playing and playing. I did three or four passes and so did a couple of the illustrators. We mixed them, bringing our own aesthetic to it and made an entire alphabet.

ALSO READ: 11 African tribes, cultures featured in Black Panther

It was a process of trying to pay homage to lost languages but also infusing the idea of Afrofuturism of reclaiming languages lost.

Nsibidi

According to Wikipedia,history is yet to give the exact origin of the word nsibidi but a theory traces the word to the Ekoid languages, where it means "cruel letters", reflecting the harsh laws of the secret societies that hold nsibidi knowledge. In Calabar, nsibidi is mostly associated with men's leopard societies such as Ekpe.

It was further written that the origin of nsibidi is most commonly attributed to the Ejagham people of the northern Cross River region, mostly because colonial administrators found the largest and most diverse nsibidi among them.On Sunday, February 25, 2018, six days after the attack, the FG through a series of tweets confirmed the kidnap of the girls.

The FG through the information ministry said a total of 110 girls remain unaccounted for following the attack in the town of Dapchi in the northeastern Nigerian state of Yobe by suspected members of Boko Haram.

The students disappearance may be one of the largest such incidents since the jihadist group abducted more than 270 schoolgirls from the town of Chibok in 2014. That case drew global attention to the insurgency and spawned high profile social media campaign Bring Back Our Girls.

The Federal Government has confirmed that 110 students of the Government Science and Technical College in Dapchi, Yobe State, are so far unaccounted for, after insurgents believed to be from a faction of Boko Haram invaded their school on Monday, the information ministry said in a statement.

ALSO READ: Buhari says Dapchi Girls' kidnap is a national disaster

Information Minister Lai Mohammed also said police and security officials had been deployed to schools in the state while efforts were being stepped up to rescue the missing girls.

See the statement in these tweets

On Monday, February 19, 2018, the men of the Boko Haram sect invaded a part of Yobe State including the Government Girls Secondary School in Dapchi kidnapping several students and reigning terror on the school and the village.

According to a forum of parents of missing students, the number of girls in captivity have been given as 105.

Meanwhile, President Muhammadu Buhari has condemned the girls kidnap saying it's a national disaster.

US condemns kidnap of school girls in Yobe

The United States of America condemned the abduction of over 90 school girls from Government Girls Technical College, Dapchi, Yobe state.

The Spokesperson of the US Department of State, Ms Heather Nauert, at a press briefing on Thursday, said We are still trying to get all the details about that but we wanted to mention that we condemn in the strongest possible terms the terror attack on a school earlier this week in north-eastern Nigeria.

The choice of targets including schools, markets and places of worship reflect the brutality of terror organisations.

The victims in the attacks were girls who were simply seeking an education.

We continue to support Nigerias efforts to counter the terror group.

ALSO READ: Schoolgirl narrates how Boko Haram kidnapped students in Yobe

We also support Nigerias efforts to enable more than two million displaced in the Lake Chad region to return home safely.

United States continues to provide humanitarian assistance to those who were affected by the violence, Nauert added.

British military offers to assist Nigeria in rescuing 105 kidnapped girls

The British military has offered to assist the Nigerian Army in the search and rescue operation launched for the 105 girls kidnapped in Dapchi, Yobe State.

The Guardian reports that the British army led by Major Ian Robertson, the general advisor, British Military Advisory and Training Team (BMATT) in Nigeria, recently made this known.He noted that nothing instigated and escalated crisis more than inflammatory utterances, urging the people to desist from such acts.

He warned that any individual or groups caught making utterances capable of igniting conflict in the state would be made to face the wrath of the law.

I would like to appreciate the security operatives who are on the trail of such perpetrators as a number of arrests have been made, while some are already standing trials, Al-Makura said.

He charged the courts to sanction the perpetrators appropriately in line with the provisions of the law to serve as deterrent to others.

This is the only way utterances capable of generating crisis can be reduced, especially as the country prepares for the 2019 general elections, he said.

The governor also called on all ethnic nationalities in Nasarawa State, especially those living at the boarder communities to eschew bitterness and embrace peace and harmony.

He gave assurance that his administration would continue to do all within the constitutional provisions, to ensure that a peaceful atmosphere for socio-economic activities thrived in the state.The Deputy Senate President also said that Nigerians made a mistake by voting President Buhari in 2015.

According to Punch, he said My friend, Gbajabiamila, admitted that we are passing through difficult times. We have over 100 students in Yobe State (abducted by Boko Haram) who are now in the forest. We are not sure whether they had food this night. We are not sure of their health situation.

I want to assure Nigerians that it will be daylight again in Nigeria. Together, we will make Nigeria work again. In 2019, we are going to switch on the light that was switched off by some people in 2015.

Buharis regime is a disaster

Also, on Tuesday, February 6, 2018, the PDP chairman, Uche Secondus described Buharis regime as a monumental disaster.

Secondus also said that Nigerians are suffering from the Presidents style of government, which he described as nuclear nepotism.Mr Nsima Ekere, NDDCs Managing Director, said this in a statement issued on Sunday in Port Harcourt by the commissions Director of Corporate Affairs, Mr Ibitoye Abosede.

The statement said that Ekere also donated N1 million to the family of the deceased.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Iboko had demonstrated uncommon courage in foiling a robbery attack at a branch of the Zenith bank in Owerri in 2017.

The slain officers heroic exploits were captured by a Close Circuit Television that went viral at the time.Sen. Victor Ndoma-Egba, NDDCs Board Chairman, made this known in a statement issued by the commissions Director, Corporate Affairs, Mr Ibitoye Abosede, on Sunday in Port Harcourt.

Ndoma-Egba, was quoted as disclosing this when he led a delegation to visit Innoson factory at Nnewi, Anambra.

He said the youths would receive training on different aspects of automobile maintenance at Innoson Kiara Academy, a technical and vocational institution established by an international consulting firm.

We believe that the real resource of any country is not its minerals but the young men and women of the country.

The youths remain a resource, only if they are trained, skilled and engaged. But if they are not trained, skilled and engaged; they will be a liability.

We dont want our youths to be a liability; rather, we prefer that they are resources, so that they can contribute to development of the Niger Delta, he said.

Ndoma-Egba commended the Chairman of Innoson Goup, Chief Innocent Chukwuma, for investing and putting Nigeria on the map as an automobile manufacturing country.

He called on federal, state and local governments to patronise locally manufactured or assembled vehicles rather than importing vehicles abroad.

That is the only way that we can encourage our local industries and local content. NDDC will be at the vanguard of this effort, he assured.

The NDDC chairman said the commission was currently training another set of 200 students at the Innoson Academy.

Chief Innocent Chukwuma, the Executive Chairman of Innoson Vehicle Company said the company plans to open new factories in the Niger Delta.

He said the company was committed to putting the country as a hub of car manufacturing in sub-Saharan Africa.Welcome to the Pulse Community! We will now be sending you a daily newsletter on news, entertainment and more. Also join us across all of our other channels - we love to be connected!Adesina also said though the fight against insurgency has not ended, the terrorists have been thoroughly degraded.

If the operating word is totally, the answer is no obviously  but has Boko Haram been degraded? I will say yes, terribly so, said Adesina.

Adesina made this known when he appeared on Channels Televisions political programme, Sunday Politics, on February 25, 2018.

Despite the series of attack and recent kidnap of girls in Dapchi, Yobe state, by the insurgents, the Adesina said President Muhammadu Buharis administration has recorded a notable progress in the war against the insurgency.

Compare how Boko Haram was in 2015 when this administration came, they were virtually running riot everywhere  how many time was Kano bombed, how many time was Abuja bombed, how many time was Kogi bombed; Boko Haram was everywhere.

Buratai charges troops to get Shekau dead or alive

The Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai, charged troops to capture Abubakar Shekau, the factional leader of the Boko Haram terrorists group, alive or dead.

Buratai gave the charge at Camp Zairo, the former Command and Control Centre of the terrorists group in the Sambisa forest during an operational visit to troops.Members of the A-Deri family in Dapchi told TheCable how Aisha returned to school on Sunday, February 18, 2018 after a brief illness that had deprived her from attending classes.

The 13-year-old Aisha and SS1 student of the school was kidnapped on Monday night, February 19, 2018 alongside 104 other students by the Boko Haram insurgents that attacked Dapchi.

Fondly called Ummee, which means motherly, Aisha is the second daughter from her mother and the sixth from her father.

Sister solicit help for Aisha

Aisha's older sister, Kawu has been soliciting help from anyone in search of her sister via a Whatsapp message.

We are having sleepless nights and smiles have been stolen from our faces. We the whole family are incomplete without you since your disappearance.

Ummee, when will you be back to us again, to see that your smiling face, calmness, active response to messages and your love for pictures in our phones?

Or is that why you prefer to be most in the pictures in our phones knowing that you are going to be missed sometime? If that is the case, missing you is not our wish. Please come back home. May Allah bring you and the rest of your colleagues back to your respective families.

Step-brother regrets returning Aisha to school

Aisha's step-brother, Kachalla A-Deri narrated how she would have narrowly missed the unfortunate incident if she had not been taken back to school a day earlier.

ALSO READ: Buhari says kidnap of Dapchi girls is a national disaster

She had been at home for one week because she was ill. The school told her to go and receive treatment at home. It was on that Sunday evening, at about 6pm, that we took her back to school, and the attack was on Monday evening, he says.

Kachalla also said several of the girls who escaped ran into bushes, hid in tree trunks, but some ran into vehicles suspected to belong to the insurgents.

The agony of a father

Aisha's father, Kadau A-Deri, has expressed optimism that his daughter will return home safely saying she wanted to be a teacher or nurse.

I am very, very sad. But I am still expecting her to come back in sha Allah. She is a child of good character. She always says she when she completes her secondary school, she will further her studies. She said she wants to be a teacher or a nurse, he said.

On the attack, he said: It is as if they (Boko Haram) are watching. Once the security is removed, they attacked the school.

Boko Haram abducts over 100 female students in Yobe school

On Monday, February 19, 2018, the men of the Boko Haram sect invaded a part of Yobe State including the Government Girls Secondary School in Dapchi kidnapping several students and reigning terror on the school and the village.

According to a forum of parents of missing students, the number of girls in captivity have been given as 105.

ALSO READ: Dapchi residents attack Yobe Governor for lying about girls' rescue

Meanwhile, President Muhammadu Buhari has condemned the girls kidnap saying it's a national disaster.

British military offers to assist Nigeria in rescuing 105 kidnapped girls

The British military has offered to assist the Nigerian Army in the search and rescue operation launched for the 105 girls kidnapped in Dapchi, Yobe State.

The Guardian reports that the British army led by Major Ian Robertson, the general advisor, British Military Advisory and Training Team (BMATT) in Nigeria, recently made this known.

Condemning the attack and kidnapping of the school girls from Government Girls Secondary School (GGSS), Dapchi, Robertson lamented the fact that girls schools have become soft targets for insurgents.

US condemns kidnap of school girls in Yobe

The United States of America condemned the abduction of over 90 school girls from Government Girls Technical College, Dapchi, Yobe state.

The Spokesperson of the US Department of State, Ms Heather Nauert, at a press briefing on Thursday, said We are still trying to get all the details about that but we wanted to mention that we condemn in the strongest possible terms the terror attack on a school earlier this week in north-eastern Nigeria.

The choice of targets including schools, markets and places of worship reflect the brutality of terror organisations.

The victims in the attacks were girls who were simply seeking an education.

We continue to support Nigerias efforts to counter the terror group.

ALSO READ: Schoolgirl narrates how Boko Haram kidnapped students in Yobe

We also support Nigerias efforts to enable more than two million displaced in the Lake Chad region to return home safely.

United States continues to provide humanitarian assistance to those who were affected by the violence, Nauert added.

111 Yobe school girls unaccounted for

The Police Commissioner in Yobe, Abdulmaliki Sumonu, on Wednesday, confirmed that 111 girls were still unaccounted for following Mondays attack by Boko Haram insurgents.This was disclosed in a statement issued the ECOWAS Network of Electoral Commissions (ECONEC) on its website on Sunday.

ECONEC is the umbrella organization of Electoral Management Bodies (EMBs) in West Africa founded in 2008 to promote free, fair and credible elections.

The LTOs team, according to the statement is part of a larger 55-member ECOWAS Observation Mission led by Liberias former Interim President, Prof. Amos Sawyer, who would be arriving along with the Short-term observers.

It stated that the regional observers would be deployed across Sierra Leones 16 administrative districts for the elections.

The ECOWAS Mission, which includes legal, elections, constitutional, gender, civil society and media experts, and secretariat staff of the ECONEC are deployed by the ECOWAS Commission.

The mission are deployed in line with the regional protocol on democracy and good governance, which mandates ECOWAS to support member States holding elections.

The Mission is supported by a Technical team from the ECOWAS Commission, it stated.

It added that ECOWAS, after contributing to end the 11-year civil war in Sierra Leone has continued to support the consolidation of peace and democracy in the country.

This is the fourth multi-party election in Sierra Leone since the end of its civil war in 2002, but the first time that authorities in the country would be entirely responsible for the electoral process following the departure of the UN Mission in 2014.

It noted that ECONEC conducted a Needs Assessment Mission to Sierra Leone in July 2017 led by Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, President of its Governing Board and Chair of the National Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) Nigeria.

This was followed by an advocacy that resulted in the pledge of some logistic support to Sierra Leone by Nigeria.

ECOWAS has also carried out a pre-election fact-finding Mission to Sierra Leone which involved consultations with various stakeholders.

The consultations are to ensure peaceful, credible and successful elections for the consolidation of peace and democracy in the country and the region.

Sierra Leone elections are being contested by 16 presidential candidates, including two women, and more than 700 contenders for the 144-seat unicameral parliament.

One hundred and thirty-two of the lawmakers will be elected directly complemented by 12 slots for Paramount Chief Members of Parliament."Buhari is not even analogue. He can't even use a telephone by himself," Sowore said as he announced his decision to run against Buhari in 2019," he said.

Continuing, Sowore promised to turn Nigeria into a construction site should he be elected into office.

He said: "In my first day as a president, I'll turn Nigeria into a construction site. I have created jobs before. Since Buhari became president, his cows haven't multiplied. He has had 150 cows since.

"If you ask Nigerians about the economic plans of Buhari, they'll point to the British accent of the finance minister. How does accent create jobs?

"As activists, we can run Nigeria. If a goat gets the kind of waiver Dangote gets, the goat will be rich.

"Jagaban has taken every piece of land you can find in Lagos. Saraki has taken over Kwara.

"If I should run this country, Nigerians will be happy. I can run this country in my sleep better than Buhari can do. Ambode can't govern a county in the US.

ALSO READ: Sahara Reporters ordered to pay Senate President N4 billion

"I have fought a lot of bad guys before, I will do so again."Mainstream opposition parties say they are boycotting the April 22 poll because they have no guarantees they would be free and fair.

A ballot wasn't due until December but the Constituent Assembly, an all-powerful legislature stacked with Maduro loyalists, announced in January that the date was being brought forward.

Venezuela's Supreme Court issued a ruling that excludes the opposition coalition Democratic Unity Roundtable from running and banned several prominent opposition figures from participating.

The United States and European Union have imposed sanctions on Maduro and his officials, with Washington calling him a "dictator."

Bertucci scoffs at assertions from the opposition that he is merely a political stooge to legitimize Maduro's election.

Other would-be candidates have only a few more days to register.

Analysts believe Henri Falcon, a polarizing figure in the opposition, will eventually emerge as Maduro's main challenger.

Bertucci, 48, says Maduro is "beatable" in the ballot and criticized the opposition for effectively giving him a clear run to a second six-year term.

"It's a mistake to leave the way clear (for Maduro) and continue with talk that everyone is cheating," he said after preaching to a packed congregation at his church.

The government "continue to take all the space. They have always had the advantage, but more than 50 percent of the electorate wants to vote. Why deny them that right?"

-- Fervent following --

There seems little doubt that the few thousand fervent followers who packed a hall to hear him preach this week would vote for him.

People in the congregation, young and old, held their arms up in supplication, tears streaming down their faces, as a suited Bertucci murmured into a microphone on a stage over a soundtrack of motivational music.

But it's a stretch to believe Bertucci can make more than a tiny dent in the national vote. Most will say he hasn't a prayer.

Still, he says his fusion of politics and religious faith is what the country needs to overcome its deep economic crisis, which has made food and medicine shortages the norm.

Evangelical movements, like Bertucci's Maranatha Church, have gained ground against traditional churches in Venezuela and across Latin America in recent years.

Bertucci believes he can emulate anti-gay marriage pastor Fabricio Alvarado, who will contest a run-off vote for the presidency of Costa Rica on April 1.

"If I didn't believe it, I wouldn't be here. I can be the next president of this country," he said.

"People want change, a leader with values, because politics in our countries has fallen very low."

Bertucci added: "I don't know what Nicolas Maduro communicates, but clearly I represent the good and the light," bringing Christian values to the country.

"If I am the light someone must be the darkness, or evil."

While Bertucci insists he has no political past, his name was mentioned in the Panama Papers scandal over tax evasion, but he denies wrongdoing.

"I met with a well-known importer and I asked him if we could import meat which would be financed with money from many volunteers," in his church. But negotiations broke down, he said, "and nothing happened."

Like Alvarado, his fellow preacher in Costa Rica, Bertucci makes no bones about rejecting the idea of gay marriage as a "social distortion".

"I respect the sexual orientation of each individual, but I will never support a law of this kind."Some would not be satisfied without an execution, while for others the trial itself would bring anguish.

The chief prosecutor here in Broward County has said that the killing of 17 people at a high school on Valentines Day certainly is the type of case the death penalty was designed for.

A trial may be the only opportunity to lay bare all of the facts. But it would also likely be televised and followed by lengthy appeals, provoking years of public agony, as well as sustained attention for Cruz, who has already confessed.

Over years of mass shootings, from a university campus in Huntsville, Alabama, to a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado, prosecutors have struggled with this conundrum, testing political winds, spending days talking with survivors and families of the dead and reflecting on the intersection between morality and the oath of office.

Even Broward Countys public defender, whose office is representing Cruz and who wants to save his life, readily acknowledges the wrenching emotions that are part of a case that is only beginning.

If it were my daughter, I would want to personally kill my client, make no mistake about it, said Howard Finkelstein, the public defender, an elected position.

Later, though, he said that perhaps he would try to go on and build a future. I dont know what I would do. I just dont know.

Already, Finkelsteins office has offered a way to avoid a trial: Cruzs guilty plea in exchange for a punishment of 17 consecutive life sentences without parole. But Finkelstein recognizes that for some victims, that might not be enough: Im a father. I dont know whether I would take my offer.

Relatives of the victims of the massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, have not yet made their feelings about the death penalty widely known. And it is not clear where Michael J. Satz, Broward Countys prosecutor, is in his deliberations. He declined to comment.

Satz, who was elected state attorney when Gerald R. Ford was president, is regarded as a hard-edged prosecutor, but he is still likely to consider an array of factors, including the odds of persuading a jury.

Although jurors condemned men for massacres in Charleston, South Carolina, where nine churchgoers were killed, and at Fort Hood, Texas, where there were 13 fatalities, they spared the life of the Aurora gunman who killed 12, citing his history of mental illness. In the Huntsville shooting, the prosecutor said his conversations with the families of the victims were a reason he did not seek execution.

George Brauchler, the lead prosecutor in the Aurora case, said he had engaged in serious soul-searching about whether to pass up a plea deal and seek the death penalty. This is as much a moral decision as it is a decision about justice, and that is not an easy decision to make, he said.

Until you are signing your name to a piece of paper that starts the machinery of government against another human being to take their life, whether its deserved or not, you dont know what youre talking about.

Brauchler said he had met with his Roman Catholic priest, and conferred with family members of the victims as well as survivors of the attack. Some of the conversations were tense and punctuated by yelling. Some people urged a measure of mercy for the gunman, Brauchler recalled, while others said, I want to put the needle in his arm. In the end, Brauchler said, he did not find the gunmans mental illness defense credible.

Death penalty cases are the criminal justice systems most complex, expensive and emotionally taxing. It can take weeks or even months to present volumes of evidence that can include autopsy after autopsy and the painstaking recollection of every crack or boom of gunfire and every word the killer uttered.

The trials can wear down even the most experienced experts. When it came time to cross-examine a survivor of the Charleston attack, a defense lawyer, David I. Bruck, said only: Ms. Sheppard, Im so sorry. I have no questions.

A crucial consideration in potential capital cases, prosecutors and defense lawyers said, is whether failing to seek the death penalty in a mass shooting would set a precedent, making it more difficult to seek it in cases with lower death tolls.

In Charleston, the federal government had a sharp internal debate, and met with resistance from family members of victims, before it decided to seek the death penalty against Dylann Roof.

The death penalty itself becomes a participant in the decision, almost as if the death penalty is given a seat at the table, said Bruck, who represented Roof during the guilt phase of his trial but was sidelined by the defendant during the penalty phase, when jurors decide whether a death sentence is appropriate. There are plea agreements in a lot of cases, Bruck said. When there are, its usually because the prosecution recognizes  and sometimes the larger community recognizes  that there are things to consider outside of just whether or not we can kill this person.

For defense lawyers seeking to spare their clients life, an appeal to efficiency is one of the few cards they can play  particularly when, as Finkelstein says, the case is not a whodunit.

Expecting that Satz will seek the death penalty, Finkelstein and his deputies are already preparing for a long, arduous legal battle and intend to concentrate on jury selection. Because juries must unanimously recommend death sentences in Florida, a single juror could prevent execution. Finkelstein said the defense would likely focus on mental health and the accumulation of failures by government agencies to stop Cruz from opening fire.

Melisa McNeill, the assistant public defender who has appeared with Cruz in court and would likely be the lead lawyer if there is a trial, did not respond to a message Friday.

In Florida, where 347 people are on death row after an execution Thursday night, state law spells out a roster of aggravating factors and mitigating circumstances that jurors may consider in capital cases. Aggravating factors, at least one of which must be proven for someone to be eligible for a death sentence, include a finding that a defendant knowingly created a great risk of death to many persons or that a homicide was committed in a cold, calculated and premeditated manner.

Mitigating circumstances, like a defendants age and whether he or she was under the influence of extreme mental or emotional disturbance at the time of the crime, can legally tilt jurors toward a punishment of life in prison.

Finkelstein made plain that he is dreading any trial here, and not just for legal reasons. In his dimly lit office, he raspily declared a hope that divine intervention would persuade Satz to avoid a trial and an airing of the tragic details.

This is the most awful thing, not only that Ive ever seen  that Ive even imagined in some sick movie or imagination. This was hell on earth, he said. Its awful because of what was done to these poor kids. Its awful because of the families that will never be the same. Its awful because of the community, and its awful to be involved representing anybody when the community hates and hurts so much because of that person.

The New York TimesThe familys nanny, Yoselyn Ortega, was standing over them, slashing herself with a knife. Krims husband, Kevin, had been flying home from a business trip and learned what happened when he was met by the police at the airport.

The details of the case hardly require recitation for a certain parental class in New York City, for whom crime long ago had become almost invisible and for whom child rearing had become an obsession. Every anxiety now seemed valid, every distant suspicion worth pursuit.

For many, the image of Krims face pressed against the window of an ambulance as she was taken away from a scene of mythic barbarity remains indelible.

After five years of delays, hearings, debates about her mental fitness, and efforts on the part of her lawyer to suppress statements she made in the hospital, Ortega is standing trial for the murder of the Krim children; opening arguments are set to begin in the coming week. The process of jury selection has been onerous, in part, because the trial is expected to last several months  this is common when a defendant professes that he or she is not guilty by reason of insanity.

Lawyers for the accused bring forth psychiatrists who claim the client acted in madness, and prosecutors deliver their own experts, who testify that the madness had merely been performed. Beyond that, the impartial do not present themselves in vast numbers in a case like this  nearly anyone who has ever left a child with someone, or really anyone who has ever had a young child at all, could seem unsuitable to sit among the 12 men and women rendering judgment.

Was the Krims nanny out of her mind, or was she envious? Her employers life was exceedingly comfortable; her own was not. She lived in a small tenement apartment with her son, a sister and a niece. To make extra money, she went around her building selling cheap makeup and jewelry. Was there a deep, underlying instability  one never made apparent to the Krims  or was that instability driven by her circumstance and grievances?

In statements made to prosecutors after the murders, Ortega, who is now 55, said that she was angry with the Krims, that they asked her to work too hard and that her skin had been damaged by cleaning products she was forced to use. Did she act out of vengeance or delusion?

In the years since the murders, little about Ortegas life or frame of mind has been illuminated, which is one reason to have imagined that the The Perfect Nanny, a French novel inspired by the tragedy, would compel U.S. audiences when it arrived here in translation in January. Ortegas avatar in the novel, Louise, a middle-aged widow with huge debts, providing care for the two young children of a Parisian couple, might feed some hunger to know.

Originally published as Chanson Douce, or Lullaby, the book was an enormous success in Europe, selling 600,000 copies in its first year, translated into 18 languages and winning the Prix Goncourt, Frances most prestigious literary prize. The author, Leila Slimani, had quickly become a celebrity in France, reportedly pursued by President Emmanuel Macron to become the minister of culture. In advance of the books publication in this country, she was profiled in The New Yorker.

Since the arrival of Gone Girl, six years ago, we have been living through a long, peak moment of the domestic thriller, and yet The Perfect Nanny has failed to enjoy the reception here that it has had abroad. A.J. Finns "Woman in the Window, a novel about a former child psychologist abandoned by her family, who spends her hours drinking wine and staring out of her Harlem brownstone at a mysterious family across the street, made its debut in the No. 1 spot on the New York Times best-seller list. The Perfect Nanny, despite the expectations surrounding it and strong reviews, did not achieve a similar recognition.

In the quarters where it might have had created the most commotion, among mothers in Brooklyn for instance, it seems to have made little impact at all. At first I wondered whether this had to do with the books exploitative nature, but we consume cultural products that take advantage of real and recent suffering all the time. The 2016 film, Manchester by the Sea, is clearly a work of art inspired by the Christmas Eve fire, a few years earlier, in which a Connecticut mother lost her three daughters and her parents. It was seen and analyzed endlessly.

In novels like Gone Girl and its imitators  The Girl on the Train, among them  the heroines are drunks and nuts; they are, in other words, not like you. Myriam, the mother at the center of The Perfect Nanny, more artfully composed than many of the books in its genre, is an urbane lawyer, knocked off balance by motherhood but only to the point of very recognizable disturbance. She is, in other words, very much like you.

Milas tantrums drove her mad, Adams first burblings left her indifferent, Slimani writes of Myriams reaction to her children. Sometimes she wanted to scream in the street like a lunatic. Theyre eating me alive, she would think. The honesty with which Slimani writes about maternal ambivalence coupled with the fact that Myriam is relieved of the burdens of motherhood in the most horrific way give the novel a darkness that is, perhaps to many tastes, best left unexplored. Some ideas may be better sublimated.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.The re-emergence of extremist violence, harassment and xenophobia has gripped Italy and forced the country to reckon with the hard-right and fascist ideologies fueled by a lingering financial crisis and migration.

But it has also spurred a countermovement. Demonstrators marched in Rome on Saturday to stand up to fascism.

We are here to say no to fascism and racism, which are a danger today for democracy and coexistence, Carla Nespolo, the president of the National Association of Italian Partisans, said at a demonstration that brought thousands to the streets under the hash tags #FascismNeverAgain and #RacismNeverAgain.

As the elections approach, politically inspired violence has become an almost daily occurrence.

This month, a fascist extremist who carried a candle with an image of Mussolini opened fire on African immigrants in Macerata, wounding at least six people before he was arrested.

Forza Nuova, a far-right party that marches with the straight-armed salute of Mussolini, has repeatedly clashed with the police and anti-fascist protesters.

Members of CasaPound, a political party that proudly claims to admire Mussolini, recently invaded the emergency area of a hospital in Bolzano to protest homeless people who take refuge there overnight.

As the violence worsens, some critics have blamed Matteo Salvini, the bombastic secretary of the League party and, to a lesser extent, Giorgia Meloni, the leader of the Brothers of Italy, the modern heirs of the party that rose from the ashes of Mussolinis Fascists.

Salvini and Meloni have joined former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, and their coalition is leading in the polls.

Salvini has said on the campaign trail that fascism had done positive things for the country, and the center-right candidate running the Lombardy region, Attilio Fontana, has said that Italy had to protect the white race. He later apologized.

These parties, critics say, are sowing the seed of subversion through their populist courtship of voters and fomenting xenophobia by spreading an anti-migrant message.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.One host, Steven J. Weiss, had been appointed by Cuomo to the New York State Housing Finance Agency in 2011 and the state board of the Roswell Park Cancer Institute in 2016. Government records show that Weiss has donated $53,000 to the governors campaign since being picked for the housing agency.

The other, Kenneth A. Manning, had been named by Cuomo to the same cancer research institute board in 2015, as well as another public authority. Records show Manning has donated $50,500 since his appointments.

That type of arrangement  appointments go out, campaign cash comes back in  has vexed government reformers in Albany for generations. Things were supposed to change in 2007, when Eliot L. Spitzer, then the newly elected governor, issued an executive order barring most appointees from donating to or soliciting donations for the governor who made the appointment. Cuomo renewed the order on his first day in office.

But a New York Times investigation found that the Cuomo administration has quietly reinterpreted the directive, enabling him to collect about $890,000 from two dozen of his appointees. Some gave within days of being appointed.

The governor also has accepted $1.3 million from the spouses, children and businesses of appointees, state records show.

In some cases, a husband and wife each won state appointments and then kept contributing. In others, the appointees stopped donating after receiving state posts, but their families continued writing checks. One appointee and his wife donated 11 times while he was serving. Another has given Cuomo, personally and through companies tied to him, more than $500,000.

The executive order explicitly forbids appointees from soliciting donations for the governor. Yet multiple appointees have done so, like Weiss and Manning in the fall, raising a considerable additional amount for Cuomo.

Cuomos donor-appointees span the states vast network of boards and authorities. They have served as trustees of both the city and state university systems, on the panel overseeing economic development and on the board of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which runs New York Citys subways and buses. Most positions are unpaid, but they hold great power and prestige: Board members can approve multibillion-dollar contracts and multimillion-dollar grants, oversee the distribution of tax breaks, and have broad influence over everything from the states highways to local arts projects.

In response to questions about the donations from appointees, Cuomo administration officials said they believed that the order only applied to appointees who could be fired at any time by the governor, not those serving set terms. Under that interpretation, donations by board members of many of the states most powerful authorities would be allowed.

The purpose of the order is to prohibit employees and board members who serve at the pleasure of the governor from making political contributions, said Alphonso B. David, Cuomos counsel. It does not apply to every single person who serves in government, to individuals who volunteer for government, or to individuals who were appointed by the Senate and cannot be removed by the executive. A different reading simply divorces the purpose of the order from its language.

The Cuomo interpretation differs from what some officials say in their own internal ethics rules, from the interpretation of independent government watchdogs and from what Spitzer himself said he intended when he crafted the order.

The executive order was intended, and did, in fact, apply to all gubernatorial appointees, regardless of the need for Senate confirmation, or any term applicable to their service, Spitzer said in an interview.

The order does not differentiate between types of authority appointees. It simply says that no member of a public authority appointed by the governor can donate or solicit donations.

Richard L. Brodsky, a former 14-term member of the State Assembly and longtime watchdog of state authorities, questioned the Cuomo reading. It doesnt make any sense to claim somehow the language does not include all his authority appointees. It does, he said.

 Image of a Political Reformer

The prohibition on appointee giving is hidden in plain sight, incorporated in Cuomos own campaign website.

No state agency officer or employee who serves at the pleasure of the governor or their appointing authority or members of state public authority or other boards appointed by the governor may contribute to and/or fundraise for Andrew Cuomo 2018, the website says. Similar language has been included on invitations to fundraisers for the governor going back to 2011.

The order originated on Spitzers first day in office, part of a set of sweeping mandates under the banner of eliminating politics from government decision-making. Gov. David A. Paterson signed a revised version of the order when he took office. (Even under Spitzers more stringent interpretation, records show that some appointees still contributed to his campaign.)

Cuomo, who fashioned himself as a political reformer from the day he launched his 2010 bid for governor in front of Tweed Courthouse, included his renewal of the order as part of an ethics package adopted on his first day in office.

After seven years, watchdogs say Cuomos ethics record, despite some new measures, has been mostly a disappointment, from his disbanding of the Moreland Commission on public corruption to his aggressive use of campaign-finance loopholes.

To tally the donations Cuomo has received from his appointees, The Times compared a New York State Authorities Budget Office database of hundreds of the governors nominations and appointments against the states campaign finance database. Both databases are public.

Reporters then vetted the matches, searched for others and excluded authorities not covered by the executive order, such as the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey, an interstate agency. Appointees named to their posts by previous governors and not reappointed by Cuomo also were excluded.

The total also does not include donations raised at fundraisers hosted by appointees, since they are difficult to track.

The analysis identified about $890,000 in donations from 26 appointees. An additional roughly $830,000 came from family members, and $490,000 from firms owned or controlled by appointees.

All told, 37 of Cuomos appointees have donated $2.2 million either directly or indirectly to the governors campaign since 2011. And those people had donated another $2.2 million before being appointed to their state posts.

Dani Lever, Cuomos press secretary, said donors were only a fraction of his appointees. Clearly, most board members are not campaign contributors, and most campaign contributors are not board members, she said.

 At the Epicenter of the Arts

Aby J. Rosen, a colorful real estate developer and art collector, is a major donor whom Cuomo installed as chairman of the New York State Council on the Arts less than six months into his governorship. It is an enviable posting at New Yorks cultural epicenter, a position responsible for overseeing tens of millions of dollars in arts grants across the state.

Rosen has a long history as a Cuomo donor. In 2002, when Cuomo first ran for governor, Rosen was one of his largest contributors, and also rented Cuomo campaign space in one of his companys buildings for one-sixth the advertised rate. (His opponent complained they were skirting contribution limits.) When Cuomo ran a second time in 2010, Rosen again was a major donor. He and his wife gave more than $85,000 between 2007 and his 2011 appointment to the arts council.

The money kept flowing afterward  more than $40,000 since from Rosen, and $50,000 from his real estate holding company, RFR Holding, according to government records.

While on the arts council, Rosen also appears to have provided private aircraft for Cuomo. In December 2011, Rosens firm contributed nearly $3.3 million in travel expenses to Cuomo on the same day the governors schedule shows him taking a private aircraft from Albany to New York City for a fundraiser. Rosen made another $3 million in-kind donation to Cuomos campaign in December 2013; that day the schedule again shows the governor taking a private aircraft to a fundraiser. Rosen did not return requests for comment.

Rosen served on the arts council until February 2016. Three months later, he agreed to a $7 million settlement with New Yorks attorney general for failing to pay taxes on artwork he had bought or commissioned, in some cases during his tenure on the council.

To replace Rosen as chair, Cuomo promoted another major campaign donor already on the arts council, Barbaralee Diamonstein-Spielvogel, an author and longtime arts advocate.

Diamonstein-Spielvogel has donated $27,500 to Cuomos campaign since he reappointed her to the council in 2013. Her husband, Carl Spielvogel, was reappointed by Cuomo to the board of the State University of New York in 2015. He has given $20,000 since then.

The Spielvogels could not be reached for comment. But a woman who answered the phone at their home and identified herself as the assistant to Spielvogel, who is 86, said that Spielvogel never contributed unless she was asked, and that she recently refrained from making a contribution to Cuomo because she had heard about the executive order for the first time.

She looked up the law herself, said the woman, who declined to give her name. She is very particular about obeying whatever the letter and spirit of the law is.

Other arts council appointees have donated, too. Cuomo nominated Jonathan Sheffer on May 16, 2011; three days later, records show that he donated $10,000 to the governors campaign. He served until 2016. Sheffer said he has donated to Cuomo for years and that the timing of his May 2011 donation was coincidental.

Council member Laura Aswad has contributed $25,000 to Cuomos campaign since he appointed her, and Jaynne Keyes has contributed $10,000 since her appointment.

Keyes is married to Michael J. Del Giudice, a former top aide to Cuomos father, the former Gov. Mario M. Cuomo. Aswad is married to Joseph W. Belluck, who has served for years on the State Commission on Judicial Conduct and the board of the State University of New York. He was reappointed by Cuomo to the judicial conduct commission in 2012 and has given $56,000 since then.

Belluck said he was unaware of the executive order until several months ago, when he was told that he could not donate because he was on the State University of New York board.

Lever, the governors press secretary, said the administration believes that arts council board members are allowed to donate to Cuomos campaign. The language of the order with respect to agency boards bans contributions from board members who serve at the pleasure of the governor, she said. The arts council is an agency board whose members do not serve at the pleasure of the governor, as they are Senate-confirmed and serve in fixed terms of years  therefore are not covered by the order.

Cuomos counsel called the order extremely vague but said that we believe our interpretation is the most consistent with the purpose of the order.

Contrary to Cuomos interpretation, ethics handbooks of some state boards still bar donations by board members. No board member, pursuant to executive order, may make or offer to make any monetary contribution to the campaign of the governor, according to the ethics code for MTA board members.

Because an executive order does not have the force of law, it is not clear if violating it would prompt any repercussions. The order itself says penalties could include dismissal or other appropriate sanction, but the person who would enforce that would be Cuomo.

All of this shows why you dont do ethics by executive order, said Lawrence Norden of the Brennan Center for Justice of the New York University School of Law. This kind of thing helps to drive cynicism about Albany.

 At the Tip of Manhattan

Perhaps nowhere are the connections of Cuomos appointees more apparent than on the board of the Battery Park City Authority, a public benefit corporation created to own and manage 92 acres of land in lower Manhattan.

The authority has power over a valuable sliver of New York: Battery Park City includes the Brookfield Place development, the global headquarters of Goldman Sachs and luxury hotels and restaurants, in addition to homes for about 10,000 residents. The authority controls development and maintains the public spaces in the area, and can impose de facto taxes on residents. None of the seven board members live there; some have a history of large political donations.

Take the chairman, Dennis Mehiel, for example. He built a fortune in the shipping container industry and was the Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor in 2002. He donated $92,000 to Cuomos campaigns before being appointed to the authority in June 2012, government records show.

Less than a month after he was confirmed to the job, his wife, Karen, gave $20,000 to the governors campaign account. She has given $105,000 more in the years since, while Mehiel himself has contributed $10,000, and companies associated with him have kicked in an additional $35,000.

Another board member, Lester Petracca, the president of a construction firm, has given $85,000 to Cuomos campaigns since being confirmed in June 2013, records show. His wife, Tracy, contributed $105,000.

In all, four men have been on the Battery Park City board at least a year; three have donated personally or through their companies during their tenures.

A spokesman for the Battery Park City Authority declined to comment. Mehiel and Petracca did not return requests for comment.

Residents called the donations problematic. Anthony Notaro Jr., the chairman of Manhattan Community Board 1, said the authority board was too powerful to be filled with the governors close friends and fundraisers.

 Others Around the State

Similar stories are scattered across state government.

At the New York Thruway Authority, Cuomo has placed his longtime Republican ally Joanne M. Mahoney, the Onondaga County executive. Since her 2015 appointment, she has given $10,000 to his campaign through her political committee, finance records show. Mahoney did not respond to messages seeking comment.

At the City University of New York, Cuomo installed as trustees the prominent lawyer Brian D. Obergfell in 2012, and the construction firm founder Sandra Wilkin and the public relations executive Ken Sunshine in 2016. Since their appointments, they have contributed $45,000, $37,500 and $5,000, respectively, records show. A university spokesman said, The order does not apply to the CUNY board of trustees.

At the MTA, Cuomo in June appointed one of his biggest donors, the real estate developer Scott Rechler; a company tied to Rechler donated $65,000 to the governor in December. Including donations before the appointment, Rechler, his family and his companies have given Cuomo more than $500,000. Rechler declined to comment.

At the New York Convention Center Operating Corp., which oversees the Javits Center, there are a half-dozen major Cuomo donors.

Among them is George J. Tsunis, a hotel magnate who, along with his wife, Olga, has contributed more than $180,000 to Cuomos campaign, who named him to the board in June 2016. Within a month of being appointed, Olga Tsunis donated $15,000 and made a $5,100 in-kind donation for event costs, presumably for a fundraiser, government records show. In June 2017, George and Olga Tsunis hosted a Cuomo summer barbecue fundraiser at their Long Island home, according to an invitation obtained by The Times.

George Tsunis name was in boldface type at the top. The small print included the disclaimer that state appointees were not allowed to contribute to and/or fundraise for Andrew Cuomo 2018.

Within two weeks of the barbecue, George Tsunis got a second posting  to the Battery Park City Authority.

George Tsunis did not respond to messages seeking comment.

At the Empire State Development Corp., the powerful authority that runs the states economic development programs, Cuomo nominated Howard Zemsky as president and chief executive in 2015. Zemsky and his wife, Leslie, have combined to donate $125,000 to Cuomos campaign. All of Howard Zemskys donations came before he was appointed; all $95,000 of his wifes donations came afterward.

In July 2015, Leslie Zemsky donated $25,000 on the same day that the governors calendar shows he was meeting with Howard Zemsky, along with officials from Uber.

Howard Zemsky said in a statement: I have not contributed to the governor since my appointment. My wife contributed in 2015 because she strongly supports the governors vision for New York state.

 A Political Relationship

In Buffalo in November, Weiss, a lawyer with a specialty in affordable housing who had spent five years as one of Cuomos appointees on the New York State Housing Finance Agency, served as host for the governor.

The arc of their political relationship is not uncommon.

Weiss gave his first $25,000 to Cuomos campaign three weeks after joining Cuomos transition team in 2010. By May 2011, Cuomo had forwarded Weiss name to the state Senate as his nominee for a spot on the states housing finance agency, according to emails obtained by The Times. (Cuomo did not immediately publicly announce Weiss nomination at the time.)

On June 1, 2011, Weiss contributed another $25,000 to Cuomos campaign, according to government records. Six days later, Weiss was confirmed to the housing agency, where he served until the summer of 2017. He has been on the Roswell Park Cancer Institute board since 2016. Weiss did not respond to requests for comment, nor did Manning, the other appointee who hosted a fundraiser that night.

In January, Cuomo reported having $30.5 million in his campaign bank account. It is the largest pile of contributions of any Democratic politician in the country.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.This is very unfair to Republicans and to our country as a whole. Must be appealed to the United States Supreme Court ASAP!

The Supreme Court this month denied a request from Pennsylvania Republicans to stop the states highest court from requiring lawmakers to redraw the map of the states 18 House districts.

The new map, released by the state court this past week, effectively eliminates the Republican advantage in Pennsylvania, endangering several incumbent Republican seats and bolstering Democrat standings in two open races.

Pennsylvania is typically a swing state in statewide elections, and the new map, if it stands, could play a crucial role in efforts by the Democratic Party to gain control of the House in the midterm elections.

In January, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, ruling along party lines, struck down the congressional district map.

The court said its partisan gerrymandering clearly, plainly and palpably violated the state constitution, and stepped in to draw the map when Republicans and Gov. Tom Wolf, a Democrat, could not agree on a version.

Republican lawmakers in the state have refused to accept the courts decision, asking the U.S. Supreme Court to again intervene and block the court-ordered map from taking place.

They have also filed a federal lawsuit in Pennsylvania, arguing that the state court violated its constitutional authority by getting rid of the old map and drawing a new one.

One Republican lawmaker has also circulated a proposal to impeach the Democratic justices who served as the 5-to-2 majority in the ruling, and the president pro tempore of the state Senate, Joe Scarnati, a Republican, has publicly floated the idea of filing ethics complaints against two Democrat justices who expressed opinions on gerrymandering before the January ruling.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.Wiper Party Secretary General Peter Mathuki has challenged Raila Odingas ODM to publicly declare if they will honor a pre-election pact signed by National Super Alliance (NASA) principals.

Speaking on Saturday, Mathuki warned that the party still has other options on the table and is not desperate.

Theyre saying theyll go it alone if they are pushed. But who is pushing them? Mathuki wondered.

He also questioned the timing of the statement made by Raila Odinga during ODMs National Governing Council (NGC) on Friday.

Why is it that they are being pushed when time comes for them to support the other principals?

What we are seeing is that theyve taken our 10 years of supporting them for granted. They need to come out clear, and then we will know who is honest, and who is not said Mathuki.

In 2017, ODM entered into a pre-election pact with Wiper Party, Ford Kenya and Amani National Congress to form the opposition coalition National Super Alliance (NASA).

According to the pact, the party leaders agreed to support Raila Odinga in the 2017 presidential election on the understanding that a different principal would be fronted for the 2022 elections.Opinion

Ryan Bridge: The Govt's COVID-19 messaging is all over the shop - do lockdowns stop when enough Kiwis are vaccinated?Newshub News Desk

Newshub welcomes your news tips and information.

Please email us: news@newshub.co.nz or

call the news team on 0800 Newshub.

The network news centre is in Auckland, with journalists in Wellington and Christchurch, as well as the Press Gallery office at Parliament, combined with a team of freelance reporters around the country.



Newshub supplies news and sport to all 140 MediaWorks radio stations, making it the most listened-to commercial radio news service in New Zealand.

Newshub is owned by Discovery New Zealand.Property details:

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We're sorry, this article is not currently availableFollowing President Trumps comments regarding arming teachers in our schools, the American Federation of Teachers issued a press release, predictably bleating about the proposal and wondering aloud about how such a thing was ever possible. How would arming teachers even work? mused AFT President Randi Weingarten. Well, if shed ever poke her head out of either one of her cozy Long Island or Washington, D.C., bubbles and look at whats happening in flyover states, she might actually get a clue.  Iain Harrison, RECOIL

FASTER Saves Lives: How Ohio is Arming and Training School Staff

By Chris Cerino

The news is crazy these days with talk that runs the gamut from banning all semi-automatic guns to arming teachers and school staff. As a gun enthusiast, competitor and firearms trainer Im definitely in favor of the latter.

In fact, for the past five years, Ive been an integral part of training Ohios faculty and administrators. Theres an acronym for the programFASTER.

FASTER stands for Faculty/Administrator Safety Training & Emergency Response. FASTER was the brainchild of John Benner, Owner and director of training at Ohios Tactical Defense Institute (TDI).

Not long after the Sandy Hook School shooting in 2012, Benner, in conjunction with concerned parents, law enforcement and nationally recognized medical experts created the FASTER program. At the time it was a groundbreaking idea and it caught the attention of Ohios Buckeye Firearms Association (BFA).

Working together, TDI and BFA brought the class to life. The kicker was that it was going to be fully funded by donations, so all of the training was provided to school districts at no cost. Attendees only had to pay for their lodging and ammunition.

The program itself is structured like a mini SWAT or Rapid Response to Active Shooters course. Three days of intense training that culminate by exceeding the Ohio Peace Officer Training Academy requirements for firearms training. Yep, graduates are expected to outshoot state cops by the end of it. There are twenty-seven hours of instruction, including Immediate Casualty Care (ICC). FASTER is much more than just learning to stop bleeding, use or improvise tourniquets and provide medical aid. Medical aid is important and saves lives, but you know what saves more people? Stopping the killing.

Ohios program is completely voluntary and is not for the faint of heart. Besides the ICC, the three days include training in defensive mindset and history of active killers, firearms skills, tactics for hunting killers, locking down and/or ambushing, force on force scenarios for stress inoculation, weapon retention, deep concealment tactics and an Ohio Peace Officer weapons qualification with a minimum passing score of 92%. Ohio requires 80% of its officers.

After Sandy Hook, when the first classes were advertised to school districts in Ohio, there were 1200 prospective volunteer students waiting to be trained. Thats when the organizers knew they were about to be overwhelmed and I was honored to be asked to assist.

The student lists grew after each class and before the end of the first year, we decided that prospective students had to have their Ohio Concealed Carry Handgun License before attending, as a means to pre-select candidates. It cut down the list for the next year but numbers were still high.

Each class inevitably has failures or dropouts. Some voluntarily quit after the initial mindset portion, deciding that they couldnt handle the daunting task before them. Failures at qualification are understandable, given we were demanding that educators outperform sworn LE, so collectively we decided to create an eight-hour primer course. This was to be solely firearms training, designed to give students a head start, and we selected preferred trainers to provide the instruction. The primer course is mandatory, and it gives students solid basics and lays out before them what is going to be expected of them at the three-day class.

To date BFA and the FASTER program has trained some 1300 teachers, administrators, maintenance staff and even school bus drivers. Some districts in Ohio proudly advertise that they have armed staff on premise to protect their students. Others keep it a closely guarded secret.

Not everyone who attends the FASTER program comes from a district that will allow them to carry after attending. These students commit to training on their own time, in the hope of getting a head start when the program is implemented in the schools in which they work.

None of the training is designed to replace police or EMTs, but to allow teachers, administrators, and other personnel on-site to stop school violence rapidly and render medical aid immediately. Theyre the guys who are there on site, and its a safe bet that an adequate response immediately executed is better than a SWAT team that responds in time to identify bodies. When seconds count, police are minutes away and many of the trainees know it. The goal is to stop the killing. This could mean ambushing and killing the shooter, or simply changing his focus from the slaughter of unarmed children to self-preservation and retreat. Fact no one wants to get shot, even a sad-sack cowardly shitbird.

FASTER has gained momentum and even funding from the State of Ohio. The classes have been sought from outside the programs home state. Last year we began a FASTER division in Colorado. This year, FASTER will be back to Colorado for two more classes and one in Wyoming.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Chris Cerino has 26 years Law Enforcement experience. He is an internationally known trainer and speaker and has been training law enforcement officers, military operators and civilians for most of those years. A published writer on the topics of firearms training and instructional skills, he continually pursues validation of skill and the skills he teaches by competing nationwide.

Website: www.chriscerinotraininggroup.com

Email: [email protected]The fact remains that as of today, the justice that I deserve is far off, as it shall take time to prove my innocence, and the future seems uncertain presently, Mehul Choksi tells his employees in a letter.

Owner of Gitanjali Gems, Mehul Choksi, expressed his "helplessness" in a letter to his employees stating he would be unable to clear their dues in lieu of the ongoing probe in the Rs 114 billion Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud.

Choksi, in a communication to over 3,500 employees, said it would be "very tough" to clear dues or pay future salaries, as investigative agencies had seized his bank accounts and other properties, adding the manner of investigation was starting to create havoc, and was hell-bent on stopping the operations.

He, in a letter issued by his advocate, Sanjay Abbott, suggested, in view of the uncertainty looming over payment of dues, termination of office operations, and "unfair investigation", they begin scouting for alternate career options.

Abbot said: Letter was written because everything has been sealed/seized. My client is not in a position to operate any account to pay the employees. So it was written to tell them that they are free, according to news agency ANI.

"The fact remains that as of today, the justice that I deserve is far off, as it shall take time to prove my innocence, and the future seems uncertain presently," Choksi said in the letter.

He further said the HR has been instructed to issue relieving letters and experience certificates if the employees require it. The top businessman also clarified that laptops and mobile phones issued by the organisation can remain with employees until dues were cleared.

The Enforcement Directorate had conducted raids on the premises of the 89-hectare Hyderabad Gems SEZ, owned by the Gitanjali group. This hit the employees worst as 1,200 workers from Raviryal village lost their jobs.Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday lashed out at the Congress saying that one family had ruled the country for over four decades and asked the people to compare the dynasty-led governments with the "development-oriented" National Democratic Alliance.

"One family either directly or indirectly ruled the country for 48 years," he told a public meeting organised by the Bharatiya Janata Party in Puducherry, referring to the governments of Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi.

On the other hand, he said, there was the NDA government which will complete 48 months this May.

Intellectuals can debate the difference between what was achieved during the Congress regimes and the BJP-led NDA, he said.

Targeting the Congress government in Puducherry, he said the union territory had poor infrastructure and was a victim of "Congress culture".

Modi asserted that the BJP would win the coming assembly elections in Karnataka and other states, and said the Congress would be left with only the V Narayanasamy government in Puducherry.

He did not refer to the Amarinder Singh-led Congress government in Punjab.

"I want to congratulate the Chief Minister of Puducherry because the Congress is going to exhibit him as a specimen after June," he said predicting the defeat of the Congress in the other states.

He claimed Puducherry had poor infrastructure and sectors such as transport and cooperation were in a shambles.

"The Congress has failed on all fronts in Puducherry," he said.

Earlier, Modi visited Sri Aurobindo Ashram and paid homage to its founder Sri Aurobindo.

He then left for Auroville (City of Dawn) International Township situated in neighbouring Villupuram district of Tamil Nadu where he participated in its golden jubilee celebrations.

He said that India has been the spiritual destination for the world for ages and always allowed mutual respect and coexistence of different religions and culture.

Several of the world's great religions were born in the country and they motivated people from all walks of life to take a spiritual path, he said at the international township, around 6 km from Puducherry.

The township was envisioned by Mirra Alfassa, a spiritual collaborator of Aurobindo and the 'Mother' of the Sri Aurobindo Ashram.

The prime minister said that as observed by the Mother, Auroville has become a universal town to realise human unity and the large gathering today reflects the idea.

He said for ages India has been a spiritual destination for the world.

"Many of the world's great religions were born here. They motivate people from all walks of life to take a spiritual path...," Modi said.

"Aurobindo's vision of India's spiritual leadership continues to inspire us even today, indeed Auroville is a manifestation of that vision," he said.

Over the last five decades Auroville has emerged as a hub of social cultural, educational, economical, and spiritual innovation, the prime minister said.

It has brought together men and women, young and old from across boundaries and identities under the charter handwritten by the "divine Mother" herself, he said.

"It belongs to all the humanity and is a reflection of our ancient credo 'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam' the world is one family," he added.

Noting that Auroville was inaugurated in 1968 with delegates from 124 nations in attendance, Modi said that he learnt that today it had 2,400 residents from 49 countries.

The prime minister was given a standing ovation at the end his address, which he responded to with repeated bows.iStock/Thinkstock(SAN ANTONIO) -- One mother made a statement to her local school district by filming herself walking inside of her daughter's high school undetected.



In the wake of last week's deadly shooting in Parkland, Florida, Stacey Alderete, whose daughter goes to South San High School in San Antonio, Texas, said she wondered what more could have been done to protect the children.



You see those kids broken," Alderete told ABC News. "I dont want to see that happen in our district or anywhere else.



While dropping her daughter off at school on Tuesday and going to bring paperwork to the schools office, Alderete decided to dress up like a student, even wearing a backpack, and test the school's security, capturing her journey on video.



There are no officers or security visible in the video. A few students are seen in the hallway midway through her filming.



We have AMAZING officers but unfortunately not enough and are VERY SHORT HANDED, Alderete wrote on Facebook, along with the video. There are no longer officers on the weekend and evening patrol.



The South San Antonio Independent School District did not respond to multiple requests for comment from ABC News, but told ABC affiliate KSAT-TV that the safety protocol at our schools requires that all visitors, including parents, first check in at the front desk.



Principals are given the discretion to determine which exterior doors must remain locked at all times. Most elementary principals keep all exterior doors locked. Because of the requirement to change classes every hour at the middle and high school, most secondary schools do not lock most exterior doors, but security cameras and police officers constantly monitor exterior doors, the district said.



According to Alderete, the district is dealing with significant budget concerns and removed officers from various schools.



Up until November 2016, Alderete was a board member for the district and at one time every elementary school and junior high school had at least one officer stationed at each school, but that is no longer the case, according to Alderete.



Alderete claimed to KSAT-TV that the school district wants to scale back on security as part of upcoming budget cuts. The district disputed that characterization.



Seven million dollars in potential budget reductions were discussed at the last meeting and these reductions impact many departments and areas in the school district. The police department was only one of many areas discussed. These proposed reductions are simply at the discussion level at this time. Final decisions will be made when the budget is adopted in August, a district spokesperson told KSAT-TV.



According to the district, there are four officers assigned to the high school, two at each middle school, and two for the nine elementary schools, KSAT-TV reported.



Alderete told ABC News that the response to her video has been mixed. Some people have praised it, while others have criticized her for showing people how easy it is to get in the school.



But Alderete said she does not regret posting the video.



I want our children and kids to be safe and I want our staff to be safe, Alderete said. We cant control what happens in Washington but as parents we have authority and can control what happens here.

Copyright  2018, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.A Place for All Conservatives to Speak Their Mind.A game changer

Remittance can be channelled towards the creation of programmes for the economic empowerment of womenCabinet expansion on Monday, says Dahal

CPN (Maoist Centre) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal has said that the Cabinet will be expanded on Monday.Court orders to present petitioner in Krishna Pd Adhikari murder case

The Chitwan District Court on Sunday issued an order to present petitioner in the case relating to the murder of Krishna Prasad Adhikari of Fujel, Gorkha.Distress

Post earthquake studies have exposed Nepals lack of focus on mental health issuesThe sanctions and anti-sanctions game, which we have lately the pleasure to watch almost every day, cannot but put the diamond market players on edge. There are grounds for concern: the diamond trade and politics have crossed each others path rather often over the last century and the effect of these contacts was mixed. So, it is helpful to use the historical cases demonstrating the triumph of common sense and desire for constructive development over tactical political interests.

In our opinion, the closest historical analogy to the current events is the period from 1951 through 1953 when the cold war between the USSR and the West developed into its hot phase of the direct armed conflict in Korea, and numerous trade sanctions were applied against the Soviet Union. At this particular time, the diamond market saw the events that determined its development for many future decades. Only few people knew about those events so far, as the documents referring to those events were classified and could not be introduced into scientific discourse.

In 1952, Joseph Stalin, Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR, signed a number of secret orders on the purchase of industrial diamonds and special equipment from Britain for the Soviet Trade Representation Office in London to facilitate the acceptance of diamonds, checking their quality, sorting and weighing (No.10503-rs dated 03.05.1952, No.25039-rs dated 26.09.1952, etc.). That was a record-breaking procurement in all the USSR period  the total value was 30 million roubles paid by gold for over 600 000 carats.

The diamonds were purchased at much lower prices than those on the market, at a discount of about 17%. In September 1952, S. Borisov, Deputy Minister for Foreign Trade, wrote to A. Mikoyan, who supervised all the diamond industry in the USSR, The task set by the government to purchase industrial diamonds for 1952 for 17.0 mln roubles has been completed in full by the Ministry for Foreign Trade in terms of the allocated amount of money, while the volume in carats was exceeded by 17%. At present, there is a possibility to continue the procurement of industrial diamonds of the assortment suitable for us. The letter of S. Borisov became the basis for Stalins order to increase the purchase for up to 30 million roubles in 1952.



As a result of excessive imports, the USSR became a holder of an industrial diamonds stock that could satisfy the needs of the Soviet industry for many years to come. It was in 1952 that the Minister of Finance of the USSR A. Zverev reported at the meeting of the Bureau of the Presidium of the Council of Ministers of the USSR, In case of fulfilling the diamond supplies by the Ministry for Foreign Trade as per the specification agreed upon, the industry demand  will be satisfied: for wiredrawing  for 6 years, for test instruments  for 7 years, and for diamond grit and chips used in diamond-set drilling tools, grinding-wheel dressing, watch jewels processing, manufacturing of optical glass and diamond dies  for 8 years The other diamond grades available in the State Precious Metals and Gems Repository will meet the industry demand for 10-15 years.

Despite such a substantial stock, the import of industrial diamonds continued at an accelerated tempo next year, too. By the USSR Council of Ministers Decree No. 1486-590ss, the task for procuring industrial diamonds for 1953 was increased by 10 mln roubles to be paid by gold and was just a little less than the record amount of money spent in 1952.

The heyday of Stalins diamond import bonanza came at the time when the aviation and ground formations of the 64th Fighter Aviation Corps of the Soviet Army were fiercely fighting against the UN troops in Korea. Each side had hundreds of warplanes shot down. Not only the US Sabres and Thunderjets got caught in the sights of the Soviet MiGs, but also the warplanes of the British Commonwealth, including British, Australian, South African and Canadian aircraft. That's all there was to it - they were bitter enemies on the battlefield and at the same time the best friends in the diamond trade!

And what about sanctions? Oh, yes, sanctions  this is something we cannot do without! In January 1950, the NATO countries established the COCOM (Coordinating Committee for Multilateral Export Controls), an organization to control the export of defense and dual-use goods and technologies to the USSR and the Eastern Block countries. Needless to say, that industrial diamonds and diamond tools were on the COCOM lists. So, what? If we use the exquisite way to say it in modern Russian business vernacular, De Beers just conned this COCOM, as well as all its US and British ramifications. That was an excellent kind of embargo - mutually beneficial.

Certainly, a motivation to make good money on such a huge supply was there. But it was not the main reason. The diamonds were sold at great discounts and it was not because of the scale of the wholesale delivery.

In 1950, Yakutia saw the discovery of several diamond placers with a grade ten times higher than the Ural alluvial deposits being developed by the GULAGs labour force under the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA). In 1951, a MIA expert team arrived at the new deposits to work out a 3-volume project report regarding the development of this new diamond province. According to this project report, the following deposits were planned to be operated by the GULAG: Skazochnoye, Sokolinoye, Verkhnie Ostrova, Molodyozhnoye, Rybachie, Ogonyok. Power stations were expected to be built in Viluisk and Ust-Markha, as well as a wharf in Ust-Markha and two field support bases  in Turukta and Khadan. In each of these facilities it was supposed to set up a camp for 300  1,000 prisoners. At the first stage of the development of the diamond deposits in the Viluisky District, it was supposed to use totally about 5,000 prisoners. As early as 1952, it was scheduled to bring the materials and equipment required including a diamond dredger to the Suntarsky District. In 1952, the MIA scheduled to start pilot diamond mining in the Viluisky diamondiferous area and a full-scale diamond production was scheduled for 1953. However,  no mining started! The MIA project report remained ink on paper. So, what had happened?

It is not correct to claim that the MIA project was buried because of Stalins death and the subsequent restructuring of the MIA. In 1952, the leader was alive and felt all right. The first diamond dredger was expected to arrive at the alluvial mines in Yakutia in 1952. None of the officials (including ministers) could dare to sabotage the decisions on the development of the Yakutian diamond deposits. And why they should? What reason could be for such a sabotage? There were discovered very rich alluvial deposits and that was great! The expertise, personnel and technologies for their development were available at the Uralalmaz that belonged to the MIA structure. Indeed, there were big problems with the manpower and infrastructure in the Western Yakutia, but when and where could such problems withhold the GULAG from doing anything? Indeed, there were penitentiaries all over Yakutia: Aldanlag, Dzhugzhurlag, Zyryanlag, Indigirlag, Nemnyrlag, Yanlag. Gold, mica, tin, coal, tungsten  all these minerals were mined in Yakutia by the enterprises governed by the MIA of the USSR. Why should diamonds be an exception?

It might seem like here it was - a long-awaited national mineral raw material base able to satisfy the industrial demand and free the country forever from the need to import diamonds. Just start developing it! But in 1951-1953, record-breaking purchases of industrial diamonds were made from Britain. And at the same time, the MIA project on the development of the Viluisky diamondiferous area was placed on hold. It came at the time when there was an extremely low diamond production at the Ural mines showing a whopping prime cost. Did Stalin and all his ministers plunge into collective insanity?

Of course, they did not. The Soviet leadership was still of sound mind and memory. And there was only one explanation for the then existing situation. The De Beers Corporation, that was a permanent counterparty of the USSR on the diamond market at least from the time of Stalins industrialization, turned out to be well informed about the discovery of the deposits in Yakutia despite all the strict security labels. And this was followed by a simple analysis - the new diamond deposits had an outstanding capacity, while the USSR experienced a persistent shortage of convertible currency, and taking into account the specific features of the existing diamond industry, it was possible to concentrate the required manpower (in other words, prisoners) and material resources in the area of new deposits very quickly. So, a significant quantity of diamonds (of much lower prime cost compared with diamonds mined in the Urals) could emerge in the world market in the nearest future beyond the control of De Beers. Of course, this would cause a serious damage to its monopoly and threaten the market with a price collapse.

So, De Beers asked the Soviet partners not rush into developing the deposits, so that the regulator could have time to prepare the market to absorb the new products without serious market fluctuations. Great efforts were required to achieve that, as it was necessary to invent new marketing campaigns to promote polished diamonds in new consumer segments and intensify their promotion in the traditional ones. This has always been De Beers payment for the monopoly it enjoyed the market, but under a force-majeure caused by the diamond discoveries in Yakutia, the work was to be stepped up and, certainly, the time left played a rather important role.

The proposal was reasonable, but the Soviet side demanded guarantees. Placing the new deposits on hold made the position of the USSR vulnerable as such tools like COCOM could turn from being ephemeral into real ones any time soon. As a security, De Beers commitd itself to supplying the record quantity of industrial diamonds in 19511953 so that the USSR industry could be reliably provided with diamonds, even in bigger quantities than it was adequate. Plus, it offered a significant benefit  a deeply discounted price for the supplied diamonds.

Why were the Soviet diamond transactions made in 1951  1953 classified as top secret? Top-secret for whom? For the British partner? Ridiculous. However, soon this made some people reluctant to mock at all.

In late June 1951, a confidential intelligence memorandum CIA/RR IM-354 titled World Production and Trade in Industrial Diamonds with Particular Reference to the US and the USSR was put on the table of Three-Star General Walter Bedell "Beetle" Smith, Director of CIA. On page 8 of this masterpiece of the American intelligence thought, it was written in black and white that the Diamond Corporation did not and would not supply industrial diamonds to the Soviet Bloc. It was with good reason that the Soviet and British documents were classified - General Smith had overlooked the largest deal in the diamond market fraught with grave and long-term consequences. It's no wonder that he was asked to leave in 1953.

And for the information protection of the unparalleled deal made by the Soviet and British partners, a cover story about the diamond embargo was jointly developed and then leaked to mass media, especially American, starting exactly in 1951. That fake document was of so high quality that it is still a key point of all the historical studies researching the diamond theme both in Russia and abroad.

So, some choose wars and sanctions, while others prefer a constructive dialogue and trade. However, it will be possible to discuss this about fifty years later.

Sergey Goryainov, Rough&Polished





Rough&Polished is preparing the publication of a book written by Sergey Goryainov, Stalins Secret Diamonds based on over 100 declassified documents regarding the Soviet deals in the diamond market in the 1930s-1950s that are being introduced into scientific discourse for the first time.Ari Epstein, CEO of the Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC), dwelled on the results of the past year and the current situation in the diamond market in his interview to Rough&Polished.

How do you assess the results of 2017?

If the diamond trade in 2016 was characterized by market recovery, 2017 brought a return to stability and predictability that should continue for the foreseeable future, particularly in the rough diamond trade. This is a welcome development for the industry as a whole. Pressing concerns remain, particularly with regard to the polished sector, but while the overall value of diamonds traded declined slightly to $46 billion from $48 billion in 2016, we note a tremendous increase in the amount of diamonds traded.

As the largest diamond trading hub, whatever trends are taking place globally are reflected in our trade figures. The dip in value was thus due to an industry-wide increase in demand for smaller rough diamonds last year, which implies a lower average price-per-carat, with the consequence that overall value declined even as our volumes were outstanding. In any event, I no longer think we need to talk about a recovery. The diamond trade is stable again.

What is your forecast for the development of the global diamond industry in 2018?

If January is any indication, 2018 is shaping up to be a stellar year. In Antwerp, polished exports surged 29% in value, with the volume of polished exports rising 21% compared to January 2017. The volume of polished imports also rose 21% year-on-year, leading to an 8% increase in value to nearly $955 million. Meanwhile, rough exports also surged 14% in value in the first month of 2018 to $1.1 billion, with a 16% increase in volume. The volume of rough imports increased as well.

Granted, this is only one month, so as always, we will temper our optimism. Analysts expect a price increase for rough as well as polished diamonds in 2018, which is interesting for the industry. It is difficult to say at this point where consumer demand will go in terms of the types of goods desired, but the sheer level of consumer demand looks promising right now, particularly in China. The slowdown in Chinese demand was concerning after the exponential increases before 2014, but now it appears to be picking up again.

Globally, consumer diamond demand should grow in 2018 driven by a stable U.S. consumer environment, strong financial markets and a generally positive macroeconomic trend. In terms of production, global diamond production is estimated to decrease about 4% to 146M carats in 2018, as no new major production is expected to come online this year and industry leader ALROSAs production is forecast to decline slightly. But the three new mines delivering goods to Antwerp - Renard, Gahcho Kue and Liqhobong in Lesotho - are seeing better results after their first year of full production. The recent political changes in Angola and Zimbabwe have also led to optimism around the industry, as miners see promising opportunities for investment.

What causes you the greatest concern?

Banking issues like the recent one coming out of India tarnish the reputation of the diamond industry as a whole and make doing business more difficult for everyone. Despite the fact that Antwerp is not involved in the current situation in India, industry fraud and corruption have a ripple-effect, which spreads to the compliant and transparent companies. We have been working tirelessly together with the government, the banks and financial innovators to solve financing issues locally. Antwerp has made significant strides to address key issues in this regard, including the adoption of the Carat Tax, which has solidified Antwerps position as the worlds leading diamond trade center, and is bringing companies back to Antwerp, precisely because of the stability and predictability of doing business here.

Do you think that a future rough diamond shortfall is possible?

Certainly not in the near future. While no new discoveries of diamond deposits have occurred in recent years, several new projects have entered production this past year, essentially keeping pace with those winding down, while other promising projects are underway. Taking into account all announced and additional potential sources, the global supply of rough diamonds is actually expected to grow an average 0% to 1% per year from 2017 through 2030.

The Luaxe deposit in Angola is probably the largest and most promising new diamond project in the world, with an estimated 350 million carats and a potential lifespan of 30 years. They are fortunate to have a company like ALROSA working to develop that deposit, and expectations are it will enter production after 2020.

ALROSAs CEO Sergey Ivanov told us the company has a billion carats in reserves, which would carry them for another 25-30 years of production even if they made no new discoveries. And they are confident there are major fields in Yakutia yet to be discovered. Canada as well has several promising deposits in addition to the new mines that just reached nameplate capacity last year, and De Beers is always an active explorer. At some point a shortage will become a possibility, but it is a little early for us to be concerned about that just now. There are so many variables and unknowns.

Do you think the increase of the share of laboratory stones in the diamond trade is possible?

The capacity of laboratory diamond producers certainly makes them capable of increasing their share, as they already produce millions of carats of industrial goods. But for synthetics to make a significant impact on the gem-quality diamond market, there has to be sufficient consumer demand for increased production to make sense, and at this point I dont see it happening.

Nonetheless, I would not be surprised to see the market for gem-quality synthetics increase a few percentage points, and this would make for a tolerable co-existence. I would also not be surprised if they plateaued at that point. Having said that, the diamond trade needs to continue to promote its product and maintain its appeal regardless what the synthetics guys are up to. We believe in the intrinsic value and beauty of our product, and at the end of the day, we think consumers will continue to value real diamonds to mark the truly significant moments in life.

Do you expect a surge in diamond e-ommerce?

E-commerce is already surging. If you look at the Signet Group, probably the largest jewelry retailer in the US, their e-commerce sales have increased nearly 50% in the last year alone, even if it only makes up about 10% of total sales. Chinas retail jewelers are investing heavily in online platforms and are seeing their e-commerce grow over 100% annually. And they are just getting started. The potential market in Asia as e-commerce becomes fully embedded in consumer behavior - if it is not already - is huge. Not to mention India, where it is just getting off the ground.

I believe this comes with the caveat that sales of lower-priced goods drive the e-commerce market. When people make a more significant purchase, I believe they will generally prefer to see it, hold it, and have professional guidance. On the other hand, technology that approximates the in-store experience is already available and is developing so rapidly that it is hard to predict what the retail space will look like in 5-10 years.

What do you think about generic and private-brand marketing to promote diamonds?

It goes without saying that we are a strong advocate of category marketing and applaud the initiative of the diamond miners to set up the Diamond Producers Association, which is doing great work. Despite a limited budget to start with, the DPA hit the ground running with a coordinated plan to speak to a new generation of consumers. As their budget has grown, so has their ambition and reach.

It is great to see diamond advertisements at the Oscars, the MTV Awards and the Olympics. And now they are reaching out to the growing markets in India and China. This is crucial, and we support them wholeheartedly. As for the marketing efforts of private brands, we are pleased whenever companies increase the exposure and allure of diamonds in the minds of consumers. Any marketing spend that increases awareness of our product is a net gain.

Is it possible in the medium term to expect an increase of demand for diamonds in Europe?

Europe saw a small decline in 2016 because of lower tourist inflows, and expectations were that the European jewelry retail market would return to growth in 2017. It did, but not to the extent expected. The Brexit, together with the weakening of the currency, has UK consumers being cautious about their purchases. Only time will tell what happens there. Still, diamond demand parallels the course of the luxury goods market, which grew slightly in 2017. Sales of high-end jewelry are strongly linked to affluent tourists, and future sales will depend on attracting them back across the region. The good news is that tourism to Europe increased by 7% to 8% last year, a trend we hope to see continuing. In short, the market research we have seen forecasts a moderate but steady increase of European diamond demand.

What are the AWDCs nearest plans?

AWDC always has multiple plans brewing on many different fronts. Just naming our typical activities would take a good deal of space. We are already gearing up for the Kimberley Process Intersessional in June, but we have several major events between now and then, including a State visit to Canada in March and a visit together with the City of Antwerp to Russia in April. We will be hosting a Hackathon - a weekend where we invite young innovative thinkers from inside and outside the industry to put their minds together to come up with business models to several specific diamond industry issues - with the idea being to select the best solutions and put them into practice. We will also be hosting the second edition of the Antwerp Summer University and expect to repeat the great success of last years inaugural edition. These types of initiatives demonstrate our commitment to engage the broader community with the diamond industry, and to continue Antwerps intellectual and innovative leadership in the global diamond trade. We have also struck up a Diamonds & Antwerp partnership with jewelers in Japan, which already includes 21 participants, and which we will be developing further throughout the year.

What do you expect from the new edition of BrilliAnt?

Last year saw the emergence of a new diamond and jewelry event called CARAT+, which burst onto the trade show scene with a glamorous event featuring 130 leading exhibitors from 13 countries. The organizers of CARAT+ and BrilliAnt decided to create a synergy that would result in a show with even greater impact. The AWDC recently agreed to become a leading partner to this event, and we expect the second edition of CARAT+ in May 2018 to be another step forward in their objective to become the worlds premier diamond event.

Alex Shishlo, Editor of the Rough&Polished European Bureau in Brussels



Nigerian minister mulls death penalty for gold smuggling  report Nigerias deputy minister in charge of mines and steel development has called for the death penalty for gold smuggling in the West African country.

Gemfields back to black Gemfields is expected to register a net profit after tax of $23.8-million in the first half of the year compared with the net loss after tax of $56.7-million, a year earlier. Earnings per share are expected to be 2 US cents from a loss per share of 4...

Debmarine Namibia's new diamond recovery vessel to arrive in SA next week Debmarine Namibias new N$7 billion diamond recovery vessel, Additional Mining Vessel #3 (AMV3), is expected to arrive in Cape Town, South Africa next week ahead of commissioning early next year.

World Gold Council members commit to TCFD reporting The World Gold Council (WGC) has announced that its members, 33 of the worlds most forward-thinking gold miners, have committed to reporting their positions and progress on climate-related risks in line with their commendations of Taskforce...EPG report to be positive for both countries

The report to be presented by the Nepal-India Eminent Persons Groups (EPG) will be positive for both the countries.Gharial monitoring begins in Chitwan Park

For finding out status and better conservation of Gharials, the government has started counting and monitoring of endangered gharials from the Chitwan National Park (CNP).Malia Laufika is a woman with a lot on her mind.

On top of the daily struggles she has to grabble with in terms of hardship and everyday living, the unemployed mother of two, from Afega, shared her concerns about not having any water supply.

They owe the Samoa Water Authority money for their bill and until they pay, their water connection will remain cut off.

Life is hard when there is no stable income to pay off the bills and because her family relies on their plantation that was ruined by TC Gita for survival, hope is far away.

We have three families, which mean three different houses, but we are all connected to the same water source and because it has been disconnected, we all suffer.

We need to pay $500 to reconnect our water source, for the other two families they have two people working, but they have many people in their house, for me, there is no one who works, said the 33-year-old.

Mrs. Laufika said they usually make $200 from selling their produce at their plantation but the recent cyclone has devastated their main source of income.

The money we make is usually used to buy chemicals and seeds for the vegetables.

The equipment and chemicals they use on their plantation were also affected.

We have a plantation and we really need the chemicals and the tools because this is our only source of income. There are so many things that we need around here and we dont have money to get them.

She relies on the land to take care of her two children, her in-laws and church, community and family obligations.

This was also the case for them when Tropical Cyclone Evan hit Samoa in 2012.

When Evan came, our house was a disaster. The whole roof went flying together with the trees.

We were lucky that we had an old house close by the sea and we took all the materials from that house to fix this place that we live in now, she said.

She says they have lived there for six years and they are still waiting on promises made by some N.G.O.s in 2012 for a water tank.

Mrs. Laufika believes a water tank will ease their burden.

The Samoa Red Cross Society came when our house was ruined by T.C. Evan in 2012, we have asked them for a water tank and they wrote everything down after assessing the whole area and until now, there is still no help.

They gave water tanks to the other families here but never gave one to my family.

For anyone who is willing to help Malias family, contact the number 7246750.Lets see. Something is terribly amiss in the make up of society when a notorious criminal and someone who has brought unimaginable shame to a country is allowed to openly question the highest authority in as far as the Judiciary is concerned.

Its simple folks. Criminals belong in jail.

Yes they have some rights but the simple truth is that once anyone breaks the law, they naturally forfeit a lot of those rights.

If anything, it is that healthy fear that deters many people from breaking the law; it is what separates criminals from law-abiding citizens.

Thats to say if you want your rights to be respected, obey the law and stay far, far away from trouble.

You cannot hurt innocent members of the public by behaving like a thug, continue to break the law and expect people to respect you and give you five star treatment!

It doesnt work like that. Not in the real world anyway.

And yet something of that nature unfolded in the Supreme Court last week when notorious prison escapee and convicted rapist, Lauititi Tualima, appeared before Chief Justice, His Honour Patu Tiavaasue Falefatu Sapolu.

For those who dont know  and there will be a few - Tualima is the prisoner who brought much shame to Samoa when he tied up a man and raped his wife at the Treesort a couples of years ago. His offending attracted international attention, which was not very flattering for Samoa.

But he hasnt stopped there. He has continued to escape from prison; causing more damage each time he skips jail.

Now when he fronted before Court for his latest offending, he refused to cooperate with the Chief Justice. Whats worse is that a Court official said he appeared to have slapped the microphone in protest to an instruction from the Court.

So what happened?

Well His Honour Patu had asked Tualima to enter a plea in relation to the charges against him. He refused. Instead he said he would not enter a plea until the Court guarantees that they (prisoners) will be treated better at Tafaigata Prison.

Its not just me, there are six of us who are locked up in a jail block since 21 December last year until today, he told the Court. From then until now, we havent had a shower; we are being locked up naked with no food and drink. It smells really bad inside the room.

Oh forgive us Tualima, but for the amount of hurt you have caused innocent members of this country, it could be a lot worse than that. Besides, as a notorious criminal, it is absolutely difficult to believe a single word out of his mouth. Why should we?

Now back in Court, Chief Justice Patu told Tualima that if what he said was true, then he should take it up to the Commissioner of Prisons because the Court does not interfere with how the Prison operates.

Prison is under the Governments control as well as the Commissioner of Prison, but it does not stop you from entering a plea to the charges against you, Chief Justice Patu told the prisoner.

But Tualima wouldnt have any of it.

Your Honour, this is not the first time this has happened. Even if the Court advises them, when we go back they will still continue with the mistreating of us prisoners. So I am seeking your help, have mercy on us.

I know you have already instructed the prison guards, but I believe that if I do go ahead and enter a plea to the charges against me and the Court gives a decision, it wont stop them (prison guards) from doing what they are doing.

I am requesting you to please, if you can do something about the ill treatment of prisoners, especially those in the jail block.

Then he goes on and issues an ultimatum:

Unless you can assure me and provide proof that the prison officers will not treat us like this, then I will agree to give my plea to the charges against me.

Wow. Again ladies and gentlemen, this is a prisoner being allowed to dictate his terms to the Chief Justice. This is absolutely pathetic.

Somebody should have just dragged him out chuck him back in jail where he truly belongs.

We applaud Chief Justice Patu for his patience in trying to explain the system to him.

But he didnt have to, in our opinion.

You see there are people you try to reason with and then there are those you shouldnt waste your time on. Tualima is one them.

For hardened criminals like Tualima, maybe more time in that dark jail cell will finally sort him out.

A year without a shower could do wonders? Or else there are plenty of frustrated Samoans who have had enough of being embarrassed, hurt and affected because of his actions that would love to give him a piece of their minds.

Maybe its time to consider a new punishment for someone like him.

Have a great week Samoa, God bless!Dear Editor,

Re: The real issue with customary lands

I am confident that I have won the legal argument against the H.R.P.P. government involving our customary land because the Law and Fact will be judged by Historians and Lawyers of All Ages hereafter, yet for me the big question is whether our Samoan people will survive this takeover by dishonest corrupt officials and their foreign masters.

If the H.R.P.P. manage to damage all other Aiga and take the infinite resources over time of our people, who will be left to resist or write the histories, or even be compensated?

The task is to organize and prevent the fate of the Maori, Aborigine and the Hawaiian happening to us of Samoa.

There is tremendous bullying of our people in Samoa.

Peter Williams QC once told me in his Ponsonby home that we Samoan should give up our land to the Palagi for receiving the gift of civilisation.

I laughed at his honesty and his arrogance and stupidity in thinking that I could fall for such a pathetic argument.

We, Samoans, have been civilised for thousands of years.

I noticed that all of the Maori Land law experts avoided the Pacific Law Conference. Ask the Maori experts about how their culture was destroyed with the Torrens System and individual title and the sheer dishonesty of the so-called civilised invaders, who led with their Christianity and followed on smartly with all-out war.

Maua FaleautoRe: Colonialism attitudes

Oh dear, so now we need to cross the ts and dot the is? Which part of insidious colonialism needs clarification?

Was Christianity part of Samoan culture before colonial powers invaded and settled Samoa?

Ask yourselves to what extent Christian religion has negatively altered your own culture forever, too, not simply denounce current neocolonialist attitudes.

These do exist, too, no one denies that, but they are not alone in subjecting Samoans to poverty.

I daresay religious hierarchies deliberately inflict far more damage by keeping the young submissive and uneducated.

BronnieMember of Parliament, Olo Fiti Vaai, has called on the Minister of Prisons, Tialavea Tionisio Hunt, to step down.

Speaking to the Samoa Observer, Olo said if he cannot fix the problems at the Prisons, then he should resign and let someone else get the job done.

Olo said he is baffled as to why no one from the Samoa Prisons and Correction Services has been charged for the unlawful release of notorious criminal Tagaloasa Filipaina during the holidays.

Who is above the law and who isnt? he asked. Why is that no one from the Samoa Prisons and Correction Services has been held accountable for the unlawful release of inmates?

The law has been broken, yet nothing has been done about it.

Olo said this is the tragedy of Samoa today.

Everyday in the Supreme and District Court, there are cases of people standing before Court for violation of the laws, some cases are very minor. So what is the difference in this case? he asked.

The law has been broken and yet no one has been held accountable.

Olo has called on Attorney General, Lemalu Hermann Retzlaff and Police Commissioner, Fuiavailiili Egon Keil, to intervene.

It is sad when you know that when Government officials break the law, nothing is done about it, yet when the common people when they are in violation of the law they are prosecuted to the full extent of the law. What does this say about our judiciary system?

Thats when Olo called on the Minister of Prisons, Tialavea, to step down from Office. He reminded that the buck stops with the Minister.

The unlawful action by his Office should be dealt with immediately... its puzzling to see how our justice system is not adhered to when it comes to certain individuals, he said.

Tiavalea defended the release of Filipaina last month, publicly as indicated in your newspaper, so my question is why has the A.G. and the Police not charged anyone for breaking the law?

There is inconsistency and favouritism when it comes to government officials. The government needs to walk the talk but not just pick and chose who the law applies to and who the law does not apply to.

Attempts to get a comment from Minister Tialavea have not been successful.

Last month, the Minister defended the decision to release Tagaloasa to attend his matai title bestowal ceremony.

The release came at a time when members of the public were outraged over a prison break involving four other prisoners, which resulted in a woman and her children attacked at Ululoloa. One of the prisoners remains at large.

When concerns from members of the public about the Tagaloasa decision were put to the Minister, he downplayed them, saying the prisoner had shown enough proof that he has changed his ways.

Filipaina is a low risk prisoner, he said. We believe he has very minimal chances of re-offending.

The Samoa Observer put it to Tialavea that the Prisons new Act, signed into law in 2016, indicates that those who are convicted of murder, manslaughter, sexual connection, rape, incest, burglary and robbery are not eligible for special release, holiday release and weekend release.

But Tialavea was adamant the prisoner in question posed no risk to the community.

The release depends on the condition of the prisoner, good behavior and low risk (of reoffending), he said. We only release the prisoners with special conditions, meaning they are at low risk of reoffending.

The release of prisoners into the community has been a controversial and sensitive issue in Samoa for years. Last year, Supreme Court Justice Leiataualesa Darryl Clarke openly criticized S.P.C.S. over the unlawful release of inmates.

Justice Leiataualesa pointed out that as per regulation; murder convictions are not eligible for weekend parole.

This defendant was released in contrary to the regulations of 2016 which notes that hes not supposed to be eligible for weekend parole.

The release of this prisoner is unlawful therefore non-compliance with what is allowed by the regulation.

Since his release, Tagaloasa and a relative have been accused of masterminding a mass prison escape plot, which was foiled by the Police.

Emails to Lemalu and the Police Commissioner have not been answered as of press time.Samoa has been named as one of the countries with some of the worst forms of child labour by the United States Bureau of International Labour Affairs.

The finding is contained in a six-page report released last September. A copy of the report obtained by the Samoa Observer highlights the fact that children in Samoa perform dangerous tasks such as street vending at all hours of night and day.

In 2016, Samoa made a moderate advancement in efforts to eliminate the worst forms of child labour, the report reads.

The Government ratified two United Nations optional protocols on child labor and increased funding for the Samoa School Fee Relief Grant Scheme to enhance access to basic education for all children.

In addition, the Ministry of Commerce, Industry, and Labor endorsed the findings of a study that provides information on children working on the streets in Apia, Samoa.

However, children in Samoa perform dangerous tasks in street vending.

According to the Bureau of International Labor Affairs, the Samoa Government lacks a mechanism to coordinate interagency efforts to address child labor.

The report further points out that Samoan laws do not comprehensively specify the types of hazardous work prohibited for children.

According to the prevalence and sectoral distribution of child labor section, children in Samoa perform dangerous tasks in street vending.

The table on statistics on childrens work and education indicates that children working are those in the ages of five to 14 as well as those attending school.

Source for primary completion rate; date from 2015 published by U.N.E.S.C.O. Institutes for Statistics 2016.

The report says the Samoa Government has established institutional mechanisms for the enforcement of laws and regulations on child labor, including its worst forms.

However, gaps in labor law and criminal law enforcement remain and some enforcement information is not available.

The Agencies Responsible for Child Labor Law Enforcement are Ministry of Commerce, Industry, and

Labor (M.C.I.L.) who investigate complaints of child labor law violations.

They refer cases to the Ministry of Police and the Office of the Attorney General for enforcement, also the Ministry of Police Enforce criminal laws related to child labor.

The Ministry for Women, Community, and Social Development they assist in M.C.I.L. investigations as needed.

Mandated to protect children, including those working on the street are the Ministry of Education, Sports, and Culture Assist in M.C.I.L. investigations, as needed.

The report that was obtained by the Samoa Observer further says that although the Samoa Government has established the Samoa Interpol and Transnational Crime Unit to coordinate efforts to monitor human trafficking, research found no evidence of mechanisms to coordinate its efforts to address child labor.

The Government has established policies related to child labor, including its worst forms.

The National Policy for Children in Samoa, which aimed to address the issue of child labor in street vending, expired in 2015 and is currently undergoing review.

The Government has not integrated child labor elimination and prevention strategies in the Strategy for the Development of Samoa, the U.N.D.A.F. Pacific, or the Education Sector Plan, says the Bureau of International Labor Affairs.

Regarding social program to address child labor, the report says that in 2016, the Government funded and participated in programs that include the goal of eliminating or preventing child labor.

The report says that a Samoa Decent Work Country Program was established between 2013 and 2016 where I.L.O. and government promoted decent work in Samoa, supported legal reform and improved implementation of laws related to child labor, and promoted access to information and employment services for youth.

There was also the Pacific Sub-Regional Child Labor and Trafficking Program.

The I.L.O. supported programs to address child labor issues through awareness raising, research, and government capacity building activities.

In 2016, finalised the Samoa Rapid Assessment on Children Working on the Streets, which was submitted to the Samoa National Tri-Partite Committee and endorsed by the Ministry of Commerce, Industry, and Labor and this program is funded by the Government of Samoa.

Research found no evidence of programs to specifically address child labor in the service sector, especially in street vending, says the Bureau of International Labor Affairs.Govt fails to take action on Karki report

The government is yet to take action on the recommendations mentioned in the report, submitted seven weeks ago, by Gauri Karki-led commission.Following an audit of the Samoa Fire and Emergency Services Authority (F.E.S.A.), Samoa will take steps to increase its emergency management capability with the introduction of qualified fire investigators.

The representative selected to become Samoas first detailed investigator will travel to Melbourne in April 2018 to train with the highly skilled Melbourne Fire Brigades (M.F.B.) Fire Investigation & Analysis (F.I.A.) team.

The investigator will return to Samoa by June 2018 to support Samoas Fire and Emergency Services Authority (F.E.S.A.) efforts of increasing the investigation skills of colleagues in Samoa.

Up to four Fire and Emergency Services personnel are expected to receive training, creating the first qualified fire investigation team in Samoa.

F.E.S.A Commissioner, Lelevaga Faafouina Mupo said the country is focused on maintaining a strong emergency services culture which has again been tested after the impact of Tropical Cyclone Gita last week.

This audit and the work we are doing here continues our commitment to increasing our emergency services capabilities to ensure we are best equipped into the future.

The audit was carried out by the M.F.B. in partnership with the Pacific Community (S.P.C.) and (S.F.E.S.A.) under the Pacific Islands Emergency Management Alliance (P.I.E.M.A.), and assessed the countrys capacity to investigate the root cause of fires as well as using fire incident data to increase investigation skills in the country. In addition to qualified fire investigators, the audit also made recommendations on improving fire response, fire safety and community messaging.

Supporting and strengthening emergency management in the Pacific is critical to ensure countries in the region are better prepared before disasters strike and when an emergency response is required, said Dr. Andrew Jones, Pacific Communitys Director of the Geoscience, Energy and Maritime Division (G.E.M).

This audit work will help bolster the Samoa Fire and Emergency Services Authority and the Pacific Community is privileged to play a key role in helping our partners increase emergency services capacity across the Pacific.

Melbourne Fire Brigades Assistant Chief Fire Officer, Barry Gray, said the completion of this weeks audit would support the long-term capacity of the country to carry out fire investigation and support the implementation of the recently endorsed Fire Reduction Strategy.

This weeks training has provided F.E.S.A. with the skills required to better train their operational fire fighters in scene perseveration working towards supporting the elements of the National fire Reduction Strategy and ultimately better community outcomes. This will now be supported by the training of one of the F.E.S.A. team in the coming months with our team, he said.

The partnership is possible through the Pacific Communitys Building Safety and Resilience in the Pacific Project funded by the European Union and A.C.P. Group of States and implemented in Samoa by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment through its Disaster Management Office.

The project will cover the transport and travel costs of the M.F.B. investigators. The M.F.B. technical teams training and time is provided in-kind as part of the ongoing partnership between Samoa Government, and the Pacific Islands Emergency Management Alliance.In nine days, Qualcomm shareholders will decide the fate of San Diegos most iconic tech company  a homegrown success story with a massive economic, employment and philanthropic footprint in the region.

And their decision could come down to which management teams vision of Qualcomms future they have the most faith in.

Will shareholders give Chief Executive Steve Mollenkopf more time to diversify Qualcomms business beyond a saturated smartphone market, settle patent licensing lawsuits and cash in on the companys technology strength in upcoming 5G networks?

Or after three years of turbulent stock performance, are shareholders ready to bet on Broadcom Chief Executive Hock Tan and his impressive track record of boosting returns by acquiring companies, tightly focusing on core products and cutting costs?

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The showdown comes to a head at Qualcomms annual meeting on March 6, when investors will cast ballots for Broadcom board nominees or Qualcomms existing directors.

The election will determine whether Broadcoms $117 billion hostile takeover  the largest ever in the semiconductor industry  proceeds or is shelved. Broadcom nominated six alternative candidates for Qualcomms 11-seat board to gain majority control to push through the deal.

Broadcom argues that Qualcomms business model of selling cellular chips while separately licensing mobile patents has been broken for a long time. It characterizes the vote as a referendum on its management teams ability to fix the business model versus Qualcomms willingness to do so.

To paraphrase a famous president, are Qualcomm shareholders better off today than four years ago? Tan told CNBC. The answer is no. They are 11 percent poorer. Broadcom shareholders are 500 percent richer.

Taking the long view

Qualcomm urges shareholders to look beyond its recent stock performance.

Much of its price plunge was sparked when Apple  its largest customer -- unleashed a legal firestorm last year over patent fees.

Qualcomm believes it has the legal high ground in the Apple dispute. Once its patent licensing troubles are settled, Qualcomm contends its stand-alone earnings power  anchored by its pending $43 billion acquisition of automotive chip maker NXP Semiconductors  creates a path to a $100 share stock price in 2019.

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Broadcoms current offer for Qualcomm amounts to $79 per share.

Broadcom Chief Executive Hock Tan spoke in a television interview about his companys efforts to acquire Qualcomm. (Getty Images )

Not long ago, Qualcomm was flying high. During the 2008-2009 recession, the cellular technology giant invested heavily in research to speed up the transition from 3G to 4G mobile networks  establishing a big technology lead on competitors.

The result: Revenue surged from $11 billion in 2010 to $26.5 billion in 2014. Adjusted earnings jumped from $2.46 per share to $5.27 per share.

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In March 2014, Mollenkopf, an engineer who worked his way up through the ranks of Qualcomms chip division, took over as chief executive from Paul Jacobs, son of Qualcomm co-founder Irwin Jacobs.

Mollenkopf tightened the companys research and development focus. He boosted profit margins in the companys chip arm. And recently, his efforts to diversify beyond smartphones have begun to bear fruit, with $3 billion in revenue last year coming from non-smartphone industries.

But during Mollenkopfs tenure, Qualcomms share price bogged down because of a series of troubles related to its lucrative patent licensing business, which accounts for an outsized percentage of Qualcomms profits.

They have had a pretty rough road in the licensing business, which has created a lot of volatility in the stock and certainly underperformed right at the time that the broader stock market took off, said Mike Walkley, an analyst with Canaccord Genuity.

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Last year, Qualcomms sales shrunk to $22.3 billion. Adjusted earnings fell to $4.28 per share. Its share price, which was above $70 shortly after Mollenkopf took over, dropped to the low $50s.

Trouble with patent payments

Qualcomms setbacks began when some Chinese smartphone makers dodged patent royalties for using Qualcomms cellular technologies. China is a massive market for Qualcomm, and the missed payments hurt because they occurred just as China was transitioning to 4G networks.

Qualcomm managed to improve collections in China, but it took time. Then alleged overheating problems popped up with its Snapdragon 810 smartphone chip, leading Samsung to use more of its own internally developed semiconductors in its smartphones.

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Qualcomm managed to win back a good portion of Samsungs business. But then activist investor Jana Partners agitated for change in Qualcomms corporate governance and structure  including possibly splitting its patent licensing arm into a stand-alone company.

After a review in 2015, Qualcomms board cut expenses but rejected spinning off patent licensing.

By the end of 2016, troubles surfaced with Apple, which began using Intel chips in about half of its new iPhone models, cutting Qualcomms share in the popular devices.

Somebody used the phrase its like whack a mole: Every time you think something is fixed, something else pops up, said Bernstein Research Analyst Stacy Rasgon.

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Last year was the worst. Apple and global antitrust regulators took aim at Qualcomms patent licensing business model. Qualcomm is appealing regulatory fines and continues to battle Apple and regulators in court.

But in the meantime, Apple and one other unnamed device maker have stopped paying patent royalties to Qualcomm. And the company has been fined nearly $4 billion by regulators since 2015.

I think to oversimplify it, the biggest thing is how did they let the relationship with Apple deteriorate to this point? said Walkley. That is what really blew up the stock.

Qualcomms patent licensing business has been under attack from Apple and global competition regulators.

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According to analysts, Qualcomm also was late to diversify its business beyond smartphones through big acquisitions.

While other chip makers went on a mega-deal buying spree in 2015, Qualcomm made smaller acquisitions. It didnt ink its transformative agreement to acquire NXP until October 2016.

They should have seen the deceleration in smartphone growth, said Nomura/Instinet Analyst Romit Shah. They should have reacted to that faster by acquiring Freescale and acquiring Broadcom  and turned Qualcomm into a multi-market business.

In 2015, NXP acquired Freescale Semiconductor for $11.8 billion, and Hock Tans Avago Technologies acquired Broadcom for $37 billion, taking the Broadcom name.

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4 key points about the Broadcom hostile takeover bid for Qualcomm

A change at Qualcomms helm?

Shah said Qualcomms board has gotten a major wake-up call from Broadcoms takeover bid. He believes Qualcomm will do everything possible to convince investors it should remain a stand-alone company.

And that may include Mollenkopf stepping down if a catalyst is needed to boost the share price, he said.

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Shah called Mollenkopfs last four years unlucky, since they coincided with multiple disputes in Qualcomms licensing business.

I believe, and Wall Street believes, that Steve is very smart and has a reputation as an excellent engineer, said Shah. But if they continue to pursue additional acquisitions to diversify out of licensing, he may not be the right person to lead them.

There is a possibility, if Broadcom is unsuccessful in March, they will re-appear later this year or next year, added Shah. So it is imperative that Qualcomm regain the trust of shareholders.

Broadcoms bid is surely putting that trust to the test  particularly for mutual funds, hedge funds and other institutional investors who own the majority of Qualcomms stock.

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Even before the Apple dispute, Qualcomm hasnt grown earnings since fiscal year 2013, despite being the dominant technological leader in its core market, said Raymond James Analyst Chris Caso. So while Qualcomms technology has benefited the industry, shareholders havent benefited for a while. Qualcomm management of course has a plan to change that as an independent company, and essentially the upcoming shareholder vote will be a referendum on investors confidence in that plan.

Broadcoms effort got a boost last week when influential investor advisory firms supported as least some of its candidates.

Institutional Shareholder Services recommended that Qualcomm shareholders vote for four of Broadcoms six nominees to spark a negotiated sale.

The other adviser, Glass Lewis, backed all six Broadcom nominees.

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The opinion of the proxy vote consultant ISS to vote for four of the Broadcom nominees will be highly influential, said Steven Re, president of Fairbanks Capital Management, which owns Qualcomm shares.

Re added that the spread between Broadcoms $79 per share offer and Qualcomms share price ahead of the March 6 vote will be a big factor.

If it is a 17-point spread, an institutional manager has a fiduciary duty to vote for the board that will bring the most value to the shareholders, which means that they will likely vote for Hock Tans board nominees, he said.

Qualcomms share ended trading Friday at $63.32.

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Even so, Qualcomm still might fend off Broadcom if shareholders believe that its offer lacks strong safeguards to protect Qualcomm shareholders during a long, difficult regulatory review that could last 18 months.

Their characterization is if you vote for Hock Tan, youre going to have this (Broadcom) tainted board running the company, said Rasgon, the Bernstein analyst. When it fails  because they dont think there is any way it gets through antitrust  youre going to have this tainted board running Qualcomm into the ground.

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Business

mike.freeman@sduniontribune.com;

Twitter:@TechDiego

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760-529-4973Lunch lines at Eastlake Middle School in Chula Vista used to be so long that the bell warning them to return to class would ring before students bought their food.

Students went hungry, parents complained and school officials turned to barbecue.

On Wednesday, the school rolled out a new outdoor grill that cooked hundreds of hot dogs, burgers and ribs. The food is served outside, away from the cafeteria so the lines are shorter and students get another lunch option.

This is way better, said Sierra Lopez, an eighth-grader who ate ribs with a side of mac & cheese.

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Eastlake Middle School in Chula Vista launched the new lunch option, the bbq station. Students select an entree, either baby back ribs, a hotdog or a hamburger along with 2 side items, and a vegetable or fruit, along with a beverage for 2.70 (Nelvin C. Cepeda / San Diego Union-Tribune)

BBQ is just the first step of the Sweetwater Union High School Districts plan to transform school lunch.

The ultimate dream is that we have a wok station, a sandwich station, a street taco station so kids can actually come up and order what they want and have it served to them quickly all around the campus, said Eric Span, the districts Nutrition Services Director.

The district plans to add salad bars to every school this year and have either a taco or wok station in schools by the 2018-2019 school year, Span added.

People could smell the grill from the parking lot outside the school.

Once the lunch bell rang, students ran toward the barbecue and waited in line to order hot dogs, ribs or a burger. The line kept moving and everyone had been served before the period was over.

Staff estimated they served more than 450 plates.

Eastlake Middle Schools long lunch lines are just one symptom of a school district trying to keep up with a growing population, especially east of Interstate 805, said Frank Tarantino, a member of the districts Board of Trustees.

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We are working as fast as we can, he said. We need another middle school.

The district already has 26 acres for a middle school at Hunte Parkway and Olympic Parkway.

Part of the reason the district is growing so quickly is because eastern Chula Vista is one of the only places in San Diego with developable land and home prices are relatively low.

There is still some entry-level housing which makes it more inviting for families that are just starting out, Tarantino said. In Chula Vista, even though the population is growing, it still has that hometown feel. I think thats a draw.

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Contact Gustavo Solis via Email or TwitterAs the oldest of four children and the first in his family to go to college, Anthony Jett sees himself in many of the students hes now helping as the associate director of the new Black Student Center at California State University, San Marcos.

The center is celebrating its first anniversary, after opening in late February 2017. The center is focused on encouraging and serving students of color through partnerships that contribute to increasing the recruitment, retention and graduation rates of those students.

The Black Student Center is a social justice center that focuses on issues that directly and indirectly affect the community of students of African descent.  It got started when a group of students decided they needed a space of their own, he says. Our goal is to recognize and identify those issues, acknowledge where those issues may exist on our campus and the surrounding community, form and execute positive corrective measures to improve the overall life and college experience of students of African descent and all other people within our campus community.

Jett, 50, has twin teenage sons and is originally from Michigan. He took some time to talk about some of the initial challenges in opening the center, its focus on black students and his goal for the growth of the center.

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Q: Why is this center, focused on black students, needed at California State University, San Marcos?

A: Our center primarily focuses on black students because of the lengthy list of social, political and educational injustices they have to suffer that is unlike any other group of students in the educational system. These students are subjected to living in a country that does not include them in history, math, science, literature, language and the arts when operating through education. We offer insight on the many unrecognized advancements and achievements of black people in these United States, and worldwide, throughout history. There is a psychological uplifting that is necessary, which comes with representation on all levels of education, which in turn encourages these students to want to do better and strive to become more than what they may have previously imagined.

Q: What does the center do for or offer the students?

A: It offers the same general student accessibility and support, such as computer use, printing, tutoring, study hours and a place to come learn about the history and current state of people of African descent.

Q: What kinds of programs or services does the center provide?

A: We have professional development workshops; a weekly series called Real Talk Real Conversations where we have educationally and professionally accomplished guests speak to the students and give them insight on the many ways to go about becoming successful; we have businesses come in and offer jobs; we have movie nights where we play a movie significant to the black identity or struggle in America; we collaborate with the other social justice centers to give presentations and/or events on topics such as feminism, autism and many educational documentaries.

What I love about San Marcos ...

I love the people, I love looking at the mountains daily, and I enjoy meeting new people.

Q: Whats your goal for the center?

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A: Our goal is to move the needle and push this society into a future that includes people of African descent in the most positive manner possible. We want all of our students to do well academically, to graduate, and go on to become professionals then give back to the center and the school. This will all create a path of success that will allow this campus to grow and retain students of African descent, and have a model for many campuses to follow. We will be the change that we need to see in our community.

Q: As you look back over the centers first year, what went well?

A: The first year came with many ups and also some downs. We got backlash from a host of students and community members on their misunderstanding for the need of such a space. There were many looks of confusion from people walking by and seeing the sign on the wall reading Black Student Center, and this type of response provided a way to move forward through communication and programming that would enlighten the student body and campus community about a group that has been overlooked. The many ups have been events such as our autism walk, the many high schools that we have connected with to speak at their schools and give them tours of our center and campus, two comedy shows, the Black Panther Party panel discussion, the Black Womens Appreciation ceremony, the black graduation ceremony, the Greek stepping and strolling presentation, and the many students and faculty who have supported all of these events.

Q: And how would you like to see the center grow?

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A: The growing number of students using our center is a great problem to have, and now we need a much larger space to continue providing the resources the study body needs. We have four computers and we need 10, we have seating for about 25 people and we need seating for at least 75, we have one small monitor and we need a large monitor for our presentations, workshops, professional development programs, promotion of events, and movie nights.

Q: Your bio says that youre focused on helping underserved student populations. Why?

A: Because I was one myself. I am the oldest of four children coming from a single-parent household. My mother introduced me to Upward Bound (a federally funded program) that helped first-generation, low-income students gain access to college. I am the first in my family to graduate from college and Im now six months from earning my doctorate degree in education, which is one of my greatest accomplishments. I have the mentality that if I can do it, then anyone can. My heart roots for the underdog.

Q: Whats been challenging about your work with the center?

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A: The challenging part of the work we do is the sometimes negative responses we get from just the name of the center. We have many students that are uncomfortable even walking by our center, let alone entering the center. The idea that people may be uncomfortable seeing the words Black Student Center or being among multiple black students proves we all have work to do and have to improve those disconnections. We all should be recognized and comfortable to be who and what we are while moving about this campus. The work we do at the center is going in that direction. All of the events, programs, and functions of the center are for all students, faculty, staff and community, but the focus and themes are African-based.

Q: Whats been rewarding about your work with the center?

A: I get to work with bright students of African descent who have the capability to change the world. I also get to teach them about how diversity and inclusiveness work for the betterment of the world. Together everyone achieves more.

Q: What has it taught you about yourself?

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A: It has taught me to always stay humble and to reach back and help others who are traveling the same road that I have. I can make a meaningful impact on students lives and can see the results first-hand.

Q: What is the best advice youve ever received?

A: Enjoy the journey, dont take education for granted, and that complaining wont help. To begin with the end in mind and focus on your positive energy and help erase the negativity that the world seems to embrace.

Q: What is one thing people would be surprised to find out about you?

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A: That I have a big heart with a love and a deep passion for students to succeed.

Q: Describe your ideal San Diego weekend.

A: Driving up the coast and just taking in the beautiful sites. Im from Michigan and I cant even describe the scenery, warm weather and beautiful people that I have encountered since being in Southern California.

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Email: lisa.deaderick@sduniontribune.com

Twitter: @lisadeaderickAmy Guerrero said she started getting randomly searched at her Koreatown middle school, Young Oak Kim Academy, when she was 12 years old.

I got searched all the time, but I never saw the nurse, not once, said Amy, who is 15 and a sophomore at UCLA Community School, which also is in Koreatown. Whenever I felt sick or had a cut they said the nurse wasnt there that day, but I saw the officers all the time.

In the wake of the school shooting that took 17 lives in Parkland, Fla., earlier this month, there has been much debate about how to make campuses more secure.

Some have called for more police on campuses, others for improved mental health services for students. President Trump has suggested arming teachers.

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But in Los Angeles, the debate over safety also has extended in another direction.

Some students believe the current system for searching students for weapons is unfair, while others believe it makes campuses safer and want even more safety measures.

In back-to-back events, Los Angeles students and teachers landed on starkly different sides in a debate over security measures at schools.

On Friday in the west San Fernando Valley, teachers and students gave school police  and even random searches of students  a resounding vote of confidence.

The next day, in a gathering south of downtown, participants criticized an approach to security that they said criminalized students, victimizing them more than protecting them. They want to end random searches of students; some activists called for an end to police officers on campus.

These contrasting views took on deeper resonance after the Feb. 14 shooting in Florida and an incident earlier this month in which a discharging pistol  brought to campus by a student  wounded two L.A. students at Castro Middle School just west of downtown. Since the Parkland killings, local law enforcement has responded to several serious and mock threats, which have left families and communities on edge.

But such dangers were not the real focus of either of the two local events. Instead, students and teachers discussed how police officers and school staff treat students, and whether students are better off for it.

At Mulholland Middle School, we do need random searches, said Kameran Charles, 14, at the pro-police rally. Taking away these searches is basically telling students they can bring whatever they want to school.

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Mulholland has course work that focuses on policing.

They are not just officers, said Kameran, an eighth-grader. They are huge mentors. They are for you and they can play a role as a teacher.

The policy at L.A. Unified is to conduct at least one search of randomly chosen students in a randomly chosen class every day at every middle and high school. The policy is intended to prevent discrimination and stereotyping. But its difficult to determine how closely the district has followed its rules because of poor record-keeping.

Administrators conduct the searches and call in officers when contraband or weapons are discovered. . Guns are almost never found, which could mean that the searches are unnecessary or that the policy works as a deterrent.

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L.A. high schools typically have one or two armed officers on campus, said district and police union officials. Middle schools typically have one officer, who may or may not be armed. Elementary schools have no campus police, but roving patrols are supposed to remain nearby.

Both rallies drew enthusiastic participation. Nearly 200 people braved a cold late Friday afternoon wind at Mulholland Middle School in Lake Balboa, while several hundred turned out Saturday at Los Angeles Trade Technical College.

The gathering for critics of policing efforts was part of a long-running campaign.

Random searches are never random, said Sumaiya Sabnam, a junior at UCLA Community School. Somehow, I am always the fifth person they pick. They search me with a wand, and dig through my backpack and all Im thinking is, Why am I here? Why am I being searched three times in a row?

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There is no reason an 11-year-old needs to be criminalized, said Grace Hamilton, a senior at Marshall High School in Los Feliz. Random searches erode trust and dont make us feel safe.

The proper prescription, they said, is to provide better resources, including more counseling and mental health services. Schools, they said, need to develop more nurturing cultures to help those headed down the wrong path. And students and staff, they said, can be trusted to recognize real threats that might justify a search based on reasonable suspicion.

But after recent episodes of violence, especially at Parkland, many have called for tighter security, including a larger and more visible police presence.

If a campus is threatened, who are you going to call? said Colleen Schwab, who teaches seventh- and eighth-grade English at Mulholland. The school police officer is the highly trained individual who is going to be there.

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Schwab helped organize the pro-police rally along with Scott Mandel, who runs the musical theater program at Pacoima Middle School. Their effort was part of a conscious challenge to the leadership of United Teachers Los Angeles, which co-sponsored the event at Trade Tech, along with groups that included Black Lives Matter, Public Counsel and the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California.

Police union leaders criticized the involvement of UTLA, saying that the teachers union was implicitly endorsing the elimination of school police.

Teachers union president Alex Caputo-Pearl defended his unions co-sponsorship role. He said Friday that its important to listen to student leaders. At the same time, he said, UTLA has not and is not calling for cuts to school police.

howard.blume@latimes.com

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deborah.netburn@latimes.comA deputy charged with 14 counts related to sexual misconduct allegations by at least a dozen women.

An assistant sheriff under investigation after claims of repeated sexual harassment.

A sheriffs commander contending he was demoted for political reasons because hes running against the sheriff.

These are not the kinds of things Sheriff Bill Gore wants to talk about as he heads into an election year.

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There are lots of things hed rather emphasize: low crime rates, improved mental-health screening for people headed to jail, better technology and facilities.

But none of the problems Gore faces is going away anytime soon and neither is his election opponent, Cmdr. Dave Myers.

After months of investigation, Deputy Richard Fischer appeared in court Thursday and pleaded not guilty to eight felonies and six misdemeanors resulting from sexual misconduct allegations.

Gore has been under withering criticism from the accusing women and their attorney who say Gore was dragging his feet on the investigation and even protecting Fischer.

Nothing could be further from the truth, said Gore, adding that specific department protocols were followed and Fischer was taken off the job as the investigation went through various phases.

He said the claims are serious and the potential impact goes beyond just this case.

The public trust in law enforcement is critical to our success, he said. The allegations against Deputy Fischer undermine that trust and have the potential to impact public safety in this county. Thats a big concern.

He said large organizations often face issues of inappropriate behavior and sexual misconduct by employees, but its what they do about it that really matters.

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How that organization is handling the allegations. . . I think thats how the public will judge the sheriffs department, he said.

But additional cases can lead to questions about how the department is managed and the training and oversight its employees receive. Thats a far different matter than how you deal with a single rogue deputy after the fact.

The San Diego Police Department had to look inward to see if there was a systemic problem in the wake of officer misconduct cases, triggered by the behavior of Officer Anthony Arevalos. He eventually was convicted on charges related to sexual misconduct, sent to prison and cost the city millions of dollars in settlements.

Then-Chief William Lansdowne requested a federal review of department policies in 2014. SDPD implemented dozens of the resulting recommendations under Chief Shelley Zimmerman, who already had begun making changes.

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Just as prosecutors were preparing charges against Fischer, new allegations of misconduct surfaced in Gores department. This time it involved one of his top-level people, Assistant Sheriff Rich Miller.

The department confirmed that Miller is being investigated for inappropriate conduct, but gave no further information. NBC 7 obtained details of the claim filed by a female administrative secretary who said the harassment took place over five years and that she was transferred by Miller after rejecting his sexual advances. She viewed the new job change as a demotion and claimed retaliation.

Millers inappropriate touchings and comments were so pervasive that [the victim] was afraid to work past 5 p.m. because she gravely feared being alone with Miller, the claim says, according to the television station.

Miller currently is not on the job, using accumulated leave time until his planned retirement Friday.

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Gore rejected the notion that there was a larger problem among his ranks. I dont think that goes to the culture of the sheriffs department, he said.

He said he was limited in what he could say about Millers situation but added, Clearly, we take it seriously because of the nature of his position.

Such cases always attract a lot of scrutiny, but never more so than in an election year.

On the one hand, moving to clean up problems, if done well and expeditiously, can point to good management, as Gore suggests. But if details of these cases reveal poor supervision or other departmental flaws, Gore will have a big problem.

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What kind of political issue Myers can or would make out of this remains to be seen. While campaigning on a general reform platform, hes hardly an outsider. Hes been with the department for 32 years. That gives him a unique view of its inner workings, but he did move up the chain of command he is only now publicly criticizing.

Gore, who had promoted Myers, pulled him out of that chain and put him in charge of dealing with the logistics of moving forensics into a new crime lab. He did not cut Myers pay.

Myers claimed retaliation for his political ambitions, which Gore denies.

For the sake of argument, lets agree that setting up the new lab is a vital role that needs to be filled with a high-ranking member of the department. Clearly, there are other people who can do that. It begs a few questions: Was Myers reassigned because he was the best person for the job? For purely political reasons? Because his campaign criticism is actually undermining the department?

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The two clashed again when Myers reached out as a private citizen to some of Fischers accusers. He was written up because the department said his involvement with people involved in a criminal case could influence the outcome of the investigation or prosecution and may be considered as evidence.

That would be something. Two of the thorniest issues facing Gore coming together  in a courtroom.

Gore is in a politically strong position. Hes been elected twice and didnt even face an opponent in 2014. Since he was appointed sheriff in 2009, his department has faced few big controversies.

Though he has been criticized for the number of deaths in county jail over the years, that concern didnt seem to resonate much with the public. Some detention procedures have been changed and, at least initially, the numbers are down.

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Gore, a former top-level FBI official, has decades of law enforcement experience. He continues to have broad political support among San Diegos establishment and, compared with Myers, good access to campaign money.

Hes got something else going for him. One longtime elected official recently uttered this truism about our local politics: People dont get unelected in San Diego.

Gore no doubt hopes he wont be one of the exceptions to that rule.

Tweet of the Week

Goes to Greg Dawson (@DawsonNBC), vice president of news for NBC 7.

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In the last week my kids generation has pretty much shown up my generation.CITY COUNCILS

CARLSBAD

The Carlsbad City Council will meet in closed session to discuss property negotiation and labor negotiations at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday in council chambers at 1200 Carlsbad Village Drive. In regular session at 6 p.m., the council will hold a hearing on the construction of a mixed-use building at Madison Street and Oak Avenue; hear a report on the results of the 2017 Resident Public Opinion Survey; and hear a progress report on its council goals.

Annual Habitat Management Plan public meeting

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The city of Carlsbad will host its 13th annual Habitat Management Plan public meeting from 2-4 p.m. Feb. 27 at the Faraday Administration Center, 1635 Faraday Ave. Presentations by city staff and land managers will include highlights from the upcoming 2017 Habitat Management Plan Annual Report, followed by a question and answer session with the audience. The report will be released on the citys website in March. Contact Rosanne Humphrey at (760) 602-4689 or rosanne.humphrey@carlsbadca.gov.

ENCINITAS

The Encinitas City Council has canceled its regular meeting scheduled for Wednesday.

ESCONDIDO

The Escondido City Council invites the community to the mayors annual state of the city report at 8 a.m. Wednesday at the California Center for the Arts, 340 N. Escondido Blvd.

OCEANSIDE

The Oceanside City Council will meet at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday in closed session to discuss litigation and property negotiations at City Council Chambers, 300 N. Coast Highway. In regular session at 5 p.m. the council will discuss initiating an IRS trust to offset the costs of the citys CalPERS pension obligations; hold a hearing on raising the citys junior lifeguard program fees $20; and discuss a resolution opposing oil drilling along the citys coastline.

SAN MARCOS

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The San Marcos City Council will meet at 6 p.m. Tuesday at City Hall, 1 Civic Center Drive.

SOLANA BEACH

The Solana Beach City Council will meet in closed session to discuss litigation at 5 p.m. Wednesday in City Council Chambers, 635 S. Highway 101. In regular session at 6 p.m., the council will hold a hearing on permits to do habitat restoration and to build public trail improvements, construct an extension of the Solana Beach Coastal Rail Trail, and build trail amenities on a vacant property at 640 Highway 101. Council members will also discuss whether to raise their compensation.

VISTA

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The Vista City Council will meet at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday in City Council Chambers, 200 Civic Center Drive, to discuss permits for a self-storage facility at 1100 E. Vista Way. It will also hear reports on Downtown Specific Plan Zoning and Development Standards and its second-quarter financial report.

SCHOOL DISTRICTS

CARLSBAD

The Carlsbad Unified School District board will meet in closed session to discuss student discipline and personnel at 5 p.m. Wednesday at the district office, 6225 El Camino Real. In regular session at 6 p.m., the board will discuss new contract proposals with the Laborers International Union of North America Local 777; and will hear a presentation on local funding measure campaigns and bond finances to support its Facility Master Plan.

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DEL MAR

The Del Mar Union School District board is scheduled to meet in closed session at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday at the district office, 11232 El Camino Real, San Diego, and in regular session at 5:45 p.m.

OCEANSIDE

The Oceanside Unified School District board is scheduled to meet at 2:30 p.m. Tuesday at the district office, 2111 Mission Ave., for a board workshop on the California School Dashboard and the Local Control and Accountability Plan. The board will also authorize staff to prepare a request for proposals for an executive search firm to help hire a new superintendent. A closed session to discuss personnel and labor negotiations will follow.

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laura.groch@sduniontribune.comCITY COUNCILS

CARLSBAD

The Carlsbad City Council met in special session Tuesday for a report on city investments. The council approved giving $25,000 in Housing Trust Funds to support the North County Regional Bridge Housing System for the homeless. The County of San Diego presented its proposed master plan update for McClellan-Palomar Airport. Council members said they will draft a letter to the county Board of Supervisors expressing residents and their comments on the proposal. The council may also consider a special election.

DEL MAR

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The Del Mar City Council met in special closed session Tuesday to discuss property negotiations. In regular session, the council updated and amended its campaign regulations, including raising the donation limit to $75 before disclosure was necessary. The council approved permits for Phase One of the Downtown Streetscape Design, using $400,000 of Measure Q funds and authorizing requests for bids. The council also requested a cost estimate to relocate a bus stop at 13th Street and Camino del Mar. Traffic calming measures for Jimmy Durante Boulevard were approved for $6,000.

ENCINITAS

The Encinitas City Council has canceled its regular meeting scheduled for Wednesday.

POWAY

The Poway City Council met Tuesday and approved a request for permits to establish an escape room business in a multi-tenant building at 12544 Kirkham Court. The council also discussed a request to rezone parcels on Agsten Lane from single-family to apartments, but took no action.

SCHOOL DISTRICTS

ENCINITAS

The Encinitas Union School District board met in special session Thursday to accept the 2017-2018 Comprehensive School Safety Plans. The board also approved changes in fees for its ASPIRE before- and after-school programs, and conducted a budget workshop.

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ESCONDIDO

The Escondido Union School District board met for a board study session Thursday on budget development for 2018-19 and its Local Control and Accountability Plan.

SAN MARCOS

The San Marcos Unified School District board met in closed session Tuesday to discuss labor negotiations. In regular session, the board voted for the boundary adjustments in Scenario 6, with implementation to begin with the 2018-19 school year. The board also heard and discussed a budget update. Parents expressed support for keeping the VAPA program (Visual Arts and Performing Arts) and physical education in the budget. Several items on the information agenda were tabled.

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laura.groch@sduniontribune.comThe U.N. Security Council unanimously approved a resolution Saturday demanding a 30-day cease-fire across Syria without delay to deliver humanitarian aid to millions and evacuate the critically ill and wounded.

U.N. humanitarian chief Mark Lowcock welcomed the vote saying: Words must now quickly become action  any cessation of hostilities must be real. Attacks must stop.

The vote was postponed for several days of lengthy and intense negotiations to try to get support from Russia, a key Syrian ally that said repeatedly an immediate cease-fire was unrealistic.

Sponsors Kuwait and Sweden amended the resolution late Friday in a last-minute attempt to satisfy Russia, dropping a demand that the cease-fire take effect in 72 hours.

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The effort worked, though U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley was sharply critical of Russia for delaying the vote.

How many mothers lost their kids to the bombing and the shellings? due to the delay, she asked. How many more images did we need to see of fathers holding their dead children?

Sweden, Kuwait and many other countries had been pressing for an immediate cease-fire as deaths mount in a Syrian bombing campaign in the rebel-held suburbs of Damascus known as eastern Ghouta, where the death toll in a week of bombardment has risen to 500.

Earlier this week U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged an immediate suspension of all war activities in eastern Ghouta, where he said 400,000 people are living in hell on earth.

Guterres welcomed the resolutions adoption and stressed his expectation that it will be immediately implemented and sustained so aid gets to the needy and sick, U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said. The U.N. stands ready to do its part.

While the spotlight is on eastern Ghouta, the resolution expresses grave distress at the humanitarian situation there as well as throughout the country including Idlib governorate, northern Hama governorate, Rukban and Raqqah.

It states that urgent humanitarian assistance is now required by 13.1 million people in Syria, including 5.6 million people in 1,244 communities in acute need. That includes 2.9 million in hard-to-reach and besieged locations such as eastern Ghouta.

The resolution calls on all parties to immediately lift the sieges of populated areas including eastern Ghouta, Yarmouk, Fuah and Kfarya.

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On the key issue of a cease-fire, the resolution demands that all parties cease hostilities without delay for at least 30 consecutive days throughout Syria for a durable humanitarian pause, to enable the immediate delivery of humanitarian aid and services and medical evacuations of the critically sick and wounded ... and demands that all parties engage to this end.

The resolution also demands that a cease-fire be followed immediately by access for humanitarian aid.

UPDATES:

4:45 p.m.: This article was updated with additional details about the cease-fire vote.

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This article was originally published at 1:10 p.m.Hearing on 2004 Krishna Pd Adhikari murder case today

The Chitwan District Court has slated the hearing on the murder case of Krishna Prasad Adhikari of Fujel, Gorkha, who was killed during the armed conflict, for Sunday.This weekends Spreckels family reunion is a time to recall staggering success while overlooking bitter rivalries.

Quick read:

A century ago, brothers John D. and Adolph Spreckels owned much of downtown San Diego and all of Coronado.

Their father, Claus Spreckels, amassed a fortune by dominating Hawaiis sugar trade.

This areas most powerful figure at the turn of the century, John D. Spreckels owned everything from the Hotel del Coronado to The San Diego Union and the Evening Tribune.

John D. Spreckels is the subject of a Coronado Historical Association exhibit that opens Thursday.

Old family feuds almost derailed the exhibit and reunion. I swear, an organizer said, its like the Kardashians.

San Diego and Coronados forgotten first family, the Spreckels: Heres the full story:

Every family has a history.

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The Spreckels family, in town this weekend for a reunion, can boast of an epic.

Their tale is the sweeping novel James Michener never got around to writing, a turn-of-the-century Game of Thrones that has yet to be produced. The sprawling story stars the tycoon brothers John D. and Adolph B. Spreckels, and the plot includes extramarital dalliances, a drug overdose, a shootout in a newspaper office, a landmark Kentucky Derby victory and a fortune worth billions that provoked lawsuits and feuds.

Some of these wounds are still raw, noted Sandra Bonura, the historian who organized this weekends gathering.

I heard, If he comes, I wont come  he sued me, Bonura said. I swear, its like the Kardashians.

She succeeded in drawing 45 members of this extended family. The Rosekrans contingent came from San Francisco, the Russells from Napa, the Belchers from New Mexico, the Lewises from Arizona, the Pletchers from Coronado.

Unlike Kim, Khloe and company, all were on their best behavior.

By now, said Adolph Rosekrans, 87, a grandson of Adolph B. Spreckels, were all kissing cousins. Everybody loves each other.

That wasnt always true. Since the mid-19th century, the Spreckels clan worked, played and scrapped in dramatic, glamorous fashion. Their lives played out in Hawaiian sugar plantations, aboard a lavishly-appointed steam yacht, at a Napa horse ranch  and across San Diego and Coronado, cities the family ruled like medieval princes.

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John D. and Adolph B. Spreckels, the cutthroat sons of the 19th century sugar baron Claus Spreckels, once owned Coronado. Every square inch, Bonura said. As business partners, they snapped up most of downtown San Diego, installed electric streetcars, erected dams, opened Belmont Park, improved Balboa Park, created the zoos first elephant enclosure. John D. literally hammered home the final spike in The Impossible Railroad on the U.S.-Mexico border.

What they didnt own, they tried to control. Opposed by the San Diego Sun, John D. ensured friendly coverage by buying The San Diego Union in 1890. This pro-Spreckels voice would be amplified by the Evening Tribune, which Spreckels purchased in 1901.

1 / 12 While relatives watch, 9-year-old Claus Russell of Napa, the great-great-great-grandson of John D. Spreckels, the youngest Spreckels descendant to attend the Spreckels family reunion, plays a few notes at the Spreckels Organ Pavilion in Balboa Park. (Howard Lipin / The San Diego-Union-Tribune) 2 / 12 Nine-year-old Claus Russell of Napa, the great great great grandson of John D. Spreckels, and the youngest Spreckels descendant to attend the Spreckels family reunion, reacts to the sound level of the organ music while touring the inside of the organ at the Spreckels Organ Pavilion in Balboa Park. (Howard Lipin / The San Diego-Union-Tribune) 3 / 12 Dale Sorenson, the Spreckels Organ curator gives a short talk to family members of John D. Spreckels who visited the Spreckels Organ Pavilion in Balboa Park before touring the organ as part of a family reunion. (Howard Lipin / The San Diego-Union-Tribune) 4 / 12 Descendants of John D. Spreckels who visited the Spreckels Organ Pavilion in Balboa Park as part of a family reunion, Adolph Rosekrans, left, Faith Pletcher, background, her mom and dad, Carol Pletcher, and Don Pletcher, and John Spreckels Rosekrans, right, look at family photos. (Howard Lipin / The San Diego-Union-Tribune) 5 / 12 Adolph Rosekrans, 87, the oldest descendant of John D. Spreckels, and nine-year-old Claus Russell, the youngest, to attend the Spreckels family reunion talk with Sandee Bonura before they toured with other family members, the Spreckels Organ Pavilion in Balboa Park. She is the guest curator at the Coronado Historical Associations museum where the exhibit, John D. Spreckels: The Man The Legacy will open March 1, and organized the reunion. (Howard Lipin / The San Diego-Union-Tribune) 6 / 12 Descendants of John D. Spreckels who visited the Spreckels Organ Pavilion in Balboa Park as part of a family reunion, take photos and look around one the inside of one of the air chests inside the organ. Photo by Howard Lipin/San Diego Union-Tribune/Mandatory Credit: HOWARD LIPIN SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE/ZUMA PRESS (Howard Lipin / The San Diego-Union-Tribune) 7 / 12 A photo of a 1915 concert at the Spreckels Organ Pavilion in Balboa Park is part of the exhibition, John D. Spreckels: The Man, The Legacy which formally opens on March 1, and runs through August 31, at the Coronado Historical Associations museum. (Howard Lipin / The San Diego-Union-Tribune) 8 / 12 A photo of John D. Spreckels is part of the book, The Spreckels Organ.. The largest outdoor pipe organ in the world! given to all the descendant who toured the Spreckels Organ Pavilion in Balboa Park as part of a family reunion. (Howard Lipin / The San Diego-Union-Tribune) 9 / 12 Vickie Stone, curator of collections at the Coronado Historical Association holds a Hawaiian koa wood calabash bowl used as a wastebasket, a gift to the Spreckels family from Hawaiis royal family, one of the items that is part of the John D. Spreckels: The Man, The Legacy exhibit that opens on March 1, and runs through August 31, at the Coronado Historical Associations museum. (Howard Lipin / The San Diego-Union-Tribune) 10 / 12 A portrait painting of John D. Spreckels is part of the John D. Spreckels: The Man, The Legacy exhibit that formally opens on March 1, and runs through August 31, at the Coronado Historical Associations museum. (Howard Lipin / The San Diego-Union-Tribune) 11 / 12 The John D. Spreckels: The Man, The Legacy exhibit formally opens on March 1, and runs through August 31, at the Coronado Historical Associations museum. (Howard Lipin / The San Diego-Union-Tribune) 12 / 12 A 1922 Spreckels family film is part of the John D. Spreckels: The Man, The Legacy exhibit that opens on March 1, and runs through August 31, at the Coronado Historical Associations museum. This is a photo from the film showing Spreckels, about two-years before he died. (Howard Lipin / The San Diego-Union-Tribune)

Even before moving to Coronado in 1906, John D. was the regions most influential figure. Yet when his remains were cremated 20 years later, much of his legacy also turned to ash. The family name still adorns the Spreckels Theatre downtown, the Spreckels Organ Pavilion in Balboa Park and other landmarks, but John D. and Adolphs heirs are no longer local powerbrokers.

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Memories of John D.s local achievements, likewise, have faded.

I dont know why he is not remembered more for what he did, Bonura said.

Gunfire in the newsroom

In the century since the Spreckels fortunes peaked, much has been lost, including the familys grasp of its past. David Lewis experience was typical. Growing up in 1940s San Francisco, he knew little about great-great-grandfather John D. Spreckels.

No, there werent a lot of stories, said Lewis, 79, one of the 45 descendants at this weekends reunion.

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As a boy, he was unaware of the significance of his fathers wastebasket. Lewis later learned that this bowl of Hawaiian koa, deep and wide enough to hold a watermelon, was a gift to the Spreckels family from Hawaiis royal family.

For Lewis, the weekend was a rare opportunity to catch up with distant relatives.

Christine Donald, who lives in Point Loma aboard a 40-foot yacht, expressed similar hopes. Donald, 52, recalls dining at the Hotel Del with her grandmother, John D.s granddaughter.

Her goals for the reunion include meeting the other relatives that I didnt know, sharing stories that I hadnt heard.

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Some of those yarns will be told by John D. Spreckels: The Man, the Legacy, an exhibit opening Thursday at the Coronado Historical Associations museum. The family was afforded a sneak peek before the associations gala dinner Saturday night.

He did so much in San Diego, said Bonura, who is curating the show, which will run through Aug. 31. He turned San Diego into a powerhouse.

Touring the exhibit, family members saw the koa bowl/wastebasket, John D.s flask, paintings and photos of family mansions and yachts. A 1922 home movie shows John D. and Adolph mugging at the latters Napa estate. Adolph waves from a wheelchair, suffering a fatal dose of syphilis contracted during an extramarital liaison. John D. appears in white christening gown and baby bonnet, puffing a cigar and swilling gin from a bottle.

Bonura is a San Diego native, but she stumbled across this page of San Diego history while writing two books about turn-of-the-century Hawaii.

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Depending on the circles you move in over there, she said, the name Spreckels is either villainized or adored.

The familys wealth stems from the smart, if not ruthless, business practices of Claus Spreckels. Born in Germany in 1828, he emigrated to the U.S. as a penniless teenager. By the 1860s, he had amassed a fortune in the Hawaiian sugar trade, undercutting rivals and cultivating political patrons in the Hawaiian royal family and the U.S. Congress.

Controlling a chain of plantations on the islands, he created a company town, Spreckelsville, for his Maui workers. Like his son, John D., he believed in the power of transportation  his fleet of steamers brought Hawaiian sugar to the West Coast, while his railroads in California supported his sugar beet farms in the Central Valley.

As executives of Spreckels Sugar Company, John D. and Adolph were willing to do almost anything to ensure the familys fortune. In 1884, when the San Francisco Chronicle accused the familys company with defrauding investors, Adolph stormed into the newsroom, leveled his revolver at the publisher, M.H. de Young, and opened fire.

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In the ensuing shootout, de Young was wounded twice while Adolph was grazed by a bullet fired by a Chronicle clerk. Before he could get off a third shot at de Young, Adolph was tackled by an editor.

De Young survived, as did his assailant. At trial, Adolph pleaded temporary insanity and was acquitted.

Needing more favorable coverage, John D. did what he had done in San Diego  he bought a rival newspaper, the San Francisco Call. In an odd twist of fate, the Call changed hands years later, when it was purchased by M.H. de Young.

Morvich for the win

As a press baron, John D. could push pet projects and control his clans public image. You could hardly find any dirt on the family in California, Bonura said.

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When Claus died in 1908, he left the bulk of his fortune  worth at least $15 billion in todays dollars  to John D. and Adolph. There were two other brothers, though, and they sued. They lost, as did dozens more who tangled with John D. in court.

John D. would sue you if you looked at him sideways, Bonura said.

While John D. moved to Coronado after the 1906 earthquake, Adolph remained in the Bay Area, dividing his time between San Francisco and his Napa horse farm. One of his herd, Morvich, in 1922 became the first California thoroughbred to win the Kentucky Derby.

Adolphs wife, Alma de Bretteville Spreckels, left a more enduring monument in San Francisco, establishing the Legion of Honor, an art museum overlooking the Golden Gate.

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In Coronado, John D. built a mansion  the current Glorietta Bay Inn  with lush grounds that overlooked his Hotel Del and the anchorage of his 226-foot yacht, the Venetia.

They say he picked this spot so he could have one eye on his business and one eye on his pleasure, said Vickie Stone, curator of collections for the Coronado Historical Association.

While Spreckels loved the Venetia, sometimes embarking on cruises of several months, he leased her to the U.S. Navy during World War I. After serving in the Mediterranean as a sub-chaser and escort vessel, the yacht was returned to Spreckels  along with a $76,000 check from the government.

A shrewd dealmaker as well as a patriot, Spreckels insisted Washington cover the cost of returning this temporary warship to her status as a pleasure cruiser.

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Hearts, not wallets

On June 7, 1926, the Venetias flag was lowered to half staff. On that day, the Coronado Eagle & Journal reported, John D. had succumbed to a spinal disease which steadily became more acute and resulted in a respiratory paralysis which inevitably caused death.

His remains traveled across the bay aboard the ferry Ramona  the ferry line was one of John D.s enterprises  then cremated and shipped to San Francisco, where they rest with the ashes of his wife, Lillie Siebein, who had died two years earlier.

The man was, in the words of biographer Austin Adams, one of Americas few great Empire Builders who invested millions to turn a struggling, bankrupt village into the beautiful and cosmopolitan city San Diego is today.

If this description sounds overly worshipful, thats no accident. Adams book was commissioned and approved by John D. two years before the great mans death.

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For a new, unauthorized biography, Bonura tracked down family members. They had stories about John D. and his equally colorful descendants. There were battles over entire blocks of downtown Honolulu and mansions in San Francisco; there was an ill-fated marriage to an actress, Kay Williams, who rebounded by marrying Clark Gable; there were lives ruined by booze and drugs.

John D. Spreckels Jr. died in 1921 in his 30s in a car crash, Bonura said. He had already gone through two marriages at this point and was a playboy.

More than 50 years later, a similar fate befell Adolph B. Bunker Spreckels III, a champion surfer. Six years after inheriting a sizeable chunk of the familys wealth, he overdosed at the age of 27.

Today, Spreckels descendants look for healthier, benign signs of their heritage. Christine Donald, who divided her youth between Hawaii and San Diego County, inherited John D.s love of the sea and Adolphs devotion to horses.

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David Lewis, who now lives in Arizona, developed a late-in-life passion for polo  and later found that Del Mars San Diego Surf Polo Club still hosts the annual Spreckels Cup tournament.

And about 30 family members trooped over to Balboa Park on Saturday morning for a behind-the-pipes tour of the worlds largest outdoor pipe organ.

Its a privilege to introduce the Spreckels family to its legacy, said Ross Porter, executive director of the Spreckels Organ Society. We are honored. Welcome!

This was exactly what Bonura had hoped for  a weekend that renewed family ties and created shared memories, without sparking fresh resentments or lawsuits.

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My personal hope is that this reunion will bring hearts together, she said, not wallets.Matt White remembers that day in September 2016 when a mystery began to unravel that would change his life.

It started when White read a news report that Dr. Donald Cline, a retired Indianapolis fertility specialist, faced charges for lying when he denied hed inseminated unwitting patients with his sperm decades ago. He checked Clines address; it was the location of his mothers former doctor. Then he found a photo online, and saw that he resembled Cline.

It was just too similar to be coincidental, he says. White had long known he was a donor baby, but that day, he had an eerie feeling he was staring at the man who was likely his biological father.

Around the same time, Julie Harmon saw a TV news story about Cline. Shed discovered years earlier her blood type indicated she wasnt the child of both her parents. She didnt follow up then, but after watching the report, she says, I knew something was wrong.

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The TV story featured Jacoba Ballard, whose mother, like Harmons, had been Clines patient. Harmon contacted Ballard, and they traded photos.

I looked at pictures of her, and I knew, Harmon says. We even part our hair the same.

These two women and White recently crowded into an Indianapolis courtroom to hear Cline receive a one-year suspended sentence for lying to investigators when he denied wrongdoing; DNA tests determined hes the biological father of Ballard and another woman whose mother was his patient. Cline apologized for the pain my actions have caused but didnt specify how often he used his own sperm in procedures  court documents say he told Ballard about 50 times.

Clines sentencing, though, wasnt the end of this story.

In an extraordinary epilogue, White, Harmon and Ballard have forged a kinship as they wrestle with the revelation about their identities. Theyve also reached out to 21 men and women, all in their 30s, whove been identified through DNA tests as half-siblings  evidence, they say, Cline is likely their father, as well.

Many stay in touch through a private Facebook page, and several gathered last fall for a cookout. Harmon and Ballard talk daily. Some prefer to remain private, but others have attended social outings and exchanged childhood photos  and confidences.

Ive shared personal stories that I havent shared with anyone but my wife, White says. You have almost this instant bond with people who are not only part of this horrible situation, but you can relate to them on an intimate level.

White says theyve joked about having a pool of possible bone marrow and transplant donors, but this DNA discovery has left emotional scars, too. For the three public faces of this unique club, its been a wrenching experience.

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At Clines sentencing in December, Ballard told the judge there has not been one part of my life that has not suffered. Her DNA match to Cline was 99.9997, court records show.

In 2014, Ballard, who knew she was a donor child, had become curious about her family history and thought she might be able to find some siblings. She took a DNA test from 23andMe, a biotech company that uses saliva samples to determine ancestry and identify distant and close relatives, health risks and physical traits.

Ballards results listed seven half-siblings. She and two others assembled a family tree and realized their mothers had been Clines patients.

Ballard and a group of the half-siblings met with Cline, and she says he told conflicting stories, finally saying hed donated sperm about 50 times to help unknowing patients who desperately wanted children. Ballard and a woman DNA tests determined is a half-sister filed complaints with the Indiana attorney generals office. Cline at first denied hed been a donor but later pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice. I was foolish in my actions, and I should not have lied, he said at his sentencing.

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Harmon, who was linked to Ballard through a 23andMe test, always believed she had a biological bond with her father. Then, 35 years later, for that to be ripped away from you ... Ive lost my entire identity, she says. Her mother, Dianna Kiesler, says that based on discussions with Cline, she thought her husband was her donor and she was able to conceive with the help of drugs Cline prescribed.

Harmon says whenever she receives an online notification that a DNA test has identified another half-sibling, she, Ballard or White will check Facebook for mutual friends who can explain the situation. Otherwise, one of the three will try. Most of these people who are taking these tests have no idea that they have just opened up Pandoras box, she says.

Some prefer no further contact, but Harmon has befriended others.

I consider all of them my brothers and sisters, she says.

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White, who was also linked to the two women by DNA tests, clicked instantly with another half-sister who was a 99.998 DNA match to Cline. At their first meeting, they talked for five hours.

White says hes opened up with his new half-siblings, even discussing his own infertility. His two children were conceived through in vitro fertilization. Ive pretty much given up all my lifes secrets, he says.

With DNA tests becoming more popular, White believes their group will grow.

To think weve found all of us in a two-year period? he asks. Thats not likely. Theres got to be many more children out there.The Democratic Party will not endorse a candidate in the 49th Congressional District, a seat currently held by Rep. Darrell Issa.

Mike Levin received support from 53 percent of an endorsement caucus, but was short of the 60 percent needed.

Some Democrats hoped that an endorsement would identify a front-runner, increasing the chances that a candidate from their party would finish in the top two in Junes open primary.

Candidates in San Diegos four other congressional seats had enough support to secure an endorsement before the California Democrats State Convention.

The state Democratic Party failed to agree on who they want to represent a coastal congressional district spanning San Diego and Orange counties, an anti-climactic end to a months-long process where campaigns steadily courted delegates for their support.

It means that the five Democrats running to succeed Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Vista, will campaign without the partys backing, resources or seal of approval. The lack of an endorsement at the California Democrats State Convention could make it more difficult for a front-runner to emerge from the crowded field and discourage the back of the pack from leaving the race in a Republican-leaning district.

Democrats are concerned that their five candidates will split the electorate and wont finish in the top two in Junes open primary, stopping them from advancing to the general election.

Likewise, delegates were unable to reach an agreement for statewide offices including U.S. Senate, governor, lieutenant governor and attorney general, as well as several Assembly and California Senate seats.

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But in the 49th Congressional District, attorney Mike Levin received 53 percent of the vote from the 49 delegates in the districts endorsement caucus, shy of the 60 percent needed. Issas opponent in 2016, attorney Doug Applegate, received 27 percent, while former nonprofit CEO Sara Jacobs received 19 percent. Businessman Paul Kerr and attorney Christina Prejean did not receive any votes, and two delegates voted no endorsement.

Party Chairman Eric Bauman said Democrats have an overpopulation problem in some races and encouraged incumbent members of Congress to persuade weaker candidates in packed races to drop out, delay their political aspirations or consider running for other offices.

Im trying and trying, working with congressional leadership to thin these races down so we dont get zeroed out, Bauman said Sunday.

Levin had spent months wooing delegates and said the outcome was a good sign for his campaign even though he was short of his goal.

If you would have told me a couple of months ago that I would have gotten two times as many votes as any other candidate, I would have been thrilled, Levin said outside a conference room at the San Diego Convention Center.

For the other candidates, the lack of an endorsement was well-received but for different reasons.

This is a great thing, Kerrs campaign manager Andrew Grunwald said. Were happy to make a case to the voters.

Jacobs campaign spokeswoman also said theyre glad with the outcome.

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Were happy the voters of the 49th district will get the opportunity to decide this election, and were looking forward to continuing the conversation with them over the coming months, spokeswoman Chelsea Brossard said.

And Applegate said that the election will now be more fair to the district.

This will be decided by real voters, he said. The party endorsements arent transparent things.

Levin went into the convention with support from 57 percent of the caucus, putting him well ahead of his opponents but shy of the 70 percent needed to lock down an early endorsement before the convention.

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The candidates platforms are similar and in line with the party, so theyre mostly being scrutinized for their ability to win the seat rather than policy details.

The Progressive Change Campaign Committee issued a poll showing Levin beating potential opponent Assemblyman Rocky Chavez 47 percent to 39 percent with 13 percent undecided. Polls have consistently put Chavez atop the GOP field, which includes San Diego County Supervisor Kristin Gaspar.

Voters are going to have to coalesce behind the most viable campaign and some of the candidates will need to consider dropping out for a Democrat to win, Applegate said.

The people are going to have to make some real hard choices, he said. The race is very unfocused right now.

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The seat runs from La Jolla to Dana Point and is targeted by both Democrats and Republicans after Issa defeated Applegate in 2016 by 1,621 votes, the closest margin of any federal race in the country. Issa announced on Jan. 10 that he would not run for re-election.

The three incumbent Democrats from San Diego -- Reps. Juan Vargas, Scott Peters and Susan Davis -- received at least 70 percent of the vote from pre-endorsement conferences, enough to automatically get them the partys support at the convention.

In the 50th Congressional District represented by Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Alpine, first-time candidate Ammar Campa-Najjar received 97 percent of party support in a pre-endorsement process, well beyond fellow Democrat Josh Butner, a trustee in the Jamul Dulzura School District and a retired Navy SEAL. The seat includes eastern and northern San Diego County and Temecula.

Campa-Najjar said he earned delegates support by getting to know them, and by showing that he knows the district. He talked about how the doctor that delivered him in 1989 is from the district, as are the teachers who educated him growing up there. He said he spent three hours with some of the delegates trying to show them that a liberal candidate can win in one of the most conservative districts in California.

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They battle-tested me, they took me out to their conservative friends to see if I could survive and talk to conservative voters, Campa-Najjar said Friday.

On his Facebook page, Butner posted: I am not surprised that I did not win a process created by politicians and party insiders. I will continue to fight to put the interests of our country and our community over party politics.

El Cajon Mayor Bill Wells, a Republican, recently announced that he will challenge Hunter and is positioning himself as the most conservative candidate. Businessman Shamus Sayed is running as well and has raised $185,539, including a $100,000 loan.

Democrats also couldnt reach a consensus on major endorsements in races for U.S. Senate, governor, lieutenant governor and attorney general.

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After caucuses met to vote on Saturday night, state Senate President Kevin de Leon had support from 54 percent of the delegates, short of the 60 percent threshold needed to get the partys endorsement for U.S. Senate, but well ahead of incumbent Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who received 37 percent of the vote as she campaigns for her sixth term.

Similarly, appointed incumbent Attorney General Xavier Becerra only received 42 percent of the vote, behind challenger Dave Jones who received 56 percent. Becerra was running his first campaign for the office after he was appointed to replace Kamala Harris after she was elected to the U.S. Senate.

And not one of the candidates for governor crossed the 60 percent line. Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom finished with 39 percent, state Treasurer John Chiang got 30 percent, professor Delaine Eastin received 20 percent and former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa captured 9 percent.

In all, Democrats could not reach a consensus on four statewide offices, all three Board of Equalization seats on the ballot, five Assembly races, three California Senate races and four House races. In one instance, the 45th Congressional District in Orange County, a group of delegates from that district voted to endorse Dave Min, but his opponents were able to gather at least 300 signatures to raise an objection and put his nomination before the entire delegation. The delegation, however, upheld Mins endorsement on Sunday. That seat is held by Rep. Mimi Walters, R-Laguna Niguel.

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joshua.stewart@sduniontribune.com

(619) 293-1841Teachers, nurses, bus drivers and at least one billionaire were among a crowd of about 500 who rallied in support of labor unions outside the San Diego Convention Center on Saturday.

Were here to stand up for working people and organized labor, said Tom Steyer, a wealthy hedge fund manager and founder of the political action committee NextGen America. And make no mistake, Mr. Trump and the Republican party are coming for organized labor.

Steyer, best known for his TV commercials calling for the impeachment of President Donald Trump, was one of about a dozen speakers at the Working Peoples Day of Action, held on the lawn next to the convention center, which is hosting the California Democrats State Convention through Sunday.

1 / 7 Union members cheer as they listen to billionaire hedge fund manager and progressive activist Tom Steyer speak. (Hayne Palmour IV / San Diego Union-Tribune) 2 / 7 Billionaire hedge fund manager and progressive activist Tom Steyer, known for his Trump impeachment commercials, speaks to the crowd during the Working Peoples Day of Action labor rally. (Hayne Palmour IV / San Diego Union-Tribune) 3 / 7 Fabtimo Ali, who belongs to the United Domestic Workers union, holds a sign while attending the Working Peoples Day of Action labor rally. (Hayne Palmour IV / San Diego Union-Tribune) 4 / 7 Angela Jensen holds up her arm as she and Jacqueline Gilbert hold up their union sign during the Working Peoples Day of Action labor rally. (Hayne Palmour IV / San Diego Union-Tribune) 5 / 7 Union member and local activist Brisa Griffin works to get the crowd excited during the Working Peoples Day of Action labor rally. (Hayne Palmour IV / San Diego Union-Tribune) 6 / 7 Merisela Ramirez, left, and Rosa Marie Ramos, United Domestic Workers union members from Riverside hold signs while attending the Working Peoples Day of Action labor rally. (Hayne Palmour IV / San Diego Union-Tribune) 7 / 7 Union member Christina Griffin gets the crowd excited. (Hayne Palmour IV / San Diego Union-Tribune)

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The San Diego event was one of 28 Working Peoples Day of Action rallies held throughout the country Saturday. The local rally was attended by members of several unions, and many speakers shared similar messages of pride in accomplishments and resilience against perceived threats.

The rallies were held two days before the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to hear Janus v. AFSCME Council 3, a case that could impact the fundraising power of labor unions.

Plaintiffs in the case are public sector workers who are not union members but are required to pay union dues, which they argue is a violation of their First Amendment rights.

Union leaders have said non-members should pay their share because they benefit from the union that represents them in labor talks.

While some speakers said the case could threaten the livelihood of unions, some Republicans have said a win for the plaintiffs could be a good thing for workers and even the unions, which they said would have to change their ways.

Tony Krvaric, chair of the San Diego County Republican Party, said eliminating mandatory dues could hurt some unions, but not ones that are providing true value to their members. The change also could make unions focus more on helping their members, he said. Ron Nehring, an East County resident and former chairman of the California Republican Party, said union memberships have declined for several reasons, including the view that theyve become more political.

He saw the Janus case as a response to the politicization of unions and said some workers object to having to fund organizations with agendas they do not support.

Several speakers at the rally, however, said they saw the Janus case itself as a political attack on unions.

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This is about our unions. This is about our voice, Keith Maddox, a trustee with the San Diego and Imperial Valley Labor Council, said about the case. This is about workers having a right to be at the table.

The final speaker at the rally was Dolores Huerta, 87, who founded the National Farmworkers Association, now known as the United Farm Workers, with Cesar Chavez.

Preparing for her talk, Huerta said she planed to remind people of what unions have given American workers.

How did we get the minimum wage? she asked. How did we get the eight-hour day and weekends? How did we get Social Security? Unemployment insurance? Disability insurance? All those benefits people have.

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Huerta said she was in Memphis, Tenn., to march for workers rights when Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in the city. She compared seeing the National Guard pointing bayonets at marchers to the threat she sees facing labor today through the Janus case and other actions.

If they crush labor unions, then you eliminate the middle class of the United States of America, she said about the long-range effect of weakened unions. And if you eliminate the middle class, you eliminate democracy.

The rally was attended by some Democratic politicians who briefly stopped by on their way into the convention hall.

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gary.warth@sduniontribune.com

Twitter: @GaryWarthUT

760-529-4939Public Safety reporter Lyndsay Winkley set out again this year to do an in-depth look at the San Diego city and county crime statistics to try and make sense of the significant drop.

Q. What was the thinking behind doing a comprehensive story on homicides in San Diego city and county?

A. Despite its traumatic nature, homicide, which really is the ultimate crime, is worth trying to understand. When someone is killed, so many people are affected. The victim, surviving family members and friends are all impacted, but lethal violence also affects communities at large.

It can make people feel unsafe and fearful. And when justice isnt served, it can embolden others. Better understanding homicide helps demystify it and it may even help prevent it.

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Q. How did you go about putting together the statistics that went into the full-page graphic and how did you determine the elements?

A. Thats easily the most time-consuming part of this story. In order to pull together all the information were interested in looking at, I get together with every law enforcement agency in the county and go through each case, one-by-one.

Over the years, weve tweaked the information that we collect. We want people to have a good understanding of what the landscape looked like last year, in addition to trends over time.

Q. You have been covering crime and homicides for some time now. Which of these cases stand out to you the most?

A. To me, there were two that really stood out this year  for very different reasons. Probably the most notable killing was the death of Monique Clark, who was murdered by Peter Selis during a mass shooting at a University City condominium complex.

There were so many disturbing elements to that story. The fact that Selis was sitting in a pool chair while he fired indiscriminately into the crowd. The fact that his ex-girlfriend was on the phone at the time. There was also speculation that it may have been racially motivated, to a degree. Most of the people at the birthday party were black or Latino. Police never found evidence to support the finding that it was racially motivated, but theres really no way to know what was in his mind at the time of the shooting.

The killing that affected me most, on a personal level, was the death of Jacob Velasquez. He was killed in a shooting in National City, and I spent a lot of time talking with his mom about his death. A freelance photographer recorded the aftermath, and essentially captured his death on video. That footage has really haunted her and her family.

Q. Everyone wants to know why crime is going up or down in any given year? Is it hard to pinpoint an exact reason?

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Its basically impossible to pinpoint an exact reason. There are so many factors that contribute to crime. Figuring out which of those factors contributes to an increase or decrease is really difficult  even for criminologists. Its easiest to determine whats causing changes, but taking a close look at a smaller area.

Q. Youve been looking at crime trends for a while. What sticks out to you the most about the 2017 numbers?

The decrease in overall homicides was certainly notable. Weve seen a steady climb in killings for three years. This years total was closer to a sort of average for the region. Also, few gang killings and drug-related killings is notable. Gang violence and drug markets are two factors that basically every criminologist agrees leads to homicides.

Q. You pulled out the example of what went on in Southeast San Diego? What happened there?

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A. It really is easier to determine whats affecting homicides when you take a close look at a particular area. The neighborhoods in southeastern San Diego experienced this huge drop in homicides, so I was really interested in hearing what police and community leaders thought about that.

Both said the numbers are deeply rooted in healthy and transparent relationships, both between community members and community groups and between residents and the police. Theyve worked really hard to foster strong bonds, and both groups felt theyre seeing the payoff.

Also, Ive written a lot about ShotSpotter, a gunshot detection system, that was installed in that area in 2016. It was certainly interesting that homicides fell drastically in the area where that technology went in, but I think its too early to say definitely if it made the difference.

Interactive map of all homicides in San Diego County, 2010-2017 Homicides deeply affected communities across the region, leaving too many families to ask the often unanswerable question of why? While all killings are appalling, here are five that gripped the county.

1. Monique Clark, gunned down in a mass shooting.

Perhaps the most notorious killing of 2017 was committed by 49-year-old Peter Selis, who  distraught over a recent break-up  opened fire on a poolside birthday party at a University City condominium complex on April 30.

Witnesses said Selis never got up from his chair as he shot into the crowd, his gun in one hand, a beer in the other. He injured six people and killed Monique Clark, a 35-year-old mother of three, before being fatally shot by police.

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2. Catherine Kennedy, caught in gang crossfire.

Kennedy was driving along East Grand Avenue in Escondido after leaving Bible study at an Escondido church when a bullet pierced her skull on March 7. Authorities said it was fired by a gang member chasing and shooting at two rivals. Dionicio Crespin Torrez, 24, and 16-year-old juvenile, were arrested.

3. Maithem Alfuraiji, whose last moments were posted on social media.

An Escondido teen accused of murdering his friend posted cryptic messages on Snapchat about the killing as well as images of bloodied clothes and his victim crying during the fatal beating.

On one image posted April 27, suspect Salvador Sanchez included original rap lyrics, reading in part: dont you cry at least in the arms of a friend is where u die. His alarmed friends grew suspicious when they could not find 20-year-old Alfuraiji, and went to police.

Sanchez led police to Alfuraijis body. He has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity.

4. Omar Medina, whose body was found in a barrel at sea.

Medinas corpse was found in a 55-gallon barrel floating in the San Diego Bay off the coast of Chula Vista on Oct. 12, several days after hed gone missing. An investigator later discovered that Medina had been stabbed 66 times.

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Timothy Cook, a 52-year-old Chula Vista man with a criminal record, was subsequently charged with murder in the case, and has pleaded not guilty. A second man, Derrick Spurgeon, 38, was charged with accessory to murder. He has also pleaded not guilty. Authorities have been mum about details of the case, including any possible motives.

5. Kimberly Williams and Travis Whitt, killed in a double murder-suicide.

Soon after Richard Contreras got into a fight with his ex-girlfriends brother, deputies pulled over Contreras for suspected drunken driving.

He told deputies about the argument and they took him to a nearby substation, where he explained that hed been the victim of the fight.

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He was released several hours later, about 1 a.m. on March 13. Sometime before dawn, Contreras made his way back to the Vista house of Kimberly Williams, his ex-girlfriend, slipped inside and fatally shot her and her brother before turning the gun on himself.

Interactive map of all homicides in San Diego County, 2010-2017 

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Twitter: @LAWinkley

(619) 293-1546

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lyndsay.winkley@sduniontribune.com For the first time in three years, homicides fell across the county

 Police leaders and experts hesitated to credit the drop to any one factor or tactic, but a dramatic decrease in killings in southeastern San Diego might offer clues

 One criminologist theorized the citys large immigrant population may contribute to its low homicide rate

Every week. Thats how often Norma Velasquez watches the video of her dying son.

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The 22-year-old was killed in a National City shooting that left another man dead and two others injured. The chaotic aftermath was recorded by a freelance videographer.

Velasquez cant help but press play.

Youre trying to figure out if hes still breathing. Youre wondering when the ambulance is going to get there. Is he suffering? she said tearfully. Its like being victimized again.

Jacob Velasquez was one of 76 people killed last year in San Diego County. Its the first time in three years that homicide totals have fallen  a fact of little consolation to the families left behind.

Fewer killings in the city of San Diego accounted for much of the regions decrease. The city logged 34 killings last year, a substantial fall from the 50 the year before.

That decrease matched a fall in nearly every other major crime category in 2017 as well, from assaults and rapes, to burglary and vehicle theft.

Decoding the sharp drop in homicides is tricky.

Criminologists have identified a number of factors that appear to affect killings, like poverty, income inequality, unemployment and residential turnover  when people are constantly moving in and out of a community.

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Gang activity, the drug trade and gun markets also fuel murders, experts say. And a communitys relationship with the police and other law enforcement tactics play a role in preventing them.

One researcher, after studying homicide trends in San Diego for decades, found the citys large immigrant population may contribute to its low homicide totals, reasoning that they face job and housing pressures and dont contribute often to crime.

But police officials hesitated to credit any one factor or police tactic for the downturn.

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Just last year, the city of San Diego had the highest homicide total in nearly a decade and the San Diego County Sheriffs Department investigated more homicides than it had in two decades.

Its really hard to say what causes a decline or an increase in murders, San Diego police Capt. Brian Ahearn said. Sure, theres community-oriented policing and ShotSpotter and data-driven patrolling. But we had eight in January (2018) alone, and we were doing all those things.

Charis Kubrin, a professor of criminology at UC Irvine, said theres never a single explanation for any trend in crime  especially something as complex as homicides.

A lot of the action shaping homicide occurs at the neighborhood level  thats where the real story is, Kubrin said.

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A closer look at the communities in southeast San Diego might help explain the citys decrease. The region, which includes the neighborhoods of Skyline, Encanto, Lincoln Park and Mountain View, saw a dramatic drop in killings from 14 in 2016 to four last year.

San Diego police Lt. Manny Del Toro credited much of the decrease to healthy partnerships with an engaged community and aggressive police tactics designed to zero in on anyone involved in a killing  not just the murderer.

If theres a violent crime in the area, we are flooding that area, the lieutenant said. I mean, we are literally turning over stones. Were stopping a lot of people. The heat is on.

But that strategy can place strain on community relationships, Del Toro said. Over the years, the department and community groups have tried to foster a dialogue about how the police do their job and why.

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The idea is, if people have a better understanding of why we do what we do, then there will be less friction between officers on the job and community members, he said. It has slowly become more accepted that when crimes are committed, yeah, we are going to be out in force.

That doesnt just mean flooding an area with patrol cars. When a homicide occurs, southeast San Diego officers are immediately on the phone with a network of community groups.

Theres the Community Assistance Support Team made up of pastors and community members who reach out to victims and others affected by homicide to offer support and discourage retaliatory acts of violence.

Groups like the San Diego Compassion Project mobilize quickly to support families who have lost loved ones, offering everything from free groceries to counseling services.

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All of these measures are on top of already existing events and meetings designed to connect community members to resources and bring officers and residents together.

There are just more people that are taking ownership, Del Toro said. Theyre taking their community back. I think thats definitely a factor in the peace that were seeing right now.

Bevelyn Bravo has worked and lived in southeast San Diego communities for decades and is a grief counselor at ACEs Connection, an organization that helps families heal from trauma.

She knows all too well the pain of losing a loved one. On May 18, 2012, police officers knocked on Bravos door. Her son had been killed.

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Jaime Bravo Jr. was stabbed outside a friends apartment in City Heights. The 21-year-old City College student, who worked two catering jobs, died 10 days before his girlfriend gave birth to their first child.

Ive always seen people come together for the better of the community, but what has improved is even more families are recognizing that it has to be all of us, Bravo said. You cant wait until its your son or your daughter. These are our kids. We have to do this together.

Del Toro said in addition to an integrated community response, homicide detectives have worked hard in recent years to build cases against everyone involved in a killing, not just the primary suspect.

Our detectives have been pretty good about getting peripheral suspects in handcuffs, and I think thats sending a message, he said. People may take a step back next time. They might say, No, Im not going to help you do this or Ill be just as culpable.

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San Diego police Chief Shelley Zimmerman also credited the areas low homicide total in part to ShotSpotter, a gunshot detection system that automatically alerts officers to incidents of gunfire  even if no one calls it in.

The technology was installed in a 3.5-mile area in Valencia Park, Skyline, OFarrell and Lincoln Park in November 2016. The department has praised the system for helping them better respond when guns are fired in neighborhoods, but it has resulted in few arrests or cracked cases.

Del Toro agreed its possible the system affected homicide totals.

Knowing when shots are fired in an area that cops are going to show up and check every time  that very well could be a factor, he said.

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Like San Diego, most of the countrys biggest cities saw drops in homicide last year. Chicago saw more than 100 fewer slayings, from 766 in 2016 to 650 in 2017. Killings in San Antonio fell 17 percent, from 151 to 125.

But with San Diegos homicide rate of 2.4 killings per 100,000 residents, none of the 10 most-populous U.S. cities are safer when it comes to homicide.

Why is that? Its a question that has confounded local leaders for years.

One criminologist, after studying homicide trends in San Diego for three decades, found the citys large immigrant population may play a role.

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In a research paper published in the Journal of Quantitative Criminology in March 2016, professor Ramiro Martinez and two other criminologists explored what affect the regions increasing immigrant population had on homicide totals.

They found that between 1970 and 2010, the neighborhoods that saw increases in foreign-born residents also tended to be less violent. They also found that although immigration was increasing exponentially during this time, it was not associated with an increase in homicide.

Martinez theorized that certain immigrant characteristics acted as a sort of buffer against homicide.

For example, many immigrants tend to arrive with families that include children and grandparents who go on to live in the same house. They found homicides were decreasing in neighborhoods with that family composition.

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Intact family structure plays a role in decreasing crime by adding more adults to each household, increasing income, and providing more control over youths, Martinez said. This increased supervision at home and in the neighborhood.

And while many immigrants are poor, theyre also working  sometimes several jobs  decreasing the likelihood theyll be involved in homicide.

Its one thread in the homicide story we see today, Martinez said.

Last years victims came from all walks of life. They were spouses, high school students, Navy men, gang members and transients.

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Many died in arguments. There were fights fueled by alcohol, and over money or love interests. Some were killed in dangerous situations like drug deals that went awry or robbery attempts.

For most families left grieving, police investigators were able to offer a bit of closure by arresting a suspect.

Only 20 percent of killings went unsolved, leaving the county with an 80 percent clearance rate. Thats much higher than the national average. Only about 60 percent of homicides were cleared in 2016.

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Kubrin, the criminologist, said the countys high clearance rate is another good indication that the relationship between community members and police is strong.

Its very difficult for the police, as smart as they are and as many resources as they have, to actually get to the bottom of these things without the help of the community, she said. Its the community members, working in conjunction with police, that drives clearance rates.

Still, some families are left to hope that investigators will uncover a clue that will lead to justice.

Norma Velasquez refuses to give up hope that investigators will figure out who her sons killer is.

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She said thats one of the reasons she repeatedly watches the video of her sons death  to remind herself what she will never stop fighting for.

Im going to continue to fight, every day, until I get answers, she said. My son didnt die in vain like he was a nobody. He was my boy, an uncle, a brother.

I need to know who killed my son. I need to know or I cant move on.

Interactive map of all homicides in San Diego County, 2010-2017 

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Twitter: @LAWinkley

(619) 293-1546

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lyndsay.winkley@sduniontribune.comHerb collection in rural Bajura banned

Gaumul Rural Municipality in Bajura has banned the collection of herbs for three years to prevent the rapid decline of herbs at various community and national forests in the municipality.The $2 billion Mid-Coast Trolley extension under construction by the the San Diego Association of Governments will have 11 miles of track connecting University City with the Santa Fe Depot downtown, nine new stations  and some expensive parking places.

SANDAG has spent $11.6 million acquiring two pieces of property, one in Clairemont and another in University Town Center, which will be used for parking for 410 vehicles. That comes out to $28,293 per parking space.

The agency said the two land deals are needed to provide the parking called for in federally-approved plans for the transit project. It also said that the two purchases are good deals that avoided legal and other costs of eminent domain.

The two transactions are among two dozen property transactions SANDAG has made in assembling property for construction of the rail line, records provided by the agency show. They include acquisition as well as easement and right-of-way agreements.

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The most expensive deal so far was for the San Diego Data Processing Corp. at 5665 and 5675 Santa Fe Street. SANDAG purchased the building and land for $11.7 million, officials said.

The land deals are one element of the project, which has been part of the overall transit plan for the region for close to two decades. Project work began in the fall of 2016, and service is planned to begin in 2021.

In one deal SANDAG is paying $8.6 million for an easement and parking structure on 3.5-acre piece of land on Morena Boulevard and Ingulf Street. The deal includes an agreement from the land owner, Protea Development, to allow SANDAG to use the property for three years initially as a storage site for construction materials and equipment for the project, records show.

Its also paying Protea for 150 parking spaces for trolley riders in a parking structure the developer will build on the site for riders using the new station, which will be located across Clairemont Drive from the property.

SANDAG had initiated eminent domain litigation to acquire the land from a former landowner, who then sold the property to Protea for about $11 million, SANDAG spokesman David Hicks wrote in an email response to questions from The San Diego Union-Tribune.

Protea said it would fight the eminent domain effort but also offered to provide SANDAG everything it needed  parking and the storage  as long as it could retain and develop the rest of the property. Court records as part of a lawsuit Protea filed against SANDAG said it would cost the agency $7.9 million

Eventually both sides reached a settlement under which SANDAG paid $8.6 million for the 150 parking spots, a small piece of land for a power substation and the temporary storage. That is far less than what the agency may have had to pay via eminent domain, under which it would have had to pay the $11 million Protea paid, plus another estimated $2 million to build a surface parking lot, Hicks said.

Meanwhile at the northern end of the line SANDAG also put down $3 million for an easement to construct 260 parking spaces at the Westfield UTC mall. That deal resolved a dispute in which the mall owners contended that under a condition approved for the original development of the property, they only had to provide land for the project needed to widen Genesee Avenue. SANDAG argued the condition required them to provide any land needed for the project, including parking.

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The settlement avoided another eminent domain battle, Hicks said.

Had SANDAG needed to use eminent domain to acquire the same property rights, it might have cost anywhere between $9 million and $20 million, he wrote.

In total the agency has spent $83.2 million so far on land acquisition, close to the $86.7 million budgeted for land acquisition. The agency still has ongoing negotiations for about a dozen projects.

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Twitter: @gregmoran

greg.moran@sduniontribune.comPeople are no longer accepting status quo

Re Trump urged to take action (Feb. 22): I was in elementary, junior and senior high back in the 1940s and never went to school fearing I would be killed by a gun. Today, parents and grandparents share the same fear, that when they drop their children off at school they may never see them again.

My daughter has asked me at various times to pick up her 8-year-old twins from school, and now I fear they too could become gun victims.

After each shooting we hear, Prayer, mourn and now is not the time, from our esteemed congressmen. This tired, old attitude after each mass killing is no longer acceptable. This fear has finally taken hold throughout the country. I predict that those who do nothing and take money from the NRA will not be in office come 2018 and 2020.

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Make up your mind: an AR-15 or the safety of our children.

Harold Zaroff

Vista

Trump late in citing mental health issues

How disingenuous of Donald Trump to now focus on mental health issues in the wake of Floridas horrific school shooting.

A year ago he signed a House-sponsored bill revoking an Obama-era regulatory initiative that would have made it more difficult for people with mental illness to purchase firearms.

There are always consequences.

Serena Contreras

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San Diego

Rational people know a line must be drawn

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The article by Ruben Navarrette (More than just guns, Feb. 21) made many good points concerning gun violence and gun control.

The sad truth is that there will always be reasons for people to be irrational and violent. That is why eliminating the availability of the easiest tools of mass murder is so crucial and obvious.

No one would argue that surface-to-air missiles or rocket-propelled grenades should be sold to the public. There should be no semi-automatic weapons available for public sale either, period.

The Second Amendment refers to the right to bear arms, it doesnt say what kind. At the time it was written, single-shot muskets were the norm.

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I say start with this and work real hard on the reasons that some people in our society are capable of mass murder.

Neil Meyer

Escondido

Place the shooting blame where it belongs

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Another front-page story blaming guns for this tragedy. Why no stories about the total failure of child services, local police or the FBI. Why not find out the secret reason for the shooters expulsion from school.

These are the failures, not the gun obtained and misused by this certifiable lunatic. Maybe an armed school guard along with metal detectors might be called for.

I am tired of politically correct feelings standing in the face of facts. As the communists proved, telling a lie loud enough and long enough makes it true.

Peter Murnieks

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Vista

It is now very clear as to why President Trump is reluctant to chastise the National Rifle Association and their insistence to allow automatic guns in most everyones possession.

The fact that the NRA gave spent $30 million dollars on his election clearly shows his reluctance to challenge them and help our kids. Many of our leaders in congress have also been receiving sizable funds from the NRA thus their weak attempts to change the gun rules.

One of Trumps ridiculous gun suggestions was to arm teachers so they could shoot the intruder. Can you just imagine a teacher challenging a person with their pistol against a person who could fire their rapid-fire bullets long before the teacher gets a shot off? Wonder who then dies?

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A very weak congress in 2004 decided not to extend the effective law in existence that eliminated automatic rifles. That weak decision allowed more of the carnage we endure today. Maybe we need a new President and a new Congress!

Dan Yelvington

San Carlos

Casting students as actors unconscionable

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Re A Florida lawmakers aide called school-shooting survivors actors. (Feb. ): I am so proud of the students leading the march for change after the horrific shootings in Florida. I am appalled that conspiracy theorists are calling them actors directed by the left.

As a recently retired teacher after 36 years in the classroom, I was honored and privileged to work with this generation. They were not actors! Instead, they are smart, caring, eloquent and give back to their communities through meaningful community service. They are aware of what is going on in this world and have educated themselves to find out the inside story.

In 1999, after the Columbine shootings, many of my students from Southwest Junior High responded to one of your editorials asking the youth of our community for answers. You printed their responses on this very page. Its a tragedy that not much has changed. My fervent hope is that this movement will bring a better result.

Kathy Cappos Hardy

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Chula Vista

Gun free zones are magnets for shooters

Gun free zones tell law-abiding citizens to not bring guns into the zone. And they dont, leaving them to Run, Hide, Fight.

Gun free zones tell the criminal elements who and where the target is. They dont follow laws, allowing them to be unchallenged in a gun-free zone. What effective advertising stupidity.

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Bob Spencer

San Diego

Spend that military money here at home

Isnt the purpose of our elected officials to protect the American people? Billions spent on weapons in foreign countries to protect us and nothing done to protect us in schools, work and public spaces from the effects of these same military weapons.

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What is the responsibility of state and federal representatives to protect us? Do they not have a conscience?

Judith Sandven

Middletown

Letters and commentary policy

The U-T welcomes and encourages community dialogue on important public matters. Please visit this page for more details on our letters and commentaries policy. You can email letters@sduniontribune.com or leave a comment below.

Follow @UTLetters on Twitter and UTOpinion on Facebook.Man arrested red-handed dealing drugs

A drug dealer has been arrested red-handed from Sundhara in the Capital.

Thank you for reading! On your next view you will be asked to log in to your subscriber account or create an account and subscribepurchase a subscription to continue reading.Grid-connected solar projects: NEA mulls dropping pacts with nine companies

Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA), the state-owned power utility, is likely to scrap agreements signed with nine companies that have been roped in to install 22 grid-connected solar projects with a total installed capacity of 61 MW, as the power purchase rate has been revised downwards since the deals were sealed.Nepal-based NGO bags two international awards

Karuna Foundation, a Nepal-based NGO, has bagged two international awards for its ongoing programme on disability implemented in a district of Nepal.New Nepal-India pact on anvil

The Eminent Persons Group on Nepal-India Relations exchanged the first drafts on Saturday during the seventh meeting that opened in Kathmandu with the anticipation of a new Peace and Friendship Treaty that would reset their bilateral ties thus far based on the 1950 accord.Province 2 demands construction of Sunkoshi-Kamala Diversion Project

Locals of Province 2 have once again called on the government to expedite construction of Sunkoshi-Kamala Diversion Project so that water diverted from Sunkoshi River to Kamala River could be used to irrigate additional plots of land.De Lima among political prisoners featured at 10th Geneva Summit

Opposition Senator Leila M. de Lima has been included among the prominent political prisoners across the globe who were highlighted at the 10th Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy last Feb. 20.

She joined the ranks of Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, Saudi blogger Raif Badawi, and Uighur economist Ilham Tohti - all of whom were stripped off their freedom for defending democracy and human rights.

"They fight for survival, confronting horrific memories every single day," a poster seen during the conference read.

The conference, held at the International Conference Center Geneva in Geneva, Switzerland was attended by human rights activists and victims, diplomats, journalists and student leaders.

The posters of the political prisoner -including De Lima--showing their photos and number of days in detention or in exile, were seen at the conference venue.

De Lima's poster showed her photo bearing the words "361 Days Wrongly Imprisoned."

To convey his solidarity for De Lima, Liberal-Democrat Member of the European Parliament for the West Midlands Phillip Bennion posted a photo of him on Facebook holding the poster of the Senator.

"Showing solidarity with our liberal political prisoners at the Geneva Summit for Human Rights. Leila de Lima, Anwar Ibrahim, Ken Sokha, Ilham Tohti and Raif Badawi," his caption read.

Meanwhile, in a Twitter post, Liberal International (LI) tagged De Lima and other political prisoners as "imprisoned liberal heroes."

"Imprisoned but never forgotten.. At #Europe's largest gathering of human rights dissidents - the @genevasummit for #humanrights and #democracy - some of our imprisoned #liberal heroes are held up as a reminder of why we fight! #FreeRaif #FreeDeLima..."

In a statement from her detention cell, De Lima said the obvious trend of jailing government critics and opposition leaders should serve as a wakeup call to everyone--Filipinos and non-Filipinos alike--to fight any oppressive government leaders.

"Let's stand together to put a stop to the continuous harassment of people critical of the government. Let's not allow the culture of fear to stop us from doing what is just and right," she said.Press Release

February 25, 2018 Mass in Crame and book giveaway mark De Lima's first year in detention with friends and supporters Senator Leila M. de Lima yesterday marked her first year in detention in Camp Crame with a Mass celebrated by Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas, who said earlier in an open letter for the Senator that her detention "is the biggest symbol of what is wrong with our country." Villegas explained that a Mass is also called the Eucharist, which means thanksgiving, but he told De Lima that "we are not thanking the Lord that you have been here for one year", and neither the fact that "the number of extrajudicial killings can now fill the whole of Araneta Coliseum." The Archbishop also cited worsened crime and corruption, the spread of lies and fake news, and the erosion of people's moral fiber. But Villegas said that we can still be thankful that God is here and he is more powerful than any of the evils that can be committed. "There has not been a moment that God is not with you," he said to De Lima. "We can still thank the Lord that a greater number of Filipinos are still good. Goodness cannot die in the Philippines," he added. Speaking to De Lima, Villegas said: "When we remember you, we remember courage, we remember love of country." In thanking De Lima for inspiring the people and giving them hope, Villegas assured the detained Senator that "our destiny is not to suffer eternally." "God has never abandoned you. God has never forgotten you," he told her. "We might leave you here tonight, but you are not alone." In closing his homily, the former president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines reminded guests present in the Mass to look forward to the day that De Lima will be freed from her unjust incarceration. "We will be able to celebrate another Mass no longer in this place and celebrate the freedom that God has given you," he said. De Lima thanked Villegas for his "very moving" and "powerful" homily, and also for his open letter to her. In reference to said letter, De Lima told her guests, "I'm sure that I, like all of you in this room, would never get tired of loving this country." Among those present were former President Benigno S. Aquino III, Senators Kiko Pangilinan, Sonny Trillanes, Frank Drilon and Bam Aquino, Congressmen Tom Villarin and Teddy Baguilat, former interior Secretary Mar Roxas, former human rights chair Etta Rosales, former social welfare secretary Dinky Soliman, former peace adviser Ging Deles and former presidential management staff chief Julia Abad. The visitors were inspired, and some were even moved to tears, with Villegas' homily and De Lima's sharing afterwards. The Senator told her guests how it is for her, as someone innocent, to be unjustly detained for a year now. "365 days have been both too short and too long. It is both a curse and a blessing. It has both made me weaker and stronger," she said. After the Mass, De Lima and her visitors had lunch together in the small receiving area for visitors which made for intimate discussions and hearty laughs over good food. Before going home, the guests received a copy of De Lima's newly-released book titled "Dispatches from Crame I", which is a selection of the handwritten statements she has issued from detention. De Lima, who was all smiles throughout, happily obliged those who asked her to sign their limited copies.Press Release

February 25, 2018 Win to LGUs: Safeguard environment in tourist spots Senator Win Gatchalian over the weekend said local government units with jurisdiction over key tourism destinations around the country should not wait for another "environmental nightmare" before enforcing environmental laws and regulations, stressing that the environmental woes that Boracay is currently facing were compounded by the neglect of government officials over the years. "Local executives have the regulatory powers to compel businesses to strictly comply with environmental, building, and sanitary requirements. Sadly, the implementation of these regulations was so loose with respect to some businesses in Boracay, which obviously has resulted in this mess," he said. He also expressed his support for the ongoing investigations being conducted by the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) to determine the possible liability of local officials for issuing permits to Boracay businesses despite violations by the latter of environmental and waste management laws and regulations. The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), meanwhile, has served notices of violations to 51 business establishments on the island for possible violations of the Clean Water Act (RA 9275). Describing the top local tourist spot as a "cesspool" during a forum last February 9, President Rodrigo Duterte publicly warned of possibly closing down resorts and business establishments located in Boracay if its environmental issues were not addressed within six months. Reports revealed that a number of establishments do not have proper sewage and waste management facilities and have resorted to dumping their waste directly into the coastal waters. "The continuing degradation of the environment in popular tourist destinations around the country will cripple our tourism industry and endanger the livelihood of tourism sector workers. LGUs will play a critical role in stopping this troubling trend by ensuring that the natural beauty of our pristine islands are maintained and enhanced," he said.Province 6 named Karnali; Surkhet capital

Province 6 has been first among the seven federal states of the country to get its name.SC stays swearing-in ceremony of 3 NA members nominated by Prez

The Supreme Court (SC) has issued a short-term interim order directing the government not to administer the oath of office and secrecy to the three National Assembly members nominated by the President upon the recommendation of the KP Sharma Oli-led government.Way to emancipation

Many girls migrating from rural to urban areas have become successful beauticiansSridevi, 54, was with her husband Boney Kapoor and daughter Khusi in Dubai when she suffered a massive heart attack. The Bollywood diva was in Dubai to attend the wedding ceremony of Mohit Marwah.

According to a report in The Indian Express , Sridevi's brother-in-law Sanjay Kapoor confirmed the news as the B-Town was left in a state of shock.

Veteran Bollywood actor Sridevi passed away on Saturday night after suffering a massive cardiac arrest.

"Yes, it is true that Sridevi passed away. I just landed here, I was in Dubai and now I am flying back to Dubai. It happened roughly around 11.00-11.30. I dont know more details yet," Sanjay told the newspaper.

Sridevi ruled hearts of millions with films like Chandni, Lamhe, Mr India, Nagina and also appeared in films like English Vinglish.

I have no words. Condolences to everyone who loved #Sridevi . A dark day . RIP -PRIYANKA (@priyankachopra) February 24, 2018

An absolute icon. Gone too soon, #Sridevi. Too soon... - Jacqueline Fernandez (@Asli_Jacqueline) February 24, 2018

This was Sri Devi just two days ago at wedding. How beautiful she looked pic.twitter.com/J1P1NSaTxK - Reema Omer (@reema_omer) February 24, 2018

Deeply saddened and shocked to hear about #Sridevi Ji. My prayers and condolences to the family. -Johny Lever (@iamjohnylever) February 24, 2018

Unbelievable Shocking -Heartbreaking to hear about the demise of #Sridevi, one of the talented Actress of Indian Cinema. Prayers and strength to the family. #OmShanti February 24, 2018

Shocked beyond words. A legend -my favourite actress. RIP Sridevi Maam. - Jayam Ravi (@actor_jayamravi) February 24, 2018

Omg!! Im in shock !! Lost for words!! my all time favourite #Sridevi may your soul rest in peace .. my prayers go out to her family x - Upen Patel (@upenpatelworld) February 24, 2018

Terrible terrible news.... Am shocked beyond words. SRIDEVI ji No More ... - - Riteish Deshmukh (@Riteishd) February 24, 2018STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. --The culmination of Chinese New Year 2018 saw students at the Staten Island Chinese School perform heartwarming songs and dances -- and even poetic verses -- Saturday at the Rocco Laurie Intermediate School in New Springville.

And as tradition dictates, the stage was adorned with shades of regal red and vibrant gold -- indicative of the occasion -- as dragons and lions worked their way up and down the aisles to perform traditional dances.

Each year children of all ages, and adults who attend adult language classes at the school, eagerly await the program in order to perform and create original artwork.

In total, some 200 to 300 students, parents grandparents and friends were on hand to formally mark the beginning of "The Year of the Dog," and commemorate characteristics that include loyalty, nobility, trustworthiness and simply being a good listener.

The cycle runs every 12 years. So the next 'Year of the Dog' will be in 2030.

Each year, the event opens with lion and dragon dances -- a tradition in Chinese culture, performed by Shaolin Kung-Fu Temple and led by Sifu Paula Wong -- which are always a featured favorite among children and adults.

School principal, Julie Tam offered opening remarks:

"On behalf of the Staten Island Children's School I want to welcome all of you. Happy Chinese New Year. And I want to thank all of the teachers," she said before asking educators to stand up to be recognized.

In speaking of the yearly festive event," Tam, explained a little about what the occasion marks.

"It is believed the lion and dragon dances to the beat of the drums to scare evil away, and the firecracker sounds symbolize the same theory. But we're not allowed to use firecrackers because of the city Fire Department. But at the Chinatown, celebration they do," she said.

"The other ethnic groups have their celebration and a day off, but we don't. But the children were excused from school last Friday, Feb. 16," she added.

WHAT THE LETTERS MEAN

"The letters in Chinese, called the 'Choy' is actually money," explained Tam.

"We offer money to the dragon in a red envelope and ask that it guides you and gives you good luck," she added.

The Staten Island Chinese School offers a link to Asia for about 110 students ages 4 to adult, offering Mandarin, Cantonese classes, tai chi, Chinese calligraphy and kung fu, among other programs.



The Saturday school, started back in 1971 with only seven students, has since blossomed along with the borough's Chinese American community.

Housed within the IS 72 building, the school welcomes people of all backgrounds, with enrollment including students from Russia, Poland, Malaysia, Singapore and other places across the globe, as well as a number of Chinese-born youngsters adopted by American parents.STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- After McDonald's revived the famous Szechuan sauce in October 2017, the fast-food giant announced it would bring it back again in February, but with a much larger supply.

The restaurant chain announced on Twitter that it would supply 20 million cups of Szechuan sauce to its locations across the U.S. on Monday.

The fast-food company offered a one-day-only promotion in October for the sauce, which customers haven't had in nearly 20 years, but it left most customers empty-handed, upset and angry.

"Last October, we truly meant well when we brought back a super-limited batch of Szechuan Sauce, but it quickly became apparent we did not make enough to meet the expectations of our fans," McDonald's wrote in a blog post. "We did not anticipate the overnight crowds, the cross-state travel and the amazing curiosity, passion and energy fans showed."

"Our super-limited batch, though well-intentioned, clearly wasn't near enough to meet that demand," McDonald's wrote. "We disappointed fans and we are sorry. To fully make amends, we felt it was important to not only bring back much more sauce this time, but to also admit our mistakes, answer questions and give fans access to the story behind the story."

Here are the Staten Island locations offering Szechuan sauce:

2154 Hylan Blvd.

1815 Forest Ave.

501 Bay St.

803 Forest Ave.

1388 Hylan Blvd.

260 Page Ave.

3267 Richmond Ave.

1660 Richmond Ave.

Customers got their first taste of the condiment in 1998 when it was given as a limited-time release for the promotion of Disney's Mulan. Two decades later, the sauce gained traction again thanks to an episode of "Rick and Morty" -- from the Adult Swim animated series' third season.

After an April 2017 episode of "Rick and Morty" aired, referencing the sauce, McDonald's announced it would bring it back in extremely limited quantities at select restaurants over the weekend.

The show was created by Dan Harmon, creator of the series "Community," and Justin Roiland, a writer, animator, voice actor and director who has worked on series including "Adventure Time" and "Gravity Falls."

Main protagonist Rick craved the taste of the sauce and, soon, so did everyone else.

McDonald's included a three-part podcast in the tweet to describe what went wrong when it first attempted to bring back the sauce.CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -- Motorists pulled aside and well-wishers lined freeway overpasses to see the Rev. Billy Graham's motorcade barrel through his beloved home state of North Carolina on Saturday in a running tribute to "America's Pastor."

Adults and children stood behind wooden barricades and yellow tape as police officers saluted and admirers captured the moment on cell phones. Fire trucks parked on overpasses along Interstate 40.

"He has never really reveled in all of the celebrity. It's come with the territory," said Joe Tyson, a family friend who runs a furniture store in Black Mountain, where he watched the procession. "But they've managed to live a very normal life for such famous people. And I think he'd be very proud that his neighbors turned out and quietly celebrated his reward and his passage into heaven."

The motorcade left the mountain chapel at the training center operated by Graham's evangelistic association in Asheville on a long drive along Interstate 40 to his library in Charlotte, the state's largest city.

It was a chance for residents in some of Graham's favorite places to pay tribute. He often shopped or caught trains in Black Mountain. He maintained his home in the nearby community of Montreat.

The procession is part of more than a week of mourning that culminates with his burial March 2 at the Billy Graham Library in Charlotte.

Graham, who died Wednesday at his home in North Carolina's mountains at age 99, reached hundreds of millions of listeners around the world with his rallies and his pioneering use of television.

A viewing will be held at the Billy Graham Library in Charlotte on Monday and Tuesday. Graham will also lie in honor in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda on Wednesday and Thursday, the first time a private citizen has been accorded such recognition since civil rights hero Rosa Parks in 2005.

The Graham library closed Saturday as mourners laid flowers and awaited the arrival of the evangelist's casket in Charlotte.

"He was so bold, he so boldly confessed the word of God," said Madeline Reid. "And I believe because of his service to humanity, that he's truly gonna be great in the kingdom of heaven."

Ruby Sparks, 85, attended a Graham youth ministry meeting in 1951, when she was a college student in Greensboro, North Carolina and met him in 1970.

"He was such a wonderful man of God, and a messenger of God," she said.

Asked if there would ever be another force like his, she replied: "I doubt it. Perhaps, in my next, in another lifetime. Not in my lifetime."

Graham will be laid to rest March 2 at the foot of a cross-shaped walkway at the library in Charlotte, buried in a simple prison-made plywood coffin next to his wife, Ruth, who died in 2007. His coffin was built by inmates at the Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola, Louisiana, who typically construct caskets for fellow prisoners who cannot afford one.

The funeral will be held in a tent in the main parking lot of Graham's library in tribute to the 1949 Los Angeles tent revivals that propelled him to international fame, family spokesman Mark DeMoss said. About 2,000 people are expected at the private, invitation-only funeral.

By Allen G. Breed, AP National WriterSTATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- "Snake, rattle and roll."

The Staten Island Zoo held one of their new special events, 'Rattlemania,' Saturday afternoon in West Brighton.

The hands-on event was a one-of-a-kind close encounter with the Zoo's world-famous collection of reptiles.

Rattlemania at the Staten Island Zoo 35 Gallery: Rattlemania at the Staten Island Zoo

The event offered kids of all ages an opportunity to get up-close for a "touch-and-feed" with the Zoo's giant tortoises, and go behind-the-scenes to observe rarely-seen aspects of the Zoo's animal care duties.

"This is the closest guests can get to our famous reptile collection," Zoo director Ken Mitchell stated. "For animal fans, Rattlemania is a VIP tour of our Reptile Wing and the Zoo staff's work behind-the-scenes."

The interactive experienced allowed guests to see alligator, gila monsters and cobra feedings with informative keeper talks.

Guests got up-close for a "touch and feed" with the zoo's giant tortoises, and went behind-the-scenes to observe rarely-seen aspects of animal care at the Zoo.

HANDS-ON FOR KIDS

Free rattle maracas were given to all Rattlemania guests under 16 years old.

Children were offered an opportunity to help zoo staff measure the length of a Boa Constrictor, ensuring accurate data for the veterinarian team.

Tiny tortoises were measured, and there was a nursery talk about baby reptiles and endangered species.

In addition to the feedings, the Zoo offered behind-the-scenes tours for exhibit animal feedings.

Questions about the exhibit were answered by the Zoo's curator Dr. Sarrah Kaye and Animal Care staff Cathy Eser, Danny Iovine and Matt Lanier.

Guests were also treated to a tropical Island-themed light buffet in honor of the Zoo's success with breeding endangered Aruba Island rattlesnakes.

The funds received for the event will be put toward exhibit improvements and other enhancements for the Reptile Wing, including life-size images of giant reptiles and interactive learning tools for children.

The event ended with the guests meeting one of the Zoo's newest arrivals, a King Cobra, who is less than a year old now.STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. --Retired New York State Supreme Court Justice Michael Brennan described his experience after returning home from Vietnam, graduating law school, and becoming a night court judge on Saturday at Li Grecci's Staaten, in West Brighton, at a veteran's appreciation breakfast.

From the bench, he would offer homeless veterans who had committed petty offenses a few nights in jail as a reprieve from life on the streets.

"I went to City Hall Park and sat on a bench and cried," Brennan said.

To help those in need, Brennan was instrumental in the creation of the new Veteran's Court on Staten Island. Here, veterans who commit minor infractions, often related to alcohol abuse, homelessness, or other struggles, get connected to services instead of jail.

"What really works," Brennan said, "is veterans taking care of veterans."

HONORING THOSE WHO SERVED

The event highlighted and honored men and women who served in U.S. Military.

More than 100 leaders of borough veterans' groups and organizations gathered together to learn how to connect veterans in need to food, housing and other-life saving services.

Bank of America and Project Hospitality sponsored the breakfast in cooperation with the United States Veterans Organization, Inc.

"As long as there is one veteran who is homeless, as long as there is one veteran in need -- whether it's emotional, psychological, financial -- then our country is failing," said District Attorney Michael E. McMahon, who applauded those gathered for serving the country, and continuing to serve at home. "Our country still is not doing enough; that's why this breakfast is what it's all about. We have to do it ourselves, person to person, helping each other."

Project Hospitality is currently serving over 200 veterans, said Reverend Terry Troia, president and CEO of the organization.

"We need a tremendous number of hands and hearts. It is not easy to haul food from the basement for the food pantry, to cook food for people -- some of whom are vets, or the mothers and fathers or children of vets," Troia said, describing some of the many volunteer opportunities with the agency.

James Haynes II, the executive chairman of the United Staten Island Veterans Organization, Inc., said that's why his organization was present at the event.

"We are here to help," he said.Anbang mess tightens state grip on China Inc: analysts



Shanghai, Feb 25 (AFP) Feb 25, 2018



Beijing's unprecedented takeover of private insurer Anbang confirms that toxic risks lurk in the world's second-largest economy while signalling the state's tightening grip on China Inc. despite reform rhetoric, analysts said.

Government regulators seized control of the Anbang Insurance Group on Friday, saying its debt-fuelled foreign acquisition binge left the company in financial peril and that high-flying founder and former chairman Wu Xiaohui would be prosecuted for fraud.

The takeover, to last at least a year, was the most striking step yet by regulators to rein in dizzying debt levels and a clear sign that the government saw something frightening in Anbang's books.

"This move has huge significance. If something went wrong with Anbang it would lead to massive bad loans in the financial system," said Beijing-based economist Hu Xingdou.

China has moved aggressively over the past year to slam the brakes on companies like Anbang, which ran up gargantuan debts to fund pricey overseas acquisitions.

Such companies have become known as "grey rhinos" -- financial beasts that could charge quickly, with damaging results.

Despite expert warnings that China's spiralling debt could spark a meltdown with global repercussions, the communist regime has steadfastly insisted that any risks remain controllable.



- 'Serious problem' -



But a look under Anbang's hood has clearly spooked Beijing, analysts say.

Anbang raked in cash largely by selling short-term policies promising some of the highest returns in the market, and rose from obscurity to quickly become one of China's biggest insurers.

With the proceeds, the Beijing-based firm spent billions overseas, snapping up New York's iconic Waldorf Astoria hotel in 2015 for nearly $2 billion, adding other pricey hotel and financial assets around the globe, and even making an aborted $15-billion bid for Starwood Hotels.

But Beijing's clampdown on risky financial practices since 2016 crippled Anbang's fund-raising.

"It's a serious problem. There may now be a flood of redemptions coming through," said Christopher Balding, a Peking University economics professor.

"If you are a $315-billion company like Anbang and have to write down even just 20 percent of your assets, that's almost a $100-billion hole. That's big even by China's standards."

Many Anbang holdings look likely to be sold off.

Attention will now shift to other acquisitive "grey rhinos" like HNA, Fosun and the Wanda Group.

Those companies have already been pulling back, with Wanda in particular selling off billions in assets recently to stay solvent, and are not yet seen as imminent government takeover targets.



- Growing state control -



But the Anbang move sets a precedent of state intervention in the private sector that is expected to recur.

President Xi Jinping has become the most powerful Chinese leader in decades by pushing a programme of party control in all walks of life.

Fraser Howie, co-author of a book on China's financial system, said Anbang's takeover is a fresh example.

In an essay, he wrote that government promises of economic reform to let market forces lead "really have no weight anymore".

"While further regulatory takeovers may be unlikely, government-orchestrated bailouts and restructurings are almost certain to come," Howie said.

"Xi's China seems to care less and less about the distinction between the private and state sectors."

China's debt crackdown is generally lauded as necessary to avert a credit crisis, but growing state control worries economists too.

It curbs the natural and healthy distribution of capital, and prevents an efficient modern economy from developing, said Julian Evans-Pritchard, China economist with Capital Economics.

"China won't be able to achieve the growth rates that it could with better resource allocation," Evans-Pritchard said.

"State control gives the appearance of stability, but growth continues to slide and in a decade you're at three percent growth."

China's GDP grew 6.9 percent in 2017, robust but well down from double-digit growth a decade ago.



- Blaming Beijing -



Anbang's takeover also means that the Communist Party is now the ultimate owner of the Waldorf Astoria and other Anbang assets, and the spectre of such state involvement could deter foreign regulators from approving some future Chinese investments overseas, analysts add.

With its vast war chest, China's all-powerful government is expected to contain financial risks.

But the current mess is Beijing's own fault, said Balding, the Peking University professor.

Xi's government and state media extolled the then-accelerating wave of overseas acquisitions just a few years ago, apparently oblivious of the risks.

Chinese regulatory approval is necessary for major overseas acquisitions by the country's firms, meaning regulators allowed many now considered questionable, he added.

"You have to lay the blame at Beijing's feet," Balding said.

"Companies like Anbang clearly got drunk and got behind the wheel, but Beijing was plying them with beer and giving them the keys."

lld-dma/qan/amz

FOSUN INTERNATIONAL

STARWOOD HOTELS & RESORTS WORLDWIDEChina, voracious buyer of foreign agricultural land



Beijing, Feb 25 (AFP) Feb 25, 2018



A Chinese tycoon's purchase of vast wheat fields in France highlights China's increasing acquisition of foreign farmland as the Asian giant seeks to keep up with its massive population's growing appetite.

With 1.4 billion mouths to feed -- one-fifth of the world's population -- but less than 10 percent of the planet's arable land, China has looked abroad to fill its food needs.

In addition to rising consumption, appalling food safety scandals at home have also boosted the appeal of imported products, seen as safer bets.

Chinese investment in agriculture abroad has soared to at least $94 billion since 2010, with almost half of that invested in the past two years, according to statistics from US-based think tanks, the American Enterprise Institute and the Heritage Foundation.

Private and state-owned Chinese enterprises have made investments covering nine million hectares (22 million acres) in developing countries as of 2012. But in recent years, attention has shifted to Australia, the United States and Europe.

Here are some of China's biggest overseas agriculture deals:



- Australian mega ranch -



In 2016, Chinese property developer Shanghai CRED went in with a local mining group to purchase the biggest ranch in the world -- S. Kidman & Co in Australia, which owns 185,000 cattle and controls 2.5 percent of all the country's agricultural land.

The acquisition came on the heels of a controversial 2012 takeover of Australia's largest cotton farm by Chinese company Shandong Ruyi.



- New Zealand dairy -



Chinese food giants Bright Food, Yili and Pengxin have bought dozens of New Zealand dairy farms despite grumbling local farmers, and now churn out products there that are very highly regarded in the mainland market.



- American pork -



Pork producer WH Group, formerly known as Shuanghui International Holdings, bought US company Smithfield Foods for $4.7 billion in 2013. With debt included, the deal was worth $7.1 billion.



- Ukraine rejection -



In 2013, reports that Ukraine -- the breadbasket of Europe -- would lease three million hectares of agricultural land to a Chinese group sparked a heated controversy, but the Ukrainians eventually denied the reports.China Communist Party proposes removing presidential term limits



Beijing, Feb 25 (AFP) Feb 25, 2018



China's Communist Party is calling for the removal of presidential term limits, the official Xinhua news agency reported Sunday, paving the way for Xi Jinping to remain as head of state after 2023.

The party's Central Committee has proposed deleting from the constitution the stipulation that a president "shall serve no more than two consecutive terms" of five years, Xinhua said.

Xi, who is also party chief and considered to be China's most powerful leader since Mao Zedong, has been president since 2013 and would step down in 2023 under the current system.

The proposed change, which would also apply to the vice-president, will be submitted to legislators at the annual full session of the National People's Congress starting March 5.

At the 19th five-yearly party congress last October, Xi saw his personal political philosophy included in the party's charter, an honour only accorded to one previous leader, Mao, during his lifetime.

Since taking over as party general secretary in late 2012, Xi has waged a remorseless battle against corruption, which has seen more than one million people punished. Some see the campaign also as a means for him to eradicate internal opposition.

Xi's presidency has been marked by the return of a personality cult and a major crackdown on democracy and human rights.Xi poised to extend power as China set to lift term limits



Beijing, Feb 25 (AFP) Feb 25, 2018



Xi Jinping, China's most powerful leader for decades, could stay in office indefinitely after the Communist Party called for the removal of presidential term limits.

Xi, who is also party chief and seen as the country's most formidable ruler since Mao Zedong, has been president since 2013 and the 64-year-old leader would have to step down in 2023 under the current system.

But the party's Central Committee proposed deleting from the constitution the stipulation that a president "shall serve no more than two consecutive terms" of five years, the official Xinhua news agency reported Sunday.

"I think he will become emperor for life and the Mao Zedong of the 21st century", Willy Lam, politics professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, told AFP.

"If his health permits, he wants to serve 20 years, which would mean until 2032 as secretary general of the party, and 2033 as state president," Lam said.

The proposed change, which would also apply to the vice-president, will be submitted to legislators at the annual full session of the rubber-stamp National People's Congress starting March 5. Xi is expected to be given a second term in office during the two-week-long session.

Xi has been chipping away at the collective model of leadership that was promoted by Deng Xiaoping, the architect of the country's economic reforms in the 1980s.

Xi's two predecessors, Jiang Zemin and Hu Jintao, both served two five-year terms, but he has signalled bigger ambitions.



- Name in constitution -



At the 19th five-yearly Communist Party congress last October, Xi unveiled a new seven-member Politburo Standing Committee -- its top ruling body -- that lacked any clear heir apparent to him. He was also given the customary second term as party general secretary, a job which does not have a formal term limit.

Xi also saw his eponymous political philosophy -- Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era -- included in the party's charter, an honour only accorded to one previous leader, Mao, during his lifetime.

The Central Committee also proposed adding Xi's "thought" to the national constitution, joining Mao again.

Since taking over as party general secretary in late 2012, Xi has waged a remorseless battle against corruption, which has seen more than one million people punished. Some also see the campaign as a means for him to eradicate internal opposition.

A major outcome of the 19th Party Congress was the decision to establish a new anti-graft agency, the National Supervisory Commission, that will coordinate investigations at all levels of government and expand its remit to include non-party members.

The Central Committee proposed listing the commission as a new state organ in the constitution.



- 'Without opposition' -

Xi told party officials on Saturday the constitution was key to building a moderately prosperous society, building a modern socialist country and realising the "Chinese dream of national rejuvenation" -- his slogan to restore the nation to its former glory.

"No organisation or individual has the privilege to overstep the constitution or the law," Xinhua quoted him as saying.

Xi is keeping a key ally by his side as he cements power.

The feared former head of the anti-graft agency, Wang Qishan, stepped down from the Standing Committee last October because at 69, he had reached the traditional retirement age.

But Wang was selected earlier this year as a deputy to the upcoming National People's Congress annual session, fuelling speculation that he could become Xi's vice-president or gain some other influential role.

Another ally and new Standing Committee member, Li Zhanshu, could become head of the National People's Congress.

"(Xi) would then ensure that his constitutional reform is adopted without opposition," said Jean-Pierre Cabestan, China politics specialist at Hong Kong Baptist University.

Xi's presidency has been marked by the return of a personality cult and a major crackdown on democracy and human rights.

Earlier this year the party mouthpiece People's Daily further cemented his elevation by publishing an article that for the first time referred to him as "lingxiu" -- a Mao-era honorific with more reverential and spiritual connotations than the ordinary terms.It was a Christmas the Chittick family would never forget.

In 1993, Narrandera resident David Chittick arrived home to find someone had broken into his house.

David Chittick has been reunited with his father and great uncle's war medals and coins, that were stolen more than 20 years ago. Credit:Jamila Toderas

It didn't take long for him to realise an old tobacco box passed on by his mother, Shirley, and filled with jewellery and war medals awarded to his great uncle and father, had been stolen.

But memories of the stolen war medals faded over the years  until now.The letter was notably shorter than in years past, at 17 pages versus 29 in the 2016 version, and didn't include commentary on some of the company's largest stock holdings.

Billionaire investor Warren Buffett used his widely read annual letter to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders on Saturday to again call out the wasteful fees that many money managers charge. He highlighted the risk of bonds and emphasised the importance of sticking with a simple investment strategy.

A simple investment strategy is best, says Warren Buffett. Credit:AAP

Buffett, chairman and chief executive at Berkshire, meditated on what he thinks people should take away from his charitable bet against Protege Partners. He challenged the asset manager to pick a group of hedge funds that it thought would beat an S&P 500 Index fund over 10 years. When the wager concluded on December 31, the index fund had won easily.

Buffett also drew a lesson from a tweak he and Protege made to the bet. Five years in, the two parties took the wagered amount out of Treasury bonds after yields fell and put it in shares of Berkshire. That led to Buffett's charity getting more than double the promised $US1 million ($1.28 million), and bolstered his urging of investors to stick with stocks even though they can be riskier in the short-term.

"It is a terrible mistake for investors with long-term horizons - among them, pension funds, college endowments and savings-minded individuals - to measure their investment 'risk' by their portfolio's ratio of bonds to stocks," Buffett wrote. "Often, high-grade bonds in an investment portfolio increase its risk."

Buffett's advice to investors comes in a month when the US equity market experienced its worst single-day plunge in almost seven years. He warned against using leverage to invest in stocks because it can accentuate panic during periods of volatility.Washington: Malcolm Turnbull is backing Donald Trumps tough new sanctions against North Korea but will not say whether he will commit naval support for the measures, amid reports the Australian navy could join the program.

The Prime Minister said Australia needed to be alert to the way the North Korean regime of Kim Jong-un was flouting existing sanctions by transferring goods between ships at sea.

We have discussed a number of means of sanctions and enforcement against North Korea, Mr Turnbull said in his last public remarks in Washington before returning to Canberra.

One of the most significant ways in which North Korea is seeking to evade sanctions is through exchanging goods, oil in particular, at sea. So we need to be alert to that, and we are.A rookie politician who's been in federal parliament for just 18 months has ruled himself out of the competition to become Deputy Prime Minister as National Party MPs gather in Canberra to choose Barnaby Joyce's replacement.

Agriculture Minister David Littleproud, a Queenslander who had been tipped to run, made the announcement late on Sunday.

"Now is not the time for internal contests," he said in a statement. "Now is the time for all individuals to be team players. Now is the time to think about stability for the good of the party."

Mr Littleproud, 41, had been the only credible challenger to frontrunner Michael McCormack for the party's leadership - despite being elected in 2016 and elevated to Cabinet just two months ago.

Mr McCormack is now expected to be elected to the position unopposed on Monday, with NSW MP David Gillespie having also withdrawn from the race, conceding he did not have the numbers in the party room.Tony Abbott says with wages falling and house prices rising, Australia must re-examine its migrant intake. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

Former Prime Minister Tony Abbott graduated with a bachelor's degree in economics from the University of Sydney in 1979.

But having since derided the dismal science as "boring", it appears he may have snoozed off at a crucial point in his lectures.

In a speech to the Sydney Institute last Tuesday, Abbott explained his logic behind his call for a reduction in Australia's annual rate of immigration from 190,000 to 110,000 a year.

"My issue is not immigration, it's the rate of immigration at a time of stagnant wages, clogged infrastructure, soaring house prices, and in Melbourne at least, ethnic gangs that are testing the resolve of police," he said.Could this be what will become known as the McCormack military two-step? It's a kind of shuffle where you dramatically change direction at the last minute. Michael McCormack, Minister for Veterans' Affairs and wannabe successor to Barnaby Joyce as deputy Prime Minister, has just executed the manoeuvre with prowess.

Veterans of Bomber Command last Monday expressed dismay that they had been effectively grounded by the Department of Veterans' Affairs for refusing funding for them to attend a new international memorial in Lincoln in the UK in April. Mr McCormack's department said they were too old.

Wireless operator Tony Adams of Bomber Command. Credit:Barlass

Annette Guterres, secretary of the Bomber Command Association in Australia, told the Herald: "The Bomber Command family know how much it means to be there. Sadly our government does not. We started last year to lobby for support for the trip." As their requests fell on deaf ears the association started its own fund-raising with a Gofundme campaign.

But then, amid increasing criticism of the decision, Mr McCormack had a sudden change of mind. He said the government was committed to providing ongoing support, care and, above all, respect to all veterans and currently serving personnel. "The government is determined to ensure veterans and serving defence personnel are always treated with the respect they are owed given their service and sacrifice to our nation," Mr McCormack said.The Andrews government will find out this week if it faces a potentially disastrous byelection in the inner-north electorate of Brunswick.

The state seat's MP, Jane Garrett, says she will announce this week whether she intends to resign from Parliament, triggering the byelection, to run for lord mayor of Melbourne.

It could be a nervous few days for Labor, which was trounced by the Greens in a byelection in November in Northcote, a seat with a similar demographic profile to Brunswick and which had been held by the ALP for 90 years.Please let us stay: As Coptic Christians, asylum seekers Michael Ramzy, left, and cousin Raed Mikhael say they will be in danger if the Australian government sends them back to Egypt. Credit:Chris Hopkins

Two young asylum seekers fear for their lives if they are deported to their native Egypt when their visas expire within weeks.

The cousins, along with eight other Coptic Christian asylum seekers in Melbourne, are appealing directly to Immigration Minister Peter Dutton to show mercy and let them stay.

Michael Ramzy, 31, was bashed and his mobile phone shop gutted in an attack by Muslim extremists in the village of Al Gharizat, 500km south of Cairo, in November 2011.A Perth man has been charged with murder over a suspected botched carjacking which ended in the death of a 51-year-old mother on Friday morning.

The murder charge comes after the 25-year-old man reportedly attempted to steal Marija Karovska's car from outside her home in Mirrabooka.

Car-jacking victim Marija Karovska. Credit:Facebook

According to 9 News Perth, she stood behind the car in order to stop him.

Ms Karovska was then run over by the car.New Delhi: Legendary Bollywood actress Sridevi Kapoor died aged 54 after going into cardiac arrest, according to Indian media.

Best known as simply Sridevi, the actress died in Dubai while attending a wedding, her brother-in-law Sanjay Kapoor told the Indian Express newspaper.

Sridevi appeared in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada films before making her Bollywood debut in 1978.

She took a 15-year-break from films in 1997, before returning to star in the comedy-drama English Vinglish in 2012.Beijing: China has reacted with anger to new US sanctions aimed at increasing pressure on nuclear-equipped North Korea, saying the unilateral targeting of Chinese firms and people risked harming co-operation on the problem.

The US said on Friday it was imposing its largest package of sanctions aimed at getting North Korea to give up its nuclear and missile programs, and President Donald Trump warned of a "phase two" that could be "very, very unfortunate for the world" if the steps did not work.

Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin during a press briefing at the White House on Friday, announcing new sanctions on more than 50 vessels, shipping companies and trade businesses in its latest bid to pressure North Korea over its nuclear program. Credit:AP

In addressing the Trump administration's biggest national security challenge, the US Treasury sanctioned one person, 27 companies and 28 ships, according to a statement on the US Treasury Department's website.

The sanctions' targets include a Taiwan passport holder, as well as shipping and energy firms in mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore. The actions block assets held by the firms and individuals in the US and prohibit US citizens from dealing with them."Everybody deals with grief in a different way. For me, it's anger, and wanting to prevent whatever caused it from happening again," Hogg said. The students' stridency has added pressure on lawmakers and kept the shooting from fading from the headlines. It has also insulted right-wing adversaries several times, including by implying gun rights supporters have the 17 deaths at Stoneman Douglas on their hands. "Senator Rubio, it's hard to look at you and not look down a barrel of an AR-15 and not look at Nikolas Cruz," student activist Cameron Kasky told Rubio at CNN's Wednesday night town hall with students, parents and lawmakers. The remark drew scorn from the right. Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School student Emma Gonzalez comforts a classmate during a CNN town hall meeting on Wednesday. Credit:AP

"No thanks, Cameron," a writer at the conservative website RedState.com fired back at the student later. "I don't need some 17-year-old putz to defend my kids. In fact, either of my daughters, particularly the 13-year-old, can kick your ass. And when it comes to choosing sides, I'm on the other." The students have also faced accusations of being disrespectful brats. Loading "Parents, what would you do if your child lectured and ridiculed a US senator on national television?" Todd Starnes of Fox News said on Twitter after Kasky and other students ripped into Rubio. The kids know exactly what they're doing, and they don't care about the criticism.

"When these politicians kill our friends, why are we expected to play nice?" Hogg said. "Obviously it's due to their inaction; that's what we're aiming at." Hogg prominence has led to a backlash of conspiracy theories accusing him of not being a student at the school. It also led him to question who, exactly, has been lowering the discourse. "You know what's disrespectful?" Hogg said. "Calling out witnesses to a mass shooting and calling us actors. That's disrespectful. And even questioning whether we were even ... there.... We are teenagers ... we're not known for being mature, but come on." The students' advocacy has also been expressed in the language of their generation, which is well-versed in the combative "dunks," "burns" and "owns" of arguing on social media. They know how to speak into their own cameras and they know how to play to audiences online, so when a fight breaks out on social media, it's on their turf. While the movement has inspired students at schools around the nation to walk out of classes in support of gun control, the history of 21st century activism has shown that there are upsides and downsides to organizing over social media.

Platforms such as Twitter excel at helping newfound activists to create and document conflict, and to attract ever-larger audiences for their own messages. Their visibility also helps recruit like-minded peers outside their communities. Loading But over the long term, social media platforms can also pose a risk to activist movements by magnifying and publicizing disputes between members or creating bitterness among core supporters who play key roles but who attract less public attention. So far, few signs of internal dissent seem to have broken out among Stoneman Douglas students, whose cohesion has struck longtime advocates as unique. "I don't think we've ever seen an entire community, including the survivors, have a clear call to action," said Shannon Watts, founder of Moms Demand Action, a gun control group.

In past mass shootings, it has been common for family members of victims to become passionate, outspoken gun control advocates. But in Parkland, "it's as if all of them agreed immediately that stronger gun laws would prevent anyone else from going through this tragedy again," Watts said. "These teens are realizing they don't have to live this way, they don't have to die this way." The students' stridency, however disliked by their opponents, seems to have had an effect on Republican lawmakers. President Donald Trump and Florida Governor Rick Scott, who are strongly supported by the NRA, have signaled that they are open to raising the age limit for buying weapons. Diego Pfeiffer, a student survivor from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, speaking to a crowd of supporters and media, with fellow survivors Sophie Whitney, left, and Sarah Chadwick. Questioned by students, Rubio declined to say he would stop accepting donations from the NRA, but he said he would be open to banning large ammunition magazines or supporting other legislation.

Rubio also learned firsthand the risks of talking to a radical younger generation that has been unfamiliar with the past failures of the gun control movement, including the inability to bring back the nation's assault-weapons ban. "Once you start looking at how easy it is to get around it, you would literally have to ban every semiautomatic rifle that's sold in the US," Rubio said at the town hall with students and parents. Rubio was implying that such a move would, politically, go way too far. What Rubio did not anticipate is that the audience of students would start applauding at the idea. "Fair enough," Rubio said. "Fair enough. That is a valid position to hold."A honeymoon destination known for its azure seas, pristine beaches and romantic over-water bungalows is in disarray as the government locks up the president's opponents, defies the orders of its supreme court and suspends its constitution.

How did the Maldives, an archipelago made up of more than 1,000 coral islands in the Indian Ocean, unravel?

Maldivian President Yameen Abdul Gayoom surrounded by his body guards arrives to address his supporters. Credit:AP

It starts with allegations of corruption

Political opponents of President Abdulla Yameen petitioned the supreme court January 29 to investigate allegations of corruption and human rights abuses and to remove him temporarily from power. Opposition leaders accused Yameen, elected in 2013, of stealing more than $1 million of state funds, including tourism revenue. Yameen denied the allegations.LONDON (AP)  A judge upheld a British arrest warrant for Julian Assange on Tuesday, saying the WikiLeaks founder should have the courage to come to court and face justice after more than five years inside Ecuador's London embassy.

Judge Emma Arbuthnot rejected arguments by Assange's lawyers that it is no longer in the public interest to arrest him for jumping bail in 2012 and seeking shelter in the embassy to avoid extradition to Sweden. Prosecutors there were investigating allegations of sexual assault and rape made by two women, which Assange has denied.

Arbuthnot did not mince words in her ruling at London's Westminster Magistrates' Court, saying that by jumping bail Assange had made "a determined attempt to avoid the order of the court."

She said Assange appeared to be "a man who wants to impose his terms on the course of justice."

"He appears to consider himself above the normal rules of law and wants justice only if it goes in his favor," the judge said, drawing exclamations of dismay from Assange supporters in the public gallery.

Assange can seek to appeal, though his lawyers did not immediately say whether he would.

Swedish prosecutors dropped their investigation last year, saying there was no prospect of bringing Assange to Sweden in the foreseeable future. But the British warrant for violating bail conditions still stands, and Assange faces arrest if he leaves the embassy.

Assange's lawyers had asked for the U.K warrant to be withdrawn since Sweden no longer wants him extradited, but the judge rejected their request last week.

Assange's attorney had gone on to argue that arresting him is no longer proportionate or in the public interest. Lawyer Mark Summers argued the Australian was justified in seeking refuge in the embassy because he has a legitimate fear that U.S. authorities want to arrest him for WikiLeaks' publication of secret documents.

"I do not find that Mr. Assange's fears were reasonable," the judge said.

"If the United States initiates extradition proceedings, Mr. Assange would have the ability to raise any bars to the extradition and challenge the proceedings" in a British court, she said.

Arbuthnot dismissed another plank of Assange's case  a report from a U.N. working group which said the 46-year-old was being arbitrarily detained.

"I give little weight to the views of the working group," the judge said, noting that Assange had "restricted his own freedom for a number of years."

Assange's lawyer had argued that the 5 years Assange has spent inside the embassy were "adequate, if not severe" punishment for his actions, noting that he had health problems including a frozen shoulder and depression.

The judge accepted that Assange had depression and other conditions, but said he was overall in "fairly good physical health."

Arbuthnot also rejected an argument that Assange's actions had not stalled Sweden's legal case, because he had offered to be interviewed by Swedish prosecutors at the embassy.

Assange's legal team said emails recently released after a freedom of information request showed that a British state prosecutor had advised Sweden "that it would not be prudent for Sweden to try to interview Mr. Assange in the U.K."

The judge said she could not tell from the emails she had seen whether the lawyer who sent them had behaved inappropriately. But she said Assange's "failure to surrender has impeded the course of justice."

"Defendants on bail up and down the country, and requested persons facing extradition, come to court to face the consequences of their own choices," she said. "He should have the courage to do so too."

The ruling leaves the long legal impasse intact. Apart from the bail-jumping charge  for which the maximum sentence is one year in prison  Assange suspects there is a secret U.S. grand jury indictment against him for WikiLeaks' publication of classified documents, and that American authorities will seek his extradition.

Assange's lawyers say he is willing to face legal proceedings in Britain, but only if he receives a guarantee that he will not be sent to the U.S. to face prosecution. That is not an assurance Britain is likely to give.

Outside the courtroom, Assange lawyer Gareth Peirce gave little indication of what might come next in the twisting legal saga.

"The history of the case from start to finish is extraordinary," she said. "Each aspect of it becomes puzzling and troubling as it is scrutinized."Brothers look to harness artificial intelligence for greater good



San Francisco, Feb 25 (AFP) Feb 25, 2018



As debate swirls on whether artificial intelligence will be a boon or a curse for humanity, two Indian-American entrepreneur brothers are out to ensure the emerging technologies don't just benefit the richest in society.

Romesh and Sunil Wadhwani this week launched what is billed as the world's first nonprofit institute dedicated to putting AI to work improving lives of poor farmers, rural health care workers or teachers in communities with scant resources.

"AI will go where AI will go; it is difficult to predict where," Sunil Wadhwani said of the conflicting views on the emergence of computers more brilliant than their human creators.

"Our focus is how many tens of millions of lives can we improve in the next five or 10 years. Where AI goes in 100 years, it will go."

The entrepreneur brothers, who have a series of lucrative startups to their name, have committed $30 million over 10 years to the Wadhwani AI institute, established in Mumbai with the Indian government as a partner.

Areas targeted at the outset will include health care, education, agriculture and urban infrastructure.

The project's founders hope AI could help nurses in rural areas with diagnoses, advise how to optimize crops, translate text books into various languages as needed or even spot signs students might be on paths to dropping out.

"AI is a game-changing technology," said Sunil Wadhwani, who is based in Pittsburgh as a trustee for Carnegie Mellon University.

"A lot of developing countries are getting left behind; US and China are leapfrogging ahead."

Students from New York University and the University of Southern California will travel to Mumbai to collaborate, while the brothers also plan to partner with players in Silicon Valley, where Romesh Wadhwani is based.

The ethical issues raised by AI -- from its potential to destroy jobs to the power it could exert over people's lives -- will be front of mind, according to institute chief P. Anandan, a former Microsoft Research director.

"It has the potential to be used badly, or run away on its own," Anandan said of AI.

"At the end of the day, you are going to manage that by being aware of it from the start and applying it where intentions are good."



- Strange new world -



Internet giants have been investing heavily in creating software to help machines think more like people, boosted by super-fast computer processing power and access to mountains of data to analyze.

AI has been put to work in the form of virtual aides, for recognizing people's friends in photos, fighting "fake news," stymying the online spread of violent extremist messages and more.

But the rise of artificial intelligence brings mighty new challenges too, and the new initiative coincides with the release of a report by AI scholars warning the technology has the potential to be exploited for nefarious purposes.

"These technologies have many widely beneficial applications," said the study produced by the Future of Humanity Institute, the nonprofit group OpenAI and others.

"Less attention has historically been paid to the ways in which artificial intelligence can be used maliciously."

The Electronic Frontier Foundation, which took part in the study, expressed concern that "increasingly sophisticated AI will usher in a world that is strange and different from the one we're used to, and there are serious risks if this technology is used for the wrong ends."

High-profile figures who have expressed fears about the potential dangers of AI include tech visionary and innovator Elon Musk.

SpaceX founder and Tesla chief executive Musk in 2015 took part in creating the research organization OpenAI, which aims to develop artificial intelligence that helps rather than hurts people.

Microsoft, Amazon, Apple, Google, Facebook, IBM, and Google-owned British AI firm DeepMind are also members of a nonprofit "Partnership on AI" which seeks to promote the technology's use "to benefit people and society."

Sunil Wadhwani has meanwhile promised an "aggressive" timeline at the brothers' eponymous institute, with testing of potential AI tools starting by the end of this year.The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2018 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement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

View ResultsUN backs Syria ceasefire as death toll in rebel enclave tops 500



United Nations, United States, Feb 24 (AFP) Feb 24, 2018



The UN Security Council on Saturday unanimously demanded a 30-day ceasefire in Syria, as new air strikes on the rebel enclave of Eastern Ghouta took the civilian death toll from seven days of bombing to more than 500.

With support from Russia, the Security Council adopted a resolution on the ceasefire to allow for humanitarian aid deliveries and medical evacuations, but the measure did not specify when the truce would go into force beyond saying it should be "without delay."

After the council vote, Syrian warplanes backed by Russian air power launched new raids on a town in Eastern Ghouta, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

At least 127 children are among the 519 dead in the bombing campaign that the regime launched last Sunday on the rebel enclave, just outside Damascus, the British-based monitor said.

At least 41 civilians were killed in Saturday's strikes, including eight children. Russia has denied taking part in the assault.

Quickly following up on the vote, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel will speak by phone on Sunday with Russian President Vladimir Putin to push for the truce to take hold "in the coming days," the Elysee said in a statement.



- Dragged-out negotiations -



The UN vote was initially expected to be held Thursday, but was repeatedly delayed as diplomats were locked in tough negotiations to avoid a veto from Russia, which is militarily supporting President Bashar Al-Assad.

"Every minute the council waited on Russia, the human suffering grew," US Ambassador Nikki Haley told the council after the vote, accusing Moscow of stalling.

"As they dragged out the negotiations, the bombs from Assad's fighter jets continued to fall. In the three days it took us to adopt this resolution, how many mothers lost their kids to the bombing and the shelling?"

Russian Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia rejected accusations of foot-dragging, saying that negotiations were needed to arrive at a demand for a ceasefire that was "feasible."

"What is necessary is for the demands of the Security Council to be underpinned by concrete on-the-ground agreements," he said.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who has described Eastern Ghouta as "hell on Earth," said the ceasefire must be "immediately" implemented.



- Concessions to Russia -



To win Russia's approval, language specifying that the ceasefire would start 72 hours after adoption was scrapped, replaced by "without delay," and the term "immediate" was dropped in reference to aid deliveries and evacuations.

In another concession to Moscow, the ceasefire will not apply to operations against the Islamic State group or Al-Qaeda, along with "individuals, groups, undertakings and entities" associated with the terror groups.

That would allow the Syrian government offensive to continue against Al-Qaeda-linked jihadists in Idlib, the last province in Syria outside the control of Damascus.

French Ambassador Francois Delattre said it was now important to ensure the ceasefire turns into reality on the ground, vowing to be "extremely vigilant... in the hours to come and the days to come."

"Nothing would be worse than seeing this resolution remain a dead letter," he said.

Russia has vetoed 11 draft resolutions throughout the Syrian conflict to block action that targeted its ally. In November, it used its veto to end a UN-led investigation of chemical weapons attacks in Syria.



- Low expectations -



In Eastern Ghouta, news of the UN vote on the ceasefire was greeted with a shrug.

"I don't think this decision will be implemented. It will be respected neither by the regime nor Russia," said Abu Mazen, a resident of Douma, Eastern Ghouta's main town.

"We can't trust Russia or the regime. We are used to their betrayals," he added.

Control of Eastern Ghouta is shared between two main Islamist factions, while Syria's former Al-Qaeda affiliate is also present.

Russia has been pressing for a negotiated withdrawal of rebel fighters and their families like the one that saw the government retake full control of Syria's second city Aleppo in December 2016.

But all three rebel groups have refused.

World leaders have expressed outrage at the plight of civilians in Eastern Ghouta.

The enclave is surrounded by government-controlled territory, and its 400,000 residents are unwilling or unable to flee the deadly siege.

In one of the many unfolding dramas at a field hospital in Douma, a young woman amputated from the knee breastfed a 40-day-old infant who had lost his entire family in the bombings.

Food supplies have been running dry, with bread no longer available on local markets.

The cornered rebels in Eastern Ghouta have been firing back into Damascus, where six civilians were wounded on Saturday, state media said.

Around 20 people have been killed in eastern districts of the capital since last Sunday, according to state media.

More than 340,000 people have been killed and millions driven from the homes in the war, which next month enters its eighth year with no diplomatic solution in sight.Macron, Merkel to talk Syria ceasefire plan with Putin



Paris, Feb 25 (AFP) Feb 25, 2018



French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel will hold talks on Sunday with Russia's Vladimir Putin over implementing a UN ceasefire in Syria, France's presidency said, as new airstrikes pounded a rebel-held area.

The discussion, which was announced after the UN Security Council on Saturday unanimously demanded a 30-day truce, will centre on the "implementation of this resolution and on the political roadmap needed to achieve lasting peace in Syria", it said.

More than 500 civilians are thought to have died in a week of heavy bombardment by Syria's regime of the rebel enclave of Eastern Ghouta, just outside Damascus.

After the council vote, which had support from Moscow, Syrian warplanes backed by Russian air power launched new raids on Eastern Ghouta, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

The Britain-based monitor said at least 41 civilians were killed in Saturday's strikes, including eight children. Russia has denied taking part in the assault.

France and Germany have pushed for Russian support for the Syria ceasefire, which is mainly to allow aid to reach the besieged area and allow evacuations.

In its statement France's presidency said the ceasefire was "an essential first step", adding that it would be "extremely vigilant" over its implementation.UN backs Syria ceasefire as death toll in rebel enclave tops 500



United Nations, United States, Feb 25 (AFP) Feb 25, 2018



The UN Security Council has unanimously demanded a 30-day ceasefire in Syria, as new air strikes on the rebel enclave of Eastern Ghouta took the civilian death toll from seven days of bombing to more than 500.

With support from Russia, the Security Council adopted a resolution on the ceasefire to allow for humanitarian aid deliveries and medical evacuations, but the measure did not specify when the truce would go into force beyond saying it should be "without delay."

After the council vote on Saturday, Syrian warplanes backed by Russian air power launched new raids on a town in Eastern Ghouta, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

At least 127 children are among the 519 dead in the bombing campaign that the regime launched last Sunday on the rebel enclave, just outside Damascus, the British-based monitor said.

At least 41 civilians were killed in Saturday's strikes, including eight children. Russia has denied taking part in the assault.

Quickly following up on the vote, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel will speak by phone on Sunday with Russian President Vladimir Putin to push for the truce to take hold "in the coming days," the Elysee palace said in a statement.

To this end France's Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian will also go to Moscow on Tuesday.



- Dragged-out negotiations -



The UN vote was initially expected to be held Thursday, but was repeatedly delayed as diplomats were locked in tough negotiations to avoid a veto from Russia, which is militarily supporting President Bashar Al-Assad.

"Every minute the council waited on Russia, the human suffering grew," US Ambassador Nikki Haley told the council after the vote, accusing Moscow of stalling.

"As they dragged out the negotiations, the bombs from Assad's fighter jets continued to fall. In the three days it took us to adopt this resolution, how many mothers lost their kids to the bombing and the shelling?"

Russian Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia rejected accusations of foot-dragging, saying that negotiations were needed to arrive at a demand for a ceasefire that was "feasible."

"What is necessary is for the demands of the Security Council to be underpinned by concrete on-the-ground agreements," he said.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who has described Eastern Ghouta as "hell on Earth," said the ceasefire must be "immediately" implemented.



- Concessions to Russia -



To win Russia's approval, language specifying that the ceasefire would start 72 hours after adoption was scrapped, replaced by "without delay," and the term "immediate" was dropped in reference to aid deliveries and evacuations.

In another concession to Moscow, the ceasefire will not apply to operations against the Islamic State group or Al-Qaeda, along with "individuals, groups, undertakings and entities" associated with the terror groups.

That would allow the Syrian government offensive to continue against Al-Qaeda-linked jihadists in Idlib, the last province in Syria outside the control of Damascus.

French Ambassador Francois Delattre said it was now important to ensure the ceasefire turns into reality on the ground, vowing to be "extremely vigilant... in the hours to come and the days to come."

"Nothing would be worse than seeing this resolution remain a dead letter," he said.

Russia has vetoed 11 draft resolutions throughout the Syrian conflict to block action that targeted its ally. In November, it used its veto to end a UN-led investigation of chemical weapons attacks in Syria.



- Low expectations -



In Eastern Ghouta, news of the UN vote on the ceasefire was greeted with a shrug.

"I don't think this decision will be implemented. It will be respected neither by the regime nor Russia," said Abu Mazen, a resident of Douma, Eastern Ghouta's main town.

"We can't trust Russia or the regime. We are used to their betrayals," he added.

Control of Eastern Ghouta is shared between two main Islamist factions, while Syria's former Al-Qaeda affiliate is also present.

Russia has been pressing for a negotiated withdrawal of rebel fighters and their families like the one that saw the government retake full control of Syria's second city Aleppo in December 2016.

But all three rebel groups have refused.

World leaders have expressed outrage at the plight of civilians in Eastern Ghouta.

The enclave is surrounded by government-controlled territory, and its 400,000 residents are unwilling or unable to flee the deadly siege.

In one of the many unfolding dramas at a field hospital in Douma, a young woman amputated from the knee breastfed a 40-day-old infant who had lost his entire family in the bombings.

Food supplies have been running dry, with bread no longer available on local markets.

The cornered rebels in Eastern Ghouta have been firing back into Damascus, where six civilians were wounded on Saturday, state media said.

Around 20 people have been killed in eastern districts of the capital since last Sunday, according to state media.

More than 340,000 people have been killed and millions driven from the homes in the war, which next month enters its eighth year with no diplomatic solution in sight.Regime strikes in Syria enclave despite ceasefire call: monitor



Beirut, Feb 25 (AFP) Feb 25, 2018



Syria's regime carried out new air strikes Sunday on the rebel enclave of Eastern Ghouta, a monitor said, despite a UN Security Council demand for a ceasefire "without delay".

The strikes on Sunday morning included two on the outskirts of Douma, the main town in Eastern Ghouta, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Regime air strikes and artillery have been pounding the enclave near Damascus since February 18, with at least 519 dead since the bombing campaign was launched, according to the Observatory.

The Security Council on Saturday unanimously demanded a 30-day ceasefire to allow for humanitarian aid deliveries and medical evacuations. The measure did not specify when the truce would go into force beyond saying it should be "without delay".

Rocket and artillery fire also hit at least three parts of Eastern Ghouta, including Douma, Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman said.

There were no immediate details on casualties.

Abdel Rahman said there were also clashes in the south of Eastern Ghouta between regime forces and fighters from the Jaish al-Islam rebel group. Fighting in the area is frequent so it was not immediately clear if the clashes represented a change on the ground.

An AFP correspondent in Douma was able to hear the air raids and artillery strikes.UN faces rival drafts on Iran missiles to Yemen



United Nations, United States, Feb 25 (AFP) Feb 25, 2018



The UN Security Council on Sunday was considering two draft resolutions on Yemen after Russia put forward a rival text aimed at blocking action against Iran over missiles sent to the country's Huthi rebels.

The council is set to vote on Monday on renewing sanctions on Yemen for a year, but a British-drafted text also calls for "additional measures" in response to a UN report which found that Iran had violated the arms embargo on Yemen.

The rival Russian-drafted text presented to the council on Saturday and seen by AFP would extend the sanctions regime on Yemen until February 2019 without any reference to the UN report's findings on Iran and possible action targeting Tehran.

Diplomats said Russia could veto the British text, allowing for a vote on its own draft resolution.

Negotiations were continuing on Sunday.

The report by a UN panel of experts concluded that Iran was in violation of the 2015 arms embargo after determining that missiles fired by the Huthis at Saudi Arabia last year were made in Iran.

Russia maintains that the report's findings are not conclusive enough to justify action against Iran.

Britain, backed by the United States and France, had initially sought to condemn Iran, but that was dropped in negotiations.

The last draft resolution expresses "particular concern" that "weapons of Iranian origin were introduced in Yemen after the imposition of the targeted arms embargo" and that Iran is in "non-compliance" with UN resolutions.

The council would express "its intention to take additional measures to address these violations," according to the British-drafted text.

It adds that "any activity related to the use of ballistic missiles in Yemen" meets the criteria for imposing UN sanctions.



- Russia-US clash on Iran -



Iran has repeatedly denied arming the Huthis in Yemen, despite claims by the United States and Saudi Arabia that the evidence of an arms connection is irrefutable.

Russia, which has traditionally friendly relations with Iran, is providing military support along with Tehran to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Russian Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia on Wednesday said the draft resolution should focus on renewing the mandate of sanctions monitors for Yemen instead of taking aim at Iran.

"It's a resolution about the extension of the working group, not about Iran. So we should concentrate on extending the working group first," he said.

While the report found that Tehran had violated the embargo by failing to block the shipments, the experts said they were unable to identify the supplier.

US Ambassador Nikki Haley is pushing for council action to rein in Iran and prevent the war in Yemen from escalating into a broader regional conflict.

In a New York Times editorial last week, Haley wrote that "the UN panel has given the world a chance to act before a missile hits a school or a hospital and leads to a dangerous military escalation that provokes a Saudi military response."

A Saudi-led coalition supporting Yemen's government has been fighting the Huthis since 2015 in a conflict that has led to what the United Nations describes as the world's worst humanitarian crisis.

Russia can block council action by using the veto power it enjoys as one of the five permanent Security Council members, along with Britain, China, France and the United States.Strikes, clashes rock Syria's Ghouta despite ceasefire call



Douma, Syria, Feb 25 (AFP) Feb 25, 2018



Fresh regime air strikes and heavy clashes shook rebel-held Eastern Ghouta on Sunday despite a UN demand for a ceasefire to end one of the most ferocious assaults of Syria's civil war.

After days of diplomatic wrangling, the Security Council on Saturday adopted a resolution calling for a 30-day ceasefire in Syria "without delay" to allow for aid deliveries and medical evacuations.

President Bashar al-Assad's forces launched a major bombing campaign against the enclave on the edge of Damascus a week ago, and have since killed more than 500 people.

The United Nations resolution raised hopes of stemming the bloodshed but it remains unclear when or how broadly the ceasefire could be implemented.

Russia is a key ally of Assad's regime. In a phone call on Sunday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron urged President Vladimir Putin to use his influence to reach a truce.

They called on Russia "to exercise maximum pressure on the Syrian regime to achieve an immediate suspension of air raids and fighting," Merkel's office said.

In Douma, the main town in Eastern Ghouta, fresh air raids and artillery strikes could be heard, an AFP correspondent said.



- Ground fighting intensifies -



At least 14 civilians including three children were killed in strikes on Sunday, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor, bringing the total number of dead in the week to 530, among them over 130 children.

A child died and at least 13 other people suffered breathing difficulties after a suspected chemical attack on Sunday in a Syrian rebel enclave under intense regime bombardment, said the Observatory and a medic who treated those affected.

Russia's defence ministry said "leaders of armed groups are preparing a provocation to use toxic substances to accuse the regime of using chemical weapons", in a statement that also said the situation in Eastern Ghouta "continued to worsen".

An aid worker in Douma, quoted by British charity Save the Children said a brief pause in bombing had prompted people to emerge after a week sheltering in basements.

"Some people spent these past seven days sitting on the ground. Some people had no food to eat for two or three days," the unnamed aid worker said.

Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman said there appeared be fewer air strikes but that fighting had intensified on the ground.

Heavy clashes erupted in southern areas of Eastern Ghouta, killing at least 13 members of pro-regime forces and six fighters from the Jaish al-Islam rebel group, he said.

The Britain-based group uses a network of sources across Syria to monitor the country's conflict.

Mohamed Alloush, a key figure in Jaish al-Islam, tweeted that the rebels were "resisting" bids by regime forces to enter the region.

Eastern Ghouta, home to some 400,000 people, is surrounded by government-controlled territory and its residents are unwilling or unable to flee.

The two main rebel groups controlling the enclave -- Jaish al-Islam and Faylaq al-Rahman -- welcomed the Security Council demand, but vowed to fight back if there were renewed attacks.

UN diplomats say the resolution was watered down to ensure it was not vetoed by Russia, which has provided diplomatic and military support to Assad's regime.

Language specifying that the ceasefire would start 72 hours after adoption was scrapped and the term "immediate" was dropped in reference to aid deliveries and evacuations.

In another concession, the ceasefire would not apply to operations against the Islamic State group or Al-Qaeda, along with "individuals, groups, undertakings and entities" associated with the groups.

Syria's former Al-Qaeda affiliate is present in Eastern Ghouta.

The head of the army in Iran, another key Assad ally, said the Syrian military would continue to target "terrorist groups" in Eastern Ghouta.

Assad's regime and its allies routinely describe all opposition forces as "terrorists".

"The zones on the periphery of Damascus... are not covered by the ceasefire and the offensives and clearing operations by the Syrian army will continue," said Mohammad Bagheri, according to the official IRNA news agency.

UN chief Antonio Guterres, who has described Eastern Ghouta under the bombardment as "hell on Earth," said the ceasefire must be "immediately" implemented.



- 'Used to betrayals' -



In the enclave, news of the UN vote made little impact.

"I don't think this decision will be implemented. It will be respected neither by the regime nor Russia," said Douma resident Abu Mazen.

"We can't trust Russia or the regime. We are used to their betrayals."

Rebels in Eastern Ghouta have also been firing into Damascus.

Around 20 people have been killed in eastern districts of the capital since February 18, according to state media.

A total of more than 340,000 people have been killed and millions driven from the homes in Syria's war, which next month enters its eighth year with no diplomatic solution in sight.Smara (occupied territories), Feb 25, 2015 (SPS) - The Moroccan forces attacked and kidnapped a group of Sahrawi militants and activists in the occupied city of Smara, on the eve of February 24, coinciding with the commemoration of the Sahrawi people to the 42nd anniversary of the proclamation of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic.

The Moroccan forces, in all its formations, intervened violently against the Saharawi demonstrators, abducted young Sahrawi Hamdan Aba-Ali who was subjected to the worst forms of torture and humiliation. It also beat and assaulted press activist Mohammed Al- Jamiei who suffered serious injuries.

The Moroccan occupation forces are still imposing a repressive siege on neighborhoods in the occupied city of Smara, in parallel to the 42nd anniversary of the proclamation of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic. (SPS)

062/SPS/TRA



English25/02/2018

SRNA News Roundup /I/ - February 25, 2018





REPUBLIKA SRPSKA



BANJALUKA - The Tax Administration of Republika Srpska urges the taxpayers in the Entity to respect the deadlines defined in the Tax Calendar 2018 and file their tax returns on time and pay their statutory obligations within the given periods.



PRIJEDOR - The Slovene Association Lipa from Prijedor marked the Slovenian cultural holiday Preserns Day on which occasion an evening concert was held at Theatre Prijedor on Saturday.



BANJALUKA - Vesna Misic, head of the executive department with the Basic Court in Banjaluka, finds it excellent that the draft law on amendments to the Law on Executive Proceedings has been submitted to the National Assembly. The legislation is supposed to accelerate proceedings and relieve litigation courts from the cases concerning the payment of the radio and TV subscription fee.



BELGRADE - Retired Serbian Army Major General Mitar Kovac asserts that announcements of NATO drills on Mt Manjaca outside Banjaluka are a direct political message to Republika Srpska and its leadership and an external manifestation of pressure against the people.



BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA



SARAJEVO - People in Bosnia and Herzegovina spend more than BAM77 million on antidepressants between 2009 and early 2017, and around BAM10 million on such drugs in 2016 alone, reports the Agency for Medicinal Products and Medical Devices.



SARAJEVO - BiH Presidency member Mladen Ivanic stated after meeting the leader of the Roman Catholic Church Pope Francis that it was more than obvious that the Vatican would not interfere in Bosnia and Herzegovinas internal relations.



SERBIA



NOVI SAD - Speaker of the Vojvodina parliament Istvan Pastor says the provincial parliament will soon vote on an initiative by the Serbian Radical Party for forming a Serbo-Russian humanitarian centre in Vojvodina following the example of the one in the city of Nis.



BELGRADE  Kraftwerk, the huge German act and pioneers of electronic music played in a jam-packed Belgrade Arena on Saturday leaving their fans breathless during an impressive audio-visual 3D performance.



REGION



PODGORICA - Svetozar Marovic, the former president of Serbia and Montenegro, has officially been given back his apartment in Budva, which had temporarily been seized, reads a report of the Montenegrin Special Prosecutors Office.



SKOPJE - Macedonia has begun the process of changing the name of its airport honouring the ancient warrior king Alexander the Great as a goodwill gesture to Greece, Macedonian media reported. /end/dsAfter more than 25 years involved in the fight against cancer, Jorge Contreras admits that for the first time he feels that he is immersed in something which is truly new and exciting. This 51-year-old doctor coordinates the Spanish Society of Oncology Radiotherapy (SEOR), which wants to introduce hyperthermia into this country as a standard treatment. It believes this is a revolutionary technique in treating cancer.

Dr Contreras, a specialist in oncology radiotherapy at the Regional Hospital (where he trains other doctors), is also the director of the Magna Clinic in Marbella, which has become a pioneer in Spain for using hyperthermia in the private sector.

How can hyperthermia help in the treatment of cancer?

Hyperthermia is a treatment which involves raising the temperature above the physiological one in a controlled manner. It is used to place the tumour in a vulnerable situation, without damaging the cells as lasers and radiotherapy do. The cell experiences this heat as metabolic stress which means it repairs more rapidly. This situation of vulnerability makes the cells, and also our immune system, more sensitive to cancer treatments. The hyperthermia makes the radiothearpy or chemotherapy treatment more effective. It can be the fourth pillar in the treatment of cancer, after surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy.

When was hyperthermia first used to treat cancer?

About 25 or 30 years ago, when I was starting out in medicine, people were already talking about it. At a pre-clinical level, in the laboratories, they were heating tissues and observing the change in the reproduction of proteins. What they didnt do was take the step of extrapolating that to humans. Why? Because in those days there was no technology or machines. Twenty-five years ago they were experimenting with heat treatment in physiotherapy and for cosmetic purposes. However, even during the time of Hippocrates it was said that illnesses could be cured by heat, by producing a fever. It is a way of stimulating the immune system. Its a step forward. What we are looking for is a way of stimulating the immune system and increasing the effectiveness of the treatment we are applying. I would never tell any patient to stop their conventional treatment.

How far has it been developed in Spain?

Were behind other countries such as the USA, Germany, Italy, the Scandinavian countries and Japan. We have started to treat patients at the Carlos Haya hospital in a clinical trial. We have seen some cases which were very severe and where the results have been spectacular.

Are there any side effects?

Hyperthermia has to be applied by a professional, by someone who has been well-trained and is experienced. The increase in temperature has to be properly controlled, to make sure there is no risk.

For which types of cancer is this treatment most suitable?

It increases the effects of chemo and radiotherapy in situations in which, a priori, there was not going to be a good result. It has been tested on colorectal cancer, pancreas, breast, cutaneous tumours (skin and melanoma), brain tumours and sarcomas.

Its about a year since the hyperthermia working group was created by SEOR. What are the objectives?

Firstly, to raise awareness. Many colleagues dont know anything about this. We have held working meetings and created a website (www.hipertermiaoncologica.es). Secondly, to develop research projects. We have carried out factibility and tolerance studies in Malaga and Huelva. Now another two studies are under way in Spain. Another objective is to establish alliances with other scientific societies in Spain and abroad, and above all with the pharmaceutical industry. And establish the conditions for a regulation. We want there to be quality controls and for at least an oncologist and radiophysicist to be present.

How many patients have been treated at the Magna Clinic?

We have only been using this treatment for about a year, but we have treated approximately 15 patients a month. People have come from all over Spain and even from Switzerland.

Will the day come when it is used by the national health service?

Im convinced it will, but in several years time. I certainly hope so. In countries such as Italy, the Netherlands and Germany it is already in use in the national health service.

What do you think research should be focusing on in the fight against cancer?

Chemotherapy has achieved a great deal, but it has gone as far as it can now. The line of research should focus on immunotherapy. Cancer is the growth of a normal tissue which degenerates and goes out of control in our bodies. If our immune system works, it eliminates this degeneration. It occurs because, whether for genetic reasons, tobacco, eating habits, sunshine or whatever, there is an alteration and these cells grow progressively, slowly and adapting themselves to their environment. The body starts to see them as something normal and doesnt reject them. Thats where I believe immunological treatments come into their own. Hyperthermia produces this response. The tumour hates the heat, it becomes angry. Its like pouring water into an ants nest and all the ants run away. The tumour starts to reproduce itself more rapidly and to express a series of receivers which make it visible to the immune system.SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- New York State police are seeking help from anyone with information about the driver in Friday morning's fatal crash that killed three people.

Anthony Saccone, 30, was arraigned Friday night on charges of leaving the scene of a fatal accident and driving while intoxicated. Assistant district attorney T. Joseph Murphy said charges against Saccone are "likely" to be upgraded. Police are looking to speak with anyone who has information about Saccone or may have seen him prior to the crash.

The crash happened at the intersection of Onondaga Boulevard and Onondaga Road in the Town of Onondaga, police said. The 2015 GMC Acadia Saccone was driving T-boned a car with Baylie Rose, Michael Walker and Samra Osmanovic at 3:40 a.m., police said. Saccone ran from the scene, according to police.

Saccone was released from jail around 11:35 p.m. last night, according to the victim identification service.

He's next due in court for a preliminary hearing on Feb. 28.

If anyone has information, they can contact state police at 315-455-2922, 315-366-6000 or the Onondaga County Tips 411 app.Tyler, the Creator is a Wegmans convert.

The California rapper called Upstate New York's favorite grocery chain "the nicest [expletive] store I've ever been to" while raving about his visit to a Rochester-area Wegmans during a show on Friday.

"They sell sushi in there. They bake bread next door .... Whole Foods is trash compared to this ..." he told a crowd of thrilled fans.

He started the minute-and-a-half-long pronouncement by taking digs at the Western New York area for not having a lot to do, but finished by saying, "y'all got the greatest grocery store I've ever seen."

You can watch a full, expletive-heavy video of the moment below.

WARNING: The video below contains heavy use of explicit language throughout.WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump asserted Saturday that a Democratic memo rebutting Republican claims about surveillance of a former campaign aide was "a total political and legal BUST" and used the occasion to repeat his claim that an ongoing probe of possible collusion between his campaign and Russians is a "Witch Hunt."

The president took to Twitter shortly after the release of a memo that sought to undermine Republican allegations that federal law enforcement agencies used politically biased information to conduct surveillance on Carter Page, one of Trump's foreign policy advisers during the 2016 campaign.

--- Click here to read the full memo

In the redacted memo, released by the House Intelligence Committee, Democrats charge that the GOP unfairly maligned the FBI and the Justice Department for citing information from the author of a now-famous dossier alleging Trump had ties to Russian officials in their application to surveil Page.

In his tweets, Trump made clear he found the pushback underwhelming.

"The Democrat memo response on government surveillance abuses is a total political and legal BUST," he said on Twitter. "Just confirms all of the terrible things that were done. SO ILLEGAL!"

The Democrat memo response on government surveillance abuses is a total political and legal BUST. Just confirms all of the terrible things that were done. SO ILLEGAL!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 24, 2018

He echoed those sentiments later Saturday, calling in to the television show "Justice with Judge Jeanine" on Fox News.

"The memo was a nothing," Trump told host Jeanine Pirro.

Trump also suggested that his attorney general, Jeff Sessions, should be taking a more active look at what led to the surveillance of Page.

"Somebody should look into it, because what they did, it's really fraudulent, and somebody should be looking into that, and by somebody, I'm talking about you know who," Trump said.

Both on Twitter and on TV, Trump attacked Rep. Adam Schiff of California, the top Democrat on the intelligence committee and the driving force behind the rebuttal, calling him a "total phony."

"He's a bad guy," Trump told Pirro.

Trump also seized on the fact that in seeking the permission of judges to surveil Page, the FBI did not disclose that the dossier was being funded in part by the campaign of Trump's Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton, and the Democratic National Committee.

The Democratic memo says judges were made aware that there was a political motivation behind the dossier compiled by ex-British intelligence officer Christopher Steele.

"FBI did not disclose who the clients were - the Clinton Campaign and the DNC. Wow!" Trump wrote on Twitter.

The Democratic memo also stresses that the FBI had several other reasons to suspect the Trump campaign of questionable connections to Russia - including evidence that agents had approached former foreign policy adviser George Papadopoulos - before Steele and the dossier came along.

Among other things, the Steele dossier asserts that the Russians had compromising information on Trump, including salacious details of his personal behavior in the country.

In one of his tweets Saturday night, Trump sought to rebut that notion, writing that "there is none, and never was."

He also took a broader swipe at the investigation being led by special counsel Robert Mueller.

"This whole Witch Hunt is an illegal disgrace...and Obama did nothing about Russia!" Trump said on Twitter, referencing his stepped-up claim in recent weeks that former president Barack Obama should have done more to counter Russian meddling in the 2016 election.

Trump later told Pirro that "there is no collusion, no phone calls, I had no phone calls, no meetings, no nothing. There is no collusion. I say it all the time, anybody who asks, there is no collusion."

He said he won the 2016 election because he was a better candidate than Clinton.

"I don't want to sound braggadocios," Trump said. "I was a far better candidate. She was not a good candidate. She went to the wrong states."ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) -- New York's governor is blasting a proposal from the White House that he says would devastate funding for food assistance.

Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Friday that President Donald Trump's plan would reduce Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program benefits for an estimated 2.3 million New Yorkers.

Among other changes, the Republican president has proposed replacing a portion of the assistance with a box of food to be called a "harvest box."

Cuomo is calling on Congress to reject Trump's proposal and protect funding for the program.State Health Department officials have issued a warning that people in the Hudson Valley and elsewhere in the state may have been exposed to measles at several locations earlier in February.

An Australian tourist with a confirmed case of measles was present at a hotel and urgent care center in Goshen and a Middletown hospital, as well as hotels in Manhattan, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and a religious center in Putnam County, the Pelham Daily Voice reported.

Measles is a highly contagious respiratory disease spread by direct contact with nasal or throat secretions. Many people are vaccinated against it, but for those who are not, symptoms can include fever, rash, cough, conjunctivitis and runny nose, and usually appear 10-12 days after exposure.

The tourist visited New York locations between February 16 and 21 of this year. The full list of locations, as well as the possible time of exposure can be found below. The bold locations are in Upstate New York.

La Quinta Inn, 31 W. 71st Street, New York, NY, between February 16 and the morning of February 19, 2018.

Oasis Bible Tours at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1000 5th Avenue, New York, NY, the morning of February 16, and the evening of February 17, 2018.

Watchtower Educational Center

Best Western Hotel, 1324 Atlantic Avenue, Brooklyn, NY, from February 19 until 12:00 p.m. on February 20, 2018.

Comfort Inn & Suites Goshen - Middletown

Excel Urgent Care

Orange Regional Medical Center

More information on measles can be found here.STC musical to be featured at Iowa Thespian Festival

Into the woods, its time, and so I must begin my journey. Into The Woods by Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine. And so, the STC Music ...SpaceX successfully launched two demonstration satellites on Thursday, which will eventually go on to build a network of thousands of satellites called Starlink that would be providing broadband internet access.

Dubbed Microsat-2a and Microsat-2b, the two demonstration satellites were the Falcon 9 satellite's secondary payload. The rocket was deployed from California's Vandenberg Air Force Base.

The launch's primary mission was to transport a radar imaging satellite into low-Earth orbit for a company from Spain, which was launched around 11 minutes after liftoff.

Starlink

The aerospace manufacturing giant launched the demo satellites with the intention to test the structure, design, and subsystems of the spacecraft. SpaceX also wants to test the communication path of the satellites with the help of three mobile test vans and five stationary test stations based on the ground.

The test stations will be based in Fremont and Hawthorne in California and Brownsville and McGregor in Texas as well as Redmond, where the company has a satellite development office.

The massive network of satellites, dubbed Constellation, will comprise of nearly 12,000 satellites. They will relay internet connectivity to ground-based antennae receivers from low-Earth orbit. 4,425 of the satellites will be located approximately 700 miles up, and another 7,518 satellites will be present at 200 miles up. Operating on different radio frequencies, the geostationary satellite network will continuously orbit the planet, providing internet signal to nearly any spot on Earth.

Elon Musk Tweets

The deployment of the demo satellites was not shown on the webcast of the launch by SpaceX. However, an hour and a half after launch, the tech billionaire tweeted that they were deployed and were in communication with Earth-based ground stations.

"First two Starlink demo satellites, called Tintin A & B, deployed and communicating to Earth stations," Musk tweeted. "Tintin A & B will attempt to beam hello world in about 22 hours when they pass near LA."

Musk refers to Microsat-2a and Microsat-2b as Tintin A and B, in what seems to be a reference to the young reporter Tintin in the famous comics by Herge.

Representatives from SpaceX have stated that they hope to have Starlink functioning by 2020 in at least a limited capacity. The two demo satellites will collect the necessary data to help meet the goals of Starlink. However, a lot remains to be done, the representatives added.

"This system, if successful, would provide people in low to moderate population densities around the world with affordable high-speed internet access, including many who have never had internet access before," said SpaceX firmware engineer Tom Praderio during live commentary during the launch.

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.Android fans are apparently excited after several reports claimed that the next operating system update will include an integrated dark mode option from Google.

Reports confirmed that fans requested the feature from the developer for a while now but was never implemented. Sources indicated that a company insider posted details about the upcoming function on the search firm's issue tracker forums. Users noted that apps like Twitter and YouTube have built-in options to tweak the theme from light to dark. Unfortunately, it seems that the news was taken out of context and the feature might not be on its way at all.

Misunderstood Information

The original post was intended as a request to have android developers include an option to toggle between a lighter and darker theme. For a while now, manufacturers and users know that OLED technology allows the device to last longer with black background themes activated. Therefore, Android users want a first-party option to toggle between different themes because the only way possible as of now is via third-party apps.

"Our engineering team has added this feature. It will be available in a future Android release," wrote a developer in response to the post. This was later revisited by a Google rep to explain what the team meant about the response.

Clearing The Confusion

The Google Engineer that reportedly confirmed the availability of the dark mode option offered an explanation. According to the employee, Android 9.0 will not introduce a toggle for users, but it was intended for app developers in test how their applications would look like in dark mode and in regular settings.

Furthermore, the team clarified that the option was already integrated within Android since Froyo. However, it was always intended to be used by Android developers only. Despite the disappointment caused by the post, the hype it generated could push the company to finally include a proper toggle in a future update for the mobile operating system.

Changing How Messages Work

With the confirmation that dark mode is not due to make an appearance soon, Google was recently in the news due to their announcement regarding RCS (Rich Communication Services) platform. The company revealed its intention to push for the adoption of the new platform intended for the default Android Messages application. The new option will allow users to experience a multimedia-rich and interactive messaging service akin to Apple's iMessage.

The company confirmed that several manufacturers and network service providers forged an agreement with Google. This was in order to ensure that the available infrastructure will seamlessly support the new platform when it eventually launches worldwide. Tests will be conducted soon with Mexico and North America as the first two to put it through its paces.

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.Alpine avalanche kills skier, injures three others: Swiss police



Geneva, Feb 25 (AFP) Feb 25, 2018



A cross-country skier was killed and three others were injured in an avalanche in the Swiss Alps, police said Sunday.

The avalanche on the Tsa mountain, above the village of Arolla in the southern Swiss canton of Wallis, swept away the skiers shortly after 2:00 pm (1300 GMT) on Saturday, cantonal police said.

The four skiers, all Swiss nationals, had left the Tsa mountain refuge in two separate groups and had been moving through a narrow passage when the avalanche hit.

Rescue workers arrived by helicopter and were able to dig out the buried skiers, who were flown to hospital.

Wallis police initially said all four were injured, but Sunday morning they announced one of the skiers, a 40-year-old woman, had died of her injuries.Alpine avalanches kill two skiers: Swiss police



Geneva, Feb 25 (AFP) Feb 25, 2018



Two cross-country skiers were killed and three others were injured in two separate avalanches in the Swiss Alps this weekend, police said Sunday.

One of the avalanches, on the Tsa mountain, above the village of Arolla in the southern Swiss canton of Wallis, swept away four skiers shortly after 2:00 pm (1300 GMT) on Saturday, cantonal police said.

The four Swiss nationals had left the Tsa mountain refuge in two separate groups and had been moving through a narrow passage when the avalanche struck.

Rescue workers arrived by helicopter and were able to dig out the buried skiers, who were flown to hospital.

Wallis police initially said all four were injured, but Sunday morning they announced one of the skiers, a 40-year-old woman, had succumbed to her wounds.

Police in Bern canton meanwhile said an avalanche in Lauenen, near Gstaad, hit two cross-country skiers around midday Saturday.

One of the men, whose ages and nationalities were not given, was buried and badly injured.

His companion, who managed to get out on his own, called for help.

But although the injured man was quickly dug out and transported to hospital, he died of his injuries, police said.The plastics industry is leaking huge amounts of microplastics







Gothenburg, Sweden (SPX) Feb 21, 2018





The problem of plastic pellets in marine environments has been reported since the 1970s and the first recommendations for legislation were introduced in the USA back in the 1990s. However, in Sweden, these spills have only received attention in recent years. Small plastic pellets are used as raw materials. The pellets are shipped from the manufacturing site to different plants where they are used in production of various types of plastic goods. In the recently published study, the researcher ... read moreBeijing (AFP) Feb 23, 2018





China took over Anbang Insurance Group for a year on Friday and said its former chairman faces prosecution for "economic crimes", in the government's most drastic move yet to rein in politically connected companies whose splashy overseas investments have fuelled fears of a financial collapse. ... more

Jinan, China (AFP) Feb 23, 2018





Most teachers would not be impressed to discover a student playing video games in their class. But at a school in eastern China it is mandatory, part of a drive to train eSport champions and tap into the booming industry. ... more

Gothenburg, Sweden (SPX) Feb 21, 2018





The problem of plastic pellets in marine environments has been reported since the 1970s and the first recommendations for legislation were introduced in the USA back in the 1990s. However, in Sweden ... more

Plymouth UK (SPX) Feb 22, 2018





Finding a solution to the causes and impacts of marine litter is now widely recognised as one of the major environmental challenges of our time. And one of the key elements required to address the i ... more

Lincoln UK (SPX) Feb 22, 2018

Purchases made via links on our site may earn us an affiliate commissionTALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP)  A 19-year-old Louisiana rapper has been arrested in Florida on a fugitive warrant from Georgia.

Leon County Sheriff's Office records show Kentrell DeSean Gaulden, known by his fans for his artist name YoungBoy Never Broke Again, was booked into custody Sunday in Tallahassee. The report says Gaulden fled from justice in Waycross, Georgia, near the Florida state line. A spokesman for the sheriff's office did not immediately respond to inquiries about the charges he faces.

Baton Rouge police have said they believe the Nov. 2 drive-by shooting Gaulden was involved in on Kentucky Street was connected to two other shootings  one of them fatal  in a two-day span in the Old South Baton Rouge neighborhood.

YoungBoy has lately seen success with singles such as "Outside Today" and "No Smoke," which have appeared on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart.

The arrest is not Gaulden's first run-in with the law. A state judge put him on three years of active supervised probation in August for his role in a nonfatal drive-by shooting in 2016.A Harahan-based company specializing in school bus traffic cameras appears to have stopped operating amid an alleged bribery scandal in Dallas that investigators say could cost taxpayers there tens of millions of dollars.

The FBI has launched a probe, looking at the company's CEO as well as the head of a Texas state agency that bought thousands of its traffic cameras.

Force Multiplier Solutions' fall from grace has left its clients, including about two dozen school districts across the country, in the lurch. East Baton Rouge and Jefferson parishes, which adopted the companys camera system years ago, are two of them.

On Feb. 7, the Jefferson Parish School Board voted unanimously to terminate its contract with Force Multiplier. East Baton Rouge school officials are considering doing the same.

Both also are considering whether to sign on with a successor company, Canada-based BusPatrol Inc. BusPatrol, which is run by many of the same people, claims it has acquired Force Multipliers assets but not its liabilities.

For more than a decade, Force Multiplier, operating under different names, has offered school districts an attractive deal. The company would buy, install and maintain elaborate video camera systems on school buses, systems that would ordinarily cost an estimated $10,000 per bus. The company charged nothing up front. Instead, it reaped a hefty share of the revenue collected from camera tickets paid by motorists caught speeding through bus stops.

EBR school buses to get cameras Fourteen months after deciding to test traffic cameras on 30 school buses, the East Baton Rouge Parish School Board agreed Thursday to add cam

Jefferson Parish was one of the companys first clients, signing on in 2007, back when the firm was called ONGO Live. East Baton Rouge Parish signed on in 2011 when the company was called Busguard.

Now, the company has gone dark. The companys main website has been down for weeks. Voicemails left at its Harahan office were not returned.

Officials in both school districts said they knew the company was having problems but didnt realize the extent.

We couldn't get anyone to service the cameras, said Lale Geer, chief planning and operating officer for the Jefferson Parish system. It was like chasing a ghost.

Followers of the news in Dallas would not be surprised. For the past year, Force Multiplier has been the subject of intense news scrutiny.

Force Multipliers current problems grew out of its relationship with its biggest client, a state agency in Texas called Dallas County Schools. DCS ran no schools but did operate about 2,000 public schools buses, primarily in Dallas, making it one of the largest student transportation agencies in the country. DCS ended up becoming business partners with Force Multiplier, directing at least $70 million in public money its way over a six-year period.

As part of the deal, DCS purchased or leased Force Multiplier cameras and then turned around and gave those cameras to other school districts for free. In return, DCS got a hefty slice of the fines paid by bus stop runners.

But the program didn't collect nearly as much as anticipated  there were fewer violators than expected and even fewer who bothered to pay the tickets  and the agency ended up millions of dollars in debt. A recent agency-commissioned forensic audit pointed to the bus camera contract, and related improper financial transactions, as the primary reason for the agency's slide into insolvency. In November, voters dissolved the scandal-ridden bus agency.

During this period, the FBI launched a criminal investigation of Force Multiplier CEO Robert Leonard and former DCS Superintendent Rick Sorrells. Federal agents in June raided Force Multipliers office in Dallas and a home of Leonards in New Orleans, and separately seized cars and other property belonging to Leonard, a lawyer of Leonard's later admitted to a reporter with KXAS-TV, the NBC affiliate in Dallas, which has covered the story closely.

The TV station also reported Sorrells and Leonard were so close they had side-by-side apartments in the French Quarter and often entertained with each other.

On Feb. 13, New Orleans businessman Slater Swartwood Sr. appeared in federal court in Dallas to plead guilty to money laundering. Leonard has described Swartwood as his "real estate consultant for over 40 years."

As part of his plea agreement, Swartwood told federal investigators for years he served as a middleman, funneling $3 million in bribes and kickbacks between Leonard and Sorrells, who are not named in the document but described by their positions.

Neither Leonard or Sorrells have been charged with a crime. Leonard has maintained publicly that he did nothing wrong and instead blamed DCS for mismanagement. Messages left with the Dallas-based attorneys for Leonard and Sorrells were not returned.

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The East Baton Rouge Parish school system relationship with Force Multiplier has not had dire financial consequences. Indeed, the company has paid the school system $358,859 in all. That represents 20 percent of the traffic ticket fines collected over a six-year period. The Sheriffs Office, which had to decide whether the evidence is strong enough to issue a ticket, earned 10 percent, while Force Multiplier earned the remaining 70 percent.

We were really excited about it because of the safety features that were provided, said Domoine Rutledge, general counsel for the East Baton Rouge Parish school system. We were less interested in making money on that thing.

Geer, with Jefferson Parish, said Force Multipliers bus cameras system held a lot of promise: In concept, I think it's a great idea.

Force Multiplier equipped each bus with eight exterior cameras. The exterior traffic camera was attached to the stop arm. They also installed three interior cameras, including a rear pedophile finder camera to catch potential stalkers trailing the kids on the school bus.

Promises to outfit the entire fleets of East Baton Rouge and Jefferson parishes, however, were not kept. Geer said the company wanted to put cameras only on buses that traversed the most dangerous routes.

East Baton Rouge Parishs Chief of Student Support Services Gary Reese said the company stopped installing cameras after outfitting almost 250 buses, about 40 percent of the fleet, saying it planned to come back with even better cameras, but it never did.

Reese said the videos taken by Force Multiplier cameras were its best feature. They were useful in sorting out who was telling the truth in student and employee disciplinary issues.

We used it for that reason more than anything, Reese said.

But in December, Force Multiplier stopped supplying videos upon request, Reese said. Soon after, a letter arrived from Leonard, a letter that Jefferson Parish also received. It informed them both that Force Multiplier was bowing out and instead "all assets, including our contracts with school districts, have been purchased and will be assigned to BusPatrol America, L.L.C."

In an interview, BusPatrols CEO Jean Souliere said thats not accurate. He said BusPatrol bought only the companys assets, particularly its intellectual property, but not its contracts or its liabilities.

We did not trust them at all, Souliere said. Buying the company, we didnt know what we would find, what kind of skeletons were in there.

BusPatrol Inc. was formerly the Canadian subsidiary of Force Multiplier. It changed names on May 29  the French version of the company is BusPatrouille Inc. In July, its Canadian partners registered a new company, BusPatrol America, in several U.S. states. David Poirier, president and chief operating officer for Force Multiplier, is now president of BusPatrol America. He is one of many BusPatrol employees who are holdovers from the old company.

Souliere said he and his fellow Canadian investors began their escape almost a year ago, soon after receiving a troubling phone call from Leonard, who indicated the company was having financial problems.

Our move was very defensive one, Souliere said. I had to protect our reputation."

Since then, Souliere said BusPatrol has continued to service old Force Multiplier accounts at our expense. During that time, he and other BusPatrol representatives have slowly been reaching out to former Force Multiplier clients and have signed up five counties in Alabama, Georgia, Maryland and Virginia. Souliere said BusPatrol did not buy Force Multiplier's assets in Louisiana and Texas until December, so its only now connecting with those clients, Souliere said.

+2 BR school bus fleet finally replenished after August 2016 floods -- with more plans in works Nine new diesel-powered public school buses are set to arrive in Baton Rouge on Wednesday with the goal of hitting the road the next day when 

While the company has yet to make contact with East Baton Rouge Parish, Souliere attended the Feb. 7 Jefferson Parish School Board meeting where the board terminated its contract with Force Multiplier. Souliere said hes hoping to meet soon with parish officials there to work out a new deal.

Souliere said he and other Canadian investors "have lost millions" remaining in the business, but said it's a testament to the potential they see.

They developed a very good technology," he said. They just need responsible adults behind the wheel.

Advocate staff writer Faimon Roberts contributed to this story.For two years now, conservative Republicans and Democrats led by Gov. John Bel Edwards have been clashing at the State Capitol over how to finance a long-term solution to the states budget woes.

The next face-off in the ongoing saga takes place Sunday, during the fifth special session of Edwards term, when the two sides attempt to move forward on a compromise agreement aimed at filling a nearly $1 billion hole in the budget.

The key votes on taxes are scheduled to take place Sunday afternoon in the House Ways and Means Committee, while the Health and Welfare Committee will weigh measures that would raise spending in the short-term but Republicans believe it will cut spending long-term. Any bills advanced by either committee would go to the House floor, the next step in the legislative process.

The conservative Republicans in the House want cuts in the budget and will likely vote against more taxes, while Edwards and his allies continue to insist that the government needs more money to meet citizens needs.

While ego and partisan politics play a role, at the heart of the debate is a philosophical divide over the benefits of government.

In general, conservative Republicans view much government spending as wasteful, driven by the needs of a faceless bureaucracy with an insatiable appetite.

U.S. Sen. John Kennedy has encapsulated this view with this pithy phrase: Its not their money. Its our money.

In general, Democrats view government spending as a way to invest in the future and to lessen the advantages of haves over the have-nots.

Not filling the budget gap, Edwards told lawmakers on Monday when he opened the special session, would mean reduced opportunities for Louisiana's kids to go to college. It would mean reduced opportunities for health care for the neediest and most vulnerable among us. And it would mean reducing law enforcement's ability to do its job.

Closing the nearly $1 billion gap, most lawmakers agree, will require some combination of measures that raise tax revenue and cut spending.

A key sales tax measure stalled Wednesday before the Ways and Means Committee in the face of opposition by both Democrats and Republicans, but for different reasons. Since then, Speaker Taylor Barras, R-New Iberia, has been negotiating with House Democratic leaders and the governors office to overcome the objections and settle on a tax plan that can clear Ways and Means and win a two-thirds majority  70 votes in the 105-member House.

Any measures approved in the House would then advance to the Senate for consideration.

Big question as special session begins: Can Speaker Taylor Barras unite House GOP caucus? The 144 members of Louisianas Legislature will convene Monday in a special session that will mark their fifth attempt in two years to solve t

There are 41 Democrats and three independents in the House, so any tax measure will likely require support from virtually all of them and about half of the 61 House Republicans.

Helping to fill the $1 billion shortfall, some budget planners expect to collect about $300 million in extra revenue because of the tax cut approved by President Donald Trump and Congress, according to the latest estimate.

That windfall comes courtesy of an unusual feature in state tax law that allows individuals to deduct their federal tax payments on their state taxes. With taxpayers set to pay less in federal taxes, they will be able to deduct less in their state tax payments, meaning theyll pay more in state taxes. The $300 million would reduce the size of the budget gap to $700 million.

To make up the difference, the House has to decide whether to renew a quarter or half of a 1-cent sales tax increase that lawmakers authorized in 2016 to last until June 30, 2018. Renewing a quarter of the 1-cent increase could raise about $220 million per year, some calculate, taking care of nearly one-third of the $700 million remaining shortfall.

The politics of the partial sales tax renewal are complicated.

Democrats, led by the Legislative Black Caucus, blocked passage of a -cent renewal on Wednesday by Ways and Means to signal their opposition to over-relying on sales taxes to generate revenue. They say such taxes are regressive and hit the poor hardest.

Democrats also want to permanently end a series of breaks for businesses on sales taxes that the Legislature temporarily approved, and they want to trim a tax break for individuals who itemize on their federal taxes  a break that generally benefits wealthier taxpayers.

The scoop on state politics in your inbox Get the Louisiana politics insider details once a week from us. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up

Many conservative Republicans, meanwhile, will vote no on any taxes, forcing Barras to find 30 or so Republicans who can support a partial sales-tax renewal.

Why Louisiana lawmakers are struggling with critical tax proposal in stalled special session With an increasingly narrow window for approving revenue-raising measures ahead of a looming budget gap, the Louisiana Legislature's efforts h

Edwards has repeatedly told lawmakers that they need to approve more money or the state will have to make devastating cuts to popular programs such as the TOPS scholarships and medical services for the disabled.

State Rep. Ray Garofalo is one of the Republicans who remains unswayed by the governors arguments. A third-term legislator from Chalmette, Garofalo believes that the Edwards administration has not cut enough fat out of government  a view shared by folks in his district, he said.

The majority of people do not trust government to be wise spenders of taxpayer dollars, Garofalo said. Why is government growing so much? When I talk with constituents, thats the first question for me.

The Edwards administration wants to spend about as much money next year as this year in the state's "general fund  meaning all money collected from taxpayers in Louisiana.

Overall spending by state government would rise under the governors plan, but the increase would come from pass-through federal money resulting from Edwards expansion of the Medicaid program for the working poor.

State Rep. Jay Morris, R-Monroe, has voiced support only for making out-of-state corporations pay more taxes.

Government needs to be as efficient and as lean as possible, Morris said. Additional revenue is a last resort. There are other ways to balance the budget other than imposing taxes on citizens who live and work in this state.

State Rep. Phillip DeVillier, R-Eunice, will likely vote no on any tax measures.

My constituents are asking me, from questionnaires I send out, to reduce waste and government spending, he said, adding that he believes state government sends too much money to local governments. DeVillier also wants the state to shift its spending on construction away from local projects  such as renovating courthouses and parks  to those deemed to benefit the entire state.

We need to be more efficient to fully fund TOPS and take care of higher education and health care, DeVillier said.

State Rep. Robert Johnson, D-Marksville, said anti-tax Republicans essentially want to have their cake and eat it, too.

You cant say we want to have a generous TOPS program, better roads, better schools and more money for the public/private hospitals and at the same time say we want to cut taxes" by not renewing at least a portion of the 1-cent sales tax, Johnson said. Its intellectually dishonest.

Johnson noted that Louisiana has a nearly $14 billion backlog in road projects and ranks near the bottom in national rankings of public school test scores and various health measures. Meanwhile, the state has the fifth-lowest state and local combined tax burden nationally, according to the Tax Foundation, a Washington-based nonprofit.

To say you dont trust government, said state Rep. Pat Smith, D-Baton Rouge, who will be the person to ensure that theres equity in schools, housing, jobs and pay? Those are the things that help people get to a better life.

State Rep. Sam Jones, D-Franklin, is particularly focused on the need to provide more money to dredge rivers that serve the states ports.

Every port in Louisiana is drowning in mud, and it diminishes the capability of moving out and moving in products, Jones said. Our ports are critical for our economic development.

Jones also believes that lawmakers are short-sighted for not approving higher taxes to fund bridge and roadwork projects around the state. A proposal last year to raise the state gas tax by 17 cents per gallon died after failing, in the face of Republican opposition, to reach the two-thirds majority needed in the House.

Its ironic that we sent people to the moon, but we cant get people across the bridge in Baton Rouge because were not spending money on infrastructure, Jones said.Republican state Rep. Stephen Dwight stormed out of the Louisiana House Ways & Means Committee Tuesday, just moments after his bill was set aside because a Democrats maneuver would have required GOP members to vote on camera for his modest tax-raising measure.

His angry pronouncement that without this bill, this session is over, launched a thousand tweets. And as good as the failed special session narrative is for clicks, likes and whatever other gauge used to measure quality journalism these days, its not truly accurate.

Far from being over, House work on Sunday could show the tentative beginnings of a deal.

The temporary fifth cent in state sales taxes, passed in 2016, was supposed to buy time to work out structural changes to the states fiscal policy. But lawmakers couldnt agree on what to do, and now that additional penny is set to expire on June 30, creating a nearly $1 billion hole in revenues.

Making up the difference means cutting services, which nobody really wants, coming up with more revenues to the pay bills, which again nobody wants, or a little of both.

To take another stab, the Legislature convened in a special session that began Monday and runs through March 7.

No significant tax bills were passed out of committee last week, and only a couple of the fiscal reforms Republicans want linked to those revenue-raising measures have made it to the House floor.

GOP House Majority Leader Lance Harris of Alexandria cautioned patience to the doomsayers in the press and the Legislature, repeating, like a mantra, its part of the process.

House Speaker Taylor Barras, R-New Iberia, spent much of Thursday afternoon meeting with Republicans and some Democrats. Gov. John Bel Edwards urged compromise to some members of the House Democratic caucus and members of Ways & Means.

Come Sunday afternoon, Ways & Means, which has balked before, is expected to forward some tax measures to the full House, and the Health & Welfare Committee will vote on changes to Medicaid that House Republicans want.

The full House will convene at 6 p.m. to consider which of the few pieces of legislation that have made it that far in the process to send to the Senate.

Pieces of legislation are likely to change, and further hurdles will need to be cleared, but as he left the House floor Thursday night, Barras expressed optimism that progress is being made.

Dwight, R-Lake Charles, said of his sales tax bill: "It got off life support and has legs.

Dwight's plan would make permanent one-fourth of a temporary one-penny sales tax hike. It would also allow the state to charge sales tax on items that were previously exempt before their carve-outs were temporarily rolled back in 2016. Dwight's bill would bring in about $300 million annually, according to legislative estimates.

Meanwhile, staff and legislators were looking over the wording of legislation that would allow Louisiana to increase income tax collections by limiting state credits for taxpayers who itemize deductions on their federal income taxes in excess of the standard deduction.

State Rep. Ted James, the Baton Rouge Democrat whose opposition to Dwights bill in Ways & Means would have forced a roll-call vote putting Republican members visibly on record as supporting a tax, said he was concerned that all the GOP initiatives have relied on sales taxes and none on income taxes. While everybody buys things, using a sales tax puts more of a burden for funding government services on the take-home pay of lower-income people, who make up more than half the states residents.

Compromise means both sides have to give a little, James said during a lull in the House Chamber Thursday night. That means we have to compromise too.

A wrinkle is that Republicans have insisted that any tax bills that come out of their chamber include a rider that says the tax increase wont go into effect unless one of their fiscal reform measures also passes.

These revamps  the so-called Ohio checkbook, a hard spending cap, and changes to Medicaid  provide political cover for those who were elected chanting the state has spending problem, not a revenue problem.

But the riders are kind of insulting to the age-old legislative process of people giving their word and keeping it, state Rep. Major Thibaut, D-New Roads, said when the first one was amended onto Dwights bill.

If the riders make it easier for House Republicans to vote for sales and income taxes, though, then James said hes OK with them. Theyll be stripped off when the adults get these bills in the Senate, he added.

Stalled: Medicaid bills, seen as Louisiana GOP priorities of special session, falter in committee The Louisiana House appeared to teeter on the edge of meltdown as the fourth day of the special session began with a rejection of a series of Last time, the entire criminal court bench in New Orleans was held responsible for grabbing an unconstitutional $1 million a year.

This time the court's magistrate, Harry Cantrell, takes all the blame for another dodge that brings in about the same amount of money.

It is true that, several weeks after federal judge Sarah Vance ruled against the judges, Cantrell's case remains open in her colleague Eldon Fallon's court. But let us not fret over technicalities. It's only a matter of time before Cantrell throws in the towel and quits squandering public money on legal fees. There is not a lawyer in the country who could get him out of this jam, and Fallon a couple of months ago gave short shrift to his motion to dismiss.

The judges lost in Vance's court because their expense fund relied on a percentage of the fines and fees they imposed on defendants. Those defendants were automatically put in jail without a hearing if they missed a payment even when, as was frequently the case, they were penniless and sick or pregnant. Plaintiffs in the case spent days or even weeks in jail while relatives cobbled together enough for their release and job opportunities went by the wayside.

Thus, the city, in accordance with state law, was running a debtors' prison for the judges' profit. Only legislators could fail to see the constitutional infirmities in such a set-up.

The law does not prescribe, or even allow, the procedures that apply in Cantrell's court, however. Cantell's is an elected position, with six-year terms, and a pretty humble one at that. Pretty much all he has to do is set bail for defendants while real judges take care of the main business. But Cantell regards himself as quite the big shot. He has become the tinpot pretrial tyrant.

According to state law when bail is set, the defendant has the right to pay in cash, and thus avoid the 12-13 percent commission charged by commercial bond companies. But Cantrell refuses to accept any cash bonds, for obvious reasons. He and the judges of criminal court meet about 25 percent of their expenses from the cut they receive from each commercial bond.

When a defendant is released on a cash bond, on personal sureties or his own recognizance, courts do not get a penny. Attorneys sometimes request a cash bond., but Cantrell has proudly proclaimed he's never set one. So it's all commercial bonds so far as Cantrell is concerned. And a defendant who can't afford one must sit in jail, which takes much of the shine off the presumption of innocence.

And a lot of defendants do await trial in jail, because bonds do not come cheap in Cantell's court. The absolute minimum for the most trival misdemeanor in $2,500, and Cantell always refuses to consider a defendant's ability to pay, so, notwithstanding the Eighth Amendment, excessive bail often is required here. Attorneys who advocate for a lower amount have been threatened with jail for contempt.

Since pre-detention means lost employment, neglected families and less opportunity to prepare a sound defense, Cantrell's de facto denial of bail hardly serves the cause of justice. His job is to ensure defendants appear for trial, but he prefers to punish before conviction.

The federal appeals court in New Orleans has just upheld a Texas judge who ruled it was a denial of equal protection for courts there to employ an inflexible bail tariff and jail hard-up defendants. The wealthy arrestee is less likely to plead guilty, more likely to receive a shorter sentence or be acquitted, and less likely to bear the social costs of incarceration, the appeals court opined.

That reasoning surely applies with equal force to Cantrell. His contempt for the constitution and the statutes show he isn't much of a magistrate, but the chief conclusion to be drawn from transcripts of his hearings is that he falls short as a human being too.

Email James Gill at Gill1407@bellsouth.net.The gold producer had a great run at the end of last year and then spent several weeks consolidating that move. Also, this consolidation has generally been above the 2016 high, which is a positive sign. It appears SBM will continue its uptrend soon. Technical analysis suggests the stock could then go on to threaten its all time high near $5. The shares were trading at $3.815 on February 21.

Aristocrat Leisure (ALL)



Recent price action looks bullish and the shares are poised to break through resistance. This gaming company also looks most attractive from a fundamental perspective. A move through $25 should draw in further buying and that means ALL could hit the high $20 levels in time. The shares were trading at $24.73 on February 21.

HOLD RECOMMENDATIONS

National Australia Bank (NAB)



The $28 mark brought strong investor support for the bank. NAB now looks as though it will trade higher. First line of resistance is between $30 and $31. The shares were trading at $29.37on February 21.

Xero (XRO)



Several weeks ago, we saw this software accounting company break the short term downtrend. The push past the 2017 high was on good volume, so Im more confident it will move towards $40. Short term weakness here is a buying opportunity. The shares were trading at $31.61 on February 21.

SELL RECOMMENDATIONS

Amaysim Australia (AYS)



The telecommunications company tried to break above resistance a few weeks ago, but was heavily sold down from $2.25 to finish that week at $1.705. It recently broke below support and, as a result, I expect AYS to keep falling. Short term, we can see a bounce to test the old support line near $1.65, but ultimately, in our view, its likely to head towards a new low below $1.30. The shares were trading at $1.512 on February 21.

Wesfarmers (WES)



We have been negative on WES for a few years now. If the share price couldnt stay up when Coles was dominating Woolworths, I wouldnt expect it to go up now given competition is only getting fiercer. The Bunnings expansion into the UK has been disappointing. The shares were trading at $41.76 on February 21.



The beverage maker posted full year results broadly in line with our expectations. The company will invest heavily to drive growth in the Australian beverage division (which accounts for more than 60 per cent of earnings) in an attempt to halt the downward trajectory. We see potential for a turnaround and recognise managements ability to deliver shareholder value.

Southern Cross Electrical Engineering (SXE)



The company has a strongly growing order book of more than $480 million, which is about 2.4 times fiscal year 2017 revenue. The strong order book is a result of organic growth initiatives and the acquisition of Heyday. As business activity improves, the company is on track to increase revenues in fiscal year 2018. Southern Cross provides electrical, communication and maintenance services to a variety of sectors, including resources, defence, transport, renewable energy and utilities.

HOLD RECOMMENDATIONS

Monadelphous Group (MND)



We remain attracted to this engineering services companys capital growth and income potential. MND was one of the best performing ASX stocks in 2017 as it rode the recovery in the mining industry, while diversifying into other areas, such as renewable energy. An interim dividend of 30 cents is a bonus.

Frontier Diamonds (FDX)



This South African diamond miner is focused on unlocking value at its flagship assets  the two operating mines Sedibeng and Star. While these operations offer a solid base for the companys earnings, we see upside potential in the extension of known fissures at the Bellsbank Pipe exploration project and surrounding mines. Also, introducing more efficient mining techniques is expected to yield a better return on investment.

SELL RECOMMENDATIONS

QBE Insurance (QBE)



In my view, this company has been a disappointing performer for too long. The company is conducting a strategic review and may introduce steps to simplify the business, but it will take time to turn it around. For now, our advice is to avoid, but well keep an eye on management initiatives.

Village Roadshow (VRL)



Focuses on theme parks and cinema exhibition. Results for the first half of fiscal year 2018 were substantially below last years prior corresponding period. At this point, we believe challenging trading conditions are likely to continue.



After a strong run to 38 cents after listing in October last year, NC6 shares have struggled. NC6 is working towards creating rayon fibre from alcohol waste and coconut sugar for the textile industry. The key will be to create scale through feedstock and attract partners in the clothing and textile industry. A speculative buy. The shares closed at 12 cents on February 22.

Invitrocue (IVQ)



An emerging personalised oncology company. Technology enables patient derived cancer cells (organoids) to be cultured in laboratories for testing against a panel of drugs to support clinical decision making for individual patients. The personalised oncology sector has the potential to generate significant investor interest based on potential cost savings, as a significant number of cancer drugs are ineffective. The shares closed at 10 cents on February 22.

HOLD RECOMMENDATIONS

Red Metal (RDM)



We expect more exploration activity in coming quarters via joint ventures with OZ Minerals and MMG. Market capitalisation remains underpinned by the Maronan lead-silver, copper-gold resource. In my view, RDM has provided shareholders with exposure to high risk/high reward projects and this will continue in 2018.

Great Boulder Resources (GBR)



The Mt Venn discovery continues to achieve strong results. GBR is now working on the metallurgy of the copper-nickel-cobalt resource, aiming for copper sulphide concentrate plus cobalt and nickel sulphate production. The share price touched 71 cents post discovery and is now in a hold and accumulate zone. The shares closed at 23 cents on February 22.

SELL RECOMMENDATIONS

Kidman Resources (KDR)



Recent market volatility has shown what selling pressure can do to the hot lithium sector, with some stocks failing to mount a sustained recovery. KDRs share price has recovered strongly. But its now at a level where profit taking could be a prudent strategy.

Westpac Bank (WBC)



Bank stocks have struggled for a while and the CBA was well below $80 on February 22. In my view, WBCs interest only loan exposure is a concern with further cracks appearing in the Sydney and Melbourne property markets. At current levels, investors can consider taking some money off the table. There will be an opportunity at some stage where the Australian banking sector becomes an attractive investment.

>> BACK TO THE NEWSLETTER: Click here to read other articles from this weeks newsletter

Please note that TheBull.com.au simply publishes broker recommendations on this page. The publication of these recommendations does not in any way constitute a recommendation on the part of TheBull.com.au. You should seek professional advice before making any investment decisions.Most Indonesians are aware that there are palaces in certain areas such as Yogyakarta and Surakarta in Central Java, and Cirebon in West Java. The fact is, however, almost all provinces in Indonesia have palaces.

Indonesias Investigating Committee for Preparatory Works for Independence (BPUPKI) has stated that there were 250 palaces still in existence on the archipelago, said Pangeran Raja Arief Adipati Natadiningrat, the Sultan Sepuh of Cirebon, who is also chairman of the Forum of Archipelago Palace Gathering (FSKN), to KompasTravel at the Tourism Ministry in Jakarta on Tuesday.

The data revealed that almost every province in Indonesia has their royal families who passed on cultural traditions. The provincial royals in Indonesia spread from the Kesultanan Aceh (Sultanate of Aceh) on the westernmost tip of the archipelago, to the Palace of Papua Barat on the easternmost tip. The sultanate and the palace were seen active in 1948.

Prior to Indonesias independence, the majority of the palaces were no longer reigning, but still influential enough to preserve culture and tradition among their people. Today, only as many as 54 palaces are still registered and in existence. Many of them are struggling to maintain their existence and preserve their heritage.

Many factors have caused the falls of the kingdoms a long time ago. The kingdoms no longer bear political power, and there are no economic resources anymore, the Sultan Sepuh of Cirebon explained. An act of cultural preservation in 2010, however, raised hope among the royals to be able to maintain assets in the palace.

Having the government to notice and admit our presence, there is an opportunity to gain more income from other sources apart from the independent bodies, the sultan said.

In order to stay connected and empower each other, the FSKN will conduct the fifth Festival of Palaces and ASEAN Indigenous People (FKMA). This year, the festival will take place from Oct. 27 to 31 in Sumenep regency, East Java. Preceding the festival, a road trip to palaces in five destinations will be conducted, namely Surakarta in Central Java, Medan in North Sumatra, Mempawah in West Borneo, Ternate on Moluccas Island, and Denpasar in Bali. The events will culminate in Sumenep regency, Madura Island.

Sumenep was chosen to host the main event considering that they have a well-maintained palace in East Java until today, said Pangeran Raja Arief. He was quoted by KompasTravel when attending the launch of the festival at the Tourism Ministry in Jakarta on Tuesday.

Arief said several activities had been scheduled for the main event, namely the archipelago palace forum, palace culture carnival, art performances, heirloom exhibition and palace culture exhibition.

The regent of Sumenep, A. Busyro Karim, as the host of FKMA-V/2018 main event, said the event was expected to be more appealing to travelers as it is also promoting the Pesona Indonesia and Wonderful Indonesia campaigns.

We will recommend guests and delegates stay on Gili Iyang island, which is the island with second-richest level of oxygen in the world, added Karim, also a board of expert member and advisor of the event.

Read also: Jokowi asks Indonesia's royals to develop heritage tourism

Indonesia is now the country with the most palaces in ASEAN.

Indonesian palaces should become a source of knowledge, cultural values and a means to boost economic growth, apart from becoming prime travel destinations, Arief concluded. (mut)Batik is a traditional cloth made using the wax-resist dyeing technique. The fabric is found in various countries, but the batik of Indonesia is probably the best known, being designated by UNECSO as a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.

The most traditional type of batik is called batik tulis (hand-drawn batik), where patterns are drawn with pencil and redrawn with hot wax using canting (a pen-like instrument consisting of a small copper reservoir with a spout on a wooden handle). The whole process of making batik tulis is complex and time-consuming. The more intricate the pattern and the more colors desired, the longer the process takes. Batik tulis, therefore, is more expensive and highly sought after by collectors.

Read also: Three ways to identify quality batik

Apart from batik tulis, less expensive options such as batik cap (stamped batik) and printed batik are also available in markets. People who have just started collecting need to be careful when choosing their batik, as stamped batik made with high-quality cloth can look similar to batik tulis.

Dwita Herman, founder of a batik gallery named Galeri Buana Alit, said we need to be careful when buying batik. Some clothes made of common print batik could be overpriced only because it has good cutting, said Dwita to kompas.com.

Dwita added that printed batik these days are very attractive since they are manufactured by more sophisticated machinery. Still, there are some significant differences between batik tulis and printed batik.

The finished look of a batik tulis cloth is more organic and one of a kind, as it is handmade. Meanwhile, patterns at the edges of a printed batik cloth might look roughly cropped, or the colors might edge past the pattern lines.

Read also: Solo Batik Carnival 2018 shines light on batik diversity

Printed batik cloth is also not reversible as it is only dyed on one side. Dwita reminded batik lovers who came to her gallery that day to be careful about plangkan batik (screen-printed batik). She said that batik sellers in certain areas may claim that a plangkan batik is a batik tulis and charge a higher price.

Therefore, consumers should remember to be careful and avoid paying batik tulis prices for stamped or printed batik.It was surreal; four poets stepped onto the stage to read WS Rendras Sajak Tangan and suddenly Electronic Dance Music (EDM) was heard as if it were trying to go along with the reading.

This was one of the scenes from the Melihat Puisi (Looking at the Poetry) event held on Saturday, Feb. 24, at Galeri Indonesia Kaya in Central Jakarta. Previously known as Sastra: Melihat Masa Lalu, Melihat Masa Kini (Literature: Looking back to the Past, Looking at the Present), the event brought together poets from different backgrounds and generations, namely Godi Suwarna, Hanna Francisca, Ni Made Purnama Sari, Faisal Syahreza, H.S. Dewandani and Joind Bayuwinanda, while musician Tesla Manaf arranged the music.

Ni Made Purnama Sari (from left to right), H.S. Dewandani, Joind Bayuwinanda, Faisal Syahreza and Tesla Manaf read 'Sajak Tangan' by WS Rendra during the 'Menulis Puisi' event at Galeri Indonesia Kaya in Central Jakarta. (JP/Ni Nyoman Wira)

The performances director, Heliana Sinaga, said she chose poems that could be combined with EDM. Maybe other poets in other countries have used the music [in their performances], but for many poets in Indonesia, they rarely collaborate with music, Heliana told The Jakarta Post, adding that it was her debut as a director. So its not music that accompanies the poetry, but how they collaborate with each other.

Heliana continued that, on the first day of rehearsal prior the show, the poets and musicians talked to each other about how to combine their aspirations.

Read also: Poetry: Of people and the rain

Hanna Francisca at 'Menulis Puisi'. (Galeri Indonesia Kaya/File)

After ending their poetry reading, each poet told a story about the poems and their backgrounds. Godi Suwarna, a celebrated poet who uses the Sundanese language, for instance, opened the event with Studio Armageddon. Back in the 1970s, Godi travelled from his village to Bandung and experienced culture shock after seeing people ajojing (dancing) at Studio East discotheque. [It] was weird, just like an apocalypse, Godi said.

Meanwhile, Ni Made Purnama Sari performed Doa Puisi (Pray Poetry). She then recalled when her first poem was published 11 years ago in a local newspaper in Bali. At that time I felt proud that my poetry was seen in a newspaper, which only came out 52 times a year, Purnama said. She then shared her thoughts about the current era in which there were many media platforms for people to express themselves through poetry. But I believe that good poetry  it doesnt show up instantly, but it needs solemnity and tenacity to observe what is happening in our lives.

Ni Made Purnama Sari at 'Menulis Puisi'. (Galeri Indonesia Kaya/File)

In addition, Heliana also agreed with Purnama. Technology, which develops really fast, can get people fame easily, as they can publish their works everywhere, she said. But the downside is, younger poets and their work become instant  they will be popular and then vanish instantly. Purnama said that writing was a continuous process, not something that stopped. "There must be consistency although the era has changed, Purnama said. (mut)Made by the same method as champagne, French cremants are the latest buzz-grabbers in the expanding bubbly universeand a wise choice if youre looking to move on from boring prosecco. Think of them as the underdogs of the French wine world, offering sophisticated Gallic flair without the Champagne price tag.

Cremant is an official term used throughout France for fine sparkling wines made outside Champagne by the methode traditionelle. Thats the process by which wines get their bubbles from a second fermentation inside the bottle, then age for months on the spent yeast cells left behind, giving them character and a creamier texture.

For decades, places known for great reds and whitesincluding Burgundy, Alsace, the Loire Valley, and even Bordeauxhave been making under-the-radar sparkling wines, but cremant first appeared officially on labels only in the mid-1970s. Eight regions can now use the term for their fizz; the latest addition is Savoie, in the Alps. (Beaujolais also wants in, hoping to tap into global demand for fizz, which is projected to grow 14 percent by 2020; it aims to gain appellation status for sparkling gamay in a few years.)

Read also: France uncorks record wine and spirits exports

Unlike Champagne, a bubbly thats almost always chardonnay and/or pinot noirand sometimes pinot meuniercremants often rely at least partly on local varieties. In the Loire, that means chenin blanc; in Alsace, pinot blanc, as well as auxerrois; and in Savoie, jacquere and altesse. So dont expect them to taste exactly like Champagne.

Naturally (this is France, after all) the law regulates the percentages of specific grapes and the amount of necessary aging, and it dictates hand-harvesting and gentle pressing, but each region contributes some rules of its own. The best producers make versions from single vineyards and routinely age their wines longer, and it shows.

Here's my selection of top examples from five regions.

Cremant dAlsace

Picturesque Alsace, in the foothills of the Vosges Mountains of northeast France, produces more than 50 percent of all French cremants. Many are excellent and more widely available than examples from other regions.

NV Jean-Baptiste Adam Brut Rose (US$21)Super frothy, with intense strawberry fruit flavors, this pale, pink wine has mouthwatering appeal, zing, and a succulent elegance.

NV Domaine Saint-Remy Brut Cuvee Prestige (US$24) Bright and crisp, ideal for an aperitif, this bottle has notes of plums and golden delicious apples and shows off very fine, tiny bubbles.

NV Jean-Baptiste Adam Brut Les Natures (US$25)This organic and biodynamic domaine has been growing grapes for more than 400 years. A light, elegant blend of pinot blanc, chardonnay, and pinot noir, this bottling has subtle citrus-y charm and fresh apple-y purity.

2015 Albert Mann Extra Brut (US$26)Deep and creamy, this full-bodied blend of pinot blanc, auxerrois, and pinot noir from a family estate tastes of tart, spicy apples.

Domaine Valentin Zusslin Brut Zero San Soufre (US$30)A brother-and-sister team makes this very dry, crisp, complex blend of auxerrois, riesling, and chardonnay at a biodynamic estate. Natural-wine lovers take note: Its made with no added sulfur.

Cremant de Bordeaux

Bordeaux is the only region whose production of cremant is shrinking, which may explain why very few have impressed me.

NV Philippe Raguenot Cremant Blanc (US$25)This 100 percent semillon, from a family estate, is light and crisp, with fresh green apple and herbal notes.

Cremant de Bourgogne

Amazingly, just about every village in Burgundy produces grapes for cremant, but the key areas are in northern Chablis, where the wines are zesty and light, and in southern Cote Chalonaise, where wines are richer and rounder. Chardonnay and pinot noir dominate, as they do for still wine. But producers also use other varieties grown in the region, such as pinot blanc, aligote, and gamay. Last year, in a bid to upgrade quality, the region instituted new, additionally aged ranking designations: Eminent and Grand Eminent.

Clotilde Davenne Extra Brut (US$25)Clotilde Davenne, one of few women making wine in Chablis, is behind this deliciously dry, frothy wine with aromas of warm bread and lemon zest and crisp, green apple flavors.

NV Parigot & Richard Brut Rose (US$25)Youll see this domaines fizz at such top restaurants as New Yorks the NoMad. The bright, salmon-colored rose is 100 percent pinot noir, with lively, tangy, strawberry flavors that are perfect for a decadent brunch.

Cremant du Jura

Sparkling wine has grown rapidly here and now accounts for one in four bottles in the ancient, now trendy Jura region of eastern France. White cremants must be at least 50 percent chardonnay, and roses must be at least half-pinot noir or the local red, poulsard.

2015 Domaine de Montbourgeau (US$26)This all-chardonnay, from a top producer in the village of LEtoile, is full of mineral flavors and zingy acidity.

2015 Andre et Mireille Tissot (Stephane Tissot) Extra Brut Indigene (US$35)Tissot produces 7,000 or so bottles of this extra brut fizz from chardonnay, pinot noir, and Jura red grapes poulsard and trousseau. Superior to most non-vintage Champagnes, it shows off honeysuckle aromas, tangy, citrus flavors with a salty complexity, and creamy, lush bubbles.

Cremant de Loire

The Loire is a veritable hotbed of cremant producers. Long ago, the fizz here was almost as famous as that of Champagne. But the wines taste very different because the primary grape for white is chenin blanc; for rose, its cabernet franc.

2014 Domaine Vincendeau (US$22)Made from 100 percent chenin blanc vines, this bottle is bright and mineral, with aromas of white flowers and soft bubbles. Aging for 16 months on the lees gives it serious depth and layers of flavor.

NV Chateau de Breze Blanc (US$22)The chateau, a tiny castle with a moat and an underground fortress, is a Unesco World Heritage site with organic vineyards on chalky soils. This blend of chenin blanc and chardonnay is luscious and bright, with aromas of white flowers and a mineral, zingy taste.Share this article Whatsapp

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Linkedin The Jakarta Post Jakarta  Sun, February 25, 2018 18:08 1300 2c798a31c212039f000dc5df9c73a4bc 1 Business BPJS-Ketenagakerjaan,insurance,social-security,workers Free

The Workers Social Security Agency (BPJS Ketenagakerjaan) expects to grow its funds by 16 percent to Rp 367.8 trillion (US$26.8 billion) this year as it focuses on boosting its premium revenue and investment gains.

The government-backed workers insurer booked Rp 317.2 trillion in funds last year.

Its president director, Agus Susanto, said the agency would seek partnerships with more companies and increase workers awareness to join its program, while also growing its funds invested in various instruments.

We will conduct several measures to attract more participants, ranging from increasing our brand awareness to enforcing laws, he said as quoted by Kontan on Friday.

Presidential Regulation No. 109/2013 stipulates that companies operating in Indonesia are required to register their employees as BPJS Ketenagakerjaan members otherwise they face administrative sanctions or be criminally charged.

The agency, previously known as Jamsostek, aims to have 29.6 million active participants in total this year, an increase from 26.2 million at the moment.

It expects to gain 700,000 institutional members, including companies, by the end of this year, up from 488,000 currently.

As for investment, the agency was expected to gain Rp 32 trillion worth of funds this year, a 20 percent increase from Rp 26.7 trillion recorded in 2016, said its deputy public relations officer Irvansyah Utoh Banja.

The agency placed 58.7 percent of its funds in bonds last year, followed by 19 percent in stocks and the rest in other instruments. (roi/gda)Share this article Whatsapp

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Linkedin Margareth S. Aritonang (The Jakarta Post) Denpasar  Sun, February 25, 2018 06:49 1300 2c798a31c212039f000dc5df9c72dbb1 1 Politics JusufKalla,Jokowi,president,PDI-P,vice-president Free

The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) has voiced its objection to a proposal that President Joko Jokowi Widodo be paired with Vice President Jusuf Kalla in the 2019 presidential election.

It would not be possible to endorse Kalla as Jokowis running mate as it could violate the 1945 Constitution, PDI-P secretary-general Hasto Kristiyanto said.

Kalla has been the vice president for both Jokowi and his predecessor, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. Article 7 of the Constitution bans a president and vice president from contending the election after serving for two periods.

It is the regulation that bars him from running again, said Hasto on the sidelines of the PDI-Ps closed door national working meeting on Saturday.

With Kallas re-nomination unlikely, Hasto said he would make sure that the ruling party would work closely with Kalla in finding the best running mate for Jokowi because of Kallas thorough knowledge of the challenges that the country is facing.

Hasto said he was convinced that discussions between the party and Kalla would be constructive, citing good relations between Kalla and PDI-P leader Megawati Soekarnoputri.

We will definitely involve Pak [Jusuf Kalla] in the process.

Political lobbying to find Jokowis running mate intensified on Friday after the PDI-P officially announced its endorsement for the incumbent candidate.

Four political parties  the Golkar Party, the United Development Party (PPP), the Hanura Party and the NasDem Party  preceded the ruling party in making the declaration. Like the PDI-P, these parties have also proposed to nominate their own members as Jokowis running mate.

Speculation is rife that Jokowi is considering appointing Kalla, his running mate in 2014, as his vice presidential candidate in 2019 to avoid upsetting some of the political parties that support him.



Jokowi, however, has said he would consult with his coalition partners about the vice-presidential candidate. (ahw)Share this article Whatsapp

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Linkedin Callistasia Anggun Wijaya (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sun, February 25, 2018 16:35 1300 2c798a31c212039f000dc5df9c737b7f 1 City Lake-Sunter,SusiPudjiastuti,Sandiaga-Uno,North-Jakarta Free

After becoming the talk of the town for weeks, Jakarta Deputy Governor Sandiaga Uno and Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Susi Pudjiastuti finally had a race to cross Lake Sunter, North Jakarta, on Sunday.

The race stemmed from her quip during a visit to Lake Leman, also known as Lake Geneva, in November, in which she said lakes in Jakarta, such as Lake Sunter, if properly managed, could be as beautiful as Lake Geneva.

Sandiaga took it as a challenge and promised to clean up the lake so that both of them can have a race across it.

At the opening of the Lake Sunter Festival on Sunday, Susi -- who was paddleboarding -- outraced Sandiaga who swam across the lake. Thousands of people turned up to watch the race, which started at around 9:23 a.m. and finished at 9:50 a.m.

The deal that was made earlier was that if Susi won the city administration would clean all lakes and reservoirs in Jakarta, but if Sandiaga won she would take him to Wakatobi, Southeast Sulawesi, which marine park is known as a popular diving site.

After finishing the race, Susi said aside from the clean up, the Jakarta administration should allow residents to visit the lake for free.

"If the administration asks for an entrance fee, we shall drown them," she said jokingly.

Due to her ruthless punishment of poachers, the minister is famous for her drowning remark. (wit)Share this article Whatsapp

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Linkedin Suzauddin Rubel and Shafiqul Alam (Agence France-Presse) Cox's Bazar/Dhaka  Sun, February 25, 2018 16:30 1300 2c798a31c212039f000dc5df9c737291 2 SE Asia #Myanmar,#MyanmarRohingya,#Rohingya,#RohingyaCrisis,#Bangladesh,#RefugeeCrisis,#refugees Free

Hundreds of desperate Rohingya Muslims are still pouring over the Myanmar border into Bangladesh every week, bringing harrowing accounts of torture and murder, six months after a military crackdown sparked the massive refugee crisis.

One of the recent arrivals, Nur Mohammad, said his village in Myanmar's Rakhine state was surrounded by Buddhist vigilantes for days before they were allowed to leave.

"The Moghs [Buddhists] torched our houses, kept us confined and starving," Mohammad said. "Villages are razed to the ground. We walked for days through mountains to reach here."

Thirty-year-old Enayetullah was among the 200 Rohingya who crossed the Naf river into Bangladesh on Friday. Most of his neighbours had left earlier, part of a 700,000-strong Rohingya exodus since August 25, leaving behind desolate and burned-out villages.

"We stayed all these months hoping the situation will be fine. But in recent weeks, security forces have taken away our young men. If they abduct 10, only one returns," Enayetullah told AFP.

Enayetullah also accused Myanmar security forces of torching his shop, prompting him and his three brothers to flee their home in Mognapara village near the town of Buthidaung. The military crackdown in the north of Rakhine has been termed "ethnic cleansing" by the United Nations and the United States.

While Bangladesh and Myanmar talk of repatriating the refugees, the influx continues. Some days 200 people cross the border, on others a few dozen make the perilous journey. More than 2,500 have entered the overflowing camps in Bangladesh so far in February.

Hundreds of Rohingya villages have been torched in the crackdown, according to refugees and monitoring groups.

Human Rights Watch said Friday that another 55 villages have been razed since November.

The Rohingya have been systematically stripped of their legal rights in mainly Buddhist Myanmar in recent decades and face rampant discrimination.

Myanmar denies seeking to eradicate the minority but refuses to give UN investigators access to an area where thousands of Rohingya are believed to have been killed.

In November, Bangladesh and Myanmar signed an agreement to repatriate some 750,000 Rohingya over two years. Last week Dhaka sent a list of 8,000 names to Myanmar for verification.

But Rohingya leaders bluntly refuse to return.

The UN says anyone who goes back must be a volunteer, while Myanmar shows no sign of accepting the Rohingya as full citizens.

"If they send us back, we'll be tortured or killed. We would rather be killed here in Bangladesh. Here, at least I'll get a Muslim burial," said Mohammad Elias, whose group has staged protests against repatriation in recent weeks.

According to the UN, since the repatriation deal was signed on Nov. 23, 2017, nearly 70,000 Rohingya have arrived in Bangladesh through different routes in and near Cox's Bazar district.

"Those who came in recent days said they were tortured," Mainuddin Khan, Teknaf town police chief, told AFP.

Some Rohingya who remained in Rakhine's three main Muslim districts said the situation has improved in parts of the region, but life in the empty villages was unbearable.

Maun Maung Tin, a Rohingya from Maungdaw, said it was impossible to buy or sell goods and they were afraid to complain to authorities.

"The new refugees say that they feel unsafe, threatened and harassed at home, in villages that are often abandoned," said Kate Nolan, coordinator for Doctors Without Borders (MSF) in Bangladesh.

Aid agencies say there is still a critical risk of life-threatening diseases in the overcrowded camps in Bangladesh, where most refugees live in flimsy tarpaulin-and-bamboo huts.

A new threat looms with the cyclone season that starts in April. The massive storms have killed hundreds of thousands along the coast in the past five decades.

"We are concerned about the nature of the shelters, how robust they are and if they are really prepared and equipped for the heavy rains," said MSF's Nolan.

Despite the cyclone risk, the Rohingya say they are unwilling to go back.

"At least there is adequate food here and there is no one to kill or torture you," said Enayetullah.In Dark River, a dull premise can only go so far.

Though dramatic pauses can do wonders for even the hammiest script, a film becoming more pause than play will bring its downfall. Such is the case for Clio Barnard's Dark River, a tale of familial discord, tenancy applications, farming routines and dreadful weather.

Set against the backdrop of the beautiful Yorkshire Dales, filmed here to look as unappealingly bleak as possible, watching the film is akin to having a middle-aged Northerner talk to you about how to tend a farm in the winter.

Its premise alone is tearfully boring. A young woman returns to her childhood home, a farm run by her brother, after her father dies. Once arrived, she tries to inherit the farm by filing for a tenancy application. Riveting stuff.

To the audience's shock horror, the brother is not keen on this idea and pushes back, filing a tenancy application of his own. How awe-inspiring. In between, many long, arduous sequences detailing the process of sheep-shearing, sheep-herding, and sheep-killing. Sean Bean also features.

Clio Barnard's style when attacking this script puts far too much emphasis on atmosphere. To say the film is overly thoughtful would imply that it is, in fact, thinking. It's pensive, often to an exhausting degree, with entire scenes being devoted to staring into the distance or walking across a field, but hardly any describable events actually take place.

Barnard fetishises dreariness as though it were cinematic gold dust. Rain lashes against the windows of the house, thunder cracks across the landscape, and for some reason absolutely nobody thinks to turn the lights on in the house. It's like living through a 90-minute power cut in winter.

Barnard tries to draw dramatic blood from a stone-like script, rarely succeeding. The writing is rushed, thoughtlessly pitting the two characters against each other in consistently tepid confrontations. Hitting the ears like a local drama society production, the film so rarely gets under its central duo's skins.

The brother, Joe, in a sulky performance from Mark Stanley, stomps around sullenly, whilst Ruth Wilson's unexceptional Alice skulks around avoiding the ghost of their father, played by Sean Bean.

Seen through flashback as being all too familiar with his daughter, the father hangs like a spectre in Alice's life, but does little else. Once Alice's plight is established, it develops no further. Instead, Barnard repeats herself, offering little more than emptiness about the past's grip on us far after we leave it, as the film bitterly scrapes through to its thudding climax.

Through the fog of poorly-lit histrionics, there are glimpses of stubborn masculine workmanship being insidiously dangerous to rational thinking. Alice's disturbing relationship with her father, the immovable ire of her brother in the face of sensible financial thinking, and perhaps her struggle to live as a woman in a systemically male industry and as a girl in an otherwise male family? Barnard's intention is eventually apparent but it's buried in muddy angst and over-reliance on gaseous tension.

Dark River is out now, distributed by Arrow Films.Adrienne Yong, City, University of London

British citizens living across Europe are waiting to see if an upcoming ruling by the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) could give them a bit more certainty about their rights after Brexit.

via shutterstock.com Once an EU citizen, always an EU citizen?

A Dutch court in Amsterdam recently asked the European court for clarification in a case brought by five British nationals, settled in the Netherlands. They wanted to know if they could keep their EU citizenship, once the UK leaves the EU.

If the court finds in the British citizens favour, it could change the face of Brexit.

About 1.3m people who were born in the UK now live in EU countries outside the UK. These people, and anyone else with British nationality, are all EU citizens because of Article 20 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU). It states that: Every person holding the nationality of a member state shall be a citizen of the union.

While there has been a lot of media attention on what will happen after Brexit to the three million EU citizens who are living in the UK, many British citizens living in the EU are also rightly concerned about what will happen to them. British citizens could also have to leave other EU member states if, after Brexit, there is no adequate deal reached on their status as residents of other EU member states.

A possible game changer

If successful in this case, British citizens may be able to keep some, or even all of their rights after Brexit. This would also favour British citizens at home in Britain who would continue to benefit from some or all of their current rights which they enjoy because of their EU citizenship status. These include moving to live in other EU member states, or even simply not needing to get a visa to travel to the EU.

What makes the argument of the claimants in the case potentially quite strong is that according to a 2001 ruling by the CJEU , EU citizenship is destined to be the fundamental status of nationals of member states. The CJEU will need to consider whether EU citizenship is so fundamental that it shouldnt be so easily taken away.

They have ruled on this in the past. In one 2010 case , an Austrian national called Janko Rottmann wanted to become a German citizen. Austria does not allow dual nationality, so Rottmann gave up being Austrian. Unfortunately for him, German authorities found out that he had a criminal record that he had hid from them, so denied him Germany nationality. Without any nationality, or more importantly, nationality of any EU member state, he also did not have EU citizenship status.

The CJEU decided that if an individual is deprived of their EU citizenship status, it needed to be for a proportionate reason. This suggested to many that the court took EU citizenship status seriously.

Legal and political roadblocks

But there are other obstacles for the claimants. Like the entirety of Brexit itself, this case is unprecedented and it is unclear how the CJEU judges will react. They may simply throw out the case altogether , because it is still too early to decide anything on Brexit. The court has previously refused to consider anything hypothetical, for the simple reason that it does not have enough information. The judges may decide that depriving British citizens of their EU citizenship because of Brexit could, overall, be proportionate.

The process of withdrawing as a member state from the EU is not only a legal issue but also a political one. Brexit and how it will look is not supposed to be in the courts hands, but rather in those of the negotiators. While the questions are valid ones for British citizens living elsewhere in the EU to ask, the Court of Justice of the EU is not the right place to look for answers.

There are political alternatives on the table. One member of the European Parliament, Charles Goerens, suggested associate citizenship for all ex-member states of the EU for an annual fee. However, I believe such associate citizenship is problematic for both political and practical reasons.A truly comprehensive guide of every dessert in London could probably wrap around the city itself. Instead, here is a selection of some of the quirkiest and most delicious sugary delicacies that are a must on your next trip to the capital.

Following the cookie dough trend that skyrocketed in the US, Naked Dough is the UKs first cookie dough cafe which, in its few years of existence, has taken London by storm. Head to one of their quirky cafes in Westfield, Shoreditch or Oxford Circus to get an indulgent scoop of cookie dough in flavours ranging from Unicorn Food to Emoji Poos.

2. Chin Chin Labs

Since 2010, Chin Chin labs has been pushing the boundaries of frozen indulgence by making ice cream with liquid nitrogen. Located in Camden and Soho, all their ice cream is organic and made in-shop. Go simple with a scoop of the good stuff or try concoctions like the Sticky Toffee Sundae or toasted Marshmallow hot chocolate.



Wherever you are in London, you wont be far from one of Lolas cupcake stands or stores. Their delicious cupcakes are as beautiful as they are delicious - the perfect pick me up during a long day wandering around the city. Lolas are famous for their red velvet cakes, but with decadent flavours like black forest and sherbet fizz, youll be spoiled for choice. Bonus: they sell an array of Vegan and wheat free cupcakes too.

4. Crosstown Doughnuts

Crosstown takes spherical confectionary to a whole new level with their divine sourdough doughnuts. Their sleek aesthetic and inventive flavours, ranging from Blood Orange & Pistachio to Mississippi Mud Pie, are making their sugary mark on the city. Head to one of their locations in Soho, Camden, Shoreditch or Picadilly, to pick up a boxor two.

Located in the Boxpark in Shoreditch, this petite dessert bar packs a big punch with elaborate soft serve creations and freak shakes that will be the highlight of your week. Try their charcoal soft serve with copious toppings of candy floss and popping candy or a peanut butter shake with roasted marshmallow and popcorn.

Becoming one of the most respected dessert makers in London, Yolkins giant macaron ice cream sandwiches are a wonder to behold. They are closed until spring this year, so keep an eye out on their social media channels for when you can grab one of these masterful treats at their different pop-up locations. Dont dawdle, they sell out fast!

Last but by no means least, the Cereal Killer Cafe is an iconic sweet tooths haunt. Take a seat among the retro interiors in Shoreditch and choose your perfect cereal concoction from up to 100 different varieties of cereal brands, 12 kinds of milk and 20 toppings for a sugary kick like no other. A trip to London wouldn't be complete without it.Having established a comfortable new rhythm with his former PA turned partner, Robin Ellacott, Strike's private investigation business is thriving - that is, until he becomes the catalyst of a gruesome game of vengeance and murder.From the very offset of the episode, as in previous instalments, the mood of the case is established immediately. Having left Robin to catch up with friends, Strike goes to meet a potential client at a very shady building in Whitechapel. At the same time, a young girl heads for the same location, seemingly there to meet with Strike. Our suspicion lingers as we follow the CCTV footage of both figures entering the building, which is dark and empty - just to add to the ominous atmosphere. We lose track of Strike, only to watch as the young woman quite literally step into her own murder scene before the opening credits. If there's one thing that has been consistent in the run of these adaptations based on the Robert Galbraith novels, it's that each story has opened with the tension raised high.The next day, Robin and Strike's easy workflow is abruptly shaken by an unexpected parcel, addressed to Robin, containing a severed human leg. As the police are called in to investigate, a note is found containing the lyrics of a Blue Oyster Cult song which, creepily enough, was a favourite of Strike's mother. The detective is further spooked by a scar on the leg that is eerily reminiscent of something he saw in a previous case. For much of the episode, there is a sense that Strike and Robin are constantly being followed, adding to our sense of unease. Picking up on the attentive clues pertaining to his own history, Strike determines a list of suspects with a grudge against him, whilst also having to deal with a sudden decline in business, interest from the press and the ever-obtuse investigations led by DI Wardle. The first suspect, Noel Brockbank, is a paedophile who abused his own daughter and threatened to cut her legs off if she told anyone - the scar replicated on the severed leg echoes the 'warning' Noel branded on her. During his military investigation, Strike had a tumultuous encounter with Brockbank which led to the latter vowing revenge on the detective. The second suspect, Donald Laing, is an ex-squaddie who Strike sent to jail after uncovering the extent of his physical abuse towards his wife and child. The third, Jeff Whittaker, holds a particularly personal (and mutual) grudge with Strike, as the man who seemingly (despite his acquittal) played a hand in the death of Strike's mother. Meanwhile, the strain between Robin and her fiancee Matthew finally reaches breaking point, after the relentless jealousy he harbours towards Strike leads him to inadvertently reveal an unfaithful encounter he had with one of their mutual friends. To add to the betrayal, we also learn that Robin was once a victim of sexual assault, having barely escaped with her life after an attack in her uni days, and that it was during this time that Matthew was unfaithful. Aggrieved and shaken by the disturbing developments at work, Robin goes on a slight bender before Strike finds her. The warm-hearted chemistry between Tom Burke and Holliday Grainger only percolates further in this episode, as Strike and Robin grow closer in the face of such troubling reminders of the past. Sexual assault and abuse towards women seems to be the thread with which all of Strike's suspects are stringed together, but the way in which the episode deals with the subject matter is, thankfully, quite sensitive. Having faced off with Whittaker and tracked down clues on the whereabouts of Laing and Brockbank, the duo's investigation begins to take traction, only to be impeded by the police's own discoveries. The episode ends on an uneasy note as DI Wardle reveals the identity of the young women who was murdered in the Whitechapel building and the increasing 'evidence' that frames Strike as a culprit... Once again leaving us at a tempting and all too worrisome cliffhanger, it's good to have Strike back - even if his good name hangs in the balance.Did You Know Our Quarterback Used to be a Golfer?On February 28, Strand Book Stall, Mumbai's iconic bookstore, will down its shutters, marking the end of its 70-year stint.

Two days before it bids goodbye, I approached the storewhich was clearing its stock of over 10,000 books through a final clearance sale at 50 per centand saw an overwhelming crowd gathered around its precincts and an equally high number of people inside, making it difficult to even walk, leave alone browse through the shelves. It was very rare to see so many people at the bookstore, which, at any given day, barely had three or four enthusiasts dropping by its cosy and intimate confines.

"You never came to me while I was alive, and now as I am about to die, you come to me and ask me to talk," says the managing partner of the store, Vidya Virkar, with a sombre expression on her face, as she refers to a poem sent to her by a friend. "Why now?" she asks me before adding, "Depleting footfalls was the main reason that we decided to shut shop, and as we announce closure, people trample to come to us, so much so that there's hardly any time to breathe, literally.

As I await my turn to meet Vidya who is cosily ensconced in a chair on the mezzanine floor of her book stall at Mumbai's Fort area, I see that she is engaged in an animated conversation with another woman, presumably in her 50s. After about 20 minutes, the ladies came up to me and ask if I could click a picture for them, to which I readily obliged. Later, Vidya tells me that the woman in question was none other than Maxy Cooper, the daughter of the man who gave Vidya's father and founder of Strand Book Stall, the late T. Shanbagh, his first space at Strand cinema, marking the beginning of the future book business. "I saw her and met her for the first time in my life right now. I didn't even know she existed. She must have come to know that we were shutting down and somehow googled the address and come all this way from her house at Napeansea road.

Somehow, both families have come a full circle. "Strand cinema has shut down; now, Strand bookstall too takes the plunge," she says, her eyes moist.

Shanbagh had set up a kiosk in Strand cinema in 1948 and he kept the name when he moved to a bigger shop which he ran till he passed away in 2009. During this time, Strand emerged as the place where students, scholars, bibliophiles, writers and many well-known political personalities purchased their books. Nehru is supposed to have shopped there, as did Manmohan Singh, who was the governor of the Reserve Bank of India, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, Vikram Sarabhai and many others.

But the decision to call it quits was not a sudden one. Vidya took over the reins of her father's business in the late 90s, as a UK-returned wide-eyed youngster, had earlier shut down six more branches including the ones at Infosys and Wipro campuses and another bookshop at Bengaluru. "We have been going through tremendous losses. People want to shop for books online and it is not possible for a bookshop like ours to survive. In fact, even foreign titles are now just a click away. We aren't as much in demand as we had been, say, during my father's time."

Vidya had first feared for the future of the bookstall when retail chains such as Crossword and Landmark came into play more than a decade back. But she says her father had reassured her saying that "none of them can match us at Strand." But the online revolution hit the nail on its head.

We tried what we could to keep going, but the landscape has changed now.

So, we decided that its time to let go, says Vidya, who has been running the business with her brother Arun since Shanbhags demise.

News reports of the bookstall's closure, which was first announced through Twitter, are all over the internet and social media. Vidya says she has been flooded with calls from well-wishers, with mixed reactions; some wished her a smooth closure, while others were infuriated at her decision. "A lady came up to me, questioning my audacity to shut shop. She said she had been a regular at our shop and couldn't imagine a time when we were no longer around." Parth Dedhia, a sexagenarian who retired from the army as a doctor, told me that he was baffled at how people were reacting. "Just talking about the 70-year-old bookstore is not enough when one comfortably clicks online to buy books. It is simply fake emotions. If they feel so terribly about it, they should have said it when the book business was declining."

To book lovers, as well as students, Strand was a treasure trove; an eclectic book place where one was bound to find not just bestsellers, but books across genres and sometimes books that were carefully scouted for the discerning reader, which were not available anywhere else. Mayur Davies, a 40-year-old engineer working at Vikhroli, says, "I could always depend on finding my subject specific books here, and also books from Russian literature and translations, which are unavailable elsewhere."

Hrushikesh Sonsurkar, a finance professional working in Mumbai, reminisces how his grandmother used to get him to the Strand book fest at Sunderbhai Hall when he was a teen, to return with bags full of discounted books which he would devour days on end. "Strand Book Stall was a known name, especially in households that valued reading," he tells me.

Vidya agrees and says that her father who had "an incredible choice and an eye for the right book" had deliberately chosen to limit bestseller books to just one shelf so that other books of varied topics and subject areas could be accommodated to assist cross-pollination."We were known to be title-rich, and so we had no problem ordering all kinds of books that were out there. Having been a voracious reader himself, he instinctively knew what kind of book one would love to read. So, in 1948, when he was allotted a space at the cinema, he contacted UK publishers and brought in literature by foreign authors. India was just opening to the world outside at that time. For instance, he bought 1000 copies of Dr Zhivago by Boris Pasternak, explained to everyone who dropped by as to why the book was so important. People started trusting him because he was knowledgeable and honest."

Some of the most distinguished books that Shanbagh curated himself include Ideas: A History of Thought and Invention from Fire to Freud, by Peter Watson, The Art of India by C. Sivaramamurti, and so on.

The seed for the book business was sowed in Shanbagh's mind when, in the pre-independence era, he was once caught browsing through a book in a bookshop and asked to leave.

As I'm about to leave, I'm told that the love that the bookstore received the past few days was indeed the right epitaph for Strand.

I picked up a picture-heavy coffee table book on Mumbai, the city of dreams, as a memento.India today called for bringing changes in Geneva-based World Trade Organisation (WTO) to transform the global economy.

Commerce and Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu said that the global trade has benefitted all the nations in terms of creation of jobs and promoting economic activities.

"Now the question is whether we should make WTO better or forget it. Organisations need reformation all the time and it needs to be changed with change in times," he said here at the CIIs Partnership Summit.

Prabhu said the WTO was created on certain solid principles including democracy and transparency and even the smallest country has a say in the 164-member organisation.

"That is something which is a very unique characteristic. Therefore, we must bring in transformation in the WTO itself to transform the world economy. To bring that transformation, we have to put constant efforts," he said.

As part of such efforts, Prabhu said, India is organising a mini-ministerial meeting on March 19 and 20.

India has invited representatives from several countries to discuss, debate and find out ways of how to move forward, he added.

"This forum is not meeting one against the other. It is not against any country in the world. This is congregation, which will be represented by all countries in the world," the minister said.

The meeting, a sort of mini-ministerial, has been convened by India in the aftermath of failure of trade talks at Buenos Aires last year on account of differences among the members of the World Trade Organisation (WTO).

India has invited ministers from the US, European Union, Australia, China, New Zealand and several African countries.

The talks at the WTO's 11th ministerial conference collapsed after the US went back on its commitment to find a permanent solution to the public food stockholding issue, a key matter for India.

In a separate session, he said after achieving ease of doing business targets, we should move to peace of doing business as companies should enjoy doing the business.With the news of actor Sridevi's passing, tributes flew in thick and fast. Actor Priyanka Chopra tweeted, "I have no words. Condolences to everyone who loved #Sridevi. A dark day. RIP." Union Minister Smriti Irani tweeted, "Sridevia powerhouse of acting, a long journey embellished with success comes to a sudden end. My condolences to her loved ones and fans (sic)."

But the most heartfelt tribute came from actor Kamal Haasan who grieved for the departed actor and reminisced about his long association with her in a three-minute video.

"Sridevi's astounding talent was not luck. It was well deserved. I have seen her as a teen. She developed every day, and I was astounded by her climb. I was very fond of her and she was very fond of me. She has acted in almost all languages. The moments we had together were almost always in film shootings. The kind of dedication she had matched mine. I think I saw her last month. Although we are not prone to showing emotions, we hugged each other. Sadma song rings in my ears now. I think it is a great lullaby for the talented, beautiful Sridevi. She had a happy life, he said.

Sridevi passed away on Saturday night in Dubai due to cardiac arrest.

The actor was in UAE along with her husband Boney Kapoor and her younger daughter Khushi to attend a family wedding. Born as Shree Amma Yanger Ayyapan, Sridevi was known for her iconic roles in Hindi movies like Chandni, Lamhe, Mr India, Chaalbaaz, Nagina, Sadma, and many more. The Padma Shri awardee actress had also made a mark with her stellar performances in Tamil, Telugu, Hindi, Malayalam and Kannada films.

In 2012, Sridevi returned to films after a 15-year-long hiatus with Gauri Shinde's movie English Vinglish. The actress was last seen in Bollywood movie Mom in 2017, Her daughter Janhvi is set to make her Bollywood debut this year with Karan Johar's directorial Dhadak.

(Inputs from agencies)Come April, the opposition in the Rajya Sabha may lose its edge in the numbers game and the power to stall any government bill, as the ruling BJP-led NDA coalition is set to catch up with its rivals, though a clear majority will elude them for a while more.

As 58 MPs, including three nominated and one independent, are set to retire in April, the Rajya Sabha arithmetic is going to change. It is set to favour the NDA, and the trend may continue in the elections to the Upper House later too with the BJP having solid majorities in a number of state Assemblies, especially the ones it won after the 2014 Lok Sabha polls.

With this, while the Congress-led opposition's numbers will come down to around 115 from the present 123, the numbers of the BJP, its allies and sympathisers together would climb to around 109 from the present 100-odd members.

And the gap, once wide enough to let the opposition invariably have its say, will keep narrowing further in the coming months.

Of the 55 retiring members (excluding those nominated), 30 belong to the opposition camp, while 24 belong to the BJP and allies. Of them, a large number of NDA candidates are set to return, while the opposition will lose a chunk of its members.

As things stand now, the Congress-led opposition has 123 MPs (including 54 of the Congress) in a house of 233 elected members (apart from 12 nominated), while the NDA has 83 members (including 58 of BJP) plus four independents who support the BJP (these are Rajeev Chandrashekhar, Subhash Chandra, Sanjay Dattatraya Kakade and Amar Singh).

Also, for all practical purposes, the All India Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), that has 13 members in the Rajya Sabha, is also with the NDA. This means the NDA's effective strength in the Upper House of Parliament is 100.

The gap was wider till just a few months ago. This meant that during any battle between the government and the opposition in the Upper House over bills and major issues, it was the opposition that invariably had its way. A recent example was the triple talaq legislation that the opposition stalled in the Upper House, demanding that it be referred to a select committee.

For over less than four years, the Narendra Modi government had faced quite a few embarrassments in the Rajya Sabha thanks to the majority of the opposition, forcing it often to take the money bill route to avoid a clash in the house. Under the Constitution, a money bill needs to be passed only in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha cannot stall it.

However, after April, the NDA will be in a far better position.

Of the 100-odd MPs belonging to the BJP and its allies, 24 are retiring. Which means, the government will be left with 76 MPs (including AIADMK). But at least 30 from the NDA are set to get re-elected. So the number will rise to 106.

Add three members that the government would nominate to the Upper House and the final NDA tally will roughly be 109 MPs.

Further, there are fence-sitters such as the Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS), the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) and the YSR Congress, which are not virulently against the BJP and would not oppose the government unless for very compelling reasons.

Now, the Congress and the rest of the opposition are set to lose 30 MPs (including one independent, A.V. Swamy) through retirement and would be left with around 93 members. The opposition may win roughly 22 seats, which means that its final tally after April is likely to be around 115 members.

The gap has clearly narrowed and the government may not be at the mercy of the opposition during crucial votes and can have its way in the Rajya Sabha if it musters its numbers by deftly wooing 'floater' MPs.

The three newly-elected Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) members may remain equidistant from both the BJP and the Congress, though the party is friendly with some of the major opposition parties like the Trinamool Congress.

In an interesting development recently, the AAP actively participated in the opposition's walkout and the day-long boycott of the Rajya Sabha over long intra-day adjournments of the Upper House by Chairman M. Venkaiah Naidu.

The AAP, which was not welcome at any opposition meetings earlier, particularly those held in Parliament House, was invited to speak at a joint opposition media interaction on the day. But nobody can be sure as to how long this bonding would last.

The party-wise tally of those retiring in April-May from the opposition's side include 13 from the Congress, six from the Samajwadi Party, three of the Trinamool Congress, two each of the Nationalist Congress Party and Biju Janata Dal and one each of the CPI(M), the Bahujan Samaj Party and the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha.

From the ruling side, 17 MPs of the BJP, three of the Janata Dal (United), one of the Shiv Sena and two of the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) are retiring.

In terms of state-wise vacancies to be created in April, the highest number is from Uttar Pradesh (9), followed by Maharashtra (6), Madhya Pradesh (5), Bihar (5), Gujarat (4), Karnataka (4), West Bengal (4), Rajasthan (3), Odisha (3), Andhra Pradesh (3), Telangana (2), Uttarakhand (1), Himachal Pradesh (1) and Chhattisgarh (1).

-IANSThe chairman of the Peace International School in Kochi, which was closed by the state government on charges of teaching communal hatred, was taken into custody on Sunday. A police team from Kochi is on the way to Hyderabad to arrest M.M. Akbar, for whom the state had issued a lookout notice.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had ordered shuttering the school recently after textbooks that were spreading communal hatred were detected. The district collector and the department of education had recommended the action.

The police filed a case in October 2016 after the district education officer filed a complaint.

A probe by the education department found that the school wasn't teaching from texts recommended by the NCERT, CBSE or SCERT.With an eye on the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP top leadership, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, will hold discussions with party chief ministers and deputy chief ministers in New Delhi on February 28, officials said on Sunday.

In the day-long deliberations, organisational preparedness, implementation of ambitious Central schemes, preparations for the Lok Sabha polls, the Centre's ambitious plan to provide health insurance to 10 crore poor families across the country and the 'one nation, one election' idea, are likely to figure prominently.

The BJP has 14 chief ministers and deputy chief ministers in states like Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat and Jammu and Kashmir. In Bihar and Jammu and Kashmir, the BJP is a coalition partner with the Janata Dal (United) and People's Democratic Party (PDP), respectively.

According to the officials, the BJP leadership has sent a five-point note to come prepared for the meeting, which has been a yearly affair after Modi took over the reins in 2014.

In a letter written by BJP general secretary Bhupendra Yadav, the chief ministers and the deputy chief ministers have been asked to present the details of booth-level preparations along with creation of 'Shakti Kendras' and appointment of 'Panna Pramukhs'.

The states have also been asked to present the status of implementation of Central schemes targeted at the poor, and socially and economically weaker sections like Jan-Dhan, Mudra, Ujwala, housing and others schemes.

A three-page note on 'one nation, one election' has also been sent asking the chief ministers to form committees under the leadership of a senior leader, either from government or organisation, so that the issue can gain momentum in public discourse.

They have also been asked to involve NGOs and other social youth organisations.

The meeting will take place on a day when the results for bypolls for two Assembly constituencies in Madhya Pradesh and one in Odisha will be announced and the budget will be presented by Madhya Pradesh government.

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan is likely to miss the inaugural session, which will be addressed by Amit Shah. He may attend the concluding session, which will be addressed by the prime minister.

The sources said a session for devising strategies to win 120 Lok Sabha seats, which the BJP has never won, will also be held.

A senior BJP leader involved in the party's strategy told reporters that the purpose of the meeting was to counter the anti-incumbency of the NDA government at the Centre and in the BJP-ruled states where the party is in power for long and had done exceptionally well in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, by winning majority of the seats.

In Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, Goa, Assam, Delhi, Jharkhand and Bihar, the BJP won majority of the seats in the 2014 polls.The number of cases in the Supreme Court where the Centre is a party has seen a spike in the last one year, with law ministry officials attributing the spurt to the note ban, GST and other taxation issues.

Between January 1 and December 31 last year, 4,229 cases were filed in the top court in which the government was a party as against 3,497 in 2016, according to the latest data from the law ministry.

Officials in the ministry said the spurt could be attributed to a slew of cases on government policies such as demonetisation, the GST regime and taxation issues in the last one year.

In 2014, when the NDA government came to power, the number of such cases was 4,748 but dipped to 3,909 in 2015.

From January 1 to February 22 this year, 859 such cases have already been filed in the apex court.

A number of cases relate to demonetisation, announced in November 2016, GST which came into effect last year and other taxation issues, a ministry functionary said.

According to the data, 3,909 cases where the Union of India is a party were filed between January 1 and December 31, 2015, 4,772 cases in 2013 and 4,149 in 2012.

While there has been a rise in litigation over such matters, the number of law officers representing the Union of India has dwindled.

Though the number of law officers representing the government in the Supreme Court is set to go up from six to 10 next week, so far there is no word on who would become the next solicitor general.

A law ministry file recommending the names of Aman Lekhi, Madhvi Diwan, Sandeep Sethi and Bikramjeet Banerjee as additional solicitors general has reached the Prime Minister's Office for a final approval.

Sources in the government said the final nod of the Appointments Committee of Cabinet on the four names was likely next week.

After Ranjit Kumar resigned as the solicitor general in October last year, the key post has been lying vacant and so far there is no word from the law ministry on who would be appointed to the post.

P.S. Patwali and N.K. Kaul had decided against a second term as additional solicitors general when their terms ended last July.

Maninder Singh, Tushar Mehta, P.S. Narasimha, Pinky Anand and Atmaram Nadkarni are the other ASGs.

Besides Attorney General K.K. Venugopal, five ASGs represent the Centre in the apex court. There are nine other ASGs who appear in various high courts.

Officials pointed out that since there are not many law officers, sensitive cases are also being handled by senior advocates who are on the law ministry panel.It is a virtual free run for prisoners inside the high-security Central Jail in Srinagar where nearly 300 unauthorised mobile phones are operational with the inmates of the jail and where radicalisation of undertrials and petty criminals is posing a growing threat, according to an official report.

The report has been shared with the Jammu and Kashmir Home Department from time to time but action appeared to have not been taken to check this trend.

These issues have come to light during an internal probe being carried out in the aftermath of the escape of a dreaded Lashker-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorist, Mohammed Naveed Jhatt, a Pakistani national, who fled from police custody on February 6 after killing two policemen.

According to a state intelligence report, which was submitted to the state home department, nearly 300 mobile phones are operational within the jail premises, which has become a den for radicalisation of youths lodged for petty crimes.

The then Director General of Prisons S.K. Mishra, who was shifted after the dramatic escape of Jhatt at the busy SMHS hospital, had responded to the report, saying that the mobile jammer installed in the jail by Electronics Corporation of India Limited (ECIL) has not been functioning.

"The technology adopted by the ECIL appears to be obsolete. The jammers are no longer able to block any signals or mobile phones," he said, adding that the matter was reported to the state home department through several communications but the jail authorities have "not received any response."

On radicalisation, the report said "the sermons are given on jihad... The basic tenets of religion are overlooked and emphasis is laid on radical aspects. Such religious sermons have a deep psychological impact on inmates and youth in particular, who develop inclination towards joining militancy or getting recruited as overground workers (for militants)," the report said.

There is no segregation of prisoners, and people arrested for charges under terrorism or separatism are treated with higher degree of respect by the inmates.

"The inmates are allotted barracks based on their affiliation of (terror) organisation," the report said, adding the decision is taken by old prisoners themselves.

It said the jail, which is expected to act as a correctional facility, is "instead being used as a place of religious indoctrination and militant recruitment."

"It is being observed that even petty criminals who spend some time in jails are today coming out as highly indoctrinated individuals with religious motivation to support or even join militant ranks."

Mishra, who is at present posted as chairman-cum-managing director of Jammu and Kashmir Police Housing Corporation, said "segregation of high-profile militants is unachievable in the Central Jail because of very poor and old structure."

Anyone can go to any barracks and intermingle and listen to the sermons in the barracks, he had replied.

-PTIContinuing to target the prime minister in his campaign in poll-bound Karnataka, Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Sunday asked why Narendra Modi, who had described himself as the country's "chowkidar", was "silent" on the PNB fraud.

He also asked Modi as to why he was not taking any action regarding the alleged sudden increase in turnover of a company owned by BJP president Amit Shah's son Jay Shah.

"Modi ji comes to Karnataka and speaks about corruption. He had told the country not to make him prime minister but make him the chowkidar (watchman) of the country," Gandhi said.

In a Congress rally here, he said, "On one side there is his party's (former) chief minister (B S Yeddyurappa) who had gone to jail and on the other side are the other four former ministers of the BJP government who had gone to jail; sitting in between them, Modi speaks about corruption."

"Shah's son converts Rs 50,000 to Rs 80 crore inthree months and the chowkidar of the country doesn't get it inquired and doesn't even utter a word," he alleged.

The BJP chief has rejected allegations of corruption against his son Jay Shah, who has filed a criminal defamation suit against a news portal which claimed his business fortunes had zoomed after the BJP came to power in 2014.

Gandhi is on the second leg of his three-day tour of northern parts of Karnataka. This is his second visit to the state in less than a fortnight.

Karnataka is slated to go to polls in a few months.

Hitting out at Modi on demonetisation, theCongress president said, "Modi ji told the country to stand in line (queues at banks) for the fight against corruption. You would havenot seen a single rich person or someone wearing suit-boot inthe line."

He alleged that all the "thieves" in India had converted their black money into white with the help of Modi.

Attacking the prime minister on the Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud issue involving jewellery designer Nirav Modi, Gandhi questioned his silence.

"Nirav Modi has indulged in the theft of Rs 22,000 crore, he runs away from the country, but the chowkidar of this country does not even utter a word," he said.

Breaking his silence over the Rs 11,400-crore fraud at India's second-biggest PSU bank, Narendra Modi on Friday had warned of strict action against those involved in financial irregularities and said loot of public money would not be tolerated.

Gandhi, invoking 12th century social reformer Basaveshwara from Karnataka, said "Nudidante Nade" (practise as you preach), and asked the prime minister to walk the talk on such issues.

"Modi ji Nudidante Nade," he said in Kannada.

Basaveshwara is revered by the dominant Lingayat- Veerashiva community. They are predominantly present in northernparts of the state.

He also accused the prime minister of "failing" to fulfil the election promise of providing two crore jobs to youths in the country every year.

The Congress leader also said despite schemes such as Make in India,Start-up India and Stand-up India, "whatever you buy, fromwatches to shirts to shoes, every thing is Made in China".The Chinese Communist Party which is at the heart of the power pyramid in Beijing paved the way for President Xi Jinping to continue in office beyond his second five-year term by altering the constitutional provision that sets a limit of two terms for the office of the President of China.

A bland statement from the official news agency Xinhua noted on Sunday: The Communist Party of China Central Committee proposed to remove the expression that the President and Vice-President of the People's Republic of China shall serve no more than two consecutive terms from the country's Constitution.

The removal of the two-term ceiling for President Xi is not unexpected and was anticipated even in October last when the party endorsed a second term for Emperor Xi , along with an amendment that added his name and ideology to the constitution. This significant addition to the constitution brought Xi Jinping on par with the party founder and the Great Helmsman Mao Zedong and his successor Deng Xiaoping.

The ideology that is associated with Xi is socialism with Chinese characteristics for a new era and with the latest amendment announced on Sunday, it is evident that the new era envisioned by Beijing will have a long term new helmsman in Xi Jinping.

This announcement to remove the two-term ceiling for the President and the Vice-President will have a very significant impact on the current distribution of power in China and marks the steady and determined consolidation by the Xi Jinping cluster.

The constitutional amendment comes ahead of the annual meeting of the Chinese parliament that opens on March 5, where Xi Jinping will be formally elected to his second five year term in office.

The current number two in the party hierarchy is Prime Minister Li Keqiang and the traditional division of responsibility has the PM being the economic czar and the hands-on political leader for a billion plus Chinese citizens. But all eyes in Beijing are on Wang Qishan, a close Xi confidante and the face of the anti-corruption drive that has seen many powerful heads roll over the last year.

In October 2017 at the 19th party congress, Wang, then 69 years old, had stepped down from the all powerful seven-member Standing Committee on reaching what is deemed to be the retirement age for senior Chinese political leaders. But in a move that did not go unnoticed at the time, Xi Jinping appointed Wang as a parliament delegate, thereby enabling his potential appointment as the Vice President (VP).

It is instructive to note that the Sunday amendment to the constitution refers to the two-term rule being lifted for both the President and the VP and this will lay the foundation for an extended Xi-Wang reign in current Chinese governance.

The primary inference that follows is that Xi Jinping will now combine three unfettered hatsthat of party supremo as general secretary; President of China, with no time limit; and the undisputed military leader who has purged many top generals for graft and thereby established his authority over the PLA.

There are some muted murmurs on social media in China about why such an amendment is not desirable but in my view, they will remain effete. The arrival of the new emperor in Beijing was on the cards and all of Chinas principal interlocutors, including India will have to deal with this visible consolidation of political and military power by the new helmsman.The UN Security Council on Saturday demanded a 30-day truce across Syria as rescuers in the countrys eastern Ghouta region said bombing had not let up long enough for them to count bodies during one of the bloodiest air assaults of the seven-year war.

Shortly after the unanimous vote by the 15-member council, warplanes struck a town in eastern Ghouta, the last rebel enclave near Syrias capital, an emergency service and a war monitoring group said. Warplanes have pounded the region for seven straight days while residents holed up in basements.

UN chief Antonio Guterres appealed on Wednesday for an immediate end to war activities in eastern Ghouta, where nearly 400,000 people have lived under government siege since 2013, without enough food or medicine.

While Syrian ally Russia supported the adoption of the UN resolution, Russian UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia cast doubt on its feasibility. Previous ceasefire deals on the ground have had a poor record of ending fighting in Syria, where President Bashar al-Assads military has gained the upper hand.

What is necessary is for the demands of the Security Council to be underpinned by concrete on the ground agreements, Nebenzia told the council after the vote. He later told reporters it was unrealistic to expect an immediate ceasefire and that the parties had to be encouraged to work for it.

After several days of delay and last-minute negotiations to win the support of Russia, the council adopted the resolutiondrafted by Sweden and Kuwaitdemanding hostilities cease for 30-days without delay to allow aid access and medical evacuations.

We accept that it might take a number of hours before it can all be fully implemented ... we just have to keep the pressure up, implementation is key now, Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom told Reuters.

Russia did not want to specify when a truce would start, so a proposal for the truce to begin 72 hours after adoption was watered-down to demand it start without delay. Further talks on Saturday added a demand for all parties to engage immediately to ensure full and comprehensive implementation.

As they dragged out the negotiation, the bombs from Assads fighter jets continued to fall. In the three days it took us to adopt this resolution, how many mothers lost their kids to the bombing and shelling? U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley told the council.

We are deeply skeptical that the (Syrian) regime will comply, Haley said.

Combating terrorism

A surge of rocket fire, shelling and air strikes has killed more than 500 people since Sunday night, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. The dead included more than 120 children.

The monitor said raids hit Douma, Zamalka and other towns there on Saturday, killing 40 people.

After the UN vote the two dominant rebel factions in GhoutaFailaq al-Rahman and Jaish al-Islam both committed to implement the truce and facilitate aid access, but also reiterated their right to respond to any attacks on them.

Medical charities have decried attacks on a dozen hospitals. The Syrian government and Russia say they only target militants. Moscow and Damascus have said they seek to stop mortar attacks injuring dozens in the capital, and have accused insurgents in Ghouta of holding people as human shields.

There was no immediate comment from the Syrian military.

Were combating terrorism on our territories, Syrian UN Ambassador Bashar Jaafari told the Security Council. Our government will reserve the right to respond as it deems appropriate in case those terrorist arms groups are targeting civilians in any part of Syria with even one single missile.

Jaafari said his government interpreted the resolution as also applying to Turkish forces in Afrin, and the operations of the anti-ISIL (Islamic State) coalition in Syria ... Israeli forces in Syria, especially the occupied Syrian Golan.

The truce demanded by the Security Council does not cover militants from Islamic State, al-Qaeda, and the Nusra Front.

First responders searched for survivors after strikes on Kafr Batna, Douma and Harasta, the Civil Defence in eastern Ghouta said on Saturday. The rescue service, which operates in rebel territory, said it had documented at least 350 deaths in four days earlier this week.

Maybe there are many more, said Siraj Mahmoud, a civil defence spokesman in the suburbs. We werent able to count the martyrs yesterday because the warplanes are touring the skies.

Buried under houses

As the bombs rain down, workers have struggled to pull people from the rubble, Mahmoud said. But if we have to go out running on our legs and dig with our hands to rescue the people, we will still be here.

A witness in Douma said he woke up in the early hours on Saturday to the sound of a squadron of jets bombing nearby. The streets have mostly remained empty.

The local opposition council said it was setting up emergency volunteer teams in several districts to reinforce shelters with sandbags and try to link them through tunnels.

Several previous ceasefire attempts have quickly unraveled during the multi-sided conflict, which has killed hundreds of thousands and forced 11 million people out of their homes.

Syrian state media said Ghouta factions fired mortars at districts of Damascus on Saturday, including near a school. Insurgent shelling wounded six people, it said, and the army heavily pounded militant targets in response.

The Ghouta pocket has become the wars latest flashpoint, after a string of rebel defeats and negotiated withdrawals. With Russian jets and Iran-backed militias, Assads military has restored state rule over the main cities across western Syria.

Insurgents in eastern Ghouta have vowed not to accept such a fate, ruling out the kind of evacuation that ended rebellion in Aleppo and Homs after bitter sieges.

Russia has blamed Nusra fighters, from al-Qaedas former Syria branch, for provoking the situation in Ghouta. The two main Islamist factions there in turn accuse their enemies of using the presence of a few hundred jihadist fighters as a pretext for attacks.Brexit is little more than a year away but there is mounting evidence its having a major impact on the number of European citizens looking to live and work in Britain.

Figures released this week show net migration  the difference between those coming into Britain and those leaving  from other European Union countries falling below 100,000 for the first time since March 2013. Separate figures show the number of EU nationals working in Britain increasing by 101,000, its lowest amount since September 2013.

Both indicate that the June 2016 vote to leave the EU has changed the dynamics of immigration into Britain, where the number of foreign arrivals and the perceived impact on local communities, housing, public services and wages was a key reason behind the Brexit vote.

Kallum Pickering, senior U.K. economist at Berenberg Bank, said Friday that Brexit is working already on the migration front, and that it may make the political calculus facing the British government a little bit easier.

It puts the government under less pressure than before to introduce restrictive migration policies in order to satisfy some voters demands for reduced inflows of workers from the EU, he said.

One of the pillars of being a member of the EU is the free movement of people to live and work anywhere in the EU. So a college graduate from, say, Romania, can pack a bag the day after graduation and go look for work anywhere else in the EU.

After Brexit, or at least after any transition that the British government agrees on with the EU for the period after official Brexit day on March 29, 2019, that freedom of movement will ostensibly end. As with so many other Brexit-related issues, its unclear what a future immigration system in Britain will look like but members of the government of Prime Minister Theresa May have said the country must remain open to foreign workers.

Brexit is not the only reason behind the turn in the migration and employment numbers.

The fact that many EU economies, and particularly those in the 19-country eurozone, are enjoying their strongest economic growth for over a decade has lessened the need for many to search for opportunities abroad. In 2017, the eurozone economy expanded by 2.5 percent, way ahead of Britains 1.7 percent.

At the height of the eurozone debt crisis, job opportunities were scarce in many countries, notably in Spain and Greece, where unemployment rose to around 25 percent.

So Britain, whose economy was growing more strongly than most in the EU, had a magnetic pull. In the two years to the Brexit vote, which also coincided with some of the darkest times financially in the eurozone, the net number of EU citizens working in Britain rose by an average of 250,000 a year.

Also, the relative attraction of Britain financially has diminished, indirectly because of the Brexit vote. After the vote, the pounds value sank, particularly against the euro. One pound is now worth around 1.14 euros, compared with 1.30 before  a big hit, especially for those sending money back home from Britain.

When a place loses its appeal, people vote with their feet, Berenbergs Pickering said.

For many parts of the British economy, the implications could be profound.

We are obviously watching whats happening, because we have had a fairly sharp move in terms of net flows in the course of the past 16 to 18 months, Bank of England Governor Mark Carney said.

Carney said a greater than anticipated fall in net immigration would affect the overall speed limit of the economy, the potential growth of the economy.

Agriculture is one sector that depends hugely on seasonal migrant labor, particularly from central and eastern EU countries.

Amid worries that fruit and vegetables will be left to rot, Michael Gove, the countrys environment minister and one of the most high-profile Brexit campaigners during the referendum, said this week that he fully understands industry concerns for the need for a post-Brexit seasonal agricultural workers scheme and promised to announce more details shortly.

Many public services, notably Britains National Health Service, also rely heavily on migrants from the EU, so the government will likely be careful in the Brexit discussions ahead.

Talks over the future trading relationship between Britain and the EU are reaching a key stage. The government is hoping to wrap up in the next couple of months an agreement on the transition, whereby the country maintains the free movement of labor for a period after Brexit as part of the bargain of retaining tariff-free trade.

(AP)Thousands of African asylum seekers and their local supporters are protesting against an Israeli plan to deport them.

The Israeli government has given the migrants until April 1 to leave the country for an unnamed African destination in exchange for $3,500 and a plane ticket, or they will be incarcerated indefinitely.

The Africans, nearly all from dictatorial Eritrea and war-torn Sudan, say they feel great appreciation for Israel, coupled with dread over the looming expulsions.

Israel considers the vast majority of the nearly 40,000 migrants to be job seekers and says it has no legal obligation to keep them. Critics have called the government plan unethical and a stain on Israels image as a refuge for Jewish migrants.

Organizers say some 15,000 gathered in south Tel Aviv Saturday.

(AP)We round up the Sunday newspaper share tips. This week, Midas considers events company Arena, the Sunday Times looks at Saga, and the Sunday Telegraph assesses G4S.

MAIL ON SUNDAY

Arena is one of very few companies to offer a comprehensive events service, says Midas in the Mail on Sunday.

In the past it primarily provided large marquees and similar structures, but has recently branched out.

At Cheltenham, it erects a permanent-looking 400ft triple-decker marquee, complete with lifts, a glass hand-railed staircase, attractive interiors, as well as tables, chairs, soft furnishings and even cutlery.

It means event planners just need to organise food, drink and guests.

Arena hopes to expand its presence in different areas around the globe to ensure its busy all year round, including regions where it is warm in the winter  such as Dubai and Kuala Lumpur  and expanding its presence in music festivals and cold-weather activities such as skating.

Results for 2017 will be announced in April and analysts expect revenues of 100 million, profits of 4.5 million and a 1.4p dividend, says Midas. This year, sales are set to rise to 107 million, with profits up 31 per cent to almost 6 million and a hike in the dividend to 1.8p.

Chief executive Greg Lawless is highly ambitious and has a well though-through expansion plan. He owns more than five per cent of the company, and a further 32 senior executives are tied in with shares and options.

At 60p the shares are a buy, says Midas.

>>>Read the full Midas column here

THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH

G4S is a contentious investment for some and rarely out of the headlines, says James Ashton in the Sunday Telegraphs Questor column.

However, judging it on a purely financial basis it is well worth buying, he says.

The outsourcing company has developed a system called Cash360, which lets retailers outsource their after-hours cashing up process.

Installation of machines in Walmarts American stores should be complete by July this year, and analysts at Deutsche believe the market under values the margin benefit of that contract.

Jefferies has also pencilled in a five per cent increase in the final dividend, he says.

G4S still has its issues. Shares are down 22 per cent since August, and it pulled down its annual revenue target in November after slow trading in the Middle East and India.

THE SUNDAY TIMES

Sagas move to a more profitable future will require patience, says John Collingridge in The Sunday Times column Inside the City.

On the plus side, Saga has managed to cut its debt pile from 700million to 460million since it listed.

However, boss Lance Batchelor stunned investors with a profit warning late last year and shares are yet to recover after crashing 25 per cent.

It has a long way to go to modernise and move to capital-light broking for its motor insurance customers.

Its realised on the late side that it must advertise heavily, while its new cruise ship will not enter service until summer next year.

It remains to be seen whether its new membership scheme will be enough to lure more customers and encourage existing ones to spend more.

Avoid, says Inside the City.A handful of small-scale household gas and electricity suppliers are at significant risk of failure, according to energy insiders.

Should a supplier flop - as Future Energy did earlier this month - it would plunge households into billing limbo and threaten consumers appetite for switching deals to save money.

Stronger competition is needed to break the dominance of the Big Six suppliers - British Gas, E.On, ScottishPower, npower, EDF Energy and SSE.

A handful of small-scale household gas and electricity suppliers are at significant risk of failure, according to energy insiders

But the worry now is that too many new entrants have flooded the arena, with some taking customer money upfront and operating as novices in a market that could swallow profits in a flash.

The number of new energy companies supplying British homes has increased by more than a third in little more than a year - from 48 in late 2016 to 66 now.

Joe Malinowski, of comparison website TheEnergyShop, says: Customers should be wary of companies asking for money upfront before they have even taken over the supply of gas and electricity to your home.

Some will rely heavily on your money while gambling on wholesale energy markets, without fixing deals in advance. They are at risk of going bust quickly, especially if they have minimal equity in the business acting as a buffer.

SUPPLIER OF LAST RESORT

When an energy provider goes bust, market regulator Ofgem appoints a supplier to take over customer accounts - a process known as supplier of last resort.

Households who are transferred to a new provider are placed on a deemed contract, which could be more expensive than the old deal because the new provider is taking on more risk and cost. Ofgem says any credit built up with the old supplier would be protected.

This safety net scheme has only been used twice in the last ten years. But both times have been in the last 15 months, coinciding with a boom in the number of new energy providers.

Most recently it was used for customers of Future Energy which ceased trading earlier this month. Its 10,000 customers have been shunted over to rival supplier Green Star Energy.

Advice: The Energy Shops Joe Malinowski

Previously the rescue rules were used for GB Energy Supply - back in November 2016 - when Co-operative Energy was chosen to absorb 160,000 customer accounts.

Ethical energy provider Brighter World Energy, which used its profits to establish electricity supply in remote African villages, also folded in December last year.

As a partner of not-for-profit provider Robin Hood Energy, owned by Nottingham City Council, a supplier of last resort was not needed. Customers were transferred over to Robin Hood Energy on the same terms.

But there could be more trouble to come as record numbers of customers abandon the Big Six and move to challenger brands.

Small and medium-sized companies netted 175,000 and 165,000 customers respectively in October last year - a rise of 92 per cent and 140 per cent from December 2016.

Of the 400,000 households who changed electricity tariffs in January this year, one quarter chose a small or mid-tier supplier.

Key steps for customers who want to change their deals l do not be deterred from finding a better tariff, even if the list of new entrants seems overwhelming. If you decide only to opt for a familiar brand name, a cheaper tariff is still likely to be available  especially for those who have never switched or have not for a while. Use a comparison website such as TheEnergyShop, uSwitch or comparethemarket to find a new deal. For further guidance about how to switch visit citizensadvice.org.uk/energy.

such as TheEnergyShop, uSwitch or comparethemarket to find a new deal. For further guidance about how to switch visit citizensadvice.org.uk/energy. Read customer opinions about individual suppliers before switching. You can get an idea of gripes and concerns on review website Trustpilot.

about individual suppliers before switching. You can get an idea of gripes and concerns on review website Trustpilot. Check whether a company asks for money upfront before it has even taken over your energy supply. This is an indication of a company being hungry for customers money because it has limited financial backing, which you may not be comfortable with.

before it has even taken over your energy supply. This is an indication of a company being hungry for customers money because it has limited financial backing, which you may not be comfortable with. Ask whether a supplier offers the Warm Home Discount . If you are on a low income or receive the Guarantee Credit element of Pension Credit you are eligible for a 140 discount on your electricity bill. You can see a list of energy companies signed up to the discount scheme at gov.uk/the-warm-home-discount-scheme.

. If you are on a low income or receive the Guarantee Credit element of Pension Credit you are eligible for a 140 discount on your electricity bill. You can see a list of energy companies signed up to the discount scheme at gov.uk/the-warm-home-discount-scheme. Wait a short while if you are being transferred to a new energy company because yours went bust. Delay comparing and switching until your account has been moved and the dust has settled.

if you are being transferred to a new energy company because yours went bust. Delay comparing and switching until your account has been moved and the dust has settled. Remember the Energy Switch Guarantee . It is free and ensures your new provider takes all responsibility for the switch within 21 days. This time-frame will in future be reduced to just one day. The old provider must send a final bill no later than six weeks after the switch and any credit owed must be refunded no later than 14 days after that. To find the list of participants in the guarantee, visit energyswitchguarantee.com/signatories.

Many young suppliers have built up their brands and are now established challengers to the Big Six. Often they represent good value for money and are recognised for good customer service. But experts say others have yet to prove themselves and it is likely they are not sitting on firm financial foundations.

Peter Earl, head of energy at switching website comparethemarket, says: There is a risk in choosing a start-up. Companies which are small, new and poorly capitalised may not have sufficient scale to meet their customers energy requirements.

The collapse of companies such as Future Energy and GB Energy Supply can make customers worry about switching away from a trusted, more established provider.

TOO EASY TO START AN ENERGY COMPANY

There is criticism of regulator Ofgem for too readily waving new providers through the licence application process.

Gillian Guy, of consumer group Citizens Advice, says: New entrants to the market should face greater scrutiny.

It is too easy for new firms to set themselves up as energy suppliers, often before they are able to provide good quality customer service.

Ultimately it is energy customers who pay the price when firms are not up to scratch.

Ofgem concedes that granting a new supplier a licence does not give an indication about the financial health of the company.

It says it only carries out checks on applicants to confirm they are not insolvent where possible. But a spokesman says it closely monitors suppliers conduct and any potential risks to consumers.

Malinowski says: The hurdles for setting up as an energy supplier are low.

Companies that already have a licence ready to go can simply be bought off the shelf.

An example of this is Supplier in a Box operated by Utiligroup - offering a new entrant everything it needs to get up and running.

It was behind Co-operative Energy which has flourished as a mid-tier provider.

Another customer was Tempus Energy, which closed its UK energy supply business following the Brexit vote in 2016. The company asked Ofgem to revoke its electricity supply licence and all of its customers switched elsewhere.

CUSTOMER SERVICE PROBLEMS

Householders comparing tariffs should be careful not to pick a deal on price alone.

Malinowski says: It is a minefield out there. If you have not heard of a company you have to do your research.

Check the terms and conditions for payment and read customer and energy expert reviews.

Though bigger energy providers field the highest proportion of complaints, when a small supplier hits a bump in the road often it does not have the resources to deal with problems swiftly.

For example, Nottingham-based gas and electricity supplier Iresa, which is being investigated by Ofgem over its treatment of customers, has struggled with large volumes of calls.

When The Mail on Sunday tried calling the company last week, it was 110th in the queue.

Despite the broad spectrum of customer experiences across the market, switching is still the easiest way to save significant sums of money on bills.

Earl adds: People should not be put off switching for two good reasons.

First, it is the best means of saving hundreds of pounds a year on your energy bill.

Secondly, if a company collapses, Ofgem will transfer your contract to a new provider and at no time should you lose power.Most companies dread being told their products suck. But for rival vacuum cleaner companies Dyson and SharkNinja it is the highest of compliments  and they are set to defend their suction power in a court battle.

US firm SharkNinja has doubled its market share in the UK in the past year. It now sells one in five upright vacuum cleaners in Britain.

The company tried to lure customers from Dyson with an advertising campaign that claimed two of Sharks cordless vacuum cleaners have better suction power than Dysons bestselling V8 model.

Battle: Dyson, founded by Sir James Dyson (pictured above), has filed a lawsuit

Dyson has now filed a lawsuit saying the claims are misleading.

However, SharkNinja insists its advertising campaign is fair and did not infringe Dysons trademarks. It complains that by resorting to court action Dyson is trying to undermine the advertising watchdog, which usually settles marketing disputes.

Sharks European boss Matt Broadway, a former Dyson employee, said: The industry is an aggressively competitive market and it is not unusual for this to get litigious.

'However, we are disappointed Dyson has brought litigation through the courts rather than seeking redress through the Advertising Standards Authority, which is set up to handle exactly this kind of dispute.

Invader: US company SharkNinja is cleaning up in the UK market

SharkNinja dropped its TV and online ads after Dyson filed the legal claim last September to take the heat out of the dispute.

The fierce rivals have previously sued each other in the US.

A Dyson spokesman said: Dyson takes action to protect ourselves against competitors misleading claims.[February 25, 2018] Mobile First Performance Marketing Company TAB Opens a New Office in South Korea

SEOUL, South Korea, February 25, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- TAB has started 2018 with exciting news of the opening of its new office in Seoul, South Korea. Sooah Lee has been announced as Senior Account Manager and started the growth of the new office. TAB is already present in Berlin, Santa Monica and India, a move into South Korea was a natural progression as it already has several clients in the region. (Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/645135/TAB_Logo.jpg ) TAB has big plans to expand the new office and create a new hub for widening operations in Asia. Sooah is proud of making ood progress and taking on the responsibility. Being the first employee in a new country is always a challenge but she expects TAB and herself to grow exponentially, and is excited to work with global intelligence. Sooah has already started with the expansion of local business and clientele, additionally in getting general things ready - translations, back and forth emails, and most importantly building a positive relationship with future and current partners.



To make the opening of the new office as smooth as possible, Scott Park, the Co-Founder & Chief Revenue Officer in TAB's Santa Monica office visited Seoul during one of the coldest weeks in South Korean history. Scott had this to share about the recent expansion - "South Korea has understandable, clear and orderly regulations familiar to the Western world and it was safest to start from there due to cost and productivity." Some of the noticeable things he experienced during his visit were the high usage of mobile phones, some carrying two phones around as well as Apple launching their first store in Seoul. If you are interested in working with TAB or joining the company you can email korea@tab.company and the team will be happy to meet you in Seoul.

Vera Belinskaya

vera.belinskaya@tab.company

+49-17684914809

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ][February 25, 2018] Nokia to bolster home Wi-Fi portfolio with acquisition of Unium

Press Release Unium expertise and IPR will bring field-proven mesh Wi-Fi technology to enhance Nokia's end-to-end solution for whole-home Wi-Fi

Unium's intelligent mesh technology delivers industry-leading, carrier-grade Wi-Fi performance, coverage and resilience, resulting in an unsurpassed gigabit home experience

Planned purchase of privately held Unium expected to close in Q1 2018 25 February, 2018 Espoo, Finland - Nokia today announced plans to acquire Unium, a US-based software company that specializes in solving complex wireless networking problems for use in mission-critical and residential Wi-Fi applications. Unium's software and intelligent mesh wireless technology complements and strengthens Nokia's end-to-end, whole-home Wi-Fi solution and supports Nokia's strategic objective of solving Wi-Fi problems in the home. Unium will bring Nokia field-proven, carrier-grade mesh technology that helps maximize in-home wireless networking speeds and ensures quality of experience across the entire home. Its underlying technology is already tested and used in a number of applications where high availability, performance and resilience is a must. Unium looks at the network, providing a fast, frustration-free and reliable Wi-Fi experience that simply works. Its Wi-Fi home solution is plug & play and highly intuitive. New devices can easily connect to the Wi-Fi network without degrading connectivity. Fast roaming gives consumers the ability to walk around the home without service interruptions. Unium's software offers intelligent mesh, band steering, fast roaming and a choice of Wi-Fi or Ethernet backhaul. It measures wireless performance in real time, and dynamically adjusts the network to improve the user's coverage and capacity. Unium's Wi-Fi software learns the specific capabilities and performance of each device (phone, tablet, etc.) so it can optimize each connection and provide a tailored customer experience. The intelligent mesh network enables gigabit-plus capacity throughout the home. Joining Nokia, Unium merges with a world leader in the connected home space with decades of experience in home networking and home devices, with more than 47 million home gateways installed worldwide. Nokia and Unium are ready to unlock the full potential of the connected home, creating a residential network that understands the people, devices and applications it serves. Together, they can deliver gigabit speeds not only to the home, but also throughout the home. Federico Guillen, president of Nokia's Fixed Networks business roup, said: "We look forward to having the Unium team join us. The home networking market is booming and whole-home Wi-Fi is a key enabler for this. Today's Wi-Fi solutions still have serious issues with sticky clients, interference, coverage gaps and capacity issues. With Unium inside, our Nokia Wi-Fi solution will deliver an unmatched user experience, going beyond what standard mesh Wi-Fi solutions deliver today."



Martha Bejar, CEO at Unium added: "Nokia is a global leader in creating customer-centric solutions and is at the heart of our connected world. The Unium team is excited to join Nokia and drive a unique and innovative customer experience through our intelligent Wi-Fi solution, making every customer-touch better." A demo of Unium software as part of Nokia's whole-home Wi-Fi demo will be shown at Mobile World Congress 2018 at Nokia stand 3A10 in Hall 3.

Unium was founded in 2002 and is a privately held company located in Seattle, Washington. The planned transaction is expected to close in Q1 2018, subject to customary closing conditions. Related links Nokia Wi-Fi webpage

Press release: Nokia enhances in-home Wi-Fi solution for Service Providers to provide faster, better, smarter network experience About Nokia

We create the technology to connect the world. Powered by the research and innovation of Nokia Bell Labs, we serve communications service providers, governments, large enterprises and consumers, with the industry's most complete, end-to-end portfolio of products, services and licensing. Nokia is enabling the infrastructure for 5G and the Internet of Things, and shaping the future of technology to transform the human experience. www.nokia.com Media Inquiries:

Nokia

Communications

Phone: +358 10 448 4900

Email: press.services@nokia.com Fixed Networks Communications

Phone : +1.732.312.8476

Email: mark.provost@nokia.com FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

It should be noted that Nokia and its businesses are exposed to various risks and uncertainties and certain statements herein that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, those regarding: A) expectations, plans or benefits related to changes in organizational and operational structure; B) expectations regarding restructurings, investments, capital structure optimization efforts, uses of proceeds from transactions, acquisitions and divestments and our ability to achieve the financial and operational targets set in connection with any such restructurings, investments, capital structure optimization efforts, divestments and acquisitions; and C) statements preceded by or including "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "foresee," "sees," "target," "estimate," "designed," "aim," "plans," "intends," "focus," "continue," "project," "should," "is to," "will" or similar expressions. These statements are based on management's best assumptions and beliefs in light of the information currently available to it. Because they involve risks and uncertainties, actual results may differ materially from the results that we currently expect. Factors, including risks and uncertainties that could cause these differences include, but are not limited to: 1) our ability to execute our strategy, sustain or improve the operational and financial performance of our business and correctly identify and successfully pursue business opportunities or growth; 2) general economic and market conditions and other developments in the economies where we operate; 3) our ability to achieve targeted benefits from or successfully achieve the required administrative, legal, regulatory and other conditions and implement planned transactions, as well as the liabilities related thereto; as well as the risk factors specified on pages 67 to 85 of our 2016 annual report on Form 20-F under "Operating and financial review and prospects-Risk factors" and in our other filings or documents furnished with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Other unknown or unpredictable factors or underlying assumptions subsequently proven to be incorrect could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. We do not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except to the extent legally required.

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]The device will only support a SIM if the SIM you are using is for their type of network. Either CDMA or GSM. So it is going to depend on where you got the phone through (what carrier) and where the SIM is from (again what carrier).



If the SIM and the phone are on different networks, then they won't work together. So once you know what network the phone is from you need to contact the carrier your SIM is through and ask them directly about if the phone will work on their network or not.Jackson County Comeuppance

Jury convicts man for road rage shooting that killed 19-year-old taking girlfriend home from ultrasound A Jackson County jury has convicted a 46-year-old Independence man who was charged in connection with the road rage shooting that left a 19-year-old man dead last summer. Early on Saturday morning, the jury found John C.

More Saturday Gunfire

KC police investigating shooting Saturday on city's south side Turner Twyman/KMBC SOURCE: Turner Twyman/KMBC Kansas City police are investigating a shooting Saturday afternoon on the city's south side. Police officers were called at 3:35 p.m. to the 8600 block of East 114th Street on a reported shooting. Authorities said they found one person with serious injuries. No other information has been released.

Serving Up Sadness

'This is very shocking' - Aspiring chef killed in KC put family first, relatives say An aspiring chef was killed Friday in Kansas City, and his relatives say few details have emerged to explain why. John McKenzie, 46, was found unresponsive inside a residence near 58th Street and Forest Avenue on Friday afternoon. He was later pronounced dead at a hospital, and a person of interest turned himself in to authorities on Saturday, Kansas City police said.

Kansas City Bad Risk???

New credit union will provide alternative to payday loans for residents in KC's urban core KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- It's been seven years in the making, but this spring, African American leaders will finally open the first credit union designed to serve low-income families in the urban core. Many in the African American community have worked hard to establish an alternative to the high costs of payday lending.

KCPD Get Weekend Conversation

Person of interest in Friday evening homicide turns himself in The California couple accused of holding their 13 children captive will appear in court Friday as donors from around the world have given more than $500,000 for the recovery of the abused siblings. David Turpin and Louise Turpin, the California couple accused of holding their 13 children captive and torturing all but one, are facing additional charges, a prosecution spokesman said Friday.

EPIC 1st Repsonder Hot Take

Fire fighters in Grandview make daring rescue in early morning house fire Breaking News The Grandview Fire Department rescues three and saves dog in house fire at 13803 10th Terrace. Grandview FD released the following statement. "The caller reported at least three people were trapped inside the house. On arrival, firefighters saw heavy smoke from the house and observed fire in the living room.

Weekend Finish Forecast

First Alert: Sunshine to return Sunday Our weather is going to take a decidedly spring-like turn this week.

Right now we consider some of our all-time favorite Brit hotties and thewas we check the top local Kansas City news links right now . . .Take a peek:And this is thefor right now . . .CHECK KANSAS CITY CLERIC PERSPECTIVE ON TRUTH AND MORALITY IN THE MIDST OF DEADLY FLORIDA SCHOOL SHOOTING DEBATE!!!

Kansas City Bishop James Vann Johnston Jr. Offers His Insights On The Aftermath Of The Florida School Shooting

"As with similar acts of senseless violence which take innocent life, many in the nation are seeking answers and speculating about how to prevent such tragedies from occurring again. Important discussions and debates are focusing on the different factors that figure in to these terrible events. Some point to gun control and/or more prudent law governing ownership of certain types of weapons; others will focus on mental health issues or better law enforcement follow up.





"While these pieces are important, there is another, more fundamental element that deserves attention; namely, what does a culture without God look like? When all reference points to moral truth are removed from the shared public culture, anarchy is the result. The troubled young man who murdered his former classmates could serve as a symbol of that anarchy personified."

Better than going to church or putting any effort into so-called beliefs we offer our blog community denizens word from a local holy man from the comfort of their favorite gadget on the topic of an American crisis amid the aftermath of innocent youngsters slaughtered as the nation considers rebuke of fundamental freedoms the Republic was founded upon.To wit . . .Thanks be to the Internets and the 1st Amendment . . . In this context we're allowed to talk back to the Catholic honcho without fear of eternal damnation or a nun's ruler.Checkit:Here's the money line . . .You decide . . .With the backdrop of the Arabian Gulf, families will embark on a weekend of island discovery with the "2 Together" travel package and enjoy a full suite of signature experiences and Ritz Kids activities at the five-star Ritz-Carlton, Bahrain.



The new destination package features a 20 per cent savings value on two night minimum stay in Bahrain.



Luxury Resort facilities at The Ritz-Carlton, Bahrain



Families will arrive at the private beach resort to experience a home-away-from-home atmosphere as they ascend seven stories to the exclusive Ritz-Carlton Club Level - the only VIP hotel lounge of its kind in Bahrain - for a personal check-in by a dedicated concierge.



From there the journey begins in the Club's private lounge where continuous culinary offerings complement the memorable family vacation in an intimate and convenient setting overlooking the resort and Arabian Gulf. Fun in the sun begins in the afternoon for an energising swim in the new heated pools, while the children are entertained with Ritz Kids discovery activities. As night time falls, a culinary journey begins where families can enjoy signature dining experiences at one of the resort's 11 award-winning restaurants, like an authentic Mexican feast at Cantina Kahlo, before turning in for evening desserts and night-time caps in the Club Lounge. Morning awakens the family refreshed and ready to begin a beautiful day in Bahrain starting with a scrumptious Club Lounge breakfast buffet, followed by a visit to see the resort's famous Chilean pink flamingos at 10:30 am for their feeding time, before going on to an afternoon city tour of historic Bahrain.



For families wanting their own private space, the resort's seaside Villas offer the perfect family escape and includes a roundtrip private airport transfer when booking the "2 Together" package. Each elegantly appointed three-bedroom Villa features an infinity pool, 24-hour butler service, in-Villa breakfast as well as access to the Club Lounge and Royal Beach Club fitness facilities and Turkish hammam.



The "2 Together" vacation package starts at BD144++ ($380++) per night for Club Rooms and Suites and BD720++ ($1,904++) for Villas, and includes access to the private Ritz-Carlton Club Level Lounge, complimentary internet access, valet parking and access to the Royal Beach Club fitness facilities and Ritz Kids activities for children ages four to 12 years. Roundtrip private airport transfer also avails for reservations of Club Suites, Diplomatic Suites, and Villas.



The five-star luxury beach resort is located in the Al Seef district in Manama, Bahrain. - TradeArabia News ServiceA group of diverse but like-minded individuals, the members of ARC have come together in their common desire to fight hatred, bigotry, intolerance and violence because of the harm these antisocial behaviors cause to our society. In that effort, we will not use or sanction the use of illegal actions (such as violence or intimidation) in pursuit of our desired aims and if we learn of anyone who does use these unethical methods we will report those individuals to the authorities. Instead, we will use the guarantees found in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms that ensure freedom of legal speech and expression.editorial@tribune.com

Tribune News Service

Bathinda, February 25

Chanpreet Singh Channa, notorious gangster allegedly involved in the sensational Nabha jail break incident, has been booked with other gangster Ramandeep Singh alias Rammy Machana as a mobile SIM card was recovered from their barrack.

Acting on a tip-off, the jail police, along with the Bathinda police, jointly conducted a search drive in the high security zone and barracks at the central jail situated in Gobindpura village, 18 km away from here.

As many 18 notorious criminals, including some A category gangsters, have been locked in these barracks. Nothing was found from these barracks except the SIM card.

It was recovered from the barrck of notorious gangsters Chanpreet Singh alias Channa, a resident of Gardiwala in Hoshiarpur, and Ramandeep Singh alias Rammy, a resident of Machana village.

Following this, jail officials lodged a complaint at the Nathana police station against the two. A case under Section 188 of the Jail Manual Act has been registered.

According to sources, the jail police, along with staff of the CIA Bathinda, conducted raids.

Chanpreet Singh aka Channa is one of the main accused in the sensational Nabha jail break incident.

He, along with others, entered the jail premises, snatched the gun (SLR) of a guard and opened indiscriminate firing to give a cover to the jail inmates to escape.

Channa was arrested by the CIA wing of the Patiala police on December 15, 2016 from Lajpat Nagar in New Delhi with other accused.

From that time, Channa was in judicial custody in the maximum security jail in Nabha and was shifted to Bathinda one and a half month ago.

Ramandeep Singh alias Rammi, Machana and another gangster was also in judicial custody at Bathinda Jail.

Deputy Superintendant of Bathinda Jail, Manjeet Singh Sidhu, confirmed the development and said the Sim card was recovered from a bag in the barrack and both Chanpreet Singh Channa and Ramandeep Singh Rammi had been booked.

The Nathana police will take both of them on production warrant for further investigation regarding the SIM.sanjiv@tribunemail.com

New Delhi, February 24

Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today ruled out privatisation of public sector banks as a response to the Rs 11,400-crore fraud hitting Punjab National Bank, saying the move may not be politically acceptable.

At an event here, he said a lot of people have started talking of privatisation in the aftermath of the PNB fraud. This involves a large political consensus. Also, that involves an amendment to the law (Banking Regulation Act). My impression is that Indian political opinion may not find favour with this idea itself. Its a very challenging decision, he said.

(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)

On Friday, FICCI president Rashesh Shah said he had asked the FM to begin the process of bank privatisation in a phased manner, leaving just two-three lenders in the public sector. Industry body Assocham has also urged the government to reduce its stake in public sector banks to less than 50 per cent so that they can work with the sense of accountability.  PTIpardeepdhull@gmail.com

Boston, February 25

A job application filled out and signed by Apple Inc co-founder Steve Jobs is expected to fetch USD 50,000 at an US auction.

Jobs enrolled at Reed College for the fall semester in 1972 but dropped out after just six months to preserve his parents meager funds.

However, he hung around campus for a year and a half to audit creative courses, including classes on Shakespeare, dance, and calligraphy - which helped shape his artistic worldview that influenced the innovation of the Macintosh computer.

The one-page questionnaire was filled out by Jobs in 1972 where he fills out his address, reed college; phone, none; and major, english lit. In the middle section, he wrote yes in response to Drivers License? and possible, but not probable, in reply to Access to transportation?.

Concerning his skills, next to Computer and Calculator, he wrote, yes (design, tech). At the bottom, he described his Special Abilities as electronics tech or design engineer. digital. - from Bay near Hewitt-Packard. In his 2005 Stanford commencement speech, Jobs had said If I had never dropped in on that single calligraphy course in college, the Mac would have never had multiple typefaces or proportionally spaced fonts. In 1974, Jobs put his technical skills to work and secured a job as a technician at Atari, heavily relying on the help of Steve Wozniak.

In 1976, Jobs and Wozniak set out on their own and founded Apple, introducing the personal computer to the masses.

Its a remarkable document that reveals Jobss early aspiration to work in the fledgling tech industry that he would one day revolutionize, said Bobby Livingston Executive VP at Boston-based RR Auction.

The auction also features a Mac OS X technical manual signed by Jobs in 2001. The signature was obtained in a parking lot after a training session at Apple in California.

Steve Jobs was a notoriously difficult signer and his autograph is incredibly scarce among contemporary figures, said Livingston.

The manual is also expected to sell for $50,000.

A newspaper clipping from, 2008, featuring an image of Jobs speaking at the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference for the introduction of the iPhone 3G, with the headline, New, faster iPhone will sell for USD 199, signed by Jobs is also up for auction.

Bidding for the items ends on March 7. PTIPravin Sawhney

Pravin Sawhney

Editor, FORCE newsmagazine

THE Chief of Army staff, General Bipin Rawat, has asserted that the recent Pakistan-supported Sunjuwan terror attack where six soldiers were killed would be avenged. Speaking to a national newspaper, he said, "Pakistan thinks it is fighting a war that is paying them dividends but we have several options, including surgical strikes."

General Rawat means business. With the Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman having already vowed to teach Pakistan a lesson for its 'misadventure', the Indian Army would surely retaliate. The counter-response too would come, and the deadly cycle would continue, with India losing trained soldiers and Pakistan losing low-cost, dispensable terrorists. This unending cycle of reprisals called tactics or battles is the job of junior military leaders, not generals, and certainly not the Army Chief.

Instead of micro-managing another surgical strike, General Rawat should be concerned with the realisation of the political objective  compelling the Pakistan Army to end its proxy war so that bilateral talks could begin. For this to happen, the Pakistan Army should realise that its proxy war is not paying dividends and is dangerous if it escalates. The reason that is not happening is because the Indian Army itself has abdicated its doctrine, which states that the Army Chief and his army commanders are responsible for war, not battles.

Even if the senior military leadership seems to be conflating one with the other for whatever reason, it is important to distinguish the battles and the war: several battles make a war. The side which prepares for battles  and in India's case, counter-terror operations  cannot prepare for war and will perennially be on the defensive. Since complete initiative remains with the enemy, he is free to devise and exercise military options across the entire country; and at will. At a low cost, he manages to hit the most prized targets. Case in point is the December 2001 Pakistan-supported terrorists' attack on the Indian Parliament. India could do little to hurt Pakistan because it was not prepared for war, and Pakistan knew it.

War, on the other hand, is an offensive operation. It requires optimisation of war assets across various war-fighting domains, namely, land, air, sea, space, cyber, electromagnetic, and psychological. To do so, all constituents responsible for these domains should understand each other's doctrines and core competencies, plan and train together to achieved military objectives which compel the enemy to mend his ways. In our case, it would be to force Pakistan to end or minimise its proxy war against India. Thus, while battles can be fought by individual services' like the army, air force and navy, wars must be fought by the military.

Given this, how can the 'surgical strikes', a tactical level operation, produce results? No wonder, the much-hyped September 2016 surgical strikes were a military setback. By announcing immediately after the strikes, that no more were planned, India confirmed its unpreparedness for escalation. Given this, the Pakistan Army has little need to reassess its proxy war, which is paying it fulsome dividends, at the military and political levels.

At the military level, the army's war-fighting capabilities have been blunted with little hope of redemption. Twenty-eight years of proxy war, where a generation of army leadership has gained expertise in counter-terror operations and risen in ranks, has removed them from advances in war-fighting. Why else would the Army Chief proclaim that the Indian Army is ready to fight the two-and-a-half-front war, when even the single front appears unmanageable? Who exactly believes the Army Chief when media is full of reports on lack of modernisation and military reforms?

This precisely is the biggest military dividend of the proxy war for the Pakistan Army. In 1990, when the Indian Army had inducted huge numbers to quell the insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan, worried about a sudden attack by the numerically double Indian Army, has approached the United States. In 2018, unable to end Pakistan's proxy war, India has repeatedly asked the United States to help end cross-border terrorism.

At the political level, Pakistan, at low cost to itself, has managed to support the unrest within Kashmir. This is not all. Under the pretext that India has superior conventional war-fighting capabilities (a myth created and perpetrated by Indians), Pakistan has increased its fissile material stocks and the variety of nuclear weapons.

Strangely, all this has not perturbed the Modi government, supposedly a better custodian of national security than the previous government, because clearly the focus is elsewhere. After all, General Rawat was handpicked by it for his expertise in counter-terror operations, and not war-fighting.harinder@tribunemail.com

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, February 24

Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal assured that all steps would be taken to ensure that Delhi government officers start working normally, Kejriwal said, asserting that everyone  including the bureaucrats  need to work together for the betterment of the city.

Kejriwal, who with his cabinet colleagues met Baijal at his residence, said the governance in Delhi was suffering as officers had not been attending meetings with ministers for the past three days, in wake of the alleged attack on the Chief Secretary.

Addressing reporters at the CM's residence, Deputy CM Manish Sisodia said the CM and other cabinet colleagues would ensure that no such incident gets repeated in Delhi.

Asked whether Kejriwal would apologise for the alleged attack on Prakash, he said the incident had been narrated incorrectly and that a probe was underway into the incident.

Sisodia said that governance had suffered as officials did not attend meetings and several meetings had to be cancelled and decisions deferred.

"We are grateful to the LG that he is looking into the issue from the perspective of Delhi's governance," he said.

"The LG has assured that he will speak to the officials to ensure that work is not affected and to work with ministers."

Meanwhile, a joint forum of employees and officers of the government today met Cabinet Secretary P K Sinha to raise the issue of alleged assault on the Chief Secretary and apprised him about the "difficult working condition" prevailing in the AAP dispensation, also detailing the episodes over the past few years.laxmi@tribune.com

LAST week was a rare good week for Indian journalism. In Rajasthan, an imperious Vasundhara Raje regime had to give in to the public opinion so valiantly whipped up by a respected Hindi newspaper, the Rajasthan Patrika against the BJP government for wanting to introduce a draconian, anti-media legislation. The Raje government had proposed a law that would have proscribed all news outlets from publishing names or any other details about corrupt public servants. It was an ill-conceived law and totally unacceptable in any democratic milieu; it was particularly against the grain of a political party that had made many tall promises of cleansing India of corruption and the corrupt; but, the BJP government remained contemptuously dismissive of the critics. This arrogance cost the BJP dearly in the recent byelections. But all credit goes to the Rajasthan Patrika and its editors for standing up against the attempts to bring in a totalitarian environment. That was journalism at its best.

Last week Indian journalism also received a timely reminder from a former Chief Justice of India, Justice RM Lodha, that it was the primary responsibility of the media to be attack dogs  and, not guard dogs for the authority. It should, indeed, be a matter of professional embarrassment for Indian journalism that Justice Lodha had to deliver that exhortation at the International Press Institutes 2017 India Award function. Yet, the sermon had to be preached because Indian journalists are becoming too comfortable with too many professional sins of omission and commission.

The Rajasthan Patrikas courageous journalism is in welcome contrast to the rampant streak of pro-government, anti-Opposition inclination in the media, particularly the electronic media. The very news channels and publications which till 2014 could take legitimate pride in standing up to the government, pugnaciously taking it to task for lapses and failures, have suddenly reinvented themselves as the governments barking dogs. The corporate greed and pusillanimity have played havoc with the credibility of the Indian media; it is now for individual editors, like those at Rajasthan Patrika, to refurbish the medias claim to be a democratic instrument.editorial@tribune.com

Sushil Manav

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, February 25

Days after the Haryana Cabinets decision to abolish the Ambala Municipal Corporation (MC) and have separate municipal councils for Ambala City and Ambala Sadar instead, the state government is in the dark about the provision under which this decision can be implemented.

Sources said municipal corporations were governed by the Haryana Municipal Corporation Act, 1994, and municipal councils and municipal committees came under the Haryana Municipal Act, 1973, but neither had any provision about converting a municipal corporation into a municipal council.

Anand Mohan Sharan, Principal Secretary, Urban Local Bodies Department, admitted that the procedure for upgrading a municipal council to a municipal corporation was provided in the Act, but the law was silent on converting a municipal corporation into a municipal council.

He said the department was unclear whether procedure prescribed for upgrading a municipal council to a municipal corporation was also applicable for downgrading a civic body or some other rules had to be followed. We have written to the Legal Remembrancer seeking opinion on this aspect, he said.

Governments normally upgrade municipal committees to municipal councils and municipal councils to municipal corporations and not vice versa, which is considered a regressive step. This perhaps is the reason lawmakers may not have visualised such a condition, said a legal expert.

He said in his view, the government might have to pass an amendment to the Haryana Municipal Corporation Act, 1994, for implementing the Cabinet decision.

The state government gave an undertaking in the Punjab and Haryana High Court on February 21 that the state government would not implement its decision of abolishing the Ambala MC for the time being.

Sharan said the undertaking was given by an Additional Advocate General that the decision would not be implemented yet as the court was scheduled to take up another such petition regarding the Panchkula MC.

Former Union Minister Venod Sharma, who had represented the Ambala Assembly seat when the Ambala MC was constituted, said people of Ambala could have benefited by getting more funds had the government continued with the MC.

In its meeting on February 17, the state Cabinet decided to abolish the Ambala MC and have separate municipal committees for Ambala City and Ambala Sadar.

The government had said separate civic bodies would prove more convenient for the people of the Ambala Cantonment area to avail various services by reduction in time, distance and cost.editorial@tribune.com

Sushil Manav

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, February 25

Several BJP leaders are in race for the party nomination for the lone Rajya Sabha seat being vacated by Congress member Shadi Lal Batra. He retires on April 2.

The Election Commission of India has announced March 23 as the date of polling for the biennial elections to 58 seats of Rajya Sabha in 16 states, including the lone seat in Haryana.

Going by the BJPs position in the Haryana Assembly, the party is set to win the seat comfortably. The ruling party has 47 MLAs in the 90-member House.

This is the reason there are too many aspirants from the ruling party. They have been trying to get blessings of RSS bosses to improve their prospects of getting nominated by the BJP.

Sources in the BJP say Anil Jain, BJP general secretary and party in-charge of the Haryana affairs, is the most favourite for the seat.

Jain was instrumental in the partys outstanding performance in the 2014 Lok Sabha and Assembly elections. The party had won seven out of 10 Lok Sabha seats in Haryana and formed the government on its own for the first time in the states political history.

Since then, Jain has been considered a member of the core team of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah.

The only hitch can be that Jain belongs to Uttar Pradesh, where 10 seats of Rajya Sabha are falling vacant. Sources say the party might accommodate from his home state.

In that case, the name of former minister Ganeshi Lal may be considered. A whole-timer for the BJP for three decades, Ganeshi Lal was a minister in the Bansi Lal government from 1996 to 1999.

At present, he is the national chairman of the disciplinary committee of the BJP. He was the chairman of the screening committee for tickets, manifesto committee and election campaign committee during the 2014 elections.

Besides Jain and Ganeshi Lal, names of former Mahendragarh MP Sudha Yadav and BJPs media in-charge Rajiv Jain are doing the rounds.

Jain was the covering candidate for Union Minister Sushma Swarajs husband Swaraj Kaushal when he contested for Rajya Sabha in 1998.

The names of Finance Minister Capt Abhimanyu and partys former state president Atam Prakash Manchanda are also being discussed. Haryana elects five members to Rajya Sabha for six years.

The elections to two seats of Rajya Sabha for the state held in June 2016 had become infamous for the ink controversy. In all, 12 votes polled by Independent candidate Subhash Chandras rival RK Anand were declared invalid because a pen with a different ink was used by some MLAs.

In the 2016 elections, Birender Singh (BJP) and Chandra were elected.gspannu7@gmail.com

Chandigarh, February 25

Asserting that he was confident that Haryana would soon get its due share of water, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Sunday urged the states opposition parties to exercise restraint and not hold any agitation on the Sutlej Yamuna Link (SYL) canal issue.

I have full faith in the Supreme Court and the state would soon get its due share of water through the SYL, he told reporters after dedicating three projects costing Rs 83.64 crore to the residents of Panchkula, near here, today.

Khattar said the Supreme Court had given its decision in favour of Haryana.

We have full faith in the Supreme Court and the opposition too should have faith. The presidential reference was lying pending in the Supreme Court for over ten years. It is the present state government that strongly pleaded the case in the Supreme Court and ensured regular hearing. As a result of this, the apex court has given its decision in the favour of Haryana, he added.

INLD leader Abhay Singh Chautala has threatened to launch a stir if the Centre failed to give any assurance on the construction of SYL canal before the partys scheduled rally in Delhi on March 7.

Khattar also said opposition parties should refrain from inciting public sentiments, and instead, give constructive suggestions.

When the present government has already announced that student union elections would be held in the next academic session, agitation by the INLD on this issue is neither called for nor justifiable. Once consensus has been reached on any matter, petty politics should not be resorted to, he said, adding that we do what we say or promise.

To another question, he said Anganwadi workers and helpers should call off their agitation in public interest.

All their genuine demands would be sympathetically considered by the state government, he said.

The state government is already paying more than its share to these employees, yet if they have any concerns, these would be addressed, Khattar said.

Senior officers of the women and child development department held a meeting with the agitating employees three days ago to discuss their demands and concerns. Soon, I will also convene a meeting in this regard and whatever possible would be done, he added.

Anganwadi workers went on strike earlier this week. They are demanding a minimum wage of not less than Rs 18,000 per month.  PTIvermaajay1968@gmail.com

SC Vasudeva

I am a Haryana Government pensioner and getting gross annual pension of Rs 9,24,000. I got my pension commuted and got Rs 11 lakh as commutation benefit and a sum of Rs 11,000 per month is being deducted from my pension. So my net pension is Rs 7,92,000 (Rs 9,24,000-Rs 1,32,000). My pension disbursing officer is showing Rs 9,24,000 as annual pension whereas I am getting Rs 7,92,000. What is my taxable income? Is it Rs 9,24,000 or Rs 7,92000? Please advise.  PS Mehta

A. The amount received by you towards the commutation of pension is not taxable. The amount of taxable pension should be Rs 7,92,000, which is being received by you.

My son-in-law, who is in the US, filed a divorce case from my daughter in 2012, which was dismissed in 2014. The case is pending with the high court in Chandigarh for the past three years. My son-in-law wants to settle the case out of court. I have following queries:

a) Is there any income tax payable on the alimony received? This includes amount in lieu of the gold given by us at the time of her wedding and afterwards. My daughter is not having any income except Rs 7,000 per month pendente lite from the court.

b) Please guide us about the best method of receiving the alimony.

c) As the boy is in the US, whether any tax will be deducted there also. I want to add that the divorce case was filed through his power of attorney sister who is in India. Please advise.  Mohinder Sharma

A. On the basis of the facts given in the query, it would be advisable to receive a lump sum amount towards alimony. The amount so received would not be taxable in the hands of your daughter. In case she has any children from the marriage with your son-in-law, it would be advisable to seek the expenditure on the education of the children which should be paid directly by your son-in-law to the school/college so as to avoid the taxability thereof.

The issue with regard to the taxability of lump sum to be paid by your son-in-law in America will have to be checked up with an American tax consultant.

The Central government retirees are eligible for Rs 1,000 per month as fixed medical allowance (FMA) for self and spouse. If they don't avail the FMA, they are allowed free medical treatment without any financial limits at the nearest designated government hospital. For reasons such as government hospital located far away or not adequately equipped, people may opt for FMA. Is this meagre amount of FMA taxable or should it be taxable at all?  Tejinder Singh Kalra

A. Fixed medical allowance would not be taxable provided you are able to provide evidence that the amount received has been actually spent for the medical expenses for self and the family. It may be taxable in case it is not possible to provide evidence for the incurrence of such allowance towards medical expenditure.vermaajay1968@gmail.com

The competition watchdog assumes greater regulatory responsibilities in the complex business environment that has been increasingly influenced by anticompetitive practices of big corporate under the guise of technology. The Competition Commission of India (CCI) recently imposed a penalty of Rs 135.86 crore on Google for abusing its dominance and biased search practices in India. The fine was imposed by the antitrust regulator after thoroughly investigating complaints filed by Bharat Matrimony and Consumer Unity & Trust Society (CUTS) for almost six years.

Before the Indian antitrust regulator, the European Commission (EC) had imposed a record 2.4 billion euro ($2.7 billion) fine on the company for favouring its own shopping services and demoting rival offerings. The EC has accused Google of abusing its position as market leader by prioritising its own services in search results.

With 450 million internet users and about 35 million online shoppers, India has a huge e-commerce potential. Almost all companies are present in this web space. Multinational Google enjoys a dominant position in the online search market as the gateway for majority of internet users. It is also a curator of all kinds of private data of the users across the globe. That is why it is obligatory for Google to be fair. In view of the dominant position of Google, the CCI decision appears to be a trend setter in the domain of online marketing.

Google made a whopping $28 billion from AdWords (Google makes most of its money from search advertising - a product it calls AdWords) in 2010 alone. It enjoys almost 85 per cent share in the online search engine market. Despite allegations of antitrust and trademark violations against Google was writ large, it cleverly revised its trademark policy in 2010 with a view to allow larger pool of keywords for advertising, leading to abusing its dominant position which attracts Section-4 of the competition Act, 2002. The Commission was saddled with the task of examining as to whether this sort of policy triggers an anti-competitive behaviour or not.

After an in depth analysis, the CCI found a prima facie abuse of dominant position by Google in its online advertising. The Director General explored the taxonomy of the dominant behaviour through reports received from a number of other companies including Microsoft, Yahoo, Rediff, Facebook, MakeMyTrip, TripAdvisor, Yatra, Cleartrip, Flipkart, Times Internet, JustDial, Info Edge, Network18 including major ad agencies. Thus the investigator demonstrated a stronger case against Google. The global firm was found to be favouring its own services and that of its partners by manually manipulating its search results and search algorithm to suppress results of competition. It was unfairly promoting its own services like Google News, YouTube, Google Maps etc that reduced traffic to competing specialised search services, prohibiting advertisers from advertising on words that might be confused with Google's trademarked words, making it difficult for advertisers to use competing platforms by imposing prohibitive switching costs.

Competition law guards the market against companies that grow too large and powerful with monopolistic ambition. As Google is an essential trading partner because of its dominance. Advertisers are forced to stay with it. Google has the advantage of leveraging its dominance for online web search and to strengthen its position in the market for online syndicate search services. Many competitors have been denied access to the online search syndication services leading to sufficient positive externalities for Google.

According to the investigation report, Google has been abusing its dominant position in online general web search and web search advertising services in India by conducting its business in a discriminatory manner. However, the CCI failed to find any contravention in respect of Google's specialised search design, AdWords, online intermediation and distribution agreements. Even the quantum of penalty has been a pittance as the company apparently showed only "direct sales" figures to the watchdog without disclosing indirect revenue earned in India.

The ruling is, however, significant for technology-driven multinational companies expanding their services in the country. It will also embolden the anti-trust watchdog to deal with big technology-driven corporates. The competition law jurisprudence is, however, nascent in India. It is imperative that the regulator needs to be extra cautious while dealing with technology companies because of technical complexities.

 The writer is an advocate, Supreme Court of India

GOOGLE FINED

Dominance is not considered bad per se but its abuse is. Abuse is stated to occur when an enterprise or a group of enterprises uses its dominant position in the relevant market in an exclusionary or/and an exploitative manner.

Complainants

Matrimony.com Ltd (promotes BharatMatrimony)

Consumer Unity & Trust Society (CUTS)

Defendants

Google LLC n Google India Private Ltd n Google Ireland Ltd alleged abuse of dominance by Google

Google runs search & ad. in a discriminatory manner

Favouring own services by manipulating search results

Advantage to its own verticals - YouTube, Google Flights

Search bias/manipulation, denial of access to competitors

Imposition of unfair & discriminatory conditions on customers

Investigation by DG

CCI ordered investigation in April 2012

DG submitted investigation report in 2015

DG concluded Google enjoys a position of strength

Google's conduct was found to be anti-competitive

It followed non-transparent procedure

CCI on the matter

CCI heard the matter in January 2017

Defined online search and advertising services in India as relevant markets

Market strength acquired by Google over a period of time

Google is dominant in both the relevant markets

CCI held that the dominant position was abused

The Jan 31, 2018 order

Directed Google not to fix ranking of universal results in future

Display a disclaimer regarding Google's Flights page

Do not enforce restrictive clauses with immediate effect

Imposed a penalty of Rs 135.86 crore

GOOGLE'S INDIA TURNOVER* (in Rs crore)

FY - 2013 FY - 2014 FY - 2015 Fine#

1,722.93 2,680.31 3,748.57 135.86

*Direct sales in India. Google didn't disclose revenues earned

indirectly from India #5% of average turnover

European commission fined Google

Penalty amount 2.42 billion ($2.7 billion)

2.42 billion ($2.7 billion) Place Brussels

Brussels Date June 27, 2017

June 27, 2017 Global turnover About $80 billion

About $80 billion People affected 418 million

418 million Countries affected Germany, UK, France, Italy , Spain, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Norway, Poland etc

Charges

Google abused its market dominance as a search engine

Denied other companies the chance to compete on merits

Denied European consumers benefits of competition n EC notes

In 2004, it launched comparison shopping 'Froogle'

To push Google Shopping, it manipulated search results

Google implemented illegal practices in early 2008

Sources: cci.gov.in, europa.eu & internetvermaajay1968@gmail.com

India's anti-trust watchdog, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) has recently fined Google about $21 million for abusing its dominant position in online search and advertising services in India. About eight months ago, European Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager had imposed a record $2.7 billion on Google for a similar offence. Although the quantum of fines differed, but the two regulators had one message - dominance is not considered bad per se, but its abuse is.

While delivering the verdict after a prolonged trial, Commissioner Vestager was direct and stern: "What Google has done is illegal under the European Unions antitrust rules. It has denied other companies the chance to compete on the merits and to innovate. And most importantly, it has denied European consumers the benefits of competition, genuine choice of services and innovation."

Going a step further, the Indian antitrust body found Google lacking in its corporate social responsibility. "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," it said in a statement after pronouncing the verdict.

The Indian regulator was, however, lenient compared to its European counterpart on imposing the fine. It allowed Google to quote a sales figure for its Indian market for imposing a five per cent fine on that revenue. To the "dismay" of the regulator, the company conveniently presented a figure that accounted for only "direct" sales in India. "It is indeed perplexing as to what is meant by direct sales and what is left out by way of indirect sales," the regulator retorted in its 190-page CCI order.editorial@tribune.com

Majid Jahangir

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, February 25

Two policemen were killed and their weapons snatched in separate attacks in Kashmir today.

One policeman died after militants attacked a guard post at a revered Sufi shrine in Budgam this afternoon. The second slain policeman was guarding the residence of separatist leader Fazal Haq Qureshi in Soura locality on Srinagars outskirts.

(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)

Qureshi, aligned with moderate Hurriyat leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, had himself survived a lethal attack by militants in 2009.

The police said militants called cop Farooq Ahmed outside Qureshis house this evening and then shot him at point-blank range and fled with his rifle.

Chairman of the Peoples Political Front, a constituent of the moderate Hurriyat Conference, Qureshi was appointed interlocutor by the Hizbul Mujahideen when they announced a 14-day truce in 2000. He, along with commanders of Hizbul, held negotiations with the then Union Home Secretary Kamal Pande.

Earlier in the day, a policeman was killed in a militant attack on a police post at Kashmirs most revered Sufi shrine of Sheikh Nooruddin Noorani at Chrar-e-Sharief, Budgam, 35 km from here. The police said militants fired at Selection Grade Constable Kultar Singh from a close range while he was deputed outside the shrine and took away his SLR.

He succumbed to injuries in hospital, Budgam SSP Tejinder Singh said. Kultar, a resident of Samba, was posted with 13 battalion of the J&K Armed Police.

The shrine was burnt down in 1995 during a three-month siege after a group of militants led by Pakistani militant commander Mast Gul took shelter inside.

No militant group has owned responsibility so far.uttara@tribuneindia.com

Samaan Lateef

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, February 25

Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti on Sunday ordered investigations into allegations of nepotism in appointments made to Khadi Village and Industries Board (KVIB).

The Tribune was the first to report suspected nepotism in the recruitment process.

"Chief Minister orders high level probe into KVIB appointments," Tahir Syed, the chief minister's Media analyst wrote on Facebook. "Chief Secretary headed- committee asked to come up with its fact finding report in short time (sic)."

Among those whose appointment is controversial is the chief ministers own cousin Aroot Madni, son of ruling PDP Vice-President Sartaj Madni.

Some candidates have claimed that the selection process was delegated to a private recruitment agency instead of J&K Service Selection and Recruitment Board (JKSRB). Madnis appointment has drawn particular criticismcandidates have claimed that he lacked qualifications for the position of executive officer, and was appointed the post solely because of his political influence.

Madni's Facebook page shows he was PDPs youth president of Devsar Assembly constituency in south Kashmir.

Examination controller Abdul Majid Bhatalso Commissioner Secretary Law and Parliamentary Affairshad raised the allegations with J&K Police in a letter last year. "There are some complaints against the examination process that same was not fair as administrative secretary of Industries and Commerce also reported the same verbally to me," Bhat had written to CID Inspector General of Police Abdul Gani Mir on September 4 last year.

The board had advertised various positionsamong them that of the executive officeron October 8, 2016. Shortlisted candidates took a written test in August 2017. Interviews for the position began in the last week of January.

Managing Director of State Power Development Corporation (SPDC) Shah Faesal had demanded an FIR.

If its true that the merit list has been rigged then instead of an inquiry there should be an FIR. High time that we take those people to task who push our educated youngsters to wall and kill their confidence, Faesal wrote on his Facebook page.

Opposition National Conference has asked for a judicial probe into the allegations.

"It is a cognisable act and we demand a judicial probe to look into the allegations of fraud in the selection list," NC's state spokesperson Junaid Azim Mattu said.Offer a personal message of sympathy...

You'll find individual Guest Books on the page with each obituary notice. By sharing a fond memory or writing a kind tribute, you will be providing a comforting keepsake to those in mourning. . From a Guest Book, you may log in with your Google, Facebook, Yahoo or AOL account to leave a message. If you have an existing account with this site, you may log in with that. Otherwise, it's simple to create a new one by clicking on the Create "Sign up" button and following the simple steps on the Sign Up page.editorial@tribune.com

Jammu, February 25

Former Chief Minister and president of the National Conference (NC) Farooq Abdullah today reiterated his demand for effective steps to restore lasting peace on the borders. He observed that the on-going shelling on the Line of Control (LoC) was not a one-sided affair.

While demanding some steps for protecting the lives and property of the people living on the border, the NC leader said a decision in this regard had to be taken by the Prime Minister. The Government of India must find a way forward and it is up to the Prime Minister to decide. I am too small to suggest any thing to him (PM), said Farooq, when mediapersons asked him about his suggestions on the ways to establishing sustainable peace on the border.

The NC president also appealed to the Prime Minister of Pakistan to initiate some steps to end the bloodshed and destruction on the borders.  TNSeditorial@tribune.com

Vikas Sharma

Tribune News Service

Jammu, February 25

The facility of the Common Service Centres or Khidmat Centres started by Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), Jammu Regional Centre, to fill examination forms or avail other online services has failed to attract the students. They still prefer cyber cafes over these centres.

IGNOU had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with CSC e-Governance Services India Limited, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Government of India, in 2017 with the objective of making online services of the university accessible to its students, especially those in rural/remote areas pursuing various certificate/diploma/undergraduate/postgraduate programmes in different streams.

Sources claimed that the initiative was taken for the benefit of students so that they would not have to pay exorbitant charges at cyber cafes while filling online forms. At the Common Service Centres, a nominal fee of Rs 60 was fixed for the services.

They said a majority of e-forms for seeking admission in January cycle of 2018 were being filled at cyber cafes. A very few students had utilised the services of the Khidmat Centres to fill these forms.

The main reason behind the poor response to the Khidmat Centres is the lack of awareness about its benefits. These centres are cheaper as compared to cyber cafes. The students hailing from urban areas are familiar with such centres but those from remote areas are still unaware of these. A majority of the aspirants with whom we interacted had filled the online admission forms at the cyber cafes rather than the Khidmat Centres, an official claimed.

When contacted, Joginder Kumar Yadav, IGNOU Regional Centre, Director, Jammu, told The Tribune: Yes, it is true that the response of the students towards the Khidmat Centres is not that encouraging as we were expecting. But we are hopeful that with the passage of time, more students will utilise the services of these centres once they become fully aware about them.

More than 40,000 students have been enrolled with the IGNOU, Jammu Regional Centre, which is having a network of 66 learning study centres across the Jammu region. It includes 16 regular study centres, 22 programme study centres, 24 special study centres and four jail study centres.gspannu7@gmail.com

Jammu, February 25

Skirmishes between Indian and Pakistani forces were only adding to peoples sufferings and governments of both the countries should find a way to restore peace at the borders, National Conference chief Farooq Abdullah said on Sunday.

Unless they (India and Pakistan) find a way out, away from this (border skirmishes), people on both sides will continue to suffer and many will die. Many of our soldiers will also die and a similar situation will be on their side, he said.

The Government of India must find a way forward, the NC chief said.

What that way forward is, is up to the prime minister to decide. I am too small to suggest anything to him. But I will say the same thing to the Pakistani side, to the premier of that side. The time has come when this bloodshed must stop, and peace must be restored on the border and in the state here as well as in the area they hold on their side, the former chief minister told reporters at the sidelines of a function here.

In response to a question about heavy Pakistani shelling along the Line of Control (LoC) in Uri sector of north Kashmir, he said the shelling was not one sided but going on from both sides.

They are shelling us and we are shelling them back. They shell us one per cent, we shell them 10 per cent as Army chief has said, he said.

On Pakistani troops targeting civilians, Abdullah said a bomb does not know where it is going to fall. The shelling is resorted to frighten the people, he said.

The NC leaders comment comes against the backdrop of a series of ceasefire violations by the Pakistani forces along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir.

Asked about amnesty granted by the state government to stone-pelters, the member of Parliament said those released should realise that the time has come when they have to think of their careers and how to take the state out of turmoil.

We are a tourist state and no tourist will come if there is turmoil. People will suffer, they will continue to suffer and in the long run it will be the state that will become backward, he said.

On reports of pelting of stones on a military station at Sunjuwan on Saturday, Abdullah said he had no knowledge about it.

However, he said, if it had happened, the government should investigate and see whether the stone-pelters released by it were involved in the case or someone else.

Expressing concern over attempts to pitch one community against another, he said Prime Minister Narendra Modi should try and build an India of our dreams which is for all of us, whether you are a Muslim, Hindu, Sikh or Christian.

He said the prime minister is not only for Gujarat, but for the whole country.

Abdullah also sought to defend former Union Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar over his purported casteist slur against Modi.

Asked about Aiyars presence at Congress headquarters, he said one thing you must know, Aiyar is a Tamil and Urdu is not his language. He has picked up some Urdu during his posting in Paksitan. And when he used that term, he did not mean what was made out of it by the BJP, Abdullah said.  PTIgspannu7@gmail.com

Srinagar, February 25

Two policemen were shot dead by militants on Sunday in two separate attacks on police posts, one near the revered Chrar-e-Shareef shrine and another outside the residence of a Hurriyat leader, in the Kashmir Valley, officials said.

A group of militants fired upon a police post near the shrine of Sufi saint Sheikh Noor-ud-Din Noorani in the Chrar-e-Shareef area in Budgam district this afternoon, an official said.

A policeman, Kultar Singh, suffered injuries. Singh was shifted to a hospital where he succumbed to injuries, the official added.

In the second incident, another policeman, Farooq Ahmed, was killed when militants attacked a police post set up to protect the residence of Hurriyat leader Fazal Haq Qureshi, in Soura area of the summer capital of the state, a police official said.

Qureshi was injured in a militant attack in December 2009, he added.

The area has been cordoned off and a hunt is on to nab the assailants, the officials said.  PTIpardeepdhull@gmail.com

Tribune News Services

Srinagar, February 25

A group of militants on Sunday attacked a police post outside the revered Chrar-e-Sharif shrine in central Kashmirs Budgam district, killing a policeman, an official said.

The militants fired upon a police post near the shrine of Sufi saint Sheikh Noor-ud-Din Noorani in the Chrar-e-Sharif area this afternoon, the official said.

A policeman, Kultar Singh, sustained injuries in the firing and was shifted to a hospital where he succumbed to injuries, the official added.editorial@tribune.com

Majid Jahangir

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, February 25

Following exchange of artillery fire by Indian and Pakistani forces in Uri on Saturday, the Army today said it had punished Pakistan in a befitting manner for its misadventure on the Line of Control (LoC).

As troops on both sides exchanged artillery after a gap of 15 years, residents of border villages are fearing escalation of the situation along the LoC in the Uri sector of Baramulla district.

Villagers have abandoned their homes and moved to Rehabilitation Centre, Uri. Some of them have shifted to their relatives houses. Almost all residents of Silikote village at Hajipeer, Uri, have vacated their homes.

Brigadier YS Ahlawat, Commander of the Uri Brigade, said the Pakistan army had been continuously violating ceasefire in the Uri sector since February 19 and targeting innocent villagers.

He said the Pakistan army had been punished for targeting civilian areas. In a determined manner, the Indian Army has retaliated along the LoC and ensured the Pakistan army is yet again punished for this misadventure. The Army is confident of establishing peaceful and safe conditions at the earliest to ensure early return of the displaced people to their homes, he said, while blaming the Pakistan army for starting ceasefire violations.

The Pakistan army targeted Balkote, Silikote, Tilawari, Churanda and Hatlanga villages and neighbouring areas (in Uri), he said, adding that residents had been evacuated.

Displaying extreme cowardice and unprofessionalism, it has been targeting innocent villagers living along the border and has been indiscriminately using mortar shelling and damaging houses of civilians. In a befitting reply, the Indian Army has retaliated accurately with heavy fire on the Pakistani posts which were involved in ceasefire violations, Brigadier Ahlawat told reporters at Uri today.

As a first responder on the ground, the Army has swung into action and immediately provided much-needed succour and relief to the villagers. The local commanders on the ground are personally monitoring the safety of the people and extending all assistance, the Army officer said.

Meanwhile, an uneasy calm prevailed in the villages along the LoC. There were reports that the Pakistan army had made announcements across Silikote and Churanda asking people to vacate their homes.

The announcements have created more fear, said a resident of Silikote.

There has also been large-scale migration from Tilawari and Churanda villages, reports said. There are also reports that a few families from Sahura village along the LoC in Uri are not able to move to safer places.

Around 150 families from eight affected villages have taken shelter at Government Girls Higher Secondary School, Uri, which has been established as a camp for displaced by the government. The state government today deputed senior minister Abdul Haq Khan to Uri to take stock of the situation.

We are ready for any situation, Khan said.shalender@tribune.com

From southern movie stars Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan, veterans like Anupam Kher, Hema Malini and Madhuri Dixit-Nene and younger celebrities like Farhan Akhtar and Alia Bhatt  celebrities were in disbelief of Sridevis demise at the age of 54.

Im shocked and very disturbed. Ive lost a dear friend and the industry has lost a true legend. My heart goes out to her family and friends. I feel the pain with them. Sridevi, you will be missed, tweeted Rajinikanth, who featured with her in the memorable ChaalBaaz.

Kamal Haasan, her co-star from Sadma  one of her most evocative performances  said: Have witnessed Sridevis life from an adolescent teenager to the magnificent lady she became. Her stardom was well deserved. Many happy moments with her flash through my mind including the last time I met her. Sadmas lullaby haunts me now. Well miss her. Actress-politician Hema Malini wrote: Sridevis sudden passing away has left me in deep shock. Cant imagine how such a bubbly person, a wonderful actor, is no more. She has left a void in the industry that cannot be filled. Boney is a good friend and Ive seen their daughters grow up. My prayers are with the family. Filmmaker S.S. Rajamouli wrote: The first Lady Superstar of the Country. Fifty of those 54 years as an actress par excellence. What a journey...and such an unexpected end. May your soul rest in peace. Before her entry into Bollywood, the actor had been a known face in South Indian films. She made her debut as a child artiste in Tamil film Thunaivan in 1969. She also worked in Malayalam, Telugu and Kannada films.

Sridevi was awarded the Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian honour, in 2013.

Sridevi was in Dubai with husband Boney Kapoor and younger daughter Khushi when she breathed her last. Her elder daughter Jahnvi, who is due to make her Bollywood debut, was in Mumbai.

Sridevi and the rest of the family was in Dubai to attend a family wedding, and she exuded elegance in her appearances  photos and videos that are now being shared on social media as her last.

Author Chetan Bhagat wrote: She never seemed to age, and now she is suddenly gone. We grew up watching her, and she was still going strong. Cant believe shes not there anymore. God bless her soul. Actor-filmmaker Farhan Akhtar recounted his time with Sridevi from Lamhe.

My first job in 1990 was on Lamhe and this song Megha re megha was the very first time I saw this legendary actor create her incredible magic on screen. From Sadma to ChalBaaz, from Mr.India to Chandni, it was impossible to take your eyes off her when she appeared on screen.

A true star. A gifted actor. A woman with tremendous dignity. Gone too soon. RIP Sridevi. Sad sad day.

Akshay Kumar tweeted: Shocked beyond words to hear about the sad and untimely demise of #Sridevi. A dream for many, had the good fortune of sharing screen space with her long ago and witnessed her continued grace over the years. Thoughts and prayers with the family. RIP.

Our industry will never be the same again. She was the kindest soul apart from being a Giant performer. The heavens are lucky. Actress Alia Bhatt tweeted: Nothing makes sense. I have no words... just completely shocked. RIP Sridevi. My icon forever. Love you. Composer Vishal Dadlani wrote: Srideviji was a megastar in her own right. She put the early cracks in the glass ceiling and paved the way for female megastars that came after her. Her reinvention and comeback has been brilliant too. We lost more than a star, today. We lost a pioneer. Expressing grief over the sudden demise of veteran Bollywood actress Sridevi, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said she was one of the most popular actors of a generation.

Saddened at the untimely passing away of Sridevi, one of the most popular actors of a generation. Condolences to her family, her colleagues in the industry and fans, Banerjee tweeted.

My heartfelt condolences to everyone in the family. I join all the millions of her fans in mourning her demise... Aamir wrote in a statement on Twitter.

Director Shekhar Kapur, who worked with Sridevi in the iconic Mr India called the actors death the end of an era. Sridevi... gone. Its like an era is over. Like life turning a new chapter. A beautiful story just ended. An amazing spirit just vanished leaving us with amazing love, memories, and incredible grief, he wrote. Director Subhash Ghai called the actor the uncrowned queen of acting in all languages in her times.

I am deeply grieved for this shocking loss. Sridevi has not been one of the finest actor but the finest actor of indian of cinema since 1985. Introvert by nature, she was electricity with thunder in front of camera. She would shock directors by her each shot taken on her on the sets, may it be dance drama or romance. She maintained her dignity and integrity as an actor and person both constantly at any cost in this demanding industry, Ghai said.

Showbiz queen Ekta Kapoor tweeted: The strongest women have the weakest hearts sometimes. IANS, PTI

Fans gather outside Sridevis house

The air outside Sridevis residence is heavy with grief as fans of the veteran actor continue to queue up to catch one last glimpse of their Chandni.

Ever since the news broke out, Sridevis Lokhandwala home - where she used to live with her husband Boney Kapoor and two daughters Janhvi and Khushi - witnessed a steady stream of ardent fans assembling outside her house to pay their respects.

Meanwhile, no celebrity has visited her residence yet. Two police vans have been stationed and the security, too, has been beefed up to avoid any commotion outside her residence. Sridevi went on a hiatus for 15 years after starring in home production  Judaai  co-starring with her brother-in-law actor Anil Kapoor and Urmila Matondkar. It was director Gauri Shindes English Vinglish in 2012 that marked her comeback to the silver screen. Sridevi was last seen in revenge-drama  Mom  alongside Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Akshaye Khanna. PTI

Amitabhs intuitive tweet

Members of the film industry took to Twitter to express their grief over her shocking demise and offered condolences to the family. Minutes before the news of her death broke, her Khuda Gawah co-star Amitabh Bachchan posted a tweet saying he was feeling uneasy. His tweet has left the Twitterer wondering if Big B had a premonition about the death of the veteran actress. Na jaane kyun, ek ajeeb si ghabrahat ho rahi hai (Dont know why, theres a weird anxiety), the 75-year-old tweeted.

Hate God for killing Sridevi: RGV

Filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma has cursed God for killing the veteran Bollywood actress. Varma expressed his shock and anger by posting a lengthy emotional note on Twitter. He posted: I so hope I am still having a bad dream, but I know I am not. I hate Sridevi. I hate her for making me realise that she too is finally only just a human being. I hate that her heart too has to beat to live. I hate that she too has a heart which can just stop like anybody elses. I hate that I lived to see the messages informing me of her death. I hate God for killing her. IANS

No history of heart disease

Sridevis brother-in-law and actor Sanjay Kapoor has said the whole family was in shock with the sudden demise of the veteran actress. He also said that she had no history of heart ailment. The actress, 54, died on Saturday night at around 11 p.m. after suffering a cardiac arrest. In an interview to Khaleej Times, Sanjay said that she was in the hotel room here when it happened. We are completely shocked. She had no history of a heart attack, he said. Sanjay landed in Dubai on Sunday morning. IANS

Kamal Haasan, her co-star from Sadma  one of her most evocative performances  said: Have witnessed Sridevis life from an adolescent teenager to the magnificent lady she became. Her stardom was well deserved. Many happy moments with her flash through my mind including the last time I met her. Sadmas lullaby haunts me now. Well miss her.

Tweets

HRITHIK ROSHAN

I loved her, admired her so much. My 1st ever acting shot was with Sri Devi, I was nervous in front of her n I remember her shaking her hands pretending 2b nervous cause of me just 2 boost my confidence. V had 2 laugh,n she kept laughing until I got it right. Will miss you mam.

Raj Babbar....

Memories of doing the 1986 Suhagan with her came in a flash, her versatility - her power to completely transform herself in front of the camera. #Sridevi ji - always a legend. There will never be another.

Adnan Sami

I am at a loss for words & jolted as if struck by lightening at this late hour of the night to learn about the shocking & tragic news & untimely demise of #Sridevi ji. Heartbroken. She was Indias sweetheart, an incredible artiste & a beautiful human being. Gone too soon

Actor Anupam Kher, who worked with Sridevi in a multitude of films like Lamhe, ChaalBaaz and Karma, said: Am I having a horrible dream. Sridevi no more? This is so so sad. And so so not fair. One of the most brilliant, elegant and talented actresses ever. The queen of Indian cinema. And a friend. Worked with her in so many movies. So many amazing memories. He said he wants to remember her as happening, vibrant, brilliant, beautiful, bestest and unique.pardeepdhull@gmail.com

Mumbai, February 25

The sudden demise of veteran actor Sridevi has sent shockwaves throughout the Indian film industry with many actors such as Amitabh Bachchan, Rishi Kapoor, Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan mourning and expressing their condolences.

The actor, who was 54, died late at Saturday night reportedly due to cardiac arrest in Dubai, where she had gone to attend her nephew Mohit Marwah's wedding.

The news of Sridevi's death spread like wildfire with stars such as her contemporary Madhuri Dixit, as well as Priyanka Chopra, Sushmita Sen and Riteish Deshmukh taking to social media to express their grief.

The first one, however, was Amitabh Bachchan who in a cryptic tweet wrote, "Don't know why, feeling a strange restlessness". The megastar had worked with Sridevi in Khuda Gawah (1992).

Actor-turned-politician Rajinikanth tweeted that he had lost a dear friend.

"I'm shocked and very disturbed. I've lost a dear friend and the industry has lost a true legend. My heart goes out to her family and friends. I feel the pain with them #RIPSridevi... you will be missed," he wrote.

They starred together in Tamil movies such as Moondru Mudichu (1976); Gaayathri (1977); Kavikkuyil (1977); Priya 1978); Johnny (1980) as well as Hindi movies such as ChaalBaaz (1989) and Farishtay (1991), among many others.

Kamal Haasan, who worked with her in Tamil movies such as Moondru Mudichu; Sigappu Rojakkal (1978); Varumaiyin Niram Sivappu (1980) and Meendum Kokila (1981), as well as Moondram Pirai (1982) and its Hindi remake Sadma (1982), wrote on Twitter that the lullaby 'Suramayi ankhiyon mein' from the movie haunts him today.

"Have witnessed Sridevi's life from an adolescent teenager to the magnificent lady she became. Her stardom was well deserved. Many happy moments with her flash through my mind including the last time I met her. Sadma's lullaby haunts me now. We'll miss her," Haasan wrote.

Her Chandni (1989) and Nagina (1986) co-star Rishi Kapoor said he is in complete shock to wake up to the news of Sridevi's death.

"Woken up to this tragic news. Absolute shock. Sad. Heartfelt condolences to Boney and their two daughters!" he wrote. The actor has also changed his profile picture to an all-black image in mourning.

Aamir said the actress would always be remembered with love and respect.

"I am deeply disturbed and saddened by the untimely and tragic passing away of Srideviji. I have always been a huge fan of her work. Equally I have always been an admirer of her grace and dignity with which she conducted herself.

"My heartfelt condolences to everyone in the family. I join all the millions of her fans in mourning her demise..." Aamir wrote in a statement on Twitter.

Madhuri Dixit, one of Sridevi's contemporaries, also took to Twitter to mourn the demise of the actor.

"Just woke up to the terrible news of Sridevi passing. My heart goes out to her family. The world has lost a very talented person who left behind a huge legacy in film. #RIPSridevi." "I have no words. Condolences to everyone who loved #Sridevi . A dark day. RIP," tweeted Priyanka, alongside a still of Sridevi from her superhit film "Mr India".

Riteish tweeted, Terrible terrible news. Am shocked beyond words. SRIDEVI ji No More  RIP,, while Sushmita wrote that she has been inconsolable since the news broke. I just heard Ma'am Sridevi passed away due to a massive cardiac arrest. I am in shockcant stop crying"

Director Shekhar Kapur, who worked with Sridevi in the iconic Mr India (1987) called the actor's death the end of an era.

"Sridevi... gone. It's like an era is over. Like life turning a new chapter. A beautiful story just ended. An amazing spirit just vanished leaving us with amazing love, memories, and incredible grief," he wrote.

Director Subhash Ghai called the actor "the uncrowned queen of acting in all languages in her times".

"I am deeply grieved for this shocking loss. Sridevi has not been one of the finest actor but the finest actor of indian of cinema since 1985. Introvert by nature, she was electricity with thunder in front of camera. She would shock directors by her each shot taken on her on the sets, may it be dance drama or romance.

"She maintained her dignity and integrity as an actor and person both constantly at any cost in this demanding industry," Ghai said.

Actor-BJP MP Hema Malini said Sridevi's death is a loss to the Indian film industry, which would never be compensated.

"Sridevi's sudden passing away has left me in deep shock. Can't imagine how such a bubbly person, a wonderful actor, is no more.She has left a void in the industry that cannot be filled. Boney is a good friend and I've seen their daughters grow up. My prayers are with the family," she tweeted.

Anupam Kher, who has collaborated with Sridevi in films such as Chaalbaaz, Karma (1986), Laadla (1994) and Chandni among others, said he could not bring himself to talk about the actor in past tense.

"It is too uncomfortable to talk about someone you liked and admired so much in past tense. Can't talk much now," Kher told PTI.

Hansal Mehta said he was planning to approach the actor with a project but was too late.

"There will never be another #Sridevi. I was about to approach her for a film. That film will now be dedicated to her. If it finds an actor."

Actor Akshay Kumar wrote he had the fortune of working with the actor in Meri Biwi Ka Jawaab Nahin, a film that was shot in 1994 but saw the theatrical release 10 years later.

"Shocked beyond words to hear about the sad and untimely demise of #Sridevi. A dream for many, had the good fortune of sharing screen space with her long ago and witnessed her continued grace over the years. Thoughts and prayers with the family. RIP," Akshay wrote.

Alia Bhatt wrote a condolence message for her "icon" on Twitter.

"Nothing makes sense. I have no words.. just completely shocked. RIP Sridevi. My icon forever. Love you," she tweeted. PTIeditorial@tribune.com

Harshraj Singh

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, February 24

Though the district administration claimed to have conducted municipal corporation elections in a peaceful manner, complaints of violence and bogus voting were reported in wards of the city. Despite rain hitting the city this morning, 59.14 per cent polling was recorded in the state's biggest municipal corporation.

Violating the model code of conduct, MLAs of the ruling party were seen entering booths. The Opposition parties, including SAD-BJP, LIP-AAP and also some Independent candidates, accused the ruling Congress of booth capturing and highhandedness.

A major 'clash' between the Congress and the SAD workers took place in Ward No. 75. There were numerous allegations of booth capturing and bogus voting in wards across the city. Besides, incidents of stone pelting were also reported in Ward No. 36, 59 and 75. In Ward No. 36, some people came there and tried to capture booths. But the people present there thwarted their attempt. Following the incident, stone pelting started in the area, leaving a few people injured.

Voters accused parties of creating fear outside Satpaul Mittal School where a polling station of Ward No. 44 was set up. A large number of non-voters had gathered there.

Resident thrashed by 'Cong supporters'

19-year-old Kanchan of Ghumar Mandi alleged that Congress men attacked her father Kashmiri Lal as he had cast vote in favour of the BJP candidate from Ward No. 76. She further alleged that the police were present there but nobody came to his father's rescue.

Allegations of bogus voting, booth capturing

SAD candidate from Ward No. 67 Upinderjit Kaur Dua accused the Congress of indulging in bogus voting. She said: "I caught fake voters but the police did not take action against them. They entered the booth multiple times. It is a murder of democracy. If they were to win elections with such tactics, why were elections held?"

Mamta Ashu, wife of MLA Bharat Bhushan Ashu, is the Congress candidate from Ward No. 67.

SAD District President Ranjit Singh Dhillon complained about a fake Congress agent. District BJP president, Ravinder Arora, levelled allegations of booth capturing in Ward No. 59 against MLA Surinder Dawar and his son Manik Dawar. Shalu Dawar, wife of MLA's nephew, is the Congress candidate from Ward No. 59. However, Dawar denied allegations.

The SAD spokesman, Dr Daljit Singh Cheema, alleged that more than 250 outsiders reached Sanet village in Ward No. 72 by buses bearing registration numbers of Amritsar. He said in Ward Number 38, Congress workers broke a video camera installed there by the SAD after taking due permission and indulging in bogus voting.

Cheema also alleged in Ward No. 46 also a video camera was snatched and taken away even as Congress men entered two booths, drove out SAD agents and indulged in bogus voting after locking the main gate. He also complained about bogus voting in Ward No. 12, 36, 54, 67 and 71. Meanwhile, Lok Insaaf Party candidate from Ward No. 62, Gurpreet Khurana, accused Congress men of making an attempt to attack him.

BJP leader Ravinder Arora also alleged that Congress MLA Rakesh Pandey entered in booths of Salem Tabri. The police said that the MLA was asked to leave the place.

Meanwhile, Congress MP Ravneet Singh Bittu and MLA Bharat Bhushan Ashu and others denied the allegations. Ashu said all allegations against them were baseless.

MLA Simarjit Singh Bains claimed the Congress misused the government machinery to murder the democracy. He said in Ward No. 36, 38, 39, 43, 44, 49 and 50, Congress workers indulged in bogus voting. The role of police and administration is under the scanner as they openly supported the Congress men, he said.

Spokesperson for AAP Darshan Singh Shankar also accused the Congress men of capturing booths in Wards No. 15 and 72.

Meanwhile, Deputy Commissioner Pradeep Kumar Agrawal claimed that the MC polls in 95 wards of Ludhiana were held in a peaceful manner. Ludhiana recorded 59.14 percent voter turn out with the electorate exercising their franchise till 4 pm. The counting of votes would be held on February 27.

In 2012, around 65% polling was recorded amid several incidents of violence, including the murder of a former sarpanch of Bahadurke village.rajivbhatia82@gmail.com

Guwahati, February 25

Former Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi on Saturday said that Army chiefs should be allowed to join politics only after a gap of five years following their retirement.

After retirement, no Chief or General of Army should be allowed to join politics for five years. They can do so after five years, Gogoi told ANI.

Gogoi also criticised General Bipin Rawats statement on the rise of Maulana Badruddin Ajmal-led AIUDF (All India United Democratic Front) and said no Army Chief should make comments on political affairs.

Since Independence, Ive never seen an Army Chief making comment on political parties. Armys main role is maintaining the security of the country and repulse attack by the enemies of the country. It is not their business to look into the political affairs, he added.

On Wednesday, General Rawat said that Assams AIUDF has grown in a faster time-frame than the BJP grew over the years.

There is a party called AIUDF (All India United Democratic Front). They have grown in a faster time-frame than the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) grew over the years. When we talk of Jan Sangh with two MPs and where they have reached, AIUDF is moving at a faster pace in the state of Assam, he said at the North East Region of India- Bridging Gaps and Securing Borders Summit.

General Rawats remark invited a wrath of the Opposition, including AIUDF chief Badruddin Ajmal who said it was not his job to comment on political status.

As the Chief of Indian Army, his main job is to lead the great Indian Army rather than commenting on the political status of different parties, he told media here.  ANI.amansharma@tribunemail.com

New Delhi, February 25

In a rare admonition for the state of affairs in its own backyard, the top appellate authority for RTI matters, the CIC, has pulled up its joint secretary (law) and other officials for a flagrant violation of the transparency law.

The rebuke came from Information Commissioner Divya Prakash Sinha when he observed serious violations of the processes and provisions of the RTI Act while hearing an appeal filed by legal and transparency activist R K Jain.

Jain had sought to know from the Central Information Commission the action taken on 113 communications received in its legal cell from its dak (mail) section during April-June, 2013. But he was not provided with any information.

"It is indeed mortifying to note that the public authority which ought to be setting examples for other public authorities to follow in matters of RTI Act has lent itself such a disdainful scenario of flagrant violation of the provisions of RTI Act, Sinha said.

During appeal proceedings before Sinha, Jain said he wanted to emphasise on the massive problem of dak receipt management in legal cell of the CIC and expressed serious concern over the "deplorable" projection of the cell before the higher courts.

Underlining the absurdity in the case, Sinha noted that central public information officer (CPIO) and the first appellate authority (FAA) were the same person in this case.

According to the RTI Act, however, only a senior official of the department can adjudicate the first appeal against the response furnished by the CPIO.

Sinha also said the officers dealing with the case later did not note the trail of the case, ignored the fact and that a timely response was not given.

Initially, the case was handled by SP Beck, who acted as the CPIO and later passed the order as the First Appellate Authority.

In his order as the First Appellate Authority, Beck directed the then CPIO Yogesh Singhal to provide information. The new CPIO also did not provide satisfactory response and referred the matter to FAA again.

...incumbent CPIO ignores trail of a particular case once he takes over charge of CPIO and provides a reply on his own accord and asks the applicant to again approach FAA, he noted.

It is rather preposterous to note that the same CPIO and JS Law i.e SP Beck is later presiding over as the FAA on the First Appeal filed against the RTI Application on which he was supposed to reply as the CPIO, Sinha said.

Sinha said that Beck, Singhal and Achala Sinha, the then Additional Secretary, CIC, have knowingly or unknowingly created a sheer mockery of the letter and spirit of the RTI Act by creating a situation of impasse by their whimsical approach towards the RTI application.

Sinha said the case not just indicates failure of individual officers but a "colossal and baffling failure of the system" within which the officers function.

In addition to Beck and Singhal, Sinha also chided K K Pukhral, the section officer in the legal team.

Serious concern is expressed over the situation of three-ring circus caused in the matter by all concerned, leaving the scope of taking penal action extremely difficult, Sinha said as he left the officials with a warning to be careful in future.  PTIgspannu7@gmail.com

New Delhi, February 25

The countrys front line security force against terror threats at civilian airports and strategic nuclear and aerospace installations, the CISF, is working without a regular chief for over a month as the Centre is yet to appoint a Director General (DG).

The about 1.80-lakh personnel strong force has been without a regular DG since January 22 after serving chief OP Singh was repatriated to his cadre, on the request of the Uttar Pradesh Government, and appointed the states director general of police (DGP).

The process of decision-making and making large policy moves in the force has slowed down owing to the absence of the designated chief, official sources said.

This is not a healthy precedent at all and it is happening again and again in the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs). This shows that the government has utter disregard for the importance of such an important paramilitary force, retired IPS officer Prakash Singh told PTI.

Singh, who has served as the DGP of the Uttar Pradesh and the BSF, has been an advocate for police reforms in the country and the Supreme Court, acting on his petitions, had issued guidelines on the subject.

Not only policy making and decisions but the entire organisation suffers in the absence of a full-time chief. I do not know whats the problem in appointing a regular CISF chief when there is a pool of eligible IPS officers available to choose from, he said.

Sources in the Union Home Ministry said the process of appointing the CISF chief is ongoing since the last month.

It is not at all good to keep a large and important paramilitary force like the CISF headless for such a long time.

Last year, the government appointed the new CRPF DG after a delay of two months, during which the force suffered two major reverses in anti-Naxal operations, a senior official in the security establishment said.

The CRPF lost 38 troops in two deadly Maoist ambushes in Chhattisgarhs Sukma district when it was without a regular chief, and after these incidents senior IPS officer RR Bhatnagar was quickly appointed the new DG.

Do we keep the defence forces headless like this? The CAPFs are a very vital cog in the internal security establishment and such delays should be avoided, a senior paramilitary officer said.

The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) guards 59 civil airports of the country apart from a number of vital and strategic installations in the nuclear energy and aerospace domain and is a very active force operationally.

A number of government buildings such as central ministries in Delhi, power plants and coal mines across the country are also under its security cover.  PTIpardeepdhull@gmail.com

New Delhi, February 25

The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) is all set to purchase 25 high-end drones to equip itself to better conduct anti-Maoist operations and deal with militants in Jammu and Kashmir.

The tendering process for the procurement of the drones has started and they are expected to be introduced by the CRPF  the countrys largest paramilitary force  in the next three-four months, a Deputy Inspector General-rank officer told IANS on the condition of anonymity.

A pre-bid conference for the procurement of the drones was held on September 12, 2017, and the online and offline tender was opened on October 26, 2017, with a validity of six months.

These droneseach costing around Rs 15 lakhare being purchased to help the CRPF personnel during surveillance, reconnaissance and detection in day and night operations in Jammu and Kashmir and in the dense forests of Maoist-hit states like Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra.

The 25 new drones will join CRPFs existing fleet of 40 and help the force get real-time inputs and avoid attacks on its troopers.

The drones will have the capacity to integrate geo-referenced master mapsprovided in at least one of the commonly used digital map formatswith real-time and clear video during flights at heights of around 250 metres. They will also have better quality zoom control and thermal imaging for night operations, the CRPF official said.

He also said that the new drones would be able to detect human-sized targets at 300 metres or more and have additional features when compared to the CRPFs existing Indian-made light drones, named Netra.

These drones will also comprise a ground control station with data link equipment, daylight camera payload, night camera payload, universal battery charger with power supply system, he added.

The move is part of CRPF Director General R.R. Bhatnagars focus on better equipping the force and improving its infrastructure, the official said.

The tender, issued on August 25 last year with the submission date on January 2, invited an online global tender in a two-bid system for the supply of 25 micro Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAVs).

The 57-page tender notification seeks a two-year guarantee from the manufacturers, who have to supply the drones within 90 days of winning the contract.

The notification says the tendering firms have to register with the National Small Industries Corporation to undergo re-verification of their manufacturing capacity and clarifies that in case of denial for re-verification, they will be disqualified.

All the tenderers are required to demonstrate the equipment and product offered by them before a board of officers (to be detailed by DG CRPF) at 201 Cobra Battalion HeadquartersA (Chattisgarh) for assessing the technical suitability and performance of the equipment as per tender enquiry specifications.

Offers of those firms are liable to be ignored, whose equipment or product are not found as per tender enquiry specifications. Price bids of only those firms will be opened whose technical bids as well as performance of their equipment so demonstrated are found acceptable as per requirement, says the notification.

Training of 75 CRPF personnel to handle the drones and minor repairs at the 4 Signal Battalion of the force in Neemuch, Madhya Pradesh, are part of the conditions laid down in the document, another CRPF officer said.

According to the officer, although the Maoist threat has diminished with the security forces increasing their area dominance, intelligence reports suggest they are trying to reorganise themselves  and high-end gadgets like the drone will help in fighting them.

The over 3,00,000-strong CRPF is mandated to provide internal security in Jammu and Kashmir and Maoist-affected areas.  IANSuttara@tribuneindia.com

New Delhi, February 25

Ensuring the participation of women in all fields of life is every Indian's fundamental duty, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Sunday, and noted that the dream of a New India envisages women who are strong, empowered and equal partners in development.

Addressing his monthly 'Mann ki Baat' radio broadcast, the prime minister said a woman's power today underlined inner fortitude and self-confidence, which made her self-reliant.

"Not only has she herself advanced but has carried forward the country and society to newer heights...Today the country is moving forward from the path of women development to women-led development," he said.

Modi said it was "our fundamental duty" to ensure the participation of women in every field of lifeboth social and economic.

Referring to International Women's Day observed every year on March 8, he recalled the words of Swami Vivekananda, who had said the idea of "perfect womanhood" was "perfect independence".

"We are part of a tradition where men were identified because of women. Yashoda-Nandan, Kaushalya-Nandan, Gandhari-Putra, these were identities of a son...," he said.

As India observes National Science Day on February 28, the PM also stressed the importance of the "relentless quest" for truth.

"And this is the very essence, the real inspiration behind scientific inventions and discoveries. Never rest till every why', what' and how' are answered," he said.

In his address, the prime minister also spoke on the issue of safety ahead of National Safety Day on March 4.

"If we are not aware of safety in our daily life, if we are not able to attain a certain level, it will get extremely difficult during the time of disasters," he said.

Modi regretted that while people read signboards on safety, they often ignored the messages.

"Leave aside natural disasters, most of the mishaps are a consequence of some mistake or the other on our part. If we stay alert, abide by the prescribed rules and regulations, we shall not only be able to save our own lives but we can also prevent catastrophes harming society," he pointed out.

He also urged the people to inculcate safety in their day-to-day lives, stressing that India had to become a "risk-conscious" society. He said till three years ago, thousands of people lost their lives every year because of heat waves. Since then, the NDMA (National Disaster Management Authority) has organised workshops on heat wave management as part of a campaign to raise awareness among the people, he said.

"In 2017, the death toll on account of heat wave remarkably came down to around 220 or so. This proves that if we accord priority to safety, we can actually attain safety," he said.

Modi also referred to the newly-launched 'Gobar Dhan' scheme where rural waste would be converted to clean energy through biogas under the government's Swachch Bharat campaign.

He said the aim of 'Gobar Dhan'or Galvanising Organic Bio Agro Resourceswas to ensure cleanliness in villages and generate wealth and energy by converting cattle dung and solid agricultural waste into compost and biogas.

He pointed out that India had, at close to 300 million, the highest cattle population in the world, with a daily output of three million tonnes of dung.

Some European countries and China use animal dung and other bio-waste to produce energy. But India lacked full capacity utilisation in this.

He said a target had now been set to use cattle dung, agricultural waste, kitchen waste to produce biogas-based energy.

Under the scheme, farmers will be encouraged to consider dung and other waste not as waste but as a source of income.

"There will be novel opportunities for newer jobs linked to waste collection, transportation, biogas sales. An online trading platform will be created for better implementation of 'Gobar Dhan Yojana'it will connect farmers to buyers," he said.

Modi called for self-help groups and cooperatives to take this forward.

"I urge entrepreneurs, especially our sisters residing in rural India, to step forward, and through the creation of self-help groups and cooperative societies extract full advantage from this opportunity," he said.

The prime minister also hoped the festival of Holi next week would bring in colour-laden felicitations. PTIuttara@tribuneindia.com

New Delhi, February 25

With an eye on the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP top leadership including Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hold discussions with party Chief Ministers and Deputy Chief Ministers here on February 28, officials said on Sunday.

In the day-long deliberations, organisational preparedness, implementation of ambitious central schemes, preparations for the Lok Sabha polls, the Centre's ambitious plan to provide health insurance to 10 crore poor families across the country and "One Nation-One Election" idea, are likely to figure prominently.

The Bharatiya Janata Party has 14 Chief Ministers and Deputy Chief Ministers in states like Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat and Jammu and Kashmir. In Bihar and Jammu and Kashmir the BJP is a coalition partner with the Janata Dal-United and People's Democratic Party (PDP), respectively.

According to the officials, the BJP leadership has sent a five-point note to come prepared for the meeting, which has been a yearly affair after Modi took over the reigns in 2014.

In a letter written by BJP General Secretary Bhupendra Yadav, the Chief Ministers and the Deputy Chief Ministers have been asked to present the details of booth level preparations along with creation of "Shakti Kendras" and appointment of "Panna Pramukhs".

The states have also been asked to present the status of implementation of central schemes targeted at the poor, and socially and economically weaker sections like Jan-Dhan, Mudra, Ujwala, housing and others schemes.

A three-page note on "One Nation-One Election" has also been sent asking the Chief Ministers to form committees under the leadership of a senior leader either from government or organisation so that the issue can gain momentum in public discourse.

They have also been asked to involve NGOs and other social youth organisations.

The meeting will take place on a day when the results for by-polls for two Assembly constituencies in Madhya Pradesh and one in Odisha will be announced and the budget will be presented by Madhya Pradesh government.

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan is likely to miss the inaugural session, which will be addressed by Amit Shah, but may attend the concluding session, which will be addressed by the Prime Minister.

The sources said a session for devising strategies to win the 120 Lok Sabha seats that the BJP has never won, will also be held.

A senior BJP leader involved in the party's strategy told IANS that the purpose of the meeting was to counter the anti-incumbency of the NDA government at the Centre and in the BJP-ruled states where the party is in power for long and has done exceptionally well in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls by winning majority of the seats.

In Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, Goa, Assam, Delhi, Jharkhand and Bihar, the BJP won majority of the seats in the 2014 polls. IANSeditorial@tribune.com

Suresh Dharur

Tribune News Service

Visakhapatnam, February 25

The Andhra Pradesh Government is considering a proposal to introduce Indias first Hyperloop transportation facility between Vijayawada and the new capital city Amaravati.

If the plan fructifies, it would be a six-minute journey between the two cities, a distance of 40 kilometres.

(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)

Talking to reporters on the sidelines of the ongoing CII Partnership Summit in the port city of Visakhapatnam, the chairman and co-founder of Hyperloop Transportation Technologies, Bibop Gresta, said it has the potential to transform the mass transportation system in the country. Amaravati, the river-front capital being built by the AP government, was a good place to start as the environment was unique, he said. You have a density of population and a need for a faster, sustainable and efficient way to move people and goods, Gresta said.

Our technology is radically different from the existing ones. We have created a system that uses a combination of renewable energy to generate more electricity than it consumes. This ensures affordable cost of construction and maintenance. The capsule can move at a very high speed consuming very little energy, making the system highly efficient, the company executive said. He is among over 2,500 delegates from 60 countries attending the three-day Summt, aimed at attracting investments into the state.

The AP Government had said in September last year that it would kick-start a feasibility study to develop a Hyperloop between Vijayawada and Amaravati, after the AP Economic Development Board and US-based Hyperloop Transportation Technologies signed an MoU.

The study will not only tell us about the feasibility of the project, but also about its profitability. Once that is done and if the chief minister gives us the go-ahead, we will be ready to roll out the project, Gresta said.

It could take around four to five years to complete the project, the company executive said.gspannu7@gmail.com

Mumbai, February 25

Veteran actor Sridevis mortal remains will arrive in India from Dubai tomorrow, her family said in a statement.

Sridevi, 54, died late Saturday night reportedly due to a cardiac arrest in Dubai, where she had gone to attend the wedding of her nephew Mohit Marwah.

Boney Kapoor, Jhanvi, Khushi and the entire Kapoor, Ayyappan and Marwah family is deeply bereaved and shocked with the untimely loss of Sridevi Kapoor, the statement, issued this evening by the Yash Raj Films (YRF) on behalf of the family, said.

They thank the entire media for their prayers, support and sensitivity during their time of grief. Late Sridevi Kapoors body will arrive in India tomorrow, it said.

The mortal remains are expected to be brought by a chartered flight.

Earlier, media reports in the UAE had also said that her body would be brought to India tomorrow.

The Khaleej Times reported, citing UAE officials, that Sridevis autopsy had been completed and the family is now awaiting laboratory reports conducted by the General Department of Forensic Evidence.  PTIamansharma@tribunemail.com

Mulawad (Karnataka), February 25

Continuing to target the prime minister in his campaign in poll-bound Karnataka, Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Sunday asked why Narendra Modi, who had described himself as the country's "chowkidar", was "silent" on the PNB fraud.

He also asked Modi as to why he was not taking any action regarding the alleged sudden increase in turnover of a company owned by BJP president Amit Shah's son Jay Shah.

"Modi ji comes to Karnataka and speaks about corruption.

He had told the country not to make him prime minister but make him the chowkidar (watchman) of the country," Gandhi said.

At a Congress rally here, he said, "On one side there is his party's (former) chief minister (B S Yeddyurappa) who had gone to jail and on the other side are the other four former ministers of the BJP government who had gone to jail; sitting in between them, Modi speaks about corruption."

"Shah's son converts Rs 50,000 to Rs 80 crore in three months and the chowkidar of the country doesn't get it inquired and doesn't even utter a word," he alleged.

The BJP chief has rejected allegations of corruption against his son Jay Shah, who has filed a criminal defamation suit against a news portal which claimed his business fortunes had zoomed after the BJP came to power in 2014.

Gandhi is on the second leg of his three-day tour of northern parts of Karnataka. This is his second visit to the state in less than a fortnight.

Karnataka is slated to go to polls in a few months.

Hitting out at Modi on demonetisation, the Congress president said, "Modi ji told the country to stand in line (queues at banks) for the fight against corruption. You would have not seen a single rich person or someone wearing suit-boot inthe line."

He alleged that all the "thieves" in India had converted their black money into white with the help of Modi.

Attacking the prime minister on the Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud issue involving jewellery designer Nirav Modi, Gandhi questioned his silence.

"Nirav Modi has indulged in the theft of Rs 22,000 crore, he runs away from the country, but the chowkidar of this country does not even utter a word," he said.

Breaking his silence over the Rs 11,400-crore fraud at India's second-biggest PSU bank, Narendra Modi on Friday had warned of strict action against those involved in financial irregularities and said loot of public money would not be tolerated.

Gandhi, invoking 12th century social reformer Basaveshwara from Karnataka, said "Nudidante Nade" (practise as you preach), and asked the prime minister to walk the talk on such issues.

"Modi ji Nudidante Nade," he said in Kannada.

Basaveshwara is revered by the dominant Lingayat-Veerashiva community. They are predominantly present in northern parts of the state.

He also accused the prime minister of "failing" to fulfil the election promise of providing two crore jobs to youths in the country every year.

The Congress leader also said despite schemes such as Make in India,Start-up India and Stand-up India, "whatever you buy, fromwatches to shirts to shoes, every thing is Made in China".  PTIeditorial@tribune.com

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, February 25

Aam Aadmi Partys state co-president and Sunam MLA Aman Arora today criticised the state government for taking action against farmers who wanted to stage a protest against the Centre.

In a press statement, Arora wondered why the Capt Amarinder Singh government was stopping farmers from raising their voice against the BJP-led NDA.

Arora said the farmers had been protesting for long to press the government to implement the Swaminathan Commission report and fulfil other promises made by the BJP before the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. He said it was understandable that the BJP government in Haryana was preventing agitating farmers from reaching Delhi, but why was the ruling Congress in Punjab doing the same.

He said the state government had taken BKU (Sidhupur) activists into custody at Cheema Mandi (Sangrur) even though the farmers had been marching peacefully towards Delhi. Arora took part in a dharna along with other AAP members. He also ensured help to the protesting farmer unions.gspannu7@gmail.com

New Delhi, February 25

There is no space in Canada for religion to be used for political motives to promote any type of extremism, Canadas Sikh woman ex-MP Ruby Dhalla has said while asserting her country believes in a united India.

Expressing her concern over talk about possible links between Canada and Khalistani sympathisers demanding a separate state carved out of India, she said that at times all Sikhs in Canada were seen as sympathisers of extremism.

You cannot paint all Sikhs living in Canada with the same brush of being supporters of extremism. This is what is happening and it is unfortunate and painful, she told PTI.

Dhalla, who became the first Sikh woman to serve in the Canadian House of Commons, also emphasised that her country has zero tolerance towards extremism.

In Canada, there is no space for religion to be used for political motives to promote any type of extremism, she said.

However, she added that there might be fringe elements in Canada, but it was unfortunate this became a significant source of discussion during Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeaus just-concluded visit to India.

Dhalla, who is from the ruling Liberal Party in Canada, said she was confident that the law would take its own course against people listed by India who are living in Canada and are suspected of trying to revive Sikh separatist movement in Punjab.

Canada believes in a united India... Punjabis and Sikhs (in Canada) are interested in a united and strong India, she said.

She was part of the delegation of Trudeau who was on his maiden trip to India as Canadas Prime Minister.

Dhalla, who was born and raised in Canada, said she has always worked for strengthening the relationship between the two countries.  PTIamansharma@tribunemail.com

Ravi S. Singh

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, February 25

Leader of Opposition in Punjab Assembly and AAP leader Sukhpal Singh Khaira on Sunday termed the about one-year rule of the Capt Amarinder Singh government as flop and said the Chief Minister has left people in the lurch by backtracking on his poll promises.

Talking to mediapersons here, Khaira said Capt Amarinder got huge electoral mandate for his promise to waive of all kinds of loans of farmers and farm labourers who are in distress on account of debts.

After supporting Congress, led by Capt Amarinder Singh, the farming community feels betrayed and lost all hope of him, Khaira said.

The government has waived loans amounting to Rs 170 crore only, which is less than even 1 per cent the total debt amount, he said.

"As many as 350 farmers have committed suicide since Capt Amarinder Singh took charge for his second innings as Chief Minister. This is because the high hopes raised during elections, have been belied as a result of which they are now disillusioned," Khaira said.

The government has failed on delivering on its promise of creating job opportunities and eradication of drug menace in the state, Khaira said. "Not a single government job has been created. Drugs are easily available in the state," he claimed, adding on the contrary, the available jobs are being done away with.

He cited, among others, closure of two thermal power plants, including one at Bhatinda, laying off about 2,000 employees in the process.

Khaira said law and order situation was at low point, with criminals having no fear of the police.

Referring to the proposed two-day international art and cultural razzmatazz at Quila Mubarak fort at Patiala to be organised under the rubric 'Punjab Panorama' with the help of the state, Khaira said the governments priorities are wrong.

"The government should focus on building academic and medical institutions like schools and hospitals. The Congress government is following in the footsteps of the preceding SAD-BJP government which built 10 museums worth Rs 10,000 crore during the 10-year of its regime," he added.uttara@tribuneindia.com

Washington

Jupiter's icy moon Europa may host life in an ocean of liquid water hidden under its 10 kilometre-deep ice crust, scientists say.

Researchers from the University of Sao Paulo (USP) in Brazil conducted a theoretical research to evaluate microbial habitability of Europa using data collected from similar environments on the Earth.

"We studied the possible effects of a biologically usable energy source on Europa based on information obtained from an analogous environment on Earth," said Douglas Galante, a researcher at Brazil's National Synchrotron Light Laboratory (LNLS).

In the Mponeng gold mine near Johannesburg, South Africa, at a depth of 2.8 km, researchers not only found traces of major changes linked to history of life on Earth, but also a terrestrial context similar to Europa.

It was recently discovered that the bacterium Candidatus Desulforudis audaxviator survives inside the mine without sunlight by means of water radiolysis, the dissociation of water molecules by ionising radiation.

"This very deep subterranean mine has water leaking through cracks that contain radioactive uranium. The uranium breaks down the water molecules to produce free radicals," Galante said.

The free radicals attack the surrounding rocks producing sulphate. The bacteria use the sulphate to synthesise and store energy. This is the first time ecosystem has been found to survive directly on the basis of nuclear energy, Galante said.

According to the researchers, the environment colonised by bacteria in the Mponeng mine is an excellent analogue of the environment assumed to exist at the bottom of Europa's ocean.

Although the temperature in Europa's surface is next to absolute zero, there is an enormous amount of thermal energy in its core.

Jupiter's powerful gravitational attraction causes the Europa's orbit to be extremely elliptical, meaning the latter finds itself either to close or too far from the gas giant.

This makes the icy moon suffer geometrical deformation as it moves at the mercy of Jupiter's immense tidal force.

The energy released by the alternating states of elongation and relaxation makes Europa's subsurface capable of hosting an ocean of liquid water.

"However, it's not enough for there to be heated liquid water," said Galante.

The basis for all biological activity known to Earth are the differences in concentrations of molecules, ions or electrons in distinct regions which produce a flow in a certain direction, allowing the occurrence of cellular respiration, photosynthesis, energy storage and other processes common to living beings.

Researchers evaluated how chemical imbalance in Europa could be initiated through the emanation of water leading to chain reactions between water and chemical elements found in Europa's crust.

However, a total lack of empirical data prevents scientists from unequivocally presuming any of these events.

"That's why we looked for a more universal physical effect that was highly likely to occur. That effect was precisely the action of radioactivity," Galante said.

Celestial bodies in the solar system with rocky cores share the same radioactive materials, ejected in space by the Supernova explosion that originated the Sun and the planets.

Uranium, thorium and potassium are the radioactive elements considered by the research, which estimated the concentrations for these materials in Europa, based on the quantities already observed and measured on Earth, in meteorites and in Mars.

"From these amounts, we were able to estimate the energy released, how this energy interacts with the surrounding water, and the efficiency of the water radiolysis resulting from this interaction in generating free radicals," Galante said.

According to the study published in the journal Scientific Reports, pyrite is a crucial ingredient whose presence is indispensable for life in Europa.

"Traces of pyrite should be looked for as part of any assessment of the habitability of a celestial body," said Galante.

Chances for finding pyrite in a hypothetical mission to Europa are good, since sulphur (S) and iron (Fe) are elements found in abundance across the solar system.

"The ocean bed on Europa appears to offer very similar conditions to those that existed on primitive Earth during its first billion years. So studying Europa today is to some extent like looking back at our own planet in the past," Galante said. PTIlaxmi@tribune.com

REFERING to the reply given at the last meeting of the Punjab Legislative Council to a question on the black-listing of newspaper, New India has the following:-"New India from the beginning has been treated in this fashion, though the Government has never scrupled to beg for gratuitous advertisements. Yet it has a very much larger circle of readers than the Madras Mail. Mr. Atkinson, of the High Court, began the boycott, and we have thus been penalised from the beginning of our career. We thought this policy was peculiar to Madras, but we see it extends to other parts." This deprives the Punjab Government's action of the only merit that could ever be claimed for it-that of originality.laxmi@tribune.com

WE understand that the post of an Under-Secretary to the Punjab Government is likely to fall vacant in May next. May we appeal to His Honour the Lieutenant-Governor to appoint an Indian and a member of the Provincial Service to the post? Of the three posts of Under-Secretaries to the Government one is listed, but hitherto no member of the Provincial Service has been appointed to this post, except in one case temporarily for six months. The usual plea for not appointing a member of the Provincial Service is that there is no suitable candidate. We do not think it can be very difficult for the Government to find a single one from among members of the Provincial Service who can fill the post of an Under-Secretary with credit to himself and advantage to the Government. The general belief is that at the bottom of the whole thing is the reluctance of members of the Civil Service to part with their monopoly and to believe that there can be conspicuous merit in any one outside that Service.laxmi@tribune.com

Jotirmay Thaplial

Tribune News Service

Dehradun, February 25

Even as Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu is all set to reach Uttarakhand on March 3 to attend the international yoga festival in Rishikesh, security officials have a peculiar task at hand  managing wild elephants in the region that can pose a problem to the VVIP cavalcade.

The Vice-President is expected to take the road route while returning from Parmarth Niketan in Rishikesh to the Jollygrant airport, covering a distance of nearly 23 km in the thick forest area. Similarly, on his arrival, he is expected to take chopper from the airport to the IDPL helipad from where he has to travel to Parmarth Niketan by road.

This makes the task challenging as the region is prone to elephant movement. The stretch between the airport and Rishikesh is paricularly vulnerable. It has an elephant corridor midway and the herd of elephants blocking the flow of traffic on this road is a common occurrence. The Badkot corridor that falls on this stretch attracts a large number of elephants.

In a review meeting linked to security preparations for the Vice-Presidents visit, Uttarakhand Director General of Police Anil Raturi has given special instructions for ensuring adequate safety as the Vice-Presidents cavalcade travels along the elephant-prone route. He has directed the SSPs, both from Pauri and Dehradun districts, to take necessary steps. He also asked for effective coordination between the police and the Forest Departments for ensuring remedial measures.

The ferocity of the elephant menace on the Jollygrant-Rishikesh stretch can be gauged from the fact that on several occasions, the forest authorities had to close the road to the traffic movement after sunset till dawn to ensure commuterssafety.

On February 8, a youth was killed by a tusker in the nearby Doiwala forest area. Similarly, on January 19, a killer tusker was captured in Hardwar revealing the quantum of man-elephant conflict in the region.pardeepdhull@gmail.com

Beijing, February 25

Beijing has protested against Washingtons decision to impose sanctions against Chinese companies accused of conducting illicit economic deals with North Korea, the foreign ministry has said.

US President Donald Trump on Friday announced measures targeting more than 50 North Korea-linked shipping companies, vessels and trade businesses, hailing the package as the heaviest sanctions ever levied on the nuclear-armed regime.

The measures, which the US says are aimed at forcing Pyongyang to roll back its banned nuclear and weapons programmes, apply to companies located or registered in North Korea, China, Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Marshall Islands, Tanzania, Panama and Comoros.

Washington has been locked in a nuclear standoff with Pyongyang, which is trying to develop missiles that could deliver an atomic weapon to major US cities, and the sanctions are designed to put the squeeze on North Koreas already precarious economy and fuel supply.

China is strongly opposed to the United States long-arm jurisdiction and unilateral sanctions on Chinese entities and individuals, foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said yesterday.

We have lodged solemn representations to the United States and asked the U.S. to immediately cease the wrong practice so as to avoid undermining relevant cooperation between the two sides, he added.

China, North Koreas only major ally, has steadfastly rebuffed Washingtons calls for a full oil embargofearing the chaotic collapse of the Pyongyang regimebut has accepted caps agreed at the United Nations.

We will never allow Chinese citizens or companies to be engaged in activities that violate resolutions from the United Nations Security Council, Geng said.

But Washington says its latest measures target entities that have helped Pyongyang evade UN sanctions.

The North Korean military and broader economy depend heavily on imports of coal and oil from Russia and China, with the latter accounting for some 90 percent of the countrys trade.

Last year, the Security Council adopted a series of resolutions to ban North Korean exports of commodities, including coal, iron and steel.  AFPrajivbhatia82@gmail.com

Brasilia, February 25

Brazils government is seeking the extradition of a Brazilian man who was arrested by US authorities in Florida, allegedly for shipping automatic weapons to the South American country.

The arrest of Frederik Barbieri came one week after Brazil resorted to the military to try to control violence and crime in Rio de Janeiro, where heavily-armed drug gangs control the citys slums.

The United States is the largest source of guns entering Brazil that end up in the hands of armed criminals and drug traffickers, according to a Brazilian police report seen by Reuters last month.

Barbieri was arrested on Friday evening at his home in Fort Pierce, Florida, Nestor Yglesias, spokesman for Immigration and Customs Enforcements Miami Field Office, said on Saturday.

He was arrested by special agents from Homeland Security Investigation, which is a component in ICE, Yglesias said, adding Barbieri will make an initial appearance before a federal magistrate on Monday.

A Brazilian law enforcement officer had earlier said Barbieri was arrested in Miami.

Brazil has sought his arrest since 60 automatic rifles, including AK-47s and other combat rifles, were found at Rio de Janeiro airport in June hidden in a shipment of pool heaters.

Barbieri denied involvement in gun running at that time, but Brazilian police have suspected his involvement since a container of ammunition was found in his name in 2010 at the port of Salvador in northeastern Brazil.

Fabricio Oliveira, head of the Federal Polices disarmament unit in Rio, told reporters that Barbieri was arrested by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement who seized 40 automatic weapons at his home.

Brazils Ministry of Justice said it has already asked for his extradition and is waiting for a Brazilian court to approve additional documents requested by US authorities.

Barbieri moved to Florida in 2012 and obtained US citizenship, which could rule out his extradition and lead to his prosecution in the United States.

The US continues to be the largest indirect source of illegal handguns and assault rifles as a result of unrestricted sales in stores and fairs in American cities, the Brazilian Federal Police report seen by Reuters said.

The December 2017 report said a study of more than 10,000 arms seized by police in Brazil since 2014, mostly in Rio de Janeiro, found that roughly 1,500 guns originated in the United States. The guns often traveled through a third country before arriving in Brazil, with Paraguay being the top intermediary.

Guns from the United States tended to be assault rifles and higher caliber handguns, while guns already circulating in Brazil or arriving from other countries were smaller handguns.

Eight foreign stores were named selling the most high caliber guns that ended up in Brazil, with five located in Florida, although a store in Paraguay was the largest individual seller, the report said.  Reuters.pardeepdhull@gmail.com

Beijing, February 25

Chinas ruling Communist Party on Sunday proposed to remove presidential term limits from the Constitution, potentially allowing President Xi Jinping to continue in power after his second term, which ends in 2023.

The CPC Central Committee proposed removing the clause that the President and Vice-President shall serve no more than two consecutive terms from the countrys Constitution, state-run Xinhua news agency reported on Sunday.

The removal of the term limit, which was expected to be endorsed by the Plenum of the party to be held on Monday, was expected to give 64-year-old Xi, regarded as the most powerful leader in modern China, a limitless tenure.

President Xi, who is also head of the CPC and military, began his second five-year tenure last year, following a national Congress of the CPC.

A seven-man leadership committee unveiled last year included no potential successor, raising the prospect that Xi intends to govern beyond his second term.

Since then, all organs of the party have declared him as the topmost leader of the party setting aside the principle of collective party leadership that was followed in the last three decades.

Xi was elected as the head of the Party and President in 2013 and later took over as head of the military.

In 2016, the CPC officially gave him the title of core leader.

The once-in-five-years Congress of the CPC last year approved Xis ideology to be written into its Constitution  an honour that had been reserved only to modern Chinas founder Chairman Mao Zedong and his successor Deng Xiaoping.

The thoughts of two of Xis predecessors, Jiang Zemin and Hu Jintao, were mentioned in the Constitution but not their names.

Any attempt to challenge Xi or his thinking would be seen as defiance against the party.

Minutes after the announcement today, Xinhua reported that the party proposed to write Xis political theory  Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era  into the Constitution.

It also planned to list the new super anti-graft body, the National Supervisory Commission, as a new state agency in the Constitution.

The Central Committee also proposed to add core socialist values into Chinas Constitution. PTIsanjiv@tribunemail.com

Dubai, February 25

Iranian security forces have detained three more environmental activists on spying charges, the judiciary said on Sunday, weeks after a first wave of arrests and the death in detention of an Iranian-Canadian head of a wildlife group.

Three people were recently arrested in (southern) Hormozgan province. I cannot legally give details now ... but there is no doubt that infiltration by the US and Israel is a serious matter, said judiciary spokesman Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, quoted by the semi-official Fars news agency. After the earlier arrests, Iranian officials said the activists were gathering sensitive information under the guise of scientific and environmental activities.

Kavous Seyed-Emami, an Iranian-Canadian environmental activist, was arrested on January 24 and died in prison two weeks later.  Reutersrajivbhatia82@gmail.com

Paris, February 25

French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel will hold talks on Sunday with Russias Vladimir Putin over implementing a UN ceasefire in Syria, Frances presidency said, as new airstrikes pounded a rebel-held area.

The discussion, which was announced after the UN Security Council unanimously demanded a 30-day truce, will centre on the implementation of this resolution and on the political roadmap needed to achieve lasting peace in Syria, it said.

More than 500 civilians are thought to have died in a week of heavy bombardment by Syrias regime of the rebel enclave of Eastern Ghouta, just outside Damascus.

After the council vote, which had support from Moscow, Syrian warplanes backed by Russian air power launched new raids on Eastern Ghouta, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

The Britain-based monitor said at least 41 civilians were killed in Saturdays strikes, including eight children. Russia has denied taking part in the assault.

France and Germany have pushed for Russian support for the Syria ceasefire, which is mainly to allow aid to reach the besieged area and allow evacuations.

In its statement Frances presidency said the ceasefire was an essential first step, adding that it would be extremely vigilant over its implementation.  AFP.pardeepdhull@gmail.com

United Nations, February 25

The ten elected non-permanent members (E10) of the UN Security Council pushed the five permanent members (P5) to reach a compromise and got an unanimous vote on a resolution ordering a ceasefire without delay in Syria to allow humanitarian aid to reach areas under siege.

After two days of delays and several postponements, Russia and the three Western permanent membersBritain, France and the United Statesagreed on Saturday, on the final version negotiated by Kuwait and Sweden with the backing of the P10.

Kuwaits Permanent Representative Mansour Ayyad Al-Otaibi, who is the Council President for the month, said after the resolution passed that the unanimous vote was a sign that the Security Council is united and this could pave the way for finding a lasting political solution to the seven-year conflict.

Hoping to shame the permanent members locked in a standoff and push them to a compromise, all the E10 representatives lined up together and held a news conference on Friday while the negotiations were on. We want to show you the solidarity of the E10, Al-Otaibi declared: We are all united, we want the resolution to be adopted. The unrelenting push by Al-Otaibi and Swedens Permanent Representative Olof Skoog won praise from every one of the Council members. It was a rare instance of the E10 bending the P5, instead of the other way around.

Besides the nation-wide ceasefire, the resolution calls for the lifting of all sieges, facilitation of medical evacuations, and permitting convoys of the UN and its partners carrying humanitarian supplies free access.

However, the resolution made one notable exception to the ceasefire: It allowed continued action against the Islamic State, Al-Qaeda, A1-Nusra Front and other terrorist organisations.

The key point of contention that held up the resolution since it was formally introduced by Kuwait and Sweden on Wednesday was the timing of when the ceasefire should start. The US demanded it should be immediate, while Russia wanted lag before it went into effect and the threat of a Moscow veto hung over it.

The resolution now says it will come into force without delay, leaving an element of ambiguity subject to interpretations.

Speaking to reporters after the vote, Al-Otaibi said they debated about the timing during the negotiations all of Friday and into Saturday morning. Without delay means immediately, he said.

Russias Permanent Representative Vassily Nebenzia was non-commital about. He told reporters that the reason his country held out on the wording of the timing was that it was logistical issue and a painful process on the ground. He added that another concern of Moscow was that resolution was not used as a pretext to launch an invasion of Syria.

With the drawn-out negotiations, Syria got three days to prepare for it.

Speaking in the Council after the vote, United States Permanent Representative Nikki Haley lashed out at Russia saying that during the time it held up the resolution to change a few words and some commas, mothers lost their children to bombing and shelling.

The Syrian people should not have to die waiting for Russia to organise their instructions from Moscow, or to discuss it with the Syrians, she added.

The action on the ceasefire was precipitated situation in East Ghouta, which UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called hell on Earth. One of the few rebel-held territories, the Damascus suburb has been under a siege and bombed from the air by the Syrian government forces.

East Ghouta was specifically mentioned, along with several other areas, but the Kurdish city of Afrin was not. Intense fighting has been under way in the area between Turkeys military and Kurdish militias backed by Syrian government forces.

Asked about it by reporters, Al-Otaiby said the ceasefire applied to all of Syria and to all forces operating there.  IANSThe domain turkeytelegraph.com may be for sale. Please click here to inquireShoeib Reza Choudhury, general director of DHL-VNPT Express Ltd.

Based in Ho Chi Minh City, Shoeib will be responsible for all aspects of the business operations and activities of DHL Express in Vietnam, in particular, leading the companys strategic development and ongoing investment in the country.

With seventeen years of industry experience, Shoeib has worked in various functions within DHL. In his previous role, he was chief financial officer of DHL Express Singapore and Emerging Markets. As part of the Singapore and Emerging Markets management team, Shoeib played a key part in the strong growth and expansion of DHL businesses across many countries.

Reporting to Yasmin Aladad Khan, executive vice president, commercial and managing director, Emerging Markets, DHL Express Asia Pacific, Shoeib succeeds George Berczely, who has been appointed as chief financial officer at DHL Express Mexico.

Dynamic and passionate, Shoeib has a strong track record throughout his tenure in DHL Express. We are confident he will make significant contributions in his new capacity and grow the Express business in Vietnam from strength to strength, said Khan.

DHL has invested significantly in our people, facilities and air network over the past few years and shall continue to do so. We will be launching numerous large scale projects this year, which will continue to expand our trade network and enhance our ability to deliver excellent service with simplicity.

Shoeib holds a Masters Degree in Business Administration from Warwick Business School and is a member of Chartered Institute of Management Accountants and Chartered Professional Accountants, Australia.

I am excited to take on this new role and join the companys strong management team in Vietnam, one of the most dynamic countries in the region, commented Shoeib.

DHL is the leading global brand in the logistics industry. DHL family of divisions offer an unrivalled portfolio of logistics services ranging from national and international parcel delivery, e-commerce shipping and fulfillment solutions, international express, road, air and ocean transport to industrial supply chain management.

DHL is part of Deutsche Post DHL Group. The group generated revenues of more than 57 billion euros in 2016.

DHL opens new service centre in Binh Duong On January 3, 2018, DHL Express, the worlds leading international express services provider, opened its new DHL Service Centre in Binh Duong provinces Thu Dau ...

DHL eCommerce enters Vietnam's bustling e-commerce market DHL eCommerce, a division of the worlds leading logistics company Deutsche Post DHL Group, has launched nationwide domestic delivery operations in Vietnam.

DHL Express Vietnam receives Gold Award for Best Community Programme at the Annual Global CSR Awards 2017 DHL Express Vietnam, the worlds leading international express services provider announced that it has been honoured with a Gold Award for the Best Community Programme ...

DHL Express launches new service for global online shopping DHL Express, the worlds leading international express services provider, on February 6 announced the launch of On Demand Delivery, a new service that allows shippers ...Paring down dependence on credit

Dr. Dinh The Hien

It was forecast that the capital inflows into the Vietnamese real estate sector would continue to go up this year, thanks to positive signs from commercial banks as well as individuals and foreign investors.

Contrary to the publics unease regarding real estate investment, capital streaming into real estate in 2017 surpassed 2016. The most positive sign is that the new capital originates from various sources rather than just from commercial banks like before.

Consumer loans flow into real estate

Although real estate credit vastly diminished from 12.5 per cent in 2016 to 6 per cent in 2017, the ratio of real estate/construction credit over total outstanding loans saw little reduction, falling from 17.1 per cent in 2016 to 15.8 per cent in 2017.

Nevertheless, consumer credit growth in 2017 shot up to 65 per cent, levelling up the ratio of consumer credit in total credit to 18 per cent in 2017 against the 12.3 per cent in 2016.

Particularly, consumer lending for home purchases and refurbishments grew at the most rapid rate and accounted for the largest proportion with 52.9 per cent in 2017. As a result, total credit for the real estate sector in 2017 has exceeded 2016.

Foreign investment influx

During 2016-2017, Vietnam witnessed a sharp increase in the volume of foreign investment flowing into the real estate sector. Specifically, foreign direct investment (FDI) streaming into real estate was equivalent to 8.5 per cent of the total registered capital, mounting to $3.05 billion in 2017 ($1 billion in 2016), which ranked third among all industries.

In 2017, an impressive number of prestigious foreign firms partook in Vietnams investment activities through partnerships or mergers and acquisitions (M&A). This includes Japans Mitsubishi investing $630 million in Phuc Khang Construction and Investment Corporation as well as Nishi Nippon Railroad and Hankyu Realty from Japan teaming up with Nam Long Group to develop the apartment and condominium complex called Mizuki Park, situated in Ho Chi Minh Citys Binh Chanh District, with total investment capital of $350 million.

Note: VAT and maintenance costs excluded. All prices were recorded from property trading transactions Unit: Million VND per square metre

Developers on track to mobilise capital

Along with the revival of the real estate market in the 2014-2017 period and the upturn of the stock market in 2017, real estate developers managed to decrease their inventory value by a considerable amount over the last 12 months.

Furthermore, the countrys total real estate inventory value shrank by 17 per cent, to VND25.7 trillion ($1.1 billion) in 2017. Real estate firms, especially listed ones, saw a hike in charter capital.

In 2017, the charter capital of the ten listed real estate developers reached VND6.094 trillion ($268.4 million), which advanced the total figure to approximately VND21.549 trillion ($950 million) over the course of 2015-2017, further luring capital into the real estate sector last year.

Banks and investors alike are optimistic about the profitability of the real estate sector

Rosy forecasts for 2018

Capital into the real estate market largely comes in the form of loans provided by commercial banks. There are concerns that the capital for Vietnams property market may decrease in 2018 as banks were required to downsize the proportion of medium- to long-term lending to 45 per cent in 2018 and 40 per cent in 2019.

Nevertheless, commercial banks are expected to dodge the feared reduction of real estate loans thanks to the healthy growth rate of consumer credit. Besides, the strong growth of the stock market would diversify the sources of capital for real estate developers. For instance, they can raise capital from domestic and foreign investors for their upcoming projects.

A substantial number of individual investors still regard the real estate sector as their preferred investment channel. Gold prices are expected to level out in 2018, which can prompt individual investors to seek profit from real estate projects.

Real estate is also expected to continue to appeal to foreign investors, due to the stability of the VND and the rapid growth of the Vietnamese economy.

However, the real estate market might still need to cope with several risks, including a potential downturn of the demand from speculative real estate investment due to the fairly high cost of real estate over the past four years. This would pose a challenge to individuals who buy real estate for residential purposes, as they have to endure price bubble created by speculation.Vu Tien Loc, chairman of VCCI

VCCI has held a workshop to introduce Decree No.15/2018/ND-CP detailing the execution of a number of articles of the Law on Food Safety. Does this signal an improving business climate as administrative procedures are being removed?

The business community has been anticipating this development for many years because they raised several recommendations to amend Decree No.38/2012/ND-CP on the implementation of a number of articles of the Law on Food Safety.

They are delighted that Decree No.15/2018/ND-CP has been approved. This decree allows firms to announce products themselves instead of announcing conformity or compliance with regulations on food safety, as stipulated by the late Decree 38, which wasted money, time, and failed to ensure food safety.

Furthermore, firms operations are not dependent on officers anymore. The new decree removes hazy and unspecified regulations and clearly outlines administrative procedures in line with the governments wish to facilitate development.

The decree is going to be very helpful to associations and firms in this sector. Thanks to their recommendations and the pressure from the government and the prime minister, as well as the Ministry of Healths changing the person in charge of amending Decree 38, Decree 15 was formulated, agreed, and issued this month.

The pressure exerted by the government and the prime minister to remove unnecessary business fees and conditions as well as administrative procedures enabled relevant ministries and agencies to act drastically. The issuance of Decree 15 demonstrated the determination of the government and perseverance of the business community, and should be taken as a lesson by other ministries and agencies in removing business conditions.

Following the requirement of removing 30-50 per cent of administrative procedures and business conditions, will 2018 be the year of removing business fees?

In addition to the macroeconomic indicators, the business community is paying attention to the removal of 30-50 per cent of the existing administrative procedures and business conditions. Savings made through this will be shifted to invest and develop their business.

Moreover, a belief in business has been formed. The startup community is also interested in a favourable business climate which welcomes and promotes creation and innovation.

These should be executed practically, from amending legal documents to actualising the government slogan, which is rule, integrity, action, creativity, and effectiveness.

In reality, state agencies are still shifting responsibility among themselves and ineffective solutions of amending or removing certain rules are still being raised. Thereby, state agencies should be more creative and innovative to make the right decisions and formulate the best fitting policies.

Remember that one year ago, at a speech for the new year, you said that businesses trusted the government to produce the desired results. How would you evaluate the current situation?

The government has made positive and effective changes to consolidate businesses belief. However, the business community needs synchronous action on all levels when it comes to administrative reform and removing business conditions. They also want to participate in more fields of the economy, such as providing public services and investment and trade promotion activities.

As a result, businesses competitiveness will improve, thanks to decreasing business fees and transparent and clear regulations and administrative procedures. Therefore, the target of increasing the proportion of private investment capital in social development investment to 41 per cent will be possible.Lacking legal framework

Nguyen Quang Tuyen

We have seen the rapid growth of the vacation property segment in recent years. Large-size developers like Vingroup, Sun Group, and CEO Group have in fact launched a sequence of products, including multi-purpose building complexes with residential and commercial units called officetel (short for office and hotel), condotels (combination of condominium or condo and hotel), hometels (home and hotel), and high-end resorts. These properties have gained popularity among a small population segment and second-home owners over time.

The attractiveness of the promised returns on investment in second homes came in the context of more and more foreign tourists arriving to Vietnam each year, and local high-earning visitors looking to travel and spend holidays during the year.

Nevertheless, this type of investment is pretty new in Vietnam, and as a result, there are no local laws in place, should disputes between developers and investors/buyers arise. There are no specific standards and regulations for the ownership as well as the trading of the different vacation properties above.

Let us take the following example: while most mortgaged housing projects are listed on the website of the municipal and provincial departments of Natural Resources and Environment, mortgaged condotel projects are not widely known to the public. As a consequence, many projects of this kind have been sold to buyers while still being mortgaged at different lenders, causing troubles and risks for second home buyers. This information asymmetry has put the segment in a dangerous position.

A number of second home buyers in Bavico Nha Trang, for instance, have unexpectedly discovered that their properties all of a sudden belonged to a bank, even though they had paid the developer in full some two years back. The information regarding the property being mortgaged by owner Bach Viet Co., Ltd. has never shown up on the Khanh Hoa Department of Natural Resources and Environments website.

What is more, the current Land Law only recognises land used for tourism and holiday purposes, which falls under the category of non-agricultural land (Article 10 of the Land Law 2013). The law has yet to standardise any specific regulations on mixed-purpose land that combines residential and commercial purposes. Also, there has not been any official land registration/certificate available for this type of property.

In reality, property developers have been referring to the Law on Real Estate Business 2014 and other relevant documents, such as the Law on Housing 2014, the Law on Tourism, as well as the Law on Urban Planning 2009, to apply to the vacation property segment.

Localities are currently building their tourism towns based on the requirements and standards of an urban area, which is considered an overall waste of resources and will be difficult to operate in a professional manner to attract and accommodate tourists. In addition, as there is no legal framework to regulate the vacation property segment, issues related to investment procedures, land planning and construction design are complex.

Based on the characteristics of condotels, land allocated to these kinds of projects is deemed residential in some cities and provinces and homebuyers are granted certificates for long-term ownership. A typical example includes Flamingo Dai Lai Resort in the northern province of Vinh Phuc. Whilst in other areas, such as the central province of Khanh Hoa and Phu Quoc Island in the south, this sort of project would be treated as non-residential, and homebuyers are still granted long-term ownership certificates.

It is observed that almost all condotel projects wish to provide homebuyers with ownership certificates in line with the propertys purpose of use. Unfortunately, not all condotel buyers get the document. Certificates for ownership are issued in accordance with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environments Circular No.23/2014/TT-BTNMT, dated May 19, 2014. Only condotel buyers of projects that meet the requirements for trading under the Law on Real Estate Business 2014 can receive a certificate of ownership.

The developers of those condotel projects which are registered under the hotel model, in accordance with the Law on Tourism, are not allowed to sell condotel units. Vacation property is not a recognised legal title under the current law, yet according to Circular 23, the certificate for a condotel project may not necessarily say condotel, resort apartment/villa or holiday apartment/villa would also suffice. This means to avoid confusions with hotel and vacation property projects (which are not divided into plots and units for sale).

Apart from these problems, there are also some downsides on debate lately as Article 159 of the Law on Housing 2014 does not allow foreign individuals to purchase condotels for investment, which is a great hurdle for the tourism industry.

Similarly, the Land Law 2013 does not have specific regulations on the collection of land use rentals for residential projects and non-agricultural projects that are planned to develop resorts, vacation properties, and condotel projects.

Depending on the locality and the individual property, not all condotels come with certificates of ownership

Recommendations

First of all, the Land Law 2013 needs to be amended and supplemented to legalise the residential use of condotel and officetel projects. The maximum duration of land use for the project owners is set at 50-70 years by current regulations. Project owners should be able to transfer their land use rights within this time period. The parties receiving the transferred land should then be granted a certificate of land use right as well as a certificate of ownership for the property and assets attached to the land for a foreseeable future.

The Ministry of Construction should study and promulgate regulations on the ownership and business activities of vacation properties.

The Land Law 2013 should also be amended and supplemented in a way that specifically regulates mixed-purpose land as well as issues certificates of land use right and ownership of the properties and attached assets for the vacation property category.

The law should also look at allowing foreign individuals to buy condotels for the purpose of investment to increase the liquidity and capital for the development of condotel projects and promote the sustainable development of the tourism industry.

Last but not least, the Law on Housing 2014 ought to come up with a set of regulations for collecting land use levies for residential housing projects and rent from non-agricultural projects planned to develop resorts, second homes, and condotel projects, and ensuring the levies and rates are sensible enough.State Bank of Viet Nam (SBV) has asked credit institutions to limit their lending to the real estate and construction sectors to better control bad debts.- Photo vietnamfinance.vn

Under Document 563/NHNN-TTGSNH issued recently, SBV asked lenders to avoid too much focus on real estate customers and maintain credit growth in the sectors within safe limits.

The institutions must keep a close watch on lending to the sectors, continuously review and assess the progress of realty projects and their developers financial condition, particularly as it relates to their collateral assets, and have measures in place to handle any defaults, SBV said in the document.

Besides evaluating and processing lending applications with scrutiny, the institutions must also monitor borrowers to ensure that they refrain from using consumer loans for investment in property or securities.

Credit expansion should go hand in hand with strict supervision to ensure loans are used for their intended purpose and do not add to bad debts, the document said.

As an alternative, commercial banks were asked to increase their lending to the manufacturing, production and business sectors, particularly those in need of capital for growth, such as agriculture, export, supporting industries and small- and medium-sized enterprises.

This is not the first time the central bank has told local lenders to tighten the valve on credit meant for the real-estate and construction sectors. The move was made after consumer lending accelerated last year and a significant amount of consumer loans went to the real estate sector.

According to the National Financial Supervision Committee, the growth rate of consumer lending last year was three times higher than the average credit growth rate of 18 per cent to reach VND1.17 quadrillion (US$51.54 billion).

Notably, some banks dodged credit regulations by offering lending packages supposedly earmarked for house repairs or house construction to consumer credit customers. Loans for house repairs and construction last year soared 76.5 per cent and accounted for nearly 53 per cent of total consumer loans.

Pham Manh Thang, deputy general director of Vietcombank, told Phap luat thanh pho Ho Chi Minh (Ho Chi Minh City Law) newspaper that the capital limit in the real estate and securities sectors would help the banking system develop sustainably as banks would have to select feasible property projects to provide loans, avoiding non-performing loans in future.

Bad debts in the countrys banking sector, mostly incurred due to a slowdown in the countrys real estate market in the early 2010s, had been cut to 2.3 per cent by the end of 2017, down from 2.46 per cent at the end of 2016, according to SBV.SCG has launched its $5.4-billion petrochemical complex

Located in the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau, Long Son Petrochemical Complex (LSP) is 71 per cent invested by Thailands SCG Group, with the rest being held bystate-run Vietnam Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam).

According to Roongrote Rangsiyopash, president and CEO of SCG, the Vietnamese economy is on an impressive growth path and LSP is expected to contribute to this momentum.

SCG believes that the project will encourage long-term investment in related industries throughout the value chain as well as improve the competitive standards of products, which will lessen the need for imported petrochemical products, said Roongrote.

Besides, Roongrote added that SCG believed this project would support the growth of downstream businesses in Vietnam and play a vital role in securing long-term economic growth as well as improving of the quality of life for people in Vietnam and across the region.

SCG is proud of having been a good corporate citizen in Vietnam for more than 20 years and pledges that all of Long Son Petrochemical Complexs business practices will strictly follow international safety standards and will pay special attention to remain environment-friendly and ensure sustainable co-existence with the communities.

Representatives at the ground breaking ceremony

At the ground-breaking ceremony Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said that LSP will play a vital role in the government's plan to develop the petrochemical industry to meet the domestic demand and start exporting.

The project has been in the pipeline for a long time and today, on behalf of the Vietnamese government, I would like to applaud the determination and tenacity of SCG, Long Son Petrochemical Complex, and PetroVietnam to drive the project to fruition. The Vietnamese government commits to facilitating this project, which is very important not only to the national economy, but also for the strategic relation between the two countries of Vietnam and Thailand, PM Phuc said.

LSP is located in Long Son commune (Ba Ria-Vung Tau province) just 100 kilometres from Ho Chi Minh City.

The approximately $5.4-billion project is positioned as Vietnams first integrated petrochemical complex that will produce up to 1.6 million tonnes of olefins per year.

Additionally, it was designed to produce various petrochemical products, including essential plastic materials such as polyethylene, polypropylene and others in excess of two million tonnes per year to substitute the current imports of polyolefin products.

Non-petrochemical supporting infrastructure, such as a deep sea port and other facilities, are also included. Business operations will strictly follow safety standards and will remain environment-friendly. The project as well as its management board will place special importance on social and environmental concerns, aligning with SCGs vision of becoming a regional leader in sustainability to enhance the quality of life for all.

SCG unveils satisfactory operating results in 2017 The groups satisfactory 2017 operating results came on the back of its strategy of being promptly adaptable to changes in the market and consumer needs, ...

SCG hands over quality playground to Ba Ria-Vung Tau Following SCGs sustainable development policy to contribute to the local communities where it operates, on December 25, SCG officially handed over a 775-square-metre high-quality playground ...2018 will be ripe with large-scale divestments

Petrolimex

Petrolimex (PLX), the country's biggest petroleum distributor, will divest 24.9 per cent held by the state in 2018 under the newly-issued Decision No.1232/QD-TTg signed by Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue. The stake is valued at VND18.67 trillion ($848.63 million).

The divestment will reduce state holdings in the firm to 53.7 from the current 78.6 per cent.

2017 marked an important milestone in Petrolimex's development when it was listed on the stock exchange. PLX's capitalisation value is in the top ten on the stock market.

Eight months after the listing, PLX rose nearly 50 per cent from the starting price of VND43,200 ($1.96) per share to VND64,800 ($2.94) per share at December 14. The value of state capital at PLX also rose from VND42.408 trillion ($1.93 billion) to VND64.6 trillion ($2.93 billion).

PLX now holds a 44 per cent market share. It concentrates on retail and batch sales. The company now has 2,400 petrol stations and will open 70-100 new ones a year which will enable it to compete with domestic and foreign rivals at the highest level.

PLXs foreign strategic partner is JX Nippon Oil & Energy, who are interested in further increasing their holdings in the company.

ACV

ACV, the operator of 22 airports in Vietnam, will have to sell 20 per cent of its shares in 2018 and 10.4 per cent in 2019.

Since being listed on the Unlisted Public Company Market (UPCoM) in November 2016, ACVs shares rose 3.5 fold from the starting price of VND25,000 ($1.14). Thus, the value of state capital rose by VND127.73 trillion ($5.8 billion) from VND51.92 trillion ($2.36 billion) to VND179.65 trillion ($8.16 billion).

ACV has submitted its plan to auction 20 per cent state stake in the third quarter of 2018 to the Ministry of Transport. The stake is valued at VND37.66 trillion ($1.7 billion).

ACVs 2016 stake sale was among the hottest in the aviation industry during the year. Aeroport de Paris (ADP), which manages 37 airports, defeated many powerful rivalsincluding Singapore's Changi Airport International and Japanese investors Taisei and JATCOto become ACV's strategic foreign investor.

However, the sales negotiations between ACV and ADP failed due to a disagreement over the price.

Vinatex

As planned, Vinatex will divest the entire 53.48 per cent stake held by the state this year. In January 2017, Vinatex was officially listed on the UPCoM. Subsequently, the VGT ticker rose from VND13,500 ($0.61) to VND15,780 ($0.71).

However, after one year of listing, VGT fell to VND11,400 ($0.518) at December 14. Despite unfavourable market conditions, Vinatex still remains one of the leading state-owned corporations.

Vinatex has nearly 120 subsidiaries and associated companies.

VNSteel

The state will divest a 57.92 per cent stake in VnSteel in 2018 and plans to sell the remaining 36 per cent in 2020.

Like Vinatex, VnSteel (TVN) has low liquidity in the stock market.

The TVN ticker is now valued at VND7,500 ($0.34), while its capitalisation is at VND5.085 trillion ($231 million).

VEAM

As planned, the state wanted to divest 52.47 per cent of VEAM in 2017, but the sale could not be done in 2017. Thus, the work is likely to be carried out in 2018.

VEAM now holds a 30 per cent stake in Honda Vietnam, 20 per cent in Toyota Vietnam, and 25 per cent in Ford Vietnam. In 2016, these investments brought in dividends of over VND10 trillion ($454.54 million).

In 2018, VEAM plans to list on the stock exchange. It will divest the remaining 36 per cent state holdings by 2020.

CC1

CC1 is a big name in the Vietnamese construction industry. Last July, the company was officially listed on the UPCoM with a capitalisation of more than VND2 trillion ($90.9 million). However, its share liquidity remains low.

In 2018, the Ministry of Construction (MoC) will divest the entire 40.5 per cent stake held by the state in CC1.

Besides MoC, the four other major stakeholders of CC1 are Tuan Loc Construction Investment Corporation, Duc Trong Mechanical Refrigeration JSC, Mr Le Thanh, and Top American Vietnam with respective stakes of 19, 15, 12.8, and 11 per cent.

Lilama

Lilama is under MoC, which plans to divest 46.88 per cent in this company in 2018 and 51 per cent in 2019. Lilama has joined many important thermo-power, oil refinery, and cement projects as a general contractor.

These include Vung Ang 1, the expanded Uong Bi 1, and Nhon Trach 1 and 2 thermal power projects as well as Song Thao cement plant and the Dung Quat and Nghi Son Oil Refinery projects.

Viglacera

In 2018, MoC will divest 20.62 per cent in Viglacera (VGC) and will divest the remaining 36 per cent held by the state in 2019.

In late 2016, Viglacera was officially listed on the Hanoi Stock Exchange at the starting price of VND15,600 ($0.7) per share. VGC is now valued at VND25,000 ($1.136) with good liquidity. The company's capitalisation is valued at over VND10.5 trillion ($477.27 million).

At present, many foreign-owned investment funds keep significant Viglacera holdings, with VinaCapital owning 4.84 per cent.

Vinapharm

State-owned pharmaceutical Vinapharm is likely to sell 65 per cent of its stakes in 2018. The 65 per cent stake includes the 35 per cent that the company failed to divest in 2017.

Besides the Ministry of Health, the two other major stakeholders of Vinapharm are Viet Phuong Group (17 per cent) and SAM Holdings (4.98 per cent).

Vinapharm (DVN) owns many valuable land plots in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City with a total area of around 11,000 square metres.

DVN also has strong financial support from leading local banks, such as Vietinbank, BIDV, Agribank, and Military Bank.

Hanel

As planned, the state will sell 29 per cent of Hanel in 2018. Hanel has a charter capital of VND1.93 trillion ($87.7 million). The company now owns a huge land fund of 120,000 square metres.

In addition to the ten deals, 2018 is expected to witness other remarkable state divestments in Hanoi Beer Alcohol and Beverage Joint Stock Corporation (Habeco), Binh Minh Plastics, Tien Phong Plastics, FPT, and Hancorp, among others.The United States is seeking to have the United Nations ban 33 vessels from ports worldwide and blacklist 27 shipping businesses for helping North Korea circumvent sanctions. (Photo: AFP/Robert Gonzaga)

The US request to a UN sanctions committee, a copy of which was obtained by AFP, came as President Donald Trump announced Friday the "heaviest sanctions ever" on North Korea over its nuclear and ballistic missile tests.

Japan joined the United States in supporting the request concerning three of the 33 vessels for carrying out ship-to-ship transfers of oil destined for North Korea in violation of UN resolutions.

Council members have until Friday at 3pm (2000 GMT) to raise objections to the proposed sanctions.

The measures will come into effect if none of the council members, including the North's ally China, block the request.

Only eight vessels have so far been banned from ports for sanctions-busting and the US request would significantly expand the blacklist in a bid to cripple North Korea's maritime network.

Last year, the Security Council adopted a series of resolutions to ban North Korean exports of commodities in a bid to cut off revenue to North Korea's military programs.

The measures severely restrict deliveries of oil and refined petroleum products to North Korea, but a recent report by a UN panel of experts found that Pyongyang was flouting sanctions.

North Korea earned US$200 million in revenue last year from exports of coal, iron, steel and other banned commodities, the report said.

The United States and Japan are strong backers of sanctions as a way to pressure Pyongyang to come to the negotiating table and end its drive to develop nuclear weapons.

BAN ON NORTH KOREAN SHIPS

Of the 33 vessels that would be hit by the global ban on port entry, a significant number - 19 - are from North Korea in a move that could deal a blow to Pyongyang's use of ships to trade in banned goods.

Most of those North Korean tankers, merchant vessels and cargo ships are suspected of taking part in illegal ship-to-ship oil transfers.

The global port ban and UN deflagging would also apply to 13 cargo and tanker ships flagged by various African, South American and Caribbean countries, according to the confidential request sent on Friday.

One ship, the Hao Fan 6, sails under a Chinese flag and is cited for loading North Korean coal at Nampo port in August.

Japan wants three tankers to be banned from ports: the Dominica-flagged Yuk Tung, Belize's Wan Heng 11 and the North Korean tanker Yu Jong 2.

Japanese military patrol planes spotted the transfer of oil cargo involving the Yu Jong 2 in the East Sea earlier this month and reported it to the UN sanctions committee.

The US request targets a national from Taiwan, Tsang Yung Yuan, who is said to be coordinating illegal North Korean coal exports with a North Korean broker in Russia.

Of the 27 shipping and trading firms facing a UN assets freeze, five are based in Hong Kong including Huaxin Shipping, which has allegedly used its vessel to deliver North Korean coal to Vietnam.

Two other companies - Shanghai Dongfeng Shipping and Weihai World Shipping Freight - also based in China, are cited for carrying North Korean coal on their vessels.Viglacera's investment is expected to help Phu Ha Industrial Park to gather momentum

$21 million social housing project

The construction of the VND480 billion ($21.1 million) social housing project at Phu Ha Industrial Park has just been kicked off to improve the quality of the IP and attract more investors.

Tran Anh Tuan, director of the Viglacera Project Management Unit, said that the social housing project covers an area of 4.3-hectare in Ha Loc commune of Phu Tho town. The project is expected to provide 630 apartments, ranging from 26 to 70 square metres for 2,500 workers.

The project aims to improve the living standard of the employees, ensuring their commitment to the firm, as well as attracting more investment to the IP. Viglacera committed to focusing its resources on the construction work so that the apartments can be rented as scheduled, Tuan said.

The rent is estimated at VND30,000 per sq.m, which is in conformity with the income of the workers, revealed Tuan.

Earlier, Viglacera has launched the construction of housing projects for workers in Yen Phong Industrial Zone (IZ) of Bac Ninh province and Dong Van 4 IZ in Ha Nam province.

$100 million poured into Phu Ha IP

The construction of Phu Ha IP was kicked off in February 2015. It has attracted $90 million from 13 firms mainly specialising in electronics and electricity production using advanced technology. These firms have created 10,000 jobs.

Hoang Cong Thuy, Deputy Chairman of the Phu Tho Peoples Committee, said if the entire land area in the IP was to be rented out for production activities, there would probably be 30,000 workers. Therefore, Viglaceras project is needed to meet the demand of current and future workers.

The province will create many favourable conditions to support Viglacera in dealing with administrative procedures and management later on, confirmed Thuy.

On the same day, the corporation inaugurated a VND16 billion ($0.7-million) wastewater treatment plant in the IP, with a capacity of 1,250cu.m per day. The contractor of this work is Ecoba Environmental Technology Co., Ltd., a company with considerable experience in the field of wastewater treatment.

The second phase of the plant will be launched when the number of firms in Phu Ha IP increases.

VinaCapital becomes strategic shareholder of Viglacera By purchasing an additional five million shares in Viglacera Corporation JSC (ViglaceraTicker VGC on HSX), VinaCapital now holds 5 per cent and became a major ...

Korean firm builds electronic component plant at Phu Ha IP A satellite of Samsung, the Davo C&M Co. Ltd. has signed a contract with Viglacera to rent 20,000sq.m land at Phu Ha Industrial Park in ...

Viglacera starts construction of its 10th industrial park Viglacera Corporation-JSC (Viglacera) today held the ground-breaking ceremony for the Dong Van IV Industrial Park (IP) in the northern province of Ha Nam.

Viglacera expands Yen Phong industrial zone The Viet Nam Glass and Ceramics for Construction Corporation (Viglacera  CTCP) officially started construction to expand Yen Phong Industrial Zone (IZ) in the northern ...Vinawaco requested the prime minister to give them exemption from a $2.34 million debt

Debt out of the blue

According to Vinawaco, in September 2016, it received a document from Vietcombanks Ho Chi Minh City Branch, asking the corporation to pay VND53.1 billion ($2.34 million) after a loan Vinawaco took up in 1995 to buy three ships. The debt includes VND12.59 billion ($553,724) of the principal, VND27.2 billion ($1.19 million) of interest, and VND27.2 billion ($1.19 million) of fines for late payment.

Vietcombanks letter was a great surprise to the members of its Board of Directors, especially Vinawacos strategic investor, because the debt was not mentioned in the evaluation of the firms value for equitisation. It needs to be said that Vinawaco officially started operating as an equitised firm on May 30, 2014.

According to Ngo Van Tuan, chairman of Vinawaco's Board of Directors, the debt impacted the firms credibility as well as its business and manufacturing plan. Besides, it will make it difficult for the firm to approach other credit institutions and apply for a guarantee to implement its signed contracts.

Tuan added that the debt is true, however, it was taken up before the firm conducted its equitisation, thus, the existing board of directors does not have an obligation to pay.

Paying the debt from state capital?

After Vinawaco was informed of the debt, in October 2016, the Ministry of Transport (MoT), which holds a 36.62 per cent stake in Vinawaco, submitted documents to propose the PM and the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) to consider cancelling Vinawacos original VND12.59 billion ($553,724) debt, however, SBV refused.

According to the latest movements, MoT continued to petition the PM to provide and exemption for Vinawaco. In case MoTs proposal is refused, the ministry will use part of its state-owned capital in the firm to pay the debt.

At present, Vinawacos charter capital is VND300 billion ($13.2 million), VND109.8 billion ($4.83 million) or 36.62 per cent stake of which is owned by the state. In case MoT uses this capital to pay off Vinawacos debt, the state will only hold 18 per cent of the firm. According to MoT, this is the optimal solution to deal with the 23-year debt.

Tuan stated that Vinawacos shareholders want MoT to deal with the firms financial problem before the firm transfers the right to represent the state-owned capital from MoT to State Capital Investment Corporation (SCIC).

The puffer jacket pioneer asks eight designers for their take on survival gear



Soft quilted sculptures by Pierpaolo Piccioli for Moncler Autumn/Winter 2018

Courtesy of Moncler/Pierpaolo Piccioli

Avast pillar of figures rose from floor to ceiling in one survival tent. In another, people in ski clothes were walking, sliding, running up diagonally before my eyes - until I realised that the vaulting people were reflected in a vast mirror.

Crowds of people in ski wear reflected in a mirror, by Grenoble for Moncler Autumn/Winter 2018

Courtesy of Moncler/Grenoble

Welcome to Moncler Genius - although the magic in this case came from Remo Ruffini, the CEO of a company that started by designing ski wear and launched the down-filled puffer jacket which has taken over the world of winter warmth.

Now, after a decade of glory, aided by designers Giambattista Valli and Thom Browne, Moncler is trying another piste.

"Creativity is our energy, it drives us forward," was Ruffiini's credo, as the eight survival tents opened up with their entirely different visions.

Craig Green's take on the puffer jacket for Moncler Autumn/Winter 2018

Courtesy of Moncler/Craig Green

The conceptual architecture of British menswear designer Craig Green competed for attention with the soft sculptures of Valentino designer Pierpaolo Piccioli.

"I accepted this project because it talks about freedom and the values of creativity and talent, the designer said. "And then I wanted to get the idea of purity as close to the identity, getting the essence of the Moncler DNA - the brand plus my own identity."

He continued: "I thought it was good to do something out of time out of space, so like the paintings of Renaissance but in a very technical way, with nylon, with the most ordinary materials, not fantastic fabrics or with embroideries - just with shapes and colour. That's what I wanted to do."

Simone Rocha put historical attitude into puffer clothes worn with accessories for Moncler Autumn/Winter 2018

Courtesy of Moncler/Simone Rocha

The Moncler concept is to have a perpetual feed of creative energy from the different designers whose ideas - and the clothes that are produced from the results - will go on sale in the company's stores and in a few pop-up shops.

Palm Angels for Moncler Autumn/Winter 2018

Courtesy of Moncler/Palm Angels

The concept is therefore about refreshment and imagination from the outside. Simone Rocha, for example, took the dreamy historical attitude into puffer clothes worn with accessories, with the models walking along a mountain path; while Kei Ninomiya, from the Japanese Noir brand, created tiny clusters of flowers.

Kei Ninomiya, from the Japanese Noir brand, for Moncler Autumn/Winter 2018

Courtesy of Moncler/Noir Kei Ninomiya

Kei Ninomiya from Noir created tiny clusters of flowers for Moncler Autumn/Winter 2018

So every type and taste could find something to their liking. Add in dogs, who performed a little twirl, wrapped, of course, in Moncler jackets.

Wanted: A designer to bring back the feisty, forceful spirit of the Jet Set age



Emilio Pucci Autumn/Winter 2018

InDigital.TV

The digital era has had a baleful effect on print. Now that every store on Main Street has patterns in every shade and shape, where is the kudos for brands that were founded on poetic imagination?

Emilio Pucci Autumn/Winter 2018

InDigital.TV

Watching the Emilio Pucci show, put together by a team, it was sad to think that the founder was an inventive, solo genius who brought a sporty freshness first to ski-wear and then to the wardrobes of his Jet Set friends. They were in need of clothes that could work for their on-the-move spirits, and the inventive Pucci was the real founder of upscale and glamorous sportswear in a kaleidoscope of colours.



Emilio Pucci Autumn/Winter 2018

InDigital.TV

But now, rudderless because there is no current creative director, Pucci can only re-produce what every other brand is playing with: the puffer, down-filled jacket  its version colourful, of course, and worn with a Pucci-patterned skirt. Or there were faintly familiar patterns from the past, but apparently with fewer and less dynamic colours.

Emilio Pucci Autumn/Winter 2018

InDigital.TV

In the audience were Laudomia Pucci (the familys keeper of the flame) and Sidney Toledano, formerly running Christian Dior in Paris and now part of the wider LVMH empire. He is tasked  and it should not be so difficult  with ensuring that objects of desire, in the Pucci spirit, will entice customers.

Perhaps his first job will be to define what Pucci stands for today. Back in the days when Marilyn Monroe and Jackie Kennedy were seen in Pucci outfits, these were not always patterned. In fact, when Marilyns clothes were offered at auction, slim trousers in vivid colours were her Pucci mainstay.

Emilio Pucci Autumn/Winter 2018

InDigital.TV

But during the recent years that Peter Dundas was the house designer, Pucci moved towards evening outfits, skilfully done, but a long way from the aristocratic founders vision. Alongside the red-carpet glamour came the choice of setting  always in those grand Italian buildings where the ceiling alone is a work of art and the chandeliers are enormous.

That is how it was for the Autumn/Winter 2018 season. And it needs a change. It is time to press the refresh button and move the show to somewhere that represents the core of the brand. A private-jet airport wouldnt be a bad idea as a venue for a label that was founded as a blast of fashion fresh air.

An apocalyptic vision of Miuccia Prada\'s women, pretty in plastic



Prada Autumn/Winter 2018

Night - "the danger of the night for women brave and courageous enough to go out," said Miuccia Prada, as models in hi-vis clothing, prettied up with tulle and bows, disappeared into the darkness.

Prada Autumn/Winter 2018

INDIGITAL.TV

Except that this space, a four-storey tramp up the newly opened tower in Milan's Fondazione Prada, was never quite dark. For outside the windows was an apocalyptic vision of an industrial wasteland, with chirpy, neon plastic birds and a drone recording what was going on inside the building - though not inside Miuccia's head.

It was hard to grasp just what the designer was trying to say with this eerie, discomforting collection of vividly shaded protection clothing. Some pieces, like a nylon bust wrap with the traditional Prada triangle logo, looked like nothing less than the inventive Prada bags from the 1980s. The bustier was worn over a dress so eye-popping in its digital flower pattern that it glowed eerily, even in the half-light.

Prada Autumn/Winter 2018

INDIGITAL.TV

Other garments had what looked like an identity tag as an accessory to a colourful silken bodice. In contrast to these utilitarian clothes and accessories, lower legs were dressed in sheer black nylon socks with ruches of plastic 'tulle' round the ankles.

Prada Autumn/Winter 2018

MARCUS TONDO

Prada has a long fashion history of playing with male/female stereotypes such as sport versus flowers, or industrial material set against chiffon. Perversity is Miuccia's stock-in-trade. The acid colours and the day-glo accessories seemed such unlikely partners with Prada's sleek tailoring. Those linear creations were punctuated by girlie pieces: a flower pattern here or a ruched plastic ankle there.

Prada Autumn/Winter 2018

MARCUS TONDO

"I loved the masculine touch of the show; the body silhouettes were fantastic, the acid tones and colours. For me, it is the coolest thing I have seen in long time," said Rita Ora. The Hot Right Now performing artist was looking out of the wide window where a circling drone appeared to be filming the events of this dark night.

What was missing from the strange experience was how the clothes fitted into the Prada world. Protection was clearly a part of it, for anything from a surfer-style zippered top and trousers in orange and shocking pink nylon to a day-glo green dress with feathery fibres.

But what exactly were these clothes resisting? Why would a woman facing off male aggression wear a frilly top and a veiled dress covered with super-bright flowers, like a swarm of locusts?

Prada Autumn/Winter 2018

MARCUS TONDO

These are questions you do not ask of artists, who are expressing their deepest thoughts and feelings. But clothes are clothes, even presented in a hyper-artistic way in that extraordinary, revamped tower. In the stores, the eclectic pieces, taken apart, will seem much less eerie. For in the end, art is art. And mixing two strands of her life and interests together may not have given quite the right impression of Miuccia Prada's fashion collection.

Donatella puts a lively spin on the Gianni years



Versace Autumn/Winter 2018

Indigital.TV

How very un-Versace! Natalia Vodianova wearing a shiny burgundy trench coat with a prim collar underneath. She faced off Gigi Hadid in a smart camel coat. Had Donatella gone all ladylike, with the chosen venue a historic Milanese building and seating so limited that the favoured clients had to come to a second show?

Natalia Vodianova for Versace Autumn/Winter 2018

Indigital.TV

Gigi Hadid for Versace Autumn/Winter 2018

InDigital.TV

Then POW! We were in Scotland, plaid skirts thigh high and Highland check on everything from berets to knee-high socks. The clothes were youthful but useful, with a hint of the junior Versus line in plaid bags and floppy high-rise boots. Designer sneakers are, of course, an essential offering.

Versace Autumn/Winter 2018

Indigital.TV

"We are the Versace family and we have got different characters: mystery women in all the black clothes, cool ones with sneakers - it's for all kind of women, every generation," said Donatella.

This was not some fabulous show that changed the course of the Versace heritage. In fact, ever since the brand played around with Gianni Versace's golden years last autumn, bringing onstage the supermodels of an earlier era, Donatella seems to find fun in looking back, cherry-picking pieces she likes and pairing them with the models of the moment.

Back, then, to the Eighties logo years - reflecting a general revival across fashion brands for the Autumn/Winter 2018 season. And judging by the "1978" marked on the invitation, the Versace legend was being taken back to its beginning.

Versace Autumn/Winter 2018

Indigital.TV

The idea - and it made for a lively show - was to reduce four decades to a few choice pieces and send them down the runway under the war-wounded ceiling of a building that looked out on the Duomo, or cathedral.

The Scottish parade, with vivid plaids that were too bright to belong to any existing tribe, especially when decorating a cowboy shirt, moved into wild patterns, clinched with a stretch waist. To cool that down, a black leather mini dress, with drapes at the front, delivered the not-so-hidden Gianni weapon: sex.

Versace Autumn/Winter 2018

Indigital.TV

A trio of cut-and-strut black dresses looked like an homage to the late Azzedine Alaia.

Versace Autumn/Winter 2018

Indigital.TV

There was a feeling that this collection had been created to raise shopping desire at a time when sales are often stationary. Thigh-high boots dressed up in multicoloured feathers looked like one of those surefire objects of desire.

Will these clothes change the course of fashion history? They looked much too familiar to create a revolution, although a big padded coat stabbed with rivets and decorated with a giant patterned bow was designed to make a statement.

Versace Autumn/Winter 2018

Indigital.TV

Donatella seems eager to mine the Gianni years, especially his play on 'Rock Royalty' And why not, since other brands are already cherry picking his designs? Perhaps Donatella has her eyes on another possibility for the brand: dressing Meghan Markle. Go for it! Marrying into the royal family with a Versace T-shirt, a tightly fitted bodice and a digitally patterned skirt would bring the house down - even it was Windsor Castle!The St. Clair County economy is strong and growing.

Thats the verdict reached by the Economic Development Alliance of St. Clair County and the weekly business newspaper Crains Detroit Business.

The EDA hosted its semi-annual luncheon Feb. 12 with keynote speaker Lt. Gov. Brian Calley. Crains Detroit Business featured St. Clair County in its Feb. 12 to 18 edition and hosted a conference on the county economy in Port Huron Feb. 15.

The region saw 728 new jobs in 2017 and $127 million in private investment, including $70 million in commercial investments in downtowns, $40.3 million in expansions by local companies and $17 million in new business investment, according to the EDA. The county also added 256 single family homes and apartment units.

The economic development growth and tremendous momentum we are seeing in our region is the direct result of the efforts of many, said Dan Casey, CEO of the EDA, in a statement. As shared in this weeks edition of Crains Detroit Business, the region has taken a collaborative approach to economic development, and were seeing many positive results of working together.

Crain Detroit Business published nine stories by journalist Tom Henderson focusing on the county.

A coalition of civic and business leaders in St. Clair County has been meeting since 2009 to identify and move forward priority projects for the region, no matter whose town those projects will immediately benefit, the publication reported.

The coalition is known as Blue Meets Green.

Henderson highlighted the St. Clair Inn in St. Clair, the Snug and Riverbank theaters as well as Rockford Carving Co. in Marine City, Sperrys Moviehouse and CityFlatsHotel in Port Huron, St. Clair County Community Colleges investments in the city, McLaren hospitals $107 million, 175,000-square-foot patient tower on the facilitys south side and the arrival of the Antique and Classic Boat Societys International Boat Show in Port Huron in September.

The St. Clair Inn story ran under the headline: Historic inn in heart of St. Clair gets a $35 million revival.

A California-based developer with no interest in Michigan real estate stumbled into the project, Crains reported. Now, said one city leader of the developers plans: Holy mackerel.'

Henderson headlined the story of the unlikely rebirth of Marine City as a mini-Mecca for professional theatrical productions: Live theater in Marine City: A crazy idea that totally worked.

Marine Citys good fortune extends beyond Water Street to the industrial backstreet of DeGurse Avenue where Robert Klingler is carving out a niche in high-end guitars.

Klingler left his job as a nuclear engineer to start the Rockford Carving Co., Crains reported. The Marine City-based company makes more than 4,000 parts for 23 guitar makers, including Gibson, their biggest customer.

The opening just over a year ago of the Sperry Moviehouse in Port Huron and the start of renovation of the old Michigan National Bank building into a CityFlatsHotel was summed up by Henderson as Grand Rapids developer transforms downtown Port Huron with movie theater, boutique hotel.

St. Clair County Community College is also investing in the citys rebirth.

The school transformed a former ice rink into a new fieldhouse, wrote Henderson. Now its converting an old motel into student housing and renovating a new health sciences training center.

McLaren opened the $54 million Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute in 2016.

A new patient tower at (McLaren Port Huron) is scheduled to be completed in October, wrote Henderson. Its the latest phase in one of St. Clair Countys largest development projects.

In September, the heritage of Blue Water boat building takes center stage in Port Huron.

Detroit put the world on wheels, wrote Henderson. Factories along or near the St. Clair River put it in power boats. From Sept. 9 to 15, the (Antique and Classic Boat Society) will hold its annual meeting and International Boat Show in Port Huron, an event that the (Blue Water Area Convention & Visitors Bureau) projects will generate between $600,000 and $800,000 for the local economy.

Jim Bloch is a freelance writer. Contact him at bloch.jim@gmail.com.The city of Damascus has been bombed continously by Al-Qaida for the last six years. Here a shell fired from East Ghouta hits a house in the neighbourhood of Rukn Eddin, on 23 February 2018, killing three and wounding fifteen people.

Over the last six years, the Minister for Reconciliation has signed more than a thousand agreements and offered amnesty to tens of thousands of combatants. They have been reintegrated into society, sometimes even into the army. Those from Western Ghouta have accepted, but never those from the Eastern part.

This area, which is quite vast, was populated before the war by more than 400,000 people. According to the UNO, they number 367,000 today. According to the government, they are much fewer than that, and in any case, do not exceed 250,000.

The main city, Douma, is a neighbourhood with a bad reputation, known before the war for its brothels and its criminal elements.

In reality, this area is held by Al-Qaida, under the title of  The Army of Islam  (Jaych al-Islam), supervised by the British SAS and officers from the French DGSE ( Direction Generale de la Securite Exterieur) under cover of the NGO Medecins Sans Frontieres. For the most part, the combatants are directed by the Allouche family, which has important property in London.

From July 2012 until his death at the end of 2015, Zahran Allouche announced several times a week that he was going to take Damascus and execute all the infidels without trial  infidel for him meaning the non-Sunni population. He imposed charia on all inhabitants according to the principles of the Wahhabite preacher, Abd al-Aziz ibn Baz. Those who contested his authority were shut in cages. He executed many people, including my neighbour (an estate agent who lived in the apartment above mine), who had his throat cut in public because he refused to say that  Assad is a dog .

Receiving weapons from Saudi Arabia via Jordan, Allouche presided over a military parade with tanks  directed and produced by British MI6 [1].

When the Syrian Arab Army placed artillery on the mountains which dominate the capital, and began to bombard the army of Zahran Allouche, he ordered that prisoners should be put on the roof to act as human shields.

At the beginning of 2016, his cousin Mohamed Allouche took control. He made himself famous by throwing homosexuals off the rooftops. Its important to understand that Syria protects homosexuals, which is an exception among contemporary Muslim countries and was also an excception in the Western countries only thirty years ago [2].

Mohamed Allouche became the head of the delegation from the opposition at the Geneva negotiations. When he was there, he demanded, and obtained, that the paintings and sculptures which decorated his hotel should be covered with veils. During the discusssions, from the negotiation room, he tweeted to his supporters to prepare to kill the soldiers of the  pig .

Its only been a few months since the Syrian Arab Army completely locked down the area. Until then, it was still possible for the inhabitants to flee. The UNO and the Red Crescent have free access on the side of the Republic, but not on the Al-Qaida side. The jihadists allow only their own partisans to leave in order to receive medical treatment. The convoys of food are searched by the army before entering the Ghouta. Indeed, many times, the UN convoys have been used to deliver weapons to the jihadists. If the UN refuses the search, the convoys are halted.

The Ghouta is the agricultural zone which surrounds the capital. When foodstuffs which are not cultivated on site are provided by the UNO, it is the jihadists who distribute them to the population. Their prices are considerably higher than in the capital, sometimes four times more expensive. Only the inhabitants who pay allegiance to the jihadists receive money from them which allows them to buy these products. Several times, the loyalist inhabitants of the Ghouta were obliged to suffer the famine imposed on them by the jihadists.

For six years, the jihadists have regularly attacked Damascus from the Ghouta. Every day, they have continued killing its inhabitants in the deafening silence of the international community. Little by little, Daraya, Mouadamiyat al-Cham, Qudsaya and al-Hameh in August 2016, then Jobar, Barzeh, Qaboun and Tichrine in February 2017, were retaken. The agreements which were signed planned for the transport of combatants, under escort, to Idleb, in the North-East of the country, on the single condition that they free the inhabitants.

The Republic has just decided to liberate East Ghouta from the jihadists. Intensive bombing is being carried out by the artillery and the aviation. The goal is to destroy the jihadists while causing the least possible victims in the civilian population. During this campaign, humanitarian convoys are impossible. From its own side, Al-Qaida is firing shells on the capital. Normally, the jihadists mainly target the Iranian embassy in Mezzeh, on Omeyyades Square (headquarters of the television and the Ministry of Defence), the Russian Cultural Centre in the heart of the city, and the Russisan embassy. This time, the shells are raining down everywhere. The people of Damascus and the millions of Syrians who refuse the charia have taken refuge in the capital under the protection of the Republic, and are once again trying to survive. More than a third of the inhabitants stay in their homes for fear of being killed by shells in the city. A quarter of the businesses remain closed and the administrations are working at a snails pace.

The United Kingdom and France are attempting to impose a thirty-day cease fire in the Ghouta. These two states make no secret of their support for the Allouche family, and their hostility to the Syrian Arab Republic in general, and its President, Bachar el-Assad, in particular. Both of them refused to take part in the peace conference in Sotchi, where more than 90% of all Syrians were represented  but not the Allouches [3].

War is a means of solving conflicts which, first of all, simplifies the problems in the extreme and divides men into two groups, never three, contrary to what the British and French diplomats pretend. War is practised by killing as many of the enemy as possible, but also as few of our own people as possible. In all wars, we are obliged to sacrifice some of our own, otherwise it would be a simple police action.

When the Western Coalition bombed Mosul, last year, in order to crush the few thousand jihadists who were stsaying there, it killed many more civilians (between 9,000 and 11,000, according to the sources). The Western medias celebrated this victory with enthousiasm. The same Western medias broadcast ad nauseam the images of the two little girls from the Ghouta in the middle of the bombing. No-one asked any questions about the families of these two children, nor how they learned English. No-one thought about the other children who are dying in Damascus. Everyone pleads for the massacre to stop.

If a cease-fire were to be installed, it would have no practical consequence. Indeed, Al-Qaida would be excluded by the UNO and would reject that decision, when in fact it is Al-Qaida and only Al-Qaida which holds East Ghouta.

In these conditions, we have to ask ourselves why the United Kingdom and France are promoting the idea of an impractical cease-fire? Why are these two states proposing to offer Al-Qaida a respite to the detriment only of the civilans it is oppressing ?Michelle Obama. Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Fabulous news for all of you First Lady enthusiasts out there  Michelle Obama has announced the impending release of her memoir, Becoming, which will be out on November 13. Per the books official Penguin Random House website, Becoming is described as less as a White House tell-all and more of a poignant retelling of the most significant moments throughout Obamas life. Although, she does tease some political stories from the worlds most famous address and beyond. (Lucky for us!) Writing Becoming has been a deeply personal experience. I talk about my roots and how a girl from the South Side found her voice, Obama tweeted to confirm the news. I hope my journey inspires readers to find the courage to become whoever they aspire to be. I cant wait to share my story.

Writing BECOMING has been a deeply personal experience. I talk about my roots and how a girl from the South Side found her voice. I hope my journey inspires readers to find the courage to become whoever they aspire to be. I can't wait to share my story. https://t.co/d7DxEG85NK  Michelle Obama (@MichelleObama) February 25, 2018

In addition to Becomings November date, the publisher has confirmed Obama will be embarking on a book tour, although the dates and cities have yet to be released. Patience!A city awash with electric vehicles driven by workers on their way home from high tech, cutting edge digital businesses powered by renewable energy as the sun sets over the sea, it sounds like San Francisco but if Adelaides Lord Mayor has his way, it could be South Australias capital.

South Australia has swiftly become Australias green and renewable energy leader in the last few years.

San Francisco is leading the US in its renewables push.

The state has a swathe of wind farms, the worlds largest single lithium-ion battery installation, plans for pumped hydro, and the countrys only seawater pumped hydro installation, at Cultana.

In February, Premier Jay Weatherill also announced the states intention to have 75 per cent of all energy come from renewable sources, a plan only dwarfed by Tasmanias Labor Party which is aiming for 120 per cent renewable energy generation on the island state (it plans to export its spare energy to power-hungry Victoria).Craig Emerson with his parents. Schooled by the local sisters of St Joseph's, the young Emerson was a fervent Catholic, frequently praying at the makeshift shrine in his bedroom. The "shrine" was not much more than a large picture of the Virgin Mary and a broken plastic crucifix glued back together with Araldite. "I embraced my religion with all my heart, all my soul, all my strength, and all my mind," Emerson writes in the book. "Catholicism helped me make sense of Mum's volatile behaviour where there was no sense to be made of it." Emerson's mother, Marge, would beat him and his older brother Lance for no reason, order them to redo chores they'd spent hours trying to carry out to perfection, instruct them on one occasion to eat dirt, and many times retreat to her bedroom threatening self-harm. Craig Emerson with the then prime minister Bob Hawke at the Randwick races in 1988. Besides politics, Emerson was also close to Hawke personally, often seen as a surrogate son. Credit:David Porter; Elizabeth Dobbie; Ben Rushton/Fairfax Media Somehow through all this, Emerson never lost a sense that she loved him. His father, Ern, comes across as a gentle man, loving of his sons, but broken by life and without the will to stand up to his wife. But his father also knew how to laugh, Emerson says.

"My dad had a lovely laugh ... I can remember times when tears were streaming down his cheeks he thought something was so funny." Federal MPs Craig Emerson and Bob McMullan in 2005. Emerson says he has no 'great remorse or regrets about never achieving the leadership' of the Labor party. Credit:Marina Neil the sad little boy lives within me still Craig Emerson, former Minister for Trade And when the boys could escape the house, there was boundless physical freedom: the back paddock a perfect arena for manure fights with the neighbour's children, the three-storey treehouse down by the creek, the potshots at top-knot pigeons in the hope of bringing one down for dinner. "It was pretty wild, by today's standards," he says. Emerson has broken his silence about his traumatic childhood because he wants others to learn that such a start to life can be transcended.

Craig Emerson with former prime minister Bob Hawke. When he left the PM's office for a job in Queensland, Hawke paid tribute to the "particular bond and affection" between the two men. "I wanted to suggest to young people from any circumstances that they can succeed," Emerson says. "It's a book of empowerment. You grow up thinking there are all these clever people out there ... [but] in the end, particularly as you go around the world as I did as minister for trade, you meet world leaders and you come to this very humbling conclusion that they are just people. There will be so many kids from disadvantaged backgrounds, who will assume that other people are born to run the country, or run the world. But they are, too." Emerson and his brother both became dux of their local high school, but Lance carried the heavier burden from their childhood abuse, dying in his early 60s. Lance's only child succumbed to cot death. Lance later confessed to Emerson that perhaps it had been for the best, as he feared he would have been a violent father. Emerson has found the opposite: that the birth of his three children has allowed him to discover unconditional love. But he confesses that for years the emotional scars of his upbringing made it hard for him to open himself to the women he became romantically involved with. Among them was a then up-and-coming Labor MP Julia Gillard, who became Emerson's partner soon after they were both promoted to Simon Crean's front bench in late 2001. It marked the end of Emerson's marriage to his second wife Cathy, the mother of his children. Hawke had encouraged Emerson into politics and saw him as a future Labor leader. So, it appears, did Kim Beazley, who (on Emerson's account), once floated the prospect of handing over to Emerson in a second term had Beazley won the 2001 election. But the relationship with Gillard ended that talk.

Emerson writes that Hawke warned him the relationship would damage his prospects. Beazley was horrified. "If ever I had legitimate claims to the leadership  and many dispute that I did  they quickly dissolved," writes Emerson. "Voters would never accept as leader a man who had walked out on his wife, leaving her alone to raise his children. It didn't matter that, in fact, we continued to raise our children as loving parents." Does he look back now with regret? "Look, it's not making excuses, it is what it is," he says. "I think its appalling for politicians to say 'I woz robbed'; there were probably two or three contributing factors [to his loss of momentum up the parliamentary ranks] but I don't have any great remorse or regrets about never achieving the leadership." It is impossible not to draw some comparison with the self-inflicted plight of former Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce, who on Friday stepped down after leaving his wife and four children for a former staff member. . But Emerson won't be drawn on parallels. "I don't want to go there," he says, when asked about the Joyce saga. Emerson's rise from his small country town came by way of a small bursary to St Patrick's College in Strathfield and then a Commonwealth scholarship to study economics at university. He eventually earned a PhD, worked briefly for the UN in Bangkok, became a ministerial adviser for then energy minister Peter Walsh and eventually found his way into prime minister Hawke's office under the mentorship of one of the outstanding economic advisers of the era, Ross Garnaut. Emerson began working for Hawke as an adviser on microeconomic reform. But he soon found himself  almost by accident  working as the environmental adviser as well. One day, Bob Brown, then a Tasmanian MP (later head of the federal Greens), appeared in Hawke's office with Graham Richardson for a meeting on Tasmania's forests, then under threat from the logging industry.

"Who's going into the meeting?" Hawke's key aide Bob Hogg shouted. Emerson put his hand up. From that impromptu start, he developed an intense engagement with the environmental movement which  backed by Hawke, Paul Keating, the political smarts of Richardson, and a network of influential contacts in other ministerial offices  helped deliver Labor victory in both the 1987 and 1990 elections. It didn't hurt that Emerson  "The Kid" as Hawke sometimes called him  was close to Hawke personally, often seen as a surrogate son. The two played together as hard as they worked. Emerson became expert at marking up the racing guides for Hawke. When he finally left the PM's office for a job in Queensland, Hawke paid tribute to the "particular bond and affection" between the two men. Emerson is proud of the part he played in saving the southern Tasmanian forests, the Daintree in Queensland, extending Kakadu National Park, and preserving Shelburne Bay in Cape York from sandmining. Most far-reaching of all was helping Hawke achieve a ban on mining in the Antarctic. "Imagine a government trying to take on all that these days," he says. He's already working on his next book. It has the working title For A Beautiful World. The economist is venturing into philosophy. He and his childhood mate shot a roo once, he says; it sickened them both. "Just as there is a saying that the measure of a great society is how well it looks after its most vulnerable, I hope in time we will add the natural world to that," he tells me. "I think that cruelty to animals is not compatible with a great advanced civilisation. It might take another 30-40 years but you are seeing it now, the debates around caged eggs. People will pay more for types of food that involve less cruelty."Police have released the names of the two sailors who died when a yacht overturned off the coast of Mandurah on Friday evening.

Bull Creek man Paul Owens and skipper Rob Thomas were two of six sailors on board the yacht Finistere when it overturned on Friday evening.

The capsized yacht, the Finistere. Credit:Facebook

The crew were competing in the Bunbury and Return Ocean Race when the Australian Maritime Safety Authority detected a distress beacon from the vessel at around 11.45pm.

They attempted to contact the boat but were unsuccessful, and the yacht's tracker failed to update at midnight as scheduled.Washington: The New York State Department of Health wants people in the New York City area to know that an Australian tourist confirmed to have measles visited numerous hotels and the Metropolitan Museum of Art from February 16 to 21.

Measles is notoriously contagious for people without immunity to the disease, with a 90 per cent infection rate for non-immunised people who venture near an active spreader, according to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention. The virus latches onto the nose and throat mucus and proliferates through coughing and sneezing, with a life span of up to two hours in the open air.

The Empire State building stands in the midtown Manhattan skyline Credit:Bloomberg

About 9 out of 10 kids in the United States receive their measles vaccines, and the vaccine's effectiveness rates above 90 per cent, the CDC says.Phillies win wild one on passed ball in 9th; top Cubs 6-5Embed from Getty Images

Arsenal graciously decided to no-show the 2018 Carabao Cup Final to hand Pep Guardiola his first trophy as Man City manager.

City were barely forced to get out of second gear on their way to a 3-0 victory at Wembley, with goals from the old guard  Sergio Aguero (his first in a cup final), Vincent Kompany and David Silva (his first ever goal in the League Cup  sealing the deal against minimal resistance.

Embed from Getty Images

In truth, Arsenal were pathetic as they slumped to their sixth defeat of the calendar year, with exasperated fans exiting the stadium in droves in the second half, leaving it half-empty by the time the full time whistle threeped.

Some Arsenal fans staying until the end to beat the traffic  'The Gunn' EamoV1 (@EamoV1) February 25, 2018

Indeed, it was the first time the Gunner have conceded thrice at Wembley for almost two decades, the last time being a 4-2 defeat against Barcelona in the Champions League group stage in 1999.

Arsene Wengers side were truly miserable; defensively frail and forlornly flaccid in attack (for want of a better word) while the entire game just passed them by.

Will there be any repercussions? What do you thinkBy Jina Belcher Ground zero for federal efforts to boost communities reeling from the downturn[Read More]ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) - Authorities say a western New York couple who sold satellite television contracts to state prisons illegally pocketed $375,000 that should have gone to DirecTV.

New York state Inspector General Catherine Leahy Scott announced Friday that Richard and Christine Wertman of Lockport in Niagara County have pleaded guilty to grand larceny in connection with the scheme.

Investigators say the couple signed contracts to provide DirecTV service to three state prisons and then used their technical skills to provide the service. But the couple never notified DirecTV or passed along the company's cut of the proceeds.

Scott said the couple's actions showed "stunning gall."

As part of a plea deal, the Wertmans agreed to repay the $375,000. Reached by phone Friday, Christine Wertman declined to comment.

(Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)ROME- Hundreds of walkers and runners joined the American Heart Association to fight against heart disease and stroke at the Rome Run & Indoor walk. This year a young girl by the name of Grace Benham shared her story.

Benham a deaf child, told WKTV through sign language, what her battle with heart disease has been like.

When I was 6 months old I had to have open surgery to close a whole that was in my heart, said Benham.

Benham later found out that she was not only born with a hole in her heart, but also with Borderline Long QT Syndrome. Long QT is a heart rhythm syndrome that can cause serious irregular heartbeats.

On Saturday the young girl joined many at Rome Free Academy to walk for a purpose.

To help raise money for research so they can find a cure for other families, said Benham.

This year the Rome walk and run was able to raise more than $23,000. The money will be donated to the American Heart Association and will be able to help researchers and families in many ways.

The money raised here goes towards research for things like we have today like stents, said Diane Butler, Chair of the Rome Run and Walk.

Father of Grace Benham, Roy Benham has utilized stents to keep his heart beating to this day.

In 2007 I had a stent put in and then in 2009 I had two more stents put in, said Roy Benham. This was because I was having problems they didnt know what it was.

Little did Benham know he was on the verge of a massive heart attack. After four short years, the father of two had suffered a heart attack. Now today he is grateful to be walking with his kids.

I am very proud that I can walk and run, I can do everything with my children, said Benham. I can keep up with them now.

WKTV was able to speak with Registered Nurses from Rome Memorable Hospital who tell us a healthy blood pressure is key to a long and healthy life.

120/80 is what we consider to be normal, said Kelly West, Register Nurse at Rome Memorial. It depends on your age but 120/80 is our guideline.

If youre interested in forming a fundraising team for Americas Greatest Heart Run & Walk on Saturday, March 3rd, you can register at www.uticaheartrunwalk.orgBINGHAMTON, N.Y. (AP) - A man from New York's Southern Tier region has been convicted a second time on child pornography charges.

Roland Kyzer of Binghamton was found guilty Friday of receiving and possessing child pornography. The conviction followed a three-day jury trial in federal court.

Kyzer had pleaded not guilty.

Authorities searched his residence in November 2016. They said they discovered a laptop computer, mobile phone, and other electronic devices that contained over 25,000 images and videos of child pornography.

Kyzer also was convicted in 2003 of receiving child pornography. He was sentenced to nine years in prison, followed by a lifetime of supervised release. He now faces at least 15 years in prison.

Sentencing is scheduled for June.

(Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)INDIANAPOLIS (WLFI)  Gov. Eric Holcomb has declared a disaster emergency for 11 Indiana counties following flooding and damage caused by sustained heavy rainfall.

The order applies to Carroll, Dearborn, Elkhart, Fulton, Lake, Marshall, Perry, St. Joseph, Starke, Switzerland and White counties, with the possibility to expand its reach as rain is expected to pummel southern Indiana.

In a release, Holcombs office said the declaration gave the Indiana Department of Homeland Security the ability to provide expanded emergency services and is a necessary step should the state request assistance from the federal government.

This is an important step in helping Hoosiers around our state whove been hurt by this flooding, Gov. Holcomb said. Our state agencies will continue to work hand-in-hand with local emergency management teams to help families weather the tragedies they are facing. Im amazed by their resiliency. Looking ahead, we wont hesitate to seek federal assistance if it proves necessary.

Holcomb is expected to return from the National Governors Association meeting in Washington on Sunday.JASPER COUNTY, Ind. (WLFI) Jasper County residents are bracing for the worst after a levee breach begins to flood their homes. Travelers should avoid the area of 700 West and 1700 North near State Road 231.

"I've been a volunteer firefighter for Keener Township for 25 years. This is the worst flooding in 25 years." Randy Woods has seen flood waters in his time, but none quite like this.

"Now it's just staying up. It just keeps coming and keeps coming," said Woods.

As flood waters rush into nearby Jasper County neighborhoods. First responders are worried about local residents.

"They have no intentions of leaving. They've been through this before and they're not leaving," said Woods.

But some neighbors are new to the area. Nicole Whitlock said she's trying to hang on without leaving.

"We may have to leave. But I mean that's our last resort right now," said Whitlock. "Him and I are just staying here and we're trying to you know keep it together for our kids."

Woods said the water may not stop any time soon.



"It's been growing exponentially today. There is no real plan at this point untill the river goes down enough that we can get in there and actually get it to stop," said Woods. "We're at nature's mercy right now."

Nipsco has been on scene to ensure that gas lines are shut off. They will shut the power off if the flood levels become dangerous.



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Sorry, the page you requested was not found. If you're having trouble locating a destination on Womenofchina.cn, try visiting the Womenofchina Home pageA judge betrayed the trust of families after conspiring with an attorney to steal millions of dollars from trust funds they managed, according to police in New York.

New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman announced the arrest of lawyer and Town of Guilderland Judge Richard Sherwood as well as financial advisor and lawyer Thomas Lagan for a scheme in which they allegedly plundered over $4 million from family trusts they were responsible for.

Sherwood and Lagan have provided estate planning and related legal and financial services to Capital Region philanthropists Warren and Pauline Bruggeman and Pauline Bruggemanas sister, Anne Urban, for about 12 years.

The Bruggemans each created a revocable trust, which contained sub-trusts designed to provide for Anne Urban and Paulineas other sister, Julia Rentz.

Other funds were to be awarded to Anne Urban and Julia Rentz outright upon the deaths of the Bruggemans.

In 2011, the Anne S. Urban Irrevocable Trust (AUIT) was created using some of the funds from the Bruggeman trusts.

Sherwood was named Trustee and Lagan was named Successor Trustee.

In one instance, a sub-trust with approximately $2 million was to be returned to the Pauline Bruggemen Revocable Trust for distribution to six named charities upon Anneas death.

Rather than returning those funds after Urban died in 2013, the funds were disposed of primarily for the benefit of Sherwood and Lagan.

In another part of the scheme, Sherwood and Lagan allegedly conspired to deceive an Ohio attorney into sending over $2 million of Julia Rentzas money to the trust under the premise that it would be sent to charity.

In fact, Sherwood and Lagan shared those proceeds.

Sherwood and Lagan allegedly formed the Empire Capital Trust to benefit themselves and funded it with over $1 million of stolen money.

In January 2015, they allegedly transferred $3.5 million from the trust to a Trustco Bank account in Sherwoodas name and $2.6 million to a Trustco Bank account in Laganas name.

Sherwood and Lagan were charged with grand larceny and scheme to defraud.A police officer who attempted to help ISIS terrorists will spend many years behind bars, according to police in Virginia.

The veteran police officer in Washington DC was caught providing material support for ISIS because of his loyalty to neo-Nazis and Hitler, according to the Justice Department.

A federal jury convicted the former police officer of attempting to provide material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), a designated foreign terrorist organization, and obstruction of justice.

He has now been sentenced to serve 15 years in federal prison.

aNicholas Young swore an oath to protect and defend, and instead, violated the publicas trust by attempting to support ISIS,a said Dana J. Boente, Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Departmentas National Security Division and U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia.

According to court records and evidence presented at trial, Nicholas Young, 38, of Fairfax, Virginia, was formerly employed as a police officer with the Metro Transit Police Department in Washington DC.

Young attempted to provide material support and resources to ISIS by purchasing and sending gift card codes that he believed would allow ISIS recruiters to securely communicate with potential recruits.

Young also attempted to obstruct and impede official proceedings.

Young believed an associate of his, who was actually an FBI confidential agent, had successfully joined ISIS.

During an FBI interview, Young was told the FBI was investigating the attempt of his associate to join ISIS.

Nevertheless, in an attempt to thwart the prosecution of the associate and himself, Young attempted to deceive investigators as to the destination and purpose of his travel.

Additionally, Young attempted to obstruct, influence, and impede an official proceeding of the Grand Jury by sending a text message to his associateas cell phone in order to make it falsely appear to the FBI that the associate had left the United States to go on vacation in Turkey.

In actuality, Young believed the associate had gone to Turkey and then to Syria in order to join and fight for ISIS.

The court was told that Young was anti-Semitic, and therefore, supported both ISIS and neo-Nazis.

The court was shown a photo of Young wearing a Nazi uniform.A man who committed a lewd act on a train got stabbed after a woman decided to stand up to him, according to police in New York.

The New York Police Department said that they have arrested 47-year-old Reggie Frank after being accused of assaulting a 42-year-old woman while riding the R train to Bay Ridge in Brooklyn.

Frank has been charged with assault, weapon possession, and public lewdness.

In court, Franks defense attorney denied the allegations, saying that the woman was the aggressor and not his client.

According to the police investigation, the incident unfolded on Friday, at around 2:00 a.m.

As the R train was heading towards the 36 Street Station in Sunset Park, the woman woke up to find Frank sitting next to hear.

Frank was staring at her while he pleasured himself.

The woman, who was not identified, began to scream.

In response, Frank used pepper spray to attack the woman.

He then pulled out a knife and tried to stab her.

The two struggled until the train stopped at the 36 Street Station.

The fight then continued on the platform.

The woman managed to grab the knife and stabbed Frank twice.

Frank suffered stab wounds to the chest and arms.

The woman also suffered a cut to her hand and she needed 15 stitches.(CNN) -- A Florida state representative is calling on Gov. Rick Scott to remove Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel from his post for his deputies' "incomprehensible inaction" during the high school massacre.

"An investigation into the incomprehensible inaction of these deputies by Sheriff Israel will do nothing to bring back the 17 victims," Bill Hager said in a letter to the governor, referring to the students and teachers confessed shooter, Nikolas Cruz, killed.

"The Sheriff was or should have been aware of the threat Cruz presented to his community and chose to ignore it."

In his letter, Hager cites Florida statute 112.52, which he says gives Scott "removal authority for neglect of duty and incompetence."

His call came after Marjory Stoneman Douglas' armed school resource officer, Deputy Scot Peterson, resigned Thursday after he was suspended amid accusations he did nothing to stop the massacre.

Israel says Peterson never went into building where the shooter was firing at students, instead taking a position outside.

In a letter of response to the governor, Israel said he was proud of the work that many of his deputies and other agencies did the day of the shooting and that he was appalled by Hager's "need to engage in disingenuous political grandstanding, perhaps in the hope he will garner some headlines, at the expense of the truth."

He also said that Hager's letter "was riddled with factual errors, unsupported gossip, and falsehoods."

Deputy suspended

Israel made the decision to suspend Peterson -- who was armed and in uniform at the time of the shooting -- after interviewing the deputy and reviewing footage and witness statements, he said.

"What I saw was a deputy arrive at the west side of building 12, take up a position," Israel said of the video. "And he never went in."

Israel told reporters Peterson should have "[w]ent in. Addressed the killer. Killed the killer." Instead, the deputy waited outside for about four minutes.

During that time, Israel said, Peterson got on his radio and took a position where he could see the western entry of the building.

Officers from the nearby Coral Springs Police Department who also responded to the shooting say they were surprised to find three other Broward County deputies had also not entered the building when they arrived, sources tell CNN.

Other deputies may have also been outside school

The deputies had their pistols drawn and were behind their vehicles, the sources said. None of them had gone into the school.

With direction from the Broward deputies who were outside, Coral Springs police soon entered the building. Additional Broward County sheriff's deputies arrived on the scene, and two of those deputies and an officer from the nearby Sunrise Police Department joined the Coral Springs police as they went into the building.

It's unclear whether the shooter was still in the building when they arrived.

Sources cautioned that tapes are under review and official accounts could ultimately differ from recollections of officers on the scene.

TM &  2018 Cable News Network, Inc., a Time Warner Company. All rights reserved.TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTHI) - Middle school students learned more about science and math Saturday. All while having fun.

It was part of the Indiana Middle School Regional Science Bowl at Indiana State University.

Sixteen teams came from around the Wabash Valley to compete.

They answered science and math related questions in a quiz bowl.

While teams were looking for a win, organizers say it's also about having fun.

"This has become probably one of the most exciting days of the year. Getting to see these middle school kids excited about science math and having a good time," said Jeff Kinne, event coordinator.

Saturday's event is a qualifier for nationals.

The winning team will head to Washington, D.C. in April to compete for the national title.The International Committee of the Red Cross said 21 staff members have been dismissed or resigned for "paying for sexual services" since 2015.

An additional two staff members suspected of sexual misconduct didn't have their contracts renewed, Yves Daccord, the ICRC's director-general, said in a statement Friday.

"This behavior is a betrayal of the people and the communities we are there to serve. It is against human dignity and we should have been more vigilant in preventing this," Daccord said.

The revelation comes as other aid organizations have been hit by allegations of sexual harassment and exploitation by aid workers.

Haiti on Thursday suspended Oxfam Great Britain from operating in the Caribbean country after reports of sexual misconduct by some of the aid group's employees. Save the Children on Tuesday apologized for inappropriate behavior by a former chief executive toward female staff, promising a fresh review into the charity's "organizational culture."

Daccord said staffers are "contractually bound by the ICRC's code of conduct" that bans the purchase of sexual services.

"This ban, in place since 2006, applies worldwide and at all times, including in locations where prostitution is legal, as the ICRC believes that staff paying for sex is incompatible with the values and mission of the organization."

The ICRC -- which has more than 17,000 staff members worldwide -- is concerned that some incidents have gone unreported while others have been reported but not dealt with correctly.

Daccord said he has "contacted other humanitarian organizations with the aim of addressing issues that require a collective effort," including stopping offenders from transferring from one agency to another.

"I am committed to fostering an ICRC culture that encourages staff to prevent, detect and report misconduct. All allegations are investigated. People must feel safe and empowered to raise concerns, and we have encouraged staff to make use of a dedicated, confidential email address to do so," he said.

"It is so important that the silence that has surrounded this issue has been shattered. This is a watershed moment for the humanitarian sector as a whole. We owe it to the people we serve to behave with absolute integrity."

'It's a large-scale problem'

British lawmakers this week heard details about sexual exploitation and abuse across the international aid sector. They met in special session to discuss the Oxfam scandal.

Kevin Watkins, chief executive of Save the Children, said the scandal surrounding Oxfam's operations in Haiti, where senior staff were found to have used prostitutes, isn't something that has just happened once.

"We have to recognize that this is not the occasional bad apple but a structural sectorwide problem," Watkins told the House of Commons International Development Committee. "This is a real problem; it is systemic, it's a large-scale problem, and we have to fix it."

The United Nations had been hit with allegations of abuse. In 2016, the global organization said it had received 145 allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse -- 80 of which were associated with uniformed peacekeepers and 65 with civilian personnel.

A 2017 UN report on the issue said sexual exploitation has been a problem for years, compounded by weakly enforced hiring standards and lack of a screening system of candidates for a prior history of related misconduct.

Register for aid workers urged

Oxfam's embattled chief executive, Mark Goldring, apologized to British lawmakers for his organization's conduct in the aftermath of the 2010 Haiti earthquake.

He said Tuesday that about 7,000 people have stopped making regular donations to Oxfam since the Times of London newspaper first reported on the allegations. Goldring also said the charity has received around 26 fresh accusations of sexual abuse and exploitation since the scandal broke.

"It was common knowledge that this was going on across the sector, and no one knew how to deal with it," said Pauline Latham, a Conservative member of Parliament.

"I'm sure this is happening in Rohingya aid camps, I am sure it is happening round the world," she said, referring to the Muslim refugees who have fled to Bangladesh from Myanmar.

Latham urged the establishment of an international register for aid workers.

An internal Oxfam investigation from 2011 published this week confirmed seven of the charity's staff members were accused of using prostitutes at a residence in Haiti's capital, Port-au-Prince. Four were fired for gross misconduct, and three others were allowed to resign.

Haiti, which has criticized the UK charity for not notifying it of the findings, is now conducting its own investigation.

Winnie Byanyima, Oxfam International's executive director, said that women often end up being punished in countries such as Haiti where prostitution is illegal if authorities are notified.The rain and winter weather conditions are affecting local blood supply, forcing the Arkansas Blood Institute to implement an emergency appeal for all types of blood donors.

The blood institute typically performs about 100 procedures per day to keep up with the blood supply demand at nearby hospitals, but that number has decreased drastically.

"It`s been hard to get the amount of people to come in to donate blood," Donor Recruitment Manager Danny Cervantes with the Arkansas Blood Institute said.

The shortage has forced about 800 donations in Arkansas and Oklahoma to be cancelled.

Also an issue for the blood bank is flu season.

"If you have the flu or any kind of antibiotics, you can`t give blood," Cervantes said. "There`s also people taking certain preventative medications and there`s certain preventative medications that you`re deferred for about seven days and that`s hurting us, as well."

Mark Oberste comes to donate blood every three to four months, but after learning about the shortage, he decided to fight the rain to give back sooner.

"I know that there`s a need for it," Oberste said. "It just makes me feel better after I do it. I feel like I`m giving something back."

Oberste said donating blood is actually easier than most think.

"The people here are super quick, they`ll get you in and out," Oberste said. "It`s easy, it`s practically painless, you`ll feel really good about it afterwards for sure."

The hours at the Arkansas Blood Institute have also been extended in Fort Smith so more people can find time to come in.

It will be open Saturday, Feb. 24 from 9:00 a.m. -4:00 p.m., and Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m.- 6:00 p.m.

There will also be a blood drive at the Neighborhood Walmart in Fort Smith on Hwy. 71 from 11:00 a.m.-3:45 p.m.

Those with the Arkansas Blood Institute said they take care of blood supply locally, then help the institutes in Oklahoma and Texas, as well.BRUNSWICK, Ga. (AP) - A Georgia conservation group is offering coastal residents a free bus trip to the state Capitol to meet with lawmakers on environmental issues.

The Brunswick News reports the nonprofit group One Hundred Miles plans to take a bus from Savannah to the statehouse in Atlanta on Thursday. Kelly Patton, the group's coastal education coordinator, says the trip will give coastal residents a chance to share their concerns face-to-face with legislators.

Megan Desrosiers, executive director of One Hundred Miles, said the group's top issues this year include stricter regulations on toxic coal ash and opposing efforts to open waters off the Georgia coast to oil drilling. She said it's often hard for coastal Georgians to make their voices heard at the Capitol because the trip takes more than five hours.TALLAHASSEE, FL (WTXL) -- It's been 6 months since Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico and the island is still recovering.

David Medina, Defined Software Development Owner, says, "I want to raise enough money to do 2 or 3 houses, but also send building materials so that we can build more houses."

David Medina and Gisela Rodriguez are natives to the city of Jayuya. When they went to Puerto Rico in January, they saw more than 1,000 homes damaged in the smaller towns. Families are still struggling months after Hurricane Maria rocked the island. That's why they hosted a fundraiser Saturday at Medina's company, Defined Software Development.

All donated money will be used to buy supplies that Medina and a group of volunteers will use to build and repair roofs for families in Jayuya. 6 months and 3 days. That's how long David Medina's family lived without power after Hurricane Maria. At Saturday's fundraiser everyone is enjoying authentic Puerto Rican cuisine and it's all to help families like Medina's get back on their feet.

After Hurricane Maria, Medina collected 70 thousand pounds of supplies from Tallahassee donations, delivering them door-to-door in their hometown.

It helped more than 2 thousand families. Abdiel Arce is an FSU student and native to Puerto Rico.

He's one of many volunteers who went with Medina to the island. Arce says,"They're going through so much hardship and I'm only here in school and I can't do much. But I try as much, just by showing up to the event."

Arce says some of his family members are still without power. That's why everyone here chose to spend their Saturday at this fundraiser, knowing the money spent on a plate of delicious food is helping families recover in Puerto Rico.NEW DELHI, Feb. 24 (Xinhua) -- Indian authorities have seized over 10,000 imported luxury watches belonging to disgraced billionaire jeweller Nirav Modi and his firms in connection with the country's biggest-ever bank fraud of 1.8 billion U.S. dollars, an enforcement official said Saturday.

"All the luxury watches were meant for sale through Modi's jewellery stores across India. Earlier, we froze shares and mutual funds of Modi and also seized his nine luxury cars include Porsche Panamera, Rolls Royce Ghost and Mercedes Benz," said the official.

Modi is said to have defrauded Punjab National Bank, India's second largest state-run bank, of 1.8 billion U.S. dollars, though he said that he owed the bank only 775 million U.S. dollars, in a letter sent to the bank's management.

Investigators have so far arrested 12 people, including high-ranking bank officials, for their alleged involvement in the fraud.

But the jeweller, the mastermind of the massive fraud, is said to have fled the country and was reportedly last seen in New York after his appearance at the World Economic Forum in Davos as a part of an Indian delegation.

Though India has not yet charged Modi and only suspended his passport as well as his uncle and business partner Mehul Choksi's for four weeks, threatening to take strict legal action in case of his failure to respond to the government's notice.SEOUL, Feb. 24 (Xinhua) -- Young students, both from China and South Korea, should become determined advocates of the two countries' friendship, visiting Chinese Vice Premier Liu Yandong said on Saturday.

Liu, who is also the special envoy of Chinese President Xi Jinping, paid a visit to the Seoul National University.

In the reference room containing books donated by Xi inside the university's central library, she met with representatives of students from both countries and made cordial conversation with them.

She mentioned that Xi gave a speech at the university in 2014 during his state visit to the country.

In his speech, Liu Said, the Chinese president encouraged youth of both countries to learn from each other and strengthen friendship. She hoped that students can heed his call and make their contribution to the bilateral ties.

In addition, she commended the ongoing Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, saying the South Korean side doing a great job holding a successful Olympics Games despite the complicated situation on the peninsula.Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-25 02:14:30|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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BEIJING, Feb. 24 (Xinhua) -- China on Saturday called on the United States to immediately cease the wrong practice of imposing sanctions against Chinese entities and individuals, referring to the move as "long-arm jurisdiction".

The United States on Friday slapped heavy sanctions on the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), targeting 56 vessels, shipping companies, and trade businesses, of which Chinese firms and personnel are involved.

"China is strongly opposed to the United States' long-arm jurisdiction and unilateral sanctions on Chinese entities and individuals based on its domestic laws," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said.

China has been fully and completely implementing relevant UN resolutions on the DPRK, fulfilling its due responsibilities, and never allowed Chinese people and companies to engage in any activities violating UN resolutions, Geng said, adding that any violations would be dealt with seriously.

"We have lodged solemn representations to the United States and asked the U.S. to immediately cease the wrong practice so as to avoid undermining relevant cooperation between the two sides," Geng said.by Alessandra Cardone

ROME, Feb. 24 (Xinhua) -- Anti-fascist activists took to the streets across Italy on Saturday, in the final phase of an electoral campaign marked by a visible rise of far-right forces.

A major rally against "all sorts of fascism and racism" was called in the Italian capital by workers unions and the association of Italian partisans (ANPI) who fought against the Fascism regime in the Second World War.

Two other minor protests -- one of which also against the government's job market reform and immigration policy -- took place in Rome.

The main demonstration was primarily organized as a response to a racially motivated attack against African migrants, carried out by a far-right Italian extremist in the central city of Macerata on Feb. 3. Six people -- five men and one woman -- were randomly shot and wounded in the attack, before the man was arrested.

In the rainy Saturday afternoon, an estimated 20,000 people paraded across Rome up to central Piazza del Popolo, where they gathered to hear testimonies from ANPI representatives and other anti-fascist figures.

Center-left and leftist political leaders took part in the demonstration as well, including Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni, Senate chairperson Pietro Grasso, and Lower House speaker Laura Boldrini.

Yet, in agreement with organizers, none of them addressed the audience from the stage to not overshadow the "above-parties" nature of the rally with issues linked to the current electoral race. Similar anti-fascism rallies were held in Milan, Bologna, and in Sicily's Palermo.

Meanwhile -- as the country draws near to the general elections scheduled on March 4 -- the campaign was being marked by rising tensions, a hot debate on immigration, and some violent episodes between rival political activists.

Earlier this week, the local chief of neo-fascist Forza Nuova (FN) party in Sicily was beaten by at least six masked people.

The day before, a group of Forza Nuova supporters had tried to forced their entry into the studio of private La7 TV during a broadcast in Rome.

Forza Nuova supporters also clashed with police in Macerata earlier this month, as they tried to hold an unauthorized rally against immigrants.

In various episodes in other cities, leftist supporters also clashed with police, when they tried to stop political events organized by Forza Nuova, by far-right CasaPound group, and also by right-wing anti-immigrant League party, which is part of a center-right coalition led by former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's Forza Italia (FI) party.

Minor clashes indeed took place in Milan on Saturday, as anti-fascists staged sit-ins to counterbalance a political address held by the League's Matteo Salvini and another by CasaPound.

Scuffles broke out when police stopped anti-fascist activists from trying to force their way and reach the square where the League's event was taking place. No casualties or serious injures were reported.

Tight security measures were in fact implemented in all of the cities touched by the rallies on Saturday, with the aim of avoiding anti-fascist activists and far-right supporters getting near. In Rome, some 3,000 police officers were deployed.

In an annual report unveiled to the parliament on Feb. 20, the Italian intelligence said the increased presence of "far-right groups characterized by racism and intolerance" was among the threats to the country's security.

The intelligence warned that "new groups have been born, which have a firm grasp on the youngest especially", and the better organized among such groups would not lack "connections with fierce Neo-Nazi networks".RABAT, Feb. 24 (Xinhua) -- The Moroccan police said it arrested on Saturday a Nigerian who was attempting to smuggle cocaine at the Casablanca airport.

The 35-year-old suspect was carrying 13 capsules containing 280 grams of cocaine in his underwear, the police said in a statement.

The Nigerian man was transferred to a local hospital for medical examinations on suspicion of swallowing capsules of the illicit substance.

The investigation, led by the judicial police under the supervision of the public prosecutor, is still underway.Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-25 05:45:11|Editor: Chengcheng

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By Xinhua writer Chen Wenxian

JERUSALEM, Feb. 24 (Xinhua) -- The development of the quantum technology is just the tip of iceberg and in very early stage, and the full application of the technology is expected to arrive within several decades, an Israeli scientist said.

China has made an "amazing" achievement in quantum communication, which is an important step for the application of the quantum technology, Prof. Adi Stern, a scientist in quantum technology of the Israeli Weizmann Institute of Science, said in a recent exclusive interview with Xinhua.

The "beautiful" work made in China shows a development in the direction of the quantum technology, but this kind of application is still in the beginning, said Stern.

The Israeli scientist would like to encourage more communication between China and Israel in the field of quantum technology and it will be significantly helpful to develop good connections between the two countries. There are a lot of very difficult problems in the field, Stern said, "We need to combine all the brain power of the world."

Quantum technology is a new field of physics and engineering, which transitions some of the properties of quantum mechanics into practical applications such as quantum computing, quantum sensing, quantum cryptography, quantum simulation, quantum metrology and quantum imaging.

Quantum mechanics in some sense gives the possibility of doing two things in two places at the same time, and "coherence" is a big obstacle that should be overcome in the process of pushing forward the development of the quantum technology, Stern said, adding that if there are 1,000 bytes, the number of possibilities will then become "very large" simultaneously and scientists should do many calculations in parallel.

Stern noted that this parallel requires quantum coherence, which is "very hard to get but very easy to lose." "We have no clue on how to create a system with thousands or tens of thousands or millions or billions of quantum bytes all working coherently with one another," he said, "This is the main challenge to scale it up and we will take a lot of effort."

He also explained that if the quantum computer has a little bit of out of controlled interaction with its environment or a little bit of noise, that would have "a devastating" effect.

"So we need to know how to isolate this system from these perturbations and it is a very big obstacle," said Stern, adding that efforts should be made to develop a new language to deal with quantum, to develop a new set of algorithms, to identify the problems, to control the interaction of the computer with its environment, and to cool the computer to a very low temperature, as well.

Scientists are working hard to seek ways to solve these problems. Stern preferred to the way called the topological quantum information, which is based on a particular way to isolate the system of quantum computer from its environment, or to make it more difficult for the environment to disrupt the processing of quantum information.

"This is a very beautiful way, and maybe the one that will succeed," said Stern. "The way to push it forward is to try several directions and see which one works." He hoped that the topological one will win.

With regard to the future application of the quantum technology, Stern kept quite optimistic though currently theoretical research is far more than application.

So far, very small-scale application of the technology has already been seen, such as the show algorithm and the drugs designed by quantum computer. Stern expected for the full application in many directions in the coming decades, including quantum chemistry; new ways of sensing images for medical use; more quantum communication; quantum mechanics used in cybersecurity, etc.

"All these application will develop step by step," noted Stern.Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-25 06:55:23|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 24 (Xinhua) -- Chinese permanent representative to the United Nations Ma Zhaoxu on Saturday called for the full implementation of the just adopted Security Council resolution that demands a 30-day cease-fire in Syria.

"Going forward, the international community should work together to ensure the full implementation of the just adopted Resolution 2401 so that it can play a positive role in improving the humanitarian situation in Syria," Ma told the Security Council after the vote.

He said China is keen for this council to remain united and forge consensus on the Syrian issue, push the Syrian parties to consolidate the momentum for cease-fire, strengthen cooperation on combating terrorist groups, advance the process of political settlement and play a constructive role in maintaining peace and security in Syria and across the region.

A political settlement is the only way out, he stressed. "The international community should support the Syrian parties in seeking a swift solution that is acceptable to all parties under UN mediation through a Syrian-owned and Syrian-led political process to end the suffering of the Syrian people as early as possible."

Resolution 2401 demands an immediate cessation of hostilities for "a durable humanitarian pause for at least 30 consecutive days throughout Syria" to enable the safe, unimpeded and sustained delivery of humanitarian aid and services and medical evacuations of the critically sick and wounded.Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-25 07:51:58|Editor: Xiang Bo

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Students take part in the fine arts exam of Shandong University of Art & Design in Jinan, east China's Shandong Province, Feb. 24, 2018. The exam attracted over 6,000 students. (Xinhua)Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-25 07:45:33|Editor: Chengcheng

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CHICAGO, Feb. 24 (Xinhua) -- Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) agricultural commodities closed mixed over the trading week which ended Feb. 23, with soybean futures surging on hot and dry weather for major soybean exporter Argentina.

The most active corn contract for March delivery fell 1.25 cent weekly, or 0.34 percent, to 3.6625 dollars per bushel. March wheat delivery went down 5.5 cents, or 1.2 percent, to 4.5225 dollars per bushel. March soybeans added 14.75 cents, or 1.44 percent, to 10.3625 dollars per bushel over the week.

Corn futures ended the week slightly lower. The rally has paused amid recent sizeable short covering and partially as dryness concerns are easing across the heart of the Midwest.

However, it remains that Argentina crop size is being ratcheted down on a weekly basis, and amid less than ideal weather in South Africa, it's possible that total Southern Hemisphere corn production will exist in a range of 141-142 million tons vs. 157 tons last year.

U.S. corn was already the world's cheapest feed grain, and amid steady and higher global barley and feed wheat prices, U.S. weekly export sales will continue some 2-3 times the average needed to meet the U.S. Department of Agriculture's forecast.

Wheat futures this week ended slightly lower. Unlike corn, wheat is not being driven by demand, but rather by ongoing drought expansion across the U.S. Plains, and to some extent logistical issues in Canada and Russia.

Bitterly cold temps have slowed grain transportation in these two countries, and overall this has helped keep world cash wheat prices firm.

La Nina is likely to weaken beyond the next 30 days or so, but operational models still maintain complete dryness in southwest U.S. through mid-March.

And amid the incredible GDP growth in India, and ongoing U.S. drought, pressure will be placed for another year of big wheat yields in 2018.

Soybean and soy meal markets held gains and were higher at the end of the holiday shortened trading week, confirming the previous week's technical breakout.

The market's focus remains on Argentine crops, where only light and limited rains fell during the week. Moreover, the weather models have yet to show an significant change in the ongoing dry weather trend, with much of the soybean belt forecast to see less than an inch of rain over the next 10 days.ISLAMABAD, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- Pakistan security forces killed at least one terrorist and arrested 11 others on Saturday in the country's southwest Balochistan Province, said a military statement.

The Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR), the media wing of the Pakistani army, said that the achievements were made during the intelligence-based operations by the Frontier Corps, a paramilitary force.

The operations were conducted in the provincial capital of Quetta, district Sibi and Khahan area of Balochistan.

The security forces recovered a huge cache of arms and ammunition, including rockets, submachine guns, mines, explosives, and live bullets.

In pictures released by the ISPR, the security personnel are seen confiscating weapons and ammunition hidden inside the caves of a mountain.

According to the statement, the activities are part of the major offensive operation "Radd ul Fasaad," or reject discord in English.

The operation Radd ul Fasaad was launched in February last year to eliminate the terrorists across the country, especially against the sleeping cells of the militants, their supporters and financiers.Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-25 09:21:56|Editor: Chengcheng

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People try to make noodles after a hand-pulled noodle demonstration in a workshop of the "Lunar New Year Festival: Year of the Dog" at Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the United States, on Feb. 24, 2018. The Metropolitan Museum of Art hosted its annual Lunar New Year Festival on Saturday, with more than 20 programs reflecting traditions across Asia. (Xinhua/Wang Ying)Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-25 09:20:46|Editor: Liu

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RIO DE JANEIRO, Feb. 24 (Xinhua) -- Argentina's Diego Schwartzman and Spaniard Fernando Verdasco will meet in the Rio Open final after both registered straight sets victories on Saturday.

Schwartzman overcame Chile's Nicolas Jarry 7-5, 6-2 and Verdasco beat Italian Fabio Fognini in the clay-court event at the Jockey Club Brasileiro.

The finalists' only previous meeting came in Nice two years ago, when the Argentinian won 7-6 (5), 6-1.

Regardless of Sunday's result, Schwartzman is guaranteed to move into the top 20 for the first time in his career while Verdasco will improve on his No. 40 ranking.

"I am very happy to enter the top 20," Schwartzman said. "This has been a very difficult tournament with several top-10 players, so when you start you cannot imagine reaching the final.

"I know that if I continue at my best level, the triumphs will come and the points will come, and I hope I can continue in the top 20," he added.WASHINGTON, Feb. 24 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. House Intelligence Committee on Saturday released a classified Democratic memo which counters GOP claims that the FBI abused government surveillance powers in its Russia investigation.

Parts of the 10-page document, written by the panel's top Democrat Adam Schiff, were redacted to avoid revealing intelligence-gathering sources and methods. The White House rejected its release earlier this month, suggesting that sensitive information had to be removed first.

The memo argued that the FBI had valid justification for obtaining warrants to run surveillance on Carter Page, a former foreign policy adviser to President Donald Trump, long before it received information in a dossier compiled by former British spy Christopher Steele.

Steele was allegedly hired to compile opposition research on Trump when he was candidate. The Democratic memo said that the information in the dossier was a small part of the case which the Justice Department and FBI officials laid out in requesting for the court's permission to spy on Page and in seeking renewals.Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-25 10:01:01|Editor: Zhou Xin

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Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen puts his ballot into a ballot box during the Senate election in Kandal province, Cambodia on Feb. 25, 2018. The election for the four mandate of the Cambodian Senate, or the upper house, kicked off on Sunday, a spokesman said. (Xinhua/Sovannara)

PHNOM PENH, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- The election for the four mandate of the Cambodian Senate, or the upper house, kicked off on Sunday with four political parties taking part in the race, a spokesman said.

"All polling stations were opened at 7:00 a.m. (local time) and will be closed at 3:00 p.m.," Hang Puthea, a spokesman for the National Election Committee (NEC), told Xinhua.

The four contesting parties are the ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP) of Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen, the Funcinpec Party of Prince Norodom Ranariddh, the Cambodian Youth Party, and the Khmer National United Party.

Hun Sen casted his ballot at a polling station in southern Kandal province, as Ranariddh voted in southeastern Kampong Cham province.

The Senate election, held every six years, is a non-general election because ordinary citizens do not take part in the electoral process.

According to Puthea, all 123 members of parliament and 11,572 commune councilors will vote at 33 polling stations across the country.

He said the Senate has 62 seats, but the vote will be held for 58 seats only, as two senators will be appointed by King Norodom Sihamoni and two others by the National Assembly, or the lower house.

Puthea said a preliminary result will be announced on Sunday afternoon, as the official one will be on March 3 if there is no complaint filed by any political parties against the result.

Chheang Vannarith, vice-chairman of the Cambodian Institute for Strategic Studies, said the ruling CPP was likely to sweep the election following the dissolution of the main opposition party.

"The CPP will likely grab all the seats because there is no main contesting party," he told Xinhua.

The Supreme Court ordered on Nov. 16 last year the dissolution of the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) after its leader Kem Sokha was arrested on Sept. 3 and charged with treason for allegedly conspiring with a foreign power in an attempt to overthrow the government.

Following the dissolution, 55 CNRP members of parliament and 5,007 commune councilors were ousted from their seats, and the seats were reallocated by the NEC to other political parties.

The CPP and the Funcinpec Party received most of the seats.

The CPP currently holds 79 parliamentary seats, or 64 percent of the 123-seat National Assembly and 11,051 commune seats, or 95 percent of the 11,572 commune seats, while Funcinpec Party possesses 41 parliamentary seats and 239 commune seats.by Xinhua Writers Jin Jing, Gu Zhenqiu

LONDON, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- Like on many other winter days in Britain, Manchester was experiencing a freezing drizzle and occasional strong gusts of wind. But these did not in any way deter the visitors to Chetham's Library, one of the oldest surviving free public libraries in the English-speaking world.

Housed in a light-brown medieval sandstone building in the city, the library, built in 1653, has become a tourist attraction thanks to its collection of some 200,000 books, manuscripts and archives. But what impresses visitors most is a stained oak desk in the window alcove of the Reading Room: Karl Marx's desk.

Fergus Wilde, a 56-year-old librarian, is possibly the most frequent visitor in the Reading Room. Having worked in the library for 20 years, he has made a habit out of sitting at the desk almost everyday studying Marx's ideas and analysis.

"It is a daily privilege," said Wilde. "I have become significantly more interested in Marx's story and Marx's debate as years went by," he told Xinhua on the eve of the 170th anniversary of the publication of "The Communist Manifesto," which was co-authored by Marx and Friedrich Engels.

"I think there is a 'rebirth' of public interest in Marx analysis not only because of its influence on history but also on present times," said Wilde. He has observed that Marx's social critique has enjoyed a revival in the wake of the global financial crisis, which was essentially triggered by capitalist greed and a resurgence in neo-liberalism.

"Our economy has always struggled from crisis to crisis. It has been demonstrated convincingly over the last 30 years, that the gap between the rich and poor people has been widening, and also (that) between the rich and poor countries. Some questions will have to be asked sooner or later," he said.

"Even if you consider the capitalist world has produced paramount wealth, you have to ask: Can that wealth be justified and evenly shared?" he said.

Chetham's Library was the place where Marx and his friend Engels frequently met and studied together during the summer of 1845, one year after they met in Paris.

During this period, Engels lived in Manchester, working for his father's cotton thread manufacturing firm in nearby Weaste, while Marx, who lived in London, was a frequent visitor to Manchester.

The research they conducted during their visits to the library played a "crucial" role in forming their theories and arguments and ultimately led to their work "The Communist Manifesto" that was published in late February 1848, said Wilde.

This library had a "disproportionately big impact" on Marx and Engels' works, said Wilde, adding that the two German philosophers studied the capitalist means of production using Engels's family firm as a case for their study. It was during this time that Engels finished his landmark book "The Condition of the Working Class in England."

Apparently, Chetham's Library provided the friends with a lot of inspiration.

"Marx and Engels were very good library users. They didn't write in the books and they didn't carve their names on the desk, but they did reminisce to each other," Wilde said.

Writing to Marx many years later in 1870, Engels said: "During the last few days I have again spent a good deal of time sitting at the four-sided desk in the alcove where we sat together twenty-four years ago. I am very fond of the place. The stained glass window ensures that the weather is always fine there."

This letter is edited in the German-version "Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels Excerpts and Notes, July to August 1845" ("Karl Marx und Friedrich Engels Exzerpte und Notizen Juli bis August 1845") published in 1988.

Apart from the stained glass windows, which were damaged by a storm in the winter of 1875 and replaced by plain glass, the desk and the alcove remain almost unaltered.

The original books Marx was reading at the time can still be found on the library shelves, such as Frederick Morten Eden's "The State of the Poor" (1795) and Thomas Gisbourne's "Inquiry into the Duties of Men in the Higher Ranks and Middle Classes of Society in Great Britain" (1795).

Visitors, just like Wilde, can sit by the desk and ponder over the issues that the two great thinkers possibly argued over more than 170 years ago.

Byron Tyrer became a volunteer guide in the library after he retired six months ago. "We live in a peculiar time and there is a growing interest in Marx's analysis and in this library. Some visitors came from across half the world," he said.

Chloe Maria, a French visitor, stopped by the desk for quite a while, attentively flipping through the copies of books on the desk read by Marx and Engels.

"Just picturing them sitting here just is amazing," said Maria. "Obviously something is seriously wrong with our society and we need to find the answers. Here might be one of the places."

But to Wilde, Chetham's Library is more like home as he visits it almost everyday.

"There is little doubt that Marx was the father of an extremely valuable school of interpretation of history which keeps reemerging," he said.SEOUL, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- A high-ranking delegation from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) arrived in South Korea Sunday to attend the closing ceremony of the 23rd Winter Olympics.

The DPRK delegation, led by Kim Yong Chol, vice chairman of the Central Committee of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea, crossed the inter-Korean border via land route and arrived in the transit office in the west region at about 9:53 a.m. local time (0053 GMT), local TV footage showed.

Kim, dressed in a long, black coat, was greeted by Chun Hae-sung, vice unification minister of South Korea, at the inter-Korean transit office.

Included in the DPRK delegation, which will make a three-day visit to South Korea, are Ri Son Gwon, chairman of the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland and six other support staff.YANGON, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- A series of bomb blasts occurred in Myanmar over the last four days with the first incident taking place near two private banks -- Yoma and AYA in Lashio, the country's northern Shan state on Wednesday, which was followed by another series of bomb attacks in Sittway, the capital of western Rakhine state, on Saturday.

The bomb blast in Lashio killed two female bank staff, injuring 22 others, while the ones in Sittway injured two people including a policeman.

The Sittway bomb blasts hit three places -- a state court, a district land record office and residential compound of the secretary of the state government in a minute's interval.

Three other unexploded bombs were also detected as remotely controlled and deactivated in the area.

Soon after the first series of bomb explosions in Lashio, the National Reconciliation and Peace Center (NRPC) issued a statement condemning the terrorist attacks which targeted on public areas and hurt innocent people.

The statement called for effective action to be taken in accordance with law.

State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi, who is Chairperson of the NRPC, warned that the deadly bomb attacks at the two banks affected government's national reconciliation and peace efforts.

Tight security measures have been imposed on Lashio town and investigation into the incident is underway.

Lashio, a major trading town in northern Myanmar, is the capital city of the country's Shan state where several ethnic armed groups are active.

Earlier this month, two more ethnic armed groups -- the New Mon State Party and Lahu Democratic Union joined the government's ceasefire pact, bringing the total number of ethnic groups that have joined the Nationwide Ceasefire Accord to 10 since the first signing with eight armed groups on Oct. 15, 2015.

Aung San Suu Kyi has called for inclusiveness in the country's national reconciliation and peace process, reiterating the government's welcome of non-ceasefire signatory armed groups to join the signing of NCA and be inclusive in formulating the principles toward a democratic federal union in the future.WASHINGTON, Feb. 24 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. House Intelligence Committee on Saturday released a classified Democratic memo that counters GOP claims that the FBI abused government surveillance powers in its Russia investigation.

Parts of the 10-page document, written by the panel's top Democrat Adam Schiff, were redacted to avoid revealing intelligence-gathering sources and methods. The White House rejected its release earlier this month, suggesting that sensitive information had to be first removed.

The memo argued that the FBI had valid justification for obtaining warrants to run surveillance on Carter Page, a former foreign policy adviser to President Donald Trump, long before it received information in a dossier compiled by former British spy Christopher Steele.

Steele was hired to compile opposition research on Trump when he was a candidate. The Democratic memo said that the information in the dossier was a small part of the case which the Department of Justice (DOJ) and FBI officials laid out in requesting for the court's permission to spy on Page and in seeking renewals.

According to Democrats, federal officials told the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) that they suspected Steele's motive to compile the dossier, an account contradictory to a Republican memo released late January, but they failed to identify the political nature of the dossier's origins.

"The Democratic response memo released today should put to rest any concerns that the American people might have as to the conduct of the FBI, the Justice Department and the FISC," Schiff said in a statement.

He said the Democratic review of the initial application to eavesdrop on Page and three subsequent renewals "failed to uncover any evidence of illegal, unethical, or unprofessional behavior by law enforcement and instead reveled that both the FBI and the DOJ made extensive showings to justify all four requests."

Trump has said that the GOP memo "vindicates" him in the ongoing Russia investigation led by special counsel Rober Mueller. "Democrat memo response on government surveillance abuses is a total political and legal BUST," Trump tweeted on Saturday.

"Just confirms all of the terrible things that were done," he wrote. "SO ILLEGAL!"Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-25 12:06:20|Editor: Liu

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CANBERRA, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- The often-maligned dingo plays a key role in saving vulnerable Australian species from predators in the wake of natural disasters, a study released on Sunday found.

The study, released by Charles Sturt University (CSU) and Deakin University on Sunday, found that dingoes act as "guardian angels" for native wildlife following bush fires.

In order to discover how foxes, cats and other predators capitalized on burnt-off areas in their pursuit of food, researchers from the two universities used camera traps to study 21 Victorian landscapes.

"There's this idea that these predators are taking advantage of burnt areas, getting into them when all the vegetation's gone after fire, and just hunting all the native mammals towards extinction," Dale Nimmo, Associate Professor at CSU's Institute for Land, Water and Society (ILWS), told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) on Sunday.

Surprisingly, researchers found that the techniques used by dingoes to hunt kangaroos in the area were protecting other species.

"The big finding of the study was that foxes were actually avoiding recently burned areas in these semi-arid landscapes, and the reason was because of the higher abundance of dingoes," Nimmo said.

"You have a situation where dingoes are creating a refuge for native wildlife, particularly smaller mammals that are the preferred prey of foxes and cats, by basically selecting these landscapes so they can hunt kangaroos more effectively."

Dingoes are officially classified as pests in Australia because of their abundance but Nimmo said the classification disregarded the positive impact they can have on an ecosystem.

"The dingo has a really interesting role in Australia, because, unlike other parts of the world, we only have one large apex terrestrial predator," he said.

"Of course, there's livestock conflict related to that predator, but there's more and more evidence that the species also performs a positive function for the ecosystem.

"One of those functions that we've been seeing is that when you have larger, more stable populations of dingoes, you often end up with fewer foxes and fewer cats as well, because dingoes hunt and kill these animals and their mere presence in the landscape creates what we call a 'landscape of fear'."Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-25 12:31:24|Editor: Liu

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CARACAS, Feb. 24 (Xinhua) -- Venezuela's oil-backed Petro, the first cryptocurrency to be issued by a state, is generating "high expectations in the crypto asset market," according to an expert in digital currencies.

What's more, interest in the Petro, which is currently in the pre-sale phase, is running "much higher than for any other launching of a similar asset," Saul Osio told Xinhua recently.

"The important thing is that the launching of the crypto asset attracts investors in the development of the Petro project, and possibly that is happening," said Osio.

On Thursday, the second day of the pre-sale period, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said the initiative had already raised more than one billion U.S. dollars in purchase intentions.

Cryptocurrency experts have been closely following the Petro's launch, with some complaining the government did not release enough details of how the digital currency will function.

But Osio said "they have been very wise not to provide more details than necessary to guarantee the crypto asset's technical development."

However, he acknowledged "greater technical precision will be needed to catch the attention of the more demanding investors and guarantee greater reliability in the crypto asset markets, which are being pressured to prevent the Petro's commercialization and tradability."

What threats could derail the initiative, which aims to counter U.S. economic and financial sanctions designed to cut Venezuela off from international capital markets?

"They are very diverse and practically the same as those that all crypto assets face today: hacking, regulatory persecution in some countries and a fluctuating market, among others," said Osio, noting the Petro additionally faces "persecution by the U.S. government."

Still, measures targeting the Petro "will not be very effective, as they haven't been in the case of other crypto assets, because they are all decentralized," said Osio.

"The main threat it could face is a lack of confidence and that springs from the subjectivity of investors, that's why they need a successful marketing campaign ... to prevent media currents from scaring off investors," added Osio.

"The U.S. State Department has made a major effort to undermine confidence ... in the Petro, but so far it has failed to have a neutralizing effect," Osio said.

"Once it (the Petro) becomes publicly available and it's traded on secondary markets, it will be more difficult to ruin, that's why the attacks will intensify in the next two weeks," he warned.

As a consultant, what advice would Osio give the government to improve the initiative?

"They must reinvest in the development of the blockchain (the digitized and decentralized record of transactions) and the Petro's own ecosystem to boost the crypto asset's reliability and benefits," advised Osio.

"It's also necessary to establish a legal framework to guarantee the investment in the crypto startup, without it having to be very coercive, and in that way succeed in attracting international investment in various cryptocurrencies," said Osio.

While launching the Petro, and potentially a gold-backed digital currency called Petro Oro, should help Venezuela generate much-needed foreign revenue, these crypto assets are not a cure-all, noted Osio.

"By itself, it won't improve the situation for Venezuelans, in the same way that other cryptocurrencies have not helped other societies overcome their economic troubles," said Osio.

To have any impact on the life of Venezuela's people, the Petro "needs to be accompanied by other decisions in the area of tax and monetary policy that will complement the Petro's development and massify the unfettered use of the Petro and other crypto assets in Venezuela," said the expert.Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-25 12:41:26|Editor: Liu

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UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 24 (Xinhua) -- After the adoption of a Security Council resolution which demands a cessation of hostilities of at least 30 days in Syria, all eyes are on its implementation -- or non-implementation.

Chinese permanent representative to the United Nations Ma Zhaoxu on Saturday called for the full implementation of the resolution.

"Going forward, the international community should work together to ensure the full implementation of the just adopted Resolution 2401 so that it can play a positive role in improving the humanitarian situation in Syria," Ma told the Security Council after the vote.

He commended the unity of the council over the issue and said China is keen for this council to remain united as well as to forge a consensus on the Syrian issue, push for Syrian parties to consolidate the momentum for cease-fire, strengthen cooperation on combating terrorist groups, advance the process of political settlement, and play a constructive role in maintaining peace and security in Syria as well as across the region.

A political settlement is the only way out, he stressed. "The international community should support the Syrian parties in seeking a swift solution that is acceptable to all parties under UN mediation through a Syrian-owned and Syrian-led political process to end the suffering of the Syrian people as early as possible."

Resolution 2401 demands that all parties cease hostilities without delay for "a durable humanitarian pause for at least 30 consecutive days throughout Syria" to enable the safe, unimpeded and sustained delivery of humanitarian aid and services and medical evacuations of the critically sick and wounded.

Ambassadors of other countries echoed Ma's call for the implementation of Resolution 2401.

Mansour Al-Otaibi, the Kuwaiti ambassador to the United Nations, whose delegation drafted the resolution together with Sweden, said that the international community must monitor the implementation of the resolution on the ground.

"This is a small step in alleviating the suffering of the people of Syria. There still remains a lot of work to do to end the crisis," Al-Otaibi, president of the Security Council for the month of February, told reporters. "This resolution is the least we can do for the Syrian people, the minimum the Security Council can do."

"We hope the council can build on this united position today to bring an end to suffering in Syria," he added.

Al-Otaibi insists that a cease-fire must become reality immediately. "The Security Council demands parties cease hostilities without delay," he said. "Without delay means without delay. For us, it is without delay, immediately."

Stephen Hickey, who represented Britain for Saturday's vote, said, "This resolution demands all parties cease hostilities without delay. That means right now. Immediately."

Russian ambassador to the United Nations, Vassily Nebenzia, said, "Of course we prefer the cease-fire to start immediately."

"But let's be realistic," he added. "We would like to encourage the parties to work for it, to engage in the implementation -- full and comprehensive -- by all parties."

He explained that Russia wanted to make sure that the resolution is not to be used "as a pretext for any military action," without saying by whom or against whom.

U.S. ambassador Nikki Haley indicated that implementation might be difficult.

"In the days to come, our resolve to stand by our demands in this resolution will be tested. All of us must rise to the challenge of maintaining this cease-fire, just as we came together today," she told the Security Council.

"All of us must do everything we can to make the demands of this resolution a reality. It's the only way to restore the credibility of this council. The Syrian people have been waiting long enough."

The resolution was adopted after two weeks of tough consultations with twists and turns at the last minute.

A vote on the text had been intended on Thursday and then postponed to Friday. The council members again failed to reach consensus, even after intensive closed-door consultations for a whole afternoon, forcing a reschedule for Saturday noon. The council members held more than two hours of consultations before the vote on Saturday.Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-25 12:46:26|Editor: Liu

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CARACAS, Feb. 24 (Xinhua) -- Venezuela's National Electoral Council (CNE) on Saturday began the process of registering candidates for the upcoming presidential elections to be held on April 22.

"Today the process of registering candidacies for the 2018 presidential elections begins," Tania D'Amelio, head of the CNE, said via Twitter.

D'Amelio invited potential candidates and their parties to register online through the CNE page.

The electoral body will then review and approve or reject the registered candidates by March 1, according to the electoral calendar D'Amelio posted on Twitter.

After that, parties that need to substitute or change their candidates can do so on March 2.

Presidential candidates will campaign from April 2 to 19.

The main opposition coalition has threatened to boycott the poll, as it did during elections for members of the National Constituent Assembly.

Voters residing abroad can register to vote until Sunday.WASHINGTON, Feb. 24 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. House Intelligence Committee on Saturday released a classified Democratic memo that counters GOP claims that the FBI abused government surveillance powers in its Russia investigation.

Parts of the 10-page document, written by the GOP-controlled panel's top Democrat Adam Schiff, were redacted to avoid revealing intelligence-gathering sources and methods.

The White House rejected its release earlier this month, suggesting that sensitive information had to be removed first.

The memo argued that the FBI had valid justification for obtaining warrants to run surveillance on Carter Page, a former foreign policy adviser to President Donald Trump, long before it received information in a dossier compiled by former British spy Christopher Steele.

Steele was allegedly hired to compile opposition research on Trump when he was candidate. The Democratic memo said that the information in the dossier was a small part of the case which the Department of Justice (DOJ) and FBI officials laid out in requesting for the court's permission to spy on Page and in seeking renewals.

According to Democrats, federal officials told the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) that they suspected Steele's motive to compile the dossier, an account contradictory to a Republican memo released late January, but they failed to identify the political nature of the dossier's origins.

"The Democratic response memo released today should put to rest any concerns that the American people might have as to the conduct of the FBI, the Justice Department and the FISC," Schiff said in a statement.

He said the Democratic review of the initial application to eavesdrop on Page and three subsequent renewals "failed to uncover any evidence of illegal, unethical, or unprofessional behavior by law enforcement and instead reveled that both the FBI and the DOJ made extensive showings to justify all four requests."

Trump has said that the GOP memo "vindicates" him in the ongoing Russia investigation led by special counsel Rober Mueller. He has repeatedly denied allegations of collusion between his campaign and the Kremlin while describing the Russia probe as a "hoax" and a "witch hunt."

On Saturday, Trump said "Democrat memo response on government surveillance abuses is a total political and legal BUST."

"Just confirms all of the terrible things that were done," he tweeted. "SO ILLEGAL!"

The White House said in a statement that noting in the Democratic memo undercuts the president's statements that neither he nor his campaign colluded with Russia.

"While the Democrats' memorandum attempts to undercut the President politically, the president supported its release in the interests of transparency," the statement read.

However, Schiff has criticized Trump for treating the two documents differently, as the 4-page GOP memo was released with no redactions after being signed off by the White House.

FBI Director Christopher Wray and other senior law enforcement officials also warned that the Republican document was biased and omitted key information, viewed by critics as part of the GOP efforts to undermine Mueller's investigation.

Both memos are part of the House Intelligence Committee's ongoing investigation into alleged collusion between the Trump campaign and the Kremlin and Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

The release of the Democratic memo also came after Mueller brought new charges to two former aides in Trump's campaign. But those charges were unrelated to the alleged collusion.Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-25 13:16:04|Editor: Chengcheng

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A salesman cuts a blue lavender cheese from France for the visitors at the shopping and experience fair of "Land und Genuss" (Land and Enjoyment) in Frankfurt, Germany, on Feb. 24, 2018. More than 300 exhibitors attended the fair held from Feb. 23 to 25. (Xinhua/Luo Huanhuan)Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-25 13:16:31|Editor: Xiang Bo

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HAIKOU, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- A heavy fog again disrupted ferry services on the Qiongzhou Strait in south China, stranding thousands of cars on Hainan island, local authorities said Sunday.

According to local meteorology and maritime departments, the fog was expected to last between Friday night and Saturday morning, triggering suspension notices of ferry services.

Ferry services at the city's three ports had not resumed as of 9:30 a.m. on Sunday.

Currently, nearly 8,000 cars carrying tens of thousand of passengers are still waiting at the ports to leave Hainan for Guangdong Province via the Qiongzhou strait.

Passengers are heading home after spending their Spring Festival holiday on the island. Hainan, known for its tropical climate and clean air, is a popular destination for Chinese tourists in winter.

According to the local government, about 90,000 vehicles containing over 400,000 tourists had arrived on the island during this year's Spring Festival holiday lasting from Feb. 15 to Feb. 21.

Shipping on the Qiongzhou Strait, the only way for cars to leave the island for Guangdong, was suspended Wednesday night due to heavy fog. Ferries resumed Thursday morning as visibility improved.SEOUL, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- A high-ranking delegation from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) arrived in South Korea Sunday to attend the closing ceremony of the 23rd Winter Olympics.

The DPRK delegation, led by Kim Yong Chol, Vice Chairman of the Central Committee of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea, crossed the inter-Korean border via land route and arrived in the transit office in the west region at about 9:53 a.m. local time (0053 GMT), local TV footage showed.

Kim, dressed in a long, black coat, was greeted by Chun Hae-sung, vice unification minister of South Korea, at the inter-Korean transit office.

Also included in the DPRK delegation were Ri Son Gwon, chairman of the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland, who came here about two weeks earlier to attend the Olympic opening ceremony, and six other support staff.

Kim and Ri rode two black sedans respectively, prepared by the South Korean authorities, to a hotel in Seoul. The sedans arrived in the hotel at around noon, together with a black van carrying the support staff.

South Korea said earlier this week that Vice Chairman Kim's attendance at the Olympic closing ceremony, scheduled for Sunday night, will help improve inter-Korean relations and peace on the Korean Peninsula as he doubles as the director of the United Front Department in charge of inter-Korean ties.

Kim was a chief DPRK negotiator at the inter-Korean contact of the military authorities, which was held on Oct. 15, 2014 at the truce village of Panmunjom to discuss ways to defuse military tension between the two sides.

There would be a natural encounter between Kim and Ivanka Trump, the daughter of U.S. President Donald Trump who came Friday to South Korea to cheer on U.S. athletes and attend the closing ceremony.

Kim and Ivanka were expected to take their respective seats in the same VIP box for South Korean President Moon Jae-in during the closing ceremony.

During a dinner meeting with Ivanka at the presidential compound in Seoul Friday, Moon said talks between South Korea and the DPRK must go hand in hand with talks to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula.

Moon told Ivanka that it would be significant for South Korea and the United States to closely cooperate to enable the inter-Korean talks and the denuclearization talks to make progress together, saying Seoul and Washington must take the opportunity of the current dialogue mood.

During a telephone conversation in January, Moon and Trump shared a possibility for the inter-Korean talks naturally leading to talks between the United States and the DPRK.Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak (C) takes part in a lunar new year celebration event with the Malaysian Chinese community in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Feb. 24, 2018. (Xinhua)

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb. 24 (Xinhua) -- Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said Saturday that his government would further strengthen ties with China as the relations has benefited not only the Chinese community in Malaysia but the country as a whole.

Speaking at a lunar new year celebration event with the Malaysian Chinese community, Najib said the relations between Malaysia and China are in the right direction and have been flourishing in all sectors.

The decision by his father, Malaysia's second Prime Minister Abdul Razak Hussein to establish diplomatic ties with China in 1974, has brought mutual benefit, Najib said.

The relations was strengthened by a series of cooperation with China on the development of project in recent years like the East Coast Rail Line and the Digital Free Trade Zone, said the prime minister, adding that the bilateral relations would continue to be further strengthened under his leadership.

Speaking at another lunar new year celebrating event in the evening, the Malaysian prime minister mentioned that he was impressed by the speed by the Chinese government when the two countries was cooperating on the China-Malaysia Qinzhou Industrial Park in Guangxi, China.

This inspired him in leading Malaysia to deliver its own "Malaysian Speed," which has facilitated the building of the Malaysia-China Kuantan Industrial Park, Xiamen University Malaysian Campus as well as the Digital Free Trade Zone in cooperation with China's e-commerce giant Alibaba.Joseph Kayan, a Goroka Show participant from Chimbu Province

TORSTEN BLACKWOOD | PHOTOGRAPHS BY SANDRO | Smithsonian Magazine

See all of Sandros wonderful images here

WASHINGTON - Is any place on the planet less familiar to Americans than heavily forested, mountainous, linguistically complex, faraway Papua New Guinea?

The images here document just a few points on the wide spectrum of life in PNG today. At one end is what might be called extravagant tradition. To see that, the photographer Sandro, whos based in Chicago, went to the Eastern Highlands and attended the Goroka Show.

Thats a three-day festival where people from all over the country showcase their customs. In a makeshift studio Sandro photographed men and women wearing costumes unique to their villages.

This kind of undertaking is not without risk. Anthropologists rightly caution against ethnic stereotyping, and a Papuan elder in feathered regalia doesnt stand in for the entire population any more than a woman wearing a calico bonnet in Colonial Williamsburg is a typical American.Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-25 14:11:39|Editor: Xiang Bo

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BEIJING, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- China plans to establish a "red list" and a blacklist to reward and punish donors in charity work, according to the Ministry of Civil Affairs.

Li Bo with the ministry said at a press conference that a memorandum has been signed by 40 departments and offices, including the ministry and National Development and Reform Commission, to publish lists of honest and dishonest charity donors.

The honest donors, both individuals and organizations, will receive a boost to their credit records and enjoy favorable policies and preferential services, while dishonest donors will be closely watched by authorities and face punishments.

The lists will not only be shared among authorities but also published on websites of government offices, such as creditchina.gov.cn and cishan.chinanpo.gov.cn.

In September 2017, the ministry publicized information on 2,134 charitable organizations at cishan.chinanpo.gov.cn.

China's Charity Law went into effect on Sept. 1, 2016.BANGKOK, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- Pro-democracy activists on Saturday repeated calls for the government under Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha to hold a general election within this year.

Hundreds of people peacefully gathered on the campus of Thammasat University where the young activists continued to press for the government and National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) to no longer put off the nationwide election and to hold it within this year.

Last year, Prayut pledged to hold the election in November this year but the pro-democracy activists and media feared that it might be put off for another 90 days due to the amendment to an organic law governing the election of MPs.

Calling themselves the Democracy Restoration Group and the Group of People Who Want to Vote, the activists managed to distribute masks of long-nosed "Yutnocchio", an imitation of the fictional Pinocchio, to the demonstrators to put them on and be photographed at the rally spot on the university's Tha Phrachan campus.

The crowd shouted "election this year" as the media's photographers took pictures of them wearing the "Yutnocchio" masks.

Pro-democracy activist Sirawit Serithiwat charged that Prayut has acted "just like Pinocchio" because, he said, the premier had lied to the Thai people and the world community about the election which he had postponed for several times over the last four years.

In sustained effort to press for the election within this year, the activists earlier vowed to continue to organize the peaceful gathering of demonstrators on Saturdays of next month and May.

They planned to culminate their planned protest on May 22 -- the date on which the NCPO, headed by the then-army chief Prayut, staged a coup to overthrow former premier Yingluck Shinawatra's government four years ago.HAVANA, Feb. 24 (Xinhua) -- Cuban President Raul Castro on Saturday commemorated the 123rd anniversary of Cuba's War of Independence from Spain, and decorated three of the most senior leaders of the 1959 Revolution.

At a ceremony held in Havana's Capitol building, home of the National Assembly, Castro recalled the day national hero Jose Marti relaunched the independence struggle on Feb. 24, 1895, which eventually freed Cuba from Spanish rule.

In a rare speech, Castro highlighted Marti's determination. In the face of what seemed like insurmountable setbacks, he found alternatives and rallied people together.

"Marti appealed to national unity, articulated the best traditions of the past, without leaving out any of those who were willing to sacrifice and give their lives for a greater cause," Castro said.

Castro also bestowed the title of "Work Hero of the Republic" on three revolutionary veterans who fought alongside Fidel Castro and himself to overthrow dictator Fulgencio Batista: Jose Ramon Machado, current second secretary of the Communist Party, and commanders of the revolution Ramiro Valdes and Guillermo Garcia.

"As a common characteristic of these three liberators of our time, I can cite their loyalty to the revolution and Fidel, their dedication to work, modesty and humility, which have made them worthy of the recognition and the respect of Cubans," Castro said.

Valdes, 85, and Garcia, 90, are the only revolutionary commanders still alive today. Machado, 87, served as the country's first vice president between 2008 and 2013.

All three were previously honored with "Hero of the Republic," the highest praise awarded by the Cuban government.

On Saturday, Castro, 86, was initially set to hand over the presidency to a new leader, but the National Assembly extended his term by almost two months after general elections were pushed back due to the devastating aftermath of Hurricane Irma late last year.

Elections are set to take place on March 11 to choose more than 600 national lawmakers. The new parliament will then convene on April 19 to vote for a new Council of State, including its president.

In December, Castro reiterated his intention to hand over the presidency in April.

"When the National Assembly is constituted, I will have finished my second and last term leading the state and the government, and Cuba will have a new president," Castro said in a speech to lawmakers.

Castro will remain first secretary of the ruling Cuban Communist Party until the organization's next Congress in 2021.Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-25 14:36:45|Editor: Chengcheng

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KABUL, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- The Afghan army killed 10 Taliban insurgents and injured 14 others in western province of Farah Saturday, the Defense Ministry said on Sunday.

"Afghan National Army struck terrorists' hideouts by airstrikes and heavy artillery in Bala Buluk district, killing 10 insurgents and injuring 14 others," the ministry tweeted.

The province has been the scene of heavy clashes between security forces and Taliban within the past months.

On early Saturday morning, the Taliban launched a massive attack on army checkpoints, killing 22 soldiers and injuring two others in Bala Buluk.

Afghan security forces, alongside U.S. and NATO-led coalition forces, have increased ground and air offensives against militants across the country.

The Taliban insurgent group, which has been waging an insurgency of more than 16 years, has yet to make comments.Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-25 14:41:46|Editor: Xiang Bo

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LANZHOU, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- Several replicas of the world-renowned Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes in northwest China's Gansu Province are on display in Italy, according to the cave art administrator.

Replicas of two Mogao caves, frescoes and painted buddha sculptures are on display at Ca' Foscari University of Venice, Dunhuang Academy said.

The exhibition, named "The Jewel of the Silk Road: Buddhist Art of Dunhuang," will last until April 8.

Wang Xudong, head of Dunhuang Academy, said the exhibition will help visitors in Venice learn more about the Dunhuang Mogao Caves as well as traditional Chinese culture.

Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes are a 1,600-year-old UNESCO world heritage site. They are also known as the Thousand Buddha Grottoes, located at a cultural and religious crossroads on the ancient Silk Road in Gansu.PUL-E-KHUMRI, Afghanistan, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- Up to nine militants have been killed and three others injured as security forces stormed Taliban hideouts in Tala-o-Barfak district of the northern Baghlan province on Saturday, an army spokesman in the northern region Major Mohammad Hamid Rezai said Sunday.

The security forces, according to the official, launched coordinated attack on militants hideouts in Tala-o-Barfak district late Saturday, killing nine armed insurgents and injuring three others.

The operations would continue until the area is out of insurgents, Rezai said.

Taliban militants are yet to make comment on the report.Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-25 15:21:53|Editor: Shi Yinglun

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A high-ranking delegation led by Kim Yong Chol(C), vice chairman of the Central Committee of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea, arrives at the inter-Korean transit office in Paju, South Korea, on Feb. 25, 2018. The high-ranking delegation from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) arrived in South Korea Sunday to attend the closing ceremony of the 23rd Winter Olympics. (Xinhua/Newsis)

SEOUL, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- A high-ranking delegation from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) came Sunday to South Korea to attend the closing ceremony of the 23rd Winter Olympics, boosting hope for a continued dialogue mood on the Korean Peninsula.

The DPRK delegation was led by Kim Yong Chol, a vice chairman of the Central Committee of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea. He was accompanied by Ri Son Gwon, chairman of the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland, as well as six other support staff.

The senior DPRK officials crossed the heavily guarded inter-Korean border via land route earlier in the day and were greeted by Chun Hae-sung, vice unification minister of South Korea, local TV footage showed.

They moved by black sedans to a hotel in central Seoul at around noon local time (0300 GMT), heading toward the east county of PyeongChang some three hours later to attend the closing ceremony of the Winter Olympic Games.

South Korea said earlier this week that Kim's attendance at the closing ceremony, scheduled for Sunday night, will help improve inter-Korean relations and build peace on the Korean Peninsula as he doubles as director of the United Front Department in charge of relations between the two Koreas.

There would be a natural encounter between Kim and Ivanka Trump, the daughter of U.S. President Donald Trump who came Friday to South Korea leading a U.S. delegation to cheer on U.S. athletes and attend the closing ceremony.

Kim and Ivanka were expected to take their seats in the VIP box of the main stadium during the closing ceremony, together with South Korean President Moon Jae-in.

Sarah Huckabee Sanders, White House press secretary who accompanied Ivanka to South Korea, told reporters in PyeongChang that the U.S. Olympic delegation had no plan to contact the DPRK officials.

Despite the little possibility for a separate meeting between Kim and Ivanka, there remained a possibility for officials of the United States and the DPRK to have a closed-door contact, according to local media reports.

Ivanka came here with Allison Hooker, a National Security Council official specializing in the Korean Peninsula affairs. From the DPRK side, Kim was accompanied by an official in charge of diplomatic affairs with the United States.

During a dinner meeting with Ivanka at the presidential compound in Seoul Friday, Moon said talks between South Korea and the DPRK must go hand in hand with talks to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula.

Moon told Ivanka that it would be significant for South Korea and the United States to closely cooperate to enable the inter-Korean talks and the denuclearization talks to make progress together, saying Seoul and Washington must take the opportunity of the current dialogue mood.

During a telephone conversation in January, Moon and Trump shared a possibility for the inter-Korean talks naturally leading to talks between the United States and the DPRK.Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-25 15:26:54|Editor: Shi Yinglun

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WASHINGTON, Feb. 24 (Xinhua) -- Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull wrapped up a four-day visit to the United States on Saturday after failing to woo U.S. President Donald Trump back to the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations.

According to a list offered by the White House after Friday's Trump-Turnbull meeting, the two nations announced a commitment to further cooperation on areas such as energy, infrastructural construction, health security and anti-terrorism.

Despite a wide range of consensus reached in Turnbull's visit, it is believed one of the biggest challenges in his visit to Washington was to persuade the U.S. president to soften his stance on the TPP, a trade pact Trump tore up last year.

The Australian prime minister offered to invest Australian pension money into U.S. infrastructure to make U.S. rejoin the group while Trump was not nudged.

The TPP "was a very bad deal for the United States. It would have cost us tremendous amounts of jobs, would have been bad," Trump said in the joint press conference with Turnbull.

"Mateship" was the word intentionally picked by Trump and Turnbull to term the bilateral relations with a rocky start featuring Trump's abrupt ending of his phone call with Turnbull in Jan. 2017 over their clash on an asylum receiving agreement, and Turnbull's parody imitation of Trump's way of speaking and his link with the Russian government in June.

That word, however, did not make Trump greenlight the U.S. re-entry into the negotiations of the TPP.

"I like bilateral deals much more than multilateral. I like to be able to negotiate with one country, and if it doesn't work out, you terminate ...When you get into multi, you can't do that," Trump added.

"The U.S. no longer is pursuing TPP so that framework is dead as far as America is concerned," said Brookings Institution Senior Fellow Darrell West.

West added that the two countries have differences of opinion on immigration policy, climate change, and trade issues. "This is surprising because historically the two nations have been very close and worked well together."

Negative buzz against China has become more frequent than ever recently both in the United States and Australia.

At the joint press conference when two Turnbull-picked Australian journalists asked Trump his opinion of China's rising regional influence, they received unexpected answers.

"We have developed a great relationship with China; probably closer than we've ever had," said the White House host.

For his part, Turnbull said the China-U.S. ties are "the most -- single most important relationship" and "clearly very respectful, very frank, very clear-eyed."

"For our own part, we see China's rise as being overwhelmingly a positive for the region and for the world," the Australian leader also said.

(Matthew Rusling from Washington also contributed to the story.)Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-25 15:36:57|Editor: Shi Yinglun

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KUWAIT CITY, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- The Kuwaiti emir expressed Sunday hope that the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolution would mark a new phase of peace and stability in Syria and the region.

The Emir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah thanked all UNSC member countries, especially the five permanent members, for their "positive and constructive positions and their approval on draft resolution."

Commending the "great success of Kuwait diplomacy," the emir thanked Kuwaiti Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah, Kuwait's UN ambassador Mansour Al-Otaibi and Kuwait Mission members for efforts leading to adoption of the resolution on Syria.

UNSC on Saturday unanimously adopted a resolution demanding a cease-fire of at least 30 days across Syria that would allow humanitarian access and urgent medical evacuation.

According to Resolution 2401, drafted by Kuwait and Sweden, the cease-fire does not apply to military operations against terrorist groups in Syria designated by the Security Council.

The resolution also demands the immediate lifting of sieges on populated areas, including Eastern Ghouta, the last major rebel stronghold, which has seen heavy bombardment in the past week.Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-25 15:51:59|Editor: Shi Yinglun

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KIRKUK, Iraq, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- The paramilitary fighters of Hashd Shaabi foiled Sunday an attack by a suicide bomber in the ethnically mixed city of Kirkuk, security sources said.

The attack occurred at about 6:15 a.m. (0315 GMT) when a suicide bomber tried to enter the base of Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq, which is part of Hashd Shaabi brigades, in central the city of Kirkuk, some 250 km north of Baghdad, a local police source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

The guards of the base opened fire on the attacker and blew up his explosive vest, killing him before reaching the entrance of the base, the source said.

There is no immediate report about casualties among the Hashd Shaabi members, the source added.

Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq, or League of People of Righteousness, are allegedly funded, trained and armed by Iran's Quds Force during the U.S. occupation of Iraq and later became allied to the Shiite-led government in Baghdad.

No group has so far claimed responsibility for the attacks, but the Islamic State (IS) militant group, in most cases, is responsible for such suicide attacks targeting the security forces and civilians in crowded areas across Iraq.

The attack came a day after IS militants attacked an oil well in Khubbaz oilfield, some 35 km southwest of the city of Kirkuk, leaving two policemen killed and three others wounded.

During the past few months, dozens of IS militants fled their former bases in Salahudin province and Hawijah area in the west of Kirkuk after the Iraqi forces cleared these areas during major anti-IS offensives.

However, remnants of IS militants resorted to hideouts in rugged areas near the rivers of Tigris and Zab, as well as Himreen mountainous areas to continue their almost daily attacks against civilians and Iraqi forces.

On Dec. 9, 2017, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi officially declared full liberation of Iraq from IS militants after Iraqi forces recaptured all the areas once seized by the extremist group.

Nevertheless, small groups and individuals of IS militants are still capable of carrying out attacks against the security forces and civilians despite operations from time to time to hunt them down. EnditemSource: Xinhua| 2018-02-25 16:42:11|Editor: Shi Yinglun

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Performers attend the annual carnival parade of Chinese New Year in San Francisco, the United States, on Feb. 24, 2018. About a million local residents and visitors Saturday packed both sides of the main streets and narrow alleys in San Francisco's Chinatown on the U.S. west coast, basked in the largest annual carnival parade of Chinese New Year outside China. (Xinhua/Dong Xudong)

SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 24 (Xinhua) -- About a million local residents and visitors Saturday packed both sides of the main streets and narrow alleys in San Francisco's Chinatown on the U.S. west coast, basked in the largest annual carnival parade of Chinese New Year outside China.

The San Francisco parade marking the Chinese New Year of the Dog featured the spectacular dance of a 88-meter long Golden Dragon, gorgeous floats, elaborate costumes, firecrackers, performances by marching bands of schools in San Francisco and stilt dancing.

The San Francisco parade, which could be dated back to the 1860s as a means of education about cultural heritage in the local Chinese community, has grown to be the largest celebration of Asian culture and one of the few remaining night illuminated festive events in North America.

Saturday's parade was sponsored by the U.S. Southwest Airlines, a major U.S. airline headquartered in Dallas, Texas and the world's largest low-cost carrier.

During the celebrations in the second largest Chinatown in the United States, which is only behind the one in New York City, revelers aged from kindergarten kids to gray-haired seniors, were all immersed in a festive atmosphere hectic with opulent fresh foods, lavish music, performance of folk songs, and thunderous drumming shows.

"Here comes dog!" a one-year-old girl sitting on the shoulders of his father exclaimed joyfully.

She pointed at "a huge dog" played by a middle school student in a cartoon costume, who ran and jumped briskly toward spectators giving them a "high five" - a hand gesture of joys and cheerfulness.

The father, who identified himself as Wayne Bruce, said it was awesome to watch such huge celebrations of the Chinese lunar New Year here in Chinatown.

"The young kids from an martial art academy were unbelievable," the 28-year engineer told Xinhua, referring to a group of boys and girls who played as Monkey King with the Golden Hooped Rods flying up and down in their hands.

"I hope my kid will have all the magic power of Monkey King," he said jokingly.

"I love Chinese traditional culture, but it's really hard to learn Chinese language," he said, adding "I hope that would not keep me back."

A girl from a Chinese language school in Chinatown nearby said she was fascinated by the huge dragon that had twisted his body and tail down the road.

"It looks awesome, marvelous," she said.

"My dad is an American and mommy comes from China," she noted, saying that she learned from her books that dragon dance is a strong symbol of Asian culture.

"They say the dragon dancing takes away the bad spirit, and I believe it too," she said.

The annual grand celebration of the Chinese New Year, which began on Feb. 16 this year, closed most of the traffic in Chinatown from late afternoon to the early hour of Saturday night.Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-25 17:07:17|Editor: Mengjie

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Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli (C) presides over a meeting on advancing the coordinated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 25, 2018. (Xinhua/Wang Ye)

BEIJING, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli on Sunday urged more efforts to build the Xiongan New Area into a model for promoting high-quality development across the country.

Zhang made the remarks at a meeting in Beijing on advancing the coordinated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region.

New measures should be formulated as soon as possible to promote Xiongan's reform and opening-up, Zhang said at the meeting.

A number of fundamental projects shall be launched in a timely manner in order to lay a good foundation for the construction of the new area, he said.NEW DELHI, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- India has revoked the passports of disgraced billionaire jeweller Nirav Modi and his uncle and business partner Mehul Choksi for their involvement in the country's biggest-ever bank fraud of 1.8 billion U.S. dollars.

"The passports of Modi and Choksi have been revoked by Indian External Affairs Ministry. Earlier their passports were only suspended for four weeks," sources said Saturday.

Indian authorities have already launched a massive crackdown on companies linked to Modi, and seized 10,000 luxury watches and nine luxury cars in the past three days, apart from freezing his personal shares and mutual funds.

Modi is said to have defrauded Punjab National Bank, India's second largest state-run bank, of 1.8 billion U.S. dollars, though he has said that he owed the bank only 775 million U.S. dollars, in a letter sent to the bank's management.

Investigators have so far arrested 12 people, including some high-ranking bank officials, for their alleged involvement in the fraud though they have not yet charged Modi for the crime.

The celebrity jeweller -- the mastermind of the massive fraud -- is said to have fled the country and was reportedly last seen in New York after his appearance at World Economic Forum in Davos as part of an Indian delegation.MANILA, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- Philippine police arrested on Sunday the widow of a slain Malaysian terrorist leader in a raid in the southern Philippine province of Lanao del Norte.

Police said Jerome Dongon, the 45-year-old wife of Zulkifli Bin Hir alias Marwan, was arrested early Sunday morning in Tubod town. She is accused of supporting the extremist groups and for illegally possessing firearms and explosives.

Dongon was previously married to Abu Sayyaf leader Khadaffy Janjalani. When Janjalani was killed in 2006, she married Marwan.

Marwan was killed in a clash with Philippine police and military in Jan. 2015 in Mamasapano, Maguindanao. At least 44 policemen were also killed in the raid that targeted Marwan. He was a top leader of the regional al-Qaida-linked Jemmaah Islamiya (JI) terror network.

Authorities said they seized high-powered firearms, ammunition and bomb-making components during the raid at Dongon's house.Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-25 17:57:29|Editor: Shi Yinglun

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DAMASCUS, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- The Kurdish militia of the People's Protection Units (YPG) on Saturday announced readiness to commit to the recently adopted UN Security Council Resolution for a nationwide cessation of hostilities in Syria.

In a statement, the YPG said it welcomes the UN Security Resolution 2401, which was adopted a day earlier and designed to establish a 30-day nationwide cease-fire in Syria quickly, without identifying a date.

The resolution largely focuses on allowing humanitarian workers to do their job in helping the civilians in need across the country and through the frontlines.

The YPG has been on over a 30-day long military confrontation with Turkey, which launched a military campaign against the YPG in Syria's northern Kurdish-controlled enclave of Afrin.

The YPG noted that it reserves the right to respond in case of legitimate defense.

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.

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.Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-25 18:32:38|Editor: Mengjie

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SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 24 (Xinhua) -- An orchestral concert celebrating the 2018 Chinese New Year opened here on Saturday with a bizarre start, when a glistening golden dragon "flew" into the concert hall adding a strong touch of traditional Chinese culture to the musical event.

The special concert, given by the San Francisco Symphony to mark the Chinese Lunar New Year that began on Feb. 16, warmed up the merry atmosphere among a nearly 2,800-strong audience as the dragon, performed by a local dragon dance club, "hovered" along the aisles of the San Francisco Davies Symphony Hall in downtown, an episode rarely seen at a normally "serious" art music concert.

The dragon dancers mimicked the movements of the dragon to demonstrate the power and dignity of this supernatural, mighty spirit.

In traditional Chinese culture, the dragon is believed to bring good luck to people and symbolize wisdom and auspiciousness.

The two-hour concert, conducted by Chinese American female conductor Xian Zhang, was fully enriched with a profuse Chinese flavor, which, besides a Western music masterpiece, presented a famous Chinese Spring Festival Overture, the Triple Resurrection composed by Tan Dun, a well-known Chinese contemporary classical composer, and an orchestral piece adapted from three popular Chinese folk songs -- Flower Drum Song from Feng Yang of east China's Anhui province, Love Song from Kang Ding of southwest China's Sichuan province, and Girl from the Daban City of northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

The concluding part was an audience sing-along piece adapted from the song, Gong Xi Gong Xi (Best Wishes, Best Wishes!), which pushed the whole concert to a climax that the high-spirited audience gave a five-minute rousing ovation to the artists.

An IT engineer who once worked in a big data company in China's Hong Kong and named himself only as Richard, told Xinhua that he and dozens of his friends came to this concert with all of them either wearing traditional bright red Chinese costumes or red scarves that symbolizes happiness and good luck.

"All of us love Chinese culture, that's why we here," he said of his friends, who are mostly in their sixties or seventies.

"He's from Switzerland, and he is from Holland," he said, pointing to his friends sitting in their seats.

He said he had worked for two years in both Shanghai and Beijing. "China is a great country and it has become even better than before."

Laurence Wong, who brought his little daughter to the concert, said she was born in the United States but he wanted her to know a country where his father came from.

"The ABCs (American-born Chinese) should not loose their roots (in culture and tradition)," Wong said.A man injured in bombing attacks is carried to Madina Hospital in Mogadishu, capital of Somalia, on Feb. 23, 2018. (Xinhua/Faisal Isse)

MOGADISHU, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- At least 32 people have been confirmed dead in Friday's twin bombing attacks in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, with most of the casualties being beach-goers.

A police officer who declined to be named told Xinhua on Saturday that the death toll had risen as several beach-goers succumbed to their injuries in various hospitals in the city.

"I can say so far we know 32 people have died in the Friday attacks in Mogadishu," the officer said. "The casualties increased since most of those injured, mainly young people who were from the Lido beach, died of injuries."

Al-Shabaab militants have claimed responsibility for the double car bombing attacks, one targeting the presidential palace and the other went off near the intelligence headquarters.

Somali security forces killed all five militants at the entrance of Villa Somalia, the presidential palace. One presidential guard was killed.

The militants were dressed in police uniform and drove vehicles painted in police colors, evading several checkpoints before arriving at their targets.

Mogadishu mayor Abdirahman Omar Osman said on Saturday that most of those killed were teenagers going home from Lido beach, which is near the intelligence headquarters.

On Oct. 14 last year, a truck bomb hit Mogadishu, killing more than 500 people. No group claimed responsibility for the attack, but the Somali government had laid blame on the al-Shabaab terror group.SEOUL, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- South Korean President Moon Jae-in met Sunday with the high-ranking delegation from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), which came earlier in the day to attend the closing ceremony of the 23rd Winter Olympics.

Moon had a separate meeting with the DPRK delegation for about an hour in the eastern county of PyeongChang, where the closing ceremony is set to begin at 8 p.m. local time (1100 GMT), according to local media reports citing the presidential Blue House. It was not immediately known what was said during the closed-door meeting.

The DPRK delegation, led by Kim Yong Chol, a vice chairman of the Central Committee of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea, crossed the heavily guarded inter-Korean border via land route and moved by sedans to a hotel in Seoul at around noon.

The delegation headed toward PyeongChang some three hours later by bullet train. Also included in the delegation are Ri Son Gwon, chairman of the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland, and six other support staff.

The senior DPRK officials are scheduled to stay in South Korea for three days, during which they are forecast to meet with senior government officials of South Korea as well as President Moon.

Moon met and lunched earlier this month with the ranking DPRK delegation including Kim Yo Jong, younger sister to top DPRK leader Kim Jong Un, who had made a three-day visit here for the Olympic opening ceremony.

During the meeting in the Blue House, the younger Kim delivered the DPRK leader's invitation to Moon to visit the DPRK at a convenient time.

In response, Moon said the two sides should create conditions to make it happen, asking the DPRK side to more actively engage in a dialogue with the United States.RAMALLAH, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- Palestinian government officials arrive in Gaza Strip Sunday to "follow up and push reconciliation steps," according to a statement by the government spokesperson.

Government Spokesperson Yousef Al-Mahmoud said in an emailed press statement that the delegation will be working on "following up the works of the ministries and the governmental operations in order to enhance the steps towards achieving national reconciliation."

He added that the government weekly meeting will be held jointly between Gaza and the West Bank next Tuesday, stressing the government's commitment to national unity "especially in this current phase where challenges faced by the Palestinian cause are of utmost danger."

Al-Mahmoud said that the decision by Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah to provide 20,000 jobs and a number of vital projects as soon as the government is allowed to take over its duties over tax collection, the internal security (police and civil defense), border crossings, the judiciary and the veteran public sector employees.

Hamas chief Ismail Haneya is currently visiting Cairo to hold talk with Egyptian officials.

Hamas and Fatah rival political parties signed a reconciliation agreement sponsored by Cairo last October, to end a decade long internal split. However, internal disputes between both parties still impede the full implementation of the agreement.DPRK delegation says willing to talk with U.S. during meeting with S. Korean president Source: Xinhua 2018-02-25 19:37:48 SEOUL, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- The high-ranking delegation from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) expressed Pyongyang's willingness to talk with the United States during a closed-door meeting with South Korean President Moon Jae-in, Yonhap news agency reported Sunday. Editor: Shi YinglunSource: Xinhua| 2018-02-25 19:57:52|Editor: Shi Yinglun

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SEOUL, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's presidential Blue House said Sunday that the high-ranking delegation from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) showed Pyongyang's willingness to talk with the United States.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in held a closed-door meeting for about an hour with the DPRK delegation, who came here earlier in the day to attend the closing ceremony of the 23rd Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, east of the capital Seoul, Presidential Spokesman Kim Eui-kyeom said in a written press briefing.

The DPRK delegation told Moon that Pyongyang has enough willingness to hold talks with the United States, saying the DPRK shared Moon's view that relations between the two Koreas and those between the DPRK and the United States should make progress together.Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-25 20:17:56|Editor: Mengjie

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Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli (C) presides over a meeting on advancing the coordinated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 25, 2018. (Xinhua/Wang Ye)

BEIJING, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli on Sunday urged more efforts to build the Xiongan New Area into a model for promoting high-quality development across the country.

Zhang made the remarks at a meeting in Beijing on advancing the coordinated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region.

New measures should be formulated as soon as possible to promote Xiongan's reform and opening-up, Zhang said at the meeting.

A number of fundamental projects shall be launched in a timely manner in order to lay a good foundation for the construction of the new area, he said.

"Every inch of land in the new area shall be clearly planned before starting construction," said Zhang.

The pivotal goal is phasing out non-capital functions from Beijing, he said, authorities in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region must step up coordination.

Xiongan needs outstanding talent, both domestic and foreign, the vice-premier said.

China should formulate an investment and financing plan for the Xiongan New Area and continue with property, industry and population management, according to Zhang.

On Thursday, senior leaders of the Communist Party of China agreed that building the new area is a "historic project" after hearing a report on the progress of developing a general plan for Xiongan.

The area, established in April 2017, is a new economic zone about 100 kilometers southwest of Beijing in Hebei Province. It is the third new area of national significance after the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone and the Shanghai Pudong New Area.Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-25 20:43:00|Editor: Mengjie

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TAIPEI, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- The bodies of two Chinese mainland tourists who died in a powerful earthquake in Taiwan's Hualien County were uncovered and removed the ruins of a collapsed building Sunday.

According to the county's fire authority, the two victims were an elderly couple who were covered by the beams of a 12-story building that tilted after the earthquake, with the first four floors severely compressed.

It took 14 days for the rescuers to dismantle the building from the top to retrieve the bodies. The relatives of the couple are scheduled to arrive at Hualien on Monday.

The 6.5-magnitude earthquake jolted Hualien on Feb. 6, claiming 17 lives, including nine from the mainland, five from Taiwan, one from the Philippines and two from Canada. About 290 people were injured.

It was the most severe earthquake to hit Hualien in 67 years, said Fu Kun-Chi, head of Hualien County.

The two bodies have been sent to the local funeral house.AYBAK, Afghanistan, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- Unknown armed men abducted four people including an engineer of a local construction company in Afghanistan's northern Samangan province on Sunday, a spokesman of Interior Ministry, Nasrat Rahimi, said.

According to Rahimi, the incident occurred in Rabatak area outside Samangan provincial capital Aybak Sunday morning. The armed men took away four people including an engineer and three employees of the company to an unknown location.

Meanwhile, spokesman for Samangan provincial government, Sediqullah Azizi said that efforts are underway to locate and ensure the safe release of the abductees.Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-25 21:08:10|Editor: Shi Yinglun

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TEHRAN, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- Iran's Chief of Staff Major General Mohammad Baqeri said here Sunday that Tehran and Damascus will honor a cease-fire resolution in Syria that the UN Security Council approved unanimously a day earlier.

"As with the past, those who do not want security and peace for the Syrians again called for a cease-fire to support terrorists after they noticed the advancement of the Syrian army to clear the suburbs of Damascus from the militants," said Baqeri.

The joint efforts of Syria and its allies resulted in the "moderation" of draft resolution which excluded the fight against terrorist groups, like as al-Nusra Front in the suburban Damascus.

Nevertheless, "we will honor the resolution and so will Syria," the commander stressed.

On Sunday, reports said that Syria's airstrikes and shelling resumed against the rebel-held Eastern Ghouta countryside of the capital Damascus.

On Saturday, the UN Security Council adopted a resolution to establish a 30-day nationwide cease-fire in Syria "without delay" to ensure the delivery of humanitarian aid to the affected people in Eastern Ghouta and other hotspots across the country.

The resolution, however, excluded the military operations against Islamic State group and the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front from the cessation of hostilities.Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-25 21:18:14|Editor: Shi Yinglun

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PYONGYANG, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) Sunday warned the United States of its "own way of counteraction" if a maritime blockade and more sanctions are imposed as threatened by U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday.

A spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the DPRK issued a statement saying that the PyeongChang Winter Olympics are successfully coming to an end due to efforts by DPRK and collaboration by South Korea, while the process of an inter-Korean detente has been launched since the beginning of the year.

"However, on the eve of closing of the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, the United States is running amok to bring another dark cloud of confrontation and war over the Korean peninsula by announcing enormous sanctions against the DPRK," said the spokesman.

Trump on Friday announced what he called the "heaviest sanctions" on the DPRK. The new sanctions, the "largest-ever" package on the DPRK, will target 56 vessels, shipping companies, and trade businesses.

"Trump has announced new sanctions, the core of which is to completely block the DPRK's maritime trade with other countries," said the spokesman.

The spokesman said the DPRK has stated on numerous occasions that it will consider any type of blockade an act of war.

"If the U.S. ignores all of our sincere efforts for improving inter-Korean relations and for preserving peace and stability on the Korean peninsula, as desired by the nation, and doggedly persists instead in provocation against us, we will have a tight grip on the U.S. and deal with it with our own way of counteraction," said the spokesman.

He also warned that if tension on the Korean peninsula again escalates into a brink of war, "all the catastrophic consequences resulting therefrom will be borne by the United States."Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-25 21:23:14|Editor: Shi Yinglun

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MOSCOW, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- Russia said Sunday that it will "severely suppress" any attempt to undermine the process of political settlement in Syria after the adoption of a United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolution demanding a truce in the war-torn country.

Russia supported UNSC Resolution 2401 unanimously adopted on Saturday, which urged a ceasefire of at least 30 days across Syria and would allow humanitarian access and urgent medical evacuations, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

"It is gratifying that the U.N. Security Council has noted the ongoing work actually carried out by Iran, Russia and Turkey as guarantor countries of the Astana process," the ministry said.

Russia will continue to work with all the Syrian parties in the interests of a proper settlement of the conflict and the eradication of the terrorist threat, the statement read.

Moscow began military operations against terrorist groups in Syria at the request of Damascus in September 2015.

With the support of the Russian army, the Syrian government has retaken most of its territories controlled by the Islamic State group in the past two years.

Given the victory on the ground, the Russian army began a partial withdrawal of its troops in Syria at the end of 2017 under the order of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Russia together with Iran and Turkey has been actively brokering reconciliation among conflicting parties in Syria at the Astana peace talks.

The peace talks started in January 2017 in Astana, Kazakhstan for Syria settlement. The next round, which will be established in late February, will discuss the establishment of a fifth new de-escalation zone in Syria and its constitutional reform, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov said in an earlier interview with Russian news agency Sputnik.MOGADISHU, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- Top African Union envoy in Somalia on Sunday condemned twin car bombings in Mogadishu on Friday which has left at least 32 dead and dozens of others injured.

Francisco Madeira, the Special Representative of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission, said the incident is under investigation by both the government of Somalia and AU mission in Somalia (AMISOM).

"I present my deepest condolences to the families of the victims of this senseless attack, which was aimed at creating terror among the population," Madeira said in a statement issued in Mogadishu.

"AMISOM strongly condemns this attack and reiterates its resolve to continue working side by side with Somali National Security Forces to free Somalia from violent extremism and terrorism," Madeira added.

Two vehicles loaded with explosives detonated near intelligence headquarters and Villa Somalia and Al-Shabaab elements started firing at innocent civilians.

The first explosion went off at around 6 p.m. local time when a vehicle loaded with explosives hit the newly opened Dorbin hotel near the intelligence headquarters then shortly followed by the second one near Villa Somalia.

Madeira commended the bravery and professionalism of the Somali National Security Forces and AMISOM, who succeeded in neutralizing five Al-Shabaab elements involved in the attacks.ACCRA, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- Ghana police on Sunday confirmed reports that 46 of its officers serving with the United Nations Mission in South Sudan had been sent back home.

The reports said late Saturday that the mission in South Sudan had recalled a Ghanaian police unit working at one of its protection camps to pave way for investigation into allegations that some of them had been involved in sexual abuse.

The United Nations Mission in South Sudan said it had asked the 46-member unit to return to the capital Juba from its Protection of Civilians site in Wau, northwest of Juba, after an investigation was launched into a complaint that members of the unit were having sexual relations with women living at the camp.

Responses to Xinhua's enquiry indicated that the Ghana Police High Command had knowledge of the development and was working on a release to state its official position on the matter.KINSHASA, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- At least two people were killed and three injured during a political demonstration in the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) on Sunday, according to witness at the scene.

The march against the Kabila government was convened by the catholic churches to demand respect for the political agreement signed on Dec. 31, 2016. Police fired on protesters, according to the witness who required anonymity.

The DRC is going through an unprecedented political crisis since the expiry of the term of its current President Joseph Kabila. The Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI) has published an electoral calendar that sets the presidential elections in December 2018. But this calendar has already been rejected by opponents who have repeatedly called demonstrations since then.Russia's Ambassador to the UN Vasily Nebenzya speaks as US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley listens after a Security Council vote during a United Nations Security Council meeting on a ceasefire in Syria February 24, 2018 in New York. (AFP PHOTO)

MOSCOW, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- Russia said Sunday that it will "severely suppress" any attempt to undermine the process of political settlement in Syria after the adoption of a United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolution demanding a truce in the war-torn country.

Russia supported UNSC Resolution 2401 unanimously adopted on Saturday, which urged a ceasefire of at least 30 days across Syria and would allow humanitarian access and urgent medical evacuations, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

"It is gratifying that the U.N. Security Council has noted the ongoing work actually carried out by Iran, Russia and Turkey as guarantor countries of the Astana process," the ministry said.

Russia will continue to work with all the Syrian parties in the interests of a proper settlement of the conflict and the eradication of the terrorist threat, the statement read.

Moscow began military operations against terrorist groups in Syria at the request of Damascus in September 2015.

With the support of the Russian army, the Syrian government has retaken most of its territories controlled by the Islamic State group in the past two years.

Given the victory on the ground, the Russian army began a partial withdrawal of its troops in Syria at the end of 2017 under the order of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Russia together with Iran and Turkey has been actively brokering reconciliation among conflicting parties in Syria at the Astana peace talks.

The peace talks started in January 2017 in Astana, Kazakhstan for Syria settlement. The next round, which will be established in late February, will discuss the establishment of a fifth new de-escalation zone in Syria and its constitutional reform, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov said in an earlier interview with Russian news agency Sputnik.Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-25 22:43:30|Editor: yan

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by Fatima AbdulKarim

Hebron, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- Palestinians in Hebron on Sunday marked the 24th anniversary of the massacre in the Ibrahimi Mosque, amid lingering fear of attacks by Jewish settlers.

On Feb. 25, 1994, a Jewish settler opened fire at the Palestinian worshipers who were bowing in prayer, killing 29 people and wounding 150 others.

The name of the perpetrator, Baruch Goldstein, still provokes feelings of fear and pain for the Palestinian residents of Hebron's old city and the survivors of the attack.

Husni Ibrahim, 55, whose father was a survivor, said that the fear of settler attacks still lingers through the alleys of the old city till this day.

"Today, the type of fear we see is different; we see it in the hate speech and daily attacks that harm every one of us, the residents of the old city," he said.

Ibrahim said not only the Palestinians and their homes are at risk, but also the holy sites, most prominently the 1,000-year-old Al-Haram Ibrahimi, also known as Ibrahimi Mosque.

The mosque is considered by Muslims to be the fourth holiest site, as it is believed that Prophet Mohammad of Islam visited it on his night flight from Mecca to Jerusalem.

It also enshrines the tombs of Prophet Abraham, his son Isaac, and his grandson Jacob and their wives, which are revered as the second holiest site by Jews.

Following the signing of the Oslo Accords between Palestine Liberation Organization and Israel in 1993, a subsequent agreement about Hebron was signed in 1997 splitting it into two sections: H1, under Palestinian control, and H2, under Israeli control.

This has led to a sharp decline in the Palestinian population of the old city, due to constraints and military measures against Palestinians by Israel.

Last July, the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization declared the old city of Hebron an endangered site, in a vote of 12 to three, with six abstentions.

Israelis believe the site is a shared faith site, but has for a long time imposed restrictions on the access of Palestinians to the mosque, surrounding it with soldiers, gates and a checkpoint system.

"The violations of the rights of worship of Palestinians at the Ibrahimi Mosque have crossed the red line," Palestinian Minister of Islamic Wakfs and Religious Affairs Yousef Ideis told Xinhua.

"Israeli authorities use any pretext to ban the call for prayers from the mosque," Ideis said, adding that Israel has often imposed arbitrary closures and installed a strict surveillance system on it.

A report by the ministry said that Israel banned the call for prayer from the Ibrahimi Mosque for 645 times during 2017.

Ibrahim, whose family lives very close to the mosque, said that he had to shut down his own sweets shop in the old city, as a result of the daily Israeli harassment.

The business in the city is "suffocating from the harassment of settlers," he said.

"My business died after my father, I can't do anything to fix my house, I fear for my children every time they step out to go to school, and the hostility is always rising," said Ibrahim, who said his only wish is "to live in calm."

"I don't care who lives next to me, I just don't want my neighbor to be my enemy," he said, with a tired looking face.Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-25 22:48:33|Editor: yan

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MOSCOW, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed the Syrian issue with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel during a phone conversation Sunday, the Kremlin said.

The importance of continuing joint efforts in the interests of full and speedy implementation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 2401 was noted in the phone conversation, the Kremlin said in a statement.

Resolution 2401 adopted unanimously on Saturday demanded a ceasefire of at least 30 days across Syria.

During the conversation, Putin stressed the fact that the suspension of military operations does not extend to the fight against terrorist groups.

An agreement was reached by the three leaders to intensify the exchange of information on the situation in Syria through various channels, the Kremlin said.PYONGYANG, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) Sunday urged Japan to prevent assault on a pro-Pyongyang Korean residents association's headquarters in Tokyo from taking place again.

A spokesman for the Korea Asia-Pacific Peace Committee (KAPPC) Sunday issued a statement on the attack on Friday by two Japanese right-wingers on the headquarters of the General Association of Korean Residents in Japan (Chongryon).

The attackers fired several bullets at the hall of the Chongryon headquarters in the Japanese capital, the first time for such an assault to have taken place, according to media reports.

"The Chongryon Central Standing Committee speaks for the dignity, right and interests of Chongryon organizations and Koreans in Japan and is playing the role as a diplomatic mission of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea under the present situation that the diplomatic ties have not been established between the DPRK and Japan," said the spokesman.

This is the first time for the right-wingers to fire gunshots at the Chongryon headquarters, said the spokesman.Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-25 22:53:36|Editor: yan

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ANKARA, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- Turkey is seeking to extradite former Democratic Union Party (PYD) co-leader Salih Muslim, who was detained Saturday in the Czech capital Prague, state-run Anadolu Agency reported Sunday.

Salih Muslim was arrested upon Ankara's request as he has been sought by a "red notice" by Turkey, said the report.

Turkish Interior Ministry had offered a bounty of nearly 1 million U.S. dollars for capturing Salih Muslim, who is listed as a most wanted terrorist.

Earlier this month, Turkey sent warrants for his arrest to Prague, according to security officials.

Turkish Justice Ministry has begun the administrative process for the extradition of the former PYD leader from Czech, after Czech authorities asked Turkey to submit necessary documents.

Turkey regards the PYD as the Syrian affiliate of the banned Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey.

Salih Muslim is one of 44 criminals on Turkey's want list, which includes the most sought-after leaders and senior figures of groups deemed as terrorist organizations by Turkey.Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-25 22:53:37|Editor: yan

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ACCRA, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- Ghana police said on Sunday it is prepared to cooperate fully with the United Nations (UN) in investigating some serving Ghanaian officers alleged to be involved in sexual misconduct under the UN Mission in Southern Sudan (UNMISS).

A statement signed by Director General of Police Public Affairs, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) David Eklu, said the police high command remained committed to ensuring highest professional standards by its officers serving under UN missions.

It said the police administration "will not tolerate any acts or actions by Ghanaian Police officers that go contrary to United Nations rules and regulations."

The UN informed the Ghana Police Service through the Ghana Permanent Mission in New York on Friday that some members of the Ghana Formed Police Unit (FPU) were alleged to be engaged in acts of sexual exploitation against internally displaced women in Wau, South Sudan.

"The police administration immediately sent a response through the Ghana Permanent mission to the UN indicating its fullest cooperation and support to investigate the alleged sexual exploitation and abuse case," the statement read.

The Police administration "has meanwhile requested the UN to permit a three member team to be immediately deployed into the mission area for a better understanding of the incident."Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-25 22:58:38|Editor: yan

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DUBAI, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- The Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi, capital of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), attracted over 5.7 million visitors in 2017, the state news agency WAM reported Sunday.

The tally included 1.4 million worshippers, according to statistics released by the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque Center.

The center seeks "to promote the message of tolerance and extend the bridges of communication between diverse cultures and civilisations," said Ahmed Juma Al Za'abi, deputy minister for presidential affairs.

The mosque has been a major tourist attraction in the UAE as it constitutes one of the most prominent and beautiful architectural monuments in the world.

It is named after UAE's founding father and first president, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al-Nahyan.SRINAGAR, Indian-controlled Kashmir, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- Two Indian policemen were killed Sunday in two different militants attacks in restive Indian-controlled Kashmir, police said.

While one policemen was killed in Charar-i-Sharif town of district Budgam during the day, another was shot dead in Soura locality of Srinagar city in the evening.

According to police in both cases attackers targeted the policemen with the aim to snatch their service rifles.

"The first attack was carried out outside famous shrine in Charar-i-Sharif town, where a police constable on duty was fired upon by some militants from a point-blank range. Though he was immediately removed to hospital, however he succumbed there," a senior police officer told Xinhua.

"In the second attack militants fired on a policeman in Soura, killing him on spot."

According to officials the second policeman killed was deployed as a security guard with a separatist leader Fazal-Haq Qureshi, who survived an an assassination attempt in 2009.

Reports said two service rifles of policemen were snatched during these two attacks.

So far no militant outfit has claimed responsibility of the attacks.

A guerilla war is going on between militants and Indian troopers stationed in the region since 1989. Of late Indian policemen too have been trained to fight them.

Kashmir, the Himalayan region divided between India and Pakistan, is claimed by both in full. Since their independence from Britain, the two countries have fought three wars, two exclusively over Kashmir.A picture taken on February 3, 2018, shows smoke billowing from the site of a downed Sukhoi-25 fighter jet in the the Syrian city of Saraqib, southwest of Aleppo. (AFP PHOTO)

MOSCOW, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed the Syrian issue with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel during a phone conversation Sunday, the Kremlin said.

The importance of continuing joint efforts in the interests of full and speedy implementation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 2401 was noted in the phone conversation, the Kremlin said in a statement.

Resolution 2401 adopted unanimously on Saturday demanded a ceasefire of at least 30 days across Syria.

During the conversation, Putin stressed the fact that the suspension of military operations does not extend to the fight against terrorist groups.

An agreement was reached by the three leaders to intensify the exchange of information on the situation in Syria through various channels, the Kremlin said.Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-25 23:23:46|Editor: yan

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BARCELONA, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- A political row has erupted over the opening of the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona following the announcement of the Ada Colau, the Mayor of the city and Roger Torrent, the Speaker of the Catalan regional government that they will boycott the official event reception with King Felipe VI on Sunday.

Speaking on radio station RTVE, Spanish government sources criticized the decision as "unjust," "mean-spirited" and "sectarian", adding it could put the future of Barcelona as the venue for the event in jeopardy, despite the Jan. 31 announcement from the association of mobile phone operators (GSMA) that the MWC would remain in Barcelona until at least 2023.

"The King's presence in Barcelona symbolized the support of the Crown and Spain as a whole for the MWC and consequently for the development of the Catalan economy," commented the government.

Colau has said that although she will not be at the reception, she will be at the official opening ceremony for the MWC on Monday morning, although Torrent confirmed he will attend neither.

Following the Catalan independence referendum on Oct. 1, 2017, which was declared illegal by the Spanish Constitutional Court, King Felipe VI made a speech to the nation on which he accused the Catalan regional government of "inadmissible disloyalty."

The 2018 edition of the MWC is expected to welcome an estimated 108,000 visitors with 2,300 exhibitors and 170 international delegations, create 13,000 temporary jobs and have an estimated economic impact of around 471 million euros. (579 million U.S. dollars)Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-25 23:23:47|Editor: yan

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AMMAN, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- Jordan on Sunday welcomed a resolution by the UN Security Council urging Syria to provide urgent aid to the refugees, including those stranded in the Rukban area near the Jordan-Syrian border.

Jordan's Minister of State for Media Affairs Mohammad Momani said the UN resolution is in line with Jordan's stance that it is the responsibility of Syria to provide aid to the Syrians in Rukban, the state-run Petra news agency reported.

In the resolution, the UN Security Council expressed its concerns about the humanitarian situation of the internally displaced persons in Rukban, while highlighting the need to ensure humanitarian access to the area.

It reiterated its grave distress at the worsening humanitarian situation in Syria, including in Eastern Ghouta near the capital Damascus, Idlib governorate, Northern Hama governorate, Rukban and Raqqa.

The council also pointed out that urgent humanitarian assistance, including medical aid, is required by more than 13.1 million people in Syria, of whom 6.1 million are internally displaced and 2.5 million are living in hard-to-reach areas.

Momani also welcomed the UN resolution's call for an end to the bloodshed in Eastern Ghouta, while calling for a political solution to the crisis in Syria.

In the resolution, the council expressed its outrage at the unacceptable levels of violence escalating in several parts of Syria, in particular in Idlib and Eastern Ghouta, including shelling on diplomatic premises and attacks against civilian targets.

It stressed especially the need to cease all attacks against the civilians and civilian targets, including schools and medical facilities.Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-25 23:38:49|Editor: yan

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NANJING, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- A law league in the eastern Chinese city of Nanjing plans to file a public interest lawsuit against two men for posing in front of war ruins in Japanese army uniforms.

The law league said Sunday that the move aims to speed up local legislation against behaviors that deny the Nanjing Massacre and profane the war martyrs and sites.

The league was established earlier this year to "safeguard the truth of the Nanjing Massacre."

On Tuesday, a user on microblogging site Sina Weibo posted a picture of the men, surnamed Tang and Zong, at the site of a fort used during the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression (1931-1945).

They both wore the war-era uniforms of the Japanese army, and their actions stoked anger and caused strong public backlash.

Police soon launched an investigation, detainig Tang and Zong in the provinces of Sichuan and Jiangsu, respectively. Police said the men's behavior was "severely profane," hurt the feelings of the Chinese people and caused a "very bad influence."

The two would be held in detention for 15 days.PARIS, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- France and Germany on Sunday said they are ready to work with Russia and their European partners to realize the cessation of hostilities in Syria, "which should bring together the international community around a political solution on credible bases in the framework of the Geneva process."

This was according to a joint statement issued by French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angel Merkel following their telephone meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

In this context, French Minister of Europe and Foreign Affairs, Jean-Yves Le Drian, will visit Moscow on Feb. 27, according to the statement issued by the French presidency.

Macron and Merkel called during the talks to Russia "to exert maximum pressure" on the Syrian government to stop immediately bombing and to implement without delay the UN resolution adopted on Saturday with the implementation of a robust surveillance mechanism, the French presidency said.

It added that all those with influence on the ground should contribute to this implementation, especially the countries of the "Astana" format, Russia, Iran and Turkey.

Macron stressed that France "will be extremely vigilant" so that the resolution adopted Saturday at the UN "does not remain a dead letter", according to the French presidency statement.

Macron and Merkel welcomed the adoption by the UN Security Council of the resolution calling for a 30-day cessation of hostilities in Syria to deliver humanitarian aid and evacuate the wounded and sick, the statement said, adding that this is a first step that responds to a major humanitarian emergency, especially in eastern Ghouta.Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-25 23:58:55|Editor: yan

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RIYADH, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- Saudi Arabia has arrested 671,272 foreign workers in the past four months in a major crackdown on illegal laborers, Saudi Press Agency reported on Sunday.

Among the detained, 469,836 were charged with violating the residency rules, 142,016 violating the labor regulations and 59,520 violating the border security system, the report said.

Saudi authorities said among the infiltrators, 65 percent are from Yemen, 32 percent from Ethiopia, and 3 percent from other nations.

The police have also arrested 529 individuals for attempting to illegally leave the country without stating their nationalities.

Meanwhile, 1,300 people, including 198 Saudis, were arrested for sheltering or assisting illegal workers, the report said.

The kingdom has also deported 1,618,866 individuals for different reasons in the same period.

The nationwide campaign will continue with an aim to maintain the economic growth by regulating the labor market and prevent serious crimes that could be carried out by those illegal workers, the report said.Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-26 00:49:04|Editor: yan

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BAGHDAD, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- An Iraqi court on Sunday sentenced 16 Turkish women to death for joining the militant group Islamic State (IS), a judicial spokesman said.

Abdul Sattar al-Biraqdar, spokesman for Iraq's Supreme Judicial Council, said in a statement that the convicted women confessed that they married IS militants and provided logistic support for them.

Biraqdar added that all the sentences are preliminary and subject to review by the Court of Cassation.

Last week, the court issued a verdict of death penalty for a female Turkish citizen and issued 10 verdicts of life sentences for other women from different countries, according to an earlier statement by Biraqdar.

On Thursday, the Iraqi authorities handed over four women and 27 children from IS families to Russia, after being cleared of charges of involvement in terrorist operations against civilians or security forces, Iraqi Foreign Ministry said.

Also on Thursday, an Iraqi newspaper reported that more than 1,500 foreign women and children from the families of IS militants are being held by the Iraqi authorities, which are coordinating with the countries of origin to decide their fate.

Saad al-Hadithi, spokesman of Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi's media office, confirmed that all "foreign nationals who committed crimes and violations against the people of Iraq, whether directly or by supporting the terrorist IS militants, will be subject to the Iraqi law."

"This also applies to foreign women (of IS families) who committed such actions inside the Iraqi territories," Hadithi said.

After the Iraqi forces defeated IS in Iraq in 2017, hundreds of IS loyalists were killed or captured, while many others are still at large in hideouts in Iraq or abroad.HARARE, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who is just a few days shy of marking his first 100 days in office, over the weekend outlined some of his new administration's achievements and promised more reforms to improve the economy.

Mnangagwa, who took over from former president Robert Mugabe on Nov. 24, following military intervention, said in an audio message posted on social media that the task ahead needed concerted effort from everyone.

It would take time before the fruits of reforms could be harvested, he said.

Mnangagwa said the government passed a bold and responsible budget that cuts unnecessary expenditure, including luxuries previously enjoyed by high-ranking public officials.

The new administration has scaled down the indigenization law to make it only applicable to investments in diamond and platinum mining, as it seeks to attract more foreign direct investment, he said.

Prior to his taking over from Mugabe, the law required indigenous Zimbabweans to have majority ownership across most sectors of the economy; a situation foreign investors frowned upon.

"On corruption, the phrase zero tolerance approach has been backed up by action," he said. "We instituted a three-month amnesty to get back stolen funds, mandated all cabinet ministers to declare assets, created dedicated anti-corruption courts in all provinces and clamped down on police roadblocks."

"Internationally, we have been working hard to build our international relations and bring in investment and so far we have secured 3 billion U.S. dollars worth of investment commitments from some of the biggest companies in the world."

Mnangagwa added that the government had directed all public health institutions to scrap treatment fees for vulnerable groups, including children under the age of five, pregnant women and senior citizens above 65 years.

He said the government had also facilitated greater use of mobile money to combat the cash crisis and cut excise duty on petrol, which resulted in the reduction of fuel prices.

"We must of course be realistic and recognize that it takes more than 100 days to recover an economy," he said. "Real change takes time."

"I know there are those among you who are frustrated at the pace of change and I understand that, but let me assure you that though we have had some major achievements, this is just the beginning.

"After 100 days of action we are on the right path and will keep working to increase that pace of reform," Mnangagwa said.

Zimbabwe is due to hold presidential and general elections later this year, but no specific date has been set.Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-26 01:39:13|Editor: yan

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WARSAW, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- In Wroclaw, an urban hub in Poland, celebrations for the Chinese New Year, which fell on Feb. 16 this year, have become a new tradition, the same as in a few other European cities amid growing economic and cultural ties between China and Europe.

The National Museum in Wroclaw in cooperation with the Confucius Institute and the Polish-Chinese Association for Culture and Art prepared a program for participants of all ages.

The accompanying workshops focused on Chinese kites, calligraphy and painting on the fans, as well as kung fu and tai chi shows, tea ceremony and many others. The event was co-hosted by the Capital Museum of China. The two museums also communicated instantly via video connection.

It was not the first time for the Museum to organize this kind of events. "We've been here last year and we were sure to come back," a Wroclaw citizen said. "We want to welcome the Year of the Dog together with the Chinese people."

In the capital city of Warsaw, the National Ethnographic Museum also prepared workshops, meetings and demonstrations that allowed participants to feel the festive atmosphere of Chinese New Year celebrations.

Visitors could learn about the Chinese cultural communication, business culture, history, philosophy, the Four Great Inventions of Ancient China (paper making, gunpowder, printing technique, and compass), Peking opera and New Year's traditions such as Lion Dance. The accompanying event -- the Chinese market space -- provided an opportunity to purchase Chinese food, tea, medicines and China-themed books.

Many Warsaw citizens brought their children, who could enjoy workshops and games, such as painting lanterns, calligraphy, and folk art paper cutting.

"The kids are enjoying it a lot," one of the Polish mums said. " This is a lot of fun for them, but also let them get to know this fascinating, remote culture, so different from the Polish traditions."

"Such events help people to understand each other better, constitute a bridge between our cultures and nations," she said.Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-26 02:14:20|Editor: Zhou Xin

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Posters of Egypt's President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi for the upcoming presidential election are seen in the street of Cairo, Egypt, on Feb. 25, 2018. The campaigning for Egypt's 2018 presidential election continued Sunday for the second day, as incumbent President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi is expected to score an easy win in the polls late March. The campaigning officially started Saturday for the two-candidate election, which will be held on March 26-28. (Xinhua/Ahmed Gomaa)

CAIRO, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- The campaigning for Egypt's 2018 presidential election continued Sunday for the second day, as incumbent President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi is expected to score an easy win in the polls late March.

The campaigning officially started Saturday for the two-candidate election, which will be held on March 26-28. The result will be announced on April 2, according to the National Election Authority.

Since the start of the campaigning, main streets and squares in Cairo, the Egyptian capital, have been decorated with signs, banners, posters and placards supporting Sisi's re-election.

Sisi's sole rival in the race is little known politician Moussa Mostafa Moussa, chairman of liberal Ghad Party, after a couple of possible strong challengers have either withdrawn or disqualified for violations.

In downtown Cairo, Sisi's posters and banners of different sizes could be seen everywhere on the streets, squares, buildings, store fronts, main bridges and bus stations.

They are all accompanied by slogans in support of the incumbent president, such as "Think it right, Sisi is right," "With all love, we support Sisi's reelection," and "Egypt's workers support Sisi to continue development projects."

However, posters and signs in support of Moussa, if any, could hardly be seen anywhere.

Sisi came to office in mid-2014, a year after he, then army chief, led the ouster of former Islamist President Mohamed Morsi in response to mass protests against Morsi's one-year rule and his currently outlawed Muslim Brotherhood group.

Last December, a pro-Sisi non-official campaign called "So That You Can Build It (Egypt)," launched by some politicians and lawmakers, said it collected over 12 million signatures from Egyptians who support Sisi's reelection for a second term.

Later in January, the majority of Egyptian parliament members signed a recommendation form urging Sisi to run again for a four-year term, the last one for him according to the Egyptian constitution.Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-26 02:24:22|Editor: yan

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CAIRO, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- The Arab League (AL) hailed on Sunday the UN Security Council's resolution demanding a ceasefire in Syria as "a step towards" a permanent settlement of the Syrian crisis.

The Security Council on Saturday unanimously adopted a resolution calling for an immediate 30-day ceasefire in Syria to allow access of humanitarian aid and medical evacuation into the besieged regions in Syria.

AL Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul-Gheit welcomed the UN resolution, saying it is necessary to respect and implement all resolutions with international legitimacy, said AL spokesman Mahmoud Afifi in a statement on Sunday.

"We hope the resolution will mark a step towards a comprehensive and permanent ceasefire in Syria and eventually a political settlement for the Syrian crisis," Afifi quoted the AL chief as saying.

"The solution of the Syrian crisis will only be achieved through a comprehensive political process sponsored by the UN," the statement said, adding that military solutions and excessive use of force will only result in more complication.

The forces of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad started last week a bombing campaign on Eastern Ghouta on the outskirts of Damascus, leaving hundreds dead.

The recent escalation of violence in Eastern Ghouta, as well as in Idlib and other provinces, has raised regional and international concerns about the deteriorating humanitarian conditions of innocent civilians besieged in the areas.

Eastern Ghouta is part of the Syrian "de-escalation" zones included in a deal reached last May in Astana of Kazakhstan between the Syrian government and rebel groups.

Brokered by Russia and Egypt, the de-escalation deals were signed later in Cairo in July and August 2017.

Syria has for years been suffering from a civil war that has created chaos and instability due to the confrontation between pro-government forces and armed rebels and terrorists from the Islamic State (IS) militant group.

Assad's forces are backed by Russia, Iran and Shiite militias loyal to Iran including Lebanon's Hezbollah.

Since its eruption in March 2011, the Syrian crisis has killed half a million people, while more than 14 million other have been wounded or displaced by the war.U.S. President Donald Trump (L) meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem, on May 22, 2017 during Trump's first visit to Israel since taking office. (Xinhua/JINI/POOL/Marc Israel Sellem)

JERUSALEM, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday thanked U.S. President Donald Trump for deciding to move the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem on May 14, Israel's Independence Day.

Netanyahu said this will be "a great moment for the citizens of Israel, and this is a historic moment for the State of Israel."

"On behalf of the entire government and people, I would like to thank President Trump for both his leadership and his friendship," he said.

The U.S. announcement on Friday followed Trump's declaration on Dec. 6 to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and order to move the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, breaking away from a long-held U.S. policy that considered the Israeli-annexed East Jerusalem an occupied territory.

"This will have significant and historic long-range implications," Netanyahu said. "We will celebrate it together, all citizens of Israel."

Israel annexed East Jerusalem along with the rest of the West Bank and Gaza Strip in the 1967 Middle East war.

Israel has claimed East Jerusalem, which the Palestinians regard as the capital of its future independent state, as part of its "indivisible capital," in a move never recognized internationally.The Ibrahimi Mosque in the old city of Hebron in the West Bank, also known as the Tomb of the Patriarchs, is a holy shrine for both Jews and Muslims. (File Photo)

by Fatima AbdulKarim

HEBRON, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- Palestinians in Hebron on Sunday marked the 24th anniversary of the massacre in the Ibrahimi Mosque, amid lingering fear of attacks by Jewish settlers.

On Feb. 25, 1994, a Jewish settler opened fire at the Palestinian worshipers who were bowing in prayer, killing 29 people and wounding 150 others.

The name of the perpetrator, Baruch Goldstein, still provokes feelings of fear and pain for the Palestinian residents of Hebron's old city and the survivors of the attack.

Husni Ibrahim, 55, whose father was a survivor, said that the fear of settler attacks still lingers through the alleys of the old city till this day.

"Today, the type of fear we see is different; we see it in the hate speech and daily attacks that harm every one of us, the residents of the old city," he said.

Ibrahim said not only the Palestinians and their homes are at risk, but also the holy sites, most prominently the 1,000-year-old Al-Haram Ibrahimi, also known as Ibrahimi Mosque.

The mosque is considered by Muslims to be the fourth holiest site, as it is believed that Prophet Mohammad of Islam visited it on his night flight from Mecca to Jerusalem.

It also enshrines the tombs of Prophet Abraham, his son Isaac, and his grandson Jacob and their wives, which are revered as the second holiest site by Jews.

Following the signing of the Oslo Accords between Palestine Liberation Organization and Israel in 1993, a subsequent agreement about Hebron was signed in 1997 splitting it into two sections: H1, under Palestinian control, and H2, under Israeli control.

This has led to a sharp decline in the Palestinian population of the old city, due to constraints and military measures against Palestinians by Israel.

Last July, the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization declared the old city of Hebron an endangered site, in a vote of 12 to three, with six abstentions.

Israelis believe the site is a shared faith site, but has for a long time imposed restrictions on the access of Palestinians to the mosque, surrounding it with soldiers, gates and a checkpoint system.

"The violations of the rights of worship of Palestinians at the Ibrahimi Mosque have crossed the red line," Palestinian Minister of Islamic Wakfs and Religious Affairs Yousef Ideis told Xinhua.

"Israeli authorities use any pretext to ban the call for prayers from the mosque," Ideis said, adding that Israel has often imposed arbitrary closures and installed a strict surveillance system on it.

A report by the ministry said that Israel banned the call for prayer from the Ibrahimi Mosque for 645 times during 2017.

Ibrahim, whose family lives very close to the mosque, said that he had to shut down his own sweets shop in the old city, as a result of the daily Israeli harassment.

The business in the city is "suffocating from the harassment of settlers," he said.

"My business died after my father, I can't do anything to fix my house, I fear for my children every time they step out to go to school, and the hostility is always rising," said Ibrahim, who said his only wish is "to live in calm."

"I don't care who lives next to me, I just don't want my neighbor to be my enemy," he said, with a tired looking face.ABUJA, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- The Nigerian military on Sunday said it had deployed air assets, including intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance platforms, in search of the scores of missing schoolgirls in the country's northeast region.

Air force spokesman Olatokunbo Adesanya said air operations in search of the girls are being conducted day and night.

Terror group Boko Haram is suspected to have abducted the girls, following an attack on the Government Girls Technical College in Dapchi area of the northeastern state of Yobe last Monday.

The Nigerian government on Sunday said 110 schoolgirls are unaccounted for following the attack.

"It is noteworthy that the renewed efforts at locating the girls are being conducted in close liaison with other security forces," Adesanya said.

A government spokesman said no stone will be left unturned as the government is determined to rescue every missing student.

In a statement on Friday, Nigerian leader Muhammadu Buhari described the incident as a "national disaster," saying "the entire country stands as one with the girls' families."

Buhari had also vowed to rescue the schoolgirls by sending more troops and surveillance aircraft to search for them.

The tragedy of the missing girls has brought back memories of a similar occurrence four years ago in Africa's most populous country when more than 200 schoolgirls, also from an all-girl college, were abducted by Boko Haram in the northeastern town of Chibok.

The outlawed Boko Haram group has been trying since 2009 to establish an Islamic state in northeastern Nigeria. They have killed some 20,000 people and displaced millions of others.Iranian President Hassan Rouhani (R) and Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif attend a meeting with Muslim leaders and scholars in Hyderabad, India, February 15, 2018. (Reuters Photo)

TEHRAN, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- Iran has stepped up building marine nuclear propulsion systems partly in response to Washington's increasingly "hostile" stance on the nuclear deal, Financial Tribune reported Sunday.

The Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) said that the nuclear propulsion issue has been on the national agenda for some time.

However, its acceleration could be related to the approach of the United States towards the Iranian 2015 international nuclear deal, Behrouz Kamalvandi, spokesman of the AEOI, was quoted as saying.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has been provided with the requited information at this stage, and further information availability would depend on the feasibility assessment of the project, said Kamalvandi.

Earlier this month, the UN nuclear watchdog's report on Iran reaffirmed that Tehran had informed the agency of a "decision that has been taken to construct naval nuclear propulsion in future."

The report said Iran has yet to respond to the IAEA's request for "further clarifications and amplifications."

U.S. President Donald Trump had earlier demanded the nuclear deal be altered to eliminate sunset clauses for some of the restrictions it places on Iran, and harden the inspection rules and to limit development of Iran's long-range missiles.

Trump has constantly criticized the pact inked between Iran and Russia, Britain, France, China, the U.S. and Germany, in which the West promised to relieve sanctions on Tehran in exchange for a halt in Iran's efforts to develop a nuclear weapon.

Iran said it will not take any measures beyond its commitment to the JCPOA, nor will it accept changes to this agreement now or any time in the future.

Iran has threatened to likely withdraw from the nuclear deal if it cannot receive economic benefits.Iranian President Hassan Rouhani delivers a speech to muslims leaders and scholars at a meeting in Hyderabad on February 15, 2018. (AFP Photo)

TEHRAN, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- With the emerging political tensions between Tehran and Abu Dhabi, Iran is considering replacing its traditional trade hub the United Arab Emirates (UAE) with Qatar and Oman, Financial Tribune reported Sunday.

Iran is working to curb its trade ties with the UAE, because the Persian Gulf state has put pressure on Iranian traders, mostly over value-added tax, visa issuance and banking restrictions.

Earlier this month, the Central Bank of Iran pointed out several obstacles created by UAE banks for Iranian merchants, saying Iran is seeking alternatives in the region to replace the UAE in its banking transactions with Iran.

In the meantime, Iran's relations with Oman and Qatar are growing and it is proposed that they replace the UAE as the main trade hub for Iran, Hossein Yaqoubi, deputy for international affairs of Iran's Central Bank, was quoted as saying.

Besides, Adnan Musapour, head of Iran-Qatar Chamber of Commerce, said that Qatar and Oman have the potential to facilitate Iran's trade with the world.

"But we should not cut off our trade ties with the UAE... The Persian Gulf state was our only trade gateway during the sanctions," Musapour told Financial Tribune.

The latest data released by Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration showed that trade between Iran and the UAE reached 12.9 billion U.S. dollars in 2017.

Iran's exports to Qatar reached 215 million dollars during the 11 months until Feb. 20, significantly higher than the previous year's 92 million dollars. Also, the import from Qatar experienced a 157 percent growth during the 10 months to Jan. 21, with the value of imports at 21 million dollars.

Banking cooperation, however, seems to be still an issue for Iranian traders moving to Qatar.The Legislative Building is shown at dusk, Thursday, March 10, 2016, at the Capitol in Olympia, Wash. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)Arizona News

Tucson, Arizona - The Tucson Festival of Books at the University of Arizona

Saturday & Sunday, March 10 & 11

9:30 AM5:30 PM each day

The National Parks Store and Hubbell Trading Post are heading to the 2018 Tucson Festival of Books! With author panel discussions, the Junior Ranger Jamboree, shopping opportunities, and more, theres something for everyone in The National Park Experience Pavilion. Come visit us in front of the UA Main Library.

Click here for more information or call 520-622-6014.Arizona News

Phoenix, Arizona - Governor Doug Ducey, Thursday issued a proclamation congratulating the Tucson Rodeo Parade on their 93rd anniversary.

The Tucson Rodeo Parade is famous for being the nations longest non-motorized parade and attracts visitors from all over the United States and the world. The parade occurs during the week of the Tucson Rodeo and celebrates Arizonas heritage by featuring folk dancers, marching musical groups, and historical wagons decorated by local groups, businesses, and schools.

Its hard to think of a better tradition or celebration of Arizonas rich heritage than the Tucson Rodeo Parade. This historic parade captures the spirit of the Old West and a sense of community that we are proud to share with those visiting Tucson for the rodeo, said Governor Ducey.

WHEREAS, in 1925, the inaugural La Fiesta de los Vaqueros Rodeo Parade, also known as the Tucson Rodeo Parade, kicked off the first Tucson Rodeo event; and

WHEREAS, the nations longest non-motorized parade showcases Arizonas heritage with over 2,000 people marching, hundreds of horses and historical wagons creatively decorated by local business, organizations, and schools; and

WHEREAS, for the past 93 years, the Tucson Rodeo Parade has become a point of pride and long standing tradition for the City of Tucson and Southern Arizona; and

WHEREAS, the parade attracts more than 200,000 spectators from across the valley and around the world, filling the streets and grandstands to enjoy the rodeo festivities; and

WHEREAS, the parade also highlights the strong community in Tucson with generations of families participating in the parade and schools close to allow children to join the celebrations; and

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Douglas A. Ducey, Governor of the State of Arizona, do hereby proclaim February 22, 2018, as TUCSON RODEO PARADE DAY.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and

caused to be affixed the Great Seal of the State of Arizona

GOVERNOR

DONE at the Capitol in Phoenix on this ninth day of February in

the year Two Thousand and Eighteen and of the Independence of

the United States of America the Two Hundred and Forty-Second.

ATTEST:

SECRETARY OF STATELatest News

Washington, DC - Remarks by Vice President Pence at the National Governors Association Luncheon:

THE VICE PRESIDENT: Well, thank you, thank you, Governor Sandoval. Thanks for your leadership, and your leadership of the people of Nevada, particularly during the trying times through which your state passed. I think the nation was inspired by the people of your state and by the strength and compassion. And we are truly grateful for your leadership as Chairman of the National Governors Association. Brian, thanks. Its an honor. (Applause.)

It is great to be back among so many friends for what now has become an annual tradition. (Applause.) When right after we were elected and inaugurated, governors were headed to Washington, D.C., and Karen and I, cherishing our time serving the people of Indiana, simply asked the question whether we could invite the governors over. (Laughter.) The President readily encouraged us to do that. And we found out that last year was the very first time.

And let me just thank all of the Republican and Democrat governors and spouses who are gathered here today. We are honored to have you here at the Naval Observatory. (Applause.)

And I just hung up the phone from a great champion of our state-based innovation and federalism. And I want to bring greetings  I bring greetings from the 45th President of the United States of America  who looks forward to his time with you this weekend greatly  President Donald Trump. (Applause.)

And before I make a few very brief remarks  because today is really about just an opportunity to extend hospitality to each and every one of you. Its going to be a busy weekend. We have important matters to discuss. And I and the President both believe that the timing of the National Governors Association meeting this year is particularly important.

And were grateful to hear of that record turnout. I know the President  who youll be seeing on Sunday and well be having a significant discussion at the White House on Monday  is grateful for your presence and grateful for your participation.

But today is really about fellowship and encouragement. And I just wanted to give you a chance to thank the Second Lady of the United States of America who was passionate about opening this home back up to all of you. Would you thank my wonderful wife, Karen Pence. (Applause.)

You know, it is a truism in our home  and you saw who she was focused on at the beginning of her introduction  that those of us that have the privilege to serve these roles most often serve them as families. And while those of us in public life get a lot of attention, a lot of times our families dont get the credit they deserve.

So let me, on behalf of my wife and our entire administration, just say thank you to all the spouses who are here that serve your states along with your governors with such distinction. (Applause.) We appreciate you all.

The President told you all at last years NGA meeting, in his words, Under this administration, were going to have a true partnership of collaboration and cooperation with Americas governors. And I hope and trust that youve seen that partnership over the course of this last year.

Over the last 12 months, our administration has been proud to work with states to promote greater flexibility on healthcare, to expand opportunities to give states a greater voice in land management. Weve been working with each and every one of you in combatting the scourge of opiate abuse and addiction that every governor in America has made a priority. And weve worked with many of you to open our natural resources to responsible development.

And I want to pledge to you going forward that President Trump and I are absolutely committed to continue to rebuild America, to rebuild our roads, our bridges, our infrastructure, and rebuild this economy in full partnership with the governors of America. (Applause.)

But while weve worked with you on all of those things that impact peoples lives and the strength of our economy, I know I speak for the President when I say how inspired weve been to see the way our governors have stepped forward and led in times of crisis and challenge in your states and in the life of our nation.

We traveled to Texas in the wake of Hurricane Harvey, and stood with Governor Abbott and the First Lady, who did such a remarkable job with their state. We were in Florida, and Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands after Hurricane Irma and Hurricane Maria, with Governor Scott, and Governor Rossello, and and Governor Mapp.

And also, we saw in those moments the critical role that your leadership plays in times of crisis. And let me just  in the wake of those storms, let me just join all of their colleagues in commending these great governors for the extraordinary job they did in the wake of this incredible  (applause)  (inaudible).

And, of course, I stand before you today  on my heart, on our hearts, whats on the hearts of the American people  in the wake of the terrible attack that took place at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Sadly, it is only the latest in a series of mass shootings over the last year that have claimed innocent lives in Las Vegas and in Sutherland Springs, Texas.

And then, as in those moments of natural disasters, the President and I have marveled at the courage and the compassion of our governors. And weve been inspired by your commitment your commitment in the wake of these terrible moments.

Let me just say that our administration, in the wake of what occurred in Parkland, Florida, will continue to bring the full resources of the federal government to bear to get to the bottom of what happened, and support state and local law enforcement, as we did in Nevada and as we did in Texas.

And I know youll hear from the President this weekend, and in our significant discussion on Monday, that the time has come for us to work together to find new and renewed ways to put the safety and security of our children and our schools first. And as President Trump said, Working with our governors, we are going to make school safety our top national priority. (Applause.)

As most of you know, the President has already taken action in this regard. Two days ago, our President  President Trump  and I met with the family of Meadow Pollack, a beautiful young lady who lost her life in that terrible attack in Florida. We met with other students and families reeling from that attack. But we also sat with families from Sandy Hook, families from Columbine, who still bear the scars in their hearts from similar incidents that took place in their communities. As the President said, well never forget that conversation.

Yesterday, the President met with state education and safety officials and talked about how we might move forward. The President told them what he told the nation in the immediate aftermath of what took place, that no child, no teacher, should ever be in danger in an American school. And we are absolutely determined, working with all of you and working with leaders in the Congress, to bring this evil, in our time, to an end. (Applause.)

As you know  as Im sure you know, earlier this week, the President called on Congress to strengthen background checks. Weve already been in touch with leaders in Congress to move legislation to improve our NICS system. The President has also called for raising the age for the purchase of certain firearms. And he directed the Department of Justice to expedite the regulation and banning of bump stocks. (Applause.)

The President has also called for the Congress to take strong action to make our schools safe, to make sure that we give law enforcement, and our families, the tools that they need to deal with those struggling with dangerous mental illness. And well be working with our governors at the local level to encourage and to support your efforts to create new tools and new pathways as well.

The President also called today for a hardening of our schools and engaging in a conversation about reconsidering a policy first established in the 1990s. And the President is calling on us to consider, and discuss, and debate allowing qualified and trained individuals to be able to carry firearms in our schools so that they can protect our students in a time of crisis. (Applause.)

But now we want to hear your ideas. The President has been listening to families. Hes been listening to students. Hes been listening to law enforcement officials. But we want to hear from you. And so we want to encourage you to bring your best counsel in our discussions in the days ahead.

And we look forward, very much, to the discussion this weekend, starting informally in the White House on Sunday night and then in a deep discussion that begins  not ends  on Monday. Its absolutely imperative that each of us do all that we can to support safe schools and security for our children.

So on behalf of the First Family and the Second Family, thank you. Thank you for your leadership. Thank you for your deep love for your states and the devotion that you show each and every day  the difference that youre making in the lives of the people that you serve.

We know there are sacrifices in public service. Were well familiar with them. But as we see a growing economy, as we face new challenges, I look out at this group and Im more confident than ever that with your counsel and continued leadership, and with President Donald Trump in the White House, well face these challenges together and well bring real and renewed solutions for the American people.

So thank you. Thank you for your service to your states. Thank you for your service to the United States of America. And God bless you. And God Bless the United States of America. (Applause.)Chinese dragon boat race was held at Royal Mohamed Ali Club in Giza province, near Cairo, on February 24, 2018. (Xinhua/ Zhao Dingzhe)

CAIRO, Feb. 24 (Xinhua) -- As a part of Sino-Egyptian celebrations of Chinese New Year, dozens of Egyptians and Chinese gathered on Saturday at Royal Mohamed Ali Club in Giza province, near Cairo, to watch dragon boats racing on the Nile River.

The event was organized by Egyptian Friendship Association - Hong Kong, China-Egypt Friendship Association and the Chinese Cultural Center in Cairo.

In addition to dragon boat racing, the event also featured dragon dance, delicious Chinese food and other fun activities for children.

"Such events provide both Chinese and Egyptians with a way to deepen our mutual understanding and strengthen our friendship," Chinese Ambassador to Cairo, Song Aiguo, told Xinhua during the event.

The ambassador said China is keen to introduce Spring Festival culture to the world, adding that Chinese Dragon Boat Festival will be held again in June.

"By this event we will conclude this year's 'Happy Chinese New Year' series celebration events, but I see this as just a new beginning of cultural communication," he explained.

Chinese dragon boat race was held at Royal Mohamed Ali Club in Giza province, near Cairo, on February 24, 2018. (Xinhua/ Zhao Dingzhe)

Meanwhile, Ehab Gouda, co-founder of the Egyptian Dragon Boat Academy and one of the event organizers, said that he joins this celebration every year to share new year festival with his Chinese friends.

"This is very important not only to spread the Chinese culture in Egypt, but also to introduce our culture to the friendly Chinese people," he said.

As the race started, guests were encouraged to cheer on the teams, which paddled on excitedly in search for victory.

"It is very interesting event...I have attended many Chinese-related events in Egypt, but dragon boat contests are always the best for me," Hend Hassan, Project Development Consultant, told Xinhua as she encouraged an Egyptian team.

She said that these events bring happiness to the hearts of the Egyptians who have started to pay special attention to Chinese celebrations in Egypt in the past few years.

After upgrading the relations between the two countries to a "comprehensive strategic partnership" in 2014, cultural exchange has been at its peak as artists, cultural and musical delegations have exchanged visits.

Through such cultural moves, Egypt and China want to boost friendly ties and enhance mutual understanding and future development between the peoples of the two nations, whose relations have deep roots back in history.Legendary Bollywood actress Sridevi died on Saturday following a cardiac arrest in Dubai. She was 54. The actress had gone to Dubai to attend a family wedding with her husband Boney Kapoor and younger daughter khushi.

Born in 1963, the Bollywood diva made her debut in the film industry at the age of four. There were reports of fans gathering outside her residence in Andheri area of Mumbai as reports of her demise came in.

Fans gather outside the residence of #Sridevi in Andheri who has passed away due to cardiac arrest. Say 'We are shocked and still cannot believe the news of her death. Very saddened and pained about her demise. Her acting skills were remarkable' pic.twitter.com/H059IQJM0F  ANI (@ANI) February 24, 2018

Twitter reacted in disbelief and shock as reports of the demise of India's first female superstar came in. While some tweeted wishing it was not true, many said that the shock death was simply unbelievable. Her fans also recalled her dazzling smile and expressive eyes. Big names from Bollywood also expressed their shock and grief, terming it as a big loss to the Indian entertainment industry.

Before stepping into Bollywood in 1978, Sridevi had worked in Kannada, Malayalam, Tamil and Telegu films.

'Himmatwala', 'Mr India', 'Chandni' are some of her big hits. The actor in her second innings gave a heart-winning comeback with 'English Vinglish' in 2012.

In 2013, she was awarded Padma Shri - the fourth highest civilian honour.

Sridevi was last seen in the film 'MOM' opposite Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Akshaye khanna.

Confirming the news, a source close to the family said, "Yes it's true. She was in Dubai while some of the other family members came back to India. We hear it's cardiac arrest."

While some of her family members returned from Dubai after the wedding, Sridevi, Boney and her younger daughter Khushi stayed back. Her elder daughter -- Janhvi -- had not travelled with the family because of the shooting schedule for her upcoming Bollywood film, her first in the industry.

Sridevi, known for her versatility as an actor, made her Bollywood debut in 1978 with "Solva Sawan". But it was only after five years with Jeetendra-starrer "Himmatwala" that she gained commercial success.

Her nuanced performance as a middle-class woman, learning to speak English to feel accepted by her family, won accolades, and the film was also a commercial success. Last year, she was seen in revenge-drama, "Mom", opposite Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Akshaye Khanna. She also shot for a special appearance in superstar Shah Rukh Khan's upcoming film, "Zero", which releases in December.

(With PTI inputs)Legendary Bollywood actress Sridevi, considered the first female superstar of Indian film industry, died after suffering a cardiac arrest in Dubai on Saturday. The actress was 54 when she breathed her last. As soon as reports of her sudden demise came in, the social media reacted in shock and disbelief. While many were at a loss of words, some recalled her expressive eyes and dazzling smile.

Here are some of the tributes that poured in from Bollywood bigwigs as well as some of the innumerable fans of Sridevi:

Heartbroken & shocked to hear that my all time favourite #Sridevi is no more. May god give peace to her soul & strength to the family #RIP  Preity zinta (@realpreityzinta) February 24, 2018

Just woken up to the tragic and shocking news of the passing of our dear Sridevi ji. Heartfelt condolences to Boneyji and her family.  Boman Irani (@bomanirani) February 25, 2018

An absolute icon. Gone too soon, #Sridevi. Too soon...  Jacqueline Fernandez (@Asli_Jacqueline) February 24, 2018

Long before the conversation about equality began, #sridevi was among a handful of female actors to be cast as the lead protagonist in movies.  Yogita Limaye (@yogital) February 24, 2018

Sridevi no more ? so difficult to fathom that she is no more, such is life I guess. Strong will to those near and dear to her. #RIPSridevi  Ashwin Ravichandran (@ashwinravi99) February 25, 2018

Such is life. #Sridevi is no more. These are some of her last photos clicked in #Dubai. She died of cardiac arrest. pic.twitter.com/Ve6fsskw3F  Johnlee Abraham (@Johnleeabraham) February 24, 2018

RIP Sridevi. This is her last visual. pic.twitter.com/BwNBaMYGxF  Kathi Mahesh (@kathimahesh) February 25, 2018

Very shocked to hear about the passing away of iconic actress #Sridevi ji. Condolences to her family and loved ones. May her soul rest in peace.  VVS Laxman (@VVSLaxman281) February 25, 2018

So grateful to have grown up and lived in the times of #sridevi . Thank you for the movies, thank you for the magic. You shall live on forever.. pic.twitter.com/jS2YJU1zoq  Mahira Khan (@TheMahiraKhan) February 25, 2018

Shocked and heartbroken! #Sridevi

I still can't believe that we have lost a legend. My heartfelt condolences to the family.  fatima sana shaikh (@fattysanashaikh) February 25, 2018

You made us laugh and cry...but this sadma !!!! Will miss you...#sridevi pic.twitter.com/Yu0N2C0Zzs  Nilesh Pandit (@scorpiontwit) February 25, 2018

The shocking death of the beloved star in her mid-fifties, who reportedly passed away while attending her nephew's wedding in the emirate late Saturday night, prompted an outpouring of grief among fans and fellow Bollywood actors. Born Shree Amma Yanger Ayappan, Sridevi made her acting debut aged just four, and went on have a career spanning over four decades. She appeared in a string of blockbuster hit films including Chandni, Mr India, Mawali and Tohfa. She was awarded the Padma Shri, India`s fourth highest civilian award, for her services to the film industry.New Delhi: The closure of Vodafone and Idea's mobile tower sale deal, and raising Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) limit in the Aditya Birla group firm are holding the government's approval to the merger of two operators' to create the largest Indian telecom player, according to sources.

According to a senior official, the government is awaiting for the closure of Vodafone and Idea mobile tower sale transaction with American Tower Corporation.

"Approval to Idea and Vodafone will be granted once their mobile tower sale is completed," the senior government official, who was in Barcelona to take part in the Mobile World Congress starting tomorrow, told news agency Press Trust of India.

People closely involved in the Vodafone-Idea merger process said the transaction closure is a procedural issue, and will be done very soon as ATC has already applied for government's permission to make the investment in towers assets of the two companies.

"Besides ATC deal closure, Idea has applied for raising FDI limit in the company to 100 percent. The clearance on the same is awaited from the Ministry of Home Affairs," an industry source said.

ATC will pay a total of Rs 7,850 crore for purchasing Idea (Rs 4,000 crore ) and Vodafone's (Rs 3,850 crore) mobile towers.

When contacted, the Vodafone global spokesperson said, "The standalone tower sale is not a condition to completing the merger with Idea."

The discussion around Idea and Vodafone exiting Indus Towers by selling the stake to Bharti Infratel is not part of the process for government approval for the merger.

The merged Idea-Vodafone entity will have the second largest spectrum holding of 1,850 megahertz.

The amalgamation will also result in capex synergies, since it will eliminate the duplication of spectrum capacity and infrastructure related requirements.

Idea and Vodafone are separately paying rental for 6,300 mobile sites which will be synced for merged entity in two years.

However, the combined entity will breach the spectrum holding limit in five circles under the 900MHz band, one circle under the 1,800MHz band and two circles under the 2,500MHz band with the cumulative value of around Rs 9,000 crore as per the prices of latest auction.

This will be resolved if Cabinet approves raising of spectrum holding limit as recommended by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) and concurred by the Telecom Commission.

The regulator had recommended removing the ceiling on spectrum held by mobile operators within a particular band. It suggested a 50 percent cap on the combined radio wave holding inefficient bands like 700 MHz, 800 MHz and 900 MHz.

Airtel will continue to be the largest spectrum holder with 1,976 Mhz after an acquisition of Telenor, Tata Teleservices and Tikona airwaves.

The revenue market share of Vodafone-Idea merged entity will be slightly higher at 37.5 percent compared to that of Airtel's at 37.3 percent.

(With PTI inputs)Mumbai/New Delhi: Widening its probe into the country's second-largest public sector lender Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud case of Rs 11,400 crore, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) will soon send judicial requests to over a dozen countries for obtaining information about the overseas businesses and assets of diamantaire Nirav Modi and owner of Gitanjali Gems Mehul Choksi.

According to official sources the agency will approach a competent court in Mumbai with a request to obtain Letters Rogatories (LRs) to be sent to about 15-17 countries where the central investigation agency has traced the footsteps of the diamond and gold jewellery businesses of the firms owned by Nirav Modi, his uncle Mehul Choksi and others associated with them, reported news agency Press Trust of India.

The countries where the LRs would be sent include Belgium, Hong Kong, Switzerland, the United States, the United Kingdom, Dubai, Singapore and South Africa.

Some official requests on the basis of agency-to-agency exchange will also be sent to few countries, the sources said.

The attempt of sending these judicial requests for exchange of information is aimed at obtaining the details of the overseas financial holdings of Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi, who are accused in the Rs 11,400 crore PNB loan fraud case, their bank accounts, assets, partnerships, showrooms, trusts and other assets, they said.

These assets and their sources of income will be investigated and if necessary would be attached under the criminal sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) if it is found that they have been created using tainted funds or the proceeds of crime of the alleged bank fraud, the sources said.

Meanwhile, Nirav Modi, his wife Ami, and maternal uncle Mehul Choksi have been summoned by the ED to appear at its zonal office in Mumbai tomorrow.

According to sources if they skip the summons, the agency may approach a special PMLA court to get non-bailable warrants against them.

The agency has also asked about 16 other banks, apart from the PNB, to share with it the details of loans extended and collaterals offered in the case of Nirav Modi, Mehul Choksi and their companies.

It has also asked the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to share with it audit reports of the PNB conducted by it since 2011.

The total assets seized by the ED, in this case, are now over Rs 6,393 crore, officials had said, adding that this was being independently valued.

Nirav Modi, Mehul Choksi and others are being investigated by the ED and other probe agencies after the fraud recently came to light, following a complaint by the PNB that they allegedly cheated the nationalised bank to the tune of Rs 11,400 crore, with the purported involvement of a few employees of the bank.

The CBI and the ED have registered two FIRs each to probe the case. Both Nirav Modi and Mehul Choski are said to have left the country before criminal cases were lodged against them.

The ED, a central probe agency under the Finance ministry, is investigating if the allegedly defrauded bank funds were laundered and proceeds of crime were subsequently used by the accused to create illegal assets and black money.

(With PTI inputs)New Delhi: As tributes pour in for veteran actress Sridevi, who died in Dubai late on Saturday, plunging the entire country into a pall of gloom, Union Minister Smriti Irani, who has been a big fan of the legendary Bollywood actor Sridevi, paid a heartfelt tribute to the 'timeless' diva.

Bidding an emotional farewell to the late actor, Irani said Sridevi inspired an entire generation of actors with memorable performances in films like 'Sadma', 'Lamhe' and 'Mr. India'.

In a heartfelt tribute to her favourite actor, Smriti Irani shared her last living image of the iconic star.

The minister recalled the last presence of the late actor at the International Film festival at Goa in November 2017.

She said that in spite of the actor standing all alone on the stage at the Goa event, she managed to fill the space with her charm and presence.

The Union Cabinet Minister of Textiles and Information and Broadcasting further said that the actor never demanded any protocol.

She knew her mind and in spite of facing various challenges throughout her life, she lived with dignity.

Irani admitted that Sridevi acted as a silent mentor for her and many others and helped them polish their acting skills.

Irani admitted that she has been in the awe of the actor Sridevi ever since she donned the avatar of Charlie Chaplin in the superhit Mr. India. She called her to be a female version of Robinhood for many young girls of her time.

She further praised her comic timing and called her as an 'effortless' actor.

"As I bid farewell to my favourite star who defined joy in my childhood, I pay homage to an actor who through her body of work ascertained that a female actress' place in a commercial Hindi movie is not only to compliment her male counterpart. It's farewell to a star whose last words to me will ring true forever - 'where else would I be if not here (film industry)'.

The actress, 54, breathed her last on Saturday night at around 11 pm.

She was rushed to the nearby Rashid Hospital but pronounced dead on admission.

Her body is expected to be flown to Mumbai via a special chartered flight tonight for the last rites, which will most probably be held on Monday.

Sridevi was in Dubai to attend the marriage function of actress Sonam Kapoor's cousin Mohit Marwah, along with husband Boney Kapoor and younger daughter Khushi.

She exuded elegance in her appearances - photos and videos that were now being shared on social media as her "last".

The Indian Embassy in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the Indian Consulate in Dubai were assisting the family to expedite the process to bring her body to India as soon as possible.

The actress is remembered for her brilliant performance in some of the iconic Bollywood films like "Mr. India", "Nagina", "Sadma", "ChalBaaz", "Chandni", "Khuda Gawah" among many others in different Indian languages.

A Padma Shri recipient, Sridevi made a comeback to Bollywood in 2012 with "English Vinglish" after a long break of 15 years.

She was last seen in "Mom" in 2017.New Delhi: All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) Chief Asaduddin Owaisi latest statement on Ayodhya dispute has once again sparked a row. The Hyderabad lawmaker claimed that the Supreme Court will decide in favour of Muslims and Babri Masjid will continue to be in Ayodhya.

Our Masjid will remain there and we will reconstruct it once again as Supreme Court will give the decision in our favour, said Owaisi at a Society for Integrative Oncology (SIO) event in Delhi on Saturday.

Hamari masjid wahan par hai, thi, aur inshaallah rahegi aur dubara wahan par banayenge, jab Supreme Court hamare haath mein faisla dega. Aur faisla aayega to humko puri ummid hai, ki aastha ke buniyad par nahin, evidence ke buniyad par aayega: Asaduddin Owaisi in #Delhi pic.twitter.com/Vi59JVsdEp  ANI (@ANI) February 24, 2018

"The court will not give a decision on the basis of faith but on the basis of decision," he added. Muslims will never leave that space, added the Hyderabad MP. "The people who threaten to leave the Masjid and speak against our `shariat`. I would like to tell them that we will never leave that space," Owaisi added.

Yelog jo humko dara rahe hain, chahe hamari shariat ke khilaf aawaz utha rahe hain, chahe humko keh rahe hain ki masjid chod do, main unlogon se kehna chahta hu. Jo hamse kehte hain ki masjid ko chod do, nahi, hum hargiz apne masjid ko nahi chodenge: Asaduddin Owaisi pic.twitter.com/1AzOr85MIP  ANI (@ANI) February 24, 2018

Attacking the centre over the recent PNB scam, Owaisi said, "People who call us Pakistani, I would like to question them if Harshad Mehta, Ketan Parekh, Nirav Modi were Muslims? The people who our Prime Minister calls `Bhai` have robbed our country. We believe in the idea of `Hindu-Muslim Bhai`, but while this has never helped us. The country is now heading towards a Hindutva country."

Jo aaj bhi humko Pakistani kehkar pukarte hain, main unse puchna chahta hu. Harshad Mehta, Ketan Parekh, Nirav Modi kya musalman the? Hamare wazir-e-azam ne ek bhai ko kaha -Mehul Bhai, kya wo musalman the? Aapne jisko bhai kaha, wahi to lut kar bhaag gaya hai: Asaduddin Owaisi pic.twitter.com/66kEGCySe0  ANI (@ANI) February 24, 2018

Asaduddin Owaisi had recently blamed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) alliance for failing to tackle terror attacks.

With ANI inputsBENGALURU: With the political battle heating up on the ground in poll-bound Karnataka, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress on Sunday sparred over farmer loans and recent bank scams.

Congress chief Rahul Gandhi, who arrived in poll-bound Karnataka on Saturday, alleged that the Centre of shielding 10 industrialists while robbing poor farmers and labourers.

Paisa kisaanon, majdooron ki jeb se nikalkar 10 udyogpatiyon ki jeb mein jaa raha hai. Aapne desh ke 10 sabse ameer udyogpatiyon ka loan maaf kiya, Modi ji kya aap hindustan ke kisaanon ka loan maaf karoge? Koi jawaab nahi mila (The money is being ferried from farmers' and labourers' pockets to the pockets of 10 industrialists. You (BJP) waived the loans of 10 richest industrialists. Modi ji, when will you waive-off the loans of Hindustan's farmers? No response has come), said Rahul Gandhi at a public rally.

Hitting back at Gandhi's statement, BJP President Amit Shah, who's also in Karnataka for a political campaign, said that no loans have been written off.

Humne kisi bhi udyogpati ka koi bhi karz maaf nahi kiya hai, Rahul Gandhi jhoot bol rahe hain. (We have not waived off the loans for any industrialist. Rahul Gandhi is lying.), said Shah while addressing a public meet.

The sugarcane farmers are paid their dues within 90 days in Uttar Pradesh. A law has been framed for the same, he added.

Lashing out at the current Congress-led government in Karnataka, Shah alleged that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah does not let Centre's schemes reach right beneficiaries.

Siddaramaiah government does not let reach the benefits of schemes to the right beneficiaries because they fear Modi govt, added Shah.

Karnataka Assembly polls are expected to be held in late April or early May, 2018.

Both the parties have been engaged in a bitter war of words ahead of the polls. The Congress is hoping to back into power for a second term in a row. BJP, which has tasted success in 19 out of 29 states in the country, is hoping to pull off another victory.

With ANI inputsNEW DELHI: Legendary Bollywood actress Sridevi breathed her last on Saturday following a massive cardiac arrest in Dubai. The news of her demise has left her fans across all generations shell-shocked. Social media is flooded with reactions remembering the smile, grace and elegance of the late actor.

Among the millions of tweets posted on the death of the actor, the one from the Indian National Congress has not gone down well with people. Remembering Sridevi, INCIndia tweeted: "We regret to hear about the passing away of Sridevi. An actor par excellence. A legend who will continue to live in our hearts through her stellar body of work. Our deepest condolences to her loved ones. She was awarded the Padma Shri by the UPA Govt in 2013."

Soon after the tweet was posted, social media users pounced upon the Congress for playing politics and for trying to gain brownie points even at the time of the death of a loved actor. The Congress was forced to delete the tweet.

Here are some of the angry reactions:

How an oldest party of country politicise death of legend #Sridevi . What is the use of mentioned awarded padmashri during UPA govt. Sham !!!! https://t.co/Mn1KWAJaez  Parthsarthi Sharma (@pss1987) February 25, 2018

"She Was Awarded The Padma Shri By The UPA Govt In 2013". Are You Serious? Is That Line Even Necessary To Pay Tribute To A Legendary Actress? Please Stop Politicising The Death. You Guys Are Disgrace To Humanity. Shame On You Congress. #Sridevi #RIPSridevihttps://t.co/gdPHFEIWE4  Sir Ravindra Jadeja (@SirJadeja) February 25, 2018

Was that necessary to mention what award she recieved during UPA government. Disgusting. Stop giving political colour to everything. Now don't blame the P.M for her death, because you are the best in that field. #sridevi #RIPSridevi  Joydeep Barooah (@jdbarooah) February 25, 2018

With correction. She was awarded Padma Shri by the Indian government, not the UPA government. No politics in her death please. Rest in eternal peace, #SRIDEVI.  Sreejith Panickar (@PanickarS) February 25, 2018

Don't know about the name, but "Awarded padma shri by UPA" will be the 1st sentence written on her gravestone. #Sridevi #Congress https://t.co/FL48wNsPv0  Mangalya Lakhia (@Mangalyalakhia) February 25, 2018

India must vote for @INCIndia cos Congress/UPA Government gave #Sridevi Padma Awards. And you stupid People of India thought GOVERNMENT of India conferred the award cos People of India Appreciate her Contribution to Indian Cinema. Disgusting @INCIndia

Sic/Mental @OfficeOfRG https://t.co/0GJL0JzWxY  Raman (@being_delhite) February 25, 2018

Meanwhile, Congress President Rahul Gandhi paid condolence to Sridevi's family. "Shocked to hear about the sudden and untimely death of one of Indias favourite actress, Sridevi. Sridevi was an incredibly talented and versatile actress whose vast body of work spanned a range of genres and languages. My condolences to her family. May her soul rest in peace," he tweeted.

Shocked to hear about the sudden and untimely death of one of India's favourite actress, Sridevi. Sridevi was an incredibly talented and versatile actress whose vast body of work spanned a range of genres and languages. My condolences to her family. May her soul rest in peace.  Office of RG (@OfficeOfRG) February 25, 2018

Sridevi breathed her last while she was in Dubai to attend a family wedding with her husband Boney Kapoor and younger daughter Khushi. While some of her family members returned from Dubai after the wedding, Sridevi, Boney and her younger daughter Khushi stayed back. Her elder daughter -- Janhvi -- had not travelled with the family because of the shooting schedule for her upcoming Bollywood film, her first in the industry.

Fans have been gathering outside her residence in Andheri area of Mumbai soon after the reports of her demise came in.New Delhi: The University of Delhi also known as Delhi University (DU) is one of the leading public University situated in the national capital has invited bids from private players for conducting 'Online Computer-based Entrance Test' for different courses across 18 cities for the upcoming 2018-19 academic year.

It is one of the most sought institution for pursuing higher studies. DU has various faculties which provide admission to UG and PG courses. The online test is for select under-graduate and all post-graduate, M Phil and PhD courses.

The online entrance test will be held for admission to "select under-graduate, all Post Graduate, M Phil and PhD courses", an e-procurement notice issued by the university said.

The bidder will have to conduct the exam, handle its administration, logistics and process results and give it to the university, it said.

Following criticism from student circles, the DU last year had shelved its decision to hold online entrance tests for its M Phil, PhD and PG programmes as it felt conducting these along with the offline format was not feasible.

"Question paper will be objective-type with multiple choice questions of two hours duration. The medium of the test would be English or Hindi or both and will be conducted in three shifts  8-10 am, 12-2 pm and 4-6 pm," the notice on the central university website said.

The last date of submission of the bid is March 8, and the bidder has to pay an earnest money of Rs 25 lakh, the notice said.

The chairperson, admissions committee, Maharaj K Pandit or the officials in the examination wing could not be reached for comments.

Delhi University Students' Union president Rocky Tuseed said an option for the offline process should also be made available.

"We are not against the online entrance exam but there should be an offline process as well. All students may not be in the capacity to know the online entrance procedure and how to give an online test," Tuseed was quoted as saying by news agency Press Trust of India.

(With PTI inputs)NEW DELHI: The Enforcement Directorate on Sunday seized a farmhouse belonging to Misa Bharti  Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader and Lalu Prasad's daughter. The probe agency had procured the order of possession from the adjudicating authority.

In December 2017, the agency filed charge sheet against Bharti and her husband in a money laundering case.

The ED had earlier attached a Delhi farmhouse in connection with money laundering probe against Bharti and her husband, Shailesh Kumar. The farmhouse, located at 26, Palam Farms in south Delhi's Bijwasan area was attached provisionally under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

"It was purchased using Rs 1.2 crore involved in money laundering in the year 2008-09," the ED had alleged then.

In January 2018, the ED had summoned Rahul Yadav, another son-in-law of RJD chief Lalu Prasad on allegations of giving a loan of Rs one crore to former Bihar chief minister Rabri Devi.

Rahul Yadav is the husband of Lalu Prasad's fourth daughter Ragini.

Lalu Prasad is currently lodged in Ranchi's Birsa Munda jail after being convicted in cases of fodder scam.

On January 6, the RJD chief was sentenced to three-and-a-half years in jail by a special CBI court in Ranchi.

The court convicted Lalu Prasad and 15 others on December 23 in the case relating to the multi-million-rupee scam.

The CBI court had acquitted another former Bihar Chief Minister Jagannath Mishra and five others in the case, relating to fraudulent withdrawal of Rs 84.5 lakh from the Deoghar district treasury between 1990 and 1994 in then undivided Bihar.

With agency inputsBhopal: As observers warn of another Doklam-like standoff showdown, Indian security forces are leaving no stones unturned to stand tall in front of Chinese troops. Apart from taking steps to counter China, the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) are now learning Mandarin to break language barriers.

Nearly 25 jawans and officials of the ITBP will take up a one-year certificate course in the Chinese language at the Sanchi University of Buddhist-Indic Studies in Madhya Pradesh's Raisen district, reported news agency PTI.

Two ITBP inspectors and two jawans have already completed the year-long course and are currently posted at the border.

Last year, Union Minister Rajnath Singh has asked ITBP troops deployed along the Sino-India border to learn Mandarin in order to ensure better communication with the Chinese counterparts and avoid misunderstandings during face offs. The statement had come days after Indian and Chinese troops exchanged blows and hurled stones at each other near Pangong Lake in Ladakh on Independence Day 2017. At the time, the tensions were already high between the two nations over Doklam row.

Echoing similar views, university's registrar Rajesh Gupta said that learning Mandarin will be helpful for the ITBP, which has to deal with the Chinese-speaking people along the Sino-India border.

More ITBP personnel will now join the varsity, located around 12 kms from the UNESCO world heritage site of the Sanchi Stupa - the hemispherical brick structure built over the relics of Buddha.

The course training will commence in July 2018.

"Our course is designed as per the needs of the ITBP. Besides learning the Chinese language, the course also provides them an insight into the Buddhism religion," he said.

The course books are in three languages - Hindi, English and Chinese - so that students can understand and grasp the text easily.

"We have used pictures and same sentences in three languages to make them understand the Chinese language easily. There are several villages along the border in Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Jammu and Kashmir where the Chinese- speaking followers of Buddhism live," he said.

Over the last few days, reports of China boosting its high-altitude capacities and equipping People's Liberation Army (PLA) with powerful combat weapons have emerged.

With PTI inputsDharamsala: Tibetan Prime Minister-in-exile Lobsang Sangay on Sunday said that he was saddened by the untimely demise of Bollywood icon Sridevi in Dubai.

In his reaction to Sridevi's passing away, the Tibetan leader said, ''Like millions, we will miss her too".

"Sad to learn of the unexpected death of Sridevi. Enjoyed all her movies during Delhi University days. Like millions, I will miss her too," Sangay said in a tweet.

The Tibetan administration is based in the northern hill town of Dharamsala where Tibetans live in exile along with their spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama.

Sridevi, 54, passed away due to a cardiac arrest on Saturday night.

She was rushed to the nearby Rashid Hospital but pronounced dead on admission.

She was in Dubai to attend the wedding of actress Sonam Kapoor's cousin Mohit Marwah, along with husband Boney Kapoor and younger daughter Khushi.

The iconic actor's funeral is likely to take place on Monday, although there is no official confirmation regarding the same.

The untimely death of the screen goddess has plunged the entire country into a pall of gloom and her fans and admirers have expressed shock and disbelief.

The actress is remembered for her performance is some of the iconic Bollywood films like "Mr. India", "Nagina", "Sadma", "ChalBaaz", "Chandni", "Khuda Gawah", among many others in different Indian languages.

The Padma Shri recipient, who made a comeback to Bollywood in 2012 with "English Vinglish" after a long break of 15 years, was last seen in "Mom" in 2017.

(With IANS inputs)It can be devastating for a woman to lose her husband in the line of duty. But when it comes to serving the nation, but nothing could dent the courage of Major Kumud Dogra. She attended the last rites of her husband, Wing Commander D Vats, carrying her five-day-old daughter in her arms.

The pictures of the last rites of Wing Commander Vats, who was killed in microlight aircraft crash in Assam on February 15, were shared by many on microblogging site Twitter.

Unable to get over these images of #MajorKumudDogra walking to her husband Wg Cdr #DushyantVatss funeral with their 5-day old baby in her arms. He saw once bt nw will never get to meet his daughter. Speechless. This is what the #IndianArmy & #IndianAirForce does for the country. pic.twitter.com/cbJiuaxgwe  Rupil Dev Lamsar (@rupildev) February 24, 2018

Wing Commander Vats had lost his life along with a colleague when their aircraft crashed in Majuli district in Upper Assam. The Indian Air Force personnel could not even see his daughter before breathing his last.

His wife, Major Kumud, attempted his last rites in Army uniform and carried her five-day-old daughter in her arms.

Messages saluting the extraordinary courage of Major Kumud have flooded social media.

On February 15, reports of two IAF pilots getting killed in an aircraft crash had come from Majuli district in Assam. The debris of the aircraft was later found and a court of inquiry was ordered into the incident.

The Defence Ministry had issued a statement saying Microlight SW-80 aircraft, which went for a routine flight, crash at around noon on Thursday. Though the pilots made attempt for an emergency landing, the aircraft got damaged and crashed.NEW DELHI: In the 41st edition of Mann Ki Baat programme, Prime Minister Narendra Modi lauded the contribution of India in the field of sciene and technology. Ahead of the National Science Day on February 28, the PM said that science and technology are value neutral. "It is up to us what we want the machine to do for us," he said.

Focussing on artificial intelligence, he urged the scientists to find ways for the betterment of those who are specially-abled. "I urge the scientists to find ways in which we can enhance lives of our 'divyang' brothers and sisters through artificial intelligence," he said. He also urged scientists to make use of artificial intelligence for early detection of natural calamities.

He asked people to inculcate safety in their day-to-day lives, stressing that India needs to become a "risk-conscious" society. "Most of the accidents barring national disasters in some way or the other occur due to our negligence. If we remain vigilante and follow rules then we can avoid such situations," he said.

Applauding the role of women, he said that the country is looking beyond the concept of women's development and talking in terms of development being led by women. "Women today are leaders in various spheres of life," he said and urged women in rural areas to become a part of an initiative for "clean energy and green jobs".

Speaking baout the recently-launched "Gobardhan" programme, he said that through the scheme, livestock waste including cow dung in villages can be used to generate clean energy. "In this budget, emphasis was laid on 'waste to wealth' and 'waste to energy' through bio-gas for villages under 'Swacch Bharat' initiative called 'GOBAR-Dhan' (Galvanizing Organic Bio-Agro Resources)," he said.

He also spoke about the recently held Kachra festival in Raipur and said that several other cities are taking inspiration from the same and organising such events. "We hear of music festivals, food festivals and film festivals but in a unique move Chhattisgarh celebrated 'Kachra Mahotsav'. The objective behind it was to utilise waste creatively and to spread awareness about ways to reuse garbage," he said.Here are the top headlines of the day:

1. Bollywood actress Sridevi dies at 54 in Dubai

Legendary Bollywood actress Sridevi died on Saturday following a cardiac arrest in Dubai. Read more



2. Amitabh Bachchan tweets he is feeling uneasy and a few minutes later Sridevi dies.

Twitter feels he had a premonition. Read more



3. Sridevi's untimely death creates a huge void, Bollywood loses a 'Mom'

Bollywood actress Sridevi dies at 54 in Dubai. Read more



4. BJP leader's car hits crowd in Bihar; 9 children killed, many injured

The children were returning from the school located in Meenpur police station area when the accident happened. Read more



5. New US tax law brings Warren Buffett a nice check: $29 billion

Berkshire Hathaway, the holding company of US billionaire investor Warren Buffett, received a stunning $29 billion check last year from the US government, thanks to a new tax law that massively lowered corporate tax rates. Read More



6. India vs South Africa: India survive Christiaan Jonker onslaught to win T20I series

India survived a late onslaught by debutant Christiaan Jonker and edged South Africa by seven runs to win the third T20I in Cape Town on Saturday to clinch the series 2-1. Read More

7. More UFO sightings? Mysterious objects seen hovering over Mt Everest & Norway

The search for alien life has been going on for years and those involved in alien hunting or UFO hunting have many a time, come close enough to provide evidence justifying it. Read moreNew Delhi: In the aftermath of alleged Rs 11,400 crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) scam, the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) on Sunday called for better and hi-tech control systems to check financial frauds.

The apex industry body also pressed for a gradual decrease in government holding in public sector banks (PSBs).

The government should strategically divest its stake in PSBs to 33 percent in a phased manner and adopt a twin strategy for tackling financial frauds, including better monitoring and supervision of banks and adoption of best corporate governance standards, the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) said in a release here.

"The government, regulators and industry must act fast to address systemic risks in the financial sector," CII President Shobana Kamineni said in a statement.

"The three key solutions for the banking sector are better management and operational efficiencies, use of technology such as blockchain and big data analytics, and lowering government shareholding in public sector banks," the CII statement read.

Noting that technology could be a major enabler for monitoring transactions that are subject to financial fraud and risks, the CII said, "Some banks are already deploying artificial intelligence, big data and blockchain technologies to better regulate their operations."

The CII said that it is important to minimise human interface in such transactions to lower the risk of misdemeanours.

The CII president, however, cautioned that such instances of collusion between corrupt bank officials and scamsters should not lead to a situation of choking of credit to the industry.

"It is time for the government to consider consolidation of PSBs and develop a few strong banks which adhere to the best standards in governance, accountability and transparency," the CII said.

The CII president also called for a roadmap for bringing the government stake down to 33 percent in three to four years.

As per the charges filed in diamond merchant Nirav Modi case, bank Letters of Undertaking and Foreign Letters of Credit were used to raise and rollover the money over several years before the fraud came to light following the PNB's complaint.

(With Agency Inputs)NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi began his monthly programme 'Mann Ki Baat' on Sunday by speaking on India's contribution to the world of science at 11 am. This is the 41st edition of the Mann Ki Baat programme and is being broadcast on All India Radio (AIR) and Doordarshan. It is also available on Narendra Modi mobile app.

Stay with us for live updates:

11:30 am: On 2nd March, the nation will celebrate Holi. I wish all of you on this occasion, I hope it brings happiness in the lives of all of you. Holi gives the message of spreading peace, brotherhood & unity among all.

11:28 am: PM Modi: Until recently, there was no electricity in Elephanta Caves despite being so close to Mumbai. I would like to congratulate the administration there that they have been able to provide electricity there. What can be better than bringing happiness to the lives of people living there.

After spending 7 decades in darkness, 3 villages of Elephanta island received electricity recently. #MannKiBaat pic.twitter.com/L3BG6KYz9L  PMO India (@PMOIndia) February 25, 2018

11:25 am: PM Modi: We need to move from Women Development to Women-Led Development.

11:22 am: PM Modi: There was recently a Kachra festival organised in Raipur with an aim to popularise Clean India.

11:20 am: PM Modi: Make efforts to use the waste for the betterment of the society. There is an online trading platform which is being made which will connect farmers wioth the byuers so that they can get the apt value of the agriculture waste.

1:17 am: PM Modi: In this year's Budget we have spoken of 'Gobardhan Yojana' to provide organic manure and cow urine with an aim to benefit farmers. With this yojna, we will be able to keep rural India clean, and will enhance their income.

11:15 am: PM Modi: I appreciate the heroes who work in relief & rescue operations across the country. We need to be a risk conscious society.

11:10 am: PM Modi: Most of the accidents that happen today are by our own fault. If we are vigilant, we can avoid a lot of these mishaps. There are two types of safeties - one during disasters and one during everyday life.

11:06 am: PM Modi talks about leveraging Artificial Intelligence for the betterment of all humans.

11:05 am: PM Modi: Science and technology are value neutral. It is up to us what we want the machine to do for us. On National Science Day, I would like to congratulate our scientists and all those who are associated with the field.

PM @narendramodi speaks on India's contribution in the field of science. pic.twitter.com/6aqoDJNvvl  PMO India (@PMOIndia) February 25, 2018

11:00 am: PM Modi begins 'Mann Ki Baat' by speaking on India's contribution to the world of science.Senior Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader and criminal lawyer Majeed Memon has alleged that hours before the announcement of demonetisation by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, as much as Rs 90 crore cash was taken to one of the branches of Punjab National Bank. According to him, the money was exchanged for billions or something.

Calling for an investigation into the alleged incident, Memon said that this was reported during the time absconding billionaire jeweller Nirav Modi left India.

The allegations by Memon come a day after the government on Saturday revoked the passports of Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi who are at the forefront of the alleged multi-million Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud.

Last week, the passport issuing authority in the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) had suspended the validity of passports of Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi with immediate effect for a period of four weeks. Their passports were suspended on the advice of the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

Meanwhile, the Congress has accused the Centre of being aware of all details. Hours after Finance Minister Arun Jaitley slammed regulators for failing to detect the fraud,

Senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal had said, Why blame only regulator? What about the political system and the fact that Finance Ministry must've known about it.

Nirav Modi, who holds an Indian passport, had left India on January 1, while his brother Nishal, a Belgian citizen, departed from the country on the same day. Modi's wife Ami, a US citizen, left on January 6 and his maternal uncle and business associate Mehul Choksi left on January 4.

The ED had also issued summons for appearance to the billionaire diamond merchant and Choksi in connection with its money laundering probe in the Rs 11,400 crore fraud in PNB.

Both Modi and Choksi were summoned under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and asked to depose within a week's time. The ED has registered a PMLA case against them and others based on a CBI FIR which was the result of a PNB complaint.NEW DELHI: Union Railway Minister Piyush Goyal on Saturday expressed condolence to the family of Bollywood actress Sridevi on her sudden demise and said that it is a huge loss for the nation.

Speaking to ANI, Goyal recollected the marvellous work of the actresses` and said that the news is not less than a shock for everyone.

"I was shocked to hear the news of her demise.

She played an important role in the field of performing arts. We all have seen her capabilities on the screen.

This is a huge loss for the nation.

I give my heartfelt condolences to her family," Goyal told ANI.Politician, sportsperson and film and television fraternity all poured in their tribute to the Padma Shri recipient actress, who died last night due to cardiac arrest in Dubai.

Sridevi was attending a family wedding with her husband Boney Kapoor and her younger daughter Khushi in Dubai.MUMBAI: Legendary Bollywood diva Sridevi breathed her on Saturday night following a massive cardiac arrest in Dubai. She was 54. The veteran actor had flown to celebrate the wedding of Mohit Marwah three days back.

Sridevi was staying in Jumeirah Emirates Tower hotel. Around midnight she suffered a cardiac arrest following which she fell unconscious inside the hotel bathroom. Reports suggest, soon after that she was rushed to Rashid Hospital where she was declared dead.

The mortal remains of the actor will reportedly be departed from Dubai at around 9.30 PM on Sunday. According to a family member, they are expected to reach Mumbai between 2 AM to 3 AM in the midnight.

Reports suggest that Sridevi will be brought to Bhagya Bungalow in Andheri (West) between 7 AM to 10 AM for the last respect. The cremation will reportedly be held at Pawas Hans at 1 PM on Monday.

Here's the tentative schedule:

- The approximate departure time from Dubai is 9:30 PM (Monday)

- Arrival in Mumbai by 2 AM to 3 AM approximately (Monday)

- Last respect from 7 AM to 10 AM (Monday) at Bhagya Bungalow, off J. P Road, next to Puspanjalli Society, near Seven Bungalow Bus depot, Versova, Andheri (west), Mumbai 400053

- Cremation at Pawan Hans Vile Parle at 1 PM (Monday) approximately

- Chautha on Tuesday (February 27) at TBCMumbai: In a moving gesture, industrialist Anil Ambani has sent an aircraft to Dubai to bring back Bollywood actress Sridevi Kapoor's mortal remains back to the country, sources said on Sunday.

According to IANS. A 13-seater private jet, (Embraer-135BJ) belonging to Reliance Transport & Travel Ltd, left Mumbai for Dubai around 1.30 pm today.

"It is expected to return with the body and the immediate bereaved family members late tonight," the sources said.

The iconic actor's funeral is likely to take place on Monday, although there is no official confirmation regarding the same.

Sridevi, 54, passed away in Dubai late on Saturday night, plunging the entire country into a pall of gloom as her fans and admirers expressed shock and disbelief.

The actress reported having died a massive cardiac arrest.

She was rushed to the nearby Rashid Hospital but pronounced dead on admission.

Sridevi was in Dubai to attend the marriage function of actress Sonam Kapoor's cousin Mohit Marwah, along with husband Boney Kapoor and younger daughter Khushi.

The actress is remembered for her performance is some of the iconic Bollywood films like "Mr. India", "Nagina", "Sadma", "ChalBaaz", "Chandni", "Khuda Gawah", among many others in different Indian languages.

The Padma Shri recipient, who made a comeback to Bollywood in 2012 with "English Vinglish" after a long break of 15 years, was last seen in "Mom" in 2017.

(With IANS inputs)MUMBAI: It's been over four days that students at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) are protesting against the administration with scholars refusing to back down. They have been protesting against the withdrawal of financial aid to the Government of India-Post Matriculation Scholarship (GOI-PMS) from SC/ST category across all the campuses of the institute.

The Students Union has been protesting since Wednesday and while the institute offered some concessions, the students have claimed that they were not enough.

The administration on Thursday gave a proposal to exempt the SC/ST students of the 2016-18 batch from paying the hostel and dining hall fees. "If they are not able to pay now, they can pay it later when they get a job or scholarship is credited to their account. They will be allowed to appear for their examinations," Professor PK Shahjahan, Dean, Office of Students' Affairs at TISS had said.

However, a Students Union rejected the offer saying the administration has not promised any relief for the OBC students and students of the 2017-2019 batch and upcoming batches. "The 2016-18 batch SC/ST students have been told that they need not pay the fees now, but after they get jobs. Payment has been postponed not waived off," a student leader said.

The TISS administration has maintained that they have not stopped any scholarships. "The scholarship is a matter between the government and the students, the institute has no role either in the sanction or disbursement of the scholarships. The GOI-PMS is paid by the Social Welfare Department/Tribal Welfare Department of the respective state directly to the student," Shahjahan said.

"As per the government rule, we are not charging any course fee from the students of reserved category. They are only required to pay dining hall charges and hostel fees," he said.

The Post Matric Scholarship scheme is a centrally sponsored Scheme implemented by the state governments, providing financial assistance to the Scheduled Caste students studying at post matriculation or post-secondary stage to enable them to complete their education.

The protest began on Wednesday when around 500 students gathered at the TISS main gate and blocked the gate. Since then, the students have been sitting at the main gate of the campus, even sleeping there at night.

TISS students at the Hyderabad, Guwahati and Tuljapur campuses also held protests. The students are getting the support of TISS SC/ST Employee's Welfare Association, TISS Teachers' Association and TISS Alumni.

(With agency inputs)JAMMU: Hitting out at Pakistan for continued ceasefire violations along the Line of Control, the Indian Army called Pakistan extremely 'coward and unprofessional'.

"Since 19 February, Pakistan Army has been continuously carrying out ceasefire violations along the LoC in Uri sector. Displaying extreme cowardice and unprofessionalism, it has been targeting innocent villagers and causing damage to their houses through mortar shelling," Brigadier YS Ahlawat said.

Brigadier Ahlawat added that the Indian Army has given a fitting reply by retaliating to the firing. "Indian Army has retaliated accurately on the Pakistan Army post," he said.

He also stated that villagers have been evacuated to a government school in Uri. "Army has swung into action and provided immediate relief to villagers including food, medicine, drinking water and have provisioned sleeping bags in view of winter," he said.

In the past 10 months, six civilians have been killed and 13 others have been injured in heavy Pakistani shelling along the LoC in Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir during the last 10 months. Nowshera and Manjakote sectors have been the worst hit and accounted for a majority of the damage in the shelling from across the border, District Development Commissioner, Rajouri, Shahid Iqbal Choudhary said.

As many as 169 residential houses and 12 government buildings have been damaged in the shelling from May 1, 2017 to February 25, 2018, Choudhary said. He said 4,600 people migrated from the affected villages along the LoC during the past 10 months even as the local administration constructed 86 underground bunkers at various places in the twin sectors for the safety of the people.

Over 80 schools, which were near the border, were closed to ensure safety of the students, he said.

Choudhary said the administration is making all efforts to reach out to the affected populace to mitigate their problems and has set up rehabilitation and relief camps for the border migrants with adequate facilities.

(With PTI inputs)JAMMU: National Conference chief Farooq Abdullah on Sunday said that the government of India must work to end the tensions along the border in Jammu and Kashmir else more soldiers will lose their lives. "Unless they find a way out, the people on both sides will suffer and many of our soldiers will also die. I think the government of India must find a way forward," he said.

He said that Pakistan also needs to work towards building peace for the betterment of both the countries. "I'll say the same to Pakistan's PM. Time has come when this bloodshed must stop and peace must be restored," Abdullah said.

He added that he can just make suggestions but it will be the Prime Minister who needs to take the final decision. "What that way forward is, is up to the prime minister to decide. I am too small to suggest anything to him," the former chief minister said.

He said that the shelling along the Line of Control (LoC) is on from both sides. "They are shelling us and we are shelling them back. They shell us one per cent, we shell them 10 per cent as Army chief has said," he said.

A bomb does not know where it is going to fall. The shelling is resorted to frighten the people, he added.

The NC leader's comment comes against the backdrop of a series of ceasefire violations by the Pakistani forces along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir.BUDGAM: Terrorists on Sunday opened fire on a policeman in Charari Sharief in Jammu Kashmir's Budgam. He was moved to a hospital in an injured state but succumbed to his injuries.

As per unconfirmed reports, unidentified gunmen had attacked a guard station at Charari Shareef. Security forces have cordoned off the area but no one has been detained as yet.

Constable Kultar Singh of the Jammu and Kashmir Armed Police 13th Battalion was injured when terrorists attacked a security guard post outside the shrine and escaped with his weapon.

Director General of Police SP Vaid condoled the Constable's death in a tweet. "Pained at the loss of a valued colleague Kultar Singh of JKAP 13 Bn who attained martyrdom in an attack on J&K Police guard for protection of Charar-e-Sharief shrine."New Delhi: Legendary Bollywood actress Sridevi's sudden demise has shaken the entire nation, leaving her family, friends and fans in a state of grief. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, President Ram Nath Kovind, Amar Singh and several other dignitaries have extended their condolences to the family. She was 54.

Many Bollywood celebrities took to Twitter and expressed their grief. Mr Perfectionist Aamir Khan too shared a heartfelt note on the micro-blogging site. He posted:

Besides Aamir, megastar Amitabh Bachchan, Hema Malini, Preity Zinta, Anushka Sharma, Boman Irani, Jacqueline Fernandez, John Abraham, Juhi Chawla and Mahira Khan extended their condolences.

The actress died of a cardiac arrest in Dubai during midnight on February 24, 2018. The entire Kapoor family was in the UAE to celebrate the wedding ceremony of Mohit Marwah.

Sridevi along with younger daughter Khushi and producer husband Boney Kapoor too was seen at the wedding.

The legendary actress has left behind a rich filmography. She featured in several path-breaking ventures. She was last seen in 'Mom' which released in 2017 and reportedly Shah Rukh Khan's upcoming film 'Zero' will be her on-screen venture.

Sridevi, originally named Shree Amma Yanger Ayyapan featured in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Hindi and Kannada movies. Her rich filmography got her the title of first 'superstar' actress of Hindi cinema. She had a huge fan following which increased by manifolds over the years.New Delhi: Veteran actress Sridevi's untimely death has left a void which none can fill. She died in Dubai after suffering a cardiac arrest around midnight on February 24, 2018.

Not just in the country, but fans are mourning her death cross-border as well. Sridevi's last on-screen venture 'Mom' featured renowned Pakistani actors Adnan Siddiqui and Sajal Aly in lead roles.

Both Sajal and Adnan expressed their shock on social media. Sridevi played Sajal's on-screen mother while Adnan's wife in the film. Check out:

Lost my mom again... A post shared by Sajal Ali Firdous (@sajalaly) on Feb 24, 2018 at 11:51pm PST

Unfortunately, Sajal lost her own mom sometime back.

Reportedly, Sridevi was staying in Jumeirah Emirates Tower hotel. Around midnight she suffered a cardiac arrest following which she fell unconscious inside the hotel bathroom. Reports suggest, soon after that she was rushed to Rashid Hospital where she was declared dead.

Sridevi, originally named Shree Amma Yanger Ayyapan featured in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Hindi and Kannada movies. Her rich filmography got her the title of first 'superstar' actress of Hindi cinema. She had a huge fan following which increased by manifolds over the years.

Her last film 'Mom' created quite an impact amongst the critics and viewers alike. Her powerful portrayal of a doting mother who takes revenge for her daughter sent shivers down the spine.

The legendary actress married producer Boney Kapoor in 1996 and the couple is blessed with two daughters, Janhvi and Khushi.

A diva in every sense of the word, Sridevi became a huge name in a span of some years. She not only evolved as an actor but also carved an indispensable place for herself in cinema.New Delhi: Rishi Kapoor, who co-starred with Sridevi in a number of films, on Sunday got apparently miffed with the media coverage of the actress.

The 65-year-old actor today took to his Twitter to express his displeasure to the late star's remains being referred as a 'body' by many news channels. "All television channels reporting 'the body will be brought to Mumbai in the night.' Suddenly your individuality gets lost and becomes a mere body?" tweeted Rishi Kapoor angrily.

How has Sridevi all of a sudden become the body? All television channels reporting the body will be brought to Mumbai in the night! Suddenly your individuality gets lost and becomes a mere body??  Rishi Kapoor (@chintskap) February 25, 2018

Rishi and Sridevi worked together in series of films including 'Chandni', 'Nagina', 'Gurudev', 'Banjaran' and 'Kaun Sachcha Kaun Jhootha'.

Earlier today, Rishi expressed his condolence on the death of the actress as he posted series of tweets.

"Woken up to this tragic news. Absolute shock. Sad. Heartfelt condolences to Boney and their two daughters!" read Rishi's first tweet for Sridevi.

Woken up to this tragic news. Absolute shock. Sad. Heartfelt condolences to Boney and their two daughters!  Rishi Kapoor (@chintskap) February 25, 2018

Later, he posted a movie still of the actress from Chandni and wrote alongside, "Henceforth no more Moonlit nights! Chandni gone forever. Alas!"

Henceforth no more Moonlit nights! Chandni gone forever. Alas! pic.twitter.com/VUuO3dQebL  Rishi Kapoor (@chintskap) February 25, 2018

As a mark of tribute to the actress, Rishi blackened his profile picture on the micro-blogging website and changed his bio to, "Sridevi. RIP."

Sridevi, who along with her husband Boney Kapoor and daughter Khushi was in Dubai to attend the wedding of his nephew Mohit Marwah, suffered a massive cardiac arrested on the midnight of Saturday. She was immediately rushed to a nearby hospital where she was brought dead by the doctors.New Delhi: Legendary Bollywood actress breathed her last in Dubai suffering a cardiac arrest. The incident took place around midnight on February 24, 2018. She had flown to the UAE to celebrate the wedding of Mohit Marwah a few days back.

According to sources, Sridevi was staying in Jumeirah Emirates Tower hotel. Around midnight she suffered a cardiac arrest following which she fell unconscious inside the hotel bathroom. Reports suggest, soon after that she was rushed to Rashid Hospital where she was declared dead.

Confirming the news of her demise, her brother-in-law Sanjay Kapoor told The Khaleej Times that she suffered a heart attack at 11 pm yesterday night while she was in the hotel room in Dubai.

"We are completely shocked. She had no history of a heart attack," he said.

Sanjay Kapoor and other family members have reportedly flown to the UAE after learning about the shocking news. Indian Ambassador to UAE Navdeep Singh Suri to ANI, "Right now, police are engaged in forensics report. We are in touch with the family & local authorities to provide all possible assistance."

The mortal remains of Sridevi expected to be brought via a chartered flight today evening as per Mumbai Airport Sources. According to PTI, the aircraft which will bring Sridevi's body is likely to depart from Mumbai around 1 pm and will arrive in Dubai at 4 pm. It is expected to reach Mumbai around 8 pm.

Sridevi, originally named Shree Amma Yanger Ayyapan featured in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Hindi and Kannada movies. Her rich filmography got her the title of first 'superstar' actress of Hindi cinema. She had a huge fan following which increased by manifolds over the years.

Her last film 'Mom' created quite an impact amongst the critics and viewers alike. Her powerful portrayal of a doting mother who takes revenge for her daughter sent shivers down the spine.

A diva in every sense of the word, Sridevi became a huge name in a span of some years. She not only evolved as an actor but also carved an indispensable place for herself in cinema.New Delhi: Legendary Bollywood actress Sridevi breathed her last around midnight on February 24, 2018. The actress reportedly suffered a cardiac arrest in Dubai where she had flown to celebrate the wedding of Mohit Marwah three days back.

According to sources, Sridevi was staying in Jumeirah Emirates Tower hotel. Around midnight she suffered a cardiac arrest following which she fell unconscious inside the hotel bathroom. Reports suggest, soon after that she was rushed to Rashid Hospital where she was declared dead.

A report said that upon learning about the shocking demise of Sridevi, Boney's brother Sanjay Kapoor and other family members flew to the UAE.

Meanwhile, Boney's spokesperson announced that Sridevi's mortal remains will arrive in Mumbai from Dubai on Monday.

"Late Sridevi Kapoors body will arrive in India tomorrow. We'll update you with further info as and when it's available to us. Request you to kindly reach out to us on everything related to this and we urge you to please not call the family for info on the same," the spokesperson told ANI.

"Boney Kapoor, Jhanvi, Khushi and the entire Kapoor, Ayyappan and Marwah family is deeply bereaved and shocked by the untimely loss of Sridevi Kapoor. They thank the entire media for their prayers, support and sensitivity during their time of grief," he added.

Initially, the mortal remains of the actress was scheduled to be flown back by today evening. However, a report claimed that due to the delay in her autopsy report, the clearance of Sridevi's body will be made after midnight of Sunday.

Her remains will be brought to Mumbai in Anil Ambani's 13-seater private jet, a report said.

Indian Ambassador to UAE Navdeep Singh Suri to ANI, "Right now, police are engaged in forensics report. We are in touch with the family & local authorities to provide all possible assistance."

Meanwhile, the last rites of the 54-year-old actress is expected to be held on Monday afternoon.

Another report claimed that after her remains is brought back to Mumbai, it will be laid out at Versova's Vaswani Villa for the last respect. The cremation is expected to take place at Santacruz, Mumbai at around 12 noon.

Several fans of the actress today gathered outside the Sridevi's residence in Lokhandwala and in Dubai, where her body has been kept.

Meanwhile, Two police vans have been stationed and the security, too, has been beefed up outside the Mumbai residence of Sridevi-Boney Kapoor to avoid any commotion.

As per latest media reports, veteran actress Rekha, choreographer Vaibhavi Merchant, Rani Mukerji, filmmaker Karan Johar, designer Manish Malhotra and actress Neelima Azeem were spotted outside Anil Kapoor's residence.

Boney's son and actor Arjun Kapoor, who was shooting with Parineeti Chopra for 'Namastey London' in Amritsar, flew back to Mumbai. He was seen arriving at uncle Anil's residence. Anil and Sonam Kapoor, who were also in Punjab, today flew back to be with their family.

Arjun Kapoor was spotted arriving at Anil Kapoor's residence where Sridevi's Jhanvi has been staying since last night.

The legendary actress married producer Boney Kapoor in 1996 and the couple is blessed with two daughters, Janhvi and Khushi.

Sridevi, originally named Shree Amma Yanger Ayyapan featured in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Hindi and Kannada movies. Her rich filmography got her the title of first 'superstar' actress of Hindi cinema. She had a huge fan following which increased by manifolds over the years.

Her last film 'Mom' created quite an impact amongst the critics and viewers alike. Her powerful portrayal of a doting mother who takes revenge for her daughter sent shivers down the spine.

A diva in every sense of the word, Sridevi became a huge name in a span of some years. She not only evolved as an actor but also carved an indispensable place for herself in cinema.New Delhi: Legendary Bollywood actress Sridevi breathed her last around midnight on February 24, 2018. The actress reportedly suffered a cardiac arrest in Dubai where she had flown to celebrate the wedding of her nephew Mohit Marwah early this week.

Sridevi, who was staying in Jumeirah Emirates Tower hotel, suffered a massive cardiac arrest following which she fell unconscious inside the hotel bathroom. Reports suggest that the actress was rushed to Rashid Hospital where she was brought dead by a team of doctors.

A report said that upon learning about the shocking demise of Sridevi, Boney's brother Sanjay Kapoor and other family members flew to the UAE.

Meanwhile, Boney's spokesperson announced that Sridevi's mortal remains will arrive in Mumbai from Dubai on Monday.

"Late Sridevi Kapoors body will arrive in India tomorrow. We'll update you with further info as and when it's available to us. Request you to kindly reach out to us on everything related to this and we urge you to please not call the family for info on the same," the spokesperson told ANI.

"Boney Kapoor, Jhanvi, Khushi and the entire Kapoor, Ayyappan and Marwah family is deeply bereaved and shocked by the untimely loss of Sridevi Kapoor. They thank the entire media for their prayers, support and sensitivity during their time of grief," he added.

A Khaleej Times report claimed that the autopsy of Sridevi was completed by Dubai Police's forensic team by Sunday evening. However, her body could not be released to her family as there were still some documentation work to be done.

Once the paperwork is complete and the death certificate is issued by Dubai Police, the body will be embalmed and handed over to the family, added the Khallej Times report.

Initially, the mortal remains of the actress was scheduled to be flown back by today evening. However, a report claimed that due to the delay in her autopsy report, the clearance of Sridevi's body will be made after midnight of Sunday.

Her remains will be brought to Mumbai in Anil Ambani's 13-seater private jet, a report said.

Meanwhile, the last rites of the 54-year-old actress is expected to be held on Monday afternoon.

Another report claimed that after her remains is brought back to Mumbai, it will be laid out at Versova's Vaswani Villa for the last respect. The cremation is expected to take place at Santacruz, Mumbai at around 12 noon.

Several fans of the actress today gathered outside the Sridevi's residence in Lokhandwala and in Dubai, where her body has been kept.

Meanwhile, two police vans have been stationed and the security, too, has been beefed up outside the Mumbai residence of Sridevi-Boney Kapoor to avoid any commotion.

As per latest media reports, veteran actress Rekha, choreographer Vaibhavi Merchant, Rani Mukerji, filmmaker Karan Johar, designer Manish Malhotra and actress Neelima Azeem were spotted outside Anil Kapoor's residence.

Boney's son and actor Arjun Kapoor, who was shooting with Parineeti Chopra for 'Namastey London' in Amritsar, flew back to Mumbai. He was seen arriving at uncle Anil's residence. Anil and Sonam Kapoor, who were also in Punjab, today flew back to be with their family.

Arjun Kapoor was spotted arriving at Anil Kapoor's residence where Sridevi's Jhanvi has been staying since last night.

The legendary actress married producer Boney Kapoor in 1996 and the couple is blessed with two daughters, Janhvi and Khushi.

During the time of the incident, the 'Mom' actress was in Dubai to attend Mohit Marwah's wedding along with husband Boney and daughter Khushi. While Boney and Khushi flew back to Mumbai, Sridevi extended her stay in Dubai.

As per a report, Sridevi extended her stay in Dubai as she wanted to meet her sister.

Boney, who had landed in Mumbai with his daughter, flew back to Dubai to surprise Sridevi and be with her. However, little did he know that his wife would meet with such an uncertain death.New Delhi: Actress Sridevi's mortal remains will reportedly be brought back to India on Monday due to delay in formalities in Dubai where she succumbed to a massive heart attack at the Emirates Towers on Saturday night. According to UAE-based newspaper Khaleej Times due to some delay in the arrival of her autopsy reports, her body is most likely to be flown back to India on Monday and not Sunday night as had been reported earlier.

Khaleej Times also quoted an official as saying, Since she is such a high-profile personality, we cannot rush the inquisition or the post-mortem procedures.Dr Khaled Alburaiki is performing the autopsy and the procedure is being done at the General Department of Forensic Science and Criminology. The embalming treatment will be done at Muhaisana once the procedure is complete."

Sridevi's body will be kept at Bhagya Bungalow off JP Road next to Puspanjalli Society near Seven Bungalow Bus depot, Versova, Andheri (west), Mumbai from 7 am to 10 am for her fans to pay the last respects, according to sources. She is most likely to be cremated at the Pawan Hans crematorium, Ville Parle.

The Chautha ceremony of the actress will reportedly be held on Tuesday, February 27 in Mumbai's TBC.

The 'Mom' actress was in Dubai to attend her relative Mohit Marwah's wedding along with husband Boney Kapoor and daughter Khushi Kapoor. While Boney and Khushi flew back to Mumbai, Sridevi extended her stay in Dubai. It was reported that Boney went back to surprise her but Sridevi has a heart attack late on Saturday night and was declared dead by the doctors in Dubai.

New Delhi: Superstar Sridevi left us all teary-eyed for her heavenly abode. The actress breathed her last around midnight in Dubai where she had flown to attend Mohit Marwah's wedding a few days back. She died suffering a cardiac arrest on February 24, 2018.

The legendary actress's death shook the entire nation and gripped fans in grief. Several Bollywood celebrities expressed their shock over the tragic news. In fact, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, President Ram Nath Kovind and other dignitaries have extended their condolences as well.

Veteran actor and Sridevi's co-star from 'Chandi', 'Naagin' and many other films Rishi Kapoor tweeted about the tragic news. He even removed his DP from the micro-blogging site.

Woken up to this tragic news. Absolute shock. Sad. Heartfelt condolences to Boney and their two daughters!  Rishi Kapoor (@chintskap) February 25, 2018

Ranveer Singh too posted about the unfortunate news.

Shocked and saddened to hear about the untimely demise of one of Hindi cinemas greatest superstars. I grew up on her movies. She will always be one of my favourite actors of all time. May her soul rest in peace. My deepest condolences to her family. RIP #Sridevi  Ranveer Singh (@RanveerOfficial) February 25, 2018

Deepika changed her Instagram post to an all-black image as a sign of mourning.

A post shared by Deepika Padukone (@deepikapadukone) on Feb 24, 2018 at 7:51pm PST

Reportedly, Sridevi was staying in Jumeirah Emirates Tower hotel. Around midnight she suffered a cardiac arrest following which she fell unconscious inside the hotel bathroom. Reports suggest, soon after that she was rushed to Rashid Hospital where she was declared dead.

Sanjay Kapoor and other family members have reportedly flown to the UAE after learning about the shocking news.

Her last film 'Mom' created quite an impact amongst the critics and viewers alike. Her powerful portrayal of a doting mother who takes revenge for her daughter sent shivers down the spine.

The legendary actress married producer Boney Kapoor in 1996 and the couple is blessed with two daughters, Janhvi and Khushi.New Delhi: The sudden demise of Sridevi has left the entire country and Indian film industry in shock and denial.

The news shocked Bollywood as it mourned the death of the 'English Vinglish' actor. Filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma took to his Twitter to post a series of tweets on the actress upon hearing of her demise.

He posted, "I so hope I am still having a bad dream, but I know I am not. I hate Sridevi. I hate her for making me realise that she too is finally only just a human being. I hate that her heart too has to beat to live."

The best song I ever shot in my career is this https://t.co/G6XRL4vah9 she brought life to each and every nuance of @mmkeeravaani s song ..The entire choreography is just in her facial expressions pic.twitter.com/S19GfZSbsZ  Ram Gopal Varma (@RGVzoomin) February 25, 2018

This will be my last and final tweet on Sridevi and from now on I will just imagine shes still alive and well. Sridevi garu,even after I made u laugh so much why are u now making me cry so much ..I wont ever talk to u from now on..Katti Forever pic.twitter.com/YR05uimuZm  Ram Gopal Varma (@RGVzoomin) February 25, 2018

The filmmaker earlier thought it was a nightmare or a hoax. "I thought that either it's a nightmare or a hoax and I went back to sleep. An hour later I woke up to check and there were around 50 messages informing me of the same," he added.

Here is Ram Gopal Varma's letter.

Sridevi, who was in Dubai for a family function, reportedly suffered a cardiac arrest on Saturday night. She was 54.CHANDIGARH: The State Election Commission on Sunday ordered re-polling in two booths for the Ludhiana Municipal Corporation elections that took place on Saturday.

Re-polling has been ordered in booth 2 and 3 of Ward number 44 due to the difference between the number of votes in the register and the voting machine.

The polling for the Ludhiana by-elections, which witnessed clashes between contesting party workers while campaigning, witnessed 59.08 per cent turnout after the voting concluded.

While the female turnout was 57.66 per cent, the male turnout was 59.70 percent and the third gender turnout was recorded at 4.17 per cent.

A total of 494 candidates are in fray and there are 10.50 lakh voters. Of the 95 wards going to polls, 56 have been reserved and 39 are in the general category. 40 are reserved for women, seven for SCs, another seven for SC women and two for Other Backward Class (OBC). The results will be declared on February 27.

Ludhiana is witnessing a triangular contest for the first time with Lok Insaaf Party-AAP alliance, SAD-BJP alliance and Congress in competition. MLA Simarjit Bains Lok Insaaf Party (LIP) will contest for the first time as an Independent front in alliance with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).

The Congress, which runs the government in Punjab since March 2017, had won the municipal elections in the municipal corporations of Amritsar, Jalandhar and Patiala in December.

The Congress party had also emerged victorious in 20 out of 29 Municipal Councils and Nagar Panchayats.JAIPUR: Gandhinagar Railway Station is emerging as the state's first railway station to be operated by women staff. "This is a new experience for us, we will make most of it and prove our efficiency," said members of the staff.

Rajasthan: Gandhinagar Railway Station emerging as the state's first railway station to be operated by women staff; members of the staff say 'this is a new experience for us, we will make most of it & prove our efficiency'. pic.twitter.com/zBjCjojSyt  ANI (@ANI) February 25, 2018

As many as 40 women have been tasked with the responsibility of operating and managing the railway station. The Gandhinagar railway station is situated on the Jaipur-Delhi rail route. Over 50 trains pass through this station on a regular basis. The station has a daily footfall of more than 7,000 passengers.

"This is a good step for Rajasthan. It would have been even better had this been started earlier. We are working in shifts. Booking and ticket cancellation continue even at night and being handled by women," said Santosh Saini, a railway staff member.

This is a good step for Rajasthan. It would have been even better had this been started earlier. We are working in shifts. Booking & ticket cancellation continue even at night & being handled by women: Santosh Saini pic.twitter.com/ZRzFBolN7r  ANI (@ANI) February 25, 2018

Union Railway Minister Piyush Goyal took to Twitter and said, "Gandhi Nagar Railway Station in Jaipur, Rajasthan becomes India's first non-suburban station fully operated 24x7 by women staff, which includes station operations and Railway Protection Force. Railways is leading by an example to empower women and bring positive change in the society."

Gandhi Nagar Railway Station in Jaipur, Rajasthan becomes India's first non-suburban station fully operated 24x7 by women staff, which includes station operations & Railway Protection Force. Railways is leading by an example to empower women & bring positive change in the society pic.twitter.com/8eKUegsMoP  Piyush Goyal (@PiyushGoyal) February 21, 2018

In a tweet, the Ministry of Railways informed that the station staffs Government Railway Police (GRP) and women traffic police officials.

CCTV cameras have been installed and sanitary napkin vending machines have been set up for the convenience of the women at the all-women railway station.New Delhi: Noted Bollywood actress Sridevi suffered a cardiac arrest and breathed her last in Dubai. The incident reportedly took place around midnight on February 24, 2018.

The actress's untimely demise has shook the entire nation and condolences have poured from across the country. From Prime Minister Narendra Modi to President Ram Nath Kovindpoliticians and Bollywood celebrittiesall have expressed their grief over the shocking news.

Sridevi married producer Boney Kapoor in 1996 and the couple is blessed with two daughters, Janhvi and Khushi. The actress had a few days back flown to the UAE to attend the wedding of Mohit Marwah. Check out her pic gallery:

The legendary actress often shared pictures with her daughters on social media and fans loved it. Her elder daughter Janhvi is about to debut in Bollywood with Karan Johar's production 'Dhadak' where she will be seen opposite Shahid Kapoor's brother Ishaan Khatter.

A diva in every sense of the word, Sridevi became a huge name in a span of some years. She not only evolved as an actor but also carved an indispensable place for herself in cinema.WPLG-TV(PARKLAND, Fla.) -- Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel has slammed Florida state legislator Bill Hager for "disingenuous political grandstanding," after he demanded that Israel resign over his "neglect of duty and incompetence" over the handling of the shooting massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.



Hager wrote a letter Saturday to Gov. Rick Scott, in which he outlined why Israel should be removed from his post, citing examples of the alleged incompetence.



Supporters of Hager took to the streets of Coral Springs, which is near the high school, carrying signs that read, "Resign Sheriff Israel" and "Democrat Says Resign."



But Israel responded quickly, writing his own letter to Scott, in which he slammed Hager's "reckless" letter, writing that it "was riddled with factual errors, unsupported gossip and falsehoods."



According to Hager, Scott has the power to remove Israel through a Florida statute.



Seventeen students and staff members were fatally shot by suspect Nickolas Cruz at the Parkland school on Feb. 14.



"Each day, new details emerge about potential interagency breakdowns and miscommunications," Hager wrote to Scott. "We must utilize all of our resources to ensure that a horrific act such as this never happens again."



Israel in his letter attempted to debunk Hager's allegations. He took issue, for example, with Hager's "false statement" that the school resource officer and three Broward sheriff deputies were "on campus at the time of the attack and chose to take cover themselves rather than stepping up to protect students."



Israel's response? "This statement is patently false," Israel wrote to Scott. "Only one law enforcement officer was ever on the campus -- at any time -- during the attack." Israel did say on Friday, though, that his department is investigating such reported claims.



Israel also took issue with Hager's claim that "this will not be the first time a review of the Broward Sheriffs Office will be done," citing the shooting at the Fort Lauderdale Airport last year.



"It is patently obvious that Mr. Hager has zero comprehension of law enforcement," Israel wrote to Scott. "After any major critical incident, all law enforcement agencies prepare self-assessments."



Speaking in general terms, Israel wrote to Scott, "And I am equally appalled that Rep. Hager felt a need to engage in disingenuous political grandstanding, perhaps in the hope he will garner some headlines, at the expense of the truth."



Israel added, "I would urge Rep. Hager to publicly apologize for helping to spreading this false gossip and misinformation."



Copyright  2018, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.As the founders of the Crocodile Prize, Keith Jackson and I are as pleased as Punch to see it surviving and prospering," said Phil Fitzpatrick.

This was witnessed by various dignitaries including Dr Anna Joskin from the University of PNG literature department and United States Ambassador to PNG, Catherine Erbet-Gray.

I have volunteered these past two years as a member of the Crocodile Prize Organizing Committee and yesterday I hosted the Crocodile Prize literary awards ceremony.

PORT MORESBY - The Crocodile Prize is Papua New Guinea's highest literary award. For the past two years it has been predominantly PNG-run and funded after being handed over by its Australian founders.

"While it was a great initiative back in 2011, we always knew that one day it would be handed over to Papua New Guinea to run.

"We must admit we had some doubts about its survival and some of the early ructions amongst the organising committee didnt inspire us with confidence," he said.

"However, under the guiding hand of chairman, Emmanuel Peni, assisted by a dedicated team of volunteers and the faith of its many sponsors the prize has emerged on a solid footing.

"We would like to congratulate all those involved and wish them and the prize much good fortune for the future. It is always great to see a good news story come out of PNG and this is one of the better ones." Phi said.

The winners of the 2017 Crocodile Prize for Literature are:

Peter Jokisie - Children's Writing

Evah Kuamin Banige - Essays and Journalism

Jordan Dean - Donald Cleland Heritage Writing

Annie Dori  Poetry

Kirsten Aria - Women's Writing

Louisah Enos - Halmeier Family Facebook Competition

And many thanks to our sponsors

Port Moresby Arts Theatre (Best Short Play)

PNG Chamber of Mines and Petroleum (Essays and Journalism)

Haltmeier Family (Facebook and NBC Radio Competition)

Cleland Family (Heritage Writing)

Kina Securities (Poetry)

Kumul Petroleum Holdings Limited (Short Stories)

Mineral Resources Development Corporation (Women in Writing)

Library for All - Australia (Writing for Children)

Bank South Pacific (Promotions and Publicity)

Bmobile Vodafone (Ticket for the Winner of Short Story Category)

People wanting to volunteer their services to the Crocodile Prize committee or to sponsor the prize in 2018 can email the Crocodile Prize committee here.New Delhi: As scientists attempt to search for life on planets that reside beyond our solar system, Jupiter's icy moon Europa has caught the eye of researchers, who say that it may host life.

According to scientists, Europa may harbour life in an ocean of liquid water hidden under its 10 kilometer- deep crust.

Researchers from the University of Sao Paulo (USP) in Brazil conducted a theoretical research to evaluate microbial habitability of Europa using data collected from similar environments on the Earth.

"We studied the possible effects of a biologically usable energy source on Europa based on information obtained from an analogous environment on Earth," said Douglas Galante, a researcher at Brazil's National Synchrotron Light Laboratory (LNLS).

In the Mponeng gold mine near Johannesburg, South Africa, at a depth of 2.8 km, researchers not only found traces of major changes linked to history of life on Earth, but also a terrestrial context similar to Europa.

It was recently discovered that the bacterium Candidatus Desulforudis audaxviator survives inside the mine without sunlight by means of water radiolysis, the dissociation of water molecules by ionising radiation.

"This very deep subterranean mine has water leaking through cracks that contain radioactive uranium. The uranium breaks down the water molecules to produce free radicals," Galante said.

The free radicals attack the surrounding rocks producing sulphate. The bacteria use the sulphate to synthesise and store energy. This is the first time ecosystem has been found to survive directly on the basis of nuclear energy, Galante said.

According to the researchers, the environment colonised by bacteria in the Mponeng mine is an excellent analogue of the environment assumed to exist at the bottom of Europa's ocean.

Although the temperature in Europa's surface is next to absolute zero, there is an enormous amount of thermal energy in its core.

Jupiter's powerful gravitational attraction causes the Europa's orbit to be extremely elliptical, meaning the latter finds itself either to close or too far from the gas giant.

This makes the icy moon suffer geometrical deformation as it moves at the mercy of Jupiter's immense tidal force.

The energy released by the alternating states of elongation and relaxation makes Europa's subsurface capable of hosting an ocean of liquid water.

"However, it's not enough for there to be heated liquid water," said Galante.

The basis for all biological activity known to Earth are the differences in concentrations of molecules, ions or electrons in distinct regions which produce a flow in a certain direction, allowing the occurrence of cellular respiration, photosynthesis, energy storage and other processes common to living beings.

Researchers evaluated how chemical imbalance in Europa could be initiated through the emanation of water leading to chain reactions between water and chemical elements found in Europa's crust.

However, a total lack of empirical data prevents scientists from unequivocally presuming any of these events.

"That's why we looked for a more universal physical effect that was highly likely to occur. That effect was precisely the action of radioactivity," Galante said.

Celestial bodies in the solar system with rocky cores share the same radioactive materials, ejected in space by the Supernova explosion that originated the Sun and the planets.

Uranium, thorium and potassium are the radioactive elements considered by the research, which estimated the concentrations for these materials in Europa, based on the quantities already observed and measured on Earth, in meteorites and in Mars.

"From these amounts, we were able to estimate the energy released, how this energy interacts with the surrounding water, and the efficiency of the water radiolysis resulting from this interaction in generating free radicals," Galante said.

According to the study published in the journal Scientific Reports, pyrite is a crucial ingredient whose presence is indispensable for life in Europa.

"Traces of pyrite should be looked for as part of any assessment of the habitability of a celestial body," said Galante.

Chances for finding pyrite in a hypothetical mission to Europa are good, since sulphur (S) and iron (Fe) are elements found in abundance across the solar system.

"The ocean bed on Europa appears to offer very similar conditions to those that existed on primitive Earth during its first billion years. So studying Europa today is to some extent like looking back at our own planet in the past," Galante said.

Europa last made headlines in 2016, after NASA's Hubble Space Telescope imaged what looked like water vapor plumes erupting off the icy moon's surface.

(With PTI inputs)LAHORE: An anti-terrorism court in Pakistan has acquitted 12 people of child abuse charge over the lack of evidence in one of the 29 cases registered in Kasur in 2015.

The prosecution had produced 16 witnesses against the accused during the course of the proceedings but ATC-IV Judge Chaudhry Muhammad Ilyas did not find them convincing.

The acquitted people were charged with committing sodomy with a teenage boy and also filming the act, however, the prosecution failed to establish its case, reported the Dawn.

The infamous child pornography incident in Kasur was first reported in 2015 wherein at least 280 boys under the age of 14 were raped and filmed.

The videos were then sent to the parents and families of the victims to extort them.Kasur has been in the limelight for recurring cases of child abuse in the area.

According to the Express Tribune, a total of 141 cases were reported in 2016 from Kasur.

Earlier this month, an ATC had awarded death sentence to the rapist and murderer of seven-old-girl Zainab in a high profile case that had sparked anger across the country.BEIJING: China's ruling Communist Party on Sunday set the stage for President Xi Jinping to stay in office indefinitely, with a proposal to remove a constitutional clause limiting presidential service to just two terms in office.

Since taking office more than five years ago, Xi has overseen a radical shake-up of the party, including taking down top leaders once thought untouchable as part of his popular war on deep-rooted corruption.

Sunday`s announcement, carried by state news agency Xinhua, gave few details. It said the proposal had been made by the party`s Central Committee, the largest of its elite ruling bodies. The proposal also covers the vice president position.

Xi, 64, is currently required by China`s constitution to step down as president after two five-year terms.

Nearing the end of his first term, he will be formally elected to a second at the annual meeting of China`s largely rubber-stamp parliament opening on March 5.

There is no limit on his tenure as the party and military chief, though a maximum 10-year term is a norm. He began his second term as head of the party and military in October at the end of a party congress held once every five years.

Zhang Lifan, a historian and political commentator, said the news was not unexpected, and it was hard to predict exactly how long Xi could stay on in power.

"In theory, he could serve longer than Mugabe but in reality, no one is sure exactly what will happen," Zhang said, referring to Zimbabwe`s former president whose four decades in office ended in November after the army and his former political allies moved to force him out.

Though positive remarks filled the comments section under the pages of main state media outlets like the People`s Daily, the move was not welcomed by everyone on China`s Twitter-like Weibo service,

"If two terms are not enough, then they can write in a third term, but there needs to be a limit. Getting rid of it is not good!," wrote one Weibo user.

EMPEROR XI

Constitutional reform needs to be approved by parliament, which is stacked with members chosen for their loyalty to the party - meaning the reform will not be blocked.

There has been persistent speculation that Xi wants to stay on in office past the customary two five-year terms.

The October party congress ended without appointing a clear eventual successor for Xi.

However, the role of party chief is more senior than that of president. At some point, Xi could be given a party position that also enables him to stay on as long as he likes.

Xi is currently the party`s general secretary, but not chairman. China`s first three leaders after the founding of the People`s Republic in 1949 all carried the title party chairman -Mao Zedong, Hua Guofeng and then Hu Yaobang. It has not been used since.

"Whether Xi ends up being Party Chairman or just remains Party Secretary doesn`t really matter. What matters is whether he holds onto power," said Zhang Ming, a professor of political science at the Renmin University of China in Beijing.

"Titles don`t matter as much in China as they do in the West. Here what matters is whether you are the emperor," he added. "In China, ordinary people already consider Xi Jinping to be the emperor."

EYES ON VICE PRESIDENT

Mao, the founder of Communist China and still held in god-like awe by many Chinese, died while still Communist Party chairman in 1976, having never retired.

State media has also increasingly been using the term "lingxiu" to refer to Xi, which means "leader". Distinct from the standard usage of "lingdao" for leader, "lingxiu" evokes grander, almost spiritual, connotations.

Mao, for example, was referred to as "lingxiu", but Xi`s two immediate predecessors, Hu Jintao and Jiang Zemin, were not.

In a Sunday commentary on its WeChat account, state television said: "The people love the people`s `lingxiu`!", above a picture of Xi being greeted by an adoring crowd in Sichuan province earlier this month.

The move to lift the presidential term limits is not unexpected. The party has been laying the groundwork for Xi not to have to go.

One of Xi`s closest political allies, former top graft-buster Wang Qishan, stepped down from the party`s Standing Committee - the seven-man body that runs China - in October.

Aged 69, Wang had reached the age at which top officials tend to retire.

But he has been chosen as a parliament delegate this year and is likely to become vice president, sources with ties to the leadership and diplomats say.

The move is significant because if Wang does not retire, that would set a precedent for Xi to stay on in power too after he reaches what is normally considered retirement age.

The Central Committee also proposed other changes to the country`s constitution, including inserting "Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era" into the constitution, referring to Xi`s rather wordy guiding political thought that is already in the party constitution.

The constitution will further ensure that party control over the country is not in any doubt, too, strengthening existing clauses about the leading role of the Communist Party in China.

"The leadership of the Communist Party of China is the defining feature of socialism with Chinese characteristics," Xinhua cited one of the proposed new clauses as saying.WASHINGTON: Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto has called off an official trip to the US to meet his American counterpart Donald Trump after a tense phone call brought the two leaders to a policy-driven standstill, a White House official has confirmed.

Pena Nieto was tentatively planning the trip for March but the visit has been put on hold following the phone call which took place on February 20, the official told CNN on Saturday.

According to The Washington Post, which first reported the cancellation, officials from both countries told the daily that Pena Nieto "called off the plan after Trump would not agree to publicly affirm Mexico`s position that it would not fund construction of a border wall".

The White House official told CNN that any meeting would be awkward and counterproductive given Trump`s vow that Mexico would pay for the wall.

The official said the call was "less hostile" than the one that occurred between the two leaders a year ago, but "no more productive" than that call either.

A Mexican official told The Washington Post that Trump "lost his temper".

US officials described the President as being "frustrated and exasperated, saying Trump believed it was unreasonable for Pena Nieto to expect him to back off his crowd-pleasing campaign promise of forcing Mexico to pay for the wall".

According to The Washington Post report, the two leaders "devoted a considerable portion" of this year`s call to discuss the wall.

According to the daily, officials from both countries confirmed that Pena Nieto`s "desire to avoid public embarrassment and Trump`s unwillingness to provide that assurance, proved to be the dealbreaker".NEW YORK: Berkshire Hathaway, the holding company of US billionaire investor Warren Buffett, received a stunning $29 billion check last year from the US government, thanks to a new tax law that massively lowered corporate tax rates.

In his much-anticipated annual letter to shareholders, Buffett explained that the company's net gain of $65.3 billion in 2017 was only partly due to his employees' efforts.

"A large portion of our gain did NOT come from anything we accomplished at Berkshire," he wrote. "Only $36 billion came from Berkshire's operations. The remaining $29 billion was delivered to us in December when Congress rewrote the US Tax Code."

The new law lowered the tax rate paid by US companies from 35 percent to 21 percent, allowing many to undertake major new outlays and others to book significant fiscal gains.

Berkshire Hathaway owns shares in more than a dozen large corporations in diverse sectors of the US economy, including American Express, Apple, Bank of America, Charter Communications, Coca-Cola, Delta Air Lines, General Motors, Goldman Sachs, Moody's, Wells Fargo and Southwest Airlines.

Its net earnings rose from $24.07 billion in 2016 to $44.94 billion as of December 31.

The company also saw its war chest swell: it had $116 billion in cash and US Treasury bills as of the end of 2017, a financial manna that Buffett wants to use to make significant new acquisitions.

COMMENTS

Buffett said he believes that "despite our recent drought of acquisitions," the company "will have opportunities to make very large purchases" going forward.

But he said the prices asked for businesses last year "hit an all-time high," and Berkshire will be looking for those available at "a sensible purchase price."Open source

On Sunday, February 25, militants conducted five attacks on positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. As a result of the shellings, a Ukrainian military man was killed, another one was wounded. This is reported by the press center of the Donbas conflict headquarters in Facebook.



In the Luhansk direction, the militants used 82-mm mortars near Zaitseve. Using grenade launchers and small arms, the enemy fired Ukrainian support points in Krymske and Novoluhanske areas.



In the Donetsk direction, the occupants using 82-mm mortars and small arms fired near Vodiane, and from small arms - in the area of the Butivka mine.



"In general, from the beginning of the day, 5 shellings of Ukrainian forces from the side of militants were reported. As a result of enemy fire, unfortunately, a Ukrainian soldier was killed, another defender was injured. We express condolences to the relatives and friends of the serviceman who gave his life for Ukraine," reads the message.

Related: U.S. State Department demands from Russia and Assad immediately cease fire in SyriaSince Belarus and Russia de-facto have a united military formation, there cant be peacekeepers from Belarus in Ukraine, former President of Belarus said

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko rejected the idea of deploying peacekeepers from Belarus in Donbas, as former Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the Republic of Belarus Stanislau Shushkevich said, according to Belarusky Partizan.

According to Shuskevich, he and the Ukrainian President think Belarus is an aggressors ally. And after this, Poroshenko said, and I had said befire, that there cant be peacekeepers from the country which is an ally of the aggressor. Belarus, through the Collective Security Treaty Organization and an agreement on the so-called United state, de-facto has a united military formation with Russia, so there cant be any peacekeepers from Belarus. An aggressor country cant send peacekeepers to Ukraine, Shushkevich said.

When asked if President Poroshenko supported this viewpoint, Shushkevich said there was no need to phrase support of all that he had said, because everyone involved in the discussion agreed with this.112 Agency

The President of Estonia, Kersti Kaljulaid, in a solemn speech on the occasion of the country's independence day, spoke ambiguously about relations with Russia. This is reported on the official website of the head of state.



As she said, Estonian relations with Russia are difficult, but nevertheless "neighborly".



"We have different neighbors, there are democratic, and there are not so democratic. Companions in the fate from the past century and those with whom we are now marching in step. We also have one difficult neighbor, but the neighbor is a neighbor. It does not remain without attention even when, for several decades it has been disappointed us," Kaljulaid said.

Related: Ukrainian army to receive newest tanks and anti-tank complexes this yearOpen source

The regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad and its allies must immediately implement the UN Security Council resolution on a cease-fire. This was stated by State Department spokesman Heather Nauert.



"The US wants to see the immediate implementation of the resolution on a ceasefire in Syria, the Assad regime and its allies must stop the attack on East Guta, allow the delivery of food and medicine to innocent civilians who are in desperate need of it," says Nauert on Twitter.



We recall that in February in Syria, the number of deaths as a result of air strikes on East Guta in four days reached almost 200. On February 6, the aircraft of Syrian President Bashar Assad hit the eastern part of the Guta region, near Damascus, which led to destruction and casualties among civilians.



Earlier, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein stated that at least 85 civilians were killed in the first 10 days of 2018 in the suburb of Damascus - East Guta, which was blocked by the forces of the Assad regime.

Related: President of Estonia called Russia "a difficult neighbor"Open source

A ship from Novorossiysk was detained in the Tunisian port of Sfax. On its board military equipment was found. According to the Maritime Bulletin, the vessel Ural under the flag of Panama was heading for Cameroon and stopped in Tunisia for repairs. The ship's operator is a Turkish company.



During the inspection, Tunisia Customs found 24 containers with infantry fighting vehicles, bulldozers, military uniforms and satellite communications equipment on the ship. Now the crew is being checked for involvement in terrorism.



It is noted that suspicions were also caused by an atypical route of the ship: it crossed the Ionian Sea, which is not required on the way to Cameroon, and then went to the shores of Libya and headed to Sfax.

Related: Winter Olympics 2018: closing ceremony online broadcastWarming centres were opened in the city for those who suffered from the heating shutdown

Open source

Heating of all buildings of Kharkiv that were left without heating because of an accident at the heating main is planned to be restored by the end of this day, the press service of the State Emergency Service informs.

The approximate time for restoring the heat supply is 18:00 on Feb. 25, the emergency service said.

It was also noted that as of this morning, 144 buildings remain without heat - 129 housing developments, 7 kindergartens, and 3 schools, the report said.

Special equipment was brought in for heating the kindergarten, while a few warming centres were opened for the dwellers of apartment houses.

As we reported earlier, 666 buildings in two districts of Kharkiv were left without heating on the night of Feb. 24-25 due to multiple breaks in the heating system.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!)YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 24, ARMENPRESS. Statements by Azerbaijans president calling for a return to historical lands in Armenia have landed Baku in hot diplomatic water, with Russia and France pointedly calling out Baku for the provocative comments, writes Bradley Jardine for Eurasianet information platform in an article titled Azerbaijani Presidents Claims on Armenia Spark International Backlash.

Jardine mentions how Ilham Aliyev referred to the Armenian capital Yerevan as part of Azerbaijans historic land during a speech at his ruling partys congress.

[To return Azerbaijanis there] is our political and strategic goal, and we need to work step-by-step to get closer to it, Jardine quoted Aliyev as saying.

The article then mentions that Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan was quick to respond:

Until Azerbaijanis reject their maximalist, unrealistic expectations about the negotiations, but instead rave about seizing Yerevan or Zangezur, we will not harbor much hope that the issue will be resolved, he said at a press conference on February 12.

The international community also waded in.

Reports about Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyevs speech at a congress of the ruling party have certainly been seen in Moscow, the Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, said. We are well aware that Azerbaijans relations with neighboring Armenia are extremely tense. The comment in question will clearly not help to reduce the tensions, Bradley Jardine writes.

The article mentions that afterwards the French foreign ministry warned Azerbaijan to refrain from such statements which will harm the NK conflict peaceful settlement process.

Jardine notes that Armenia however found the international communitys response to be not enough.

Armenian MFA spokesman Tigran Balayan said the international response was insufficent and may jeopardize regional security.

Absence of an adequate reaction by the international community toward President Ilham Aliyevs territorial claims on Armenia have encouraged [Azerbaijani Defense Minister Zakir] Hasanov to reiterate the threat to use force, he said.

The statement refers to a February 19 meeting with Tovio Klaar, EU Representative for the South Caucasus, in which the Azeri defense minister warned that a war may break out at any moment.

Aliyev has made similar public statements in the past. Commentators link the recent surge in hostile rhetoric to Aliyevs electoral campaign. The president will be seeking a fourth term in office in a snap presidential election slated for April 11, Jardine writes.

The author also draws attention to the fact that the Azeri presidential election will be held two days after Armenian President Serzh Sargsyans term in office ends.

The Armenian leader is widely expected to become prime minister immediately after the country adopts a new parliamentary system in April.

Both leaders have pledged to intensify the Karabakh peace process.

English translator/editor: Stepan Kocharyan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.Governor Cooper Announces New Manufacturing Jobs in Cherokee and Stanly Counties

Press Release:



TEAM Industries Andrews will add 20 automotive and aerospace jobs and invest $3M in Andrew Quality Enclosures will open glass tempering and distribution center in Albemarle

RALEIGH: Two rural North Carolina counties will see a total of 85 new jobs and $6.3 million in private investment from economic development projects with manufacturing companies in Cherokee and Stanly counties, Governor Roy Cooper announced today.



"Manufacturers know North Carolina is the place to grow thanks to our strong workforce, favorable business climate, and exceptional worker training," Gov. Cooper said. "These new manufacturing positions will bring valuable job opportunities to help these rural communities thrive."



In Cherokee County, TEAM Industries Andrews, Inc., an engineering-driven design and manufacturing company, will add 20 jobs and invest $3 million at its facility in Andrews. With the help of this grant, the company will renovate the facility it has occupied for the past 13 years.



TEAM Industries specializes in machining technically-difficult precision gears and components for various automotive, recreational, aerospace and agricultural industries. TEAM Industries has been in Andrews since 2005. Customers include Harley Davidson, Polaris Industries, Curtiss-Wright and Bombardier Recreational Products. This renovation will include upgrades to air conditioning that will allow TEAM Industries to better control critical processes and products.



In Stanly County, Quality Enclosures, Inc., a manufacturer of shower enclosures and tempered glass, will create 65 full-time jobs over four years at a new facility. The company will invest nearly $3.3 million to upfit a vacant building in Albemarle and open a high-tech tempering operation, shower door distribution center and national training center. The distribution center will service South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland and Delaware. The training center will host hands-on training for employees and customers from across the United States.



Performance-based grants from the One North Carolina Fund (OneNC) will help support these projects, with $50,000 going to the Cherokee County project and $150,000 going to the Stanly County project. OneNC provides financial assistance to local governments to help attract economic investment and to create jobs. Companies receive no money upfront and must meet job creation and capital investment targets to qualify for payment. All OneNC grants require a matching grant from local government and is contingent upon that condition being met.



For more details on these job announcements, visit the NC Commerce website.

News / National

by Staff reporter

TWO people died on the spot while two others were injured when a vehicle they were travelling in overturned near Cross Dete along the Bulawayo-Victoria Falls road at around 2AM yesterday.Police confirmed the accident that occurred at the 279km peg along the Bulawayo-Victoria Falls road."I can confirm that we received a report about an accident that killed two people on the spot and injured two others. On approaching the 279km peg along the Bulawayo-Victoria Falls road, the driver of the vehicle lost control and it veered off the road, first to the left and then to the right before it overturned," said police spokesperson for Matabeleland North province Inspector Siphiwe Makonese.She said investigations were underway to establish the cause of the accident.Police have identified the deceased passengers as Marvellous Mpofu (25) and Lizwelabuya Mbambo (37) both from Chief Tshugulu's area in Nkayi district.The duo's next of kin were notified, Insp Makonese said.Another passenger Mr Thabisani Mloyi (25) from Nkayi and a driver Mr Future Chakanyuka (28), of Number 14 Hating Road, Northville in Bulawayo, were injured. Both were rushed to St Patrick's Hospital in Hwange where they are admitted.News / National

by Staff reporter

THE Minister of Agriculture and Rural Resettlement Retired Chief Air Marshal Perrance Shiri has been taken to court by a company operating Halfway House Hotel in Hwange for turning down its application to lease the property.Tetra Heights, through its lawyers Mutuso, Taruvinga and Mhiribidi Attorneys, filed a chamber application at the Bulawayo High Court citing Rtd Chief Air Marshal Shiri as the respondent.The company is seeking an order directing the Minister to suspend the notice ordering it to vacate Halfway House Hotel.Tetra Heights also wants Minister Shiri to be compelled to provide written reasons for rejecting its application to lease Halfway Hotel.In her founding affidavit, Ms Primrose Muvango, a representative of Tetra Heights, said her company has been in occupation of the premises since August 2016 with the blessing of former Lands Minister Douglas Mombeshora."The possession of Halfway House Hotel was through a ministerial directive since August 2016 following the eviction of former owner, Mr Rob Sterling, as part of the land reform programme."The applicant was advised that they should possess the property until such a time that the Government of Zimbabwe would have nominated a new tenant to occupy the premises," said Ms Muvango.When Mr Sterling was removed from the farm, his employees continued running the hotel until the Government brought Tetra Heights.The Government flighted a tender in December last year inviting interested persons to apply to the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture and Rural Resettlement for a lease agreement. Tetra Heights, which was one of the applicants, was not successful.Tetra Heights was on January 4 this year given a notice to vacate the premises."Having received the notice that the application to lease the premises was not successful, the applicant on January 12, 2018 requested reasons for the administrative decision made by the respondent in terms of section 4 of the Administrative Act."To date respondent has failed to provide written reasons why the application to let the premises was refused," said Ms Muvango."The applicant believes that the respondent is dragging its feet in releasing the reasons so much that Tetra Heights does not exercise its right of appeal or review before the expiry of the eviction notice."Tetra Heights has since last year been locked in a legal wrangle with former workers, who have invaded Halfway House Hotel wanting to control the property.Tetra Heights was allocated the farm by Dr Mombeshora, but has faced resistance from six former workers, who have seized part of the farm, including a hotel, kiosk, service station and a workers' compound.News / National

by Staff reporter

BULAWAYO has the highest number of users of social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter, a survey has revealed.According to the Zimbabwe All Media Products Survey (ZAMPS) conducted by The Zimbabwe Advertising Research Foundation (ZARF) for the second half of 2017, the province also has the highest number of people who use ATM cards.Bulawayo recorded a 69 percent usage of Facebook while eight percent use of Twitter, followed by Midlands which recorded 60 percent Facebook usage and four percent Twitter usage.Matabeleland North province recorded 49 percent for Facebook and two percent for Twitter while Harare and Mashonaland West recorded 46 percent Facebook usage, 18 percent and 10 percent Twitter usage respectively.The rest of the provinces recorded 39 percent and below for the use of Facebook and 12 percent and below for Twitter usage.In terms of age groups, people aged 26 to 35 top the use of Facebook at 60 percent while 54 percent of the people who use the social media platform are aged between aged 21 to 25, followed by those aged 15 to 20 years who recorded 51 percent.The least users of Facebook are people aged 55 and above who recorded 12 percent usage.The report indicated that most people use Facebook, which is the most popular among all age groups, for personal communication.In terms of ATM card usage, Bulawayo is the highest in the country with 35 percent, followed by Harare with 31 percent, Midlands 29 percent and Masvingo 26 percent.The rest of the provinces recorded 22 percent and below.Econet has proved to be the most popular network provider with a 73 percent usage countrywide while Netone users are at 17 percent, Telecel at eight percent and Tel-One two percent.ZARF was established in Harare in 1997 to commission market research on behalf of advertisers, the media, publishers, advertising agencies and public relations consultancies.It was commissioned by the Topline Research Solutions (TRS), a regional market research consultancy, to carry out the ZAMPS study.News / National

by Staff reporter

THE MDC-T national council yesterday re-affirmed Advocate Nelson Chamisa as the party's acting president as chaos continues to rock the party.The organ met at the party's headquarters, Harvest House as co-deputy president Dr Thokozani Khupe who is claiming the same post continued to boycott the party's meetings over security concerns.The illness and subsequent death of Mr Morgan Tsvangirai has plunged the MDC-T into chaos as his three deputies Adv Chamisa, Dr Khupe and Elias Mudzuri are fighting to succeed him.In a Press briefing yesterday, the party's acting chairman Mr Morgan Komichi said the national council had re-affirmed Adv Chamisa as the party's acting president."The three vice presidents all had the right to claim to be acting but the national council has appointed Adv Chamisa as acting president and the party is guided by that decision."At the moment that problem has been resolved following the decison of the national council," said Mr Komichi.Adv Chamisa weighed in on the matter saying the national council resolution puts to rest the leadership vacuum issue."Yes we expect individuals to say I, I, it's allowed because they are only speaking for themselves. But we have a party, we have a constitution, I've seen a lot of reports around constitutionalism. What we have done is constitutional, what we've done is 100 percent legal," said Adv Chamisa."But already in terms of dealing with a vacuum of leadership, there is a leader who is acting. We have three deputy presidents in the party, of which one has to act."The power to appoint individuals to act is reposed in the national council in terms of article 8. That is the power that was exercised by the national council in choosing a leader."He said Dr Khupe was ignorant of the developments in the party as she has not been attending meetings in eight months."Of course we appreciate that our vice president Dr Thokozani Khupe who has not been attending meetings for the past eight months because of issues around the Alliance (MDC) with our president, the late Dr Richard Morgan Tsvangirai, is ignorant of developments in the party."We appreciate her circumstances. She has not understood the party processes that have been instituted and the position the party has taken," he said.Adv Chamisa said for purposes of unity, he will be sending a delegation to engage Dr Khupe.Dr Khupe through her personal assistant Mr Witness Dube, said Adv Chamisa's appointment was a nullity."It's another illegal declaration from the previous one so nothing changes because the re-affirmation is coming from same faces," said Mr Dube.He said his boss was still working on resolving the party's leadership crisis and consultations were underway.Mr Dube said Dr Khupe could not attend yesterday's meeting as there was a likelihood of being attacked like what happened in Buhera at Mr Tsvangirai's burial.The party's secretary general Mr Douglas Mwonzora who was also attacked in Buhera, however, attended yesterday's meeting.News / National

by Staff reporter

A married Victoria Falls woman accused of having an extra marital affair by her husband, has defended her lover claiming that her husband is a gold digger who wants to extort money from other men.Mrs Sithembile Ncube (41) a council worker who resides in Chinotimba suburb told the court that this is not the first time that her husband Mr Stanford Ncube has accused her of having love affairs with other men.She said he once accused her of being in love with former Victoria Falls Chamber Secretary Mr Philip Ndlovu that ended in court in 2014.Mr Ncube had disowned his child saying his wife had been impregnated by Mr Ndlovu.The case resulted in Mr Ndlovu suing Mr Ncube for $10 000 after a DNA test proved that the former chamber secretary was not the father of the child.Now Mr Ncube has dragged another man Mr John Matumbura to the Victoria Falls Civil Court demanding $1 000 saying he was having an affair with his wife.Mr Ncube told the court that he wanted Mr Matumbura, a local businessman to compensate him for destroying his marriage.The couple is living separately and Mrs Ncube has since filed for divorce.She denied having an affair with Mr Matumbura."Stanford only wants money from the defendant. He once accused Philip Ndlovu of being the father of one of our children and lost the case in court.Paternity tests were done and proved that Mr Ndlovu was not the father. Mr Ndlovu sued him and he was ordered to pay him $10 000 damages," said Mrs Ncube.She said her husband was trying to get money from Mr Matumbura by accusing him of being her boyfriend.Mrs Ncube told the court that her husband always tells her that two of their three children are not his.An adamant Mr Ncube told the magistrate Ms Rangarirai Gakanje that Mr Matumbura was behind their separation.He told the court that his wife and Mr Matumbura admitted that they were having an affair and produced an admission of guilty statement made by the two lovebirds at the police station.Mr Matumbura, who denied the accusations, is being represented by Mr Givemore Mvhiringi.The case will continue on March 7.News / National

by Staff reporter

FORMER Zanu-PF Central Committee member and Masvingo Urban MP, Daniel Shumba, has come out guns blazing, accusing the Emmerson Mnangagwa-led administration of being a mafia obsessed with power ahead of national interests, NewZimbabwe reported.Shumba, founder of United Democratic Alliance (UDA), said he is now ready to lead Zimbabwe to the future it deserves where peace, freedom and prosperity for all would be supreme.Shumba believes the country cannot continue to be a military state where a few individuals in the corridors of power continue to amass wealth at the expense of the majority."Zimbabwe's economic agenda is captured and the international community and nation are being misled, misinformed, and fooled by a group of partisan, corrupt and power hungry military group and their tribalist partners," said Shumba."A national economic program cannot be driven or owned by a people who don't have a democratic mandate."These are a cabal of vengeful and corrupt people who grabbed power for their own diabolical agenda."They continue to loot diamonds, externalise huge amounts of gold, and are involved in illicit fuel deals. That is the main reason for their obsession for power," Shumba said in a statement released to New Zimbabwe.News / National

by Stephen Jakes

Mthwakazi Republic Party President Mqondisi Moyo has said the so called Ndebele nationalists have disgraced to their fellow Ndebeles as some of them have connived with the outsiders to trample on their fellow relatives back home."Fellow Mthwakazi people, my heart bleeds when our identity as Mthwakazi nationals is being sold out for pieces of silver by the selfish and self centered politicians who are more concerned about their stomachs than the suffering of the masses of Mthwakazi. It is pointless and mischievous for one to call himself or herself a leader if he cannot defend his own kith and kin. Politics is a Greek word which refers to people, but one wonders which people are the so called leaders in Matabeleland representing when they fail to openly condemn the current status quo of the imbalances bedevilling our people since the so called independence of 1980 which appears to have been fought for Shonas and not Ndebeles. The gallant contributions by Zipra and Zapu have been nullified from the archives of this country," he said."The so called Ndebele leaders have been seen propelling Shonas to victory dating back to the formative stages of Zapu when Joshua Nkomo roped in Robert Mugabe to ZAPU leadership of 1961 as the information and publicity secretary, not knowing that Robert Mugabe will end up turning to be his lifetime enemy and chief Gukurahundist. No wonder why Dr Dumiso Dabengwa, and I quote he said " Dr Joshua Nkomo mentored Robert Mugabe " Esintwini sithi yikwelapha Inyoka"."We later on saw Enos Nkala also aiding Robert Mugabe to ascend into leadership by having ZANU formed in his house at Highfields in Harare on 08 August 1963. I still remember vividly what Enos Nkala told us in his house in Woodlands in 2008 while I was in the company of Dr Dumiso Dabengwa and 34 others, he said, "Its me who made Joshua Nkomo not to rule this country, we had fought with Joshua Nkomo but our fight was not political, it was personal".He said ZANU was his party which unfortunately turned out later to be a monster party that he regretted forming."We have always said that by forming ZANU ,Enos Nkala indirectly formed or created Gukurahundi. We all remember his spooky statement when he said, " Ngabe kulesepa yokugeza ubuNdebele ngabe ngiyabugeza". Some who are in government today were infuriated by Nkala's utterances then, but today ZANU PF and MDC have provided them with the soap yokugeza ubuNdebele. Siyeza isikhathi when your own children will excrete on top of your graves because of your role in obliterating their future," he said."Our Ndebele political leaders continue to be in denial, and have not learnt a lesson from the late father Zimbabwe, Joshua Nkomo who when asked about his take on Gukurahundi since it was a tribal war denied that it was. There are quite a lot of issues that were avoidable if Joshua Nkomo had read the political game earlier, that Shonas had already had an agenda within an agenda. This reminds me of the advice Joshua Nkomo got from his Egyptian friend Mohamed Faek when in Egypt on his way to Adis Ababa in Ethopia for a press media conference."He said Mohammed told Nkomo that he had information that his Zapu party was going to split along tribal lines and that Shonas had declared that they were the majority and could not be led by a Ndebele who is a minority."Nkomo could not take heed of this warning, instead he quizzed Mohammed on the source of the information and told him that his party was still intact and united. Even when Mohammed had initially asked Nkomo which tribe he belonged to, Nkomo evasively ignored the demand of the question, his answer was, " I speak Ndebele". Mohammed in his partying shot said to Nkomo, "my friend I warn you, watch out, your party will split," he said."It was in Adis in Ethiopia where Joshua Nkomo learnt that what Mohammed had told him in Egypt was true when Robert Mugabe disappeared with the speech that Dr Joshua Nkomo was to present to the foreign journalists who included BBC. It was in this media gathering conference where Joseph Msika confisticated a note from Morton Malianga written that, as Shonas they could not be led by the Zitumbuguru, their derogatory reference to Joshua Nkomo. Msika conveyed the disturbing message to Nkomo and this became proof what Mohammed had told him in Egypt."He said their Ndebele leaders have been scrambling to be bottlickers of Shonas. Since 1980, they ought to have learnt that the shona people's perceptions on them will remain, no matter what good them do to them."We saw in the formation stages of MDC in 1999 when it was declared that Gibson Sibanda who was deseverdly poised to lead MDC, could not because he was Ndebele, hence the secondment of the late Morgan Tsvangirai on the argument that shonas are the majority and could not vote for a Ndebele leader. In 2005 when MDC split, we saw Professor Welshman Ncube and other Ndebele leaders failing to lead on their own, leading to them inviting the robotics scientist Professor Arthur Golden Mutambara to come and lead them. Mtambara later on refused to relinquish power when the MDC congress had voted him out and replaced him with Prof Ncube. He vehemently refused to leave the position as he was already the deputy Prime minister in the Government of National Unity. Both Robert Mugabe and Tsvangirai made sure that Mutambara remained the DPM in the GNU even when SADC had recognised Prof Ncube to replace Mutambara in respect of the outcome of MDC Congress decision," he said."In 2008 Dr Dumiso Dabengwa was not to be left out when he air lifted Simba Makoni to lead Mavambo- Kusile Dawn Project. When we were at White City stadium in one of the rallies, Dabengwa said, "I have brought Mandla Nyathi and he is no longer Simba Makoni". This he said jokingly through directly translating Simba Makoni's name to Ndebele so that Ndebeles could embrace him. We all know what later happened, Mavambo- Kusile Project garnered 8% votes in the presidential elections of 2008, which prohibited Robert Mugabe and Tsvangirai from attaining outright wins. This 8% came from Matabeleland and Midlands and Makoni never got support from Mashonaland. He had to later on disappear with 24 vehicles that were sourced by Dabengwa and left him with one vehicle out of 25, surely it is said that Ilifa lezithutha lidliwa ngaba hlakaniphileyo."He said then came the Tsholotsho Dinyane declaration of 2004 where Professor Jonathan Moyo tried in vain to aid Emmerson Mnangagwa to power but this back fired on the learned professor as he had to suffer consequences."Again in the ZANU PF madness of succession battles we saw Ndebeles outdoing each other in fighting for the Shona wars, as either team Lacoste or G40. Jonathan Moyo was in the front for G40 but he later on became a villain and we saw Sibusiso Moyo from the millitary, Simon Khaya Moyo, Obert Mpofu, Jacob Mudenda , Justice Luke Malaba being used to bless the ascendancy of Emerson Mnangagwa to power through a coup by the millitary," he said."On the other hand bootlickers like Phelekezela Mphoko, who at one point said Gukurahundi was a conspiracy by the West, was to be relegated to the political dust bin, as at the time of the coup he is the only one who was legitimate to succeed Mugabe but the Shonas made it a point that he remained out the country on the pretext that he was on the wanted list of criminals. When their drama of propelling Mnangagwa to power was over, Mphoko was accepted back home. His failure to ascend to the presidium was attributed to his absence during the transitional phase.""My final analysis is on the current MDC T saga. It was in 2005 when Dr Thokozani Khuphe aided Tsvangirai to fight the likes of Prof Ncube at Harvest House in Harare and some people were beaten thoroughly there, leading to an MDC split. The pendulum has shifted now, as it is the turn of Prof Ncube to aid Shonas, this time against Khuphe. Ncube surprised the world when he renewed his vows with Tsvangirai without giving an explanation on how he had resolved his parting issues with Tsvangirai. This angered Khuphe and her group who felt uProf sezobathathela ishona labo. We are all aware of the beatings that took place in Bulawayo when Morgan sent Harare thugs to come and beat up Makhuphe and her comrades."He said Prof Ncube is at again in trying to be uMlamulankunzi in the MDC T fight for succession."He claims that Tsvangirai confided to him that Nelson Chamisa is to succeed him. It smells like prof Ncube is now singing for his supper as I foresee him deputising Nelson Chamisa when he succeeds to take control of the MDC T. Shona politicians are always using Ndebeles in all the battles but we still wallow in denial. MaKhuphe was recently bashed by the disrespectful shonas at the funeral of Tsvangirai and she was called a dissident. No one cares that this is the same Khuphe who has been their VP before but now labelled as a dissident because her moment to lead MDC T has come," he said."Surely that dissident tag was not directed to Thokozani Khuphe alone but to all Ndebeles. They did the same when they justified the killings of 1983 - 1987. If you differ with the shona system, you are labelled a dissident. My final word to all the Ndebele leaders including those that I didn't mention, please stop betraying our people to the Shona people. Why are we betraying the forthcoming generations?"News / National

by Stephen Jakes

ROHR Zimbabwe has brought smiles on the face of school officials, primary and secondary students in Bindura District, after handing out a donation of 3000pens.The organisation said among the schools that benefited from the initiative are Chireka primary and secondary, Wayerera primary and secondary.Nelson Gwangwawa a resident community development worker, applauded ROHR Zimbabwe for the gesture of remembering people from his community."There are still a lot of opportunities in the education sector for development players to partner marginalized schools on the vision to improve the learning environments and quality of education in schools outside of the major towns," he said.ROHR Zimbabwe intends to expand its networks to deliver more direct assistance in partnerships with community schools in 2018.News / National

by Staff reporter

Since November 2017, Zimbabwe's new administration has been promoting FDI and international re-engagement. Potential FDI now tops US$3billion while several deputations have been to Harare as part of the re-engagement effort. Last week, Government hosted a United States delegation comprising Mr Adrian T. Bogart III (National Security Council director for African Affairs), Mr Thomas Hastings (deputy director of Southern African Affairs at the State Department), Ms Pamela Ward (regional senior commercial officer) and Mr Mark Billera (USAid deputy director for Southern Africa). The Sunday Mail and Zimpapers Television Network spoke to Mr Hastings and US Ambassador to Zimbabwe Mr Harry Thomas Jnr regarding that visit.***Mr Thomas HastingsThe four of us spent last week in South Africa  because, of course, that's one of the key countries in the region  looking at ways we can strengthen our relationship with South Africa, especially at this time.We felt it was very important, given the moment that Zimbabwe is at right now, to come up and visit Zimbabwe as well. So, we arrived on Monday. We have had a very full and interesting visit. We were received by President Mnangagwa, which was an honour that he gave us some of his time.And our message with the President and everyone we've met  Government officials and others  has been very simple: we are very optimistic about Zimbabwe. We think Zimbabwe has a great opportunity right now to put itself on a new and positive path, and the United States would like to join in that and help it do so.At the same time, the key actions that must take place really rest with the Government of Zimbabwe. For there to be a changed relationship, there must be change which takes place on the ground here in Zimbabwe.The first among those changes is, of course, the overwhelming importance of an election  coming up in a few months in July or August  which is free, fair, credible and non-violent. We had a conversation about that.Ambassador Harry Thomas Jnr met with the President last week as well and had a conversation on that same theme. So, we reiterated those points.We are also interested in economic reforms. Zimbabwe has tremendous economic potential. We know that there are US companies which  looking ahead  would like to get involved in Zimbabwe. Some of them spoke to us in South Africa; some of them spoke to me in America and they are asking our opinions about the country.So, we conveyed that to the Government. We, basically, asked Government officials whom we met with what plans they are putting in place to improve the economic situation in this country so that it can get itself back onto a more positive path and attract foreign investors.Those were the general themes of our visit.Well, we met the President, Vice-President Mohadi and the Foreign Minister together. Again, we were largely stressing the importance of the elections. We have indicated out desire to send monitors for those elections and we received a clear signal from the Government that that would be welcomed.So, we are happy about that.It's important that when you talk about election monitors that you'll be talking about not only Election Day, but also (part) of the period before the election. That's when the preparations and systems are put in place to ensure that the people of Zimbabwe really have the opportunity to express themselves freely.That seemed to be received well also.We want to do all we can to enable a free and fair election. We think that when international observers are allowed in that builds the credibility of the election. The fact of inviting observers into your country when you are having an election does add to the credibility of the exercise.It singles out lessons that can be improved upon next time because no election is perfect. So, any election that's going to have observers . . . they are probably going to identify things that can be improved upon. I think it's in Zimbabwe's own interest to welcome the international community to be part of this process.US$15 billion promise to MDC-T: That's not true. There's been no promise of financial assistance to any political party after the election. It's not the approach we take. But we want these elections to be free and fair and to be open to all parties, and we look forward to working with whatever administration emerges after these elections.Impressions: Our impressions, ultimately, aren't what matters. What's going to matter is the Zimbabwean people who get a chance to cast their vote in July or August. But for what it's worth, I think what we can say is President Mnangagwa and his Cabinet members are saying many of the right things and we are encouraged by that.But following that initial message, there must come action. And so, we will still wait and see; follow and see what the actions are. I can tell you that the President said that he intends to take on corruption; that he recognises that it's a problem in the country.We are pleased to hear that and the President sending that message from the highest level is the necessary first step. But that doesn't mean corruption disappears overnight as soon as the President says it. There will be a lot of hard work to address that problem in the months and  let's be honest  years ahead to change those sorts of problems.I can tell you that the Trump administration is looking at Africa as a region of opportunity and any country that seems to be putting itself on a path of more democracy, more openness to international business is going to be a partner we are eager to work with.Sanctions: I'm glad you raised that because I think there's been a little bit of misunderstanding. There was a move  a few weeks ago  to extend the existing sanctions that are in place. This is actually an annual renewal of sanctions that have been in place since President George W. Bush.Whenever the US government has a sanctions programme in place, there has to be that automatic renewal every year just to keep it going. So, that's all that it was a few weeks ago. I believe it was reported in one of the newspapers here that it was new sanctions being placed against President Mnangagwa.That's actually not true. There's been no change in our sanctions since November: no new sanctions, no lifted sanctions. As of now, the policy has remained unchanged.We would definitely like to see a day come on which our relationship with Zimbabwe can be much more normalised without sanctions. As I said at the beginning, though, changes have to occur here before that change can take place in our relationship.No sanctions programme is permanent. We have had sanctions against many countries in the world and you've seen that as changes have taken place in Burma, Sudan and even Cuba our policies change as well. So, over the long term, that's the trajectory we would hope for Zimbabwe.But again, it comes back to the Zimbabwe Government holding a free and fair election; the Zimbabwe Government respecting and protecting the rights of Zimbabweans, rights that are already written into your Constitution. They just have to be implemented. And then, of course, the types of economic reforms that would repair the economic relationships that Zimbabwe has with other countries.Everything we've been saying here, everything we communicated to your President on Monday is consistent with the sanctions laws that we have in America. The Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act has a section which specifically says these sanctions can be removed if there are the following things which have taken place: a free and fair election, the end to intimidation and violence, the establishment of the rule of law.(These are) basic principles which are not US ideas. These are international standards about what democracy and well-functioning government should look like. So, yes, if the Government of Zimbabwe takes the steps we have been talking about, we could see a time when the situation changes with regard to sanc- tions.Positives: There are positive initial signs and we are going to continue to watch from now until July or August and hopefully see more of those and see some of the very positive initial statements being followed through by action as well. For example, the fact that the President has said that he wants a free and fair election; the fact that we received an indication that Americans will be permitted to come as monitors, which has not been the case in the past. Those are positives.The fact that the voter registration period was extended  we view that as a positive sign.There have been indications on the economic side that the Government realises it needs to make some changes to certain laws or policies that have created uncertainty and probably kept investors away from Zimbabwe. Those are positives. It's still early days, so these need to be followed through.We can talk about a certain law and say that it needs to be changed, but until Parliament takes action, the law is still the same. International companies are going to see what the law actually says. It's nice to hear that it's going to be changed, but they want to hear what the law actually says.So, there's still going to be a process of implementation that's going to have to follow through some of these statements.Investment: I can't quantify it. We were in South Africa for a week and whenever we mentioned to a US company that we were travelling next week to Zimbabwe, they were right away asking, "Oh, how do you see Zimbabwe?"They were interested and so on. But that's not a quantifiable sample. What I can tell you is that most companies are still in a wait-and-see mode. US companies, like any international companies, want to invest where there is basic safety and security, and I just don't mean security in terms of violence but security of investment.They want to know that they are going to be able to invest in a country and if they begin to do well and make profits, the Government isn't going to seize those profits in some way. They want to know that the rule of law is established and that the rules are clear for every com- pany.Honestly, the reputation of Zimbabwe in the past has not been strong on those points. So, it takes time to build confidence again and repair the reputation.***Ambassador Harry Thomas JnrWe were very excited that General Electric came. And even better, they are going to come back soon! They are looking at infrastructure projects. We will have to see what details there are. We were pleased they met with the Parliament and Cabinet (members).I think that's key as we go forward.They'll make the decisions that are in their best interest and also on how they can best help the people of Zimbabwe because you want jobs, you want power. So, GE can be key to that because, of course, they were very involved in Hwange years ago.I don't think they will (outline the scale of investment to us) but will to the Government of Zimbabwe. The important thing that you should be excited about is that they came and that they are coming back.A company as large as GE takes time to make decisions. They have to talk to everybody there. But I think it's positive that they came; the most important thing for them is: can they get their money out? What are the property rights? Those things will be key.But we are very encouraged that they were here and that they are coming back.Who else is coming? We know this: American firms are asking us, calling us in droves. We know that there will be, in coming months, American firms that are part of investment missions being put together now.And I think they will join our German, British colleagues who are bringing investment firms, or our Italian colleagues who took Zimbabweans to Italy. But let's remember this: Under my distinguished predecessor, Ambassador Bruce Wharton; he took a group of Zimbabweans to the United States a few years ago to look at investment.We will encourage them to go again to talk to American businesses about the new dispensation, what is possible under that new dispensation. We've been told that Zimbabwe itself is looking to have investment conferences in New York, London and Washington; and we would welcome that.***MrThomas Hastings(The delegation's composition) is absolutely a signal. There's no way a delegation would have come probably a year or two years ago because frankly, there wouldn't have been that much for us to say or talk about.There was not a sense that things were moving in a positive direction in this country. Right now, there is a sense that there is potential to move in a very positive direction. And so we want to be supportive of that; we want to be engaged.To my knowledge, this was not something that President Trump himself ordered. The National Security Council, in conversation with the State Department, USAid and Commerce, agreed that it would be good to have Zimbabwe as part of this trip.Our relations are not just about Harare-Washington relations. More broadly, relations between the Zimbabwean people and the United States are excellent, very deep and broad. I know the US was the first country to establish an embassy here after Independence.I visited Zimbabwe in 1992 when I was a back-packer, a tourist. I travelled all over the country. I was struck by, of course, the beauty of the country and also the friendliness of the people.That hasn't changed.I've been learning this week how many Zimbabweans travel to the US and study at some of the best universities we have; which are the best in the world. So, there is a very rich relationship between the American people and the Zimbabwean people.Where the relationship has been a bit more difficult has been on the government side because this has been a difficult 20 years.We are optimistic that that's about to change. We want to be a part of that change.***Ambassador Harry Thomas JnrAfricans and the whole world are invited to observe American elections.So, anybody who (says none of them is allowed) is extremely wrong. We welcome the new Zec chairperson (Justice Priscilla Chigumba). She's a respected jurist. I think that she is committed to free and fair elections.We welcome the fact that President Mnangagwa is going to operate elections in accordance with the law. But just as important, the United States is very committed to having American businesses come here and visit and see if they can help you with jobs.Everybody I meet talks about jobs; having their children come home; having the Diaspora come home and establishing businesses. You know, every Zimbabwean has three, four degrees. Why not every Zimbabweans have three, four, five functioning businesses?And we think with the technology, the innovation in America that there'll be success and we can partner with you in them. So, we are committed to jobs. President Trump always says America is open for business.We know Zimbabwe is open for business and let's try and make that happen together.News / National

by Staff reporter

MDC-T secretary general Douglas Mwonzora said Thursday the late ex-Prime Minister's brother, Manase Tsvangirai approached Harvest House, the party headquarters same day, to formally lodge a family complaint over his own ill-treatment.Mwonzora and Khuphe were forced to leave their leader's funeral earlier fearing for their lives.But the former Nyanga North legislator said he was touched by the effort taken by the Tsvangirai family representative to address his ordeal."He (Manase) communicated the extreme displeasure of the Tsvangirai family at the manner that I was treated in Buhera," Mwonzora told NewZimbabwe.com."They (family) did not ask for any investigations at all; they simply said that the treatment that Mr Mwonzora in particular got is unacceptable."As to why they picked on my name I am not sure about that but they did an official complaint to the party."Manase was reported to have approached Harvest House during an MDC-T standing committee which was presided over by Chamisa."I was humbled by their concern about the manner that I was treated," Mwonzora said.Asked why they did not report their attack to the police, Mwonzora said it was futile as the incident happened in front of some police details who failed to apprehend the culprits."Police were there when we were attacked," he said."There is no need for that (reporting). If the police is worth its salt, they must deal with the issue."Khuphe and Mwonzora are in a party camp that is fighting to block an attempt by Chamisa to seize power following Tsvangirai's death through colon cancer at a South African hospital last week.They favour an extra-ordinary congress to decide who must take over the party's leadership.Chamisa has since condemned that attack on his colleagues turned rivals.News / National

by Staff reporter

Lawyers and pro-democracy groups yesterday called on President Emmerson Mnangagwa to fire his Home Affairs minister - Obert Mpofu for his unprecedented attack on Parliament - which they said was despicable and bordered on gross misconduct.Mpofu - who is a former Mines minister - blew his fuse in Parliament on Thursday after clashing with Mines and Energy committee chairperson Temba Mliswa over the country's missing $15 billion revenue from the gem-rich Chiadzwa diamonds fields.The burly Zanu-PF secretary for administration later vowed never to appear before the Mines and Energy committee to answer any questions relating to the missing funds as long as Mliswa was not presiding over the emotive issue - also suggesting damagingly that the garrulous Norton legislator had at some point sought a bribe from him.Mpofu's tantrum sparked anger among the gathered MPs who called for him to be slapped with stiff sanctions which he said, however, would have little effect on him - as he had been in Parliament for more than three decades, and thus knew how to deal with the august House's procedures.Yesterday Mpofu came in for heavy criticism for his show on Thursday, with lawyers and radical pressure groups calling on Mnangagwa to fire his minister.Constitutional law expert Lovemore Madhuku told the Daily News that Mpofu's actions were unprecedented in the history of parliamentary democracy that "there is no sensible minister who says to the legislature - in front of the whole world, because the whole world was watching- I will not cooperate"."The committee must prepare a report and present it to Parliament, which will in turn set up a Privileges Committee that will investigate if the minister was in contempt."If it recommends that he is guilty of contempt, there are a lot of measures to be taken including barring him from Parliament or recommend him to be removed as minister."The best approach would be to report him to the president so that he will be removed from being a minister. They can argue that his conduct was gross and therefore he is not fit to be a minister," Madhuku told the Daily News.He said the other option was to fine Mpofu since the new Constitution removed a provision for a jail term.In 2005, the late former MDC treasurer-general Roy Bennett, then MP for Chimanimani, was jailed after he floored the then Justice minister Patrick Chinamasa.Radical pressure group - #Tajamuka /Sesijikile which in 2016 fought spiritedly to have former president Robert Mugabe impeached - yesterday waded into the Mpofu debate by imploring Mnangagwa to censure his Home Affairs minister.Speaker of the National Assembly Jacob Mudenda told the Daily News that he was awaiting a report from Mliswa's committee."We are waiting for that report to come to Parliament first for tabling then from there we will know what happens."It must be noted that the report is not brought to me directly but that it will be tabled by the committee in Parliament so I am not the one to say whether or not the minister acted in contempt of Parliament," Mudenda said.Thursday's fracas erupted after Mpofu had been summoned to Parliament to help explain the missing $15 billion worth of the precious stones from Marange, as the government hunts for elusive answers on the emotive issue."I am not the minister of Mines and I don't know which precedence has been set where former ministers are subjected to questioning on issues to do with ministries that they have already left. I have no mandate to speak about the ministry of Mines," Mpofu bellowed.The minister had made it clear from the beginning of proceedings that he had no time for the committee, also telling Mliswa bluntly that he could not be lectured on how Parliament worked.This prompted Mliswa to ask him to withdraw the statement, which he flatly refused to do.Mpofu said further that he had taken an oath of secrecy as a minister and would also not accept to be abused by Mliswa, whom he accused of besmirching his image.At that point, MDC MP for Zengeza West, Simon Chidhakwa, said if Mpofu did not want to appear before the committee, he was supposed to openly say so - to which the minister responded by saying that he had been in the House of Assembly since 1987 and thus understood what he was saying and doing.The combative Mpofu also claimed that Mliswa had once travelled 600 kilometres to his house, where the Norton MP had allegedly sought to discuss the same issues.But Mliswa shot back saying Mpofu was trying to divert from the issue at hand, and adding that the said visit had occurred when Mliswa was still in Zanu-PF and the two had simply discussed politics - including former ruling party bigwig Didymus Mutasa's exit from the former liberation movement.Mpofu then asked for a break to wash his hands, before coming back and stating emphatically that he would not say anything more as long as Mliswa was chairing the committee."For as long as he is sitting in front of me, presiding over this issue, I will not co-operate. You are even refusing me a chance to say what he had come to do at my house."With respect to honourable members, I will never, never be presided over by ... Mliswa for what has happened and you should allow me to express myself."I am not going to talk. I have submitted myself to you and I will not talk about this issue ... no matter what you say, I will never say anything ... you don't know me " Mpofu thundered.News / National

by Staff reporter

THE late Morgan Tsvangirai who died recently after a battle with colon cancer was a courageous man who contributed towards the birth of the new political dispensation, a senior war veteran has said.Secretary for Veterans for the Liberation struggle in the Zanu-PF Politburo, Victor Matemadanda, said he had respect for the late former PM after he legitimized the coup which ousted then President Robert Mugabe last November.Addressing war veterans in Mutare Friday, Matemadanda said he had respect for the late MDC-T leader for standing resolute in the fight for democracy and holding of free and fair elections.He said the war veterans fought for democracy during the liberation struggle which brought about freedom of association which led to the formation of opposition parties like the MDC.Matemadanda said the late Tsvangirai stood firm during the coup code-named Operation Restore Legacy by throwing his weight behind the military operation which ousted President Robert Mugabe."I personally respect the late Morgan Tsvangirai because there was a time when we were pushed to the edge as a party after the military removed Mugabe through Operation Restore Legacy. We reached a time where all hope was lost and we needed support from fellow Zanu-PF cadres to support the army actions but some party big wigs chickened out."Even those who today are stampeding to shower praises on President Mnangagwa chickened out leaving us in the open air. We communicated to President Mnangagwa from where he was that people were refusing to cooperate and he instructed me to do whatever I could do to get support from people," he said.Matemadanda told the meeting that he had to approach the late Tsvangirai at around 12 midnight at his residence and asked for his support to legitimize the Operation Restore Legacy."We want to set the record straight. We suffered and went through a lot but we don't want credit. We approached the late Tsvangirai at 12 midnight and we asked for his support to legitimize Operation Restore Legacy. We pleaded and said to him, `Save muzukuru ati endai munotsigira chinhu ichi`. The following morning the opposition supported the march,"said Matemadanda, adding "Even the white community participated in the march".He said people should learn to make history of their own not by bootlicking but through good deeds."That's why President Mnangagwa made a decision that the late Tsvangirai will get his package because he served the country as the Prime Minister. I am happy that before he died President Mnangagwa visited him and assured his family that he will help the ex-premier to secure the house and take care of all his medical bills."President Mnangagwa ensured that the late Tsvangirai received a state assisted funeral. He was recognized for the role he played," said Matemadanda.He said it was unfortunate that Tsvangirai passed on before his wish for free and fair polls had come to fruition."However, we hope that his dream will come to fruition after President Mnangagwa said the forthcoming polls will be held in a free and peaceful environment," said Matemadanda.He also said Tsvangirai fought for the restoration of constitution after Zanu-PF threw the supreme law into the dust bin."Zanu-PF at one time threw the constitution outside through the window. The party had become a club of papers where someone`s wife (Grace Mugabe) would do as she pleased and a club where youths from Mutare would do whatever they wanted. Tsvangirai fought for the restoration of the constitution," said Matemadanda.News / National

by Staff Reporter

Photos of former president Robert Mugabe and his family have surfaced online, but Bona's husband Simba Chikore and Grace Mugabe's first son Russel Goreraza are missing.According to online website paZimbabwe.com, the pictures were shot during Mugabe's private 94th birthday party.News / Press Release

by Israel Dube

MLO urges all Matabeles to look at themselves as leaders and stop hero worshipping tribal minded Shona supremacist and "village politicians" from Mashonaland who masquerade as national leaders.Since the so called independence of Zimbabwe, the clansmen from Mashonaland have demonstrated many, many times that they have small capacity enough to run their small potion of Zimbabwe called Mashonaland.The shona supremacist have attempted to wipe out Matabele Nation through genocide so that they remain with their own small population of Shonas. Hence more innocent Matebeles were killed in the so called independent Zimbabwe than in the war of Rhodesia. More Matebeles are refugees in foreign countries in the era of independent Zimbabwe than in Rhodesia. More Matabeles are abused and discriminated by Shona supremacists than the Smith regime.In 1983 Joshua Nkomo, who took up arms to fight white minority rule alongside the Shona people survived two assassination attempts not by the white minority government but Mugabe's government. The people he regarded as his comrades. The first one was at his house in Phelandaba, Bulawayo. He receved a tip off and escaped before the shona killers arrived. His aides who were found in the house were brutally killed.The second one was in Masvingo when his black Mercedez Benz was sprayed with bullets by gunmen from the crowd of Zanupf supporters. He survived this one because his Mercedes Benz was bullet proof.Lookout Masuku, Sydney Malunga and Mthandazo Ndema Ngwenya were not so lucky to survive. Lookout Masuku died under questionable circumstances in a hospital. Sydney Malunga and Mthandazo Ndema Ngwenya died in controversial road accidents. May their souls rest in peace, we will never forget them.In 2005 the mighty MDC split along tribal lines because the unwanted Matebeles, Gibson Sibanda then MDC Vice President, Secretary General, Welshman Ncube, Treasurer, Dulini Ncube and Information and Publicity, Paul Themba Nyathi .The highest goal should be an independent and sovereign Matabeleland state where democracy and equality will be the order of the day. MLO has proposed the formation of Matabeleland Republic Army, Central Intelligence Bureau, Correctional Service and Police Service for the sole purpose of defending abused Matebeles who live in fear of the third genocide. MLO is not planning to reverse this noble proactive idea, we are not apologetic. We have full rights to life and self determination this is the birthright we are prepared to die for. All able bodied youth of Matabeleland must keep their ears on the ground and respond positively to the call for national duty. We shall not count Matebele casualties of Shona cruelty forever. This must stop as soon as this year.Once again, we warn the shona people to stop abusing our people for they will regret.Izenzo Kungemazwi! Sekuyisikhathi!Israel DubeMLO Secretary for Information and Public AffairsOpinion / Columnist

The road to former prime minister Morgan Tsvangirai's Buhera homestead is symbolic of his life - it meanders and is littered with potholes that have claimed many victims since time immemorial.Years ago, the Masvingo highway claimed the life of his wife Susan, leaving him dejected and having to fight political foes without what many at the funeral called "a pillar of his life".Even on this day, February 19, many of Tsvangirai's supporters who had taken time to drive to Buhera for his burial, set for the following day, counted their losses as potholes tore tyres and ball joints bolted out of suspensions, leaving them stranded and swearing at the government for having neglected the highway for a long time.Some slept by the roadside under light showers.Even in death one of the MDC-T leader's deputies Elias Mudzuri had this to say: "Tsvangirai would still be respected enough for people to sleep in the open for him. He was humble as a man and we, his supporters, would be humble enough not to be bothered by the 'landmines' set for us on this road."Rain was a theme most associated with the soothing effect on the national pain following the death of the opposition's leader.It would be what acting president Nelson Chamisa alluded to as a sign that an important man had rested.It rained for the better part of the burial ceremony.The Masvingo highway defied the patches by roadworks that were meant to heal the gaping wounds it has from the tollgate just outside Harare to the Buhera turnoff that leads to Humanikwa - Tsvangirai's home area - because rain kept resuscitating the potholes by nudging at the cheap tar that is, at most, a week's solution to the death-traps that motorists fear and have been victims of.Many reached Humanikwa and others never did.The tarred road to Humanikwa is not for the faint at heart.It is a neglected road that takes from where Masvingo road leaves.It has potholes that have become a part of the driving experience and it had its fair share of motorists that slept in their cars after hitting one too many potholes.But Tsvangirai was spoilt on his last journey to his resting place.He dodged all the hazards by being flown at the expense of the government.Thousands attended the burial and thousands walked for about 3km from the main road to the burial site.Tsvangirai's neighbours suffered destruction of their maize and groundnut crop.Nobody complained because the community was too grieved to bother.At the funeral procession that was held at Makanda Primary School, speakers took turns to eulogise their hero.MDC-T vice-president Thokozani Khupe shed tears apparently frustrated by the youths that detained her together with secretary-general Douglas Mwonzora for over three hours in a hut. She claimed the MDC youths wanted to burn them alive.She sat at the VIP table wearing dark glasses as she did at Freedom Square but she was clearly not happy and occasionally wiped away tears.She later told the media: "They told me that I am a dissident and I must go back to Matabeleland."They did this because I am a woman and I am from Matabeleland where they think a leader cannot be born.I do not recognise Nelson Chamisa as the acting president of the party."The funeral had started not as seamlessly as it should, ironically a reflection of the opposition in the recent past.Chamisa, at the instigation of the family, was forced to apologise for traditional protocols that were violated when the coffin was whisked away from Tsvangirai's house where it lay in state overnight."That should not have happened. Either it was a thief in our midst or someone who is not cultured.One of us," he said visibly shaken.And before the matter had settled, Tsvangirai's brother Manase was to take to the stage with vitriol directed at the media that left many shocked and some fearing for their lives as every word was met with robust applause by the supporters of the opposition.some called for reporters to be disciplined.He said: "I want to address the media.Let me be open with you.We were not happy when you interrogated Gogo Tsvangirai (Morgan's mother infamous for banning Chamisa and Tsvangirai's widow Elizabeth Macheka from attending the funeral) on her alighting from the helicopter."Some of you are uncultured for harassing an 89-year-old mourning a national hero.If I knew your name, I would have chucked you out of here. Respect us."But perhaps the best soundbite came from an animated former deputy prime minister Arthur Mutambara who dragged his words in a fashion akin to those adopted mostly by American hip-hop artistes.He drew laughter and anger."We are here to mourn the president of Zimbabwe, Tsvangirai - a great Zimbabwean and great African.What does it mean when we say Tsvangirai was a great man?" He said to applause before answering himself: "Bravery, courage!He suffered at the hands of Zanu-PF.Zanu-PF are here. They murdered Morgan."Environment minister Oppah Muchinguri and Monica Mutsvangwa, Zanu-PF's women's league chairperson, looked on half-amused and half-annoyed as Mutambara pointed at them when he mentioned that the late MDC-T leader was murdered by his political rivals.When Muchinguri took to the podium she had to be rescued by Chamisa after supporters roundly booed her."Tsvangirai valued his nation.He wanted the country to prosper.Having worked with him in government and in the constitution-making process that led to the respect of women in politics, we are grateful for his work," she said."We are happy that he supported women in politics. We celebrate his good work."In all the speeches nobody acknowledged Tsvangirai's widow Elizabeth Macheka amid whispers that she had been barred from sleeping in the same room with her husband's casket.Some said, that she needed helpers to accompany her to be able to attend the funeral.Speakers from the Tsvangirai family acknowledged relatives of their sister-in-law Tsvangirai's first wife Susan Mhundwa, who died in an accident in 2009.Only when Chamisa spoke to close the eulogies session later in the afternoon did he look at Macheka to acknowledge her presence and she got cheering from supporters because she is said to be politically correct in her support of favoured Chamisa.But before then, as the sun rose to briefly give relief to the rain-soaked clothes of those who braved the rains, Kenyan opposition leader and Tsvangirai's close friend, Raila Odinga, was warming up people with his message of solidarity.He urged the opposition to take what Zanu-PF is doing well and allow partnerships.The targets of his message had not known whether to be tolerant or not. They listened on.He added: "We need to have clear and proper transparent elections in Africa.Rigged elections will not help Africa," to big applause."Morgan's election victory was stolen a year after mine was stolen in Kenya," Odinga said, referring to the 2007 elections, which he alleges were rigged to ensure Uhuru Kenyatta's victory.At last Tsvangirai was laid to rest, but there was no doubt MDC Alliance needed to do a lot of soul-searching.Opinion / Columnist

The execution of a coup d'etat functions in the same way as staging an armed robbery. Planning is not a problem, implementation not a problem, however, the biggest challenge is sharing of spoils. This crucial and final stage determines the future of the group, whether it will live as a unity or dissolve into nothingness.The new president who accessed Zimbabwe State House on the back of a military coup is faced with a challenge of sharing the spoils of the coup d'etat equally among the politicians, army and war vets who participated.At this stage the principle of fairness and honesty is set aside while greediness, betrayal, deception and disloyalty take over. Any mistake here may result in the quick fall of the military junta and its leader.Mnangagwa is nothing but leader of lacoste faction whose moto through out factional battles was, "its our time to eat". He is under immense pressure from this triumphant and overexcited grouping to make perilous wholesale changes in the government, judiciary, security and private sector for them to take over and eat.It must be stated here that the Zezuru are very angry with General Chiwenga who out of ignorance and selfishness transfered political power from the Zezuru to the Karanga through the barrel of the gun. He is under pressure from his tribesmen to correct his blunder. Zezurus constitute 20% of Zimbabwe population and if election is anything to go by, they will never taste power again. And they have general Chiwenga to blame for all this.But for Mnangagwa to gain full power he has to, by all means possible, eliminate all generals who's guns elevated him to power or risk being controlled by them or falling on his own sword. He must as a matter of urgency make a Zezuru clean out from all strategic positions and replace them with his loyalists.How will the zezuru and kore kore feel and react ? Time will tell.At this point, many Zezurus and their Korekore surrogates who took part in the coup will realise that they have just assisted Karangas to take power from them. How stupid is that? In Afrikaans they say, "die poppe sal dans" meaning there will be a problem, big problem!Forget about Mugabe's resignation because he did so under duress. Mnangagwa was looking for a bit of legitimacy that he currently lacks. We cannot be fooled.Some of his cabinet members who belong to G40 are languishing in prison, some are in hiding, some in exile and being sought by Mnangagwa's dogs. If we can ask when did they start to be criminals, in 1980 or when they joined G40? If they started before they formed G40 where was Mnangagwa by then? Where was the army?Operation "restore Legacy" my foot! What legacy, who's legacy?Legacy of slaughtering more than 40 000 innocent Matebele civilians. Legacy of tribaly segregating and oppressing +- 7 million Matebeles for 37 years 7 months. Legacy of vote rigging. Legacy of looting from the national purse until the country becomes a debt ridden failed state without its own currency. Is this the legacy which Mnangagwa wants to restore? If thus the case God have mercy on Zimbabwe.We advise Mnangagwa not only to read our Notice for The Restoration of Matabeleland state but to act accordingly as time is ticking away.To Matebeles we say stay alert as an important announcement will be made in due course.Wonke umuntu we Matebeleland kazimisele ukulwela ilizwe lakhe ukuze sithole uzibuse. Lowu ngumlandu wethu sonke.Okunengi lizakubona kungekudala. Hlalani liqaphile !Zembiwe ngulinda!Izenzo kungemazwi!Israel DubeMLO Secretary for Information and Public AffairsOpinion / Columnist

Zimbabweans are in for an exciting 2018 harmonised election as Zanu PF and the MDC go into this crucial contest without their two main political characters: Robert Mugabe and the late Morgan Tsvangirai.The two had since 2002 elections fiercely contested each other in successive polls that have produced contested outcomes.Mugabe, who over those years led the ruling Zanu PF and stood as it's presidential candidate, was deposed by the army in November while Tsvangirai, who has been the MDC president for 18 years succumbed to cancer on February 14.Mugabe has been succeeded by Emmerson Mnangagwa, 75, while Tsvangirai was succeeded by Nelson Chamisa, 40.Analysts told the Daily News on Sunday that their departure opens up the political space in unprecedented waysPolitical analyst MacDonald Lewanika said over the years, Tsvangirai and Mugabe were towering figures on Zimbabwe's political land scape where they dominated space and it was very difficult to challenge them."Mnangagwa is no Mugabe and will never have the kind of hegemonic control over Zanu that Mugabe had. Chamisa is no Tsvangirai and as we can see there are many taking shots at his head," Lewanika said.At the very least, he said, Zimbabwe is opening up for more competitive politics with more players beyond the two hegemonic parties."I think this year we will say good bye to Zanu PF and MDC's monopolies in Parliament as other actors move in to pluck what they can from the less than consolidated support of Mnangagwa and Chamisa," he said.Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition spokesperson Tabani Moyo said it was exciting that this is indeed the first time post 2000 when the ballot papers will not feature both Mugabe and Tsvangirai."However, my take is that their shadows will be casting a long shadow on this election. All those that will be campaigning for Mnangagwa are doing so on the strength of how far they will discredit Mugabe and how faraway are they drifting from his propositions."However, reality shows that Mnangagwa is operating within the big shoes of Mugabe, his central committee of the party were inherited from the veteran ruler and so are his ministers in government cut from Mugabe's cloth."The budgetary thinking and subsequent way of operating is virtually software acquired from Mugabe, so his shadow is a big factor in this whole process," Moyo said.On the other hand, opined Moyo, "the MDC candidate, likely to be Chamisa, is equally leaning on Tsvangirai's social capital and base, hence it's the Tsvangirai factor which will be annexed to Chamisa's propositions."In as much as the ballot papers will not feature the two enigma politicians, in reality, it's the last frontier of the veteran leaders having influence in an election."Political analyst Maxwell Saungweme said the presidential contest will be drama-filled."It will pit youthful, energetic and eloquent Chamisa versus old, tired and more-of-the same Mnangagwa. There is no doubt that Chamisa will come out favourite in terms of wooing crowds and oratory dexterity. If the poll were to be free and fair, Chamisa would win."But a combination of factors  uneven play field tilted in Mnagangawa's favour  military fear factor, Zanu PF-politicised Zimbabwe Election Commission, monopolisation of public media by Zanu PF and lack of electoral reforms."These will ensure that Mnangangwa is declared winner even if Chamisa has the numbers. Unless Chamisa pulls something new from his sleeves, we are likely to have same scenario where Zanu PF presidential candidate loses the poll but is declared winner," said Saungweme.To this extent, he added, the presidential election will be a charade like the past unless the opposition devises a strategy to reclaim the peoples' vote once stolen."Tsvangirai failed on this and I don't think Chamisa will succeed on this aspect. So as far as the presidential election is concerned, we are likely to have the opposition winning and the Zanu PF candidate sworn-in as president."Otherwise the military coup will go in history as a coup that ousted a ruling party president and replaced them a few months later with an opposition party yet the military that did the coup is Zanu PF."Saungweme said in terms of parliamentary polls, this one will be more dramatic and full of surprises."We are likely to have more independent candidates this time with some who broke away from MDC and Zanu PF as well as some who were never affiliated with either of the parties."We are likely to have some sitting Zanu PF MPs rebelling the likely imposition of ex-soldiers to run in their stead, and these will break away and run as independents."We also likely to have some disgruntled MDC members not favouring alliance vying as independents. A few of these independents will get into Parliament, but the number will not be significant as winning depends on political party endorsement as the power of the party is becoming more critical should it be Zanu PF or opposition."We are also likely this time to have a situation where we have more opposition MPs in Parliament than before as it will be more difficult for Zanu PF to effectively rig parliamentary polls than presidential. A likely possibility is a majority opposition Parliament under a ruling party president."Political analyst Vivid Gwede said a stagnated political and electoral contest between the personalities of Mugabe and Tsvangirai has ended, but the fundamental struggle for democratisation of the state continues."It's not a new drama, but just a new cast. The fight between the post-independence ideas and the nationalist entitlement of the liberation generation remains alive. Although it is not a new world, a change of the political climate and breath of fresh air has occurred to our political life."A generational shift representative of the new demographic realities has also occurred in the opposition leadership, which is a fundamental shift in the 2018 elections. This generational shift which saw Chamisa's rise in the opposition and which the ruling party failed to achieve in the November transition now leaves MDC Alliance and Zanu PF worlds apart."In Zanu PF, there was only a leadership change without a remarkable generational shift, while in the MDC both have occurred at once. This leaves the opposition MDC Alliance well-placed to capture the imagination of a new generation sooner or later," said Gwede.Political analyst Rashweat Mukundu said this is an interesting election pitting new faces though the leading candidates have long histories in their parties and politics."I am looking forward to a ballot with Mnangagwa, Chamisa and Joice Mujuru, as that represents some change of sorts."The key issue is whether all candidates can be allowed to campaign freely and in rural areas so that the contest is free and fair."Change is unpredictable and depends on those with power and that is Mnangagwa and Zanu PF. The question is will they allow a handover of power to Chamisa? If Zimbabwe is to progress, Zanu PF must be prepared for a free and fair election and indeed handing over power if defeated," said Mukundu.Opinion / Columnist

The shooting of one unarmed civilian and the injuring of the other two by police yesterday afternoon in Harare during a time when the country is healing from a political, social and economic challenge is a cause of concern.There was an outcry about the shooting and it has been condemned by many people across the country. There was property destruction at Harare central police station as the angry mob retaliated to the shooting.This was triggered by police who have shot two innocent by standers in a stand-off earlier on at the Chitungwiza fly over in the capital. The fiasco was on the now reversed ban on commuter omnibuses plying from locations into the capital's central business district.Anti-riot police officers threw tear smoke canisters and wantonly beat members of the public who were suspected of causing trouble although some claim the beating was indiscriminate.Police officers started shooting warning shots in the air trying to chase away the commuter omnibuses who were resisting the move.Police cars have been targeted and some of them burnt and a fire was set at Harare Central police, where protesters were against the unpopular police service and started throwing stones.Some innocent journalists who were attempting to cover the fighting were unwelcome by both sides and they had to depart after someone cried out to the media.Earlier on there were running battles between police and tear gassed kombi drivers over the hugely unpopular directive which as reported earlier on has been reversed by the government.Such kind of barbaric behaviour is not welcome in a country which has neen grappling with economic and political challengesThis sad development was unfortunate and the police officers who fired at unarmed civilians should be brought to book. The police officers failed to apply the five rules of a firearm in order to achieve their goals. Police must first fire warning shots or shoot to injure than shoot to kill. The police has shown its incompetence to deal with riotous mob. There is need to send our law enforcing agents back to a refresher course and learn on how to deal with such scenarios. Their training needs to be revisited and improved in that sector.Instead of protecting the civilians they are elimating them.Zimbabweans are peace loving people and are not all that violent do not move around with guns and even the hard core criminals are no longer moving with guns like in South Africa. May the departed soul rest in perfect peace.We are preaching about Zimbabwe being the safest and conducive place to do business but shooting civilians in skirmishes and disturbances is deplorable. The Commissioner of Police Gideon Matanga has a task to nature his lieutenants and turn them into a professional force.ContactsFacebook-Leonard KoniTwitter-@LeokoniWhatsapp-+27747402042E-mail-konileonard606@gmail.comOpinion / Columnist

Excerpt 1 : Courtesy of The Zimbabwean, 22nd May 2016





Excerpt 2 : Radio VOP, 8th February 2010





Excerpt 3: Zimnowmedia 5th June 2014

Excerpt 4 : Zimbabwe Situation, 20th October 2016

Chiadzwa diamonds scandal





Shall the President demonstrate to all and sundry that the war against corruption has no sacred cows, in earnest. Why should a single individual be allowed to denigrate and disrespect the whole nation on camera with no consequences? Mpofu is stretching the nation's patience too far. The nation demands answers. The President's rhetoric and mettle is being tested here. His public hen-fight with a legally appointed Portfolio Committee Chair has no legal basis nor can it be reflective of the new era. Like him or not, Mliswa has the blessed mandate to call Obert to account. If Obert thinks he will get away with it - Mugabe style - Zimbabweans will not capitulate to his Mugabe-era Machiavellian snob gamesmanship. Is this not his chance to cleanse himself? Why is this Minister always associated with graft, all the time? Are all the stories, such as quoted in the news excerpts beneath, implicating this man , fabricated? Just to capture a few :Ziscosteel, once the largest integrated steelworks in Africa north of the Limpopo was sucked dry by Zanu PF vampires. Today , Zisco a pale shadow of its former self, and has been sold off to an Indian company, Essar. Investigations done by National Economic Conduct Inspectorate (NECI) in 2009 revealed that Mugabe's ministers such as Samuel Mumbengegwi, Olivia Muchena, Sithembiso Nyoni, Joice Mujuru, the late Stan Mudenge and Patrick Chinamasa all inappropriately and corruptly took payments from Ziscosteel.Obert Mpofu, then Minister of Industry, was impeached by Parliamentarians in 2009 for admitting that Ziscosteel had been looted and milked out by senior government officials and latter prevaricating on that position. Mpofu had appeared before a Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Foreign Affairs, Industry and International Trade that was investigating the collapse of a $400 million deal to capitalise Ziscosteel by Global Steel Holdings.While Mpofu was giving evidence at the parliamentary committee hearing on September 20 2009, a clerk appeared and delivered an urgent message to committee chairman Enock Porusingazi that Mpofu was wanted straight away by Vice President Joice Mujuru. Mpofu immediately left the hearing and went to meet Mujuru who told him to shut up. By the time he came back, he was denying that he knew anything about the looting frenzy at the steel company. He was fined $40,000. After his stint in the ministry, Mpofu was moved to preside over the Mining Ministry after which he became fabulously wealthy, and now owns a bank among other assetsHarare, February 08, 2010 - Mines Minister, Obert Mpofu, has been fingered in the controversy surrounding the whereabouts of diamonds forcibly taken by police officers from the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) last week.The diamonds, worth millions of dollars, had earlier on been delivered to the central bank by the deputy sheriff in the presence of officials from governments Minerals Marketing Corporation of Zimbabwe (MMCZ), UK company and the owners of the diamonds, African Consolidated Resources (ACR), Central Intelligence Organisation Operatives, police officers led by one Freedom Gumbo. Last month the Supreme Court ruled that 300 000 carats seized from the London-based ACR in 2006 should be kept at the RBZ for safekeeping. Highly placed sources told RadioVoP that police officer Gumbo then told all the people who had witnessed the moving of the diamonds from MMCZ offices in Msasa to the RBZ that he had received directives from Senior Assistant Commissioner Silence Pondo - who heads the precious mineral unit to take the diamonds to an unknown destination. The police officers claimed to have been sent by Mpofu. ACR lawyer Jonathan Samkange said over the weekend that Mpofu had ordered the police to remove the diamonds from the RBZ. Samkange said he did not know where the diamonds had been taken to. "The diamonds must be kept at the RBZ. I do not know why the government decided to disregard that order and take our diamonds," said Samkange. Chief Justice Godfrey Chidyausiku last month ruled that the diamonds should be held by the RBZ until the mining rights case between ACR and the government has been resolved. This followed an appeal by the government against a High Court order by Justice Charles Hungwe. The sources said Mpofu had earlier on personally attempted to block the movement of the diamonds from MMCZ offices to RBZ after he produced a letter from the Supreme Court that allegedly barred the deputy sheriff from transporting the diamonds. But the deputy sheriff stood his ground telling Mpofu that he was acting on the basis of Chidyausiku's order. Zimbabwe's diamonds have been mired in controversy since government took over ACR claims in Marange.Cabinet has taken the Minister of Transport, Obert Mpofu to task over secret awards of major road construction and passenger transportation contracts, NOW DAILY has learnt. Mpofu told the state media last weekend that the multi-million-dollar contract to supply a ring road around Harare had already been awarded, without going to tender. Another concession to provide the so-called 'train-buses' had also been given to three companies, including one trading as Metro Buses, which has failed to import enough buses to service the Chitungwiza route due to financial incapacity. Mpofu faced a storm in Cabinet over the rise in traffic in Harare, which has led to massive congestion. In a hastily-cobbled up "transport policy" document presented to Cabinet this week, Mpofu blamed mini-buses for the upsurge in city centre traffic. He proposed banning the 'kombis' with immediate effect and giving transportation contracts to Chinese investors who control much of the economy. However, other cabinet members opposed that policy and demanded that Mpofu withdraw threats to ban kombis. To address the secret transportation awards, Mpofu has now called for small local business people to form consortia and get contracts to run high-volume buses. It was not clear if any serious transporters were taking up the challenge. Mpofu was demoted to the transport ministry by President Robert Mugabe after billions of dollars in state diamond revenue went missing from the Marange fields. He was also accused of corruption by a parliamentary committee.A report on Ziscosteel by the National Economic Conduct Inspectorate in 2006 blamed a number of high-ranking government and ZANU-PF officials for looting at the company.Obert Mpofu, the former industry and international trade minister admitted before a Parliamentary Portfolio Committee that government officials had looted the parastatal, but later backtracked after his claims had stirred a hornets nest.Obert Mpofu, as mines and mining development minister, was to also play a central role in the Chiadzwa diamonds saga. A diamond mining executive, Lovemore Kurotwi of Canadile Miners was to accuse Mpofu during a trial in 2013 of seeking a kickback of US$10 million in exchange for a licence to mine at the diamond rich area. The country's diamond dealings were shrouded in so much opaqueness that Treasury, under former finance minister Tendai Biti, admitted that it did not know what was happening at the diamond mines. President Mugabe was later to reveal that the State could not account for revenues of up to US$15 billion generated from the diamond mines. Commitments to launch an inquiry into the missing US$15 billion are yet to take off.May this man be subjected to all due legal resitutive processes without fear or favour. He needs to clear his name. So far, the public's untested hypothesis doesn't favour him. And yet only time will tell if the powers be can crack the whip. For electoral score-pointing, rival political parties would use such glaring untested scape-goats to their leverage. Its serious.Opinion / Columnist

"At church...I'm so excited and empowered to know that God assures me that no weapon fashioned against me shall prevail. I thank the Sunday Mail for the free advert thru their false & malicious headline. Without doubt we are forming the next government because #Godisinit !!" Twittered Nelson Chamisa, MDC-T's new Acting President.This is just plan foolish and grandstanding posturing the nation have come to expect from our corrupt, incompetent and greedy political leaders from both side of the political divide.Only an arrogant idiot would evoke the name of God Almighty in vain! MDC has been at the heart of Zimbabwe politics for nearly 20 years now and the nearest the party has ever come to forming the government was during the GNU. If one was to follow Chamisa's naive and simplistic logic the party failed to form the government because God was NOT in it!There are many occasions when political power was within MDC's grasp; the Lord had opened opportunity for the nation to end the Zanu PF dictatorship, to the religiously inclined; Chamisa and his friends wasted every one of these opportunities. The best chance by a long mile was during 2008 to 2013 GNU.In the 2008 elections when Zanu PF instructed ZEC to cook up the vote count of the March vote to overturn Tsvangirai's 73% victory to a mere 47% to force a run-off. It took six weeks to announce the fraudulent result because ZEC had to revisit each and every Polling Station to destroy the evidence of the true vote count for fear the result should be challenged in a Court of Law.In the June 2008 run-off, Zanu PF deployed party thugs, war veterans and members from Army, Police and CIO to harass, intimidate, beat, rape and even murder innocent Zimbabweans. "Zanu PF has declared war on the people!" said Tsvangirai, when he announced his withdrawal from the race. The wanton violence was to punish the voters for having reject Mugabe and Zanu PF in the March vote and coerce them to vote for Mugabe in the run-off. It worked, Mugabe's vote jumped from the misery 27% in March to a landslide 84%!Not even SADC and AU election observers, who had turned a blind eye to Zanu PF vote rigging in the past, would endorse Mugabe's victory as a free, fair and credible elections. SADC forced Mugabe and Zanu PF to sign the Global Political Agreement (GPA) agreeing to the implementation of the raft of democratic reforms designed to end Zanu PF's dictatorial control of ZEC, Police, Army and all the other State Institutions and restore all the people's freedoms and human rights including the right to free, fair and credible elections.The GPA agreed to the formation of the Government of National Unity (GNU), comprising Zanu PF and the two MDC factions. The GNU was tasked to implement the reforms and SADC was the guarantor of the agreement. The task of implementing the reforms fall to MDC naturally since they were the democrats and not Zanu PF, the dictatorial tyrants. It is a matter of historic record that SADC leaders did reminded MDC leaders, repeatedly, to implement the reforms during the GNU.MDC leaders failed to implement even one democratic reform in five years of the GNU. Not one! Robert Mugabe bribed Morgan Tsvangirai and his MDC friends with the trapping of high office, they were like cockroaches in a milk trap, they gorged themselves and forgot the reforms. Chamisa was one of the MDC ministers and he had his share of the ministerial limo, generous salary and allowances, world travel, etc., etc. He has bought many houses and amassed more wealth in those GNU years than many of his contemporaries will ever earn in a life time!"Mazivanhu eMDC adzidza kudya anyerere!" (MDC people have learnt to enjoy the gravy train benefits and not rock the boat!) Boasted Zanu PF cronies during the GNU, in reply to why MDC leaders were not implementing the reforms.With no democratic reforms in place, it was obvious Zanu PF would rig the 2013 elections. SADC leaders warned MDC leaders not to take part in the election, but the warning was ignored. MDC lost the 2013 elections because the elections were rigged but, more significantly, because MDC had failed to implement the reforms to stop vote rigging. MDC lost the 2013 elections because the party leaders are incompetent, corrupt and sold-out big time on reforms - God had no hand in all that!Since the rigged July 2013 election, still not even one reform has been implemented. SADC leaders' advice not to contest the election without implementing the reforms is more poignant this year than in 2013. It is insane to keep contesting elections that are so flawed and illegal, as was so graphically demonstrated during the 2008 elections, it is impossible to win. If Zanu PF can turn 73% to 47%, use wanton violence to boast their vote, etc., etc. it is impossible to see how the party can ever be defeated. The only reason MDC leaders have insisted in contesting the elections, regardless of the process being blatant fraudulent and illegal, is greed."The worst aspect for me about the failure to agree a coalition was that both MDCs couldn't now do the obvious - withdraw from the elections," admitted Senator David Coltart in his recent book."The electoral process was so flawed, so illegal, that the only logical step was to withdraw, which would compel SADC to hold Zanu PF to account. But such was the distrust between the MDC-T and MDC-N that neither could withdraw for fear that the other would remain in the elections, winning seats and giving the process credibility."Nelson Chamisa told an MDC Alliance rally in Mutare two weeks ago that the party has devised "stringent measures" to stop Zanu PF rigging elections. If the party was so clever, then why did it not use the same measure to stop the blatant vote rigging in 2013? This is just the latest feeble excuse to justify why is contest the elections with nothing done to stop the vote rigging.The only effective measure to stop Zanu PF rigging elections is for the country to implement the reforms.Many a battle have been lost unnecessarily because time, effort and money that should have gone into preparing for the fighting battle was wasted celebrating the victory not yet won!"Without doubt we are forming the next government!" boasted Chamisa.Yes, the pompous one; you can start forming the next government but first win the rigged elections; a feat you have singularly and foolishly failed to accomplish so far.Zimbabwe cannot afford yet another rigged election born out of MDC's arrogance, betrayal and blithering incompetence. If the elections are rigged then you, the pompous one, and you friends must explain to the nation why you dragged the nation into this flawed election, ignoring the warning that the elections will be rigged.Best for: Singles over 50 who are looking for something serious and like the idea of having a curated dating experience

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Updates throughout the day at http://calevbenyefuneh.blog spot.com. If you enjoy "Love of the Land", please be a subscriber. Just put your email address in the "Subscribe" box on the upper right-hand corner of the page.Twitter updates at LoveoftheLand as well as our Love of the Land page at Facebook which has additional pieces of interest besides that which is posted on the blog. Also check-out This Ongoing War by Frimet and Arnold Roth. An excellent blog, very important work.

.

..Commentary Magazine..21 February '18..After issuing a rare rebuke of Irans repeated calls for Israels destruction on Monday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov added that Moscow also opposes attempts to view any regional problem through the prism of fighting Iran. Unfortunately for him, thats precisely the way most of the Middle East does view many regional problems, as revealed by a stunning informal poll which an Al Jazeera talk show host conducted among his tens of thousands of Arabic-language Twitter followers on February 10. Asked which side they supported in a recent Israeli-Iranian clash in Syria, fully 56 percent12,800 peoplesaid they backed Israel.Needless to say, this is not because the respondents love Israel. But its a stunning measure of just how much they hate Iran and its Syrian protege, the Assad regime. As one Syrian wrote, no Syrian in his right mind would support Israel in most situations, but you will find millions of Syrians queuing up with the blue devilshis charming term for Israelagainst the fascist sectarian regime that has surpassed all the monsters on earth in killing Syrians.What makes the results even more noteworthy is that the poll was conducted by the host of a show on Al Jazeera, a Qatari-owned station that still views Israel as public enemy number one. Unlike Saudi Arabia, whose government openly loathes Iran and whose media outlets routinely echo this view, Qatar maintains close relations with Iran. Indeed, these close relations are one of the main reasons why Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states severed ties with Qatar last year. In other words, this wasnt a case of respondents telling a pollster what they thought he wanted to hear; Al Jazeeras coverage would have encouraged them to label Israel a greater evil than Iran. Yet a decisive majority nevertheless backed Jerusalem against Tehran.That most Arab governments now consider Iran a greater enemy than Israel isnt news; their behind-the-scenes cooperation with Israel against Tehran has become an open secret. Indeed, if you read Reuters interview from the Munich Security Conference on Sunday with the names blacked out, you could easily think the interviewee was Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rather than Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir. The four steps Al-Jubeir deemed crucialreining in Irans ballistic missile program, reining in its support for terror, canceling the sunset provision in its 2015 nuclear deal, and altering the deal to allow inspections of undeclared and military sitesare the same steps Netanyahu advocates at every opportunity.But since Arab governments are far from democratic, anyone unwilling to abandon his faith that the Palestinian-Israeli conflict is the root of all Mideast evils had an out. Arab regimes might view Iran as the number-one problem, they argued, but for ordinary Arabs, the Palestinian issue still has pride of place.What Al Jazeeras informal poll shows is that this argument is simply false. Its not just in Arab capitals that Iran is now more widely loathed and feared than Israel, but also on the Arab street, to the point that Arabs are even willing to openly back Israel in a clash with Iran. If Israel and its treatment of the Palestinians were still their top concern, they would instead be rooting for Iran against Israeljust as most of the Arab world did back in 2006 when Israel fought a month-long war with Irans wholly-owned Lebanese subsidiary, Hezbollah.This sea change in Arab attitudes has serious foreign policy implications for anyone who calls himself a realist. As John Podhoretz correctly argued ins March issue, the realist view that Israel was the source of most Mideast problems could always more properly have been termed fantasist; most of the Arab worlds ills have nothing to do with Israel. But realists did have one unassailable fact on their side: When you stack Israel up against the Arab world, the latter has both the numbers and the oil. Consequently, it was at least tenable to argueas long as you ignore all the other considerations Podhoretz citesthat Americas interests were better served by siding with the Arabs against Israel.Today, the Arab world still has the numbers and the oil, but its siding with Israel against Iran. So for any realist who holds that America should align itself with Arab concerns because numbers and oil are crucial considerations, the top priority now shouldnt be another fruitless Israeli-Palestinian peace process, but reining in Irans malignant behavior. To its credit, that is something the Trump Administration is trying to do by threatening to scrap the nuclear deal unless the four Israeli-Saudi-American concerns cited above are addressed.As for all the self-proclaimed realists who remain fixated on Israel despite the change in Arab attitudes that has destroyed their main argument, perhaps its time to drop the realist label. The more accurate term for people who see Jews as the root of all evil under any and all circumstances is anti-Semite.The Casa Cuevas Connecticut is one of three blends owned by Casa Cuevas Cigars. Casa Cuevas Cigars is the brand owned by the father and son team of Luis Cuevas Sr. and his son Luis Cuevas Jr. The Cuevas family are not newcomers to the cigar industry. The Cuevas family has been involved in the cigar business for four generations. Luis and Luis Jr. operate a factory out of the Dominican Republic called Tabacalera Las Lavas. This is a factory that has made cigars for brands such as Gurkha, Torano, and Leccia Tobacco. In the past few months, we have looked at the other two blends offered by Casa Cuevas, the Casa Cuevas Habano and Casa Cuevas Maduro. Today, we complete the trifecta by looking at the Casa Cuevas Connecticut in the Toro size.

The Cuevas family traces its roots in the cigar industry back to the 19th century. This is when Juan Cuevas settled in the Pinar del Rio valley and started cultivating tobacco. Juans son Juan Jr. would take over the business from his father, but with the Cuban Revolution Juan Jr left Cuba for the Dominican Republic. This is where the family has been based ever since. Cigar industry veteran Gabriel Alvarez serves as the Director of Sales.

Without further ado, lets break down the Casa Cuevas Connecticut Toro and see what this cigar brings to the table:

Blend Profile

The Casa Cuevas Connecticut consists of a three country multi-national blend. The

Wrapper: Ecuadorian Connecticut

Binder: Nicaraguan

Filler: Dominican, Nicaraguan

Country of Origin: Dominican Republic (Tabacalera Las Lavas S.R.L)

Vitolas Available

There are three sizes of the Casa Cuevas Habano. Each is packaged in 20-count boxes.

Robusto: 5 x 52

Toro: 6 x 50

Gordo: 6 x 60

Appearance

The Ecuadorian Connecticut wrapper of the Casa Cuevas Connecticut Toro has a light brown color to it. Depending on how the light hits the wrapper, there might be a subtle orange tint to it. There wasnt much oil on the surface of this wrapper. The wrapper itself was slightly bumpy on the surface. There were some visible veins and any visible wrapper seams were on the thin side.

The front of the band of the Casa Cuevas Connecticut has a large dark midnight blue oval with text CUEVAS prominently displayed in a large gold font. Just above that text is the text Casa in a thin cursive gold font. The remainder of the band features some gold medallions also on a midnight blue background. The band is finished with a thick gold foil-like trim.

Preparation for the Cigar Experience

Prior to lighting the Casa Cuevas Connecticut Toro, I used a straight cut to remove the cap. I then proceeded with the pre-light draw ritual. The cold draw delivered a mix of classic wood, cedar, and a compound note that was a cross between natural tobacco and strawberry sweetness. I considered this to be a satisfactory pre-light draw. At this point, I was ready to light up the Casa Cuevas and see what the smoking phase would have in store.

Flavor Profile

The start of the Casa Cuevas Connecticut Toro picked up where the pre-light draw left off. I detected more notes of classic wood, cedar, and the combination of natural tobacco and strawberry. Early on, the cream notes moved into the forefront along with the classic wood notes. The natural tobacco/strawberry combination, along with the cedar, settled in the background. There was an additional layer of cedar on the retro-hale.

During the second third, I found the natural tobacco/strawberry combination increased in intensity and joined the cream notes in the background. The classic wood notes receded into the background and joined the cedar notes.

By the last third, the classic wood notes increased in intensity again. The cedar notes also increased in intensity. These notes joined the cream notes in the forefront. Meanwhile, the strawberry/natural tobacco combination returned to the background, delivering some extra sweetness. This is the way the Casa Cuevas Connecticut came to a close. The resulting nub was cool in temperature and slightly firm to the touch.

Burn and Draw

Overall, I found the Casa Cuevas Connecticut Toro performed excellently. This cigar had no trouble maintaining a straight burn line and a straight burn path. The resulting ash had a salt and pepper complexion to it. This was an ash that was on the firmer side. As for the burn rate and burn temperature, both were ideal.

In terms of the draw, I found this draw to be more on the open side, but it wasnt a draw that I would say was loose. While I normally like a little more resistance on the draw, it still was one I could live with.

Strength and Body

When it comes to Connecticut Shade release, Ive said many times there are two categories. The first are those that deliver a milder, dialed-back experience while the other is one that tries to push the boundaries for a bolder smoking experience. The Casa Cuevas Connecticut Toro falls into the former category. This is a cigar that started out mild to medium in both strength and body. As the cigar experience progressed, both attributes increased in intensity; however, in the end, I still found both attributes remained in the mild to medium range.

Final Thoughts

When it comes to those classic Connecticut Shade cigars that fall into the milder category, I often find that when it comes to the creaminess, it typically diminishes greatly in the second half of the cigar experience. One thing that really impressed me with the Casa Cuevas Connecticut Toro is that this cigar maintained its creaminess from start to finish. Add to the equation, that this cigar delivers some impressive flavors and the Casa Cuevas Connecticut Toro adds up to a winner. The three blends of the Casa Cuevas portfolio have all been excellent, and Im inclined to give the Connecticut Toro a slight edge.

This is a cigar that I would recommend to any cigar enthusiast any time of the day. As for myself, this is a cigar I definitely will smoke again. Not only is it one that easily garners box worthy consideration, its one of which I would easily recommend purchasing a box.

Summary

Key Flavors: Cream, Natural Tobacco, Strawberry, Cedar, Classic Wood

Burn: Excellent

Draw: Very Good

Complexity: Medium

Strength: Mild to Medium

Body: Mild to Medium

Finish: Very Good

Rating

Value: Box Purchase

Score: 93

References

News: Gabriel Alvarez Named Director of Sales with Casa Cuevas Cigars

Price: ~$7.30

Source: Casa Cuevas

Brand Reference: Casa Cuevas

Photo Credits: Cigar CoopThank you for tuning into Vintage Love tonight... or maybe you are checking out the show On Demand. However you are checking this out right now, thank you for tuning into CKCU The Mighty 93.1FM Tonights show.. as we often do... we go back to memories of great artists and great songs here on VL. Including the late greats, such as.... Gregory Isaacs, John Holt, Bob Marley, Dennis Brown, Alton Ellis and more. Tonights show also featuring some great R&B courtesy of Major and Gregory Abbott. Hoping you enjoy the music on the show tonight. Thank you again for keeping VL alive by listening and sharing information about the show with others and coming back here to visit. We always welcome and hope for new fans so that we can further spread good vibes and love to the 4 corners of the world and all the nooks and crannies in between. Playin' with my own memories again... takin' me back to another day.. another time and the plans and promises of love to a youthful heart. Such grand and amazing memories.... "to all the girls I've loved before".... starting with you... Thank you! Enjoy today! O'shea Adagio "Playing With Those Memories Again" Vintage Love International CKCU 93.1FM www.ckcufm.com ckcuvintagelove osheaadagioUkraine boosts gas withdrawal from its USFs due to cold snap

Some 10.4 billion cubic meters of gas remain in the underground storage facilities (USFs), Beliavsky says.

If you see a spelling error on our site, select it and press Ctrl+EnterA member of Iranian parliament says that the legislature votes only for thirty percent of the national budget and it has no chance to vote for the rest.

Deputy Chairman of Iranian parliaments Social Commission, Mohammad Reza Badamchi tweeted his complaint after the parliament passed President Hassan Rouhanis new budget and sent it for review to the Guardian Council.

He writes in his tweet, Public opinion should know that only one-third of the countrys budget is discussed in parliament; which is mainly the part about governments income and [operational] expenses. The other seventy percent involves the income and expenditures of state owned enterprises, for profit companies and banks.

Badamchi does not mention anything about military expenditures, outlays for ideological organizations or who decides about the seventy percent of the budget.

Badamchi, who is a reformist politician, says parliament should have a say about the whole budget and points out that when huge institutions operate outside its purview, they operate without transparency.

When Rouhani presented his budget in December, he also admitted that a huge chunk of it falls outside the governments decision making authority. The government does not have a say in the budget of military and security organs and appropriation for dozens of religious-ideological foundations.

The only thing that Rouhani was able to do was to be a bit more transparent in presenting the details of the budget, which immediately ignited a hot debate among the people, especially on social media. This might have played a role in leading to the wide-spread protests later in December.

In one of his speeches Rouhani brought up the example of what he said was a long list of seventeen organizations that constantly demanded their money from the government and if it is a day late, they protest. The president complained that when the government asked them where they spent the money, their answer was it is none of your business.Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 26

Trend:

On February 26, 1992, Armenian military committed an act of genocide against the 7,000 population of the Azerbaijani town of Khojaly.

As many as 613 people, including 63 children, 106 women and 70 old people were killed as a result of the massacre. A total of 1,000 civilians became disabled in the onslaught. Eight families were completely annihilated, 130 children lost one parent, while 25 lost both parents. Some 1,275 innocent residents were taken hostage, while the fate of 150 people still remains unknown.

All these acts were committed by Armenian military with extreme mercilessness and inconceivable barbarism. The second battalion of 366th regiment under the command of Major Seyran Ohanian, the third battalion under the command of Yevgeniy Nabokhin, staff chief of the first battalion Valeriy Chitchyan and more than 50 officers and ensigns took part in the attack, according to information from The Investigation Materials Concerning Khojaly Occupation.

A part of the town residents, who attempted to flee, were killed by Armenians in pre-organized ambushes. According to the Russian Remedial Center Memorial, 200 corpses were brought from Khojaly to Agdam within four days of the massacre. Facts of humiliation on dozens of bodies were registered. Forensic examination in Agdam was performed on 181 corpses, including 13 children. The examination revealed that 151 people died from bullet wounds, 20 people died from shrapnel wounds, 10 were killed with blunt instruments. Facts of scalping people alive were also revealed.

The Khojaly genocide has become one of the most terrible and tragic pages of Azerbaijani history.

Azerbaijani people have faced ethnic cleansing and genocide by Armenian nationalists and chauvinists for 200 years. Azerbaijanis were deported from their historical lands and became refugees and internally displaced persons, and all this was accompanied by massacres committed by Armenians.

Azerbaijanis were also forced to leave their historical lands during the Soviet period. Some 150,000 Azerbaijanis were deported from Armenia and placed in the Kur-Araz plain in 1948-1953.

About 250,000 Azerbaijanis were forced from their historical territories in 1988 and Armenia became a mono-ethnic state.

The Nagorno-Karabakh events, which began in 1988 along with continuous efforts to implement the Armenian desire of building an Armenia from sea to sea, led to destruction of towns and villages, murder of thousands of innocent people, as well as the exile of hundreds of thousands of Azerbaijanis from their historical lands.

Armenian government tries to annex Nagorno-Karabakh despite international legal norms, demonstrating its readiness to resort to any kind of crime and atrocity. The Khojaly genocide  a tragedy of the 20th century  was a result of this aggressive and criminal policy. This tragedy of the late 20th century was one of the most serious crimes not only against the people of Azerbaijan, but humanity as a whole. The Khojaly genocide is comparable to the tragedies in Khatyn, Hiroshima, Nagasaki and Son My.

Why did Armenians choose Khojaly as a target? On one hand, they were intending to destroy strategic barriers in Karabakhs mountainous part, and on the other hand, Armenians just wanted to completely destroy Khojaly  a settlement, reflecting the historical and cultural traditions of Azerbaijanis from ancient times to the modern period.

This distinct culture is known as the Khojaly-Gadabay culture in the Azerbaijani history. The cromlechs, dolmens, cyclopean structures and tumuli as well as different monuments in Khojaly are the samples of material culture reflecting the dynamic development of human society here. Destruction of this material culture and the Khojaly graveyard  one of the most ancient cemeteries  after the Armenian occupation is the proof of Armenian barbarism and aggression against the world culture.

Stories of the Khojaly genocide victims are horrifying. Antiga, a Khojaly resident, was burned alive because she refused to say the area was part of Great Armenia.

Sariyya Talibova, another Khojaly resident, said, Four Mehseti Turks and three Azerbaijanis were decapitated over the grave of an Armenian. Later they [Armenians] gouged out the eyes of two Azerbaijanis.

Armenians scalped people alive, beheaded them and cut other parts of their bodies, gouged childrens eyes and disemboweled pregnant women.

Forbidden bullets of 5.45 caliber and chemical weapons were used in Khojaly during the attack.

All these prove that Armenia committed genocide against civilians, violating Geneva Convention's protocols.

The Khojaly genocide, committed with a particular atrocity, terrified journalists and publicists of Russia, Georgia, Great Britain, France, Germany, the US and other countries.

International conventions and laws in all countries condemn genocides like the Khojaly tragedy, and call them inadmissible.

The world must know that this crime was directed not only against the Azerbaijani people, but also against the whole civilized world.

The persons holding high state positions in Armenia today must answer before international court. This crime should not go unpunished. Armenia's military-political aggression must be condemned by the world community. International organizations and parliaments of world countries must give political and legal assessment to the Khojaly genocide committed by the Armenian Republic in Azerbaijans territories.

It should be noted that the parliaments of several countries have made decisions recognizing the Khojaly genocide.Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb.25

By Leman Zeynalova  Trend:

Although Netherlands doesnt participate in the Southern Gas Corridor project, envisaging transportation of Azerbaijani gas to Europe, it attaches extreme importance to this project, former president of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), chairman of the Dutch Friends of Azerbaijan Group Rene van der Linden said in an exclusive interview with Trend.

He noted that Europe intends to diversify its energy supply routes and sources so that not to be much dependent on one supplier of gas. In this regard, Rene van der Linden stressed the importance of Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) and Trans Anatolian Pipeline (TANAP) which constitute the Southern Gas Corridor.

Those projects, he said, are of extreme importance not only for the Netherlands, but for the whole Europe.

Rene van der Linden believes that the need for diversification of supplies will grow for sure as part of fulfilling the sustainable energy goals.

"Gas from Azerbaijan via the Southern Gas Corridor will meet the demand of South and South-Eastern European countries. But the pipelines in Europe are more and more interconnected to each other so that you can bring energy resources from the south of Europe to the north of Europe without problems. We are extremely interested to support the energy security in the EU as a whole," he said.

The Southern Gas Corridor, worth $41.5 billion, is considered as one of the priority energy projects for the EU, which strives for diversification of gas sources. The project envisages the transportation of gas from the Caspian region to the European countries through Georgia and Turkey.

At an initial stage, the gas to be produced in 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).

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @Lyaman_Zeyn

Subscribers of Trend News Agency can read this and other exclusive materials before they are published in open access.

More information on Trends news products can be found here.Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 25

Trend:

Uzbekistan and Russia will prepare an action plan for cooperation in the field of nuclear energy, Uzbek Foreign Minister Abdulaziz Kamilov said.

Kamilov made the remarks following the talks with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov.

"The sides are preparing a plan of practical actions ("road map") to strengthen bilateral cooperation for 2018 on the use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes," Kamilov said.

Earlier, Moscow offered Uzbekistan to build a nuclear power plant with two new generation power units in the country. On December 29, 2017, an agreement on cooperation in the field of using atomic energy for peaceful purposes was signed between the governments of the two countries within the visit of the Rosatom delegation to Tashkent.

Among the promising directions are the creation of national infrastructure and training of personnel for the nuclear energy of Uzbekistan, the construction of a nuclear power plant and research reactors in the country, as well as their support throughout the life cycle.

The agreement also covers the exploration and development of uranium deposits in Uzbekistan, the reclamation of uranium tailings, the production of radioisotopes and their use in industry, medicine and agriculture, scientific and basic research.

The agreement envisages the creation of joint working groups for the implementation of specific projects and scientific research, as well as the exchange of experts, holding of seminars and symposia.Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 25

Trend:

Georgia granted Uzbekistan a 50-percent-discount on the transit of all types of cargo via railway through its territory.

According to the Uzbek Ministry for Foreign Trade, these agreements were reached within the visit of the working group led by the countrys Deputy Minister of Foreign Trade Sahib Saifnazarov in Tbilisi on February 22-23, 2018.

Following the meeting with the management of the Georgian Railway JSC, the sides agreed on further development of cooperation in the field of railway transport, effective use of international transport corridors and increase in the volume of transit goods transported via railways of both countries.

"One of the results of these negotiations was the provision of the Georgian side with a 50-percent-discount on the transportation of all types of Uzbek cargo," Saifnazarov added.

Moreover, the Uzbek delegation held meetings in Georgias other state and commercial organizations. For example, the issues of holding another meeting of the Intergovernmental Commission for Economic Cooperation in Tbilisi were discussed within the negotiations in the Georgian Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development.

Following this meeting, the sides intend to conclude specific agreements and contracts, in particular, on cooperation in transport and logistics, the use of transport corridors passing through Georgia and opening of a joint trade house in Tbilisi.

In the Georgian Ministry of Agriculture and Tbilisi City Hall, the Uzbek delegation held a presentation of all automotive and agricultural machinery produced in Uzbekistan. Moreover, the guests also met with big regional car dealers.

The Georgian side showed interest in the Uzbek automotive and agricultural machinery, proposing to take an active part in the tenders for the supply of buses for municipal needs and small-scale agricultural machinery, Saifnazarov added.

Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev and Georgian Prime Minister Georgi Kvirikashvili agreed to develop relations between the countries in New York in September 2017.

Then the Uzbek president stressed the importance of Georgia's transit potential, in particular, the importance of the Anaklia seaport, the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway and the East-West highway.Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 25

Trend:

Delegation of Uzbekistan's Foreign Ministry will participate in Uzbek-Turkish consultations on 26 February in Ankara, the press service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Uzbekistan said, according to Uzdaily.uz.

Special representative of the president of Uzbekistan for Afghanistan Ismatulla Irgashev and Turkish special representative for Afghanistan Fazli Chorman will discuss the settlement of the Afghan situation.

The sides will exchange views on the agenda of the international conference on Afghanistan "Peace process, cooperation in the sphere of security and regional cooperation" scheduled for March 26-27, 2018 in Tashkent.

The Uzbek delegation will also take part in the upcoming 2nd meeting of the "Kabul process" in the capital of Afghanistan.Tehran, Iran, Feb. 25

By Kamyar Eghbalnejad  Trend:

An Iranian transportation official has described the North-South Transportation Corridor as significant for the country, suggesting that the country should halt some railway projects in order to finance the strategic corridor.

In addition to its economic benefits, North-South corridor will improve Irans strategic role, the former head of Iranian Railways, Mohsen Pourseyed-Aghaei, told Trend.

Mohsen Pourseyed-Aghaei who currently serves as the deputy for transport and traffic at Tehran municipality, added that carrying cargos to Russia, Azerbaijan and Georgia through Iran would defiantly leave a positive impact on the strategic role of the Islamic Republic.

Saying that Iran has already introduced 32 rial projects, he added that the North-South corridor shines as the most significant project of the countrys railway system.

Speaking about the restrictions that the railways company is facing due to financial issues, he suggested that some projects should be halted in order to facilitate the construction of the North-South corridor.

Considering the current budget, it is clear that we cannot operate all projects at the same time, he added.

The International North-South Transport Corridor is meant to connect Northern Europe with Southeast Asia. It will serve as a link connecting the railways of Azerbaijan, Iran and Russia. At the initial stage, it is planned to transport 5 million tons of cargo per year through the corridor and over 10 million tons of cargo in future.

In order to complete the mega project of the North-South Corridor, three railroad segments connecting the northwestern city of Qazvin to the border city of Astara should be constructed inside Iran.

The first segment is Qazvin-Rasht, which, according to Iranian officials, is almost completed and expected to be inaugurated soon.

The second segment connecting the cities of Rasht and Astara is expected to be constructed within three years with Azerbaijans financial aid.

In the meantime the sides have already utilized the Astara-Astara segment, which connects the two border cites of the same name in Iran and Azerbaijan.A Palestinian man was shot to death by Israel Navy forces Sunday after the vessel he was on sailed past the authorized fishing zone off the northern Gaza Strip, the Israel Defense Forces said, Haaretz reports.

According to an IDF spokesman, the boat, which was carrying three men, did not respond to calls from the Israeli military before the latter opened fire. The two other men on board were detained for interrogation.

The Ministry of Health in Gaza said it has yet to be informed of any casualties or admissions to hospitals in the Strip.

The incident mirrors a similar one from May 2017, when a Palestinian fisherman was shot to death after his boat sailed off the fishing zone in the northern Gaza Strip. According to an IDF spokesman, he also did not respond to calls from the Israeli naval vessel before it opened fire.

The man was evacuated to a hospital in the southern Israeli city of Ashkelon, where he died of his wounds after undergoing surgery.Iraq seeks to acquire S-400 Triumph anti-aircraft weapon systems to defend its territory from air strikes, Iraqi MP Hakim Al-Zamili, head of the Iraqi parliaments security and defense committee, told Al-Ghad Press daily on Saturday, TASS reported.

"Iraq has the right to own cutting-edge weapons to defend its territory and air space from air attacks," he said. "Terrorism targets our country abundant in places sacred for every Iraqi. There are signs and warnings that extremists might use aircraft for attacks on those shrines, which cause lots of worries and anxiety in the country, as it was after an attack on Samarras holy places."

Samarra, an ancient city in northern Iraq, is home to some Shiite holiest shrines. Among them is the al-Askari mosque, regarded as a pilgrimage site for the Shiites. On 22 February 2006, its famous golden dome collapsed after a blast burying more than 80 worshippers under debris. The shrines destruction plunged Iraq into an unprecedented wave of violence and the country found itself on the brink of a civil war.

"America is a developed country, not less than any other. However, the World Trade Center was attacked by planes," al-Zamili noted. "So Iraq intends to possess such a system as S-400 to defend the land, shrines and air space. We are serious about that."

Along with this, the MP pointed out that the United States "is unwilling to equip Iraq with arms and to supply it with systems that will ensure comprehensive protection in its territory and air space," but wants Iraq "to be an open arena for realization of [US] plans."

"That is why, Iraq needs to have own [anti-aircraft] systems," he added. "It is our right to obtain them."

On Wednesday, the Shafaq News website said that an Iraqi delegation would visit Moscow in the near future for negotiating purchases of S-400 anti-aircraft weapon systems.

In October 2012, Moscow and Baghdad signed a contract for the supply of 48 air defense systems Pantsir-S and 36 helicopter gunships Mi-28 $4.2 billion worth. The details of the agreement were eventually changed several times as influence of the Islamic State terrorist group grew for a while in Iraq.

The S-400 Triumf (NATOs reporting name SA-21 Growler) is a Russian air defense system of long and intermediate range. It is meant for destroying all current or future aerospace means of attack. It is capable of hitting aerodynamic targets 400 kilometers to 60 kilometers away - tactical ballistic missiles flying at a speed up to 4.8 kilometers per second: cruise missiles, tactical and strategic aircraft and warheads of ballistic missiles.Several 3,000-year old tombs were discovered in Minya, about 245 kilometres (152 miles) south of Cairo, Egyptian authorities announced Friday, Anadolu reported.

Khaled al-Anani, the minister of antiquities, said in a statement that eight tombs containing 40 sarcophagi and roughly 1,000 figurines had been unearthed.

He added that it might take a few years to collect detailed information about the tombs.

Secretary-General of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities Mostafa Waziri said the ancient graves dated back to the late period of Ancient Egypt.

Excavation work, which began in 2017, will continue for the next five years, he added.UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Saturday welcomed the adoption of a Security Council resolution that demands a 30-day cease-fire in Syria, Xinhua reported.

"The secretary-general welcomes the Security Council's adoption of a resolution demanding a cessation of hostilities throughout Syria for at least 30 days," Stephane Dujarric, Guterres' spokesman, said in a statement.

"The secretary-general stresses his expectation that the resolution will be immediately implemented and sustained, particularly to ensure the immediate, safe, unimpeded and sustained delivery of humanitarian aid and services, the evacuation of the critically sick and wounded and the alleviation of the suffering of the Syrian people."

The secretary-general reminds all parties of their absolute obligation under international humanitarian and human rights law to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure at all times. Similarly, efforts to combat terrorism do not supersede these obligations, it said.

Resolution 2401 was adopted unanimously by the Security Council on Saturday after two weeks of tough negotiations against the backdrop of escalating violence in the country, particularly in Eastern Ghouta, the last major rebel enclave near Damascus.

The resolution demands an immediate cessation of hostilities for "a durable humanitarian pause for at least 30 consecutive days throughout Syria" to enable the safe, unimpeded and sustained delivery of humanitarian aid and services and medical evacuations of the critically sick and wounded.

It demands that, immediately after the start of the cessation of hostilities, all parties shall allow safe, unimpeded and sustained access each week for UN and partners' humanitarian convoys, including medical and surgical supplies, to all people in need in all parts of Syria, in particular to hard-to-reach and besieged locations.

It further demands that, immediately after the start of the cease-fire, all parties shall allow the United Nations and its implementing partners to undertake safe, unconditional medical evacuations, based on medical need and urgency.

The resolution also demands the immediate lifting of sieges on populated areas, including Eastern Ghouta.A newly-married man in Odisha was killed and his wife critically injured when a gift that they had received for their wedding reception exploded. The man's grandmother also died in the blast. The incident took place in Odisha's Bolangir district on Friday, just five days after their wedding, the police said, NDTV reports.



The police are trying to identify who gave the package to the couple at their reception ceremony on Wednesday and what kind of explosive was used in the incident. The gift package that was brought home after the reception, exploded when they opened it, they said.

The elderly woman was killed on the spot while her grandson died at a hospital in Rourkela where he was shifted to after being injured.





The wife of the man who was also severely injured in the explosion at their residence is still undergoing treatment at a government hospital in Burla.

Patnagarh Sub-Divisional Police Officer Sesadeva Bariha had said, "The police have collected evidence and an investigation is on."

Bolangir Chief District Medical Officer S Mishra said the elderly woman was declared "brought dead" at the Bolangir district headquarters hospital. ''The man injured in the blast also died at the Ispat General Hospital in Rourkela,'' he added.Turkey on Saturday welcomed the UN Security Council decision for a 30-day cease-fire in Syria, Anadolu reported.

The UN Security Council adopted a resolution in Syria "without delay".

"We welcome todays decision of the UN Security Council to end the conflicts without delay and to call for a humanitarian ceasefire for at least 30 days, in order to allow access to emergency humanitarian aid and medical evacuations in the wake of the worsening humanitarian situation in Syria, particularly Eastern Ghouta," the Foreign Ministrys spokesman Hami Aksoy said in a written statement.

"Since the beginning Turkey made an effort to end the conflict and to reduce the tension in every platform and supported the international community in their steps in this regard. The six observation points we have established in Idlib until today are a concrete manifestation of our efforts," it added.

Aksoy said that providing uninterrupted humanitarian assistance is a requirement of international law.

He stated that Turkey 'fully supports' the UNSC decision on completely implementing the UN Security Council Resolution 2268.

The statement said that Turkey will continue its humanitarian support to the Syrians and support the efforts of the international community, particulary the UN in this regard.

"On the other hand Turkey will continue its efforts to end the dispute which lies at the root of the humanitarian crisis in Syria and will continue its efforts in fighting terrorist organizations which endanger Syrias territorial integrity and political unity," the statement added.A home was flattened and 12 more houses were damaged in the Farmington subdivision East of Clarksville, WKRN reports.

Two people went to the hospital, with undetermined injuries.

Crews are going house to house to find homeowners, assess damage and find out about injuries, said Sandra Brandon, from the Montgomery County Sheriffs Office.

Deputies moved some people out of the neighborhood because they feared there was a gas leak.

LifePoint Church opened its doors to people displaced by the storm. As many as 30 people, including families with children, went to the church for the night because their homes are damaged. The Red Cross is also at the church to assess the needs of people there.

LifePoint Church will have services Sunday morning.By Gus Fielding, KYODO NEWS - Feb 25, 2018 - 17:36 | Sports, All, News

Japan's delegation chief Yasuo Saito on Sunday hailed the country's athletes for a "job well done" at the Pyeongchang Winter Games.

Japan captured a record 13 medals, including four gold, four more than the nine-medal harvest the Japanese Olympic Committee had targeted in South Korea.

Four years ago at the Sochi Games, Japan won a total of eight medals and only one gold.

"Coming to Pyeongchang, we were aiming for multiple gold medals and the final objective was to win more medals than the eight we won in Sochi," said Saito.

"We want to make this a huge springboard going toward (the) Tokyo 2020 (Summer Olympics). That was the objective starting out. I would like to say from the heart thank you to all the Japanese athletes, a job well done."

All four of Japan's gold came in ice events.

Yuzuru Hanyu carved his name into the pantheon of men's figure skating legends by defending his title with a 1-2 finish alongside compatriot Shoma Uno -- a feat made all the more remarkable since he was competing for the first time since October, having suffered a serious ankle injury in November.

Meanwhile, girl power brought success on the speed skating track. Nao Kodaira won the 500 meters, Nana Takagi won the mass start and was part of the group, alongside her younger sister Miho, that clinched the team pursuit gold medal two months after the same crew had rewritten its own world record for the second time.

Miho Takagi also won silver and bronze in the 1,500 and 1,000 meters, respectively. Nana became the first Japanese athlete to finish a Winter Games with two gold medals since ski jumper Kazuyoshi Funaki did the same at the 1998 Nagano Olympics in Japan.

"The entire skating team won one medal in Sochi and eight here. (That is) conspicuous excellence," said Saito.

Saito described an emotional moment shared between Kodaira and South Korean Lee Sang Hwa after Kodaira's victory over her rival in the 500 as a memory that would live on.

Kodaira and Lee, the world record holder and two-time defending Olympic champion, hugged on the track after the race and spoke of their mutual respect, perhaps briefly helping to thaw the often frosty political relationship between the two countries.

"That was a symbol of the friendship between the two countries and I think this is a memory that will long live in both South Korea and Japan," said Saito.

"A beautiful scene, the winner and the silver medal winner, both of them just hugging and showing respect to each other."

Among other medalists who helped the Japanese cause was snowboarder Ayumu Hirano, who was denied a place on the top of the podium by American superstar Shaun White in the men's halfpipe final.

Sara Takanashi clinched bronze four years after finishing out of the medals in Sochi, where women's ski jumping made its Olympic debut and greeted her as overwhelming gold medal favorite.

Women's curlers from the Hokkaido city of Kitami captured not only the hearts of fans back in Japan but also the country's first Olympic medal in the sport, winning bronze after missing out on a place in the final with an extra-end defeat by host South Korea.

But while Japan's performance was a success, short-track speed skater Kei Saito's positive doping test left a bad taste.

Saito denied intentionally doping to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. He agreed to leave the Olympic village and has been provisionally suspended from all International Skating Union competitions.

Saito emphatically denied knowingly taking acetazolamide, a drug used to treat conditions like glaucoma, altitude sickness and epilepsy that can be used as a masking agent for steroids.

"We met with the International Olympic Committee and CAS and together with legal reps have been working to deal with the situation with the best possible outcome," JOC's Yasuo Saito said.

"We agreed with the IOC that we will reopen the case and continue with the procedure after these games. With the consent of the athlete in question, we will take necessary steps and proceed to appeal to CAS. We are prepared to do everything and give all the support we can to the athlete."

Strong winds and bad weather forced several snow events to be rescheduled at the Pyeongchang Games, giving observing Tokyo Games organizers some learning moments with two and a half years before the Olympics will be staged once again in East Asia.KYODO NEWS - Feb 26, 2018 - 00:06 | Sports, World, All, News

North Korea expressed readiness to hold talks with the United States, South Korea's presidential office said Sunday, in a surprising remark raising hopes for easing tensions between Washington and the nuclear weapons-pursuing Asian country.

During talks with South Korean President Moon Jae In and Pyongyang's high-ranking delegation to the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, the two Koreas agreed that bilateral relations should be developed, while promoting U.S.-North Korea talks, the office said.

But it is uncertain what kind of talks Pyongyang is preparing for. The United States has reiterated that it will not sit at the same table unless North Korea promises to freeze or abandon its ballistic missile and nuclear weapons development programs.

Pyongyang may be eager to start negotiations with Washington as a nuclear rival, some foreign affairs experts say.

In Sunday's talks, the North Korean side also told the South that its leader Kim Jong Un shares the view with Moon that it is important to improve and expand inter-Korean ties, the presidential office said.

Moon urged Pyongyang to begin talks with Washington to resolve issues surrounding the Korean Peninsula in a fundamental manner, the office said in a brief statement, in which it did not use the word "nuclear."

Earlier in the day, the North's delegation to the closing ceremony of the Olympics, led by Kim Yong Chol, the head of the ruling party's United Front Department, arrived in South Korea, with protesters demonstrating against his visit.

As Kim Yong Chol is believed to have masterminded attacks on a South Korean warship and island in 2010 that killed 50 people in total, criticism has been growing against his visit to South Korea, especially from conservatives.

Meanwhile, Choe Kang Il, an official in charge of negotiations with the United States, has accompanied the delegation, the South's Unification Ministry said, indicating the possibility of Pyongyang and Washington having contact during its stay in South Korea.

Hundreds of people protesting Kim Yong Chol's visit rallied near a road where the North Korean delegation entered Seoul.

The South Korean government is on alert for any attempt to obstruct the delegation's travel and any possible attack on Kim Yong Chol, a former head of North Korea's Reconnaissance General Bureau.

Later the delegation, which is scheduled to remain in the South through Tuesday, arrived in Pyeonchang, east of Seoul, to participate in the closing event of the Olympics.

For the Olympics opening ceremony earlier this month, North Korea also sent a high-level delegation that included leader Kim Jong Un's sister and close aide, Kim Yo Jong, and ceremonial head of state Kim Yong Nam.

In talks with Kim Yo Jong and other officials, Moon was invited to visit Pyongyang for a summit, an extremely rare move as the two nations remain technically at war after the 1950-53 Korean War ended in a cease-fire.

Since the war, the leaders of the two Koreas have held formal talks only twice, in 2000 and 2007.

Kim Yong Chol, a vice chairman of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea, is blacklisted under unilateral sanctions adopted by both the United States and South Korea. Seoul has temporarily lifted the sanctions to allow him to visit South Korea.

He allegedly orchestrated the sinking of a South Korean warship in the Yellow Sea in March 2010, killing 46 sailors, for which Seoul blamed North Korea. Pyongyang denied involvement.

Moreover, Kim Yong Chol is suspected of leading the artillery attack in November that year on the South's Yeonpyeong Island near the tense western sea border, killing two soldiers and two civilians. It was the first attack on South Korean territory claiming the lives of civilians since the Korean War.

On Sunday, U.S. President Donald Trump's daughter and adviser Ivanka Trump also took part in the closing ceremony.

A senior U.S. official said Ivanka had no interaction with the North's delegation. But some member of the U.S. delegation might have contact behind the scenes, sources close to the matter said. The United States and North Korea have no diplomatic ties.

Relations between the two Koreas have shown signs of improving after Pyongyang decided to join the Pyeongchang Olympics.

The United States and Japan, however, have pledged to continue maximizing pressure on North Korea, as Pyongyang is still vowing to continue its ballistic missile and nuclear development programs.

On Friday, Washington imposed sanctions against 56 vessels, shipping companies and trade businesses linked to North Korea in what Trump called the "heaviest" sanctions ever imposed on the country.

Trump also warned that if the sanctions do not lead North Korea to move toward denuclearization, the United States may have to take a "very rough" step, signaling he does not rule out a military option in dealing with Pyongyang.

The official newspaper of North Korea's ruling party said in an editorial earlier this month that Pyongyang has become a nuclear power thanks to earnest efforts by Kim Jong Il, father of the current leader.

"We have to boost our prestige as the world's strongest nuclear nation," the Rodong Sinmun, North Korea's most influential newspaper, said, suggesting Pyongyang is intending to develop weapons of mass destruction despite a thaw with the South.A group of five U.S. private rocket companies met with Brazilian officials in December.

Boeing, Lockheed Martin and Vector are interested in launching from the equatorial Alcantara launch complex.

The coastal launch site would offer cost savings by its ability to reach orbits often preferred for satellites.

A group representing five U.S. private rocket companies visited Brazil in December to meet with the nation's space agency and analyze the possibility of launching from the equatorial Alcantara launch complex.

The U.S. Department of Commerce was informed about the trip, which was organized by members of the private space industry. The group met with multiple Brazil government and military officials and looked at facilities that may be suitable for manufacturing, assembling and launching satellites.

The launch complex on Brazil's northern coast offers an opportunity to launch near the equator, much like the Guiana Space Centre, which is north of the equator in French Guiana.

An equatorial launch complex offers the opportunity to decrease the amount of fuel the rockets need to reach geosynchronous orbits  often the preferred location for satellites  by as much as 20 percent or more, lowering the cost of each launch. Boeing, Lockheed Martin and Vector are interested in the cost savings Alcantara may offer to launch satellites.

"Vector is very interested in the opportunity," Vector CEO Jim Cantrell told CNBC, adding that the visit included company representatives from Boeing BA , Lockheed Martin LMT , SpaceX and Microcosm.

"Alcantara has a number of advantages, one of them being its ability to reach geosynchronous orbit. It takes much less fuel to launch from the equator to those orbits," Cantrell said.

Brazil's Defense Minister Raul Jungmann told reporters Thursday the complex may be able to support up to five launch pads, key to multiple companies establishing operations. Both Boeing and Lockheed said in statements that the companies are interested in speaking more to officials in Brazil.

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"While there are no formal decisions at this time, we look forward to a continued dialogue," a Lockheed Martin spokesperson told CNBC in a statement. Boeing, which sent two executives on the trip, also said in a statement that the company sees international partnerships as playing an important role as the space industry develops.

"We look forward to Brazil's participation," Boeing said, which is also discussing a potential tie-up with Brazil's Embraer , which manufactures small commercial aircraft and military jets. The government holds a golden share in Embraer, allowing it to veto a deal that would change its controlling interest or involve strategic programs. Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg told CNBC last week that it is "getting closer" to a deal with Embraer that "will satisfy the needs of everybody involved."

SpaceX does not share a continued interest in establishing launch operations at Alcantara, the company told CNBC.

"Reports that SpaceX is interested in launching from Brazil are inaccurate," spokesperson John Taylor said in a statement.

Microcosm, a low cost rocket venture in Torrance, California, did not respond to a CNBC request for comment.

Cantrell says the remaining hurdle to a deal with Brazil is the signing of a Technology Safeguards Agreement (TSA) with the U.S., to protect sensitive information about any rockets exported to Brazil. Under the voluntary Missile Technology Control Regime signed in 1995, Brazil shifted its space program from military to civilian control and put in place laws to protect foreign intellectual property. A TSA signed between the U.S. and Brazil in 2000 was not ratified in the communist-controlled Brazilian Senate, due to concerns of national sovereignty.

Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross told CNBC on Thursday the future of commercial space projects depends on colonizing the moon , as the current administration wants private industry to take the lead on furthering American interests in space. At a meeting of the National Space Council on Tuesday, Ross outlined reforms to deregulate the space industry.

A new window of opportunity may be at hand for cooperation between the commercial space interests of the two governments. Brazilian lawmakers and military officials alike have expressed renewed eagerness to put establish a new TSA, matched in turn by the interest of U.S. companies. A non-proliferation agreement with the U.S. may see Brazil become the next step in an increasingly valuable space industry.

Vector is set to launch its first Vector-R rocket to orbit in July , the next major step toward the company's goal of launching more than 100 times per year. Boeing and Lockheed Martin are each working on crewed capsules  one to send astronauts to orbit around the Earth and the other for deep space travel  as well as building satellites and the new Space Launch System rocket for NASA.

 CNBC's Leslie Josephs contributed to this report.





More From CNBC

JERUSALEM, Feb 25 (Reuters) - Fertiliser and specialty chemicals maker Israel Chemicals (ICL) said on Sunday its board had appointed insurance boss Raviv Zoller as its new chief executive.

ICL, the world's sixth-largest potash producer, said in a statement to the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange a start date for Zoller has yet to be determined.

The company said it would convene a general meeting of shareholders in the near future for approval of Zoller's terms of employment.

Zoller, who replaces acting CEO Asher Grinbaum, said earlier this month that he would step down as CEO of IDI Insurance Co , a position he has held since 2008.

Grinbaum was appointed acting CEO in September 2016 when former CEO Stefan Borgas left.

Earlier this month, Israeli media had reported that Zoller would likely be appointed ICL's new CEO.

(Reporting by Steven Scheer; Editing by Steven Scheer)FILE PHOTO: The Philadelphia Energy Solutions oil refinery is seen at sunset in front of the Philadelphia skyline in Pennysylvania, U.S., March 24, 2014. REUTERS/David M. Parrott/File Photo

By Stephanie Kelly

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices rose on Friday to their highest in more than two weeks, supported by the shutdown of the El Feel oilfield in Libya and upbeat comments from Saudi Arabia that an OPEC-led effort to cut stockpiles is working.

El Feel produces 70,000 barrels per day of crude. Production in OPEC member Libya has been running at about 1 million bpd, although it remains volatile due to unrest.

"Libya is another outage," said John Kilduff, partner at investment manager Again Capital in New York. "This market has benefited from a series of them over the past several months now, whether it's the Keystone, the North Sea (Forties), and now this."

Brent crude <LCOc1> futures rose 92 cents to settle at $67.31 a barrel, a 1.4 percent gain. The global benchmark's session high of $67.37 was its highest since Feb. 7.

West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude <CLc1> futures rose 78 cents to settle at $63.55 a barrel, trading between $62.33 and $63.73.

Both benchmarks notched their second straight week of gains. Brent was up about 3.7 percent, its largest weekly increase since the end of October. U.S. benchmark WTI posted a weekly rise of about 3 percent.

Prices were buoyed by comments from Saudi Arabia's energy minister Khalid al-Falih, who said he expected oil market inventories to continue declining.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and other producers including Russia have cut output to support prices. They hope to reduce crude inventories held by industrialized nations to their five-year average.

Prices pared gains in the afternoon after General Electric Co's <GE.N> Baker Hughes energy services firm said the number of oil rigs in the United States rose for the fifth straight week to 799. [RIG/U] Rising U.S. production has hindered OPEC's efforts to drain supplies.

On Thursday, data from the Energy Information Administration showed that U.S. crude inventories <USOILC=ECI> unexpectedly fell 1.6 million barrels last week. Crude stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub for U.S. futures <USOICC=ECI> fell 2.7 million barrels last week.

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Analysts also said prices were following through a more than 1.5 percent rise on Thursday.

"Yesterday's shock that it was a drawdown, and also a large drawdown at Cushing, really provided that lift that we needed," said Phillip Streible, senior market strategist at RJO Futures in Chicago.

U.S. crude exports are rising with output. Thursday's EIA data showed exports of U.S. crude jumped to just above 2 million bpd, close to a record 2.1 million hit in October.

"Robust oil production in the U.S. will continue to cap price gains," said Abhishek Kumar, senior energy analyst at Interfax Energy's Global Gas Analytics in London.

Hedge funds and money managers upped their bullish wagers on U.S. crude oil for the first time in four weeks, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) said on Friday.

The group raised their combined futures and options position in New York and London by 478 contracts to 478,160 in the week to Feb. 20, the CFTC said.

(Additional reporting by Alex Lawler in London and Henning Gloystein in Singapore; Editing by David Gregorio and Cynthia Osterman)After recently closing $50 million in financing, D-Wave Systems is looking to bring in hundreds of millions of dollars more.

The company has plans to bring quantum computing to the public cloud this year.

Vern Brownell spent the past eight years preaching quantum computing to a world that wasn't ready for it.

As CEO of D-Wave Systems , Brownell has been overseeing the development of a type of superfast processor that to date has largely been limited to use in research labs. His Vancouver-based company first raised venture funding back in 2004, five years before he joined.

But this week Brownell is in San Francisco and has plenty of eager listeners on his agenda. Fresh off D-Wave's $50 million in funding from Canada's PSP Investments, Brownell said he's meeting with banks and big investors about raising hundreds of millions of dollars later this year as the company prepares to move into the public cloud.

"We intend to do a very large offering to take advantage of the position we're in," Brownell said, in an interview on Thursday.

He said the financing  an alternative to an IPO  will be led by an investment bank and potentially include sovereign wealth funds and large private equity firms. Brownell has also talked with SoftBank's massive Vision Fund , calling it the type of investor that he would like to see participate. Existing investors include In-Q-Tel, the venture group that invests on behalf of the CIA, and Jeff Bezos venture firm.

Quantum computing's promise

Quantum computing differs from classical computing, which is defined by binary code  1s and 0s. With quantum computing, there are units called qubits that aren't limited to that binary state and have the ability to store dramatically more information. In 2015, Google said that its project with NASA using a D-Wave machine performed certain tasks 100 million times faster than conventional processors.

Critical to D-Wave's future is getting this technology into the hands of everyday developers. Until now, researchers at Google GOOGL , NASA, Lockheed Martin LMT and the Los Alamos National Laboratory have used D-Wave machines, which cost millions of dollars, in complex experiments to see if quantum computing can solve problems in drug discovery, cybersecurity and space exploration.

Story continues

By mid-year, D-Wave's technology will be available in the public cloud for the first time through one of the big three vendors  Amazon AMZN , Microsoft MSFT or Google  Brownell told CNBC. He's not yet able to announce which one will host the service, but said the goal is to eventually be available on multiple platforms.

"I want to be an arms merchant for the cloud providers," Brownell said. "Once one of them has this capability, all of them will want to have it."

The world clearly needs more powerful processors, as demand explodes for artificial intelligence workloads that require faster and more efficient chips than what's currently available from Nvidia NVDA and AMD . But there's a healthy amount of debate among researchers and scientists about whether quantum computers are useful for practical real-world applications.

D-Wave's thumbnail-sized processors are deployed in massive refrigerators that have 18 layers of shielding to protect the quantum state. Last year the company started selling the $15 million 2000Q , which has 2,000 qubits, twice as many as the prior version.

By getting into the public cloud, D-Wave can start letting developers experiment with its technology in much more cost-effective ways. Brownell said they'll even "be able to use small bits of quantum computing for free."

'From pure science towards engineering'

Much of the funding that D-Wave plans to raise will go towards hiring software developers as it pushes into the cloud. The company currently has 170 employees, including 40 people in software, Brownell said.

D-Wave is far from alone in the market. IBM is building a quantum computer for the commercial world and Microsoft introduced a quantum computing development kit last year. In a January report, Homeland Security Research predicted quantum computing will grow 25 percent a year through 2024, when it will reach $8.45 billion in products and services and $2.25 billion on government-funded research.

The report said that 18 of the world's top companies and dozens of government agencies are working on the processor or software side of quantum computing "or partnering with the quantum industry start-ups like D-Wave."

In line with D-Wave's vision, the report had this to say about the many players in the ecosystem:

"Their ambition reflects a broader transition, taking place at start-ups and academic research labs alike: To move from pure science towards engineering."





More From CNBC

China CITIC Bank, China Petroleum & Chemical, and China Mobile all share one thing in common. They are on our list of top paying dividend stocks which have helped grow my portfolio income over the past couple of months. Dividends play an important role in compounding returns in the long run and end up forming a sizeable part of investment returns. As a long term investor with a short term temperament, I highly recommend these top dividend stocks.

China CITIC Bank Corporation Limited (SEHK:998)

China CITIC Bank Corporation Limited provides various banking products and services in the Peoples Republic of China, Hong Kong, and internationally. Established in 1987, and headed by CEO Deshun Sun, the company size now stands at 51,608 people and with the market cap of HKD HK$390.23B, it falls under the large-cap stocks category.

998 has a great dividend yield of 4.11% and pays 26.09% of its earnings as dividends . Dividends per share have increased during the past 10 years, but there have been a couple hiccups. However, they have historically always picked up again. China CITIC Banks future earnings growth looks strong, with analysts expecting 55.35% EPS growth in the next three years. More on China CITIC Bank here.

SEHK:998 Historical Dividend Yield Feb 25th 18

China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (SEHK:386)

China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation, an energy and chemical company, engages in the oil and gas, and chemical operations and businesses in the Peoples Republic of China and internationally. Formed in 2000, and now run by Houliang Dai, the company provides employment to 451,611 people and has a market cap of HKD HK$941.79B, putting it in the large-cap stocks category.

386 has a large dividend yield of 4.42% and pays 58.53% of its earnings as dividends . Although investors would have seen a few years of reduced payments, it has so far always picked up again, with dividends increasing from CN0.13 to CN0.29 over the past 10 years. Continue research on China Petroleum & Chemical here.

Story continues

SEHK:386 Historical Dividend Yield Feb 25th 18

China Mobile Limited (SEHK:941)

China Mobile Limited, an investment holding company, provides mobile telecommunications and related services in Mainland China and Hong Kong. Started in 1997, and now led by CEO Yue Li, the company size now stands at 493,000 people and with the companys market capitalisation at HKD HK$1.53T, we can put it in the large-cap category.

941 has a decent dividend yield of 3.83% and has a payout ratio of 45.79% , with analysts expecting a 51.63% payout in three years. Although investors would have seen a few years of reduced payments, it has so far always picked up again, with dividends increasing from CN1.78 to CN2.87 over the past 10 years. More detail on China Mobile here.

SEHK:941 Historical Dividend Yield Feb 25th 18

For more solid dividend payers to add to your portfolio, you can use our free platform to explore our interactive list of top dividend payers.

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.COCONUT CREEK, Fla., Feb. 20, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Via OTC PR Wire -- Bahamas Development Corporation (OTC:BDCI) has retained counsel to assist the Company in filing a Form 10 with the SEC.



The newly retained counsel has authored a legal opinion for the auditors so the audit of the Company can resume. The audit process was halted in January of 2017 after the discovery of a transaction that closed 2009. The audit team had successfully completed rolling the financials forward from January 1, 2014 through September of 2016.

The audit process is expected to resume shortly while the Company works with its legal team to draft the Form 10 filing.

BDCI is engaging a contract CFO to assist the Company in completing the audit process. The contract CFO will work directly with the auditors on behalf of the Company during the audit process and should help speed the process up.

The completion of the Form 10 will bring enhanced transparency as well as additional liquidity to the shareholders.

Bahamas Development through its majority ownership of Cannabis Consortium, Inc. is moving rapidly into the MJ sector. Over the coming weeks the Company will be releasing updates on its progress in California.

The Company has withdrawn its pending name change with FINRA. The decision was based on the progress being made entering the MJ sector and potential changes to the Company that might come as a result of future transactions, such as the Company's name and/or management.

About Cannabis Consortium

Cannabis Consortium:

Cannabis Consortium is comprised of four (4) revenue streams compromising specialty items, foodstuffs, beverages, and one (1) research division. Three (3) of the revenue streams are derived from edibles and the other revenue stream is from investments. The research division will focus on the medical benefits of CBD oils for the treatment of animals.

Trans Global Group, Inc. (OTCPINK:TGGI) is the majority shareholder of BDCI and has an exclusive marketing agreement with Cannabis Consortium for its specialty products.

Bahamas Development Corporation, in compliance with SEC regulations, may in the future use social media outlets like Facebook or Twitter and its own website to announce key information in compliance with Reg FD.

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains "forward-looking statements" as that term is defined in Section 27(a) of the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended and Section 21(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Statements in this press release which are not purely historical are forward-looking statements and include any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions regarding the future. Such forward-looking statements include, among other things, estimates of services and equipment markets, release of corporate apps, growth of platform, target markets, product releases, product demand and, business strategy. Actual results could differ from those projected in any forward-looking statements due to numerous factors. Such factors include, among others, the inherent uncertainties associated with new projects and development stage companies. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this news release, and we assume no obligation to update the forward-looking statements, or to update the reasons why actual results could differ from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Although we believe that any beliefs, plans, expectations and intentions contained in this press release are reasonable, there can be no assurance that any such beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions will prove to be accurate. Investors should consult all of the information set forth herein and should also consider that any investment in securities is at risk.



Details of the Company's business, finances, appointments and agreements can be found as part of the Company's continuous public disclosure on otcmarkets.com.

For additional information about this release please contact:



Investor Relations:

Matt Dwyer

matt@cannabisconsortium.net

www.cannabisconsortium.net

954-905-9896English French

PRESS RELEASE

Luxemburg, 22nd February 2018

VELCAN: SHARE BUYBACK PROGRAMME

In compliance with articles 241-1 and 242-2 of the Autorite des Marches Financiers regulations, this document describes the share buyback programme authorized by the Shareholder's general meeting dated 28th June 2017, of which the implementation has been decided by the Board of Directors.

Date of the Shareholders' General Meeting which has authorized the buyback programme

The Company's authorization to buy back its own shares was given by the Shareholders' General Meeting of June 28th, 2017 (8th resolution). It is implemented by decision of the Board of Directors dated 14th February 2018

Break-up by objectives of the shares held as of date

As of date, the Company holds 337 069 own shares, representing 5.10% of the share capital, of which the break-up by objective is the following:

Share cancellation 159 819 Delivery of shares towards the exercise of securities giving access to the capital 27 250 Coverage of option plans or free shares grant plans to employees and management 150 000 Liquidity contract - Delivery of shares as part of external growth deals -

Programme objectives

The purpose of the buyback programme is to buy back shares of the Company from minority shareholders wishing to sell them at current market conditions, but not finding sufficient liquidity, in view of their cancellation.

Maximum share of the capital, maximum number of shares, characteristics of shares to be acquired, maximum acquisition price and other terms

In compliance with the limits voted by the 8th resolution of the Shareholder's General Meeting of June 28th, 2017, the buyback program will be implemented under the following conditions:

the maximum number of shares that the Company may hold as a result of acquisitions shall not exceed the limit of 10% (ten percent) of the shares composing the share capital; taking into account the 337,069 shares currently held by the Company and representing 5.1% of the capital, the Company may acquire, as of date, a maximum number of 323,475 shares representing 4.9% of the share capital; the acquisition price per share will be equal to the market price on the day of the acquisition, including in the case of block transactions that may be carried out in the market or over the counter; the maximum purchase price per share is nine euros and fifty cents (EUR 9.5), excluding acquisition costs; in view of the above, the maximum total amount that the company may allocate to the buyback of its own shares shall not exceed Euros 3,073,014.00 excluding acquisition costs; the Company's shares are ordinary shares, all of the same class, listed on the Euronext Growth Paris market (ISIN FR0010245803); the acquisitions will be carried out by an independent investment services provider who will be entrusted with the task of implementing the buyback programme, in the name and on behalf of the Company, according to market conditions and taking care not to disturb the latter.

Duration of the programme

18 months from February 22nd, 2018, in accordance with the authorization given at the Shareholder's General Meeting of June 28th, 2017, i.e. no later than August 22nd, 2019.

Other information

Liquidity contract : there is no ongoing liquidity contract as of the date of this descriptive;

The Company will not use derivative products as part of this programme;

* * *

Investor Relations Contact investor@velcan.lu

About Velcan:

Velcan is a Luxemburg headquartered investment holding company founded in 2005, operating as an independent power producer in emerging countries and managing a global portfolio of financial assets.

The company owns and operates one 15MW hydro power plant in Brazil that it developed and built in 2009. Its major power project under development is a cascade of hydropower concessions located in India and totalling 571 MW. The Group also has a smaller project of 18MW in Indonesia.

Hydropower concessions provide long periods of cash generation but their development outcome is uncertain and many years are needed to bring these projects to maturity in emerging countries: it involves field studies in remote places, obtaining the necessary authorizations and permits, and land acquisition in political and regulatory environments that can be unstable or heavily hampering. Meanwhile Velcan actively manages its treasury, investing in listed financial instruments and private equity deals.

Velcan's headquarters are in Luxemburg, with administrative and financial offices in Singapore and Mauritius. The team dedicated to the development of the Indian hydropower cascade is based in New Delhi and at the project site (Arunachal Pradesh).

The company was launched more than 10 years ago by its reference shareholder Luxembourg Hydro Power SA, owned by Velcan's management team.

Velcan is listed on the Paris Euronext Growth Stock Market (Euronext Growth/Ticker ALVEL/ISIN FR0010245803).

Velcan never performed any Public Offer as understood under Directive 2003/71/CE of the European Parliament and Council.

Disclaimer

This press release contains prospective information about the potential of the projects in progress and/or of the projects of which the development has begun. This information constitutes objectives attached to projects and shall not be construed as direct or indirect net income forecast of the concerned year. Reader's attention is also drawn on the fact that the performance of these objectives depends on future circumstances and that it could be affected and/or delayed by risks, known or unknown, uncertainties, and various factors of any nature, notably related to economic, commercial or regulatory conjuncture, which occurrence could be likely to have a negative impact on future activity and performances of the Group.

This announcement does not constitute a public offering ("offre au public") nor an invitation to the public or to any qualified investor in connection with any offering. This announcement is not an offer of securities in the United States of America or in any other jurisdiction/country.VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Feb. 23, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- B2Gold Corp. (TSX: BTO) (NYSE AMERICAN: BTG) (NSX: B2G) (B2Gold or the Company) announces a positive initial open-pit resource at the newly-discovered El Limon Central zone, at the El Limon property in Nicaragua, of 5,130,000 tonnes at a grade of 4.92 grams per tonne (g/t) of gold containing 812,000 ounces of gold (refer to table below). This large, good grade new zone has the potential to decrease the El Limon Mines cash operating costs and all-in sustaining costs per ounce, dramatically increase the El Limon mine life, and could lead to an expansion of the El Limon mill to a higher throughput rate which could potentially double annual gold production.



The El Limon Central zone, at its closest location, is approximately 150 metres from the El Limon mill facility, extending southeast and northwest, adjacent to existing plant and administrative infrastructure. Historical records indicate that parts of the Central zone had been mined underground in past decades. B2Golds recent exploration work indicates the underground mining was much more limited than previously thought.

The El Limon central vein structure has been drill tested along a 2.2-kilometre strike length so far, and remains open to depth and along strike, and will be further drill tested during 2018. This structure has experienced some limited historic mining along its length. Further north, the structure extends along strike and this area is being drill tested at present.

Highlighted results within the pit include 19.70 metres at 24.24 g/t gold (LIM-17-4119), 24.80 metres at 11.65 g/t gold (LIM-17-4112), 5.66 metres at 64.76 g/t gold (LIM-16-3984) and 15.70 metres at 20.04 g/t gold (LIM-17-4069).

Below and beyond the resource pit limits to the north, drill highlights include 2.0 metres at 13.43 g/t gold (LIM-17-4184) and 20.35 metres at 3.0 g/t gold, including 4.1 metres at 6.85 g/t gold (LIM-17-4198). All widths noted are true widths.

The Mineral Resource estimate was prepared in-house at B2Gold. A total of 248 drill holes (35,871 metres of drilling) were used in the gold grade estimate with more than 75% of the drill meterage (28,078 metres) coming from diamond drilling, completed by B2Gold. The remainder of the drilling was completed by previous owners during the late 1990s through early 2000s.

Inferred Mineral Resources reported at different gold cutoff grades are presented as a sensitivity case.

Cutoff Grade

g/t gold Tonnes Grade

g/t gold Ounces1 0.8 5,560,000 4.62 825,000 1.0 5,330,000 4.78 819,000 1.2 5,130,000 4.92 812,000 1.4 4,950,000 5.05 804,000

1.Mineral Resources are reported in accordance with NI 43-101 and the 2014 Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum Definition Standards for Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves (CIM Definition Standards). Mineral Resources that are not Mineral Reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability

Inferred Mineral Resources are amenable to open-pit mining methods and are reported within a pit shell run using a gold price of US$1,400/oz., an average gold recovery of 83.8% (based on preliminary metallurgical testwork), and recent EL Limon Mine cash operating costs.

The 2017 El Limon budget was increased to USD$7.00 million and included over 30,000 metres of drilling in 157 holes with a focus on the El Limon vein. The 2018 El Limon budget is USD$7.00 million and will include 24,900 metres in 132 holes, again, with a focus on the El Limon vein.

B2Gold is currently conducting additional metallurgical testing on the El Limon Central ore and a study to evaluate the potential to expand the El Limon throughput to significantly increase annual gold production and reduce cash operating costs. The study is expected by mid-2018.

El Limon Tailings Project Update

In 2017, an initial study was completed regarding the potential re-processing of the old tailings at the El Limon Mine. Based on historic mill and drilling records, the tailings contain an estimated 9 million to 11 million tonnes with a potential gold grade of 0.80 g/t to 1.0 g/t. An ongoing drilling program is underway as part of a feasibility study which will confirm resources and grades, the optimum grind size, capital costs and final project economics. Based on the initial study completed in 2017, the Company believes that the project has the potential to produce an average of approximately 20,000 to 25,000 ounces of gold and 70,000 to 80,000 ounces of silver per year for approximately 9 to 11 years. The concept is to regrind the old tailings to a much finer grind size, process them through a new CIP plant and place the tailings in a new lined tailings storage facility. The potential quantity and grade included in the initial study is conceptual in nature, and there has been insufficient exploration to date to define a Mineral Resource, and it is uncertain if further exploration will result in the target being delineated as a Mineral Resource.

The El Limon Mine has produced over 3 million ounces of gold since 1941, principally from the veins of El Limon, Talavera and Santa Pancha, the current focus of production. B2Gold purchased the mine in 2009, with the acquisition of Central Sun Mining, and the 19,200-hectare El Limon Mine is 95% B2Gold and 5% IMISA. The 2018 production forecast is between 55,000 to 60,000 ounces of gold.

B2Golds Quality Assurance/Quality Control

The primary laboratory for El Limon drilling program is Bureau Veritas Minerals in Vancouver, Canada. Core samples are prepared at El Limon preparation facility with the pulp sent to Vancouver and analysed using 30g fire assay with atomic absorption finish as well as multi-element ICP-MS analyses. SGS Laboratories in Medellin, Colombia, is the umpire laboratory.

Quality assurance and quality control procedures include the systematic insertion of blanks, standards and duplicates into the core sample strings. The results of the control samples are evaluated on a regular basis with batches re-analysed and/or resubmitted as needed. All results stated in this announcement have passed B2Gold's quality assurance and quality control ("QA/QC") protocols.

Tom Garagan, Senior Vice President of Exploration, is the Qualified Person as defined under National Instrument 43-101, who has reviewed and approved the contents of this news release.

About B2Gold

Headquartered in Vancouver, Canada, B2Gold Corp. is the worlds new senior gold producer. Founded in 2007, today, B2Gold has five operating gold mines and numerous exploration and development projects in various countries including Nicaragua, the Philippines, Namibia, Mali, Burkina Faso, Colombia and Finland. With the large, low-cost Fekola Mine now in production, B2Gold is well positioned in achieving transformational growth in 2018. In 2018, with the planned first full year of production from the Fekola Mine, consolidated gold production is forecast to be between 910,000 and 950,000 ounces. This represents an increase in annual consolidated gold production of approximately 300,000 ounces for the Company in 2018 versus 2017.

ON BEHALF OF B2GOLD CORP.

Clive T. Johnson

President and Chief Executive Officer

For more information on B2Gold please visit the Company website at www.b2gold.com or contact:

Ian MacLean

Vice President, Investor Relations

604-681-8371

imaclean@b2gold.com

Katie Bromley

Manager, Investor Relations & Public Relations

604-681-8371

kbromley@b2gold.com



The Toronto Stock Exchange and the NYSE American LLC neither approve nor disapprove the information contained in this news release.



This news release includes certain forward-looking information and forward-looking statements (collectively forward-looking statements) within the meaning of applicable Canadian and United States securities legislation, including projections, guidance, forecasts, estimates and other statements regarding future financial and operational performance, events, production, mine life, revenue, cash flows, costs and the results of exploration, including, the potential for large, good grade new zone to decrease El Limons cash operating costs, to increase its mine life by several years and to expand its mill to a higher throughput rate to potentially double annual gold production; timing of further drill testing; the results of an initial study completed in 2017 and the potential to produce an average of approximately 20,000 to 25,000 ounces of gold and 70,000 to 80,000 ounces of silver per year for approximately 9 to11 years; 2018 production forecast of 55,000 to 60,000 ounces of gold; achievement of growth in 2018 and the consolidated forecasted gold production of between 910,000 and 950,000 ounces. Estimates of mineral resources and reserves, including the new inferred mineral resource estimate at El Limon, are also forward-looking statements because they constitute projections regarding the amount of minerals that may be encountered in the future and/or the anticipated economics of production, should a production decision be made. All statements in this news release that address events or developments that we expect to occur in the future are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally, although not always, identified by words such as expect, plan, anticipate, project, target, potential, schedule, forecast, budget, estimate, intend or believe and similar expressions or their negative connotations, or that events or conditions will, would, may, could, should or might occur. All such forward-looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates of management as of the date such statements are made. Forward-looking statements necessarily involve assumptions, risks and uncertainties, certain of which are beyond B2Golds control, including risks and assumptions associated with the volatility of metal prices and our common shares; risks and dangers inherent in exploration, development and mining activities; uncertainty of reserve and resource estimates; risk of not achieving production, cost or other estimates; risk that actual production, development plans and costs differ materially from the estimates in our feasibility studies; risks related to hedging activities and ore purchase commitments; the ability to obtain and maintain any necessary permits, consents or authorizations required for mining activities; uncertainty about the outcome of negotiations with the Government of Mali; risks related to environmental regulations or hazards and compliance with complex regulations associated with mining activities; the ability to replace mineral reserves and identify acquisition opportunities; unknown liabilities of companies acquired by B2Gold; ability to successfully integrate new acquisitions; fluctuations in exchange rates; availability of financing; risks relating to financing and debt; risks related to operations in foreign and developing countries and compliance with foreign laws; risks related to remote operations and the availability of adequate infrastructure, fluctuations in price and availability of energy and other inputs necessary for mining operations; shortages or cost increases in necessary equipment, supplies and labour; regulatory, political and country risks; risks related to reliance upon contractors, third parties and joint venture partners; challenges to title or surface rights; dependence on key personnel and ability to attract and retain skilled personnel; the risk of an uninsurable or uninsured loss; adverse climate and weather conditions; litigation risk; competition with other mining companies; changes in tax laws; community support for our operations including risks related to strikes and the halting of such operations from time to time; risks related to failures of information systems or information security threats; ability to maintain adequate internal control over financial reporting as required by law; risks relating to compliance with anti-corruption laws; as well as other factors identified and as described in more detail under the heading Risk Factors in B2Golds most recent Annual Information Form and B2Golds other filings with Canadian securities regulators and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC), which may be viewed at www.sedar.com and www.sec.gov, respectively (the Websites). The list is not exhaustive of the factors that may affect the Companys forward-looking statements. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, and actual results, performance or achievements could differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, these forward-looking statements. Accordingly, no assurance can be given that any events anticipated by the forward-looking statements will transpire or occur, or if any of them do, what benefits or liabilities B2Gold will derive therefrom. The Companys forward-looking statements reflect current expectations regarding future events and operating performance and speak only as of the date hereof and the Company does not assume any obligation to update forward-looking statements if circumstances or management's beliefs, expectations or opinions should change other than as required by applicable law. The Companys forward-looking statements are based on the applicable assumptions and factors management considers reasonable as of the date hereof, based on the information available to management at such time. These assumptions and factors include, but are not limited to, assumptions and factors related to the Company's ability to carry on current and future operations, including development and exploration activities; the timing, extent, duration and economic viability of such operations, including any mineral resources or reserves identified thereby; the accuracy and reliability of estimates, projections, forecasts, studies and assessments; the Companys ability to meet or achieve estimates, projections and forecasts; the availability and cost of inputs; the price and market for outputs, including gold; the timely receipt of necessary approvals or permits; the ability to meet current and future obligations; the ability to obtain timely financing on reasonable terms when required; the current and future social, economic and political conditions and other assumptions and factors generally associated with the mining industry. For the reasons set forth above, undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking statements. Production results and the Companys guidance presented in this news release reflect total production at the mines the Company operates on a 100% basis.

Cautionary Note to United States Investors

The disclosure in this news release and in the documents described in this news release regarding mineral properties was prepared in accordance with Canadian National Instrument 43-101 (NI 43-101), which differs significantly from the requirements of the SEC set out in Industry Guide 7. Accordingly, such disclosure may not be comparable to similar information made public by companies that report in accordance with U.S. standards.

The Company has prepared its public disclosures in accordance with Canadian securities laws, which differ in certain respects from U.S. securities laws. In particular, this news release refers to mineral resources and inferred mineral resources. While these categories of mineralization are recognized and required by Canadian securities laws, they are not recognized by the SEC and are not normally permitted to be disclosed in SEC filings by U.S. companies. U.S. investors are cautioned not to assume that any part of a mineral resource or inferred mineral resource will ever be converted into a reserve. In addition, reserves reported by the Company under Canadian standards may not qualify as reserves under SEC standards. Under SEC standards, mineralization may not be classified as a reserve unless the mineralization can be economically and legally extracted or produced at the time the reserve determination is made. Accordingly, information contained or referenced in this news release containing descriptions of the Companys mineral deposits may not be compatible to similar information made public by U.S. companies subject to the reporting and disclosure requirements of U.S. federal securities laws, rules and regulations. Inferred mineral resources have a great amount of uncertainty as to their existence and great uncertainty as to their economic and legal feasibility. It cannot be assumed that all or any part of an inferred mineral resource will ever be upgraded to a higher category. Historical results or feasibility models presented herein are not guarantees or expectations of future performance.westsidah408 wrote:

When considering Sauder one of the people I spoke to was a Director at McKinsey's Calgary office who recruits at Sauder. His perception of Sauder was much higher than what you say. McKinsey's Calgary office hires from Sauder, as well as other top b-schools in Canada and the US. Perhaps it is due to the heavy marketing as you mentioned.



To the OP: I think for MC in Calgary, you'll be fine at Sauder or Rotman. That said, if you want to be in Toronto, even though Sauder does place at MC in Toronto, you would do better to go with Ivey or Rotman.

Check out my website, a First-Hand view of what it's like to go to Business School! http://www.carlolivieri.com Signature Read More

Westsidah, Maroliv, jxcho,You've all made great points, and I have to agree with most of them. I believe that you need to choose an MBA program based on three factors:1) Industry you want to work in (IB, VC, PE or MC or corporate/managerial roles)2) City you want to work in (Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, Montreal, Int'l)3) Are you a career switcher or not? (i.e. 2 yr program vs 1 yr)More and more, I believe that the student can define where he/she wants to work and what he/she wants to work in independent of the school he/she attends. If you have the balls to cold call enough well placed individuals in the industry, you'll get the interview and it won't matter which of the big 6 MBA schools in Canada you attended. That being said, you can most definitely increase your odds by being at the right school.I would have been admitted to any school in Canada had I applied (GMAT, GPA, age, military exp, professional exp and extra curriculars are all good). My personal decision to attend McGill/Desautels full time 2yr MBA (double concentration finance and strategy) was made because:1) I`m aiming to work in Management consulting. (I want to work in MC because I plan to interface the hell out of clients, make a ton of connections, and gain transitional freedom five years into my career. i.e. I don`t want to burn out in IB two years in and have nowhere to go.)2) I want to live in Montreal long term, if possible.3) I am a career switcher (my work experience is retail/private banking and industrial engineering/construction).4) I also feel the brand name of McGill will be able to weather the inevitable highs and lows every MBA program will suffer at the hands of the many annual rankings out there. Industry doesn`t care about rankings.I think we're lucky to live in Canada. We've got several good schools to choose from, and once you know where your ambitions lie, it's quite easy to choose the right program for you._________________Tridhipal wrote:

Many doctors warn patients that if traditional methods for diagnosis and homeopathic pharmaceuticals are relied upon exclusively, they will not always be capable of effectively addressing their illness.



(A) traditional methods for diagnosis and homeopathic pharmaceuticals are relied upon exclusively, they will not always be



(C) traditional methods for diagnosis and homeopathic pharmaceuticals are relied upon exclusively, these interventions are not always

Sourav700 wrote:

generis



Hi generis,



I was hoping if you could help me with a possible explanation for choosing C over A.



Thanks in advance! Hi generis,I was hoping if you could help me with a possible explanation for choosing C over A.Thanks in advance!

Sourav700

they

traditional methods for diagnosis

homeopathic pharmaceuticals

these interventions.

GMAC prefers

these

they

really

Posted from my mobile device

Instructions for living a life. Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it. -- Mary Oliver Signature Read More

I can see your point. Good question.I am not a huge fan of (C) because this sort of statement does not seem to be a general truth. (General truths are zero conditionals, in which we use IF simple present, THEN simple present).To issue warnings, we typically use Type 1 conditionals (IF simple present, THEN simple future). Type 1 conditionals are a statement about a condition in reality and its probable result.So my native ear preferred "will not always be" in Option A to "are not always" in Option C.Option A suffers from pronoun ambiguity. Doesrefer to (1)? To (2)? To both?Look at the weird contrast in the advice. We would expect the doctors to warn against NON-traditional methods for diagnosis. The doctors do not trust homeopathic (read: non-traditional) drugs.More than one logical antecedent exists, a state of affairs that is textbook ambiguity.We get down to A and C.Option C uses(WHICH interventions? Homeopathic drugs? Traditional methods for diagnosis?)Although I am not convinced that (C) is any clearer than (A),any kind of specificity to any kind of ambiguity.Is demonstrative(interventions) any clearer than? Not really. I still don't know whether the doctors warn against (1) or (2) or both.This question was aclose call.I'm not sure what "these interventions" means, but it's a noun phrase.It's a confusing noun phrase.Nonetheless, a named noun is better than an ambiguous pronoun even if the named noun is better in form only.By a hair's width, option A wins. There cannot be multiple logical antecedents for a single pronoun. Fuzzy noun referent? Not as bad as pronoun ambiguity.Hope that helps._________________ishankawley wrote:

yes- good school!

All this looks great!

All of this is very impressive-- I think you have a good profile on which to build. So then the next key questions become-- WHY MBA/Why Now/Why this school. Our process allows you to do a deep dive into these areas and put together compelling applications. I'd love to help you break into the M7 zone-- to learn more how I or anyone at Stratus can help you do that-- and now is a great time to look-- as the best counselors still have availability for R1 2018 at this point-- reach out to us for a free consult at this link: https://stratusadmissionscounseling.com ... b-visitor/

Thank you in advance. Really appreciate your evaluation of the below.Indian, 26 Male.Graduation : BITS Pilani Goa ( Among top 10 colleges in India)Dual Degree: M.Sc. (Hons) Economics + B.E (Hons.) Electrical and Electronics EngineeringCGPA: 6.64GMAT 740FRM charter holder + CFA Level 2 Candidate. Cleared all these exams in first attempt.Work Experience:Senior Analyst at Goldman Sachs Bangalore. Joined out of college. Would be completing slightly more than 4 years at the time of MBA applications in 2018 and more than 5 years if I join the MBA class of 2019.For close to 2.5 years was part of the trade risk management team in Operations where my core job was to ensure that pricing risk was appropriately captured by identifying bespoke trade features. The role required me to develop product and process expertise.Have been ranked Outstanding in all my 3 annual employee reviews which in Goldman Sachs speak is the highest employee rating. This enabled me to move products during my stint in operations where in for first half I covered Bank Loans and in second, I covered Structured Equity Derivates.Strong performance also helped me move divisions last year. I managed a shift from an Operations role to the role in revenue side in the asset management arm of Goldman Sachs (GSAM). Have been in this role for past 9 months.In my current role I cover GSAMs offshore money market funds portfolio which has assets close to $100 bn. I work closely with trading desk through my role which involves conducting portfolio analysis- current positioning, performance attribution, market trends along with business development which includes creating and maintaining marketing materials assisting in ad-hoc client and sales queries.Leadership and Extra Curriculars:Selected to be one of the 7 official bloggers for this years Jaipur Literature Festival -one of the largest literature festivals in the world-through an essay competition. During the festival blogged about various sessions cantered around literature , economics and politics. These blogs were used by various national news papers for their press releases of the festival.At work:Led a team of 4 ( in 2017) and won a grant of $20k for for the NGO Digital Empowerment Foundation for their project internet in a box which aims to provide internet connectivity to the internet dark villages in India. This was part of the Goldman Sachs India Impact Fund wherein analysts and associates of Goldman Sachs India, had to pitch for an NGO of their choice in a shark tank like format to the Executive committee of Goldman Sachs. Once the grant was secured it required me and my team to monitor the progress of the project and act as a link between the NGO and the CSR committee of Goldman Sachs India. Through this project close to 50,000 people in Tekulodu village of Andhra Pradesh will have access to digital services through this project.Member of the Goldman Sachs India disability forum and India religion and culture forum. Through these forums we organize various events to raise awareness about social issues at work. For example, as a part of the disability forum, I was in the team that collaborated with the experiential learning and drama based training company to prepare a skit that aimed to sensitize Goldman Sachs employees towards needs of persons with disabilities and how best to accommodate them in the workforce.Secretary -Goldman Sachs Toastmasters Club. As a secretary my role was to carry out the administrative functions of the official Toastmasters club of Goldman Sachs India and help other members in preparation of their speeches. I have myself completed Toastmasters Competent Communicator manual (set of 10 speeches) and intend to continue and have also won a couple of speech contests organized by different Toastmasters clubs in Bangalore.During College:Was President of Centre for Entrepreneurial Leadership BITS Goa- Led a team of 35 students and organized events like conferences open houses, startup weekends etc. to promote entrepreneurship on campus.Was curator of the national level conference titled Agora that focused on the relevance of social entrepreneurship in India's growth story. The conference was covered by ET-NOW on their weekly show 'Starting Up'Was selected to be a part of Jagriti Yatra-a 15-day train journey that that took 450 young participants across India to different well established social enterprises to better understand their business models.Member of the team which was a Regional Finalist at The Hult Prize in Dubai, one of the largest social case study competitions. The problem statement given to us was  food hunger in urban slums. Secured 5th rank out of the 57 participating teams.Sent from my iPad using GMAT Club Forum mobile appA white nationalist is taking Twitter to court for banning his account with the social networking service.

The case comes at the same time when social networks are trying to stop hateful and abusive content without appearing to block unpopular opinions.

Jared Taylor launched the case Tuesday in California, at a state court in San Francisco. The Associated Press (AP) described it as the latest legal action by right-wing groups and people banned from social media websites.

Taylor is the founder of the Virginia-based New Century Foundation. For tax purposes, the Internal Revenue Service lists the foundation as a charity. The group operates an online magazine, called American Renaissance. The magazine supports a belief that it is "entirely normal" for white people to want to be a majority race.

Social media under pressure

Social media sites are facing public pressure to quickly identify and ban material considered to be abusive or hateful.

The AP reports that Twitter suspended the accounts of well-known white nationalists in December. At the time, the company said it was enforcing new rules to reduce abusive content.

Twitter's new policy targets hateful images or signs, including those appearing with user profiles. The company said it now looks at hateful imagery in the same way as strong violence and adult content, which Twitter has banned since its creation.

Taylor said Twitter informed him in an email on Dec.18 that it was suspending his account and one in the name of American Renaissance. He said Twitter claimed that the accounts violated the company's user agreement, which bars ties with "a violent extremist group." Twitter did not name the extremist group, he said.

Taylor denies that he and his organization support violence or have ties with groups that do. His case seeks unspecified damages and the restarting of Taylor's accounts.

White conservatives fighting bans

Similar cases have been brought in California. Charles Johnson brought a case against Twitter in a Fresno court after he was banned in 2015. The Associated Press describes Johnson as a conservative activist. The court has yet to rule on his case.

The nonprofit Prager University has brought legal action against Google in a Los Angeles federal court. The school claims YouTube wrongfully blocked some of its politically conservative content.

Some of those who have been banned report that social networks are unfairly blocking free speech and limiting their public communication. Taylor claimed in his case that Twitter's ban has hurt efforts by the New Century Foundation to raise money.

Politically conservative Twitter users filled social media sites on Wednesday with claims that they lost thousands of followers after a "purge" of suspected Russian bots.

"TwitterLockOut" became a top trending story in the United States for several hours.

Richard Spencer, a white nationalist with more than 80,000 followers, tweeted that he's "lost close to 1,000" of them over the past few hours. He added that there was a "major purge underway." But some hours later, he reported that his followers were slowly returning to social media.

Last Friday, U.S. special counsel Robert Mueller charged 13 Russians in a plot to interfere in the 2016 presidential election through social media propaganda.

In a statement, Twitter said its tools are not political. We enforce our rules without political bias, it added.

The company estimates that about 5 percent of its accounts are unwanted emails or bots, programs that can infect computers. Twitter uses both human workers and computer programs to remove harmful accounts. However, they said it can be difficult because new accounts are easy to create.

Im Phil Dierking.

Barbara Ortutay originally wrote this story for VOAnews.com. Phil Dierking adapted it for VOA Learning English. George Grow was the editor.

What do you think the difference is between hateful content and strong beliefs? We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page.

_____________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

Bot - n. a device or piece of software that can execute commands, reply to messages, or perform routine tasks, as online searches, either automatically or with minimal human intervention

Bias - n. a tendency to believe that some people, ideas, etc., are better than others that usually results in treating some people unfairly

Charity - n. an organization that helps people who are poor, sick, etc.

Content - n. the ideas, facts, or images that are in a book, article, speech, movie, etc.

Purge - v. to remove people from an area, country, organization, etc., often in a violent and sudden way

Right-wing - adj. the part of a political group that consists of people who support conservative or traditional ideas and policies

Unspecified - adj. not named or mentionedIn a report last month, the Cambodian Rice Federation (CRF) warned the country's market for exports could be destroyed by secret or unlawful sales of rice.

The report gave a long list of problems within the organization and the rice industry as a whole. It showed the deep problems and weaknesses in an industry that occupies a central place in Cambodia's society and economy.

The CRF was founded in 2014 as part of an effort to strengthen and expand the countrys rice industry. Cambodia was exporting much less rice than its neighbors Thailand and Vietnam, reports showed.

Last year, Cambodia exported about 700,000 tons of rice, a 17.3 percent increase over 2016 rice levels. Yet it exports less than Vietnam, which exported 6 million tons, and Thailand, which sold more than 11 million tons to overseas buyers over the same period.

The reasons for Cambodias low export numbers are complex, the CRF report said. It raised concerns over a number of issues, such as price manipulation, conflicts of interest among the CRFs leadership, favoritism and mistrust.

The report also noted the issue of Vietnamese rice smuggling, which was once a taboo subject. In 2013, when the problem was discussed openly, Cambodian officials denied it existed.

But in this report, the CRF said Vietnamese smuggling was a threat to the World Trade Organization and trade rules of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

The report said the smuggling made it difficult to follow the rules of origin since some rice reportedly was re-exported to a third country. It warned that this could damage Cambodias entire export market.

Rules governing origination are different from one country to the next. For Cambodia, the biggest concern would be if smuggling would lead to cancellation of its preferential trade position within the European Union (EU). Cambodia says 43.54 percent of its rice exports last year went to EU member countries.

A European Commission spokesperson told VOA that reports of wrongdoing involving a preferential market need, of course, to be taken very seriously. The spokesperson also said that Cambodia has to be sure that the rice exported to the EU is fully homegrown.

In 2014, the CRF established a Cambodia Code of Conduct. Its rules barred businesses from exporting low cost rice from neighboring countries. Two years later the CRF said it was tightening border controls on illegal imports. It is not clear how effective the Code of Conduct has been.

CRF deputy president Seu Rany said the CRF did not have any hard numbers on the amount of Vietnamese rice being smuggled into Cambodia but noted it remains a serious problem.

"(Those) who smuggle the rice do not tell us through which gateway they do it so it's all secret," he said.

The rice federation board is influenced by wealthy and politically connected business leaders at the top of the industry. It is led by Sok Puthyvuth, owner of the SOMA group, one of the biggest rice export companies.

Chhong Sophal is an officer with an independent national group of farmers associations called Farmer and Nature Net. He criticizes Cambodian rice farmers for lacking organization. He said the farmers were not able to establish a common price for their rice, so they often lost money.

The rice federations report said the CRF leadership also appeared to have trouble recognizing differences between their official duties and business activities. It said the members attended meetings based on whether or not their interests would be affected. And it said they made "no clear effort to gather information about issues members are facing.

Seu Rany said change would take time. He added that the CRF is a growing organization with a lot of work expected in the years to come.

"It is best to sit down and talk out individual problems and solve them along the way, he said. That way, the farmer will survive and so will the rice millers and exporters."

I'm Susan Shand.

David Boyle and Nem Sopheakpanha reported this story for VOANews.com. Susan Shand adapted the report for Learning English. George Grow was the editor.

Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page.

_______________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

Manipulation  n. to deal with or control by artful or unfair activities

Smuggle  v. to move (someone or something) from one country into another secretly or unlawfully

Taboo  n. not acceptable to talk about or do

Origin  n. beginning or creation of something

Preferential  adj. helping a person or group of people

Gateway  n. an opening

The young people who experienced the recent school shooting in Parkland, Florida, were born in or after 1999. In that year, two students killed 13 classmates at Columbine High School in Colorado.

Since then, the United States has had six more of the 10 deadliest school shootings in its history.

Along with those events, there have been smaller, less publicized acts of gun violence on campuses. The Washington Post newspaper found that, since 1999, more than 150,000 children have experienced a shooting at their school. The Post reporters note that those numbers are conservative. They do not include suicides or accidents with guns that happen at school, or shootings that happen after classes have ended.

In other words, todays high school students have been raised at a time when school shootings in the U.S. have become common.

The cumulative effect of this gun-related school violence may help explain the recent protests by young people. Since the school shooting in Florida February 14, Parkland students and other American teenagers have been publicly calling for stronger U.S. gun laws. These activists have held demonstrations and gone on day strikes from school. They have spoken on television, posted on social media, and met directly with President Trump and other officials.

Last Wednesday, hundreds of high school-age students gathered outside the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. Juliet Cable was one of them.

She said, "I think that this current fight for gun control is a fight that students and teenagers and children are having to fight. We're the ones who need to stand up and call attention to it and change it."

Americas teenagers

Other mass shootings in recent U.S. history have inspired calls for increased gun control measures. But the way many Parkland teenagers are answering this months violence in Florida is different, say gun-control activists.

Kristin Brown is the co-president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence.

"We've certainly seen a groundswell of anger rise up following mass shootings in the past, but nothing like this in terms of the momentum or youth engagement," Brown said.

The young peoples efforts are consistent with what researchers have been learning about todays teenagers.

After the 2016 presidential election, the Associated Press and NORC Center for Public Affairs Research asked 790 American teenagers questions about their political views.

The researchers learned that, in general, U.S. teenagers are worried about the countrys future, and they believe Americans do not agree about basic values.

Amanda Lenhart was the senior research scientist at AP-NORC at the time of the study. She told VOA that the teenagers in the study sounded tired  even exhausted  of the countrys political conflict. They expressed deep weariness of the divided status quo, Lenhart said.

At the same time, Lenhart said, teenagers hoped things could get better. A majority had taken action on a political issue they cared about. Teenagers who used social media were especially politically engaged.

Todays teenagers have, in her words, a youthful energy that inspires them to act, Lenhart said. They want the future to be better, she said, so they are going to stand up and make it better.

Fifteen-year-old Sofia Hidalgo, an activist from Maryland, echoed that idea in a conversation with VOA.

We got our voices out there in big publications so that people could see change, and there is going to be a change in mentality. And we are going to succeed in combating hate and fear with love and peace.

Generation gun?

Abby Kiesa is with the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement at Tufts University in Massachusetts.

She noted in an email to VOA that many of todays teenagers are insisting on being heard. At the same time, she said, We must continue to broaden and diversify the youth who have the encouragement and access to tell their stories.

Research scientist Amanda Lenhart made a similar point. Todays teenagers are among the most racially and ethnically diverse groups in U.S. history. Trying to talk about a generation often hides important differences among people, she said.

But, Lenhart said, part of what forms the idea of a generation is living through big moments at the same time at a very similar life stage.

For todays teenagers, the big moments that come to define their generation may be their shared experience as students at a time when schools can be scenes of violence.

As Parkland student Jaclyn Corin told the New Yorker magazine, We have grown up with this problem.

Im Caty Weaver.

And Im Ashley Thompson.

Kelly Jean Kelly reported this story for VOA News. Caty Weaver was the editor.

_________________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

campus - n. the area and buildings around the school

cumulative - adj. increasing or becoming better or worse over time

inspire - v. to make or cause someone to do something

groundswell - n. a fast increase in public support of something

momentum - n. the strength or force that allows something to continue or to grow stronger or faster as time passes

exhausted - adj. completely worn out or tired

weariness - n. reluctance to see or experience more of something

engaged - adj. busy with activity

diversify - v. to change (something) so that it has more different kinds of people or things

encouragement - n. something that makes someone more likely to do something

access - n. a way of getting near, at, or to something or someone

We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page.

The recent school shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, claimed the lives of 17 students and teachers. It also started a wave of protests among young people across the country.

These student activists are calling for stronger gun laws in America. They have held demonstrations and gone on day strikes from school. They have spoken on television, used social media to spread their message and met with President Donald Trump and other elected officials.

Sofia Hidalgo is one of those students. She is 15 years old and a student at Albert Einstein High School in the state of Maryland. She sat down with VOA Learning Englishs Bryan Lynn to discuss her generations new sense of activism following the Parkland shooting.

Bryan: First of all, [if] I could get you just to say your name and your school and what youve been up to for the past week?

Sofia: My name is Sofia Hidalgo. I go to Albert Einstein High School, and this week we have participated...in a school walkout on Wednesday to march for the need of gun control.

Bryan: So, with all of this activism that now seems to be coming out and driven in large part by students and young people, what do you think triggered that?

Sofia: I think specifically because the Florida shooting was in a school, that triggered the activism in other students in high schools around the countryrealizing that this happened at that school [and] it could happen at my school, as well. So I think that once we realized that this could happen to us, as well, that it was time for us to make our voices heard to ensure that it never happens again, because this is a serious tragedy.

Bryan: And there have been a lot of school shootings in the past, unfortunately. Why was this one different, and specifically with you, how did this one affect you different from the other ones that have happened?

Sofia: Well the other school shootings in the past, I was a lot younger. It happened before I had gotten into politics, into activism. I had started getting involved when we did a school walkout when Trump won the presidency. And my school and the schools around me did a massive school walkout for that. And then the womens march. And those two -- that walkout and that march -- is what triggered me and the people in my community, as well, to start being active.

...Especially when we are younger, parents seemed to sugarcoat things that are going on. I know that I never used to watch the news and I did not have a Twitter before and I did not have a Facebook before. So I didnt see anything expect for mere rumors of oh a shooting happened but then that was it. And it was definitely sugarcoated by adults. And so now that I have social media and now that I was a big part in the womens march and was very active in the school walkoutI understand more about what had happened.

Bryan: Have you personally felt unsafe in your own school?

Sofia: Sometimes. I think about it, but we actually have armed police at our school as a lot of other schools in this areaI trust my community and I trust the policeman and we also always have drills once a month of what to do in serious situations. So I know what I need to be doing and how to stay safe in those situations.

Bryan: One of the proposals that has come up from the administration is to arm teachers, to try to prevent mass shootings like this. Whats your feeling on that?

Sofia: Well, I think that proposed solution is an excuse to give more money to the NRA [National Rifle Association]. By arming the teachers youre just distributing even more guns. And this is not the solution that we need. We need to be restricting the sale of guns not increasing them. And by arming the teachers you're trying fight fire with fire and thats not a solution. That is maybe a temporary one, but you need to attack the problems at the root and not build on top of it, and by arming teachers youre just simply building on top of a problem. And the teachers are not there to defend the lives of ustheyre there to teach and were there to learn.

Were not there to expect that its going to be our last day. Were there to say Im going to come here in the morning, Im going to learn, Im going to go home and do my homework and do it again tomorrow. Not [think] what if today theres a school shooter and my teacher needs to pull out their gun?

Bryan: And at your school do they do any metal detectors or anything like that?

Sofia: No. Not at my school. [I] heard an argument once that was talking about their school that had a metal detector and they said, like, why do we have new metal detectors and old school books from like the 1990s; that we should be putting more of the money into the arts and into our textbooks and into getting us access to computers than we should into arming the teachers or arming the people at our school or trying to like claim that the kids are carrying illegal things with them. We need to be funding the schools and not funding, like, giving more money to the NRA.

Bryan: There's been a lot of talk over the years about gun control and, you know, there are very strong sides in the U.S. on both sides of the issue, obviously. And there's a lot of money involved and lobbying and all of that kind of stuff. What do you hope to accomplish -- you and other students, other friends of yours -- through these marches, and the activism that's coming up now? Even though this has taken place in the past, do you think its a different time now?

Sofia: By these marches, were hoping to accomplish, like, a change in mentality, so that people realize that we do have a voice, and even though we cannot vote yet, that were going to still - that were going to keep pushing so that people who do vote, can vote in a way that will protect all of us when we grow up. And that they understand that my generation is pushing really hard, and that when we are able to vote that things are definitely going to be changing.

My generation is incredibly active and even though we cannot vote yet, when we can we are going to make a serious difference.

Bryan: Well thanks so much for coming to Learning English. Good luck with your efforts from here.

Sofia: Thank you.1 hour ago

3 Semi Stocks Shrugging Off Market Weakness

They say that semiconductors are the heartbeat of the tech sector, which is why it's nice to see that semi stocks have been holding up well during the recent market pullback. The ongoing chip shortage should benefit the majority of these companies for the foreseeable future, while demand is expected to remain strong even after the supply chain issues have been resolved.

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Later in the week, Katko outlined several proposals he either supports or is considering to address gun violence. He is reviewing whether the federal government should raise the minimum age for gun purchases and may support universal background checks.

He did come out in support of banning bump stocks and a greater focus on mental health treatment.

Some of the proposals Katko may support aren't backed by the NRA. The most notable example is raising the age for gun sales. After President Donald Trump and other GOP leaders proposed raising the age for buying assault rifles, the NRA spoke out against the plan.

Will the NRA's stance on that and other proposals affect Katko's thinking? He says no.Bank of Montreal provides diversified financial services primarily in North America. The company's personal banking products and services include checking and savings accounts, credit cards, mortgages, and financial and investment advice services; and commercial banking products and services comprise business deposit accounts, commercial credit cards, business loans and commercial mortgages, cash management solutions, foreign exchange, specialized banking programs, treasury and payment solutions, and risk management products for small business and commercial banking customers. It also offers investment and wealth advisory services; digital investing services; financial services and solutions; and investment management, and trust and custody services to institutional, retail, and high net worth investors. In addition, the company provides life insurance, accident and sickness insurance, and annuity products; creditor and travel insurance to bank customers; and reinsurance solutions. Further, it offers client's debt and equity capital-raising services, as well as loan origination and syndication, balance sheet management, and treasury management; strategic advice on mergers and acquisitions, restructurings, and recapitalizations, as well as valuation and fairness opinions; and trade finance, risk mitigation, and other operating services. Additionally, the company provides research and access to markets for institutional, corporate, and retail clients; trading solutions that include debt, foreign exchange, interest rate, credit, equity, securitization and commodities; new product development and origination services, as well as risk management advice and services to hedge against fluctuations; and funding and liquidity management services to its clients. It operates through approximately 1,400 bank branches and 4,800 automated banking machines in Canada and the United States. The company was founded in 1817 and is headquartered in Montreal, Canada.

Read MoreBrookdale Senior Living, Inc. engages in the operation of senior living communities. The firm manages independent living, assisted living and dementia-care communities and continuing care retirement centers. It operates through the following segments: Independent Living Assisted Living & Memory Care, CCRCs, Health Care Services and Management Services. The Independent Living segment is primarily designed for middle to upper income seniors who desire an upscale residential environment providing the highest quality of service. The Assisted Living & Memory Care segment offer housing and 24-hour assistance with ADLs to mid-acuity frail and elderly residents. The CCRCs segment offers a variety of living arrangements and services to accommodate all levels of physical ability and health. The Healthcare Services segment provides home health, hospice and outpatient therapy services, as well as education and wellness programs, to residents of many communities and to seniors living outside communities. The Management Services segment composes of communities operated by the company pursuant to management agreements. The company was founded in 1978 and is headquartered in Brentwood, TN.

Read MoreThe following companies are subsidiares of Bristol-Myers Squibb: 1096271 B.C. ULC, 345 Park LLC, A.G. Medical Services P.A., AHI Investment LLC, AbVitro LLC, Abraxis BioScience Australia Pty Ltd., Abraxis BioScience Inc., Abraxis BioScience International Holding Company Inc., Abraxis BioScience LLC, Abraxis BioScience Puerto Rico LLC, Acetylon Pharmaceuticals Inc., Adnexus, Adnexus a Bristol-Myers Squibb R&D Company, Allard Labs Acquisition G.P., Amira Pharmaceuticals, Amira Pharmaceuticals Inc., Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Apothecon LLC, B-MS Generx Unlimited Company, BMS Benelux Holdings B.V., BMS Bermuda Nominees L.L.C., BMS Data Acquisition Company LLC, BMS Forex Company, BMS Holdings Sarl, BMS Holdings Spain S.L., BMS International Insurance Designated Activity Company, BMS Investco SAS, BMS Korea Holdings L.L.C., BMS Latin American Nominees L.L.C., BMS Luxembourg Partners L.L.C., BMS Omega Bermuda Holdings Finance Ltd., BMS Pharmaceutical Korea Limited, BMS Pharmaceuticals Germany Holdings B.V., BMS Pharmaceuticals International Holdings Netherlands B.V., BMS Pharmaceuticals Korea Holdings B.V., BMS Pharmaceuticals Mexico Holdings B.V., BMS Pharmaceuticals Netherlands Holdings B.V., BMS Real Estate LLC, BMS Spain Investments LLC, BMS Strategic Portfolio Investments Holdings Inc., Blisa Acquisition G.P., Bristol (Iran) S.A., Bristol Iran Private Company Limited, Bristol Laboratories Inc., Bristol Laboratories International S.A., Bristol Laboratories Medical Information Systems Inc., Bristol-Myers (Andes) L.L.C., Bristol-Myers (Private) Limited, Bristol-Myers Middle East S.A.L., Bristol-Myers Overseas Corporation, Bristol-Myers Squibb (China) Investment Co. Ltd., Bristol-Myers Squibb (China) Pharmaceuticals Co. Ltd., Bristol-Myers Squibb (Israel) Ltd., Bristol-Myers Squibb (NZ) Limited, Bristol-Myers Squibb (Proprietary) Limited, Bristol-Myers Squibb (Shanghai) Trading Co. Ltd., Bristol-Myers Squibb (Singapore) Pte. Limited, Bristol-Myers Squibb (Taiwan) Ltd., Bristol-Myers Squibb (West Indies) Ltd., Bristol-Myers Squibb A.E., Bristol-Myers Squibb Aktiebolag, Bristol-Myers Squibb Argentina S. R. L., Bristol-Myers Squibb Australia Pty. Ltd., Bristol-Myers Squibb Axia Limited, Bristol-Myers Squibb B.V., Bristol-Myers Squibb Belgium S.A., Bristol-Myers Squibb Business Services Limited, Bristol-Myers Squibb Canada Co., Bristol-Myers Squibb Canada International Limited, Bristol-Myers Squibb Delta Company Limited, Bristol-Myers Squibb Denmark Filial of Bristol-Myers Squibb AB, Bristol-Myers Squibb EMEA Sarl, Bristol-Myers Squibb Egypt LLC, Bristol-Myers Squibb Epsilon Holdings Unlimited Company, Bristol-Myers Squibb Farmaceutica Ltda., Bristol-Myers Squibb Farmaceutica Portuguesa S.A., Bristol-Myers Squibb GesmbH, Bristol-Myers Squibb GmbH & Co. KGaA, Bristol-Myers Squibb Holding Germany GmbH & Co. KG, Bristol-Myers Squibb Holdings 2002 Limited, Bristol-Myers Squibb Holdings Germany Verwaltungs GmbH, Bristol-Myers Squibb Holdings Ireland Unlimited Company, Bristol-Myers Squibb Holdings Limited, Bristol-Myers Squibb Holdings Pharma Ltd. Liability Company, Bristol-Myers Squibb Ilaclari Inc., Bristol-Myers Squibb India Pvt. Limited, Bristol-Myers Squibb International Company Unlimited Company, Bristol-Myers Squibb International Corporation, Bristol-Myers Squibb Investco L.L.C., Bristol-Myers Squibb K.K., Bristol-Myers Squibb Kft., Bristol-Myers Squibb Luxembourg International S.C.A., Bristol-Myers Squibb Luxembourg S.a.r.l., Bristol-Myers Squibb MEA GmbH, Bristol-Myers Squibb Manufacturing Company, Bristol-Myers Squibb Marketing Services S.R.L., Bristol-Myers Squibb Middle East & Africa FZ-LLC, Bristol-Myers Squibb Norway Ltd., Bristol-Myers Squibb Nutricionales de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Bristol-Myers Squibb Peru S.A., Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharma (HK) Ltd, Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharma (Thailand) Limited, Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharma Company, Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharma EEIG, Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharma Holding Company LLC, Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharma Ventures Corporation, Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharmaceuticals Limited, Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharmaceuticals Unlimited Company, Bristol-Myers Squibb Polska Sp. z o.o., Bristol-Myers Squibb Products SA, Bristol-Myers Squibb Puerto Rico Inc., Bristol-Myers Squibb Puerto Rico/Sanofi Pharmaceutical Partnership Puerto Rico, Bristol-Myers Squibb Romania S.R.L., Bristol-Myers Squibb S.A.U., Bristol-Myers Squibb S.r.l., Bristol-Myers Squibb SA, Bristol-Myers Squibb Sanofi Pharmaceuticals Holding Partnership, Bristol-Myers Squibb Sarl, Bristol-Myers Squibb Service Ltd., Bristol-Myers Squibb Services Sp. z o.o., Bristol-Myers Squibb Spol. s r.o., Bristol-Myers Squibb Theta Finance Ltd., Bristol-Myers Squibb Trustees Limited, Bristol-Myers Squibb Verwaltungs GmbH, Bristol-Myers Squibb de Colombia S.A., Bristol-Myers Squibb de Costa Rica Sociedad Anonima, Bristol-Myers Squibb de Guatemala S.A., Bristol-Myers Squibb de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Bristol-Myers Squibb/Astrazeneca EEIG, Bristol-Myers Squibb/Pfizer EEIG, Bristol-Myers Squibb/Sanofi Pharmaceuticals Partnership, Bristol-Myers de Venezuela S.C.A., CHT I LLC, CHT II LLC, CHT III LLC, CHT IV LLC, CR Finance Company LLC, Cardioxyl Pharmaceuticals, Cardioxyl Pharmaceuticals Inc., Celem LLC, Celem Ltd., Celgene, Celgene A.B., Celgene AS, Celgene Ab (Finland), Celgene Alpine Investment Co. II LLC, Celgene Alpine Investment Co. III LLC, Celgene Alpine Investment Co. LLC, Celgene ApS, Celgene B.V., Celgene BVBA, Celgene Brasil Produtos Farmaceuticos Ltda., Celgene CAR LLC, Celgene CAR Ltd., Celgene Chemicals Sarl, Celgene China Holdings LLC, Celgene Co., Celgene Corporation, Celgene Distribution B.V., Celgene EngMab GmbH, Celgene Europe B.V., Celgene Europe Limited, Celgene European Investment Company LLC, Celgene Financing Company LLC, Celgene Global Holdings Sarl, Celgene GmbH [Austria], Celgene GmbH [Germany], Celgene GmbH [Switzerland], Celgene Holdings East Corporation, Celgene Holdings II Sarl, Celgene Holdings III Sarl, Celgene Ilac Pazarlama ve Ticaret Limited Sirketi, Celgene Inc., Celgene International Holdings Corporation, Celgene International II Sarl, Celgene International III Sarl, Celgene International Inc., Celgene International Sarl, Celgene K.K., Celgene Kft., Celgene Limited [Hong Kong], Celgene Limited [Ireland], Celgene Limited [New Zealand], Celgene Limited [Taiwan], Celgene Limited [UK], Celgene Logistics Sarl, Celgene Ltd, Celgene Luxembourg Sarl, Celgene Management Sarl, Celgene NJ Investment Co, Celgene Netherlands B.V., Celgene Netherlands Investment B.V., Celgene Pharmaceutical (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Celgene Pte. Ltd., Celgene Pty Ltd, Celgene Puerto Rico Distribution LLC, Celgene Quanticel Research Inc, Celgene R&D Sarl, Celgene RIVOT LLC, Celgene RIVOT Ltd., Celgene RIVOT SRL, Celgene Receptos Limited, Celgene Receptos Sarl, Celgene Research Incubator At Summit West LLC, Celgene Research S.L.U., Celgene Research and Development Company LLC, Celgene Research and Development I ULC, Celgene Research and Development II LLC, Celgene Research and Investment Company II LLC, Celgene S. de R.L. de C.V., Celgene S.L.U., Celgene S.R.L., Celgene SAS, Celgene Sarl AU, Celgene Sdn Bhd, Celgene Services Sarl, Celgene Sociedade Unipessoal Lda, Celgene Sp. 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Squibb & Sons Limited, EWI Corporation, EngMab Sarl, F-star Alpha, FermaVir Pharmaceuticals L.L.C., FermaVir Research L.L.C., Flexus Biosciences, Flexus Biosciences Inc., Forbius, Galecto Biotech, GenPharm International L.L.C., Gloucester Pharmaceuticals LLC, Grove Insurance Company Ltd., Heyden Farmaceutica Portuguesa Limitada, IFM Therapeutics, Impact Biomedicines Inc., Inhibitex, Inhibitex L.L.C., Innate Tumor Immunity Inc., JuMP Holdings LLC, Juno Therapeutics GmbH, Juno Therapeutics Inc., Kosan Biosciences, Kosan Biosciences Incorporated, Linson Investments Limited, Mead Johnson (Manufacturing) Jamaica Limited, Mead Johnson Jamaica Ltd., Medarex, Morris Avenue Investment II LLC, Morris Avenue Investment LLC, MyoKardia, O.o.o. Bristol-Myers Squibb, Oy Bristol-Myers Squibb (Finland) AB, Padlock Therapeutics, Padlock Therapeutics Inc., Pharmion LLC, Princeton Pharmaceutical Products Inc., Receptos LLC, Receptos Services LLC, RedoxTherapies Inc., Route 22 Real Estate Holding Corporation, SPV A Holdings ULC, Seamair Insurance DAC, Signal Pharmaceuticals LLC, Sino-American Shanghai Squibb Pharmaceuticals Limited, Societe Francaise de Complements Alimentaires(S.O.F.C.A.), Squibb Middle East S.A., Summit West Celgene LLC, Swords Laboratories, VentiRx Pharmaceuticals Inc., Westwood-Intrafin SA, Westwood-Squibb Pharmaceuticals Inc., X-Body Inc., ZymoGenetics, ZymoGenetics Inc., ZymoGenetics LLC, ZymoGenetics Paymaster LLC, iPierian, and iPierian Inc..The following companies are subsidiares of Valero Energy: AIR BP-PBF DEL PERU SAC, BELFAST STORAGE LTD, CANADIAN ULTRAMAR COMPANY, COLONNADE TEXAS INSURANCE COMPANY LLC, COLONNADE VERMONT INSURANCE COMPANY, DIAMOND ALTERNATIVE ENERGY LLC, DIAMOND ALTERNATIVE ENERGY OF CANADA INC., DIAMOND GREEN DIESEL HOLDINGS LLC, DIAMOND GREEN DIESEL LLC, DIAMOND K RANCH LLC, DIAMOND OMEGA COMPANY L.L.C., DIAMOND SHAMROCK REFINING COMPANY L.P., DIAMOND UNIT INVESTMENTS L.L.C., DSRM NATIONAL BANK, ENTERPRISE CLAIMS MANAGEMENT INC., GCP LOGISTICS COMPANY LLC, GOLDEN EAGLE ASSURANCE LIMITED, HAMMOND MAINLINE PIPELINE LLC, HUNTWAY REFINING COMPANY, MAINLINE PIPELINES LIMITED, MAPLE ETHANOL LTD., MICHIGAN REDEVELOPMENT GP LLC, MICHIGAN REDEVELOPMENT L.P., MRP PROPERTIES COMPANY LLC, NECHES RIVER HOLDING CORP., NORCO METHANOL LLC, OCEANIC TANKERS AGENCY LIMITED, PARKWAY PIPELINE LLC, PENTA TANKS TERMINALS S.A., PI DOCK FACILITIES LLC, PICKARD PLACE CONDOMINIUM ASSOCIATION, PORT ARTHUR COKER COMPANY L.P., PREMCOR USA INC., PROPERTY RESTORATION L.P., PURE BIOFUELS DEL PERU S.A.C., PURE BIOFUELS HOLDINGS L.P., Parkway Pipeline, Premcor, Pure Biofuels Del Peru, SABINE RIVER HOLDING CORP., SABINE RIVER LLC, SAINT BERNARD PROPERTIES COMPANY LLC, SUNBELT REFINING COMPANY L.P., THE PREMCOR PIPELINE CO., THE PREMCOR REFINING GROUP INC., THE SHAMROCK PIPE LINE CORPORATION, TRANSPORT MARITIME ST. 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DE C.V., VALERO ARUBA ACQUISITION COMPANY I LTD., VALERO ARUBA FINANCE INTERNATIONAL LTD., VALERO ARUBA HOLDING COMPANY N.V., VALERO ARUBA HOLDINGS INTERNATIONAL LTD., VALERO ARUBA MAINTENANCE/OPERATIONS COMPANY N.V., VALERO BROWNSVILLE TERMINAL LLC, VALERO CANADA FINANCE INC., VALERO CANADA L.P., VALERO CAPITAL CORPORATION, VALERO CARIBBEAN SERVICES COMPANY, VALERO COKER CORPORATION ARUBA N.V., VALERO CUSTOMS & TRADE SERVICES INC., VALERO EAST BAY LLC, VALERO ENERGY (IRELAND) LIMITED, VALERO ENERGY ARUBA II COMPANY, VALERO ENERGY INC., VALERO ENERGY LTD, VALERO ENERGY PARTNERS GP LLC, VALERO ENERGY PARTNERS LP, VALERO ENERGY UK LTD, VALERO ENTERPRISES INC., VALERO EQUITY SERVICES LTD, VALERO FINANCE L.P. I, VALERO FINANCE L.P. II, VALERO FINANCE L.P. III, VALERO FOREST CONTRIBUTION LLC, VALERO GRAIN MARKETING LLC, VALERO H2 PIPELINE COMPANY LLC, VALERO HOLDCO UK LTD, VALERO HOLDINGS INC., VALERO INTERNATIONAL HOLDINGS INC., VALERO LIVE OAK LLC, VALERO LOGISTICS UK LTD, VALERO MARKETING AND SUPPLY (PANAMA) LLC, VALERO MARKETING AND SUPPLY COMPANY, VALERO MARKETING AND SUPPLY DE MEXICO S.A. DE C.V., VALERO MARKETING AND SUPPLY DE MEXICO S.A. DE C.V., VALERO MARKETING AND SUPPY INTERNATIONAL LTD., VALERO MARKETING IRELAND LIMITED, VALERO MKS LOGISTICS L.L.C., VALERO NEDERLAND COOPERATIEF U.A., VALERO NEDERLAND COOPERATIEF U.A., VALERO NEW AMSTERDAM B.V., VALERO OMEGA COMPANY L.L.C., VALERO OPERATIONAL SERVICES DE MEXICO S.A. DE C.V., VALERO OPERATIONAL SERVICES DE MEXICO S.A. DE C.V., VALERO OPERATIONS SUPPORT LTD, VALERO PARTNERS CCTS LLC, VALERO PARTNERS CORPUS EAST LLC, VALERO PARTNERS CORPUS WEST LLC, VALERO PARTNERS EP LLC, VALERO PARTNERS HOUSTON LLC, VALERO PARTNERS LOUISIANA LLC, VALERO PARTNERS LUCAS LLC, VALERO PARTNERS MCKEE LLC, VALERO PARTNERS MEMPHIS LLC, VALERO PARTNERS MERAUX LLC, VALERO PARTNERS NORTH TEXAS LLC, VALERO PARTNERS OPERATING CO. LLC, VALERO PARTNERS PAPS LLC, VALERO PARTNERS PORT ARTHUR LLC, VALERO PARTNERS SOUTH TEXAS LLC, VALERO PARTNERS TEXAS CITY LLC, VALERO PARTNERS THREE RIVERS LLC, VALERO PARTNERS WEST MEMPHIS LLC, VALERO PARTNERS WEST TEXAS LLC, VALERO PARTNERS WYNNEWOOD LLC, VALERO PAYMENT SERVICES COMPANY, VALERO PEMBROKESHIRE LLC, VALERO PEMBROKESHIRE OIL TERMINAL LTD, VALERO PLAINS COMPANY LLC, VALERO POWER MARKETING LLC, VALERO RAIL OPERATIONS DE MEXICO S.A. DE C.V., VALERO RAIL OPERATIONS DE MEXICO S.A. DE C.V., VALERO RAIL PARTNERS LLC, VALERO REFINING AND MARKETING COMPANY, VALERO REFINING COMPANY-ARUBA N.V., VALERO REFINING COMPANY-CALIFORNIA, VALERO REFINING COMPANY-OKLAHOMA, VALERO REFINING COMPANY-TENNESSEE L.L.C., VALERO REFINING-MERAUX LLC, VALERO REFINING-NEW ORLEANS L.L.C., VALERO REFINING-TEXAS L.P., VALERO RENEWABLE FUELS COMPANY LLC, VALERO SECURITY SYSTEMS INC., VALERO SERVICES INC., VALERO SKELLYTOWN PIPELINE LLC, VALERO TEJAS COMPANY LLC, VALERO TERMINAL HOLDCO LTD, VALERO TERMINALING AND DISTRIBUTION COMPANY, VALERO TERMINALING AND DISTRIBUTION DE MEXICO S.A. DE C.V., VALERO TEXAS POWER MARKETING INC., VALERO ULTRAMAR HOLDINGS INC., VALERO UNIT INVESTMENTS L.L.C., VALERO WEST WALES LLC, VRG PROPERTIES COMPANY, VTD PROPERTIES COMPANY, WARSHALL COMPANY LLC, and ZELIG COMMERCIAL INC..The following companies are subsidiares of InterContinental Hotels Group: 2250 Blake Street Hotel LLC, 24th Street Operator Sub LLC, 36th Street IHG Sub LLC, 426 Main Ave LLC, 46 Nevins Street Associates LLC, Allegro Management LLC, Alpha Kimball Hotel LLC, American Commonwealth Assurance Co. Ltd., Asia Pacific Holdings Limited, BHMC Canada Inc., BHR Holdings B.V., BHR Luxembourg SARL, BHR Pacific Holdings Inc., BHTC Canada Inc., BOC Barclay Sub LLC, Barclay Operating Corp., Bristol Oakbrook Tenant Company, Cafe Biarritz, Cambridge Lodging LLC, Capital Lodging LLC, Compania Inter-Continental De Hoteles El Salvador SA, Crowne Plaza Amsterdam (Management) B.V., Crowne Plaza LLC, Cumberland Akers Hotel LLC, Dunwoody Operations Inc., EVEN Real Estate Holding LLC, Edinburgh IC Limited, General Innkeeping Acceptance Corporation, Guangzhou SC Hotels Services Ltd., H.I. (Ireland) Limited, H.I. Soaltee Management Company Ltd, HC International Holdings Inc., HH France Holdings SAS, HH Hotels (EMEA) B.V., HH Hotels (Romania) SRL, HI Sugarloaf LLC, HIM (Aruba) NV, Hale International Ltd., Hoft Properties LLC, Holiday Hospitality Franchising LLC, Holiday Inn Mexicana S.A. de C.V., Holiday Inns (China) Ltd, Holiday Inns (Chongqing) Inc., Holiday Inns (Courtalin) Holdings SAS, Holiday Inns (Courtalin) SAS, Holiday Inns (England) Ltd., Holiday Inns (Germany) LLC, Holiday Inns (Guangzhou) Inc., Holiday Inns (Jamaica) Inc., Holiday Inns (Malaysia) Ltd., Holiday Inns (Middle East) Ltd., Holiday Inns (Philippines) Inc., Holiday Inns (Saudi Arabia) Inc., Holiday Inns (South East Asia) Inc., Holiday Inns (Thailand) Ltd., Holiday Inns (UK) Inc., Holiday Inns Crowne Plaza (Hong Kong) Inc., Holiday Inns Holdings (Australia) Pty Ltd, Holiday Inns Inc., Holiday Inns Investment (Nepal) Ltd., Holiday Inns of America (UK) Ltd., Holiday Inns of Belgium N.V., Holiday Pacific Equity Corporation, Holiday Pacific LLC, Holiday Pacific Partners LP, Hotel Inter-Continental London Limited, Hotel InterContinental London (Holdings) Limited, Hoteles Y Turismo HIH SRL, IC Hotelbetriebsfuhrungs GmbH, IC Hotels Management (Portugal) Unipessoal Lda, IC International Hotels Limited Liability Company, IHC (Thailand) Limited, IHC Buckhead LLC, IHC Edinburgh (Holdings), IHC Hopkins (Holdings) Corp., IHC Hotel Limited, IHC Inter-Continental (Holdings) Corp., IHC London (Holdings), IHC M-H (Holdings) Corp., IHC May Fair (Holdings) Limited, IHC May Fair Hotel Limited, IHC Overseas (U.K.) Limited, IHC UK (Holdings) Limited, IHC United States (Holdings) Corp., IHC Willard (Holdings) Corp., IHG (Australasia) Limited, IHG (Marseille) SAS, IHG (Thailand) Limited, IHG ANA Hotels Group Japan LLC, IHG ANA Hotels Holdings Co. Ltd., IHG Bangkok Ltd, IHG Brasil Administracao de Hoteis e Servicos Ltda, IHG Commission Services SRL, IHG Community Development LLC, IHG Cyprus Limited, IHG ECS (Barbados) SRL, IHG Franchising Brasil Ltda, IHG Franchising DR Corporation, IHG Franchising LLC, IHG Hotels (New Zealand) Limited, IHG Hotels Limited, IHG Hotels Management (Australia) Pty Limited, IHG Hotels Nigeria Limited, IHG Hotels South Africa (Pty) Ltd, IHG International Partnership, IHG Istanbul Otel Yonetim Limited Sirketi, IHG Japan (Management) LLC, IHG Japan (Osaka) LLC, IHG Management (Maryland) LLC, IHG Management (Netherlands) B.V., IHG Management MD Barclay Sub LLC, IHG Management SL d.o.o, IHG Management d.o.o. Beograd, IHG Orchard Street Member LLC, IHG PS Nominees Limited, IHG Systems Pty Ltd, IHG Szalloda Budapest Szolgaltato Kft., IHG de Argentina SA, IND East Village SD Holdings LLC, Inter-Continental D.C. Operating Corp., Inter-Continental Florida Investment Corp., Inter-Continental Florida Partner Corp., Inter-Continental Hospitality Corporation, Inter-Continental Hoteleira Limitada, Inter-Continental Hotels (Montreal) Operating Corp., Inter-Continental Hotels (Montreal) Owning Corp., Inter-Continental Hotels (Singapore) Pte. Ltd., Inter-Continental Hotels Corporation, Inter-Continental Hotels Corporation de Venezuela C.A., Inter-Continental Hotels of San Francisco Inc., Inter-Continental IOHC (Mauritius) Limited, Inter-Continental Management (Australia) Pty Limited, InterContinental (Branston) 1 Limited, InterContinental (PB) 1, InterContinental (PB) 2, InterContinental (PB) 3 Limited, InterContinental Berlin Service Company GmbH, InterContinental Brasil Administracao de Hoteis Ltda, InterContinental Gestion Hotelera S.L., InterContinental Hotel Berlin GmbH, InterContinental Hotel Dusseldorf GmbH (Germany), InterContinental Hotels (Puerto Rico) Inc., InterContinental Hotels Group (Asia Pacific) Pte Ltd, InterContinental Hotels Group (Australia) Pty Limited, InterContinental Hotels Group (Canada) Inc., InterContinental Hotels Group (Espana) SA, InterContinental Hotels Group (Greater China) Limited, InterContinental Hotels Group (India) Pvt. Ltd, InterContinental Hotels Group (Japan) Inc., InterContinental Hotels Group (New Zealand) Limited, InterContinental Hotels Group (Shanghai) Ltd., InterContinental Hotels Group Customer Services Ltd., InterContinental Hotels Group Healthcare Trustee Limited, InterContinental Hotels Group Operating Corp., InterContinental Hotels Group Resources Inc., InterContinental Hotels Group Services Company, InterContinental Hotels Group do Brasil Limitada, InterContinental Hotels Italia S.r.L., InterContinental Hotels Limited, InterContinental Hotels Management GmbH, InterContinental Hotels Nevada Corporation, InterContinental Management AM LLC, InterContinental Management Bulgaria EOOD, InterContinental Management France SAS, InterContinental Management Poland sp. z.o.o, InterContinental Overseas Holding Corporation, Intercontinental Hotels Corporation Limited, KG Benefits LLC, KG Gift Card Inc., KG Liability LLC, KG Technology LLC, KHP Washington Operator LLC, KHRG 11th Avenue Hotel LLC, KHRG 851 LLC, KHRG Aertson LLC, KHRG Alexandria LLC, KHRG Alexis LLC, KHRG Allegro LLC, KHRG Argyle LLC, KHRG Austin Beverage Company LLC, KHRG Baltimore LLC, KHRG Born LLC, KHRG Boston Hotel LLC, KHRG Canary LLC, KHRG Cayman Employer Ltd., KHRG Cayman LLC, KHRG DC 1731 LLC, KHRG DC 2505 LLC, KHRG Donovan LLC, KHRG Employer LLC, KHRG Goleta LLC, KHRG Gray LLC, KHRG Gray U2 LLC, KHRG Hillcrest LLC, KHRG Huntington Beach LLC, KHRG King Street LLC, KHRG La Peer LLC, KHRG Miami Beach LLC, KHRG Muse LLC, KHRG NPC LLC, KHRG Onyx LLC, KHRG Palladian LLC, KHRG Palomar Phoenix LLC, KHRG Philly Monaco LLC, KHRG Pittsburgh LLC, KHRG Reynolds LLC, KHRG Riverplace LLC, KHRG SFD LLC, KHRG Sacramento LLC, KHRG Savannah LLC, KHRG Schofield LLC, KHRG Sedona LLC, KHRG State Street LLC, KHRG Sutter LLC, KHRG Sutter Union LLC, KHRG Taconic LLC, KHRG Tariff LLC, KHRG Texas Hospitality LLC, KHRG Texas Operations LLC, KHRG Tryon LLC, KHRG VZ Austin LLC, KHRG Vero Beach LLC, KHRG Vintage Park LLC, KHRG WPB LLC, KHRG Wabash LLC, KHRG Westwood LLC, KHRG Wilshire LLC, KHRG Zamora LLC, Kimpton Hollywood Licenses LLC, Kimpton Hotel & Restaurant Group, Kimpton Hotel & Restaurant Group LLC, Kimpton Phoenix Licenses Holdings LLC, Kimpton Sedona Licenses LLC, Louisiana Acquisitions Corp., MH Lodging LLC, Mercer Fairview Holdings LLC, PML Services LLC, PT SC Hotels & Resorts Indonesia, Pollstrong Limited, Powell Pine Inc., Priscilla Holiday of Texas Inc., RM Lodging LLC, Regent Hotels and Resorts, Resort Services International (Cayo Largo) L.P., SBS Maryland Beverage Company LLC, SC Cellars Limited, SC Hotels International Services Inc., SC Leisure Group Limited, SC NAS 2 Limited, SC Quest Limited, SC Reservations (Philippines) Inc., SCH Insurance Company, SCIH Branston 3, SF MH Acquisition LLC, SPHC Group Pty Ltd., SPHC Management Ltd., Semiramis for training of Hotel Personnel and Hotel Management SAE, Six Continents Corporate Services, Six Continents Holdings Limited, Six Continents Hotels Inc., Six Continents Hotels International Limited, Six Continents Hotels de Colombia SA, Six Continents International Holdings B.V., Six Continents Investments Limited, Six Continents Limited, Six Continents Overseas Holdings Limited, Six Continents Restaurants Limited, SixCo North America Inc., Solamar Lodging LLC, Southern Pacific Hotel Corporation (BVI) Ltd., Southern Pacific Hotels Properties Limited, Universal de Hoteles SA, White Shield Insurance Company Limited, and World Trade Centre Montreal Hotel Corporation.Conagra Brands, Inc. engages in the manufacture and sale of processed and packaged foods. It operates through the following segments: Grocery and Snacks; Refrigerated and Frozen; International; and Foodservice. The Grocery and Snacks segment includes branded, shelf stable food products sold in various retail channels in the United States. The Refrigerated and Frozen segment comprises branded, temperature controlled food products sold in various retail channels in the United States. The International segment consists branded food products, in various temperature states, sold in various retail and foodservice channels outside of the United States. The Foodservice segment focuses in the branded and customized food products, including meals, entrees, sauces, and a variety of custom-manufactured culinary products packaged for sale to restaurants and other foodservice establishments in the United States. The company was founded by Alva Kinney and Frank Little in 1919 and is headquartered in Chicago, IL.

Read More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.

Read MoreThe following companies are subsidiares of Roper Technologies: 3089554 Nova Scotia ULC, AC Analytical Controls B.V., AC Analytical Controls Holding B.V., AC Analytical Controls Services B.V., Acton Research Corporation, Acumen PM LLC, Aderant CM LLC, Aderant CRM LLC, Aderant Case Management LLC, Aderant Company, Aderant CompuLaw LLC, Aderant DoD LLC, Aderant Enterprise Holdings Inc., Aderant FM LLC, Aderant Holdings Inc., Aderant Imaging LLC, Aderant International Holdings Inc., Aderant Legal (UK) Limited, Aderant Legal Holdings (AUS) Pty Ltd, Aderant Legal Holdings (NZ) ULC, Aderant Legal Holdings Inc., Aderant North America Inc., Aderant Parent Holdings Inc., Aderant RainMaker LLC, Aderant Redwood LLC, Advanced Sensors Limited, Alpha Holdings of I LLC, Alpha Holdings of II LLC, Alpha Technologies B.V., Alpha Technologies GmbH, Alpha Technologies LLC, Alpha Technologies Services LLC, Alpha Technologies U.K., Alpha Technologies s.r.o., Alpha UK Holdings LLC, Amot Controls Corporation, Amot Controls GmbH, Amot/Metrix Investment Company Inc., Amphire Solutions Inc., Amtech Systems LLC, Amtech Systems Limited, Amtech World Corporation, Ascension Technology Corporation, Atlantic Health Partners Inc., Atlas Healthcare Software Private Limited, Austria, Avitru LLC, Axium Holdco Inc., C/S Solutions Inc., CBORD Holdings Corp., CIVCO Medical Solutions B.V., Cayman Islands, Centurion Research Solutions LLC, Civco Holding Inc., Civco Medical Instruments Co. Inc., CliniSys Group Limited, Clinisys Scotland Limited, Clinisys Solutions Limited, Compressor Controls (Beijing) Corporation Ltd., Compressor Controls Corporation, Compressor Controls Corporation B.V., Compressor Controls Corporation Middle East, Compressor Controls Corporation S.r.l., Compressor Controls Ltd., Compressor Controls Pty Ltd., ConstructConnect Inc., Cornell Pump, DAP Technologies Corp., DAP Technologies LTD, DAT Solutions LLC, DCMH Group Holdings Inc., DCMH Group Holdings LLC, DCMH Holdings Inc., DI Acquisition Subsidiary Inc., DI Dutch Holdings LLC, DI Limited, Dash I Inc., Data Innovations Cooperatief U.A., Data Innovations Europe S.A., Data Innovations LLC, Data Innovations Latin America Ltda, Data Innovations Ltd., Dawning Technologies LLC, Deltek, Deltek Ajera Inc., Deltek Asia Pacific (HK) Limited, Deltek B.V., Deltek Belgie BVBA, Deltek Danmark A/S, Deltek GB Limited, Deltek GmbH, Deltek Inc., Deltek Nederland B.V., Deltek Norge AS, Deltek Pty Ltd., Deltek SAS, Deltek Sverige AB, Deltek Systems () Inc., Deltek Systems (Philippines) Ltd., Deltek Systems ) Inc., Deltek WST LLC, Dominion I Inc., Dynamic Instruments Inc., Dynisco, Dynisco Enterprises GmbH, Dynisco Enterprises LLC, Dynisco Europe GmbH, Dynisco Holding GmbH, Dynisco Holdings Limited, Dynisco Instruments LLC, Dynisco Instruments S.a.r.l., Dynisco Parent Inc., Dynisco S.r.l., Dynisco Shanghai Sensor and Instrument Co. Ltd., Dynisco Viatran LLC, Dynisco Viatran (M) Sdn Bhd, Dynisco-Viatran Instrument Sdn Bhd, FMS Purchasing & Services Inc., FSI Holdings Inc., FTI Flow Technology Inc., Fluid Metering Inc., Foodlink Holdings Inc., Foodlink IT Private Limited, Foundry, Gatan GmbH, Gatan Inc., Gatan Service Corporation, Gatan U.K. Limited, GeneInsight Inc., Getloaded Corporation, Guangzhou MEDTEC Medical Device Co. Ltd, HRsmart Czech Republic, HRsmart Germany, HRsmart GmbH, HRsmart Inc., HRsmart International, HRsmart International Holdings LLC, HRsmart Mexico, HRsmart SA (Pty) Ltd., HRsmart SAS, HRsmart Talent Management Solutions Europe Limited, HRsmart Ventures LLC, Handshake Software Inc., Hansco Automatisering B.V., Hansen Technologies Corporation, Hansen Technologies Europe GmbH, Harbour Holding Corp., Hardy Process Solutions, Horizon Software International LLC, INPUT Inc., IPA Acquisition Subsidiary Inc., ISL Finance SAS, ISL Holding SAS, ISL Scientifique de Laboratorie - ISL S.A.S., IT Holdings LLC, Innovative Product Achievements LLC, Inovonics Corporation, Input S.A.R.L., Instill Corporation, Integrated Designs L.P., IntelliTrans Limited, Intellitrans AB, Intellitrans LLC, Intellitrans Ltd., Job Access LTDA, K/S Roper Holding, K/S Roper Investments, Link Logistics Holding LLC, Logitech Limited, Louis U.K. Limited, Lumenera, MED Professional Services LLC, MEDTEC Inc., MHA Long Term Care Network Inc., MIPS Austria GesmbH, MIPS CZ s.r.o, MIPS Deutschland GmbH & Co. KG, MIPS Deutschland Holding GmbH, MIPS Nederland B.V., MIPS Sarl, MIPS Schweiz AG, MIPS Software Iberica SL, MPR Readers Inc., Managed Health Care Associates Inc., Marumoto Struers K.K., Media Cybernetics Inc., Medical Information Professional Systems GmbH, Medical Information Professional Systems NV, Medina Acquisition LLC, Metrix Instrument Co. L.P., NDI Europe, Navigator Group Purchasing Inc., Neptune Technology Group () Co., Neptune Technology Group Inc., Neptune Technology Group S.de R.L. de C.V., Neptune Technology Group Services Inc., Neptune Technology Group Services S. de R.L. de C.V., Nippon Roper K.K., Northern Digital Inc., Off-Campus Advantage LLC, Omega Legal Systems Inc., PAC (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., PAC ApS, PAC GmbH, PAC Instruments (Thailand) Company Limited, PAC Instruments Asia PTE. Ltd., PB Bidco Limited, PB Holdco Limited, PB Midco Limited, PB Topco Limited, PGP UK Limited, Petroleum Analyzer Company L.P., Phase Analyzer Company Ltd., PowerPlan, PowerPlan Holdings Inc., PowerPlan Holdings LLC, PowerPlan Inc., PowerPlan Intermediate Holdings Inc., PowerPlan Operations ANZ Pty Ltd, PowerPlan Operations Ltd., PowerPlan ULC, Project Cobalt Acquisition Corp, Project Diamond Intermediate Holdings Corporation, Project Torque Intermediate Holdings Inc., QSC 1208 Limited, QSC 1209 Limited, Quantitative Imaging Corporation, RF IDeas Inc., RI Marketing Private Limited, RIL Holding Limited, RMT Inc., RT Merger Sub Inc., Rebate Tracking Group LLC, Redlake MASD LLC, Roda Deaco Valve Inc., Roper Brasil Comercio E Promocao De Productos E Servicos LTDA, Roper Capital Deutschland GmbH, Roper DK Sub Sarl, Roper Engineering s.r.o., Roper Europe GmbH, Roper Finance S.a.r.l., Roper GM Holdings ApS, Roper GmbH, Roper GmbH & Co. KG, Roper Holdings Inc., Roper Holdings LP, Roper Holdings Limited, Roper Holdings S.a.r.l., Roper Industrial Products Investment Company, Roper Industries ApS, Roper Industries Deutschland GmbH, Roper Industries Inc., Roper Industries L.P., Roper Industries Limited, Roper Industries Ltd., Roper Industries Manufacturing (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Roper Industries UK Limited, Roper International Holding Inc., Roper LLC, Roper Lux Sub S.a.r.l, Roper Middle East Ltd., Roper NL1 UK Limited, Roper NL2 UK Limited, Roper Pump Company, Roper S.a.r.l., Roper Scientific B.V., Roper Scientific GmbH, Roper Scientific Inc., Roper Scientific SAS, Roper Scot LP, Roper Southeast Asia LLC, Roper Swiss Finance GmbH, Roper UK Holdings S.a.r.l., Roper UK Investments Limited, Roper UK Limited, Roper UK Ltd., Roper-Mex L.P., Ropintassco 1 LLC, Ropintassco 2 LLC, Ropintassco 3 LLC, Ropintassco 4 LLC, Ropintassco 5 LLC, Ropintassco 6 LLC, Ropintassco 7 LLC, Ropintassco Holdings L.P., SHP Group Holdings Inc., SIRA LLC, Scotland, Shanghai Roper Industries Trading Co. Ltd., Singapore, Sinmed Holding International B.V., Societe de Distribution de Logiciels Medicaux, SoftWriters Inc., Softwriters Holdings Inc., Sohnar Pty Ltd, Spain, Star Purchasing Services LLC, Strata Acquisition Subsidiary Inc., Strata Decision Technology Holdings LLC, Strata Decision Technology LLC, Strata Parallel II Inc., Strategic Healthcare Programs Blocker 2 Inc., Strategic Healthcare Programs Blocker LLC, Strategic Healthcare Programs Holdings LLC, Strategic Healthcare Programs L.L.C., Struers (Shanghai) International Trading Ltd., Struers A/S, Struers GmbH, Struers Inc., Struers Limited, Struers SAS, Student Advantage LLC, Sunquest Europe Limited, Sunquest Holdings Inc., Sunquest Information Systems, Sunquest Information Systems () Private Limited, Sunquest Information Systems (Europe) Limited, Sunquest Information Systems (International) Limited, Sunquest Information Systems Inc., Sunquest Information Systems Pty Ltd, Switzerland, TLP Holdings LLC, Taupo Holdings Inc., Technolog Group Limited, Technolog Holdings Ltd., Technolog Limited, Technolog SARL, Tennessee, Thailand, The CBORD Group Inc., The Management Group Inc., The Tidewater Healthcare Shared Services Group Inc., Torque Acquisition Holdco Inc., Transcore Atlantic Inc., Transcore CNUS Inc., Transcore Holdings Inc., Transcore ITS LLC, Transcore LP, Transcore Link Logistics Corporation, Transcore Nova Scotia Corporation, Transcore Partners LLC, Transcore Quebec Corporation Inc., Trinity Integrated Systems Limited, UHF Purchasing Services LLC, Union Square Software (International) Limited, Union Square Software Inc., Union Square Software Limited, Union Square Software Pty, Uson L.P., Uson Limited, Utilitec Limited, Utilitec Services Limited, Utility Data Services Limited, Verathon Holdings Inc., Verathon Inc., Verathon Medical, Verathon Medical (Europe) B.V., Verathon Medical (UK) Ltd., Verathon Medical Limited, Verathon Medical Pty Limited, Verathon Medical SARL, Verathon Medical ULC, Viastar Services LP, Viatran, Walter Herzog GmbH, Wisconsin, WorkBook APAC Ltd., Workbook Software A/S, Zetec (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Zetec France, Zetec Inc., Zetec Korea Inc., Zetec Rental LLC, Zetec Services Inc., iPipeline, iSqFt Holdings Inc., iSqFt Parent Corporation, iSqFt Sub Inc., iTradeNetwork Inc., iTradenetwork Limited, and mySBX Corporation.Rumor has it that LG plans to launch its next flagship phone later this year rather than at Mobile World Congress. But that doesnt mean the company is showing up to MWC empty-handed.

According to VentureBeat (and Evan Blass), the company will launch an update to last years LG V30 next week.

Its called the LG V30S ThinQ, and it looks nearly identical to its predecessor. Under the hood it features a number of improvements though.

Update: Its official, it has a better looking screen than the original, and its coming in March, with a price to be determined.

Like last years model, the new phone has a 6 inch, 2880 x 1440 pixel display and a Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor.

But it has 6GB of RAM instead of 4GB. And the entry-level model has 128GB of storage instead of 64GB. Theres also a V30S+ model with 256GB.

The biggest change may be the ThinQ branding, which indicates that the new phone is the first mobile device to feature LGs latest AI features. Specifically, theres a set of Vision AI features (including automatic scene recognition for snapping photos and a QLens feature that can scan QR codes or attempt image recognition), and Voice AI features including support for using voice commands with Google Assistant that arent available on other phones.

Other features include a 3,300 mAh battery, 16MP + 13MP wide-angle lens, a 5MP front-facing wide-angle camera, a 32-bit Hi-Fi quad DAC, and a USB Type-C port. Theres also a microSD card reader that can handle cards up to 2TB.

The phone has an IP68 water and dust resistance rating, a MIL-STD 810G tested design, a fingerprint sensor, and Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0 support.

Theres no word on the price or release date yet, but thats not surprising since LG hasnt actually officially launched the V30S ThinQ yet.

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The government is speeding up the legislative process for a new cybersecurity law which has been scheduled for the second half of 2018. A public consultation on the proposed bill was held from December 11 to January 24.

The bill has some good ideas, such as the requirement for purchasers of telephone SIM cards in Macau to provide their ID, which could help to identify genuine users and avoid phone scams.

But there are concerns about the protection of personal information. In preparation for the new regulations, the Judiciary Police (PJ) has indicated its intention to recruit a small army of computer experts to enforce the law.

According to the consultation paper, the PJ will coordinate a Cybersecurity Incident Alert and Response Center, which will deal with cybersecurity incidents. It will reportedly focus on implementing preventive measures and monitoring digital traffic metadata.

The Secretary for Security, Wong Sio Chak, has made several assurances that surveillance operations under the future law would be for the purpose of detecting any irregularity in the flow of data and would not involve access to any personal information.

Wong also said that in order to obtain security-encrypted content posted online  such as in situations involving suspected criminal acts  public departments would first be required to obtain judiciary approval before decoding the online material for investigation.

As the Macau Portuguese and English Press Association (AIPIM) pointed out in a letter this January to Wong Sio Chak, the crux of the question here lies in the blurred boundary between having access to digital metadata and the content of the same data or communications. In the letter, AIPIM disagreed with the PJs proposed role as coordinator of the center.

Criminal police investigations being led by the Public Prosecutions Office and interfering in citizens private lives solely as a result of a court order are fundamental pillars of the Macau SARs constitutional law and criminal procedure, the letter read.

Does the Macau citizenry really believe that the dozens of computer experts that are being hired by the PJ will only look at metadata? Its hard to fathom. Metadata can tell who speaks to whom, but not what is spoken.

Besides these questions, there is the need to reflect on the usefulness of a surveillance apparatus such as the one about to be created in Macau.

States worldwide are spending disproportionate amounts of money on surveillance operations. The more transparent ones, like that of the US, have made those figures public. Back in 2010, Washington spent USD80 billion on intelligence operations. To put this in proportion, the US Education Department budget that same year was USD66 billion, while the Environmental Protection Agency spent USD10.5 billion.

Moreover, is most of the data gathered by these surveillance operations useful in preventing any criminal activity? Many observers dont believe so.

A recent South China Morning Post feature had some interesting remarks about this subject, with which I agree: From Washington, Moscow and Beijing to Tokyo, governments will continue to squander money on espionage and counter-espionage. It is a great shame for taxpayers  most of these operations are so secretive that they are not accountable to the public nor subject to supervision. They are inherently wasteful and do not always serve the greater good of all. If deployed elsewhere, even a fraction of the resources would solve many problems we are facing today.

*We have a right to knowToday, it has been exactly 70 years since the "Victorious February", as the event was called up to the Velvet Revolution (and Czechs are sort of OK with similar euphemisms, also in the case of the "Protectorate" and "Normalization", so it's still used today, although the tone is usually satirical; but I think that people must understand why such events were terrible even if the demagogically positive language is used, not just when these events are described by some newer, artificially coined, negative phrases!).



The event wasn't just one of the three most tragic isolated 20th century events in a Czechoslovak pond that you don't care about. It had geopolitical implications. In particular, NATO was created as a response to the Czechoslovak coup  British FM Ernest Bevin proposed it to prevent another Czechoslovakia.







Klement Gottwald announcing his fans at the Old Town Square (the place with the astronomic clock, Orloj, where Ledecka will be welcomed at 4 p.m. on Monday) that the president would replace non-communist ministers by communist ones. (Well, it's a small myth: this fur coat picture is from February 21st, not 25th, when he was saying that the resigning ministers were traitors. On February 25th, Gottwald spoke at the bottom of the Wenceslaus Square.) Because it was cold, he borrowed his Slovak comrade Vladimir Clementis' fur hat  who got Gottwald's old-fashioned hat. Clementis was later executed by Gottwald's regime in 1952 and his face was eliminated from the photograph above.



I have watched several documents and reconstructions of the tragic events in 1948  including an episode of "The Czech Century" which is a few years old; and the Gottwald episode of a new series, "The Red Presidents". I found those events rather fascinating. So how could communism start?









First, you should understand that in between the wars, Czechoslovakia was a perfectly standard Western parliamentarian democracy with a system that interpolated between those of the defunct Austria-Hungary, France, and the U.S.



It was founded in 1918 mainly by the "travelling founders" who did a lot of diplomatic work abroad  the president-liberator, Prof Thomas Garrigue Masaryk, and his two main collaborators, Dr Edvard Benes and the Slovak pilot+astronomer Mr Milan Rastislav Stefanik who died in a tragic accident. Well, they had some domestic allies as well, of course, e.g. Mr Kramar (prime minister), Mr Rasin (our brilliant first finance minister), and others.









OK, we were betrayed by our Western allies in the 1938 Munich treaty, Slovakia was independent during the war, while the Czech lands were occupied. Benes, a refined and sophisticated fan of the Western values, was forced to adapt to the new conditions, including the untrustworthiness of our Western European allies. So his government-in-exile in London  when the U.K. became an actual ally with Winston Churchill in charge  was negotiating various things with Stalin's Soviet Union. It seemed unavoidable to Benes and I think that it would seem unavoidable to me, too.



After the war, Czechoslovakia was restored as a democratic country with some changes: the Soviet Union was suddenly our main military ally instead of the likes of France while it was assumed that we could keep democracy and freedom despite this new alliance; Germans (and most Hungarians) were expelled because their overwhelmingly Nazi history was incompatible with peace in the new country and because the victorious allies silently agreed; and the Subcarpathian Rus' was given to the Ukraine within the USSR (some informal polls in the region indicated that they  very unwisely  wanted that solution). The latter detail was negotiated directly by Benes and Stalin in person  even though the commie Gottwald who's the main villain of this blog post loved to take credit for such negotiations.



The third major change was the adoption of some "soft socialist" reforms. Some large companies were nationalized. Moreover, the opposition was abolished in 1945. The cancellation of the opposition didn't mean the cancellation of democracy, however. Voters were still choosing their preferred parties. But they had to belong to the list of OK parties  the parties in the so-called National Front. All these parties have declared to cooperate with each other. Parties that were close to the collaborationist regime were banned. And the government had a proportional composition just like the Parliament  all the allowed parties were "guaranteed" to participate in the government. So the result of elections did matter but it couldn't matter "qualitatively". Do you get it? To some extent, this truncated form of democracy is still democratic and can self-correct.



In the 1946 elections, the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia got 40% of the Czech votes  although the gain of the Communist Party of Slovakia (which is how they would name their commies  Slovaks always loved the unified country less than Czechs did) was much worse in Slovakia where commies with 30% lost to the Democratic Party with 60%. So you may imagine that in Prague, they were feeling extremely strong. (Just to be sure, Czechs' support for commies wasn't unique in the Western world  commies have won with 40% in France just a little bit later, too  but France was lucky to avoid totalitarian communism.) They became sort of "natural leaders of the National Front" after 1946. In particular, the commies controlled the ministry of interior (minister comrade Nosek) and police  and were gradually conquering it by firing non-communist police directors.



As "The Czech Century" (shot before Babis became a politician) reconstructed the events, the communists as "members of the National Front" behaved just like Babis in his coalitions: they took credit for everything that was considered good, and blamed the other parties for everything that was considered bad, and the typical Czech voter, almost a brain-dead one, simply bought all this garbage. (This is also a way to steal, or "tunnel out", communist companies during the privatization  Babis did the same thing. Divide the communist company  let's call it Petrimex  to the good one and bad one. Buy cheaply the good one  let's call it Agrofert. As a "mere manager" of both companies, bring all the positive assets from the bad one to the good one  clearly, this step is only possible because no "real owners" are carefully watching your managerial steps. Let the bad one go bankrupt. You own all the good stuff as parts of the good one. Someone else pays all the debt in the bad company that disappeared.)



On February 20th, 1948, the non-communist ministers saw that the communist changes were too much and a protest was necessary to slow down this uncontrollable rise of the communist power within the existing system. I couldn't ever understand why they did what they did and even now, I think it was just plain suicidal. And maybe there was no better option. At any rate, the non-communist parties' ministers (12 and later 14 ministers, roughly 1/2) collectively resigned. They didn't even try to clearly predict what President Benes would do  and that was already a lousy aspect of their plan, I think.



OK, the Czech president formally accepts or refuses to accept resignations, appoints prime ministers in any way he wants (although it's a "good habit" e.g. to pick the winners of elections), calls new elections, and so on. So the basic "good" possibilities were that Benes  who wanted to avoid the arrival of the Soviet-style communism but who was mysteriously attracted to the communists' influence within the nation as well  would



refuse to accept the resignation, and officially urged the communist party to behave because their behavior threatens the unity in the National Front, or

he would accept the resignation, dissolved the Parliament as well, and called snap elections, or

he could fire the government and appoint a technocratic government led by a prime minister close to him, perhaps an official the Prague Castle

the resignation may be accepted and the prime minister may be given the power to find new ministers to replace the resigned ones.

a Soviet comrade was seen as eating sausages along with Gottwald and his comrades,

Gottwald found that he was bugged at the Prague Castle and privately decided it was done by the Soviets which is why he has never visited Moscow, claiming the physicians' recommendation not to fly (he flew to Stalin's funeral in 1953 and died days after he returned so maybe the recommendation wasn't too crazy); they built a mausoleum for Gottwald just like they had done for Lenin but Gottwald disintegrated and began to stink quickly so they cancelled it/him,

Soviet experts were teaching the communist regime of Czechoslovakia how to organize some truly disgusting political monster trials,

Czechoslovakia withdrew its participation in the Marshall Plan due to some tough words from Moscow (some help from the Soviet Union was promoted instead but I don't think it was needed or useful),

lots of the detailed policies, such as the collectivization of farms (kolkhozes or JZDs in Czech) were introduced, despite Gottwald's previous promises that it would never happen and those who say it would are imperialist alarmist liars. Commies similarly violated their promises about the respect for the churches.

So maybe the non-communist ministers were "vaguely certain" that one of these scenarios had to take place. But when ministers resign, you know, there also exists another, more straightforward (remember that adjective!) solution:After all, isn't it what a resignation of a minister primarily means?Well, guess what happened. Immediately after the resignation on February 20th, the communists invented this not so ingenious straightforward solution. (Maybe the democratic ministers explicitly assumed that communists were nice and they would never take active steps to conquer all the power  well, that was surely a wrong assumption.) And they started to exert pressure to make sure that this is what would happen. They established their partisan "LM" (People's Militias) paramilitary units that were sort of ready to fight, that were sort of ready to join or even launch a civil war if needed. And of course, a general strike was ready if they wouldn't get what they wanted  not to mention a possible military intervention that was "perhaps" privately promised by their Soviet comrades. They were constantly pushing Benes to accept this game. And they were organizing rallies.Now, the street was totally on their side so they could collect many more communist fans than what the democratic parties could dream about. The democratic politicians have also observed that many of the brave Scouts and Sokols (Falcons) who could bring pals on the street as the healthy democratic force had been executed by the Nazis. A similar destruction of the pro-Western true Czech elite (plus many waves of emigration  and among Czechs, it was mostly the elite that was emigrating, something that isn't true in most other nations, I guess) has taken place many times in the recent 400 years so whether someone likes it or not, the self-described working class is unavoidably overrepresented within the Czech nation  even today.OK, there was this February 25th rally on the Old Town Square. The boss of communists and prime minister Mr Klement Gottwald (1896-1953) came there in the borrowed fur hat and announced: "I just returned from the Castle and the president has accepted all our demands [about the replacement of the reactionary ministers etc.]." The stupid working class celebrated."The Czech Century" added a nice twist  I have no idea whether they have any evidence for that. They suggested that Gottwald made this victorious announcement before Benes decided what to do  and Benes, totally afraid of something like a civil war or any breakdown in the unity of the nation (as he repeated all the time), simply had no other choice than to do what Gottwald had already announced. Well, it may be just a legend of the Galileo style "it is moving, anyway".Fine. So with the pressure from the street and the bet by the democratic parties that backfired, communists were suddenly able to transform 40% in the recent elections (Czech part) to 100% in the government. (Well, some of the members in the "reconstructed government"  their euphemism for the first totalitarian government of Czechoslovakia  did belong to the other parties but they were puppets who were loyal to the communists, anyway  because they were chosen by the communists.) And those 100% in the government could have been easily used for them to get 100% for the "Communist-led National Front" in the subsequent "elections". So up to 1989, Czechoslovakia had periodic "elections" in which there was one bloc running, the National Front, and it was completely controlled (not by Le Pen but) by the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. Not so nice. (In the 1980s, the phrase "National Front" lost all of its meaning. I was relatively old when I learned what the "National Front" originally meant in 1945. In the 1980s, it was nothing else than a meaningless phrase used during the periodic farcical "elections". If you failed to vote for the National Front, you faced troubles in the workplace and life in general. Consequently, sometimes NF got 105% of the votes.)The main villain in these events was Klement Gottwald , the first working-class president (1896-1953). It's sort of amazing what sort of a person could have become the top politician in a cultural nation that had the world's 10th largest absolute GDP in 1929. (He was turned into a superstar after 1948, tons of things including Bata's city of Zlin were named after Gottwald or his wife.) In the final years of his life, he almost mindlessly obeyed instructions from Stalin's Kremlin. But it doesn't mean he was a great friend of Joseph Stalin.OK, who was Gottwald? He was born as an illegitimate son of a poor maid  a strange background for someone who occupied the same offices at the Prague Castle as the Habsburg Dynasty and Prof Masaryk just decades earlier. His father was a spoiled brat, a son of a rich farmer, but he pretended not to have anything to do with Klement. To make it even worse, he met his wife, a fat woman who was also an illegitimate child of an extremely poor mother. Their daughter was also born out of a wedlock but at least both parents were known and admitted to be parents. Needless to say, these things were presented as advantages.At school, Klement had very good grades  A's except for singing. Legends said the story how he refused to speak German for a year in his classes of German.In the First World War, he ironically fought as a pawn in the Battle of Zborov on the Austrian side ;-)  against General Ludvik Svoboda who became a communist president some 20 years after Gottwald. In 1921, he was already standing on the side of the Communist Party that just separated as the Stalinist wing from some broader left-wing party. He became a top official in 1926 and the general secretary of the communist party in 1929. This party was never strongest but it wasn't negligible so he's been rather important in the democratic interwar politics.During the Second World War, he moved to the Soviet Union and tried to play an important guy there. His wife suddenly got special access to luxurious stores in Moscow, had servants, and immediately got addicted to this luxury, as people of the very poor background often do. But Stalin actually almost never met him, except for the negotiations about the Subcarpathian Rus', and most of these agreements were done in between Stalin and Benes, anyway. Stalin may have had some imperfections ;-) but it's hard to disagree with his statement that he didn't think much about the Czechoslovak communists. They seemed too one-dimensional, too straightforward (did you remember the adjective?), too simple-minded. Well, even their famous Georgian comrade has figured out that the Czechoslovak communists were a bunch of primitive morons.Gottwald was well aware of the unflattering opinion of Stalin's about the Czechoslovak communists and it must have posed some problems for him. The documentaries indicate that he was afraid of Stalin. But this may have contributed to his being so obedient, especially after Gottwald became the President of Czechoslovakia.So I think that most of the key events that made it possible for communism to arise in Czechoslovakia were "Czech Made", not "Soviet Made" (and indeed, they were also more "Czech Made" than "Slovak Made"  at those times and other times, Slovaks have always preferred to think about independence than about communism, whether positively or negatively). Maybe the key events that made the communist totalitarian regime possible in Czechoslovakia could have taken place even if the Soviet Union had ceased to exist. But there have been some clear examples of the Soviet interference:OK, look at this interference. Czechoslovakia would have probably remained a full-blown member of Western Europe if it had participated at the Marshall Plan  the tons of U.S. gifts and funds would probably be very popular among the voters, including the stupid voters who were supporting the commies in the street.Czechoslovakia initially okayed the plan and wanted to participate. But Gottwald was interested in the opinion of Moscow. I think that no one would have the idea to ask in Moscow but Gottwald found it right to ask and the answer was clear: "Your participation in the Marshall Plan would be considered a hostile act." Because our foreign politics was so dependent on the Soviet Union, our main liberator, this was considered to be a red light. Czechoslovakia withdrew from the Marshall Plan  a very important result of Soviet wishes.Now, there have been political trials. Hundreds of people were executed during Gottwald's reign. Most of the executed ones were executed for politics. Dr Ms Milada Horakova is the most famous example of a very smart woman who was hanged under Gottwald  despite the letter signed by Churchill, Einstein, and others that begged Gottwald to pardon her. So we didn't have millions of casualties like in the Soviet Union but it was a huge number of political murders for a country that had been as civilized as ours.The trials haven't avoided communists, either. Comrade Gustak Husak  who became the last communist Czechoslovak President years after the 1968 Soviet-led occupation  was actually charged with some pro-capitalist nationalism and only with some good luck, he escaped the death penalty. Others weren't so lucky. Rudolf Slansky, the 2nd man of the Czechoslovak communist party in the late 1940s and early 1950s and a friend of Gottwald's, was executed in another monster trial. Slansky was a somewhat intellectual guy from a Jewish family and was charged with Trotskyism, being an agent of the U.S. and Israel, as well as the murder of the Slovak communist war hero Jan Sverma, among other (probably fabricated) crimes. Stalin was 1) just dissatisfied with Israel's failure to introduce communism, so he turned the Soviet Union into another anti-Semitic empire, and 2) wanted to warn all the new communist countries, create the atmosphere of fear, and check that they're loyal to him. So he effectively asked Gottwald to murder his own friend and Gottwald happily did so. Maybe he thought he had no choice.These people were just scum, anyway.But it reminds me of the joke about the hiring of new agents for an intelligence service. They need to check that the new hires are going to be loyal and fulfill every order. A new agent is asked to kill his mother-in-law in the next room. After some time, people hear some noise from wood hitting bones and mechanical collisions like that, followed by some screaming. What happened, they ask the candidate for the job? "Well, they told me to shoot her but there were blank cartridges in the gun. So I completed her with this chair." ;-)Now, aside from his photogenic smoking of pipes, Klement Gottwald was also drinking lots of alcohol, was losing his balance during many talks, his assistants were often feeling frustrated. I haven't done enough research to tell you whether it was better or worse than Zeman's or Juncker's or Yeltzin's or someone else's experience with the alcohol. He died rather young, at the age of 56+ years (youngest death of our president ever), shortly after he returned from Stalin's funeral.There were lots of interesting details and memes in the documentaries. First, the Czechoslovak communists used the obscene language of the working class, jokes about President Benes and his wife in the bedroom, and tons of things like that. Their belonging to the working class was absolutely authentic. At least in 1948, the leaders of the communist party were mostly authentic members of the bottom layers of the society. Of course, this was changing later when communists were becoming a new elite.On the other hand, the democratic ministers felt weak and clueless, they spoke a much more cultivated Czech but were detached from many events and were apparently incapable of bringing masses to the streets. As I said, their mass resignation plan was risky and maybe suicidal and they didn't have strong enough rational reasons to think that the outcome would be nice.President Benes was decided that the liberation of the Czech lands from Germans was the most important recent achievement but he still wanted to preserve freedom and democracy  along with some "socialism" which he had been verbally defending for decades but he was imagining some "Scandinavian" socialism or something like that, not Stalinist communism, of course. But it seems clear that he had a great respect towards Gottwald and was impressed by Gottwald's assertiveness and ability to bring these huge and unified mobs to the streets. On one hand, it was manifest that Stalinists were non-democratic and going to deconstruct democracy; on the other hand, their visibly big and authentic support looked like their power was a textbook example of democracy in action. This dilemma exists even today.Benes just didn't want to antagonize the mobs. For this reason, it was extremely likely if not unavoidable that when the key decisions are left to the duo Gottwald-Benes, and these men were meeting every day, the outcomes would be great for the communists and ugly for freedom and democracy. The commies had no respect for freedom and democracy, of course, and they were rather open about their tendency to do anything that will increase their power. In the documentaries, Gottwald's comrades asked him whether he still cared about the ideals or his personal power. Gottwald answered the latter but continued with a monologue indicating that it's insulting to even ask so one should assume the former. What is the right answer? It's both and they have surely worked hard to make the powerful (and therefore useful) communist ideology inseparable from these particular people's power.Some three parties participated at the resignation plan. Communists didn't, of course. An even more crippling part of the application of the plan was that the popular minister of foreign affairs Mr Jan Masaryk, a politically active son of the founder-president of Czechoslovakia, refused to cooperate with the plan, too. In February 1948, he already seemed like a totally brainwashed servant of the communists. It's hard to say whether he really felt like that or whether something pushed him to this attitude. He jumped out of the window (within the Prague Castle where he had an office) soon after the Victorious February  and could have been helped by some Soviet agents, in which case the death is known as the Third Defenestration of Prague.As the minister of foreign affairs, Jan Masaryk was superseded by Vladimir Clementis, the lender of the fur hat, and that guy was executed in a political monster trial in 1952. The life expectancy of ministers of foreign affairs was reduced by various factors.Like Mr Jan Masaryk, the social democratic party had similar attitudes. There were some folks who were willing to cooperate with the democratic parties but most of the social democrats actually got enthusiastic about the commies at that time. Soon afterwards, the social democratic party was united with (i.e. devoured by) the communist party. The merger was only undone in early 1990  and Zeman turned that tiny resuscitated social democracy to a major force two years later.What can you do? When the communists control the street, enchant the popular son of the founder-president, mysteriously impress the current, second president of Czechoslovakia, and start to devour the members of adjacent parties, there are just too many pressures that push the nation towards the actual goal of the communist party  and the actual goal was what we actually saw, a totalitarian communist terror with confiscation of all factories and farmers' land, abolished political competition, and execution of the opposition.President Benes had to face another big loss  after the 1938 resignation in the wake of the Munich Betrayal. He had to supervise the arrival of both Nazi and communist regimes in his country. At the same moment, he was a great politician and these terrible events could have been unavoidable. Communists generously allowed him to remain the president for a few more months when he died (after he refused to sign the communist constitution in May 1948)  and Klement Gottwald, so far the prime minister, was elected the first "working-class president" (i.e. the first primitive moron using the offices of the Czech kings as if they were his own)."The Czech Century" program has also scared me by the degree of similarity between the communist party and its supporters in 1948; and the acting prime minister Babis's ANO party and its supporters now. In both cases, they just find it totally OK to openly brag that they want as much power as possible and ideally, they don't want to talk to any opposition at all because they despise all these parliamentarian processes and lawmakers themselves, among other things. The voters are easily brainwashed by stupid promises and the cheapest forms of populism and they don't even seem to care when some promises are rigorously proven to be lies. As I already wrote, both groups of voters easily buy the ludicrous notion that "the aggressively populist politicians  Gottwald or Babis  are responsible for everything good while their enemies are responsible for everything bad". They simply act as the bottom of the Czech society that identifies itself and protects itself independently of any existing laws, traditions, objective truth, or moral limitations  they don't know the latter at all.Thankfully, our country hasn't transformed in the same way as it did after February 1948 yet. I think that not even 10% of this evolution towards totalitarianism is taking place under Babis. But his voters seem to be a similar type of people  or mobs  as the communist voters in 1948. They have the same opinions and sentiments when it comes to too many important political and moral questions. They despise freedom, parliamentary procedures, democracy, and the "successful classes" in the same way. So while things are still fine and Babis (who had just 30%, not 40% like the Czech commies in 1948) has a lot of work to even stay out of a prison and to pretend that he's trying to find some support for his government, the threat is always there. Of course, I consider Babis a random product of the balance of power  I am more afraid of his hardcore supporters who would be willing to introduce a much more inhuman, non-Western system than anything that Babis has ever dared to talk about.But if our system were exposed to very similar risks and evil plans and strategies as in February 1948, could we end up with a better outcome? Is there a way to learn some lessons from 1948? Do these lessons help us at all? Was there any realistic way to avert the rise of communism before and in 1948? Would an assassination or a civil war be helpful or catastrophic? Could the democrats have won? Would there be a foreign intervention or another big war? I am not sure about the answer to any of these questions.In most cases, I don't like when foreign countries or the EU meddle with some internal political affairs of ours. But there's surely a red line behind which I could be grateful even for some help from the EU or from Moscow or anyone like that. We're not very close to this red line, or at least it doesn't seem to be the case to me (I am surely offended terribly when the EU wants to decide whether we may expand our nuclear power plants), but such a deterioration may take place.To summarize, the rise of the totalitarian Czechoslovak communism may be blamed on a vicious circle in which some really primitive domestic Czechoslovak communists and their supporters  who really find freedom and democracy too abstract because they're basically stupid self-serving animals  are allowed to be too loud and self-confident and that's how they suppress the self-confidence and power of everyone else. Democracy defined in a vague way is great but it mustn't contradict the fact that people should do what they have at least some ability to do and the intellectually measured bottom 30-40 percent of Czechs, if not more, is certainly absolutely unable to define, create, or maintain a political system that could be considered civilized. So they simply mustn't be allowed to get the upper hand in such matters. What happened in 1948 mustn't be repeated in 2018 or anytime soon.And that's the memo.Former president Jacob Zuma will have criminal charges against him reinstated, according to a report by the City Press.

The report stated that prosecutors looking into representations by Zuma to avoid the courts recommended the charges are acted on.

Five senior prosecutors unanimously recommended on Friday that Zuma face all charges that were previously withdrawn against him, stated the report.

Zuma is now set to face charges of corruption, money laundering, and racketeering.

The report added that Zuma will appear alongside two co-accused, who were not named.

The date of Zumas first court appearance is also yet to be decided.

The news of Zumas criminal charges comes after he resigned as leader of the ANC.

Deputy president Cyril Ramaphosa then took over the position, and subsequently took Zumas place as president of South Africa  a decision which has seen the rand strengthen to multi-year highs.

Now read: Trump takes aim at violent video gamesHMD Global has confirmed that its new smartphones unveiled at Mobile World Congress 2018 will come to South Africa.

This includes the remastered Nokia 8810 built on the KaiOS platform, the second-generation Nokia 6, the Nokia 7+, and the Nokia 8 Sirocco.

The company has announced international launch dates and approximate pricing for the devices, but South African launch dates and prices are yet to be confirmed.

Under current market conditions the Nokia 8 Sirocco could sell for around R12,999, but its eventual price is dependent on the strength of the rand against the US dollar.

VAT is also increasing to 15% later this year, which may cause prices to change slightly.

HMD Global provided the following international launch dates and approximate prices for its new smartphones:While the Hawks tried to explain how the Guptas managed to leave South Africa, Atul Gupta strolled in and out of the South African embassy in Dubai.

According to a report by the Sunday Times, this comes after the Hawks said they were ready to arrest members of the Gupta family in 2017.

The report stated that Gupta, who has been implicated in criminality by the Asset Forfeiture Unit, went into the embassy on Monday and Tuesday to certify documents.

Officials at the consulate reportedly could not hold him as law enforcement agencies had not instructed Dirco to do so.

NPA spokesman Luvuyo Mfaku said they will not extradite a suspect for purposes of investigations, but will extradite to prosecute.

The news comes after the offices of the Guptas Sahara Computers were found abandoned this week, with the company now shut down.Home | News | Education | NANS hails Zamfara State govt over establishment of state University

By Kelechukwu Iruoma



THE Senate Secretariat of National Association of Nigerian Students,NANS, has described the establishment of Zamfara State University as a catalyst that would boost development efforts in the state.

A statement by NANS Senate President, Comrade Bashir Gorau commended the state governor, Alhaji Abdulaziz Yari for approving the establishment of the institution.

NANS President, Chinonso Obasi

The statement reads:The leadership of the National Association of Nigerian Students ,NANS, Senate secretariat rejoices with the good people of Zamfara State and lauds the foresight of the state government under the leadership of Dr. Abdulaziz Yari for establishing Zamfara State University Talata-Mafara.

No doubt the coming on board of this institution is long over due and as such the good people of Zamfara State must protect it jealously. Over the years Zamfara State students have suffered while in search of admission slots in other state-owned institutions across the country.

Only a fraction of the applicants gets the admission and this has increased the number of idle youths who wait endlessly for admission to further their studies. Considering the economic downturn we are facing in the country, we must salute the purposeful leadership of His Excellency.

NANS as a formidable stakeholder will support this institution by contributing its qouta.

We sincerely facilitate with the people of Zamfara State and it is our expectation that this institution will generate capable manpower that will trigger unprecedented development across the state and beyond.

We appreciate his Excellency even as we assure him that history will do justice to him.

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Loading...Home | News | General | Hausa, Arewa communities pledge support for unity of Nigeria

Ibadan  The Hausa Community in Ibadan on Saturday pledged its unflinching support for a united Nigeria, cautioning all citizens to eschew acts detrimental to the nations unity, peace and progress.

Alhaji Ahmed Zungeru, the Sarkin Hausawa of Ibadan land, made the pledge at a ceremony held at the Ibadan Recreation Club open field.



The event also coincided with Zungerus 25th anniversary as the Sarkin Hausawa of Ibadan land.

Zungeru said his community was desirous of living in a united Nigeria where every citizen enjoyed equal rights and privileges irrespective of tribe, religion and political belief.

It is on record that the leadership of Hausa and Arewa communities in Ibadan stands for peace and unity of this country. We regard Ibadan and the South-West as our second home, he said.

He called on the Federal Government and the National Assembly to assist where necessary in putting an end to the incessant demand of restructuring by majority of the populace.

The Sarkin Hausawa of Ibadan land noted that the call for restructuring was not needed at a time the nation was still grappling to be one.

He called for concerted efforts to ensure a successful and crime-free 2019 general elections.

On the establishment of state police, Zungeru said that the nation had since 1993 agitated for the creation of state police, and described the call as timely.

We are calling on the state governments across Nigeria to encourage the establishment of state and local government leadership committee where the major tribes should have a say.

The effort is for us to arrest unforeseen conflicts. This would assist government rather than the use of force in the maintenance of law and order wherever there is ethic squabbles, he said.

He said the Sarikin Hausawa of Ibadan land had since Dec. 21, 1951 been officially recognised as head of the Sarakunan Hausawa (Political Head of the Hausa Community) of different towns in Yoruba land.

We appreciate the Oyo State Government and the Olubadan of Ibadan land, Oba Saliu Adetunji for treating us as sons and daughters of Ibadan land.

We appreciate the traditional rulers in Oyo State as well as the south west region for their hospitality toward non-indigenes. We pledge our support and cooperation to you all.

Our fore-fathers were born in Ibadan and have always applied wisdom in dealing with us and other ethnic minority groups without inter-tribal disagreement or crisis, he said.

He, particularly appreciated the Olubadan for recognising him and his subjects as part of Ibadan, pledging to further strengthen the relationship.

According to him, I always put myself in a very quiet and uneasy condition anytime I hear about the intermittent menace of herdsmen and farmers crisis, especially in the south-west.

My thinking is that the various state governments in the southern part of the country give total recognition to most of the herdsmen leadership without finding out their backgrounds.

Zungeru urged government not to relent in its efforts toward proffering lasting solution to the crisis.

Among the dignitaries honoured with various titles at the event were the Governor of Katsina State Alhaji Aminu Masari.

Also honoured were former Inspector-General of Police, Sir Mike Okiro, the present Chairman, Police Service Commission, Col Kabir Gambo (rtd), Prof. Kyauta Ibahim and Alhaji Yahya Baba-Ahmed among others.

The event was attended by Justice Mamman Nasir (rtd), a former President, Court of Appeal and Sarkin Shasha, Alhaji Maiyasin Katsina, the Chairman, Arewa Traditional rulers in 17 southern states.

The event was also attended by Mr Abdullahi Kure, the Oyo State Director, Department of State Services, some Yoruba traditional rulers and hosts of Hausa Chiefs. (NAN)

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Loading...Home | News | General | We heard Dapchi schoolgirls crying as Boko Haram trucks sped off

As search for Dapchi victims intensifies

BY NDAHI MARAMA, DAMATURU

We saw several girls crying for help as four Tata trucks conveying them out of Dapchi sped off

With these words, a man resident in nearby village of Gumsa, narrated the abduction of some students of Government Girls Science Technical College, Dapchi in Bursari Local Government Area of Yobe State on Monday.

Dapchi schoolgirls during the headcount on Tuesday.

The villager said that, as the abductors passed by, they took him and some other residents in one of their trucks so that they could show them a shorter route out of the area.

After showing them the road out of the village, according to him, the invaders released him and the other villagers and sped off. About 111 were reported to have been unaccounted for after the dusk attack on the Yobe community.

The state Police Commissioner, Abdulmaliki Sumonu, about 48 hours after the incident (Wednesday), confirmed that 111 schoolgirls remained unaccounted for.

He said, 815 out of the 926 students were physically seen in the school as of Tuesday. There are reports that more girls have returned to the school after the headcount.

The commissioner said security forces had traced the insurgents to location where they were reported to have been seen.

Reports said the insurgents invaded Dapchi at about 5.30 pm and headed to the Government Girls Science Technical College, Dapchi and took the girls without confrontation.

Yobe State Governor Ibrahim Gidan (R) speaks with Information Minister Lai Mohammed (C) and the head of the military force fighting Boko Haram, Brigadier General Rogers Nicholas, on the premises of the Government Girls Science and Technical College, in Dapchi, Nigeria, on February 22, 2018.

Inuwa Mohammed, who claimed his 16- year- old daughter, Falmata , was among the girls missing, said he was  devastated by this twist of events and that his wife fainted on hearing the news and was in hospital.

 I woke up with the strong hope of meeting my daughter and my wife had been making preparations for a warm welcome, only for us to receive this shattering news that all along the story has been a rumour , he added .

Residents said the insurgents, dressed in military fatigues and turbans arrived unchallenged, firing weapons and shouting Allahu Akbar (God is greatest ).

Safai Maimagani , a herbal medicine vendor, said the insurgents headed towards the school on the edge of the sleepy farming community.

 Not long afterwards they returned , he said. I heard cries of girls from their trucks

Muhammad Kabo, a tea seller, gave a similar account:  They were here for less than an hour. We heard girls wailing in their trucks and it was clear that they had abducted some girls from the school. 

A security guard with the school, who gave his name as Baa, said the invaders tried to stop the girls from fleeing and tricked them into believing they had come to rescue them.

 Some of the girls believed them and climbed into the trucks but many others just kept running, he added .

Hadiza Makinta, one of the students who escaped unhurt said, she was fasting on that very day of the incident and thanked God for sparing her life while she ran to the bush for safety.

Dapchi is 100 kilometers north of Damaturu, the state capital, and remained one of major towns that had not recorded an attack from Boko Haram since the terrr group started terrorising the North-East in 2009 until that Monday.

Chaos

Confusion had trailed the attack with Yobe State Government initially saying the military was able to rescue some of the girls. It later turned out that the statement was false.

Governor Ibrahim Geidams statement that the rescue story was false came about 24 hours after the state government, in a statement by the Director of Information, Abdullahi Bego, said the girls had been rescued by the military.

Bego had said in the statement: Yobe State Government hereby informs the public that the girls at Government Girls Science Technical College (GGSTC) whose school was attacked by Boko Haram terrorists last Monday have been rescued by gallant officers and men of the Nigerian Army from the terrorists who abducted them.

The rescued girls are now in the custody of the Nigerian Army.

We will provide more details about their number and condition in due course.

His Excellency Governor Ibrahim Gaidam, who is very grateful for the gallantry and hard work of the officers and men of the Nigerian Army involved in the operation, is monitoring the situation closely and will make a statement in due course

Gaidan, who visited Dapchi on Thursday,described the rescue statement as misleading and apologised to the community folks.

The information sparked angry reaction from s who attacked the governors convoy as he left the venue of a meeting he held with the community on the school invasion.

The protest however did not gather momentum because attention shifted to the school where the abduction took place and to which the governor headed to await the arrival of the delegation sent by President Muhammadu Buhari.to assess the situation.

Three ministers  Lai Mohammed (Information), Mansur Dan Ali (Defence) and Khadija Bukar Abba, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs  later arrived in two helicopters. They met with Gaidan.

Appealing to family members of the captives to exercise patience with government, Lai Mohammed told journalists present that the freedom of the girls would remain a priority.

He said the actual number of the missing schoolgirls would be known when parents come forward with information on the whereabouts of their wards.

We cant confirm rescue story  DHQ

The Defence Headquarters also dismissed the rescue story. We cannot confirm the statement by Yobe State that some of the girls have been rescued, Defence spokesperson, Brigadier-General John Agim, said.

Agim said he could not give further details about the militarys intervention in the matter.

Senate condemns attack, resurgence of Boko Haram

Meanwhile, the Senate, on Thursday, , in very strong terms, condemned the resurgence of the Boko Haram insurgency in the North-East, following the Dapchi incident.

The upper chambre of the National Assembly, in a resolution, asked the Federal Government to recover the girls to avoid a repeat of the Chibok girls experience.

It also said it was unfortunate and disheartening that Boko Haram was back to the geo-political zone in a way that contradicts the Federal Governments claim that the insurgents had been decimated or defeated.

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Loading...Home | News | General | PDP reportedly targets 22 APC Senators, 50 Reps members ahead of 2019 elections

- The PDP is set to wrestle power from the APC in 2019

- The party is reportedly working towards wooing some APC key members

- It also identified 15 states ahead of the elections

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) are reportedly going to battle it out in 15 key states ahead of the 2019 general elections.

According to The Nation, the 15 states are:

READ ALSO: Army makes arrest in Operation Cat Race (photos)

1. Kano

2. Kaduna

3. Osun

4. Imo

5. Kogi

6. Bauchi

7. Kwara

8. Jigawa

9. Benue

10. Plateau

11. Adamawa

12. Nasarawa

13. Zamfara

14. Sokoto

15. Ekiti

According to sources, the PDP is looking forward to conquering all the 15 states and that this informed the reconciliation committee headed by Asiwaju Bola Tinubu set up by President Muhammadu Buhari.

The Nation reports that the PDP is setting its eyes on 22 APC senator and 50 members of the House of Reps to switch camp.

Top on the list are Senate President, Bukola Saraki and House of Representatives Speaker Yakubu Dogara.

Sources claimed the decision by the National Assembly to re-order the sequence of the 2019 elections were signals as to how things may play out.

A source said the PDP and APC are locked in a cold war of engaging in covert realignment and reconciliatory talks.

The PDP is desperate to decimate APC and give the ruling party a good fight in the affected 15 fluid states.

The presidency and some APC leaders have realized that the party machinery, as currently constituted, cannot respond to what is branded as PDP menace.

This is why President Muhammadu Buhari empanelled Asiwaju Tinubu and others to find remedial solutions.

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It is tough for the two sides. While APC has internal crises in some of its strategic and huge votes states, PDP has time constraints and funding as its major problems. It is only the Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike that is heavily funding the party.

Meanwhile, the national vice chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) South-South, Honourable Hillard Etta expressed optimism that President Buhari will win in 2019.

In an interview with Tribune, the APC chieftain noted that although a lot of thigs have not gone well in the administration, the successes recorded are enough to convince Nigerians to vote for them again.

On the letter written by Chief Olusegun Obasanjo and Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida asking Buhari not to seek re-election in 2019, Etta said the results already recorded showed the president deserves a second chance.

The next President of Nigeria. Who will win the 2019 elections? on NAIJ.com TV

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Source: Naija.ng

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Loading...Posted Saturday, February 24, 2018 9:15 am

Six Missouri State University students brought home first and third place awards recently at the Beta Alpha Psi national competition in Anaheim, California.

COMMUNITY OUTREACH

Senior Erin Eckels and graduate students Zach Herbert and Amanda Wieberg placed first in the community outreach category of the best practices competition.

The trio created a presentation to teach the next generation about financial information professions. They presented to high school students around Springfield and put that experience into the presentation.

Winning was extremely gratifying to our team, our chapter and our school, Eckels said. We put a lot of effort into our project, and we were truly passionate about the topic.

LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT

Seniors Matt Barris and Katlyn Braun and graduate student Laura Zhang placed third in the leadership development category, also a part of the best practices competition.

The trio carried out a mentoring program for undecided business majors at MSU. They focused on mentoring freshmen and transfer students, and shared their experiences in the presentation at the competition.

MORE THAN A COMPETITION

The Beta Alpha Psi national competition takes place during the organizations annual meeting. College and university students in financial information majors from all over the country meet to learn, compete and network.

MSUs chapter takes pride in the success of its competitors, inside and outside of the contest.

While it does bring recognition to Missouri State University and the School of Accountancy, the professional development that occurs in our students is the main benefit, said Dr. Dick Williams, director of the School of Accountancy.Posted Saturday, February 24, 2018 8:30 am

What would happen in your community if someone became engulfed in grain while working in a grain bin?

Dan Neenan, director of the National Education Center for Agricultural Safety (NECAS), hopes emergency personnel would have the necessary training and equipment to rescue the person or persons in peril.

Entrapment is a pretty common occurrence when it comes to grain bin accidents, Neenan said. On average, about 50 percent of rural fire department personnel have completed this type of rescue training and have the necessary rescue equipment.

Grain Bin Safety Week, an annual event sponsored by Nationwide Insurance, holds a Nominate Your Fire Department Contest each year to offer free training and the donation of a rescue tube to 16 of the nominated departments. In 2017, the contest, attracted 3,600 nominations from across the nation between Jan. 1 and April. 30.

The contest application can be found online at www.nationwide.com/grain-bin-safety-week.jsp.

As part of the application, the nomination describes how their fire department or emergency rescue team and rural community would benefit from receiving grain entrapment training and a rescue tube, Neenan said. Individuals, groups or companies who want to support this effort have the opportunity to donate rescue tubes, rescue training or to make a financial contribution.

Fire departments and emergency rescue teams who aren't selected for free training and equipment can still obtain these tools  sometimes without cost  from other resources, including some of the companies selling grain bins.

There are six different rescue tubes available on the market that fire emergency rescue departments can purchase, Neenan said. There are also several State Fire Bureaus that can help them get the training.

Several grain bin rescue tube designs are available. One brand, The Great Wall of Rescue, was designed to adapt to a multitude of grain entrapment rescue situations. The tube is lightweight and easily shaped into a wall, a tube or whatever irregular shape is needed at the rescue site.

This particular tube is made of lightweight 6005 T5 aluminum and weighs 20 pounds so it's easily hoisted into position. Several of the tubes, which are 16 inches wide and 5 inches long, can be connected to accommodate a rescue mission.

This company also offers platforms that form a sturdy base for rescuers. A removable pipe can be used as a support handle for a victim or to remove panels once a rescue is completed. The system fits in a carrying case that can store up to eight panels.

Other manufacturers include Feldfire's Grain Bin Tube and GSI's Res-Q-Tube.

Entrapment  when an individual is unable to extricate themselves from grain or other agricultural materials  can occur in a silo, grain bin, grain transport vehicle, outdoor pile (avalanche) or bunker silo.

Engulfment occurs when an individual is fully buried in flowable agricultural material, such as corn, small grains or feed.

Both engulfment and entrapment can also occur during the use of grain vacuum machines, with outdoor grain piles or in the event of a storage structure failure. Within just 4 or 5 seconds, an individual can be submerged to the point where they're unable to free themselves.

Within 15 seconds you can be buried in grain up to your waist and completely submerged within 30 seconds, Neenan said.

Children are at greatest risk of entrapment and engulfment in grain transport vehicles, but adults have lost their lives in this kind of event, too. One example OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) offers is when crusted grain stacked on one side of a wagon caused the wagon to become unbalanced and flip the tractor over onto the operator.

A day-long Grain Engulfment & Bin Entry Training workshop at Prinz Grain & Feed is scheduled for Thursday, April 12, at West Point, Nebraska. The event, sponsored by Nebraska Grain and Feed Association (NEGFA) will give participants hands-on experience with opportunities to:

 Become aware of the hazards of flowing grain and confined spaces, allowing them to work more safely and prevent grain entrapment.

 Meet the OSHA training requirements for OSHA 1910.272 (Grain Handling Standard), qualifying them to work around flowing grain.

 Qualify to make bin entries, be a bin entry attendant and be part of a rescue team.

 Train to retrieve an incapacitated worker from a confined space without making a confined space entry.

 Actively participate in a live engulfment / rescue scenario in a controlled environment.

 Actively participate as part of a grain bin entry team and practice the non-entry rescue of an incapacitated worker.

Workshop costs range from $150 to $200. Details are available at https://www.negfa.org/new-events/2018/4/12/grain-engulfment-bin-entry-training.

OSHA provides numerous online grain handling safety materials. Key points in grain handling safety include:

 The ability to identify hazards associated with confined space work in the grain industry

 Understanding of the process for confined space entry and lock out procedures

 Ability to discuss the confined space housekeeping procedures in grain handling

 Knowing where to look for OSHA references and resources related to confined space entry in the grain industry

Spring and fall are key times when grain engulfment events occur, Neenan said. In June and July, farmers are often selling stored grain in anticipation of their fall harvest, and the potential for grain bin entrapment is high.

Neenan recommends that farmers and commercial elevator managers consult their local Extension office for training options. Vocational Ag teachers can also provide curriculum's to help educate youth about grain handling safety procedures and the dangers of working around flowing grain.

Some tips offered by OSHA include:

1. The best rescue is one that never happens.

2. Never enter an emergency situation alone.

3. Use confined space entry procedures or best practices available.

4. Conduct a hazard assessment (as a preventive measure)

5. Remember who is the most important: YOU!

The first question to ask before you enter the bin is whether or not you really need to go in, Neenan said. If the answer is yes, review the safety rules to make sure you're going in safely and you're coming back out.Home | News | General | Nigerias corruption problem: Is getting worse a step to getting better?

Editor's note: Uche Igwe, a researcher at the Sussex Centre of the Study of Corruption, University of Sussex, and Brighton, United Kingdom, writes on the recent release of the annual Corruption Perception Index (CPI), where Nigeria had a poor outing.

Read below:

As usual, the release of the annual Corruption Perception Index (CPI) made screaming headlines internationally - which is good. Countries were graded according to their seeming progress in the fight against corruption - from where gainers and losers emerged. This time, Nigeria was one of the countries that lost just a point, falling from 28 to 27 in the score, just like front-runners in the Index  New Zealand and Denmark - while other countries like Switzerland and Sweden lost four points each.

One of the main focus of the Buhri administration is fighting corruption. Source: Twitter

Two African countries Nigerian and Ghana among others had a surprisingly poor outing. Nigerias place dropped from initial 2016 position of 136 to a much lower level of 148  twelve places down. Ghanas drop from a score of 43 to 40 cost the country 11 spots from 70th position to 81st in 2017. Curiously, similar losses did not result in such a high level of impact on other non-African countries  Australia, for instance lost two points but remained in the 13th position. Some have argued this can be justified mathematically but let us leave it there. Naturally, this rapid drop in position led many organisations in the Nigerian media and civil society to conclude that corruption may be getting worse in the Africas most populous country  they may be right.

READ ALSO: Media reports of EFCC raid on APC national secretariat false - Party spokesman

These groups have expressed their genuine worries publicly that the fight against corruption in Nigeria might have been stagnated due to what they describe as the reluctance of government to tackle grand corruption. Without getting into the fray, there is a point in using the CPI to push for more reforms globally and apply political pressure to the leadership in countries like Nigeria and Ghana, where corruption is said to be endemic. Indeed that might be one of the reasons that motivated those who invented the index. In that sense, the CPI has done very well in giving the fight against corruption some boost and global visibility. However, CPI remains what it is  a perception. If this is the case, then it will be hasty and indeed improper that figures coming from a perception survey are now equated to the reality upon which magisterial pronouncements will be made over a countrys efforts.

Do not get me wrong here. Corruption especially political corruption is still a huge problem in Nigeria  persistent, fastidious- describe it as you may wish. For a president that was elected due to his anti-corruption credentials, it is important to note that many observers are concerned about the need for President Muhammadu Buhari to intensify efforts in this regard  just a little more. The way anti-corruption reforms are being implemented in our country now, makes it easy for anyone to conclude that the corruption problem is more than it actually is. This is because there are too many people fighting corruption in different directions leading to a cacophony of voices. That may actually be the case of Nigeria  too many fights rather than too little. The multiplicity of anti-corruption organisations and interventions with little coordination has been one of the perennial impediments in the success of anti-corruption in Nigeria. The apparent struggle among these institutions for public attention means that they regularly go to the media to announce the progress or otherwise of their efforts.

This strategy is wrong for three reasons. First is that it over-politicizes the reforms and makes it look unusually partisan, as if efforts are targeted to witch-hunt a select group of people. Secondly, it exposes the strategies of these agencies to these corrupt and unscrupulous individuals who now quickly mutate to thwart these efforts using their vast patronage networks across every arm of government. The third is, it magnifies the perception of corruption beyond proportions. These days of active digital media platforms and social media, the unnecessary and unwarranted exchanges between agencies on sensitive anti-corruption issues make the problem look as big as media headlines make them. I propose that we temporarily ignore the dispute between scholars and practitioners about the methodological shortcomings of CPI. After all, any business person or country expert - the type of people, who supply data for CPI country research, will be right to interpret the situation described above as regression rather than progress.

Worst still, enormous resources are lost or misapplied due to unnecessary duplication of efforts. Many observers now derogatorily describe the lingering squabbles in the Nigerian anti-corruption arena as an anti-corruption industry  something that is happening for the private benefits of the vocal actors and not in the interest of the Nigerian public. Bizarre!

For instance, it is not uncommon to hear the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC) and the Ministry of Justice take different positions on a corruption issue even though they are all supposed to be part of the same government. Why is it impossible for these agencies to compare notes and harmonise their positions before going public? The fact that the National Assembly for instance has not been on the same page with the executive on several corruption and anti-corruption issues since the inception of this administration is another case in point. No one can justify this impasse especially when you consider that lawmakers are the ones who will enact the legislations that will codify lasting anti-corruption reforms.

Until date, several important bills like that Nigerian Financial Intelligence Bill, Proceeds of Crime Bill, Money Laundering Prevention and Prohibition Bill, Mutual Legal Assistance Bill are all pending in the parliament for one reason or another. Nigeria remains suspended from the Egmont group of 155 financial intelligence units.

Those who insist that the President needs to up his game have a point. It has become necessary for him to set a high profile example, before those who voted him in loose their patience. It must be noted however that Nigeria has made quiet but considerable progress in implementing her commitment under initiatives like the Open Government Partnership (OGP). Progress in open budgeting, open contracting, tax transparency and the effort to establish a beneficial ownership register  achieved in collaboration with civil society groups- have laid useful foundation for a sustainable progress in several sectors capable of advancing good governance  yet a lot still remains to be done. It is a given that any successful anti-corruption fight must be accompanied by tough and often unpleasant decisions which President Buhari seems reluctant to take.

Besides there have been allegations of nepotism and other ethically questionable behaviours against some members of the presidents kitchen cabinet  something that could potentially tar his image which he is yet to address. With the adoption of the National Anti-corruption Strategy (NACS) by the Federal Executive, it is expected that the inter-agency bickering will be reduced, as the Federal Ministry of Justice takes up a coordinating role as prescribed by the strategy document - to urgently support the president to deliver on his promises. Another area of concern to the cacophonous voices is the delay in the prosecution of high profile anti-corruption suspects. Speedy prosecution of these individuals within the rule of law is an important signal that will re-confirm to observers that the President Buharis anti-corruption effort is still on course.

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With the successful repatriation of some of the monies stolen by the late former Nigerian dictator Sani Abacha, it is expected that the resources will fund fresh investments in social sectors as agreed in a memorandum of understanding between the Nigerian government and civil society groups recently. It is gratifying that earlier in the year; the African Union crowned President Muhammadu Buhari the champion of the fight against corruption in the continent. Such a rare honour is an important recognition of what he represents in Africa. It is also an opportunity for him to scale up his domestic efforts so that he can have something to show to other African countries at end of his tenure in 2019. Surely, there may be a silver lining hanging in the cloud of perception. Even with the low CPI scores it may well be that corruption, at times, needs to get worse before it can actually get better.

Your own opinion articles are welcome at info@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 Facebook and Twitter.

EXCLUSIVE: Be patient with President Buhari, Femi Adesina tells Nigerians on NAIJ.com TV

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Source: Naija.ng

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Loading...Dana Balter has been designated by the Onondaga County Democratic Committee to challenge Republican U.S. Rep. John Katko, but she may face opposition in her bid to secure the nomination.

Balter, D-Syracuse, received the Onondaga County Democrats' endorsement at a meeting Saturday. Nearly three-quarters of the committee members supported Balter for the designation.

"Our candidate is dynamic and passionately committed to the working people of the 24th district," Onondaga County Democratic Chairman Mark English said.

It's the second major designation Balter has received this month. Two weeks ago, she won the support of the Cayuga, Oswego and Wayne Democrats.

Now that she has the support of the four county Democratic committees in the district, Balter is the front-runner for the nomination.

"With a united Democratic Party and a wave of grassroots support we are ready to win this race and to finally create some real change in Washington that will help New York families," she said.The former leader of the pro-Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD), Salih Muslim, has been arrested in the Czech capital after an extradition request from Turkey.

Turkish authorities and Syrian Kurdish militias (YPG) confirmed the arrest of Muslim, said the foreign affairs spokesman for the political coalition, the Movement for a Democratic Society, that governs the Kurdish regions of northern Syria.

As it continues its Olive Branch operation to crash Kurdish forces in Afrin, Turkey claims that the PYD and the YPG are part of the Turkish-based Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, which was designated as a terrorist organization by the European Union and the United States, although the Syrian organizations were not.

The Turkish interior ministry had offered a bounty of nearly $1m on Muslim, who is listed as one of the most wanted terrorists in Turkey.

The PYD, for its part, denounced the arrest, saying that Saleh Muslim has full citizenship rights as a Syrian national and was visiting Europe in an official capacity.

In a statement, the party accused Turkey of demanding the arrest of individuals who are not its citizens  without any legal justifications.Home | World | Africa | Woman kills hubby

A Cranborne woman has been arrested for allegedly killing her husband after he received a phone call from a suspected girlfriend.

Marlene Layton, 45, was not asked to plead when she appeared before Harare magistrate Rumbidzai Mugwagwa charged with murder.

She was granted $50 bail and the matter was remanded to April 30.

As part of her bail conditions, Marlene was ordered to reside at her given address and report once a week between 6 am and 6pm at Braeside Police station.

Allegations are that on February 20 at around 5:30pm, the deceased Antony Lyton, 51, was seated with his wife when he received a phone call and moved to the backyard to answer.

Marlene became suspicious that the call was from his girlfriend and followed him outside where she demanded to see the call register.

Marlene and the late Antony immediately got into a fight as she tried to grab the cellphone.

As a result, she pushed him and he landed heavily on his back.

He fell unconscious and was later taken to Mount Sinai Medical Centre in Hillside, Harare where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM: Africa

Loading...Home | World | Africa | Two cops nabbed after demanding bribe

Two Bulawayo police officers were reportedly arrested for criminal abuse of power after they allegedly milked a suspect of his money in the name of bribe for them to drop his charge.

Sources familiar with the case allege Sergeant Magwala was arrested together with constable Nyathi buumi Gift on Thursday in Bulawayo after they demanded bribes from the complainant on several accounts.

The complainant was reportedly found with 1.3g of gold and can spirits last year in December .

It is further alleged that the complainant went to court after paying the bribe of $300 and the docket was reported missing hence the complainant was given another date to attend court.

Magwala is said to have demanded another $100, which he got from the complainant, he used the same modus operandi whenever the complainant was supposed to appear in court.



One day he failed to pay the required $100 and paid $30 prompting the Sergeant to continuously call the complainant demanding the balance.

The sergeant finally sent the docket to court while pestering the complainant to pay more money through his colleague Nyathi to buy his freedom.

The complainant reported the matter to Bulawayo Central police where a trap was made leading to the arrest of the duo under IR 629/18.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM: Africa

Loading...The shooting of one unarmed civilian and the injuring of the other two by police yesterday afternoon in Harare during a time when the country is healing from a political, social and economic challenge is a cause of concern.

There was an outcry about the shooting and it has been condemned by many people across the country. There was property destruction at Harare central police station as the angry mob retaliated to the shooting.

This was triggered by police who have shot two innocent by standers in a stand-off earlier on at the Chitungwiza fly over in the capital. The fiasco was on the now reversed ban on commuter omnibuses plying from locations into the capital's central business district.

Anti-riot police officers threw tear smoke canisters and wantonly beat members of the public who were suspected of causing trouble although some claim the beating was indiscriminate.

Police officers started shooting warning shots in the air trying to chase away the commuter omnibuses who were resisting the move.

Police cars have been targeted and some of them burnt and a fire was set at Harare Central police, where protesters were against the unpopular police service and started throwing stones.

Some innocent journalists who were attempting to cover the fighting were unwelcome by both sides and they had to depart after someone cried out to the media.

Earlier on there were running battles between police and tear gassed kombi drivers over the hugely unpopular directive which as reported earlier on has been reversed by the government.

Such kind of barbaric behaviour is not welcome in a country which has neen grappling with economic and political challenges

This sad development was unfortunate and the police officers who fired at unarmed civilians should be brought to book. The police officers failed to apply the five rules of a firearm in order to achieve their goals. Police must first fire warning shots or shoot to injure than shoot to kill. The police has shown its incompetence to deal with riotous mob. There is need to send our law enforcing agents back to a refresher course and learn on how to deal with such scenarios. Their training needs to be revisited and improved in that sector.

Instead of protecting the civilians they are elimating them.Zimbabweans are peace loving people and are not all that violent do not move around with guns and even the hard core criminals are no longer moving with guns like in South Africa. May the departed soul rest in perfect peace.

We are preaching about Zimbabwe being the safest and conducive place to do business but shooting civilians in skirmishes and disturbances is deplorable. The Commissioner of Police Gideon Matanga has a task to nature his lieutenants and turn them into a professional force.

Contacts

Facebook-Leonard Koni

Twitter-@Leokoni

Whatsapp-+27747402042

E-mail-konileonard606@gmail.comChinas megadrone is worlds first autonomous aerial vehicle, carries passengers at 80 mph during test flights

Automakers dream about driverless cars. Chinese company EHang one-ups them with its one-man flying megadrone, reported The Daily Mail.

Footage released by the Chinese drone maker show their EHang 184 autonomous aerial vehicle zipping through the air at 80 mph (130 kph) with a live person aboard its sleek cabin. EHang claimed that single and two-seat versions of its megadrone have successfully carried 40 different passengers on thousands of test flights since 2014. One of those passengers was Deputy Mayor Wang Dong of Guangzhou, the host city for megadrone test flights.

Performing manned test flights enables us to demonstrate the safety and stability of our vehicles, said Huazhi Hu, founder and CEO of EHang.

What were doing isnt an extreme sport, so the safety of each passenger always comes first.

The EHang 184 was tested in a multitude of weather conditions, including the gale-force winds of a hurricane.

Now that weve successfully tested the Ehang 184, Im really excited to see what the future holds for us in terms of air mobility, said Hu.

A driverless flying taxi

The EHang 184 megadrone is an autonomous aerial vehicle that can transport one or two people. Its maker described it as the first of its kind in the world.

Essentially a small helicopter, it doesnt need runways, just an open area big enough for it to land and take off. Four arms extend from the central body of the EHang 184. Each arm mounts a pair of rotors for lift and propulsion.

Powered by electricity, it can fly at speeds of up to 80.7 mph (130 kph) for 23 minutes, giving it a range of more than nine miles. The megadrone flies 10 miles faster than traffic on Mississippis interstate highways, which post the highest speed limits in the U.S. at 70 mph.

The Verge reported that the EHang megadrone could execute a 984-foot (300-meter) vertical climb. The single-seat version boasted a carrying capacity greater than 500 pounds (230 kg), while the two-seat model raises that to 617 pounds (280 kg).

All a rider needs to do is get inside the EHang 184 and select a destination on a touchscreen. The drone flies itself. (Related: Testing has begun on a self-flying taxi expected to launch in 2020.)

Sensors aboard the craft gather data during the entire flight. This real-time information is used to plot the quickest and safest route to the destination.

To improve passenger safety, EHang runs a command center whose personnel perform much the same role as air traffic controllers at a conventional airport.

The drone command center ensures the safety of every airborne 184 on a 24/7 basis. Controllers will stop a megadrone from taking off if the weather is too rough. They can also assume remote control if the situation calls for it.

EHang intends to integrate its command center with standard air tower operations.

Vegas skies

Residents of Las Vegas, Nevada have probably seen the EHang 184. The prototype was unveiled there in 2016 and EHang had permission to test it in Nevadas airspace.

In a 2016 interview with The Daily Mail, EHang co-founder George Yan claimed riding the 184 felt 10 times better than riding a Ferrari.

I think in all of us there is that little kid in all of us that says I want to fly, he shared.

I dont want to get a pilot license after five or 10 hours of flying. I want to do it right away. Were making that dream happen, said Yan.

EHang intended to demonstrate its 184 megadrone at the World Government Summit in Dubai this year. The company has made no announcement regarding its commercial debut.

Interested in other sky-high tech developments? Zip over to Inventions.news for more stories.

Sources include:

DailyMail.co.uk

TheVerge.comFor picture posts from 2010 and earlier, see the Earlier Picture Posts PageIs change coming?

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James Woods really is the fucking worst.

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No that would mean he's great at something- he's just another piece of shit

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no it doesn't lol

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James...callate el pinche hocico.

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let's lure him with gun ammo straight into a box and ship him out into the ocean.



Edited at 2018-02-25 05:54 am (UTC) mis pensamientos exactos.let's lure him with gun ammo straight into a box and ship him out into the ocean.

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He did a commentary on the dvd for this episode (well, the first one he was in. can't remember if it was this one? the one where they make fun of xtina), and he was straight up abhorrent. Like, I seriously can't put into words how unsettling he was.

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james woods needs to die choking on his own piss and shit

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it's what they deserve.

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Hey @united, Im an extremely loyal 1k customer. Youve now severed ties w/ the NRA at the urging of an online mob, yet you maintain ties with Planned Parenthood, the most prolific ender of childrens lives in America, by far. Are you actively trying to chase away my business? https://t.co/eArS3fiF2c  Guy Benson (@guypbenson) February 24, 2018





So @united you are saying that gun owners are not welcome at United? Good to know. Maybe we should boycott you? https://t.co/WisehPXIHe  Marc Thiessen (@marcthiessen) February 24, 2018





Meanwhile on Fox...

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Guy is just..like he has to know these people don't respect him when he leaves the studio right?

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"i was cool with you supporting baby killing when you were supporting my preferred method of baby killing but now that you aren't i'm super anti baby killing!!!!!"

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Lmfao

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lol

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lmao

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This truthfulness.

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lmfao boycotting airlines don't work.

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Lol RIP their frequent flyer miles



Edited at 2018-02-25 06:19 am (UTC)

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the same people who are anti abortion are usually anti proper sexual education, vote for people who do not give any sort of proper health access and care or livable wages* so that people can even afford their children like fuck you!!!



Edited at 2018-02-25 06:34 am (UTC)

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LOL as if you can avoid airlines... they're all interlinked. THey're like the company to be least hurt by boycotting. them and mobile/internet providers.

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united be like "lol byeeeeee!"

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there should be a no brain no opinion gif



sorry for the edit, i hate using my ipad to post but i do it anyway!



Edited at 2018-02-25 08:27 am (UTC) there should be a no brain no opinion gifsorry for the edit, i hate using my ipad to post but i do it anyway!

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Lol as if conservatives know how to boycott anything. How did that Starbucks boycott go 

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Do they really think anyone gives a fuck about right wing boycotts? They all live in the middle of nowhere.

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please republicans idea of a boycott would be to buy tickets for united flights and then not show up

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Seeing as how all these companies cutting ties are used to get people out of somewhere, maybe they can stay their asses at home in the fucking crypts they crawled out of from the 18th century.

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huge red flag like what kind of sick freaks?!?!?

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Though there has been a recent wave of self-proclaimed gun-lovers filming themselves as they destroy their own guns in support of gun control, using the hashtag



https://www.dailywire.com/news/27412/onelessgun-nbc-highlights-people-destroying-their-paul-bois My fucking thoughts exactly.Though there has been a recent wave of self-proclaimed gun-lovers filming themselves as they destroy their own guns in support of gun control, using the hashtag #OneLessGun

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thiiiis

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it is!!! you CANNOT say "oh those poor children BUT" like it does not work! lmao

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Yup. I don't trust anyone who hears about these shootings and is like "That's sad huh but my guns!! Law-abiding gun owners!!!!"



My children's right to go to school and LIVE >>>>>>>>>>>>>> these assholes' right to own any gun they want ~just because~. Period.

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That's because they think ~the government~ is gonna "get them" if they become disarmed. Never mind the fact that a. the government is already screwing the poor conservatives in their standard of life

and b. if the government wanted to get you, your gun isn't going to stop the world's largest military.

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I'm not on the "ban all guns" train, but anyone who views a gun as anything aside from a tool with a specific purpose, fetishizes guns, has an arsenal, and thinks of them as "fun toys" . . . . no thank you.



I don't own a gun, but the people with them in my family have always had them for hunting and/or work and keep them unloaded and locked up when not in use. And they aren't fucking military style high powered rifles either.

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i agree entirely. extremism at it's finest. conservative gun toting america always whining about extremism overseas, when they act the literal exact same way.

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Edited at 2018-02-25 06:00 am (UTC) It would bring my heart immense joy if the NRA was crippled and lost its political power in the coming years.

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it definetely will



remember that all the teenagers that have been victims of school shootings these past few years are reaching voting age, so are their friends and peers so its basically a whole generation that has suffered and will influence a change for good imo

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I don't think you can really extrapolate to an entire generation when school shootings are still extremely uncommon occurrences and not representative of the gun violence epidemic in America at all. There just aren't very many victims of school shootings. And if this was how things worked, you'd expect the generation that grew up in the 80s and 90s when gun violence was at its peak, to have made the changes. Although I guess there might be something to the public face of victims of gun violence being middle-class white kids instead of poor nonwhite people that might make some difference and if that's what it takes, that's what it takes.



Edited at 2018-02-25 06:51 am (UTC)

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wow their statement is so crass. i wonder if their membership has been affected.

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They are probably scared as hell, I remember I had seen right before the shootings that Remington had filed for bankruptcy (gun manufacturer and I just looked it up and they were $950 million in debt). The NRA absolutely wanted Hillary to win because then they had their boogeyman. But, since 45 won instead, people didn't feel the need to buy guns like they were buying while Obama was president.

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I agree with this! There was this gun shop near me that was there FOREVER and seriously after Trump was elected they didn't really put much on their windows (they always had inflammatory shit on their windows) and then they closed a few months later. I have no doubt it's because 45 won and not Hillary.

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Did you hear them talking at CPAC? They're insane.

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i wouldn't be surprised if it's increased tbh. i don't think they care too much about membership numbers though, gun manufacturers are paying them regardless as long as guns are selling

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I doubt their membership has been affected at all. Gun culture is so deeply entrenched in some parts of the country.

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FedEx, Amazon, and Google still need to cut ties apparently.

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I don't think Amazon ever cut ties with Breitbart. Don't see them cutting ties with the NRA, unfortunately :/

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I've been saying this alot the past couple days but seeing all these kids saying they've had enough and doing something about it is seriously inspiring.

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more like you and the NRA do. how many gun-toting repugs go out and buy more guns after mass shootings making u guys richer, freaking out that the evil libs~~ are going to take away your guns.

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this woman is truly evil

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her delivery on "media love mass shootings" reminds me so much of Roy Moore's wife saying they had a Jewish lawyer. like these people all have the same wide-eyed attempt-at-rationality crazy face.

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the whole town hall thing w the students happened while i was asleep so i read the comments throughout the next day, and my mobile doesn't show pictures while i'm roaming to save data. so i was just kind of picturing how ppl looked and what went down.



then i came home and actually saw a pic of this lady barely faking sympathy and just. i literally got cold, how can a person look so much like a disney villain? minus all the charm, personality and memorable songs ofc.

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alksdjlsa she is such an asshole

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i saw that she had some old anti-semitic tweets dug up, which isn't surprising. she is such an asshole.

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you are exactly right. I was working at Bass Pro when Pulse happened, and they practically celebrated it because it meant the gun sales skyrocketed.

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My dad and his business partner are both gun lovers and they're in cyber security. I feel like there's a surprising amount of overlap, actually. Although my dad and his friends are also all retired military, so there's probably more overlap there than on the civilian side of things.

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It was a member perk thing. Like if you're a member of AAA or AARP, you can get discounts at places. NRA had similar programs.

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Black People: "People are literally being killed by law enforcement"

The NRA: "BLUE LIVES MATTER!"



Law Enforcement: "People are literally being killed by assault rifles."

The NRA: "FUCK THE POLICE!" https://t.co/hhH35MVkxj  Corey Richardson (@vexedinthecity) February 23, 2018





mhmmm. mhmmm.

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Linkwhy your post is protected, op?

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OP your post is locked

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Ugh, I really really really wanted at least one of the songs to be good but no, they're all underwhelming. Not her style at all, imo. She's more of a Celine Dion/Lara Fabian type. I don't know. Maybe one of them is a grower?

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oh really? do you like anything she's done previously? these videos made me think she's a Jessie J type, if only aesthetically

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Yeah, I do like some of her previous stuff. She used to describe her style as "epic love pop" and most of her music was ballads with dramatic modulations (like Blessed with Love). She started changing her style a few years ago when she participated in X-Factor UK. There's nothing wrong with that, of course, but I just prefer her older music, lol.

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Yeah sorry about the initial lock, I couldn't change it from friends/custom/private when submitting but was able to edit it once the post was approved. It's been a billion years since I've posted anything on lj, there's probably a new setting somewhere I'm not aware of.







Edited at 2018-02-25 09:16 pm (UTC)

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Huh, that's an interesting way to go about it.



I was disappointed that Finland's entry last year didn't make the final, I thought it was lovely





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Learn more about LiveJournal Ratings in Hello! Your entry got to top-25 of the most popular entries in LiveJournal!Learn more about LiveJournal Ratings in FAQ

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these all sound dated but i like monster the best

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Theyre all crap. End of.



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do we really need eurovision in 2018?

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I like these, they're a hundred times better than anything happening in Sweden's national contest going on right now (Melodifestivalen). I can't believe no one has posted about how bleh it is this year. I hope the comedy-bit that is "Fuldans" by Rolandz wins Melo and goes to Eurovision. Kind of want all of the world to feast their eyes on puns on puns and blinding sequins and Swedish culture and comedy and be like, what is this???

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LinkThe following companies are subsidiares of Masco: A&J Gummers, Airex 3 LLC, Arrow Fastener, BEHR PAINTS IT! INC., BSI Holdings, Behr, Behr (Beijing) Paint Company Limited, Behr Paint (Beijing) Commercial Co. Ltd., Behr Process Canada Ltd., Behr Process Corporation, Behr Process Paints (India) Private Limited, Behr Sales LLC, BrassCraft Manufacturing Company, Brasstech Inc., Bristan, Bristan Group Limited, Cambrian Windows, ColorAxis Inc., Davenport Insulation Group, Delta Faucet (China) Co. Ltd., Delta Faucet Company, Delta Faucet Company India Private Limited, Delta Faucet Company Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Delta Faucet Company of Tennessee, Diversified Cabinet Distributors Inc., Duraflex, Duraflex Limited, Erickson Framing, Glass Idromassaggio, Guy Evans Inc., Hans Grohe Pte. Ltd., Hansgrohe, Hansgrohe A.B., Hansgrohe A/S, Hansgrohe AG, Hansgrohe Armature Sanayi ve Ticaret Limited Sirketi, Hansgrohe B.V., Hansgrohe Brasil Metals Santitarios Ltda., Hansgrohe CS s.r.o., Hansgrohe Deutschland Vertriebs GmbH, Hansgrohe Handelsges.mbH, Hansgrohe Inc., Hansgrohe India Private Ltd., Hansgrohe International GmbH, Hansgrohe Japan K.K, Hansgrohe Kft., Hansgrohe Ltd., Hansgrohe N.V., Hansgrohe Pty Ltd, Hansgrohe S. de R. L. de C. V., Hansgrohe S. a r.l., Hansgrohe S.A., Hansgrohe S.A.U., Hansgrohe SA (Pty) Ltd., Hansgrohe SE, Hansgrohe Sanitary Products (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Hansgrohe Sanitary Products W.L.L., Hansgrohe Sp. z.o.o., Hansgrohe Wasselonne S.A., Hansgrohe d.o.o., Hansgrohe ooo, Hansgrohe s.r.l., Hot Spring Spa Australasia Pty Ltd, Hot Spring Spas New Zealand Limited, Huppe B.V., Huppe Belgium S.A., Huppe GmbH, Huppe Insaat Sanayi ve Ticaret A.S., Huppe S. a r.l., Huppe S.L., Huppe Spolka z.o.o., Huppe s.r.o., IDI Group inc, Inrecon, Jet Acquisition LLC, Kichler Lighting LLC, L.D. Kichler Lighting Services (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Landex of Wisconsin Inc., Liberty Hardware Asia Co. Ltd., Liberty Hardware Mfg. Corp., Liberty Hardware Retail & Design Services LLC, Masco Beteiligungsgesellschaft mbH, Masco Building Products Corp., Masco Cabinetry Hong Kong Limited, Masco Canada Limited, Masco Capital Corporation, Masco Chile Limitada, Masco Corporation Limited, Masco Corporation of Indiana, Masco Europe Inc., Masco Europe S. a r.l., Masco Europe SCS, Masco Framing Corp., Masco Germany Holding GmbH, Masco HD Support Services LLC, Masco Home Products Private Limited, Masco Home Products S.a r.l., Masco Retail Sales Support Inc., Masco Singapore Pte. Ltd., Masco WM Support Services LLC, Mascomex S.A. de C.V., Masterchem Industries, Masterchem Industries LLC, Mercury Plastics LLC, Milgard Manufacturing, Mill's Pride, Mirolin Industries Corp., My Service Center Inc., NCFII Holdings Inc., Newport Brass, Oz Acquisition LLC, Peerless Sales Corporation, SCE Unlimited, Service Partners, Shanghai Hansgrohe International Trading Co. Ltd., SmarTap, SmarTap A.Y. Ltd., Tapicerias Pacifico SA de CV, Tempered Products Inc., Texwood Industries, The Faucet-Queens, The GMU Group, The L.D. Kichler Co., Tvilum, Vapor Technologies Inc., Vapor Technologies Shenzhen Co. Ltd., Watkins Distribution UK Limited, Watkins Europe BVBA, Watkins Manufacturing Corporation, and Wellness Marketing Corporation.Randgold Resources Limited is engaged in gold mining, exploration and related activities. The Company's activities are focused on West and Central Africa. The Company operates through the gold mining segment. The Company operates various mines, such as Morila, Loulo, Gounkoto, Tongon and Kibali. The Company is exploring in African countries, such as Mali, Senegal, Cote d'Ivoire and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The Company also holds an interest in the Massawa project. The Company holds Morila Limited, which holds interests in the Morila mine in Mali. As of December 31, 2016, Morila mine has produced 122,370 ounces (oz) of gold. The Company holds a controlling interest in the Loulo mine, located in Mali, through Societe des Mines de Loulo SA (Loulo). The Loulo mine is mining from over two underground mines. As of December 31, 2016, Loulo mine has produced 350,604 oz of gold. It has a controlling interest in the Gounkoto mine through Societe des Mines de Gounkoto SA.

Read MoreHornbeck Offshore Services, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides marine transportation, subsea installation, and accommodation support services to exploration and production, oilfield service, offshore construction, and the United States military customers. It operates offshore supply vessels (OSVs), multi-purpose support vessels (MPSVs), and a shore-based facility to provide logistics support and specialty services to the offshore oil and gas exploration and production industry, primarily Gulf of Mexico in the U.S., Latin America, and internationally. Its fleet of U.S.-flagged OSVs and MPSVs support deep-well, deepwater, and ultra-deepwater activities of the offshore oil and gas industry, such as oil and gas exploration, field development, production, construction, installation, well-stimulation, and other enhanced oil recovery, as well as inspection, repair, and maintenance services. The company also provides vessel management services, including crewing, daily operational management, and maintenance activities for other vessels owners. As of December 31, 2018, it owned and operated 66 OSVs and 8 MPSVs. Hornbeck Offshore Services, Inc. was founded in 1997 and is headquartered in Covington, Louisiana.

Read MoreThe following companies are subsidiares of PerkinElmer: Analytica of Branford, Applied Biosystems, Arnel Inc., ArtusLabs, Beijing Huaan Magnech Bio-Tech Co. Ltd., Beijing Longrun Bio-Tech Co. Ltd., Beijing Meizheng Bio-Tech Co. Ltd., Beijing Meizheng Testing Lab Co. Ltd., Beijing OUMENG Biotechnology Co. Ltd., Bio Evolution SAS, Bioo Scientific Corporation, Biosense Picolabs Inc., Biosense Technologies Pvt Ltd., Caliper Life Sciences, Caliper Life Sciences Inc., Cambridge Research & Instrumentation Inc., CambridgeSoft, Ceiba Solutions, Chengdu PerkinElmer Medical Laboratory Co. Ltd., Chromo G.A. SAS, CisBio US Inc., Cisbio Asia Pacific Ltd, Cisbio Bioassays SAS, Cisbio China Ltd., Cisbio Group SAS, Cisbio KK, Cisbio.com, DNA Laboratories Sdn. Bhd., Dani Analitica S.r.l., Dexela, EUROIMMUN (Hangzhou) Medical Laboratory Diagnostics Co. Ltd., EUROIMMUN (South East Asia) Pte Ltd., EUROIMMUN (Tianjin) Medical Diagnostic Technology Co. Ltd., EUROIMMUN AG, EUROIMMUN Brasil Medicina Diagnostica Ltda., EUROIMMUN Diagnostics Espana S.L.U., EUROIMMUN France SAS, EUROIMMUN Italia Diagnostica Medica S.r.l., EUROIMMUN Japan Co. Ltd., EUROIMMUN Medical Diagnostics (China) Co. Ltd., EUROIMMUN Medical Diagnostics Canada Inc., EUROIMMUN Medical Laboratory Diagnostics South Africa (Pty) Ltd., EUROIMMUN Medizinische Labordiagnostika AG, EUROIMMUN Polska Spolka z o.o., EUROIMMUN Portugal Unipessoal Lda., EUROIMMUN Schweiz AG, EUROIMMUN Turkey Tibbi Laboratuar Teshisleri A.S., EUROIMMUN UK Ltd., EUROIMMUN US Inc., EUROIMMUN US Real Estate LLC, Geospiza, Guangzhou EUROIMMUN Medical Diagnostic Products Co. Ltd., Hangzhou EUROIMMUN Medical Diagnostic Products Co. Ltd., Horizon Discovery, Immunodiagnostic Systems, Integromics S.L., Jiangsu Meizheng Bio-Tech Co. Ltd., LabMetrix Technologies, Labtronics, ManCell SAS, Nexcelom Bioscience, NovaScreen Biosciences Corporation, Opto Technology, Orchid Biomedical Systems Pvt Ltd., Oxford Immunotec, Pediatrix Medical Group - Newborn Metabolic Screening Business, Perkin Elmer Chile Ltda., Perkin Elmer Italia SpA, Perkin Elmer Sdn. Bhd., Perkin Elmer Yuhan Hoesa, Perkin Elmer de Mexico S.A., Perkin-Elmer Argentina S.R.L., Perkin-Elmer Instruments (Philippines) Corporation, PerkinElmer (Hong Kong) Ltd., PerkinElmer (India) Pvt Ltd., PerkinElmer (Ireland) Ltd., PerkinElmer (Schweiz) AG, PerkinElmer (Shanghai) Equity Investment Fund L.P., PerkinElmer (Shanghai) Equity Investment Fund Management Co. Ltd., PerkinElmer (UK) Holdings Ltd., PerkinElmer Analytical Solutions B.V., PerkinElmer Automotive Research Inc., PerkinElmer BVBA, PerkinElmer CV Holdings LLC, PerkinElmer Cellular Technologies Germany GmbH, PerkinElmer Danmark A/S, PerkinElmer Diagnostics Global Holdings S.a r.l., PerkinElmer Diagnostics Holdings Inc., PerkinElmer Espana S.L., PerkinElmer Finance Luxembourg S.a r.l., PerkinElmer Finland Oy, PerkinElmer Genetics Inc., PerkinElmer Germany Diagnostics GmbH, PerkinElmer Global Diagnostics S.a r.l., PerkinElmer Global Financing S.a r.l., PerkinElmer Global Holdings S.a r.l., PerkinElmer Health Sciences (Australia) Pty. Ltd., PerkinElmer Health Sciences B.V., PerkinElmer Health Sciences Canada Inc., PerkinElmer Health Sciences FZ-LLC, PerkinElmer Health Sciences Inc., PerkinElmer Health Sciences Pvt Ltd., PerkinElmer Healthcare Diagnostics (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., PerkinElmer Holding Luxembourg S.a r.l., PerkinElmer Holdings Inc., PerkinElmer Holdings Pty. Ltd., PerkinElmer IVD Pte Ltd., PerkinElmer Inc., PerkinElmer Informatics Inc., PerkinElmer Instruments (Suzhou) Co. Ltd., PerkinElmer International C.V., PerkinElmer Investments Ky, PerkinElmer Israel Ltd., PerkinElmer Japan Co. Ltd., PerkinElmer LAS (Germany) GmbH, PerkinElmer LAS (UK) Ltd., PerkinElmer Life Sciences International Holdings, PerkinElmer Limited, PerkinElmer Ltd., PerkinElmer Management (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., PerkinElmer Nederland B.V., PerkinElmer Norge AS, PerkinElmer Oy, PerkinElmer Polska Sp z o.o., PerkinElmer Pty. Ltd., PerkinElmer SAS, PerkinElmer Saglk ve Cevre Bilimleri Ltd., PerkinElmer Shared Services Sp z o.o., PerkinElmer Singapore Pte Ltd., PerkinElmer South Africa (Pty) Ltd., PerkinElmer Sverige AB, PerkinElmer Sweden Health Sciences Holdings AB, PerkinElmer Taiwan Corporation, PerkinElmer VertriebsgmbH, PerkinElmer chemagen Technologie GmbH, PerkinElmer do Brasil Ltda., Perten Instruments, Perten Instruments (Beijing) Co. Ltd., Perten Instruments AB, Perten Instruments France SASU, Perten Instruments GmbH, Perten Instruments Italia S.r.l., Perten Instruments of Australia Pty Ltd., RHS Ltd, RayAl Ltd., Shandong Meizheng Bio-Tech Co. Ltd., Shanghai Haoyuan Biotech Co. Ltd., Shanghai Spectrum Instruments Co. Ltd., Shanghai Spectrum Instruments Co. Ltd., Signature Genomic Laboratories, Solus Scientific Solutions Inc., Solus Scientific Solutions Ltd., Surendra Genetic Labs, Suzhou PerkinElmer Medical Laboratory Co. Ltd., Suzhou Sym-Bio LifeScience, Suzhou Sym-Bio Lifescience Co. Ltd., Tulip Diagnostics, Tulip Diagnostics Pvt Ltd., Vanadis Diagnostics, Vanadis Diagnostics AB, ViaCell, ViaCord LLC, VisEn Medical, VisEn Medical Inc., Wallac Oy, Wellesley B.V., Xenogen Corporation, ZeLab SAS, and chemagen Biopolymer-Technologie AG.West Virginia judge Jeffrey Cramer is dismissing a defamation lawsuit against John Oliver stemming from a segment in which a giant squirrel named Mr. Nutterbutter told coal baron Robert Murray to eat shit, according to the Hollywood Reporter. HBO and Partially Important Productions had asked that the suit be dismissed because the facts in Olivers segment were based on government reports, and the more insulting statementslike Olivers assessment that Murray resembles a geriatric Dr. Evilcould not be proven true or false. Judge Cramer agreed, and on Wednesday, informed attorneys by letter that he planned to dismiss the case. The judges letter is a lot less funny than the West Virginia ACLUs amicus brief, but has the advantage of being dispositive.

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Lawyers for Murray, whose company lost six miners and three rescue workers in the Crandall Canyon Mine collapse, said in their initial complaint that nothing has ever stressed him more than the Last Week Tonight segment, in which a gigantic squirrel named Mr. Nutterbutter presented a novelty check for three acorns and eighteen cents made out to Eat Shit, Bob! (The memo line on the check read Kiss My Ass, which does indeed sound stressful, but maybe not mine collapse with multiple fatalities stressful.) To be fair, most of the complaint revolved around whether or not Oliver correctly characterized Murrays handling of the Crandall Canyon Mine collapse, but Mr. Nutterbutter did play a prominent part:

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51. Instead, Defendants continued their ruthless character assassination and attack on Plaintiffs business reputations by describing Mr. Murray as someone who looks like a geriatric Dr. Evil and arranging for a staff member to dress up in a squirrel costume and deliver the message, Eat Shit, Bob! to Mr. Murray. 52. If that were not enough, after the live taping, Defendant Oliver exclaimed to the audience that having someone in a squirrel costume tell Mr. Murray to Eat Shit was a dream come true.

While the judges decision may be a setback for Mr. Murray and Murray Energy, it is also a significant step forward for human-sized squirrels named Mr. Nutterbutter, the novelty check industry, Last Week Tonight, and the sacred right of every American to tell coal barons to eat shit.North Korea has said it is open to holding talks with the United States, according to the South Korean government. It is the first sign of willingness in years.

In an hour-long meeting just as the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang were coming to a close, North Korean representatives delivered the message to South Korean President Moon Jae-in. The statement Moons office released afterward did not mention whether the talks would involve denuclearization, according to the Washington Post. The North agrees that inter-Korean relations and North Korea-U.S. relations should improve together, Moons office said in a statement.

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Earlier that day, the North had released a statement condemning Trumps announcement on Friday of new sanctions and accusing the U.S. of trying to stoke conflict on the Korean peninsula just as the relationship between the two Koreas had started warm during the Olympic Games.

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In the past, Trump has said he was willing to enter talks with North Korea if the country becomes open to giving up its nuclear weapons. North Korea has repeatedly said it will not debate denuclearization. But the New York Times reported on Feb. 13, at the start of the Olympics, that the Trump administration was more open to holding talks with Korea after Vice President Pences visit to the Olympics and meeting with Moon.

The U.S. and North Korea have had a year of tense interactions, as leaders from both countries have threatened war and North Korea conducted missile and nuclear tests.NATIONAL HARBOR, MarylandOne of CPACs draws is its Hub, an exhibition where various organizations offer merchandise and literature to attendees. Here are a few photos from this years tables:

The CO2 Coalition is a nonprofit founded in 2015 to promote the benefits of increasing carbon emissions. In 2015, when Greenpeace asked Princeton professor William Happer, a director at the group, to author a report on CO2s benefits for pay in an undercover sting, he asked that his fee be donated to the coalition.

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Shiva Ayyadurai is a former Republican independent running to unseat Elizabeth Warren in Massacussetts. Last June, he sent Warren a DNA testing kit. He was best known previously for his defamation lawsuits in defense of his claim that he invented email.

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The NRAs massive and popular booth was back again this year. And why wouldnt it have been?

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Facebook also had a table this year, at which they initially offered demonstrations of a shooting virtual reality game on the Oculus system. It was pulled after complaints.

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Some Randians were in attendance.

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The Capital Research Center is a nonprofit that calls itself Americas Investigative Think Tank.

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Sovereign Nations is a group that, on its website, describes itself as a prolegomenon to the formation of a new, and not just sentimental, conservative and Constitutional Republic. This evidently means tracking the supposed activity of George Soros and the growth of cultural Marxism. The booth touted work by Jordan Peterson, an anti-PC Canadian academic. In an interview with Vices Jay Caspian Kang released earlier this month, Peterson said he didnt know if women and men could work in the workplace together without harassment and argued makeup was inherently sexually provocative. Why do you turn your lips red? he asked. Because they turn red during sexual arousal, thats why. Why do you put rouge on your cheeks? Same reason.

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Campus Reform is a group that catalogues supposed instances of political correctness run amok, and, evidently, trains aspiring conservative pundits.

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Finally, one of the more popular giveaways this year was a left-mocking Safe Spaces coloring book promoting a forthcoming documentary called No Safe Spaces.

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AdvertisementNATIONAL HARBOR, MarylandThere was much talk, throughout this years Conservative Political Action Conference, about the supposed crisis of free speechthe purported epidemic of conservative speakers being oppressed, suppressed, threatened, and silenced not only on college campuses but, as the NRAs Dana Loesch reminded attendees during her speech Thursday, within the mainstream press. I had to have a security detail to get out, she said of her loudly jeered appearance during CNNs town hall on the Stoneman Douglas shooting last week. I wouldnt be able to exit that if I didnt have a private security detail.

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If so, Loesch can now commiserate with National Reviews Mona Charen, who was loudly booed for criticizing the Republican Partys selective indifference to sexual misconduct during one of the last panels of the conference. Im disappointed in people on our side for being hypocrites about sexual harassers and abusers of women who are in or party, who are sitting in the White House, she told a shocked audience. This was a party that was ready to endorsethe Republican Party endorsed Roy Moore for the Senate in the state of Alabama even though he was a credibly accused child molester. You cannot claim that you stand for women and put up with that. The shouts in response to this and, minutes later, her denunciation of CPAC speaker Marion LePenI think the only reason she was here was that she was named LePen And the LePen name is a disgrace. Her grandfather is a racist and a Naziled to her being escorted out by three security personnel.

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This was one of the few pulse-quickening moments of a dull but subtly remarkable conference. Two years ago, Trump, fearing a chilly reception, skipped CPAC to campaign in Kansas. By the time he took the stage last year, his capture of the conservative movement was mostly complete. Evidence of a new brazennessa willingness to say the quiet parts loudwas on offer during the Ronald Reagan dinner on Friday night, where CPACs communications director, Ian Walters, recounting the past several years of turmoil on the right, criticized the selection of former RNC chairman Michael Steele. We elected Mike Steele as chairman because he was a black guy, he said. That was the wrong thing to do. This remark passed entirely without comment from American Conservative Union chairman and CPAC head Matt Schlapp, who was standing alongside Walters on the mainstage as he made his remarks. Steele later confronted Schlapp about the comments during a radio interview. I dont know what gave Ian, in his role as the communications director, the comfort to think that he could go before this body andIll put it directdisrespect you as its chairman, disrespect attendees, Steele said. Did he somehow think this was somehow going to be acceptable to say?

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Well, why wouldnt he have? The conference was gripped this year by a force even stronger than support for Trumpa revulsion at political correctness and offense-taking broadly speaking. The loudest applause of the event came not for Trump or Vice President Mike Pence, but for Ben Shapiro, who warned that the new political correctness on the left was contributing to the downfall of the greatest civilization in the history of mankind. Young conservative activist Charlie Kirk, for his work antagonizing the campus left as head of the group Turning Point USA, was rewarded with a slot interviewing the presidents son, Eric Trump. In another speaking slot, he wedded criticism of the cultural left to the conservative movements domestic policy agenda. Oh, you might have had something bad happen to you a hundred years ago, therefore heres all these government benefits and people should feel sorry for you, Kirk said. This is how the neo-Marxists, he warned, intend to take down, again, Western civilization.

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The neo-Marxists  they dont believe in dialogue, they dont believe in discussion. They believe in stifling the other opinion. But we still live in a semblance of a free society and because of that, it has paved the way for what I believe is going to be the greatest conservative revolution in American history thats led by young people. Thats for freedom and for a principled approach to defend Western civilization. To say its OK to hear something you disagree with. Just because youre offended doesnt mean youre right. That we actually need to be able to hear ideas that challenge our viewpoints. And on that basis, were going to run circles around the left. These are unhappy people. These are people that are not upwardly aspirational. They hate this country.

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As has always been the case, the demons to be exorcised arent the ones that led to screams at Mona Charen in defense of Roy Moore, but the animating principles of liberals and leftists, particularly young minorities and women battling racism and sexism. The reactionary impulses behind criticisms of political correctness have been complemented, in Shapiro and Kirk, by an evangelical fervorthe promise of deliverance and victory over a fallen and wicked people in a cultural war that righteous people ought to wage. It was hard to escape the feeling, listening to them, that the rhetoric of opposition to political correctness is expanding to fill the vacuum in conservative cultural politics left by the collapse of the Christian right. Ben Shapiro seems less a cool-kids philosopher than the new Billy Graham, whose death, incidentally, was mentioned not even a handful of times from the main stage during the conference.

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These kinds of shifts are ultimately what makes CPAC, despite its circus-like atmosphere, important to follow. It remains a critical part of the conservative movements infrastructure, too. Thousands of young people and potential donors are funneled into various organizations and causes. Young activists are trained; there is a well-attended job fair. The question of whether Trumpism and the forces it has unleashed on the right will have a shelf-life beyond Trumpof whether the chaos can be organizedwill be settled, in large part, here. It ultimately depends on how well those changes take within the think tanks and campus groups and publications and nonprofits that fill their ranks and coffers from the conferences annual attendees. Apart from the Charen flare-up, the transition so far has been largely seamless. The NeverTrumpers and whatever principled religious conservatives are left in the movement have self-deported. The kids, the Sheriff Clarkes and Gorkas, Hannity and companyCPAC is their party now. So too is the GOP.As new information surfaces about the police response to the school shooting in Parkland, Florida, the Broward County Sheriffs Office has come under fire for its handling of calls warning of the shooters behavior and for the actions of several deputies who appeared to wait outside the school at the time of the shooting.

The anger culminated with calls for Broward Sheriff Scott Israel to resign. On Saturday, Republican State Rep. Bill Hager urged Florida Gov. Rick Scott to remove Israel for negligence. The next day, Richard Corcoran, speaker of the Florida House, sent a letter signed by dozens of Republican state legislators to Scott asking the governor to suspend Israel. Scott responded that he would not suspend Israel and that there needed to be an investigation into the department first.

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Speaking with CNNs Jake Tapper on Sunday, Israel stated firmly that he would not resign, accusing Hagers shameful letter of being misleading and politically motivated.

"Of course I won't resign," says Sheriff Scott Israel, after Florida state representative sends letter to Gov. Rick Scott calling for Israel's removal for "neglect of duty and incompetence" #CNNSOTU https://t.co/tQ0ai2G92p  CNN (@CNN) February 25, 2018

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Israel also defended his own leadership as amazing and said he shouldnt be held responsible for the actions of the school resource officer, Deputy Scot Peterson, who waited outside the school for four minutes while the shooting was ongoing. Israel, who said he confirmed Petersons movements by examining evidence afterward, said the deputys actions disgusted him. Peterson was suspended without pay on Thursday and subsequently resigned and retired.

Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel says he "was disgusted" officer didn't enter school https://t.co/bzP8ZslJ6I pic.twitter.com/8bWJlVmj5r  CNN (@CNN) February 25, 2018

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Deputies make mistakes, Israel said. Police officers make mistakes. But its not the responsibility of a general or the president if you have a deserter.

According to CNN, Coral Springs officers also found when they arrived at the school that three other Broward County deputies had not entered the school either, though its unclear whether the shooter was still in the school at the time. The Coral Springs police said that they and two new Broward County deputies who arrived on the scene entered the building. The four deputies who were already there did not join them, the Coral Springs police said. An official report of their observations will be released next week, CNN reported.

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The other major source of outrage toward the sheriffs office arose from the at least 23 calls about the shooter made to the sheriffs office over the past decade. Israel told Tapper on CNN that almost all of those calls were handled properly, but he did say that his office was investigating how two of them were handled. One of them, from February 2016, involved a call from a neighbors son warning that Nikolas Cruz, the confessed gunman, was going to shoot up a school, according to CNN. Another call, from November 2017, warned Cruz could be a school shooter in the making. In the first instance, a deputy found Cruz had knives and a BB gun and forwarded the information to a school resource officer. In the second, officers found Cruz was not living at his Parkland address but in Lake Worth, Florida, and referred the caller to the Palm Beach County Sheriffs Office. Israel said his office should have filed a report on the call but did not.

Gov. Scott has asked the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to begin the investigation, according to a statement released Sunday afternoon. The department confirmed it would begin immediately; the Broward County Sheriffs Office said it welcomes the investigation.Over the last decade, the five-justice Republican-appointed majority on the Supreme Court has forged a glaring pattern of 5-4 decisions that benefit Republicans at the polls and big corporations pretty much everywhere. In election-related rulings involving issues like gerrymandering and suppression of Democratic-leaning voters; in rulings where its corporations versus humans; and, of course, in letting corporate interests to flood our elections with money, its been a 5-4 rout in an unmistakable pattern. The upcoming Supreme Court arguments this week in Janus v. American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees will tell a lot about this pattern.

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At stake is a unanimous decision from 1977 called Abood v. Detroit Board of Education, which let unions collect funds called agency shop fees to cover their cost of doing collective bargaining work that benefits members and nonmembers alike. The Supreme Court has reaffirmed Abood numerous times, more than 20 States have enacted statutes consistent with that case since it was decided, and public entities of all stripes have entered into multiyear contracts with unions following Aboods guidance. Precedent, unanimity, reaffirmance, and reliance; all of this suggests that the Court would ordinarily uphold this 40-year-old decision.

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But Abood has been a thorn in the side of the union-busting right wing, whove been plotting its demise for years. Recently, in a case involving public employee unions, Justice Samuel Alito digressed from the issue at hand to raise questions about the constitutionality of these agency shop fees, apparently inviting a challenge to Abood. Justice Sonia Sotomayor saw what was going on. To cast serious doubt on longstanding precedent, she wrote in a concurrence, is a step we historically take only with the greatest caution and reticence. To do so, as the majority does, on our own invitation and without adversarial presentation is both unfair and unwise.

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Michael A. Carvin, a perennial conservative advocate, picked up on the majoritys cue and in the name of a front group called the Center for Individual Rights promptly filed the challenge Justice Alito had invited. Carvin actually asked the lower courts to rule against his clients so they could hustle their case up to the Supreme Court (in real litigation, parties dont often want to lose). That case was called Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association, and it was expected to be the death knell of Abood; but Justice Antonin Scalia unexpectedly died, the Court deadlocked 4-4, and Abood lived on.

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It took more procedural shenanigans, over in the Senate, to keep the far-rights union-busting dreams alive. Friedrichs was certainly in the minds of Senate Republicans stonewalling confirmation hearings for Merrick Garland to replace Justice Scalia. The stakes were high, and Majority Leader Mitch McConnells strategy got a big assist from dark political money, including a $17.9 million contribution from a single unnamed donor. At least $7 million went to the campaign against Judge Garland, and later $10 million went to support Neil Gorsuch for that seat.

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With Gorsuch in place, it was time for another run at Abood. Janus is the case.

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As with the Gorsuch confirmation, dark money was a driving force behind both Friedrichs and Janus. The Friedrichs campaign was underwritten by the right-wing Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation, which openly states its political goal to reduce the size and power of public sector unions. The Bradley Foundation not only bankrolled the Center for Individual Rights, but also donated to eleven different organizations that filed amicus curiae briefs. Many are back again in Janus.

Some of these groups are backed by the so-called State Policy Network also bankrolled by the Bradley Foundation, and the Koch brothers  which has an $80 million budget. Its CEO Tracie Sharp hasnt been shy about her groups plan: To win the battle for freedom, we must take the fight to the unions, state by state. The right-wing groups that are packing the Court to achieve these ends see a new Republican-appointed majority, and believe they can safely assume that their five conservative justices will come down against unions. In out-of-court statements several of the amici have trumpeted the outcome as pre-ordained. But there is a problem.

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Our American system of government establishes a system of checks and balances among the federal governments three branches. One element of this balance is an array of principles demanding self-restraint by judges as they carry out their constitutional tasks (this self-restraint is particularly important for the judiciary, which has lifetime tenure and is not subject to veto).

Chief Justice John Roberts noted in a 1993 law review article that the Constitutions Article III case or controversy clause, and related standing requirements, serve as an apolitical limitation on judicial power. Of course so does the American judicial tradition of respect for precedent. In Janus, the political desires of the sophisticated and powerful interests who have appeared so often in this saga as parties and amici to attack unions run smack into these elemental principles of judicial self-restraint. The choice is stark.

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Earlier this term, during oral argument in the partisan gerrymandering case Gill v. Whitford, Chief Justice Roberts voiced concern about the Courts status and integrity if it were to continually adjudicate political disputes. As he put it:

[I]f youre the intelligent man on the street, and the Court issues a decision, and lets say, okay, the Democrats win, and that person will say: Well, why did the Democrats win?  . It must be because the Supreme Court preferred the Democrats over the Republicans . And that is going to cause very serious harm to the status and integrity of the decisions of this Court in the eyes of the country.

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Well, welcome to Janus. The Janus case presents itself to the public eye as part of a sustained political effort to overturn longstanding precedent in order to achieve anti-union political goals. While it is expected that a changing of the guard in the executive branch or in Congress may presage new policies, constancy and predictability are expected of the judicial branch. Overruling a precedent based on nothing more than a change in the composition of a court signals serious institutional harm.

The pattern of consistent 5-4 pro-Republican and pro-corporate decisions, often marked by procedural irregularities and well-funded and often anonymous interests bankrolling the litigation, at some point no longer looks to the intelligent man on the street like an exercise in impartial adjudication, but rather the exercise of raw political power. Janus will be telling.On Tuesday, Think Progress reported on a number of companies that offered discounts or perks to members of the National Rifle Association. The listalong with the activism from victims of last weeks high school mass shooting in Parklandseemed to help prompt a Twitter boycott of some of those companies.

Less than a week later, that boycott has caused the vast majority of these companies to say that they are severing ties with the NRA.

The backlash has been such that the gun manufacturer lobbying group and association for gun enthusiasts has responded with a statement decrying these cowardly corporations. The NRA released a press release on Saturday, saying in part:

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[S]ome corporations have decided to punish NRA membership in a shameful display of political and civic cowardice. In time, these brands will be replaced by others who recognize that patriotism and determined commitment to Constitutional freedoms are characteristics of a marketplace they very much want to serve. Let it be absolutely clear. The loss of a discount will neither scare nor distract one single NRA member from our mission to stand and defend the individual freedoms that have always made America the greatest nation in the world.

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The flood of fleeing companies began on Thursday when the First National Bank of Omaha said it would not renew a contract for its NRA Visa Card. On Saturday, United Airlines and Delta Airlines each said they were ending a contract for discounted rates for group travel for NRA members.

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Here is a list of some of the companies that have publicly cut ties with the NRA in the past few days, according to Think Progress:

TrueCar

Wild Apricot

Avis and Budget

Allied Van Lines and NorthAmerican Van Lines

Hertz

Teladoc

SimpliSafe

Chubb

MetLife

LifeLock

Symantec

Enterprise, Alamo, and National

First National Bank of Omaha

Starkey Hearing Technologies

And here is a list of businesses that, as of Saturday evening, still had deals with the NRA, according to the Think Progress list:

FedEx

Vinesse Wines

HotelPlanner.com

Lockton

eHealth

Medical Concierge Network

Life Insurance Central

ManageUrID

LifeLine Screening

The direct advocacy against companies that offer discounts to NRA members has not been the only financial consequence of the wave activism in the wake of the Parkland shooting.

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These discount providers, indeed, are not the lobbying groups biggest corporate supporters. Those are obviously gun manufacturers.

Axios reported that Bank of America had taken one step to reconsidering its relationship with companies that manufacture assault weapons for non-military use. Bloomberg News, meanwhile, reported that BlackRock Inc. was considering limited steps to remove gun companies from certain investment portfolios for people who didnt want to invest in them.

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As Bloomberg News reported, for the financial industry to untangle itself from the gun industry would seemingly take a sea change:

More than $845 billion of U.S. institutional assets restricted investments were in weapons as of the start of 2016, according to data from US SIF, the Forum for Sustainable and Responsible Investment. That number soared more than 1,000 percent following the Sandy Hook school shooting in December 2012, from $74 billion at the start of 2012.

If the #BoycottNRA activism that has been so successful on Twitter in the past few days is going to have a lasting impact, the financial system is where these activists may have to try to turn next.Usefulness Content Freshness 100 practical small business tips, strategies and ways to get things done for small business owners who haven't got time for long-winded explanations.

If you buy something through our links, we may earn money from our affiliate partners. Learn more.

Have you noticed weve come to glamorize entrepreneurship? Its as if simply being an entrepreneur has magically endowed you with superpowers for starting, scaling and growing businesses.

Anyone who has ever struggled with actually starting, growing and running a business knows that its not as glamorous in the trenches as it looks to the outside world.

This is why I was thrilled when I heard small business experts Rieva Lesonsky and Barry Moltz had teamed up to put together Small Business Hacks: 100 Shortcuts to Success.

What is Small Business Hacks About?

One of the first things that you have to love about the book is that it delivers exactly what the title says 100 shortcuts to success.

Basically, what youre going to get here is a compiled list of the top 100 challenges small business owners face and how to overcome them. Each hack is authored by an expert in a particular area of business and each hack follows a general outline that isnt predictable or boring.

Putting the Hacks to the Test

To review these hacks, I decided to pick a couple of them at random. First, Id look for a hack I knew something about and see what their advice was and then I thought Id pick a hack in an area I knew nothing about to see what they said and if I understood the advice even if I wasnt an expert in that field.

I started from the back of the book and instantly found this one:

How to Get Rid of Toxic Customers  which is hack #98.

In a single page you learn the tell-tale signs youve got a toxic customer, and the advice to get rid of them is brilliant and clearly comes from someone who has been through the process at least a few times:

The first step is to identify potential prospects that can replace the problem customer. Start phasing out the red customer when these additional clients come on board. Next, show the toxic customers other options for their needs by telling them they would be happier with another business (even a competitor). Finally, set an internal date for when youll no longer be willing to do business with them. After the toxic customer is fired, it is also important not to permit your employees to discuss them. It is just gossip and serves no business purpose. And, theres always the danger of this information getting back to the customers, especially in our social media world.

My analysis as someone who has also been there, done that and had to control our company reputation spot on! I dont think Ive ever seen such great advice that is clear and covers all the salient points without going into too much detail about it.

Well, thats fine, given Im a sales and marketing person and am pretty familiar with how that goes. Now Im looking for a quick piece of advice in an area that I know NOTHING about.

I landed on Compensating your staff which is Hack #79. I know very little about this topic. I know jargon even less and Im looking to see if these success hacks are good enough to help small business owners in areas where they feel insecure about their level of expertise.

The expert who contributed this hack, Erica Morrison, Chief People Officer at Brandify, dedicated about three pages to this one. This hack included a step by step process that gave you context and a way of thinking about employees. She also included resources you could use for research and finally some insider advice you could only know if youd failed. She called those pro tips. Heres one I really liked:

Pro Tip. Discover your employees personal goals, this will keep you up to date on how to surprise and support them from seed to blossom.

The compilation of this book was a team effort between Lesonsky, Moltz and a variety of small business experts.

Lesonsky comes from a family of small business owners, has been the editor of Entrepreneur Magazine and currently shares her small business expertise on SmallBizDaily. And Moltz is an author, serial entrepreneur and considers himself an expert in getting small businesses unstuck.

What Was Best About Small Business Hacks?

You Cant Read Just One

You can tell Small Business Hacks: 100 Shortcuts to Success was written by business owners for business owners. How? Well, for one thing, its 100 awesome hacks packed into just about 300 pages. Thats just about 2-3 pages per hack! Even the busiest business owner has time to cover at least a few hacks a day or to simply turn to the chapter covering the problem theyd like to solve.

Its a time and anxiety saver because you dont have to read it from cover to cover. I do have to admit reading this book was a lot like eating potato chips. Id set out to only read one, but Id start reading another and another. Its addicting.

What Could Have Been Done Differently?

Like so many small business owners, this book is practical, to the point and has very few bells and whistles. So, if youre looking for pictures or charts or a long appendix of worksheets, you will not get them here.

Personally, I think cluttering up the book with additional resources would actually detract from the overall strength of the content  that it is short and simple.

Why Read Small Business Hacks?

This is a book every small business owner should have within arms reach. I have it as a PDF on my computer and have actually referenced it a few times, just to get my bearings.

While you wont find high-minded theory or a lot of data, you will find astoundingly simple and practical advice with solid guidance and direction on what to do, where to go and who to talk to. Quite frankly, its all any small business owner needs.Unique maps enrich collection of Slovak National Gallery

Maps of the Danube river basin and provinces of Franciscans and Jesuits have not only significant cultural but also historic value.

A set of historic maps of the Hungarian monarchy, specifically the Danube river basin and provinces of Franciscans and Jesuits, became the most significant addition to the Old Art Collection in the Slovak National Gallery (SNG) last year.

There are two maps of the Danube basin: one from the year 1703 drawn by an unknown graphic designer and the second from 1684 made by Sigmund von Birken (1626  1681) and Jacob von Sandrart (1630  1708).

The maps are proof of the warlike attempts of the Ottoman empire. Maps became more accurate in the 17th century and contained important military-political information. On Birkens map, for example, localities and dates of important battles are marked.

Nuremberg engraver, art trader and publisher Jacob von Sandrart composed and published several copies of Birkens cartographic work. As the second map shows, not only German-speaking countries were interested in the river basin geography of the biggest European river as the map was published in Paris as well.

Two maps of religious character offer another view on the Habsburg monarchy. Augsburg engraver Johann Gottfried Eichler (1715  1770) created both partly colorized maps in the years 1762 and 1780.

One map is of the Franciscan province in Hungary and the second map of the Jesuit province in Austria. The two orders were the most significant religious orders operating in the early modern history in the area.

The map of the Franciscan province, with four extensive legends, is accompanied by an overview of the Franciscan order. The map of the Jesuit province explains part of Austrian countries and the area of the Hungarian monarchy. Besides the legend, it is accompanied by a precious table of distances between every establishment in the wide territory of the Austrian province.

25. Feb 2018 at 7:40 | TASR, Compiled by Spectator staffThe Toronto-Dominion Bank, together with its subsidiaries, provides various personal and commercial banking products and services in Canada and the United States. It operates through three segments: Canadian Retail, U.S. Retail, and Wholesale Banking. The company offers personal deposits, such as chequing, savings, and investment products; financing, investment, cash management, international trade, and day-to-day banking services to businesses; and financing options to customers at point of sale for automotive and recreational vehicle purchases through auto dealer network. It also provides credit cards; real estate secured lending; auto finance; consumer lending; point-of-sale payment solutions for large and small businesses; wealth and asset management products, private banking, investment advisory, and trust services to retail and institutional clients; and property and casualty insurance, as well as life and health insurance products. The company also provides capital markets, and corporate and investment banking services, including underwriting and distribution of new debt and equity issues; advice on strategic acquisitions and divestitures; and trading, funding, and investment services to companies, governments, and institutions. It offers its products and services under the TD Bank and America's Most Convenient Bank brand names. The company operates through a network of 1,085 branches, 3,440 automated teller machines, and 1,223 stores, as well as offers telephone, digital, and mobile banking services. The Toronto-Dominion Bank was founded in 1855 and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada.

Read MoreThe following companies are subsidiares of Tenet Healthcare: 1 Subsidiaries of this entity in which Tenet Healthcare Corporation directly and indirectly held a 95% ownership interest at December 31 2020 are set forth in the table below., 25 East Same Day Surgery L.L.C., 300 PBL Development LLC, 45th Street MOB LLC, 601 N 30th Street I L.L.C., 601 N 30th Street II L.L.C., 601 N 30th Street III Inc., AHM Acquisition Co. Inc., AIG Holdings LLC, AIGB Global LLC, AIGB Group Inc., AIGB Holdings Inc., AIGB Management Services LLC, AMC/North Fulton Urgent Care #1 L.L.C., AMC/North Fulton Urgent Care #2 L.L.C., AMC/North Fulton Urgent Care #3 L.L.C., AMC/North Fulton Urgent Care #4 L.L.C., AMC/North Fulton Urgent Care #5 L.L.C., AMI Information Systems Group Inc., AMI/HTI Tarzana Encino Joint Venture, APN, ARC Worcester Center L.P., ASC Old Co. LP, ASC of New Jersey LLC, ASJH Joint Venture LLC, Abrazo Health Network EP Clinical Services LLC, Abrazo Surgical Outpatient Center LLC, Advanced Ambulatory Surgical Care L.P., Advanced Center for Surgery  Vero Beach LLC, Advanced Regional Surgery Center LLC, Advanced Surgery Center of Metairie LLC, Advanced Surgery Center of Sarasota LLC, Advanced Surgery Center of Tampa LLC, Advanced Surgical Care of St Louis LLC, Advanced Surgical Concepts LLC, Advantage Health Care Management Company LLC, Advantage Health Network Inc., AdventHealth Surgery Center Celebration LLC, AdventHealth Surgery Center Mills Park LLC, AdventHealth Surgery Center Wellswood LLC, AdventHealth Surgery Center Winter Garden LLC, AdventHealth Surgery Centers Central Florida LLC, AdventHealth Surgery Centers West Florida LLC, Adventist Midwest Health/USP Surgery Centers L.L.C., Alabama Cardiovascular Associates L.L.C., Alabama Digestive Health Endoscopy Center L.L.C., Alabama Hand and Sports Medicine L.L.C., Alamo Heights Surgicare L.P., All Star MOB LLC, Allegian Insurance Company, Alliance Surgery Birmingham LLC, Alliance Surgery Inc., Alvarado Hospital Medical Center Inc., Ambulatory Surgical Associates LLC, Ambulatory Surgical Center of Somerville LLC, American Institute of Gastric Banding Ltd., American Institute of Gastric Banding Phoenix Limited Partnership, American Medical (Central) Inc., Amisub (Heights) Inc., Amisub (Hilton Head) Inc., Amisub (North Ridge Hospital) Inc., Amisub (SFH) Inc., Amisub (Twelve Oaks) Inc., Amisub of California Inc., Amisub of North Carolina Inc., Amisub of South Carolina Inc., Amisub of Texas Inc., Anaheim Hills Medical Imaging L.L.C., Anaheim MRI Holding Inc., Anesthesia Partners of Gallatin LLC, Arizona Care Network  Next L.L.C., Arizona Health Partners LLC, Arlington Orthopedic and Spine Hospital LLC, Arrowhead Endoscopy and Pain Management Center LLC, Asia Outsourcing US Inc., Aspen Healthcare, Atlanta Medical Center Inc., Atlanta Medical Center Interventional Neurology Associates L.L.C., Atlanta Medical Center Neurosurgical & Spine Specialists L.L.C., Atlanta Medical Center Physician Group L.L.C., Atlantic Coast Surgical Suites LLC, Atlantic Health-USP Surgery Centers L.L.C., Avita/USP Surgery Centers L.L.C., BBH BMC LLC, BBH CBMC LLC, BBH DevelopmentCo LLC, BBH Imaging Jasper LLC, BBH NP Clinicians Inc., BBH PBMC LLC, BBH SBMC LLC, BBH WBMC LLC, BCDC EmployeeCO LLC, BHC-Talladega Pediatrics LLC, BHS Accountable Care LLC, BHS Affinity LLC, BHS Integrated Physician Partners LLC, BHS Physician Performance Network LLC, BHS Physicians Alliance for ACE LLC, BHS Physicians Network Inc., BHS Specialty Network Inc., BT East Dallas JV LLP, BW Cardiology LLC, BW Cyberknife LLC, BW Hand Practice LLC, BW Office Buildings LLC, BW Parking Decks LLC, BW Physician Practices LLC, BW Retail Pharmacy LLC, BW Sports Practice LLC, Bagley Holdings LLC, Baptist Accountable Care LLC, Baptist Diagnostics LLC, Baptist Health Centers LLC, Baptist Physician Alliance ACO LLC, Baptist Physician Alliance LLC, Baptist Plaza Surgicare L.P., Baptist Surgery Center L.P., Baptist Womens Health Center LLC, Baptist/USP Surgery Centers L.L.C., Bartlett ASC LLC, Baylor Surgicare at Baylor Plano LLC, Baylor Surgicare at Blue Star LLC, Baylor Surgicare at Granbury LLC, Baylor Surgicare at Mansfield LLC, Baylor Surgicare at North Dallas LLC, Baylor Surgicare at Plano LLC, Baylor Surgicare at Plano Parkway LLC, Bear Creek Surgery Center LLC, Beaumont Surgical Affiliates Ltd., Bellaire Outpatient Surgery Center L.L.P., Berkshire Eye LLC, Bloomington ASC LLC, Blue Ridge/USP Surgery Centers LLC, Bluffton Okatie Primary Care L.L.C., Bluffton Okatie Surgery Center L.L.C., Bon Secours Surgery Center at Harbour View LLC, Bon Secours Surgery Center at Virginia Beach LLC, Bozeman Health/USP Surgery Centers L.L.C., Bozeman MOB LLC, Briarcliff Ambulatory Surgery Center L.P., Bristol Ambulatory Surgery Center LLC, Broad River Primary Care L.L.C., Brookwood - Maternal Fetal Medicine L.L.C., Brookwood Ancillary Holdings Inc., Brookwood Baptist Health 1 LLC, Brookwood Baptist Health 2 LLC, Brookwood Baptist Health 3 LLC, Brookwood Baptist Imaging LLC, Brookwood Center Development Corporation, Brookwood Development Inc., Brookwood Diagnostic Imaging Center LLC, Brookwood Garages L.L.C., Brookwood Health Services Inc., Brookwood Home Health LLC, Brookwood Occupational Health Clinic L.L.C., Brookwood Parking Associates Ltd., Brookwood Primary Care - Homewood L.L.C., Brookwood Primary Care - Inverness L.L.C., Brookwood Primary Care - Mountain Brook L.L.C., Brookwood Primary Care - Oak Mountain L.L.C., Brookwood Primary Care - Vestavia L.L.C., Brookwood Primary Care Cahaba Heights L.L.C., Brookwood Primary Care Hoover L.L.C., Brookwood Primary Care The Narrows L.L.C., Brookwood Primary Network Care Inc., Brookwood Specialty Care - Endocrinology L.L.C., Brookwood Sports and Orthopedics L.L.C., Brookwood Womens Care L.L.C., Brookwood Womens Diagnostic Center LLC, C7 Technologies LLC, CGH Hospital Ltd., CHIC/USP Surgery Centers LLC, CHN Holdings LLC, CHRISTUS Cabrini Surgery Center L.L.C., CHVI Tucson Holdings LLC, CML-Chicago Market Labs Inc., CRNAs of Michigan, CS/USP General Partner LLC, CS/USP Surgery Centers LP, California Joint & Spine LLC, Camp Creek Urgent Care L.L.C., Camp Lowell Surgery Center L.L.C., Captive Insurance Services Inc., Cardiology Physicians Associates L.L.C., Cardiology Physicians Corporation L.L.C., Cardiovascular & Thoracic Surgery Associates L.L.C., Cardiovascular Clinical Excellence at Sierra Providence LLC, CareSpot of Austin LLC, CareSpot of Memphis LLC, CareSpot of Orlando/HSI Urgent Care LLC, Carmel Specialty Surgery Center LLC, Carondelet St. Marys-Northwest L.L.C., Cascade Spine Center LLC, Castle Rock Surgery Center LLC, Catawba-Piedmont Cardiothoracic Surgery L.L.C., Cedar Hill Primary Care L.L.C., Cedar Park Surgery Center L.L.P., Centennial ASC LLC, Center for Advanced Research Excellence L.L.C., Center for the Urban Child Inc., Central California Healthcare Holdings LLC, Central Carolina Physicians - Sandhills L.L.C., Central Carolina-IMA L.L.C., Central Jersey Surgery Center LLC, Central Texas Corridor Hospital Company LLC, Central Valley Quality Alliance LLC, Central Virginia Surgi-Center L.P., Centura Ventures Surgery Centers LLC, Centura/USP Colorado Springs Surgery Centers L.L.C., Chalon Living Inc., Chandler Endoscopy Ambulatory Surgery Center LLC, Charlotte Endoscopic Surgery Center LLC, Chattanooga Pain Management Center LLC, Chesterfield Ambulatory Surgery Center L.P., Chesterfield Anesthesia Associates of Missouri LLC, Chico Surgery Center L.P., Childrens Hospital of Michigan Premier Network Inc., Citrus Heights ASC RE LLC, Clarkston ASC Partners LLC, Clarksville Surgery Center LLC, Coast Healthcare Management LLC, Coast Surgery Center L.P., Coastal Carolina Medical Center, Coastal Carolina Medical Center Inc., Coastal Carolina Physician Practices LLC, Coastal Carolina Pro Fee Billing L.L.C., Coastal Endo LLC, Colorado GI Centers LLC, Commonwealth Continental Health Care Inc., Community Connection Health Plan Inc., Community Hospital LLC, Community Hospital of Los Gatos Inc., Conifer Care Continuum Solutions LLC, Conifer Ethics and Compliance Inc., Conifer Global Business Center Inc., Conifer Global Holdings Inc., Conifer Health Solutions LLC, Conifer Holdings Inc., Conifer Patient Communications LLC, Conifer Physician Services Holdings Inc., Conifer Physician Services Inc., Conifer Revenue Cycle Solutions LLC, Conifer Value-Based Care LLC, Conroe Surgery Center 2 LLC, Coral Gables Hospital Inc., Coral Ridge Outpatient Center LLC, Corpus Christi Surgicare Ltd., Covenant/USP Surgery Centers LLC, CreAtiv Management Company Inc., Creekwood Investors LLC, Creekwood Surgery Center L.P., Crown Point Surgery Center LLC, DH/USP SJOSC Investment Company L.L.C., DH/USP Sacramento Pain GP LLC, DMC Detroit Receiving Hospital Premier Clinical Co-Management Services LLC, DMC Education & Research, DMC Harper University Hospital Premier Clinical Co-Management Services LLC, DMC Huron Valley-Sinai Hospital Premier Clinical Management Services LLC, DMC Imaging L.L.C., Dallas Surgical Partners LLC, DeTar/USP Surgery Center LLC, Delray Beach ASC LLC, Delray Medical Center Inc., Delray Medical Physician Services L.L.C., Denton Surgicare Partners Ltd., Denton Surgicare Real Estate Ltd., Denville Surgery Center LLC, Des Peres Physician Network LLC, Desert Cove MOB LLC, Desert Regional Medical Center Inc., Desert Ridge Outpatient Surgery LLC, Desoto Surgicare Partners Ltd., Destin ASC RE LLC, Destin Surgery Center LLC, Detroit Education & Research, DigitalMed Inc., Dignity/Abrazo Health Network LLC, Dignity/USP Folsom GP LLC, Dignity/USP Grass Valley GP LLC, Dignity/USP Las Vegas Surgery Centers LLC, Dignity/USP Metro Surgery Center LLC, Dignity/USP NorCal Surgery Centers LLC, Dignity/USP Phoenix Surgery Centers II LLC, Dignity/USP Phoenix Surgery Centers LLC, Dignity/USP Redding GP LLC, Dignity/USP Roseville GP LLC, Dignity/USP/John Muir East Bay Surgery Centers LLC, Doctors Hospital of Manteca Inc., Doctors Medical Center Neurosciences Clinical Co-Management LLC, Doctors Medical Center Orthopedics Clinical Co-Management LLC, Doctors Medical Center of Modesto Inc., Doctors Outpatient Center for Surgery LLC, Doctors Outpatient Surgery Center of Jupiter L.L.C., EPHC Inc., EPIC ASC LLC, East Atlanta Endoscopy Centers LLC, East Cobb Urgent Care LLC, East Cooper Coastal Family Physicians L.L.C., East Cooper Community Hospital Inc., East Cooper Hyperbarics L.L.C., East Cooper OB/GYN L.L.C., East Cooper Physician Network LLC, East Cooper Primary Care Physicians L.L.C., East Portland Surgery Center LLC, East West Surgery Center L.P., Eastgate Building Center L.L.C., Effingham Surgical Partners LLC, Einstein Montgomery Surgery Center LLC, Einstein/USP Surgery Centers L.L.C., El Mirador Surgery Center L.L.C., El Paso Center for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy LLC, El Paso Day Surgery LLC, El Paso Urology Surgery Center Curie LLC, Emanate/USP Surgery Centers LLC, Emanuel Medical Center, Emerson Surgery Center LLC, Encinitas Endoscopy Center LLC, Endoscopy Center of Hackensack LLC, Endoscopy Center of South Sacramento LLC, Endoscopy Consultants LLC, European Surgical Partners Ltd., Eye Center of Nashville UAP LLC, Eye Surgery Center of Nashville LLC, FMC Medical Inc., FMCC Network Contracting L.L.C., FPN  Frisco Physicians Network, FREH Real Estate L.L.C., FRS Imaging Services L.L.C., FSC Hospital LLC, FSH IT Services LP, First Choice Physician Partners, Flatirons Surgery Center LLC, Folsom Outpatient Surgery Center L.P., Fort Bend Clinical Services Inc., Fort Worth Hospital Real Estate LP, Fort Worth Surgicare Partners Ltd., Foundation Bariatric Hospital of San Antonio LLC, Foundation San Antonio Borrower Sub LLC, Fountain Valley Regional Hospital and Medical Center, Fountain Valley Surgery Center LLC, Franklin Endo UAP LLC, Franklin Endoscopy Center LLC, Fresno Surgery Center L.P., Frisco Medical Center L.L.P., Frontenac Ambulatory Surgery & Spine Care Center L.P., Frye Regional Medical Center Inc., FryeCare Boone L.L.C., FryeCare Morganton L.L.C., FryeCare Physicians L.L.C., FryeCare Valdese L.L.C., FryeCare Watauga L.L.C., FryeCare Womens Services L.L.C., GCSA Ambulatory Surgery Center LLC, Gamma Surgery Center LLC, Gardendale Surgical Associates LLC, Garland Surgicare Partners Ltd., Gastric Health Institute L.L.C., Genesis ASC Partners LLC, Geneva Surgical Suites LLC, Georgia Endoscopy Center LLC, Georgia Gifts From Grace L.L.C., Georgia Musculoskeletal Network Inc., Georgia North Fulton Healthcare Associates L.L.C., Georgia Northside Ear Nose and Throat L.L.C., Georgia Physicians of Cardiology L.L.C., Georgia Spectrum Neurosurgical Specialists L.L.C., Georgia Spine Surgery Center LLC, Glen Echo Surgery Center LLC, Golden Ridge ASC LLC, Good Samaritan Medical Center Inc., Good Samaritan Surgery L.L.C., Grapevine Surgicare Partners Ltd., Grass Valley Outpatient Surgery Center L.P., Graystone Family Healthcare - Tenet North Carolina L.L.C., Great Lakes Surgical Suites LLC, Greater Dallas Healthcare Enterprises, Greater Northwest Houston Enterprises, Greenville Physicians Surgery Center LLP, Greenwood ASC LLC, Greystone Internal Medicine - Brookwood L.L.C., Gulf Coast Community Hospital Inc., HCH Tucson Holdings LLC, HCN Emerus Management Sub LLC, HCN Emerus Texas LLC, HCN Laboratories Inc., HCN Physicians Inc., HCN Sunnyvale Holdings LLC, HCN Surgery Center Holdings Inc., HDMC Holdings L.L.C., HMA/Solantic Joint Venture LLC, HMH-USP Surgery Centers LLC, HMHP/USP Surgery Centers LLC, HNMC Inc., HNW GP Inc., HNW LP Inc., HPI Holdings LLC, HPI North LLC, HPI Physicians LLC, HSRM International Inc., HSS Palm Beach Ambulatory Surgery Center LLC, HSS/USP Surgery Center LLC, HUG Services Inc., HUMC/USP Surgery Centers LLC, Hacienda Outpatient Surgery Center LLC, Hagerstown Surgery Center LLC, Hardeeville Medical Group L.L.C., Hardeeville Primary Care L.L.C., Harlingen Physician Network Inc., Harper-Hutzel AHP Services Inc., Harvard Park Surgery Center LLC, Haymarket Surgery Center LLC, Hazelwood Endoscopy Center LLC, Health & Wellness Surgery Center L.P., Health Horizons of Kansas City Inc., Health Horizons of Murfreesboro Inc., Health Horizons/Piedmont Joint Venture LLC, Health Services CFMC Inc., Health Services HNMC Inc., Health Services Network Care Inc., Health Services Network Hospitals Inc., Health Services Network Texas Inc., HealthCorp Network Inc., Healthcare Compliance LLC, Healthcare Network Alabama Inc., Healthcare Network CFMC Inc., Healthcare Network DPH Inc., Healthcare Network Georgia Inc., Healthcare Network Holdings Inc., Healthcare Network Hospitals (Dallas) Inc., Healthcare Network Hospitals Inc., Healthcare Network Louisiana Inc., Healthcare Network Missouri Inc., Healthcare Network North Carolina Inc., Healthcare Network South Carolina Inc., Healthcare Network Tennessee Inc., Healthcare Network Texas Inc., Healthcare Partners Investments LLC, Healthmark Partners Inc., Healthpoint of North Carolina L.L.C., Heart and Vascular Institute of Michigan, Heritage Park Surgical Hospital LLC, Hershey Outpatient Surgery Center L.P., Hialeah Hospital Inc., Hialeah Real Properties Inc., Hickory Family Practice Associates - Tenet North Carolina L.L.C., Hill Country ASC Partners LLC, Hill Country Surgery Center LLC, Hilton Head Health System L.P., Hilton Head Regional Healthcare L.L.C., Hilton Head Regional OB/GYN Partners L.L.C., Hilton Head Regional Physician Network LLC, Hilton Head Regional Physician Network  Georgia L.L.C., Hinsdale Surgical Center LLC, Hitchcock State Street Real Estate Inc., Holston Valley Ambulatory Surgery Center LLC, Holy Cross Hospital Inc., Home Health Partners of San Antonio LLC, Hoover Doctors Group Inc., Hoover Land LLC, Horizon Ridge Surgery Center LLC, Hospital Development of West Phoenix Inc., Hospital RCM Services LLC, Hospital Underwriting Group Inc., Houston Northwest Partners Ltd., Houston PSC L.P., Houston Specialty Hospital Inc., Houston Sunrise Investors Inc., Hyde Park Surgery Center LLC, ICNU Rockford LLC, Imaging Center at Baxter Village L.L.C., InforMed Insurance Services LLC, Integris/USP Health Ventures LLC, International Health and Wellness Inc., Irving-Coppell Surgical Hospital L.L.P., JFK Memorial Hospital Inc., JFP UAP Sugarland LLC, Jackson Surgical Center LLC, Jacksonville Endoscopy Centers LLC, Journey Home Healthcare of San Antonio LLC, KHS Ambulatory Surgery Center LLC, KHS/USP Surgery Centers LLC, Kingsport Ambulatory Surgery Center LLC, Laguna Medical Systems Inc., Lake Endoscopy Center LLC, Lake Health Care Facilities Inc., Lake Lansing ASC Partners LLC, Lake Surgical Hospital Slidell LLC, LakeFront Medical Associates LLC, Lakewood Regional Medical Center Inc., Lakewood Surgery Center LLC, Lancaster Specialty Surgery Center LLC, Lansing ASC Partners LLC, Lawrenceville Surgery Center L.L.C., Lebanon Endoscopy Center LLC, Legacy Warren Partners L.P., Legacy/USP Surgery Centers L.L.C., Leonardtown Surgery Center LLC, Liberty Ambulatory Surgery Center L.P., Lifemark Hospitals Inc., Lifemark Hospitals of Florida Inc., Lifemark Hospitals of Louisiana Inc., Lone Star Endoscopy Center LLC, Longleaf Surgery Center LLC, Los Alamitos Medical Center Inc., Lubbock ASC Holding Co LLC, MASC Partners LLC, MCSH Real Estate Investors Ltd., MH Memorial City Surgery LLC, MH/USP Bay Area LLC, MH/USP Brazoria LLC, MH/USP Kingsland LLC, MH/USP Kingwood LLC, MH/USP Kirby LLC, MH/USP Main Street LLC, MH/USP North Freeway LLC, MH/USP North Houston LLC, MH/USP Richmond LLC, MH/USP Sugar Land LLC, MH/USP TMC Endoscopy LLC, MH/USP West Houston L.L.C., MH/USP Woodlands Parkway LLC, MSH Partners LLC, MSV Health/USP Surgery Centers LLC, MVH/USP Surgery Centers LLC, MacNeal Management Services Inc., MacNeal Medical Records Inc., MacNeal Physicians Group LLC, Magnetic Resonance Imaging of San Luis Obispo Inc., Magnolia Surgery Center Limited Partnership, Manchester Ambulatory Surgery Center LP, Maple Lawn Surgery Center LLC, Marion Surgery Center LLC, Mary Immaculate Ambulatory Surgery Center LLC, Mason Ridge Ambulatory Surgery Center L.P., Mayfield Spine Surgery Center LLC, McLaren ASC of Flint LLC, Meadowcrest Hospital LLC, Medical House Staffing LLC, Medical Park Tower Surgery Center LLC, Medplex Outpatient Medical Centers Inc., Medplex Outpatient Surgery Center Ltd., Memorial Hermann Bay Area Endoscopy Center LLC, Memorial Hermann Endoscopy & Surgery Center North Houston L.L.C., Memorial Hermann Endoscopy Center North Freeway LLC, Memorial Hermann Specialty Hospital Kingwood L.L.C., Memorial Hermann Sugar Land Surgical Hospital L.L.P., Memorial Hermann Surgery Center Brazoria LLC, Memorial Hermann Surgery Center Cypress LLC, Memorial Hermann Surgery Center Katy LLP, Memorial Hermann Surgery Center Kingsland L.L.C., Memorial Hermann Surgery Center Kirby LLC, Memorial Hermann Surgery Center Main Street LLC, Memorial Hermann Surgery Center Memorial City L.L.C., Memorial Hermann Surgery Center Northwest LLP, Memorial Hermann Surgery Center Pinecroft LLC, Memorial Hermann Surgery Center Preston Road Ltd., Memorial Hermann Surgery Center Richmond LLC, Memorial Hermann Surgery Center Southwest L.L.P., Memorial Hermann Surgery Center Sugar Land LLP, Memorial Hermann Surgery Center Texas Medical Center LLP, Memorial Hermann Surgery Center Woodlands Parkway LLC, Memorial Hermann Surgery Center  The Woodlands LLP, Memorial Hermann Texas International Endoscopy Center LLC, Memorial Hermann West Houston Surgery Center LLC, Memorial Hermann/USP Surgery Centers II L.P., Memorial Hermann/USP Surgery Centers III LLP, Memorial Hermann/USP Surgery Centers IV LLP, Memorial Surgery Center LLC, Memphis Urgent Care #1 L.L.C., Memphis Urgent Care #2 L.L.C., Merced Ambulatory Surgery Center LLC, Mercy/USP Health Ventures L.L.C., Metro Specialty Surgery Center LLC, Metro Surgery Center LLC, MetroWest HomeCare & Hospice LLC, Metrocrest Surgery Center L.P., Metropolitan New Jersey LLC, Michigan ASC Partners L.L.C., Michigan Pioneer ACO LLC, Michigan Regional Imaging LLC, Mid Rivers Ambulatory Surgery Center L.P., Mid State Endo UAP LLC, Mid-State Endoscopy Center LLC, Mid-TSC Development LP, Middle Tennessee Ambulatory Surgery Center L.P., Midland Memorial/USP Surgery Centers LLC, Midland Texas Surgical Center LLC, Midwest Digestive Health Center LLC, Midwest Pharmacies Inc., Midwest Specialty Surgery Center LLC, Millennium Surgical Center LLC, Mobile Imaging Management LLC, Mobile Technology Management LLC, Modesto Radiology Imaging Inc., Monocacy Surgery Center LLC, Mountain Empire Surgery Center L.P., Munster Specialty Surgery Center LLC, Murdock Ambulatory Surgery Center LLC, NHSC Holdings LLC, NICH GP Holdings LLC, NKCH/USP Briarcliff GP LLC, NKCH/USP Liberty GP LLC, NKCH/USP Surgery Centers II L.L.C., NKCH/USP Surgery Centers LLC, NMC Lessor L.P., NMC Surgery Center L.P., NME Headquarters Inc., NME Properties Corp., NME Properties Inc., NME Property Holding Co. Inc., NME Psychiatric Hospitals Inc., NME Rehabilitation Properties Inc., NSCH GP Holdings LLC, NSCH/USP Desert Surgery Centers L.L.C., NUCH of Georgia L.L.C., NUCH of Massachusetts LLC, NUCH of Michigan Inc., NUCH of Texas, Nacogdoches ASC-LP Inc., Name of Entity, National ASC Inc., National Ancillary Inc., National Diagnostic Imaging Centers Inc., National HHC Inc., National Home Health Holdings Inc., National ICN Inc., National Imaging Center Holdings Inc., National Medical Services II Inc., National Outpatient Services Holdings Inc., National Surgery Center Holdings Inc., National Urgent Care Holdings Inc., National Urgent Care Inc., Network Management Associates Inc., New Dimensions LLC, New England Physician Performance Network LLC, New H Acute Inc., New Horizons Surgery Center LLC, New Medical Horizons II Ltd., New Mexico Orthopaedic Surgery Center LLC, New Salem ASC RE LLC, Newhope Imaging Center Inc., North Anaheim Surgery Center LLC, North Atlantic Surgical Suites LLC, North Campus Surgery Center LLC, North Carolina Community Family Medicine L.L.C., North Central Surgical Center L.L.P., North Denver Musculoskeletal Surgical Partners LLC, North Fulton Cardiovascular Medicine L.L.C., North Fulton Hospitalist Group L.L.C., North Fulton Medical Center Inc., North Fulton Primary Care - Willeo Rd. L.L.C., North Fulton Primary Care - Windward Parkway L.L.C., North Fulton Primary Care - Wylie Bridge L.L.C., North Fulton Primary Care Associates L.L.C., North Fulton Pulmonary Specialists L.L.C., North Fulton Womens Consultants L.L.C., North Garland Surgery Center L.L.P., North Haven Surgery Center LLC, North Miami Medical Center Ltd., North Shore Medical Billing Center L.L.C., North Shore Medical Center Inc., North Shore Same Day Surgery L.L.C., North Shore Surgical Suites LLC, North State Surgery Centers L.P., NorthPointe Surgical Suites LLC, NorthShore/USP Surgery Centers II L.L.C., Northern Monmouth Regional Surgery Center L.L.C., Northridge ASC RE LLC, Northridge Surgery Center L.P., Northwest Ambulatory Surgery Center LLC, Northwest Georgia Orthopaedic Surgery Center LLC, Northwest Regional ASC LLC, Northwest Regional Surgery Center LLC, Northwest Surgery Center LLP, Northwest Surgery Center Ltd., Novant Health/USP Surgery Centers LLC, Novant/UVA/USP Surgery Centers LLC, OCOMS Imaging LLC, OCOMS Professional Services LLC, OLOL/USP Surgery Centers L.L.C., Okatie Surgical Partners L.L.C., Oklahoma Center for Orthopedic and Multi-Specialty Surgery LLC, Old Tesson Surgery Center L.P., Olive Ambulatory Surgery Center LLC, Olive Branch Urgent Care #1 LLC, Ophthalmology Anesthesia Services LLC, Ophthalmology Surgery Center of Orlando LLC, Optimum Spine Center LLC, OrNda Healthcorp, OrNda Hospital Corporation, Orlando Health/USP Surgery Centers L.L.C., OrthoArizona Surgery Center Gilbert LLC, OrthoLink ASC Corporation, OrthoLink Physicians Corporation, OrthoLink Radiology Services Corporation, OrthoLink/ Georgia ASC Inc., OrthoLink/Baptist ASC LLC, OrthoLink/New Mexico ASC Inc., Orthopedic Associates of the Lowcountry L.L.C., Orthopedic South Surgical Partners LLC, Orthopedic and Surgical Specialty Company LLC, PAHS/USP Surgery Centers LLC, PDN L.L.C., PHPS Inc., PHPS-CHM Acquisition Inc., PHS/USP Health Ventures LLC, PM CyFair Land Partners LLC, PMC Physician Network L.L.C., PPRE LLC, PSS Patient Solution Services LLC, Pacific Endo-Surgical Center L.P., Pacific Endoscopy and Surgery Center LLC, Pain Diagnostic and Treatment Center L.P., Paley Institute Global LLC, Palm Beach Gardens Community Hospital Inc., Palm Beach International Surgery Center LLC, Palm Valley Medical Center Campus Association, Palos Health Surgery Center LLC, Paramus Endoscopy LLC, Park Cities Surgery Center LLC, Park Plaza Hospital Billing Center L.L.C., ParkCreek ASC LLC, Parkway Recovery Care Center LLC, Parkwest Surgery Center L.P., Patient Partners LLC, Peak Gastroenterology ASC LLC, Pediatric Surgery Center  Odessa LLC, Pediatric Surgery Centers LLC, Physician Performance Network L.L.C., Physician Performance Network of Arizona LLC, Physician Performance Network of Detroit, Physician Performance Network of South Carolina LLC, Physician Performance Network of Tucson LLC, Physicians Performance Network of Houston, Physicians Performance Network of North Texas, Physicians Surgery Center at Good Samaritan LLC, Physicians Surgery Center of Tempe LLC, Physicians Surgical Center of Ft. Worth LLP, Physicians Surgery Center of Chattanooga L.L.C., Physicians Surgery Center of Knoxville LLC, Piccard Surgery Center LLC, Piedmont ASC LLC, Piedmont Behavioral Medicine Associates LLC, Piedmont Cardiovascular Physicians L.L.C., Piedmont Carolina OB/GYN of York County L.L.C., Piedmont Carolina Vascular Surgery L.L.C., Piedmont East Urgent Care Center L.L.C., Piedmont Express Care at Sutton Road L.L.C., Piedmont Family Practice at Baxter Village L.L.C., Piedmont Family Practice at Rock Hill L.L.C., Piedmont Family Practice at Tega Cay L.L.C., Piedmont General Surgery Associates L.L.C., Piedmont Internal Medicine at Baxter Village L.L.C., Piedmont Physician Network LLC, Piedmont Pulmonology L.L.C., Piedmont Surgical Specialists L.L.C., Piedmont Urgent Care Center at Baxter Village L.L.C., Piedmont Urgent Care and Industrial Health Centers Inc., Piedmont/Carolinas Radiation Therapy LLC, Placentia-Linda Hospital Inc., Pleasanton Diagnostic Imaging Inc., Point of Rocks Surgery Center LLC, Practice Partners Management L.P., Premier ACO Physicians Network LLC, Premier ASC LLC, Premier Adult and Childrens Surgery Center LLC, Premier Endoscopy ASC LLC, Premier Health Plan Services Inc., Premier Medical Specialists L.L.C., Prince William Ambulatory Surgery Center LLC, Professional Anesthesia Services LLC, Professional Liability Insurance Company, Pros Temporary Staffing Inc., Providence/UCLA/USP Surgery Centers LLC, Providence/USP Santa Clarita GP LLC, Providence/USP South Bay Surgery Centers L.L.C., Providence/USP Surgery Centers L.L.C., Pueblo Ambulatory Surgery Center LLC, R.H.S.C. El Paso Inc., RE Plano Med Inc., RHC Parkway Inc., RLC LLC, Reading Ambulatory Surgery Center L.P., Reading Endoscopy Center LLC, Reagan Street Surgery Center LLC, Redmond Surgery Center LLC, Renaissance Surgery Center LLC, Republic Health Corporation of Rockwall County, Resolute Health Physicians Network Inc., Resolute Hospital Company LLC, Resurgens East Surgery Center LLC, Resurgens Fayette Surgery Center LLC, Resurgens Surgery Center LLC, Rheumatology Associates of Atlanta Medical Center L.L.C., Richmond ASC Leasing Company LLC, Rio Grande Valley Indigent Health Care Corporation, River North Same Day Surgery L.L.C., Riverside Ambulatory Surgery Center LLC, Rock Bridge Surgical Institute L.L.C., Rock Hill Surgery Center LLC, Rockwall Ambulatory Surgery Center L.L.P., Rocky Mountain Endoscopy Centers LLC, Roseville Surgery Center L.P., Roswell Surgery Center L.L.C., SCNRE LLC, SFMP Inc., SFMPE - Crittenden L.L.C., SL-HLC Inc., SLH Physicians L.L.C., SLH Vista Inc., SLPA ACO LLC, SLUH Anesthesia Physicians L.L.C., SMSJ Imaging Company LLC, SMSJ Tucson Holdings LLC, SPC at the Star LLC, SRRMC Management Inc., SSI Holdings Inc., Sacramento Midtown Endoscopy Center LLC, Safety Harbor ASC Company LLC, Saint Agnes/Dignity/USP Surgery Centers LLC, Saint Agnes/USP Surgery Centers LLC, Saint Francis Cardiology Associates L.L.C., Saint Francis Cardiovascular Surgery L.L.C., Saint Francis Center for Surgical Weight Loss L.L.C., Saint Francis Hospital Billing Center L.L.C., Saint Francis Hospital Medicare ACO LLC, Saint Francis Hospital Pro Fee Billing L.L.C., Saint Francis Hospital-Bartlett Inc., Saint Francis Medical Partners East L.L.C., Saint Francis Medical Partners General Surgery L.L.C., Saint Francis Physician Network LLC, Saint Francis Quality Alliance LLC, Saint Francis Surgery Center L.L.C., Saint Francis Surgical Associates L.L.C., Saint Francis-Arkansas Physician Network LLC, Saint Francis-Bartlett Physician Network LLC, Saint Thomas Campus Surgicare L.P., Saint Thomas Surgery Center New Salem LLC, Saint Thomas/USP Surgery Centers II L.L.C., Saint Thomas/USP Surgery Centers L.L.C., Saint Thomas/USP  Baptist Plaza L.L.C., Saint Vincent Physician Services Inc., Salmon Surgery Center LLC, Same Day Management L.L.C., Same Day SC of Central NJ LLC, Same Day Surgery L.L.C., San Antonio Endoscopy L.P., San Fernando Valley Surgery Center L.P., San Gabriel Valley Surgical Center L.P., San Martin Surgery Center LLC, San Ramon ASC L. P., San Ramon Ambulatory Care LLC, San Ramon Network Joint Venture LLC, San Ramon Regional Medical Center LLC, San Ramon Surgery Center L.L.C., Santa Barbara Outpatient Surgery Center LLC, Santa Clarita Surgery Center L.P., Savannah Endoscopy Ambulatory Surgery Center LLC, Schertz Surgery Center LLC, Scripps Encinitas Surgery Center LLC, Scripps/USP Surgery Centers L.L.C., Seaside Surgery Center LLC, Shands/Solantic Joint Venture LLC, Shelby Baptist Affinity LLC, Shelby Baptist Ambulatory Surgery Center LLC, Shore Outpatient Surgicenter L.L.C., Shoreline Real Estate Partnership LLP, Shoreline Surgery Center LLP, Shrewsbury Surgery Center LLC, Sierra Pacific Surgery Center LLC, Sierra Providence Health Network Inc., Sierra Providence Healthcare Enterprises, Sierra Vista Hospital Inc., Silicon Valley Outpatient Surgery Centers LLC, Silver Cross Ambulatory Surgery Center LLC, Silver Cross/USP Surgery Centers LLC, Sinai-Grace Premier Clinical Management Services LLC, Siouxland Surgery Center Limited Liability Partnership, Solantic Corporation, Solantic Development LLC, Solantic Holdings Corporation, Solantic of Jacksonville LLC, Solantic of Orlando LLC, Solantic/South Florida LLC, South Carolina East Cooper Surgical Specialists L.L.C., South Carolina Health Services Inc., South Carolina SeWee Family Medicine L.L.C., South County Outpatient Endoscopy Services L.P., South Denver Musculoskeletal Surgical Partners LLC, South Florida Ambulatory Surgical Center LLC, South Fulton Health Care Centers Inc., SouthCare Physicians Group Neurology L.L.C., SouthCare Physicians Group Obstetrics & Gynecology L.L.C., Southeast Ohio Surgical Suites LLC, Southern Orthopedics and Sports Medicine L.L.C., Southern States Physician Operations Inc., Southwest Ambulatory Surgery Center L.L.C., Southwest Childrens Hospital LLC, Southwest Endoscopy LLC, Southwest Orthopedic and Spine Hospital LLC, Southwest Orthopedic and Spine Hospital Real Estate LLC, Southwestern Ambulatory Surgery Center LLC, Spalding Regional Medical Center Inc., Spalding Regional OB/GYN L.L.C., Spalding Regional Physician Services L.L.C., Specialty Surgery Center of Fort Worth L.P., Specialty Surgicenters Inc., Spinal Diagnostics and Treatment Centers L.L.C., Spine & Joint Physician Associates, Springfield Service Holding Corporation, St. Augustine Endoscopy Center LLC, St. Christophers Pediatric Urgent Care Center - Allentown L.L.C, St. Josephs Hospital Surgical Co-Management LLC, St. Josephs Outpatient Surgery Center LLC, St. Josephs Surgery Center L.P., St. Louis Physician Alliance LLC, St. Louis Surgical Center LLC, St. Louis Urology Center LLC, St. Lukes/USP Surgery Centers LLC, St. Marys Ambulatory Surgery Center LLC, St. Marys Hospital Cardiovascular Co-Management LLC, St. Marys Hospital Surgical Co-Management LLC, St. Marys Levee Company LLC, St. Marys Medical Center Inc., St. Vincent Health/USP LLC, St. Vincent/USP Surgery Centers LLC, Stockton Outpatient Surgery Center LLC, Subsidiaries of USPI Holding Company Inc., Suburban Endoscopy Center LLC, Summit View Surgery Center LLC, Sun View Imaging L.L.C., Sunrise Medical Group I L.L.C., Sunrise Medical Group II L.L.C., Sunrise Medical Group IV L.L.C., SurgCenter Camelback LLC, SurgCenter Northeast LLC, SurgCenter Pinellas LLC, SurgCenter Tucson LLC, SurgCenter at Paradise Valley LLC, SurgCenter of Deer Valley LLC, SurgCenter of Glen Burnie LLC, SurgCenter of Palm Beach Gardens LLC, SurgCenter of Plano LLC, SurgCenter of Southern Maryland LLC, SurgCenter of St. Lucie LLC, SurgCenter of White Marsh LLC, Surgery Affiliate of El Paso LLC, Surgery Center at Mount Pleasant LLC, Surgery Center at University Park LLC, Surgery Center of Atlanta LLC, Surgery Center of Canfield LLC, Surgery Center of Columbia L.P., Surgery Center of Coral Gables LLC, Surgery Center of Okeechobee LLC, Surgery Center of Pembroke Pines L.L.C., Surgery Center of Peoria L.L.C., Surgery Center of Richardson Physician Partnership L.P., Surgery Center of Santa Barbara LLC, Surgery Center of Scottsdale LLC, Surgery Center of Tempe Real Estate II L.L.C., Surgery Center of Tempe Real Estate L.L.C., Surgery Centers of America II L.L.C., Surgery Centre of SW Florida LLC, Surgical & Bariatric Associates of Atlanta Medical Center L.L.C., Surgical Clinical Excellence at Desert Regional LLC, Surgical Elite of Avondale L.L.C., Surgical Health Partners LLC, Surgical Institute Management LLC, Surgical Institute of Reading LLC, Surgical Specialists at Princeton LLC, Surgicare of Miramar L.L.C., Surginet Inc., Surgis Inc., Surgis Management Services Inc., Surgis of Chico Inc., Surgis of Phoenix Inc., Surgis of Redding Inc., Surgis of Victoria Inc., Sutton Road Pediatrics L.L.C., Sylvan Grove Hospital Inc., TENN SM LLC, TFPS IV L.L.C., TH Healthcare Ltd., TH International Services Florida LLC, THV Park Cities LLC, THVG Arlington GP LLC, THVG Bariatric GP LLC, THVG Bariatric L.L.C., THVG Bedford GP LLC, THVG Bellaire GP LLC, THVG DSP GP LLC, THVG DeSoto GP LLC, THVG Denton GP LLC, THVG Fort Worth GP LLC, THVG Frisco GP LLC, THVG Garland GP LLC, THVG Grapevine GP LLC, THVG Irving-Coppell GP LLC, THVG Lewisville GP LLC, THVG North Garland GP LLC, THVG Park Cities/Trophy Club GP LLC, THVG Rockwall 2 GP LLC, THVG Valley View GP LLC, TLC ASC LLC, TMC Holding Company LLC, TOPS Specialty Hospital Ltd., TPG Hospital LLC, TPR Practice Management LLC, TPS VI of PA L.L.C., TRMC Holdings LLC, TSPE LLC, Tamarac Surgery Center LLC, Tempe New Day Surgery Center LP, Templeton Imaging Inc., Tenet Business Services Corporation, Tenet California Inc., Tenet Central Carolina Physicians Inc., Tenet EKG Inc., Tenet El Paso Ltd., Tenet Employment Inc., Tenet Finance Corp., Tenet Florida Inc., Tenet Florida Physician Services II L.L.C., Tenet Florida Physician Services III L.L.C., Tenet Florida Physician Services L.L.C., Tenet Fort Mill Inc., Tenet Global Business Center Inc., Tenet HealthSystem Bucks County L.L.C., Tenet HealthSystem Graduate L.L.C., Tenet HealthSystem Hahnemann L.L.C., Tenet HealthSystem Medical Inc., Tenet HealthSystem Nacogdoches ASC GP Inc., Tenet HealthSystem Philadelphia Inc., Tenet HealthSystem Roxborough LLC, Tenet HealthSystem St. Christophers Hospital for Children L.L.C., Tenet Hilton Head Heart L.L.C., Tenet Hospitals Limited, Tenet Network Management Inc., Tenet Patient Safety Organization LLC, Tenet Physician Resources LLC, Tenet Physician Services - Hilton Head Inc., Tenet Rehab Piedmont Inc., Tenet Relocation Services L.L.C., Tenet SC East Cooper Hospitalists L.L.C., Tenet South Carolina Gastrointestinal Surgical Specialists L.L.C., Tenet South Carolina Island Medical L.L.C., Tenet South Carolina Lowcountry OB/GYN L.L.C., Tenet South Carolina Mt. Pleasant OB/GYN L.L.C., Tenet Unifour Urgent Care Center L.L.C., Tenet Ventures Inc., TenetCare Frisco Inc., Terre Haute Surgical Center LLC, Teton Outpatient Services LLC, Texan Ambulatory Surgery Center L.P., Texas Endoscopy Centers LLC, Texas Health Venture Arlington Hospital LLC, Texas Health Venture Baylor Plano LLC, Texas Health Venture Carrollton LLC, Texas Health Venture Centennial LLC, Texas Health Venture Ennis LLC, Texas Health Venture Fort Worth L.L.C., Texas Health Venture Granbury LLC, Texas Health Venture Heritage Park LLC, Texas Health Venture Keller LLC, Texas Health Venture Las Colinas LLC, Texas Health Venture Mansfield LLC, Texas Health Venture Plano Endo LLC, Texas Health Venture Plano LLC, Texas Health Venture Plano Parkway LLC, Texas Health Venture Texas Spine LLC, Texas Health Ventures Group L.L.C., Texas Orthopedics Surgery Center LLC, Texas Regional Medical Center LLC, Texas Regional Medical in Sunnyvale, Texas Spine and Joint Hospital LLC, The 6300 West Roosevelt Partnership, The Ambulatory Surgical Center of St. Louis L.P., The Healthcare Insurance Corporation, The Healthcare Underwriting Company a Risk Retention Group, The Huron Corporation, The Outpatient Center LLC, The Southeastern Spine Institute Ambulatory Surgery Center L.L.C., The Surgery Center at Jensen Beach LLC, The Surgery Center at Williamson LLC, The Tresanti Surgical Center LLC, Theda Oaks Gastroenterology & Endoscopy Center LLC, Titan Health Corporation, Titan Health of Chattanooga Inc., Titan Health of Hershey Inc., Titan Health of Mount Laurel LLC, Titan Health of North Haven Inc., Titan Health of Pittsburgh Inc., Titan Health of Pleasant Hills Inc., Titan Health of Princeton Inc., Titan Health of Sacramento Inc., Titan Health of Saginaw Inc., Titan Health of Titusville Inc., Titan Health of West Penn Inc., Titan Health of Westminster Inc., Titan Management Corporation, Titusville Center for Surgical Excellence LLC, Toms River Surgery Center L.L.C., Total Joint Center of the Northland LLC, Tower Road Real Estate LLC, Tower/USP Surgery Centers LLC, Treasure Coast ASC LLC, Trophy Club Medical Center L.P., True Medical Weight Loss L.P., True Medical Wellness LP, True Results Georgia Inc., True Results HoldCo LLC, True Results Missouri LLC, Tucson Digestive Institute LLC, Tucson Hospital Holdings Inc., Tucson Physician Group Holdings LLC, Turlock Imaging Services LLC, Turlock Land Company LLC, Tuscan Surgery Center at Las Colinas LLC, Twin Cities Ambulatory Surgery Center L.P., Twin Cities Community Hospital Inc., UAP Las Colinas Endo LLC, UAP Lebanon Endo LLC, UAP Nashville Endoscopy LLC, UAP Scopes LLC, UAP of Arizona Inc., UAP of California Inc., UAP of Missouri Inc., UAP of New Jersey Inc., UAP of Oklahoma Inc., UAP of Tennessee Inc., UAP of Texas Inc., UCC Tucson Holdings LLC, UMC Surgery Center Lubbock LLC, UMC-USP Surgery Centers LLC, USC/Norris Cancer Hospital, USP 12th Ave Real Estate Inc., USP Acquisition Corporation, USP Alexandria Inc., USP Assurance Company, USP Athens Inc., USP Atlanta Inc., USP Austin Inc., USP Bariatric LLC, USP Beaumont Inc., USP Bergen Inc., USP Bloomington Inc., USP Bridgeton Inc., USP Cedar Park Inc., USP Chesterfield Inc., USP Chicago Inc., USP Cincinnati Inc., USP Coast Inc., USP Columbia Inc., USP Connecticut Inc., USP Corpus Christi Inc., USP Creve Coeur Inc., USP Denver Inc., USP Des Peres Inc., USP Destin Inc., USP Domestic Holdings Inc., USP Effingham Inc., USP Encinitas Endoscopy Inc., USP Fenton Inc., USP Festus Inc., USP Florissant Inc., USP Fort Lauderdale Inc., USP Fort Worth Hospital Real Estate Inc., USP Fredericksburg Inc., USP Fresno Inc., USP Frontenac Inc., USP Gateway Inc., USP HMH Surgery Center at Shore LLC, USP Harbour View Inc., USP Houston Inc., USP Indiana Inc., USP International Holdings Inc., USP Jersey City Inc., USP Kansas City Inc., USP Knoxville Inc., USP Little Rock Inc., USP Long Island Inc., USP Louisiana Inc., USP Lubbock Inc., USP Maryland Inc., USP Mason Ridge Inc., USP Mattis Inc., USP Michigan Inc., USP Midland Inc., USP Midland Real Estate Inc., USP Midwest Inc., USP Mission Hills Inc., USP Montana Inc., USP Morris Inc., USP Mt. Vernon Inc., USP Nevada Holdings LLC, USP Nevada Inc., USP New Hampshire Inc., USP New Jersey Inc., USP Newport News Inc., USP North Carolina Inc., USP North Kansas City Inc., USP North Texas Inc., USP Northwest Arkansas Inc., USP OKC Inc., USP OKC Manager Inc., USP Office Parkway Inc., USP Ohio RE Inc., USP Oklahoma Inc., USP Olive Inc., USP Orlando Inc., USP Philadelphia Inc., USP Phoenix Inc., USP Portland Inc., USP Reading Inc., USP Richmond II Inc., USP Richmond Inc., USP Sacramento Inc., USP San Antonio Inc., USP Santa Barbara Surgery Centers Inc., USP Securities Corporation, USP Silver Cross Inc., USP Siouxland Inc., USP Somerset Inc., USP South Carolina Inc., USP Southlake RE Inc., USP St. Louis Inc., USP St. Louis Urology Inc., USP St. Peters Inc., USP Sunset Hills Inc., USP TJ STL Inc., USP Tennessee Inc., USP Texas Air L.L.C., USP Texas L.P., USP Torrance Inc., USP Tucson Inc., USP Turnersville Inc., USP Virginia Beach Inc., USP Washington Inc., USP Waxahachie Management L.L.C., USP Webster Groves Inc., USP West Covina Inc., USP Westwood Inc., USP Winter Park Inc., USP Wisconsin Inc., USP-HMH Surgery Center at Central Jersey LLC, USP/Carondelet Tucson Surgery Centers LLC, USP/SOS Joint Venture LLC, USPI Group Holdings Inc., USPI Holding Company Inc.1, USPI Holdings Inc., USPI Physician Strategy Group LLC, USPI San Diego Inc., USPI Stockton Inc., USPI Surgical Services Inc., Ulysses True Results NewCo LLC, Underwood Surgery Center LLC, United Anesthesia Partners Inc., United Real Estate Development Inc., United Real Estate Holdings Inc., United Surgical Partners Holdings Inc., United Surgical Partners International, United Surgical Partners International Inc., Universal Medical Care Center L.L.C., University Surgery Center Ltd., University Surgical Partners of Dallas L.L.P., Upper Bay Surgery Center LLC, Upper Cumberland Physicians Surgery Center LLC, Urgent Care Centers of Arizona LLC, Utica ASC Partners LLC, Utica/USP Tulsa L.L.C., VB Brownsville LTACH LLC, VBOA ASC GP LLC, VBOA ASC Partners L.L.C., VHM Services Inc., VHS Acquisition Corporation, VHS Acquisition Partnership Number 1 L.P, VHS Acquisition Subsidiary Number 1 Inc., VHS Acquisition Subsidiary Number 11 Inc., VHS Acquisition Subsidiary Number 12 Inc., VHS Acquisition Subsidiary Number 3 Inc., VHS Acquisition Subsidiary Number 4 Inc., VHS Acquisition Subsidiary Number 5 Inc., VHS Acquisition Subsidiary Number 6 Inc., VHS Acquisition Subsidiary Number 7 Inc., VHS Acquisition Subsidiary Number 8 Inc., VHS Acquisition Subsidiary Number 9 Inc., VHS Arizona Heart Institute Inc., VHS Brownsville Hospital Company LLC, VHS Chicago Market Procurement LLC, VHS Childrens Hospital of Michigan Inc., VHS Detroit Businesses Inc., VHS Detroit Receiving Hospital Inc., VHS Detroit Ventures Inc., VHS Harlingen Hospital Company LLC, VHS Harper-Hutzel Hospital Inc., VHS Holding Company Inc., VHS Huron Valley-Sinai Hospital Inc., VHS Imaging Centers Inc., VHS New England Holding Company I Inc., VHS Outpatient Clinics Inc., VHS Phoenix Health Plan Inc., VHS Physicians of Michigan, VHS Rehabilitation Institute of Michigan Inc., VHS San Antonio Imaging Partners L.P., VHS San Antonio Partners LLC, VHS Sinai-Grace Hospital Inc., VHS University Laboratories Inc., VHS Valley Health System LLC, VHS Valley Holdings LLC, VHS Valley Management Company Inc., VHS West Suburban Medical Center Inc., VHS Westlake Hospital Inc., VHS of Anaheim Inc., VHS of Arrowhead Inc., VHS of Huntington Beach Inc., VHS of Illinois Inc., VHS of Michigan Inc., VHS of Michigan Staffing Inc., VHS of Orange County Inc., VHS of Phoenix Inc., VHS of South Phoenix Inc., Valley Baptist Lab Services LLC, Valley Baptist Physician Performance Network, Valley Baptist Realty Company LLC, Valley Baptist Wellness Center LLC, Valley Health Care Network, Vanguard ASC LLC, Vanguard Health Financial Company LLC, Vanguard Health Holding Company I LLC, Vanguard Health Holding Company II LLC, Vanguard Health Management Inc., Vanguard Health Systems, Vanguard Health Systems Inc., Vanguard Holding Company I Inc., Vanguard Holding Company II Inc., Vanguard Medical Specialists LLC, Vanguard Physician Services LLC, Ventana Surgical Center LLC, Veroscan Inc., Victoria Ambulatory Surgery Center L.P., Virtua-USP Princeton LLC, WHASA L.C., Walker Baptist Affinity LLC, Walker Street Imaging Care Inc., Warner Park Surgery Center LLC, Watermark Physician Services Inc., Webster Ambulatory Surgery Center L.P., Wellington Endo LLC, Wellstar/USP Joint Venture I LLC, Wellstar/USP Joint Venture II LLC, West Boca Health Services L.L.C., West Boca Medical Center Inc., West Boynton Urgent Care L.L.C., West Bozeman Surgery Center LLC, West Palm Healthcare Real Estate Inc., West Suburban Radiation Therapy Center LLC, Westgate Surgery Center LLC, Westlake Hospital LLC, Westlawn Surgery Center LLC, Westminster Surgery Center LLC, Westminster Surgery Centers LLC, White Fence Surgical Suites LLC, Willamette Spine Center Ambulatory Surgery LLC, Wilmington Endoscopy Center LLC, Wilshire Rental Corp., Winter Haven Ambulatory Surgical Center L.L.C., Wisconsin Specialty Surgery Center LLC, Wymark Surgery Center LLC, and YNHHSC/USP Surgery Centers LLC.The following companies are subsidiares of Aptiv: A.E. Enterprises LLC, APTIVPORT SERVICES S.A., Alambrados y Circuitos Electricos S. de R.L. de C.V., Antaya Technologies, Antaya Technologies Asia Ltd., Antaya Technologies Corp., Aptiv (China) Holding Company Limited, Aptiv (China) Technology Company Limited, Aptiv (Shanghai) International Management Company Ltd., Aptiv (UK) Holdings Limited, Aptiv Asia Pacific Holdings (UK) LLP, Aptiv China Holdings (US) LLC, Aptiv Components (Shanghai) Company Limited, Aptiv Components India Private Ltd., Aptiv Connection Systems (Nantong) Ltd., Aptiv Connection Systems (Shanghai) Ltd., Aptiv Connection Systems Holding Deutschland GmbH, Aptiv Connection Systems Holding Hong Kong Limited, Aptiv Connection Systems Holdings (US) LLC, Aptiv Connection Systems Hungary Kft, Aptiv Connection Systems India Private Limited, Aptiv Connection Systems Korea LLC, Aptiv Connection Systems Services Austria GmbH, Aptiv Connection Systems Services Italia S.P.A., Aptiv Connection Systems Services Japan Ltd., Aptiv Contract Services Ciudad Juarez S. de R.L. de C.V., Aptiv Contract Services Matamoros S. de R.L. de C.V., Aptiv Contract Services Noreste S. de R.L. de C.V., Aptiv Contract Services Nuevo Laredo S. de R.L. de C.V., Aptiv Contract Services S. de R.L. de C.V., Aptiv Contract Services Sweden AB, Aptiv Contract Services Tamaulipas S. de R.L. de C.V., Aptiv Contract Services Tijuana S. de R.L. de C.V., Aptiv Contract Services Zacatecas S. de R.L. de C.V., Aptiv Contract Services d.o.o. Leskovac, Aptiv Contract Services de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Aptiv Corporation, Aptiv Electrical Centers (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Aptiv Electronics (Suzhou) Co. Ltd., Aptiv European Holdings (UK) Limited, Aptiv Financial Holdings (UK) LLP, Aptiv Financial Investment Services (UK) Limited, Aptiv Financial Management LLC, Aptiv Financial Services (Luxembourg) S.a r.l., Aptiv Financial Services (UK) Limited, Aptiv Global Financial Services (Luxembourg) S.a r.l., Aptiv Global Financing Limited, Aptiv Global Holdings (Luxembourg) S.a r.l., Aptiv Global Holdings (UK) Limited, Aptiv Global Holdings 2 (Luxembourg) S.ar.l, Aptiv Global Holdings Limited, Aptiv Global Investments UK LLP, Aptiv Global Investments UK LLP Luxembourg Branch, Aptiv Global Operations Limited, Aptiv Global Real Estate Services (US) LLC, Aptiv Holdfi (UK) Limited, Aptiv Holding Company LLC, Aptiv Holdings (Austria) GmbH, Aptiv Holdings (Luxembourg) S.a r.l., Aptiv Holdings (UK) Limited, Aptiv Holdings (US) LLC, Aptiv Holdings Asia Pacific (Luxembourg) S.a r.l., Aptiv Holdings Deutschland GmbH, Aptiv Holdings France SAS, Aptiv Holdings Limited, Aptiv Holdings Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Aptiv Holdings US Limited, Aptiv International Company LLC, Aptiv International Financial Services (UK) LLP, Aptiv International Holdings (Luxembourg) S.a r.l., Aptiv International Holdings (UK) LLP, Aptiv International Holdings (US) LLC, Aptiv International Holdings 2 (Luxembourg) S.a r.l., Aptiv International Holdings UK Two LLP, Aptiv International Operations Luxembourg S.a.r.l., Aptiv International Services Company LLC, Aptiv Korea LLC, Aptiv Latin America Holdings (Luxembourg) S.a r.l., Aptiv Latin America Holdings (UK) LLP, Aptiv Luxembourg Financial Services S.a r.l., Aptiv Luxembourg Holdings (UK) Limited, Aptiv Luxembourg Holdings S.a r.l., Aptiv Malta Holdings Limited, Aptiv Manufactura e Servicos de Distribuicao Ltda., Aptiv Manufacturing Management Services S.a r.l., Aptiv Medical Systems LLC, Aptiv Mexican Holdings (US) LLC, Aptiv Mobility Services Austria MAT GmbH, Aptiv Mobility Services Deutschland GmbH, Aptiv Mobility Services Japan Ltd., Aptiv Mobility Services d.o.o. Novi Sad, Aptiv Properties Management Services (US) LLC, Aptiv S&P Mobility Services Spain S.L., Aptiv S&P Solutions Holdings (Spain) S.L., Aptiv Safety & Mobility Services Singapore Pte. Ltd., Aptiv Safety Services Deutschland GmbH, Aptiv Services 2 France SAS, Aptiv Services 2 US Inc., Aptiv Services 3 (US) LLC, Aptiv Services 4 US LLC, Aptiv Services 5 US LLC, Aptiv Services Austria GPD. GmbH & Co KG, Aptiv Services Belgium N.V., Aptiv Services Czech s.r.o., Aptiv Services Deutschland GmbH, Aptiv Services Honduras S. de R.L. de C.V., Aptiv Services Hungary Kft., Aptiv Services Italia S.r.l., Aptiv Services Macedonia DOOEL Skopje, Aptiv Services Netherlands B.V., Aptiv Services Poland S.A., Aptiv Services Tunisia Sarl, Aptiv Services UK Limited, Aptiv Services US LLC, Aptiv Services Ukraine LLC, Aptiv Technologies Limited, Aptiv Technology Services & Solutions S.R.L., Aptiv Trade Management Services (US) LLC, Aptiv Turkey Teknoloji Hizmetleri Limited Sirketi, Aptiv UK Pension Trustees Limited, Aptiv US Operations Holdings LLC, Aptiv US Services General Partnership, Arcomex S.A. de C.V., Arneses Electricos Automotrices S.A. de C.V., Auburn Enterprises LLC, Autoensambles y Logistica S.A. de C.V., Cablena S.L., Centro Tecnico Herramental S. de R.L. de C.V., Control Tec LLC, Control-Tec LLC, Cordaflex Espana S.A., Cordaflex S.A. de C.V., Daehan Electronics Yantai Co. Ltd., Delphi Automotive Systems Maroc S.A., Delphi Connection Systems Morocco S.A.S., Delphi Packard Kenitra S.A., Delphi Packard Meknes, Delphi Packard Moldova Noua S.R.L., Delphi Packard Tanger SA, Falmat Inc., Gabocom Ltd, Gabocom Sarl, Gabriel de Mexico S.A. de C.V., Harwich Holding GmbH, Harwich Holdings LLC, Harwich Holdings SAS, HellermannTyton (Proprietary) Limited, HellermannTyton (Wuxi) Electrical Accessories Company Limited, HellermannTyton AB, HellermannTyton AB Branch Office, HellermannTyton AS, HellermannTyton Alpha S.a r.l., HellermannTyton Australia Pty Ltd, HellermannTyton BV, HellermannTyton Beta S.a r.l., HellermannTyton Canada Inc., HellermannTyton Co. Ltd, HellermannTyton Corporation, HellermannTyton Data Limited, HellermannTyton Engineering GmbH, HellermannTyton Espana SL, HellermannTyton Finance PLC, HellermannTyton GmbH (Austria), HellermannTyton GmbH (Germany), HellermannTyton Group PLC, HellermannTyton Holdings AB, HellermannTyton Holdings Limited, HellermannTyton Kft, HellermannTyton Limited, HellermannTyton Limited Branch Office, HellermannTyton Ltda, HellermannTyton Manufacturas S. de R.L. de C.V., HellermannTyton Maroc S.ar.l., HellermannTyton OOO, HellermannTyton Private Limited, HellermannTyton Pte Limited, HellermannTyton Rohvel SL, HellermannTyton S. de R.L. de C.V., HellermannTyton SAS, HellermannTyton Services GmbH, HellermannTyton Services SARL AU, HellermannTyton Srl, HellermannTyton YH, HellermannTyton sp. z.o.o., Hellermanntyton Group, Hellermanntyton Morocco SARL AU, Inmobiliaria Marlis S.A., Inmuebles Wagon S.A., Interessengemeinschaft fur Rundfunkschutzrechte GmbH, Interessengemeinschaft fur Rundfunkschutzrechte GmbH Schutzrechtsverwertung & Co. KG, KUM Co. Ltd., KUM LLC, KUMAP Co. Ltd., Movimento (Shanghai) Co Ltd., Movimento Europe GmbH, Movimento Group, Movimento Group AB, Movimento Inc., Movimento International S. de R.L. de C.V., Noteco Comercio e Participacoes Ltda., On-Site Limited, Ottomatika, Ottomatika Inc., PT Aptiv Components Indonesia, Phoenix Assets Holdings Ltd., Pipe Holding GmbH, Potio Holding GmbH, ProSTEP Produktions Technologie AG, Productos Delco de Chihuahua S. de R.L. de C.V., PureDepth, PureDepth Inc., PureDepth Incorporated Limited, PureDepth Limited, Rebafin GmbH, Rio Bravo Electricos S. de R.L. de C.V., Staeng Limited, Tyson Intermediate Holdco Corp., Tyson Upper Intermediate Holdco Corp., Unterstutzungsgesellschaft mbH Delphi Deutschland, Unwired Holdings Inc., Unwired Technology, WF Global (BVI) Limited, WF Global (HK) Limited, Winchester Holding Inc., Winchester Interconnect, Winchester Interconnect (M) Sdn. Bhd., Winchester Interconnect (Shanghai) Co. Ltd, Winchester Interconnect (Suzhou) Co. Ltd., Winchester Interconnect CM Corporation, Winchester Interconnect Cable Assemblies LLC, Winchester Interconnect Corporation, Winchester Interconnect Hermetics LLC, Winchester Interconnect RF Corporation, Winchester Interconnect Ruggedized Corporation, YanCheng SeMyung Electronics Co. Ltd., gabo Systemtechnik, gabo Systemtechnik GmbH, nuTonomy, nuTonomy Asia Pte. Ltd., and nuTonomy Inc..The following companies are subsidiares of Amphenol: ARCAS Automotive Group (Luxco 1) S.a.r.l., AUXEL FTG, AUXEL FTG India Pvt Ltd., AUXEL FTG Shanghai Co., AUXEL S.A.S., Air LB International Development S.A., All Systems Broadband, Amphenol (Changzhou) Advanced Connector Co., Amphenol (Changzhou) Connector Systems Co., Amphenol (Changzhou) Electronics Co., Amphenol (Maryland), Amphenol (Ningde) Electronics Co., Amphenol (Qujing) Technology Co., Amphenol (Tianjin) Electronics Co., Amphenol (Xiamen) High Speed Cable Co., Amphenol Adronics, Amphenol Advanced Sensors Germany GmbH, Amphenol Advanced Sensors Puerto Rico, Amphenol Air LB GmbH, Amphenol Air LB North America Inc., Amphenol Air LB SAS, Amphenol Alden Products Company, Amphenol Alden Products Mexico, Amphenol Antenna Solutions, Amphenol Assemble Tech (Xiamen) Co., Amphenol Australia Pty Ltd, Amphenol Automotive Connection Systems (Changzhou) Co., Amphenol Bar-Tec, Amphenol Benelux B.V., Amphenol Borisch Technologies, Amphenol CNT (Xian) Technology Co. Ltd., Amphenol Cables On Demand Corp., Amphenol Canada Acquisition Corporation, Amphenol Canada Corp., Amphenol Comercial, Amphenol Commercial Interconnect Korea Co., Amphenol Commercial Products (Chengdu) Co. Ltd., Amphenol Commercial and Industrial UK, Amphenol ConneXus AB, Amphenol ConneXus Ou, Amphenol Custom Cable, Amphenol DC Electronics, Amphenol Daeshin Electronics and Precision Co., Amphenol EEC, Amphenol East Asia Electronic Technology (Shenzhen) Co. Ltd., Amphenol East Asia Limited, Amphenol FCI, Amphenol FCI Asia Pte. Ltd., Amphenol FCI Connectors Singapore Pte. Ltd., Amphenol Fiber Optic Technology (Shenzhen) Co., Amphenol Finland Oy, Amphenol France Acquisition SAS, Amphenol France SAS, Amphenol Germany GmbH, Amphenol Gesellschaft m.b.H., Amphenol Goldstar Electronic Systems (Baicheng) Co. Ltd., Amphenol Goldstar Electronic Systems (Yulin) Co. Ltd., Amphenol Holding UK, Amphenol Intercon Systems, Amphenol Interconnect India Private Limited, Amphenol Interconnect Products Corporation, Amphenol Interconnect South Africa (Proprietary) Limited, Amphenol International Ltd., Amphenol Invotec Limited, Amphenol Italia S.r.l., Amphenol JET (Haiyan) Interconnect Technology Co., Amphenol Japan Ltd., Amphenol Kai-Jack (Shenzhen) Inc., Amphenol LTW Technology Co., Amphenol Limited, Amphenol MCP Korea Limited, Amphenol Malaysia Sdn. Bhd., Amphenol Middle East Enterprises FZE, Amphenol Nelson Dunn Technologies, Amphenol Netherlands Holdings 1 B.V., Amphenol Netherlands Holdings 2 B.V., Amphenol Omniconnect India Private Limited, Amphenol Optimize Manufacturing Co., Amphenol Optimize Mexico S.A. de C.V., Amphenol PCD, Amphenol PCD (Shenzhen) Co., Amphenol Phitek Limited, Amphenol Printed Circuits, Amphenol Provens SAS, Amphenol RF Asia Limited, Amphenol Sensing Korea Company Limited, Amphenol Shouh Min Industry (Shenzhen) Co., Amphenol Singapore Pte. Ltd., Amphenol Socapex SAS, Amphenol Sunpool (Liaoning) Automotive Electronics Co., Amphenol T&M Antennas, Amphenol TCS (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd., Amphenol TCS Ireland Limited, Amphenol TCS de Mexico S.A. de C.V., Amphenol TFC Fios E Cabos do Brasil Ltda., Amphenol TFC MDE Participacoes Ltda., Amphenol TFC do Brasil Ltda., Amphenol Taiwan Corporation, Amphenol Technical Products International Co., Amphenol Technology (Shenzhen) Co., Amphenol Technology (Zhuhai) Co., Amphenol Technology Macedonia Dooel Kocani, Amphenol Tecvox LLC, Amphenol Tel-Ad Ltd., Amphenol Thermometrics, Amphenol Thermometrics (UK) Limited, Amphenol Times Microwave Electronics (Shanghai) Limited, Amphenol Tuchel Electronics GmbH, Amphenol Tuchel Industrial GmbH, Amphenol Tunisia LLC, Amphenol USHoldco Inc., Amphenol-Borg Limited, Amphenol-Borg Pension Trustees Limited, Amphenol-TFC (Changzhou) Communication Equipment Co., Anytek Electronic Technology (Shenzhen) Co. Ltd, Anytek International (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Anytek International Co. Ltd., Anytek Technology Corporation Ltd, Asia Connector Services, Berg UK Ltd., Blueline Product Limited, C&S Antennas, C&S Antennas Limited, CSA Limited, Casco Automotive (Suzhou) Co., Casco Automotive Group, Casco Automotive Singapore Pte., Casco Automotive Tunisia S.a.r.l., Casco Holdings Co. Limited, Casco Holdings GmbH, Casco Imos Italia S.r.l., Casco Logistics GmbH, Casco Products Corporation, Casco Schoeller GmbH, Casco do Brasil Ltda., Cemm Thome Corporation, Cemm Thome SK, Cemm-Mex, Changzhou Amphenol Fuyang Communication Equipment Co., ContactServe (Proprietary) Limited, East Asia Connector Services, Edwin Deutgen Kunstofftechnik GmbH, Ehrlich Werkzeug & Geratebau GmbH, FCI Besancon SA, FCI Connectors (Shanghai) Ltd., FCI Connectors Canada, FCI Connectors Dongguan Ltd, FCI Connectors Hong Kong Limited, FCI Connectors Italia S.r.l., FCI Connectors Korea Ltd., FCI Connectors Malaysia Sdn Bhd, FCI Connectors Sweden A.B., FCI Connectors UK Ltd., FCI Deutschland GmbH, FCI Electronics Hungary Kft, FCI GBS India Private Limited, FCI Japan K.K., FCI Nantong Ltd, FCI OEN Connectors Limited, FCI PRC Limited, FCI Taiwan Limited, FCI USA LLC, FCIs-Hertogenbosch B.V., FEP Fahrzeugelektrik Pirna, FEP Fahrzeugelektrik Pirna GmbH & Co. KG, FEP Fahrzeugelektrik Pirna Verwaltungs GmbH, Fiber Systems International, Filec Production SAS, Filec SAS, Friedrich Gohringer Elektrotechnik GmbH, GE - Advanced Sensors Business, Guangzhou Amphenol Electronics Co., Guangzhou Amphenol Sincere Flex Circuits Co., Guangzhou FEP Automotive Electric Co., Hangzhou Amphenol JET Interconnect Technology Co., Hangzhou Amphenol Phoenix Telecom Parts Co., Holland Electronics, Intelligente Sensorsysteme Dresden GmbH, Invotec Circuits Holdings Limited, Invotec Circuits Limited, Invotec Group Limited, Invotec Holdings Limited, Ionix Aerospace Limited, Ionix Holdings Limited, Ionix Systems Limited, Ionix Systems Ou, Jaybeam Limited, Jaybeam Wireless SAS, KE Elektronik GmbH, KE Ostrov  Elektrik, KE Presov Elektrik, Konnektech, Kunshan Amphenol Zhengri Electronics Co., LPL Technologies Holding GmbH, LTW Technology (Samoa) Co., LTW Top Tech (Samoa) Co., Lectric SARL, Martec Limited, Mocorp Holding A/S, Nantong Docharm Amphenol Electronics Co., PROCOM, PT Casco SEA, PerLoga Personal und Logistik GmbH, Piezotech, Piher Sensors & Controls S.A., Piher Sensors And Controls, Precision Cable Manufacturing Corp. de Mexico, Procom A/S, Procom Antennas AB, Procom France SARL, Pyle-National Ltd., RSI International Limited, S.C.I. Palin, SEFEE SA, SGX Europe SP. z.o.o., SGX Sensortech (IS) Limited, SGX Sensortech China Holdco Limited, SGX Sensortech China Limited, SGX Sensortech GmbH, SGX Sensortech SA, SSI Control Technologies, STEMFI SA, SV Microwave, Shanghai Amphenol Airwave Communication Electronics Co., Shanghai Amphenol Electronics Technology Co., Shanghai Tecvox Trading Co., Shenyang Amphenol Sunpool Automotive Electronics Co., Sine Systems Corporation, Skymasts Antennas Ltd., Societe dEtudes et de Fabrications Electroniques et Electriques, Spectra Strip Limited, TCS Japan K.K., TFC South America S.A., Tecvox Europe S.r.l., Telect, Telect Mfg., Telect de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Teradyne Connection Systems, Thermometrics Mexico, Tianjin Amphenol KAE Co., Times Fiber Canada Limited, Times Fiber Communications, Times Microwave Systems, Times Wire and Cable Company, U-Jin Cable Industrial Co., Zhongshan Feisaide Electromechanical Co., and i2s-sensors.The following companies are subsidiares of CVS Health: @Credentials Inc., ACS ACQCO CORP., ADMINCO Inc., AE Fourteen Incorporated, AHP Holdings Inc., AMC - Tennessee LLC, APS Acquisition LLC, ASCO HealthCare LLC, ASI Wings LLC, AUSHC Holdings Inc., Accendo Insurance Company, Accordant Health Services L.L.C., Active Health Management Inc., Administrative Enterprises Inc., AdvancePCS SpecialtyRx LLC, AdvanceRx.com L.L.C., Advanced Care Scripts Inc., Aetna, Aetna (Beijing) Enterprise Management Services Co. Ltd., Aetna (Shanghai) Enterprise Services Co. Ltd., Aetna ACO Holdings Inc., Aetna Asset Advisors LLC, Aetna Behavioral Health LLC, Aetna Better Health Inc., Aetna Better Health Inc., Aetna Better Health of California Inc., Aetna Better Health of Florida Inc., Aetna Better Health of Kansas Inc., Aetna Better Health of Michigan Inc., Aetna Better Health of Missouri LLC, Aetna Better Health of Nevada Inc., Aetna Better Health of North Carolina Inc., Aetna Better Health of Oklahoma Inc., Aetna Better Health of Texas Inc., Aetna Better Health of Washington Inc., Aetna Capital Management LLC, Aetna Card Solutions LLC, Aetna Corporate Services LLC, Aetna Dental Inc., Aetna Dental of California Inc., Aetna Financial Holdings LLC, Aetna Florida Inc., Aetna Global Benefits (Asia Pacific) Limited, Aetna Global Benefits (Bahamas) Limited, Aetna Global Benefits (Bermuda) Limited, Aetna Global Benefits (Europe) Limited, Aetna Global Benefits (Middle East) LLC, Aetna Global Benefits (Singapore) PTE. LTD., Aetna Global Benefits (UK) Limited, Aetna Global Benefits Limited (DIFC UAE), Aetna Global Holdings Limited, Aetna Health Holdings LLC, Aetna Health Inc., Aetna Health Insurance (Thailand) Public Company Limited, Aetna Health Insurance Company, Aetna Health Insurance Company of Europe DAC, Aetna Health Management LLC, Aetna Health and Life Insurance Company, Aetna Health of California Inc., Aetna Health of Iowa Inc., Aetna Health of Michigan Inc., Aetna Health of Ohio Inc., Aetna Health of Utah Inc., Aetna HealthAssurance Pennsylvania Inc., Aetna Holdco (UK) Limited, Aetna Holdings (Thailand) Limited, Aetna Inc., Aetna Insurance (Hong Kong) Limite, Aetna Insurance (Singapore) Pte. Ltd., Aetna Insurance Company Limited, Aetna Integrated Informatics Inc., Aetna International Inc., Aetna Ireland Inc., Aetna Korea Ltd., Aetna Life & Casualty (Bermuda) Ltd., Aetna Life Assignment Company, Aetna Life Insurance Company, Aetna Medicaid Administrators LLC, Aetna Multi-Strategy 1099 Fund LLC, Aetna Network Services LLC, Aetna Partners Diversified Fund LLC, Aetna Pharmacy Management Services LLC, Aetna Resources LLC, Aetna Risk Assurance Company of Connecticut Inc., Aetna Rx Home Delivery LLC, Aetna Services (Thailand) Limited, Aetna Specialty Pharmacy LLC, Aetna Student Health Agency Inc., Aetna Ventures LLC, Aetna Workers Comp Access LLC, Alabama CVS Pharmacy L.L.C., Alaska CVS Pharmacy L.L.C., Allina Health and Aetna Insurance Company, Allina Health and Aetna Insurance Holding Company LLC, American Continental Insurance Company, American Drug Stores Delaware L.L.C., American Health Holding Inc., Arbor Drugs, Arizona CVS Stores L.L.C., Arkansas CVS Pharmacy L.L.C., Badger Acquisition LLC, Badger Acquisition of Kentucky LLC, Badger Acquisition of Minnesota LLC, Badger Acquisition of Ohio LLC, Banner Health and Aetna Health Insurance Company, Banner Health and Aetna Health Insurance Holding Company LLC, Banner Health and Aetna Health Plan Inc., Beauty Holdings L.L.C., Best Care LTC Acquisition Company LLC, Busse CVS L.L.C., CCI Foreign S.a R.L. (R.C.S. Luxembourg), CCRx Holdings LLC, CCRx of North Carolina LLC, CHP Acquisition LLC, CP Acquisition LLC, CVS 2948 Henderson L.L.C., CVS 3268 Gilbert L.L.C., CVS 3745 Peoria L.L.C., CVS AL Distribution L.L.C., CVS AOC Corporation, CVS AOC Services L.L.C., CVS Albany L.L.C., CVS Bellmore Avenue L.L.C., CVS Care Concierge LLC, CVS Caremark Advanced Technology Pharmacy L.L.C., CVS Caremark Indemnity Ltd., CVS Caremark Part D Services L.L.C., CVS Caremark TN SUTA LLC, CVS Foreign Inc., CVS Gilbert 3272 L.L.C., CVS Health Solutions LLC, CVS Indiana L.L.C., CVS International L.L.C., CVS Kidney Care Advanced Technologies LLC, CVS Kidney Care Health Services LLC, CVS Kidney Care Home Dialysis LLC, CVS Kidney Care LLC, CVS Manchester NH L.L.C., CVS Media Exchange LLC, CVS Michigan L.L.C., CVS Orlando FL Distribution L.L.C., CVS PA Distribution L.L.C., CVS PR Center Inc., CVS Pharmacy Inc., CVS RS Arizona L.L.C., CVS Rx Services Inc., CVS SC Distribution L.L.C., CVS State Capital L.L.C., CVS TN Distribution L.L.C., CVS Transportation L.L.C., CVS Vero FL Distribution L.L.C., Campos Medical Pharmacy LLC, Canal Place LLC, Care Pharmaceutical Services LP, CareCenter Pharmacy L.L.C., Carefree Insurance Services Inc., Caremark Arizona Mail Pharmacy LLC, Caremark Arizona Specialty Pharmacy L.L.C., Caremark California Specialty Pharmacy L.L.C., Caremark Florida Mail Pharmacy LLC, Caremark Florida Specialty Pharmacy LLC, Caremark Hawaii Mail Pharmacy L.L.C., Caremark Hawaii Specialty Pharmacy LLC, Caremark IPA L.L.C., Caremark Illinois Mail Pharmacy LLC, Caremark Illinois Specialty Pharmacy LLC, Caremark Irving Resource Center LLC, Caremark Kansas Specialty Pharmacy LLC, Caremark L.L.C., Caremark Logistics LLC, Caremark Louisiana Specialty Pharmacy LLC, Caremark Maryland Specialty Pharmacy LLC, Caremark Massachusetts Specialty Pharmacy L.L.C., Caremark Michigan Specialty Pharmacy LLC, Caremark Minnesota Specialty Pharmacy LLC, Caremark New Jersey Specialty Pharmacy LLC, Caremark North Carolina Specialty Pharmacy LLC, Caremark Ohio Specialty Pharmacy L.L.C., Caremark Pennsylvania Specialty Pharmacy LLC, Caremark PhC L.L.C., Caremark Puerto Rico L.L.C., Caremark Puerto Rico Specialty Pharmacy L.L.C., Caremark Redlands Pharmacy L.L.C., Caremark Repack LLC, Caremark Rx L.L.C., Caremark Tennessee Specialty Pharmacy LLC, Caremark Texas Mail Pharmacy LLC, Caremark Texas Specialty Pharmacy LLC, Caremark Ulysses Holding Corp., Caremark Washington Specialty Pharmacy LLC, CaremarkPCS Alabama Mail Pharmacy LLC, CaremarkPCS Health L.L.C., CaremarkPCS L.L.C., Central Rx Services LLC, Claims Administration Corp., Cofinity Inc., Compscript LLC, Connecticut CVS Pharmacy L.L.C., Continental Life Insurance Company of Brentwood Tennessee, Continuing Care Rx LLC, Coram Alternate Site Services Inc., Coram Clinical Trials Inc., Coram Healthcare Corporation of Alabama, Coram Healthcare Corporation of Florida, Coram Healthcare Corporation of Greater D.C., Coram Healthcare Corporation of Greater New York, Coram Healthcare Corporation of Indiana, Coram Healthcare Corporation of Massachusetts, Coram Healthcare Corporation of Mississippi, Coram Healthcare Corporation of Nevada, Coram Healthcare Corporation of North Texas, Coram Healthcare Corporation of Northern California, Coram Healthcare Corporation of Southern California, Coram Healthcare Corporation of Southern Florida, Coram Healthcare Corporation of Utah, Coram LLC, Coram Rx LLC, Coram Specialty Infusion, Coram Specialty Infusion Services L.L.C., Coventry Consumer Advantage Inc., Coventry Health Care National Accounts Inc., Coventry Health Care National Network Inc., Coventry Health Care Workers Compensation Inc., Coventry Health Care of Illinois Inc., Coventry Health Care of Kansas Inc., Coventry Health Care of Missouri Inc., Coventry Health Care of Nebraska Inc., Coventry Health Care of Virginia Inc., Coventry Health Care of West Virginia Inc., Coventry Health Plan of Florida Inc., Coventry Health and Life Insurance Company, Coventry HealthCare Management Corporation, Coventry Prescription Management Services Inc., Coventry Rehabilitation Services Inc., Coventry Transplant Network Inc., D & R Pharmaceutical Services LLC, D.A.W. LLC, Delaware CVS Pharmacy L.L.C., Delaware Physicians Care Incorporated, Digital eHealth LLC, District of Columbia CVS Pharmacy L.L.C., E.T.B. INC., Echo Merger Sub Inc., Eckerd Corporation of Florida Inc., Employee Assistance Services LLC, Enloe Drugs LLC, Enterprise Patient Safety Organization LLC, EntrustRX, Evergreen Pharmaceutical LLC, Evergreen Pharmaceutical of California Inc., Express Pharmacy Services of PA L.L.C., FOCUS HealthCare Management Inc., First Health Group Corp., First Health Life & Health Insurance Company, First Script Network Services Inc., Florida Health Plan Administrators LLC, Garfield Beach CVS L.L.C., Generation Health L.L.C., Geneva Woods Health Services LLC, Geneva Woods LTC Pharmacy LLC, Geneva Woods Management LLC, Geneva Woods Pharmacy Alaska LLC, Geneva Woods Pharmacy LLC, Geneva Woods Pharmacy Washington LLC, Geneva Woods Pharmacy Wyoming LLC, Geneva Woods Retail Pharmacy LLC, Georgia CVS Pharmacy L.L.C., German Dobson CVS L.L.C., Goodhealth Worldwide (Asia) Limited, Goodhealth Worldwide (Global) Limited, Goodyear CVS L.L.C., Grand St. Paul CVS L.L.C., Grandview Pharmacy LLC, Group Dental Service Inc., Group Dental Service of Maryland Inc., Health Care Management Co. Ltd., Health Data & Management Solutions Inc., Health Re Inc., Health and Human Resource Center Inc., HealthAssuance Pennsylvania Inc., Healthagen LLC, Highland Park CVS L.L.C., Holiday CVS L.L.C., Home Care Pharmacy LLC, Home Pharmacy Services LLC, Hook-SupeRx L.L.C., Horizon Behavioral Services LLC, Idaho CVS Pharmacy L.L.C., IlliniCare Health, Indian Health Organisation Private Limited, Innovation Health Holdings LLC, Innovation Health Insurance Company, Innovation Health Plan Inc., Interlock Pharmacy Systems LLC, Iowa CVS Pharmacy L.L.C., JHC Acquisition LLC, Kansas CVS Pharmacy L.L.C., Kentucky CVS Pharmacy L.L.C., LCPS Acquisition LLC, Langsam Health Services LLC, Lo-Med Prescription Services LLC, Lobos Acquisition LLC, Longs Drug Stores, Longs Drug Stores California L.L.C., Louisiana CVS Pharmacy L.L.C., MHHP Acquisition Company LLC, MHNet Life and Health Insurance Company, MHNet Specialty Services LLC, MHNet of Florida Inc., Managed Care Coordinators Inc., Managed Healthcare LLC, Martin Health Services LLC, Maryland CVS Pharmacy L.L.C., Med World Acquisition Corp., Medical Arts Health Care LLC, Medical Examinations of New York P.C., Melville Realty Company Inc., MemberHealth LLC, Mental Health Associates Inc., Mental Health Network of New York IPA Inc., Meritain Health Inc., Merwin Long Term Care LLC, MetraComp Inc., Minor Health Enterprise Co Ltd., MinuteClinic, MinuteClinic Diagnostic of Alabama L.L.C., MinuteClinic Diagnostic of Arizona LLC, MinuteClinic Diagnostic of Florida LLC, MinuteClinic Diagnostic of Georgia LLC, MinuteClinic Diagnostic of Hawaii L.L.C., MinuteClinic Diagnostic of Illinois LLC, MinuteClinic Diagnostic of Kentucky L.L.C., MinuteClinic Diagnostic of Louisiana L.L.C., MinuteClinic Diagnostic of Maine L.L.C., MinuteClinic Diagnostic of Maryland LLC, MinuteClinic Diagnostic of Massachusetts LLC, MinuteClinic Diagnostic of Nebraska L.L.C., MinuteClinic Diagnostic of New Hampshire L.L.C., MinuteClinic Diagnostic of New Mexico L.L.C., MinuteClinic Diagnostic of Ohio LLC, MinuteClinic Diagnostic of Oklahoma LLC, MinuteClinic Diagnostic of Oregon LLC, MinuteClinic Diagnostic of Pennsylvania LLC, MinuteClinic Diagnostic of Rhode Island LLC, MinuteClinic Diagnostic of South Carolina L.L.C., MinuteClinic Diagnostic of Texas LLC, MinuteClinic Diagnostic of Utah L.L.C., MinuteClinic Diagnostic of Virginia LLC, MinuteClinic Diagnostic of Washington LLC, MinuteClinic Diagnostic of Wisconsin L.L.C., MinuteClinic L.L.C., MinuteClinic Online Diagnostic Services LLC, MinuteClinic Physician Practice of Texas, MinuteClinic Telehealth Services LLC, Mississippi CVS Pharmacy L.L.C., Missouri CVS Pharmacy L.L.C., Montana CVS Pharmacy L.L.C., NCS Healthcare LLC, NCS Healthcare of Illinois LLC, NCS Healthcare of Iowa LLC, NCS Healthcare of Kansas LLC, NCS Healthcare of Kentucky Inc. (Oh, NCS Healthcare of Montana LLC, NCS Healthcare of New Mexico LLC, NCS Healthcare of Ohio LLC, NCS Healthcare of South Carolina LLC, NCS Healthcare of Tennessee LLC, NCS Healthcare of Wisconsin LLC, NIV Acquisition LLC, Navarro Discount Pharmacy, Nebraska CVS Pharmacy L.L.C., NeighborCare Holdings Inc., NeighborCare Inc., NeighborCare Pharmacy Services Inc., NeighborCare Services Corporation, NeighborCare of Indiana LLC, NeighborCare of Virginia LLC, New Jersey CVS Pharmacy L.L.C., Niagara Re Inc., North Carolina CVS Pharmacy L.L.C., North Shore Pharmacy Services LLC, NovoLogix LLC, OCR Services LLC, Ocean Acquisition Sub L.L.C., Ohio CVS Stores L.L.C., Oklahoma CVS Pharmacy L.L.C., Omnicare, Omnicare Holding Company, Omnicare Inc., Omnicare Indiana Partnership Holding Company LLC, Omnicare Pharmacies of Pennsylvania East LLC, Omnicare Pharmacies of Pennsylvania West LLC, Omnicare Pharmacies of the Great Plains Holding LLC, Omnicare Pharmacy and Supply Services LLC, Omnicare Pharmacy of Tennessee LLC, Omnicare Pharmacy of the Midwest LLC, Omnicare Property Management LLC, Omnicare of Nebraska LLC, Omnicare of Nevada LLC, Omnicare of New York LLC, Oregon CVS Pharmacy L.L.C., PE Holdings LLC, PHPSNE Parent Corporation, PP Acquisition Company LLC, PRN Pharmaceutical Services LP, PT Aetna Management Consulting, Pamplona Saude e Beleza LTDA, Part D Holding Company L.L.C., PayFlex Holdings Inc., PayFlex Systems USA Inc., Pennsylvania CVS Pharmacy L.L.C., Performax Inc., Pharmacy Associates of Glenn Falls LLC, Pharmacy Consultants LLC, Phoenix Data Solutions LLC, Precision Benefit Services Inc., Prime Net Inc., ProCare Pharmacy Direct L.L.C., ProCare Pharmacy L.L.C., Prodigy Health Group Inc., Professional Risk Management Inc., Pt. Aetna Global Benefits Indonesia, Puerto Rico CVS Pharmacy L.L.C., Red Oak Sourcing LLC, Resources for Living LLC, Rhode Island CVS Pharmacy L.L.C., Roeschens Healthcare LLC, RxAmerica, Schaller Anderson Medical Administrators Incorporated, Scrip World LLC, Sheffield Avenue CVS L.L.C., Shore Pharmaceutical Providers LLC, Silverscript Insurance Company, Soma Intimates, South Carolina CVS Pharmacy L.L.C., South Wabash CVS L.L.C., Specialized Pharmacy Services LLC, Spinnaker Bidco Limited, Spinnaker Topco Limited, Stadtlander Drug Company, Stadtlander Pharmacy, Sterling Healthcare Services LLC, Superior Care Pharmacy LLC, Sutter Health and Aetna Administrative Services LLC, Sutter Health and Aetna Insurance Company, Sutter Health and Aetna Insurance Holding Company LLC, T2 Medical Inc., TCPI Acquisition LLC, TargetPharmacy, Tennessee CVS Pharmacy L.L.C., Texas Health + Aetna Health Insurance Company, Texas Health + Aetna Health Insurance Holding Company LLC, Texas Health + Aetna Health Plan Inc., The Vasquez Group Inc., Thomas Phoenix CVS L.L.C., Three Forks Apothecary LLC, U.S Healthcare Holdings LLC, U.S. Healthcare Properties Inc., UAC Holding Inc., UC Acquisition LLC, UNI-Care Health Services of Maine LLC, Universal American - Medicare Part D Business, Utah CVS Pharmacy L.L.C., VAPS Acquisition Company LLC, Value Health Care Services LLC, Vermont CVS Pharmacy L.L.C., Virginia CVS Pharmacy L.L.C., Virtual Home Healthcare L.L.C., Warm Springs Road CVS L.L.C., Washington CVS Pharmacy L.L.C., Washington Lamb CVS L.L.C., Weber Medical Systems LLC, Wellpartner LLC, West Virginia CVS Pharmacy L.L.C., Westhaven Services Co LLC, Williamson Drug Company LLC, Wisconsin CVS Pharmacy L.L.C., Woodward Detroit CVS L.L.C., Work and Family Benefits Inc., ZS Acquisition Company LLC, Zinc Health Services LLC, Zinc Health Ventures LLC, bSwift LLC, and iTriage LLC.The following companies are subsidiares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise: 3Com International Inc., 3PAR Inc., Apogee, Aruba Networks Inc., Aruba Networks International Cayman, Aruba Networks International Limited, BlueData Software, Cloud Cruiser, Cloud Technology Partners, Cloud Technology Partners Inc., Compaq Computer (Mauritius), Compaq Trademark B.V., Cray, Cray Inc., EDS World Corporation (Far East) LLC, EYP Mission Critical Facilities Inc., H3C Holdings Limited, HP Enterprise Services Australia Pty Ltd, HP Financial Services (Australia) Pty Limited, HP Financial Services (Chile) Limitada, HP Financial Services (Japan) K.K., HP Financial Services Arrendamento Mercantil S.A., HP Financial Services Company (Korea), HP Financial Services International Holdings Company, HPE Government LLC, HPFS Global Holdings I LLC, HPFS Global Holdings II LLC, HPFS Rental S.R.L., Hangzhou H3C Technologies Co. Ltd, Hewlett Packard Caribe BV LLC, Hewlett Packard Colombia Ltda., Hewlett Packard Enterprise (China) Co. Ltd., Hewlett Packard Enterprise B.V., Hewlett Packard Enterprise B.V. Amstelveen Meyrin Branch, Hewlett Packard Enterprise Canada Co., Hewlett Packard Enterprise Canada Co. Hewlett Packard Enterprise Canada Cie, Hewlett Packard Enterprise Costa Rica Limitada, Hewlett Packard Enterprise GlobalSoft Private Limited, Hewlett Packard Enterprise India Private Limited, Hewlett Packard Enterprise Ireland Limited, Hewlett Packard Enterprise Luxembourg SCA, Hewlett Packard Enterprise Polska sp. z o.o., Hewlett Packard Pathfinder LLC, Hewlett Packard Taiwan Ltd., Hewlett-Packard (Israel) Ltd., Hewlett-Packard (M) Sdn. Bhd., Hewlett-Packard (Nigeria) Limited, Hewlett-Packard (Schweiz) GmbH, Hewlett-Packard (Tanzania) Limited, Hewlett-Packard (Thailand) Limited, Hewlett-Packard ApS, Hewlett-Packard Argentina S.R.L., Hewlett-Packard Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd., Hewlett-Packard Australia Pty Ltd, Hewlett-Packard Belgium SPRL/BVBA, Hewlett-Packard Bermuda Enterprises LLC, Hewlett-Packard Brasil Ltda., Hewlett-Packard Bulgaria EOOD, Hewlett-Packard Caribe B.V., Hewlett-Packard Caribe Y Andina B.V. LLC, Hewlett-Packard Chile Comercial Limitada, Hewlett-Packard Cyprus Ltd, Hewlett-Packard Ecuador Cia. Ltda., Hewlett-Packard Egypt Ltd., Hewlett-Packard Financial Services (India) Private Limited, Hewlett-Packard Financial Services Canada Company, Hewlett-Packard Financial Services Company, Hewlett-Packard France SAS, Hewlett-Packard G1 SPV (Cayman) Company, Hewlett-Packard Gesellschaft mbH, Hewlett-Packard Ghana Limited, Hewlett-Packard GmbH, Hewlett-Packard Guatemala Limitada, Hewlett-Packard HK SAR Ltd., Hewlett-Packard Hellas EPE, Hewlett-Packard Holdings Ltd., Hewlett-Packard International Bank Designated Activity Company, Hewlett-Packard International Bank Public Limited Company, Hewlett-Packard International Sarl, Hewlett-Packard Italiana S.r.l., Hewlett-Packard Japan Ltd., Hewlett-Packard Korea Ltd., Hewlett-Packard Leasing Limited, Hewlett-Packard Limited, Hewlett-Packard Luxembourg Enterprises LLC, Hewlett-Packard Macau Limited, Hewlett-Packard Manufacturing Ltd, Hewlett-Packard Marigalante Ltd., Hewlett-Packard Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Hewlett-Packard Middle East FZ-LLC, Hewlett-Packard Mocambique Limitada - Sociedada em Liquidacao, Hewlett-Packard Nederland B.V., Hewlett-Packard New Zealand, Hewlett-Packard Norge AS, Hewlett-Packard OY, Hewlett-Packard Operations Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Hewlett-Packard Peru S.R.L., Hewlett-Packard Philippines Corporation, Hewlett-Packard Portugal Lda., Hewlett-Packard SARL, Hewlett-Packard SIA, Hewlett-Packard Servicios Espana S.L., Hewlett-Packard Singapore (Sales) Pte. Ltd., Hewlett-Packard South Africa (Proprietary) Limited, Hewlett-Packard Sverige AB, Hewlett-Packard Technology Center Inc., Hewlett-Packard Teknoloji Cozumleri Limited Sirketi, Hewlett-Packard The Hague B.V., Hewlett-Packard Venezuela S.R.L., Hewlett-Packard Vision Limited, Hewlett-Packard d.o.o., Hewlett-Packard s.r.o., Limited Liability Company Hewlett Packard Enterprise, MapR Technologies, New H3C Technologies Co. Ltd., Niara Inc., Nimble Storage, Nimble Storage Inc., Nimble Storage Israel Ltd, Nimble Storage Japan GK, Nimble Storage UK Limited, Plexxi, RedPixie, SGI (Silicon Graphics), Sapphire Holding Co, Scytale, Shanghai Hewlett-Packard Co. Ltd., Silver Peak, SimpliVity, Sinope Holding B.V., Trilead, UAB ES Hague Lietuva, and Unis Huashan Technologies Co. Limited.JPMorgan Chase & Co. is a financial holding company. It provides financial and investment banking services. The firm offers a range of investment banking products and services in all capital markets, including advising on corporate strategy and structure, capital raising in equity and debt markets, risk management, market making in cash securities and derivative instruments, and brokerage and research. It operates through the following segments: Consumer and Community Banking, Corporate and Investment Bank, Commercial Banking, and Asset and Wealth Management. The Consumer and Community Banking segment serves consumers and businesses through personal service at bank branches and through automated teller machine, online, mobile, and telephone banking. The Corporate and Investment Bank segment offers a suite of investment banking, market-making, prime brokerage, and treasury and securities products and services to a global client base of corporations, investors, financial institutions, government and municipal entities. The Commercial Banking segment delivers services to U.S. and its multinational clients, including corporations, municipalities, financial institutions, and non profit

Read MoreEnergy Transfer Partners, L.P. engages in the natural gas midstream, and intrastate transportation and storage businesses in the United States. The company's Intrastate Transportation and Storage segment transports natural gas from various natural gas producing areas through connections with other pipeline systems, as well as through its ET Fuel System and HPL System. This segment owns and operates approximately 7,900 miles of natural gas transportation pipelines and three natural gas storage facilities in Texas. Its Interstate Transportation and Storage segment provides natural gas transportation and storage services; owns and operates approximately 11,800 miles of interstate natural gas pipelines; and has interests in various natural gas pipelines. The company's Midstream segment gathers, compresses, treats, blends, processes, and markets natural gas. It owns and operates natural gas and natural gas liquids (NGL) gathering pipelines, natural gas processing plants, natural gas treating facilities, and natural gas conditioning facilities. The company's NGL and Refined Products Transportation and Services segment transports mixed NGLs and other hydrocarbons; stores mixed NGLs, NGL products, and petrochemical products; and separates mixed NGL streams into purity products. This segment owns and operates various NGL pipelines, NGL and propane fractionation facilities, and NGL storage facilities. Its Crude Oil Transportation and Services segment engages in the transportation, terminalling, and acquisition and marketing of crude oil; and operates crude oil trunk and gathering pipelines. The company's All Other segment engages in the natural gas compression equipment business; provides natural gas compression equipment and compression services; manages coal and natural resources property, sells standing timber, and leases coal-related infrastructure facilities; and generates electrical power. Energy Transfer Partners, L.P. was founded in 1995 and is based in Dallas, Texas.

Read MoreThe following companies are subsidiares of Vodafone Group: 360 Connect S.A., [email protected] Telecom, A-ccelerator B.V., A-ccelerator Holding B.V, AAA (Euro) Limited, AAA (MCR) Limited, AAA (UK) Limited, Acorn Communications Limited, Africonnect (Zambia) Limited, Ag Mercantile Company Private Limited, Al-Amin Investments Limited, Amsterdamse Beheer- en Consultingmaatschappij B.V., Apollo Submarine Cable System Limited, Array Holdings Limited, Asian Telecommunication Investments (Mauritius) Limited, Aspective Limited, Astec Communications Limited, Autoconnex Limited, Aztec Limited, BelCompany BV, Bluefish Apac Communications Pte. Ltd, Bluefish Communications, Bluefish Communications Limited, Business Serve Limited, C&W Worldwide Nigeria Limited, C.S.P. Solutions Limited, CCII (Mauritius) Inc., CGP India Investments Ltd., CGP Investments (Holdings) Limited, COOP Mobil s.r.o, CT Networks Limited, CWGNL S.A., CWW Operations Limited, Cable & Wireless Access Limited, Cable & Wireless Americas Systems Inc., Cable & Wireless Aspac Holdings Limited, Cable & Wireless CIS Services Limited, Cable & Wireless CIS Svyaz LLC, Cable & Wireless Capital Limited , Cable & Wireless Communications Data Network Services Limited, Cable & Wireless Communications Starclass Limited, Cable & Wireless Communications Technical Service (Shanghai) Co. Ltd (Beijing Branch), Cable & Wireless Europe Holdings Limited, Cable & Wireless GN Limited, Cable & Wireless Global (India) Private Limited, Cable & Wireless Global Business Services Limited, Cable & Wireless Global Holding Limited, Cable & Wireless Global Telecommunication Services Limited, Cable & Wireless Holdco Limited, Cable & Wireless Networks India Private Limited, Cable & Wireless Trade Mark Management Limited, Cable & Wireless UK Holdings Limited, Cable & Wireless UK Services Limited, Cable & Wireless Waterside Holdings Limited, Cable & Wireless Worldwide, Cable & Wireless Worldwide Limited, Cable & Wireless Worldwide Pension Trustee Limited, Cable & Wireless Worldwide Services Limited, Cable & Wireless Worldwide Voice Messaging Limited, Cable & Wireless a-Services Inc, Cable & Wireless a-Services Limited, Cable and Wireless (India) Limited, Cable and Wireless (India) Limited Indian Branch Office, Cable and Wireless Nominee Limited, Cable and Wireless Worldwide South Africa (Pty) Ltd, Cavalry Holdings Ltd, Celfocus  Solucoes Informaticas Para Telecomunicacoes S.A, Cellops Limited, Cellular Operations Limited, Central Communications Group Limited, Central Telecom (Northern) Limited, Centurion GSM Limited, Chelys Limited, City Cable (Holdings) Limited, Cobra do Brasil Servicos de Telematica ltda., Commnet Cellular Inc., Complete Network Technology, Connect (India) Mobile Technologies Private Limited, Cornerstone Telecommunications Infrastructure Limited, Dataroam Limited , Device Insight, Digital Island (UK) Ltd, Digital Mobile Spectrum Limited, East Africa Investment (Mauritius) Limited, Emtel Europe Limited, Energis (Ireland) Limited, Energis Communications Limited, Energis Holdings Limited, Energis Local Access Limited, Energis Management Limited, Energis Squared Limited, Erudite Systems Limited, Esprit Telecom B.V., Eudokia Limited, Euro Pacific Securities Ltd., Eurocall Holdings Limited, Europolitan Holdings AB (now Europolitan Vodafone AB), FB Holdings Limited, FM Associates (UK) Limited, FinCo Partner 1 B.V., FireFly Networks Limited, Flexphone Limited, GS Telecom (Pty) Limited, Gateway Communications Africa (UK) Limited, Gateway Communications Tanzania Limited, General Mobile Corporation, Generation Telecom Limited, Ghana Telecommunications, Ghana Telecommunications Company Limited, Global Cellular Rental Limited, Globe Limited, GrandCentrix GmbH, Grupo Corporativo ONO S.A.U., H3ga Properties (No 3) Pty Limited, HBO Nederland Cooperatief U.A., HBO Netherlands Channels sro, HBO Netherlands Distribution B.V., Hellas Online, How2 Telecom Limited, Hutchison Essar Ltd, Indus Towers Limited, Intercell Communications Limited, Internet Network Services Limited, Invitation Digital Limited, Ipergy Communications NV, Isis Telecommunications Management Limited, Jaguar Communications Limited, Jaykay Finholding (India) Private Limited, Jupicol (Proprietary) Limited, KABELCOM Braunschweig Gesellschaft Fur BreitbandkabelKommunikation Mit Beschrankter Haftung, KABELCOM Wolfsburg Gesellschaft Fur BreitbandkabelKommunikation Mit Beschrankter Haftung, Kabel Deutschland, Kabel Deutschland Holding, Kabel Deutschland Holding Erste Beteiligungs GmbH, Kabel Deutschland Holding Zweite Beteilgungs GmbH, Kabel Deutschland Neunte Beteiligungs GmbH, Kabel Deutschland Siebte Beteiligungs GmbH, Kabelfernsehen Munchen Servicenter GmbH & Co. KG, LG Financing Partnership, LGE HoldCo V B.V., LGE HoldCo VI B.V., LGE HoldCo VIII B.V., LGE Holdco VII B.V., LLC Vodafone Enterprise Ukraine, Le Bunt Holdings Limited, Legend Communications Limited, Liberty Global, Liberty Global Content Netherlands B.V., London Hydraulic Power Company, M-PESA Foundation, M-PESA Holding Co. Limited, ML Integration Group Limited, ML Integration Limited, ML Integration Services Limited, MV Healthcare Services Private Limited, Mannesmann AG, MetroHoldings Limited, Mezzanine Ware Proprietary Limited (RF), Mirambo Limited, Misrfone Trading Company LLC, MobiFon S.A., Mobile Commerce Solutions Limited, Mobile Phone Centre Limited, Mobile Wallet VM1, Mobile Wallet VM2, Mobile by Sainsburys Limited, Mobiles 4 Business.com Limited, Mobileworld Communications Pty Limited, Mobileworld Operating Pty Ltd, Mobilvest, Motifpros 1 (Proprietary) Limited, Multi Risk Indemnity Company Limited, Multi Risk Limited, ND Callus Info Services Private Limited, Nadal Trading Company Private Limited, Nat Comm Air Limited, National Communications Backbone Company Limited, Navtrak Ltd, Netforce Group Limited, Netgrid Telecom SRL, Number Portability Company (Proprietary) Limited, ONO, Omega Telecom Holdings Private Limited, Oni Way  Infocomunicacoes S.A, Oskar Mobil S.R.O., Oxygen Solutions Limited, P.C.P. (North West) Limited, PPL Pty Limited, PT Network Services Limited, PTI Telecom Limited, Peoples Phone Limited, Pinnacle Cellular Group Limited, Pinnacle Cellular Limited, Plex Limited, Plustech Mercantile Company Private Limited, Prime Metals Ltd., Project Telecom Holdings Limited, Quickcomm Software Solutions, Radio Opt GmbH, Rian Mobile Limited, SBC SMART CITY 1517 B.V., SMMS Investments Pvt Limited, Safaricom Limited, Safenet N.P A., Sarmady Communications, Scarlet Ibis Investments 23 (Pty) Limited, Scorpios Beverages Pvt. Ltd, Silver Stream Investments Limited, Singlepoint (4U) Limited, Singlepoint (4U) Ltd., Singlepoint Payment Services Limited, Siro Limited, Spar Aerospace (Nigeria) Limited, Sport TV Portugal S.A, Starnet, Stentor Communications Limited, Stentor Limited, Storage Technology Services (Pty) Limited, T.W. Telecom Limited, T3 Telecommunications Limited, TKS Telepost Kabel-Service Kaiserslautern Beteiligungs GmbH, TKS Telepost Kabel-Service Kaiserslautern GmbH & Co. KG, TNAS Limited, TSM NZ Limited, Talkland Airtime Services Limited, Talkland Australia Pty Limited, Talkland Communications Limited, Talkland International Limited, Talkland Midlands Limited, Talkmobile Limited, Tele2 Italia SPA, Tele2 Spain, Telecom Investments India Private Limited, Telecommunications Europe Limited, Ternhill Communications Limited, The Cobra Group, The Eastern Leasing Company Limited, The Old Telecom Sales Co. Limited, Thus Group Holdings Limited, Thus Group Limited, Thus Limited, Thus Profit Sharing Trustees Limited, TnT Expense Management LLC, Tomorrow Street GP S.a r.l., Tomorrow Street SCA, Torenspits II B.V., Townley Communications Limited, Trans Crystal Ltd., UMT Investments Limited, UPC Nederland Holding I B.V., UPC Nederland Holding II B.V., UPC Nederland Holding III B.V., Unified Communications, Uniqueair Limited, Urbana Teleunion Rostock GmbH & Co.KG, Usha Martin Telematics Limited, VAPL No. 2 Pty Limited, VBA (Mauritius) Limited, VBA Holdings Limited, VBA International (SL) Limited, VBA International Limited, VEI S.r.l., VM SA, VND S.p.A, VSSB Vodafone Shared Services Budapest Private Limited Company, Verwaltung Urbana Teleunion Rostock GmbH, Victus Networks S.A., Vizzavi Finance Limited, Vizzavi Limited, Voda Limited, Vodacall Limited, Vodacash s.p.r.l., Vodacom (Pty) Limited, Vodacom Business (Angola) Limitada, Vodacom Business (Ghana) Limited, Vodacom Business (Kenya) Limited, Vodacom Business Africa (Nigeria) Limited, Vodacom Business Africa Group (Pty) Limited, Vodacom Business Africa Group Services Limited, Vodacom Business Cameroon SA, Vodacom Business Cote Divoire S.A.R.L., Vodacom Congo (RDC) SA, Vodacom Financial Services (Proprietary) Limited, Vodacom Group Limited, Vodacom Insurance Administration Company (Proprietary) Limited, Vodacom Insurance Company (RF) Limited, Vodacom International Holdings (Pty) Limited, Vodacom International Limited, Vodacom Lesotho (Pty) Limited, Vodacom Life Assurance Company (RF) Limited, Vodacom Payment Services (Proprietary) Limited, Vodacom Properties No 1 (Proprietary) Limited, Vodacom Properties No.2 (Pty) Limited, Vodacom Tanzania Limited Zanzibar, Vodacom Tanzania Public Limited Company, Vodacom UK Limited, Vodafone (NI) Limited, Vodafone (New Zealand) Hedging Limited, Vodafone (Scotland) Limited, Vodafone 2, Vodafone 4 UK, Vodafone 5 Limited, Vodafone 5 UK, Vodafone 6 UK, Vodafone Albania Sh.A, Vodafone Alternatif Telekom Hizmetleri A.S., Vodafone Americas 4, Vodafone Americas Virginia Inc., Vodafone And Qatar Foundation L.L.C, Vodafone Asset Management Services S.a r.l., Vodafone Australia Pty Limited, Vodafone Automotive Deutschland GmbH, Vodafone Automotive Electronic Systems S.r.L, Vodafone Automotive France S.A.S, Vodafone Automotive Iberia S.L, Vodafone Automotive Italia S.p.A, Vodafone Automotive Japan K.K, Vodafone Automotive Korea Limited, Vodafone Automotive SpA, Vodafone Automotive Technologies (Beijing) Co Ltd, Vodafone Automotive Telematics Development S.A.S, Vodafone Automotive Telematics S.A, Vodafone Automotive UK Limited, Vodafone Belgium SA/NV, Vodafone Benelux Limited, Vodafone Bilgi Ve Iletisim Hizmetleri AS, Vodafone Business Services Limited, Vodafone Business Solutions Limited, Vodafone Canada Inc, Vodafone Cellular Limited, Vodafone Central Services Limited, Vodafone China Limited (China), Vodafone China Limited (Hong Kong), Vodafone Connect 2 Limited, Vodafone Connect Limited, Vodafone Consolidated Holdings Limited, Vodafone Corporate Limited, Vodafone Corporate Secretaries Limited, Vodafone Czech Republic A.S., Vodafone DC Pension Trustee Company Limited, Vodafone Dagitim Hizmetleri A.S., Vodafone Data, Vodafone Distribution Holdings Limited, Vodafone Egypt Telecommunications S.A.E., Vodafone Elektronik Para Ve Odeme Hizmetleri A.S., Vodafone Empresa Brasil Telecomunicacoes Ltda, Vodafone Empresa Mexico S.de R.L. de C.V., Vodafone Enabler Espana S.L., Vodafone Enterprise Australia Pty Limited, Vodafone Enterprise Austria GmbH, Vodafone Enterprise Bahrain W.L.L., Vodafone Enterprise Bulgaria EOOD, Vodafone Enterprise Chile SA, Vodafone Enterprise Communications Technical Services (Shanghai) Co. Ltd, Vodafone Enterprise Corporate Secretaries Limited, Vodafone Enterprise Denmark A/S, Vodafone Enterprise Equipment Limited, Vodafone Enterprise Europe (UK) Limited, Vodafone Enterprise Europe (UK) Limited  Czech Branch, Vodafone Enterprise Europe (UK) Limited  DubaiI Branch, Vodafone Enterprise Finland OY, Vodafone Enterprise France SAS, Vodafone Enterprise Germany GmbH, Vodafone Enterprise Global Businesses S.a r.l., Vodafone Enterprise Global Limited, Vodafone Enterprise Global Network HK Ltd, Vodafone Enterprise Global Network Pte. Ltd., Vodafone Enterprise Hong Kong Ltd, Vodafone Enterprise Italy S.r.L, Vodafone Enterprise Korea Limited, Vodafone Enterprise Luxembourg S.A., Vodafone Enterprise Netherlands BV, Vodafone Enterprise Norway AS, Vodafone Enterprise Regional Business Singapore Pte.Ltd., Vodafone Enterprise Singapore Pte.Ltd, Vodafone Enterprise Spain S.L.U.  Portugal Branch, Vodafone Enterprise Spain SLU, Vodafone Enterprise Sweden AB, Vodafone Enterprise Switzerland AG, Vodafone Erste Beteiligungsgesellschaft mbH, Vodafone Espana S.A.U., Vodafone Euro Hedging Limited, Vodafone Euro Hedging Two, Vodafone Europe B.V., Vodafone Europe UK, Vodafone European Investments, Vodafone European Portal Limited, Vodafone Finance Limited, Vodafone Finance Luxembourg Limited, Vodafone Finance Sweden, Vodafone Finance UK Limited, Vodafone Financial Operations, Vodafone Financial Services B.V., Vodafone Fixed Ltd, Vodafone Foundation, Vodafone Foundation Australia Pty Limited, Vodafone Gestioni S.p.A, Vodafone Ghana Mobile Financial Services Limited, Vodafone Global Content Services Limited, Vodafone Global Enterprise (Hong Kong) Limited, Vodafone Global Enterprise (Italy) S.R.L., Vodafone Global Enterprise (Japan) K.K., Vodafone Global Enterprise (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, Vodafone Global Enterprise Limited, Vodafone Global Enterprise Russia LLC, Vodafone Global Enterprise Taiwan Limited, Vodafone Global Enterprise Telecommunications (Hellas) A.E., Vodafone Global Network Limited, Vodafone Global Network Limited  Slovakia Branch, Vodafone Global Services Private Limited, Vodafone GmbH, Vodafone Group (Directors) Trustee Limited, Vodafone Group Pension Trustee Limited, Vodafone Group Services GmbH, Vodafone Group Services Ireland Limited, Vodafone Group Services Limited, Vodafone Group Services No.2 Limited, Vodafone Group Share Trustee Limited, Vodafone Hire Limited, Vodafone Holding A.S., Vodafone Holdings (Jersey) Limited, Vodafone Holdings (SA) Proprietary Limited, Vodafone Holdings Europe S.L.U., Vodafone Holdings Luxembourg Limited, Vodafone Hutchison Australia Pty Limited, Vodafone Hutchison Finance Pty Limited, Vodafone Hutchison Receivables Pty Limited, Vodafone IP Licensing Limited, Vodafone India Digital Limited, Vodafone India Limited, Vodafone India Services Private Limited, Vodafone India Ventures Limited, Vodafone Institut fur Gesellschaft und Kommunikation GmbH, Vodafone Intermediate Enterprises Limited, Vodafone International 1 S.a.r.l. Luxembourg Zweigniederlassung Bern, Vodafone International 1 S.a r.l., Vodafone International 2 Limited, Vodafone International Holdings B.V., Vodafone International Holdings Limited, Vodafone International M S.a r.l., Vodafone International Operations Limited, Vodafone International Services LLC, Vodafone Investment UK, Vodafone Investments (SA) Proprietary Limited, Vodafone Investments Australia Limited, Vodafone Investments Limited, Vodafone Investments Luxembourg S.a r.l., Vodafone Investments Luxembourg S.a r.l. Luxembourg Zweigniederlassung Bern, Vodafone Ireland Distribution Limited, Vodafone Ireland Ltd., Vodafone Ireland Marketing Limited, Vodafone Ireland Property Holdings Limited, Vodafone Ireland Retail Limited, Vodafone Italia S.p.A., Vodafone Jersey Dollar Holdings Limited, Vodafone Jersey Finance, Vodafone Jersey Yen Holdings Unlimited, Vodafone Kabel Deutschland Field Services GmbH, Vodafone Kabel Deutschland GmbH, Vodafone Kabel Deutschland Kundenbetreuung GmbH, Vodafone Kenya Limited, Vodafone Leasing Limited, Vodafone Libertel B.V., Vodafone Limited, Vodafone Luxembourg 5 S.a r.l., Vodafone Luxembourg 5 S.a r.l. Luxembourg Zweigniederlassung Bern, Vodafone Luxembourg S.a r.l., Vodafone Luxembourg S.a r.l. Luxembourg Zweigniederlassung Bern, Vodafone M-PESA SH.P.K., Vodafone M-Pesa S.A, Vodafone M.C. Mobile Services Limited , Vodafone Magyarorszag Mobile Tavkozlesi Zartkoruen Mukodo Reszvenytarsasag, Vodafone Malta Limited, Vodafone Marketing UK , Vodafone Maroc SARL, Vodafone Mauritius Ltd., Vodafone Mobile Commerce Limited, Vodafone Mobile Communications Limited, Vodafone Mobile Enterprises Limited, Vodafone Mobile NZ Limited, Vodafone Mobile Network Limited, Vodafone Mobile Operations Limited, Vodafone Mobile Services Limited, Vodafone Multimedia Limited, Vodafone Nederland Holding I B.V., Vodafone Nederland Holding II B.V., Vodafone Nederland Holding III B.V., Vodafone Net Iletisim Hizmetleri A.S., Vodafone Network Pty Limited, Vodafone New Zealand Foundation Limited, Vodafone New Zealand Limited, Vodafone Next Generation Services Limited, Vodafone Nominees Limited1, Vodafone ONO S.A.U., Vodafone Oceania Limited, Vodafone Old Show Ground Site Management Limited, Vodafone Overseas Finance Limited, Vodafone Overseas Holdings Limited, Vodafone Panafon International Holdings B.V., Vodafone Panafon UK, Vodafone Partner Services Limited, Vodafone Payment Solutions S.a r.l., Vodafone Portugal  Comunicacoes Pessoais S.A., Vodafone Procurement Company S.a r.l., Vodafone Property Investments Limited, Vodafone Pty Limited, Vodafone Qatar Q.S.C., Vodafone Retail (Holdings) Limited , Vodafone Retail Limited, Vodafone Roaming Services S.a r.l., Vodafone Romania S.A, Vodafone Romania M - Payments SRL, Vodafone Romania Technologies SRL, Vodafone Sales & Services Limited, Vodafone Satellite Services Limited, Vodafone Servicios SL.U, Vodafone Servizi E Tecnologie S.R.L, Vodafone Servicos Empresariais Brasil Ltda., Vodafone Shared Services Romania SRL, Vodafone Specialist Communications Limited, Vodafone Stiftung Deutschland Gemeinnutzige GmbH, Vodafone Technology Solutions Limited, Vodafone Teknoloji Hizmetleri A.S., Vodafone Tele-Services (India) Holdings Limited, Vodafone Telecel-Comunicates Pessoais S.A., Vodafone Telecommunications (India) Limited, Vodafone Telekomunikasyon A.S, Vodafone Towers Limited, Vodafone UK Content Services Limited, Vodafone UK Investments Limited , Vodafone UK Limited1 , Vodafone US Inc, Vodafone Ventures Limited1 , Vodafone Vierte Verwaltungs AG, Vodafone Worldwide Holdings Limited, Vodafone Yen Finance Limited , Vodafone m-pesa Limited, Vodafone-Central Limited Vodaphone Limited, Vodafone-Panafon Hellenic Telecommunications Company S.A., VodafoneZiggo Group Holding B.V, Vodata Limited , Vouchercloud SA (Pty) Ltd, Wataneya Telecommunications S.A.E, Waterberg Lodge (Proprietary) Limited, Wayfinder, Wheatfields Investments 276 (Proprietary) Limited, Wireless Interactions & NFC Accelerator 2013 B.V., Woodend Cellular Limited, Woodend Communications Limited, Woodend Group Limited, Woodend Holdings Limited, XB Facilities B.V, XLink Communications (Proprietary) Limited, Your Communications Group Limited, ZUM B.V., ZYB, Zelitron S.A., Zesko B.V., Ziggo B.V., Ziggo Bond Company B.V., Ziggo Deelnemingen B.V., Ziggo Finance 2 B.V., Ziggo Financing Partnership, Ziggo Holding B.V., Ziggo Netwerk B.V., Ziggo Netwerk II B.V., Ziggo Services B.V., Ziggo Services Employment B.V., Ziggo Services Netwerk 2 B.V., Ziggo Zakelijk Services B.V., and Zoranet Connectivity Services B.V..Partners in the Tauranga-based Funk Estate craft beer brewery are elated at their climb in the hottest beers popularity stakes.

Funk recently re-located from Auckland to team up with Mount Brewing Company and share brewing facilities at the Rising Tide brewhouse and eatery in Mount Maunganui.

Funk Chief Executive (Top Dawg) Jordan Evison runs the company with partners Dylan Shearer and Shigeo Takagi.

He says that Funks craft beer called Jungle Boogie, a blood orange sour sale, made the 16th spot on the Great Australian Beer Spectacular (GABS) Hottest Kiwi Beers list.

It was especially pleasing that Jungle Boogie was the biggest mover on the list, jumping an impressive 73 places since last year.

Jordan says that Jungle Boogie was originally brewed for and released at the GABS festival in Melbourne & Sydney in 2016.

Were proud of the fact that since then its become a go to beer readily available sour ale in both New Zealand and Australia.

Weve loved sour beers for years and were very excited that they are taking off now so we can keep making them more and more frequently.

Although Funk Estate offers a core range of beers including Sophisticuffs India Pale Ale, Oh Lordy Pale Ale & Parleyer Pilsner, we love to mix it up with regular seasonal releases of weird and whacky numbers.

Sour beers are an absolute favourite and a specialty, he adds.

Jordan says one of Funks recent offbeat launches was Soul Train, a very summery peach tea Indian pale ale, a joint project with Tauranga-based tea company Websters Tea.

Funk Likes to work with the wider industry and team up wherever possible.

Our joint venture with Mount Brewing Co is a prime example, as well as our multiple collaborative beers.

Most recently we teamed up with Emersons brewery and Behemoth brewing company to brew Three way a mango sour IPA, based off the classic mango lassi.

There has been a rapid growth in the number of craft beer brands in New Zealand to produce a potentially confusing landscape, Jordan says. Product quality, supply and brand are now must haves in order to compete.

Were pretty stoked with our brand, the funky lady and funky lips work really well. Our visual concept is to always keep it vibrant, fun, energetic and never too serious.

We are strong believers in taking our beer to the drinkers, not waiting for them to come to us.

We attend as many quality festivals as we are able to, so that our brand is exposed to as many people as possible who are already predisposed to drinking craft beer.

Jordan says it is has been gratifying to gain peoples choice status at a number of festivals.

He says that having been born and raised at Mt Maunganui, its great to be back on home turf.

Funk Estate was launched in Wellington in May 2012. The company spent 2 years brewing from premises in Grey Lynn in Auckland before relocating to Mount Maunganui in late 2017.

Jordan Evison leads the team as CEO and is responsible for business management and overall strategy. Born and raised at Mt Maunganui, he attended Tauranga Intermediate and Tauranga Boys College before graduating from Victoria University with a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics & Finance and later a post graduate diploma in mathematics.

Shigeo Takagi (Shiggy) is Funk Estates head brewer. He is responsible for brewing, packaging, scheduling and management of materials. He also oversees the firms inventory system. He holds a general certificate in brewing from the International Institute of Brewing & Distilling and is studying towards a diploma. Shigeo has a Bachelors Degree in Management and Administration.

Operations Manager Dylan Shearer is responsible for design and packaging. Dylan comes up with the concepts for beer labels, tap badges and communicates Funks requirements with designers and printing companies. Dylans tasks include designing and arranging packaging, developing point of sale artwork and marketing. Dylan graduated from Victoria University with a Masters degree in landscape architecture.Infosys Limited and PTC India recently launched a joint Center of Excellence at the formers Bengaluru campus. The center is expected to come up with premium solutions that will be deployed in brownfield and greenfield industrial arrangements.

Besides the new center, sound financial health, stronger innovations and a new strategy are poised to assist in the growth of Infosys. Challenges that Infosys is likely to face include such headwinds as a potential securities fraud charge or unfavorable forex conversion impact.

Get alerts:

Vertical-specific solutions

With the new Bengaluru center of excellence the industry leadership, product engineering know-how and conventional industry domains of Infosys will be strengthened. For the long term Infosys intends to invest in technologies which will enable vertical-specific solutions. This includes an IoT ecosystem which will ensure the ThingWorx platform of PTC is consolidated. Additionally the solutions might include augmented reality experiences, solutions for service lifecycle management and management solutions for advanced product lifecycle.

Based on our strong foundation of product engineering excellence, we will be able to create applications like product lifecycle management (PLM) solutions, Augmented Reality (AR) experiences and service lifecycle management (SLM) solutions leveraging their ThingWorx IoT platform, said the deputy COO and president of Infosys, Ravi Kumar.

Innovation and design facility

The launch of a joint center of excellence by InfoSys and PTC India comes in the wake of the former announcing that it will launch an innovation and design center in the Finnish capital Helsinki later in spring this year. Besides an innovation and a design hub, a delivery center will also be put up at the facility.

It will not only serve the customers of Infosys is Finland but will also collaborate with other centers of the IT provider across the globe. InfoSys did not disclose how many new employees would be hired at the new facility. Currently the IT provider boasts of about 198,000 employees across the globe.

Approval of shareholders

This comes in the wake of shareholders of InfoSys approving Salil Parekh as the managing director and chief executive officer of the IT provider per a filing with the regulators. According to the filing approximately 97.96% of the shareholders were in favor of the appointment. Additionally the shareholders also voted to approve newly-appointed chief operating officer, UB Pravin Rao. Per the filing approximately 99.98% of the shareholders voted their approval. Voting was done by electronic mode as well as by physical ballot.

Earlier in the year following his appointment Parekh indicated that his most important and urgent priorities would be developing a way forward for the company pledging to make an announcement in April.A nondescript Vietnamese village of an ethnic group in the northeastern region contiguous with China has become a magnet for tourists thanks to a renovating effort by young local people.

The village, located in Mong Cai  the city of Quang Ninh Province, northern Vietnam  is adorned with frescos on the walls of its houses.

Two years ago, this residential area, consisting of members of the same surname Dang, lay in obscurity in terms of tourist potential, although it sits merely under 100 meters away from the local government building.

At the time the place was overshadowed by a scene of disorder, with chicken coops and pigpens positioned out front at the houses, and no residents thought of a transformation in spatial appearance or knew how to effect the change.

Vu Thi Thao, deputy secretary of the Mong Cai Youth Union, entertained the idea of refashioning the village with paintings after catching sight of a fresco-decorated one in another province in the newspaper.

It took young people from the Youth Union several months to persuade the villagers into the idea of creating frescos on home walls, for the local people believe that wall paintings will lure ghosts toward their houses.

At first only two households agreed, but later the remaining followed suit when witnessing a number of backpackers stop here with interest to take photos.

Dang Chan Denh, one of the first people accepting the proposal, has his house walls beautified by a fresco of a hill covered with rose myrtles  familiar flowers in the locality.

Other paintings also bear the stamp of the locals everyday rural life, which partly explains their liking for them.

Life in the village has changed since the young people came here to draw murals. Now tourists visit this place every weekend, Denh said.

The model experimented with at the village has been transplanted into two of the other ones in the province.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!Vietnamese Ambassador to the United States Pham Quang Vinh has paid a visit to the USS George H.W. Bush aircraft carrier as part of his business trip to Norfolk City, Virginia.

The Vietnamese diplomat was scheduled to visit Norfolk on February 21 and 22, the Embassy of Vietnam in Washington confirmed on Saturday.

Deputy Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Department of State (DOS) for Southeast Asia Patrick Murphy along with officials of the DOS and the Vietnamese embassy in the U.S. also joined the trip.

During his stay, Vinh visited Norfolk naval base, the Old Dominion University and several local socio-cultural establishments.

He also visited the USS George H.W. Bush aircraft carrier on Wednesday, where he was welcomed by Under Secretary of the U.S. Navy Thomas Modly, Rear Admiral Roy Kelley, who is Commander of the Naval Air Force Atlantic, and Executive Officer of the vessel, Colonel Chris Hill.

Colonel Chris Hill introduces the aircraft carrier to Ambassador Vinh. Photo: Embassy of Vietnam in the U.S.

During their conversation, both sides pledged to continue pushing forward the bilateral national defense cooperation program, with a focus on post-war recovery, search and rescue, humanitarian assistance, disaster rescue and relief work, maritime security and safety, capacity improvement, and United Nations peacekeeping missions.

The U.S. treasures its ties with Vietnam, the hosts stated, underlining their belief that the Vietnam  U.S. strategic partnership, including national defense collaboration, will further thrive for the sake of peace, stability and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region.

Under Secretary Modly praised the Vietnamese ambassadors visit to the carrier, considering it a demonstration of the development of the two nations bilateral ties, particularly in defense.

From left: Deputy Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Department of State Patrick Murphy, Ambassador Vinh, and Colonel Chris Hill. Photo: Embassy of Vietnam in the U.S.

According to Ambassador Vinh, the Vietnam-U.S. defense cooperation reflects not only the development of the bilateral comprehensive partnership but also the efforts to maintain regional peace and to engage in common humanitarian assistance activities.

During his stay in Norfolk, the Vietnamese ambassador also visited a fleet of naval helicopters and a museum dedicated to General Douglas MacArthur.

The USS George H.W. Bush is the tenth and final Nimitz-class super carrier of the United States Navy.

The vessel can carry up to 5,000 sailors and naval officers, along with 90 fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!Nov. 1, 1755, was All Saints Day. In Lisbon, Portugal, the churches were full. People were in their finery. Thousands of candles had been lighted. Then, starting at about 20 minutes of 10 a.m., several strong tremors struck the city over a period of six minutes. Most churches collapsed, and many other buildings. In the fires and tsunami that followed, as many as 100,000 people perished in Lisbon and the southern part of the country.

The Lisbon earthquake was a seminal event like the Holocaust two centuries later. The questions raised were similar: Why? Why did the skies not open? Why, if God was omnipotent and loving, did this horror occur? Was this punishment? What had the people done? The Lisbon earthquake probably did more damage to institutional religion than anything Voltaire ever wrote.

Years later, at the end of the century, the poet/prophets, or visionary poets, appeared in the early glow of the French Revolution. They would claim to replace the discredited priests as intermediaries between man and  God? The world was beginning again: 1792 was the year one. Young William Wordsworth went to France to see for himself: Bliss was it in that dawn to be alive, he wrote later, but to be young was very heaven. Besides Wordsworth there was Percy Shelley, his wife, Mary Wollstonecraft, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, John Keats, William Blake and Byron.A probe by Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper has disclosed the operation of a group of unscrupulous GrabBike drivers at a major bus station in Ho Chi Minh City.

The paper's correspondents came to the Mien Dong (Eastern) Bus Station in Binh Thanh District on the early mornings of February 20 and 21 to investigate the situation.

Despite a large number of drivers in GrabBike uniform at three gates of the venue, passengers still encountered immense difficulty as they tried to book a ride.

At around 3:00 am on February 20, a reporter booked a journey from the bus station to Tuoi Tre headquarters in Phu Nhuan District.

While the regular fare is only VND20,000 (US$0.88), the price at that time was VND65,000 ($2.86) due to high demand.

Upon the journalist agreeing to the cost, no driver was found.

The journalist had to retry the process for a dozen times before eventually finding himself a driver.

As the Grab application was showing, the driver was Hoang Dinh Tan, who rode a Yamaha Sirius with license plate number 63P1-04.896.

However, Tan did not contact his passenger, forcing the customer to call him instead.

The driver did not answer the call, repeatedly, before sending a text message saying, I have picked up another passenger as I was unable to reach you.

After spotting multiple GrabBike drivers with their signature green jackets, the reporter approached one and sought for help.

The driver, around 30, said he would help book a ride with his phone, before stating that the fare was VND99,000 ($4.35).

He seemed to lose his cool when the reporter asked about the price difference compared to that on his phone, which was only VND65,000.

You have asked too much. You can either go with me or continue booking a ride until forever, the driver grumbled.

A similar situation also happened at the bus station the following morning.

Han Phuong, a local resident, was unable to book a ride to her home on Ung Van Khiem Street in Binh Thanh District.

I have accepted the increased fare of VND50,000 [$2.2], although it only costs VND16,000 [$0.7] on normal days, Phuong said.

She eventually traveled with a conventional motorbike taxi driver, who also charged VND50,000 for such journey.

Revelation

A source close to Tuoi Tre stated that the GrabBike drivers in front of the Mien Dong Bus Station belonged to a group of about 15 members run by a man named Hoang.

Another group, also led by Hoang and consisting of five people, operates at Tan Son Nhat International Airport.

The two teams have been active for the past four months.

These so-called GrabBike drivers park in front of these facilities but do not turn on the application, preventing passengers from booking a ride via their app.

They forbid other drivers from entering their territory and picking up passengers.

In the end, travelers will have to reach out to these fake drivers, who will charge a much higher fare.

They have earned a lot more than I normally do thanks to such methods. Me and other drivers do not dare to infringe on their territories, H., a GrabBike driver, said.

Nguyen Trung Thanh, country head for GrabBike and GrabExpress, told Tuoi Tre that rides that are not booked via the Grab app are not considered the firms service.

It is against the rules for a driver to wear our uniform while turning off our application, Thanh asserted.

Based on the reports of Grabs quality control units and passengers, certain punishments will be imposed upon violators, he continued.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!A restaurant in Da Nang City has received complaints from a Vietnamese customer after it presented to the diner a bill written in Chinese in which the required payment far exceeded the correct cost.

A patron eating at the HD restaurant, located on Vo Nguyen Giap Street in Son Tra District, published her displeasure at its service on a Facebook page which has a membership of more than 58,000 on Friday.

The diner felt dissatisfied since the restaurant gave a Chinese-language bill showing the total cost of VND10 million (US$400), which was in actuality merely VND8 million ($320) upon recalculation.

The restaurant agreed to charge the latter amount only after the customers angry reaction.

Local authorities worked with the places manager on February 23, said Nguyen Thanh Nam, deputy chairman of the Peoples Committee in Son Tra District on Saturday morning.

The restaurant admitted to issuing the foreign-language bill related to the case.

The official said the restaurateur will be asked to solve the problem early next week.

Printing a bill in Chinese for a Vietnamese customer is a sign of insufficient transparency and runs afoul of relevant regulations, according to Nguyen Nho Hau, vice director of the Da Nang market management department.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!Vietnams national carrier, Vietnam Airlines, on Saturday recommended that prospective customers be wary of any offers of free plane tickets on the Internet.

In a press release, the airline said that in recent times, social media has been filled with links to the website http://vietnamair-flyer.club/, which promises to give two gratis Vietnam Airlines tickets to any one joining an online survey and sharing their information on social media channels.

The flag carrier said participants may unwittingly connive in a scheme of swindling others in digital space or have their personal information stolen.

Customers are advised to be careful about promotional programs from dubious websites and avoid sharing their personal information or accounts and logging in at these sites.

Official information regarding any Vietnam Airlines promotional program can be obtained from https://www.vietnamairlines.com/, https://www.facebook.com/vn.VietnamAirlines or the custome service number 1900 1100.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!How does a 37-year-old woman from Perth end up in South Sudan negotiating with Generals?

This week, Dateline reporter Amos Roberts meets the Australian frontline aid worker in South Sudan who thinks like a General, in order to save lives.

As the worlds newest nation tears itself apart, 37-year-old Dorsa Nazemi, a tomboy from Iran who arrived in Australia at 17, is in the thick of it, working in the most dangerous country for aid workers.

Dateline is given rare access to Dorsa, as she heads up operations for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) across a large rural province of South Sudan, an area where conflict and famine are rife.

She grapples with immense logistical, moral and personal quandaries thrown up by her job.

I just put myself in the minds of the two parties to the conflict and try to guess where would be the next possible offensive?

You never know when the first bullet is going to be shot, so you have to be sure that they know that were coming. You would be quite naive to think that danger is not around the corner, said Dorsa.

The people of South Sudan are suffering from one of the worlds worst and least-reported humanitarian catastrophes; a civil war that has driven millions to flee the country and left many more at risk of starvation without foreign aid.

Doras parents live in Perth and worry every day for their daughters safety. She confesses she doesnt tell them any details about her job.

Dorsa tells Dateline If I were to describe my job through a particular emoji it would be the one that keeps hitting its head against the wall or the door.

Its a world of contradictions in South Sudan. One minute you feel peace and beauty and the next you have to deal with communities fighting and people dying

Tuesday 27 February at 9.30pm on SBS.Christopher Yong Leads Unibet Open London Final Nine

February 25 2018 Christian Zetzsche

The unofficial nine-handed final table of the 2018 Unibet Open London 990 Main Event is set and Christopher Yong leads the last nine at the Grosvenor Victoria Casino in the heart of the city. It took just under ten full levels of 60 minutes each to determine the finalists after 88 hopefuls out of the 349-entry strong field had returned to the tables.

Yong holds a commanding lead with almost two times as many chips as his nearest competitors after bagging up 2,378,000. Second in chips is Oliver White with 1,325,000, followed by Jussi Vanhanen with 1,217,000. Another four of the finalists will return with more than one million in chips: Honglin Jiang (1,204,000), Jonathan Schuman (1,130,000), serial WPT National champion Laurent Polito (1,087,000), and Andreas Wiborg (1,066,000).

Last but not least, the two Frenchmen Thomas Cazayous (735,000) and Tony Blanchandin (337,000) round up the line up for tomorrow.

2018 Unibet Open London Main Event final table

Seat Player Country Chip Count Big Blinds 1 Oliver White United Kingdom 1,325,000 55 2 Andreas Wiborg Norway 1,066,000 44 3 Jonathan Schuman United Kingdom 1,130,000 47 4 Honglin Jiang New Zealand 1,204,000 50 5 Thomas Cazayous France 735,000 31 6 Christopher Yong United Kingdom 2,378,000 99 7 Tony Blanchandin France 337,000 14 8 Jussi Vanhanen Finland 1,217,000 51 9 Laurent Polito France 1,087,000 45

Day 2 Recap

After more than 30 players had been eliminated in the opening two levels of the day, the money bubble burst in the third level. It was Daniel Clark that lost a flip with ace-queen against the pocket tens of Thomas Cazayous to become the last player to leave empty-handed. Prior to that, such big names as 2,200 High Roller champion Julien Sitbon, Sylvain Loosli, two time Unibet Open champion Mateusz Moolhuizen, Unibet Poker ambassador Espen Uhlen Jorstad, and eSports Star Philip "syrinxx" Schoenebaum were already gone.

Among those to bust in the money on Day 2 were 2015 Unibet Open Cannes runner-up Karl Stark (41st for 1,870), Gary Fisher (34th for 2,100), Monica Vaka (30th for 2,350), Yngve Steen (25th for 2,630), 2017 Unibet Open Bucharest champion Marius Pertea (24th for 2,630), Preben Stokkan (19th for 3,300), Nicolas Cardyn (18th for 3,300), Bhavin Khatri (14th for 4,140) and Clement Tripodi (12th for 4,760).

Pertea was the last former champion in the field and was ousted immediately after the field had redrawn to the last three tables. The Romanian failed to get there with ace-ten suited against the pocket jacks of Lorenc Boci. A big three-way clash on the feature table saw the hopes an even deeper run of Gunnar Wedde and Jeremy Pantin vanish, while Oliver White went from almost zero to hero with a double up and near triple up within a few minutes. Boci then clashed with Christopher Yong and his turned top two pair ended up second-best, as the very same card gave Yong the nut straight. Boci never recovered from that and busted soon after.

Another big story was the impressive performance of Bhavin Khatri, who had reached the final table of this very event in the last two years. The businessman from the UK all but made it three in a row and fell agonizingly close with his bid after departing in 14th place. A crucial hand saw him lose all but a few chips when three-bet shoving with queen-nine suited into the pocket kings of Nicolaj Bonnichsen.

It would then be the elimination of the Dane that ended the day. On the outer table, Bonnichsen limp-shoved his shorter stack with king-jack and Yong called with ace-queen to remain ahead on a nine-high board.

The action will recommence at approximately 12 p.m. local time on Sunday, February 25th, 2018 with 17:18 left in level 21 at blinds of 12,000/24,000 with a running ante of 4,000. As usual, the Unibet Poker Twitch channel will provide the live stream on a security delay of 30 minutes with hole cards displayed. The PokerNews live reporting team will be back for the big showdown tomorrow and provide all the action until the latest player will join the Unibet Open champion's club in the first stop of season 11.

No third final table in a row for Bhavin Khatri

Photos by Tambet Kask/UnibetOpenOff The Felt: Chinese New Year and Visiting Thailand

February 25 2018 Alexandra Cacovean

This week, we welcomed the Chinese New Year, and Tom and Durrrr's Wife celebrated by sharing another cute photo. I mean, we're seeing a lot of Dwan now lately considering he's been a ghost the last few years.

Meanwhile, others traveled to Thailand. I mean, Matthew Waxman was there, Felix Schulze too, and Greg and Julie Merson were spending their honeymoon there. Lily Kiletto was also there! Oh, what a small world...

Anyway, some others were finding other ways to enjoy their free time. Phil Laak, for instance, was catching hail (yes, I know it sounds crazy), and Matt Salsberg enjoyed his portable sauna... What a week! Take a look.

Why do these too look so good in photos?

Durrrr's wife posted throwback pics of the Australian Open and Tom Dawn is doing prom poses now.

And took a photo with the Queen in Hong Kong.

Girls night out?

Loving this photo, Dehlia!

Matthew shared some amazing videos of Thailand.

Felix Schulze was basking in the sun.

Yes, more Thailand but this looks gorgeous.

Lily even rode an elephant.

Phil decided to catch hail. Because, why not?

And Matt bought himself a portable sauna. Seriously, what?

Tony was with the ladies!

This looks like so much fun.

Felix, this is your best look.

Boys night out but who is that guy?

It's been a minute since we've seen Doc.

Johnnie is enjoying Mexico lindo.

Both presidents in one pic.

The caption, OMG.

Whoa! He's not even wearing shoes anymore.Transport authorities and local councils in London and across the east of England have assured there are procedures in place to "minimise the consequences" of the Russian blast of freezing temperatures and heavy snow due to hit the country this week.

Forecasters at the Met Office warned that a reversal of the jet stream will push freezing air from Russia towards the east and southeast of England -- a weather front dubbed by the tabloids 'the Beast from the East'. There was a 99% chance of freezing temperatures, with snow showers expected across the east of the country from Monday, intensifying by evening and blanketing much of the country by Tuesday. Temperatures at night are predicted to fall to around -5C.

Transport for London and the body representing all of London's borough councils and the City of London said they were coordinating plans to "keep London moving", with TfL pledging to keep the rail and strategic road networks open and running in the even of any severe winter weather.

London boroughs themselves are responsible for 95% of the capitals roads, with the focus on keeping key arterial roads, cycle routes and footways around bus and railway stations, hospitals and police, fire and ambulance stations open and minimising disruption. More than 100,000 tonnes of salt are available, between TfL and the combined boroughs, for gritting roads.

All transport agencies across the capital are due to work "around the clock" to minimise any disruption on the Tube, bus, rail and road networks, TfL said. On the underground network TfL pointed to "well rehearsed", including running de-icing trains overnight to keep tracks and platforms clear and safe, with points heaters and teams of staff armed with grit for DLR platforms, and London Overground trains fitted with de-icing tanks ready to traverse the network to ensure conductor rails are free of ice. Stations will also be gritted and conductor rail heating has been installed at key parts of the network.

Gareth Powell, managing director of surface transport at TfL, said the organisation had "done everything possible to ensure that we have well-rehearsed procedures in place to minimise the consequences of any wintry weather" and was co-operating with councils and emergency services to develop plans and keep the capital moving.

TfL encourages customers to check before they travel, visiting tfl.gov.uk or checking twitter feeds @TfLTravelAlerts, @TfLTrafficNews and @TfLBusAlerts on Twitter. Suffolk County Council, where a spokeswoman said the authoritys roads depots had recently taken fresh deliveries of grit and sand, have their own feed @Suff_highways, while the NHS also offered and advice for dealing with very cold weather.

Councillor Julian Bell, chair of London Councils transport and environment committee, said: Boroughs are implementing their carefully prepared plans to ensure key routes are salted and cleared when necessary. Please take care when travelling in adverse conditions and check the latest travel advice and information on what is happening in your area.

The Met Office warned some rural communities could become cut and that power cuts may also occur and other services, such as mobile phones, may be affected.

On Sunday the office upgraded their snow warning for East Anglia from yellow to amber. "There is an increased likelihood of bad weather affecting you, which could potentially disrupt your plans and possibly cause travel delays, road and rail closures, interruption to power and the potential risk to life and property.

"Amber means you need to be prepared to change your plans and protect you, your family and community from the impacts of the severe weather based on the forecast from the Met Office."

A level three cold weather alert has been called in Kent by the Met Office, which triggers actions in the NHS, public health, social care and other community organisations to support vulnerable people who have health, housing or economic circumstances that increase their risk of harm.Jessica Ford of La Vergne, Tennessee, is facing some serious federal charges after the 35-year-old deliberately rammed her white Chevrolet mini-van into the security barriers at the White House while President Donald Trump was in the residence. She attended her first court appearance Saturday afternoon (Feb. 24) at the Superior Court of the District of Colombia.

However, it turns out Ford is no stranger to the White House, as she was caught scaling the railings of the property last year, along with a third incident, and has a court order against her.

Her excuse this time is that she was meeting her fiancee, the US president.

Ford facing three charges for ramming the gates

The US Attorneys Office has announced that Ford is facing charges on three separate offenses and that all are felonies. The first is an act of physical violence on restricted grounds with a deadly weapon (vehicle). This charge potentially carries a maximum sentence of 10 years. The second is related to resisting arrest and threatening with a dangerous weapon (vehicle) and the third is damage to government property, both of which charges have a maximum sentence of 20 years.

Jessica R. Ford, 35, of La Vergne, TN, crashed into a WH complex barrier, holding a pistol, but did not breach the security barrier and was immediately apprehended. It's not her first run-in with law enforcement near the White House. https://t.co/Kx3WEAtI7L  Alex Bendyna (@bendynaa) February 25, 2018

Ford yelled for her children during the incident

As reported by WUSA9, Ford was heard to scream on several occasions that she wanted her children back.

Her public defender, Gretchen Franklin, says her client is not a dangerous person and that she was not trying to hurt anyone. Initially, Ford told police she was visiting her husband, by the name of James Burris, at the White House, claiming that he lived here. However, once in court, Ford changed her story and said she was actually visiting her fiancee, naming US President Donald Trump.

However, according to Franklin, Ford feels somebody has taken her children and wont return them to her.

As reported by ABC News, while the media has reported Ford as having a gun at the time of the incident, this was found to be a BB gun, which looked similar to a pistol.

U.S. Secret Service officers took 35-year-old Jessica Ford of La Vergne, Tennessee, into custody about 3 p.m. after she struck the pop-up barrier near the White House, at 17th and E streets, the Secret Service said https://t.co/Wjt2WfemyQ  slone  (@slone) February 23, 2018

Not Fords first attempt to enter the White House

Last year, a court order was taken out against Ford after she attempted to scale a fence and jump the security gates at the White House.

At that time she was ordered to stay away, but police say the court order had no effect on stopping her returning to the scene of her former crime.

Law enforcement officials tell us the Tennessee woman who breached security at White House is Jessica Ford. @NBC4ITeam investigated Ford in 2017 https://t.co/YRNsrPRAKv  Scott MacFarlane (@MacFarlaneNews) February 23, 2018

Franklin went on to call the situation crazy, saying a person with major mental health problems is no mystery or secret. She went on to say that its time something was done for people with mental health issues. Meanwhile, Ford is set to appear in Federal District Court on Monday (Feb. 26).After the New York Times broke their bombshell story that Donald Trump attempted to fire Russian investigation special counsel Robert Mueller last summer, the story dominated the news cycle. In response, those close to the president are doing whatever they can to deflect.

Anthony Scaramucci suggests he believes Steve Bannon may be behind NYTimes bombshell #CuomoPrimeTime https://t.co/PHxa7fYDVc  New Day (@NewDay) January 26, 2018

CNN on Mueller

Former FBI Director Robert Mueller was tapped last year to be the special counsel to the Russian investigation and has since found enough evidence to indict several former and present associates of Donald Trump, including former campaign manager Paul Manafort and former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn.

On Thursday night, just one day after Trump agreed to meet with Mueller for questioning about the Russian investigation, the New York Times reports that back in June the president attempted to fire the special counsel but was stopped after White House counsel Don McGahn threatened to resign. These issues were discussed during a heated conversation during a January 25 broadcast on CNN.

Anthony Scaramucci: NYTimes report "totally irrelevant because he actually didn't fire Mueller" #CuomoPrimeTime https://t.co/PHxa7fYDVc  New Day (@NewDay) January 26, 2018

Joining host Chris Cuomo on Thursday night was former White House Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci who lashed out over the New York Times report.

Scaramucci said he never heard that Trump was trying to fire Robert Mueller, saying the report was "totally irrelevant because he actually didn't fire Mueller." "I find it very ironic that this report has come out while he (Trump) is in Davos with great fan fare," he said.

Exclusive: President Trump ordered the firing in June of Robert Mueller, the special counsel. The top White House lawyer threatened to quit. https://t.co/XvTluaOdmX  The New York Times (@nytimes) January 26, 2018

Not stopping there, Anthony Scaramucci accused former Chief Strategist Steve Bannon of possibly leaking the information to the New York Times.

"I would love to get a look at somebody like Steve Bannon' phone records," he added. "Anthony, please," Chris Cuomo replied while being forced to cut in. "Let me finish," Scaramucci said with frustration. "You did finish. Please, it matters too much," Cuomo said. "It can't be a red herring. A red herring is a distraction from what is otherwise important.

This goes to the most important question that we are dealing with," Cuomo went on to say.

Next up

While the White House and associates of the president scramble to come up with a defense, the New York Times cites four sources close to the situation to back up their reporting. As of press time, Donald Trump has not offered a comment on the report as he is currently in Davos, Switzerland where he will soon be attending the World Economic Forum. In addition, Steve Bannon has not issued a response to the allegations made by Anthony Scaramucci that he was the source of the leak.It's no secret that the majority of the women in the United States are not fans of Donald Trump. During a recent interview, the president announced that he was not a "Feminist."

Trump not a feminist

Since the start of Donald Trump's campaign for president back in the summer of 2015, it's been clear that a lot of groups are just not behind the agenda of the billionaire real estate mogul. One group that has stood out has been women, most notably over Trump's policy proposals and controversial rhetoric that many find degrading and insulting. Adding fuel to the fire has been the allegations of sexual assault and harassment, which became public in October 2016 after the release of the now in famous "Access Hollywood" tape.

Fast forward to present day and the "Me Too" and "Times Up" movement have become headline news following the revelations of decades of sexual abuse at the hands of film producer Harvey Weinstein. As reported by The Hill on January 27, Trump confirmed that he's not a "feminist."

BREAKING NEWS:

President Trump has declared he is NOT a feminist.

He tells me: No, I wouldn't say I'm a feminist. I mean, I think that would be, maybe, going too far. I'm for women, I'm for men, Im for everyone.'

Full interview, Sunday, ITV, 10pm. pic.twitter.com/GCviovNb6o  Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) January 27, 2018

According to The Hill on Saturday night, Donald Trump addressed the issue of feminism during an interview with Piers Morgan will be released on Sunday.

"No, I wouldn't say I'm a feminist," Trump said. "I think that would be, maybe, going too far," he added. Trump then explaining that he wasn't a feminist because he was "for everyone," and not just men or women. As expected, the former host of "The Apprentice" didn't surprise many with his remarks, and over the course of the next few hours, those who oppose Trump wasted no time in lashing out and giving the president a piece of their mind when it comes to the issue of his lack of support for women's rights.

Instant reaction

After the news broke of Donald Trump's comments, critics of the president made sure to lash out. "I wouldnt say youre human," one tweet read.

Thank you, Mario!!  Eileen O'Farrell (@ofarrelltalent) January 28, 2018

Well no shit Guy, ya ever heard of the phrase actions speak louder than words lol in the last year youve taken our our birth control and reproductive rights ...did you think there was confusion on our end on why that happend orrrrr  S* (@NewEngland_Dem) January 28, 2018

Yes. We acknowledge that even though you're a lot of other things, a feminist isn't one of them.  Kyle J. (@KrobinJr) January 28, 2018

"More of a sexual predator, right Don?" one sarcastic tweet added.

"Yes. We acknowledge that even though you're a lot of other things, a feminist isn't one of them," an additional Twitter user wrote. "Well no sh*t Guy, ya ever heard of the phrase 'actions speak louder than words' lol in the last year youve taken our our birth control and reproductive rights ...did you think there was confusion on our end on why that happens," yet another tweet stated.

Hes clearly not a a feminist. Has answered on whether hes a serial sexual predator in addition to adulterer yet? @FLOTUS @realDonaldTrump  KariResists (@Raycerx58) January 28, 2018

Next headline water is wet news at 11!  James Binder (@kidjim25) January 28, 2018

I think everyone suspected it. Here is an apt quote for #notfeministtrump Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and to remove all doubt.  Michael Kim (@michaelkim340) January 28, 2018

"Yeah. Tell us something we don't know," a social media user wrote. "Hes clearly not a a feminist. Has answered on whether hes a serial sexual predator in addition to adulterer yet?" a tweet wondered.A California state lawmaker is pushing a bill that would allow veterinarians to prescribe pot for Dogs, cats and other animals.

Assemblyman Ash Kalra, a Democrat who represents San Jose, has introduced a bill in the California legislature that would protect veterinarians from disciplinary action for discussing the use of marijuana, also called cannabis, with the owners of pets. Kalras Assembly Bill 2215 would also set up guidelines for the states Veterinary Medical Board where veterinarians would be allowed to bring up the use of cannabis with pet or animal owners.

Marijuana for pets has support of petMD, others

Prescribing pot for pets has the support of some veterinarians, pet experts and others, including petMD, a website that says it is the largest source of pet health information in the world and includes a global network of veterinarians. Though not referencing Kalras bill directly, petMD says in its blog that pet parents and veterinarians alike are finding that medical cannabis can provide positive benefits for dogs as well.

Cannabis oil can be used to treat seizures, nausea, stress, anxiety, arthritis, back pain, symptoms of cancer, and gastrointestinal issues, among other health conditions in dogs, petMD wrote in the undated blog posting.

Veterinary Medical Association supports measure

The Sacramento Bee reports the measure has the support of the Veterinary Medical Association, a not-for-profit association that represents more than 91,000 veterinarians across the U.S.

Veterinarians should be making these recommendations, not all these other people, Valerie Fenstermaker, executive director of the Veterinary Medical Association, told the newspaper.

Some veterinarians have expressed that they receive questions daily about this," she said.

California allows pot use for humans, but no mention of pets

California legalized the use and sale of pot for medicinal purposes nearly two decades ago, while on Jan. 1 the sale and cultivation of recreational marijuana for use by adults became legal.

But the California laws have made no mention of allowing it to be prescribed or offered for dogs, cats or other animals that may be suffering from any number of ailments.

Kalra's bill, introduced on Feb. 12, is still pending referral in the California Legislature, meaning its has yet to be assigned to a committee for a hearing.At the 2018 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) Thursday morning (Feb. 22), the NRAs CEO and an NRA spokeswoman told audience members that stricter gun control laws were a threat to their freedoms and the right to bear arms. The CEO also accused the activists and #NeverAgain supporters of wanting to take away Americans' 2nd amendment rights.

Their message of disdain and opulent defiance was in response to anyone suggesting changes or restrictions on gun laws. This included the POTUS who had been vocal about considering age limitations, strengthening schools, arming teachers, and bump stock bans.

Other NRA targets were the student activists, and Senator Rubio, who the night before (Feb. 21), broke from NRA tenets during a public town hall. The meeting was hosted by CNNs Jake Tapper, and millions of Americans watched Rubio defy the NRA, one of his largest funding contributors by agreeing with the teens that there was a need for new gun restrictions.

Although upset with both Rubio and Trump, the NRA held back Trump criticism. They did, however, agree with the POTUS on two points--fortifying schools and arming educators with weapons. Yes, teachers. The NRA loves the Annie Oakley idea.

From teacher to gunslinger

All this talk of the teachers carrying weapons began Wednesday (Feb. 22) morning, during a meeting with the POTUS, school shooting survivors, parents, and other community members.

Trump listened as parents and students, through rage and tears, detailed how their lives had been shaken by gun violence.

Midway through the meeting, the president asked for suggestions and oddly enough, one of the parents suggested giving teachers a weapon. Trump seemed to like the idea of school officials having guns. In real time, he began flushing out the idea of how many teachers would have a gun and what it would look like.

Since the preposterous utterance of teacher and gun in the same sentence, the story has gone viral.

Putting guns in the hands of teachers across the US is probably one of the worst ideas imaginableever; even if it would be a small percentage of school staff. The introduction of a weapon into a classroom full of kids who are developmentally impulsive is kindred to kicking over Pandoras Box and yanking open the doors to unfathomable catastrophes.

Consider the scenario of students horse playing or fist fighting and the art teacher, Mr. Jones, comes to break it up. In a fraction of a second, the gun comes into play. What about the kid or teacher who had a bad week, and today is the day they decide they are fed up?

The list of ifs are infinite, and the potential outcomes rest on split-second decisions; the difference between life and death. Bottom line, teachers go into teaching to teach because they like kids and want to make a difference, not because of the awesome teachers pay.

Is the real world changing?

Have we gotten to the point where we are we now saying that it is safer to lock twenty or thirty students in a classroom where the underpaid, under-resourced, professional educator is expected to wield a steel gun in one hand and crayons in the other?

Are we expecting mousy second-grade teachers across the US, whove always dreamed of changing the world, to become marksmen and strap a Smith and Wesson to their hip? If so, then we have just moved into a world of pure fantasy. If this non-fantastical suggestion was the answer to American school shootings, then states would have implemented teacher and gun programs almost two decades ago after Columbine.

Not everyone is against the idea of teachers having guns in the classroom. According to a CNN report that aired on Saturday (Feb. 24), there is at least one school in Texas where teachers legally conceal and carry a weapon. Two students spoke with a CNN correspondent and shared that they felt safe that their teacher had a gun and could protect them in the event of an active shooter.

However, this school is the exception rather than the norm.

However, and to be clear, there are tens of thousands of teachers and faculty who adamantly oppose the idea of weaponizing school--and rightfully so. Educators and teacher organizations like the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) are against the idea, and there are some administrators open to the conversation. The mainstream teachers school of thought of having to take the life of one of their students, a former student, or stranger sits in contradiction to pedagogical principles. Teachers help build lives not take them.

This proposal to the nation is surrealism at its best. It appears to be spawned from a world where some phantasms and unicorns dwell.

Do teachers now have to add Kevlar vests to school supply lists? Instead of giving the teacher an apple, do we now give boxes of ammunition? May Zeus help us all if giving teachers guns is the best answer weve got to ending domestic terror in our schools and keeping our kids safe.The #NeverAgain movement was born as a result of the 2018 Valentines Day Massacre that killed 17 students and staff at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School (MSD). The Florida student survivors, now considered leaders and teen activists, generated a surge of support from millions of Americans, including the former POTUS, Barack Obama. Their message to the now POTUS and lawmakers came in the form of active demands to do something to address school safety and gun laws in the country.

The strong urgings have sparked discussions among government officials and have led to considerations and proposed solutions to school shootings and about gun control.

According to CNN, Trump has even vocalized possible support of increasing the age limit for gun purchases, looking into mental health services, and the possibility of banning bump stocks--an attachment that changes a regular rifle into an automatic.

NRA tries to discredit gun law proposals

As one would expect, the proposed restrictions were shot down--pun intended-- by the National Rifle Association (NRA). At the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) On Thursday (Feb.22), the NRA expressed their disdain at being responsible for mass school killings because of their gun sales. In an address to a CPAC audience, the NRA made it clear that they stood firm on 2nd Amendment rights and then blamed the FBI, lack of Mental Health Services, easy access to schools, and poor school security for mass school killings.

On Friday, that following morning (Feb. 23), it was Trumps turn. He took to the CPAC podium and picked up where the CEO and NRA spokeswoman left off. The POTUS spoke for 80 minutes, going off script for most of his speech. He spoke of strong support of the 2nd amendment, and the need to weaponize teachers and harden schools.

Trump pointed to the incompetence of school security officers, red flags and missed opportunities by law enforcement is the reason for the massacre at MSD. Little did America know, in the case of the Parkland, Florida shooting, that the accusations made by the NRA and Trump, would prove to be scarily accurate and even more factual than anyone could have guessed.

Officers hide while children are slaughtered

CNNs John Berman reported on Friday evening (Feb. 23) that there were four officers outside of the school when the MSD shooting took place. This was confirmed in a press conference held earlier that day by Browards County Sheriff.

Sheriff Israel, the same Sheriff who joined the #NeverAgain movement with the teens and families since the start of the massacres aftermath, had to stand in front of a room full of media folk and announce to America that one of his officers, Scott Peterson, who was assigned to the school, stayed outside even though he knew there was an active shooter inside. Embarrassed, Israel continued by expressing his dismay about what he saw on the schools video footage and not just because of Peterson, but that of three other police deputies who also stayed outside and even hid behind their cars.

Israel told the media that the video depicted four minutes of mayhem, with students running and screaming and bullets ringing out in the background. By the six-minute mark, the gunman was done. Yet, none of the officers went inside to help. Luckily, officers from nearby Coral Springs arrived on the scene and were the first responders to enter the building.

The political gun debate continues

Since the Sheriffs press conference, President Trump has used the event to further promote his agenda of arming trusted school officials and teachers, because after all, according to the POTUS, teachers are the best defense because they are the ones who really love the children. But, one has to consider, if multiple trained and armed police officers hid, and didnt rush to the aide of staff and students, who were under siege by a disturbed 19-year-old mass murderer, what makes lawmakers think the average teacher would run towards rapid gunfire, which by the way, is what police officers are trained to do.

One would say, no amount of tax cuts and bonuses for carrying a gun could change the mind of the average teacherteachers cant be bought, and this is what lawmakers are failing to understand. Most teachers, and principals, alike would suggest the money is better used for teacher pay increases, school crisis prevention programs and more adequately trained security personnel.The Black Panther is currently making waves and breaking records at the cinemas. It is proving to everyone that it isnt overhyped; it actually deserves all the attention it is getting. From strong women characters to having African-American superheroes, people are raving over the movie. Be warned, there are spoilers up ahead, so you must have already have seen the film if you dont want it to be ruined for you.

Director Ryan Coogler recently revealed that there exists an alternate ending to the film. And if you stayed until after the credits, you might have actually seen it.

The actual ending of Black Panther is when Chadwick Boseman, who plays TChalla, and Letitia Wright, who plays his little sister Shuri, were discussing in front of an old apartment building where NJadaka or Killmonger once lived.

Post credits and mid-credits scenes

In one mid-credit scene, King TChalla addresses the UN, informing them of their intent to share what Wakanda has with the rest of the world. There is also a post-credit scene where we see the Winter Soldier Bucky, played by Sebastian Stan, being woken by Wakanda children in what looks like a small village at the edge of the country. While watching Black Panther, you might have quickly wondered where he was, especially since in a post-credit scene of Captain America: Civil War, we saw him being placed into a deep sleep with the help of Wakanda technology.

This scene was actually considered to be a part of the film. If it was, then the ending would be so much different with Bucky Barnes being there to potentially help TChalla out.

However, the Winter Soldier could not be included in the Black Panther storyline because it might not make sense. Director Ryan Coogler also said that the Winter Soldier might still have some Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), and as Coogler said to Collider, Buckys not trained to neutralize people peacefully, hes an assassin. His presence might cause more problems than solutions in the movie, so better to not include him instead.

After all, Marvel Studios is trying their best to make sure the stories combine seamlessly.

Prelude to 'Avengers: Infinity War'

Bucky being woken up at the end of the film is a prelude to him joining the rest of the "Avengers" cast when they rally up against Thanos in the next "Avengers" film, "Infinity War." One theory why he was woken up earlier than expected is because Shuri might have already found a way to help him heal quicker.

We all know Wakandas healing technology is far greater than that of the rest of the world, so this theory might actually hold.

What do you think would have happened if Bucky was there during TChalla and Killmongers fight?Catelynn Lowell headed back to rehab for her second round of treatment in as many months back in January. Now, she's looking forward to getting out soon. There were questions about whether or not Catelynn would be well enough to attend the "Teen Mom OG" reunion show taping in New York City next month. Now it looks like she'll be there after all.

Catelynn cleared for NYC trip

The "Teen Mom OG" reunion show taping is happening on March 3 and 4 in New York City. The entire cast of the MTV series is expected to be there to hash out what happened over the course of Season 7.

The reunion shows are often contentious and even though many cast members don't even interact with each other during filming, things often get tense when all of the "Teen Mom" stars, their significant others and their exes all come together in the same place.

This particular "Teen Mom" reunion should be interesting, considering it will be Farrah Abraham's last, if she's even there at all. Not to mention Amber Portwood's pregnancy, Maci Bookout's ongoing drama with Ryan Edwards and his struggle to stay sober. There's a lot going on!

Fans have been particularly interested in Catelynn Lowell and Tyler Baltierra's storyline this season. Knowing that Catelynn makes two trips to rehab that didn't make it on the show, "Teen Mom" viewers want to catch up with the couple and see how Catelynn is doing.

We already watched Catelynn's heartbreaking miscarriage and how it affected both of them. We also saw Tyler drop Butch off at rehab for a six-month session that will hopefully get him on the right track too. For a bit, it was looking like Catelynn might miss the reunion show taping, unable to update everyone. According to Us Weekly, Catelynn Lowell will be able to go to the "Teen Mom OG" region show taping after all.

Catelynns treatment team has given her permission for her to travel to New York City for the Teen Mom reunion to be filmed in New York City on March 3 and March 4, a source told Us.

Almost home

It was just a week ago that Tyler Baltierra visited Catelynn Lowell at the Arizona rehab center where she's receiving treatment. It was an emotional visit for them both.

Afterward, Tyler shared pictures of the "Teen Mom" couple on social media and gushed about how proud he was of his wife.

Now, as it gets closer to Catelynn's discharge time, she's finally broken her month-long Twitter silence to announce that she will be heading home soon.

"Cannot wait to see my family soon!!! @TylerBaltierra," Catelynn tweeted. It looks like she'll get out of rehab and have a few days to rest up and prepare before heading to the "Teen Mom OG" reunion show taping in New York City.Rapper Travis Scott just wants to have his daughter with Kylie Jenner to live a normal life. According to a source of Hollywood Life cited by InTouch Weekly, His wish is that she has as much as a normal life as possible in the celebrity bubble she is in. We all know how publicized the Kardashian/Jenner family is. That family is an open book. The kids of Kourtney Kardashian and Kim Kardashian are seen now and then on "Keeping Up With The Kardashians." They do allow some glimpse of their lives. Rob Kardashians daughter Dream is rarely seen. He seems to keep her private by making rare appearances on social media.

The makeup mogul did manage to keep her pregnancy under wraps

Kylie Jenner kept everyone guessing what was going on. Kylie is the Snapchat queen. When she remains silent from social media, fans can only speculate. The privacy of her pregnancy makes her fans think she may want to keep her daughter Stormi out of the spotlight. It was very shocking but understandable that she wanted her privacy. She was becoming a first-time mother.

Kylie Jenner grew up right in front of our eyes on "Keeping Up With The Kardashians." All she knew growing up is cameras being around basically 24/7 filming her familys life. She continued with a spin-off reality show "Life of Kylie." Maybe since growing up in that lifestyle she will agree with Travis Scott and keep their daughter Stormi out of reality TV.

It is clear that Travis Scott does not want his daughter in the show.

Kylie Jenner has most liked Instagram picture

The photo the CEO Jenner shared of her daughter Stormi holding her mothers finger, was the most liked photo on Instagram. According to Kylie's Instagram account, it received over 17 million likes and over 1 million comments.

I knew for myself I needed to prepare for this role of a lifetime in the most positive, stress-free, and healthy way I knew how, Kylie stated on her Instagram account. The lip kit mogul told Elle UK written in InTouch Weekly, " I would love to have a family and build a home with a farm in Malibu Canyon and just have my kids and throw away my phone and just really like, live my life and not do this anymore.

Since the birth of Stormi Webster, Kylie Jenner has been quiet on social media only posting a few times.

The most she would post about is her lip kit and makeup line. All the signs are pointing to a more relaxed way of life for Kylie Jenner, so Travis Scott may get his wish.

Welcome to the world Stormi Webster. We are anxious to see your precious face. We will have to patiently wait and see what your parents decide.After seeing her deal with some pretty intense Family Drama while waiting "Love & Hip Hop Miami," some may be wondering who is Jojo Zarur? The new "LHHMIA" beauty has been dealing with her parents' divorce and while that might seem pretty common, the way her parents are battling it out and dragging their kids into the mix definitely makes her situation different.

Jojo's family drama

Jojo Zarur's parents are getting a divorce and it's causing her a lot of stress. Her father, Jose Antonio Zarur, has money and lots of it. In order to get her fair share in the divorce, Jojo's mother is suing her father.

She's also dragging Jojo into the mix because she's subpoenaed Jojo to come testify against her dad.

On a recent episode of "Love & Hip Hop Miami," Jojo's dad got angry at the grand opening of Jojo's new boutique and ended up calling her mom a "motherf**ker." It looks like he's not to please with Jojo's brother either. Jose Zahur seems to think that the brother has sided with his mom. As for Jojo, she really just wants both parents to leave her out of it.

There have been a few questions lately about who is Jojo's dad and what does he do for a living. A few Twitter sleuths have been throwing around their theories on Mr. Zahur. Some thought he was a gangster or some sort of high ranking mafia member based on the way he carries himself.

It turns out that he's not. Instead, it has been learned that he works as an executive director for a large Mexican insurance company.

As for how much Jose Antonio Zahur is worth, he reportedly earns $10 million a year for his executive job and has a total net worth of $45 million. No wonder Jojo's mom wants to make sure she gets her fair share.

More about Jojo

When "Love & Hip Hop Miami" premiered, Jojo Zahur made a huge impression on viewers. She's been beefing with Veronica Vega recently. It all started when Jojo told Amara La Negra that Veronica was talking about her. It didn't take long for Veronica and Jojo to come face to face and it wasn't pretty.

Off-air, Jojo also seems to have her fair share of drama.

Now that she's become a familiar face because of reality TV, she says the groupies jumping into her DMs is getting out of hand. It's not just "Love & Hip Hop" fans either.

Jojo says that guys from other "LHH" cities are hitting her up and hitting on her too. Wouldn't it be fun to know exactly which ones? I've got a few guesses as to who it might be. We all know who the "Love & Hip Hop" creeps are and Jojo is a beautiful girl.

As for Jojo Zahur's relationship status, she is currently single. Jojo told Rolling Out that the reason she hasn't found someone to date is due to her high standards. However, she did tease that she'll be debuting a relationship in Season 3 of "Love & Hip Hop Miami" so we'll have to stick around and see who is good enough for Miami's newest babe.Cao Dai Tay Ninh Church holds Duc Chi Ton ceremony

VNA/VNP

The Cao Dai Tay Ninh Church in the southern province of Tay Ninh held the grand ritual dedicated to the Duc Chi Ton (Supreme Being) or Great Father who they believe to be the ancestor of the world, on February 23.The event, held annually on the eighth day of the first lunar month, is one of the two most important rituals of the sect in a year to pay respect for the Great Father and pray for good weather, bumper crops and peace.The ritual include a dance of Long Ma (a legendary creature which is half horse and half dragon) and Tu Linh (the four holy beasts) and a performance of Sac Toc music, followed by a worshipping ceremony for the Great Father.An exhibition of 30 models featuring national construction through periods as well as ancient heroes and legends was kicked off the same day. Those include su tich trau cau (the legend of betel and areca), Co Loa citadel and Lac Long Quan and Au Co. The models are on display until the fifteenth day of the first lunar month.The other important ritual of Cao Dai sect is Hoi Yen Dieu Tri Cung, a great religious banquet for the Great Mother and nine female immortals of the Dieu Tri Palace (Jasper Pond Palace). It is held annually on the fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month. Cao Dai followers believe that the banquet enables them to achieve the goal of liberating themselves from the cycle of birth and death.Founded in 1926 in Tay Ninh province, the Cao Dai religion worships the Divine Eye, known as the eye of heaven and a symbol of its supreme being. Cao Dais doctrine honours the Divine and the miraculous quality of supreme spirits, and considers them as the means for human beings to unify with the God. It is now the third largest religion in Vietnam with millions of followers nationwide.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. 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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.The following companies are subsidiares of Sonic Automotive: AM GA LLC, AM Realty GA LLC, AnTrev LLC, Arngar Inc., Autobahn Inc., Avalon Ford Inc., Car Cash of North Carolina Inc., Cornerstone Acceptance Corporation, ECHOPARK: AM GA LLC, ECHOPARK: AM Realty GA LLC, ECHOPARK: EP Realty NC LLC, ECHOPARK: EP Realty SC LLC, ECHOPARK: EchoPark AZ LLC, ECHOPARK: EchoPark CA LLC, ECHOPARK: EchoPark Driver Education LLC, ECHOPARK: EchoPark FL LLC, ECHOPARK: EchoPark NC LLC, ECHOPARK: EchoPark Realty TX LLC, ECHOPARK: EchoPark SC LLC, ECHOPARK: EchoPark TX LLC, ECHOPARK: Echopark Automotive Inc., ECHOPARK: SAI DS LLC, ECHOPARK: SAI DS Realty TX LLC, ECHOPARK: SAI Vehicle Subscription Inc., ECHOPARK: TT Denver LLC, ECHOPARK: TTRE CO 1 LLC, FAA Beverly Hills Inc., FAA Capitol N Inc., FAA Concord H Inc., FAA Concord T Inc., FAA Dublin N Inc., FAA Dublin VWD Inc., FAA Holding Corp., FAA Las Vegas H Inc., FAA Poway H Inc., FAA Poway T Inc., FAA San Bruno Inc., FAA Santa Monica V Inc., FAA Serramonte H Inc., FAA Serramonte Inc., FAA Serramonte L Inc., FAA Stevens Creek Inc., FAA Torrance CPJ Inc., FirstAmerica Automotive Inc., Fort Mill Ford Inc., Franciscan Motors Inc., Frontier Oldsmobile-Cadillac Inc., Kramer Motors Incorporated, L Dealership Group Inc., Marcus David Corporation, Massey Cadillac Inc. (TN-MI), Mountain States Motors Co. Inc., North Point Imports LLC, Ontario L LLC, Philpott Motors Ltd., SAI AL HC1 Inc., SAI AL HC2 Inc., SAI Ann Arbor Imports LLC, SAI Atlanta B LLC, SAI Broken Arrow C LLC, SAI Calabasas A LLC, SAI Chamblee V LLC, SAI Charlotte M LLC, SAI Chattanooga N LLC, SAI Clearwater T LLC, SAI Cleveland N LLC, SAI Columbus Motors LLC, SAI Columbus T LLC, SAI Columbus VWK LLC, SAI Conroe N LLC, SAI Denver B Inc., SAI Denver C Inc., SAI Denver M Inc., SAI FL HC1 Inc., SAI FL HC2 Inc., SAI FL HC3 Inc., SAI FL HC4 Inc., SAI FL HC7 Inc., SAI Fairfax B LLC, SAI Fort Myers B LLC, SAI Fort Myers H LLC, SAI Fort Myers M LLC, SAI Fort Myers VW LLC, SAI GA HC1 LLC, SAI Irondale Imports LLC, SAI Irondale L LLC, SAI Long Beach B Inc., SAI MD HC1 Inc., SAI McKinney M LLC, SAI Monrovia B Inc., SAI Montgomery B LLC, SAI Montgomery BCH LLC, SAI Montgomery CH LLC, SAI Nashville CSH LLC, SAI Nashville H LLC, SAI Nashville M LLC, SAI Nashville Motors LLC, SAI OK HC1 Inc., SAI Oklahoma City C LLC, SAI Oklahoma City H LLC, SAI Oklahoma City T LLC, SAI Orlando CS LLC, SAI Peachtree LLC, SAI Pensacola A LLC, SAI Philpott T LLC, SAI Riverside C LLC, SAI Roaring Fork LR Inc., SAI Rockville Imports LLC, SAI Rockville L LLC, SAI S. Atlanta JLR LLC, SAI SIC Inc., SAI Santa Clara K Inc., SAI Stone Mountain T LLC, SAI TN HC1 LLC, SAI TN HC2 LLC, SAI TN HC3 LLC, SAI Tulsa N LLC, SAI Tulsa T LLC, SAI Tysons Corner H LLC, SAI Tysons Corner I LLC, SAI VA HC1 Inc., SAI VS GA LLC, SAI VS TX LLC, SAI Vehicle Subscription Inc., SAI West Houston B LLC, SRE Alabama  2 LLC, SRE Alabama  5 LLC, SRE Alabama  6 LLC, SRE California 10 LBB LLC, SRE California 11 PH LLC, SRE California  1 LLC, SRE California  2 LLC, SRE California  3 LLC, SRE California  4 LLC, SRE California  5 LLC, SRE California  6 LLC, SRE California  7 SCB LLC, SRE California  8 SCH LLC, SRE California  9 BHB LLC, SRE Colorado  1 LLC, SRE Colorado  2 LLC, SRE Colorado  3 LLC, SRE Colorado  4 RF LLC, SRE Colorado  5 CC LLC, SRE Florida  1 LLC, SRE Florida  2 LLC, SRE Georgia 4 LLC, SRE Georgia 5 LLC, SRE Georgia 6 LLC, SRE Holding LLC, SRE Maryland  1 LLC, SRE Nevada  2 LLC, SRE North Carolina  2 LLC, SRE North Carolina  3 LLC, SRE Ohio 1 LLC, SRE Ohio 2 LLC, SRE Oklahoma  1 LLC, SRE Oklahoma  2 LLC, SRE Oklahoma  5 LLC, SRE South Carolina  2 LLC, SRE South Carolina  3 LLC, SRE South Carolina  4 LLC, SRE Tennessee 6 LLC, SRE Tennessee 7 LLC, SRE Tennessee  1 LLC, SRE Tennessee  2 LLC, SRE Tennessee  3 LLC, SRE Tennessee  4 LLC, SRE Tennessee  5 LLC, SRE Texas 10 LLC, SRE Texas 11 LLC, SRE Texas 12 LLC, SRE Texas 13 LLC, SRE Texas 14 LLC, SRE Texas 15 LLC, SRE Texas 16 LLC, SRE Texas 9 LLC, SRE Texas  1 LP, SRE Texas  2 LP, SRE Texas  3 LP, SRE Texas  4 LP, SRE Texas  5 LP, SRE Texas  6 LP, SRE Texas  7 LP, SRE Texas  8 LP, SRE Virginia - 1 LLC, SRE Virginia  2 LLC, SRM Assurance Ltd., Santa Clara Imported Cars Inc., Sonic 2185 Chapman Rd. Chattanooga LLC, Sonic Advantage PA LP, Sonic Automotive - 1720 Mason Ave. DB LLC, Sonic Automotive 2424 Laurens Rd. Greenville Inc., Sonic Automotive 2752 Laurens Rd. Greenville Inc., Sonic Automotive Aviation LLC, Sonic Automotive F&I LLC, Sonic Automotive Support LLC, Sonic Automotive West LLC, Sonic Automotive of Chattanooga LLC, Sonic Automotive of Nashville LLC, Sonic Automotive of Nevada Inc., Sonic Automotive of Texas LP, Sonic Automotive  1495 Automall Drive Columbus Inc., Sonic Automotive  1720 Mason Ave. DB Inc., Sonic Automotive  2490 South Lee Highway LLC, Sonic Automotive  3401 N. Main TX LP, Sonic Automotive  4701 I-10 East TX LP, Sonic Automotive  6008 N. Dale Mabry FL Inc., Sonic Automotive  9103 E. Independence NC LLC, Sonic Calabasas M Inc., Sonic Development LLC, Sonic Divisional Operations LLC, Sonic FFC 1 Inc., Sonic FFC 2 Inc., Sonic FFC 3 Inc., Sonic Fremont Inc., Sonic Houston JLR LP, Sonic Houston LR LP, Sonic Momentum B LP, Sonic Momentum JVP LP, Sonic Momentum VWA LP, Sonic Resources Inc., Sonic Santa Monica M Inc., Sonic Santa Monica S Inc., Sonic Walnut Creek M Inc., Sonic Wilshire Cadillac Inc., Sonic eStore Inc., Sonic of Texas Inc., Sonic  Buena Park H Inc., Sonic  Cadillac D LP, Sonic  Calabasas A Inc., Sonic  Calabasas V Inc., Sonic  Camp Ford LP, Sonic  Capitol Cadillac Inc., Sonic  Capitol Imports Inc., Sonic  Carrollton V LP, Sonic  Carson F Inc., Sonic  Carson LM Inc., Sonic  Clear Lake N LP, Sonic  Clear Lake Volkswagen LP, Sonic  Denver T Inc., Sonic  Downey Cadillac Inc., Sonic  Fort Mill Chrysler Jeep Inc., Sonic  Fort Mill Dodge Inc., Sonic  Fort Worth T LP, Sonic  Frank Parra Autoplex LP, Sonic  Harbor City H Inc., Sonic  Houston V LP, Sonic  Integrity Dodge LV LLC, Sonic  Jersey Village Volkswagen LP, Sonic  LS Chevrolet LP, Sonic  LS LLC, Sonic  Lake Norman Chrysler Jeep LLC, Sonic  Las Vegas C West LLC, Sonic  Lloyd Nissan Inc., Sonic  Lloyd Pontiac  Cadillac Inc., Sonic  Lone Tree Cadillac Inc., Sonic  Lute Riley LP, Sonic  Massey Cadillac LP, Sonic  Massey Chevrolet Inc., Sonic  Mesquite Hyundai LP, Sonic  Newsome Chevrolet World Inc., Sonic  Newsome of Florence Inc., Sonic  North Charleston Dodge Inc., Sonic  North Charleston Inc., Sonic  Plymouth Cadillac Inc., Sonic  Richardson F LP, Sonic  Sanford Cadillac Inc., Sonic  Shottenkirk Inc., Sonic  Stevens Creek B Inc., Sonic  Volvo LV LLC, Sonic  West Covina T Inc., Sonic  Williams Cadillac Inc., Stevens Creek Cadillac Inc., The Sonic Automotive Family Emergency Fund (SAFE), Town and Country Ford Incorporated, and Windward Inc..The following companies are subsidiares of Owens Corning: 0979301 B.C. ULC, AS Paroc, Asahi Glass - Composites Business, Crown Mfg. Inc., Deutsche Foamglas GmbH, Dutch OC Cooperatief Invest U.A., European Owens Corning Fiberglas SPRL, FOAMGLAS (Italia) SRL, FOAMGLAS (Nordic) AB, FiberTEK Insulation, Fibreboard Corp., Finefiber (Shanghai) Building Material Co. Ltd., Finefiber Insulation Co. Pte. Ltd., IBCO SRL, IPM Inc., InterWrap, InterWrap (Hong Kong) Ltd., InterWrap (Qingdao) Trading Co. Ltd., InterWrap Corp., InterWrap Corp. Private Ltd., International Packaging Products Pvt. Ltd., Inversiones Owens Corning Chile Holdings Limitada, Northern Elastomeric, OC Canada Finance Inc., OC Canada Holdings General Partnership, OC Celfortec Company, OC Latin American Holdings GmbH, OC NL Invest Cooperatief U.A., OC PRO CV, OC Steklovolokno AO, OCCV1 Inc., OCCV2 LLC, OCV (Thailand) Co. Limited, OCV Chambery France, OCV Chambery International, OCV Finance LLC, OCV Intellectual Capital LLC, OCV Italia Srl, OCV Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., OCV Servicios Mexico S.A. de C.V., OOO Paroc, Owens Corning (Australia) Pty Limited, Owens Corning (China) Investment Company Limited, Owens Corning (Guangde) Rock Wood Manufacturing Co. Ltd, Owens Corning (Guangzhou) Fiberglas Co. Ltd., Owens Corning (India) Private Limited, Owens Corning (Nanjing) Building Materials Co. Ltd., Owens Corning (Shanghai) Fiberglas Co. Ltd., Owens Corning (Singapore) Pte Ltd, Owens Corning (Tianjin) Building Materials Co. Ltd., Owens Corning (Xian) Building Materials Co. Ltd., Owens Corning Alloy Canada GP Inc., Owens Corning Alloy Canada LP, Owens Corning Argentina Sociedad de Responsabilidad Limitada, Owens Corning Automotive LLC, Owens Corning BM (Korea) Ltd, Owens Corning CV GP LLC, Owens Corning Canada GP Inc., Owens Corning Canada Holdings B.V., Owens Corning Canada Holdings ULC, Owens Corning Canada LP, Owens Corning Cayman (China) Holdings, Owens Corning Celfortec Canada GP Inc., Owens Corning Celfortec LP, Owens Corning Composite Materials Canada GP Inc., Owens Corning Composite Materials Canada LP, Owens Corning Composite Materials LLC, Owens Corning Composites (Beijing) Co. Ltd., Owens Corning Composites (China) Co. Ltd., Owens Corning Construction Services LLC, Owens Corning Corporate Services LLC, Owens Corning Elaminator Insulation Systems LLC, Owens Corning Enterprise (India) Pvt. Ltd., Owens Corning Fabrics (Changzhou) Co. Ltd., Owens Corning Fiberglas (U.K.) Pension Plan Ltd., Owens Corning Fiberglas A.S. Limitada, Owens Corning Fiberglas Espana SL, Owens Corning Fiberglas France, Owens Corning Financial Services ULC, Owens Corning Finland Oy, Owens Corning Foam Insulation LLC, Owens Corning GlassMetal Services (Suzhou) Co. Ltd., Owens Corning Global Holdings II Limited Partnership, Owens Corning Global Holdings Limited Partnership, Owens Corning HOMExperts Inc., Owens Corning HT Inc., Owens Corning Holdings 1 CV, Owens Corning Holdings 3 CV, Owens Corning Holdings 4 CV, Owens Corning Holdings 5 CV, Owens Corning Holdings Holland B.V., Owens Corning Hong Kong Limited, Owens Corning Industries (India) Private Limited, Owens Corning Infrastructure Solutions LLC, Owens Corning Insulating Systems Canada GP Inc., Owens Corning Insulating Systems Canada LP, Owens Corning Insulating Systems LLC, Owens Corning Intellectual Capital LLC, Owens Corning InterWrap Canada GP Inc., Owens Corning InterWrap Canada LP, Owens Corning International Holdings C.V., Owens Corning Japan LLC, Owens Corning Kohold B.V., Owens Corning Korea, Owens Corning Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Owens Corning Mineral Wool LLC, Owens Corning Non-Woven - Blythewood LLC, Owens Corning Non-Woven Technology LLC, Owens Corning Receivables LLC, Owens Corning Reinforcements (Hangzhou) Co. Ltd., Owens Corning Remodeling Systems LLC, Owens Corning Roofing S. de R.L. de C.V., Owens Corning Roofing and Asphalt LLC, Owens Corning Sales LLC, Owens Corning Science and Technology LLC, Owens Corning Supplementary Pension Plan Limited, Owens Corning Technical Fabrics LLC, Owens Corning Treasury Services LLC, Owens Corning U.S. Holdings LLC, Owens Cornings (Hangzhou) Fiberglass Co. Ltd., Owens-Corning Britinvest Limited, Owens-Corning Cayman Limited, Owens-Corning Fiberglas Deutschland GmbH, Owens-Corning Funding Corporation, Owens-Corning Veil Netherlands B.V., Owens-Corning Veil U.K. Ltd., Paroc AB, Paroc GmbH, Paroc Group, Paroc Group Oy, Paroc Limited, Paroc Oy Ab, Paroc Polska Sp. z o.o., Pittsburgh Corning, Pittsburgh Corning (United Kingdom) Limited, Pittsburgh Corning (Yantai) Insulation Materials Co. Ltd, Pittsburgh Corning Asia Limited, Pittsburgh Corning CR S.R.O., Pittsburgh Corning Europe N.V., Pittsburgh Corning France, Pittsburgh Corning Gesellschaft m.b.h., Pittsburgh Corning LLC, Pittsburgh Corning Nederland B.V., Pittsburgh Corning Singapore Pte. Ltd, Pittsburgh Corning Suisse SA, Qingdao Novia Polymer Co. Ltd., SIA Paroc, Soltech Inc., The Modulo /ParMur Group, Thermafiber, Thermafiber Inc., Transandina de Comercio S.A., UAB Paroc, UC Industries, and Vitro Fibras.The following companies are subsidiares of Banco Santander: 2 & 3 Triton Limited, A & L CF (Guernsey) Limited (f), A & L CF June (2) Limited, A & L CF June (3) Limited, A & L CF March (5) Limited, A & L CF September (4) Limited, AFB SAM Holdings S.L., ALIL Services Limited (b), AN (123) Limited, ANITCO Limited, Abbey Business Services (India) Private Limited, Abbey Covered Bonds (LM) Limited, Abbey National, Abbey National Beta Investments Limited, Abbey National Business Office Equipment Leasing Limited, Abbey National International Limited, Abbey National Nominees Limited, Abbey National PLP (UK) Limited, Abbey National Property Investments, Abbey National Treasury Services Investments Limited, Abbey National Treasury Services Overseas Holdings, Abbey National UK Investments, Abbey Stockbrokers (Nominees) Limited, Abbey Stockbrokers Limited, Ablasa Participaciones S.L., Administracion de Bancos Latinoamericanos Santander S.L., Aduro S.A., Aevis Europa S.L., Afisa S.A., Albert., Aljardi SGPS Lda., Alliance & Leicester, Alliance & Leicester Cash Solutions Limited, Alliance & Leicester Commercial Bank Limited, Alliance & Leicester Investments (Derivatives) Limited, Alliance & Leicester Investments (No.2) Limited, Alliance & Leicester Investments Limited, Alliance & Leicester Limited, Alliance & Leicester Personal Finance Limited, Altamira Santander Real Estate S.A., Alternative Leasing FIL, Amazonia Trade Limited, Andaluza de Inversiones S.A., Aquanima Brasil Ltda., Aquanima Chile S.A., Aquanima Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Aquanima S.A., Arcaz - Sociedade Imobiliaria Portuguesa Lda., Argenline S.A. (b), Asto Digital Limited, Athena Corporation Limited, Atual - Fundo de Invest Multimercado Credito Privado Investimento no Exterior, Atual Servicos de Recuperacao de Creditos e Meios Digitais S.A., Autodescuento S.L., Autohaus24 GmbH, Auttar HUT Processamento de Dados Ltda., Aviacion Antares A.I.E., Aviacion Britanica A.I.E., Aviacion Centaurus A.I.E., Aviacion Comillas S.L. Unipersonal, Aviacion Intercontinental A.I.E., Aviacion Laredo S.L., Aviacion Oyambre S.L. Unipersonal, Aviacion Real A.I.E., Aviacion Santillana S.L., Aviacion Suances S.L., Aviacion Triton A.I.E., Aymore Credito Financiamento e Investimento S.A., BEN Beneficios e Servicos S.A., BRS Investments S.A., BZW Bank, Banca PSA Italia S.p.A., Banco Bandepe S.A., Banco Madesant - Sociedade Unipessoal S.A., Banco PSA Finance Brasil S.A., Banco Popular, Banco Santander (Brasil) S.A., Banco Santander (Mexico) S.A. Institucion de Banca Multiple Grupo Financiero Santander Mexico como Fiduciaria del Fideicomiso 100740, Banco Santander (Mexico) S.A. Institucion de Banca Multiple Grupo Financiero Santander Mexico como Fiduciaria del Fideicomiso 2002114, Banco Santander (Mexico) S.A. Institucion de Banca Multiple Grupo Financiero Santander Mexico como Fiduciaria del Fideicomiso GFSSLPT, Banco Santander - Chile, Banco Santander Consumer Portugal S.A., Banco Santander International, Banco Santander International SA, Banco Santander Mexico S.A. Institucion de Banca Multiple Grupo Financiero Santander Mexico, Banco Santander Peru S.A., Banco Santander Rio S.A., Banco Santander S.A., Banco Santander Totta S.A., Banco Santander de Negocios Colombia S.A., Banco de Albacete S.A., Bansa Santander S.A., CCAP Auto Lease Ltd., Canyon Multifamily Impact Fund IV LLC, Capital Street Delaware LP, Capital Street Holdings LLC, Capital Street REIT Holdings LLC, Capital Street S.A., Carfax (Guernsey) Limited (f), Carfinco Financial Group, Carfinco Financial Group Inc., Carfinco Inc., Casa de Bolsa Santander S.A. de C.V. Grupo Financiero Santander Mexico, Cater Allen Holdings Limited, Cater Allen International Limited, Cater Allen Limited, Cater Allen Lloyd's Holdings Limited, Cater Allen Syndicate Management Limited, Centro de Capacitacion Santander A.C., Certidesa S.L., Chrysler Capital Auto Funding I LLC, Chrysler Capital Auto Funding II LLC, Chrysler Capital Auto Receivables LLC, Chrysler Capital Master Auto Receivables Funding 2 LLC, Chrysler Capital Master Auto Receivables Funding 4 LLC, Chrysler Capital Master Auto Receivables Funding LLC, Cobranza Amigable S.A.P.I. de C.V., Community Development and Affordable Housing Fund LLC (g), Compagnie Generale de Credit Aux Particuliers - Credipar S.A., Compagnie Pour la Location de Vehicules - CLV, Comunidad Laboral Trabajando Argentina S.A., Comunidad Laboral Trabajando Iberica S.L. Unipersonal en liquidacion (b), Consulteam Consultores de Gestao Lda., Consumer Lending Receivables LLC, Crawfall S.A. (b), Cantabra de Inversiones S.A., Cantabro Catalana de Inversiones S.A., Darep Designated Activity Company, Decarome S.A.P.I. de C.V., Deva Capital Advisory Company S.L., Deva Capital Holding Company S.L., Deva Capital Investment Company S.L., Deva Capital Management Company S.L., Deva Capital Servicer Company S.L., Digital Procurement Holdings N.V., Diners Club Spain S.A., Direccion Estratega S.C., Dirgenfin S.L. en liquidacion (b), Ebury, El Corte Ingles, Elavon Mexico, Electrolyser S.A. de C.V., Entidad de Desarrollo a la Pequena y Micro Empresa Santander Consumo Peru S.A., Erestone S.A.S., Esfera Fidelidade S.A., Evidence Previdencia S.A., Financeira El Corte Ingles Portugal S.F.C. S.A., Financiera El Corte Ingles E.F.C. S.A., Finsantusa S.L. Unipersonal, First National Motor Business Limited, First National Motor Contracts Limited, First National Motor Facilities Limited, First National Motor Finance Limited, First National Motor Leasing Limited, First National Motor plc, First National Tricity Finance Limited, Fondos Santander S.A. Administradora de Fondos de Inversion (en liquidacion) (b), Fortensky Trading Ltd., Fosse Funding (No.1) Limited, Fosse Master Issuer plc, Fosse Trustee (UK) Limited, GTS El Centro Equity Holdings LLC, GTS El Centro Project Holdings LLC, Gamma Sociedade Financeira de Titularizacao de Creditos S.A., Gesban Mexico Servicios Administrativos Globales S.A. de C.V., Gesban Santander Servicios Profesionales Contables Limitada, Gesban Servicios Administrativos Globales S.L., Gesban UK Limited, Gestion de Instalaciones Fotovoltaicas S.L. Unipersonal, Gestion de Inversiones JILT S.A., Gestora de Procesos S.A. en liquidacion (b), Getnet Adquirencia e Servicos para Meios de Pagamento S.A., Global Vosgos S.L. Unipersonal, Grupo Empresarial Santander S.L., Grupo Financiero Santander Mexico S.A. de C.V., Grupo Financiero Santander SAB de CV, Guaranty Car S.A. Unipersonal, HQ Mobile Limited, Hispamer Renting S.A. Unipersonal, Holbah II Limited, Holbah Santander S.L. Unipersonal, Holmes Funding Limited, Holmes Master Issuer plc, Holmes Trustees Limited, Hyundai Capital Bank Europe GmbH, Iberica de Compras Corporativas S.L., Independence Community Bank Corp., Insurance Funding Solutions Limited, Interfinance Holanda B.V., Inversiones Capital Global S.A. Unipersonal, Inversiones Maritimas del Mediterraneo S.A., Isla de los Buques S.A., Klare Corredora de Seguros S.A., Landcompany 2020 S.L., Langton Funding (No.1) Limited, Langton Mortgages Trustee (UK) Limited, Langton Securities (2008-1) plc, Langton Securities (2010-1) PLC, Langton Securities (2010-2) PLC, Laparanza S.A., Liquidity Limited, Luri 1 S.A. en liquidacion (b) (e), Luri 6 S.A. Unipersonal, Master Red Europa S.L., Mata Alta S.L., Merciver S.L., Mercury TFS, Mercury Trade Finance Solutions S.A. de C.V., Mercury Trade Finance Solutions S.L., Mercury Trade Finance Solutions S.p.A., Moneybit S.L., Mortgage Engine Limited, Motor 2016-1 PLC, Motor 2017-1 PLC, Mouro Capital I LP, Multiplica SpA, NW Services CO., Naviera Mirambel S.L., Naviera Trans Gas A.I.E., Naviera Trans Iron S.L., Naviera Trans Ore A.I.E., Naviera Trans Wind S.L. (b), Naviera Transcantabrica S.L., Naviera Transchem S.L. Unipersonal, NeoAuto S.A.C., Norbest AS, Novimovest  Fundo de Investimento Imobiliario, Open Bank Argentina S.A., Open Bank S.A., Open Digital Market S.L., Open Digital Services S.L., Operadora de Carteras Gamma S.A.P.I. de C.V., Optimal Investment Services SA, Optimal Multiadvisors Ireland Plc / Optimal Strategic US Equity Ireland Euro Fund, Optimal Multiadvisors Ireland Plc / Optimal Strategic US Equity Ireland US Dollar Fund, PBE Companies LLC, PECOH Limited, PI Distribuidora de Titulos e Valores Mobiliarios S.A., PSA Bank Deutschland GmbH, PSA Banque France, PSA Finance UK Limited, PSA Financial Services Nederland B.V., PSA Financial Services Spain E.F.C. S.A., PSA Renting Italia S.p.A., PagoFX Europe S.A., PagoFX HoldCo S.L., PagoFX UK Ltd, PagoNxt Merchant Solutions S.L., PagoNxt S.L., Parasant SA, Patagon.com, Pereda Gestion S.A., Pingham International S.A., Popular Spain Holding de Inversiones S.L.U., Portal Universia Argentina S.A., Portal Universia Portugal Prestacao de Servicos de Informatica S.A., Prime 16  Fundo de Investimentos Imobiliario, Punta Lima LLC, Punta Lima Wind Farm LLC, Retop S.A., Return Capital Servicos de Recuperacao de Creditos S.A., Return Gestao de Recursos S.A., Riobank International (Uruguay) SAIFE (b), Rojo Entretenimento S.A., SAM Asset Management S.A. de C.V. Sociedad Operadora de Fondos de Inversion, SAM Investment Holdings S.L., SAM UK Investment Holdings Limited (b), SANB Promotora de Vendas e Cobranca Ltda., SCF Eastside Locks GP Limited, SDMX Superdigital S.A. de C.V., SMPS Merchant Platform Solutions Mexico S.A de C.V, Sancap Investimentos e Participacoes S.A., Santander (CF Trustee Property Nominee) Limited, Santander (UK) Group Pension Schemes Trustees Limited, Santander Ahorro Inmobiliario 1 S.A., Santander Ahorro Inmobiliario 2 S.A., Santander Alternatives SICAV RAIF, Santander Asesorias Financieras Limitada, Santander Asset Finance (December) Limited, Santander Asset Finance plc, Santander Asset Management - S.G.O.I.C. S.A., Santander Asset Management Chile S.A., Santander Asset Management LLC, Santander Asset Management Luxembourg S.A., Santander Asset Management S.A. Administradora General de Fondos, Santander Asset Management S.A. S.G.I.I.C., Santander Asset Management UK Holdings Limited, Santander Asset Management UK Limited, Santander Back-Offices Globales Mayoristas S.A., Santander Banca de Inversion Colombia S.A.S., Santander Bank & Trust Ltd., Santander Bank National Association, Santander Bank Polska S.A., Santander Brasil Administradora de Consorcio Ltda., Santander Brasil Gestao de Recursos Ltda., Santander Brasil Tecnologia S.A., Santander Capital Desarrollo SGEIC S.A. Unipersonal, Santander Capital Structuring S.A. de C.V., Santander Capitalizacao S.A., Santander Cards Ireland Limited, Santander Cards Limited, Santander Cards UK Limited, Santander Chile Holding S.A., Santander Consulting (Beijing) Co. Ltd., Santander Consumer (UK) plc, Santander Consumer Auto Receivables Funding 2013-B2 LLC, Santander Consumer Auto Receivables Funding 2013-B3 LLC, Santander Consumer Auto Receivables Funding 2018-L1 LLC, Santander Consumer Auto Receivables Funding 2018-L3 LLC, Santander Consumer Auto Receivables Funding 2018-L4 LLC, Santander Consumer Auto Receivables Funding 2018-L5 LLC, Santander Consumer Auto Receivables Funding 2019-B1 LLC, Santander Consumer Auto Receivables Funding 2019-L2 LLC, Santander Consumer Auto Receivables Funding 2019-L3 LLC, Santander Consumer Auto Receivables Funding 2020-B1 LLC, Santander Consumer Auto Receivables Funding 2020-L1 LLC, Santander Consumer Auto Receivables Funding 2020-L2 LLC, Santander Consumer Bank AG, Santander Consumer Bank AS, Santander Consumer Bank GmbH, Santander Consumer Bank S.A., Santander Consumer Bank S.p.A., Santander Consumer Banque S.A., Santander Consumer Credit Services Limited, Santander Consumer Finance Benelux B.V., Santander Consumer Finance Global Services S.L., Santander Consumer Finance Oy, Santander Consumer Finance S.A., Santander Consumer Finance Schweiz AG, Santander Consumer Financial Solutions Sp. z o.o., Santander Consumer Finanse Sp. z o.o. (b), Santander Consumer Holding Austria GmbH, Santander Consumer Holding GmbH, Santander Consumer International Puerto Rico LLC, Santander Consumer Leasing GmbH, Santander Consumer Mediacion Operador de Banca-Seguros Vinculado S.L., Santander Consumer Multirent Sp. z o.o., Santander Consumer Operations Services GmbH, Santander Consumer Receivables 10 LLC, Santander Consumer Receivables 11 LLC, Santander Consumer Receivables 3 LLC, Santander Consumer Receivables 7 LLC, Santander Consumer Receivables Funding LLC, Santander Consumer Renting S.L., Santander Consumer S.A., Santander Consumer S.A.S., Santander Consumer Services GmbH, Santander Consumer Services S.A., Santander Consumer Technology Services GmbH, Santander Consumer USA Holdings Inc., Santander Consumer USA Inc., Santander Consumo S.A. de C.V. S.O.F.O.M. E.R. Grupo Financiero Santander Mexico, Santander Corredora de Seguros Limitada, Santander Corredores de Bolsa Limitada, Santander Corretora de Cambio e Valores Mobiliarios S.A., Santander Corretora de Seguros Investimentos e Servicos S.A., Santander Customer Voice S.A., Santander Digital Assets S.L., Santander Drive Auto Receivables LLC, Santander Equity Investments Limited, Santander Espana Merchant Services Entidad de Pago S.L. Unipersonal, Santander Espana Servicios Legales y de Cumplimiento S.L., Santander Estates Limited, Santander F24 S.A., Santander Facility Management Espana S.L., Santander Factoring S.A., Santander Factoring Sp. z o.o., Santander Factoring y Confirming S.A. E.F.C., Santander Finance 2012-1 LLC, Santander Financial Exchanges Limited, Santander Financial Services Inc., Santander Financial Services plc, Santander Finanse Sp. z o.o., Santander Fintech Holdings S.L., Santander Fintech Limited, Santander Fundo de Investimento SBAC Referenciado di Credito Privado, Santander Gestion de Recaudacion y Cobranzas Ltda., Santander Global Consumer Finance Limited, Santander Global Facilities S.A. de C.V., Santander Global Facilities S.L., Santander Global Operations S.A., Santander Global Services S.A. (b), Santander Global Sport S.A., Santander Global Technology Brasil Ltda., Santander Global Technology Chile Limitada, Santander Global Technology S.L., Santander Global Trade Platform Solutions S.L., Santander Guarantee Company, Santander Holding Imobiliaria S.A., Santander Holding Internacional S.A., Santander Holdings USA Inc., Santander ISA Managers Limited, Santander Inclusion Financiera S.A. de C.V. S.O.F.O.M. E.R. Grupo Financiero Santander Mexico, Santander Insurance Agency U.S. LLC, Santander Insurance Services UK Limited, Santander Intermediacion Correduria de Seguros S.A., Santander International Products Plc. (d), Santander Inversiones S.A., Santander Investment Bank Limited, Santander Investment Chile Limitada, Santander Investment I S.A., Santander Investment S.A., Santander Investment Securities Inc., Santander Investments GP 1 S.a.r.l., Santander Inwestycje Sp. z o.o., Santander Lease S.A. E.F.C., Santander Leasing LLC, Santander Leasing S.A., Santander Leasing S.A. Arrendamento Mercantil, Santander Lending Limited, Santander Mediacion Operador de Banca-Seguros Vinculado S.A., Santander Merchant Platform Operations S.A. de C.V., Santander Merchant Platform Services S.A. de C.V., Santander Merchant Platform Solutions Mexico S.A. de C.V., Santander Merchant Platform Solutions S.A., Santander Merchant Platform Solutions Uruguay S.A., Santander Merchant Platform SolucoesTecnologicas Brasil Ltda., Santander Merchant S.A., Santander Mortgage Holdings Limited, Santander Paraty Qif PLC, Santander Pensiones S.A. E.G.F.P., Santander Pensoes - Sociedade Gestora de Fundos de Pensoes S.A., Santander Private Banking Gestion S.A. S.G.I.I.C., Santander Private Banking UK Limited, Santander Private Banking s.p.a. in Liquidazione (b), Santander Private Real Estate Advisory & Management S.A., Santander Private Real Estate Advisory S.A., Santander Real Estate S.A., Santander Retail Auto Lease Funding LLC, Santander Rio Asset Management Gerente de Fondos Comunes de Inversion S.A., Santander Rio Trust S.A., Santander Rio Valores S.A., Santander S.A. Sociedad Securitizadora, Santander Secretariat Services Limited, Santander Securities LLC, Santander Seguros y Reaseguros Compania Aseguradora S.A., Santander Servicios Corporativos S.A. de C.V., Santander Servicios Especializados S.A. de C.V., Santander Technology USA LLC, Santander Tecnologia e Inovacao Ltda., Santander Tecnologia Argentina S.A., Santander Tecnologia Espana S.L.U., Santander Tecnologia Mexico S.A. de C.V., Santander Totta SGPS S.A., Santander Totta Seguros Companhia de Seguros de Vida S.A., Santander Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych S.A., Santander Trade Services Limited, Santander UK Group Holdings plc, Santander UK Investments, Santander UK Operations Limited, Santander UK Plc, Santander UK Technology Limited, Santander Wealth Management International SA, Santander de Titulizacion S.G.F.T. S.A., Santusa Holding S.L., Services and Promotions Delaware Corp., Services and Promotions Miami LLC, Servicio de Alarmas Controladas por Ordenador S.A., Servicios de Cobranza Recuperacion y Seguimiento S.A. De C.V., Sheppards Moneybrokers Limited, Shiloh III Wind Project LLC, Sociedad Integral de Valoraciones Automatizadas S.A., Sociedad Operadora de Tarjetas de Pago Santander Getnet Chile S.A., Socur S.A., Sol Orchard Imperial 1 LLC, Solarlaser Limited, Sovereign Community Development Company, Sovereign Delaware Investment Corporation, Sovereign Lease Holdings LLC, Sovereign REIT Holdings Inc., Sovereign Spirit Limited (f), Sterrebeeck B.V., Suleyado 2003 S.L. Unipersonal, Summer Empreendimentos Ltda., Super Pagamentos e Administracao de Meios Eletronicos S.A., Superdigital Argentina S.A.U., Superdigital Colombia S.A.S., Superdigital Holding Company S.L., Superdigital Peru S.A.C., Suzuki Servicios Financieros S.L., Swesant SA, TIMFin S.p.A., TOPSAM S.A de C.V., Taxagest Sociedade Gestora de Participacoes Sociais S.A., Teatinos Siglo XXI Inversiones S.A., The Alliance & Leicester Corporation Limited, The Best Specialty Coffee S.L. Unipersonal, Time Retail Finance Limited (b), Tonopah Solar I LLC, Toque Fale Servicos de Telemarketing Ltda., Tornquist Asesores de Seguros S.A. (b), Totta (Ireland) PLC, Totta Urbe - Empresa de Administracao e Construcoes S.A., Trabajando.com Mexico S.A. de C.V. en liquidacion (b), Trabajando.com Peru S.A.C., Trans Rotor Limited (b), Transolver Finance EFC S.A., Tresmares Growth Fund Santander SCR S.A., Tresmares Santander Direct Lending SICC S.A., Tuttle and Son Limited, Universia Brasil S.A., Universia Chile S.A., Universia Colombia S.A.S., Universia Espana Red de Universidades S.A., Universia Holding S.L., Universia Mexico S.A. de C.V., Universia Peru S.A., Universia Uruguay S.A., Uro Property Holdings SOCIMI S.A., WIM Servicios Corporativos S.A. de C.V., WTW Shipping Designated Activity Company, Wallcesa S.A., Wave Holdco S.L., Waypoint Insurance Group Inc., and Wirecard (Technological Assets).Genesee & Wyoming Inc. owns and leases freight railroads. It operates through three segments: North American Operations, Australian Operations, and U.K./European Operations. The company transports various commodities, including agricultural products, autos and auto parts, chemicals and plastics, coal and coke, food and kindred products, lumber and forest products, metallic ores, metals, minerals and stone, petroleum products, pulp and paper, waste, and other commodities. It owns or leases 122 freight railroads, including 105 short line railroads and 2 regional freight railroads located in the United States, 8 short line railroads located in Canada, 3 railroads located in Australia, 1 railroad located in the United Kingdom, 1 railroad in Poland and Germany, and 2 railroads in the Netherlands with a total of approximately 16,200 miles of track. The company also operates 6,200 additional miles of track that is owned or leased by others. In addition, it operates deep sea maritime containers and provides bulk haulage, including coal, aggregates, cement, and infrastructure services. Further, the company provides rail service at approximately 40 ports; rail-ferry service in North America, Australia, and Europe; and contract coal loading and railcar switching for industrial customers. Genesee & Wyoming Inc. was founded in 1899 and is headquartered in Darien, Connecticut.

Read MoreVous etes confrontes a une infestation par la puce, la punaise de lit ? Voici plusieurs actions qui sont a mettre en uvre pour faire []Bank of America Corp. is a bank and financial holding company, which engages in the provision of banking and nonbank financial services. It operates through the following segments: Consumer Banking, Global Wealth and Investment Management, Global Banking, Global Markets, and All Other. The Consumer Banking segment offers credit, banking, and investment products and services to consumers and small businesses. The Global Wealth and Investment Management provides client experience through a network of financial advisors focused on to meet their needs through a full set of investment management, brokerage, banking, and retirement products. The Global Banking segment deals with lending-related products and services, integrated working capital management and treasury solutions to clients, and underwriting and advisory services. The Global Markets segment includes sales and trading services, as well as research, to institutional clients across fixed-income, credit, currency, commodity, and equity businesses. The All Other segment consists of asset and liability management activities, equity investments, non-core mortgage loans and servicing activities, the net impact of periodic revisions

Read MoreOnline orders to Fred Coffee Co. bring whole beans to local customers

Looking for a new cup of coffee in Aberdeen? Check out Fred Coffee Company, which sells their own roasted beans.LAS CRUCES  Oliva Kpatcha, 17, spent her childhood in Togo, Africa. It was seeing the lack of resources and staff the hospitals had that inspired her to do more, to become more.

The medical system (in Togo) is not that great. When we went to the doctor sometimes they would see you in the hallways, Kpatcha said. So, I told myself that one day I would make a difference and change lives.

Kpatcha moved to Quebec, Canada, when she was 10 years old. Instead of attending junior college after her junior year of high school as most Quebec students do, she decided to take a gap year and become a foreign exchange student in Las Cruces in order to try something new. She said her mom encouraged her, as she was a foreign exchange student in Germany when she was young.

Now, Kpatcha is the winningest participant that competed at New Mexico HOSA State Conference earlier this month. Kpatcha and 51 other Onate High School students competed, with 39 offered spots at the international conference in June.

HOSA  Health Occupations Students of America  is a medical preparation organization that gives students from middle school through college the skills they will need if they wish to pursue a career in the medical field, as well as the opportunity to shadow medical professionals.

Three of the eight state HOSA chapters reside in Las Cruces at Onate High School, Las Cruces High School and Arrowhead Park Early College High School. The program at Onate has grown from five members three years ago to 88 members, with more and more qualifying to go to internationals every year, said Onate HOSA adviser Michael Ogas.

At the state conference, each student can compete in a maximum of three competitions that range from skill-based to leadership and team-based events, Ogas said.

Kpatcha competed in medical terminology, medical math and HOSA Bowl  a trivia event where teams of four are placed in front of a buzzer and have to answer medical questions as well as questions on HOSA. For the competition, she said she studied at least an hour a day for three weeks.

She took gold in all three categories.

I didnt believe it in the beginning. I heard my name but for five seconds I thought, I dont think its me. I thought they made a mistake, Kpatcha said.

Kpatcha said she is already applying to colleges and plans to be a pediatrician.

In Canada, we dont get medical classes (in high school), so coming here I had no knowledge of anything medical, but I feel like Im getting ready for that here, she said.

Onate took home 61 medals. Their closest competitor was Las Cruces, which took 27, Ogas said.

Marisol Lozano, a student at the Arrowhead Park Medical Academy, took home two gold medals  one in prepared speaking and a second in community awareness, which was a team event. She also competed in researched persuasive writing and speaking.

Lozano said Arrowhead sent 22 competitors to state, and nine qualified to compete at internationals.

At the conference, Lozano was also named president of the New Mexico HOSA chapter.

Lozano, 16, said she wants to pursue a health-based job in the U.S. Air Force. She said she plans to stay in state for college and attend either the University of New Mexico or New Mexico State University to complete her bachelors degree before joining the military.Prev 1 of 6 Next

The Tricklock Revolutions International Theatre Festival has brought innovative pieces of art to Albuquerque for 18 years.

This year is no different, as the festival is bringing groups from India, Chile, Poland, Canada and the United Kingdom.

Each year, the festival is completely different, says Juli Hendren, Tricklock director. I think the success of this festival is credited to the Albuquerque community and audience who have supported it each year. Its such a huge part of the arts scene.

During March, there will be nearly a dozen different types of performances around the city.

Planning for the festival is a journey.

Hendren often travels the globe attending other theater festivals scouting for performers to bring to Revolutions.

When were on tour, as well, we try to scout, she says. We tend to look at people that have come on recommendations.

Hendren is looking forward to hosting all the performers.

There are a few standouts.

Pinochet, la obra cesurada en Dictadura by Teatro Perro Muerto from Chile will be presented at the National Hispanic Cultural Center.

The play is a liberal and harsh reconstruction of a 1986 play that involves four influential characters from the dictatorship, and how they imagine the future of Chile. Using satire and dark humor, they look at the transition, which is full of uncertainty and fear.

The play talks about power and the dreams of a dominant class as it imagines its place in the future of Chile and compares the vision for the country 30 years ago with what Chile is today.

This is something that we saw in Santiago in January 2017, Hendren says. It really caught my attention because its something that has never been tackled before.

Another intriguing piece is Hulyet hulyet by Polands Teatr Figur Krakow. This theatrical installation is produced in collaboration with the Historical Museum of the City of Krakow. It consists of seven mansion stages, installed in old suitcases focused on the Krakow Ghetto.

And then Indias Navarasa Dance Theater is presenting Encounter, which is a euphemism for the state (police or military) in India, who orchestrate chance meetings to get rid of the so-called enemies of the state.

We try to bring new companies to the festival, ones that wouldnt have the opportunity to be touring, Hendren says. Im also partial to nations that are struggling with political strife or stigmas.

Of course, Tricklock will also perform a few pieces at the festival.

Hendren says the theater group is bringing back its Revolt. She Said. Revolt Again. by Alice Birch.

The piece examines the language, behavior and forces that shape women in the 21st century.

We had a sold-out run with this performance, she says. Audiences asked us to bring it back, and were doing it for the festival. Its a compelling piece that makes people think.

If you go

WHAT: Revolutions International Theatre Festival

WHEN: Runs March 3 through March 25

WHERE: Various locations in Albuquerque

INFORMATION: Visit www.tricklock.com for a complete scheduleLAS VEGAS  What happens in Vegas really can stay in Vegas.

Tourists catching a flight out of Sin City can now dump their leftover legal marijuana in metal containers set up at the airport.

The 10 green bins dubbed amnesty boxes prevent federal transportation agents from finding pot on passengers during security screenings. The drug is legal in Nevada but still banned by the U.S. government.

The containers were installed last week following a county ban on marijuana possession and advertising at McCarran International Airport, aiming to keep it in compliance with federal law. They are bolted to the ground and designed so marijuana and prescription drugs can only be dropped in, not taken out.

The amnesty boxes are offered as a way to help people comply with this ordinance, airport spokeswoman Christine Crews said in an email.

Transportation Security Administration agents normally hand over marijuana-related cases to local law enforcement. Las Vegas police Officer Aden Ocampo-Gomez said no citations have been issued stemming from the airports ban on marijuana possession and advertising, passed in September.

The boxes are something travelers may have seen before  at least two airports in Colorado, where recreational marijuana is also legal, offer amnesty boxes.

But theyre likely to be a bigger draw at the Las Vegas airport, which saw 48.5 million passengers last year. Legal sales of recreational marijuana began in the state on July 1, and they have exceeded expectations.

Thats despite a ban on consuming it in public, including the Las Vegas Strip, hotels and casinos. Those 21 and older with a valid ID can buy up to an ounce of pot and use it only in private homes.

The airport boxes display Clark Countys ordinance and are clearly marked, with a black, bold font stating: Disposal for Prescription and Recreational Drugs. They contrast sharply with nearby trash cans.

A contractor, not police, will initially empty the boxes multiple times per week and then adjust the schedule as usage patterns develop.

Crews said the county aviation department plans to install 20 bins but could add more. In addition to the boxes placed Friday outside the airport, three were set up at the nearby car rental facility.

The remaining seven bins will be installed at smaller area airports and other department-owned properties.

___

Follow Regina Garcia Cano on Twitter at https://twitter.com/reginagarciakNOA pro-union rally Saturday in Nob Hill, known as the Working Peoples Day of Action, joined rallies nationwide that ride on the heels of a Supreme Court case deciding whether to strike down a long-standing ruling that allows public sector unions to require fees from non-members.

A pro-union rally Saturday in Nob Hill, known as the Working Peoples Day of Action, joined rallies nationwide that ride on the heels of a U.S. Supreme Court case deciding whether to strike down a long-standing ruling that allows public sector unions to require fees from nonmembers.

Right now we are under attack like we have not been in 50 years, Carter Bundy said to a crowd of around 80 people, many of them union members, at the corner of Amherst and Central SE.

The labor case is set for a Supreme Court hearing on Monday.

Bundy, one of several speakers during the Saturday afternoon rally, is the political action representative for the New Mexico branch of AFSCME, or American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees.

Bundy told the Journal that unions have been preparing for the impending Supreme Court case  Janus v. AFSCME, Council 31  for years and are expecting the case to be ruled against unions.

Were going to survive this, well come out of it strong, Bundy said, calling the case another symptom of the system being rigged against workers.

In between sets from local group Bandwidth No Name, Bundy and others spoke to the crowd about unions and the Janus case from the Teamsters Semi-Truck Soundstage.

This rally is about hope, its about energy its about working people taking back our country, Bundy said.

Adam Adams, a member of two unions for nearly a decade, said the rally gives union workers a ray of hope that they can change the economy of America.

Right now, everyones living check to check, he said. If unions were more in control we can drive wages up and people wouldnt be living check to check.

Adams said belonging to a union allowed him to stop moonlighting and gave him more time to spend with his family.

Adams wished to see non-union members at the rally to wake them up and make them see that paying dues gives you the opportunity to have a say.

They need to help pitch in for us to keep getting them those good wages, Adams said. The word needs to get out to the public.

Pro-union rallies were held Saturday in major cities across the country, including New York, Boston and Los Angeles.Tentative plans for Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto to make his first visit to the White House to meet with President Donald Trump were scuttled this week after a testy call between the two leaders ended in an impasse over Trumps promised border wall, according to U.S. and Mexican officials.

Pena Nieto was eyeing an official trip to Washington this month or in early March, but called off the plan after Trump would not agree to publicly affirm Mexicos position that it would not fund construction of a border wall that the Mexican people widely consider offensive, said the officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a confidential conversation.

Speaking by phone on Feb. 20, Pena Nieto and Trump devoted a considerable portion of their roughly 50 minute conversation to the wall, and neither man would compromise his position.

One Mexican official said Trump lost his temper. But U.S. officials described him instead as being frustrated and exasperated, saying Trump believed it was unreasonable for Pena Nieto to expect him to back off his crowd-pleasing campaign promise of forcing Mexico to pay for the wall.

Both accounts confirm it was Pena Nietos desire to avoid public embarrassment  and Trumps unwillingness to provide that assurance  that proved to be the dealbreaker.

A physically slight man, Pena Nieto has been loathe to put himself in an environment in which the more imposing Trump could play the bully. Pena Nietos style is exceedingly formal and he is averse to verbal combat, making his carefully-scripted public events the opposite of Trumps often freewheeling appearances.

With Mexico heading into a July presidential election, any action by Pena Nieto that could be seen as kowtowing to Trump or buckling under American pressure risks damaging the prospects for his Institutional Revolutionary Party.

The two presidents public posturing over the wall  Trump demands that Mexico pay for it; Pena Nieto insists that it will not  has harmed their personal relationship and jeopardized the alliance between their neighboring countries.

The problem is that President Trump has painted himself, President Pena Nieto and the bilateral relationship into a corner, said Arturo Sarukhan, a former Mexican ambassador to the United States. Even from the get-go, the idea of Mexico paying for the wall was never going to fly. His relationship with Mexico isnt strategically driven. Its not even business; its personal, driven by motivations and triggers, and thats a huge problem. It could end up with the U.S. asking itself, who lost Mexico?

Still, negotiations between their respective administrations continue apace on the North American Free Trade Agreement and other issues. And both governments have striven to portray their ties as strong and the exchanges between their leaders as smooth.

We enjoy a great relationship with Mexico and the two administrations have been working for a year to deepen our cooperation across a range of issues including security, immigration, trade and economics, Michael Anton, the top spokesman for Trumps National Security Council, said in a statement.

Mexican Foreign Secretary Luis Videgaray called the U.S.-Mexico relationship closer under Trump than in previous administrations.

I think in many ways the relationship today is more fluid, Videgaray said earlier this month in Mexico City alongside Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. Its closer than it was with previous administrations, which might be surprising to some people, but thats a fact of life.

Traditionally, U.S. presidents have prioritized visits with their Mexican counterparts soon after taking office, considering the close ties between the neighboring countries.

But in January 2017, just days into Trumps presidency, Pena Nieto called off a planned trip to meet Trump in Washington amid an escalating war of words between the two leaders over Trumps border wall proposal.

In a Jan. 28, 2017, phone call, a transcript of which was published last year by The Washington Post, Trump suggested to Pena Nieto that they both try to gloss over their respective wall positions by saying we will work it out whenever asked whether Mexico would pay for the wall.

The fact is, we are both in a little bit of a political bind because I have to have Mexico pay for the wall, Trump told Pena Nieto. I have to. I have been talking about it for a two-year period. . . . If you are going to say that Mexico is not going to pay for the wall, then I do not want to meet with you guys anymore because I cannot live with that.

Since that call, Trump has not visited Mexico City and Pena Nieto has not been to Washington, although the two presidents have spoken by phone and met in person last July at the Group of 20 summit in Germany. The two also met in summer 2016, when Trump traveled to Mexico City as a candidate.

Earlier this month, a delegation of Mexican officials led by Videgaray met at the White House with senior adviser Jared Kushner  the presidents son-in-law who is charged with managing the U.S.-Mexico relationship  national security adviser H.R. McMaster and other Trump administration officials to work out the parameters for a Pena Nieto visit, officials said.

The Mexican officials left the Feb. 14 meeting believing they had an agreement with the U.S. side that Trump would not embarrass Pena Nieto by bringing up his desire for Mexico to fund the wall  a proposition Pena Nietos government considers humiliating.

One Mexican official described his countrys position as, You cannot talk about the bloody wall. This official said Videgaray left Washington believing Trump would not broach the wall during Pena Nietos visit.

Trump and Pena Nieto made plans to speak by phone Feb. 20 and, assuming the call went well, their staffs would finalize an itinerary for the Mexican presidents White House visit.

But the call did not go smoothly, according to officials from both governments. Trump said that he would not be bound by any such agreement and could not commit himself to not talking about the wall.

That was a dealbreaker for us, the Mexican official said, adding that Pena Nieto and his administration were concerned in particular about a reporter asking a question about funding for the wall at a news conference and Trump answering it.

Instead of announcing a date for a meeting in Washington, the statements issued by both governments summarizing the call were vague and said only that they had discussed their bilateral agenda on trade, security and migration issue. The statements also said the two presidents exchanged condolences for the high school gun massacre in Parkland, Fla., and for the military helicopter accident in Jamiltepec, Oaxaca.

Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, whose department is responsible for border issues, has canceled an upcoming visit to Mexico. A Department of Homeland Security official denied Saturday that Nielsens trip was scratched because of Trump and Pena Nietos disagreement, saying the decision to postpone her Mexico trip was made a week before the two presidents spoke.

U.S. officials said Trump and Pena Nieto agreed to have their staffs continue talking and try to reach agreement about the border wall and other issues, according to U.S. officials. A few hours after the two presidents spoke, officials said, Kushner called Pena Nieto to help smooth things over.

U.S. officials said they anticipate Pena Nieto may try again to visit Washington, perhaps in the spring, and the Mexican official suggested the two presidents may get together in April at the Summit of the Americas in Lima, Peru.

Build the wall! was a signature slogan of Trumps campaign  and has continued to be one through his presidency, even though Congress has not yet fully funded its construction. At his rallies, Trump would cry out, Whos going to pay for the wall? And his crowds would shout back, Mexico!

Speaking Friday at the Conservative Political Action Conference, Trump told his fans, Dont worry, youre getting the wall, adding that whenever he hears someone suggest that he does not really want to build a wall, the wall gets 10 feet higher.

Trumps statements are considered offensive and outright racist by many Mexicans, who accuse the American president of using their country as a pinata to motivate his most fervent supporters.

In private, Mexican officials bristle at Trumps claims their government is passively allowing drugs and Central American migrants to pass through en route to the United States.

The number of Central Americans detained and turned back by Mexican authorities has at times exceeded the number caught by U.S. border agents, but enforcement by the Pena Nieto government appears to have waned in recent years.

Still, there is an understanding in Mexico that Trump is playing to his national interests, according to Larry Rubin, who for years has been a leader among U.S. Republicans in Mexico.

Theres a better understanding of where President Trump is coming from and what his objective is and what his style is, Rubin said. Like in any negotiations, there is always posturing or issues that countries dont agree with. But overall they have so many similarities.As another dysfunctional week passes in Washington D.C., we here in Albuquerque have a lot to be grateful for. Yes, we still appear to be the orange-barrel capital of the world, but things are looking up for the city and for everyone who has been left with ART-related heartburn. Mayor Tim Keller and his staff have a lot to do with this turnaround. And while Keller has only been in office for a blink and a heartbeat, he and his team are breathing much needed life into what is  at the core  a great project for the city.

The fact is, over the past seven years, the city has sunk tens of millions of dollars in ART-related feasibility studies, engineering, permitting, outreach, designs and construction. But when our new mayor held his first major news conference on Jan. 9, he drew a much-needed line in the asphalt and challenged everyone  from (contractors and designers) Bradbury Stamm and Dekker/Perich/Sabatini to (bus company) Build Your Dreams (BYD)  to get moving and fix this project.

Few would disagree that we have not suffered under ART. Businesses have closed, traffic has been terrible, and the project has been much more painful than we were told by the citys public outreach contractor. Keller was right when he described it as a bit of a lemon. But it is here.

Yes, the previous administration didnt get the job done on time. It was ambitious and corners were obviously cut to make deadlines  and headlines. But there were also some positive aspects of the project, such as the zero-emission electric buses that progressive communities around the nation are adopting.

In fact, Albuquerque is the only city in the nation to receive the Gold Standard award by The Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP). This is something we should all be proud of  ART is real sustainability in action.

And it is happening now. The news last week of the arrival of six more BYD buses is an important reminder of how we secured this Gold Standard award in the first place. But its also an important testament to the focus Keller has placed on doing right by the people of this city and pushing vendors and contractors to deliver.

Of course, as the Journal reported, ART-related construction will continue to frustrate drivers and residents along certain stretches of the route for up to another four weeks. But we must think beyond this timeline and the punch lists weve heard so much about.

The fact is, its about time Albuquerque is known for something really positive. And despite the slings and arrows of late, ART is our opportunity. I, for one, am optimistic that once the cones are put safely away  hopefully in another state  and the zero-emission buses start rolling, we will have achieved something monumental for the environment and for Albuquerque.

Keller and his staff deserve our support. And ART  along with Bradbury Stamm, Dekker/Perich/Sabatini, and BYD  deserve our patience. They also deserve a touch of optimism.

How can we expect things to be different in New Mexico if we keep doing the same thing?I stopped in for yogurt at OLO recently and was distressed to see so many windows papered over or broken, vacancy signs and lack of pedestrian traffic, not unlike it was in the early 1980s.

As one of the early merchants/property owners in the district, I cleaned my own floors and windows, spent savings and worked very hard, without a lot of help from governmental entities to build a better neighborhood and city. With the ten-fold increase in property values and certainly more than that in gross receipts, we greatly enhanced city, county and state tax coffers, and did so with pride and a lot of creativity.

Our little area was recognized near and far as a poster child for success in redevelopment and design, as our little stores started to bustle with the walk, eat and shop philosophy of the Main Street Program, but since the ART transportation program began, we have suffered. We do not have the ridership for such a project, even reaching to a sparser populated area on the West Side, and at over $130 million of taxpayer money, it is not even a rail system, has shoddy construction, and under the present administration, it is unknown when or if we will see the $75 million in matching funds. We are not Chicago or New York, in need of such a system, and it seems that our leaders cannot resist the offer of any federal funding, a seemingly knee-jerk reaction to the offers. We could better use this money to fight some of the highest crime rates in the country and some of the lowest in education. Hardly anyone I spoke to over these past months, NE, NW, SE, SW, approve of the project, yet the citizens were not given a say.

I have people tell me that they avoid going to the Nob Hill area. What little parking was there has diminished, leaving Lomas and Lead/Coal overburdened with traffic. In the middle of this maze on Central, someone in the city had the brilliant idea to create a one-lane situation on Zuni, with a continuous turning lane that is only used sporadically and contributes further to traffic congestion. What were you thinking?

We have a wonderful future in the arts, and Nob Hill is a shining example of this. I love Nob Hill, its peaceful neighborhood, delightful architecture, foods, and unusual offerings, and hope our people will continue to go there, enjoy, and patronize this deserving section of Albuquerque. Most of all, we need your patronage and support during these trying times.

Leaders should be elevated out of a sense of responsibility, love for community, respect for citizens, and the ability to make the right decisions for our city, not out of a sense of entitlement, political connectedness, or greed. I have often said that developers would develop the medians if they could find a way, and in Nob Hill, it appears that they have done so. I worry for those that will need to cross the street and ride on a regular basis, and for the appropriation of the funds that will be needed to pay for and operate the system. If I were a Fortune 500 company I would not consider Albuquerque as a place to relocate my business. We already have strained resources and a questionable work force, amid such great technological advancement. Why further threaten the future of one of the most beautiful places in the country by destroying one of our greatest tourist attractions?

Our legacy, Mayor Berry, was the Nob Hill shopping district. What will yours be?

Sandy Henderson is the founding president of Nob Hill Main St. Inc., a 30-plus-year owner of Nob Hill Realty, and a property and retail business owner.Albert Einstein is credited with saying that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. When it comes to addressing the costly problem of pet overpopulation, New Mexico desperately needs to do something different.

New Mexico can move away from the insane and expensive spiral of spending tens of millions of tax dollars every year to round up, house, and eventually euthanize 70,000 homeless animals by signing into law my House Bill 64, which was co-sponsored by Rep. Debbie Rodella, D-Espanola, and Rep. Joanne Ferrary, D-Las Cruces. A mirror Senate bill was sponsored by Sen. Gay Kernan, R-Hobbs. This legislation enacts a modest manufacturer-level fee  not a tax on consumers  and will allow New Mexico to do something different, decisive and smart about the costly, dangerous and tragic problem of pet overpopulation.

Every year New Mexicos counties, municipalities and partner nonprofits spend over $38 million in animal care, control, spay/neuter services and other costs in response to the overwhelming problem of cat and dog overpopulation. Despite these valiant efforts by professionals and volunteers year after year, these endeavors have not been enough to reverse the trend of an ever-increasing pet overpopulation problem in our state. That problem is not only a cost issue and a humane issue, but also a public health and safety issue for our communities as well, as past attacks by feral dogs on livestock and even young children have proven. In rural counties, where law enforcement is also tasked with providing animal control services, sheriffs and officers are often diverted from enforcing other important laws when they are spending precious time responding to loose animal reports.

In 2011, the Senate requested a feasibility study to determine the most effective approach to create a sustained funding mechanism for providing affordable and accessible spay/neuter services in our state. That study was done, and the funding mechanism identified as the best among many evaluated is the very same mechanism put forth in HB 64.

HB 64s added spay/neuter fee, paid by pet food manufacturers when they register products to sell in the state, is dedicated to a program directly related to the industry paying the fee. It is, by legal definition, not a tax. Consumers are not being asked to pay any additional costs for pet food. But if manufacturers do pass the added fee costs down to consumers by proportionally raising prices, every mathematical calculation shows the impact per customer will be mere pennies  if not fractions of a penny.

Not surprisingly, three other states have already implemented this same funding mechanism to provide spay/neuter services: Maine, Maryland and most recently West Virginia. This simple program deserves a chance to succeed in our state. Through this very same program, in just three short years Maryland has reduced its statewide euthanasia rate by 29 percent because of increased spaying and neutering of its dogs and cats. If New Mexico had the chance to achieve the same kind of outcomes, it is estimated our shelters would spend $500,000 less each year euthanizing homeless animals within three years. Those savings should grow higher over time. Shelter intake and associated costs will also decrease. Imagine the positive programs that could be funded with those dollars saved.

We can no longer afford to address pet overpopulation the same way we have for decades. Our efforts, while admirable, have fallen short by many orders of magnitude. We need to implement the proven, sensible and fiscally-responsible program articulated in HB 64, to pull New Mexico out of its pet overpopulation malaise and stop tax-dollar waste.

Gov. Susana Martinez has the power to create this powerful change with a stroke of her pen. Im hopeful she will give New Mexico the tools it needs to effectively address these challenges and move us into a brighter and safer future for New Mexico.SAN DIEGO  In light of indictments handed down against 13 Russian nationals by special counsel Robert Mueller for attempting to interfere in the 2016 election, both liberals and conservatives have gravitated to the narrative that the Russians succeeded in dividing Americans, fostering tribalism and creating discord in our politics. I get why that chorus has become so loud. This line of argument is convenient for the political parties.

Republicans want to deflect attention away from Muellers ongoing investigation into possible collusion between the Russians and the Trump campaign and avoid questions about why  in Trumpland  so many roads lead to Moscow. They think the way to do that is to blame the Obama administration for not doing a better job of stopping Russian interference.

Democrats want to continue to hammer away at their claim that the Russians cost them the election by, for instance, using social media ads to convince voters not to support their partys nominee. After all, this is cheaper and easier than leaving Washington and traveling to the Rust Belt with an economic plan that lures back working-class voters.

Even so, I dont buy the idea that the Russians divided America. And neither should you. This line of thinking gives too much power to foreign actors. Worse, it doesnt assign enough responsibility to the people who really created chaos, generated animosity and polarized the electorate in the last election.

The evidence is depressingly clear that it was Americans who divided America. And much of the blame falls squarely on the shoulders of two Americans in particular: Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump.

Its not just that these two individuals were the most deeply flawed presidential candidates offered up by the major parties in modern U.S. history. And its more than the fact that they spent months engaged in a race to the bottom and ultimately represented a disheartening lose-lose choice for voters.

Its also that the types of slash-and-burn campaigns they chose to run  during both the primary and general elections  tore apart the nation and brought out the worst in Americans.

In the Democratic primary, Clinton tore into rival Bernie Sanders, telling CNN in January 2016 that the Vermont senator was offering unrealistic big ideas that were light on specifics, overplaying his anti-establishment credentials, focusing too much on income inequality, and being soft on gun control. She also seemed to paint Sanders supporters as suckers who were so delighted by proposals like single-payer health care and free public college tuition that they didnt seem to care that Sanders never explained how he would pay for the giveaways. Later, in a book she wrote after losing the election, Clinton blamed Sanders  and his attacks on her character  for the fact that polls showed a majority of Americans thought she was untrustworthy.

And, of course, during the general election, the Democratic nominee famously disparaged Trump supporters as a basket of deplorables.

For his part, during the GOP primary, Trump attacked, well, anyone and everyone. He viciously clawed at just about every other Republican on the ballot, various members of the partys establishment, and anyone else who got in his way or had anything negative to say about him. In debates, he lobbed personal insults at opponents like Jeb Bush, Ben Carson, Lindsey Graham, Marco Rubio, Rand Paul, Carly Fiorina and Ted Cruz.

Trump started his campaign by impugning the character of Mexican immigrants, describing them as criminals, rapists and drug traffickers. In time, he would also crudely attack women  particularly female journalists or politicians who dared to challenge him. From there, he moved on to attacking Muslim Americans, Hollywood actors, union bosses, corporate CEOs, former presidents, members of Congress, foreign heads of state and a certain Mexican judge who was born in Indiana. In fact, the only people whom Trump didnt criticize were Third World strongman dictators, white supremacists and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Everyone else was fair game.

And, for each of these candidates, those antics were just the warmup acts. They really let the fur fly when they attacked each other  with Clinton basically calling Trump a misogynist, and Trump responding that Clinton was a nasty woman.

What a mess these two made of the American political landscape. Hopelessly in love with themselves, but without the slightest bit of shame, they left the country in shambles.

But do tell me again how it was the Russians who divided America. I just love a good fairy tale.

E-mail: ruben@rubennavarrette.com. Copyright, The Washington Post Writers Group. His daily podcast, Navarrette Nation, is available through every podcast app.Five investigations. At least three changes in the departments leadership. Assurances from the previous mayoral administration that the serious problems in the citys Animal Welfare Department had been dealt with.

But for all of those efforts and promises, the citys Animal Welfare program remains in disarray with yet another investigation underway, troubling assertions that the department has been massaging its numbers and new allegations of wrongdoing leveled against the No. 2 person in the department.

As this saga plays out, yet again, animals are suffering.

Consider that 60 percent of animals in city shelters have been there for more than 90 days. Thats problematic because such animals eventually go kennel crazy, exhibiting repetitive behaviors or other signs of mental illness to cope with the stresses of being caged.

There are few records to show what staff and volunteers have done to help animals become more adoptable. The departments new interim director wont speculate on whether there had been an intentional effort to not keep records  perhaps in an attempt to keep animals around longer.

Then theres the latest investigation. Deb Brinkley, the departments associate director, owns a dog rescue in Colorado, and city animals were being taken there, city officials have told reporters. Mayor Tim Keller made it clear during a news conference last week that what Brinkley was doing isnt OK.

To our knowledge, it was a mix of animals that were difficult to adopt and some that seemingly were very adoptable, and you can see, in terms of financial incentives, why that would be the case, he said. Either way, the way that this was done was totally inappropriate. You cant have city management selling animals to their own company.

Brinkley has been placed on administrative leave.

The city says the department has good policies and procedures, but they havent been followed. And there have been continued conflicts with staff, volunteers and management.

Its a sad state of affairs that Keller and his administration must address once and for all. It also appears to be a systemic problem, which wont be fixed until the city drills down to the root cause or causes  perhaps a deeply ingrained philosophy that the city must maintain its no-kill designation at all costs. Animal shelters can keep the no-kill designation if 10 percent or less of their animals are put down. The city handles more than 17,000 animals a year.

Euthanizing the smallest number of animals as possible should always be the goal. But the city shouldnt cling to that philosophy at the expense of everything else. The city has a responsibility to deal with dangerous dogs and ensure that they dont end up being adopted to an unsuspecting family. The city also has a responsibility to the animals its taking in. If an animal is sick or seriously injured, if theres little chance that an animal can be adopted, wed argue its more humane to euthanize that animal early on than to warehouse it for months on end.

And the Animal Welfare Department must stop playing games with its numbers.

If theres a silver lining in this mess, its that Keller appears to be taking the Animal Welfare issues seriously, having appointed veteran city administrator John Soladay as interim Animal Welfare director and launching a national search for a permanent director. Soladay has been tasked with getting to the bottom of whats been happening at Animal Welfare and instituting reforms.

We hope that this administration is successful in its efforts, because the city can no longer afford the half measures that were previously touted. And we hope that the city does a better job of screening those in management positions at Animal Welfare.

Brinkley, after all, is no stranger to controversy. She featured prominently in a previous investigation done by the citys Office of Inspector General after she reportedly bragged to Animal Welfare employees that she helped save Onion, a 120-pound mastiff and Rhodesian mixed breed that mauled a Nevada child to death on the boys first birthday in 2012. Onion was slated to be put down, but an animal rights group intervened and secured the dogs freedom after nearly two years of legal wrangling with the city of Henderson, Nev.

Brinkley reportedly told her employees here that she helped save Onion by taking him in at a sanctuary she used to run in Colorado. Brinkley confirmed that she did provide sanctuary to Onion and he lived out his days at her sanctuary in Colorado.

Thats fine if you are in the business of running an animal sanctuary. When you are in the business of providing an important service to animals while also protecting the public as well as its tax dollars, its woefully off base.

Five investigations and three directors later, theres a pattern and practice of Albuquerques Animal Welfare Department not being accountable to the animals or people who depend on it. It is past time to put it on a short leash  for the good of the dogs, cats and others it takes in as well as the taxpayers who cover its bills and entrust it to keep the public safe.

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.Two current University of New Mexico regents, whose formal nominations have repeatedly stalled in Santa Fe, will keep their seats under temporary appointments granted by Gov. Susana Martinez.

Tom Clifford and Garrett Adcock, the boards student representative, received new recess appointments this month, extending their service through Dec. 31.

But the Governors Office is providing little insight into when or how she will fill the newest vacancy on UNMs governing board  an entity that has shown growing signs of internal strain.

The seven-member board sustained its latest loss this month when Alex Romero announced his resignation. Romero, who cited difficulty working with the regents leadership, had served since last May on a recess appointment.

His resignation came one day after the Feb. 13 Board of Regents meeting, during which he publicly commented about communication issues within the board. Another regent described the board as failing during the same meeting.

A governors spokesman did not answer Journal questions about when Martinez would name Romeros replacement or who it would be, saying only an announcement will follow the Governors selection.

New Mexicos regent boards have attracted attention and scrutiny amid questions of political influence and, at times, sparked statewide controversy.

Just this month, a bipartisan group of 43 legislators signed a letter calling for New Mexico State Universitys entire Board of Regents to resign after it moved to limit the hiring authority of Chancellor Garrey Carruthers, who is in his final five months on the job.

The lawmakers letter called it drastic and questionable, though regents contend they were acting within their authority and following best practices for universities during leadership transitions.

Meanwhile, nominations for the UNM board have languished. The governor has the authority to nominate regents, who are subject to state Senate approval.

But in an apparent standoff with the administration, the Senate Rules Committee has now gone two full legislative sessions without holding confirmation hearings for any of Martinezs UNM regent nominees.

The committee chairwoman, Sen. Linda Lopez, D-Albuquerque, did not respond to Journal messages on the matter.

That has left Martinez to repeatedly fill board openings with temporary recess appointments, including her recent renewal of Clifford and Adcock.

At this point, only four of UNMs current regents have undergone the full Senate confirmation process, and that includes Regent Brad Hosmer, whose six-year term technically expired at the end of 2016.

Martinez had nominated John Ryan, a former state lawmaker and onetime state Republican Party executive director, to succeed Hosmer, but the Senate has never conducted his confirmation hearing.

Hosmer says he plans to continue serving until both the governor and Senate sanction someone to replace him.

Hosmer was among the regents who made conspicuous comments about university governance during the boards Feb. 13 meeting. Both he and Regent Suzanne Quillen noted that the board has authority only as a unit and that individual regents have no power to act separately, something spelled out in policy.

Quillen also described the board as failing in its duties and publicly asked that the group attempt to come together as a full board to address the issues facing the university. She stressed the importance of board cohesion as UNMs new president, Garnett Stokes, will start March 1.

Regent President Rob Doughty acknowledged in a written statement to the Journal that members have had differences of opinion. But he cited recent spikes in graduation rates as evidence of effective governance.

Clifford told the Journal that some of the issues raised by other regents did not match his own experience on the board.

I think there seems to be a sense that there are decisions being made by subsets of the regents that are excluding other regents, he said, and Ive never seen that.This years capital outlay bill, House Bill 306, has some requests that stretch the definition of public infrastructure. Among them:

 Page 14, $259,500 to purchase a robotic dinosaur and construct an exhibit around it at the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science.

It raises the questions: Why the museum is turning to taxpayers, who need roads and water systems, instead of its foundation and donors? How is a robotic dinosaur infrastructure? And will it last the life of the bonds paying for it?

 Page 117, $50,000 for a bust of Manuel A. Chaves to be installed in the Roundhouse.

Oil and gas prices are up, and art is important, but in what world does a bust of anyone  including a Union soldier who fought at Glorieta Pass and could incite controversy because he was renowned as an Indian fighter, if its that Manuel A. Chaves  equal infrastructure?

 Page 24, $106,300 for Albuquerque Public Schools Police Department vehicles.

Again, vehicles are not infrastructure, and most company vehicles, especially police vehicles, are driven hard and dont last the 10 years the bonds financing them will.

In addition, many HB 306 projects lack transparency in showing who, exactly, is requesting them. Twenty-five Albuquerque lawmakers, from both sides of the aisle, put the robotic dino on their lists.

They are: Rep. Sarah Maestas Barnes, Sen. Jacob Candelaria, Rep. Damon Ely, Rep. Harry Garcia, Sen. Candace Gould, Rep. Jimmie Hall, Rep. Larry Larranaga, Rep. Antonio Moe Maestas, Rep. Javier Martinez, Sen. Mark Moores, Sen. Bill ONeil, Sen. Bill Payne, Sen. Michael Padilla, Sen. Gerald Ortiz y Pino, Rep. Jane Powdrell-Culbert, Rep. Bill Rehm, Rep. Andres Romero, Sen. Sander Rue, Sen. John Sapien, Rep. Jim Smith, Sen. Mimi Stewart, Rep. Sheryl Williams Stapleton, Rep. Liz Thomson, Sen. Jim White and Rep. Monica Youngblood.

Its unclear which lawmaker will actually be paying for the dinosaur out of their capital outlay allotment. At best, they might be splitting the $259,000 25 ways; at worst, they are ensuring theres no way to know who really sponsored the request.

Fred Nathan, founder and executive director of the Santa Fe think tank Think New Mexico, has advocated for capital outlay reform for years and made it a signature issue in 2016. He says, Next year, we are planning to make a strong push for capital outlay transparency, to help Sen. Sander Rue, R-Albuquerque, pass the bill he has been trying to pass for the last three years to require legislators to disclose the specific projects they fund. It is hard to justify a system where projects are secretly sponsored and no one has to take responsibility for funding them.

Gov. Susana Martinez has until March 7 to line-item veto capital outlay requests.Copyright  2018 Albuquerque Journal

WASHINGTON  A White House plan to replace federal food stamps with groceries delivered by mail isnt likely to become reality anytime soon, but the idea signals a looming budget battle over free nutrition programs.

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, provides 44 million low-income people with government-issued benefit cards for purchasing groceries at retail stores. In 2016, about 471,000 New Mexicans, or 23 percent of the states population, received SNAP benefits, often referred to as food stamps.

But President Donald Trumps 2019 budget request, released this month, suggested federal taxpayers could save 50 percent over retail costs  about $129 billion over a decade  if the government curtailed the SNAP grocery allotments to each household and instead mailed them Americas Harvest Boxes. The crates of food could be filled with juice, grains, cereals, pasta, peanut butter, beans, canned meat and fish, fruits and vegetables and shelf-stable milk, the administration said.

Americans who receive $90 a month or more in SNAP benefits  about 16.4 million households total and 81 percent of all SNAP households nationwide  would begin receiving boxes of food along with reduced credit on benefits cards for their grocery purchases, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The White House budget document called the proposal a bold new approach to nutrition assistance. But the proposal must have congressional approval to be enacted, and early reaction from Capitol Hill has been chilly.

Advocates for the hungry in New Mexico and in Washington panned the presidents harvest box plan, but said their bigger concern is Trumps overall SNAP budget request, which would reduce eligibility and cut funding across the board more than $215 billion over 10 years  or roughly 40 percent, according to the Washington-based Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

But some say the proposal is worth considering, because it puts an emphasis on nutritious food over junk food and helps ensure families have easier access to such food, especially where grocery stores are not nearby.

The annual farm bill, which funds SNAP and a wide range of federal agriculture programs, is scheduled for debate in Congress this spring.

N.M. delegation

Neither Rep. Michelle Lujan Grisham, D-N.M., nor Steve Pearce, R-N.M.,  both of whom are running for governor of New Mexico in 2018  endorsed Trumps proposal when asked about it by the Journal. Lujan Grisham dismissed it entirely.

The Trump administrations proposal to cut over $200 billion from the SNAP program and implement a massive, bureaucratic state-run food distribution system would be inefficient, costly and is an assault on the human dignity of beneficiaries who are struggling to make ends meet, Lujan Grisham said, adding that New Mexico has one of the highest rates of food insecurity in the country.

Pearce said SNAP isnt perfect, but he didnt explicitly back the White House plan.

I fully support SNAP as a vital support system for New Mexicans in need, Pearce said. Like many government programs, there is likely room for improvement. I will evaluate the proposed changes, but will not support anything that jeopardizes SNAPs critical functions.

Backers, opponents

SNAP rules require that recipients meet work requirements  to either be working, demonstrably seeking work or in job training  unless they are exempt because of age or disability or another specific reason. Children, seniors and those with disabilities account for almost two-thirds of all SNAP participants. Forty-three percent of SNAP participants live in households with earnings.

The food boxes are just one of several cuts that there is real reason to be concerned about, said Sovereign Hager, managing attorney at the New Mexico Center on Law and Poverty.

Hager said her organization is worried about multiple elements of Trumps SNAP proposal.

She noted that under current law, unemployed healthy people ages 18 to 49 with no children at home are already limited to three months of SNAP benefits in any three-year period unless they meet certain requirements, such as being in a training program.

The proposal would increase that upper age range to 62 beginning in 2021, potentially affecting 2 million more people, primarily older Americans who may have more hardship working or finding work. It would also restrict waivers that states with high unemployment can currently request to help meet the nutrition needs of a broader population than allowed under the normal federal rules.

This would hurt a state like New Mexico, where we continue to have very high unemployment, Hager said.

New Mexicos unemployment rate  at 6 percent in December  is tied with the District of Columbia for second-worst in the nation. Alaska has the highest unemployment rate in the nation, at 7.3 percent.

According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, the maximum amount of SNAP benefits a family of four can receive is $640 per month, while the average amount a family of four receives is $456. A single person without dependents who qualifies can get a maximum monthly SNAP benefit of $192. On average, SNAP households received about $254 a month in fiscal year 2017. The average SNAP benefit per person was about $126 per month, which works out to about $1.40 per person per meal, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

The amount each person or household gets is dependent on multiple factors, including monthly income, as well as allowed deductions such as costs for health and child care, and housing expenses.

Hager said that the SNAP program works well and that it benefits not only recipients but local stores and economies where the benefits are redeemed.

Its a really effective anti-hunger program, she said of the public-private partnership.

She said more than 1,600 food retailers in New Mexico redeem SNAP benefits for those who qualify.

The money generates activity in our state while making sure kids have enough to eat, Hager said.

Merrill Matthews, a scholar with the Irving, Texas-based Institute for Policy Innovation, a conservative think tank founded by former Republican House Majority Leader Dick Armey, contends that the presidents approach has merit and should at least be tried as a pilot program in some states.

Matthews noted that about 44 million people participated in SNAP in 2016 (the latest year for which complete numbers are available), at a cost to taxpayers of about $71 billion. The 2016 enrollment was less than the SNAP enrollment peak of 47.6 million in 2013, but was still double its previous peak in 1993 shortly before the Clinton administration and a Republican Congress enacted welfare overhaul.

One expects the number of food stamp recipients to rise in a recession and decline during a recovery, but the number of SNAP recipients grew steadily throughout the 2000s, even when the economy was doing well, Matthews said. Then it exploded during the Obama administration  and has never really returned to its non-recession lows.

Matthews said the Trump approach could ensure that families are receiving nutritious food  not junk food  and that it would address the frequent complaint of healthy food deserts in urban areas without grocery stores that have a range of nutritional options.

Welfare should be a safety net, not a hammock  otherwise, people who could and should leave may not, Matthews said. Trumps proposal imposes limits on the current program flexibility by meeting recipients food needs, not necessarily all of their food wants. Its a subtle encouragement to leave the program if and when they can.

Looking ahead

Americans can expect hearty debate over food programs for the poor when Congress takes up the farm bill later this year. Elizabeth Wolokomir, a senior policy analyst with the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, said hunger advocates will be ready for the debate.

We do expect the farm bill to move and we hope its bipartisan, she said. Our concern is with the overall tenor of the administrations plan.Copyright  2018 Albuquerque Journal

Long, sanitized hallways lead to a maze of units and pods at the Metropolitan Detention Center, where the inmates are temporary guests.

In one of the high-risk pods, inmates in red uniforms  isolated in their cells  howl at visitors. Accused cop killer Davon Lymon motions for a corrections officer to discuss something.

In a lower-risk pod, a man in an orange jumpsuit recognizes County Manager Julie Morgas Baca, who said she is a frequent visitor, and politely motions her over to his cell.

In another pod, a group of women attend a class.

During a wide-ranging, hourslong interview and tour of the Metropolitan Detention Center with Journal editors and reporters last month, jail and county officials showed what life was like inside the massive facility west of Albuquerque and explained some of the changes and improvements they are trying to make on several fronts.

And they also offered a variety of reasons for one question that was posed: Why, if the county has had such a significant drop in inmate population in recent years, are the jails expenses going up?

The jails average daily population in 2012 was about 2,600 inmates, which was significantly overcrowded, according to the requirements of a decadeslong McClendon class action lawsuit against the jail.

Last month, the average daily population was roughly 1,200 inmates, according to jail statistics. The jail has beds for 2,200 inmates.

The declining jail population is due in part to reforms to the local criminal justice system, which aim to address the problem of people lingering in lockup while awaiting trial, then pleading guilty to crimes and being sentenced to time served.

The jails budget has gone up over the period of declining population. Expenditures in the 2012 fiscal year were $57 million, and expenditures in the 2017 fiscal year were more than $61 million, according to county annual reports.

That budget only includes money from the countys general fund. In recent years, MDC has also received additional money from a behavioral health gross receipts tax put in place by the Bernalillo County Commission after the idea received overwhelming support from voters in the 2014 general election.

Jail officials said theres a long list of reasons costs have gone up as the population dropped.

While many jail costs are fixed, services available to inmates, including psychiatric treatment and drug rehabilitation, have increased; guard training to curb excessive use-of-force incidents is up; understaffing at MDC means more overtime costs; and administrators have kept the number of inmates assigned to 64-person pods at about 40 inmates for safety reasons.

Improving psychiatric services at the jail is also one of the requirements of the McClendon case, and MDC Chief Greg Rees said the jail is receiving good marks from a court-appointed monitor overseeing the reform case.

The mental health care and the medical care at this facility has not decreased, said Jessie Phelps, the health services administrator of Correct Care Solutions, which provides care to inmates. They continue to trend upward even with the population trending downward.

Classifying inmates

Rees took over as the head of the jail in August. And he said that, even though the jail could hold many more inmates than it currently has, most of the jail remains open.

The jail is organized into five units. Each unit has eight pods, and each pod has 32 cells and can hold a maximum of 64 inmates.

But instead of filling all those pods to the max, then closing as many of them as possible, Rees said, only four pods are closed. The open pods have about 40 inmates each, so they arent filled to capacity.

Rees said that population level serves two purposes. It provides a safer environment because the inmates are properly classified  meaning more dangerous inmates do not live with less dangerous ones and rival gang members are separated  and it allows the jail to assign just one corrections officer at a time to each pod.

Having the inmates more spread out and classified properly, thats important. Thats going to keep the place safe, Rees said.

The recent jail tour showed how different classifications affected life inside the MDC.

High-risk inmates lived in a pod where they either stayed in a cell by themselves, or they shared a room with a fellow gang member and left their cells only in shifts.

Another pod was dedicated to recently arrested inmates who were receiving drug treatment medications.

Yet another pod was for inmates who were taking psychiatric medication.

And another pod was set aside for low-risk inmates. They were able to take courses of study and slept on bunk beds in open areas instead of in a cell.

Available courses of study included working toward a high school diploma from Gordon Bernell Charter School, addiction treatment, health and therapy.

Staffing problems

Rees said having fewer than the budgeted number of corrections officers can increase overtime and lead to burnout.

The jail is budgeted for 411 officers, but on a recent day only 314 were working. The officers work eight-hour shifts, but because of the understaffing its common for them to have to work four double shifts a week.

That means they often come to work not knowing how long their shifts will be.

We cannot leave a pod unsupervised, so we run into a lot of overtime, Rees said.

The cost of overtime at MDC rose from about $6.4 million in 2015 to $7.7 million in 2017, according to county records.

The staffing shortage is also a likely reason MDC employees use more than twice as much Family Medical Leave Act time off than all other county employees, Rees said.

The majority of the COs (corrections officers) are working four double shifts a week, Rees said. Does that cause health issues? Do people need a break from that? The answer is probably yes.

Training

One case that highlights the need for more training involved Eric Allen, a sergeant at the jail.

Allen spent nearly two years on administrative leave for a use-of-force incident before he was indicted on battery charges late last year. The county is in the process of trying to fire him, though he is appealing.

Allen also came under fire when a video surfaced of him using force against a small female inmate in September 2015.

The county in recent years has ramped up its training and changed its use-of-force policy.

Tom Ruiz, a jail administrator, said efforts to change the jail culture, such as installing more cameras and improving inmate re-entry programs, are among reasons the amount it costs to run MDC has increased in recent years.

The county spent $1.7 million in training at the jail in 2017. Of that, about $700,000 was required as part of the decades-old McClendon lawsuit, aimed at improving jail conditions.

The previous use-of-force policy was based on what is called in law enforcement the reactive control model. That calls for officers to use different degrees of force or control based on a persons behavior at a given time.

The new policy focuses on de-escalation, Ruiz said.

The one were in now is a plan, Ruiz said. The other one was saying, if this happens, this is what you do. The new use of force (policy) is wait, stop, think about what youre going to do before you do it. Its philosophically a different approach.

One aspect of the new training is to rely on contracted employees who offer psychiatric services when inmates are not compliant with corrections officers, instead of just relying on uniformed personnel.

From a nonsecurity standpoint, it is pretty cool to have contract staff and security work together as a team to not use force, said Stacey Goldstein-Dwyer of Correct Care Solutions.BEIRUT  The Syrian capital and its embattled eastern suburbs were relatively calm Sunday despite some violence that killed at least three people, following the U.N. Security Councils unanimous approval of a resolution demanding a 30-day cease-fire across Syria, opposition activists and residents of Damascus said.

The activists reported low-level clashes on the southern edge of the rebel-held suburbs, known as eastern Ghouta, and two airstrikes late on Saturday night, shortly after the resolution was adopted. During the day Sunday, some more shelling and airstrikes were reported by activists in eastern Ghouta.

The relative calm came after a week of intense airstrikes and shelling that killed more than 500 people in eastern Ghouta and left dozens dead or wounded in the government-held Damascus, which rebels pelted with mortar shells.

This has been the calmest night since last Sunday, said Rami Abdurrahman who heads the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, referring to the start of the bombing campaign on Feb. 19.

The Observatory said Sundays shelling killed three people and wounded 27 in several areas in eastern Ghouta. The oppositions Syrian Civil Defense, also known as White Helmets, said the three were killed in the towns of Saqba, Beit Sawa and Hammouriyeh.

State news agency SANA said insurgents breached the truce by firing 15 shells Sunday on government-held areas on the edge of Ghouta.

Ghouta-based opposition activist Anas al-Dimashqi said the night was calm but warplanes and drones were flying over rebel-held areas. He said several explosions were heard Sunday in Ghouta.

Dr. Sakhr al-Dimashqi, a surgeon at a clinic in Ghouta, told The Associated Press that several shells hit some towns in the suburbs, adding that they received six wounded people at the clinic where he works.

The shelling today is not as intense as over the past week, he said.

The two largest and most powerful rebel factions in Ghouta, Failaq al-Rahman and Army of Islam issued statements saying they will abide by the cease-fire unless they are forced to fire in self-defense. Both called for the immediate delivery of emergency aid.

The resolution excludes members of the Islamic State group and al-Qaida-linked fighters. Ghouta is also home to a few hundred members of the al-Qaida-linked Levant Liberation Committee.

Russias Foreign Ministry said Sunday that the fight against IS and al-Qaidas affiliate will continue, despite what it described as attempts by certain external players to engage international terrorists and groups of opposition militants joining them to implement plans that are still nurtured to overthrow the legitimate authorities of Syria and dismember the country.

It added that the terrorists wont get any respite.

Damascus residents said theres more traffic in the streets, compared to previous days and most schools and universities were open on Sunday. They said some private schools were still closed, especially those close to the front lines with Ghouta.

Some residents of the capital said they were unhappy with the truce, adding they believe the rebels will violate it and that the Syrian army should crush the gunmen outside the capital.

The army has given them many truces, more than they deserve and the result was more shells, said Damascus resident Abdul-Razzak Khaleifah, 37. The army has the right to retaliate to defend the homeland and the civilians.

Saturdays vote at the United Nations came after the vote was delayed from Friday. Russias U.N. Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia had repeatedly called an immediate cease-fire unrealistic.

In a bid to get Russian support, sponsors Kuwait and Sweden amended the draft resolution late Friday to drop a demand that the cease-fire take effect 72 hours after the resolutions adoption.

After two hours of additional negotiations on Saturday, the Security Council unanimously approved the resolution demanding a 30-day cease-fire across Syria without delay to deliver humanitarian aid to millions and evacuate the critically ill and wounded.

After the vote, many council members urged stepped-up efforts to ensure a cease-fire and get assistance to millions in need.

Russia has been a main backer of Syrian President Bashar Assad since the countrys conflict began seven years ago. In 2015, Moscow joined the war on Assads side tipping the balance of power in his favor.

In northern Syria, the Observatory and the Lebanon-based Al-Mayadeen TV said Turkish troops shelled the Kurdish enclave of Afrin where Turkey and Syrian opposition fighters it backs have been on the offensive since Jan. 20.

The Turkish military and their allies took three more villages from the U.S.-backed Kurdish militia near the town of Afrin on Sunday, according to the Turkeys official news agency. The military announced one Turkish soldier was killed on Saturday, bringing the armys death toll to 33 since the launch of the Afrin operation last month.

The main Kurdish militia, known as YPG, said in a statement that it will abide by the U.N. cease-fire but will continue fighting as usual against IS.

___

Associated Press writer Albert Aji in Damascus, Syria, Zeynep Bilginsoy in Istanbul and Jim Heintz in Moscow contributed to this report.SANTA FE, N.M.  A New Mexico boy who authorities said endured years of abuse and was found buried along the side of a rural highway had not attended school for several months.

Jeremiah Valencias mother, Tracy Pena, pulled him out of a Las Vegas, New Mexico, middle school in February 2017 and told school officials she would enroll him in a Santa Fe school. But she never did and school and state officials did not notice, the Santa Fe New Mexican reported .

Valencia had been out of school for at least seven months before he died, police said.

Authorities did not discover the 13-year-olds body until two month after his estimated death in November because no one reported Valencia as missing, they said.

Penas boyfriend Thomas Ferguson, 42, was indicted last week on first-degree murder and 17 other felony counts related to Valencias death. Police believe he brutally beat the teen to death while Pena was in jail on a warrant for failing to appear in court.

Pena and Fergusons son, 19-year-old Jordan Nunez, also is facing charges in the case.

Authorities learned about Valencias murder in January when Pena told another county jail inmate about her sons death and named Ferguson as the person who killed the teen.

The inmate shared the information with sheriffs investigators.

Under state law, parents are required to enroll children between the ages of 5 and 18 in school. However, there is no specific state official responsible for ensuring that happens when students are transferred between districts or taken from a public school to a private or charter school.

The New Mexico Public Education Department tracks dropout rates and other statistics, but does not follow up when students vanish from the education system, spokeswoman Lida Alikhani said in an email.

The state is not required to intervene with any individual student, she said. That responsibility lies on the school or district.

In Valencias case, West Las Vegas Middle School officials believed the teen had been transferred to Capshaw Middle School because a code showed that he was a student there, said Christopher Gutierrez, the superintendent for the Las Vegas district.

Records show a preliminary registration form had been filled out for Valencia, but he never became a student, said Jeff Gephart, a spokesman for Santa Fe Public Schools.

Gutierrez told The New Mexican that staff members did their due diligence when they tried to follow up on Valencia, but said he has implemented changes following his death.

Some of the things I see (are) that we need to communicate a little more, Gutierrez said. Different people have different roles to play when it comes to transferring (records) or accepting transfer slips. We need to make sure that everybody is crossing their ts and dotting their is.

___

Information from: The Santa Fe New Mexican, http://www.sfnewmexican.comWould you like to receive breaking news notifications from The Post and Courier?

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Please enable notifications in your browser and reload the page.AL-BAGHDADI, Iraq  An airstrike in late January in Iraqs western Anbar region, nowhere near Islamic State (IS) territory, killed several members of the local security forces, injured the mayor and has left many people demanding answers.

Should they not receive them, underlying tension could impact the balance of loyalty in a town under IS control only for a few weeks in early 2015 and long seen as friendly to the nearby coalition air base.

Al-Baghdadi sits along the snaking Euphrates River, date palms lining its banks, roads curving around collapsed bridges, a wadi running through and the enormous Ain al-Asad air base hosting coalition troops and training down the road.

Men with thick, bushy, black mustaches and large families are ubiquitous here, where the dominant tribe is al-Obeidi. The towns police chief, who was a member of the tribe and was killed in the Jan. 27 incident, had "about 15 children" and two wives, according to one of his relatives in the town.

"This isnt a remote desert zone. This is a safe area. There are security forces and civilians. There was no reason for that airstrike," Maj. Monadel Mumtaz Subar, a nephew of the murdered police chief, told Al-Monitor in an interview at the al-Baghdadi police headquarters on Feb. 14.

Anbar regional police chief Maj. Gen. Hadi Rizej Kessar had told Al-Monitor the previous day in an interview in Ramadi that the incident was "the Americans fault. There was a man they wanted. The US forces and the Iraqi army went to the area to arrest the person. They did not coordinate with the police. The Americans and the Iraqi army detained this person, but no one in the police had been notified of this mission. They then returned to the Ain al-Asad air base."

"Police Chief Col. Salam [Abdelsalam Abdullah Ahmed Fahad al-Obeidi], the mayor and some of the police intelligence in police vehicles and in uniforms went to inspect the scene when they heard about the incident. At this point, there was an airstrike on them," he said.

"We lost Col. Salam and four others" from within the police force, and 21 other people were injured, the regional police chief noted.

He added that an official investigative commission had been formed, and he is one of the five members. The commission includes a representative of the local Popular Mobilization Units (PMU), a commander who was also killed in the airstrike.

Kessar noted they had been informed afterward that the coalition forces had reason to believe that the individual arrested in the raid was in contact with members of IS. He stressed, however, that this does not excuse the sending of foreign special forces to the area without prior coordination with local security forces.

Kessar said his main aim was to ensure that the victims are cared for. He pointedly asked how much an American would receive in compensation if the government were found to have been responsible for their unwarranted death on US soil.

The Combined Joint Task Force - Operation Inherent Resolve, established by the anti-IS international coalition, responded to an email from Al-Monitor by saying that the incident was still under investigation, and "the operation was directed by the Iraqi security forces Anbar Operations Center and led by an Iraqi army unit."

The email stated that "coalition support to the Iraqi security forces, including airstrikes, comes at the request and approval of our Iraqi partners. The coalition has nothing further to add at this time."

Hadi and other police commanders deny there are any problems between them and the Iraqi army, and they stress that they have fought "side by side" with them against IS.

Several members of the security forces operating in the area said on condition of anonymity, however, that the head of the Jazeera and Badiya western half of the Anbar region, Staff Maj. Gen. Qassem al-Mohammadi, had "caused problems" for them.

The general has also refused entry several times to Al-Monitor over the past year, both during military operations and when no operations were ongoing, and other times he made it extremely difficult and time-consuming.

Al-Monitors reporter was the only Western journalist to be embedded with Iraqi forces during the Rawa and al-Qaim operations in November. Mohammadi and other officers from the 8th Division of the Iraqi army have repeatedly denied that non-local PMUs are in western Anbar, despite their obvious presence on the ground.

In al-Baghdadi, the acting police chief, Col. Mohamed Awad Allawi, noted that he had been sent from Ramadi about a week prior to Al-Monitors interview with him on Feb. 14 and was very new to the area.

"I just met Sheikh Mallalah [al-Obeidi] today," the head of the local PMU, he said, noting that the local PMU was helping to provide security in the area.

He said that in total nine people had been killed in the airstrike and some of the injured had been flown to Jordan for treatment.

Subar, the nephew of the murdered police chief, showed Al-Monitor photos of the burned police vehicles and took its reporter to the scene of the incident, noting the distance  "about a kilometer"  between where the man was arrested and where the alleged clashes took place that were followed by the airstrike. He said he was the first to arrive at the scene of the airstrike.

The only reason he could imagine why this happened, he said, was that someone "wanted the chief of police, the head of the local tribal militia [PMU] and the mayor dead."

Subar stressed that "we didnt expect this of the Americans" and that US forces had been very helpful in the fight against IS.

"We just want to know why, and who was it that called that airstrike. We want names," he said. "We were together, my uncle and I, in many battles against IS. He was injured three times" during the various battles.

Subar added that "this is not a tribal area. Unlike 80% to 90% of Anbar  from Fallujah to Rutba  this is a lawful place," not one in which tribes sometimes act above the law.

"If they had wanted a man arrested, they should have simply told us," he said.

"We just want the truth," he repeated, pleadingly. "Who called that airstrike? Who was the man on the ground?"

As some Iraqi politicians voice anti-US sentiment and others call for continued US support for Iraq as it struggles to rebuild in the post-IS period, and amid jostling for votes ahead of the May 12 elections, clarity on how such an incident was able to occur may prevent more widespread discontent.The eye will always be underneath the eyebrow, says an ancient Bedouin proverb. Aalia Abu Rabia from the Negev Bedouin village of Darijat interprets it to mean, Women will always be inferior to men.

Abu Rabia is one of the 24 strong and educated Bedouin women who are trying to change this opinion. She and her colleagues completed a six-month program last December that aims to provide women with both business management and public administration skills. The program is run by the Association of Community Centers and the Interior Ministry. More specifically, this course aims to train women to become members of executive boards in both the private and public sectors.

Abu Rabia, a masters student in public administration, believes that courage is a necessary condition for womens success. She has proven her courage when she went ahead with her divorce, despite the very conservative Bedouin societys negative view of divorced women. You need a lot of courage, but change is already here even though the men are at a stage of denial, she said in a conversation with Al-Monitor. Women can get involved and advance if they act carefully and not try to shatter tradition, taboos and values. If it doesnt damage the structure of Bedouin society, anything is possible.

The course was the initiative of the Department of Public Administration of the Association of Community Centers and the Interior Ministry as part of a government policy to empower women in the Bedouin sector. This goal of empowerment is reflected in the governments five-year plan for the Bedouin sector, which was passed in February 2017. The plan makes a real investment in advancing education in the sector with the aim of reducing unemployment among the Bedouin, especially among women. Data from the Central Bureau of Statistics and the Brookdale Institute show that the employment rate of Bedouin women is only about 24%, the lowest rate among all sectors in Israel.

The data further show that as the level of education increases, so does the employment rate. While 68% of Bedouin women with higher education degrees work, only 7% of women who didnt complete high school work.

Nitza Nidal, a facilitator of the Public Administration Program at the Association for Community Centers, told Al-Monitor that the goal of the course is to bring about a diverse and authentic representation of the Bedouin public in community administration roles, such as on boards of municipal economic corporations, community centers and boards of education.

Up to now, there were hardly any Bedouin women on any board of this type, and so we decided to start the course and call on women to join us, she said. Twenty-four women participated in the course  all of them with college degrees.

She noted that participating women understood that something big is happening in Bedouin society, and they wanted to be part of it, to be involved in decision-making in their communities. We identified strong, educated, eloquent and assertive women with a strong will to have an impact. They were not scared at all, but at the same time they have a deep and intuitive sense of where they can wisely advance without damaging the place of the men in their conservative society. They prefer to work with tradition and not against it, and by going along with it to bring about change. They are no pushovers, and thus will succeed in advancing their goals.

Nidal believes that change will take time and perhaps not all participants will be able to do everything they want to, but their daughters certainly will. The inspiration and education of the mothers will raise a new generation of women like them and even stronger, she said.

These types of courses usually feature women who have already succeeded, women who are real pathbreakers. One of them is Fatan a-Zinati, the director of the Arab Community Center in Lod. Zinati is an inspiration to Arab women who seek change and wish to advance their status. Talking to the participants, she charted the path for them: There are political and other elements that can put up roadblocks and try to stop your goals, she said in her lecture. The extended family, the nuclear family, the environment, they all have a big influence. Try to connect with them and to fight them less, the frontal attack will not always bring results, cooperation is bound to succeed better.

Nazma al-Huzeil of Rahat, a graduate of the course, agreed. I dont like the terms rebellion or empowerment.' I like the conversation, the togetherness, she told Al-Monitor, saying that the community allegedly encourages them, but in fact waits for them to fail and go back to their husbands who are less advanced than the women. Youre at point X and he cant even understand you. You speak in terms that he doesnt understand at all. Thus, advancement has to happen together.

Imani Hamdan Abu Zeid, one of the standout participants in the course, has already implemented what she has learned and will soon be appointed to the board of the directors of a local public body that works on economic issues along with the municipality of her town, Rahat, the largest Bedouin town in Israel.

She said her husband, Ali, is also a college graduate and he encouraged her to participate. There is a growing number of Bedouin men who push their women to learn and advance, she told Al-Monitor.

When an article was published in Rahat about her, she received much encouragement and support from her family, something that attests to the readiness of Bedouin society for change. Change is also political. One of the main candidate lists expected to run in the municipal elections in Rahat in October 2018 has tried to recruit her. Abu Zeid decided not to run, but intends to gather her friends in order to choose one of them to enter municipal politics in this election.

Naama al-Abid, a course graduate from Segev Shalom, explained that men prefer a mature and strong woman to stand alongside them. For her part, she looks to the future. I want my daughter to get where she wants to go, that it would be possible for her, and it doesnt matter what it is. Even if she wants to be prime minister, she told Al-Monitor.

Graduate Amal Abu Hamed from Hura said, My community has put its hopes on me and told me that my weapon in life will be education. And here I have a weapon and people already fear me, and maybe thats good.CAIRO  The European Parliament issued a resolution Feb. 7 condemning the use of the death penalty by the Egyptian government. It urged the government to issue a stay of execution for those on death row and to review all cases of pending death sentences to ensure respect for fair trial standards.

On Jan. 29, a memo was addressed to the UN secretary-general by 13 Egyptian human rights nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) calling for the United Nations to immediately intervene with the Egyptian government to suspend the imminent execution of 26 Egyptians and to urge President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to replace the death penalty with another sentence. The NGOs also called on the Egyptian government to voluntarily suspend the death penalty in any new cases, in preparation for the abolition of this penalty.

Mohamed Zaree, the director of the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies, told Al-Monitor that calls for the abolition of the death penalty relate to the fact that it cannot be reversed in cases where it is later discovered the accused was innocent. The state must abolish the death penalty and replace it with freedom-depriving penalties such as 25 years or life imprisonment, he said.

The Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR) published its Position on the Death Penalty on Oct. 10, 2017. It stated, More than 100 crimes are punishable by death under Egyptian laws. These include 35 crimes set forth in the Penal Code, such as harming domestic and foreign national security and harming individuals, and another 10 crimes included in the anti-drug law. Most of the crimes punishable by death are found in the Code of Military Justice, which sets forth at least 41 capital crimes. In addition, the counterterrorism law of 2015 sets forth at least another 15 crimes punishable by death by hanging.

In a phone conversation with Al-Monitor, Zaree said, Death sentences have been issued against a large number of defendants in recent times, mostly in military trials that lack integrity. The aim of any punishment is to achieve public deterrence and to rehabilitate the offender. This can only be achieved through freedom-depriving sanctions.

A report issued by EIPR on Jan. 31 stated, Criminal courts sentenced 260 defendants to death in 2017 for 81 cases, of whom 224 are in custody.

Hafiz Abu Saada, a member of the National Council for Human Rights, told Al-Monitor that it is difficult to abolish the death penalty now in light of the terrorist attacks witnessed by Egypt. He noted, however, that the death sentence could be limited to the most dangerous crimes.

In 2017, Egypt was shaken by seven major terrorist attacks that killed dozens of civilians and police and army members.

Abu Saada added, It is also necessary to take the appropriate sufficient time before issuing death sentences. In cases of terrorist crimes, only those who actively participated in the crimes should be handed the death sentence and not everyone who joins a terrorist group.

Commenting on the timing of the European Union resolution, he pointed out that it coincided with the campaign against the death penalty launched by the 13 local NGOs, asserting that this resolution is not binding on Egypt and will not affect Egyptian-EU relations. The repercussions of Egypt retaining this penalty would be felt on its image abroad, he said.

Of note, Europe is one of Egypts biggest importers and one of its major donors, with the total amount of ongoing EU assistance to Egypt reaching around $1.6 billion.

In a press statement issued Feb. 11, member of parliament Alaa Abed, the head of the parliamentary Human Rights Committee, responded to the demands for the abolition of the death penalty, saying, Egypt has not signed the 1989 Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, aiming at the abolition of the death penalty. This means that the death penalty would be in line with the rules of international law, which allows the use of the death penalty to the most serious crimes and in a public trial.

He explained that the application of the death penalty is in accordance with the principles of Islamic law, which is a source of legislation in Egypt, noting that over the past three years the death penalty has been used only against 81 people, while the remaining judgments are not final.

Article 2 of the Egyptian Constitution of 2014 states that Islam is the religion of the state and that the principles of Islamic law are the main source of legislation.

In this context, Mohammad al-Shahat al-Jundi, an Islamic Sharia professor at Al-Azhar University and a member of the Islamic Research Council, told Al-Monitor, Islamic law clearly specifies that the death penalty aims to achieve punishment in murder cases. He quoted the Qurans Surah al-Baqarah verse 179, which states, People of understanding, there is life for you in retribution that you may guard yourselves against violating the law.

Jundi added, Islamic law resolves every doubt in favor of the accused. If there is 1% doubt of innocence, the judge must take this into account and issue a softer sentence against the accused instead of the death penalty. The death penalty cannot be abolished under Islamic law, instead, efficient legal guarantees could be provided in favor of the accused, such as a reducing the number of crimes punishable by death.

The former head of Cairo's criminal court, Rifat al-Sayed, ruled out the possibility of Egypt dropping the death penalty and replacing it with softer penalties under the pretext of the possibility of a false judgment.

In a telephone conversation with Al-Monitor, he said, There are guarantees set forth by the criminal legislator in Egypt. These procedural guarantees aim to ensure the correctness of judicial rulings ordering the death penalty and to minimize the possibility of mistakes.

Sayed explained, The death penalty is issued by virtue of a unanimous decision of three judges in the Criminal Court. This judgment is then challenged by the Public Prosecution before the Court of Cassation. Also, the nonbinding opinion of the country's grand mufti must be obtained on every issued death sentence. When the judgment is pronounced, a memo shall be sent from the Ministry of Justice to the president of the republic for ratification, or for reducing the sentence or obtaining amnesty.

He added, These guarantees reduce to almost nonexistent the possibility of a false judgment. The implementation of the death penalty is in accordance with the provisions of Islamic law. This approach is followed by most Muslim countries. Also, some foreign non-Muslim countries still uphold the death penalty.

A 2017 Amnesty International report noted that 141 countries had completely abolished the death penalty by the end of 2016, equivalent to two-thirds of all countries. At the end of 2016, the Death Penalty Information Center noted that seven countries abolished the death penalty for ordinary crimes, and 57 countries retained the death sentence, including Arab countries such as Egypt, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and foreign countries such as the United States and China.Palestinians were glued to their TV sets on Feb. 13 when the Israeli Police published its recommendations to indict Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over charges of bribery. Netanyahu is suspected to have accepted gifts from US-based Israeli billionaire Arnon Milchan and to be involved in a give-and-take deal with Arnon Mozes, the publisher of Yedioth Ahronoth daily.

Several people who Al-Monitor spoke with in a Ramallah cafe were delighted over the news, yet cynical. He will outmaneuver everyone, as he does with the US administration, said one of them, speaking on condition of anonymity. It is the occupation that corrupted him, said a Palestinian student from Al-Quds University, also speaking on condition of anonymity.

For a very brief moment, the Palestinians felt things were going their way. But a senior PLO source close to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas expressed concern. He said he was worried over what Netanyahu has in mind in order to prevent an indictment or a trial. He and others in the corridors of power in Ramallah are concerned that Netanyahu will adopt an even more bellicose policy, seeking at any cost to solidify his right-wing base.

The Palestinian leadership suspects that Netanyahu will opt for a major expansion of settlements in the West Bank in order to jeopardize any sovereignty of a Palestinian state. Netanyahu might also choose to annex an Israeli settlement such as Maale Adumim, a step that may set the region on fire. Ramallah also fears that Netanyahu will generate new cycles of violence against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, and that he will order a so-called preventive strike in Lebanon against Hezbollah. Netanyahu could also say out loud that he rejects a US peace initiative.

According to this senior PLO official, the Palestinian leadership is currently preparing a counteroffensive, which would include a warning campaign about such Israeli policies. The campaign would be coordinated by Secretary-General of the PLO Executive Committee Saeb Erekat, targeting the Arab partner states, mainly Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Morocco. Similar diplomatic campaigns would also be launched in Europe and elsewhere, especially in Moscow, Brussels, Paris, Berlin and even Washington.

Alongside these campaigns, Ramallah plans to call an emergency meeting of the Arab League. The Palestinians are hoping for a coordinated Arab move at the UN Security Council against Israeli annexation policies.

On the ground, the leadership in Ramallah is already placing all Palestinian security forces on high alert.

A senior Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs official brushed off these Palestinian observations as a mixture of Palestinian paranoia and propaganda. The official with direct access to Netanyahu told Al-Monitor that in the daily professional contact with the prime minister, one could not detect anything out of the ordinary.

Netanyahu and his close staff are preparing for a meeting in the Oval Office with US President Donald Trump on March 5. Generating active US policy against an Iranian foothold near the Golan Heights is at the top of Israels agenda. So is the threat of an ongoing supply and the manufacturing of sophisticated missiles for Hezbollah in Lebanon. Netanyahu wants Trump to intervene in the region more assertively, especially vis-a-vis Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The Israeli source also noted that Israel is open to US ideas on promoting a US peace initiative, conditioned on Israel being recognized by the Palestinians as a Jewish state, and by Israel maintaining long-term security control of the West Bank.

He added that given the danger of a humanitarian crisis in Gaza, Israel has been asking the United States not to stop the rehabilitation of the Gaza Strip.

On the settlements issue, Netanyahu will claim that expansion will take place mainly in the Jerusalem area, and that he is committed to halting any legal effort for annexation of parts of the West Bank.

Still, reality is most probably somewhere in between the Palestinian fears and the Israeli confidence of more of the same. Yet an unstable political situation in Israel could generate also regional instability. And further turbulence in Netanyahu's investigations promise exactly that.GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip  The Knesset passed Feb. 12 a law applying the Israeli education law to academic institutions in West Bank settlements, which implies placing the institutions under Israeli sovereignty. The law's passage has angered Palestinians, considering it to be another Israeli step toward settlement annexation.

Haaretz reported the same day that what is known as the Ariel University law seeks to bring the academic institutions in the territories under the aegis of the Council for Higher Education in Israel. Previously, academic institutions in the West Bank settlements were placed under the auspices of a separate higher education council established in the 1990s.

According to Haaretz, Figures in the academic world have warned that the law could hurt the status of Israeli academic institutions and expand the boycott against it by opponents of the settlements. The law might break agreements Israel has made with the European Union to maintain a separation between academic institutions over the pre-1967 border and those in Israel proper.

Antoine Shalhat, the director of the Israeli Scene Unit at the Palestinian Forum for Israeli Studies (MADAR), told Al-Monitor, Israel had previously set up a separate education council under the auspices of which academic institutions in settlements in the West Bank were placed. Said council was separate from the Israeli Council for Higher Education. This is because it feared an expanded international boycott of Israeli universities, as the settlements and institutions there are illegal under international law.

He added, US President Donald Trumps significant support for Israel  which was the most visible in his Jerusalem decision on Dec. 6, 2017  seems to have provided Israel with a political cover to further its violations of Palestinian rights without having to fear an expanded boycott or any consequences at the international level."

Jamal Zahalka, an Arab Israeli member of the Knesset, told Al-Monitor, It is another Israeli step toward the annexation of occupied Palestinian territories to Israel. The new law seeks to market the occupied territories as undisputed Israeli territories.

He said the law applies to all of the academic institutions in the West Bank settlements, most notably Orot College in Elkana settlement, in Salfit governorate, northern West Bank, and Herzog College in Alon Shevut settlement, in Bethlehem governorate, southern West Bank. Nevertheless, it was named the Ariel University law as it initially targeted Ariel University, the only university in the West Bank settlements, located in Salfit governorate, only a few kilometers from Israeli territory.

There are 300 academics, including professors and scientific researchers, 15 research centers and around 15,000 students, including Arab citizens of Israel, at Ariel University, according to its Facebook page. The Times of Israel reported Jan. 25 that according to a study by the Israeli Council for Higher Education, the number of Arab students in Israeli universities grew from 26,000 in 2010 to 47,000 in 2017.

In a Feb. 13 statement, the Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates condemned the law. It indicated that the law is a part of a series of racist and discriminatory laws through which the Israeli government seeks to instill the rule of the far-right in the occupying state and bolster the influence of the right-wing ideology that is based instilling the occupation and increasing settlements in the territories of the Palestinian state.

It continued that the law is a part of a professed occupational policy designed to gradually annex large parts of the occupied West Bank to the occupying state, and endorse and encourage the expansion of settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory.

The ministry demanded that international parties and world countries break their silence and hold the Israeli government accountable for its grave breaches, crimes and violations of international law and international humanitarian law. It also demanded that international academic institutions and universities impose strict sanctions on the occupation authorities to force them to back down on the law.

Mustafa Barghouti, the secretary-general of the Palestinian National Initiative, told Al-Monitor, It is a very dangerous law that clearly points at the Israeli intention to annex settlements in the West Bank, which is contrary to all international resolutions criminalizing Israeli settlements.

He said applying Israeli laws in Palestinian territories is yet another example of Israels defiance of all international resolutions calling to end settlements and cessation of settlement activities, most recently among which is UN Security Council Resolution 2334 of December 2016 denouncing the settlements and demanding that Israel cease all settlement activities.

He said Palestinians will counter such a law via additional boycott campaigns at home and abroad, and added, Such a law would pave the way for us to promote the academic boycott of Israel, by calling on the world universities to increase the boycott and prevent Israeli participation in international scientific and academic activities.

Ibrahim Abu Jaber, an Arab Israeli professor of political science at An-Najah University in Nablus, told Al-Monitor, It is embarrassing at the Palestinian level that Arab Israeli students are enrolled at [Ariel] University. This is because such a thing would bring said university international support, considering it to be an institution offering educational services not only to Israeli settlers but also Arab students.

He said, It could be also inevitable for Arab Israeli students to be enrolled at Ariel University given the financial temptations offered by the university, such as financial aid that would bring down tuition fees from 10,000 shekels [$2,870] to 1,500 shekels [$430] in order to encourage students to join its classes. This is added to the fact that it welcomes students with low grades."

In an effort to prevent Arab Israeli students from being enrolled at Ariel University, work is underway to establish the Palestinian Zaytuna University, which is located 1 kilometer (0.6 miles) from Ariel University and seeks to mainly attract Arab Israeli students.

The chairman of the board of directors of Zaytuna University for Science and Technology, Daoud al-Zaatari, told Al-Monitor that the university will be built on an area stretching over 146 dunums (36 acres) in Salfit governorate in three phases over seven years. The first phase would end in August with the first academic year starting in October.

He added, As part of the quest to face Israeli settlements, Zaytuna University seeks to provide Arab Israelis with a national alternative for Ariel University.Defying warnings from Baghdad, the United States and regional heavyweights Turkey and Iran, the Iraqi Kurds held a referendum on independence on Sept. 25, 2017, that was approved by an overwhelming majority of the Kurdish people. But what was slated to be a grand leap toward realizing the Kurds long cherished dreams of statehood rapidly descended into a debacle as Iraqi troops moved against Kurdish peshmerga fighters in territories claimed by both sides, including the oil-rich province of Kirkuk. With oil fields in Kirkuk under central government control, revenue from crude sales has been halved.

In a bid to bolster his nationalist credentials ahead of parliamentary elections in May, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi signed off on shutting Iraqi Kurdish airspace to international flights and continues to withhold the Iraqi Kurds share of the national budget. Many blame Massoud Barzani, the leader of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) who stepped down as president soon after the referendum, and his eldest son, Masrour Barzani, the powerful chancellor of the Kurdistan Region Security Council, because they were the main drivers of the referendum. But would the Iraqi army have regained full control over Kirkuk without the collusion of the KDPs age-old archrival, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK)? What if the United States had not sided so openly with Baghdad? Al-Monitor put these questions to Masrour Barzani, who is currently in Washington for meetings with senior Donald Trump administration officials, including national security adviser H.R. McMaster. Barzani was typically cautious in his responses, but the recurring theme was that the Kurds had been unfairly punished for exercising their democratic right to vote on their future.

The following is a transcript of the interview, his first with the Western media since the referendum, with slight edits for length and clarity.

Al-Monitor: Are your dreams of an independent Kurdistan over?

Barzani: Well, as a nation I dont think that dream will ever die out. We just have to be realistic about what is possible. We believed it was important for the world and the Iraqi government also should know what the desires of the Kurdish people are. This is why we did the referendum the way we did. We had some concerns about the future of our people. We wanted to make sure there would be no confrontation, that we would have peaceful and stable relations with Baghdad in whatever structure that we could agree on and based on mutual interests. Unfortunately, I believe the intentions of our people were deliberately misinterpreted because expressing a desire doesnt mean that it should necessarily lead to confrontation. And that is when things went wrong and we are not really responsible for the consequences.

Al-Monitor: Holding the referendum was signaling a clear intent for a popular mandate for declaring independence. That is what your father, Massoud Barzani, certainly said. Assessing the reaction you had from the main stakeholders, would you say the world is not ready for an independent Kurdistan?

Barzani: Well, obviously it wasnt. But expressing a desire for the will of a nation of how they want to live is not a crime. This is what our people did. Whenever there were negotiations about future relations between the Kurdistan Region and Baghdad, the response was that this [the view articulated by the Kurdish side] did not necessarily reflect the will of all the Kurds so it was necessary to know what the Kurdish people want. Now we do know what they want: 92% voted yes in favor of independence.

Al-Monitor: Do you believe you can continue as part of Iraq given how dysfunctional this relationship has been and seems to continue to be?

Barzani: When a nation expresses its desire for the way of life they want to have and to secure and guarantee the future of their children, that is what matters above all else. But when the world doesnt accept this and reacts the way it did, this flies in the face of all the values and the principles and the charter of the United Nations that gives every nation the right of self-determination. The referendum was a peaceful and civilized exercise in democracy. I dont think the Kurdish people should be held responsible or punished for saying how they want to live.

Al-Monitor: If you were to assess the reasons as to why the referendum went horribly awry, how would you list them in order of importance? Resistance from Baghdad, Iran, Turkey, the United States? Kurdish disunity? Poor timing?

Barzani: We had many conversations with many countries, including the Iraqis, the United States, the West, our neighbors. We didnt hear any of them object to the principle of self-determination or that they were against independence per se. We heard concerns about the timing. We didnt believe the reasons put forward to us justified postponing the referendum. I am talking mainly about the United States and the Iraqis here and some European countries. Their concerns were mainly on three points. One was that they believed that the referendum would negatively impact the fight against the Islamic State [IS]. Second, that the current prime minister would have trouble getting re-elected. And third, that tensions in disputed territories may lead to military confrontation. We had our own answers to all three of these points. First of all, our determination to fight IS had nothing to do with our relationship with Baghdad. If you look back to how IS emerged to begin with, you can easily see that it was the failure of the political system in Baghdad that led to economic collapse, a security vacuum and the military collapse of 12 Iraqi divisions, with all of their weapons and equipment falling into the hands of IS. In less than a month IS became one of the strongest armed forces in the region. And when they turned against us it was the determination of our people and bravery of our peshmergas with the support of the coalition forces that stopped IS. Baghdad at the time objected to our being given heavy weapons and the salaries of our peshmerga were cut and our share of the Iraqi national budget has been frozen since 2014. The decision to fight IS was our own. No matter the state of our relations with Baghdad we shall always remain committed to fighting international terrorism. We were ready to sign an agreement with Baghdad and the coalition forces committing ourselves to continue to fight IS and to fully cooperate with them in this fight.

Al-Monitor: You mean during and after the referendum?

Barzani: Yes.

Al-Monitor: And they were not convinced?

Barzani: No. As to the second point, regarding Prime Minister Abadis re-election, we believe our influence to help re-elect anybody is very limited because the election system in place in Iraq is designed to assure the Shiites are a majority.

Al-Monitor: But your backing of one Shiite group versus another surely matters?

Barzani: Let me explain. The nomination of the candidate is the most important phase in this process. We know the next prime minister will definitely come from a Shiite bloc. If they are all united, the voices of the Sunnis and the Kurds combined would be irrelevant. If not, that is when, if nobody secures a clear majority, that the coalition building, the bargaining starts Thats when we and the other voices come into play. We were ready even then to get into negotiations about choosing the best candidate, option for the future in line with the interests of the coalition, the West and above all the Iraqi people. So again the referendum did not prejudice this process or its outcome in any way. Finally, the point about the presence of peshmergas in the disputed territory leading to military confrontation with Iraqi forces  let me just remind you that the peshmergas were in those areas for a reason. It's because Iraqi forces failed to defend them from IS and left. We never said the referendum was going to draw borders between Kurdistan or the rest of Iraq. We were very clear that we were availing ourselves of our right enshrined in Article 140 of the Iraqi Constitution [providing for a referendum in the disputed territories].

Al-Monitor: It's often argued that had you left Kirkuk out of the referendum, we would not have been where we are today. Looking back, do you think it was a mistake to include Kirkuk?

Barzani: There were two views on that. Some believed that the referendum should solely cover the current administrative region of the Kurdistan Regional Government [KRG]. Others argued that since no definitive decisions about drawing, imposing new borders, were being made, it made no difference. If an Iraqi Kurd living in Germany or elsewhere can vote in the referendum, why would a Kurd living in the disputed territories be denied that right?

Al-Monitor: Another argument as to why Kirkuk had to be included was that if it were not the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan [PUK] would not have been on board for the referendum. But then we had Bafel Talabani [oldest son of the late PUK leader Jalal Talabani] come out just before the referendum and essentially declare in a video message that the status of Kirkuk could be deferred. Maybe that was a signal that needed to be heeded?

Barzani: There were many PUK leaders who insisted that Kirkuk should be included. People who were actually in the leadership and they were who we were negotiating with.

Al-Monitor: Why did the United States come out so harshly against the referendum?

Barzani: I dont know. You have to ask them. When we were weighing all their concerns we concluded there was nothing wrong with the referendum and would not have any negative consequences.

Al-Monitor: Had the United States not been so publicly vocal about its opposition to the referendum before and after it was held, do you believe the Iraqi government could have acted with the same degree of forcefulness and as you see it, aggression against the Kurds? Did Washingtons policies embolden Baghdad?

Barzani: They were emboldened by the lack of response or actions by the international community and also of course the United States. If they had not accepted Iraq taking unconstitutional measures, and reacting disproportionately to the referendum, then probably the Iraqi government would not have felt encouraged to use military force to settle political differences with millions of people in a country called Iraq. The people voting in the referendum were Iraqi citizens. The United States could have ensured, and convinced Baghdad, that the results of the referendum would not automatically lead to a unilateral declaration of Kurdish independence. This was just a vote.

Why do the Kurds always have to please others, defer to the agendas of others? We want to live in peace.

Al-Monitor: The US response to that would be that Iraqi forces have every much of a right to be in the disputed territories, say like Kirkuk, as you do and that Iraqi forces did not attack you but rather moved in and that you then withdrew. That there was no confrontation between your forces and Iraqi government forces.

Barzani: That is not true. We said we were ready to negotiate with Baghdad before and after the referendum. The referendum was meant to give us a popular mandate to do this. We have always said that the fate of Kirkuk and the rest of the disputed territories should be decided according to Article 140 of the Iraqi Constitution. There was nothing done on our side to impose our will on the fate of those regions. Iraq used military force to drive the peshmergas out. It was an act of aggression against their own people.

Al-Monitor: There seems to be some confusion as to what actually happened. Did you fight with Iraqi security forces?

Barzani: Of course. Prior to the fight there was a military buildup in those regions and Baghdads intention was crystal clear. Despite all the calls from KRG officials and party leaders for peaceful negotiations, Baghdads military buildup grew. Instead of negotiating with the KRG, some elements within Baghdad were talking to a faction within the PUK to cut a deal about how these troops should move in and the idea was [that] some of these forces should come to a military base called K1 and to the oil fields of Kirkuk. There was no talk of moving these people into the city itself. Apparently different deals were made.

Al-Monitor: Who were making these deals?

Barzani: A faction within the PUK. I dont like to personalize. But it is well-established who, and people know. [Author's note: Barzani is most likely referring to the PUK's Bafel Talabani and his mother, Hero Talabani].

Al-Monitor: Was another country involved?

Barzani: The Iranians, the Iraqis with the Popular Mobilization Units with a faction of the PUK. And they had some discussions with officials of both the United States and the United Kingdom and thats based on what they were saying. That they had already been consulting with the embassies and Baghdad.

Al-Monitor: Was Turkey involved in any of the deal-making for Kirkuk?

Barzani: Not that I am aware.

Al-Monitor: Do you think in the absence of Kirkuk you could still have a viable independent Kurdistan?

Barzani: The whole idea of independence is not just about a city or a region. It's the desire of a nation wherever they may be. Kirkuk is important and it's historically been a part of Kurdistan. Now it's disputed. But what did the Iraqi government do to implement Article 140 of the constitution since 2005? What a future Kurdish entity would include is subject to negotiation and we have a mechanism for settling what belongs to whom and where. But the notion of independence itself was rejected.

Al-Monitor: Now that you have lost all these territories, do you believe you enjoy the same level of leverage you did prior to the referendum? What incentive would any Iraqi leader have to negotiate with the Kurds at this point?

Barzani: Look at our history for the past hundred years. When Saddam was in power he controlled all of Kurdistan. Did we disappear? Didnt we come back? Of course. What belongs to Kurdistan belongs to Kurdistan. We will never give up our land or the well-being of our people.

Al-Monitor: Do you believe the current situation in Iraq makes it easier for IS to make a comeback?

Barzani: The whole world is making a huge mistake thinking that the military defeat of IS will eradicate its ideology. They lost territory and were military defeated but they were not eliminated. They are still out there and regrouping, attacking. You have to look at the root causes that lead to the rise of such terrorist organizations. Has there been any real attempt to address them? No. Discrimination, exclusion of different communities. Not accepting them as equal partners. Tell me where in Iraq is stable, is safe, where services are provided? Where is water, where is electricity? Where is all the money going? Iraq is a very rich country. It's the mismanagement of its wealth and resources and the discrimination against certain groups that fractured the country. Kurdistan was and remains by far the most secure and stable part of Iraq. Everyone who knows Iraq accepts this. But the military attacks against Kurdistan last year have cast a shadow and beg the question of why anyone would want to destabilize the most stable part of the country.

Al-Monitor: Does the threat of further Iraqi aggression against you exist?

Barzani: This whole thing was part of the same package: to undermine the rule of the KRG. A deliberate misinterpreting of the intentions of the Kurds in the referendum. It was just a vote. They tried to marginalize, undermine and isolate Kurdistan. Of course there were talks among the regional countries and Baghdad sent its own envoys to both Tehran and to Ankara and they agreed on how to react to the Kurdish referendum. Baghdad often talks about the sovereignty of the country, that they do not accept any interference from other countries, yet it was the Iraqi envoys who went to the neighboring countries and asked for their involvement and participation in coming to the aid of Iraq to deal with an internal issue within Iraq.

Al-Monitor: There is quite a bit of talk that Ankara and Baghdad are discussing a joint operation against the PKK [Kurdistan Workers Party] in Sinjar. Is one likely?

Barzani: I dont know.

Al-Monitor: What happens when a new version of IS re-emerges and the United States comes knocking on your door for help again, having failed to defend you against Iraqi forces?

Barzani: Our commitment to fight terrorism has nothing to do with our political relations with any country. We will fight terrorism no matter what. Had we been fighting on behalf of somebody else when we were being deprived of weapons, then we would not have fought. We fought against an enemy that brought Baghdad to its knees. We saved the country.

Al-Monitor: So the United States can continue to count on you as an ally?

Barzani: Of course, we are allies even if we have disagreements on certain issues, but when it comes to the fight against terrorism, we are very important and active members of the coalition against terrorists.

Al-Monitor: The Trump administration describes one of its top foreign policy goals as curbing Irans influence. Do you agree with the view that the events that unfolded after the referendum, with Washingtons acquiescence, some would call it cooperation, has had the opposite effect.

Barzani: Let's just look at the facts. With all due respect to Iran and any other country rightly pursuing its own interests, this should not be interpreted as a statement against them. But since 2003 till the present, the influence of Iran in the region has definitely increased. Did they play their cards well? I think they did. Did they take advantage of the opportunities available to them? Yes, they did. They are very smart players and good at expanding their influence and thats what we see today. I am not speaking about the current or previous US administrations in particular, but every time they, say, declare their intents publicly, these are not matched by the realities on the ground.

Al-Monitor: Is there a lesson here for Syrias Kurds?

Barzani: The situation of the Kurds in Syria is far more complex. There are other internal issues in Syria and among the Syrian Kurds themselves. But overall there is no political agreement between the Kurds in Syria and any other country in the coalition against IS. The Kurds by nature are good fighters and I think the entire world gives them credit for that, be they in Syria or Iraq. The Syrian Kurds fought well against IS and so far they are just being supported to continue that fight. Whether or not there will be political relations between the Syrian Kurds and the rest of the world is another matter. We dont know and so far we havent seen much movement on that front.

Al-Monitor: Now they are fighting the Turkish army as well and we recently saw a parliamentary delegation from the KRG that included representatives from the KRG travel to Afrin to show solidarity. Is there a rapprochement between the KRG and the Rojava administration?

Barzani: Let me be clear. The Kurds are not related to one particular party or group. Turkey is saying they are fighting one particular group and not the Kurds per se. The solidarity shown by the KRG has nothing to do with political disagreements or alignments with one group or the other.

There are huge numbers of civilians who are caught in the middle of this conflict. Many of these people have affiliations with us, sympathize with us [the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iraq]. We have historical and political relations with them. We are one nation. The solidarity is shown with the Kurdish people. These innocent civilians need humanitarian support and we are ready to provide any assistance we can to ease their suffering. We are against war and issues that can be resolved peacefully should be addressed as such.

Al-Monitor: Are you willing to mediate between Turkey and the PKK/YPG [Syrian Kurdish People's Protection Units]?

Barzani: If there is anything we can do to save innocent lives we certainly will.

Al-Monitor: In the past you used to say that you wanted the PKK out of Sinjar. Does that still hold true?

Barzani: Yes, we believe that if any Kurdish group or faction is from a different country they should focus on their own problems in their own country. Exporting their problems to a different country will only make things more complicated.

Al-Monitor: Does that apply to the Iranian Kurdish groups as well? We hear they are being told by KRG authorities to move away from their positions along the Iraq-Iran border.

Barzani: The Iranian Kurds, relatively speaking, have been more quiet and have responded positively to the call of the KRG to not conduct military operations against Iran. I think it's a completely different situation with them.

Al-Monitor: We saw Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani travel to Tehran recently and this spurred speculation about a recalibration of your relations with regional countries, neighbors. Is that happening?

Barzani: We are surrounded by Iran, Turkey and Syria and of course in Iraq we have our own issues. We have no intention of fueling animosity between our people and these countries that are our neighbors. We have always extended the hand of friendship based on mutual respect and interests to them. As long as these countries do not pose a threat or undermine our constitutional rights we are ready to work with them to promote stability, prosperity and peace in the region.

Al-Monitor: Is it true that your father was invited by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to Ankara recently and that he refused to go because of the Afrin operation?

Barzani: I havent heard anything about that.

Al-Monitor: How do you assess your relationship with Turkey in the aftermath of the referendum? What has changed?

Barzani: Turkey has been a critical partner for the KRG. Economically it's been the corridor between Kurdistan and the rest of the world. Throughout the turbulence around the referendum Turkey never sealed its borders, and that helped prevent a humanitarian crisis in Kurdistan. It was a very important gesture. Sure, there are always tensions, ups and downs, in relations, but let's look at the bright future we have together.

Al-Monitor: Do you think part of Turkeys opposition to the referendum was driven by President Erdogans domestic agenda?

Barzani: Yes, I think a lot of it was.

Al-Monitor: Turning to your own domestic agenda, when are you going to be holding presidential and parliamentary elections?

Barzani: The KRG was for early elections, at least the KDP, the dominant party, was calling for early elections even before the Iraqi [parliamentary elections on May 12] so that the Kurds would come out united and would have much more influence in Baghdad. Now that we are not allowed to be Kurds and need to be Iraqis we need to have full Iraqi rights, full constitutional rights and we needed to establish a united Kurdish bloc. This is what the KDP was pushing for. But unfortunately other parties in Kurdistan, some for political reasons, believing that creating their own coalition would win them more votes, created their own. And the PUK was not ready to take part in elections before the Iraqi ones because of their own internal issues. That is why they didnt come forward and they were a critical partner. They had to be on board for any decisions we made to hold elections. Now it's too late because the Electoral Board needs to be given advance notice before any elections are held and the deadline has expired. Right now the closest time to our elections would be the first week of September.

Al-Monitor: Who is going to run for president? Do any candidates leap to mind?

Barzani: The issue of the presidency is negotiable. This parliament is not ready to discuss. We need to elect a new parliament that will have a mandate to legislate the new structure of the government. This includes debating the role of the presidency and whether it's needed at all and if so how the president should be elected  directly by the people or by the parliament.

Al-Monitor: So can the Kurds forge a common front ahead of the Iraqi parliamentary elections?

Barzani: I think the Kurdish people expect leadership from the Kurdish parties. If any party tries to hold their own personal interests and agendas above those of the people, they will be held accountable. People expect the parties to set aside their quarrels and to come together. I think there is a real chance this could be achieved. There are ongoing talks and the environment is much more promising for unity than before. Even if they run from different slates or groups, there is a chance that they can form a common front. The most important part of these Iraqi elections will be post-election coalitions that are formed and there will be lots of people knocking on the Kurds door.

Al-Monitor: Finally, the economy, what is going on with the airports and how will you survive with the loss of Kirkuk oil revenue, among other things?

Barzani: Shutting the airports was an unnecessary sanctioning of the Kurds. It was done out of revenge and spite, I believe. And it's unconstitutional because airports should not be shut down for political reasons. There have been negotiations to reopen Erbil and Sulaimaniyah airports between Baghdad and the KRG. There were talks about sharing data and information, as part of an integrated data system, and we agreed. Then there was the matter of immigration, visas and customs. The KRG agreed to go along with any demands from Baghdad that were constitutionally justified. But when Baghdad ran out of excuses for not reopening the airports, it came up with objections about security saying the airports were a national port of entry that fell under the jurisdiction of the federal authorities. The KRG accepted that the local units currently controlling and securing the airports report directly to the federal authorities. There are no more excuses left to not reopen the airports. It's all political and it's part of the governments election campaign so an entire nation is being penalized just for the sake of securing its victory at the polls by playing the Iraqi nationalist card. We met recently with Prime Minister Abadi and other officials and he promised that the airports would be open soon. We have heard the word "soon" used many times before. Let's see if they keep their promise.

In terms of revenue sharing from oil, etc., this is all laid out in the Iraqi Constitution and if Baghdad had honored its side of the deal we would not be where we are today. Every month that passes without Kurdish civil servants being paid their salaries by the central government, without the KRGs share of the national budget being disbursed, the question of where those funds are going becomes ever more pressing. Will that accumulated money be repaid to the Kurds? There is no escrow account. Has anyone asked Baghdad where does that money, which has remain largely unpaid since 2014, go?

Al-Monitor: What about the internally displaced Iraqis, is the government not sending any funds to support them?

Barzani: No, they are not, and by the way, why are people still fleeing the rest of Iraq and still coming to live in tents, in camps in Iraqi Kurdistan? It's because of the continuing lack of services and security in their hometowns and villages. Because Kurdistan is still the safest, freest and most secure part of Iraq.Hezbollah holds Israel file in Lebanon

US Acting Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs David Satterfield has undertaken an unusual weekslong shuttle diplomacy mission between Israel and Lebanon following an agreement between Lebanon and a consortium of Frances Total, Italys Eni and Russias Novatek to begin offshore exploration of a disputed offshore gas field known as Block 9.

The decision by the Lebanese government to proceed with Block 9 exploration was labeled as very, very challenging and provocative by Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman. On Feb. 9, Israeli Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz said that diplomacy is preferable to threats but added later, addressing Beirut, Dont provoke us, and dont explore in or even get close to the disputed line-of-contact.

As Joseph Macaron reports, When Lebanese Armed Forces commander Gen. Joseph Aoun asked what his troops should do if Israel violated Lebanese waters, Prime Minister Saad Hariri promptly responded, You shoot at them.

Hariris unequivocal retort reflects what is known to any casual observer of Lebanese politics: the Israel file is held solely by Hezbollah. Whether Satterfield speaks to Hariri, President Michel Aoun, Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil or others in the Lebanese government, when the subject is Israel, the messages are conveyed to Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah, who orchestrates what is conveyed back.

And given that the first exploration well for Block 9 is not scheduled to be drilled until next year, the US-brokered Israel-Lebanon talks may ultimately have even greater value as a precedent for a back channel to Hezbollah, and by extension Iran, about developments in Syria rather than in defusing a possible confrontation in 2019. Next year is a seeming eternity given the heightened risk of war among the major regional and international powers in Syria, as we explained here two weeks ago.

Washington may realize that it needs a diplomatic complement to its position in Syria beyond the deliberations at the UN Security Council. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Feb. 13, that, in addition to the 2,000 US troops that will remain in Syria, the United States and its coalition allies control 30% of the Syrian territory, and control a large amount of population, and control a large amount of Syrias oil fields.

The question is how durable that leverage will be, and how reassuring it is to Israel, after Syrian anti-aircraft fire caused an Israeli F-16 to crash this month. The diplomatic agenda and military tempo in Syria are set by Russia, Iran and Turkey. Israel knows it cant count solely on Russia to keep the peace on its northern border. Just six months ago, Iran settled the issue of the Iraqi Kurdish referendum on Tehrans terms by working with and through the Iraqi government and the Popular Mobilization Units, and by dividing the Iraqi Kurdish groups.

The US position in Syria does not approach its position in Iraq. Tillerson and the US leadership may be wary of being exposed, and outplayed again, by Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani.

Satterfields shuttle diplomacy cannot ultimately be separated from either Syria or the broader issues in the region. There can be no talk about Block 9 without discussing the Blue Line, the disputed border demarcation between Israel and Lebanon, which cannot be disentangled from the Syria question, which in turn is connected to the relationships between the United States, Israel and Iran.

The Satterfield mission and the prospects of a back channel to Hezbollah and Iran, via the Lebanese government, may provide an opening to de-escalating a potential conflict on Israels borders, while beginning the needed spadework for an eventual settlement of Israel-Lebanon border issues.

Will Damascus and Ankara keep the peace in Syria?

The UN Security Council voted unanimously Feb. 24 to enact a 30-day nationwide cease-fire to allow humanitarian assistance to besieged Syrian civilians. The resolution will not apply to military action against the Islamic State (IS), al-Qaeda or their affiliates, which are not parties to the resolution. Moscows insistence on this provision, which is consistent with Security Council Resolution 2254 of 2015, contributed to delaying the vote by several days.

The success of the cease-fire will depend on whether Syria and its backers, as well as Turkey, continue military operations against those groups Syria and its allies deem to be terrorists, and whether those armed and terrorist groups perceive a benefit to continuing their attacks.

For example, in Eastern Ghouta a difference may arise over Jaish al-Islam, the armed Salafist group backed by Saudi Arabia, which has accepted the terms of the cease-fire. Eastern Ghouta is one of the four de-escalation zones designated by Russia, Iran and Turkey in the Astana process. Jaish al-Islam, which is often now lumped with the "moderate" opposition and was a participant in the Astana talks, has at other times been considered a terrorist organization by Syria, Russia and Iran. While not linked to the IS or al-Qaeda, Jaish al-Islam rejects democracy, espouses hatred against Shiites and Alawites, advocates Islamic law for Syria and has been criticized by human rights organizations for caging prisoners and using them as human shields. Jaish al-Islam did not participate in the Syrian National Dialogue Congress held in Sochi last month and issued a statement condemning whoever joins the conference.

On Feb. 24, after the Security Council vote, Bashar al-Jaafari, Syrias permanent representative to the UN, said that in the days before the resolution armed groups had fired thousands of shells on Damascus and that the Syrian government has the right to retaliate if attacks continue.

In Idlib, which is another of the Astana de-escalation zones, the dominant armed group is Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, which is linked to al-Qaeda and therefore considered a terrorist group and would not be covered by the resolution.

If the objective is truly a nationwide cease-fire, there is an open question as to whether Turkey will pause its Operation Olive Branch military campaign against the Syrian Kurdish Peoples Protection Units (YPG), the armed wing of the Democratic Union Party (PYD). Ankara considers the PYD and YPG as directly linked to the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which Turkey considers a terrorist organization. Washington also labels the PKK a terrorist group, but does not extend the designation to the YPG, which makes up the core of the Syrian Democratic Forces, the primary US partner in Syria combating IS.

After the Security Council vote, a Turkish Foreign Ministry statement said Turkey will remain resolute in fighting against the terrorist organizations that threaten the territorial integrity and political unity of Syria  a not-so-veiled reference to the YPG.

As this column went to press, Czech authorities had detained Salih Muslim, former co-chair of the PYD, in response to Turkeys request for his arrest.

The Turkish attack on Afrin has introduced even more uncertainty into Russian President Vladimir Putins calculations in Syria. After speaking to his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, on Feb. 19, three days after the visit of US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to Ankara, a statement from Putins office said the focus of their conversation was on further strengthening interaction in the Astana format. The presidents confirmed a readiness for close coordination of the efforts of Russia, Turkey and Iran aimed at ensuring efficient operation of the de-escalation zones and advancing the political process.

Putin would prefer that Turkey accelerate its establishment of military observation outposts in northern Syria, per the Astana agreements. Metin Gurcan reports that while the Turkish news media is breathlessly reporting every minor detail of the military's offensive in Syria  describing movements village by village, hilltop by hilltop  Turkey is quietly taking major steps to erect another military observation outpost east of Idlib.  According to the [Astana] agreement, Turkey is to establish 12 observation posts, creating a mini buffer zone to contain areas in Afrin held by the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG). The goals are to separate Aleppo from nearby Idlib province, which is controlled mainly by the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), and to halt any YPG aspirations to move westward in Idlib province and create a corridor to the Mediterranean Sea.

So far, Turkey has established six of the 12 outposts it has promised, but Moscow wants to speed up the work, Gurcan adds. Each outpost is designed to accommodate one mechanized infantry company. Almost two Turkish mechanized brigades (nearly 1,400 troops) reinforced with tanks, engineering and construction units are already there, and more are expected.

Fehim Tastekin writes, Now that Syria is mobilizing pro-government militias to defend Afrin, all calculations could be upended. Erdogan fully trusts Putin to keep the Syrian army away from Afrin. Is that what Erdogan spokesman Ibrahim Kalin had in mind when he denied reports of an accord between the YPG and the Syrian army?

This column last week addressed Iranian efforts to broker a deal between the Syrian army and the Kurds to allow Turkey to de-escalate its military campaign. The Iranian initiative complements similar diplomatic interventions by Russia.

The military outposts envisioned in the de-escalation agreements are also linked to Erdogans interest in establishing a buffer zone to resettle Syrian refugees presently in Turkey. Control of Idlib would enable at least some of the Syrian refugees in Turkey to settle in this buffer zone and impede a new migration wave to Turkey under pressure from the Assad regime, supported by Russia, Gurcan adds.

Today, there are two different jihadi fronts active west of the Euphrates, Gurcan continues. The first is made up of radicals neither Turkey nor Russia wants to have around; this group is determined to resist around Idlib. The other is the moderate front Turkey controls that operates against the Kurdish YPG. Russia wants the Turkish army to ramp up the pressure on radicals and compel them to join the ranks of the Free Syrian Army (FSA) on the Afrin front. Turkey has worked with the FSA and considers it a moderate opposition group.  So in other words, while Russian and regime forces are pounding Idlib, Moscow also hopes to guide Sunni armed resistance to a moderate stance through Turkeys de-escalation operations and bring them into the pool of moderates in Afrin. Bluntly speaking, Russia believes the Assad regime will control Idlib long before Turkey achieves its goals. Turkey will not be able to bargain to turn over Afrin in return for Idlib.Shunned by relatives, doctors and the community, Ukrainian women struggle to survive and protect their children.

Kiev, Ukraine  In October 2012, 31-year-old Hanna Lilina, a Donetsk-native, was told she had HIV during a pre-natal check-up.

When she found out, she felt confused.

I started to clean my apartment obsessively, as if people could contract HIV just by touching a surface. I didnt understand it, I was so afraid and paranoid, she says.

Lilina became infected with HIV after having unprotected sex with her boyfriend, whom she suspects contracted the virus by sharing a needle with friends who injected opium.

He had been an abusive partner, and so by the time she discovered she had the virus, they had already parted ways.

At first, it was just emotional abuse. Then he started to beat me, especially after he had been drinking. It was always worse then, she says.

Lilina left her partner to rebuild her life in Kiev.

When I was seven months pregnant, he tried to get me to have an abortion. By the time the baby was born, he had left me. Hanna Lilina, HIV-positive mother and domestic abuse survivor

Telling my family was difficult. My parents were shocked and upset at first but now theyre very supportive. However, my sister immediately assumed that I was a drug addict. She hates me and wants nothing to do with me.

In Kiev, she started a new relationship.

But when her new boyfriend found out about the virus, he started acting differently around me, she says.

When I was seven months pregnant, he tried to get me to have an abortion. By the time the baby was born, he had left me.

Ukraine has one of the fastest growing HIV epidemics in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, with approximately 240,000 people living with the virus and a prevalence of 0.9 percent in the general adult population.

In Ukraine, 35 percent of women living with HIV have experienced violence from a partner or husband since the age of 15, compared to 19 percent of women who do not have HIV, according to a November 2016 survey by Positive Women, a Ukrainian NGO.

Approximately half of the 1,000 HIV-positive women surveyed across the country had no support after they suffered violence.

There is an epidemic of gender-based violence in many regions of the world, disproportionately affecting women and girls, making them more vulnerable to becoming infected with HIV, Vinay P. Saldanha, UNAIDS regional director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, tells Al Jazeera.

A culture of blame

According to UN Women, women living with HIV are more likely to experience violence, including violations of their sexual and reproductive rights.

Involuntary and coerced sterilisation and forced abortion among women living with HIV has been reported in at least 14 countries worldwide, UN Women reports.

It can tragically unfold that her husband or sexual partner points the finger of blame at her, even if her male partner was the one to infect her with HIV. In such a situation, she is at potential risk of domestic and sexual violence. Vinay P. Saldanha, regional director at UNAIDS

The relationship between violence and HIV is complicated, but a significant factor is the culture of blame that surrounds HIV.

In Eastern Europe and Central Asia, as in many other regions, the blame for HIV tends to fall on women, says Saldanha.

Women are also often the first in a couple to learn of HIV in the family as the coverage of HIV testing and treatment in Ukraine is higher among women.

Most women are tested for HIV at least once at gynaecology and obstetrics clinics.

It can tragically unfold that her husband or sexual partner points the finger of blame at her, even if her male partner was the one to infect her with HIV.

In such a situation, she is at potential risk of domestic and sexual violence.

The consequences can be life-threatening.

As a result, a womans de-facto response can be to refrain from telling her family or partner that she has HIV, and she might even be too afraid to seek out the life-saving health services available, says Saldanha.

And even if a woman does want treatment, it is not always guaranteed.

In some cases, women are unable to access medical support because their partners refuse to pay for travel to the hospital.

In small towns and the provinces, the situation is particularly difficult. It can be impossible for a HIV-positive woman to find a gynaecologist who will voluntarily examine or simply look at her. Positive Women NGO member

You can get treatment, just not with my money, is what they say. But when a woman is financially dependent, what can she do?, says Sofia, an HIV-positive officer working for the All-Ukrainian Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS, the countrys largest patient organisation.

The situation became so precarious that in May 2017, the Positive Women NGO filed a joint report to the United Nations on the violations of womens rights, along with other civil society organisations representing drug-users, sex workers and members of the LGBT community.

In small towns and the provinces, the situation is particularly difficult. It can be impossible for an HIV-positive woman to find a gynaecologist who will voluntarily examine or simply look at her, says a member of Positive Women, who wished to remain anonymous.

Its only on the orders of high authorities that doctors will agree to an examination. And these are cases involving safe women.

If a woman is considered unsafe  an alcoholic, drug-user or sex worker  she cannot even enter a doctors office.

A communitys attitude to HIV can be so unsupportive that patients are often harassed or forced out.

Doctors attitudes are not much better, says the Positive Women member.

Sterilisation threats and protecting children

The groups report to the UN detailed the case of Vera, a sex worker from the Kirovograd region who underwent a caesarean section to deliver her baby.

After the procedure, the 24-year-old was told that she had been sterilised because, in the words of her doctor, she had no right to build a family and have children.

Over a year and a half later, Vera is still coming to terms with what happened to her, said the Positive Women member.

Mothers are also challenged with having to protect their children from discrimination.

Olga Rudneva, head of the Elena Pinchuk ANTIAIDS Foundation (ANTIAIDS) in Kiev, tells Al Jazeera that mothers often hide their childrens HIV status.

If, for example, a school director finds out that a student has HIV, the child could be kicked out.

This leaves some women in extremely poor financial situations, unable to work because they must look after their child. Women prefer to just to pay for a clean medical record to avoid such problems  you can do that in Ukraine, she says.

Lilina, the HIV patient and domestic abuse survivor, says her daughters paediatrician tried to inform her school of the childs HIV status.

With the help of ANTIAIDS, she managed to block the doctors attempt.

[He] was certainly not happy when he finally agreed to keep my status confidential, says Lilina.

Government officials failed to respond to Al Jazeeras repeated requests for comment.

But the Ukrainian government is taking this situation very seriously, says UNAIDS Saldanha.

In 2017, the National Coordination Council on preventing HIV/AIDS in Ukraine (NCC) accepted two representatives from Positive Women to help create an HIV/AIDS strategy over the next five years.

If you have HIV, you deserve HIV. That's the mentality in this country. Olga Rudneva, head of ANTIAIDS

ANTIAIDS Rudneva says there is more to be done, however.

If you have HIV, you deserve HIV. Thats the mentality in this country, she says.

The foundation gave Lilina the support to start rebuilding her life in Kiev, helping her helping her find accommodation and providing her baby with a supply of nappies.

It also encouraged her to join Kyyanka, a support group.

At first, Lilina was sceptical and it took her a while to go to a meeting.

But now the women are like my family, she says. It wasnt until I joined Kyyanka that I understood how Id been struggling with self-stigma and repressing negative feelings about myself.

The self-stigma is still there, but at least Im aware of it now. Its only when youre aware of the stigma, that you can start to fight against it.G5 Sahel military force still needs money

Only half of the projected $500m that the G5 Sahel force needs has been raised, and African leaders are pushing the international community for more funding.Analysts say Israeli PM Netanyahus days in office are numbered as police investigate two new corruption probes.

Nazareth, Israel  The legal noose has tightened sharply around the neck of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as dramatic developments on two fronts last week have left him more exposed than ever.

He is due to be questioned by police in two new corruption probes before he leaves for the United States on Thursday. The question is no longer whether Netanyahu will be forced out of office, but how soon, analysts say.

According to reports in Israeli media, senior figures in Netanyahus Likud party have started calling him a dead duck.

Netanyahus biggest setback is a major crack in what observers have termed his black box  an inner circle of loyal confidants and aides.

Shlomo Filber, his former bureau chief, agreed to turn state evidence last week, providing the key to unlock a new and more serious corruption allegation: that the prime minister blocked regulation of Israels telecoms giant, Bezeq, in return for positive coverage of himself and his family from its news website. Police will question him about his role in the coming days.

Netanyahus downfall imminent

Yaron Ezrahi, a political scientist at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, said Filbers agreement last Tuesday to give evidence meant Netanyahus days in office were now numbered.

He cannot cling on to power much longer, said Ezrahi.

His downfall is imminent  either he will have to resign or he will be toppled by a rebellion from within his party or the governing coalition.

His authority has been seriously dented, and the people who have been protecting him are no longer afraid of him, he told Al Jazeera.

The new development comes in the wake of a police recommendation earlier this month to charge Netanyahu with bribery in two other investigations. He is alleged to have helped leading businessmen in exchange for lavish gifts and media support.

Many members of Netanyahus inner circle are already under severe pressure from police  several have been arrested  as the prime ministers affairs come under close scrutiny in four separate investigations, with a fifth looming.

Separately, Netanyahus wife, Sara, is facing a fraud indictment over the way she managed the familys official residence.

But Netanyahu can only be charged if Israels chief law officer, Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit, approves police findings.

It was widely assumed that Mandelblit, who was appointed by Netanyahu, would drag his feet over whether to charge the prime minister.

But Mandelblit is under growing scrutiny, too, after it emerged that the contest for attorney general in 2015 may have been conditioned on the winner dropping what was then a preliminary investigation into Sara Netanyahu.

An Israeli demonstrator holds a poster with a picture of Israeli PM Netanyahu (L) and Attorney-General Avichai Mandelblit during a protest against corruption in Jerusalem [Lior Mizrahi/Getty Images]

Ezrahi said Mandelblit would find it much harder to draw out the proceedings in the current circumstances. His options to delay bringing charges are pretty much exhausted, he said.

Filber, Netanyahus former bureau chief, is reportedly the key witness needed by police, seeking to confirm allegations that Netanyahu helped Bezeq in return for favours from its controlling shareholder, Shaul Elovitch.

The suspicion is that Netanyahu parachuted Filber into the top post in the communications ministry to stymie competition reforms that would have severely damaged Bezeqs commercial position.

In exchange, police believe Elovitch offered to provide the prime minister with favourable coverage from Walla, a major online news website he also owned.

Other investigations

The investigation  dubbed Case 4000  has echoes of another investigation, Case 2000, over which police have already recommended Netanyahu be charged with bribery.

In that case, Netanyahu was taped apparently cutting a deal with Arnon Mozes, owner of Israels influential Yedioth Ahronoth news group. The Israeli prime minister is heard suggesting legislation to weaken a rival newspaper, Israel Hayom, in return for positive coverage from Yedioth to help him stay in power.

Arnon Mozes, the owner and publisher of Yedioth Ahronoth, one of Israels leading newspapers, leaves a police investigation unit in Lod in January 2017 [File: Reuters]

Police have also recommended Netanyahu be charged in Case 1000, in which he is suspected of receiving nearly $300,000 in gifts from businessmen, in return for lessening their tax bills and providing them with investment opportunities.

A fourth investigation, Case 3000, has so far implicated a large number of Netanyahus aides and former advisers, though not yet directly the prime minister. They are suspected of receiving bribes from a $2bn deal with a German manufacturer of Dolphin submarines, which are capable of carrying nuclear warheads.

Ezrahi said there were strong suspicions that Netanyahu could not have been ignorant of such kickbacks, given the national security implications of the subs purchase. He is expected to be questioned about his role in the affair this week.

Ben Caspit, who has been at the forefront of reporting developments in the various investigations, observed last week that Filbers cooperation with the police on Netanyahus telecom investigation could open a bottomless Pandoras box.

A theme emerging from the investigations is Netanyahus apparently increasingly desperate efforts to rig the Israeli media in his favour, to maintain his grip on power.

Yossi Alpher, who served as an adviser to Ehud Barak, a former Israeli prime minister, noted after the 2015 general election Netanyahu reserved the post of communications minister for himself. As part of a coalition pact, he insisted his coalition partners approve any decisions he made in that capacity.

It looks very much like he was seeking near-complete control over the Israeli media and his public image, Alpher told Al Jazeera.

As well as allegedly making secret deals with the businessmen behind leading newspapers and websites, Netanyahu threatened punitive moves against Israels two largest commercial broadcasters, Channels 2 and 10.

He also sought to move control of the popular Army Radio to the defence ministry, making it easier for the government to interfere in its coverage.

Senior journalists coming forward to tell of how they were leaned on to provide uncritical coverage of the Netanyahus have strengthened suspicions of meddling.

Last week, it was reported that Ilan Yeshua, chief executive officer of the Walla news website, had handed over to police recordings of Elovitch, Bezeqs majority shareholder, demanding he slant coverage to help Netanyahu.

In an indication of how entangled the various investigations are becoming, Netanyahu reportedly wanted Wallas chief editor, Aviram Elad, sacked for publishing a report into improprieties in another investigation  the purchase of the Dolphin subs.

According to Alpher, the cases piling up are an indication of the extent of Netanyahus megalomania.

What they highlight is a catastrophic combination of ego, instinct for survival and political paranoia, said Alpher.

Victim of police persecution

So far, Netanyahu has held on to power because his core supporters have been unmoved by the mounting evidence against him.

A poll after last weeks revelations showed his party would still win the biggest share of seats if parliamentary elections were called.

Netanyahu has claimed he is the victim of police persecution.

Last week, Likud legislators unsuccessfully tried to mount a full-frontal attack on the right-wing police commander Roni Alsheikh at an interior committee hearing. The legislators accused Alsheikhs force of carrying out a politically motivated coup against the prime minister.

According to Haaretz analyst Amos Harel, the public assault on Alsheikh was intended as a warning to Mandelblit, the attorney general, of what lay in store for him if he moved to charge Netanyahu.

But the attorney general is now under greater pressure to act decisively, after he found himself implicated in a potential new scandal.

It emerged last week that, in 2015, Hila Gerstl, a former judge, was approached by Nir Hefetz, Netanyahus former media adviser, offering her the post of attorney general if she promised to close legal proceedings against Sara Netanyahu.

That has left a dark cloud over Mandelblit, a former cabinet secretary for Netanyahu, who got the job instead. It raises concerns about how much Netanyahu interfered in the appointment and whether Mandelblit was offered  and agreed to  a similar deal.

The Israeli media has questioned whether Mandelblit himself should be investigated and whether, as a result, he should recuse himself from the other Netanyahu investigations.

In a statement last week, Netanyahu dismissed the report about Hefetz, saying his adviser never made such a ludicrous offer.

Crimes against humanity

Alpher, the former adviser to Ehud Barak, said Netanyahu had no choice but present a public image of business as usual, but that, behind the scenes, his options were narrowing.

He could resign, as his predecessor Ehud Olmert did, to concentrate on his defence; seek a plea deal in the hope he would avoid prison time in return for his resignation; or call new elections while he still has popular support.

The last option would be risky. It would probably make no difference to his fate, if the legal case is as solid as it looks. And there is the chance it would spur more revelations.

Jamal Zahalka, a Palestinian member of the Knesset for the Joint List, said Netanyahus indictment for financial irregularities should be compared to the American gangster Al Capones conviction for tax evasion in the early 1930s.

Netanyahu has committed crimes against humanity and is responsible during his premiership for the deaths of innumerable Palestinians, he told Al Jazeera.

He should be tried for those crimes, not for his appetite for expensive cigars and champagne.The film star, who starred in more than 300 movies, died aged 54 while attending a family wedding in Dubai.

Sridevi, one of Indias most celebrated actresses, has died of cardiac arrest in Dubai. She was 54.

Family members confirmed to the Indian Express website that the actress had passed away on Saturday morning while attending a family wedding.

It is true that Sridevi passed away. I just landed here [India], I was in Dubai and now I am flying back to Dubai, her brother-in-law Sanjay Kapoor told the news outlet.

She is survived by her husband, Boney Kapoor, and daughters Jhanvi and Khushi.

Indias Prime Minister Narendra Modi offered his condolences on the demise of the veteran actress.

Have witnessed Sridevi's life from an adolescent teenager to the magnificeint lady she became. Her stardom was well deserved. Many happy moments with her flash through my mind including the last time I met her. Sadma's lullaby haunts me now. We'll miss her  Kamal Haasan (@ikamalhaasan) February 25, 2018

Born Shree Amma Yanger Ayyapan in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, Sridevi started acting at the age of four with a role in the Tamil language film, Thunaivan.

The actress made her Bollywooddebut in 1979 with Solva Sawan (16th spring), but she made her mark in the Hindi film industry with the film Sadma (Shock).

An actress with unparalleled talent and a vibrant soul. #Sridevi, you will be remembered for years to come.  https://t.co/woOKH2JIps pic.twitter.com/c9G3ZAMj6m  YouTube India (@YouTubeIndia) February 25, 2018

She went on to become a fixture of the Indian film industry, appearing in more than 300 movies, spanning five decades, and picking up scores of awards for her performances.

Her starring role in the 1987 adventure film, Mr India, earned her superstar status in South Asia.

The film was the highest grossing Indian film that year and is widely regarded as a cult classic. Her last film, MOM, was released in 2017.

Other memorable films in which she appeared include Chandni, Himmatwala, ChaalBaaz, Nagina and Gumrah among others.

The Bollywood star was awarded the Padma Shri, Indias fourth-highest civilian honour, in 2013.

Cant get myself to believe. I thought it was a hoax. #Sridevi  Kritika Kamra (@Kritika_Kamra) February 24, 2018

Her death caused shockwaves on social media, with Bollywood fans in India and abroad expressing their disbelief.

I have no words. Condolences to everyone who loved #Sridevi . A dark day, wrote Bollywood actress, Priyanka Chopra.

A legendary actress who many of us grew up watching, wrote Noreen Khan, a British Asian radio presenter.

Totally shocked by this really sad news.At least 15 injured in clashes between youths and police as unrest grows over delays to long-awaited parliamentary vote.

Clashes broke out between youths and police in the Guinean capital Conakry, where opposition activists had called a ghost town demonstration a day after protests turned violent.

At least 15 people have been injured in the clashes, officials said on Friday. Unrest has been growing in the West African state over delays to a long-awaited parliamentary election, which is scheduled for next month. The vote is supposed to complete a transition from military to civilian rule.

Anti-government protesters shut down large parts of Conakry as youths put up barricades across roads in the suburbs, burning tyres to block major highways into the city centre, witnesses told the AFP news agency.

As traffic ground to a halt, security forces were deployed to dismantle the barricades and fighting broke out between police and protesters.

Government spokesman Damantang Albert Camara said in a statement the ghost town protest had turned into a day of vandalism, assaults on representatives of law enforcement without specifying the number of people wounded.

Bystanders and hooligans attacked peaceful civilian populations and private businesses, said Camara, adding that police were deployed to return calm, neutralise the law-breakers and make safe the people and their property.

The clashes follow protests which degenerated into violence on Thursday, leaving several dead. The government said one person had been killed by gunfire while another had died by accident but opposition activists put the toll at six.

Camara said normality had returned to all parts of the capital although witnesses said schools and petrol stations remained closed in the suburbs.

Opposition hopes

At least 17 people have been killed in clashes between anti-government protesters and security forces at a series of opposition rallies in Conakry in recent weeks.

Discontent has spilled over into deadly violence in the west African country, where activists have accused President Alpha Conde of planning to rig upcoming elections planned for June 30.

The last legislative elections were held in 2002 under then president Lansana Conte, who ruled the former French colony for 24 years until his death in December 2008, which prompted a disastrous coup marked by extreme police brutality.

Al Jazeeras Dominic Kane said that Guineas parliament has not met since 2008. He said the opposition sees the elections as a vehicle for ousting the government and to use the vast natural resources Guinea possesses for the benefit of all.

The United Nations Security Council said in a statement in April that it was worried about instability in Guinea and called for calm in the restive nation.Coke, Pepsi, or OxyContin: The Lunacy of Coddling Drug Addicts

Coke, Pepsi, or OxyContin. Could that be coming to a vending machine near you? Not yet, but the race is on in Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Seattle to see which American city will be first to radically advance the so-called "harm reduction" movement, which seeks to coddle drug addicts through programs such as safe injection sites. Officials recently granted preliminary approvals of safe injection sites in all three cities  or, another way of putting it, safe spaces for shooting up heroin. They are all inspired by Vancouver, Canada. There, a person credited with establishing the first such facility in North America is now advocating for even more extreme measures to provide comfort and convenience for drug addicts. Yes, the top health official in British Columbia is proposing vending machines to dispense opioid "painkillers." Mark Tyndall, director of the province's Center for Disease Control, is suggesting not OxyContin, but another opioid painkiller he hopes will reduce abuse of heroin, fentanyl, and other more potent versions of the drug.

As the Canadian health official demonstrates, there is no limit to the lunacy of the harm reduction movement. Encompassing needle exchange programs, which began in the 1980s, and fueled by the opioid epidemic today, harm reduction measures include various drug therapies and safe injection sites. While Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Seattle are not yet proposing vending machines, they nevertheless hold up Vancouver as a case study in how to treat opioid addicts. Official reports from all three cities essentially credit safe injection sites with saving lives because someone overdoses and keels over, and a nurse is on hand to intervene. A report for Philadelphia cites the Vancouver facility, known as "Insite," where it is said the mortality rate is lower within 500 meters of the building. One could make the same case for an emergency room or an ordinary drug rehabilitation center. San Francisco's public health department credits Insite with adding over 1,000 "life years" to addicts, whatever that means. Local officials in the Seattle area credit Vancouver with increasing awareness of the opioid epidemic because of its embrace of safe spaces. In Baltimore, the Johns Hopkins school of public health publishes "Harm Reduction Journal" to help professors keep up with the latest trends in excusing addiction. The report also cites Vancouver, and its author asserts that "safe spaces help increase the touch point" with addicts, as if someone were caring for an infant. A Maryland legislator who proposed a site in Baltimore, inspired by Hopkins's research, received a succinct rebuke from Gov. Larry Hogan, who correctly called the concept "insane." Finally, here's a rare voice of reason, coming from someone who campaigned on the opioid epidemic in 2014, before it was in the headlines. What all these studies have in common besides touting meaningless and contorted statistics, speculation, and groupthink, is that they repackage the same research. It seems that merely labeling conclusions as peer-reviewed or evidence-based is all that is required to pass muster with some officials. This research is driven by those with a vested interest in promoting themselves. Philadelphia's "review of the evidence" report admits that the majority of the studies of the impact of safe inject sites are based on estimates from the Insite facility itself. As for the so-called "touch points" that Hopkins envisions, this actually has potential to provide additional treatment and referral options for social services. But it's nothing more than overpromising and underdelivering. Nobody tracks data that show how many individuals achieved long-term recovery because they were able to shoot up in a supervised facility. Vancouver's Insite started in 2003, yet we don't see any statistics on how many ended addictions. Perhaps touch points really mean developing a feel-good narrative to advocate for more harm reduction. If city leaders in Philadelphia, San Francisco, Seattle, and elsewhere are going to blindly follow Vancouver's lead in establishing safe injection sites, who is to say the same won't happen in establishing opioid-dispensing vending machines in the U.S.? Surely there will be a study out about that, too. By making too many promises and ignoring treatment options focused on abstinence and personal responsibility, we face the disturbing prospect of government making the opioid epidemic worse. More politicians should question harm reduction before it harms the country. Matt Mossburg, a former Maryland state legislator and recovering opioid addict, advises policymakers on treatment and recovery options.Misguided Anti-Gun Assumptions

The psychotic killer of more than a dozen students in Parkland, Florida has set off the usual anti-Second Amendment activists, opportunistic politicos, and press on a predictable campaign seeking the disarmament of the American citizenry. Unfortunately, virtually every suggested measure for improvement would produce little to no benefit, or actually make this a much more dangerous place. President Trump expressed interest in improving the effectiveness of the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), which is designed to identify those whose possession of a firearm could be a risk to themselves and others. The NICS, which requires the completion of an extensive questionnaire and review by federal authorities, seeks to prevent gun sales to convicted felons, fugitives from justice, domestic violence perpetrators, those under indictment, those adjudicated with mental health issues, illegal aliens, those dishonorably discharged from the military, and those who have renounced their U.S. citizenships.

However, this safeguard has failed repeatedly  just as it did in Florida. The Trump administration has identified the longstanding vulnerability. Just this past September, the Department of Justice inspector general produced a report that identified a serious breakdown in the coordination and communication between state and federal law enforcement agencies. The Justice Department IG reported that "we found [that] the overall FBI error rate was exceedingly low. However, our review identified weaknesses in the FBI's system for following up on pending transactions. As we note in our report, even an isolated NICS process breakdown can have tragic consequences, as evidenced by the June 2015 fatal shooting at a Charleston, South Carolina church where the NICS process lacked timely and accurate data from local agencies that could have prevented the alleged shooter from purchasing the gun he allegedly used." Nineteen-year-old Nikolas Cruz, the killer of the 17 victims at Stoneman Douglas High School, should have been identified by the NICS and prevented from purchasing the firearms used in the school slaughter. Police had been called to Cruz's home 39 times in response to his assorted outbursts; he bragged on social media about killing helpless animals; he had been expelled from school for his out-of-control behavior; he joined radical, violent groups; and he posted on his Facebook account that he planned to be a "professional school shooter." This was reported to the FBI, but none of this made its way to the NICS database. In addition to Cruz, Adam Lanza in Newtown; Dylan Roof in Charlotte; Nidal Hasan at Fort Hood; Omar Mateen at Orlando; Devin Kelley at Sutherland Springs, Texas; Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold at Columbine; and others should have set off alarms but did not. President Trump would serve this nation immeasurably by finally enforcing existing NICS laws to prevent yet another occurrence of such tragedies. However, other recommended measures invite disaster. Even putting aside the dictates of the Second Amendment (that's an awful lot to put aside), draconian impulses of many are based on demonstrably false assumptions. Among those is the notion that removal of all firearms from the hands of the American citizenry will ensure a tranquil, violence-free existence for all. At the top of the list is the banning of "assault weapons," specifically the AR-15 rifles. Among the required characteristics of a firearm to be considered an assault weapon is its selective fire capability  the option of switching between semi-automatic and burst or fully automatic fire. The AR-15 is incapable of that. The AR-15 is no more dangerous than any other semi-automatic rifle or pistol that presumably would require banishment as well. The use of these weapons by psychotic copycat killers is tragic, but putting the blame on the semi-automatic rifle itself is an exercise in self-gratification more than a pursuit of a solution. Each year in this country, approximately half of all murders are committed by persons using handguns. In about 2.5% of murders, various kinds of rifles are used. Blunt objects and fists are used in many more murders that are rifles, and being stabbed to death with a knife occurs at least five times more often than being shot by any sort of rifle. Ill advised gun control advocates insist that our personal safety relies on the removal of firearms from our society. However, there is not a shred of evidence that should lead us to believe that this will accomplish anything to protect us. There is no correlation between the level of private gun ownership in any nation and the violence that nation may experience. The United States has by far the most privately owned guns in the world but historically has not been among the top 100 most violent countries and homicides here are disproportionately drug- and gang-related crimes committed in our inner cities. Remarkably, the 25 countries with the lowest private gun ownership rates have a composite intentional homicide rate more than twice that of those 25 nations with the highest per capita gun ownership rates. So what is the solution for the heartbreaking assault in Parkland? President Trump's recommendation of closing the gaps in the nation's existing gun purchase background check system is a good start. Outlawing mechanisms that convert semi-automatic weapons into fully automatic ones is another. But finally getting serious about effectively protecting our schoolchildren is long overdue. Federal law prohibits guns in government buildings, schools, and national parks. However, government facilities are teeming with heavily armed security personnel there to protect our lawmakers and bureaucrats from harm. But our children are left completely defenseless from insane predators. Many studies reveal that immaturity among teenagers increases the likelihood of an individual committing criminal acts of violence or aggression. Far too often, psychologically fragile, isolated, or bullied adolescents impulsively act against those they feel have victimized them. Almost all school or university shootings of the last couple decades have been committed by students or former students of those facilities. Many had longstanding, obvious psychological problems that went unaddressed or were absent from NICS review. Improved measures to identify dangerous potential assailants such as Cruz are needed, but trained and armed security personnel (including selected teachers and staff members) can halt the carnage. Grief counseling and candlelight vigils may be fine, but they are useful only after all the damage has been done.But it was early last week when the Democrats fired their modern-day Fort Sumter shot.

February 19, 2018 was the day the Democratic Party publicly declared its War on Youth. Yes, we know that the Democrats and DMIC (the Democrat Media Industrial Complex) have always preyed upon our children, and yes, we know that the Democrats have infested and infiltrated virtually every industry in America  especially where the youth spend much of their time.

Does everyone see what the Democrats have done? They've pitted children against us, thereby mainstreaming and normalizing child exploitation. What the Democrats did to Parkland student Emma Gonzalez was as sickening a display as any I've ever witnessed. They coaxed an understandably distraught child to spew one debunked Democrat lie after another  and, of course, plenty of invective toward President Trump.

The reality is terrifying

David Hogg, a 17-year-old Parkland student, asked on CNN: "If you can't get elected without taking money from child murderers, why are you running?" Normal question from a 17-year-old, right? Wondering aloud if he came up with that question all on his own, with such emotionally vivid lingual sophistication and political acumen, must make me a grumpy old gun nut who thinks our youth are stupid.

As predictable as Democrat marches featuring hats shaped like vaginal labia, the interviewer, Alysin Camerota, asked Emma and David about the evil National Rifle Association. The NRA, if you haven't heard, is responsible for the election of every Republican since Lincoln. Just kidding  the NRA's political influence is barely a blip on the multi-gazillion-dollar campaign finance radar. (Full disclosure: Yes, I am a member of the NRA, and no, I am not paid to defend the NRA.)

Parkland was the result of Democrat social engineering of our kids, not "easy access" to guns and not the NRA.

The reality is terrifying: the Democrat and DMIC predation is going to worsen. I guarantee it, as the Democratic Party continues its onward "fundamental transformation" toward a full-scale European Union-style socialist party.

It doesn't take a village

The Clintonian "It Takes a Village" ideology, propagated by the DMIC as parenting and child welfare gospel, is meticulously designed to zombify our children to:

- Hate America and her values

- Worship Big Government

- Become devout disciples of secularism, godlessness, and socialism

- Consider human life disposable

- Believe that "gender" is "fluid" and negotiable

- Whitewash and revise and rewrite history  the way dictators always have

- Make all decisions based on emotions and hysteria  not facts and logic

- Regard the traditional nuclear family as a creation of "white privilege"

- Embrace the new celebrity status of self-victimization

- Tout inequality as the new equality by fervently cheerleading that all men are created equal  but some are created more equal than others

- Walk as dupe-dope sheeple in lockstep with tyranny, easily convinced into believing anything and everything sold by the DMIC as "truth."

Did the village save Nikolas Cruz? I'd call Cruz a casualty of the village, but there were actual casualties: 14 students and 3 adults.

The DMIC will do what it always does: lie by withholding, deflect; steer Americans' attention to the inanimate object of the gun, and gaslight. The Democrats and DMIC will spend millions of combined man-hours in a broken-record narrative of "assault weapons" and how cold medicine is more difficult for an eighteen-year-old to purchase than a rifle (spoiler alert: it isn't).

Why are kids so violent?

The Democrats and DMIC will never address the most important question: why are teenagers and young adults committing murder with more regularity than 10, 20, or 30 years ago? Guns have always been inanimate; the NRA has existed for 53,000 days; Hollywood has produced violent films and television for generations; video games have been pretty bloody for decades (I remember playing "Mortal Kombat" as a 16-year-old); and mental illnesses have always presumably existed, even though medical advances have enabled us to better identify and treat them.

Democrats never address this question because it would nakedly expose their weaponization of our youth as political pawns  the primary cause of the effect of youth violence. What about the Tessio Republicans? Well, they're complicit, too; name me a national GOP figure who persuasively, eloquently, and consistently warns us of Democrat A Clockwork Orange Ludovico-type brainwashing. You can't, because not one exists.

What keeps me up at night is, how many Cruzes are among us? How many kids who are our neighbors  our children's friends  are a Cruz? For a killer like Cruz, the damage was done long ago; it's easy to blame his foster parents, but we weren't privy to the dynamic in the household. Cruz's foster parents said he never exhibited warning signs, but it's quite likely that they missed them.

A year ago, as I was writing my upcoming book, 10 Warning Signs Your Child is Becoming a Democrat, I predicted to my wife and others that it was a guarantee that acts of violence perpetrated by youths barely old enough to legally drive would occur. I didn't know in what form the atrocities would occur, but I knew they would. Why? Because we cannot outrun the tsunami of kids screwed up by the culture of sheer Democrat lunacy.

The Democratic Party and DMIC fetishize comparing Republicans and conservatives to Adolf Hitler, but they never mention this quote of his: "He alone who owns the youth gains the future."

If our response isn't better and smarter offense, the next generation of kids will be even more lost than the current generation. As General George Patton once remarked, no one ever successfully defended anything  there is only attack, attack, and attack some more.

This moment in our history  right here, right now  is our last, best chance to begin to right the ship.

The Democrats don't fear repercussions from their declaration of war upon our youths because they don't fear the GOP and voters.

Republican National Committee, GOP voters, and independents: are you listening?

Parents and future parents  unite! More than ever, our children need us.

Rich Logis is the host of The Rich Logis Show and author of the upcoming book 10 Warning Signs Your Child is Becoming a Democrat. Follow him on Twitter at @RichLogis.Imagine the reaction of the media if President Trump donned lederhosen and tried to do a German folk dance during a trip to meet with Germany's Angela Merkel. Or imagine if India's president, Ram Nath Kovind, arrived for a state visit to Canada dressed as a red-jacketed Canadian Mountie or as a plaid-shirted lumberjack carrying an axe.

The equivalent of the above is pretty much what Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau attempted during his recent trip to India, where he made himself a laughingstock because of his fervid embrace of the religion of multiculturalism.

It was quite a show. Nothing was too much for Trudeau to do if it buttressed his devotion to national traditions other than the traditions of his own country, which is supposed to be Canada. Trudeau acted as if he were a representative of India, not Canada. He dressed like an Indian, tried to dance like an Indian, gestured like an Indian.

Nothing was off limits when it came to his acting, either. As Business Insider reported, "At one point, Trudeau, wearing traditional dress, broke into the Indian dance called the Bhangra, to a mixed reaction on Twitter."

Oh, it must have been something to see. Or not.

Some observers, such as Omar Abdullah, former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir, apparently had had enough of the Trudeau show after three days of the prime minster decking himself out in splendid Indian dress and prancing through the steps of the Bhangra. Abdullah tweeted, "Is this choreographed cuteness all just a bit much now? Also, FYI we Indians don't dress like this every day sir, not even in Bollywood."

Underlying Trudeau's obvious cultural appropriation of India's tradition of sartorial splendor is the belief that identification with any culture but the Western tradition is virtuous. Pretending to be an Indian from the upper classes or a member of Bollywood is supposedly better than being dressed in a suit or a tuxedo, both of which are ordinary Western dress but both of which may have been deemed by Trudeau as giving off vibes of Western imperialism.

He erred even more by hauling his entire family onto the multiculturalist stage, having them all dress in Indian attire while assuming the gestures typical of an Indian greeting. It all looked like a badly staged version of the Von Trapp family done Indian style. Thankfully, the family didn't sing.

Perhaps some of the messages were unintentional, but at the heart of the Trudeau show is the idea that imitation is the sincerest form of diplomacy.

It isn't.

On the contrary, the whole cringe-inducing episode had to have been humiliating for many of the people of Canada, including some of the immigrants from India who are part of Canada's population. What are they to think of their prime minister's ridiculous performances? Surely, they have seen that Trudeau's efforts were not truly diplomatic. Surely, they have noted the insulting fakery. This is to say nothing of the very bad acting and dancing.

There are some lessons to be learned from Trudeau's bad stagecraft.

First, ersatz pretenses of multiculturalism coupled with bad acting should never be part of diplomacy. It is diplomatic to understand the history of the nation one is visiting. It is gracious diplomacy to avoid egregious offenses by learning what the host country considers good manners. It is not good diplomacy to present oneself as an imitation citizen of the country that has invited you to visit.

Second, to state the obvious: Mr. Trudeau supposedly was visiting India to represent Canada, not India itself. Canada has its own integrity and national traditions, which traditions are the ones Mr. Trudeau is supposed to represent. Some of those traditions include parliamentary government vested in the national interests of Canada, which still technically is part of the British Commonwealth. In other words, Canada is Western in its history, not Indian. Mr. Trudeau is a Westerner, though he appears either not to know it or not to like it.

Third, Trudeau's attachment to the ideals of globalism is obvious. Even if it is at the expense of his own country, he apparently is committed to following the old adage, "When in Rome, do as the Romans do." If he were in Tibet, he would probably attempt to take up a prayer wheel and learn throat-singing. If he were in Japan, he might be inclined to wear a samurai costume and thrum away on the shamisen. Were he in Australia, he might try the "Kangaroo Hop" on the didgeridoo. Nor would he neglect trying out the melodious flugelhorn while in the Swiss alps.

In any case, he has revealed himself as a chameleon who will try to assume the cultural identity of any nation he visits  any nation other than Canada.

In view of his bending over backward to be all things to all people, we can hazard a guess that as Trudeau returns to Canada, he will doubtless continue to try to be all things to all peoplekind.

Fay Voshell may be reached at fvoshell@yahoo.com.

Image via the Toronto Star.Conservative columnist Mona Charen appeared on a panel at CPAC on Saturday and proceeded to slam Donald Trump and conservatives for their "hypocrisy." She also skewered CPAC for inviting Marion Le Pen, a leader of the French nationalist party, whose family has expressed anti-Semitic ideas but there's no evidence the young Le Pen harbors anti-Jewish feelings.

One stalwart Trump critic dared to take the stage at this years CPAC. If we want an audience with young people, we have to separate ourselves from the men on our side whove behaved atrociously toward women, said conservative writer Mona Charena think tank fellow, and TWS contributorduring a panel discussion of conservative womens feminist crisis. I'm disappointed in the people on our side for being hypocrites about sexual harassers and abusers of women who are in our party who are sitting in the White House who brag about their extramarital affairs, who brag about mistreating women, Charen challenged. And because he happens to have an R after his name, we look the other way, we don't complain.

Wrong place. Wrong time. Wrong audience. I don't know what Charen was trying to accomplish besides establishing herself more firmly with the dwindling number of conservatives actually willing to speak out against Trump and right wingers. She couldn't have believed she might have changed some of the closed minds who attended CPAC and who represent the base of the Republican party. And she must have known she would have been heckled mercilessly.

She was on firmer ground in criticizing the invite to Le Pen:

"There was quite an interesting person who was on this stage the other day. Her name is Marion Le Pen," Charen told the crowd, suggesting Le Pen was only invited because of her surname. "And the Le Pen name is a disgrace," she added. "Her grandfather is racist and a Nazi. She claims that she stands for him. And the fact that CPAC invited her is a disgrace," Charen said.

Charen is not a major voice on the right and because of her NeverTrumpism, probably will never be. But the point she makes about hypocrisy regarding women will not go away and will be exploited to the fullest by Democrats in November. Those activists booing her at CPAC are only kidding themselves if they believe that Trump's and Moore's treatment of women won't be an issue in 2018.SEVEN years ago Australia expelled a Mossad agent and publicly cut ties with the intelligence agency as it admonished Israel for using forged Australian passports in its assassination plot of a Hamas military chief.

Australia should be embarrassed at the exposure of its hypocrisy. The Daily Telegraph of Australia (behind a pay wall, but text available here ) writes:

But in the murky world of intelligence, nothing is ever what it seems and yesterday the Australian Government hailed Israels intelligence network as heroes for making the initial tip off that led to the 11th hour thwarting of an alleged terror plot to bring down an Etihad flight from Sydney last year. I wish to thank the Israelis very much, Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton said. We did get intelligence advice from Israel and it meant that ASIO then reached out to other partners and with all of the information packaged together, it resulted in arrests. No doubt hundreds of lives were saved by that tip and what followed but the change of attitude toward Israeli intelligence was as much to do with those actions as it was the politics behind both the breakup and now the make-up.

The Telegraph goes on to write:

Australia has had a public love-hate relationship with Israels covert tactics particularly in this country but the spies of both nations including ASIO and ASIS and Mossad and the various Israeli military intelligence branches have remained very much cooperative and in synch and it was that unbroken relationship that prevented a mid-flight tragedy last year.

Our Australian correspondent John McMahon writes:

This supposed hate relationship is only endorsed and promulgated by the Leftist media and the Greens along with elements of the socialist Leftist Labor.

It is a very good thing for Australia (and the UAE) that this public condemnation and break of intelligence ties is phony, pure eyewash catering to the Jew haters and Islamophiles of the domestic Australian and global left. The airplane in question was an Airbus A 380, capable of carrying over 500 people.

Israel is accustomed to hypocritical governments publicly condemning the Jewish state for actions that remain without criticism when other states engage in them. Fortunately for hundreds of innocents aboard that particular flight last year, Israel is generous toward hypocrites.

Of course, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, currently in crisis mode over allegations of corruption, was happy to take some credit for good news:

Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton appeared unsure himself as he was prompted to respond on live radio to reports out of Israel where the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) made the public revelation that was quickly backed in a public speech to US Jewish leaders in Jerusalem by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. (snip) It was also a reminder that Israels intelligence network is second to none and has long been working outside its own borders to help its friends and allies in troubling times as long as its own interests are not crossed. The IDF revealed its secretive Military Intelligence Unit 8200 played a crucial role in preventing the midair attack on an Etihad flight from Sydney to Abu Dhabi on July 15 last year.

Israels meta-strategy is to make itself an indispensable nation for the great powers. Intelligence assistance is but one element. Another is the flourishing of Israeli high technology innovation, providing essential benefits to the most powerful companies in the world. So, too, the stream of medical innovations flowing from Israel. And the newest element is Israels development of offshore gas fields, providing energy to Europe and replacing or at least supplementing expensive Russian supplies of natural gas.

When faced with hatred and double standards, Israel excels and makes itself too valuable to wipe from the map as Irans mullahs repeatedly threaten to do.Fox Newss 'Scandalous' on Feb. 25 is right over the target

On Sunday, Feb. 25, the Fox News Channel will premiere part 6, the second-to-last episode, of its new series Scandalous that focuses on the 20th century scandals involving Bill and Hillary Clinton. Parts 1-5 of Scandalous  the series premiered on Jan. 21  have been the highest rated programs on all of cable news on each Sunday night that they have been broadcast. On Sunday Feb. 18, for example, the Nielsen Research ratings confirmed that episode 5 of Scandalous trounced parts 3 and 4 of CNNs heavily promoted six-hour documentary series on Patty Hearst and also had higher ratings than any other program on the three major cable news channels during that entire day and night. Scandalous is a detailed, chronological account of the scandals involving Bill and Hillary Clinton through 1999, when President Clinton was tried for impeachment in the U.S. Senate. Each episode of Scandalous has been more compelling than the previous one as the dramatic documentary builds momentum to the denouement  the impeachment trial of Bill Clinton  the first trial in the Senate of a U.S. president for high crimes and misdemeanors in 130 years.

President Bill Clinton and White House Intern Monica Lewinsky The two decades that have passed since the news of the Monica Lewinsky scandal that resulted in Bill Clintons impeachment first broke have tended to soften the memory of the highly charged and salacious events that captivated and divided the nation for a period of 13 months in 1998-99. Bill Clinton was ultimately acquitted of impeachment charges that were passed by the House of Representatives in December 1998. In his 1999 trial in the U.S. Senate, he was allowed to finish out his second term that ended on Jan. 20, 2001. President Bill Clinton testifies before the Special Prosecutors Grand Jury August 1998: It depends on what the definition of 'is' is. Scandalous is a fresh reminder, after the passage of two decades during which memories of these events have largely faded (or have likely never been processed at all by people under the age of 35 or 40 today) of the serious illegal acts committed by President Clinton, including obstruction of justice, perjury when testifying under oath, subornation of perjury (by another witness), and bribing a witness. Defenders of the Clintons have long maintained  and with most peoples memories fading, this false meme has tended to carry the day  that Bill Clintons crimes were little more than engaging in a consensual sexual relationship with White House intern Monica Lewinsky. Lewinsky was 27 years younger than the president at the time of their affair. Whatever else happened as a result of their dalliance and Clintons attempts to cover it up, it was  then and now  a classic no-no, legally and ethically, in the workplace. Instead of a nothingburger, Bill Clintons actions constituted serious illegalities and certainly merited his impeachment. Whether or not he should have been convicted and removed from office is a question the viewer will be left to decide. As I have written previously, parts 1-5 of Scandalous, and presumably the remaining parts 6 and 7, represent a serious, balanced, fresh, and very compelling effort to revisit a major news event of 20 years ago that consumed the news media and the nations political dialogue for a period of 13 months. While television and film documentaries about President Richard Nixons impeachment (in reality, Nixon was never impeached; he resigned before a vote in the House to impeach him could be taken) are numerous, nothing that I can recall until Scandalous came along has ever been done on the subject of Clintons actual impeachment. This exploration of the subject is long overdue. It is especially relevant in 2018 with many Democrats now on record promoting the impeachment of President Donald J. Trump  with little justification, of course, and few if any references being made to the nations last impeachment, of their fellow Democrat President Clinton. Prior to Clintons impeachment, the only other time a U.S. president was impeached was 130 years earlier when President Andrew Johnson was tried in the Senate for high crimes and misdemeanors. He avoided conviction by a single vote margin. President Andrew Johnson, other than Bill Clinton the only president to be impeached, in 1868. Also premiering on Fox News on Sunday Feb. 25, at 10 P.M. E.T., is the brand new weekly hour long program featuring popular conservative radio talk show host Mark Levin, Life. Liberty and Levin. The program was announced last Nov. 21. In its news release that day, Fox News noted: The hour-long program will feature Levin's lively in-depth and long-form interviews and powerful debate style with consequential guests covering history, philosophy, and economics. Levin will also capitalize on his extraordinary knowledge and compelling perspective as a constitutional lawyer to discuss the American founding, the Declaration of Independence, and the Constitution. Mark Levin Levin is an attorney who served in the Reagan administration as chief of staff to Attorney General Edwin Meese. He got his start in radio two decades ago by appearing as a guest legal analyst on Rush Limbaugh's and Sean Hannity's radio shows. In 2002, Levin was given a program of his own: weekends on WABC AM 770 in New York. In 2003, he moved to the 6-9 P.M. M-F slot on WABC, Hannity's flagship station at the time, immediately following Hannity's show. In 2006, The Mark Levin Show, which continues to air live at 6 P.M. EST, went into national syndication. Levin is a serious and articulate constitutional scholar, and his legal and political expertise is reflected on his show. He is the author of over half a dozen New York Times bestselling nonfiction books. The most successful one, Levin's Liberty and Tyranny: A Conservative Manifesto, was released in 2009 and became a #1 New York Times bestseller for eleven weeks and was rated #2 on Amazon.com's list of the bestselling books of 2009. Unlike CNN and MSNBC, which do not program topical news and opinion programs in prime time on Saturdays and Sundays, opting instead for pop documentaries and travel shows (CNN) and prison reality shows (MSNBC), Fox News has expanded its news and opinion offerings on weekend nights  all of them with conservative hosts. On Saturdays, the channels Justice with Judge Jeanine (Pirro) is usually the number one program of the night on all three major cable news channels. Last summer, Fox News added another live conservative news and opinion show, The Next Revolution with Steve Hilton, to its prime time Sunday lineup. And as of tonight, Mark Levin joins the Sunday schedule, as well, immediately following Hilton. Fox News conservative favorites Greg Gutfeld and Jesse Watters also host highly rated programs on Saturday nights, with replays on Sunday afternoons. Peter Barry Chowka is a veteran reporter and analyst of news on national politics, media, and popular culture. Follow Peter on Twitter at @pchowka.The two leaders talked for 50 minutes with Trump insisting several times that Mexico pay for the wall. After Nieto refused the request several times, both governments agreed that a meeting between the two leaders would not take place any time soon.

The Mexican government has reportedly cancelled a tentatively planned visit by President Enrique Pena Nieto to the US this month following what was described as a "testy" phone call between Nieto and Donald Trump.

Los Angeles Times:

The Post said one Mexican official said Trump "lost his temper," while U.S. officials described him being more exasperated. While both Washington and Mexico city confirmed Saturday that Trump and Pena Nieto spoke Tuesday, both sides provided only sketchy official accounts of the call. Reuters reported that both governments agreed now was not the time for Pena Nieto visit to Washington. The two leaders expressed mutual condolences about the deaths from the high school shooting in Florida and from the crash of a military helicopter in Mexico's Oaxaca state, according to the Mexican government's account of the call. "Both leaders reiterated their commitment to advance ... the bilateral agenda in terms of security, commerce and migration, through the coordinated forces of their work groups," Mexico said of the call. Mexican authorities had never confirmed that Pena Nieto was scheduled to travel this month to Washington, despite accounts in the Mexican media that such a trip was planned. Reports suggested that Pena Nieto's advisors had been closely weighing both the potential benefits and pitfalls of such a meeting since the Mexican secretary of foreign relations, Luis Videgaray, returned from Washington this month with word that Trump's team was receptive to a visit. But ultimately the "volatility" of Trump and the "lack of certainty about his commitments and actions" led Mexican officials to defer the meeting, wrote columnist Raymundo Riva Palacio on Friday in the El Horizonte newspaper of Monterrey. The major sticking point: the possibility that the Mexican president could end up looking bad or even being humiliated should the unpredictable Trump renew his vow that Mexico would pay for his plan to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. "The theme is the same that they have clashed about publicly on other occasions, the border wall," Riva Palacio wrote.

The Mexican government continues to encourage illegal immigration to the United States and obviously does not want any impediments in their citizens' way when they illegally cross the border. They will pay for a wall when hell freezes over and not before.

Discussion in the US government is underway to perhaps charge some kind of fee for money transferred by Mexican citizens back to Mexico. It's a tempting target. Tens of billions of dollars cross the border every year.

But it's doubtful that a tax on remittances would be able to raise nearly enough cash to build the wall and besides, there are other ways to get money into Mexico besides remittances by wire.

Trump may go ahead with the tax anyway as a symbolic measure to show he kept his promise to make Mexico pay for his wall.

Nieto's aides who fear that Trump would try to humiliate Nieto is a valid concern. While Trump has gotten somewhat better at following a script, the chance that he will veer away from prepared remarks at a diplomatic event to skewer Nieto for his refusal to pay for the wall are pretty high.

Don't expect Nieto to take that chance any time soon.On February 21, 2018, I explained that the Senate memorandum states that the FBI largely relied upon Steeles credibility in obtaining the FISA warrants . . . . At that time, I also noted:

The Democrats on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI) wrote a memorandum that was released yesterday, February 24, 2018. Although the Democrats Schiff memorandum is in response to the Nunes memorandum released on February 2, 2018, by the Republicans on the HPSCI, any evaluation of the Democrats memorandum must include discussion of the Grassley memorandum released on February 6, 2018 by the Republicans on the Senate Committee on the Judiciary. This is because the Senate memorandum is more detailed.

The Senate memorandum states that the October 21, 2016 FISA [Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act] application notes the existence of a news article dated September 26, 2016, which is presumably a Yahoo News article by Michael Isikoff entitled U.S. Intel Officials Probe Ties Between Trump Adviser and Kremlin. The news article contained information that was also in the dossier. According to the Senate memorandum, Steele had previously told the FBI he had not shared the information with the press and the application to the FISA Court stated that the FBI does not believe that [Steele] directly provided this information to the press. The Senate memorandum states: The FBI repeatedly represented to the court that Mr. Steele told the FBI he did not have unauthorized contacts with the press about the dossier prior to October 2016. The Senate memorandum then states that in January 2017 the FBI told the FISA Court that the FBI suspended its relationship with Steele in October 2016 because Steele had disclosed information about his dossier to the press in October 2016 without authorization. According to the Senate memorandum, the FBI told the FISA Court that Steele did this because he was bothered by [Former FBI Director James] Comeys reopening, earlier in October 2016, of the investigation into Hillary Clintons emails. The Senate memorandum states that the FBI repeated this explanation in the FISA warrant renewal applications in April and June of 2017.

The Democrats memorandum confirms that the FISA warrant applications presented Steele as a credible witness to the FISA Court. The Democrats memorandum states: DOJ explained the FBIs reasonable basis for finding Steele credible: . . . The applications also reviewed Steeles multi-year history of credible reporting on Russia and other matters . . . .

The Democrats memorandum does not contradict any of the factual assertions summarized above from the Senate memorandum. The Democrats memorandum states that the HPSCI Republicans do not cite evidence that Steel disclosed to Yahoo! details included in the FISA warrant, since the British Court filings to which they refer not address what Steele may have said to Yahoo! But the Senate memorandum does cite such evidence. The Senate memorandum cites Steeles British court filings, and those court filings do address what Steele may have said to Yahoo! The Senate memorandum states:

In Steeles sworn court filings in litigation in London, he admitted that he gave off the record briefings to a small number of journalists about the pre-election memoranda [i.e., the dossier] in late summer/autumn 2016. In another sworn filing in that case, Mr. Steele further stated that journalists from the New York Times, the Washington Post, Yahoo News, the New Yorker, and CNN were briefed at the end of September 2016 by [Steele] and Fusion at Fusions instruction. The filing further states that Mr. Steele subsequently participated in further meetings at Fusions instruction with Fusion and the New York Times, the Washington Post, and Yahoo News, which took place mid-October 2016. According to these court filings, [t]he briefings involved the disclosure of limited intelligence regarding indications of Russian interference in the US election process and the possible co-ordination of members of Trumps campaign team and Russian government officials. In his interview with the Committee, Glenn Simpson of Fusion GPS confirmed this account by Mr. Steel and his company as filed in the British court.

The Senate memorandum accurately quotes from page 8 of Steeles British court filing.

As I explained, the Senate memorandum asserts that Steele apparently lied to the FBI, the FBI/DOJ never disclosed this apparent lie to the FISA Court, and the DOJ made a false statement to the FISA Court about Steeles motivation for talking to the press. I stated:

The Senate memorandum explains that the problem with the FBIs statement to the FISA Court about Steeles motivation, is that by April of 2017, evidence had emerged establishing that Steele had disclosed information about his dossier to the press before Comey reopened the Clinton investigation. This evidence included sworn court filings by Steele in civil litigation in England, which was reported at the time in the American press. Therefore, this evidence was probably known to the FBI[/DOJ] before the April 2017 and June 2017 renewal applications, but the Senate memorandum does not definitively establish this fact. According to the Senate memorandum, despite this evidence, in the April 2017 and June 2017 FISA warrant renewal applications against [Carter] Page, the FBI[/DOJ] repeated the false explanation about Steeles motivation for talking to the press. Assuming that the FBI/DOJ knew when it made these renewal applications that the explanation was false, which is highly likely, the FBI[/DOJ] lied to the FISA Court. In addition, the Senate memorandum explains that it appears that Steele lied to the FBI by telling the FBI that he was not the source of the Yahoo News story in September 2016, and the FBI[/DOJ] never told the FISA Court that Steele lied to the FBI. Therefore, the FBI[/DOJ] relied on Steeles credibility in making the FISA Court applications against Page. But when it became known that Steeles credibility was destroyed, the FBI[/DOJ] hid this from the FISA Court, and apparently lied to the FISA Court when trying to excuse Steeles leaking to the press. In so doing, the FBI[/DOJ] obtained renewals of the warrant against Page in April and June of 2017.

The Democrats memorandum does not dispute any of this. Instead, the Democrats memorandum states:

While explaining why the FBI viewed Steeles reporting and sources as reliable and credible, DOJ also disclosed: . . . the fact of and reason for his termination as a source.... (snip) DOJ informed the Court in its renewals that the FBI acted promptly to terminate Steele after learning from him ( after DOJ filed the first warrant application) that he had discussed his work with a media outlet in late October. The January 2018 renewal further explained to the Court that Steele told the FBI that he made his unauthorized media disclosure because of his frustration at Director Comeys public announcement shortly before the election that the FBI reopened its investigation into candidate Clintons email use.

According to the Senate memorandum, apparently Steele lied to the FBI about his disclosures to the press, and the FBI never told the FISA Court about this apparent lie when the FISA warrant was renewed in April 2017 and June 2017. Steeles termination was not only because of his disclosure of information to the press, but also for lying to the FBI about it. These issues are not addressed, and therefore, not disputed, in the Democrats memorandum. The falsity of the FBI/DOJs statement to the FISA Court in the later renewal applications about Steeles motivation for talking to the press is not addressed, and therefore, not disputed, in the Democrats memorandum.

Along with the Democrat politicians, many in the media will present the Democrats memorandum as a complete refutation of the legitimate concerns raised by Republicans. Lets hope that the FISA Court judges take the opposite view.

Adam Schiff caricature by DonkeyHotey

Allan J. Favish is an attorney in Los Angeles. His website is allanfavish.com. James Fernald and Mr. Favish have co-authored a book about what might happen if the government ran Disneyland, entitled "Fireworks! If the Government Ran the Fairest Kingdom of Them All (A Very Unauthorized Fantasy).The smiles were wide and the wine flowed freely at the Cayuga Lake Wine Trail's 16th Annual Mardi Gras event Saturday.

Establishments scattered along the trail participated in the weekend-long event, in which people  sometimes clad in feathers, beads or masks that wouldn't seem out of place on New Orleans' famed Bourbon Street  drink, eat and play games.

Russell Nalley, an employee at Long Point Winery in Ledyard, said he loves seeing familiar faces who saunter into the building for the Mardi Gras event and other events the wine trail locations hold. Nalley, wearing a multi-colored Hawaiian shirt and occasionally rocking an oversized Strawberry red hat, said the annual February party gives people something to do while allowing the winery to get out of the "winter doldrums." Nalley takes pride in building a rapport with so many over the years.

''We know we're doing something right," Nalley said.

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Benny and Tammy Teitelbaum, who stopped with others at Long Point, have been attending the event for around seven years. The duo has built up a routine to hit up each winery  though the time they spend can vary depending on the winery  in an efficient amount of time. They said they enjoy meeting fellow travelers.Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeaus visit was a disaster that has little parallel in Indias recent diplomatic history. (snip)

A prime ministerial visit to a foreign country for a week with a thin official component is always fraught with danger. In addition, moving the official meetings to the very end of the trip indicated that the government meetings were an after-thought. Most foreign leaders who throw in other events almost always front-load the official meetings, and then go on to business or tourism events.



Here, it was clear from the start that Trudeau came to India to score with his Sikh constituency back home  four out of the six cabinet ministers who travelled with him were Sikh, as were an overwhelming number of MPs who also travelled with him. Until the media barrage in India forced the Canadian side to change tack, Trudeau was not even ready to meet Amarinder Singh, chief minister of Punjab. Even the Canadian high commissioners official reception was a celebration of Punjab with the prime minister himself waltzing in on bhangra beats.

The most glaring misstep was not that Trudeau and his family dressed up in gaudy clothes  that could pass off as a celebration of Indian ethnic chic even if it was slightly over the top. It was Canadas misunderstanding of the depth of feeling in India on the Khalistan issue. Canadian officials compared the Khalistan issue to the Quebec separatist movement  which counted a single death (of a minister, Pierre Laporte) as opposed to the tens of thousands who were killed at the hands of Khalistanis. Over the years, successive Indian governments have tried to get Canadian governments to change their minds.

Canada is the only country where the head of government is comfortable to be seen with Sikh separatists, said senior government sources. There are Khalistani activists in the UK and Australia, but in no country is the government seen to be pandering to these forces. In the event, the joint statement issued at the end of the week-long visit, which named the Babbar Khalsa and International Sikh Youth Federation along with al-Qaida and ISIS, passed everyone by. There is no political cost either  both these groups have been banned in Canada. Officials said they had flagged the Khalistan problem to the Canadian side before the visit began, including at the NSA level during the last round of security talks.And then? Well, since he condemns the US and all that it symbolizes whenever the opportunity arises -- and even when it doesn't

After damning the United States for recognizing reality by stating that since Jerusalem is the capital of Israel the US will move its Embassy there in May to celebrate Israel's 70th anniversary, the PLO president-for-life, Mahmoud (a variation of the name Mohammed) Abbas took his traveling hate show to a receptive audience, the UN, where he repeated the message but in more moderate -- relatively -- terms.

Damn your money! to the United States following President Trumps decision on Jerusalem. We will not accept for the U.S. to be a mediator, because after what they have done to us  a believer shall not be stung twice in the same place.

he quickly returned to the well..."s&#*hole" territory he presides over. where US aid money, which he still eagerly accepts, European aid money, oil aid money from Muslim countries, and UNRWA aid money is used for weapons and destruction, not schools and hospitals. Except that he didn't return there, according to the Jewish Insider, almost the only outlet on the story:

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas was sighted on Wednesday in Baltimore, Maryland. According to a source, Abbas is receiving medical treatment at Johns Hopkins Hospital. An impressive motorcade of Secret Service vehicles were seen parked outside the Four Seasons Hotel in the Harbor East neighborhood of Baltimore. Abbas Boeing 737 [A Boeing Business Jet, the most expensive private jet in the world, far better than aircraft used by most heads of legitimate states -- such as The Netherlands, Chile, or Norway  ed.] landed at BaltimoreWashington International Airport at 3:00 PM EST after a short flight from White Plains, New York, according to the Flight Radar24 site. (snip) Abbas medical treatment in Baltimore may explain the timing of his speech this week at the UN. This past December, Haaretz reported that Abbas received an invitation to visit the White House for the second time in a year after the Trump administration was made aware that the Palestinian president was slated to be in the city for a medical procedure. Separately in November, Jared Kushner and Jason Greenblatt made a point of visiting Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat after he underwent a lung transplant operation at a hospital in Fairfax, Virginia. Given the recent tension, whether Kushner or Greenblatt will make the short trip up to Baltimore to visit Abbas remains to be seen. According to a White House official there are currently no plans for such a visit. The official added, but we wish him well.

Abbas is following in the footsteps of his Arab and Muslim rulers: condemn the Great Satan (the US) and Little Satan (Israel) in the vilest terms and kill their citizens when you can, but for the best medical care, why go to the hospitals in their own countries?

Abbas and friend. (Russian hospitals not good enough?)

And why don't they use their own hospitals? Indeed many of their hospitals (and schools, too) are the equivalent of human shields with bomb making facilities are in their basements and rockets launched from their grounds. These cruel and destructive practices translate into poorly equipped facilities, not good enough for the oligarchs. (For their own citizens? Well, they don't care.)

And so now Baltimore residents are honored with a terrorist in their midst at one of the finest hospitals in the US. And Abbas' treatment will be paid for by...? Aww, you know -- the US taxpayer.

Hat tip: Richard Becker/Architect GuyBlackBerry Mobile is aiming to capture between three and five percentage points of the global smartphone market within the next several years, the companys Chief Commercial Officer Francois Mahieu said earlier today in Barcelona, Spain. While speaking at a press conference held in the run-up to this years Mobile World Congress, Mr. Mahieu explained that while BlackBerrys smartphone unit is presently a niche business, hes aiming to grow it going forward and isnt satisfied with the brands current (lack of) market share, especially that in the premium segment of the market. The company is presently estimated to hold well under one-percent of the global handset market, according to most industry trackers.

After BlackBerry discontinued its internal hardware unit in late 2016, the company turned toward external partners to continue competing in the mobile segment. While it already agreed to several such collaborations, its biggest one thats also spearheading its global mobile push is that with TCL Communication, a Shenzhen, Guangdong-based tech giant that also manufactures and retails Alcatel-branded handsets. The return of the brand was announced with the BlackBerry KEYone launched exactly a year ago at MWC 2017, with the smartphone boasting long battery life, a physical QWERTY/Z keyboard, and specs placing it in the upper mid-range segment of the market. Despite being met with largely positive reviews, the KEYone failed to achieve significant commercial success, with that pattern continuing across most other BlackBerry-branded handsets released over the course of the last year.

Given BlackBerrys increasing focus on high-end smartphones, the company has little choice but to attempt competing in the United States, the worlds largest market for flagships, but also the one in which wireless carriers account for the vast majority of annual smartphone sales. To date, BlackBerry only managed to strike retail partnerships with AT&T and Sprint, thus reaching less than half of its potential stateside customers who buy smartphones from mobile service providers. Going forward, the Canadian brand is expected to continue pursuing both traditional smartphones such as the BlackBerry Motion and those featuring physical keyboards in the vein of the KEYone. The company is also focusing on its mobile software security offerings, advertising them as one of the key selling points of its products, especially in the context of enterprise environments.LG has just announced the newest smartphone in its portfolio, the V30S ThinQ, at Mobile World Congress. And by that name, you can probably tell that there is a lot of artificial intelligence in this phone, and it is also an iterative update of the original V30 that was released last fall. LG is experimenting with a new release cycle, with the V30S ThinQ. And that is going longer periods without launching a true flagship device, and instead, launching iterative smartphones like the V30S ThinQ here, which doesnt have many differences from the V30, on the outside other than a new paint job.

The V30S ThinQ is going to be available in two colors. Theres the Moroccan Blue, and the new Platinum Grey. The Moroccan Blue has a slight tint of green, and it looks really nice in person. Meanwhile, the Platinum Grey is a slightly darker color than the Platinum Silver that the V30 was available in. LG explained that it is experimenting with all sorts of different colors and textures on its smartphones, to really give itself a unique look in the crowded market. The company also believes that these two colors will replace the black color that most buyers gravitate towards.

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On the artificial intelligence side of things, thats actually the biggest upgrade on this smartphone. Google Assistant is already there, since this is running on Android 8.0 Oreo, but it now works with LGs own products. So you can ask Google to talk to LG and find out how much time is left on the washer, if you have a ThinQ-powered washer. You can also ask Google to search with QLens. Which is one of LGs newest features in the V30S ThinQ. Its similar to Google Lens, in a sense. With QLens you are able to take a picture of something and find it on Amazon or Pinterest. Or you can also scan a QR Code. That actually is a feature that a lot of other smartphones have already had built-in, and was a mode in older LG smartphone cameras, but now it is part of QLens.

Other AI features are also within the camera, but mostly to help you take better photos. Now these features are similar to what Huawei has done with its Mate 10 Pro, but LG believes it does this better. For instance, the V30S ThinQs camera can recognize over 100 million items (in 18 categories) and is able to adjust the lighting, white balance and exposure to make those items pop. So it is able to recognize that you are taking a photo of your food, and adjust the shot to make it look even tastier. This is all part of AI Cam which can be toggled on/off in the camera itself. So if you dont want to use these features, you dont need too. AI Cam is powered by machine learning, so it is always learning and improving on itself. LG did also note that some of these features will be ported to older devices, as long as the hardware will support it. Specific features that are being ported were not mentioned  mostly because it hasnt been ported yet.

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Speaking of the camera, it is the same camera from the LG V30, including the exact same sensors. That includes a 16-megapixel main sensor and a 13-megapixel wide-angle sensor. It also is still a bright sensor with the f/1.6 aperture on the main sensor. However, LG has also included Bright Mode. This adds more light in your low-light pictures, but doesnt add a lot of noise to the background. Basically LG took its great low-light camera and made it even better, with the same sensors. Which means, LG improved its software here. As far as specs go, theres still a 6-inch FullView OLED Display here, powered by the Snapdragon 835 chipset, with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage  along with a micro SD card slot. All powered by a 3300mAh battery, and Android 8.0 Oreo.

As is typical with smartphone launches, LG has not mentioned when the V30S ThinQ will be available worldwide. And actually, it wont be available everywhere. Itll be launching in South Korea first, in March. But no announcements have been made for other countries, pricing was not announced either.Nokia is committing most future smartphones to Android One according to the company, which just announced the changes for its smartphone lineups going forward at Mobile World Congress 2018 during its press conference. Worth noting is that it will have some phones that will be part of the Android Go program as well, but save for these devices, such as the Nokia 1, everything else will be Android One-based.

Nokia was already putting forth the effort to keep its devices updated to the newest software that Android had available and its been doing well with the goal so far, but with the commitment to make all its future smartphones either part of the Android One program or the Android Go program, itll be ensuring that all its phones will have updates well ahead of many other devices, as Google pushes the latest updates to phones that are Android One devices almost as quickly as it pushes out the software to its Pixel line, and at this point Android Go phones already come with Oreo. Therein lies the benefit of this change, as Google will be the one pushing out the new updated software now, and not Nokia like it is with its current devices.

While Nokia is committing all its future phones to either Android One or Android Go, these are just the devices that will release this year and onward, so anything released in 2017 will still have to deal with getting the updates that Nokia pushes out on its own. This means users of these Android devices will get a little slower updates than anything Nokia releases from this point forward but as mentioned, Nokia has been quick with updates on the software thus far, and that shouldnt be changing just because its now dedicated to Android One and Android Go. This also means that any owners of current Nokia Android devices should still be able to expect quick updates to their devices in a pretty timely manner, and still quicker than many other brands. This is a good move for Nokia and HMD Global, and itll be a good move from these two companies for consumers.Samsung on Sunday officially announced the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9 Plus following months of anticipation and rumors, having revealed its most capable Android flagships to date. Beyond boasting about their raw processing power, the South Korean phone maker also spent a lot of time talking about various special features of its new series, and while some of them have already been supported by the companys older devices, many of them are brand-new.

AR Emoji is one such functionality, being designed to deliver a comprehensive tool for animating emoji and creating entertaining messages that can be sent or saved for later use. On the surface, the functionality appears to be extremely similar to Apples Animoji which debuted with the iPhone X but in reality, its more akin to Snapchats Bitmoji as it asks you to create a digital avatar of your humble self and comes with some robust social media features to facilitate sharing your wacky creations. Super slow-motion videos are also part of the package and are much more capable than the slow-motion recording capabilities of the Galaxy S8 lineup. While youll still be able to shoot clips at 240 frames per second like you could with Samsungs previous devices, you can now go as high as 960fps if youre willing to compromise on the resolution and opt for 720p recording. Naturally, the Galaxy S9 lineup can still shoot 4K videos and has manual photography controls, whereas one new addition in the multimedia department comes in the form of Dolby Atmos surround-ready dual stereo speakers tuned by AKG, a subsidiary of Samsung-owned Harman.

Bixby remains deeply integrated into Android 8.0 Oreo-based Samsung Experience 9.0, allowing you to perform visual searches of your surroundings, translate text, and manage appointments by simply using your voice, among other things. A physical Bixby key rests below the volume rocker of the device but can be disabled if you arent interested in using it. The virtual home key provides you with haptic feedback, much like the one on Samsungs 2017 flagships did, whereas the fingerprint reader has now been repositioned below the camera setups of the two phones so as to be easier to reach. Biometric authentication has also been improved, with the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9 Plus being capable of simultaneously using facial recognition and iris scanning to verify your identity in a swift and secure manner.

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As the two flagships run Android 8.0 Oreo out of the box, they also feature support for Googles Project Treble and should hence be easier to develop for. In practice, this feature could allow Samsung to push out monthly security updates for its devices in a timelier manner. Other hallmarks of the recent additions to the Galaxy S series such as the curved Edge Display which can be used for quickly accessing shortcuts and the 18.5:9 screen are still part of the package here, as is a microSD card slot with support for up to 2TB of additional storage, though Samsung isnt advertising the latter capability and is presenting the phones as allowing up to 400GB of extra memory, which is the maximum capacity you can currently purchase.Samsung has revealed how its recently announced Galaxy S9 lineup improves upon the Infinity Display that debuted with last years Galaxy S8 series. The South Korean companys latest flagships improve upon their predecessors in a number of areas, with the camera and AI features being the main focus. Nonetheless, Samsung has also put a lot of effort into improving both the display and audio quality of its latest devices.

With the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9 Plus, Samsung aimed to better the ergonomics of the phone itself by slightly reducing the curve on both sides of the display and allowing it to blend into the frame. Furthermore, the color of the display itself has been deepened in order to match the color of the bezels more accurately when the device is off. Also, in the hope of making the viewing experience more seamless, both the top and bottom bezels have been further reduced in size, with the company also pointing hot it manage to do so without resorting to a display notch, thus taking a dig at Apple. Samsung has tweaked the Galaxy S9s bezels in order to conceal sensors that are situated underneath them. In terms of image quality, Samsung has introduced a new Adaptive Contrast Enhancement which should help the display adapt itself to different lighting conditions dynamically. A revamped Landscape Mode is also part of the package, as are Edge Lighting Notifications meant to allow users to manage information on the go.

Not all of the companys focus is on the display and interface of the latest devices. Samsung has also committed significant resources to the audio quality of the new lineup, with the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9 Plus featuring AKG-tuned dual stereo speakers, one of which is placed at the bottom next to the USB Type-C port, whereas the other one is on the top bezel inside the earpiece. In addition, the speakers feature Dolby Atmos support in the hope of recreating 360-degree surround sound. Lastly, on a durability note, the Galaxy S9 lineups display is protected by Cornings Gorilla Glass 5, while the phones themselves also feature a more scratch-resistant aluminum frame.The default Samsung Messages app pre-installed on the newly announced Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9 Plus will feature native support for GIF search engine Tenor, Tenor said Sunday. The same feature will also be distributed to other Samsung-made devices once it debuts on the Galaxy S9 lineup. Once the feature is available around the world, users of eligible Galaxy smartphones and Internet-enabled tablets will be able to access the Tenor search engine with a single tap on the messaging interface of Samsungs app.

Samsung picked Tenor as the preferred GIF search engine for its Messages app, with the South Korean tech giant hoping the move will provide its customers with more visual means of communicating via messages, especially in conjunction with the RCS support its app already boasts. Tenor itself is powered by machine learning technologies drawing data from what the company refers to as the Tenor Emotional Graph, a chart of common GIF-related search terms which its artificial intelligence then associates with certain emotions. When trying to respond to a GIF with another GIF, the AI will also take the first message into account as its graph also takes relationships between different emotions into the equation when delivering results. The current version of the service recognizes over five billion feelings and reactions and evolves alongside memes and the general Internet culture. As such, Tenor claims its solutions is the most technologically advanced GIF search engine in the world.

Samsung is yet another major partner Tenor managed to score in recent years, with the companys service already being integrated into Facebook, WhatsApp, Googles Gboard, Apples iMessage, Twitter, TouchPal, Kik, LinkedIn, and multiple other platforms. The GIF search engine says its now not just the largest but also the fastest-growing service of its kind, having already hinted that more similar collaborations will follow in the future. The company presently processes approximately 12 billion GIF searches from 300 million users on a monthly basis, according to its own estimates.The unlocked variant of the Galaxy S9 will start at $960 CAD in Canada, whereas the Galaxy S9 Plus will be priced at $1,100 CAD. Consumers looking to acquire the new devices on a contract will be met with an upfront fee of $249 CAD for the Galaxy S9 and $379 CAD for the Galaxy S9 Plus. Bell, Bell MTS, Telus, Rogers, Virgin, Eastlink, Fido, Koodo, Videotron, Tbaytel, SaskTel, and Freedom Mobile have all already confirmed theyll be carrying Samsungs latest Android flagships and are expecting to have them in stock by mid-March. The Titanium Gray and Lilac Purple color options are the only two models that have been announced as coming to the country so far.

Wireless carriers in Canada are all expected to offer various promotions to incentivize consumers to order the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9 Plus in advance. In case of Rogers, its subscribers who place a pre-order on either device will receive a free Samsung Fast Wireless Charging Stand usually priced at $90 CAD. Samsung Canada will be retailing the unlocked variants of the two handsets directly and offering trade-in deals for the phones, slashing no less than $100 CAD in exchange for your old device if you order it online, though the company has yet to reveal the maximum trade-in value achievable through the promotion. Those who prefer in-store purchases will be able to take advantage of the same deal, with the minimum guaranteed trade-in amount being $150 CAD in that case. Both promotions will be available until April 9, Samsung Canada said. Fido is offering a fixed $150 trade-in deal on either device.

As was the case with all recent generations of Samsungs Android flagships, the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9 Plus sold in Canada are powered by Qualcomms latest high-end chip. This year, thats the Snapdragon 845 which the tech giant announced several months back. The SoC promises an unprecedented level of energy efficiency and is touted as being capable of delivering on-device AI processing. The Galaxy S9 lineup is visually similar to the Galaxy S8 series but improves on the camera performance of the previous devices, largely thanks to the addition of a variable-aperture lens, with the Galaxy S9 Plus boasting a dual-camera setup with a secondary 12-megapixel sensor. The handsets are set to be released globally on March 16, though customers who pre-order them may receive their new pocket companions even before that date.HMD Global is coming to this years Mobile World Congress to announce a number of new Nokia-branded Android smartphones, with the company being scheduled to hold its pre-event conference less than an hour from now. The next Nokia Mobile live event is scheduled to start at 4 PM CET, i.e. 7 AM PT or 10 AM ET. The Finnish firm already promised an awesome conference, heavily implying it will unveil a number of new models meant to be sold in the West starting this spring. The companys product launch event will be broadcasted on YouTube and anyone interested in watching the live stream can do so by referring to the video below.

The new version of the Nokia 6 that HMD launched in China earlier this year is the likeliest candidate for making an appearance at the companys next MWC conference, with numerous previous reports suggesting the Nokia 6 (2018) is set to launch in Europe in the near future. The revised version of the handset is still meant to compete in the mid-range segment of the market but ships with the Snapdragon 630 instead of a Snapdragon 400-series chip, hence looking to take on more expensive rivals than its predecessor did. A new variant of the Nokia 8 may also make an appearance at the event, with the Nokia 9 flagship being another candidate for doing the same, according to previous reports. While the Nokia 7 mid-ranger never made its way out of China where it launched late last year, its larger revision may be coming to the West in the form of the Nokia 7 Plus, as suggested by recent rumors.

Following an unsuccessful stint with Microsoft, the Nokia mobile brand returned to Finland in late 2016 and is now being managed by HMD, a company consisting of many former Nokia employees. The new Android-powered smartphones are manufactured by FIH Mobile, a subsidiary of Taipei, Taiwan-based tech giant Foxconn. The real Nokia is also attending the latest iteration of MWC, having opted to attend the mobile industrys largest annual trade show in order to showcase its latest advancements in the wireless segment which are specifically focused on the fifth generation of mobile networks and its upcoming commercialization.ZTE arrived at the latest iteration of Mobile World Congress to announce a plethora of new products and showcase multiple hi-tech solutions, including its prototype of a 5G-ready smartphone. While the company already managed to break the gigabit mark last year, its latest invention supports download speeds of up to 1.2Gbps, with ZTE describing it as the first glimpse at the mobile 5G future. The company hasnt shared many specifics about the handset itself but was more interested in talking about its general vision for the next generation of mobile networks, claiming mobile devices of the future wont just offer high-speed download rates but will also be able to leverage 5G networks in order to see, hear, think, and understand what their users want. The 5G phone prototype thats being showcased at MWC 2018 is the latest result of ZTEs efforts to commercialize such an offering by early 2019.

In the grander scheme of things, the Chinese tech giant is presently exploring half a dozen fields in the artificial intelligence segment: machine learning, image recognition, speech recognition, mobile computing, content generation, and data security. Its activities in all six of those areas should help it bring next-generation smartphones to the market, with the majority of their new capabilities being enabled by 5G. The companys MWC 2018 demo area will also feature a 5G-enabled car meant to provide attendees with a brief look at the future of connected driving, seamlessly transitioning between various networks and using data to optimize its performance and the traveling experience of its driver and passengers.

The Shenzhen-based consumer electronics manufacturer also came to Barcelona to showcase its first foldable smartphone in the form of the two-screen Axon M thats set to be released in select European markets this spring after already debuting in the United States in late 2017 and making its way to ZTEs home country earlier this year. The newly announced ZTE Blade V9 is still expected to be the star of the show, boasting a relatively bezel-free design with an 83.6-percent screen-to-body ratio and Android 8.1 Oreo. The 5.7-inch mid-ranger will be accompanied by the ZTE Blade V9 VITA, a slightly smaller Android handset with a 5.45-inch FHD+ display which is also set to be released this spring.ARA's Editor-in-chiefIn a recent book, John Mauceri a disciple of Leonard Bernsteins defines orchestra conducting as a lawless, odd world that is passed on as an invisible subject from master to apprentice, in a medieval fashion. Conducting an orchestra must be really odd: a leadership exercise, an act that seems more physical than glamorous or led by a spiritual rapture that is hard to define.

A good portion of Catalonias society feels bewildered and demands a conductor and new sheet music. The last few months have been filled with noise from political rifts, reproaches, indignation over the crackdown, rage following the arrests of political and grassroots leaders, and frustration caused by the violations of freedom of expression. Bewilderment and indignation can be felt in the streets and at work. They are also showing in opinion polls, which indicate that support for independence has dropped after the events of October.

Following years of activism and emotional turmoil, the effervescence has solidified into a majority of 47.5 per cent, as we saw in the December elections. However, what once was a happy, exemplary, civic, democratic movement is now experiencing the wear and tear brought by the shocking arrests of some of its leaders (and the exile of others), as well as their failure to deliver their quasi-magical promise of an instant republic. The wall of silence that went up after the independence declaration of October 27 still requires a lengthy explanation. One day we will complete the jigsaw puzzle of what happened between that Friday and Puigdemonts arrival in Brussels to pursue an international strategy for the conflict.

The gravity of the situation, with political prisoners, an exiled president and Madrids direct rule compounded by strained relations between the pro-independence parties meant that weeks were needed before a reaction was possible, and the drawn-out talks between Junts per Catalunya and ERC might eventually lead to a government coalition in Barcelona. The strategic shift by ERCs leadership, which has been embraced by the disciplined rank-and-file in order to regain control of the Catalan institutions and avoid further judicial damage, is at odds with JxCats fair determination to form a government that will not renounce the legitimacy of president Puigdemont, who was outrageously sacked by Madrid when direct rule was imposed.

Both positions have progressively shifted, with meandering ups and downs, until today, when an agreement for a coalition government is within reach. JxCat are willing to accept an honorary role for president Puigdemont, who would be at the helm of a so-called Republican Council, a private body that would lead the governments foreign action. By proposing Jordi Sanchez as their candidate for president, JxCat would keep up the necessary demand for the release of the political prisoners. However, Sanchez himself is in jail and this will complicate the presidents executive action and, therefore, powers will need to be ceded. Junts per Catalunya will not miss any opportunity to put to the test the guarantees of Spains criminal justice system, which is becoming increasingly weaker with every political decision that is taken under a seemingly lawful guise.

The latest example of how Spains PP government, backed by the deep state and the judiciary, is erasing the boundaries of the rule of law is the outrage displayed by the president of Catalonias High Court, who could not bear to hear the phrase political prisoners when uttered by the Speaker of the House at a formal event hosted by the Bar Association. Equally noxious for the quality of Spains democracy are the decisions that seek to curb free speech and the freedom of expression, which we have recently witnessed as a silent regression. Spains democracy is looking increasingly frayed while, visibly bored, the official intelligentsia looks on.

Rebuilding Catalonias institutions and forming a government do not guarantee a placid term and do not offer any insight into the governments plans.

The bewilderment following the events of the last quarter of 2017 is reflected in opinion polls. Catalonias government pollster (CEO) suggests that a hypothetical referendum on independence would see a No win (53.9 per cent), with Yes dropping to 40.8 per cent of the vote. If the goal is to broaden popular support for independence, these figures highlight the need to find a conductor for the orchestra and new sheet music that suits the current state of affairs.

The other important detail from the CEO survey is the enduring pro-independence majority in Parliament, which might even grow beyond the 70 seats they obtained on December 21.

Forming a government is the priority for the Catalan electorate. This is the new ground where the actors of the independence process must tread: realism to form a government and a project that can renew and keep the publics rallying trust through good governance, transparency and the permanent expression of the institutions dignity.10 Most Beautiful Small Towns in North Dakota

Best Small Towns in North Dakota

Though North Dakota is the least visited state in the USA, it is not without locations of pure magic and beauty. North Dakota is home to more than just wild buffalo and lakes. You can visit some stunning small towns with remarkable culture and historical value. Here are the 10 most beautiful small towns in North Dakota to add to your travel bucket list.

Affiliate links may be used in this post. I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you if you use my affiliate link.The F80 M3 is going the way of the dodo, the G30 M550i xDrive is getting a gasoline particulate filter in Europe, and more recently, it appears that the 6.6-liter twin-turbo V12 in the M760Li xDrive could be discontinued sometime next year.Citing one of our trusted sources in Munich, BMWBlog says that the N74B66TU could be discontinued once the Life Cycle Impulse for the 7 Series (G11/G12) goes official. Truth be told, the B66TU can trace its roots back to the initial design of the N74, which bears the codename B60 and went into production towards the end of the previous decade with the fifth-generation 760i and 760Li.If the inevitable does happen, then the G11/G12 will be limited to four-, six-, and eight-cylinder engines. Another problem that must be addressed is the N74B68 in the Rolls-Royce Phantom and Cullinan. Unless BMW can upgrade the 6.75-liter V12 to the tightening environmental legislation, Rolls-Royce could go V8. On the other hand, BMW could get around this problem with an all-new V12 engine.Another question thats still unanswered is one regarding awareness. Being one of the worlds best-known automakers, BMW knew for a long time now that EU legislation is getting hardcore. To this effect, why didnt the Bavarians prepare for this change in a more timely fashion? As it stands, BMW appears to be surprised by Euro 6c regulations . The answer to this question could be simpler than you think, though.At a media event last year, BMW pledged to cement its position as global leader in electric mobility even further. The electric MINI, iX3, and iNext are just the tip of the iceberg. By 2025, BMW will offer 25 electrified models to our customers. And the secret to this electrification is, as some of you might already know, the fifth-generation electric powertrain thats scheduled to arrive in 2021.Once, it was simple. When you bought a car, you knew what it was. As the word should go, if it looks like a BMW, if it acts like a BMW, then it must be a BMW. Or whatever other nameplate.These days, not even auto companies, be it cars or parts manufacturers, dont seem to know exactly whats what. Take Takata for example, the company that prompted the biggest recall in automotive history (ongoing): they still dont have any idea what cars or brands use their defective products.Shared platforms-shared parts rhetoric aside, there is the problem of who is number one on the world scene, sales wise. Take the conflicting, bombastic statements made by several automaker at the beginning of the year.Two of Germanys finest, BMW and Mercedes-Benz , took to the media and stated they were both, in 2017, the worlds number one premium brand. Not together, but separately.This happens because BMW is no longer just BMW. It has several other brands under its wings, Mottorad and BMW i, which it also included in the sales report. Compared brand-by-brand, only BMW agains only Mercedes-Benz cars, the three pointed star won by a landslide.But the German quarrel is nothing compared to the one Volkswagen tries to pick with arch-rival Toyota. For years the peoples car brand has stated that it would overthrow the Japanese as the world leading auto maker, and for that to happen has engaged in a buying campaign like no other, targeted at numerous European brands.Today, the Volkswagen Group is probably the biggest automotive company, in terms of size. It sells cars under the logos of twelve individual brands: Volkswagen, Audi , Bentley, Bugatti, Ducati, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, Seat Skoda , Lamborghini, Porsche , Scania and Man.At the opposite end, Toyota is quite smaller by comparison. It owns Daihatsu, Lexus and Toyota and has some minor stakes in Subaru or Isuzu.Excluding the Scania, Man and Ducati brands from the VW group, that would still mean the Germans beat the Japanese 9 to 3.At one point, feeling the new target to beat is Volkswagen, Nissan also jumped in, saying it is number one when it comes to sales. Owning Nissan, Infiniti and Datsun, these other Japanese said they sold, together with partner in crime Renault, some 10.6 million cars last year. A bit over Volkswagens 10.53 million and well above Toyotas 10.2 million.Luckily, last week JATO Dynamics put things into perspective for us, as the data analysis company cares little about auto groups, and more about auto brands. And in the numbers they made public lies the truth.The organization says in 2017 people all over the planet have bought 86.05 million cars. Thats a 2.4 percent increase over 2016. By cars, JATO means passenger and light commercial vehicles, not all that truck or overpriced supercar stuff Volkswagen has aplenty of.Drawing data from auto sales in 52 world markets, the JATO analysis shows that, brand-over-brand, Toyota still rules the world. More precisely, there have been 7,843,423 new cars wearing the Toyota logo hitting the streets last year.By comparison, Volkswagen is way-way back. It sold some 1.2 million cars less than Toyota, or 6,639,250. Nissan, the other automaker bragging to have overthrown Toyota, ranks fourth in the world, with 4,834,694 vehicles.So, by all intents and purposes, thats the way it is. Were pretty sure that, as a group, Volkswagen has more money, more facilities, more employees, more plans for the future than Toyota. But, as a brand, is still behind the Japanese.President Donald Trump has again intervened in the negotiations with Boeing to modify two new 747-8i airliners to serve as the primary Air Force One aircraft and backup but it remains to be seen if the presidents promise of $1 billion in savings will be realized. Defense One reported Trump met with Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg at the White House last Tuesday to try to break an impasse between the Air Force, which normally buys its own airplanes, and Boeing. The Air Force wants a fixed-price deal, meaning Boeing would eat any overruns, but Boeing is less keen on the idea. The Air Force already has the aircraft. It bought two 747-8is that were supposed to go to a Russian airline that went bankrupt, so the negotiations are about the many modifications required.

Defense Ones sources said the logjam was broken in the White House meeting and details are expected in the next few weeks. Shortly after his election, Trump tweeted that the agreed-to $4 billion deal for the new jets should be canceled because of the cost. Trump later said hed managed to shave $1 billion off the cost. One of the casualties of the cost-cutting was reported to be air-to-air refueling capability. The rationale for the move was that new 747s can reach just about anywhere on the planet from Washington without a fill-up but refueling is also considered a strategic necessity in case the aircraft needs to stay airborne in a prolonged crisis. It seems like that need is still a factor since the Air Force recently spent $24 million to replace the refrigerators on the current aircraft so they can store the 3,000 meals that are normally loaded to sustain occupants for a long flight.U.K.-based ejection seat manufacturer Martin-Baker has been fined $1.4 million by a British court after admitting its role in the death of a Royal Air Force Red Arrow Demonstration Team member who accidentally ejected from a team aircraft on the ground. Flight Lieutenant Sean Cunningham died in a local hospital near RAF Scampton, Lincolnshire, on Nov. 8, 2011, when the parachute on his Model 10b seat failed to deploy after he was shot 200 feet in the air from the stationary aircraft. The chute was mis-rigged and the company admitted it failed to warn the Air Force of the possible failure. This tragic accident was the result of an inadvertent ejection and main parachute deployment failure due to the over-tightening of the drogue shackle bolt, the company said in a statement last November. It conceded it failed to provide a written warning to the RAF not to over-tighten the drogue shackle bolt. It was charged under the U.K.s health and safety laws.

Cunningham was doing preflight checks when the ejection seat was inadvertentlytriggered. The accidental ejection was not the fault of the seat. The seats are designed to work from the ground but the overtightened shackle prevented the parachute deployment. It was apparently an issue with that seat in other aircraft. A significant number of pilots, and also potential passengers, were exposed to the risk of harm over a lengthy period, Mrs. Justice Carr said in her judgment. This was, in the words of his father, an entirely preventable tragedy. Martin-Baker also agreed to pay court costs of about $700,000. The company accepts its responsibility for the significant contribution it has made in the death of LieutenantCunningham, company lawyer Richard Matthews said. Martin-Baker tracks ejections in its seats and counts a total of 7,560 lives saved, including 1,050 in the RAF.For more than 20 years, administrations on both sides of the aisle have proposed some form of ATC privatization for reasons ranging from ideological purity to hoped-for cost savings and increased efficiency. There was never hard evidence to support the savings and efficiency argument, despite the FAAs historic snail-like speed in accomplishing major revisions to the ATC system. The Obama Administration made a half-hearted attempt for privatization early on, but the vehemence of the opposition caused it to back down and we who make regular use of what is the best air traffic control system in the worldand fly in the ones in other countries that are not nearly as goodthought the privatization snake was finally dead. We sure hoped it was because our ATC system has been doing wellin 2016 the GAO rated it as the busiest, most complex and safest ATC system in the world. No other system comes even close to handling the volume of traffic as is managed by the FAA every day.

With the new administration, the push for privatization has come roaring back in a form that is designed to turn some of the biggest companies in the country into direct beneficiaries so that their clout can be relied on to shove the legislation through a Congress that has demonstrated repeatedly that it puts wheres mine? well ahead of the national interest. The idea is simple and follows distressingly close to the techniques used by one Vladimir Putin in consolidating his power in Russia: give away major national assets to your friends under the guise of encouraging capitalism while making sure that there is minimal government oversight of the new bosses because theyre businessmen. Businessmen cant possibly be crooks; theyre sure to run things in a fair and even-handed fashion.

Freedom?

The argument for ATC privatization is that it would free ATC from the bureaucracy and petty budgetary pressures of the FAA (just like big companies such as GM, Ford, Google, et. al.; everyone knows that they are free from bureaucracy and petty budgetary pressures). It would also result in a more rapid modernization of the air traffic control system.

Lets think about that one a bit. The first question is for whom? The proposed privatization would set up an entity run bydrumrollthe airlines. A board would run the private entity and other than a token general aviation representative or two, it would be controlled by the airlines.

Yet, for all the problems with weather and traffic delays, ATC isnt the culpritits being blamed for a systemic problem it doesnt cause. The big problem is the sheer lack of runways. Railroads run trains on a few tracks between destinations at which there are numerous tracks that can hold virtually all of the trains on the route for as long as needed to load and unload. ATC is stuck with a system that brings airplanes over a myriad number of routes and then has to funnel them into one or two runways. Privatizing ATC isnt going to solve that problemyou cant fix an infrastructure problem by some magic juggling of arriving airplanes. What privatization can and is expected to do is give airlines absolute priority into the systemand if theres a few seconds of free runway space, allow a general aviation airplane or two in.

Also, since flights between larger cities carry more people and are more profitable, the new system will give them priority, meaning smaller cities such as Wichita, Des Moines, Fresno and Grand Rapids will lose service  unless those passengers are willing to pay higher fees so that flight makes as much for the airline as one coming out of Chicago.

Butthe airlines controlling ATCwhats so wrong with that? They are in the system and want it to be successful, so theyll certainly work to make it more efficient and run more smoothly.

If youre one of those who claps for Tinkerbelle, you might believe the previous paragraph. The problem is that the airlines have an interesting history when it comes to aviation safety and customer service. And while past behavior is not a guarantee of the way the airlines will act in the future, we think that an examination of how they have acted with respect to safety, dealings with other airlines and their customers when given the freedom to do so is instructive. We think that the airlines have shown us enough over the last 60 years to know that they are telegraphing the punches theyll throw right away if privatization comes into play.

Safety Improvements

Going back to the Curtiss Condor and Ford Trimotor days, a number of people looked at the aviation safety devices and practices that have been implemented and tried to find ones that were pioneered by the airlines. We couldnt find any; although we looked hard and we may have missed one. From seatbelts through blinking navigation lights/rotating beacons, recurrent pilot training, transponders and instrument approaches, we could find none that were initiated by the airlines. In fact, the airlines fought most every single onecrew duty times, rotating beacons, you name ittooth and nail on the basis of cost. It took pressure from the unions and the regulating agency (initially the Department of Commerce, then the CAA and now the FAA) before airlines would do anything related to safety. Cynically, most of the time they then took out advertisements to crow about how safe they were with the new device aboard.

Following deregulation in 1978 passengers hung on for a wild ride as ticket prices dropped and the airlines fought frantically to get the upper hand in the new economic world. As expected, the number of airlines dropped through bankruptcies and mergers following fare wars and some nasty infighting. The battle for survival between Dallas-based American and Braniff got particularly ugly. There were numerous, unconfirmed, reports of American personnel calling in and making reservations for all of the seats on Braniff planes flying the same routes as American. Back then, passengers didnt have to pay for the reservation right away. Mysteriously, Braniff would have numerous flights with virtually no passengersthe reservations no-showed. The American flight on the route was full. As Braniff weaved toward bankruptcy the war worsened. Anecdotes were rife of American flights being followed down final by a Braniff flight somehow, and frequently, missing their taxiway turnoff, forcing the Braniff flight into a go-around. American has denied all such reports.

While it was the Part 135 charter world rather than 121 airline operations, I was flying freight at Willow Run Airport in the late 1970s when the FAA stopped enforcing the regulations. Willowtucky, as we called it, was one of the busiest auto freight-hauling airports in the country. Once the FAA looked away, it became pure capitalism in action on the airport. Operators cut prices, quit maintaining their airplanes, ignored crew duty time rules and fired pilots who canceled a trip for weather or wrote up a maintenance squawk. Go-fast switches were installed on Learjetsswitches under the panel that disabled the overspeed warning and stick puller. More than one Lear broke up in flight while cruising above Mmo and getting into Mach tuck. Pilots crashed on instrument approaches because they fell asleep. When I got a job as a Learjet copilot I was never given any formal training at all, not to mention the FAA-mandated three takeoffs and landings. My captain was flying single-pilot on those first legs on which I sat in the right seatI certainly didnt know what I was doing.

When the FAA cleaned house and brought in inspectors who actually inspected, one operator had to junk six Learjets because the cost of the maintenance required to make them legal exceeded the value of the airplanes. Operators and pilots faced certificate actions and big fines. It was a time of human beings doing what they will do when they know that the police are looking the other way.

Regulations to be Repealed

In the last few months the airlines have, via filings with the Department of Transportation, given us strong hints about how they will run a privatized ATC system when they have no one looking over their shoulders: it will be by the airlines, of the airlines and for the airlines.

Last October, the Department of Transportation published a Regulatory Review in which it invited the public to provide input on existing rules and other agency actions that are good candidates for repeal, replacement, suspension, or modification.

The airlines jumped on the offer like a long, lean dog. Showing how they will be expected to treat their customersthe flying publiconce they take over ATC, hes a partial list of the regulations the airlines have petitioned to have eliminated and have arranged for their surrogates to write thousands of letters to the DOT in support:

Currently, if a customer makes an error when booking a ticket online, she or he has 24 hours to discover it and call the airline to correct the error at no cost (if the correct ticket had cost more, the customer will have to pay the differenceif the correct ticket had cost less, the difference is refunded to the customer). The airlines want there to be no grace periodno forgiveness. If the customer errs, the customer has to pay the change fee (currently about $250) to rectify it. (Remember, the airlines made billions in fees last year.)

When a customer makes a mistake, the airline thinks the customer should eat the cost. Currently, when an airline makes a mistake and advertises a fare at the wrong price (almost invariably too low), it has to sell tickets at that price. While airlines dont feel its customers should be forgiven for making mistakes, the airlines feel that they should be.

Right now, if an airline strands passengers in an airliner sitting on the ramp or taxiway for more than a set period of time, the airline has to get the passengers off of the airplane or face a fine. The memories of the 10-hour delays in getting people off airplanes in a snowstorm in Detroit in the 1990s that brought on the Tarmac (sic) (Tarmac is a British slang term for asphalttarmacadamairplanes park on a ramp or apron) rule are fading and the airlines want to end the rule completely. They apparently care so much about their customers that they want to be able to strand them on airliners without food and working toilets as long as they think is necessary.

After a long fight, the airlines were required to show the full cost of its ticketsincluding all airport fees and taxesso that when a customer clicks buy thats the price charged. The airlines have petitioned to drop the requirement so that all fees and taxes on top of the ticket price only show up after the customer clicks buy.

Now airline booking systems are required to disclose to customers if they either do not show competitors flights or are biased in some fashion against them. The airlines want that requirement to disappear.

Airlines are presently required to show the frequency of delays and cancelations of given flightsthey dont want customers to know that any more.

When a flight is full, airlines can bump the passengers who paid the least for their ticketsthey want more authority to do so, with less compensation for the bumped passenger.

While users of ATC services, pilots are also regular airline passengers. Theyve put up with decreasing levels of service, increasingly tight seat pitches and fees tacked on for everything from bringing any baggage to selecting a seat. Theyve seen and lived with the attitude of U.S. airlines toward their customersand they can make a pretty good estimate as to how the airlines will treat the users of the ATC system once they take over: From years of experience, they have good reason to believe that it wont be pretty, or efficient or cost-effective or willing to embrace advances in aviation safety.

Rick Durden is an aviation attorney who holds an ATP with Douglas DC-3 and Cessna Citation Type Ratings, is a CFII and is the author of The Thinking Pilots Flight Manual or, How to Survive Flying Little Airplanes and Have a Ball Doing It, Vols. 1 & 2.Sen. Dianne Feinstein didn't receive the California Democratic Party's endorsement last night. It takes 60% of the vote to be endorsed, and she only got 37%.

Why it matters: Feinstein has represented California in Congress since 1992. And though her lack of an endorsement doesn't mean she can't win the election, it's a clear sign that many voters, at least in California, want a fresh face and a more progressive senator.

The backdrop: Music ushered Feinstein off the stage last night at the California Democratic Party convention after she ran out of time, forcing her to cut her speech short. Some in the crowd (supporters of her challenger, Kevin de Leon) started chanting "Time's up!" as she ended with: "I ask for your endorsement, I hope I will have it. I look forward to serving you."

The other side: State Senate leader Kevin de Leon spoke before Feinstein, starting his speech with: "Im the president of the most progressive legislative House in America."

Earlier that day, Democratic activist Tom Steyer told Axios he would be "shocked" if the California Democratic Party endorsed Feinstein. "Delegates are more progressive than the average Democrat citizen," he said, calling a failure to endorse Feinstein "a more progressive statement of how a Democratic primary would work."North Korea has said it is "willing to have talks" with the United States, the Washington Post reports, citing the office of the South Korean president. The news followed an hour-long meeting between President Moon and North Korea's Olympic representative, Kim Yong Chol. North Korea also agreed that inter-Korean relations should improve together with North Korea-U.S. relations.

Why it matters: This suggests the possibility of a meeting between Pyongyang and Washington on the sidelines of the Olympic closing ceremonies, and comes after the North Koreans agreed to, and then canceled, a meeting with Vice President Mike Pence around the time of the opening ceremonies.

Press Secretary Sarah Sanders issued a statement in response, revealing that the White House plans to stand by its condition that "denuclearization must be the result of any dialogue with North Korea."

"We will see if Pyongyangs message today, that it is willing to hold talks, represents the first steps along the path to denuclearization. In the meantime, the United States and the world must continue to make clear that North Koreas nuclear and missile programs are a dead end."

 White House statementBy Trend

The Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD) is discussing the possibility of financing projects in Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan on construction of big logistics centers, a source in the Azerbaijani government told Trend .

The source noted that the feasibility studies for projects are being developed.

It is not yet known how these projects will be brought to life - as a single project or separately, according to the source.

In recent years, the ICD has started to work more actively in Azerbaijan, helping the country diversify the economy, the source said. The ICD now focuses on logistics and transport spheres. Support for the construction of logistics centers is continuation of this work.

The biggest logistics project, in which the ICD participates, involves creation of a free trade zone, which will operate on the territory of the Baku International Sea Trade Port in Azerbaijans Alat settlement.

The ICD was created in 1999 and has been operating in Azerbaijan since 2003.By Rashid Shirinov

Today is the day of sorrow for all Azerbaijanis  the anniversary of the genocide committed by the Armenian armed groups in Khojaly, town in Azerbaijans Nagorno-Karabakh region.

This terrible crime was another stage of Armenias aggressive policy against Azerbaijan and its population. The aggressors primary goal was to separate the Nagorno-Karabakh region from Azerbaijan and to annex it to Armenia. Contrary to the well-known laws of war, the Armenian military committed villainy and attacked the peaceful population of the Azerbaijani town.

The horror in Khojaly began on the night of February 25-26, 1992. Russian 366th egiment and Armenian fighters surrounded the town from four directions, opening heavy and ceaseless fire from artillery and other heavy weapons. As a result, Khojaly became shrouded in fire and the defending army and population had to leave their town.

Meanwhile, Azerbaijanis who remained to protect their homeland and those who were unable to leave the town were subjected to terrible torture and killed by the attackers. On this dreadful night, the Armenian soldiers killed 613 civilians, most of whom were women, children and elders, severely maimed 1,000 and took captive 1,275 people. The fate of 150 captured remains unknown to this day. Moreover, eight families were exterminated, while 25 children lost both parents and 130 lost one.

Armenians committed the genocide in Khojaly in the most terrible way: some civilians were shot at close range, while others were scalped, beheaded, burned alive, had their eyes gouged out and were subject to other kinds of painful death. The attackers had no mercy even on the Azerbaijani women  they were raped and the babies of the pregnant ones were inhumanly taken out of the abdomen and nailed to the walls.

Witness speaks of this terrible night

Turkan Turan was one of the residents of Khojaly. She was only 12 years old on that sinister night in 1992. Violent laughter, sounds of bombs, streets sinking in the blood, endless cries... she still remembers it all. The little girl, who lost her happy childhood just in one night, was raped by an Armenian monster.

"I cannot escape the nightmare of Khojaly and the smell of blood. My memories bother me whenever I stand in front of the mirror. I experienced the most brutal ever winter in my life in Khojaly in 1992, she says today.

The woman notes that the Armenian soldiers invaded the house of her family. They forced the family to go out and took them to a place where the deafening cries of tens of women and children were heard.

The soldiers were raping the women and girls, beating brutally all men. About 20 men were killed just in few minutes, Turkan recalls.

The current Armenian leadership cannot even deny the fact that the atrocities committed by Armenian military in Khojaly was carefully planned in advance. In his interview with British journalist Thomas de Waal in 2000, Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan, who was the commander of breakaway Nagorno Karabakhs military forces, confessed his involvement in the Khojaly genocide.

Before Khojaly events, the Azerbaijanis thought that the Armenians were people who could not raise their hand against the civilian population. We were able to break that [stereotype], Sargsyan said.

Khojaly needs wider recognition

The parliaments of a number of states, including Pakistan, Turkey, Mexico, Colombia, Guatemala, Romania, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Czech Republic, Israel, Peru, Honduras, Jordan, Sudan, Djibouti, the legislative bodies of 20 states of the U. S., including New-Mexico, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Western Virginia, New-Jersey, Tennessee, Arizona and Hawaii, as well as the Organization of Islamic Cooperation recognized the Khojaly massacre as a genocide.

The Azerbaijani people will never forget the genocide in Khojaly, which was one of the most terrible massacres against civilians in the history of mankind. Every year, the Azerbaijani government and society hold events dedicated to commemorating this crime against humanity. Azerbaijanis living abroad are also highly involved in the informing of the international community about the atrocities Armenian soldiers inflicted on Azerbaijani innocent people on that day.

"Unfortunately, one of the most heinous war crimes in the history of mankind that Armenia committed against the Azerbaijani people has not been properly condemned by the greater part of the world community," says Natig Mammadzada, head of the History of the Genocide of Azerbaijani People department of the Institute of History of Azerbaijan's National Academy of Sciences.

He added that Azerbaijan's efforts aimed at the international recognition of the Khojaly genocide cause great concern to Armenia.

"Sooner or later the Armenian invaders will have to answer for all the suffering they caused to Azerbaijanis, including the innocent inhabitants of the town of Khojaly killed by inhumans in human guise," Mammadzada noted.

---

Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAzBy Trend

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has sent a congratulatory letter to Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Emir of the State of Kuwait.

"On my own behalf and on behalf of the people of Azerbaijan, I am pleased to convey my congratulations to you and through you to all the people of your country on the occasion of the public holiday of the State of Kuwait," President Aliyev said in his congratulatory letter.

"I am confident that the development and expansion of the friendly relations and cooperation between Azerbaijan and Kuwait will further serve our peoples` interests," the president said.

"On this remarkable day, I wish you robust health and happiness, and the friendly people of Kuwait lasting peace and prosperity," added President Aliyev.By Trend

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has sent a congratulatory letter to Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah, Prime Minister of the State of Kuwait.

"I extend my heartfelt congratulations to you and your people on the occasion of the public holiday of your country," President Aliyev said in his congratulatory letter.

"I hope that Azerbaijan-Kuwait relations will continue developing in an atmosphere of friendship and cooperation," the president said.

"On this remarkable day, I extend my best regards to you, and wish the friendly people of Kuwait lasting peace and prosperity," added President Aliyev.By Trend

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries will not extend its agreement again, Tom Pugh, the economist at British economic research and consulting company Capital Economics, told Trend.

"The stocks to consumption ratio will be very close to its five-year average by the end of 2018. As such, we expect there to be some sort of managed increase in OPECs output," he said, adding that the cartel may announce about it in June or closer to the end of the year.

In late 2017, OPEC and non-OPEC producers led by Russia agreed to extend oil output cuts until the end of 2018 in a bid to finish clearing a global glut of crude while signaling a possible early exit from the deal if the market overheats.

The producers previous deal, under which they are cutting supply by about 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd) in an effort to boost oil prices, expires in March 2018.

OPEC is expected to examine progress at its next regular meeting in June.

Pugh further added that OPECs refusal to extend the deal will be one of the reasons why oil prices will decrease in 2019.

"This is one reason, along with a sharp slowdown in the US output, why we expect prices to fall further next year," he said.

He noted that overall oil prices will fall back for three key reasons.

"First, supply will increase sharply. We have already seen dramatic increases in the US. Second, demand growth will slow as the global economy slows, led by China. Third, a stronger dollar will put some downward pressure on prices," he said.

He stressed that the end-2018 forecast of Capital Economics for Brent is $60 and end-2019 forecast is $55.By Trend

Iran Civil Aviation Organization has temporarily banned Aseman airlines form flying ATR planes after a plane produced by the Franco-Italian manufacturer ploughed into a mountain top in the Middle Eastern Country on Feb. 18.

Iran Civil Aviation Organization says ATR 200 and ATR 500 planes will resume flying after the investigations on the safety are completed.

Aseman Airlines' flight EP3704 with 66 people on board went missing on February 18 in Iran's Central Province. The rescue team located the wreckage from the ATR on Feb. 21 after three days of searching in a vast mountainous area in central Iran.

According to Civil Aviation Organization of Iran, seven French experts have already arrived in Tehran to participate in the investigation into the plane crash.

ATR earlier on Feb. 21 told Trend that the circumstances of the accident are unknown, so far.Anita Sillick, one of Jefferson County Sheriff Zena Stephens' biggest supporters, lives in Dartford, a city 18 miles outside London and 4,795 miles from Beaumont.

Sillick first learned about Zena Stephens from Miriam Margoyles' BBC series, "Miriam's Big American Adventure," in which Margoyles, an English-Australian actress known in the U.S. for her role as Professor Sprout in the "Harry Potter" series, travels from Chicago to New Orleans "to meet the people whose voices and votes are reshaping the nation."

"My first impression of Zena was 'Wow, what a woman.' She was voted in by the people, the people wanted change and she is the one to give it to them," Sillick said.

Elected in November 2016, Stephens is the first black female sheriff in Texas.

"With the election of President Trump, it is a very peculiar time in the States, and I thought it would be interesting to see what it, and the people, were like now - and to find out why President Trump was elected," Margoyles said in a letter to the British-based Daily Mail.

Margoyles' three-episode series ended with a trip to Arkansas and Texas. Margoyles said her experience in Arkansas was tainted by a local alt-right group leader who refused to meet with her because she is Jewish.

She eventually walked away, refusing to listen to some of his "stomach-churning" comments, according to the Daily Mirror newspaper. Margoyles was "upset and shaken" by the encounter but felt hopeful when she met "the inspirational Zena Stephens" in Beaumont.

According to Margoyles, the Stephens meeting was one of the highlights of her trip.

"She was an electrifying personality," Margoyles said. "I really hope she will stand for president one day. She was extraordinary."

Some of Stephens' U.K.-based fans even tweeted about their support for Stephens, using the hashtag #ZenaforPresident or #MiriamsBigAmericanAdventure.

One Twitter user said she was "totally depressed" while watching the final episode until she saw "Sheriff Zena Stephens in Texas trying to unite people and giving hope for the future."

Sillick said she admired Stephens' attitude and thought she "came across as fearless."

"I think she has a real uphill challenge, as she shared with us that when she was campaigning her office was shot at. That says a lot about her courage and strength to continue and then win and become sheriff. I think she is a good role model, not just for young black girls, but for all females," Sillick said.

In March 2016, shots were fired at Stephens' campaign headquarters in Beaumont in what witnesses called "a racially motivated attack on Zena Stephens' campaign," according to previous Beaumont Enterprise reporting. A witness said "someone shouted racial slurs" before shots were fired at the building's glass door.

Stephens told NBC News she didn't know if it was "a random act or whether it was targeted." Either way, she said she just thinks it's "ignorance."

"I never saw anybody who looked like me in this role, or as a police chief, when I was growing up," Stephens said in November after winning the election. "And so the idea, not just for girls but for any minority, that you can obtain these jobs at this level, I think that's important. And it's important for these jobs in law enforcement and any job to reflect the community they serve."

Phoebe.Suy@beaumontenterprise.com

Twitter.com/phoebesuy17A total of 275 workers are at risk of losing their jobs after it was announced that 125 staff are to be axed at a factory in Carrickfergus.

Sensata Technologies announced the jobs will be lost as a result of a drop in expected demand for some of its products.

Read More

However, in a letter seen by the Belfast Telegraph, Sensata informed employees yesterday that a total of 275 have been placed "at risk".

Sensata Technologies, which bought Schrader Electronics in 2014, makes tyre pressure systems and operates from two sites here in Carrickfergus and Antrim.

The news brings the number of job losses in Northern Ireland over the past two months to more than 1,000.

Graeme Thompson, UK general manager at Sensata Technologies, said: "Following a review of our operations and in response to a drop in expected demand for some of the products currently manufactured in Northern Ireland, the company regrets to announce that we will potentially be reducing the workforce at our site in Carrickfergus by 125 people."

In a letter to employees at the Antrim factory, bosses said that expected production levels for other lines within Northern Ireland "remain steady at this time".

"The company will continue to monitor our end markets and the resulting production level forecasts. As part of this business reorganisation there may be an adaptation to existing roles and some working conditions," they added.

"However, and whilst you are not directly affected, around 275 employees have been placed at risk.

"Many of your colleagues in Carrickfergus will have received unpleasant news this morning."

One Sensata Antrim worker, who wished to remain anonymous, said there was a "heavy mood" among employees yesterday morning when they heard the news.

"Everyone just seems to be waiting for a tap on the shoulder or a letter in the post," they said.

"It's awful. With all these other factory jobs going, it doesn't inspire confidence."

East Antrim DUP MP Sammy Wilson said: "While unemployment in Northern Ireland is at a 10-year low, recent jobs losses in the East Antrim area highlight the importance of ensuring Northern Ireland has a functioning government of some kind back in place as quickly as possible. We need to see a cross government strategy put in place to not only ensure the best possible outcome for those affected today, but also to attract new jobs and investment to Carrick/East Antrim."

Manufacturing NI boss Stephen Kelly said: "Political stability is the number one factor giving confidence to foreign direct investment investors and there have been examples in the past where a call or visit from the First or Deputy First Minister has secured or sustained jobs that could have been lost.

"What we have right now is no good for business."

It is the sixth significant job loss announcement in the first two months of the year following on from cuts to the workforces at Schlumberger, Williams Industrial Services, Kilroot Power Station, Wrightbus, Lagan Construction Group and Acheson and Glover.Time for Truth March takes place in Belfast City Centre on 25th February 2018 (Photo by Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph)

Time for Truth March takes place in Belfast City Centre on 25th February 2018 (Photo by Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph)

Time for Truth March takes place in Belfast City Centre on 25th February 2018 (Photo by Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph)

Time for Truth March takes place in Belfast City Centre on 25th February 2018 (Photo by Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph)

Time for Truth March takes place in Belfast City Centre on 25th February 2018 (Photo by Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph)

Time for Truth March takes place in Belfast City Centre on 25th February 2018 (Photo by Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph)

Time for Truth March takes place in Belfast City Centre on 25th February 2018 (Photo by Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph)

Time for Truth March takes place in Belfast City Centre on 25th February 2018 (Photo by Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph)

Time for Truth March takes place in Belfast City Centre on 25th February 2018 (Photo by Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph)

Time for Truth March takes place in Belfast City Centre on 25th February 2018 (Photo by Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph)

Time for Truth March takes place in Belfast City Centre on 25th February 2018 (Photo by Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph)

Time for Truth March takes place in Belfast City Centre on 25th February 2018 (Photo by Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph)

Time for Truth March takes place in Belfast City Centre on 25th February 2018 (Photo by Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph)

Time for Truth March takes place in Belfast City Centre on 25th February 2018 (Photo by Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph)

Time for Truth March takes place in Belfast City Centre on 25th February 2018 (Photo by Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph)

Time for Truth March takes place in Belfast City Centre on 25th February 2018 (Photo by Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph)

Time for Truth March takes place in Belfast City Centre on 25th February 2018 (Photo by Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph)

Time for Truth March takes place in Belfast City Centre on 25th February 2018 (Photo by Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph)

Time for Truth March takes place in Belfast City Centre on 25th February 2018 (Photo by Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph)

Time for Truth March takes place in Belfast City Centre on 25th February 2018 (Photo by Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph)

Time for Truth March takes place in Belfast City Centre on 25th February 2018 (Photo by Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph)

Time for Truth March takes place in Belfast City Centre on 25th February 2018 (Photo by Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph)

Time for Truth March takes place in Belfast City Centre on 25th February 2018 (Photo by Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph)

Time for Truth March takes place in Belfast City Centre on 25th February 2018 (Photo by Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph)

Thousands took to a rally in Belfast on Sunday calling for "truth and justice" into how their loved ones were killed during the Troubles.

Around 2,000 people paraded through the city for the "Time for Truth" rally. Many waved black flags, some held pictures of loved ones killed and others held banners proclaiming "time for justice".

Read More

Organisers of the march had urged victims from across the community to attend, however, many of those represented were mainly from the nationalist community and their loved ones killed by security forces or loyalist terrorists.

They called for the UK Government to deal with outstanding legacy issues.

Sinn Fein vice president Michelle O'Neill speaking at the rally said the event was for all victims, no matter their background.

"They are marching for truth," she said. "They have all come together with the collective will to want to see the legacy mechanism implemented so these families can get access to inquests.

"These mechanisms were agreed a number of years ago and we have called for the British government to bring forward the consultation and more importantly release the funding for legacy inquests."

Ms O'Neill repeated that her party had an agreement with the British Government on releasing funds for legacy inquests.

Victims campaigner Raymond McCord, who also attended, said he wanted more people to attend future similar events and with all victims represented.

"I want to see Royal venue flooded with people from the unionist and nationalist communities standing beside each other.

Expand Close Time for Truth March takes place in Belfast City Centre on 25th February 2018 (Photo by Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph / Facebook

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Whatsapp Time for Truth March takes place in Belfast City Centre on 25th February 2018 (Photo by Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph)

"Sinn Fein has been heavily involved in this and I want to see an event with no political parties involved whatsoever."

The march was organised before the breakdown of talks between the DUP and Sinn Fein earlier this month. Legacy issues were among those being discussed as politicians worked towards a deal to restore power sharing at Stormont.

Sinn Fein president Mary Lou McDonald, speaking the day after talks collapsed, said the party had secured a commitment from the UK Government to have a public consultation on stalled mechanisms to deal with the Troubles and to release funds needed to finance legacy inquests.

Sinn Feins Gerry Kelly claimed funding for coroner probes into disputed conflict deaths were agreed during the recent talks, but DUP leader Arlene Foster said it would be astonishing if the Government granted funding for legacy inquests without an overall agreement.

Speaking to the BBC on Sunday,the victims' commissioner said a political deal was desirable but not necessary for progress on legacy.

These rights are obligations and rights that are held under the European Convention and the Human Rights Act. Mark Thompson

Mark Thompson, director of Relatives for Justice (RFJ), who attended Sundays march, said the British Government carries the responsibility of ensuring legacy issues were addressed, and added: You cant use as a bargaining chip the rights of victims.

He said: Its disingenuous of the Secretary of State and the UK Government to dangle as a carrot in front of political parties If you guys can get a deal, we will give victims their rights.

These rights are obligations and rights that are held under the European Convention and the Human Rights Act.

He said the weekend demonstration was about more than the sole issue of legacy inquest funding, reiterating a call for action on important elements of the 2014 Stormont House Agreement.

A Historical Investigations Unit (HIU) to examine unsolved murders is crucially important to bereaved families, he said.

He said: That would look at all the unsolved issues for families right across the community and that will deal with approximately 1,800 to 2,000 cases.

Thats crucially important. So its not just about the legacy inquests people are marching for, families are wanting the implementation of all the mechanisms to deal with the past.

While organisers of Sundays march had urged victims from across the community to attend, Mr Thompson blamed unionist politicians for making the issue of dealing with the past a very divisive one at times.

He said: I think its much more difficult for groups and people to just be out publicly around this issue, given that its being presented by unionist politicians in one way.

Expand Close Time for Truth March takes place in Belfast City Centre on 25th February 2018 (Photo by Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph / Facebook

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Whatsapp Time for Truth March takes place in Belfast City Centre on 25th February 2018 (Photo by Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph)Its finally official.

The grand opening of the historic 1885 Italianate home of Theron H. Ink at the junction of St. Helena Highway and Whitehall Lane was held Tuesday with friends and neighbors of the Castellucci family gathered to celebrate a formal ribbon cutting ceremony on the sweeping porch of the fully restored and reimagined inn.

The building has had a long history, first as the Helios Ranch of Theron Ink, and later as a bed and breakfast up until 2013 when the Castelluccis purchased the property.

But, according to Antonio Castellucci, simply remodeling the old structure was not on the agenda. Instead, it has been restored to pay homage to the buildings history but with a sophisticated, modern twist.

We thought that we could retain the charm of the historic building, but elevate it to a five star luxury inn, he said, standing before the porch as the guests assembled.

It was a large project, he added. Yet, because the building is on the National Register of Historic Buildings, Castellucci said, there were many challenges.

For instance, the windows of the building were all single pane and we thought that it was important to put in double pane windows. So we had them custom built. We worked closely with the Napa County and the Historical Society, and they were great to work with.

Each guest room seems to draw on inspiration from the past, reminiscent of the inns remarkable history.

The guest rooms are luxuriously appointed with designs that suggest the history of Theron Ink, the residences original owner, his wife Harriet, and Helios, the name of the working ranch Ink established.

There is even an Elvis Room which earned its moniker from Elvis Presley, who made the Inn his home during the filming of Wild in the Country in the Napa Valley in 1960.

The attention to detail of interior redesign spoke to the Castelluccis commitment and exquisite sense of luxury.

We wanted to create a truly luxurious experience, Antonio Castellucci said, during the ceremony. Its something new on this scale. Something personal, to match the beauty of the Napa Valley.

Indeed, walking through the inn, room by gracious room, one had the feeling of arriving in a home spectacularly designed for an intimate lifestyle, with sweeping views of the ranch, the vineyards outside the doors, and a special atmosphere of casual living.

The Ink House was designed to make you feel like youve entered the home of your dreams, said daughter and proprietor Maria Castellucci.

The business news you need Get the latest local business news delivered FREE to your inbox weekly. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy.DUP deputy leader Nigel Dodds has said there is "bad blood and mistrust" between his party and Sinn Fein after the talks break down and the republican party needed to "get back to working with unionists rather than insulting victims of terrorism".

The party's leader at Westminster - where the DUP holds considerable sway with the governing Conservative party after striking a confidence and supply deal with Prime Minister Theresa May - also said he was "confident" parliament would set a budget and decide how the 1bn package agreed as part of the deal would be spent in the coming weeks.

Read More

Asked how quickly talks with Sinn Fein could resume on restoring a government for Northern Ireland, he said it was "difficult" to say.

Speaking on Peston on Sunday on ITV, Mr Dodds said Sinn Fein had "weaponised" the Irish language causing "deep difficulty with many unionists".

He said the draft text which had been leaked "made it clear there was no agreement" for an Irish language act.

"There has been 190million spent in the last five years on promoting and educating people in the Irish language and all of that there is absolutely no difficulty with," he said.

"What we can not accept, is that it is the Sinn Fein demand that it should be imposed on those that don't want it, that there should be all sorts of regulations and all the rest of it and people have recoiled from that."

He added: "We are not against a common sense approach, a balanced approach and a recognition and respect for all languages."

Asked how quickly talks would resume with Sinn Fein Mr Dodds said it was difficult to say but his party was committed to restoring power-sharing and prepared to restore government with "no pre-conditions".

Referencing former Sinn Fein MP Barry McElduff's resignation over his Kingsmill video tweet, and MP Chris Hazzard's decision to base his constituency service in a building named after two IRA men, Mr Dodds said there was a "lot of mistrust and bad blood" between the parties and their representatives' actions "did not help".

"All of that kind of context is difficult, we need a reaching out process, we need Sinn Fein to get back to a position they want to work with unionists rather than insulting victims of terrorism."

Its intolerable to have a situation where everyone in Northern Ireland is affected by the lack of ministers. @NigelDoddsDUP says a budget needs to be agreed in the next fortnight. #Peston pic.twitter.com/JxDDxGBxO7  Peston (@itvpeston) February 25, 2018

The North Belfast MP said civil servants were in a "difficult and unacceptable" position with Northern Ireland without decision-making ministers for the past 13 months.

"You couldn't survive 13 days in Whitehall without ministers and that wouldn't be tolerated," he said.

"We have not walked away, others have and we are prepared to go back into government tomorrow.

He said there needed to be a budget set for the forthcoming financial year in Northern Ireland and there needed to be decisions not just on how funds should be spent, but also on how the 1billion package agreed with the Conservatives should be allocated.

Mr Dodds said part of the confidence and supply deal cash had already been released and the rest could be spent with parliament authority.

Asked if the "deal would be off" if the government did not instruct for the release of the money, Mr Dodds said he was confident decisions would be taken and the "issue would not arise at all".

"Nobody wants to go back to full-blown direct rule, nobody wants to give up on devolution but in the mean time decisions have to be made for all the people of Northern Ireland."

Sinn Fein should take their seats: #Peston asks @NigelDoddsDUP if the DUP are holding the government to ransom pic.twitter.com/24f6vYSGsF  Peston (@itvpeston) February 25, 2018

He added: "The budget can be set at Westminster and clearly parliament can authorise ministers to take decisions necessary for the good governance of the province ... and I am confident that is what will happen."

He said attempts should continue to restore power sharing in Northern Ireland but it was "intolerable for everyone in Northern Ireland" to be affected by the political stalemate.

We want to maintain an open border with the Republic of Ireland. Nigel Dodds

On claims the DUP was "holding the government to ransom" over their calls for direct rule, he said Sinn Fein should take their seats in Westminster.

"They might find they would have more influence," he said.

"Advocating there should be some ministerial decision making and a budget set is a common sense position everyone should want to adopt.

"We want to get back to the Executive without any pre-conditions or red lines."

On recent comments the Belfast Agreement had "served its purpose and was dead" Mr Dodds said there were those using the debate to secure their own version of Brexit "or thwart Brexit".

"We want to maintain an open border with the Republic of Ireland," he added. "But we are also clear we do not want borders erected between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK."

"The solutions are out there but some people don't want to look at them because they're trying to force the UK to stay in the customs union" @NigelDoddsDUP warns people are using a "misconceived" idea of the Irish border to advance their own version of Brexit or even thwart it pic.twitter.com/BB1IjS9p9L  BrexitCentral (@BrexitCentral) February 25, 2018

Responding Sinn Fein MLA Conor Murphy said: "It is quite clear there are elements of the DUP who do not want the restoration of local institutions.

The DUP wish to continuously deny rights that are afforded to citizens elsewhere on these islands.

The best way to represent the people of the north is to implement previous agreements as a means to restoring the institutions on the basis of equality and rights for all citizens.Former US president Bill Clinton delivered the keynote speech at the World Patient Safety Summit in London (Victoria Jones/PA)

Bill Clinton has said Americans are not aware enough of the dangers related to mixing alcohol with opioids.

The former US president said schoolchildren were not being warned of the risks.

Speaking after he delivered a keynote speech at the World Patient Safety Summit in London, Mr Clinton encouraged those part of the movement to continue in their work.

He said: One friend of mine had a daughter having trouble with her marriage. He was desperate, he called her every day.

Mr Clinton added: He couldnt find her and the police went into her apartment and found her sitting there, watching television, stone dead with a glass of wine in front of her.

Speaking of Americas opioid crisis, he continued: It has been a problem for a decade or more in America and nobody tells these kids when they go to school that you can die if you do this.

You cannot mix these two things.

2017 Beau Biden Humanitarian Award goes to the UK Secretary of Health, the Rt. Hon. @Jeremy_Hunt, a public servant who has made patient safety the center of his work and created patient safety laws that are leading the world in eliminating preventable deaths in hospitals #0X2020 pic.twitter.com/5sinMUSKUP  Patient Safety Movement Foundation (@PLAN4ZERO) February 24, 2018

Mr Clintons keynote speech on Saturday addressed the need to identify the challenges that are killing patients in order to create actionable solutions.

It came the day after Health Secretary Jeremy Hunts speech in which he said doctors and nurses were terrified that opening up about their mistakes would see them struck off the medical register.

On Saturday Mr Hunt was presented with the movements Beau Biden Humanitarian Award for his work on promoting patient safety.Brexit is the beginning of a bright new chapter for Britain and the countrys best days really do lie ahead of us, Theresa May has said.

The Prime Minister will hold a special Cabinet meeting on Thursday ahead of her keynote speech on Britains exit from the European Union in the North East the day after.

Mrs May held a Brexit war cabinet meeting at Chequers earlier in the week to thrash out the details of the next steps of negotiations with Brussels.

Delivering the best Brexit is about our national future, part of the way we improve the lives of people all over the countryTheresa May

She said: On Thursday, I told the Cabinet committee at Chequers that the deal we negotiate with the EU must present an ambitious future for our great country.

Next week I will present the committees conclusions to an additional session of the full Cabinet before travelling to the North East on Friday to give a speech setting out this Governments vision of what our future economic partnership with the European Union should look like.

Delivering the best Brexit is about our national future, part of the way we improve the lives of people all over the country.

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So I concluded the meeting by reminding the committee that the decisions we make now will shape this country for a generation.

If we get them right, Brexit will be the beginning of a bright new chapter in our national story, and our best days really do lie ahead of us.

The Government will pursue a policy putting Britain outside a customs union with the EU but matching Brussels rules in certain sectors in an attempt to achieve frictionless trade.

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But European Council president Donald Tusk said the Brexit plans are an illusion.

He will meet Mrs May in No 10 for talks on Thursday lunchtime.

At a press conference on Friday, Mr Tusk said: It looks like the cake philosophy is still alive. From the very start it has been a key principle of the EU 27 that there can be no cherry-picking and no single market a la carte.

This is, and will continue to be, a key principle, I have no doubt.Huawei has announced a new slimline, touchscreen laptop as the Chinese firm looks to rival the likes of Apple and Samsung.

The tech giant announced MateBook X Pro, a 13.9-inch Windows 10 device it says is thinner than Apples most recent MacBook.

The Chinese firm also announced three new tablets as part of its MediaPad M5 series  including an M5 Pro that can be connected to a keyboard and works with a stylus in a similar fashion to Microsofts Surface line of products.

Huawei has become increasingly influential in the smartphone market in recent years by aggressively competing with Apple and Samsung.

Huawei chief executive Richard Yu said: Todays consumers want more: they expect their technology to be both powerful and adaptable  and Huawei is committed to creating devices that not only meet these expectations, but create experiences that make everyday computing extraordinary.

The Huawei MateBook X Pro and Huawei MediaPad M5 Series are at the forefront of a new generation of mobile computing that empowers every aspect of your life.

Fusing technology for an intuitive experience. Enjoy the ease of touch-screen and keyboard to increase your productivity on the #HUAWEIMateBookXPro. #NewHorizons #HUAWEIMWC2018 #MWC18 pic.twitter.com/x4hAUXrNzR  Huawei Mobile (@HuaweiMobile) February 25, 2018

The MateBook X Pro also features a unique web cam, which is hidden behind its own dedicated function key on the keyboard.

Speaking on stage at the launch, which took place in Barcelona ahead of tech show Mobile World Congress, Mr Yu also spoke of increasing the companys brand awareness as it battles household names such Apple.

He also said Huawei shipped more than 150 million smartphones in 2017  the company is due to reveal its next flagship phone at the end of March.

Hundreds of new smartphones are expected to be announced when MWC opens on Monday, with new devices set to be revealed by the likes of Sony and Samsung, as well as smaller start-ups and other firms exhibiting at the four-day event.Labour will support remaining in a customs union with the European Union after Brexit, Sir Keir Starmer has said.

The shadow Brexit secretary warned it was now crunch time for Theresa May over her approach to the customs union, and said it would be better to reach bold new trade agreements by working with the EU.

Sir Keir said Labour had long championed being in a customs union with the EU and the benefits.

"We've agreed to develop our Brexit policy" @Keir_Starmer says Labour want to have access to 'a' customs union which 'will do the work of the current customs union' #marr pic.twitter.com/4GEN4AQ0jE  The Andrew Marr Show (@MarrShow) February 25, 2018

He told BBC Ones The Andrew Marr Show: Obviously its the only way of realistically to get tariff free access, its really important for our manufacturing base and nobody can answer the question how you keep your commitment to no hard border in Northern Ireland without a customs union.

Sir Keir said Labour had had many weeks of discussion unanimously and had agreed to develop their policy, to be announced by the Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn on Monday.

He continued: The customs arrangements at the moment are hardwired into the membership treaty so I think everybody now recognises theres going to have to be a new treaty  it will do the work of the customs union.

Its a customs union, thats what the CBI are saying now, its what the various amendments are now all saying  theres going to have to be a new agreement, but will it do the work of the current customs union? Yes, thats the intention.

Sir Keir said Britain was more likely to strike new deals if it works jointly with the EU, adding: We all want to do bold new trade agreements but we would be better off doing that with the EU.

"We've got to have an approach that respects the outcome but brings the country together" - @Keir_Starmer tells #marr pic.twitter.com/JUEFFKfG9l  The Andrew Marr Show (@MarrShow) February 25, 2018

He also signalled support for cross-party amendments on the customs union to the Trade Bill.

He said: The Labour front bench put down a number of amendments paving the way for the option of a customs union  they went down a few weeks ago.

Now these cross-party amendments have gone down essentially saying the same thing and to put it bluntly crunch time is coming for the Prime Minister.

Asked whether Labour would back the cross-party amendments, he said: We havent made a final decision on that but they are so close to our amendments  but whether its our amendments or cross-bench amendments, crunch time is now coming for the Prime Minister because the majority of Parliament does not back her approach to a customs union and the majority in Parliament needs to be heard and it will be heard sooner rather than later.

Shadow international trade secretary Barry Gardiner said the EU and UK would negotiate trade deals with third countries together under Labours plans.

He told BBC Radio 5 Lives Pienaars Politics: The UK and the EU jointly would be negotiating all the trading arrangements for goods, because of course the customs union only deals with goods with any third parties, so the tariffs and the quotas that were applied to any third party country would be the same for the UK and the EU.

Thats how a customs union works and vis-a-vis ourselves, there would be a free movement of goods within the border.

Its not undercutting, its not a matter of the UK going out there separately from the EU and undercutting the EU, we would have to do that jointly.

Asked whether Labour were ready to defeat the Government by voting for an amendment to the trade bill that would mandate the UK to form a customs union with Brussels after Brexit, he said: I would always be pleased to see the Government defeated.Southern Rail users say they have missed flights as an overcrowded rail replacement service caused crowds to bottleneck at Redhill station.

Police were on the scene as frustrated crowds, unable to use the Gatwick Express service to the airport, continued to swell into Sunday evening as they waited for buses.

Southern Rail had advised during the week that it would be operating a bus replacement service for the Gatwick Express between Redhill and Gatwick Airport while essential maintenance work was carried out.

 Buses replace trains between Redhill and Gatwick Airport today.



Three Bridges car park will also be closed.



 - https://t.co/Zl7j2SWv9g

 - https://t.co/YI3q90HknM pic.twitter.com/YS3hboNpr5  Southern (@SouthernRailUK) February 25, 2018

Melany Dominguez was among those who missed their flights and blamed poor planning and crowd management by the rail service.

She said she saw three police officers trying to manage the crowd which she estimated numbered in the thousands: People were getting agitated.

By the time she managed to get onto a bus it took her to the wrong terminal, she said.

I and a few young guys were running all the way to the airport to the terminal  I think they just made it. I was on the 5pm to Madrid so I just missed it.

Expand Close Southern Rail users say they have missed flights as an overcrowded rail replacement service caused crowds to bottleneck at Redhill station (Dylan Myers/PA) Press Association Images / Facebook

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She checked the next mornings flight on the bus, and it was 80, but by the time she missed her flight and went to rebook it was 95.

Ms Dominguez said she would be sleeping in the airport overnight, as the cost of the new flights left her unable to afford a hotel.

She hoped travellers who missed their flights would be compensated by the rail company.

That would be ideal Im not really optimistic but Im going to try. But if maybe all those people in there stick together we could say you need to sort this situation out.

Cory Acasio told of witnessing chaotic scenes of frustrated commuters tripping over and pushing one another as the crowds grew.

I stopped at the very front entrance to try and let an elderly person on, but no sooner did I make the gap that someone just barged right through, literally pushing me against the entrance.

He also saw passengers nearly trampling one another.

Not sure if there were injuries as I was focused on moving forward, but I did look back and saw the people who tripped get up and some people did help, but most were just aggravated and focused on getting in the bus.

The crowds were a nightmare for passengers travelling with children, he said.

I also saw a child screaming because she lost her mom, but luckily a stranger grabbed her and alerted her mom who was battling with getting through with a pram.

More travellers lashed out at Southern on social media, many venting their anger over Twitter, posting photographs of waiting crowds, and claiming to have missed flights due to the delays.

 Due to overcrowding between London Victoria and #Redhill services are subject to disruption. We have sourced additional bus replacement services to help ease the volume of passengers.  Southern (@SouthernRailUK) February 25, 2018

The rail services Twitter account responded to some customers, saying they could apply for a refund for their Gatwick Express tickets.

National Rail and British Transport Police have been approached for comment.

The travel chaos marks the first of three Sundays where the track modernisation work on the Brighton Main Line will halt all Gatwick Airport

and South Coast-bound passengers.

The Reigate, Redhill and District Rail Users Association chairman Stephen Trigg said the group had written to Southern weeks ago warning them

to book enough replacement buses for the planned works.

He said a poorly-designed new platform access point had contributed to the bottleneck, and added: I believe they should suspend the works until they work how to do it properly.

Expand Close An overcrowded rail replacement service caused crowds to bottleneck (Melany Dominguez/PA) Press Association Images / Facebook

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A British Transport police spokesperson said four officers were sent in before 2pm to manage overcrowding and queuing at the station. By 8pm, officers were still on scene.

RMT General Secretary Mick Cash said: RMT has been warning for years that SouthernGTR arent fit to run a bath let alone a railway and the terrifying pictures from Redhill today show why it is such a scandal that the union has been ignored.

This is a company that has shown repeatedly that public safety is of little or no concern to them, and that is why our members on Southern have been engaged in a fight with GTR for nearly two years now.

GTR should be stripped of this franchise and the public sector brought in before theres a major tragedy.

NHS worker Laura Knight said it was evident little planning had gone into the day, despite the works being planned. The rail operator had not prepared queuing gates, and staff seemed to be relying on police to control the crowds, with some people pushing to get onto the few buses available.

People were missing their flights, she said. I saw blokes crying because they had missed their flights, saw really little old people, children, families getting stomped on.Donald Trump has said the GOP memo 'vindicates' him in the ongoing Russia investigation (Evan Vucci/AP)

The US House intelligence committee has published a redacted version of a declassified memo which aims to counter allegations by the Republicans the FBI abused government surveillance powers in its investigation into Russian election interference.

The Democratic memos release on Saturday was the latest development in an extraordinary back and forth between Republicans and Democrats about the credibility of not only the multiple inquiries into links between the Trump campaign and Russia, but also about the credibility of the nations top law enforcement agencies.

The Democratic document attempts to undercut and add context to some of the main points from the Republican memo, including their assertion that the FBI obtained the surveillance warrant without disclosing that former British spy Christopher Steeles anti-Trump research was funded by Democrat Hillary Clintons campaign and the Democratic National Committee.

The Democratic memo contends that the Justice Department disclosed the assessed political motivation of those who hired him and that Mr Steele was likely hired by someone looking for information that could be used to discredit then-candidate Trumps campaign.

Republicans say that is not enough, since the Clinton and the DNC were not named. President Donald Trump himself seized on this point in a tweet on Saturday evening: Dem Memo: FBI did not disclose who the clients were  the Clinton Campaign and the DNC. Wow!

The White House had objected to the Democratic memos release, citing national security concerns on February 9. That sent the Democrats back to negotiations with the FBI, which approved a redacted version. It was then declassified and released.

Mr Trump had no such concerns about an earlier classified memo written by Republicans, which he declassified in full on February 2 over strong objections from the FBI.

In that memo, Republicans took aim at the FBI and the Justice Department over the use of information compiled by Mr Steele in obtaining a secret warrant to monitor the communications of a former Trump campaign foreign policy adviser Carter Page.

The Democratic memo asserts that the FBIs concerns about Mr Page long predate the Steele dossier, and that its application to monitor his communications details suspicious activities he undertook during the 2016 presidential campaign.

That includes a July 2016 trip to Moscow in which he gave a university commencement address.

The memo also contends that the Justice Department provided additional information from multiple independent sources that corroborated Mr Steeles reporting in the dossier.

Most of the details of the corroborated information are redacted but they do appear to reference Mr Pages meeting with Russian officials. The memo says that the Justice Department didnt include any salacious allegations about Mr Trump contained in the compilation of memos drafted by Mr Steele, now known as the Trump-Russia dossier.

The memo also details Russian attempts to cultivate Mr Page as a spy. It cites a federal indictment of two Russian spies who allegedly targeted Mr Page for recruitment and notes that the FBI interviewed him based on those suspicions in March 2016.

The Democrats say the FBI made made only narrow use of Steeles sources in the warrant in the secret court that operates under Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA.

Republicans say that is still too much.

Again, the fact the minority cannot outright deny that a DNC/Clinton funded document was used to wiretap an American is extremely concerning, the Republican National Committee said in a statement.

Mr Trump has said the GOP memo vindicates him in the ongoing Russia investigation led by special counsel Robert Mueller.

But congressional Democrats and Republicans, including House Speaker Paul Ryan and representative Trey Gowdy of South Carolina, who helped draft the GOP memo, have said it should not be used to undermine the special counsel.There will be a Celebration of Life on March 3, 2018 in Napa at 1:00 p.m. if you would like to attend please contact Jeanie Browning at jeenie3333@gmail.com for more details.Juromee Dongon (second from left), widow of slain Malaysian terror suspect Zulkifli bin Hir (also known as Marwan), and other suspects wait for investigators at a police station in the southern Philippine city of Cagayan de Oro, Feb. 25, 2018.

Updated at 2:15 p.m. ET on 2018-02-25

Philippine security forces arrested the widow of a slain Malaysian terror suspect Sunday on allegations that she was supporting extremist groups, officials said.

Authorities announced the arrest of Juromee Dongon along with four others in the southern province of Lanao del Norte on Sunday, as authorities said troops had killed six members of the extremist Abu Sayyaf on the nearby island of Basilan.

Juromee was married to Malaysian bomb maker Zulkifli bin Hir (also known as Marwan), Southeast Asias most-wanted terrorist until January 2015, when he was killed in a police raid that went awry and also left 44 police commandos dead in the southern Philippine province of Maguindanao. She was also married to Khadafy Janjalani, a Filipino extremist and senior Abu Sayyaf leader who reportedly died in 2006.

We can confirm she is held on terrorism charges, a security official told BenarNews on condition of anonymity, referring to Juromee.

Combined police and soldiers equipped with armored personnel carriers made the arrest following an anti-terror sweep in Lanao del Norte province Sunday morning, officials told BenarNews. They said Juromees father and two sisters were among those arrested during the raid in which police seized a grenade, a handgun, ammunition and bomb-making components.

The suspects would face charges of illegal possession of firearms and explosives, officials said.

Also on Sunday, Senior Superintendent Nickson Muksan, Basilans police chief, told BenarNews that six Abu Sayyaf militants were slain in a gunbattle Saturday when troops patrolling the predominantly Muslim town of Maluso came under fire from a huge group of militants.

Lt. Gen. Carlito Galvez Jr, the Army regional commander, said the military will continue intensifying its operations against the Abu Sayyaf.

The clashes took place four months after troops defeated a faction led by Isnilon Hapilon at the end of the five-month siege of the southern city of Marawi.

"There will be a no-let up operation against the Abu Sayyaf as our commander-in-chief himself has declared such since last year," Galvez said, referring to President Rodrigo Duterte.

"The different Joint Task Forces are in full-throttle to get the remaining Abu Sayyaf members and to rescue their kidnap victims," he said.

Numbering less than 500, the Abu Sayyaf, founded in the early 1990s, is notorious for kidnappings, bombings and beheadings in the southern Philippines. Over the past two years, it has beheaded two Canadians and a German captive seized separately in the south after their governments refused to pay ransom.

Hapilon, originally from Basilan, had eluded a military dragnet and travelled to Marawi last year with his band of Abu Sayyaf followers.

Hapilon, the acknowledged regional leader of the Islamic State, took over the Islamic city after joining forces with a ragtag group of bandits known as the Maute. He was also backed by fighters from Malaysia, Indonesia and the Middle East.

What followed was five months of bloody fighting  the fiercest in recent years in the turbulent south  that destroyed Marawi, displaced tens of thousands of residents and killed 1,200 people, mostly militants.

Filipino forces, backed by U.S. and Australian intelligence, killed Hapilon and several of his lieutenants in October, ending the siege. But dozens of others had escaped, forcing the government to extend the declaration of martial law in the south up to this year.

The latest clash took place a few days after Malaysias police chief exposed plans by the Abu Sayyaf to set up a base in the east Malaysian Sabah state.

Malaysian police chief Mohamad Fuzi Harun said authorities uncovered the plans after multiple raids in the eastern Borneo state of Sabah from Jan. 25 to Feb. 6, during which security forces arrested 10 people, including seven Filipinos with Abu Sayyaf links.

Initial investigation from the 10 suspects arrested in Sabah showed there were attempts by Abu Sayyaf to set up a cell in Sabah, Fuzi Harun said in a statement Wednesday.

The same terror cell could be used to launch attacks in Sabah in the future, he said.

The botched counter-terror raid to capture Marwan, the Malaysian militant, in January 2015 led to the indictment of former President Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino for usurpation of official functions after he green-lighted the police operation In the Maguindanao town of Mamasapano.

Members of the police Special Action Force (SAF) successfully killed Marwan, but later became entangled 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 were killed it what is now known as the Mamasapano raid, the biggest single-day combat loss for the Philippine government in recent memory.

Jeoffrey Maitem in Cotabato City and Richel Umel and Froilan Gallardo in Cagayan de Oro City contributed to this report.

Updated to add information on the January 2015 counter-terror raid that led to the death of the Malaysian militant Marwan in Mamasapano, Maguindanao.

Tooker noted one of those Senate Bill 35 requirements is that a project follows a communitys design standards.

Most of our projects include some deviation, he said. It might be tandem parking, which was the case with Stoddard, even though we moved pretty quickly on that. Other times its reduced setbacks or something like that. I dont think (Senate Bill 35) would apply in those particular instances.

Why did Napa fall under the Senate Bill 35 consequences if it is making an effective affordable housing push? One reason might be timing. The state looked at permits issued in 2015 and 2016.

The state only knows about building permits  they wont have any sense whats in the pipeline, Tooker said.

Napa County recently wrote to the state that it has continued to fund affordable projects in the incorporated cities at a pace not seen before in the valley.

It cited such instances as the county committing $1.8 million to help fund American Canyons Valley View project, which will have 70 cottage-style rentals for seniors. It loaned $1 million for the Redwood Grove project of 34 homes for first-time buyers in the city of Napa.Remembering The Gorgeous Sridevi, Best Looks She Carried In 2017-2018 Bollywood Wardrobe Dona

Sridevi  Fashion Sense  Sarees  Bollywood    trend Setter | Boldsky

The beautiful and talented Sridevi passed away a few hours back in Dubai due to a massive cardiac arrest. The country is surely going to miss the ultimate Bollywood fashionista who has been rocking the industry with her style statements since the 80s.

As a part of our tribute to the elegant and marvelous actress, we have enlisted few best looks from her last public appearances.

At Mohit Marwah's Wedding Sridevi passed away while attending Bonny Kapoor's nephew, Mohit Marwah's wedding in Dubai. Two days back, at the wedding function, she wore an amazing Manish Malhotra ensemble and looked quite classy in an Organza sari from the designer's Summer 2018 collection. For An Event In Moscow Sridevi wore a wonderful Manish Malhotra monochrome lehenga while attending an event in Moscow at the end of last year. The actress, with all her grace, carried the look with utmost elegance. At The Lakme Fashion Week 2018 Sridevi could never stop stunning each one of us. The beautiful actress looked even more beautiful as she wore a pastel shaded Anita Dongre outfit for Lame Fashion Week Summer Resort 2018. She was accompanied by Jhanvi Kapoor who too looked very pretty in a floral outfit. At The IFFI 2017 Opening Sridevi had accompanied Jhanvi to other events too where the mother-daughter duo looked equally gorgeous. At the IFFI 2017 opening, Sridevi graced the red carpet in a classy beige sari which she matched with a gold choker. For Mom's Promotion Sridevi carried stunning style books during her last movie, Mom's promotions. Among all the look books, this was one of our favourites. She wore the look with utmost grace including a turquoise blue Manish Malhotra sari with matching dainty jewellery.To keep the rating score and review content relevant for your upcoming trip, we archive reviews older than up to 36 months.

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This service may contain translations powered by Google. Google disclaims all warranties related to the translations, express or implied, including any warranties of accuracy, reliability, and any implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose and noninfringement.One of the joys of highly local journalism is getting to know people I like to call our Faithful Readers or our Faithful Correspondents.Ive written about some of them before: people who call regularly to offer praise or criticism, to call attention to our errors, to offer tips or to tell funny stories related to items in our paper.

I was deeply saddened to hear this week that one of our favorite Faithful Correspondents died recently. The folks up at Save Rural Angwin tell us that Duane Cronk, a resident of the county for nearly six decades, died at age 93.

Duane was one of those people who you could say was genuinely good and kind. Even when he was discussing a serious matter, he was never without a smile and a cheery word.

Sean Scully Sean Scully is editor of the Napa Valley Register. You can reach him at 256-2246 or sscully@napanews.com.

He was an old journalist himself, having worked for various trade publications related to the construction business. In Angwin, he published a local phone book and also a newsletter called The Angwin Reporter, which was full of news items related to the tiny unincorporated hamlet high up in the eastern hills. He included his own photos and witty observations and a generous scattering of historical items that explained the context and character of the community.

The latest issue, from January, included what Duane planned as a series of essays on how last years firestorms affected Angwin residents. He paired that with an account, drawn from old stories in the St. Helena Star, of the 1931 fire that nearly consumed Pacific Union College. For about a week, firefighters from across the area teamed with PUC staff and students to battle the blaze.

It was vintage Duane  observant, amusing, well-written and deeply grounded in his beloved adoptive home.

The edition also included a note that Duane was in the UC Davis Medical Center for some heart surgery. I have not confirmed whether that was related to his death, but it was a reminder of his advancing age, as was his recent frustration over his diminishing hearing.

Over the nearly four years I have been editor, I heard from Duane dozens, perhaps hundreds, of times by email and had a healthy number of personal visits. He liked to share tips and observations and be in the company of other journalists.

Often he just liked to share his infectious delight of living in a place as beautiful as we do. On June 23 of last year, for example, he sent a picture to me and Dave Stoneberg, editor of the Star.

I took this picture a few days ago. It is a deep canyon but it doesnt show up that way. The lower end of the Conn Creek watershed. On the way down the hill to St. Helena I pull over sometimes just to enjoy the view. I have never hiked down into it but my sons have and report that it is all deep forest. I am not sure if that little patch of blue is [Lake Hennessey]. Just for your enjoyment. 

Through the heavy rains of 2017, Duane was there on scene to capture the flooding and keep us posted at the Register.

Let it never be said that we are not generous, he wrote, along with a picture of a torrent of water sluicing down a drainage ditch in Angwin. Along Deer Park Road. Water on its way to the Napa Valley. For wineries which like to dilute their wine to suit the visitor from Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

That was also vintage Duane  informative, wryly funny, but never mean or strident.

Duane was one of those kinds of guys who made our quirky little communities such a pleasure to live in. I am going to miss his visits and his emails.

Duane made Angwin and Napa County as a whole a better place.

You can reach Sean Scully at 256-2246 or sscully@napanews.com.

Catch the latest in Opinion Get opinion pieces, letters and editorials sent directly to your inbox weekly! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy.It doesnt have to be this way. There are measures that we can take that would help keep guns out of the hands of people who are angry, depressed, desperate, deranged or just plain stupid or impulsive. These are measures that are clearly constitutional and in no way infringe on the Second Amendment.

How do we know? The Supreme Court has told us.

In the 2008 decision in District of Columbia v. Heller, the Supreme Court for the first time confirmed that the Second Amendment gives Americans the individual right to own and carry firearms, absent any kind of military duty. But in saying so, conservative Justice Antonin Scalia wrote that nothing in our opinion should be taken to cast doubt on longstanding prohibitions of firearms by felons and the mentally ill, or laws forbidding the carrying of firearms in sensitive places such as schools and government buildings, or laws imposing conditions and qualifications on the commercial sale of arms.

Like most rights, Scalia wrote, in demolishing the absolutist interpretation of the Second Amendment, the right secured by the Second Amendment is not unlimited.

So what is to be done?RCMP are searching for two violent criminals who escaped from Stony Mountain Institution Saturday night.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 25/2/2018 (1299 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

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RCMP are searching for two violent criminals who escaped from Stony Mountain Institution Saturday night.

William Benjamin Hunter-Garrioch, 21, and Dale Jacob Gilchrist, 34, "walked away" from the unfenced minimum-security wing of the federal penitentiary, assistant warden Guy Langlois said.

William Benjamin Hunter-Garrioch, 21, was serving a nine-year sentence for attempted murder, as well as a weapon and drug charge.

Hunter-Garrioch was serving a nine-year sentence for attempted murder and Gilchrist a six-year sentence for armed robbery.

Officials realized the men escaped the facility, which is 25 kilometres north of Winnipeg, after they were absent during a 10 p.m. headcount, Langlois said.

Prison staff conducted a search for the men and  when they didnt turn up  notified RCMP around 10:10 p.m. Arrest warrants were issued for both men, who were last seen around 7:30 p.m.

RCMP believe the men  both of whom have a history of violence and should not be approached by the public  may be trying to make their way to Saskatchewan.

RCMP HANDOUT Dale Jacob Gilchrist, 34, was serving a six-year sentence for armed robbery. In the past, he served sentences for break and enter, theft, assault and weapons charges.

Hunter-Garrioch was arrested in 2014 after shooting a 24-year-old woman in a Winnipeg rooming house.

Gilchrist, who is originally from Saskatoon, was arrested in 2015 after robbing a pharmacy in Brandon. He has served sentences for assault, theft and carrying a concealed weapon.

"These men are very known to the police, so the fact they are at large is concerning. We want to get them," an RCMP spokesman said.

Stony Mountains minimum-security wing has 27 houses in an unfenced area of the prison grounds, Langlois said.

The prisoners in the minimum-security wing have significantly more privileges than other inmates. They room together in the houses, cook their own meals and have freedom of movement on the prison grounds.

"Each inmate goes through a thorough evaluation before being transferred to the minimum security wing. Before they are transferred they have to be assessed at low risk to public safety," Langlois said.

"These individuals had been assessed as minimum security. They werent viewed as a public safety risk. Now that theyve walked away and escaped from the property that comes into question. When theyre found well have to reassess where they should go."

While escapes from Stony Mountain arent unheard of, theyre also not common, Langlois said. He added this is the first escape from the minimum-security wing in several years.

The purpose of the unit is to serve as a transitional unit aimed at helping prepare offenders to reintegrate back into the community.

"The whole purpose and role of a minimum security facility is to develop an inmates capacity to operate with minimal monitoring, which is vital in reintegrating them and helping them become law abiding citizens," he said.

Anyone who sees the men, or as information on their whereabouts, should contact police immediately, the RCMP spokesman said.

Prison officials continue to investigate the escape.

Hunter-Garrioch is described as 5-7, 126 pounds, with a medium complexion, brown eyes and brown hair. He has a scar on his left wrist.

Gilchrist is described as 6-2, 200 pounds, with a fair complexion, blue eyes and brown hair. He has tattoos on his neck, abdomen, chest, arms, hands and right leg.

ryan.thorpe@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @rk_thorpeHey there, time traveller!

This article was published 22/2/2018 (1303 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

We all should be accountable.

I must be accountable about what I write in this space and say on the radio. Im accountable to my co-workers and my family. Any time my name is attached to something, I should prepare to be held accountable. And in the last two weeks, Canadian pop-rock band Hedleys name has been attached to some serious allegations regarding sexual misconduct claims on social media.

The only thing is, the allegations are anonymous. And as I write this weeks column, the national media have yet to attribute the allegations to an actual person. A person willing to file a police complaint.

In the meantime, the fallout for the band that just appeared in Brandon last Friday continues. In just the last few days, Hedley withdrew its name for the three award considerations at the Junos, and issued a new statement saying it intends to "talk about how we have let some people down, and what we intend to do about it." And to the delight of many fans, they confirmed they will not be cancelling their current tour, which still has 18 more shows to finish. It wraps up on March 23.

Reaction to the Brandon show a week ago was enthusiastic and supportive to say the least. Fans enjoyed the show, and all indications were the band loved being in Brandon. You wouldnt know theyd just been through a very bad day.

Friday afternoon, while stopping in our city, Hedley's management, the Feldman Agency and Watchdog Management, cut ties with the band. It was just after 9 a.m. Showtime less than 12 hours away. Then at 4 p.m., just two hours before the Brandon show, concert openers Neon Dreams and Shawn Hook left the tour. All this, after the hashtag #outHedley2k18 was created earlier in the week to encourage fans to share any stories they may have concerning any inappropriate behaviour by the group.

Bill Cosbys accusers stepped forward. Kevin Spaceys accusers stepped forward. Those who lined up to accuse Harvey Weinstein shared their stories and stepped out from behind the curtain to do so. Incredibly brave, and necessary. The main person behind the #outHedley2k18 hashtag, a 21-year-old student who goes by @_cndnpsycho on Twitter, told Buzzfeed she had no idea how quickly things would change once she started tweeting about the band.

"I was hoping it would gain traction, but I wasn't expecting it to reach the level that it did," she said. "I just decided to start posting these stories that I was receiving anonymously, and it just kind of blew up. I think I received about 50 messages from people all over Canada with some horrifying stories about the band. Even if it doesnt reach a courtroom, I think its important theyre held accountable and the public knows that these are the kind of people they are."

Im not sure about that. And while it appears none of the alleged complainants have come forward to authorities, this is not over, and they may still see a court of law. But right now, its simply accusations on social media. Hard to believe the group started the week on Feb. 12 as the biggest band in Canadian pop music and finished the week nearly in shambles.

Then there are the radio stations that have quit playing Hedley. If just one person goes to police, Im in favour of CBC, Corus and Bells decision to pull the bands songs off the air. Collectively, those three companies make up most of radio broadcasters playing the band in Canada. But I dont think that is the right thing to do at this point. Music aside, social media aside, all the publicity aside, the only way forward to making sure a crime never, ever happens again is to hold those responsible accountable.

The moment a person steps forward to assist police in launching an investigation, we are prepared to temporarily "rest" our Hedley library at StarFM until all the facts of the case are clear and a verdict is reached. But as of this morning, we havent started down that road yet.

Do I like the band personally? I can really take it or leave it, but thats not the point. The point is, faceless, nameless accusers have made very serious allegations on social media. Allegations that, in my opinion, must be examined in a court of law, and not on Twitter. Other companies, shows and entities dont want "brand damage," and I understand that. Netflix doesnt play Cosby anymore and Spacey has been replaced. I get it. But these accusations need to be officially reported and recorded so we can all rally around those who need it.

And in the meantime, the story may change or evolve. NEW information can come to light, and if YOU or someone you know has ever been a victim of sexual assault, it is important to report it to police. Even if it wasnt you, but rather a friend or an acquaintance, or really anybody. If youve seen something, say something. To police. Or a crisis hotline. Not on Twitter.

This is not about taking sides, but rather about the facts, and justice. I applaud and support, without question, the incredible bravery of all victims of sexual assault, who step forward to share their story with police. For those found responsible for alleged crimes should be punished to the full extent of the law, regardless of public opinion. Because in the end, whether in a band, or making movies, or typing anonymously at a keyboard ... be ready. Ready to be accountable.

If you have been sexually assaulted or witnessed an assault, call the Klinic Sexual Assault Crisis Line at toll free: 1-888-292-7565 or 204-786-8686 or contact the Brandon Police Service (204-729-2345) or your local RCMP detachment.

JOKE THIS WEEK

A recent study found the average Canadian walks about 900 miles a year.

Another study found Canadians drink, on average, 22 gallons of beer a year.

That means, on average, Canadians get about 41 miles to the gallon.

Birthdays

 Danielle Yerama  Lindsay Hargreaves  Shelley Durupt  Vicky Lockie-Peach  Michael Barrett  George Voodre

 Tyler Glen is a radio DJ on Star-FM. He writes a weekly column for The Brandon Sun.Fianna Fail has today defended its bid to ensure the full regulation of so-called 'vulture funds'.

In the past week, two major Irish banks have announced plans to sell off around 25,000 distressed property loans.

The Government insisted that homeowners will be protected no matter who owns the loans - with certain regulations already in place.

However, Fianna Fail TD Stephen Donnelly said that vulture funds will think twice about buying loans if they are faced with the same regulations as the banks.

"What the Fianna Fail Bill would do is it would send out a message to these vulture funds all over the world," he said.

"'Under the Fine Gael-Labour Government, these funds were invited in, they stripped out the tax base so they didn't have to pay any taxes, and they've basically been allowed operate in this country however they want.

"What this says is: Actually, no, you can't do that anymore".

- Digital deskBy Gordon Deegan

An Post last year took court proceedings against 11,693 people for not paying their television licence.

New figures provided by the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment Denis Naughten, show that over the past five years, An Post has taken 64,272 to court over non-payment of the 160 TV licence.

Numbers brought to court by An Post for the non-payment of a TV licence reached a recent peak in 2013 when 14,307 were brought to court.

The numbers taken to court last year was a slight drop on the 11,994 brought to court in 2016.

In his written Dail reply to Maurice Quinlivan TD (SF), Minister Naughten stated: Bringing people to court is a last resort and only carried out where all other means have failed.

An Post is charged with the issuing of TV licences and also with the enforcement of the current licence fee regime.

Minister Naughten stated: An Post makes every effort to bring evaders into the licensed pool and a considerable amount of time and resources are spent in dealing specifically with this issue. An Post concentrates its initial efforts on getting people to buy the licence when due and by following up with a series of reminder notices and inspector visits.

The Irish Prison Service (IPS) confirmed that the number of those jailed for non-payment of fines in connection with the licence are not yet available for 2017 - the annual number is usually only a tiny fraction of the numbers of cases taken.

Also, it is expected that the numbers jailed for non-payment of fines connected to the TV will have dropped sharply in 2017 due to new legislation introduced aimed at reducing the numbers of those jailed for non-payment of fines.

The vast majority of those jailed in recent years spend only a few hours in prison.

Last week in its new 2018 - 2022 strategy document, RTE stated that the inefficient licence fee system should be reformed and allow for an increase in public funding levels for the benefit of the entire Irish media sector.

The document stated that the current levels of evasion of 15% and the high cost of collection -5.5% - "provide significant scope for reform without any increase in the licence fee".

The document stated: More than 40m in additional public funding would become available if the system were modernised.

In a recent Dail response on the issue, Minister Naughten said that total TV licence fee receipts to November 30 was 198m.

Minister Naugthen said: I am very much aware of the challenges that face the existing TV licence system including the current level of evasion, which is estimated to be 14.6%.

He said that his department has been working with An Post and RTE to ensure the TV licence collection system is working as effectively as possible. He said: "Measures such as marketing campaigns, more evening and weekend inspection and appointment of additional temporary inspectors are just some of the initiatives that have been utilised to enhance sales and improve compliance rates.The helicopter ride out of Hue with the dozen body bags was a turning point. "It was quiet," Cronkite's producer Jeff Gralnick would later tell the Wall Street Journal. "Nobody said anything. It was an instant understanding for everybody in that helicopter of the cost of the war." When Cronkite met his old pal Abrams, now the No. 2 American general in Vietnam, by a roaring fireplace in Phu Bai, he heard another plea for the 200,000 additional troops, which he later said he found "sickening."

At this point, what remained for Cronkite was to get safely back to New York -- easier said than done, as his jet took off from Saigon nearly straight up, like a rocket, to avoid enemy fire -- and tell his conclusion to American people, that the war could not be won. The message that was crafted by producer Ernest Leiser with strong input from Cronkite, and delivered at the end of a 10 p.m. prime-time CBS News Special Report, may sound measured when viewed today, in a world accustomed to the 24/7 shouting of cable news -- but it caused a political earthquake.Brexit is the beginning of a "bright new chapter" for Britain and the country's best days "really do lie ahead of us", Theresa May has said.

The British Prime Minister will hold a special Cabinet meeting on Thursday ahead of her keynote speech on Britain's exit from the European Union in the North East the day after.

Mrs May held a Brexit "war cabinet" meeting at Chequers earlier in the week to thrash out the details of the next steps of negotiations with Brussels.

She said: "On Thursday, I told the Cabinet committee at Chequers that the deal we negotiate with the EU must present an ambitious future for our great country.

"Next week I will present the committee's conclusions to an additional session of the full Cabinet before travelling to the North East on Friday to give a speech setting out this government's vision of what our future economic partnership with the European Union should look like.

"Delivering the best Brexit is about our national future, part of the way we improve the lives of people all over the country.

"So I concluded the meeting by reminding the committee that the decisions we make now will shape this country for a generation.

"If we get them right, Brexit will be the beginning of a bright new chapter in our national story, and our best days really do lie ahead of us."

The British government will pursue a policy putting Britain outside a customs union with the EU but matching Brussels rules in certain sectors in an attempt to achieve "frictionless" trade.

But European Council president Donald Tusk said the Brexit plans are an "illusion".

He will meet Mrs May in No 10 for talks on Thursday lunchtime.

At a press conference on Friday, Mr Tusk said: "It looks like the cake philosophy is still alive. From the very start it has been a key principle of the EU 27 that there can be no cherry-picking and no single market a la carte.

"This is, and will continue to be, a key principle, I have no doubt."

The Prime Minister's deputy has warned the devolved administrations they risk damaging the Westminster government's "ability to act in the national interest" if they push for "different sets of rules" across the UK.

David Lidington said different standards is areas such as food safety and chemicals standards could hamper the government when it is trying to strike trade deals on behalf of the entire country.

He told The Sunday Telegraph: "We could choose to leave as a country split and an economy disjointed, struggling to make our way in a new world outside the EU.

"Or we can come together as one United Kingdom, confidently seizing new global opportunities as we build a prosperous, secure nation fit for the future challenges we will face.

"By maintaining legal UK frameworks where strictly necessary, we retain our ability to act in the national interest when we need to - protecting our nation's security or signing trade deals with the growth markets of tomorrow, using the leverage and the diplomatic network of the UK to sell Islay whisky, Caerphilly cheese and buses from Ballymena throughout the world."

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn will make a speech tomorrow setting out his party's approach to Brexit.

But a letter backed by more than 80 figures across the party exposed the internal divisions on how to proceed.

The group warned the leader his plans for investment in schools, hospitals and social care would be unfundable unless the UK stays in the EU single market.

In a statement, released to the Observer and backed by senior figures including Chuka Umunna and Lord Kinnock, said: "Labour must clearly and unambiguously set as a negotiating objective the goal of remaining part of the European economic area, in order to participate on a permanent basis in the single market."

- PAThe US House intelligence committee has published a redacted version of a declassified memo which aims to counter allegations by the Republicans the FBI abused government surveillance powers in its investigation into Russian election interference.

The Democratic memo's release yesterday was the latest development in an extraordinary back and forth between Republicans and Democrats about the credibility of not only the multiple inquiries into links between the Trump campaign and Russia, but also about the credibility of the nation's top law enforcement agencies.

The Democratic document attempts to undercut and add context to some of the main points from the Republican memo, including their assertion that the FBI obtained the surveillance warrant without disclosing that former British spy Christopher Steele's anti-Trump research was funded by Democrat Hillary Clinton's campaign and the Democratic National Committee.

The Democratic memo contends that the Justice Department disclosed "the assessed political motivation of those who hired him" and that Mr Steele was likely hired by someone "looking for information that could be used to discredit" then-candidate Trump's campaign.

Republicans say that is not enough, since the Clinton and the DNC were not named. President Donald Trump himself seized on this point in a tweet yesterday evening: "Dem Memo: FBI did not disclose who the clients were - the Clinton Campaign and the DNC. Wow!"

The White House had objected to the Democratic memo's release, citing national security concerns on February 9. That sent the Democrats back to negotiations with the FBI, which approved a redacted version. It was then declassified and released.

Mr Trump had no such concerns about an earlier classified memo written by Republicans, which he declassified in full on February 2 over strong objections from the FBI.

In that memo, Republicans took aim at the FBI and the Justice Department over the use of information compiled by Mr Steele in obtaining a secret warrant to monitor the communications of a former Trump campaign foreign policy adviser Carter Page.

The Democratic memo asserts that the FBI's concerns about Mr Page long predate the Steele dossier, and that its application to monitor his communications details suspicious activities he undertook during the 2016 presidential campaign.

That includes a July 2016 trip to Moscow in which he gave a university commencement address.

The memo also contends that the Justice Department provided "additional information from multiple independent sources that corroborated Mr Steele's reporting" in the dossier.

Most of the details of the corroborated information are redacted but they do appear to reference Mr Page's meeting with Russian officials. The memo says that the Justice Department didn't include any "salacious allegations" about Mr Trump contained in the compilation of memos drafted by Mr Steele, now known as the Trump-Russia "dossier".

The memo also details Russian attempts to cultivate Mr Page as a spy. It cites a federal indictment of two Russian spies who allegedly targeted Mr Page for recruitment and notes that the FBI interviewed him based on those suspicions in March 2016.

The Democrats say the FBI made "made only narrow use of Steele's sources" in the warrant in the secret court that operates under Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA.

Republicans say that is still too much.

"Again, the fact the minority cannot outright deny that a DNC/Clinton funded document was used to wiretap an American is extremely concerning," the Republican National Committee said in a statement.

Mr Trump has said the GOP memo "vindicates" him in the ongoing Russia investigation led by special counsel Robert Mueller.

But congressional Democrats and Republicans, including House Speaker Paul Ryan and Representative Trey Gowdy of South Carolina, who helped draft the GOP memo, have said it should not be used to undermine the special counsel.

- PANigeria's government has acknowledged that 110 girls are still missing nearly a week after Boko Haram militants attacked a town.

The fate of the girls is not known, but witnesses said the Islamic extremists specifically asked where the girls' school was located after the raid in Dapchi, Yobe state.

Some eyewitnesses reported seeing young women being taken away at gunpoint.

Information minister Lai Mohammed made the announcement about the girls still being missing on Sunday after holding meetings with family members.

Many Nigerians fear the girls were abducted as brides for the Boko Haram extremists, who in 2014 kidnapped 276 girls from a boarding school in Chibok and forced them to marry their captors.

About 100 of the Chibok girls have never returned to their families nearly four years later.

Frustrated family members had already compiled a list of missing girls after saying officials had been too slow to respond.

Air Force spokesman Olatokunbo Adesanya said "the renewed efforts at locating the girls are being conducted in close liaison with other surface security forces".

The militants arrived in Dapchi on Monday evening, sending many fleeing into the surrounding bush amid a hail of gunfire. While Nigeria's president has called the girls' disappearances a "national disaster", local officials at first falsely indicated that some of those abducted were rescued while others were hiding and would return in the coming days.

Bashir Manzo, whose daughter Fatima is among the missing, said the chances that the children are merely hiding in the bush are slim.

He said: "All those that fled into the bush had been brought back to the school on Tuesday, and a roll call was taken after which they had all gone home to meet their parents."

Nigeria's president said earlier no effort will be spared to locate the missing youngsters.

Muhammadu Buhari said earlier in the week: "The entire country stands as one with the girls' families, the government and the people of Yobe State. This is a national disaster.

"We are sorry that this could have happened and share your pain. We pray that our gallant armed forces will locate and safely return your missing family members."Self-managed super funds are adding fuel to Australias boom/bust property cycle and setting themselves up for big losses when the market retreats, an Industry Super analysis has found.

The analysis of Tax Office returns finds that in the year to June 2016, self-managed super funds with assets of less than $50,000 lost an average of 16.7 per cent and failed to achieve any gains between 2009 and 2016. The self-managed sector as a whole made 2.9 per cent in the year to June 2016, well below the 4.1 per cent achieved by industry funds.

The amount SMSFs have borrowed to buy residential real estate doubled between June 2014 and June 2016, climbing from $6.3 billion to $12.2 billion. Credit:Arsineh Houspian

Three in every five funds with balances up to $100,000 had 80 per cent or more of the funds invested in a single asset class, likely to be cash, term deposits, domestic listed shares or property.

Expenses were high. For small funds under $50,000, the expenses reported to the Tax Office amounted to an outsized 14 per cent of funds under management. The briefing note says other expenses would not have been reported. Because low balances are typically held by young people, the persistent poor performance of such funds is likely to be detrimental to long-term outcomes.Jugs of beer in a car park and Sunday sessions at The Regatta spring to mind when Brisbane boy and stand-up comedian Matt Okine reflects on Brisbanes dating scene.

The 32-year-old said when he was about 18 or 19 years old and exploring the Brisbane dating scene people didnt really date.

You would just go to the Regatta on a Sunday or youd go to The Normanby in the carpark and drink a squillion jugs of XXXX and then youd maybe end up on the dance floor with someone and that was how a relationship started, he said.

Matt Okine will perform at the 2018 Brisbane Comedy Festival.

Okine wrote and starred in Stan series The Other Guy, a comedy about a radio host who unexpectedly finds himself back in the dating pool, and said he drew inspiration from Brisbanes dating scene in the 2000s for the series.pay Outback Opal Hunters

Discovery, 9.30am

Robert Mitchum in a still from the 1962 version of the film Cape Fear.

This pacy, well-made documentary series provides a palpable sense of the excitement, frustration and hard work involved in small-time opal mining. The conditions are terrible and the machinery old and cantankerous, but at the end of the day everyone seems to unearth just enough of the gorgeous gemstone to keep them going. Today Kelly and her father, Al, shine a light on some of the caper's lesser-known hazards. One is the long, hard spines of the introduced Hudson pear cactus  which Kelly warns could actually pierce your heart should you fall on them. Another is the ageing hydraulic hoses on their drilling rig  a sudden pinhole puncture could expel fluid at pressure high enough to pierce clothes and skin and give you a "hydraulic injection". The fact that their dog has a habit of eating rocks adds an extra degree of difficulty. Well cast and thoroughly absorbing.

Brad NewsomeThe disconcerting thing about New Zealand reality shows is just how very nice everybody is. Take this one. The bachelor seems really nice; almost all of the 23 bachelorettes seem really nice; and even the oddly unobtrusive host seems really nice. And if you can't recall said host's name at the end of the episode, that's probably because he was just too polite to impose himself on proceedings to that extent. This season's bachelor is the 32-year-old Jordan, a handsome, well-groomed chap who works in film and television, likes old cars and at times seems almost apologetic about all the fuss going on around him. Tonight he meets all the bachelorettes, a procession of towering yet self-effacing blondes interspersed with a Samoan princess, a slightly pushy Persian and an American doctor who arrives armed with a stethoscope. Watchable enough, but unlikely to set hearts racing.

Grand Designs

ABC, 7.40pm

This is the 15th season of Kevin McCloud looking natty in his twisted blue scarf, which he wears tonight as he forbodes "architectural pandemonium" in the renovation of a derelict Victorian gatehouse in North London. All the usual hassles are there  over time, over budget and it rains, while the couple  Mark and Penny  are, of course, keen to project manage the whole palavar themselves, resulting in their children being neglected (which is, apparently, hilarious, but at least mum and dad get giant windows from which they can watch the traffic on the busy road the house is butted up against). None of this is new  hell, after 15 seasons I could project manage a new build, despite struggling with the more complicated designs in my daughter's Duplo set  but it is still great, schadenfreude TV. McCloud is the original and the best host of what has now become a Grand Designs franchise (running second is Grand Designs New Zealand's Chris Moller, whose dry Kiwi wit balances well with McCloud's smug Brit). And while McCloud's backhanded compliments  tonight it's "potential for charm"  are legendary, he still finds something nice to say at the end, even if the modernist larch-covered box with he's standing in is the same as last week's larch-covered box. On the crazy Grand Designs couple front, Mark and Penny are reasonably chilled  they are both neurologists, except he likes old-school architecture (hence, the derelict Victorian gatehouse), while she is keen on a more modern approach (hence, the giant zinc-clad box she's about to whack on the back of the gatehouse).

Louise Rugendyke

40th Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi GrasThe Australian National University has cancelled all classes and events on Monday after Sunday's downpour.

Canberra received more than February's average rainfall on Sunday. It recorded 66.2mm by 2pm, compared with the average rainfall in Canberra for February of 51.2mm. Some parts of the city were hit by more than 60mm in just a few hours.

The deluge hit north Canberra hardest, caused flash flooding in parts of the city and forced several roads to close.

"The closure is to ensure the safety of all students and staff as the university conducts essential safety checks on infrastructure including bridges, creek banks and electrical switchboards," the university said.The union representing public service employees has called for the new leader of the Nationals to reconsider the push by former party leader Barnaby Joyce to move public service jobs out of Canberra.

The Nationals will elect a new party leader on Monday morning after Mr Joyce resigned last week, with the party expected to appoint Veterans Affairs Minister Michael McCormack to the role.

The changing of the guard should also mean a change in approach to the decentralisation policy championed by Mr Joyce, national secretary of the Community and Public Sector Union Nadine Flood said.

"Barnaby Joyce's attempt to dress up pork barrelling as decentralisation will be a black mark on his legacy. He has damaged public sector agencies such as the APVMA, and also hurt those who rely on their services, while doing very little if anything to boost regional employment and communities," Ms Flood said.Two Auburn residents are facing felony charges stemming from a fight at a Fort Street house.

The Auburn Police Department said officers responded to Fort Street at around 12:40 a.m. Sunday for a person bleeding after a fight. The victim had a head injury, which he stated was a result of being hit with an object by Darryl Ross, 56, of 9 Fort St. Police said they determined that the object was a drinking glass, and the victim was taken to Auburn Community Hospital.

Ross, who cut his hand during the fight, was charged with second-degree assault and third-degree criminal possession of a weapon, both class D felonies.

Police also charged a man who they said was interfering with the investigation at the Fort Street crime scene. Diamante Swift, 21, also of 9 Fort St. but living in a separate apartment from Ross, tried multiple times to push past officers who were telling him he could not enter the residence. He then slapped an APD sergeant's hand and was advised he was under arrest, at which point he resisted and injured an officer, police said.

Swift was charged with second-degree assault, a class D felony, second-degree obstruction of governmental administration and resisting arrest, both class A misdemeanors.Japan earned a total of 13 medals, including four golds, in the Pyeongchang Olympic Games, which ended on Sunday, with the total number marking a record high for the country in the history of the Winter Olympics.

One of the four golds was won by Yuzuru Hanyu in men's singles figure skating. Hanyu defended the title he gained in the 2014 Sochi Olympics, becoming the second man in 66 years to clinch two consecutive Olympic golds in the sport.

The three other golds were won in speed skating events for women. Nao Kodaira scored a victory in the 500-meter sprint with an Olympic record time of 36.94 seconds, becoming the first Japanese female speed skater to win an Olympic gold.

The Japanese squad of Nana Takagi, her younger sister Miho Takagi, Ayano Sato and Ayaka Kikuchi won the team pursuit event.

Nana Takagi claimed her second gold at the Pyeongchang Games, in the mass start event, which was newly added to the Winter Olympics. She is the first Japanese female athlete ever to claim multiple gold medals in a single Winter Olympics.Police are hunting for two suspects after four robberies in Sydney's inner west on Saturday, which left one man in a critical condition.

The four separate incidents during the violent crime spree, which occurred between 12.20am and 1.30pm on Saturday, are believed to be linked, according to police.

The first attack occurred when a man was grabbed from behind and assaulted while walking on Arthur Street in Ashfield about 12.20am.

Police are searching for suspects after four violent robberies in the inner west on Saturday.

The 29-year-old man suffered swelling and bruising to his face.Motorists are shifting to Brisbanes Airport Link toll tunnel as roadworks choke Kingsford Smith Drive and are shunning the very short Go Between Bridge, the latest toll traffic figures show.

It is one of the first signs of Brisbane drivers being prepared to pay to avoid traffic delays, based on analysis of figures from toll giant Transurban.

Brisbane's Clem7 toll road and tunnel. Credit:Glenn Hunt

There are now 408,000 trips each day on Brisbane toll roads.

More than 10 years after construction on Clem7 began, all of south-east Queenslands toll roads and bridges are run by international tolling giant Transurban, after tollway sales in the past three years by Brisbane City Council and the Queensland Investment Corporation and liquidations of two previous private operators.An "enraged" man armed with a knife has been shot dead by officers in Brisbane's east after he tried to break into a home and made threats towards residents, according to police.

Officers deployed a Taser initially but it didn't stop the man, who then advanced towards officers and made further threats before being shot twice in Wakerley.

Police cordoned off a large area around the Wakerley home where the shooting unfolded. Credit:AAP - Glenn Hunt

Detective Chief Superintendent Mick Niland said Goulburn Street residents called triple zero about 9.50am after seeing a knife-wielding man trying to break into a home.

The 31-year-old Gold Coast man also made threats towards residents before police arrived within minutes of the emergency call being made and confronted the man.A major investigation is underway after Queensland police shot dead a knife-wielding man in a Brisbane street.

It is alleged the man, 31-year-old former Comancheros bikie club associate Liam Scorsese, threatened the occupants of a home in Goulburn Street at Wakerley on the city's bayside shortly before 10am on Sunday.

He tried to break into the property and the occupants called police who tried Tasering the "enraged" 31-year-old but were unable to subdue him.

The two police officers then retreated 50 to 60 metres down the street but the Scorsese pursued them and threatened them with the knife, police say.Martin Stewart, who is blind, is not able to use the new Albert eftpos machines because they have no keypads. Credit:Eddie Jim

The evening began so well, with dinner at a local Indian restaurant for his daughters birthday.

But when it came time to pay, Martin Stewart got a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach.

Mr Stewart  who describes himself as totally blind  realised the only way he could settle the bill was using an Albert eftpos machine  the Commonwealth Bank's tablet-style units that are increasingly widespread, with more than 88,000 across Australia.

People who are blind or vision-impaired say these units are not accessible because the smooth glass screen doesnt have a keypad.A freak storm has rocked Perth's southern suburbs with intense structural damage done to some Rockingham homes due to heavy wind gusts and scattered hail.

Winds up to 130 kilometres an hour were recorded off the coast of Garden Island just before the storm hit the mainland.

"Rockingham hit by wild weather this morning. Residents say it was like a mini tornado. Roofs off, trees collapsed and cameras down." Credit:Hannah Barry

When it hit, emergency services recorded an immediate spike in the number of call outs due to storm damage.Labor has sent its clearest signal yet it will not support the Turnbull government's foreign donations crackdown in its current form, with Bill Shorten declaring he cannot support laws that would "silence" local charities.

While Labor supports a ban on foreign donations to Australian political parties it is increasingly concerned about how the Coalition's laws might stifle the not-for-profit sector, preventing them from taking part in political debates.

"Labor has led the way on reforming political donations and removing foreign influence from the political process. Well keep working with the government to ban foreign donations, which is already Labor policy," Mr Shorten said.

"I believe we can clean up donations without silencing our charities. Labor is not interested in laws which punish Australian charities and not-for-profits."The state government has accused an inner-Melbourne council of dragging its heels on urgent fire safety work to an apartment building identified as at risk from flammable cladding.

Stonnington Council failed to show up to an inspection of the apartments at 247 Williams Road in South Yarra on Friday and then refused to get moving on "urgent" fire safety upgrades, insisting they could wait until Monday, according to Planning Minister Richard Wynne.

The council did not respond to Mr Wynne's criticism when contacted for comment on Sunday, but said it supported the government's efforts on the flammable cladding problem.

Mr Wynne says his department has now taken over as the fire safety authority for the building, the first time it has taken that step since the flammable cladding crisis emerged, and says councils are on notice that the state government will not tolerate tardy efforts on known cladding risks.

The block at Williams Road is one of more than 1400 buildings in Victoria identified as having potentially flammable cladding by a government taskforce formed in the wake of the Grenfell Tower tragedy in the UK, where scores of residents lost their lives to fire.New York: The National Rifle Association says companies that are severing ties with the gun rights group and its members are wrongly punishing them for a shooting at a Florida high school that claimed 17 lives.

In a statement sent on Saturday, NRA spokeswoman Jennifer Baker said the group's five million members have long enjoyed discounts and benefits from many American corporations.

Illinois gun owners and supporters fill out National Rifle Association applications while participating in an Illinois Gun Owners Lobby Day convention in 2012. Credit:AP

"Since the tragedy in Parkland, Florida, a number of companies have decided to sever their relationship with the NRA, in an effort to punish our members who are doctors, farmers, law enforcement officers, fire fighters, nurses, shop owners and school teachers that live in every American community," the statement said.

The group says it had "nothing at all to do with the failure of that school's security preparedness ... or the cruel failures of both federal and local law enforcement".Sign up for our PoliticsNY newsletter for the latest coverage and to stay informed about the 2021 elections in your district and across NYC

It was not a whole lot of fun to interview Bryan Caplan, as my husband and I have two kids in college right now and the bills just keep on coming. But Caplan is an academic I respect, hell be in New York soon for a big debate at the Soho Forum, and he just wrote a book that will undoubtedly get a lot of people talking: The Case Against Education: Why The Education System Is a Waste of Time and Money.

I see myself as a whistle-blower, Caplan said. Though he enjoys tenure as a professor of economics at George Mason University, I feel an obligation to tell people that the system seems dysfunctional to me. What students learn is not relevant in the real world. Most of what theyll need to know is just to pass the final exam.

This resonated a bit uncomfortably for me as I tried to recall what Id learned in my Modern Russian History class at college, and, for that matter, my French Revolution class. And physics. And English Literature from Milton to, um, someone else. And

Ahem! Back to Caplan.

As an economist, he naturally thinks about this issue in economic terms, starting with the puzzle of why college grads earn more than those without a degree. Many employers seem to be paying not for any actual skills or knowledge students have accrued at college, but simply for the stamp of approval.

Its a lot like going to a concert you want to see where one person stands up, said Caplan. If everyone stands up, no one can see any better. And if everyone has a bachelors degree, then no one does. Or rather, a college degree becomes the baseline for getting a job interview. This makes it take longer and cost more to start earning a decent living.

It wasnt always thus. In his book, Caplan looks at different occupations going back to the 1940s: How much education did waiters have back then, or hotel concierges? Since 1940, the education for the same job is up by three years  the education you need to be considered worthy, he says.

And its not that the jobs have become so much more intellectually demanding. Some have, of course, but some are easier now. For instance, waiters in the 1940s had to add up the bill at the table. Today, a computer does that. And yet, today the job demands more education.

Meanwhile, this education keeps getting more expensive. For this, Caplan blames, in part, the availability of student loans.

If students had to pay out of savings or earnings, the demand wouldnt be there for expensive schooling. But with loans readily available, demand is artificially high. In turn, the schools use this new pool of money to become ever more alluring, creating a sort of educational arms race: Who has the newest health club? The biggest auditorium?

Caplan is pretty adamant that the system is bloated and wasteful.

But hes not just down on college. He is down on high school, too.

Kids are so bored! he exclaims. And, he adds, so many classes are pointless.

Take, for instance, language instruction. The typical American takes two years of foreign language in high school. But what percent say they really learned to speak that language?

Is it 15 percent? I venture.

Nope.

Five percent?

Nope.

A bit under one percent claim to have learned to speak a foreign language very well in high school, says Caplan. Ask if they learned enough to at least get by, and more people will say yes. But you cant get a job being able to speak a slight amount of Spanish.

Instead of spending so many years in high school learning so many things theyre not going to use, students could be learning a trade, he said, and many would be better off. Vocational ed should not be a dirty word.

I agree! Vigorously!

And Im thrilled some New York City high schools give kids a real-world skill.

But the CUNYs change lives too. Ive seen it. Students from Azerbaijan and China and Ecuador somehow make it to America, learn the language, work a part-time job or jobs, and become the first in their family to get a college degree. It changes the trajectory of their lives. And on the way to becoming an accountant or a teacher, some of them stumble into a computer class or Arabic or biology, and voila: their lives change again.

Its true that not every class in high school or college is memorable, practical, or even good. And its true we shouldnt dismiss anyone without a degree as unworthy of hiring. But its also true that the education system can be something other than a pit.

It can be a door.The Enforcement Directorate (ED) seems to have turned the tide towards the other banks in the Rs 11,400-crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud, which has shaken up the entire banking system in the country, hence raising questions over the credibility about these public sector banks to keep the public money safe. As per the information, total 16 banks have been asked by the ED to give details of all the loans offered to Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi - who are on the run since the fraud came to light two weeks ago - nature of the loans, and collateral offered against these loans. According to some estimates, total losses of these public sector banks could well swell up to over Rs 20,000 crore if the ED finds out 'bending of norms' in their cases too.

The ED's decision to seek information on the loans offered to the duo seems to be motivated from the allegation that some banks offered huge loans to the duo's companies at just 12 per cent collateral, which put them at the risk of not being able to recover in case of a 'PNB-like' fraud. To make things even worse, it has been alleged that many of these loans fall in special mention account of second category, meaning they were at the cusp of turning into non-performing assets when these loans were offered.

The Indian Express has quoted an official saying the agency "want(s) to see on what basis these loans were granted and whether these are still recoverable. However, we have not asked any bank to file a complaint with us." The report also indicates that more than two dozen banks, which offered loans to Nirav Modi and Choksi, could be exposed to loans between Rs 5,000 crore and Rs 10,000 crore. As many as 37 banks have lent money to Mehul Choksi's companies, which amount to around Rs 3,000 crore; Nirav Modi's firms also owe similar amount to total 17 banks.

The government had moved the Mumbai bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) to confiscate all 114 properties owned by beleaguered diamantaire Nirav Modi and his maternal uncle and partner Mehul Choksi on Friday. The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) is said to have also moved the NCLT for the attachment of assets belonging to Modi's wife Ami Modi, and brother Neeshal.

With the ED attaching the properties of the duo diamantaires, it seems unlikely that they would be able to repay the loans taken by them from these banks. Nirav Modi, in a letter to PNB, has already said his companies owed the bank much less amount than alleged, and by going public it had jeopardised the chances of recovery. The PNB, however, has again asked him to come up with a concrete repayment plan.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which is also probing the case, has already arrested Vipul Ambani, who was the Chief Financial Officer of Nirav Modi's Firestar Diamond. The information provided by him could be crucial in the case as he was allegedly in the direct contact of PNB officials in Mumbai as well as in the Delhi head office. The CBI has also arrested a General Manager-rank officer of the Punjab National Bank, Rajesh Jindal, who is posted at the bank's head office in New Delhi in connection with the case. Rajesh Jindal was the head of the Brady House, Mumbai, from 2009 till 20011.

Ever since the PNB scam has unfolded, the investigation agencies have begun its crackdown on the properties of Nirav Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi, but have been clueless about their whereabouts. The fraud revelation that started from Rs 280 crore has reached over Rs 11,400 crore and could reach over Rs 20,000 crore as the agency officials warn of many more skeletons in the closet.Iconic actor Sridevi passed away due to a massive cardiac arrest in Dubai last night. Her untimely death has shocked the country. Widely regarded as the first female superstar of Hindi cinema, Sridevi had done multiple Tamil, Telugu and Kannada movies before taking the Hindi film industry by storm.

At the peak of her career in 1987, Sridevi took some time off her busy schedule for a chat with the then Principal Correspondent and now Group Editorial Director (Publishing) of India Today magazine, Raj Chengappa. In the interview, Sridevi talks about how she feels when people call her the sex siren of the Hindi film industry, how the Tamil industry perceives her as opposed to how the Hindi film industry sees her, how the real Sridevi is a very homely, simple person and how she would love to settle down eventually.

Q. What do you think of your image as the sex siren of Hindi cinema?

A. I feel very bad. When people come and tell me how beautiful I looked in a film, I don't react. But when they tell me I acted well I feel proud.

Q. But you became number one because of your willingness to bare more than others?

A. If that's the case then whoever reveals a lot should be number one. Why are they not? If I look sexy just wearing a sari, can I help it? There are so many girls who reveal much more but they don't look anything.

Q. You were known in Tamil films for the character roles you played. Why did you switch your image in Hindi films?

A. In Tamil films they love to see me act naturally. But in Hindi films all they want is lot of glamour, richness and masala. My bad luck was that my first big hit in Hindi films turned out to be a commercial one (Himmatwala). When I did a character role in Sadma, the picture flopped. So people started casting me only for glamour roles. But one day I'm going to prove to everyone that I can act also.

Q. Is that day far away?

A. Yes. Everything has changed. I have realised that glamour is important but not vulgarity. Now it is out of the question that 1 would do any revealing shots. 1 would love to do art films without make up. And I would love to do a crying role. But, so far, I am not satisfied as an artiste. I have not done the role where I can say, chalo. at last I have done it.



Q. Do you think you will remain number one for a long time?

A. I can't be number one for life. As a girl, the time is even shorter. I am not going to be a performer, going on year after year. I will never give people a chance to get bored of me. The moment somebody younger is going to take my place, I will quit films. I hate to hang on.

Q. But your colleagues say it is time you played a role that reflects your real character. Something that has moved you deeply.

A. Then there be would no such role to play because my life is routine.

Q. Who is the real Sridevi?

A. Someone very simple. I'm an ordinary person. Nothing very interesting. Just another parents' daughter. Even ordinary girls have style. I don't think I've got that. You see the real Sridevi in the house. I hate to go out for parties. I like being at home with my parents. I'm a very shy person and difficult to get along with.

Q. Has your stardom affected your attitude to life?

A. It doesn't give me a chance to get to know life. Whenever I want a saree or anything, it comes to me. I have never been shopping. But I've got so used to it that even if I get a chance to experience things, I withdraw. I feel very uneasy with anything new. I feel comfortable only with my lifestyle.

Q. Do some of the characters you play influence your life-style?

A. The characters that I play are different from my personal life. The moment I play a role I forget it.

Q. How do you look so innocent despite doing all those daring dances?

A. It is not an act. You can't do that for a whole life. It would look silly and stupid. It is just that I have a baby face that doesn't change.

Q. But in front of the camera you become a totally different person.

A. Because I'm very professional. I don't plan my shot or anything like that. I have never learnt acting. I think it should come from inside.

Q. What would you like to do after you stop acting?

A. Get married and settle down. I love children.Sridevi, often hailed as India's first female superstar passed away last night in Dubai. She suffered a massive cardiac arrest, as mentioned by her brother-in-law Sanjay Kapoor. According to reports the actor was with her husband Boney Kapoor and younger daughter Khushi at the time of her death. She was 54.

According to reports, Sanjay Kapoor confirmed that she died around 11:00 - 11:30 pm.

The family was in Dubai to attend the wedding of her nephew Mohit Marwah.

Members of the film industry, politicians and fans have poured messages of condolence and loss at the death of the iconic star.

"Saddened by the untimely demise of noted actor Sridevi. She was a veteran of the film industry, whose long career included diverse roles and memorable performances. My thoughts are with her family and admirers in this hour of grief. May her soul rest in peace," tweeted PMO India.

Saddened by the untimely demise of noted actor Sridevi. She was a veteran of the film industry, whose long career included diverse roles and memorable performances. My thoughts are with her family and admirers in this hour of grief. May her soul rest in peace: PM @narendramodi - PMO India (@PMOIndia) February 25, 2018

SriDevi .. gone. It's like an era is over. Like life turning a new chapter. A beautiful story just ended. An amazing spirit just vanished leaving us with amazing love, memories, and incredible grief. #Sridevi - Shekhar Kapur (@shekharkapur) February 25, 2018

I have no words. Condolences to everyone who loved #Sridevi . A dark day . RIP - PRIYANKA (@priyankachopra) February 24, 2018

I just heard Ma'am Sridevi passed away due to a massive cardiac arrest. I am in shock...cant stop crying... - sushmita sen (@thesushmitasen) February 24, 2018

Shocked beyond words to hear about the sad and untimely demise of #Sridevi. A dream for many, had the good fortune of sharing screen space with her long ago and witnessed her continued grace over the years. Thoughts and prayers with the family. RIP - Akshay Kumar (@akshaykumar) February 25, 2018

Have witnessed Sridevi's life from an adolescent teenager to the magnificeint lady she became. Her stardom was well deserved. Many happy moments with her flash through my mind including the last time I met her. Sadma's lullaby haunts me now. We'll miss her - Kamal Haasan (@ikamalhaasan) February 25, 2018

Shocked to hear about the demise of #Sridevi ji .Heartfelt Condolences to the family. Om Shanti ! - Virender Sehwag (@virendersehwag) February 25, 2018

Still can't believe it. She was truly iconic. Shocked. #Sridevi - Ajay Devgn (@ajaydevgn) February 25, 2018

Shocked stunned. Still see her laughing talking. Unbelievable. Actor par excellence. A school in herself.. learnt so much from her. Still can't believe it . A huge loss. #Sridevi - Kajol (@KajolAtUN) February 25, 2018

The brightest Star is gone.. #Sridevi .. - Farah Khan (@TheFarahKhan) February 25, 2018

It's a heart breaking news, can't even imagine in the worst of my dreams - World losses the best performer - Condolences to the Family.

Rest in Peace #Sridevi Ji - Nawazuddin Siddiqui (@Nawazuddin_S) February 25, 2018

Actors took to Twitter to express their grief at the loss. "End of an era," Shekhar Kapur said, while Kamal Haasan, who was her co-star in Sadma says that the "Sadma lullaby haunts him now".Sridevi had worked in Tamil, Telugu and Kannada movies before taking the Hindi movie industry by storm. Her acting career began as a child artist in the 1969 Tamil movie Thunaivan. Her first Hindi movie was Julie that was released in 1979.

She took a break from acting around 1997. Although she featured in a couple of movies after that, her big comeback was the surprise hit English Vinglish in 2012.

Sridevi has been part of some iconic Hindi movies like Sadma (1983), Mr. India (1987), Chandni (1989), ChalBaaz (1989) and Lamhe (1991),

Sridevi is survived by Boney Kapoor and her daughters Jhanvi and Khushi. Her elder daughter is set to make her debut in Bollywood this year.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.If youre like most Americans, youve heard of Billy Graham. The iconic American pastor counseled a dozen presidents and became the nations best-known TV evangelist, according to The New York Times. But what you may not know about the late evangelist is that he had a major impact on one of the most famous Christian families currently in the spotlight: Chip and Joanna Gaines.

Read on to discover the surprising impact that Billy Graham had on Chip and Joanna and their faith.

1. Billy Graham used radio and TV to spread his message, including to Chips mother

The New York Times reports that Billy Graham was able to influence many Americans, not just the Gaineses. Grahams wide reach came thanks to his shrewd use of radio, television, satellite transmissions, and videos to spread his message. Graham encouraged evangelical Protestants to reclaim the social influence that they had once wielded. And he used his global reach to preach that everyone can repent of their sins, accept Jesus as their savior, and be born again.

But interestingly enough, Graham didnt speak for a particular church. And at times, he seemed to fill the role of national clergyman. Graham even advised a dozen presidents. And as we explain on the next page, his message also reached Chip Gainess mother.

Next: Chips mother attended this event.

2. Chip traces his faith back to one of Billy Grahams crusades

As the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association once reported, Chip Gaines traces his faith to a Billy Graham crusade that happened the year he was born. Chip explained, The impact that man has had on my life is immeasurable. In 1975, Chips mother, Gayle, attended a Billy Graham crusade in Albuquerque.

She had been baptized at the age of 8. But according to Chip, she decided to go forward to answer the invitation to believe. As Chip explains, Grahams simple sermons brought people from all denominations and churches. Chip added, whenever they extended an invitation to believe, attendees would swarm to the front.

Next: Chips parents made this change after the crusade.

3. Chips parents made it a priority to go to church

Chip reports that after his mother attended Billy Grahams event, she and Chips father made attending church a priority. According to Chip, that strengthened their marriage. Chips parents also got involved in a young couples Sunday school class.

And in the 1990s, his mother worked at Word Publishing. The company published books for Billy Graham. Chip says, She found continued encouragement in his writing. And presumably, she passed what she learned on to Chip.

Next: A member of Billy Grahams family personally mentored Chip.

4. Another member of Billy Grahams family mentored Chip

The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association reports that While Billy Graham set the spiritual trajectory of Chips life, it was another Graham family member who personally mentored him in living out his faith. Danny Lotz, Billy Grahams late son-in-law, ended up mentoring Chip. Chip attended Baylor University, as did Lotzs children.

Chip characterized Lotz as influential in showing me how to live out my faith, even in a secular environment. Chip added, I learned so much from him, and he always spoke so highly of (Billy Graham), who he said talked the talk and walked the walk. So, to this day I think about talking the talk and walking the walk because of Billy Graham and Danny Lotz.

Next: Many Americans love this about Chip and Joanna.

5. Many people love Chip and Joanna for their faith

Many Americans tune in to Fixer Upper for Joannas covetable sense of design. (And, of course, Chips lovable sense of humor.) But many of them stay because they appreciate how Chip and Joanna prioritize their family, and center their marriage and their family around their faith.

Joanna Gaines has often explained that she and Chip have trusted God with their dreams. This trust brought peace, although my circumstance hadnt yet reflected his promise, Joanna noted. His Word doesnt return void, and God was working in my heart to establish deeper levels of trust that I now look back on and am thankful for.

Next: The couples views align with Billy Grahams on this issue.

6. Chip and Joanna seem to have learned a thing or two about marriage from Billy Graham

Chip and Joanna have also talked about their marriage. In fact, Chip once told Country Living of Joanna, She has my back. And I have hers  in all things. Fox News compared that quote to some advice given by Billy Graham. Graham characterized himself and his wife as happily incompatible. He said, If two people agree on everything, one of them is unnecessary.

But Graham believed that when doing the hard work of building a healthy marriage, you should put God at the center of your relationship. He said, God can help you begin to rebuild your marriage and your life if you will let Him rule in your life. As Fox News notes, Chip said that in his life with Joanna, we will always choose our family. We will always choose our marriage no matter what the opportunity, and the Fixer Upper conclusion is a decent example.

Next: This part of the Gaineses faith caused a big controversy.

7. But their church has also become a point of controversy

Chip and Joanna Gaines attend a non-denominational church. And Billy Graham would likely approve. Graham wrote in one of his many books, In heaven, there will be no sectarian worship, no denominational differences, no church creeds. Graham added that he was brought up as a Presbyterian and later became a Baptist. But in later years I have felt that I belong to all churches.

Chip and Joanna do attend a non-denominational, evangelical church. But their church recently became a point of major controversy. BuzzFeed reported on the pastors hard-line stance against same sex marriage. The publication also reported on his support of conversion therapy for LGBT people. The coverage ignited a major debate over whether it matters what church Chip and Joanna attend and how their views align or dont align with their pastors.

Next: Chip and Joanna responded very deliberately to the whole scandal.

8. Chip and Joanna refused to comment on the debate

The controversy over their church dominated conversations among Fixer Upper fans and critics alike. But Chip and Joanna ultimately never made a definitive comment on the issue of same-sex marriage. As Snopes notes, neither Chip nor Joanna Gaines has gone on record for or against gay marriage. People assume that the Gaineses believe one thing or another. But they havent shared their views.

Instead, Chip wrote in a post on Joannas blog, Joanna and I have personal convictions. One of them is this: we care about you for the simple fact that you are a person, our neighbor on planet earth. Its not about what color your skin is, how much money you have in the bank, your political affiliation, sexual orientation, gender, nationality or faith. He added, We are not about to get in the nasty business of throwing stones at each other, dont ask us to cause we wont play that way.

Next: They may have learned this from Billy Graham.

9. Billy Graham kept his distance from political debates, like Chip and Joanna

Chip and Joanna may have decided to avoid the debate over same-sex marriage thanks to the example of Billy Graham. As The New York Times explains, Graham kept his distance from the evangelical political movement he had helped engender, refusing to endorse candidates and avoiding the volatile issues dear to religious conservatives.

That included the issues of homosexuality and same-sex marriage. Graham seems to have regarded both as sinful. But he rarely spoke about either. Graham once said in an interview, If I get on these other subjects, it divides the audience on an issue that is not the issue Im promoting. Im just promoting the Gospel.

Read more: Thoughts We All Have While Watching HGTVs Fixer Upper

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Image: Omar Marques / Anadolu Agency / Getty Images

Asylum seekers join 2016 protests in Vienna, Austria.

A group of 100 Iranians, most of whom are Christians, are currently marooned in Vienna, Austria, and have been for the past year. Theyre caught in limbo between the American Dream they were promised and the threat of being forcibly returned to Iran.

Their fate took a grave turn this month, as the US State Department confirmed that a number of the stranded refugees would not be granted resettlement in the US under the Trump administrations tighter requirements for refugees, leaving them with just weeks to leave Austria and return to Iran.

On Wednesday, Austrian police raided the building where some of the Iranians have been staying, reported WORLD magazine. Travel and identity documents, including passports, were seized in the operation.

These individuals were subject to the same rigorous process for resettlement as all refugees and, following input from all relevant departments and agencies, the applications for resettlement were denied, a department spokesperson said in a statement provided to CT.

The United States will not force anyone to return to Iran, the statement continued. The United States, the government of Austria, and others are working together on protection options for denied applicants that could include resettlement or asylum elsewhere.

The bad news comes after a year of uncertainty for the refugees in Vienna, which was meant to be only a stopover point as the refugees traveled from Iran to the United States. They arrived in the European capital city last January, granted passage to the West under the Lautenberg Amendment. A Cold War-era law passed by the US Congress to help Jews escape persecution in the Soviet Union, the policy was updated in 2004 to accommodate other persecuted religious minorities.

Expecting to quickly move on to the US to unite with family and friends already living therea third were to be resettled in Californiatheir case stalled due to a hold enacted for unreported reasons toward the end of the Obama administration.

The threat of denial notices from the US emerged as early as the first week of 2018, said Ann Buwalda, executive director of Jubilee Campaign, an organization that advocates for persecuted religious minorities. Now, a majority of the 100 refugees in limbo are believed to have officially received their rejections.

The US has broken its promise to Iranian religious minorities, said Buwalda.

"They traveled to Vienna at the invitation of the United States, with the understanding that they would soon be reunited with their American families. Instead, the refugee applicants in Vienna today have been forced to wait there for more than a year with no explanation for their delayed departures. They have no source of income, and many have spent down their life savings.

End of a long wait

Since 2001, nearly 33,000 members of religious minorities from Iran have been welcomed to America under the Lautenberg Amendment. Each of them passed through Austria, a longtime partner in the US immigration and family reunification process. All participants arrived in Vienna pre-screened and thoroughly vetted and, before 2017, the average wait-time for these individuals was less than three months, said Buwalda.

For these 100 Iranians, howevermost of them from heavily persecuted communities of Armenian and Assyrian Christianssomething changed.

High-level administration officials are monitoring the progress, a White House official toldThe Washington Free Beacon last month. Certain complexities exist that the administration has to work through, including human-rights concerns and national security. But the administration is certainly engaged.

Back in January, a spokesperson with the State Department emphasized the vetting process these refugees must undergo.

The safety and security of the American people are paramount, she said. For individuals who cannot be resettled in the United States, the US government-funded Resettlement Support Center (RSC) provides counseling on options, and the US government may also work with international partner organizations to identify other potential resettlement locations. In some cases, applicants who have been denied voluntarily choose to return to Iran.

With the latest State Department update, the decision has been made for them; they are forced to return.

The Iranians in Vienna are in desperate circumstances, Hans Van de Weerd, vice president of US programs at the International Rescue Committee, told Foreign Policy. Without income or the right to stay in Austria, they have but no choice to be deported to Iran, unless another nation steps up or Austria grants them asylum.

Persecution and revival in Iran

The prospect of going back to Iran is a daunting one for religious minorities who flee. According to Open Doors, which tracks the persecution of Christians around the globe, Iran comes in at No. 10 on its annual World Watch List.

Violent protests have erupted in Iran in recent weeks. When demonstrations over the struggling economy and political oppression flared at the end of 2017, anti-regime sentiment flared as well, and quickly spread across the country. In a style Iranians had seen before, as recently as 2009, hardliners in the government cracked down. Thousands of protesters have been arrested and dozens injured and killed.

Despite its poor human rights record and extreme persecution of Christians and other religious minorities, Iran is also home to one of the fastest-growing Christian populations in the world, according to David Yeghnazar, executive director of Elam Ministries.

Iranians have become the most open people to the gospel, he said.

Rampant government oppression hasnt managed to stifle explosive growth in the Iranian church. Last year, Christmas services were overflowing with worshipers, while Christian television and a network of underground churches are flourishing.

Still, persecution under the Ayatollah is very realand deadly. Now that travel to the US and asylum in Europe havent panned out, going back to Iran bodes ill.

A death sentence

These deportations, during a human-rights crackdown in Iran no less, could be a death sentence for these persecuted Christians and other minorities, Nina Shea, director of the Hudson Institutes Center for Religious Freedom, told the Free Beacon in January. They would undermine the important statements against Irans repression by President [Donald] Trump, Vice President [Mike] Pence, and UN Ambassador [Nikki Haley].

From the early days of President Trumps campaign, he has vowed to protect Christian refugees. On January 16, designated Religious Freedom Day, President Trump called the US a champion for religious freedom around the world.

He also said, We will be undeterred in our commitment to monitor religious persecution and implement policies that promote religious freedom. Vice President Pence, too, has promised to aid persecuted Christians, especially in the Middle East.

Indeed, in the first year of the Trump administration, a plain reading of the resettlement data suggests that Christian refugees were prioritized. More than 53 percent of refugees admitted into the US during that period were Christians, while 32 percent were Muslims. By contrast, of the refugees admitted under President Barack Obama in 2016, 45 percent were Muslims and 44 percent were Christians.

But its not that simple. While President Trump has admitted a higher percentage of Christians, he has also admitted far fewer refugees overallChristian or otherwise. In 2017, less than 30,000 refugees came to the US; in 2016, more than 93,000 were resettled.

Assisting persecuted Christian refugees is made more complicated by the fact that, of the top 10 countries with the worst record of persecution against Christians (according to the World Watch List), citizens from seven of them face restrictions from entering the US under President Trumps travel banthe third iteration of which came into effect this past December. This means the Christians who live in the most repressive countries for religious minorities are the least able to find refuge in the US.

Iranians are among the restricted groups. In the last two months of 2017, State Department data shows only two Christian refugees from Iran were resettled, though the State Department said it has resettled more than 800 Iranian religious minorities under the Lautenberg Amendment since last January.

As for the Iranians trapped in limbo in Europe, far from their families in the US and Iran, the Trump administration will still have to decide how to proceed. The move in Europe to grant asylum may buy the US government time; but eventually, it must choose whether or not to unify the refugees with their families.

The administration needs to act fast to stop this travesty, Shea told the Free Beacon.

Additional reporting by Kate Shellnutt.Email Whatsapp Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment

On March 27th of 1980, there was a small eruption of Mt. St. Helens in Washington state. The volcano rumbled awake after a one hundred year sleep. In the weeks to follow, a series of small earthquakes warned of the danger building below the surface of the beautiful mountain.

Federal and local government officials alerted the public to the growing threat and said a large-scale eruption was imminent. Many tourists, backpackers, campers and local residents heeded the warnings and complied with evacuation orders. There were dozens of others who decided to ignore and even scoff at the warnings about the growing danger and chose to stay in harm's way.

On May 18th, 1980 at 8:32 am. Mt. St. Helens erupted ferociously, sending a pyroclastic blast and a wall of super-heated gas and ash racing down the sides of the mountain at over 300 mph.

In the wake of the volcano's fury, 57 people lost their lives because they either ignored or scoffed at the warnings of impending danger. The Bible tells us about a time when scoffers will mock people who warn others about coming of the Lord.

Take note that the Bible zeroes in on a particular time in history. Peter tells us these people will be around in the last days. Another key aspect of these people is the fact that they are following their own sinful desires. The Bible tells us that these people will mockingly ask, "Where is the promise of his coming?"

I've observed many non-Christians mock the notion of God's coming judgment and Jesus' soon return. People on television, radio and social media scoff at the idea that Jesus is coming again. My heart goes out to these people because they are not the enemy, satan is and he wants to keep them blinded.

Knowing the stakes are eternal, we must tell them about God's holiness, coming judgment and redemption through Jesus. The fact that the secular world scoffs at the notion of Jesus' soon return shouldn't be a surprise. What is shocking is the number of supposed Christians who are scoffing about it.

End Time Bible prophecy is like an elephant in the evangelical living room because so many of today's well-known leaders either choose to ignore it altogether or in some cases, they have become the very scoffers the apostle Peter warns us about.

Ask yourself the following questions: When was the last time you heard a sermon on Bible prophecy? When was the last time your small group discussed the end times? Can you remember the last time your church invited a guest speaker to teach on an End Time subject?

I'm guessing many of you feel the same as I do. I have noticed a steady departure from teaching end time Bible prophecy in most evangelical churches today. This is sad and unbelievable in light of the fact that the four gospels, the epistles and the Old Testament are brimming with chapters that are heavily eschatological.

If a pastor or a Bible teacher you listen to is ignoring this subject, chances are high they are doctrinally flawed in other areas. Ignoring or scoffing at Bible prophecy should be a red flag and I would advise you go elsewhere for biblical instruction and find a godly shepherd who teaches the whole Bible.

When I became a Christian in the mid-1980's, there was a great deal of interest in Bible prophecy. Books about the End Times were everywhere and many preachers spoke about it with regularity. Here we are decades later but interest and teaching on end time Bible prophecy are at an all-time low.

Today's Christian bookstores are chock full of life enhancement books that focus on self-esteem instead of God esteem. The most popular Christian teachers focus on the emotions and felt needs of people instead of challenging them to Christ-likeness in light of His soon return.

The gospels are replete with Jesus' warnings and encouragement as He tells us to be alert, to endure to the end and tells us to make disciples. End Time Bible prophecy is paramount in evangelism because people in the world want to know what the future holds. Bible prophecy is critical in discipleship because it exhorts us to good works, personal holiness and finishing well.

As we think about Peter's warning of scoffers coming in the last days, we must understand personal holiness at the center of the issue. Where Bible prophecy is ignored, holiness is diminished. This is important to understand because Peter ties the understanding of end time Bible prophecy closely together with godly living in the last days.

The fact that so many well-known leaders choose to ignore or scoff at End Time teaching is indicative of the last days' spiritual deception and blindness Peter's warned us about. The National Hurricane Center warns people of an approaching storm, in the same way, the US. Geological Survey alerts people of increasing seismic activity and probable volcanic eruptions.

The end result is that many people will heed the warnings and prepare accordingly. If you could go back in time to the day before Mt. St. Helens erupted violently or the day before Hurricane Katrina struck, wouldn't you lovingly warn people with every bit of strength you have despite what the scoffers say? Christians should be warning the world of the approaching storm of God's judgment and tell them about the hope that Jesus offers.Email Whatsapp Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment

Billy Graham passed away this week, at the age of 99. In many ways it feels like the end of an era.

Billy Graham preached the gospel to more people than almost anyone in history. It is impossible to calculate the worldwide impact He has had on all of us.

I am profoundly and forever grateful for his life and example. When I was 13-years-old, I had the opportunity to attend his 96' Minneapolis event and hear him preach the simple gospel message. I remember being in awe as thousands around the stadium from the floor to the rafters made their way down to make a profession of faith in Jesus Christ. God was using this simple, humble messenger and lives were being transformed by the gospel.

Two thousand years after Christ walked the earth, the gospel has not lost even an ounce of it's power to transform the human heart.

Years later, I believe through God's providence, I had the opportunity to work for a year, for his organization, the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association toward a series of youth outreaches up the Mississippi River that drew 112,000 young people to listen to the gospel message. During that time, I had the great joy of spending time with staff who had worked for him for 3-4 decades. In a rare moment, I even had the opportunity to sit down with Sterling Houston, Graham's long-time North American Outreach Director, who shared wonderful personal stories and wisdom with me.

Over the years, I've read many books about Billy Graham, and have always been impacted by the way he carried himself, and the profound work of the God in his ministry.

I've enjoyed visiting two Museum's about his ministry: The Billy Graham Library in Charlotte, North Carolina, and "The History of American Evangelism" exhibit at The Billy Graham Center for Evangelism at Wheaton College. We held one of our past conferences at the Billy Graham Center. Both Museums were stunning in their scope, and help you understand more of the mind boggling ways God has used Billy Graham.

In recent years, we had the privilege to partner in several ways with his grandson, Will Graham, who is an incredible evangelist himself.

One friend, after hearing of Billy Graham's passing, wrote: May God raise up 1,000 more people in his place!

Our world needs more Billy Grahams.

Now don't get me wrong, no one can replace Billy Graham. And we don't need to be copycats. Perhaps few of us will speak to such giant crowds, but that doesn't mean we can't collectively impact our generation in the way he did his.

Billy Graham set an incredible example in the way he lived his life, and the integrity and love with which he ministered. He left us a sterling example to emulate. I believe we can pick up his torch, and carry the gospel to the next generation by learning the way he lived his life, and "following him as he followed Christ."

Here are just a few ways we can follow his wonderful example:

1. Billy Graham walked with integrity

Billy Graham is renown for his deep integrity. My friend Greg Laurie, who knew him well, says, "Billy Graham was the same person in private that he was in public."

Billy wasn't in ministry for the fame, or fortune. Being such a successful public figure, he had many opportunities come his way, but he always kept his focus on what God had called him to do -- tell more people about the saving grace of Jesus.

Let's all commit to walk in greater integrity, with the aim that who we are in private matches up to our public devotion to Jesus.

2. Billy Graham remained humble

Billy Graham was always careful to give God the glory. For a record breaking sixty consecutive years, he was named on the most admired people in the world list, and yet he always knew it was about the Lord.

It was recently shared that he placed the text of Galatians 6:14 in many places around his home,

"But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world."

In his weaknesses, and his successes, he kept His eyes on the Lord, and faithfully served in a way to make much of Jesus, not much of himself. And God has honored him for this legacy.

What if we strove to make more of Jesus than of ourselves? In the words of John the Baptist, "He must become greater and greater. I must become less and less."

3. Billy Graham was authentic

Billy Graham had such a genuine love and care for other people. He had such an authenticity about him that drew other people in. Even if you disagreed with what he said, it was hard not to like him.

During one of his first ministry trips to England, Billy shared a meal with one of his greatest newspaper critics. After their time together, his critic commented, "I may not agree with everything he says, but he is genuine." Tolerance doesn't mean you agree on everything. Tolerance is more about how you treat those you disagree with.

Are you authentic? Let's all work to walk in a greater care and authenticity to the world around us.

4. Billy Graham walked in love

Billy Graham has shared, "It's the Holy Spirit's job to convict. It's God's job to judge. It's my job to love."

Billy Graham lived a life of love. Love for his family, love for his friends, and truly a love for the whole world. He endured hardships, and kept a simple focus on helping more and more people come to know the love of God in their own lives. His life was driven by love for God and love for other people.

Can people around you see God's love in you? May God's love fill our hearts in a greater way, and overflow on the world around us in days to come.

5. Billy Graham kept his focus on the gospel

Billy Graham truly believed the gospel was the hope of the world, and his life backed it up. He proclaimed the gospel to hundreds of millions of people live, in person, and countless more through television and radio broadcasts.

His message was always simply focused on the gospel of Jesus Christ to transform the human heart. I stand in awe of how God used him over and over again to point people back to Jesus. He once stated:

"I have found that when I present the simple message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, with authority, quoting from the very Word of God, He takes that message and drives it supernaturally into the human heart."

Billy Graham's life gives us hope that God can use us too, when we are faithful to proclaim the message about Jesus to our friends, neighbors, and co-workers.

First published at Thinke.Org

'Boruto: Naruto Next Generations' episode 47 release date, spoilers: Shikadai confronts Ryogi and the Byakuya gang member

The next episode of "Boruto: Naruto Next Generations" could finally show the culmination of the Byakuya gang filler arc. While the current storyline is a minor departure from the manga series, the previous episodes posed a great moral question to the characters, particularly to Naruto's eldest child, Boruto. In spite of the Byakuya gang's seemingly noble act of distributing the wealth of the rich people to the poor, the Leaf Village is determined to put an end to their operation in episode 47.

"Boruto: Naruto Next Generations" episode 47, titled "The Figure I Want to Be," will feature the titular character and Shikadai Nara facing the remaining members of the Byakuya gang. Previously, Shikadai was having doubts if he should fight the group, especially that his close friend Ryogi is one of its members. Moreover, Shikadai understands the Byakuya gang's noble cause, although it became clear that the group is also capable of harming innocent people.

To recap, Shikadai figured out the next step of Ryogi and the Byakuya gang, and along with Boruto, he was able to reach the thieves' location. At this point, it looks like the Byakuya gang has nowhere else to go but fight, as the only person that could help them carry out its plans had turned against the group. The Seventh Hokage also expressed his desire to make the Leaf Village a better place for its citizens, and this will happen if criminals like the Byakuya gang are banished.

The face-off between Boruto, Shikadai and the Byakuya gang will be an awesome moment to witness in "Boruto: Naruto Next Generations" episode 47. It will be interesting to know how the young ninjas of Konoha will fare against Ryogi, who has a rare ability to use the Kekkei Genkai technique of Ice Release, thus making him a difficult opponent. The episode could also delve deeper into Ryogi's reason for protecting the Byakuya gang leader Gekko, who according to him had saved his life before.

It is rumored that the episode 47 of "Boruto: Naruto Next Generations" will be the last of the Byakuya gang arc. After this episode, it is not certain if the anime series will proceed with the next major arc of the story, which will follow the original storyline of "Boruto: The Movie."

"Boruto: Naruto Next Generations" episode 47 will air in Japan on Feb. 28th.How should a Christian express anger?

Anger is a very powerful thing. When uncontrolled, it can be very sinful and dangerous, but when motivated by the right reasons and put in the right place it can bring forth good and righteous results.

Many of us, however, fall for the first part and commit sin instead of allowing our anger to mold us and enable us to do the right thing.

Yes, anger can actually help us do the right thing.

In this article we'll talk about how we should express our anger, and let it propel us to doing what God wants for us.

Righteous anger

Some Christians use the term "righteous anger" to justify their anger. While at times they may be right, there are times when they aren't -- and this depends on the motive.

God Himself gets angry. He gets angry at the right things. In fact, His anger is so righteous and holy that sin and darkness will have no place to hide from Him.

The Bible tells us that God sees and knows all things about us (see Psalm 139). He knows every thought in our minds, every motive in our hearts, and every word that we say in secret and in the open. And we'll face Him for everything that we are.

Romans 2:5-6 tells us that if we harden our hearts, we will receive His wrath:

"But in accordance with your hardness and your impenitent heart you are treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who "will render to each one according to his deeds""

The good thing here is that while God is righteous, just and holy, He is also loving. While we deserved His wrath, He sent His only begotten Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to receive His wrath in our place (see Romans 3:21-26).

What does this have to do with our anger?

Now, what does that have to do with our anger? Everything!

We ought to realize that we are a sinful people who deserved God's righteous anger against sin. It is only by His grace that we are spared from it, for His Son received it in our place.

Thus, we ought to look to Him and see the grace He has poured out on us. And we ought to let this grace allow us to manage our anger whenever we feel it.

Here's how we can let God's grace allow us to manage our anger. We'll use Psalm 4:4 and Ephesians 4:26-27 to help us here.

1) Be angry

Both verses tell us,

"Be angry, and do not sin."

This means it's not wrong to get angry, but we must be quick to stop it from allowing or motivating us to commit sin.

2) Be still, and check your heart

Psalm 4:4 goes on to tell us,

"Meditate within your heart on your bed, and be still. Selah"

Instead of quickly lashing out our anger on what caused it, we should instead quiet our souls and be still, then search our hearts for the reason why we are angry in the first place.

Many of us get angry for the wrong reasons. Some even get angry for no apparent reason at all. We must examine ourselves.

3) Don't let anger linger

Ephesians 4:26-27 continues,

"...do not let the sun go down on your wrath, nor give place to the devil."

We must not let our anger linger in our hearts. We must forgive our offenders and release the offense. We must quickly release the anger, especially if it's unfounded or is merely a second-hand offense.

If we release it soon enough, the enemy won't be able to sow bitterness in our hearts.

Final thoughts

If God was able to control His anger and instead pour out His wrath on His Son for our sakes, we ought to learn to be gracious and forgiving of our offenders. God's kindness to us in Christ should empower us to be kind to others as well.Live like a Rockefeller  Odalisque couchee aux magnolias by Henri Matisse

Christies Global President Jussi Pylkkanen looks at one of the greatest Matisse paintings ever to come to the market  plus a short film that documents its tour of the world

Great paintings invite you in and dont let you go, says Christies Global President Jussi Pylkkanen of Henri Matisses Odalisque couchee aux magnolias, painted in Nice in 1923. This is a picture that completely captivates you. In 1923 Matisse was at the height of his powers, Pylkkanen continues, and here he entrances us with a sumptuous painting of his favourite model, Henriette Darricarrere, basking in bright sunlight, reclining in the luxurious surroundings of his Nice studio. When you see it, youre seduced by the radiant colours and the perfect balance and proportion of the composition. It is an iconic painting which describes Matisse at his very best. It is a picture that we all recognise immediately from our art-history books, and which captivated me from the moment that I first saw it at the Rockefellers Hudson Pines home just outside New York. It hung in the sunny living room, where Henriette looked very much at home. She seemed as relaxed as perhaps the many visitors had felt in that beautiful space. It was a moment I will never forget.

Henriette Darricarrere was among the most striking and elegant models in art history. She adopted these extraordinarily sculptural poses, which define her as one of the most recognisable models of the 20th century: many of Matisses greatest sculptures are based on Henriette, and I would argue that his greatest paintings of her retain this sculptural quality, Pylkkanen says. Darricarrere represented for Matisse the ideal subject for the type of painting he wanted to execute when he moved to the south of France from Paris in 1921. He wanted to create great sensual paintings, full of colour, full of light, Pylkkanen explains. But he also wanted to create canvases that had a good pictorial structure, so he would spend a huge amount of time looking for props to use in his studio, whether it be the screen hes set behind the odalisque, the chaise longue, the striking magnolias or the bowl of vibrantly coloured oranges. By the early 1920s, too, Fauvism had played its course. Colour had been liberated. After the First World War theres a sense of return to order. Matisse, for his part, like Picasso, created a new visual vocabulary involving colour, structure and form  but most of all balance and serenity. This picture has all of that, Pylkkanen notes.

Odalisque couchee aux magnolias by Henri Matisse hanging in the living room of the Rockefellers Hudson Pines home  Succession H. Matisse/ DACS 2018

At the time that he painted Odalisque couchee aux magnolias, Matisse was possibly at his happiest, Pylkkanen suggests: He was working very freely, with an incredible expressiveness. The canvas of the Odalisque is painted from one corner to the other, and theres a great sense of plasticity. The paint is unvarnished, too; Matisse intentionally kept the pigment chalky in order to mimic the raw, synthetic surface of the cloth and textiles that he was depicting. When he acquired Odalisque couchee aux magnolias from Leigh Block, the great Chicago-based modernist collector, David Rockefeller was in a position to acquire the best works by Matisse that were on the market. And in his friend and adviser Alfred Barr, he had arguably the greatest judge of what that particular period of Modernism represented, and what it was that one should be looking for, Pylkkanen stresses. Barr spoke very highly of this work in 1951 prior to its acquisition in 1958, and doubtless David Rockefeller made its purchase a priority. Among the many statements made by Barr about Matisse, he spoke of the complexity and brilliance of this composition. What might have been explicit eroticism in the image seems diffused into a luxurious, generalised sensuality, intimate yet objective, he noted.Soon we will celebrate Texas' Independence Day. Set on the anniversary of the signing of Texas' Declaration of Independence from Mexico, it is a reminder of our state's rich history. After the declaration of independence was signed, Texas operated as a stand-alone Republic for 10 years, before joining the United States.

While Texans are proud Americans, we hold on to much of the individual spirit from our time as a separate nation. The bravery and courage of our Texas' founders continues to inspire our state today through their legacy of freedom, self-reliance and ingenuity.

Here are five things happening around your state this month:

1.FEMA Funding

Texas is expected to receive just over $1 billion in hazard and flood mitigation funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) by the end of the summer to help communities rebuild from the damage caused by Hurricane Harvey last year. Half of that funding is currently available right now for cities and counties which were affected by Harvey. The funding can be used to cover everything from buying out flooded buildings and homes, retrofitting houses and buildings to withstand hurricane winds, storm surge protection programs, building new seawalls and restoring sand dunes. The Texas Department of Emergency Management has been instructed to expedite the distribution of funding once communities or cities send in their applications and they are approved.

2.Protecting Texans

Governor Abbott has announced a new initiative to better protect people from human trafficking. The "Preventing Crime, Protecting Texans, Punishing Criminal" plan includes allocating $22 million to the Department of Public Safety to create regional squads which will help train local law enforcement in recognizing and investigating human trafficking cases. He also suggests in the plan that $14 million should be allocated to address and clear the state's backlog of sexual assault evidence kits. Other proposals in the plan include a 'do-not-hire' registry for school employees placed on probation or who have been convicted of an improper relationship with students.

3.Texas Women's Hall of Fame

In 1984, the Texas Governor's Commission for Women established the Texas Women's Hall of Fame to honor women who have accomplished significant achievements in areas such as arts, business, health, science, education and community service. It includes former First Ladies, entrepreneurs, athletes, artists and many more. Nominations are now being accepted for 2018 and are open to any native or current resident of Texas, living or deceased, who have made a significant contribution to the State of Texas. Texas Women's University in Denton, currently houses the permanent exhibit which salutes these women. I encourage you to visit https://gov.texas.gov/organization/women/texas_womens_hall_of_fame to learn more about the Hall of Fame and to submit a nomination form.

4.DPS Reversing Decision

Last December, the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) made a controversial decision to cut the positions of over 100 law enforcement officers to make up for a budget cut. These older troopers were employed under an agency program which allowed them to retire and then be rehired with the ability to collect retirement benefits and salary. While this program was discontinued in 2013, many of these troopers had been rehired before then. After the decision was made, many associations and many within the Capitol, came out against this decision as they believed it unfairly targeted older officers.

Recently, DPS rescinded that decision, and have allowed the troopers, which are employed under the retire/rehire program, to continue on in their current positions. They would also offer reinstated jobs to any officers who may have already left the Department due to the impending layoffs.

5.Get Appointed

One aspect of state government that many are not aware of is gubernatorial appointments. The Governor of Texas makes approximately 3,000 appointments during a four-year term. These include appointments to state boards, commissions, and councils which advise the Governor on specific agencies and policies. Some of those include the Animal Health Commission, the Soil and Water Conservation Board and the Texas Pharmacy Board.

During my time in the Senate, and having served on the Senate Nominations Committee for six years, I understand the impact state boards have on Texas. Because of this, I want to encourage more Senate District 3 constituents to apply for these positions. Our communities in East Texas are blessed with many individuals whose expertise and backgrounds could benefit our state as a whole and I encourage you to get involved. For an application and more information, please visit www.governor.state.tx.us/appointments.A Houston-area U.S. Army recruiter is expected in court Monday after being arrested for displaying harmful material to a minor, accused of sending a photo of his genitals to a 16-year-old Deer Park High School student.

Adam Matthew Perkins, 37, is accused of using the Snapchat app to communicate with a teen he met during a school fundraiser while recruiting in Deer Park in early December. The app is infamous for allowing users to send indiscreet photos because they are erased within seconds of the recipient viewing them.Jacquelyn Martin/STF

ST. LOUIS - Police who find suspected drugs during a traffic stop or an arrest usually pause to perform a simple task: They place some of the material in a vial filled with liquid. If the liquid turns a certain color, it's supposed to confirm the presence of cocaine, heroin or other narcotics.

These chemical field tests have been standard procedure for decades but provide only preliminary findings that must be confirmed by a lab. Still, prosecutors rely on the results to jail suspects, file criminal charges and sometimes convince suspects to plead guilty before the initial results are confirmed.President Donald Trump speaks about the mass shooting at a Florida high school in a national address from the White House in Washington, U.S., February 15, 2018.

President Donald Trump appeared Saturday to begin refining his proposals for combatting school violence, tweeting that arming teachers as a deterrent against such often deadly violence  an idea he championed in recent days  is "Up to States."

Trump heavily promoted the idea of putting "gun-adept" teachers and staff carrying concealed firearms in classrooms and schools to protect students following this month's shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, that killed 17 people, most of them students.

He called for bonuses for educators who volunteer to carry a firearm, and said he also wanted action to strengthen background checks and boost the minimum age for the purchase of assault-style weapons.

Expectations were raised that Trump would propose federal legislation on arming teachers, but that no longer appeared to be the case Saturday.

"Armed Educators (and trusted people who work within a school) love our students and will protect them. Very smart people. Must be firearms adept & have annual training. Should get yearly bonus. Shootings will not happen again - a big & very inexpensive deterrent. Up to States," Trump tweeted.

Donald Trump tweet

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the president's tweet.

The White House has yet to offer a complete plan to address school violence amid the public outcry sparked by the Florida shooting, including addressing who would bear the financial cost. Trump said in the tweet that arming educators and paying their bonuses would be "very inexpensive."

Asked on Thursday whether the federal government or state and local municipalities would pay the millions of dollars it would cost to train and arm teachers, White House spokesman Raj Shah said "the policy hasn't been fleshed out," adding "Do we really think that that's too much to pay for school safety?"

Teachers and law enforcement organizations oppose the idea, while several states are considering arming teachers.

Trump spent several days earlier this week hearing emotional pleas from parents and students, including some who survived the Parkland shooting, and others who had lost children in school shootings in Connecticut and Colorado. He also solicited input from state and local officials.

Trump and Vice President Mike Pence have said school safety will be a top agenda item when they meet with the nation's governors next week.Richard Yu, CEO of Huawei's consumer business group, presents the company's new 5G chipset called Balong 5G01 at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona on Sunday, February 25, 2018.

Huawei on Sunday unveiled its first chip to enable mobile devices to access 5G internet speeds and revealed plans to launch a 5G smartphone in the second half of the year.

The chipset is called the Huawei Balong 5G01. The Chinese technology giant claims that it is the world's first commercial chipset that meets 5G standards.

3GPP, a body that governs cellular standards globally, agreed late last year to a specification for how 5G should work. 5G refers to the next generation of mobile internet that could help power future driverless cars and even internet-connected infrastructure in cities.

Huawei claims that it can hit download speeds of 2.3 gigabits per second, significantly faster than speeds reached on current 4G networks.

At a briefing with reporters after the reveal, Richard Yu, the CEO of Huawei's consumer business said the company is aiming to launch a 5G phone with the new chipset in the second half of the year.

"Later on in Q3 or Q4 of this year we will launch the 5G smartphone with the 5G smartphone chipset. And our infrastructure, the 5G infrastructure is readily available to commercialize," Yu said.

By releasing its own 5G chip, Huawei is taking on the likes of Qualcomm, which already has its own modem called the X50. Qualcomm's modem for mobile devices recently managed to hit speeds of 4.51 gigabits per second.

And earlier this week Intel announced a partnership with Microsoft, Dell, HP, and Lenovo to create 5G-enabled laptops based on Intel's own modems.

Owning the chipset capabilities will allow Huawei to have more control over the design and performance of its devices. It also means it may have to rely less on external suppliers. Huawei has been focusing recently on its own chips. Last year it launched a chipset called the Kirin 970 to allow artificial intelligence experiences on its smartphones. It is currently used in the Mate 10 Pro.

Yu said the company will not license its Balong 5G01 chipset to rival device makers.

Follow CNBC International on Twitter and Facebook.Huawei's competitors are worried about its strength and are using politics to kick the company out of the U.S. market, the head of the Chinese giant's consumer business said on Sunday, adding that mobile carriers want to work with it.

The Chinese electronics titan has had a tough time in the U.S. of late. A deal for Huawei to sell its flagship Mate 10 Pro smartphone in the U.S. via AT&T fell through. And six top U.S. intelligence chiefs told the Senate Intelligence Committee earlier this month, that they would not advise Americans to use products or services from Huawei.

Richard Yu, CEO of Huawei's consumer business, called the developments in the U.S. "ridiculous" and said that its rivals are playing politics.

"Our competitors are using some political way  to try to kick us out from the U.S. market but we have no issue at all. We are transparent  we are a leading high-tech, innovative company," Yu said on Sunday. "But they cannot compete with us on product, on technology, on innovation, so they compete with us [using] politics."

In the testimony to the Senate Intelligence Committee, FBI Director Chris Wray said the intelligence body is "concerned about the risks of allowing any company or entity that is beholden to foreign governments that don't share our values to gain positions of power inside our telecommunications networks."

Yu said that Huawei is "independent."

"We are not bundling with  any government  we are independent from all the government political things. We are never involved in any of this," Yu said, adding that the company has "no issue" with privacy or cybersecurity.

The executive did not confirm if the company is in talks with other U.S. carriers, but did say that all the networks are open to doing business.

"All the carriers they want to do business with Huawei  they have a strong willingness to do the business with Huawei  the government and maybe some of our competitors they are trying to use the government as the political guy, they're trying to keep us out. That is unfair  that means that they worry we are too strong," Yu said.

Follow CNBC International on Twitter and Facebook.In a recent client meeting, financial advisor Stephen Rischall got asked about how to invest in companies that support gender equality and women's issues in the workplace. Think of it as a #MeToo moment. "The client said that because of the attention on the #MeToo movement and the power behind it, he wanted to invest," said Rischall, a certified financial planner and founder of 1080 Financial Group in Sherman Oaks, California. "It was both about the potential return and the social impact," Rischall said. "The client feels like there's a correlation between the two, and he and his wife wanted to take a piece of their portfolio to invest more in line with their values."

Sam Edwards | Getty Images

While investing in companies based on their treatment of women is not new  the first so-called gender-lens fund appeared in the 1990s  the current spotlight on women in the workplace and equality has spurred renewed interest from retail investors. Options for putting that money to work have simultaneously expanded. Since November  right after the #MeToo movement had gained traction  12 new funds have emerged that zero in on women's issues, adding to the 22 already existing, according to research from Veris Wealth Partners and consulting company Catalyst At Large. That's on top of dozens of other options  mutual funds and exchange traded funds  whose investments are made at least partly based on things like the presence of women in executive-level positions at the companies, including on their board of directors. "In the last six months or so we definitely had an uptick in people asking if there's a way they can invest more in companies that focus on female leadership and governance," Rischall said. "We used to have younger people interested and asking about socially conscious investing, and now we've been seeing it come from both younger and older clients."

Social impact investing performance relative to expectations Impact performance Financial performance Outperformed: 20% Outperformed: 15% In line: 79% In line: 76% Underperformed: 2% Underperformed: 9%

While data focusing on investment funds that specifically screen companies for women's issues is hard to come by, $114 billion is considered a "reasonable floor" of the global amount in so-called social-impact investing, according to a 2017 study by the Global Impact Investing Network. That category includes funds focusing on women's issues. Separate data from Morningstar shows $98 billion is held in such assets in the United States. While it represents just a fraction of the trillions in invested assets globally  the market cap of the U.S. stock market alone is in the neighborhood of $24 trillion  the slice represents investors' growing interest in investments whose goal is to better the environment and society without giving up market returns. At Nia Capital Management in Oakland, California, the firm's $13 million Global Solutions Equity Portfolio  which includes a strong gender-lens strategy  returned 37.59 percent last year. That compares with a 21.82 percent return for the Standard & Poor's 500 index. "As these funds continue outperforming, they'll gain momentum," said Kristin Hull, founder and CEO of Nia, which launched the fund in December 2015.

In the Global Impact Investing Network's survey, investment professionals  i.e., fund managers, foundations, banks  reported that their social-impact investments have either met or exceeded their expectations for both impact (98 percent) and financial performance (91 percent). At Calvert Research and Management in Washington, D.C., where impact investors hold $11.6 billion across 27 funds, the increased focus on women in the workplace brought about by the #MeToo movement is welcome. "This has been a longtime priority for us, making sure we can engage with companies about how they manage their workforces and diversity in general," said Erica Lasdon, senior environmental, social and governance research analyst at Calvert. "Hopefully [the current focus] will add some momentum so that as investors, we can see more companies act on things we've been hoping for, for a long time," Lasdon said.

Hopefully [the current focus] will add some momentum so as investors, we can see more companies act on things we've been hoping for, for a long time. Erica Lasdon Senior environmental, social and governance research analyst at CalvertThe Nokia 8110 on display ahead of the official launch by HMD Global at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

A new version of the iconic Nokia 8110 with 4G internet was launched on Sunday.

First released in 1996, the Nokia 8110 was often referred to as the "banana phone" due to its distinctive curved shape and was used by Keanu Reeves' character Neo in the 1999 movie "The Matrix."

HMD Global, a start-up made of ex-Nokia executives, in 2016 acquired the intellectual property rights required to make phones from Nokia. These included branding and technology. Last year, HMD launched a remake of the Nokia 3310 and a portfolio of smartphones.

Its latest remake is the Nokia 8110, which debuted at Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, Spain. There's a black and yellow version and it can connect to 4G internet. It has a slider that is similar to the one on the original feature phone.

The 8110 will run an operating system known as Kai OS. Florian Seiche, CEO of HMD global, told CNBC ahead of the launch that the company is working with Google and Facebook to bring apps to the device, which will be available from May and cost 79 euros ($97).

In many markets, feature phones are still popular. Last year, 480 million feature phones were shipped, according to data from CCS Insight. That is expected to drop to 400 million this year, but it is still a big market.

Seiche explained that the 8110 could appeal to people in Western markets looking for a secondary device.

"Nokia had these very iconic design legends and different people remember the 8110 for different reasons  but, certainly it's a lot about that emotional factor," Seiche said. "But, actually it is also in Western markets, it's more as a lifestyle secondary phone and bringing it with 4G and Wi-Fi and some key apps people use everyday, it can now be a true secondary device.

"But in some of the emerging markets, it is still a primary device."

Last year, the release of the Nokia 3310 created a lot of headlines and buzz around the return of Nokia and helped draw interest to the brand. Analysts said the 8110 is expected to have a similar effect.

"I think that is a good move by them. What is different this year is that this a 4G feature phone and that will be important in terms of getting operators to support it. With the 3310 there was excitement from consumers, but when you came to use it there was a lot of shortcomings," Ben Wood, chief of research at CCS Insight, told CNBC.

"The 8110 will be at the high end in terms of pricing of feature phones. You can buy a 4G feature phone from other companies for cheaper. This is more a design icon that will grab the headlines."

Nokia also launched a new range of smartphones at MWC on Sunday.

Follow CNBC International on Twitter and Facebook.US Ambassador to the United Nations speaks to Ambassador MA Zhaoxu (R) of China before voting on Sweden's Syria ceasefire resolution during a Security Council meeting at the UN HQ in New York, United States on February 24, 2018.

The Syrian capital and its embattled eastern suburbs were relatively calm on Sunday, following the U.N. Security Council's unanimous approval of a resolution demanding a 30-day cease-fire across Syria, opposition activists and residents of Damascus said.

The activists reported few violations, including some clashes, on the southern edge of the rebel-held suburbs, known as eastern Ghouta, and two airstrikes late on Saturday night, shortly after the resolution was adopted.

The calm came after a week of intense airstrikes and shelling that killed more than 500 people in eastern Ghouta and left dozens dead or wounded in the government-held Damascus, which rebels pelted with mortar shells.

"This has been the calmest night since last Sunday," said Rami Abdurrahman who heads the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, referring to the start of the bombing campaign on Feb. 19. He said there have been no deaths reported since the resolution passed.

Ghouta-based opposition activist Anas al-Dimashqi said the night was calm but warplanes and drones were flying over rebel-held areas. He said several explosions were heard Sunday in Ghouta.

Dr. Sakhr al-Dimashqi, a surgeon at a clinic in Ghouta, told The Associated Press that several shells hit some towns in the suburbs, adding that they received six wounded people at the clinic where he works.

"The shelling today is not as intense as over the past week," he said.

The two largest and most powerful rebel factions in Ghouta, Failaq al-Rahman and Army of Islam issued statements saying they will abide by the cease-fire unless they are forced to fire in self-defense. Both called for the "immediate delivery" of emergency aid.

The resolution excludes members of the Islamic State group and al-Qaida-linked fighters. Ghouta is also home to a few hundred members of the al-Qaida-linked Levant Liberation Committee.

Damascus residents said there's more traffic in the streets, compared to previous days and most schools and universities were open on Sunday. They said some private schools were still closed, especially those close to the front lines with Ghouta.

Saturday's vote at the United Nations came after the vote was delayed from Friday. Russia's U.N. Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia had repeatedly called an immediate cease-fire unrealistic.

In a bid to get Russian support, sponsors Kuwait and Sweden amended the draft resolution late Friday to drop a demand that the cease-fire take effect 72 hours after the resolution's adoption.

After two hours of additional negotiations on Saturday, the Security Council unanimously approved the resolution demanding a 30-day cease-fire across Syria "without delay" to deliver humanitarian aid to millions and evacuate the critically ill and wounded.

After the vote, many council members urged stepped-up efforts to ensure a cease-fire and get assistance to millions in need.

Russia has been a main backer of Syrian President Bashar Assad since the country's conflict began seven years ago. In 2015, Moscow joined the war on Assad's side tipping the balance of power in his favor.Brexit 1) May to pin her future on breaking up existing EU trade relationship

It seems she secured approval for a bespoke deal at the Cabinet away day  Sunday Express

Yes, agreement was reached, but Boris considered quitting at one point  Mail on Sunday

Theresa May plans to call Brexit rebels bluff with a back-me-or-sack-me challenge. The PM is ready to pin her future on breaking all of our existing trade ties with the EU. Senior allies want her to make the MPs Customs Union vote an issue of confidence in her leadership. It would force Tory Europhiles to do it her way  or sink the Government and face certain election defeat. She yesterday paved the way for a last stand, declaring: Decisions we make now will shape this country for a generation. If we get them right, Brexit will be the beginning of a bright new chapter. Cabinet hardliners reckon Tory Remainers would back down from voting to stay in a Customs Union if it risked making Jeremy Corbyn PM. Mrs May is being urged to fight to the death to implement the plan decided at Thursdays eight-hour Cabinet Chequers summit.  Sun on Sunday

>Today: ToryDiary: Having confidence in leaving the Customs Union

Brexit 2) Shipman: Heres the plan Robbins outlined for her at Chequers

It is a measure of Mays enigmatic nature that only one of her ministers  David Davis, the Brexit secretary  had any idea what Robbins was about to say. She does treat everybody equally, one cabinet minister joked. She keeps everybody in the dark. Robbins mapped out a four-point plan. When Britain begins trade talks with the EU in March the UK will:  Demand mutual recognition of standards for goods traded between the UK and the EU  Make a public commitment that British standards will remain as high as those of the EU  Pledge to keep rules and regulations substantially similar  Insist upon the creation of a dispute mechanism to oversee areas where the UK wants to diverge from EU regulations  and that the European Court of Justice would have no role in it. One of those present explained: We are going to be associate members of various agencies on things like aviation, chemicals and pharmaceuticals and then we get [EU] market access and dont need to have our products checked in more than one jurisdiction. We can decide at any time, in the full knowledge that there are consequences, that we dont want to be regulated in this way.  The Sunday Times

It all ended in good cheer  James Forsyth, Sun on Sunday

The minimal briefings suggest peace and harmony ensued  Janet Daley, Sunday Telegraph

But we wont really know what the cabinet agreed until March  Adam Boulton, The Sunday Times

Im not convinced they came to a sustainable agreement  Andrew Rawnsley, Observer

Who was who at the Brexit away day  Tim Stanley, Sunday Telegraph

We should expect more of these meetings. Theres still lots to be done  Macer Hall, Sunday Express

Its all about control  Dan Hodges, Mail on Sunday

Editorial:

The cabinet must stay confident  Sun on Sunday

Brexit 3) Shes expected to talk of ambitious managed economic divergence in her speech next week

Brexit 4) But shes been warned about rebel risk over customs union

Theresa May is set to lay out her vision for the future relationship with the EU next Friday where she is expected to say she wants ambitious managed economic divergence from the Brussels bloc after Britain leaves. It means that an attempt by the Treasury to keep Britain tied to EU rules has failed after senior ministers thrashed out the governments vision in an eight hour summit at the Prime Minister official country residence Chequers. The Cabinet Brexit sub-committee agreed on a policy which will see Britain matching EU rules in certain industries while having the right to choose to diverge from them in others, health secretary Jeremy Hunt revealed.  Sunday Express

Three cabinet ministers warned Theresa May during private talks on Brexit at her Chequers retreat last week that her government could collapse this year. Julian Smith, the chief whip, told May there was a very real threat that Labour could unite with 15 to 20 Tory rebels to defeat the government on their decision to rule out membership of a customs union. Senior ministers say there are discussions about whether the prime minister should turn the vote into a confidence issue, threatening a general election if Tory MPs vote with the opposition.  The Sunday Times

Rebels want to force an immediate debate on the issue  Mail on Sunday

Brexit 5) Lidington: The UK internal market underpins our nations existence

Brexit 6 ) Field: Labour needs to stop mucking about with leaving, or we risk our chances of taking power

There were many reasons why people voted to leave the European Union in 2016. But my impression, having campaigned to remain in the EU, is that above all else, people throughout this country sought to regain a feeling of control  not just of our laws, but over our lives, too, and the people we elect into office. The referendum result expressed a rejection of EU membership, and also a sense of pent-up frustration that the political system had become too remote from the people that it exists to serve. That is why, as we leave the EU, we should work for a future that fosters wealth creation, opportunity and innovation in every part of the United Kingdom, and that strengthens the sense of belonging and solidarity in all communities, building a country that works for everyone.  Sunday Telegraph

 Millions of Labour voters, living in the towns and villages which form our heartlands, supported Brexit in the referendum. It was one of the most striking themes of referendum night to see safe Labour seat after safe Labour seat opting for Leave with thumping majorities. Clearly voters in those parts of the country have, among other things, had enough of the open-borders policy and its impact on their living standards over the past decade. Yet while the bulk of Tory MPs have voted consistently to get on with implementing the referendum result, barely half a dozen of us on the Labour benches have done so. The potential consequences of such half-hearted support for Brexit from the rest of the Parliamentary Labour Party were made painfully clear during last years General Election defeat.  The Sun on Sunday

More Brexit

Labour figures call on Corbyn to rethink single-market position  Observer

While his partys eurosceptics say hes playing with fire over customs-union position  Sunday Telegraph

Badenoch and others called to whips after signing ERG letter  Sunday Telegraph

Welbys book offers bleak assessment of Britain  Mail on Sunday

EU expert talks of British benefits from post-Brexit smart borders  Sunday Telegraph

MPs may have to sit over summer to deal with Brexit legislation  The Sunday Times

Farage claims Trump fears he wont be able to sign deal with UK before next US election  Sunday Telegraph

Is Trump going to appoint a special envoy to NI?  Belfast Telegraph

Bradley apologises to Corbyn over cold-war spy tweet

And will make substantial donation split between a food bank and a homeless charity  Observer

May is urged to sack him  Mail on Sunday

A vice-chairman of the Conservative party has apologised unreservedly to Jeremy Corbyn over a tweet claiming that he had links with Cold War spies. Ben Bradley, the Tory MP for Mansfield, tweeted out to his 5,000 followers that the Labour leader had sold British secrets to communist spies amid the furore over Mr Corbyns contact with a Czechoslovakian spy masquerading as a diplomat in the 1980s. Lawyers acting for Mr Corbyn contacted Mr Bradley, threatening court action unless he issued an apology for what they called a defamatory statement.  Sunday Times

Comment:

What we know from back then  Jamie Doward, Observer

And some more  Peter Hitchens, Mail on Sunday

Ive been astounded by the reaction to the story  Richard and Judy, Sunday Express

More Labour

Livingstone likely to avoid further action over alleged antisemitism  Observer

Corbyn aide gloats over McNicols departure  The Sunday Times

Who might take over from McNicol?  Sunday Express

Hinds to take tougher line on illegal schools

The education secretary, Damian Hinds, is to crack down on illegal schools amid growing concern that children are at risk of being radicalised, trafficked, abused  or simply growing up ignorant. Insiders at the Department for Education said Hinds was determined to take a tougher line on illegal schools and out-of-hours tuition centres than his predecessor, Justine Greening. The hardening stance comes as new figures reveal the number of unregistered tuition centres is on the rise. The schools inspectorate, Ofsted, has found 359 suspected illegal schools in the past two years, less than 200 of which it has been able to inspect.  The Sunday Times

More Conservatives

Party hiring professional tweeters  Sunday Telegraph

Scottish Conservative shadow health secretary accuses Scottish government of mismanaging health service  Sunday Herald

>Yesterday: Terry Barnes in Comment: How Australias answer to Boris may have just sunk the centre-right

Cohen: Victims of free-speech issues should have access to affordable legal recourse

Now, its all about the non-apology apology  Rod Liddle, The Sunday Times

News in Brief

People have stopped saying May doesnt want to go on  John Rentoul, Independent on Sunday

The real reason the Corbyn spy allegations should worry us  Chris Mullin, LRB

Why property taxation is in dire need of reform  Oliver Wiseman, CapX

Universities: from Jo Newman to Jo Johnson  Amol Rajan, New Statesman

Between nature and technology  Henry Mance, Aeon

Debussy the capitalist?  Philip Hensher, Spectator

In the 21st century, everyone can be a journalist and everyone can be a victim of journalism. Debates about free speech are fierce because millions now feel the urgency of questions that were once rarely aired outside publishers offices. All it takes is a mobile phone and a social media account for a citizen to become a serious commentator explaining the misconceptions of Brexit, an investigative journalist showing how power corrupts, a jeering tabloid thug on Twitter or a pornographer humiliating his ex with revenge porn. In a country governed by the rule of law, the explosion in disputes ought to be the business of the courts. Yet our courts still operate as if the web had never been invented.  ObserverAs we leave the European Union, we will no longer be members of the Single Market or the Customs Union but we will seek a deep and special partnership including a free trade and customs agreement. With these words, last years Conservative Manifesto ruled out membership of any union on customs  in other words, any deal that leaves Britains trade policy as part of the Common Commercial Policy and being bound by the Common External Tariff. These were the elements of the Customs Union that May specifically rejected in her Lancaster House speech last year. Being free of them is the difference between a union and an agreement.

Theresa May would thus be entitled to make any significant vote on the matter one of confidence  as some senior Ministers are today reported to believe she should. There are three arguments against doing so: one footling; one intriguing. And one that is unmissable  whatever ones view of it.

The first is that the Prime Minister cant declare a vote to be one of confidence because of the requirements of the Fixed Terms Parliament Act. This claim holds in principle, but dissolves in practice. If May tables a motion calling for a general election, Jeremy Corbyn wont stand in her way. We know so because, last summer, thats what happened. The Prime Minister won such a vote by 522 votes to 13. That was the two-thirds majority needed, and a lot more.

The second is that any such vote would necessarily be on an amendment to a Government Bill (or more than one). May is surely not going to seek a election over a vote that is merely declaratory  no matter how damaging such a development might be to Britains negotiating position. No, the vote of confidence that those senior Ministers favour would be related to specific legislative amendments. And legislation, like oaths in A Man for All Seasons, is made of words.

As John Rentoul points out over at the Independent on Sunday, the wording of at least one of such amendments requires careful scrutiny. An amendment tabled by Anna Soubry to the Trade Bill would if passed instruct the Government to implement an international trade agreement which enables the UK to participate after exit day in a customs union with the EU. Readers will note that it does not seek to keep Britain in the Customs Union.

This is doubtless because we cannot stay in it, strictly speaking, without also staying in the EU  and thus breaking faith with the referendum verdict. Soubry, who voted for Article 50, will know this very well. Hence the wording  a customs union. Furthermore, the amendment seeks to enable the UK to participate in such a union. One might buy a car that enables one to drive, say, to Broxtowe. But one might not choose to do so, even if enabled to.

None the less, such a Customs Union provision is not one that could safely be left in the hands of Jeremy Corbyn. And there may be other amendments with wording more inconsistent with Mays manifesto commitment. Which brings one to the third argument against making a vote to put Britain in a customs union one of confidence  namely, that the Government might lose it, plunge the country into an election it doesnt want, and risk Britains Brendas from Bristol returning Corbyn in a spasm of exasperation.

Any Conservative MP who voted against a Tory Government on a vote of confidence would be bound to lose the whip  whether such a vote was successful or not. It is a step that the Maastricht rebels, that emblem of backbench defiance, were not prepared to take. It might be that some pro-Customs Union Conservatives who have made up their minds not to stand in any snap election might be prepared to act otherwise. (Our questioning gaze is drawn, naturally but sorrowfully, towards Ken Clarke.)

But the prospect of breaking faith with ones Association and colleagues, not to mention cutting short ones career and pension, will not be an appetising one to pro-Customs Union Tories. After all, Douglas Carswell left the Conservatives voluntarily in a blaze of publicity. And he had what was then a lively political party behind him. Neither condition would apply to any Tory MPs prepared to break faith with the manifesto over the Customs Union. Like him, they would face being out of the Commons  probably faster.

All in all, there are three possibilites if a vote on a Customs Union is declared one of confidence. First, some Tory MPs vote with Corbyn, a general election follows  and, whatever the result, they are remembered as the Conservatives who were willing to risk putting a Marxist into Downing Street.

Second, some vote with Corbynbut an election doesnt follow, because the Government wins the vote. That would leave May another x votes down, after the whip was withdrawn from those rebels. She has already lost Charlie Elphicke. She cant afford to lose any more. Finally, a no confidence gambit works. This is the most likely outcome, and May must prepare for it. She should not shirk from declaring any vote on a Bill one of confidence if necessary.

However, we are not there yet. One of the reasons the Government has postponed the Trade Bill is that it wants time to hammer out a compromise  though one that will keep Britain off the Common External Tarrif. The Prime Ministers speech this coming Friday may offer some clues. But whether it does or not, Ministers must keep talking a lot, listening even more  and, above all, put the words of any important amendment under a magnifying glass. What do you read, my Lord? Words, words, words.Richard Ritchie is Enoch Powells archivist and is a former Conservative Parliamentary Candidate.

Enoch Powell is again the subject of controversy in Wolverhampton. It is not his fault, this time. No doubt mindful that this year marks the 50th anniversary of the rivers of blood speech, an anonymous applicant has proposed, and is willing to fund, the erection of a blue plaque in Powells honour in Wolverhampton. Needless to say, many people are violently opposed to the idea, and over a thousand people have signed a petition against it. But a survey conducted by the Wolverhampton Express & Star states that two thirds of its readers support the proposal.

Its not obvious what side Powell would have been on. Hed have been gratified by the attention, as he always preferred to be talked about than ignored. But hed also have been respectful of precedent. The Catholic Church has, in the opinion of many, mistakenly departed from past practice in sanctifying men and women too soon after their deaths. There used to be a long period of time before anyone was even considered for sainthood: this helped to ensure that no nasty surprises about their lives were discovered afterwards. Perhaps the same caution should be exercised with plaques. Powell has been dead for only 20 years. It is too early to judge his legacy. To choose this moment to erect a plaque could, therefore, be misinterpreted.

But that is not what his detractors are arguing. They dont want Powell to have one simply because they think it is too early; they dont want him to have one ever, because they violently dislike him and his views. This raises issues which go well beyond Powell and plaques.

There is probably no famous or respected dead politician who was not considered controversial, or endured a period of deep unpopularity, during his or her career. Churchill, for example, was accused of being a warmonger in the 1930s. This was one of the most serious charges which could be laid against any politician of that era, and the odium it attracted was equivalent to being called a racist today. (Incidentally, Churchill said plenty of things about India and Gandhi which today would incur the charge of racism).

And yet Churchill quite rightly has a blue plaque outside his house in Hyde Park Gate. Or, if offensive language is the charge against Powell, Aneurin Bevan once was gracious enough to describe all Conservatives as vermin. He and his wife, Jennie Lee, have a nice little plaque outside their former house in Chelsea. This beloved couple have one advantage  they were socialists. Controversial figures of the Left are much more likely to be honoured by the establishment than their contemporaries of the Right.

A cursory examination of anyone related to politics, and who has been awarded a blue plaque in London, will confirm this impression. Go to the English Heritage website and discover the stories behind the plaques. They include London poverty; Celebrating Londons Black History; London Pride: LGBTQ Stories; Pioneering Women  all very noble causes, no doubt, but not much there about freedom and enterprise.

So when a right-wing politician is nominated for a plaque, it is almost bound to be controversial with the left. Tories are much more generous, and much less judgmental. The disrespectful language which greeted Margaret Thatchers death from figures such as Glenda Jackson was never echoed by Conservatives when heroes of the left died. Was it not the Labour MP, Laura Pidcock, who said she could never be friends of a Tory? She is the latest in a long tradition.

Powell, therefore, will always start with the odds heavily against him. Although, like Nye Bevan, he never held higher office than Minister of Health, his political influence far exceeded that of many ministers and even Prime Ministers. It is that political influence which so many people deplore  especially if they happen to be bishops in the Church of England whod always rather talk about politics than religion. Clive Gregory, the Bishop of Wolverhampton, is at the forefront of those objecting to a plaque in Powells honour. He argues that this would not be a neutral act and would honour Enoch Powells racist views.

Anyone who knows anything about Powell knows he was not a racist. Plenty of people on the Left, including Michael Foot, have said as much. They may have thought he was unwise, and displayed poor judgment. They may have accused him of conferring a measure of respectability on racists who agreed with him. But he had an answer to that. His intention in speaking out on immigration, which at the time very few were prepared to do, was to prevent civil unrest which he thought would follow a cultural change of the kind this country has experienced, and which he believed was illegitimate without full democratic consent. His statistical forecasts have been vindicated.

His analysis of the consequences of immigration were always, he conceded, a matter of judgment. Given the cultural and religious implications of uncontrolled immigration from Islamic countries, one would have thought that a Christian Bishop might sympathise with such concerns. But nothing Powell ever said about immigrants suggested they were inferior, or should be treated differently from anyone else. He always argued that everyone was equal before the law.

So the bishops charge that Powell was a racist is a political opinion which deserves to be refuted. Where he does have a point is in saying that conferring a plaque would not be a neutral act. But this is where we come back to its purpose. Whether the bishop likes it or not, Powell was an academic of extraordinary distinction; a soldier who rose from Private to Brigadier in the War; and who was a Parliamentarian to be compared with the giants of this or any other generation. His speech on the Hola Camp massacre in 1959 is still regarded as one of the greatest speeches ever delivered in the Commons. And if this country does eventually recover its Parliamentary sovereignty by leaving the European Union, Powell will be remembered as one of the politicians who played a decisive part in bringing it about.

It may be too early to honour Powell for his achievements and, in particular, for his contribution to the preservation of Parliamentary democracy. But it is difficult to believe that in the future his name will not be added to those whom the citizens of Wolverhampton wish to honour and remember.Terry Barnes advised Tony Abbott when he was a Cabinet minister in John Howards government. He is also a fellow of the Institute of Economic Affairs.

If ConservativeHome readers think British politics are a soap opera, they should try Australias. On Friday, Barnaby Joyce, the Deputy Prime Minister resigned his post after intense pressure over his complicated love life.

This is a first in Australian politics, where a what happens in Canberra, stays in Canberra ethos long has prevailed over reporting politicians private lives.

Last year, Joyce left his wife for his press secretary, and got her pregnant. While this was widely-known in political circles for months, it was only splashed publicly by a Sydney newspaper a fortnight ago, and since then its been the only political story in the country: think blanket Brexit coverage, with testosterone and steroids.

Like so many politicians before him, not least in Britain, Joyces leadership image was founded on his wholesome family, backed by a loyal wife who suppressed her own life ambitions to further his.

A staunch, socially-conservative campaigner for family values, and defender (while admittedly declaring Im no saint) of traditional marriage in Australias same-sex marriage vote late last year, Joyces plight was neatly summed up this week by US-based British satirist John Oliver: You might think that that is hypocritical, but in reality Joyce has such incredible family values that he cant restrict them to just one family.

With media coverage becoming ever more histrionic, Australians salivated over the rush of sordid but salacious details of the affair: the pregnant partner and the anger of Joyces repudiated wife and their daughters, who certainly were not standing by their man.

By Friday it had got to the point that Malcolm Turnbull, the Prime Minister, whose majority hangs by a one-seat thread and whose Liberal Party is in a brittle coalition with Joyces Nationals, could not bring himself to express confidence in Joyce, a week after the pair had a very public tit-for-tat brawl about the Governments handling of this self-inflicted political crisis.

Turnbulls puritanism over Joyces situation, highlighted by his ludicrous and unenforceable bonk-ban decree prohibiting sexual relations between his ministers and their special advisers, made Theresa Mays recent treatment of her now-departed deputy Damian Green look highly gracious by comparison. That he sought approval from his own wife in imposing it made it look even sillier.

It was notable that, in resigning, Joyce did not feel obliged to tell Turnbull, who is in Washington meeting Donald Trump (and who could give him some pointers on managing sex scandals), but merely advised the Acting Prime Minister back in Australia. Relations between the governing coalition partners, and their leaders, have got as poisonous as that, and the Corbyn-esque Labor opposition watches gleefully.

Until this scandal broke a fortnight ago, Joyce was the Boris Johnson of Australian politics: a colourful and entertaining individualist, with a Teflon factor that somehow protected him and his indiscipline from the consequences of foibles and misjudgements that would have ended the career of any ordinary politician, and which endeared him to the Australian public in spite of everything. His consequent belief in his untouchability ensured his downfall.

This overhyped scandal, and his and the Governments bumbling response to its public exposure (incredibly, Joyce seems to have assumed it would never be revealed), has transformed him from a Johnson into Ukips Henry Bolton, just another pathetic middle-aged male politician who loses everything in a mid-life crisis. And unlike, say, Cecil Parkinson once, or perhaps Green now, there seems no way back to high office for Joyce.

The conservative side of Australian politics is in disarray, its modest poll recovery has been torpedoed by Joyces antics and the Governments appalling management of the political storm they caused. Turnbulls prospects of being competitive at the general election due in 2019, let alone winning it, likely have been dealt a fatal blow from this testosterone-driven fiasco.

As for Australias political culture, which unlike the UK largely has been blissfully free of private life gotcha moments for public figures until now, the new, post-Harvey Weinstein puritanism and prurience frenzy that stormed Westminster last November has now reached Down Under. As journalists and gossip columnists now ferret furiously for proof of ministers breaching his bonk-ban, it now remains to be seen how Turnbull reaps the whirlwind of laffaire Barnaby.Meanwhile, the most high-profile Republican candidate at this point, state Sen. John DeFrancisco, continues to pick up his own endorsements, including ones from U.S. representatives John Katko and Lee Zeldin and GOP Senate Leader John Flanagan, along with several of his GOP Senate colleagues.

Former Erie County Executive Joel Giambra is also running for governor. There's also an emerging effort to urge Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro to enter the race after taking his name out of contention last month.

"CRANES OVER CAPE TOWN"

DeFrancisco was quick to capitalize on an unforced error included in the latest economic development report from Cuomo's administration.

The report  intended to show the state's economic growth  included a prominent, eight-year-old photo of seven construction cranes in South Africa. The photo bore no caption, and was apparently used to give the impression of heavy construction activity in the state. Its true origin was uncovered by The Associated Press.

DeFrancisco quickly capitalized on the "Cranes over Cape Town" kerfuffle.

"We shouldn't have to borrow photographs from South Africa to remind people what economic progress looks like," he said.

Cuomo's administration said the photo will be replaced.

Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0Holland America Line is bringing Os Reading Room to all 14 ships in its fleet, according to a statement.

Introduced as part of special onboard programming developed in partnership with O, The Oprah Magazine, by May 2018, guests on all ships can look forward to O's Reading Room, the company said.

The first novel to go fleetwide - An American Marriage by author Tayari Jones - was recently announced as the latest selection in Oprahs Book Club.

Our guests are fanatical readers, and Os Reading Room quickly became one of the most popular activities on ships with O, The Oprah Magazine programming, said Orlando Ashford, president of Holland America Line. Were excited that we can now offer this experience to all of our guests. Oprahs personal passion for reading is evident by the books she chooses, and were privileged to feature the same selection as Oprahs Book Club.

Jones is scheduled to join Holland America Lines March 3, 2018, O, The Oprah Magazines Adventure of Your Life Cruise to the Caribbean aboard Nieuw Amsterdam.

She embarks with a collection of the magazines editors and visionaries who will share stories, inspire guests and impart their knowledge through special programming. O, The Oprah Magazines books editor Leigh Haber will be on board to lead the discussion of An American Marriage with Jones during Os Reading Room.

On non-theme cruises, guests who are interested in participating in Os Reading Room can bring An American Marriage onboard. Book club discussions are led by a member of the ships staff, and selections change periodically throughout the year. The latest Os Reading Room selection is listed on Holland America Lines website on the O, The Oprah Magazine's Year of Living Well page.BRIDGEPORT  A man hit by a car Saturday night died, according to police spokesman Av Harris.

Around 8:45 p.m., emergency responders were dispatched to the intersection of Park Avenue and Olive Street, where the pedestrian had been struck and was trapped underneath the car that hit him.

Officials said Aaron Simutowe, a homeless man, was struck by two vehicles, according to New 12 Connecticut. Simutowe was reportedly struck by an SUV and then dragged by a small sedan before becoming trapped under the sedans front end.

By 8:52 p.m., dispatch reports indicate the victim had been pulled out from under the vehicle. Fire personnel assisted with extrication, Harris said.

By 9:05, the Simutowe was en route via ambulance to St. Vincents Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.

Harris said there were four occupants in the car, all of whom initially fled. He said the driver later returned to the scene. There was no immediate word on any criminal charges.NORWALK  Owen Lynch went to school early Tuesday, thinking it would be a typical day at Norwalk High.

The 17-year-old junior mostly kept to himself, something hes learned to embrace as he navigates life with autism and a lack of social skills.

But by third period, the school was under a shelter alert, as the administration had received a report from a student who thought he heard a gun sling back in the boys bathroom earlier in the morning.

Since Lynch was at the bathroom around that time, he was pulled out of class during third period and questioned by Norwalk police and a school security officer, he said.

They took his phone and searched him, and later searched his locker, too. They found nothing, so they sent him back to class.

Lynch thinks thats when the rumors started  and when an old photo of him began circulating on social media with captions that read, @schoolshooter and Hes the one who brought the gun.

Though Lynch knew his peers have always viewed him as being different, he was shocked they would label him a school shooter. Autism advocates have worked to dispel links between an autism diagnosis and committing violence, in light of news reports revealing that some school shooters were on the spectrum. Such was the case with the recent high school shooting in Parkland, Florida.

Ive never been violent, Ive never been hostile. I just keep to myself and play my video games, Lynch said. Thats all I do.

Lynch was then pulled out of class again so his mother could pick him up early, he said. The school had an early dismissal at 1:30 p.m. that day, after police confirmed no threat had been made and no weapon or firearm was discovered during the several hours students were sheltered in place.

Still, Lynch continued to be labeled a school shooter.

When he got home, he received various messages  from people whom he hadnt spoken to since the summer  asking if he brought a gun to school. Even people from other towns were posting about him, his online gamer friends told him. One of them sent him a screenshot of one of the circulating photos, which was his first time seeing it.

His mom eventually took his phone and laptop away from him, so he wouldnt be bombarded with any more messages.

One of the first things he said during this was, I could go weeks with nobody talking to me at school. But the minute something happens, they all know all who I am, his mother, Heather Florian said. And thats just sad, that you could project such negativity on one person that you didnt even make an effort to talk to.

A history of bullying

This is not the first time Lynch has been bullied or singled out by students in the district, Florian said. Nor is it the first time the district has offered him the option of being moved to a different school because of it.

When Florian notified the school on Wednesday, a guidance counselor and a school resource officer visited their home. They offered Lynch the option of going to Norwalk Pathways Academy, a recuperative high school for students who are behind in their studies or might otherwise be struggling in a traditional learning environment.

But Lynch refuses to take this option.

The school district needs to change, he said. The people in the schools need to learn that singling someone out just because theyre a little bit different, because they dont want to talk to people, because they dont know how to communicate properly doesnt mean that Im any different from you.

Just because Im a little different doesnt mean Im going to come into school one day with a gun, he added.

Lynch was diagnosed with autism when he was 10. From an early age, he lacked certain social skills, which made it difficult for him to hold a conversation or read social cues and facial expressions. He also tends to fixate on particular subjects.

His peers started taking notice in second grade, which is when the bullying began, he said.

People used to follow him home and throw rocks at him when he was in elementary school. Then in seventh grade, he was expelled when a few students asked him if he could use a pentagram to blow up things, like a school, and he said yes. This was after he had just watched a Halloween movie about witchcraft and pentagrams and talked about the movie on several occasions.

Those years of bullying led to his diagnosis of PTSD in seventh grade and his move out of the district to the Boys and Girls Village in Milford, where he attended classes until the first half of freshman year.

He worked hard on his social skills to return to Norwalk High School, his mother said, and came back the second half of his freshman year. She wanted to keep him out of the district longer, afraid he would get bullied again.

And he did.

A few months ago, some kids decided they were going to cause some problems and call him a drug dealer, Florian said. Norwalk has a real problem with following through with this bullying ... And this is a consistent thing where he doesnt feel safe or protected at school, where theres never consequences for kids who are bullying and he always feels like hes the one being punished.

District spokeswoman Brenda Wilcox-Williams said school administrators and the school resource officer at Norwalk High are investigating the most recent wave of bullying directed at Lynch following Tuesdays incident. She declined further comment, citing the ongoing investigation.

Under Connecticuts bullying law, school officials are required to take action if there are repeated use of a written, oral or electronic communication and/or a physical gesture or act directed at a student that impacts the school environment or a students desire to attend school. In 2011, the law expanded to include cyberbullying.

The Cyberbullying Research Center found that about half of young people have experienced some form of cyberbullying, and 10 to 20 percent experience regularly.

Research suggests children with autism are especially vulnerable to bullying, nearly five times more often than their typically developing peers.

While every complaint of bullying is investigated, only those determined to fit the definition are reported to the state as verified bullying  which likely leads to under-reporting. As a district with more than 11,000 students, Norwalk recorded only 20 incidents of bullying in 2016.

To offer another way to report potential bullying, the district rolled out Anonymous Alerts in December. Wilcox-Williams said the mobile app for middle school and high school students, parents and staff is a additional tool to the districts antibullying arsenal.

Were actually pretty active in educating our students about bullying and our schools are vigilant about talking to our students in order to prevent incidents, Wilcox-Williams said in an interview earlier this year.

Hope for change

Per advice from an attorney, Florian plans on filing an official bullying complaint with the district and scheduling a Planning and Placement Team meeting to discuss an out-district placement for her son.

For now, she wants to open up the dialogue about bullying within the community.

She started this process by posting a screenshot of one of circulating photos into a closed Facebook group for Norwalk parents on Tuesday. Since then, shes gotten sympathetic comments from more than a dozen parents. Some have said theyve talked to their children about the incident and how its not right.

This is exactly the conversation Florian wants to start  between parents and their children, between schools and their students.

If you look at the statistics of how many of these shooters have claimed theyve been bullied, and then when theres an incident where were all worried theres a shooter, we start bullying. It just sounds so crazy and backwards to me, she said. Isnt this where we should all be, like, This is unacceptable behavior. Guns are unacceptable. Bullying is unacceptable. All of this hatred is unacceptable.

As for Lynch, he simply wants the bullying to stop so he can return to school and get back on track with his lifes aspirations.

He hopes to become a bio-technician someday and is already looking at prospective colleges. Just the other day, he was excited to find mail from a biotechnology and engineering school in Hawaii.

I just want to study biotechnology and genetic engineering because its one of the most interesting things there are, Lynch said. With one discovery, we can open up a whole new cycle of life. I actually believe its one of the things that could save us.

Along with the mailer from the Hawaii school, Lynch also received a card of sympathy from a family who had heard about his most recent bullying situation.

On the front it said, You are not alone.

Inside it read: Even though we dont know you personally, we just wanted to reach out to let you know that we care about you & are so sorry what happened on Tues. Be strong & know that people care.

Although Lynch has learned how to block out the bullying after years of being a target, he said the pain still lingers from each incident.

But he appreciates those whove stood up for him this time around.

All I just need is for people to not just assume that people are automatically going to harm them because they dont talk, Lynch said. It just, I need it to stop. It hurts. After a while, yes, I can block it out. But it still hurts.WESTPORT  Bruce Becker woke up at 4 a.m. on a day in late March 2016 and drove from Westport to the Tesla store in Mount Kisco, N.Y., to put his name on the list for a Tesla Model 3 electric vehicle. He was third in line.

After a nearly two-year wait, he finally picked up his car Monday.

Im an environmentalist and an architect and developer and Ive spent the last 10 years of my career trying to create buildings that dont rely on fossil fuels, said Becker, who grew up in New Canaan. What I came to realize is cars actually have a bigger impact on the environment than buildings. With all the energy Im spending trying to make green buildings, it was crazy for me to ignore my own personal driving habits.

Becker, the first known Tesla Model 3 owner in Connecticut, showed off his new ride at Staples High School Wednesday at an event promoting the new car, expected by electric vehicle enthusiasts to be as revolutionary as the Ford Model T.

In 2012, Becker, president of the Westport Electric Car Club, bought his first electric car  an early BMW electric vehicle prototype  which he said was an expensive indulgence. His new Tesla is much more affordable, coming in at $24,500 after incentives.

But now they have a Model 3  thats a mass-market car, Becker said, who works in Fairfield.

Westport building official Steve Smith agreed about the market for the Tesla Model 3.

This is the peoples version, Smith said.

The new Tesla models can go farther than the earlier models without needing to be charged, which, in addition to the lower price, Smith hopes will incentivize more Westport residents to purchase the electric vehicle.

Furthermore, the building official said, Westport already has the infrastructure necessary for residents to use electric vehicles with charging stations at both railroad stations, the high school, town hall and Baldwin Parking Lot.

First Selectman Jim Marpe attended the showcase and also hopes the towns investment in charging stations, coupled with the new Tesla model, will bring the town closer to reaching its goal of net zero carbon emissions by 2050.

We need to transition away from fossil fuels, Becker said in agreement. This is one of the keys to avoiding global warming and reducing the particulate pollution, which is creating asthma and health issues even here in Westport.

While Beckers primary reason for buying the car is environmental concerns, he also believes the Tesla Model 3 could help rebound the states economy.

All the money we currently spend on gasoline leaves the state, but more and more electric power is coming from renewable sources generated within the state. When youre powering your car with electricity, youre basically keeping money and jobs in Connecticut, Becker said.

A Connecticut law intended to protect franchised car dealers prohibits selling Teslas in Connecticut, however, because Tesla is a manufacturer, and not a dealer, which is why Becker had to travel to New York to purchase the car.

Connecticut is a very green state and were very progressive, but were completely backwards on the Tesla bill, said Scott Thompson, a Fairfield resident and member of the Fairfield Clean Energy Task Force. Michigan, Texas and West Virginia are Connecticuts only kin in prohibiting the direct sale of Teslas, Thompson said.

Weve got to bring the tax revenue associated with these cars into the state and not let it go to New York. Thats whats at stake here, besides our reputation, Thompson said.

Environmental protection was at the forefront of Jackie Eskins mind when she went to see Beckers new car at the high school. Six years ago, the Fairfield resident purchased an electric vehicle because she believed if she didnt step up and buy one, the company would say no one cared and would stop making the cars.

Each person buying electric vehicles tells the companies theyre important, said Eskin, a member of the Westport Electric Car Club.

Staples High School junior George Englehart also believes personal choices can help reduce the environmental impact of transportation emissions.

People always think of doing stuff at a huge global level, but if you just do your part in your town, it can really make a significant difference, said Englehart, the only high school student on Westports Green Task Force.

In addition to the positive environmental, economic and financial benefits of the new Tesla model, Becker said theyre just plain cool.

Its basically like turning an iPad into a car, Becker said, displaying the cars touch screen, which controls all of the cars functions.

Although now an environmental advocate, Westport resident Dawn Henry said she bought her first electric vehicle several years ago solely for the cool factor.

The first Tesla I got I didnt buy because it was electric; I didnt buy it because it was zero emissions; I bought it because it was the hot sexy car, Henry said.China and India the two major Asian powers have a complex relationship. China has already arrived on the world stage as a major economic and military power bent on reshaping the world its way.

India is equally ambitious but as a chaotic democracy, it has not matched China's economic or military might. India knows that as a big populous nation it too has the potential to be a future global power. What is more, the US, concerned about Chinese dominance is willing to help India's growth to balance the regions power equation.

The strategy to balance China by giving India a leg-up began during the George W Bush administration and is now being rigorously backed by President Donald Trump.

However unlike India, Chinese planning is long-term. Beijing thinks through and meticulously plans its goals. Before embarking on its ambitious foreign policy goals, Deng Xiaoping the great reformer concentrated on the economy. China also settled all its boundary disputes with its neighbours, with the notable exception of India.

Deng famously advised his people, to keep their heads down and work towards lifting the living standards of the Chinese. Having done that, China is now ready to take on the world under the leadership of President Xi Jinping, one of China's most powerful leaders.

The nineteenth Congress of the CPC (Communist Party of China) was a coming out party for Xi Jinping's China. It is now the second-largest economy in the world. It is also a military power with a blue water navy. It is spending billions on research concentrating on artificial intelligence, gearing the nation to be at the forefront of cutting edge technology.

Chinese submarines and ships are present both in the Pacific and Indian Oceans. President Xi Jinping is consolidating and building on Deng Xiaoping's vision of opening up China to the world. While it is expanding its presence across Asia and Africa, (it also has a military base in Djibouti, east Africa), China is looking at being the number one power in the world. It is still far from closing the gap with the US, and knows on its way to become a super power it needs to first dominate Asia and the Indo-Pacific region. So the hectic activity in the South China Sea and expansion into the Indian Ocean sphere. China is also now playing hardball in India's immediate neighbourhood. Xi's ambitious belt and road and maritime initiatives is part of a larger plan to spread its influence across the globe.

It is but natural that India and China, the two Asian neighbours eye each other's development warily and "circle" each other's periphery.

The unresolved border problem between India and China, and PLA's frequent incursions, including the recent standoff in Doklam as well as its heavy presence in India's immediate neighbourhood has added to the fear of China pushing into India's sphere of influence.

India too has been stepping up its ties with Japan as well as all ASEAN countries. In fact, this Republic Day leaders of all 10 ASEAN nations - Singapore, Malaysia, Myanmar, Indonesia, Thailand, Brunei, Vietnam, Philippines, Laos and Cambodia accepted Prime Minister Narendra Modi's invitation to be in Delhi to celebrate not just India's Republic Day but also to mark 25-years of India-ASEAN dialogue partnership. The ASEAN group, which has thriving trade with China, is still wary of Beijing and wants India to play a greater role in the region.

ASEAN countries such as Vietnam, Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei also have problems with China's claim to the entire South China Sea and the islands dotted across the waters as its own.

But China's footprints are much larger in India's backyard. In the past, Pakistan was the only South Asian nation which had close ties with China. But now China has won not just a toe-hold but a foothold in several countries in India's neighbourhood. Pakistan is now a central piece of China's belt and road project. Beijing is investing $60 billion in developing infrastructure around Gwadar, a port China built in Pakistan's Balochistan province. China has already begun using Gwadar for its exports and is likely to deploy a contingent of the PLA to guard its interests there.

In Nepal too, China is becoming a pivotal force. Like all small nations, India's neighbours have often used the China card against India. Nepal's new Prime Minister KP Oli, known to be close to China, frankly admitted after the elections: "We have great connectivity with India and an open border.., but we can't forget that we have two neighbours. We don't want to depend on one country or have one option."

He explained that Nepal needed this to get leverage in dealing with India. India's foolish decision in 2015 of an unofficial blockade in Nepal, following a Madhesi agitation, soured ties between the two countries. While a pro-India government with Oli at the head is in power in Kathmandu, a China friendly leader is also in place in the Maldives.

In Male, President Abdulla Yameen has cracked down on democracy, thrown opposition leaders in jail, and declared an emergency. While India, The US, the UK Britain and the rest of the world have condemned Yameen, China has lent support.

It has also warned India against interference in the neighbour's politics. Maldives has signed a Free Trade Agreement in December 2017 with China and has invested hugely in building infrastructure. Chinese vessels regularly stop in the Maldives raising fears of a strong naval presence there.

Whether in Sri Lanka, or Myanmar or even Bangladesh, China is present all along India's neighbourhood and beyond. Border talks between Bhutan and China, long in cold storage will begin now, perhaps with Doklam in mind.

China is slush with funds and India cannot match its efficient infrastructure building. Delhi should concentrate on its strengths, which is institution building. Repeating its good work in Afghanistan, it should go for smaller projects which can make a difference on the ground and directly help people. The rewards in Afghanistan have been rich. It has continued in training officials. Both Japan and the US have come forward to work with India on building connectivity both in Asia and Africa. All this is good politics.

The fact that India's ties with the US are thriving is being watched with some concern in China. The need of the hour is to keep working in the neighbourhood, which has both cultural affinities with democratic India as well as excellent people to people contact. India and China will not go to war, the stakes are heavily loaded against a repeat of 1962.

There is little reason to panic, but it is important to work on India's strengths. India should deepen its engagement with Pakistan instead of resorting to foolish measures such as stopping artists from across the border from working in India. This does not reflect the real Indian culture.

Reaching out to the people of Pakistan bypassing the government and the Pakistan Army would have helped India's diplomatic prospects in the region.

Also read: Why generals don't approve of 'Army kids' writing against AFSPAPageGroup plc, together with its subsidiaries, provides recruitment consultancy and other ancillary services in the United Kingdom, rest of Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia Pacific, and the Americas. The company offers executive search services under the Page Executive brand; recruitment services for qualified professional on permanent, temporary, and contract or interim basis under the Michael Page brand; recruitment services to organizations requiring permanent employees and temporary or contract staff at technical and administrative support, professional clerical, and junior management levels under the Page Personnel brand; and flexible recruitment outsourcing services under the Page Outsourcing brand. It also provides assessment, consulting, and talent services under the Page Assessment, Page Consulting, and Page Talent supplementary brands. The company was formerly known as Michael Page International plc and changed its name to PageGroup plc in June 2016. PageGroup plc was founded in 1976 and is headquartered in Addlestone, the United Kingdom.

Read MoreVINCI SA engages in the concessions and contracting businesses worldwide. The company designs, finances, builds, and operates infrastructure and facilities comprising motorway, bridge and tunnel, airport, rail, and stadium facilities. It operates a motorway concession with a network of 4,443 kilometers in France; and 45 airports worldwide. The company also designs, finances, builds, and operates transport infrastructure and public amenities, such as motorways, bridges, tunnels, and urban roads with a network of 3,800 kilometers under public-private partnership arrangements; and provides industry, infrastructure, facilities management, and information and communication technology services. In addition, the company builds and maintains roads, motorways, railways, and urban infrastructure projects; produces materials, such as asphalt mixes; and operates quarries for aggregates, as well as designs and constructs residential and commercial property, civil engineering infrastructure, specialized civil engineering, water and pipeline infrastructure, c other projects. Further, it develops residential properties, business properties, and managed residences, as well as provides property services. VINCI SA was founded in 1899 and is headquartered in Rueil-Malmaison, France.

Read MoreEmbraer SA engages in the design, manufacture, and sale of aircraft and its parts for commercial, defense, and executive aviation sectors. It operates through the following segments: Commercial Aviation, Defense and Security, Executive Jet Business, Service & Support and Others. The Commercial Aviation segment is involved in the development, production, and sale of commercial jets; and the provision of support services to regional aviation and aircraft leasing. The Defense and Security segment engages in research, development, production, modification, and support for defense and security aircrafts, as well as other integrated products and solutions including satellites and information and communication systems. The Executive Jet Business segment deals with the development, manufacture, and sale of executive jets. The Service & Support segment provides after-service solutions and support to its customers through a comprehensive portfolio of innovative and competitive solutions to ensure operational efficiency of products manufactured by Embraer and by other aircraft manufacturers, extending the useful life of commercial, executive and defense aircraft. The Others segment refers to

Read MoreArconic Corporation manufactures and sells aluminum sheets, plates, extrusions, and architectural products in the United States, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hungary, Russia, and the United Kingdom. It operates through three segments: Rolled Products, Extrusions, and Building and Construction Systems. The Rolled Products segment provides a range of aluminum sheet and plate products for ground transportation, aerospace, industrial, and packaging markets; and roofing, architectural composite panels, ventilated facades and ceiling panels, spacers, culvert pipes, and gutters for building and construction markets. The Extrusions segment offers extruded products, including aerospace shapes, automotive shapes, seamless tubes, hollows, mortar fins, and high strength rods and bars for ground transportation, aerospace, and industrial markets. The Building and Construction Systems segment provides various products and building envelope solutions, such as entrances, curtain walls, windows, composite panels, and coil coated sheets for fabricators and glazing subcontractors under the Kawneer, Reynobond, and Reynolux brands. The company offers its products directly to customers, as well as through distributors. The company was formerly known as Arconic Rolled Products Corporation and changed its name to Arconic Corporation in Arpil 2020. Arconic Corporation was founded in 1888 and is headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Read MoreUS intelligence agencies have established a blacklist of individuals from around the world, including from Morocco, suspected of funding terrorist operations. The blacklisted are banned from accessing the US financial system.

The CIA, the FBI, the US Treasury Department and the State Department coordinate their actions to hunt down a number of people from around the world, including from Europe, North America, Asia and the Middle East, for their connections with terrorism, reported Moroccan Al Ahdath Al Maghribia newspaper in its weekend issue.

The blacklist has been transferred to relevant services to prevent the listed individuals from accessing the US financial system. These individuals financial transactions, their properties, and the properties registered in the name of their relatives or under fictitious names will be monitored and Americans will be banned from collaborating with them in any circumstances, the daily stated.

US services coordinate their actions with several countries, including with Morocco, to shut down all terrorism financing channels and prevent extremist groups from getting any material assistance, the daily said, adding that this strategy was put in place after reports on terrorism financing operations by individuals or legal entities in Libya and elsewhere surfaced.

According to Al Ahdath Al Maghribia, US intelligence services have already dismantled similar networks, which carried out operations on behalf of the terror ISIS group. These networks executed fictitious transactions via an auction website to fund their criminal activities in the United States, the daily said.Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, a diversified financial institution, provides various financial products and services to personal, business, public sector, and institutional clients in Canada, the United States, and internationally. The company operates through four strategic business units: Canadian Personal and Business Banking; Canadian Commercial Banking and Wealth Management; U.S. Commercial Banking and Wealth Management; and Capital Markets. The company offers chequing, savings, and business accounts; mortgages; loans, lines of credit, student lines of credit, and business and agriculture loans; investment and insurance services; and credit cards, as well as overdraft protection services. It also provides day-to-day banking, borrowing and credit, investing and wealth, specialty, and international services; correspondent banking and online foreign exchange services; and cash management services. The company serves its customers through its banking centers, as well as direct, mobile, and remote channels. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce was founded in 1867 and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada.

Read MoreThe Moroccan police arrested Taoufiq Bouachrine, a prominent columnist and editor in chief of Akhbar Al Yaoum, one of the leading papers in the country, following complaints of sexual assaults filed against him.

Local media said that 20 plain-clothed policemen raided the office of Akhbar Al Yaoum in Casablanca and arrested Bouachrine.

The Arabic-language newspaper also said on its website that Bouachrine had been arrested, but it was also unable to say why.

The general prosecutor issued a statement saying that Bouachrine was arrested for investigation over sexual assault claims but did not give any further details on the plaintiff.

The statement added that Bouachrines arrest is not related to his practice of journalism.

In 2009, Bouachrine and Akhbar al-Yaoum cartoonist Khalid Gueddar were each given a four-year suspended jail sentence following two separate trials over a cartoon, which was deemed offensive to Moroccos royal family.

Bouachrine has also faced lawsuits from government ministers who have accused him of defamation.The following companies are subsidiares of Molina Healthcare: Aetna & Humana - Medicare Advantage, Affinity Health Plan, AmericanWork Inc., Better Health Network, Camelot Care Centers Inc, Children's Behavioral Health Inc., Choices Group Inc., College Community Services, Dockside Services Inc, Family Preservation Services Inc., Family Preservation Services of Florida Inc., Family Preservation Services of North Carolina Inc., Family Preservation Services of Washington D.C. Inc., Family Preservation Services of West Virginia Inc., Florida NetPASS LLC, Hclb Inc., Magellan Complete Care, Maple Star Nevada Inc., Maple Star Oregon Inc., Mercy CarePlus, Molina Clinical Services LLC, Molina Healthcare Data Center Inc., Molina Healthcare of Arizona Inc., Molina Healthcare of California, Molina Healthcare of Florida Inc., Molina Healthcare of Georgia Inc., Molina Healthcare of Illinois Inc., Molina Healthcare of Iowa Inc., Molina Healthcare of Louisiana Inc., Molina Healthcare of Maryland Inc., Molina Healthcare of Michigan Inc., Molina Healthcare of Mississippi Inc., Molina Healthcare of Nevada Inc., Molina Healthcare of New Mexico Inc., Molina Healthcare of New York Inc., Molina Healthcare of North Carolina Inc., Molina Healthcare of Ohio Inc., Molina Healthcare of Oklahoma Inc., Molina Healthcare of Pennsylvania Inc., Molina Healthcare of Puerto Rico Inc., Molina Healthcare of South Carolina LLC, Molina Healthcare of Texas Inc., Molina Healthcare of Texas Insurance Company, Molina Healthcare of Utah Inc., Molina Healthcare of Virginia Inc., Molina Healthcare of Washington Inc., Molina Healthcare of Wisconsin Inc., Molina Holdings Corporation, Molina Hospital Management LLC, Molina Information Systems LLC dba Molina Medicaid Solutions, Molina Medical Management Inc., Molina Pathways LLC, Molina Pathways of Texas Inc., Molina Youth Academy, NextLevel Health Illinois, Pathways Community Corrections Inc., Pathways Community Services LLC, Pathways Community Support of Texas Inc., Pathways Health and Community Support LLC, Pathways Human Services LLC., Pathways of Arizona Inc., Pathways of Delaware Inc., Pathways of Idaho LLC, Pathways of Maine Inc., Pathways of Massachusetts LLC, Pathways of Oklahoma Inc., Pathways of Washington Inc., Providence Community Services, Providence Human Services, Raystown Developmental Services Inc., The Game of Work LLC, The RedCo Group Inc., Total Care Medicaid plan, Transitional Family Services Inc., Unisys -Health Information Management, and YourCare Health Plan.I am not a sheep, I have my own mind

I have had enough of being told what and how to think

Whilst we are still allowed the remnants of free speech,

I will speak out.



I also reserve the right to discuss less controversial matters should I feel the urge.Wall Street analysts have given Dream Global REIT 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 Dream Global REIT wasn't one of them. MarketBeat thinks these five companies may be even better buys.

View MarketBeat's top stock picks here.Rogers Communications Inc. operates as a communications and media company in Canada. It operates through three segments: Wireless, Cable, and Media. The company offers mobile Internet access, wireless voice and enhanced voice, device and accessory financing, wireless home phone, device protection, text messaging, e-mail, global voice and data roaming, bridging landline, machine-to-machine and Internet of Things solutions, and advanced wireless solutions for businesses, as well as device delivery services; and postpaid and prepaid services under the Rogers, Fido, and chatr brands to approximately 10.9 million subscribers. It also provides Internet and WiFi services; smart home monitoring services, such as monitoring, security, automation, energy efficiency, and smart control through a smartphone app. In addition, the company offers local and network TV; on-demand television; cloud-based digital video recorders; voice-activated remote controls, and integrated apps; personal video recorders; linear and time-shifted programming; digital specialty channels; 4K television programming; and televised content on smartphones, tablets, and personal computers, as well as operates Ignite TV and Ignite TV app. Further, it provides residential and small business local telephony services; calling features, such as voicemail, call waiting, and long distance; voice, data networking, Internet protocol, and Ethernet services; private networking, Internet, IP voice, and cloud solutions; optical wave and multi-protocol label switching services; IT and network technologies; and cable access network services. The company also owns Toronto Blue Jays and the Rogers Centre event venue; and operates Sportsnet ONE, Sportsnet 360, Sportsnet World, Citytv, OMNI, FX (Canada), FXX (Canada), and OLN television networks, as well as 55 AM and FM radio stations. Rogers Communications Inc. was founded in 1960 and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada.

Read MoreSystemax Inc., through its subsidiaries, operates as a direct marketer of brand name and private label industrial and business equipment and supplies in North America. It sells a range of maintenance, repair, and operation products, including storage and shelving, material handling, janitorial and maintenance products, furniture and office products, workbenches and shop desks, HVAC/R and fans, safety and security products, outdoor and grounds maintenance products, tools and instruments, and office and school supplies. The company also sells plumbing products and pumps, packaging products and supplies, electrical and lighting products, food service products and appliances, raw materials and building supplies, motors and power transmission products, pneumatics and hydraulics, medical and laboratory equipment, metalworking and cutting tools, vehicle maintenance products, and fasteners and hardware. It offers its products under the Global, GlobalIndustrial.com, Nexel Paramount, and Interion brand names. The company offers its products to businesses, educational organizations, and government entities through relationship marketers, catalogs, and e-commerce sites. Systemax Inc. was founded in 1949 and is headquartered in Port Washington, New York.

Read MoreAn American perspective. Photo: George Frey/Getty Images

Thanks in large part to the students at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, green shoots of optimism are sprouting amid the rocky terrain of Americas gun debate.

But as liberals see real reason for hope, many are still wrapping their policy aims in an unhelpful phrase: gun control. This term has long been the default for well-meaning citizens who want to curb the killings that are a fact of American life. But its well past time to retire it and come up with something more effective.

The reason for doing so is simple: Many Americans dont like government control  or, perhaps more importantly, the idea of government control. (Medicare is popular; the thought of dependency on the state is not.) It can be argued that the United States bedrock cultural individualism is the wellspring of the countrys history of innovation. But it has also been a persistent obstacle to the kind of comfortable, regulated lifestyle that is the norm in many other developed nations. And its one reason why the U.S. lags so far behind almost every other nation on shooting deaths, a measure by which, as we are reminded frequently, the United States counts as a shameful anomaly.

The specter of the government coming to take your guns, an idea often ridiculed on the left, is a very powerful one on the right  just witness the booming firearm sales throughout President Obamas tenure. This, despite the fact that the man couldnt get so much as a universal background check through Congress.

The National Rifle Association takes full advantage of its members oft-unfounded fears. As it has slowly but steadily morphed into a hardcore wing of the Republican Party, the organization has ratcheted up its anti-government rhetoric to absurd proportions. On Thursday, NRA head Wayne LaPierre told the Conservative Political Action Conference that gun reformers hate the NRA, they hate the Second Amendment, they hate individual freedom.

This kind of apocalyptic rhetoric has long existed in the Republican Party. But its safe to say that when the Gun Control Act of 1968 passed in the aftermath of several major political assassinations, both the GOP and NRA were different animals, far less apt to view any regulation as an act of legislative terrorism.

During the intervening decades, throughout Ronald Reagans presidency and beyond, the GOP has become fiercely opposed to the notion of government in pretty much any form. On the issue of guns, liberals have yet to catch up, rhetorically speaking, to this reality.

The idea of ditching gun control is not new. In the aftermath of the Sandy Hook shootings, Molly Ball observed in the Atlantic that President Obama and Vice President Biden had avoided it when they introduced a set of modest reforms that Congress failed to implement.

We find that its one of those terms that has some baggage,Mark Glaze, director of Mayors Against Illegal Guns (now part of Everytown for Gun Safety) told NPR the same year, noting that hed seen polling data that swung wildly when people were queried on that term versus others. We talk about gun violence prevention, because thats what it is.

But, as Ball wrote, alternatives like Glazes preferred expression, or others like gun safety, never quite caught on. (Ball did not mention gun reform in her list of rejects, which seems perhaps the least objectionable alternative.) Instead, politicians, journalists, and advocates throw around a hodgepodge of phrases, though elected officials appear to have shied away from gun control in recent years.

Republicans have long understood the power of language more intuitively than Democrats. With the help of consultants like Frank Luntz, they have developed a talent for defining complex issues with simple, often misleading phraseology. They have helped frame banning abortions as pro-life, tarred Obamacare with talk of death panels, transformed the estate tax into the death tax, and so on. The NRA is equally adept at this trick  most famously with Guns dont kill people, people kill people.

Liberals have no reason not to up their language game, especially because reforming gun laws  unlike many of the relabeled GOP platforms  is actually popular. Most Americans ARE in favor of gun reform.

Tweaking the language around guns does not mean that liberals must meekly allow gun owners to lead the way on any kind of change, as David Brooks recently suggested. And it does not mean, as some Second Amendment defenders would have it, that gun-reform advocates must master the technical differences between an AR-15 and a Sig Sauer MCX to speak authoritatively. It simply means that there is no need to alienate the many Americans who might be receptive to what is generally a popular cause, but who fear  rationally or not  that some of their rights will be stripped away.

In the aftermath of every mass shooting, liberal social media users invoke the case of Australia, where a slaughter at a Tasmanian tourist site in 1996 prompted the government to crack down on firearms, banning semiautomatic weapons and confiscating 650,000 weapons owned by private citizens. But as Australian writer A. Odysseus Patrick wrote in the New York Times this weekend, we Australians have a profoundly different relationship with weapons. Americans love guns. Were scared of them.

This difference drives home the point that, in a way, it doesnt matter if liberals ultimate goal is to ban all guns, because immediate, sweeping change is not a realistic possibility in America. Guns are simply too embedded into the culture, too much a fabric of everyday life for too many people. Progress will be incremental, slow, and frustrating. In other words, to call it gun reform isnt merely a Luntz-like mischaracterization. Its an accurate depiction of the policy stakes.

Millennials and the generation below them seem more amenable both to government and to Western Europe-style social democracy than are their elders. This tendency points to the possibility of a different kind of conversation, and perhaps more wholesale changes, in the future. But for now, reform is a good place to begin  and it can start with the way we talk.

An earlier version of this post incorrectly claimed that the 1996 mass shooting in Tasmania happened at an elementary school. That was incorrect; it happened at a popular tourist site.The inspector general of police (IGP), Kale Kayihura has issued a warning to police officers of all ranks against giving information to sister security agencies without authority from the force.



The warning was issued in a message signed by Kayihura on Thursday night, addressed to all unit commanders and police personnel.

Police chief Gen Kale Kayihura (L) and Security minister Lt Gen Henry Tumukunde

According to Kayihura, individual officers have been conspiring on their own or being summoned by sister security agencies like the Uganda People's Defence Force (UPDF), Internal Security Organisations (ISO), Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence (CMI) and others to divulge divulge information without official authority.



"Such conduct undermines the authority of the police administration and contravenes the police code of conduct, the official oath and the oath of secrecy," reads the message in part.



It adds, "this is to warn all personnel involving themselves in such misconduct to stop forthwith. Disciplinary action shall be taken against all those involved such acts."

The warning message comes at time when the police top management is at loggerheads with ISO which operates under the ministry of Security headed by Lt Gen Henry Tumukunde. The fight seems to have incorporated the entire army. Tumukunde and Kayihura have on several occasions come out into the open to criticise each other's method of work.



Recently, the army through its judicial systems arrested and tried several police officers for crimes committed years ago which the police force had since investigated and shelved.

The investigation that ultimately led to the arrest and prosecution is believed to have been based on intelligence information.



The army also a month ago arrested members of Boda Boda 2010, an association patroned by Kayihura and headed by Abdallah Kitatta a close friend of the IGP.

This week, the minister Justice and Constitutional Affairs Kahinda Otafiire asked the security officers to stop fighting from the public. President Yoweri Museveni also promised to rein in the security officers. Museveni said the fight was by individuals and not institutions.

The two generals (Tumukunde and Kayihura) have allegedly had a long-standing rift since 2005 when Kayihura oversaw Tumukundes arrest and subsequent prosecution in the Army Court Martial for abuse of office and spreading harmful propaganda.

Tumukunde, then an army MP, had spoken out on Radio One political programme, Spectrum against the amendment of the Constitution to remove presidential term limits.

At the time, Tumukunde was cultivating a risky reputation as a regime critic from his perch as one of the 10 army MPs. The dramatic arrest was sanctioned based on a report Kayihura, who was thriving as the blue-eyed military assistant to Museveni, and chief political commissar of the UPDF, had written.

Tumukunde was sentenced to a serious reprimand, subjected to the twin humiliation of a lengthy detention at the Kololo officers mess. He was also withdrawn from the cushy position of representing the army in parliament.

That same year (2005), Kayihura was promoted to major general and appointed police chief, an office he has enthusiastically used to brutally clamp down on political opposition to Musevenis presidency.

Ten years later, Tumukunde was back in favour. In 2015, Museveni was assembling forces to counter the unusual leadership challenge presented by his long-time confidant, former prime minister Amama Mbabazi.

Museveni set Tumukunde to work, infiltrating and neutralising Mbabazis considerable networks. His long-held wish to retire from the army was also finally granted in September that year, with a promotion from brigadier to lieutenant general.

In July 2016, a new cabinet was announced in which he was named security minister, a docket that brought a rehabilitated Tumukunde into direct confrontation with the police chief.Amazon, it is often said, is unstoppable. Once known for the books it sold, the e-commerce behemoth has today permeated most lives with products to meet everyday needs - from grocery to gadgets, movies to now even medicines. Three recent announcements, two of them linked to Amazon's involvement with health care, have the potential to disrupt the pharmaceutical industry with long term implications for Indian pharmaceutical companies.

It is not happening just yet and could arguably take a while but if the recent news reports are anything to go by, the door has been cracked open and as one pharma leader said, "with Amazon, things can happen pretty rapidly."

The three news pointers were: 1, Amazon launching its own line for sale of over-the-counter (OTC) drugs for Perrigo, the Dublin-based pharmaceutical company. 2, Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway, and JPMorgan Chase & Co. announcing a partnership to address health care for their U.S. employees, "with the aim of improving employee satisfaction and reducing costs"; and 3, Not linked to Amazon, but important for the pharma industry - Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway making an investment in Teva Pharmaceutical, the Israeli generic drug giant.

On the first point about the sale of OTC drugs (OTC drugs, very loosely, are those that do not need a doctor's prescription - things like vitamins, food supplements, common antidotes for cough and cold, some ointments and creams): At the moment, the development concerns Perrigo and the questions pharma companies may want to track is what it could do for the company. Will the volumes expand? Sure, it may grow as Perrigo gets one more platform for sale of its medicines. Right? But what many of them may want to watch is whether this will be high volume, low margins scenario. This is linked to the elements we do not know details about. For instance: What margin Amazon is seeking from Perrigo and what margins Perrigo currently gives to the distribution and retail channels. So, it may help to watch out for the OTC revenue margins that the company will report and how different it is from the conventional channels that it uses.

The second issue is going beyond Perrigo and this is hypothetical but potential to be real. What happens when it goes beyond Perrigo. Currently, most Indian companies supply only prescription medicines in the US market with the exception of Dr Reddy's and Aurobindo, which also sell OTC products. Though their product profile is little different from Perrigo. The good news for Indian pharma is that this opens up one more channel to sell medicines. That is some relief from a market scenario today in the US where there are only three large wholesalers and chains that source generic drugs as against about a dozen of them about five years ago. And because of this consolidation, the direct impact was pressure on pricing as it became a buyer's market. How this will change with Amazon's entry is anybody's guess and going by the early impressions from some pharma companies, there are reasons to worry as Amazon could be a demanding customer so the pricing pressure may continue, if not increase even more.

But then, it is possible now that some of the benefits may get passed on to the end consumer or the patient buying the drugs. Also, we are still talking of OTC drugs and this question may arise if at all Amazon opts to get into prescription drugs. But then, if that happens, it also raises questions around how Amazon will deal with the complex drug distribution channel in the US. There are for example the Health Maintenance Organisations (HMO), Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBM), the large wholesalers and chains, and then the government.

The bottomline for Indian pharma is that clearly Amazon is looking at the high margin business in retail pharmacy and is trying to disrupt this and in this process could potentially change the ecosystem.

Analysts and vigilant pharma leaders are seeing early signs of it in, what they see as, the initial experiments of Amazon.

The second point about Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway, and JPMorgan Chase & Co announcing a partnership to address healthcare for their U.S. employees, is being read as a signal to an attempt to remove the inefficiencies in the US healthcare system. Healthcare costs in the US are arguably very high and it is not just about the price of medicines but also the cost of hospitalization, which is quite high too. While, the current news is about a way to address this for their employees, analysts like to remind us that Berkshire is also involved with insurance business and therefore is a paying entity, in some sense. While this is limited to the employees at the moment, analysts therefore feel, it could well be a pilot for a new potential channel and therefore needs to be watched closely.

The third news component about Berkshire Hathaway's investment in Teva. While Teva is also into innovation play, it is still seen as a generic giant and therefore the reading for Indian pharma is clearly that generics has a future and apparently there could also be the business component in the belief that perhaps whenever pricing of generics sees a turnaround, Teva would stand to gain the most. But more important could be signal that Berkshire sends out about its foray, in a sense, into the pharmaceutical business.

The upshot of it all for the Indian pharma companies is there is lot to watch out for and to be prepared for times when the pricing pressures will only increase.For Immediate Release

As the UN Security Council today unanimously passed a resolution aimed at halting the bloodshed in Syria (SCR 2401), including in the besieged region of eastern Ghouta, where five successive days of bombing have killed hundreds of people, PHR put out the following statement, attributable to Director of International Policy and Partnerships Susannah Sirkin:

If implemented immediately, todays UN Security Council resolution on Syria could lead to a desperately needed halt to the incessant bombing in eastern Ghouta, as well as provision of humanitarian aid, medical evacuations, and life-saving care for the thousands of civilians that are trapped in the apocalyptic reality of the Syrian conflict.

Physicians for Human Rights has repeatedly called for these measures to be taken: for medical personnel to be protected, for humanitarian aid to be provided freely and safely, for sieges to be lifted, for civilians to be afforded the protection they are owed under long-held international humanitarian standards. We urge the Security Council to ensure the full and careful implementation of this resolution and echo its demand that all parties fully and immediately implement all provisions of all relevant resolutions, including operationalization of UNSC resolution 2286 to ensure accountability for the flagrant war crimes being committed against civilians in eastern Ghouta and throughout Syria.

Todays Security Council resolution (2401) carves out the possibility for warfare against terrorist groups as designated by the Council. The Security Council must ensure that the Syrian government is not allowed to defy this edict by defining such groups at will. Given the Syrian governments continued and shameless assertion that civilians living in opposition-held territories are terrorists and that victims of chemical attacks are merely actors, we ask the world to consider what is most likely: that the toddlers and babies trapped in eastern Ghoutas hell on earth are active combatants, or that the Syrian government is lying to cover its crimes.

Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) is a New York-based advocacy organization that uses science and medicine to prevent mass atrocities and severe human rights violations. Learn more here.The sex scandal tumbling out of the British charity Oxfam, known for its work overseas and its surveys on growing inequalities between the rich and the poor, has severely jeopardised its 32 million pounds a year funding from the UK government. The European Commission could cut its 60 million pound funding too. To retrieve ground and re-establish its place as a compassionate organisation, Oxfam would have to show that actions are in place to avoid cynical behaviour among its staff whose behaviour has been unacceptable.

The charity sector was pushed deeper into trouble after new claims about Save the Children. While Oxfam, Britains fourth biggest charity, quite possibly deliberately misled governments, police and the public by hiding the scale and nature of sexual exploitation by rogue staff in Haiti, Save the Children apologised to three women who raised concerns about inappropriate behaviour and comments by Justin Forsyth when he was chief executive. Medecins Sans Frontieres, the worlds largest NGO with 40,000 staff, had to deal with 24 cases of sexual harassment or abuse and 19 people were dismissed. Oxfam is discovering more and more shenanigans of sexual capers overseas. The global fallout of all this will be felt as the agencies operate like multinational corporations in several countries. Aid from foreign sources to poorer countries is a two-edged sword as Indian NGOs tell the story of how exploitative some of the conditions can be.

An NGO that educates and feeds 2,000 underprivileged children at its school near Chennai had a bad experience with funding from a German NRI. Sevalaya suspected a takeover bid that stooped to the level of bringing a sexual harassment charge against the chief trustee and the NGO had to fight a legal case for years to clear the name of its principal official.

The cynical exploitation of funding sources from abroad, which are given money either out of the donors compassion for India's poverty or from religious motivation, leads to money-making operations in which a margin is kept for the Indian middleman, either abroad or in India. Some of those receiving funding do not generally bother about the source of the funding. Says N Jagannathan of Sevalaya, Its not for us to moralise on the source of funding. Money is getting so tight that we have to make several pleas to keep operations going so that the poor can be educated in schools..

Is there a sense of Schadenfreude in Indian NGOs on Oxfam being caught out like this? Is this not an agency that uses its international prominence to raise funds in India for its Indian operations? Some would not admit it openly but they do point out that while many Indian NGOs are being shackled by all kinds of restrictions on their funding and their accountancy practices, international charities like Oxfam  2,500 staff and 31,000 volunteers  were thought to be too big to be touched in the donor countries.

The moral righteousness that countries like UK have shown after the scandal erupted, with Hollywood celebrities and socialites withdrawing their public support of Oxfam, is being pointed to by onlookers here who say India does not always react with the same attitude. While some say there is too much of the holier than thou attitude in the thinking abroad, they still believe that Indians seem to be more entertained by scandals than affected as a society. The way Oxfam handled the case of Roland van Hauwermeiren - who was allowed to resign from his post in Haiti after admitting that prostitutes had visited his villa there  may have swung opinion even more against Oxfam. The charity may have blundered by not getting the police involved straightaway and it erred again in by making excuses for clear management failures when the seamy details of Hauwermeiren's activities finally came to light.

There is moral outrage over an aid organisation being caught trying to cover up. It stands to reason that humanitarian organisations must be really clean and totally transparent in order to get funding. They must live up to far greater standards than corporations, which are driven by the profit motive. This is the biggest lesson to learn from all this, concludes S. Narayanan, a well-known social worker from Chennai who helps poor kids find scholarships to study and homes to stay in. It is important for organisations like Oxfam to sustain the support for charity in their home base and to rein in sexual abuse among staff. Otherwise, the spontaneous generosity of people responding to natural disasters will be lost and the losers will be the poorest people of the world. Development is an industry, but not compassion and any development built on compassion is what touches the heart - of the receiver as well as the giver. Modern cynicism should not be allowed to kill that compassion.Kochi: Nearly two months after the state government ordered closure of Kochi-based Peace International School upon finding it teaching textbooks propagating communal hatred, its chairman M.M. Akbar was intercepted at Hyde-rabad airport and brought to Kochi on Sunday. The controversial Isla-mic preacher and managing director of the Kozhikode-based Peace Educational Foundation was on the run for over a year. Akbar was intercepted at 11 pm on Saturday by Immigration officials based on a lookout notice issued by the Kochi Police earlier. He was on his way from Australia to Qatar via Malaysia and landed in Hyderabad for a brief stopover, one of the sources said.

A four-member squad led by Vipin Das, sub-inspector of police, Ernakulam North, soon left for Hyderabad and recorded his arrest at 11.30 am on Sunday. The team brought him back to Kochi later in the day. Hell be subjected to a preliminary round of interrogation and will be produced before a court on Monday, he said. The case was lodged in October 2016 based on a complaint by the district education officer. A probe by the education department found the school wasnt teaching from textbooks recommended by the NCERT, CBSE or SCERT, instead followed ones compiled by a Mumbai-based Islamic educational institution.

In December 2016, the Kochi Police arrested three Mumbai-based publishers for printing the textbooks with objectionable content. Portions of a Class II textbook that propagates Islamic Orthodoxy and conversion were leaked, in which there were objective type questions on what the students would do if their friend wanted to convert to Islam and how to deal with non-Muslims among others. Finally, in January last, the Chief Minister ordered shuttering the school based on the recommendation for action by the district collector and the department of education. The institution has 13 schools under its banner in different districts in the state, and the government is considering similar action against the rest.A special tourism zone at Madhurawada and the decommissioned Naval Warship Virat-aircraft carrier museum in Vizag, Havelock Bridge in Rajahmundry, Bhavani Island in the middle of the Krishna river in Vijayawada, Kakinada Hope Island under Swadesh Darshan scheme in East Godavari district and Gandikota Fort in Anan-tapur district were the major projects in spotlight.

Visakhapatnam: The Andhra Pradesh government would be focusing on six marquee tourism projects which offered tremendous growth and potential for investments. A special tourism zone at Madhurawada and the decommissioned Naval Warship Virat-aircraft carrier museum in Vizag, Havelock Bridge in Rajahmundry, Bhavani Island in the middle of the Krishna river in Vijayawada, Kakinada Hope Island under Swadesh Darshan scheme in East Godavari district and Gandikota Fort in Anan-tapur district were the major projects in spotlight.

Chairing a panel discussion on tourism on the opening day of the three-day CII Partnership Summit here on Saturday, Tourism secretary Mukesh Kumar Meena said the six major projects would be developed with private participation. While 700 acres of Bhawani Island would be converted into a world-class tourist destination, Havelock Bridge and Gandikota would be made into recreation and adventure and heritage zones, respectively. Also, Virat would boast of a five-star hotel, gaming zone and maritime museum memorabilia, he added.

Minister for Tourism Bhuma Akhila Priya said 250 acres had been identified at Madhurawada in Vizag city to build multiple facilities such as an amusement park, oceanarium and others. The detailed project report for refurbishing Virat would be readied and submitted to the Union government. According to the Navy, the ship could not be dragged onto land and had to be kept afloat. At least Rs 700 crore - Rs 800 crore would be required to convert the aircraft carrier into a floating attraction in Vizag.

Though the AP government had sought Central support for the project, the ministries of Tourism and Defence expressed their unwillingness to fund the tourism project. Now we are chalking out plans whether to raise the funds on our own or to take up the major project under the public and private partnership mode, said sources in the tourism department.New York State Police want to speak with anyone who may have any information regarding the driver charged in a triple-fatal crash in Camillus or anyone who saw him prior to the wreck.

Anthony Saccone is accused of drunk driving and leaving the scene of a fatal accident following a crash that killed three young people Friday morning.

Police on Friday said that at about 3:40 a.m., a 2014 Chevrolet Impala operated by Baylie C. Rose, 19, was traveling south on Onondaga Road and entering the intersection of Onondaga Boulevard when she was struck by a 2015 GMC Acadia operated by Anthony J. Saccone, 30, of 235 Gulf Road in the town of Camillus.

Rose and two passengers, Michael S. Walker, 18 and Samra Osmanovic, 20, were all pronounced dead at the scene. Following the crash, Saccone was seen fleeing the scene and was later located by officers using a state police bloodhound at his mothers residence on Onondaga Boulevard.

Saccone was charged with leaving the scene of a fatal accident, a class D felony, and driving while intoxicated. Further charges may be pending.

On Saturday, police said that anyone with information is asked to contact state police directly at (315) 455-2922 or (315) 366-6000 or by using the Onondaga County Tips 411 app.Women lock their hands with a cloth at the Gandhi Square in Kochi on Saturday in protest against the brutal way in which tribal youth Madhu was killed in Attappadi the other day. (Photo: SUNOJ NINAN MATHEW.)

THRISSUR: The murder of tribal youth Madhu of Attappadi was a hot topic of discussion among the delegates of the CPM state conference here on Friday andSaturday. Tribal welfare minister A.K. Balan and Palakkad MP M.B. Rajesh faced the ire of the delegates for their late reactions on the murder that occurred on Thursday afternoon, sources said. Mr Balan had said on Friday that the mob attack on the mentally ill youth would be discussed after the state conference. Mr Rajesh had said that he knew about the incident very late as he was busy at the conference.

After facing severe criticism from the delegates on Friday, they both rushed to Thrissur Medical College on Saturday morning where the body of Madhu was kept for post-mortem. Health minister K.K. Shailaja also reached the MCH before noon. However, none of the ministers or Mr Rajesh were present at Attappadi for the funeral. CPM MLAs A. Babu (Nenmara) and K. Vijaydas (Kongad) represented the party when the body was kept for the public to pay their last respects near the police station complex at Agali on Saturday afternoon. Mr Balan, who will visit the tribal settlement of the deceased youth at Chindakiyoor, said on Saturday that the murder was a shame on Kerala.Patna: Nine schoolchildren were killed and about 20 injured by a speeding SUV while they were trying to cross the road outside their school in Muzaffarpur on Saturday. The injured children were immediately rushed to Sri Krishna Memorial College Hospital for treatment.

The incident occurred on the National Highway number 77 which connects Muzaffarpur to rest of the North Bihar. The Dharampur Government Middle School is located along the national highway. According to officials, Children who died in the accident were below 12 years of age. The incident occurred just after school had ended classes for the day. They said that most of the children had lined up near the road to go home after the school.As per the CBI, Sohrabuddin, a gangster with alleged terror links, his wife Kausar Bi and his aide Tulsiram Prajapati were abducted by the Gujarat police on the night of November 22-23, 2005 while they were travelling from Hyderabad to Sangli in a private bus. (Photo: File)

Mumbai: The lawyer of Gujarat IPS officer Rajkumar Pandian, whose discharge in the Sohrabuddin Shaikh alleged fake encounter case has been challenged in the Bombay High Court, on Saturday alleged in the court that he was framed up by the CBI.

Pandian had a stelar record and he was the "main" officer who had taken on fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim and the ISI of Pakistan when he was with the IB, senior advocate Mahesh Jethmalani, his lawyer, told the court.

The Central Bureau of Investigation, which took over the encounter case from the Gujarat CID in 2010, framed Pandian by fabricating evidence, he alleged.

"I (Pandian) have unimpeachable documentary evidence to prove that I was not in Hyderabad on the day of the alleged abduction," Jethmalani contended in the court.

As per the CBI, Sohrabuddin, a gangster with alleged terror links, his wife Kausar Bi and his aide Tulsiram Prajapati were abducted by the Gujarat police on the night of November 22-23, 2005 while they were travelling from Hyderabad to Sangli in a private bus.

"I had taken a flight from Hyderabad to Ahmedabad on November 23, 2005.... However, the CBI claims I never took that flight and instead sent constable Ajay Parmar to Ahmedabad on my ticket as a cover-up," the lawyer said.

It was an international flight of Air India, where every passenger's ID card would have been checked, he said.

The CBI presented, as evidence, the custom declaration form submitted at the Hyderabad airport, filled in Pandian's name but bearing Parmar's signature, Jethmalani said.

The agency claimed that it proved that Parmar took the flight on Pandian's ticket to help him cover his tracks. "This is a fabricated document. I am a victim.... The victim of false investigation by the CBI," Jethmalani said.

"I was the main officer who fought Dawood Ibrahim and ISI (during a stint as SP with the Intelligence Bureau). I have an unimpeachable record, and yet, the CBI is trying to undermine me like this," the lawyer said.

According to Pandian, he was in Hyderabad on November 21-22, 2005 only to inspect the site of a bomb blast that had taken place near the city in October that year, and he had nothing to do with the alleged abduction of Sohrabuddin.

Sohrabuddin and Kausar Bi were killed in an alleged fake encounter by the Gujarat police in November 2005, while Prajapati was killed in another alleged fake encounter by the Gujarat and Rajasthan police in December 2006.

Of the 38 persons charge-sheeted by the CBI for being involved in the two fake encounters, 15, including senior IPS officers D G Vanzara, Pandian, Dinesh MN, and BJP president Amit Shah were discharged by the special CBI court in Mumbai, where the trial is underway.

The high court is conducting day-to-day hearing on petitions filed by the CBI and Rubabuddin Shaikh, Sohrabuddin's brother, challenging the discharge of five of the 14 police officers.The girl, before killing herself, had alleged that a senior of her school used to molest her. (Representational Image)

Varanasi: A class 7 student of Pura village in Varanasi committed suicide on Saturday after being allegedly molested by her senior.

The girl, before killing herself, had alleged that a senior of her school used to molest her.

The police said that the victim killed herself by consuming poison.

The accused, a resident of Mirzapur, is a class XI student.

The police has sent the body for the post-mortem and launched an investigation to nab the accused.

The victims father alleged that they had earlier complained about the boys behaviour to the school authority which wasnt paid heed to it.Hyderabad: AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi asserted that the Babri Masjid will be rebuilt at its original place in Ayodhya. He was confident that the Supreme Court would give the decision in favour of Muslims.

At a programme held in Delhi, he said, Our masjid will remain there and we will reconstruct it once again as the Supreme Court will give the decision in our favour. The court will not give a decision on the basis of faith but on the basis of facts.

Mr Owaisi further said that the Muslims will never leave that land. The people, who talk of leaving the masjid, speak against our shariat. I would like to tell them that we will never leave that land, Mr Owaisi added.New Delhi: CBI sleuths for the second consecutive day examined Punjab National Bank executive director K.V. Brahmaji Rao over the Rs 11,400-crore PNB scam which allegedly involves jewellers Nirav Modi and uncle Mehul Choksi. Sources said Mr Rao was not being treated as an accused in the banking scam case, and the examination primarily focused on understanding how the fraud was detected and other violations in the banks norms and procedures. Mr Rao has been in the banking sector for more than 35 years and has handled the important Mumbai zone and a few other areas.

In addition to Mr Rao, other officials from PNB are also being examined by the investigative agency which claimed none of them were accused in the case as the questioning was primarily focused on procedural lapses. It has been revealed so far that fake guarantees, or Letter of Understanding, were issued in favour of Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi. It is alleged that as may as 293 Letters of Undertakings were issued, violating all norms, in favour of various companies of the two jewellers.Hyderabad: The authorities at the RGI Airport detained Islamic preacher from Kerala, M.M. Akbar  founder of Niche Truth  on Sunday. He was wanted in a case related to promoting enmity between different groups registered in 2016 against Peace Educational Foundation, founded by Akbar. The immigration officials detained Akbar after Kerela police had issued a lookout circular against him.

According to the FIR registered against him in December 2016, under Section 153 (a), Akbar was allegedly promoting orthodox Islam and enmity between communities through its textbooks published by his foundation. The Mumbai-based Burooj Realization, whose head was arrested by Kerala Police earlier, published the textbooks. As his arrest became imminent, Akbar fled the country.

The authorities at the RGI Airport detained Islamic preacher from Kerala, M.M. Akbar  founder of Niche Truth  on Sunday. Akbars Peace Educational Foundation is also being investigated by the National Investigation Agency in connection with a case pertaining to 21 people from Kerala joined Islamic State. The NIA said at least 11 people of the 21 were either teachers at the Foundations schools or were associated with it some way or the other.

The TS counter intelligence department was keeping a tab on the movement of Akbar. On information that he was going to Doha from Melbourne. Akbar had landed in Hyderabad hoping to catch a flight to Doha but was asked to go through immigration where he was detained. A team of officials of Kerala police reached Hyderabad and took his custody.Belagavi: Calling Prime Minister Narendra Modi a liar, Congress president, Rahul Gandhi declared here on Saturday that the Congress believed in kaam ki baat and not mann ki baat.

Recalling the famous vachanas of Lord Basavanna on practising what you preach, not stealing or indulging in violence, not lying and so on, Mr Gandhi claimed Mr Modi had betrayed the people of the country by failing to keep to his word.

Addressing a massive gathering of over a lakh people at Athani on Saturday, he said Mr Modi had neither deposited Rs 15 lakh in people's bank accounts, nor provided jobs to the two crore unemployed youth as promised. Robbery is taking place right in front of you and yet you keep silent. Dalits, minorities and tribals are being attacked in Gujarat, UP and other places but you don't utter a word. And your party does violence and divides people on communal lines, he charged, adding Unfortunately, Modi claims credit for everything positive in the country. While army personnel fought on the borders, Mr Modi took credit for it and when the country fired a rocket, he claimed he did it.

Mr Gandhi claimed that unlike the BJP, his party believed in taking all leaders into confidence and the Congress government in the state had delivered on its promises. And yet the BJP questioned its performance, he regretted.

We stood by farmers when they were in a crisis in the state while Mr Modi did not even answer when I asked him to help them, he maintained.

Mr Gandhi said he understood the soul of the people of Karnataka when he visited Basava's Anubhava Mantap in Bidar during his first leg of campaign and was impressed by contributions of great saints like Gangambika, Akkamahadevi, Shishunal Sharif, and others.You want to do well, but in our sport, the way it is, we knew by curve two that our chances to win a medal were over. But we came out today, we had faster pushes, faster runs. You just cant quit.  Chris Fogt

PYEONGCHANG, South Korea  Fighting for the last spot in the fourth round of the Olympic bobsled competition is not the reason 2014 bronze medalist Chris Fogt came out of retirement.

I was pretty sad, said the 34-year-old Alpine native after he helped push the U.S. bobsled piloted by Justin Olsen to 20th place at the Alpensia Sliding Center. I sat alone for quite a while wondering, was the comeback worth it? Being away from my kids, the family for six, seven months, was it really worth it?

Fogt, a captain in the U.S. Army (soon to be promoted to Major), retired after earning bronze in 2014, and started his family with wife Rachel. In January, three-time medalist Steve Holcomb talked both Fogt and Steve Langton into returning to the sport one more time for another run at Olympic glory. This time, he promised, it would be gold, like the one he and Justin Olsen earned in Vancouver in 2010.

I announced my comeback in January, and (Holcomb) passed away in May, Fogt said. We didnt have a lot of experience at pilot, so our expectations were a bit more tempered.

Still, all three of the Team USA sleds felt they could be in the top 10 in the Pyeongchang Games. So when Fogts sled, piloted by Olsen, who began driving two years ago, came down in 21st place after two runs, he was as discouraged as an athlete can get.

The closest competitor was USA pilot Nick Cunninghams sled, and that meant finding 0.23 of a second. It seemed an insurmountable amount of time to Fogt  and for what purpose?

Who comes to the Olympics to take what would be essentially last place in the fourth round?

As Fogt struggled with whether it was worth all the sacrifice and where he might find the motivation to compete for a prize most people would never understand, he began to scroll through hundreds of messages from friends, family and fellow soldiers.

That kind of brightened my spirits, he said. Its not necessarily about how you finish. You want to do well, but in our sport, the way it is, we knew by curve two that our chances to win a medal were over. But we came out today, we had faster pushes, faster runs. You just cant quit.

He meant to send a message to his children, just 3 and 1, dressed in Olympic gear and waving American flags back home in Utah.

If I could teach one lesson to my kids, or kids out there, when things dont go your way, because, in life sometimes they dont, you have to keep on going, he said. I dont care who you are, youre going to have bad days. The thing is to keep trying to improve each day.

That was Sundays goal.

Be faster on the push. Get down the track faster.

They did both, and they jumped a sled to make the top 20 and earn that precious fourth and final run.

"Coming down (for the bronze) in Sochi, you want to see that number one on the scoreboard," Fogt said. "I craned my neck, I obviously was not just as excited, but I was pretty excited to see the number 20, which showed we would get a fourth run."

That was not the finish he dreamed about when he left his young family to train and travel around the world. That was not the goal he had in mind when he and Holcomb and Steve Langton, who was part of the top American sled (9th), driven by Codie Bascue, hatched a plan to put together an Olympic bobsled dream team.

But Fogt knows that Holcomb, the man who helped him earn his only medal in three Olympics would be proud of all three U.S. sleds and their effort just to compete in these Games.

You cant replace him, Fogt said, choking back emotion. Try and do our best to honor his legacy, and I think he would be, well, hed be proud of what we did. We did not quit.SALT LAKE CITY  The story of late Salt Lake County Recorder Gary Ott left a mark of struggle and tragedy on the county. But now, it's also one that's close to leaving a mark on Utah law.

SB38, a bill inspired by the political and legal challenges that swirled around Ott as he spent more than three years in office while suffering a progressive form of dementia, received official approval from the Utah Legislature on Friday.

If signed by Gov. Gary Herbert, it would set in statute a multi-step process for certain counties to remove elected officials from office if they are determined to have a permanent mental incapacity.

The law would only apply to counties that adopt it as an ordinance and would allow removal only after a medical evaluation by a medical professional finds the elected official suffers from a permanent mental incapacity and the legislative body votes unanimously for removal.

Salt Lake County leaders applauded legislators for passing what they called a necessary change to help prevent what happened to Ott from happening again  though they acknowledged the bill has its flaws.

As written, it would only apply to six of Utah's 29 counties  and not city or state offices. Its sponsor, Sen. Daniel Thatcher, R-West Valley City, narrowed it so it could get the support it needed and address fears that it could be used as a political weapon on legislative bodies that have less than five members.

"I'm grateful the Legislature stepped up to help address what's really been a difficult chapter for Salt Lake County," Salt Lake County Mayor Ben McAdams said Friday after the bill got final approval from the Senate.

Following a Deseret News investigation into Ott, who appeared to be suffering health issues that prevented him from doing his job while he continued to earn nearly $190,000 in taxpayer-paid salary and benefits, county officials grappled with few legal options to turn to.

It wasn't until more than a year later, after Ott's siblings obtained temporary guardianship over Ott and struck a judge-approved resignation deal with Salt Lake County, that Ott resigned from public office.

Meanwhile, accusations flew that his top employees, Julie Dole and Karmen Sanone, covered up his health status so they could keep their jobs in the recorder's office. Both women have denied those accusations.

It was later revealed in court testimony that Ott was diagnosed with a form of progressive dementia in 2013, more than a year before his successful campaign to serve a six-year term. During the time of court proceedings, he had been diagnosed with stage 4 Alzheimer's, according to his siblings' attorney. Ott died in October, just days after the court hearings.

Though McAdams said what happened to Ott was "rare and may not happen again for a very long time," he said he's grateful lawmakers have worked to approve a "tool" the county wished it had last year. The mayor is hopeful the bill might be expanded to include other jurisdictions in the future.

"I hope the governor signs it," McAdams said. "It's a bill that's received broad consensus, and so I think it's the right thing to do."

Herbert has not publicly expressed any concerns about SB38 as it's made its way through the House and Senate. In response to a request for comment, his spokesman, Paul Edwards, said the governor will review the bill when he returns from meetings in Washington D.C.

Salt Lake County Council Chairwoman Aimee Winder Newton also said she hopes the governor signs the bill.

"Last year was so frustrating for us because we didn't have any tools to help our recorder make a graceful exit when he wasn't capable of making those decisions for himself," she said.

Councilman Steve DeBry, who was council chairman during last year's controversy, had previously expressed frustration that SB38 wasn't broad enough and should apply to all local offices. But Friday, he applauded legislators for "taking this by the horns and dealing with it."

"I'm not kicking a gift horse in the mouth, but I'm grateful they're giving us a tool to work with if we need it  and let's hope we never need it again," he said.

Ott's sister, Kathy Chamberlain, also lauded legislators for passing the bill  calling it "necessary" to protect future elected officials from what happened to her brother.

"It breaks our hearts that his name will be associated with this, but I do think it's necessary because things happen to people when they're in office, whether it be stroke or dementia or whatever," she said. "The counties need to have an avenue to remove them from office and not have it go on so long."SALT LAKE CITY  Recent data from a prominent health care think tank shows the number of fatal opioid overdoses has appeared to steady between 2013 and 2016, even as the number of those deaths attributed specifically to heroin continued to soar during that time.

In 2016, 600 Utahns died from a fatal opioid overdose, according to a report updated Jan. 31 by the Kaiser Family Foundation that uses underlying data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Overall opioid overdose deaths in Utah have lingered right around 600 every year from 2013 to 2016, signalizing a slowdown from the rapid growth of such deaths from 409 in 2007 to 597 in 2013.

But 2016 saw 166 Utahns fatally overdose on heroin, compared to 127 a year before that and more than triple the number who died from the drug in 2007, according to the report. From 2007 to 2012, the number of heroin overdose deaths in the state never reached triple digits, with the final death count falling in the 50s in three of those years, the report indicates.

Opioid experts told the Deseret News that it's not surprising heroin deaths are going up. The trend demonstrates addicts' well-beaten path from prescription painkillers to heroin. According to the Utah Department of Health, 80 percent of people who are addicted to heroin nationwide first became hooked on a prescription drug.

"When they get to a point where they can't get prescription opioids, where they can't afford them, then they're turning to heroin because it's cheaper to get," said health department spokeswoman Jenny Johnson.

Considering the increase in heroin deaths, it's noteworthy the state has been able to stop the bleeding in overall opioid overdose deaths, said Angela Stander, prescription drug overdose prevention coordinator for the department.

"We have done a lot in the past two to three years on the prescribing behaviors of physicians (and) doing a lot of public awareness around the dangers of opioids, etc.," Stander said. "I would say that the biggest thing is social norms have changed. It's now the norm to be apprehensive and take caution (with) opioids, from both the public accepting them and the doctors prescribing them."

Lisa Nichols, community health partnership director for Intermountain Healthcare, agreed that keeping overall opioid overdose deaths steady recently is meaningful, citing a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report showing 26 states experienced a significant increase in such deaths from 2015 to 2016.

"I think what we can be proud as a state that we're not increasing," Nichols said. "I think we can really attribute that to our state taking this very seriously and having some really collaborative efforts."

But she added there's no reason to be satisfied.

"I really want Utah to be the state where we add a color to that map and say we have a statistically significant decrease in deaths," Nichols said. "We're not seeing that anywhere yet."

Stander said she has heard speculation that moving to help Utah doctors be more cautious in the number of opioids they prescribe can directly lead to an increase in heroin use by desperate patients with no other options, but she disagrees and says no such connection can be concluded from available data.

Health officials and others are careful to educate physicians on how to provide alternative options to patients for whom they have to cut back opioid prescriptions, she said.

Jennifer Plumb, medical director of the Utah Naloxone Association and an assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of Utah, said it is critical for patients that their doctors don't "just cut them off" without a plan in place for how they'll overcome their dependence. Otherwise, she said, "they unfortunately are forced in that direction" of searching out heroin.

Nichols said a large part of Intermountain Healthcare's strategy in curbing opioid addiction and overdoses simply comes down to reducing the amount of pills in a prescription rather than eliminating it altogether.

"We know people can start to build dependence (on) opioids within seven days, so even small amounts that are out there can be really dangerous," Nichols said, adding that in a survey of Intermountain patients, "overwhelmingly people used less than 50 percent of what we prescribe."

Last year, Intermountain Healthcare announced a goal to reduce the number of opioids prescribed for acute pain by 40 percent across its entire hospital system by the end of 2018.

The proposal was one of several ways in which the issue of opioid addiction has gained the spotlight since last year.

A stated goal of Operation Rio Grande, an effort that began in August with the intention of rooting out drug dealing around the downtown Salt Lake Road Home shelter, was to divert addicts from jail and instead find them places in intensive substance abuse treatment programs.

A limited form of Medicaid expansion which officially took effect in November was targeted at 4,000 to 6,000 Utahns who were either homeless, mentally ill or needed substance abuse disorder treatment.

And Salt Lake, Utah, Davis, Weber, Cache and Washington counties have each at least begun exploring plans to sue opioid manufacturers in what they say is an effort to hold those companies accountable for not being forthright about the risk of addiction carried by their products. Lawmakers are also considering passing a resolution urging Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes to directly sue opioid manufacturers on behalf of the state.

Reyes said last month that Utah is one of 41 states involved in combined ongoing civil action against those same companies in the hopes of reaching a settlement, but noted that if "the manufacturers and distributors aren't cooperating," then the state is "ready to pull the trigger" on its own lawsuit.

Stander credited the Utah Department of Health's messaging campaign over the past year for elevating the conversation in a way that has reached doctors, patients and decision-makers. The campaign about the dangers of opioids means people "are being empowered" to talk about it with each other, she said.

"Now anytime you have this conversation, people are aware. Before it wasn't talked about as much. We really want to give people a voice," Stander said.

Plumb cautioned if the conversation is to continue to enjoy a high profile into the future, Utahns must also learn to talk to each other specifically about heroin addiction, which may be a step further than de-stigmatizing conversations about the risks of pills.

"This state's very challenged when it comes to talking about a needle.  So how are we doing to transition to get awareness going?" she asked. "The substance we're now seeing more and more is illicit, so it's a challenge  a really big challenge. Getting (people) to talk about something they purchased on the street corner from someone they don't know  that's going to be tough."SALT LAKE CITY  With income tax season underway, the Utah State Tax Commission is warning taxpayers to beware of fraudsters purporting to be federal agents collecting payments over the phone.

Recently, Cottonwood Heights resident Michael Greer, 70, received a call from a person claiming to be an officer from the Internal Revenue Service who left a message about a petition against Greer regarding a tax matter. The message said to contact the officer in order to avoid being arrested and having the matter go to federal claims court.

Upon initially hearing the message, Greer said he was concerned, but after further consideration, he realized he was being targeted for fraud.

"I've heard of this before and thought automatically that it was a scam," he said. "I've learned from watching (the news) about this kind of thing."

He noted that he got a similar call last year around the same time.

"I've had these (calls) before, and at first it's scary," Greer explained. "You think, 'Oh gee, they're coming to get me.'"

He acknowledged that the phone tactics were meant to frighten potential victims, but being singled out eventually made him feel angry, he said.

"They're trying to scare me into giving them money," he said.

The Utah State Tax Commission urges anyone receiving a bogus call from the IRS or any tax agency to get off the phone as quickly as possible.

"The most important thing (taxpayers) can do is hang up. That's the best thing you can do," said spokesman Charlie Roberts. "The reason is because these (fraudster) guys are good. They're virtually all offshore and hard to chase down."

Roberts noted that scammers are sophisticated enough today to clone phone numbers that look official, but are not from legitimate agencies. He added that criminals typically prey on the elderly, immigrants  "where English may be a second language," and young couples who are less knowledgeable.

Scammers sometimes ask victims to deposit money onto a gift card and have the individual read the card number over the phone in an attempt to obtain the funds. Greer said his situation never got that far because he contacted the Utah Department of Commerce soon after getting the call.

Having never had any issues with the IRS or the State Tax Commission, he knew quickly that something was amiss. He noted, however, not everyone is so lucky.

"I know other people would fall for it," he said. For those who might find themselves in similar circumstances as targets of such scams, he had some advice.

"Recognize it as a scam right away," Greer said. "Know that someone is trying to trick you into giving them money."

He lamented the fact the scammers frequently target "old people because we're gullible."

Roberts explained that the IRS or State Tax Commission would not call to notify taxpayers of pending financial matters. Correspondence would only take place by mail, he said.

"We not going to call you out of the blue and say you owe us money," he said. "Neither (agency) will, ever! Or e-mail. We just don't work like that."

Roberts noted that sometimes scammers try to get people to pay relatively small amounts like $200 or $300, or ask for personal information in an attempt to seem less threatening. He said those tactics are just a ploy to lure more potential victims.

"Guess what? We have all the information we need from you. There's no need to ask for that," he said. "All I can say is you can't hang up fast enough (if you get such a call)."The Carrier Blockchain Study Group (CBSG), the global blockchain consortium of telecom carriers, has unveiled its new operator partners.

South Korea-based LG Uplus Corp, UAE-based Etisalat Group, South Korea-based KT Corporation, Spains Telefonica S.A., and Philippines-based PLDT Inc, have agreed to jointly explore how to collaborate on building a next-generation global cross-carrier blockchain platform and ecosystem.

CBSG was launched in September 2017 to enable the joint development of an innovative blockchain platform designed specifically for telecom carriers. Led by Japan-based SoftBank Corp, U.S.-based blockchain technology company TBCASoft, Inc and operator Sprint Corp, and Taiwan-based Far EasTone Telecommunications Co, Ltd, the CBSG aims to provide telecom members and their customers various services such as secured clearing and settlement, personal authentication and IoT applications, and other services using blockchain technology in the future.

CBSG promotes research and development of the blockchain platform, and has already succeeded in demonstrating top-ups, mobile wallet roaming, international remittances, IoT payments and roaming charge settlements on a cross-carrier blockchain payment platform.

CBSG also functions as a working group for members to resolve issues related to technology, business and the regulations of various jurisdictions. As one of working groups, SoftBank and Far EasTone are planning a mobile wallet roaming trial to Japanese and Taiwanese travelers within FY2018. LG Uplus, Etisalat and KT have also agreed to evaluate CBSG initial use cases in their operations using TBCASoft technology.

Combining all participating carriers would put the consortium in the position to lead the blockchain initiative in the industry. With these new members, CBSG will accelerate the adoption of blockchain technology among telecom carriers and continue to expand carrier networks on a global scale.

Wonseok Cho, the VP of LG Uplus, commented: By establishing blockchain between carriers, we can provide differentiated services by securing transparency, security and real-time transactions of blockchain advantages. LG Uplus will continue to explore differentiated customer values through cooperation with CBSG.

Blockchain is currently one of the most promising technologies across industries and organisations who are exploring its potential impact and benefit from this emerging technology that will enhance consumer services by bringing in innovative tools to improve their experience on digital platforms, added Khalifa Al Shamsi, Group Chief Corporate Strategy and Governance Officer of Etisalat Group. We are looking forward to collaborate with CBSG to explore possibilities to capitalise on this next-generation global cross-carrier blockchain platform and ecosystem.Just ahead of the speculated unveiling at MWC 2018, the alleged Nokia 7 plus has leaked in press renders. The devices Black and White colour variants have been spotted on on Baidu Tieba, by NokiaPowerUser, and the images reaffirm the ongoing rumours that the smartphone will come with an 18:9 display and sport dual rear cameras.

As per the renders, the Nokia 7 Plus could sport vertically placed dual rear camera setup with Carl Zeiss lenses and come with dual LED flash. The front is also seen with a thin-bezel design and a curved screen. Adding to the aesthetics of the device is a gold lining which wraps around its edges, outlines the camera module and the rear placed fingerprint sensor.

Recently, Even Blass posted a render of a similar looking Nokia 7 Plus, however, it was seen with an Android One branding on the rear. It is rumoured to be the companys first smartphone under the Android One program and could be launched running on Android Oreo. Previous reports suggest that the smartphone could feature a 6-inch 18:9 display and might be powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 SoC. It is expected to come with 4GB RAM and 64GB ROM and could be backed by a 3000mAh battery.

In terms of camera, the Nokia 7 Plus is speculated to sport a dual 12MP + 13MP camera setup on the rear and come with a 16MP front-facing camera. As seen in the renders, the device could feature Quick Charge support and a USB Type-C port as well.

Apart from the Nokia 7 Plus, HMD Global could also showcase some other devices like the flagship Nokia 9 and an entry-level Nokia 1 smartphone running on Android Oreo (Go Edition). You can read more about what Nokia and other OEM manufacturers like Asus, Huawei and more could launch at the MWC 2018 here.The big draw of pre-Mobile World Congress Day had everyone hyped up for the Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus, even though most details pertaining to the phones were already leaked online. Nevertheless, Samsung spent the best part of its extravagant launch presentation focusing on the imaging technologies behind the Galaxy S9 duo. Safe to assume, hence, that just like the infinity display was the key behind last years Galaxy S8, the Galaxy S9s USP is its camera. So, what all does it come with?

Dual Pixel Super Speed sensor

For the Galaxy S9, Samsung did not talk about larger pixels or even larger sensors. Instead, what it emphasised on are the optimisations behind the latest crop of Samsungs ISOCELL sensors. The Galaxy S9 uses a 12-megapixel Dual Pixel sensor, while the S9 Plus uses two of them. The S9s lens has native aperture of f/1.5, which is the widest aperture in a phone cameras lens till now. It achieves dual aperture by digitally controlling the aperture to f/2.4, with the algorithms instructing the camera on when to change lens aperture depending on what you are shooting. The Galaxy S9 Plus, meanwhile, has two cameras - with the wide angle Super Speed camera using the f/1.5 lens, and the telephoto lens touting f/2.4 aperture.

The Korean electronics giant first introduced Dual Pixel technology in its mobile imaging sensors back in 2016 with the Galaxy S7 lineup. What Dual Pixel does is to use all the pixels available in the sensor as phase detection pixels. A normal sensor without Dual Pixel autofocus uses only about 10 percent of the pixels for phase detection autofocus.

Samsung has now paired this Dual Pixel sensor with a very fast image processor, and the sensor now uses a stacked CMOS architecture with a high bandwidth DRAM placed in between. This DRAM (explained below) theoretically helps the camera in multiple scenarios. As a result, while Samsungs Dual Pixel sensors already accounted for fast autofocus and better low light performance with superior light absorption through the Dual Pixel sensors, it can now shoot at an even higher speed - thanks to the f/1.5 lens and the additional DRAM in the sensor.

Dual (variable) aperture

Dual aperture in a lens is one of the most used and implemented aspects of interchangeable lens cameras. In a standard, inexpensive zoom lens, variable aperture is implemented, with the shortest and longest points of the lens focal length being capable of achieving different widest aperture points. The reason for this in a typical camera lens is that fixed aperture lenses require far superior quality of the lens elements inside, coupled with reduced parallax errors and lens aberrations.

Most mobile cameras, however, have always used fixed focal length lenses with fixed apertures, achieving digital zoom by cropping into the sensor area and reducing image resolution and quality. The Apple iPhone 7 Plus, launched in 2016, was the first dual-camera module to come with two lenses that had different apertures - f/1.8 and f/2.8. The reason for static apertures and focal lengths in a mobile camera is that in such a small space as a mobile cameras housing, it is very difficult to have moving lens elements without sacrificing lens quality and succumbing to major aberrations such as faulty focusing and other such incidents.

With the Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus, the dual aperture implementation is set to be smarter than what Apple has done with the iPhone 7/8 Plus. In these phones, the camera algorithm automatically measures the amount of ambient light and gauges whether to use the f/1.5 lens, or the f/2.4 one. The f/1.5 lens will be used in darker scenarios, when more light will be required to take a photograph, while the f/2.4 lens will be used in brighter areas to let in lesser light. This implementation is smarter, and significantly different from the iPhones, for two reasons.

In the iPhones, the wide angle camera uses the larger sensor and an f/1.8 lens, while the telephoto camera uses a smaller sensor and an f/2.8 lens. There are no automatic switching between these lenses depending on the amount of light around, and as a result, the dual aperture only takes effect when you switch to telephoto in the iPhone. The Galaxy S9 Plus uses a slightly larger sensor than the iPhones, while the algorithm ensures automatic switching between the two depending on lighting conditions.

Super Slow-mo and high DRAM

This is literally a leaf taken out of Sonys book, although that is not a bad thing. Last year, Sony picked up the 960fps slow motion mode that it had implemented with its 1-inch sensors, and applied it to the 1/2.3-inch mobile camera sensor. The architecture was that of a stacked CMOS sensor, with 1GB of DRAM stacked in between to act as a massive buffer memory. This buffer would allow the camera to not only shoot at very high continuous shooting frame rates, but also store a lot of information within itself before rendering it.

This architecture was first seen in India with the Sony Xperia XZs, and while it rendered impressive super slow motion videos in good lighting conditions, it failed to render the same quality in low light. With the Samsung Galaxy S9, the super slow motion is rated at the same 960fps as what Sonys sensor produces, and with every 0.2 seconds of shooting time, you get an extrapolated slow motion video with 6 seconds of screen time.

The Super Speed sensor is essentially powered by the high DRAM, which allows for faster continuous shooting, and also predictive slow-motion or predictive shooting. The high buffer memory allows the camera to constantly render temporary frames just before you press the shutter button. In its presentation, Samsung showed off the Galaxy S9s ability to automatically detect movement within the frame and record super slow motion videos, which makes it a better overall implementation.

Initial analysis

On paper, the Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus have formidable camera packages, which can very well be the best that wed see this year. The new Samsung flagships use the widest aperture lens seen so far in mobile cameras, implement variable aperture in an intelligent way to give efficient light balance management, come with a faster image processor and high buffer memory that accounts for faster still shooting, super slow motion videos, and multi-photo stitching to improve low light photography further.

None of these technologies may be new, but Samsung may very well have become the first company to have implemented all of the mobile camera technologies available today into a compelling overall package.

Corrigendum: We had previously mentioned in the story that the Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus' dual-camera unit uses the same two sensors for the two cameras. The information has now been corrected and updated. We apologise for the error committed.The sad passing of Brian Britton in the early hours of Tuesday morning has evoked a lot of great memories in so many different sectors of Irish society.

Brian was many different things to so many different people - here at home he was a man of the water, a legendary surfer, an hotelier but most importantly a great family man - a husband, a father, indeed a grandfather, a brother, a cousin and a friend to many.

In business circles he was known to be very astute, a man of great vision and a man who could make things happen.

A son of Mary and Vinny Britton, Brian grew up on Rossnowlagh Beach in the Sandhouse Hotel with his four brothers. In recent times he often joked, As kids we were homeless for half the year. We stayed in the hotel during the off season but in the summer, Im afraid we just had to get out. It didn't matter that much as we spent most of our time on the beach.

The Rossnowlagh man received his secondary education at Gormanston College and later went to Trinity College where he obtained his Business Studies degree.

Brian had a sharp brain and he was soon to join Stokes, Kennedy, Crowley now known as KPMG where he rose to a senior management position.

Keen to get involved in the business world he joined Greenore Ferries for quite some time and later joined the Goodman Meat empire where he rose to the position of Deputy Managing Director.

Deep down Brian was a man of innovation and had a hunger to develop some of Irelands own natural resources.

Brian with his family recently, pictured are, Naomi, Neil and John.



He often spoke of the Wild Western Seaboard many years ago and in recent times his vision has been realised in the creation of the Wild Atlantic Way.

He also realised the massive potential of offshore wind energy sector and as Managing Director of Oriel Windfarm Limited, he had been to the forefront in developing the offshore wind energy sector in Ireland.

He had managed the project from inception, including raising investment capital and the regulatory approval process and just prior to his untimely passing was on the cusp of realising his vision and dream.

After his parents retired from the Sandhouse, Brian took over the hotel but being a realist he knew that he had not got the time it deserved and he would have been the first to admit that he was not a hotelier.

Paul Diver who later purchased the hotel said, Brian was a gentleman to deal with and indeed he preserved the legacy of the hotel that his parents had established. People often compliment me about the hotel but my aim was just to carry on that Britton tradition and enhance it even further. He will be missed.

Brian also had a strong love of politics. A prominent member of Young Fianna Fail in TCD, he went on to become a close confidante of both Charlie Haughey and Albert Reynolds and other politicians across the political spectrum.

However, in Donegal it is for surfing and its development as a sport/lifestyle that he will be remembered most.

Over the last number of days tributes from both Irish and international surfers have been pouring in on social media but the organisation that Brian worked with for many years, the Irish Surfing Association had this to say, Brians commitment and absolute dedication to Irish surfing cannot be disputed or indeed be praised highly enough.

From the early days, Brian was both fundamental and essential to the success of surfing in Ireland. Over the years he worked tirelessly to develop the sport and way of life he loved so much. An Irish team member many times over, Irish Team manager, Irish Surfing Association president, European Surfing Federation president, International Surfing Vice president, and its special Ambassador. Brian was instrumental in organising and bringing to Ireland many international surfing events which were all enormously successful.

We also cannot forget his commitment to all the clubs and ordinary surfers of Ireland. From his local club in Rossnowlagh to the further reaches of Ireland and beyond, his legacy endures. Without Brian Britton much would have remained undone down through the years and achieving anything without him would have been more difficult.

No one has put more on the line for Irish Surfing than him. Brian Britton is truly an Irish Surfing Legend.

Brian who was predeceased by his parents Vinny and Mary, was the much loved husband and best friend of Antoinette, dear father of John, Neil and Naomi, father-in-law of Fiona and Aoife, grandad of Jenna, Aisling, Daisy, Cora and Fionn, and brother of Conor, Barry, William and David. Deeply regretted by his wife, sons, daughter, grandchildren, daughters-in-law, brothers, nephews, nieces, relatives and a wide circle of friends.

Funeral Mass took place on Thursday followed by burial in St. Furseys Cemetery, Haggardstown.Please allow ads as they help fund our trusted local news content.

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If you want further access to Ireland's best local journalism, consider subscribing to our ePaper and/or free daily Newsletter .

Support our mission and join our community now.The Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) has launched a national lobbying campaign on the housing and homeless crisis, which will see delegations of union members meet with TDs in all constituencies across the country, including Louth.

In Louth, the ICTU says locally-based union members, will seek to meet with Declan Breathnach, TD; Fergus ODowd, TD and Peter Fitzpatrick, TD.

The lobby teams in all constituencies will comprise union members who live and work in the area and belong to trade unions affiliated to the Irish Congress of Trade Unions. Similar meetings are currently being organised for all constituencies across the country.

The Congress team will be seeking the support of TDs for the Congress Charter for Housing Rights, which sets out the agreed, national trade union position on the housing and homeless crisis.

According Congress General Secretary Patricia King, the housing and homeless crisis is the single biggest problem facing Ireland today and represents a policy failure of massive proportions.

"Thousands of families and young workers across the country are now unable to find affordable homes to rent or buy and record numbers are either homeless or on housing waiting lists.

Well be asking TDs directly where they stand on this issue and if they will support the measures we have outlined in the Charter for Housing Rights.

"They have a clear responsibility to let their constituents know if they will support the Charter and work to make it a reality, she said.

The Congress Charter for Housing Rights sets out five broad principles to end the crisis:

Declare a Housing & Homeless Emergency and start a major public housing building programme delivering at least 10,000 affordable new homes every year;

Introduce a legal Right to Housing for every citizen;

Ensure all tenants enjoy security of tenure, rent certainty and decent accommodation;

Ban evictions to nowhere  no family or individual should be evicted into homelessness;

Develop a national Land Management policy, in accordance with the right to housing.

According to the ICTU, the Congress Charter has already been endorsed by Sinn Fein, the Labour Party and People before Profit.

A copy of the Charter is available hereThe support act has been announced for Charlie McGettigans performance at Dundalk Gaol on Saturday 7 April.

Ciara Callaghan & Breifne Holohan make a welcome return to the Oriel Centre at Dundalk Gaol, having both performed previously at the venue.

Ciara Callaghan is best known for her vocals with Drogheda band Fuzz Gigolo, a 5 piece LO-FI Rock n Roll band that have graced the stages of numerous festivals including Vantastival, Tara Rocks, Le Cheile and venues throughout the North East and Dublin.

Breifne as both a composer and musician has won a number of awards, including the Bill Whelan International Music Bursary for Young Composers (2004). He is a member of the Irish Composers Collective and the Collaborative Artists Company.

Of course, the main act on the night, Charlie McGettigan, needs little introduction. He joined forces with Paul Harrington to win the 1994 Eurovision Song Contest for Ireland with Brendan Grahams great song Rock n Roll Kids.

He has released many solo albums including In Your Old Room, Family Matters, The man from 20, and Stolen Moments produced in Nashville by legendary producer Bil Vorndick.

These days Charlie tours both here in Ireland and abroad. He presents The Saturday Connection and The Arts Show on Shannonside/Northern Sound Radio where he pre-views live music and theatrical events, interviews guests from the world of arts and enter-tainment.

Tickets are 20 and due to the intimate nature of this venue early booking is advised.Gardai have made an arrest in connection with the murder of Detective Garda Adrian Donohoe.

A man in his 20s has been arrested in Dublin (Sunday, February 25th) by officers from Dundalk Gardai.

He is currently being detained at Dundalk Garda station under the provisions of section 50 of the Criminal Justice Act 2007 as amended.

Det Garda Donohoe was murdered during an armed robbery at Lordship Credit Union on January 25th 2013.

Last week, it was reported that the FBI were increasing their efforts in apprehending two suspects in the murder who are believed to be living in the grater Boston area of Massachusetts.

Speaking on the fifth anniversary of the murder last month, Louth Chief Superintendent Christy Mangan made further appeals for information in relation to the murder and said, "The persons involved in this murder have no doubt received logistical and emotional support from their families and friends."

Adrian Donohoe died aged 41, survived by wife Caroline and his two young children. He spent his entire Garda career in Dundalk, rising to the rank of Detective. He resided in Bellurgan.The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) awarded the University of Illinois a $10.6 million, five-year grant to transform two of the most productive crops in America into sustainable sources of biodiesel and biojet fuel. The new research project Renewable Oil Generated with Ultra-productive Energycane--or ROGUE--kicks off on Feb. 25 with a team meeting held in conjunction with the 2018 Genomic Sciences Program Annual Principal Investigator (PI) Meeting in Tysons, Virginia.

"The U.S. continues to enjoy cheap, abundant energy but more than 80 percent of which is derived from natural gas, coal, and petroleum," said ROGUE Director Stephen Long, an Ikenberry Endowed Chair at Illinois. "Heavy, diesel-powered semitrailers and the aviation industry desire other options, but electric batteries are not feasible, and current biofuel crops cannot meet demands for biodiesel and biojet fuel."

Bioenergy

ROGUE will engineer energycane, a bioenergy crop derived from sugarcane, and Miscanthus to produce the oil that is used to create biodiesel and biojet fuel. Their work is guided by computer models, which project that these crops can achieve 20 percent oil content in the plant--a dramatic increase from natural levels of less than a tenth of one percent.

"If fully successful, these crops could produce as much as 15 times more biodiesel per unit of land compared to soybeans, a food crop that currently produces half of our nation's biodiesel," Long said, who leads the project's efforts at the Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology.

Previous work, funded by the DOE Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E), achieved 8 percent oil accumulation, and now ROGUE will further increase oil production and target oil accumulation in the stem where it can be accessed more easily with ROGUE's patented extraction technologies.

"Redirecting these plants to produce oil rather than sugar will enable us to make full use of these productive crops for biodiesel and biojet fuel production," Li-Qing Chen, an assistant professor of plant biology at Illinois.

Sustainability

ROGUE will also improve the efficiency that these crops can turn the sun's energy into plant energy to fuel their biological oil production. Improving these crops' photosynthetic efficiency will ensure that the production of energy-dense oil will not lower yields or suppress plant defenses. Improving photosynthetic efficiency will also help the plant conserve limited resources such as water and nitrogen, particularly under stress.

"Photosynthesis is the process ultimately underlying the production of all our food and much of our fiber and increasing amounts of our fuels," said Don Ort, Robert Emerson Professor in Plant Biology and Crop Sciences, who will co-lead the project's photosynthetic work with Long. "By improving this process, we can fortify these crops to create a more efficient, productive, and sustainable source of bioenergy."

Technology

ROGUE will translate its bioenergy and sustainability discoveries into energycane and Miscanthus using synthetic biology, which applies engineering principles to optimize and speed up the design of biological systems. The project will also develop energycane to be more cold-tolerant to expand its growing region and extend its growing season.

"Our crop technologies could thrive on 235 million acres, turning untold underutilized, marginal acreage into sustainable sources of bio-oil," Long said. "What's more, we have the existing infrastructure in place to immediately grow, harvest, and process their bio-oil using existing sugarcane mills. These oils can be processed into biofuels with existing technologies and sold through existing marketplaces."

Efficacy

ROGUE will ensure the efficacy of its crop technologies through techno-economic analyses and replicated field trials. Energycane will be evaluated at Florida and Mississippi, and Miscanthus will be tested at Illinois. In tandem, the project will continue to perfect and evaluate its patented method to separate oil from biomass and its processing technologies.

"According to our models, ROGUE crops will be much more productive and profitable per acre than corn or soybeans," said Vijay Singh, director of the Integrated Bioprocessing Research Laboratory, who will lead the project's techno-economic analyses and processing technologies.

ROGUE is a collaboration amongst researchers from Illinois as well as Brookhaven National Lab, University of Florida, and Mississippi State University, with support from the DOE Office of Science (Office of Biological and Environmental Research).

###When a window of good weather appears, Swiss photographerDanPatitucci, heads for the snowyhills.

With two days of sun bookended by grey andwet conditions, we decided to take advantage of the great weather and fresh snow by ski touring both days in the BerneseOberland.

Together with friends, we headed up to the Lobhorn Hut, then further towards the Schwalmerer, a 2777-metre-highpeak we look up at from our home in Interlaken.

Conditions were perfect;shin-deep powder, and no tracks. Now, conditions are perfect to be working inside again.

At work and play

We are fortunate to call the mountains our workplace and still marvel at what we get to do on any given work day, be it in the Alps or Himalaya.

After all these years, the passion we have for life as mountain sport athletes and photographers hasnt faded. Experiencing the Alps on so many levels keeps us motivated for what comes next.

Grandiose landscapes Since December, swissinfo.ch has been publishing a series of Dan and Janine Patituccis pictures: images of unexpected encounters and grandiose landscapes that put us humans in our very small place.



The leaders of Russia, France and Germany agreed Sunday to speed up their "exchange of information" over Syria during phone talks on a UN ceasefire in the war-torn country, the Kremlin said.

In a statement it said that Russian President Vladimir Putin, French counterpart Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel stressed the importance of continuing common efforts in the interests of the full implementation of the resolution as soon as possible.

The Kremlin said the sides had expressed satisfaction that the UN Security Council had managed to agree on a resolution due to common constructive work on Saturday.

Putin informed his French and German counterparts of steps Russia is taking to evacuate civilians and deliver humanitarian aid to those in need, the statement said.

Special attention has been paid to the fact that a ceasefire does not cover operations against terrorist groups, the Kremlin added.

The leaders held talks after the UN Security Council on Saturday unanimously demanded a 30-day truce in Syria.

More than 500 civilians are thought to have died in a week of heavy bombardment by Syrias regime of the rebel enclave of Eastern Ghouta, just outside Damascus.

After the council vote, which had support from Moscow, Syrian warplanes backed by Russian air power launched new raids on Eastern Ghouta, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

The Britain-based monitor said at least 41 civilians were killed in Saturdays strikes, including eight children. Russia has denied taking part in the assault.

France and Germany have pushed for Russian support for the Syria ceasefire, which is mainly to allow aid to reach the besieged area and allow evacuations.The leaders of Germany and France urged Russia Sunday to exert "maximum pressure" on Syria for an "immediate" implementation of a UN ceasefire in the war-ravaged country, Berlin said.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron stressed in a telephone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin that it is crucial that the (UN) resolution be implemented quickly and comprehensively, Merkels office said in a statement.

They call on Russia in this context to exercise maximum pressure on the Syrian regime to achieve an immediate suspension of air raids and fighting.

The statement said Merkel, Macron and Putin had all welcomed the UN resolution on an at least 30-day ceasefire particularly to allow humanitarian aid into and evacuations out of the war zone.

Merkel and Macron stressed that a ceasefire could be the basis to advance efforts toward a political solution in the context of the UN-led Geneva peace process.

Germany and France continue to be willing to work with Russia and other international partners toward this goal, Merkels office added.

The leaders held talks after the UN Security Council on Saturday unanimously demanded a 30-day truce in Syria.

More than 500 civilians are thought to have died in a week of heavy bombardment by Syrias regime of the rebel enclave of Eastern Ghouta, just outside Damascus.

After the council vote, which had support from Moscow, Syrian warplanes backed by Russian air power launched new raids on Eastern Ghouta, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

The Britain-based monitor said at least 41 civilians were killed in Saturdays strikes, including eight children. Russia has denied taking part in the assault.

France and Germany have pushed for Russia to throw its weight behind the Syria ceasefire, which is mainly to allow aid to reach the besieged area and allow evacuations.With Russia's backing, the UN Security Council on Saturday unanimously demanded a 30-day ceasefire in Syria to allow for humanitarian aid deliveries and medical evacuations.

The resolution demanding the ceasefire without delay was adopted as Syrian government forces pounded the rebel-held enclave of Eastern Ghouta, where hundreds have died during a week-long assault.

We are late to respond to this crisis, very late, US Ambassador Nikki Haley told the council after the vote, accusing Russia of stalling the vote.

More than 500 people, including more than 120 children, have been killed in seven days of relentless airstrikes in Eastern Ghouta, which UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres described as hell on earth.

The resolution demands a cessation of hostilities without delay throughout Syria to allow the safe, unimpeded and sustained deliveries of aid and evacuations of the sick and wounded.

To win Russias approval, language specifying that the ceasefire would start 72 hours after the adoption of the draft was scrapped, replaced by without delay, and the term immediate was also dropped in reference to the aid deliveries and evacuations.

Diplomats said they were confident that this would not open the door to postponing the ceasefire, as council members had made clear in negotiations that the truce must quickly come into force.

Guterres is to report to the council in 15 days on the ceasefire, diplomats said.

In another concession to Russia, the resolution said the ceasefire will not apply to operations against the Islamic State group or Al-Qaeda, along with individuals, groups, undertakings and entities associated with the terror groups.

That would allow the Syrian government offensive to continue against Al-Qaeda-linked jihadists in Idlib, the last province in Syria outside the control of Damascus.

The text demands the lifting of all sieges including in Eastern Ghouta, Yarmouk, Foua and Kefraya and order all sides to cease depriving civilians of food and medicine indispensable to their survival.Democratic lawmakers released a partially-redacted rebuttal Saturday of a controversial Republican memo alleging bias and abuse of power in the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 US presidential election.

The Democrats document  which President Donald Trump dubbed a political and legal BUST  is the latest salvo in a partisan fight over the Russia investigation, which was launched in 2016 and has come under repeated fire from Trump and other Republicans.

The Republican memo, which was released earlier this month over the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Department of Justices objections, said that unsubstantiated Democrat-funded research was used to obtain a warrant to surveil Carter Page, a former Trump campaign aide.

FBI and DOJ officials did not abuse the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) process, omit material information, or subvert this vital tool to spy on the Trump campaign, the Democrats text said, referring to the process under which secret surveillance warrants are obtained.

In fact, DOJ and the FBI would have been remiss in their duty to protect the country had they not sought a FISA warrant and repeated renewals to conduct temporary surveillance of Carter Page, someone the FBI assessed to be an agent of the Russian government.

DOJ cited multiple sources to support the case for surveilling Page, and the warrant request was based on compelling evidence and probable cause, said the document.

The White House initially blocked the release of the Democratic memo, citing its inclusion of sensitive information, and Trump took aim at the now-redacted text.

The Democrat memo response on government surveillance abuses is a total political and legal BUST. Just confirms all of the terrible things that were done. SO ILLEGAL! he wrote on Twitter.

This whole Witch Hunt is an illegal disgraceand Obama did nothing about Russia! he later added.

 Political dirt 

Representative Devin Nunes, the chair of the House Intelligence Committee and the architect of the Republican text, also criticized the Democratic rebuttal.

What youre not gonna see is anything that actually rejects what was in our memo, which aimed to show that FISA abuse had occurred, Nunes said at an annual Republican conference.

Democrats are advocating that its OK for the FBI and DOJ to use political dirt paid for by one campaign and use it against the other campaign, he said, referring to information compiled by former British intelligence agent Christopher Steele.

The Democratic document said the Russia meddling investigation was based on troubling law enforcement and intelligence information unrelated to the dossier, and that Page had officially left the Trump campaign before the application to surveil him was filed.

But information from Steele was used in the surveillance warrant application, according to the memo, which said that multiple independent sources  which were redacted from the document  confirmed his reporting, and contradicted testimony by Page.

Representative Adam Schiff, the ranking Democrat on the intelligence panel, criticized the White House for delaying the release of the memo.

The document should put to rest any concerns that the American people might have as to the conduct of the FBI, the Justice Department and the FISC, Schiff said in a statement, referring to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, which hears applications for FISA warrants.

It is time for our committee to return to the core investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 campaign, the role US persons played in that interference and what we need to do to protect the country going forward.

Americas leading intelligence agencies concluded last year that Russian President Vladimir Putin had directed a broad intelligence effort to influence the 2016 presidential election to undermine the campaign of Democrat Hillary Clinton and boost Trumps chances, but the president has repeatedly denied colluding with Moscow.The landmine charity backed by Princess Diana was on Sunday dragged into the sector-wide sex scandal after apologising for not properly investigating claims its staff paid prostitutes.

British-based Mines Advisory Group (Mag) admitted it had ignored allegations about the habitual use of prostitutes by aid workers in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

In relation to generic allegations of habitual use of prostitutes by Mag staff in DRC it would seem these were not sufficiently followed up at the time as they should have been and we are very sorry about this, it said in a statement late Saturday.

A whistleblower at the charity said they had regularly witnessed members of staff with prostitutes and had told managers in the capital Kinshasa three times between 2011 and 2013.

Diana was the public champion of landmine charities and worked with Mag shortly before her death in a Paris car crash in 1997.

The claims come as part of a wider sex scandal in the charity sector, triggered by allegations that Oxfam staff exploited Haitians after a devastating 2010 earthquake.

The International Committee of the Red Cross said Friday more than 20 staffers have left the organisation since 2015 after paying for sexual services.

Meanwhile, UNICEFs deputy director Justin Forsyth also resigned following complaints of inappropriate behaviour towards female staff in his previous post as head of British charity Save The Children.British police said Sunday there was no indication a reported explosion and building collapse that injured at least six people in Leicester, a central English city, was linked to terrorism.

The cause of the explosion will be the subject of a joint investigation by the police and Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service, local police said in a statement.

We would ask that the media and public do not speculate about the circumstances surrounding the incident, but at this stage there is no indication this is terrorist related.

The apparent explosion occurred Sunday evening on a stretch of road containing commercial and residential properties close to the city centre.

The electricity supply to a number of properties in the area was cut while emergency services deal with the incident, police said.

The Fire and Rescue Service said it received calls shortly after 7:00 pm (1900 GMT) from the public reporting an explosion and a building fire.

It immediately dispatched six fire engines, a spokeswoman said.

We were en route when the police called to say a building had collapsed, she added.

Additional specialist search and rescue units were then dispatched, including a search and rescue dog, according to the spokeswoman.

Weve got no indication of what the cause is at this moment, the spokeswoman said.

Six people were taken by ambulance to Leicester Royal Infirmary hospital following the incident, according to University Hospitals of Leicester, which runs three area medical facilities.

Two of these patients are in a critical condition, while four are walking wounded, it said on Twitter.

Officials had earlier advised people only to attend the accident and emergency department if absolutely necessary.

The fire service spokeswoman also said representatives from gas and electric provider companies were in attendance at the scene, under routine procedures.

Pictures and videos posted on social media showed a property engulfed in flames visible from a distance, with rubble and debris scattered around.

Graeme Hudson told AFP he lives close to the scene and felt the blast.

It was very scary, he said. I live five minutes away but my house shook. I went out and saw massive smoke and big flames.

I quickly went out to see whats happened, he added. (I) didnt stay for long there because (I felt) unsafe for my 11-year-old son.It didnt take long for Carlos Urestis political career to unravel after he was convicted on 11 counts of felony fraud charges.

Within hours of the jurys verdict Thursday, friend and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick took steps to strip Uresti of plum committee assignments, effectively immediately, and Senate Democrats called on him to resign. The Senate could expel him with a two-thirds majority vote.

His livelihood as a lawyer also is coming to an end. He faces disbarment once hes sentenced for his crimes in June, but it's possible his law license could be suspended before then.

And hes staring at a prison sentence that could range from eight to 12 years  in addition to likely owing millions in restitution to victims, some attorneys say.

That doesnt even account for the sadness and disappointment hes caused to those who looked to him as a success story, growing up poor in Lytle before his family moved to San Antonios South Side.

He went on to become a college graduate, a Marine officer and a young, hungry lawyer who emerged as the head of a mini-political dynasty on the South Side.

Im just disappointed of the whole situation, his behavior and how this whole thing turned out, said Henry Flores, Urestis former academic adviser at St. Marys University and who helped run his campaign for Texas House District 118 in 1997. We teach them ethics here. Its part of the curriculum, part of the core of the political-science major. So to see a former student go off the rails like this is a little bit disappointing.

A jury of eight women and four men returned a relatively quick verdict, deliberating about 11 hours over three days despite receiving more than 54 pages of jury instructions for the monthlong trial. He was found guilty of securities fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering, among other charges, over his involvement in FourWinds Logistics.

The company bought and sold sand used for fracking before going bankrupt in 2015 amid allegations it defrauded investors.

Uresti, 54, served as FourWinds outside legal counsel, held a 1 percent ownership interest, and recruited potential investors to enter into joint ventures with the company. Uresti, though, left out pertinent details to get them to invest, including that he stood to get a slice of their profits.

Prosecutors painted Uresti as someone financially distressed who ignored numerous warning signs about FourWinds because he needed the money to support his upgraded lifestyle. The senator had a $10,000 monthly mortgage payment on a $1.2 million home he had built in Helotes to share with his new bride, Lleanna, and payments on a $77,000 Porsche.

The San Antonio Democrat is not going down without a fight. Immediately after his conviction, he vowed to keep his Senate seat while he appeals. He can remain in office until all appeals are exhausted.

Uresti friend and San Antonio trial lawyer Mikal Watts, who covered the cost of the lawmakers defense, said alleged errors in both evidentiary rulings made during the trial and instructions on law given to jurors will be part of the appeal. He declined to specifically address the alleged errors.

The big crux of the appeal, though, will be his disqualification as Urestis counsel of choice due to a conflict of interest.

Watts previously represented Denise Cantu, a Harlingen woman who was the governments star witness in the case against Uresti. Senior U.S. District Judge David Ezra ruled the conflict outweighed the senators Sixth Amendment right to choose his own legal counsel.

You dont take away somebodys counsel, their chosen counsel, Watts said.

After he was disqualified last summer, he told the San Antonio Express-News that his disqualification would result in a colossal waste of judicial resources in the very unlikely event that Sen. Uresti is wrongfully convicted.

Watts added, The U.S. Supreme Court has held that a wrongful disqualification of ones chosen counsel  as has occurred here, mandates a reversal of any conviction.

Defrauding investors

Cantu hired Uresti to represent her in litigation following the deaths of two of her children in a 2010 vehicle wreck. Watts was brought into the case and secured a $2.5 million settlement for Cantu. Uresti later advised Cantu to invest some of the money with a risky startup. She did and ended up losing $800,000 of her $900,000 investment.

Uresti received a $27,000 commission even though he never registered as a securities broker, one of the crimes he was found guilty of last week. His Turning Point Strategies consulting company stood to get a 6 percent cut of any profits from Cantus joint venture.

None of her money, though, ever went to buy sand. Instead, some of it was used to pay back another investor  establishing FourWinds as a Ponzi scheme.

Cantu, 38, testified that Uresti was her counsel, but became her friend, financial adviser and ultimately lover. Lead prosecutor Joseph Blackwell told jurors Uresti exploited an emotionally vulnerable, shattered young lady for his own financial gain.

Cantu wasnt available for comment because she has been in custody since she was charged with aggravated robbery and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon in November by Harlingen police. Her McAllen lawyer Oscar R. Alvarez offered a statement after the verdict.

We believe that there are no winners in this case, Alvarez said. As far as were concerned, everybody lost. It was all due to greed and not wanting to earn the money they spent.

A business fraud is still a fraud. And the only bright light in this dark tunnel is the fact that our judicial system works and Ms. Cantu is grateful to the United States for all of its time and efforts.

FourWinds investor Richard Thum was the first to alert the FBI to potential wrongdoing at the company. He went to Bexar County District Attorney Nico LaHood on the suggestion of Gary Cain, a FourWinds consultant who was tried with Uresti and found guilty on nine felony charges.

Cain and LaHood were partners in Trinity Global Funding & Consulting, which contracted with FourWinds. LaHood never disclosed his ties to Cain during the meeting at the DAs office, Thum said.

A Bexar Couny jury in 2014 acquitted Cain of swindling Rackspace Hosting in a 2007 land deal. LaHood, then in private practice, was part of Cains defense team. Not long after Cains acquittal, FourWinds retained him on Urestis and LaHoods recommendations.

Urestis involvement gave FourWinds a measure of credibility, Thum told the Express-News in a 2016 article that first chronicled Urestis connection to the company.

Why would a state senator be involved (with) a crook? Thum said at the time. Thum, president of Five Star Cleaners, and his wife, Sharlene, lost all but $163,000 of their $1.4 million investment.

Thum financed a legal crusade to push FourWinds into liquidation and force its CEO Stan Bates into an involuntary bankruptcy in an effort to recover money. Bates pleaded guilty last month to eight felonies rather than stand trial with Uresti and Cain.

Investor money was used for exotic car rentals, prostitutes and personal expenses, the trial established.

Hopefully we saved somebody from going through this aggravation and that no one else will get hurt in the future  from at least these guys, Thum said after the verdict.

Con man warnings

Uresti simply got caught up with a bad guy, Watts said, noting that a number of sophisticated FourWinds investors lost money on something that later was proven to be a fraud.

It just wasnt obvious to the people that werent in the middle of it, he said.

Friends warned Uresti, though, that Bates was a complete con man and a shady individual, trial testimony revealed.

From the outset, Uresti lead lawyer Michael McCrum worried that his client starts behind in the trial because of his positions.

What about the fact that hes a politician? What about the fact that hes a lawyer? Shouldnt even have known better? McCrum said to jurors during closing arguments. Shouldnt-he-have-known-better is not the standard in this case.

Local lawyers who didnt want to be named estimated Uresti will be sentenced to anywhere from eight to 12 years in prison, though Ezra has broad discretion to impose a sentence higher or lower than the guidelines. Uresti also could be ordered to pay millions in restitution to victims.

Uresti is set to be sentenced June 25. Whether he would remain free while appealing the case isnt known, but another case might serve as a guide.

In 2016, Ezra ordered the owner of a skillet meals manufacturing and distribution business to be taken into custody immediately after sentencing him to 15 years in federal prison for his role in a $5.3 million tax-and wire-fraud scheme.

Uresti likely would serve time in a minimum security federal prison camp, such as the one in Bastrop.

Larry Levine, founder of Wall Street Prison Consultants, which advises clients before going behind bars, told the Washington Post in 2015 that a low-security prison is kind of like a junior college setting.

I dont want to call it a stress-free environment, but its a lot of hanging out with other inmates, you know, just bull(expletive), he said. Its like a boring Groundhog Day.

Urestis sentencing could get postponed given hes gearing up to defend himself in yet another criminal case set for trial in May in the same San Antonio federal courthouse.

Uresti is is accused of using his consulting business to split $850,000 in bribes with Jimmy Galindo, a former county judge in Reeves County in West Texas. Galindo has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bribery and failure to file a 2013 tax return.

Watts, who represents Uresti in that case, shot down speculation that the senator might seek a plea deal in the case.

I dont know why the senator would plead to something he did not do, Watts said. As least while Im his lawyer, hes not going to plead to a conspiracy that he was not a part of.

Pocketing a pension

Meanwhile, Uresti plans to confer with his family about whether to step down from his Senate seat after the Texas Senate Democratic Caucus called for his resignation Thursday. Uresti is a caucus member.

Regardless of what he decides, Uresti still stands to pocket a hefty government pension that currently could be in the $80,000-a-year range.

A new state law bars lawmakers convicted of certain felonies from receiving their government pension, but it doesnt apply to Uresti because his FourWinds crimes arent covered by the law and because it took effect after he committed them. He could bolster his pension by remaining in office while he appeals his conviction. His term ends in January 2021.

Even though Uresti is a free man for the time being, his livelihood as an attorney is in doubt.

The State Bar of Texas generally waits to move to disbar an attorney convicted of certain crimes until after he is sentenced  just in case he receives probation rather than prison time, according to Claire Mock, public affairs counsel for the Bars Office of the Chief Disciplinary Counsel.

As of right now, Mr. Uresti can still practice law, Mock said. I cant speak to his case specifically, but in the past, when someone has been convicted of a crime and we find out theyre practicing law before they are sentenced, we do have the ability to seek an interim suspension. I dont know if that will happen in this case.Base realignments notwithstanding, San Antonio is still Military City  and still a bit of a small town within that distinction.

After a Feb. 11 column was published with Raul Sotos question about photographs of an Army recruitment ceremony he took part in, Aug. 17, 1955, at the Majestic Theater, others who stood onstage with him contacted each other, Soto and this column.

It was a mock enlistment, says Lonnie Murdock of Marion, one of 32 recruits who were welcomed into the Army by Audie Murphy  star of the movie, To Hell and Back, that was premiering that day, World War II hero and by then, Texas National Guard officer stationed at Fort Hood. Because he was in the Guard, he couldnt swear us in. That had been taken care of earlier by a Marine Corps captain at San Antonios recruiting station. The ceremony at the Majestic was one of three personal appearances the native Texan made that day to promote his movie, based on his autobiography of the same title.

The brand-new soldiers had enlisted in their home towns  for Murdock, that was Alice. He boarded a bus with a friend, Billy Jacobs, and met young men from other little towns and from as far away as Corpus Christi.

When we got up there (to San Antonio), we were sworn in and told we were going to be in the Audie Murphy platoon, Murdock said. They wanted us onstage to give (Murphy) something to do.

We were told we were going to a free movie, says Gilberto Sanchez of Live Oak, who came from New Braunfels at the time. No popcorn, though.

They were all still in their civilian clothes with the rolled-up sleeves and the flat-top haircuts. Talking about himself and his fellow raw recruits, Murdock said, (we) were right out of high school and had been just running the streets. We didnt know anything about marching, we were just learning the (military) jargon they were teaching us. To make sure the ceremony went off without a hitch, the new platoon had to practice the ceremony over and over again.

There might have been at least a hiccup or two, Sanchez recalled. When the recruits recited the Pledge of Allegiance, he saimd some got mixed up and pledged to the United States Army instead of the United States of America. Murphy walked through the rows of new soldiers, asked them their names and shook hands. I told him my name was Gilberto, and he said, Good luck, Bert!

Another highlight was an appearance by June Prichard, Miss Texas 1955. She gave us each a little peck on the cheek, Murdock said. We were 17 or 18 years old and thought that was really something.

Although the newcomers didnt spend much time with the much-decorated combat veteran, Murphy made a good impression on them.

For all he went through during the war, he was surprisingly kind and gentle, Murdock said. He was an amazing man. I met Elvis Presley, too, but it was nothing like meeting Audie Murphy.

After their glamorous moment onstage, the Audie Murphy platoon were loaded on a bus and went to Fort Chaffee, near Fort Smith, Arkansas. They did their basic training together at Fort Knox in Kentucky and eventually shipped out on an old Merchant Marine ship bound for Bremerhaven, Germany.

Both Murdock and Sanchez went on to long, successful military careers. Murdock retired after 26 years from Fort Sam Houston where he was a master sergeant in the Directorate of Personnel and Community Affairs. Sanchez did 20 years, attended radio repair school and rose to the rank of staff sergeant. After retirement from the Army, he became a technician for Motorola for another 25 years. Over the years since that onstage ceremony, the two men have bumped into one another in a barbershop in Germany and commissaries here. Theyre considering organizing a reunion of the Audie Murphy platoon and promise to share pictures.

Another reader wrote to say what hed gotten out of another showing of To Hell and Back. Having seen it, writes George Pride, I was convinced the Army was for me. Pride joined in January 1956, and was assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg. The Korean War was over, and the Vietnam War had not yet begun, he says. In 1965, he used his GI Bill benefits to gain my advanced pilot ratings, which eventually qualified me to lead the Drug Enforcement Agency aircraft program. While in Washington, D.C., I also purchased a home with the GI Bill benefits. All of this began upon seeing the movie with Audie Murphy.

Army veteran Roberto S. DeLeon saw Murphys visit from a different perspective but with a similar outcome. He was 8, and his brother was 9 when their mother took them to see the Davy Crocketts birthday/Audie Murphy Day parade where the soldier-turned-movie-star served as grand marshal. The boys sat on the curb on Houston Street in front of the Majestic.

Being Army brats, DeLeon writes, we knew the story of Audie and the proper protocol in rendering a salute. Well, here he came, riding a white horse with a black saddle with lots of silverwork inlays, wearing his full Army uniform and a chrome helmet, his sidearm and his Medal of Honor.

We stood and gave him a hand salute. He saw us and guided his horse closer and reined in the horse that reared up. Then Audie Murphy returned our salute. I made eye contact with him, and it was like a bolt of lightning hitting me. I knew then I would join the Army after finishing high school.

After the parade, the boys went to the movie premiere, and again saw Audie, who made a short speech about his experience in the war. Ten years later, DeLeon says, immediately after graduation, I joined the Army, serving in Vietnam and Washington, D.C. Later, he joined the Army Reserve and stayed an additional 25 years.

I have never regretted my time in the services and the challenges it took me through, he says. I know that seeing Audie Murphy in person and hearing his remarks was a big influence in my life.

Anyone who would like to share photos of the Aug. 17, 1955, ceremony with Audie Murphy platoon alumni or who would like to be invited to a reunion may contact this column. All replies will be forwarded.Welcome Guest! You Are Here:

Home Regional News EastSince Joe Gonzales entered the Democratic primary against Bexar County District Attorney Nico LaHood late last year, the two candidates have assailed each others legal experience, temperament and general human decency.

Gonzales has accused LaHood of masquerading as a liberal, noting the incumbent DA once called himself a conservative guy. LaHood has shot back by accusing Gonzales of trying to buy the election through contributions from a George Soros-funded PAC.

But in a recent debate, the two Democrats butted heads on a substantive issue at the heart of Gonzales campaign: bail reform. Its a topic that has taken on increasing momentum in other large Texas counties within the last year.

During the Feb. 15 forum at Living Church at Woodlawn Pointe, the candidates were asked if they support abolishing all cash bail and, if not, whether they would oppose cash bonds in all misdemeanor and nonviolent felony cases.

The issue hits home in Bexar County, where defendants charged with low-level misdemeanors are often rerouted from county courts to an auxiliary court known as jail court. Last year, 46 percent of the more than 10,000 misdemeanor convictions in Bexar County were handed out in jail court, according to data compiled by the Fair Punishment Project, a criminal justice advocacy group at Harvard Law School.

In jail court, defendants routinely spend weeks in custody because they cannot afford bail. In December, for instance, defendants charged solely with marijuana possession of up to 2 ounces spent an average of about 18 days in custody and received a median sentence of 35 days. Overall, those set on the jail court docket have been held in jail for about 25 days, LaHood said.

Addressing bail reform at the debate, Gonzales said no one should languish in jail due to an inability to afford a bond. He called the total abolition of cash bail a good idea in theory without fully committing to carrying it out, and supported the idea of district attorneys weighing in on the process of issuing personal recognizance (PR) bonds.

In response, LaHood challenged Gonzales to offer specifics for a fix to the current bail structure. He also brushed off Gonzales claims about how long people spend in custody, calling them not accurate.

When you say youre for reform, thats a tagline and thats fine, but what are you going to do? Whats broken about the system? LaHood said.

He added: There is nobody languishing in jail for a low-level nonviolent offense. Theyre just not. The statistics just do not say that.

Last year, 91 percent of the 1,132 defendants who pleaded guilty or no contest to marijuana possession in Bexar County were sentenced to jail time, according to Texas Office of Court Administration data compiled by the Fair Punishment Project. Thats up from 2014, the last year of former Republican DA Susan Reeds tenure, in which 87 percent of the 1,008 convicted defendants were incarcerated.

The DAs office has also filed more marijuana prosecutions each year since Reeds tenure, including 5,751 in 2017, a 39 percent increase from 2014, according to data from the DAs office. Already, 825 such prosecutions were filed in Bexar County through Feb. 6, the date of a public information request to the office, setting an annual pace of more than 8,000.

A necessary evil

Meanwhile, an analysis of court data shows 64.3 percent of the 7,343 misdemeanor cases on the jail court docket resulted in convictions. Outside jail court, the misdemeanor conviction rate dropped to 17.2 percent.

Within the current system, many agree that jail court serves an important purpose. In an interview, Gonzales called it a necessary evil that limits how long people spend in custody.

One good thing about the jail court is that its extremely expeditious, said Michael Young, Bexar Countys chief public defender. They will process your case quickly. You wont languish for an extended period of time, if that is your desire, just to plead guilty and take your time-served sentence.

The problem arises when people plead guilty to something they didnt do because they want to go home but cannot afford bail, Young said.

Its a rare day the client is even thinking anymore about whether he or she is guilty of the crime, or any sort of legal issues they could pursue, any collateral consequences of pleading guilty in the long term, said Chris Roberts, director of the criminal defense clinic at the University of Texas School of Law. The client wants out, just like anybody else would.

Adding to the problem, critics say, is the way in which court-appointed attorneys benefit from a quick plea. They receive a flat $140 per misdemeanor case, and the extra work of getting people out of jail can push the resolution months down the road  and a later payday for the attorney.

The way theyre paying the defense lawyers is incentivizing them to take the quick plea, Roberts said. In many instances, it takes an effort to get a bond reduction. Theres a series of steps.  It takes a couple hours, its a process of going to the jail and going to various offices and going to a judge.

In other Texas counties, lawsuits challenging the constitutionality of cash bail have brought the issue to the forefront. In April, a federal judge ordered Harris County to begin releasing people arrested on misdemeanor charges who could not afford to pay bail.

An appeals court upheld most of the decision Feb. 14, though it sent the case back to the district court with an order to revise how officials determine a defendants indigent status.

The ruling came less than a month after four nonprofits, including the American Civil Liberties Union, filed a federal lawsuit accusing Dallas County of discriminating against poor defendants.

DA limits

During the recent debate, LaHood pointed to the district attorneys offices lack of power in issuing PR bonds, as Gonzales had proposed. LaHood contended that in most cases, the DA does not play a role in issuing the bonds, which falls under the jurisdiction of the county magistrate judge upon arrest.

Do we have an opinion? Sure. Can we file a motion to increase bond if theres a violation of a bond and the victim is being victimized still? Then yes we can, LaHood said. But its a magistrate issue mainly.

An exception can be made if someone has an intellectual disability, LaHood said. In that case, the DA may agree that a PR bond should be issued, in coordination with the public defenders office.

Jennifer Soble, a senior attorney at the Fair Punishment Project, said the DA can recommend that people charged with misdemeanors or nonviolent felonies be released on personal recognizance, and even suggest release conditions such as drug testing or home monitoring.

Young said the district attorney does have a say.

Perhaps they could have an expanded idea of cases that they would agree to recommend the PR bond, Young said.

But he added that magistrates and DA prosecutors dont always agree, recalling instances where the DA and public defenders office agreed that a PR bond would be appropriate, and were still turned down by the magistrate judge. Ultimately, Young said, issuing the bond is up to the magistrate.

Pretrial diversion

Some DAs, including LaHood, have taken action to keep low-level crimes out of the justice system. Last year, Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg began a diversion program that allows people 17 and older caught with up to 4 ounces of marijuana to take a four-hour class and pay a $150 fee to avoid arrest and a criminal charge.

And in January, LaHood  in partnership with the Sheriffs Office  rolled out a pilot version of the cite-and-release program he had announced in September. Under the program, sheriffs deputies can issue citations for offenders accused of possessing less than 4 ounces of marijuana, among other charges. The program comes with a $250 fee.

For that reason, Soble was skeptical the program rolled out by LaHood and Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar would have much of an impact.

Because of the mandatory fees, the new cite-and-release will do very little to make diversion more widely available in marijuana cases in Bexar County, Soble said. Bexar Countys even higher fee (than in Harris) means that indigent defendants will continue to be convicted of marijuana possession, while rich defendants engaging in the same conduct walk away without a record.

LaHood said his office will always work with individuals to ensure cost doesnt preclude them from participating, and he would consider a waiver under the right circumstances.

But LaHood also justified the program fee, saying that people participating in the 90-day program would pay the equivalent of $2.77 a day.

This cost is far less than the costs associated with being arrested, having to post bond  even a PR bond will typically require a 2 percent fee  attorneys fees, probation supervisory fees, and missing work while under arrest and making multiple court appearances, LaHood said.

Another potential barrier, Young said, is that the San Antonio Police Department has not embraced cite and release as an option. SAPD officers account for about 60 percent of arrests in the county, he said.

The question then becomes what can the district attorneys office do to impact the policy of these law enforcement agencies? Young said. I think the DA could express that any cases that are turned in by an agency who is considering cite and release may get some other type of disposition. Maybe theyll say, Im not going to accept those cases, Im not going to file those cases.

About 10 months into Harris Countys program, a quarter of the participants had failed to complete the required class within the 90-day window, according to numbers cited by the Houston Chronicle in January. The top reason people failed to take the class was because of the $150 fee, the Houston Press found, even though a form provided to offenders tells them to contact the countys corrections department if they are indigent.

Any program that a prosecuting attorney has that is dependent on someones ability to pay, which doesnt take into account someones indigency, I have a problem with it, Young said. And that exists in the current pretrial diversion program (in Bexar), where it is fee-intensive.

That program, a more robust version of the one Reed enacted, was seen as one of the landmark initiatives of LaHoods first term. During the recent debate, LaHood pointed to the ways in which his pretrial diversion program built on Reeds, by including people of all ages  Reeds had been narrowly age-restricted  and felony charges.

But Soble noted that the expansion to felony charges includes only drug cases, and that its parameters still strictly limit who can take part. It also comes with a hefty cost: a $50 nonrefundable fee to apply to the program, and at least $350 to participate, regardless of indigence.

Many defendants who need the program most, like those addicted to drugs, will not be eligible, because diversion is only available to defendants with no record whatsoever, Soble said.

Gonzales called it a pay to play system.

Is it perfect? Can it be made better? Absolutely, LaHood said at the debate. If anybody tells you theyre going to be perfect in office or out of office, you really need to consider what theyre saying.

On the topic of waiving fees, he later added: Absolutely will consider that, and adjust the program as needed to make sure that everybody is treated fairly.BROWNSVILLE  As a boy, Raul Brindis used to cross the international bridge from Matamoros, Mexico, with his mother to go shopping here.

For Brindis, 54, now a popular Houston-based radio personality, the act must have seemed as natural as the Rio Grande flowing below.

On a cool morning Saturday during the annual Hands Across the Border ceremony that reaffirms the bonds between Matamoros and Brownsville, Brindis searched for meaning in his childhood memory. A marching band and scores of eager residents crowded in from one side and immigration agents formed a perimeter on the other.

This river was never a division for us, said Brindis, one of the events honored guests. I want coming generations to see each other  how we did when we were kids, without walls, without divisions.

For 81 years, Brownsville has celebrated Charro Days Fiesta, just as Matamoros has reveled in its Fiestas Mexicanas. What began as pre-Lenten festivals have taken on larger meaning when these sister cities reflect on their shared experience. The ties that bind these communities remain but are frayed in ways subtle and significant over a decade of strict immigration policies and drug cartel violence.

A generation of young people is being raised in the shadow of a border wall, or under the influence of organized crime, interrupting the north-and-south flow across the international boundary, and wearing on the social fabric of a unique binational heritage. While some lament the changes, others insist that closely held traditions will endure.

There isnt a person from the old Matamoros who doesnt have family in Brownsville, said Jaime Garza, the 70-year-old laureate of Matamoros culture. We are the same people.

Garza has seen the once popular Juarez Market wither as shoppers from Brownsville were scared off by the stories of drug violence. And hes heard the rumblings from Matamoros residents put off by President Donald Trumps racially tinged comments about his homeland. But its that sort of thinking that ignores an immutable fact of life along the border: that what happens on one side of the river ultimately will affect the other side.

Inside the Matamoros Center for Visual Arts, which Garza runs out of a restored historic building in downtown Matamoros, teenagers learn to sketch and paint in the suns illumination.

For one student, Montserrat Alvarez, 16, a budding graphic designer, Trump is an endless source of amusement and an object of ridicule. For Jesus Ochoa, 15, Trumps presidency is a painful reminder of the 18-foot rust-colored fence designed to keep out immigrants.

Id like to go to Brownsville, Ochoa said, painting a Super Smash Bros. character on cardboard. But getting a visa hasnt been easy.

Like many border residents, Tony Zavaleta, 70, a retired professor of anthropology and an expert on the borderlands, can relate to the fear and anger of events that often are beyond their control. He grew up at a time when moving across the border was seamless, and families living on both sides of the international line were involved in the lives of one another.

In the past, we were truly an international community of families and businesses and people traveling back and forth, Zavaleta said. Thats not the case anymore, and I dont see that changing.

Matamoros has been spared the worst violence plaguing the border state of Tamaulipas the past year. The roving patrols of masked state police and military carrying assault rifles seen in other communities largely are absent from Matamoros. With the recent capture of Jose Alfredo Cardenas Martinez, a leader of the feared Gulf drug cartel, and his release after a judge ruled his arrest illegal, peace is not assured.

It seems to me there is some type of protection that has maintained stability there, said Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera, author of Los Zetas Inc. and a professor at George Mason University. In Tamaulipas you cant govern without some partnership with organized crime. Maybe after his release were going to see instability.

Charro Days still is a special time for Ryan Garcia, 14, a freshman at Brownsville Veterans Memorial High School. His family participates in the Charro Bean cook-off and costume ball. This year, Garcia, who plays the snare drum, marched in the Browsville school district Children's Charro Days Parade.

Elizabeth Stone, 51, director of the schools band program, regaled her students with her own experience of marching with the parade into Matamoros. Street vendors grilled corn and sold sweet bread on every corner, she recalled.

But the days of carousing in Matamoros and visiting extended family is a fading memory, and for a generation coming of age at a time of border fences and 24-hour surveillance, it can be difficult to imagine. Though the experience is shared less, Garcia, who hasnt been to Matamoros in years  his last visit was to a dentist  doesnt believe that diminishes the relationship.

I dont think of Charro Days as a time to unite with Mexico, Garcia said, because we already have.

After days of costume balls and mariachis and Mexican folk dancing, the fiestas culminate with the Grand International Parade. Border culture is on full display with ornate floats pumping rollicking norteno and Tejano through streets jam-packed with people.

Marching bands and floats begin with participants from both cities. There was a time before 9/11 when the parade marched through downtown Brownsville, across the international bridge and ended in front of the Matamoros mayoral palace.

They come to us, and their participation is important, but weve scaled back our participation into Mexico, Escareno said. Its sad.

As the parade approached the border Saturday, one group veered away from the boundary, while a smaller group wended its way southward. In Matamoros, the floats and marching bands joined dozens of local high schools and dance groups.

A float made up of local beauty queens smiled for throngs of parade-goers. Daniela Saldivar grew up in Matamoros, attended the University of Texas at Brownsville, now the University of Texas-RGV, and currently is an elementary school teacher in Brownsville, though she still lives in Matamoros.

Saldivar shared in the excitement alongside her students. The handful of participants from Matamoros in the Brownsville parade cherish the experience, she said.

What they see over there is as much as theyll get from Mexico, the 24-year-old said. And thousands from here who cant go over there miss something from Brownsville, too.

Days before, children from Matamoros and Brownsville exchanged gifts and the flags of their nations. The Brownsville delegation offered a book authored by Elon Musk, the investor and engineer whose private spaceflight company SpaceX could begin launching rockets from Boca Chica beach in Brownsville as soon as the end of the year.

Wearing a cuero Tamaulipeco  a fringed leather jacket  Tony Martinez, the Brownsville mayor, drew inspiration from Musk. The constraints of bias, borders, racial and political divides have no place in space, much less between Brownsville and Matamoros, Martinez said.

The future is not bound to nationality or language," Martinez said. "Our similarities outnumber our differences.When Donald Trump ran for president on an America First platform, the message was easy enough to understand.

Of course, the slogan carried unfortunate echoes of the Nazi-appeasing America First movement of the early 1940s, but, in contemporary terms, it meant a reduction in foreign aid, a hard-line stance on trade and a reluctance to commit American troops to anyone elses cause.

Last Tuesday, however, when the San Antonio Professional Firefighters Association unveiled its so-called San Antonio First campaign, I found myself confused. Whether or not you agree with the various moves made by our municipal government, isnt it true that theyre always  by nature  putting San Antonio first? I mean, its not like the current city budget was crafted for the purpose of helping Del Rio or Three Rivers.

But if the firefighters new messaging strategy veers toward the vacuous, the underlying agenda is dead serious.

The firefighters proposed three potential amendments to the City Charter, all of them designed to weaken the power of a city government which has battled the union for years on collective-bargaining issues.

One of them was a nakedly vindictive shot at City Manager Sheryl Sculley, whose $550,000 in base and bonus pay makes for an easy political bulls-eye. The firefighters want the City Charter to limit S.A. city managers to an eight-year term and a salary no greater than 10 times that of the lowest paid municipal employee.

Another amendment would force the city to enter into binding arbitration with public-safety unions in cases of collective-bargaining stalemates, rather than going to court, as the city has done over the evergreen clauses in the police and fire contracts.

As my colleague Josh Baugh reported last week, however, the real game changer in the firefighters menu of disruption involves the referendum process.

Under the current City Charter, in order to take a City Council ordinance to the voters for approval, you have to get petition signatures from at least 10 percent of the eligible voters in the most recent city election (that would put the current petition threshold above 75,000 signatures). Also, you cant mess with any ordinances involving the appropriation of money, levying of taxes or setting public utility rates.

The firefighters proposed charter amendment would lengthen the signature-gathering period, reduce the required signatures to 20,000 and drop the restrictions on what issues can come up for a referendum.

The overall effect would be to shift power away from the City Council, to make it easier for voters to override the will of their elected representatives. Direct democracy elbowing out representative government.

To some, that might sound like a tempting proposition, but history shows that it often produces legislation by popular whim and special-interest dictate.

The flaws with the referendum and initiative processes were expertly detailed by the late Washington Post reporter David Broder, in his 2000 book, Democracy Derailed.

As Broder noted, the godfather of the modern direct-democracy movement was Proposition 13, a sweeping 1978 property tax rollback in California led by a cranky government-hating crusader named Howard Jarvis. Taking advantage of public fury over rising property taxes, Jarvis and his followers won their election with 65 percent of the vote, despite a bipartisan chorus of California elected officials who warned against it.

The damage was immense. Within a year, property-tax revenue in California fell by two thirds, stripping local governments of $6 billion in funding. Health and welfare services were dramatically affected and Californias public-school system has never fully recovered.

The justification frequently given for initiative efforts is that lawmakers failed to act, so the people had to take charge.

With referendums, however, its not a case of the government failing to act, but simply acting in a way that some faction finds objectionable.

If the firefighters succeed with their charter-amendment campaign, it would be fairly easy for them to repeal SAWS or CPS Energy rate hikes, because its never tough to persuade voters that their taxes or their utility rates are too high. But is that any way for this city to govern itself?

Theres also the possibility that the firefighters could use the threat of a referendum petition drive as leverage against council members on collective bargaining issues.

Referendums should be a self-governing recourse employed only rarely, with surgical precision. They shouldnt become standard operating procedure.

@gilgamesh470AUSTIN  Anti-abortion advocates have long found a welcoming environment in Texas, but a rift in the movement was highlighted when the Texas Catholic Conference of Bishops urged parishes not to participate in one groups activities or allow it to use their sites.

Its a glimpse into the divisions among anti-abortion groups that often cite their faith to support their positions  but in the case of at least one group, that doesnt result in the respect for others that one might expect.

Texas Right to Life  an ally of Empower Texans, which targets moderate Republicans  not only often opposes the bishops but has implied that they do not faithfully represent Church teaching, according to the bishops conference.

The dispute is partly rooted in Texas Right to Lifes rejection of incremental pro-life reforms, which may curb abortion but not go as far as advocates would like, according to the conference. The bishops said their approach is in line with guidance provided by Pope John Paul II.

The bishops also said theyve had to publicly correct misstatements by Texas Right to Life concerning their positions about end-of-life legislation, including rhetoric from the group about death panels.

And the bishops said the group, with its legislative scorecards, has opposed lawmakers who have consistently voted for pro-life measures.

In their statement, the bishops emphasized that Texas Right to Life shouldnt be confused with the Texas Alliance for Life or Texans for Life Coalition, separate organizations that they said remain consistent with the conferences positions.

A Texas Right to Life spokeswoman didnt return a request for comment.

But Jim Graham of Texas Right to Life earlier this month described the two groups blessed by the bishops as fake pro-life organizations. He contended they have been doing the bidding of House Speaker Joe Straus, R-San Antonio, a frequent target of Empower Texans.

On an online show he does with Empower Texans Michael Quinn Sullivan, Graham called the Jewish speaker Herr Straus and referred to Joe Pojman of Texas Alliance for Life as Joe Poison.

Sullivan called Pojmans group the Fake Alliance for Joe Strauss Version of Killing Babies.

An Empower Texans online article last year accused Pojmans group of providing pro-life cover for for some of Texas most pro-abortion politicians and called his group the Texas Alliance for Lies.

The writer, Cary Cheshire, criticized Pojman for testifying during the legislative session that he couldnt support a bill against dismemberment abortions because he believed it would be successfully challenged in court.

Pojman told me when anti-abortion legislation is overturned in court, its a setback for the anti-abortion cause. It creates a court precedent buttressing the Roe v Wade decision ensuring a womans right to abortion, he said. And when attorney fees are awarded to abortion-rights plaintiffs that successfully challenge restrictions, Pojman said, We view that as financing the abortion providers.

But Pojman didnt dish back the name-calling, and he didnt retreat from praising Straus as part of the leadership team that has made it possible for the state to pass abortion restrictions.

Its a consistent position for him, regardless of the political winds.

At his groups giant Rally for Life last month, Pojman said in his speech, Our pro-life leaders  Governor Greg Abbott, Lt. Governor Dan Patrick, and Speaker Joe Straus  have made Texas the envy of the nation on the life issue.

Abbott, who has tangled with Straus, was the keynote speaker at the rally, which occurred the same day that the State Republican Executive Committee censured the speaker, contending he has stood in the way of the GOPs conservative agenda.

But Abbott and Pojman interacted warmly at the event, and Abbotts appearance seems enough to show his support of the groups work. The governors spokespeople didnt respond to a request for comment.

Pojman says he would like to work with Texas Right to Life, but that the last email he got from the group was one asking to be removed from his email list 18 months ago.

We regret that there is a split in the pro-life movement, Pojman said. He said it weakens the movements credibility and keeps them from pooling resources. It is not our preference, and we seek to have all the groups working together, but a marriage takes two willing partners, he said.

Pojman said he is a fan of discussion  even with people who are on the opposite side of an issue hes working on.

I think the mothers and babies and vulnerable patients at the end of life are best-served when people get around a table and talk, he said.A group of Catholic bishops from both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border will begin their biannual meetings in San Antonio next week by promoting a call-in campaign to U.S. congressional leaders.

More than 20 Texas and Mexican bishops, along with religious and lay representatives from border dioceses, will meet Monday through Wednesday at the Mexican American Catholic College on the West Side.

Archbishop Gustavo Garcia-Siller of San Antonio will host what is expected to be an immigration-centric gathering. Mondays agenda will focus on the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops campaign called the National Catholic Call-In Day to Protect Dreamers.

It is designed to encourage Catholics nationwide to call their congressional representatives and request that Dreamers, who are teens and young adults brought into the U.S. illegally when they were children, be protected from deportation and provided a path to citizenship.

Legislation to provide that protection has repeatedly failed in Congress, including three bills in the Senate recently. Lawmakers were divided by provisions to fund a border wall and to cut legal immigration, measures backed by Republicans and President Donald Trump.

Many young immigrants eligible for the Obama-era program called Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, applied for it. Trump set the programs expiration date for March, but two federal court orders have blocked that move.

We are deeply disappointed that the Senate was not able to come together in a bipartisan manner to secure legislative protection for the Dreamers, the bishops said in a statement Thursday.

With the March 5 deadline looming, we ask once again that members of Congress show the leadership necessary to find a just and humane solution for these young people, who daily face mounting anxiety and uncertainty. Now is the time for action.

The statement came from Cardinal Daniel DiNardo of Galveston-Houston, president of the bishops conference; Archbishop Jose Gomez of Los Angeles, formerly archbishop of San Antonio and the groups vice president; and Bishop Joe S. Vasquez of Austin, chairman of the bishops Committee on Migration.

The group will celebrate a public Mass at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday at San Fernando Cathedral.Click to read this Alamo dispatch as it originally appeared.

SAN ANTONIO de BEXAR, Mexico, Feb. 26, 1836  On this day rendered most foul by continuous winds howling about the ramparts of Fortress Alamo, the chilling temperature was not the only thing causing discomfort and consternation among the assembled forces of Liberty.

The water well within the walls of the old mission simply is not up to the task of supplying scores of people, let alone the livestock, that have been assembled. Like humans, horses and beeves cannot long endure the absence of the life-sustaining liquid. A pair of acequias bracket the Alamo - they are channels designed to carry water to farm fields, where its intended purpose is to nourish the thirsty crops. Seeking to enhance the supply within the walls, a small expedition exited the fortress, intent upon drawing water from one of the acequias and perhaps gathering some wood for the fires needed to fight the bitter weather.

They were, of course, immediately spotted by the ever-present forces of Gen. Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, and, as Col. Juan Almonte  an aide-de-camp to His Excellency, the President and Dictator of Mexico  put it, "were opposed by our marksmen."

---------

A SKIRMISH

Col. Almonte reported that the clash over access to the Alamo's acequias was not the only firing done today by Gen. Santa Anna's forces.

"At daylight there was a slight skirmish between the enemy and a small party of the division of the east, under command of (Gen. Joaquin Ramirez y) Sesma," he noted. "During the day the firing from our cannon was continued. The enemy did not reply, except now and then."

The dictator's underling was unable to note any losses among the Alamo defenders and remained silent on the subject of casualties outside the old mission.

---------

STORIED HISTORY

That the Alamo began its life as a Catholic missionary outpost  a site intended to welcome anyone, be they good, bad or even the most horrendously ugly  is but one element underscoring the biblical nature of the struggle here. It is indeed a confrontation remarkably similar to David's epic battle against the mighty Philistine champion Goliath.

The Mission San Antonio de Valero was established in 1718 as part of the efforts to colonize the vast area that then was referred to as New Spain. The building known as the Long Barrack was completed in 1727, and 17 years later, construction work was commenced on a stone church in a southeasterly direction from that structure. That house of worship collapsed in 1756, and two years later, work was begun on a replacement.

Apparently intended to eventually have twin belfries and a domed roof, the chapel was never completed and today is a mere skeleton that sits open to the elements.

Back in '93, the complex was legally dissolved as a mission and surrendered into the hands of civil authorities. A Spanish cavalry unit from Alamo de Parras was posted at the old mission and the site became known as Pueblo del Alamo. (In the Spanish tongue, alamo is the word for cottonwood.)

The troops posted therein changed from Spanish to Mexican in 1821, but their duty remained the same: control of the San Antonio de Bexar vicinity. Last year, before his defeat during the Siege of Bexar, Mexican Gen. Martin Perfecto de Cos began fortifying the compound, and that work was continued under Texas landlordship.

---------

A CRAFTSMAN

In their ranks, the Alamo defenders are lucky to have the services of Green B. Jameson, late of Kentucky and a lawyer by trade who is committed to the cause of Liberty. He noted that "when I left home it was with a determination to see Texas free and independent, sink or swim."

Put in charge of the fortifications of the Alamo, quick was Jameson to comprehend that the combination of the compound's high walls and the artillery left by the recently departed Gen. Cos made for an excellent defensive strategy.

He implemented repairs on a crumbling section of the north wall by bracing it on the exterior with a scaffolding made of timber, and sealed off an open area on the south by erecting a palisade of timbers running southwest from the unfinished chapel to the southmost wall of the compound. On the exterior of this palisade is a ditch that has been filled with odds and end of sharp pieces of lumber and the branches of thorny trees  a manufactured briar patch, if you will.

Also, the clever barrister carefully positioned the artillery pieces to ensure the utmost damage could be inflicted on the enemy.

---------

LITTLE TO SEE

Despite the fortification work done under the direction of Mr. Jameson, the truth must be told that from the exterior, the Alamo offers little that would catch the eye of a visitor to San Antonio de Bexar. Seeing it, in fact, would be about as noteworthy as the sights one would encounter during a walk along the San Antonio River. Yet, the compound presents a challenge most formidable to its would-be conqueror, Gen. Santa Anna.Click to read this Alamo dispatch as it originally appeared.

SAN ANTONIO de BEXAR, Mexico, Feb. 25, 1836 - On this unusually balmy February day, His Excellency, Gen. Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, the President and Dictator of Mexico, attempted to extend his reach toward the very gates of Fortress Alamo.

A few hundred of his troops crept to within 100 yards of the bastion of Texas Liberty, and only after encountering withering fire from the defenders for approximately two hours were the dictator's fingers sufficiently burned for the advance to reverse its course.

The attackers approached from the direction of a gun emplacement to the west of the Alamo. But instead of marching boldly toward the fortress - like a proud worker approaching the pay window - they crept between the shanties of a hamlet called Pueblo de Valero, ducking and weaving to stay out of the sights of the Alamo's marksmen. So frustrated did the defenders become with this tactic that in the midst of the actual fighting, several of their members emerged from the comforting embrace of their redoubt and set fire to some of the huts, which are known as jacales.

---------

SOME DETAILS

The Alamo's commander, Lt. Col. William Travis, reported of to-day's encounter: "We know from actual observation that many of the enemy were wounded - while we, on our part, have not lost a man." As might be expected, an aide-de-camp to Gen. Santa Anna, Col. Juan Almonte, disputed Travis' assessment that "many" attackers were wounded, claiming that "the enemy wounded 4 of the Cazadores de Matamoros battalion, and 2 of the battalion of Jimenes." However, he did concede that two soldiers were killed.

---------

A SALUTE

Ever gracious, Lt. Col Travis took great pains to laud the performance under fire to-day of former United States Congressman David Crockett, Whig-Tenn. There are so many stories about the famed frontiersman that one could easily make an outlandish claim that at the tender age of 3, he disposed of an errant bruin and it eventually would wind up in the lyrics of a popular song. However, Crockett's bravery is unquestionable. Travis noted that throughout the fighting to-day, he "was seen at all points, animating the men to do their duty."

---------

GAINS MADE

Despite smartly rapping Gen. Santa Anna's knuckles, to-day's military actions proved to be something of a hollow victory for those inside Fortress Alamo. The attackers were able to establish artillery and infantry entrenchments closer to the Alamo on the east side of the San Antonio River and posted a cavalry unit to the east of the fortress.

---------

AID SOUGHT

Confronted with a deteriorating military situation at Fortress Alamo, Lt. Col. Travis penned a missive for Capt. Juan Seguin to carry this evening toward Texian Army commander Sam Houston. It ended with a desperate plea for assistance in the face of Gen. Santa Anna's might. "I have every reason to apprehend an attack from his whole force very soon; but I shall hold out to the last extremity, hoping to secure reinforcements in a day or two," Travis wrote. "Do hasten on aid to me as rapidly as possible, as from the superior number of the enemy, it will be impossible for us to keep them out much longer."

Although the encirclement of the Alamo is tightening, Seguin was able to get away safely.

---------

MAN IN A HURRY

It may be recalled that Capt. Seguin is a young man who has already gone far among those who move and shake the political structure of San Antonio de Bexar.

In 1825, he married Maria Gertrudis Flores de Abrego, a member of one of the city's most prominent ranching families. Three years later, Seguin was elected to the post of alderman, and then served on a variety of electoral boards. In December 1833, he took office as Alcalde of San Antonio de Bexar.

Last year, Seguin launched the military phase of his career. Already critical of Gen. Santa Anna's leadership of Mexico, he led a militia company to Monclova in support of the Federalist movement.

Granted a captain's commission last October by Stephen F. Austin, Seguin raised a company of 37 good and true men, who undertook supply and scouting missions for the Texian Army. In December, Seguin's group helped drive the forces of Gen. Martin Perfecto de Cos from this city.

---------

CLIMATE CHANGE

When Capt. Seguin left the Alamo this evening, the unseasonably warm weather rode away with him. An icy wind now blows through every crack and crevice of the fortress, chilling its defenders to the very bone.by Sean Fitzpatrick | Cavaliers Correspondent | Sun, Feb 25th 12:41pm EST

Ricky Rubio struggled on Saturday with his jumper shooting just 2-of-9 from the floor and finishing with just seven points. Rubio added six assists, five boards, one steal, and one three-pointer but one turnover in 29 minutes.The Government has announced that it will invest 90 million in agricultural technology to boost the productivity of British farming.

Business Secretary Greg Clarke told delegates at the NFU's annual conference in Birmingham that since the mid-1990s productivity growth in UK agriculture and horticulture had lagged behind that of other countries.

It had grown at just one third of the rate of the United States and the Netherlands, said the Secretary of State, who pointed to a recent AHDB report that highlighted the productivity problems of British farming.

The report, which was covered in FarmingUK earlier this year, said that if the rate of growth had kept pace with the US since 2000, the contribution of UK farming to the rural economy would have been 4.3 billion higher by 2013.

Greg Clarke said that harnessing new technology could help improve productivity and he said the Government's 90 million funding would help to take new developments and inventions and put them to effective use on the land.

"In this country we have often been better at the invention and discovery of new ways of doing things than the implementation of them," he told farmers attending the NFU conference in Birmingham.

"The AHDB is right in saying that we need to put an increased emphasis on the D in R&D - the development half of research and development.

"As part of the industrial strategy, we announced a transforming food production challenge and I am delighted to announce today that the Government will invest 90 million to make this challenge a reality.

"It will include the creation of translation hubs that bring together farmers and growers, businesses, scientists, centres for agricultural innovation, to apply the latest research into farming practice. This should be a big boost to the knowledge exchange that already takes place across food and farming."

'Most innovative sectors'

Greg Clarke is the minister responsible for developing the Government's industrial strategy. As the biggest manufacturing sector in the UK, food and farming has been included in this strategy.

He said the industrial strategy set out a ways to improve productivity in the UK.

He said: "It seems to me they are as relevant to this industry as to others." He said that agriculture was one of the most innovative sectors of the economy but the advantages of bringing together the country's best scientists and its most forward thinking producers was clear.

The new funding, which will be provided as part of the industrial strategy's challenge fund, will, he said, make it easier for food and agri-business to embrace technology and innovation.

He said it would be critical in meeting the increasing food demands of a growing population, fuel rural growth and create high skilled jobs.

'Swiss army knife of skills'

The Secretary of State explained that, along with the introduction of new technology, would be a need for workers with the skills necessary to make use of this technology on the farm.

"With the technological revolution that is happening, it is vital, it seems to me, that the skills of the farming workforce need to keep pace. New technologies require new abilities."

He said today's farmer already had a "Swiss army knife of skills" - an engineer, an environmentalist, data scientist, bio-chemist, often an energy producer, tourism entrepreneur and always an investor.

All of these skills were "absolutely essential" in doing the farmer's job. But he said: "At the moment we under-invest in skills and training relative to many of our competitor countries.

"If we are to take advantage of the productivity improvements that new technology offers, we need to have tailored programmes of skills, education and training to meet the needs of this sector."

T Levels

He said that the Government's industrial strategy was putting great emphasis on technical qualifications - T-Levels.

They would provide an important opportunity for a new generation to start their careers in agriculture with relevant skills.

He said the Government would work closely with the NFU in the design of the T-Levels to make them effective for farmers' needs.

He said that apprenticeships would also be crucial. "Our reforms to apprenticeships are intended to present high quality opportunities for individuals and employers alike."

The availability of high speed broadband was necessary for some of the new technologies that would transform agricultural productivity, and he said the industrial strategy was committing an extra 200 million of investment to the local broad fibre networks programme.

"I can't recall a single occasion on which I have met an NFU branch anywhere in the country in which the need for consistently better broadband and mobile coverage was not right at the top of the list of improvements that was wanted.

"It is imperative and it becomes more pressing because, if you take my invitation to join us in upgrading our level of technology, and especially the technology that relies on big data and artificial intelligence, well you can't do that without the connections that allow the transmission of large quantities of data. So it is becoming more important than ever," he said.

'Invest in more capital'

Defra Secretary Michael Gove has already suggested that improved productivity would be something the Government would seek to encourage in a reformed agricultural support scheme for the United Kingdom after the country left the EU.

The Secretary of State told delegates at the Oxford Farming Conference earlier this year that the Government wanted to incentivise farmers to "invest in more capital intensive and productive methods of producing food or processing food."

His Oxford speech coincided with publication of the AHDB report to which Greg Clarke referred during his NFU conference speech.

The report, produced by Tom Hind, chief strategy officer with AHDB, called on farmers and Government to work together to close the productivity gap on the country's competitors.

"Low productivity growth reduces our industrys long-term ability to compete, grow new markets and improve our natural capital. Understanding what is holding us back and how we can solve the problems is critical to the success of our farmers, growers and food industry," said Tom Hind in the report.

He said that productivity growth was critically important. It played a significant part in the farming industrys overall competitiveness, which was critical if the country wanted to operate in increasingly globalised markets.A 22-year-old Scottish farmer has heavily criticised the SNP government's IT system failures for increasing debt and "destroying a way of life".

Writing in the Scottish Review as part of its Young Thinker of the Year, Helen Stewart said the Scottish government's computer system to manage EU grants is "faulty beyond function".

The system was created to enable the Scottish government to provide financial support to farmers and rural businesses in line with European Commission reforms.

Criticism of the system has been heavy in the farming industry. A Scottish farming leader has previously asked whether the government is "flogging a dead horse" by sticking with its IT system for delivering CAP support.

And farming union NFU Scotland said every farmer will remember 2016 as a year when the Scottish government's "flawed IT system failed to deliver" the subsidy CAP payments, "damaging" the rural economy.

Ms Stewart said the computer system "wasn't ready and wasn't working". "We eventually received a decreased payment, and this was just the start," she wrote.

"In 2015 there was a five-month late payment, again decreased  only 80%. In 2016, the payment was so late that the government issued a part payment loan to farmers.

"Overall the subsidy was almost a year late  and this trend is spiralling. Still the computer system is faulty beyond function."

'Dangerously out of sync'

She said the subsidy is now "dangerously out of sync" for Scottish farmers, and has driven farmers into the "hands of banks and the depths of debt".

"Last January due to this disruption my dad had a heart problem and that's when I decided to finish my studies and go back home. I knew the stress was bad when I visited my parents from university and I would hear my dad getting up to redo his budgets at 1.30 every morning," Ms Stewart added.

"There would be plan A, and plan B, and plan C, throughout the week. He said he couldn't look at the numbers by daylight. Yet, the sheep still have to be fed, vet bills still have to be paid, there is no telling the taxman that you're suddenly missing over half of your income.

"It hurt me to see my dad, after all of his hard work, being put in a position like this. We were constantly being told to get with the times and run the farm like a business. Yet what business does not know when, or even if, money is coming in?"

'Gross incompetence'

The young farmer said there is "painfully little media coverage" on the issue, and no investigations.

"Does it not concern you that our own government mismanaged this so drastically and that we don't really hear about it? The Common Agricultural Policy equals around 40% of EU funds: that's 58 billion a year," she added.

"To mismanage 40% of EU funds, surely that is gross incompetence? It certainly concerns me that our government can bring an industry to its knees through an organisational 'transitional' error. Yet there are no investigations; there is painfully little media coverage.

"The loss of the stability of farming is a loss in culture, a loss in mental well-being, a long-term, long-reaching loss. It hurts all the more when we feel it is a loss we bear in silence."Shah Rukh Khan's journey is one that will go down in history. Since the inception of his stardom, he's been nothing but a humble man, handling success with the most impeccable and effortless persona. We take you back to one of his most amazing interviews with Filmfare from the year 2003 to prove that he's a man with a golden heart.As always, I find myself floating and doing things that I have to do. After a long holiday, I'm working again, so my days are too planned-get up, go to work, do a show, go for an opening. But mentally, I'm a little more at ease. In the last few months, I've become more private. I'm happier being with myself. I don't want to be too much i n touch with the world. I don't know why... maybe it's because of my kids, maybe it's because I'm a little older.Mail gadda, because I used to run very fast, like an express train. Also because my hair used to stand out in front.There're many of them; I've troubled many of my teachers. I once convinced my chemistry teacher to give me good marks by telling her I was like her son. I also used to feign an attack of epilepsy very often. I'd 'faint' in the classroom and the teachers had to take off their shoes for me to smell. Once, when we had a new teacher, I 'fainted' and the other kids convinced him that if he didn't give me the suede shoes he was wearing, I'd die. He had to roam barefoot the rest of the day.1. I've lots of moles but only on the right side of my bod y.2. I dont rink water, only Pepsi.3. I hate wearing slippers, never do.To all the people I love-for not being able to be with them more often. I hope I don't have to apologise to my kids for not having spent enough time with them.Togetherness, by which I mean every moment spent together. Lots of pas sion and laughter. I have faith and trust in the people I love, but I still f eel jealous and possessive about them. So I guess I'd have to add jealousy and possessiveness too.The collar-bone area.My bungalow, Im still paying for it.She used to paint very well but doesn't paint any more.She can dance very well.She's a typical middle-class Punjabi girl.Shaving foam, for a scene in Kabhi Haan Kabhi Na. I was to have an Ice cream, but it wouldn't stay on the cone, so I used shaving cream instead. While fooling around with Aryan and Suhana, Ive even put insects in my mouth to make them think Im eating the bugs. Though, of course, I spit them out immediately.There's nothing I really want any more. Enough has been given to me and I'm happy. Now I want to give, but dont know how, so I keep trying in my own way. I try to keep everyone happy. I feel distressed if I've hurt someone.The call I remember sadly is the one we got from the hospital, ask ing us to come and get my dads body. It was 2.30 in the night and we reached the hospital by 4 a.m. I also remember my mom didnt tell me he had passed away. She just said, "Come, Dad wants to meet you.I really, really lost my temper about six months ago, Actually I have a very bad temper but Ive learnt to control it because Im scared of what I might do. When I get very mad, theres no stopping me. I can even kill someone. So when the situation gets volatile, is especially volatile, I really try to be quiet.Many of them. Books by Adrian Mole and Woody Allen (I have the entire Woody Allen collection). Bill Cosby's Fatherhood and Parenthood. Douglas Adam's The Hitchhiker s Guide to the Galaxy.Abhi na jao chhod kar, ke dil abhi bhara nahi. Abhi abhi toh aayi ho, bahar banke chaiye ho, hawa zara mehak toh le, nazar zara behak toh le, ye h shyam dhal toh le zara, ye h dil sambhal toh le zara. Mein thodi der j ee toh loon, nashe ke ghoont p eeh toh loon. Abhi toh kuch kaha nahin, abhi toh kuch suna nahin... from Hum Dono. It's amazingly ro mantic. I'd like to sing i t in a film some day.After I've become a star, people say I'm nice looking but I wish I'd inherited my father's looks; then I'd be handsome too. He was six feet tall and very good looking. I don't look anything like him. My mom was also very beautiful.My shirt, half out and half tucked in. Ive always worn my shirt like that off screen. I wore it on screen in DDLJ and it sort of became my tradeSweetheart, I find it very sexy, though its misused a lot. And I dont mean sensually sexy. Shashi Kapoor used to say it wellI think I say it sweetly too. I saw sweetheart to lots of people.Ashok Banker once wrote that I should be removed from Mumbai because we actors are a threat and danger to all the people living here. That because of our doings and alleged underworld dealings, people try to kill us and innocent bystanders get shot on the streets instead. Its no exactly the worst thing anyone has sad to me but I found the whole thing in very bad taste. And very stupid. Nobody can tell anyone where to live. Nobody can tell me to leave Mumbai, especially after Ive paid so much for my bungalow.For adornment and beautification, nothing. Just for repair, it would be the disc in my neck, my knee and my ankle. They pain a lot, so its all for health reasons.I havent been in many embarrassing situations. Except they tell me that, after doing a drunk scene in Devdas, I changed in front of the unit with our realising it. I dont find that embarrassing in the real sense; its okay. Oh yeah, Farida Jalal embarrasses me when she says I have cute dimples. I go red in the face when she says this to me.A mediocre actor. I'm scared that after 30 years people might say, "Shah Rukh was ok ay. H e was sweet; not too bad nor too good." Or, "He was a pi n - u p boy"- which I'm not. And that they will talk about my dimples. Id be quite disappointed if people remembered me only for my dimples.Some people say I have a puppy dog expression in my eyes sometimes. Or maybe its my dimplesI really dont know.Toys. I have an excuse now, with the kids, but Ive always loved shopping for toys; more than I even do for electronic items. I buy a lot of computer stuff and books too. These are the only things I shop for, actually.Off screen, obviously. Because the camera makes you do things and theres a lot of style when youre in front of the camera. The naturalism comes when youre not in front of the camera.In the larger scheme of things, every day. In terms of the success Ive had, Ive never really been made to feel insignificant. Ive always been treated well. Except once in Mauritius, after a show, I was escorting Madhuri Dixit through a crowd and the security guards let her go but stopped me. Honestly, I have so many people in my life who love me so much that I can never be completely insignificant. In the last five years especially, Ive never been made to feel insignificant.The belief and hope that one more try and the problem can be rectified. That if you keep hitting you head against a door, eventually the door will fall down. I have the energy to get up and try again. So I keep trying. I always give it one more shot, one more attempt.Say Abhi na jao chod keI just hug the persona with a lot of love.I completely an and absolutely believe in God. Very few people have the kind of faith I have in Allah. Ive taught my children about the existence of Allah too. I thank Him for everything I have. Im religious my own way- I only pray to Him to make others happy. I would pray to him for myself only as a last resort. The last time I did that was to save my mom.It should begin at two in the afternoon and end at five in the morning. Earlier, I used to think just lazing around would make a perfect day but not any more. If its raining, Id like to be in a room with good company, watch a film, eat nachos with salsa sauce and drink Pepsi.In my case, no two ways about t that the mind rules the body. There is no physical pleasure, except perhaps smoking, which Ive given in to, when my mind and sanity have told me to. Ive done the most difficult of things only because I put my mind to it. Whether its setting fire to myself or jumping into flowing water with our a wire attached to me in Koyla. Or even the hours I keep, for that matter.Nothing, really. But sometimes, while giving a shot, the reel in the camera runs out and I know Ill never get that moment back because it can never be repeated. Im not talking about loud crying scenes or fight sequences but a simple scene with a beautiful moment.Disability. Its wrong to joke about mental or physical disability. I felt bad doing it in Baadshah which is the only time Ive done so. But it was okay because it was a funny sequence.I would advertise focus to a lot of people who dont know what it means. Id tell them to concentrate, think hard, think leaner, be clear headed for a moment. Focus on what they are supposed to do- love, life, sleeping, whatever. Focus is the essence of life.I enjoy seeing the smiles on peoples faces when they see me. I like the fact that when I come on stage, I can feel the smiles on their faces. Maybe I am wrong or presumptuous about it, but I can feel it. I like it when people in passing cars get excited when they see me. Or when I get out go my house and go for a walk and the people waiting outside are thrilled to see me.Its nice when I get treated really well because Im a superstar. Though there are places where Im not. Like the immigration counter as the Mumbai airport. They always stop me and make me stand in the queue. Theyve done this only recently and very pointedly to me. I dont try to question their authority not have I got the person concerned in trouble by making a few calls to his superiors, because then I would feel bad.In my own country I may be treated but at Heathrow Airport the story is different. The moment I get down from the plane a lady will whisk me away from the VIP lounge and my bags will be brought to me within seconds. An American once told me, We wouldnt do this for John Travolta.Ive never had a girl make a pass at me. I dont even know what a pass it. I wouldnt even realise it if a girl made a pass at me. Because Ive never made passes at girls. Ive had women walk up to me at parties and say nice things like, Youre sweet to Youre cool. I take it at that level. No girl has asked me, Will you marry me? Or Will you sleep with me? If a girl claims she has prepositioned me then Id like to say Ive never realised it.Sometimes, controlling my temper. I wish I would give vent to it. Sometimes I regret having so much patience.What Deepa and Ketan Mehta told me after watching Devdas. So many years and youre still able to emote with your eyes have you got yourself a new set? Weve been seeing you for so many years and yet your eyes make us feel say. How is that you go on emoting so wonderfully? It was quite sweet.It would be like the one Abraham Lincoln wrote to his sons teacher. In case Im not going to be around, Id leave a letter behind to all the people who look after my children, but mostly their teachers. Id say, be kind to them dont be rude to them. Be harsh if you have to but dont beat them up. They may take some time to understand to learn certain things but its not because they dont want to learn, its because they have other things on their mind besides studies.They do. There are more of them than us, so each one of us has our own angel. Im sure Im someones angel or they think of me like that. I know I think of some people as my angels. But I wont tell them because then theyll go away.Nothing has changed and still so much has. Fifteen years down the line and Shah Rukh Khan is still the biggest star the industry has ever had. Check out his career highlights of the last 15 years through the films he did after this exclusive interview.Boney Kapoor's Reaction When He Saw Sridevi For The First Time

"The first time I saw her was on-screen in the late seventies was in a Tamil film. I said to myself this is someone I would want to my hou... in my movies."

Sridevi Was All Over His Mind

"We were planning a film with Rishi Kapoor. I even bought the rights of that film. He didn't have the time to watch the original film. I thought before the hero can be confirmed, let me just check on this heroine (Sridevi). I travelled all the way to Chennai to her house but got to know that she was shooting in Singapore. But she never got off my mind."

He Was Head Over Heels In Love With Sridevi

"After that I watched her in Solwa Saawan. It wasn't a glamourous film. But at that time she created some kind of impact on me which is hard to describe. She was in my mind all the time."

Their First Meeting

He eventually went on to sign her for Mr India. "When I met her for the first time, it was like a dream come true. She's an introvert and doesn't communicate very easily with strangers but the few words she spoke, in broken Hindi and English, moved me and made me even more curious to know her more."

Did You Know This?

"She was one of the highest-paid actresses of that time. She'd get about 7-8 lacs. Her mother quoted a fee of 10 lacs. I said we will pay her 11. Well, that's how I got close to her mother (laughs).

Boney Was Losing His Heart To Her

"So I got her dates for Mr India. When the film started I saw to it that she was the most comfortable on the sets. She got all what she wanted. I made sure that she got the best make-up rooms. In fact in that film, we had three costume designers. I used to give her choices. This continued for a while and with every meeting of mine, I started getting more and more affected by her.

He Confessed His Strong Infatuation For Sridevi To His Then-Wife Mona

"I was married then. Back then I had confirmed to my ex wife that I am in love with Sridevi. I couldn't hold himself back. I wanted to get this in Sridevi's system that I was there for her all the time. The journey continued. I followed her to Switzerland where she was shooting for Chandni. Yash Chopra had done a film with Anil so there was a reason for me to go. But the actual reason was to meet her. "

Later a shattered Mona confessed in one of her interviews, "He (Boney) was 10 years older to me. I was 19 when I married him. So I literally grew up with him. Ours was a 13-year-old marriage. So it came as a shock when I realised that my husband was in love with somebody else... There was nothing left in the relationship to give it a chance because Sridevi was already with a child."

Sridevi Too Started Reciprocating His Feelings

"Gradually, she saw the man is too persistent and perhaps realized I was sincere and not there for a ...what do I say... a fling. Somehow things fell in place and what really made a difference was the kind of care and concern I showed towards their family when she lost her father. I was there at the airport to receive her. She was shooting for Lamhe. These small things made an impact on her and here, I am as her husband today."

Later in one of his interviews, Boney Kapoor revealed that 'Mom' was a gift to Sridevi. He was quoted as saying, "If I was Shah Jahan I would have built her a Taj Mahal. If I were a painter, I would have made her a beautiful painting. But, I make movies. Hence, I don't know a better way than the gift of films for her."Padma Shri Award

The proudest moment was when Sridevi won the Padma Shri award in 2013 and President Pranab Mukherjee handed it over to her at the Rashtrapathi Bhavan.

Sridevi Receives Award From Amitabh Bachchan

Sridevi receives her Filmfare Best Actress Award for the movie Chaalbaaz from Amitabh Bachchan.

MAMI Award

Sridevi bagged the MAMI Award for her contribution to Indian cinema. MAMI stands for Mumbai Academy of Moving Image.

Sridevi Receives Award From Madhuri Dixit

Sridevi won the Filmfare Best Actress Award for her Telugu film Kshana Kshanam from Madhuri Dixit.

GR8! Award

Sridevi won the GR8! Women Achiever Excellence in Versatility Award.

Sridevi Gives An Award To Aishwarya Rai

Here Sridevi gives an award to Aishwarya Rai and both the ladies look so gorgeous!

Sridevi Gives An Award To Alia Bhatt

The young and bubbly Alia Bhatt is way too excited to receive the Filmfare Best Actress Award from Sridevi.

Immense Contribution

Sridevi's contribution to Indian cinema is immense and she will forever be remembered.

Yesteryear Actresses

Rehka, Hema Malini and Sridevi are seen having a candid chat with each other. Good old days, folks!

Rest In Peace

You will always be remembered Sridevi! Rest in peace.Arjun Kapoor arrives for Sridevis funeral, Gets emotional | FilmiBeat

Legendary actress Sridevi passed away in Dubai on Saturday after a cardiac arrest. Post her death, her daughters Janhvi and Khushi Kapoor have reportedly been brought in to stay at their uncle Anil Kapoor's Juhu residence.

Sridevi along with husband Boney Kapoor and daughter Khushi were in Dubai to attend Boney's nephew Mohit Marwah's wedding.

On the other hand, Janhvi stayed back in Mumbai as she was busy with herdebut film Dhadak. After the wedding was over, Boney and Khushi returned to Mumbai a couple of days ago while Sridevi stayed back in Dubai.

Reportedly Boney once again flew down to Dubai yesterday to give his wife a surprise. They were supposed to go for a dinner. Unfortunately Sridevi passed away after a fainting spell in the bathroom.

In a moving gesture, Anil Ambani sent an aircraft to Dubai to bring back Sridevi's mortal remains in India.

As per a Hindustan Times report, senior airport officials said a 37-seater private aircraft flew from Mumbai to Dubai around 1.35pm on Sunday. The Embraer 135 landed at Dubai at around 4.40pm (IST). Officials said the flight would return to Mumbai only after all the procedures and after the post-mortem were performed in Dubai. The body will be flown back today i.e Monday.

Meanwhile, several B-town celebs rush to Anil Kapoor's residence to console the Kapoor sisters-Jhanvi Was Not Present At The Wedding

Sridevi's elder daughter Janhvi Kapoor did not attend the wedding as she was in Mumbai, busy shooting for her debut film Dhadak.

Also Read About Her Last Advice To Her Daughters

As per Bollywood Life, Sridevi had said, "As a mother, like any mother, whether they are coming to this profession or any other, you just tell them to do the right thing. Like, do hard work, give your 100 percent, hard work always pays."

We Can't Run Away From The Fact

In another interview, when Sridevi was asked how has she prepared Janhvi to deal with the comparisons that will be made with respect to her; after watching her on the big screen, she had said, "We can't run away from that. She has to face the pressure. When she has decided to enter Bollywood, she has to go through all this.

It Scares Me Sometimes

She's prepared for all that, and I am also preparing myself for it. Sometimes, it scares me. So many thoughts come and you feel why is she doing this? But then, if you feel that is her aim and happiness, as a mother, I will support her like my mom supported me.

My Mom Fought For Me

We weren't from a film background but it happened and she stood by me, fought for me and made sure I am happy. That's how I would also like to be with Janhvi.

Those Who Are Unaware

The actress initially didn't want Janhvi to become an actress but that didn't stop her from encouraging her daughter to pursue her dreams.Divyanka Tripathi

"I wish this wasn't true! She's gone?!! She was an ocean of talent and a wonderful home maker! There was so much more to her... You'll be missed @SrideviBKapoor.Bidding adieu with a heavy heart.#RIP."

Arjun Bijlani

"One of my favourite actresses #Sridevi mam has passed away.such sad and shocking news .strength to the family.#RIPSridevi ."

Karanvir & Gautam

Karanvir Bohra: #sridevi no more. Got up to such sad news. It feels like a personal loss. My condolences to the family. #omnamahshivaya.

Gautam Rode: Woke up to this sad news. May God give strength to the entire family. Rest in Peace #Sridevi ji.

Ronit Roy

"Shocked and Saddened by your passing Ma'am. R.I.P. Can never forget how sweetly you treated me when I worked with you as a newcomer. #DarkDay."

Vivek Dahiya

"Big SADMA to all of us. As sad and heartbreaking this is, your charm will live on as long as there is Bollywood! #RIP #Sridevi."

Bandgi Kalra

"I am still in shock after reading this news I still hope it to be a rumour . Loosing a legend like you is a great loss for our industry . There is no beauty like you mam !! R.I.P @sridevi.kapoor "

Vikas Gupta

"There is so much I want to write but than I feel whatever I write would fall short of what I feel right now . You have been an impact that each and everyone of us had felt . The emotions we went through with you . Looking at you made me smile and I still remember our last conversation and it will be etched in my memory forever. Thankyou Maam for being so kind always . May you rest in peace knowing you have left a legacy behind #RIP."

Sayantani Ghosh

"#rip sridevi mam..I wish this was not true ..what a loss..wherever u are may u be at peace ..u hv inspired all with ur skills ,acting ,dancing n an impeccable comic timing ..an endless list of my fav movies ..we will miss u."

Nisha Rawal

"All of 55 and with such legendary work behind her, she leaves us shocked and unprepared for this utter loss. My heart reaches out to her family and loved ones. Thank u God for sending such talent our way. Prayers Prayers Prayers"

Niti & Yuvika

Niti Taylor: Waking up to this. Life is so uncertain. RIP #sridevi Shocking.

Shardha Arya

Yuvika Chaudhary: Very sad news - :( Sridevi ji is no more. Got passed away in Dubai . Unbelievable .

"We weren't ready for this! I wasn't ready for this... wouldn't ever be! Thank You ma'am for the numerous ways in which you blessed my childhood, influenced my career path and inspired me to constantly better myself. Loss irreplaceable! #herlasttweet "

Karan Mehra

"Shocked & sad to hear about the legendary soul, I have admired & looked upto leave us forever  May she travel in peace"

Karishma Sharma

"In a state of shock, too sad too soon. Condolences to all who loved and admired her. Life can be so unpredictable. Sad. RIP Sridevi."

Hina Khan & Mouni Roy

Hina Khan: Shocked shocked shocked  I hv no words.. RIP @SrideviBKapoor..my condolences to the family

Mouni Roy: Heartbroken rip Sri maam cant imagine it .. cannot ..

Nakuul Mehta

"Rarely before had child actors gone on to become such big stars. Sridevi defied all conventions & leaves behind a huge legacy of work which is not just inspiring but will be remembered for very many years. Thank you for being a huge part of my teenage cinematic experience."

Aly Goni

"Just woke up with this terrible news on my birthday  R.I.P. sridevi  you were awesome all these years..."Under Armour (NYSE:UA) (NYSE:UAA) delivered amazing top-line growth between 2010 and 2016, but then it came to an abrupt stop and has yet to recover.

While the market seemed to like the performance-apparel company's most recent quarter, missed revenue targets have left a number of the company's financial metrics a mess. Here's what the CFO plans to do about it.

Top-line troubles

If you step back to Oct. 31, we took over $300 million out of our top-line plan for 2017. -- CFO David Bergman

Up until the third quarter earnings call in October, the company had been projecting full-year revenue between $5.26 billion and $5.36 billion. While this doesn't seem considerably different from the actual tally of $4.98 billion, this late-in-the-year change means inventory had been purchased or was on the way. But this is only part of the company's woes.

As recently as five quarters ago -- third quarter 2016 -- the company indicated it was on track to achieve its $7.5 billion strategic revenue target for 2018 and was building considerable infrastructure to support it. The company backed off the commitment one quarter later and hasn't updated the plan, which is now much different from how things actually turned out.

This revenue miss for 2017 and the failure to live up to the company's strategic plans have left Under Armour with a financial mess that Bergman is in charge of cleaning up.

Taking stock of the situation

These missed revenue projections have contributed to lower gross margins; higher selling, general, and administrative (SG&A) costs; a bottom-line loss; and excess inventory.

SG&A costs were a staggering $2.1 billion for the year, representing 41.9% of the top line. While some of this spend was to support the infrastructure for fast-growing international and direct-to-consumer businesses, spending on a 3%-growth footwear business and efforts to create demand in the third quarter seem to be money wasted.

Gross margins came in at 43.2% for the quarter versus 44.8% from the previous year. Bergman explained that the difference was a result of a combination of selling more product in off-price channels, promotions, air freight, and a higher mix of lower-margin footwear than expected. These reasons are all symptoms of the problem: The right products were not selling as expected. This lower gross margin, combined with the significant level of SG&A spend, drove the bottom line to a full-year loss of $48 million.

Inventory was up 26%, which was a blend of "good" inventory supporting the high-growth international segment and "excess" inventory on the order of a "mid-teen percentage" growth in North America. With North American revenue down 4% in the quarter, this inventory growth can be directly attributed to the late revenue-forecast downgrade.

While the culmination of these impacts seem daunting, Bergman -- a 14-year Under Armour veteran -- has a plan to deal with it.

Restructuring and beyond

Part of the solution to these issues is a restructuring plan for 2018. Bergman announced that a significant portion of the $110 million to $130 million restructuring charges involve terminating long-term contracts or leases, yielding savings of $75 million in 2019. This is a smart move as the company determines what infrastructure is actually required to move its business forward. Bergman is also cutting $50 million out of capital expenditures for the current fiscal year from the 2017 levels.

While these moves will help push the SG&A costs in the right direction, the company recognizes it needs to do more. Bergman and the management team are working on a new strategic plan, which will be unveiled at an investor day later this fall. CEO Kevin Plank indicated the new plan will "ensure a more consistent, predictable path to deliver long-term value to our shareholders."

As for the gross margin and inventory issues, the company needs to move through the excess inventory first. Once this lower-margin product is gone, Bergman indicated that gross margins will improve in the second half of the year, bringing full-year gross margins to 45.5% for 2018. It's important to note that this improvement is dependent on new products being better aligned to what customers want and a decrease in the promotional activity in the retail channel.

Bergman certainly has his hands full executing a sound restructuring plan, building a new strategic one, moving excess channel inventory in a "brand-right way", and ensuring the new 2018 products are priced appropriately. While I've been impressed with Bergman, this is a daunting endeavor, and I'm afraid that cleaning up this mess will take longer than expected. Hopefully Bergman will prove me wrong.Boeing (NYSE:BA) and its partners spent more than $100 billion to build the International Space Station (ISS). But in 2023 (or 2024 at the latest), Russia plans to take that investment apart -- detaching Russian-built sections of the ISS, and moving them into a new orbit to form the core of a new, all-Russian station.

By now, this should be old news for you, but here's something new: President Donald Trump supports the Russian plan to abandon the ISS, and plans to cut off U.S. government support for the station as early as 2025. Boeing is not a big fan of the idea, as NASA currently pays it to help operate the station, and has awarded Boeing a multibillion-dollar contract to transport astronauts to the ISS. So Boeing has gone on record opposing the idea of "walking away" from it.

Moving day 2025

But as we learned from the just-released NASA 2019 budget proposal, this plan is now a go, and NASA Administrator Robert Lightfoot says the Trump administration wants to "end direct federal government support of the ISS in 2025."

From that point onward, says Lightfoot, NASA will outsource "low-earth-orbit research and technology demonstration" missions to "commercial partners."

Why cut the ISS loose?

Money does not grow on trees -- especially not in space. Much as NASA loves space exploration, budget constraints necessitate picking and choosing the work it can afford to support, and outsourcing the rest. In saving money by cutting the ISS loose, NASA said that it hopes to free up funds to instead:

fund development of the "Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft," targeting a robotic flight "around the moon" in 2020 and a first crewed mission in 2023.

sponsor "progressively complex robotic missions to the surface of the moon."

"return ... humans to the moon for long-term exploration and use."

build a "power and propulsion element to orbit the moon as the foundation of a Lunar Orbital Platform-Gateway."

and thereby support "human missions to Mars and other destinations."

What it means to investors

And if you ask me, this is what investors should really be focusing on -- not NASA's abandoning the space station, and potentially terminating contracts for Boeing, Orbital ATK (NYSE:OA), SpaceX, and Sierra Nevada to build rocketships to staff and supply it.

Instead, I think investors should focus on the potential for new and different contracts being awarded for all the other space missions NASA will be able to undertake once released from the ISS cash drain.

Currently, NASA devotes as much as 20% of its budget to supporting the ISS -- anywhere from $3 billion to $4 billion annually. That's money that could perhaps be better spent accelerating development of the Space Launch System, still under development by a team of contractors that includes Boeing and Lockheed Martin, Orbital ATK and Aerojet Rocketdyne. It's a source of funds for building a cislunar outpost to facilitate missions to the moon and Mars, and to pay for initial efforts at returning mankind to the Moon -- and mining it.

And even before the ISS is handed over to private industry to operate, there may be opportunities for investment. To facilitate the station's transition to private ownership, the administration is asking Congress to allocate $150 million to NASA in 2019, and recommending NASA "expand international and commercial partnerships" to operate the ISS "over the next seven years."

And during this interim period, the administration wants to boost NASA's budget to pay for "development and maturation of commercial entities and capabilities [that will become] commercial successors to the ISS." This, too, will cost money -- and could give rise to an entirely new set of (perhaps eventually public) companies working to make the ISS a commercially viable operation.

Companies like ...

Already, privately held Made in Space has a 3D printer aboard the station, and as that technology develops, it's conceivable the ISS and other space stations could "print" their own replacement parts on-site. Bigelow Aerospace -- also private today -- has for months been testing an inflatable module attached to the ISS, which could one day replace the sections Russia will be detaching. Similarly, established space companies like Boeing, Lockheed, and Orbital have all proposed novel alternatives for converting spent rocket sections into habitable living space for the ISS, or for a new space station.

Axiom Space -- which, you guessed it, is also private -- has a plan to build an entire new space station to replace the ISS when, at some point in the future, it is finally decommissioned and taken out of orbit. And Axiom says the cost of its space station will be at least an order of magnitude cheaper than what NASA spent to build the original ISS (i.e., if the ISS cost $100 billion, then an "Axiom Station" might cost only $10 billion).

The upshot for investors

If you ask me, NASA is making the right call in getting out of the space station business -- and getting out of the way of private industry.

As Lightfoot says: NASA "can't do everything, and as always, we've had to make hard choices, but we will continue to forge new paths and partnerships that strengthen our industrial base and our engagement with other nations to achieve challenging goals that advance our capabilities and increase our security and economic strength."

While we'll certainly be sad to see the ISS go, I think we can all support NASA's decision to move out of low earth orbit, and expand the borders of the final frontier.How to use Google AMP Stories on Android Tips Tricks lekhaka-Vigneshwar Ravichandran Google has recently launched AMP Stories, that lets the website publishers create content similar to Stories on Instagram and Facebook. You can find the AMP stories on Android by a couple of methods.

Google has recently launched AMP Stories, that lets the website publishers create content similar to Stories on Instagram and Facebook. Named as Accelerated Mobile Page, it helps in loading the content extremely fast and can be shared like any other news article.



AMP stories aim to make the production of stories as easy as possible from a technical perspective. The format comes with preset but flexible layout templates, standardized UI controls, and components for sharing and adding follow-on content. During March last year, Google has told that there were more than 2 billion AMP pages on some 900,000 domains. You can find the AMP stories on Android by a couple of methods.

Locating AMP Stories

In order to locate the AMP Stories, you need to go to g.co/ampstories through Chrome application on your mobile device. After that, choose from any one of the following publications currently working on the project like CNN, Mic, SBNation, The Washington Post, Cosmopolitan, Wired, People, or Mashable.

Now type any one of those publications and you will see the ordinary looking search result page. Now scroll down until you see the "Visual Stories" section. You can tap on any stories to see or read the stories.

Navigating AMP Stories

If you are in the AMP page, navigating inside is the story is pretty much the same as the Instagram and Snapchat. Tapping on the left of the screen while inside the Story will move you back. Also, there are some AMP stories that have sounds. In case, if you want to mute it, there is a small music icon in the top right corner of the interface.

When you are done reading the story, just swipe down from the top portion of the screen, and you will be taken back to the Google search page. Malte Ubl, engineering lead at the Google AMP Project, said in a blog post that AMP Stories can be easily shared or linked because they live on the web and are hosted on the publisher's site.

SEE ALSO: How to delete unwanted photos on WhatsApp

Best Mobiles in India

Facebook, To stay updated with latest technology news & gadget reviews, follow GizBot on Twitter YouTube and also subscribe to our notification. Allow NotificationsNokia at MWC 2018: Watch the live stream News oi-Abhinaya Prabhu Watch the livestream to catch the action live at the MWC 2018.

HMD Global is hosting a launch event at the MWC 2018 in Barcelona at 4PM CET (8:30 PM IST). At the event, the company is believed to unveil a slew of Nokia smartphones including the flagship Nokia 9. The company is also livestreaming the launch event for the Nokia fans who are interested in getting the live updates.

Nokia will livestream the launch event on its official Facebook page and website as well. From the existing rumors and leaks, we believe that the company might unveil a slew of devices including the Nokia 9, Nokia 7 Plus, Nokia 6 (2018), Nokia 4, Nokia 1, Nokia 8 Sirocco and Nokia 3310 4G feature phone.

While we are not sure if all these devices will be unveiled at the event later today, we can be sure that the models such as Nokia 6 (2018), Nokia 7 Plus, and Nokia 3310 4G will be present as their global variants are to be unveiled today. Also, we have been hearing about the flagship Nokia 9 smartphones likely to be dubbed Nokia 8 Sirocco to be present at the tech show as this device has been hitting the rumor mills for months.

Google recently confirmed that it will come up with Android Go smartphones at the MWC 2018 tech show. Having that said, we can expect HMD Global to unveil the rumored Nokia 1 smartphone that is said to be an Android Oreo (Go edition) device. As it will be an Android Go smartphone, it will be an entry-level model with 1GB or lesser RAM and 8GB or lesser storage space. From the previous leaks, it is believed to boast of a polycarbonate body and HD 720p display.

Talking about the feature phone, the Nokia 3310 4G feature phone that was unveiled in China is said to get a global variant at the tech show. We have recently seen a 4G QWERTY phone with the model number TA-1047 clearing the necessary certifications and this one could be the global variant that might be unveiled later today.

We have already seen that the Nokia 6 (2018) and Nokia 7 Plus might be released in India starting from April this year but we need to wait for an official confirmation from HMD regarding the same.

Best Mobiles in India

Facebook, To stay updated with latest technology news & gadget reviews, follow GizBot on Twitter YouTube and also subscribe to our notification. Allow NotificationsHow to watch Samsung Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ unveiling livestream News oi-Abhinaya Prabhu Samsung will livestream the Galaxy S9 duo launch online.

Finally, the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ smartphones will see the light of the day at the Galaxy Unpacked event to be held today in Barcelona. The event is scheduled to happen at 6PM CET (10:30 PM IST). Already, we know that the company will be taking the wraps off its flagship smartphones - the Galaxy S9 duo at the event.

Samsung will be livestreaming the Galaxy Unpacked event for its fans to catch up with the action live. You can watch the livestream from Samsung Newsroom, Samsung's official website and Samsung Mobile Press from the time the event debuts. Also, you can visit the Twitter handle of Samsung at live.twitter.com/Unpacked as well as Samsung Mobile's Facebook page.

In addition to these sources, Samsung has released the Unpacked 2018 app compatible with both Android and iOS devices to watch the livestream of the launch event. The interesting option would be to watch the livestream in a 360-degree video available on Samsung's Gear VR and other VR headsets as well.

It is not a secret that Samsung will unveil the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ smartphones at the event later today. These smartphones have been leaked many times in the past. Recently, the pricing of these phones was revealed online tipping that the Galaxy S9 might cost from Rs. 67,000) while the Galaxy S9+ might cost Rs. 80,000 onwards.

On the design front, these smartphones are not expected to be very different from their predecessors. Except for the positioning of the fingerprint sensor below the camera at the rear, there appears to be no major change in the upcoming models. The Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ are said to feature a 5.8-inch and 6.2-inch QHD+ Super AMOLED display and make use of Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 SoC or Exynos 9810 SoC.

Best Mobiles in India

Facebook, To stay updated with latest technology news & gadget reviews, follow GizBot on Twitter YouTube and also subscribe to our notification. Allow NotificationsLenovo replaced Datawind as market leader with 21% market share: CMR News oi-Priyanka Major Indian brands Datawind, iBall, and Forstar shipped one out of three tables in 2H CY2017.

According to CMR's India Tablet PC Market Review, Lenovo replaced Datawind as the market leader with 21 percent market share. Samsung was at number two spot followed by Datawind.

The report said that shipments of Samsung witnessed 39 percent sequential growth in 2H CY2017 whereas Datawind's shipments declined sequentially by 35 percent. Major Indian brands Datawind, iBall, and Forstar shipped one out of three tables in 2H CY2017.

CMR said that rise of Lenovo is attributed to strong B2B sales in second half of 2017.

"2H CY2017 witnessed the surge in B2B sales where Government was the key buyer. In terms of vertical, Education remained leading contributor. This half year witnessed a growth of tablet adoption in financial services sector" stated Narinder Kumar, Lead Analyst, CyberMedia Research.

According to Narinder, "Restaurants and fast food sector emerged as a key area for tablet consumption, mainly driven by online food ordering. This sector will witness further traction in coming quarters".

Lenovo's Tab 3 7 shared honor to be the fast moving model with 163 percent sequential growth in its shipments in 2H CY2017. Acer forayed into top vendors with its deal with Gujarat government for education segment. Its model One 7 M77GHG was another major contributor to the tablet market.

The report also said that 4G became leading network technology trend, while 3G and 2G tablets witnessed a decline in terms of market share and shipments of 4G tablets improved by 51 percent in 2H CY2017. Lenovo shipped almost half of 4G tablets in 2H CY2017.

Furthermore, the report said that tablets priced between Rs 5,000 and Rs 10,000 were the major contributors with 47 percent market share witnessing 118 percent sequential growth accredited to the B2B business of Lenovo and Acer. However, the scenario is not similar to tablets priced below Rs 5,000 as the market witnessed 35 percent decline during the period when compared to the previous half year. Shipments of Rs 20,000 to Rs 30,000 grew doubled fold on its small base due to improved sales of Apple.

Best Mobiles in India

Facebook, To stay updated with latest technology news & gadget reviews, follow GizBot on Twitter YouTube and also subscribe to our notification. Allow NotificationsSat Saturday

84 /56

Mix of sun and clouds. Highs in the mid 80s and lows in the mid 50s.Regional

How All India Radio Amritsar is being blocked by Shimla

Haryana to reopen schools for Class 1 to 3 from Sep 20

Haryana Governor Bandaru Dattatreya pays obeisance at Sachkhand Sri Harmandir SahibTrump: White House Chief of Staff to Decide Fate of Kushner Security Clearance

By Steve Herman February 24, 2018

It will be up to the White House chief of staff to decide whether the U.S. president's son-in-law is able to maintain his security clearance.

That is what President Donald Trump told reporters Friday, declaring that his daughter's husband, Jared Kushner, had "been treated very unfairly."

Trump, during a joint news conference with Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, was asked whether Kushner would still be allowed access to classified information.

A top Justice Department official alerted the White House two weeks ago that significant information requiring additional investigation would further delay Kushner's security clearance, reports The Washington Post.

Chief of Staff John Kelly, in a memo last week, said White House personnel whose clearances had been pending since last June would no longer have access to top-secret documents.

Kushner falls into that category.

Federal process

Trump expressed frustration with the federal government's process for security clearances, calling it a "broken system and it shouldn't take this long."

"People without a problem in the world" are facing unreasonable delays to receive clearances, he said.

Trump could personally intervene and grant his son-in-law an exemption, but he replied Friday  the day interim clearances are being revoked  that he would not do that.

"I will let General Kelly make that decision and he's going to do what's right for the country and I have no doubt he'll make the right decision," Trump said.

In a lengthy response in the East Room during the nationally televised news conference, Trump praised Kushner, 37, saying he is "a high-quality person" who "doesn't get a salary."

Kushner, a second-generation real estate developer, is "working on peace in the Middle East and some other small and very easy deals."

Trump said the U.S. effort to make a deal between the Israelis and the Palestinians is "actually making great headway."

Administration officials are said to be examining ways that Kushner can continue to be engaged in sensitive discussions and his diplomatic missions, which have also included China, without needing a top-level security clearance.

Visiting Seoul, Pyeongchang

Kushner is married to the president's daughter, Ivanka Trump, who is currently engaged in her own diplomatic foray.

She received a red-carpet welcome in Seoul on Friday before dining with South Korean President Moon Jae-in at the presidential compound.

Ivanka Trump is leading the presidential delegation to Sunday's closing ceremony of the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang.

A top North Korean official is also scheduled to be at the event.

When asked whether the president's daughter or any other member of the U.S. delegation would be meeting with Kim Yong Chol  vice chairman of North Korea's ruling Workers' Party Central Committee  a senior U.S. official succinctly responded, "No."

Donald Trump on Thursday and Friday, when asked by VOA during brief encounters with reporters whether he wanted his daughter to meet the North Koreans, did not respond.

During Friday's news conference he said, "We cannot get a better representative" than Ivanka Trump in South Korea.

The current administration has not nominated an ambassador to Seoul. The top diplomat at the embassy there is interim U.S. Charge d'Affaires Marc Knapper, a top-ranking career foreign service officer.

While in Seoul, Ivanka Trump said she was there "to reaffirm our bonds of friendship and partnership." But she explained she wanted to "reaffirm our commitment to our maximum-pressure campaign to ensure that the Korean Peninsula is denuclearized."

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White House Releases Democrats' Memo on Russia Probes

By VOA News February 24, 2018

The White House on Saturday released a redacted version of a Democratic congressional memo that rebuts a Republican account of alleged FBI surveillance abuses.

The release of the Democratic memo came three weeks after the release of the Republican version of events, which was compiled by staffers of House intelligence committee Chairman Devin Nunes of California.

Saturday's release followed negotiations between the FBI and the House intelligence committee's top Democrat, Adam Schiff of California, over what information should not be released.

The Republican memo alleged that the FBI suppressed information about Democratic ties to an opposition research dossier used to obtain a federal warrant for surveillance of a former Trump campaign adviser, Carter Page.

Schiff, who wrote the Democratic memo, and fellow Democrats on the intelligence panel alleged that the Republican version of the story omitted and misrepresented facts. They also accused President Donald Trump of ignoring concerns about disclosing sensitive information when releasing the Republican version of the memo, while holding the Democratic one for political reasons rather than security concerns.

FBI Director Christopher Wray had also expressed concerns about the Republican memo, saying it left out key information.

White House statement

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders released a statement Saturday in conjunction with the Democratic memo. In it, she said, "While the Democrats' memorandum attempts to undercut the president politically, the president supported its release in the interest of transparency. Nevertheless, this politically driven document fails to answer serious concerns raised by the majority's memorandum about the use of partisan opposition research from one candidate, loaded with uncorroborated allegations, as a basis to ask a court to approve surveillance of a former associate of another candidate, at the height of a presidential campaign."

The Democratic memo says the dossier at issue was not the only reason for the FBI's investigation of ties to Russia from the Trump presidential campaign, and was far from being the only source of evidence for three renewals of the FBI warrant for surveillance of Page, the Trump adviser.

The memo says in bold type, "FISA [the federal warrant process] was not used to spy on Trump or his campaign."

It also says the FBI did not rely on the opposition research done by the presidential campaign of Hillary Clinton and did not pay the researcher, a former British spy named Christopher Steele, for any reporting.

The Democrats also say in their memo that Nunes' Republican version of the story "draws selectively on highly sensitive classified information" and "includes other distortions and misrepresentations that are contradicted by the underlying classified documents."

The memo says the "vast majority" of committee members and members of the House of Representatives have not had the opportunity to review those documents. And it asserts that Nunes "chose not to read" the documents himself, echoing earlier reports that Nunes left the bulk of the work on the memo to members of his staff.

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FSB - Active Measures - aktivniye meropriyatiya

Experts told the Senate Intelligence Committee on 30 March 2017 that Russia pulled off an unprecedented and wildly successful campaign to influence America's political conversation during the election campaign. "Russia hopes to win the second Cold War through the force of politics, as opposed to the politics of force," said cybersecurity expert Clinton Watts of the Foreign Policy Research Institute. Watts detailed Russia's use of cyberattacks and an elaborate disinformation campaign to confuse US voters and pit Americans against each other.

GEN (Ret) Keith B. Alexander [former Director, National Security Agency] testified that "Back in the Cold War era, if the Soviet Union sought to manipulate information flow, it would have to do so principally throughits own propaganda outlets or through active measures that would generate specific news: planting of leaflets, inciting of violence, creation of other false materials and narratives. But thenews itself was hard to manipulate because it would have required actual control of the organs of media, which took long-term efforts to penetrate. Today, however, because the clear majority ofthe information on social media sites is uncurated and there is a rapid proliferation of information sources and as other sites that can reinforce information, there is an increasinglikelihood that the information available to average consumers may be inaccurate (whether intentionally or otherwise) and may be more easily manipulable than in prior eras. It is likewise easier to generate buzz and hype about particular events or storylines (again, whether accurate or inaccurate) because of the speed at which news is conveyed amongst the population."

As ODNI made clear in 2008, the foreignintelligence services track[ed the] election cycle like no other and targeted thecampaigns [m]et with campaign contacts and staff[,] [u]sed human source networks for policyinsights, [e]xploited technology to get otherwise sensitive data, [and] [e]ngaged in perceptionmanagement to influence policy. [ODNI, Unlocking the Secrets: How to Use the Intelligence Community (Dec. 10, 2008), ] Indeed, Russia use of kompromat (compromisinginformation), maskirovka (military deception), and proxy assets to disseminate propaganda (bothofficial and unofficial) is likewise not new. By 2008, possibly even earlier, according to John Schindler, a National Security expert formerly at the NSA, Russia had placed moles in the highest levels of US counter-intelligence. Schindler is a security expert and former National Security Agency analyst and counterintelligence officer. A specialist in espionage and terrorism, hes also been a Navy officer and a War College professor. Hes published four books.

Schindler wrote in 2016 that "Its not exactly a secret that NSA has one or more Russian moles in its ranksnot counting Snowden. Now the mainstream media has taken notice and we have the another Snowden meme upon us. James Bamford, whos written a lot about NSA over the decades, has taken up this meme.... by penetrating NSA you get access not just to that agencys signals intelligence, the richest espionage source on earth, you can also crack into the top secret communications of the United States and its closest allies.... Snowden acted as cover for Moscows real star. A patsy, he was never the actual Russian mole inside NSA. That person or persons is still out there... "

The well-informed author of patribotics at wordpress wrote in January 2017 "... it is my surmise that some of the Russian moles inside US counter-intelligence work within the FBIs criminal division, and particularly, within the New York field office.... [Russian intelligence] .. contacted your moles inside the NYPD/ FBI NY and told them to suddenly find emails that, the expectation was, could not possibly be combed through in time before the election....

"... they illegally spoke to any friendly press and the Trump campaign about putative ongoing criminal investigations into the Clinton Foundation and the matter of her email server. They told Fox Newss Brett Baier that Hillary Clinton Would soon be indicted and this was reported on TV, and then retracted after the damage was done. They told your agents of influence, Rudy Giuliani and X Kallstrom, that a group of active FBI agents had demanded Comey release his letter. Both of them stated as much, Mr. Giuliani specifying active FBI agents.... to make absolutely certain that Trump-Russia was suppressed and Clinton was defeated.... although Comey is a natural Republican he appeared to have played it straight. In the summer he cleared Clinton of a criminal standard of negligence. In the fall, he had been sandbagged by Russian moles inside the FBI Field Office in New York.

" ... a corrupt FBI NY Field Office guards the interest of Russian mobsters, allows them to launder their money through Trumps failing casinos and building projects, makes sure that Trump being paid double for a Florida house doesnt get investigated, allows paedophile Jeffrey Epstein to keep a mansion in New York City, ensures that Trumps criminal taxes dont get investigated, and sits hard enough on the NYPD that Trump can commit crime after crime in plain sight, socializing with the FBIs most wanted mobsters, and never get charged with a damn thing. It ensures that Manafort and Stone can live in Trump tower, that Cohens trips on Russian-Registered private jets get washed.... "

The outgoing President of Bulgaria, Rosen Plevneliev, said in January 2017 that Russia was trying to destabilize Europe through the Balkans. According to Plevneliev, the Kremlin used various tools to undermine the EU's unity, including "propaganda" and "financing of ultra-left and ultra-right forces that are hostile to European integration." Officials in Poland and the Czech Republic expressed a similar point of view, saying that Moscow intended to destabilize Europe by triggering a refugee crisis.

In December 2016, reports emerged that the German government feared the potential influence of Russia on the 2017 parliamentary elections after the US Central Intelligence Agency accused Moscow of being behind cyberattacks against the Democratic National Committee (DNC) computer systems in an attempt to influence the November US presidential election in favor of Donald Trump.

German intelligence, in a January 2017 report prepared jointly by the Federal Intelligence Service and the German Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, accused Russia of systematically undermining relations between Europe and the US. BND and German Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution came to the conclusion that Russia's influence in the EU could have been observed for years. In particular, Moscow tried to sharpen social conflicts, especially those existing in the West.

Americans have always been vulnerable to recruitment and targeting. During the Golden Age of Soviet espionage in America in the 1930s and 1940s, for example, many spies committed treason for ideological reasons, seeing the USSR as a true workers paradise and communism as the wave of the future.

Many of those Americans whose guilt was hotly debated were, in fact, guilty and the evidence so compelling that only the most obtuse or ideologically biased could continue to question the allegations. The USSR did indeed enlist Alger Hiss, the Rosenbergs, Harry Dexter White, Harry Gold, and many others to spy on the United States. The Communist Party USA, in spite of leader Gus Halls repeated denials, did receive funds directly from the Soviet Union.

Alina Polyakova, et al, writing for the Atlantic Council, November 2016, noted: "... some European politicians, experts, and civic groups have expressed support for  or sympathy with  the Kremlins actions. These allies represent a diverse network of political influence reaching deep into Europes core.... The Kremlin uses these Trojan horses to destabilize European politics so efficiently, that even Russias limited might could become a decisive factor in matters of European and international security. ... Moscow views the Wests virtuespluralism and opennessas vulnerabilities to be exploited. Its tactics are asymmetrical, subversive, and not easily confronted.... "

"Under President Vladimir Putin, the Russian government has reinvigorated its efforts to influence European politics and policy. The Kremlins strategy of influence includes a broad array of tools: disinformation campaigns, the export of corruption and kleptocratic networks, economic pressures in the energy sector, and the cultivation of a network of political allies in European democracies. The ultimate aim of this strategy is to sow discord among European Union (EU) member states, destabilize European polities, and undermine Western liberal valuesdemocracy, freedom of expression, and transparency  which the regime interprets as a threat to its own grasp on power.

"Since Putins return to power in 2012, the Kremlin has accelerated its efforts to resurrect the arsenal of active measures  tools of political warfare once used by the Soviet Union that aimed to influence world events through the manipulation of media, society, and politics."

The German non-fiction author Boris Reitschuster's new book "Putin's Hidden War: How Moscow is destabilizing the West," released in April 2016 claims that there is a kind of martial arts-trained secret "army" controlled by Russian President Vladimir Putin in Germany. " According to estimates made by intelligence services, there are 250 to 300 men involved. These units develop out of martial arts schools where "Systema" - a combat sport that is linked to the Russian special unit Spetsnaz - is taught.... several people have actually been recruited. They are sent to Moscow under the pretense of advanced training. That is where they are instructed in the Spetsnaz method for Russian special forces. They are taught hand-to-hand combat, how to use explosives and firearms, and how to carry out acts of sabotage. Then they return to Germany and wait for orders from Moscow. ... Most of them are German, or they have dual citizenship: German and Russian. Most of them speak Russian. Around four million people from the former Soviet Union live in Germany.... I realized that this is nothing new; the same was done in the GDR era. It is not Putin's brainchild; it is a continuation of KGB methods."

John Hinderaker reported 27 January 2015 that "... the California-based Sea Change Foundation, one of the principal sources of money for American environmental groups. In 2010 and 2011, Sea Change gave the Sierra Club $15 million, the Natural Resources Defense Council $13.5 million, and the League of Conservation Voters $18.1 million.... Beyond Simons, Sea Change has only one source of funds: Klein Ltd."

The Environmental Policy Alliance [ a front group operated by the PR firm Berman & Co. ] reported "There have been significant questions about whether foreign interests  particularly Russian  are funding attacks on U.S. natural gas because it would hurt the Kremlin. Here we have a major foreign funder of the U.S. environmental movement tied through its Bermuda office to Russian money laundering and the Russian government. ... Klein Ltd. Klein Ltd., a corporation that only exists on paper and is based out of a Bermuda law firm called Wakefield Quin, gave $23 million dollars to environmental bundler Sea Change Foundation from 2010 to 2011... "

Lachlan Markay reported January 27, 2015 that "A shadowy Bermudan company that has funneled tens of millions of dollars to anti-fracking environmentalist groups in the United States is run by executives with deep ties to Russian oil interests and offshore money laundering schemes involving members of President Vladimir Putins inner circle.... One of those executives, Nicholas Hoskins, is a director at ... a company called Klein Ltd. No one knows where that firms money comes from. Its only publicly documented activities have been transfers of $23 million to U.S. environmentalist groups that push policies that would hamstring surging American oil and gas production, which has hurt Russias energy-reliant economy."

Following the astonishing victory of Donald Trump in the US presidential election, the EU leadership faced yet another shock after pro-European candidates lost presidential elections in Bulgaria and Moldova, ceding power to pro-Russian opponents. The results of Moldovan and Bulgarian presidential elections have come as yet another unpleasant surprise for the EU leadership: two pro-Russian candidates have won their respective country's presidency. "It is a step in the right direction," Russian parliamentarian Franz Klintsevich told Sputnik. "I have come to a conclusion that Russia's consistent, competent and honest position on the world arena, its aspiration not to seek dominance but to try to solve the world's problem of international terrorism transparently, honestly and effectively [have played a substantial role in the elections' outcome]," Klintsevich emphasized. According to Klintsevich, the elections in the US, Moldova and Bulgaria have demonstrated that the nations are longing for peace. In this context their interests coincide with those of Russia, which is promoting peace.

Former CIA Director Michael J. Morell wrote August 5, 2016 of Donald Trump: "In the intelligence business, we would say that Mr. Putin had recruited Mr. Trump as an unwitting agent of the Russian Federation.... President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia was a career intelligence officer, trained to identify vulnerabilities in an individual and to exploit them. That is exactly what he did early in the primaries. Mr. Putin played upon Mr. Trumps vulnerabilities by complimenting him. He responded just as Mr. Putin had calculated."

Many right-wing European political parties are anything but shy when it comes to showing their pro-Russian sentiments. Millions of euros have also been deposited by Russian banks in the pocket of France's Front National. France's right-wing populist party, the Front National (FN), denied claims in a media report which stated that they wanted to borrow 40 million euros ($50 million) from a Russian bank. "This is fictitious, it's crazy," said party leader Marine Le Pen. "We have applied for nine million euros, and we got nine million euros." For a long time now, the Front National has been accused of receiving Russian financial support. The head of the bank is also close confidant of Russian President Vladimir Putin. With regards to political party funding in France, the National Front is in trouble, as they have allegedly received no loans from French banks. So the support from Russia has come in handy.

In EU parliament, it's not only Le Pen and members of the National Front who have advocated Putin. Leader of the British right-wing UK Independence Party, Nigel Farage, and MPs of the "Alternative for Germany" party have also made Russia-friendly comments. Although pro-Russian voices were previously heard more often amongst the EU parliament's left-wing parties, a study by Hungarian policy research institute Political Capital showed that 15 of the parliament's 24 right-wing populist parties were "open" to Russia.

Andrew Foxall, writing for The Henry Jackson Society, noted in October 2016 that "Over the past five years, there has been a marked tendency for European populists, from both the left and the right of the political spectrum, to establish connections with Vladimir Putins Russia. Those on the right have done so because Putin is seen as standing up to the European Union and/or defending traditional values from the corrupting influence of liberalism. Those on the left have done so in part because their admiration for Russia survived the end of the Cold War and in part out of ideological folly: they see anybody who opposes Western imperialism as a strategic bedfellow.

"When Russia seized Crimea in March 2014 ... Vladimir Putins behaviour broke what had seemed to be a very solid taboo.... Russias President found a ready-made supply of defenders, or at the very least apologists. They include those on the left who can be relied upon to stand up for the Wests enemies whoever and wherever they may be, and those on the right who see Moscow as a defender of conservative values. Many on the left and right have not been bribed, blackmailed or otherwise cajoled, but instead have taken the positions they have because of misguided ideology.

"... the Kremlin now embraces a fluid approach to ideology. This allows it to embrace activists, groups and movements who, on the face of it, have contrasting and competing aims  from the far-left, through antiglobalists, and greens, to conservatives, nationalists, and the far-right, and everything in between  but who collectively exacerbate divides and dissention in the West and, unwittingly or otherwise, create an echo chamber of Kremlin support."

Russian cyber-propaganda played a key role in favouring the pro-Kremlin 5-Star Movement during the December 2016 constitutional referendum in Italy, which resulted in the resignation of Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, according to investigative reports. The 5-Star Movement has built a sprawling network of fake news sites spreading pro-Russian conspiracy theories and attacks on politicians such as Renzi,

The Kremlin denied on 14 February 2017 that it was behind media and internet attacks on the campaign of French presidential frontrunner Emmanuel Macron though his camp renewed the charges against Russian media and a hackers' group operating in Ukraine. Moscow looked favorably on the policies of far-right leader Marine Le Pen and center-right candidate Francois Fillon - both election rivals of Macron - and both had been "mysteriously spared" from Russian media criticism. Macron's strong pro-Europe stance was not to Russia's liking.

The issue of US diplomats and journalists being harassed by Russian and Soviet intelligence agencies dates back decades, though with varying degrees of seriousness. US officials have reported minor, if unnerving, incidents involving residences in Moscow and elsewhere being broken into and household items moved around, a gas stove left on, or a cigarette left burning. A 2013 report by the State Department's Inspector General said "employees face intensified pressure by the Russian security services at a level not seen since the days of the Cold War." Water faucets had been discovered mysteriously left running in apartments in the past. And on at least two occasions over the years, US officials have said diplomats have found human excrement on the floor of apartments. American diplomats were pulled over by Moscow traffic police dozens of times in early 2016, which is unusual in a city where diplomats are usually afforded leeway for minor traffic violations.

In June 2016, an accredited US diplomat was tackled outside the US Embassy in Moscow. Moscow claimed the American was a CIA officer working under diplomatic cover, a common technique used by many countries, including both Russia and the United States. In the aftermath, Moscow and Washington each kicked out two of the other side's accredited diplomats in tit-for-tat expulsions that were reminiscent of the Cold War.

Mike Eckel, writing for RFE/RL on 03 October 2016, reported that two US officials traveling with diplomatic passports were drugged while attending a conference in Russia, and one of them was hospitalized, in what officials have concluded was part of a wider, escalating pattern of harassment of US diplomats by Russia. The incident at a hotel bar during a UN anti-corruption conference in St. Petersburg in November 2015 caused concern in the US State Department, which quietly protested to Moscow. The drugged diplomats were part of a delegation of Americans attending the Conference of the States Parties to the United Nations Convention against Corruption, held on November 2-6 in St. Petersburg. It was the first official conference in Russia that US government representatives were allowed to travel to since the United States, the European Union, and their allies imposed sanctions on Russia for its annexation of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula in 2014.

One of the Americans was incapacitated and brought to a Western medical clinic in St. Petersburg for treatment, and to have blood and tissue samples taken in order to determine precisely what caused the sudden illness. However, while the person was at the clinic, the electricity suddenly went out and the staff was unable to obtain the necessary tissue samples. The response given by Russian officials to the investigators looking into the drugging was: Without more evidence, there's nothing more we can do.

WikiLeak founder Julian Assange's internet access was cut 17 October 2016 by an unidentified state actor. Few other details were immediately available. Julian had been hiding in the Ecuadorean Embassy in London for more than four years after skipping bail to avoid being extradited on sex crimes charges. The confinement hadn't prevented himg from working and WikiLeaks continued to deliver scoops, including revelations intended to damage Hillary Clinton's campaign.

The UK bank servicing RT gave notice that it will close the broadcasters accounts, without explanation. The UK government has denied any involvement in the bank's decision. RTs assets were not frozen and could still be withdrawn from the accounts. The National Westminster Bank has informed RT UK that it will no longer have the broadcaster among its clients. The bank provided no explanation for the decision. We have recently undertaken a review of your banking arrangements with us and reached the conclusion that we will no longer provide these facilities, NatWest said in a letter to RTs London office.

NBC News, citing anonymous sources, reported 17 October 2016 that the CIA would deliver ideas to the White House for "a wide-ranging clandestine cyber operation designed to harass and embarrass the Kremlin leadership... s to send a message to Russia that it has crossed a line. On 14 October 2016, Vice President Joe Biden met Meet the Press host Chuck Todd for an interview that raised serious concern in Russia. Todd opened the interview with a loaded question: Why havent we sent a message yet to Putin? After a moment of deafening silence, the VP responded: Were sending a message. We have the capacity to do it and it will be at the time of our choosing, and under the circumstances that will have the greatest impact. When Todd asked if the public will know a message was sent, Biden replied, Hope not.

Mark Galeotti's report entitled Hybrid War or Gibridnaia Voina, argues "The West is at war. It is not a war of the old sort, fought with the thunder of guns, but a new sort, fought with the rustle of money, the shrill mantras of propagandists, and the stealthy whispers of spies. This is often described as 'hybrid war,' a blend of the military and the political, but in fact there are two separate issues, two separate kinds of non-linear war, which have become unhelpfully intertwined. The first is the way-as the Russians have been quick to spot-that modern technologies and modern societies mean that a shooting war will likely be preceded by and maybe even almost, but not quite, replaced by a phase of political destabilization. The second, though, is the political war that Moscow is waging against the West, in the hope not of preparing the ground for an invasion, but rather of dividing, demoralizing and distracting it enough that it cannot resist ... The two overlap heavily, and maybe they could usefully be regarded as the two sides of a wider form of 'non-linear war.' The instruments which make up 'political war' are also crucial to the earlier phases of 'hybrid war.' ... What has emerged, if not wholly new, is certainly a distinctive way of war."

Cambridge Analytica Chief Data Officer Dr Alex Tayler and Managing Director Mark Turnbull told an undercover Channel 4 journalist that the company has been working in Mexico and was now targeting Brazil, among other countries. "If you're collecting data on people and you're profiling them, that gives you more insight that you can use to know how to segment the population, give them messaging about issues they care about, and language and imagery they're likely to engage with," Tayler said. "We use that in America and we use that in Africa, that's what we do as a company. We've done it in Mexico, we've done it in Malaysia, and now we're moving to Brazil Australia, China."

Brazilian prosecutors on 28 March 2018 opened an investigation into whether the London-based political consultancy acted illegally in Brazil, as controversy over the firm's data harvesting practices spread across the globe. The firm is suspected of having illegally used the data of millions of Brazilians to create psychographic profiles through its partnership with Sao Paulo-based consulting group A Ponte Estrategia Planejamento e Pesquisa LTDA.

The firm sealed a partnership with a phone application named Pig.gi and designed to provide free internet and phone credit in exchange for watching advertisements and reading sponsored stories. "Pig.gi has already been hugely successful in Mexico and Colombia," said CEO Alexander Nix 2017 in a communique, when the app recorded 200,000 users. "We're thrilled to be partnering with the app so that their partners can get the right message to the right people at the right time."

According to a map published on Cambridge's website, the company has also operated in Guyana, Peru and Argentina, although little information is available about the extent of the operations.

Channel 4 confirmed participation in the Kenyan elections of 2013 and 2017, running incumbent Uhuru Kenyatta's campaign through the use of incendiary messages and false news: Cambridge ran "every element of his campaign." He also discloses links to former MI6 agents and Israeli intelligence companies who provide Cambridge Analytica's clients with a report on "all the skeletons" in their opponents' closets.





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"We assess Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered an influence campaign in 2016 aimed at the US presidential election. Russia's goals were to undermine public faith in the US democratic process, denigrate Secretary Clinton, and harm her electability and potential presidency. We further assess Putin and the Russian Government developed a clear preference for President-elect Trump. We have high confidence in these judgments..." We also assess Putin and the Russian Government aspired to help President-elect Trumps election chances when possible by discrediting Secretary Clinton and publicly contrasting her unfavorably to him. All three agencies agree with this judgment. CIA and FBI have high confidence in this judgment; NSA has moderate confidence. Moscows influence campaign followed a Russian messaging strategy that blends covert intelligence operationssuch as cyber activitywith overt efforts by Russian Government agencies, state-funded media, third-party intermediaries, and paid social media users or trolls. Assessing Russian Activities and Intentions in Recent US Elections

6 January 2017

"He had but one experience with military affairs or war, and then on a sudden impulse ... All that he accomplished was to receive the surrender of Adminius, son of Cynobellinus king of the Britons, who had been banished by his father and had deserted to the Romans with a small force; yet as if the entire island had submitted to him, he sent a grandiloquent letter to Rome... Finally, as if he intended to bring the war to an end, he drew up a line of battle on the shore of the Ocean, arranging his ballistas and other artillery; and when no one knew or could imagine what he was going to do, he suddenly bade them gather shells and fill their helmets and the folds of their gowns, calling them "spoils from the Ocean, due to the Capitol and Palatine."""The Life of Caligula"Suetonius, The Lives of the Caesars

Donald Trump - The Manchurian Candidate?

InfoWars host Owen Shroyer interrupted the impeachment hearing 09 Decembe 2019 before the House Judiciary Committee, shouting it is Chairman Jerry Nadler (D-NY) and the Democrat Party who are Youre the one committing treason. Americas done with this! Americas sick of the treason committed by the Democrat Party. Were not going to sit here and watch you run an impeachment scam and remove our vote, he continued, live-streaming his protest. We voted for Donald Trump, and theyre simply removing him because they dont like him, he added. Americans are sick of your impeachment scam. Theyre sick of the Democrat treason. We know who committed the crimes, and it wasnt trump. Trump is innocent.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation investigation of Donald Trumps 2016 campaigns ties to Russia was called Crossfire Hurricane. The name refers to the Rolling Stones lyric I was born in a crossfire hurricane, from the 1968 hit Jumpin Jack Flash.

Former President Jimmy Carter said 28 June 2019 at a Virginia forum that I think a full investigation would show that Trump didnt actually win the election in 2016. He lost the election, and he was put into office because the Russians interfered on his behalf," he added. When asked if Trump was illegitimate president, Carter responded saying Basically, what I just said, which I cant retract.

Trump fired back at Carters suggestion that hes illegitimate president, saying Carter is the forgotten president whos not only trashed by his own party but also remembered only as being terrible for the country. Trump said that although Carter is a nice man, he was a terrible president, before noting that hes a Democrat and its a typical talking point. He added that Carter is loyal to the Democrats but as everybody now understands, I won not because of Russia, not because of anybody but myself.... I won Michigan, I won Wisconsin, I won Pennsylvania, I won states that traditionally havent been won by Republicans for many years. This had nothing to do with anybody but the fact that I worked harder and much smarter than Hillary Clinton did.

Jim Sciutto and Marshall Cohen at CNN reported 10 September 2019 that "Trump has privately and repeatedly expressed opposition to the use of foreign intelligence from covert sources, including overseas spies who provide the US government with crucial information about hostile countries, according to multiple senior officials who served under Trump. Trump has privately said that foreign spies can damage relations with their host countries and undermine his personal relationships with their leaders, the sources said... Trump has expressed doubts about the credibility of the information they provide. Another former senior intelligence official told CNN that Trump 'believes they're people who are selling out their country.'"

Sonam Sheth writing in Business Insider on Aug. 29, 2019 reported that "Trump's attendance at the G7 summit was peppered with controversy, but none was more notable than his fervent defense of Russia's military and cyber aggression around the world, and its violation of international law in Ukraine.... John Sipher, a former CIA clandestine operative who spent 28 years at the agency, told Insider of Trump's G7 attendance, "If it weren't for his constant shocking behavior and comments that have dulled our senses, this would register as one of the worst diplomatic blunders in years."... Glenn Carle, a former CIA covert operative and frequent Trump critic, told Insider there's been "no question" in his mind for years that the president is behaving like "a spy for the Russians.""

Trump's confederate, Senate Majority Leader, Mitch McConnell - dubbed "Moscow Mitch" by US television personality and former Republican congressman, Joe Scarborough - blocked election security legislation only hours after Mueller's marathon testimony in July 2019. "He (McConnell) is aiding and abetting Vladimir Putin's ongoing attempts to subvert American democracy and Moscow Mitch won't even let the Senate take a vote on it. That is un-American," Scarborough shouted, as American TV pundits are apt to do.

Former U.S. Director of National Intelligence James Clapper suggested 19 July 2018 that Russian efforts may have reached into the White House. Ive been trying my best to give the president the benefit of the doubt and always expressed potential other theories as to why he behaves as he does with respect to Russia generally and Putin specifically, Clapper told CNN when asked about Trumps refusal to back the findings of the U.S. intelligence community during his joint news conference with Putin in Helsinki. But more and more I come to a conclusion after the Helsinki performance and since, that I really do wonder if the Russians have something on him, Clapper said.

There have also been persistent rumors that some members of Congress could also be doing Russias bidding a notion reinforced by Bill Browder, the chief executive officer of Hermitage Capital and a driving force behind the Magnitsky Act, which allows Washington to withhold visas and freeze financial assets of Russian officials thought to be corrupt or human rights abusers. There's one member of the U.S. Congress who I believe is on the payroll of Russia  its a Republican Congressmen from Orange County [California] named Dana Rohrabacher who is running around trying to overturn the Magnitsky Act, Browder said 19 July 2018 at the Aspen Security Forum. I dont have the bank transfers to prove it, but I believe that thats the case, Browder said when he was pressed on the accusation, citing Rohrabachers behavior.

A month before Donald Trump clinched the Republican nomination, House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) - one of his closest allies in Congress  told fellow GOP leaders: Theres two people I think Putin pays: Rohrabacher and Trump. This was according to a recording of the June 15, 2016, exchange, which was listened to and verified by The Washington Post. House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) immediately interjected, stopping the conversation. Some of the lawmakers laughed at McCarthys comment. Then McCarthy quickly added: Swear to God. Ryan instructed his Republican lieutenants to keep the conversation private, saying: No leaks. ... This is how we know were a real family here.

US intelligence accused Russia of hacking the Democratic National Committee (DNC) servers and leaking information compromising former Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton to WikiLeaks prior to US presidential elections in an effort to boost Trump's chances of victory. Russia repeatedly denied the accusations of US intelligence of attempts to influence the elections in the United States, and the Russian president's press secretary Dmitry Peskov called them "absolutely unsubstantiated." Maxine Waters, Member of the House of Representatives from the Democratic Party, believes that the US missile attack on Syria was aimed at diverting attention from US President Donald Trump's plans to lift sanctions against Russia. During a rally in Washington, she claimed that the situation in Syria is just a "phony tension between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin, all being hyped up by the White House, still trying to distract us," the politician said 15 April 2017. According to Waters, the escalation of the tension between Moscow and Washington due to the situation in Syria is just a spectacle. From her point of view, Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin are "tied at the hip" and the ultimate goal of fueling the "tension" is the withdrawal of sanctions against Russia.

Starting in 2015, Russia launched an unprecedented and multifaceted campaign to undermine American elections. The Kremlin, according to former Director of National Intelligence Clapper, wanted to "undermine public faith in the U.S. democratic process". This was and remains the unanimous verdict of the intelligence community. As part of this effort, Russia hacked the Democratic National Committee and the Clinton campaign. Russia's military intelligence unit, the GRU, then released those emails to the public in increments which were timed to cause turmoil in the American electorate.

Russia paid more than 1,000 people -- human trolls -- to work out of a facility in Saint Petersburg, Russia. These trolls spent their waking hours creating anti-Clinton fake news reports and disseminating these stories in key states and districts. Russia also used thousands of botnets to echo and amplify these fake news stories. Russia also targeted the election boards of nearly half the states in the country, successfully infiltrating at least four voter registration databases and gaining access to hundreds of thousands of voter records.

US Representative John Lewis said 15 January 2017 "I don't see this president-elect as a legitimate president... I think the Russians participated in helping this man get elected." House Democrat Jared Huffman of California said Trump is so thin-skinned and classless, and so utterly incapable of growing up. As our President, he is going to bring disgrace, chaos, controversy and conflict unlike anything weve ever seen.

General James Mattis, defense secretary nominee, testified Russian President Vladimir Putin was trying to divide Nato nations. I think right now the most important thing is that we recognise the reality of what we deal with with Mr Putin, he told the Armed Services Committee.... And we recognise that he is trying to break the North Atlantic Alliance and that we take the steps to defend ourselves where we must."

"Happy New Year to all," Trump wrote 31 December 2016, "including to my many enemies and those who have fought me and lost so badly they just don't know what to do. Love!"

"Russia talk is FAKE NEWS put out by the Dems, and played up by the media, in order to mask the big election defeat and the illegal leaks!" Trump wrote 26 February 2017 on Twitter.

The book "The Plot to Scapegoat Russia: How the CIA and the Deep State Have Conspired to Vilify Putin" was published in the United States in June 2017. The book was published by Skyhorse Publishing. The author, Dan Kovalik, is a US journalist, human, labor rights lawyer and peace activist, as well as Adjunct Professor of Law at the Pitt Law faculty of the University of Pittsburgh. Kovalik has described every President of the United States that followed World War II as a "War Criminal".

According to Kovalik, accusations of Russia's "meddling in US elections" should be viewed in the broad context of Russian-US relations. Kovalik criticized the confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union during the Cold War and wrote that the United States subsequently interfered in Russia's internal affairs, violated promises and tried to humiliate Moscow. The current talks about "Russian hackers" is an attempt to make Moscow a "scapegoat," which may lead to nothing else than a new dangerous confrontation with Russia, the book's author said.

"I supported detente [when Russia was the Soviet Union] and I support detente now. I see Russia as a potential ally and friend. I dont see Russia as a threat. I dont support this Russia bashing thats happening in the United States, which is largely been done for political gain by the Democrats. Im not a [US President Donald] Trump supporter, I didnt vote for Trump, Im liberal-to-left, actually. But Im still 'right is right' and 'wrong is wrong', and I dont support the Democrats using this issue as a bludgeon against Trump, because its going to lead or could lead to very serious consequences there are people pushing for military confrontation [with Russia]," Kovalik said in an interview.

Accusations against Russia are questionable for a number of reasons  outdated technology of the alleged hacking, the presence of CIA's technologies allowing them to hack the computer and to make it look like someone else has done it, as well as the Democrats' refusal to give the FBI access to the hacked servers, Kovalik explained, adding that he suspected that hacking might not have happened at all.

"What is shaping up to be a new McCarthy period, in which people are accused of being dupes for Russia for simply questioning the prevailing anti-Russian discourse, is obviously different from the old one, but with essentially the same intention and effect  to curb dissent, particularly with regard to US foreign policy, which, by any rational measure, is incredibly destructive for our country and the world at large," Kovalik wrote in his book.

The Democratic National Committee on 20 April 2018 sued President Donald Trump's campaign, Trump's son, his son-in-law, the Russian Federation and Wikileaks, saying they conspired to help Trump win the 2016 presidential election by breaking into DNC computers and stealing tens of thousands of emails and documents. "The conspiracy constituted an act of previously unimaginable treachery: the campaign of the presidential nominee of a major party in league with a hostile foreign power to bolster its own chance to win the presidency," the lawsuit said. "And, in carrying out this effort, defendants' conspiracy to disseminate documents stolen from the DNC in violation of the laws of the United States as well as the laws of the state of Virginia and the District of Columbia. Under the laws of this nation, Russia and its co-conspirators must answer for these actions."

Former director of national intelligence James R. Clapper Jr., stated 24 May 2018 : " given the massive effort the Russians made, and the number of citizens that they touched, and the variety and multi-dimensional aspects of what they did to influence opinion and given the fact that it turned on less than 80,000 votes in three states, to me it exceeds logic and credulity that they didnt affect the election. And its my belief they actually turned it."

As Rachel Maddow put it, the director of national intelligence for the last seven years has concluded that the current president of the United States was only installed in office because of a successful Russian intelligence operation, raising obvious questions about his legitimacy.

But Conrad Black, author of the book "Donald J. Trump, A President Like No Other" wrote "It is now clear that Russian attempts at interference in the 2016 election, though somewhat outrageous, were ineffectual, unconnected with any particular party, a small effort given what a country of Russia's resources and taste for political skullduggery and chicanery is capable of, and minor compared with the influence many countries, including the United States, have sometimes exercised in the elections of other countries. No serious person could find anything in the conduct of the president that could be construed as obstruction of justice..."

In an august 2018 interview with non-commercial news program Democracy Now, luminary Noam Chomsky criticized the "overwhelming concern" in the media over alleged Russian meddling in the US presidential election, claiming that Israel's impact on the US has been far bigger. "Whatever the Russians may have done barely counts or weighs in the balance as compared with what another state does, openly, brazenly, and with enormous support," he said, referring to Israel.

The noted linguist and philosopher mentioned Israeli PM Netanyahu's controversial address to US Congress in 2015, in which he spoke about the threat of the Iran nuclear deal. "Did Putin come to give an address to the joint sessions of Congress trying to-calling on them to reverse U.S. policy, without even informing the president?" he quizzed. The American thinker went on to say that "taking a look at Russian hacking is absolutely the wrong place to look," calling it an "extremely marginal question."

Chomsky added that Donald Trump is "perfectly right when he says we should have better relations with Russia." Moreover, Russia, he believes, should refuse to deal with the US because the latter had carried out what he called "the worst crime of the century," referring to the Iraq war, which is "much worse than anything Russia has done."

The interview came at a time when the FBI is probing alleged Russia meddling in the 2016 US presidential election. Moscow has been accused of hacking Hillary Clinton's emails in a bid to sway votes in favor of rival candidate Donald Trump. Both Russia and Trump have repeatedly denied the allegations, claiming that no evidence of collusion has been provided so far.

In August 2018 Microsofts Digital Crimes Unit (DCU) successfully executed a court order to disrupt and transfer control of six internet domains created by a group widely associated with the Russian government and known as Strontium, or alternatively Fancy Bear or APT28. Microsoft had used this approach 12 times in two years to shut down 84 fake websites associated with this group. As a special master appointed by a federal judge concluded in the recent court order obtained by DCU, there is good cause to believe that Strontium is likely to continue its conduct.

One appears to mimic the domain of the International Republican Institute, which promotes democratic principles and is led by a notable board of directors, including six Republican senators and a leading senatorial candidate. Another is similar to the domain used by the Hudson Institute, which hosts prominent discussions on topics including cybersecurity, among other important activities.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the claims given in the report were groundless. "We do not know what kind of hackers they are referring to, we do not know what the impact on the elections is. We see that the United States confirms that there was no influence on the elections We do not understand what are the grounds for this, what is Fancy bear, what Russian military intelligence has to do with it, what is the basis for these accusations, rather serious ones, therefore they seem groundless," Peskov told reporters.

The Russian Foreign Ministry, in its turn, expressed regret over allegations by Microsoft of attempts by Russian government-linked hackers to launch attacks on US legislative bodies and think tanks ahead of November's congressional elections. "It is regrettable that a large international company, which has been actively and successfully working on the Russian market for a long time, has to participate in the 'witch hunt' that swept Washington. Apparently, it is done to demonstrate its loyalty. This is their choice. We will have to draw the necessary conclusions," the ministry said in a statement.

The U.S. Intelligence Communitys top election security official reportedly overstated the communitys formal assessment about Russian interference in the 2020 presidential election, omitting important nuance during a briefing with lawmakers earlier this month, according to three national security officials. Shelby Pierson told the House Intelligence Committee on 13 February 2020 that Russia was interfering in the 2020 election with the goal of helping President Donald Trump get re-elected. However, sources said that the United States did not actually have evidence that Russias interference qas aimed at re-electing Trump.

The U.S. intelligence community reportedly assessed that Russia was interfering in the 2020 election and had separately assessed that Russia views Trump as a leader they can work with, according to the officials. Piersons characterization of Russian interference led to pointed questions from lawmakers, which the officials said caused Pierson to overstep and assert that Russia has a preference for Trump to be re-elected. A more reasonable interpretation of the intelligence is not that they have a preference, its a step short of that. Its more that they understand the President is someone they can work with, one official said.

Donald J. Trump for President, Inc. filed a libel lawsuit 26 February 2020 against the New York Times over a story falsely reporting as fact a conspiracy with Russia. The lawsuit, filed today in the New York State Supreme Court, aims to hold the news organization accountable for intentionally publishing false statements against President Trumps campaign. Statement from Jenna Ellis, Senior Legal Adviser to Donald J. Trump for President, Inc.: Today the Presidents re-election campaign filed suit against the New York Times for falsely stating the campaign had an overarching deal with Vladimir Putin's oligarchy to help the campaign against Hillary Clinton in exchange for a new pro-Russian foreign policy, starting with relief from ... economic sanctions. The statements were and are 100 percent false and defamatory. The complaint alleges The Times was aware of the falsity at the time it published them, but did so for the intentional purpose of hurting the campaign, while misleading its own readers in the process. Donald Trump's 2020 election campaign filed a libel lawsuit 03 March 2020 against the Washington Post for publishing "false and defamatory statements" against the campaign, including that they tried to conspire with a sweeping and systematic attack by Russia during the 2016 elections. Today the President's re-election campaign has filed suit against The Washington Post for false statements contained in two published articles, including defamatory claims that the campaign tried to conspire with a sweeping and systematic attack by Russia against the 2016 US presidential election and who knows what sort of aid Russia and North Korea will give to the Trump campaign, now that he has invited them to offer their assistance?" Jenna Ellis, senior legal adviser to Donald J. Trump for President Inc., said in a press release.

The statements were and are 100 percent false and defamatory. The complaint alleges The Post was aware of the falsity at the time it published them, but did so for the intentional purpose of hurting the campaign, while misleading its own readers in the process. The campaign files suit to publicly establish the truth and seek appropriate legal remedies for the harm caused by false reporting," she noted.

Joshua Yaffa, a Moscow correspondent for The New Yorker, wrote: "As the years went by, Trumps short attention span and unpredictable zigzagging made a strategic approach to Russia-U.S. relations impossible. And, when he did act, his mercantile approach to geopolitics led him to favor policies that were opposed to Russias interests, as in the case of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, which was meant to bring fifty-five billion cubic metres of Russian gas each year to Germany and onward throughout Europe. Trump, like previous U.S. Presidents, pushed Germany and other E.U. states to cancel the energy project; he wagered that Europe would then have no choice but to import American liquified natural gas. There is not a single person left in the Russian elite who thinks we can achieve anything of substance with Trump as President, Stanovaya told me. Hence the dampened enthusiasm for Trump this time around."

An article published in the UKs Guardian newspaper 15 July 2021, authored by British journalist Luke Harding and two other staffers at the outlet, claimed that Putin had Personally authorised a secret spy agency operation to support a mentally unstable Donald Trump in the 2016 US presidential election, during a closed session of Russias national security council. The bombshell revelations were purportedly based on what are assessed to be leaked Kremlin documents. According to the report, top Kremlin officials agreed a Trump White House would help secure Moscows strategic objectives, among them encouraging social turmoil in the US and a weakening of the American presidents negotiating position.

According to Harding, Western intelligence agencies are understood to have been aware of the documents for some months, giving a hint as to where his sources might lie. The article goes on to say that the papers seem to represent a serious and highly unusual leak from within the Kremlin. This, however, apparently did not merit a serious verification of their authenticity beyond pointing to some unknown experts, whoever they may be.

Putins spokesman slammed the report, published in the UKs Guardian newspaper earlier that day. This is total fiction, Dmitry Peskov remarked. Strictly speaking, it is complete nonsense. Of course, this is the hallmark of an absolutely low-quality publication. Either the newspaper is trying to somehow increase its popularity or is sticking to a rabidly Russophobic line. Peskov said Certainly, all of this does not correspond and cannot possibly be based on the truth. It is fundamentally not true. This is either part of an ongoing attempt to demonize Russia and Putin, which The Guardian loves to do from time to time, or it is a desperate attempt to attract some new readers by publishing such tales.

In 1787, as the American constitutional convention reached its conclusion in Philadelphia, Benjamin Franklin was asked as he departed Independence Hall what type of government the delegates had created. He famously replied, A republic, if you can keep it.





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Navy Accepts Delivery of USNS Hershel "Woody" Williams

Navy News Service

Story Number: NNS180223-22

Release Date: 2/23/2018 10:58:00 AM

From Team Ships Public Affairs

SAN DIEGO (NNS) -- The Navy accepted delivery of its second Expeditionary Sea Base (ESB) ship, USNS Hershel "Woody" Williams (ESB 4), Feb. 22.

The delivery marks the official transfer of the ship from the shipbuilder to the Navy. ESB 4 will be owned and operated by Military Sealift Command.

"The delivery of this ship marks an enhancement in the Navy's forward presence and ability to execute a variety of expeditionary warfare missions," said Capt. Scot Searles, Strategic and Theater Sealift program manager, Program Executive Office (PEO) Ships. "Like the ship's namesake, USNS Hershel 'Woody' Williams will exemplify the Navy's commitment to service."

USNS Hershel "Woody" Williams is named for Medal of Honor recipient, Hershel Williams. During the battle of Iwo Jima, then- Cpl. Williams bravely went forward alone against enemy machine gun fire to open a lane for the infantry. Williams continues to serve his fellow men and women in uniform through his foundation, the Hershel Woody Williams Medal of Honor Foundation, established to honor families who have lost a loved one in service to their country.

ESBs are highly flexible, modular platforms that are optimized to support a variety of maritime based missions including Special Operations Force, Airborne Mine Counter Measures operations, humanitarian support and command and control of traditional military missions. The ESBs include a four spot flight deck, hangar, and a versatile mission deck; and are designed around four core capabilities: aviation facilities, berthing, equipment staging support, and command and control assets. The ESBs will operate as the component commanders require, providing the fleet with a critical access infrastructure that supports the flexible deployment of forces and supplies.

USNS Hershel "Woody" Williams was constructed by General Dynamics NASSCO shipyard in San Diego. NASSCO is also constructing the future USNS Miguel Keith (ESB 5).

As one of the Defense Department's largest acquisition organizations, PEO Ships is responsible for executing the development and procurement of all destroyers, amphibious ships, special mission and support ships, and boats and craft.

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Jim Howe, director of the conservancy's central and western New York chapter, spoke with The Citizen in January about the Owasco Lake funding. He said the conservancy was looking to expand its water quality work east, and plans to identify "where are the most strategic parts of the watershed that are necessary to protect and restore in order to improve water quality."

"Our hope is we can identify some key parcels, and we'll be talking with the owners of those parcels, and talk with owners on their future plans for the property," he said. "We have a totally blank slate right now."

According to the REDC's description, the conservancy "will purchase up to six parcels in the Owasco Lake watershed for protection and potential restoration of riparian buffers and wetlands. This project will reduce sediment and nutrient loading to Owasco Lake."

Howe had a different view from the description.

"I think for us, it's going to be about impact rather than acreage," he said. "We didn't want to constrain ourselves with an acreage number or a set number of properties, so we wrote it as, 'we're going to figure it out.'"Swedish Military Cites Russian Expansionism In Bid To Boost Spending

February 23, 2018

Sweden's military has cited an increasingly assertive Russia in a request to parliament for a major increase in the Nordic country's defense spending.

The armed forces said in a report to lawmakers on February 23 that Sweden needs to more than double its annual military spending to 115 billion Swedish crowns ($14 billion) by 2035 from about 50 billion crowns currently.

Military leaders also called for doubling the number of active personnel to about 120,000.

The report cited Moscow's planned increase in military spending and aggressive foreign policy as reasons to boost Sweden's defense outlays.

"Russia has, through its action in Georgia in 2008, as well as in the Crimea and in east Ukraine in 2014, showed that it does not hesitate to use military force to achieve its political goals," the report said.

Russia seized Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula in 2014 and has backed separatists in eastern Ukraine in a war that has killed more than 10,300 people since April 2014.

Russia fought Georgia in a brief war in 2008, and Moscow has backed separatists in breakaway Georgian regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

Sweden is not a NATO member but has participated in military drills with member states. Some in the country have raised the issue of Sweden joining the alliance, a move that would be certain to anger Moscow.

The report by the military comes a day after the Swedish Security Service warned of potential meddling by Moscow in the September general elections and said that "Russian espionage constitutes the greatest security threat" against the country.

Based on reporting by Reuters and AFP

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/sweden-military-cites-russia- expansionism-in-spending-bid/29059499.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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Afghan TAPI Construction Kicks Off, But Pipeline Questions Still Unresolved

Bruce Pannier February 23, 2018

Executives and regional leaders gathered for a ground-breaking ceremony for Afghanistan's section of the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline on February 23 in the western Afghan city of Herat.

Herat, and uncertainty as the ceremony there approached, provide another reminder of the doubts and questions that have surrounded the TAPI pipeline for years now.

On February 20, Jailani Farhad, the spokesman for the Herat mayor, was quoted as saying the project would be inaugurated on February 25. China's Xinhua news agency seemed hesitant to provide an exact date at all, also reporting on February 20 that the "ceremony is expected to be held within coming days."

Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov was visiting Mary on February 21. His country, of course, is the supplier of gas for TAPI; and given Turkmenistan's current dire economic situation (more on that below), it is in Berdymukhammedov's interest to see Afghanistan start construction of TAPI. Berdymukhammedov told officials that on February 23 "many important events" would take place, first of all the launch of construction on TAPI in Afghanistan but also the start of work to build a new high-voltage transmission power line and extend a railway from Turkmenistan to Afghanistan.

Berdymukhammedov indicated he would be at the ceremony in Herat but it was not mentioned in a report on the official Turkmen government website.

So one question was whether the Turkmen president would make the trip to Herat (he did); another was whether he would dress in his commando fatigues, as he did in videos last year, perhaps to frighten away militants.

Because security along the 744-kilometer section of the TAPI pipeline has been a huge question in recent years as fighting spread and intensified in previously relatively stable areas of northern Afghanistan. In fact, RFE/RL's Radio Free Afghanistan, known locally as Azadi, reported on February 22 that Herat officials said insurgents who were trained by Iran to disrupt the February 23 ceremony had switched sides and joined the government.

For what's it's worth, a spokesman for the Taliban and a Taliban splinter group led by Rasul Akhund that operates in northwestern Afghanistan have both pledged to protect construction of TAPI through Afghan territory, since it is a "national project."

Given the government in Kabul's bold claims that TAPI would help bring prosperity and stability to Afghanistan, it is difficult to imagine any militant group in Afghanistan resisting the temptation to try to sabotage the project and keep the government from boosting its popularity and support in areas along the proposed TAPI route.

And the Taliban and the Taliban splinter group are not the only armed groups active in northern and western Afghanistan. There are other militant forces and warlords there as well.

What Afghanistan Gets

TAPI aims to carry some 33 billion cubic meters (bcm) of natural gas a year, most of which is intended for markets in Pakistan and India.

Afghanistan should receive some 5 bcm of that gas, but equally if not more importantly, Afghanistan will receive transit fees from TAPI.

But how much?

The Afghan Voice Agency reported on February 19 that the amount would be "nearly $400 million" annually. Afghanistan's ToloNews reported on February 20 that "Afghanistan is expected to earn $500 million USD in transit duties annually from the project. Turkmen Foreign Minister Rashid Meredov promised in November that Afghanistan would receive some $1 billion annually in transit fees from TAPI.

Of course, Turkmenistan is experiencing the worst economic crisis of its 26-year history as an independent country, in large part due to the inability to sell Turkmenistan's major and nearly only export: gas. So Turkmen officials could be expected to say anything that would portray TAPI in a positive light, especially since financing for the project is still uncertain.

Who Will Pay For Construction?

State company Turkmengaz is the operator of TAPI. That means Turkmengaz must find some $8.5 billion of the estimated $10 billion it will cost to build TAPI. The company has no experience managing a major project outside Turkmenistan and so far has found it difficult to attract investors. The Islamic Development Bank already promised a loan of some $700 million, but that's where it ends.

Other countries and companies have reportedly expressed some interest in joining TAPI -- the China National Petroleum Corporation, Russia, Uzbekistan, Saudi Arabia -- but no contracts have been signed.

Turkmenistan alone cannot come up with the remaining almost $8 billion that Turkmengaz still needs to cover its share of the costs. And it will not have escaped the attention of potential foreign investors that Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India, the countries that will also benefit from TAPI, have never gone beyond the 5 percent of costs ($500 million) that each is committed to spending -- showing, perhaps, that there are doubts about the viability of TAPI in Kabul, Islamabad, and New Delhi.

Another question that we're still looking for an answer to is whether Turkmenistan has completed its section of TAPI. There was a big launch ceremony in Turkmenistan in December 2015 for construction of the 214-kilometer portion on Turkmen territory. Turkmen officials have maintained since then that construction was progressing. But strangely, state media in Turkmenistan, which is obsessed with showing pictures and footage of the country's major projects, has not shown much proof of TAPI's construction. Once there were some photographs in 2016 of sections of pipe-laying in a desert that were alleged to be somewhere in eastern Turkmenistan.

But we're still waiting for clues from the February 23 ceremony in Herat to clear up that and other questions.

The views expressed in this blog post do not necessarily reflect the views of RFE/RL

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/qishloq-ovozi-tapi- pipeine-afghanistan-launch/29059433.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 embassy relocation to al-Quds provocative act against Muslims, says Hamas

Iran Press TV

Sat Feb 24, 2018 02:51PM

The Palestinian Islamic resistance movement, Hamas, has strongly condemned a recent decision by the United States to move its embassy to occupied Jerusalem al-Quds in May, describing the move as "provocative" for all Muslim and Arab nations.

"The measure to relocate the US embassy concurrent with the 70th anniversary of Nakba Day (Day of Catastrophe), when hundreds of Palestinians were forcibly evicted from their homeland by Israeli regime forces back in 1948, is a naked [act of] aggression against the Palestinian nation," the Hamas spokesman, Abdullatif al-Qanou, told Press TV in an exclusive interview in Gaza City on Saturday.

He added, "It is also a provocative move against all Muslims and Arabs, and a clear attack against sites revered by both Muslims and Christians. Hamas believes that such a decision would fail to change the status quo of al-Quds."

Qanou held the US administration and the Israeli regime "fully responsible for any repercussions of the recent unjust and racist decision against al-Quds" and criticized Washington's hostile moves and schemes to "suffocate the Palestinian cause."

"We are warning against a tremendous explosion in the Middle East region, which will target the occupying Israeli regime. We are calling on all Muslim nations to confront Israel and to stop such decisions," the Hamas spokesman pointed out.

Meanwhile, Palestinian Authority spokesman Yousef al-Mahmoud has described the US decision to move its embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem al-Quds as "offensive to the Palestinian and Arab nations, and a deliberate attempt to hurt their feelings."

"The move constitutes a clear and blatant violation of the United Nations resolutions, and all humanitarian and international law," Mahmoud said.

He added, "(US President Donald) Trump awarded our Arab holy city, which would be the capital of a future independent Palestinian state, to others. This step is unprecedented, and could only be explained through the arrogance of occupation and colonialism."

Separately, Turkey's Foreign Ministry, in a statement released on Saturday, said the US decision to move its embassy to Jerusalem al-Quds was "very worrying," and showed Washington's insistence to disturb peace.

"Turkey will continue collective efforts with majority of the international community to protect Palestinians' legitimate rights in the face of the US ... decision, which is extremely worrying," the statement read.

US State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said on Friday that Washington planned to open its embassy in Jerusalem al-Quds in May.

The occupied Palestinian territories have witnessed a new wave of tension ever since Trump announced his decision on December 6 last year to recognize Jerusalem al-Quds as Israel's capital and relocate the US embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to the occupied city.

The dramatic shift in Washington's policy vis-a-vis the city triggered demonstrations in the occupied Palestinian territories, Iran, Turkey, Egypt, Jordan, Tunisia, Algeria, Iraq, Morocco and other Muslim countries.

On December 21, the UN General Assembly overwhelmingly voted in favor of a resolution that calls on the US to withdraw its controversial recognition of Jerusalem al-Quds as Israeli "capital."

In an attempt to avert the resolution, Trump had warned that "we're watching," threatening reprisals against countries that backed the measure, which had earlier faced a US veto at the UN Security Council.

Israel, however, rejected the world body's resolution while thanking Trump for his decision to move the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem al-Quds.

On January 18, the US reneged on a pledge to contribute $45 million to the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), which supports more than 5 million registered Palestinian refugees and their descendants.

The announcement to cut aid to Palestinian refugees came after the US president made a threat to cut off aid to the UN's Palestinian refugee agency.

In a series of tweets on January 2, Trump said that the US paid "the Palestinians hundreds of millions of dollars a year" and yet got "no appreciation or respect."

"But with the Palestinians no longer willing to talk peace, why should we make any of these massive future payments to them?" he asked.

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Suicide Blast, Attacks Kill Dozens In Afghanistan

RFE/RL's Radio Free Afghanistan February 24, 2018

Afghan officials said a suicide bomber has killed two security personnel and wounded seven in an attack in the diplomatic area of Afghanistan's capital, Kabul.

The Islamic State (IS) group has claimed responsibility for the attack.

Interior ministry spokesman Najib Danish said the attack occurred around 8:15 a.m. local time on February 24 in the Shash Darak area of Kabul, near NATO headquarters and not far from the U.S. Embassy.

Also near the site of the bombing is an Afghan spy agency facility, officials said. In December, a suicide attacker on foot blew himself up near the same compound, killing at least six civilians.

In a statement posted on February 24 on the website of its news agency Aamaq, IS said the attack was carried out by a bomber with an explosive vest and targeted the gate of the headquarters of the Afghan intelligence service.

Meanwhile, 18 soldiers were killed in a Taliban attack in western Afghanistan, the Afghan Defense Ministry said on February 24.

Khair Mohammad Noorzai, a provincial council member from the western Farah province, put the death toll at 25. Noorzai said militants attacked a checkpoint in Bala Buluk district of Farah late on February 23 with the attack continuing into the morning of February 24.

In separate attacks in the southern Helmand province, two suicide car bombs killed at least two soldiers and wounded more than a dozen others, officials said.

In the southern Helmand province, at least three people were killed and 17 others were wounded in two attacks in the capital city of Lashkar Gah and Nad Ali district, according to provincial officials.

Militants including the Taliban and the IS group have stepped up their attacks on Afghan troops and police in recent months.

Afghan soldiers have taken what the UN describes as "shocking" casualties since international forces ended their combat role at the end of 2014, though troop casualty figures are no longer released.

With reporting by AP, AFP, and dpa

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/suicide-bomber-kills-one-injures -six-diplomatic-area-kabul/29060097.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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Leaders Hail Gas Pipeline Project As Start Of Central-South Asia Corridor

February 24, 2018

Leaders from Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Turkmenistan said a new pipeline being built between their countries is the start of a major new energy, road, and communications corridor connecting Central Asia with South Asia.

"South Asia is being connected with Central Asia through Afghanistan after more than a century of division," Afghan President Ashraf Ghani said at the inauguration on February 23 in the western city of Herat of the $10 billion pipeline to carry Turkmen gas to South Asia.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said the pipeline will lead to development of broader road, rail, and communications networks between the countries.

"It will lead from a gas pipeline into an energy and communication corridor," he said.

The Turkmenistan through Afghanistan to Pakistan and India (TAPI) project, supported by the United States and the Asian Development Bank, has been touted by energy-rich Turkmenistan for years as a way to get its gas onto world markets.

Turkmenistan, which currently sells gas only to China, started construction on its section of the pipeline in 2015.

But work was delayed on the section in southern Afghanistan, where the pipeline is due to run for hundreds of kilometers through areas controlled by Taliban insurgents fighting the Western-backed government in Kabul.

In a surprise move on February 23, the Taliban issued statements pledging its cooperation, saying the pipeline would be an important element in building up Afghanistan's economic infrastructure.

"There will be no delay in this important national project," it said.

Backers of the planned 1,800-kilometer pipeline say it will ease energy deficits in South Asia and help reduce tensions in the divided region.

Afghan officials say Kabul will earn some $500 million annually in transit duties and that the project will help create thousands of jobs.

Based on reporting by Reuters and RFE/RL's Radio Free Afghanistan

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/leaders-ghani-abbasi-hail-gas- turkmen-gas-pipeline-project-start-central-south-asia-road communications-energy-corridor/29060042.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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France-Egypt Plane Deal Blocked by US, Fearing Spread of Missile Tech - Official

Sputnik News

01:01 24.02.2018(updated 11:16 24.02.2018)

The US has blocked Franco-Egyptian negotiations on the sale of additional Rafale fighter jets to the Egyptian Air Force by refusing to export an American component aboard the Scalp cruise missile, French outlet La Tribune reported.

Alexandre Vautravers, an official at the Geneva Center for Security Policy (GCSP), discussed with Sputnik the impact of US companies being in the chain of contractors on European military suppliers.

"It would be great if France's manufacturing industry could produce entirely French products, but we should take into account the development cost of each component in a complicated missile like Scalp. What if no country can afford purchasing these missiles," Vautravers said.

"The problem is not solely in the Rafale fighter jet  a French aircraft with predominantly French components  the problem is in the cruise missile that can be fitted with this specific warhead, turning it into a weapon of mass destruction. Obviously, the US government doesn't want a country like Egypt to possess such technology," he explained.

According to Vautravers, this type of missile could influence power dynamics in the whole Middle East and create a problem across the region if it was used against a country like Israel or Libya.

"This is why the US has decided to turn to the International Traffic in Arms Regulation (ITAR), the rules that the US agreed to in late 1940s in order to establish control over the transfer of the US-manufactured technology to communist nations and the Soviet Union."

Adrien Caralp, an official at the Center for Industrialization (Centre d'etudes des Modes d'Industrialisation  CEMI), told Sputnik that it is getting troublesome to find domestic suppliers and control their chain while producing complicated armament systems. This is where risks and problems come from. In the current economic and political situation it is hard to produce high-technology weapons based solely on domestic suppliers, he said.

"Of course, there are examples of successful cooperation in Europe  for instance, between France and the UK  but it is not easy to have a collaborative relationship because every European country pursues its own interests," he explained.

"However, in June of last year, the European Commission suggested that a fund should be created to support European defense capacity. This additional funding could potentially change the situation."

 Sputnik

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Concerns for Democracy in Venezuela

Press Statement

Heather Nauert

Department Spokesperson

Washington, DC

February 24, 2018

The United States respects the decision by Venezuelan opposition parties, most recently the Democratic Unity Roundtable, to reject President Maduro's terms and conditions for April presidential elections. We reject ruling party calls to replace the democratically elected National Assembly simultaneously, rather than in 2021, as provided for under the 1999 Constitution. Deepening the rupture of Venezuela's constitutional and democratic order will not solve the nation's crises.

We reiterate our call for the establishment of a legitimate and independent National Electoral Council, selected by the National Assembly as required by the Constitution. We renew our call for the establishment of an electoral calendar in compliance with the Constitution and in consultation with the legitimate National Assembly. We note that the lack of agreed terms for an election seriously compromises the integrity of the process. A free and fair election should include the full participation of all political parties and political leaders, the immediate and unconditional release of all political prisoners, a proper electoral calendar, credible international observation, and an independent electoral authority.

The United States stands with democratic nations around the world in support of the Venezuelan people and their sovereign right to elect their representatives through free and fair elections.

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US Military Rejects Russian Claims About Number of IS Fighters in Afghanistan

By Ayaz Gul February 24, 2018

The United States military has rejected Moscow's claim the number of Islamic State militants in Afghanistan runs into the thousands, while at the same time urging Russia and Iran to support the Kabul government, not the Taliban, to help defeat IS in the country.

Commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan General John Nicholson made the remark Saturday while responding to recent Russian accusations Washington is intentionally downplaying the spread of IS militants in the country.

"The numbers that are spread about the number of Daesh fighters by Russia is grossly exaggerated. It is around 1,500," Nicholson told a news conference in the Afghan capital. He used the Arabic acronym for IS.

The general said that IS militants are operating in parts of the eastern Afghan provinces of Nangarhar and Kunar and maintain a "pocket" in the northern Jowzjan province.

Nicholson said that Afghan forces, backed by U.S. counterterrorism troops and airpower, are attacking all three of the locations

"We have cut their numbers in half over the last two years. We have killed their 'amirs' (chiefs), we have reduced their territory, again, we have driven their fighters out of parts of the country," explained the general, who also commands NATO's Afghan military mission.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, while speaking in Moscow, asserted that thousands of IS terrorists are present in northern and eastern Afghan regions and are being joined by militants fleeing Syria and Iraq.

Questions about IS 'proliferation'

Officials in neighboring Pakistan and Iran have also raised concerns and questions about what they allege is the rapid "proliferation of Daesh" in Afghanistan. Pakistani officials say rising terrorist attacks against the country are being plotted in IS sanctuaries on the Afghan side of the border.

Nicholson acknowledged the presence of foreign fighters in IS ranks but said their number is "very small" and added, "we have not seen a migration of foreign fighters from Syria and Iraq to Afghanistan."

The American general said the Afghan branch of Islamic State was "for a period of time" receiving financial support and "leadership guidance" from Syria and Iraq. But that assistance has dwindled since coalition forces have reduced Daesh in those countries, Nicholson added.

In his remarks earlier this week in Moscow, Lavrov again alleged that "unidentified helicopters, most likely helicopters to which NATO in one way or another is related, fly to the areas where the insurgents are based, and no one has been able to explain the reasons for these flights yet."

Iranian leaders and military officials have in recent days also consistently accused the U.S. of covertly supporting IS's rise in Afghanistan.

American and Afghan officials, however, accuse Moscow, Tehran and Islamabad of helping the Taliban insurgency militarily. Pakistani officials deny any links to the insurgent while Russia and Iran maintain their ties with the Taliban are meant only to encourage them to engage in peace talks with the Afghan government.

U.S. officials are skeptical of those claims and see Russian involvement as part of efforts to undermine international mission to secure and stabilize Afghanistan.

It is widely perceived that Russia and Iran see the Taliban as blocking the growing IS Afghan threat because of a weakening government control in the country.

General Nicholson dismissed those assertions as a "false narrative", saying Afghan forces with U.S. support have effectively degraded IS in their mission to defeat the terrorist group and regional stakeholders need to help in those efforts.

Visiting U.S. General Curtis Scaparrotti, Supreme Allied Commander Europe of NATO, speaking alongside Nicholson, also called on Russia and Iran and other countries in the region to work together with the international mission to ensure stability in Afghanistan.

"We would ask them to work with us to not support the Taliban or any of the other insurgent forces that are here but to work with us to ensure stability and that is in everyone's interest here in the region," said Scaparrotti.

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Taliban Vows to Protect TAPI Gas Pipeline Project

By Hasib Danish Alikozai February 24, 2018

As leaders and representatives of countries involved in the Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India (TAPI) gas pipeline celebrated the project's inauguration, Afghan Taliban, in a rare announcement, vowed to support and protect the pipeline in areas under its control.

In a statement emailed to media outlets, Qari Mohammad Yusuf Ahmadi, a purported Taliban spokesperson, claimed credit for the project, implying that it was initially planned during the Taliban regime, and said the group will ensure its security in areas under its control.

"The Islamic Emirate views this project as an important element of the country's economic infrastructure and believes its proper implementation will benefit the Afghan people. We announce our cooperation in providing security for the project in areas under our control," the Taliban statement said.

The long-awaited 1,814-kilometers (1,130-mile) pipeline project, known by its acronym TAPI, which will stretch from Turkmenistan and feed gas to Afghanistan, Pakistan and India, was officially inaugurated Friday by Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani in the country's western Herat province.

Inaugural ceremony

Pakistan Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Turkmenistan President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov and India Minister of State for External Affairs M.J. Akbar participated in the inauguration ceremony, which was held amid tight security to prevent possible attacks aimed at disrupting the event.

The work on the Afghan part of the multibillion-dollar project has officially begun, and the project will take several years to complete.

Ghani said TAPI is the start of a new beginning for the region.

"We hope that this project [TAPI] will pave the way for hundreds of other projects and the hope is that our future generations will view this not only as the inauguration of a project and an economic corridor, but the foundation of a shared vision which will help us fight poverty, unemployment, extremism and insecurity in our region," he said.

"The policy of cooperation will ensure prosperity for our people, and economic prosperity is an important pillar of security and stability," Ghani added.

Taliban's statement follows another statement by the group's breakaway faction, led by Mullah Mohammad Rasool, which also said it would support the project and prevent domestic and foreign groups from jeopardizing the prospects of its success.

"We will not allow any group or state to disrupt this project," Maulawi Abdul Manan Niazi said in a statement sent to local media.

It is very rare for Taliban insurgents to support a government project. The militant group is often accused of destroying bridges, roads, schools and other places of public interest in their attacks across the country.

Militants linked to Iran

Meanwhile, provincial officials in Herat province told media that a group of 10 militants, who allegedly had been trained in Iran to attack the inauguration ceremony of TAPI, decided not to carry out the attack and instead surrendered to authorities.

"Enemies of Afghanistan have instructed them to disrupt the ceremony, but they [militants] realized that this project would benefit the Afghan people and the next generations of the country," Herat province Governor Mohammad Asif Rahimi told RFE/RL Afghanistan service.

The Afghan Ministry of Interior said they would investigate the group's claims.

"Every country involved in such disruptive attempts should know that one day their future generations will pay the price as the fire will reach them as well," Murad Ali Murad, deputy minister of Interior, told local media without naming any country.

Iranian officials have not commented on this issue yet. Some Afghan officials, however, blame Tehran for supporting the Taliban in Afghanistan, a charge Tehran denies.

TAPI vs IPI?

Another gas project by Iran, Pakistan and India, known by its acronym IPI, is also underway, and some analysts speculate that Iran might view TAPI as a rival to IPI and try to disrupt it.

Afghan President Ghani, however, rejected the notion that Iran is not happy with TAPI.

The United States supports TAPI and views it as an important project for all the countries that are party to it.

VOA's Afghanistan service has contributed to this report.

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Explosions in Yemeni Port Kill 5 Near Anti-Terrorism Camp

By VOA News February 24, 2018

Two suicide car bomb attacks Saturday on a camp used by anti-terrorism forces in Yemen's port of Aden killed at least five people and wounded several others.

Soldiers were among the five bodies brought to the city's main Juhouriya hospital, according to the Reuters news service, after the attacks on the area known as Gold Mohr in southwestern Aden.

The government of Yemeni President Abd Rabu Mansour Hadi has been struggling to contain separatists in Aden, who have launched attacks on government facilities to try to gain control of the city.

Late Friday, the White House issued a release praising efforts by a coalition led by Saudi Arabia to bring humanitarian aid to Yemen.

Offloading supplies

Friday's release by the Trump administration noted that four World Food Program mobile cranes, funded by the United States, have begun offloading supplies at Yemen's Hudaydah port, as part of the Saudi-led coalition's efforts to alleviate the humanitarian crisis and contribute to Yemen's reconstruction.

The White House statement said the U.S. stood ready to assist Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates in expanding Yemenis' access to food and medicine. It also urged ethnic Houthis to work with the international community to make sure supplies are delivered to people in need in Houthi-controlled areas.

The statement also said the United States appreciated "the coalition's willingness to contribute to Yemen's reconstruction, including investment in key ports and transportation infrastructure," as well as to work with the U.N., World Food Program and other nongovernmental agencies "to meet the needs of millions of desperate Yemeni people."

The statement concluded by saying the United States "stands ready to support U.N.-led efforts to achieve peace."

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Thousands of Children Displaced by Ethnic Violence in DRC's Ituri Province

By Lisa Schlein February 24, 2018

The U.N. children's fund reports at least 90,000 children have been forced to flee their homes in the face of escalating inter-communal violence in Democratic Republic of Congo's Ituri Province.

Ituri's Djugu territory in northeastern D.R.C. has been the scene of recent carnage and displacement, with tens of thousands of people fleeing their homes in fear of their lives.

The U.N. children's fund reports ethnic violence in this province has displaced an estimated 66,000 children internally and sent another 25,000 seeking refuge in neighboring Uganda.

Violent disputes between the Hema and Lendu ethnic groups over cattle and grazing issues erupted in December, after lying relatively dormant over the past two decades. Conflict between the two groups intensified early this month with destructive force.

UNICEF spokesman Christophe Boulierac says more than 70 villages have been burned down. He says more than 76 people have been shot dead, a majority women and children.

Boulierac says at least three health centers and seven schools have been pillaged and/or set on fire, depriving children of an education. He adds that education has been interrupted for some 30,000 children in more than 100 schools throughout the region.

UNICEF warns that thousands of children risk falling ill from diarrhea, cholera and other diseases because of exposure to bad weather, lack of food and safe water. The agency says it and other aid agencies are distributing blankets, soap, safe water and other essential relief to this needy population.

UNICEF is calling for a peaceful resolution to this conflict, noting an end to violence is the only way to protect children from the many dangers facing them.

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Mogadishu Blasts Death Toll Rises to 38

By Mohamed Olad Hassan February 24, 2018

The death toll from two suicide car bomb blasts that ripped through the Somali capital of Mogadishu on Friday has risen to at least 38 people, according to government sources.

Abdulkadir Abdirahman Adan of the Aamin Ambulance Service said the bombings targeted the presidential palace and a hotel. At least 30 other people were wounded. Adan said that most of the victims were civilians.

The medical director of Mogadishu's Medina Hospital, Abdulkadir Husein Mohamed, told VOA that the remains of 27 people had been brought to the hospital following the explosion, and that two others had died of their wounds while in the hospital.

The location of other casualties was not clear.

The first blast occurred near the country's intelligence headquarters. Minutes later, another car bomb hit a checkpoint about 300 meters from Somalia's presidential palace.

The al-Shabab Islamist militant group claimed responsibility in a statement posted online, saying it was targeting the government and security services.

Somali Security Minister Mohamed Abukar Islow told VOA that security forces had been tipped off about a possible attack. "Our security forces thwarted the terrorists' initial plans," he said. "One group blew up a car bomb in a parking lot near the headquarters of Somalia's intelligence agency because they could not find a chance to reach behind that point."

The security minister said the blast hit a group of people who had returned from Mogadishu's Lido Beach, a popular recreation area.

Additionally, he said, "another group detonated a car packed with explosives at a main security checkpoint around Villa Somalia," the country's presidential palace. He said that they killed one government soldier and that an additional five militants were shot dead in the ensuing gunbattle.

"We heard two big explosions, and gunfire is still echoing in two different directions of the city," Mogadishu resident Nur Abdulle told VOA. "After blasts, we could see a huge cloud of smoke into the air."

Al-Shabab has attacked dozens of government buildings, hotels, restaurants and other targets in Mogadishu in recent years.

Turkey, which has its biggest foreign military base and embassy in Mogadishu, condemned the car bombings. In a statement, Turkey's foreign ministry said Saturday, "we wish God's mercy upon those who lost their lives in the attacks, convey our condolences to the families who lost their loved ones, and wish [a] speedy recovery to the wounded.

"Turkey will maintain its strong solidarity with the government and the brotherly people of Somalia in the wake of terrorist attacks targeting stability in Somalia."

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Turkey: Early Opening of Jerusalem US Embassy 'Extremely Worrying'

By VOA News February 24, 2018

The Turkish government called it "extremely worrying" the U.S. will open an embassy in Jerusalem this coning May instead of by the end of next year as had been previously announced.

"This decision shows the U.S. administration's insistence on damaging the grounds for peace by trampling over international law, resolutions of the United Nations Security Council on Jerusalem," Turkey's Foreign Ministry said Saturday in a statement.

Vice President Mike Pence told the Israeli parliament last month the move of the mission from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem would take place at the end of 2019, but the State Department said Friday the administration would open the embassy in May to coincide with the 70th anniversary of Israel's founding.

President Donald Trump announced U.S. recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital in December, angering Washington's Arab allies and Palestinians, who claim the eastern part of the Old City as their capital.

"Turkey will continue its effort to protect the legitimate rights of the Palestinian public ... against this extremely worrying decision by the U.S.," the ministry said.

The Palestinian leadership said Friday moving the embassy a year earlier than originally announced was a "provocation to Arabs."

Jerusalem is considered holy by Christians, Jews and Muslims and is central to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The move further strains relations between the U.S. and Turkey, already at odds on a number of issues, including Turkey's latest military offensive against a U.S.-supported Kurdish militia in Syria.

The U.S. is the only country to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital, a move that has also created dissension between the U.S. and the European Union over peace efforts in the Middle East.

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Zimbabwe's Opposition Names Acting Leader

By Sebastian Mhofu February 24, 2018

Zimbabwe's main opposition party says its acting leader will stay at the helm following the death of former Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai earlier this month. But signs of internal division remain, something analysts say could handicap the opposition with elections just months away.

The Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) goes into this year's election without its founding leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, who died in South Africa two weeks ago after a battle with colon cancer.

Since then, the MDC's three vice presidents have been fighting for the top post.

The leaders of the Movement for Democratic Change meet Feb. 23, 2018, to address the struggle for power that has rocked their party following the death of their leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, in South Africa after a two-year battle with colon cancer.

One of them, Nelson Chamisa, said Friday that MDC leaders have chosen him to be the party's acting head for the next 12 months.

"There is a lot of noise in the cockpit, yes. This is just turbulences. It is a difficult transition. We had giant who was our head, our leader, and all of a sudden that giant is no longer there," Chamisa said.

"Obviously, the small giants would want to fit in the shoes. But you can be assured that it will be resolved," he added. "Don't listen to too much noise. Listen to the music coming from the cockpit, and the music is that we are going to win the election."

A coalition of opposition parties is expected to back Chamisa as their presidential candidate in the coming elections.

For the first time, the MDC will not be facing off against Robert Mugabe. The longtime president was forced to resign under military pressure in November, after 37 years in power.

Some in the opposition see opportunity in this time of transition in Zimbabwe, but independent analyst Rejoice Ngwenya says time is running out.

"Elections are really about being organized," Ngwenya said. "If I were to advise them now, I would tell the opposition that it is too late to start re-aligning their governance and constitutional issues now. They need to compromise and focus on the candidate who is the best to bring votes into their kit. The issues of governance and constitutional issues should have been solved two years ago, it is too late now."

The ruling ZANU-PF party has selected its top candidate, President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who took over from Mugabe in November.

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Mugabe Succession

Robert Mugabe resigned as president of Zimbabwe on 21 November 2017, ending almost four decades of rule. The announcement came as parliament began an impeachment process to remove the 93-year-old from power. Mugabe was confined to his residence late 14 November 2017 as soldiers took up positions at strategic points across Harare and senior officers commandeered state television. Powerless, disempowered. Mugabe only had to negotiate a deal for his family and sign an agreement to resign. Mugabe had survived by pitting one faction against the other. He would elevate one faction, but discard it at the time as it began to feel comfortable, and prop up another one.

Beijing has long been a close ally, and Zimbabwe's top brass recently paid a visit to leaders in Beijing. During the Cold War in the 1960s and 70s, Zimbabwe's independence movement enjoyed Chinese support. As with so many other African liberation struggles, China provided arms, training and its Maoist ideology to Robert Mugabe and his Zimbabwe African National Union, today's ZANU-PF. In 2015, China became Zimbabwe's largest trading partner. That same year, Harare adopted the Chinese yuan as one of its currencies in a bid to cancel a $40 million debt.

Mugabe stressed he was still in power in a much-awaited address to the nation, defying a call by the countrys ruling party to resign. In an address broadcast live on the state-run ZBC TV, Mugabe pledged to preside over the ZANU-PF party congress next month even though the party had removed him as its leader hours earlier.

On 19 November 2017, the ruling ZANU-PF party sacked Mugabe as leader. Its Central Committee said he must resign as president by noon Monday or impeachment proceedings will start. The party also announced that it had appointed Emmerson Mnangagwa in his place. Mnangagwa's history as state security chief during the so-called Gukurahundi crackdown, when an estimated 20,000 people were killed by the North Korean-trained Fifth Brigade in Matabeleland in the early 1980s, suggested that quick, sweeping change was unlikely.

Mugabe's deeply unpopular wife, Grace, was also tossed out of the party. It was alleged that the military would prefer Mugabe to voluntarily resign for the sake of creating a veneer of legality in the leadership handover. Several high-level party members close to the first lady, who had formed the backbone of her "G40" political faction, were also told to resign or face impeachment. Those expelled include minister of higher education Jonathan Moyo, finance minister Ignatious Chombo, Mugabe's nephew Patrick Zhuwao, as well as foreign affairs minister Walter Mzembi and several other top ZANU-PF members who were associated with the first lady.

Zimbabwe soldiers blocked thousands of protesters as they tried to march on embattled President Robert Mugabes official residence in Harare on 18 November 2017. The demonstrators, participating in nationwide protests calling for the 93-year-old veteran leader to step aside after the army took power earlier this week, staged a sit-down protest in the road after being halted by the troops. The crowd got within 200 meters of the gates to the complex that had been the nerve centre of Mugabes authoritarian rule, as large protests swept through the capital. The Mugabe had been under house arrest in his lavish Blue Roof compound in Harare.

On 17 November 2017 high-ranking members of Mugabe's own ZANU-PF party called for his ouster. All ten of ZANU-PF's provincials passed votes of no confidence in Mugabe. In a rare show of defiance, the provincial branches' move was carried by Zimbabwe's state broadcaster ZBC. the provinces also demanded the reversal of former Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa's expulsion from the party. They also removed their endorsements of First Lady Grace Mugabe and demanded she step down from her post as first secretary of the party's Women's League.

Leaders of Zimbabwes ruling ZANU-PF party met to draft a resolution to dismiss President Robert Mugabe and laid the ground for his impeachment if he refused to stand down. Mugabe had never faced a no-confidence vote or a similar collective leadership challenge since his election as ZANU-PF's leader in 1977 during the liberation struggle.

Mugabe insisted 16 November 2017 he remained Zimbabwes only legitimate ruler, and resisted mediation by Fidelis Mukonori, a Catholic priest to allow the 93-year-old former guerrilla a graceful exit after a military coup. Reports suggested that former security chief Emmerson Mnangagwa, who was ousted as vice-president on 06 November 2017, had been mapping out a post-Mugabe vision with the military and opposition for more than a year. Fuelling speculation that such a plan might be rolling into action, opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai, who had been receiving cancer treatment in Britain and South Africa, returned to Harare.

Mnangagwa, 75, is a veteran of the country's 1970s liberation struggle and popular with the Zimbabwean military. Known as the "Crocodile," he was picked by Mugabe as vice president in late 2014. He had been expected to succeed the aging president before he and around 100 of his allies were fired in early November 2017. Mnangagwa fled the country, only to return after the military takeover. Mnangagwa had the tacit support of the armed forces, which viewed 52-year-old First Lady Grace Mugabe -- a political novice -- with derision.

Zimbabwes Army Commander, General Constantino Chiwenga, visited Beijing on 10 November 2017, where he met with Chinese Defense Minister Chang Wanquan. General Chiwenga issued a hard-hitting statement 13 November 2017 calling for the purges of war veterans to stop and for the counter revolutionaries to be fished out. Many saw this as the military throwing its weight behind Mnangagwa. The party responded by accusing the general of "treasonable conduct."

Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa was approached on the topic of who will succeed Mugabe during a visit to Beijing as early as June 2015. Mnangagwa was urged to ensure that Zimbabwe maintain an investment-friendly climate and that Chinese interests and property rights remained secure.

Grace Mugabe, 52, had made no secret of her wish to succeed her husband, who she married in 1996. She publically called for the dismissal of Vice President Mnangagwa and pushed for the ruling ZANU-PF party to reserve party leadership for a woman. After Mnangagwa was ousted in early November, she said: "If you see yourself going against the chosen leadership, you are gone and finished."

Kudzai Chipanga, the 35-year-old leader of ZANU-PF's youth wing had supported Grace Mugabe's bid for power. After General Chiwenga's threatened intervention, Chipanga fired back, saying: "We in our millions will not let an individual military man interfere with the leader of the party and legitimately voted president of the country." He added "Defending the revolution and our leader and president is an ideal we live for and if need be it is a principle we are prepared to die for". Chipanga was also reportedly detained. Chipanga publicly apologised for opposing the army 16 November 2017 after being marched into the state television headquarters to read out a statement.

The Zimbabwe war veterans association called for the creation of a transitional government. Zimbabwe is a militarized state. Former members of the military head parastatals amd large sections of the mining sector pay directly into army coffers. Veterans from the liberation struggle are everywhere.

Issuing a "stark warning", Zimbabwe's influential war veterans on said Mugabe, the patron of their 35,000-strong association, should not be allowed to stay any longer in power. "If he doesn't leave, we are going to settle the score," Chris Mutsvangwa, the war veterans' leader, told a press conference in Zimbabwe's capital, Harare. "There is no going back about Mugabe - he must leave," added Mutsvangwa.

Mugabe Succession - Background

The first lady of Zimbabwe said 17 February 2017 President Robert Mugabe, who turned 93, would be a candidate in the 2018 elections even if he died. Addressing a rally of the ruling ZANU-PF party, Grace Mugabe said, "Even if the president dies before the election, millions of Zimbabweans will vote for his corpse next year.

Zimbabwe's 92-year-old leader returned home 03 September 2016 amid rumors his health is failing. Said Mugabe on return: "Yes, I was dead. Its true I was dead. I resurrected like I always do. Once I get back to my country, I am real. ...I dont know how many times I die but nobody has ever talked about my resurrection. ... I suppose they dont want to, because it would mean they would mention my resurrection several times and that would be quite divine, an achievement for an individual who is not divine. Jesus died once, and resurrected only once, and poor Mugabe several times."

The ruling party faction, that goes by the moniker Generation 40 (G40), backs Grace Mugabe and is rabidly opposed to Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa succeeding Mugabe. On the other hand, many war veterans, who are said to be in the opposing Team Lacoste group (Mnangagwa faction) assert that the VP should succeed Mugabe and have even gone on record to warn that if the Midlands godfather is overlooked, blood could be shed in the country.

Rumors about Mugabe's health are common. Robert Mugabe's plane touched down at the main airport in the capital, Harare, after Mugabe, Africa's oldest leader, went to Dubai to seek medical attention. Zimbabweans were growing increasingly frustrated with Mugabe and his failure to fix the economy. Mugabe, who was a leader in the independence movement, had been in power since 1980.

It is a criminal offence in Zimbabwe to make any derogatory or insulting comments about President Mugabe. Any person making such comments is liable to arrest and prosecution. Distributing or displaying books published by banned authors or displaying any form of political allegiance, slogans or images from Zimbabwean political parties may attract strict penalties including arrest, detention or deportation.

Mugabe's 18 April 2003 Independence Day speech, in which he encouraged open discussion of the succession issue within ZANU-PF councils, opened the floodgates of speculation. Politburo members and ZANU-PF party members long known to harbor latent presidential ambitions suddenly stampeded to the fore. Competing succession scenarios and successor lists have appeared in local media, and different timelines were presented. In the final analysis, however, there appears to be no heir apparent that does not suffer some disqualifying flaw, and no clear-cut scenario for when, or under what terms, Mugabe might actually step aside. As usual, and barring unforeseen actuarial developments, the decision on where Mugabe goes remained squarely with Mugabe himself.

Robert Mugabe and the ZANU-PF leadership sent out ambiguous messages for most of a year about their willingness to embark on a genuine transition process. Their willingness to contemplate such a transition waxed and waned depending on the degree of pressure that the Government has been under, particularly from their African colleagues. His continued evasions about succession suggested his unease about any successor's ability to hold the party together and "protect his legacy."

Most in the party's upper echelons knew their future with Mugabe was limited, whether they fall victim to Mugabe's expected cabinet dismissals or simply lost their place in a crumbling patronage system.

Free and fair elections or a transitional government of national unity do not figure into any scenario that ZANU-PF insiders or government-owned newspapers have conjured up. In ZANU-PF logic, ZANU-PF succession is a given. Politburo discussions of the succession issue reportedly concluded that any successor to Mugabe must meet two basic requirements: enjoy significant acceptance in all provinces, and be acceptable to the Ndebele in the South.

The ruling ZANU-PF party probably temporarily deferred succession tensions within its ranks by tapping Minister of Water Resources and Infrastructural Development Joyce Mujuru, the wife of retired General Solomon Mujuru, as its second Vice-President at party provincial meetings on 21 November 2004. Mujuru was the choice of six of ten provincial councils, edging out Speaker of the Parliament and Party Secretary for Administration Emmerson Mnangagwa.

Mugabe in 2006 promised he would step down as president in 2008. But he appears determined to die in office and it is unlikely that he will provide any clues to succession. Determining a successor to Mugabe is therefore speculative.

In April 2016 Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe accused potential successors for wishing him dead and told ruling ZANU-PF supporters to unite against foreign enemies he said wanted to destroy the Southern African nation. Mugabe told a meeting of about 10,000 veterans of Zimbabwe's 1970s independence war that his frequent trips to Malaysia and Singapore had fed newspaper reports that he was ill and sometimes dying, stoking succession fights in ZANU-PF.

As the succession battle involving Mugabe deepened, Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa emerged as a frontrunner in the unofficial race. Mnangagwa as State Security Minister played a key role in the Gukurahundi Massacres that saw over 20 000 civilians butchered to death in the Matabeleland and Midlands provinces. It was again Mnangagwa as head of the Joint Operations Command (JOC) that violently kept Mugabe in power following his humiliating defeat in the 2008 presidential elections. Because of his involvement in the Matebeleland massacres of the 1980s, Emmerson Mnangagwa cannot pass muster with the Ndebele. In addition, he is feared and mistrusted by many ZANU-PF insiders, including his arch-rival (and former ZAN/ZANLA Commander) Solomon Mujuru, for his ruthlessness.

Mnangagwa had done a lot of dirty work for President Robert Mugabe both as State Security Minister, Defence Minister, Justice Minister and chairman of the Joint Operations Command (JOC). With the Tsholotsho Declaration of 2004, a group aligned to Mnangagwa hatched a succession plan for the late vice president Simon Muzenda that involved the elevation of Mnangagwa as Muzendas successor. The plan was, however, foiled by the elevation of Joice Mujuru, who was expelled in 2014 for allegedly plotting to unconstitutionally remove President Mugabe from power.

By September 2016 Mnangagwa faced mounting pressure from Zanu PF members to resign on allegations that he is plotting to stampede Mugabes ouster, with some openly attacking him. Mnangagwa enjoyed the support of the military and from the stance of the war veterans, the militarys support for Mugabe was tenuous. Mnangagwa remained a trusted alternative.

Grace Mugabe made political advances of her own. As of 2007 Grace's primary personal interest appeared to be shopping; she reportedly spent large amounts of forex on her infrequent trips to Asia. Initially Grace Mugabe was not active or well-liked within ZANU-PF circles and she had no close relationships with cabinet members. Grace's relationship with President Mugabe appeared stable. In the past she was rumored to have had affairs, but there were no recent rumors.

Grace Mugabe acted as a kind of gatekeeper, often controlling who sees him, and what information gets to him. She became the head of the women's league in the ruling ZANU-PF party. There was no good reason for Mugabe to not want his wife, Grace to take over as President. What he does know however is that his wife remains divisive and unpopular within the party. President Robert Mugabe believed his wife is strong-headed and he does not challenge most of her decisions for the sake of peace at home.

In December 2014, she was appointed by her husband to head the Women's League of the ruling ZANU-PF party after becoming instrumental in the downfall of former Vice President Joice Mujuru. She used a string of political rallies to publicly accuse Mujuru of corruption, power mongering and vowed to get her husband to fire the VP for attempting to usurp power.

Grace has been identified as one of the people causing factionalism that threatened to destroy Zanu PF. After Grace made her entry into politics, the veteran ruler was forced to dump some of his long-time allies such as Joice Mujuru and Didymus Mutasa. This came after Grace organised rallies across the country demanding their ejection from the party and government. One Cabinet minister, Chris Mutsvangwa, faced suspension after he hinted in a privately-owned newspaper that Grace Mugabe owed her political rise to her marriage to the president. His predecessor, Jabulani Sibanda, was kicked out of the party in 2014 and faced criminal charges after describing Grace Mugabe's swift political rise as a bedroom coup.

Grace spent the year 2015 crisscrossing the country, addressing supporters in the blazing sun in remote areas. She handed out food parcels, clothing and farming equipment, most paid for by the government and some by her family. She told farmers that they should be loyal to her. She is referred to as Mother, and cars and T-shirts are covered with her image and the slogan, Everyone Belongs to Mother. Most of these events and speeches are duly carried live on state television, magnifying their impact, to the dismay of the opposition which accuses the country's sole television broadcaster of partisan reporting.

In December 2015, she claimed seniority over Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa. He has more experience in politics than me, she conceded at a rally attended by thousands of villagers in south-eastern Zimbabwe, but then added: It does not mean the first lady is below the VP.

On 10 July 2016 Grace told a Zanu PF Harare inter-district meeting that Zimbabweans must learn from countries such as Libya and Iraq and stop entertaining forces that might lead to chaos. Let us not be hoodwinked by our detractors because we know there are some governments that dont like us and they will give money to sponsor a stay away, she claimed. If we embark on a stay-way they would be busy manufacturing and their economies prospering yet things will halt in our country. If we calculate how much we lost through the stay away you will be surprised how much we lost.

ZANU-PF, according to most analysts, is not ready to accept a woman as president.

Simba Makoni was the darling of the donors, popular with the more liberal-minded, and acceptable to many in the MDC. However, he comes from Manicaland and lacks a broad constituency base in Mashonaland rural areas and is anathema to pro-Mugabe hard-liners for his commitment to reform and his conciliatory political views. The Zanu PF politburo member broke ranks with Mugabe in 2007 to form MKD - Mavambo/Kusile/Dawn.

Zimbabwe presidential hopeful Simba Makoni held his first rallies in March 2008, vowing to reform the economy and end the system of patronage that marked President Robert Mugabe's 28 years in power. Some Zanu-PF heavyweights, and some war veterans, said they were supporting Mr. Makoni rather than Mr. Mugabe in the March 29 election.

Simba Makoni's rally in Harare, in Shona, was a long attack on Mr. Mugabe's economic policies and his system of political patronage. For approximately 3,000 to 4,000 mostly young men who attended the Harare rally Sunday, it was a revelation. They laughed out loud and clapped and cheered when Mr. Makoni reeled off a list of economic problems faced by Zimbabweans.

He said many put their hard-earned cash in the bank, but were then not allowed to draw it out when they wanted, and had to wait for days to get access to their money. He said there was chaos on Zimbabwe's farmland, in a country which has for decades been dependent on agricultural exports. He also said there was a gross abuse of state resources, which were used along partisan lines.

On 25 April 2016 (MKD) leader Simba Makoni said a grand coalition of progressive forces including opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirais MDC, disgruntled Zanu PF stalwarts led by former Vice President Joice Mujuru and Dumiso Dabengwas Zapu would defeat President Robert Mugabe and Zanu PF in the 2018 elections. He said that that consultations were under way between various opposition leaders, with a view to form a broad front that would challenge Mugabe.

We have ongoing communications with the so-called Gamatoxes (disgruntled former Zanu PF stalwarts), the renewal team (MDC breakaway faction), and the MDC for the purpose of building national consensus and to search for common ground so that we can engage in effective common action, Makoni said.

Other potential successors mentioned included Defense Minister Sidney Sekeremayi, who had considerable Politburo support, and retired Army General Solomon Mujuru. The former suffers from a reputation for personal weakness, while the latter is widely considered too rough-edged and uneducated to handle the job. In Mujuru's case, he seems more interested in being kingmaker than the king. The very ambitious Minister of Information Jonathan Moyo, an Ndebele, is widely disliked in party circles. His dependence upon the patronage of Mugabe is such that he appears determined to block or delay any moves toward Mugabe's departure, since Moyo himself is an unlikely dauphin. Like Mugabe, Minister of Local Government Ignatius Chombo is from the Zezeru sub-clan of the Shona, and his nomination would spark fierce opposition from the competing Karanga and Manyica sub-clans.

Other candidates included Minister of Special Affairs in the President,s Office John Nkomo, whose Ndebele bloodlines and ZAPU origins might qualify him for a prime ministerial or custodial role, but certainly not a strong presidential one. Lesser candidates included Minister of Home Affairs Kembo Mohadi, Minister of State for National Security Nicholas Goche, Minister of Social Welfare July Moyo, and Minister of Foreign Affairs Stan Mudenge. Most are not serious contenders for ethnic/clan reasons, or for a lack of political traction with party elders.

The generation of ZANU-PF heavyweights from the liberation era must ultimately second Mugabe's choice. Many of these old-timers in their 70s and 80s, and can be expected to resist mightily any change from the effective one-party system they have known so long. Less entrenched and ideological insiders would like to see reform, but only ZANU-PF reform, and fear that the party has not prepared for succession and would be extremely vulnerable in the post-Mugabe period. For different reasons, many within the party would prefer to still the winds of change.

From the ZANU-PF perspective, the path to the Presidency of the Republic clearly goes through the ZANU-PF presidency. Mugabe held this position since 1987. The ZANU-PF party Constitution provides a clear framework for electing party leadership. The National People's Congress, which is held once every five years, elects the President, two vice-presidents, and the National Chairman of the party directly, upon nomination by at least six provincial executive councils of the party, meeting separately, in special session called for that purpose. If more than one candidate is presented, then the candidate having the highest number of votes stands as the nominee.







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Belarus - Politics

Voting in Belarus was held 11 September 2016, with turnout surpassing the threshold for the parliamentary election to be valid. Although the authoritarian government had introduced some reforms, doubts existed over the vote's credibility. Polling stations closed with officials declaring that the level of voter participation exceeded the 50-percent threshold for the election to be valid. Most of the 110 lower house seats up for grabs were expected to go to pro-government candidates, with 484 candidates vying for a place in the assembly. This time, critics allege, Lukashenka has allowed two candidates with opposition sympathies to be proclaimed winners because of pressure from the West.

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), which put in place some 400 monitors to observe the elections, said it would report on 12 September 2016 as to how the election had been conducted. After the last election in 2012, the OSCE called for measures such as including increasing transparency of the vote count and improvement of the right to free expression.

Belarus implemented a number of reforms in recent years in an effort to seek rapprochement with the West. The country was seeking a possible $3 billion (2.7 billion-euro) loan from the International Monetary Fund. Political prisoners were released in 2015r, prompting the EU to lift nearly all of its sanctions and the US to partially scrap its trade restrictions imposed over a perceived lack of democracy.

The former Soviet republic has been labeled Europe's last dictatorship,. Belarus has a strong presidential system, governed by the president who has extensive powers, including the authority to dissolve the lower and upper houses of parliament, to issue presidential decrees which have the force of law when the legislature is in recess, to declare a state of emergency or to impose martial law. The president appoints the prime minister and the government, as well half of the judges of the Constitutional Court, and has the power to dismiss any of them. Furthermore, the president is empowered to appoint and dismiss the judges of all other courts, including the Supreme Court.

The Belarusian state controls all media outlets, meaning that only officially approved views are heard by most of society. At least eight new non-state newspapers were refused registration in 2010. Independent publications still have no possibility of being distributed through the state press distribution system. Independent journalists are frequently harassed. Following the presidential election of 19 December 2010, the independent media was specifically targeted, with premises raided, equipment seized, journalists interrogated and in some cases beaten up. Foreign media outlets have faced problems getting their correspondents accredited.

Arrest and violence are often used to impede assembly, often by individuals in civilian clothes who present no law enforcement identification to the individual being arrested. Pressure against families of those involved in opposition politics can include restricting their right to free movement, threatening removal from jobs, and, in one notable example, threatening to seize the child of Andrei Sannikau, an imprisoned opposition presidential candidate and his wife, Irina Khalip, also a political prisoner.

The media landscape includes a wide range of national and local television and radio broadcasters, as well as a number of print media outlets. State owned media dominate the media landscape and the state controls the distribution networks. Official media -- including the main newspaper, Sovietskaya Belorussia, which belongs to the presidential administration -- invariably portray Lukashenka in a positive light. Nevertheless, there are some media that constitute alternative sources of information, including the Internet. The overall media environment has deteriorated in the recent years due to intimidation, detentions, defamation lawsuits and administrative sanctions imposed on journalists and media outlets.

The party system in Belarus is weak, notwithstanding the number of parties registered. The majority of the 15 registered parties support the President and the political opposition to the incumbent is not represented in the parliament. The 2012 parliamentary elections resulted in only five representatives being elected from political parties. Amendments to several laws related to activities of political parties and public associations as introduced in February 2014 were, according to interlocutors in state institutions, intended to simplify the procedure for registration of public associations. In particular, the requirement of securing regional representation in order to be registered was lifted and public associations were allowed to become political parties, provided they did not receive state or foreign financial support up to six months prior to the transformation.

The most significant human rights problems continued to be: citizens were unable to change their government through elections; in a system bereft of checks and balances, authorities committed abuses; and former political prisoners political rights remained restricted while the government failed to account for longstanding cases of politically motivated disappearances. Other human rights problems included abuses by the security forces, which reportedly mistreated suspects during investigations and in prisons. Prison conditions remained poor. Authorities arbitrarily arrested, detained, and imprisoned citizens for criticizing officials, participating in demonstrations, and other political reasons. The judiciary experienced political interference and a lack of independence; trial outcomes often appeared predetermined, and trials occurred behind closed doors or in the absence of the accused. Authorities infringed on the right of privacy. The government restricted civil liberties, including freedom of speech, press, assembly, association, and religion.

The government seized printed materials from civil society activists and prevented independent media from disseminating information and materials. The government continued to hinder or prevent the activities of some religious groups, at times fining them or restricting their services. Official corruption in all branches of government remained a problem. Authorities harassed human rights groups, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), and political parties, refusing to register many and then threatening them with criminal prosecution for operating without registration.

State-owned media dominated the information field and maintained the highest circulation through generous subsidies and preferences. There was no countrywide private television. The state-owned postal system, Belposhta, and the state distributor of printed publications, Belsayuzdruk, allowed the distribution of at least nine independent newspapers and magazines that covered politics, including Novy Chas, Borisovskie Novosti, and Intexpress, which have been banned from distribution for 11 years.

The exclusion of independent print media from the state distribution system and the requirement that private stores secure registration to sell newspapers and magazines effectively limited the ability of the independent press to distribute their publications.

International media continued to operate in the country but not without interference and prior censorship. Euronews and the Russian channels First Channel, NTV, and RTR were generally available, although only through paid cable services in many parts of the country and with a time lag that allowed the removal of news deemed undesirable.

The government exerted pressure on the vast majority of independent publications to exercise self-censorship, warning them not to report on certain topics or criticize the government. The government tightly and directly controlled the content of state broadcast and print media. Television channels are required to air at least 30 percent local content. Local independent television stations operated in some areas and reported local news, although most were under government pressure to forgo reporting on national and sensitive issues or risk censorship.

Violence and discrimination against women were problems, as was violence against children. Trafficking in persons remained a problem, although prosecution and victim identification slightly improved. There was discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) persons; those with disabilities; Roma and other ethnic minorities; persons with HIV/AIDS; and those who sought to use the Belarusian language. Authorities harassed and at times dismissed from their jobs members of independent unions in state-owned enterprises, severely limiting the ability of workers to form and join independent trade unions and to organize and bargain collectively. Authorities also employed various means of forced labor.

A crackdown on free speech is the latest worrying development amid the deteriorating, wholescale oppression of human rights in Belarus, an independent expert told the UN General Assembly 25 October 2018. The UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Belarus, Miklos Haraszti, referred to the sad fate of freedom of expression specifically pointing to legal amendments ending anonymity of publications in online media and forcing state registration of all online platforms.

Haraszti, who was concluding his six-year tenure, said human rights abuses that had prompted international scrutiny when he took up his role were worsening in important areas. The online restrictions close down the last public space where free speech was relatively possible, given the practically total control over speech in the mostly state-owned offline media. The amendments introduce chilling financial liabilities, blocking, or de-licensing without any judicial oversight, Haraszti said.

The permission-based regime remains unchanged, with a legal system and a State apparatus organized to suppress any expression of opinions other than those of the Government. For more than 20 years, the Belarusian governance system has remained based on an all-powerful State, driven by presidential decrees and controlling more than 80 per cent of the economy and the totality of the judicial and information systems.

For the bulk of Belarusians, Lukashenka represented stability. During his two decades in power, Lukashenka has systemically quashed opposition parties, independent media, and civil society groups. Outbursts of political protests have been met with violence.







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Dilma Vana Rousseff

Dilma Rousseff, ousted as Brazil's president, filed an appeal with the country's highest court to challenge the Federal Senate's decision to remove her from office for breaking budgetary rules. So far, all requests made by Rousseff's defense on the merits of the impeachment process against her had been rejected by the high court, whose chief justice, Ricardo Lewandowski, presided over her impeachment trial.

Rousseff, the country's first female president, denied any wrongdoing and accused her political opponents of using the trial as a way to overthrow her and undermine Brazil's democracy. President Rousseff, in a detailed, occasionally emotional speech, defended herself with honor and dignity from accusations she committed a crime of responsibility.

Of the 81 senators, 61 Senators voted in favor of her impeachment and 20 against, meeting the two-thirds majority needed to remove her from the presidency. Acting President Michel Temer will serve out Rousseff's term, which ends on 1 January 2019. Some local media reports showed that at least 52 senators had said they would vote to impeach Rousseff, while another 18 said they will oppose the impeachment and another 11 were undecided. Other reports claimed that at least 60 Brazilian Senators  six more than required for impeachment  were prepared to vote to permanently remove suspended President Dilma Rousseff from office.

Rousseff was suspended from office in May 2016. She was charged with spending money without congressional approval and illicitly using money from state banks to boost public works to favor her 2014 reelection  an accounting sleight of hand employed by many elected officials. Rousseffs impeachment meant that democratic voting in one of the worlds largest democracies would be cancelled by a parliamentary coup - remote controlled by oligarchic interests.

The final defense witnesses in the impeachment trial against suspended Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff testified on 27 August 2016, the third day of court proceedings. Rousseff was accused of mishandling public funds for her 2014 electoral campaign. Rio State University law professor Ricardo Lodi testified on Saturday that Rousseff did not break the law or harm the country's economy, which is now in deep recession. Former Brazilian Economy Minister Nelson Barbosa said there was "nothing remotely illegal" in Rousseff's actions. "You cannot act retroactively with a new interpretation of the law," he added.

Rousseff and her supporters have, from the beginning, called her ouster a coup. Social movements, trade unions, campesinos, youth, Afro-Brazilian and youth groups have erupted in massive street protests across the country to support both Rousseff and democracy. Rousseff's dismissal would confirm a shift to the right and the end of 13 years of leftist Workers Party rule that helped lift some 30 million Brazilians out of poverty.

According to the corruption watchdog Transparencia Brasil, around two-thirds of Brazil's senators have had brushes with the law either currently or in the past. Senate-imposed interim president Michel Temer would be immediately sworn in as president until the next scheduled elections in late 2018. Known as the most unpopular man in Brazil and loudly booed at the Olympic opening ceremonies, Temer, a right-wing member of the Brazilian Democratic Movement Party has been implicated in corruption allegations.

On 17 April 2016 the 513-member lower house of Congress voted 367 to 137 in favor of the impeachment. Seven lawmakers abstained and two did not show up to vote. Rousseffs supporters needed 172 votes to block the impeachment from going forward. The issue passed to the senate to determine whether to open an investigation against Rousseff on possible removal from office. If approved by the senate, the president would be suspended from office and Vice President Michel Temer, also facing low approval ratings and corruption charges, would step in to fill the countrys top office.

Brazilian senators voted 12 May 2016 to suspend President Dilma Rousseff from office for breaking budgetary laws. She faced an impeachment trial, and her vice president, Michel Temer, took over her post in the interim A simple majority was all that was needed to open a trial, and the 5522 vote was one vote more than the 54 votes needed to convict her and remove her from office. It was not immediately clear how many of the senators who voted to put her on trial would also vote to convict her.

Rousseff used money borrowed from state banks to cover budget deficits and pay for social programs. She engaged in some creative accounting to try and make the situation look better, though it was questionable whether or not her actions were illegal. The push for impeachment was largely fueled by other lawmakers desires to deflect attention from themselves.

post-coup Brazil looked to become a land of permanent crisis, with a powerless, illegitimate, corrupt government, economic recession, and unemployment. As Emir Sader, one of Brazils top sociologists, noted, everything positive that Brazil built this century will be thrown out by a coup.

The first woman elected to the office of President of Brazil, Dilma Vana Rousseff was born on December 14, 1947 in Belo Horizonte, the state capital of Minas Gerais. Rousseff has a Masters degree in economic theory from the University of Campinas and an uncompleted doctorate in economics. In 1992, she participated in an International Visitor program in the US. She is now separated from her second husband (who was also an opposition militant). She has a daughter, Paula, in Porto Alegre, where she spends her weekends. She enjoys movies and classical music.

President Rousseff was born to Bulgarian immigrant Pedro Rousseff and Dilma Jane da Silva, a school teacher from Resende, in the state of Rio de Janeiro. The couple had three children: Igor, Dilma and Zana. Her father was a Bulgarian attorney who had naturalized Brazilian citizenship. President Rousseff received her primary education at the traditional Nossa Senhora de Sion School and her secondary education at the State Central High School in Belo Horizonte, then a hub of student activism.

At the age of 16, President Rousseff began her political career, taking part in movements against the military regime that ruled Brazil from 1964 to 1985. She became actively involved in opposition to the military dictatorship in 1967, at age 19, while studying economics in Minas Gerais. Joining various underground groups, she organized three bank robberies and then co-founded the guerilla group "Armed Revolutionary Vanguard of Palmares".

In 1969, she planned a legendary robbery popularized as the "Theft of Adhemar's Safe". The operation broke into the Rio apartment of the lover of former-Sao Paulo Governor Adhemar de Barros, netting US$2.5 million that Adhemar had stashed there. In 1969, President Rousseff met Carlos Franklin Paixao de Araujo, a lawyer from Rio Grande do Sul, Brazils southernmost state. Together, they suffered persecution under the military regime.

Rousseff separated from her first husband, Claudio Linhares, who in January 1970 hijacked a plane to Cuba and remained there. That same month, she was captured by the regime and jailed for over three years (the prosecutor called her "the Joan of Arc of Subversion"), including 22 days of brutal electro-shock torture.

Freed in late 1973, Rousseff moved to Porto Alegre, the state capital of the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul. She resumed her studies at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, where she earned a degree in Economics. In 1975, President Rousseff started an internship at the Foundation of Economics and Statistics (FEE), a think-tank of the Rio Grande do Sul state government. In 1976, her first and only child, Paula Rousseff de Araujo, was born.

In the late 1970s, President Rousseff participated in an amnesty movement that supported citizens who had been deprived of their political rights or expelled from the country. Together with her then husband Carlos Araujo, Rousseff became one of the founders of the Democratic Labor Party (PDT) of leftist leader Leonel Brizola in Rio Grande do Sul. When her rights were restored by the 1979 general amnesty, she served in various city and state positions. In 1986, she was appointed Municipal Secretary of Treasury of Porto Alegre by Mayor Alceu Collares.

Following the return to democracy, Rousseff took active part in the 1989 presidential campaign, supporting PDT candidate Leonel Brizola in the first round and Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, from the Workers Party (PT), in the runoff. In the early 1990s, Rousseff served as President of the Economy and Statistics Foundation of the state of Rio Grande do Sul (1991-1993). In 1993, Alceu Collares, then Governor of Rio Grande do Sul, appointed her State Secretary of Mines, Energy and Communications (1993-1994). She served again as State Secretary of Mines (1999-2002) under Workers' Party (PT) Governor Olivio Dutra, who was elected in 1998.

In 2001, Rousseff joined the Workers Party and one year later, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was elected President. She was a key member of Lula's transition team in the weeks before he took office in January 2003, and impressed with Rousseffs knowledge and experience in the energy sector, Lula named her Minister of Mines & Energy days after his inauguration.

Between 2003 and 2005, Rousseff led an in-depth redesign of Brazils electricity sector and created the Light for All program, which made electricity available to more than 11 million Brazilians living in rural areas and in the outskirts of large cities. As chair of the board of directors of Petrobras, she encouraged biofuels research and production.

In 2005, President Lula chose Rousseff to serve as his Chief of Staff and to oversee the work of all ministries. In her new capacity, Rousseff played a decisive role in coordinating the Growth Acceleration Program (PAC), a set of policies and measures to promote investments in infrastructure; and My House, My Life, the biggest housing program in the nations history. She also coordinated the new regulatory framework for the exploration of Brazils pre-salt oil reserves.

Dilma Rousseff, President Lula's choice to succeed him as president in January 2011, cast doubt over her viability as a presidential candidate when doctors discovered in March 2009 that she had lymphatic cancer. When Rousseff's illness was first made public, the Lula government rushed to give optimistic predictions for Rousseff's health when it was too early for a reliable prognosis. Her doctors stated that her cancer was caught early and she has a 90 percent chance of a full recovery.

Rousseff left the government of President Lula on April 3, 2010 to become the presidential candidate for the Workers Party. In the runoff election on October 31, 2010, she was elected President of Brazil with almost 56 million votes. Her inauguration took place on January 1, 2011.

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff was re-elected to a second term following a victory during the second round of elections held on 26 October 2014. With all the votes tallied, Rousseff had registered 51.6 percent of the ballots over her opponent, center-right senator Aecio Neves, who received 48.4 percent of the votes.

Even though no evidence had been found linking the president to the Petrobras scandal, polls have shown large numbers believed Rousseff herself was responsible for the corruption scandal. This was, in part, because the media had gone to great lengths in trying to portray the governing Workers' Party as a corrupt, bureaucratic party that poorly managed the state company.

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Rustam Sodikovich Azimov

Islam Karimov, the president of Uzbekistan, died 02 September 2016. Many observers believed the most likely successor to Karimov was Prime Minister Shavkat Mirziyaev, 58, who had headed the government since 2003. One unknown is how much influence other powerful former allies of Karimov -- such as longtime national security chief Rustam Inoyatov and Deputy Prime Minister Rustam Azimov, who is also finance minister -- wield behind the scenes.

First Deputy Prime Minister, Finance Minister Rustam Azimov, had been in the national government since 1998, always in a post connected to finance. Rustam Inoyatov, the head of the National Security Committee [SNB - the Uzbek version of the KGB] since the 1990s, is considered to be a possible successor to Karimov. Many suspect Inoyatov was behind the campaign to bring down Karimovs daughter Gulnara. As Minister of Finance, Rustam Azimov very well may have been in a position to take notes on questionable financial transactions of other members of the Government. He is married, and has two daughters.

Born 20 September 1958 in Tashkent city, he graduated from the Faculty of History of the Tashkent State University, Faculty of Economics of the Tashkent Institute of Irrigation and Mechanization of Agriculture, where he graduated as a Candidate of Economic Sciences, as well as Master's degree at Oxford University.

He was a Serviceman at the "Photon", Komsomol leader, virgin farm economist, Secretary of the Party Committee in the Hungry Steppe, associate professor of Party School. In 1990, he became the chairman of "Ipak Yuli" Bank Board. From 1991 to 1998 he served as Chairman of the Board of the National Bank of foreign economic activity. At the same time, since 1992 - Managing the EBRD - the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development of Uzbekistan.

In 1998 he became Minister of Finance of the Republic of Uzbekistan. The February 11, 2000 session of Oliy Mazhilis reconfirmed him as the Minister of Finance. On August 1, 2000 he was appointed Deputy Prime Minister as well as Minister of Finance of the Republic of Uzbekistan, heading the general economic complex. Since November 8, 2000 he served as Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Minister of Macroeconomics and Statistics, and was relieved of his duties as Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Finance of the Republic of Uzbekistan. On 24 December 2002 the Ministry of Macroeconomics and Statistics of Uzbekistan abolished.

From January 22, 2003 he served as Deputy Prime Minister - Minister of Economy of the Republic of Uzbekistan - the head of the general economic complex. From February 4, 2005 he was First Deputy Prime Minister - Minister of Economic Affairs, Head of the economic complex and a complex of consumer goods and trade. From July 25, 2005 he was Minister of the Ministry of the reconstituted International Economic Relations, Investments and Trade.

Since 2001, he was Chairman of the National Commission on the implementation of the Programme provide the rural population with drinking water and natural gas, the Chairman of the Government Commission on bankruptcy and reorganization of enterprises, Chairman of the National Coordination Council on promoting the development of small and private entrepreneurship.

Independent website Uzmetronom reported late on 21 February 2008 that Prime Minister Shavkat Mirziyaev had been removed as Prime Minister and would assume duties as Hokim (governor) of Ferghana Province. First Deputy Prime Minister Rustam Azimov will assume duties as acting Prime Minister. Mirziyaev has been rumored for the past half year to be on his way out, though in November 2007 he seemed to have recovered his standing. His fall from power by no means entailed disgrace. Former Prime Minister Utkir Sultanov, who was replaced in 2003, then spent three years as a Deputy Prime Minister before moving on to head the TAPOich aircraft manufacturing plant (Karimov's own alma mater).

Mirziyaev's press secretary and others denied reports that First Deputy Prime Minister Rustam Azimov will be named acting Prime Minister. The reports touched a raw nerve and open a window on a palace intrigue whose ultimate stakes may be the succession to the Presidency.

Azimov's star was clearly on the rise. He was out of favor from 2003-2005 or so, following his role as a major booster of the disastrous 2003 EBRD annual meeting held in Tashkent. He had regained favor in the past two years and was named last month as First Deputy Prime Minister. He was arguably among the most powerful cabinet ministers for the past year. Whether he would remain as Prime Minister was unclear. He was widely seen as a promising figure for U.S.-Uzbek relations, and he was thought to be a promoter of sounder economic policies. He is a political survivor, though, who would keep his own message in line with Karimov's.

The prevailing view is that Tashkent-based Azimov declined the dubious honor of becoming Karimov's heir apparent, feeling he does not yet have his political ducks lined up with Samarkand/Bukhara- or Ferghana Valley-centered rivals whose support is required for stability in Uzbekistan's political triad.

In 2009 Uzbekistan established a special group on the prediction of Economic Development, headed by Rustam Azimov. According to the decree of the Government of Uzbekistan established an interdepartmental working group to develop the socio-economic development of Uzbekistan in 2014.

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"When they ask me "who is the President of Uzbekibekibekistanstan?"

I am going to say, "you know, I don't know, do you know?"

Knowing who is the head of some of some of these small,

insignificant states around the world - I don't think that is

something that is critical to focusing on national security."

Herman Cain, 09 October 2011





Shavkat Miramanovich Mirziyaev

Polls closed 04 December 2016 in Uzbekistan, where voters chose who will be the countrys next president after Islam Karimov, the autocrat who ruled the Central Asian nation for a quarter-century until his death three months earlier. Preliminary results announced by the Central Election Commission show that Mirziyoyev took about 88 percent of the vote.

Many observers believed the most likely successor to Karimov was Prime Minister Shavkat Mirziyaev. He was appointed head of the commission that organized Karimov's funeral, a duty that in the region's Soviet culture normally falls to the successor. Mirziyaev was made acting president six days after Karimovs death was announced -- circumventing a constitutional process under which the upper parliament house speaker is supposed to take charge. Acting President Shavkat Mirziyaev, who had been the countrys prime minister since 2003, was widely expected to win a five-year term in the December election. The Central Election Commission announced that almost 87 percent of the 20 million-plus electorate took part in the poll.

Mirziyaev, born in 1951, had headed the government since 2003. Other contenders included First Deputy Prime Minister, Finance Minister Rustam Azimov, has been in the national government since 1998, always in a post connected to finance. Rustam Inoyatov, the head of the National Security Committee [SNB - the Uzbek version of the KGB] since the 1990s, was also considered to be a possible successor to Karimov. Many suspect Inoyatov was behind the campaign to bring down Karimovs daughter Gulnara.

Shavkat Miramanovich Mirziyaev [also seen as Russified "Shavkat Miramanovich Mirziyoye"] was the Prime Minister of the Republic of UzbekistanSince 2003. He graduated from the Tashkent Institute of irrigation and mechanization of agriculture. He then served as Secretary of the Komsomol organization of the Institute, then worked as a secretary and the rector of the party organization of Tashkent's Mirzo-Ulugbek (former Kuibyshev) up to the district administration (1996). He served as governor (Hakim) of Jizzakh Province from 1996 to September 2001, then as governor of Samarqand Province (September 11, 2001 to December 11, 2003) until his appointment as Prime Minister. He represented District 67 of Jizzakh region (1999-2004), and was deputy of the Oliy Majlis. On 11 December 2003 he was appointed the Prime Minister of the Republic of Uzbekistan. He replaced fired Prime Minister, Otkir Sultonov.

A 26 November 2004 article on the independent news website Centrasia.ru alleged that Mirziyaev was placed under house arrest for three weeks after arranging an elaborate wedding for his daughter at which each guest was obliged to hand over at least 10,000 dollars as a gift. The article also stated that an unnamed official of a recent Russian delegation described Mirziyaev as having the instincts of "a head of state," reportedly upsetting President Karimov.

Independent website Uzmetronom reported late on 21 February 2008 that Prime Minister Shavkat Mirziyaev had been removed as Prime Minister and would assume duties as Hokim (governor) of Ferghana Province. First Deputy Prime Minister Rustam Azimov will assume duties as acting Prime Minister. Mirziyaev has been rumored for the past half year to be on his way out, though in November 2007he seemed to have recovered his standing. His fall from power by no means entailed disgrace. Former Prime Minister Utkir Sultanov, who was replaced in 2003, then spent three years as a Deputy Prime Minister before moving on to head the TAPOich aircraft manufacturing plant (Karimov's own alma mater).

According to contacts in the Parliament and the Cabinet of Ministers, National Security Service Chairman Rustam Inoyatov favored Mirziyaev as the next President of Uzbekistan. According to this version of the palace intrigue, Inoyatov had sufficient compromising information on Mirziyaev to ensure his own interests are protected.

Radio Free Europe ran an interview late 21 February 2008 with Prime Minister Mirziyaev's press secretary, Sherzod Kudratkhojaev, who denied the Uzmetronom internet report and said his boss will remain in office. Russia's Interfax news agency, meanwhile, reported that an official Uzbek Government news service had also denied the report. Mass media inside Uzbekistan (print, telvision, radio) have been entirely silent on the issue, and no governmental denial has appeared online. The report clearly touched a raw nerve in certain quarters.

In early 2009 sources said President Karimov was retaining Prime Minister Mirziyaev for the time being, but members of the Apparat and Karimov perceived him as unprofessional and Karimov was planning to replace him at an appropriate time. First Deputy Prime Minister Azimov would move up to Prime Minister.

On 27 January 2010, the Legislative Chamber and Senate of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan assembled for a joint session. President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Islam Karimov attended the convention. Karimov delivered a speech entitled Modernization of the country and fostering a solid civil society is our key priority. Furthermore, the Head of nation nominated Shavkat Mirziyoyev for the position of Uzbekistans Prime Minister. Members of parliament endorsed the recommendation and appointed Mirziyoyev Prime Minister of the Republic.

In accordance with the Constitution, the Prime Minister was nominated by the Liberal Democratic Party of Uzbekistan, the highest number of seats in the Legislative (lower) Chamber of Parliament. Following the elections held on December 21, 2014, the party won 52 parliamentary seats and retained a majority in the new parliament. Uzbek President Islam Karimov after consideration of nominations submitted for approval to the proposed Mirzieev Houses of Parliament. Leaders of all four factions and deputy group of the Ecological Movement of Uzbekistan, the lower house of parliament supported the candidacy Mirzieev, said the agency interlocutor. During his statement in the position of head of the government voted a majority of the 150 deputies of the lower house and 100 members of the Senate.

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Type 001A Shandong

The Shandong (hull 17), China's second aircraft carrier as well as its first domestically built one, was commissioned 17 December 2019 into the People's Liberation Army Navy in Sanya, South China's Hainan Province. The carrier's hull number 17, indicates that it is a training carrier, as is her sister ship 16 Liaonang. Togther, these two carriers can train thousands of crew members each year, in preparation for an enourmous enlargement of China's carrier fleet with big deck carriers, twice as large as the first pair, later in the 2020s. Chinese experts stressed China's aircraft carrier development was defensive in nature, aims to safeguard national sovereignty and would not be used to seek hegemony.

China is projected to match the American fleet of 10 big-deck carriers before the year 2029, the centenary of the foundation of the People's Republic. China's third aircraft carrier could be launched within the next two years, be combat ready by 2025 and feature an electromagnetic catapult and stealth fighter jets. The third carrier might still be powered conventionally, as China's nuclear-powered vessel technology was likely to mature by 2025 to 2030 and so not keep up with the construction speed of the third carrier.

The commissioning coincided with the anniversary of the establishment of the Qing Dynasty's Beiyang Fleet on December 17, 1888. The fleet was wiped out in the First Sino-Japanese War, which was one representation of China being invaded due to its inability to master modern military equipment. Shandong is a large costal province and hosts China's first aircraft carrier base, which could be one of the reasons for the name. The Beiyang Fleet was established in Shandong.

China had been expected to launch its first domestically built aircraft carrier on the 68th anniversary of the founding of the PLA Navy  on Sunday 23 April 2017. But it was reported that tidal conditions were not conducive for a launch to mark the navys birthday, and the ceremony was expected to take place in the next few days. China's first homegrown aircraft carrier was floated to a dry dock 25 April 2017, signaling that its official launch was fast approaching.

China was close to completing its second aircraft carrier, which will begin service by 2020, experts said 21 February 2017. China Central Television (CCTV) reported that the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy's Type 001A class aircraft carrier's scaffold had been removed and red undercoat has been painted below the ship's waterline in Dalian, northeastern Liaoning Province, and that a launching ceremony will soon be held.

In the 30 March 2017 meeting of the Ministry of Defense at a regular press conference, a reporter asked: "The progress of domestic aircraft carrier is of much concern, and there is news that the domestic aircraft carrier will be launched on April 23. Can you confirm this?." China's Ministry of Defense spokesman said:" The domestic aircraft carrier is currently progressing well, and when to test the water, I believe will not let everyone wait!"

Photos of the first Chinese domestic aircraft carrier show it had been painted with red primer, the island had begun to install the glass and the front phased array radar and other equipment. Recent photos showed that the deck had begun to clean up, so it ws thought it would most likely in the near future be in the water. Reported speculation that the date may be the People's Liberation Army Navy foundation day that is, 23 April 2017.

"Unlike the Liaoning(Type 001), China's first aircraft carrier, a refitted ship built by Ukraine (under the former Soviet Union), the 001A is China-built, and its design, combat capability and technologies will be much more advanced," Song Zhongping, a military expert, told the Global Times.

On 31 December 2015 the Chinese defense ministry formally announced the construction of the 001A, and another spokesperson Yang Yujun said, "This carrier, with a displacement of 50,000 tons, will be the base for J-15 fighters and other types of aircraft." The design and construction of the second aircraft carrier is based on experience, research and training from the first carrier, the Liaoning, Yang added.

The US Defense Department reported in early 2009 that "Analysts in and out of government project that China will not have an operational, domestically-produced carrier and associated ships before 2015. However, changes in China's shipbuilding capability and degree of foreign assistance to the program could alter those projections. The PLA Navy is considering building multiple carriers by 2020."

The US Department of Defense reported on 06 May 2013 that "China also continues to pursue an indigenous aircraft carrier program ... and will likely build multiple aircraft carriers over the next decade. The first Chinese-built carrier will likely be operational sometime in the second half of this decade.... China will probably build several aircraft carriers over the next 15 years."

The 2016 Annual Report to Congress: Military and Security Developments Involving the Peoples Republic of China reported that "In 2015, China began construction of its first domestically produced aircraft carrier."

During the 2018 Two Sessions, Yuan Maorong, an NPC deputy from Taizhou city, East China's Zhejiang Province, suggested naming the carrier "Wei Wen", after a military general from the Three Kingdoms period (AD 184/220-280) who was the first man in history to arrive at Taiwan, according to cctv.com on March 13. Yuan said naming the carrier Wei Wen would show the historical fact of Taiwan being an integral part of China, and push the development of Cross-Straits relations.

The discussion of how the ship should be named has also been spreading in social media. Many Chinese netizens suggested simply naming the carrier "Taiwan," while others suggested naming it "Shi Lang", an admiral who recaptured Taiwan for the Qing Dynasty. "This displays the high expectations among the Chinese people over solving the Taiwan question, because they want the country to use the first domestically built aircraft carrier as a symbol to announce its determination and ability to achieve this aim, and also send a tough warning signal to the secessionists in Taiwan," Li noted.

However, the carrier is not targeting Taiwan, according to a military expert from a Beijing-based military academy who requested anonymity. He explained that if Beijing decided to use military measures to solve the Taiwan question, the PLA is fully capable of doing so without an aircraft carrier, and Type 001A was made for a greater purpose.

"The PLA Navy has regulations for naming large vessels like aircraft carriers, which generally use the names of provinces and municipalities," Song said. "Liaoning is primarily a platform for training personnel and collecting data through testing, while Type 001A is China's first carrier made for combat missions, so its name could be more special. It's impossible to name it with a person's name, for only vessels used for scientific research can use a person's name in China," said the anonymous military expert.

China's second aircraft carrier left a port outside the Dalian Shipyard on 13 May 2018 for its first sea trial, signaling that the production of this domestically built carrier was nearly complete. China's first aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, which has served the navy for 13 months, underwent 10 sea trials. Some military experts suggest with the knowledge gained from the Liaoning the new aircraft carrier is likely to see smoother sea trials.

China's second aircraft carrier was transferred from dry dock into the water at a launch ceremony in Dalian shipyard of the China Shipbuilding Industry Corp. in Dalian, northeast China's Liaoning Province, at a launch ceremony, starting about 9 am April 26, 2017. The new carrier, the first domestically-built one, came after the Liaoning, a refitted former Soviet Union-made carrier that was put into commission in the Navy of the Chinese People's Liberation Army in 2012. The ceremony was attended by Fan Changlong, vice chairman of the Central Military Commission, as well as leaders of the PLA Navy and China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation.

The Shandong is based in Sanya near the South China Sea, while the Liaoning is based in Qingdao, East China's Shandong Province near the East China Sea, Yellow Sea and Bohai Sea. Having one carrier in the east and another in the south will ensure fast reaction time when the presence of an aircraft carrier is needed.

The second aircraft carrier based in the south can effectively patrol the South China Sea, protect islands and reefs there and act as a strategic foothold at sea. While the Liaoning could go from the East China Sea to the Pacific Ocean and train more pilots and officers, the Shandongcould sail from the South China Sea into the Pacific Ocean and even go to the Indian Ocean. One carrier could also stay near the mainland for alert missions, while the other could sail farther away into high seas for long-range missions.

In terms of time, regular maintenance is needed for a carrier to stay combat ready. When one carrier is under maintenance or repair, the other could take over its missions so China will always have a carrier to deploy. Another new choice is to let the two carriers form a dual-carrier battle group for maximum combat capability. A dual-carrier battle group will boost China's maritime combat capability, because a moderate or more intensive regional conflict, especially in high seas, requires at least 45 carrier-based aircraft to achieve regional air and sea superiority, which is not possible with a single Chinese aircraft carrier.





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Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR)

Red Chips are stocks of mainland Chinese companies traded on the Hong Kong stock exchange. China uses Hong Kong to channel its investments around the world and a large share of the capital that flows into China goes through the Hong Kong financial system. The Chinese have a large incentive to maintain their image as a preferred destination for foreign capital. The financial linkage underwritten by British common law and a reputation for transparent and honest regulation that gives Hong Kong an importance to the Chinese economy that far outstrips its relative size.

Hong Kong is a Special Administrative Region of China, a status that initially ensured its courts, civil service and media enjoy freedoms that do not exist on the mainland. Political stability, the rule of law, low taxes, minimal regulation and freedom of speech are qualities that have made it the main gateway between mainland China and the rest of the world for multinational companies for decades. Hong Kong is one of the world's most important financial centers, second only to New York and London in terms of global significance. The territory boasts over 150 licensed banks and more than 1,600 asset managers as well as associated professional services. Although Hong Kong accounts for less than 3% of entire China's gross domestic product (GDP), the territory is the country's most important offshore fundraising location. Despite the growing significance of places like Shanghai and Shenzhen as China's financial centers, Hong Kong remains a key gateway connecting mainland China with global financial markets. Hong Kong owed its status as a flourishing financial hub to a number of factors, like the region's rule of law and independent judiciary.

international firms often use Hong Kong as a base to expand into mainland China. China also uses Hong Kong's financial markets to attract foreign funds. Chinese companies are by far the most important USD issuers in the Hong Kong offshore market, so most of Hong Kong's external debt is actually debt from Chinese subsidiaries operating from Hong Kong. Hong Kong's contribution to China's gross domestic product dropped from 20% in 1997 to less than 3% by 2019. By the year 2000, Hong Kong accounted for two-thirds of all foreign investment in China and one-third of China's foreign exchange. But by 2004, inward FDI and IPO funds raised through foreign equity markets (including Hong Kong) accounted for about 1114% of total investment. Hong Kong was the home of 73% of mainland Chinese companies initial public offerings overseas during the period 2010 to 2018. In the same vein, Hong Kong accounts for 60% of overseas bond issuance of mainland companies and 26% of their syndicated loans.

Almost all U.S. portfolio investment goes toward Chinese firm listing on the Hong Kong stock exchange. By one estimate, by 2019, about 60% of foreign investment in China and a similar share of its outbound investment was channelled through Hong Kong. By another estimate, in 2019 it was the largest source of overseas direct investment in China, accounting for 54% of the national total, and the leading destination for China's foreign direct investment outflow, with the same percentage. Sixty-four percent of mainland Chinas inward FDI comes from Hong Kong, and between 2010 and 2018, 65% of outward FDI was channeled through Hong Kong.

Assistant Professor Masato Kajimoto of the University of Hong Kong' Journalism and Media Studies Centre says Hong Kong has been divided between the pro-democracy camp and the pro-government bloc for years, mainly due to the 2012 Anti-National Education Movement and the Umbrella Movement two years later. But he says the gap has deepened further since many people turned to social media, including Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, WhatsApp, Weibo and Telegram.

"It is natural for people to seek and share the views that reinforce their political beliefs. On social media those views are often amplified by like-minded users, creating an environment known as the 'echo chamber.' What we see is not just consuming the political views that you like. Those views include vicious attacks on other viewpoints. And I think that's particularly problematic because you're not only excluding yourself from other viewpoints, you are constantly exposed to other viewpoints. And yet, instead of trying to understand the other ways to look at things, you are constantly mocking them, attacking them, making fun of them. And that you can see on both sides clearly in Hong Kong."

US policy treats Hong Kong separately from the rest of China in trade, investment, commerce, and immigrationbased on Beijings pledge to give the territory a high degree of autonomy under the one country, two systems model. Public Law No: 116-76 (11/27/2019) "Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act of 2019", requires the U.S. State Department to report annually to Congress whether Hong Kong is sufficiently autonomous from China to justify keeping the citys distinct trading status, and whether China has eroded Hong Kongs civil liberties and rule of law, as protected by the citys Basic Law.

The Department of State shall report and certify annually to Congress as to whether Hong Kong is sufficiently autonomous from China to justify its unique treatment. The report shall address issues including (1) demands for universal suffrage; (2) law enforcement cooperation, including extradition requests; (3) sanctions enforcement and export controls; (4) decision-making within the Hong Kong government; (5) judicial independence; (6) civil liberties in Hong Kong, including freedom of assembly and freedom of the press; and (7) how any erosion to Hong Kong's autonomy impacts areas of U.S.-Hong Kong cooperation.

The Department of Commerce shall report annually to Congress on China's efforts to use Hong Kong to evade U.S. export controls and sanctions and the extent of such violations occurring in Hong Kong generally. The report shall also (1) identify any items that were improperly reexported from Hong Kong, (2) assess whether dual-use items subject to U.S. export laws are being transshipped through Hong Kong, and (3) assess whether such dual-use items are being used to develop various mass-surveillance and predictive-policing tools or the social-credit system proposed for deployment in China.

By December 2020 the UK was granting the most special British National Overseas [BNO] travel documents to Hong Kong residents since the 1997 handover, bolstering predictions of a mass exodus as China tightens its grip over the former British colony. Some 216,398 Hong Kong residents received British National (Overseas) passports during the first 10 months of the year, higher than any annual figure stretching back to 1997, according to data provided by the U.K.s Passport Office. The U.K. side violated its promises, insisted on going its own way and repeatedly played up the issue of BNO passports, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told a regular news briefing 04 December 2020 in Beijing. As the British side violated its commitment first, China will consider not recognizing the BNO passport as a valid travel document and reserves the right to take further measures.

A China-backed newspaper on 26 January 2020 warned that Hong Kong would have to leave behind any notion of "Western" democracy, suggesting that the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is planning to further tighten its grip on the city's political life amid an ongoing crackdown on dissent. In an article titled "Leaving behind the myth of Western democracy: consultative elections to comply with Basic Law," the CCP-backed Ta Kung Pao newspaper suggested a "consultative" process with even less public involvement may be implemented in future. It said the current method of choosing the city's chief executive could still result in the election of a candidate with political views not approved by Beijing. Currently, the chief executive is selected by a 1,200 election committee that was once overwhelmingly pro-Beijing. But a landslide victory for pro-democracy parties in the 2019 District Council elections may have rung alarm bells among Chinese leaders, as District Councils -- once overwhelmingly pro-China -- are represented on the committee.

A British National (Overseas) - BN(O) - passport is available to a huge number of people -- about 70 percent of Hong Kong's total population of 7.5 million. Hong Kong's pro-Beijing leader Carrie Lam played down the threat of a mass exodus. "I just don't see how 2.9 million Hong Kong people would love to go to the United Kingdom," she told Bloomberg, using the figure for the number of people eligible for BN(O) status that does not include their dependents. As many as 5.4 million Hong Kong residents could be eligible for the plan, including an estimated three million passport holders and just over two million dependents: around 72 percent of the city's population.

Britain prepared to open its doors to millions of residents from Hong Kong following China's security crackdown in the former colony. "I am immensely proud that we have brought in this new route for Hong Kong BNOs to live, work and make their home in our country," British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said in a statement. "In doing so we have honored our profound ties of history and friendship with the people of Hong Kong, and we have stood up for freedom and autonomy  values both the UK and Hong Kong hold dear." Britain predicted up to 154,000 Hong Kongers could arrive over the next year and as many as 322,000 over five years.

China said 29 January 2021 that it would not recognize the British National Overseas (BNO) passport as a valid travel document or for proof of identity. "From January 31, China will no longer recognize the so-called BNO passport as a travel document and ID document, and reserves the right to take further actions," Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told reporters. BNO passports won't be accepted for the purposes of entering or leaving Hong Kong, with residents required to present an alternative document. Hong Kong permanent residents who are not of Chinese nationality and hold no other valid travel document can apply to the immigration authorities for a document of identity for visa purposes.

The draconian national security law imposed on Hong Kong by the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from July 1, 2020 appears set to spark an exodus of expats from the city, according to a survey conducted by the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham). More than 40 percent of the 325 AmCham members who responded to the poll were definitely planning to leave, or were thinking about it, according to the survey published on 12 May 2021. Three percent said they were getting out immediately, while 10 percent said they would do so by the summer's end, and 15 percent were planning to be gone by the end of the year. A further 48 percent said they would likely leave in the next 3-5 years. Of those planning to leave Hong Kong, 62 percent included discomfort with the national security law among the reasons, while 36 percent said they feared it would affect the quality of their children's education.

The Hong Kong government said about 96,000 residents left the territory in 2020. That's the highest annual figure since the United Kingdom returned Hong Kong to China in 1997. Roughly 89,000 residents are estimated to have left Hong Kong during the one-year period starting 01 July 2020, or one day after the security law for the territory entered into force.

By August 2021 Beijing planned to introduce new anti-sanctions laws in Hong Kong and Macau to prevent foreign firms and individuals from complying with sanctions against China. Those individuals or entities could then be denied entry into China or be thrown out, their assets in China seized or frozen. They could also be barred from doing business with Chinese nationals or firms. The law allows Chinese firms to drag their foreign business partners to court if they suffer any losses in complying with foreign sanctions.

The rules would give the Chinese government a legal basis to retaliate against foreign sanctions at a time when the US and Europe are piling pressure on Beijing over its crackdown on pro-democracy activities in Hong Kong and human rights abuses against the Muslim Uyghur minority in Xinjiang. The US and the European Union slapped sanctions on several Chinese businesses and nationals over the past year.

The law could damage Hong Kong's reputation as a global financial hub and turn away foreign investors already alarmed by the gradual erosion of the "high degree of autonomy" that Beijing promised to the former British colony. "Developments over the last year in Hong Kong present clear operational, financial, legal, and reputational risks for multinational firms," the Biden administration said in a 16 July 2021 business advisory. how strictly Beijing enforces the new rules would likely depend on how heavily Washington comes down on firms doing business with sanctioned entities or individuals in violation of the Hong Kong Autonomy Act.

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Type 075 NEWCON Amphibious Assault Ship (LHD)

China has started building a new generation of large amphibious assault vessels that will strengthen the navy as it plays a more dominant role in projecting the nations power overseas. The 075 Landing Helicopter Dock is now under construction by a Shanghai-based shipbuilding company. The amphibious vessel is far larger than similar ships previously constructed for the PLA Navy.

Writing in the Beijing-controlled South China Morning Post on 29 March 2017, Minnie Chan reported that Chinas navy commander, Vice-Admiral Shen Jinlong, visited the Hudong Zhonghua Shipbuilding Company, which specialises in building Landing Helicopter Dock ships. One source close to the navy said Shens inspection trip confirmed construction work was underway on the new class of vessel. Construction of the Type 075 ships will take two more years, the source said. The first vessel may be launched as early as 2019 and put into full service in 2020.

On 26 March 2017, Navy commander Shen Jinlong and his entourage visited Hudong China Shipbuilding (Group) Co., Ltd., an important indication for the construction of naval equipment. China Shipbuilding Group Party Secretary, chairman Dong Qiang, deputy party secretary, general manager Wu Qiang said they would live up to the Navy chief expectations, keep in mind the mission, the courage to play, the military serves the country.

The development of the people's navy strength was nurtured by the growth of Hudong China. Hudong China is the landing ship "cradle", and the construction of various types of warships is the main force of the people of the Navy. Sixty years of military development process has become the pursuit of Hudong China. Company secretary of the party committee, chairman Chen Jianliang to the Navy chief report on the production and operation. The members of the company's leadership team participated in the briefing.

In July 2015 a Chinese military website released photos of a model of China's new Type 075-class amphibious landing helicopter assault ship, as reported by Phoenix Television on July 12. According to the report, the Type 075-class amphibious landing helicopter assault ship has a displacement of 40,000 tons, with four take-off and landing spots dedicated to helicopters. The ship was also built with a huge well deck below the hanger of the vessel, which was designed to carry an unknown number of inflatable landing craft. The report said that the ship has a similar appearance to the 25,000-ton amphibious landing helicopter assault ship that was displayed at the International Defence Exhibition held at Abu Dhabi in 2012.

On CCTV-4's "Today's Focus" on 13 November 2012 CCTV Commentator Major General [Rear Admiral?] Yin Zhuo mentioned twice a 40,000-ton landing ship, the first YinZhuo in answer to moderator about WZ10 whether on aircraft carriers, when Yin Zhuo said, may be at an amphibious landing ship, our new amphibious landing ship, of 40,000 tons. The second time was then approaching the end of the program, when he answer questions about the 2020 Chinese military mechanization, the ship was once again mentioned.

When the host asked whether WZ-10 aircraft carrier will be deployed, Major General Yin Zhuo replied: "WZ-10 and WZ-19 may [fly from] the amphibious assault ship - we are now developing a new generation of amphibious ship of greater tonnage, the 40,000-ton amphibious assault ship. In the future of large-scale assault helicopters, we need this armed helicopter escort." Also, he simply said: "In the future also have assault helicopter assault ship, WZ-10 is to give the escort for the 40,000 ton amphibious ship being developed!" Program, Major General Yin Zhuo certainly admitted that Chinese armed helicopters will be equipped with the Marines.

With the WZ-10 helicopter gunships in mass production, it is expected the aircraft will be Chinese land, sea and air combat helicopters universal medium, although it will first make sure that the use of the Army Air Assault team. But as the world's major maritime country, China's low-altitude naval assault ability is weak, with China is now faced with a very uncoordinated external situation. Some analysts have pointed out, the amphibious assault ship equipment will mean that China will be capable of force delivery in any country within the three island chain. In a Sino-Japanese military conflict, China will be able to conduct landing operations in Okinawa and the Japanese mainland.

One unofficial discussion of the the design of a 30,000-ton amphibious helicopter frigate propoosed basic parameters of a length of 246 m [800 feet], width 40.85 m, draft of 8.8 meters; flight deck length of 240 meters, width of 38.5 meters; powered by two steam turbines, power 138,000 horsepower; maximum speed of 24, endurance 9500 sea miles / 17 ; crew of 980 people. A displacement of 26,000 tons full load displacement of 30,000 tons.

There are three decks high and can store 8 Z8 helicopters, 12 WZ10 armed helicopters, six anti-submarine helicopters or four Z9 K28 helicopters. Hangar below deck aft portion is 83 meters long dock space, can carry 12 mechanized landing craft air cushion landing craft or 3,; dock space in front of the vehicle is a two-story cabin, can be loaded with tanks and other vehicles around. The frigate's carrying troops and their equipment, and materials landing capacity would typically be landing troops landing in order to assist 80 people, four Type 99 main battle tanks, 12 light armored vehicles, six howitzers, 68 trucks, fuel trucks and other types of vehicles.

The ships have a more complete medical facility after the hospital ship, the ship has 400 beds and more operating room, clinic, etc. Weapon Systems might include 32 HQ16 vertical air defense missile launching system HHQ10 two short-range air defense missile system, 730 short-range defense system 2 has a blinding laser weapons system 2 automatic 30mm cannon, and two electronic jammers.

"Foreign scholars," said the Chinese military forum in early August 2013 exposure Jiangnan Changxing Shipbuilding Group shipyard [3121'09" 12144'28"] construction in a series of photos of the vessel, by many analysts believe this was evidence that China has started the construction of aircraft carriers of the. "Foreign Policy" website provided a careful analysis of these photos, noting the photo is much larger than the top of the bottom of the hull, in line with the characteristics of the aircraft carrier. Reports speculated that China-made aircraft carrier is likely to differ with Liaoning ship, aircraft will use the catapult takeoff mode. "Jane's Defense Weekly" used Digital Globe satellite images taken of Changxing to confirm this group of photos. The ship's hull was being built around the dock near commercial vessels. The report also mentioned that the shipyard had hung out banners, saying it "has the determination and ability to build China's first a large surface combatants."

But Chinese reports claimed that these reports had mistakenly identified a Chinese amphibious assault ship being built as carriers. Reports claimed "has been corroborated Ukrainian military sources", the ship is able to simultaneously carry helicopters and hovercraft amphibious assault ship. Allegedly, it will enter service in early 2015, with a displacement of up to 35,000 tons, twice that of the existing 071-type landing ship of the PLAN, but also much larger than Japan's newly-launched "Izumo" helicopter carrier. It was expected that this new type of amphibious assault ship can carry four hovercraft and 20 helicopters. "Foreign scholars," said the Chinese military experts had previously acknowledged that China was building similar to the US "Wasp" class multipurpose amphibious assault ship like the 40,000-ton landing ship, but also equipped with a WZ-19 adn WZ-10 helicopter gunships to provide cover for heavy transport helicopter landing troops. Pentagon "2013 edition Chinese Military Power Report," also mentioned that in five years China will build 081 helicopter landing ship, but at that time that its displacement of about 20,000 tons.

The Chinese Navy's amphibious assault ship has become the next focus of attention. According to the Hong Kong "South China Morning Post", a 29 March 2017 article said that China woud begine the construction of the Navy's largest amphibious assault ship. Sources said China had begun to build a new generation of large amphibious assault ship. Military sources said the Type 075 helicopter docking ship was currently being built by a Shanghai shipbuilding company. The Chinese naval commander, Shen Jinlong, visited the company on 16 March 2017. Navy's sources said Shen Jinlong's inspection confirmed a new generation of amphibious assault ship was under construction.

The 075 amphibious assault ship could be built two years, with the first ship in the water by 2019, and in full service in 2020. Military experts stated the 075 amphibious assault ship with 36,000 tons of displacement can be called the "sea beast". It can carry 28 helicopters, equipped with near defense weapons systems and double red flag-10 missile weapon system and a new electronic warfare system. The Type 075 amphibious assault ship also made significant progress in the amphibious combat command ability, to achieve the amphibious combat "centralized command, comprehensive control, hierarchical management."

In the future the ship can be equipped with WZ-10 armed helicopters, they can ultra-low altitude penetration flight, attack ability, high viability, the machine can carry a variety of weapons, such as airborne anti-tank missiles, and aviation rockets. Strong, with high precision, these are suitable for the implementation of the ground surprise task, and can stay at any time near the battlefield, the relevant fire requests for rapid response. With China's naval amphibious assault ship, the Chinese Marine Corps may also need to set up their own aviation squadron, equipped with WZ-10 armed helicopters, WZ-20 general helicopters and future heavy helicopters, so as to comprehensively improve the Chinese marines combat capability.

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People's Liberation Army Navy - Marine Corps

China plans to expand its Marine Corps from the initial 20,000 to 100,000 troops in order to better protect the country's marine lifeline and rising overseas interests, Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reported on 13 March 2017. Some Marine Corps troops will be assigned overseas, including Djibouti and Gwadar Port of Pakistan, said the report.

The PLA Navy Marine Corps is an important force of conducting amphibious operations against islands, and enhancing the combat capability of PLA Navy Marine Corps and modernization of its equipment and weapons will help it play a bigger role when it comes to dealing with the Taiwan question in the future. Improving the capability of the Marine Corps to win the battle is also an important task, if it needs to use military means to solve the Taiwan question. One of the missions of the Marine Corps is conducting amphibious operations in solving Taiwan question by non-peaceful mean when necessary, but with the fast development of China and the expanding overseas interests, the Marine Corps also eyes on multiple missions in the new era, including protecting Chinas overseas interests, conducting UN anti-piracy mission or other humanitarian assistance missions around the world.

The 2019 US DOD "Annual Report to Congress: Military and Security Developments Involving the Peoples Republic of China" stated : "The PLAN has continued expanding the PLAN Marine Corps (PLANMC) force structure. The PLANMC previously consisted of two brigades and approximately 10,000 personnel, and it was limited in geography and mission to amphibious assault and defense of South China Sea outposts. By 2020, the PLANMC will consist of seven brigades, may have more than 30,000 personnel, and it will expand its mission to include expeditionary operations beyond Chinas borders. A newly established PLANMC headquarters is now responsible for manning, training, and equipping PLANMC forces. For the first time, the PLANMC also has its own commander, although it remains subordinate to the PLAN. The PLANMC may also establish an aviation brigade, which could provide an organic helicopter transport and attack capability, increasing its amphibious and expeditionary warfare capabilities....

"Ultimately, the PLANMC will be capable of operating from land, sea, and air as the PLAs global military force, but this goal will likely not be realized by Chinas stated goal to complete PLA reforms by 2020. Four new brigades have been established, bringing the total number of combat brigades to six, but only the original two brigades are fully mission-capable. There is no evidence to indicate the new brigades are manned, trained, and equipped to perform expeditionary missions yet. Additionally, the PLANMC may establish an aviation brigade, but there is no evidence this unit exists yet.

The strength of the Marine Corps, or PLANMC, has nearly tripled over the past three years to 35,000 troops, according to a report prepared by Janes for the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission. The corps has also become a more visible presence in the South China Sea.

"The PLANMC is employing new equipment to perform an expeditionary mission, but the equipment is not arriving in sufficient numbers to meet the 2020 goal. Fifteen wheeled armored combat vehicles, more effective for land-based operations than amphibious operations, have been deployed with the PLANMC unit currently in Djibouti; they are the first-observed wheeled armored vehicles in the PLANMC. China lacks a sufficient inventory of wheeled armored vehicles to support multiple PLANMC expeditionary deployments adequately. Fully operational brigades are equipped exclusively with amphibious armored vehicles. The PLANMC has not received the helicopters required for an air assault capability, and it will likely need a minimum of 120 attack and medium-lift helicopters to be fully mission capable.

"Achieving this level of capability would include basing helicopters overseas to support PLANMC units and operating from amphibious ships. In 2018, PLANMC out-of-garrison exercises increased in frequency and size. In one exercise, likely the largest PLANMC exercise on record, more than 10,000 marines participated in a series of very simplistic training. This surge in training likely served to indoctrinate new PLAN marines into the service, but it lacked the complexity needed to allow these units to become proficient in expeditionary warfare."

The Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy is boosting the aerial assault capabilities of its Marine Corps by systematically expanding it with combat-proven former Army units, a timely move to ready personnel in advance to maximize the power of the two recently launched Type 075 amphibious assault ships. The Valiant Assault Exemplary Company and the Nianzhuangwei Assault Exemplary Company are now parts of a Marine Corps aerial assault brigade, according to a story published by PLA Daily on 13 April 2020. Both companies won glory during the War of Liberation (1946-49), and they used to be under the command of the Army, but now they have joined the Navy's Marine Corps. The PLA Daily report did not say when the shift took place.

Two special operations brigades had already been incorporated into the PLA Navy's Marine Corps, taking the number of soldiers to 20,000 with more to come. China has at least two brigades of special combat soldiers have been deployed to the marines. China will add a third brigade that will undergo a transformation such as special training and learning how to conduct amphibious operations. The PLA Navy Marine Corps would expand to 100,000 troops, including six brigades, to fulfill new national missions. One source said that overall troop numbers of the PLA Navy would increase by 15 percent from the current 235,000. But if China's Marine Corps were to have an expansion to 100,000 troops, that would account for 42.6 percent of the current 235,000 troops of the Navy, much more than 15 percent.

There is both more and less here than meets the eye. A force of 100,000 Chinese marines, would give China an amphibious assault force second only to the 240,000 marines of the United States Marine Corps, and vastly larger than third place Vietnam, with 27,000 marines. But the apparent growth would largely be achieved by moving four existing Amphibious Mechanized Divisions from the PLA to the PLAN. These existing formations have some amphibious capabilities, but lack meaningful amphibious assault lift support, and are oriented towards a "one time" operational "lunge" against Taiwan, rather than ongoing amphibious operations.

An end strength of 100,000 Chinese marines is roughly half the active duty end strength of the US Marine Corps, which is used to size the US Navy amphibious assault fleet. The US Navy has nine Amphibious Squadrons, and the future 36-ship amphibious force is being shaped to allow the formation of 12 amphibious ready groups (ARGs). Doing the math, it might be expected that PLAN force goals would include six large amphigious assault ships [LHA/LHD] of a class not yet in evidence, as well as a dozen LPDs of the Type 071 Yuzhao class. Such a shipbuilding program could by completed by 2025, if not bit sooner.

The South China Morning Post commented that the PLA's decision to expand the Marine Corps reflected its strategic transition from relying on large quantities of troops to win land battles to relying on highly specialized troops to deal with diverse security challenges. The Hong Kong-based newspaper's report also mentioned that China is building a naval base in Djibouti but hasn't revealed how many troops the base will accommodate.

This is part of the policy of restraining the US; otherwise a five-fold increase in the number of Marines is simply not necessary. China wants to be a state comparable in military potential to the US in the Asia-Pacific Region [APR]. That's why it needs 100,000 marines.

According to an expert on geopolitics and former analyst of the defense committee and the State Duma international affairs committee, Konstantin Sokolov, said that it is necessary to assess the number of marines primarily with respect to the territory that can be controlled. "In East and South-East Asia, there are a lot of island territories that are part of the economic interests and security interests of China. I presume that if a likely enemy appears in these zones and there is a need of control, a large number of military police or the Marine Corps will be needed. Therefore, from my point of view, China, probably, can justifiably go on increasing the number of its marines," Sokolov said 13 March 2017.

President Xi Jinping inspected the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy Marine Corps in Chaozhou on 13 October 2020 amid his ongoing trip to South Chinas Guangdong Province. Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), said the PLA Navy Marine Corps is an elite force for amphibious operations, and it shoulders the important duties of safeguarding the country's sovereignty security, territorial integrity, maritime interests, and overseas interests. He urged the PLA Navy Marine Corps to speed up the upgrading of their combat capabilities to forge a powerful troop, with battlewise soldiers, which is integrated and versatile in operation, swift in response, and capable of fighting under multi-dimensional conditions.

The inspection to the corps sent a signal that China will speed up its preparation for any potential military conflict in the water areas and islands in regions like the Taiwan Straits, South and East China Seas, as well as the regions of significant overseas interests, as the strategic pressure from foreign hostile forces against China is increasing.

Xi said the Marine Corps should focus on war preparedness and combat capabilities, and maintain a high level of readiness, adding that the force should stick to combat-oriented training and strengthen mission-oriented training tailored to the specific needs and force-on-force training. He also stressed the need for the PLA Navy Marine Corps to work more closely with other units of the PLA, and to be deeply integrated into the joint operations systems.

Xi stressed the need to strengthen strategic design for the construction of the Marine Corps. The strategic design should fit with the country's strategies of national development, security and military, strategic arrangements of modernized national defense and military, as well as the construction of the joint operations systems and transformation of the navy, Xi said.

Xis inspection suggests that the Marine Corps is no longer an ordinary branch of the armed forces, but has always been an irreplaceable elite combat force to safeguard China's maritime interests. As various military services hasten their joint powers, China will become more powerful in safeguarding the islands, reefs and maritime rights and interests.

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North Korean Purges - Kim Jong Un

Frequent leadership changes within the North Korean military caused some to question if the Kim Jong Un regime is unstable. The South Korean newspaper Korea Joongang Daily wrongly reported 29 August 2016 that two officials in the North had been executed: Hwang Min, a former agriculture minister, and Ri Yong Jin, with the education ministry. The news organization also reported that the officials were killed with an anti-aircraft gun. Seouls Unification Ministry later issued a statement 30 August 2016 correcting the report. The North's vice premier for education, Kim Yong Jin, was executed for being an anti-party, anti-revolutionary agitator, and the head of the North's United Front Department, Kim Yong Chol, was made to undergo revolutionary measures."

Since taking over after his fathers death in late 2011, Kim had carried out a series of executions of party and military officials. At least 100 North Korean officials have been executed since Kim Jong Un took power in December 2011, the ROK Institute for National Security Strategy said in 2015. The most high-profile was the December 2013 execution of Jang Song-thaek, Kims uncle and former political guardian. Another high-profile execution was that of Hyon Yong-chol, North Koreas former defense chief, who South Korean intelligence said was executed by firing squad in April 2015 on charges of dozing off during a meeting attended by the supreme leader.

Pyongyangs state-run news agency on 26 June 2014 referred to Hyon Yong Chol as minister of the Peoples Armed Forces, replacing Jang Jong Nam, who held the position since May 2013. This was the fourth time the holder of this position has been changed since Kim assumed power at the end of 2011. Bruce Bennett, a senior defense analyst at the RAND Corporation, told VOA such frequent leadership shake-ups were a change from his father, Kim Jong Il, who replaced his defense minister only three times during his 17 years in control.

North Korea on 17 July 2012 announced that it had promoted longtime field commander Gen. Hyon Yong-chol to vice marshal, a day after it revealed its dismissal of General Staff Chief Ri Yong-ho. The announcement promoted speculation that Hyon, considered an obscure military figure in the South, may take up the post of the general staff chief, which was equivalent to Seouls Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman. Hyon, who was presumed to be in his early 60s, was known to have served in the 8th Army Corps since 2006. The corps was in charge of guarding the communist states northwestern areas including those near the border with China.

Personal security around Kim was dramatically stepped up in March 2013, according to intelligence sources in South Korea, with armored vehicles deployed close to his personal residence in Pyongyang, troops armed with automatic rifles on the streets of the city and mobile phone signals jammed at public events that the North Korean leader attended, apparently out of concern that they could be used to detonate a bomb. Four months previously, there were reports of outbreaks of gunfire on the streets of the North Korean capital between factions within the military and heightened discontent in some quarters with the way in which Kim was managing the country.

Kim Jong Un made numerous changes to his government since becoming North Korea's supreme leader in 2011. Chang was a four-star General and vice-chairman of the National Defense Commission yet had little formal control over defense and military portfolios. Chang was believed to be a relatively pragmatic advisor to Kim Jong Un, but his influence probably waned in 2013. Changs public appearances with his nephew, which was used to signal an individuals importance within the regime, dropped 50 percent in 2013 compared to 2012. Changs execution was the most significant step to date in Kims establishment of his authority, eliminating arguably the most influential senior Party official remaining from his fathers era. The sudden and brutal purge sent a strong message to regime elites that the formation of factions or potential challenges to Kim Jong Un would not be tolerated.

Jang was married to Kim Jong-un's aunt, Kim Kyong-hui, the younger sister of late leader Kim Jong-il. Kim Kyong-hui had not been seen in public since September 2013. Heung-kwang, who defected to South Korea in 2004, disclosed that Kyong-hui killed herself on December 17, five days after her husband's execution, because she "didn't have the will to live."

The general consensus among political analysts was that Jang was the loser in a power struggle with Vice Marshal Choe Ryong-hae, foretelling a major shift in North Korea's power structure. Choe was one of the four members of the decision-making Presidium of the Central Committee Workers' Party and vice-chairman of the Party's Central Military Commission.

The 31-year-old Kim Jong-un launched a reign of terror in late 2013 when he executed his uncle Jang Song-thaek. Jang Song-thaek had been considered the control tower, due to his role as a guide to the new leader, and was widely considered to be second-in-command within the DPRK power structure. He was the husband of the sister of Kim Jong-il and daughter of Kim Il-sung. Jang Song-taek's two aides Ri Yong-ha and Jang Su-gil were executed publicly in late November 2013. The two were said to have been executed on charges of plotting anti-communist party schemes against the Kim Jong-un regime.

On 13 December 2013, North Korea announced the overnight execution of Jang Song Thaek. According to a KCNA news report, "a special military tribunal of the DPRK Ministry of State Security was held on December 12 against traitor for all ages Jang Song Thaek." The end result being that "all the crimes committed by the accused were proved in the course of hearing and were admitted by him."

Long considered as the country's second most powerful man and Kim Jong-un's former mentor, Jang Song-thaek was sentenced to death for being a traitor who had tried to overthrow the state. Jang was executed after admitting to his crimes before a military tribunal. The execution came just four days after Jang was dramatically removed from a Workers' Party session by armed guards. Reports that Kims uncle Jang was killed by a pack of starving dogs have been discredited. The original report was apparently a satirical post on a Chinese social media network that was taken as fact and went viral.

Kim Jong-un accused Jang and his allies of double-dealing behind the scenes, dreaming different dreams, and selling the country's resources at cheap prices thereby threatening North Korea's economic development. Jang's removal marked the most significant shake-up in two years under Kim's leadership and suggests the North's young leader was willing to go after his rivals publicly, and in ways more secretive than his father Kim Jong-il ever did.

Kim Jong-un made sure that no one gained too much power. Choe Ryong-hae, who was generally regarded as the second-most powerful figure within the regime, was frequently moved up and down the power ladder.

By January 2014 entire families directly related to Jang, who was executed in December for plotting to overthrow the regime, were put to death with their children and grandchildren. The sources say those killed include Jang's sister Kye-sun, her husband and Ambassador to Cuba Jon Yong-jin as well as Jang's nephew Jang Yong-chol, Ambassador to Malaysia.

Jang's absence would most likely be felt in the economy, as Chang was in charge of several high-profile initiatives, particularly with China, to attract foreign currency and investment to North Korea. Jang had been the chief North Korean agent in North Koreas engagement with China, and official North Korean statements about the circumstances of his purge and execution suggest his relationship with China was treasonous. The event stunned and upset Chinese officials, and Jangs execution likely had the effect of discouraging other North Korean officials from seeking close ties with Beijing.

South Korea's spy agency said 29 April 2015 North Korea's young leader, Kim Jong Un, had ordered the execution of 15 senior leaders in 2015. Seoul spy officials provided that information to lawmakers during a private session of parliament, according to lawmaker Shin Kyung-min. One of the executed officials was said to be a vice minister for forestry, who was killed after complaining about Kim's forestation plan. The information could not be confirmed. North Korea's notoriously secretive government had not commented on any of the executions.

North Korean Defense Minister Hyon Yong Chol was charged with treason and gruesomely executed by anti-aircraft gun fire on 30 April 2015, with hundreds of soldiers watching. It was the latest in a string of purges under North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Hyon had frequently expressed his dissatisfaction with Kim Jong-un's leadership and neglected to follow Kim's orders on several occasions. He even dozed off during a speech given by Kim at a large-scale military gathering, a behavior that was intolerable in North Korea.

As with past purges, there were no outward clues that Hyon, 66, was in any danger. Hyon visited Moscow to make arrangements for Kim Jong-un to attend Russia's Victory Day ceremony on 08 May 2015, which would have been Kim's first trip abroad since taking power four years ago. But it was an appointment the young leader didn't keep, and there was speculation that it may have been because Hyon failed in his diplomatic mission there.

Following the example of his father and grandfather, Kim Jong-un may have decided to continue the tradition of non-participation in international events, where he was not the top figure, or at least one of the two or three top figures. Kim Jong-un would definitely not have been among the most important figures. Many visitors, especially Xi Jinping, would have occupied a much higher place in the hierarchy.

From the point of view of Pyongyang, the main arena of World War II was not Europe, but Asia. The head of the aggressive bloc was Japan, not Nazi Germany. Accordingly, the main hero was Kim Il-sung, not the Soviet army. Therefore, a trip to Moscow would imply, to some extent, recognition of the importance of the European theater of war. It was most likely that the current North Korean leader was not ready to acknowledge this.

A member of the powerful National Defense Commission since September 2014, Hyon became defense minister in June 2014 and had been on Kim Jong Il's funeral committee, a position signaling his proximity to the late leader. However, many of those on that committee had been removed from power, reflecting the formation of a new power base around his son, Kim Jong Un.

General Pyon In Son, head of operations for the North Korean army, was reportedly executed in January 2015 for disagreeing with Kim Jong Un.

In May 2015, South Koreas intelligence agency said about 70 North Korean officials had been executed since Kim took power after the death of his father, Kim Jong Il, in late 2011.

On November 10, 2015 the notable absence of one of Kim Jong Un's most powerful aides at a state funeral sparked speculation of another high-level purge inside the secretive authoritarian regime. Choe Ryong Hae, secretary of the ruling Workers' Party, was not among the names on the list of about 170 officials attending this week's state funeral for Ri Ul Sol, a 94-year-old marshal of the Korean Peoples Army, who fought alongside North Korean founder Kim Il Sung against the Japanese in World War Two.

Choe Ryong Hae may be undergoing re-education as punishment, a source in Seoul said 12 Novembe 2015. The secretary of the ruling Workers Party, once was viewed as one of North Koreas most powerful figures and was seen as Pyongyangs point man on Beijing. Choe traveled to Beijing in September on behalf of Kim to attend a military parade marking the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II.

Choes family background was a possibility. Choe was the son of Choe Hyun, an iconic military figure who also was a member of a guerrilla unit that fought against the Japanese army. Choes dismissal could be Kim Jong Uns calculated move to remove the descendants of the first generation of top military officials, who are holding key positions in the military and the party, from his inner circle. Choes dismissal was likely to diminish the influence of the second generation of the North Korean guerrillas and embolden a rule by Kims inner circle.

North Korea's state-run media reported on the activities of a Korean Workers' Party secretary who was believed to have been sent to a remote farm as a punishment. Choe Ryong Hae was a close aide to the North Korean leader, Kim Jong Un. The media reported on 15 January 2016 that Choe gave a speech the previous day at an event for a youth organization of the Korean Workers' Party in Pyongyang. The first media report on Choe in about three months provided official confirmation that the party secretary has been rehabilitated.

Korean Central News Agency reported on 30 December 2015 that Kim Yang Gon, a secretary of the Workers' Party and a close aide to leader Kim Jong Un, died at the age of 73 in a traffic accident. Kim had been in charge of relations with South Korea as the head of the party's United Front Department since 2007. KCNA added that a state funeral would be held on 31 December 2015. The reported inclusion of Choe Ryong-hae in Kim Yang-gons funeral committee has prompted speculation that he has been welcomed back into the leadership fold after a short period in the political wilderness.

John G. Grisafi noted December 30th, 2015 that "Kim Yang Gons prominence increased with that of Kim Jong Un. From 2000 through 2009, Kim Yang Gon appeared alongside the DPRK leader (then Kim Jong Il) an average of 5.9 times per year. But from 2010 (when Kim Jong Un was officially designated as Kim Jong Ils successor and become more publicly active) through his death at the end of 2015, Kim Yang Gon accompanied the North Korean leader (Kim Jong Il until December 2011 and Kim Jong Un afterward) an average of 38.2 times per year."

The lack of detail helped feed speculation in South Korean media that Kims death was suspicious. North Korea was notorious for its human rights abuses, with many former top aides dying in ways that could be deemed suspicious. North Korea has a long track record of suspicious deaths around high-level officials, Russian scholar Andrei Lankov, a North Korea investigator was quoted. Most die either because they are machine-gunned, or they die in car crashes. Roads in North Korea are said to be poorly maintained, and few people can afford cars, causing some to wonder about the veracity of the official story behind Kim Yang Gons death. In 2013, Ri Je Gang, a top North Korean bureaucrat, was reported to have died in a traffic accident.

On 10 February 2016, the South Korean news agency Yonhap reported that North Korean Army General Ri Yong Gil, chief of staff of the Korean People's Army chief of North Korea's militarym had been executed that month on corruption and other charges, according to sources familiar with North Korea. But North Korean media reported 10 May 2016 that Ri was alive and was appointed to prominent positions in the country's Central Committee, the Political Bureau and the Central Military Commission. Seoul's Unification Ministry said that it confirmed Ri was back after analyzing North Korean state media photos and videos of the party congress.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un was said to be strengthening his reign of terror in 2016. Pyongyang authorities were known to have publicly executed 60 North Koreans by August 2016. This was more than twice the average number of people killed annually in public executions since Kim took power in 2011. The economic situation in the North had worsened due to toughest international sanctions against the regime early in 2016, and authorities were using these executions to control growing public complaints against North Korean leaders.

Many of those being killed were family members left behind by defectors, and brokers arranging the defectors' escape routes, as they were perceived to be a threat to the stability of the regime. The Norths Ministry of State Security executed scores of defectors' families and defection brokers in early February 2016 on charges of espionage. Around 10 brokers were executed by a firing squad in Hyesan, Yanggang Province in April 2016.

The head of North Korea's spy agency, Kim Won-hong, was sacked on charges of power abuse and corruption. South Korea's unification ministry confirmed 10 February 2017 that Kim was dismissed after being demoted from a four-star general to a one-star general in January 2017 as part of a probe being conducted by the regime's ruling Workers' Party of Korea.

Kim Won-hong was a key figure in the Kim Jong-un regime after being appointed head of the Ministry of State Security in 2012. He became known for spearheading the execution of Kim Jong-un's uncle Jang Song-taek the following year.

Seoul's unification ministry believes removals of high-ranking officials could continue leading to further instability in the regime. "Pyongyang could become even more unstable due to the increased agitation shown among high-ranking officials and weakened control over the North Korean people, as Kim Jong-un dismissed a key aide that helped build his reign of terror."

The spokesperson added that Kim Won-hong and many officials from the security ministry could receive harsh punishments depending on the outcome of the investigation by the ruling party. An official from the South Korean unification ministry analyzed that Kim Jong-un's decision to sack the security ministry chief is part of the leader's efforts to shift the responsibility to the agency as the North Korean dictator is losing support from the public.

Kim Jong-un's reign of fear continued to escalate since he came to power in late 2011, with the South Korean Institute for National Security Strategy reporting the reckless leader has executed at least 140 officials by using machine guns and even flamethrowers.

The Tokyo Shimbun reported on 03 April 2017 that a failed attempt was made to blow up North Korean leader Kim Jong-uns exclusive train in May 2016. The incident was used as an example in a recent lecture hosted by the State Security Department of North Korea in South Pyongan Province. The lecturer explained that a man had contrived the plan to remove Kim and overthrow the North Korean regime after failing in going on to higher education and became discontented with the North. The man aimed to blow up Kims train by planting explosives along a railway leading to the venue of an event during the Workers' Party Congress in which the North Korean leader was set to participate.

A June 2017 study by the RAND Corporation, a US government-funded think tank, proposed a radical new solution - incentives such as immunity from prosecution for human rights abuses might be used to encourage senior members of the regime to stage a coup against the country's leader Kim Jong Un.

North Korean propaganda indoctrinated the regime's elites to believe that reunification with South Korea would be a disaster to them and result in loss of power, influence, wealth and prestige. In extreme cases, should the collapse of the regime in Pyongyang involve outbreaks of fighting, then it might even cost them their lives. So RAND argued that the most critical element of signaling external support for any such uprising against the latest member of the Kim dynasty to rule the nation will be promising coup plotters that they will be protected and even have a say in a post-Kim North Korea.

The study concluded that the "conditions for unification could develop at any time" and that South Korea needs to assemble funds to support the cost of unification and to underline that its plans are serious.

"There is no question that ousting the Kim dynasty by fracturing the elite is a strategy that has been considered and that outcome would be popular, but we cannot underestimate the monitoring carried out by the regime's instruments of repression and the punishments that are handed out to anyone who is disloyal," said Daniel Pinkston, a professor of international relations at the Seoul campus of Troy University.

"And even if there is a person in the regime who is so committed to removing Kim that he would be willing to risk his life, then we have to remember that under the North Korean system, the family of anyone who is disloyal is also held accountable," he told DW 02 June 2017.

According to Toshimitsu Shigemura, a professor at Tokyo's Waseda University and an authority on North Korea's ruling family, "There have been at least three attempted coups since 1992 and another one is, of course, possible if a sense of distrust in Kim's leadership grew more broadly throughout the armed forces... But it has become increasingly difficult to cooperate in a coup because all officials' phones are tapped and their movements are watched very closely. Organizing an uprising on the scale that would be needed to overthrow Kim would be an extremely difficult task".

During a briefing on 20 November 2017, South Koreas National Intelligence Service (NIS) told the National Assemblys National Intelligence Committee that there were reports indicating that North Korea was carrying out a political audit of the General Political Bureau of the North Korean Peoples Army, the first such audit in 20 years. As part of the audit, the NIS said, the regime had punished Vice Marshal Hwang Pyong-so, whose position as head of the bureau gives him authority over military appointments. We have received intelligence that Choe Ryong-hae [vice chair of the central committee of the North Korean Workers Party] is leading a political audit of the General Political Bureau for the first time in 20 years after taking issue with its impure attitude toward the party. Our intelligence also indicates that political officers in the General Political Bureau, including Director Hwang Pyong-so and First Vice Director Kim Won-hong, have been punished, the NIS said during its briefing to the National Intelligence Committee on trends in North Korea.

Pyongyang reported that it held the first enlarged meeting of the ruling party's seventh central military commission on 18 May 2018 and said it dealt with organizational matters like removing and appointing members of the commission and military organs. North Korea replaced its defense minister with a moderate figure ahead of a historic summit with the United States on 12 June 2018. Citing a source familiar with North Korean affairs, Japan's Asahi Shimbun daily reported that Pak Yong-sik, the Minister of the Peoples Armed Forces, has been replaced by No Kwang-chol, head of the second economic committee of the ruling Workers' Party.

Asahi also reported that Kim Su-gil is said to have been appointed as the director of the General Political Bureau of the Korean People's Army last month. No and Kim have been widely seen as moderates in the military. The report also said that Ri Myong-su, chief of the Korean People's Army's General Staff, is rumored to have been replaced.

This marked the replacement of all three of North Koreas top military officials in six months. Pyongyang appeared to have brought in moderate figures in the military to avoid confusion ahead of the summit with the US. Some view that North Korea felt the need to bring about change in its military along with the diplomatic turnaround surrounding the Korean Peninsula. Especially with the with the US, some watchers said Pyongyang could have wanted to clear hardliners out of the way and tame the armed forces.

But others point out that distinguishing hardliners and softliners within the North Korean military is meaningless as Kim Jong-un already reorganized the army 4 years ago. They say age could be the reason for the reshuffle. Pak Yong-sik and Ri Myong-su came down to Panmunjom for the inter-Korean summit in April but they headed back to the North before finishing off the day's schedule. They are very old; they were born in 1930s and 1940s, so they can't be out for even a day-long schedule.

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AfD Alternative fuer Deutschland / "Alternative for Germany"

Germany's Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) placed the Alternative for Germany (AfD) under surveillance, according to local media reports 03 March 2021. That designation gave state agents more powers for surveillance in certain circumstances, including potentially tapping the party's communications. The BfV refused to comment on media reports from Der Spiegel magazine, the DPA news agency and public broadcaster ARD. The Interior Ministry, which oversees the BfV, said it would neither confirm nor deny them. Volker Ullrich  interior affairs spokesman for the CSU, the conservative Bavarian sister party to Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats  appeared to suggest the new surveillance status was a fait accompli. In a tweet, he described it as a "consistent and correct decision." Ullrich said "The concept of a defensible democracy means naming and fighting the opponents of the free democratic basic order". Parts of the AfD  including the party's youth division and the Flugel (Wing) extremist group  have already attracted the attention of the intelligence community. The Flugel came under full surveillance by the BfV last year after the agency said its members included proven right-wing extremists.

The Alternative for Germany (AfD) affinities with Trump Republicans include fear of immigrants and foreigners; hostility toward the European Union; and contempt for standard operating procedure in government and willingness to gut the state apparatus. As a jingoistic "Make Germany Great Again" outfit full of unpredictable political neophytes, the AfD is fairly comparable to the Trumpites.

Frauke Petry, the leader of the xenophobic far-right Alternative for Germany party (AfD - Alternative fuer Deutschland), earned the nickname Adolfina for her inflammatory remarks. The Berlin election on 18 September 2016 was bad news for Angela Merkel and her Christian Democratic Union (CDU) but it was not as shocking as the vote in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania two weeks earlier. Putting the result in a more positive light, the CDU is the second-strongest party in the German capital - behind the Social Democratic SPD. The CDU also managed to hold off Alternative for Germany (AfD). Thus the CDU's traumatic experience of being overtaken by the rightwing populists in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania did not repeat itself.

AfD made significant gains in local elections 04 September 2016. With about 20.8% of votes, the anti-immigrant AfD came second in eastern Mecklenburg-Vorpommern [Western Pomorania] regional election, beating Chancellor Angela Merkels party into third on her home turf. The center-left Social-Democrats (SPD), who scored 30.6% of the vote, came first and Merkels Christian Democratic Union (CDU) was pushed into a humiliating third at 19%.

Critics of the AfD said its rhetoric had frightening similarities to the Nazi regime, especially after the partys draft manifesto was leaked in March 2016, with policies including incentivising German women to have three or more children, imprisoning drug addicts and people with mental health issues who did not respond to therapy. It also contained clear jabs at the Muslim community, including the banning of minarets and niqabs.

In the 2005 general election, the CDU/CSU gained 226 seats, and the SPD gained 222 seats. Neither could govern alone, and so there was formed the Grand Coalition in which they governed together [the rather more vouptuous French refer to such an arrangement as cohabitation]. The 2009 election produced a similar arrangment. The CDU-SPD coalition prompted SPD left-wingers, already bitter about labor reforms launched by the last SPD chancellor, Gerhard Schroeder, to leave in droves. The Grand Coalition moved the CDU towards the center of the political spectrum, creating a political space that had thitherto been occupied by the right wing of the party. Politics, like nature, abhors a vacuum.

AfD Alternative fuer Deutschland is a German euroskeptic party, which was founded in 2013. AfD failed to enter the national parliament in 2013, but then won seats in five of Germany's 16 state parliaments before the 2015 migrant crisis. The AfD has been accused of appealing to right-wing extremist voters - a charge the party officials strongly reject. The party's central argument is that the euro is a failed currency that threatens the European Unions future by supporting impoverished countries and uncompetitive economies, which in turn burdens future generations.

In 2014 an Afd politician from Thuringia, Bjorn Hocke, shouted "Three thousand years Europe! One thousand years Germany" at a demonstration. He later denied in a nationally televised interview that his words were reminiscent of Adolf Hitler's "Thousand-Year Reich!" rallying cry. While Germany has dealt with nationalist parties since the Federal Republic was founded in 1949, the AfD poses a new problem: the party established itself out of the refugee crisis, but that doesn't come from the right-wing extremism scene, as was the case with the far-right National Democratic Party of Germany (NPD).

The German daily "Bild am Sonntag" reported on 24 January 2016 that the populist right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) party had reached 10 percent for the first time in a recent poll. According to the article, 17 percent of men would vote for AfD while only 2 percent of women would do so. The Christian Democratic Union (CDU), the party of Chancellor Angela Merkel, saw its support fall by 2 percentage points to 36 percent. The Social Democrats (SPD), the CDU's coalition partner, came in at 25 percent.

On 22 February 2016 a survey, conducted for the popular "Bild" newspaper, showed the right wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) party ahead of leftists the Social Democrats (SPD) in the state of Saxony-Anhalt. The AfD had the support of 17 percent of voters in the eastern state Saxony-Anhalt, a surge of 12 points since September 2015. The "Bild" poll had the SPD at 16 percent in Saxony-Anhalt, with the CDU clearly out in front at 30 percent. Leftists in the state did not need to totally despair, however, as the more socialist Left party was still much stronger than the AfD with 17 percent support from voters.

A poll for broadcaster ARD showed support for the AfD in Saxony-Anhalt at 19 percent, a result that would make it the third strongest party there after Merkel's Christian Democrats and the communist-rooted Linke party. In Baden Wurttemberg, AfD polled at 13 percent, with 9 percent projected support in Rhineland-Palatinate.

The idea that right-wing ideology was only found in isolated pockets of German society was debunked in Saxony, which was not only the birthplace of Pegida, but also one of the first states where the "Alternative fur Deutschland" (AfD) party won seats in parliament.

The party was only founded in the spring of 2013, yet the Alternative for Germany - or AfD - gained nearly 1.5 million votes, only narrowly missing the five percent threshold that would have taken them into parliament. They campaigned on an anti-euro platform.

The Alternative for Germany (AfD) party was soon under pressure from all sides. One of its local leaders in the German state of Hesse is accused of having right-wing extremist sympathies, and numerous internal disagreements divided the party. All the while, the euro - the party's main object of contempt - has proven robust despite the challenges the eurozone has faced so far. The AfD's diminished standing in the opinion polls is a reflection of its current internal turmoil.

Most of the talk centered on the AfD's branch in the German state of Hesse. Its state treasurer, Peter Ziemann, is accused of issuing a warning online about criminal immigrants eroding society, and referring to "vermin" in the same context. He is also reported to have said, "The socialism of today that calls itself democracy will have to suffer the same fate as the Eastern Bloc." Many people regarded this statement as contravening the values of the German constitution - yet it won approval from the AfD chairman in Hesse, Volker Bartz, who called it "philosophically interesting."

The party's federal leader, Bernd Lucke, responded by stripping Ziemann of his office and suggesting that Bartz step down- a suggestion that was also related to some questionable behavior by Bartz in his last job. Confidential e-mail correspondence between Lucke and Bartz was leaked to the press. Ultimately, the AfD head decided to remove Bartz from office as his chairmanship was causing "serious damage to the party."

The party's public image is another problem, as many voters don't even know who the AfD's candidates are. Most Germans have heard of the party's national chairman Bernd Lucke, but "few other figures are generally well-known," said Manfred Gullner who heads opinion research institute Forsa. "The AfD lacks a public figure like [Austrian politician Jorg] Haider. Then they could become a real threat to the other parties."

Parties only need to clear a 3 percent threshold to make it into the European Parliament. And the actual voter turnout would play an important role as well. "Considering that the turnout for the European election will probably be very low - possibly less than 40 percent - 750,000 votes would be enough to get 3 percent of all votes. For the first time, Germany's contingent of 96 European Parliament deputies will include euroskeptics: The Alternative fur Deutschland (AfD), was estimated to have won six of the 96 German seats, as they won 7 percent of the vote. Party leader Bernd Lucke was triumphant: "This is springtime in Germany," he said.

The AfD has gone through quite a mutation in its short life. Founded just over three years ago by a group of disgruntled economists who wanted to dismantle the eurozone and prevent the bailing-out of Greece, the party has deftly switched policies to suit the next big "crisis" preoccupying the German media - the influx of Middle East refugees that began last year. After steadily mounting internal pressure in the first half of 2015, the ideological switch was flicked in July 2015, when co-founder and leader Bernd Lucke, a 53-year-old economics professor, was ousted by current leader Frauke Petry. The split was brought about by an increasing influx of new members - many of whom were sympathetic to the "anti-Islamization" movement PEGIDA.

Among the most visible of the new extremists the party has attracted was Bjorn Hocke, leader of the AfD's parliamentary party in Thuringia. In a speech in November 2015, Hocke drew a genetic distinction between the "life-affirming African proliferation type" and the "self-denying European placeholder type" and warned that the Africans' "reproductive behavior" would not change as long as Europe took in immigrants. The AfD leadership distanced itself from the remarks - chairman Jorg Meuthen described them as "foolishness - both politically and content-wise" - but ultimately voted against calling on him to resign from the party.

Frauke Petry took the reins of the party in July 2015 after a bitter power struggle with the AfDs co-founder and first leader, Bernd Lucke. This turned off AfD supporters, causing the party's popularity to plummet. It was only after discontent with Merkel's refugee policies began to rise that the AfD was able to grow its numbers again. She had been presented as the smiling face of the party. Petry was born in East Germany, but when she was a teenager, her father managed to get a tourist visa for West Germany. He brought over his wife and two daughters and they set up a new life there.

With Petry at the helm, the AfD would stick to its relatively moderate neo-conservative profile - otherwise, more radical forces would call the shots. Petry was widely criticised for her controversial statements, most of which have to do with immigration. In one widely publicised interview with a German newspaper in January, she said German border police should be allowed to use arms if necessary to stop illegal border crossings by migrants. Petry stressed that provocation is a tool that she isnt afraid of using. In that way, many argue that she resembles American presidential candidate Donald Trump.

The party's uneasy relationship with the far-right was underlined when the the neo-Nazi National Democratic Party (NPD) called on voters in the regional election to use one of their two votes for the AfD. The AfD'S response was swift: "We have no overlaps with the NPD whatsoever."

The famous Hofbraukeller must allow the populist Alternative for Germany (AfD) to use its premises for a party event, a court. The landlord had cited reservations over the beer hall's reputation and security. The right-wing populist party had reserved the renowned beer hall for a party gathering. Munich's state court ruled that the party's 13 May 2016 meeting would go ahead. Today, however, the restaurant is a popular eatery for locals and tourists alike, thanks to its offering of traditional Bavarian food, beer selection and interior design. In 1919, Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler made his first political speech at the Hofbraukeller.

While the AfD's successes and its rise to double digits in national polls around the country (putting it neck and neck with the Green party and the Left party) were undoubtedly down to popular dissatisfaction with Angela Merkel's refugee policy, the AfD also made a deliberate effort to poach the chancellor's Christian conservative base.

One of the main planks of its party program is promoting the traditional family. In 2014, the Baden-Wurttemberg AfD voted against a plan to bring more teaching about homosexuality into the school curriculum, and the official party manifesto makes a vehement case against what it calls "gender mainstreaming," by which it means policies that undermine "traditional gender roles." The Baden-Wurttemberg AfD's manifesto even suggested that state broadcasters should be made to "present marriage and family in a positive way."

Deputy leader Beatrix von Storch made these issues her own within the party, speaking out against abortion, against same-sex marriage, and against what she calls the "sexualization of society." She declared her opposition to a government campaign promoting the use of condoms, saying the campaign should have promoted abstinence instead.

A less-discussed element of the AfD's program is its vehement opposition to Germany's Renewable Energy Act (EEG), introduced in 2000 and renewed in 2014 to regulate and subsidize Germany's transition to renewables. The AfD says it is against any subsidies in the energy market, on the grounds that they damage Germany's competitiveness. The party's position is on climate change is summed up in three sentences on its website: "Scientific research on the long-term development of the climate because of man-made CO2 emissions is fraught with uncertainty. On top of that, a global problem can be solved only by a coordinated initiative of all the big economic nations. For that reason, the AfD rejects all national and European unilateral action."

The AfD's original purpose is still very much part of its plan - "Germany doesn't need the euro. Other countries are damaged by the euro," is one of the first statements on its website. The party would like to see the reintroduction of national currencies, as well as provisions to make sure that there are no more payments to the European Stability Mechanism, or indeed to bail out banks and hedge funds.

The AfD deputy chairman Alexander Gauland considered a possible accession of his party to a new European populist alliance, which would include the right-wing French party National Front (FN) and other European factions. The politician is in favor of AfD joining the union, should the new group of EU-critical parties be established in the near future, he told Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung 10 April 2016.

"You do not have to like the FN, but the moment might come when you will have to say: we can cooperate with the FN, even if we don't agree with everything it stands for," Gauland said. The AfD's new course surprised many as only a few months ago the party distanced itself from the National Front, the Freedom Party of Austria (FPO) and other right-wing factions in Europe.

When the party's representative Bjorn Hocke congratulated the National Front on its victory in the French regional elections, he was sharply criticized by the party's federal spokesman Jorg Meuthen who called the statement "wrong and inappropriate." Hocke again supported the French populist party and emphasized similarities between the AfD and the National Front. A couple of months ago such a statement would have led to a sharp criticism and the organization of a special party meeting on the issue. This time, however, his statement has not been met with any opposition.

AfD was rapidly gaining popularity amid a deteriorating situation with refugees in Germany. The party is advocating for a stricter migration policy and proposes alternative, tough, ways to resolve the current crisis.

Jan Riebe at the Amadeu Antonio Foundation, noted in July 2016 that "The AfD is not a genuinely anti-Semitic party. That would mean that the party is actually being held together by anti-Semitic sentiments, but this is not the case. However, many AfD members do share anti-Semitic ideas; they have an anti-Semitic view of the world, meaning that they believe that Jews are the masterminds of all evil. So, in that sense, anti-Semitism does play an essential role in the AfD."

Young people opposed to what they regard as a leftist-Greens mainstream in the country have turned to the party's "Young Alternative" youth organization. In some parts of eastern Germany, one out of three youths votes for the AfD, or the even more extreme NPD. The AfD attracts swing voters from all political parties, and has also been able to mobilize traditional non-voters, including poorly skilled and educated Germans as well as eastern Germans still struggling decades after German reunification. The party has even found supporters among migrant groups, such as the ethnic Germans from Russia.

Frauke Petry the co-chair and longtime public face of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), would not join her party's parliamentary grouping in the new Bundestag, after months of feuding with the rest of the AfD leadership. "We should be open about the fact that there is conflict regarding content within the AfD, we should not pretend it doesn't exist," Petry told reporters 25 September 2017. All other political parties have said they are unwilling to work with the AfD.

A study from the University of Marburg in western Germany found that the traditional narratives around far-right voters may be more based in stereotype than fact. Sociologist Martin Schroder blasted the widely held idea of the low-income, poorly-educated Alternative for Germany (AfD) voter as not being representative of the truth. The fact is, wrote Schroder in the August 2018 study, that only one category truly unites the right wing: xenophobia. "AfD supporters come from every level and part of society," Schroder wrote. The one thing they all have in common, however, is "they don't want refugees to migrate to Germany." He added that it was "curious, none of the existing studies have calculated the influence of xenophobic attitudes, despite how it overshadows" every other factor.





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Spain - Politics

Spanish politicians  at all levels  have a large mouth but NO ears. They simply will not listen, but continue to say what they want even when listeners try to explain to them that they simply cant get what they want. The second thing is that no Spanish politician will ever compromise  either someone does what he says, or out they go. The third thing is that if a Spanish politician or businessman has to choose between power and money, he nearly always chooses power, even if it loses him money in the short run. He knows that in the long run, power will always get more money, whereas more money doesnt necessarily buy power.

The political system established in 1939 by Francisco Franco was characterized by limited and non-responsible political pluralism, political demobilization, a leader who exercised power within formally undefined but clearly recognizable limits, and the absence of an elaborated ideology. A transition to democracy began in 1975, and in a very short period of time Spain was able to establish a stable, consolidated parliamentary monarchy indistinguishable in many ways from many other West European democracies.

Since the reintroduction of democracy in 1977, one of the major parties has always been able to either win an absolute majority or coalition with smaller parties to win a majority and select their President. The D'Hondt Method's proportional-representational formula tends to over-represent the party that wins the highest percent of the vote, and under-represents the smallest parties. It also benefits parties who agree to unite and run a combined candidate list, providing more seats than if the parties agreed to coalition after the election. The Socialists (PSOE) and the far-left party (Izquierda Unida) have not run combined lists since the reintroduction of democracy. Socialists and "communists" uniting (which is still remembered as being the constituents of the Popular Front coalition of the mid-1930s) would likely drive some voters away, negating any benefit of the union. In October 1982, the Spanish Socialist Workers Party (PSOE), led by Felipe Gonzalez, swept both the Congress of Deputies and Senate, winning an absolute majority. Gonzalez and the PSOE ruled for the next 13 years. During that period, Spain joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the European Community.

In March 1996, Jose Maria Aznar's Popular Party (PP - Partido Popular ) won a plurality of votes. Aznar moved to decentralize powers to the regions and liberalize the economy, with a program of privatization, labor market reform, and measures designed to increase competition in selected markets. During Aznar's first term, Spain fully integrated into European institutions, qualifying for the European Monetary Union, and participated, along with the United States and other NATO allies, in military operations in the former Yugoslavia. President Aznar and the PP won reelection in March 2000, obtaining absolute majorities in both houses of parliament.

After the terrorist attacks on the U.S. on September 11, 2001, President Aznar became a key ally in the fight against terrorism. Spain backed the military action against the Taliban in Afghanistan and took a leadership role within the European Union (EU) in pushing for increased international cooperation on terrorism. The Aznar government, with a rotating seat on the UN Security Council, supported the intervention in Iraq.

Movimiento 15-M, sometimes also called the movement of the indignated, began on May 15, 2011. Through various protests and demonstrations across the country, the movements platform calls for radical changes in the Spanish political system, which they claim has failed the Spanish at the expense of protecting Spanish elites. Although the movement reached high levels of popularity amongst Spanish youth (understandably so considering the economic climate theyve inherited), we learned that the movement was (is?) noteworthy because it has crossed traditional social and partisan lines and resonated with people across all age groups, income level, gender, employment status, and level of urbanization. The successful protests allowed an entirely new political party to be formed in the country called PODEMOS (meaning we can). Spanish MPs rejected acting PM Mariano Rajoy's bid to form a government on 31 August 2016. Rajoy, leader of the center-right People's Party (PP), secured the backing of only 170 representatives in the 350-strong assembly, six seats short of the majority he needed.

Liberal parliamentary newcomer Ciudadanos voted in favor of Rajoy, as did a small party from the Canary Islands, but he failed to make inroads with the Socialists (PSOE), the anti-austerity alliance Unidos Podemos and regional parties from the Basque Country and Catalonia. "They are incapable of leading the country," Socialist leader Pedro Sanchez said. Leader the leftist party Podemos (We Can), Pablo Iglesias, said that Rajoy's PP "embodies corruption."

Rajoy took the oath as leader of Spain's new government, ending a 10-month impasse. After two inconclusive elections, Rajoy won a parliamentary confidence vote on 31 October 2016. PSOE agreed to abstain in a parliamentary confidence vote, which allowed the conservative leader to win enough support to form a government. But the 61-year-old still headed a minority administration that could have difficulty passing laws in parliament.

Spanish regions followed distinctive political paths. These regionally distinctive political paths end with the unification process. This fact is of fundamental importance, since it integrates all the regions in the same formal political institutional framework. On 01 October 2017, the regional government of Catalonia attempted to hold a referendum on independence from Spain that the national court previously declared unconstitutional. The Catalan Supreme Court ordered police units to close several polling sites and to seize illegal election material, resulting in injuries to both civilians and police officers. The Catalan regional government claimed that 42 percent of the eligible voting population in Catalonia participated. The national government and courts maintained that the referendum and any subsequent attempt to declare Catalan independence are illegal.

By May 2018 Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy faced a no-confidence vote after his party was found guilty of benefiting from illegal funds in a massive graft trial. All major opposition parties are calling for Rajoy to step down after Spain's National Court last week ruled the Popular Party (PP) profited from funds obtained illegally through "an authentic and efficient system of institutional corruption" including a slush fund. The court ordered the PP to pay back 245,000 ($290,000) and sentenced 29 people, including former top party members, to jail. But the main opposition Socialist party which filed the no-confidence motion has yet to secure the 176 or more votes needed in Spain's fragmented parliament to oust Rajoy, who survived a no-confidence vote in June 2017 called by anti-establishment party Podemos.

Rajoy's PP lost its absolute majority in parliament in the election in June 2016, and relied on centrist party Ciudadanos, with had 32 seats in parliament, to pass legislation. Ciudadanos did not back the Socialists' no-confidence motion, it said it would put forward its own no-confidence motion to trigger an election if Rajoy did not call an early vote -- an option the prime minister had already ruled out.

Socialist Pedro Sanchez took over as Spains prime minister on 01 June 2018, after outgoing leader Mariano Rajoy lost a parliamentary confidence vote triggered by a long-running corruption trial involving members of his center-right party. Socialist party head Sanchez becomes Spains seventh Prime Minister since its return to democracy in the late 1970s following the dictatorship of Francisco Franco. But Rajoys departure after six years in office casts one of the European Unions top four economies into an uncertain political landscape, just as another - Italy - pulled back from early elections.

The motion was passed with 180 votes in favor, 169 against and 1 abstention. The vote was carried by Sanchez' own PSOE party, which filed the motion and has 84 seats in the parliament, with the help of the leftist alliance Unidos Podemos, which holds 67 seats, and of several regional parties. Rajoy's defeat marked the first time a Spanish premier had lost a no-confidence vote since the transition to democracy in Spain after the death of dictator Francisco Franco in 1975.

Although Rajoy was largely considered to have helped bring Spain out of its recession crisis since he took power in 2011, critics say that the austerity measures he imposed exacerbated inequalities and that he failed to curb the country's high unemployment. His party has also faced continued allegations of corruption over the past years, culminating in the recent scandal.

Leftist Podemos, which would offer parliamentary support to Sanchezs government, is also unlikely to gain big influence over the new prime minister, who is keen to differentiate his Socialist party from its anti-austerity ally and win back centrist voters.







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Croatia - Politics

Nationalist rhetoric and overtly neofascist symbols are everywhere. During World War II, the Ustasha regime collaborated with Nazi Germany to abuse Serbs, Jews and communists and even erected concentration camps; now, that government is portrayed as the "patriotic defender of Croatian interests in difficult times." Every year, on August 4 and 5, the country celebrates the anniversary of the 1995 Oluja (Storm) military operation and Victory and Homeland Thanksgiving Day and the Day of Croatian Defenders. During the Oluja, the Croatian army captured Serb-controlled areas within a matter of days. A large number of Serb civilians were murdered during the operation, which also forced an estimated 200,000 Serbs out of Croatia. Each year, the event, which is seen as the official symbol of Croatian liberation.

Since its declaration of independence in 1991, Croatia faced the dual challenge of creating an independent state and establishing a democratic system of government. Dubbed the "father of the Republic" for having led the country to independence from Yugoslavia, Franjo Tudjman was elected President in 1992 and quickly established a firm grip on state institutions, the economy, the military, and civic institutions, including the media. The war in Croatia and BosniaHercegovina, which dominated the political landscape through 1996, fostered the formation of a single-party state run by Tudjman's Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) and guided by fervent nationalism. In parliamentary elections in 1993, opposition parties managed to gain some seats in the legislature, demonstrating that diversity of political opinion had begun to take root. Following Operations Flash and Storm in 1995, during which Croatia ousted renegade Krajina Serbs, President Tudjman called new parliamentary elections in an effort to regain the HDZ's firm control of the more powerful house of the country's bicameral legislature. Despite the military successes, the HDZ failed to capture the two-thirds majority necessary to pass amendments to the constitution.

In June 1997, Tudjman was easily re-elected President of the Republic with 56 percent of the vote, twice that of his nearest rival. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) issued a statement declaring that "the process leading up to the elections was fundamentally flawed and did not meet the minimum standards for a meaningful and democratic election." The HDZ had monopolized access to the national media, unilaterally made changes to the election law without adequately informing voters, restricted access to voters lists and denied accreditation to nonpartisan election monitors despite an aggressive NGO advocacy campaign. In early 1998, the Interior Ministry deployed heavily armed special forces to disperse a series of labor protests against the HDZ's economic policies. The spectacle of military hardware and a massive police presence opposing unarmed citizens as they exercised their political rights led to serious criticism of the governing regime from both Croatians and the international community. The death of President Tudjman in December 1999, followed by the election of a coalition government and president in early 2000, brought significant changes to Croatia.

Right-wing extremist iconography is part of everyday life in Croatia. President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic [elected January 2015], for instance, publicly appears with known right-wing leaders and even accused war criminals, and she occasionally goes off on hate-filled tirades in TV interviews. Even 20 years after the war, Croatia is living in an atmosphere dominated by wartime rhetori. Independent Croatia grew out of a right-wing political movement. And patriotic rhetoric is still the measure of all things here.

Independent media are active and expressed without restraint a wide variety of views. Restrictions on material deemed hate speech applied to print media as well. While many private newspapers and magazines were published without government interference, observers cited lack of transparency in media ownership as a challenge to media and government accountability. Publicly available information frequently did not clearly indicate who actually owned several local media outlets. A number of journalists reported that publishers and media owners frequently practiced self-censorship to avoid reporting negatively on advertisers or those politically linked to key advertisers. According to Josip Juratovic, a German Social Democrat MP with Croatian roots, instead of implementing the necessary reforms, the country's political elite is focused on itself. This does not come as a surprise. Local political structures were organized in a way that favors power, maintenance of power and redistribution of power as opposed to dealing with the country's future. Intraparty democracy simply doesn't work in Croatia. Therefore, the same players keep shaping the same policies, only with a different entourage. If they had had any ideas, they would already have realized them.











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Paraguayan Peoples Army

(Ejercito del Pueblo Paraguayo - EPP)

The Paraguayan People's Army (EPP - Ejercito del Pueblo Paraguayo) staged a brazen assault 27 August 2016 on a military patrol and stole weapons in an attack that left eight soldiers dead. The attack was carried out against troops near Horqueta, about 420 kilometers (291 miles) north of the capital Asuncion.

The Interior Ministry announced: "At about 9 a.m. (Saturday) a routine patrol was the object of an attack on a country road in the Arroyito district ... the attackers detonated explosives as the truck passed and then carried out a cowardly armed attack on the wounded soldiers." Federico Delfino, Paraguay's chief prosecutor for anti-kidnapping efforts, said the attackers stole eight US-made M4 rifles, body armor and the victims' personal belongings.

The president, Horacio Cartes, moved in the early hours, to the area of Horqueta, Concepcion department, to accompany and internalize the work done by the Joint Task Force (FTC) under the fight against the EPP criminal group. the head of state was accompanied by the Minister of the Interior, Francisco de Vargas, commander of the Armed Forces, Luis Gonzaga Garcete, the commander of the National Police, Crispulo Sotelo and his top aides. His presence at the site responded to the latest developments in Arroyito, Concepcion, where eight soldiers of the Joint Task Force were killed.

Conservative President Horacio Cartes held himself responsible Saturday for the attack and promised strong results in the remainder of his term in the war on the communist rebels. This is the price we pay for our attempt to end (the EPP), said Cartes, according to local media, calling the attack a violent and cowardly act. Sooner or later this story has one end, we will find it and make them pay for all this pain. The Cartes administration has called the EPP a criminal and terrorist structure.

The small guerrilla style group that calls itself the Army of the Paraguayan People operates in the northern part of the Department of San Pedro, and the southern part of the Department of Concepcion. The Departments of San Pedro and Caaguazu are the two regions of greatest anti-government campesino activity. There have been some high-profile kidnappings in the interior of the country, including in these departments. These are believed to be related to the EEP activities. They usually target locals based on their wealth and willingness to pay ransoms, as well as police and landowners.

The Paraguayan Peoples Army and the Armed Peasant Association (ACA) guerilla movements have killed security forces and civilians, committed robberies, kidnapped both civilians and security forces, and recruited children and adolescents. Authorities investigated EPP and ACA attacks, and prosecuted and convicted some members. The EPP claims to be a revolutionary group whose primary objective is to fight for the rights of campesinos; its real goal appears to be essentially financial enrichment.

The Paraguayan Peoples Army is an insurgent movement that emerged from the Free Fatherland Party (PPL). The PPL formed its armed wing in the mid-1990s. The PPL needed to strengthen its political wing so that the armed and political wings would better complement each other. Some sources report the EPP was established sometime after 2000 [some say it was formed around 2001, with origins dating back to the 1990s, while others report 2006 or 2008. The EPP is a leftist armed group that professes to seek change on behalf of the poor of Paraguay. The EPP has said it holds a Marxist ideology and aims to overthrow the Paraguayan government.

The EPP is thought to have no more than two or three dozen armed members, and has been behind only a few crimes. But these have been newsworthy. Paraguayan authorities are convinced the EPP was definitely not as large as the 300 members alleged in some reports. The rural areas of the Concepcion/San Pedro border area (such as Tacuati) and the hilly areas of Paraguari Department as the two most troubling areas for these types of security threats. Sporadic EPP action has been centered in the San Pedro and Concepcion Departments with a minor event occurring every three to six months.

The leftist Free Fatherland Party (Partido Patria Libre, or PPL) was outlawed for advocating the violent overthrow of the government after its two most prominent members, Juan Arrom and Anuncio Marti, were implicated in the 2001 kidnapping of Maria Edith DiBernardi. Arrom and Marti were later granted political asylum in Brazil based on allegations that they were tortured by police while in custody.

The key members of the now-defunct Free Fatherland Party (PPL) appear to form the core group of current EPP members. It operates in the country's northern regions and is known for its high-profile kidnappings. Officials say it had ties to Colombia's FARC, and s reportedly sheltered by peasant groups, drug traffickers and corrupt police (including some large land holders in San Pedro).

On 21 September 2004, members of the Patria Libre Party (PPL) kidnapped former President Raul Cubas' 31-year-old daughter, Cecilia Cubas. The PPL Martinez faction perpetrated the Cubas kidnapping "to recover money from those who had stolen it from the people." Their plan was to demand an initial USD 300,000 as "punishment," and then negotiate a ransom of USD 3 million - 5 million. The investigation got off to a slow start, in large part because the Cubas family initially rejected offers of official assistance with the ransom negotiations, but also because Paraguayan authorities were disorganized and slow to pursue several important leads. When negotiations with the Cubas family faltered, Comandante Santiago [possibly with FARC] recommended that the group kill Ms. Cubas, and then left Paraguay. They subsequently murdered Cecilia Cubas, whose body was discovered in February 2005. Prosecutors investigated reports that six FARC members entered Paraguay by way of Bolivia to assist with the Cubas kidnapping.

A government raid of an EPP camp in August 2009 revealed a lot about the organization and seemed to indicate that the group was small, weak, and was not well financed or trained. A target list of possible future kidnap victims included the names of local authorities and businessmen. There were also documented plans for an attack in Asuncion to free jailed former PPL members.

Former Free Fatherland Party (PPL) members announced 17 March 2008 the existence of the Paraguayan People's Army (EPP), an armed revolutionary group operating in Concepcion Department. Their comments followed a 12 March 2008 incident in which the EPP claimed responsibility for vandalizing a ranch in Concepcion. PPL members claimed that former PPL members formed the group in February 2006 to fight government injustice and end 60-plus years of Colorado rule.

The previously unknown EPP, or Ejercito del Pueblo Paraguayo, claimed responsibility for vandalizing 12 March 2008 over USD 400,000 in farm equipment owned by Brazilian ranch owner Nabor Both in Horqueta, Concepcion Department. The perpetrators left a pamphlet with the inscription, "Paraguayan People's Army, German Aguayo Command -- land to the campesinos -- whoever kills with agrotoxins will pay in this manner." A police report indicated that four or five people were involved. Police have not named any suspects in connection with the case.

Carmen Villalba, who is serving a 18-year prison sentence at Good Shepherd Women's Prison for kidnapping, stated 17 March 2008 that the EPP would "fight fire with fire" and would use violence against the Colorado government and its oligarchy (Paraguay's 400 wealthiest families), who she claimed have abused campesinos during their 61 years in power. She cited Article 138 of the 1992 Constitution, which permits "the citizenry to resist all usurpers (of justice) by all means at their disposal," as a basis for the EPP's militant campaign.

Cristobal Olazar, former PPL secretary general, told the newspaper Ultima Hora March 17 that the EPP was created in February 2006 following a police attack on campesinos in Puentesino, Concepcion. Sensitive reporting indicated that the PPL attacked a police station in Puentesino around the same time, in which a police officer was killed. It was unclear if the events were directly related. Olazar claimed that the EPP is led by former PPL members Osmar Martinez, Carmen Villalba, Osvaldo Villalba, Magna Meza, and Manuel Cristaldo Mieres.

Police killed German Aguayo in the 2003 raid in which Carmen Villalba was captured. Martinez was sentenced to 35 years in prison for his involvement in the Cubas case. Osvaldo Villalba, Meza, and Mieres remained suspects at large for the 2004 kidnapping and 2005 killing of Cecilia Cubas, daughter of former President Raul Cubas.

The EPP appeared to represent the early beginnings of a reincarnated PPL, although all signs points to a very small (and initially fairly inactive) membership. Its main goal seemed to be organization of an armed insurrection if the Colorados fail to cede power in the event of an opposition victory in April 2008. While they may be the EPP's targets, the Colorados also benefited from allegations that presidential candidate Fernando Lugo had ties to the PPL/EPP.

Prominent rancher Luis Alberto Lindstron, was kidnapped in July 2008 and later released. Lindstron was kidnapped in Concepcion Department; he was released 42 days later after his family paid a USD 300,000 ransom.

Armed individuals claiming to be members of the Paraguayan People's Army (EPP) attacked a small military outpost in San Pedro Department around midnight 31 December 2008, stealing weapons and burning it to the ground. The attackers doused the small building with cans of gasoline and burned it to the ground. Although conflicting reports could not confirm whether shots were fired during the attack, confidential sources stated that the duty officer surrendered peacefully, and no one was injured.

The Paraguayan government responded January 1 with police roadblocks and a decision to send January 2 members of the military's US-trained Joint Rapid Response Unit to conduct door-to-door searches. After the Paraguayan People's Army 31 December 2008 attack on an Army outpost in Tacuati, San Pedro Department, the military deployed 35 members of the Military's Joint Rapid Response Detachment (DCEI) to Tacuati to search for EPP suspects. Paraguayan security forces did not initially apprehend any suspects in the Tacuati attack; additional military and police units, however, were sent into the area in the hopes of cornering or flushing out those involved.

President Fernando Lugo estimated in January 2009 that the EPP was not really a direct security threat to the nation but rather were stirring up trouble, scaring off legitimate investors, and providing an opportunity for many quarters to criticize the government -- and ultimately to trip him up.

On 15 October 2009 at approximately 1930 hours, a group of 14 heavily armed people wearing camouflage entered well-known rancher Fidel Zavala's cattle ranch in the state of Concepcion, captured Zavala, and fled using Zavala's own vehicle. Only one of the kidnappers covered his face, prompting public speculation that a foreign element was among the group, or that he was a former ranch employee. The kidnappers told ranch workers that they would demand $5 million for his release and that they were from the Paraguayan People's Army. The initial press reporting was all about the President's and his government's ineffectiveness, instead of focusing on Mr. Zavala's release. The Zavala family was very disturbed that the personal political agendas were very risky and privately called for toning down the attacks. Zavala wss held for 94 days, and released only once a ransom was paid.

Criticism of the government for the worsening security climate had increased as kidnappings, murders, and robberies continue to make monthly headlines. Emblematic of this problem is the Zavala family's refusal to place any trust or confidence in the PNP. This is due to the police's alleged involvement in a number of high-profile murder and narcotics cases. In fact, the Minister of Interior was quoted as saying, "the police is full of mafias."

To combat the EPP, Asuncion created a Joint Task Force (JTF) in 2013. In March 2016 the Paraguayan military announced that Special Forces units would be rotated every three months, instead of every month, from deployments battling the Paraguayan People's Army. The intent qs to maintain experienced commandos on frontlines to better utilitze their combat experience. As of 01 October 2015, a total of 829 personnel from the Joint Task Force (FTC), consisting of personnel from the armed forces, National Police, and the National Anti-narcotics Secretariat (SENAD), were deployed to the departments of Concepcion, San Pedro, and Amambay.

The EPP was involved in the April 2014 kidnapping-for-ransom of 16-year old Arlan Fick, who was taken from his familys Concepcion home and held for eight months before being released. The EPP is also believed to be responsible for the July 2014 kidnapping of police officer Edelio Morinigo. In August, the EPP claimed responsibility for the kidnapping of a Mennonite in San Pedro department for a ransom of US$500,000. The farmers family paid the ransom in November, and in December 2014 the EPP released 16-year-old Arlan Fick. The EPP had demanded the family pay a ransom of $500,000 and distribute an equal amount of food and supplies to nearby communities.

On 28 January 2015, the EPP kidnapped, tortured, and killed Robert Natto and his wife Erika Reiser on their ranch near Yby Yau, Concepcion Department. According to reports, the EPP was planning to demand a ransom payment for the German couple before they killed them during a firefight with security forces. While the EPP claimed security forces shot the couple during the encounter, autopsies indicated they had died execution style. On 18 December 2015, in Kurusu de Hierro, Concepcion, the Joint Task Force (FTC) killed alleged EPP member Julian Ojeda Espinola while he was hunting at night. Family members denied Espinola had any links with the EPP and stated they would file complaints to human rights bodies.

On 08 August 2015, the EPP kidnapped Abraham Fehr, a Paraguayan-Mexican dual national farmer from Tacuati, San Pedro. According to reports, the EPP kidnapped Fehr and his employees directly from his property. They released the employees shortly after the abduction but kept Fehr captive. The EPP initially demanded $500,000 for Fehrs release, but his family publicly stated they were unable to comply with this demand. Days later the EPP lowered their demand to $20,000. On October 13, the Interior Ministry reported that Fehr was alive, but his whereabouts and conditions were unknown at the end of 2015. Relatives of Mennonite settler, Abraham Fehr, said 08 August 2016 that on the first anniversary of his kidnapping, they still retained hope that the captors to contact them to see what can be done so as to secure his release.

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Rodrigo Duterte

President Duterte compared himself to Nazi leader Adolf Hitler 29 September 2016. Duterte made the inflammatory remarks in a speech while visiting Davao, one of the biggest cities in the Philippines. He had just returned from Vietnam. "Hitler massacred three million Jews. Now there is three million, what is it, three million drug addicts, there are. I'd be happy to slaughter them. At least if Germany had Hitler, the Philippines would have (me). You know my victims, I would like (them) to be all criminals, to finish the problem of my country and save the next generation from perdition."

Duterte's comments followed criticism from the European Union and the United States over suspected extra-judicial killings in his crackdown on drug pushers and users. The former mayor had only been president for three months but so far he has presided over a campaign of seemingly indiscriminate violence against suspected drug dealers and addicts. Over 3,100 alleged drug users, addicts and dealers had been killed. Only a third of those killings happened as a result of police operations. The rest were carried out by vigilante groups which were actively encouraged by Duterte. He repeatedly encouraged members of the public to act on their own against drug dealers and promised not to prosecute those who do so.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte's stsff expressed regret concerning a comment he made using vulgar language that appeared as a personal attack against US President Barack Obama and the honor of his mother. "Our primary intention is to chart an independent foreign policy while promoting closer ties with all nations, especially the U.S., with which we have a long standing partnership," his staff said in a statement.

Duterte warned Obama not to lecture him about his use of death squads against suspected drug traffickers that had resulted in more than 2,000 murdres since he took office in June. "You must be respectful. Do not just throw questions," Duterte said: "Putang ina ["son of a whore"], I will swear at you in the forum", using a Tagalog phrase.

Rodrigo Duterte, whose foul-mouthed, populist campaign earned him both praise and ridicule, was the winner of the 2016 Philippines presidential election. Duterte, who describes himself as a socialist, has said he will be the country's first Left president. Despite his 'radicalisms', Duterte in fact had yet to espouse any fundamental shift from the general run of neoliberal economic policy of the past 30 or so years. On the contrary, he promised to expand privatization and deregulation and declared plans for liberalization of trade by allowing the dumping of surplus steel from China.

Rodrigo Duterte, mayor of the southern Philippine city of Davao, embodied the hope of change to many Filipinos. The populist mayors single-issue campaign focused on law and order tapped into anxiety about graft, crime and drug abuse, but for many his incendiary rhetoric and talk of extrajudicial killings smack worryingly of the countrys authoritarian past. Duterte's pledge to carry out his agenda even if that required shutting down the legislature also brought back memories of the country's late dictatorial President Ferdinand Marcos who declared martial law in 1972.

Mr. Dutertes campaign symbol is a fist  intended for lawbreakers, but seemingly also aimed at the oligarchy, Miguel Syjuco, a respected Philippine writer, said in an opinion column. He earned notoriety for his crude boasts of sexual escapades, drawing comparisons to US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.

Duterte vowed on 06 May 2016 evening to clean the government, rid it of criminality, suppress drugs, corruption and dared to close Congress and government agencies if they make life difficult for the Filipinos. I can guarantee you it will be a clean government getting rid of corruption, not asking for years, not asking for a term, not asking you to give me months, but you will feel it when I am given my post... in worst situation, I will close Congress if they cannot deliver to the people the services, serve their interests and welfare they are sworn to serve as the peoples representatives...

He advocated multilateral negotiations to resolve territorial claims in the South China Sea. Duterte had declared that as president he would ride a jet ski to the contested Scarborough Shoal, plant a Philippine flag and expect to die a hero at the hands of the Chinese.

In a nation where 80 percent of people are Roman Catholic, Duterte called Pope Francis a "son of a bitch" after the pontiff's visit in January caused traffic problems. He also drew criticism from the U.S. and Australian ambassadors to the Philippines after saying he wished he had been first in line in the gang rape of an Australian missionary killed during a Davao jail riot in 1989.

The 71-year-old mayor had been leading most of the opinion polls since April. Some 33 percent of the voters said they would vote for Duterte in the final pre-election survey conducted by Social Weather Station. The country's renowned polling body carried out the survey from May 1 to May 3 through face-to-face interviews with 4,500 validated voters nationwide with a sampling error margin of 1 point. The foul-mouthed candidate is known to have made Davao one of the safest cities in the Philippines through tough regulations and iron-fist approach in crime fighting. During the presidential campaign period, he vowed to wipe out corruption, drugs and criminality in three to six months if he wins the election.

Duterte has been a vocal proponent of the use of violence to rid areas of common crime. The Davao Death Squad, which boosted the popularity of Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, has motivated other municipal officials to adopt extrajudicial killings as a crime control method. The arming of civilian left a devastating legacy of vigilantism that for decades, particularly the city of Davao, has not been able to recover from. It was in the urban village of Agdao in Davao City where the vicious vigilante group, Alsa Masa, first took root.

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) expressed concern in August 2008 that "... despite the fact that there is no longer the threat of communism, vigilante killings take place in Davao City daily on the pretext of the war against criminals. The psyche of the people living there has reached a point where they themselves give ready acquiescence to these death squads to decide on who deserves to die or not effectively leaving the policing, prosecution and the court meaningless. Thus, while Alsa Masa may have ceased to exist the notion and residue of its brutal past remains an insidious disease." The Asian Human Rights Commission is a regional non-governmental organisation monitoring and lobbying human rights issues in Asia. The Hong Kong-based group was founded in 1984.

His name was often floated as a potential presidential candidate for his seeming ability to solve challenges that stymied other politicians. In February 2014, Duterte told a Senate hearing on rice smuggling in the Philippines that he would gladly kill an alleged smuggler who tried to smuggle rice into his city. Instead of criticizing Duterte for suggesting the use of extrajudicial killings, the committee chairperson appeared to express support for Dutertes tough anti-crime measures in Davao City.

Duterte's aggressive behavior and offensive language won him a lot of supporters, but aroused concerns and controversy as well. The outgoing president Aquino has warned repeatedly the risk for the country to fall under a dictatorship if citizens voted Duterte. Analysts warned possible political instability if Duterte became the president as his "revolutionary government" would be most unlikely to get support from the congress.

Rodrigo "Rody" Roa Duterte (born March 28, 1945), nicknamed Digong, was born on March 28, 1945 in Maasin, Leyte in the Philippine Commonwealth to Cebuano lawyer Vicente G. Duterte and Soledad Roa. His father served as the Governor of Davao while his mother was a school teacher. He studied at Sta. Ana Elementary School in Davao and then spent his high school at Holy Cross of Digos.

He was such a problem child that his father exiled him to Digos, Davao del Sur, where he finished high school in Holy Cross of Digos in 1966. Duterte took pride in having been a student of the CPP founding Chairman in Political Thought, Prof. Jose Maria Sison, at the Lyceum of the Philippines in the late 1960s, in becoming an activist of the anti-imperialist and anti-feudal youth organization, Kabataang Makabayan, and in being a long time adherent of the New Patriotic Alliance known as BAYAN. Both Kabataang Makabayan and BAYAN were fierce opponents of the Marcos fascist dictatorship and the continuing domination of the Philippines by foreign monopoly capitalism, feudalism and bureaucrat capitalism.

Duterte graduated law at San Beda College in Manila under Class 1972, and passed the bar examination in the same year. He then had a short stint as lecturer on Criminal Law, Criminal Evidence and Criminal Procedure at the Philippine National Police Academy Regional Training Center XI before joining the government as prosecutor at the Davao City Prosecution Office from 1977 to 1986.

The vicious "vigilante" group, Alsa Masa, first took root in Davao City at this time. In reality, Alsa Masa was a semi-official death squad. The precise relationship between the rise of Alsa Masa and the rise of Duterte is unclear, but they coincided in time, and the one surely was related to the other. In the two years 1986-1988 of the greatest visibility of the Alsa Masa death squad, Duterte rose from a mid-level government lawyer to the mayor of the country's third largest city.

Duterte was then appointed officer-in-charge (OIC) vice mayor and had served as special counsel where he prosecuted cases involving police and military personnel, including subversion and rebellion cases filed against alleged members of the New People's Army (NPA), until he became assistant fiscal after the 1986 EDSA Revolution in Manila - the popular non-violent uprising known as "People Power Revolution" (February 22-25, 1986) that overthrew the 20-year dictatorship of President Ferdinand E. Marcos and installed Mrs. Corazon C. Aquino as President. After the People Power Revolution, Duterte was appointed officer-in-charge vice mayor.

In 1988, he ran for mayor and won, serving until 1998. He set a precedent by designating deputy mayors that represented the Lumad and Moro in the city government, which was later copied in other parts of the country. In 1998, because he was term-limited to run again for mayor, he ran for the House of Representatives and won as Congressman of the 1st District of Davao City. In 2001, he ran again for mayor in Davao and was again elected for his fourth term. He was reelected in 2004 and in 2007. In 2010, he was elected vice mayor, succeeding his daughter, Sara Duterte-Carpio, who was elected as mayor. He was never out of politics.

Davao is the Philippines' third largest city. As a mayor, he won the National Literacy Hall of Fame Award for being a 3-time 1st place winner in the Outstanding Local Government Unit (LGU) Highly Urbanized City category.

The City Council amended the City Ordinance No. 1627, Series of 1994, which imposed a probihition on selling, serving, drinking, and consuming liquors and alcoholic beverages from 1:00 a.m. until 8:00 am. Speed limits for all kinds of motor vehicles within the territorial jurisdiction of Davao City for public safety and order under Executive Order No. 39 was signed by Duterte. Duterte fight against crime made him more known and earned him more respect as public servant. However, his style in reducing crime in Davao City was criticized by human right groups in spite of significant decrease in crime rate in the city.

There is documented evidence of hundreds of vigilante-style killings of civilians in Davao city since 1998; victims are usually petty criminals and street children; killings are perpetrated in exchange for payment; police fail to investigate these crimes and protect witnesses; and the killings have broad public support.

Key public officials steadfastly denied that vigilante killings occur in Davao city. Vice Mayor Sara Duterte, daughter of the outspoken anti-crime Mayor, said the 2009 Human Rights Watch Report on vigilante killings was "exaggerated" and that most murders in Davao were "love triangle" and "revenge killings." She noted the police were doing their job by sifting through records from as long as 10 years ago to reexamine some of these incidents to try to obtain leads. While she stated the issue was being handled appropriately, Sara Duterte has kept her distance from any involvement in the issue.

Rodrigo Duterte is clearly behind a group called the "Davao Death Squad," which has been implicated in hundreds of vigilante-style killings. Duterte's visible rage against criminality and drugs stemmed from family history: one of Duterte's two sons previously abused drugs, and the Mayor channeled his anger over his son's drug use not just against drug pushers, but also drug users, eventually leading him to embrace vigilante killings as a means to reduce crime. The Mayor's tough anti-crime rhetoric became the hallmark of his governance style, and Davao residents perceived a marked improvement in public safety under his tenure, which many thought contributed to improved prospects for economic growth.

The city's government is known to be relatively advanced among large Philippine cities with regard to its economic development policies and public services like housing, drug rehabilitation, and programs for the poor.

Support for the Mayor's overall policies comes from a dynamic cross-section of influential Davao citizens whom the Mayor has recruited as advisors, including the Regional Chair of the Ulamas League and the leader of a prominent and wealthy Protestant sect, among many others. The Mayor's broad base of support ensured his enduring popularity among different constituencies, but he remained ready to counter those who criticize him and opposition to the Mayor among City Councilors, suffering from their own scandals, remains minimal.

While international attention on the killings was elevated as a result of the Human Rights Watch Report, noticeably absent was public outrage among Davao residents. Combined with Mayor Duterte's tight control, this public apathy prevented civil society groups from being more aggressive in tackling the issue. With the police failing to make any progress on investigations, the CHR and civil society groups have become the primary advocates on the issue. The CHR's effectiveness was determined by its ability to cobble together enough witnesses to make strong cases. The CHR, in order to withstand Duterte's anticipated attacks, must also successfully marshal support at the national level from the Department of Justice and the Philippine National Police in order to push cases forward to prosecution.

Duterte openly spoke about his desire to change the system of the government to a federal form. Apart from that, he categorically said that if he will become the president and sit in the Malacanang for 6 years, did my best and would not corrupt or steal money fro the people and leave after six years with the same system of government? Im not that ambitious nor do I love to boast but if I will be president, after my term is over I will have federalism as the new form of government.

After a controversial presidential campaign, the 71-year-old saw quick success after vowing to end crime within six months of his ascendance to the presidency by "killing criminals." He repeated his vows at his final rally as runner-up, calling on the electorate to "forget the laws on human rights [...] if I make it to the presidential palace, I will do just what I did as mayor. You drug pushers, hold-up men and do-nothings, you better go out. Because as the mayor, I'd kill you." Departing President Benigno Aquino repeatedly warned the country was at risk of becoming a dictator state if Duterte had succeeded.

The revolutionary movement of the people led by the Communist Party of the Philippines or CPP supported the determination of Duterte to fight corruption and criminality and welcomes his vow to declare a ceasefire with the armed revolutionary movement and be the first left president in the history of the Philippines. In this regard, the CPP has urged him to free the hundreds of political prisoners, accelerate the peace negotiations and address the roots of the civil war by adopting basic economic, social and political reforms.

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Operation Euphrates Shield

On 24 July 2015, Turkey officially launched its two-front campaign against PKK in northern Iraq and the Islamic State jihadist group in Syria, marking Turkey's first military involvement in the US-led campaign against ISIL. The week had seen a surge in violence in Turkey, which shares southern borders with war-torn Syria and Iraq, stretching 510 miles and 220 miles respectively.

Turkey said it had secured an agreement with the Obama administration to jointly secure a zone in a small part of northern Syria. But while US officials confirmed the outlines of the deal, discrepancies in how Washington and Ankara view the buffer suggests the accord was not complete. The zone's proposed area would extend along a 68-mile stretch of the Turkish border and reach 40 miles into Syrian territory, west of the Euphrates River, and into the province of Aleppo. The area was controlled by the Islamic State group (IS), between two areas of Syria currently held by Kurdish separatist militias linked to Turkeys outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).

ISILs strategy to re-establish a 7th century caliphate relied on its shrewd exploitation of 21st century technology. It was especially adept at exploiting the explosion in social media to establish its legitimacy, create fear in its enemies, attract more fighters, carry its message across the globe, and spread its network. Peter Kassig was beheaded in Dabiq, Syria.

Dabiq features in a recorded statement attributed to the Prophet Mohammed, known as hadith. The hadith are very important to Muslims and are regarded as providing another source of law alongside the Koran. Dabiq features strongly in the eschatological aspects of normative Islamic belief. Dabiq was referenced by Mohammed as the location for an end-of-times battle of the crusaders before taking Istanbul.

The zone being talked about by the Turks not only includes towns of strategic and symbolic importance for the Islamic State group like Dabiq, but also towns such as al-Bab, which has been targeted by Syrian helicopters and warplanes, risking clashes with the Syrian government.

Syria's Kurds or the YPG, which is linked to Turkey's Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), now controlled half of the country's 800km border with Turkey by 2016 - stretching from the Iraq border to the town of Kobane.

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization held an emergency meeting in Brussels following a formal request by Turkey to discuss the security situation on its borders. The extraordinary meeting at the NATO headquarters on Tuesday was the fifth in the organisation's 66-year history. It was requested by Turkey under Article 4 of the treaty that founded the US-led alliance, which empowers its 28 member states to seek such consultations when they consider their "territorial integrity, political independence or security" to be in jeopardy.

A US official told news agencies the goal is to create an "Islamic State-free zone" to "ensure greater security along Turkey's border with Syria." But the official said the joint US-Turkey military operation would not include the imposition of a no-fly zone in the region, a long-standing Turkish demand.

On 24 August 2016, Ankara sent its warplanes, tanks and special forces assisted by the Free Syrian Army across the border to ostensibly free the town of Jarablus and prevent the Kurds from advancing further West. Damascus denounced the intervention as a breach of its sovereignty. Euphrates Shield operation is considered to be the first Turkish ground intervention in Syria since the Syrian crisis started in 2011. In 2015 Turkish authorities launched a military operation in the southeastern regions of Turkey, populated mostly by the Kurds. In response, Kurdish militants carried out terrorist attacks in the country.

Official Ankara stated that the military operation had only the purpose of the fight against terrorist groups. "We strongly condemn all attempts to present the operation as a struggle with the Syrian Kurds and their military achievements",Ibrahim Kalyn, a spokesman for the Turkish President, stated 21 August 2016. Turkish authorities also intended to fight the Kurdistan Workers' Party and the Democratic Union (PYD), considering them terrorist organizations, said Kalyn.

Another purpose of the operation, according to Kalyn, was Al-Bab ["the gate"], a major city halfway between Aleppo and Jarabulus. Al-Bab is located in the middle of the stretch of territory controlled by Daesh militants, and was their stronghold in the area. The Kurdish forces were also seeking Al-Bab, to connect with the territory they control in the west of the country. According to Erdogan's press secretary, this task interfere with the action of the Kurdish units in the rear of the Turkish army in their progress to liberation Jarabulus. "We are not talking any more about any deadline for the retreat of the Kurds to the eastern bank of the Euphrates. We simply demand the retreat as soon as possible", said Kalyn.

Al-Bab can become a place of serious clashes between Kurds and Turkey. Washington, which supports both the Kurds and the Turks, was trying to prevent this, and tried to slow down the advancement of the Kurds by diplomatic means.

At the outset, the United States verbally supported the operation. In fact, according to one report, the Pentagon even offered Turkey the possibility of a joint operation with the participation of 40 US commandos, a plan that was allegedly shelved as a result of the White House's slow response. But nevertheless, the US was supportive of the operation in its initial stages. US officials called upon the Syrian Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG), the Kurdistan Workers' Party's (PKK) sister organisation in Syria, to withdraw to the east of the Euphrates river and threatened to withhold support should they not comply.

As time went on, the US changed the tone, calling on Turkey to refrain from clashing with the YPG and instead has begun urging it to focus on the common enemy, ISIL. Interestingly, both Turkey and the YPG are Washington's key allies in the region. This is why the Turkish military and Kurdish militias largely refrained from large-scale armed hostilities, although occasional fighting had taken place. The United States pressured both sides to focus on fighting Daesh and not each other, urging the Kurds to move east of the Euphrates. This standoff could escalate if Turkey did not pull its forces out of Syria.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said the operation was also aimed at preventing the YPG from taking more territory with the aim of linking the Kurdish cantons of Kobani and Afrin, which would create a continuous corridor of territory under YPG control running along Turkey's border. The Turkish Armed Forces expected the Kurdish troops will leave the city of Manbij. If they departed, Turkey would be able to open a corridor to Aleppo for the Syrian opposition. Ankara was likely seeking to carve out a region under its control along the border about 100 kilometers long and 30 kilometers deep, running between the Syrian border towns of Jarabulus to al-Rai. That, say analysts, would provide Turkey with a base to prevent further YPG gains.

The most important point is the duration of the military operation, which Turkey holds. If the "Euphrates Shield" becomes protracted (more than 2 months), it will certainly lead to serious losses for Turkish troops, who did not miss an opportunity once again to strike the forces of Syrian Kurds. Soldiers of the People's Self-Defense Kurds (YPG) have already demonstrated that they can force the fight Turkish forces - they destroyed Turkish tanks using anti-tank missile system (ATGM) on 27 August 2016.

By 27 August 2016 the SDF had continued advances at the western bank of the Euphrates, seizing 2 more villages from ISIS. Since the start of Turkish military operations in northern Syria, the SDF had captured over 10 villages south of Jarablus. The Turkish Air Force responded to these actions with fresh air strikes on SDF targets south of Jarablus. Air strikes were reported at the vilalge of Amarna and allegedly inflicted civilian casualties.

Near the Turkish border, the Free Syrian Army claimed dramatic advances against the Islamic State, capturing Zughrah, al-Kulliyah and Tal Aghbar. However, PR statements were alloyed with significant loses to ISIS west of Jarabulus. Meanwhile, a large armored brigade of the Turkish Armed Forces were reported to have deployed 11 kilometers away from Manbij, where Kurdish forces are set to evacuate.

On the temporary cease-fire in the north became known in the evening on 30 August. Manbij Military Council, part of the "Democratic Syria forces" together with Kurdish groups agreed to a pause in the fighting with Turkish forces. But the ceasefire does not mean a truce, officials said on both sides. "We will liberate our lands from the Turkish army and its allies", - quotes Reuters the words of Ali Hajj, the speaker of the Military Council. "This is not peace and cease-fire, it is a pause, which will take some time", according to one of the leaders of groups supported by Turkey.

Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said on August 31 his country's troops were to stay in Syria as long as "threats" against the Turkish state remained. The stated objective of operation "Euphrates Shield"  to remove "terrorists" from the Turkish border  is vague, prompting growing speculation over Ankara's long term intentions.

Turkish tanks entered al-Rai town in northern Aleppo 02 September 2016, as the Euphrates Shields forces began a push to meet with Jarablus pocket. Turkish armored vehicles on 02 September 2016 crossed into Syria through the border town of Cobanbey, the Syrian side of which is located in Aleppo Province and is known as Al Rai in Arabic. The opposition Free Syrian Army managed to take control of the town. The move was intended to open up another front against the DAESH terrorist organisation as part of Turkeys Operation Euphrates Shield.

Iran expressed concern over the continuation of Turkey's military incursion into Syria, urging all countries to respect the Arab country's national sovereignty and territorial integrity. "Although the fight against terrorism and efforts to maintain regional stability and security are an unchangeable and important principle in the foreign policy of peace-seeking countries in the region, this issue cannot and should not be used as a justification for violating the territorial integrity of another country by conducting military operations against that country without coordination with its central government, and by overlooking its national sovereignty," Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qassemi said.

The Russian stance on Turkey's incursion into Syria illustrated that previous Russian support for the PYD was instrumental and motivated by the dynamics of the Turkish-Russian dispute. Once both countries mended their ties, the PYD's value for Russia declined significantly, but not completely.

US President Barack Obama's special envoy for the global coalition to counter ISIL, Brett McGurk, said: "We want to make clear that we find these clashes [between Turkey and the YPG] - in areas where ISIL is not located - unacceptable and a source of deep concern." The US was trying to tread a fine line between its partnership with the YPG and relations with its longtime NATO ally Turkey.

Turkey's move effectively halted the YPG's westward expansion. Before the operation the YPG was hoping to connect its Kobane and Afrin cantons and hence creating a linked-up statelet on the Turkish border. This was a prospect that Turkey had long denoted as its red line, inviting military intervention.

Turkey on 29 March 2017 announced its military campaign inside northern Syria was over, without specifying whether it will pull its troops out from the neighboring country. Turkey's top advisory national security council chaired by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the half-year long offensive in Syria has been "concluded successfully." Prime Minister Binali Yildirim also said the operation has been completed but did not rule out new military campaigns inside Syria under a different name.

Turkey-backed Syrian rebels had captured from jihadists several towns including Jarabulus, Al-Rai, Dabiq and finally Al-Bab, where the Turkish army sustained heavy casualties. The strategic town of Al-Bab, just 25 kilometers (15 miles) south of the Turkish border, had been the jihadists' last stronghold in the northern Syrian province of Aleppo.

The major goal of the operation was to capture Manbij and to prevent the Syrian Kurds from maintaining control over the Syrian-Turkish border. But Ankara failed to take Manbij under its control. In early March 2017, Turkey and the Kurdish-dominated Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) nearly clashed in Manbij. Moscow stepped in and brokered a deal between the Turks, the Kurds and Damascus. The Manbij Military Council handed control of several areas west of the city of Manbij to the Syrian Arab Army (SAA), as part of a Moscow-brokered deal to create a buffer zone between the Kurds and the Turkish armed forces. Ankara accepted the deal and signaled that it by no means opposed the establishment of the SAA's control over the northern Syrian city of Manbij.

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Thailand Islamic Insurgency

Peace talks are scheduled for 02 September 2016 between officials and representatives of a southern separatist umbrella group, MARA Patani. Recent violence has created new uncertainties about whether the peace talks will lead to progress. But a series of bombings and arsons hit several south-central Thai beach resorts, including in the town of Hua Hin, just 200 kilometers south of Bangkok. Four people died and more than 30 were injured in the August 12 attacks. Until the August 12 bombings, it appeared most insurgent groups wanted to negotiate.

The outbreak of violence in Thailand's southern provinces of Yala and Pattani on 12 February 2016 included the roadside bombing of a military patrol providing security for local school teachers, drive-by shootings and arson attacks. Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan told local media the government would not make any peace deals as long as violence persisted.

The insurgency in the largely Muslim-populated region, in its 12th year, had claimed over 6,500 lives, defying official efforts to end the bloodshed. The insurgency seeks greater regional autonomy from the Thai state, which the central government has consistently rejected. Progress toward peace has been undermined by the militarys harder-line policy in dealing with the southern insurgency.

Thailand's military junta put new security measures in place on June 22, 2014 in a bid to calm the country's restive southern region, where fighting with Muslim separatists had claimed more than 5,000 lives in the past decade. The most frequent targets of insurgent attacks are ethnic Thai Buddhists and ethnic Malay Muslims in the provinces of Pattani, Narathiwat and Yala. Brutal attacks on teachers and state officials by insurgents have led to accusations of extra judicial killings by authorities, perpetuating a cycle of violence.

The military leaders also hoped to restart peace talks with insurgents. A new command structure for Thailand's southern border provinces had junta leader General Prayuth Chan-ocha replace civilian authorities as the army takes a lead role in efforts to halt rising violence in the south. Civilian organizations would come under the military command. Peace talks under the former civilian government of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, collapsed in 2013 and there was no fresh date set for them to recommence.

Historically, the southern region of Thailand, consisting of the provinces of Satun, Songkhla, Pattani, Yala, and Narathiwat, had served as a dumping ground for corrupt and/or incompetent civilian and military officials. This had been further aggravated by the population's ethnic make-up, predominantly Thai Muslims, which had produced a major degree of alienation intensified by government misadministration. Additionally, daily life there, particularly in urban areas, was continually plagued by a higher level of common banditry and lawlessness, more so than in the Kingdom's other regions, making it very difficult for authorities to differentiate between criminal lawlessness and terrorist acts commissioned by domestic Thai terrorist or Muslim Separatist groups.

The practice of Islam was concentrated in Thailand's southernmost provinces, where the vast majority of the country's Muslims, predominantly Malay in origin, were found. The remaining Muslims were Pakistani immigrants in the urban centers, ethnic Thai in the rural areas of the Center, and a few Chinese Muslims in the far north. Education and maintenance of their own cultural traditions were vital interests of these groups. Except in the small circle of theologically trained believers, the Islamic faith in Thailand, like Buddhism, had become integrated with many beliefs and practices not integral to Islam. It would be difficult to draw a line between animistic practices indigenous to Malay culture that were used to drive off evil spirits and local Islamic ceremonies because each contained aspects of the other. In the mid-1980s, the country had more than 2,000 mosques in 38 Thai provinces, with the largest number (434) in Narathiwat Province. All but a very small number of the mosques were associated with the Sunni branch of Islam. The remainder were of the Shia branch. Each mosque had an imam (prayer leader), a muezzin (who issued the call to prayer), and perhaps other functionaries. Although the majority of the country's Muslims were ethnically Malay, the Muslim community also included the Thai Muslims, who were either hereditary Muslims, Muslims by intermarriage, or converts. Also in Thailand were Cham Muslims originally from Cambodia; West Asians, including both Sunni and Shias; South Asians, including Tamils, Punjabis and Bengalis; Indonesians, especially Javanese and Minangkabau; Thai-Malay or people of Malay ethnicity who have accepted many aspects of Thai language and culture, except Buddhism, and had intermarried with Thai; and Chinese Muslims, who were mostly Haw living in the North.

Following World War II, local Malaysian communists, nearly all Chinese, launched a long, bitter insurgency, prompting the imposition of a state of emergency in 1948, which was eventually lifted in 1960. Small bands of guerrillas remained in bases along the rugged border with southern Thailand, occasionally entering northern Malaysia. These guerrillas finally signed a peace accord with the Malaysian Government in December 1989.

In the past, the Muslim separatist groups in southern Thailand, as well as the Communist Party of Thailand, dabbled in drug trafficking to raise funds to support their political and operational objectives. As of 2000 there was little if any data linking indigenous terrorists to drug trafficking in Southeast Asia. The Communist Party had not been a viable organization in Thailand for years, and the Muslim separatist movement had fractured into a number of organizations known more for their banditry than their political activities. Drug trafficking did not, therefore, contribute to any significant terrorism on the part of these organizations. In fact, there were no credible reports of any terrorist groups either being based in or conducting terrorist activity within the Kingdom of Thailand.

The 4-province area in the southern-most part of Thailand, which was populated mainly by Muslim Thais, had not been completely pacified. There were still some small groups of Islamic radical, which sometimes resorted to violent tactics in order to make their presence felt, were still posing problems to public safety in the south. The crack down following the 11 September 2001 attacks in the United States on terrorist organizations with connections to international terrorist groups like Al-Queda, was seen as having the potential to spill over into this sensitive area. The possibility of local Islamic radical groups in the south giving sanctuary or staging location for future attack to fellow neighboring or international factions could be totally discounted. It had been a concern among Thai and friendly countries. Authorities had known for quite some time that many Muslim Thai activists went overseas to Islamic schools, where they came under influence of hard-line teachers. Some were reported to have joined the jihad against the Soviet Army in Afghanistan and returned to Thailand as extremists.

There were also some Tamil Tigers in the Phuket area of southern Thailand reportedly involved in heroin smuggling. In addition, they were believed to have purchased weapons for transport to Sri Lanka to support their separatist activities there. The drug proceeds could have been used to purchase any weapons actually acquired. In 2000, Thai officials again publicly pledged to halt the use of Thailand as a logistics base by the Sri Lankan Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). The pledges, which echoed reassurances made by Bangkok in previous years, followed the discovery in June 2000 of a partially completed submersible at a shipyard in Phuket, Thailand, owned by an LTTE-sympathizer, as well as an unclassified paper by Canadian intelligence published in December that outlined the Tigers' use of front companies to procure weapons via Thailand.

There were 5 main Islamic insurgent groups that had appeared throughout the 20th century that contributed to the attacks in Thailand. One of these groups was called the Patani Malay National Revolutionary Front-Coordinate, or BRN-Coordinate. The original BRN was established in 1960 as a leftist organization advocating Islamic socialism, but later split in the 1980s into 3 politically more moderate factions: "Congress," "Coordinate," and "Ulema" (Arabic for "clerics"). "Congress" and "Ulema" had become more or less defunct and "Coordinate" became the main group active on the ground. BRN-Coordinated maintained a number of underground cells, which were known as Runda Kumpulan Kecil, or "small patrol groups." These appeared to not be a separate organization, as the mainstream Thai media reported, but simply the operative arm of BRN-Coordinate. The BRN-Coordinate's village militia forces were also more commonly known as Pejuang Kemerdekaan Patani, or Patani Freedom Fighters.

The second insurgent group was called National Liberation Front of Patani (BNPP). This group was considered the first organized armed resistance group. It was reorganized in 1960, but traced its origin to a local revolt which took place in 1947 in Narathiwat province. It was quite active in the 1970s and early 1980s, but had become defunct.

The third insurgent group was called the Patani United Liberation Organization (PULO). Formed in 1968, by Tengku Bira Kotantila aka Kabir Abdul Rahman, PULO was the most active group in the 1970s and 1980s. In the early 2000s, it operated mainly from exile in Syria, where Tengku Bira lived, and Sweden, where its foreign affairs department was located. The group split for a while into "old" and "new" factions, but was believed to have been reunited. Exiles in Sweden maintained a number of websites that carried news from the region as well as political statements. PULO claimed to have had a working relationship with BRN-Coordinate.

The fourth insurgent group was called the Islamic Mujahidin Movement of Patani (GMIP). Formed in 1995 by Afghanistan war veteran Nasoree Saesaeng, the group derived its name from an earlier, now inactive group, the Gerakan Mujahidin Patani (GMP). According to Thai intelligence sources, the GMIP was linked to the Malaysia-based militant organization Kumpulan Mujahidin Malaysia, or the Mujahidin Group of Malaysia, which, in turn, was alleged to have close ties with the mainly Indonesia-based Jemaah Islamiya. It was, however, uncertain how much remained of the KMM following a massive crackdown by Malaysian authorities in 2001.

The last main insurgent group was called the United Front for the Independence of Patani. This group was more commonly known as "Bersatu", which meant "united" in the Malay language. It was formed in 1989 from 4 smaller groups: BRN-Congress, elements of PULO, the then GMP (which had become defunct), and Barisan Islam Pembebsan Patani, the largely defunct Islamic Front for the Liberation of Patani. Bersatu was believed to be defunct or to have been replaced by a less formal arrangement between currently active groups.

Pemuda meant "youth" in Malay and had been adopted as the name of a youth movement closely associated with BRN-Coordinate. However, Pemuda members rarely, if ever, had access to firearms, but rather assisted the BRN-Coordinate with logistical support and intelligence gathering, and occasionally sprayed separatist slogans on walls or took part in arson attacks.

Other, smaller groups also existed, but it was difficult to ascertain whether the abundance of insurgent organizations reflected actual factionalism and divergent agendas or just a division of labor in the struggle for a common goal. "Patani" in Malay referred to all 3 southern provinces: Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat.

During 2000, authorities responded with military force and legal action to separatist activity in the south. In February 2000, security forces dealt a severe blow to the New Pattani United Liberation Organization, a Muslim separatist group, when they killed its leader Saarli Taloh-Meyaw. Authorities claimed that he was responsible for 90 percent of the terrorist activities in Narathiwat, a southern Thai province. In April 2000, police arrested the deputy leader of the outlawed Barisan Revolusi Nasional (BRN), another southern separatist group, in Pattani. The case was still pending before the court at the end of 2000. Authorities suspected Muslim separatists conducted several small-scale attacks on public schools, a government-run clinic, and a police station in the south.

> In 2004, the Thai government officially recognized attacks in Thailand as terrorist acts performed by the various insurgent groups that were in the country. The RTG had not been shy about committing resources to the South. By 2006 nearly 45,000 soldiers and police were operating in a region approximately the size of Connecticut. Military forces totaling approximately 35,000 troops fall under the command of the 4th Army, headquartered in Nakhon Si Thammarat. The 5th Infantry Division (five regiments) and the 15th Development Division (three regiments) totaling approximately 20,000 troops were the main units of the 4th Army. About 15,000 other military forces were assigned to the South, including three Marine Battalions, Special Forces units detailed from the Special Warfare Command at Lopburi (Task Force 90), and additional forces redirected from the Third Army Area in the Northwest. Each province had at least one regiment of Rangers--irregular paramilitary forces recruited from the local population.

The Royal Thai Police (RTP) provide the backbone of law and order in the South. Often referred to as the "provincial police," these are the local cops charged with administering speeding tickets, investigating petty crimes and the other quotidian acts of day-to-day law enforcement. The provincial police are also the cornerstone of anti-separatist efforts. They are often the first on the scene and the only law enforcement agency with a full time presence in all three provinces

The three southernmost provinces are grouped into police Region IX. There are about 2,300 provincial police in Yala, 2,500 in Pattani, and 3,500 in Narathiwat. These police are augmented by the Royal Thai Border Patrol police, almost 1,500 provincial police from other provinces, and officers from the Bangkok-based RTP Special Branch (SB) and RTP Criminal Suppression Division (CSD). Additionally, the Ministry of Justice's relatively new Department of Special Investigations (DSI), also based in the capital, had been active in several specific cases in the South, but did not have a full-time presence in the area. The Region IX forward operating command in Yala was charged with overseeing all police activities in the three southern provinces and draws upon other police units for expertise.

Massive killings occurred throughout the mid to late 2000s and as of 2010, nearly 4,000 people had been killed due to insurgent violence.

Thailand experienced no attacks attributed to transnational terrorist groups in 2019 and violence was restricted to attacks attributed to ethno-nationalist insurgents in the countrys restive southern region. The number of terrorist incidents in the Deep South (the southernmost provinces of Pattani, Yala, Narathiwat, and parts of Songkhla) in 2019 was the lowest since the conflict reignited in 2004. Thai security officials remain concerned about the potential for ISIS to infiltrate domestic insurgent groups, although they have maintained that there is no evidence to date of any operational linkages between these domestic groups and international terrorism networks. Thailands principal vulnerability to international terrorism continues to be as a transit and facilitation hub, given the high volume of travelers through Bangkoks main airport and available market of illegal goods. Thailand remained a productive CT partner, though the Thai government continues to focus on domestic political challenges as its primary security priority.

Overall, the number of insurgent terrorist attacks and related fatalities decreased from the previous year; however, a November 5 attack at a security checkpoint in Yala killed 15, making it the single deadliest attack attributed to southern insurgents since 2004. Attacks in 2019 were primarily confined to Thailands southernmost provinces, although a set of coordinated small-scale explosions in Bangkok in August is widely believed to be linked to the Deep South insurgency. Terrorist methods primarily included shootings, arson, IEDs, and VBIEDs.





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Daesh not over, US relocating it: Iran's Zarif

Iran Press TV

Sat Feb 24, 2018 09:24AM

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif says the United States is regularly relocating Daesh terrorists to outside of the Middle East, where they had been based before losing all the territory they had occupied.

Foreign Minister Zarif made the remarks during an event called the Patterns of Regional Order in the Post-ISIS Era at the Tehran University on Saturday.

The US transfer of the Daesh elements from the Syrian cities of Hasakah, Mayadin, and Dayr al-Zawr as well as other areas to outside the region "is a dangerous development that has had a regular pattern," he said.

"Their (the terrorists') communication network remains in place, their leaders remain [alive or at large], and they still receive financial support; so we must expect the re-emergence of the threat any day," the Iranian foreign minister warned.

Zarif also stressed that although Daesh had been defeated territorially, its ideological and financial resources coming from the region and beyond had yet to be destroyed.

"One of the West's major mistakes is that they believe that Daesh is over," he said. "[But] the conditions that created Daesh in the region are still present. Daesh is the birth child of the US invasion of Iraq and, before that, the Israeli oppression against the Palestinian people."

The top Iranian diplomat also put forward an initiative for security in the region that includes dialog in the Persian Gulf.

Daesh started offensives in Iraq and Syria in 2014, occupying territory in the two Arab countries and establishing a self-proclaimed "caliphate." Soon, the Iraqi and Syrian armies  both receiving advisory military help from Iran  galvanized to retake Daesh-held territory.

The terrorist group was gradually stripped of all the land it had occupied in the two Arab countries.

Earlier this month, the Russian presidential envoy to Afghanistan said that there were indications that the US military was allowing Daesh terrorists to infiltrate Afghanistan after their defeats in Syria and Iraq.

"It's noteworthy that the extremists themselves and weapons for them, according to numerous witness accounts, are often transferred to the territory of Afghanistan by helicopters without identifying insignia," Zamir Kabulov said.

Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei had earlier made the same warning.

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Great Wall of Mexico

US-Mexico Border Fence /



Secure Fence

Donald Trump

The U.S. Defense Department asked Congress to reprogram more than $3.8 billion from FY2021 funding for the National Guard and weapons programs to pay for a wall on the border with Mexico, setting another possible confrontation with Democrats. Three years after arriving at the presidency, Donald Trump is keeping his central promise of building a wall on the southern border of the nation and heads his campaign for a second term with the same motto. Democratic aides said $1.5 billion would come from the National Guard, and the rest from funds for procurement, including the Lockheed Martin Corp F-35 fighter jet program, Lockheed C-130 transport aircraft, Boeing Co P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft, Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft, and shipbuilding. Congressional Democrats called the request dangerous and misguided.

The president and his administration announced plans in September 2019 to build between 450 and 500 miles (725 and 800 kilometers) of wall along the nearly 2,000-mile (3,220-kilometer) border by the end of 2020. In some sections, a 30-foot-high wall will replace sections of Normandy barriers and post-n-beam fencing that by design only stop vehicles. Defense Department officials said 04 September 2019 that 127 military construction projects in both the United States and overseas will be deferred to free $3.6 billion for construction or augmentation of barriers along 175 miles of the southern US border.

President Donald Trump announced on 15 Feburary 2019 he would declare a national emergency to try to obtain funds for his promised US-Mexico border wall bypassing Congress, a move Democrats vowed to challenge as unconstitutional. "I'm going to be signing a national emergency," Trump said from the Rose Garden of the White House. "We have an invasion of drugs, invasion of gangs, invasion of people and it's unacceptable," he said. The president said he would sign the authorising paperwork later in the day in the Oval Office, freeing Trump to seek to redirect billions of dollars of federal funds. The emergency declaration enabled the activation of any of hundreds of dormant powers, which can permit the White House to declare martial law, suspend civil liberties, expand the military, seize property and restrict trade, communications and financial transactions.

This reprogramming decision was made after President Trump had repeatedly sought appropriations from Congress for the construction of a border barrier. Although Congress provided some funding for those purposes, it consistently refused to pass any measures that met the Presidents desired funding level, creating a standoff that led to a 35-day partial government shutdown. The President signed the budget legislation that ended the shutdown, but he then declared a national emergency and pursued other means to get additional funding for border barrier construction beyond what Congress had appropriated.

Trump declared a National Emergency to use section 2808 of title 10, United States Code to bypass congressional intent and divert military construction funding from previously approved national security projects to fund a border wall. Congress chose not to fund this wall in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2019 (P.L. 1166). There was bipartisan opposition to the action taken by the President, as both the House and Senate voted to disapprove the Presidents emergency declaration. The House and Senate adopted a joint resolution terminating the Presidents declaration of a national emergency pursuant to Congresss authority under 50 U.S.C.  1622(a)(1). H.R.J. Res. 46, 116th Cong. (2019). The President vetoed the joint resolution.

The requirements of section 8005 were not met because the need for which the funds were reprogrammed was not unforeseen, and it was an item for which funds were previously denied by Congress. The use of those funds violated constitutional requirements that the Executive Branch not spend money absent any appropriation from Congress. But on 27 July 2019 a Supreme Court ruling allowed the President to start taking funds from the military to build his ineffective border wall while litigation continued.

The administration asked for $1.6 billion for 2018 to build or replace 74 miles (120 kilometers) of barriers in Texas' Rio Grande Valley and San Diego and planned to request another $1.6 billion for 2019. A proposal by Customs and Border Protection called for spending $18 billion over 10 years to extend barriers to cover nearly half the border. The agency proposed 316 miles (505 kilometers) of additional barrier by September 2027, bringing total coverage to 970 miles (1,552 kilometers). It also sought 407 miles (651 kilometers) of replacement or secondary fencing.

The U.S. House of Representatives closed its summer session 28 July 2017 with a key legislative accomplishment that included a gift for President Donald Trump. House Republicans included a $1.6 billion request to build part of Trumps promised wall along the U.S.-Mexico border in a mini-bus package of bills. We must be vigilant in protecting our homeland. Thats our priority. This legislation funds the most critical functions of government. It secures our borders by providing funding for a wall on our southern border, House Speaker Paul Ryan said in a statement hailing the passage of border wall funding.

The project is months behind schedule. CBP officials said the winners would be announced in November 2017.

Donald Trump told reporters on Air Force One 13 July 2017 that his previous remark about placing solar panels on his proposed border wall with Mexico was no joke. "We have major companies looking at that," Trump said. "Look, there's no better place for solar than the Mexico border  the Southern border. And there is a very good chance we can do a solar wall, which would actually look good." Because of the presence of natural barriers, Trump said, the solar wall would need to span only 700 to 900 miles (1,125 to 1,450 kilometers) to be effective in halting illegal migration.

Trump told reporters on Air Force One that only 700 to 900 miles of wall may be needed. About 650 miles of the 2,000-mile long border already has some type of physical barrier. The remaining miles will be guarded by topography, the president said. You have mountains. You have some rivers that are violent and vicious. You have some areas that are so far away that you dont really have people crossing, he said. He also opined that the wall should be see-through, ie, a fence, not a wall. Border patrol agents needed to be able to spot threats on the other side and avoid any large sacks of drugs thrown over the top.

Executive Order 13767 directed the Government to build a border wall with Mexico. The entire U.S.-Mexico border covers 3,200 kilometers, over a variety of terrain, from California, through Arizona and New Mexico and ending in southern Texas. More than 1,100 kilometers of that stretch already is fenced, but nowhere is the barrier as massive as the wall described in the new plan.

On March 17, 2017 the US Customs and Border Protection released two Requests for Proposal to award multiple contracts and initial task orders for the design and construction of wall prototypes. The Presidential Executive Order: Border Security and Immigration Enforcement Improvements, states that the Secretary shall take steps to immediately plan, design and construct a physical wall along the southern border, using appropriate materials and technology to most effectively achieve complete operational control of the southern border.

The US government planned to start awarding preliminary contracts by April 2017 for construction of a wall along the US-Mexico border, to fulfill one of President Donald Trumps principal campaign promises. US Customs and Border Protection said it will accept "concept papers" for the walls design and choose the best ones by 20 March 2017. The agency will then ask vendors for construction cost estimates and, after reviewing their bids, begin granting contracts by mid-April  a remarkably quick schedule for a government construction project.

Trump said the wall will cost $12 billion, while Republican leaders in Congress have pegged its cost 20 percent higher than that. An internal Homeland Security report forecast the total cost could be as much as $21.6 billion.

The situation reached an impasse in December 2018. During negotiations with Congress over an appropriations bill to fund various parts of the federal government for the remainder of the fiscal year, the President announced his unequivocal position that any measure that funds the government must include border security. He declared that he would not sign any funding bill that did not allocate substantial funding for a physical barrier on the U.S.-Mexico border. But the President made clear that he still intended to build a border barrier, with or without funding from Congress.

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Hydrogen Bomb / Fusion Weapons

It is generally believed that the design and production of hydrogen bombs is difficult, and beyond the reach of some nuclear weapons states, such as North Korea. This is the "Ignorant Peon" view of North Korea. In "Dr. Strangelove," Air Force Gen. Buck Turgidson disparages the Soviets as "a bunch of ignorant peons" who are unable to "understand a machine like some of our boys." There is a tendency to disparage the North Koreans (as well as Pakistanis, Iranians and Indians) as ignorant peons whose weapons skills are consistently derided as "primitive."

This belief is probably incorrect. North Korea's first two tests were low yield affairs, widely derided as failures, because it did not replicate the multi-kiloton yield of America's first nuclear test. It did, however, coincide with the sub-kiloton tests of the fission trigger for a hydrogen bomb. The "ignorant peon'" school tells us that North Korea's "primitive" atomic bombs are too big to put on missiles. But possibly North Korea's hydrogen bombs are easily fitted on missiles.

Two-stage fusion weapons are probably within the reach of "even the smallest nuclear power", as Doctro Strangelove would phrase it. There are three elements that are needed to build a hydrogen bomb:

The basic design elements of the hydrogen bomb have been a matter of public record for several decades. This desing confounded Edward Teller for the better part of a decade, and Soviet designers needed several years to cover the same ground, but for the past several decades the basic ideas have been well known. The ingredients of a hydrogen bomb are largely those of an atomic bomb, along with a few other items - Tritium, special plastics, and so forth - that would come fairly readily to hand in a nuclear weapons state. Computing power is the element that brings together the design and the materials, to simulate the accuracy with which theory has been reduced to practice. Today's home computers are roughly a million times more powerful than the computers used by the United States to produce the first hydrogen bomb.

In all probability, at least one test of a low yield trigger would be needed just to make sure nothing had been overlooked. Israel seems to have conducted once such test in 1979, as did Pakistan in 1998. India conducted multiple low yield tests in 1989, and North Korea has conducted at least two low yield tests.

History

The ultimate success of the United States thermonuclear program rested on five factors. First, was the discovery of a method to overcome the fundamental problem that thermonuclear systems lose as much energy as they create. Second, Los Alamos had to significantly increase the size of its scientific staff. The hydrogen bomb problem required complex interactions among physicists, chemists, and metallurgists. Third, to start a thermonuclear fire, smaller and more efficient fission bombs were needed. Fourth, computational ability had to be greatly enhanced. Fifth, the political decision had to be made to marshal the resources necessary to accomplish the task.

The idea for a hydrogen bomb came from the thermonuclear study of stars conducted in the 1930s by Hans Bethe. Unlike fission weapons, which derive their energy from splitting atoms of the heavy elements uranium and plutonium, hydrogen bombs derive their power from fusing atoms of the light element hydrogen. Since fusion can only be achieved with stellar temperatures, hydrogen bombs were not possible until such a heat source (fission bombs) became available.

By the end of the 1940s, American scientists began to acknowledge the feasibility of a thermonuclear weapon. Though the technical challenges were daunting, few doubted they could be overcome. However, an even more fundamental question arose: even if hydrogen bombs could be built, should they be? A debate ensued, which included world renowned scientists, politicians, civil servants, and eventually the president himself.

Pressure to build it seemed to mount with the discovery that Manhattan Project scientist Klaus Fuchs had passed nuclear secrets-including concepts for a hydrogen bomb-to the Soviets. Fuchs left Los Alamos on June 15, 1946. By January 1949 suspicion of Fuch's involvement in espionage had grown. Fuchs soon confessed to his part in the theft of atomic secrets.

On March 1, 1950, Fuchs was found guilty of communicating information to the Soviets concerning atomic research. But the theoretical work of 1950 had shown that every important point of the 1946 thermonuclear program had been wrong. If the Russians started a thermonuclear program on the basis of the information received from Fuchs, Bethe argued that it must have led to the same failure. Teller later claimed that radiation-implosion -- the key concept behind the successful hydrogen bomb -- had also been discussed at the Los Alamos meeting. Bethe disagreed, and the question remained unresolved.

Indeed, the Russian account of matters gives Fuchs credit for radiation implosion. "In the spring of 1946, another concept, whose paramount importance became evident afterwards, was suggested during work on the `classical Super.' Klaus Fuchs, with the participation of John von Neumann, proposed a new triggering device. It included an additional secondary unit with liquid D T mixture that would be heated, compressed, and, as a result, ignited by radiation from the primary nuclear bomb. ... Fuchs's configuration was the first physical scheme using radiation implosion and a precursor of Teller  Ulam's configuration proposed later. Fuchs's proposal, remarkable for its wealth of novel ideas, was well ahead of its time and could not be developed, given the current state of the mathematical modelling of complex physical processes. ... on May 28, 1946, Fuchs and von Neumann filed a joint patent application for the invention of the new design of the triggering system for the `classical Super' using radiation implosion." None of this is attested by American accounts of these matters.

The "Mike" test of Operation Ivy, 1 November, 1952, was the first explosion of a true two-stage thermonuclear device.

Some were convinced that there was another spy still at large in the US weapons program, and that the most likely candidate was Oppenheimer. But the American atmospheric tests of 1954 provided the scientific information necessary for the Soviets to deduce and confirm key features about its design, leading them to develop their own bomb in a short time.

Information about the new powerful explosion conducted by the USA team on March 1, 1954, renewed the drive of Soviet researchers to invent an efficient design of a high-yield thermonuclear bomb. It became clear to the Soviets that there was an efficient design technique, which had been invented by the American team. The only configuration left was a two-stage gadget. A new mechanism for compression of the secondary thermonuclear core by radiation from the primary nuclear charge had been discovered finally. This happened in March and April 1954.

Design Details

The main unknowns to the public are the design of the casing, and the shape and size of the secondary, relative to the primary. Whether the hot plastic does the pushing or transmits its heat to a designated ablator which does the pushing a matter of continuing discussion.

It would seem to be difficult to shape the secondary like a cylinder, and get a compression wave travelling just before fast neutrons from the sparkplug cause fission - although not impossible. Another problem with the cylindrical shape is that compressing from the sides is like squeezing a tube of toothpaste. If the compression is not fast enough, the material will squirt out the ends.

The early secondaries were cylindrical, because the original goal was to make the largest possible multi-megaton explosion with a device whose diameter was more tightly constrained than its length, in order to be dropped from a bomber.

But when the goal became to fit a warhead in the nosecone of the Polaris missile, length and diameter were of comparable dimensions. The Polaris warhead, the W47, which was tested in 1958 and deployed in the 1960s, contained the first spherical secondary, an arrangement which was soon to become the standard design. The advantage of a spherical secondary is higher compression.

Design Physics

The process of combining nuclei (the protons and neutrons inside an atomic nucleus) together with a release of kinetic energy is called fusion. This process powers the Sun, it contributes to the world stockpile of weapons of mass destruction and may one day generate safe, clean electrical power.

This powerful but complex weapon uses the fusion of heavy isotopes of hydrogen, deuterium, and tritium to release large numbers of neutrons when the fusile (sometimes termed "fusionable") material is compressed by the energy released by a fission device called a primary. Fusion (or ''thermonuclear' weapons derive a significant amount of their total energy from fusion reactions. The intense temperatures and pressures generated by a fission explosion overcome the strong electrical repulsion that would otherwise keep the positively charged nuclei of the fusion fuel from reacting.

The first thermonuclear devices used liquid fuel, such as deuterium, which required significant developments in cryogenics to keep the fuel below its boiling point of -250C. Later devices used lithium deuteride fuel, in solid form, which breeds tritium when exposed to neutrons.

It is inconvenient to carry deuterium and tritium as gases in a thermonuclear weapon, and certainly impractical to carry them as liquefied gases, which requires high pressures and cryogenic temperatures. Instead, one can make a "dry" device in which 6Li is combined with deuterium to form the compound 6Li D (lithium-6 deuteride). Neutrons from a fission "primary" device bombard the 6 Li in the compound, liberating tritium, which quickly fuses with the nearby deuterium.

The a particles, being electrically charged and at high temperatures, contribute directly to forming the nuclear fireball. The neutrons can bombard additional 6Li nuclei or cause the remaining uranium and plutonium in the weapon to undergo fission. This two-stage thermonuclear weapon has explosive yields far greater than can be achieved with one point safe designs of pure fission weapons, and thermonuclear fusion stages can be ignited in sequence to deliver any desired yield. Such bombs, in theory, can be designed with arbitrarily large yields: the Soviet Union once tested a device with a yield of about 59 megatons.

In a relatively crude sense, 6 Li can be thought of as consisting of an alpha particle ( 4He) and a deuteron ( 2H) bound together. When bombarded by neutrons, 6 Li disintegrates into a triton ( 3 H) and an alpha:

6 Li + Neutron = 3 H + 3 He + Energy.

This is the key to its importance in nuclear weapons physics. The nuclear fusion reaction which ignites most readily is

2 H + 3 H =

4 He + n + 17.6 MeV,

or, phrased in other terms, deuterium plus tritium produces 4He plus a neutron plus 17.6 MeV of free energy:

D + T = 4 He + n + 17.6 MeV.

Lithium-7 also contributes to the production of tritium in a thermonuclear secondary, albeit at a lower rate than 6Li. The fusion reactions derived from tritium produced from 7 Li contributed many unexpected neutrons (and hence far more energy release than planned) to the final stage of the infamous 1953 Castle/BRAVO atmospheric test, nearly doubling its expected yield.



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Treasury Announces Largest North Korean Sanctions Package Targeting 56 Shipping and Trading Companies and Vessels to Further Isolate Rogue Regime

U.S. Department of the Treasury

February 23, 2018

WASHINGTON  The U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) today announced the largest North Korea-related sanctions tranche to date, aimed at disrupting North Korean shipping and trading companies and vessels to further isolate the regime and advance the U.S. maximum pressure campaign. Today's action targets one individual, 27 entities, and 28 vessels located, registered, or flagged in North Korea, China, Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Marshall Islands, Tanzania, Panama, and Comoros. Today, Treasury, along with the U.S. Department of State and U.S. Coast Guard, also issued an advisory alerting the public to the significant sanctions risks to those continuing to enable shipments of goods to and from North Korea.

"Treasury is aggressively targeting all illicit avenues used by North Korea to evade sanctions, including taking decisive action to block the vessels, shipping companies, and entities across the globe that work on North Korea's behalf. This will significantly hinder the Kim regime's capacity to conduct evasive maritime activities that facilitate illicit coal and fuel transports, and erode its abilities to ship goods through international waters," said Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. "The President has made it clear to companies worldwide that if they choose to help fund North Korea's nuclear ambitions, they will not do business with the United States."

These designations are consistent with the North Korea Sanctions Policy and Enhancement Act of 2016 as well as the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act of 2017, which provide broad designation criteria for certain trade and for providing certain shipping- and vessel-related services.

As a result of today's action, any property or interests in property of the designated persons in the possession or control of U.S. persons or within the United States must be blocked, and U.S. persons are prohibited from dealing with any of the designated parties.

OFAC Issues Global Shipping Advisory

In addition to sanctions, OFAC issued a global shipping advisory today, in consultation with the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Coast Guard, to alert persons of the significant sanctions risks to those continuing to enable shipments of goods to and from North Korea. The advisory also alerts industries to North Korea's deceptive shipping practices. Advisory provided.

North Korea is known to employ deceptive shipping practices including, but not limited to, falsifying and concealing information displayed on North Korean vessels and conducting ship-to-ship transfers, a practice prohibited by United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 2375 of September 11, 2017. For example, the following images depict deceptive North Korean practices. The first image, taken on December 6, 2017, depicts the U.S.-designated North Korean vessel KUM UN SAN 3 falsifying its vessel information. The second image, taken on December 9, 2017, depicts recent attempts by the same North Korean vessel to conduct a ship-to-ship transfer, possibly of oil, with the Panama-flagged KOTI in an effort to evade sanctions. Additional images.

Third-Country Shipping and Oil Targets

Today, OFAC sanctioned nine international shipping companies and nine of their vessels pursuant to E.O. 13810. The following vessels have been used to export coal from North Korea or to engage in UN-prohibited ship-to-ship transfers of refined petroleum products. The regime has been known to use coal export revenues to fund its weapons of mass destruction and missile programs. These vessels are capable of carrying over $5.5 million worth of coal at a time:

HUA FU, Panama-flagged

ORIENTAL TREASURE, Comoros-flagged

ASIA BRIDGE 1

DONG FENG 6, Tanzania-flagged

HAO FAN 2

HAO FAN 6

XIN GUANG HAI

KOTI, Panama-flagged

YUK TUNG

The full list of international companies designated by OFAC today is:

Shandong, China-based Weihai World-Shipping Freight and Shanghai, China-based Shanghai Dongfeng Shipping Co Ltd;

Hong Kong-based shipping companies Liberty Shipping Co Ltd, Chang An Shipping & Technology, Hongxiang Marine Hong Kong Ltd, Shen Zhong International Shipping Ltd, and Huaxin Shipping HongKong Ltd;

Singapore-based Yuk Tung Energy Private Limited; and

Panama-based M.T. Koti Corporation.

OFAC also designated Taiwan citizen Tsang Yung Yuan pursuant to E.O. 13722. Tsang has coordinated North Korean coal exports with a Russia-based North Korean broker, and he has a history of other sanctions evasion activities. OFAC also designated two entities, Taiwan-based Pro-Gain Group Corporation and Taiwan and Marshall Islands-based Kingly Won International Co., Ltd., pursuant to E.O. 13722 for being owned or controlled by Tsang. In 2017, Tsang and Kingly Won attempted to engage in an oil deal valued at over $1 million with the Russian firm Independent Petroleum Company, which OFAC designated in 2017 pursuant to E.O. 13722 for operating in the energy industry in the North Korean economy.

North Korean Shipping and Trading Companies

OFAC designated the following 16 North Korean shipping companies pursuant to E.O. 13810 for operating in the transportation industry in North Korea and blocked 19 of their North Korean-flagged vessels:

Chonmyong Shipping Company Limited and its oil tanker CHON MYONG 1;

Hapjanggang Shipping and its crude oil tanker NAM SAN 8 and general cargo ship HAP JANG GANG 6;

Korea Achim Shipping Co and its products tanker CHON MA SAN;

Korea Ansan Shipping Company and its chemical tanker AN SAN 1;

Korea Unpha Shipping & Trading and its products tanker KUM GANG 3;

Korea Myongdok Shipping and its products tanker YU PHYONG 5. In late November 2017, the YU PHYONG 5 conducted a ship-to-ship transfer of 1,721 metric tons of fuel oil;

Korea Samjong Shipping, its crude oil tanker SAM JONG 1, and its chemical/oil products tanker SAM JONG 2;

Korea Samma Shpg Co and its oil products tanker SAM MA 2. The beneficial owner of the SAM MA 2 is the Government of North Korea. In November 2017, the SAM MA 2 conducted a ship-to-ship transfer, loading 1,219 metric tons of fuel oil from a Russian vessel;

Korea Yujong Shipping Co Ltd and its oil products tanker YU JONG 2;

Paekma Shipping Co and First Oil JV Co Ltd. and their oil products tanker PAEK MA.

Phyongchon Shipping & Marine, its bunkering tanker JI SONG 6, and its general cargo ships the JI SONG 8 and WOORY STAR;

Pochon Shipping & Management and its products tanker PO CHON;

Songwon Shipping & Management and its products tanker SONG WON;

Tonghung Shipping & Trading Co and its oil products tanker TONG HUNG 5; and

Myohyang Shipping Co and its products tanker YU SON.

For identifying information on the individual, entities, and vessels sanctioned today.

####

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China urges US to stop 'mistaken actions' on North Korea

Iran Press TV

Sat Feb 24, 2018 04:29PM

China has warned the United States that its wrong policies on North Korea could seriously undermine cooperation between Beijing and Washington to contain Pyongyang's weapons program.

China's Foreign Ministry issued a statement Saturday calling new US sanctions on North Korea part of "mistaken actions" that could further complicate the stand-off in the Korean Peninsula.

"We have already lodged stern representations with the U.S. side about this issue, and demand the US side immediately stops such relevant mistaken actions to avoid harming bilateral cooperation in the relevant area," said the ministry.

The statement comes a day after the US authorities said they were imposing their largest package of sanctions aimed at getting North Korea to give up its nuclear and missile programs.

China, a major ally and of North Korea and its neighbor, has complied with previous international sanctions on North Korea, with many of its companies reducing or cutting their lucrative trade and business with Pyongyang.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry highlighted the fact that the coordinated international action on North Korea was enough and warned that extra actions by Washington could undermine China's trust.

"China resolutely opposes the US side enacting unilateral sanctions and 'long-armed jurisdiction' in accordance with its domestic law against Chinese entities or individuals," said the statement.

The US has engineered some unprecedented and crippling international sanctions on North Korea since July when Pyongyang intensified its tests of long-range missiles and nuclear bombs.

The new sanctions announced Friday by the US Treasury Department cover one person, 27 companies and 28 ships, many of them operating in mainland China or on Taiwan and Hong Kong.

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China Opposes US Korea-Related Sanctions, Urges Washington Not to Harm Relations

Sputnik News

17:50 24.02.2018(updated 18:54 24.02.2018)

China has responded to the US' imposition of a new package of sanctions on North Korea, which also target Chinese entities and individuals.

China has demanded from the US to stop "such mistaken actions to avoid harming bilateral cooperation in the relevant area," adding that "stern representations" with the US over recently introduced North Korea-related sanctions had been lodged, the Chinese Foreign Ministry's spokesman Geng Shuang said in a statement.

As some Chinese entities have fallen under the US sanctions, Beijing stressed that it fully complied with the UN Security Council's resolutions on North Korea, according to the statement.

On Friday, the US revealed its decision to impose restrictions

on 27 shipping and trading companies, 28 vessels and 1 individual from the DPRK, China, Singapore, Hong Kong, Tanzania, Panama, Taiwan, Marshall Islands and Comoros. According to Washington, these steps are primarily aimed at blocking the supply of fuel to North Korea, bypassing the sanctions of the UN Security Council.

The US Treasury Department also released a global shipping advisory with information about North Korea's deceptive shipping practices and warned about potential sanctions against those who enable the shipment of goods to or from North Korea.

Japan has supported the US decision to strengthen sanctions against Pyongyang, adding that North Korea still does not cease developing nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles.

It has been several months since North Korea conducted the latest test. In December, another round of sanctions on the DPRK was introduced over its nuclear and ballistic missile tests, conducted in violation of the UN Security Council's (UNSC) resolutions. In August, the UNSC imposed sanctions on Pyongyang targeting exports of coal, iron ore, lead and seafood from the Asian nation to the UN member states.

 Sputnik

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US curbs bid to take Iran off FATF financial blacklist

Iran Press TV

Sat Feb 24, 2018 09:08AM

The world's financial watchdog has extended a waiver for punitive measures against Iran for another six months but refused to remove the country from its blacklist.

The Paris-based the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) had been weighing Tehran's request for the lifting of so-called countermeasures for some time but a flurry of recent visits by a top US official to France and other European countries thwarted the bid.

Change of heart

Iran's removal from the blacklist had gained support in European capitals in recognition of the steps Tehran has taken in recent years to enact legislation barring terrorist financing and money laundering.

However, the US sent the official to France, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium ahead of a plenary meeting of the task force Friday to warn that keeping Iran on the FATF blacklist was a top priority, and that Washington would aggressively pursue that policy.

As a result, the FATF decided to continue the suspension of countermeasures, taking into account the fact that Iran has draft legislation currently before Parliament, but did not remove the country from the list in a decision which many believe is political.

The FATF suspended its punitive measures for a year in 2016 when Iran reached a landmark nuclear deal and promised to step up its fight on money-laundering. The task force extended the waiver last July and again on Friday.

The Iranian government hopes that the exit from the FATF blacklist would remove one hurdle to foreign investment. Critics of the government, however, say membership in the Financial Action Task Force has not only failed to attract investment, but it has also exposed various institutions to extraterritorial regulations and penalties.

Iranian institutions targeted

In its Friday decision, the FATF threatened Iran with new penalties in June if it doesn't bolster oversight of alleged terrorism financing and money laundering within its borders.

Some in Iran believe the US is using the FATF to target key organizations such as the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) which has both a role in the Iranian economy and supports groups such as Lebanon's Hezbollah regarded as legitimate "resistance" entities by the Islamic Republic.

The FATF cited nine "action items" which Iran had to fully address before the body considers its bid for removal from the blacklist.

"Until Iran implements the measures required to address the deficiencies identified in the Action Plan, the FATF will remain concerned with the terrorist financing risk emanating from Iran and the threat this poses to the international financial system," it said.

"The FATF, therefore, calls on its members and urges all jurisdictions to continue to advise their financial institutions to apply enhanced due diligence to business relationships and transactions with natural and legal persons from Iran, consistent with FATF Recommendation 19," it added.

Countries that do not follow FATF are often labeled as high-risk or uncooperative jurisdictions by the West, making international trade costly and difficult.

US threats

Iran agreed to scale back its nuclear energy program in return for the lifting of sanctions which would facilitate business with the world and pave the way for foreign investment. However, US pressures on bodies such as FATF and its threats have driven away banks, investors and companies.

Earlier this week, Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said Tehran will withdraw from the nuclear deal if there is no economic benefit and major banks continue to shun the Islamic Republic.

Big banks are afraid of falling foul of remaining US sanctions.

Araqchi said even if US President Donald Trump relents and issues fresh "waivers" to continue suspending sanctions on Tehran, the existing situation is unacceptable for Iran.

"The deal would not survive this way even if the ultimatum is passed and waivers are extended," Araqchi, Iran's lead nuclear negotiator, said in a speech at the Chatham House think tank in London.

"If the same policy of confusion and uncertainties about the JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action) continues, if companies and banks are not working with Iran, we cannot remain in a deal that has no benefit for us," he said. "That's a fact."

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Myanmar MPs pass $15mn for Rakhine border fence amid crackdown on Rohingya

Iran Press TV

Sat Feb 24, 2018 06:39AM

Myanmar's legislators have passed a military budget of nearly $15 million to erect a fence along its border with Bangladesh in Rakhine State, which has been used by the country's minority Rohingya Muslims to flee the military's state-sponsored ethnic cleansing campaign underway in the area.

Legislator Myo Zaw Aung confirmed on Friday that the bill was introduced to the parliament by the Home Affairs Ministry, the Defense Ministry and the Border Affairs Ministry, all of which are controlled by the country's infamous military -- widely blamed for the brutal crackdown on Myanmar's minority Muslim population in Rakhine.

The military crackdown, which intensified last August, has forced nearly 700,000 of them to Bangladesh since August.

The development came after the country's Deputy Home Affairs Minister Gen. Aung Soe testified on Thursday, the same day the budget was passed, that the construction of fences covering 202 kilometers of the 293-kilometer border has already been completed.

The fence project has reportedly raised fears that the persecuted Rohingya will no longer be able to seek refuge in neighboring Bangladesh and would likely face more violence, indefinite suffering and death.

The ethnic minority has faced widespread prejudice since they are regarded by the majority Buddhist nation as illegal immigrants from Bangladesh despite being long-time settlers.

Most Rohingya Muslims remain stateless and commonly subjected to prevalent social and official discrimination.

The military had reportedly received $5 million in late October 2017 from private Buddhist donors to fund the border fence.

Myanmar's military forces stand accused of not just of torching Muslim villages, but of carrying out massacres, rapes and widespread looting.

While UN-sponsored negotiations are underway to have the Rohingya return to Myanmar, there are extreme worries that their safety and well-being are in no way guaranteed as many do not even have homes to return to since their villages were burned down by military forces and Buddhist mobs.

The Rohingya repatriation talks come while Myanmar's ethnic cleaning campaign shows no sign of abating, with new satellite imagery released by the Associated Press showing that the government is bulldozing already-burned-out Rohingya Muslim villages in the west of the country in an attempt to destroy evidence of violence committed by the military.

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Pakistan Reportedly To Be Put Back On Terror 'Gray List' By June

RFE/RL February 24, 2018

Media reports say Pakistan will be put back on a terror financing watch list by June if it does not take further action against militants operating within its borders.

Citing Pakistani officials and unnamed diplomats, Reuters and India Today reported on February 23 that the Financial Action Task Force, which met during the week in Paris, decided to put Pakistan back on its "gray list" after China and Gulf Arab countries dropped their opposition to the move.

The terrorism task force discourages banks and global investors from lending money to a country put on its gray list. Pakistan was on the list from 2012 to 2015.

The United States, Britain, and France, and Germany put a motion before the task force to put Islamabad back on the list out of concern it is not doing enough to fight militants.

They said Islamabad's recent move to ban some charities linked to a militant believed to be behind the 2008 Mumbai attacks that killed 166 people did not go far enough.

Acting U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Alice Wells told Reuters that Pakistan's move against charities linked to Hafiz Saeed was insufficient, especially since the Islamist leader and the radical groups he leads remain free and untouched in Pakistan.

"When we saw terrorists like Hafiz Saeed be released for the sixth time from house arrest or saw charitable arms of Lashkar-e Taiba or Jaish-i-Mohammad operate freely, sometimes in front of police stations doing fund-raising exercises, it obviously raises serious concerns," Wells told Reuters. Wells said she could not confirm any decision to put Pakistan back on the watch list.

India Today said the terrorism task force made its decision to re-list Pakistan provisional, starting in June, to give Islamabad time to avoid being listed by cracking down further on militants.

If no further action is taken by June, Pakistan would go back on the list, the media reports said.

However, Pakistan's Finance Minister, Rana Muhammad Afzal told RFE/RL on February 24 that Islamabad had not received any written notice yet from the FATF that it will review its performance once again in June.

"All the information we are getting is through media reports," Afzal said.

Afzal explained that Pakistan wants to cooperate with the FATF. "During next three months if Pakistan is provided with actionable intelligence, the country will fulfill its obligations," he said.

The decision came days after Pakistan's Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif said on Twitter that his "efforts have paid [off]" and Pakistan had been granted a "three months pause" by the task force.

Participants in the Paris task force meeting said the United States, which under President Donald Trump has toughened its stance toward Pakistan, lobbied to convince other task force members that Islamabad is not doing enough to combat terrorism financing.

At the outset of the meeting, China, Turkey, and several Gulf Cooperation Council members had opposed re-listing Pakistan, but those countries dropped their opposition by the time the decision was made late on February 22, media reported.

Saudi Arabia and other Gulf Arab countries are allies of the United States, and they were "flipped" by U.S. lobbying, Reuters cited a Pakistani official as saying.

Reuters quoted a government source as saying that Pakistan expects it will be able to satisfy the task force's concerns by the group's next session in June, when Pakistan is otherwise scheduled to go back on the list.

A Pakistani Foreign Ministry spokesman in Islamabad, Mohammad Faisal, said Islamabad was working to take more measures to satisfy the task force and Washington's concerns.

Pakistani businessmen fear getting put back on the "gray list" will endanger Pakistan's banking links to the outside world and cause financial pain for the economy.

Countries already on the gray list include North Korea, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, and Ethiopia.

The Associated Press reported that Bosnia-Herzegovina was removed from the list at the Paris meeting because it was judged to be in compliance with efforts to counter money laundering and terror financing.

With reporting by AP, Reuters, and India Today

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/pakistan-reportedly-put- back-on-terrorism-financing-grey-list-by-june- further-crackdown/29060040.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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Russia sends most advanced jets to Syria after US F-22 deployment: Reports

Iran Press TV

Sat Feb 24, 2018 11:28AM

Russia has reportedly sent two of its most advanced and sophisticated fighter jets to Syria, where its air force has been backing up the national army's ground operation against terrorist groups.

The reported deployment comes after the US employed earlier this month its most advanced fighter jet, the F-22 stealth fighter, in strikes against alleged terrorist targets in Syria.

Reports say two of Russia's Su-57 fifth-generation fighter jets had been recently spotted in the skies above Syria and then seem landing at the Hmeymim airbase in the country's western Latakia province.

The Su-57s were escorted by Russian 4th generation Sui-30SM multi-role fighter jets before landing at the Syrian airbase, according to the reports.

The sophisticated military aircraft have stealth capabilities and are specifically designed for attacking roles. They also enjoy an avionics system that autonomously makes battlefield calculations to assist the pilot.

Russian authorities have yet to confirm the Su-57s' deployment to Syria, but Vladimir Gutenov, chairman of the Military Industry Committee in the Russian parliament told Sputnik news agency that he "whole-heartedly welcomed" the reports.

The presence of the Su-57s will doubtlessly send a political message, serving as a deterrent "for aircraft from neighboring states which periodically fly into" Syrian airspace uninvited, according to Gutenov.

The Russian lawmaker added that the stealth SU-57 fighter jet planes "need to be tested in combat conditions, in conditions of [enemy] resistance."

The Russian Defense Ministry had said the jets were slated to be introduced to its forces this year, and a total of 12 aircraft were initially ordered by the Moscow government.

Russia has been lending aerial support to Syria upon a request by Damascus since September 2015.

The deployment could potentially escalate Russia's tensions with the United States, who have been involved since 2014 in an unauthorized aerial campaign against what they call Daesh positions in Syria.

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Eastern Ghouta militants kill civilian in mortar attack on Damascus: TV

Iran Press TV

Sat Feb 24, 2018 06:19PM

At least one Syrian civilian has been killed and nearly a dozen others sustained injuries in a fresh wave of attacks launched by militants holed up in the Eastern Ghouta against the capital Damascus.

According to a report by the state television on Saturday, a civilian was killed in shooting in al-Majd district in the capital's suburbs, and four others were injured in Damascus' Mezzeh 86 neighborhood after they came under mortar fire.

The report added that seven other civilians were also wounded after militants fired at least 54 shells at Hamsi Street in Jermana district south of Damascus.

Earlier, rocket attacks caused damage across the capital and left some casualties. The attacks come only one day after the terrorists launched scores of mortars and rockets at residential neighborhoods across Damascus.

Eastern Ghouta near Damascus has witnessed renewed violence in the past few days, where terrorists have mounted repeated mortar attacks on the Syrian capital in the face of an imminent rout. Western powers, however, blame the Syrian government and Russia for the crisis.

The Syrian capital has seen a dramatic rise in deadly attacks over the past several days. The escalating violence comes amid international efforts to end clashes between government forces and militants in Eastern Ghouta.

Two weeks ago, Sweden and Kuwait, two non-permanent members of the UN Security Council, proposed a month-long ceasefire measure in Syria to allow deliveries of humanitarian aid and medical evacuations. The world body is yet to vote on the measure.

Russia has proposed amendments to the draft resolution to include guarantees that the anti-Damascus militants would honor the ceasefire, warning that the would-be truce should not cover the Takfiri terrorist groups of Daesh and Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, formerly known as al-Nusra Front, as well as other militant outfits that are shelling civilians in Syria's militant-held Eastern Ghouta.

On Thursday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the Ghouta-based militants had rejected Russia's offer to "evacuate peacefully" and that they were using civilians there as "human shields."

Meanwhile, Russian Ambassador to the UN Vassily Nebenzia accused mainstream media of leading a "campaign of disinformation," spearheaded by the so-called White Helmets group that is complicating the situation in Eastern Ghouta.

"The impression from media reports is that Eastern Ghouta is composed exclusively of hospitals, and that the government is spending all its time fighting against them. This is a well-known technique in an information war. What we do know for a fact is that militants place their strongholds inside hospitals and schools. For some reasons the inconvenient truth is not widely advertised," he added.

The so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a pro-opposition monitoring group, has already claimed that at least 250 civilians had been killed in the attacks in the enclave, where an estimated 400,000 people live.

Russia has been lending aerial support to Syria's counter-terrorism operations since September 2015.

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Syrian army forces, allies foil Fateh al-Sham attack on military posts in Quneitra

Iran Press TV

Sat Feb 24, 2018 03:11PM

Syrian government forces, supported by allied fighters from popular defense groups, have repelled a surprise attack by members of the Jabhat Fateh al-Sham Takfiri terrorist group, formerly known as al-Nusra Front, on military posts in the country's strategic southwestern region of Quneitra near the border with Israeli-controlled Palestinian territories.

Syria's official news agency, SANA, reported that Syrian troops and their allies had engaged in fierce clashes with Jabhat Fateh al-Sham terrorists on the outskirts of City of Baath on Saturday afternoon.

The report added that scores of Takfiri militants had been killed or injured during the skirmishes. A number of vehicles belonging to the extremists were destroyed in the process as well.

Meanwhile, a number of Jabhat Fateh al-Sham terrorists managed to flee towards neighboring al-Hamidiyah village.

The development came a day after Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov blamed Jabhat Fateh al-Sham for a renewed wave of violence in Syria's Eastern Ghouta region, censuring the United States for not taking any serious action against the terrorists.

"Al-Nusra Front, which is the main problem in Eastern Ghouta, as I mentioned, is consciously or unconsciously being treated equally with the critics and accusers of the Syrian government. Jabhat al-Nusra is not being touched," Lavrov said during a joint press conference with his Uzbek counterpart Abdulaziz Kamilov in Moscow on Friday.

"We still do not have evidence that the coalition led by the US is viewing al-Nusra Front as a real target. Of course, we draw the attention of our American colleagues to it, but we do not see any effect from our comments," he added.

Eastern Ghouta, a besieged area on the outskirts of Damascus which is home to some 400,000 people, has witnessed deadly violence over the past few days, with foreign-sponsored terrorists launching mortar attacks on the Syrian capital in the face of an imminent humiliating defeat.

Syria has been gripped by foreign-backed militancy since March 2011. The Syrian government says the Israeli regime and its Western and regional allies are aiding Takfiri terrorist groups that are wreaking havoc in the country.

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UN Security Council Demands 30-Day Syria Truce

February 24, 2018

The UN Security Council has adopted a resolution demanding a 30-day cease-fire across Syria to allow aid deliveries and medical evacuations in conflict areas.

All 15 members of the council voted on February 24 in favor of a cessation of hostilities "without delay" following a flurry of last-minute negotiations on the text.

The move comes as, according to activists, Syrian government forces killed more than 500 civilians during a week of intense bombardment in eastern Ghouta, a rebel-held enclave near the capital, Damascus.

The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said warplanes struck Ghouta minutes after the Security Council adopted the resolution.

Previous truce attempts have failed to take hold in the country, despite multiple rounds of international talks aimed at putting an end to the civil war.

Reports said the sponsors of the resolution, Kuwait and Sweden, amended the text to get Russian support, dropping a demand that the truce take effect in 72 hours.

Russia, a key ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, has veto power on the security council.

U.S. Skepticism

The U.S. ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley, called for the truce to be implemented immediately, but also expressed skepticism that the Damascus government would "allow humanitarian access to all of those who need it."

Russia's UN envoy Vassily Nebenzia said the cease-fire would not be possible without agreements between warring factions.

The vote had been postponed several times since February 22, with Western diplomats accusing Moscow of stalling for time.

Nebenzia has repeatedly argued that an immediate cease-fire was unrealistic. He also said the media and Western nations were conducting a "misinformation campaign" about the fighting in Ghouta and were ignoring what he called the "inconvenient truth" that several thousand Islamist fighters were still present in the region.

Russia, along with Iran, has given Assad's government crucial support throughout the 7-year-old war in Syria, which began with a government crackdown on protests.

Moscow helped turn the tide of the conflict in Assad's favor by launching a campaign of air strikes in 2015 and stepping up its military presence on the ground.

'Hell On Earth'

There has been a growing outcry from Western capitals, the United Nations, and humanitarian groups over the situation in Ghouta, which UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called "hell on Earth."

The UN says nearly 400,000 people live in the region, a pocket of satellite towns and farms that has been under government siege for more than four years.

More than 2,400 people were said to have been injured there since government forces and their allies escalated their offensive on the Damascus suburb on February 18.

Ten hospital and medical centers have reportedly been knocked out of service due to the bombardment.

Meanwhile, Syrian state media said rebels in Ghouta have killed at least 16 civilians in eastern districts of the city over the past week.

At a news conference at the White House, U.S. President Donald Trump on February 23 accused Russia, Iran, and the Syrian government of being responsible for a "humanitarian disgrace" in Syria.

French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel appealed to Russian President Vladimir Putin to back the UN resolution and to press its Syrian government ally to stop the bombardments of Ghouta.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said that "Russia and Iran must stop the regime."

He also said that the bombardment of eastern Gouta and a government offensive against rebel-held positions in Idlib Province was "contrary" to agreements negotiated in Astana by diplomats from Ankara, Moscow, and Tehran.

With reporting by AFP, AP, Reuters, and dpa

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/syria-ghouta-un- 30-cease-fire/29060760.html

Copyright (c) 2018. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

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UN Security Council agrees 30-day ceasefire in Syria

24 February 2018 - The United Nations Security Council voted unanimously on Saturday in favor of a 30-day cease-fire in Syria, and demanded immediate lifting of sieges on war-ravaged east Ghouta, where, earlier this week, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said some 400,000 people are living "in hell on earth."

In addition to a 30-day nationwide ceasefire, the resolution demanded weekly aid convoys, medical evacuations and the immediate lifting of sieges, particularly eastern Ghouta.

The resolution affirmed that the cessation of hostilities will not apply to military operations against the so-called Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (also known as ISIL/Da'esh), Al Qaeda and Al Nusra Front.

Prior to the vote, Swedish Ambassador Olof Skoog, a co-drafter of the resolution along with Kuwait, called it a "resolute and urgent attempt to take action," saying he counted "on each and every one of you to do the right thing," adding the humanitarian convoys "are ready to go."

"Our unanimous adoption of this resolution today, after long and arduous negotiations, reflects the keenness of the authors of the draft resolution, Kuwait and Sweden, to ensure consensus on this, said Ambassador Mansour Al-Otaibi of Kuwait, President of the Security Council, in announcing the results of the vote.

Secretary-General Antonio Guterres issued a statement welcoming the resolution's adoption, stressing his expectation that "the resolution will be immediately implemented and sustained, particularly to ensure the immediate, safe, unimpeded and sustained delivery of humanitarian aid and services, the evacuation of the critically sick and wounded and the alleviation of the suffering of the Syrian people."

"The UN stands ready to do its part," the statement added.

Mr. Guterres reminded all parties of their "absolute obligation under international humanitarian and human rights law to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure at all times."

"Similarly, efforts to combat terrorism do not supersede these obligations," concluded the statement.

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IOM Appeals for $194M to Help Syrians Displaced by War

By Lisa Schlein February 24, 2018

The U.N. migration agency is appealing for nearly $194 million to provide essential aid to three million Syrian war victims displaced internally or as refugees in neighboring countries. The money also would support the communities hosting them.

Nearly seven years of conflict in Syria has taken a heavy toll. The United Nations reports about one-half million people have been killed and more than 18.5 million civilians both inside and outside the war-torn country are in need of humanitarian assistance.

The International Organization for Migration reports more than six million people are internally displaced in Syria, and ongoing violence continues to force people to flee their homes, many multiple times.

IOM spokesman Joel Millman says it is vital to provide a lifeline to the many displaced who are trying to survive the deteriorating conditions in the country.

"Access to primary health care has been drastically reduced inside Syria, while agricultural production has been cut in half compared to 2011 levels. Livelihoods have also been severely hampered by the conflict and many areas of the country are contaminated by weapons," Millman said.

The U.N. reports more than 5.5 million Syrians have taken refuge in five neighboring countries: Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey, Iraq and Egypt. Millman says this large number of people places a huge burden on the host countries.

"Since the crisis began, economic growth within host countries has been severely affected. With high unemployment rates, especially among young people, and limited resource availability, it is challenging for governments and municipalities to provide basic services," Millman said.

The IOM says money from the appeal will provide one million people with non-food items and shelter support. Other assistance will include access to safe water, health services, community-led protection services, and schooling for tens of thousands of displaced and refugee children.

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24 Killed in New Syrian Government Airstrikes East of Damascus

By VOA News February 24, 2018

Another wave of airstrikes pounded the Syrian rebel enclave of eastern Ghouta Saturday, killing at least 24 people and increasing the civilian death toll over the past week to more than 500, including more than 120 children, a Britain-based monitoring group said.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and witnesses said Saturday the week-long bombing campaign by the Syrian government and Russia has been so relentless that first responders have not had the chance to count bodies.

"Maybe there are many more," said Siraj Mahmoud, a civil defense spokesman. "We weren't able to count the martyrs yesterday or the day before because the warplanes are touring the skies." Syrians often refer to their dead as "martyrs."

In one of the deadliest aerial assaults of the seven-year-old war, the monitoring group said Saturday's strikes hit Douma, Hammouriyeh and several other towns.

Residents hiding in charitable medical facilities and basements denounced attacks on a dozen hospitals in the area of Ghouta, the only remaining large rebel stronghold near the capital of Damascus.

There was no immediate comment from the Syrian government. But the government and Russia have previously said they only pursue militants in an effort to stop their mortar attacks on the capital.

Russia has been Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's primary ally since the war began in March of 2011. Moscow entered the conflict in 2015, tipping the balance of power toward Assad.

The United Nations Security Council is set to vote Saturday on a draft resolution that calls for a 30-day cease-fire throughout Syria to allow medical evacuations and aid delivery.

The U.N. says nearly 400,000 people live in eastern Ghouta, which has been under a government blockade since 2013 - resulting in shortages of food and medical supplies.

Eastern Ghouta, about 17 kilometers east of Damascus, is under the control of two Islamist factions and Syria's former al-Qaida affiliate.

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Is Turkey Using Infrastructure Projects to Stifle European Criticism?

By Dorian Jones February 23, 2018

When the first jet airplane lands Monday at Istanbul's newest airport, it will mark a milestone in what analysts see as a Turkish drive to accomplish with contracting dollars what it has not been able to achieve with traditional diplomacy.

Long frustrated in its bid to join the European Union, analysts say President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has increasingly stressed trade and investment initiatives during his travels to European capitals, making his country second only to China in large-scale construction projects while muting the criticisms of Turkey's human rights record that have blocked accession to the E.U.

Istanbul's third airport, when it officially opens in late October, will be able to handle up to 200 million passengers a year, outstripping most other global transport hubs and establishing Turkey as a crucial gateway linking Europe and Asia.

European investment has been key to many of Turkey's mega-projects, such as the airport and a multi-billion-dollar wind turbine farm announced this week, and Erdogan is aggressively looking for more.

"Our bilateral trade volume with Italy amounted to nearly $20 billion last year," he declared ahead of a scheduled visit to meet the pope at the Vatican earlier this month. "However, our potential is much higher than that. We aim to increase our bilateral trade volume to $30 billion in 2020."

Italian companies have benefited from a number of Turkey's initiatives, winning several lucrative defense and construction contracts including for one of the world's tallest and widest suspension spans, Istanbul's Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge, which was completed in 2016.

The deals have been a boon for European companies during a period of austerity across the continent. Analysts say this point has not been lost on Turkey and that it increasingly sees such partnerships as useful tools in its efforts to quiet criticism over human rights and its military incursion into neighboring Syria.

"Ankara is buying anybody and everybody with these infrastructure projects and everybody is happy with it," said political scientist Cengiz Aktar.

"The Europeans get what they really want; they want to continue trade with Turkey," he said. "And to get the juicy infrastructural projects  they are very happy with this. This is why they keep appeasing Turkey. And all these laments about what is happening to the rule of law in Turkey, this is just crocodile tears."

Competition for those contracts in Europe is fierce, according to analysts.

"These mega projects, construction infrastructure, tunnels etc., are incredibly lucrative," said political analyst Atilla Yesilada of Global Source Partners.

"The loans taken out by the building consortium are given treasury guarantees," he said. "The cost is lower than a typical market loan. There is a revenue guarantee in dollar terms, so whether the project is profitable, does not make a difference - the government makes up the difference. It's like a treasure room, there is no way you can lose money on these."

Arms deal with Britain

Separately, Britain and Turkey have struck up a deep trade relationship, largely based on weapons sales, with Britain's BAE developing a military stealth jet for the Turkish armed forces. At the same time, London has voiced little criticism of Turkey over that country's human rights record or military operations in Syria.

On Wednesday, the deputy chair of Turkey's ruling AK Party, Mehdi Eker, spoke at a meeting in the British parliament and voiced appreciation for Britain's stance on Turkey's ongoing military offensive in Syria against a Kurdish militia.

"New realism"

Ankara has already coined the phrase "new realism" to define its diplomatic strategy with European countries. Analysts suggest Turkish foreign policy is increasingly sidelining its relations with the European Union and instead focusing on bilateral relations with individual European countries, shaped by pragmatism.

"Relations seem to be based on the idea, 'let's put our problems aside, not dwell on them, agree to disagree or whatever,'" said political columnist Semih Idiz of the Al Monitor website. "But there are practical issues that have to be addressed."

"For all the bad vibes at the moment, there are construction and strategic arms deals being signed between Turkey and France and Italy," he said. "And after, the post-Brexit situation will undoubtedly speed up Turkish-British relations, not only because Turkey needs good allies in Europe, but because Britain needs the alternative markets and alternative partners."

Idiz went on to say there are "a lot of areas for Turkish diplomacy to move in" as he referred Britain's pending exit from the European Union.

Critics are increasingly citing the adage, "He who pays the piper calls the tune," in describing Europe's relations with Turkey. They say as long as Ankara has the money to dish out lucrative and seemingly endless contracts to European companies, then its "new realism" foreign policy with Europe seems set to continue.

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Weddings are joyous occasions-until you get the bill. According to financial site WalletHub, the average spends over $33,000 on a wedding, and growing wedding industry is worth about $81 billion. But some places are more expensive than others.

WalletHub compared 182 U.S. cities to find "the cheapest and most convenient wedding destinations that also promise a memorable day." The site looked at factors like average wedding cost, venues, event spaces per capita and hotel availability.GREENWICH  Supporters this week came decked out in green T-shirts to explain the importance of the work done by the Greenwich Center for Hope and Renewal, which is housed in Stanwich Congregational Churchs former location at 237 Taconic Road.

But despite its good work, neighbors said the faith-based, nonprofit counseling center is a business that should not have been allowed to operate in the residential area for the past decade without zoning approval.

The argument came to a head as the two sides presented their cases during a three-hour public hearing of the Planning and Zoning Commission at Town Hall on Thursday night. At issue is the centers application for a special permit to continue its operations at the former backcountry church.

Pastoral care and counseling for the greater Greenwich community has always been part of our DNA for as long as I can remember, and a hallmark of our backcountry church ministry, said Neely Towe, the churchs retired pastor who served from 1987 to 2007.

To support the Stanwich Congregational Church  and the 10-year-old counseling center inspired by her legacy  Towe flew in from Jacksonville, Fla., to speak at the hearing.

When the church moved from its building at 237 Taconic Road to its new location at 202 Taconic Road, Towe said neighbors were mailed letters stating that the church would dedicate the old space to counseling. She received no replies, Towe said.

But neighbors said that sending such a letter, which some denied receiving, would not have exempted the center from seeking a special permit at that time from the Planning and Zoning Commission.

Neither my wife nor I have received such a letter, John Roberts, who lived on a property abutting the church for 40 years, wrote to the commission. And if there was such a letter I would never have believed that it would be used 11 years later ... to justify operating the center for years without zoning approval.

The Greenwich Center for Hope and Renewal operates in a residential zone that does not permit businesses. But the center said it is a nonprofit that employs only a few counselors and one psychologist.

After recent complaints from neighbors  about traffic, safety due to visits from troubled individuals, and property values, among others  the center set a six-person limit for group sessions and decreased its hours of operation. Evening groups have also been canceled, as have Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous meetings and regional conferences that had met for a total of 14 days per year.

Despite these changes since last June, neighbors said that a business in the historic neighborhood does not qualify for a special permit, especially when tax records prove it is not affiliated with SCC.

This is a business, a very big business, resident Catherine Parker said. Call it faith-based, call it pastoral counseling, call it whatever you want, but its a business. For them, it is only business.

This is our neighborhood, she said. The green shirts you see represent all the people coming into the neighborhood, not the neighbors. And our neighborhood has seen a little idea quietly grow where it has not been permitted.

Neighbors also said that the Greenwich Center for Hope and Renewal charges market rates for counseling sessions, which run from $225 to $350 per 50 minutes, and that it should not be considered charitable services.

But the staff said they do not make as much money as neighbors suggest.

Many clients use scholarship funds  about $100,000 is raised each year for those who cannot pay  or pay for services on a sliding scale, said Heather Wright, the centers director.

I was one of the first therapists here, said Steve Gilbert, and I just wanted to give a perspective for you. I charge a standard fee of $275, but I don't get that. I see people for free. I charge $25, and I raise funds for services.

I do spiritual directing and mentoring of clergy in Greenwich, he said, and I also work with ... youth pastors in training. Ive been doing this for 30 years. I want to impress on you its not a job for me, its a ministry to help people.

But neighbors told the Planning and Zoning Commission that the counseling center accepts payments for its services  even if the services have a religious slant.

I do not question the noble motives of the people who work at the center, said Steven Klausner, a member of the Northeast Greenwich Association. I do want you to take account of the fact that we are dealing with a secular issue. And just as the people who are clergy claim that they have a higher calling, so did I when I worked  and I worked with people who were dying in an intensive care unit. And I don't claim to have any greater insight into God or any calling, and I dont think anyone in the clergy can actually claim any superior knowledge about a higher being.

They may feel a calling, he told the commission, but they do not hold a monopoly on the validity of their testimony on the fact that a higher being called them and drove them to a higher purpose. In fact, I find it a little bit arrogant that they would use their qualifications as a member of the clergy to claim a greater insight into humanity.

The Planning and Zoning Commission asked both the GCHR and the neighbors to each write a 10-page summary of their positions for its March 6 meeting.

Commissioners made no comments during the hearing, but will be obligated to close the case for submissions and public comment to make a decision at the March meeting.GREENWICH  A group of Greenwich High School students urged the Board of Selectmen Thursday not to eliminate student parking on Hillside Road, though the board decided to put off voting on the matter until a question about control of the road is cleared up.

The selectmen have asked the town Legal Department for clarity regarding who has the authority on Hillside to determine whether students can park there. They are expected to vote in March.

The decision to wait was made during the selectmens meeting before a contingent from the high schools student government spoke. Accompanying them was GHS Headmaster Chris Winters.

Eliminating parking will create an extreme burden on students, Greg Goldstein, GHS student body president, said at the meeting. Kids in our schools do amazing, amazing things. Some run companies after school. Some go and volunteer. Others need to go home and take care of their siblings. For them not to be able to do that is a real burden on their families, on themselves and our community.

Goldstein was accompanied at Thursdays meeting by Catherine Veronis, the vice president of communication for student government, and Alissa Landberg, senior class president. All three after the meeting said they regularly use the street parking due to its convenience, particularly when they have to get from school to their jobs in the afternoon.

Without it, its going to make getting there on time a lot more difficult, Veronis said. I have to park on the street because it is the most convenient spot.

Residents of Hillside Road have complained about congestion and heavy use of the street by students during the week, and by members of Trinity Church, which uses GHS for its services, on Sunday. They say the situation is unfair to them as homeowners paying high property taxes in a residential zone, and hurts their property values.

Landberg said congestion on the street is not caused by student parking, but parents double parking for student pickup or drop-off. Without student parking along the street, Goldstein said the problem would worsen.

The only thing youre going to do by getting rid of it is have more parents or Uber drivers coming to the school to pick students up, Goldstein said. It would create a more chaotic situation.

School and district administrators have said student parking is needed and should continue along Hillside Road.

Selectman Sandy Litvack, who has pushed for reserving street parking there for residents, said he understood the students concerns.

I am sympathetic, Litvack said. Believe it or not I was once a student in high school so I do understand the issue. But I am also a resident here in town and I understand the issues of the residents. I want to find the right balance.

The selectmen will act once they have heard from Town Attorney Wayne Fox on the question of whether there was a stipulation that gave the school board control of the roadway when the property for the school was first turned over to the Board of Education.

This situation has existed for some period of time, whether it is 27 years or 10 years or five years, I dont know, Litvack said. The world has not come to an end. It can wait another two or three weeks.

First Selectmen Peter Tesei, who has said he wants student parking to remain in place, said Thursday he wants to at least strengthen current provisions in town code governing Hillside Road. Currently town code does not include language allowing for enforcement of parking regulations there, a lapse discovered by Interim Parking Services Director Mark Kordick last year.

kborsuk@greenwichtime.comCompanies often try various ways of getting to their customers, including taking a jab at competitors. Just in time for the launch of the Samsung Galaxy S9, the Arabian division of Huawei posted a teaser on its Twitter page, mocking the Korean companys camera setup. The tweet urges to step down from Cloud 9 and to get real with the scene recognition available in latest Huawei devices with Kirin 970.

Its time to step down from Cloud 9 and start getting real with Huawei's real time scene and object recognition feature. #DoingWhatTheyCant #HuaweiAICamera pic.twitter.com/60bjpWTfAJ  Huawei Arabia (@HuaweiArabia) February 24, 2018

The 10-second teaser Huawei Arabia posted, has the number 9 from the Samsung teasers to the first letter of the hashtag #DoingWhatTheyCant. It also added the #HuaweiAICamera hashtag in its tweets, proudly reminding the AI capabilities of its new Kirin 970-powered Mate 10 series.

Huawei mocking Samsung for the lack of a feature might be an interesting game for the marketing department, but we would like to point out that Sony has Superior Auto and scene recognition in its Xperia phones since 2012 with the Xperia T that later made its way to the flagship Xperia Z series, launched in 2013.

Thanks for the tip, Kamal Alyousef!

SourceThe all new LG V30s is here, but you can safely let go of your seats. Just like the rumors predicted, it is nothing more than a memory upgrade over the current model. Plus, a new AI platform added on top. So, while technically LG announced two new devices, the V30S ThinQ and V30S+ ThinQ, the "S" and "S+" parts, simply stand for 6GB RAM, plus 128GB storage and 6GB RAM, plus 256GB storage, respectively.

That's about the only hardware change announced today. That and a pair of new colors, as clearly evident by their names: New Maroccan Blue and New Platinum Gray. Those will be the only two launch options for the V30S and V30S+. The older paint jobs will not be available. Although, given LG's track record so far, we don't exactly expect this binary color pallete to last long.



LG V30S ThinQ

As for the ThinQ part, it is LG's new AI - because its 2018 and not having AI clearly means you have given up. Joking aside, the platform is reminiscent of Samsung's Bixby, mainly for its ambitious scope to span all throughout the V30S UI, as well as connect smart appliances and accelerate and aid in all things IoT.

To break ThinQ down a bit, first off there is AI CAM - a layer of artificial intelligence on top of the camera viewfinder that is designed to recognize the subject of the shot and adjust the camera settings accordingly. Currently, it can sort things into 8 categories: Portrait (Person), Animal, City/Building, Flower, Sunrise, Sunset, Food and Landscape. Nifty, even if not really that innovative.

Then there is QLens, which can attempt to recognize specific objects for the purposes of shopping, price, and image searching online. It can also read QR codes - a lot less impressive, but still very practical. Last, but not least, ThinQ can communicate with all your existing and future IoT, smart appliances, like washing machines and dryers.



LG ThinQ UI

LG is also attempting to keep ThinQ and its AI efforts as open and accessible as possible. Google Assistant integration fits in pretty well with that ideology. You should be able to ask ThinQ to take photos and search for things, or pull up IoT device info straight through Google's AI voice or text.

Any current V30 users will be happy to learn that the ThinQ platform will be coming to their devices as well. LG is also promising a new "Bright Mode", which should improve the low-light performance of the V30 camera and is already present on the V30S pair.

You can expect the new V30 flavors sometime next month, but pricing is still unknown. Some markets will see the regular V30 disappear in favor of the V30S and V30S+, while others can expect all of them to sell simultaneously. At least for some time, that is.These are the best offers from our affiliate partners. We may get a commission from qualifying sales.Weve already seen plenty of leaks on the Nokia 1 and the Nokia 7 Plus - from FCC certification to press renders. Nokia 9 cases also popped up, suggesting a mighty flagship with edge-curved screen. An event, part of the MWC 2018 annoucements, is scheduled for 4 PM CET on February 25 and will answer all questions about any upcoming devices.

Nokia 1 & Nokia 7 Plus

Nokia Mobile already scheduled a live stream on Facebook, but people who cant or dont want to go on the social network, can head to nokia.com/phones where the video will be shared as well.

The 7 Plus is expected to be the first Nokia phone with 18:9 display. It was also pictured with ZEISS dual camera setup, currently available only in the Nokia 8. Nokia 1 is expected to have a 5 screen and to be extremely affordable smartphone with a price tag of no more than 99.

We are in Barcelona for all the major launches, so once the phones are announced, you will have the opportunity to read our first hands-on impressions. Until then you can enjoy the stream below.



Haiti - Justice : More than 75% of prisoners in Haitian prisons have never been tried





The situation of people in prolonged pretrial detention is one of the causes of the overcrowding rate of prisons in Haiti. According to figures from the Directorate of Prison Administration (DAP), on average 74% of men, 82% of women and 95% of girls are detained without having been tried.



During his official visit to the United Nations Mission for the Support of Justice in Haiti (Minujusth), Bintou Keita, the UN Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, wanted to visit the Jeremie Prison, which has 304 detainees of whom only 20% have already been tried. A situation that shocked Keita "I was absolutely sorry to see the conditions not only of people who are in prison, but also those who work in prisons every day."



From the point of view of international minimum standards, the inmate's living space averages is 4.5 square meters. But in Haiti, this space is limited to 0.5 m2 and less according to the study World Prison (2016). There is a shortage of places available due to overcrowding caused by the large number of people in prolonged pretrial detention, resulting in serious human rights violations including unhygienic living conditions, health problems, illnesses and malnutrition.



Pre-trial detention sometimes takes longer than the sentence that the detainees would have had to serve under the law if they had been found guilty.



For Keita, the certification of prisons to improve their functioning according to international standards is one of the main objectives of the United Nations in partnership with the Haitian authorities. For the next two years, Minujusth will focus on 9 detention centers to create benchmarks that will serve as a model to gradually certify other centers in the country. These efforts are coordinated with national authorities and the 19 United Nations Agencies, Funds and Programs in the country.



The United Nations is leading projects in Haiti focusing on the promotion of human rights, HIV prevention, the protection of children and the prevention of violence in prisons, especially for women. That is why the UN Security Council has entrusted Minujusth with a mandate to support national authorities in the context of the rule of law reform.



The purpose of the Mission is to promote and defend human rights, with particular emphasis on access to justice, compliance with legal procedures, structural support for the prison system and respect for the detention conditions, overcrowding, hygiene, access to care and visits



UNAIDS providing technical support for the Health Through Walls (HTW) health project in prisons stresses the importance of AIDS prevention in prisons. For the 2016/2017 period, more than 19,533 detainees have been examined and tested for HIV and 1,156 are currently on antiretroviral therapy.



HL/ HaitiLibre

















By Vasia Orion | Published on 2018/02/24

Life has never been more exciting, or more terrifying for Kim Geon-woo (Gang Dong-won). This deliveryman's routine as an ordinary, and even model citizen is upturned by a conspiracy using him as its puppet, fueling a journey of survival, nostalgia and strengthening bonds. Noh Dong-seok's "Golden Slumber" is a chase thriller, but there is a surprising amount of heart in it.

Advertisement

Those who may be drawn by the appeal of popular star Gang Dong-won will find that the film has a lot more to offer, as "Golden Slumber" uses Geon-woo as a root to form branching paths out of. The hero appears naive and overly trusting, making his confusion and fear when the world repeatedly backstabs him palpable. When a presidential candidate is assassinated, someone like him is the perfect person to take the fall. Geon-woo must survive and evolve.

While the film includes a lot of action revolving around Geon-woo's race for survival, it is the people that are invested in his case who give a refreshing twist to this story, as well as the emotional core of it. Everything starts with Moo-yeol (Yoon Kye-sang); a friend from the past who makes the choice that changes the hero's life. We learn that the two were in school together, along with three other friends, two of whom were in their musical band.

The way in which these friends react to Geon-woo's plight is where "Golden Slumber" finds its uniqueness, and where the title based on the nostalgic Beatles song comes in. "Golden Slumber" is cynical, but it balances that with the occasional kindness, ultimately carrying the message that basic human decency, as well as strong bonds make a difference. That being said, it can seem a bit too feel-good and perhaps overly idealistic by the end.

Like every action thriller, "Golden Slumber" has some convenience writing. The hero's enemies are omnipotent and omnipresent, except for when the story needs them to fail and somehow lack backup plans and staff. The hero and his allies succeed in situations where it feels like sheer luck is the deciding factor. As the film tries to be an action thriller while developing nostalgic friendships, it does not manage to make either aspect exceptional.

That being said, "Golden Slumber" is a great suspense piece with a solid emotional element. The film has good production value and a thrilling presentation, while the capable powerhouse cast carries it gracefully. Considering the different aspects it juggles, it delivers its messages about the nature of friendship, altruism and trust adequately. Whether you are looking for a sleek thriller or a bit of an emotional kick, "Golden Slumber" has you covered.

Written by: Orion from 'Orion's Ramblings'1 / 2 Flowers are painted on the walls of a bedroom at Vantage Point. The home provides shelter for youth who are experiencing difficult trials. Courtesy 2 / 2 Laura Giles Jeremy Hall  

Laura Giles

It is not abnormal for youth to experience some conflict at home with parents or other caregivers.

But, at times, issues come up that may be too difficult for the family to handle. That is when youth can find a safe haven at Vantage Point, a voluntary youth facility part of Wasatch Mental Health.

Some of the kids who receive help at Vantage Point come from poverty, some from privilege, but all are experiencing trials of some kind.

We serve kids who became homeless because they recently came out to their parents or displaced from running away from home, said Janene Candalot, program manager. We help kids resolve their conflicts with their families so that they can have the skills and support to go home and return to their regular level of functioning as quickly as possible to promote recovery and wellness.

Vantage Point is a 24-hour respite shelter for youth, ages 10 to 17. Kids can stay at the shelter for up to two days with no cost to the families. The average length of stay is about three days.

We provide shelter services to homeless and vulnerable youth, respite services to families needing a break due to conflict at home, a step down from inpatient stays at local hospitals, a shelter for DCFS (Division of Child and Family Services) kids in between placements and also a juvenile receiving center where law enforcement officers can bring youth whose parents were not able to be contacted, Candalot said. This helps police officers get back to regular duties in the community while we help track down parents.

Up to six boys and six girls can stay at Vantage Point at a time. The numbers tend to fluctuate day to day, with an average of 75 to 80 kids per month finding safety at the home.

We have a 95 percent safe exit rate. This means that almost all the kids who come to us return to their homes and are diverted from going to a higher level of care, Candalot said. The higher level of care could be a hospital or into DCFS custody.

All of the kids who come into Vantage Point receive mental health assessments. During their stay, they participate in a structured day program that offers skills development, group therapy and healthy living activities for them to participate in. Individual and family therapy are offered immediately to plan for the safe exit. If appropriate, case manager services are also available. Upon discharge, mental health services are coordinated to make sure that the youth and family have supports in place. Safety and behavior plans are also provided, when appropriate, to help support the going home plan.

The success stories coming out of Vantage Point are impressive. In one case, a young man was found homeless by the train tracks by some Brigham Young University students. English was his second language. Representatives from Vantage Point contacted DCFS and found out that he had some extended family in Weber County. They didnt want to care for him, so other arrangements were made for him to travel to other family out of state.

At least he is not homeless anymore and out of the cold, Candalot said.

In another case, a 17-year-old no longer felt welcome in his adoptive home. He was helped to find a job and was able to stay at Vantage Point while therapists worked with the family so he was able to go home.

Sometimes, the families just need a little bit of a break. Sometimes, they need more support, Candalot said.

In November, Utah-based DownEast Home and Clothing began donating mattresses and pillows to Wasatch Mental Health to go to youth being served by Vantage Point. As of this week, 256 have been given to kids in our community. To help, shoppers can purchase a mattress from DownEast and then one will be donated for the youth.

A lot of these youth are sleeping on couches and floors.

It has been eye-opening to see how many whose quality of sleep has been compromised, Candalot said. Sleep impacts everything.Fall is on the way, but don't unpack the sweaters just yetThe Trump disruption continues. Now, it is reaching into the area of US nuclear policy. The new American nuclear posture review (NPR) comes on the head of a series of decisions taken by the Trump Administration that has brought a more combative edge to the American nuclear strategy.

Late last year, Trump ordered the Department of Energy, which oversees the US nuclear weapons programme, to be ready to conduct a nuclear test within six months, if ordered. As it is, he has authorised a $1.2 trillion programme to overhaul the nuclear weapons complex and authorised the development of a new nuclear warhead, the first time in 34 years, according to Time magazine. All this has led to the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists moving their famous atomic clock 30 seconds forward towards Doomsday.

None of these developments affects India directly, but many of the dilemmas that Trump is responding to have a resonance in India. Primarily, adversaries who believe that they can use low yield nuclear weapons to lower the nuclear weapons use threshold and create a shield behind which they can conduct hostile activity.

The Americans are reacting primarily to Russia which it says is developing low yield or tactical weapons to gain coercive advantage in a crisis. The new US NPR is aimed at meeting the Russian challenge and preserving deterrence stability. Even while emphasising that it will not enable nuclear war-fighting, the Pentagon claims that it will give the US new options for which it seeks to develop new weapons. The aim is to raise the nuclear threshold so that Moscow does not perceive any advantage in limited nuclear escalation.

Pakistans development of Theatre Nuclear Weapons (TNW) has often been explained by the argument that they seek to offset the increasing gap in their conventional capabilities. In reality they are a means to give Pakistan a shield against an Indian response to terrorist attacks carried out by its proxies. This is a dangerous game. But it does pose a conundrum for Indias nuclear doctrine which speaks of No First Use and eschews Tactical Nuclear Weapons. In a 2015 conversation with former US official Peter Lavoy, Lt Gen (retd) Khalid Kidwai, who had steered Pakistans strategic plans division from 2000 to 2013, said that the rationale for Pakistans tactical nuclear weapons was Indias Cold Start doctrine. He claimed it was Pakistans defensive, deterrence response to an offensive doctrine. He bragged that through tactical nuclear weapons, we have blocked the avenues for serious military operations by the other side. Only after some prodding he responded to the point in everyones mindthat Indias so-called Cold Start doctrine is the product of the frustration of dealing with Pakistans use of terrorist proxies. However, Kidwai claimed that terrorism and militancy were consequences of Indias refusal to allow self-determination in Kashmir and the 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Pakistan was merely a victim, taking steps to preserve itself.

The Pakistani doctrine poses problems for India. Kidwai grumbled that some people (read India) via massive retaliation bluster, not realising that Pakistan, too, had similar capacity. In the run up to the election in 2014, the BJP manifesto called for an update of the Indian nuclear doctrine. In August, however, Prime Minister Modi said there would be no review. Though that October, the National Security Adviser, AK Doval, said that India was shifting its posture from credible minimum deterrence to simply credible deterrence. The only other comment, semi-official, came when in 2013 Shyam Saran, the then chairman of the National Security Advisory Board reaffirmed the NFU pledge and said, regardless of the size of the attack, Indian retaliation would be massive.

The American change could well persuade India to nuance its approach as well. Its big problem was the use of the word massive in terms of a response to a Pakistani tactical nuclear weapon strike. No one believes that India would wipe out Lahore, if Pakistan used a low yield nuclear weapon against an Indian military formation, and that, too, in Pakistan.

In the draft nuclear doctrine of 1998 the formulation was punitive retaliation with nuclear weapons to inflict unacceptable damage to the aggressor . Returning to it is one option, but with a careful nuance to ensure India does not shift to a posture of nuclear wear fighting. This calls for new concepts and possibly a newer generation of weapons.

There are other options a US shift may open up. Primary being that if the US breaks the test ban, India can test its thermonuclear weapon which fizzled out in Pokhran in 1998. Of course, this would torpedo the Indo-US nuclear deal, but Trump could be open to renegotiating it. Another option that low-yield weapons can give India is in following the new US strategy suggesting possible use to respond to a non-nuclear attack on critical infrastructure. So far India has not addressed the problem of a catastrophic attack on power grids and telephone networks. But its not too late to think about it now.

Manoj Joshi is a distinguished fellow, Observer Research Foundation

The views expressed are personalOne of the key components of the Nirbhaya Fund, which was set up after the 2012 gang rape of a paramedic in Delhi, was the establishment of one stop centres (OSC) in the states. The mandate of the OSCs was to provide support services for survivors of gender violence. Chhattisgarh deserves special mention here because it was the first state in India to have OSCs in all its 27 districts. Though the scope of the scheme is limited to cases pertaining to domestic violence, rape, sexual harassment, acid attack, trafficking, child marriage, kidnapping, cyber crime and dowry harassment, our OSCs dont deny assistance to women in distress due to financial frauds, pension problems or property disputes.

But our experience suggests that the OSCs need more teeth to make them more effective. At present, each centre can shelter five victims, irrespective of the size and demography of a district. The capacity of these shelters must be increased, based on the population and the crime-against-women index of a district.

Second, case workers and multi-purpose staff work in three shifts but any shortfall of personnel puts extra work load on the remaining staff. Therefore, OSCs need better bench strength. Similarly, the staff strength should also be decided according to the average number of cases dealt by each OSCs.

Third, it is legally mandatory to keep the identity of a victim a secret. At present, if an official wants to access information about a particular case, she will have to generate a one-time password (OTP) to log in to the system to avoid any breach. But this is not enough: there must be enhanced cyber security measures such a captcha (a computer programme or system intended to distinguish human from machine input) on the login page, and a periodic patching of servers and application, and an account lock feature.

Fourth, the scheme has a short-term goal of providing immediate and emergency relief. However, complainants often come back to the OSCs even after a case has been settled. There has to be some institutional mechanism to stay involved with such women.

Fifth, these OSCs need skilled IT staff and case workers, and there must be reskilling of existing staff.

Last, though these OSCs are doing a commendable job and are empowering women to demand redress as a matter of their right, a regular half-yearly review of the functioning of the OSCs could make them more effective.

RK Vij is a senior IPS officer in Chhattisgarh

The views expressed are personalIndia woke up to the shocking news of the untimely death of legendary actress Sridevi. The actor was in Dubai to attend a family wedding when the unfortunate event took place. Sridevi now joins a long list of actors who died in their prime. While condolences are pouring in from all quarters, Bollywood great Amitabh Bachchan tweeted a cryptic message much before the news broke.

He wrote: Na jaane kyun, eik ajeeb si ghabraahat ho rahi hai. Did Amitabh have a premonition that something untoward is about to happen? Or was the Bachchan family among the first to be informed? We may never know.

Amitabh and Sridevi worked in three films together  Inquilaab, Aakhree Rashta and Khuda Gawah. Amitabh did a cameo in Sridevis successful comeback vehicle, English Vinglish.

In todays world of scientific temper, it is hard to believe in things like premonition. However, it may be recalled that Amitabh had once narrated an incident about how another legendary actress, Smita Patil, had a premonition about his infamous accident on Coolie set, nearly three decades back.

In 2010, speaking to media, Amitabh had said: Smita was a unique lady and she had a premonition about my accident. I was shooting for Coolie in Bangalore in 1982. One night at about 1am I got a call from Smita. She said, Im sorry to disturb you Amit-ji, but are you okay?. I said yes Im fine. Then she said, I had a really bad dream and I just wanted to find out if you were okay. Next morning, I had that accident on the sets of Coolie. It was just unbelievable. Amitabh had said this while promoting Aarakshan, which starred Smitas son Prateik Babbar.

Then, throughout my two-three months in the hospital, she was a regular visitor and even when I came back home, she used to come every evening to enquire if I was doing well. I can never forget that, he had added.

Sridevi suffered a cardiac arrest while in Dubai, attending the wedding of her sister-in-laws son, actor Mohit Marwah.Sridevi, one of Indias most iconic actors, described as the Hindi film industrys first woman superstar, died in Dubai late on Saturday night after a massive cardiac arrest, leading to an outpouring of grief from her legions of fans, members of the film fraternity, public figures across sectors, and politicians across parties.

The actor, whose career spanned five decades, was in Dubai with her husband, producer Boney Kapoor, and younger daughter, Khushi, to attend nephew Mohit Marwahs wedding. She was 54. We are shocked. She had no history of heart disease, her brother-in-law Sanjay Kapoor was quoted as saying. HT could not reach her family members till the time of going to press. Sridevis nephew Mohit paid his respects on Instagram. You were more than a legend. Your vacuum will always be felt, he wrote alongside her picture.

People familiar with the developments said that after the wedding, while a number of her family members, including brother-in-law Anil Kapoor and his daughter Sonam, returned to Mumbai, Sridevi stayed back along with Boney and Khushi. Her elder daughter, Jhanvi, who is expected to make her film debut in a Karan Johar production later this year, had not accompanied the family to Dubai because of her shooting schedule.

Senior airport officials said a 37-seater private aircraft flew from Mumbai to Dubai around 1.35pm on Sunday. The Embraer 135 landed at Dubai at around 4.40pm (IST). Officials said the flight would return to Mumbai only after all the procedures and after the post-mortem were performed in Dubai.

This could be around Monday afternoon, officials said.

Boney and Khushi will fly back with the actors body, the officials added.

A shocked nation, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, took to social media to offer their condolences. Saddened by the untimely demise of noted actor Sridevi, the prime minister tweeted. She was a veteran of the film industry, whose long career included diverse roles and memorable performances. My thoughts are with her family and admirers in this hour of grief. May her soul rest in peace.

Actor and co-star Rajinikanth tweeted, Im shocked and very disturbed. Ive lost a dear friend and the industry has lost a true legend. My heart goes out to her family and friends. I feel the pain with them #RIPSridevi ... you will be missed.

Madhuri Dixit-Nene, one of Sridevis compatriots and great rivals in the early 1990s, tweeted, Just woke up to the terrible news of Sridevi passing. My heart goes out to her family. The world has lost a very talented person who left behind a huge legacy in film.

Actor Vidya Balan, for whose recent release, Tumhari Sulu, Sridevis hit number Hawa Hawaaii was recreated, wrote on social media, My inspiration is no more...

Known for her powerful and versatile acting, Sridevi made her Bollywood debut with Solva Sawan in 1978. But she became an overnight success five years later with Himmatwala, a movie co-starring Jeetendra.

Soon, thanks to films such as Mawaali (1983), Sadma (1983), Tohfa (1984), Nagina (1986), Mr India (1987), Chandni (1989), Chaalbaaz (1989), Lamhe (1991), and Gumrah (1993), she gained commercial success as well as critical acclaim. Her expressive eyes, powerful screen presence, dancing skills and acting prowess soon made her one of the most sought-after actresses in the Hindi film industry.

Following her marriage to Boney Kapoor and subsequent motherhood, she went on a hiatus for 15 years after starring in home production, Judaai (1997). In 2012, she made a comeback with director Gauri Shindes English Vinglish.

Last year, she acted in Mom alongside Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Akshaye Khanna. A few days ago, she shot for a special appearance in Shah Rukh Khans next, Zero.

Sridevi made her Tamil film debut as a child artiste with Thunaivan (1969). She debuted in Tamil cinema as a heroine in the late 1970s. She also worked in Malayalam, Telugu and Kannada films.Sridevi, who died late Saturday following a cardiac arrest in Dubai, had no history of a heart attack, her brother-in-law and actor Sanjay Kapoor has said. Sanjay added that the whole family was in shock with the sudden demise of the veteran actress. Sanjay landed in Dubai on Sunday morning.

The actress, 54, died on Saturday night at around 11pm after suffering a cardiac arrest. In an interview to Khaleej Times, Sanjay said that Sridevi was in the hotel bathroom when it happened. We are completely shocked. She had no history of a heart attack, he said.

Sridevi was in Dubai to attend the marriage function of actress Sonam Kapoors cousin Mohit Marwah, along with husband Boney Kapoor and younger daughter Khushi. She exuded elegance in her appearances -- photos and videos that were now being shared on social media as her last. The family had checked out of the RAK Waldorf Astoria on February 22, after the wedding. While everyone else returned, Sridevi decided to stay back for some shopping and shifted to Emirates Towers Hotel, according to another report in Khaleej Times.

Her elder daughter Jahnvi, who is due to make her Bollywood debut, was in Mumbai.

Sridevis body is expected to be flown to Mumbai via a special chartered flight on Sunday evening for the last rites but the timings were not confirmed yet, according to official sources.

Sridevi, who stepped into showbiz at an age of four, is known for performances in Mr. India, Nagina, Sadma, ChalBaaz, Chandni, Khuda Gawah, among many others in different Indian languages.

The Padma Shri recipient made a comeback to Bollywood in 2012 with English Vinglish after a long break of 15 years. She was last seen in Mom in 2017.

Follow @htshowbiz for moreBollywood actor Sridevi, who died late Saturday following a cardiac arrest in Dubai, was last seen onscreen in Mom (2017) and her onscreen daughter from the film, Pakistani actor Sajal Ali, has now reacted to the Sadma stars death. Sajal had a small but heartbreaking message: Lost my mom again.

Incidentally, Sajal lost her real mother during the shoot of Mom and Sridevi reportedly comforted her during the difficult time. A Deccan Chronicle report had quoted a source as saying, Sajal was very close to her mother, who she lost recently. It shattered the young girl. Sri took Sajal under her wings after that tragedy and treated her like her own. After the tragedy, Sajal called Sri from her hometown in Pakistan and broke down, saying the whole experience was too close to her to be treated just as a film.

Normally, Sri doesnt mix with her colleagues. She is a complete professional on the sets. But with Sajal, Sris equation was different, the source added.

Sharing an old picture with Sridevi, Sajal wrote on Sunday on her Instagram, Lost my mom again..

Lost my mom again... A post shared by Sajal Ali Firdous (@sajalaly) on Feb 24, 2018 at 11:51pm PST

Earlier, during the release of the film, Sridevi got emotional talking about Sajal. Sajal mera baccha I love you. I dont know why I am becoming emotional. I miss you all. The way you have worked in the film, it is incredible. This film would have been incomplete without you. It is a special moment for us. We have been waiting for this. I miss you all, she said.

Several other Pakistani actors also took to Twitter to express their grief:

My condolences to @BoneyKapoor Ji and the Kapoor family. Deeply saddened to loose an icon like #Sridevi Ji.  Rahat Fateh Ali Khan (@RFAKWorld) February 24, 2018

Rest in peace #Sridevi ji. You have left us with great memories of joy and tears.  Ali Zafar (@AliZafarsays) February 25, 2018

So grateful to have grown up and lived in the times of #sridevi . Thank you for the movies, thank you for the magic. You shall live on forever.. pic.twitter.com/jS2YJU1zoq  Mahira Khan (@TheMahiraKhan) February 25, 2018

Follow @htshowbiz for moreHours after the shocking news of Bollywood actor Sridevis death came out, the official Twitter handle of Indian National Congress tweeted about it but with a political twist. Soon, the tweet received a backlash, forcing the party to delete it.

Mourning the death of Sridevi, who died following a cardiac arrest in Dubai late Saturday, Congress tweeted, We regret to hear about the passing away of Sridevi. An actor par excellence. A legend who will continue to live in our hearts through her stellar body of work. Our deepest condolences to her loved ones. She was awarded the Padma Shri by the UPA Govt in 2013.

Reacting to the mention of the fact that she was awarded Padma Shri by the UPA govt, social media was abuzz with people slamming Congress for politicising death. Here are some of the reactions:

Was that 'by the UPA Govt' really necessary INC, in a condolence message? :( pic.twitter.com/BkgrYEKYCh  Karthik (@beastoftraal) February 25, 2018

Dear @OfficeOfRG you make an award sound like a favour granted. More importantly, #PadmaAwards is an honour given by the country (hence, @rashtrapatibhvn) to its citizen - not by any political party. Shows Congress' sense of entitlement. By this tweet you have insulted #Sridevi  GhoseSpot (@SandipGhose) February 25, 2018

Also mention, she was born when Nehru was the prime-minister.  Gabbbar (@GabbbarSingh) February 25, 2018

"She Was Awarded The Padma Shri By The UPA Govt In 2013". Are You Serious? Is That Line Even Necessary To Pay Tribute To A Legendary Actress? Please Stop Politicising The Death. You Guys Are Disgrace To Humanity. Shame On You Congress. #Sridevi #RIPSridevihttps://t.co/gdPHFEIWE4  Sir Ravindra Jadeja (@SirJadeja) February 25, 2018

How an oldest party of country politicise death of legend #Sridevi .



What is the use of mentioned awarded padmashri during UPA govt.



Sham !!!! https://t.co/Mn1KWAJaez  Parthsarthi Sharma (@pss1987) February 25, 2018

Was that necessary to mention what award she recieved during UPA government. Disgusting. Stop giving political colour to everything. Now don't blame the P.M for her death, because you are the best in that field. #sridevi #RIPSridevi  Joydeep Barooah (@jdbarooah) February 25, 2018

Don't know about the name, but "Awarded padma shri by UPA" will be the 1st sentence written on her gravestone. #Sridevi #Congress https://t.co/FL48wNsPv0  Mangalya Lakhia (@Mangalyalakhia) February 25, 2018

India must vote for @INCIndia cos Congress/UPA Government gave #Sridevi Padma Awards.



And you stupid People of India thought GOVERNMENT of India conferred the award cos People of India Appreciate her Contribution to Indian Cinema.



Disgusting @INCIndia

Sic/Mental @OfficeOfRG https://t.co/0GJL0JzWxY  Raman (@being_delhite) February 25, 2018

With correction. She was awarded Padma Shri by the Indian government, not the UPA government. No politics in her death please.



Rest in eternal peace, #SRIDEVI.  Sreejith Panickar (@PanickarS) February 25, 2018

Born as Shree Amma Yanger Ayyapan, Sridevi is best known for her roles in Hindi movies like Sadma, Lamhe, Chandni, Mr India, Chaalbaaz, among several others. She also worked in Tamil, Telugu, Hindi, Malayalam and Kannada films.

Follow @htshowbiz for moreThe sudden demise of Sridevi has left the country shocked, and filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma -- her die-hard fan -- is inconsolable. Varma expressed his shock and anger by posting a lengthy emotional note on Twitter. Sridevi, who was in Dubai for a family function, reportedly suffered a cardiac arrest on Saturday night. She was 54.

He posted: "I so hope I am still having a bad dream, but I know I am not. I hate Sridevi. I hate her for making me realise that she too is finally only just a human being. I hate that her heart too has to beat to live. The filmmaker earlier thought it was a nightmare or a hoax. "I thought that either it's a nightmare or a hoax and I went back to sleep. An hour later I woke up to check and there were around 50 messages informing me of the same," he added.

Is Sridevi really dead? Can somebody wake me up and tell me that its just a bad dream?  Ram Gopal Varma (@RGVzoomin) February 25, 2018

Can somebody tell me how in hell can she just go away like that??? pic.twitter.com/CQkp00z60Y  Ram Gopal Varma (@RGVzoomin) February 25, 2018

I HATE GOD FOR KILLING SRIDEVI and I HATE SRIDEVI FOR DYING and here is the reason https://t.co/hsxyNeOmRR  Ram Gopal Varma (@RGVzoomin) February 25, 2018

Why are you crying Sridevi? We are the only ones who should be doing that for what you did to us! pic.twitter.com/TNhllCImRk  Ram Gopal Varma (@RGVzoomin) February 25, 2018

Me and Sridevi with Lord Balaji pic.twitter.com/C2harKgHkk  Ram Gopal Varma (@RGVzoomin) February 25, 2018

The best song I ever shot in my career is this https://t.co/G6XRL4vah9 she brought life to each and every nuance of @mmkeeravaani s song ..The entire choreography is just in her facial expressions pic.twitter.com/S19GfZSbsZ  Ram Gopal Varma (@RGVzoomin) February 25, 2018

This will be my last and final tweet on Sridevi and from now on I will just imagine shes still alive and well. Sridevi garu,even after I made u laugh so much why are u now making me cry so much ..I wont ever talk to u from now on..Katti Forever  pic.twitter.com/YR05uimuZm  Ram Gopal Varma (@RGVzoomin) February 25, 2018

Here is Ram Gopal Varmas letter.

I have a habit of constantly dreaming and waking up every once in a while in the night to check out my cell phone and I suddenly saw a message that Sridevi is no more ..I thought that either its a nightmare or a hoax and I went back to sleep ..An hour later I woke up to check and there were around 50 messages informing me of the same.

Back in the times when I was in engineering college in Vijayawada, I happened to see her first telugu film padaharella vayasu.. I was awestruck with her Beauty and I walked out of the theatre in a daze thinking that she cannot be a real person and she has to be some fantasy form who somehow has taken a human shape. Then I saw her various other films, all of which constantly created a higher bench mark of both her talent and her beauty ..To me she looked like some being who has come from some other world in the outer space as a favour to bless us for a little while for all the good we might have done in this world.

She was like a creation of God which he does whenever he is in a very special mood as a very very special gift to mankind. My journey to Sridevi started when I was preparing for my debut film Shiva. I used to walk from Nagarjunas office in Chennai to a neighbouring street where Sridevi used to live and I used to just stand and watch Sridevis house from outside her gate.

I just couldnt believe that the goddess of beauty lives in that stupid looking house. I say stupid because I believed that no man made house deserved to house that beauty called SRIDEVI. I used to so desperately hope to catch a glimpse of her as she went in or out of her house. But sadly no such thing ever happened.

And then after Shiva released and became a big hit,a producer came to me and asked if I was interested in doing a film with Sridevi. I said Are you mad or what? I will die to just see her, let alone make a film with her!He arranged a meeting with her and took me to meet her at that very same house where I used to stand outside the gate and stare. At night we went and as luck would have it there was a power cut in her house. so I was sitting in her living room in candle light along with the producer waiting for the angel to appear and my heart was thumping like mad.

Her mother told us she was busy packing as she was about to catch a flight to go to Mumbai. As we were waiting, every once in a while Sridevi was rapidly crossing the living room as she was moving from one room to another room in a rush to finish her packing even as she apologetically smiled at me for the delay. Everytime she was appearing and disappearing in a flash and the director in me started slow motioning her and running her backward and forward for my visual pleasure.

Finally she came and sat in the living room, just said a mandatory few lines that she would very much like to work with me and then she left for Mumbai. I continued talking to her mother with enormous respect and awe because she actually gave birth to Sridevi. I went back to my place feeling like I was in the seventh heaven. The way Sridevi sat in front of me in the candle light got imprinted in my mind like an exquisite painting and with her image completely filling both my mind and my heart I started writing Kshana Kshanam.

I wrote Kshana Kshanam with the one and only purpose so as to impress Sridevi. Kshana Kshanam was intended by me as a love letter to her. Throughout the making of Kshana Kshanam,I just couldnt take my eyes off her charm, her beauty,her personality and her demeanour was a new discovery for me.

She had an invisible wall around her and she does not let anyone cross that. Behind that wall she maintains her dignity and her self-respect and she never lets anyone inside. Also during the course of working with her and observing her technique of acting I began to understand more and more as a director about the nuances of performances and characterizations because for me she formed the epitome of cinematic acting

Her popularity and stardom had to be seen to be believed. We were shooting for the climax in Nandyal for Kshana Kshanam and the whole town of Nandyal came to a standstill when they came to know that Sridevi was in town. Banks, Govt offices, Schools, Colleges everything in town closed as everyone wanted to see Sridevi.

She stayed in a travellers bungalow in Nandyal and at a little distance i was staying in another bungalow. There used to be a crowd of atleast 20,000 people around her bungalow throughout the night just staring at it. There were about 50 tough guys along with a 100 strong police force who used to continuously guard her.

When we were at location we used to know that Sridevi started from her bungalow to come to location because we used to see a column of dust travelling towards us from the distance. The dust was due to the thousands of people running behind her car. I have never seen more of a super star and now she just got extinguished

Sridevi is the most beautiful and the most sensuous woman,God ever created and I think he creates such exquisite pieces of art like her only once in a thousand years. Though she is no longer there, we her directors fortunately have her captured as a goddess of beauty in our cameras and our cinematic angel has now just become a divine angel

I thank God for creating Sridevi and I thank Louis Lumiere for creating the movie camera for giving us an opportunity to contain her forever. I still cant believe that she is no more and I am lying in bed writing about my memories of her

I so hope I am still having a bad dream,but I know I am not

I hate Sridevi.

I hate her for making me realise that she too is finally only just a human being.

I hate that her heart too has to beat to live.

I hate that,she too has a heart which can just stop like anybody elses.

I hate that I lived to see the messages informing me of her death

I hate God for killing her

And I hate Sridevi for dying .

I love you Sri wherever you are and I will always love you.

- Ram Gopal Varma

Read Ram Gopal Varmas tweets for Sridevi here:

Ram Gopal Varma



@RGVzoomin

Never hated God more than today ..The bastard just extinguished the brightest of lights ..my heart goes out to Boney Kapoor

4:43 AM - Feb 25, 2018

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@RGVzoomin

Is Sridevi really dead? Can somebody wake me up and tell me that its just a bad dream?

6:52 AM - Feb 25, 2018

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Can somebody tell me how in hell can she just go away like that???

6:55 AM - Feb 25, 2018

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I HATE GOD FOR KILLING SRIDEVI and I HATE SRIDEVI FOR DYING and here is the reason http://bit.ly/2GHlziz

7:59 AM - Feb 25, 2018

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Why are you crying Sridevi? We are the only ones who should be doing that for what you did to us!

8:04 AM - Feb 25, 2018

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One of the main reasons for me coming into films was my desire to see her up close in real ..Kshanakshanam film was my love letter to Sridevi http://bit.ly/2GHlziz

8:49 AM - Feb 25, 2018

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8:53 AM - Feb 25, 2018

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Me and Sridevi with Lord Balaji

9:38 AM - Feb 25, 2018

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Aey Balaji why did u take only her away and left me here?

9:41 AM - Feb 25, 2018

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Kshanakshanam shooting lo oka adbhutamaina expression ichchinanduku thana kaallaki dannam peduthunte addukuntunna Venkatesh

9:46 AM - Feb 25, 2018

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Amma brahmma devudo ..neekem poyye kaalamochchiro .. naa kompa munchinaavuro

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The director has also worked with Sridevi in Kshana Kshanam and in the letter he writes down the experience of working with her in his second film.Asserting that he was confident that Haryana would soon get its due share of water, Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Sunday urged the states opposition parties to exercise restraint and not hold any agitation on the Sutlej Yamuna Link (SYL) canal issue.

I have full faith in the Supreme Court and the state would soon get its due share of water through the SYL, he told reporters after dedicating three projects costing Rs 83.64 crore to the residents of Panchkula, today.

Khattar said the Supreme Court had given its decision in favour of Haryana.

We have full faith in the Supreme Court and the opposition too should have faith. The Presidential reference was lying pending in the Supreme Court for over ten years. It is the present state government that strongly pleaded the case in the Supreme Court and ensured regular hearing. As a result of this, the apex court has given its decision in the favour of Haryana, he added.

INLD leader Abhay Singh Chautala has threatened to launch a stir if the Centre failed to give any assurance on the construction of SYL canal before the partys scheduled rally in Delhi on March 7.

Khattar also said that opposition parties should refrain from inciting public sentiments, and instead, give constructive suggestions.

When the present government has already announced that student union elections would be held in the next academic session, agitation by the INLD on this issue is neither called for nor justifiable. Once consensus has been reached on any matter, petty politics should not be resorted to, he said, adding that we do what we say or promise.

To another question, he said Anganwadi workers and helpers should call off their agitation in public interest.

All their genuine demands would be sympathetically considered by the state government, he said.

The state government is already paying more than its share to these employees, yet if they have any concerns, these would be addressed, Khattar said.

Senior officers of the women and child development department held a meeting with the agitating employees three days ago to discuss their demands and concerns. Soon, I will also convene a meeting in this regard and whatever possible would be done, he added.

Anganwadi workers went on strike earlier this week. They are demanding a minimum wage of not less than Rs 18,000 per month.Many years ago, while passing through the darkness of a purgatory in Europe, a few thoughts came to my mind. Can punishing yourself help you attain freedom from the sins that youve committed by torturing others? Why do the worlds oldest religions propagate ways of atonement? Do only human beings make mistakes? Governments and society, too, have their share of mistakes. There are purgatories for human beings. How about society and governments? How can they atone for their sins?

Some modern-day governments and politicians have made similar attempts by issuing public apologies. For example, in 2016, the government of Canada apologised for the Komagata Maru tragedy. Similarly, apologies were made in 2015 for the beastly manner in which Japanese soldiers behaved with Korean and Chinese women. A section of Indians is demanding an apology from Britain for the horrific Jallianwala Bagh massacre of 1919. It is possible that in the future, Britain may accede and on generation of English citizens atones for the misdeeds of General Dyer.

Indian politicians have displayed similar courage. When the Operation Blue Star took place in June 1984, Giani Zail Singh was the countrys President. He was so distraught that he wanted to visit the Golden Temple during the operation itself. The Indira Gandhi government stopped him, but he still reached there on June 13. Zail Singh didnt stop at that. Akal Takht, the highest Sikh temporal authority, held him guilty of being a tankhaiya (guilty of religious misconduct). He sought pardon from the Sikh gurus and the Takht absolved him of the tankhaiya status within 24 days. But it didnt extend a similar privilege to Buta Singh. Not only did he have to appear before the clergy, but also clean shoes as punishment. After he became the prime minister, Manmohan Singh, too expressed regret over Operation Blue Star. Most of the Sikhs in India accepted this and moved on.

You may be wondering why I am raking up apologies from yesteryears. The reason is the controversy sparked by the arrival of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. A few happenings that are taking place in Trudeaus Canada have made politicians in New Delhi take notice. Officials and dignitaries of Indian missions in Canada have been barred entry in gurdwaras. It is a conspiracy by a handful of people who want to politicise the Khalistan issue. Reining them in is the responsibility of the Canadian government but its attitude has been lukewarm so far. This could embolden the extremists who have taken over a few gurdwaras.

During Trudeaus trip, concerns were raised over the government not displaying the same warmth towards the Canadian premier that it generally reserves for other leaders. Breaking protocol, Prime Minister Narendra Modi went to welcome Israels Benjamin Netanyahu on the tarmac. Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath gave a guided tour of the Taj Mahal to him. But Trudeau was welcomed by a minister of state. Even at Agra he was welcomed just by a district official.

Irrespective of the real reason, it is clear that the present Indian government knows which leader deserves what kind of behaviour. The Canadian PM may have realised this during his meetings with Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh and PM Narendra Modi. Not only was he handed over a list of anti-Indian terrorists flourishing in Canada, he was also told that there will be no compromise on national interest. During this time, political observers were glad to notice that the Congress and the BJP shed their ideological differences aside and put up a united face in the nations interest. Trudeau, too, would have realised that Amarinder Singh was speaking in the same tone that was repeated at Delhi.

One hopes that on his return to Toronto, hell first address those elements that are not ready to accept the apology made by a former President of India and repeated by one of the PMs, while they were still in office. Somebody needs to tell them that a purgatory is meant for people burning in the fires of repentance, not for nations caught in the race for development, which want take everybody along.

Shashi Shekhar is editor-in-chief Hindustan

letters@hindustantimes.comThe Special Investigative Team (SIT) of the Uttarakhand Police probing Rs 300-crore NH-74 scam should include arbitration and National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) officials into its ambit, former chief minister Harish Rawat said Sunday.

I dont want to comment on the SIT because our government had constituted it to probe into the scam. The SIT has, however, minimized the ambit of the probe by excluding arbitration and the NH officials. Arbitration and NH officials are also responsible for the scam, Rawat said.

The senior Congress leader said that the SIT has till date interrogated and sent to jail several lower level officials and farmers. He asked why were some political leaders, IAS officials, and the NHAI staff spared by the SIT. The former CM, however, didnt name any political leader, bureaucrat or NH official.

It may be recalled that soon after taking charges as chief minister in 2017, Trivendra Singh Rawat, had suspended six state-level officials and recommended a CBI probe. However, Union minister for road transport and highways Nitin Gadkari had advised against the CBI probe saying it would have an adverse impact on the morale of NHAI officials.

Rawats reaction comes days after the SIT questioned him former Congress state president Kishore Upadhyay. The irregularities pertaining to awarding compensation for land acquired for NH-74 had taken place when Rawat was CM and Upadhayay was at the helm of the state Congress unit.

The SIT questioned Upadhyay about a bank account that the Congress had opened in December 2016, months ahead of the 2017 assembly polls. It has been alleged that some farmers, who got exorbitant compensation for their agricultural lands at commercial rates, deposited a part of the money into the Congresss bank account and that the money was used for campaigning. Both the charges have been denied by Upadhyay who has claimed that the account was opened in compliance with an Election Commission directive.

Meanwhile, Rawat also demanded BJP to disclose the list of donors from whom it claims to have collected more than Rs 25 crore for party.The Delhi government has warned all liquor vends, hotels, clubs, bars and pubs in Delhi against selling and serving alcohol to underage customers, saying non-compliance would attract strict action including cancellation of licence.

According to the Delhi excise rules, serving liquor to any person below 25 years is an offence in the national capital, and the government will strictly implement it.

In case of any doubt about the age of the customer, the citys clubs, bars, pubs, liquor vends and hotels can ask for age proof which ascertains that he or she is not under the age of 25 years, a senior government official told PTI.

As per the Section 23 of the Delhi Excise Act, 2009, no person or licensed vendor or his employee or agent can sell or deliver any liquor to any person under the age of 25 years. We consider serving or selling liquor to underage customer as a major offence, the official said.

According to the official, if the offence is proven, strict action, including cancellation or suspension of licence and imposition of heavy fines, on an erring establishment can be taken under the Delhi Excise Rules.

The license of a famous bar in Delhis Hauz Khas area was recently suspended by the excise department for serving liquor to underage customers, the official said.

The governments officials (must) visit bars, hotels, pubs and liquor vends time-to-time to check whether these establishments are following excise rules. During visits, if underage customer is found, action is initiated against establishment, the official said.

In 2015, a proposal to bring down the legal drinking age from the current 25 to 21 in the city had been submitted to the Delhi government, but the AAP dispensation had turned down the same.Facing financial crunch, a 35-year-old woman allegedly attempted suicide by slashing her wrists and allegedly asked her 10-year-old daughter to commit suicide at their 19th floor flat at Mahagun Puram highrise in Ghaziabad. The police said that the mother survived while the girl died as she hanged herself to the ceiling fan in an incident which is stated to have taken place on Sunday morning.

The police said that the family had altercation over the issue of finances as Saturday also happened to be the birthday of the minor girl. Injured woman, Vinita Rawat, was rushed to a multi-specialty hospital and is under treatment. According to police, the woman had divorced her husband and was in a relationship with one Vikram Rawat.

The woman told us that she worked at a private firm, but left her job a couple of months back. She also wanted to get her daughter admitted to a reputed schools but she didnt have enough money. Later, the girl was admitted to a local school. On the night of the girls birthday on Saturday, there was some altercation in the family as Vikram also arrived, said sub-inspector Beenu Singh, who arrived for initial investigation from Kavi Nagar police station.

The woman also wrote a suicide note stating that no one should be held responsible for the drastic step and the dead bodies should be cremated as lawaris.

According to police sources, the woman asked Rs 10,000 from Vikram, who was unable to give the money. He left after an altercation on Saturday night. Thereafter, the mother and her daughter also tried to consume some poisonous substance but failed. They are also stated to have made arrangements for hanging both of them but could not gather courage, police sources said.

According to the police, on early Sunday morning, the woman went to the local market and purchased a packet of biscuit and blade. She also called a friend of Vikram and asked him to inform Vikram about her intentions of committing suicide.

The woman told us that she slashed her wrists and later asked her daughter to commit suicide. She asked her to jump from the 19th floor, but the girl could not. Upon seeing the bleeding mother, the girl got frightened. The mother told her that she will not survive and the daughter may also try committing suicide. Later, the girl hanged herself to a ceiling fan and died while the mother fainted but survived, Singh added.

According to police, the woman divorced her husband and is from Chandigarh. She later shifted to Ghaziabad. The police said that the mother-daughter duo stayed at the flat alone and could not celebrate girls birthday on Saturday.

Vikram did not take her calls despite repeated attempts and disconnected. Following information, Vikram arrived and rushed the two victims in a neighbours car to a hospital where the girl was declared brought dead while the woman was stated to be in a critical condition.

The woman had divorced her husband and was in relationship with Vikram. She was already facing financial crunch and took the drastic step. Later, she also asked her daughter to commit suicide and the girl died. Womans family was already annoyed with her as she had divorced her husband, said Manisha Singh, circle officer (city I).

Senior superintendent of police HN Singh said that the police will take up legal action once the postmortem report of the deceased girl is received.

The statements of the woman will be taken up as per legal procedures. The entire matter will be investigated and if it involves any conspiracy, it will be dealt with. We are awaiting the postmortem report, SSP Singh said.In a tit-for-tat response to the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA)s March 2017 circular, which asks states not to confer forest rights to any tribal or forest dwelling communities in tiger habitats, the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST) has temporarily banned displacement of tribals from forest areas and critical tiger reserves. It has also asked the Union environment ministry to revisit the rehabilitation policy to ensure tiger conservation does not infringe on tribal rights. In a letter to secretary (environment), CK Mishra, NCST secretary, Raghav Chandra, said the NTCA circular cannot override the Forest Rights Act of 2006, which safeguards the rights of forest-dwelling tribals. It has also demanded that all displacement be kept in abeyance and the rehabilitation policy be revisited before any more displacement, a national newspaper reported last week.

This face-off is not new. Its genesis is as old as Indias Wildlife Protection Act of 1972 and the launch of the Project Tiger in 1973. The project was started to revive the tiger population, which had dwindled because of hunting and habitat destruction. Over the next decades, the countrys wildlife sanctuary system expanded from 10 national parks to more than 100; there are now over 600 protected areas in the country, including 50 tiger reserves. To reach the goal, these reserves had to be cleared of traditional dwellers, who many conservationists wrongly thought would be an impediment in this plan.

This conservation vs people approach to protecting wildlife only worsened the lives of thousands of the forest-dependent tribal communities in India. On paper, however, the State acknowledges that although there is a need to keep forest reserves as inviolate for the purposes of tiger conservation, this ought to be done without affecting the rights of traditional forest dwellers.

The NTCA also has the mandate to ensure conservation along with human coexistence. But on the ground, this is not the case: there is a clear demarcation of priorities of both sides. This is not just an India-specific problem: in order to make room for wildlife, tourism and industry, governments all over the world are using conservation as a pretext to drive the worlds most endangered peoples away from the lands and animals they have lived with for generations, say activists.

One of the main reasons why finding a common ground on this issue is difficult is this: Indias rehabilitation record of tribals has been abysmal. The challenge is also far greater because not just are the jungles integral to the social and cultural lives of tribals, but also they are not equipped with the necessary tools  education and skills  to thrive in a modern world. And it is here the failure of the Indian State to provide even basic facilities to the poorest of the poor lies exposed.Business for Elegance African Fashions in Bostons Dorchester neighborhood has seen a major boost ever since Marvels first black superhero movie, Black Panther released.

The movie has sparked a new interest in African fashion, which has had a positive financial ripple effect for local designers, according to Houston Chronicle.

The heritage store in Houston boasts of all types of clothing, accessories and fabric, most of which is handmade.

Local Nigerian designer Onyii Brown of Onyii & Co. feels that African-style fashion over the last six years has seen a growing interest. She isnt surprised to see sales of African designs double since the films release.

Chadwick Boseman (left) and Angela Bassett in a scene from Black Panther. (Disney/Marvel Studios via AP)

Its just like an empowerment, Houston Chronicle quotes Brown as saying.

Across Houston and around the world, the Marvel Studios film Black Panther has earned more than $500 million worldwide, within just one week of its US theatrical release.

The movie tells the story of TChalla, king of the technologically advanced nation of Wakanda, and his alter-ego, a super-powered protector called the Black Panther.

The movies costume designers borrowed from real-world African patterns and accessories including Ndebele neck rings, Suri face paint and Zulu headgear and blankets to create an overall pan-African style.

Follow @htlifeandstyle for moreThe ministry of information and broadcasting (I&B) has turned down a suggestion from cinema hall owners to do away with the practice of seeking certification from the central board of film certification (CBFC) for advertisements played during film screenings in theatres, an official aware of the development said on Saturday.

Apart from films that are released in theatres, all trailers of upcoming movies, advertisements and even public service messages are certified by the CBFC before being aired on the big screen.

The issue of not getting advertisements certified as it is done for television screening was raised by the theatre owners, and it was discussed with the law ministry, which did not object to the suggestion. However, the I&B has asked for the practice to continue, an official, requesting anonymity, said.

The issue of giving cinema owners more autonomy in screening advertisements was also discussed by the CBFC, but no agreement was reached, a former member aware of the developments said.

At a meeting some time last year, it was discussed that just as TV channels have the liberty to air advertisements without certification, the process can be allowed for theatre owners, too. Just as TV channels can be penalised if they breach the code, the theatre owners could face similar action if they show content that is not permitted, the former CBFC member said.The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Haryana has decided to add recital of Gayatri Mantra  a hymn from Hindu religious scripture Rigveda  in prayers in all schools across the state.

State education minister Ram Bilas Sharma said the decision was taken after a meeting with school principals, teachers and other stakeholders on Friday. The government would issue a notification on Tuesday (February 27), he said.

Sharma added that including Gita shlokas in school syllabus soon after the formation of the government had yielded positive results.

To a query on whether this was saffronisation of education, the minister said, The suns first rays are saffron and the Tricolours first colour is saffron. What is wrong with saffron? We are not allergic to this colour, he said.

He added, Gayatri Mantra is not about any religion, in particular. It is a prayer that urges the almighty to enable us to imbibe all good values from all directions. I do not think anybody should have any problem with it.

CM Khattar defends move

Meanwhile, Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar has said the decision was taken to increase the level of education, ethics, and culture in the education system.

The education department considered a lot of things before taking this decision. How can we increase the level of education, how can we bring ethics and culture into our educational system were some of the things that were discussed, said Khattar who was in Mathura on Saturday.

Oppn flays decision

Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) state president Ashok Arora said the decision once again made it evident that the BJP believed in diverting peoples attention.

All schools run by the DAV and the Arya Samaj already recite this shloka as prayer. Many people also recite it daily in their homes. The state government should focus on improving educational standards instead of digressing from real issues, he added.

State Congress president Ashok Tanwar said he was shocked to see that the state governments emphasis had, so far, been on teaching lessons from the Gita instead of addressing real issues.

It is surprising that while there is an acute shortage of teachers in schools; the infrastructure is abysmal and science labs have been locked since the BJP came to power, the BJPs only focus remains on Gita shlokas, the Gita festival and the Gayatri Mantra.Campaigning for the February 27 assembly polls in Meghalaya and Nagaland ended on Sunday afternoon with candidates making a final push to woo voters in the two Christian-majority northeastern states, where the BJP is trying to extend its footprint.

In Meghalaya, its a three-cornered battle between the ruling Congress, a resurgent BJP and regional player National Peoples Party.

Independents and a regional alliance between the United Democratic Party, Hill State Peoples Democratic Party and Garo National Council could prove crucial in government-formation if no party secures a majority in the 60-member assembly.

A total of 370 candidates are in the fray in Meghalaya, although only 32 of them are women in a state with a matrilineal society.

Polling has been countermanded for the Williamnagar seat after the death of Nationalist Congress Party candidate Jonathone N Sangma in a militant attack. His wife Krinilla R Marak will contest from the seat.

The BJP, which rules Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur, has several Congress and Independent legislators on its side this election. The party set off its campaign with a rally by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Shillong in December.

But by the time campaign came to a close, the Congress was able to swing some of the momentum with rallies and road shows of party president Rahul Gandhi witnessing good turnouts.

The Congress is contesting all 60 seats, while the BJP has fielded candidates in 47 and the NPP in 52. The UDP-HSPDP-GNC alliance has put up candidates in 54 seats. There are 84 Independents in the fray.

In 2013, the Congress won 29 seats; Independents came second with 13, followed by UDP with eight and HSPDP won four. The BJP didnt win any and the NPP secured only two.

The NPP is an ally in the NDA government and part of the BJP-led North East Democratic Alliance. It also shares power with the BJP in Manipur. But the two parties are contesting independently in Meghalaya.

More than 1.8 million voters are expected to vote in 3,083 polling stations across Meghalaya on Tuesday. The votes will be counted in both Meghalaya and Nagaland on March 3.

In Nagaland, the contest is between the BJPs old and new allies. Till the beginning of February, there was uncertainty over the polls as tribal councils and civil society groups wanted the elections postponed until the Naga peace talks to end decades of insurgency in the state came up with a final solution.

Altogether 11 parties, both national and regional, had agreed to boycott the polls. But with the BJP backing off and deciding to contest, the agreement fell through, and others joined the election process.

The contest is generating interest as the BJP broke its 15-year alliance with the ruling Naga Peoples Front (NPF) and stitched a friendship with the newly formed Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP).

The BJP is contesting 20 seats and the NDPP has 40 candidates for the 60-seat House. The contest will be mainly between the NPF and NDPP-BJP combine with both sides engaged in a two-sided contest in 18 seats.

The Congress, once the most powerful party in the state, failed to find enough candidates and is contesting only 18 seats.

In a bid to woo Christian voters, the BJP and Congress promised free or subsidised trips to Jerusalem if voted to power. The influential church has opposed the BJP, saying it is influenced by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).

There are 195 candidates for 59 seats after NDPP leader and former chief minister Neiphiu Rio won uncontested from Northern Angami-II constituency. Also, five women are contesting the polls this year in a state that has never elected a woman legislator in 55 years since it was formed in 1963.

Polling will take place in 2,156 stations across Nagaland.Andhra Pradesh chief minister Chandrababu Naidu said on Sunday the government will go completely go online by March-end.

Naidu also said his government was making efforts towards real-time governance with cutting-edge technology. By March end, we are planning to become paperless offices. My government is online now. Every citizen will have an optic fibre connection. If any citizen has any problem, he can get it sorted out with a single call or representing the issue online, he said during a session on Technologies for Tomorrow on the second-day of the CII Partnership Summit in Vishakhapatnam.

He said by using technology, the state will be able to monitor every aspect of governance. It is a unique experiment. I have found no other government where this is being done. We want to use technology for the overall benefit, he added.

On Sunday, the Andhra Pradesh government signed nine MoUs worth Rs 9,341 crore with the potential to create 5,700 jobs in the aerospace and defence sectors.

On the first day of the summit on Saturday, the government signed 77 MoUs that could bring in investments worth Rs 31,546 crore, which in turn can create 98,291 jobs.

Naidu, along with Union minister for commerce and industry Suresh Prabhu, also laid the foundation stones for the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT) and the Indian Institute of Packaging (IIP) campuses in Kakinada, East Godavari district. The campuses will be built on 25 acres each.

Top innovators from across the world were a part of the summit. Among the key tie-ups that the government forged, was one with Autogrid Systems. Amit Narayan, founder and CEO of Autogrid Systems, said the tie-up will bring down power costs for consumers and help the government save over Rs 2,000 crore in five years.The army is inching closer towards its goal of deploying attack helicopters for the first time, with India issuing a Letter of Request (LoR) to the US government for buying Boeing-made Apache choppers, a person closely monitoring the project said.

The LoR is a significant step as it formally kicks off the foreign military sales programme, Washingtons government-to-government method for selling US-built platforms. The LoR was issued recently and now the US has to respond with a Letter of Acceptance (LoA) to take the Apache deal forward, said the person quoted above. The LoA could come in six months after which the two sides will begin negotiations to hammer out a deal.

Indias defence acquisition council green lighted the proposal to buy six Apache AH-64E attack helicopters from the US last August. The helicopters and associated equipment are expected to cost around Rs 4,168 crore.

Armed with fire-and-forget Hellfire missiles, an Apache can track up to 128 targets a minute and prioritise threats. The missiles equip the gunships with heavy anti-armour capabilities.

India placed orders worth $3.1 billion for 22 Apache helicopters and 15 Chinook heavy-lift choppers in 2015 for its air force. These machines will start arriving in the middle of 2019, changing the complexion of the Indian Air Forces helicopter fleet that consists mainly of Russian platforms. The six Apaches cleared by the council are being bought as a follow-on option to the 2015 contract.

India will be the 14th country to operate the attack helicopters and Boeing has delivered more than 2,200 Apaches to international customers. Attack helicopters have been on the armys wish list for several years, but the IAF has objected to the plan. The army has a requirement for more attack helicopters as it had moved a case to buy 39 Apaches three years ago.

Since 2008, India has bought or ordered military equipment worth $15 billion from the US, including C-130J special operations planes, C-17 transport aircraft, P-8I submarine hunter planes, Harpoon missiles, helicopters and M777 howitzers.

India spent more than $100 billion on buying new weapons and systems during 2008-17, with imports accounting for around 60-65% of the countrys military requirements. At $15 billion, military purchases from the US have consumed more than a fourth of the total capital expenditure for the last decade.The police in Khandwa district of Madhya Pradesh have arrested an Assam Rifles jawan for allegedly killing his estranged wife.

Superintendent of police Navneet Bhasin said Gajanan Saini alias Sonu, 38, a lance naik with Assam Rifles, was arrested from the Army hospital in Bhopal on Friday evening.

A man wearing a mask shot dead Kirti Mali, Sainis wife, in Chhanera in Khandwa district on February 19 when she was on her way to a polytechnic where she was a lecturer, Bhasin said.

Mali, whose relations with her husband were strained, travelled to Chhanera from Khandwa daily by train.

Bhasin said the police contacted Army authorities when the womans family expressed suspicion about Saini and the investigation pointed to his possible involvement.

Saini, meanwhile, got admitted in Army hospital at Bhopal after meeting with an accident. After getting permission from higher authorities, the Army officials handed him over to us, the SP said.

Saini was on leave from February 2 to 24, the period during which the crime took place, he said.

Police also seized a pistol and three live cartridges following his questioning, Bhasin said.

Saini also told police during the questioning that one of his colleagues helped him get the weapon, the SP said, adding that police were investigating the claim.There is no space in Canada for religion to be used for political motives to promote any type of extremism, Canadas Sikh woman ex-MP Ruby Dhalla has said while asserting her country believes in a united India.

Expressing her concern over talk about possible links between Canada and Khalistani sympathisers demanding a separate state carved out of India, she said that at times all Sikhs in Canada were seen as sympathisers of extremism.

You cannot paint all Sikhs living in Canada with the same brush of being supporters of extremism. This is what is happening and it is unfortunate and painful, she said.

Dhalla, who became the first Sikh woman to serve in the Canadian House of Commons, also emphasised that her country has zero tolerance towards extremism.

In Canada, there is no space for religion to be used for political motives to promote any type of extremism, she said.

However, she added that there might be fringe elements in Canada, but it was unfortunate this became a significant source of discussion during Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeaus just-concluded visit to India.

Dhalla, who is from the ruling Liberal Party in Canada, said she was confident that the law would take its own course against people listed by India who are living in Canada and are suspected of trying to revive Sikh separatist movement in Punjab.

Canada believes in a united India... Punjabis and Sikhs (in Canada) are interested in a united and strong India, she said.

She was part of the delegation of Trudeau who was on his maiden trip to India as Canadas Prime Minister.

Dhalla, who was born and raised in Canada, said she has always worked for strengthening the relationship between the two countries.Ahead of next months elections for 59 Rajya Sabha seats, the BJP faces a paradoxical situation in Uttar Pradesh, where it looks set to win at least eight seats but is running short of big names to fill these berths, party leaders familiar with the matter said.

The countrys most populous state has 10 vacant seats in the Upper House, of which eight are likely to go to the BJP  UPs largest party with 312 MLAs in the 403-member assembly. The saffron partys allies, Apna Dal and Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party have another 13 MLAs who can help clinch another Rajya Sabha seat for the BJP in case of a divided Opposition.

We do not have big names from the state, a BJP leader said. Most of those eyeing a Rajya Sabha berth are local leaders. Some claimants for Rajya Sabha seats won last years assembly election and are now ministers in the Yogi Adityanath government, another BJP leader said.

OBC leader Vinay Katiyars term is ending, and there is no decision yet on giving him another term. Katiyar rose to prominence through the Ram Temple movement but has been out of eminence over the last couple of years.

Party insiders said general secretaries Arun Singh and Anil Jain, spokesman Bizay Sonkar Shastri, Scheduled Caste cell leader Ramesh Chandra Ratan, OBC Morcha chief Dara Singh Chauhan are prominent among those in the race for a Rajya Sabha seat from Uttar Pradesh.

Arun Singh is a chartered accountant and a relative of Union home minister Rajnath Singh. A gastroenterologist, Jain was offered party ticket to contest last years assembly elections, but declined. Ratan is a founding member of the Bahujan Samaj Party and crossed over to the BJP in 2008. He is currently the vice- president of the BJPs SC morcha. Chauhan, too, is a former BSP leader who joined the BJP in 2015. Shastri is a former chairperson of the National Commission for Scheduled Castes and an ex-MP.

Another BSP turncoat Jugal Kishore, the onetime all powerful coordinator of Mayawatis party in eastern Uttar Pradesh who helped the BJP is last years polls, and BJPs former state chief Laxmikant Bajpai, who lost the polls from Meerut, are other claimants for an RS seat.

A total of 17 BJP members in the Rajya Sabha are retiring in April and May. The party is set to gain two RS seats in Maharashtra and one each in Haryana, Jharkhand and Uttarakhand, which could help increase its current tally of 58 seats by at least 10.

The treasury benches strength will also improve with filling up of three seats in the nominated category.

The BJP is likely to suffer a fall in its tally in Gujarat and its Rajya Sabha slots may also come down in Bihar, where the party looks short of numbers to win a second berth. The terms of two Union ministers, Ravi Shankar Prasad and Dharmendra Pradhan who were elected from Bihar, are also ending in the coming months.

Among the outgoing BJP Rajya Sabha MPs are eight Union ministers, including six cabinet ministers. But most of them are likely to be re-elected even if they have to shift to other states.

The terms of Union finance minister Arun Jaitley and junior minister Mansukh L Mandaviya and Parshottam Rupala are ending along with that of another member from Gujarat. The BJP can, however, get only two of these four seats and one of the Union ministers will have to shift to another state to return to the Upper House. The terms of JP Nadda (Himachal Pradesh), social justice minister Thawarchand Gehlot and HRD minister Prakash Javadekar (both Madhya Pradesh) are also coming to an end.

BJP general secretary Ram Madhav, who missed a Rajya Sabha seat last year, is again seen as a probable this time. Former civil aviation minister Syed Shahnawaz Hussain, too, is waiting in the wings for a nomination. The partys national vice president Shyam Jaju, former state president Ajay Bhatt, former chief minister Vijay Bahuguna and national spokesman Anil Baluni are among probables from Uttarakhand.

Spokesperson Sambit Patra and general secretary Saroj Pandey who lost the Lok Sabha election from Durg are claimants from Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh respectively, BJP leaders familiar with the developments said.Andhra Pradesh, which is currently at the top position in terms of ease of doing business (EoDB), is targeting at emerging among the top five states in the world over the next five years, chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu said on Sunday.

Naidu made a presentation on the initiatives being taken by his government to improve the business environment in the state during a plenary session on Promoting Ease of Doing Business at the second-day of the CII Partnership Summit in Visakhapatnam.

Naidu said Andhra Pradesh, which was ranked at position 2 in EoDB in India in 2015, rose to position 1 in 2016, within a year of bifurcation from Telangana, and retained its position for the second consecutive year in 2017.

Now, our focus is to compete with the worlds best countries in providing an investor-friendly environment and emerge as one among the top five in the next five years. We are setting a benchmark for ourselves to achieve the goal, Naidu said.

Stating that New Zealand was at the top in the world in EoDB as all permits for an entrepreneur to set up an industrial unit were provided in half a day, the chief minister said Andhra Pradesh would also be able to achieve this if there was adequate cooperation from the Centre.

India as a whole ranks 100 in the world in the EoDB. If the same parameters are applied to the states, Andhra Pradesh would stand in 84th position in the world. We have set a target of bringing down the ranking to 64 in the next three months and to 40 in the next nine months, he said.

We are planning to achieve this target using our advancements in technology. Digitisation of administration, capacity building, real-time monitoring and international collaborations are among the strategies being adopted by our government to create a hassle-free eco-system for starting businesses in the state, Naidu said.

Union commerce and industries minister Suresh Prabhu, who is chairing the investors meet, assured the state of full cooperation from the Centre to facilitate a business-friendly environment. The state, he said, had shown the way during the last three years in adopting technologies to improve governance and transparency.

The secretary general of the international investor council of UAE, Jamal Saif Al Jarwan, also spoke at the event. He said Indians were among the largest group of investors transforming the UAEs economy. Over 4,600 Indian investors have so far put $6.9 billion into the UAE economy, while UAE industrialists have invested $10 billion into the Indian economy. We are interested in further expanding the bilateral business cooperation. We share a lot in common with India, the UAE representative said.The famed Gujarati enterprise married to a sense of community has thrown up two mega business summits in two months, and its just a start, according to organisers.

The state is no stranger to business summits, but these two caught the eye owing to their political significance. One was by Patidars, the other by Rajputs. The state did not sponsor either of the events, but chief minister Vijay Rupani inaugurated both.

The states influential Patels organised their maiden Global Patidar Business Summit from January 4-6 in Gandhinagar. The event drew over 100,000 visitors and 10,000 delegates from 32 countries, according to the organisers.

The Rajputs held the third edition of Rajput Business Expo 2018 in Ahmedabad from February 16-18. The organisers said more than 200,000 visitors participated.

Organisers of both events said the events will result in economic growth for all. Jayendra Jadeja, an organiser of the Rajput expo, said, In the end, business cannot be restricted to a community.

There is, however, one voice not buying into this credo.

Patidar quota leader Hardik Patel insists such events will end up as tools to achieve political gains. When Patidar youth are out in the streets, seeking jobs, the community leaders organise an event and get it inaugurated by the CM. This only serves as a political tool, he said. Have they come up with how many new Patidars have been able to start new businesses and how many got jobs? Just like the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit, these are nothing but hollow shows.

Incidentally, these summits have taken their cue from the biennial Vibrant summit, started by Narendra Modi in 2003.

According to TG Jhalawadia, CEO of socio-cultural organisation Sardardham, which organised the Patidar summit, their primary aim was to facilitate networking and provide a platform for world-class exposure to the communitys members. If the Vibrant summit aims to bring in more business, the Patidar summit serves as a link between community traders to help them grow their business, said Jhalawadia.

Like Jadeja, he, too, said business could not be limited to community. If Brahmins or any other community want to organise an event tomorrow, Patel businessmen will happily be sponsors. Besides, caste does not get preference over talent for any businessman, said Jhalawadia.

For Rajputs, their summit also gave them an opportunity to support womens empowerment. Given that Rajput women do not prefer to go out much, we are trying to bring them to the forefront through this community platform, said Parth Parmar of the Rajput Business Forum, an organiser of the expo. The event had a special pavilion to promote women entrepreneurs.In his campaign push for Meghalaya that votes on February 27, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has taken the foreign-policy route to drive home the point that the BJP was not anti-Christian and was committed to respecting local customs and traditions.

We have not remained a silent spectator when Christian missionaries and minority workers were terrorised in conflict zones, he said at a poll rally in Phulbari on February 22.

To drive home the point, Modi cited the rescue of 46 nurses from Iraq, safe return of Father Alex Premkumar from captivity in Afghanistan and release of Father Tom Uzhunnalil after a year in captivity in Yemen.

The Prime Minister was not only showcasing Indias increasing clout at the world stage but was also trying to tamper the Bharatiya Janata Partys hardline Hindutva image in a state where Christians account for 75% of the population.

Meghalaya votes for 60-member assembly on February 27

Modis effort is in tune with several such moves the party has made across the Northeast. Party leaders say it reflects the BJPs respect for Indias cultural diversity, critics call it hypocrisy.

In the run-up to the 2017 election in Manipur, another state with as sizable minority population, the partys Christian candidates often referred to the BJP as the Bharatiya Jesus Party to allay apprehensions about its alleged anti-minority character.

Since then, it has become a running joke among BJPs Christian leaders in the region, but is also a reflection of partys adaptability, a BJP leader in Delhi said.

The real test, however, will be Meghalaya, where the partys rivals, particularly the ruling Congress, have attacked the BJP for its alleged saffron agenda. The Church, too, has spoken openly against the party.

The BJP has been careful in its campaign, careful not to embarrass local leadership or potential allies with its Hindutva brand of politics that has served it well in other parts of the country.

The effort has been to stay away from controversial issues and reach out to Christians as much as it can.

The party has followed a broad four-point strategy -- pick the right people to shepherd the campaign, keep local sensitivities in mind in navigating the tricky issue of beef, decide on alliances and choose the right candidates.

The leaders

The party picked spokesman Nalin Kohli, a moderate and suave lawyer-politician, as the state in-charge in July 2015. Kohli was the only spokesman to be given such a responsibility. His familiarity and his familys links with the Northeast played a part in the decision -- his father was the governor of neighbouring Mizoram for five years.

In August that year, Congress leader Himanta Biswa Sarma crossed over to the BJP and was soon the partys pointsman for the Northeast.

Over the next few months, Sarma and Kohli scouted for candidates.

Meghalaya is largely a candidate-driven election, says Kohli. Before the election was called, four sitting legislators and several former MLAs joined the BJP.

The job to strengthen the organisation was left to Ram Lal, Ram Madhav and Ajay Jamwal, the three Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh leaders serving the BJP in different capacities.

In September 2017, Madhav, the partys general secretary and in-charge of the Northeast, and Sarma appointed KJ Alphons, a Christian bureaucrat-turned-politician from Kerala, the poll in-charge for Meghalaya.

Alphons had spent several of his student years in Meghalaya and had strong links with the Church and Christian leaders.

The appointment of Alphons and Kohli well before the election was announced showed that the party was conscious of its limitation and chances in Meghalaya, a second BJP leader said.

The beef issue

In July last year, two local senior leaders walked out of the party over the beef controversy, setting off alarm bells in Delhi. They were not allowed to hold a beef party to mark the third year of the Modi government.

The BJP swung into action, with Sarma asking local leaders to avoid the controversy. At the same time, Madhav alerted the partys national leadership that the actions of the fringe groups in the Hindi heartland would hurt the partys prospects in the Northeast.

It took us months to convince our anxious local leaders that the BJP was not for regulating eating habits, a third BJP leader said. I remember that we had to address a one-and-a-half-hour-long press conference at the peak of the controversy to allay fears of our leaders and public on this issue.

Three months later, the state BJP said the Centre had no intention to ban beef in Meghalaya, as livestock was a state subject.

The very fact that the Congress campaign is focused on branding the BJP as anti-Christian, despite being in power in the state for 15 years, confirmed there is a surge in favour of us, Kohli adds.

But the fear that the party could impose its agenda has not fully disappeared.

Poll alliance

The next challenge for the party was deciding on an alliance.

After much deliberation, the BJP decided against joining hands with the National Peoples Party of Conrad Sangma even though the NPP is an ally at the Centre.

The idea was to keep a safe distance and protect the NPP from a political backlash, if any, among Christians. The two could come together after the election should the NPP need support to form government, a BJP leader said.

Candidates

The party, which rarely fields minority candidates in north India, kept local dynamics in mind while picking candidates. More than 70% of BJPs 47 candidates in Meghalaya are Christians, a BJP campaign manager said in Shillong on condition of anonymity.

Candidates done, the campaign got the boost from the very top. Modi addressed two and BJP chief Amit Shah three rallies.

Irrespective of how the votes stack up on March 3, the BJPs Meghalaya campaign has given a glimpse of the partys ability to adapt to a different setting.Twelve years after a sex CD involving a 15-year-old brought to light a flesh trade racket, implicating a host of VVIPs in Jammu-Kashmir, including politicians, bureaucrats, and senior cops, the victim continues her long wait for justice.

The sex scandal that was unearthed in 2006, and led to the resignation of then J&K chief minister Omar Abdullah, in 2009, is at the stage of final arguments at a Chandigarh special court here. The high-profile case, which shook the state of J&K, is arguably the oldest at the UT district courts here.

Highlights April 2006: Case unearthed May 2006: Investigations handed over to the CBI September 2006: Case transferred to Chandigarh July 2009: J&K CM Omar Abdullah quits October 2012: Two witnesses turn hostile September 2012: Four main accused acquitted August 2017: Hotel owner Riyaz Ahmed Kawa acquitted January 2018: Application moved February 2018: Former J&K SP Yusuf Mir acquitted in a supplementary case

Girls, including minors, were allegedly forced into prostitution, blackmailed and supplied to top police officials, bureaucrats, politicians and even surrendered militants.

After the CBI special court in Chandigarh rejected the defence plea to recall the main prosecutrix for further examination in January this year, the order in this case of immoral trafficking and rape is expected to be out in March. The defence counsel will be presenting his final arguments at the trial court here, starting Monday.

As the high-profile case moves to its final arguments, HT takes a look at the multitude of twists and turns its taken in the course of these 12 long years.

How the scandal was unearthed

The scandal broke in the summer of 2006 after a pornographic CD was handed over to the police. The police questioned two girls and the alleged kingpin, Sabeena. After grilling them, they discovered the names of 56 people allegedly involved in the racket.

According to the chargesheet, some men from one of the girls mohalla received the three CDs containing obscene images and videos of the girl. A Class VII student of a school in Srinagar, the 15-year-old girl was forced into prostitution by Sabeena and her husband, Abdul Hamid Bullah, when she went to them to seek monetary help for her family. The duo, who ran a brothel, allegedly began to supply the girl to various officials. Sabeena and her husband were subsequently booked for running a brothel, and living on the earnings of prostitution. The couple, however, died of natural causes during the pendency of the case.

Members of one Samaj Sudhar Committee in the state took it upon themselves to lodge a formal complaint with the police after they got hold of the video clippings, and the content of the three CDs was transferred into one.

The Jammu and Kashmir High Court had even ordered that the persons named by the prosecutrix be subjected to Test Identification Parade (TIP) before a judicial magistrate. These were persons who allegedly had intercourse with the victim between January 2003 and January 2006.

During the investigation, various hoteliers and guest house owners besides police officials were also booked for criminal conspiracy among other charges. A supplementary challan was filed against them, but most of them were acquitted for want of adequate evidence.

Who were the VIPs charged

The then chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir, Ghulam Nabi Azad, asked the Central Bureau of Investigation to probe the matter following a letter by his deputy Muzaffar Hussain Beig.

The CBI arrested two former J&K ministers, Ghulam Ahmed Mir and Raman Mattoo, for their alleged involvement in the case. Former J&K additional advocate general Anil Sethi was also arrested in the case soon afterwards.

By June end that year, CBI filed the first chargesheet against nine people. Among them were Border Security Force (BSF) DIG SK Padhi and deputy superintendent of police Mohammad Ashraf Mir. One of the senior most IAS officers in the state, Iqbal Khanday, who was principal secretary to former chief minister Mufti Muhammad Sayeed, was also arrested.

During the trial, charges were framed against 14 accused and the Supreme Court transferred the case to Chandigarh the same year.

The accused were charged under Sections 376 (rape) of the Ranbir Penal Code (RPC) and 5 of the Immoral Trafficking Prevention Act, among other charges. The alleged kingpin Sabeena and her husband Abdul Hamid Bullah were also charged with criminal conspiracy.

As per the chargesheet, the then 15-year-old prosecutrix had approached Sabeena for monetary help. Sabeena laced the victims drink with a sedative following which she was sexually assaulted and given 500. Afterwards, the victim was raped on multiple occasions.

Subsequently, the name of then J&K chief minister Omar Abdullah also surfaced in the CBI chargesheet, which led to him quitting as the CM in July 2009. However, as the case progressed, most of the accused were acquitted for lack of evidence. In addition, several witnesses also turned hostile.

VIPS named in the case Former J&K ministers Ghulam Ahmad Mir and Raman Mattoo Former BSF deputy inspector general KS Padhi Former additional advocate general Anil Sethi Former deputy superintendent of police Mohammad Ashraf Mir Former chief secy Iqbal Khandey

The Long Haul to Justice

Given the sensitivity of the case, the prolonged trial and frequent adjournments have raised several questions. While the present public prosecutor in the matter, KP Singh, blames it on the large number of witnesses in the case, defence counsel Rabindra Pandit says it was also because many of these witnesses had to come from J&K to Chandigarh to record their statements. Many a time, the matter was adjourned since they couldnt turn up due to curfews, poor law and order situation or lack of flights to Chandigarh, added the defence lawyer.

The chargesheet also includes the names of 70 witnesses. Lack of documentary evidence also led to the usually long trial in the matter, which was transferred to Chandigarh on the directions of the apex court in the interest of fair investigations. The involvement of big names from the region shouldnt interfere with the objective viewing of the matter, the SC had held.

What is the current status

In an interesting turn of events in the sex scandal, the special CBI court here denied the defence plea to recall the prosecutrix for further examination. The accused had moved an application in this regard, which was declined by the special court, citing an amendment under the CrPC. The court had said that prosecutrix cannot be recalled once her statement had been recorded, to avoid harassment among other concerns. Subsequently, the victim, who is now in her late 20s, filed a petition before the Punjab and Haryana high court stating that she wanted to appear before the court and was willing to record her statement again. The petition that was to be heard on February 22 was adjourned and the matter will now come up before the HC on Monday.

Meanwhile, after representing the prosecution for all these years, the case got a new prosecutor only a fortnight ago with advocate KP Singh replacing advocate RK Handa. Sources said Handa was replaced after additional district and sessions judge at special CBI court, Gagan Geet Kaur, noticed his alleged bias towards the accused.

The last to be acquitted in the supplementary case was Muhammad Yusuf Mir, former SP of the Jammu and Kashmir Police, after the victim turned hostile. Earlier, in April last year, Riyaz Ahmed Kawa was acquitted for running a brothel at Imperial Hotel.

Six more people acquitted between 2012 and 2013 in the supplementary challan included Muhammad Iqbal Khandey, former chief secretary; Raman Mattu,former minister; Absar Ahmed Dar, a police official; Hilal Ahmed Shah and Ghulam Ahmed Mir.No shelling from the Pakistani side was experienced in villages near the Line of Control (LoC) in north Kashmirs Uri on Sunday, but villagers, scared that the firing will resume, continued to move to rehabilitation camps in safer zones, officials said.

Officials manning four such camps said the number of people migrating out of their villages after intermittent firing for a week had crossed 1,000. While nearly 800 people are staying in the makeshift camps, the rest are putting up with relatives in Uri. People have been moving out from Chirunda, Silikote, Mothal Hathlanga, Soura, Balkote, and Tilawari villages.

More than 200 people from these villages moved to safer locations on Sunday, according to the officials. Firing from across the border has stopped after an intense spell of shelling on Saturday morning. The shelling damaged scores of houses and forced hundreds of people, especially those living in Silikote and Tilawari, to leave their homes.

People are still migrating because you cannot rule out that shelling and firing will not happen. It has been happening for a week now and can happen again. People are scared, said Sagar D Doifode, sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) of Uri. We have to observe for the next two to three days. Our camps will run till the situation improves.

The camps have been established at the government college, two government higher secondary schools and a town hall in Uri. The district administration has directed government officials manning the four camps to remain close by even at night.

Doifode issued an advisory on Saturday, asking people to remain on the ground floor of their homes, not venture out unnecessarily, and ignore rumours.

Jammu and Kashmir rural development minister Abdul Haq Khan visited the camps on Sunday. It is our misfortune that two countries are fighting and the people Jammu and Kashmir are bearing the brunt of that. People living on the borders are suffering and getting killed. Children are suffering, their schools are shut. It is important that the two countries talk so that the people of Jammu and Kashmir can be saved from this, Khan told local mediapersons.

Three civilians were wounded last Monday after Pakistani forces opened fire across the LoC in Uri, and since then there has been intermittent firing.

Last Tuesday, a Border Security Force (BSF) jawan succumbed to injuries sustained in firing by Pakistani forces in Tangdhar area of the frontier Kupwara district.

Pakistan violated the 2003 ceasefire agreement with India 882 times last year along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir, according to reports.

India accuses Pakistani soldiers of providing cover firing to help militants cross over and carry out attacks in Kashmir, a charge that Pakistan denies.A second-year Kashmiri student of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Bhubaneswar, has been missing since more than a fortnight, catching the eye of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and the Intelligence Bureau (IB). His father, a schoolteacher, is camping in Odisha for a week, hoping for his return.

MBBS student Suhail Aijaz, 20, from J&Ks Kupwara district left his hostel in AIIMS, Bhubaneswar, on the afternoon of February 9 after telling his friends he was going to attend a friends wedding in Chandigarh, said police. He told them he would return by February 16, police added. Suhail, however, did not return and AIIMS officials intimated police on February 18.

AIIMS officials said NIA and IB officials have started investigations into Suhails mysterious disappearance. We have given all information that the NIA and IB officials sought about him, said Dr Prabhas Ranjan Mishra, vice-dean of the institute.

Dr Mishra said they also found a letter from Suhails room addressed to his father, Aijaz Ahmed, and friends that stated he was sorry for not measuring up to their expectations. We have shared the letter with the authorities. Bhubaneswar deputy commissioner of police Satyabrata Bhoi said Aijazs mobile number was last tracked to Kolkata. The phone has been switched off since then, said Bhoi.

Suhails father, a schoolteacher in Kupwara, landed in Bhubaneswar a week ago and is devastated by his sons disappearance. He was the most gifted among my six children. On February 9, he told his brother not to call him for the next three to four days as he would be giving his mobile phone for repair. He said he would call back as soon as his phone was repaired. When he did not call for about a week, we were worried, but found his phone switched off, said Ahmed.

Then I reached AIIMS Bhubaneswar and was told he left the hostel without telling his professors. Worried about him, I deposited Rs 5,000 in his SBI account as he did not have more than Rs 2,500 when he left, said Ahmed.

I dont know why he disappeared like this. I feel cheated. I just hope he comes back safely, said Ahmed, who has asked the police to scan the call records of his son for the last month. Police said Suhails ATM card had not been used after February 9.

Before leaving the hostel, Suhail had told one of his batchmates he had failed to get a train reservation.

He said he would manage without a ticket, the batchmate said on Saturday.

Suhail had failed in physiology and anatomy courses in the first year and wanted to repeat the course. However, he cleared both the papers in the supplementary examination, the results of which were declared last month. AIIMS registrar BB Mishra said, He may not have been a brilliant student, but he was good. His results were nothing to be panicky about.

Police are closely monitoring the case in the light of a Kashmiri student from Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), Mannan Wani, disappearing and reportedly ending up with militant outfit Hizbul Mujahideen outfit in January.

A picture of Wani, 26, a geology research scholar at AMU, holding a grenade launcher went viral on social media. The text on the picture said Wani hailed from Lolab area of Kupwara district in north Kashmir, and his code was Hamzah Bhai.Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the nation on Sunday in his monthly radio address Mann Ki Baat programme.

This is the 41st edition of the Mann Ki Baat programme, which is broadcast on All India Radio (AIR), Doordarshan and also on the Narendra Modi mobile application.

Ahead of his address, Prime Minister Modi took to Twitter to ask people to share their views, ideas, and suggestions.

Here are the highlights:

11.28am: PM Modi wishes the country ahead of Holi on March 2.

11.26am: PM congratulates people of Elephanta Islands as three villages get electricity for first time after spending 70 years in darkness, says it is a new development phase.

11.25am: Ahead of Womens Day on March 8, Modi recalls the words of Swami Vivekananda, the idea of perfect womanhood is perfect independence.

The Prime Minister says, Today, in every sphere of life, it is our duty to ensure the equal participation of women.

11.22am: Modi says India is moving from women development towards women-led development.

11.20am: I request you to become a part of the revolution of clean energy and green jobs. Turn waste into wealth in your villages, turn gobar into gobar-dhan, PM Modi says.

He about GOBAR-Dhan Yojana and says it will immensely benefit people living in rural areas. He appreciates the Trash Mahotsav in Chhattisgarh.

11.16am:

BIMSTEC nations came forward for a Joint Disaster Management Exercise. #MannKiBaat pic.twitter.com/Kg49MdA9Um  narendramodi_in (@narendramodi_in) February 25, 2018

11.15am: The Prime Minister lauds heroes who work in relief and rescue operations across the country.

11.12am: We must become a risk-conscious society and understand values of safety. Staying alert and vigilant will help prevent accidents: Modi

11.09am: On National Science Day, I congratulate all our scientists and all those who work in science: Modi

11.08am: Science and technology are value neutral. It is dependent on how we use machines. Here human intention becomes important. Technology must be used only for welfare of humankind: Modi

11.07am:

Leveraging Artificial Intelligence for betterment of all humans. pic.twitter.com/TX9Grsrol7  PMO India (@PMOIndia) February 25, 2018

11.06am: India has a legacy of great scientists. Technology and artificial intelligence must be used towards ensuring welfare of poor and underprivileged: PM Modi

11.01am: The prime ministers address begins with a phone call from Meerut. The caller asks for words of advice for the youth to develop scientific temperament.

10.55am: In his 40th edition of Mann Ki Baat Prime Minister Modi had said, Woman power is playing a pioneering role and establishing milestones and there are no upper limits for Nari Shakti.Ahead of the International Womens Day on March 8, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday pitched for women-led development, adding his government wants to ensure participation of women in every field.

Today, the country is moving forward from the path of women development to women-led development. Today, it is our duty to ensure the participation of women in every field of life, be it social or economic, it is our fundamental duty, Modi said in his radio address Mann Ki Baat.

The PM said that all over the world, programmes are held to mark the International Womens Day and in India, too, women are felicitated with awards for achieving exemplary tasks in various sectors. He added that even identities of a son have been credited to the mother like Yashoda-Nandan, Kaushalya-Nandan, Gandhari-Putra.

Today, our woman power has shown inner fortitude and self-confidence, has made herself self-reliant. Not only has she advanced herself but has carried forward the country and society to newer heights, Modi said.

Modis push for women empowerment has a strong political outlook to define schemes and policies exclusively for women. From the Ujjwala scheme under which poor women get free LPG connection to the bill criminalising instant triple talaq, Modis efforts have widely been seen as attempts to carve out a women-centric vote bank that could well benefit the BJP in the upcoming assembly and general elections.

In his address, he said the dream of New India is one where women are strong and empowered and are equal partners in the development of the country.

The PM added that recently, someone had suggested to him that on March 8, the Centre could felicitate women who are over 100 years old. Why cannot we felicitate mothers and sisters who have completed 100 years in every Indian village or city? Can a program of paying respect for such centenarians be held and can we not reflect upon a life lived long? he said.

He also hailed efforts of a group of women from Jharkhand who organised a hygiene campaign and constructed 1.70 lakh toilets in just 20 days. Modi said they showed that women power was an integral component of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan.

Use AI to make lives of divyangs simpler

In his address, Modi also said that machines were getting smarter through self learning and urged researchers to make use of artificial intelligence (AI) to make the lives of the divyangs (differently abled), farmers and the needy more simpler.

He said through AI, we can be alerted about natural calamities. Can we help the farmers know about their crops return?A person seeking a Congress ticket to contest the coming Madhya Pradesh assembly election will have to deposit Rs 50,000 and it will be non-refundable, the partys state executive committee decided on Sunday.

Congress general secretary and party affairs in-charge for Madhya Pradesh, Deepak Babaria, announced the decision at a press meet. He said the deposit would be made in the party fund.

Babaria denied that the Congress was closing the door on poor candidates. For deserving candidates, money wont be a factor, and we will ask the AICC (All India Congress Committee) to chip in, he said. However, he added that such assistance would be rare.

Babaria, flanked by state Congress president Arun Yadav, said the non-refundable deposit would weed out non-serious ticket seekers. If a candidate does not have the money, he should at least have a support group to finance him, said Babaria. The party needs the money as its financial condition is not great. Also looking at the way the BJP is spending even in by-elections, we will have to be prepared in every way.

The process of selecting candidates would start from March 5 and last till March 15, and prospective candidates would be asked to submit their biodata and list of supporters. We wont allow shakti pradarshan (show of strength) when names are being submitted. They will have ample opportunity to show their strength during protests organised by the party, said Babaria.

He also announced the Congress would gherao the assembly on March 12 to commemorate the anniversary of Mahatma Gandhis Dandi March and celebrate it as BJP Quit MP movement.

Reacting to the Congress announcement on the non-refundable deposit, BJP state spokesperson Rajneesh Agrawal wondered if this was a ploy to turn black money into white.

Babaria clarifies statement on candidate age

Clarifying his reported statement in Jabalpur that people more than 60 years old would not be given tickets for the assembly election, Babaria said he had been misquoted. Making policy decisions is the AICCs prerogative. All I had said was that I would request candidates above 60 who have contested elections several times to give a chance to the younger generation. Deserving candidates, even if above 60, will be given tickets, he said.

With the states budget session starting on Monday, Babaria warned that the party would protest if the governor parrots the lies of the government about development.

Parties are gearing up for assembly elections this year. The term of the current MP assembly ends on January 7, 2019.Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti on Sunday ordered a probe into allegations of nepotism in the selection of her cousin, Syed Aroot, for a job in the states Khadi and Village Industries Board (KVIB).

Mufti directed officials to hold a high level inquiry into the procedural inadequacies in the selection process of the KVIB, the results of which were declared a few days ago.

The inquiry would be held by a committee headed by chief secretary BB Vyas and it has been asked to submit its report in a short time, a government spokesman said. It did not set a specific time frame. for the probe.

Aroot tendered his resignation on Sunday.

Syed Aroot Madni, son of PDP vice-president Sartaj Madni and cousin of chief minister Mehbooba Mufti, was selected for the post of executive officer of the Board. Peer Kashif Hussain, the nephew of PDP general secretary Peerzada Mansoor  who is also the vice chairman of the KVIB itself  made it to the waiting list for the post of assistant executive officer.

The selections triggered a flurry of accusation against the CM and her party PDP as many candidates suspected that the selection process might have been rigged.

The fears gained further traction after a letter by state law secretary Abdul Majid Bhat, who was also controller of the JKKVIB recruitment exam, to IGP CID during the recruitment process, surfaced in media.

The letter, dated September 4, 2017, of which HT has a copy, stated there were some complaints that the examination process was not fair and wanted the CID to make in depth verification so that the examination process remains transparent and no one was favoured. It was not clear if the CID took any action.

Before the letter became public, officials had defended the recruitment process saying a fair selection process was ensured.

A call to Bhat went unanswered. Chairman KVIB and states industries minister Chander Parakash Ganga and vice chairman KVIB Peerzada Mansoor did not pick calls from HT. Government spokesman Naeem Akhtar also did not respond.

Sartaj Madni said that his son has tendered resignation from the job. We dont want other selected candidates to suffer, he said. On Friday he had dismissed allegations of nepotism saying children of political workers also have the right to apply for jobs and compete.

The opposition National Conference alleged that the selection list of KVIB was full of appointments made on the basis of relations and affiliations to the CMs family and party. The party including its working president Omar Abdullah has demanded quashing of the list and a court monitored judicial probe.

Withdrawal of application by Sartaj Madnis son doesnt end the case but indicates he wouldnt have been able to stand scrutiny of a probe, the party tweeted.Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Sunday continued to reach out to the Lingayats, a dominant community in the Mumbai-Karnataka region of northern Karnataka, saying the Indian Parliament was based on the values espoused by 12th-century philosopher Basavanna, who is considered to be the founder of the Lingayat sect.

Last time I was in Karnataka I went to the Anubhava Mantapa and realised that Basavannas thinking is there in our Constitution. Its true that Parliament building is in Delhi, but it is based on the values of Basavanna, Gandhi said.

He was addressing a rally at Chikkapadasalagi village on the second leg of the Janashirvada Yatra in Karnataka in the build-up to the assembly elections expected in a few months. Earlier in the day, the Congress president gave offerings, called Bhagina, to mark the filling up of the Chikkapadasalagi barrage.

Irrigation was on top of Gandhis agenda in this arid region, and he highlighted the state governments work, saying it had allocated three times the money the previous Bharatiya Janata Party-led government had given for the sector in its five-year tenure.

The Congress government has spent Rs 58,000 crore on irrigation projects over the past five years, compared to Rs 18,000 spent by the previous government, Gandhi said.

The Congress president also continued his attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying he was only paying lip service to Basavanna and had not followed his principles.

Modi talks about corruption but doesnt do as he promises After demonetisation, you made ordinary folks stand in line. But Nirav Modi, Vijay Mallya and Lalit Modi fled from the country. What were you doing? Please do what you say and only then can you take Basavannas name, Gandhi said.

At the meeting, chief minister Siddaramaiah said the PM refuses to speak about the problems faced by farmers, Dalits, Adivasis and minority communities. But he continues to speak about Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas, he said.

Later, addressing another rally in Mudhol, Gandhi said the United Kingdom and United States of America had experienced democracy only for three centuries but Basavanna had set up a parliament 900 years ago. When BJP ministers talk about 6 changing the Constitution they disrespect the ideals of Basavanna, he said, referring to the remarks of Union minister Ananthkumar Hegde that the BJP had come to power to change the Constitution.

Reacting to Gandhi and Siddaramaiahs accusations, BJP MP Pralhad Joshi said the Congress had ruled the country since the time of Rahul Gandhis great grandfather, and it was he who had to answer for the lack of development work during that time rather than the BJP or Prime Minister Modi.It is a virtual free run for prisoners inside the high-security central jail prison here where nearly 300 unauthorised mobile phones are operational with the inmates of the prison where radicalisation of undertrials and petty criminals is posing a growing threat, according to an official report.

The report has been shared with the Jammu and Kashmir Home Department from time to time but action appeared to have not been taken to check this trend.

These issues have come to light during an internal probe being carried out in the aftermath of escape of dreaded Lashker-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorist Mohammed Naveed Jhatt, a Pakistani national, who fled from police custody on February 6 after killing two policemen.

According to a state intelligence report, which was submitted to the state home department, nearly 300 mobile phones are operational within the jail premises which has become a den for radicalisation of youths lodged for petty crimes.

The then Director General of Prisons S K Mishra, who was shifted after the dramatic escape of Jhatt at busy SMHS hospital, had responded to the report, saying that the mobile jammer installed in the jail by Electronics Corporation of India Limited (ECIL) has not been functioning.

The technology adopted by the ECIL appears to be obsolete. The jammers are no longer able to block any signals or mobile phones, he said, adding that the matter was reported to the state home department through several communications but the jail authorities have not received any response.

On radicalisation, the report said the sermons are given on Jehad... The basic tenets of religion are overlooked and emphasis is laid on radical aspects. Such religious sermons have a deep psychological impact on inmates and youth in particular who develop inclination towards joining militancy or getting recruited as overground workers (for militants), the report said.

There is no segregation of prisoners and people arrested for charges under terrorism or separatism are treated with higher degree of respect by the inmates. The inmates are allotted barracks based on their affiliation of (terror) organisation, the report said, adding the decision is taken by old prisoners themselves.

It said the jail, which is expected to act as a correctional facility, is instead being used as a place of religious indoctrination and militant recruitment.

It is being observed that even petty criminal who spend some time in jails are today coming out as highly indoctrinated individuals with religious motivation to support or even join militant ranks.

Mishra, who is at present posted as chairman-cum-managing director of Jammu and Kashmir Police Housing corporation, said segregation of high profile militants is unachievable in central jail Srinagar because of very poor and old structure.

Anyone can go to any barrack and intermingle and listen to the sermons in the barracks, he had replied.As elections approach in Nagaland, the popular discourse in the state is dominated by one question: How much will religion influence the polls in a state where tribal and local allegiances have traditionally dominated a voters choice?

The election campaign was roiled by competing promises from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which pledged free trips to Jerusalem to 50-odd senior citizens every year and the Congress, which announced subsidised travel to the Christian holy land  in an apparent bid to woo Christian voters, who form 88% of the population in the state.

But the promises appeared to have not made much headway and voters said their focus remained on development, jobs and infrastructure development. We need more jobs so that we are not forced to travel to Delhi or Mumbai... said Lily Angami, a student in Dimapur.

Experts say the Jerusalem promises underline a shift in the states politics, where religion is playing a major role for the first time. In the state, people vote more on tribal and party allegiances but that is now slowly changing. The church is playing a major role, said D Kuolie, a professor at the University of Nagaland.

The Nagaland Baptist Church Council, which represents 1,500-odd churches in the state, has publicly expressed its reservations about the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), which is the BJPs ideological mentor. It also feels that the promises are empty rhetoric.

I personally dont feel it will have any impact in electoral process for either the BJP or the Congress. I feel we cannot have a personalised scheme for the Christian majority, said NBCC general secretary Zelhou Keyho.

Locals point out that the state has faced an exodus of young people amid many stalled projects, poor condition of roads and industrial infrastructure and shrinking avenues for jobs.

Our people want infrastructure. We dont want anything else... We can pray here. There is no need to go to Jerusalem, said Theja Theriah, a leader of the influential Chakhesang tribe.

Both of the main parties in Nagaland  the Naga Peoples Front and the Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP)  say the promises wont make any difference. Why should we go to Jerusalem? Why not organise pilgrimage in Nagaland or anywhere else in India? asked Sebastian Zumvu of the NPF.

The BJP defended itself, saying the promise was part of a broader plan for senior citizens. Every Christian aspires to visit the holy land, which was not possible for everyone. This is why out party decided to give special concession... said V Lhoungu, state president of the party.

The Congress also justified the promise. We know that a majority of Nagas are Christians, keeping this in view, the promise was made in such a way to help the general public, said Moa Imchen, a leader of the Congress.Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat on Sunday called upon swayamsevaks to unite Hindus and work for the countrys benefit.

Hindus should be united. Divisions in society over caste and violence over the issue are the biggest hurdles in achieving this unity and there are forces that take advantage of it, he said addressing a gathering of swayamsevaks who had turned up for the Rashtrodaya Sammelan here from 14 districts of west UP.

We have to understand that all Hindus, irrespective of different ways of worship and way of life, are brothers... The entire society has to admire the ideology of the RSS, he said.

Appreciating the work being done by the RSS, he said: We admire the Vasudhaiv Kutumbkam (world is one family) ideology. The entire world is now looking towards India to build a society where people could live in peace and trust.

He said hardliner Hindutva symbolises its commitment for generosity, non-violence, integrity and Brahmcharya.

Avdheshanand Giri Maharaj, Acharya Mahamandaleshwar of the Juna Akhara presided over the Sammelan.The Delhi High Court has asked the trial court to review once a month progress of the probe into the disappearance of a St Stephens Hospital doctor as well as into the alleged murder of his colleague of which he is accused.

A bench of justices S Muralidhar and I S Mehta passed the order disposing a plea filed by Vandana Gupta who had moved the court to ascertain the whereabouts of her son Dr Suyash Gupta.

The bench has recorded in its order that a status report was filed by the Delhi Police detailing the probe undertaken by the Sabzi Mandi Police to ascertain the whereabouts of the doctor.

It also stated that the report could not be shared with the doctors mother at this stage. This status report, therefore, be kept in a sealed cover by the registry and not be permitted for inspection except under orders of the court, it added.

The doctor, who has been missing since August last year, is a prime suspect in the death case of fellow doctor Shashwat Pande.

Addressing the concerns of the mother that the status reports were merely cut-paste copies of earlier reports and that no real progress was being made in the case, the bench noted that every possible effort was being made to find him.

Having gone through the status reports presented thus far, including the one presented to it in a sealed cover, the court is unable to accept the above submission. The petitioner should rest assured that every possible effort is being made by the police from all possible angles to unearth the truth, the order states.

The high court has directed the metropolitan magistrate hearing the matter to list the case at least once every month to review the progress made in the investigation.

In her habeas corpus, the mother through her counsel Jayant Bhatt had sought the high courts intervention to direct the police to find her son who has been missing since the day of the killing.

Pande was working as an intern in the radiology department of the hospital and was found dead inside the hospitals CT scan lab in August last year. His throat had been slit, presumably with a surgical blade.The ruling BJP and the opposition Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) are in loggerheads over the owner of a sport utility vehicle (SUV) that ran over nine children and injured around 20 outside their government school at Dharampur village in Bihars Muzaffarpur district on Saturday.

RJD leader Tejaswi Yadav alleged on Sunday that the vehicle belongs to a BJP leader and accused the state government of trying to save the fugitive accused.

The Nitish led government is trying to save the culprit, Manoj Baitha, as he is an active member of ruling coalition partner BJP, alleged the leader of the opposition in the state assembly, as he demanded strict action against those responsible for the deaths.

The BJPs district unit chief Ramsurat Rai was quick to counter that Yadavs allegations were wrong, saying Baitha is neither our party worker nor our leader.

Police have registered a case against the owner and driver of the vehicle. Station house officer of Meenapur police station Sona Prasad Singh said the car belongs to Baitha, a BJP leader from Sitamarhi district, and he is at large.

Baitha was allegedly in the vehicle when the driver lost control and ran over the children. They escaped soon after. The vehicle has a BJP sign and the name of Baitha was inscribed on it, Singh said.

District transport officer Nazir Ahmad corroborated the police officers remarks. The SUV was registered in his office on September 21, 2010, in the name of Baitha, he said.

Angry over the deaths, residents vandalised the school, beat up teachers and set ablaze chairs and benches there.Two days after a parcel bomb killed a newly wed man and his grandmother, while critically injuring his bride, Odisha police said it was sent from Chhattisgarh capital Raipur bearing the name of one RK Sharma.

Soumyasekhar Sahu, a software engineer who worked in Bengaluru, was killed along with his grandmother Jemamani Sahu, 85, in their Patnagarh home on February 23 afternoon when the parcel bomb wrapped as a wedding gift exploded.

Soumyas wife Reema Sahu was initially admitted to a hospital in Sambalpur district, and was shifted to SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack on Sunday. She has extensive burn injuries on chest, face, abdomen and right hand. She was admitted to the plastic surgery department. Her vitals are stable now, but she is in a state of shock. It is difficult to make any assumptions about her health status, said Dr Bhubananada Maharana of the hospital.

The couples wedding was on February 18. The parcel was sent from Raipur on February 15 and reached Patnagarh town on February 20, said police. But it was delivered on February 23.

Police said the parcel did not have any phone number or other details. Patnagarh police station inspector Bareni Das said his team was looking into all conspiracy angles. The bomb was very powerful. We will know of the composition after forensic examination, said Das. He said Odisha police was coordinating with their Chhattisgarh counterparts to solve the case.

The deceased engineers father, Rabindra Sahu, has demanded a CBI probe.The members of an impoverished Muslim community living in more than half a dozen villages in Barans Kishanganj, who earn a living by performing street acts with animals, are jobless following ban of exhibition of animals.

The nomadic community members popularly known as madaris, say they have no other alternate means of making earning a livelihood other than street performance with their pet animals.

We have been facing difficulties to earn a living with the advent of television and cinema that badly hit our profession and now with the ban on the use of animals like sloth bear, monkeys, snakes, mangoose and other animals during our madari shows has given us a big jolt forcing us to live in extreme poverty, says Khatim Ali, 45, a resident of Heerapur village.

We roam throughout the country during the summer and winter months and return home in the rainy season but life here in the village is difficult for us as we live in mud huts, he says.

Nazim, 42, a fellow madari, says more than 50 families of the community living in the village from the last 40 years, neither have proper dwellings nor have been sanctioned houses under the prime ministers housing scheme or any other state government schemes.

Most of the community members are nomadic and have no agricultural land of their own, he says.

Eighty-year-old Shayra Madari says that although the impoverished families receive wheat under the public distribution system, it is not enough and the community should get other benefits, including housing and financial assistance from the government.

The government should patronize our performance, which is on the decline and will be extinct with time, she says.

Firoz Khan, social activist and coordinator of the Hadauti Research Training Centre in Baran, says there are more than 145 impoverished madari families living in more than half a dozen villages across the district apart 35 families in Baran town and the nomadic tribe should also be provide government benefits similar to the Sahariya tribes people.

Kishanganj block development officer Diwakar Meena, says that efforts are being on to sanction houses to the members of the community who were earlier left out in the Priminister Aawas Yojana so that housing facility can be provided to those who lack proper dwellings.

A plan will be chalked out to provide benefits of government schemes to the people of the madari community as well, he says.Just imagine Delhi for a moment in the first few decades of the turn of the last century. Most parts of it were still forested, and few of the colonies the city is now known for existed. People from other parts of the country had just started moving to Delhi for work. It was around then that a gentleman called P G Chidambaram from Vanur-Thindivanam in Tamil Nadu decided that the countrys capital had to be introduced to the food of his state.

And that was the birth of Chidambarams eatery in a small shack in Lodhi Colony in 1930. After the Partition, when the Meharchand and Khanna Markets in the Lodhi Colony area came up, Chidambarams moved to Khanna Market  and it has been there since then, serving delicious Tamil food to the people of the city.

I first went there decades ago, as a callow teenager looking to buy a cycle from a shop in Khanna Market. I saw Chidambarams and, possibly with some money left over after I had bought the cycle, treated myself to a dosa.

I have gone back there many times since then, and always enjoyed my idlis or thhalis. For the food is simple, wholesome  and delicious.

The place has expanded over time and is now run by Kumar and Raju Chidambaram, while its catering outfit is looked after by C Balasumbramium. Chidambarams New Madras Hotel has a comprehensive menu, which includes everything from various kinds of dosas, idlis and uthappams to rice preparations and mini meals. The menu has been tweaked over time, too, with a Chinese menu and additions such as the Chidambaram rava special dosa (rava dosa stuffed with potato and paneer cooked in butter).

I am not greatly fond of paneer  it occupies a position just below gobi Manchurian in my food hierarchy  so I avoided all that and went straight to the dishes that I really like  soft idlis and dosa. The idli was a special masala idli which came with a thick crust of gun powder or podi. The dosa was a special one too  a three-in-one dosa. And I had Chidambarams popular dahi vada.

The idli was superb  soft and hot and tangy with the gun powder. The three-in-one rava dosa came as three mini dosas  one filled with podi, one with potatoes, and one, alas, with paneer (though I might as well admit I quite enjoyed it). I had these with a bowl of hot sambar and three kinds of chutneys  green chutney, tomato chutney and coconut-dal chutney.

The dahi vada was excellent, too. Soft vadas were in a creamy, mildly sweet curd flavoured with tiny boondis and little specks of ginger. All in all, it was an excellent meal.

Chidambarams rice menu has various kinds of dishes  rice prepared with tamardind, lemon, tomato or curd. There is also fried rice and sambar rice. The dosa list includes plain dosa, masala dosa, butter plain, onion masala, Mysore masala dosa, paper masala, onion rava, coconut rava, and so on.

There is a sitting area inside Chidambarams, which also delivers food and caters. The little place that was among the first to offer idlis and dosa in Delhi has come a long way since then. And it has certainly done its bit in opening up the food world of Dilliwallahs.

RECIPE: Chettinad podi

Ingredients: 2 tbs vegetable oil, 80g arhar dal, 100g safed urad dal, 20-30 mild dried whole red chillies, 2tbsp curry leaves, 1tsp cumin seeds, a pinch of asafoetida, salt to taste.

Method: Heat oil in a kadhai. Add the urad dal and fry. Add the arhar dal and fry some more. When golden, remove and keep aside. Add the remaining oil and fry the chillies. Add the curry leaves and then the cumin seeds. When they splutter, add the asafoetida. Season. Remove. When cool, grind the two together. Serve with hot idlis  or even steamed rice.

Follow @htlifeandstyle for moreHow liveable is your city? To answer this question, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is collecting information on basic amenities such as water supply, waste management, economic growth and grievance redress system, among others.

The urban development ministry had begun the exercise to rank 116 cities on the liveability index in June last year.

The survey will tell you where your city stands in terms of quality of life and the standard of its public amenities, the citys public transport, the air you breathe and the quality of health and education system.

The Centre launched the initiative to rank the quality of life in cities with a population of more than 1 million each. The cities have to submit the data by March 10.

After a workshop in Delhi last month, which saw the participation of representatives from 116 cities, the BMC started to collect information on civic amenities such as water supply, sewerage disposal, waste management, transport facilities, among others.

The survey will also consider citizen feedback on various services. There are certain services, which are provided by other agencies such as traffic management and security. We are in the process of collecting data from agencies related to the police, BEST and various departments of the state, said Chandrakant Chore, deputy municipal commissioner, improvements.

The results are expected to act as a database for decision making on policies and city planning. The liveability index will rate cities on 77 parameters, including how they fare on terms of grievance redress of citizens, pollution, availability of water and power, upkeep of historical buildings, increase in tourist footfalls, extent of crimes recorded against women, children and elderly, traffic surveillance system and education.After repeated complaints of monkeys entering residential areas in search of food, forest officials rescued 36 monkeys from Mumbai suburbs in the 25 days of February  an average of more than one per day.

On some days, we rescued more than three monkeys in 12 hours. They have entered homes in the slums and multi-storeyed apartments and damaged property. Thankfully, there have been no instances of them attacking people, said Santosh Kank, range forest officer, Mumbai.

The forest officials said people should use firecrackers to scare away the monkeys, but at the same time must ensure that they do not hurt the animal.

We tried this method at a few societies in Parel and suburbs. The monkeys did not return after we used firecrackers, said Kank. He added that incidents of monkeys from forest areas visiting residential colonies have increased because people feed them.

When they return for more food and do not find it, they become violent. Following this, the residents file complaints. We appeal to the citizens to refrain from feeding the monkeys and inform the forest department if they are spotted regularly, Kank said.

Deputy conservator forest, Thane territorial, Jitendra Ramgaokar, said the forest department had submitted a proposal to the Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC ) and Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC)to help control the issue in November 2017. However, none of the civic bodies responded. He added all other civic bodies allow capturing of monkeys.

The population of monkeys is increasing rapidly and such incidents [monkeys visiting residential colonies in search of food] are expected to rise. Besides not feeding them and ensuring proper waste management at societies, the civic body needs to implement an animal birth control (ABC) programme, said Ramgaokar. Despite being understaffed, the department is handling cases reported from all over Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR).

However, BMC officials refuted the claims about receiving any proposal from the forest department. We will help the forest department carry out an ABC or similar programmes to address the issue and provide postoperative care once they discuss it with us, said Sanjay Tripathi, director, Byculla zoo.

Captured monkeys were being released in Thane territorial forest areas, said Kank.

Animal welfare officers said it is risky to release the monkeys in the Thane area, considering the problem of territorial dominance. They will become more violent, said Pawan Sharma, wildlife warden, Thane, confirming that captures had increased across MMR. There is an immediate need for departments, including the BMC and the TMC, to work together to resolve the problem. Training for forest staff working on ground also needs upgradation, he added.The Azad Maidan police have arrested three government servants from the Government Liquidators Office on Sunday for allegedly cheating the high court by cooking up fake names of victims to claim refund in the multi-crore City Limousines and City Realcom Scam.

The arrested men have been identified as Keshav Satpute, additional divisional clerk and Gopal Bagul and Santosh Chavan, both working as peons. Officers from the Azad Maidan police station said they may arrest 26 more people, including Ramdas Yadav from Sangli district, who claimed to be victims in the two cases filed against M/s City Limousines (India) Ltd and M/s City Realcom India Ltd with the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Mumbai police. The two City Group companies had allegedly duped over 70,000 people across the country by promising high returns on their investments. The EOW had then arrested seven persons, including Sayyed Masood, chairman of the company and seized properties worth nearly Rs200 crore. In December 2010, the high court had appointed the liquidators office to make a list of investors who were duped by the two companies and the money they had lost in the scam.

According to the police, in April 2017, the police had received a complaint from the liquidators office against the clerk and the peons for allegedly extorting a sum of Rs5.54 lakh from Yadav and 25 alleged investors over a period of two years from 2007 to 2009. The three government servants had allegedly extorted the money for preparing documents and affidavits to include the names of the 26 people as investors from 2013 instead of 2015. Yadav had written an email complaint to the liquidators office alleging that the peons and the clerk extorted money to make forged sanction letters required to claim the money, but most of them had not got those sanction letters, including Yadav.

Based on the complaint of government liquidator Pankaj Shrivastav we had registered the complaint against the clerk and two peons including the 26 fake investors, said Manoj Kumar Sharma, deputy commissioner of police (zone 1). The police said they arrested the three men on Sunday after collecting all the evidence against the trio. We are going to make more arrests in the case based on further investigation, said PS Vakhre, senior police inspector of Azad Maidan police station.A sessions court on Tuesday acquitted a 29-year-old embroidery worker, five years after his wifes father lodged a complaint under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

There is no evidence to prove that she was a minor at the time of their relationship and all evidence indicates that the relationship between the two was consensual, said the bench of judge Surekha Patil.

In her submission to the court, the woman claimed to have been an adult when they began their relationship in 2013.

Her father soon learnt that she was pregnant. After the man said he was willing to marry her, her father insisted on meeting his parents.

A native of Hubli in West Bengal, he went to his village to get his parents. Out of fear that he had fled, the womans father lodged a complaint with the Agripada police claiming that his daughter was a minor.

The man was arrested. Shortly after the arrest, the woman gave birth to twin boys, who died 25 days later. He was later released on bail, following which he married the woman with her fathers consent and the couple gave birth to two children.

The court held that the prosecution could neither prove that the woman was a minor at the time of the incident, nor that rape was committed. The girl has studied till Class 10.

The ossification test revealed that the victims age was between 17 and 18 years. From the evidence available, it is revealed that the relationship between her and the accused was consensual, said the court.

Being a father, the fear of the informant is natural. Only [because] there is fear in mind of informant, court cannot convict the accused, the judge said.Within one financial year, the cost of six major projects being carried out by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) have witnessed nearly a 42% jump.

The projects include Mumbai Sewage Disposal Project (MSDP), upgradation of four civic hospitals and construction of two water tunnels under the 24x7 water supply project. While the total cost of six projects estimated in 2017 was Rs11,789 crore, it has now risen to Rs16,747 crore.

The budget estimate for MSDP has been hiked to Rs14,368 crore in 2018-19 from Rs9,845 crore in 2017-18. The MSDP was announced in 2006 with an aim to upgrade the sewerage system and included construction of seven sewage treatment plants at a cost of Rs2,300 crore.

S Narkar, former chief engineer for MSDP, said, Over the past one year, several new components have been added to the project. In 2016, we decided to give preliminary treatment. Now we plan to give secondary and tertiary treatment at the sewage treatment plants.

The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change gave its final nod for setting up of the new plants to treat sewerage being released into the sea, in November 2017.

Another civic official said, Currently, work on the Colaba water treatment plant is nearing completion, whereas tenders for plants at Worli and Dharavi areas have been floated.

According to the BMC, Mumbai generates about 2,100 million litres of sewage daily, of which 1,700 million litres can be reused for non-potable use. The project involves treating sewage ,reusing it, which will save millions of litres in citys reserves.

Similarly, the cost of facelift of four civic hospitals  Bhagwati, Cooper, Leprosy and Shatabdi  has been hiked to Rs1,369 crore from Rs1,219 crore last year. Additional municipal commissioner IA Kundan said, We considered increasing the bed strength from 323 to 490 at Bhagwati hospital. We also made additions in revamp of other hospitals, which is why the cost hike.

Moreover, the cost of two major tunnels from Amar Mahal to Trombay and Amar Mahal to Wadala has increased from Rs725 crore to Rs1,010 crore.

A senior civic official from the hydraulics department said, The cost of tunnel boring machines was estimated in 2016 according to existing rates. However, demand for these machines has increased with projects such as Metro in progress. This has led to cost escalation.

Rajkumar Sharma, coordinator of action for good governance and networking in India (AGNI), an NGO working for accountability in governance, said, I fail to understand the years of delay for up-grade of sewage disposal plants. The civic administration has a lethargic attitude. They say it is a huge project and there are several factors like clearances and consultation that need to be taken into consideration, but a decade-long delay clearly states that there is no seriousness about the project. The BMC is fooling the citizens by delaying the project and increasing its cost every year, which is eventually being burdened upon the taxpayers.This week, the Delhi High Court will hear a petition filed by a Mumbai-based Sindhi cultural group, asking for a government-sponsored television channel in their language.

The demand for a Sindhi language television channel is more than a decade old. In November 2007, Sindhi Sangat, which filed the petition in the high court, had written to the ministry of information and broadcasting asking them to allocate daily time-slots on existing channels till a full-fledged television station was created.

In July 2008, the group wrote to the Central government that if the states (where the community now lives) do not promote a channel in the language, the Central government should do so. They told the government that it was managing an Urdu channel (this languages speakers are also spread across many states) and should use the same standard for a Sindhi language channel.

The community was disappointed when the ministry informed them in July 2011 that Doordarshan, the national broadcaster, was not in a position to start a channel due to financial and staff shortage.

In 2013, when a privately-run bilingual Sindhi-Kachchhi television station in Adipur in Kutch (where a large number of Sindhi speakers settled down after Partition) shut down, Sindhi speakers were crestfallen to lose the only television channel in their language. Almost 80 per cent of the channels programming had been in Sindhi and the rest was Kachchi, a closely-related language. But the businessman who was operating the channel was incurring losses and was not in a position to pay licence fees (for broadcasting rights) to the government. There are Sindhi language television stations broadcasting from Pakistans Sindh province, but the programmes are of not much interest to Indias Sindhis.

After the shutting down of the Kutch television station, Sindhi Sangat decided to file a writ petition in Delhi to get Doordarshan to start a television channel in their language. Sindhi speakers were also asked to send thousands of postcards to the Prime Ministers office to get his attention.

The community says that their language is included in schedule-VIII of the Constitution which lists the countrys official languages, and therefore it becomes obligatory for the government to promote the language and culture. The demand was made by a delegation that included senior lawyer Ram Jethmalani.

Even as they approached the high court, some Sindhis started an online petition to get the governments attention. The petition said that the partition of India uprooted them from their homeland. While they have prospered, it has been at a heavy price; they are losing their cultural roots and identity. The Sindhi language is also fighting a losing battle, especially with the younger generation. The only hope today is the power of the television to reverse this trend. Television without doubt is the most powerful media for promoting any language, says the petition.

The petition did not get many supporters, says Sumit Manglani of Lucknow based Sindh Welfare Society. People are indifferent, says Manglani. And that is because when we settled in India, our first priority was to survive. We learnt Hindi, which was a new language for us, and we worked on ways to sustain ourselves, but in the process lost our language.

As the community prospered, some members felt that their language needed to be revived. We believe that our culture is drawn from the 5,000-year-old Indus civilisation, but the younger generation does not know about this, says Manglani.

Asha Chand of Sindhi Sangat has asked the community to write letters and emails to the Prime Minister, information and broadcasting minister and chief executive of Prasar Bharati (which runs the Doordarshan channels) to demand the television station.

Even as some Sindhis petition the countrys courts for a television station in their language, others are wondering whether the objective could have been achieved in other ways. Of course, we need a television channel in our language, but should you fight the government for this? asks Suresh Rupchandani of the Sindhi Council of India.Pre-empting attacks from the opposition over agrarian crisis during the five-week budget session starting Monday, the Devendra Fadnavis-led government has released state funds to compensate farmers who lost crops to hailstorm and pink bollworm pest. Addressing a press conference at Sahyadri guest house on Sunday, chief minister Fadnavis said he will extend the farm loan waiver to those who could not apply last year. Farmers will be given another chance to register for the waiver from March 1 to March 30, he said.

Crops on 2.63 lakh hectares of land have been affected owing to hailstorm and pink bollworm pest attack. The government has come under attack from opposition parties for allegedly overlooking crop losses and not extending the farm loan waiver.

The government claimed to have credited the loan waiver amount into the accounts of about 32 lakh farmers and said that the rest will get the benefit at the earliest.

Responding to the oppositions boycott of the customary tea party, Fadnavis said the opposition is upset over his governments excellent performance. He said the government has prepared a soft list 54.7lakh beneficiaries for the farm loan waiver and funds have been released for 46.3lakh applicants.

He was accompanied by his cabinet colleagues, while Shiv Sena minister were conspicuous by their absence. BJPs ally Sena has threatened to go solo in the general elections next year.

There are 8.37 lakh accounts with discrepancies and banks have asked us to verify them. As many as 2.76 lakh of them have been cleared and the remaining will soon be cross-checked... After verification, all 67 lakh farmers will soon receive the loan waiver amount, Fadnavis said. He said the district administration has begun disbursing compensation to farmers who suffered losses owing to hailstorm two weeks ago.

Fadnavis said the government has released funds from its own kitty without waiting for help from the Centre for pink bollworm attack.

The government, he said, will unveil Development Control Rules and Development Plan-2034 for Mumbai by March 31.

Govt braces for stormy session as opposition boycotts tea party

Ahead of the budget session of the state legislature on Monday, opposition parties boycotted the customary tea party held by the government, terming it anti farmer and deceptive.

At a press conference held on Sunday, the Congress and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) came together to slam the government for its all-round failure . They also demanded a white paper on Magnetic Maharashtra and Make in Maharashtra, saying that investment and job creating figures claimed by the state government are misleading.

The government has failed in its Raja Dharma (governance), and hence we are seeing farmers deaths. Had the government taken some corrective measure, Dharma Patil (the farmer who committed suicide outside the state secretariat) would not have taken such a drastic step, said Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil, leader of the opposition in the state assembly. The loan waiver decision was taken in a hurry to pacify the farmers. Even after the waiver, about 2,000 farmers have committed suicide, said the Congress leader.

Similarly, NCPs Dhananjay Munde, leader of opposition in the legislative council, said he is yet to meet any farmer, who has benefitted from the loan waiver scheme. Even Dharma Patils family is still struggling to get compensation even after his death, said Munde. He said the countdown for the governments ouster has begun and the Opposition would expose it in the session.

Opposition parties also criticised the government over its inability to attract investments. The Magnetic Maharashtra (an investors summit held from February 18 to 20) was a failure and all the investment figures are misleading, said Vikhe-Patil.

Over the Bhima-Koregoan caste violence in January, Vikhe-Patil said the unrest was the handiwork of the government. Vikhe-Patil demanded an independent inquiry into the Kamala Mills fire. The municipal commissioner  who allowed the hotel rooftop policy  is conducting the probe. This is done to protect the guilty, he said.

The Congress alleged that the government has issued a government resolution to allow appointment of retired officers on special duty, just to rehabilitate Radheshyam Mopalwar, who faced bribery allegations. This was done to facilitate the return of Mopalwar, Vikhe-Patil said.After successfully conducting a training programme for emerging Nepalese talent in the field of acting, the city-based Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) is now set to go global.

According to FTII officials, the ministry of external affairs (MEA) has reacted positively to the FTII conducting training programmes for other countries. MEA officials during our initial interaction have responded very positively. Through Indian missions in other countries we hope to get in touch with people interested in making a career in cinema and aspiring to get trained at FTII, says director of FTII, Bhupenda Kainthola, over the phone.

The focus at this point in time is to train emerging talent - actors and technicians - from various countries in Asia and Africa.

The decision to train aspiring actors from other countries was taken recently when FTII designed a customised course for the Nepalese team. Currently, a group of 20 actors from Nepal are in Pune for a 20-day course, after the Indian embassy in the neighbouring Himalayan country approached the Pune institute for a short-term course.

This was the first time FTII conducted a training programme for foreign nationals. Some of the participants, mostly between the age-group of 25 to 35, are known names in the Nepalese film industry, says Kainthola.

FTII is regarded as premium institute in the country and with these strengths, we want to go global and make an international footprint, Kainthola adds.

Set up in 1961, FTII imparts world-class training in filmmaking and television programming. Some of its notable alumni include Adoor Gopalakrishnan, Balu Mahendra, Shabana Azmi, Naseeruddin Shah, Om Puri and Resul Pookutty.

Sabina Gopali, a Nepalese actor who is undergoing training at the FTII, says, As we undergo the training, there is confidence among us that the programme will benefit us in our personal and professional life.

When asked why the FTII is focusing on Asian and African countries, Kainthola said Europe and America has a history of better facilities. Ideally, we would like to start with Afghanistan, which is undergoing a reformation.

FTII, as part of its revamp process, has recently introduced short-term courses, which are being conducted off-campus at various places. A 2010 Hewitt Association report recommended that FTII introduce short-term courses at competitive rates to offset costs of the subsidised long-term courses, allowing the institute to become self-reliant and upgrade its facilities.The Punjab rural development and panchayats department has suspended sarpanch of Janer village Malwinder Singh and panchayat secretary Harcharan Singh for allegedly misusing their official position and allowing illegal mining on 21 acres of panchayat land.

Confirming the suspension, departments financial commissioner Anurag Verma said a recommendation has also been sent to minister Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa to take action against block development and panchayat officer Jagir Singh, who is retired now, for negligence.

We have also directed the Moga deputy commissioner to take legal opinion from the district attorney for registering a first information report against the sarpanch and panchayat secretary, Verma said.

We have issued directions to the director to initiate procedure to dismiss the sarpanch. The district development and panchayat officer has also been asked to recover Rs 65 lakh from the sarpanch and the panchayat secretary and take action under Rule 216 of Panchayati Raj Act for the assessment of loss, said Verma.

Earlier, Hindustan Times reported that a government inquiry indicted the sarpanch and the panchayat secretary for misusing their position and allowing illegal mining.

The inquiry found that illegal was rampant in the village, which is just 7km from the district headquarters, during 2014-16. The probe was ordered in October 2017 after the general manager-cum-mining officer gave his assessment that illegal mining was taking place on the panchayat land.

In the first week of February, Moga deputy commissioner Dilraj Singh wrote to the director to recover 65 lakh from the sarpanch and the panchayat secretary for the loss to the state exchequer due to the illegal mining. He has also recommended legal action against the duo.

Department officials who dont want to be named say the market rate of the illegally mined sand could be more than Rs 3 crore.The son of a slain Sikh lawmaker in Pakistan has accused Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) chief minister Pervez Khattak and provincial assembly speaker of entering into a deal with his fathers alleged murderer for a vote in the forthcoming Senate elections.

Sardar Soran Singh, a lawmaker from Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, was shot dead in April 2016 in Buner district of the province. Singh was elected to the provincial assembly on a minority seat.

His son Ajay Singh appealed to the KP government not to bring the killer of his father in the provincial assembly for obtaining his vote for PTI Senate candidate in the upcoming Senate elections due for March 3, 2018.

Ajay alleged that Baldev Kumar, the second in the list of Tehreek-e-Insaf partys candidates for a reserved seat for minorities, was murderer of his father. Kumar has been facing a trial by an anti-terrorism court in Peshawar.

But PTI for only one vote in KP Senate elections wanted to bring the killer in the provincial assembly, he claimed.TV actor Shikha Singh, who is currently seen in popular sitcom Kundali Bhagya, has filed a complaint of cheating against an event organiser for not paying her for a show held in Africa, a police official has said.

The official said that Shikha, who has acted in several television serials including Na Ana Is Des Lado, has alleged that Deepak Chaturvedi, an event organiser, was yet to pay her Rs 11.30 lakh for a show he had organised in Ghana in west Africa.

He said that Chaturvedi had approached her for the show, held in November last year, and agreed on a remuneration of Rs 12 lakh of which Rs 70,000 was paid in advance.

Singh told police that since the show, the accused has been allegedly evading her and was not paying the rest of the agreed amount.

Officials said that Chitalsar police here had registered a case under section 420 (cheating) of the Indian Penal Code and investigations were underway.

Follow @htshowbiz for moreChina will seriously deal with any breaches of UN Security Council resolutions on North Korea should they be found, a Chinese official said, soon after the third report this month of a ship-to-ship transfer suspected of violating sanctions.

Foreign ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said Saturday that Beijing still firmly opposes the US imposing unilateral sanctions and long-arm jurisdiction on Chinese entities or individuals.

China had said Thursday it was highly concerned about and was investigating the ship-to-ship transfer Japan reported this past week. A Japanese surveillance plane and escort ship saw a North Korean-flagged tanker alongside a smaller ship on Feb. 16 about 250 kilometers (150 miles) off Shanghai in the East China Sea. Photos appeared to show hoses running between the ships. Japan did not identify the nationality of the second ship.

File photo released by Japan's Ministry of Defense shows what it says North Korean-flagged tanker Yu Jong 2, left, and Min Ning De You 078 lying alongside in the East China Sea. (AP Photo)

China has agreed to impose increasingly tough sanctions on North Korea over its nuclear weapons program, and Geng has said Beijing recently issued a statement explicitly banning ship-to-ship transfers.

Though China is North Koreas biggest trading partner and a traditional friend, ties have soured over the Norths nuclear and missile tests and its refusal to return to Chinese-hosted denuclearization talks.A Christian man accused of blasphemy in Pakistan reportedly jumped off the fourth floor of the building of an investigation agency in Lahore, according to officials.

Sajjad Masih, 28, who has been in critical condition at Mayo Hospital, said the FIA had called him to their headquarters at Regal Chowk to record statement. He said the officials allegedly tortured him and snatched his mobile phone.

They asked me to abuse myself, but I refused to do so. Later, they asked me to sexually assault my cousin, but I remained silent and jumped from the building, he said.

An FIA spokesman, however, rejected the allegation, saying the suspect was called for inquiry because he was a member of the Facebook group allegedly involved in sharing blasphemous material.

The suspect was asked to unlock his mobile phone. He got panicky and jumped from the building. No one even had touched him (suspect), the spokesperson added.

According to doctors, Masih had life changing injuries. He has multiple fractures on his legs, ribs and jaw. However, his condition is out of danger, the doctors said.

Police had arrested Masih a few days ago after the activists of Tehreek-e-Labaik Ya Rasool Allah (TLYRA) and other religious parties gathered in Shahdara area and surrounded the Christian families living over there demanding producing him before them.

Police stopped them from entering the Christian colony and arrested Masih and shifted him at undisclosed location.

Later police handed Masih over to FIA. Maish is accused of posting blasphemous content about Muslims holy places on his Facebook account.

A senior FIA official told PTI that the agency had suspended two officials for their negligence in the matter.

A inquiry has been initiated against four officials. If found guilty punitive action will be taken against them, he said.A close friend of Naqeebullah Mehsud, the man who was killed in Karachi in a staged encounter that sparked protests by Pakistani Pashtuns, has been found dead in Dera Ismail Khan.

Aftab Mehsud was an active member of the recent Pashtun long march, held in Islamabad to demand justice for Naqeebullah's murder by a Karachi police official who is now at large.

Aftab was shot dead by unknown assailants and later his body was recovered from Diyal Road in Naqshband town at around 8:30pm on Saturday.

The postmortem report revealed he was shot thrice in the chest and once on his arm.

Aftab was one of the activists behind the sit-in at National Press Club in Islamabad, where Mehsud tribesmen, tribal elders and youth from South Waziristan gathered to demand the arrest and accountability of Rao Anwar, the policeman who allegedly killed Naqeebullah.

The protesters demanded capital punishment for Anwar and his team for the killing of Naqeeb.

They also demanded setting up of a judicial commission monitored by the Chief Justice of Pakistan, investigations into extra-judicial killings of Pashtuns in Karachi, and recovery of all missing persons and their handing over to the courts for fair trial.Iran said pro-Damascus forces would press ahead with attacks on an insurgent enclave near the Syrian capital, as ground fighting raged on there after a UN resolution demanding a 30-day truce across the country.

Rebels said they clashed with pro-government forces on Sunday, as rescuers and residents said warplanes struck some towns in the eastern Ghouta pocket.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said air strikes and artillery killed nine people and injured 31 in the eastern suburbs. The UK-based monitoring group said Sundays bombing was less intense than attacks over the past week.

There was no immediate comment from the Syrian military.

Iranian General Mohammad Baqeri, whose government backs Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, said Tehran and Damascus would respect the UN resolution.

But the Iranian military chief of staff also said the truce did not cover parts of the Damascus suburbs held by the terrorists, the Tasnim news agency said.

Several ceasefires have unraveled quickly during the seven-year war in Syria, where Assads military has gained the upper hand with the help of Iran and Russia.

The UN resolution on Saturday followed seven straight days of bombing by pro-government forces on eastern Ghouta, in one of the bloodiest offensives of the war.

The Security Council voted unanimously to demand the truce to allow for aid access and medical evacuations. Yet while Moscow supported adopting the resolution, Russian UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia cast doubt on its feasibility.

The resolution does not cover militants from Islamic State, al-Qaeda, and the Nusra Front.

Baqeri said Iran and Syria would adhere to it. But parts of the suburbs of Damascus, which are held by the terrorists, are not covered by the ceasefire and clean-up (operations) will continue there, Tasnim quoted him as saying.

The latest escalation by Damascus and its allies has killed more than 500 people in the enclave over the last week, the Observatory says. The dead included more than 120 children.

The Syrian government and Russia deny hitting civilians. Moscow and Damascus have said they seek to stop mortar attacks by militants injuring dozens in the capital.

HEATED BATTLES

The United Nations says nearly 400,000 people live in eastern Ghouta, a pocket of towns and farms under government siege since 2013. It is the only big rebel bastion left near the capital.

The two major Islamist factions in Ghouta said they waged fierce battles on Sunday on several fronts around the enclave, where troops and rebels have clashed in recent weeks.

Hamza Birqdar, Jaish al-Islams military spokesman, said the rebels thwarted attempts by government forces and Iran-backed militias to advance.

In the early hours of dawn today, there were heated battles which Assads forces launched, said Wael Olwan, spokesman for Failaq al-Rahman. They tried to storm the eastern frontlines. The bombing is ongoing at this moment.

Russia was counting on foreign supporters of anti-government forces to ensure that the ceasefire was observed, the foreign ministry in Moscow said.

Moscow has blamed Nusra fighters from al-Qaedas former Syria branch for provoking the situation in Ghouta. Both main rebel factions in turn accuse their enemies of using the presence of a few hundred jihadist fighters as a pretext for attacks.

INHUMAN

Syrian state media said Ghouta insurgents shelled parts of Damascus. An army unit destroyed a rigged vehicle that militants tried to send into the capital a day earlier and killed the suicide attacker, a Syrian military source said.

Pope Francis described Syria as martyred on Sunday, calling for aid access and an immediate end to violence.

All this is inhuman, Francis told tens of thousands of people in St. Peters Square for his weekly blessing.

First responders in eastern Ghouta rushed to look for survivors after air raids on Beit Sawa and Saqba, said the Civil Defence service which operates in rebel territory.

A witness in Douma said warplanes were still flying in the morning.

People have holed up in basements to hide from the air strikes in recent days, and medical charities decried attacks on more than a dozen hospitals.Foreign secretary Vijay Gokhales recent visit to Beijing was a low-key affair but it did reflect that India and China were attempting to mend ties and gingerly move forward after last years military standoff at Doklam.

Gokhales visit last week came in the wake of the political crisis in Maldives where both countries seem to be locked in a bitter diplomatic tussle for influence amid overlapping strategic footprints.

Gokhale held talks with Chinese vice foreign minister Kong Xuanyou, and called on foreign minister Wang Yi and state councillor Yang Jiechi.

Significantly, on Sunday, India congratulated China for becoming the vice chair of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), a global body mandated to combat terror financing, and hoped Beijing would uphold and support the objective of the watchdog in a balanced and objective way.

Congratulations to China on its election as Vice President of Financial Action Task Force at the #FATF plenary mtg. on 23 February 2018. We remain hopeful that China would uphold & support the objectives & standards of FATF in a balanced, objective, impartial & holistic way, external affairs ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar tweeted.

China, Pakistans all-weather ally, had repeatedly blocked efforts at the United Nations by India, the US and the UK to designate JeM chief Masood Azhar a terrorist.

Gokhale would have conveyed Indias concerns on terrorism during the discussions.

Wang and Yang are both key in the fluid dynamics of the complexities of Sino-India ties. Gokhale, whose rich China experience was capped as ambassador last year, knows that.

China and India, as important neighbours and fast-growing emerging economies, have a lot of common interests, Yang was quoted as telling Gokhale by official Chinese media.

Yang called on two sides to deepen strategic communication, beef up mutually beneficial cooperation and properly settle sensitive issues, based on the consensus reached by leaders of the two countries.

We hope that the Indian side will handle sensitive issues prudently and work with China to promote the sound development of China-India relations, Wang told the Indian foreign secretary in an apparent reference to a host of sensitive issues between India and China, including the current political crisis in the Maldives.

China and India are both representatives of emerging markets and big developing countries, Wang said, adding that commonality cannot be replaced.

The discussions covered a wide range of topics, most importantly the state of current bilateral ties and the aftermath of the Doklam standoff.

Focus was on how to prevent the recurrence of a similar standoff; how to ensure that channels of communication remained smooth between officials working at the ground level, away from diplomatic high tables.

During the consultations, the two sides reviewed recent developments in bilateral relations, including high level exchanges, and discussed the agenda for bilateral engagement in the coming months, an official Indian statement said.

Both sides agreed upon the need to expedite various dialogue mechanisms in order to promote multifaceted cooperation across diverse fields of India-China engagement.

Gokhale stressed to the Chinese side that India attaches great importance to bilateral ties and was willing to work with it to implement the consensus of leaders, strengthen strategic communications, take care of each other's core concerns and create a good atmosphere for the sustained and steady development of bilateral relations.

It is important for both countries to look at the bigger picture especially since Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to visit the coastal city of Qingdao for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in June, the first summit India  and Pakistan  will attend after becoming full members.Church leaders in Jerusalem shut the Church of the Holy Sepulchre on Sunday in protest at a new Israeli tax policy and a proposed land expropriation law which they called an unprecedented attack on Christians in the Holy Land.

Roman Catholic, Greek Orthodox and Armenian church leaders said the holy site, a popular stop for pilgrims and where many Christians believe Jesus was crucified and buried, would remain closed until further notice.

After the protest move, an Israeli cabinet committee delayed by a week its scheduled consideration on Sunday of a bill that would allow the state to expropriate land in Jerusalem sold by churches to private real estate firms in recent years.

The stated aim of the bill is to protect homeowners against the possibility that private companies will not extend their leases of land on which their houses or apartments stand.

The churches are major property owners in the city. They say such a law would make it harder for them to find buyers for church-owned land - sales that help to cover operating costs of their religious institutions.

This abhorrent bill ... if approved, would make the expropriation of the lands of churches possible, said the statement by Theophilos III, the Patriarch of Jerusalem, Francesco Patton, the Custos of the Holy Land, and Nourhan Manougian, the Armenian Patriarch of Jerusalem.

Rachel Azaria, the lawmaker who sponsored the legislation, said in a statement she agreed to delay the committees discussion by a week so that we could work with the churches to try to resolve the dispute.

The churches protest was also aimed at the recent cancellation by Israels Jerusalem municipality of a tax exemption it has granted to church-owned commercial properties in the city.

This reminds us all of laws of a similar nature which were enacted against the Jews during dark periods in Europe, the church leaders said.

Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat said on Twitter it was illogical to expect that church-owned commercial property, including hotels and retail businesses, would continue to enjoy tax-exempt status.

Let me make it clear: we are not talking about houses of worship, who will still be exempt from property tax, according to law, he wrote.

Outside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, pilgrims voiced their disappointment at finding its doors shut.

I am very upset. Its my first time here and I made a big effort to get here and now I find it closed, said Marine Domenech from Lille, France.The government of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) has readied evacuation plan to relocate locals to safer areas due to recent provocation by Indian forces at the Line of Control (LoC), a media report said on Sunday.

The decision has been taken amid no let-up in LoC ceasefire violations by the Indian forces in the recent days, the Express Tribune quoted local government sources as saying.

PoK Prime Minister Raja Farooq Haider has directed the district machinery and local authorities in the areas located along LoC to make standby arrangements for relocating thousands of people whose lives have come under direct threat after the tension at border, the paper reported.

On a small-scale, the public in the villages directly affected by the LoC firing have been relocated. Further the evacuation activities would be extended to the sector-level if LoC ceasefire violations did not stop, the paper said.

The instances of ceasefire violations by the Indian forces recorded an alarming increase since the start of the month February following which the government has readied evacuation plan, the paper quoted a cabinet member as saying.

Last week, Haider instructed authorities to give state funerals to those killed due to alleged firing by Indian troops across the Line of Control.Romes ancient Colosseum was lit in red on Saturday in solidarity with persecuted Christians, particularly Asia Bibi, a woman condemned to death under Pakistans blasphemy laws.

Hundreds gathered on a rainy night outside the Roman amphitheatre that is a symbol of the martyrdom of early Christians to hear the husband and daughter of Asia Bibi.

The Catholic woman has been living on death row in Pakistan since 2010, when she was condemned for allegedly making derogatory remarks about Islam after neighbours objected to her drinking water from their glass because she was not Muslim.

Human rights groups such as Amnesty International say the blasphemy law is increasingly exploited by religious extremists as well as ordinary Pakistanis to settle personal scores.

The aim of the blasphemy laws is crush people who believe differently, Archbishop Nunzio Galantino, secretary-general of the Italian bishops conference, told the gathering.

The law does not define blasphemy and evidence might not be reproduced in court for fear of committing a fresh offence. There are no penalties for false accusations.

The Colosseum is lit up in red to draw attention to the persecution of Christians around the world in Rome. (REUTERS)

Asia Bibis case drew international attention after the murder of two politicians who tried to intervene on her behalf.

At the Rome gathering, her husband Ashiq Masih said his wife was innocent of blasphemy. This is just hate against Christians, who are considered impure, he said.

The husband and daughter, who broke down in tears as she addressed the group, were earlier received by Pope Francis, who told her: I think often of your mother and I pray for her.

European Parliament President Antonio Tajani, who has been tipped as a possible Italian prime minister after next weeks election, said that persecution of Christians was a genocide.

A message must be sent from this place. It is the duty of Europe to defend these values (of religious liberty) wherever on earth they are trampled on, Tajani said.

Rebecca Bitrus, a Nigerian Christian woman who was held for two years after she was abducted by Boko Haram Islamist militants, told of how she was repeatedly beaten and raped.

During the event, organised by the Catholic group Aid to the Church in Need, there were live link-ups with Aleppo, Syria and Mosul, Iraq, both of whose minority Christian populations have been hit hard by wars.President Donald Trumps former campaign deputy Rick Gates pleaded guilty Friday to fraud and lying, pledging to cooperate with Special Counsel Robert Mueller on his vast probe into Russian interference in the 2016 election.

Gates was the third former Trump aide to agree to cooperate in exchange for reduced charges by Mueller, who is also examining Moscows alleged collusion with the Trump campaign and whether the president illegally sought to obstruct his probe.

The plea deal in a Washington federal court, on charges much reduced from the original ones filed against Gates, immediately put him at odds with his former business partner and ex-Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, who refuses to bow to pressure from Mueller to strike a deal.

Manafort has countersued Mueller, accusing the former FBI director of going far beyond his Justice Department mandate in the probe.

A new indictment against Manafort accuses him of having secretly paid a group of former senior European politicians more than 2 million euros ($2.5 million) to lobby for the government of Ukraines former pro-Russia president Viktor Yanukovych.

Charges tied to Ukraine work

Gates and Manafort were originally charged on October 30 with multiple counts of laundering $75 million and tax evasion related to their work from 2006 to 2014 for Yanukovych.

They were also accused of illegally representing a foreign government, Ukraine, as lobbyists without first registering with the US government as foreign agents.

But the charges Gates ultimately pleaded guilty to on Friday were one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States in relation to not reporting offshore banking accounts, and one count of lying over his work as a foreign agent for Ukraine.

Each count could bring a maximum of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. But sentencing depends on the extent of his cooperation with Muellers broader investigation, which has focused on a number of others in Trumps orbit, including current White House aides and members of Trumps family.

That was similar to deals offered to two other ex-advisors to Trump, who have also pleaded guilty to reduced charges.

Former Trump national security advisor Michael Flynn and former campaign foreign policy aide George Papadopoulos have each pleaded guilty to one count of lying.

Gates and Manafort still face a separate indictment filed Thursday by Mueller in a Virginia court, on charges of bank and tax fraud in relation to how they deployed their Ukraine earnings back into the United States.

Manafort defiant

The Mueller probe, which began in May, has built up steam in recent weeks.

Last week, Mueller indicted 13 Russians who were allegedly behind a Kremlin-backed operation to spread disinformation and disrupt the 2016 election via social media.

And on Tuesday, a London-based lawyer with links to Russia and to Gates pleaded guilty to lying to FBI agents.

Manafort was defiant, refusing to cut a deal.

Notwithstanding that Rick Gates pled today, I continue to maintain my innocence, he said in a statement.

I had hoped and expected my business colleague would have had the strength to continue the battle to prove our innocence... This does not alter my commitment to defend myself against the untrue piled up charges contained in the indictments against me.

In a letter to family and friends made public by some US news outlets, Gates said he had planned to defend himself but had a change of heart, and was ready to accept public humiliation to avoid distressing his children.

The reality of how long this legal process will likely take, the cost and the circus-like atmosphere of an anticipated trial are too much. I will better serve my family moving forward by exiting this process, he wrote.The UN Security Council unanimously approved a resolution Saturday demanding a 30-day cease-fire across Syria without delay to deliver humanitarian aid to millions and evacuate the critically ill and wounded.

UN humanitarian chief Mark Lowcock welcomed the vote saying: Words must now quickly become action - any cessation of hostilities must be real. Attacks must stop.

The vote was postponed for several days of lengthy and intense negotiations to try to get support from Russia, a key Syrian ally that said repeatedly an immediate cease-fire was unrealistic.

Sponsors Kuwait and Sweden amended the resolution late Friday in a last-minute attempt to satisfy Russia, dropping a demand that the cease-fire take effect in 72 hours.

The effort worked, though US Ambassador Nikki Haley was sharply critical of Russia for delaying the vote.

How many mothers lost their kids to the bombing and the shellings? due to the delay, she asked. How many more images did we need to see of fathers holding their dead children?

Sweden, Kuwait and many other countries had been pressing for an immediate cease-fire as deaths mount in a Syrian bombing campaign in the rebel-held suburbs of Damascus known as eastern Ghouta where the death toll in a week of bombardment has risen to 500.

Smoke billows following a regime air strike on the rebel-held town of Haza, in the besieged Eastern Ghouta region on the outskirts of the capital Damascus, on February 23, 2018. (AFP)

Earlier this week UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged an immediate suspension of all war activities in eastern Ghouta, where he said 400,000 people are living in hell on earth.

Guterres welcomed the resolutions adoption and stressed his expectation that it will be immediately implemented and sustained so aid gets to the needy and sick, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said. The UN stands ready to do its part.

While the spotlight is on eastern Ghouta, the resolution expresses grave distress at the humanitarian situation there as well as throughout the country including Idlib governorate, Northern Hama governorate, Rukhban and Raqqa.

It states that urgent humanitarian assistance is now required by 13.1 million people in Syria, including 5.6 million people in 1,244 communities in acute need. That includes 2.9 million in hard-to-reach and besieged locations such as eastern Ghouta.

The resolution calls on all parties to immediately lift the sieges of populated areas including eastern Ghouta, Yarmouk, Foua and Kefraya.

On the key issue of a cease-fire, the resolution demands that all parties cease hostilities without delay for at least 30 consecutive days throughout Syria for a durable humanitarian pause, to enable the immediate delivery of humanitarian aid and services and medical evacuations of the critically sick and wounded ... and demands that all parties engage to this end.

The resolution also demands that a cease-fire be followed immediately by access for humanitarian aid.

Swedens UN Ambassador Olof Skoog told the council just before the vote that the UN convoys and evacuation teams are ready to go.

Kuwaits UN Ambassador Mansour Al-Otaiba, the current council president, said after the resolutions adoption that it cannot end the human suffering in Syria immediately.

However, it is a positive sign sent by the Security Council  a sign that the council is united and showed solidarity to stop the humanitarian suffering and stop hostilities immediately, he said. Now we must implement this resolution to save the lives of Syrian people and to deliver humanitarian aid.

Since the Syrian conflict began nearly seven years ago, the Security Council has been deeply divided, with Russia backing President Bashar Assads government and the US, Britain and France supporting the opposition. The result has almost always been paralysis and inaction.

Those divisions were evident Saturday in the tough language from the US ambassador and the reply from her Russian counterpart after the vote.

Every minute the council waited on Russia the human suffering grew, Haley said. Getting to a vote became a moral responsibility for everyone, but not for Russia, not for Syria, not for Iran. I have to ask why? At least 19 health facilities have been bombed since Sunday in eastern Ghouta.

She expressed hope that Russias belated decision to support a cease-fire after trying every possible way to avoid it ... will be a turning point, where Russia will join us in pushing for the political settlement to this conflict.

Russias UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia responded saying it took so much time to reach an agreement because an immediate cessation of hostilities, which was originally called for by the sponsors, was not feasible, ... not possible.

What is necessary is for the demands of the Security Council to be underpinned by concrete, on-the-ground agreements, he said. It would be naive to think that difficult issues can be addressed overnight, momentarily. We trust that all parties with influence to bear will help to bring this about.

Smoke billows following a regime air strike on the besieged Eastern Ghouta region on the outskirts of the capital Damascus, late on February 23, 2018. (AFP)

Another major issue in the negotiations was an exemption the Russians sought to keep up attacks against extremist groups.

The resolution allows attacks directed at extremists from the Islamic State group and all al-Qaida affiliates including the Nusra Front to continue. The Syrian government and its Russian allies say they are pursuing Islamic extremists they call terrorists  and US-backed forces are also going after IS and al-Qaida militants.

Nebenzia accused the US of using the fight against terrorists for geopolitical agendas with dubious legitimacy. Instead of scaling-up rhetoric against Russia, he called for the US-backed coalition to promptly end its occupation which would improve the humanitarian situation in Syrias north and east.

Later, he told reporters that Russia also negotiated for so long to make sure the resolution is not used as a pretext for any military action. He pointed to worrying comments on that in recent days, and including today some very bellicose language.J eremy Corbyn wants to force landlords to accept tenants with pets. Well, before he makes any changes to the law, I would like to invite the Labour leader round to my flat  where my recently departed tenants had a cat  and challenge him to get Fluffball's long, white hairs off the dark blue sofa.

The cleaners couldn't shift them all and I've spent ages trying to, first with a vacuum, then with a roll of sticky tape, and still the sofa is covered. Now I'm going to have to pay a specialist cleaning company before the new tenants move in.

If you are reading this wondering why I am making such a fuss over a few hairs, clearly you are one of those bonkers pet lovers who thinks it's perfectly normal to walk around with cat fur plastered to your backside, having sat on a sofa you share with your pet. Also, you've probably never known anyone with an allergy to pet hairs, which can be extremely debilitating.

I have to consider the health and safety of my tenants so I can't risk re-letting the flat until all traces of the cat have been removed, in case one of the new occupants has an allergic reaction. Pet hairs can cause itchy, red eyes and streaming noses and, far worse, trigger asthma attacks.

So Mr Corbyn, think of this when you consider whether it is right to force landlords to accept pets. At the moment, under the 2015 Consumer Rights Act, a landlord can refuse a tenant permission to keep a pet if it is reasonable to do so, for example if the property is too small, or if the property has lots of antique furniture that could be damaged by scratches, or if housing a pet would damage the property's future rental prospects.

However, Corbyn is proposing that tenants should automatically be allowed to keep a pet unless a landlord provides evidence that it's a nuisance. What isn't clear, though, is what he would consider a "nuisance".

Is the risk of a cat leaving its hair all over the furniture a nuisance? Probably not. What about a little dog yapping all day and driving the neighbours nuts? Or what about the danger of a puppy chewing the table legs, or a hamster attracting mice?

I know of a tenant who had a ferret. She promised the landlord she'd keep it in a cage, so Corbyn would probably consider it wouldn't be any trouble at all. But she let it run around the flat, so it chewed the edges of all the carpets. I'd call that a pretty big nuisance.

I understand that dog and cat owners struggle to move house as many landlords automatically ban pets, and I realise it's more of an issue with the rise in the number of older people and families renting long term, but I still feel it should be a landlord's decision, not a government's.

Small pets, such as cats or the sort of diddy dogs that owners dress in tartan jackets are okay by me but I expect the tenant to pay a higher security deposit to cover any damage their pet might cause and the cost of any extra cleaning.

However, due to the Government's intention to cap tenant security deposits at six weeks' rent from next year, pet owners will present even more of a risk to landlords, so we shouldn't be forced to accept them.Lavar Ball, father of athletes Lonzo, LiAngelo, and LaMelo Ball, and founder of Big Baller Brand, is a divisive personality in sports. He's known for being very outspoken, a quality some have criticized him for, but others admire. Dennis Graham, father of Drake, was asked his opinion on LaVar by a TMZ photographer this week, and from one famous dad to another, he had nothing but praise for Ball.

"I love him because he's outspoken," said Graham. "He's an outspoken guy, and that's what you gotta be. You gotta speak your mind."

Ball certainly plays by his own rules, which is something Graham respects. "People have been kissing butts for too long," he argued. "He doesn't do that. He speaks his mind. I love that."

Earlier this week, Dennis shared some thoughts on Drake's recent video for "God's Plan," in which he gave away nearly $1 million of his label's money to residents of Florida. He quickly shut down a question about whether Drake could be "mismanaging his funds" with the video. "No, no, no. I'm not worried, that was through something else," he said. I don't know what happened there but he's good. Trust me... He'll always be good."

Coincidentally, LaVar's son Lonzo, who was drafted to the Lakers this season, is also an aspiring rapper. He released his debut album Born 2 Ball earlier this month. The closing track, "LaVar," is a tribute to his father. It happens to sound a little like an attempt at a So Far Gone era Drake track.Jimmy Kimmel recently broadcast the latest edition of his Lie Witness News where his correspondents took to the Los Angeles streets to question random people on their thoughts on whats going on in Wakanda. In the clip, everyone had some insight to give on the nation and the United States presence thereexcept there was one little problem, Wakanda doesnt actually exist.

Youll recall that Wakanda is the fictional African nation in Marvels Black Panther comics and the Black Panther film. In the movie, it is a technologically-advanced covert nation with its wealth and prosperity rooted in its abundance of the fictitious element of vibranium, but none of that stopped these average citizens from doling out serious opinions on both.

The first question asked was in regard to the United States presence in Wakanda as one bystander is asked if it time to bring the U.S. troops home from Wakanda? His answer? A firm yes.

I think we need a strong presence there, the man said. I definitely support our troops. So, if theyre in Wakanda, they have a reason to be there.

Another woman had an opposing sentiment as she offered that the United States should resolve its own problems before interceding in other nations like Wakanda while another passerby revealed that he has indeed heard about the litter of bad things happening in Wakanda, alluding to the catastrophe that the public has been talking about.

At the tail end of the segment, the same woman who believed that the United States should mind its business also expressed that she didnt think anyone wanted to see a movie about Wakanda when prompted. People dont want to see it. I dont think so.

As it turns out though, Black Panther recently closed the week with the highest-grossing first week in Marvel Cinematic History, earing $292 million domestically, and a combined $520 million across the globe.

Weigh in on the conversation below and let us know if you think that Wakanda and its vibranium should be left alone.Free speech is at our core as Americans, and it shows up in the oddest corners of our country.

That was the message in an address last week by Chip Babcock, the veteran Houston lawyer who managed to save Oprah Winfrey from the beef industry in the mid-1990s. The talk show host was sued for defamation for saying during a show on mad cow disease that she'd never eat another burger.

Babcock was awarded the Anti-Defamation League's Karen H. Susman Jurisprudence Award largely for his fierce defense of the First Amendment. In his speech, he recounted the Winfrey case with a story that resonates today, as we watch young people bravely raise their voices after the school shooting in Parkland, Florida that left 17 dead.

The odds, to say the least, were not in Oprah's favor at the trial in Amarillo. In the Panhandle, where beef is king, folks didn't appreciate Oprah's opinions and some adorned their cars with bumper stickers saying "the only mad cow in America is Oprah." The jury pool was lacking in diversity, not just in terms of race, but industry. Every single person was connected in some fashion to the cattle industry, Babcock recalled.

Read more: Houston-area district threatens to suspend students who protest

One guy he let on the jury was a cattle rancher, but Babcock said he had no choice because he'd already used up his three strikes on other folks.

In closing arguments, Babcock recalled, he emphasized that in this country, the ideas that you like the least are the ones that you have to protect the most.

The jury deliberated for about three hours, and toward the end, when two women remained holdouts, the rancher wrote out something and read it to his fellow jurors. He later gave the paper to Babcock, who shared it at the ADL luncheon.

In his lifetime, the man wrote, he felt he had lost many rights. He didn't feel that he had the right to practice his religion as freely as he did when he was younger. But the one thing he felt Americans hadn't lost was free speech. And that, he said, is the right that Americans can use to recover the rights they've lost.

He urged the jurors not to sanction Winfrey for her opinion. They listened and found unanimously in her favor.

Read more: Students may be our best hope for gun reform

The foundational principle of free speech is one that can transcend any divisions among us - race, geography, ideology and, yes, age.

The passionate demonstrations of young people following the Parkland massacre are a badly needed injection of concern and civic participation in a nation where far too many of us are content to exist in silos and sidelines and smart phone screens.

When school officials try to silence young voices, or restrict their efforts, as we've seen in Texas, they aren't just impeding free flow of speech, they're stemming the lifeblood of an anemic democracy.

In Needville, Superintendent Curtis Rhodes issued a threatening dictum, saying the district would not allow students to leave class for "any type of protest or awareness!!" Students who chose to do so - no matter if it was one or 500 - would be suspended three days and face "all the consequences" that go along with it, he warned, and parent notes wouldn't help.

"A school is a place to learn and grow educationally, emotionally and morally," Rhodes wrote. "A disruption of the school will not be tolerated."

Further, he urged students, "respect yourself" and "understand that we are here for education and not a political protest."

I guess in Needville, education doesn't include the U.S. Constitution and civic engagement. It doesn't even include awareness, for goodness sake.

Read more: Teaching young people to vote is good for democracy

Rhodes took a beating on social media. The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that students retain their free speech rights at school, with limits. They should not impede learning, for instance, and while school officials are allowed to mete out normal punishments for rule violations, student speech cannot be punished more harshly for its content.

It's unclear what Needville's typical punishment is for absences, or whether parent notes are usually accepted. Rhodes was out of town Friday, said B.J. Pollock, district communications director, adding "he really doesn't want to comment on anything."

I asked if Rhodes had modified his statement at all, or agreed to a compromise with students who wanted to demonstrate. Not at all, she said.

"We stand by what he said 100 percent," Pollock said.

And who is standing by the students?

I asked Babcock about the situation. He said legal arguments can be made for both sides. But he prefers an argument rooted in common sense and American principle.

"Kids who are legitimately wanting to participate in our democracy, that seems to be a good thing," he said. "And a school district should embrace it and not find a way to punish it."

Hell, in a state with one of the lowest voter turnout rates in the country, we should give extra credit to anybody engaged enough to promote "awareness."

And awareness is all the Needville students had in mind when they proposed 17 minutes of silence to honor the shooting victims and acknowledge the recurring problem of gun violence in schools, says one high school senior I've been corresponding with. Students even asked permission before, she says.

"At first I wasn't going to do anything. I was just going to stand by and watch others as they protested," wrote the girl, who asked not to be identified. But she said the deaths of the Florida students weighed heavily on her, and she and other students wanted to add their voices to the fledgling movement.

She hasn't given up, she wrote in an email, but students are deflated.

"Now," she wrote, "those who are wanting to participate feel much like I do: hopeless and lost, with no voice."

My fellow Americans, just where is the lesson in that?As registered voters in Texas, we're not obligated to be a member of either major party. And although I've always exercised my right to join one by voting in the primary, I've never cared about the parties themselves or had a reason to be loyal to either of them.

That's not the case for all partisans, of course. And I can understand why so many of the Republicans I respect, like Joe Straus and Ed Emmett, are hoping to reform the Republican Party of Texas. They're Republicans. They built the party. They did that, I assume, because they don't actually want to be Democrats.

As for me, I'm a conservative whose relationship with the party itself has always been transactional, at most. And even if I decide to get more deeply involved with a party, at some point, I know already that I would never try to hijack it. Similarly, I wouldn't use my role in a party to justify any litmus tests. I would disagree with my fellow partisans, if they felt that there should be litmus tests.

I would certainly object to the notion that any partisans are for some reason entitled to a veto, if the voters who participated in their primary refused to pick the candidate of their choice. We know that, because I have been objecting to the Texas Republicans who have been doing so lately.

And so I would like to express my outright disgust with the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which recently expressed its opinion about Laura Moser, who is one of the Democratic contenders in Texas's 7th Congressional District.

Read more: Vote your conscience - in the primary of your choosing

The DCCC has the right to do things like that, of course. And my advice to Democratic voters in that district would be to exercise their right to ignore it, unless they want to help Republicans hang on to that district, which is currently represented by John Culberson.

National Democrats, in my experience, have no idea what Texas is like. They give terrible advice.

So perhaps Moser is "a Washington insider, who begrudgingly moved to Houston to run for Congress," as the DCCC put it.

Moser is, for context, the only one of the Democrats running in the 7th district who I had heard of prior to joining the Houston Chronicle. I understand it's the case that she grew up in Houston, and moved to Washington for work at some point, and moved back recently, after deciding to run for Congress.

Read more: Could Texas turn blue in 2018? Stranger things have happened

I'm not inclined to fault Moser for any of that. Nor did my colleagues on the editorial board, when they decided not to recommend her in the Democratic primary. They actually opted to recommend two of the other candidates, because there are apparently so many candidates in the 7th District that Democratic voters can afford to be super-picky.

As for me, I personally have no horse in this race. I'm registered to vote in the 35th Congressional District, and I don't try to impose my opinions on others, even if they're well-informed, which they would not be, in this case.

In fact, I haven't even been tempted to express an opinion about the Democratic primary in the 7th Congressional district. The Texans who vote in that district are the ones who get to make the decision, and it's a decision that I would actually not be well-qualified to make.

Meanwhile, the DCCC is breezily telling my fellow Texans that Moser shouldn't even be allowed to be one of their options.

"Unfortunately, Laura Moser's outright disgust for life in Texas disqualifies her as a general election candidate, and would rob voters of their opportunity to flip Texas' 7th in November," explained Meredith Kelly, a spokeswoman, in a statement to the Texas Tribune.

Read more: Chronicle's recommendations for 7th Congressional District

I disagree, and would like the DCCC to know that their decision to attack Moser on this highly dubious basis is so bizarre that some of my fellow Texans are wondering if they know something we don't.

I doubt that very much. Because if there's one thing I know about the DCCC, it's that Texans know lots of things they don't.

For example, Texans knew that the 7th Congressional District was probably going flip in 2018 long before the DCCC did. That's why there are so many candidates running in its Democratic primary. And it's also, I suspect, why the DCCC has decided to attack one of them. They've belatedly noticed that they, as members of the national party's establishment, have an incentive to meddle in our electoral process.

There's a risk that voters might pick Moser, of course. I'm not sure which of the candidates the DCCC would prefer, but their preferences are irrelevant, in this context. But the DCCC should explain why they feel entitled to overrule my fellow Texans, if Moser is in fact their choice.Q: In most of the news coverage of flu outbreaks, I've seen a recommendation to get a flu shot, even if it's not a good match. The announcer always says that even if it doesn't prevent illness, the vaccine will make your flu symptoms less severe. Is that true? Is there any good-quality research to support this assertion?

A: Public health officials encourage people to get a flu shot, even at this late date. They maintain that it will protect against influenza. Even if it doesn't prevent infection, they claim it will lessen the severity of the illness.

Any discussion of the effectiveness of this year's flu vaccine is based on speculation. Actual data won't be available for months, although in Australia, the shot was only 10 percent effective against the influenza A (H3N2) strain (New England Journal of Medicine, Nov. 29, 2017). Preliminary results from Canada, which uses the same vaccine as the U.S., also suggest 10 percent effectiveness against H3N2 among adults (Eurosurveillance, February 2018).

No one knows whether this year's flu shot will lessen symptom severity. That data also won't be available for some time. French scientists note, "Surprisingly, very few studies have addressed the question of whether the vaccine mitigates influenza severity among those who develop the illness despite being vaccinated." In their study of more than 2,000 elderly French people, they found very little symptom reduction (Vaccine, April 11, 2017).

Q: I have taken zolpidem (Ambien) for years. You have written about the dangers of such sleep aids, so I decided to cut back. I spent several weeks hardly sleeping at all.

Melatonin has been helpful, though not perfect. Does it have side effects I should know about?

A: Melatonin is a hormone that the brain makes as it is getting ready to gear down for the night. That is why this compound has a reputation as helpful for sleep.

Melatonin has been used to help people like you reduce their reliance on benzodiazepine or Z-type sleeping pills such as zolpidem (European Journal of Pharmacology, Sept. 5, 2015). A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial showed that melatonin could improve sleep quality in people who have suffered traumatic brain injury (BMC Medicine, Jan. 19, 2018). It also has been used to help cancer patients sleep (Aging Clinical and Experimental Research, October 2013). A Cochrane Collaboration review suggests that night-shift workers may sleep longer after taking melatonin (Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, Aug. 12, 2014). Melatonin does not appear to trigger serious side effects, although some people report nausea, dizziness or headaches.

Q: I wish you would write about the danger of lung complications from amiodarone. Lung toxicity occurs in significant numbers of users. This frequently leads to pulmonary fibrosis, which can be fatal.

Amiodarone even comes with a black-box warning. I speak from first-hand experience, having lost my husband due to amiodarone lung toxicity three years ago.

A: The Food and Drug Administration cautions that amiodarone should be used only for life-threatening heart rhythm disturbances when other treatments don't work. This medication has many serious side effects, including pulmonary fibrosis and other lung complications.

The drug also may cause nerve damage, digestive distress, visual problems, fatigue, liver damage, thyroid problems and serious skin reactions. No one should ever stop amiodarone without careful medical supervision.

Q: I often hear about the medicinal benefits of various herbs and spices. However, I don't typically hear about pepper, a widely available spice. Has there been any research to suggest what benefits it may have?

A: Black pepper (Piper nigrum) has been prized for millennia. The pharaohs of ancient Egypt were mummified with peppercorns in their nostrils, presumably to signify their high status in the afterlife. Venetian merchants were able to build luxurious mansions in large part because they controlled the trade in spices, especially black pepper, during the 15th century.

Although pepper is no longer considered a luxury spice, it does appear to have medicinal benefits. Researchers are exploring the power of piperine, a key ingredient in black pepper, as an anticancer agent (Current Medicinal Chemistry, online, May 23, 2017).

Piperine is an antioxidant and antimicrobial compound. In addition, it lowers blood cholesterol, fights inflammation, improves digestion and increases absorption of some herbal and conventional drugs (Phytotherapy Research, August 2013). One of these is turmeric (curcumin), which is notoriously hard to absorb.Three Harris County hearing officers already facing a federal court order over their handling of bail bonds received a rare sanction from the state for failing to issue personal bonds for defendants to get out of jail.

The rebuke by the State Commission on Judicial Conduct cites hearing officers Joseph Licata III, Jill Wallace and Eric Hagstette with a public admonition and ordered them to take additional educational instruction.

The order from commission chair, Justice Douglas S. Lang, said the board took into consideration that the hearing officers testified on Dec. 7 in Austin that they had been told by Harris County criminal court judges they should not grant cash-free bonds or more affordable bond rates. They said they feared they would be fired if they didn't comply.

The findings were prompted by a landmark federal court ruling in April that the county's bail system was unfair to indigent defendants and a complaint by state Sen. John Whitmire, D-Houston, to the state commission that oversees judicial ethics requesting it review the judge's findings.

Whitmire filed the complaint after a Houston Chronicle story exposed details from video recorded bail hearings, during which judicial officers appeared to ignore pleas from defendants seeking personal no-cash bonds. Some set high bonds because a person didn't call them "sir" or when they didn't like the demeanor of the defendant.

"These people have been arrested, but they're considered innocent," Whitmire said of the videos."The total non-judicial conduct ... and the rude bullying that took place on the tapes led to my complaint. We have to have zero tolerance for that."

He said, "I was shocked about how they treated somebody so vulnerable. I don't stand for that at all."

Whitmire said he was grateful the commission exposed the conduct of these officers.

"They're letting the public know some of the abuses that are happening in the basement of the criminal courthouse by our magistrates," he said.

Harris County employs five hearing officers who work around the clock, setting bond for people before they have a chance to make an initial appearance before a judge. Whitmire singled out the three officers based on their conduct in the videos.

The bond hearings held via videolink showed that many defendants in misdemeanor cases were never questioned about their ability to pay. Those who asked for personal bonds because of family hardships, jobs or other valid reasons were routinely denied and sometimes treated rudely. In one video, a judge doubled a bond after a female defendant said "yeah" instead of "yes."

In three terse 5-page rulings, the judicial commission ordered the three criminal law hearing officers to submit to four hours of additional education to be completed within 60 days.

In similarly worded statements, the commission concluded the officers "failed to comply with the law, and failed to maintain competence in the law, by strictly following directives not to issue personal bonds to defendants per the instructions of the judges in whose court the underlying cases were assigned."

By ignoring this duty, the commission said, the judges violated their "constitutional and statutory obligation to consider all legally available bonds, including personal recognizance bonds, for those individuals whose cases were assigned to courts who instructed him not to issue personal recognizance bonds."

The commission based its findings on a ruling by Chief U.S. District Judge Lee H. Rosenthal in a 2016 class-action lawsuit in Houston by indigent misdemeanor defendants, including a young mother who was held for two days in jail because she couldn't post $2,500 bail after her arrest for driving with an invalid license.

Rosenthal found the county's bail practices violated the U.S. Constitution, saying indigent defendants didn't have equal access to gain their freedom because they couldn't afford it.

Rosenthal's injunction followed a contentious hearing that pitted county officials against one other. She ordered the county's judges to release indigent, low-level defendants within 24 hours if they don't have holds or other detainers. That ruling is on appeal before the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

Harris County, which was in the process of reforming its risk assessments for bail, has spent more than $5 million defending itself against the suit. The county's lawyers argued on appeal that Rosenthal's order jeopardizes public safety and unfairly takes discretion out of the hands of judges.

Robert Soard, first assistant to County Attorney Vince Ryan, said he couldn't respond in detail to the commission's finding.

"We are in the process of reviewing the orders issued by the State Commission on Judicial Conduct as we are awaiting the ruling of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals of Judge Rosenthal's opinion," he said. "A ruling favorable to the County may have a significant impact on these orders."

The lawyers for the indigent defendants also said they were not prepared to comment on the sanctions.

But County Commissioner Rodney Ellis, a longtime advocate of reforming the bail system, said he was gratified by the commission's findings.

"They recognized what I've been saying all along  that Harris County magistrates violated the law when they adhered to the county courts' strict bond schedule and refused to grant pretrial release simply because misdemeanor defendants were poor," he said. "This is further evidence that we must stop defending our two-tiered bail system that favors the wealthy, punishes the poor and undermines public safety."

He added, "Harris County must stop spending millions of taxpayer dollars fighting the lawsuit over its bail procedures and instead enact meaningful reforms that treat all people equally under the law."

Whitmire agreed.

"This just documents how broken the bail bond system is in Harris County," he said.WASHINGTON - Prodded by a wave of gun violence, including a school shooting in Stockton, Calif., that left five children dead and dozens more wounded, Congress passed a federal assault weapon ban in 1994, the first major curb on gun access in decades.

Following a decade of escalating gang and drug crime, it had the support of former presidents Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan. Then-President Bill Clinton signed it into law hours after the Senate approved it by a narrow 52-48 vote.

At the time, school shootings were still seen as an anomaly, and the ban proved to be short-lived; it expired exactly 10 years later, in accordance with a sunset provision that had been a key condition for its original passage. Republican lawmakers from Texas helped battle attempts to revive it.

Left for dead, proposals for a new ban on semi-automatic military-style rifles like the AR-15 that was used in the Valentine's Day school shooting in Parkland, Fla., are suddenly back in the national conversation. And while arguments over gun control haven't changed much since 1994, advocates see the Parkland massacre - the 18th shooting at a school in the first 44 days of 2018 - as a potential tipping point.

Stoneman Douglas High school shooting survivor Samuel Zeif, one of several victims and school officials who met Wednesday with President Donald Trump, summed up the current sentiment.

"I don't understand how I can walk into a store and buy a weapon of war," said Zeif, an 18-year-old senior who lost his best friend in the shooting rampage. "Let's never let this happen again. Please. Please."

FALKENBERG: Student protests are teachable moments, not punishable offenses

California U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, a Democrat who was the architect of the 1994 ban, called Thursday for a hearing on a new iteration of her long-stalled bill restricting assault weapons.

"From Aurora to Sandy Hook, San Bernardino to Las Vegas, Sutherland Springs to Parkland, one common thread that runs through mass shootings is the use of the AR-15 military-style assault weapons," she said. "These weapons are designed to kill the greatest number of people in the shortest amount of time, and we need to get these weapons of war off our streets."

Lessons from the 1994 ban

Gun control efforts have begun to feel like "Groundhog Day" to U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, a Texas Republican who led the fight against Feinstein's last assault weapon bid following the 2012 school shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Conn.

"It's tiresome," he said at the Conservative Political Action Conference on Thursday. "Every time you see a horrific crime, people in the media and Democratic politicians immediately try to leap on it to advance their agenda. And their agenda is stripping the rights away from law-abiding citizens."

Both sides have dug in, and both have turned to lessons of the 1994 ban for rhetorical ammunition.

Critics cite federally funded studies showing that it proved ineffective in reducing gun crime, then a national preoccupation after the crack cocaine and gang epidemic of the 1980s and '90s.

"It was silly," said Alice Tripp, legislative director for the Texas State Rifle Association, an affiliate of the National Rifle Association. "It attempted to fix a serious social issue by attacking one particular style of a very common firearm."

Gun control advocates said the 1994 law was watered down and riddled with loopholes. It barred the manufacture for civilian use of certain semi-automatic firearms deemed as "assault weapons," as well as "large capacity" ammunition clips of more than 10 bullets. Among the banned weapons was the AK-47 rifle used in the 1989 Stockton school shooting. It also banned the AR-15 used by 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz in Parkland this month.

But the ban applied only to weapons manufactured after the law passed. That meant leaving millions of existing guns, which suddenly increased in value, in the hands of the public.

"Although it was called a ban, it was not really a ban," said David Chipman, a former Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agent who serves as senior policy adviser to Americans for Responsible Solutions, a gun control group founded after the 2011 Arizona shooting rampage that wounded former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. "A ban to me means that any assault weapon would be illegal, and that's not what the assault weapons ban did."

The debate also became bogged down in a semantic dispute over what constitutes an assault weapon, as distinct from a hunting or sporting rifle.

"The 1994 ban banned weapons based on their appearance, not their functionality," said former Texas Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson, who authored Texas' concealed handgun law as a state senator in 1995. "They were going after ones that were macho-looking."

Patterson and other gun rights advocates point to the proliferation of weapons in the U.S. to question the utility of any ban, no matter how defined. Nothing short of confiscation would serve the purpose of removing assault weapons entirely from the civilian population, an idea that is anathema to Second Amendment activists.

'They're not going away'

One possible remedy, Patterson said, might be to ban large capacity ammunition clips.

"If there's a villain, it's high-capacity magazines," he said.

But even that, he said, would be useless. Smaller capacity magazines can be easily switched out to continue a sort of rapid fire - the hallmark of mass shootings. And besides, he said, like guns, there already are millions of high-capacity clips in circulation.

"They're out there," Patterson said, "and they're not going away."

Gun control advocates counter that an assault weapon ban would at least make it harder for troubled, would-be shooters to walk into a store and leave with an assault rifle.

"How much is too much? How much do you need?" asked Ed Scruggs, board vice chair of Texas Gun Sense. "Continuing to add to the stock makes it more and more available, and more and more normalized."

To Scruggs, the 1994 ban also provides a faint counterpoint to the conventional wisdom that Congress could never pass meaningful gun restrictions, whether they be bans on certain weapons, expanding background checks, raising age limits, or even expanding the registration requirements that have been in place for fully automatic weapons since the 1934 National Firearms Act, a response to the gangland crime of the Prohibition era.

"When people say it's impossible to have an assault weapon ban, they forget that we did have one," Scruggs said. "Whether it was as comprehensive as it needed to be, that's debatable."

When Congress let the ban die in 2004, the 1999 school shooting in Columbine, Colo., was then still seen as a shocking aberration.

Meanwhile, partisan divisions were widening, and a number of Texas political figures played into the ban's demise. Although then-President George W. Bush had run as a supporter of the assault weapon ban, he did not press for its extension as president, deferring to Congress.

Republicans, who had taken control of the House, failed to bring it to a floor vote. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay of Sugar Land called it "feel-good" legislation.

In the Senate, Feinstein and others introduced bills to reauthorize the ban, but none got out of committee. A subsequent effort in 2013 received just 40 votes in the Senate, with 60 voting against, including Cruz and U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas.

But it wasn't just Republicans who supplied the votes against reviving the ban. They were joined by 15 of Feinstein's fellow Democrats, mainly those from Western pro-gun states. Post-Newtown legislation mandating universal background checks for firearms sales also failed.

Momentum shift

Five years later, gun control advocates hope that the momentum is shifting as a new generation comes of age in an era of random death. All the teens shot in Parkland were born after Columbine. The national conversation is less about combating urban street crime than protecting school children from lone-wolf mass shooters, who can strike anywhere.

ARMED TEACHERS? In some Texas classrooms, the answer is 'yes'

"What has unfolded over time is that the assault weapon issue evolved from being a street crime problem to really a terrorism problem," Scruggs said. "People get the sense that it could happen in a mall. It could happen in a supermarket. It could happen anywhere the public gathers. It's the terroristic impact that these events have."

Pivoting away from guns, Trump and many top Republicans have turned their attention to mental health and law enforcement remedies, including arming teachers.

"In my view, we have a nut job problem, not a gun problem," said Patterson, who is running again as a GOP candidate for land commissioner.

Meanwhile, Cruz's likely Democratic opponent in the 2018 Senate race, U.S. Rep. Beto O'Rourke of El Paso, has co-sponsored the House version of a new assault weapon ban.

"Will I get the stuffing knocked out of me by the NRA for this?" he said. "Just watch it come down on us in the campaign."

But while the Parkland students are mobilizing a national gun control effort, it remains to be seen if NRA-backed lawmakers in Washington are prepared to face down gun rights allies who make up one of the most active parts of the GOP base.

"Clearly the awareness has changed," Chipman said. "Clearly the urgency by the Democratic Party has changed. What has not yet changed, at least at the federal level, is the calculus in Congress."Officially an atheist nation and a place where the government shutters some Christian churches, China is on course to become home to more Christians than any country in the world by 2030.

Christianity also is growing rapidly in some other Asian nations and sub-Saharan Africa as people in countries modernizing at a breakneck pace seek solace from the leading religion of western, technologically advanced nations.

"As countries get incorporated into the global capitalist world, a lot of uncertainty and stress is introduced into society," said Michael Emerson, an academic who focuses on the sociology of religion. "Christianity is seen as one way of modernizing and westernizing because Christianity is viewed as the faith of the west."

Emerson, provost of North Park University in Chicago, and other professors discussed the causes of Christianity's growth in Asia and Africa at a forum put on by Rice University's religion and public life program on Wednesday. In China, most people identify as atheists, influenced by communist party teachings about religion. Religious activities were banned in China from 1966-1979.

Since the Communist Party relaxed its policies about religion, traditional Chinese religions - Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism - have returned. And Christianity has grown alongside them.

As China introduced more capitalist features into its economy, the rate of Christianity's growth accelerated, said Fenggang Yang, a Purdue University sociology professor and author of "Religion in China: Survival and Revival under Communist Rule." Adherents to Christianity, he said, have been increasing about 10 percent annually in China for nearly 40 years.

Christianity is the dominant religion in the United States, the world's third most populous country, and Brazil, the fifth most populous. But China will be home to more Christians than these countries by 2030, Yang said. With 1.4 billion people, China's population, of course, dwarfs the U.S. population of 329 million.

In Harris County, Asians made up 7 percent of the population in 2016, and 1 percent of the population speaks Chinese, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Christianity is growing in China even though the government does not promote the faith, has closed churches and jailed some believers. Exactly how many Chinese are Christian is difficult to estimate because some people will not reveal that they are Christians - they fear government reprisal, Yang said. In surveys, about 3 percent of Chinese say they are Christian. Yang said the number is more likely at least 5 percent of the population.

"You can't evangelize or proselytize," said Emerson, a former Rice University sociology professor. "So some churches go underground. The Chinese government can't control the growth of Christianity."

Yang said there were many more true believers in communism's ideology before the Chinese government began opening up the economy in the 1980s.

Communist ideology was a belief system, said Yang, who taught Marxism and communism at a Chinese university in the 1980s. De-emphasizing communist ideology, he said, left "a vacuum or void" in some Chinese.

Yang said he and many other Chinese lost faith in Communist ideology when the government sent tanks into Tianamen Square in 1989 and cracked down on student-led protesters seeking democratic reforms. And as the Chinese economy grew and the pace of modernization picked up, some Chinese have turned to religion.

"During rapid social change, people want something. Many people were looking for some religion, some alternative to communism," Yang said.

In the years after the Tianamen Square protests, Yang, the former teacher of Marxist thought, said he stopped being an atheist and became a Christian while studying philosophy and earning his doctorate at Catholic University of America.

Emerson said that as a faith, Christianity presents a cosmology in which there are two realms: real life in which there is suffering and change and the entirely different spiritual plain on which God exists and salvation lies.

In countries where Christianity is now growing, some of these nations' traditional religions, he said, present a different cosmology, one in which God is everywhere or infused in real life.

In societies undergoing rapid modernization, Christianity may hold appeal. "If you introduce uncertainty and stress and change, it may be hard to say God is in all of this," Emerson said.

Christianity's explanation for a society undergoing a sea change, he said, may seem more satisfying: God and salvation exist apart from this rapidly changing world.The shoelaces were a problem.

Public defender Sarah Wood tried to tell Roberto Lopez that he was headed into court on a trespassing charge, but he couldn't stop focusing on lacing up his shoes.

The homeless veteran seemed older than his 61 years. He appeared confused, she said. When his name was finally called, he shuffled to the bench, holding on to steady himself before the magistrate.

"Mr. Lopez," Wood said, as the bail hearing began, "is someone who definitely needs help."

But help was not to come. Unlike some defendants who are assigned pretrial caseworkers to track their whereabouts and help them navigate the judicial system, Lopez was released from jail with little more than a piece of paper with his court date on it.

MORE: Harris County Jail launches new program to halt opioid addiction

Chances that he'd show up for court the next day were slim to none, Wood suspected. And she was right.

That's because, in Harris County, thousands of misdemeanor defendants who need pretrial supervision and assistance the most, such as Lopez, don't get it.

A Houston Chronicle review of more than 100 misdemeanor cases in Harris County, and interviews with defense attorneys, prosecutors, judges, jail administrators and defendants, revealed a pretrial system that provides little supervision for indigent defendants who are most at risk of failing to appear in court, while offering support to those at lower risk.

The result is a criminal justice system clogged with a growing number of failures to appear, months after a federal judge ordered the release of indigent defendants who can't afford to post bail.

County officials have said the releases pose a threat to public safety. Critics say the county is deliberately withholding pretrial supervision that could help defendants stay out of trouble, particularly in the ongoing courthouse chaos in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey.

For Lopez, bail was set at $5,000. Prior to the order from Chief U.S. District Judge Lee H. Rosenthal, Lopez would have sat in jail until trial because he did not have the cash to gain his release.

Instead, Rosenthal's order required Lopez and most other indigent misdemeanor defendants be released from jail within 24 hours, setting up a system that requires the sheriff's office to release defendants on unsecured bonds if magistrates refuse to give them personal bonds.

Personal bonds do not require cash up front and include pretrial services and assistance. Judges grant or deny them based on their assessment of the defendants' criminal history and the likelihood they will appear in court.

OUR 2015-16 INVESTIGATION: Jailhouse Jeopardy

Defendants who do not receive personal bonds will be transferred to jail, where the sheriff will determine if they can afford to post bail. If not, they are released on unsecured bonds, which do not include any supervision.

Since Rosenthal's ruling went into effect in June, more than 8,000 misdemeanor defendants have been released on unsecured bonds, yet more than 40 percent failed to appear for subsequent court hearings. The rate is nearly double that of defendants with personal bonds and far higher than the 8 percent failure rate for those with bail bondsmen providing surety bonds, according to data released by Harris County in November.

Defense attorneys and others say the county could fix the problem by expanding the use of personal bonds.

"These people on unsecured bonds are the people who need the most help, and they're getting the least," said defense attorney Franklin Bynum, who is running for judge in County Criminal Court-at-Law 8. "It's the most marginal people getting the least help. Then the county turns around and releases these failure-to-appear numbers and says, 'Hey, the system isn't working.'"

The Chronicle's review of cases from July 28 to Oct. 5 found 63 of 125 defendants with unsecured bonds failed to appear in court. Of those, 114 had criminal histories, with 82 having felonies on their record and 26 having more than five felonies, indicating that they may be considered "high-risk."

Yet about 87 percent went unsupervised, including those with significant failure-to-appear histories and aggravated robbery or aggravated family assault convictions. One unsupervised defendant charged with assault was a sex offender also convicted of assaulting a child and elderly person. Thirty-two defendants had more than 15 criminal convictions, and several had more than 40 convictions. Many were described as homeless or mentally ill.

Mixed results

The Chronicle's sampling was a random review and does not provide statistically significant data on the thousands of misdemeanor cases filed very month.

The findings, however, appeared to conflict with county officials' commitment to a "risk-based" system and a new risk-assessment tool, which went into effect in July to help judges and magistrates make decisions about bail and supervision.

MORE: 'Detention deputy' graduates step into new role at Harris County Jail

The nationally respected Public Safety Assessment tool, developed by the Laura and John Arnold Foundation, is designed to rely on objective factors such as criminal history and failure-to-appear history, rather than socioeconomic factors such as employment and family structure that may introduce bias into bail decisions.

The higher the risk the person poses of failing to appear or re-offending, the higher the levels of supervision that judges may consider ordering as conditions of that person's release. That's not how it's been working in Harris County.

"Really, there's no tailoring of any conditions that we can tell," said Chief Public Defender Alex Bunin.

Tom Berg, first assistant at the Harris County District Attorney's Office, said the county may be focusing its resources on supervising the wrong people.

"It's a dysfunctional system," Berg said. "We've taken the risk-assessment tool that was meant to supplant a bail-bond system, but instead we use it to simply generate risk scores that are then reported on a bail-bond schedule. That's why we have such mixed results."

Aggravated by Harvey

Shamira Brown said she must have called the court information hotline a dozen times.

The single mother of two had been arrested for assault in the aftermath of Harvey, days after fleeing her flooded home. She had accused another woman of taking her daughter's iPad during the chaos, leading to a physical fight, Brown said.

But after being released on an unsecured bond, she was confused about how she was supposed to appear in court a few days later. She had seen on the news that the courthouse had been all but destroyed by flooding, yet no one answered the hotline listed on the form she was given at the jail.

Just to be safe, she took three buses downtown early on the morning of Sept. 8, the day she was ordered to appear. She arrived to find exactly what she expected: a flooded, shut-down courthouse.

So from the courthouse steps, she kept dialing.

PODCAST: Beatings, neglect plague Harris County Jail

"I thought, now what?" Brown said. "I didn't know where to go, what to do. Even though I knew the courthouse was flooded, I thought, maybe there is some way I can get in there, some kind of way  But they never picked up."

Brown is now among an untold number of defendants with warrants out for their arrest, despite being sent to the wrong place or at the wrong time - a problem exacerbated after Harvey.

The Chronicle identified at least 31 cases in which defendants were given wrong information about their court date; 15 of them forfeited their bonds for failing to appear at the first setting. Since June 6, more than 3,500 warrants have been issued in misdemeanor cases for failure to appear.

County Court-at-Law Judges Paula Goodhart and Darrell Jordan told the Chronicle they are not sure how or even if defendants on unsecured bonds were notified that court dates were reset directly after Harvey.

Brown said pretrial supervision would have helped her return to court, if she'd just been assigned a case manager to assist with court dates and where to go.

"I didn't get anything in the mail, no lawyer papers. They just never told me where to go," Brown said. "Y'all wasn't even doing your part, but you're quick to put out a warrant for someone?"

A matter of time

Sometimes, defendants are given so little time to return to court they don't know they've missed it, defense attorneys said.

They may be released from jail at 1 a.m. or 4 a.m. only to be expected in a different courtroom at 8 a.m., records show. They may not be released from jail until after their follow-up court date has already passed.

MORE: Transgender inmates try to start over. Jail might be best shot.

They may not be able to make arrangements in time for child care, their job or transportation, Bynum said. And since these are most often defendants who cannot afford to pay a bail bondsman, their mobility may be limited compared to others with more financial means.

Of the 125 cases reviewed by the Chronicle, 26 of the 63 defendants who failed to appear had missed the first court setting. Sometimes the county never sees them again, Wood said.

"There are people that miss that first-day setting over and over and over again, then are required to come back the next day, then they miss it. Over and over and over," Wood said. "(The Harris County Public Defender's Office) represents people who have been released and re-arrested nine times in the same case. And these are mentally ill homeless people. The mentally ill homeless generally don't get the personal bonds. They get unsecured release, because they're considered high-risk."

In 29 cases reviewed by the Chronicle, mentally ill defendants with unsecured bonds failed to appear three or more times in a matter of weeks or months. Some failed to appear more than 10 times, with one failing to appear as many as 24 times while out on bond for 15 other criminal cases.

The majority are charged with trespassing, and often have more than 10 prior arrests for the same crime; one had up to 24 prior trespassing charges, indicating homelessness, Wood said.

The 29 defendants alone accounted for 235 bond forfeitures - or failures to appear - in the county's data. In fact, the inordinately high number of people missing court dates in Harris County may be blamed, in part, on how the data is calculated.

The county counts failures to appear not by individual defendants but by individual bond forfeitures, meaning multiple forfeitures may stem from a single defendant.

Harris County Precinct 1 Commissioner Rodney Ellis, who supports settlement of the federal lawsuit, said he feared the county would try to use the inflated data to thwart reform by claiming unsecured releases aren't working.

MORE: 'Harvey deals' are cut in jail basement after flood damaged courthouse

"The recently released data shows that poor pretrial misdemeanor defendants are still stuck at the bottom of an unfair justice system, where pretrial supervision is unequally applied and, as a result, opportunities to improve public safety are missed," Ellis said in a written statement.

"The county should use complete, accurate data to improve reform efforts instead of fighting reform with data that doesn't tell a complete story about the defendants or the pretrial treatment they receive," he said.

Lack of accountability?

Much of the responsibility for releasing defendants under Rosenthal's order has shifted from the courtroom to the jail, where Sheriff Ed Gonzalez has created a new burden for his staff.

The county too often depends on the sheriff's staff to release defendants on unsecured bonds after magistrates have refused to grant them personal bonds, said Bunin, the chief public defender.

"Part of it is the way the federal bail order was written - it takes the onus off the courts for correcting these problems, so the county just sees it as an obligation for the sheriff," Bunin said. "Until they take on the responsibility, I don't see that changing."

The Chronicle requested interviews with the magistrates but they instead responded with a lengthy written statement from Hearing Officer Eric Hagstette, who referred all further questions to other county officials.

In the statement, magistrates wrote that a system in which almost every misdemeanor defendant gets released has created a "culture of non-accountability" in Harris County, allowing repeat offenders to keep being released for free.

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"What we have seen since the order has been implemented is that some defendants, regardless of how they are released or conditions imposed, re-offend and/or fail to appear," they wrote.

The sheriff's office, however, has no authority to add pretrial conditions to unsecured bonds. But neither the magistrates nor other county officials could say why pretrial supervision was not ordered more often at bail hearings.

Goodhart said some defendants who may need supervision don't show up to the next-day hearing. Some are released by the sheriff within the required 24 hours before they can ever get to a bail hearing, though Maj. Gregory Summerlin, head of the intake division, said it happens infrequently.

"If your question to me is, should there be supervision for people who are released on unsecured bonds, then that seems like it would be a good idea to have them supervised as well," Goodhart said. "The problem is that in order for a magistrate or a judge to give them conditions of supervision, they have to appear in court."

First Assistant County Attorney Robert Soard said one contributor to high failure-to-appear rates among unsecured bond defendants may be that Rosenthal's order provides no recourse for the county to punish defendants who continually fail to appear and are re-arrested on other misdemeanor offenses.

Berg, in the DA's office, said his office is considering asking for changes to Rosenthal's order to provide consequences for repeat defendants.

'It's business as usual'

In spite of the county's bail reforms - the new risk assessment tool, assigning public defenders to attend bail hearings - there are days when it feels as though nothing has changed, Wood said.

Without Rosenthal's ruling, indigent defendants would still be sitting in jail, too poor to get out while awaiting trial, she said.

"It's business as usual," Wood said. "Many of the magistrates operate as if the federally ordered unsecured releases were not happening. And so they've fallen back on their old ways, of trying to issue orders of preventive detention by setting money bail at an amount they know the person can't afford."

Just moments before Lopez appeared in court, Wood represented another man facing misdemeanor charges of trespassing and evading arrest after being told to stop begging for money at a local McDonald's.

"He takes care of his mom and his mom takes care of him," Wood told the magistrate. "He takes it seriously and says, you know, he has to beg.  It would be better if he had the help of pretrial services on his bonds, because he's going to be released anyway."

The magistrate set the bonds at $5,000 each, leaving the sheriff to decide if he's too poor to pay.

The man tried one more time. "Can I get a personal bond?" he asked.

"Not today," the magistrate responded.Harris County took the fight over its controversial bail system to the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday, even as county officials scrambled to plan the imminent release of dozens of misdemeanor defendants held behind bars who cannot afford to post cash bail.

A federal appeals court ruling earlier Tuesday had greenlighted the release of hundreds of poor inmates held in the Harris County Jail on misdemeanor charges ahead of their trials, and Sheriff Ed Gonzalez prepared for the release of as many as 177 people starting Wednesday morning.

But in an emergency filing late Tuesday with the nation's highest court, Harris County asked for another halt to the ruling by Chief U.S. District Judge Lee H. Rosenthal.

The county's request went to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, who handles appeals requests from the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Thomas can either rule on the matter himself or take it to the full court, according to the county attorney's office.

"In the absence of a stay, the district court's order that Harris County - the third-largest jurisdiction in the nation - immediately release without sufficient surety untold numbers of potentially dangerous arrestees is certain to cause irreparable harm," the county's appeal states.

Two civil rights groups - Texas Fair Defense Project and Civil Rights Corps - and local law firm Susman Godfrey filed the lawsuit last year on behalf of Maranda ODonnell, a single mother who was held for two days on a charge of driving without a valid license because she couldn't afford the $2,500 bail. Similar lawsuits filed on behalf of two other people were merged into the case in August.

An attorney for the inmates, Neal Manne with Susman Godfrey, declined to answer questions about how they would respond to the county's emergency motion, saying they would not argue their case in the media.

The appeal to the Supreme Court came at the end of a whirlwind day for the county in a closely watched case targeting a bail system in which poor people accused of low-level misdemeanors frequently are kept in jail because they can't afford to post cash bail while awaiting trial.

Working out the kinks

On Tuesday morning, a three-judge panel from the 5th Circuit Court determined that Rosenthal's ruling would remain in effect until the case goes to trial. The ruling set in motion the release of up to 177 misdemeanor detainees, who do not have money to pay cash bail and who do not have other restrictions such as mental health evaluations or federal detainers.

The inmates affected by the ruling account for about 2 percent of the total jail population of 8,800, sheriff's officials said.

The county will comply with Rosenthal's order until the U.S. Supreme Court weighs in.

"We know we all have to follow the order of a federal district court," said Robert Soard, the first assistant county attorney. "We're working with both the sheriff and pretrial services, and we're going to try to accomplish that as seamlessly as we can."

The sheriff's office expected to begin releasing qualified inmates early Wednesday.

"It doesn't mean that 177 people will walk out," said Jason Spencer, spokesman for the sheriff. "That would be the absolute highest number. In all likelihood it will be less than that."

About 10 detention officers representing the two jail facilities and the processing center met with command staff Tuesday afternoon for a debriefing on how the release would take place.

Rosenthal's ruling calls for the release on personal bonds for low-level misdemeanor defendants who do not have money to pay cash bail. John Martin, a major with the sheriff's office, said jail staff will meet with inmates and ask about their ability to make bail.

Rosenthal's order also requires new procedures for releasing newly arrested people who don't have the resources to pay cash bond. Rosenthal said officials have 24 hours from the moment of arrest to determine whether a person's ability to post bond.

Spencer said the sheriff and his staff feel ready.

"This is a new process," he said. "We believe we're in a good position. We've already laid the groundwork for it. We're going to have to work out any kinks that arise."

'A cautionary note'

The county had argued that Rosenthal erred in her 193-page ruling earlier this year, which found the county's cash bail system was unconstitutional, and continued to make that argument in its emergency appeal to the Supreme Court Tuesday. That request seeks a new delay for Rosenthal's order.

At the same time, the county will continue appealing the full order, which they argue releases potentially dangerous inmates and eliminates judicial discretion.

Josh Blackman, a civil law expert at South Texas College of Law-Houston who is not involved in the case, said the county must comply with Rosenthal's ruling regardless of an appeal to the Supreme Court.

Blackman and another independent expert - David Coale, a partner with the Dallas law firm Lynn Pinker Cox and Hurst - said the 5th Circuit judges who issued the ruling were a "representative cross-section" of the full court, with two Republican appointees and one Obama appointee.

The judges' decision Tuesday suggests the county may face an uphill battle as the underlying appeal continues, the experts said.

"It's not a guarantee that the county's going to lose, by any means, but it is a cautionary note for the county, that the court may perceive some legal flaws," Coale said.

"It's not saying how they're going to rule on the merits," Blackman said, "but it's a big signal."

Gabrielle Banks contributed to this report.Bail is not intended to be a punishment; its intended purpose is to make sure that people show up for their court date. But in communities across Texas, people who are still presumed innocent are being held in jail because they can't afford to post bail. The Harris County money bail system has been challenged in court and found unconstitutional by a federal judge for precisely this reason.

But in an op-ed piece in the Houston Chronicle last week, City Council Member Michael Kubosh - who also happens to be a bail bondsman - defended money bail as indispensable to the maintenance of public safety. What he failed to mention, of course, is that bondsmen like him profit from subverting the basic American principle of "innocent until proven guilty."

KUBOSH: Texas can't afford to give criminals Get Out of Jail Free card

Here's how: If you have been arrested and booked into jail, a judge will assign you a bail amount of, for example, $2,500. What happens next depends entirely on how wealthy you are.

If you can pay in full, you go home. If you can afford to pay a bondsman 10 percent of the amount - $250 - and you agree to wear his branded ankle monitor or submit to whatever other conditions he might impose on you, then you can go home. The catch, of course, is that even if you are innocent, even if your charges are dismissed, the bondsman still gets to pocket your $250.

COUNTY CASH: Politicians reveal their priorities by spending millions on outside lawyers to defend cash bonds

If you don't have $250 - the most common scenario, as well as the worst - you will sit in a cell awaiting trial, possibly for months, while taxpayers foot the bill for your incarceration, your food and your medical care. You will almost certainly lose your job and possibly your home and even custody of your children. In other words, your life will be ruined; again, even if you are innocent of the crime with which you have been charged.

Such a system is clearly not interested in justice. It is interested only in money.

As two people involved in civil rights and community organizations advocating for bail reform, we do not suggest that everyone charged with a crime should simply be released from jail. What we are saying is that determination should not be made on as unjust, ineffective and predatory a consideration as money bail. Those few people who are truly dangerous should be detained no matter the size of their wallets, based on an adequate hearing and a transparent order that recites the reasons the person is too dangerous to let go. But studies show that nearly everyone who is detained pre-trial can be released without jeopardizing public safety, and there are a wealth of proven alternatives: text message alerts of court dates, transportation to court, pre-trial diversion programs and treatment for mental health and addiction, among others.

SIMPLY INDEFENSIBLE: Time to stop fighting bail reform efforts in Harris County and statewide

We've already witnessed the effectiveness of the alternatives. New Jersey, for example, once the center of the bail bond industry, recently eliminated money bail via statewide legislation that came into effect in January 2017. By June of that year, jail populations were down nearly 20 percent without any meaningful reported decline in public safety.

Kubosh is right about one thing: Almost all Texas counties do rely on a money bail system to release defendants. But all that means is that almost all Texas counties have an unconstitutional system of pretrial release. This is exactly why Harris County isn't the only jurisdiction facing a challenge to its money bail system. Last week civil rights organizations filed a federal class action lawsuit against Dallas County for similar violations. Other such challenges are underway all across the country.

It's time for Texas to end its twisted addiction to money bail and start using the tools to ensure that no one's liberty is contingent on the size of their pocketbooks. Texans have a #Right2Justice.

Jackson and Jenkins are members of the Right2Justice Coalition.One in four New Zealanders are limited by physical, sensory learning, mental health or other impairment, reported 1NewsNow.

Two organisations, ACC and recruitment firm Adecco, are also trying to convince employers to change their mindset about workers with disabilities.

ACC project manager Tim Johnson, once a Paralympic athlete, said businesses need to look at workers with disabilities for what they can do and not for what they cant.

Another advocate, former rugby player Mano Thompson, said it was difficult for him to find a job after a severe spinal injury. He had six months of rehabilitation and took three years before he could find a job -- but even then employers always asked about the gap in his resume, he told 1NEWS.While some of the discussion has been less than civil at times, one thing that cannot be denied about the aftermath of the horrific school shooting in Florida is that we're having a robust conversation about gun violence and school safety in our country.

The unanswered question is whether all of this dialogue can lead to meaningful and effective change that helps prevent mass killings in the future.

We view some proposed reforms as especially needed, such as a federal ban on semi-automatic assault weapons that are designed to kill large numbers of people as quickly as possible. But we also urge people to avoid the trap of arguing for or against a specific suggestion as being the sole solution. The reality is that there's not one change that will fix this problem.

One such example is the idea brought forth last week by the New York State Sheriffs' Association for the state government to provide funding for an armed school resource officer in every school building. It's not a perfect solution (a single officer can't be at all access points of a school building or property), but it sure could help.

Sheriffs: Put armed officers in all schools The New York State Sheriffs' Association has a proposal aimed at boosting security in schools.International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer 2021: Heres How You Can Protect the Ozone LayerYou've seen the planes everywhere, right? Getty Images

Absurdly Driven looks at the world of business with a skeptical eye and a firmly rooted tongue in cheek.

Americans adore making money.

Many respect it above all things.

If you're rich, you're to be admired. Until, that is, you do something that makes people tweet bad things about you.

Which brings me to American Airlines.

Its CEO, Doug Parker, is fond of profit. He believes that taking things away from passengers can bring dividends.

He also, some are saying, appears to believe that paying some of his employees a pittance is excellent business.

The Dallas Morning News this week presented a painful expose that recounted the lifestyles of workers at Irving, Texas-based Envoy Air.

You might know this American Airlines-owned company -- it's American's biggest subsidiary -- by its brand name: American Eagle.

It flies regional jets all over America.

It also has employees on food stamps.

Indeed, 75 percent of Envoy's employees are, according to a Communication Workers of America survey, making less than $13 an hour.

They start on as little as $9.48 an hour. They get a $1 raise after a year.

For the next 10 years, however, there are no guarantees.

They don't have a collective bargaining agreement.

You might think this is all about being competitive. That's what Envoy's management seems to claim.

But it's American Airlines that sets the terms. It's the one that decides on American Eagle's schedule and its ticket prices.

And where do you think the revenue goes? Why, to American Airlines.

For his part, Parker has boasted that American will never lose money again, just as he's trying to shove more seats onto more planes at seemingly any cost to passenger comfort.

But now, more than 80 members of Congress have realized just how little American pays thousands of its employees.

The Congresspeople have written a letter to Parker. The text might be summarized as: "You're paying these people how much?"

I contacted American to ask for its view of this troubling situation.

I was passed straight to an Envoy spokeswoman, who told me: "Envoy and CWA representatives have worked collaboratively toward an initial collective bargaining agreement for our passenger service agents. We will continue to negotiate in hopes of reaching terms for a mutually agreeable collective bargaining agreement. Out of respect for the integrity of the collective bargaining process, it's not appropriate to comment on the status of any provisions under discussion at this time."Couldn't the airline have done something? Anything? Getty Images

Absurdly Driven looks at the world of business with a skeptical eye and a firmly rooted tongue in cheek.

For most of their lives, Americans don't care about curling.

On Friday night, however, many were riveted to heavy kettles sliding down the ice, as grown men manically swept away like cleaners on cocaine.

They were even shrieking in Hoboken when they should have been in bed.

If you ever told me that there would be a time where, at 1:30 in the morning, there would be a bar in America (Hoboken, NJ) with all the TVs on curling and people screaming, you would be lying. It happened. ( by @JeffDLowe) pic.twitter.com/xRvn9IGvtY -- Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) February 24, 2018

And then the U.S. Curling team won.

The same U.S. Curling team that, four years ago, had their captain John Shuster described by Deadspin as "the choking captain of our choking team of choking curlers."

Some Americans just can't bear losing.

You might imagine that the victorious U.S Curling Team is in a good mood.

So its governing body took to Twitter to make a small request of Delta Air Lines.

Perhaps they were joking. Perhaps they were hoping.

I'm a little of both when I occasionally try to incite the sympathy of an airline check-in agent.

Oh, but look how Delta replied.

Hi, there. Congratulations, gold medal champions! We are honored to be your ride back home! While we don't have any upgrades to offer, we look forward to seeing you on board. Thanks for flying with us! *AJL -- Delta (@Delta) February 24, 2018

Oh, no, no, no.

Ten tons of no.

There aren't enough no's to sufficiently express quite what a no response this is.

Naturally, I can see that some might praise the airline for its deep-seated lurch toward equality.

But the administrative neutrality of the tone was desperately inappropriate.

Delta surely had alternatives.

These men are folk heroes. At least for this weekend.

Give them something and you'll get lovely PR from it.

The airline could, for example, have teased U.S.A. Curling to switch to Direct Message and worked something out that would have delighted the team and made Delta look good.

That's what often happens when a passenger has a complaint. The airline immediately asks them to switch to private communication.

Delta could have worked out a promotional deal. It could have agreed to ferry the team on some sort of goodwill tour around the chillier, snowier parts of America.

It could have created a special celebration for the team when it got home.

Instead, oh, this. Ugh, this.

The tweet didn't even say whether the flight was full and therefore its hands were tied.

I contacted the airline to ask if this was the case.

A spokeswoman told me: "We are excited these Olympic champions have chosen to fly home on Delta, and we are looking forward to welcoming them on board. While there are no seats currently available for upgrades, we are working with our employee teams to celebrate their gold-medal achievement ahead of departure and in flight."

Ah.

So now United Airlines, it's for you to knock that Delta kettle out of the airline PR circle thingy and score a fiver. (This is curling terminology, of course.)

United, you're an Olympic sponsor, after all.

Lay on a special plane, one in which the team can actual curl down the aisle.Google launched its own job search engine  heres how it works

Looking for a job?

Just Google it.

The tech giant recently launched its own job search feature, Google for Jobs.

As Business Insiders Matt Weinberger reports, the new feature employs machine learning-trained algorithms to sort and organise job listings from a range of employment sites including LinkedIn, Monster and Glassdoor.

So if you decide to find your next gig on Google, youll have a streamlined place to search and AI technology on your side.

Heres 13 tips on how to get started using Google for Jobs:

1. To get started, type jobs or internships into a Google search with or without accompanying words, and a box labelled Jobs will pop up beneath the search bar.

Aine Cain/Business Insider

2. The other words you type into your search will narrow your results. So, if youre looking for a job in media, you could type reporter jobs and a number of nearby reporter positions will pop up beneath the Jobs box

3. If you simply want to search for nearby jobs, type jobs near me.

4. And if you want to find a job in a new locale, simply type the US city or state where you want to work followed by jobs.

5. When you click on the Jobs box, youll be taken to this page. Google for Jobs works by pulling in postings from a wide range of different job sites and deleting duplicate listings.

6. At this point, you can get more specific about what kinds of jobs youre looking for.

7. Whittle your options down by title

Aine Cain/Business Insider (Aine Cain/Business Insider)

8. Date posted

9. Industry

10. Type of work, as well as location and company type. All of these tabs can really streamline your search and pinpoint good matches

11. If you want to keep on top of certain job postings, you can turn on job alerts to have new search results sent directly to your email

12. Once youve found something that strikes your fancy, you cant directly apply for the role on Google for Jobs. Instead, Google directs you over to the original posting

13. And If you have a particular dream company in mind, you can list it in the search bar or find it by clicking the employer tab

Aine Cain/Business Insider (Aine Cain/Business Insider)

Read more:

 May tackles new Brexit Rebellion

 Philip Hammond and Mark Carney are in China to secure 1 billion of trade deals

 Facebook admits that social media can be bad for you

Read the original article on Business Insider UK.  2018. Follow Business Insider UK on Twitter.

Click here for EE Mobile discount codesA man has been arrested in connection with the death of a police detective a little over five years since his fatal shooting.

The suspect, aged in his 20s, was arrested in Dublin on Sunday evening.

Detective Garda Adrian Donohoe was shot dead on January 25 2013 as he escorted takings from a credit union in Dundalk, Co Louth, to a bank.

The 41-year-old father-of-two was travelling in a three-car convoy when it was ambushed by an armed gang.

He was shot and his partner was taken at gunpoint from the car.

Expand Close Detective Garda Adrian Donohoe was shot dead five years ago (Niall Carson/PA) / Facebook

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Whatsapp Detective Garda Adrian Donohoe was shot dead five years ago (Niall Carson/PA)

The suspects escaped with 4,000 euro in cash while Detective Donohoe died at the scene.

A Garda spokesman said the arrested man is currently being detained at Dundalk Garda station.

Last month, on the fifth anniversary of the detectives death, a direct appeal was made by gardai to the families of his killers to do the right thing and come forward with information.'But by now voters really should cop on to the con job perpetrated on them in the 2016 election.' Stock picture

Plans for directly-elected mayors in Dublin and Cork are set to be fast-tracked by the government after both cities vote on the proposals later this year.

A report will be brought to the cabinet in the coming weeks which states different options of power that could be given to directly-elected mayors, the Sunday Business Post reports.

These potential functions include executive duties equivalent to that of existing city managers. While no final decisions have been made on what powers elected mayors would have, options include responsibility for forward planning, economic development and city promotion, as well as the possibility of replacing city council chief executives.

Minister John Paul Phelan is considering a mayor for the greater Cork city area coinciding with the recently redrawn Cork county boundary and an executive mayor for the greater Dublin area and commuter belt including towns Kildare, Wicklow and Meath.

Concerns have arisen on having one mayor responsible for the nearly two million people in the greater Dublin area.

One proposal includes having a directly-elected mayor for the the Dublin City Council region, but with full executive powers over a smaller area.

Another option suggests including delegating responsibility for transport projects in Cork and Dublin to the new mayors office.

Plebiscites are scheduled to be held in both cities after one of the options is settled on, creating the possibility of mayoral elections in Dublin and Cork during the local and European elections in May 2019.



Guwahati : A major back through to Meghalaya police as most wanted top Garo terrorist Sohan D Shira has been killed in an encounter with the Meghalaya police on Saturday in East Garo Hills.





Top official of Meghalaya police O Paasi said that, most wanted terrorist Sohan D Shira, Commander-in-Chief of Garo National Liberation Army (GNLA) was killed during a gun fight with security forces at Dobu A'chakpek area in East Garo Hills district at around 11-50 am.





Security forces recovered one AK series rifle with magazine, ammunition from the encounter spot.





The top Meghalaya police official said that, security forces had launched an offensive operation against Sohan D Shira after he was found to have been involved in killing of Jonathone N Sangma, NCP candidate for Williamnagar on February 18 last.





Earlier, the elusive GNLA leader was narrow escaped during gun battle with security forces in many occasions.





GNLA is active in Meghalaya's Garo Hills area and some parts of Assam.





The Garo outfit group is seeking separate state of Garoland.



Those farmers who are lucky enough to have an employee or lucky enough in the future to be able to find one are facing a further challenge coming down the tracks.

From January next year, the PAYE system will undergo a major reform.

Revenue are describing it as PAYE modernisation which will involve the most significant reform of the system since its introduction in 1960.

Employers will need to calculate and report their employees' pay and deductions online as they are being paid which will end the more flexible practices engaged in by many employers currently.

Revenue say that it will make it easier for employers and employees to ensure that the correct tax is deducted and paid at the right time.

Revenue also say that the new system will improve the streamlining of current business processes and will reduce the administrative burden currently experienced by employers to meet their PAYE reporting obligations.

Farmers will undoubtedly say that they have heard all of this before, particularly from the Department of Agriculture with continuous streamlining of various processes in regard to compliance and cross compliance schemes.

In the main, such streamlining has not always reduced the administrative burden but rather has resulted in more red tape and record keeping and generally more cost.

'Real-time' reporting

The new system will require 'real time' reporting (as it happens) for all employee payments being made from 1 January 2019.

This will require employers or their accountants/agents to review their current business processes and practices so that they meet the new requirements.

The old Tax Deduction Card will disappear and will be replaced by the Revenue Payroll Notification (RPN). The P45, P60 and P35 will also disappear.

Procedures

PAYE Modernisation will change how employers report their payroll information to Revenue. Every time an employee is paid, be it monthly or weekly, a file will need to be submitted (electronically) to Revenue, consisting of all details of employee payments and deductions.

Real Time Reporting (RTR) will result in a reduction in the occurrence of year end over/underpayments of tax. As an employer, you will need to:

request a Revenue Payroll Notification (RPN) from Revenue before making a payment to an employee. The RPN will provide the employer with the necessary information to deduct from the employee the correct tax, USC and Local Property Tax (if applicable). You must request an RPN from Revenue through ROS each time you make a payment to an employee. The RPN will be unique to the payment and employment

* report details of all employee payments in real-time to Revenue

* receive a monthly statement from Revenue

* file monthly returns

* be able to pay by variable direct debit.

From January 1 next year, the first time you request an RPN for a new employee, that request will also register the employment with Revenue.

If a new employee is not registered with Revenue they will need to do so by registering for myAccount which is a single access point for secure online services for individuals with Revenue.

Once they are registered, they will have to select 'Add Job or Pensions' in PAYE Services to register the employment. The employer will then be able to request an RPN for the employee.

Benefits for Employees

An online statement will be sent before the start of the new tax year which will detail the employee's tax credits and standard rate cut-off point (SRCOP).

This will be based on estimated income and details available to Revenue.

Employees will be encouraged to make any adjustments to this online statement, including any claims for additional entitlements

. This differs from the current system where an employee has to wait until the end of the tax year to apply for any refund of tax due. P60s will be abolished so employees will instead have access to their pay and tax record online which will at all times be up to date due to the real-time nature of the system.

Monthly Statements

Revenue will issue a monthly statement to the employer with the total amount deducted or repaid of Income tax. USC, PRSI and LPT (if relevant). If the details are wrong, you will have to correct the statement and submit the corrections to Revenue before the return due date. The statement will automatically become the return for the period.

Returns and payments

Returns must be made on a monthly basis but payment can continue as currently, be they monthly or quarterly. The return and payment due dates are 14 days after the end of the month or quarter as the case may be. There will be a provision for variable monthly payments by direct debit and the Collector-General will have the power to vary the payment date.

Conclusion

My reading of the PAYE modernisation prospectus has not instilled me with confidence that the administration burden will be any lighter for farmers with one or two employees.

On the contrary, it is a totally online based system and unless farmers are 'IT or tech savvy' I cannot see them being in a position to operate this new system. The net result will be added costs in having to pay the accountant to perform the task.

That said, Revenue have made a very good job of modernising the income tax system and we have to accept that, like it or not, online filing and administration is fast becoming the norm.

For example, the 2018 Basic Payment application can only be filed on line. Like most changes in life, things never prove to be as complicated as they appear at the outset and hopefully this will be the case with the new PAYE system.

Martin O'Sullivan is the author of the ACA Farmers Handbook. He is a partner in O'Sullivan Malone and Company, accountants and registered auditors: www.som.ieRussian farms the size of Co Clare are proving lucrative for Irish agri-tech companies who recently travelled to the Agrofarm agriculture show near Moscow.

Dairymaster, Moocall, Lir Agri and Weatherbys Scientific showcased their products to 12,000 visitors at the event.

Dairymaster's international business development manager Fergus O Meara said their rotary parlours received a lot of interest from new and existing Russian customers. Although herd sizes are extremely large in Russia, many have yet to convert to rotary style systems.

"There are operations with 18,000 cows. The smallest of projects we came across was 1,200," he said. "We are happy with how it went. We met a customer milking 7,000 cows and looking for rotary parlours and increased automation to save labour.

"A lot of cows are still tethered but farmers have the hectares to back it up and now they want the technology. They're a very straight-talking customer."

Traditional system

Moocall's Paul Kenny explained that the high immortality rate of calves in Russia is an area they hope to target.

"At the moment it's a very traditional system there. 24pc of calves die at birth. This is obviously an avenue we feel we could aim our products towards," he said.

Ian Sanders of Weatherbys Scientific, which is involved in animal husbandry, said while it was "an early and developing market in Russia, we still managed to sign deals."

Meanwhile, Teagasc and Sustainable Food Systems Ireland (SFSI) signed an agreement with Russian researchers to establish a database of the genetics of cattle herds in the Tatarstan region in Russia.

Speaking about the agreement, which is set to come in to place in March, SFSI's David Butler said: "The Irish genomics story is a compelling one and one that the Russians were interested in.

"Ireland's experience as a pioneer in adopting genomics as the preferred selection method in breeding is seen as valuable to Russian authorities."There once was a widow named Mary who was milking 10 cows. Her advisor said to her,: "Do you know, Mary, on your acreage, you could be milking 20 cows". After a moment, Mary replied: "Why would I milk 20 cows when I can live off 10?"

This story may well be a rural myth, but it does prompt questions like why we work so hard and how much is enough?

An interesting take on these questions is contained in a book entitled Affluence without Abundance, by James Suzman.

Suzman is an anthropologist and the book is part memoir, part fieldwork report of his time with the Ju/'hoansi bushmen of Namibia.

Bushmen have lived in Namibia for at least 40,000 years and are possibly the genetic ancestors of us all.

Some people moved to other places and modernised in tandem with their changing societies. But the Bushmen remained isolated, so Suzman suggests that they are thus representative of how humans have lived for at least 95pc of our history.

Suzman discovered that the Ju/'hoansi could make a comfortable living by working only 15 hours a week at hunting and/or gathering (which they usually found very enjoyable) plus another 20 hours on domestic chores.

The standard working week in Ireland is 39 hours. Few farmers would get away with the colour of that.

The Bushmen spent a lot of the rest of their time making art and music, visiting friends and playing with their children. They are highly intelligent but have few needs that are easily met. It is a freer, fairer, highly sociable, existence, lived in harmony with their environment.

They roamed with no more property than they could carry, they had no homesteads to defend, no surpluses to hoard and protect, and show an unconcern for the future that we would consider irresponsible.

While people today, especially us farmers, tend to see the agricultural revolution as overwhelmingly positive, Suzman questions this view.

He (like most readers of these words) grew up in a society that values work, being busy. But where does it come from? Obviously not from our hunter/gatherer ancestors who were content to work as little as possible.

Instead, he believes it is a result of the agricultural revolution; once it had happened, we became its "hostage". When there was more food, it could support more people. So more people were born and more food was needed.

He believes this mindset spread, to become a major factor in shaping today's economy.

An unquenchable thirst for more was created.

The questions I posed earlier are always dangling in front of us, but how often do we consider them. Who benefits most from our hard work - us or someone higher up the foodchain? Is what we do with our lives what we really want to be doing?

When considering them, we need to realise that everybody who seeks to influence our behaviour has an agenda, whether that is Mark Zuckerberg, the Pope or your farm advisor. So we need to listen to everyone and then make up our own mind.

Sadly for them, the Bushmen are dying out, as much of their traditional territories have been taken over by modern agriculture. However, Suzman's work offers a template for living a fuller life with less by "embracing the affluence already created and recognising value in things other than our labour."

He believes that this may well be led by Millennials (those who have become adults in the 21st century) "a group in the first world who have known nothing but abundance and who seem increasingly inclined to seek out work that they love rather than persuade themselves to learn to love the work they find."They were surrounded by snow-capped hills and lashed by intermittent heavy showers of hail, but the dairy cows were still grazing contentedly on Fortview farm in Rathkeale last Thursday.

That they were out grazing at all is testament to good soil management on the farm where targeting optimum nutrient level is a priority.

The benefit of the "early bite" has seen Philip Ruttle (pictured right) save 2.70/cow/day, since the cows went on to grass on January 22, which is equivalent to up to 1,000/week for a 50 cow grazing herd.

"It has been a difficult year for many farmers, but where the nutrients are good, grass has been growing and pastures are recovering," John Maher, Teagasc specialist, Grass 10 manager, Moorepark told the 80 farmers who braved the conditions to attend the seminar at Fortview. Early grass is money, explained local Teagasc advisor, Padraig Fitzgerald.

He said that while Spring 2018 has presented challenges for both the industry and dairy farmers "there were also lots of opportunities".

Met Eireann rainfall measurement at nearby Shannon Airport shows that January was almost double the long-term average and nearly four times January 2017, while for the first half of February rainfall has been almost par with the long- term average for the month.

Padraig Fitzgerald said that farmers can turn early and compact calving into reducing the work load in the spring months and making more profit.

"With more compact calving and getting the cows out to grass early there is an opportunity to grow more grass and improve your margins, because you are setting up for a good grass growing year and the more grass that you can get into your cows the more profit you will have at the end of the year. The objective is to utilise one tonne D/M per hectare in the first rotation. The quality grass in the spring is the best feed that you can get into the cows, it is high energy, high in protein and will give high solids" he added.

Planning for early grazing commenced when the paddocks were closed on December 1 with a cover of 607kg/DM/ha and a turnout on January 22, the grass cover was 682 kg/DM/ha. On January 19, slurry at a rate of 3,500 gl/ac was applied to 20pc of the ground and 80pc of the grazing area received a dressing of 26 units of urea on January 29. Concentrate feeding has been reduced to 5kg/hd/day since going on to grass.

John Maher said that for those who have got out early this year there has been a reasonable response so far and there is recovery in grazed paddocks.

"The simple principal is that when the cows are on grass, they are feeding themselves, and they are spreading the slurry. It is more economical and will leave more money in your pocket. When the cows are in the yard they are costing you money in feeding and you have to spread the slurry," he said.

To maximise grass intake, daily milking is planned for 7am and 4pm with the cows out grazing for a couple of hours after the evening milking before returning to the yard for night.

Expand Close Teagasc Specialist, Grass 10 Manager, John Maher, explaining the colour coded mapping for farm fertility. / Facebook

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Whatsapp Teagasc Specialist, Grass 10 Manager, John Maher, explaining the colour coded mapping for farm fertility.

Grass 10 programme

The farm is one of the Teagasc Grass 10 programme, which was rolled out nationwide by the advisory service last year for a four year campaign, to increase grass utilisation on Irish livestock farms (dairy, beef and sheep), with the objective of achieving 10t grass DM/ha/year utilised and ten grazings/paddock/year.

Philip Ruttle's father, Brian is a direct descendant of one of the families who came to the area in 1710 as part of a Palatine settlement, one of two such settlements in the country, with each farmer being allocated seven Irish acres and a house.

Within the following half century a number of the families emigrated to the United States. Today, Brian told me, that there are fewer of the original families left and the farms are much larger.

The Ruttle farm consists of 130 adjusted acres with a stocking level of 2 LU/ha over the whole farm (2.4 LU/ha on the milking platform) and the target for completion of the first round of the paddocks is April 7.

The limestone base of the land is a great asset for both drainage and growth in seasons like this and aids grazing the land without damage.

Colour-coded and digitised maps streamline fertiliser application

"Every farmer should have one" was the advice of Teagasc specialist, Grass 10 manager, John Maher and it may be that colour coded digitised maps will become an essential guide to fertiliser application on farms.

The maps showing the state of fertility in each field at a glance, by clearly defined colour coding, are now available to farmers who have soil testing carried out, and the benefits are already being praised.

"The map can be laminated and hung in the parlour and when a contractor comes to apply fertiliser, hand it to him and it will show him exactly where to go and the application required," he added, explaining the latest advance in technology to farmers at the Grass 10 Farm Walk on Philip Ruttle's farm near Rathkeale.

He explained that based on stocking rate on the farm in conjunction with soil sampling results the findings can be translated on to a map for the farm to be used as a plan for the correct application.

Converting from a traditional drystock farm the soil fertility was not in a good state "because stock levels were low and I probably didn't realise the situation was as bad as it was until the print out and the map is a great benefit," said Philip Ruttle.

"Where the soil nutrient level is not right the grass will run out of kick and will not recover after grazing. It is alright when the weather is nice and easy, fine and sunny, but when the weather is against you and your back is to the wall, that is when you are going to benefit from the correct nutrient level," said John Maher.

Four colours are used in compiling each map. Darkest is for Soil Index 4, high level of nutrient and a slightly lighter dark colour is for Index 3 indicating a "satisfactory" level. Index 2 is"low" and is identified by a light colour and the almost white coloured fields are Index 1 "very low".French President Emmanuel Macron touches an Aubrac breed cow as he visits the 55th International Agriculture Fair (Salon de l'Agriculture) in Paris, France, February 24, 2018. REUTERS/Ludovic Marin/Pool

Frances Emmanuel Macron was booed by angry farmers on Saturday during his first visit as president to the countrys main agricultural fair, amid rising discontent over producer prices, European Union trade talks and Chinese land purchases.

Macron was greeted by jeering farmers and activists soon after his arrival at the southern Paris showground, before stopping to talk policy with a group of hecklers.

Elected last May, Frances centrist president has promised 5 billion euros ($6.2 billion) in agricultural investment as well as minimum farm prices to prevent producers selling at a loss.

But farmers and their FNSEA lobby group remain concerned about issues ranging from trade talks with the South American Mercosur bloc to a land-buying spree by Chinese investors.

In a country with a profound attachment to its pastoral roots, the Salon de lAgriculture is a mandatory rite of passage for political leaders, who tend either to relish the event - as former president Jacques Chirac visibly did - or endure it.

Nicolas Sarkozy, during his presidential farm show debut a decade ago, let rip with an expletive-laden insult against a man in the crowd who had declined to shake his hand. His words were caught on video and haunted him for the rest of his term.

Macron responded differently to provocation on Saturday, scrapping his itinerary to engage several of his hecklers in a lengthy and detailed exchange on trade policy, social charges and food standards in front of TV cameras.

The budget for the EUs Common Agricultural Policy should not be cut by more than Britains contribution as it exits the 28-member bloc, he also said.

Thibault Guybert, a cereal farmer from the Paris region who had joined in the booing, said the president would be judged on his actions, and bigger protests should not be ruled out.

We wanted to jostle President Macron a bit to make our displeasure known and let him know were not just going to leave it there, Guybert said on BFM TV.

Well have to be very clear with him and find out whether he wants to keep French agriculture or not.Mike Palmer getting feedback from a farmer's group in the Rangpur region of Bangladesh. Photo: Abir Abdullah

Getting off the corporate treadmill was a motivating factor for Mike Palmer to move to Bangladesh where he has been helping farmers.

The business development expert from Innishannon, Co Cork has been using his skills to develop agriculture in rural Bangladesh, where holdings average from around one-tenth of an acre to one acre.

Using more than 20 years experience in high-profile leadership roles across the public and private sectors, Mr Palmer is now using the same skills to help impoverished farmers grow their business and source markets.

"When I was younger I had dreams that I was going to get off this treadmill of the corporate world and try to buy a bit of land and settle down and live the good life, but some of that desire faded over time, I suppose," he says.

It was some years later and when he had his family almost raised that life took another turn.

"I had been working in the technology space but during the course of my career I did a Masters in Business Administration and started to think about doing development work at some time in the future," he said.

Expand Close Bangladeshi farmer sitting on a boat, picking water lily Munshigonj, Bangladesh. / Facebook

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Whatsapp Bangladeshi farmer sitting on a boat, picking water lily Munshigonj, Bangladesh.

"As the MBA progressed, I realised 50pc of it was common to the MSc in International Development Management so I chose to just keep studying."

When the company he was working for began restructuring, redundancy presented the opportunity for a career change.

"When I finished up main stream employment I began looking around in the development space for work opportunities and I quickly found out that all my wonderful corporate experience was not quite useless, but not quite as fabulous as I had thought."

Realising that fieldwork was going to be very different from a corporate office, Mike was keen to gain experience and got in touch with VSO (Voluntary Service Overseas) in Dublin, an international development organisation fighting poverty in 24 countries.

He had a conversation with VSO Ireland, signalling his interest if any suitable opportunity came up.

"Lo and behold, something did come up," he added. "I never dreamed it would be in Bangladesh but when I was offered the opportunity I said, 'yes' and here I am."

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Whatsapp Women are working to dry the red chillies in the sariakandi, Bogra.

In early 2016, he began working on one of VSO's Growing Together partnerships.

The Growing Together partnership was developed with corporate partner, Syngenta, a Swiss agrichemical and seed company, and aims to improve the livelihoods of 10,000 smallholder farmers in Bangladesh.

"When I came over first the project was focussed in the Sundarbans area, which is a province in the south west coast, where soil erosion near the Bay of Bengal with water rushing down from the Himalayas have combined to create a salinity in the soil so that places that used to grow rice are no longer capable of it," he said.

Farmers have had to adapt and have turned their old rice paddies into aquaculture ponds.

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"The programme was particularly focussed on getting women in aquaculture to develop business models and bring income into their households.

"This gave the family a better livelihood but also gave them more decision-making power in the community, a better standing and real confidence in themselves," he said.

To date, the programme has had excellent results with some farmers reporting an increase of 80pc on vegetable yields.

This year, the Growing Together partnership reached 10,000 farming households in Rangpur, with potato farmers reporting close to an average 200pc increase in yield and an even larger increase in prices.

Almost half of Bangladeshis rely on agriculture for their livelihoods but climate change, land scarcity and poor access to markets keep 36pc of people in rural areas below the poverty line.

Too few smallholder farmers grow enough food to satisfy themselves and their families, let alone sell any surplus for profit. Food security is a growing cause for concern.

Using their collective expertise, VSO and Syngenta are working together on a three-year partnership to sustainably improve the livelihoods of smallholder farmers in Bangladesh.

Farmers are trained in good agricultural practice with 90pc reporting a 50pc increase in their incomes.

'Farmer hubs' or centres have allowed farmers to secure contracts with private sector companies that guarantee an agreed price.

Mike admits his expertise has come from the business rather than the agricultural side and he helps farmers develop business plans for their enterprises.

"What I do is look at what these people are doing and how that can be assembled into a business case so that we can go to financial institutions and get access to finance for the ultra poor and marginalised so they can expand what they're doing and lift themselves out of poverty."

He says Bangladesh is a country with many banks and financial institutions and micro finance loans available but a lot of that is out of the reach of people living in remote corners of the country.

"What we're able to do is make connections between them and the banks by presenting their business activity as a successful venture and the sector they're offering it in as one of the key potential export markets for Bangladesh," he added.

Currently, Mike is based in Dhaka and working with six VSO sponsored farm centres in the north of the country.

He's trying to encourage the farm centres to go out to the farm gates and collect the product, which can then be marketed to the bigger traders in Dhaka or the larger regional city markets.

"The farmers in the north in impoverished areas are feeding their families from a tenth of an acre but are actually making a go of it and are trying to get their product as a collective unit, like a cooperative, so it looks like a bigger producing farm. "The large traders begin to recognise that we're there and we're going to be there every day and that they can depend on the product and it's high quality, using sustainable practices with the right level of protection.

"They understand that we're going to get good product for them at a fair price, for both the farmer and the trader," he said.

Challenges

One of the challenges for him is to convince farmers to release more product steadily and more often, to ensure supply.

The tendency in Bangladesh is for farmers to store their product and only sell it when they require cash.

There is also reluctance on the part of the person collecting the goods that they do not want to be the ones "caught" with it at the end of the day.

"We recognise that as a big fear but we need to turn the farm centre managers into entrepreneurs and deal makers so that in the morning the first thing they're doing is ringing their trade partners.

"We're trying to get them to think with a little more risk and salesmanship to make sure the farmers' product is going to make its way to the market.

"We need to get them to think about planning, projecting and forecasting but the closer you are to poverty, the more you think about today and possibly about tomorrow.

"You don't necessarily have the luxury to be thinking about two weeks, two months or two years ahead.

Mike says the impact of VSO's Growing Together project is incredibly impressive.

But it's only a job done well when he has made himself redundant.

"What we hope to see is 100,000 farmers involved in five years and we're transitioning from a project to a registered social enterprise," he added.

He's aiming to make each of the farm centres he's working with a profitable business but also with a social function, providing a community centre with health clinics and youth clubs, managed and used by local people.

Fighting poverty in 24 countries

VSO Ireland is part of an international development organisation that recruits volunteers to fight poverty in the developing world.

The organisation works directly with local partners in the core development areas of health, education and livelihoods.

It has opportunities on volunteer projects in 24 countries in Africa and Asia. Every placement is unique, and volunteers with a wide range of skills are recruited. It has been working in Bangladesh since 1974.

To volunteer, you need both professional experience and qualifications. The majority of placements are for a minimum of 12 months, but some shorter placements are available.

Volunteers work with households and communities to increase their bargaining power, enhance profits and improve their access to markets.

All VSO volunteers receive a comprehensive support package, including flights, accommodation, immunisations and anti-malarials, medical insurance, training and a monthly allowance.

It is funded by the Irish Government through Irish Aid, donations from individuals, corporate partners, trusts and foundations.

To see current volunteer vacancies or to find out more about VSO Ireland, visit www.vso.ie/volunteer/vacancies.Siptu has claimed the industrial relations environment at DAA is "broken" as talks continue over a new pay and productivity agreement.

Officials wrote to management about a row over contract hours, saying that the company's approach had been "disrespectful".

"There have been many discussions with the senior members of HR, and even the chief executive, about what can only be described as a broken industrial relations environment in the DAA and this latest failure on behalf of the company to address serious issues of concern to our members, your staff, in a timely fashion only serves to exasperate this scenario," said the email to DAA human resources staff.

DAA spokesman Paul O'Kane said it "relates to a specific issue which the company is planning to address shortly".

Last week, the Workplace Relations Commission sought an extension until tomorrow for DAA to respond to it regarding a 19pc cumulative pay claim plus profit share lodged by Siptu last year. Siptu's DAA committee is set to meet on Tuesday to decide on a course of action.

A previous agreement, called Better Together, was rejected last year by Siptu members.

Unions Mandate and Impact have since agreed deals with DAA but a series of smaller disputes have erupted with Siptu officials. A row over a realignment of the staff holiday year to coincide with DAA's financial year followed the contract hours row, with Siptu rejecting the realignment as it was part of the rejected deal.

It warned that "no further changes to our members' terms and conditions of employment or customs and practices will be acceptable to this union and its representatives without prior negotiation and agreement.

"We urge the company to desist from this planned course of action in these matters."

The DAA spokesman responded: "The change in relation to the holiday year has no impact on an any employee's holiday entitlements. It is merely an administrative matter."Educational technology business Immersive VR Education is preparing to float on the Irish stock market. Stock photo

Educational technology business Immersive VR Education is preparing to float on the Irish stock market.

The company is looking to raise as much as 5m and aiming to complete an IPO before the summer.

It would list on Dublin's Enterprise Securities Market, and AIM in London. Its backers include Enterprise Ireland and venture-capital firm Kernel Capital.

Money raised would be used to build the brand and develop the software further, as well as for other purposes.

The business has developed a software platform designed to provide lectures and other types of educational content in virtual reality. Set up in 2014, it is run by chief executive David Whelan and has raised 1.3m to date.

It said its "vision for the future is to see virtual reality become a staple tool for education and training and we strive to produce quality experiences that demonstrate this".

The company told the Sunday Independent that it is "reviewing a number of options in order to attract further capital investment into the business.

"It is the company's policy not to comment further until discussions are complete and a decision is made with regard to any further investment secured," it said.Solidarity TDs and activists hold a protest in opposition to the mortgage book sale outside the Grafton Street branch of Permanent TSB. Photo: PA

The political row brewing over the controversial sale by PTSB of nearly 4bn worth of troubled mortgages is just the beginning. What happens with PTSB will probably be the template for other mortgage loan sales from other banks.

PTSB has stirred up a hornets' nest by deciding to press ahead with the loan sale on foot of pressure from the ECB for all banks with high levels of non-performing loans to clean up their balance sheets. The figures published by PTSB last week on the make-up of the loan book shed only some light on the stories behind the mortgages.

Of the 3.7bn, around 1bn relates to investment properties. A further 2bn is made up of private dwelling homes of customers who have either not engaged with the bank, have failed to adhere to the terms of a restructuring or have, what the bank says are unsustainable mortgages.

Another unspecified amount, but presumably around 700m, relates to private dwellings where forbearance measures are in place.

Some customers have not engaged with the bank for over seven years and on average the loans are 3.5 years in arrears, according to PTSB. It said many have made no payments at all for years.

This certainly depicts a pretty hopeless situation but, unfortunately, the bank did not give a precise breakdown of how much of the 2bn relates to mortgages in which categories. How many have had nothing paid or there has been no engagement?

And how much of it relates to restructured deals that have not worked?

This would have been useful because it would have provided a clearer sense of how many people are not engaging at all, versus how many are trying but not succeeding to meet their obligations.

Surely, it would not have been commercially sensitive for PTSB to have been more specific with this breakdown.

It would also have provided some insight into the kind of 'solutions' PTSB was arriving at for troubled mortgage holders. In other banks, the percentage of customers meeting the terms of restructured loans is pretty high. Here, it hasn't really been specified.

Did PTSB reach new terms with customers that were too tough on them and have not succeeded in many cases?

Unfortunately, this level of scrutiny of how PTSB has handled its non-performing loans, does not change the reality of the situation for the bank.

Around 28pc of its loan book is non-performing and that is not sustainable for a bank - especially one which has the ECB applying pressure on it to sort out the problem. And don't forget the 2bn bailout by the state, which would of course at some point like its money back.

This highly sensitive issue is now purely political. Critics of the sale say it is a recipe for massive home repossessions. That is debatable depending on the buyers of the loans and their plans. Some may want to cut deals. Others may want to sit back, do little and flip the loans on.

But, yes, others may well want to move on repossessions and then sell on the houses in a buoyant market at a profit. There is no easy alternative if PTSB is to continue and the State is ever to get its 2bn back.

It has been suggested that PTSB should work through these loans. This would involve continuing with a charade with those who won't even engage with the bank, while probably taking sizeable further impairment charges on the loans, a decade after the crash.

Fianna Fail isn't saying not to go ahead with the sale, but to wait until greater protections can be put in place which would regulate the behaviour of so-called vulture funds and protect the customers involved.

It looks like a sensible approach if you accept there are gaping legislative holes in the protection that already exists and they can be filled by workable solutions.

Plugging any gaps might be more difficult than it sounds. Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe seems determined that the sale should go ahead but seems open to the idea of plugging regulatory gaps.

It isn't at all clear whether those gaps can be plugged in full, without complex regulatory changes that could virtually guarantee that practically nobody loses their home - even if they haven't made a payment in years.

The sale process will progress slowly but nobody will buy anything until they see where the political compromise rests on this one. AIB and others may then follow suit with loan sales based on that new arrangement.

The stronger the new regulation, the less the bank will receive for the loans.

Ten years after the crash, PTSB is weighed down by the scale of the mess of its past.

But equally, many people have been in a kind of financial limbo around the future of their unsustainable mortgages for years.

The emphasis in the recession was to keep people in their homes. The ECB is calling a halt to this suspension of reality for some people.

We may get a scorcher of a summer this year - a political one.

Brexit will make us all pay

Thanks to Brexit, we will end up paying more for practically everything. That is one obvious conclusion from the Copenhagen Economics report on Brexit and trade.

Forget about exports for one moment.

Around 40pc of what Irish retailers import from places other than the UK comes through the UK on its way here. Around 53pc of exports outside the UK use the same land bridge across Britain to get to their destination.

Unless there is a sizeable retreat from its red line issues on Brexit, the British government will end up negotiating some kind of Free Trade Agreement with the EU. That means customs checks, additional costs associated with that and delays across that land bridge.

This will impact directly on the price of what you buy in Irish shops. We can explore alternative trade routes in and out of the country using Irish ports and avoiding Britain, but that won't work for perishable goods like food for example. It takes too long.

And by the way, Copenhagen Economics reckons growth in real wages will be held back in the years to come because of Brexit.

So get ready to pay more for goods with less than would have been the case without the UK's divorce from the EU.

Noonan's missed 600m stamp duty opportunity

Finance minister Paschal Donohoe surprised the property suits last October when he tripled stamp duty from 2pc to 6pc. It had been slashed from 9pc to 2pc by then finance minister Michael Noonan in 2011.

Donohoe aims to bring in an extra 375m with the measure. The market suggests he will do at least that.

Property investors were spooked and more than a little upset on budget day. Green Reit cut its net asset value by around 59m, while Hibernia Reit took a hit of 53m.

But the higher duty has not deterred investors from doing deals. Green Reit's shares are trading higher than they were in October.

And during the week it announced that NAV per share was up 1.6pc to 168.3c after paying a 5c dividend and despite the stamp duty hit.

Core Industrials Reit plans to float and is eyeing 220m of acquisitions. Green Reit said profits from projects like One Molesworth Street offset the impact of the stamp duty rise.

So, if the Exchequer can collect 375m from higher stamp duty without seriously undermining the sector, then how much could Michael Noonan have collected for the Exchequer if he had jacked up stamp duty sooner?

The answer is between 500m and 600m over a two-year period. That is financial cream that has gone elsewhere.Anne O'Leary's mother envisaged a career in nursing for her only daughter back in the 1980s. But the chief executive of Vodafone Ireland knew she had no vocation for the world of medicine and, after secretarial school, found herself working in computer company Nixdorf, the first of many jobs in the technology sector.

Now a strong advocate of women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (Stem), she recalls: "There wouldn't have been a lot of us in the early days. It was just the way it was.

"And back then I did wear trouser suits," she confesses with a laugh, a reflection of the pressure to fit in with the male-dominated culture in tech in the early 1990s.

These days, O'Leary has swapped the cliched trouser suits for tailored designer dresses and she wears her leadership role with ease. She has made it her business to bring gender balance to the heart of the telco.

"When I joined here 10 years ago I set up the women's network particularly to focus on supporting other women and younger women," she says. "Because in my time I didn't feel it was discussed enough. Obviously, people supported me, and I had sponsors and mentors. But when I came here I said: 'No, I want to set up a women's network, so women can get together and talk about the issues they have, the barriers they feel they have, how they can help themselves, and how they can learn from women like myself and other women'."

She say the proof of its effectiveness is in the group's numbers. "We have 63pc female now at executive level and 47pc female at management level at Vodafone."

Last week marked five years in the top job at Vodafone for O'Leary, who is also embracing a new challenge - the role of president of the Dublin Chamber of Commerce. It is an important time for the organisation which is grappling with the effects of Brexit on local companies, as well as the opportunities and potential pitfalls of investment in infrastructure.

O'Leary is basing many of her priorities on detailed research carried out last year for the Chamber. "While economic prosperity and jobs were key, the key thread that actually came back was quality of life, which was interesting. Quality of life for the people living here and the next generation of Dubliners. So we will be really extending that, whether it's on housing, on transport, on jobs, on technology, Dublin being a smart city, Dublin being a safe place to live."

Although O'Leary is employed by a multinational, she is focused on the needs of local employers. "From a Dublin Chamber perspective, the small indigenous Irish companies are key- making sure that they can compete and that they can stay in Dublin and they can do business in Dublin.

"There are 1,300 members employing 300,000 people in the greater Dublin area. Obviously foreign direct investment is going very well, we want to continue that. But the small indigenous Irish companies as well, how do we attract investment in them? How do we incentivise people to invest in them? So things like tax relief and entrepreneurial relief funds so that people will think about these small indigenous Irish companies."

As a Cork native she may well also do her bit to improve the sometimes strained relationship between the capital and the rest of the country.

"What came back is the research is that Dublin isn't just about Dubliners. That there's so many non-Dubliners here as well and that it's a capital city and a shared capital city for everybody. And one of the things I will be working on is going out to some of the other chambers and finding out what is their view of Dublin and what do they want for the future of Dublin."

O'Leary's heart is still very much in Cork, however, and she continues to enjoy spending time there. As a child growing up in Cork suburb Blackrock she says she had no ambitions for a career in business. "I was outgoing. I enjoyed life. And I think I thought the world was my oyster, but I certainly was not saying I'm going to be a CEO of a large corporate."

Others see it differently. "I talk to some of my school friends and they go - there were signs, you know? I used to lead things in school, the school play or whatever."

While working at Nixdorf Computer she studied marketing in CIT by night and went on to take on sales and marketing roles in Western Digital and Reuters in London.

On returning to Ireland she joined the Golden Pages and then Esat Telecom, the telecoms company set up by Denis O'Brien, a shareholder in Independent News & Media, which publishes this newspaper and others.

She has clearly embraced technology but does not profess to be a technical expert. "I'm not an engineer but I do think of myself as a technologist. When I talk to young girls and we talk about Stem, we'd love them all to study things like engineering and physics and maths, etc. We'd encourage them. But if you're creative, artistic, there are many roles within the technology industry that you can do. There's PR and there's communications and there's HR and there's finance. And you learn about technology, and I suppose we're all touched by technology now."

When she took over as CEO in 2013 her focus was on 'the gigabit society'. She sums that up as "equality of access for everyone. High-speed access. And that is whether it's mobile or fixed. Ensuring that we were pioneering that, because the demand for services is ever-increasing and people need a platform to connect."

Up until last year, Vodafone was a front runner for the increasingly troubled National Broadband Plan (NBP) through a partnership with ESB to form Siro. It is investing 450m bringing fibre broadband to 50 towns and villages around the country. But for many, its decision to drop out of the NBP race was the first major blow for the process - and others have followed with Eir also falling away in recent weeks.

"When we looked at the National Broadband Plan, it really wasn't commercially viable for us," says O'Leary from a glass corner office in Vodafone's Leopardstown premises in Dublin. "And we wanted to continue to focus on our strategy to deliver on the 450,000 homes and the 50 towns and we will continue to do that and we're very happy with how that's going and we're seeing the response from these people in these towns, the jobs that are being created and the take-up."

She did not expect Eir to pull out also. "I was surprised. However, there is a bidder left called Enet, and we would support them in their endeavours to deliver in the national broadband area."

Vodafone, which employs 1,200 people here, has invested 2bn in Ireland over the past decade and will continue to invest. "We have 96pc 4G coverage right throughout Ireland. We'll continue to invest in 4G as well, as 5G, and we will continue as well to go to these small towns which we've been doing to support fixed infrastructure competition."

However, she is concerned about the lack of competition for wholesale access. "Ultimately the issue in Ireland is we have only one incumbent for fixed infrastructure and we all have to buy off it, which is Eir. If we had Enet in the national broadband area, Siro in the 50 towns, and Eir, we'd have three independent fixed wholesale providers.

"That will ultimately provide better competition and also better pricing for consumers. At the moment the wholesale pricing from Eir is too high. It's one of the highest in Europe, which is ultimately affecting the consumer pricing in the market.

"Obviously if there was competition, we'd have better pricing, access to it, and ultimately the consumer and the business person would gain. And that's all we ask for, just like mobile, where there's three independent operators, we'd like to see the same." Watchdog ComReg is in the middle of a broadband market review which should be issued in the coming months."It is clear that we're anxiously waiting for it," says O'Leary.

Meanwhile, Vodafone is pushing ahead with 5G and held a demonstration in Trinity College last week. "The speeds were 15 gigs per second and with a latency of less than five millimetres, which really means that it's really fast and will allow us to do things like driverless cars, if you think about that. Virtual reality and augmented reality and amazing things in real time."

After five years in the top job in Vodafone, O'Leary must surely be thinking of her next career move. Her name has already been linked to some high-profile media jobs.

"I still have more work to do here," she says when pushed about her career plans. "I want to continue with Siro. We're also in the middle of a big IT transformation: 120m in our core billing and customer relationship management which provides a converged offering and a better customer experience. We're moving to a much more digital environment. I'm excited as well about 5G. So I've more work to do and we'll see what that brings - and I have my Chamber presidency."

O'Leary remains very much a company woman and very proud of the company's rugby sponsorship. But she is particularly proud of what she has achieved for the workforce at Vodafone.

"It started on gender and now it's gone much more - we've an LGBT network and we look at age, diversity, culture, background, because we want to ensure that Vodafone reflects the customer base we serve now.

"So I've had, I suppose, 10 years of really focusing on supporting women and understanding diversity, understanding the biases that are there, the environment, the flexible work environment we need to provide," she adds. "And not only have the women benefited but men have, because it's the same rules for everyone."

Name

Anne O'Leary

Age

50

Position

Chief executive of Vodafone Ireland

Lives

Dublin

Education

Ursuline secondary school in Cork; Skerry's College course; marketing qualification from Cork Institute of Technology

Previous experience

Nixdorf, Reuters, Golden Pages, Esat Telecom

Family

Married to Nick

Pastimes

For my mental, emotional, and physical wellbeing, I try and exercise every day. Do something. Whether I go for a run or a swim. At the weekends I run outside, and I cycle on a Sunday.

Favourite book

I'm in the middle of The Muse, Jessica Burton but I love Star of the Sea by Joseph O'Connor.

Last movie seen

I just saw The Greatest Showman. I went with my friend's two daughters. It was a musical with Hugh Jackman - it was beautiful.Kathmandu, Nepal: inter and intra party differences seemed in the CPN-UML and the CPN Maoist Centre mars the cabinet expansion process.





Prime Minister and CPN UML Chairman KP Oli, who slated to induct new members to his cabinet on Wednesday, last week, failed to induct ministers in his cabinet even on Sunday, thanks to the inter and intra party differences over the issue of ministers and ministers respectively.





The UML and the Maoist Center hesitate to share the actual reason behind the delay to expand the cabinet. But it is said that division of ministries is the reason of the intra party differences for the delay to expand the cabinet.



Tracy Clifford hosts RTE 2FM's afternoon show every weekday, from 1pm to 4pm. She is also a judge for this year's Choice Music Prize.

What's the most important lesson about money your career as a broadcaster and DJ has taught you?

That money should not be your motivator, yet it's important to be confident and forthright about your worth.

What's the most expensive place you ever visited?

If you are doing New York the New York way, it could prove pretty pricey. But for day-to-day costs I would say Iceland. Trust me, it's worth it.

What's the best advice you ever got about money?

I don't think anyone has given me money advice that I actually adhere and listen to, to be honest! But my attitude is of a 'You can't take it with you' nature.

Apart from property, what's the most expensive thing you have ever bought?

The most expensive thing outside my wardrobe is my car, and inside my wardrobe is a dress by Kerry designer Don O'Neil.

What was your worst job?

Every part-time job that I had growing up was great because of the fun I had, mostly in retail. The only things that bothered me was having to wear a uniform, like brown trousers with an unflattering cut. That was the worst part.

What was your biggest financial mistake?

Money in my pocket is usually a big mistake.

What was your best financial killing?

This may not be my best, but buying an apartment - that wasn't way beyond my means and so close to the city - right before the crash has stood to me. Banks were offering huge mortgages in 2005, but my friend and I were sensible in choosing location over square feet.

Are you better off than your parents?

If anyone's parents are mortgage free in this climate, they are the better-off ones for sure.

If you won the Euromillions, what would you do with the money?

I would make all my friends and family millionaires, because being that rich on your own would be no fun. I would issue them their own credit cards with a million plus as the limit. They could spend what they like on the card; but wouldn't lose out with the gift tax. I would also have to donate to charity. Then, go have some fun.

If you could design your own euro note, what image would you put on it?

I would design a 50 note with the words 'Do you need or want it?' on it in big letters. It might help me put the shoes down!

iTunes or Spotify?

Both. For podcasts, iTunes. Spotify for playlists at parties.

What was the last thing you bought online?

Two books. What I know about Love by Dolly Alderton and an Irish-language book for kids, Focloiropedia, because I'm re-learning Irish this year. I buy my books online - but only from Irish bookshops, like Dubray Books.

Have you ever made an insurance claim?

Yes, 13 years ago.

Would you buy property now?

If 'right now' is a ballpark figure of between this very minute and 2020, then yes.

Do you ever haggle?

Depends on what I'm haggling for. If it's for something big, then yes. My Dad is a pro at it in his business and my Mam would try to haggle at the till doing her weekly shop.

What three things would you not be able to do without if you were tightening your belt?

1. Having the heating on full in winter. I'm a very cold creature. 2. My highlights. It's a costly necessity. 3. At least one or two holidays a year- either at home or abroad as they cost the same!Less than half of Irish businesses are ready for the new European General Data Protection Regulation which comes into force in May - despite data security being a priority for 80pc of those at boardroom level. The survey of over 350 Irish businesses comes ahead of the Dublin Data Sec 2018 conference, which takes place on April 9 at Dublin's RDS and will address business concerns about the regulation which is designed to harmonise privacy laws across Europe.

The keynote speaker at the event is Data Protection Commissioner Helen Dixon who warned that the new rules apply to all businesses and organisations.

"The obligations in the new EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) apply directly to every organisation in Ireland from May 25, 2018," Dixon said. "This means all public, private and voluntary organisations of every size need to be familiar with the requirements around what information must be given to all individuals when their personal data is being collected, used and stored and with the rights individuals have in relation to controlling how their personal data is treated."

The results of the survey also showed that while Irish businesses and organisations are aware of GDPR and their responsibilities around it, 35pc admitted to not having staff training in place in relation to data security.

The survey found that more than three-in-four respondents perceive cyberattacks to be an ongoing threat to their business operations.

Businesses or organisations could face fines of up to 20m or 4pc of annual global turnover for non-compliance. Other speakers include Michael Bahar, a partner in the Washington DC office of Eversheds Sutherland (US) LLP, and the US leader of the global cybersecurity and privacy practice and a member of the firm's litigation practice.

Dublin Data Sec 2018 is supported by sponsors Microsoft, Irish-managed IT services provider Arkphire, global law firm Eversheds Sutherland and enterprise security solutions provider RedFlare.

The event is an Independent News and Media event, please visit https://events.inm.ie/dublin-data-sec-2018 for further information and tickets.Among the success stories at this year's Arab Health event was Aerogen, which opened its first Middle East commercial office in Dubai. Photo: Bloomberg

If you look past headlines about fluctuating oil prices and political instability that tend to dominate global coverage of the Middle East & North Africa (MENA) region, you will find a growing healthcare sector in which spending is expected to reach $150bn (122bn) by 2020, according to Deloitte.

In January, 20 Irish companies participated at Arab Health, the largest healthcare exhibition and conference in the region. Arab Health has become a strategically important event that enables established companies in the region to build on their market presence and provides new companies and high-potential startups with an holistic overview of the market environment and opportunities, as well as providing access to key players and potential partners.

The MENA region faces a variety of healthcare challenges, including the provision of sufficient hospital and primary care facilities to its growing population, and the prevalence of lifestyle diseases such as diabetes and cardiovascular conditions. Governments are spending large amounts of money, while encouraging collaboration with companies in the private sector, to build new hospitals and clinics and update infrastructure. There are almost 350 hospital projects under development in the region, according to Alpen Capital.

The UAE and wider MENA region offer a dynamic market in which demand for new solutions complements the innovative products and services of Irish companies.

The continued expansion of the healthcare sector in the Middle East, in particular, offers a number of exciting opportunities for Irish companies.

With a predominately import-based medical device market, there is a strong preference for European-made products and technology. As the only English-speaking member still committed to the EU, more and more Middle East-based healthcare organisations are turning to Ireland as a trusted source of innovative medical solutions. There is also a strong appetite for new and disruptive technologies, particularly in areas such as artificial intelligence and robotics. Ireland is regarded across the region as a world leader in development in these fields.

Among the success stories at this year's Arab Health event was Aerogen, which opened its first Middle East commercial office in Dubai. Aerogen is seeing growing demand in many markets but has seen outstanding growth across the entire Gulf region.

John Power, Aerogen CEO and founder, said: "There's a really great opportunity for us in the Middle East. It is an extremely important market for Aerogen and we look forward to strengthening our commitment here over the coming years." Irish skincare company Ovelle Pharmaceuticals also officially launched its range of products in the UAE's largest pharmacy chain.

Irish companies interested in pursuing opportunities should be aware that the region's healthcare environment is highly competitive.

The time frame and commitment required to secure a first contract or establish a market presence can be extensive.

Preparation, patience and perseverance are key to success. Relationships are important and 'wasta' (an Arabic word meaning connections or influence) can go a long way, with a trusted and local partner often essential to doing business.

Traditionally, the focus for Irish companies entering the market has centred on the UAE and Saudi Arabia. However, we are also seeing growing opportunities for Irish companies in less-developed markets, such as Oman, Jordan and Kuwait.

With a rapidly developing economy, Oman has a number of high-profile hospital projects in the pipeline valued at over $3.2bn.

Enterprise Ireland is also increasing activity in Egypt, the second largest economy in the Arab world, with a population of 95 million and a strong demand for life sciences and pharmaceutical technologies.

Clare Roche is market advisor for Middle East & North Africa at Enterprise IrelandThe detailed garda investigation that followed Catherine Nevin's husband's murder established that she had attempted to solicit at least three men to murder Tom in the years before he was shot dead. All three gave evidence against her.

One was convicted fraudster William McClean from Ballinode, Co Monaghan who had a sexual affair with Catherine Nevin in the mid 1980s.

This affair ended in 1986 and McClean's next contact with the 'Black Widow' was in 1990 when he said that she told him she wanted a "job done" on her husband, and that they weren't getting on.

She mentioned paying around IR20,000, he claimed. When he asked her why she wanted her husband killed, he said that she replied: "I'd get the insurance money, the lot, everything."

McClean later told gardai and then the Central Criminal Court that he told her "no f**king way" and walked out of the room.

Another man that Nevin approached to kill her husband was former IRA man Gerard Heapes who she first met at a Sinn Fein office in Finglas, north Dublin, in 1985. Heapes - a convicted armed robber and alleged garda informer - later revealed that she approached him on at least 10 occasions about killing her husband, and that he went on hearing her crazed propositions because he was curious and intrigued by the whole thing.

He had not seen Catherine Nevin for several years when she called out of the blue to his local pub in Finglas around 1990, claiming to have been beaten up by Tom Nevin. "Then she came and dropped the bombshell. She wanted to know would I kill her husband," he explained.

Heapes also acknowledged that at one stage he went to Jack White's Inn with a criminal colleague to try to con money out of Nevin over her proposition to shoot her husband. He felt he would get money from her because she wouldn't be able to go to the gardai.

Another man that Catherine approached to murder her husband was John Jones, a Finglas-based TV salesman who was running a Sinn Fein advice clinic from the bottom floor of his premises during the 1980s.

Jones revealed he first came across Nevin in 1985 when she came to the advice centre and inquired about buying a pub in the area.

He pointed out that she later leased the Barry House pub with her husband, and they allowed Sinn Fein members to fundraise and sell copies of An Phoblacht in the bar.

He said he was first solicited by Nevin to kill her husband in 1989. He said she told him: "I have a proposition for you. I want you to get the IRA to shoot Tom."

Jones from Balbriggan, Co Dublin said she asked him to get the IRA to murder her husband and make the killing look like a botched hold-up on at least five or six occasions over the course of the next year.

He claimed that he told her that Sinn Fein was not into that type of thing and reported the approach to more senior members of the organisation.

While Catherine hunted for a contract killer to whack her husband, she continued to court high society including a judge and senior gardai while running Jack White's. At her murder trial in 2000, allegations of affairs that Nevin was allegedly involved in with a senior district court judge and garda inspector emerged.

In the case of Garda Inspector Tom Kennedy it was alleged by a waitress at Jack White' s Inn - Caroline Strahan - that she had seen Kennedy in bed with Catherine "a few times" from 1991 onwards. This was completely denied by the garda.

In his statement to gardai, Tom Kennedy described himself as a friend of Tom Nevin. He said he knew Tom for a number of years, and that this was his reason for going to Jack White's. Mr Kennedy's retirement party had been held at the pub in 1994.

He described Catherine Nevin as the type of person who would "give you a pain in the head when she started getting on about things". He said that he was aware of stories going around that he was having a sexual relationship with Catherine, but that this was not true.

He said he was over 60 years of age and that sex would not be a concern of his. "I am not into that," he added. "I value my family and my marriage."

Nevin also denied having an affair with the former senior garda, but she accepted that she had met him a number of times away from Jack White's, but denied that they had stayed at a hotel in Ballinaboola, Co Wexford together. While Inspector Kennedy described himself as a friend of Tom Nevin's and a regular in his pub - these factors led to resentment among other gardai in the area.

'Irregular sexual relationship'

This is because since moving to the area in 1986, Catherine had made a number of false allegations against other local gardai, including that in August 1991 a garda indecently assaulted a 17-year-old barmaid who was working in the pub as well as a false claim that a garda had demanded money with menaces from her.

And four gardai gave evidence that they regularly spotted Kennedy's silver-coloured Renault car parked outside the pub during the night.

During the detailed investigation, it emerged that Kennedy was the man who introduced Judge Donnchadh O Buachalla to Catherine Nevin.

Judge O Buachalla denied he had an "irregular sexual relationship" with Catherine. He also denied having a key to Jack White's pub. Two former bar workers both gave evidence stating that he did have a key.

In his statement to gardai, Judge O Buachalla said: "I had an excellent relationship with both the late Tom and his wife Catherine. They were both very hospitable.

"I never stayed overnight and I never had any occasion to have a key to any part of the premises," the judge added.

Like in Tom Kennedy's case, Catherine Nevin also denied ever having an affair with the judge.

In December 2000 - eight months after Catherine Nevin was convicted of murdering her husband Tom - a public inquiry found that Judge O Buachalla had acted without bias but had made errors of judgment concerning his handling of the licensing of Catherine Nevin's pub - a year after Tom was murdered.

This is an extract from Ken Foy's book, CSI: Crime Scene IrelandThe Vicar Of Dibley actress Emma Chambers who has died at the age of 53, her agent has said Photo: Peter Jordan/PA Wire

Hugh Grant has led tributes to the "brilliant" Emma Chambers.

The 53-year-old actress passed away on Wednesday evening from natural causes, her agent John Grant said in a statement on Saturday.

Following the news that his Notting Hill co-star, who played his character's quirky sister Honey in the 1999 romantic comedy, had passed away, Grant took to Twitter to express his sadness over the loss.

"Emma Chambers was a hilarious and very warm person and of course a brilliant actress. Very sad news."

Chambers also starred as Alice Tinker, a village church verger, alongside Dawn French in TV series The Vicar of Dibley between 1994 and 2007, winning a British Comedy Award for Best Actress for her performance in 1998.

French shared a snap from the set of the comedy series in a post on Twitter, which showed Chambers laid on top of the comedienne. "I was regularly humped like this by the unique & beautiful spark that was Emma Chambers. I never minded. I loved her. A lot," she wrote.

British actor Rufus Sewell, who stars in The Man in the High Castle, tweeted: "Very sad about Emma Chambers. A lovely, warm and hugely gifted person."

Wonder Woman star Lucy Davis, who shot to fame as Dawn from The Office, paid tribute to the actress who she had grown up watching on television. "I never met Emma Chambers, but felt like I had because I adored everything she did and watched it repeatedly. I was shocked to read that she had passed away. What a huge sadness. X" she wrote.Smoking was banned in bars and restaurants in 2004

A Fine Gael senator has drafted proposals to extend the smoking ban to bus stops and outside the front gates of schools.

Senator Martin Conway's raft of proposals also include banning smoking outside railway stations, within 100 feet of the front gates of schools, outside community centres and in the general area of youth clubs.

No parent with a child or pram should have to pass a group of people smoking when walking out the gate of the school," he told The Irish Sun.

Smoking was banned in restaurants, bars, education facilities and on public transport in 2004.

Senator Conway says that while this move was welcomed, "we still have some distance to go".

We need a Private Members Bill that would ban smoking within a certain distance of schools, bus stops, hospitals and other community and voluntary facilities.

I expect to have the Bill ready to go before the House after Easter. It is my Lenten penance.A man described by a judge as someone with "a propensity to rape" is now homeless in Dublin after being released early from prison this week.

Serial rapist David Hegarty was jailed for 13 years in 2009 when he attacked a nurse in the early hours of the morning in May 2008.

The father-of-one, with a former address of Nutley Road, Mahon, Co Cork, had previously received a 10-year sentence for raping two female students in Cork city centre on October 5 and October 27, 1998.

He was released early in 2006 and raped a third woman just two years later.

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A senior source revealed to Independent.ie that Hegarty is now living on the streets of the capital after being released from Arbour Hill prison earlier this week - four years before his sentence was due to end.

The late justice Paul Carney described Hegarty as someone who "had a propensity to rape" and said there was a possibility he would do it again when handing down his sentence in 2009.

Mr Justice Carney said Hegarty "deserved a life sentence" but because the Court of Appeal had overturned a decision in a previous case, he said he was unable to do so, sentencing him instead to 13 years.

He also ordered for the convicted rapist to be supervised for 10 years after his release.

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Hegarty's third victim was waiting outside a bus station in Cork city centre at 5.30am when he grabbed her around the neck from behind and dragged her a short distance away before orally raping her.

He was caught near the scene by Garda Aidan O'Mahony after a member of the public phoned the gardai.

The victim told Mr Justice Carney: "I will never forgive him for what he did and I will never forget it."Health Minister Simon Harris is facing renewed calls to under take a review of the pathology of a number of breast cancer patients who attended St James's Hospital in 2010.

Rachael Liston - a medical negligence specialist with Orpen Franks law firm - who appeared in an RTE Investigates special report which looked at the failure to diagnose invasive cancer in a patient at the hospital in 2010 has called on the minister to seek the review.

Her client, Alison McCormack, was 35 when she was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2010. Following a referral to the breast clinic in St James' she was diagnosed with DCIS, Ductal carcinoma in situ, a type of cancer that is curable with surgery.

The young woman went to have a mastectomy but was not prescribed chemotherapy or other treatment as DCIS is a non-invasive cancer.

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However, in October 2012 Allison was diagnosed with DCIS a second time - this tie in her lymph nodes and neck.

At the time she was told her that her cancer had returned.

Her treatment included chemotherapy and she has been left with reduced use of her right arm.

Read More

In 2013 after making repeated requests Alison secured a meeting at St James's Hospital to discuss questions she had over her case.

She was informed she was misdiagnosed and was given a written report into the misdiagnoses - which had been completed months before.

Her original 2010 biopsy had shown invasive cancer but this had been missed.

The hospital said this was a mistake that any pathologist could have made and a review of 39 of the specialist's cases from 2010 was conducted.

The review found that of nine DCIS cases Allison and another woman were misdiagnosed.

A further review of the pathologist's work was not found to be warranted the hospital said.

Ms McCormack's solicitor, Ms Liston, wrote to Health Minister Simon Harris on June 30 and said:

"This is a matter of general public importance and the concern is that patients may have been misdiagnosed who may unaware of same. At worst some patients may have died."

The Department of Health has confirmed that the matter was brought to the attention of the HSE upon receipt of the letter.

However, due to an error a reply prepared in response to Ms Liston was not issued to her.

Independent.ie understands the letter was not posted out at the time but a reply was issued this week.

In response Mr Harris said that the HSE has advised him a look back review is not warranted.

In a new letter Ms Liston has urged the minister to call for a complete review.

"Whilst it is reassuring that efforts are being made to enhance and improve our cancer services in Ireland, clearly you would also like to ensure the health and wellbeing of patients who may have been affected by a misdiagnosis and who may not be aware of [it]," she said.

"A review of the pathology in the remaining 270 patients is likely to take no longer than one week for an independent Pathologist to complete."

A spokeswoman for the Department of Health said the department "is considering Ms Listons letter... and the Minister will write in reply".Kathmandu, Nepal: Nepal-India Eminent Persons Groups (EPG) has said that it has finalized the report with positive notes.





The report will be positive for both the neighboring countries- Nepal and India, the EPG has said while speaking at the press conference organized in the Capital on Sunday.





The press conference was organized following the 7th meeting of the EPG meeting in Kathmandu.



A murder investigation is underway after a Jimmy Loughlin (inset) was found dead at a house in Sligo

A murder investigation is under way after a young man was beaten to death at a house in Sligo.

The victim who has been named locally as Jimmy Loughlin, believed to be 20, was discovered at the property on Connolly Street, Sligo shortly after 1.30pm on Saturday afternoon.

Gardai received reports that another armed male was at the scene and armed officers were requested.

However uniformed officers were the first to arrive at the property and managed to apprehend the murder suspect, who had been armed with a wheel brace.

Investigators believe that this weapon was used during the fatal attack.

Armed Gardai werent able to immediately attend the scene so uniformed Gardai managed to detain the suspect who they were told was armed, a source said.

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A Garda spokesman confirmed that a 31-year-old man is currently being detained at Ballymote Garda Station under the provisions of Section 4  Criminal Justice Act 1984.

It is understood that both men are from the locality and would have been known to each other prior to the attack. Gardai have said they are investigating all of the circumstances surrounding the murder.

Jimmy worked in a local McDonalds and colleagues have led tributes to him.

We are all shocked and saddened by the loss of Jimmy, he was a much loved member of our team. Our thoughts are with his family, friends and we are offering support to those who worked with him," franchisee Richard McNamara who owns the store where Jimmy worked, said.

Meanwhile, his manager Leo McNamara said Jimmy's good humour made him someone everyone loved to work with.

He had a great sense of humour and everyone loved working with him as he lifted their day with his fun personality. If you knew you were working with Jimmy you knew you would end up laughing regardless of what mood you were in," he said.Notorious: Catherine Nevin (left) arriving in court for her murder trial in April 2000. During the trial Justice Mella Carroll ordered a ban on the press commenting on Nevins appearance

The case of murderer Catherine Nevin, who received a life sentence for murder in April 2000, shows how as a society we are intrigued by female killers.

Even before the first abortive murder trial of Nevin had started for the killing of her husband Tom in Jack White's pub in Co Wicklow in 1996, the case had become a topic that veered towards public obsession.

In the weeks before the murder trial began, an acquaintance in Wicklow teased Nevin that Hollywood had already cast Julia Roberts to play her role in a blockbuster movie.

"Huh," the middle-aged widow was reported as saying. "Sure, I'm much better-looking than she is."

On the day after she was convicted, the media accused Nevin of flagrant narcissism.

But it takes two to tango, and the media was only too happy to indulge Nevin's self-obsession.

Every detail of how she looked was reported during the trial. There were reports of the rainbow of nail polish, the unnatural suntan, the kooky teenage plait in her hair, the seamed black stockings, revelations of serial cosmetic surgery and a "wardrobe of Imelda Marcos dimensions".

Nevin was said to have turned up for her verdict, grinning in "a clinging black dress, slit to the thigh".

Lurid coverage

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This type of coverage became so lurid that Justice Mella Carroll ordered a ban on the press commenting on Nevin's appearance.

Photos of Nevin's arrival to court were prohibited, as were observations about her hair, dress, jewellery, nail varnish, reading material or general demeanour.

As in many other murder cases involving women, the impulse to kill was subliminally linked with a voracious sexual appetite, as if the two traits are in some ways connected. Nevin's trial appeared to confirm the line in the Rudyard Kipling poem that the female of the species is deadlier than the male.

And that line was trotted out in the coverage of the lengthy trial.

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A rare phenomenon

But in truth, coldly calculating female killers become the topic of fascination because of their rarity, rather than any other factor.

The male of the species is of course much deadlier than the female.

Very few women in Ireland bump off their husbands or boyfriends, or indeed are convicted of murder, but cases of men killing their partners have become all too commonplace.

Figures published by the Department of Justice last year show that only 10 - or under 3pc - of the 352 prisoners serving life sentences were women.

A sizeable portion of the 342 men serving life sentences are those who have murdered women.

Figures released by Women's Aid show that a total of 209 women have been killed by men in Ireland between 1996 and 2016.

In 164 of the cases that came before the courts, 89 of the killers were a current or former intimate partner of the victim.

There are certain characteristics that cause a murder to become a sensation in Ireland.

It helps if the dramatis personae come from "Middle Ireland" and their backgrounds are what is termed "respectable". Also a killing is likely to attract more attention if there is an element of doubt or mystery.

But female murderers are always bound to attract more attention. Myra Hindley and Ian Brady collaborated in the notorious Moors murders of five children in and around Manchester in the 1960s.

A witch personified

But Hindley (below) always seemed to attract more attention than Brady as a witch personified - "the most evil woman in Britain".

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Most of the 300 or so male lifers in Ireland are hardly household names, but the small number of female killers seldom escape a high profile.

Among them is the notorious "scissor sister" Charlotte Mulhall (below), who is serving a life term at Dochas for the murder and chopping up of Farah Swaleh Noor in 2005. Her trial took place in 2006, and her sister Linda was convicted of the lesser charge of manslaughter.

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In 2016, Charlotte Mulhall was joined in the Dochas prison by 29-year-old Marta Herda, who was convicted of killing an admirer Csaba Orsos. The unusual method of killing inevitably added to the fascination of the case.

The Polish waitress from Arklow, Co Wicklow received a life term for the murder of Orsos. She was convicted of drowning him by driving her car off a pier with the driver's window open.

She was a good swimmer and knew that her passenger could not swim, when she drove her Volkswagen Passat through the crash barriers at South Quay, Arklow in March 2013.

The Central Criminal Court heard that she escaped through the driver's window at the harbour but her friend's body was found on a beach nearby later that day.

Another woman serving a life sentence for murder is Lithuanian-born nurse Greta Dudko, who received a life term in 2014 for murdering her mother, Anna Butautiene, on Christmas Eve, 2010.

Female murderers are more likely to cause a sensation, because they transgress the norms of their gender.

A certain level of aggression in men is expected and is even seen as a quality.

As the British author Katharine Quarmby has observed, women, by contrast, are seen by society as being hardwired to care and nurture, rather than to hurt and kill.

Foxy Knoxy

When they become killers, it challenges society's idea of what a woman should be, and the received idealised notions of the woman as the caregiving mother.

Inevitably, the enormity of their crimes is magnified.

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The case of Amanda Knox (above), a 20-year-old student from Washington State who was accused of murdering British student Meredith Kercher in Perugia, Italy is an outstanding example. Presented as a "young, attractive brunette", she was labelled Foxy Knoxy and was portrayed as a promiscuous and "enchanting witch" who was into kinky sex.

Knox was found guilty of Meredith's murder in 2009, but was ultimately acquitted in 2015.

She later said: "People love monsters. And so, when they get the chance, they want to see them.

"They want the reassurance of knowing who the bad people are, and it's not them."

Women may be less prone to murder, but that does not mean that they have some God-given role as innocent natural caregivers.

As Katharine Quarmby puts it: "Men are not always the offenders and women not always the victims."

She cites British crime figures showing over two million men had experienced domestic abuse by their partners.

Same-sex relationships involving women are no less violent than heterosexual ones, according to the figures.

Women are responsible for the majority of murders of infants in Britain, and between 10-20pc of sexual offences against children.

The criminal barrister Helena Kennedy acted as a lawyer for the murderer Myra Hindley and said in an interview that she felt it was right that Hindley was never released, given that Britain did not have the death penalty.

Kennedy also said that women were less likely to be forgiven for their crimes.

"We live by two sets of rules: the criminal justice system and the other set of rules."

This other set, she says, encompasses the sense that you have done something that runs counter to the rules of womanhood.

"We expect women to be better than men - there is that unspoken thing - that we are more shocked when women do terrible things. I feel it myself."

That probably sums up our attitude to Catherine Nevin.A powerful new political lobby group for women is set to demand a bullying and sexual misconduct audit of all staff and politicians working in Leinster House, the Sunday Independent can reveal.

The Oireachtas Women's Caucus wants a detailed survey of all women and men working in the national parliament to establish if there is a culture of bullying or sexual harassment.

Chair of the women's caucus and Green Party TD Catherine Martin said she will this week ask her members to support a proposal calling on the Oireachtas to survey all staff and politicians on their experiences working in Leinster House.

"We want that type of survey done for every person working in Leinster House - staff, male and female, along with TDs and senators - and if this is done in the parliament we should look at surveying county councils," Ms Martin told the Sunday Independent.

A recent survey of the British parliament found one in five people working in Westminster had experienced or witnessed sexual harassment or inappropriate behaviour.

A steering group within the Oireachtas Women's Caucus has been discussing plans for a survey of politicians and staff for a number of weeks.

However, the proposal will be put before the group this Tuesday, less than a week after Fine Gael Senator Catherine Noone claimed she experienced misogynistic bullying at the hands of a male colleague.

Fine Gael headquarters is currently investigating the complaint, which was made against a fellow senator. A senior Fine Gael source said the matter is being treated "very seriously" and, if the allegation is proved to be true, could result in suspension. Sources close to the senator alleged to be at the centre of the controversy yesterday insisted he is "innocent".

"He's no bully and he's not sexist, and he gets on well with all his Fine Gael colleagues, both male and female," the source said.

Meanwhile, another senator revealed she was forced to contact the same politician alleged to be at the centre of the current misogyny controversy over comments made towards her. The senator contacted her colleague to tell him she was unhappy with comments he made to her. The alleged unnamed senator involved in the current controversy responded to her and acknowledged the incident.

The senator who was unhappy with the comment does not wish to speak publicly about the incident or take the matter further at this stage.

However, she did want to give her support to Ms Noone as she believed she was right to make a complaint about the alleged behaviour.

Separately, Independent Senator Mary Alice Higgins, who is also the President's daughter, said she supported Ms Noone's decisions to speak publicly about alleged bullying and misogyny in Leinster House.

"We do need to improve conditions for everyone working in the Oireachtas and it shouldn't fall to individuals like Catherine to make those changes to conditions and patterns in political life," Ms Higgins told the Sunday Independent.

"We all need to be more proactive on this," she added.

Ms Higgins said a code of behaviour should be introduced by the Oireachtas which would not only address bullying and misogyny but also set guidelines for how politicians should engage while debating in the Dail and Seanad.EXPERIENCE: The rejuvenation of the south docks on the River Liffey has been a success. The new plan seeks to bring the expertise and experience of developments like this to other towns

We've all lived with Ireland's 'urban/rural divide' and claims that major infrastructure projects tend to go to Dublin, with the population shift which inevitably follows.

As part of Project Ireland 2040, the Government proposes setting aside 2bn for an Urban Regeneration and Development Fund to "unstick" projects that will lead to urban development in all areas of the country.

The fund will apply to Cork, Dublin, Galway, Kilkenny, Limerick and Waterford, but other major towns can also access it if they come up with projects that reverse urban decay and fit in with the ethos of the plan.

Read More

But, to begin with, a number of key projects have been identified that are necessary if this shift is to take place. These projects are already at the planning stage, but have yet to get the real push t hat it takes to make them work. That is where the plan and the new National Regeneration and Development Agency comes in - to unlock the necessary infrastructure bridges, traffic management plans and public transport hubs.

The aim of these infrastructural projects is to stop pushing suburbs further and further into farmland on the outskirts of Irish cities and towns, and concentrate development on neglected "infill" areas that are ripe for development, but need a final push from central government to open them up. Examples include:

* Changes in traffic management and bridge access to facilitate the redevelopment of the City and Tivoli docks in Cork. The Cork-to- Limerick motorway is regarded as crucial for this project, which would effectively double the size of Cork but keep the development within the city limits. The plan includes 4,000 housing units, shopping and offices, and a new light transport system to service the urban expansion.

* The development of the 3.7-acre Opera site on the northern edge of Limerick city. This is seen as the "key driver for increased economic activity in Limerick city centre".

* Galway city regeneration has 18 acres around the docklands which is currently in the early stages of redevelopment as the city struggles with traffic congestion.

These are just some of the projects identified in Project Ireland 2040, but it is not exclusively aimed at Cork, Limerick, Galway and Waterford. Other cities and large towns can also pitch for funding for projects that fit in with the criteria of bringing people back into the centre of our towns and cities, making them habitable and cutting the distance between home and work for many people and families.

"Effective land management, particularly of publicly owned lands, is a central element of the commitment to compact and sustainable development," says the National Development Plan, which is part of Project 2040.

The Government has recognised that huge tracts of publicly owned land need to be harnessed for redevelopment "so that development requirements can be met within a smaller physical footprint and provide an economic alternative to long-distance commuting".

Many public bodies, such as CIE, local authorities and myriad other State agencies have huge underused or derelict land banks that the new National Regeneration and Development Agency can try to harness to halt the onward march of urban sprawl.

Project Ireland 2040 is now seeking to identify and encourage areas ripe for "compact living" while bringing people back into cities and towns which are now denuded after business premises close at 6pm.

Some of the best examples of such developments, like the rejuvenation of the south docks on the River Liffey, have happened in central Dublin. The new plan seeks to bring the expertise and experience of these developments to other cities and large towns, so that the long commutes and traffic gridlock that ensues can be prevented, or at least curtailed.

This is only one aspect of the benefits that should accrue to such developments - they will also bring back smaller shops, artisan food producers and a new vibrancy to the inner cities which have suffered with the building of "dormitory towns" on the outskirts.

Learning from past experience, the Government will establish a proposed new public body, the National Regeneration and Development Agency to 'join up the dots' between local and central government, semi-state agencies and others who control vital land banks and the key infrastructure needed for this major shift in public policy.

Its first task will be to identify initial tranches of publicly owned or controlled lands and strategic land banks held in private ownership in key locations "with a potential for master planning and re-purposing for strategic development purposes".

One of the recognised failings of local, regional and national planning has been to push many people out of the cities.

Project Ireland 2040 says this has gone too far and it is now time to start repopulating the cities and larger towns so that people don't have as far to travel to work and, instead of a car-dependency culture, the primacy of public transport and easy access to jobs can be restored for as many people as possible.

For more information on Project Ireland 2040 visit the official websiteCatherine Nevin, who became known as 'The Black Widow' in sections of the media following the murder of her husband Tom at Jack White's Inn, near Brittas Bay, Co Wicklow, was convicted of his murder and conspiracy to murder after a lengthy and highly publicised trial nearly 18 years ago.

Nevin, who died last Monday at the age of 67, was held in Mountjoy women's prison until she was diagnosed with a terminal brain tumour less than two years ago. She was later given full-time temporary release to spend her dying days in a nursing home in the Beaumont area of Dublin. Her husband Tom, known as a "gentle giant", was shot dead in the kitchen of the pub in what at first appeared to be a bungled robbery in the early hours of March 19, 1996. A sum of 16,550 was taken and the raiders left in the Nevins' Opel Omega, which was later found abandoned in Dublin city.

When gardai arrived at the pub at 4.45am after a 999 call from Catherine Nevin they found her sitting on the floor behind the hall door of the pub, which was slightly ajar. Her hands were tied by a dressing gown cord. She had freed herself from a gag, a pair of black panties which had been tied around her mouth with a nylon stocking, to make the call.

Dressed in a purple nightshirt and a pair of white panties, she claimed a hooded man had threatened her with a knife demanding: "Where's the fucking jewellery? If you don't tell us we'll kill you."

Her husband, who had been drinking a glass of Guinness, was lying dead in the kitchen of the pub, killed by a shotgun blast to the chest fired at close range. The nearby safe had been ransacked, its trays scattered on the kitchen floor and the money gone. Although a jewellery box in her bedroom had been opened and its contents scattered around the room, the raiders had, apparently, left without taking any of it, which made detectives suspicious. They were also aware that Nevin, now the grieving widow, had conducted numerous love affairs. She also had what they believed was an unorthodox friendship with a local Garda inspector and the local district judge.

Even as she stood at his graveside in Barndarrig Cemetery days after the killing, elegantly dressed in black and carrying a single red rose which she dropped on her husband's coffin, Nevin, was the prime suspect in his murder.

*****

Catherine Scully was born on October 1, 1950 on a small farm in Kilboggan, near the village of Nurney, Co Kildare. One of three children, she went to the local primary school and the Presentation College in Kildare town. She left home straight after school and got a job at the Castle Hotel, in Gardiner Row, in the north inner city of Dublin, just down the street from the headquarters of Sinn Fein.

In her job as a receptionist she got to know senior figures in the party and its armed wing, the Irish Republican Army (IRA), including its then chief of staff, Cathal Goulding, and Joe Cahill from Belfast who would later go on to become a leading figure in the Provisional IRA after 1969, when the 'movement' split into Official and Provisional wings.

Tom Nevin, the eldest of nine children from another farming family, was born in Tynagh, Co Galway, in September 1941. He left school as a teenager to move to Dublin, where he worked as a barman for his uncle, who owned Freehill's pub in Dolphin's Barn. He met June O'Flanagan from Mayo and they married in April 1962 before emigrating to England. They later returned to Ireland, but the marriage didn't work out and was eventually annulled amicably.

Whether Tom met Catherine Nevin at the Matchmaking Festival in Lisdoonvarna, Co Clare, in 1970 or the bar of the Castle Hotel is a matter of conjecture. But the receptionist and the barman eventually began going out together and they were married at a ceremony in Rome in 1976.

Image-conscious Catherine did a number of night courses and embarked on a career as a lecturer in beauty and deportment. She also attempted to start a modelling agency working from their home in Rialto, Dublin. With her encouragement, Tom bought a number of flats off the South Circular Road as investment properties. But she wanted him to have his own pub and eventually they took over the lease of the Barry House in Finglas, which had been closed because of anti-social behaviour.

The new landlord used their 'Republican' connections to restore order in the pub. He sold An Phoblacht on the premises, the clientele included a fair number of local Sinn Fein figures and some of the bouncers had strong Republican credentials. Soon it was running smoothly and they were making good money. But Nevin already had her sights set on owning their own pub in a more salubrious location and with what she believed was a better clientele.

In 1986 they bought Jack White's Inn for 270,000. Situated on what was then the main Dublin to Wexford road at Ballinaparka, it was a well-known stopping off point for travellers between Dublin and the south-east and for holidaymakers in the nearby Wicklow resort of Brittas Bay.

Soon Nevin had installed a hair salon and a good restaurant and used the spare rooms in the large premises for a thriving bed and breakfast business. Her friends from Dublin and local dignitaries mixed at the grand opening. The inn was also known as a 'Garda house' where off-duty (and sometimes on-duty) officers were served, often after hours and sometimes without having to pay for food or alcohol.

She struck up a particular friendship with Inspector Tom Kennedy, an influential member of the gardai who mainly filled in when various superintendents of the Wexford division were absent from their posts.

Staff would later claim that Tom Nevin loathed Inspector Kennedy and Judge Donnchadh O'Buachalla, although 'The Judge' as he was widely known, said he had a good relationship with both of them. He would tell the Central Criminal Court in evidence some years later that Tom Nevin joined him at a family celebration in the pub on the weekend of his death.

On the night of March 18, 1996, a number of the staff, who often slept on the premises when rooms were unoccupied, were going to a dance in Arklow after closing time. As they were about to leave, they were instructed by Catherine Nevin not to come back to the pub. "No one is staying on the premises tonight," she said emphatically.

The following morning when they returned to work they found that Tom Nevin was dead and the pub was a murder scene.

As the investigation into the murder continued, detectives found fragments among Catherine Nevin's documents that would point to three men, all old friends of hers, who would play a pivotal role in the trials that eventually followed.

Gerry Heapes was involved with Sinn Fein and he would later give evidence at her trial that one day she asked him: "Would you be prepared to get rid of him [Tom]? I want him shot dead", telling him that he could have the pub takings in return.

John Jones ran a television sales and repair shop, Channel Vision, in Finglas, which doubled as a Sinn Fein advice centre, where Catherine Nevin was a frequent caller. His partner in the enterprise, Dessie Ellis, is now a Sinn Fein TD. Jones said Catherine Nevin asked him to organise a robbery at Jack White's in the course of which her husband was to be killed.

William 'Willie' McClean met Catherine Nevin in the Red Cow Inn and they became lovers, even though he was also friendly with Tom. In 1990, when she was a patient in St Vincent's Private Hospital, and after their affair had ended, she asked him to visit. In mid-conversation, she said to him: "Get rid of Tom and there's 20,000 in it for you."

Exactly who carried out the robbery and murder of Tom Nevin that St Patrick's Day weekend in 1996 has never been established. The perpetrators were never apprehended and no one but Catherine Nevin has ever been brought to justice for the brutal killing in the kitchen of Jack White's Inn.

At 8.20pm on July 27, 1996, months after the murder, Nevin was arrested at the pub. The media were already there, no doubt after a Garda tip-off. They were also waiting when she was released 60 hours later, without charge. The myth of the Black Widow was already in the making.

The Director of Public Prosecutions ordered Nevin to stand trial for murder and conspiracy to murder her husband. Her trial opened on January 12, 2000. The case attracted so much media interest that after a number of days of complaints about media bias from the defence's legal team, Judge Mella Carroll ordered that "until this trial is finalised, there should be no further comment on Mrs Nevin's dress, hairstyle, nail varnish or reading material. No further photographs are to be published of her until the trial is over."

However it was not the media but someone who overheard the jury discussing the case during a lunch break and informed the judge that led to the trial being aborted on January 26 after the jury had heard more than 50 witnesses. A second jury was then sworn in, but it too was dismissed after one of the jurors, who was pregnant, was adjudged unable to continue for the duration of the trial.

The third and final trial got under way on February 14, 2000. A jury of six men and six women heard 170 witnesses over 61 days of evidence and legal argument.

Both Judge Donnchadh O'Buachalla and Inspector Tom Kennedy denied being Nevin's lovers. "I never stayed overnight in the pub. At no time did I have the keys for it," said the judge.

In the witness box, Nevin claimed she had "a good marriage" but it was sometimes marred by Tom's drinking as he was what she called a "disciplined" alcoholic. She also claimed he was a member of the IRA, much to the astonishment of detectives, who believed she was the one with Sinn Fein/IRA connections.

In the middle of giving evidence, she claimed she came home from court to find an intruder in the house in Mountshannon Road, Dublin, where she was staying and which was part of her husband's property portfolio. The intruder told her she was "naming people she shouldn't" and made her drink a milk-like concoction, which turned out to contain paracetamol. She was treated in St James's Hospital and later resumed her evidence.

"I never at any stage of our married life wanted Tom out of my life, ever. Tom was a big, big part of my married life and he always will be," she told the court. Paddy McEntee SC, the great defence barrister of that era, took three days to sum up the evidence, arguing that the case against her was circumstantial and the character of the three main witnesses for the prosecution was questionable.

He told the jury that relying on their word that she propositioned them to kill Tom Nevin was dangerous, given their own chequered past.

After five days of deliberations (29 hours in all) the jury returned at 6.30 on April 11, 2000 with a verdict. They found Nevin guilty of murdering her husband, and guilty of soliciting Gerry Heapes, John Jones (majority verdict) and Willie McClean (majority verdict) to murder him at various dates between 1989 and 1995.

Judge Mella Carroll told Nevin: "You had your husband assassinated not once, but twice, once in life and in death by assassinating his character."

She was sentenced to the mandatory term of life imprisonment.

Nevin then coolly took off the wedding ring she was wearing and handed it to her sister Betty White who, along with her brother Vincent Scully, had sat through one of the most fascinating murder trials in modern Irish history.

A judicial inquiry was later conducted into the behaviour of Judge O'Buachalla, who had transferred the licence for Jack White's Inn from the joint names of Catherine and Tom Nevin in private into her sole name - even though she was facing a murder charge at the time. Judge Frank Murphy concluded that, although these actions were in error, they did not amount to an abuse of legal process. Judge O'Buachalla died on April 22, 2017.

Nevin's appeal against the verdict was dismissed in May 2003 and a number of other appeals followed - none of which was successful. In the meantime, she served her sentence in the women's prison at Mountjoy and later, when granted day-release, enrolled in a course in addiction therapy at Maynooth University.

Jack White's Inn was sold in late 1997 for 620,000. Tom Nevin had not made a will and his mother Nora Nevin, and after her death his brother Patrick and sister Margaret, took High Court proceedings to prevent Catherine Nevin from benefiting financially from the estate. This included the proceeds of the sale of the pub, an estimated 800,000 from other properties, a 78,000 insurance policy and 197,000 in cash.

Catherine Nevin appealed when the High Court found in their favour. Her appeal was dismissed at the Court of Appeal in March 2017. It found that her conviction for murder could be used in civil proceedings intended to disinherit her.

In late 2016 it was reported that Nevin was suffering from a terminal brain tumour and had only months to live.

She was later transferred to a secret location where she died last Monday - a once glamorous but forlorn figure who had aimed so high and seemed convinced that she could get away with murder.SURVIVORS: Ray and Pam Hegarty, of Dublin, spoke about the Tunisian hotel terror attack. Photo: Gerry Mooney

Any family could fall victim to a terrorist attack like the horror that hit Irish families engulfed in the Imperial Marhaba Hotel in Tunisia.

The Hegarty family from Dublin escaped with their lives after a terrifying ordeal during the 2015 attack.

"We had only wanted to live," said Ray Hegarty (50), who desperately helped his wife Pam barricade their family into their hotel room using bed bases and mattresses amid the sound of shooting and explosions.

A coroner's jury in Dublin last Wednesday heard details of the June 2015 hotel massacre in Sousse.

A lone Isil gunman shot dead Athlone couple Martina and Laurence Hayes and County Meath nurse Lorna Carty during the massacre that claimed 38 lives. Some were killed as they lay on beachside sunbeds. Many escaped with their lives but bear the psychological scars.

Ray and Pam Hegarty, from Rialto, spoke to this newspaper after the inquest. Ray is a photographer in Dublin and Pam is a nurse in St James's Hospital. When the shooting started, they were with their daughters Emma and Chloe, then aged 20 and 16, in the outdoor pool.

They scrambled out and people were screaming. Emma slipped on wet steps and her father helped her to her feet. Ray also helped an elderly woman up steps. He later discovered that three people died on those steps.

Ray heard the "whizz of bullets" and explosions as the gunman hurled grenades.Crowds packed the staircase in the hotel but the Hegarty family made it to their third-floor bedroom.

Once inside, they barricaded the doors and lay on the floor. Ray crawled to a window and saw a body in front of the hotel. He wanted to appear calm and not let his family see he was hyperventilating. As they cowered in their room, they switched on the television, muting the volume, and watched a Sky News report of their hotel under attack.

Pam (50) said "I'm a practical person. I was thinking about the girls and whether we should hide them in the wardrobes. Or tie sheets together and get them over the balcony and drop down."

Ray was worried about defending his family. "We didn't know if it was one gunman or a whole army," he said.

Eventually, an armed SWAT team led them to safety after the terrorist was shot dead. Downstairs, Pam and Ray met Meath farmer Declan Carty whose wife lay dead on a sunbed outside.

In the months that followed, the Hegarty family struggled to get back to a normal life. Ray said: "I felt lucky to be alive but angry as well". On the flight home, Ray wrote a poem - A Paradise by Oceanside:

Pure white sand where parachutes glide

This beautiful place, filled with nature's grace

That day.

Unnatural sounds of violence filled the air

Hammer of bullet and bomb echoed everywhere

Love was sucked out, replaced by a harrowing hate

An invisible cloak of evil covered our fate.

"Run run run" run for your life and of those in your care

Our souls were scattered everywhere

That day our sunbeds turned into deathbeds.'The sinking of the Leinster caused outrage in the US and Britain. British Foreign Secretary Arthur Balfour was widely applauded when he roared that the Germans were 'brutes'.

The New York Times commented that London had not been so indignant about an attack on shipping since the sinking of the Lusitania in May 1915, when 1,198 passengers (including 128 Americans) lost their lives just over 20km south of Cork. American reports also focused upon the loss of American lives. But they also described the ship as a romantic microcosm of Ireland where people of all backgrounds and classes shared the same place as they crossed the sea.

For Germany, the sinking could not have come at a worse time. On October 3, 1918, facing defeat on the Western Front, newly appointed Chancellor Prince Max von Baden had sent a diplomatic note to American President Woodrow Wilson asking for an armistice and an honourable peace. The Leinster sinking was now at the top of the American President's agenda. How could he even continue to exchange diplomatic notes with the German government while German submarines sunk civilian shipping? He demanded that there could be no further peace talk unless the German government brought an end to the campaign of submarine warfare and other atrocities. The German government duly complied.

Submarine warfare had been a disaster from the very beginning. Initially launched in February 1915, the first submarine campaign was called off to avoid provoking American entry to the war on the allied side in September 1915. But as the war dragged on, the hawks in the German military establishment grew more influential. They demanded a return to unrestricted (shoot on sight) submarine warfare. Despite the potential for bringing America into the war on their opponents' side, which it did, a new campaign of submarine warfare was launched in February 1917 (this was the 'Brexit' decision of World War I).

The hawks badly needed naval military success. In the decade before 1914, the German navy had been constructed at enormous expense. Many people even blamed it for causing the war. But in August 1914, when the war started, the expected showdown between the great ships of the Imperial German Navy and the British Royal Navy never came. Instead, both sides stood back, preferring not to risk a battle in which either could lose more than they wished. Instead, the British chose the strategy of blockade. They decided to strangle Germany by cutting off its access to all maritime shipping roots. Hundreds of thousands of Germans starved as a result.

Many Germans thought that by sinking allied shipping, they could do something similar. Initially their new campaign appeared successful: in April 1917, German submarines sunk allied shipping with combined tonnage of almost 850,000 (an increase of 50pc on the shipping sunk in March). But by 1918, German submarines were on the back foot. The hunters had become the hunted. In the summer of that year, German submarine commanders even realised that they could no longer enter the straits of Dover. German submarines were being sunk faster than new submarines could be built. Worse than having provoked American entry to the war, German submarines were completely unable to prevent American soldiers reaching Europe. Of the more than two million American men transported to Europe to fight the central powers, only 314 were lost at sea thanks to German submarines.

The allies' success was thanks to a combination of greater resources and new tactics. Allied warships escorted convoys across the Atlantic. Unlike the German submarines, they had powerful radios that allowed them to receive messages about where German submarines had most recently been spotted. The allies also got better at using depth charges against the submarines, and after they failed to build their own reliable mines, the British successfully copied a German design that sunk perhaps as many as 30 or 40 German submarines. In the North Sea, the US even spent $40m on defensive measures (including mines and nets) that were intended to stop German submarines from reaching the Atlantic.

The men who sunk the Leinster never made it home. They were among the 5,134 Germans, almost half of all men who served on a submarine, killed during the war. One ship captain later recalled that one of his worst wartime experiences was sailing out to meet submarines that were supposed to be returning from battle, only to discover that they would never arrive at the rendezvous point. The fate was worse for the families of submarine crews. Once a submarine had been missing for long enough, parents and wives were sent letters telling them that their loved ones' submarines had been lost but that this must remain secret so not as to undermine moral. World War I's wonder weapon had failed entirely.

Dr Mark Jones is an Irish Research Council Fellow at the School of History and Centre for War Studies at UCD. To learn more about World War I, obtain your Masters at UCD: www.ucd.ie/history/study/graduateprogrammes/ma_history/Forget dancing with wolves. At Norway's Polar Park, guests can spend the night in a cabin inside a wolf enclosure.

The experience, which debuted in December, includes an evening listening to wolf tales in front of the fireplace, whilst curious wolves themselves pass by.

The following morning, guests step outside for a 'wolf kiss'.

Polar Park is the northernmost wildlife park in the world, located in Bardu, between Narvik and Troms in Northern Norway.

Its Wolflodge consists of six bedrooms sleeping 12, and the chance to interact with wolves is offered in an enclosure of "socialised" animals.

After clear instructions by the guide on where to put hands; how to walk; and general behavior, visitors are greeted with a lick on the face.



Video: YouTube/Gard Ole Waerum

Wolves, which live mainly in southeastern Norway, are listed as critically endangered on the Norwegian Red List of species 2010.

The largest member of the dog family is a social species, living in pairs or flocks, hunting both small game and larger animals such as moose and red deer, and growing to an average weight of around 30kg (females) and 50kg (males).

Bears, muskox, lynx and moose share the epic wilderness at Polar Park, and visitors can also take part in guided nature photography tours.

WolfLodge packages start from around 450/585pp, depending on numbers booking. The cost includes accommodation, dinner, guides and snacks.

Guests can fly from Dublin Airport to Troms via Oslo or London with SAS (flysas.ie) and Norwegian (norwegian.com).

See polarpark.no/wolflodge for more info.Kathmandu, Nepal: The Supreme Court (SC), the apex court of the country, has ordered the Office of Prime Minister and Council of Ministers and Federal Parliament Secretariat to postpone the oath of office of the three members of National Assembly appointed by the incumbent government overturning the decision of the immediate past Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba led government.





Responding to the writ petition filed at the challenging to the appointment of three NA members by the incumbent government, a single bench of SC Justice Prakash Man Singh Raut issued such an ordered on Sunday to halt the oath of the newly appointed three NA members.





With the order, oath of newly appointed NA members Yubaraj Khatiwada, Bimala Ram Narayan Bidari and Poudel Rai has been canceled. Their oath taking was scheduled for March 4.





Deuba-led government had recommended Gopal Basnet, Krishna Prasad Paudel and Chandani Joshi as NA members. But the President had not approved their name as NA members waiting the new recommendation from the new government formed under the leadership of CPN UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli.



Norway's capital city is expensive, but worth the trip if you plan wisely says Jamie Ball.

Set the mood

Of all the right chords Norway's capital strikes, Saturday sundown is probably best. We're sailing through the island labyrinth of Oslofjord as a buffet of prawns is laid out below decks. A Nordic singsong breaks out. As views and beer hit the sweet spot, it strikes me that there's a grand stretch in the evenings. But they're grander here.

Oslo offers a weekend destination that, while far from pumped-up, cut-rate or sun-smooched, is worthy of a more refined and cultured city break just two hours or so from Dublin. Put it this way: if it's likely you'll only be able to afford a couple of days in Scandinavia, here's the place to start.

Guilty Pleasure

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Upon entering your room at the Thief Hotel (thethief.com), you might be tempted to become a thief yourself (there are enough deluxe cushions to shame a Marrakesh market). The finesse and elegant furnishings of this uber-chic, five-star waterfront hotel are graced with contemporary art and design.

Some willpower will be required to leave your room in the morning, but make the effort for the world of water and wellbeing in the spa, where a Finish sauna, Moroccan rhassaul steam room and 12-metre pool await, all in polished ambiance of slate, sea and Nordic light.

The Thief is too cool for school, like Oslo in one. Prices per room start at about 310 including breakfast, pool and spa.

Insider Intel

Part cosmopolitan hostel and part budget hotel, the Saga (sagahoteloslocentral.no) is a "poshtel" with snippets of Scandinavian design. Dorms of 4-12 beds range from 35-50pp, while a spartan (double) room comes in at around 90 (breakfast included with all). At least one evening, walk up to the famous Fiskeriet (fiskeriet.com) and sample their sumptuous fish and chips, Norwegian-style, for less than 20.

Travel Tip

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Prior to arriving, buy your Oslo Pass card (via an app; see visitoslo.com), which gives you free entry to more than 30 museums and attractions (including walking tours), as well as free travel on all public transport (though not on the airport express train). Once activated upon arrival, its QR code on your smartphone is scanned each time it's used. For adults, 24 hours costs from 43, 48 hours from 64. Child rates are roughly half-price.

Cheap Kick

Oslo Pass (see Travel Tip above) in hand, go raiding the city's stand-out museums and galleries. The Bygdoy peninsula, easily accessed by bus and ferry, hosts the Viking Ship Museum (khm.uio.no) and Norsk Folkemuseum (norskfolkenmuseum.no), among others.

Stepping back in time may be a cliche, but the latter allows you to wander in and around 160+ buildings dating from 1200. From tenant farms to Sami sites, this is no Disney-fied 'old world', but an insightful and gratifying open-air museum.

Glitches

Surprise, surprise, Oslo is very expensive: a heedless 48 hours here could buy you a week in southern Europe. The pace is so laidback (nightlife with a lowercase 'n'), you'd be forgiven for taking its pulse in places. But that can be a blessing, too.

Get me there

Jamie flew as a guest of SAS (flysas.com), which flies Dublin to Oslo direct with prices starting from around 83 return. Before booking, check out visitoslo.com/en and choose wisely - there's lots to see and do in a very tight timeframe!

Read more:For as long as we've had restaurants, we've had complaints about rip-offs. Photo: Deposit

For as long as weve eaten out, weve complained about rip-offs.

This month, the Daily Mail kicked the old hornets nest again by claiming chains like Carluccios and Jamies Italian mark up simple dishes by as much as 586pc.

True? Maybe, but its not the full story.

As Irish food improves (and inspires more travel than ever), misperceptions need to be managed before they ruin perfectly good businesses.

1. Value does not mean cheap.

Recently, I paid 6.50 for a takeaway salad in a healthy chain in Dublin. It was cheap. It was also yuck and the room was grotty  poor value for money.

At the other end of the scale, Ive willingly paid over 15 times that for a tasting menu at a chefs table in the city. An extravagant splurge, yes  but to me, it was money well spent on cutting edge Irish food and a night to remember.

Bad value stings; good value breeds satisfaction.

2. Margins are thinner than you think

16 for a burger! Id get four in Tesco for a fiver!

Sound familiar? Raw ingredients rocket in price by the time they hit your plate, but consider the work it takes to cook and present them  and the hospitality you enjoy. Add rents, wages and insurance (all rising costs in Ireland), along with rates and tax.

Irish restaurants do not levy continental-style cover charges, but many provide free bread and water. And thats not even starting on customer no-shows.

3. Its the local economy, stupid

Ive no interest in defending giant chains. The takings at a good, locally-owned Irish restaurant, however, dont disappear overseas. They pay for mortgages, school books and swimming lessons.

With local ingredients, the ripple effect spreads to Irish farmers, fishermen, butchers, producers and suppliers. Your bill can literally help build community.

4. The boom is back! I cant get a table on Saturday nights!

Maybe so. But have you been on a Tuesday? Or off-season in rural Ireland?

Restaurants dont charge like airlines and hotels, cranking up prices at peak times (I can only imagine the cacophony on Liveline if they did... though Londons Bob Bob Ricard is trialling the model). If anything, early-bird menus go the other way  discounting off-hours dining, rather than charging a premium for peak.

5. You are what you eat

One way to cut costs in a food business is to use cheaper ingredients. Intensively farmed chicken and pork, imported veg and meats and hyper-processed food can all lower your bill. But at what cost to health, jobs and animal welfare?

Yes, budget eateries need to be part of the picture. But customers are responsible for what they put in their bodies too.

6. This is pretentious BS!

I get this a lot. Yes, a meal out can be a privilege. So can Sky Sports, a trip to Dundrum or a rake of pints. Irish cynicism is a natural buffer against pretension, and I love it, but it can also prevent us from trying new things. Our food scene is thriving, particularly at the casual end. This is the perfect time to give it a shot.

By all means, call out bad value. Just dont confuse it with price.

When you buy good, local, sustainable Irish food creatively cooked and served with care, youre not just buying a meal. Youre buying an experience.

Read more:Premium

Ian O'Doherty Opinion The June bank holiday is made for fun so enough with the finger-wagging

OK, heres a typically controversial and, dare I say, brave statement  I love bank holiday weekends. But while every bank holiday is to be welcomed, I have a particularly soft spot for the one were enjoying this weekend. Thats because, for about 10 years, I spent every June bank holiday down in Kilkenny at the Cat Laughs comedy festival. Covering comedy was my beat at the time, and it didnt get much better than the Cat Laughs. Kilkenny is a cracking town and that legendary festival elevated the place even more. I spent many days on the lash with the great Johnny Vegas. I had the kind of night out with Canadian comic Mike Wilmot that could never be retold in a family newspaper. I became pally with Emo Philips. I discussed politics with Lewis Black. I swapped recommendations with Rich Hall for the best American alt-country bands at the time. It was all very debauched and decadent and, as you can imagine, enormously enjoyable. Of course, I was younger back then and had the stamina to go for two or three nights without much sleep. Why sleep when youre having so much fun? Over time, the grind just became too hard. The moment I knew it was time to throw in the towel came when I was driven back to Dublin at 7am on the Monday morning to start my shift in the newsroom and I realised that I was just getting too old for it all. Ive been thinking about those fondly remembered days a lot this week. Both because it reminds me of when I could still get up to that sort of behaviour  if I tried it today Id probably just keel over and die  but also because it reminds me that, at the moment, nobody else can have that kind of that experience. This pandemic has brought many home truths to us all. In my case, one of those home truths is that Im actually beginning to be comfortable with my advancing decrepitude. But for tens of thousands of us, our favourite bank holiday events are simply not happening this year. Some have been cancelled entirely. Other traditional bank holiday staples, such as the VHI Womens Mini Marathon are just being conducted online and/or postponed to later in the year. While Im happy to become an old fart and sit out in my back garden, thats a luxury and a privilege denied to so many of us  particularly younger people who have spent much of the last 15 months stuck inside their apartment or, even worse, forced to go back to live with their parents. That was the thing that really struck me about the frequently chaotic scenes we witnessed around the country last week and which will be repeated, with gusto, this weekend. Contrary to the professional scolds and the finger-waggers, the people who congregated on Georges Street and South William Street werent anti-social monsters determined to ruin the lives of city-centre residents. No, they were simply young people who were letting off a bit of steam. In years to come, when we look back and analyse the various impacts of the lockdown, one of the most startling aspects will surely be the way the generations quickly turned on each other. Back in March 2020, when this terrible nightmare first began to grab us all by the throat, one of the main mantras was were all in this together. That was a rather fanciful platitude. It was also completely incorrect. Because when push comes to shove, people will always turn on each other and look for a scapegoat. Its one of the less admirable aspects of human nature and we saw numerous examples of it this week. I was listening to one radio phone-in and it sounded like a parody of the genre. Older folk were up in arms at the sight of so many young people gathering together. Younger kids were then quickly on the phone defending their behaviour and condemning the fuddy-duddies for judging them. It was depressing as it was predictable. If I have one quibble with the gangs that gathered together last weekend, and who will probably do it again tonight and tomorrow night, it was the amount of litter that was left behind. The argument about the lack of bins has a point  to a point. But the reality is that if you can bring a bag of cans out onto the street, you should be able to keep that bag to bring the empty cans home with you. Its hardly rocket science, is it? Frankly, the thoughts of standing in the middle of the street while slugging back a few tins fills me with horror  but Im not in my twenties. Thats why I wont judge those kids who went on the lash  they were like puppies who had just escaped from their cage. What did we expect them to do when they saw their first chink of daylight in a year? Things have been hard enough for everyone but theres a rather unpleasant element of competition about who has it had it the toughest. However, as is often the case, the answer is staring us all straight in the face  everyone has had it tough, just for different reasons. So enough with the judgemental attitudes  from both sides. After all, were all in this together, right?NOW A MAN WITH NO POLITICAL FRIENDS: Former Taoiseach Enda Kenny has become somewhat of a mystery to his former Fine Gael colleagues who no longer hear from him. Picture: Barry Cronin

There are no friends in politics or, at least, very few. It's not a team sport. It's every man and woman for themselves. It doesn't matter if you're in a political party or part of some loose-knit alliance of like-minded politicians. Once the pistol is fired on an election campaign, every politician is on their own in the trenches. It's a matter of self-preservation.

With that background, it is interesting to look at the curious case of Enda Kenny post-life as Taoiseach. Once the country's most-powerful politician, he now lives an entirely different life. He has taken to the speaking engagement circuit, as world leaders of significance do upon leaving their day job. The Dail register of members' interests show trips to New York, London, Liverpool and Newcastle. A source close to Kenny said he spent last week in New Orleans. Those who know him personally say he is enjoying life after politics.

They say there's "not a chance in hell" he will run for the Irish Presidency. His name is regularly mentioned within the European People's Party as a possible successor to EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker. However, he is expected to lose out on a nomination for the top job in Brussels to EU Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier.

Closer to home, Kenny has become somewhat of a mystery to his former Fine Gael colleagues. He is often seen around Leinster House and trades pleasantries with those he meets in the corridors, but he generally keeps himself to himself. Politicians who were once considered die-hard Kenny loyalists don't speak to the former Taoiseach. Fine Gael soldiers, who fought on the front-line for Kenny, no longer hear from their general.

Throughout his tenure, political expediency necessitated that he cut ties with long-time political supporters.

Frank Flannery was one of the chief architects of the Fine Gael renaissance which led to Kenny being elected Taoiseach but he was cast aside when he became embroiled in the Rehab charity scandal. Similarly, former Minister for Justice Alan Shatter was unceremoniously ousted after sustained and prolonged Garda scandals. Shatter claims he was wronged by Kenny's actions and has the legal judgments to prove it.

James Reilly, who Kenny appointed deputy leader of Fine Gael after the 2010 heave, was booted out of the Department of Health a couple of years into the job and replaced by Leo Varadkar. He was also sacked from that job at a press conference only to be reinstated a few weeks later at a parliamentary party meeting.

Three other politicians - Phil Hogan, Paul Kehoe and Paddy Burke - who were central to Enda Kenny's campaign team during the 2010 heave have also been isolated by the former Taoiseach. EU Commissioner Phil Hogan was his director of elections during the failed coup.

Minister of State with responsibility for Defence Paul Kehoe was also a key player during the campaign as was Fine Gael senator Paddy Burke.

The trio also lent their support and political know-how to Leo Varadkar in his very successful campaign to become Fine Gael leader. And now Kenny doesn't call them and they don't call him.

"No one fell out with him and there was no big row but he just doesn't talk to them any more," one source said.

Another source said: "I think he thought they would defend him again, even though it would be detrimental to them."

Kenny knew they were secretly working with Varadkar before he stepped down or even announced when he would leave office. He was approached by colleagues and told of the insurgency in his own camp. The disloyalty cut deep. "Kenny owes them nothing and doesn't need friends like that," a well-placed source said.

The three former loyalists would argue they got involved with Varadkar to ensure there was no heave against Kenny and only promised their support on that condition. They also had to consider their political life beyond Kenny.

At Kenny's farewell dinner for Cabinet members in Farmleigh House in the Phoenix Park, onlookers noted that he was particularly cold towards Kehoe. "He might as well have been dirt on his shoe," a source said. At the end of the dinner, Kenny invited all the remaining guests - apart from Kehoe - to have a few more drinks elsewhere. The snub did not go unnoticed.

"He had no friends left by the time he stepped down," a former friend said. The same person blamed "brutish individuals" who "manipulated power and isolated" Kenny.

Taking tough decisions never wins favour, as Kenny well knows from his time running the country.

He will also know political life is expendable and for a long-lasting TD picking the winning side is a basic survival instinct.As the various twists and turns on Brexit continue to offer little by way of clarity, an argument is beginning to emerge from the more strident wing of the UK Conservative Party that the Good Friday Agreement has outlived its usefulness and should be dispensed with, an outcome which would, of course, help facilitate the hardest of hard Brexits and would be detrimental to this island's interests, North and South.

This argument should be roundly rejected by all political leaders on the island of Ireland and publicly by the UK government, certain members of which seem to be determined to wreak untold and not just economic havoc on this island in pursuit of their ill-thought-out position of departure from the European Union.

In a speech in New York last week, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Simon Coveney, strongly defended the Belfast Agreement, stating that the Government would not give credence to those who had, he said, glibly claimed the Good Friday Agreement to have failed or outlived its utility. While the operation of the agreement has at times left a lot to be desired, it is not true to say that the document itself has entrenched sectarianism in the political process. Rather it is the intransigence of the main political players in Northern Ireland which has done so, that is, both the DUP and Sinn Fein, and latterly Sinn Fein with its untimely insistence on a standalone Irish Language Act. However, both parties have a duty to make the agreement work as expected by the peoples of Ireland.

On the broader issue of Brexit, the UK government continues to display what European Council President Donald Tusk has called "pure illusion" in relation to its future trading relationship with the EU in proposing what the Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has described as an "a la carte" managed divergence from the single market. However, political developments in the UK now also place a further responsibility on Sinn Fein. The UK Prime Minister, Theresa May, is expected to finally unveil her vision for departure from the EU this week.

Members of the Conservative Party who wisely support the UK remaining in the customs union intend to vote against Mrs May's intended trade bill and, at this stage, look like they will have the support of the Labour Party, whose position on the UK remaining in the customs union is evolving to support the proposition. The vote will be close. Sinn Fein has a crucial seven votes which could inflict a significant House of Commons defeat on Mrs May's government, an outcome which could potentially be a game changer in the entire Brexit debate. Mary Lou McDonald should now take that opportunity as an indication of her party's claimed shift from the past. This will be a critical decision for the new Sinn Fein President.

Meanwhile, the Good Friday Agreement, an international agreement between two sovereign governments which has been approved by voters across the island of Ireland in two referendums, must remain out of bounds.

To contemplate its sacrifice in the context of Brexit, or any other context, would indeed betray an ignorance beyond parallel of the history and evolution of peace in Northern Ireland.

That said, responsibility to make the Agreement properly function primarily rests with the DUP and Sinn Fein, which so far have shown scant regard to either its tenets or spirit.Citizens' assemblies are the best bad idea being touted to save democracy. At a time when there is elevated distrust in politics, involving citizens directly, and asking them to make decisions, gets around this problem. We don't trust politicians, but we trust 'people like us'.

But Ireland's Citizens' Assembly ran into a little bit of difficulty last week. This is the body that was set up by the Government in 2016 to deal with issues that the Government didn't want to have to deal with directly. Like the Constitutional Convention before it (which I served as an academic adviser), these 'deliberative publics' are handy ways of getting difficult issues off the agenda when negotiating a programme for government.

And they work. Citizens' assemblies have helped governments to tackle issues that most are instinctively scared to. The Constitutional Convention aired the debate on same-sex marriage and in its report forced Government to deal with it.

It showed that when ordinary people - 'people like us' - considered the issue they didn't have a problem with same-sex marriage. This gave politicians more confidence to hold a referendum, and more confidence to air their own views in an atmosphere that isn't as highly politicised as had it been a normal government proposal.

But now the Citizens' Assembly process has been called into question. It turns out that seven of members of the assembly were selected by less than random means - they were acquaintances of a recruiter working for the polling company RedC. The seven have been removed from the assembly, and the chair of the assembly, Mary Laffoy, says these seven were not involved in the only controversial topic the assembly was asked to consider, abortion.

This caused a row in the Dail as anti-abortion TDs accused the Government of overseeing a 'stitch-up', and demanded that the referendum to repeal the Eighth Amendment be postponed until after a full inquiry. They argue the whole process gets its legitimacy from the randomness of the membership, and when that randomness is compromised, "the whole process is compromised".

Of course, this is nonsense. Health minister Simon Harris must have tried to suppress a yawn as the usual suspects stretched their lexicon beyond breaking in a desperate attempt to create controversy. They know that nothing makes the news like screaming, so scream they did.

The Government went full belt and braces when it conceded the Citizens' Assembly to Katherine Zappone in exchange for her support. They added in an Oireachtas committee.

The purpose might have been to delay things further. But while the Government might have been surprised at the result of the Citizens' Assembly, it must have been shocked at the outcome of the Oireachtas Committee on the Eighth.

Conservative Fianna Fail and Fine Gael TDs came out in favour of repeal, and in favour of legislation considerably more liberal than the position they started out with.

The problems with the assembly are irrelevant to the Eighth Committee. It considered its own evidence, in far more detail than the Citizens' Assembly did or could have. The evidence and witnesses were distinct and independent of the assembly's, and so any flaws in the Citizens' Assembly are irrelevant. Harris was right to say that the whole process has moved on.

The other accusation levelled at the assembly was that it is not representative. They're right, it wasn't. But only the most naive supporters of these types of mini-publics could think that 100 people could be representative of the country's views.

You'd need more than 1,000 people in the assembly to achieve that. Even then it wouldn't be representative, because only certain types of people are willing to give up weekends to discuss political issues. This was a problem we found in an earlier experiment I and some colleagues carried out, called We the Citizens. It was difficult to get young mothers to show up, and even if you got the assembly to 'look' representative, it wasn't. The people who show up have much stronger views than an average citizen.

Managing the assembly can be tricky, and the chair has the difficult task of having to be faithful to the idea of respectful, open deliberation, of being seen not to favour one side of the argument, and the tight timeframe they're usually given. There is a natural tendency to want to move things on. There's also a natural desire to produce a report that Government could take seriously. Left to its own devices, an assembly would simultaneously announce support for tax cuts and spending increases.

That desire to move things on put me in an unusual position a few years ago of feeling sorry for Senator Ronan Mullen. When the debate on same-sex marriage had obviously concluded that it was in favour of the legalisation, opponents, perhaps cynically, but I felt sincerely, raised the issue of teachers being forced to teach a version of marriage that didn't accord with their views. It had been discussed, but the debate about having an addendum to the report that indicated that religious freedom should be respected was shut down a little too quickly.

The choice of experts was also significant. We found that when experts agreed, the members tended to follow the expert judgment.

While an assembly, I'm sure, doesn't set out to fix things by picking certain experts, they aren't always alert to the fact that they might be doing just that.

Too many of those involved in these democratic experiments act as uncritical cheerleaders of the process. Last week's news shows that these won't be perfect.

We have taken the right approach in giving them the power to suggest. But Government and the Oireachtas retain the power to ignore them. It's helpful then, that their proposals are given full critical attention. A referendum can do that, albeit imperfectly.

Eoin O'Malley is director of the MSc in Public Policy at DCUChinas ruling Communist Party has proposed removing a limit of two consecutive terms for the countrys president and vice president, according to the countrys state news agency.

The Xinhua News Agency said in a brief report that the partys Central Committee proposed to remove from the constitution the expression that Chinas president and vice president shall serve no more than two consecutive terms.

The move, if approved, appears to lay the groundwork for party leader Xi Jinping to rule as president beyond 2023.

The announcement came before the partys Central Committee was to begin a three-day meeting in Beijing on Monday to discuss major personnel appointments and other issues.

Mr Xis status as the most powerful Chinese leader in a generation was cemented at last years party congress, where he was given a second five-year term as general secretary.

Ahead of the party congress, Mr Xi had been shoring up his authority and sidelining rivals, leaving him primed to press his agenda of tightened state control.

That included a push to insert his thoughts on theoretical matters into the party constitution and further cultivate a burgeoning cult of personality that could allow him to hold on to power beyond his second term.

The son of a famed communist elder, Mr Xi rose through the ranks to the position of Shanghais party leader before being promoted to the all-powerful Politburo Standing Committee in 2007.

When Mr Xi did assume the top spot in 2012, it was as head of a reduced seven-member committee on which he had only one reliable ally, veteran Wang Qishan.

He put Mr Wang in charge of a sweeping anti-corruption crackdown that helped Mr Xi eliminate challengers, both serving and retired, and cow potential opponents.Kathmandu, Nepal: The Supreme Court (SC), the Apex Court of the country, has urged the Press Council to implement the Press Council Act to control the misleading news in mass media.





Issuing an interim order, the single bench of Chief Justice (CJ) Gopal Prasad Parajuli has also urged the council to monitor and to legally probe the news published by any media.



For years, Russia has worked to gain influence in south-east Europe, using Serbia as a foothold to establish a friendly pocket on a hostile continent.

The European Union is now pushing back. European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker embarks on a seven-nation Balkans tour today to promote the EU's new eastward expansion strategy.

Russia wants to discourage the western Balkan countries - Albania, Bosnia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Kosovo and Serbia - from joining Nato, but is also trying to deter them from joining the EU.

The EU sees the prospect of membership as an incentive for reform in the region, which was torn apart by war in the 1990s. Its expansion strategy puts Serbia and Montenegro in position to join should the bloc open its doors to more members, tentatively by 2025.

Serbia is a major target of Moscow's anti-Western activities because the two Slavic and predominantly Eastern Orthodox Christian nations share deep cultural and historical ties. The Kremlin is so concerned about losing its ally that Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov repeatedly argued while in Serbia last week that EU membership isn't all it is cut out to be.

Serbian political analyst Bosko Jaksic thinks the Russians are getting increasingly nervous as they lose allies one by one in the Balkans.

"It's not clear how far they are willing to go to preserve their interests here, but judging from what they did in Ukraine, they are willing to go far," Jaksic said, referring to Russia's annexation of Crimea and support for pro-Russian rebels in eastern Ukraine.

Juncker said: "Investing in the stability and prosperity of the western Balkans means investing in the security and future of our Union."

ReutersRuud Lubbers, who has died aged 78, was the longest-serving prime minister of the Netherlands, from 1982 to 1994, and later, from 2001, UN High Commissioner for Refugees, a post from which he was forced to step down in 2005 over accusations of sexual harassment.

"I liked Mr Lubbers, a young practical businessman who now applied his talents to good effect in Dutch politics," wrote Margaret Thatcher in The Downing Street Years. "Although his instincts were federalist," she went on, "in day-to-day community business we often found ourselves on the same side."

Her successor, John Major, described Lubbers as "among Britain's closest friends. He was prepared to ruffle feathers and did so, while avoiding slogans and remaining full of common sense".

Lubbers was the man who, as president of the European Council of Ministers during the second half of 1991, brokered the Maastricht Treaty.

Popular, experienced, pragmatic and multilingual, Lubbers was seen as the ideal man to steer what was billed as "a new stage in the process of creating an ever closer union among the peoples of Europe", and to lay the foundations for the euro, to a successful conclusion.

In fact he almost fell at the first hurdle when, on September 30, 1991, a comprehensive scheme for political union, drafted by Piet Dankert, the Europe minister in the Dutch coalition government, was trashed by almost every other member state as too federalist.

Although he could not disown the draft altogether, Lubbers somehow escaped the blame and set about working out a form of words to satisfy all. His patience was said to be limitless and his victims, according to one commentator, "usually succumb to frustration, confusion or plain exhaustion".

Looking back in 2011 on Europe post-Maastricht, however, Lubbers admitted things had not progressed as he had hoped: "I thought the euro would be so successful it would lead to political union and that it would be attractive for other states to join. This was a mistake."

Rudolphus Franciscus Marie "Ruud" Lubbers was born on May 7, 1939, into a wealthy Catholic family, the owners of a major construction and civil engineering company, in mainly Protestant Rotterdam. After education at a Jesuit college, he studied economics at Erasmus University, Rotterdam, where he was a student of the Nobel prizewinner Jan Tinbergen. He originally planned an academic career, but instead joined the family business, becoming co-director with his brother in 1965 after their father's death.

He entered politics in 1973 after an invitation to be the Minister of Economic Affairs in the cabinet of Joop den Uyl. Subsequently elected to the Dutch House of Representatives, he became parliamentary leader of the Christian Democratic Appeal, a broadly centrist party formed in 1977 under Dries van Agt from three smaller parties. When Van Agt unexpectedly stepped down after winning an election in 1982, Lubbers was elected to succeed him and became the youngest prime minister in Dutch history.

He led three CDA-dominated coalition governments over 12 years and was regarded as an ideological soulmate of Thatcher. One of his campaign slogans was: "Meer markt, minder overheid" (more market, less government) and his years in office were marked by cutbacks in public spending and far-reaching deregulation and privatisation.

Before retiring from national politics, Lubbers was tipped to succeed Jacques Delors as president of the European Commission, but somewhere along the line he had got on the wrong side of German chancellor Helmut Kohl, and the job went to Jacques Santer in 1994. Instead he entered academia, lecturing at Harvard and at Tilburg University in the Netherlands until 2001, when he was appointed UN High Commissioner for Refugees.

He was considered enough of a success in the job, looking after the world's 17m refugees, that his initial three-year term was extended by two years on the recommendation of the UN secretary general Kofi Annan.

But his accomplishments were overshadowed by a sexual harassment case brought by an American UNHCR employee, who accused him of improperly touching her after a meeting in December 2003. Lubbers denied impropriety, saying he had intended an innocent "friendly gesture". He fought for more than a year to save his reputation and job, but an internal investigation in 2004 found a pattern of sexual misconduct. Kofi Annan initially declined to act, saying the findings were not strong enough for dismissal. But after the report leaked to the press and as Annan himself came under pressure over the Iraq oil-for-food scandal, he asked Lubbers to resign.

Though a multi-millionaire, he was unostentatious in his personal life, living in a suburban house on the outskirts of Rotterdam.

In 1962 he married Ria Hoogeweegen, who survives him with a daughter and two sons.

He died on February 14.The United Nations Security Council adopted a resolution last night demanding a 30-day truce in Syria to allow aid deliveries and medical evacuations. The vote commanded the support of Syrian ally Russia after a flurry of last-minute negotiations.

The resolution comes as warplanes yesterday continued to pound east Ghouta - the last rebel enclave near Syria's capital, - for a seventh straight day. The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said warplanes struck Ghouta yesterday minutes after the resolution passed.

"The UN convoys and evacuation teams are ready to go," Sweden's UN Ambassador told the council just before the vote. After the session, many council members urged stepped up efforts to ensure a cease-fire and get assistance to millions in need.

There is no set time for the ceasefire to take effect, but the resolution demands that it be followed immediately by access for humanitarian convoys and medical teams to evacuate the critically ill and wounded.

The resolution states that 5.6 million people in 1,244 communities are in "acute need", including 2.9 million in hard-to-reach and besieged locations.

It calls for all parties to immediately lift the sieges of populated areas including eastern Ghouta, Yarmouk, Foua and Kefraya.

The Security Council authorised one exemption from the ceasefire. It said attacks directed at extremists from the so-called Islamic State group and all al-Qaeda affiliates, including the Nusra Front, will be allowed to continue.

Several ceasefire attempts have quickly unravelled during the multi-sided conflict, which has killed hundreds of thousands of people and forced 11 million people out of their homes.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres had appealed during the week for an immediate end to "war activities" in eastern Ghouta. However rescue workers and medics on the ground said the bombing would not let up long enough for them to count the bodies, in what was one of the bloodiest air assaults of the seven-year war.

The fierce escalation has killed nearly 500 people in the past seven days, said a conflict monitoring group.

Residents holed up in basements and medical charities decried attacks on a dozen hospitals. In response, the Damascus government and Russia, its main ally, say they only target militants.

They have said they seek to stop rebel mortar attacks on the capital and accused insurgents in Ghouta of holding people as human shields.

The United Nations says 400,000 people live in east Ghouta, a pocket of satellite towns and farms under government siege since 2013, without enough food or medicine.

Russia has backed Assad since the country's conflict began seven years ago. In 2015, Moscow joined the war on Assad's side, tipping the balance of power in his favour - and despite Russian statements about withdrawing their forces from the theatre of war, they remain an active force in the country.

Syrian opposition activists said that Russian warplanes took part in the past week's bombardment of Damascus' eastern suburbs, forcing many people to hide in underground shelters with little food or medical supplies amid a tightening government siege.

Syrian state media said Ghouta factions fired mortars at the Old City of Damascus yesterday. Insurgent shelling killed one person and injured 60 more a day earlier, it said.

The Ghouta pocket has become the war's latest flashpoint, after a string of rebel defeats and negotiated withdrawals. With Russian jets and Iran-backed militias, Assad's military has restored state rule over the main cities across western Syria.

Insurgents in east Ghouta have vowed not to accept such a fate, ruling out the kind of evacuation that ended rebellion in Aleppo and Homs after bitter sieges.

Russia has blamed Nusra fighters, from al-Qaeda's former Syria branch, for provoking the situation in the Ghouta. The two main Islamist factions there in turn accuse their enemies of using the presence of a few hundred jihadist fighters as a pretext for attacks.

Reuters

HOSPITALS ARE THE TARGETS, CIVILIANS THE VICTIMS

The Medecins Sans Frontieres/Doctors Without Borders-supported hospitals and clinics in east Ghouta have seen more than 2,400 wounded and more than 500 dead in four days  from the evening of Sunday February 18 to last Thursday.

This data comes initially from 18 facilities, and then (from last Tuesday) from 14 facilities.

The MSF workers on the ground consider this to be an under-estimate as MSF doesnt have the figures from all the facilities supported by MSF and because there are other facilities in east Ghouta not supported by MSF who have been receiving wounded and dead.

And there is also the fog of war hanging over the area.

Health facilities hit in bombing/shelling

Hospitals and clinics have been hit, particularly during the first days. This reduces medical care at the time it is needed most.

13 MSF-supported facilities hit by bombing or shelling (seven which are regularly supported and six punctually supported)

4 facilities have been fully destroyed (not operational)

9 facilities have received varying damage, from really significant to minor They are attempting to continue some services, but are working in very great and understandable fear.

There are reports of other facilities, which arent currently supported by MSF, being affected. We can only confirm two of them, which we formerly supported.Nigeria's government has acknowledged that 110 girls are still missing nearly a week after Boko Haram militants attacked a town.

The fate of the girls is not known, but witnesses said the Islamic extremists specifically asked where the girls' school was located after the raid in Dapchi, Yobe state.

Some eyewitnesses reported seeing young women being taken away at gunpoint.

Information minister Lai Mohammed made the announcement about the girls still being missing on Sunday after holding meetings with family members.

Many Nigerians fear the girls were abducted as brides for the Boko Haram extremists, who in 2014 kidnapped 276 girls from a boarding school in Chibok and forced them to marry their captors.

About 100 of the Chibok girls have never returned to their families nearly four years later.The exterior of Government Girls Science and Tech College in Dapchi, Yobe State (AP)

Nigerias government has acknowledged that 110 girls are still missing nearly a week after Boko Haram militants attacked a town.

The fate of the girls is not known, but witnesses said the Islamic extremists specifically asked where the girls school was located after the raid in Dapchi, Yobe state.

Some eyewitnesses reported seeing young women being taken away at gunpoint.

Information minister Lai Mohammed made the announcement about the girls still being missing on Sunday after holding meetings with family members.

Many Nigerians fear the girls were abducted as brides for the Boko Haram extremists, who in 2014 kidnapped 276 girls from a boarding school in Chibok and forced them to marry their captors.

About 100 of the Chibok girls have never returned to their families nearly four years later.

Frustrated family members had already compiled a list of missing girls after saying officials had been too slow to respond.

Air Force spokesman Olatokunbo Adesanya said the renewed efforts at locating the girls are being conducted in close liaison with other surface security forces.

Expand Close Lai Muhammed, Nigerian minister of information, speaks to the media in Dapchi (AP) / Facebook

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Whatsapp Lai Muhammed, Nigerian minister of information, speaks to the media in Dapchi (AP)

The militants arrived in Dapchi on Monday evening, sending many fleeing into the surrounding bush amid a hail of gunfire. While Nigerias president has called the girls disappearances a national disaster, local officials at first falsely indicated that some of those abducted were rescued while others were hiding and would return in the coming days.

Bashir Manzo, whose daughter Fatima is among the missing, said the chances that the children are merely hiding in the bush are slim.

He said: All those that fled into the bush had been brought back to the school on Tuesday, and a roll call was taken after which they had all gone home to meet their parents.

Nigerias president said earlier no effort will be spared to locate the missing youngsters.

Muhammadu Buhari said earlier in the week: The entire country stands as one with the girls families, the government and the people of Yobe State. This is a national disaster.

We are sorry that this could have happened and share your pain. We pray that our gallant armed forces will locate and safely return your missing family members.Icelandic MPs are considering a law that would ban the circumcision of boys for non-medical reasons, making it the first European country to do so.

Some religious leaders in Iceland and across Europe have called the bill an attack on religious freedom.

It is seen as a particular threat by Jews and Muslims who traditionally embrace the practice.

Under the proposed law, the circumcision of boys  removing the foreskin of the penis, usually when the child is a newborn  would be viewed as equal to female genital mutilation and punishable by up to six years in prison.

This is fundamentally about not causing unnecessary harm to a child, said Silja Dogg Gunnarsdottir, of the centrist Progressive Party, who introduced the bill this month.

The proposed law calls circumcision a violation of human rights since boys are not able to give an informed consent of an irreversible physical intervention.

This is fundamentally about not causing unnecessary harm to a childSilja Dogg Gunnarsdottir

Circumcision is not common in Iceland, a nation of 340,000 people that is overwhelmingly Lutheran or atheist, with an estimated 100 to 200 Jews and about 1,100 practising Muslims.

The bill has eight co-sponsors but is considered unlikely to get a majority in the 63-seat Iceland parliament.

It does not have the formal backing of any government ministers but has drawn the support of 422 Icelandic doctors who favour outlawing it.

They issued a joint statement on Wednesday saying circumcision violates the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and also the physicians Hippocratic Oath that says: First, do no harm.

In Western societies, circumcision of healthy boys has no significant health benefits, the doctors statement read, citing a 2013 paper in the American Academy of Pediatrics journal.

The American academy itself says the health benefits of the practice outweigh the risks but not by enough to recommend universal male circumcision.

Physician Eyjolfur Thorkelsson said the 422 signatures (a quarter of the countrys practising physicians, based on numbers from the Icelandic Medical Association) were collected in just 48 hours.

Since 2006, only 21 boys under the age of 18 have been circumcised at Icelandic hospitals or private clinics, according to Icelands Directorate of Health.

The agency could not say how many were for religious reasons.

Mr Thorkelsson said the surgical procedure was painful, and its possible complications were well known to Icelandic doctors since most went abroad for training at hospitals in northern Europe or the United States where circumcision was more common.

For many doctors, its an uncomfortable request from parents, he said.

This view is not accepted in Jewish and Muslim communities.

During Friday services at a prayer space above a home goods store, Imam Salmann Tamimi warned his multinational congregation about the proposed law.

Circumcision is harmless if its done at a hospital, he said. This bill is appealing to peoples emotion, not evidence.

He said circumcision was important to Muslims but even more so to Jews.

This is an attack on all religion and especially Judaism, he said.

Rabbi Avi Feldman of the Chabad Jewish Center, who last month became Icelands first permanent rabbi since the Second World War, said he hoped the bill did not become law.

In a statement he said circumcision was a core Jewish practice that served as a bedrock of Jewish life.

He was hopeful that the rights for people of all faiths will be preserved and respected.

Parliament is to continue the first reading of the bill in the next week.

Ms Gunnarsdottir said many male victims of circumcision had shared their stories and sought support since she introduced the bill.

Its important for us as a society to discuss this, she said.

The experience of many men who have had this done to their body without consent confirms that.Parents in Nigeria have released a list of the 105 young women they say are still missing nearly a week after Boko Haram militants attacked a northern town.

The fate of the girls is not yet known, though many fear they have abducted as brides for the Boko Haram extremists, who in 2014 kidnapped 276 girls from a boarding school in Chibok and forced them to marry their captors.

About 100 of the Chibok girls have never returned to their families nearly four years later.

In the town of Dapchi in Nigerias Yobe state, the militants arrived on Monday evening, sending many fleeing into the surrounding bush amid the hail of gunfire.

While Nigerias president has called the disappearances a national disaster, local officials at first falsely indicated that some had been rescued while others would return in the coming days from hiding.

I have directed the Military and Police to mobilize immediately to ensure that all the missing girls of Government Girls Secondary School, Dapchi, are found. The Minister of Defence will also lead a Federal Government delegation to Yobe tomorrow, to ascertain the situation.  Muhammadu Buhari (@MBuhari) February 21, 2018

Yobe state Governor Ibrahim Gaidam on Friday put the number of missing girls in Dapchi at 84, but family members quickly refuted that.

Bashir Manzo, who has been heading up the relatives efforts, said they only took information when a girls mother or father appeared in person to report a missing child.

His daughter Fatima is among those still unaccounted for.

This list did not come from the school management or any government source but collated by us from the parents of the girls, he said.

As far as we are concerned, the governor is still being fed with fake information about these poor girls.

While it appears that many students at the school did go into hiding, Mr Manzo said those children are now back with their families.

All those that fled into the bush had been brought back to the school on Tuesday, and a roll call was taken after which they had all gone home to meet their parents, he said.

Not again! Boko Haram terrorist group abducts girls from school in Dapchi Village, Yobe State. We pray with Nigeria for their safe recovery.  John Dramani Mahama (@JDMahama) February 25, 2018

The Nigerian minister of information, Lai Muhammed, visited Dapchi on Thursday where he told the media that the government still needs some few days to confirm the actual number of missing girls.

Nigerias president has said no effort will be spared to locate them.

The entire country stands as one with the girls families, the government and the people of Yobe State. This is a national disaster. We are sorry that this could have happened and share your pain. We pray that our gallant armed forces will locate and safely return your missing family members, President Muhammadu Buhari said earlier in the week.

He said the government was sending more troops and surveillance aircraft to the area to help the search.At least three people are reported to have been killed amid violence in Syria despite a resolution from the UN Security Council demanding a 30-day ceasefire.

Activists and residents in Damascus reported low-level clashes on the southern edge of its rebel-held suburbs, known as eastern Ghouta, and two air strikes late on Saturday night, shortly after the resolution was adopted.

During the day on Sunday, some more shelling and air strikes were reported by activists in eastern Ghouta.

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The relative calm came after a week of intense air strikes and shelling that killed more than 500 people in eastern Ghouta and left dozens dead or wounded in the government-held Damascus, which rebels pelted with mortar shells.

This has been the calmest night since last Sunday, said Rami Abdurrahman who heads the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, referring to the start of the bombing campaign on February 19.

The Observatory said Sundays shelling killed three people and wounded 27 in several areas in eastern Ghouta. The oppositions Syrian Civil Defence, also known as White Helmets, said the three were killed in the towns of Saqba, Beit Sawa and Hammouriyeh.

One civilian killed in #Saqba city and another in #Hamouriya city so far, many others injured due to renewed aerial and artillery bombardment of most of the cities and towns of #EastGhouta.#SaveGhouta #Syria 25 Feb pic.twitter.com/mNE3ZdcXPS  The White Helmets (@SyriaCivilDef) February 25, 2018

State news agency SANA said insurgents breached the truce by firing 15 shells on Sunday on government-held areas on the edge of Ghouta.

Ghouta-based opposition activist Anas al-Dimashqi said the night was calm but warplanes and drones were flying over rebel-held areas. He said several explosions were heard on Sunday in Ghouta.

Dr Sakhr al-Dimashqi, a surgeon at a clinic in Ghouta, told The Associated Press that several shells hit some towns in the suburbs, adding that they received six wounded people at the clinic where he works.

The shelling today is not as intense as over the past week, he said.

The two largest and most powerful rebel factions in Ghouta, Failaq al-Rahman and Army of Islam issued statements saying they will abide by the ceasefire unless they are forced to fire in self-defence. Both called for the immediate delivery of emergency aid.

If implemented, this #Syria resolution means cessation hostilities, delivery humanitarian aid, urgent medical evacuations. Much more needed: ao political solution, accountability, return of refugees.

My Security Council statement here. pic.twitter.com/ejw2ox9ol3  Karel van Oosterom (@KvanOosterom) February 24, 2018

The resolution excludes members of the Islamic State group and al Qaida-linked fighters. Ghouta is also home to a few hundred members of the al Qaida-linked Levant Liberation Committee.

Russias Foreign Ministry said on Sunday that the fight against IS and al Qaidas affiliate will continue, despite what it described as attempts by certain external players to engage international terrorists and groups of opposition militants joining them to implement plans that are still nurtured to overthrow the legitimate authorities of Syria and dismember the country.

It added that the terrorists wont get any respite.

Damascus residents said there is more traffic in the streets, compared to previous days and most schools and universities were open on Sunday. They said some private schools were still closed, especially those close to the front lines with Ghouta.

APActivist Ilya Yashin lays flowers at the place where Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov was gunned down (Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP)

Thousands of people have marched in central Moscow to mark the third anniversary of the killing of Russian opposition politician Boris Nemtsov.

Mr Nemtsov was shot and killed on February 27, 2015 while walking on a bridge near the Kremlin.

His death sent shock waves through Russias beleaguered opposition.

Demonstrators at the front of Sundays anniversary event carried a banner reading: These bullets are in all of us.

Expand Close People march in memory of opposition leader Boris Nemtsov in Moscow (Pavel Golovkin/AP) / Facebook

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Two candidates in Russias presidential election next month  Ksenia Sobchak and Grigory Yavlinsky  participated in the march.

An officer in the security forces of Chechnyas Kremlin-backed leader Ramzan Kadyrov was convicted of firing the shots that killed Mr Nemtsov and received a 20-year prison term.

Four other men convicted of being involved in Mr Nemtsovs death received 11 to 19 years.Hindustan Times, February 24, 2018

Their struggles left a mark on the techniques of protest used by the Mahatma in South Africa

Mahatma Gandhi at Boulogne station, on the way to England to attend the Round Table Conference . (Getty Images)

In February 1918, a hundred years ago this month, the King of England gave his assent to a bill permitting women over 30 and with five pounds worth of property to vote. The anniversary has sparked a flood of articles and books in Great Britain, remembering the popular movement that led to this (at the time only partial) enfranchisement of women.

This article is about the impact of that struggle on an influential Indian. In 1906 and 1909, Mohandas K. Gandhi visited London to lobby for the rights of the diaspora in South Africa. Both times, his visit coincided with street protests by activists known as asuffragettesa. In an article published in his journal Indian Opinion in November 1906, Gandhi wrote: aToday the whole country is laughing at them, and they have only a few people on their side. But undaunted, these women work on steadfast in their cause. They are bound to succeed and gain the franchise, for the simple reason that deeds are better than words.a

Gandhi was impressed that the suffragettes courting arrest often came from established families. They included the sister of the war hero, General French, and the daughter of the Liberal statesman Richard Cobden. Gandhi hoped that their example would inspire Indians in South Africa to go to jail in their struggle against racial discrimination. aIf even women display such courage,a he remarked, awill the Transvaal Indians fail in their duty and be afraid of gaol? Or would they rather consider the gaol a palace and readily go there?a

In January 1908, back in Transvaal, Gandhi himself went to jail for the first time. His imprisonment was short, but he knew it could be the first of many. In April of that year he wrote again in Indian Opinion of how athe brave women of England are continuing their campaign. They started their movement earlier than we did ours, and no one can say when it will end. But their courage and their capacity for suffering are inexhaustible.a He quoted from a jail diary of a suffragette, which spoke of the dreadful food and living conditions, the humiliations poured on them by the jail staff, etc. Gandhi told his readers these experiences aought to shame us and inspire us to greater courage. Our sufferings are nothing compared to what she has had to go through.a

Gandhi was back in London in 1909, and saw the suffragettes at work again. aThe British women who have been demanding the franchise,a he wrote in Indian Opinion, aare putting up a wonderful show. They are not deterred by any kind of suffering. Some of these ladies have suffered in health, but they do not give up the struggle. Every day a number of them keep standing the whole night near Parliament gate with the intention of handing in a petition to Mr. Asquith [the Prime Minister]. This is no ordinary courage. What great faith they must have! A great many women have been ruined, in this struggle, but they do not yield. Their campaign has gone on for a longer time than ours. We can learn quite a few things and draw much inspiration from it.a

Gandhias admiration, however, was not unqualified. When the suffragettes, desperate for results, resorted to violence and arson, Gandhi remarked: aThere is no room for impatience in satyagraha. a If demoralised by suffering they [the suffragettes] take to extreme measures and resort to violence, they will lose whatever sympathy they have won and set the people against themselves. We must draw a lesson from this case.a

While Gandhi was in London, there was a avery big gathering of suffragettesa in the Albert Hall, where A3000 was collected in cash on the spot. He was deeply impressed by atheir courage, their unity, their readiness to bear pecuniary losses, their intelligenceaall these deserve to be admired and emulated.a The afranchise is nowhere in sight,a he wrote, abut they refuse to accept defeat and go on fighting. This is surely no ordinary spirit.a It awill be enough if the Indians follow their example,a he added: aOnly, we should avoid imitating them in their use of physical force. We may be sure that no good will come out of it.a

It is not clear whether Gandhi knew of the wing of the womenas movement in England which opposed violence too. Known as the asuffragistsa, unlike the asuffragettesa they relied rather on petitions and peaceful demonstrations to make their point. In June 1913, these suffragists organised a march from London to 17 cities in the United Kingdom, garnering support and signatures along the way. Earlier that year, Gandhi had organised a long march of his own, crossing provincial boundaries between Natal and Transvaal. Before and during this march, many Indian women courted arrest.

The British women activists being remembered afresh this month had a profound impact on Gandhi. Their willingness to sacrifice their lives and families to go to jail inspired him and his fellow Indians to do likewise in South Africa. Back in 1913, the incipient freedom struggle in British India was entirely male; if in Transvaal and Natal, Indian women were on the streets defying racial laws, it was in part because their leader had seen women doing similar things in London in 1906 and 1909.

The struggle of the suffragettes and the suffragists may largely be a British story. However, it influenced the techniques of protest used by Gandhi in South Africa, and it also influenced his decision, when back in his homeland, to support the Congressas commitment to universal adult franchise when the country became free. This is a British anniversary with global resonances, hence this article marking its relevance to India.

Ramachandra Guhaas books include Gandhi Before IndiaNew York, Feb 25 (IBNS): The popular dating app Tinder is all about helping people form new relationships. But for many college-aged people, its also helping those in relationships cheat on their romantic partners, according to studies.

The flip side? Tinder also makes it easier to catch cheaters.

A couple of years ago, one of my students shared the story that she had come across a friends boyfriend on Tinder, and she was not sure whether she should tell her friend, said Weiser, an assistant professor working on a study.

So, although Tinder may make it easy to meet potential partners, the potential for exposure may be high.

Dana Weiser and Sylvia Niehuis, faculty members in Texas Techs Department of Human Development and Family Studies, recently published a study showing a significant number of college students are using Tinder to meet what they called extradyadic partners  that is, a partner outside of and in addition to the partner in a committed, romantic relationship.

The study, which involved additional collaborators, was published in Personality and Individual Differences.

Among the 550 undergraduate students who participated in the study, 12.5 percent had spent time with someone they met on Tinder, 17.1 percent had messaged someone on Tinder, 8.9 percent had been physically intimate and 7.2 percent reported having sexual relations with someone they met on Tinder while in an exclusive relationship.

We know infidelity is quite common among college-aged adults as they grow and learn about relationships, not to mention there is quite a bit of opportunity, Weiser said. Our results are consistent with previous research and suggest Tinder may be one way college students meet extradyadic partners.

Ironically, although the numbers show college students are using Tinder to find partners outside their relationships, many of these same participants said they werent sure Tinder was a good way to do so.

The participants are quite mixed though as to whether Tinder is an effective way to meet extradyadic partners, Weiser said. This may be because, while it is easy to meet individuals via Tinder, it may also be very easy to get caught, as a percentage of our participants also indicated they saw people who they knew were in relationships on Tinder.

In their study, Weiser and Niehuis, an associate professor, found two personality traits they said could predict a persons likelihood to cheat on a partner: willingness to engage in sex outside of a committed relationship and intention to engage in infidelity  that is, if you knew you wouldnt get caught, would you be willing to cheat?

We expected that these same personality traits that predict in-person infidelity would also be associated with engaging in infidelity via Tinder, Weiser said. We found those traits were more important for predicting infidelity than gender. Basically, men and women looked very similar when we accounted for personality.

Weiser and Niehuis emphasized that its unclear if Tinder is actually increasing rates of infidelity or simply giving people a different way to meet extradyadic partners.

There are advantages and disadvantages to any technology, Weiser said. We know technology has enhanced relationships in many ways: long distance couples are able to more easily communicate, and you can meet partners outside your social network or with special interests. One disadvantage may be how this technology can also help facilitate infidelity.New Delhi/Mumbai, Feb 25 (IBNS): President Ram Nath Kovind on Sunday expressed shock and condoled the passing away of legendary actress Sridevi.

In a tweet, he stated:

Shocked to hear of passing of movie star Sridevi. She has left millions of fans heartbroken. Her performances in films such as Moondram Pirai, Lamhe and English Vinglish remain an inspiration for other actors. My condolences to her family and close associates #PresidentKovind  President of India (@rashtrapatibhvn) February 25, 2018

Sridevi, who has been an inspiration for several generations, passed away on Saturday night following a cardiac arrest.

According to reports, Sridevi suffered the cardiac arrest while she was attending her nephew's wedding in Dubai.

The legendary actress was there with her husband Boney Kapoor and daughter Khushi in Dubai

She died at an age of 54.

Known for her versatility, Sridevi had started her acting career as a child artist in M.A. Thirumugham's Thunaivan when she was just four.

Later she was part of various films like Himmatwala, Mr. India, Chandni, Sadma, Nagina, Khuda Gawa, Judaai and others.

After a long break, she returned to Hindi movies strongly with an exceptional character in English Vinglish in 2012.

The veteran received critical acclaims for playing a mother's role in 2017 film Mom.

She received Padma Shri from the Indian government in 2013.

Besides, Hindi films, Sridevi had also acted in Malayalam, Tamil, Telegu and Kannada movies as well.Patna, Feb 25 (IBNS): A day after Bihar's Muzaffarpur district road mishap, it has been reveal on Sunday that the vehicle, which lost control and entered the school premises on Saturday leaving 9 students killed, belonged to BJP leader Manoj Baitha.



According to reports, the vehicle was Bolero and it belonged to Manoj Baitha, who is the general secretary of the BJP's Sitamarhi district unit.

The incident reportedly left 20 others injured.

The injured were rushed to Sri Krishna Medical College and Hospital (SKMCH) at Muzaffarpur.

The mishap occurred on National Highway-57 near Jhapaha.

"Eyewitnesses have reportedly said that they saw Manoj Baitha coming out of the Bolero soon after the incident," India Today reported.

While top BJP leaders in the state have denied this report, Baitha and the driver of the vehicle are absconding ever since the mishap happened.New Delhi, Feb 25 (IBNS): The DRDO on Sunday said it has successfully flew its Rustom 2 at its Aeronautical Test Range(ATR) at Chalakere at Chitradurga.

"This flight assumes significance due to the fact that this is the first flight in user configuration with higher power engine," read an official statement.

All parameters were normal. Secretary Deptt. of Defence (R&D) & Chairman DRDODr. S. Christopher, Director General of Aeronautical System Dr. CP Ramanarayanan, DG Electronics & Communication Systems J Manjula along with senior scientists witnessed the flight and congratulated Rustom team.

Image: DRDO Twitter page

Srinagar, Feb 25 (IBNS): Suspected terrorists attacked a police post outside the famous Chrar-e-Shareef shrine in central Kashmirs Budgam district, killing a policeman, an official said on Sunday .

According to reports, terrorists, whose number is believed to be two, opened indiscriminate firing upon a police post near the shrine of Sufi saint Sheikh Noor-ud-Din Noorani in the Chrar-e-Shareef in Central Kashmir

"In fiirng incidnet policeman, Kultar Singh, sustained injuries in the firing and was shifted to a hospital where he succumbed to injuries," official said.

He further said , terrorists fled from spot along with Service rifle of deceased cop.



(Reporting by Saleem Iqbal Qadri)

Srinagar, Feb 25 (IBNS): Suspected terrorists on Sunday evening shot dead a police personnel and decamped with his service rifle at Soura in the outskirts of Srinagar, officials said.

According to sources, terrorists opened fire on the policeman and shot him dead after he tried to prevent the militants from entering the residence of Hurriyat Conference (M) leader Fazal Haq Qureshi at Bilal Colony.

Qureshi who was instrumental in holding talks between Hizb rebellion group and Government of India was attacked by militants in the past as well.

The deceased cop has been identified as Constable Farooq Ahmad Itoo of Chadoura Budgam.

Earlier, militants killed Kultar Singh in Charar-e-sharif area of Central Kashmir's Budgam district.

According to reports, Singh died after two terrorists opened fire at a police post near the shrine of Sufi saint Sheikh Noor-ud-Din Noorani in the Chrar-e-Shareef in Central Kashmir

A police official said that the militants decamped with Singh's service rifle.

(Reporting by Saleem Iqbal Qadri)

Image: Google MapsShillong/Kohima, Feb 25 (IBNS): The high-octane poll campaign in two North East states, Nagaland and Meghalaya, ended on Sunday evening.

Nagaland and Meghalaya are going to hold the assembly polls on Feb 27.

Both the states have witnessed several violent incidents during the election campaign.

In Meghalaya, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) candidate for Williamnagar, Jonathone N Sangma, was shot dead by the suspected Garo National Liberation Army (GNLA) in East Garo Hills district on Feb 18.

This election has landed a challenge for both the ruling parties in Nagaland and Meghalaya.

Congress has ruled for 15 years in Meghalaya, but recent trends have placed the Bharatiya Janata Party ahead of the grand old party.

The saffron party has tied up with National Peoples Party (NPP), founded by former Lok Sabha Speaker Purno Agitok Sangma.

NPP is also an ally of NDA in Manipur.

In Meghalaya, both BJP and NPP have fielded their candidates separately, but have declared to form post-poll alliance.

On the other hand, BJP had dumped its 15-year-old alliance partner Naga Peoples Front (NPF) in Nagaland and forged a bond with the newly formed Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP), led by three times former Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio.

The BJP-NDPP is expected to give a tough competition to the ruling party.

Even before the polls, Neiphiu Rio has already been declared a winner as he remains unopposed in the Northern Angami- II assembly constituency.

The BJP is eying to expand its footprints in entire North East after forming government in Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur.

Eying a clean sweep in the North East, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had assumed the role of campaign head in both the states.

Apart from PM Modi, BJPs national president Amit Shah, Union Home minister Rajnath Singh, several union ministers, top BJP leaders, Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, BJP-led North East Democratic Alliance (NED) convener and Assam minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had campaigned in Nagaland and Meghalaya on behalf of its candidates.

On the other hand, Congress president Rahul Gandhi himself spearheaded the campaign in Meghalaya.

Congress has fielded 59 candidates in Meghalaya, while BJP has fielded candidates in 47 and NPP fielded in 52 assembly constituencies.

In Nagaland, Congress has fielded its candidates in only 18 constituencies, while BJP fielded its candidates in 20, NDPP in 40 and NPF in 58 constituencies.

There are 370 candidates in the fray in Meghalaya and around 18.4 lakh voters in the state will decide their fate on Feb 27.

On the other hand, around, 11.91 lakh voters will decide the fate of 195 candidates, including 5 women candidates, in Nagaland.

After the formation of Nagaland, the state has so far not elected any woman candidate to its Legislative Assembly, but it could all change in 2018.

(Reporting by Hemanta Kumar Nath)

Image: Respective Twitter accounts of Narendra Modi and Rahul GandhiMumbai, Feb 25 (IBNS): Tibetan Prime Minister-in-exile Lobsang Sangay on Sunday said he was left saddened by the death of Bollywood actress Sridevi.

He said he will miss the actress like her fans.

" Sad to learn an unexpected death of Sri Devi. Enjoyed all her movies during Delhi University days. Like millions I will miss her too," the Tibetan leader tweeted.

Leaving the nation shocked and numb, iconic Bollywood actress, Sridevi, who has been an inspiration for several generations, passed away on Saturday night in Dubai following a cardiac arrest.

According to reports, Sridevi suffered the cardiac arrest while she was attending her nephew's wedding in Dubai.

The legendary actress was there with her husband Boney Kapoor and daughter Khushi.

Known for her versatility, Sridevi had started her acting career as a child artist in M.A. Thirumugham's Thunaivan when she was just four.

Later she was part of various films like Himmatwala, Mr. India, Chandni, Sadma, Nagina, Khuda Gawa, Judaai and others. She was 54.New York, Feb 25 (JEN): At a high-level United Nations regional consultation in Bangkok, senior government representatives from Asia and the Pacific committed to empower rural women and girls, to lift their standard of living and combat structural barriers impacting their human rights.

If we do not take concrete actions we risk leaving rural women and girls behind, said. Shamshad Akhtar, Executive Secretary of the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) in her opening statement at the regional consultation for the 62nd session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW62) on Friday.

Achieving adequate living standards, womens economic empowerment, land rights, food security, health care, quality education, resilience and preparedness to deal with disasters and conflicts are among the main challenges rural women and girls in Asia-Pacific confront.

The High-Level meeting, Challenges and Opportunities in Achieving Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Rural Women and Girls, adopted a set of recommendations that will feed into CSW62 to be held at the UN Headquarters in New York from 12 to 23 March 2018.

Development which does not empower rural women and girls is antithetical to a rights-based approach enshrined in the 2030 Agenda, Ms. Akhtar stressed.

We must work together to create an enabling environment which supports women and girls in rural areas of Asia and the Pacific to unfold their full potential as powerful agents of change, she added.

The recommendations reflect the urgent need to strengthen normative and legal frameworks, and ensure coordinated action for their social and economic empowerment and meaningful participation in society.

Delegates further highlighted the need for improved availability of data and gender statistics to enhance evidence-based policy making.

The 2030 Agenda is a commitment to leaving no-one behind, Miwa Kato, Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific for the UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women), reminded the participants, adding that the difficulties women face are partly due to negative gender stereotypes, harmful practices and structural inequalities that must be addressed.

For her part, Kundhavi Kadiresan, Regional Representative of the UNs Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), underscored, Evidence shows that if rural women had access to, and control of, the same resources as men, their contributions would increase food production by as much as four per cent, benefiting the entire family.

David Longstreath/IRINNew York, Feb 25 (JEN): Secretary-General Antonio Guterres strongly condemned the 23 February attacks in Mogadishu, Somalia, which claimed the lives of many civilians and injured numerous others.

In a statement on Saturday, Mr. Guterres sent his profound condolences to the families of the victims and to the people and Government of Somalia, and commends the response of the Somali security forces and AMISOM, the African Union Mission to Somalia.

The Secretary-General also reiterated "the full support of the United Nations to the Somali authorities in their fight against terrorism and their pursuit of a peaceful and stable Somalia.Kabul, Feb 25 (IBNS): Rafiullah Gull Afghan, a former senator from Kabul, was killed as gunmen opened fire on his vehicle in the city on Saturday, media reports said.

Two of his bodyguards were also killed in the incident, reports said.

The incident happened on Saturday night in Khair Khana area of Kabul city after gunmen opened fire on his vehicle, according to police, reported Tolo News.

Afghan was a resident of Qarabagh district of Kabul.

Security officials have started an investigation into the matter.

The motive behind the incident is not clear.

The Taliban has claimed responsibility for the incident.In the last one decade or so, the world got to know about a lot of bizarre cultural practices. Female genital mutilation, the 'Hyena' men, child marriages, female foeticide, genocide and a lot more.

Read more: Indian Women Are Fighting Against Female Genital Mutilation. Here's Everything You Need To Know

But there is so much one can do to stop all of this. There is always that one family, one man, one community, one village that fails to see the discretion and logic behind all the bans. They do things anyway.

To report another such bizarre incidence, a 25-year-old teacher in Aguata, Nigeria, married his 17-year-old sister because he thinks that bible supports this.

Mr Cornelius Chiadi Ezeibekwe is the sixth of 10 children. When he married one of his sister in a local Sabbath church, people came down and burnt in an impression to mark their protest.

Though members of the family were initially Catholic, they later changed to Seventh Day Adventist Church and followed their brand of Sabbath worship.

oxam/ representational image

In order to establish his argument Mr Chiadi said, "I am a Sabbath and while searching through the scriptures I recently discovered that one could marry their sibling. So I went ahead and did it."

The ceremony happened in their own compound and their eldest brother Paul served as the pastor. Chiadi further added that in order to attain his parent's consent, he told them that bible allows it and mentioned the scriptures that he read. It is only then that they agreed.

He claims that both he and his sister had the vision where God told them to get married. He is also urging people in doubt to read Songs Of Solomon chapter 4 and 5 along with 1st Corinthians chapter 7.

It's 2018 and most of us are fighting for a free world, but freedom doesn't necessarily mean stupidity. Marrying one's own sibling can cause a lot of problems if the couple is wanting to have a kid. There are many diseases linked to it.

It is always up to people's discretion, yet, one should always think a decision through.Thousands and thousands of people lose life to lack of donors - blood and organs. Even though it's laud-worthy if we talk about where we have reached in terms of medical science, a lot of it is still based on things that are beyond human control.

Read more: Man With O Negative Blood Group Has Donated Blood Over 55 Times Without Even Knowing It's Rare

In a rather compassionate move, a woman donated a significant part of her liver to her ailing husband. 36-year-old Jageer Hussain who's currently recovering and was suffering from a liver ailment was taken to the hospital for aid.

Coimbatore: Jageer Hussain, a 36 year old man suffering from a liver ailment was admitted in GEM Hospital and advised liver transplant. On #ValentinesDay, his wife Nisha donated a part of her liver to him. #TamilNadu pic.twitter.com/kCssOPFjd5  ANI (@ANI) February 25, 2018

Upon reaching there, at GEM Hospital in Coimbatore, Hussain was advised a liver transplant by the doctors, and his wife Nisha donated the needed part from her liver.

"Six years ago we got married, it was a love marriage. Every year I used to gift my husband on Valentine's Day. And this year when he got admitted, I decided to gift him a part of my organ" Nisha said, reports ANI.

medresults

Hussain, on the other hand, expressed his happiness saying that "it is the greatest gift".

Who's cutting onions in here? Well, all of this happened in a world where people crib about diminutive issues in life. While we understand that it's difficult to gauge the tenacity of any problem or challenge, it is always equally imperative to look around for a solution around you, help people as much as you can and being hopeful.

Read more: This 25-Year-Old Man From Rae Bareilly Donated All His Organs To Give Lives To Many After DeathLove doesn't remain restricted to boundaries. Even though Pakistani artists are banned from working in India, we can't deny the connection that still remains between the two countries.

For Pakistani actors Adnan Siddiqui and Sajal Aly, Sridevi's death has come as a rude shock. Both the actors shared the screen-space with Sridevi in 'Mom', that also starred Nawazuddin Siddiqui.

Screengrab

The movie was a big hit among critics and people appreciated the ensemble cast for their efforts.

Screengrab

Just to jog your memory a little, when the team of the film couldn't get their Pakistani actors to come to India for promotions, Sridevi had broken down and she left a lovely message for them.

And looks like this love was from both the sides and now, the two actors have condoled her death and have written a heartfelt condolence message.

For Sajal, she wrote how she lost her mother once again. Read their messages write here.In any asset class, the primary motive for any trader, investor, or speculator is to make trading as profitable as possible. In commodities, which include everything from coffee to crude oil, we will analyze the techniques of fundamental analysis and technical analysis, which are employed by traders in their buy, sell, or hold decisions.

The technique of fundamental analysis is believed to be ideal for investments involving a longer time period. It is more research-based; it studies demand-supply situations, economic policies, and financials as decision-making criteria.

Traders commonly use technical analysis, as it is appropriate for short-term judgment in markets and analyzes the past price patterns, trends, and volume to construct charts in order to determine future movement.

Identifying the Market for Commodities

Momentum indicators are the most popular for commodity trading, contributing to the trusted adage, buy low and sell high. Momentum indicators are further split into oscillators and trend-following indicators. Traders need to first identify the market (i.e., whether the market is trending or ranging before applying any of these indicators). This information is important because the trend following indicators do not perform well in a ranging market; similarly, oscillators tend to be misleading in a trending market.

Key Takeaways The primary motive for any trader is to make as much profit as possible.

Traders need to first identify the market.

Momentum indicators are the most popular for commodity trading.

Moving Averages

One of the simplest and most widely used indicators in technical analysis is the moving average (MA), which is the average price over a specified period for a commodity or stock. For example, a five-period MA will be the average of the closing prices over the last five days, including the current period. When this indicator is used intra-day, the calculation is based on the current price data instead of closing price.

The MA tends to smooth out the random price movement to bring out the concealed trends. It is seen as a lagging indicator and is used to observe price patterns. A buy signal is generated when the price crosses above the MA from below bullish sentiments, while the inverse is indicative of bearish sentimentshence a sell signal.

There are many versions of MA that are more elaborate, such as exponential moving average (EMA), volume adjusted moving average, and linear weighted moving average. MA is not suitable for a ranging market, as it tends to generate false signals due to price fluctuations. In the example below, notice that the slope of the MA reflects the direction of the trend. A steeper MA shows the momentum backing the trend, while a flattening MA is a warning signal there may be a trend reversal due to falling momentum.

Image by Sabrina Jiang  Investopedia 2021

In the chart above, the blue line depicts the nine-day MA, while the red line is the 20-day moving average, and the 40-day MA is depicted by the green line. The 40-day MA is the smoothest and least volatile, while the 9-day MA is showing maximum movement, and the 20-day MA falls in between.

Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD)

Moving average convergence divergence, otherwise known as MACD, is a commonly used and effective indicator developed by money manager Gerald Appel. It is a trend-following momentum indicator that uses moving averages or exponential moving averages for calculations. Typically, the MACD is calculated as 12-day EMA minus 26-day EMA. The nine-day EMA of the MACD is called the signal line, which distinguishes bull and bear indicators.

A bullish signal is generated when the MACD is a positive value, as the shorter period EMA is higher (stronger) than the longer period EMA. This signifies an increase in upside momentum, but as the value starts declining, it shows a loss in momentum. Similarly, a negative MACD value is indicative of a bearish situation, and an increase further suggests growing downside momentum.

If negative MACD value decreases, it signals that the downtrend is losing its momentum. There are more interpretations to the movement of these lines such as crossovers; a bullish crossover is signaled when the MACD crosses above the signal line in an upward direction.

Image by Sabrina Jiang  Investopedia 2021

In the chart above, the MACD is represented by the orange line and the signal line is purple. The MACD histogram (light green bars) is the difference between the MACD line and the signal line. The MACD histogram is plotted on the center line and represents the difference between the MACD line and the signal line shown by bars. When the histogram is positive (above the center line), it gives out bullish signals, as indicated by the MACD line above its signal line.

Relative Strength Index (RSI)

The relative strength index (RSI) is a popular technical-momentum indicator. It attempts to determine the overbought and oversold level in a market on a scale of 0 to 100, thus indicating if the market has topped or bottomed. According to this indicator, the markets are considered overbought above 70 and oversold below 30. The use of a 14-day RSI was recommended by American technical analyst Welles Wilder. Over time, nine-day RSI and 25-day RSIs have gained popularity.

Image by Sabrina Jiang  Investopedia 2021

RSI can be used to look for divergence and failure swings in addition to overbought and oversold signals. Divergence occurs in situations where the asset is making a new high while RSI fails to move beyond its previous high, signaling an impending reversal. If the RSI falls below its previous low, a confirmation to the impending reversal is given by the failure swing.

To get more accurate results, be aware of a trending market or ranging market since RSI divergence is not good enough indicator in case of a trending market. RSI is very useful, especially when used complementary to other indicators.

Stochastic

Famed securities trader George Lane based the Stochastic indicator on the observation that, if the prices have been witnessing an uptrend during the day, then the closing price will tend to settle down near the upper end of the recent price range.

Alternatively, if the prices have been sliding down, the closing price tends to get closer to the lower end of the price range. The indicator measures the relationship between the asset's closing price and its price range over a specified period of time. The stochastic oscillator contains two lines. The first line is the %K, which compares the closing price to the most recent price range. The second line is the %D (signal line), which is a smoothened form of %K value and is considered the more important among the two.

The main signal that is formed by this oscillator is when the %K line crosses the %D line. A bullish signal is formed when the %K breaks through the %D in an upward direction. A bearish signal is formed when the %K falls through the %D in a downward direction. Divergence also helps in identifying reversals. The shape of a Stochastic bottom and top also works as a good indicator. Say, for example, a deep and broad bottom indicates that the bears are strong and any rally at such a point could be weak and short-lived.

Image by Sabrina Jiang  Investopedia 2021

A chart with %K and %D is known as Slow Stochastic. The stochastic indicator is one of the good indicator that can be clubbed best with the RSI, among others.

Bollinger Bands

The Bollinger Band was developed in the 1980s by financial analyst John Bollinger. It is a good indicator to measure overbought and oversold conditions in the market. Bollinger Bands are a set of three lines: the center line (trend), an upper line (resistance), and a lower line (support). When the price of the commodity considered is volatile, the bands tend to expand, while in cases when the prices are range-bound there is contraction.

Image by Sabrina Jiang  Investopedia 2021

Bollinger Bands are helpful to traders seeking to detect the turning points in a range-bound market, buying when the price drops and hits the lower band and selling when price rises to touch the upper band. However, as the markets enter trending, the indicator starts giving false signals, especially if the price moves away from the range it was trading. Bollinger Bands are considered apt for low-frequency trend following.

The Bottom Line

There are many technical indicators available to traders, and picking the right ones is crucial to informed decisions. Making sure of their suitability to the market conditions, the trend-following indicators are apt for trending markets, while oscillators fit well in ranging market conditions. However, beware: applying technical indicators improperly can result in misleading and false signals, resulting in losses. Therefore, starting with Stochastic or Bollinger Bands are recommended for those who are new to using technical analysis.Traders spend hours fine-tuning entry strategies but then blow out their accounts taking bad exits. In fact, most of us lack effective exit planning, often getting shaken out at the worst possible price. We can remedy this oversight with classic strategies that can enhance profitability.

Before we jump into the strategies, we'll start with a look at why the holding period is so important. Then we'll move into the misunderstood concept of market timing, then move on to stop and scaling methods that protect profits and reduce losses.

Key Takeaways Many traders design strong exit strategies, but then don't follow through when the time comes to take action; the results can be devastating.

When making your plan, start by calculating reward and risk levels prior to entering a trade, then use those levels as a blueprint to exit the position at the best price, whether you're profiting or taking a loss.

Market timing, an often misunderstood concept, is a good exit strategy when used correctly.

Stop-loss and scaling methods also enable savvy, methodical investors to protect profits and reduce losses.

Holding Periods

It's impossible to talk about exits without noting the importance of a holding period that synergizes well with your trading strategy. The magic time frames roughly align with the broad approach chosen to take money out of the financial markets:

Day Trading: Minutes to Hours

Swing Trading: Hours to Days

Position Trading: Days to Weeks

Investment Timing: Weeks to Months

Pick the category that aligns most closely with your market approach, as this dictates how long you have to book your profit or loss. Stick to the parameters, or you'll risk turning a trade into an investment or a momentum play into a scalp. This approach requires discipline because some positions perform so well that you want to keep them beyond time constraints. While you can stretch and squeeze a holding period to account for market conditions, taking your exit within parameters builds confidence, profitability, and trading skill.

Market Timing

Get into the habit of establishing reward and risk targets before entering each trade. Look at the chart and find the next resistance level likely to come into play within the time constraints of your holding period. That marks the reward target. Then find the price where you'll be proven wrong if the security turns and hits it. That's your risk target. Now calculate the reward/risk ratio, looking for at least 2:1 in your favor. Anything less, and you should skip the trade, moving on to a better opportunity.

Focus trade management on the two key exit prices. Let's assume things are going your way and the advancing price is moving toward your reward target. The price rate of change now comes into play because the faster it gets to the magic number, the more flexibility you have in choosing a favorable exit.

Your first option is to take a blind exit at the price, pat yourself on the back for a job well done and move on to the next trade. A better option when the price is trending strongly in your favor is to let it exceed the reward target, placing a protective stop at that level while you attempt to add to gains. Then look for the next obvious barrier, staying positioned as long as it doesn't violate your holding period.

Slow advances are trickier to trade because many securities will approach but not reach the reward target. This requires a profit protection strategy that kicks into gear once the price has traversed 75% of the distance between your risk and reward targets. Place a trailing stop that protects partial gains or, if you're trading in real-time, keep one finger on the exit button while you watch the ticker. The trick is to stay positioned until price action gives you a reason to get out.

Image by Sabrina Jiang  Investopedia 2020

In this example, Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) stock sells off in October, undercutting the August low. It remounts support two days later, issuing a 2B Buy signal, as defined in the 1993 classic "Trader Vic: Methods of a Wall Street Master." The trader calculates reward/risk as follows, planning an entry near $34 and a stop-loss just below the new support level:

REWARD TARGET (38.39) - RISK TARGET(32.60) = 5.79

REWARD = REWARD TARGET (38.39) - ENTRY (34) = 4.39

RISK = ENTRY (34) - RISK TARGET(32.60) = 1.40

REWARD (4.39) / RISK (1.40) = 3.13

The position goes better than expected, gapping above the reward target. The trader responds with a profit protection stop right at the reward target, raising it nightly as long the upside makes additional progress. (See also Playing the Gap.)

An effective exit strategy builds confidence, trade management skills and profitability.

Stop Loss Strategies

Stops need to go where they get you out when a security violates the technical reason you took the trade. This is a confusing concept for traders who have been taught to place stops based on arbitrary values, like a 5% drawdown or $1.50 under the entry price. These placements make no sense because they aren't tuned to the characteristics and volatility of that particular instrument. Instead, use violations of technical featureslike trendlines, round numbers, and moving averagesto establish the natural stop-loss price.

Image by Sabrina Jiang  Investopedia 2020

In this example, Alcoa Corporation (AA) stock rips higher in a steady uptrend. It stalls above $17 and pulls back to a three-month trendline. The subsequent bounce returns to the high, encouraging the trader to enter a long position, in anticipation of a breakout.

Common sense dictates that a trendline break will prove the rally thesis wrong, demanding an immediate exit. In addition, the 20-day simple moving average (SMA) has aligned with the trendline, raising the odds that a violation will attract additional selling pressure.

Modern markets require an additional step in effective stop placement. Algorithms now routinely target common stop-loss levels, shaking out retail players, and then jumping back across support or resistance. This requires that stops be placed away from the numbers that say you're wrong and need to get out. Finding the perfect price to avoid these stop runs is more art than science.

As a general rule, an additional 10 to 15 cents should work on a low-volatility trade, while a momentum play may require an additional 50 to 75 cents. You have more options when watching in real-time because you can exit at your original risk target, re-entering if the price jumps back across the contested level.

Scaling Exit Strategies

For a scaling exit approach, raise your stop to break even as soon as a new trade moves into a profit. This can build confidence because you now have a free trade. Then sit back and let it run until the price reaches 75% of the distance between risk and reward targets. You then have the option to exit all at once or in pieces.

This decision tracks position size as well as the strategy being employed. For example, it makes no sense to break a small trade into even smaller parts, so it is more effective to seek the most opportune moment to dump the entire stake or apply the stop-at-reward strategy.

Larger positions benefit from a tiered exit strategy, exiting one-third at 75% of the distance between risk and reward targets and the second third at the target. Place a trailing stop behind the third piece after it exceeds the target, using that level as a rock-bottom exit if the position turns south. Over time, you'll find this third piece is a lifesaver, often generating a substantial profit.

Finally, consider one exception to this tiered strategy. Sometimes the market hands out gifts, and it's our job to pick the low-hanging fruit. So, when a news shock triggers a sizable gap in your direction, exit the entire position immediately and without regret, following the old wisdom: Never look a gift horse in the mouth.There are major concerns for the safety of homeless people sleeping rough in Dublin during the threatened cold snap.

Brian McLoughlin from Inner City Helping Homeless has called on the Government to implement an immediate emergency plan.

"We have huge concerns about the incoming threat from The Beast From The East weather, which is due to bring chaos to Dublin over the next eight days or so," he said.

"We are hoping that an emergency contingency plan has been put in place by the Dublin Regional Homeless Executive and the Department of Housing,

"So we've reached out to them to them to find out exactly what plans are in place for the coming week."

Inner City Helping Homeless head of communications Brian McLoughlin stated today: "We have major concerns for the safety and well being of homeless people sleeping out around the city with the Beast from the East due to bring freezing cold temperatures and snow over the next week or so.

"This is due to be the worst cold weather spell since 2010 so we are calling on the Dublin Regional Homeless Executive and Department of Housing to implement an immediate emergency plan to support anyone that is currently homeless.

"Extra beds are required as over the past week ICHH outreach volunteers have been assisting over 100 people per night.

"We are also requesting that emergency accommodation units are kept open during the day so people aren't expected to leave at 7am and walk the streets for the day in the crippling cold.

"With predictions that daytime temperatures won't rise above freezing this is due to be the coldest weather in the 5 years that Inner City Helping Homeless is in operation, therefore, we can't stress enough how crucial it is that a proper emergency plan is put into operation.

"We have reached out to both the DRHE and Department of Housing to request the immediate release of an emergency contingency plan."

- Digital deskThomas Walsh of the Irish Citizen Army will be remembered at a ceremony in his native city next weekend, writes Niall Murray

The death 100 years ago of a Corkman said to have fired the first shot of the 1916 Rising in Dublin is being marked in his native city next weekend.

A memorial to Thomas Corkie Walsh will be unveiled on Sunday in the same graveyard as his better-known brother-in-law, the citys first republican Lord Mayor, Tomas MacCurtain.

As a mason who served his apprenticeship in his native city before moving to Dublin, the monument to Walsh is being erected by a committee formed from the Cork Masons Historical Society in conjunction with the MacCurtain and Walsh families.

He had only been in Dublin around a year before he joined James Connollys Irish Citizen Army in 1915.

It was while manning a freshly-erected barricade in the earliest stages of the Rising on Easter Monday 1916 that Walsh was recognised by a group of friends.

In order to stop them mocking him with his Corkie nickname and kicking his barricade close to the GPO, he fired a shot in the air to get rid of them before any shots had been fired in anger.

The story recounted by Fionnuala MacCurtain in her book about her own grandfather Tomas was seen by Cork Masons Historical Society officer Jim Fahy.

I had never heard about him before but when I read this I went looking through our records to find out more, and got in contact with counterparts in Dublin, he explained.

It was arising from that, and through contact with the family, that we decided to do something to mark the centenary of his death in 1918, said Mr Fahy.

Thomas Walsh had been in the Cork branch of the Ancient Guild of Incorporated Brick, Block and Stone Masons Society, and became a member in Dublin when he moved. The Dublin branch sent money to his sisters back in Cork while he was detained in an English jail, and later at the Frongoch prison camp in Wales, following the Rising.

He had been captured along with other Citizen Army members fighting out of City Hall on the Tuesday of the Rising. Like many other participants, he was sentenced to death, but had that commuted to 10 years penal servitude.

He was released along with many others after a few months, returning to his lodgings in Cuffe Street near the Bricklayers Hall. But he died of cardiac failure and pneumonia less than two years later, after being brought from his lodgings to St Vincents Hospital on March 2, 1918.

Huge crowds turned out for his funeral in Cork, where local Irish Volunteers fired a volley over his grave at St Finbarrs Cemetery. The funeral was the subject of a photograph and report seen by readers of the Cork Examiner on the same morning that news broke of the death of Irish Parliamentary Party leader John Redmond.

A Cork Examiner page from 1918 showing the funeral of Thomas Corkie Walsh on St Patricks Street.

The Volunteers in Cork were under the command of Tomas MacCurtain whose wife Liz was one of the chief mourners, as Corkie Walsh was her brother.

The couple met through the Irish-Ireland movement and meetings of the Gaelic League in Corks Blackpool suburb, but Tomas would be shot dead by police at their home there just over two years later as the city became a violent epicentre of the War of Independence.

The couples grand-daughter Fionnuala MacCurtain said that people do not always realise that the Irish cultural leanings of the family were more from Tomass side, whereas it was her grandmothers Walsh family had a stronger Fenian background. Many had been involved in the 1867 Fenian Rising, some having to go to the United States afterwards, influences that might have been a factor in Thomas Walshs participation in the Irish Citizen Army.

The limestone memorial at his grave, carved by local mason Tom McCarthy, features the Irish Citizen Armys Starry Plough emblem. Along with Deputy Lord Mayor Fergal Dennehy, the graveside unveiling at 1pm on Sunday will be addressed by James Connolly Heron, great-grandson of Irish Citizen Army leader and signatory of the 1916 Proclamation James Connolly.

A lecture by local historian Luke Dineen, who has been researching the life of Thomas Corkie Walsh is open to the public on Saturday night at the Carpenters Hall on Corks Fr Mathew Quay.Data centre operator NextDC has announced a rise of 32% in its revenue for the first half of 2018, with revenue up to $77.5 million, compared to $58.7 million in the first half of the previous financial year.

Net profit after tax rose marginally to $8.4 million in the first half of FY2018. In the first half of the previous year, the NPAT was $19.3 million, but this included a one-off benefit of $11.3 million.

NextDC chief executive Craig Scroggie (below, right) said: We are very pleased to report another period of record performance. These results clearly demonstrate the companys inherent operating leverage and further showcase continued strong growth with significant increases in contracted utilisation.

"The first halfs performance also included a record period for project revenues and a record period for new interconnections.

The company said its contracted utilisation was up 9.2MW, or 31%, to 39.2MW compared to 30.0MW in the first half of the previous financial year.

Customers grew by 176, an increase of 25%, to 875 compared to 699 at the end of December 2016. Interconnections rose by 1984 (36%) to 7456 (31 December 2016: 5472).

NextDC continues to lead the industry in technological development delivering the countrys first UTI certified Tier IV constructed data centres," Scroggie said.

"In addition to this engineering leadership the company also further demonstrates its commitment to be an innovator in sustainability through delivery of the industrys most efficient NABERS 5-star certified data centres that deliver record low PUE; combined with continued investments in Operational excellence through UTI Gold Certification of Operational Sustainability.

Commenting on the results, Rod Tucker, Laureate Emeritus Professor at the University of Melbourne and a well-known researcher in the question of energy efficiency and energy consumption in telecommunications and data centres, said it appeared that NextDC was attempting to highlight the fact that the capacity of their data centres had increased.

"But it is misleading  and, in my view, inappropriate," said Tucker. "The only way to convert consumed power into some measure of capacity is to also give details of the energy efficiency of the IT equipment and the overall efficiency of the plant, including the cooling equipment."

He said there was a growing global concern about the growing energy consumption of data centres. "Many companies overseas focus on promoting the fact that they are reducing energy consumption, not increasing it," he added, pointing iTWire to an article that dealt with this topic.

Ticker also commented that NextDC had mentioned that their buildings had industry leading NABERS 5-star ratings for energy efficiency.

"If you go to the NABERS website you will find that a 5-star rating is not industry leading, 6-star is," he said.

Photo: courtesy NextDCApple chief executive Tim Cook has tweeted a quote from Steve Jobs in memory of his birthday as a touching gesture, but Ethereum scammers have hijacked replies with false promises of free money.

Cook's tweet was simple, and sincere, stating:

"Remembering Steve, our friend and leader, on his 63rd birthday: 'The thing that bound us together at Apple was the ability to make things that were going to change the world.' We are forever bound to that goal  and to you, Steve."

You can see this tweet immediately below:

Remembering Steve, our friend and leader, on his 63rd birthday: "The thing that bound us together at Apple was the ability to make things that were going to change the world. We are forever bound to that goal  and to you, Steve. pic.twitter.com/rDvzR8s2F8  Tim Cook (@tim_cook) February 24, 2018

Sadly however, in a sign that evil knows no bounds, even a simple, innocent tweet in memory of Apple co-founder and former chief executive, Steve Jobs, can be hijacked to try and fool people into parting with their money via a simple promise of receiving more.

The dastardly scam uses the image of Tim Cook, and a similar but clearly fake Twitter username (tlm_coolk), promising the giving away of "5000 ther as a thank for your support. In order to idntify your Etherum address, snd 0.5 - 3 ther to the address blow and gt 5 - 30 ther back to our address."

Sadly, it's just a scam, and while anyone reading this should be more than smart enough to avoid being fooled by such an easy to spot scam, P.T. Barnum's saying that "there's a sucker born every minute" is a sad reflection on society.

If only we could all live up to Apple's vision of leaving the planet in a better state than it found it, we could all be living in a genuinely utopian society, but to believe that probably makes me one of the people Barnum was talking about.

Here's the fake Tim Cook tweet designed to separate you from your ethereum cryptocurrency:

I'm giving away 5,000 ther as a thank for your support. In order to idntify your etherum address, snd 0.5 - 3 ther to the address blow and gt 5 - 30 ther back to our address.



 Addrss: https://t.co/Ic64EIkQNO



If yu'r Ite, your ther will be sent back  im ook (@tlm_coolk) February 25, 2018

Here's one of the fake tweets designed to make you think the fake Tim Cook Ethereum Offer is real:

Thank you s much mn! Got etherums! Can you make givws like this again in the future? pic.twitter.com/5TACXTmRcX  Foxx (@LeslieF22716821) February 25, 2018

In case these tweets are deleted, here's a screenshot of the fake Tim Cook tweet, and a close up of the fake Tim Cook username immediately thereafter:Over the last few months, there have been numerous reports in both the tech and general media about the US having suspicions around Chinese giant telco Huawei and claiming that the company may be spying for China. There is one simple reason for this: the US' premier spy agency, the NSA, fears that if Huawei equipment is used, then it will be unable to carry out its own spying.

This is exactly why the NSA broke into Huawei's systems in Shenzhen back in 2010, according to documents made public by NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden in 2014.

Public memory is woefully short and given that the US media is highly patriotic  except when confronted by something like the documents which were leaked  such facts are rarely ventilated.

The NSA hacked into Huawei's servers, an operation codenamed Shotgiant, to find links between the company and the People's Liberation Army.

But it also wanted to exploit Huawei's technology so that when the company sold equipment to other countries, both US allies and enemies, the NSA could, in the words of The New York Times, "roam through their computer and telephone networks to conduct surveillance and, if ordered by the president, offensive cyberoperations".

An NSA document was quoted as saying: Many of our targets communicate over Huawei-produced products. We want to make sure that we know how to exploit these products", to "gain access to networks of interest around the world.

In other words, Chinese spying bad, American spying good.

The US has attempted to get the UK onboard with its bid to ban the use of Huawei equipment recently, but London has taken what is an eminently sensible route by working with the Chinese giant so that any suspicions can be dealt with immediately.

The US appears to have pushed two of its big telcos, AT&T and Verizon, into shunning Huawei smartphones.

Australia, which has always been a lapdog for the US, has predictably jumped on the anti-Huawei bandwagon, keeping the company from being involved in the national broadband network and more recently pushing the Solomon Islands to drop Huawei from a contract for an undersea cable. The contract was given to local firm, Vocus,

Australia's Optus and Vodafone have relationships with Huawei, while the country's biggest telco, Telstra, is not in the picture.

But the fact of the matter is that Huawei holds the upper hand in these matters. It is one of just four companies  Ericsson, Nokia and ZTE are the others  that has the technical nous and budget to get involved in 5G projects and it is just about everywhere.

Unlike in the case of Kaspersky (I have dealt with that subject here and will do so once again soon), the US will have to produce some proof of Huawei's alleged nexus with the Chinese Government if it wants the company to be blacklisted more widely.

As Huawei has pointed out on numerous occasions, it has business dealings in 170 countries where the governments have no concerns even close to those hinted at by the US.

It is common knowledge that the spy agencies in the US  and other Western countries  work with the government to help local companies gain business. The US campaign against Huawei appears to fall into this category. All a part of making America great again.Council for IWU Women Hosts Summit to Inspire Female Leaders

She Speaks, a fast-paced storytelling event, will feature IWU women.

Feb. 23, 2018

BLOOMINGTON, Ill.  The Council for IWU Women will host its three-day summit, March 1 through March 3, with the theme: Change, Choice and Community.

The Council for IWU Women Summit combines a series of events that provide women within the Illinois Wesleyan community opportunities to discuss social topics concerning women, network with successful alumnae, and find the inspiration to take on leadership roles in todays world.

All events are free and open to Illinois Wesleyan alumnae, faculty, staff and students. Students are welcome to drop in as their schedules allow, and other attendees can RSVP by clicking here. Please consult the Summits full schedule for the time, location and description of each event.

The Summit formally begins with a luncheon on March 2 at 11:45 a.m. at the Young Main Lounge in the Memorial Center. The luncheon will feature keynote speaker Cheryl Reinking 87, Chief Nursing Officer (CNO) at El Camino Hospital in Mountain View, California, who will give a talk titled, Leaning-In More: Women pushing against the status quo of traditional leadership roles. In her 30-year career in nursing, Reinking has received several awards in recognition of her leadership capabilities, including the El Camino Hospital Leadership in Action Award in 2005, a Silicon Valley Woman of Influence Award in 2013 and the Distinguished Alumna Award from the IWU School of Nursing in 2017.

The Summit offers students the chance to build connections with IWU alumnae, not just through panels, but also through practice interviews, during which students interact one-on-one with a Council alumna. Interview slots are from 1:30 p.m. until 3:30 p.m. on March 2, and students must pre-register on Titan CareerLink.

As part of its emphasis on female empowerment, the Summit has invited IWU women to share their words of inspiration at several panels, such as the third annual She Speaks presentation on March 2 at 6 p.m. at the Hansen Student Center, in which students, faculty, staff and alumnae will share their stories in a series of fast-paced talks. Being Resilient and Brave  But, Not Perfect, presented by Marsha Guenzler-Stevens '78 on March 3 at 10:45 a.m. at the Davidson Room in the Memorial Center, will examine stories of IWU women who overcame adversity at several stages throughout their lives. These stories will guide a discussion on how to develop compassion for others and find strength in oneself.

The Summit will address the Bloomington-Normal community in a panel on Connecting to Your Community, in which Council women will present ways to get involved locally. Attendees will also participate in a community service project to benefit local children through Project Linus.

The Summit will conclude with the Scholarship Award Luncheon on Saturday at 12:15 p.m. at Young Main Lounge in the Memorial Center. Four $750 scholarships will be awarded in recognition of one female student from each class for her contributions to the campus and community through civic activities, volunteer services and leadership positions.

Founded in 2006, the Council of IWU Women supports the personal and professional development of female members of the IWU community, through scholarships as well as through the time, talent and resources of the Council women. The Councils president is Jennifer Jones 94.

By Rachel McCarthy 21Reddit Email 49 Shares

By Khalid Ibrahim, executive director of the Gulf Center for Human Rights (GCHR) an independent, non-profit organisation that promotes freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly in the Gulf region and its neighbouring countries.

Saudia Arabia, a member of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), continues its crackdown on human rights.

The HRC, consisting of 47 Member States elected by a majority of the members of the United Nations General Assembly by direct and secret ballot, is the highest international body dealing with human rights issues around the globe.

Bandar bin Mohammed Alaiban, President of the Saudi Arabias Human Rights Commission at the 34th Session of the Human Rights Council on 28 February 2017. Photo Credit: United Nations Photo by Jean-Marc Ferre (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

The General Assembly is supposed to consider candidate Member States contributions to the protection of human rights, as well as voluntary pledges and commitments when applying for council membership. But Saudi Arabia was elected twice in succession despite its well-documented and ongoing human rights violations.

In October 2016, Saudia Arabia was elected as an HRC member for the second successive time, despite a lack of elections or secret ballot nor an assessment of the nations human rights record. The council distributes seats geographically and the Asia-Pacific States, with four out of 13 seats vacant, presented Saudi Arabia as one of its four candidates. Therefore, Saudi Arabia was able to keep its seat until the end of 2019 without having to undergo due process and faced zero accountability for its human rights violations to date.

The international human rights community reacted with disappointment and condemnation to Saudi Arabias re-election to the HRC due to its role in the war in Yemen. Since March 2015, Saudi Arabia has been leading a coalition war against Houthis rebels in Yemen. The coalitions airstrikes have killed and injured thousands of civilians, including children.

In addition to its violations in Yemen, Saudi Arabia continues to target human rights defenders inside the country. In fact, the rights situation in the kingdom, an absolute monarchy, has markedly deteriorated with a renewed crackdown against human rights defenders since the accession of Mohammad bin Salman as Crown Prince in June 2017. The environment for human rights defenders has become increasingly dangerous as authorities systematically target them on a daily basis.

Writers, academics, online activists and clerics have been among those arrested in recent months. In one week alone in September 2017, more than 20 prominent human rights defenders were detained following a wave of house raids and arrests.

Human rights organisations targeted

On 25 January, the Specialized Criminal Court (SCC) in the capital city of Riyadh sentenced rights defenders Mohammed Abdullah Al-Otaibi and Abdullah Madhi Al-Attawi to 14 and seven years in prison respectively, over rights-related activities. Al-Otaibi and Al-Attawi are founding members of the Union for Human Rights which monitors and advocates for the respect of human rights in Saudi Arabia.

In 2013, they were summoned with two other founding members of the organisation by the public prosecutor in Riyadh and ordered to freeze their activities. Due to serious threats from authorities, Al-Otaibi and Al-Attawi agreed to fully close their organisation but were still referred to the SCC and continued to work as human rights defenders in their personal capacities.

The two were charged with a number of accusations including setting up a human rights organisation prior to obtaining an official permit and spreading petitions deemed harmful to the reputation of the Kingdom and its justice and security institutions on the internet.

The Association for Civil and Political Rights in Saudi Arabia (ACPRA) was also targeted by authorities. All its founding members were arrested and tried on a range of fabricated charges. Mohammed Al-Qahtani, who is currently serving a ten-year jail sentence, was convicted in March 2013 on a number of charges including membership in an unlicensed organisation (the ACPRA), incitement against the kingdom, as well as cooperation with the HRC as stated in the indictment.

Women rights activists targeted

Saudi Arabia prohibited women from driving until recently when a royal decree issued in September 2017 permitted women to drive starting in June of 2018. Despite the conservative kingdoms pledges to reform, discriminatory rules against women still exist. For example, the male guardianship system requires women to have the consent of a male relative guardian to travel outside the country, apply for a passport, get married or to even rent their own places.

Women who call for reform and campaign to end the guardianship system are silenced and often face interrogations and arrests for engaging in online advocacy work. On the day of royal decree announcement to repeal the ban on women driving, authorities phoned several prominent womens rights defenders to warn them against making comments on the decision or they would face legal consequences.

Activist Noha Al-Balawi, a college student from the city of Tabuk in northwestern Saudi Arabia, was arrested on 23 January for speaking out online on Saudia Arabian politics as well as supporting of womens rights. On 5 February, Al-Balawis detention was extended another month.

According to some reports, Al-Balawi was arrested for publishing a YouTube video in which she criticised Saudi Arabias relations with Israel. However, the International Federation for Human Rights reported that she was questioned about her rights activism:

The authorities questioned her on tweets and videos she had posted, including on a video in which she supports the driving campaign for women and shows solidarity with the prisoners of conscience in Saudi Arabia. She was also questioned about her connections with the successful campaign on womens right to drive, and with the womens rights and human rights movement in Saudi Arabia generally.

On 22 February 2018, reliable sources confirmed to the GCHR that Al-Balawi has been released after 29 days of arbitrary detention.

Written byGulf Center for Human RightsReddit Email 103 Shares

TeleSur |  

A bomb attack also took place in the capital Kabul killing at least one person. Islamic State group in Afghanistan claimed responsibility.

Taliban militants have attacked an Afghan army post and killed 18 government soldiers, the defense ministry said Saturday, while a suicide bomber in the capital killed one person and wounded six.

Violence has intensified in Afghanistan since U.S. President Donald Trump unveiled a more aggressive strategy in August with U.S.-led forces carrying out more airstrikes and the Taliban responding with bombs, ambushes and raids.

Militants attacked a government army post overnight Friday in the western province of Farah, a Ministry of Defence spokesman said.

A large number of Taliban attacked an army outpost and we lost 18 soldiers and two were wounded, said the spokesman, Dawlat Waziri.

Waziri said he had no more details of the attack. The Taliban claimed responsibility and said two of their fighters were killed.

The bomb in Kabul Saturday near the headquarters of Afghanistans NATO-led mission was the latest in a spate of attacks in the city in which hundreds of people have been killed and wounded.

The capital has been on high alert since a Taliban suicide bomber blew up an explosive-packed ambulance on a busy street on Jan. 27, killing more than 100 people and wounding at least 235.

Via TeleSur



Bonus video added by Informed Comment:

AFP: At least 23 killed in multiple attacks in AfghanistanReddit Email 47 Shares

Middle East Monitor |  

Rescuers in Syrias eastern Ghouta said the bombing would not let up long enough for them to count the bodies, in one of the bloodiest air assaults of the seven-year war.

Warplanes pounded the rebel enclave on Saturday, the seventh day in a row of a fierce escalation by Damascus and its allies, an emergency service, a witness and a monitoring group said.

Residents holed up in basements and medical charities decried attacks on a dozen hospitals, as the United Nations pleaded for a truce in Ghouta, the only big rebel bastion near the capital.

There was no immediate comment from the Syrian military.

The Damascus government and Russia, its ally, say they only target militants. They have said they seek to stop rebel mortar attacks on the capital and accused insurgents in Ghouta of holding people as human shields.

A surge of rocket fire, shelling and air strikes has killed nearly 500 people since Sunday night, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. The dead included more than 120 children.

The Britain-based monitor said raids hit Douma, Hammouriyeh and other towns there on Saturday, killing 24 people.

First responders rushed to search for survivors after strikes on Kafr Batna, Douma and Harasta, the Civil Defence in eastern Ghouta said. The rescue service, which operates in rebel territory, said it had documented at least 350 deaths in four days earlier this week.

Maybe there are many more, said Siraj Mahmoud, a civil defence spokesman in the suburbs.

We werent able to count the martyrs yesterday or the day before because the warplanes are touring the skies.

As the bombs rain down, some hitting emergency centers and vehicles, the rescuers have struggled to pull people from the rubble, Mahmoud said. But if we have to go out running on our legs and dig with our hands to rescue the people, we will still be here.

A witness in Douma said he woke up in the early hours on Saturday to the sound of jets bombing nearby. The streets have mostly remained empty.

The United Nations says nearly 400,000 people live in eastern Ghouta, a pocket of satellite towns and farms under government siege since 2013, without enough food or medicine.

The UN Security Council on Friday delayed voting on a draft resolution that demands a 30-day ceasefire across Syria to allow aid access and medical evacuations.

The 15-member council is to vote on the resolution, which Sweden and Kuwait drafted, on Saturday. The delay followed a flurry of last-minute talks on the text after Russia, a veto-holding ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, had proposed new amendments.

Syrian state media said Ghouta factions fired mortars at the Old City of Damascus on Saturday. Insurgent shelling killed one person and injured 60 more a day earlier, it said, and the army pounded militant targets in the suburbs in response.

Several previous ceasefire attempts have quickly unraveled during the multi-sided conflict, which has killed hundreds of thousands and forced 11 million people out of their homes.

This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Via Middle East Monitor



Bonus video added by Informed Comment:

Syrian civilians take shelter as east Ghouta bombing continues | ITV NewsReddit Email 228 Shares

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) |  

The United Nations Security Council finally passed a resolution calling for a 30-day ceasefire between the Damascus government and the al-Qaeda-dominated guerrillas in Eastern Ghouta. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres reminded all sides of their absolute duty in international law to safeguard the life of innocent noncombatants.

Downtown Damascus has taken mortar shelling from the rebel-held enclave virtually every day, while the government of Bashar al-Assad and his Russian allies have subjected the neighborhood to intensive airstrikes and artillery shelling in recent days, disregarding civilian welfare and killing over 300.

The Turkish press, which tends to support the rebel side in Syria, reported that despite the UNSC resolution, the Syrian air force launched two strikes against Duma in East Ghouta on Sunday morning.

The population of greater Damascus may have ballooned up to some 5 million during the civil war, given that the Syrian Arab Army provided fair security there. (Syrias resident population is 18 million, with 4 million abroad). East Ghouta before the war had 400,000 people but my guess is that nowadays it must be more like 300,000 or less. People in East Ghouta are surrounded and trapped in the enclave and cannot flee, so bombing them is like shooting fish in a barrel.

The neighborhood went into rebellion after the 2011 youth protests, and gradually the Saudi Arabian government gave the radical Salafi Army of Islam weapons and training and pushed it to assert itself in the district. The al-Qaeda-linked Syrian Conquest Front (formerly Nusra) is also ensconced there. So too is a smaller group, the Rahman Brigades.

The UNSC resolution explicitly exempted military operations against ISIL, al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups from the cease-fire. Russia and Syria see virtually everyone in East Ghouta as a terrorist, however, and to be fair the paramilitaries there are linked to extremists, so that grounds exist for continued military operations against the enclave.

While pro-Russian and pro-Assad propagandists on the internet portray the entire population as terrorists and radicals and make excuses for starving out or targeting or recklessly harming civilians, the fact is that bombing civilian residential areas is a war crime. (Exactly the same authors and web sites rightly condemn Israels two similar campaigns in Gaza in 2008-9 and 20014 but go out of their way to excuse Russia and Syria).

-

Bonus video:

PBS: UN passes Syria ceasefire resolution after strikes in Eastern Ghouta kill hundredsAs part of a varied Thailand travel itinerary, many visitors are keen to interact with Thailands Asian elephants, beautiful animals that are increasingly a part of the Thai tourist offering.

What is Elephant Tourism?

Elephants have been used for heavy labour across Asia for centuries, but their use in the logging industry was banned in Thailand in 1989. After that, many owners turned to the tourism industry as a way to support themselves and their elephants  expensive beasts to keep given the amount of feed they need to consume every day.

But much of the elephant tourism that has sprung up is actively damaging to elephants, both in terms of the physical and mental health of the elephants involved, and also in the unfortunate result of more elephants being taken from the wild, and bred in captivity. The realisation that elephants can be big earners has created a growing demand.

However, there are options for those looking to interact with rescue elephants in an ethical way.

Is it OK to Ride Elephants?

In short, no! The problem is that the only way to train elephants to accept riders on their backs, to perform in shows, do tricks, paint or otherwise entertain, they must be mentally broken as babies, a horrific process known as the kraal (crush). Incidentally, this is the same process used to train circus elephants, which is why Im against that too.

You may not see a mahout obviously enforcing control in front of visitors, but thats partly because the animals will was broken so effectively in the first place, and also because it can be very subtly enforced by use of a small metal hook jabbed into the tender area behind an elephants ear, such that most visitors dont even notice it.

In addition, unlike horses and other large animals, the backs of elephants are not the right shape for carrying weight upon them, and are damaged by the heavy riding platforms and passengers they carry. And dont forget, even if you are told that the weight of one or two adults on the elephants back is not a problem, an elephants spirit still needs to be broken completely for it to accept this.

What Kind of Elephant Tourism is OK?

The first thing to look for when seeking an ethical elephant tourism experience is a place that does not allow riding, nor puts on shows where elephants perform. More and more tourism operators are banning elephant riding from their offerings, so look for an operator that is willing to give you a frank answer on this question.

All the ethical options I have found are focused on the rescue of previously domesticated elephants.

I would avoid places that talk about breeding elephants; this is not a sign of an organisation focused on the rescue of suffering elephants. In some cases, the babies have been taken from the wild (and breeding papers faked), further fuelling the continued poaching of an already-endangered wild elephant population. Did you know that in order to capture one baby elephant, an entire herd of adults (which are too old to be trained) is often killed, as they are naturally very protective of their infants?

Finding an Ethical Elephant Sanctuary, Thailand

There are a number of responsible elephant sanctuaries in Thailand, which rescue elephants from physical labour or inhumane tourist attractions. These elephants are often not able to return to lives in the wild, so they are looked after by their handlers in as natural an environment as possible, where they can rest and relax in their retirement.

Because they have grown up with human company, visitors can approach and interact with them (in a controlled manner). In most sanctuaries, this is usually to feed them and to help wash and scrub them. Some sanctuaries also offer walks (where visitors walk on foot alongside the elephants).

Elephant Hills, in Khao Sok National Park, has been open to visitors since 2010, and has received several awards for animal welfare and sustainable tourism, from both the Tourism Authority of Thailand as well as a number of relevant international bodies. Visitors observe, feed and wash the elephants.

Elephant Nature Park in Chiang Mai is probably the most famous elephant sanctuary in Thailand, and has received awards for its conservation projects, high welfare standards and work in educating visitors about elephants and other wildife. As well as their main sanctuary in Chiang Mai, they also operate a project in Surin, near the border with Cambodia; one in Kanchanburi, in Western Thailand; and one in Siem Rep, Cambodia.

Boon Lotts Elephant Sanctuary is a 600-acre rescue centre, located about an hours drive north of Sukothai. The sanctuary helps its rescued elephants to live as natural life as they can. Unlike other sanctuaries, there is not a set schedule to each day, and the intentionally small number of guests may find themselves gathering food for the elephants, walking with them as they forage for themselves, washing them and generally caring for them.

These are not the only ethical choices within Thailand, but Ive chosen them based on their mission statements, recommendations and awards from those whose opinion and expertise I value, and recognition given by tourism and welfare authorities.

Elephant Hills, Thailand

A Visit To Elephant Hills

Since elephants previously trained for labour cannot survive in the wild, Elephant Hills have created a sanctuary within the Khao Sok National Park where these animals can retire with their mahouts, to a life of leisure.

To fund the costs of this project, paying visitors can visit the rescued elephants, feed them fresh fruit (which they eat in enormous amounts), and help to wash them.

The sanctuary allows no breeding or riding and has won awards from the Tourism Authority of Thailand, as well as a range of international tourism bodies.

One of the aspects I liked about our visit was that individual elephants were not forced to participate. First we watched a couple of elephants enjoying a playful session in a natural waterhole. Then we spent some time washing and scrubbing a few of the sanctuarys elephants. Lastly, we prepared some fruit and fed a large number of elephants  for this last activity many more elephants were keen to join in!

The sanctuary also played us an educational film about Asian elephants, and about their own project.

Staying at Elephant Hills Elephant Camp

We had a few reasons for choosing Elephant Hills as our choice for an ethical elephant sanctuary. The first was the excellent reputation of Elephant Hills, and its awards for animal welfare, sustainable / green tourism, conservation, and service from the Tourism Authority of Thailand, Wanderlust Magazine, National Geographic Traveler and PATA (Pacific Asia Travel Association).

I also liked the sound of an overnight stay in their rainforest safari-style tented camp within Khao Sok National Park.

The Elephant Camp is fairly large, with the tents set out on two sides of the central space which houses a small shop, a reception desk, and the large dining and bar area. This is open air, with a wooden roof high above to protect from downpours, and large communal tables where guests can mingle. Meals are served buffet style and are a bit of an odd mix of Thai and Western dishes; I noticed a large number of their guests did not eat any Thai food at all so they had to cater for a wide range of tastes.

The tents themselves will be familiar to anyone whos been to a luxury tented safari camp in Africa; each tent has a spacious bedroom area with proper beds and furniture, and an en-suite bathroom at the back, with toilet, sink and shower. Zips and netted windows keep insects out pretty well, and the tents are comfortable and clean, albeit a little closer together than Id like  who wants to hear the snoring of their tent neighbours instead of the gentle sounds of the jungle fauna?

Theres also a small outdoor swimming tool next to the central dining area, pool towels available from the bar on request.

The last reason that I chose Elephant Hills was the option to stay overnight at Rainforest Camp, their floating camp on Cheow Lan Lake.

Booking the Elephant Hills Package

We booked an inclusive package with pick up and drop off from local resorts and airports, one night in the Elephant Camp, one night in the floating lake Rainforest Camp, activities including visiting the elephant sanctuary, river canoeing, trekking in the jungle and kayaking on the lake, and all meals during the stay.

Because of limited availability by the time we booked and the resulting need to juggle the order of our itinerary, we had to fly down the day before pick-up and stay a night near Phuket airport, to be collected from our hotel lobby in the morning. However, if you co-ordinate with the Reservations team during the booking process, they will let you know specific flights from Bangkok into Phuket or Surat Thani airports which they will meet on landing, so you can fly in the same morning your package begins if you prefer. Of course, if your itinerary includes one of the beach resorts within their pick-up zone, a hotel pick-up will suit you better. The Jungle Lake package costs from 20,372 baht per adult based on two sharing (at time of posting).

Elephant Hills is very family friendly and combines well with a visit to Phuket with kids.

Save for later:



Want to read more about our three week itinerary in Thailand? Check out my other recommendations for where to visit, where to stay and what to eat in Thailand.Many of us will never see the inside of a courtroom, but for those who will, there is a certain etiquette that should be maintained. Its actually just basic manners.

Kilkenny District Court is a fascinating place to be on any given day. For such a court sitting, you could hear anything from a persons defence for speeding or the reasons why someone didnt pay the fine for holding a mobile phone.

Its real life and real people.

The court clamour that precedes Judge Colin Daly - or any sitting judges arrival- is inevitable given the busy schedule of cases to be heard on a Monday or a Tuesday.

The pews are usually full and the hallway outside is busy with people going in an out for a smoke at the front of the courthouse or solicitors chatting to their clients.

This is the first piece of advice Id give, if youre summonsed to court and proceedings are underway, try and stay in the room.

If your case is called and youre not present, the judge will not take too kindly to your absence. Ive seen bench warrants issued for people not in court; even though they were in the court building.

Theres a list of names for the court to go through so youll just have to tough it out and wait for your name to be called and your case to be heard.

Respect the proceedings and if youre punctual enough to be there for 10.30am, at least try and stay in the room until your name is called and your case is dealt with.

Prosecuting Sgt Alma Molloy or the Court Registrar will typically warn those present to ensure that all mobile phones are switched before court proceedings get underway.

Any phones that do go off will be confiscated and wont be returned to you until the end of the courts business that day. It means youll be there waiting until after 5pm to get your phone back.

Its important that people adhere to this request given the seriousness of the proceedings about to unfold. Its not that anyone will turn their phone off, but at least put it on silent, silent is good enough.

Anyway, Ill come back around to the phones issue.

At 10.30am the bellow of All rise... rings crisp and clear through the din and the unintelligible mutterings settle down to barely a whisper as Judge Colin Daly, or whomsoever the sitting judge is, makes their way out.

They will greet the room with an affable, Good morning... and the courts business will get underway.

As the courtroom swells with people as the judge makes his/her way through the list, the utterances can get louder and louder which can make things difficult for the legal representatives, the Gardai and even the judges who on occasion have had to tell people to be quiet in court, please.

It is the height of disrespect to continuously chat and whisper in court during open court proceedings which are so important to the implementation of justice and peoples right to a fair hearing.

So, theres that and then, a phone will invariably go off at some stage and the court Garda will confiscate it.

It is complete contempt towards the the sitting for ones phone to interrupt the hearings. Serious cases appear before the District Court from assault, drugs possession, road traffic offences and criminal damage.

Those at the top of the court , the Court Registrar, the judge, the Gardai, the legal representatives, need to be able to hear themselves think and need to hear what others relevant to the cases are saying.

They dont need distractions like mobile phones or noise coming from the public gallery. Judge Daly will rise in the evening when the courts business is done and Ill pack up my things and make my way through the room.

Thats when the real disregard people have shown one of this countrys courts of law is witnessed.Empty drinks bottles will be strewn across the pews and seats.

Tissues and papers of all shapes and sizes just haphazardly left despite numerous bins outside the court room.

It is flagrant disrespect and disregard to a vital institution of the State - dont do it. If you find yourself having to attend court, you must respect the courtroom and the court sittings.If you are currently a print subscriber but don't have an online account, select this option. You will need to use your 7 digit subscriber account number (with leading zeros) and your last name (in UPPERCASE).Feb 24, 2018, 5:26pm ET

Sony working on AI-based taxi hailing app

The app will be able to put taxis near customers before they are hailed.

Sony is partnering with Japanese taxi companies to develop an AI-based taxi hailing app.

According to The Nikkei Asian Review, the electronics giant will use the fleets of five major taxi companies in Tokyo to gather data on cab movements. The new app will then use this data, in addition to traffic patterns, weather reports and schedules of major events to predict taxi movements across the capital city. The goal is to have taxis ready, before they are even hailed, in areas where there are likely to be the most passengers. The app includes a digital payment system developed by Sony as well.

This year alone, Toyota and Nissan have both announced partnerships with tech companies to modernize taxi fleets for the smartphone age. Toyota is partnering with existing taxi hailing app JapanTaxi and Nissan announced an autonomous taxi service called Easy Ride.

Tokyo has several rival taxi companies and many of its residents do not own cars. Ride sharing apps like Uber and Lyft have yet to catch on in Japan, where cabs are affordable and commonplace.Feb 25, 2018, 2:15pm ET

Toyota to open huge R&D facility in Japan with 11 test tracks

Toyota will be able to recreate any driving environment in the world.

Toyota is developing a massive testing facility near its global headquarters in Aichi Prefecture in central Japan.

As reported by Nikkei Asian Review, the facility will have 11 test tracks and cover more than 1,600 acres:

The test tracks will be designed to reproduce various driving conditions around the world. One will be in part modeled after the well-known Nurburgring race course in Germany, to test the stability of steering, braking and other functions in harsh driving conditions. The [3.3-mile] track will include mountainous roads with many curves, and an altitude gap of some [246 feet] between high and low points.

The facility will also take a role in R&D, the article notes, helping engineers fine-tune vehicles to meet regulations in various markets like Europe, North America, China and India. Testing sites in other countries have become "crowded," according to the article.

The test area will partially open in 2019, but won't see full operation until 2023. When fully staffed, Toyota expects 3,850 employees there full-time. It will be Toyota's first test tracks to open in Japan since its winter testing course in Hokkaido in 1984.Waterways Ireland has begun the formal process of developing a 'slow tourism' and public amenity River Barrow Blueway through Laois but the project has already drawn controversy in Carlow.

Waterways Ireland is applying to Laois County Council for planning permission to develop the Barrow Navigation taking in the Grand Canal - Barrow Line and River Barrow through various townlands on the border with Kildare and Carlow.

Vicarstown, Courtwood, Fisherstown and Maganey are just some of the areas that fall with in the project area.

"The proposal consists of the development of a multi-use shared leisure route (Blueway) approximately 115kim in lenght on the existing navigation towpath, which is a National Waymarked Way," said the public notice.

The route commences in Laytown, Co Kildare passes through Laois and finishes in St Mullins, Carlow.

Work will be carried out on the following in Laois: Fisherstown Bridge, Courtwood Bridge, Grattan Aqueduct, Vicarstown Canal Warehouse, Vicarstown Bridge, Camac Aqueduct, Ballymanus Bridge and Maganey Bridge.

However, there is already opposition to the project. Broadcaster and journalist Olivia O'Leary is among the members of the Save the Barrow Line Campaign group. It has objected because of the plan to make pathways along the river accessible for cyclists.

The public notice which advises the public that planning applications will be made to three local authorities says that 'tailored surface finishes' will be part of the project.

"The Save the Barrow Line Campaign group opposes Waterways Irelands proposal to get rid of the towpaths quiet grassy surface and replace it with a gravel track for cyclists.

"The existing grass surface, which is so beautiful, accommodates cyclists, walkers, anglers and joggers alike. It ensures a pace which is consistent with the calm beauty of this riverside way and we believe it is this unique beauty which offers the best option for developing the route as a Camino type tourist destination.

"The committee will do all we can but we cant do it alone. Now is the time to have your say!," said a statement.

Waterways Ireland says intends to carry out an Environmental Impact Statement and Natura Impact Statment.

The agency says the trail will follow through the towns of Rathangan, Monasterevin, Vicarstown, Athy, Carlow, Leighlinbridge, Bagenalstown, Goresbridge, Graiguenamanagh and St. Mullins.

"Once the work is complete on the 115km route, Waterways Ireland will work with the local business and tourism providers to develop the route into a Blueway, a 'slow' tourism product, focusing on leisure activities," says its website.

The agency has organised a series of consultation meetings. Laois 19th January 3pm - 7pm Vicarstown Inn, Vicarstown; Carlow 16th January 3pm - 7pm Seven Oaks Hotel, Carlow; Kilkenny 17th January 3pm - 7pm Scout Hall, Graiguenamanagh; Kildare 18th January 3pm - 7pm Athy Community Library, Athy

http://www.waterwaysireland.org/Pages/Blueways/Barrow-Blueway.aspxLadies! Gok Wan is back by popular demand across Ireland!

This time round Gok is teaming with one of Ireland's leading and award-winning Makeup Artists, Danielle Mahon, and they are set to bring you the ultimate Fashion and Beauty Collective!

Visiting Sligo, Cork & Dublin these very special events will be packed full of their expert tips, demos, catwalk shows, a delicious afternoon tea, amazing prizes PLUS one lucky audience member will be picked out by the man himself for a very special Gok Wan/Danielle Mahon Makeover on the day!

Showcasing his picks of the very best and bang on fashion trends; including those available right on your door step in Ireland. Aunty Gok will be, in his own inimitable style, hosting two catwalk shows at each event - bringing your wardrobe right up to date!

One lucky audience member will be picked at the show for a special Gok Wan/Danielle Mahon Makeover on the day!

The beauty section, sponsored by Shiseido Ireland, features easy-to-replicate makeup demos and real beauty tips from award-winning Danielle Mahon who will help you look the very best version of yourself.

Enjoy a delicious afternoon tea with your friends, and you may just win one of the amazing prizes up for grabs during this fun-packed day - including a holiday from Sunrise Holidays.ie

Everyone leaves with a Luxury Goody bag worth over 150 from Shiseido, Sleek makeup, NIMA brushes, 7th heaven, Moroccan Oil, and super spot prizes on the day. Plus a group photo with Gok Wan and Danielle Mahon for a special souvenir of this sensational day!

#fashionandbeautycollective #gokwandaniellemahon #shiseidoXgokwan

Shows:

Tickets are 125. Doors 10:30 am - 4:00 pm

Sunday 4th March 2018 Clayton Hotel, Sligo

Saturday 21st April 2018 Clontarf Castle, Dublin

Sunday 22nd April 2018 Rochestown Park Hotel, Cork

Buy tickets: www.gokwan-daniellemahon.com





To be in with a chance to win two tickets to the show simply answer the following question:

In which hotel in Sligo is the Gok Wan and Danielle Mahon roadshow being held?

Send your name and phone number to leitrimobservercomp@gmail.com marking Gok Wan in the subject line.

Closing date is Friday, Feb 2.

B+est of luck.Only seven applications were made under the Hedge Cutting Grant Scheme in Leitrim last year.

The figures were released in response to a request from Cathaoirleach of Manorhamilton Municipal District, Cllr Frank Dolan.

At Monday's Municipal meting, Cllr Dolan asked what the actual take-up for the scheme was.

He was told that eight applications for this Grant Scheme were received by Leitrim County Council; six from Manorhamilton MD, one from Ballinamore MD and one from Carrick-on-Shannon MD.

Of these, only one from Manorhamilton MD was refused. To date four of the approved grants have been paid out, a total of 880 in grant funding. The council is awaiting completion of works and approvals for the three remaining applications.

The Hedge Cutting Grant Scheme provided a grant of 50 per kilometre of roadside hedges cut.

The initial closing date for grant applications was October 31 last year but this was later extended to December 29, 2017.

Cllr Dolan asked if the Council felt this scheme was a success on the back of these figures.

Local Area Engineer, Padraig MacShera, acknowledged the figures applying for funding were disappointing.

I am surprised that more didn't take it up as it is a grant of 50 percent of the cost of the cutting, he said.

He said part of the problem may be the fact that the stretch of road required under the grant could involve a number of property owners and some applicants didn't follow up with their neighbours to get agreement for the scheme.THIS PHOTOGRAPH of Evan Jones was taken two weeks before he died.

He had just been rushed in an ambulance from Limerick to Our Lady's Children's Hospital, Crumlin, with a collapsed lung. An hour later he was in theatre but his smile is so wide you would think it was taken on Christmas morning after Santa had been.

Evans first anniversary was on Sunday. He was just two years and three months old. It was cancer.

The brave boy from Newport may be gone from his loving family but his legacy lives on. His parents, Paddy and Marisa, and baby brother, Ben, presented a cheque for 33,285 to St Johns Oncology Ward in Crumlin. The money was raised from a fun run / walk in memory of Evan last October.

Paddy says the photo tells the story of his son.

He has lost his hair but he is still smiling. It is a little over two weeks before he passed away but you can see how well he looks. It turned out he had a collapsed lung and sirens of the ambulance were going all the way from Limerick to Crumlin.

When the oncologist came rushing into his room he was sitting up in the bed smiling. The photo taken then tells the story of his courage. You would never have thought there was anything wrong with him. He was just so brave. He smiled the whole way through it, said Paddy.

People told him and Marisa that they were inspired by Evan.

People that never met him felt they knew him and identified with him. They were following his story. I think he really resonated with and inspired a lot of people, said Paddy.

In July 2016, they noticed a droopy eyelid and wheezy chest in Evan. They went to the doctor who sent them to UHL. From there it was Crumlin where they spent the next 10 weeks.

Less than a year later Evan was laid to rest.

It is your worst nightmare. You never think it is going to happen to you. The scary thing is, there is a perception it is rare but there are four children every week in Ireland diagnosed with cancer. Every year 180 to 200 children are diagnosed with cancer - of those 20 to 30 children are dying, said Paddy.

Evans anniversary was marked with a Mass in Newport on Sunday.

We wanted to commemorate it in a positive way instead of a sad day. There are times it is tough but overall were doing ok. There are definitely tough times. Were getting through it. It is just a process you have to get through.

At moments it is very difficult and there are days you feel you are doing good. Its up and downs, said Paddy, who describes their 18-month-old son Ben as a ray of light.

He is flying it. Evan loved him and was very good to him. He doted on him, said Paddy.

The couple and their giant team of between 30 and 40 are already planning this Octobers Evan Jones memorial fun run / walk in Newport. Last Halloween, between 1,300 and 1,400 took part.

It is a huge amount of money. One thing that is very important to us is that funds raised go to frontline care in the oncology ward and not tied up elsewhere. It will go directly to the care of children on the ward.

We spent 10 weeks pretty much living there. You get to see the staff day to day - they know much better than anyone what is needed. You couldnt praise them enough. The care Evan got was incredible.

They are amazing people devoted to what they do, said Paddy, who wished to thank, from him and Marisa, the Team Evan Jones fundraising team for all their hours of work.

It just wouldnt happen without them. It is such a huge undertaking. The support we have received from Newport, surrounding communities and as far away as Ballydangan, where Marisa is from, has been incredible, said Paddy.A barrage of firecrackers spitting red and purple confetti signaled the start of San Franciscos Chinese New Year Parade on Saturday evening, welcoming in the Year of the Dog.

Thousands lined downtown streets, bristling with excitement and jockeying for the best views of the glittering floats, bands and costumed marchers that winded their way from Market Street to Columbus Avenue.

Among the biggest crowd-pleasers: a gigantic, self-propelled red shopping cart, sponsored by Lucky Supermarkets, with an exposed engine that rumbled like a hot rod.

Known as one of the largest celebrations of Asian culture outside of Asia itself, the Chinese New Year Parade has taken place in San Francisco since the 1860s and remains an important cultural gathering for the city.

We begin the new year with a fresh start, and thats what were celebrating, said Grace Yuen, vice president of the San Francisco Chinese Chamber of Commerce, which has organized the parade and its accompanying events since 1958. The event, she said, represents a time for families to come together to welcome a bountiful new year.

Its a family gathering, but the whole world can come here to San Francisco. We draw everybody in here, Yuen said.

Cassandra Taylor of Fremont said shes lived in the Bay Area for 13 years but had yet to attend San Franciscos storied parade. Equipped with a lawn chair, she arrived more than two hours early to find a prime viewing spot.

Im so excited, Taylor said. This has been on my bucket list. Im loving it.

Just before the parade began, Norman Smith, holding the head of his dog costume in the crook of his arm, said hes been marching in the parade for the past three years alongside his daughter, who attends Jose Ortega Elementary School in San Francisco.

Its great. I get to wear a mask and prance around like a dog or a pig or a rooster, Smith said, referring to whatever one of the 12 animals the Chinese zodiac may call for in a given year. Smiths woolly dog getup helped keep him warm against the sharp February breeze that brought out plenty of warm coats. Many in attendance huddled in blankets or clutched warm drinks.

Im going to lose five pounds in here, Smith said.

Perhaps the most anticipated part of the parade was the events traditional final act  a snaking, 288-foot-long dragon, animated with the help of 48 volunteers. The horned, bright-orange-and-yellow beast was purchased new this year for the parade by the Chinese Chamber of Commerce.

Kyle Campbell, who was preparing to take his spot around the dragons midsection, was celebrating his fourth year as part of the dragon. Its a lot of fun, he said, on top of the fact that the dragon volunteers get a new sweatshirt each year that they get to keep, inscribed with the years zodiac sign. I might go for all 12, Campbell joked.

Earlier in the day, thousands flocked to Chinatown to take in the sights, sounds and smells of the 29th annual Chinese Community Street Fair.

As the scent of roasting chestnuts wafted through the air, throngs of people ambled past an estimated 120 booths offering anything from canned abalone to samples of spicy chicken soup to handmade jewelry to free spinal exams.

Raucous lion dances, accompanied by pounding drums, crashing cymbals and firecrackers, popped up all over the neighborhood, drawing huge crowds of onlookers, some of whom had to clutch their ears as the sound rattled off the narrow streets.

Ryan Woo of San Francisco  proudly serving as the tail in one of the trio of lion costumes  said the celebratory dance harkens back to an ancient story of a Chinese village besieged by evil demons. To fight back, Woo said, the villagers came up with these lion costumes to scare the demons off. The loud music and the firecrackers will ward off all the evil that came during the previous year.

Woo has practiced martial arts and lion dancing at the Yau Kung Moon kung fu studio for 17 years. Performing the lion dance well in the two-person costume requires concentration, he said, and a good rapport with ones partner. You have to know your partner so you can become one lion, he said.

Its just fun to celebrate our culture and have fun together.Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf warned Saturday night that the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement could be conducting an operation in the Bay Area in the next day or so.

Federal officials have said in the past that California and the Bay Area could be an enforcement target, due in part to the sanctuary policies adopted by many local cities, which have pledged not to cooperate with immigration authorities in many of their actions.

Schaaf said in a news release her office put out shortly before 8 p.m. that she learned from multiple credible sources, that the federal operation was planned, starting as soon as within the next 24 hours.

Few details about any raids were included in the release and Schaaf said she didnt know where they might take place.

The purpose of the announcement, she said, was not to panic residents who could be in danger of being detained and deported, but to warn and protect them.

In a statement reported by KGO-TV, ICE officials responded to Schaafs announcement saying, There are ICE operations every day and it is unclear what the mayor is referring to.

The mayors statement refers to the website of Centro Legal de la Raza, a legal services agency that advocates for the immigrant community. A dispatcher who answered its Ice Activity Hotline early Sunday said the organization had not been advised of any overnight arrests or detentions by ICE agents.

There has been nothing in Alameda County so far that we are aware of, said the dispatcher, who asked not to be named.

Below is the statement the mayor put out:

Earlier today, I learned from multiple credible sources that the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is preparing to conduct an operation in the Bay Area, including Oakland, starting as soon as within the next 24 hours.As Mayor of Oakland, I am sharing this information publicly not to panic our residents but to protect them.

My priority is for the well-being and safety of all residents  particularly our most vulnerable  and I know that Oakland is safer when we share information, encourage community awareness, and care for our neighbors.

Interested residents should consult the website http://www.centrolegal.org/acilep/ to understand their legal rights and options in the event they face detention or know someone who needs legal representation.

In Oakland, OUSD public schools have strict protocols in place to protect our students and families. Oakland police officers are prohibited from participating in ICE activities.

Additionally, California state law prohibits business owners from assisting ICE agents in immigration enforcement and bars federal agents from accessing employee-only areas.

I have reached out to local leaders and partners in our immigrant communities to share this information. Our shared message is clear: We want residents to prepare, not panic. We understand ICE has used activity rumors in the past as a tactic to create fear; our intent is for our community to go about their daily lives without fear, but resiliency and awareness.

I am not aware of any further details of the ICE operation, such as precise locations.

I know that Oakland is a city of law-abiding immigrants and families who deserve to live free from the constant threat of arrest and deportation.

I believe it is my duty and moral obligation as Mayor to give those families fair warning when that threat appears imminent.It didnt take long for Carlos Urestis political career to unravel after he was convicted Thursday on 11 counts of felony fraud charges.

Within hours of the jurys verdict, friend and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick took steps to strip Uresti of plum committee assignments, effectively immediately, and Senate Democrats called on him to resign. The Senate could expel him with a two-thirds majority vote.

His livelihood as a lawyer is also coming to an end. He faces disbarment once hes sentenced for his crimes in June, but it's possible his law license could be suspended before then.

And hes staring at a prison sentence that could range from eight to 12 years  in addition to likely owing millions in restitution to victims, some attorneys say.

That doesnt even account for the sadness and disappointment hes caused to those who looked to him as a success story, growing up poor in Lytle before his family moved to San Antonios South Side. He went on to become a college graduate, a Marine officer and a young, hungry lawyer who emerged as the head of a mini-political dynasty on the South Side.

Im just disappointed of the whole situation, his behavior and how this whole thing turned out, said Henry Flores, Urestis former academic adviser at St. Marys University and who helped run his campaign for Texas House District 118 in 1997. We teach them ethics here. Its part of the curriculum, part of the core of the political-science major. So to see a former student go off the rails like this is a little bit disappointing.

A jury of eight women and four men returned a relatively quick verdict Thursday, deliberating about 11 hours over three days despite receiving more than 54 pages of jury instructions for the month-long trial. He was found guilty of securities fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering, among other charges, over his involvement in FourWinds Logistics.

The company bought and sold sand used for fracking before going bankrupt in 2015 amid allegations it defrauded investors.

Uresti, 54, served as FourWinds outside legal counsel, held a 1 percent ownership interest, and recruited potential investors to enter into joint ventures with the company. Uresti, though, left out pertinent details to get them to invest, including that he stood to get a slice of their profits.

Prosecutors painted Uresti as someone financially distressed who ignored numerous warning signs about FourWinds because he needed the money to support his upgraded lifestyle. The senator had a $10,000 monthly mortgage payment on a $1.2 million home he had built in Helotes to share with his new bride Lleanna and payments on a $77,000 Porsche.

The San Antonio Democrat is not going down without a fight. Immediately after his conviction, he vowed to keep his Senate seat while he appeals. He can remain in office until all appeals are exhausted.

Uresti friend and San Antonio trial lawyer Mikal Watts, who covered the cost of the lawmakers defense, said that alleged errors in both evidentiary rulings made during the trial and instructions on law given to jurors will be part of the appeal. He declined to specifically address the alleged errors.

The big crux of the appeal, though, will be his disqualification as Urestis counsel of choice due to a conflict of interest.

Watts previously represented Denise Cantu, a Harlingen woman who was the governments star witness in the case against Uresti. Senior U.S. District Judge David Ezra ruled the conflict outweighed the senators Sixth Amendment right to choose his own legal counsel.

You dont take away somebodys counsel, their chosen counsel, Watts said. After he was disqualified last summer, he told the San Antonio Express-News that his disqualification would result in a colossal waste of judicial resources in the very unlikely event that Sen. Uresti is wrongfully convicted.

Watts added, The U.S. Supreme Court has held that a wrongful disqualification of ones chosen counsel  as has occurred here, mandates a reversal of any conviction.

Defrauding investors

Cantu hired Uresti to represent her in litigation following the deaths of two of her children in a 2010 vehicle wreck. Watts was brought into the case and secured a $2.5 million settlement for Cantu. Uresti later advised Cantu to invest some of the money with a risky startup. She did and ended up losing $800,000 of her $900,000 investment.

Uresti received a $27,000 commission even though he never registered as a securities broker, one of the crimes he was found guilty of last week. His Turning Point Strategies consulting company stood to get a 6 percent cut of any profits from Cantus joint venture. None of her money, though, ever went to buy sand. Instead, some of it was used to pay back another investor  establishing FourWinds as a Ponzi scheme.

Cantu, 38, testified that Uresti was her counsel, but became her friend, financial adviser and ultimately lover. Lead prosecutor Joseph Blackwell told jurors Uresti exploited an emotionally vulnerable, shattered young lady for his own financial gain.

Cantu was not available for comment because she has been in custody since she was charged with aggravated robbery and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon in November by Harlingen police. Her McAllen lawyer Oscar R. Alvarez offered a statement after the verdict.

We believe that there are no winners in this case, Alvarez said. As far as were concerned, everybody lost. It was all due to greed and not wanting to earn the money they spent.

A business fraud is still a fraud, he added. And the only bright light in this dark tunnel is the fact that our judicial system works and Ms. Cantu is grateful to the United States for all of its time and efforts.

FourWinds investor Richard Thum was the first to alert the FBI to potential wrongdoing at the company. He went to Bexar County District Attorney Nico LaHood on the suggestion of Gary Cain, a FourWinds consultant who was tried with Uresti and found guilty on nine felony charges. Cain and LaHood were partners in Trinity Global Funding & Consulting, which contracted with FourWinds. LaHood never disclosed his ties to Cain during the meeting at the DAs office, Thum said.

A Bexar Couny jury in 2014 acquitted Cain of swindling Rackspace Hosting in a 2007 land deal. LaHood, then in private practice, was part of Cains defense team. Not long after Cains acquittal, FourWinds retained him on Uresti and LaHoods recommendations.

Urestis involvement gave FourWinds a measure of credibility, Thum told the Express-News in a 2016 article that first chronicled Urestis connection to the company.

Why would a state senator be involved (with) a crook? Thum said at the time. Thum, president of Five Star Cleaners, and his wife, Sharlene, lost all but $163,000 of their $1.4 million investment.

Thum financed a legal crusade to push FourWinds into liquidation and force its CEO Stan Bates into an involuntary bankruptcy in an effort to recover money. Bates pleaded guilty last month to eight felonies rather than stand trial with Uresti and Cain. Investor money was used for exotic car rentals, prostitutes and personal expenses, the trial established.

Hopefully we saved somebody from going through this aggravation and that no one else will get hurt in the future  from at least these guys, Thum said after the verdict.

Warned about con man

Uresti simply got caught up with a bad guy, Watts said, noting that a number of sophisticated FourWinds investors lost money on something that was later proven to be a fraud.

It just wasnt obvious to the people that werent in the middle of it, he said.

Friends warned Uresti, though, that Bates was a complete con man and a shady individual, trial testimony revealed.

From the outset, Uresti lead lawyer Michael McCrum worried that his client starts behind in the trial because of his positions.

What about the fact that hes a politician? What about the fact that hes a lawyer? Shouldnt even have known better? McCrum said to jurors during closing arguments. Shouldnt-he-have-known-better is not the standard in this case.

Local lawyers who didnt want to be named estimated Uresti will be sentenced to anywhere from eight to 12 years in prison, though Ezra has broad discretion to impose a sentence higher or lower than the guidelines. Uresti also could be ordered to pay millions in restitution to victims.

Uresti is set to be sentenced June 25. Whether he would remain free while appealing the case isnt known, but another case might serve as a guide.

In 2016, Ezra ordered the owner of a skillet meals manufacturing and distribution business to be taken into custody immediately after sentencing him to 15 years in federal prison for his role in a $5.3 million tax-and wire-fraud scheme.

Uresti likely would serve time in a minimum security federal prison camp, such as the one in Bastrop.

Larry Levine, founder of Wall Street Prison Consultants, which advises clients before going behind bars, told the Washington Post in 2015 that a low-security prison is kind of like a junior college setting.

I dont want to call it a stress-free environment, but its a lot of hanging out with other inmates, you know, just bulling, he said. Its like a boring Groundhog Day.

Urestis sentencing could get postponed given hes gearing up to defend himself in yet another criminal case set for trial in May in the same San Antonio federal courthouse.

Uresti is is accused of using his consulting business to split $850,000 in bribes with Jimmy Galindo, a former county judge in Reeves County in West Texas. Galindo has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bribery and failure to file a 2013 tax return.

Watts, who represents Uresti in that case, shot down speculation that the senator might seek a plea deal in the case.

I dont know why the senator would plead to something he did not do, Watts said. As least while Im his lawyer, hes not going to plead to a conspiracy that he was not a part of.

Pocketing a pension

Meanwhile, Uresti plans to confer with his family about whether to step down from his Senate seat after the Texas Senate Democratic Caucus called for his resignation Thursday. Uresti is a caucus member.

Regardless of what he decides, Uresti still stands to pocket a hefty government pension that currently could be in the $80,000-a-year range.

A new state law bars lawmakers convicted of certain felonies from receiving their government pension, but it doesnt apply to Uresti because his FourWinds crimes arent covered by the law. He could bolster his pension by remaining in office while he appeals his conviction. His term ends in January 2021.

Even though Uresti is a free man for the time being, his livelihood as an attorney is in doubt.

The State Bar of Texas generally waits to move to disbar an attorney convicted of certain crimes until after he is sentenced  just in case he receives probation rather than prison time, according to Claire Mock, public affairs counsel for the Bars Office of the Chief Disciplinary Counsel.

As of right now, Mr. Uresti can still practice law, Mock said. I cant speak to his case specifically, but in the past, when someone has been convicted of a crime and we find out theyre practicing law before they are sentenced, we do have the ability to seek an interim suspension. I dont know if that will happen in this case.Authorities have captured a mountain lion that was found in a south Laredo neighborhood.

The animal was tranquilized and will be assessed by Texas game wardens before being released back into the wild.

According to Laredo police, some homes in the Santa Rita Subdivision, off U.S. 83, were evacuated while authorities contained the mountain lion. Early Sunday afternoon, police had asked residents in the neighborhood to stay indoors after the animal was spotted in the area.

"We appreciate the residents of Santa Rita Subdivision for their cooperation in being abruptly evacuated from the surrounding homes where the animal was contained," LPD said in a post on its Facebook page. "We also want to thank Border Patrol, State of Texas Game Warden, Texas DPS, Dr. Leyndecker, City of Laredo Animal Control, and the officers of Laredo PD assigned in South Laredo for their professional handling of this unique call for service.

"This is one for the books for sure. These animals do not tend to enter heavily populated areas. However, the neighborhood is very close to the animal's natural habitat along the Rio Grande."Submitted

Mark Rodriguez, social studies teacher at Douglass Learning Academy, is the Cleveland ISD Teacher of the Week for the week ending Feb. 23. Rodriguez is a 2006 graduate of CHS.

After receiving his bachelor's degree at the University of Texas in Austin (major in History, minor in Education), he returned to Cleveland ISD to teach. His wife is also a CHS graduate and teaches at Southside Primary.Lawyers for a man convicted of dragging and killing James Byrd Jr. on a Jasper County road almost 20 years ago were "facing an uphill battle from the start" and made a reasonable effort to prove his innocence, a federal appeals court ruled last week.

John William King, 43, who was convicted of capital murder in Byrd's death, filed an appeal in 2017 alleging that attorneys Sonny Cribbs and Brack Jones were ineffective and did not present evidence that could have proved him innocent.

Byrd, 49, was chained by his ankles to the bumper of a truck and fatally dragged on an old logging road on the outskirts of town in June 1998.

Cribbs and Jones "maximized King's chances of acquittal," the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans ruled last week.

At a hearing in January, King's lawyer, Richard Ellis, argued that it was a "backwoods drug deal gone bad," not a racially-motivated murder, and said Cribbs and Jones did not do enough to prove that.

King joined a KKK splinter group known as the Confederate Knights of America while in prison on a burglary charge in the 1990s. The Jasper man covered himself in racist tattoos.

Ellis argued that effective counsel could have made the case that while King's views were "distasteful," they did not include "random acts of brutal, unprovoked violence and torture on innocent victims simply because of their race."

The court ruled that Cribbs and Jones attempted to challenge the theory by trying to keep his tattoos out of evidence and calling witnesses to argue that his racist attitudes were a means of self-preservation in prison.

In the ruling, the court said the case that King had "violent white-supremacist views was multifaceted and ironclad."

"No matter how skillful they were, counsel could not make this evidence go away," the court said.

At the January hearing, Ellis said the man who drew King's tattoos in prison, including the one of a black man hanging from a tree, should have been called to testify that they were not racially-motivated tattoos.

"It strains credulity" to think that the jury could have been convinced that those tattoos, which King was reported to have bragged about using racial slurs, were not racist, the court said.

The appeal criticized how Cribbs and Jones handled evidence at King's trial, including sandals found in King's room with Byrd's blood on them and a cigarette butt and lighter with King's nickname on it that police found along a road in Jasper.

The court said the DNA evidence was "reasonably handled." The test said King was a major contributor and Byrd a possible minor contributor of DNA on the cigarette.

The court found Cribbs and Jones also attempted to shift blame and ownership of the bloody sandals through cross-examination.

In the appeal, King said his lawyers could also have proven that a note he tried to smuggle to Lawrence Russell Brewer while in jail was not an admission of guilt.

In the note, he said he didn't think his clothes had any blood on them, but "my sandals may have had some dark brown substance on the bottom of them."

King argued that his first lawyer, who was later replaced by Cribbs and Jones, told him about the sandals, and that he should have been called as a witness to prove that the note was not incriminating.

The court found the "defense's decision not to draw more attention to this note to be eminently reasonable," because the spin he said his lawyers should have put on the note is "ultimately lackluster."

In the note, King went on to say ""Seriously, though, Bro, regardless of the outcome of this, we have made history and shall die proudly remembered if need be.... Much Aryan love, respect, and honor, my brother in arms."

He and Ellis did not explain in the appeal how his defense lawyers "could have spun the line," the court said.

King was the first of three white men from Jasper convicted of capital murder for the hate crime.

He was sentenced to death in 1999.

Co-defendant Brewer was sentenced to death in the case and was executed in 2011 at the age of 44. Another co-defendant, Shawn Allen Berry, 42, is serving a life sentence.

Cribbs died in June. Jones has previously declined to comment on the appeal.

LTeitz@BeaumontEnterprise.com

Twitter.com/LizTeitzMEXICO CITY - What has surprised Mexicans is not that President Donald Trump "lost his temper" in a telephone conversation with his Mexican counterpart, prompting President Enrique Pena Nieto to cancel a trip to Washington, but that Pena Nieto was even thinking about going in the first place.

Why, asked foreign affairs analysts and many Mexicans taking to social media Sunday, would the country's unpopular president contemplate another tete-a-tete with Trump after two embarrassing encounters - that served to strengthen Trump politically at the expense of Pena Nieto?

No one faulted him for canceling this trip to Washington, which he did Saturday. But many Mexicans questioned what purpose the meeting could have served and wondered if the president and foreign minister, Luis Videgaray, had learned from the humiliations of Pena Nieto's previous interactions with Trump. In those conversations, the U.S. president brought up his "big, beautiful" border wall and the prospect of Mexico paying for it - which the Mexican government says will never happen.

"There hasn't been a single meeting [with Trump] in which Pena Nieto has obtained some sort of benefit, whether personal or for the country," said Brenda Estefan, a foreign affairs analyst and former security attache in the Mexican Embassy in Washington. "It's absurd to continue asking for a reunion so they can be trampled."

Others wondered whether the administration still harbored the belief that it could convince Trump of the value of the Mexican relationship and sticking with the North American Free Trade Agreement amid tricky renegotiations.

"How bad could things be, when the best news from yesterday was the cancellation of the EPN/Trump meeting following a heated phone call," tweeted Gabriel Guerra Castellanos, a former Mexican consul in Toronto. "The incredible part is [the call] saved us from [Trump's] tantrum and not the foresight of our diplomats."

The discourteous telephone call served to underscore the difficulties of Pena Nieto's dealings with Trump, even though Videgaray had described the U.S.-Mexico relationship as being "closer under Trump than in previous administrations."

The news broke at a tough time for Pena Nieto, though it distracted from a Saturday mishap at Flag Day celebrations, in which soldiers at the official ceremony raised a massive Mexican flag upside down - something seen as oddly apt by many on social media as the country suffers corruption scandals, crises of confidence in public officials and violence rising to record levels.

The ill-tempered Trump call also came as the country gears up for the July 1 presidential election. Pena Nieto's Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) has sunk in the polls, while the sedate speaking style of its candidate, former finance minister Jose Antonio Meade - picked in part for his clean track record - fails to excite voters or move the polls upward. Some observers speculated that the proposed trip to Washington was as much about raising attention at home as it was to accomplish anything to do with NAFTA or Mexico-U.S. relations.

"Pena Nieto and Videgaray wanted to show 'leadership' at a time when they believed that Mexico was doing well in the renegotiation of NAFTA - at least better than Canada - and their candidate is suffering," said Carlos Heredia, professor at the Center for Research and Teaching in Economics.

The trip, however, "didn't make sense," he added. "What are they thinking? Any Mexican can tell you that there isn't any point.

"What are you going to get out of it? Nothing - another humiliation," Heredia said.

Polls show Meade running a distant third - the newspaper Reforma put his support at just 14 percent - trailing Ricardo Anaya, of the unwieldy left-right coalition, and left-wing populist Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.

Surveys also show Mexicans deeply disliking Trump, but election rhetoric has focused on domestic matters rather than promises toconfront Trump defend Mexican dignity.

Trump is "not a factor because it's not something you can influence at all," Heredia said. "And because we do not have a constituency inside the United States that could make Trump pay for insulting Mexicans."As conspiracy theorists accuse survivors of the Florida school shooting of being "crisis actors," President Donald Trump on Saturday retweeted a fringe radio host who once used identical language to peddle hoaxes about the Sandy Hook Elementary massacre in 2012.

The host, Wayne Dupree, has also repeatedly attacked survivors of the high school massacre in Parkland, Florida, who are pushing for new gun laws after 17 of their schoolmates and teachers were killed with an AR-15 rifle last week.

Trump's retweet of Dupree had nothing to do with guns. It was also four years old and didn't seem particularly relevant to anything in the news.

"It's ok 2 b black, conservative and love America and not vote Democrat!" Dupree posted in 2014.

"So true Wayne," Trump wrote as he shared the message on Saturday morning.

The president went on to mention record low black unemployment rates under his presidency, something he has repeatedly claimed since the December employment figures came out.

But critics, noting Trump's history of retweeting far-right figures, accused him of deliberately promoting a school shooting conspiracy theorist just as gun control opponents are trying to discredit the Florida teens with similar hoaxes.

"The President of the United States is lifting up a voice that is smearing the survivors of the Parkland massacre," the liberal news outlet ThinkProgress wrote as it dug up Dupree's history of fringe theories.

In 2013 - about a month after a gunman killed 20 children at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Conn., and spurred calls for gun control - Dupree posted several articles on his website about the "Sandy Hook hoax" or "Sandy Hook victim hoax."

The articles, published under Dupree's name, accused parents of children at the school, and in one case the medical examiner who identifies the bodies, of being "crisis actors" - impersonating parents to promote "the New World Order agenda of total control, including the control of children's minds."

"On and before December 14, 2012, Sandy Hook was infested with espionage operatives," reads one article. "These operatives posed as the incredible, primarily parents."

Another: "Now I dont know if this means that everything is fake but it certainly shows that this is a planned event."

Dupree didn't immediately respond to questions from The Washington Post.

A Snopes article debunking the Sandy Hook theories noted that they continue to spread today, with hoax articles claiming the same actors are playing parents of victims from last week's shooting in Florida.

Dupree was one of many people to peddle theories about the Sandy Hook massacre. He has not gone quite so far in the aftermath of the Parkland shooting, but other conspiracy theorists accuse student survivors like David Hogg and Emma Gonzalez, who have used their stories from the shooting to push for gun control, of being "crisis actors."

But Dupree has repeatedly criticized the teens on social media and his internet radio show, which has a modest 12,000 subscribers on YouTube.

"Listen, I am really trying to give these students spokespeople a chance," Dupree wrote on Facebook last Sunday, four days after the shooting. "I know they are still grieving & emotions are still high but this misinformation on gun control and blaming Trump is making my mercury rise."

As the teens kept showing up on national news, Dupree's patience soon ran out. He juxtaposed photos of the shooting survivors smiling for a photo and sitting somberly as they discussed the shooting in an interview. "3 ... 2 ... 1 ... Action!"

Dupree wrote on Twitter. "I ain't saying nuthin."

The next day, Dupree suggested two of the survivors were gay activists.

"Unfortunately, you can already tell these kids are going to be card-carrying leftists," he wrote beneath a picture of Hogg and Gonzalez on CNN. "I hate to be blunt despite what tragedy they went through, but both those kids look like they are going to be future members of the LGBTQXYZ movement."

On Friday, Dupree brought his radio show to the Conservative Political Action Conference. He wasn't long into the show before, again, the Parkland survivors got under his skin.

"Now you disrespecting a U.S. senator," Dupree said, referring to a recent CNN town hall in which teens confronted Sen. Marco Rubio for taking donations from the National Rifle Association. "I felt bad about them last week. Now they're grown-up."

The host noted that Trump - whom he has long supported and who occasionally gave him a shout-out on Twitter before his election - was speaking at the conference that day.

In his speech, Trump called for teachers to be armed with guns, a popular suggestion with Dupree and other conservatives.

The next morning, for reasons still not entirely clear, the president dug up a 4-year-old tweet from the radio host and shared his name with the world.Sometime around 10:30 a.m. Saturday, a man stepped into the quiet of the Winchester Public Library's reading room, approached an unsuspecting woman from behind, and pulled out a 10-inch hunting knife.

As other library patrons watched in horror, the man stabbed the woman again and again on her head, chest and torso, according to the Middlesex District Attorney's Office.

The bleeding woman staggered toward the door, and several patrons came to her aid, including a 77-year-old man who was stabbed in the arm before other patrons could subdue the attacker. The woman died at a hospital a little after the attack.

District Attorney Marian Ryan identified the suspect as 23-year-old Jeffrey Yao, a resident of the Massachusetts town of nearly 23,000 that is nine miles northwest of Boston.

VIDEO: Updated information on victim.

Authorities have not released the name of the man who came to her aid and was injured. His wounds are not life-threatening.

But a day later, one large question still loomed over the sudden burst of violence that shattered the tranquility of the town's library: Why?

Neighbors of Yao interviewed by the Boston Herald said his behavior had become increasingly erratic in recent years. Some said they worried that he "will kill somebody" - and had shared those fears with police.

One neighbor, a father of two young children who asked the newspaper not to use his name, said Yao had tried to "smash our door down" in a 3 a.m. incident last year.

Leslie Luongo, another neighbor, told the Boston Globe that she would run to her car each day when she left for work at 5 a.m. because she was afraid of Yao. She said that she wouldn't let her children go outside whenever Yao was around and that people had started locking their doors and keeping bats by their beds.

ALSO READ: Man arrested, accused of sexual assault of Fremont store workers

Yao graduated from Winchester High School in 2012, according to the Globe. He ran cross-country and wrestled, but classmates told the newspaper that his behavior became stranger in his last two years of school. He had stopped bathing, for example, and once posted an insensitive comment on Facebook about a classmate who had died.

Still, classmates told the paper, Yao's behavior had never been violent.

The library's director, Ann Wirtanen, announced in a statement posted on Facebook that the library will be closed "until at least Tuesday."

Yao is charged with murder and attempted murder. He is being held without bail until his arraignment on Monday.

Ryan said Yao was known to police but wouldn't elaborate on how, saying that information was part of the investigation.

Neither she nor Winchester Police Chief Peter MacDonnell would provide additional details.

More, Ryan said, would come out when Yao is arraigned.SAN DIEGO  Three California Democrats often mentioned as potential 2020 presidential candidates  Sen. Kamala Harris, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and billionaire San Francisco activist Tom Steyer  each test-drove messages Saturday that they could be repeating on the campaign trail next year in Iowa, the first caucus state.

Each has repeatedly denied that theyre running. But their approaches Saturday, delivered before a friendly, largely progressive audience of California Democratic Party convention delegates and donors, previewed what they may eventually preach in the cornfields after the calendar turns.

Though different, each approach shared a few basic themes: Democrats should be anti-President Trump, but stop obsessing on him. Lets unite Americans, not divide and scapegoat them. And lets get Democrats to stick to a coherent, progressive message.

Harris largely steered clear of Trump bashing and focused on an economic appeal.

Even though these times require us to fight and resist, let us remember we are not fighting against something, we are fighting for something, she said.

Democrats, the challenge for us in 2018 is to remind Americans of how much more we have in common than what separates us, Harris said in a speech that mentioned the word common seven times and all a handful of others.

We all want better wages for everyone, not just the top 1 percent. Which is why Im fighting for a $15-an-hour national minimum wage, Harris said. Nobody should have to work a job flipping burgers when theyre 75 years old. Every American should be able to retire with dignity.

Garcetti, who mentioned at several convention events over the weekend that he recently returned from a visit to the early primary state of South Carolina, said that every day in this country, we hear that there are two Americas. But its not urban versus rural or coastal versus heartland. Theres Washington, and then theres the rest of us, Garcetti said.

Garcettis speech was more pointedly partisan, taking several shots at Trump, saying the two Americas are ... those who fix our streets and those who send us tweets.

Lets not spend our time worried about what we are fighting against. This year let us spend our time focused on what we are fighting for, Garcetti said. He added that every day that were responding to the toddler-in-chiefs latest rant is exactly where he wants us.

Steyer, the former hedge fund manager, called out out his fellow Democrats as well as Republicans for allowing the U.S. to be corrupted from a democracy of voters and values to one of dollars and donors. Republicans openly invited this. But Democrats, too often, let the downward spiral continue.

He said this isnt just the headquarters of the resistance. ... We (Democrats) must be the architects sketching out a new vision for America.

Steyer called for five rights to be the backbone of the Democratic Party. They included the right to a living wage and to organize in the workplace, a right to affordable health care, a right to clean air and water, free schooling from prekindergarten to university and the right to vote for everyone.

Steyer also asked Democrats to sign his online petition to impeach Trump, which is approaching 5 million supporters. Democrats should demand the nuclear codes be taken out of his tiny hands. On Sunday, Steyer will introduce another TV ad for this impeachment campaign, saying that Trump has done nothing to protect Americans from future Russian hacking attacks.The European sailing world is holding its collective breath to see what Warkworth design and building facility Core Builders Composites can contribute to the 52 Super Series.

Formerly known as the Audi MedCup, the current series started in 2012. It is a five regatta sailing series across the Mediterranean with all boats in the TP 52 class.

Core Builders Composites general manager Mark Turner says this is the first time they have constructed an entire boat at the Warkworth facility.

It was built for team Sled, owned by Takashi Okura, which placed third in a previous series, in a boat built in Glenfield.

Its taken 18,000 hours of planning and labour, with up to 20 staff working on the project at a time, so it was a big undertaking, Mr Turner says.

Its a different type of construction compared to what were used to with the TP 52 class and its been a learning curve, but we are pleased with the end result.

Core started on the project in October last year after out-bidding a number of other European manufacturers.

We have been involved with a number of Americas Cup projects, but we wanted to expand on that.

Build manager and Sled crew member, Brad Marsh, says they were excited to partner with Core on the project.

Their standard of workmanship and ability to work with composite materials is exceptional, Brad says.

A lot of the work theyve done has been behind closed doors so I think the world is excited to see what they have produced and how it will perform on the circuit.

Brad has worked closely with the build team on a project that has many restrictions due to rules in the 52 Super Series. These include keeping the boats hull length below 15.85 metres and weight below 6975 kilograms.

The rules mean that we need a build as strong and light as possible, so thats where good work with composite materials comes into play.

The boat left Core for Auckland Harbour on February 12 to be fully assembled and is now on its way to the Mediterranean.When a drunk driver, who killed an elderly pedestrian and injured two gardai in the line of duty walked out of Galway Circuit Criminal Court last month with 240 hours community service in lieu of a four-year prison sentence, under his belt, there was outrage.

And rightly so.



Father-of-two Adrian Nestor (44), from Keamsella, Kilcolgan, Galway, was also disqualified from driving for four years having pleaded guilty the previous November to causing the death of Liam McDonnell (66) and causing serious bodily harm to Garda Sharon Casserly by driving dangerously near Ardrahan in the early hours of February 1, 2016.



He also pleaded guilty to driving while drunk and having a blood/ alcohol reading of 272 mgs of alcohol per 100mls of blood at the time of the fatal collision.



The story, from beginning to end, holds all the elements of a tragedy, but one that was caused by the selfish and inexplicable actions of a single man.



On that fateful night a resident had left a nursing home wearing black clothing only.



Staff were concerned for the mans safety.

They rang the Gardai.



Two garda cars subsequently set out to look for Mr McDonnell and just over 30 minutes later, Garda Casserly and Garda Peter Murtagh, who were in one of the patrol cars, located the man down on his hands and knees.

The Gardai pulled the patrol car in on the hard shoulder and went to the aid of Mr McDonnell who appeared intoxicated.



The man resisted arrest but the Gardai eventually coaxed him into the vehicle and as they were doing so a silver Audi car, being driven by Adrian Nestor hit the patrol car with devastating consequences.



We were told that the force of the impact caused Mr McDonnells death and his body was found in a nearby field.



Garda Casserly received severe injuries while Garda Murtagh sustained a broken leg, a large cut to his head and damage to his knees and ankles.

Nestor, meanwhile sustained a minor head injury in the collision and was later arrested.



He said he attended a wake near Ardrahan prior to the crash.

Because of her injuries Garda Casserly had to cancel her wedding day which was due to take place the following June and her career prospects are now on hold.



Garda Murtagh, too, sustained serious injuries and now feels that he failed in his duty to protect Mr McDonnell that night.

All the pain, anguish, guilt and remorse from people going about their work in the dead of the night trying to protect the public from people just like Adrian Nestor.



And, still it happened.



It wouldnt have happened, though, if the Galway man had not drank alcohol and then driven his car, but instead took responsibility for himself, the car he was driving and the other road users that night.



But, he didnt.

The presiding Judge said Nestors expression of remorse during proceedings was genuine. He also stated he had a previous good record.



So what?



In the past, people have been jailed for driving without insurance, some have even been imprisoned for non payment of fines, and that includes the TV licence, yet here we are in 2018 and a relatively young man - who should have known better - avoids a prison sentence for mowing down three people and killing one of them after driving his car with drink taken.

Justice must be done, or at the very least seen to be done.

But, in this case, justice has not been done, nor indeed has it been seen to be done.



We have all come to the moral realisation, rightly or wrongly, that the removal of a persons freedom, where they have committed a serious crime, is the ultimate punishment.



Prison we are told is where that freedom ends, so it is this that brings a sense of justice, perhaps even closure...



Justice can never be served when a drink driver who kills a vulnerable man and severely injuries two gardai in the line of duty walks away with 240 hours community service.



It is just not good enough.



This injustice is not much consolation, either, to the thousands of families across this island who have lost loved ones to drink driving.

You may also like to read:

The View: Longford's N4 upgrade is good news but let's not all jump at once25-Feb-18  1871, the tech incubator located at Merchandise Mart, has been ranked the best university-affiliated business incubator in the world.

UBI Global, a data and advisory firm based in Stockholm, says its rankings are based on overall economic impact, value to members, and other factors. The rankings, it explains, help incubator managers, governments, investors, and early-stage companies understand where the top incubators are located.

According to Holger Meyer, Director of Research at UBI Global, 1871 is a central hub and major pillar of the Chicago entrepreneurship ecosystem.

More than 500 companies are currently working out of 1871, in 150,000 square feet of space on three floors of Merchandise Mart.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel says 1871 has been instrumental in the growth of Chicagos tech sector.

UBI Global recognizes what we already knew, said Emanuel, 1871 stands alone among incubators and its impact can be seen in the jobs, ideas, and talent created and developed throughout Chicago every day.

According to 1871, its member companies and alumni have raised more than $280 million and created more than 8,000 jobs. 1871 is affiliated with eight universities, most of which have dedicated spaces at the facility for students and faculty to develop businesses and immerse themselves in Chicagos entrepreneurial community.

In the previous ranking by UBI Global, 1871 came in fourth.by Larissa Faw , February 24, 2018

Agency CEOs have a distinct challenge in politically fraught times  do they take clear positions on the key issues of the day? Or do they avoid alienating clients or potential clients with specific political stances?

It varies by CEO.

Both MDC Partners' Scott Kauffman and Interpublic Group's Michael Roth wrote letters to their teams after protests in Charlottesville, Virginia last summer to remind them there is a place in the world for positive change.

Conversely, TDA_Boulder is not likely to land Hobby Lobby as a client after the agency and Sir Richards Condoms launched a social media campaign to provide free condoms to any Hobby Lobby employee who requested them.

The move came four years ago  after the Supreme Court ruled that companies do not have to cover their employees contraceptives under the Affordable Care Act.

While a growing number of high-profile CEOs, like Apple's Tim Cook and Bank of Americas Brian Moynihan, are speaking out about political matters, ad agency CEOs often exercise restraint, since their portfolios include conservative and liberal clients.

advertisement advertisement

This direction of greater political influence concerns me, one ad executive told MediaPost. It feels that companies are already way too involved in politics.

In a time of hyper-partisanship, there is no clear playbook on how to navigate CEO activism. For every Kauffman, whose recent tweets include "Nobody does hate-mongering and race-baiting better than Steve Bannon" and "No, Trump is not fit for the office of the President of the United States of America," there is someone like United Collective CEO John Gallegos.

He never uses the agency or client efforts as a platform for his personal or political opinions. Gallegos United agency works with conservative-leaning Chick-fil-A.

Weve found them to value inclusiveness, honesty and trustworthiness, which align with what we strive for at Gallegos United, he says.

While many brands approached by MediaPost did not specifically link any account changes to the beliefs of their agencies, it is possible CEO activism could impact an agency relationship, given public pressure and increased visibility. Clients are not seeking baggage when it comes to their agency partners, quips one PR executive.

For instance, digital agency Giles-Parscale is credited with helping Trump win the presidency. But it didnt help the agency. There has been a massive social media push demanding that the agency be charged with aiding Russia's meddling in the election.



Last August, the San Antonio, Texas-based shop decided to separate its political work and sell its traditional design and online services to ecommerce service provider CloudCommerce for $9 million.

As a noted PR executive observed, this deal was necessary. The Trump visibility likely would have made it hard for Giles-Parscale to land new clients when the agencys actions may result in a backlash.

More than three-quarters of World Federation of Advertisers members plan to review their agency rosters in 2018. Consumers new demands on brands and agency economics may determine the extent of their political activism.

Consider how AOR Saxum handled the Hobby Lobby controversy.

In the January/February issue of the Harvard Business Review, David Green, founder and CEO of Hobby Lobby -- a family-owned chain of crafts stores -- cited his religious beliefs when opposing the Obamacare requirement that employee health insurance include the morning-after pill. His beliefs form the basis of his corporate decisions.

AlthoughSaxumdeclined to address Hobby Lobby specifically, a Saxum spokesperson says the conversation over CEO activism arises with many of its clients. To address it, agency executives developed a defined position that covers everything we do.

We respect boundaries and conflicts when it comes to taking on new work, [so] we align our clients with team members who are comfortable supporting their issues. We aren't afraid to say no to clients or work that doesn't align with our values, he adds.

Individual staffers at the agency are free to express their respective thoughts on their own time. We support their efforts to make our communities stronger, safer, more diverse and more inclusive.

Still, anti-Trump voices are often heard in the ad world.

Industry conferences are filled with speakers advocating more liberal-learning causes. Several agencies have consistently shown their left-leaning support through public-facing projects.

For example, TDA Boulder's new campaign with restaurant Hapa Sushi takes Trumps actual words to illustrate the coming apocalypse with the "Eat Well Before It Ends" message. We are from Boulder, and people assume we are liberal," says Jonathan Schoenberg, executive creative director, TDA Boulder. "And to some degree, they are correct."

Similarly, Pittsburgh advertising agency Brunner produced 84 Lumbers controversial 2017 Super Bowl spot The Journey Begins, which portrayed a Mexican mother and daughters travels through Mexico to a U.S. border wall that resembled Trumps proposed border.

This project, says Steve Radick, Brunner PR director, helped increase company awareness across the industry. Our existing clients told us they were proud to be working with an agency that worked on something that made such a global impact," he says. (Caveat: 84 Lumbers owner and president, Maggie Hardy Magerko, is a Trump supporter and did not consider their Super Bowl spot to be anti-Trump.)

Walton Isaacson's Martin Cerri helped to develop the Turn Ignorance Around campaign that flipped the script on racist stereotypes, with dual-sided T-shirts that revealed the true stories about their wearers.

If you call standing up for LGBTQ rights and against hate speech and racial stereotyping political  then we have been political before, said an agency spokesperson.

However, Accenture cautions about an emerging trend called "unintended consequences" that highlights the need for organizations to confront the unexpected impacts of their products and services, business strategies and actions.

TDA_Boulder admits that political messaging carries both positive and negative ramifications.

We recently got a project based partly on the anti-Trump video we did pre-election," says Schoenberg. "At the time, it was just a chance to stand up for what was right. I dont think anyone then thought Trump would be President.

Yet the company did part ways with another client. Our collective political and social views may have played a role, he admits.

Most of the time, however, he says their actions fall more into a grey area without an absolute consequence. A senior executive at a company we work with got very agitated about social posts my business partner was making. He made it clear, in writing, that he was offended and wanted an explanation," says Schoenberg. He never got one  and we still work together.

Aaron Chatterji, associate professor at Duke Universitys Fuqua School of Business, addressed CEO activism in the Harvard Business Review article. He believes CEOs need a playbook in this new world. They should select issues carefully, reflect on the best times and approaches to get involved, consider the potential for backlash, and measure results.

Chatterji also recommends that CEO activists understand there are key moments when speaking out might make a difference. The chance to block a particular policy is typically better than reversing legislation.

It may also be smart, in some instances, to enlist a coalition in a key cause.

More than 160 CEOs and business leaders chose to sign a letter by the Human Rights Campaign opposing the North Carolina bathroom law. In doing so, they mitigated the risk of consumer backlash and amplified the newsworthiness.

Collective action can also make it more difficult for critics to target individual corporate leaders, and thus can be perceived as less risky. But it is slower by design and is likely to be less effective in associating a particular leader and corporate brand with a particular cause, he writes.

CEOs also may choose not to weigh in.

Some leaders feel that they do not understand the issue well enough or hold an unpopular view. But they should be prepared when employees, the media, and other interested parties question their silence.

Its also sound policy to ensure internal stakeholders are aligned with CEO activismor at least aware of it ahead of time, recommends Chatterji. Not all CEOs consult with their directors or employees before taking public stands, which may imperil their efforts.

Key reminder: CEOs may be speaking for themselves, but their statements will be associated with their companies. Given that, we advise setting up a rapid response team composed of representatives from the board, investors, senior management (including the Chief Communications Officer), and employees to act as a kitchen cabinet on CEO activism, he writes.

As Millennials increasingly wield spending dollars and behaviors based on a company's social, environmental and political policies, a CEO's stance reflects not only the brand message but the ethos of an agency.

There are no easy answers, particularly during divisive times. Agency leaders may want to ensure their workplace includes liberal and conservative voices, given client assignments.

It may be wise to remember Michael Corleones famous Godfather line: Its nothing personal, Sonny. Its strictly business. Today, in a super-charged environment, all business is personal.Bolywood's first female super star and a veteran actress, Sridevi, passed away last night after a cardiac arrest. She was 54 years old and was in Dubai with her family when this happened.

Shocked beyond words to hear about the sad and untimely demise of #Sridevi. A dream for many, had the good fortune of sharing screen space with her long ago and witnessed her continued grace over the years. Thoughts and prayers with the family. RIP   Akshay Kumar (@akshaykumar) February 25, 2018

Have witnessed Sridevi's life from an adolescent teenager to the magnificeint lady she became. Her stardom was well deserved. Many happy moments with her flash through my mind including the last time I met her. Sadma's lullaby haunts me now. We'll miss her  Kamal Haasan (@ikamalhaasan) February 25, 2018

Shocked & disturbed with the news of #Sridevi garu's demise. She truly was the epitome of everything amazing as an actor & a woman. My all time favourite actress.. Gone too soon. Strength to her family & loved ones. May her soul Rest in Peace.  Mahesh Babu (@urstrulyMahesh) February 25, 2018

She was a child artist as well and worked in Malayalam, Telugu, Tamil movies before venturing into Hindi movies.

This is how I will always want to remember #Sridevi - Happening, Vibrant, Brilliant, Beautiful, Bestest and Unique. #QueenOfIndianCinemaSridevi pic.twitter.com/Om4Yi0IbxR  Anupam Kher (@AnupamPKher) February 25, 2018

I have no words. Condolences to everyone who loved #Sridevi . A dark day . RIP  PRIYANKA (@priyankachopra) February 24, 2018

Extremely sad and shocked to hear about the sudden demise of my most favourite actor and role model, #Sridevi Ma'am.. this must be so difficult, my heartfelt condolences to the family #RIPSridevi #gonetoosoon #heartbreaking pic.twitter.com/UOjhoMVKcq  Kajal Aggarwal (@MsKajalAggarwal) February 25, 2018

Shocked stunned. Still see her laughing talking. Unbelievable. Actor par excellence. A school in herself.. learnt so much from her. Still can't believe it . A huge loss. #Sridevi  Kajol (@KajolAtUN) February 25, 2018

The PM and the President also offered their condolences on Twitter.

Saddened by the untimely demise of noted actor Sridevi. She was a veteran of the film industry, whose long career included diverse roles and memorable performances. My thoughts are with her family and admirers in this hour of grief. May her soul rest in peace: PM @narendramodi  PMO India (@PMOIndia) February 25, 2018

Shocked to hear of passing of movie star Sridevi. She has left millions of fans heartbroken. Her performances in films such as Moondram Pirai, Lamhe and English Vinglish remain an inspiration for other actors. My condolences to her family and close associates #PresidentKovind  President of India (@rashtrapatibhvn) February 25, 2018

She was an iconic actress who went effortless from dancing to 'Hawa Hawai', becoming the most beautiful 'Roop Ki Rani' and then also essaying a practical, real life house wife in 'English Vinglish'. It is truly a dark day in the history of Indian cinema today. While further details are yet awaited from her family, the industry is already mourning the loss.1. Shivaji Maharaj

 Indus library

The fact that no Indian can mention his name without adding the word Maharaj must tell you something about his greatness. A king who fought for the freedom of his people and not just his kingdom, was physically unfit to be a warrior but it never stopped the true Maratha. He was a master strategist who defeated Afzal Khan to his death in a one-on-one combat. At the time when kings in India were busy resting on their laurels, he built naval forts and warships.

He is also called 'Father of Indian Navy'. One of the other names he is known by is the 'Mountain Rat' given his guerrilla warfare tactics. His awareness of geography of his land, and guerrilla tactics like raiding, ambushing and surprise attacks on his enemies got him that name. He used his wit to flee Aurangzeb's house arrest in Agra. He was one of the only rulers who stood up for women at that time. If anyone from his army touched a woman while raiding enemy land, he was severely punished.

2. Khutulun

 realmofhistory

Khutulun was the daughter of the Mongolian leader Kaidu and the niece of Kublai Khan. She was described by not only Kaidu and Kublai Khan to be a superb warrior, but also Marco Polo and other greatest warriors of the time made solemn statements of her skills.

She assisted her father, the most powerful man in Asia in various battles.

She, being the ultimate badass, raised an army of horses and set out to conquer the world. She declared that she would marry the man who could defeat her in wrestling. Whoever lost, had to surrender a couple of horses. She collected 10,000 horses for her army. In case you were wondering, she did get married. Rashid al-Din once wrote about her love story with Ghazan, the Mongol ruler in Persia.

3. Melankomas Of Caria

 listverse

Melankomas of Caria was an ancient boxer famous for never being touched by any opponent while fighting. Don't try to figure out the science behind that, its pure skills and warrior genes. The legend has it that he could stand still with his guard up for two days continuously. The man fought on the field like he was playing a game, a rigged game which he will always win.

It is said that during his entire career as an Olympic boxer, he never punched a guy. Why would you fight if you can make the other person look like a five-year-old child throwing his hands mindlessly in the air?

4. The Flame

 listverse

Finally, a warrior whose name justifies his reputation. Flamma, AKA The Flame, was an ancient Roman gladiator. While other gladiators were busy fighting for their freedom, he refused his freedom four times.

5. Vlad The Impaler

 ancientorigins

If you thought Vlad the Impaler is a pretentious name, this is the right time to know that he's famously known as Dracula. Oh! Yes, he was regarded as the Lord of Darkness.

During his rule on Transylvania, the central region of modern-day Romania, he defeated many including his famous win over the Ottoman Empire. Records suggest that he even managed to impress Pope Pius II with his fighting skills.

6. Xiahou Dun

 YouTube

They say that craziness makes you excel at everything, most definitely true for a warrior. Xiahou Dun offered his services to Cao Cao and quickly became the military general. During one of the battles, an enemy arrow hit his eye. He pulled out the arrow with his own hands and also swallowed his eyeball. This definitely terrorized his enemies who started referring him as Blind Xiahou, The One-Eyed Warrior.

7. Pyrrhus of Epirus

 anestakos

Pyrrhus was a Greek general and statesman of the Hellenistic period. He isn't considered a good King, but definitely one of the greatest military commanders of his era. No tragedy managed to slow him down, he lost his first-born son while fighting and immediately involved himself in a civil dispute in Argos.

He was the greatest threat to Romans. It is believed that the history would have been entirely different if he wasn't killed. Even though he won most battles, the blood he left behind was so horrifying that it gave birth to the term Pyrrhic victory. The expression is still in use.

8. Musashi Miyamoto

 steemit

Musashi Miyamoto was a known painter, a skillful Japanese swordsman and an invincible ronin (a samurai without a lord or master). Unlike other warriors, his strategy was to dress in rags. The most famous duel Miyamoto Musashi won was against Sasaki Kojiro in 1612. He guessed the strategies of Kojiro even before the battle started and planned his tactics accordingly. He was the founder of the Hyoho Niten Ichi-ryu or Niten-ryu style of swordsmanship. He even perfected his two swords fighting skill and wrote a guide titled, A Book of Five Rings.

9. Genghis Khan

 listverse

The Mongol destroyer, as he's known, managed to conquer a quarter of the world's population. His men not only considered him the greatest man alive but quite literally God's gift which is exactly how he received the name Holy Warrior. The craziest fact is that he has been titled the greenest invader in history - he actually eradicated 700 million tons of carbon from the atmosphere by heading 40 million people.

10. Alexander The Great

 essayzone

This is definitely a name you would expect to see on the list. Alexander the Great conquered an empire that stretched from the Balkans to the region today called Pakistan. He also fought on the front lines of every battle. He conquered Persia, India, and Egypt, among others while managing to remain undefeated.Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ioannis Amanatidis, discussed Greek-Turkish relations, the results of yesterdays Summit Meeting, the Novartis case, and the course of the negotiations with fYROM on ERTs Epta, with journalist Valia Petouri.



Mr. Amanatidis called yesterdays Summit a positive development for Greece and Cyprus, underscoring that Turkey will think very carefully from here on in before proceeding to actions that violate international law, the International Law of the Sea and treaties, and before ignoring the fact that the borders of Greece and Cyprus are essentially the borders of Europe.



The Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs noted that this was the message sent not only by Prime Minister Tsipras, but by all of the institutional leaders present at the Summit Meeting: Mr. Juncker; Mr. Tusk; the current Presidency of the Council of the European Union, Bulgarian Prime Minister Borisov; the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Ms. Mogherini; and Ms. Merkel.



We had a positive development for Greece and Cyprus at the Summit Meeting, which sent the message, and we will move ahead to the next step if necessary, Mr. Amanatidis stressed, pointing to a resounding European message of solidarity with Greece and Cyprus.



Regarding Turkish President Erdogans stance, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs argued that there is a policy on the part of Turkey, which is unstable; that is, which can easily go from one side to the other. This points to the internal tensions and problems Turkey itself has. Mr. Amanatidis made it clear that Turkey has every interest in listening to the message that was sent.



Asked to comment on the recent incidents in the Cypriot EEZ, Mr. Amanatidis highlighted that Prime Minister Tsipras himself and the EU have drawn the line, stressing that Europe will not change its energy policy. Europe is seeking alternative energy supply sources for Central Europe, and the Cypriot EEZ is among these alternative energy supply sources.



Asked about the Novartis case, he said that as a Greek MP and as a Greek, I think the biggest scandal would be the Novartis case not to come before Parliament. The biggest scandal would be to conceal this from the Greek people, who suffered while this scandal was playing out. To me, that would be the biggest scandal, Mr. Amanatidis said.



He also noted that some people believe they can use even this scandal  which they know to be a scandal  to mount opposition to the government. The oppositions internal conflicts exposed them to the Greek people. This is sad for the main opposition party.



Mr. Amanatidis reiterated Minister of Foreign Affairs Nikos Kotzias intention to visit fYROM in early March to the Greek sides views. There is a draft agreement, which the fYROM leadership has been made aware of, and which is comprehensive and covers all of the pending issues, Mr Amanatidis said. He also clarified that the draft is based on the stance that we have stated: a compound name for all uses (erga omnes), elimination of all traces of irredentism, constitutional amendments that must be made in our neighbouring country, and the development of confidence-building measures and all conditions that will produce a viable and mutually acceptable solution. And of course we have to deem that the agreement reached is in the national interest, he concluded.JOURNALIST: We have Minister of Foreign Affairs Nikos Kotzias with us. Good morning, Mr. Kotzias.

N. KOTZIAS: Good morning, Mr. Vitalis, and good morning to our listeners. And I think we have to wish all the Theodores a happy name day. It is a moveable feast, and sometimes we forget.



JOURNALIST: Of course, you do well to remind us. You do keep a good calendar, I must say. And Id like to thank you once again for coming here to Hellenic Radios First Programme and to this show at a time with lots of developments on all of the major foreign policy issues.

N. KOTZIAS: I would say this is a period that is making foreign policy interesting again, though there is a good deal of distortion and fake news.



JOURNALIST: What do you mean by fake news?

N. KOTZIAS: Ive been reading about some fictional developments, with accusations levelled at me...



JOURNALIST: Like what?

N. KOTZIAS: That I have handed the whole Ionian Sea over to the Albanians ...



JOURNALIST: Ah, you handed it over?

N. KOTZIAS: ... New Democracy is talking about grey areas. About an agreement that has not been finished yet, that we havent seen. On the one hand, they criticize me for not keeping them up to date on what is happening in these processes, and on the other they criticize me for the content of these processes. I hope at some point they decide on exactly what they want to accuse me of.



JOURNALIST: Lets clarify for our listeners that we are talking about the agreement with Albania, right?

N. KOTZIAS: Yes. And as you know, in particular with regard to the maritime zones, we are at the stage where the President of Albania has to authorise a negotiating team from the Albanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to negotiate with us. And while there is still an institutional procedure pending in Albania, I am already being criticized for the content of this agreement, the details of which we will negotiate when the President of Albania has given his permission. Of course we have already negotiated, and everything being said about what has been lost is fantasy  in the hope of their finding grounds to criticize our foreign policy  rather than reality. But this is how it always is. I think people who dont have a clue about foreign policy are getting involved in it. For example, I had a question from Mr. Kikilias, who asked me...



JOURNALIST: I was just about to say, but go on...

N. KOTZIAS: He asked me whether I am retaining the influence of the islands north of Corfu in the agreement with Albania. And as there is no influence, I replied that, when he asks me questions about serious matters, and were not chatting about this in a cafe, he should ask proper questions. I assume he is asking about EEZ rights.



JOURNALIST: Yes, I saw your reply.

N. KOTZIAS: That is, what percentage of EEZ an island or islet gets. And in fact we have a very interesting ruling from the International Court in The Hague regarding Costa Rica and Nicaragua, which, in three of its four points, facilitates and confirms the positions of the Greek state. We always have to monitor the International Courts thinking on these matters.



JOURNALIST: Well come back to the Albania issue, because it is very interesting. All of the developments in the Western Balkans. Lets go to an issue that is burning right now. Yesterday and of late. In the end, do you think what happened yesterday in the Cypriot EEZ, this action on the part of Turkey, might not only fuel a crisis in the wider region, but also overturn energy plans that have already been made?

N. KOTZIAS: I dont think Turkey can do that. Turkey knows that Cypruss next energy plans are linked with France and the USA. As you know, in neither case will they be able to engage in bullying in the Cypriot EEZ. Turkey has perpetrated multiple violations of International Law, and of course we will talk in more detail about that when the Republic of Cyprus decides to take action. What I want to say is, first, that Turkey is illegally interfering, through naval exercises, in a foreign EEZ, and this is a matter on which there are two rulings from the International Court in The Hague. One ruling concerns the Chagos Archipelago, and the other the South China Sea. One is from 2015, and the other from 2016. Second, it is violating the convention of International Law on the exercising of freedoms in the open sea, which is of course reflected in national legislation as well. Third, Turkey does not have the authority to issue NAVTEXs in foreign regions.



JOURNALIST: Its illegal.

N. KOTZIAS: Its illegal. Fourth, the illegal obstruction of the movements of the Italian ENI vessel, this is also obstruction of the exercising of a states sovereign right to exploration for and exploitation of natural resources, but it is also a violation of Law, because it obstructs a vessels freedom of navigation. Because, even if it werent the Cypriot EEZ, there are the rules of free movement of goods and persons by ship, and Turkey violated this. And it violated article 77 of the Convention on the Law of the Sea, with regard to the rights of the Republic of Cyprus. Finally, it violated the rules of International Law in general by threatening and attempting to expel a moveable platform that was carrying out test drilling in an undisputed area. So we have multiple violations of International Law and the International Law of the Sea.



JOURNALIST: But let me ask you something here, Mr. Minister, because you raise a very interesting issue beyond the, lets say, military dimension. All of these violations you mentioned, with characteristic violations of International Law and the International Conventions on the Law of the Sea and all of these ...

N. KOTZIAS: And the right of passage.



JOURNALIST: And the right of passage. Will these things have repercussions, legally speaking, for Turkey? Or will we stay ...

N. KOTZIAS: The statement the European Union made yesterday was very serious, condemning the violation of International Law and the violation of the Law of the Sea. It was a much sterner statement than the one from 1996 regarding the case of Imia.



JOURNALIST: Another good observation.

N. KOTZIAS: It is worth the trouble for a good and respected journalist such as yourself to compare that statement with todays. Of course, the violation of International Law there was even graver, if one can say that.



JOURNALIST: Minister, let me ask you this: There is of course this strong statement made yesterday by the European Union ...

N. KOTZIAS: The strongest ever made regarding Turkey.



JOURNALIST: Right, well bear that in mind. This issue, this statement, as well as the fact that, in a way, the course of EU-Turkey relations was linked with Turkeys conduct in the Cypriot EEZ, and we see that the EU-Turkey Varna summit is also somewhat uncertain  in your opinion, is this a measure aimed at curtailing these illegal activities on the part of Turkey.

N. KOTZIAS: Turkey has to reflect on and consider what I have been saying for two years now: that Greece is neither Syria nor Iraq. I respect and value both of these states, and I dont say this disparagingly. I mean that Turkey cannot violate International Law with regard to the rights of Greece and the European Union in the same way it does so in the Middle East. Greece is an organized country and has all the means to defend its borders and territory.



JOURNALIST: Minister, I come back to this issue because you have the following experience, the fabled Helsinki framework, through which the Greek side, at that time, wanted to curtail these violations on the part of Turkey; Turkey has violated it a number of times on its course towards Europe. And I want us to assess whether these limits the European Union is imposing again, linking Turkeys conduct with its European course  how much this concerns Turkey, how oriented Turkey remains towards its European perspective?

N. KOTZIAS: At the two Summit Meetings, the informal and formal meetings in the second half of 1999; that is, October 1999, in Tampere, Finland.



JOURNALIST: Exactly.

N. KOTZIAS: Where we agreed on the European Unions policy on Turkey, and in December 1999 it was expressed publicly. Turkey was much more interested in joining the European Union than it is today, and the European Union took a much more positive view of this course than it had taken previously and takes today. The position then  and it remains the same today  is that Greece is the country that wants more than any other to have a democratic and European neighbour, because, as you can see, we wouldnt have all these problems. Whether Turkey can be democratic  as the West and the European Union see democracy  is a question that Turkey itself must answer. Last summer, at the Meeting of Ministers of Foreign Affairs in Malta, where we talked about Turkey, I said  including to my Turkish colleague, Mevlut Cavusoglu  that we arent the ones deciding whether Turkey can or cannot join the European Union, because Turkey is already a candidate country. Turkey has to decide for itself whether it wants to have European characteristics, and it will have to forget any inclination towards, shall we say, Turkification of the European Union. So Turkey has to decide on the extent to which it wants to become a European country and leave behind these kinds of violations of International Law. You should always bear in mind that the European Union is Turkeys top trade and economic partner and that Turkey has many, many economic interests linked to Europe.



JOURNALIST: And this is why Europe, if I may say so, doesnt want to lose Turkey  if only via special relationship.

N. KOTZIAS: Some European countries have other reasons as well. What I want to say is that the problem today is that Turkey is a restless power with many internal contrasts and contradictions. Lets start with the fact that it has regions and sectors of the economy that are feudal, and regions with developed capitalism; that it has ethnic problems, especially with the Kurds; that it has religious clashes, especially with the Alawites. Added to this system of contrasts and contradictions is the contrast of the military leadership, which, on the one hand, is full of arrogance due to Syria and Iraq and thinks that it can do whatever it wants, and on the other hand feels insecurity and fear, due not only to the coup that was attempted in the summer of 2016, but also to the fact that the attack on Afrin isnt turning out to be as easy as they thought it would be. I remind you that we are in the seventh week, and the Turkish military havent achieved the results they thought they would.



JOURNALIST: Minister, again regarding the Cyprus problem, but more with regard to our own involvement, for a number of reasons, in the latest round of negotiations  you were there, you were present, you represented Greece at those international conferences  has the resolution of the Cyprus problem been linked to the exploitation of hydrocarbons? Because, curiously, we heard the Turkish Energy Minister say that when the island is reunified...

N. KOTZIAS: Mr. Erdogans son-in-law; there is a family relationship and family interests ...



JOURNALIST: He said that if the island is reunified, they will allow exploration and extraction.

N. KOTZIAS: As we said, Turkey is taking a number of illegal actions that, in my opinion, it will not be able to repeat when the French and American platforms  Exxon, specifically  arrive to implement the agreements they have made with the Republic of Cyprus. Let me interpolate something here: When I became Minister, in January 2015, I found a Cyprus problem in the following condition. The Cyprus problem, as you know, is an issue of occupation, illegal occupation, violation of every aspect of international law regarding the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of Cyprus. The Turkish invasion also violates the poor individual agreements of the Geneva Convention that concerned Cyprus, such as the Treaty of Alliance. Over time, this problem deviated from its substance  that it is a problem of occupation. And it was reduced  not that it doesnt exist, it certainly exists  to a management problem between the two communities. A political problem regarding the rights and obligations towards each other of the two communities, of the Turkish Cypriot and Greek Cypriot sides. When of late, when I became minister, it had evolved into a problem not of the political relations between the two communities in general, but of distribution of resources. In other words, of the natural gas that had been found; how this resource would be distributed/shared. There is certainly an issue, and an issue of the Republic of Cyprus itself, of how its resources will be shared. But the Cyprus problem had evolved from an issue of occupation into an issue of the social state. How the states resources would be shared. Again, these issues certainly do exist, but they arent the fundamental characteristic of the Cyprus problem. In the negotiations at Crans-Montana  we started with two days in Geneva, in January, and then, in the summer, 11 consecutive days of negotiations in Crans-Montana  what we achieved was that the substance of the Cyprus problem was put on the table, and it wont be taken off. And this substance is the occupation and guarantor rights of Turkey, based on which it can intervene in the internal affairs of the Republic of Cyprus. I think the problem of the distribution of resources exists. The two communities discuss it when they talk. But this is an individual aspect of the Cyprus problem, an individual result, a product of the occupation of Cyprus. The substance of the Cyprus problem remains, as always, the illegal occupation and the existence or not of Turkeys right to intervene in the Republic of Cyprus. We ended the taboo on the discussion of these two issues. The international community, too, came to the table, for the first time since 1970. It fully supports that we are right and that our demand is reasonable.



JOURNALIST: Lets look at another issue. We had the attempt by the Turks to ram a Greek coast guard vessel at Imia. The Greek captain kept his composure. The worst was avoided. Shortly afterwards, you said that if a similar move is made by the Turks, Greece will have its own response. And I am surprised and concerned, Mr. Minister, that one of your colleagues, the Shipping Minister, Mr. Kouroumblis, went to a Greek island.

N. KOTZIAS: Isnt it reasonable for him to go?



JOURNALIST: Very reasonable. Extremely reasonable when there is a Greek military outpost there. Isnt that the case?

N. KOTZIAS: Yes.



JOURNALIST: But his helicopter was almost pursued by Turkish fighters, who said Mr. Kouroumbliss helicopter was in Turkish territory.

N. KOTZIAS: The Turks have been trying since 1996  if you look at the wording of their statements  sometimes to characterize islands and the Aegean as grey, and sometimes what they characterized as grey on Monday and Wednesday, they characterize as theirs on Tuesday. I would say that this is not just an issue of the Erdogan government. The Turkish opposition is much worse, accusing us of...



JOURNALIST: They say they will carry out a landing to take the islands.

N. KOTZIAS: That, since 2005, Turkey has surrendered dozens of Turkish islands to Greece. In other words, that islands Greeks have been living on for millennia now, that, based on all international laws and rules, belong to Greece, that are designated on all the international maps and in all international treaties as Greek, that these were supposedly seized in the past ten years by us and the previous governments. This is a lie that fixes an idea in the consciousness of the Turkish people; an idea that is not at all good. And, second, it is a lie that is being used by both sides ahead of the elections. It is also being used for Erdogan to show two things: first, that his army is alive and wasnt damaged at all by the coup attempt in 2016. And, second, that he is in a position to wage two or three wars simultaneously on different sides of Turkeys territory, which is a show of strength. But these shows of strength, if they perpetuate tensions, dont end well even for the one who is making them. But we have no reason to contribute to these constant efforts on the part of Turkey to create tensions in the Aegean, in the eastern Mediterranean.



JOURNALIST: Minister, it has already been some time since Mr. Erdogans visit to Athens. There was a lot of discussion at that time. I want to ask you: Seeing everything that followed, which wasnt that pleasant, whether some of the oppositions claims  that the visit wasnt well prepared, that it wasn't the right time for Mr. Erdogan to come to Athens  give you cause for concern right now, and allow me to supplement the question.

N. KOTZIAS: Look, from this perspective it is never the right time to talk with Turkey, but it is the right policy to discuss things, because if Turkey wants to cause tensions, the worst thing Greece can do is follow suit, because Turkey has chosen the time and manner of these tensions. We have to show to the whole of the international community the pacifist power that we truly are. We have to try to defuse the tension so that Turkey doesnt export the crisis to Greece.



JOURNALIST: Right. If youre finished, I would like to ask for a clarification on an issue. It was announced that the Greek-Turkish High-Level Cooperation Council would convene in February, in Thessaloniki. Is this issue still on the table, Mr. Minister?

N. KOTZIAS: I think February is ending.



JOURNALIST: Ah, yes.

N. KOTZIAS: I think Turkey should come to its senses and realise that Greece isnt a country it can ramble around it, as they seem to think, or that it can seize territory from. And, as a result, as I always say to Erdogan: Look, your Allah put you here next to Greece, and you have to decide to conduct yourself as a peace-loving believer and not as some warlike non-believer.



JOURNALIST: Right, very interesting, especially that last note, and it is newsworthy. Mr. Minster, the Western Balkans  I wont tire you too much, but it is an issue we are discussing...

N. KOTZIAS: You arent tiring me. Im very happy to be discussing these things with you. After all, you are a journalist whom I will always respect and remember, who survived the disastrous accident we had on the Falcon. It is one of the consolations of that accident.



JOURNALIST: Okay, thats over. Its behind us.

N. KOTZIAS: Yes, but it is a fact, and Im happy to hear your voice, because, although it is a sad reminder of that day, it is also a happy reminder that some people survived.



JOURNALIST: We also lost colleagues. We also lost a great politician. And now that you mentioned this, I remembered a major effort: The effort of the late Kranidiotis, the effort to inventory the American materiel that the Turks had illegally taken to occupied Cyprus, and the struggle mounted at that time with the data taken to Congress. It was a major undertaking and an important moment in Greek diplomacy.

N. KOTZIAS: Giannos was a great Greek and a great Cypriot politician and diplomat.



JOURNALIST: Right. So, Mr. Minister, when will you be going to Skopje?

N. KOTZIAS: In March, I assume.



JOURNALIST: Right.

N. KOTZIAS: Im giving you piece of news. Not in February.



JOURNALIST: Well, you said February is ending. So in March it will have been changed officially and published in the Government Gazette...

N. KOTZIAS: The changes in the names of the airport and motorway have already been published in fYROMs Government Gazette. Now, as you know, as of a few days ago they are taking down the signs, because on Skopjes national road there is a sign saying the exit for the airport, under the old name, is in 10 km. All these signs have to be taken down, and when this process is completed ...



JOURNALIST: Youll go and land at the airport.

N. KOTZIAS: You are welcome to come too. I imagine we will be accompanied by reporters.



JOURNALIST: ERT will certainly be on that trip.

N. KOTZIAS: We think it would be good to hold, in some way, not a celebration, but a small symbolic event that underscores the fact that the current is changing directions. Rather than having an escalating nationalist assault of symbols and irredentism against Greece, we have a reduction and disassembling of the irredentist symbols that have flooded Skopje. As you will see, they have started taking down various other symbols, like statues.



JOURNALIST: Right. I assume you will have the draft agreement with you?

N. KOTZIAS: I will probably have sent it beforehand, to be honest.



JOURNALIST: Have you completed the draft agreement? Has it been approved?

N. KOTZIAS: At the first level, yes. It has been approved by our Ministry, by the Ministers collaborating impeccably at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and it has been given to the government.



JOURNALIST: It has been given to the government, and I assume our proposal for the name is in it.

N. KOTZIAS: For the name and its derivatives.



JOURNALIST: And its derivatives. "GornaMakedonija", a single word?

N. KOTZIAS: I wont say anything about it here.



JOURNALIST: How many names are you proposing?

N. KOTZIAS: I wont tell you that, either.



JOURNALIST: There is a lot of activity on the Skopje issue, and there is a reaction from public opinion.

N. KOTZIAS: We have a name that has been recognized by 140 countries, the vast majority. This countrys name as Macedonia. Now we are trying to conclude on a compound name and get away from this univocal name. Because there are some people who are acting as if this fYROM were created yesterday and today we are deciding on the name. For 25 years it has been called the Republic of Macedonia by the majority of states on this planet. And those who are responsible for our being in this position are criticizing us for not starting the negotiations on a non-existent basis: that the name Macedonia doesnt exist. They accepted it, they put it in the Interim Accord of 1995, we lost the embargo in a way that was degrading for our country  black marketeers made money  they went to the international courts and lost, and now they are blaming us.



JOURNALIST: But the issue of the Constitution is a prominent part of this case, because Mr. Zaev  yesterday, if I remember well  virtually ruled it out.

N. KOTZIAS: I want to make two clarifications. First, what the other side says is not at all the agreement or what we say. Some people take the other sides views and attribute them to us. Its what I told you at the beginning of the show, all things in good measure, our ancient Greek forebears said. The second is that the main representatives of our friendly country to the north should not make such categorical statements about things that are under negotiation. The way to ensure  it might be done in one way, because constitution, too, can change  the stability of the name that is agreed on is for it to be put into the Constitution. Because, as you know, you cant be called A in your foreign policy and B domestically, and consciously  its not just a translation  choose a name of a different political quality, because this will end in madness. I have dozens of examples for them, where documents circulated domestically  even medical tests, where the patient may decide at some point to go abroad for a major operation  circulate abroad. If there is a difference between the domestic and international names, it will cause at least a century of daily friction, if not clashes. As a result, it is good to avoid them. We persist in wanting an agreement that stands the test of time, an agreement that solves problems and doesnt create new ones.



JOURNALIST: Will we have an agreement in March, as Mr. Zaev said?

N. KOTZIAS: I dont know that. I dont know. Im not sure. If Mr. Zaev is more willing to compromise now than he has been to date, yes. But he said it would be finished in March, and at the same time he made statements that dont show a willingness to compromise.



JOURNALIST: Right. You noted this earlier regarding the issue of the Constitution.

N. KOTZIAS: And other issues.



JOURNALIST: Mr. Minister, we have a minute left. Ive taken time from the news show. I dont know if we have a concluding observation.

N. KOTZIAS: Zaev is right about one thing he says  I have to say it: No one ever asked for the Constitution. Because everyone wagging fingers at the government  saying, without the Constitution, we wont support an agreement  negotiated on the issue for 25 years  Pasok governments, New Democracy governments and Pasok-New Democracy coalition governments  and they never raised such issues or many others I dont want mention publicly. That is why I have asked them to show a little humility. And this irritates them. They cant say whatever comes to mind, because they have negotiated, and records of the negotiations exist, proving what they really sought when they were in government. We are seeking a lot more, much more seriously and having studied things much more thoroughly.



JOURNALIST: Mr. Minister, Mr. Kotzias, thank you very much for this talk on ERTs First Programme.

N. KOTZIAS: Thank you and have a good day.



JOURNALIST: Sorry to cut things short, but we have already gone into the news programme.

N. KOTZIAS: There must be order.



JOURNALIST: Good day. Have a good weekend.



A fatal outbreak of E. coli contamination that recently hospitalized at least 26 people in the U.S. and Canada  including two in Connecticut  shows that the federal government is failing to adequately protect people from consuming recalled foods, lawmakers and consumer advocates say.

The outbreak that sickened the two state residents and 16 others nationally, including one person in California who died, was probably caused by eating leafy greens, but a specific green couldnt be identified, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported.

The Canadian governments Public Health Agency announced on Dec. 11 that the outbreak was linked to romaine lettuce.

Maura Downes, the communications director for the Connecticut Department of Public Health, confirmed that two state residents were sickened by the E. coli outbreak.

One of the two Connecticut patients did develop HUS (hemolytic-uremic syndrome), which required hospitalization, she said. That patient has since recovered and has been discharged from the hospital.

Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., said the CDCs stunning lack of guidance during the outbreak is unconscionable, because the agency didnt provide the public with information about the outbreak until late December and seems content with ending its investigation without finding the cause of the contamination.

The CDC says it alerted the public after lab tests showed the E. coli bacteria strain that affected people in the U.S. was closely related to the one in Canada.

An analysis of the CDCs most recent data by the Connecticut Health Investigative Team reveals that more consumers in Connecticut have been sickened by eating contaminated foods this decade than in any other New England state.

From Jan. 1, 2010, through Dec. 31, 2016, there were 156 food-borne disease outbreaks in Connecticut reported to the CDC, causing 5,258 people to become ill, 852 people to require hospital care and 17 deaths. A food-borne disease outbreak is defined as the occurrence of two or more similar illnesses resulting from the ingestion of a common food.

During the same years in Massachusetts, which has nearly double Connecticuts population, there were 154 outbreaks, causing 5,072 illnesses, 660 hospitalizations and 16 deaths.

Recent concerns about the inability of the CDC and the Food and Drug Administration to safeguard Americans from recalled tainted foods follow a critical report released in December by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General.

The report reviewed 30 of the 1,557 food recalls reported to the FDA between Oct. 1, 2012, and May 4, 2015, and found the agency didnt always have an efficient and effective food-recall process that ensured the safety of the nation's food supply.

The FDA could not always ensure that companies initiated recalls promptly, and the agency didnt always evaluate health hazards in a timely manner, the report said. It also pointed out deficiencies in the FDAs recall data and said the agency obtained incomplete or inaccurate information from companies initiating recalls.

FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb released a statement Dec. 26 admitting the recall process does not work as well as wed like, and much work remains to be done if were going to provide the highest assurance of safety.

On Jan. 18, Gottlieb issued another statement saying the agency developed draft guidance to make sure that companies promptly communicate recalls to the public and provide more timely and more accurate information.

The FDA will, in some situations, he said, begin identifying specific stores that may have sold a potentially unsafe, recalled food and is developing a new policy about what information can be made public to identify a hazardous recalled food.

DeLauro, who has called for the release of names and locations of retailers and distributors where recalled food was sold, said too often months go by before retailers take contaminated food off the market, while more and more people fall ill.

Retailers delay in taking tainted food off the market stems primarily from the FDA not exercising its mandatory recall authority, she said. The primary mission of the FDA is to ensure the food our families eat is safe, not to protect the trade secrets of food corporations.

Tony Corbo, a senior lobbyist for the nonprofit Food and Water Watch, said the CDC works with the FDA when there is a multistate food-borne illness outbreak and relies on state agencies to determine whether it was caused by a specific food.

Sometimes, that takes time, and, if the CDC has been unable to identify the source of the contamination, it is difficult for the FDA to ask for a recall, he said.

In the 30 recalls analyzed by the inspector general, the average time to initiate a recall was 57 days. Initiation ranged from nine days to 303 days after the FDA learned a product was potentially hazardous.

The FDA was aware for 161 days that various nut butter products made by an Oregon company, nSpired Natural Foods, were contaminated from salmonella before the company agreed to recall its products in 2014, the inspector generals report said. At least 14 people, including at least one in Connecticut, became ill from the products which were sold under the Kroger, Safeway, Whole Foods and Trader Joes brands.

The report contains nothing surprising, said Lora Rae Anderson, a spokeswoman for the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection.

The FDA is part of a massive organization and has the difficulties inherent in any organization so large, Anderson said. Nimbleness and completion have been problems as documented in the report.MIDDLETOWN Middlesex Hospital has seen a dozen patients in its temporary emergency department since the space opened at 4 p.m. on Friday, hospital staff said in a release on Saturday.

In the aftermath of Thursdays car crash and fire, the hospital opened the temporary emergency department in its outpatient surgical services area to accommodate walk-in patients and is currently providing the same services patients expect, officials said in the release.It's a brisk January morning at San Diego's Naval Air Station North Island, and Shayne Meder is touching up one of her masterpieces, an SH-60 Seahawk.

Emblazoned on the bird's tail is a spiked eightball, the emblem of Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron Eight. "Speed and Violence" is inscribed on the side of the doghouse underneath the main rotor.

Meder, a retired Air Force master sergeant from Riverside, Calif., embodies the patriotic and proud spirit of this flying piece of art. The Eightballers' show bird is one of 57 Seahawks across the country she has painted for free.

"It's a big deal for us just to have it," said Cmdr. Justin Issler, executive officer for HSC-8. "All of the guys busted their butts on deployment. Seeing this in the sea of gray helps amplify that pride."

HSC-8 recently returned from a six-month deployment in the Persian Gulf with the carrier USS Nimitz, which supported ground operations against the Islamic State.

The Eightballers have many missions including anti-surface warfare, SEAL team support, search and rescue and logistics.

Murals on military aircraft have been around since World War I, when ace fighter pilots marked their birds to tally the number of enemy aircraft or observation balloons destroyed. Meder carries on that tradition by painting mascots of the units she works with.

Her artwork also includes scorpions, charging horses, snarling wolves, a Native American brave pointing a bow and arrow, a Japanese Samurai and dueling six-guns.

Without a doubt, though, her favorite is the "show bird" for the HSC-21 Blackjacks, an aircraft she nicknamed Betsy. The "show bird" is a designated aircraft in a squadron featuring a custom paint job, highlighting symbols of unit pride and tradition.

Emblazoned on Betsy's nose is a waving American flag and a screaming bald eagle. On the tail are two playing cards, the Jack and Ace of clubs.

The flag alone took two to three days to complete.

"I don't always focus on how long it takes me," Meder said. "I just work until I'm happy with it."

It's important to note that the military contributes no money to these paint jobs and the logistics behind them. The only thing it contributes is paint, which squadrons typically stock anyway, Meder said.

The Officers' Mess Fund pays for lodging and travel expenses for Meder and sometimes her husband Scott Donnell, who assists with preparation and laying out designs.

"I'd be happy if we broke even doing this," Donnell said. "People ask her all the time if she'll paint their car, and she has no interest, because a car doesn't have wings and rotors."

Beginnings

Meder's father volunteered to fly bombers during World War II, but was rejected for having bad knees. Despite the setback, he had a lifelong passion for aircraft, which he passed on to his daughter by traveling with his family to air shows around the country. Her mother also worked as a Boeing-contracted riveter and electrician for the B-47 Stratojet and B-52 Stratofortress bomber.

When Meder was in middle school, her grandmother noticed she had a knack for painting and later bequeathed all of her art supplies to the budding artist.

It wasn't long until these two loves intersected.

Meder received a lot of mail about women in the Air Force while attending high school. With multiple members of her extended family serving in uniform, the idea of joining the military had already been on her mind.

After high school, Meder enlisted and qualified for various maintenance and quality assurance jobs, including maintaining the electronics and hydraulics on the B-52. Early in her career, she started painting artwork on aircraft, hangar doors and ammo boxes.

While stationed at Castle Air Force Base in central California in 1990, Meder realized someone should paint the old planes in the base's air museum. Before her retirement in 1994, she was asked to assist the museum and supervise its restoration efforts.

Her career in painting nose and tail art took off in 1997 when she painted an American flag and bald eagle on a B-17 Flying Fortress at March Air Force Base in California. A Navy commander saw her artwork and knew he wanted her to dress up his show bird.

The Product

The show bird, also known as a command bird, is flown by the commanding officer and used as a display piece at special events. Other aircraft generally remain gray because they're harder to spot at night.

In addition to nearly 60 Seahawks, Meder has painted KC-135R Stratotankers, a C-17 Globemaster III and a C-141C Starlifter at March Air Force Base.

She's also painted CH-46 Sea Knights and V-22 Ospreys for Southern California-based Marine Corps squadrons. The only active naval fixed-wing aircraft she has painted is an EA-6G Prowler based at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island in Washington.

By far, her biggest murals are the red, white and blue naval aviation wings on the island of the amphibious assault ship USS America.

Before Meder paints an aircraft, she seeks inspiration from the squadron's mascot and history.

For some of the more obscure unit names, such as the Swamp Foxes, she gets a little more creative. The Swamp Fox dates back to the Revolutionary War, when patriots fought unconventional warfare against the British in Americas swamplands.

As a tribute to that era, Meder painted a grinning fox wearing a Revolution War-era uniform and holding a musket. In the background is the original version of the American flag with 13 stars.

The Impact

Standing in front of Meder's beloved Betsy, Cmdr. Nick Leclerc, commanding officer of HSC-21, said his Seahawk gets more attention than any other aircraft in his squadron.

"The sailors love to fly in it," he said.

He also said Meder's "exceptional work" on her helicopters is easy to see while walking down the flight line at NAS North Island.

When asked how it feels to pilot a helicopter emblazoned with the Stars and Stripes, Leclerc said it's humbling because it represents everything his sailors sacrifice and fight for.

"It gets more attention than any other aircraft," he said.

Meder currently works for Aircraft Restoration Services at French Valley Airport in Murrieta, Calif. The company restores decommissioned military aircraft as projects for wealthy individuals.

Wings and Rotors Air Museum, its nonprofit sister organization, educates the public and school groups about military aviation history, particularly the Vietnam era.

Her boss allows her to take unpaid days off so she can complete her active military projects.

Knowing that a show bird is a big morale booster for squadrons, Meder has at times pulled all-nighters to finish a paint job so she could catch a flight home the next day. She sees younger versions of herself in the troops she meets, she said.

At first, they assume Meder is highly paid contractor, but then she tells them that all of her work is freely volunteered.

"Their eyes get as big as bowls," she said. "All of the sudden, you see this warmth come in their faces."

Some people bake cookies or send care packages to support service members.

"This is just my way of doing it," Meder said.What Is ISIS-K? Two Experts on the Group Behind the Kabul Airport Attack and its Rivalry with the Taliban

By 2018, the group had become one of the top four deadliest terrorist organizations in the world.The rise in the amount of water being produced alongside crude and natural gas and the need to dispose of that water may be on a collision course with concerns about the rise in induced earthquakes.

Addressing the final morning of the Permian Basin Water in Energy Conference, Railroad Commission seismologist Aaron Velasco said that many cases of induced seismicity from hydraulic fracturing have been deemed negligible compared to wastewater injection.

Studies dating to the 1970s have shown that injecting water into disposal wells can trigger seismic events, he said. In response, the agency in 2014 altered its disposal well regulations. These regulations require operators seeking permits to do a search on historic earthquakes in a 100-square-mile area around the proposed site; allow the commission staff to require more information from the applicant; and modify, suspend or cancel a disposal well permit if that well is likely to contribute, or is found to contribute, to seismic events.

The new rules have been effective, but more needs to be known about seismicity, he said.

Velasco said seismic activity has been occurring in areas without known active faults because officials are struggling to gain a better understanding of the states subsurface geology.

Updated fault maps are critical for assessment, he said.

That is something the Bureau of Economic Geology at the University of Texas is addressing, he said. The BEG oversees TexNet, the system of seismometers placed around the state to detect even low-level seismic events that cant be felt by humans. For example, the TexNet sensors detected a 2.9 magnitude quake near Pecos on Feb. 11 and a 3.4 magnitude quake near Snyder on Thursday.

The seismic network around the state has been inconsistent, Velasco said. The challenges to improving knowledge of the states seismicity include understanding seismicity, realizing an area of current seismicity may have been active for years, and the difficulty of assessing changes without a historic context.

Among the needs to be considered in evaluating an application for a disposal well are historic and current seismicity around the proposed site, its proximity to mapped faults and fault slip potential around the proposed well, he said.

But any changes to disposal well rules must be based on the most up-to-date research data, Velasco said.Fracture-driven interactions between horizontal wells often have troublesome outcomes. But completely avoiding interaction also could bring trouble, according to an adjunct professor of petroleum engineering at the University of Houston.

Dont avoid interaction, try to minimize the negative effects, says Ali Daneshy, who also is president of Daneshy Consulting.

Interaction between wells can mean operators get a lot more oil out of the reservoirs, he said in a phone interview from his Houston office.

Daneshy addressed the February luncheon of the Permian Basin section, Society of Petroleum Engineers, which has been focusing on fracturing technology this month.

The negative impact is well-known and is something every operator has experienced and is concerned about, he said. Pressure from what he calls the primary well communicates with what he calls the infill well, or fluids from the primary well will find their way into the infill well and can damage the infill wells.

When they do this, it changes the production in that (infill) well. Sometimes it goes across two or three wells, Daneshy said.

Aside from interfering with production, he said operators could have trouble drilling infill wells because theyre intercepting fractures from other wells and could lose drilling mud or cementing fluids.

It could also create legal issues if the wells have different owners, he said.

If youre drilling horizontal wells, interaction happens all the time, Daneshy said. The most significant cause is the well that is producing depletes the reservoir. That depleted reservoir draws fractures toward it. So a frac from an infill well will go towards the primary well.

The solution would be simulfracturing: fracturing the primary and infill wells at the same time to avoid depleting the reservoir, he said. He also recommends zipper fractures, in which frac crews go back and forth between multiple wells. The most important element is to not deplete the reservoir, he said.

And if an operator is drilling near another operator, before there is a question of interference, the two sides should reach an agreement beforehand on sharing the production, he said.Flexible working hours and maternity leave are all well and good, but what women really want is a fair chance to climb the corporate ladder.

So says Vicki Hollub, and she would know: In her 35-year career she moved up the ranks at Occidental Petroleum Corp. to become big oils top woman, and has since led and won the battle for dominance in Americas hottest shale play.

Women I work with and talk with in the industry really feel its the assurance theyre going to be given the opportunities and the chance to perform, Hollub said in an interview in Houston. The industry has to prove that thats a reality everywhere.

The University of Alabama-trained mineral engineer worked in Russia, Venezuela and the U.S. for Occidental before becoming chief executive officer in 2016.

Under Hollub, Occidental has come up against majors such as Exxon Mobil Corp. and Chevron Corp. to defend its leadership as the No. 1 producer in the Permian Basin, one of the worlds biggest and most profitable oil fields. Last year, the company was among the 10 best performers on the S&P 500 Energy Index.

A path like hers is still rare in the industry, and shes the only one whos risen this high among the 18 oil producers worth more than $50 billion.

Only about 20 percent of the industrys workforce are female, a smaller share than all other sectors except construction, according to a study by the Boston Consulting Group and World Petroleum Council. The upshot is not only that women lose out on a promising career, but that companies dont hire the best talent and suffer from having a smaller diversity of perspectives, the study said.

Once companies hire women, flexible working is important to retain them, said Hollub, who took two years off in the early 1990s for family reasons.

People do need to go and have their families, she said. They need to fulfill that part of their life. You need a way to integrate them back into the workforce while still understanding that they have to take care of their family.

Historically, the oil industrys need for engineers and geologists to work in remote locations may have stymied womens opportunities but this is no longer an excuse, Hollub said.

As other companies laid off employees after the 2014 oil-price crash, Occidental experimented with sending younger workers out to rigs to gain experience on site so that later on in their careers they could work remotely or from home.

They can sit in the office or at home and do a better job because of the exposure we put them through early, she said. We now have a formal program for people when they come on board of getting them out into the field before theyve settled into a position.One of the largest manufacturers of solar panels and solar cells in the country is looking at possibly building a solar project in Ector County -- a potential $50 million investment.

The project, called Oberon Solar, would consist of a 50 megawatt solar power plant on unused land in western Ector County. Each megawatt would require around $1 million in capital investment. The company behind the project, 174 Power Global, is seeking tax abatements from various county entities.

Officials met with both the Ector County Commissioners' Court and the Ector County Independent School District school board recently to discuss the project. The tax abatement they're seeking means a break in their property taxes. Odessa Chamber of Commerce Director of Economic Development Wesley Burnett, who spoke to commissioners on behalf of 174 Power Global, said a typical tax abatement for a project like this would be an 80 percent tax break for 10 years.

Burnett pointed out to commissioners that, as the property is now, it's only generating around $1,500 a year due to an agricultural exemption. Ector County could see much more money generated from that property in the future should the company choose to invest here.

"They would be generating a lot of investment in the county, which goes to the tax base," Burnett said. "Once the abatements are timed out or even, the percentage the entities are going to collect on the agreements are exponentially more than they're getting now."

Outside of just investment in the county, Burnett said the city would also benefit from an increase in construction jobs and a diversification of power.

Ector County isn't the only area in Texas where 174 is looking to develop solar projects. They've already broken ground on a project in Pecos County, a 236 megawatt project which they say will be the largest installed photovoltaic project in Texas, with the capability to power around 50,000 homes annually.

The project in Pecos County is expected to be completed in late 2018, and officials said they're looking all over Texas for potential new solar projects.

"Very simply, there's a lot of sun," 174 Power Global Director of Project Development Jason Garewal said about the company's interest in Texas. "There's good transmission infrastructure and there's a demand for renewable energy in Texas in general."

Burnett also pointed out to commissioners that there are several solar projects in the area, and to expect a lot more attention in the area from solar companies for similar projects.

One local solar company, Heartland Solar, is working on their own solar panel device that will be a power source for the city's downtown hotel and conference center once it opens in spring of 2019.

Bob Zarbos, co-owner of Heartland Solar, said there is a great deal of potential for solar energy in the region. One caveat, he said, would be if the oil boom collapses, there could be less interest in consumer spending on solar energy.

His company is currently selling smaller commercial and residential solar projects in the areas, and is currently expanding, talking with Midland Memorial Hospital and the Permian Basin Area Foundation.

"The more people that are educated, the more infrastructure is educated," Zarbos said.

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.Abell Junior High's Srikar Chamarthi made history Saturday at Midland College, winning his third Reporter-Telegram Regional Spelling Bee.There is enough food to take ...Police in Amarillo shot an innocent man who helped foil a possible church shooting.

The shooting happened shortly after 9 a.m. Feb. 14 at the Faith City Mission, a faith-based outreach organization. Police said Joshua Len Jones, 35, of Amarillo, barged into a church building at Faith City Mission, pulled out a gun and was holding about 100 congregants and church staff hostage.

In the time between when police were dispatched and when officers arrived, a handful of churchgoers wrestled Jones to the ground. One of the congregants was able to grab Jones' gun.

DEPUTY INJURED: Harris County sheriff's deputy hospitalized after crash

Officers entered the building and saw the churchgoer holding the gun and opened fire, according to the Amarillo Police Department. The churchgoer was hospitalized in stable condition.

The victim, who spoke to ABC 7 Amarillo, has since been released and told the station he would do it all over again despite being shot by police.

"There were other people there," Tony Garces said. "I just took the gun away from him. I got shot. I got the bad part. It's life."

Jones was booked into jail on six first-degree felony charges of aggravated kidnapping. He's being held on $1.2 million worth of bonds, according to jail records.

No one else, including Jones, was injured.

The Amarillo shooting happened on the same day 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz opened fire on a Florida high school, killing 17 people.

Jay R. Jordan is a breaking news reporter at Chron.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JayRJordan.When the first edition of the Express-News hit the streets on Sept. 27, 1865, San Antonio was covered in vaqueros, dirt roads and all the trappings of the Old West.

To commemorate the anniversary of that first edition, the Express-News held a gala at the Alamo on Saturday evening.The relationship between U.S. immigration officials and Californias liberal leaders soured long ago, but Oakland Mayor Libby Schaafs decision to warn potential targets of federal arrest that an immigration sweep could be imminent was an extraordinary escalation.

Schaaf said she issued the alert Saturday night after receiving confidential tips from credible sources who revealed that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, known as ICE, was planning arrests across the Bay Area as soon as Sunday.

She and Police Chief Anne Kirkpatrick discussed the reports before Schaaf concluded that the information was solid enough to warrant going public, according to people familiar with her thinking. Schaaf said she also conferred with legal counsel to make sure she wasnt opening herself up to federal prosecution.

The news release that resulted  which Schaaf said was intended not to panic our residents but to protect them  was among the most assertive maneuvers by a local politician to counter the Trump administrations crackdown on undocumented immigrants. The message: Not only will Oakland and its police force not cooperate with ICE, but the city will actively seek to thwart efforts to detain and deport immigrants.

I know that Oakland is a city of law-abiding immigrants and families who deserve to live free from the constant threat of arrest and deportation, Schaaf said in her Saturday night statement. I believe it is my duty and moral obligation as Mayor to give those families fair warning when that threat appears imminent.

ICE did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Schaafs action. Officials provided a statement to KGO-TV saying, There are ICE operations every day and it is unclear what the mayor is referring to.

Reaction to the mayors move was swift and harsh from those who favor strong immigration enforcement. Jessica Vaughan of the Center for Immigration Studies, a Washington organization that advocates for decreased immigration, called Schaafs statement a political stunt.

This is pretty irresponsible on the part of a public official, Vaughan said. To the extent this results in people being able to hide from ICE and shelter in the community inevitably creates more victims. It also creates fear in the community. She may or may not have good information.

But Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom was among those who supported the move, saying, We can and must protect immigrant families from Donald Trumps mass deportations. I want to thank Mayor Schaaf for her courage and hope more local leaders will follow her lead.

At a news conference Sunday in the citys heavily Latino Fruitvale neighborhood, Schaaf said she had notified mayors of other Bay Area cities of the imminent sweep and felt confident that my sharing of this information, because I did not receive it through official channels, is legal.

Asked why she would want to interfere in ICEs ability to make arrests in Oakland, Schaaf did not answer directly. She said only that she had been told the targets of the sweep were wanted for immigration violations, not as suspects in crimes.

She referred to Oakland nurse Maria Mendoza-Sanchez, who with her husband was deported last year after more than two decades in the United States. The couple left behind four children who have legal status.

Oakland is full of Marias, Schaaf said.

Also in Fruitvale was Emma Paulino, a community organizer and immigrant advocate, who said many people appreciated Schaafs decision, so they can make their own decisions on what to do next. She said that if the mayor had chosen not to share the information, the community probably would have been kind of disappointed.

Schaafs warning, while unusual, appeared to be vague enough that she probably didnt put herself in legal jeopardy, some experts said.

Shes basically saying that in the next day ICE is going to be conducting some kind of operation, said Lara Bazelon, an associate law professor at the University of San Francisco. She doesnt say what kind, which areas will be targeted or which people will be affected.

Had Schaaf given particular people specific details of a secret operation and advised them to leave, her actions may have gotten closer to obstruction of justice, said UC Berkeley law Professor Charles Weisselberg.

The mayors move puts her in the center of a intensifying clash between the Trump administration and Democratic leaders in California, where last year Gov. Jerry Brown signed a statewide sanctuary law.

Oakland had long been a sanctuary city before the legislation, meaning it restricts cooperation between employees and U.S. immigration officers in a bid to reassure undocumented residents that they can freely access education, health and public-safety resources.

As recently as last year, however, the citys police officers were allowed to work in tandem with ICEs criminal enforcement arm, Homeland Security Investigations. That all changed through a series of measures the City Council passed in response to public outcry.

In July, the council tore up an agreement that allowed Oakland police officers to work with federal agents on cases of human trafficking, drug smuggling and other cross-border crimes. Community members had questioned the necessity of the partnership.

But a month later, Schaaf and Chief Kirkpatrick came under fire after city police provided traffic enforcement for federal officers during an investigation into alleged human trafficking at a West Oakland home. In response, the City Council passed another resolution barring all forms of assistance to ICE, including traffic support during criminal investigations.

The day before the August operation, Kirkpatrick had gotten a call from Ryan Spradlin, the head of Homeland Security Investigations in the Bay Area, who requested that Oakland police vehicles and uniformed officers provide traffic control while plainclothes federal agents executed a warrant at the home of a Guatemalan family that ran a janitorial business.

Kirkpatrick agreed to the request and alerted Schaaf, who for weeks defended the decision, even while Kirkpatrick was called before the City Council to explain her actions. Schaaf and Kirkpatrick met in November with federal officials who showed them the sealed warrant from the case to justify the operation, which led to deportation proceedings against one of two detained brothers. No outcome has been announced in the trafficking investigation.

Schaaf said the events led her to conclude that police shouldnt be involved again, and she threw her weight behind the resolution that prohibited even blocking off a street for federal immigration authorities.

The policy needs to not create even the impression that our Police Department is supporting an ICE operation or is in any way complicit with deportation actions, Schaaf told The Chronicle at the time.

The mayors evolution on the issue culminated with a declaration to reporters in January that she would be willing to go to jail to protect Oaklands immigrants and the citys sanctuary policies.Timothy J. Cunningham has been a rising official at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The Harvard-educated epidemiologist was promoted in July at the U.S. public health service in Atlanta, and contributed to responses following outbreaks of Zika, Ebola and health emergencies resulting from Hurricane Sandy. He was also a prominent fixture in the Atlanta community, earning a spot in Atlanta Business Chronicle's 40 under 40 Awards last year.

But the researcher who studies disease patterns was not feeling well on February 12, and left work around midday.

ALSO READ: Funeral services held for 6-year-old girl who died from flu

Cunningham, 35, hasn't been seen or heard from since, his family and police have said, sparking a $10,000 reward offered by the family in partnership with the Crime Stoppers of Greater Atlanta for information leading to an arrest and indictment in connection with the incident.

"I feel like I'm in a horrible 'Black Mirror' episode," his sister, Tiara Cunningham, told the New York Times, describing the dystopian sci-fi television show. "I'm kind of lost without him, to be quite honest."

She told the paper she speaks with her brother often, but their conversation on Feb. 12 left her concerned. "He sounded not like himself," she said. He did not reply to a text message she sent later, and their mother Tia-Juana did not contact him either.

Cunningham's father, Terrell, and mother drove all night from their home in Waldorf, Maryland, to Atlanta, arriving on Valentine's Day. Their discoveries inside their son's home raised more questions, including Cunningham's unattended dog Mr. Bojangles and their son's wallet, cellphone and driver's license. His car was also in the garage, the Times reported.

RELATED VIDEO: CDC says this year's flu is as bad as the 2009 swine flu epidemic was

Terrell also had concerns about recent interactions with his son, who described him as focused on a host of professional and personal issues.

"The tone, and the numerous exchanges gave us reason to be concerned about Tim," he said. "And I don't know if it's an instinct you have because it's your child, but it was not a normal conversation and I was not comfortable." The family did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Atlanta Police Department said Sunday it was still unable to locate Cunningham after learning about his disappearance on Feb. 16, and was depending on public awareness to help draw leads. Foul play is not suspected at this time, police spokesman Donald T. Hannah said in a statement.

The CDC said Cunningham was a "highly respected member of our CDC family," ABC News reported. CDC did not return a request for comment.

ALSO READ: Did you visit NYC this month? Health officials would like a word

In his 40 under 40 profile last year, Cunningham said that he was "using the skills I have to improve and help the lives of others," referring to his work at CDC.

The publication said he was continuing on his family's path into medical care -- his father was an Air Force nurse for 30 years, and his mother worked for the state health department as a program manager.

Leonte Benton, a friend who met Cunningham in a professional development group, said Cunningham "consistently made an impact on the local community and throughout the world."

The Cunningham family, meanwhile, continues their own dogged search as they sort out the bewildering episode.

"We just hope he will just come home safely. None of this makes sense. He wouldn't just evaporate like this and leave his dog alone and have our mother wondering and worrying like this. He wouldn't," Cunningham's brother Anterio told Fox 5 in Atlanta.As a wave of protests against gun violence spread in high schools across the country, top universities reached out to reassure prospective students that breaking school rules for a principle won't ruin their chance of attending.

In the highly fraught and often opaque world of college admissions, it was a rare moment of clarity. As Dartmouth College told students Thursday: "Speak your truth."

And it showed how deeply admissions calculations permeate the daily lives and decision-making of some high school students, as they paused - mid-outrage - to wonder whether joining a protest might hurt their chances of getting in.

"There's anxiety that is inextricably connected to this work and this moment," said Lee Coffin, vice provost for enrollment and dean of admissions and financial aid at Dartmouth. "You see in this issue those two things have twinned."

He said he couldn't remember another such time, and certainly not one when students were asking his office and alumni interviewers if walking out of class to protest could imperil their admission prospects. The Common Application for college admission asks whether students have been disciplined at school, and many colleges stipulate in their letters of admission that the offer could be rescinded if the student is suspended or behaves inappropriately.

Coffin said he and colleagues at other schools wanted students to know that if "this is an act of conscience ... don't think about college admissions right now."

On Friday, the president of the National Association for College Admission Counseling spoke out about the movement, encouraging admissions officers to respond to a survey so that students and parents could know how disciplinary actions might be factored into admissions decisions. The organization created a website to centralize that information.

"Student activism at either the secondary or postsecondary level is not problematic on its face," David Burge, the president of the organization, wrote. "Activism signals that students are ready to take control of the world around them, that they are finding their voice, building confidence, and are on the path to be engaged citizens."

After a gunman killed 17 students and teachers at a Florida high school on Valentine's Day, an outpouring of emotions and demands swept the country.

In the Washington, D.C., area alone, more than 1,000 students walked out of class Wednesday and swarmed the U.S. Capitol grounds to demand action on gun control and school safety, many facing penalties from their high schools.

The Boston Globe reported Thursday that a Massachusetts Institute of Technology admissions official had responded to applicants' questions with a blog post reassuring them that discipline for peaceful, meaningful protests will not negatively affect their admissions outcome. Stu Schmill, dean of admissions and student financial services at MIT, wrote on his blog Thursday:

"We have long held that students should not make decisions based on what they think will get them into college, but instead based on values and interests that are important to them. We believe students should follow compasses over maps, pursuing points of direction rather than specific destinations and trusting they will end up where they belong. As such, we always encourage students to undertake whatever course of action in life is most meaningful to, and consistent with, their own principles, and not prioritize how it might impact their college applications. We do not expect or prefer any particular choice in the abstract, and even if we did, it shouldn't change what students do.

"... We also believe that civic responsibility is, like most things at MIT, something you learn best by doing ..."

At Brown University, admissions officials have received questions from students and parents, said Brian Clark, a university spokesman. On Friday, they made their position clear: "Applicants to Brown: Expect a socially conscious, intellectually independent campus where freedom of expression is fundamentally important. You can be assured that peaceful, responsible protests against gun violence will not negatively impact decisions on admission to Brown."

At Yale University, a post on the admissions blog noted, "Yale will NOT be rescinding anyone's admission decision for participating in peaceful walkouts for this or other causes, regardless of any high school's disciplinary policy. I, for one, will be cheering these students on from New Haven."

Other schools also put out statements. Some spoke directly to faculty or to high school students, encouraging the protests.

Some universities remained silent. Stanford University does not have a statement about such protests, spokeswoman Lisa Lapin said. Spokesmen for some schools did not respond immediately.

Harvard spokeswoman Rachael Dane said Friday that Harvard College has not made any comments about Parkland protests, but this is what the school would say in response to a question about students and civic engagement:

"The mission of Harvard College is to provide a deeply transformative liberal arts and sciences education that will prepare our students for a life of citizenship and leadership. As always, those who engage responsibly in exercising their rights and freedoms would not have their chances of admission compromised."

There was pushback from some people who saw liberal colleges supporting an anti-gun message, and some asking if there would also be support for students joining in Black Lives Matter or antiabortion events.

"To me, it has been remarkable to witness" this youth movement, Coffin said. "They're showing that they do care - they have a voice; they're paying attention.

"We're encouraging students on both sides of this issue to express themselves. That's part of the discourse that the country needs."Sean Sweat stepped outside his house near the Jefferson County Correctional Facility last Saturday night after hearing a thunderous explosion. One of the four oil refineries within 10 miles of his home "had gone off," he thought.

The blast, which reverbated from West Port Arthur Road throughout Mid-County and sent people scurrying to social media for explanations, was determined to have been caused by locals shooting at Tannerite targets.

Technically legal, available for sale at outdoors retailers and popular among shooting enthusiasts, the explosive Tannerite has ignited concerns among law enforcement officials, who caution against its dangers, and residents near industrial facilities, who live in worry of potentially deadly explosions.

"If you know what you're doing, it's fine. But I'm afraid a lot of these people don't know how dangerous it is," said Beaumont Police Chief James Singletary.

Although Tannerite has caused public scares, injuries and even deaths, its action-movie appeal is hard for many to resist.

Lumberton native Donny O'Pry said he used Tannerite "just to blow stuff up one day" while shooting. Most of the people he knows use Tannerite for the same reason - "make it look cool when you shoot."

The science

Tannerite, patented by creator Daniel Tanner, works simply: mix the ingredients, shake well, add a fast-moving bullet and boom - a homemade, or rather store-bought, explosion.

Tannerite is a combination of aluminum powder like that found in Etch-A-Sketch toys and white pellets made of ammonium nitrate, a common ingredient in instant ice packs. The powders are independently stable but create a loud boom and clouds of smoke when combined and detonated by a shot from a high-powered rifle.

Because the individual components are not explosive, the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives does not regulate the sale and distribution of Tannerite.

Although personal, non-business use of the product does not require a federal permit, BATFE senior special agent Nicole Strong said there "may be local/county ordinances that apply to the purchase/use."

Priced starting at $5.99, Tannerite is available at stores like Academy and Bass Pro Shops,with proof of age - 18 at some stores and 21 at others.

Tannerite is popular on YouTube too. One video shows a man detonating 164 pounds of the product to demolish a large barn. "I blew it up because I can," he says on the video.

In another video, filmed from 300 yards away, a 1979 Ford Bronco is blown to smithereens in two seconds by 30 pounds of Tannerite.

The danger

Tannerite's official website cautions consumers that "just because it's a legal product under Federal law if used as prescribed, does not mean that you can use it in any manner you wish."

In 2015, an 8-year-old Oklahoma boy died after debris from a Tannerite explosion hit him in the head, according to a Tulsa television station. Two pounds of Tannerite were put "into an old stove on the front lawn and shot at with a high-powered rifle."

"It's explosive and the shrapnel could come in your direction. When you shoot a rifle, you have complete control over the violence. It always goes directly where you want it to go, whereas Tannerite is way too unpredictable," said Sweat, manager of the Southeast Texas Sportsman's Club Gun Range.

Sweat said Tannerite is prohibited at the gun range because "it's just a danger we're not willing to put our customers through," Sweat said.

In October 2017, the New York Post reported that authorities "recovered an undisclosed amount" of Tannerite from the residence of Stephen Paddock,the 64-year-old man responsible for the deadliest single-day mass shooting in modern U.S. shooting. Another 50 pounds were discovered in his car parked at Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino.

Tannerite's potential can be frightening.

Beaumont Police Department officers have received training on close blasts and explosives from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives that encompasses dealing with Tannerite, Singletary said.

However, not everyone shooting at Tannerite targets is properly trained or aware of the potential dangers, he said.

They "could end up killing somebody," Singletary said.

The legality

Nederland police chief Darrell Bush said last Saturday's Tannerite explosion on West Port Arthur road was the first time he could recall having to deal with a Tannerite scare.

While Nederland doesn't outlaw Tannerite specifically, an ordinance prohibits discharging firearms within the city limits.

Contrary to some Mid-County residents' initial fear of a serious incident at a nearby plant, the blast was the center of attention at a baby gender reveal party. Colored powder can be added to Tannerite to create a blue or pink explosion.

The Jefferson County Sheriff's Office used to receive frequent calls about explosions off Highway 105 near Bevil Oaks, said Vidor police chief Rod Carroll, previously the county's assistant chief deputy. Carroll said it was someone shooting at Tannerite at his property.

It was "out of county," so technically the man could do it, Carroll said. However, he said it disturbed neighbors in the Northwest Forest and Bevil Oaks areas, who are "attuned to all the pipelines" in their area and prone to think loud blasts have something to do with plants or pipes.

Lumberton's O'Pry looks at Tannerite the same way he does at guns. Just as a firearm in the hands of an inexperienced person poses a risk, "the same goes for Tannerite."

"There are several brands of exploding targets that, if used in the prescribed manner, are within the guidelines of the law," BATFE's Strong said. "If, however, the product is modified or placed in a separate container, safety issues may be of concern."

Detonating explosives inside city limits is illegal, Singletary said, but Tannerite hasn't been an issue aside from a few complaints around the Fourth of July and New Year's.

In case of an explosion at one of the area's plants, officials are in contact with Jefferson County emergency management coordinator Greg Fountain to ensure "the public knows there is something they need to be doing," said John Durkay, General Counsel for Industrial Safety Training Council.

The day after the Tannerite explosion in Mid-County, residents in Kilgore and surrounding Rusk County area complained about a blast. Rusk County Sheriff's Office Sgt. David Roberts told the Kilgore News Herald, some "guys blew up some Tannerite is all it was."

Phoebe.Suy@beaumontenterprise.com

Twitter.com/phoebesuy17To hear President Donald Trump tell it, the memo released on Saturday that provides the Democratic counterpoint to the document prepared by staff for Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., earlier this year both bolsters Nunes' case and, somehow, was a total bust for the minority party. But, then, Trump's response to all things related to the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election - and any points of contact with his campaign - has always been dismissal without nuance.

Understanding the memo released by the Democratic members of the House Intelligence Committee requires the context of Nunes's original memo, released to great fanfare earlier this month in an effort to paint the FBI's investigation into Russian interference as politically biased. Nunes presented a scenario in which a Trump campaign staffer, Carter Page, faced federal surveillance on the basis of information collected by former British intelligence officer Christopher Steele, who was working indirectly for the Democratic Party and Hillary Clinton's campaign through a research firm called Fusion GPS.

Trump saw the Nunes memo as proving that the Russia investigation was biased and unfair because, working backward, it was essentially founded on surveillance that was politically motivated and false. (Nunes argues that his memo was solely part of his oversight duties, though this was the second time in a year that he has risen to Trump's defense on the strength of debatable interpretations of classified material.)

The Democrats' memo was meant to point out where Nunes' memo missed its goal of proving bias in the Russia investigation. There's not much new in it - but it did reconfirm some reported information, and there are some new components. There is also some promised information that still hasn't surfaced.

---

- What we learned

The investigation into whether Trump's campaign was aiding Russian interference began July 31, 2016. We've known for months that the investigation into interactions between Trump's campaign team and Russia's interference effort began in July. The Democratic memo affixes a specific date: July 31, 2016.

That counterintelligence investigation began, both sides agree, after a Trump campaign adviser named George Papadopoulos was told by a Russia-connected contact that the country had "dirt" on Hillary Clinton in the form of emails. Papadopoulos conveyed that to a diplomat from Australia during a meeting in London in May 2016. Once the emails stolen from the Democratic National Committee began being released by WikiLeaks and others in June and July, the Australians informed U.S. intelligence officials about what Papadopoulos had said.

This also means that the investigation began four days after Trump publicly asked Russian hackers during a news conference to release emails stolen from Clinton's private server if they had them.

By September 2016, the FBI had opened investigations into four members of Trump's campaign team. The Democratic memo says the information compiled by Steele into his infamous "dossier" of 17 raw intelligence reports didn't get to the FBI's counterintelligence team until the middle of September. By that point, we can conclude thanks to a sloppy redaction (noted by former intelligence officer Matt Tait) and an unredacted footnote that Page, Papadopoulos, former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort and Michael Flynn, who would go on to be Trump's national security adviser, were all already under investigation.

While Steele's research began in June and he reached out to the FBI shortly after beginning it, the Democratic memo argues that it was only after an FBI team was checking into Page that the dossier came to their attention. Why? For one thing, we can assume, Page had visited Russia during July to give a speech. For another, he'd been interviewed by the FBI in 2013 after Russian intelligence agents were observed mentioning him as a potential target for recruitment.

The initial warrant application for Page and the three renewals of it were approved by Republican-appointed judges. Four judges - two appointed by George W. Bush, one by George H.W. Bush and one by Ronald Reagan - approved the surveillance of Page. The warrant, called a FISA warrant after the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, needed to be renewed every 90 days. By the time the first warrant for Page was approved in October 2016, he was no longer serving as an adviser to the Trump campaign (because news reports including allegations from Steele's dossier tied him to senior Russian officials during that July trip to Moscow).

We learned exactly how Steele's relationship to the Democratic Party and Clinton was described in the initial application. Nunes' memo contended that the Steele dossier's allegations about Page meeting senior officials was the primary driver of the FISA warrant application, and yet Steele's bias in compiling that information wasn't conveyed to the judges. The Democratic memo articulates specifically how that relationship was described. (All identifiers in the quote below have been added by The Washington Post except the identification of "Source #1.)

"(Steele) was approached by an identified U.S. Person (apparently Fusion GPS' Glenn Simpson), who indicated to Source #1 (Steele) that a U.S.-based law firm (Perkins Coie, which hired Fusion on behalf of the DNC and the Clinton campaign) had hired the identified U.S. Person to conduct research regarding Candidate #1's (Trump's) ties to Russia. (The identified U.S. Person and Source #1 have a long-standing business relationship.) The identified U.S. person hired Source #1 to conduct this research. The identified U.S. Person never advised Source #1 as to the motivation behind the research into Candidate #1's ties to Russia. The FBI speculates that the identified U.S. Person was likely looking for information that could be used to discredit Candidate #1's campaign."

The original FISA application was at least 56 pages long. Tait also noted that a footnote in the Democratic document cites Page 56 of the FISA application - meaning that it was at least that long and probably longer. The quote above concerning the presumptive bias of Simpson appears on the 15th and 16th pages of the application.

Why is this important? Because the Nunes memo implied that the evidence from Steele formed the bulk of the rationale for a warrant included in the application.

Page allegedly lied in his sworn testimony before the House committee. A redacted section of the document alleges that Page lied under oath when testifying before the House Intelligence Committee.

Some of Steele's research was corroborated by the FBI after the initial warrant. In response to the Democrats' response to his memo, Nunes offered a counter-counter-response. Part of that document addresses a statement from the Democrats that the Justice Department "provided additional information obtained through multiple independent sources that corroborated Steele's reporting."

Nunes' memo notes that this was only after the initial FISA warrant.

Some part of Steele's report was corroborated with additional information before one of the renewals of the warrant, but we don't know what - and it wasn't entirely confirmed.

Interestingly, that section of the Democratic memo hints that some of the corroborated information involved Arkady Dvorkovich, a Russian deputy prime minister to whom Page admitted speaking briefly in testimony to the Intelligence Committee. In an email to Trump campaign after returning from Moscow, Page wrote that he'd had a "private conversation" with Dvorkovich.

Analyst Julian Sanchez notes that Dvorkovich's last name isn't paired with an identifier in the Democratic memo, suggesting that he is included in part of the preceding redactions.

---

- What we didn't

How then-FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe described the importance of the Steele information. Nunes' original memo states that McCabe told the committee that "no surveillance warrant would have been sought from the (Federal Intelligence Surveillance Court) without the Steele dossier information." That's a quote from the Nunes memo, not McCabe.

Earlier this month, Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., who sits on the committee, told CNN's Jake Tapper that Nunes represented McCabe's words incorrectly and that the Democratic memo "would put into focus what exactly (McCabe) said."

It doesn't - and Nunes's representation of McCabe's words have already been used to undercut the Democratic memo.A San Antonio rapper was shot dead early Saturday while driving on Northwest Loop 410 near the Medical Center in what police said was a targeted attack.

Christopher Polk, 25, died at the scene near the Callaghan Road entrance, shortly after 2 a.m. He and a friend had just left the Ice Lounge in 5500 block of Northwest Loop 410.

Polk, also known as Chris P - OG Ape Life, was the driver, heading east on Loop 410 when a silver SUV pulled up beside Polks vehicle and opened fire on the drivers side, according to Officer Douglas Greene, SAPD spokesman.

A second vehicle then got in front of Polks vehicle and also opened fire, Greene said.

Polk was struck by bullets from several weapons, police said.

The unnamed passenger, who also was hit, took control of the vehicles steering wheel and managed to bring it to a stop on the right shoulder of Loop 410, Greene said. He was taken by EMS to University Hospital in serious condition.

RELATED: Rapper shot dead following show at popular S.A. hip hop club

As soon as the public became aware of his death, Polks Facebook page was flooded with condolences from fans, people he worked with and those who knew him.

We were shell-shocked when we heard about it, said Ron Hick, owner of the Ice Lounge, who said Polk had not performed at the bar Friday night but had came to meet up with friends. He hadnt made it mainstream yet but he was talented, an up-and-coming artist.

According to Kasilo Choka, owner of the local music agency Grownhop, Polk had been mostly self-made and had hundreds of subscribers on platforms such as Spotify and YouTube.

I believe he was selling CDs on the street in 2010 when I heard about him, said Choka, who has more than 30 years in the industry. I then met him around six years ago and followed his music, watched his numbers grow.

Childhood friend Alonzo Spradley, 27, recalled growing up on the Northwest Side with Polk and seeing his career branch outside of San Antonio.

A lot of people say they are gonna rap but never really go for it. He did and was really talented, Spradley said, adding, however, that Polk was not short on enemies.

He was a good person, but doing what he does, people didnt want to see him successful. He definitely had enemies.

(Warning: Graphic content shown in the video below)

Polk became the center of a controversy last year after he appeared in a video cradling a semi-automatic machine pistol, showing off a large gold medallion on a heavy chain he said belonged to Baton Rouge comedian/rapper 22 Savage, now known as Young 22.

In the profanity-laced video, which has nearly half a million hits, Polk tells the Louisiana rapper he can come get his necklace for $20,000.

Young 22 said the chain was stolen from him when he was pulled off a San Antonio stage during a performance in May, a few days before Polks video hit the internet. In the video, Polk indicated he didnt take the chain but acquired it from the person who did.

ALSO READ: Men tied to threats against Brooklyn-based rapper detained at S.A. airport

Its not clear whether the chain was ever returned to Young 22, whose real name is MacArthur Johnson.

In 2016, Johnson, then 19, was charged with second-degree murder, illegal use of a weapon and obstruction of justice in connection with a fatal shooting in Baker, Louisiana, reports from Louisiana media indicate. A grand jury indefinitely suspended the case against him in 2017.

Court records show Polk was arrested in October 2014 on a possession of marijuana, more than 4 ounces but less than 4 lbs. He was sentenced to probation in January 2015.

Friends said Polk had a daughter whos nearly 2 years old.A longtime elementary school teacher whose repeated sexual encounters with a 12-year-old student came to light following a high-speed chase in which she let the boy drive her SUV was sentenced Tuesday to 10 years in prison.

Lucinda Rodriguez Caldwell, 41, choked back sobs as she was placed in handcuffs after asking state District Judge Lori Valenzuela for probation.

Although the judge denied the request, she did retain jurisdiction of the case, leaving open the possibility that Caldwell could be released from prison on shock probation sometime in the next six months.

I just want to say that I'm sorry for what I did and I apologize to the court, to (the child) and his family, and to my family, Caldwell said through tears during the brief sentencing hearing.

I have lost so much because of what I did, and I ask the court to let me stay with my family and take care of my children, she said.

Caldwell had been an educator for 16 years and was teaching fifth grade at Cable Elementary in the Northside Independent School District when she was arrested in July 2010 after the boy's father took him to police to report the sexual assaults.

Earlier that morning, at about 3 a.m., the father had recognized the teacher's Ford Explorer outside his house after realizing that his son wasn't home, court documents state.

The SUV sped off and the father pursued in his own vehicle for about 30 miles before both vehicles were pulled over in Hondo.

The traffic officer didn't make an immediate arrest but returned the boy to his father and advised him to contact the San Antonio Police Department, according to court documents.

Caldwell reached a plea agreement in October in which she agreed to plead no contest to indecency with child by exposure  a third-degree felony  instead of aggravated sexual assault of a child, which could have resulted in a sentence of up to life.

Both sides also agreed to a 10-year sentence, with the stipulation that prosecutors would remain silent as Caldwell asked the judge to let her serve the term on probation. In addition, Caldwell agreed to surrender her teaching certificate.

Neither Caldwell's accuser nor his family attended the hearing.

We felt like we had a good case, but the family was worried about putting the young boy through the emotional ordeal of a trial, First Assistant District Attorney Cliff Herberg said of the plea agreement. We wanted to be respectful of the family's desires.

After the allegations were revealed, the boy appeared to withdraw from friends and family, prosecutors said they were told by the family.

Although the boy has since made progress, his father feared that testifying at a trial would cause setbacks, according to Adriana Biggs, chief of the white-collar-crimes division.

Since the arrest, Caldwell and her two children have moved to Eagle Pass. Her husband testified on her behalf Tuesday, suggesting that her exemplary record as a teacher prior to the incident provided a more accurate portrayal of who she is.

She was by all accounts a very good, dedicated teacher, added defense attorney John Carroll. The public humiliation and shame has been very difficult for her to deal with.

ckapitan@express-news.net

Twitter: @HearsaySAA Midlander who was already a registered sex offender has been sent to prison after a Michigan State Police investigation showed he was sending child porn online.

Ronald Rospierski, 71, is now serving a prison term of 50 months to 14 years for a count of distribution of child sexually abusive materials, and a term of 28 months to eight years for a count of possession of child sexually abusive material.

Midland County Circuit Court Judge Michael J. Beale set the terms, which are to be served at the same time, and gave credit for 267 days.

The sentencing came after Rospierski entered a no contest plea to the counts. A no contest plea is an acceptance of responsibility which is treated as a guilty plea for sentencing purposes. Rospierski previously was found competent to stand trial and for criminal responsibility.

Rospierski was arrested after a Michigan State Police Computer Crimes Unit investigation which began with a tip to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children from Google. Google reported Rospierski was sharing child pornography through his account, Michigan State Police reported.

Court papers state Rospierski uploaded child pornography to an email, between Nov. 2 and Dec. 9, 2016. A search warrant yielded the account holder's name, leading to officials conducting a search warrant at Rospierski 's East Carpenter Street home.

He acknowledged the images, and investigators seized items including a cell phone and computer from the home. Forensic exams confirmed Rospierski had distributed child pornography, and he was in possession of at least two images of youngsters.

Counts of using a computer to commit a crime and an additional count of possession of child sexually abusive materials, as well as a habitual fourth offender notice, were dismissed.

Rospierski also was sentenced as a habitual third offender.

Rospierski has been a registered sex offender since convictions of second-degree criminal sexual conduct and accosting a child for immoral purposes in 1999. His earliest release date from prison is 2021; the maximum discharge date is 2031, according to the Michigan Department of Corrections.- The Nigerian army arrested a herdsman during Operation Cate Race

- It also prevented a violent clash between herdsmen and farmers

- It called on Nigerians to continue to support them

The Nigerian army on Operation Cat Race have continued to make significant success in their quest to maintain peace and order between farmers and herdsmen in the affected region.

The army in a statement by Colonel Aliyu Yusuf said it recovered a locally made pistol with live cartridge.

READ ALSO: Buhari already has 12 million votes - Etta

It also said it was able to prevent a clash between farmers and herdsmen in Nasarawa while also arrested a herdsman with cutlass and bullet proof vest.

Read the statement below:

Army arrests herdsman with bullet-proof vest and cutlass. Credit: Facebook, SK Usman

Troops of Nigerian Army on Exercise Ayem Akpatuma have continued to make significant progress in the Field Training Exercise.

It is in this regards that troops deployed in at Taraba State while on patrol at Gidan Kiya village, Ibbi local government area of Taraba state, on Friday 23rd February 2018 recovered locally made pistol with one live cartridge from the village.

The troops also acting on a distress call immediately intervened in a violent clash between the hunters and herdsmen in Obi Local Government Area of Nasarawa State.

Similarly, troops on patrol on 22nd February 2018 deployed at Ayilamo village in Logo Local Government Area of Benue State while on patrol at Chegba village arrested a herdsman with a locally made bullet proof vest and a cutlass. The herdsman has been handed over to the police for further action.

The public especially the residents of the areas where Exercise Ayem Akpatuma is taking place are advised to continue to cooperate with the troops by providing useful information and to report any suspected movement by individual or group to the military or law enforcement agencies in their area.

Meanwhile, a socio-cultural Tiv group in Benue, Mzough U Tiv, raised concern over fliers reportedly distributed by the Nigerian army deployed to address farmers-herdsmen clashes.

Legit.ng had reported that the army launched Operation Cat Race to address the problem in the state but according to The Punch, residents are apprehensive.

The leaflets were circulated shortly after the chief of army staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai, visited Benue to launch the operation.

Victims of herdsmen killings buried in Benue state on Legit.ng TV:

Source: Legit.ng- The deputy Senate president has assured that all Nigeria who lost their job will regain them in 2019

- Ike Ekweremadu said the Peoples Democratic party would make Nigeria a better place if voted into power in 2019

- He also promised that PDP woul remedy all the mistake made in 2015

The deputy senate president, Ike Ekweremadu has assured Nigerians who lost their jobs since 2015 that the Peoples Democratic Party would ensure the jobs are restored.

Ekweremadu also assured that Nigeria would become a better place should the PDP take over power in 2019.

Speaking while receiving the Silverbird Legislative Award in Lagos, Ekweremadu said the "mistake of 2015 could be remedied in 2019.

READ ALSO: Operation Cat Race: Army gives latest update, arrest herdsman (photos)

Reacting to a remark by the minority leader of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, the deputy Senate president said the House leader failed ailed to tell Nigerians how things go bad and how the All Progressives Congress (APC) government intended to pull Nigerians out of the hardship.

Ekweremadu said: My friend, Hon. Gbajabiamila, admitted that we are passing through difficult times, but he did not go to the extent of telling us how we got there. We have over a hundred students in Yobe, who are now in the forests. We are not sure whether they had food this night. We are not sure of their health situation."

He didnt tell us that we have thousands of Nigerians, who are out of school.

He didnt tell us how eight million Nigerians, who lost their jobs in 17 months, according to the National Bureau of Statistics, will regain their jobs. He didnt tell us how we could regain our glory before the international community in terms of fighting corruption. He didnt tell us how water would flow from our taps again or how power would be restored.

READ ALSO: PDP reportedly targets 22 APC Senators, 50 Reps members ahead of 2019 elections

He didnt tell us how fuel would get into our cars because today, our filling stations are on the streets- in jerry cans. And they call them APC fillings stations," Ekweremadu added.

The deputy senate president, however, assured that the PDP will fix the challenges if voted into power in 2019.

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Legit.ng earlier reported that the national vice chairman of the APC for south south, Hillard Etta, had said that President Muhammadu Buhari is sure win the 2019 presidential election.

Etta said successes recorded by the present administration is enough to bring the APC back into power.

He also said President already has 12 million votes from Nigerians prior to the election.

The next President of Nigeria. Who will win the 2019 elections? on Legit.ng TV

Source: Legit- Almost seven days after the incident, a federal government delegation to Dapchi says it has confirmed that over 100 girls are unaccounted for

- Following the confirmation, the federal government says everything is now being done to rescue the missing girls

- The federal government delegation that made the confirmation comprised the Minister of Information and Culture Lai Mohammed and Minister of Interior Lt.-Gen. Abdulrahman Dambazau (retired)

The Nigerian government has finally confirmed that not fewer than 110 schoolgirls are missing from a government girls college in Dapchi, Yobe state after a Boko Haram attack on the high school on Monday, February 19.

The government confirmed this in a statement signed by Segun Adeyemi, the special assistant to information minister Lai Mohammed.

The statement which was sent to Legit.ng, read in part:

The Federal Government has confirmed that 110 students of the Government Science and Technical College in Dapchi, Yobe State, are so far unaccounted for, after insurgents believed to be from a faction of Boko Haram invaded their school on Monday (19 Feb. 2018).

The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, announced the figure after a meeting between a Federal Government Delegation and representatives of key stakeholders, including the state government, the college, the parents, security agencies and Bursari local government, where Dapchi is situated, in Damaturu on Sunday.

READ ALSO: Yobe governor blames Nigerian military for Dapchi schoolgirls abduction

He said, based on the briefings from the Principal of the College, Hajia Adama Abdulkarim, and the state Commissioner for Education, Hon. Mohammed Lamin, 906 students - out of whom 110 have not been accounted for - were in the school on the day of the attack.

Information minister Lai Mohammed (fourth right, front) and interior minister Abdulrahman Dambazzau (third left, front) pose for a photo with Yobe governor Gaidam (centre, front) and others. Photo: FG

Alhaji Mohammed also announced that the Federal Government has directed the police and civil defence authorities in Yobe State to immediately deploy their personnel to all the schools in the state in order to ensure the security and safety of the students and their staffers.

The Minister disclosed that the Federal Government has stepped up efforts to rescue the girls and return them safely to their parents, saying the security agencies are working on many leads regarding the whereabouts of the girls.

''This is the second time in four days that a Federal Government delegation would visit Yobe State since the unfortunate incident. This is a measure of the seriousness with which we are addressing the issue. The security forces are leaving no stone unturned in their search for the girls.

''We are back here in Yobe as part of efforts to provide some succour to the parents of the girls, to let them know that they are not alone and also to reassure them that we will not rest until we have found the girls. We will carry the parents along on the efforts we are making,'' he said.

For his part, the Minister of Interior said the delegation embarked on the trip in order to get the facts right ''so that the approach to the solution can be correct''.

''We must get back the girls and also ensure that this does not happen again,'' he said."

PAY ATTENTION: Install our latest app for Android and read best news on Nigerias #1 news app

The federal government delegation also held an enlarged meeting that was attended by Governor Ibrahim Geidam of Yobe state; members of the state cabinet, the Principal and Vice Principal of the school, representatives of the parents of the missing girls and security agencies, among others, the statement said.

Legit.ng had earlier reported that Lai Mohammed and Dambazau arrived Damaturu, the Yobe state capital, for a visit on Sunday.

It was the second time a federal government delegation is visiting the state following the abduction of 105 girls from Government Girls Science Technical College, Dapchi.

The government delegation arrived at the state on Sunday, February 25 and went to the government house.

DSS officially handover 82 rescued Chibok girls to FG for further psychotherapy treatment - on Legit.ng TV

Source: Legit Nigeria- Little was shot while heading to his car after coming out from his farm with his driver at his side

- He was shot in the arm by the assailants who ran away after the attack thinking they had killed him

- He is set to undergo a surgery to remove the bullet in his arm at an undisclosed hospital in Kaduna

Unknown gunmen have shot former Kano state chairman of the now defunct All Peoples Party (APP) Ibrahim Little.

Daily Trust reports that the attack occurred at Kidan-Dan town, near Birnin Gwari in Kaduna state on Sunday, February 25.

An aide of the former Kano state chairman of the APP, which later metamorphosed into All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), said the gunmen opened fire at Little and his driver while they were about entering into his car after coming out from the farm.

READ ALSO: Federal Government confirms 110 Dapchi schoolgirls missing

The aide said the assailants took to their heels after shooting, thinking they had killed Little, not knowing he was only shot in the arm.

"Probably thinking that he died, they ran back into the bush and after some time he was able to struggle and come out and drove to Kaduna with the driver."

The politician is said to be currently receiving treatment at an undisclosed private hospital in Kaduna where an operation will be carried out to remove the bullet in his arm.

Legit.ng recalls that Little decamped to the Peoples Democratic Party from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kano state.

PAY ATTENTION: Install our latest app for Android and read best news on Nigerias #1 news app

He explained that he decamped because he was not impressed with the party's deliveries since it came to power.

How workaholic Governor Ganduje is transforming Kano state - on Legit.ng TV

Source: Legit.ng- Benue state PDP chairman John Negede confirmed the receipt of about 3,000 former APC members in Otukpa on Saturday

- In Ebonyi, former Ohaukwu local government area chairman Chinyere Elom defected to PDP with a reported crowd of 6,000 supporters

- Elom said Governor Umahi's achievements drew her and her supporters to the PDP in Ebonyi

- Defecting former legislative aspirant Ebije said it was poor handling of Benue killings by APC-led federal government that caused the defection in Otukpa

Reports in Benue state say that some members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) have decamped to the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Premium Times reports that the defectors celebrated their decamping on Saturday, February 24 in Otukpa town and said their exit was because of the federal governments poor handling of the incessant attacks and killings of the people by Fulani herdsmen.

Former House of Assembly aspirant under the APC Ben Ebije, who spoke for the defectors in Otukpa, said the people decided to support the PDP in the coming general elections, so as to save lives of innocent farmers, market women and children.

READ ALSO: Former Kano ANPP chairman shot by unknown gunmen in Kaduna

Ebije also accused the APC of jettisoning internal democracy with reckless impunity.

He claimed that no serious-minded person in Benue would drop a ballot for the APC come 2019 and called for more people to defect to the opposition.

PDP state chairman John Ngbede confirmed to Premium Times that about 3,000 defectors joined the party from APC on Saturday and the opposition is expecting more in days ahead.

Their reason was that this APC government has failed them. Some if them said that they can hardly fend for themselves. They can hardly pay the school fees if their children. They can hardly feed their families at home, so they better join a party that will bring hope for them.

Theyre about 2,500 or 3,000 of them that came out and we are expecting more. I think by the end of this month, we are still going to receive more decampees.

PAY ATTENTION: Install our latest app for Android, read best news on Nigerias #1 news app

Meanwhile, Daily Independent reports that there is current state of shock in Ebonyi state chapter of the APC immediate past chairman of Ohaukwu local government area, Chinyere Elom defected to the PDP.

Elom was said to have decamped with her over 6000 supporters at Nshingbo ward 1.

She said she did not jump ship to PDP because of any political position but because her people have benefited immensely from Governor David Umahis leadership in terms of physical infrastructure, human empowerment and political appointments.

PDP's Magnificent 7 for 2019 - on Legit.ng TV

Source: LegitBy Jerri-Lynn Scofield, who has worked as a securities lawyer and a derivatives trader. She now spends much of her time in Asia and is currently working on a book about textile artisans.

The Supreme Court last week in a unanimous 9-0 decision narrowly interpreted the scope of Dodd-Frank anti-retaliatory whistleblower protections to apply only to those who reported their concerns to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

In Digital Realty Trust v. Somers, the Court weighed in to resolve a split between the circuits as to whether the Dodd-Frank protections applied to whistleblowers who used their internal company complaint procedures, but failed to raise the problem with the SEC. Or, more precisely, as Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg wrote in her majority opinion:

The question presented: Does the anti-retaliation provision of Dodd-Frank extend to an individual who has not reported a violation of the securities laws to the SEC and therefore falls outside the Acts definition of whistleblower? We answer that question No: To sue under Dodd-Franks anti-retaliation provision, a person must first provid[e] . . . information relating to a violation of the securities laws to the Commission. (citations omitted; opinion).

Writing for the Scotusblog in an article headed,

Opinion analysis: Whistling while you work is whistling in the wind  Dodd-Frank whistleblowers do need to inform the SEC Theresa Gabaldon summarized the alternative arguments for a broader interpretation of who would qualify for whistleblower protection. In the interest of keeping this post short and accessible to non-lawyers, Ill not repeat those arguments here, but refer interested readers to that analysis. Instead, I wish to focus on the consequences of the opinion rather than parsing the arguments the Court considered in reaching its decision..

Ive previously written about the history of US financial incentives to encourage whistleblowers to spill the beans about fraudulent and corrupt practices. Such bounty systems date back to the US Civil War (as I discussed most recently New Dept of Justice Guidelines Will Stymie Whistleblowers). Ive also written about the deficiencies in the SECs new highly-touted whistleblower program in SEC Takes Victory Lap for Pathetic Performance of Whistleblower Program as with much of Dodd-Frank, these provisions represent a missed opportunity to create a whistleblower system that could have ferreted out more corporate corruption.

The Recent Decision: Not Good for Whistleblowers, Nor Companies Either

A potential whistleblower who opts to go the internal complaint route may still be protected from retaliation by choosing to bring a claim under the statutory provisions authorized by the 2002 Sarbanes-Oxley Act. But, as laid out by The Washington Post, there are significant differences between the Sarbanes-Oxley provisions and those allowed under Dodd-Frank:

People who report issues to their companys management, to another federal agency or to Congress are still protected against retaliation but under an older law, the 2002 Sarbanes-Oxley Act. But the two laws differ in a number of ways, including how long people have to bring a lawsuit and how much money they can get in compensation. A person who wins a lawsuit under the Dodd-Frank Acts whistleblower protection provision can get more money than someone who wins under the Sarbanes-Oxley Acts provision.

While the ruling interprets the statute in a narrow way that reduces the potential whistleblowers who qualify to be protected by anti-retaliatory provisions, companies themselves may be the ones most harmed by it, as The Wall Street Journal reports:

Corporate America could find trouble in a recent Supreme Court ruling that limits protections for whistleblowers, lawyers say. The unanimous decision was handed down Wednesday in the case Digital Realty Trust Inc. v. Somers. The ruling makes it clear antiretaliation protections for whistleblowers under the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act only cover people who report allegations of wrongdoing to the Securities and Exchange Commission. SEC rules enforcing Dodd-Frank protected in-house whistleblowers as well. The ruling could reduce a companys ability to handle allegations of wrongdoing internally, lawyers told Risk & Compliance Journal. I think for businesses, for companies, its a matter of be careful what you wish for, said Thomas A. Zaccaro, vice chairman of the white-collar and investigations group at law firm Paul Hastings LLP and a former chief trial attorney at the SECs Los Angeles office. I think the consequence of the decision is whistleblowers are now made more likely to report to the SEC, and I think most companies would prefer that employees would report internally, he said.

Oops! Cry me a river.

Writing for the Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance and Financial Regulation, Cydney Posner reaches the same conclusion:

The result may have an ironic impact: while the win by Digital will limit the liability of companies under Dodd-Frank for retaliation against whistleblowers who do not report to the SEC, the holding that whistleblowers are not protected unless they report to the SEC may well drive all securities-law whistleblowers to the SEC to ensure their protection from retaliation under the statutewhich just might not be a consequence that many companies would favor.

The Bottom Line

All joking aside, this decision pleases no one: it hurts potential whistleblowers, and would make it less likely that corporations can deal with a whistleblower complaint in house rather than in response to a full bore SEC investigation. The obvious retort to that is that Congress could amend the statute to extend broader protections to whistleblowers. Yet given the current composition of Congress not to mention who occupies the White House that is not likely to happen. Instead, Dodd-Frank is clearly in Trumps crosshairs. Notwithstanding that more general opposition, the Justice Department had promoted a broader interpretation of the statute, advancing the arguments mentioned in the Scotusblog post cited above.

Quoting again from the Washington Post:Women working in technology roles in Tipperary invited to inspire the next generation on International Womens Day

Women in Technology event taking place at the WIT Arena aims to provide inspiration and encouragement to all those who would aspire to take a similar route - and those who have yet to discover their future path may lie in technology

Organisers of a Women in Technology event taking place on International Womens Day 2018 in Waterford are inviting women working in technology who are interested in sharing their stories with secondary school students in attendance to sign their companies up for the 8 March event.

Maria Cahill, a lecturer in the Department of Computing and Maths, Waterford Institute of Technology (WIT) explains the purpose of the event. The Women In Technology event is to highlight career paths and roles in the world of technology on International Womens Day. Here at Waterford Institute of Technology we want to encourage all second level students to explore as many career opportunities as possible.

In tandem with keynote speakers, such as Regina Moran, CEO Fujitsu UK and Ireland, a graduate of WIT, the event will showcase a range of women in technology to provide inspiration and encouragement to all those who would aspire to take a similar route.

Each company/organisation that sends a representative can set up a stand or table at no charge. On the day students from secondary schools will have the opportunity to meet with and talk to women in attendance who have interesting and varied careers in technology, engineering, ICT and software development, women who are changing the face of industry.

We know there are women who would love to come along to this event and help the next generation of engineers, coders, and CEOs discover the career paths available in technology. We are inviting women from across the country join other women in technology this International Womens Day in inspiring young women with stories of their personal and professional journeys, Cahill adds.

Its important for industry to get involved in helping teenagers understand that theres a range of well-paid careers they may not have yet explored out there. Increasing the numbers of students choosing science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) courses means that there will be a steady flow of qualified graduates with the skills the tech industry will need in the future, she concludes.

For full information and to book an industry stand or a school group, visit www.wit.ie/womenintechnology.(Natural News) Automakers dream about driverless cars. Chinese company EHang one-ups them with its one-man flying megadrone, reported The Daily Mail.

Footage released by the Chinese drone maker show their EHang 184 autonomous aerial vehicle zipping through the air at 80 mph (130 kph) with a live person aboard its sleek cabin. EHang claimed that single and two-seat versions of its megadrone have successfully carried 40 different passengers on thousands of test flights since 2014. One of those passengers was Deputy Mayor Wang Dong of Guangzhou, the host city for megadrone test flights.

Performing manned test flights enables us to demonstrate the safety and stability of our vehicles, said Huazhi Hu, founder and CEO of EHang.

What were doing isnt an extreme sport, so the safety of each passenger always comes first.

The EHang 184 was tested in a multitude of weather conditions, including the gale-force winds of a hurricane.

Now that weve successfully tested the Ehang 184, Im really excited to see what the future holds for us in terms of air mobility, said Hu.

A driverless flying taxi

The EHang 184 megadrone is an autonomous aerial vehicle that can transport one or two people. Its maker described it as the first of its kind in the world.

Essentially a small helicopter, it doesnt need runways, just an open area big enough for it to land and take off. Four arms extend from the central body of the EHang 184. Each arm mounts a pair of rotors for lift and propulsion.

Powered by electricity, it can fly at speeds of up to 80.7 mph (130 kph) for 23 minutes, giving it a range of more than nine miles. The megadrone flies 10 miles faster than traffic on Mississippis interstate highways, which post the highest speed limits in the U.S. at 70 mph.

The Verge reported that the EHang megadrone could execute a 984-foot (300-meter) vertical climb. The single-seat version boasted a carrying capacity greater than 500 pounds (230 kg), while the two-seat model raises that to 617 pounds (280 kg).

All a rider needs to do is get inside the EHang 184 and select a destination on a touchscreen. The drone flies itself. (Related: Testing has begun on a self-flying taxi expected to launch in 2020.)

Sensors aboard the craft gather data during the entire flight. This real-time information is used to plot the quickest and safest route to the destination.

To improve passenger safety, EHang runs a command center whose personnel perform much the same role as air traffic controllers at a conventional airport.

The drone command center ensures the safety of every airborne 184 on a 24/7 basis. Controllers will stop a megadrone from taking off if the weather is too rough. They can also assume remote control if the situation calls for it.

EHang intends to integrate its command center with standard air tower operations.

Vegas skies

Residents of Las Vegas, Nevada have probably seen the EHang 184. The prototype was unveiled there in 2016 and EHang had permission to test it in Nevadas airspace.

In a 2016 interview with The Daily Mail, EHang co-founder George Yan claimed riding the 184 felt 10 times better than riding a Ferrari.

I think in all of us there is that little kid in all of us that says I want to fly, he shared.

I dont want to get a pilot license after five or 10 hours of flying. I want to do it right away. Were making that dream happen, said Yan.

EHang intended to demonstrate its 184 megadrone at the World Government Summit in Dubai this year. The company has made no announcement regarding its commercial debut.

Interested in other sky-high tech developments? Zip over to Inventions.news for more stories.

Sources include:

DailyMail.co.uk

TheVerge.com(Natural News) The insane Left-wing commentariat is now talking about how vitally important it is for all Americans to listen to the young people who survived the most recent school shooting in southern Florida.

Why? Well because theyve got some really keen insights on gun violence and public safety now that theyve gone through a deadly and, admittedly, horrific incident.

Thats like saying because I experienced fear and death doing route clearance with my National Guard unit in Afghanistan for a year I should be in charge of the Pentagon and all U.S. military strategy. Such insights I have!

Of course, these idiots in the American Pravda media are just using these kids  preying on them, really  to exploit their anti-Second Amendment, gun-control agenda. Anyone who disagrees with that is not being realistic.

Because when the Left-wing commentariat and journalists arent touting the maturity, wisdom, and insight of these teenagers, theyre trying to limit their rights. Specifically, their gun rights.

Now, I dont have any recent data on how popular the Second Amendment is with the younger generation, but I suspect it varies widely by region, upbringing, family culture, etc. Kids from the Midwest who hunt and whose parents have guns in the house are generally a lot more prone to advocate for gun rights than kids who grow up in big cities and are never around them.

But that doesnt matter; the Second Amendment is a right, its not a requirement. And yet many on the Left who are praising todays Florida shooting survivors are at the same time trying to take away their God-given right to self-defense.

Within days  hours?  of the Florida shootings, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, Marxist-California, one of Congress most ardent anti-gun-rights advocates announced she would be introducing legislation that would raise the legal age to buy a rifle from 18 to 21.

Under current law, licensed gun dealers cannot sell a handgun to anyone under 21, but they are allowed to sell assault rifles like the AR-15 to anyone over 18, she said. This policy is dangerous and makes absolutely no sense.

Of course not. But giving a real assault rifle to an 18-year-old military recruit does make sense, right?

And by the way, I dont accept the premise that we should allow 18-year-olds to serve our country but not be allowed to buy a pistol. Thats what doesnt make sense.

Since were on the subject of age restrictions for constitutional rights, how old should Americans have to be before theyre allowed to enjoy Fourth Amendment privacy protections? Or First Amendment speech, expression, and religious freedoms? Words can hurt!

And we all know Christians are dangerous; just ask that blithering idiot Joy Behar.

How about abortion? Im still confused as to how the Supreme Court of 1972 could find a constitutional right to kill unborn children but they did  that said, how many of these same Leftie hypocrites in the Pravda media would support a womans right to choose but only after she turns 21?

Wait, heres one. The Fourteenth Amendments anti-discrimination protections should be subject to reasonable restrictions and only after a person turns 21. And we all know that the right to trial-by-jury (Sixth Amendment) is dangerous, doesnt make sense, and should be restricted through common-sense legislation.

Look, Im not trying to diminish in any way the horrible experience the kids in Florida just went through; its not a normal thing to have to deal with as a young person (although it has become much more common than it was a half-century ago). But to suggest that the answer to this issue is to place further restrictions on a constitutional right based on the very emotional pleas of a small group of teenagers just isnt a serious proposal.

J.D. Heyes is editor of The National Sentinel and a senior writer for Natural News and News Target.

Sources include:

TheHill.com

NewsTarget.com(Natural News) Conducting science classes outdoors rather than within the four corners of a classroom can make the students more motivated to learn and participate, a study has discovered. The study was carried out by a team of researchers from Norway and Germany who looked at the effect of outdoor class setting on the motivational behavior of students.

In the study, about 300 students took part in the program called researcher weeks, which was based on the curriculum for science subjects in secondary level I from 2014 to 2016 at the Berchtesgadener Land student research center. The program was aimed to get students excited about the natural sciences. The students were prepared for a week by staying in the classroom. Then, it was continued on-site during the research week, which led to a research expedition with experiments for two days. The students also accomplished a survey on their satisfaction and overall motivation in connection with their autonomy for a study developed at the Technical University of Munich in Germany before and after the course. By the end of the week, they shared once more their experiences during the outdoor class.

According to the research team, basic psychological needs to experience independence, competence, and positive social relationships apply the main influences on motivational behavior. In their study, they found that motivational behavior in both settings was affected to the same extent by these three needs, even though at different levels. Moreover, in the outdoor setting, basic needs were met at a significantly higher level when compared to the classroom setting. In addition, the students felt a sense of achievement and were more motivated in the outdoor classes.

Meanwhile, the relationships of students and teachers or students and their classmates had little or no effect on the increase of motivation. Likewise, gender did not also affect motivation behavior.

The findings of the study suggest that conducting classes outdoors with explorative learning methods greatly improves the attitudes of students toward learning, such as increasing their motivation and participation. The researchers defined explorative as simply letting the students study the subject matter through independently organized experiments.

Whether it involves rural study centers away from school or forms a part of the science curriculum, or both, this statistical analysis demonstrates that regular outdoor teaching is an appropriate strategy to meet the challenges of the 21st century, said Ulrich Dettweiler, an associate professor at the University of Stavanger in Norway.

Dettweiler added that these models may even help close the gap between science education and environmental education in the long term. This study was published in the journal Frontiers in Psychology.

Outdoor learning improves childrens development

A 2016 report suggested that outdoor learning can positively influence the development of children, although it needs to be formally adopted. The researchers revealed that children have less opportunities to spend time outside their homes, which could have negative long-term consequences. In the report, they pointed to past studies that showed that with busier family lives, children did not have the chance to explore the natural environment. This negatively affected the childrens social skills, and would possibly restrain their long-term physical and emotional development, and well-being. The researchers suggested that establishing outdoor learning hub could prevent and lessen these long-term risks.

At the moment, if outdoor learning is part of a schools curriculum in England, it is largely because the teachers recognise the value of it, said Sue Waite, co-author of the report a reader in outdoor learning at Plymouth University in the U.K.

If youd like to read more news stories and studies on education, please go to Homeschooling.news.

Sources include:

ScienceDaily.com

BBC.com(Natural News) Truth be told, millennials do not support the freedom of speech  and at South Dakota State University, they are making that fact known to the entire country.

Earlier this month, the campus news site Campus Reform reported that South Dakota State Universitys student senate recently passed a resolution that objected to House Bill 1073, which would have guaranteed that all students on campus would be protected from those that seek to limit their free speech rights.

Senators were kept in the Student Union until nearly 11pm, and were repeatedly pushed to bypass rules and vote on the resolution less than 10 hours after it was drafted, and before any students could be consulted, six of the student senators claim in a letter that was sent to the sponsors of HB 1073.

The senators went on to assert that they were not given access to the resolution until 11:30 am on the day of the vote, which means that they didnt have nearly enough time to speak with members of the student body on the resolutions contents. As members of the South Dakota State Students Associate, we pride ourselves in our leadership abilities and our open and transparent processes, the letter says. Monday, January 29 was a poor demonstration of those values, and the passing of 17-12-R without the consent or knowledge of the students we represent was an unethical action by our body.

While its certainly unethical and even disgraceful that the student senators didnt have a chance to consult the student body on the contents of a resolution before it was passed, its even more upsetting that some of these students would reject a bill that would have protected the free speech rights of all students at South Dakota State University. Even though the students that were opposed to HB 1073 didnt specifically explain why they were opposed to it, we can assume that it was most likely because they wanted to retain the ability to silence speech that they fundamentally disagree with. A measure protecting the freedom of speech would ensure that conservatives had a voice on campus, and to the left, that simply cannot be tolerated. (Related: This study reveals why intolerant university leftists cant see reality.)

Late last year, a conservative radio show at the University of Minnesota-Morris called Deplorable Radio was banned from campus, which the student hosts of the show argue was due to the shows politically incorrect and right-of-center format. The university, meanwhile, claims that the radio show was shut down for multiple violations of the stations policies. This may be true, but its also just as likely that the school decided to ban Deplorable Radio simply for the fact that conservative messages were being broadcasted over the airwaves. (Related: Ivy leaguers are now demanding that you stop saying man on campus on the grounds that it is offensive language.)

In yet another example of conservative censorship on college campuses, DePaul University, which at one pointed threatened to arrest conservative commentator Ben Shapiro for daring to step foot on campus grounds back in November of 2016, banned conservative comedian Steven Crowder on the grounds that his style does not align with the schools educational mission.

The Speaker Review Board denied this speaker request due to their research on Mr. Crowder and came to the conclusion that he creates videos to purposefully to rouse and provoke people by making fun of the opposing side, wrote Peggy Burke, DePauls Associate Vice President of Student Development.

Free speech is without a doubt under attack on college campuses across the entire country, and unless conservatives somehow bring about a massive cultural change among the nations young people, then the freedom of speech may very well become a thing of the past in the not-so-distant future.

Sources include:

CampusReform.org

TheCollegeFix.com

DailyWire.com(Natural News) The world has enough for everyones need, but not enough for everyones greed, warned Mahatma Gandhi. And yet nations are practicing an unsustainable way of life at the cost of burning up Earths resources, reported The Daily Mail.

The study comes from Leeds University, where researchers boiled down the requirements for a good life into 11 items. Basic needs included minimum daily income of $1.90, a minimum lifespan of 65 years, and steady supplies of electricity and food. It also had social goals like employment, a supportive network of family & friends and true democracy.

Researchers also categorized how much it costs the planet to fulfill these needs. These costs include CO 2 emissions, water consumption and the depletion of natural resources. (Related: Radioactive contamination detected outside plutonium plant.)

To facilitate comparison and contrast, the researchers published individual websites for 150 countries that documented their resource consumption and achievements in well-being.

The Leeds study determined that a country expends planetary resources to achieve social goals.

Progress at all costs?

According to lead author Dr. Daniel ONeill, every action consumes resources. Yet humans often fail to realize the connection between their actions and the environment.

In the course of the study, he and his team estimated that the countries of the world could fulfill the basic needs of their populations without exhausting planetary resources.

Unfortunately, the same is not true for other social goals that go beyond basic subsistence such as secondary education and high life satisfaction, Dr. ONeill added. Meeting these goals could require a level of resource use that is two to six times the sustainable level.

For example, the study notes that Western Europe, Scandinavia, Japan, the U.S. and Canada scored high on the social threshold. But those same countries received low environmental scores, which meant they could not sustain their social achievements indefinitely.

The U.S., in particular, failed to attain any of the environmental sustainability goals, The Daily Mail reported.

Our results suggest that some of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, such as combating climate change and its impacts, could be undermined by the pursuit of other goals,

particularly those focused on growth or high levels of human well-being, said Dr. Andrew Fanning.

Of the 150 countries covered by the Leeds research team, only 16 met all seven environmental goals. The country that achieved the best balance between goals is Vietnam, which fulfilled six out of 11 social goals and six out of the seven environmental goals.

On the opposite side of the spectrum is Swaziland. The sustainability score of the landlocked southern African country is as bad as those of China, South Korea and the U.K.

In fact, researchers took note of 35 countries that could only achieve one or none of the 11 social goals for a good life.

Reversing the course

Another co-author, Dr. William Lamb, observed that wealthy nations satisfied the basic needs of their citizens by burning up resources at an unsustainable rate. In contrast, countries with sustainable levels of resource usage, such as Sri Lanka, cannot deliver basic needs of their people.

Radical changes are needed if all people are to live well within the limits of the planet, argued co-author Dr. Julia Steinberger. She called for nations to revise their economic priorities, rapidly switch to renewable energy, and redistribute wealth on a more even basis.

Our physical infrastructure and the way we distribute resources are both part of what we call provisioning systems, Dr. Steinberger explained.

If all people are to lead a good life within the planets limits then these provisioning systems need to be fundamentally restructured to allow for basic needs to be met at a much lower level of resource use.

Keep abreast of other environment-related developments at Environ.news.

Sources include:

DailyMail.co.uk

Nature.com(Natural News) Everyone who is deeply concerned about protecting childrens mental health should be banging on the doors of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to protest a commonly prescribed drug that routinely causes neuropsychiatric events in children. Since 2009, the FDA has on file 550 cases of hallucinations from a drug called Tamiflu (oseltamivir), which is routinely prescribed to combat the flu. Parents are beginning to wake up to the fact that Tamiflu is a risky nervous system damaging, hallucinogenic drug that causes some children to go into seizures, wild delusions, and twitching fits.

Looking back at the studies used to approve the drug in the late 1990s, we see small cohorts, unstudied factors of immunity, inconclusive findings, label warnings, and an attempt by the FDA to prevent the drug from coming to market. Further analyses in 2007 found that Tamiflu poses severe risks, especially in children, including 1377 reports of adverse reactions in Japan and 80 deaths (71 directly tied to Tamiflu.)

Tamiflu was initially stopped by the FDA

Doctors are under the impression that the drug can prevent influenza viruses from replicating and invading other cells. A 1999 JAMA article purports that Tamiflu provided significant antiviral, biochemical, and clinical effects in experimental human influenza virus infection. Prophylactic administration either once or twice daily completely protected against viral recovery in the upper respiratory tract and against infection-associated respiratory tract illness. HoffmannLaRoche, the pharmaceutical company that developed the drug, presented this study and two additional clinical trials to an FDA committee of medical advisors in 1999. The data provided did not convince the FDA committee that the drug was safe or effective.

Even though Tamiflu is approved for children as young as two weeks old, the clinical studies were conducted on young adults with the median age of 21. In the study, 105 participants were given Tamiflu at various doses. The efficacy was determined by recording symptom scores. A mere 33 subjects relayed lower symptom scores after nasal influenza infection and application of Tamiflu. The study only measured the amount of virus particles in participants nasal passageways and mucus. The study did not measure how the drug impacted the rest of the body, including the replication of influenza viruses throughout and the formation of drug-resistant pathogens in the microbiome of patients.

This shoddy data did not convince the FDA medical experts, but the FDA eventually gave Tamiflu the green light as long as the drug maker issued the following statement on the packaging:

Tamiflu has not been proven to have a positive impact on the potential consequences (such as hospitalization, mortality, or economic impact) seasonal, avian, or pandemic influenza.

Since then, the drug maker has tried to come up with new conclusions to make Tamiflu appear effective. A study by the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) entitled Use of the Selective Oral Neuraminidase Inhibitor Oseltamivir to Prevent Influenza was authored by Penelope Ward, MD who was the Head of Clinical Development for Hoffman-LaRoche. In the footnote of the study, we also find that the study was funded by grants by Hoffman-LaRoche.

A 2009 re-analysis of Tamiflu, not funded by the pharmaceutical industry and published in a BMJ article, found no significant evidence that the drug reduced influenza symptoms or complications. The meta-analysis even showed that Tamiflu causes nausea.

Tamiflu suppressing central nervous system, causing delusions, suicidal impulses in children

Tamiflu is not only ineffective, but its also dangerous. In the six years that the drug was sold in Japan, there were 1377 reports of adverse reactions, including delirium, convulsion, and encephalitis. A pair of 14-year-old teens experienced such heinous side effects from Tamiflu that they committed suicide. Seventy-one other deaths were directly related to Tamiflu. A 2011 Japanese study found a 600 percent increase in deterioration and death within twelve hours after Tamiflu administration. Japanese authorities warn against using Tamiflu.

In the U.S., where pediatric safety is not taken seriously, children are undergoing seizures and acting out violently after taking Tamiflu. A family in Texas reported that their two-year-old son experienced seizures and twitches after taking Tamiflu; the seizures only stopped when they stopped giving him the drug. A six-year-old from North Carolina died from a side effect of Tamiflu (labored breathing) three days after receiving the drug. An Indiana family reported that their daughter started hearing voices and attempted to jump out a window while she was taking Tamiflu.

When will Americans take a stand against destructive, so-called medicine that is damaging the mental health of our children?

Sources include:

Greenmedinfo.com

NaturalNews.com



NCBI.NLM.NIH.gov(Natural News) Theres a lot of things that liberals are, but perhaps its more relevant in this case to start off with a quick review of everything that liberals arent. Liberals arent tolerant. They arent compassionate, understanding or accepting of others. Take Nancy MacLean of Duke University, for example, a history professor who recently suggested that many conservatives and libertarians seem to be on the autism spectrum.

MacLean made the comments during a lecture on February 7 at the New York City Unitarian Church of All Souls, where MacLean was delivering a presentation on her controversial book titled Democracy in Chains: The Deep History of the Radical Rights Stealth Plan for America. After discussing how she believes the American libertarian movement originated with Nobel Prize-winning economist James Buchanan, a member of the audience asked her where his motivations and ideas came from.

As an author, I have struggled with this, and I could explain it in different ways. I didnt put this in the book, but I will say it here, MacLean replied. Its striking to me how many of the architects of this cause seem to be on the autism spectrum  you know, people who dont feel solidarity or empathy with others, and who have difficult human relationships sometimes.

I dont know, that is speculation, she told the audience, but later on during the presentation, an audience member asked a question using the phrase autistic libertarians. At another point during the lecture, MacLean called the federal judges that President Trump has appointed illegitimate.

First and foremost, the idea that conservatives and libertarians dont feel solidarity or empathy with others is nonsense. Its important to understand that liberals like Nancy MacLean believe that someone cant possibly be empathetic if they dont believe in big government. In their minds, the more one advocates for an expansive welfare state and free government handouts, the more empathetic they are. Conservatives and libertarians, on the other hand, define empathy very differently. While we understand that life contains many hardships and struggles, we believe that teaching people how to be independent and become successful on their own is best not only for their individual situation, but also for America as a whole. (Related: A lunatic liberal college professor has claimed that meritocracy is rooted in white racism hard work is now being condemned as intolerant.)

Second, the fact that Nancy MacLean is a professor at one of the most well-known universities in the country is a disgrace. The school administration and faculty members at Duke should be ashamed of themselves for having a professor on their team that refers to conservatives and libertarians as being on the autism spectrum, and quite frankly, disciplinary action should be taken against her.

Sadly, this type of anti-conservative rhetoric and left-wing bias has been on full display on college campuses for many years now. Back in 2014, creative writing professor Brent Terry of Eastern Connecticut State University launched into a vicious rant against those on the right, calling republicans racist, misogynist, money-grubbing people that have so much power over the rest of us and want things to go back not to 1955, but to 1855.

There are a lot of people out there that do not want black people to vote, do not want Latinos to vote, Terry told his class, adding that generally, people like you are liberal. (Related: Americas universities have become training camps for violent left-wing extremism.)

The fact that the majority of our teachers and professors are openly biased against conservatives is not something that we should just sweep under the rug. This is a problem, and unless we take the steps necessary to ensure that students are being told the truth, then America will undoubtedly move further and further to the left for decades to come.

Sources include:

CampusReform.org

TheCollegeFix.comCongressman Mark DeSaulnier held a town hall meeting Saturday where East Bay community members sought solutions to gun violence.

It was a full house at Stanley Middle School in Lafayette where one topic took center stage  gun violence prevention laws.

DeSaulnier ensured it included banning assault weapons across the country, instituting government buy-backs and the destruction of banned weapons.

"There have been over 300 gun violence bills introduced, none of them have had a hearing or a vote," DeSaulnier said. "We need to have a hearing and a vote."

DeSaulnier says the meeting was moved up on the calendar after the school shooting in Florida. He shared statistics and told the crowd that he earned a lifetime "F" rating from the National Rifle Association because of his policies.

Many of the attendees brought up President Trumps recent tweet on the possibility of giving guns to teachers with military training or experience. They expressed their concern and claimed it wouldnt be a solution to gun violence.

"I think they should make the law harder to get guns," said a student at the meeting.

Members with opposing views also attended the meeting. Community member Brad Fell did not agree with much of what was said.

"Its harder to buy a gun nowadays but we see these mass shootings and all these problems," Fell said. "Why dont we look at the root of the problem and figure out why people are doing this instead of blaming gun owners?"

Everyone let the meeting with one thing in mind: a needed action from Washington.Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf alerted Bay Area residents Saturday night of possible ICE operations starting "as soon as within the next 24 hours."



In a press release, Mayor Schaaf encouraged all undocumented residents to consult immigration resources after learning from many credible sources that ICE is preparing to conduct an operation in the Bay Area.

Mayor Schaaf explained she was sharing the information publicly not to panic residents but to protect them.

Although ICE has used activity rumors in the past as a fear tactic, Mayor Schaaf continued to explain that she felt it was her duty to give families a fair warning of a possible threat.

My priority is for the well-being and safety of all residents  particularly our most vulnerable  and I know that Oakland is safer when we share information, encourage community awareness, and care for our neighbors, said Mayor Schaaf in the press release.

The warning from Mayor Schaaf comes as ICE agents have stepped up their enforcement this year. Earlier this month, ICE agents went after 77 businesses in Northern California and in January agents targeted nearly a hundred 7-11 stores across the nation, including two in Santa Clara.

Mayor Schaaf said she does not have any information on the specific places where immigration agents may conduct their operations.



Immigration attorney Patricia Castorena says anyone targeted by ICE officials should not open the door, remain silent, contact an attorney and avoid signing anything until speaking with an immigration attorney.

She also says it's important that parents put in writing who they want to care for their children should they be detained.

"The children should go with a family or neighbor and you need to have a safety plan in effect," said Castorena.

Many school districts throughout the Bay Area already have strict protocols in place to protect students and their families and Oakland police are prohibited from participating in any ICE activities.

Residents affected can consult Centro Legal de La Raza for more information on their legal rights to gain a better understanding of the options available in the event that they face detention or need legal representation.Fireworks, food vendors, music and floats  the annual Chinese New Year parade brought out excited crowds.

Many people braved chilly temperatures along the Embarcadero all the way to Chinatown in San Francisco Saturday afternoon as they came out to celebrate the Year of the Dog.

"The Year of the Dog is all about loyalty and playfulness, and everyone has a really nice, strong connection to dogs, and really strong emotional response, so its really fun," said Stephanie Mufson who has been part of the parade as a float master for the last 10 years.

According to organizers, San Francisco is the largest Chinese New Year parade outside of China, as a million people were expected to be in attendance.

Participants enjoyed delicious food, music, dancing, and of course, the dragon dance  a strong symbol of Asian culture.

"The dragon dancing I believe is about taking away the bad spirit," said Mikeala Desirous from Sacramento. "It will let good vibes come in."

For the parade, the city blocked off Market Street with two large dump trucks as a new security precaution to prevent someone from driving into the crowds.

"Chinese New Year is hectic but I love it," said Mia Allen, visiting from Australia. "It feels like literally, you are in China but like the craziest part of China, Its great!"One person was killed Saturday after a double stabbing in a public library in Winchester, Massachusetts, police said.

The victim, a 22-year-old woman, has not been identified by police, and a man is in custody in connection with the stabbing.

Fire officials said the stabbing happened at the Winchester Public Library on Main Street around 10:30 a.m.

The second victim, identified only as a 77-year-old man, remains hospitalized. Police are saying the man suffered non-life-threatening injuries while attempting to help the woman.

The man taken into custody has been identified as Jeffrey Yao, 23, of Winchester. According to police, Yao stabbed both victims with a 10-inch hunting blade. He was previously known to police.

Both victims were transported to an area hospital, said police. The 77-year-old victim was treated for a stab wound to his arm. The 22-year-old victim suffered numerous stab wounds to her head and upper torso, police said. She subsequently died from her injuries.

Investigators said the female victim had been sitting at a table when the suspect allegedly approached her unprovoked and stabbed her multiple times. According to the police, she tried to make her way to the front lobby to escape. A number of patrons came to her aid, at which point the 77-year-old victim was also stabbed, police said.

Police are investigating possible motives for the attack.



Neighbors of the suspect immediately identified Yao after seeing his picture, telling reporters that he previously attempted to break into homes and cause damage to property.

Nicole Luongo, one of Yao's neighbors, said that people in the neighborhood had previously gone to police with concerns.

"We fear for our neighborhood," she said.

Luongo says knowing Yao is locked up eases her fears, but she wishes Saturday's events could have been prevented.

"I was afraid that he would come," she told NBC10 Boston, "I would sleep with a bat under my bed."

Yao is charged with murder and assault with attempt to murder. He is being held without bail pending his arraignment on Monday. Its unclear if he has an attorney.

CORRECTION (Fab. 25, 9:41 a.m.): A previous headline stated the stabbing took place at "a Boston Public Library," which could be confused with the Boston Public Library system. The headline has been updated to reflect that the stabbing took place at a Boston-area library.An investigation is underway into what caused a massive three-alarm fire that destroyed an auto body shop in Greenland, New Hampshire on Saturday.

No injuries were reported as a result of the fire, which happened at Carter's European Auto on Portsmouth Avenue.

Police said that the damage to the building and the machinery inside was extensive and called the property "a total loss," as a result of the fire.

Police told NBC10 Boston that multiple vehicles were destroyed in the blaze.



Police are saying that some animals may have died in the building, but are not sure what kind or how many at this time.

Greenland police confirmed that they responded to the scene of the fire around 10 a.m.

First responders said that the blaze was through the roof when they arrived. Police reported multiple explosions of unknown origin at the auto shop; however, investigators said they believe the explosions were caused by propane or oxygen tanks within the facility.

By 5:30 p.m., crews were still trying to clean up fuel inside of the building and expect to be there through the evening covering hot spots.

The cause of the fire is not known at this time, and the incident remains under investigation.Governor Bruce Rauner issued a disaster declaration for three Illinois countiesKankakee, Vermillion and Iroquois.

State aid, which includes boats, trucks, pumps, hoses and sandbags, is said to be on the way to flood victims in areas that suffered from heavy rains within the past week.

Officials said the declaration will help towns like Wateska, where a number of homes were swamped by flood water.

Gov. Rauner toured Watseka Thursday night and met with residents who were evacuated from their homes. Rauner said he was impressed with the victims strength.

We must continue to stand together during times of emergency and provide continued support and assistance as these communities fight the rising floodwaters, said Gov. Rauner.

The Governor also directed the Illinois Emergency Management Agency (IEMA) to activate the State Emergency Operations Center in Springfield to coordinate state personnel and assets needed to help local officials keep residents safe and protect critical infrastructure.

IEMA is receiving weather forecast updates and river stage predictions and staff is in close contact with emergency management officials throughout the state.

IEMAs acting director Jennifer Ricker, is reminding people to use caution when driving in flooded areas.

Flooded roads can be dangerous, even deadly, so the best advice is always to Turn Around, Dont Drown, Ricker said.

The National Weather Service has more information here on locations in flood.The fire marshal is investigating after a fire broke out at a home in Wallingford on Sunday.

Crews responded to the home on New Place Street after a fire broke out on the second floor. The first floor had some damage as well, the fire marshal told NBC Connecticut at the scene.

The Red Cross said three adults and two children were displaced by the fire.

The fire is under investigation.The heaviest, the largest, the most impactful. Those were the superlatives the Trump administration used to describe its latest sanctions against North Korea.

But were the Treasury Department designations of more than 50 companies and ships accused of illicit trading with the pariah nation really the toughest action yet by the U.S. and the wider world?

Probably not.

Here's a look at how President Donald Trump and a top lieutenant described Friday's sanctions to punish the North for its development of nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles  and how they stack up against past economic restrictions that have been piled on Kim Jong Un's government in response to its illegal weapons tests.

TREASURY SECRETARY STEVEN MNUCHIN: "The Treasury Department is announcing the largest set of sanctions ever imposed in connection with North Korea."

TRUMP: "I do want to say, because people have asked, North Korea  we imposed today the heaviest sanctions ever imposed on a country before."

As for Trump's blanket assertion, in sheer dollar terms, the U.S. has actually imposed much costlier restrictions on countries such as Iran, a far richer economy than North Korea's. Washington and its allies cut off tens of billions of dollars' worth of Iranian oil exports and shut the country's central bank out of the international financial system, among other steps, before eliminating those restrictions under a 2015 nuclear deal.

In terms of the number of entities targeted Friday, Mnuchin is probably correct about the history of sanctions on North Korea.

The department blacklisted "one individual, 27 entities, and 28 vessels" located, registered, or flagged in North Korea, China, Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Marshall Islands, Tanzania, Panama, and Comoros. That appeared to be the most companies or individuals designated by the U.S. at a single time. According to Mnuchin, there are now more than 450 U.S. sanctions against North Korea, about half of them in the last year.

But in purely economic terms, both Mnuchin and Trump are well wide of the mark.

The latest designations are primarily intended to crack down on North Korea's evasion of wider-ranging sanctions adopted by the United Nations Security Council and the United States that are more economically significant.

Over the past year, the council has adopted three sets of sanctions banning North Korean exports of coal, iron ore, textiles, seafood products and other goods. If those measures are properly implemented, that would reduce the North's export revenues by 90 percent from 2016 levels or by $2.3 billion annually. Those sanctions are also heavily restricting North Korean fuel supplies. They capped refined oil imports at 500,000 barrels a year. That's a reduction from the 4.5 million barrels North Korea imported in 2016.

It's because of those draconian restrictions that North Korea wants to conduct trade on the quiet with "ship-to-ship" transfers that the U.S. is determined to stop. With Friday's measures, Mnuchin said the U.S. has gone after "virtually all their ships that they're using at this moment."

That's certainly a significant increase in pressure on North Korea as its foreign trade diminishes. But the Treasury Department did not give an overall figure for how much revenue the North would be deprived of because of the latest actions, other than to say that nine vessels of newly blacklisted foreign vessels "are capable of carrying over $5.5 million worth of coal at a time."

The conservative-leaning Heritage Foundation did not think much of the new steps.

"As impressive as the list is in length, it is underwhelming in its scope and fails to live up to the hype," it said. "Like his predecessors, President Trump remains reluctant to go after Chinese financial entities aiding North Korea's prohibited nuclear and missile programs."

China is said to account for about 90 percent of North Korea's external trade and be its main access point to the international financial system. Past U.S. sanctions that have targeted Chinese companies have probably had a much bigger impact on North Korea's revenue streams.

In November, the Treasury Department blacklisted three Chinese companies that it said had "cumulatively exported approximately $650 million worth of goods to North Korea and cumulatively imported more than $100 million worth of goods from North Korea."

An even bigger Chinese trading partner of the North was blacklisted in September 2016: Dandong Hongxiang Industrial Development Co. According to a report by the U.S.-based research group C4AD and South Korea's Asan Institute for Policy Studies, Hongxiang carried out imports and exports worth a total of $532 million in 2011-15. It had also supplied aluminum oxide and other materials that can be used in processing nuclear bomb fuel.What to Know Student activist David Hogg is calling on tourists from around the country to boycott Florida for Spring Break.

He's asking tourists to boycott Florida until politicians pass legislation on gun reform.

Hogg suggested that tourists spend their spring break in Puerto Rico instead.

Stoneman Douglas student activist David Hogg is now calling on tourists from around the country to boycott the state of Florida this spring break, until politicians pass legislation on gun reform.

Hogg took to Twitter and wrote, Lets make a deal DO NOT come to Florida for spring break unless gun legislation is passed. These [politicians] wont listen to us so maybe theyll listen to the billion dollar tourism industry in FL. #neveragain

The post was retweeted more than 37,000 times.

Let's make a deal DO NOT come to Florida for spring break unless gun legislation is passed. These politions won't listen to us so maybe the'll listen to the billion dollar tourism industry in FL. #neveragain  David Hogg text VOTE to 954-954 (@davidhogg111) February 24, 2018

Hogg continued by saying spring breakers should opt to spend their time in Puerto Rico instead.

its a beautiful place with amazing people. They could really use the economic support that the government has failed to provide, he tweeted.

Better Idea: Spend your spring break in Puerto Rico, it's a beautiful place with amazing people. They could really use the economic support that the government has failed to provide. #SpringBreak2018 #SBinPurtoRico #itsspelled PUERTO RICO  David Hogg text VOTE to 954-954 (@davidhogg111) February 24, 2018

How can you expect people from across the nation and the world to come to South Florida if we cant guarantee their safety because of the inaction of these politicians? said Hogg to NBC 6 on Saturday, I understand there will be economic ramifications from this, but that is only if these politicians refuse to take quick and swift action to resolve these gun issues. 

According to Oxford Economics, tourists spend more than $100 billion each year in Florida.A Massachusetts company with an office in San Diego has created a technology they say can detect a gunshot within one second.

"Most active shootings only last seven minutes or less, Doug Tompkins with Shooter Detection Systems told NBC 7.

The recent mass shooting in Parkland Florida lasted less than 10 minutes. By the time authorities reached the school the shooter was already gone.

Once a gunshot goes off, a camera pops on to identify what the shooter looks like and where the shooter is. A notification is also sent immediately to law enforcement.

"Say for instance in a school district kids on their cellphones would instantly get a message there's a shooter on property. They'd know exactly with instructions what to do," Tompkins added.

The system made sense for Freddie Chavez of the Carlsbad company Aethercomm, Inc. Aethercomm designed part of the sensor that detects both the acoustic sound of gunfire and a weapons' muzzle flash. "It's all about time on site and notification, Chavez said.

Tompkins said it has a zero false alert rate. Aethercomm now uses the Shooter Detection System to protect its building from threats.

"Knowing we took that extra precaution gives us the confidence that if something should unfortunately occur that we have the proper procedures in place to deter that threat," Chavez said.

The technology was originally used in Iraq and Afghanistan to protect troops on the ground and in the air, from snipers.

"We took the outdoor technology which is military technology and it's battle tested and he turned it into an indoor system, Tompkins added.

Locally, Shooter Detection Systems are deployed at some government agencies, businesses and a private school in San Diego. The San Diego Police Department uses a gunshot detection system in several neighborhoods to automatically alert them to shootings even if no one calls.

"It's like the modern day smoke detector, it sits on the wall, it waits and its going to save lives, Tompkins said. The system costs $10,000 to 60,000, depending on the size of the building its protecting. Shooter Detection Systems hopes to install the technology in schools across California.What to Know Sheriff Scott Israel announced that he will fully cooperate with an investigation by the FDLE.

Israel announced that he will not step down as sheriff, despite a call by 73 lawmakers demanding that he be removed from office.

Israel to continue investigating on whether or not officers responded inappropriately to the shooting.

Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel announced that he will fully cooperate with an investigation by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement into how his deputies responded to the Parkland school shooting that left 17 people dead.

In an exclusive interview with NBC 6, Israel also said he will not step down as sheriff, despite a call by 73 Republican Florida lawmakers demanding that he be removed from office. The lawmakers made their demand in a letter to Gov. Rick Scott.

Leaders are responsible for the agency, but leaders are not responsible for a person, said Israel. I gave him a gun. I gave him a badge. I gave him the training. If he didnt have the heart to go in, thats not my responsibility.

In the interview, Israel chose not to focus on reports claiming that three other Broward County Sheriffs deputies, in addition to the schools resource officer, did not go inside Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School when shots rang out.

We are preparing to take statements from Coral Springs police officers, who allegedly are going to make statements about our deputies or some deputies, two or three deputies not doing what theyre supposed to do. It will be investigated feverishly and thoroughly, said Israel.

On Sunday, Florida House Speaker Richard Corcoran shared a letter with 73 house Republican signatures, calling for Gov. Rick Scott to remove Israel from office.

Gov. Scott responded with a statement, which, in part, read, I have asked for the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to immediately investigate the law enforcement response and will continue to review this matter as more facts come out. There must be an independent investigation and that is why I asked the FDLE Commissioner to immediately start this process.

We will find the truth, said Israel. If the deputies did nothing wrong, then we move forward. If the deputies made mistakes, Ill act accordingly and handle it appropriately as I did with former Deputy Peterson.

The sheriff said hes received thousands of supportive messages from the men and women who elected him. But theres a growing number of people arguing that its inexcusable that Israels department missed warning signs about the teenage shooter. Twenty-three calls were made to BSO about the gunman. Two other officers, who previously responded to one of the calls related to Nikolas Cruz, have been placed on restrictive duty while the investigation is underway.

Im the sheriff. My names on the door. The people responsible are the ones who took the calls and didnt follow up on it. As it was with the FBI, as it was with any person, said Israel.

Israel said that BSO will fully cooperate with the FDLE, as they believe in full transparency and accountability. This independent, outside review will ensure public confidence in the findings, said Israel.What to Know A small protest was held Saturday, calling for BSO's Sheriff Scott Israel to resign.

The protest came after news came out that three officers, in addition to the school resource officer, did not go into the school.

#ResignSheriffScottIsrael was the top trending hashtag on Twitter in the United States on Friday night.

Law enforcement confirmed to NBC that three Broward Sheriffs Deputies, in addition to school resource officer Scot Peterson, waited outside Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, rather than rush in as the killer was gunning down students.

The man at the helm of BSO, Sheriff Scott Israel, is now the target of much outrage over revelations that his agency may have dropped the ball in responding to the tragic shooting.

More than a dozen protesters are now calling for Israels resignation. Their signs and messages come with new questions as to how Broward Sheriffs deputies responded to the attack at Stoneman Douglas High.

Hes the boss. Hes where the buck stops. He has to take responsibility, said Bob Maier, a protester.

BSO detectives say they are investigating the claim from the Coral Springs Police Department that some deputies did not go into the school when they should have and that this is not a fact.

Representative Bill Hager of Boca Raton spoke out on Twitter and shared a letter, calling the breakdown in communication "catastrophic" and asked Gov. Rick Scott to remove the Sheriff for neglect of duty and incompetence.

As a result of the media reports coming out showing the gross incompetence of the @browardsheriff, I am calling on @FLGovScott to remove sheriff Israel from his post. 1/2  Bill Hager (@RepBillHager) February 24, 2018

Israel then shared a rebuttal, calling Hager's letter reckless and riddled with factual errors.

The President of the Broward Sheriff's Office Deputies Association says he has no information at this time to substantiate any of the new claims.

"That's a freedom of expression for the residents of Broward County. The union's position right now on that is neutral," said Jeff Bell.

Two law enforcement sources told NBC News that three other BSO deputies remained outside when they could have gone inside the freshman building. What remains unconfirmed is the reason.

This is in addition to Scot Peterson, the armed school resource officer who remained outside and never tried to stop the shooter.

I think he should be responsible for what his officers do, said one protester.

According to new reports citing police sources, Coral Springs police were upset to find that three other BSO deputies, in addition to Peterson, had also not entered the freshman building and were outside, guns drawn, behind cruisers, when Coral Springs police officers arrived.

In a statement released Friday, Coral Springs police said the department has a tremendous working relationship with BSO and that as already reported, any actions or inactions that negatively affected the response will be investigated thoroughly.

They went into raging bullets to save these kids, and you know what, why didnt the BSO? Theyre the bigger department, were a little department in the middle of Coral Springs. Why didnt BSO go in? said a protester.

#ResignSheriffScottIsrael was the number one trending topic on Twitter in America on Friday night.

My husband is a police officer. And cops are near and dear to my heart, this is not about cops and this is not about Trump or anything like that, said Trish Ferri, a protester.State Sen. Daylin Leach formally ended his congressional bid late Friday night in a Facebook post. He cited toxic partisanship in Washington, D.C., and political attacks against his family as the main drivers behind his decision.

I first dreamed of being in Congress as a boy in middle school. The way I imagined it, I would be working with Bobby Kennedy and Hubert Humphrey, and each day would be an exhilarating whirlwind of social change, he wrote.

In December, the Montgomery County Democrat was accused by several female staffers of inappropriate sexual behavior, including unwanted touching and making uncomfortable remarks. He made no mention of those allegations in his Facebook post.

Given that Congress has devolved into a poisonous miasma of dysfunction, I came to the conclusion a couple of years ago that my desire to go there was based on inertia and an overly romanticized vision of what life as a congressman could be," he wrote.

Read the whole statement here: [[475082373, C]]

Leach initially suspended his congressional campaign in December 2017. At the time, he was running against 7th District Republican Rep. Pat Meehan. But in January, Meehan dropped his re-election bid after being accused of sexual harassment.

After the Pennsylvania Supreme Court issued a redrawn congressional map, the 7th District - which included portions of Berks, Chester, Delaware, Lancaster and Montgomery counties - was split into individual districts along county lines:

[[474510443, C]]

State Rep. Madeleine Dean dropped her bid last week for lieutenant governor and will instead run in Leach's own Montgomery County.

Meanwhile, Republicans are talking impeachment over the new map. Two lawsuits - one in the U.S. Supreme Court and another in U.S. District Court - were filed last week to prevent the map from taking effect in the upcoming midterm elections.

Republican leaders are also threatening to seek the impeachment of Democratic judges who, in an unprecedented move, redrew Pennsylvanias district map without the consent of the state legislature. Constitutional law scholars say they know of no other state court that has ever thrown out boundaries over a partisan gerrymandering claim.

What Pennsylvanias high court struck down was widely viewed as one of the nations most gerrymandered congressional maps. Republicans had drawn bizarrely contorted districts in 2011, breaking decades of precedent to do it.Colombia's chief prosecutor's office says it has extradited a major drug trafficking suspect to the United States.

The agency says the man known as the "Pablo Escobar of Ecuador" was handed over to U.S. officials early Saturday.

Washington Edison Prado had tried to prevent extradition by claiming membership in the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia  a status that would have made him eligible for amnesty under a peace deal.

U.S. officials accuse Prado of shipping more than 250 tons of cocaine to the U.S. He allegedly rose from beginnings as a boatman running drugs along Ecuador's coast to become the head of a small army of smugglers spread across five countries.

Prado was arrested in Colombia in April on an indictment by a Florida federal court.Candidates hoping to win an endorsement from the California Democratic Party ahead of the June 2018 primary were in in San Diego Saturday for the party's annual state convention.

Thousands of Democratic delegates from across California gathered at the San Diego Convention Center ready to give their vote to candidates that address the issues they deem important to the party, from affordable housing to environmental regulations.

To get an endorsement, a candidate must receive a vote from 60 percent or more of Democratic delegates.

"So the idea is that if they win me over and I vote for them, and if they get 60 percent or more [delegates voting for them], then they get the Democratic Party endorsement," said Guillermo Elenes, a delegate from Northern California.

The race that was on everyones mind this year was the gubernatorial race. Frontrunners Gavin Newsom and Antonio Villaraigosa are both pushing for endorsements from the Democratic National Party in what is expected to be a hotly contested race.

If a candidate wins the endorsement, that could mean big money for their campaign moving forward.

Elenes is excited about the diverse field of candidates.

"I think that its going to be a very competitive endorsement race, and come November its going to be a great election," Elenes said.

The convention also included networking events, where candidates could hear the issues that matter to their progressive base.

U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein was one of the convention's speakers Saturday. After 25 years in the U.S. Senate, shes now facing a challenge from fellow Democrat, California State Senator Kevin De Leon.

The California Democratic Party Convention runs through Sunday.

Republicans will hold their annual state convention in San Diego on May 4 to 6.A Carroll County middle school teacher who won a teacher of the year award was indicted by a federal grand jury after the he allegedly attempted to coerce a minor to meet him for sex, federal prosecutors say.

Kenneth Brian Fischer, 39, of Westminster, Maryland, faces between ten years and life in prison if convicted, prosecutors say.

Fischer was originally arrested in Virginia on Sept. 13, 2017 and charged in four counts of solicitation of a minor, police said.

The federal case was brought under a Department of Justice initiative called Project Safe Childhood, which aims to apprehend and prosecute those who exploit children over the Internet.

Fairfax County police say they identified Fischer through an online chat investigation that began Aug. 31. A detective posing as a 14-year-old boy used an unidentified phone app that pings people nearby to talk or socialize.

Fischer initiated conversation with the detective, who Fischer believed to be a minor, according to police, and asked for sexual contact. Fischer also allegedly sent explicit images to the detective. Police say the images presumably were pictures of Fischer.

An investigation ensued, and detectives learned that Fischer lived in Maryland. At this point, Virginia police contacted Maryland police for assistance.

Units from the Maryland State Police, the Department of Homeland Security, the FBI and Westminster County Police cooperated to serve Fischer a search warrant for his home 5:40 a.m. Sept. 13, 2017.

Fischer was arrested as police searched his home.

Electronic and digital devices were seized from his home and will be analyzed by digital forensic investigators in Virginia.

Fischer was a teacher at Westminster West Middle School when he was arrested. The school told WBAL that he was suspended without pay.

Fischer has worked in schools as a teacher and administrator since 2000. He has worked in multiple other Carroll County schools, including North Carroll High School, Winters Mill High School Francis Scott Key High School, Manchester Valley High School, Sykesville Middle School and Mt. Airy Middle School.

Police believe there may be other victims in Northern Virginia and Maryland, and set up a hotline where victims can report information and seek assisstance. Call (443) 373-1684 or email crimeline@ccg.carr.org to contact law enforcement.A husband and wife were found shot and killed in a home in Odenton, Maryland, on Sunday, police say.

A family member found 55-year-old Charles James Edward Jackson and 47-year-old Veronique Crystal Jackson dead in a home on the 2000 block of Brigadier Boulevard and called police about 7:05 a.m. Sunday, Anne Arundel County police said.

Police canvassed the neighborhood and spoke to several witnesses.

Autopsies on the victims will be completed Monday to determine their exact cause and manner of death, police said.

Police said the shooting appeared to be a targeted incident and there is no threat to public safety. Neighbors told News4 that they didn't notice anything unusual around the home.Massachusetts State Police said a Maine woman driving on Interstate 95 near the New Hampshire border early Sunday morning struck and killed a male pedestrian on the highway.



The preliminary investigation by Troopers Christopher Ryan and Randy Morales found the 66-year-old woman from Kittery Point, Maine, was traveling southbound in a 2016 Jeep Renegade when her vehicle struck the pedestrian in the second travel lane, according to a news release issued by the Newbury barracks.

"As a result of the collision, the adult male pedestrian was transported to Anna Jacques Hospital by ambulance where he was pronounced deceased," police said.

The crash occurred at about 2:35 a.m. in the area of Exit 57 in Newburyport, located just a few miles from the New Hampshire border.

The cause of the crash, including the reason why the pedestrian was on the highway, is still under investigation. The State Police Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Section and Crime Scene Services Section are assisting in the investigation. No charges have been filed at this time.

State Police were assisted on scene by Newburyport Police, Fire and EMS, MassDOT, and the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.

The identity of the victim is being withheld pending family notification.A Massachusetts State Police trooper discharged his weapon at a large group of suspects on Interstate 93 Saturday afternoon that been "erratically and recklessly" driving off-road motorcycles and ATVs around Boston through the day in an attempt to apprehend them, authorities confirmed.

One suspect, an unidentified 28-year-old man from Randolph, Massachusetts, sustained a non-life-threatening injury as a result of the shooting. Five others were arrested and charged with various offenses as a result of the altercation. In addition, State Police seized approximately 20 motorcycles and ATVs from the scene.

Investigators said that approximately 23 to 25 individuals were riding off-road bikes, motorcycles and ATVs recklessly through Boston during the day on Saturday. Numerous 911 calls were made reporting the riders, said police.

Troopers observed the group at about 5:00 p.m. near exit 18 traveling in a dangerous manner along Interstate 93 southbound in Boston, police said.

According to police, troopers attempted to stop and arrest the group on the off ramp to the exit. During the confrontation, one trooper discharged his weapon, striking the 28-year-old suspect.

The suspect was tranpsorted to an area hospital for treatment.

Another rider who was not shot complained of pain and was also taken to an area hospital for evaluation.

A trooper who sustained a knee injury during the incident was taken to Massachusetts General Hospital.

Police said that in addition to the five suspects arrested on the scene, the two suspects who were hospitalized are also expected to face charges.

The heavy police presence on I-93 South Saturday evening caused major delays as police responded to the scene near exit 18.

The exit was still closed as of 7:30 p.m.; all southbound lanes were open.

According to MassDOT, traffic was backed up to the Zakim Bridge at one point.

The incident remains under investigation.Contributed Photo / Stratford Police Department / Contributed Photo

STRATFORD  A Bridgeport man was charged Saturday after police said he pointed a rifle at a man and threatened to blow his head off.

Brian Torres, 45, of Bridgeport, was charged with criminal possession of a firearm, weapons in a motor vehicle, second-degree breach of peace, first-degree threatening, third-degree intimidation based on bias and first-degree reckless endangerment.The Annual Manitoba Harness Racing Awards took place last night (Saturday, February 25) in Miami, Manitoba to honour the provinces best performers from the 2017 season.

The Manitoba Horse of the Year Award was won by Full Moon Dodger, who hails from the Trevor Williams Stable. The seven-year-old gelded son of Brandons Cowboy made 22 pari-mutuel starts in 17 and compiled a record of 7-3-1 and banked over $13,000 in purses. Full Moon Dodger is owned by Manitoba Racing of Winnipeg.

Richard Rey and family were front and centre as the awards were doled out, as the familys star homebred filly Reys N A Rocket captured the Three-Year-Old Filly of the Year Award, as well as the Manitoba-bred of the Year Award (which came with broodmare honours), as well as the Standardbred Canada Manitoba-bred Owner of the Year Award for Richards stellar job in the breeders category this past summer.

Rey was also named Horseperson of the Year for 2017, as he beat out fellow previous winners in Trevor Williams and Don Howlett. Clayton Braybrook and Don Anness were the other nominees, and both saw their respective stables take home a trophy during the evening ceremony.

Howlett was honoured with his fifth consecutive top driver award. Williams also took home hardware for top trainer once again after a record-breaking season in the province, while his father and stablemate, Mike, won the MHHI Owner of the Year Award.

Glenda Giles took home the Caretaker of the Year Award. Giles is a dedicated horsewoman who is a part of the Clayton Braybrook stable (Clayton was also a nominee in the horseman of the year category). Clayton and Glenda, both of whom are natives of Saskatchewan, have moved their craft to the towns of Manitoba, as their home province no longer conducts harness racing.

Some of the other prestigious awards that were handed out are listed below.

 Ron Waples Award  given to Jan Moody of Miami, MB for her hard work and dedication to the Manitoba Great Western Harness Racing circuit.

 Rising Star Award  Daryl Thiessen for his exceptional work as a groom and commitment to horse racing.

 Seemego Award  delivered to Tyler Grundy for demonstrating the highest amount

of sportsmanship throughout the race season.

The 2017 Sire of the Year Award was won by Darryl and Sherri Masons 21-year-old Mattarocket. As mentioned earlier, Richard Rey won broodmare of the year with Allamerican Orchid.

The Lifetime Achievement Award was won by longtime Manitoba horseman George Isman for his past success and extreme dedication to Manitoba harness racing over

the years.

Top Trainer

Trevor Williams

Top Trainer Under 30 Starts

Don Anness

Top Driver Over 30 Starts

Don Howlett

Top Driver Under 30 Starts

Glen Ledrew

MSSBA Two-Year-Old Filly of the Year

Release The Baby

MSSBA Two-Year-Old Colt of the Year

Reys N A Ruckus

MSSBA Three-Year-Old Filly of the Year

Reys N A Rocket

MSSBA Three-Year-Old Colt of the Year

Cash Or Cheque

MSSBA Aged Mare of the Year

Luvn the Life

MSSBA Aged Horse of the Year

Rocket Power

MHHI Claimer of the Year

Red Star Tiger

MHHI Aged Mare of The Year

Lovethatsixpack

Manitoba Horse of the Year

Full Moon Dodger - Trevor Williams Stables

(With files from Manitoba Harness Racing)The Roger Sherman Chapter, National Society Daughters of the American Revolution, which serves the Greater New Milford area, will celebrate Womens History Month with a special program March 4 at 2 p.m.

An hour-long program with Judith Kalaora will chronicle the life of Deborah Sampson, the first women to enlist, to fight and to be honorably discharged from the American military, at the John Pettibone Community Center at 2 Pickett District Road.HARTFORD  The first battle of the 2018 election campaign will take place Monday when lawmakers consider the man who might become the first openly gay state Supreme Court chief justice in the United States.

Its shaping up to become a proxy fight, with conservative Republicans, including two gubernatorial hopefuls, importing Washington-style partisanship against Democrats and a disliked governor in his final year. The atmosphere has been heightened by homophobic internet attacks from fringe groups.

Stuck in the middle is Connecticut Supreme Court Justice Andrew J. McDonald, of Stamford, whose nomination to replace Chase T. Rogers will be the subject of a public hearing Monday morning before the General Assemblys Judiciary Committee.

McDonald was a longtime legal adviser to Dannel P. Malloy, dating back to Malloys tenure as Stamford mayor. A former state senator who was co-chairman of the Judiciary Committee, McDonald left the General Assembly following Malloys 2010 election as governor to become his Capitol legal counsel. Malloy nominated him for a post on the Supreme Court in 2013.

One of the smartest people

McDonald declined to comment, but the governor said that his former adviser has the experience to lead the high court.

Hes brilliant, Malloy said. Hes one of the smartest people I have ever met. All I ask is that he be judged on the answers to questions and on what hes written. At the end, if there are reasonable differences, so be it.

Malloy and Democrats, with a nominal majority in the Senate and a narrow 79-72 edge in the House, are critical of GOP attempts to take a tactic from Washington and push for a delay in the appointment of a new chief justice until after the next governor takes office in 2019.

More Information Supreme Court Associate Justice Andrew J. McDonald Age: 51 Education: Stamford public schools; B.A. from Cornell University, 1988; Law degree with honors from UConn School of Law, 1991. Bench experience: State Supreme Court, confirmed 2013. Chairman of the Connecticut Criminal Justice Commission, 2016. Legal experience: Gov. Dannel P. Malloy's general legal counsel 2011-13. Private legal practice, commercial litigation with Pullman & Comley, LLC 1991-2011. Legal affairs director and corporation counsel for the city of Stamford 1999-2002. Elected experience: State senator from Stamford 2003-11. Stamford Board of Representatives, 1993-95. City's Board of Finance from 1995-99, two years as chairman. Personal: McDonald and his husband, Charles, live in Stamford. See More Collapse

Criticism of McDonald has been led by Tim Herbst, the former Trumbull first selectman, and Rep. Prasad Srinivasan, R-Glastonbury, both of whom are running for governor.

As recently as Wednesday, during a GOP debate in West Haven, Herbst railed against McDonald several times, criticizing his links to Malloy.

Ill tell you what the swamp is, Herbst said. When the governor of the state of Connecticut nominates his best friend and political adviser to be the chief justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court with limited judicial experience.

A website called thefamilycourtcircus.com, referred to McDonalds nomination under a headline called Jewdicial Sodomites. The ultra-conservative Breibart news site, claims that opposition is growing against McDonald because he is a progressive judicial activist.

In 2009, McDonald, as co-chairman of the Judiciary Committee, came under fire from Catholics after scheduling a public hearing on a bill that would have rewritten century-old church incorporation rules. The legislation was filed on behalf of parishioners dealing with million-dollar embezzlement cases in Greenwich and Darien. Roman Catholic officials considered the bill a threat to the state law that makes individual parishes liable for legal action, protecting the dioceses. Church officials bused in hundreds of church members from throughout the state to protest.

Republican Senate Leader Len Fasano, of North Haven, said that he will listen to Mondays testimony and he has been reading through decisions McDonald has written.

I like Andrew, personally, Fasano said. I think hes a good guy, but its about where he believes the role of the Supreme Court is.

Sen. Michael McLachlan, R-Danbury, a veteran five-term member of the Judiciary Committee, said the big question is whether McDonald is qualified to run the Judicial Branch. McLachlan has filed several requests with the Judicial Branch in connection with McDonalds nomination.

A dangerous trend

This is a very unusual job in government, McLachlan said. Youre appointed and youre never answering to voters. Youre supposedly answering to the Legislature. Justice McDonald has been on the court for five years, but without judicial-management experience. He wasnt a chief judge in a Superior Court district.

Meanwhile, a group of the states top lawyers has warned all 151 House members and 36 senators that recent reviews of judicial nominees indicate a dangerous trend ... increasingly partisan in tone and increasingly focused on political concerns.

The 45-member group, which calls itself the Ad Hoc Committee of Concerned Lawyers, includes the deans of the University of Connecticut, Yale and Quinnipiac University law schools, as well as the states major law firms and organizations.

Senate President Martin M. Looney, D-New Haven, said McDonalds experience in the Legislature, in the Capitol as the governors counsel and his current Supreme Court tenure make him uniquely qualified.

Looney said that while some might characterize McDonald as an activist judge, there are many decisions in which he has supported the Legislatures role. Looney said McDonalds understanding of the totality of state government makes his candidacy even more attractive.

Hes lived it all, rather than just dealing with it in theory, over the last 15 years, Looney said.

A tradition of qualifications

Andrew is a good friend of mine, someone I served with, said Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff, D-Norwalk. He is eminently qualified to be chief. I am deeply disappointed and frustrated by the Republicans in our state who may use Andrews nomination for some kind of political tool because they may not like him personally, or the person who appointed him.

Sen. Beth Bye, D-East Hartford, expects there will be opposition during the hearing.

There are definitely some folks lining up against him, Bye said. I think its because of his strong advocacy for LGBT rights. The courts are there to stand up for people and for individual rights. But there are other groups that were not happy with his stands.REDDING  A fire at an apartment complex on Portland Avenue sent one resident to the hospital Saturday morning.

Crews from the Georgetown Volunteer Fire Department were called to 56 Portland Ave. around 10 a.m. for a fire that broke out in a second floor condominium, Asst. Chief Robert Napoleon said.

The complex was evacuated as firefighters from Georgetown, Wilton, Ridgefield, West Redding and Redding Ridge worked to contain the blaze, which was contained to the second-floor unit, Napoleon said. The fire was brought under control in about a half an hour.

One resident from the second-floor condo was brought to the hospital after the fire. A Georgetown fire official said she was taken to the hospital to be treated for smoke inhalation and would be displaced from the fire.

No one is going to be reentering that unit for a while, Napoleon said. Some of the other units will not be occupied tonight (Saturday) because of smoke.

The second-floor unit was the only condo that sustained physical damage from the flames, Napoleon said.

That apartment was completely gutted by the fire, the Georgetown fire official said.

The American Red Cross is helping other residents who chose not to return to the building after the fire. The unit below the fire sustained significant water damage, the Georgetown fire official said, and the residents living there were temporarily displaced.

Two additional apartment further back in the building had their power disrupted during the fire, the official said.

The Georgetown fire official said he wasnt sure on an exact number of people displaced. He said at least three or four units were impacted by fire, smoke or water damage. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.New Milford Public Library will offer several programs in the coming weeks.

Fiddleuisce, representing the Greater Danbury Irish Center, will present a program of traditional Irish music and song with a little history added March 7 at 6:30 p.m.

The lineup will be Bill Devlin on flute and whistle, Nora Hanley and Liz Jones on fiddles and Gordon Jones on guitar and vocals.

The Jones, who live in Southbury, are also the owners of Sigginstown Castle in County Wexford, Ireland, and were recently featured on HGTVs House Hunter International.

Registration is required at 860-355-1191, ext. 2.

Residents are invited to a passport program March 10 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., where they can apply for or renew at passport.

Passport photos will be taken at the fair; forms are available at the circulation desk.

Aquarion Water discuss the importance of water conservation and what you can do to help during a program March 14 at 6:30 p.m.

Free shower timers will be given to the first 50 people to attend the presentation.

Aquarion Water Company is the public water supply company for more than 625,000 people in 51 cities and towns throughout Connecticut.

Registration is required by calling 860-355-1191, ext. 2.

A St. Patricks Day-themed escape room will be offered March 17 at 7 p.m.

Patrons will be invited to find hidden objects, figure out the clues and solve the puzzles to earn freedom and escape the room within 30 minutes.

Each team will sign up for a 30-minute time slot.

For more information and registration, call 860-355-1191, ext. 2.

For more information and registration for the programs, call the Main Street library at 860-355-1191.Gunn Memorial Library in Washington will present a program, Beyond NASAs Hubble Space Telescope to the James Webb Space Telescope, March 1 at 6:30 p.m.

A snow date of March 8 is planned.

Ray Reich, a Washington resident and former Gunnery physics and astronomy teacher, will lead the program at the Wykeham Road library.

In 1990 NASA launched the Hubble Space Telescope.

This observatory has revolutionized not only the scientific understanding of the universe but revealed for the first time what our universe actually looked like.

Hubble has been transforming astronomers' understanding of the cosmos and answering some of the most intriguing questions in astrophysics.

It has delivered images and discoveries of the universe into laypeoples.

With the success in the last 27 years of photographs and data returned by Hubble, NASA is prepared to launch, in 2019, its successor - the James Webb Telescope.

A nearly $9 billion project, Webb will be the premier observatory of the next decade.

Reich will share some of Hubbles photos and discoveries and highlight some of the details and expectations of the new iconic Webb telescope.

For information and RSVP, call 860-868-7586.Michael "Shawn" Findley, a 44-year-old amputee with a wiring harness emerging from his upper left arm, is working with a UT Southwestern team to help change the way robotic hand biofeedback occurs. Ultimately, he hopes this research may lead to the closest thing to feeling in the hands of every amputee.

A 2005 punch press accident in a Mount Pleasant, Texas, fabrication shop left Mr. Findley with mangled and amputated fingers on his left hand. Over the next four years, the Dallas native underwent 13 restorative operations before he decided in 2009 to have an elective amputation at midforearm. He was then fitted with a functioning prosthetic hand.

After electrodes were temporarily implanted in his residual limb at UT Southwestern in late October 2017, Mr. Findley drove in weekly from his home in Mount Pleasant to make the most of a 90-day research window, part of Dr. Jonathan Cheng's HAPTIX neural interfacing study. On a recent Friday, Mr. Findley relearned how much fingertip pressure it took to pick up different small weights, as these readings were fed into several electronic graphs monitored by the research team.

An Army veteran, Mr. Findley served from 1993 to 1999. His willingness to participate in this innovative research and complete numerous trips to Dallas is easily understood.

"I have a 19-year-old son in the Marines. You hope they all stay out of harm's way, but you want to have done what you could," Mr. Findley said, his voice catching with emotion. "If something did happen, well, you know you might have helped in some way. You've got to have someone willing to do this, and I'm here for as long as they want me."

The federal government's Hand Proprioception and Touch Interfaces (HAPTIX) program seeks to create a prosthetic hand system that moves and provides sensation like a natural hand. Dr. Cheng, an Associate Professor of Plastic Surgery at UT Southwestern, said he believes that the body's natural neural communications pathway  even one that has been severed  can be tapped into using an artificial messaging bridge.

Dr. Cheng's research, which has advanced from animal models to humans, focuses on communication of undamaged nerves remaining in the limb after amputation. Other research has employed electrodes inserted into the control areas of the brain. The UT Southwestern team, however, believes the singular workload of nerves in the forearm will provide the best functional pathway.

"The brain is complex and changes all the time," Dr. Cheng said. "Nerves outside the brain, in contrast, are like living wire: one fiber connected to one thing."

Robotic hand research for amputees has been underway for decades. While the hand can perform up to 22 different functions simultaneously, the most sophisticated commercially available robotic hands can only control three different functions  one at a time. Development of more advanced robotics and control systems has been funded by the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) for over 15 years, Dr. Cheng said. From that, two technologically advanced research-grade robotic hands have emerged, both of which have 20 to 30 distinct functions.

Although technologically advanced, these newest robotic hands as yet have not demonstrated practical application in patients because the human-machine interface has not been mastered; patients using those advanced robotic hands cannot feel with them or control them naturally. Previous DARPA-sponsored studies have shown that implanting electrodes (electrical contacts) on the surface of the brain helps, but the technique has not been applicable to many patients due to the need for brain surgery and the extreme complexity of decoding brain signals. Dr. Cheng and other researchers are ultimately striving for the degree of dexterity and sensitivity needed to type on a keyboard or play a musical instrument.

"The problem is not the amputees or the robotic hands," said Dr. Cheng. "The problem has been the biological interface between the two."

DARPA support comes through Nerves Inc., of which Dr. Cheng is a founder. The company's DEFT (Dexterous Hand Control Through Fascicular Targeting) study has five participating institutions, including UT Southwestern, and uses Nerve Inc.'s FAST-LIFE electrodes. Dr. Cheng has an investment interest in Nerves Inc.

The UT Southwestern team's first two human participants  who were both hand amputees  had electrodes attached to the ulnar nerve. The ulnar nerve runs the length of the forearm, ending with 15 tiny muscles in the hand. The ulnar nerve controls every type of hand motion, plus touch and movement sensation.

"It is a very direct access," Dr. Cheng said. "The organization of these nerves is quite predictable during peripheral nerve reconstructions, which are done in my everyday clinical practice."

Mr. Findley is one of the four clinical trial participants that UT Southwestern researchers are continuing to work with on biological and physiological investigations. This group includes hand and forearm amputees, advancing the investigation to include both the median and ulnar nerves in the forearm. The goal is to restore sensation in patients with robotic hands.

"Feeling your hand is absolutely the purpose here," Dr. Cheng said. "For all of my other patients, being able to feel with their hand is mandatory. It should be no different for patients using robotic hands."

After he received his prosthetic hand, Mr. Findley got a job at Lowe's  first working in the warehouse and later as a diversity and outreach specialist  before hearing the call to pastor full time in 2012. He and his wife, Rachel, have a blended family of five children  Brittany, J.C., Sarah, Michael, and Ty, a high school sophomore still living at home  and two grandchildren.

Members of his congregation in Mount Pleasant regularly receive sermons with a personal touch. "People will listen and believe it when I tell them you can overcome trying situations, that help is available if you ask for it, or that people are the same even if they don't quite look alike," Mr. Findley said.

"My life has definitely changed, but I'm a goal-oriented person," he said. "My mindset has always been, 'We're moving forward.'"Children with chronic kidney disease (CKD) may have lower intellectual functioning compared with the general population, with mild deficits across academic skills, executive function, and visual and verbal memory. The findings, which appear in an upcoming issue of the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (CJASN), come from an analysis of studies published through 2016.

CKD in children clearly affects their physical health, but research also indicates that it can have impacts on neurocognitive function, academic performance, and mental health. This can lead to long-term consequences for children with CKD as they transition into adulthood.

To look into this issue, Kerry Chen, MBBS (The Centre for Kidney Research, University of Sydney, in Australia) and her colleagues examined all of the published evidence on cognitive and academic outcomes in children and adolescents with CKD. Their analysis included 34 studies with more than 3000 CKD patients under the age of 21 years.

The analysis suggests that children with CKD may have low-average neurocognitive and academic outcomes. The global cognition IQ of children with CKD was classified as low-average. Compared with the general population, the average differences in IQ were -10.5 for all CKD stages, -9.39 for patients with mild-to-moderate stage CKD, -11.2 for patients who underwent kidney transplantation, and -16.2 for patients on dialysis. Direct comparisons showed that children with mild-to-moderate stage CKD and those who received kidney transplants scored 11.2 and 10.1 IQ points higher than children on dialysis. Children with CKD also had lower scores than the general population in executive function and memory domains, and they scored lower in tests of academic skills related to mathematics, reading, and spelling.

"In translating our findings to clinical practice, this research provides relevant information on the areas of need-;for example, working memory and mathematics-;for which children with CKD may need guidance, practice and assistance, particularly for children on dialysis," said Dr. Chen. "It also suggests hypotheses for why the overall intellectual and educational outcomes of children with CKD are reduced compared with the general population, and how best to prevent deficits."

An accompanying Patient Voice editorial provides the perspective of Lori Hartwell, Founder and President of the Renal Support Network, who has had kidney disease since 2 years of age. "I recall occasions while on hemodialysis experiencing poor cognition and difficulty retaining information," she wrote. "It is not surprising that children and adolescents on dialysis are at greater risk of such effects. Studies have shown a decline in cognitive function that has been associated with fluid and solute shifts while undergoing hemodialysis." She offers up a number of questions to consider as efforts are made to address patients' needs.

Source: https://www.asn-online.org/Many hospital patients get medicine or nutrition delivered straight into their bloodstream through a tiny device called a PICC. In just a decade, it's become the go-to device for intravenous care.

But a new study finds that one in every four times a PICC gets inserted, the patient didn't need it long enough to justify the risks that it can also pose.

In fact, in just the five days or less that they had a PICC implanted in their vein, nearly one in ten of these patients suffered a blocked line, an infection, a blood clot or another complication linked to the device.

One in three short-term PICC patients also had serious kidney problems that could make them potential dialysis candidates, the study also shows. They face special risks from the devices, which can harm blood vessels and jeopardize a patient's ability to receive dialysis later, if their kidneys fail.

The study, published in the February issue of the Journal of Hospital Medicine, is based on data from 52 hospitals around the state of Michigan taking part in a massive quality improvement and patient safety effort. It's a detailed analysis of records from 15,397 PICC placements over a two-year period from 2014 to 2016, just before and after guidelines for safe and appropriate PICC use made their debut.

The study is a large-scale examination of real-world use of PICCs, or peripherally inserted central catheters, and the factors associated with their short-term use.

It highlights the need for efforts to reduce short-term use of PICCs and help medical care teams understand current practice and consider other alternatives for short-term IV access that pose less risk.

"When PICCs first came out, they became an 'easy button' for vascular access, and the safety issues weren't recognized," says David Paje, M.D., M.P.H., the University of Michigan hospitalist who led the research team. "Now the dynamics have changed, and we need to be more thoughtful with their use."

Paje, an assistant professor of internal medicine, also helps lead the Medical Short Stay Unit at Michigan Medicine, U-M's academic medical center.

For the new study, he worked with senior author and Division of Hospital Medicine chief Vineet Chopra, M.D., M.Sc., and co-author Scott Flanders, M.D., who directs the Michigan Hospital Medicine Safety Consortium that provided the data for the study. Colleagues from several Michigan hospitals are co-authors.

Moving to MAGIC

Based on previous studies of PICC-associated risks, the team assembled an expert panel that developed a guideline for choosing IV devices appropriately, called MAGIC. They unveiled it in 2015, and turned into a mobile and web app in 2017.

Hospitals in the Michigan consortium, which is funded by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, began receiving training in MAGIC during the study period, but were still implementing it.

MAGIC guides clinicians to the appropriate option for the individual patient they're treating. For instance, instead of a PICC, it recommends that patients who will need intravenous access for less than five days should receive a different form of IV device, such as a midline or peripheral IV.

"This study helps illustrate how medical devices such as PICCs can be both helpful and harmful," says Chopra, who led the development of MAGIC and is a member of the U-M Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation. "Understanding how best to balance appropriate use - using tools like MAGIC - is the way to safe and better patient care."

Factoring into PICC use

As part of the study, Paje and his colleagues looked at which patients were more likely to receive a PICC for short-term use.

The strongest factor was difficult vascular access - a catch-all phrase that means it had been hard to start an IV in the patient in previous visits or earlier in the hospital stay.

Clinicians may default to choosing a PICC in these patients in order to keep an intravenous access point open, rather than having to find a vein each time, Paje says. Or, some experienced patients may even ask for a PICC to avoid so many "pokes."

Patients whose physicians ordered a multilumen IV device, to avoid contact between different medications or nutrition solutions, were also more common among short-term PICCs. But Paje notes that few of the patients' records actually said that they were receiving multiple IV substances that had to be kept separate. And patients who had a short-term multilumen PICC were much more likely to suffer a complication.

Interestingly, patients treated in teaching hospitals were more likely to receive a short-term PICC than those treated in non-teaching hospitals. This could actually be seen as an opportunity to address the issue of inappropriate short-term PICC, if hospitals make a plan to teach their residents about the risks and benefits of PICCs and other IV devices.

A recent paper by members of the consortium showed that at one hospital that implemented MAGIC, inappropriate PICC use decreased compared with hospitals that didn't implement it, and PICC-related complications also decreased modestly.

Paje notes that the body's own reaction to foreign material, and the mechanical stress put on veins when a PICC is inserted, can combine to damage veins and increase the risk of clots or scarring. The damage can keep a dialysis candidate from being able to successfully establish a vascular fistula, which would have been the preferred way to receive long-term dialysis.

In all, 9.6 percent of the short-term PICC patients experienced a complication, including 2.5 percent who experienced a blood clot forming in their vein that could have broken off and caused more serious consequences, and 0.4 percent developing a CLABSI, or central line associated blood stream infection.

"The use of PICCs exploded because the safety issues were not initially recognized, including those associated with clots and infections," says Paje. "Now we're coming back full circle, and we need to adapt and implement quality improvement processes to be more judicious with their use. We need to recognize that PICCs are not without any consequence, even for short-term use."

He notes that most of the reasons cited for PICC use in the patient records used in the study - such as delivering antibiotics -- do not require the deep access to the central bloodstream that PICC provides.

Even as clinicians get the word about the MAGIC guidelines and implement measures to right-size PICC uses, Paje calls on patients and family members to speak up and ask questions before a PICC gets placed.

"Patients or their representatives should be actively engaged, and informed," he says. "Find out what lines they're putting in, and ask questions."NEW MILFORD  A local attorney accused of professional misconduct and mishandling a clients funds has agreed to give up her law license.

Ann E. Fisher, who passed the Bar Exam 1979, agreed to give up her ability to practice law in Connecticut after state officials found merit with several grievances filed against her by former clients.

Two of the grievances involved Fishers role as a fiduciary for an estate, in which she held approximately $300,000 in an account for two of the heirs, according to court documents. While Fisher provided the heirs with occasional payments, she refused to provide a full accounting of the funds despite repeated requests.

Last May, Fisher promised to give the heirs the entire balance and a full accounting of the funds, but she failed to make the payment or provide the information, court documents show.

Another grievance pending against Fisher involved a property owner in New York who asked her to represent him in a tenant dispute. For more than a year, Fisher told the landlord she was handling the issue, despite the fact that she was not licensed to practice law in New York and never worked on the case.

During a hearing on the matter before the grievance committee last year, Fisher told the panel she was distracted by personal issues, including a divorce and health problems, and admitted she did nothing to help the client.

Fisher said she never billed the landlord for any work and does not believe she agreed to represent him.

The states Office of Chief Disciplinary Counsel filed an application with the courts in December asking Fisher be suspended from practicing law in Connecticut, citing the grievances in its request.

(Fisher) poses a substantial threat of irreparable harm to her current and prospective clients, the filing states.

The Statewide Grievance Committee filed papers with the courts in January noting all of the investigations into misconduct by Fisher would be disposed of if she agreed to give up her license.

Fisher has agreed to waive any rights to reinstate it at a future date.

After accepting her resignation, the courts ordered attorney Katherine Webster-OKeefe, of New Milford, be appointed as the trustee for all of Fishers accounts, including any personal client funds still in her possession.

Fisher could not be reached for comment.Mr. Wayne LaPierre, have you no shame? How dare your NRA claim the mainstream media love mass shootings?

We journalists at the local daily newspaper that covers Newtown take great offense at the insensitive, unfounded, inflammatory remarks made in your NRA video and amplified by NRA spokeswoman Dana Loesch.

Maybe it was meant to rile up the crowd at the Conservative Political Action Conference outside of Washington where you were speaking Thursday. Earlier, your pro-gun rights group released a video disparaging the media for coverage of the incessant mass shootings in our country. Are we supposed to ignore them?

If you had been in our newsroom on Dec. 14, 2012 you would have seen journalists striving to cover the most difficult breaking news story of our lives. We are trained to report the news to our readers as quickly and as accurately as possible, but nothing could have prepared us for that day.

Shortly after 9:30 a.m. that clear-sky Friday morning, our police reporter Libor Jany heard unconfirmed reports of a shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown. He jumped in the car with photographer Mike Duffy for the 15-minute drive to the school, a scene of chaos when they arrived. Libor started tweeting and Mike took photos and though the news was sparse initially, we told readers on our website what we saw and heard, putting aside speculation and rumors.

While Libor reported the facts  the crush of police cars outside the school, for example  back in the newsroom we editors wondered where this story was going. Maybe it was an angry spouse, targeting one person. Although Columbine was 13 years earlier, mass shootings wasnt yet part of the lexicon.

Slowly, it seemed, the unthinkable  a lone gunman shot his way into the locked school with a semiautomatic weapon and started randomly killing  shaped into reality. By noon, state police confirmed the scope of the horror: 20 first graders and six educators shot to death at the school.

No names were released yet.

This is a close-knit newsroom and we all knew that the daughter of copy editor Terri Rousseau taught at Sandy Hook. Lauren Rousseau was ecstatic months earlier when she landed a permanent substitute position at the school, teaching first grade.

We covered the breaking news throughout the afternoon, reporters talking to as many people as they could; editors coordinating the coverage and getting the news online. What about Lauren, we thought, as we worked; has Terri heard from Lauren yet, we asked each other.

Terri was on vacation that week but came into the newsroom late in the afternoon because she was worried her cell reception wasnt working at home. She had not heard from her only daughter. It would not be until after 1 a.m. that Laurens family would have their worst fears confirmed.

Saturday morning I was back in the newsroom and as managing editor at the time, coordinated a host of reporters to find details for profiles of each of the 26 victims. The who is one of the critical elements in journalism; we couldnt let them be only numbers to our readers. Emotions were understandably raw in Newtown, some slammed doors on reporters, some shouted at them, police blocked them off. We did our job with sensitivity and respect.

Our newsroom was heartbroken. The NRA video says the media benefits from mass shootings by using them to juice their ratings and push their agenda. After Sandy Hook, our editorials have advocated for ways to prevent another tragedy, including sensible gun safety regulations, mental health initiatives and changing this countrys culture of violence.

We love mass shootings? That makes me sick. I wish the Sandy Hook mass shooting  and the 1,607 mass shootings as of Feb. 14 since then  had never happened.Maybe its because the once solid-blue lower Naugatuck Valley has turned red.

Or it could a response to the success of the rival Naugatuck Valley Young Democrats in assisting Anita Dugatto in her upset mayoral primary win last summer.

Or maybe the recent presidential election influenced young people to get involved.

Whatever the case, the Naugatuck Valley Young Republicans will conduct an organizational meeting Monday at 6:30 p.m. at Derby City Hall.

Im expecting 25 to 30 people to show, said David Papcin, a 19-year-old Quinnipiac University nursing student who sits on Ansonias Board of Apportionment and Taxation. Papcin said members have reached out to local universities.

Were open to people 18 to 35 years old, said Papcin, who hopes to become the Ansonia Republican town chairman next month. Im even encouraging high school students who need community service hours to come.

Their meeting comes just three days after the Naugatuck Valley Young Democrats celebrated their first birthday.

Papcin has lined up J.R. Romano, a Derby native and chairman of the state Republican Party, state Sen. George Logan, R-Ansonia, Ansonia Mayor David Cassetti and Derby Mayor Richard Dziekan as speakers.

My heart has always been in the Valley, said Romano. We have a pretty active Young Republican organization headed by (State Rep.) Stephanie Cummings, so well give them whatever help them need.

Romano said those involved will be working on state campaigns, like Logans re-election bid and the state representative race in the 104th District which includes all of Ansonia and a small part of Derby.

That seat became a battleground after Linda Gentile, the longtime Democratic representative, announced she is retiring. The race to succeed her pits Kara Rochelle, of Derby, who heads the Naugatuck Valley Young Democrats, against Joseph Jaumann, an Ansonia Republican 5th Ward alderman and Bridgeport lawyer.

Theyll be knocking on doors, doing literature drops, making phone calls... Romano said. This will provide them with working experience and allow them to network should they have the ambition to run for public office someday.

Papcin said club members will use their social media skills on behalf of Republican candidates. Hes working on Shelton Mayor Mark Laurettis gubernatorial run.

Joining Papcin in organizing the Valleys Young Republicans are Anna Andretta, Ansonias assistant economic development director, Domenic Filippone, an Ansonia alderman, and Michael Shea and Kassie DeFala, both University of New Haven students from Derby. DeFala and Shea are also involved with UNHs Young Republican club.

If you asked me four and a half years ago if I would be involved in politics, Id have said no, said Andretta, who graduated from Southern Connecticut State University as a business major. A stint as Cassettis administrative assistant led her to to a job in the city Finance Department and now assisting Sheila OMalley, Ansonias economic development director and grants writer.

I think the story of Ansonias re-birth is important, and I want to get the message out, said Andretta., Id consider running for state office someday. Thats how much interest Ive gotten.

In Derby, Shea, at 20, went from volunteering on Dziekans successful mayoral campaign to becoming the youngest member of Derbys Republican Town Committee.

He did a lot of work for us in the mayoral election, said Andrew Baklik, Dziekans chief of staff. I saw how excited he was and I thought itd be beneficial to stoke that fire by getting him more involved.

Baklik said both parties need the infusion of younger blood.

I wish there was an organization like this when I was younger, he said.

Cassetti, who, at three terms is the longest-serving Ansonia Republican mayor in at least a century, agreed.

I think its great to see young people from the Valley getting involved in the political process, he said.If the #BoycottNRA movement were a land invasion, it would have blitzed across the lightly defended countryside of corporate America in the last three days, pressuring United Airlines, Best Western, MetLife and at least a dozen other companies - one after another - to abolish discounts and perks for National Rifle Association members.

But the Florida shooting-inspired boycott has, so far, stalled at the first stronghold of resistance: None of the video streaming giants, Apple, Google's YouTube, or Amazon (the company's founder, Jeffrey P. Bezos, owns the The Washington Post) have acknowledged a petition and viral demands to take NRA videos offline.

If they do, and the world's largest tech corporations effectively declare the NRA a pariah, then boycotters have already proposed plans to advance on the gun-rights group's power centers: its political capital and massive funding, which for decades have made the NRA one the most feared lobbies in the United States.

Or the boycott could end here, and ultimately fail to change U.S. gun laws or culture, as other anti-NRA campaigns have failed before.

---

The campaign went viral after the Feb. 14 massacre of 17 people, most of them Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School students, with a legally purchased AR-15 rifle in Parkland, Fla.

But it's worth remembering the campaign has a prequel: A similar movement launched six years ago, when 20 children were gunned down at Sandy Hook Elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut.

Gun control advocates failed to hobble the NRA in 2012, which resisted calls for tighter gun laws then, as it does after all mass shootings. Nor was there anything like the string of corporate boycotts we see today. But as The Washington Post wrote at the time, the Newtown shooting accelerated Democratic politicians' abandonment of the NRA.

The organization, which often says it is simply protecting the constitutional right of Americans to bear arms, used to enjoy bipartisan political support. "I worry the NRA has become a captive of the Republican Party." Rep. Gene Green, a Texas Democrat who supported the NRA, told The Post in 2012. "In the long run it will be weakened."

After the Sandy Hook campaign, as CNN noted, the NRA's contributions to Democratic politicians dropped to almost nothing. By 2017, the NRA was producing apocalyptic videos that had almost nothing to do with guns, but rather accused Democrats and reporters of tilting the United States into "organized anarchy."

---

So while the #BoycottNRA hashtag had floated around social media for years, the movement exploded after a former student who owned at least 10 guns was accused of shooting up the Parkland high school this month.

One of the first tweets to go semi-viral was posted by a self-described retired principal. A few days later, a combination of gun control activists, teenage shooting survivors and liberal groups had turned the hashtag into a full blown pressure campaign.

Any corporation with even a tangential affiliation to the NRA was called out, with lists circulating across Twitter.

First National Bank of Omaha, one of the largest private banks in the United States, may have been the first to bow to the boycott. The bank announced on Thursday, a week after the shooting, that it would discontinue its "NRA Visa Card," which had given members 5 percent back on gas and sporting good purchases.

Enterprise, the rental card giant, followed suit a few hours later. "All three of our brands have ended the discount for NRA members," effective March 26, the car rental company wrote on Twitter Thursday afternoon. Hertz, Avis Budget Group and TrueCar would soon join Enterprise, as would North American Van Lines and Allied Van Lines.

The companies faced a backlash from gun rights supporters, but only a few corporations on the boycott list resisted. By the end of Friday, Symantec had announced that NRA members would have to pay the same price for its anti-virus software as everyone else. Chubb Limited insurance announced the end of a policy for members who faced lawsuits for shooting people - Chubb called the program "NRA Carry Guard," while critics had labeled it "murder insurance."

The global insurance company MetLife ended its NRA member discount. Best Western and Wyndham Hotels announced they were no longer affiliated with the group.

Delta Air Lines held out against the pressure - for a few hours. A spokesman at first defended Delta's flight discounts to the NRA's annual convention in Dallas this May as "routine"for large groups. The airline "has more than 2,000 such contracts in place," a spokesman told the liberal outlet ThinkProgress on Friday night.

Come Saturday morning, Delta abruptly discontinued the discounts and asked the NRA to remove its information from the convention website. United Airlines released a nearly identical statement two hours later.

Some companies have held out. FedEx, for example, still gives NRA Business Alliance members up to a 26 percent discount on shipping expenses.

By the end of Saturday, more than a dozen of the country's larger corporations - representing the travel, software, insurance, banking and hospitality industries - had all abandoned the NRA.

Nothing like that had happened after the Sandy Hook massacre in 2012, or any other gun massacre in modern history.

---

In a statement released Saturday afternoon, the NRA accused the corporations of "a shameful display of political and civic cowardice," but also dismissed the significance of their snubs.

"Let it be absolutely clear," the NRA's statement said. "The loss of a discount will neither scare nor distract one single NRA member from our mission to stand and defend the individual freedoms that have always made America the greatest nation in the world."

But #BoycottNRA is not yet satisfied. After most of the corporate discounts had been abolished by Saturday, boycott threats focused on tech giants that stream NRA-produced videos - namely Amazon, Apple, Google and Roku.

NRATV, a 24-hour streaming channel, is sometimes accused of being the group's propaganda arm. After the Florida shooting, the New York Times wrote, "its hosts spoke chillingly of leftist plots to confiscate weapons, media conspiracies to brainwash Americans into supporting gun control and a 'deep state' campaign to undermine President (Donald) Trump."

Subsequently, an online petition demanding Amazon drop NRATV had amassed more than 100,000 signatures by early Sunday morning, with more added each second.

Some have also called for boycotts of any affiliated companies, including The Washington Post, which is owned by Amazon owner Jeffrey P. Bezos.

Amazon, Apple and Google have not responded to questions from The Post about the calls to drop NRATV, or publicly acknowledged the campaign in public by early Sunday.

But NRA, which dismissed other boycott actions as trivial, released a dire video message (on NRATV), equating calls to shut it down with an attack on free speech.

NRA leaders also spoke defiantly at public appearances last week, blaming the fury against their organization on media manipulation.

"Many in legacy media love mass shootings," NRA spokeswoman Dana Loesch said Thursday at a conservative political conference. "Crying white mothers are ratings gold."

"They want to make us all less free," NRA chief executive Wayne LaPierre said when he took the microphone. The correct response to the Florida shooting, he said, was more armed security on school campuses - not fewer guns in the United States.

---

Pressure campaigns have become a favorite tool of liberal groups during Trump's presidency - from early efforts to boycott Trump-branded products to a Twitter campaign that identified and exposed people seen marching at a far-right protest in Charlottesville , Virginia, this past summer. Social media and Internet companies began to ban far-right personalities from their sites after that rally turned violent.

For all the companies that have signed on to the latest NRA boycotts, they have so far only managed to wipe out a few peripheral perks for the group's members. The group, meanwhile, claims 5 million members and tens of millions in annual revenue. According to Business Insider, it is funded largely by the gun industry, and has converted much of that money into alliances and power networks across the U.S. political system.

How far the boycott movement will spread is unknown. But if it keeps up at the pace of the last three days, there are signs it could threaten the political and financial cornerstones of the gun lobby.

After the Florida shooting, a prominent City Council member in Dallas said the city no longer wants the NRA to hold its convention there in May - even though Fox News reported that officials in Kansas and Nebraska have invited the gun group's business.

Florida Gov. Rick Scott and other Republicans have endorsed banning rifle sales to anyone under age 21, which the NRA opposes. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., vowed to keep accepting political contributions from the gun rights group at a town hall forum this week - and was met with a loud round of boos. Even Trump has said he expects the NRA to soon back new gun control measures, according to Bloomberg News.

NRA opponents would love to hobble the group's revenue sources - not to mention the gun industry that manufactures many of the country's hundreds of millions of guns.

While a long shot, the feat may not be as impossible as it once seemed.

The gun industry is supported in part by widely held public stocks. CNBC reported this week that some of Wall Street's largest exchange-traded funds include gunmakers in their portfolios.

But since the Florida shooting, the investment giant BlackRock has been exploring ways of letting its clients disinvest from gun companies, Bloomberg News reported. And teachers in Florida are pressuring their pension fund managers to do the same.

Five days after the Stoneman Douglas shooting, the financial writer Andrew Ross Sorkin made a proposal in the New York Times: Banks and credit companies could effectively ban assault weapons right now, simply by prohibiting customers from using their services to buy them.

Credit cards companies already ban the purchase of cryptocurrency and other products, Sorkin wrote. If Visa and Master Card banned assault-style weapons like the AR-15 used in Florida, "assault weapons would be eliminated from virtually every firearms store in America because otherwise the sellers would be cut off from the credit card systems."

Some have also suggested banks could throttle gun makers from the supply side, by cutting off their credit. In the past, that proposal has been a non-starter. In 2012, Snopes investigated a report that Bank of America was cutting off credit lines to gun manufacturers. A spokeswoman for the bank denied the report, saying it had no policies against doing business with the firearms industry and pointing to a $250 million deal with a gunmaker that same month.

Six years later, amid the growing outrage from the Stoneman Douglas massacre, the bank's rhetoric sounds a bit different.

Axios reported on Saturday that Bank of America was "re-examining" its relationship with AR-15 rifle manufacturers who do business with it. "We are joining other companies in our industry to examine what we can do to help end the tragedy of mass shootings," the bank said in a statement.

---

The Washington Post's Fred Barbash, Lindsey Bever, T.J. Ortenzi, Keith McMillan, Desikan Thirunarayanapuram and Steven Zeitchik contributed to this report.WOODBRIDGE  The gray walls of Faisal Salehs Palestine Museum US are starting to be filled with paintings and photographs representing his peoples contributions to art and culture.

While the grand opening of the museum at 1764 Litchfield Turnpike wont be held until April 22, the museum is open by appointment.

Really there is some sort of a media vacuum for Palestinians in the world in general and the United States in particular, said Saleh. The vacuum is at the artistic and cultural level.

Saleh, who immigrated to the United States in 1969, said the museum is a place where we can show that the Palestinians are human just like everybody else. They have artists and poets just like everybody else. We are kind of staying clear of a lot of political discussions and political discourse.

The exhibits are still arriving and being mounted, but there is already a variety of artistic styles on display. Most are by Palestinian artists from around the world, such as Manal Deeb of Fairfax, Va., whose work includes Arabic calligraphy.

Its using the calligraphy as a decorative artistic mix, Saleh said.

Other works include bright, feminine images by Suzan Bushnaq of Kuwait and Mohamed Khalils colorful acrylics. Large portraits by Khalil are planned for the lecture room, which will also include a video monitor.

An exception to the Palestinian artists is Margaret Olin, a professor at Yale Divinity School who also teaches religious studies and Judaic studies at Yale. Her photographs of the Dheisheh refugee camp, near Bethlehem on the Israeli-occupied West Bank, show the everyday life of Palestinians.

It gives the viewer an idea of what its like walking around the streets of a refugee camp, Saleh said. Many of the photos feature children.

The photos also depict a very high concentration of murals on the sides of buildings, Olin said.

In looking for a place to photograph Palestinian life, I settled on Dheisheh as one of those projects pretty early because I was fascinated by the way it looked  and this really lively atmosphere, she said.

Basically, its a very poor area of about 13,000 residents, she said. Its run by the U.N. The Palestinian Authority really doesnt have anything to do with it. Its regularly raided by the Israeli army, usually in the middle of the night.

For me the walls of Dheisheh are kind of like a conversation in images, Olin said. Theyre almost a memorial. Many, many of them are of young people who were killed in the camp on these raids or they were out demonstrating somewhere else and they were killed.

The first artwork that greets a visitor was painted by Ayed Arafah of Ramallah, who grew up in Dheisheh. It is a mural of Rachel Corrie, 23, of Olympia, Washington, a member of the International Solidarity Movement, who was killed in 2003 by an Israeli Defense Forces bulldozer in the Gaza Strip town of Rafah as she tried to stop a Palestinian home from being razed. It is the most provocative piece in the museum.

It isnt treated politically in the sense that this is a human tragedy here, Saleh said. The Palestinians like to honor her memory and she is well respected in the Palestinian territories.

Its only fitting that the mural would feature something in recognition of her, he said. Her parents are planning on attending the opening ceremony and viewing the mural for the first time.

In addition to painting and photographs, Saleh plans an exhibit of Palestinian embroidery, as well as historical documents, such as his fathers British passport, issued before 1948.

For the opening ceremony, were going to have three musical performances by three artists, featuring violin and oud, a Middle Eastern instrument. Other performances are possible, such as poetry readings and dancing.

Saleh, who lives in Wallingford, was born in the West Bank city of el-Bireh, a twin city of Ramallah, in 1951. He was his parents 11th surviving child, living in a one-room house.

My family was a refugee family that originally was from a village called Salamah, a suburb of Jaffa, Israel, he said. They became refugees in the aftermath of the 1948 war, what the Palestinians refer to as the Nekba. That means catastrophe.

At the time, 700,000 Palestinians became homeless and that 700,000 is now 7 million. My father had orange groves and banana groves, Saleh said. They lost everything. They walked out with the shirt on their back.

But the family managed. Salehs brother knew former President George W. Bush at Yale University. Saleh attended George School, a Quaker boarding school in Pennsylvania before going to Oberlin College and the University of Connecticut School of Business. He works in the employee benefits business, consulting with employers, and co-owns a startup, Plasmotica, which develops devices that can perform diagnostics without sending samples to a lab.

Gabriel Da Silva, who owns the Da Silva Gallery in the Westville section of New Haven and is mounting the artwork, said of the museum, It was something missing. Theres not many art galleries representing particularly Palestinians  I think its important and to the credit of Faisal.  Because they all live in many different places around the world  there are many different emphases.

Judy Alperin, CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater New Haven, which is also located in Woodbridge, said of the museum, Theres a lot for their culture to be proud of and they should display it.

Alperin rented space in Salehs building  across the hall from the museum  while the Jewish Community Center was being renovated after a fire. She said she hoped there would be opportunities for bridge-building and dialogue together once the museum opens.

Alperin hasnt seen the museum and didnt want to comment on the Corrie mural. She said of Saleh, Hes a great guy. Hes very gentle and [was] helpful to us in our time of need and I really appreciated it.

After its opening ceremony, the museum will be open Sunday afternoons, by appointment and for visits by groups and schools, Saleh said.

This is just a nucleus of what we may expect in the future, he said.

While hes providing the financing now, he hopes to attract investors and move the museum to a bigger city, such as New York, San Francisco or Washington.

For more information, go to www.palestinemuseum.us or email info@palestinemuseum.us.NEW HAVEN  Jose Santini spent too much of his life drinking and abusing drugs.

That and a case of hepatitis C  now cured  severely damaged his liver.

Now, hes hoping for an altruistic donor who will donate part of their liver so he can devote the rest of his life to serving God and other people.

They told me 10 years ago I had a little spot on the side of my liver, said Santini, 43. I didnt take care of it until the last moment.

Five years ago, Santini had a biopsy done and found out that he had stage 4 cirrhosis.

I didnt take care of myself, he said.

Santini, who lives with his wife, Linda Jouet, in Fair Haven, was born and raised in New Haven by Puerto Rican parents. In addition to his wife and fellow members of Evangelist Church of God, hes found a nucleus of support at the BHCare clothing closet in the Patricia C. Andriole Volunteer Services Center on Harrison Avenue in Branford.

Cindy George of Branford, who volunteers at the clothing bank, has been spreading the word on his behalf.

I just saw a need to help someone who really wants to live, George said. Its been on my mind for a long time.

George said the doctors have said now is a good time to receive a liver transplant. Hes in fairly good shape. Hes strong, she said.

Santini is humble and leaves it to others to praise him. It was George who revealed that he goes fishing and brings his catch to the Community Dining Room, housed in the same building as the clothing bank.

I really like him and his wife, George said. Theyre wonderful people. They do a lot for other people. They do outreach for homeless people. Its really important to him and this is the only way I could help.

Hes utilized the clothing bank for a couple years now, said coordinator Joan McFarlane. Hes a nice young man looking for a second chance of life. Hes a Christian, he turned his life on to the Lord Jesus Christ. Hes loving, kind, responsible, caring. He always speaks good things of others. Its not always about himself.

Santinis personality has won a place in the hearts of the people at the clothing bank.

I met Cindy and Joan, he said. The way I approached them with respect, love, smiling, going through my tribulation.  I got the God love on me. It touches other people  Its like a family here.

Santini served time in prison for possession of narcotics and was released in October 2013.

I was a user. I dont harm nobody, he said. Ive been clean almost 10 years now, [to] the glory of God.

He didnt receive good care in prison, said his wife. I was in agony for two weeks, he said.

Santinis blood type is O-positive. As soon as they match the type of blood I should be all right, he said. Im just patient, have faith and hope.

Santinis transplant doctor, Dr. AnnMarie Liapakis, said Santini is not high on the donor list, but that people can designate their organ to a particular person, as long as theyre a match.

They would complete a blood typing and health screening questionnaire, she said.

Meanwhile, Santini said his health is a rollercoaster, up and down. Sometimes he feels weak. I dont want to get up in the bed, I get confused, he said.

Hes a good man, Jouet said. Hes very humble and since he came out of Yale [New Haven Hospital] hes doing not well because of his situation with his liver. Hes fighting and hoping he can get the transplant soon.

Its difficult to see somebody whos fighting for his life, Jouet said. Sometimes ammonia from the liver gets him messed up. Ammonia is formed in the breakdown of protein and the liver converts it to urea, which is then passed out of the body in urine. Jouet said if too much ammonia reaches the brain, he can go into a coma.

Its difficult because hes a young guy, Jouet said. Id like to see him in good health. Id like to see him enjoying life. Hes always tired.  I try to help him, make him a lot of good food.  He cannot eat  salt, grease, no red meat, a lot of things.

Santini has had a couple of people respond to his plea, but so far has not found a match.

The other day some woman called from New York to be a donor but it wasnt matching with his type, Jouet said. I see his good heart.  I think about that time he didnt have no hope, he didnt want to live.

Pastor Inocencio Rivera of the Evangelist Church of God on Humphrey Street said Santini has been a faithful and helpful member, installing a heater, for example. Everything I ask him to do, he does it in the church, Rivera said. We pray to God that they find what they need.  I pray every day for him. I try to get everything, when he asks me, what he needs.

Anita Ruggiero, a clothing bank volunteer, called Santini a sweetheart. Theyre very nice people, never ask for anything, very caring, very outgoing, always smiling. So when he needs something we go beyond the cause.

Under the radar

Liapakis said that while alcohol and drug abuse played a part in Santinis disease, scarring from hepatitis C, causing cirrhosis, is the main problem. People can contract hepatitis C in multiple ways and, in fact, doctors are urging anyone born between 1945 and 1965 to be screened for the disease because people in that generation are five times more likely to have it than others, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. At that time, medical equipment could have been contaminated and screening procedures were not as widespread as they are today, according to the CDC.

The HepChope website calls it a disease that has been under the radar, noting, Its not talked about much, so even though it affects millions, many people dont know about it. Its almost been forgotten.

Liapakis said of Santini, He is a good candidate for a transplant in that he is a young person with no other significant problems or disease other than his liver disease. His life would be significantly improved with a transplant.

She said that when a person has liver disease, blood has difficulty getting through the organ and to the heart, which builds up blood pressure in the area.

When blood is trying to come from the lower part of the body and the intestine, its hard for the blood to get through the liver, Liapakis said. In response, varicose veins build up in the area of the stomach and esophagus.

Needs for transplants

Liapakis said Santini has had a procedure called a TIPS, a kind of shunt inserted into the liver, which connects the blood vessels within the liver to reduce the pressure and prevent bleeding.

Hes actually had treatment for his hepatitis C and he was cured but theres no treatment for the scarring in the liver.

Liapakis said there are 14,000 patients needing donated livers in the United States and there is a shortage of organs from deceased donors, especially in Region 1, which includes all of New England except western Vermont, partly because of good health care. There is a need for 900 livers in the region.

Every two hours one patient dies on the overall transplant list nationally, she said. One in five will die on the liver wait list in Connecticut.

Liapakis said a problem with liver disease is that it is unpredictable. They have complications from their liver disease, such as infections and bleeding that will make them become sick very quickly.

She said there is also a stigma to the disease.

I often get the sense that theres a belief out there that its self-inflicted and thats not true, she said.

She said that in addition to cirrhosis, 30 percent of the U.S. population right now is afflicted with fatty liver disease.

An advantage to donating part of a liver is that its the one organ that regenerates itself. Both donor and recipient will have complete livers within six to eight weeks of the transplant, Liapakis said.

Living donor transplants are covered by the recipients health insurance and the donor is compensated. For more information about becoming a donor, call the Yale New Haven Transplantation Center at 866-925-3867 or Donate Life Connecticut at 203-387-1549.BRANFORD  Saul Hernandez has found that Branford Point is one of his favorite places to visit in the summertime. He goes there to swim, have a picnic with my family, and watch my nieces play on the playground.

Hernandez is originally from El Salvador; he left when he was 15 with a bunch of guys, mostly cousins, to find a better life. He now works as a cook at the Branford Townhouse Restaurant ... and, as one of the contributors to Uncover Branford, Volume 2, he can now call himself a published writer. Still, his expertise is in the kitchen, and he would someday like to have his own restaurant, a small restaurant.

Oanh Huynh, who is Vietnamese, and a contributor to Uncover, has warm praise for Branfords Blackstone Library: She writes in Uncover: The building is beautiful, and inside I found a lot of information. There are many newspapers and magazines, they have tax forms and activities for kids and babies, including story times and pumpkin painting. Besides making use of the library, Huynh teaches cooking for some adult education classes. All vegetable, no meat, she said. They love it.

Hernandez and Huynh were among several dozen people at a special event last week, the Uncover Branford Reception. It was an event that brought together town VIPs  first selectman, the school superintendent, library director  as well as usually unsung people. Superintendent of Schools Hamlet Hernandez, called the usually unapplauded incredibly brave people, because they could get up and speak in front of people in a language not their native tongue.

Uncover Branford, the program, had its origin in 2016-17 with a pilot project by the State Library aimed at creating connections and change. In Branford, this translated to a program called Uncover Branford, bringing community members together to create great memories, share stories and explore the hidden gems of Branford, said Katy McNichol, Blackstones director of development and outreach.

Volume 1 of Uncover Branford, a slender 10-page booklet, was published last fall; then work began by writers and editors for Volume 2, which expanded to 20 pages with the contributions of students in the English as a second language classes of the East Shore Region Adult and Continuing Education program. And that was how Huynh and Saul Hernandez  and many others from all points of the globe  came to write about their Branford gems. Here are some of their discoveries:

Georgi (Uncover Branford lists authors only by first names) writes about Branford Point: When I saw this place for the first time I fell in love with it because it reminded me of the Black Sea in my country of Bulgaria, where you can just sit down and smell the ocean and hear the sound of the waves.

Monica likes to run at the Branford Supply Ponds. She writes, I usually take my daughters dog, Broly. I see many other people running with their dogs. ... When I run around the lake I see people fishing. ... In the lake we can see turtles and ducks.

Daniela writes that Foote Park is a place where I can go and forget about my stressful routines and worries. ... I have always enjoyed watching the kids playing on the playground and the squirrels looking around for food.

Masako has a favorite place in Branford, the Blackstone Library. It is like a second home for me, as it is a melting pot of people from all over the world.

Youssef tells of going to Stony Creek Beach with his wife and three children. We threw small rocks into the water, my children had fun. We took off our shoes to walk in the sand. .. .It was a beautiful day.

Milvia chose to go to Trinity Church because the people were very welcoming. ... I was able to find other women who spoke Spanish and the people who dont speak Spanish try very much to communicate with me.

All these recollections add up to a lot more than scattered thumbnails of a town. They can be seen as a kind of travel diary, a new view of the gems of Branford, the sentiments of people living far from their homelands, the determination of people to find happiness in a new world.

The participation of the writers  both newcomers and longtime residents  is especially important to the library staff. We see Uncover Branford like a book club where the participants are writing the story, said Karen Jensen, Blackstone director. Traditionally, libraries have created programs based on what we think people will like. This program was developed with direct patron input, and continues to evolve into what participants want it to be.

Jensen sees pluses on several fronts; she cites the students in ERACE who were able to improve their English language skills through the program. But, she said, anyone in the community can continue to make connections by participating in upcoming outings.

Uncover Branford, now with two volumes of reminiscences under its belt, is going to be a program that encourages people to learn and transform, Jensen said. Transformation sounds like a big ambition, but already quite a few people who didnt think they were writers have written stories of discovery.North Augusta, SC (29841)

Today

Cloudy skies early, then partly cloudy this afternoon. Slight chance of a rain shower. High around 85F. Winds light and variable..

Tonight

Considerable clouds this evening. Some decrease in clouds late. Slight chance of a rain shower. Low 71F. Winds light and variable.Roseburg, OR (97470)

Today

Sunshine and clouds mixed. High around 85F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Rain developing after midnight. Low 58F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall around a half an inch.

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HOWARD FINKELSTEIN, Broward Countys public defender, whose office is representing Nikolas Cruz, who was charged in the Parkland, Fla., school massacre and could face the death penalty.The authorities in Atlanta announced a $10,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and indictment in the case of a missing Centers for Disease Control and Prevention employee who disappeared about two weeks ago.

The employee, Timothy J. Cunningham, 35, was promoted to commander in the United States Public Health Service in July, his family said. According to the police, he was last seen on Feb. 12.

I feel like Im in a horrible Black Mirror episode, Commander Cunninghams sister, Tiara Cunningham, said in a phone interview on Saturday. Im kind of lost without him, to be quite honest.

Ms. Cunningham, 27, was the last family member to speak with Commander Cunningham before he went missing, she said.Here are some key takeaways from the Democratic memo:

The F.B.I. used only a small part of the information provided by Mr. Steele.

The Democratic memo says the application made narrow use of information from Mr. Steeles sources. It describes multiple other categories of information, including yearslong suspicions that Mr. Page was being recruited by Russian spies, and revealed that the F.B.I. had interviewed Mr. Page about his ties to Russian intelligence officials in March 2016.

It also discussed Moscows apparent overtures to another Trump campaign official and its general meddling during that period, which prompted the F.B.I. to open the Trump-Russia investigation in late July  before the bureaus investigative team received Mr. Steeles information.

Some of that material remains redacted in the version of the memo made public on Saturday.

By contrast, Republicans have portrayed Mr. Steeles information as the central focus of the application, filed to the United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. The Republican memo said it formed an essential part of the application, and in a separate memo, Senators Charles E. Grassley and Lindsey Graham, Republicans of Iowa and South Carolina, stated that the bulk of the application was Mr. Steeles information.

The Democratic memo also says that what the F.B.I. did use from Mr. Steele did not include the salacious parts of his dossier. Instead, it says, the bureau chiefly relied on the dossiers claims that Mr. Page had met with a Kremlin official as well as a close associate of President Vladimir V. Putin during a July 2016 trip to Moscow, during which the official offered to provide compromising information about Mrs. Clinton to the Trump campaign.

Notably, the Democratic memo also said that in subsequent renewals of the wiretap application, the Justice Department provided additional information obtained through multiple independent sources that corroborated Steeles reporting. In the U.S., classes resume on Monday at the Florida school where 17 people were killed in a mass shooting nearly two weeks ago. Many survivors are publicly pushing for gun control, and privately suffering through the emotional aftermath of the massacre.

A growing number of businesses are cutting ties with the National Rifle Association, the countrys chief gun lobby. President Trump remains focused on shifting the discussion to hardening schools by arming teachers, and expressing fury at the F.B.I. for ignoring reports that the suspect was going to explode.

Amid rage over revelations that a deputy took cover instead of entering the school during the shooting, the county sheriff defended his own actions as amazing leadership.

_____

 Questions are swirling over if and when President Trump might answer questions from Robert Mueller, the special counsel. His investigation seems to be racing, our correspondent writes, but toward an as-yet-undefined goal.

After the former deputy campaign chairman Rick Gates pleaded guilty to a variety of charges, speculation is rife about the nature of his cooperation with Mr. Mueller.

And new charges accuse Paul Manafort, a one-time Trump campaign chairman, of paying off prominent Europeans to serve as boosters for an autocratic Ukrainian client.

_____In the summer of 2016, government workers in Illinois received a mailing that offered them tips on how to leave their union. By paying a so-called fair-share fee instead of standard union dues, the mailing said, they would no longer be bound by union rules and could not be punished for refusing to strike.

To put it simply, the document concluded, becoming a fair-share payer means you will have more freedom.

The mailing, sent by a group called the Illinois Policy Institute, may have seemed like disinterested advice. In fact, it was one prong of a broader campaign against public-sector unions, backed by some of the biggest donors on the right. It is an effort that will reach its apex on Monday, when the Supreme Court hears a case that could cripple public-sector unions by allowing the workers they represent to avoid paying fees.

One of the institutes largest donors is a foundation bankrolled by Richard Uihlein, an Illinois industrialist who has spent millions backing Republican candidates in recent years, including Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin, Senator Ted Cruz of Texas and Gov. Bruce Rauner of Illinois.David Gilad Fishman and Kolby Keaton Loft were married Feb. 19 in Manhattan. Rabbi Josh Buchin officiated at the couples home. On Feb. 24, Rabbi Buchin, assisted by Cantor Basya Schechter, led the couple in an exchange of vows at Flora Farms, a restaurant and events space, in San Jose del Cabo, Mexico.

The couple met at N.Y.U., from which they graduated and from which Mr. Loft also received a law degree.

Mr. Fishman (left), 32, is a managing director and partner for Global Gateway Advisors, a communications consultancy in Brooklyn.

He is the son of Naomi S. Fishman and Dr. Norman Fishman of Creve Coeur, Mo. Mr. Fishmans mother is a Jewish educator and museum curator in Creve Coeur. His father is an endocrinologist in private practice and the chief of endocrinology at St. Lukes Hospital in Chesterfield, Mo.Mr. Belizario said there was a producer we were working with on a London production who wanted a promise that William and Catherine would attend A Brooklyn Boy on opening night. Royals are like presidents, governors or mayors on this side of the Atlantic. They have schedules. The palace handlers would make no such promises, even after so much effusiveness.

Mr. Belizario said Mr. Prescod was no angel when he arrived at City Kids  Mr. Prescod, who was on probation after pleading guilty to armed robbery and assault, was sent there by another nonprofit group, Cases, a clearinghouse that seeks ways to help young offenders pull their lives together. Mr. Prescod said he had told someone at Cases that he loved to dance and rap. They said, We know a great place for you  CityKids, he recalled. I thought it was a day-care center.

Mr. Belizario, 49, said he was no angel, either. He arrived at CityKids after he was arrested at 17 on drug and weapons possession charges  he was acquitted. Eventually he was hired for its staff and is now its artistic director.

He said Mr. Prescod made an impression. It was like I was looking in the mirror, 10 years before, Mr. Belizario said, and he could deliver the message I had wanted to deliver.

Mr. Prescod, who had been arrested when he was 16, said more about Mr. Belizario in an article for Essence than he did sitting next to him. Mr. Prescod wrote that he figured Mr. Belizario was going to be just like every other man in my life  a know-it-all that wants to push me to be who he wants me to be. He said he had been told that he would not have to talk about what I did wrong, all I had to do was show up, tell them that I know how to answer phones, file papers and work on the computer. So I was prepared to do just that.The one at Yale, then, might seem like a perfect case to test the fiercely debated question of whether college rape accusations are best handled by internal university panels or by law enforcement. Its a question the secretary of education, Betsy DeVos, has herself raised, in rescinding Obama-era policies on campus sexual assault that demanded schools use lower standards of proof for finding accused students responsible.

Instead, the case has revealed just how difficult it is to separate the two.

Yale, like many other large universities, employs its own police force, which investigated the accusation against Mr. Khan and arrested him; the prosecution is being carried out by the Connecticut states attorneys office. Mr. Khans lawyers say the university covertly influenced the police inquiry, working hand-in-glove with officers in a way that has compromised Mr. Khans right to a fair trial. They argue that Yale, under fire for not taking sexual assault on its campus seriously, blurred the line between school and law enforcement in the name of proving that it did.

As universities across the country face mounting pressure  if not from the federal government, then from public opinion, amid the #MeToo movement  to act on sexual misconduct, that line may become even blurrier.

This isnt about which institution is better, said Janet Halley, a Harvard Law School professor who has written about the legal implications of Title IX enforcement. Its about what happens when you put two institutions into the same process and they have different rationalities, different institutional cultures  but above all different rights attached to them.

This is oil and water flowing in together.

According to an affidavit signed by a Yale police officer, Mr. Khan and his accuser, who is identified only as the victim, were seniors who lived in the same dormitory. She considered him an acquaintance, the victim said, and they had never been in a romantic relationship.To the Editor:

Re Contraception, With Teenagers in Mind, by Jane E. Brody (Personal Health column, Science Times, Feb. 20):

Its essential that people of all ages have access to the full range of birth control options, and that they have the information they need to make the decision for themselves which method will work best for them.

Long-acting reversible contraceptives are highly effective, long lasting and life-changing for many people. I.U.D.s and implants are the most effective methods at preventing pregnancy, but there is a range of reasons that young people may prefer to use condoms and birth control pills, including ease of access and cost.

Young people also consider issues like protection against sexually transmitted infections, medical contraindications, ability to easily discontinue use, and our countrys history of forced sterilization and testing of I.U.D.s on communities of color.

Its up to us as educators and health care providers to make sure that all young people receive the information they need to make informed decisions about their own sexual health, and that we fight to make sure that they have access to the resources they need and deserve.My panel was about the #MeToo movement, which was a natural for me since my new book coming out in June, Sex Matters, grapples with the movement and other aspects of our fraught sexual ecosystem.

After every woman on the panel had a chance to speak and with 10 minutes remaining on the clock, the moderator threw a slow pitch right over the plate. She asked us about feminist hypocrisy. Ask me that at a cocktail party and I will talk your ear off about how the very people who had lectured us about the utter venality of workplace sexual harassment throughout the 1980s became suddenly quiescent when the malefactor was Bill Clinton.

But this time, and particularly in front of this crowd, it felt far more urgent to point out the hypocrisy of our side. How can conservative women hope to have any credibility on the subject of sexual harassment or relations between the sexes when they excuse the behavior of President Trump? And how can we participate in any conversation about sexual ethics when the Republican president and the Republican Party backed a man credibly accused of child molestation for the United States Senate?

I watched my fellow panelists eyes widen. And then the booing began.

Id been dreading it for days, but when it came, I almost welcomed it. There is nothing more freeing than telling the truth. And it must be done, again and again, by those of us who refuse to be absorbed into this brainless, sinister, clownish thing called Trumpism, by those of us who refuse to overlook the fools, frauds and fascists attempting to glide along in his slipstream into respectability.

I spoke to a hostile audience for the sake of every person who has watched this spectacle of mendacity in disbelief and misery for the past two years. Just hearing the words you know are true can serve as ballast, steadying your mind when so much seems unreal.

For traditional conservatives, the past two years have felt like a Twilight Zone episode. Politicians, activists and intellectuals have succumbed with numbing regularity, betraying every principle they once claimed to uphold. But there remains a vigorous remnant of dissenters. I hear from them. There were even some at CPAC.

A substantial number of people applauded. And as I was hustled out of the building by security, various supporters gave me the thumbs up sign.To the Editor:

Re Steering Big Rigs Around Emissions Standards (Trump Rules series, front page, Feb. 15):

I was pleased to see you put a spotlight on the Environmental Protection Agencys proposed repeal of air pollution limits for dirty trucks, known as gliders.

The repeal of this emissions rule would deliver a devastating blow to public health by giving older, heavy-duty trucks a license to pollute the air we breathe, putting our most vulnerable communities, including children and older adults, in harms way.

The agencys own analysis shows that these glider trucks can emit as much as 450 times more life-threatening, lung-cancer-causing particle pollution than 2014 or 2015 trucks that meet the standards.

Sadly, this move represents just one of many actions that the agency is actively pursuing to roll back and weaken lifesaving protections.MONTREAL  When Justin Trudeau first met Donald Trump face-to-face last February, the contrast between the Canadian prime minister and the American president couldnt have been any sharper. Mr. Trudeau, worldly and dapper, can barely open his mouth without extolling Canadas cheery multiculturalism or its open-border globalism. Mr. Trump lurches from thinly concealed xenophobia to America-first protectionism by way of insults and tirades.

Yet Mr. Trudeau survived their meeting and has remained in Mr. Trumps good graces ever since. I like the prime minister very much, Mr. Trump told a gathering of his supporters last December. Nice guy. Good guy.

Mr. Trudeaus smooth relationship with Mr. Trump hasnt only kept the North American Free Trade Agreement negotiations alive, if teetering. It is also one of the main reasons that, after just over two scandal- and gaffe-prone years as prime minister, Mr. Trudeau remains far and away the most popular political figure in this Trump-adverse country.

Canadas obsession with Mr. Trumps whims and overindulgences goes beyond morbid curiosity.

Despite differing views on the metric system and the occasional far-flung war, the United States and Canada have enjoyed more than 150 years of benign relations. Yet Mr. Trumps frequent threats to scuttle Nafta are seen here as an existential threat to Canadas economy, which sends over 75 percent of its exports to the United States.President Trump has announced new sanctions on North Korea even as United States diplomats said the White House may be open to informal talks. The suggestion of dialogue came amid lowered tensions in the region during the Winter Olympics in South Korea.The F.D.A. has approved three drugs for opioid treatment  buprenorphine (often known by the brand name Suboxone), methadone and naltrexone (known by the brand name Vivitrol)  and says they are safe and effective combined with counseling and other support. But the agency said it would soon publish two guidances, recommendations for drugmakers, on the issue.

One encourages the development of new, longer-acting formulations of existing drugs for opioid treatment. The other, which was described in detail to The Times, said new drugs would be eligible for approval that dont end addiction but help with aspects of it, such as cravings, or overdoses, with the goal remaining complete abstinence.

We will permit an endpoint that shows substantial reductions but does not require the patient to be totally clean at every visit if the measurements are fairly frequent, a senior F.D.A. official said.

The official also said the F.D.A. was seeking medications that can help patients function better and can be helpful when used in combination with therapy and other social support, even if on their own the medications dont completely end addiction. Under the new guidelines, patients and their families will have input in assessing how useful a drug is.

You could envision different MATs where the different treatments are addressing different aspects of what underlies the addiction, and helping people lead productive lives free from addiction to opioids, even in situations where they still might require replacement therapy, the official said.

Addiction experts were cautious in their praise of the plan, which should be released in March.

The F.D.A. should keep companies focused on major clinical improvement for patients, said Yngvild Olsen,medical director of the Institutes for Behavior Resources in Baltimore. A more thoughtful approach to measuring meaningful clinical improvement could expand treatment options, but there is a danger; subjective outcomes that are neither here nor there could encourage the development of products of questionable value.

And Dr. Andrew Kolodny, a director of opioid policy research at Brandeis University, said that the F.D.A. was smart to look for new treatments but that the biggest problem now in treatment wasnt lack of effective medication, but lack of access.

We already have an effective treatment that people arent getting access to, he said. The primary challenge is getting it to people.They were protesting in Milan over the weekend, the far-right and the anti-fascists alike; streets blocked off, intersections crowded by blue-helmeted riot policemen, tension in the air. Italy goes to the polls next month and there are fears of another xenophobic swing in a European state. Theres a tug-of-war over defining the future.

Youd think Italian fashion would be right in there. Its one of the points of the job, after all: to hold a mirror up to the moment and reflect it in a material way  although when it does, theres always a host of offended parties accusing fashion of trivializing the serious and demanding that it get back into its lane.SAN DIEGO  Senator Dianne Feinstein suffered a setback in her effort to win a sixth term representing California as the state Democratic Party declined this weekend to endorse her re-election bid.

Ms. Feinstein is way ahead in most polls, and has a huge fund-raising advantage over her main opponent, Kevin de Leon, the California State Senates Democratic leader. Still, the vote here, at a raucous and well-attended party convention, is the latest indication of disenchantment with Ms. Feinstein, 84, among the partys grass-roots advocates.

A candidate must garner the support of 60 percent of the delegates to win the partys nomination. None of the candidates running for statewide election met that threshold.

Still, Ms. Feinsteins showing was particularly stark given her status as a Democratic institution. Mr. de Leon drew 54 percent of the vote, or 1,508 votes, compared with 37 percent, or 1,023 votes, for Ms. Feinstein.Mr. Walters apologized on Twitter on Friday night. I spoke with Mike Steele and apologized because the words I used do not capture my heart, he wrote.

He added: Sometimes when you speak, the words that come out do not reflect whats intended. Many of us were critics of how Chairman Steele performed at the R.N.C. He is a good man, and he did his best.

In a phone interview on Saturday morning on Ms. Reids show, Mr. Steele was asked if the Republican Party had a problem with racism.

Yes, they do. And I think we need to be honest and acknowledge it, Mr. Steele said. The fact that people sit here now and say this has nothing to do with race  yeah, it does, when you stand on a podium and blatantly speak to race the way Ian did.

Mr. Walters did not respond to a request for comment on Saturday.

Michael Ahrens, a spokesman for the Republican National Committee, said in a statement, We reject the offensive comments made on Friday night.

Black people made up 2 percent of registered Republican voters in 2016, according to the Pew Research Center, the same percentage as in 1992. President Trump received 8 percent of the black vote in 2016.

Mr. Steele, speaking Saturday on his show on SiriusXM radio with Matt Schlapp, the chairman of the American Conservative Union, said comments like Mr. Millers undermine efforts to expand this party and its reach into communities of color across the country.Sheriff Israel said on Sunday that his deputies arrived four minutes after Mr. Cruz had left the freshman building where the massacre took place. But Mr. Tapper noted that the deputies did not know at that point that Mr. Cruz had already left, and should have proceeded as though the shooting were still underway.

We will investigate every action of our deputies, of their supervisors, the sheriff said, adding that Coral Springs police officers will give witness statements to investigators from his office. If they did things wrong, he said of his departments personnel, I will take care of business in a disciplinary manner.

Sheriff Israel, who effusively praised his deputies in the immediate aftermath of the shooting, had insisted in a news conference on Wednesday that his deputies had not delayed their entry into the school. He appeared at a town-hall-style event that evening, broadcast on CNN, during which he criticized the National Rifle Association aggressively and urged state lawmakers to give police more power to commit the mentally ill to hospitals involuntarily.

He did not mention Deputy Petersons inaction on that broadcast, even though, as he told Mr. Tapper on Sunday, he had seen video footage earlier that day showing that the deputy had stayed outside.

The sheriff said on Sunday that his office waited until Thursday, the day after the broadcast, to corroborate that the deputy had not entered the school and to notify families of the victims about the finding.

Im not on a timeline for TV or any news show, he said.

Sheriff Israel said he has asked the Police Executive Research Forum, based in Washington, to conduct an independent after-action report on how his office responded to the shooting.

He rejected suggestions that his office had missed repeated signs that Mr. Cruz was a threat to Stoneman Douglas High, even though at least 23 calls involving Mr. Cruz were made to deputies over the past decade. The sheriffs office is investigating how two of those calls were handled, and has placed the two deputies who responded to them on restricted duty.Just look at the sky again. It will always surprise you! Within the last 2 days, two very rare phenomenona were captured over Norway and Hawaii. The spotless sun sparked pink auroras over Tromso, while an extremely rare light pillar formed off the Mauna Kea volcano.

On Feb. 23rd the sun was completely blank, without sunspots and NOAA classified solar activity as very low. Nevertheless, a beautiful display of auroras with a vivid splash of pink were captured by Andrei Andritcu over Tromso, Norway:

In auroras, pink is a sign of nitrogen. Pink appears when the energetic particles descend lower than usual, striking nitrogen molecules at the 100 km level and below. The most common auroras appear green. These occur at about 100 kilometers high and involve atmospheric oxygen atoms excited by fast moving plasma from space. The next highest auroras  at about 200 kilometers up  appear red, and are also emitted by resettling atmospheric oxygen. Some of the highest auroras visible  as high as 500 kilometers up  appear blue, and are caused by sunlight-scattering nitrogen ions.

As Solar Minimum nears, it is kind of baffling to see such high-energy colors in the sky And that on a spotless day! Perhaps solar wind emerging from the spotless sun is unusually penetrating. If so, we can expect to see more nitrogenous auroras in the years ahead. The sun is descending into a deep Solar Minimum, and the nadir (expected in 2019-2020) could be colored pink.

Meanwhile, in the sky over Hawaii, an extremely rare light pillar was captured by the automated Gemini webcam on Hawaiis Mauna Kea volcano on Feb. 13th.

Light pillars usually occur in cold climates So to see them this far south is very unusual. The source of the crystals, in this case, was probably a bank of altostratus/cumulus clouds shown in the video.

Light pillars appear when urban lights reflect from the flat faces of ice crystals fluttering down from high freezing clouds. They have been reported in recent days across Russia as seen on the Facebook page Meteor Shower Tonight:

These are two very strange sky phenomena: high-energy aurora during spotless sun and light pillar so far south or in a location like Hawaii Whats going on?

Follow us: Facebook and Twitter

SpaceweatherExperts said that the sharp increase in threats and false alarms in the days since the Florida shooting reflects the unusually intense public conversation and media coverage that have unfolded since that attack. In the tense days that have followed, the experts said, teenagers are borrowing the language of school shootings to provoke or cause turmoil. And anxious school employees are on high alert, watchful for any sign of a potential shooter and quick to summon the police over behavior that, in a different moment, might have been overlooked.

Florida had at least 31 incidents in the week after the shooting, more than any other state, the group said; Ohio followed, with 29; and Kentucky was third, with 24. Other states that experienced unusually high numbers of threats, false alarms or other incidents included California, Georgia, Mississippi, New York, Texas and Virginia.

Dozens of teenagers have been arrested in connection with threats, often posted on Twitter or Snapchat. School administrators are scrutinizing students and their backpacks closely; the day after the Florida attack, a student at Clarksburg High School in Montgomery County, Md., was found to have a loaded Glock 9-millimeter handgun in his bag at school, the police said. A student at Pasco High School in Dade City, Fla., was arrested on Friday after a staff member conducting a routine sweep of vehicles in the parking lot discovered an AR-15 rifle and ammunition in the students truck. (The school district later said that the gun apparently had been meant for hog hunting.)

The police say they are taking all reports seriously in light of the attack in Florida, where law enforcement authorities had been given warnings about the suspect who is accused of fatally shooting 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.

Scott Israel, the sheriff of Broward County, Fla., said on Thursday that his department had received 23 calls regarding the suspect, Nikolas Cruz, over several years, but may not have followed up on them sufficiently. On Jan. 5, a woman who knew Mr. Cruz called the F.B.I.s tip hotline saying that she was worried he might resort to slipping into a school and just shooting the place up. In that call, made more than a month before the attack, she gave the authorities an unambiguous warning: I know hes going to explode.NIAMEY, Niger  In a bare suite of prefab offices, inside a compound off a dirt road, French bureaucrats are pushing Frances borders thousands of miles into Africa, hoping to head off would-be migrants.

All day long, in a grassy courtyard, they interview asylum seekers, as the African reality they want to escape swirls outside  donkey carts and dust, joblessness and poverty, and, in special cases, political persecution.

If the French answer is yes to asylum, they are given plane tickets to France and spared the risky journey through the desert and on the deadly boats across the Mediterranean that have brought millions of desperate migrants to Europe in recent years, transforming its politics and societies.

Were here to stop people from dying in the Mediterranean, said Sylvie Bergier-Diallo, the deputy chief of the French mission in Niger.Government officials have pointed out that after girls were stolen in Chibok, the administration of Nigerias president at the time, Goodluck Jonathan, waited more than two weeks to acknowledge the kidnapping, a delay they said allowed militants to flee with the girls. This time, they said, the military has already been deployed and is combing Yobe State, where Dapchi is.

Confusion has surrounded the events in Dapchi, said Lai Mohammed, the minister of information, because dozens of girls ran into hiding and have been slowly trickling back to the school.

This is why the whole situation has been hazy, he said.

Officials have been careful to avoid acknowledging anyone was kidnapped in Dapchi. Instead, they say only that the girls are missing.

Witnesses, however, described seeing the girls in militants vehicles as part of what appeared to be a deliberate plan to steal them. And they said militants arrived at the town looking specifically for the building, which is a boarding place with about 900 students.

One resident who lives a mile outside Dapchi, who asked that his name not be used because he feared for his safety, said his neighbor was outside his home late in the day on Monday when militants pulled up, grabbed him and asked him to point them to the school. He told the fighters he didnt know where it was and begged to be released. They threw him aside and headed toward the town.

Other residents were also abducted by the militants and ordered to direct them to the school before being released, townspeople said.SAO PAULO, Brazil  In much of the world, workers would find it hard to imagine being able to retire at 55, earning 70 percent of their final salary for the rest of their lives.

But in Brazil, that has been the norm for decades, which helps explain the abundance of silver-haired joggers along Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro at 11 a.m. on a recent weekday.

It also accounts for about a third of all government spending in Brazil, and contributed to a record budget deficit in 2016.

Analysts and politicians across the political spectrum have long recognized that the pension system is unsustainable and a major factor in the countrys continuing economic struggles.Mr. Xi already serves as the partys general secretary and the military chief, positions with no term limits.

This is the next step in the continuing breakdown of political norms that had held sway in Chinas reform era, said Carl Minzner, a professor of law at Fordham University in New York and author of a new book on Mr. Xis increasing authoritarianism.

What are the risks of these shifts? Professor Minzner said. In the short term, all the traditional dangers that arise from the excessive centralization of power in the hands of one person. But in the long term, the real question is how far the breakdown in political norms could go.

Jiang Zemin, the leader who succeeded Deng, was installed during the Tiananmen protests of 1989 and served two terms as president from 1993 to 2003. But he lingered in power until 2004 by retaining control of the committee that runs Chinas military.

His successor, Hu Jintao, stepped down from all his positions after his two terms  an example that some experts had expected Mr. Xi to follow.

But as Mr. Xis first term comes to an end, few in China see much likelihood of his power being subdued anytime soon by rivals in the leadership elite.

Xi is now unfettered. He owns the entire policy process, Susan Shirk, the head of the 21st Century China Center at the University of California, San Diego, wrote in a forthcoming paper about politics under Mr. Xi. And Chinese domestic and foreign policy is only as restrained or aggressive as he wants it to be. The risk of policy misjudgments is greater than it has been under any other leader since Mao died.SEOUL, South Korea  President Moon Jae-in of South Korea said on Sunday that high-ranking officials from North Korea told him their country was willing to start a dialogue with the United States, a potential diplomatic victory for Mr. Moon, who has been urging the two countries to talk.

Kim Yong-chol, a vice chairman of the Norths ruling Workers Party, expressed that willingness when he met with Mr. Moon shortly before the closing ceremony of the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, Mr. Moons office said. Mr. Kim led an eight-member North Korean delegation to the ceremony, in the latest sign that the two Koreas were working toward a political detente after years of rising tensions over the Norths nuclear weapons program.

President Moon noted that North Korea-United States dialogue must take place soon in order to improve South-North Korean relations and to find a fundamental solution to the Korean Peninsula issue, said Mr. Moons spokesman, Kim Eui-kyeom. To this, the North Korean delegates responded that the North was quite willing to start talks with the United States and agreed that relations between North and South Korea and those between the North and the United States should develop simultaneously.

But it was too early to take the Norths comments as a major breakthrough.

Mr. Moons office did not reveal, for example, whether North Korea had attached any preconditions for starting talks with the United States like the suspension of joint South Korea-United States military exercises, which it calls a rehearsal for invasion. The North threatened the United States with nuclear attacks just a few weeks ago.A senior Kurdish official from Syria was detained in the Czech Republic on Sunday under an extradition request from Turkey, according to the Czech police and the Anadolu News Agency in Turkey.

The official, Salih Muslim, is the foreign affairs spokesman for the political coalition that governs the Kurdish regions of northern Syria, the Movement for a Democratic Society. He was detained after an Interpol red notice was issued by the Turkish government, which describes him as a terrorist, the agency said.

The Czech police issued a statement confirming the arrest of a 67-year-old man on a Turkish extradition request. Mr. Muslims aides confirmed that the statement referred to him.

An official with the Kurdistan National Congress in Vienna said that Mr. Muslim had been arrested at his hotel in Prague, the Czech capital, where he was speaking against Turkeys invasion of the Kurdish enclave of Afrin, in northwestern Syria.BEIRUT, Lebanon  A new United Nations resolution demanding a cease-fire across Syria appeared to have little effect on Sunday, as Syrian government forces began new ground attacks against a rebel-held enclave east of Damascus, the capital, and continued aerial bombings that have killed more than 500 people there in the past week.

There were reports Sunday evening of a suspected chlorine attack, with one child killed in eastern Ghouta and 11 people suffering symptoms like labored breathing, according to medical staff supported by the Syrian American Medical Society.

The unabated violence was disappointing after days of haggling over the wording of the Security Council resolution, which passed Saturday with the approval of both Russia, which backs the Syrian government, and the United States, which opposes it.The Government has warned people to take steps to prepare for the severe cold spell set to hit the country this week.

In a press statement from the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government Eoghan Murphy, the Minister advises the public to take heed of the warnings issued by Met Eireann, saying that the weather event is likely to have a significant and disruptive impact.

GENERAL ADVICE

Have a small supply of non perishable, easy-to-prepare foods

Keep extra supplies of essential medication in case it is difficult to get to the pharmacy

Have an adequate supply of fuel for heating/cooking and if possible a suitable alternative should the main supply fail

Have a shovel and bag of salt to keep paths clear and safe

Have batteries for torches in the event of power cuts

Have candles and matches. Candles should always be placed away from draughts in proper candleholders. Never leave a burning candle unattended

Have a water container to ensure a supply of drinking water

Have emergency contact numbers to hand

Leave a key and contact details with neighbours or family if you are going away

Check that loft insulation is thick and in good condition

Fit your water tank with an insulation jacket or alternatively, wrap the top and sides with suitable insulation material

Repair any leaks at taps or valves

Know how to turn off the water supply (usually under the kitchen sink)

Fit draught excluders to your doors and windows

Make sure heating equipment is well-maintained, vented correctly and working properly

Ensure chimneys are cleaned at least once a year

Advice for Older People:

Keep warm, eat well and avoid unnecessary travel. You should eat regular hot meals and drink plenty of fluids, this will keep you warm and will give you energy to keep active

Ensure you have sufficient supplies of food and of any prescription medicine you may need. Keep active indoors

Have sufficient fuel supplies to maintain adequate heating in your home

Ask your relatives and neighbours for help if you need it. Keep their phone numbers on a list beside your phone

For more details and advice click here to go to winterready.ie

Met Eireann is forecasting a severe spell of cold weather this week and has advised today that, exceptionally cold weather will occur this week.Anti-national activities': J&K cops release videos of what transpired at Geelani home after Pak flag row

Masarat Alam will remain a non-starter in J&K thanks to Centres zero tolerance towards separatism

"Cowardly and unprofessional" Pakistani troops violate ceasefire in Nowshera along LoC

India

oi-Vikas

By Vikas

Pakistani troops resorted to ceasefire violation yet again on Sunday evening. Reports say that Pakistan Army initiated unprovoked and indiscriminate firing of small arms, automatics and mortars from 1645 hours in Nowshera sector along the Line of Control (LoC). Indian Army is giving a befitting response.

A top Army officer had earlier today dubbed Pakistan's action in the border areas as "cowardly and unprofessional".

"Since 19 Feb, Pakistan Army has been continuously carrying out ceasefire violations along the LoC in Uri sector. Displaying extreme cowardice and unprofessionalism, it has been targeting innocent villagers & causing damage to their houses through mortar shelling," Brigadier YS Ahlawat told the media earlier today.

"Indian Army has retaliated accurately on the Pak Army post.Villagers have been evacuated to govt school in Uri. Army has swung into action & provided immediate relief to villagers including food,medicine,drinking water & have provisioned sleeping bags in view of winter," he added.

Brigadier Ahlawat was referring to ceasefire violations by Pakistan in Uri sector on Thursday.

Pakistani troops on Thursday fired at Indian posts along the Line of Control (LoC) in the Uri sector of Jammu and Kashmir, prompting Indian soldiers to retaliate. The Pakistani troops had opened unprovoked firing at Indian posts in the Hajipeer area of the Uri sector in Baramulla district

OneIndia News

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Story first published: Sunday, February 25, 2018, 19:41 [IST]After boycotting presidential elections in 2016, Djibouti's main opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Renewal and Development (MRD), says it will not participate in legislative elections Friday, deepening concerns that democracy in the East African nation isn't working.

"In Djibouti, theres a problem of legitimacy, of democratic legitimacy, of parliamentary legitimacy because elections are never fair and free, Daher Ahmed Farah, the leader of MRD, told VOA. Farah said the government went back on a deal forged in late 2014 to establish an independent national electoral commission.

Without an autonomous body to oversee voting, he said, its impossible to ensure the integrity of the process.

"Taking part in an election that is not fair and free means some kind of support to the farce, he said. "Because it is a farce  it is a masquerade.

Despite interest in reform, Djiboutians push for democracy has come up short, Farah said, because the government suppresses dissent and stifles the press.

Singular power

Djibouti is a representative democratic republic whose president serves six-year terms.

The current president, Ismail Omar Guelleh, has held office for nearly two decades, making him one of Africas longest serving leaders. In the most recent presidential election, in 2016, he won more than 86 percent of the vote. He succeeded his uncle, who led for 22 years following independence from French colonial rule.

The National Assembly, Djiboutis legislative body, has 65 seats and also holds significant power. With the opposition boycotting the election the candidates for the legislature will represent the ruling party.

Strategic placement

Djibouti has little in the way of national resources, and its one of Africas smallest countries. But a strategic location in East Africa, where the Red Sea meets the Gulf of Aden, has made Djibouti an appealing spot for foreign military bases and a major player in regional politics.

The United States, France, Japan, China and Italy each have bases in Djibouti, giving it an outsized footprint in a region with much larger economies and more advanced militaries. The French base also houses troops from Spain and Germany.

But this international presence may have limits.

Sim Tack is a former senior analyst at Stratfor, a group that tracks global military tactics and strategies. He said Djibouti faces significant security challenges, and that makes close alliances with foreign states appealing.

"That doesnt mean that every single one of those countries would immediately defend the Djibouti government when it gets into trouble. But it increases the odds of actually receiving some significant support when they do feel faced with some serious contestation.

Stability

For Farah, a foreign presence in Djibouti increases the countrys security, but that hasnt translated into benefits for everyday Djiboutians.

"[Djiboutis] stability matters, acknowledged, but stability must take into account the needs of people. Stability for whom? Stability, the real stability, is for people, is for development, is for social justice, is for a free economy. Its not for the regime. The current stability is only good for the regime, Farah said.

Mohamed Siad Doualeh, Djiboutis permanent representative to the United Nations and its ambassador to the United States and Canada, did not respond to requests for an interview.

However, top officials in Djibouti have met with members of an African Union observation mission and welcomed oversight from the international body.No differences between us', says Misa Bharti on Tejashwi-Tej Pratap rift

ED seizes farmhouse of Lalu Prasad's daughter Misa Bharti

India

oi-Madhuri

Enforcement Directorate on Sunday seized farmhouse of RJD leader Misa Bharti. ED had got the order of possession from the adjudicating authority.

Earlier on February 08, a special court in New Delhi summoned RJD chief Lalu Prasad's daughter Misa Bharti and her husband as accused in a money laundering case.

The ED had on December 23 filed its final report against Bharti and her husband Shailesh Kumar through advocate Nitesh Rana.

The agency had earlier attached a Delhi farmhouse of the couple in connection with its money-laundering probe.

The farmhouse, located at 26, Palam Farms in south Delhi's Bijwasan area, was attached provisionally under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

It belonged to Ms Bharti and Mr Kumar and was "held in the name of M/s Mishail Packers and Printers Private Limited", the central probe agency had said.

"It was purchased in 2008-09, using Rs. 1.2 crore involved in money laundering," it had alleged.

The agency had raided the farmhouse and a few other locations in July last year as part of its probe against two brothers -- Surendra Kumar Jain and Virendra Jain -- and others, who were alleged to have laundered several crores of rupees using shell companies.

The Jain brothers, currently on bail, were arrested by the ED under the PMLA.

The ED had also arrested Rajesh Agrawal, a chartered accountant who had allegedly mediated and provided a cash amount of "Rs. 90 lakh to the Jain brothers in advance so as to invest in M/s Mishail Packers and Printers Pvt Ltd as share premium".

One of the firms that the arrested duo dealt with was Mishail Printers and Packers Private Limited.

Bharti and her husband are alleged to have been directors in this firm in the past.

"The company, M/s Mishail Packers and Printers, was registered at 25, Tughlak Road, New Delhi till the shares were bought by Ms Bharti.

It was only during 2009-10 that the address was changed to Farm no. 26, Palam Farms, VPO Bijwasan, New Delhi. Bharti and Kumar were the directors of the company during the relevant period," the ED had said.

The ED had alleged that the Jain brothers, Mr Agrawal and the daughter and son-in-law of the former Bihar chief minister were the "key persons behind the laundering of Rs. 1.2 crore".

OneIndia News (with PTI inputs)

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Story first published: Sunday, February 25, 2018, 12:17 [IST]How did Nirav Modi deposit cash hours before demonetisation? NCP leader Majeed Memon

India

oi-Madhuri

NCP leader Majeed Memon on Sunday referring to a report said that hours before Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced demonetisation excercise Nirav Modi deposited huge cash amount in one PNB branch. He also question,''What does it suggest ?.'' Memon further said that this need to be investigated.

Speaking to ANI, Majeed Memon said,''When Nirav Modi left India, at that time it was reported that some hours prior to PM's announcement of 'Demonetisation', 90 crore rupees of cash was brought in one of the branches of PNB & were exchanged for billions or something. This needs to be investigated.''

Even Congress president Rahul Gandhi had said, "This [bank fraud] started on November 8, 2016 when Modiji turned 500 and 1,000 rupee notes into scrap. He took out all the money from people's pockets and put it in the banking system." He also alleged that a scam of this level could not have been done without high level protection.

Meanwhile, West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee also expressed a similar concern. "This is just the tip of the iceberg. This big banking fraud was fuelled at the time of demonetisation. Big money laundering happened during DeMo. Key bank officials were changed. Who are these people put in? There are more banks involved. The full truth must come out," she tweeted on February 18.

OneIndia NewsAnti-national activities': J&K cops release videos of what transpired at Geelani home after Pak flag row

Masarat Alam will remain a non-starter in J&K thanks to Centres zero tolerance towards separatism

J&K: One security guard killed in terrorist attack in Srinagar

India

oi-Vikas

By Vikas

One security guard was on Sunday evening killed in a terrorist attack in Srinagar's Soura area. The martyred security personnel has been identified as Constable Farooq Ahmad, said reports.

"We have lost another precious life when Constable Farooq Ahmad was martyred today in Srinagar. Be more careful boys, it's the proxy war that we are fighting in Jammu and Kashmir," reports quoted Jammu and Kashmir DGP SP Vaid as saying.

Six soldiers were martyred in the pre-dawn strike when Jaish-e-Mohammad terrorists stormed the highly fortified 36 Brigade headquarters of Army at Sunjuwan in Jammu on February 10.

[J&K: NIA takes over Sunjuwan attack probe]

On February 22, an army man was injured after terrorists opened fire on a search party in Paribal area of Hajin in Bandipora district of Jammu and Kashmir.

OneIndia News

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Story first published: Sunday, February 25, 2018, 22:18 [IST]Karnataka: Amit Shah meets family of 3 farmers who committed suicide in Bidar

India

oi-Madhuri

BJP President Amit Shah on Sunday met family of three farmers who committed suicide in Bidar.

While addressing the sugarcane farmers who have faced distress with the water intensive crop in a state that has been through three successive years of drought, Shah said,''the sugarcane farmers are paid their dues within 90 days in Uttar Pradesh. A law has been framed for the same.''

Shah arrived in Bidar by a chartered flight on February 24 night and visited Narasimha Swamy temple the next morning. He visited Mangalgi village in Humnabad taluk where three farmers have committed suicide and follow this up with a discussion with sugarcane growers in Humnabad town.

Earlier this week, Shah lashed out at the state government, calling it the "most corrupt ever" in the country and accusing it of playing "appeasement politics". Before that, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had accused the Congress government of being a "10 per cent commission" government. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah hit back, accusing PM Modi of a running a "90 per cent commission government".

OneIndia News

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Story first published: Sunday, February 25, 2018, 14:25 [IST]Rape case: Mumbai is still safest city for women says Sena

India

oi-Madhuri

Bollywood superstar -- the popular film industry's first woman to hold that title - Sridevi Kapoor, 54, was cremated with state honours on Wednesday evening, four days after her unfortunate death by accidental drowning in Dubai.

Before her final journey to the crematorium from the sports club, Sridevi was draped in the tricolour and her entire family stood next to her.

Since early morning, thousands stood patiently outside the sports club, in nearly a mile-long queue at all moments, for a last glimpse of the Padma Shri actress.

Here are the LIVE updates:

Sridevi made her acting debut in 1978 with Solva Sawan and went on to become a household name with Jeetendra-starrer Himmatwaala. She is survived by husband Boney and two daughters- Khushi and Jhanvi; Jhanvi is all set to make her Bollywood debut with Dhadak.

OneIndia NewsWe must move forward with 'Nation First, Always First' mantra: PM Modi

Mann Ki Baat: PM Modi says every medal India wins is special, bats for Sabka Prayaas to promote sports

Mann Ki Baat: PM Modi emphasises use of Artificial Intelligence

India

oi-Madhuri

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has begun to address the nation in the monthly radio programme 'Mann Ki Baat'.

PM Modi said, "Most of the accidents barring national disasters in some way or the other occur due to our negligence. If we remain vigilant and follow rules then we can avoid such situations."

"I urge the scientists to find ways in which we can enhance lives of our 'divyang' brothers and sisters through artificial intelligence. Also, can we make use of Artificial intelligence in early detection of natural calamities?," he said.

"In this budget, emphasis was laid on 'waste to wealth' and 'waste to energy' through bio-gas for villages under 'Swacch Bharat' initiative called 'GOBAR-Dhan' (Galvanizing Organic Bio-Agro Resources) has been rolled out."

He congratulated the administration for providing electricity to three villages of Elephanta islands 70 years after Independence.

The 41st episode of the monthly programme is being aired on All Indian Radio and Doordarshan. The programme will also be streamed on the YouTube channels of the Prime Minister's Office, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and DD News.

Modi had earlier tweeted seeking people's "ideas and inputs" for Mann Ki Baat, for which Congress president Rahul Gandhi tweeted suggesting him to speak on the Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud involving diamond jwellery designer Nirav Modi and the alleged Rafale deal scam.

In his last address, PM Modi had lauded the women achievers of the country. He had also appreciated 'Mission Clean Morna River', and congratulated people for making it a 'mass movement'. "Today there are many sectors where our Nari Shakti is playing a pioneering role, establishing milestones. Women are advancing in many fields, emerging as leaders," PM had said.

Modi has said in a tweet that he would like people to share their ideas and suggestions on the Narendra Modi App and the My Gov Open Forum, and can also dial the toll free number 1800-11-7800 to record their message for the Prime Minister in Hindi or English.

People can also give a missed call on the number 1922 and follow the link received in SMS to directly give the suggestions to the Prime Minister.

Akashwani will broadcast the programme in regional languages immediately after the Hindi broadcast. Regional language versions of the programme will also be repeated at 8 p.m.

OneIndia NewsBJP failed to provide electricity 24X7, AAP will if it comes to power in Goa: Arvind Kejriwal

Manohar Parrikar hospitalised again

India

oi-Vikas

By Vikas

Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar was on Sunday evening admitted to GMC hospital in Panaji with complaints of dehydration and blood pressure, days after being he was discharged from Mumbai's Lilavati Hospital. Parrikar was admitted to Lilavati Hospital in Mumbai on 15 February.

In a latest update on Monday (Feb 26), Goa Health Minister Vishwajit Rane said that Parrikar is "absolutely fine and stable".

"The chief minister remains admitted in hospital but he is absolutely fine and stable," Rane said on Monday.

Parrikar underwent a check-up at the Goa Medical College Hospital on February 14 after he complained of stomach pains. The next morning, he was admitted to the Lilavati Hospital in Mumbai, where the doctors said he was suffering from a "mild pancreatitis".

The Budget session of the state Assembly was curtailed to three days from the planned a-month-and-a-half because of Parrikar's illness. The chief minister had presented the budget in the Goa assembly on February 22 after returning from Mumbai.

['If needed, Goa CM Manohar Parrikar to be sent to US hospital for treatment']

There were also rumours that he was diagnosed with Pancreatic Cancer, but Lilavati Hospital then released a statement saying that various such rumours were "malicious and misleading".

OneIndia NewsKarnataka: Will Congress not allow Kumaraswamy to be CM for full 5-year term?

Is it chief minister Kumaraswamy or chief manager of Congress Ktaka ATM? BJP has an answer

All is well between Congress, JD(S)? Kumaraswamy meets Rahul as Karnataka waits for full cabinet

Margaret Alva back in KPCC after brief retirement

India

oi-Vikas

By Vikas

After keeping a distance from the Congress for close to two years and refraining from any party related work, Margaret Alva seems to have been roped into Karnataka Pradesh Congress Election Committee ahead of state elections.

Margaret Alva makes a silent comeback by being part of Karnataka Pradesh Congress Election Committee. She fell out in UPA 1 and went on to become Governor and since then stayed away from politics. pic.twitter.com/Ly2ltjBk19  Kartikeya Sharma (@kartikeya_1975) February 25, 2018

The rift between Alva and Congress began after she alleged that Congress tickets were sold to the highest bidder in the 2008 elections. According to a Deccan Chronicle report, Alva alleged that a Congress leader used money power to ensure that her son was defeated.

Margaret Alva's book 'Courage and Commitment' criticised the way the party was being run after Sonia Gandhi took over the party leadership. The things she wrote in her book about what happens behind closed doors in the Congress party had left many Congressmen red-faced.

She had remarked that the party was taking money before offering election nominations. She had questioned why her son Nivedith and the grandson of former Union minister C. K. Jaffer Sharief were not given nominations while relatives of two dozen leaders were given tickets in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Jammu and Kashmir.

Her reaction expressed in a television interview created a controversy. The Congress Party, which conducted a probe under A. K. Antony, recommended her expulsion from the party.

Elected as a member of the Rajya Sabha for four successive terms, Margaret Alva was made Central Minister at the age of 42. Alva assumed several responsibilities, under Prime Ministers Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi and Narasimha Rao. Even during the non-Congress years, Alva was very much a part of the Lutyen's zone political narrative that she has penned down in the book and makes for interesting reading, said an ANI report.

OneIndia News

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Story first published: Sunday, February 25, 2018, 17:07 [IST]Saddened says PM Modi on Sridevis death

India

oi-Staff

By Oneindia Staff Writer

Prime Minister Narendra Modi condoled the death of legendary actress, Sridevi. Modi tweeted, "saddened by the untimely demise of noted actor Sridevi. She was a veteran of the film industry, whose long career included diverse roles and memorable performances. My thoughts are with her family and admirers in this hour of grief. May her soul rest in peace: PM"

Saddened by the untimely demise of noted actor Sridevi. She was a veteran of the film industry, whose long career included diverse roles and memorable performances. My thoughts are with her family and admirers in this hour of grief. May her soul rest in peace: PM @narendramodi  PMO India (@PMOIndia) February 25, 2018

The Indian National Congress too extended its condolences to the late actress. "We regret to hear about the passing away of Sridevi. An actor par excellence. A legend who will continue to live in our hearts through her stellar body of work. Our deepest condolences to her loved ones. She was awarded the Padma Shri by the UPA Govt in 2013," the INC tweeted.

Several actors also took to twitter to condole the death of the legend.

We regret to hear about the passing away of Sridevi. An actor par excellence. A legend who will continue to live in our hearts through her stellar body of work.

Our deepest condolences to her loved ones. She was awarded the Padma Shri by the UPA Govt in 2013. pic.twitter.com/kZYrYYyrlI  Congress (@INCIndia) February 25, 2018

OneIndia News

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Story first published: Sunday, February 25, 2018, 7:51 [IST]Apple CEO Tim Cook reveals all about his sexual orientation, says he is proud to be gay

Steve Jobs employment application may fetch USD 50k at auction

International

pti-PTI

Boston, Feb 25: A job application filled out and signed by Apple Inc co-founder Steve Jobs is expected to fetch USD 50,000 at an US auction.

Jobs enrolled at Reed College for the fall semester in 1972 but dropped out after just six months to preserve his parents meager funds. However, he hung around campus for a year and a half to audit creative courses, including classes on Shakespeare, dance, and calligraphy - which helped shape his artistic worldview that influenced the innovation of the Macintosh computer.

The one-page questionnaire was filled out by Jobs in 1972 where he fills out his address, "reed college"; phone, "none"; and major, "english lit." In the middle section, he wrote "yes" in response to 'Driver's License?' and "possible, but not probable," in reply to 'Access to transportation?'. Concerning his skills, next to 'Computer' and 'Calculator,' he wrote, "yes (design, tech)." At the bottom, he described his 'Special Abilities' as "electronics tech or design engineer. digital. - from Bay near Hewitt-Packard."

In his 2005 Stanford commencement speech, Jobs had said "If I had never dropped in on that single calligraphy course in college, the Mac would have never had multiple typefaces or proportionally spaced fonts."

In 1974, Jobs put his technical skills to work and secured a job as a technician at Atari, heavily relying on the help of Steve Wozniak. In 1976, Jobs and Wozniak set out on their own and founded Apple, introducing the personal computer to the masses.

"It's a remarkable document that reveals Jobs's early aspiration to work in the fledgling tech industry that he would one day revolutionize," said Bobby Livingston Executive VP at Boston-based RR Auction. The auction also features a Mac OS X technical manual signed by Jobs in 2001. The signature was obtained in a parking lot after a training session at Apple in California.

"Steve Jobs was a notoriously difficult signer and his autograph is incredibly scarce among contemporary figures," said Livingston. The manual is also expected to sell for USD 50,000. A newspaper clipping from, 2008, featuring an image of Jobs speaking at the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference for the introduction of the iPhone 3G, with the headline, "New, faster iPhone will sell for USD 199," signed by Jobs is also up for auction. Bidding for the items ends on March 7.

PTIWould you like to know how many people have read this article? Or how reputable the author is? Simply sign up for a Advocate premium membership and you'll automatically see this data on every article. Plus a lot more, too.



Demonstration in Washington, D.C. organized by Teens For Gun Reform in the wake of shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.

(Image by Photo credit: Lorie Shaull / Flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0)) Details DMCA



In response to the Florida school massacre, the White House had President Donald Trump participate in an unusual, media-filmed "listening" session with mourning parents and students.

Trump listened -- how could he not? He is being pressured to do something about gun violence in America. This most recent slaughter, and the remarkable public response to it, led by young people, is creating a potentially inexorable emotional wave.

So he proposed a solution.

More guns.

Yup! Trump thinks the way we can stop the murderous wave that has overtaken America is by putting weapons into the hands of amateur sheriffs -- who, he insists, will stop the marauders in their tracks.

On Twitter yesterday morning, Trump declared that "A 'gun free' school is a magnet for bad people."

What we need, he says, is to have some adults at the schools -- not security guards, but teachers, administrators, and others -- carrying concealed weapons.Congress Switchboard: 202-224-3121

"We're at a paradigm-shift moment in history, where we will look back at it and realize that a particular model of how we govern our affairs together became outdated. Kall's book Bottom-Up offers great alternatives and solutions that are not found in conventional governing models."



Carne Ross , is a former British diplomat, a strategy coordinator for the UN, and author of the book, The Leaderless Revolution.Quicklink Not Found

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To see if the quicklink was renamed or re-published, please click here.Progressive Content Not Found

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From Greg Palast Website

Want to end the American shooting epidemic?



(Image by Greg Palast) Details DMCA



A crucial factor about the Florida killer: his family had to move out of the school district because they couldn't afford the rent. Resentment yields anger. Not every poor kid becomes a killer -- think Bill Clinton -- but there will be one. Inequality kills.

A student of statistics -- my son -- was surprised by his regression analysis of gun ownership per capita in each nation versus homicides.

He wrote, "The result of my scatter plot came as quite the surprise to me: there was just about no correlation between number of guns and number of gun homicides."

In fact, "the correlation coefficient was -0.105871699." That is, by a small amount, more guns meant fewer homicides.

So what DID prove a strong correlation? Homicides versus the "GINI" coefficient. GINI is the measure of income inequality in a nation.

I've just returned from the nation with the widest gun ownership in the world, Switzerland, which has vanishingly few homicides -- although almost all men 18-35, due to ancient military tradition, must keep weapons in their home (many fully automatic).

The nation with the same population as Switzerland, Honduras, has the world's highest homicide rate -- yet Honduras outlaws personal gun ownership.

David Hemenway, of the Harvard School of Public Health notes, "Switzerland and Honduras are not even close to being the same in many aspects of their society that will influence the levels of violence and homicide."

Exactly. Want to end gun violence? End violent inequality.

Here's the roster of the world's most violent nations measured by non-military homicides:

Honduras

El Salvador

Jamaica

Venezuela

Guatemala

Trinidad

Colombia

Belize

Brazil

South Africa

It's also a listing of the world's most economically unequal nations.

After the US, here is the list of highest per capita gun ownership: Switzerland, Finland, Sweden, Norway, France, Germany Austria, Iceland -- all nations with tiny small homicide rates -- and very low GINI scores. Iceland, where a huge one-third of households have guns, is the most economically equal society on the planet -- with a homicide rate of ZERO.

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From Gush Shalom

I HAVE a confession to make: I don't hate Binyamin Netanyahu. I don't hate Sara'le either.

I generally don't hate people. With the sole exception of people who have betrayed the trust I put in them and tried to stick a knife in my back. Not more than three or four in all my life. I am not going to name them.

I have not met Netanyahu on a private basis more than two or three times.

Once, he introduced me to his second wife in the Knesset corridor. She seemed to me a nice young woman.

The second time we met at a photographic exhibition, in which there was a photo of me wearing a pilot's helmet. (Don't know how and why).

"You look like Errol Flynn," he told me. I had never seen an Errol Flynn movie, but took it as a compliment.

We had, of course, many arguments in the Knesset, but that doesn't count.

Therefore, if I want to remove Netanyahu from the government, and as soon as possible, it is not because of any personal feelings. I just believe that he is a disaster for Israel.

The endless cases of bribery that have surfaced -- and continue to surface, like submarines -- necessitate his removal at once. And we have not yet even reached the affair of the German-built submarines, which promises many new revelations. As a former editor of a news-magazine that specialized in investigations of corruption affairs, I can smell it.

A lot of people would enjoy seeing "Bibi" in prison. I would not. If it were up to me, the President of State and the Attorney General would offer him a Nixon-style deal: resign immediately and be pardoned five minutes later. You and your wife. No case, no trials. Go home and enjoy life.

There is no financial problem. Netanyahu is a rich man, with a generous pension as a former Prime Minister, with several luxury apartments, quite apart from the huge bribes he seems to have pocketed along the way.

Also, every publisher in the world would gladly pay a big advance for his memoirs.

So there is no reason to pity him.

TROUBLE IS, who will take his place?

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By Dave Lindorff



From flickr.com: U.S. Army Cyber Command shoulder sleeve insignia

(Image by Dave Lindorff) Details DMCA



The howling in government and the corporate media and among many liberals about an alleged Russian information war, with bots, trolls and fake news being placed in social media to mislead and incite Americans against each other, might lead one think, like Sen John McCain, that we are practically at war with Russia. Yet it's all actually pretty silly. After all, our own government has been playing this game for decades, both abroad, and also right here inside the "Land of the Free and Home of the Brave" and against us American citizens.

I know. I was a victim of such an attack, though initially I didn't realize what was happening.

Back on August 25, 2005, I published a piece in In These Times titled Radioactive Wounds of War about the devastating damage caused by the US military's use of depleted uranium weapons in its brutal assault leveling Fallujah, the Iraqi city of 300,000 people that was destroyed by US marines in 2004 as retribution for the killing of four US contractors by the Iraqi insurgents who at the time controlled the city, and for their humiliating defeat of a smaller Marine assault on the city earlier in the year.

At the time I was and had been a contributing editor at ITT, a publication for which I had written regularly since it was founded back in 1978, and was listed on its masthead as such.

As I recount in an article published in Counterpunch on November 19, 2005 titled R.I.P In These Times, the left-liberal news magazine had been promptly bombarded with letters criticizing my article after it came out. The critiques were not about the main topic of the article, which was evidence discovered in medical studies done on returning Iraq veterans from a unit of New York National Guard soldiers, funded by the New York Daily News and reported on by Juan Gonzalez, which had found evidence of exposure to depleted uranium dust that was causing serious health damage in these soldiers, and even birth defects in their young children. Those findings were undeniable. What attracted the critical mail, which would now be called trolling, was my reporting on how much depleted uranium weapons had been dumped on Iraq by invading and occupying US forces.

Based on my research into reports, mostly by European sources, I had written in that article:

U.S. forces first used DU in the 1991 Gulf War, when some 300 tons of depleted uranium--the waste product of nuclear power plants and weapons facilities--were used in tank shells and shells fired by A-10 jets. A lesser amount was deployed by US and NATO forces during the Balkans conflict. But in the current wars in Afghanistan and, especially, Iraq, DU has become the weapon of choice, with more than 1,000 tons used in Afghanistan and more than 3,000 tons used in Iraq. And while DU was fired mostly in the desert during the Gulf War, in the current war in Iraq, most of DU munitions are exploding in populated urban areas.

The Pentagon has expanded DU beyond tank and A-10 shells, for use in bunker-busting bombs, which can spew out more than half a ton of DU in one explosion, in anti-personnel bomblets, and even in M-16 and pistol shells. The military loves DU for its unique penetration capability--it cuts through steel or concrete like they're butter.

In later years, I've done more reporting on the US military's use of depleted uranium, which the Pentagon loves because of its unique ability to penetrate even thick solid steel tank armor and reinforced concrete bunkers with ease, bursting into intense flame on impact and spreading super toxic uranium oxide dust in the aftermath. There is no dispute about the use of these weapons by US forces. But in 2005, the Pentagon was fighting a brutal rear-guard battle to claim the stuff is safe and at the same time that it was not being used in populated urban areas. Both claims were official lies.

Particularly active and voluble in this letter-writing campaign to ITT targeting my article, all of which correspondence was posted on the ITT website, were people like Jack Cohen-Joppe, retired Air Force Col. Roger Helbig, and US Army Col. Rick Thomas.

I could not figure out what Cohen-Joppe's motivation was, or who if anyone is behind him. A self-described opponent of nuclear weapons and especially nuclear power, Cohen-Joppe, from Tucson AZ, has for some reason had what I have described as an "Ahab-like obsession" with attempting to debunk claims of US depleted-uranium weapons, although such use has been admitted by the Pentagon. Meanwhile Helbig and Thomas appear to have more sinister connections to the Pentagon. Both show up in troll campaigns whenever articles about depleted uranium weapons appear. They also have had a years long campaign to smear and discredit one of the main whistleblowers about DU, Dr. Doug Rocke, a former Army Captain who conducted a Pentagon study on the safety (lack of safety) of DU weapons, and who also ran a campaign to decontaminate sites in Kuwait where DU weapons had been used, scattering toxic uranium oxide dust. For example, Helbig has claimed Rocke was never ranked higher than Lieutenant, and that he never ran a DU study or worked on decontamination after the Gulf War. Yet I was shown documents by Rocke showing his recommendation for promotion to Captain, and commending him for his study and his work in Kuwait.

Their attack on my ITT article was a success, in large part because of the cowardice and lack of principle of ITT's editor, Joel Bleifus. As I wrote in my Counterpunch article, Bleifus ran Cohen-Joppe's letter criticizing my article in a subsequent issue of the magazine without warning me and giving me an opportunity to respond to his fact-free criticism. This despite it being standard policy at ITT for its writers to get a chance to respond to any such published letters in the same issue. When I complained, I was eventually allowed to write a letter of response, but Bleifus cut it and added a note of his own saying he didn't agree with my response. It was shabby behavior of the worst sort, and also in retrospect a huge embarrassment to Bleifus and In These Times, as more and more evidence has come out of the dreadful multi-generational impact of the US military's use of DU weapons all over Iraq, including in its cities.

But more important than ITT's lack of courage and principle was the success of the Pentagon's fake news and trolling campaign, in this case in defense of its grotesque DU weapons.

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From Consortium News

Fads and scandals often follow a set trajectory. They grow big, bigger, and then, finally, too big, at which point they topple over and collapse under the weight of their own internal contradictions. This was the fate of the "Me too" campaign, which started out as an expose' of serial abuser Harvey Weinstein but then went too far when Babe.net published a story about one woman's bad date with comedian Aziz Ansari. Suddenly, it became clear that different types of behavior were being lumped together in a dangerous way, and a once-explosive movement began to fizzle.

So, too, with Russiagate. After dominating the news for more than a year, the scandal may have at last reached a tipping point with last week's indictment of 13 Russian individuals and three Russian corporations on charges of illegal interference in the 2016 presidential campaign. But the indictment landed with a decided thud for three reasons:

-- It failed to connect the Internet Research Agency (IRA), the alleged St. Petersburg troll factory accused of political meddling, with Vladimir Putin, the all-purpose evil-doer who the corporate media say is out to destroy American democracy.

-- It similarly failed to establish a connection with the Trump campaign and indeed went out of its way to describe contacts with the Russians as "unwitting."

-- It described the meddling itself as even more inept and amateurish than many had suspected.

After nine months of labor, Special Prosecutor Robert Mueller thus brought forth a mouse. Even if all the charges are true -- something we'll probably never know since it's unlikely that any of the accused will be brought to trial -- the indictment tells us virtually nothing that's new.

Yes, IRA staffers purchased $100,000 worth of Facebook ads, 56 percent of which ran after Election Day. Yes, they persuaded someone in Florida to dress up as Hillary Clinton in a prison uniform and stand inside a cage mounted on a flatbed truck. And, yes, they also got another "real U.S. person," as the indictment terms it, to stand in front of the White House with a sign saying, "Happy 55th Birthday Dear Boss," a tribute, apparently, to IRA founder Yevgeniy Prigozhin, the convicted robber turned caterer whose birthday was three days away. Instead of a super-sophisticated spying operation, the indictment depicts a bumbling freelance operation that is still giving Putin heartburn months after the fact.

Not that this has stopped the media from whipping itself into a frenzy. "Russia is at war with our democracy," screamed a headline in the Washington Post. "Trump is ignoring the worst attack on America since 9/11," blared another. "...Russia is engaged in a virtual war against the United States through 21st-century tools of disinformation and propaganda," declared the New York Times, while Daily Beast columnist Jonathan Alter tweeted that the IRA's activities amounted to nothing less than a "tech Pearl Harbor."

All of which merely demonstrates, in proper backhanded fashion, how grievously Mueller has fallen short. Proof that the scandal had at last overstayed its welcome came five days later when the Guardian, a website that had previously flogged Russiagate even more vigorously than the Post, the Times, or CNN, published a news analysis by Cas Mudde, an associate professor at the University of Georgia, admitting that it was all a farce -- and a particularly self-defeating one at that.

Mudde's article made short work of hollow pieties about a neutral and objective investigation. Rather than an effort to get at the truth, Russiagate was a thinly-veiled effort at regime change. "[I]n the end," he wrote, "the only question everyone really seems to care about is whether Donald Trump was involved -- and can therefore be impeached for treason.

With last week's indictment, the article went on, "Democratic party leaders once again reassured their followers that this was the next logical step in the inevitable downfall of Trump." The more Democrats play the Russiagate card, in other words, the nearer they will come to their goal of riding the Orange-Haired One out of town on a rail.

This makes the Dems seem crass, unscrupulous, and none too democratic. But then Mudde gave the knife a twist. The real trouble with the strategy, he said, is that it isn't working:

"While there is no doubt that the Trump camp was, and still is, filled with amoral and fraudulent people, and was very happy to take the Russians help during the elections, even encouraging it on the campaign, I do not think Mueller will be able to find conclusive evidence that Donald Trump himself colluded with Putin's Russia to win the elections. And that is the only thing that will lead to his impeachment as the Republican party is not risking political suicide for anything less."

Other Objectives of "Russiagate"



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From Strategic Culture

The atmosphere in the United States regarding possible Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election is something like hysteria, with a real danger that bilateral relations might break down completely as a result. Indeed, a number of politicians and senior government officials have described the allegations that Moscow sought to influence the election results as an "act of war" with Congressman Jerold Nadler even declaring that it was similar to Pearl Harbor.

Assuming that the indictment against 13 Russians and three Russian companies filed last week by Special Counsel Robert Mueller is accurate, the reported activity of the Internet Research Agency could indeed have been part of an intelligence operation seeking to influence developments in the US, but the organization's employees also displayed considerable amateur behavior, suggesting that they were not professional spies, supporting the stronger argument that it was not a Russian government-run operation at all.

And the United States is hardly innocent when it comes to interfering in the domestic politics of both friends and enemies. That is very often what intelligence agencies are designed to do, and no one is more active in interfering in foreign governments and elections than the United States of America.

The Russian election featuring Boris Yeltsin in 1996 was arranged by Washington working with the International Monetary Fund, and more recently there was the $5 billion invested in bringing "democracy" to Ukraine in 2014. The US was also involved in many of the elections in post-war Europe, most particularly in countries whose own democratic systems were still evolving. The CIA worked to keep communists out of the government in Italy's 1976 national election. Conservative parties received sacks of money and articles warning about communism appeared in all the major newspapers. The major covert action proceeded even though Italy was a NATO member and the corruption that the intervention brought with it has blighted Italian politics to this day.

And then, there are America's friends who in similar fashion interfere in US politics to support their own national agendas. Most active recently have been Israel and Saudi Arabia, both of which have an identical foreign policy goal, which is to end what they describe as the Iranian threat in their region. As neither has the resources to go it alone, both seek to involve the United States in what would likely be a catastrophic war for all involved, leaving Riyadh and Tel Aviv standing on the sidelines to pick up the pieces.

The Saudi lobby in the United States operates largely below the surface, working on individual congressmen and through the funding of think tanks. Israel's manipulation of the US is, however, much more in the open. One can argue that what we are now calling Russiagate all started when Trump National Security Adviser designate Michael Flynn called Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak, on December 22, 2016. The call was made at the direction of Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner, who, in turn, had been approached by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to change a U.N. vote critical of Israel.

Kushner asked Flynn, the soon-to-be National Security Adviser, to help Israel by undermining what was being done by the still-in-power American government in Washington headed by President Barack Obama. In legal terms this most certainly could be construed as covered by the "conspiracy against the United States" statute that the Mueller investigation has exploited in the recent Russian indictments.

Mueller's indictment specifically claimed that the Russians created false US personas while also stealing actual identities. But the Russians are being accused of involvement in activity that Israel engages in openly. It has interfered in US elections, to include promoting Mitt Romney over Barack Obama in 2012, and has a powerful and well-funded lobby in AIPAC that intervenes aggressively in American foreign and domestic policy. And the Israeli government's propaganda arm uses its hasbara to use false internet identities to confuse and deflect critical stories. They do so routinely and do not even try to hide what they are doing. Part of their agenda is to smear critics and elect politicians favorable to them.

So, when will Mueller and the several congressional committees that are investigating the Russians move on to the topic of Israel and Saudi Arabia to find out what really effective foreign influencing operations looks like? Given the power of Israel and the Saudis over Congress, probably never.Fortified Dairy Products Market to record an impressive CAGR6.7%during the forecast period, 2017 to 2026

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A new Future Market Insights report envisages the global fortified dairy products market to record an impressive CAGR during the forecast period, 2017 to 2026. According to the report, worldwide sales of fortified dairy products are poised to bring in revenues more than US$ 150,000 Mn by 2026-end. According to WHO, many school children are being afflicted with the deficiency of vitamin A. Therefore, vitamin A-fortified dairy products hold immense potential in curtailing this deficiency.With soaring utilization of fortified dairy products, the fortifying agent manufacturers have been concentrating on identification of novel micronutrients in accordance with the development of new, innovative solutions for manufacturers of end-products. A major challenge that prevails for manufacturers of fortified dairy products is the provision of required calcium content comprising products while retaining the products taste and appealing properties. Companies actively contributing to growth of global fortified dairy products market, as profiled by FMIs report, include Fonterra Group Cooperative Limited, BASF SE, Nestle S.A., General Mills, Inc., Bright Dairy & Food Co., Ltd., Danone, China Modern Dairy Holdings Ltd., GCMMF Ltd., Arla Foods UK Plc, and Dean Foods Company.Request For Report Sample@Need to Replenish Lost Nutrients drives Penetration of Fortification into Dairy ProductsThe dairy industry is one of the most promising among various applications in the food and beverage sector. Although dairy products are deemed as excellent source of essential nutrients, many processing methods that include ultra-heat treatment, pasteurization, spray drying, and heating result into loss of certain imperative nutrients. Replenishing lost nutrients has therefore become imperative, and fortification has emerged as a highly effective method for retaining lost nutrients in dairy products. Moreover, dairy products that are fortified with vitamin D enable improvement in the absorption rate of calcium along with maintaining blood calcium level.Health-conscious consumers have commenced consumption of yogurts, eyeing them as healthier alternatives to the dairy products including ice creams and milkshakes, which are rich in calories. Accelerated penetration of fortification technology into yogurts has further propelled sale of functional food products. Several countries around the world are better understanding importance of fortification and accepting practice of fortifying dairy products, thereby boosting sales of these products. On the other hand, relatively higher price of fortified dairy products compared to their non-fortified counterparts will curb their adoption among developing and low-income countries to a certain extent.APEJ to Dominate Global Fortified Dairy Products MarketThe global market for fortified dairy products will continue to be dominated by Asia-Pacific excluding Japan (APEJ), with sales poised to reach nearly US$ 50,000 Mn in revenues by 2026-end. Revenues from the market in APEJ are slated to exhibit the highest CAGR through 2026, followed by North America. Europe will prevail as the second most lucrative market for fortified dairy products. The market in North America will rise at a relatively higher CAGR than that in Europe through 2026.Milk powder and formula is expected to remain the leading revenue contributing product in the market, trailed by milk and flavored milk. Flavored milk is expected to persist as the fast-selling product in the market through 2026. Sales of dairy-based yogurt and milk in the global fortified dairy products market are expected to record a parallel rise through 2026.Visit For TOC@Modern Trade to Remain Leading Sales Channel for Fortified Dairy ProductsIn terms of revenues, modern trade is expected to remain the leading sales channel for fortified dairy products, with an estimated market share of over 30% during the forecast period. Revenues from fortified dairy products sales in convenience stores and departmental stores will also remain significant, collectively poised to close in approximately similar to those obtained from sales in modern trade.Although vitamins will remain dominant among micronutrients used for fortifying dairy products in terms of revenues, sales of minerals are expected to register the fastest growth in the market through 2026.ABOUT US:Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.CONTACTFuture Market Insights616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite: http.futuremarketinsights.comGlobal Market for Media Monitoring Tools Market to Incur Steady Expansion During 2017-2027

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In todays world, due to increasing digitalization and adoption of the social and web media by individuals, the incorporation of media monitoring tools in organizations are growing. Media monitoring tools are used in order to know a customer in the entire media universe and increase a companys presence in the market. Media monitoring tools are those that assist an organization to interact with customers in terms of brands, products and public opinions on media platforms or web. The entire process of monitoring involves listening to the conversations, tracking them and taking necessary action.The media monitoring tools help enterprises to monitor the media platforms and learn about their customer reach and market presence by tracking the number of times and places where the company gets mentioned and analyze and measure trends in the market. In agencies, the monitoring tools are used in order to achieve real-time monitoring of their client, identify the key influencers of the market and build up their brand. In case of education, institutions can monitor themselves on media platforms and determine things being said about their campus, events, and students.Request For Report Sample@Media Monitoring Tools: Drivers and RestraintsSocial media monitoring tools enable an organization to measure the opinions presented by their customers, customize their alerts, increase awareness about the organization in the market and engage the audience. Such benefits are driving the market of media monitoring tools.The factors like overpriced solutions, automated sentiment analysis which provides 70%-80% accuracy, negative feedback from customers are factors restraining the growth of media monitoring tools.High investments and spending of organizations in media, rapid industrialization and digitalization are the trends in media monitoring tools market.Media Monitoring Tools: SegmentationAlso, media monitoring tools market can be segmented into end-users as Business organization, Education, and AgenciesMedia Monitoring Tools: Competitive LandscapeThe key players of the market are Google Inc., Mention Solutions SAS, Brand24 S.A., BuzzSumo Limited, Pinterest, Inc., Twitter Inc., Cyfe, Inc., SumAll Inc., Tailwind Capital Group, LLC and Klear.Visit For TOC@Regional OverviewNorth America is expected to the largest market of Media Monitoring Tools. The majority of Media Monitoring Tools vendors such as Pinterest, Inc., Twitter Inc., Cyfe, Inc., and GoogleInc., are based in North America region. This is attributed to the rising penetration of cloud and increasing digitalization in the market. The market is anticipated to grow in Europe region since many other vendors like Mention Solutions SAS, Brand24 S.A., and BuzzSumo Limited are expanding their presence in the region.ABOUT US:Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.CONTACTFuture Market Insights616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite: http.futuremarketinsights.comOngoing Study Offers Qualitative Insights on How Mobile Threat Management Security Software Market to Spearhead through Global Expansion During 2017-2027

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Over the past few years, mobile threat landscape grow and evolve due to increasing number of mobile devices which led to people using their devices in more places such as online shopping, managing finances, paying various bills, and other online works. Due to this, the need for mobile threat management security software is continuously increasing to enhance security capabilities in order to handle both device and network risk associated with deployment of mobile apps. Due to continuous expansion of consumerization of IT and bring your own device (BYOD), the challenges in terms of managing and securing mobile devices and information increases and ultimately to face such challenges the adoption of mobile threat management security software is increasing continuously.A mobile device can have a number of consumer apps downloaded from third-party stores, which may not have good security controls in place. In order to protect the business against fraud and data breaches, mobile threat management security software allows users to detect, analyze and remediate malware on mobile devices. The adoption of mobile threat management security software is increasing because it allows mobile workers to use their personal device for business without sacrificing privacy.Request For Report Sample@Mobile Threat Management Security Software Market: Drivers and ChallengesDriversThe advancement in the security management services is the primary growth factor which is driving the growth of Mobile Threat Management Security Software market. The mobile threat issues are increasing rapidly and due to this, enterprises are faced with increased risks from the millions of available apps on devices. Therefore, to handle serious and highly variable risk associated with an exposed security posture, the need of mobile threat management security software is increasing rapidly and ultimately due to this factor, the mobile threat management security software market is increasing with a rapid paceAlso, due to the increasing usage of smartphone in order stay connected to the internet on real time basis for corporate work is ultimately fueling the growth of mobile threat management security software market.ChallengesThe distribution or use of pirated software is one of the major challenge due to which the increasing adoption of Mobile Threat Management Security Software may limit. Apart from this, the technical issues such as device and system compatibility is also a major challenge which may hamper the growth of Mobile Threat Management Security Software market.Mobile Threat Management Security Software Market: SegmentationSegmentation of Mobile Threat Management Security Software market on the basis of end user:On the basis of end-user mobile threat management security software can be segmented as Individual user, Enterprise-user, Telecommunication and IT, Government and Financial institutions, and others.Mobile Threat Management Security Software Market: Competition LandscapeKey PlayersThe prominent players in Mobile Threat Management Security Software market are: IBM Corporation, Cisco Systems, Inc., Microsoft Corporation, Intel Corporation, BullGaurd Ltd., Dell Inc., Absolute Software Corporation, SAP AG, Symantec Corporation, MobileIron, Inc., LANDesk Software Inc., Apperian, Inc., and others.Mobile Threat Management Security Software Market: Regional OverviewOn the geographic basis, North America is anticipated to capture largest market share in terms of revenue, owing to rapid advancement in mobile security technologies and presence of various key players in the region. APAC is anticipated to be the fastest growing and second largest market in terms of revenue in the Mobile Threat Management Security Software Market over the next coming years due to increasing number of security threats and rapid adoption of mobile threat management security software in various enterprises in the region.Visit For TOC@The Mobile Threat Management Security Software market in Europe and Latin America is also expected to witness high growth rates in the coming period due to the increasing usage of mobile threat management security software in the region in order to handle various mobile and network risk associated in downloading apps.ABOUT US:Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.CONTACTFuture Market Insights616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite: http.futuremarketinsights.comLuxury Furniture Market: Global Industry Size, Growth, Trends and Forecast 2016  2024

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The global luxury market consist of nine segments including personal cars, personal luxury goods, luxury hospitality, luxury cruises, fine food, fine wine and spirits, luxury furniture, private jet and yachts. Out of these segments, luxury furniture has showcased boom all over the world. Luxury furniture enhances the artistic value of homes, offices, restaurants and hotels in addition to various outdoor and indoor spaces. Over the past few years, the significant growth in real estate industry fostered the growth of luxury furniture market. Movement of people from rural to urban areas, globalization and inclination in the personal disposable income is strengthening the growth of the global luxury furniture market. Rising environmental consciousness among people will lead to rising demand for eco-friendly luxury furniture all over the world till 2025. Besides this, rising penetration of online retailing all across the world is expected to further stimulate the global luxury furniture market. Change in the lifestyle along with rising disposable income would provide substantial opportunities in the global luxury furniture market over the period 2016-2024.Request for Table of Contents @The global Luxury Furniture market is segmented on the basis of type of materials which include wood, metal, plastic, glass, leather and others. Wooden furniture segment contributed the highest share in the overall global luxury furniture market in 2014. Over the past few years, furniture manufacturers are introducing products including materials such as leather, metal, leather, glass in order to replace wood. The global luxury furniture market is also divided on the basis of end use which include commercial and domestic use. The commercial segment is further sub-segmented on the basis of hospitality, office and others. Whereas the domestic segment is sub-segmented by living and bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, lighting, outdoor and others. In 2014, the domestic luxury furniture segment contributed the highest share in the overall revenue of global luxury furniture market. Bedroom and living room segment marked substantial share in the global luxury furniture market in 2014. The global luxury furniture market is also segmented on the basis of unorganized and organized sector.Inclination in the online retailing and higher media penetration are some of the major factors driving the growth of global luxury furniture market. Apart from that, rising impact of globalization, organized retailing, and robust growth in real estate sector is anticipated to foster the growth of global luxury furniture market. Rising demand of eco-friendly luxury segment is also expected to bolster the growth of global luxury furniture market. Apart from this, rising trend of modular kitchen is also strengthening the demand for global luxury furniture market and will impel the market from the period 2016-2024.Get Sample Copy of this Report @Geographically, the Global Luxury Furniture industry can be divided by major regions which include North America, Latin America, Western and Eastern Europe, Asia-Pacific region, Japan, Middle East and Africa. Amongst all the regions, Europe captured the highest share in the global luxury furniture market in 2014. China is expected to be the biggest and rapidly growing furniture market in future which will drive the overall Asia luxury furniture market. Latin American region is also anticipated to showcase fast growth over the next few years till 2024. The requirement of luxury furniture especially in the hospitality sector in Middle East region and African region is expected to drive the market of this region in future.The major players identified across the value chain of global Luxury Furniture market include Muebles Pico, Valderamobili, Scavolini, Laura Ashley Folding Plc, Nella Vetrina, Henredon Furniture Industries Inc., and others. It has been noticed that furniture manufacturers are concerned about reduction in carbon footprints and initiated offering eco-friendly furniture. The global luxury furniture market is highly competitive with large number of players (both small and big) dominating the industry. In the next few years, various furniture manufacturers are anticipated to enter in this market.Need more information about Report methodology ? @The research report presents a comprehensive assessment of the market and contains thoughtful insights, facts, historical data, and statistically supported and industry-validated market data. It also contains projections using a suitable set of assumptions and methodologies. The research report provides analysis and information according to market segments such as geographies, and applications.The report covers exhaustive analysis on:Global Luxury Furniture Market SegmentsGlobal Luxury Furniture Market DynamicsHistorical Actual Market Size, 2013 - 2015Global Luxury Furniture Market Size & Forecast 2016 to 2024Supply & Demand Value ChainGlobal Luxury Furniture Market Current Trends/Issues/ChallengesCompetition & Companies involvedTechnologyValue ChainGlobal Luxury Furniture Market Drivers and RestraintsReport Highlights:Shifting Industry dynamicsIn-depth market segmentationHistorical, current and projected industry size Recent industry trendsKey Competition landscapeStrategies of key players and product offeringsPotential and niche segments/regions exhibiting promising growthA neutral perspective towards market performanceView Report Preview @About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.Contact UsPersistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,Telephone - +1-646-568-7751USA  Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb:Infant Nutrition Premix Market: Global Industry Trend Analysis 2012 to 2017 and Forecast 2017 - 2025

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Infant formulas are food products intended to deliver nutrition to infants. Infant nutrition is a diverse category covering infant nutrition products for babies as well as infants. Infant nutrition premixes are customized nutritional blends intended to enhance the overall nutritional value of infant nutritional products. Increasing focus on healthy eating and rapid demand for convenience food products is expected to push the revenue generation in global infant nutrition premix market. Infant nutrition premix consist of blend of minerals, vitamins, amino acids, proteins and other essential ingredients for better growth and health of infants.Report Overview @Infant Nutrition Premix Market Segmentation:The global infant nutrition premix market is segmented on the basis of product type, by packaging, by form, by sales channel and by region. On the basis of product type the global infant nutrition premix market is segmented into, vitamin premixes, mineral premixes, amino acid premixes, nucleotide premixes, nucleotide premixes and others. On the basis of packaging type the global infant nutrition premix market can be segmented into, bottles, cans, carton packaging, and other. Increasing trend of ready to go food products is expected to support the market for infant nutrition premix in the near future. On the basis of form the global infant nutrition premix market can be segmented into, liquid premix and powdered premix. On the basis of sales channel the global infant nutrition premix market can be segmented into, store based retailing and non-store retailing. The store based retailing segment is sub-segmented into, grocery retailers and non-grocery retailers. The grocery retailer segment can be further sub-segmented into, modern grocery retailers and traditional grocery retailers. Modern grocery retailers segment can be sub-segmented into, hypermarkets/supermarkets, convenience stores, discount stores, departmental stores, and specialty stores while the traditional grocery retailers segment is sub-segmented into, food and drinks specialists, independent small grocery retailers. The non-grocery retailers covers, pharmacies and drug stores.Request for Table of Contents @Infant Nutrition Premix Market Regional Outlook:On the basis of the region the global infant nutrition premix market is segmented into, North America, Latin America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Asia Pacific excluding Japan, Japan and the Middle East and Africa. North America and Europe are expected to be the largest markets for infant nutrition premix mainly attributable to the bust lifestyle and growing trend of ready to go food products. Increasing working class population and growing focus on healthy wellbeing of infants is expected to push the demand for infant nutrition premix across the globe. The global infant nutrition premix market is expected to grow at significant growth in the near future owing to rising disposable income and increasing spending on infant formulas.Infant Nutrition Premix Market Drivers and TrendsGrowing overall infant nutrition market is expected to benefit the market for infant nutrition premix. There has been growing trend of ready to eat food products across the globe which is pushing the market revenue generation in the overall market for infant nutrition premix. Infant nutrition premix is high in nutritious content which helps in overall growth of babies. Growing health conscious consumers and rise in per capita spending is expected to escalate the market revenue generation in the global infant nutrition premix market. Infant nutrition premix are composed of purified protein source in the form of cows milk or whey, a carbohydrate source, a vitamin-mineral mix, and other ingredients needed for proper health and nutrition.Get Sample Copy of this Report @Infant Nutrition Premix Market Key Players:Key player operating in the global infant nutrition premix market includes, Vitablend, Glanbia Nutritionals (NA), Inc., BARENTZ, DSM, Nestle S.A., Royal FrieslandCampina, Richen Nantong, Prinova Solutions and others. The report covers exhaustive analysis on:Infant Nutrition Premix Market Segments,Infant Nutrition Premix Market Dynamics,Historical Actual Market Size, 2015-2016,Infant Nutrition Premix Market Size & Forecast 2017 To 2027,Infant Nutrition Premix Market Supply & Demand Value Chain,Infant Nutrition Premix Market Current Trends/Issues/Challenges,Players Competition & Companies Involved in Infant Nutrition Premix market,Infant Nutrition Premix Market Technology,Infant Nutrition Premix Market Value Chain,Infant Nutrition Premix Market Drivers and Restraints.Regional analysis for Infant Nutrition Premix market includes,,North America,US & Canada,Latin America,Brazil, Argentina & Others,Western Europe,EU5,Nordics,Benelux,Eastern Europe,Asia Pacific,Australia and New Zealand (ANZ),China,India,ASEAN,Rest of Asia Pacific,Japan,The Middle East and Africa,GCC Countries,Other Middle East,North Africa,South Africa,Other Africa.The report is a compilation of first-hand information, qualitative and quantitative assessment by industry analysts, inputs from industry experts and industry participants across the value chain. The report provides in-depth analysis of parent market trends, macro-economic indicators and governing factors along with market attractiveness as per segments. The report also maps the qualitative impact of various market factors on market segments and regions.Report Highlights:Detailed overview of parent market,Changing market dynamics of the industry,In-depth market segmentation,Historical, current and projected market size in terms of volume and value,Recent industry trends and developments,Competitive landscape,Strategies of key players and product offerings,Potential and niche segments/regions exhibiting promising growth,A neutral perspective towards market performance,Must-have information for market players to sustain and enhance their market footprint.Need more information about Report methodology ? @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:Salad Mustard Powder Market: Global Industry Trend Analysis 2012 to 2017 and Forecast 2017 - 2025

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Global spices and condiments industry is witnessing continuous expansion due to healthy living, interest in new taste, convenience and other factors. Mustard is an annual herb which is cultivated as oil seed crop, as a vegetable or as a fodder. Salad mustard powder is also called as American yellow mustard due to its proprietary yellow color. As per Codex Alimentarius, salts, species soups, sauces, salads are the products that have been added to several food products to enhance the aroma and overall taste. Salas mustard powder is a powder made by grounding the mustard seeds of several mustard plant species such as Brassica and Sinapis. Salad mustard powder is used as seasoning in topical applications, coating, seasoning, dry mixes and in other applications. The global salad mustard powder market is expected to witness significant growth in the near future owing to increasing acceptance of ethnic flavors among a large proportion of population across the globe.Report Overview @Salad Mustard Powder Market Segmentation:The global salad mustard powder market is segmented on the basis of nature, product type, and region. On the basis of nature, the global salad mustard powder market is segmented into, natural, conventional and organic. Increasing demand for organic products and on-going trend of clean label ingredient is pushing the manufacturers of salad mustard powders to introduce the product with full consistent flavor. Furthermore, growing focus on manufacturing salad mustard powder which are tailor made as per specific requirements has also been one of the prominent factor escalating the market revenue generation in the global salad mustard powder market over the forecast period. By packaging the global salad mustard powder market is segmented into, bottles, sachets, tubes and others segment. By distribution channel the global salad mustard powder market can be segmented into, direct and indirect sales channel. Indirect sales channel can be further sub segmented into, store-based retailing and e-commerce. Store-based retailing can be further segmented into, modern grocery retailers and traditional grocery retailers. Modern grocery retailers can be further sub-segmented into, hypermarkets/supermarkets, convenience stores, discounters and others while the traditional grocery retailers segment can be sub-segmented into, specialist stores, independent small groceries, and other grocery retailers.Request for Table of Contents @Salad Mustard Powder Market Regional Outlook:On the basis of the region the global salad mustard powder market is segmented into, North America, Latin America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Asia Pacific excluding Japan, Japan and the Middle East and Africa. North America and Europe are the prominent markets for salad mustard powder due to its widespread popularity and growing interest of consumers in authentic and ethnic flavors. Salad mustard powder is usually prepared by adding a little amount of turmeric to give it a bright yellow color. Markets in Asia pacific and Japan has also been witnessing steady growth due to rising consumption of salad mustard powder in the Hotel/Restaurant/Cafe (HoReCa).Salad Mustard Powder Market Drivers and TrendsRapidly growing food service industry is one of the prominent factors leading to growing consumption of salad mustard powder. The worldwide market for condiments is expected to further benefit the growing market of salad mustard powder in the near future. Also household consumption of salad mustard power has also been increasing rapidly across the globe due to greater desire to try several flavors. Also, availability of gluten free salad mustard powder and its growing popularity among health conscious consumers is expected to drive the market for salad mustard powder across the globe.Get Sample Copy of this Report @Salad Mustard Powder Market Key Players:Key player operating in the global Salad Mustard Powder market includes ABF Ingredients, AmTech Ingredients, WOEBER MUSTARD MANUFACTURING COMPANY, Reckitt Benckiser, McCormick & Company, The Kraft Heinz Company, Colman's and others. The report covers exhaustive analysis on:Salad Mustard Powder Market Segments,Salad Mustard Powder Market Dynamics,Historical Actual Market Size, 2015-2016,Salad Mustard Powder Market Size & Forecast 2017 To 2027,Salad Mustard Powder Market Supply & Demand Value Chain,Salad Mustard Powder Market Current Trends/Issues/Challenges,Players Competition & Companies Involved in Salad Mustard Powder market,Salad Mustard Powder Market Technology,Salad Mustard Powder Market Value Chain,Salad Mustard Powder Market Drivers and Restraints.Regional analysis for Salad Mustard Powder market includes,,North America,US & Canada,Latin America,Brazil, Argentina & Others,Western Europe,EU5,Nordics,Benelux,Eastern Europe,Asia Pacific,Australia and New Zealand (ANZ),China,India,ASEAN,Rest of Asia Pacific,Japan,The Middle East and Africa,GCC Countries,Other Middle East,North Africa,South Africa,Other Africa.The report is a compilation of first-hand information, qualitative and quantitative assessment by industry analysts, inputs from industry experts and industry participants across the value chain. The report provides in-depth analysis of parent market trends, macro-economic indicators and governing factors along with market attractiveness as per segments. The report also maps the qualitative impact of various market factors on market segments and regions.Report Highlights:Detailed overview of parent market,Changing market dynamics of the industry,In-depth market segmentation,Historical, current and projected market size in terms of volume and value,Recent industry trends and developments,Competitive landscape,Strategies of key players and product offerings,Potential and niche segments/regions exhibiting promising growth,A neutral perspective towards market performance,Must-have information for market players to sustain and enhance their market footprint.Need more information about Report methodology ? @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:Antidiarrheal Drugs Market: Industry Drivers, Opportunities, Trends and Forecasts

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Pharmaceutical sector is growing at a significant rate globally due to increase in the prevalence of diseases, rise in aging population and improvement in the healthcare facilities. Gastrointestinal drugs may be classified on the basis of different active ingredients used in it. Antidiarrheal drugs refer to a class of drugs that are used to treat diarrhea. Antidiarrheal drugs market is growing at a significant rate globally due to increasing incidence of diarrhea and growing awareness in this field.Request for Table of Contents @North America, followed by Europe, dominates the global market for antidiarrheal drugs due to high prevalence of diarrhea cases and high adoption rate for antidiarrheal drugs. Asia is expected to experience high growth rate in the next few years in global antidiarrheal drugs market. China and India are expected to be the fastest growing antidiarrheal drugs markets in Asia. Some of the key driving forces for antidiarrheal drugs market in emerging countries are large pool of patients, increasing awareness and improvement in the healthcare facilities.Various factors that are driving the global antidiarrheal drugs market are growing awareness for antidiarrheal drugs, rising government initiatives for improvement in healthcare facilities and increasing prevalence for diarrhea cases. However, various side effects associated with the uptake of antidiarrheal drugs, such as constipation, fullness and bloating are restraining the global antidiarrheal drugs market. In addition, traditional and home remedies are still popular in emerging countries; this restrains the antidiarrheal drugs market from growing.Get Sample Copy of this Report @Emerging countries hold a good potential for the global antidiarrheal drugs market. Discovery of some antidiarrheal drugs with less side effects is expected to offer good opportunity for global antidiarrheal drugs market. Decrease in the efficacy of other medicine if taken along with antidiarrheal drug is a challenge faced by antidiarrheal drugs market. Some of the latest trends that have been observed in the global antidiarrheal drugs market include companies involved in geographical expansions and implementing various strategies for setting their brand.Some of the major companies dealing in global antidiarrheal drugs are Johnson & Johnsons, Novartis, GlaxoSmithKline and Proctor & Gamble Pharmaceuticals. Some other companies with significant presence in the antidiarrheal drugs market are Sanofi Aventis, Pfizer, Merck & Co. and Bayer.Need more information about Report methodology ? @About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.Contact UsPersistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,Telephone - +1-646-568-7751USA  Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb:Medroxyprogesterone Acetate Market: Global Industry Analysis, Growth, Trends and Forecast 2017  2025

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The synthetic version of progesterone, 17-hydroxy-6-methylprogesterone acetate is also known by the name Medroxyprogesterone Acetate. Medroxyprogesterone acetate is a more potent derivative of medroxyprogesterone and what is normally injected is its acetate derivative. Medroxyprogesterone acetate is administered every 3 months which in turn prevents ovulation and follicular maturation in endometrial thinning producing a contraceptive effect.The medroxyprogesterone acetate market is driven by the increasing need for birth control measure and government initiatives to generate more awareness related to the different contraceptive methods. There are various forecasting initiatives undertaken to understand the demand of Depot medroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPA) as a birth control measure. In January 2015, the Concept Foundation contracted William Davidson Institute (WDI), to understand the demand of DMPA in low income and middle-income countries.Request for Table of Contents @Manufacturers are now trying to develop low-dose injectable of medroxyprogesterone acetate through subcutaneous route so as to lower some of the side effects related to weight gain and metabolic effects.Sayana Press a three-month, progestin-only injectable contraceptive was approved by the UK authorities in 2015. PATH along with ministries of health in Uganda and Senegal are researching on self-injection of Sayana Press and ways that it could be effective in women. Through the PATH initiatives since 2014, this contraceptive is available in remote locations in Uganda, Senegal, Niger and Burkina Faso. Sayana Press has regulatory approval in Europe and 25 other countries. In 2014, the Childrens Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF), the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Pfizer Inc. decided to offer Sanaya Press to purchasers from 69 countries for US$1 per dose.The public and the private partners announced in the London Summit to reach poorest countries by 2020 with around 12 million doses of Sayana Press. Injctables has always been a popular contraceptive method in Sub-Saharan Africa and hence the presentation of Sayana Press inj the Uniject device is expected to increase the demand. The all-in-one prefiled injection system improves safety and enhances access through non-clinical channels.Get Sample Copy of this Report @In terms of geography, medroxyprogesterone acetate market has been divided into five regions including North- America, Asia- Pacific, Middle-East & Africa, Latin America and Europe. The presence of major market players, technology advancements and research investments has made North America the dominating region for the cardiac biomarkers market. Moreover, there are many startups who are trying to enter the medroxyprogesterone acetate market with new technologies and more efficacy.Developing countries are focusing on bringing down the infact and maternal death rates by legalizing the use of injectable contraceptives. One such initiative was taken by Haryana, which became the first state in the country to implement the use of injectable contraceptives. The project would be initiated in nine blocks of the state where the injectable would be available free of costs in all district hospitals, primary health centers and community health centers.Need more information about Report methodology ? @Some of the medroxyprogesterone acetate market participants are Pfizer Inc., Fangtong Pharma.Co.Ltd, Gador S.A., Sigma-Aldrich Co. LLC., Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., Greenstone LLC, Serum Internation Ltd., West-Coast Pharmaceutical, Arrow Pharma Group, and Zuche Pharmaceuticals Pvt. Ltd..The report covers exhaustive analysis on:Market SegmentsMarket DynamicsHistorical Actual Market Size, 2012 - 2014Market Size & Forecast 2015 to 2024Supply & Demand Value ChainMarket Current Trends/Issues/ChallengesCompetition & Companies involvedTechnologyValue ChainAircraft Refurbishing Market Drivers and RestraintsReport Highlights:Shifting Industry dynamicsIn-depth market segmentationHistorical, current and projected industry size Recent industry trendsKey Competition landscapeStrategies of key players and product offeringsPotential and niche segments/regions exhibiting promising growthA neutral perspective towards market performanceView Report Preview @About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.Contact UsPersistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,Telephone - +1-646-568-7751USA  Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb:In-Depth Forecast & Analysis on Bio-Based Levulinic Acid Market for 2014 - 2020

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New molecules developed by Segetis, in Minnesota based on esters of levulinic acid made from using bio based hydroxyl compounds and corn cobs are known as levulinic ketals. These can be used to produce a series of products such as plasticizers, polyols for polyurethane foams and solvents.Segetis are constructing a new toll manufacturing plant for their new ketals chemistry in the Midwest and the construction of which was expected to be completed by the end of 2011. Products entering the market would start with solvents. While polyols is expected to be the last to enter in the market because of significant functional testing required. At present China is the supplier of the levulinic acid from the company but later it may use residue of wood as a feedstock.A sample of this report is available upon request @The potential outcome by the development of bio based levulinic acid could be the replacement of the phthalate plasticizers which is used to make Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) which is the most widely produce plastic and other plastics flexible. The company is also working directly to replace the phthalate which concerns about exposure to children. The major advantages of ketal monomers are that they attach to the PVC molecule firmly and are of natural origins.Major opportunity for the market can be obtain from the manufacture of polyols which combines with iscoyanates to produce polyurethane. The polyols which are made from bio based levulinic acid will have rigidity which in turn will help to reduce the level of iscoyanates while obtaining polyurethane having similar properties and the monomers will play the role of the performer. The cost of polyols produce by the company will be same as made from petroleum resources. But it is expected that it will help to improve the economics for formulators due to less use of iscoyanates. The major advantage for the ketals chemistry is from its total cost.To view TOC of this report is available upon request @ABOUT US:Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.CONTACT:Abhishek BudholiyaFuture Market Insights616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite:Pedestrian Entrance Control Systems Market:Global Industry Size, Growth, Trends and Forecast 2017  2025

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In present times access and crowd control at public places are the forefront of security concerns of public safety officials globally. Be it commercial, industrial, residential, military and defense related, or in the government sector, there is an everlasting sense of threat.Numerous incidents of stampedes and mobbing at crowded places and public events have fueled the concerns of authorities and citizens alike. The need of pedestrian and crowd control is accentuated by the treat of terrorism and the possibility of security forces getting overwhelmed at crowded places.Request Sample Report@Also the hustle and bustle of people arriving at or departing from railway stations, bus stops, airports and other public spots in cities makes it challenging for the concerned authorities to perform efficient crowd control.,,Pedestrian entrance control system is one of the most efficient solutions available for the purpose of crowd management.Pedestrian entrance control systems are programmed and designed to distinguish, identify and allow swift access to individuals having the necessary authorized permissions. Pedestrian entrance control systems regulate and monitor physical access to citizens and personnel while helping build management and optimizing the traffic flow to ensure safety and security.Pedestrian entrance control systems comprise of different security gates. Based on their sensitive sites and buildings, organizations can choose from a wide variety of Pedestrian entrance control system security gates like doors, booths, speed gates and turnstiles,,Real Time Locating Systems Market.Drivers & Challenges,,Growing safety and security concerns, managing entrant records, crowd control, mitigating mistreatment of sensitive sites and general public safety are the factors driving the market for Pedestrian entrance control systems.Request Report for TOC @The growth in investments made in advanced safety and security solutions by governments in order to maintain their homeland security is another factor driving the global Pedestrian Entrance control Systems market. Also, rising interests in fields like event planning and management creates a demand for Pedestrian Entrance control systems. Rise in espionage and thefts also fuels the growth of market.However, high installation and maintenance costs and lack in technological awareness, information processing systems, reliable communications and security litigations are major factors restraining a proper growth of the global Pedestrian entrance control systems Market.,,Pedestrian Entrance Control Systems Market:Segmentation,,,Segmentation of Pedestrian Entrance Control Systems, By Component:,, Services, Equipment, Security Booths, Security Doors, Turnstiles, Speed Gates, Security Gates,,Pedestrian Entrance Control Systems Market: Competitive Landscape,, Notable Contracts/Agreement/Acquisitions, Boon Edam, Inc. acquired the largest turnstile access security system manufacturer in the US, Tomsed Corporation to enhance their Turnstile Market by implementing the acquired companys technology.,,Key Players, The major players in Pedestrian Entrance Control Systems market include Boon Edam, Inc., URSA Gates Ltd., Controlled Access Turnstiles, APT Controls Limited, PERCo, SKIDATA AG, Automatic Systems SA, Kaba Group and Mecanizados Argusa.,,The Pedestrian Entrance Control Systems Market Report covers exhaustive analysis on:,,Pedestrian Entrance Control Systems Market Segments,, Pedestrian Entrance Control Systems Market Segments, Historical Actual Market Size, 2012 - 2016, Pedestrian Entrance Control Systems Market Size & Forecast 2017 to 2027, Supply & Demand Value Chain, Pedestrian Entrance Control Systems Market Current Trends/Issues/Challenges, Competition & Companies involved,Need more information about report methodology?Pedestrian entrance control system Technology, Value Chain, Pedestrian Entrance Control Systems Market Drivers and Restraints,,Regional analysis for Pedestrian Entrance Control Systems Market includes development of these systems in the following regions:,, North America, US & Canada, Latin America, Brazil, Mexico, Others, Europe, Western Europe, Germany,France, U.K., Spain, Italy, Nordic, BENELUX, Rest of Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Russia, Poland, Rest of Eastern Europe, Asia Pacific, Australia and New Zealand (ANZ), Greater China, India, ASEAN, Rest of Asia Pacific, Japan, Middle East and Africa, GCC Countries, Other Middle East, North Africa, South Africa,Other Africa,,The report is a compilation of first-hand information, qualitative and quantitative assessment by industry analysts, inputs from industry experts and industry participants across the value chain. The report provides in-depth analysis of parent market trends, macro-economic indicators and governing factors along with market attractiveness as per segments.The report also maps the qualitative impact of various market factors on market segments and geographies.,,Pedestrian Entrance Control Systems Market Report Highlights:,, Detailed overview of parent market, Changing market dynamics of the industry, In-depth market segmentation, Historical, current and projected market size in terms of value,Recent industry trends and developments, Competitive landscape, Strategies of key players and product offerings, Potential and niche segments/regions exhibiting promising growth, A neutral perspective towards market performance, Must-have information for market players to sustain and enhance their market footprintRead Report Overview @About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.Contact UsPersistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA  Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb:Major Depressive Disorder Market to Reflect Impressive Growth Rate by 2025

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Major depressive disorder, also known as major depression and clinical depression, is a mental disorder characterized by loss of interest and pleasure in enjoyable environment. People are affected in different ways by major depression. Some people have trouble sleeping, feel agitated and irritable, and have sudden weight loss. Moreover, they can have other mental and physical symptoms such as fatigue, memory loss, feeling of hopelessness, body aches, headaches, and thoughts of suicide.Major depressive disorder can affect people in any stage of life. In adults, major depressive disorder is most common in those who are 25-44 years of age. Within an entire lifetime, major depression affects 10% - 25% of women and 5% - 12% of men.It is estimated that 10% - 25% of people who develop major depressive disorder are previously diagnosed with dysthymia (dysthymic disorder), a form of depression. Some people may suffer from dysthymia and major depressive disorder at the same time. The presence of both conditions at the same time is known as double depression.Read Report Overview @The development of major depressive disorder may be related to certain medical conditions. Approximately 20% - 25% of people who have cancer, diabetes, stroke, and myocardial infarctions are likely to develop major depressive disorder.The global major depressive disorder market is categorized based on various types of therapeutic drugs used to manage this medical condition. Based on type of therapeutic drug, the report covers selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors, antidepressants, and antipsychotics. Major brands of selective serotonin-reuptake inhibitors include Lexapro (Escitalopram), Viibryd (Vilazodone), Effexor (Venlafaxine), Cymbalta (Duloxetine), Pristiq (Desvenlafaxine), Fetzima (Levomilnacipran), and Savella (Milnacipran). Antidepressants, such as Noradrenaline, Specific Serotonergic Antidepressants, Norepinephrine-Dopamine Reuptake Inhibitors, Tricyclic Antidepressants, Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitors, and Brintellix (Vortioxetine), are commonly used in the management of major depressive disorder. Major brands of antipsychotics include Abilify (Aripiprazole) and Seroquel XR (Quetiapine).Request Sample Report@In terms of geography, North America dominates the global major depressive disorder market due to increased awareness about various depression conditions in the region. The U.S. represents the largest market for major depressive disorder in North America, followed by Canada. In Europe, Germany, France, the U.K., Italy, and Spain account for a major share of the major depressive disorder market. This market in Asia is expected to expand at a significant rate over the next five years. This is due to various companies setting up manufacturing facilities in the region. Moreover, increasing awareness about various depression episodes and rise in geriatric population are also driving the growth of the market in the region. India, China, and Japan are expected to be the fastest growing major depressive disorder markets in Asia.In recent times, increased demand for therapeutic products for the treatment of this medical condition is a key driver for the global major depressive disorder market. Increased investments in R&D in the pharmaceutical sector and introduction of innovative drugs have also fueled the growth of this market. The ongoing development of drugs with properties, such as improved safety and high patient compliance, are also supporting the growth of the global major depressive disorder market. Therapies, such as biological therapy, meditation, and physiotherapy, have immense potential to spur the growth of this market.Download and View Report TOC, Figures and Tables @However, stringent regulations imposed by various governments hamper the growth of global major depressive disorder market. Moreover, the patent expiries of some blockbuster drugs (drugs that have an annual sale of USD 1.0 million and above) and risk of complications and side-effects associated with antidepressants have hindered the growth of the market. Increasing mergers and acquisitions of drug manufacturing companies and rapid product launches are some of the major trends in the global major depressive disorder market.The major companies operating in this market are H. Lundbeck A/S, Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., AstraZeneca Plc, Alkermes, Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited, Naurex, Euthymics Bioscience, Inc., e-Therapeutics plc, Eli Lilly and Company, and Pfizer Inc.Request Report Methodology @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:Brewing Adjunct Market: Global Industry Trend Analysis 2012 to 2017 and Forecast 2017 - 2025

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Brewing Adjunct is a cost effective supplement for the main mash ingredient for brewing beer. Brewing adjunct are unmalted grains or grain products. Brewing Adjunct is also being used to retain better foam as well as additives. Brewing adjunct are available both in solid and liquid form. Solid brewing adjunct are either starchy adjunct which need to be converted to simpler sugars whereas Liquid adjunct are either sucrose syrups or syrups from a grain which are added directly to the wort kettle and therefore can be used to reduce loading on the mash.Brewing Adjunct Market: Segmentation:Brewing Adjunct market can be segmented into Form, Types and Application.On the basis of Form, Brewing Adjunct is segmented into Solid and Liquid. Though both formats are being used in large scale in brewing industry, Liquid form of Brewing Adjunct is being anticipated to have slightly higher volume share as compared to its powder format.Report Overview @On the basis of process type, Brewing Adjunct is segmented into Mashable Adjunct, Kettle Adjunct and others (Fruits, Vegetables, Herbs, Diary, Proteins i.e. Oysters and nuts). Mashable Adjunct is further sub segmented into Corn, Rice, Rye, Oats, Barley, Wheat and Sorghum. Similarly, Kettle Adjuncts is further sub segmented into Cane Sugar, Brown Sugar, Belgian Candi Sugar, Honey, Rice Solids or Syrup. Owing rise in demand for Mashable Adjuncts by brewery companies, the segment is expected to grow at a faster rate in terms of value sales as compared to types of brewing adjuncts.On the basis of application, the Brewing Adjunct can be segmented into Fermenting Agent, Foam retention agent, Flavoring Agent and others. Among these featured functions, Brewing adjuncts are mainly used as fermenting agent since it act as a cost effective supplement for the main mash ingredient in brewing beer. As a result, the value share for Brewing adjunct as fermenting is being anticipated to be higher as compared to other main applications.Request for Table of Contents @Brewing Adjunct Market: Regional Outlook:The global Brewing Adjunct market has been categorized into seven key regions including North America and Latin America, Eastern Europe, Western Europe, Asia-Pacific excluding Japan, Japan, and the Middle East & Africa. According to stat, Czech Republic has recorded the highest consumption of beer in the global market. In 2011, 144.8 litres of beer were bought per head of population in the country. On the other hand, in 2015, Germany has recorded the highest production of beer i.e. 95,623(in 1,000hl). Taking in account, the highest production and consumption rate of beer recorded in these two countries and brewing adjunct being used in large quantities as its prime ingredient, European region is being anticipated to have higher volume share as compared to other regions. Moreover the consumption rate of beer in North America and Asia Pacific specifically in India, China and Australia has witnessed a significant growth rate in terms of consumption. As a result, North America and Asia Pacific are being tagged as the emerging market in Brewing Adjunct market.Get Sample Copy of this Report @Brewing Adjunct Market: Demand Driver:Globally, beer consumption and trade have grown significantly over the past few decades. According to United Nations, total beer market is around US$ 250 billion, 2.5 times as large as the global wine market and roughly double the global spirits market. The consumers increasing buying power and changing lifestyle are the factors driving the growth of global beer market. As the result, rise in consumption of beer helps drive the demand for brewing adjunct in the global market.Brewing Adjunct Market: Key Players:Some of the key players in this market are Cargill Inc., Ingredion Inc., Thomas Fawcett & Sons Ltd, Advanced Enzyme Technologies Ltd, Staas Brewing Company and others.The report covers exhaustive analysis on:,,Brewing Adjunct Market Segments,Brewing Adjunct Market Dynamics,Historical Actual Market Size, 20152016,Brewing Adjunct Market Size & Forecast, 2017 to 2025,Supply & Demand Value Chain,Brewing Adjunct Market Current Trends/Issues/Challenges,Competition & Companies in The Market,Technology,Value Chain,Brewing Adjunct Market Drivers and Restraints.Regional analysis for Brewing Adjunct Market includes:,,North America,Latin America,Europe,Asia Pacific,Middle East & Africa.Report Highlights:,,Shifting industry dynamics,In-depth market segmentation,Historical, current, and projected industry size and recent industry trends,Key competition landscape,Strategies of key players and product offerings,Potential and niche segments/regions exhibiting promising growth,A neutral perspective towards market performance.Need more information about Report methodology ? @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:Plasma Component Separator Market to Reflect Impressive Growth Rate by 2025

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Blood is the complex mixture of white blood cells (WBC), red blood cells (RBC), Plasma (liquid component), and platelets. Plasma constitutes about 55-60% of blood volume. Plasma contains 90% water and 10% solutes such as salts, proteins, metabolites, etc. The plasma is separated into its derivatives such as fibrinogen, globulins, albumin and various clotting factors. Plasma separators are used to separate plasma from blood bags and are collected in transfer bags. The plasma separators are mainly used in diagnostic laboratories, medical practitioners to extract and separate plasma for research or diagnostic purpose.Read Report Overview @The plasma component separator is used during diagnosis of blood-related diseases, and mainly Point of care devices and instruments need a free form of plasma for the conduction of diagnostic tests. It results in the removal of red blood cells from the blood sample. During research purpose, centrifugation technique is used to separate plasma from blood. Some devices do not facilitate complete removal; it retains in the separation matrix.Blood donated by the donor is separated into three blood component i.e. plasma, red blood cells, and platelets. Plasma components are used to increase blood volume or is separated into individual plasma protein such as fibrinogen, Factor VIII, Anti-thrombin III, and Factor IX and others. The separation of plasma into is derivatives is known as plasma fractionation. Plasma component separation devices is used to extract plasma from a whole blood sample. These blood plasma are used for immunological assays, biochemistry assays, and molecular biology experiments.Request Sample Report@Plasmapheresis therapy is a procedure in which blood components are separated extracorporeally and result in filtered plasma product. The plasma component separator consists of fractionators and separators that contain hollow fiber membranes from which desired plasma components are separated. Plasmapheresis therapy is used to treat auto-immune diseases, in which blood plasma is replaced by new blood plasma that helps healthy cell by the attack of antibodies.The global plasma component separator market is segmented on the basis of technology, disease indication, end-user, and geography. On the basis of technology, global plasma component separator market is sub-segmented into membrane plasma separation technique, centrifugation, and filtration. Increase in demand for membrane plasma separation technology from biopharmaceutical companies, as this technology provide accurate results. Technological advancements in the membrane filtration technology are expected to drive demand for membrane plasma separation technology based plasma component separators during the forecast period of 2017-2025.Download and View Report TOC, Figures and Tables @On the basis of disease indication, the global plasma component separator market is divided into oncology, neurology, hematology, nephrology, and others. An end-user segment of global plasma component separator market is segmented into hospitals, blood banks, diagnostics laboratories, pharmaceutical and biotechnological companies, and other. Increasing prevalence and incidence of various blood disorders such as sickle-cell anemia & leukemia, and improving healthcare infrastructure will further drive the growth of global plasma component separator market in the near future.On the basis of regional presence, global electrophoresis market is segmented into five key regions viz. North America, Latin America, APAC, Europe and Middle East & Africa. North America is expected to account for the extensive market share for plasma component separator market on the backdrop of rising number of hemophilic patients and companies are focusing on research and development in diagnostics and treatment of blood-related diseases. Moreover, the Asian market is expected to have huge potential market for plasma component separator in the forecast period, as it is expected to grow at fastest CAGR among all other regions.Request Report Methodology @Some of the major players in plasma component separator market are B Braun Melsungen AG, Haemonetics Corporation, Fresenius Medical Care, Toray Medical, Terumo BCT, Kawasumi Laboratories Inc., Asahi Kasei Medical Co. Ltd., 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.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:Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis Therapeutics Market to Register Substantial Expansion by 2025

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JIA is also known as juvenile idiopathic arthritis and is the most common inflammatory arthritis of childhood, musculoskeletal pain is a common symptom in childhood and is usually benign and self-resolving. JIA is affected to children who are under age 17. Recognizing rare but treatable causes, including inflammatory, malignant and infectious etiologies, remains a constant challenge. According to the American College of Rheumatology, Juvenile idiopathic arthritis affects one in 1000 children, it is also inter related with ethnicity. JIA is an autoimmune disease and is known to cluster in families with other autoimmune conditions, including rheumatoid arthritis and type 1 diabetes mellitus. Like many other autoimmune diseases, JIA is over-represented in children of European heritage.Read Report Overview @JIA has a complex genetic basis and is present in both HLA and non-HLA gene associations play a role in its development, and susceptibility genes shared with other autoimmune conditions that have been identified. Complications of JIA can be either articular or extra-articular. One of the most common disease found in children is inflammatory eye disease which is anterior uveitis that is affecting up to 30% of children with JIA. Prevalence of eye disease varies significantly with the disease subtype children younger than six years are at highest risk in ANA-positive girls with oligoarticular disease. Symptoms such as Joint pain, swelling loss of appetite, rash, and fever are being observed.Request Sample Report@According to the American College of Rheumatology, in 2015 around 3, 00,000 children in the United States have been diagnosed with JIA. Also the study shows that JIA is most common in children in the United States. It seen more in girls often than boys, and the ratio is about two to four times more than boys. In addition to this due to government initiatives and rising healthcare expenditure it is expected to fuel the juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) therapeutics market over the forecast period.Some key factors such as rising awareness of these drugs and products, and patient education program that are conducted by government and companies for better knowledge of these drugs and products is likely to drive the growth of juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) therapeutics market over forecast period. However juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) therapeutics market has some restraints such as cost of treatment is expected to hinder the growth of the juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) therapeutics market.Download and View Report TOC, Figures and Tables @Rise in the incidence of chronic arthritis is expected to boost the juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) therapeutics market over the forecast period. In addition with better awareness among general population, significance of this condition and better understanding of these drugs is expected to drive the juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) therapeutics market during the forecast period.Geographically the Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) Therapeutics Market is segmented into five key regions: North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific and MEA region.North America followed by Europe is dominating the juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) therapeutics market as high prevalence of JIA cases. Apart from these combination therapies and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are becoming more popular and preferred choice of treatment in the U.S. as they have better efficacy. In Asia Pacific region the juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) therapeutics market is expected to deliver significant growth as the prevalence rate of JIA in China is estimated to be 1, 63,006, this is expected to boost the demand for juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) therapeutics market over the forecast period.Also partnership between companies in Asia-Pacific is expected to drive the growth for the juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) therapeutics market over the forecast period. For instance In Japan, Wyeth K.K. (Wyeth) and Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited came into partnership for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and launched ENBREL which is anti-TNF receptor used for treatment of rheumatoid arthritis.Request Report Methodology @Some of the companies in the juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) therapeutics market are Johnson & Johnson Services, Inc., Novartis International AG, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Zydus Cadila, Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited, Genentech, Inc., Latona Life Sciences., and othersAbout 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:Costume Jewelry Market: Global Drivers, Restraints, Opportunities, Trends & Forecast

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Costume jewelry (also known as fashion jewellery, trinkets, junk jewelry, fake jewelry and fallalery) is a jewelry made of less valuable materials as compared with valuable materials such as gold, diamond, platinum and other precious metals and gem. The raw material used for these jewelleries include base metals, glass, plastic, synthetic stones, semi-precious stones, beads, ivory, lac, leather, terracotta, pearl and metals such as silver, aluminum and brass. On the basis of products, the costume jewelry industry is broadly categorized as bracelets, brooch, earrings, necklaces, chokers, bangles, finger rings, toe rings, anklets and pendants.Request for Table of Contents @The costume Jewelry industry operates as a true global industry as the raw materials are mostly sourced from Australia, Africa, Russia and Canada, manufacturing takes place in China, India, Italy and Turkey whereas the largest markets is North America, followed by Europe.The developing economies such as BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) are the fasted growing market with double digit growth rates. Asia Pacific is the largest producer of costume jewelry and expected to take over North America in terms of consumption in the coming years. High growth rate in Asia Pacific region is attributed to the rising income of the consumers in these countries. Further, with the massive urbanization and westernization taking place, the consumers are now becoming more fashionable and trendy. Moreover large population of young consumers (average age is 29 year and 37 year respectively for India and China) are also a key contributor in overall growth of costume jewelry in these countries.Get Sample Copy of this Report @The key drivers for the costume jewelry include increasing prices for gold and other precious gems and pearls, internationalization of brands and increasing demand of men costume jewelry. Some of the key challenges for the costume jewelry industry include rising raw material cost and fad sensitive market of fashion jewelry. The unorganized supply chain of the raw materials in costume jewelry industry also act as a major restraint for the industry as it sometimes lead to steep hike in the prices of raw materials. Online channels, which are still new trend, offer new opportunity for the market.Some of the major player in operating in the industry includes, Buckley Jewellery Limited, The Colibri Group, Avon Products Inc, Swank Inc, H. Stern Com. & Ind. S.A., Cartier SA, Channel S.A., Louis Vuitton North America, Inc., Stuller, Inc., Yurman Design, Inc., Billig Jewelers, Inc. and Gianni Versace S.p.A.Need more information about Report methodology ? @About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.Contact UsPersistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,Telephone - +1-646-568-7751USA  Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb:Winter Care Creams Market: Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast 2017  2025

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When the temperature drops down, cold and windy weather takes the toll on skin and the most affected part of a body is the face. The only saviour when the face skin becomes dry and dull due to cold weather is winter care creams. The skin cream which is generally enriched with vitamin E, natural oils such as jojoba and olive oil, rose petals and various fruit extracts particularly grape seed, protect the face skin from getting dry and provide a glow, softness and fairness. It, therefore, becomes necessary for the consumers to keep a face cream in winter cosmetic kitty. Winter care creams are suitable for the three types of face skins, i.e. normal, oily and dry. Many winter care face creams are designed to reduce the signs of peeling and repair fragile face skin due to winter dryness. The strong moisturising formula in face cream also fulfils the therapeutic purpose of consumers during winters.Request for Table of Contents @Appropriate use of winter care creams boost hydration in skin and creates the protective layer of moisturiser which prevents the face skin from flaking. Every region has different winter pattern. In some areas, winters meant for chilled nights and sunny days. In such condition, winter care creams not only moisturise the face skin but also work as a sunscreen which protects the face skin from UV radiation. Many winter care creams have medicinal qualities and apart from only moisturising the face skin, they have the ability to reduce a pimple and have antiseptic/ anti-fungal qualities. The winter care cream, however, has disadvantages too and the heavy hand with it lead to breakouts, clogged pores and dull skin. Facial skin is very sensitive and delicate and therefore excessive use of winter care creams suffocates the skin instead of giving a glow on the face in winters.Huge promotion of winter care creams is one of the important factors which is fuelling the growth of the winter care creams market across the globe. Whether it is Television, newspaper, magazine or social media websites, the worldwide luxurious brands are competing with each other by hammering their products into the minds of consumers. Increasing per capita income and lavish lifestyle are also creating the lucrative market for winter care creams across the globe. Earlier, the cosmetic products were mainly meant only for women, however, now-a-day men are equally interested in using various cosmetic products which are creating robust development in the global winter care cream market. However, there are some hindrances which are adversely affecting on the growth of the winter care cream market. For example, none of the winter care cream is entirely herbal. There are certain chemicals elements included in the winter care cream which gives temporary glow but affects adversely on the skin. Many countries such as India and Israel and the European Union have banned the sale of any cosmetics that have been tested on animals. This banned will certainly hamper the growth of the winter care lotion market in few regions of the world. All these factors are acting as restraints for winter care creams market.Request to View Sample of Research Report @Western and Eastern Europe are likely to dominate the winter care creams market in the forecasted period. North America is a close competitor of Eastern and Western Europe in the case of leading the winter care creams market. Young population, the especially huge population of teens is likely to be a reason for fuelling the growth of winter care creams market in these regions. The countries in Asia-Pacific region are also likely to be the fastest growing economies during the projected period.Nivea, Shiseido, LOreal, Lancome, Clarins, Ponds and Aesop are some of the worldwide winter care cream brands.Need more information about Report methodology ? @About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.Contact UsPersistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,Telephone - +1-646-568-7751USA  Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb:Liposarcoma Treatment Market: Emerging Market Trends, Size, Share and Growth Analysis 2016 - 2022

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Liposarcoma is a cancer of fat cells lying deep within the soft tissues, typically in retroperitoneum or thighs. According to WHO, liposarcoma is the most common type of sarcomas (cancer of soft tissue) and accounts for approximately 17-20% of all cases of sarcoma. However, WHO classifies liposarcoma in the rare diseases as the incidence rate of the disease is as low as 2.5 per Mn population. Liposarcoma most commonly occurs in the middle age or adults above the age of 40 and it can be well diagnosed with the help of excision biopsy. Liposarcoma can be of four types viz. well differentiated liposarcoma, myxoid liposarcoma, pleomorphic liposarcoma and dedifferentiated liposarcoma. The most common drugs used for the treatment of liposarcoma include ifosfamide and doxorubicin. Ifosfamide is often prescribed in combination with uromitexan in order to prevent bladder irritation and internal bleeding. Moreover, cisplatin, vincristine, etoposide, gemcitabine, docetaxel etc. can be used to prevent the recurrence of liposarcoma.Request for Table of Contents @The market for liposarcoma is highly fragmented with large number of generic manufacturers. The global market for liposarcoma treatment is expected to grow moderately over the forecast period owing to low incidence rate of the disease. Some other factors which are anticipated to influence growth of global liposarcoma treatment market include lifestyle changes, incidence of genetic disorders, growing awareness through liposarcoma genome project etc. However, high cost of the treatment can be the major restraint for the growth of global liposarcoma treatment market.Surgical therapy treatment segment is expected to account for major share in global liposarcoma treatment market as it is the choice of treatment recommended by majority of cancer specialists. Most of the physicians do not rely on chemotherapy for the liposarcoma treatment however, it can be used prior to the surgery to reduce the size of the tumor making it the second largest segment in terms of value in global liposarcoma treatment market. Radiation therapy treatment is used to avoid recurrence of the liposarcoma after surgery and contributes a minimal share in global liposarcoma treatment market.Get Sample Copy of this Report @Geographically, global liposarcoma treatment market is classified into five key regions: North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and Middle East & Africa. North America is anticipated to lead the global liposarcoma treatment market due to relatively greater prevalence of the disease in the region. APAC and MEA regions are expected to witness steady market growth owing to lack of awareness about the disease.Some of the key players in global liposarcoma treatment market include Eli Lilly and Company, Baxter International, Bristol Laboratories Ltd., Pfizer Inc., Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., Mylan N.V., Actavis plc.,Fresenius Kabi Ltd., Accord Healthcare Inc., Taro Pharmaceuticals Inc., Sandoz, Bedford Laboratories and others. Recently FDA approved the new indication of Halaven (eribulin) to Esai Co. Ltd. and new drug application of Yondelis (Trabectedin) from Johnson & Johnson Private Limited for use in Europe, Russia and South Korea.Need more information about Report methodology ? @About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.Contact UsPersistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,Telephone - +1-646-568-7751USA  Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb:Genital Herpes Treatment Market grow at a high CAGR of 5.0% during the forecast period 2017-2027

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Global Genital Herpes Treatment Market: OverviewGenital herpes is a common sexually transmitted disease. With the increase in population of various regions, there is also an increase in the rate of health issues around the world. As the rate of diseases grow, the treatment markets are also expected to grow substantially. With respect to sexually transmitted disease like genital herpes, its treatment market includes different drug types like Acyclovir, Valacyclovir and Famciclovir. The indication of genital herpes include HSV-1 and HSV-2. A new research report highlights the upcoming growth of global genital herpes treatment market. This comprehensive research by Future Market Insights is titled Genital Herpes Treatment Market: Global Industry Analysis (2012  2016) and Opportunity Assessment (2017  2027). According to the market projections given in the report, global genital herpes treatment market is expected to surge and reach a market size of over US$ 2,400 Mn by the end of 2027. The market is expected to register a CAGR of 4.4% of during the forecast period of 2017-2027. The market growth is primarily driven by the increase government spending on healthcare industry. Various countries are focused on prevention of infectious diseases which in turn, has a positive impact over the herpes drugs market leading to its high demand from local governments and third-party payers.Request Report Sample@Global Genital Herpes Treatment Market: Trends and OpportunitiesThe global genital herpes treatment market may witness new opportunities in the market. Globally, the increasing disease burden of herpes continuously provides an opportunity for the diagnostic and treatment market. According to WHO, more than 2/3rd of the world population (3.7 Bn) under the age of 50 was suffering from hsv-1 infection in 2012. This represents substantial growth of the global HSV disease treatment market over the forecast period.The companies are also trying to introduce cost effective treatment methods. New vaccines provide complete protection against a variety of strains of HSV1 and HSV2. Companies are increasing research and development activities for the treatment and prevention of genital herpes diseases. Most of the companies are focusing on approval and launch of generic drugs in the undeveloped countries to provide low cost drugs for the treatment of genital herpes.Global Genital Herpes Treatment Market: Key Highlights from the Segmental AnalysisMEA is expected to come up as the most lucrative region in the industry. With the rise in sexually transmitted diseases in the region, the demand for genital herpes treatment is also expected to rise. Regional analysis shows that MEA will witness a robust CAGR of 5.2% during the forecast period in the global genital herpes treatment market. Based on the route of administration oral is the main segment, with the highest growth rate and highest market share in the global genital herpes treatment market. It is expected to reach a market share of over US$ 1,600 Mn by the end of 2027, growing at a CAGR of 4.9% during the forecast period.Amongst various distribution channels, retail pharmacies hold the highest market size, but the segment lags behind in terms of growth rate. With the growth of online marketing and e-commerce, online pharmacies is the fastest growing segment which is expected to register a growth rate of 5.4% during the forecast period.Visit For TOC@Global Genital Herpes Treatment Market: Top CompaniesSome of the leading companies mentioned in the research report are Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., Abbott Laboratories, Sun Pharmaceuticals Industries Ltd., Mylan N.V., Pfizer Inc., GlaxoSmithKline plc., Dr. Reddys Laboratories, ltd., Novartis AG, Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc., etc.About Us  Future Market Insights is the premier provider of market intelligence and consulting services, serving clients in over 150 countries. FMI is headquartered in London, the global financial capital, and has delivery centers in the U.S. and India.Contact Us:Future Market Insights616 Corporate Way,Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage,New York 10989,United StatesTel: +1-347-918-3531Fax: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite:Vascular Access Catheters Market to Register a CAGR of 5.5% During the Forecast Period 2017 - 2027

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With healthy CAGR of 5.5%, the global vascular access catheters market is likely to grow with an impressive growth rate during the projected period. The primary reasons for this remarkable growth is shift towards value-based healthcare model, increasing global healthcare spending and global manufacturers focus on emerging market. According to the new report Vascular Access Catheters Market: Global Industry Analysis (2012  2016) and Opportunity Assessment (2017  2027) that is published by Future Market Insights, global vascular access catheters market to grow from US$ 2,365.3 Mn in 2017 to US$ 4,042.8 Mn by 2027 end. This represents CAGR of 5.5% over the projected period of 10-years. The global vascular access catheters market for represents absolute $ opportunity of US$ 118.9 Mn in 2018 over 2017 and incremental opportunity of US$ 1,677.5 Mn between 2017 and 2027.Global Vascular Access Catheters Market: DriversIncreased precision of PICC and CVC placement with tip location devicesImproved Reimbursement policiesPreference by surgeons, anaesthesiologists & interventional radiologistsIncreasing number of diseases with PICC applicationDistribution and collaboration agreement to increase product reachIntroduction of Innovative productsProduct availability through appointing distributorsIncreasing forward integrationIntroduction of new PICC having anti-thrombogenic propertyRadiopaque catheter material or markingRequest Report Sample@Global Vascular Access Catheters Market: Forecast by ProductOn the basis of product type, the global vascular access catheters market is segmented into CVC Catheters, Implantable Port, Dialysis Catheters and PICC Catheters. CVC catheters dominated the global market in 2016, and is expected to continue to do so. Also, increasing approvals for new products in the hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis segment would further increase the adoption.Global Vascular Access Catheters Market: Forecast by End UseBy end use the global market for vascular access catheters market is segmented into hospitals, ambulatory surgical centres and specialty clinics and others. Hospital is expected to be the most lucrative among all end users of vascular access catheters products, with attractiveness index of 2.7, while specialty clinics and others are expected to be the least attractive end users of vascular access catheters, with market share index of 0.8.Global Vascular Access Catheters Market: Forecast by DesignDesign segment consists of single lumen, double lumen, and multiple lumen. Double Lumen, dominated the vascular access catheters market in revenue terms in 2016, and the trend is projected to continue throughout the forecast period. Double lumen catheters is expected to be the most lucrative among property segment, with attractiveness index of 2.1.Global Vascular Access Catheters Market: Forecast by PropertyThe property segment of the global vascular access catheters market includes antimicrobial catheter and non-anti-microbial catheter. Non Anti-microbial catheter, dominated the vascular access catheters market in revenue terms in 2016, and the trend is projected to continue throughout the forecast period. Non Anti-microbial Catheter is expected to be the most lucrative among Property segment, with attractiveness index of 1.5.Global Vascular Access Catheters Market: Forecast by RegionThis report has covered seven regions namely, North America, Latin America, Eastern Europe, Western Europe, APEJ, Japan and MEA. North America vascular access catheters market accounted for largest revenue share of 44.6% in 2016. Western Europe is expected to experience highest CAGR of 5.8% over 20172027, primarily due to increase in chronic kidney dialysis & cancer. Also rising healthcare reach in untapped markets may spur revenue growth during the forecast period.Visit For TOC@Global Vascular Access Catheters Market: Key PlayersSome of the key players operating in the global vascular access catheters market are Angio Dynamics, C.R. Bard, Teleflex Incorporated, B. Braun Melsungen AG, Kimal Healthcare, Comed B.V., Medtronic Plc, Smiths Medical, Vygon (UK) Ltd, Becton, Dickinson and Company, Argon Medical Devices, Inc., Boston Scientific Corporation, Cook Medical Incorporated and Fresenius Kabi AG.About Us  Future Market Insights is the premier provider of market intelligence and consulting services, serving clients in over 150 countries. FMI is headquartered in London, the global financial capital, and has delivery centers in the U.S. and IndiaContact Us:Future Market Insights616 Corporate Way,Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage,New York 10989,United StatesTel: +1-347-918-3531Fax: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite:Biopharmaceutical Contract Manufacturing Market is expected to increase to US$ 15,467.8 Mn by the end of 2027

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A new study on the global biopharmaceutical contract manufacturing market by Future Market Insights discusses some interesting aspects of the differentiating strategies of key market players. Top biomanufacturing companies in North America and Europe are focussing on market collaborations and agreements as key business strategies for growth and expansion across the globe. These companies are also acquiring small scale biopharmaceuticals companies in the Asia Pacific region to strengthen their market presence. Future Market Insights presents several useful insights and a comprehensive revenue forecast of the global biopharmaceutical contract manufacturing market in a new report titled Biopharmaceutical Contract Manufacturing Market: Global Industry Analysis 20122016 and Opportunity Assessment 20172027 along with information on the factors influencing revenue growth of the market over a 10 year assessment period from 2017 to 2027.The global biopharmaceutical contract manufacturing market is estimated to be valued at US$ 5,625.0 Mn by the end of 2017 and this is expected to increase to US$ 15,467.8 Mn by the end of 2027, registering a CAGR of 10.6% in terms of value over the forecast period.Request Report Sample@Global Biopharmaceutical Contract Manufacturing Market: Regional ForecastThe global biopharmaceutical contract manufacturing market has been studied across the key regions of North America, Latin America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Asia Pacific excluding Japan, Japan, and Middle East & Africa. North America is the largest regional market, estimated to be valued at US$ 5,039.3 Mn by 2027 end, with a CAGR of 9.8%. APEJ is the second largest market for biopharmaceutical contract manufacturing, with a growth rate of 12.2% anticipated during the 10 year forecast period.Global Biopharmaceutical Contract Manufacturing Market: Forecast by PlatformThe report segments the global biopharmaceutical contract manufacturing market on the basis of Platform into Mammalian and Microbial. Mammalian is the largest segment by platform, which is estimated to represent US$ 3,857.2 Mn or 68.6% share of the total market in 2017 and is projected to reach US$ 12,534.5 Mn or 81.0% share by 2027 end, expanding at a CAGR of 12.5% over the forecast period.Global Biopharmaceutical Contract Manufacturing Market: Forecast by Product TypeIn terms of product type, the global biopharmaceutical contract manufacturing market is segmented into Growth Factors, Interferons, Monoclonal Antibodies, Recombinant Hormones, Vaccines, Insulin, and Others. Monoclonal Antibodies is the largest segment by product type, with revenues estimated to cross US$ 8,100 Mn by the end of the forecast period and a CAGR of 11.3%.Global Biopharmaceutical Contract Manufacturing Market: Forecast by ApplicationThe global biopharmaceutical contract manufacturing market is segmented on the basis of application into Clinical and Commercial. The Commercial segment will dominate the global market, with revenues in excess of US$ 12,000 Mn expected to be recorded by the end of 2027 resulting in a CAGR of 11.0%.Global Biopharmaceutical Contract Manufacturing Market: Forecast by Therapeutic AreaOn the basis of therapeutic area, the global biopharmaceutical contract manufacturing market is segmented into Autoimmune Diseases, Oncology, Metabolic Diseases, Ophthalmology, Cardiovascular Diseases, Infectious Diseases, Neurology, Respiratory Disorders, and Others. Oncology is the largest segment by therapeutic area, expected to be valued at US$ 1,111.1 Mn by the end of 2017. Oncology is also the most lucrative segment. Autoimmune Diseases is the second largest segment by therapeutic area with a market attractiveness index of 1.3.Visit For TOC@Global Biopharmaceutical Contract Manufacturing Market: Competitive LandscapeThe report features some of the leading companies operating in the global biopharmaceutical contract manufacturing market. Companies profiled include Lonza Group AG, Baxter Biopharma Solutions, Samsung Biologics Co., Ltd., Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies, Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH, Patheon N.V., Rentschler Biotechnologie GmbH, Biomeva GmbH, Probiogen AG, Cytovance Biologics, Inc., KBI Biopharma, Inc., WuXi Biologics, Abzena Plc, Vetter Pharma International GmbH, Sandoz International GmbH, Catalent, Inc., AbbVie Contract Manufacturing (An AbbVie Company), Ajinomoto Althea, Inc.About Us  Future Market Insights is the premier provider of market intelligence and consulting services, serving clients in over 150 countries. FMI is headquartered in London, the global financial capital, and has delivery centers in the U.S. and India.Contact Us:Future Market Insights616 Corporate Way,Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage,New York 10989,United StatesTel: +1-347-918-3531Fax: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite:Life Sciences Controlled Substance Ordering System Market to Make Great Impact In Near Future by 2025

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The electronic pharmaceutical industry contains many organisations of differing sizes including controlled substance suppliers, purchasers, manufacturers, practitioners, pharmacies, federal agencies, retailers, distributors and service providers. Pharmaceutical companies within the supply chain wish to reduce costly paperwork like the paper Form-222 by shifting to electronic, centralised, cloud-based systems. This enables them to comply with DEA audit requests, while dramatically reducing implementation cost and time. They are adequately served by the Life Sciences Controlled Substance Ordering System Market.A Controlled Substance Ordering System (CSOS) is a form of digital identity issued by the Drug Enforcement Administrations CSOS Certification Authority, allowing electronic ordering of controlled substances under Schedule I, II, III, and IV. The CSOS certificate is the digital equivalent of identity information in the DEA Form-222. The Life Sciences Controlled Substance Ordering System Market mainly caters to individual buyers and it is a mandatory requirement for ordering Schedule I and Schedule II drugs. The CSOS certificate enables the power of attorneys and DEA registrants to order controlled substances electronically by providing identification and authentication details through digital signatures. While the paper DEA form-222 is still technically allowed, the CSOS certificate is the only way Schedule I and II drugs can be ordered today.Request Sample Report@The key drivers of the Life Sciences Controlled Substance Ordering System Market are  Improved customer service  Every organisation seeks to improve the service provided to drive customer engagement and improve customer retention and loyalty. CSOS allows pharmaceutical companies to order Scheduled drugs from a centralised location for all the stores owned by the chain. Streamlined operations and reduced redundancy  In the Life Sciences Controlled Substance Ordering System Market, a manually prepared Form-222 is replaced by its electronic equivalent. While a paper order form is limited to only 10 line items per order, there is no such limit in an electronic system. Error reduction  The Form-222 is prepared manually. Descriptions and other data need to be entered by hand which makes any operational mistake far more likely. Electronic orders identify products on the basis of their National Drug Code (NDC) and are less prone to any kind of Greater security  An electronic system is far more fool-proof than a manual, handwritten one and the chance of any data compromise or leak is quite low. This is critical in an industry as important as the life science and pharmaceutical one where any discrepancy or mistake can mean the difference between life and death.Download and View Report TOC, Figures and Tables @Some of the Life Sciences Controlled Substance Ordering System Market Restraints are : Insufficient co-ordination of organization subscriber roles  Each pharmaceutical company must have one principle co-ordinator registered with the DEA and each can only serve one role per registration like power of attorney or principle co-ordinator for example. This increases the bureaucracy of the organisation and can also cause enrollment delays.Poorly trained staff  While switching to CSOS will definitely benefit the organisation, in the long run, it will have to train its employees to use these systems at the outset. This will involve a significant training cost which may not be reimbursed by the government. The high initial outlay will make smaller firms seriously consider the benefits of these systems.Life Sciences Controlled Substance Ordering System Market Key Market Players : Some companies involved in the Life Sciences Controlled Substance Ordering System Market are Axway, Vormetric, Legisym, The Drummond Group, Attain Med and Bound Tree Medical.The research report presents a comprehensive assessment of the market and contains thoughtful insights, facts, historical data, and statistically supported and industry-validated market data. It also contains projections using a suitable set of assumptions and methodologies. The research report provides analysis and information according to market segments such as geographies, types and applications.Request Report Methodology @The report is a compilation of first-hand information, qualitative and quantitative assessment by industry analysts, inputs from industry experts and industry participants across the value chain. The report provides in-depth analysis of parent market trends, macro-economic indicators and governing factors along with market attractiveness as per segments. The report also maps the qualitative impact of various market factors on market segments and geographies.About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a 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:202 SHARES Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Pinterest Reddit Print Mail Flipboard

By Gina Cherelus

(Reuters)  Dozens of U.S. colleges and universities, including at least three Ivy League schools, have said their application processes will not consider disciplinary action taken against high school students who protest last weeks massacre at a Florida school.

Many school districts officials have threatened to suspend high school students who take part in nationwide gun control walkouts and other demonstrations called by survivors of the mass shooting that killed 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland. Such disciplinary action can sometimes hurt a students chances of getting into a preferred college.

The student-led #NeverAgain movement launched after the Feb. 14 rampage has reshaped the long-running gun control debate almost overnight and could influence the U.S. midterm elections.

Yale will NOT be rescinding anyones admission decision for participating in peaceful walkouts for this or other causes, regardless of any high schools disciplinary policy, Hannah Mendlowitz, a senior assistant director of admissions and recruitment at Yale University, wrote on Friday in a blog post.

I, for one, will be cheering these students on from New Haven, Mendlowitz said.

In addition to Yale, more than 40 universities, including Brown, Dartmouth and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), have issued statements supporting prospective scholars who may heed the calls of the Parkland survivors and risk school disciplinary action by joining protests.

Survivors of the Parkland shooting have demanded lawmakers restrict gun sales and are targeting politicians funded by the pro-gun National Rifle Association.

As the pressure on the NRA builds, several of its corporate partners have said they are cutting marketing ties with the gun rights organization.

Two airlines, Delta and United, became the latest, saying on Twitter that they were no longer offering NRA members discounted rates and would ask the NRA to remove their information from the its website.

NRA officials have lashed out at gun control advocates, arguing that Democratic elites are politicizing the Parkland rampage to erode gun rights.

In addition to classroom walkouts, a student rally dubbed the March For Our Lives is scheduled for March 14 in Washington.

Officials at some school districts have warned against involvement in demonstrations during school hours.

Should students choose to do so, they will be suspended from school for 3 days and face all the consequences that come along with an out-of-school suspension, Curtis Rhodes, superintendent of the Needville Independent School District in Texas, cautioned students in a Facebook message.

But Stu Schmill, dean of admissions at MIT in Cambridge, Massachusetts, said in a statement that any meaningful, peaceful participation in a protest that results in disciplinary action will not impact their decision on whether to admit a future applicant.

Officials at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire, took to Twitter on Friday to say that it too supports peaceful protest, and to urge students to speak your truth.

(Reporting by Gina Cherelus in New York; Editing by Bill Trott)3.9k SHARES Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Pinterest Reddit Print Mail Flipboard

Amidst alarming questions as to why President Trumps son-in-law Jared Kushners security clearance has been delayed, Kuchners wife and Trumps daughter and senior White House adviser Ivanka Trump briefed the President of a major ally on sanctions against North Korea even though she does have not a permanent security clearance.

Former Deputy Secretary of Labor for the Obama administration Chris Lu noted on MSNBC that Ivanka Trump either got access to classified information in order to do the briefing, which would be improper, or she gave President Moon a briefing he probably could have read about in a newspaper. And thats embarrassing.

Watch here:

.@ChrisLu44 just now on MSNBC, Ivanka Trump, "either got access to classified information in order to do the briefing, which would be improper, or she gave President Moon a briefing he probably could have read about in a newspaper. And that's embarrassing." pic.twitter.com/rhJnKeMAWv  Sarah Reese Jones (@PoliticusSarah) February 25, 2018

On Friday, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin held a press briefing on the North Korea sanctions during which he said Ivanka Trump had been briefed on what he called largest set of sanctions ever imposed in connection with North Korea.

Well, first let me say, Ivanka Trump has been briefed on this. Shes been part of the team, Mnuchin said. She had dinner with President Moon. They had a private discussion in advance about this occurring. And this has been an interagency process.

Mnuchin detailed the sanctions, This action targets the deceptive shipping practices that have enabled the Kim regime to fund its dangerous weapons programs. Our actions target shipping and trade companies, vessels, and individuals across the world who we know are working with North Koreas behalf. Specifically, we are sanctioning 27 entities, 28 vessels, and 1 individual, all involved in sanctions evasions schemes.

When asked if Ivanka Trump had the proper security clearance to have been able to know what these sanctions were and brief the South Korean President, Mnuchin said, Yeah, she has the appropriate access to brief President Moon.

President Trumps daughter did not interact with the North Korean delegation, a senior U.S. administration official said in a statement sent to PoliticusUSA.

A top Justice Department official alerted the White House two weeks ago that significant information requiring additional investigation would further delay the security clearance process of senior adviser Jared Kushner, according to a report by the Washington Post.

Kushner has been forced to submit four addenda to his clearance forms, unable to get a full security clearance in part because of special counsel Robert Muellers Russia probe, according to two sources familiar with the matter.

Saturday, Naveed Jamali explained on MSNBCs AM Joy that Jared Kushner could be using his access to classified information to sell US secrets to foreign countries. Jamali said the Russians and Chinese look for people who are willing to use their access for personal enrichment, which makes sense since Kushner, Ivankas husband, is $1.5 billion in debt and yet both he and Ivanka are supposedly working for Trump without a salary and fighting to retain access to classified information he does not need.

The presidents children should not be working in the White House to begin with because of conflicts of interest and nepotism, so as this story unravels its important to try to hang on to the norms and the reasons for them. Contrary to Trumps presentation, they are not doing us some favor. There is no reason that serves the people of this country for them to be there.

It is a crime to mishandle classified information and to give it to people without the proper security clearance. Of course Republicans know this because it was the charge they tried to stick on Hillary Clinton, saying she gave her attorneys access to her emails on her server and those who maintained her server (but did not read her emails) without the proper clearances. Comey said Clinton did not have bad intent, and intention matters.

So on one hand we have Trump giving his children access to classified information when they cannot get the proper security clearances and not for just any old reasons, but one of them cant get the clearance in part for reasons relating to the Russia probe. Muellers investigation led to a former senior official in Donald Trumps 2016 presidential campaign, Rick Gates, pleading guilty on Friday to conspiracy against the United States.

If Trumps children are innocent, it would behoove them all to stop getting access to classified information. If, on the other hand, Ivanka Trump did not have access to classified information, why did the administration say she has the appropriate access to brief President Moon.House Intelligence Committee ranking member Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) called out the president and his son (Donald Trump Jr.) which is certain to set off a brand new presidential fit.

Video:

House Intelligence Committee ranking member Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) called out the president and his son (Donald Trump Jr.) which is certain to set off a brand new presidential fit. https://t.co/iyE0I9J4zV #StateOfTheUnion #Russia pic.twitter.com/woiYZyRnIS  PoliticusUSA (@politicususa) February 25, 2018

Schiff responded to Trump calling him a bad guy who leaks by saying on CNNs State Of The Union, Well, proud to be one of the bad hombres, I guess. What the President is referring to, what really aggravated him, is when his son came to testify before our committee, I asked him about conversations he had with the President, when the President was on that aircraft and they concocted that false statement about that meeting in Trump Tower with the Russians. And he refused to answer the questions, claiming attorney-client privilege, which clearly doesnt apply to a situation where neither he nor his father are attorney nor client. Our position is, and the Republicans have adopted it as well, if witnesses refuse to answer questions and make bogus claims of privilege, as he did, as Steve Bannon did, we call them out on it. Well, the President doesnt like that. But thats not a leak, thats a fact, and it didnt disclose testimony he gave, it disclosed a privilege he asserted that doesnt apply. So, Im not surprised the President doesnt like it. Im not surprised frankly that the White House tried to bury this memo response as long as they could, but its important for the public to see the facts that the FBI acted appropriately in seeking a warrant on Carter Page, theyre not part of some deep state as apparently, the President would like the public to believe.

Trump got in way over his head when he attacked Adam Schiff

Trump is trying to discredit Schiff because he is preparing for the California Congressman to be in charge of the Russia investigation if Democrats win control of the House. Trump is doing his usual shoot the investigator routine, and Rep. Schiff is right. Trump is upset because he asked Don Jr. about that infamous memo drafted by Trump on Air Force One that was a lie about the Trump campaign meeting with the Russians in Trump Tower.

A new round of angry tweets attacking Schiff should be expected because all Trump has is a loud Twitter bark with no bite, and he picked a fight with the wrong guy when he chose to attack Adam Schiff.2.3k SHARES Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Pinterest Reddit Print Mail Flipboard

Billionaire Tom Steyer has unveiled a new ad that calls for Trump to be impeached over his business dealings with Russia that he is trying to hide.

The Tom Steyer ad:

Steyer called on all members of the California congressional delegation to support Trump impeachment, If we intend to take back the House in November, Democratic leaders need to start listening to the people who voted them into their seats. Its undemocratic for our leaders to sit on their hands as their constituents demand action and the stability and safety of our democracy is in jeopardy. We call on all members of Congress representing California to stand up and hold this president accountable.

The Tom Steyer ad is a move to pressure Congress

Steyers point while speaking at the California Democratic convention was to pressure 24 Democratic members of the California congressional delegation that did not support Rep. Al Greens impeachment resolution. The dispute between Democrats isnt whether or not to impeach Trump, but when to begin impeachment proceedings. The Democrats who voted against Greens resolution argued that they dont want to blow their impeachment argument on a resolution that was doomed to fail while Republicans control Congress.

The Steyer ad was brutal. These ads are going to gain even more weight as the Mueller investigation builds the case against the Trump campaign and administration. Impeachment of Trump feels inevitable with the only question being whether or not Trump will make it through his term without being impeached.Get the SC business stories that matter.

Our newsletter catches you up with all the business stories that are shaping Charleston and South Carolina every Monday and Thursday at noon. Get ahead with us - it's free.Charleston, SC (29403)

Today

Cloudy with light rain this morning. High 83F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 60%..

Tonight

Partly cloudy this evening with more clouds for overnight. Low 72F. Winds light and variable.Adam Parker has covered many beats and topics for The Post and Courier, including race and history, religion, and the arts. He is the author of "Outside Agitator: The Civil Rights Struggle of Cleveland Sellers Jr.," published by Hub City Press.Mary Katherine, who also goes by MK, covers health care for The Post and Courier. She is also pursuing a master's degree in data science. She grew up in upstate New York and enjoys playing cards, kayaking and the Blue Ridge Mountains.Deanna Pan is an enterprise reporter for The Post and Courier, where she writes about education and other issues. She grew up in the suburbs of Cincinnati and graduated with a degree in English from Ohio State University in 2012.Michael Majchrowicz is a reporter covering crime and public safety. He previously wrote about courts for the Daily Hampshire Gazette in Northampton, Massachusetts. A Hoosier native, he graduated from Indiana University with a degree in journalism.Andrew Knapp is editor of the Quick Response Team, which covers crime, courts and breaking news. He previously worked as a reporter and copy editor at Florida Today, Newsday and Bangor (Maine) Daily News. He enjoys golf, weather and fatherhood.Syndicated and guest columns represent the personal views of the writers, not necessarily those of the editorial staff. The editorial department operates entirely independently of the news department and is not involved in newsroom operations.Political Reporter

Caitlin Byrd is a political reporter at The Post and Courier and author of the Palmetto Politics newsletter. Before moving to Charleston in 2016, her byline appeared in the Asheville Citizen-Times. To date, Byrd has won 17 awards for her work.ADVERTISEMENT

The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Godwin Emefiele, has tasked state governments in Nigeria to take advantage of opportunities in their respective states to boost the agricultural sector in Nigeria.

He gave the charge in Emure-Ile, Ondo State, on Friday shortly before he and the Ondo State Governor, Rotimi Akeredolu, performed the ceremony of Greenfield Integrated Poultry and Powderized Egg Facility.

Mr. Emefiele also pledged the Central Banks support to any state government committed to agriculture.

Speaking on Engendering the Growth of Nigerias Poultry Industry, Mr. Emefiele emphasised the need for interested state governments to take advantage of the many opportunities to develop the agricultural sector in their states in order to provide jobs, reduce the level of unemployment in the country and drive growth.

According to him, through such moves, the Nigerian economy would receive massive boost through the non-importation of agricultural produce, which he stressed Nigeria had no business importing.

While reiterating the charge of the President, Muhammadu Buhari, to Nigerians to produce what we eat and eat what we produce, Mr. Emefiele emphasised that the attention focused on agriculture was a good strategy.

Agriculture can still be used as a catalyst for creating jobs, reducing unemployment and driving growth in Nigeria, he noted, even as he recalled that the ban on the importation of chickens in 2003, with the exception of day old chickens, boosted the poultry industry in Nigeria.

With the commencement of the Greenfield Integrated Poultry Facility, Mr. Emefiele expressed optimism that the implementation of the Anchor Borrowers Programme in the state would be tremendously expanded.

He also disclosed that a cumulative sum of N55.526 billion had been disbursed to over 250,000 farmers who cultivated almost 300,000 hectares of farmland for rice, wheat, maize, cotton, soybeans, cassava, etc. since commencement of the programme in November 2015, noting that the implementation in partnership with state governments and several private sector groups, had contributed to the creation of an estimated 890,000 direct and 2.6 million indirect jobs.

Mr. Emefiele reiterated the commitment of the CBN to work with State Governments in supporting small holder farmers and processors across other items that can be produced in the respective States. According to him, the move was directly in harmony with the Banks resolve and vision to create a professional and people-centred Central Bank that will act as a financial catalyst for job creation and inclusive economic growth.

In his remarks, the Governor of Ondo State, Mr. Akeredolu, urged all states to support ranching as a way of boosting the quality of meat produced in Nigeria.

He also emphasised the need for other state governments to key into agriculture as a way of boosting and diversifying the Nigerian economy.

Also speaking, the Managing Director of Greenfield Assets Limited, Paul Obanua, thanked Mr. Emefiele and Mr. Akeredolu for supporting the project, which he said was the largest in Africa and the Middle East.

The highpoint of the ceremony was the cutting of the tape and unveiling of the plaque to formally flag-off the construction of the Greenfield Egg Pasteurization and Powderization Facility with the capacity of producing 10 million broilers per annum farm with 4,000 birds per hour meat processing plant; a 600,000 layers farm for the production 100 million eggs per annum; two 20 tons per hour feed-mill and a 500,000 eggs per day egg powder plant.

The plant would create about 25,000 jobs, earn the country over $1 billion in foreign exchange savings and boost increased incomes for poultry farmers in Nigeria.

The Public-Private Partnership (PPP) with a capital requirement of N28 billion (N 28,369,276,360) to be invested in capital equipment and working capital, involves Big Dutchman International providing technical and operational management of the project.Another fiery clash is expected this Sunday as bitter rivals, Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte, lead their teams to action in the English Premier League.

Manchester United will welcome Chelsea to Old Trafford with among other things precious points in a Premier League top-four battle on the line.

The Red Devils can move back into second spot in the table with a win on home soil, while the visitors will pull level with the hosts if they emerge victorious.

The Blues were all smiles at Stamford Bridge back in November, with a solitary effort from Alvaro Morata earning them a narrow win.

Jose Mourinho will now be keen to exact revenge over his former employers, with United needing to find a spark after a patchy run.

Stay with PREMIUM TIMES for Live Updates. Kick off 3.05 p.m.

Team News

Victor Moses is starting for Chelsea at the Old Trafford

CHELSEA Starting XI: Courtois; Rudiger, Azpilicueta, Christensen; Moses, Drinkwater, Kante, Alonso; Willian, Hazard, Morata

Subs: Caballero, Fabregas, Pedro, Giroud, Zappacosta, Cahill, Emerson

MAN UNITED Starting XI: De Gea; Valencia, Lindelof, Smalling, Young; Pogba, Matic, McTominay; Martial, Alexis, Lukaku

Subs: Pereira, Bailly, Mata, Lingard, Carrick, Rashford, Shaw

Both teams already on the pitch.. we saw Jose Mourinho exchange handshake with Conte hopefully we see same after 90 minutes

Kick-off.. Chelsea get the game underway

Victor Moses wins the first corner kick for Chelsea

Manchester United make a clearance from the corner

Moses starts quitewell on the right flank.. floats another cross into United box

Chance!! MORATA rattles the post with a close shot

Chelsea have only won two of their last nine away games in all competitions.. can they do it here today?

The home team have had 43% of possession compared to the away teams 57%

Moses with a chance on the right flank.. his cross intercepted

For now, the match is being played at a slow tempo with neither side having the clear upper hand

The referee signals a free kick as Nemanja Matic from Manchester United trips Cesar Azpilicueta

Victor Moses shoots from outside the box, but David De Gea has it under control

Yellow card for Kante after a rough tackle on Pogba

GOAL!!! Wilian gives Chelsea the lead

GOAL!!! Lukaku gets the equaliser for United

The Belgian is scoring against his former club

Chelsea miss a glorious chance to get back in front .. Hazard unable to shoot while Alonso blasts the ball over

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Two minutes added time

Half Time Manchester United 1-1 Chelsea

Second Half underway as Manchester United get proceedings started

Second action resumes as United take the Center pass

A 60-yard crossfield pass from Drinkwater releases Hazard, but a simple cutback to Morata on the edge of the box is cut out with the Belgian lazily hitting Valencia with his pass.

The home team have had 39% of possession compared to the away teams 61%

Victor Moses lucky not to cost his side a penalty

Sanchez is wayward from the distance as he drags a 25-yard shot wide.

CLOSE: Bicyle kick by Lukaku goes inches off target

SUB: Hazard makes way for Pedro

GOAL: Jesse Lingard Heads United in front!!!!

CHANCE: Instant response by Chelsea as Willian tries a shot from near post but David De Gea makes a save

SUB: Olivier Giroud comes in for Victor Moses

SUB: Baily in for Sanchez (United) while Fabregas comes in for Drinkwater

YELLOW CARD to Matic

Ball in the net but no goal for Chelsea as the assistant referee rules that Morata is offside

Another YELLOW CARD. Morata is booked

Jesse Lingards goal is the 10th scored by a Man Utd sub in Premier league this season, more than any other club

Conte hoping for a miracle Mourinho savouring the moment

FT: Manchester United 2-1 ChelseaADVERTISEMENT

The Governor of Yobe State, Ibrahim Gaidam, has blamed the Nigeria military for the attack on Dapchi town and the abduction of schoolgirls from the community by Boko Haram.

Mr. Gaidam said the attack came barely a week after the military withdrew troops from the town.

He said if the soldiers had been on ground, the attack on the town and subsequent abduction of schoolgirls would not have been possible.

Mr. Gaidam said this when he hosted the Borno State Governor, Kashim Shettima, who was in Damaturu on a sympathy visit.

I blame the whole attack on Dapchi on the military and the defence headquarters who withdrew troops from Dapchi. The attack occurred barely a week after the military withdrew the soldiers from there, the Yobe governor said.

Before then, Dapchi has been peaceful, there was never such incident. But just a week after they withdrew the troops, Boko Haram came to attack the town.

The governor said the Dapchi incident was not the first time the absence of soldiers in the Boko Haram troubled state would be expose residents to such kind of attacks.

He also recalled that in 2013, a secondary school in Buni-Yadi was attacked a week after the military removed soldiers guarding the town. At least 29 students were killed in that attack.

Let me be quoted anywhere, the military must take blame for the attack on Dapchi. The same thing happened in 2013 when the military suddenly removed troops guarding the town and a week later Boko Haram went there to attack the town and the secondary school there killing 29 students.

The military is yet to release any official statement on the Dapchi attack, but told PREMIUM TIMES last week it was not aware any of the girls had been rescued contrary to a claim by the state government which was later withdrawn.

The Yobe State Government recently said it has spent N15.8 billion in the last three years on fighting the Boko Haram insurgency. Most of the expenditure are in form of support for the military, the state said.

Earlier on Sunday, Mr. Shettima who was in Damaturu on behalf of the Northern Governors Forum which he heads, expressed his sympathy to the government and people of Yobe State over the unfortunate incident.

On behalf of the 19 Northern Governors forum, we have come to show our sympathy and let you know that we are with you in this traumatic period, he said.

Mr. Shettima called on the security agencies to ensure the abducted girls are rescued on time.

Over 100 schoolgirls were kidnapped last Monday by the terrorists when they attacked the Government Girls Science and Technical College, Dapchi.

The federal government is yet to acknowledge the exact number of girls kidnapped by the terrorists. Parents of the girls, however, released 105 names of missing girls believed to have been abducted by the terrorists.

The Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed, and that of interior, Abdulrahman Dambazau, are currently in Yobe as part of efforts to review the situation.ADVERTISEMENT

A week after Boko Haram attacked Dapchi community in Yobe State, kidnapping scores of schoolgirls from their school, the Nigerian government has confirmed that 110 girls are missing.

The girls, students of Government Science and Technical College in Dapchi, were kidnapped when Boko Haram attacked their school on Monday evening.

The Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed, who PREMIUM TIMES reported arrived Yobe on Sunday, released a statement saying 110 schoolgirls were missing.

This comes a day after the parents of the girls released the names of 105 missing girls, believed to have been kidnapped by Boko Haram.

Read the information ministrys full statement below.

The federal government has confirmed that 110 students of the Government Science and Technical College in Dapchi, Yobe State, are so far unaccounted for, after insurgents believed to be from a faction of Boko Haram invaded their school on Monday (19 February, 2018).

The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, announced the figure after a meeting between a federal government delegation and representatives of key stakeholders, including the state government, the college, the parents, security agencies and Bursari Local Government, where Dapchi is situated, in Damaturu on Sunday.

He said, based on the briefings from the Principal of the College, Adama Abdulkarim, and the state Commissioner for Education, Mohammed Lamin, 906 students  out of whom 110 have not been accounted for  were in the school on the day of the attack.

Mr. Mohammed also announced that the federal government has directed the police and civil defence authorities in Yobe State to immediately deploy their personnel to all the schools in the state in order to ensure the security and safety of the students and their staffers.

The minister disclosed that the federal government has stepped up efforts to rescue the girls and return them safely to their parents, saying the security agencies are working on many leads regarding the whereabouts of the girls.

This is the second time in four days that a federal government delegation would visit Yobe State since the unfortunate incident. This is a measure of the seriousness with which we are addressing the issue. The security forces are leaving no stone unturned in their search for the girls.

We are back here in Yobe as part of efforts to provide some succour to the parents of the girls, to let them know that they are not alone and also to reassure them that we will not rest until we have found the girls. We will carry the parents along on the efforts we are making, he said.

For his part, the Minister of Interior said the delegation embarked on the trip in order to get the facts right so that the approach to the solution can be correct.

We must get back the girls and also ensure that this does not happen again, he said.

The federal government delegation, which comprised the Minister of Information and Culture as well as that of Interior, Abdulrahman Dambazau, held an enlarged meeting that was attended by Governor Ibrahim Geidam of Yobe State; members of the state cabinet, the Principal and Vice Principal of the school, representatives of the parents of the missing girls and security agencies, among others.ADVERTISEMENT

A Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) team on Sunday morning rescued a pregnant woman from suspected kidnappers in Badagry, Lagos.

The Corps Public Education Officer, Bisi Kazeem, said in a statement on Sunday that the woman gave birth to a baby boy immediately after she was rescued.

At about 7:30 a.m. on Sunday Feb. 25, 2018, a team from the Badagry Unit of FRSC led by Assistant Route Commander, Peace Danboyi, accosted a vehicle with registration number KTU 356 CE at AP Filling station before Aradagun Bus stop in Badagry, Lagos.

In the vehicle were two suspected kidnappers (male) and a pregnant woman who was their victim.

The pregnant woman, who had body injuries, was rescued to Ola-Oki Hospital, Ibereko, where she immediately gave birth to a baby boy, he said.

Mr. Kazeem said it took the prompt intervention of soldiers to rescue the suspects from a mob that had attempted to attack the suspected kidnappers.

The soldiers arrested and handed them over to the police in Badagry, while Corps Marshal of FRSC, Boboye Oyeyemi, has expressed appreciation to the gallant officers and commended them for their bravery, he said.

The statement also said that Mr. Oyeyemi assured the public that his men would always be on roads to ensure safe traffic and security of lives by cooperating with other law enforcement agencies.

(NAN)ADVERTISEMENT

The Nigerian Air Force has released the statement below on efforts to locate the missing Dapchi girls.

The Nigerian government on Sunday confirmed that 110 schoolgirls were missing after last Mondays attack by Boko Haram on their school in Dapchi.

Read the statement from the Air Force below.

The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) has deployed additional air assets, including Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) platforms, to the Northeast in a renewed effort at locating the missing Dapchi girls.

Before now, following confirmation of reports that some of the girls were yet to be accounted for, the NAF had deployed some ISR platforms and helicopters to search for and possibly locate the missing girls as well as the rogue Boko Haram Terrorists (BHTs).

Although these search operations were conducted in a covert manner, for obvious reasons, the efforts did not yield the desired results.

Accordingly, the Chief of the Air Staff (CAS), Sadique Abubakar, directed the immediate deployment of additional air assets and NAF personnel to the Northeast with the sole mission of conducting day and night searches for the missing girls.

It is noteworthy that the renewed efforts at locating the girls are being conducted in close liaison with other surface security forces.

While the NAF will spare no efforts at possibly locating the girls via its air operations, it also seizes this opportunity to call on anyone, especially the locals, who might have any information that could lead to the location of the girls to bring such information forward to NAF authorities or other relevant security agencies.

Kindly note that the following telephone numbers are open for any member of the public having information that could help the NAF in its task regarding the missing girls.ADVERTISEMENT

The Zamfara State Police Command said on Sunday it had killed a notorious kidnapper, arrested eight others and recovered arms.

Its commissioner, Kenneth Embrimson, who displayed the corpse of the said kidnapper, told journalists in Gusau that he was killed in a gun battle with security operatives.

According to him, the command had received a report that a gang of notorious bandits and kidnappers had stormed Ruwan-Gizo and Yartasha villages in Talata-Mafara Local Government Area, to kidnap one Bilyaminu Abdullahi.

The Police quickly responded and laid ambush. After an intense gun battle that lasted for more than two hours, the victim, Bilyaminu Abdullahi, was rescued.

One of the bandits was shot and killed, while another escaped with gunshot wounds.

Two AK 47 rifles, 75 round of 7.62 MM and two motorcycles were recovered from the kidnappers, he said.

Mr. Embrimson further said that a police patrol team, on February 24, arrested two persons  a suspected armed bandit and kidnapper  at Daraga and Dankurmi areas in Maru Local Government.

A locally made gun and one round of 7.62 MM of AK 47 rifle were recovered from the suspects, he said.

He said that the police had earlier arrested five suspected kidnappers at Magarya village in Zurmi Local Government on February 23, while another suspected kidnapper and an armed robber were arrested on February 19.

The duo, he said, were arrested in Kabala and Yangaladima villages in Maradun and Maru Local Government.

He said that the command also arrested a suspected gun runner believed to be in charge of collecting ransoms for kidnappers.

We recovered N2.6 million and 21 pieces of Nigerien currencies from the suspected gun runner, he said.

Mr. Embrimson urged members of the public to cooperate with the security agents to help their quest to rid the society of miscreants.

(NAN)The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has rejected the eight-member committee set up by the chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Mahmood Yakubu, to investigate the existence of underaged voters in its register.

The committee had been set up in the wake of the furore generated by the footage of underaged persons voting at the recent polls in Kano.

Mr. Yakubu had said the committee will not investigate the outcome of the Kano State election but the allegation of underaged voters who voted using the commissions register.

Both INEC and the Kano State electoral body have shifted blames to each other over the issue.

The PDP in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, on Sunday questioned the scope of the exercise, which excluded Katsina state from the intended probe, despite vast evidence of underage voters in both Kano and Katsina states.

The PDP said the fact that the All Progressives Congress (APC) rose in staunch defence of INEC over the matter has further showed that it supported illegality.

The APC had in a statement while subtly defending INEC accused the opposition party of crying wolf where there was none.

But the PDP in its statement said the panel constituted by INEC lacks credibility as it comprises of members of the same indicted INEC.

It alleged that the committee has been detailed to arrive at predetermined findings and recommendations to exonerate the Yakubu-led commission and play down on the electoral implications of the existence of underage voters.

Nigerians have been wondering why INEC is afraid of looking at its register in Katsina State. Is it because Katsina is the home state of President Muhammadu Buhari and a probe is likely to expose cans of worms?

Is INEC afraid that a sanitised register would lead to a massive drop in the voting population in the state and cripple APCs rigging plan?

Nigerians are also wondering why INEC has vehemently refused to include other stakeholders, including political parties, credible NGOs and Civil Society Organisations in this important assignment to guarantee its credibility.

We hold that by excluding other stakeholders, INEC is definitely not sincere with the sanitisation of INEC voters register in Kano, Katsina and other states where, out of intimidation, it is allowing the registration of minors, the party said.

The statement added that, INEC under Prof. Yakubu is already manifesting weaknesses and bias, which further confirms why it should not be trusted in the conduct of the 2019 general elections.

Consequently, the PDP and all aligning stakeholders will not accept any findings or recommendations from INECs in-house committee, as such will not reflect the reality on the ground regarding the contaminated register.

Furthermore, we insist that INEC must be bold enough to extend the inquest to Katsina state as well as other states where minors were registered unless it wants the world to believe that it had already caved into pressure ahead of the 2019 general elections. At any rate, who enjoys the company of fleas like one with an open sore.

The PDP charged Mr. Yakubu to redeem his name by disbanding the flawed committee and set up a more credible and transparent panel made up of political parties, credible NGOs and CSOs and extend the inquest to Katsina and other states.

Prof. Yakubu must understand that his allegiance is to Nigeria and not the APC. INEC under him must not lose its credibility or be reduced to an annex of the APC and its failed Presidency, as such would be resisted.

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Indeed, Nigerians would not accept anything short of a credible, free and fair general elections in 2019 and any attempt by any one to pander towards the rejected APC with a view to subvert the determined will of the people will have himself to blame.ADVERTISEMENT

The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, SERAP, has urged the government of President Muhammadu Buhari to see the Transparency Internationals Corruption Perception Index (CPI), published last week, as a wake-up call to renew its oft-expressed commitment and raise its game to fight both grand and petty corruption, as well as end the legacy of impunity rather than simply dismissing the survey as fiction.

According to Transparency Internationals report, the perception of corruption has worsened under President Muhammadu Buhari. The report showed that the perception of corruption in Nigeria worsened between 2016 and 2017. But the presidency has criticised the global watchdog, saying that TI was publishing fiction.

Reacting, SERAP in a statement on Sunday by its deputy director, Timothy Adewale, said, While TIs index only measures perceptions of corruption, their findings correspond substantially with the reality of impunity of perpetrators, as demonstrated by the low conviction rate, the authorities slowness to adopt and implement critical reforms, appearance of selectivity in the anti-corruption fight, apparent complicity of key officials and cover-up, as well as unaddressed alleged corruption against several state governors. The authorities should take the report seriously and use it as an opportunity to raise their game in their efforts to rid our country of corruption and underdevelopment.

The organisation said that, The government should make no mistake about this: Nigerians know corruption when they see it. Rather than simply criticising TI as publishing fiction or going after its board members, the government should accept the fact that its oft-expressed commitment to fight corruption has not gone to plan.

The statement read in part: The CPI may not be perfect, and in fact no index is. The CPI may not show actual evidence of corruption in the country, but perceptions are commonly a good indicator of the real level of corruption. In any case, the devastating effects of corruption in virtually all sectors providing essential public services are too glaring for Nigerians to ignore.

While the government may have blocked some leakages in the systems and reduced the level of impunity witnessed under the previous administrations, it has not done enough to address longstanding cases of corruption, and the appearance of selectivity in the prosecution of corruption allegations especially when such cases involve those close to the seat of power. Today, corruption still constitutes one of the greatest threats to the countrys sustainable and equitable development.

Almost three years after taking office, and promising to fight grand corruption, no big fish suspected of corruption has yet been sent to jail. The situation has not significantly improved, and it seems unlikely that many of those facing grand corruption charges will be successfully prosecuted. Nigerians need to see real commitment and heavy investment in promoting a culture of clean government, and total obedience to the rule of law.

Possessing the political will to fight corruption is not in itself enough if its not sufficiently demonstrated. Buhari should take the CPI to heart and initiate and actively facilitate the passing of tough anti-corruption laws, strengthening the capacity and independence of anti-corruption agencies, substantially improving the criminal justice system, obeying decisions and judgments of our courts, and ensuring the passing of the Whistle-blower Bill.

Buhari cant fight corruption successfully without significantly improving on the tools used by his predecessor former President Goodluck Jonathan. The government should as a matter of urgency implement governance reforms to advance effective functioning of government institutions, strengthen the quality of democratic institutions and rule of law, and reducing corruption, if Nigeria is ever going to improve on its global anti-corruption ranking.

Public officials still use political power to enrich themselves without considering the public good. Selective application of the law is a sign that the law is not being followed strictly enough, and that the fight against corruption is not maximally prosecuted.

In several states of the federation, and federal ministries, corruption is taking place every day and every hour, especially in the power sector, the education sector, the water sector, the health sector and other important public sectors. Corruption continues to directly affect the lives and well-being of millions of Nigerians across the country, and to erode public trust in public institutions and leaders, threatening the foundation of our democracy.

There is uneven implementation of the rule of law and democratic processes, limited citizen participation in policy processes, and deliberate disobedience of court orders and judgments, such as the judgment of Justice Mohammed Idris of the Federal High Court obtained by SERAP, which ordered the government to publish widely how recovered stolen funds since the return of democracy in 1999 have been spent.

The best measure of a countrys progress toward transparency and accountability is a total obedience to the rule of law. The law ought to command the highest levels of respect by for example, the government immediately obeying orders and judgments of competent courts. The fight against corruption wont succeed if the government continues to selectively adhere to law or refuse to rectify any disobedience. No country in which official position and orders claim a place in peoples minds higher than the law can truly be said to fight corruption.

Democracy works only if the people have faith in those who govern, and that faith is bound to be shattered when high officials and their appointees engage in activities which arouse suspicions of malfeasance and corruption.

The Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) is one of the most respected international measurement of corruption trends. It was established in 1995 as a composite indicator used to measure perceptions of corruption in the public sector in different countries around the world. The CPI draws upon many available sources which capture perceptions of corruption.ADVERTISEMENT

The Governor of Ondo State, Rotimi Akeredolu, has reignited the conflict within the All Progressives Congress (APC) saying he does not recognise Ajayi Boroffice as the senator representing Ondo North senatorial district in the Nigerian Senate.

He said he only recognises two senators, Yele Omogunwa (Ondo South) and Tayo Alasoadura (Ondo Central) as senators representing the state.

The three senators from Ondo are members of the APC.

Mr. Akeredolu spoke in Akure, the state capital, during the unification rally marking his first year anniversary as governor of the state.

l only know of two senators of APC in this state, Senator Tayo Alasoadura and Senator Yele Omogunwa, the third one, l dont know, he said, while fielding questions from journalists at the rally.

The governor also endorsed the acting chairman of the party in the state, Ade Adetimehin, whose placement is being challenged by suspended chairman, Isaac Kekemeke.

He said Mr. Adetimehin was the authentic chairman of the party in the state, while others are counterfeit.

The governor and Mr. Boroffice have had subtle antagonism since the September 2016 primaries which produced the former as the candidate of the APC for the governorship election.

Messrs. Boroffice and Kekemeke said to be loyalists of the national leader of the party, Bola Tinubu, were said to have opposed the emergence of Mr. Akeredolu as the partys candidate, for the last governorship election.

The issue between them is expected to form part of Mr. Tinubus reconciliation efforts in Ondo State.

The governor, along with his counterparts in Edo and Ogun States, also used the opportunity to declare their support for the re-election of President Muhammadu Buhari in 2019.

The partys national chairman, John Odigie-Oyegun, also emphasised the need to back the president for the coming election.

Rotimi Akeredolu tests positive for COVID-19

Mr. Akeredolu said that a presidential campaign office would soon be opened in Akure, capital of Ondo State as part of measures to ensure that President Buhari got a second term ticket by 2019.

Mr. Odigie-Oyegun, in his goodwill message, thanked the people of the state for giving approval to his request that they should vote Mr. Akeredolu as their governor when he came to address a campaign rally about a year ago.

Just a year ago, we came to launch a difficult campaign and a year after, we came to celebrate Aketi, you are now happy today that you made the right choice as you all stand by him, you should let the sun continue to shine, he said.

Those who graced the occasion include the Edo and Ogun State governors, Godwin Obaseki and Ibikunle Amosun; former governors of Ekiti, Kayode Fayemi and Segun Oni, among others.ADVERTISEMENT

The Governing Council of the University of Ibadan has approved the appointment of Olubunmi Faluyi as the new registrar of the institution.

The spokesperson of the institution, Olatunji Oladejo, confirmed the development to PREMIUM TIMES on Sunday afternoon.

According to Mr. Oladejo, the new registrar will be the 13th of the institution, Nigerias oldest university. She succeeds Olujimi Olukoya whose tenure expires next month.

She will take over as from April from the current registrar, the interview took place last week Thursday, he said.

He said Mrs. Faluyi is the current registrar and secretary to the college of medicine, university of Ibadan.

A staff of the institution, who asked not to be named as he was not authorised to speak on the matter, said 10 people applied for the post of the registrar but Mrs. Faluyi topped the interview session.

Ten people applied for the post but one person was disqualified at the point of the interview. So only nine persons were interviewed, the source told PREMIUM TIMES.

Mrs. Faluyi attended the University of Ibadan for her Bachelor of Education degree between 1983 and 1986. She secured her Master of Education (M.Ed.) in Industrial Education in 1987.

She was an admissions officer at the university between 2002 and 2008.He Brings a Flow with a Bounce for Many to Party After They Work Hard

Every Weekend

Media Contact

iMG Recordings

Tishawn Marie, Publicist

***@gmail.com iMG RecordingsTishawn Marie, Publicist

End

-- iMG Recordings announces the official release of the lead single, "Every Weekend ft. Jasmine Love" off of his album, No Contentment. This album is set for a later release. Currently, Colorado Myrical linked with his label mate, Jasmine Love for the release of his new song that dropped on February 23, 2018. Together they created a single that will catch the attention of many people "Every Weekend." He gives them a song to vibe to on the weekends.Colorado Myrical was on the show, Blazin 98.5 FM with DJ TIMEKOT and Ontoneyo spinning his new song on February 17, 2018. The reaction from the viewers was astonishing. He continues to take care of business "Every Weekend." Now, Colorado Myrical is on FLO 107.1 with DJ KTONE playing his new single, "Every Weekend ft. Jasmine Love" at 12:00am during the Homegrown Hip Hop Show where he highlights local artists of the week that are making noise in their neck of the woods, such as Colorado Myrical. He's had the privilege of hitting the stage alongside artist, such as Fabolous, Plies, Do or Die, Bobby Valentino, Bushwick Bill, and Devin the Dude, just to name a few."I love this song! It's a weekend song," said William Thompson, Vice President of iMG Recordings.Dionte Wilkins aka Colorado Myrical is a Park Hill native of Denver, Colorado. He's the CEO of Absolute Music Group, and a Rap artist whom recently signed a deal with the label, iMG Recordings for worldwide manufacturing, marketing and distribution on April 13, 2017.Colorado Myrical paid respect to his humble beginnings by hosting a signing celebration for his major deal on April 16, 2017. The event took place in the backyard of his Grandmother's home in Park Hill. This is the same home where he built his first studio, wrote his first song, and recorded his first project. Now with this new deal, he is positioned to the next level to make an impact with his music career while able to stay an independent artist.His brand new single, "Every Weekend ft. Jasmine Love" is onApple Music, Tidal, Spotify, and most digital stores. For your listening, it's on(https://www.facebook.com/coloradomyrical)(https://twitter.com/ColoradoMyrical)Instagram @coloradomyricalat http://www.coloradomyrical.comFor Media & Blog Inquires, please contact Tishawn Marie, imgrecordingspublicist@gmail.com.iMG Recordings is a cutting-edge artistic development and distribution company. We provide our handpicked artists with holistic and forward-thinking management services, as well as industry leading approaches to promotion and distribution. http://www.imgrecordings.com.The Changing Face of YA Fantasy, Introducing Colorful and Diverse Characters

End

-- Not a Pipe Publishingthe only U.S.-based publishing house to accept British Pakistani author, Kamila Shamsie's challenge to publish only women authors in 2018 for #TheYearOfPublishingWomenannounces the pre-order of author, Sang Kromah's young-adult fantasy novel, DJINN, set for publication on March 20, 2018.Throughout history, countless stories have been told of guardian angels or watchers, watching us from afar, but never seen. Truth is, there are certain people, special people, born of this world and of the other, who need that extra protection. They go their entire lives, unaware of the Otherworld, and unaware of the existence of their own personal watchera djinnwatching from afar. But what happens when fate takes a turn for the worse, and the one who needs the aid of a djinn most can't be found to be protected?is a powerful #ownvoices novel about Bijou Fitzroy, a sixteen-year-old, orphaned girl who simply wants to know who she is and to be normal. She's sixteen-years old and has never been to school, never had friends, and knows nothing about her family history. To add insult to injury, she sees things that others don't and is sensitive to the emotions of others. After being homeschooled by her nomadic grandmother all her life, they finally settle down in Sykesville, MD, where she attends high school for the first time. She thinks things will change for the better, but she's wrong. When local girls who share her birthday go missing, the truth about who she is begins to unravel and the creatures from her imagination begin to take shape in reality."Growing up, my parents would tell me djinn lore from Liberia and beyond. In these stories, the characters were girls like me, from families like mine. Because I wasn't fortunate enough to see representations of myself in the books I read, these are the stories that stuck with me, so I spent my childhood writing stories where extraordinary things happened to girls like me or like the diverse people in my world," Sang Kromah said. "There was one story that stood out to me about a mischievous girl named Femeni who escapedwhat should have been sudden death at the hands of a notorious Djinn. After hearing the story, I always wondered what happened to Femeni, and did she have any other encounters with the djinn? As I grew older, the questions became more complex; what was so special about Femeni that helped her escape the djinn? What if Femeni had a child, would there be something special about that child as well? These questions gave birth toThis story is the evolution of those stories merged with my experiences in high school and in Sykesville. I feel like I've been writing this book in my head since I was six years old, and I'm happy to share this story with the world."Karen Eisenbrey, author ofand the forthcomingsaid, "Bijou's story, like Buffy's before her, applies a magnifier of myth and magic to typical adolescent issues of identity, belonging, and empowerment. Author Kromah widens the folklore scope to include African (specifically, Liberian) sources, enriching material that may be familiar to some readers and new to others.""Hauntingly captivating,"wrote YALMC (Young Adult Literature Media and Culture Research Network). "is part of the changing face of YA fantasy, one you definitely don't want to miss."is obsessed with books and is opening a female-run library cafe in Liberia. She can usually be found with her head in a book or writing on http://www.projgirlspire.com . You can find her online just about anywhere at @SangWrites.is available in all formats on Amazon.The French government recently ended its funding to Jewish French Union for Peace (UJFP), a radical anti-Israel, and some say anti-Semitic, organization.



NGO Monitor, a watchdog that monitors non-governmental organization that operate against Israel, in October found that UJFP was receiving funding from the French government for a project against racism, a project called A Jewish Word Against Racism: Producing Tools-Public Meetings.



Abusing their government funds, UJFP published a book demonizing Israel and making false accusations against Israel and France. They also produced video clips that compare Zionism to Nazism and alleging that Zionism is anti-Semitic.

Those funds should be going to ensuring public security in France, not for hatemongers. And it's just like such freaks to make bizarre claims that Zionism is this and that, and distort virtually everything it stands for, which is Israeli patriotism. How is it so hard to figure that out?It's time to cease all funding to such monstrous organizations entirely.

Labels: anti-semitism, dhimmitude, France, islam, Israel, jihad, Moonbattery, political corruption, racism, war on terrorSTAINES-UPON-THAMES, United Kingdom, Feb. 23, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Mallinckrodt plc (NYSE: MNK), a leading global specialty pharmaceutical company, today announced the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted its New Drug Application (NDA) seeking approval of its recently acquired developmental product stannsoporfin. If approved, the drug is expected to become the first and only pharmacologic option in the U.S. indicated for treatment of neonates at risk for developing severe hyperbilirubinemia, or severe jaundice.

Under the Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA), the FDA has set its action date to respond to the NDA as August 22, 2018. The agency previously granted its Fast Track status to stannsoporfin. The Fast Track designation is a process designed to facilitate the development, and expedite the review of drugs to treat serious conditions and fill an unmet medical need1.

"We are pleased the FDA has accepted our application," said Steve Romano, M.D., Chief Scientific Officer and Executive Vice President of Mallinckrodt. "We look forward to working with the agency in the coming months on the potential approval of stannsoporfin as a new treatment option for thousands of infants at risk for developing severe jaundice who have an unmet medical need."

ABOUT SEVERE HYPERBILIRUBINEMIA AND STANNSOPORFIN

Neonatal jaundice is a common condition in neonates that is associated with the yellowing of the skin and the whites of the eyes, typically in the first few days after birth. In most cases, it does not require treatment; however, elevated bilirubin levels in the blood (hyperbilirubinemia) can be toxic and may potentially lead to neurologic complications, including encephalopathy or irreversible brain damage. Currently, phototherapy is used to help the body clear bilirubin and bring levels down.

Stannsoporfin is a heme oxygenase inhibitor under investigation for its potential to reduce the production of bilirubin in infants at risk for severe neonatal jaundice. The safety and effectiveness of stannsoporfin have not yet been established by the FDA.

ABOUT MALLINCKRODT

Mallinckrodt is a global business that develops, manufactures, markets and distributes specialty pharmaceutical products and therapies. Areas of focus include autoimmune and rare diseases in specialty areas like neurology, rheumatology, nephrology, pulmonology and ophthalmology; immunotherapy and neonatal respiratory critical care therapies; analgesics and gastrointestinal products. The company's core strengths include the acquisition and management of highly regulated raw materials and specialized chemistry, formulation and manufacturing capabilities. The company's Specialty Brands segment includes branded medicines and its Specialty Generics segment includes specialty generic drugs, active pharmaceutical ingredients and external manufacturing. To learn more about Mallinckrodt, visit www.mallinckrodt.com.

Mallinckrodt uses its website as a channel of distribution of important company information, such as press releases, investor presentations and other financial information. It also uses its website to expedite public access to time-critical information regarding the company in advance of or in lieu of distributing a press release or a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) disclosing the same information. Therefore, investors should look to the Investor Relations page of the website for important and time-critical information. Visitors to the website can also register to receive automatic e-mail and other notifications alerting them when new information is made available on the Investor Relations page of the website.

CAUTIONARY STATEMENTS RELATED TO FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This release includes forward-looking statements concerning stannsoporfin including expectations with regard to future regulatory actions and potential impact on patients. The statements are based on assumptions about many important factors, including the following, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements: satisfaction of regulatory and other requirements; actions of regulatory bodies and other governmental authorities; changes in laws and regulations; issues with product quality, manufacturing or supply, or patient safety issues; future commercialization efforts; and other risks identified and described in more detail in the "Risk Factors" section of Mallinckrodt's most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and other filings with the SEC, all of which are available on its website. The forward-looking statements made herein speak only as of the date hereof and Mallinckrodt does not assume any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events and developments or otherwise, except as required by law.

CONTACTS

Media

Rhonda Sciarra

Senior Communications Manager

908-238-6765

[email protected]

Meredith Fischer

Chief Public Affairs Officer

314-654-3318

[email protected]

Investor Relations

Coleman N. Lannum, CFA

Senior Vice President, Investor Strategy and IRO

314-654-6649

[email protected]

Daniel J. Speciale, CPA

Director, Investor Relations

314-654-3638

[email protected]

SOURCE Mallinckrodt plc

Related Links

http://www.mallinckrodt.com

ATLANTA, Feb. 23, 2018 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A recent study by the ADA Health Policy Institute found two out of three Georgians feel good about the overall condition of their mouth and teeth. Progress is being made, particularly among children. Programs put in place by the Georgia Dental Association are contributing to closing the gap among oral health disparities. Key findings site how adults in Georgia view their oral health in the areas of day-to-day function and well-being, appearance, attitudes toward oral health/dental care and reasons for not visiting a dentist more frequently. Read the full report.

"Oral health has a far greater impact than most people realize. The appearance of a person's mouth and teeth affects their confidence, self-esteem, ability to get a job and even their quality of life," says Georgia Dental Association Executive Director Frank J. Capaldo. "Education is key. Failure to have regular dental checkups and maintain good oral hygiene can have health consequences that extend far beyond the teeth and mouth. Poor oral health has been linked to diabetes, heart disease and stroke."

Member dentists of the Georgia Dental Association were recognized by the Georgia House of Representatives for removing barriers that prevent people in their communities from accessing dental care and in educating the public on the benefits of proper oral hygiene. House Resolution 1060 by State Representatives Matt Hatchett (R-Dublin), Lee Hawkins (R-Gainesville), Sharon Cooper (R-Marietta), Beth Beskin (R-Atlanta) and John Burns (R-Newington) commended dentists of the Georgia Dental Association for "their long-standing commitment and dedication to promoting the oral health of all Georgia's citizens and for protecting the safety of their patients."

The Georgia Dental Association has been leading the way with diverse, creative solutions to addressing barriers to care through initiatives outlined in its Georgia's Action for Dental Health plan. Initiatives include:

Placing more dentists in rural communities- The association successfully advocated for a student loan repayment program in the state budget, making it possible for an additional 12 dentists to practice in Georgia's rural areas. View map.

The association successfully advocated for a student loan repayment program in the state budget, making it possible for an additional 12 dentists to practice in rural areas. View map. Delivering charitable care through Mission of Mercy clinics -Since 2011, the Georgia Dental Association and its foundation have hosted three Georgia Mission of Mercy clinics, providing over 32,000 procedures and $5.1 million in donated care. View impact infographic.

-Since 2011, the Georgia Dental Association and its foundation have hosted three Georgia Mission of Mercy clinics, providing over 32,000 procedures and in donated care. View impact infographic. Establishing a statewide program to treat elderly and medically fragile patients at no cost- Established is 2016, the Donated Dental Services program provides free, comprehensive dental treatment and labs for Georgia adults with disabilities or who are elderly or medically fragile.

Established is 2016, the Donated Dental Services program provides free, comprehensive dental treatment and labs for adults with disabilities or who are elderly or medically fragile. Providing donated dental care for children and the special needs community- In conjunction with Children's Dental Health Month, Georgia Dental Association member dentists provide in excess of $100,000 of donated dental care and services each February to underserved children in the state. Member dentists also provide free dental health services at the Georgia Special Olympics Summer Games and Master Bowling Tournament.

In conjunction with Children's Dental Health Month, Georgia Dental Association member dentists provide in excess of of donated dental care and services each February to underserved children in the state. Member dentists also provide free dental health services at the Georgia Special Olympics Summer Games and Master Bowling Tournament. Volunteering in free and charitable dental clinics-Dentists in Georgia consistently provide millions of dollars in donated care to underserved and low-income patients by volunteering in free and charitable dental clinics throughout the state and through free treatment given in their offices.

Georgia's Action for Dental Health initiatives reach every person in Georgia. The most visible component of the program is an educational campaign titled "Because I Saw My Dentist," which promotes the importance of good oral health and motivates consumers to see their dentist regularly for better overall health. The campaign profiles real Georgians telling their stories of how finding a dental home and seeing a dentist changed their lives dramatically. To view the stories and find a dentist near you, visit www.becauseisawmydentist.com.

About the Georgia Dental Association

The Georgia Dental Association (GDA) is the state's largest dental association, representing more than 3,400 dentist members. The premier source of oral health information in Georgia, the GDA has promoted the highest standards of dentistry through education, advocacy and professionalism since 1859. A constituent of the American Dental Association, the GDA is based in Atlanta.

SOURCE Georgia Dental Association

Related Links

http://www.gadental.org

Strategic growth initiatives underway; group operating profit up 7.7% on first half of FY2017

Group operating cash flow up 13.1% to AUD 19.9 million ( USD 15.5 million )

Strong balance sheet and stable outlook supported by cash balance increase of 5.3%

Investment in strategic growth already deployed in key Middle East and European markets

Confirmed interim dividend of AUD 0.13/share ( USD 0.10 /share)

Servcorp Limited ("Servcorp"), a pioneer and innovator in serviced offices, virtual offices and co-working environments, has announced its interim financial results for the six months ended 31 December 2017. At the end of the last period (1 July 2017 to 31 December 2017), Servcorp's operating cash flows increased by 13.1% over the same period in 2016 to reach AUD 19.9 million (USD 15.5 million), with a strong balance sheet and stable outlook supported by a cash balance increase of 5.3% since 30 June 2017.

(Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/645838/Servcorp_Taine_Moufarrige.jpg )



Servcorp's operations in the Middle East and Europe delivered combined revenues of AUD 38.8 million (USD 30.2 million), while Servcorp's revenue was AUD 153.3 million (USD 122.2 million), with net profit before tax of AUD 19.2 million (USD 15.0 million). An interim dividend payment of AUD 0.13/share (USD 0.10/share) was also confirmed.

On announcing its interim financial results, Servcorp's management highlighted a set of significant strategic initiatives that are underway, and will be key future growth drivers. Expansion of operations to enable accelerated growth in target markets in Europe, the Middle East and India are already progressing, along with further enhancements to Servcorp's unified global IT platform.

Taine Moufarrige, Executive Director at Servcorp, commented:

"Our objective is to cater to businesses that want to be successful at all stages of growth, providing both an office infrastructure and business community in which they can flourish. Our business model is purpose-built to deliver on this objective, and we are confident that it will continue to perform. With stronger sales in the Middle East and Europe to date in the current quarter, we expect this geography to deliver a strong second half."

The recent rapid growth in the global market for shared office space has seen the Company commit to invest AUD 20 million (USD 15.6 million) in its co-working offering, successfully pivoting both office design and customer experience towards this high-growth segment. This investment has already seen Servcorp open new co-working spaces globally, including in London and in Middle Eastern markets including Abu Dhabi, Beirut and Jeddah, and is expected to be fully deployed with the launch of new workspaces by the end of calendar year 2018.

Servcorp's programme for enhancing floor design and customer experience across its existing office footprint has shown encouraging early results and will continue during the remainder of the 2018 calendar year. In parallel, the company has invested in unlocking more of the value inherent in its technology platform. Servcorp, which is headquartered in Sydney and listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX:SRV), is a global company employing 850 staff and servicing 35,000 members in 53 cities across 23 countries.

The Company reports its financial results in Australian dollars, with US dollar values for the reporting period ended 31 December 2017 converted using average rates for the same period. Rates are as issued by the Reserve Bank of Australia.

Notes to Editors

About Servcorp Group

Founded in Australia in 1978 by Alf Moufarrige, Servcorp has grown from a quarter-floor in Sydney's MLC Centre into a global brand employing 850 staff, servicing 35,000 members in 53 cities across 23 countries. With a 40-year track record, the business is widely regarded as both a pioneer and innovator in serviced offices, shared workspaces and co-working environments.

Servcorp provides members with access to premium addresses in the world's major cities, cutting-edge IT technology solutions and excellent services. The Company's core products are Serviced Offices, Virtual Offices and Co-Working spaces. These products are all supported by a proprietary IT infrastructure that includes global call forwarding, high-speed internet, dedicated receptionist services and 24/7 voicemail to email. Servcorp Membership provides global access to meeting rooms, day offices, co-working lounges, bilingual secretaries and connectivity with 35,000 community members.

The Company is currently focused on growing its co-working offer, with new designs and fit-outs for workspaces supported by sophisticated online and digital services. Listed on the Australian Securities Exchange since 1999 (ASX:SRV), Servcorp continues to give entrepreneurs and larger corporates access to the resources of a big business without the fixed liabilities.

The Servcorp group has been on a strong financial growth trajectory since its foundation and continues to deliver superior returns. Its outstanding intellectual property, developed over four decades, and a diversified income stream has made Servcorp resilient to market fluctuations and well-positioned to leverage the next phase of growth in the shared workspace market.

For further information, please contact:



George Allen

Instinctif Partners

+971-5660-96749

[email protected]



SOURCE Servcorp LimitedPORTLAND, Ore., Feb. 25, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Mobile World Congress, Barcelona, Spain -- Streem, a technology company connecting home service professionals to their customers through on-demand intelligent video, today announced advanced augmented reality (AR) features built upon Google's just-released ARCore. The new capabilities unveiled today at the world's largest gathering of the mobile industry, Mobile World Congress, will also be highlighted by Google in their launch of ARCore.

Targeting the $400 billion home services industry, Streem has created a mobile platform that uses a combination of augmented reality and machine learning to make it faster and increasingly convenient for home service professionals to diagnose, quote, perform, and support work  from repairs to system installations to home remodels. Today, ARCore is supported on over 100 million Android devices.

"We're using ARCore to power unprecedented real-world utility for business," said Ryan Fink, CEO and co-founder of Streem. "Streem is a practical use of AR to help home service pros from handymen to plumbers to contractors quote and get the right jobs, do and support the work, and ultimately get more out of their business. Despite being breakthrough technology, the user experience remains familiar and straightforward.

Using ARCore, Streem now captures rich 3D data about the real world and can anchor AR items in that space. Specifically, new features include:

StreemShots : The app can capture and store a high-resolution photograph during a video collaboration session and that photograph will contain full 3D data of the physical space; for the first time, that data can be used to take measurements remotely, as well as to find angles, markup the photo with annotations, and share with a customer or crew.

: The app can capture and store a high-resolution photograph during a video collaboration session and that photograph will contain full 3D data of the physical space; for the first time, that data can be used to take measurements remotely, as well as to find angles, markup the photo with annotations, and share with a customer or crew. 3D Arrows: A 3-dimensional arrow that anchors to any point in the environment, determined by the pro, pointing in a specific direction, and stays positioned regardless of movement of the phone viewing it  allowing the home pro to reach out and point.

A 3-dimensional arrow that anchors to any point in the environment, determined by the pro, pointing in a specific direction, and stays positioned regardless of movement of the phone viewing it  allowing the home pro to reach out and point. On-site Measurements & AR (recorded): Using the available 3D data when on-site, a pro can take measurements, find angels, and markup the site to be stored or later shared.

These features highlight an important way Streem stands alone as a novel AR approach. Most AR apps are "first-person" and local, meaning a user enjoys a personal AR experience rendered in the same room. Streem is one of the first companies to develop this shared, remote AR experience. From virtually any location, a Streem pro app user can utilize rich information captured by an on-site user, and remotely drive the AR experience.

See how the app is used to quote a project, do the work and support a customer here.

Streem, for homeowners is free, and Streem Pro, for the home service professional, is available for a free trial and can be download from Google Play Store here. Homeowners are invited to the consumer app by a professional, or may sign up for more information at www.streem.pro.

About Streem

Streem is a technology company that enhances real-time communication and collaboration through intelligent, on-demand video streaming. The platform delivers a combination of augmented reality (AR), computer vision and machine learning. It equips users with the ability to capture crucial information such as brand model and serial numbers, take measurements, and save notes through the platform's unique digital toolbox and to record and capture images and information through HD video. With Streem, home service professionals are able to enhance productivity and eliminate time spent traveling to and from job sites. For more information, please visit https://www.streem.pro/

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AMMAN, Jordan, Feb. 25, 2018 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Tourism Cares and the Jordan Tourism Board have launched the first ever Meaningful Travel Map of Jordan, researching and documenting twelve experiences that are at once powerful and positive for both travelers and communities.

The map, released following 2017's International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development, addresses two overlapping trends for tourism today: demand from travelers for authentic, sustainable experiences that make a difference, and the need to use the power of travel to help people and places thrive.

The Meaningful Travel Map of Jordan was released as part of the Tourism Cares with Jordan delegation, a group of 70 leaders from the North American travel industry committed to exploring travel's potential to drive social impact through tourism.

Each of the twelve experiences is offered by a nonprofit organization or social enterprise that, in addition to providing a quality cultural experience for travelers, also has a program for directly benefiting a disadvantaged population.

"Any trip to Jordan wouldn't be complete without a visit to Petra and Wadi Rum  and one or two of these enterprises that offer a unique insight into the spirit and people of Jordan," said Ms. Lina Annab, Jordan's Minister of Tourism & Antiquities. "Our people and communities have as much to offer as our heritage, and the good news is that you don't have to choose. You can make a special difference just by coming."

The Meaningful Travel Map of Jordan is distinctive for two reasons: the extensive due diligence and research behind each of the twelve listings, which is made available to travelers; and being designed explicitly as a resource for both travelers and the travel industry. These quality experiences will benefit from increased visibility and visitation, creating a win-win-win for travelers, company and community.

"The very act of travel can be a force for good and these experiences are really about connecting people: travelers who are exploring Jordan and the dynamic local leaders who are moving these communities forward," said Derek Hydon, chairman of the Tourism Cares Board of Directors.

The map may be accessed at www.GoLocalJordan.com with contact information and profiles available for each, including for download.

The Tourism Cares with Jordan project is made possible by the TRIP Foundation, Trip Mate, The Travel Corporation, American Society of Travel Agents, Marriott hotels of Jordan, the Bob Whitley Memorial Fund and the Jordan Tourism Board.

About Tourism Cares: Tourism Cares, Inc., a US 501(c)(3) public charity, maximizes travel's potential to be a global force for good by leveraging the care that travelers and the industry feel for the places we love. We unite the travel industry to make a greater impact on shared priorities, and to help each company fulfill its giving goals. Together, with leading travel and tourism companies and associations, we make a greater difference on three issues: helping destinations in need, supporting our workforce, and improving our corporate social responsibility. Learn more at www.TourismCares.org and @TourismCares.

About the Jordan Tourism Board-North America: The JTB was officially launched in March 1998 as an independent, public-private sector partnership committed to utilizing marketing strategies to brand, position and promote the Jordan tourism product as the destination of choice within international markets. The adopted strategies are tuned to reflect the true image of the Jordan tourism product, being a cultural, natural, religious, adventurous, leisure and MICE destination. The JTB has eleven offices in Europe and North America.

PHOTOS AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST

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WASHINGTON -- It's been more than a year since Donald Trump held his one and only full-fledged news conference as president. White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders emerges occasionally to not-answer questions. It is past time, though, to hear from the president himself, at length -- not just answering a few shouted questions or taking a few queries at a joint event with a foreign leader.

Exhibit A: Friday's exasperating session with Australian prime minister Malcolm Turnbull, at which Trump took two questions, both from friendly news outlets, neither of whom asked about the investigation by special counsel Robert S. Mueller III even though Trump's former deputy campaign manager was entering a guilty plea at that very time.

Here is a partial list of questions in the unlikely event Trump chooses to submit to a real news conference:

Mr. President, you said the Mueller indictment shows there was no collusion. But the indictment alleges that Russia intervened with the intent of helping you get elected. Do you agree with that assessment? What is your basis for saying Russia's actions had no effect on the outcome?

You said last November about Russian President Vladimir Putin: "Every time he sees me he says, 'I didn't do that,' and I really believe that when he tells me that, he means it." Is that still your position? If so, why do you believe Putin? Why did you believe him previously?

Please outline what steps you have taken to prevent Russia from repeating in 2018 or 2020 what it did in 2016. What meetings have you held on this subject with your intelligence chiefs or national security council?

Last year, you tried to convince Congress not to enact new sanctions on Russia over its election interference. Recently, you declined to identify new targets of sanctions. In light of the Mueller indictment, what do you say to critics who believe you have been too soft on Russia?

In the aftermath of the most recent indictments, you expressed anger at various people and institutions -- the FBI, Democrats and President Obama, among others. But you do not seem angry at Russia -- at least judging from your public statements. Can you explain?

Last weekend you tweeted that "the FBI missed all of the many signals sent out by the Florida school shooter" and suggested this was because "they are spending too much time trying to prove Russian collusion with the Trump campaign." Do you really believe the two are related? How would you feel about that tweet if you were one of the victims' parents?

Given the latest indictments, would you still describe the Mueller investigation as "the single greatest witch hunt in American history"? Why?

When did you become aware that former national security adviser Michael Flynn had spoken to former Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak about lifting sanctions? When did you become aware that Flynn had lied to the FBI about those conversations? What did you do in response? Why did you describe Flynn as a "good guy" and ask FBI director James Comey to "let this go," referring to the investigation of Flynn?

Please outline what role you played in drafting your son Donald Trump Jr.'s statement about the June Trump Tower meeting? Did you say that the statement should describe the meeting as being "primarily" about adoption? What was your basis for saying that? When did you become aware of the meeting?

Do you believe it is appropriate for your EPA administrator, Scott Pruitt, to fly first-class at taxpayers' expense?

Do you believe that your Veterans Administration secretary, David Shulkin, should resign after an inspector general investigation found that he went on a 10-day junket to Copenhagen and London, including taking free Wimbledon tickets?

Was it appropriate for Rob Porter to remain on the White House staff after officials there learned about allegations that he abused his former wives? If not, why was no action taken against him until the information became public? Why did you say you hope that Porter "has a great career ahead of him"? Why did it take you nine days to speak out against domestic abuse?

Without delving into details of your personal life, did you know that your lawyer, Michael Cohen, arranged for the payment of $130,000 to Stormy Daniels to prevent her from speaking publicly about her assertion that she had an affair with you? When did you become aware of that payment? Did you approve it? Was it proper? Did any of the money come from you? If not, what do you know about where it came from?

You said during the campaign that all the women who accused you of harassing or assaulting them were liars and would be sued. Do you still claim they were lying? Where are the lawsuits?

Are your taxes still being audited?

Mr. President, we have a lot of other questions on issues of substance, from the deficits that the United States faces as a result of new tax cuts and spending increases to your policies on guns.

Your predecessors regularly made themselves available for news conferences. Will you come back?

(c) 2018, Washington Post Writers GroupGot some scoop for our reporters or editors? Click on the link below to send us your information.

Send your newsVideo games and HPV vaccinations are not typically thought of as having any relation to one another. However, Dr. Gabrielle Darville of the UnSTRATFORD  Boston Market on Barnum Avenue re-opened Sunday morning after a car crashed through one of the restaurants walls on Saturday afternoon.

A Boston Market spokesperson said a vehicle crashed into the building at about 11:30 a.m. Saturday, narrowly missing some of the stores employees.GOSHEN  Two lawmakers better understand the needs of small-town agriculture after a tour of a local farm last week, they said.

Clint Thorn, owner of Thorncrest Farm & Milk House Chocolates, on Friday guided U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy and U.S. Rep. Elizabeth Esty, both Democrats, through the barn, where cows were eating and sleeping peacefully, unconcerned with the visitors, and into the chocolate house.

Thorns farm has been in his family since 1968  he is the second generation to run it. When it started, there were 23 dairy farms in town. Now, theres one  Thorncrest Farm.

Thorn said he hoped the legislators would take away an understanding of farming in Connecticut and New England, including the importance of preserving land for farming and the government programs that support agriculture.

Murphy and Esty are preparing for the creation of the 2018 Farm Bill, which will guide agricultural and food policy in the United States.

This is an amazing operation that brings people to Connecticut from all over the Northeast, all over the country, said Murphy. Its a real Connecticut treasure.

The price of dairy products has dipped dramatically in recent years in the face of foreign competition, Murphy said  a catastrophe for smaller farmers.

Murphy said efforts to support prices were included in the latest budget approved by Congress, and that if it was up to him, the Farm Bill would rewrite the dairy subsidy program.

Its an insurance program at this point, he said  farmers are asked to buy a policy that pays off if dairy prices dip below a certain point. But the premiums are high enough that it is little-used in Connecticut, he said.

Thorn said milk is the key to the farm, even if they do not produce commercial, fluid milk as their end product. He said the price of milk had increased since the 1990s, but not enough to keep up with the rising cost of health insurance and grain.

Its actually insane  its really insane. I give credit to those farms... how they can exist. Those guys are thrifty, hard-working people to keep that alive, said Thorn of dairy farms.

Land is at a premium in Connecticut, Murphy said  the aim is to create a balance between land and farmland preservation. The number of farmers has increased, but there is not more property to use  without a family legacy, its hard to start a farm and make it work, he said.

Murphy said he would take away a story to share in Washington about the virtues of small-scale, sustainable agriculture.

We have to build a case to help support smaller-scale farming in the Farm Bill, and one of the reasons to do that is because of the care that they take with the land and with the environment, said Murphy. Being able to tell the story personally will help.

Thorn said that he and his wife, Kimberly, put a special emphasis on making their farm more sustainable around 1984, when she suggested making chocolates.

You could see right away that whats good for the cow is good for the people, is good for the earth, said Thorn.

As an example, Thorn said they do not put down manure when the ground is frozen, preventing nitrates and phosphates from flowing into the water system when it rains.

Every farmers job is not to use the land while were here, but to preserve it for the next generation produce food, said Thorn. Its really important to not just be a farmer, but to make sure youre taking care of it in a way that its there.

Esty said her visit was a chance to see how the extraordinary small business and farm was doing, and prepare for the Farm Bill.

Its really important for Chris and for me to understand how those proposals that go on on a massive scale in Washington, for the whole country  what kind of impact is it going to have on the Thorncrest Farm? What kind of impact is it going to have on Kim and Clint? Esty said.

She said she would take away a sense of the farms success  the chocolate shop was busy on a rainy Friday afternoon, which was good, she said with a laugh  and the challenges faced by small farmers.

Thorn had noted the issue of preserving land for sustainable farming in Connecticut in the long term, she said  something that can be worked on, both by bringing together state actors and at the federal level.

Passion and commitment are really important, but good policys important too, said Esty. And so we cant be making good policy for these folks unless we know the challenges theyre facing.

Thorn said a combination of the past, the present - in the form of the land and the animals - and the opportunity that has come with the chocolate-making business has kept him on the farm, he said.

Theres a certain amount of responsibility when youre the last of anything to keep it going, but we also, because of the chocolate, the artisanal chocolate, its more of a dream, its a lifestyle, more than it is a business, said Thorn. Its nice to work with living animals, plants, the land.

He said he would like to pass it down to his children and remain a presence in Goshen for those that venture there.

Id like to see it continue and go to the next generation, and keep enhancing peoples lives  anyone who comes here, said Thorn.9-11 anniversary honored Several ceremonies were held Saturday in Lapeer County to commemorate the 20th anniversary of Sept. 11, 2001.

Lawsuit dismissed, marijuana stays on ballot LAPEER  Voters in the city of Lapeer will still decide a Nov. 2 ballot proposal that will ask them if they want to prohibit...The Afghan Interior Ministry says a former lawmaker and his bodyguard were gunned down in the capital, Kabul.

Interior Ministry spokesman Najib Danish said Rafiullah Gul Afghan and his bodyguard were shot dead late February 24 when gunmen opened fire on their vehicle in the northern Kabul neighborhood of Khair Khana.

Danish said the attackers escaped the scene of the crime and an investigation had been launched into the killings.

Afghan had served as deputy speaker for the upper house of parliament and most recently was an adviser to Afghan Chief Executive Officer Abdullah Abdullah.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.

Based on reporting by AP and Khaama

U.S. Democrats have released a redacted memo challenging Republican claims that the FBI abused government surveillance powers in its investigation of Russia election meddling, a document President Donald Trump had previously blocked in its full form.

The House Democrats document, released on February 24, attempted to counter claims made in a previous Republican-written memo and focused on longstanding FBI concerns about a Trump campaign aide's links to Russia.

Democrats wrote that the FBI and Justice Department (DOJ) did not abuse procedures, omit material information or subvert government regulations in requesting court permission to conduct surveillance on a member of the Trump campaign team.

Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee released their memo on February 2 that accused the two law-enforcement organizations of being biased against Trump and of hiding information as part of the investigation into Russian meddling in U.S. politics and any links to the Trump team.

The Republican memo alleged that the FBI and DOJ inappropriately applied for permission to conduct surveillance of Trump campaign aide Carter Page, who had extensive Russian contacts.

Democrats said the memo was a selectively edited set of Republican talking points aimed at distracting attention from the committee's own investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.

They attempted to release a rebuttal memo, but it was block by the Trump administration, which said it contained "numerous properly classified and especially sensitive passages."

The Democrats then removed some portions of the memo and released it after negotiations with the FBI.

The new memo alleges that Page was targeted for recruitment in 2013 by two Russians who had been indicted by the U.S. government.

That information, it says, was used by U.S. law enforcement to gain four judges permission to conduct surveillance against Page, and not an unverified dossier partially paid for by Democrats, as Republicans claimed.

"The FBI had ample reason to believe that Carter Page was acting as an agent of a foreign power based on his history, including the fact that he had previously been a target of Russian recruitment, his travel to Russia and other information," said Adam Schiff,the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, which produced the new memo.

Page has denied any wrongdoing, and Trump has repeatedly said he has done nothing wrong in his dealings with Russia.

Trump dismissed the Democrats' memo with a Twitter posting later on February 24 saying, it was "a total political and legal BUST."

"Just confirms all of the terrible things that were done. SO ILLEGAL!" he wrote.

At least five people -- including three former Trump aides -- have pleaded guilty in special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian meddling, although charges have been financially related and do not directly allege collusion with Russia.

Thirteen Russians and three Russian companies have also been indicted in the probe.

With reporting by AP and AFPIran has arrested three more environmentalists on spying charges, the country's powerful judiciary has said.

The arrests on February 25 came weeks after a wave of detentions and the death of a well-known Iranian-Canadian environmentalist who died in Iranian custody.

Judiciary spokesman Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, quoted by the semi-official Fars news agency, said on February 25 that three people were recently arrested in the southern province of Hormozgan.

"There is no doubt that infiltration by the United States and Israel is a serious matter," the spokesman said, without offering further details on the arrests.

Iranian officials have said the activists who have been arrested were gathering sensitive information under the guise of scientific and environmental activities on behalf of the CIA and Israel's Mossad.

The arrests come after the death of Kavous Seyed-Emami, the Iranian-Canadian managing director of the Persian Wildlife Heritage Foundation and a lecturer in sociology in Tehran, who was arrested on January 24 and died in prison two weeks later.

The judiciary said Seyed-Emami, 63, had committed suicide.

The Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI), a non-profit organization based in New York, said at least nine other members of Seyed-Emami's organization had been arrested on the same day as him.

Seyed-Emami's death along with other inmate "suicides" have sparked a government probe and fueled tension between Iran's dominant hard-line institutions and its president, a relative moderate.

Former Intelligence Minister Ali Yunesi, an advisor to Rohani, criticized the handling of Seyed-Emami's case and suggested the public did not believe the official explanation for his death.

"Given the events that have occurred, if a competent and legal agency does not intervene and doesn't give its opinion on the dead individual or those under arrest, public opinion will not believe they are spies even if they are convicted," he said in an interview with the daily Iran newspaper published on February 25.

Yunesi, who was a minister under reformist President Mohammad Khatami, said the case should be handed to the Intelligence Ministry.

Seyed-Emami's case is said to have been handled by Iran's powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), which runs an intelligence service that is separate from the government's Intelligence Ministry.

Human rights activists have reported that at least six detainees have died in prisons in the last two months in Iran. The judiciary has confirmed three deaths in custody but said all three were suicides.

With reporting by Fars and ReutersAn Iraqi court has sentenced 15 Turkish women to death after finding them guilty of joining the Islamic State (IS) militant group.

The criminal court on February 25 also sentenced another Turkish woman to life for joining the group.

Judge Abdul-Sattar al-Birqdar said the court issued the sentences "after it was proven they belong to the [IS] terrorist group and after they confessed to marrying [IS] elements or providing members of the group with logistical aid or helping them carry out terrorist attacks."

Iraq has detained at least 560 women and 600 children identified as militants or relatives of IS fighters.

In January, a court sentenced a German woman to death on charges of providing logistical support to IS militants, and a Turkish woman was, earlier in February, also handed the death penalty.

Human Rights Watch denounced the rulings as "unfair."

The Iraqi government declared military victory over IS militants in December, after expelling the group from all major urban centers they had held in northern and western Iraq since 2014.

Based on reporting by AFP and ReutersEuropean Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker has urged Macedonia to resolve a long-standing name dispute with neighboring Greece so the country can open membership talks with the European Union.

Juncker arrived in the Macedonian capital, Skopje, on February 25 in the first stop of a Western Balkan tour intended to promote the EU's new strategy for the region.

Juncker, speaking alongside Macedonian Prime Minister Zoran Zaev, praised Skopje's "pace of reforms" and said the former Yugoslav republic was "on the right track."

Juncker praised Macedonia for concluding a friendship treaty with neighboring Bulgaria and the recent progress Greece and Macedonia have made to settle their differences over the name of Macedonia.

Greece objects to the former Yugoslav republic's use of the name Macedonia, which Athens says could imply territorial claims over its own northern region of the same name.

Macedonia has said it is ready to add a geographical qualifier to its name to help resolve the dispute. An agreement could include Macedonia adding "Upper," "New," or "North" to its name.

As a goodwill gesture to Greece, Macedonia is changing the name of its main airport, Skopje Alexander the Great Airport, to Skopje International Airport and the airport operator has started removing the lettering.

"If you continue with the reforms for a few more months from now, you will allow the [European] Commission to address to the [European] Council an invitation to start [EU] accession negotiations," Juncker said.

After his visit to Macedonia, Juncker will make stops in Albania, Serbia, Kosovo, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and Montenegro.

Among the six countries, the commission considers Serbia and Montenegro as current front-runners toward accession and the new strategy says they could be allowed in by 2025 if they meet all the conditions.

The EU has insisted that the six countries still have many obstacles to overcome before joining the bloc, including regarding corruption, the rule of law, and relations with their neighbors.

EU member states Croatia and Slovenia are still locked in a border dispute stemming from the breakup of Yugoslavia in the 1990s.

Junckers tour of the Western Balkans comes after Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov traveled to Belgrade this week for a two-day visit aimed at bolstering long-standing ties with Serbia.

During the visit, Lavrov welcomed Serbias drive to join the EU, but also vowed that Moscow would remain engaged with the Balkan country no matter what happens.

Although Serbia is seeking to join the EU, it continues to nurture close ties with Moscow and has said it will not join the EU's economic sanctions against Russia over its aggression in Ukraine.

With reporting by APEuropean Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker praised the Macedonian government's reform efforts during his February 25 visit to the country. "You are on the right track," the top EU official said at a joint news conference with Macedonian Prime Minister Zoran Zaev in Skopje, adding: "If you continue with the reforms for a few more months from now, you will allow the [European] Commission to address to the [European] Council an invitation to start [EU] accession negotiations." (RFE/RL's Balkan Service)Iran said that attacks on "terrorists" outside Damascus would continue but that Tehran and the Syrian government would respect a 30-day United Nations cease-fire elsewhere in Syria.

Irans announcement came as Turkey said the cease-fire would not affect its military offensive in the Kurdish-held enclave of Afrin in northern Syria.

The Iranian army's chief of staff, General Mohammad Baqeri, was quoted by the semi-official Tasnim news agency as saying on February 25 that Iran and Syria would adhere to the cease-fire resolution passed a day earlier by the UN Security Council.

"Parts of the suburbs of Damascus, which are held by the terrorists, are not covered by the cease-fire, and clean-up [operations] will continue there," Tasnim quoted Baqeri as saying.

Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdag said in televised comments on February 25 that the cease-fire would not have "any affect on the operation that Turkey is pursuing" in Afrin and Ankara would continue to pursue "terrorists."

Turkey considers the Syrian Kurdish militia, the People's Protection Units (YPG) that controls Afrin, a terrorist group and an extension of the banned Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in Turkey.

Turkey last month launched an air-and-land military operation in Afrin.

The YPG said it was prepared to respect the cease-fire "while reserving the right to retaliate... in case of any aggression by the Turkish army."

The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said government forces carried out fresh air strikes on the rebel enclave of eastern Ghouta in Damascus on February 25. It said at least seven civilians were killed and several dozen wounded.

The monitoring group, which said the bombing on February 25 was less intense than attacks over the past week, added that the clashes had killed 13 pro-regime combatants and six fighters from the rebel Jaish al-Islam (Army of Islam) group.

The Russian Foreign Ministry on February 25 called on anti-regime forces in Syria to adhere to the cease-fire.

"We count upon foreign patrons of anti-government militant groups...to ensure that their charges stop combat activities in the interests of the quickest and safe transit of humanitarian convoys," the ministry said in a statement.

"We will watch this closely," it added.

French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel spoke by telephone on February 25 with Russian leader Vladimir Putin about the implementation of the 30-day UN cease-fire in Syria, the Kremlin said.

The Kremlin said that the three leaders agreed to speed up their "exchange of information" concerning Syria and stressed "the importance of continuing common efforts in the interests of the full implementation of the resolution as soon as possible."

A German government spokesman, meanwhile, said that Merkel and Macron urged Putin to put "maximum" pressure on the Syrian government to halt the fighting in eastern Ghouta.

Macron's office said earlier that discussions will focus on the "implementation of this resolution and on the political road map needed to achieve lasting peace in Syria."

UN chief Antonio Guterres on February 24 called on all parties to implement the cease-fire immediately" and that it be sustained.



A UN spokesman quoted Guterres as saying an immediate truce was necessary particularly to ensure the immediate, safe, unimpeded, and sustained delivery of humanitarian aid and services, the evacuation of the critically sick and wounded and the alleviation of the suffering of the Syrian people."

According to activists, Syrian government forces have killed more than 500 civilians during a week of intense bombardment in eastern Ghouta.

Russia, along with Iran, has given Assad's government crucial support throughout the 7-year-old war in Syria, which began with a government crackdown on protests. Moscow helped turn the tide of the conflict in Assad's favor by a launching a campaign of air strikes in 2015 and stepping up its military presence on the ground.

There has been a growing outcry from Western capitals, the United Nations, and humanitarian groups over the situation in Ghouta, which Guterres has called "hell on Earth."

The UN says nearly 400,000 people live in the region, a pocket of satellite towns and farms under government siege for more than four years.

More than 2,400 people were said to have been injured there since government forces and their allies escalated their offensive on the Damascus suburb on February 18. Ten hospital and medical centers have reportedly been knocked out of service due to the bombardment.

U.S. President Donald Trump on February 23 accused Russia, Iran, and the Syrian government of being responsible for a "humanitarian disgrace" in Syria.

With reporting by AFP, AP, Reuters, dpa, Interfax, and TASS



In this latest episode of the Majlis podcast, we returned to northern provinces of Afghanistan that border Central Asia. Information about the presence of militants from the so-called Islamic State extremist group continues to be reported and it appears China is playing a greater role in the Afghan area near the Chinese border, which is also near the Tajik and Pakistani borders.

With the cast of players increasing in northern Afghanistan, Muhammad Tahir, RFE/RL's media-relations manager, moderated a discussion on the increasingly complicated landscape in the area.

Participating in the discussion was Michael Semple, a professor in the George Mitchell Institute for Global Peace, Security and Justice at Queen's University Belfast, and a person with decades of experience in Afghan affairs. From Vietnam, we were joined by Jacob Zenn, a fellow of African and Eurasian Affairs for the Jamestown Foundation and a consultant on countering violent extremism. And from Istanbul, Josh Kucera, a freelance writer and editor at EurasiaNet who specializes in international relations and military affairs, made his long-awaited debut on the Majlis (weve been trying to get him on for years). I had a few things to share also.

Listen to the podcast above or subscribe to the Majlis on iTunes.South Korea said on February 25 that North Korea is willing to hold talks with the United States.

The statement by South Korean President Moon Jae-in's office came hours after Pyongyang condemned the latest U.S. sanctions targeting its regime, accusing Washington of trying to hamper an improvement in ties with Seoul during the Winter Olympics.

Ahead of the February 25 closing ceremony of the Winter Olympics in South Korean city of Pyeongchang, Moon met with the North Korean Olympic delegation led by General Kim Yong Chol.

Kim said in the meeting that Pyongyang "has enough intention to hold a North Korea-U.S. dialogue," the Yonhap news agency reported.

During the closing ceremony, Kim sat behind sat behind U.S. presidential adviser and first daughter Ivanka Trump. The two did not appear to interact.

In a February 25 statement carried by North Korea's official KCNA news agency earlier in the day, the country's foreign minister denounced new sanctions imposed on North Korea days earlier by U.S. President Donald Trump's administration.

The punitive measures are aimed at pressuring Pyongyang over its nuclear and weapons programs.

"The two Koreas have cooperated together and the Olympics were held successfully," KCNA cited the North Korean Foreign Ministry as saying.

"But the U.S. brought the threat of war to the Korean Peninsula with large-scale new sanctions on the DPRK ahead of the [February 25] Olympics closing ceremony," KCNA said, using an acronym for the reclusive authoritarian state's official name.

The new U.S. sanctions target more than 50 shipping companies, vessels, and firms linked to North Korea.

The North Korean Foreign Ministry said that a blockade would be considered an "act of war," according to KCNA.

North Korea has frequently said it is prepared to conduct negotiations with Washington without preconditions, though the United States says Pyongyang must first undertake concrete actions toward denuclearization.

With reporting by Reuters, AP, and AFPRomanian director Adina Pintilies film Touch Me Not won the top prize at the Berlin Film Festival.

Touch Me Not, an experimental, sex-tinged docudrama, was awarded the Golden Bear prize on February 24, making her the second filmmaker from her country to ever win the top spot in Berlin.

The film was described as a confrontational and explicit exploration of sexuality and intimacy.

Pintilie, a 38-year-old first-time filmmaker, said the movie was intended to "invite you, the viewer, to dialogue" with its explicit depictions of sex, disability, and inhibitions.

Malgorzata Szumowskas Polish satire film, titled Mug, won the runner-up Grand Jury Prize.

Based on reporting by AFP and dpa

First, a Russian military delegation made a rare visit to Pakistan's lawless tribal areas.

Then Russian-language signposts were erected on roads in the northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Now, Moscow has appointed an honorary consul in the city of Peshawar.

These unprecedented moves appear to be part of a significant upturn in ties between Russia and Pakistan, former Cold War foes.

During the Soviet Union's decade-long occupation of Afghanistan from 1979-89, Pakistan helped the United States funnel weapons and fighters to help the mujahedin battling Soviet forces.

Eyebrows were raised in March 2017 when a group of Russian military advisers were given a rare tour of the North Waziristan tribal region, a no-go area for the media and a former hotbed of militancy. That came just months after Russia and Pakistan conducted joint military drills for the first time.

Around that time, new signposts in Russian appeared in North Waziristan. Previously, traffic signs were only in Urdu, the official language, and Pashto, spoken by the majority of Pashtuns in the area.

In early February, new Russian signposts were also erected along a highway near the capital, Islamabad.

Weeks later, Russia appointed Arsala Khan as honorary consul-general in Peshawar at a ceremony on February 20. The provincial governor, Iqbal Zafar Jhagra, said it signaled a "new chapter" of renewed diplomatic relations.

Russia's creeping footprint in Pakistan has come amid renewed interest in neighboring Afghanistan.

It has also come at a time when U.S.-Pakistani relations are spiraling downward over Pakistan's reputed support for the Afghan Taliban.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said during a press conference in Moscow with his Pakistan counterpart Khawaja Muhammad Asif on February 20 that Moscow was "very preoccupied" by the increasing presence of Islamic State (IS) militants in Afghanistan and the threat the group poses to the Central Asian republics and Russia.

Afghan officials have accused Moscow of visiting Taliban training centers in Pakistan and supporting the group.

The United States has suggested that Russia may be providing weapons to the Taliban, which enjoys sanctuaries in Pakistan.

Russia denies that it provides any such support to the Taliban, although it admitted it has had contact with the militant group over safeguarding security and getting the militants to reconcile with Kabul.

Russia also has also offered to host talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban, and has suggested easing global sanctions against Taliban leaders who cooperate with peace efforts.Rallies were held across Russia on February 25 to commemorate slain Kremlin critic and former Deputy Prime Minister Boris Nemtsov ahead of the third anniversary of his murder. In Tomsk, people laid flowers to Nemtsov's photo displayed at a local memorial "to the victims of the Bolshevik terror." In Yekaterinburg, demonstrators chanted a slogan: "Stop Putin! Stop gulag! Ukraine is not an enemy to us!" (RFE/RL's Russian Service)Demonstrators marched in Russian cities on February 25 to commemorate slain Kremlin critic and former Deputy Prime Minister Boris Nemtsov.

Rallies were held in numerous cities across Russia ahead of the third anniversary of Nemtsov's murder, which drew international condemnation and highlighted the dangers faced by Russians who oppose the Kremlin.

Nemtsov, a vocal critic of President Vladimir Putin, was shot dead on a Moscow bridge overlooking the Kremlin on February 27, 2015.

Thousands marched in central Moscow in a demonstration featuring placards with slogans such as "Democracy is the right to kick out authorities" and "I'm against the annexation of Crimea," a reference to Russia's 2014 seizure of the Ukrainian peninsula on the Black Sea.

One group of protesters carried a banner that read "Retribution is inevitable: We won't forget, we won't forgive."

Some demonstrators chanted "Putin is a thief" and "We are Boris Nemtsov."

One Russian group that monitors crowd sizes at public demonstrations estimated that as many as 7,600 participated in the Russian capital, while Moscow police put the figure at 4,500.

Kremlin critics frequently accuse authorities of underestimating crowd sizes at protests in order to portray them as marginal events.

Prominent liberal opposition politicians attended the Moscow demonstration as well. They included Grigory Yavlinsky and Ksenia Sobchak, who are running for president in a March 18 election that is all but guaranteed to hand Putin a new six-year term.

One demonstrator in Moscow, who gave his name only as Vadim, said he was "protesting against a dictatorship."

"You have to do something, take at least one step to make things better," Vadim, who said he is a pensioner, told RFE/RL.

Organizers in St. Petersburg, meanwhile, said nearly 2,000 people turned out to commemorate Nemtsov. Authorities said 350 people participated.

In the Urals city of Yekaterinburg, activists said police attempted to detain a protester who was waving a Ukrainian flag but that his fellow demonstrators prevented them from doing so.

Earlier on February 25, dozens of Nemtsov's supporters marched in the Siberian city of Novosibirsk and the capital of Russia's Tatarstan region, Kazan, on February 25. In Novosibirsk, demonstrators staged a rally at a monument to victims of political repression.

Two liberal activists were reportedly detained by police in St. Petersburg as the made their way to the demonstration, while two members of a nationalist group were reportedly detained by Moscow police as they approached the site of the march in the capital.

In July, a Moscow court found five men from Russia's North Caucasus region of Chechnya guilty of the murder and sentenced them to lengthy prison terms.

But relatives and associates charge that his assassination was ordered at a higher level. They say justice will not be served until the person or people who ordered the killing are identified and prosecuted.

As with previous high-profile killings -- including the murder of investigative journalist Anna Politkovskaya in 2006 -- government critics have voiced suspicion that the culprits will never face justice because an honest investigation could lead to figures who are close to Moscow-backed Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov or to Putin's inner circle.

The February 25 demonstrations come just days after Moscow's mayor said a plaque honoring Nemtsov will be mounted on the apartment building where he lived in the Russian capital.

Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin wrote on Twitter on February 22 that the decision to mount the plaque was made following a request from a presidential candidate Ksenia Sobchak.

Moscow authorities had previously prevented activists from installing a similar plaque on the bridge where Nemtsov was shot dead, where supporters have established a makeshift memorial to the slain politician.

That memorial has been repeatedly ransacked or removed by police or unidentified individuals.

With reporting by RFE/RL's Russian Service, Ekho Moskvy, Interfax, Moskovsky Komsomolets, and Fontanka.ruA prominent leader of Syrias Kurdish community has been detained by Czech authorities on a warrant from Turkey.

Salih Muslim, the former co-head of the Democratic Union Party (PYD), was detained in Prague the previous day, his former party said.

Czech police confirmed in a statement on February 25 that a foreign national, aged 67, was in custody after being detained on February 24 based on an Interpol notice from Turkey.

"The police will take the standard steps in line with the law," the Czech statement said.

The PYD said in a statement on February 25 that Muslim, who was in Prague for a conference, had "full citizenship rights" as a Syrian national and was visiting Europe in an official capacity.

The party accused Ankara of "demanding the arrest of individuals who are not its citizens...without any legal justifications."

Turkey has been seeking Muslim since a Turkish court charged him with "breaking the state and country's unity" and other offenses.

Germany-based Syrian Kurdish activist Qusai Shekho, speaking to RFE/RL in Prague, said he was in the Czech capital with other Kurdish activists and politicians.

"We are closely following the situation. Lawyers are working to maintain contact with Czech authorities in accordance with Czech law," he said.

The PYD, which Turkey considers a "terrorist group," is the main political Kurdish force in the north of Syria. Muslim stepped down as its co-chair last year but remains influential.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that he hoped the Czech Republic would extradite Muslim to Turkey.

"When he is extradited, they will see how justice is implemented," Erdogan said on February 25.

Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdag told reporters on February 25 that the foreign ministers of Turkey and the Czech Republic would discuss Muslims possible extradition.

"Upon finding the person in question was in the Czech Republic, the necessary contacts were made and it was demanded that he be captured and arrested to be extradited back to our country," the Turkish Justice Ministry said in a statement.

Turkish security forces have been fighting the PYD's armed affiliate, the Syrian Kurdish militia known as the People's Protection Units (YPG), in northern Syria.

Turkey last month launched an air-and-land military operation in the Kurdish-held enclave of Afrin.

Ankara also considers the YPG to be a terrorist group and an extension of the banned Kurdish Workers Party in Turkey.

With reporting by AP, AFP, and ReutersTwo University of Wyoming researchers contributed to a new study in which DNA of ancient skeletal remains of people from southeastern Europe were used to determine migration patterns across Europe during prehistoric times.

Ivor Jankovic, an associate adjunct professor, and Ivor Karavanic, an adjunct professor, both in UW's Department of Anthropology, contributed to the new study that is highlighted in a paper, titled "The Genomic History of Southeastern Europe," published today (Feb. 21) in Nature, an international weekly journal of science.

"The study confirmed that the region of southeastern Europe was a major nexus and a genetic contact zone between the East and West during prehistoric times," says Jankovic, whose full-time job is assistant director of the Institute for Anthropological Research in Zagreb, Croatia. "Two major migrations passing through southeastern Europe were confirmed by the means of archaeo-genetic studies."

The first migration was the early Neolithic Period -- 6,000 Before Common Era (BCE) -- when the first farmers, from Anatolia -- Asia Minor -- spread through Europe. The second migration occurred during the early Bronze Age (3,000-2,500 BCE) when the so-called "steppe population," from the Eurasian steppe, replaced much of northern Europe's previous population.

The first farmers of northern and western Europe passed through southeastern Europe with limited hunter-gatherer genetic admixture, which occurs when two or more previously isolated populations begin interbreeding. However, some groups that remained mixed extensively -- without the male-biased, hunter-gatherer admixture that prevailed later in the North and West, according to the paper. Southeastern Europe continued to be a nexus between East and West, with intermittent genetic contact with the Steppe people up to 2,000 years before the migrations that replaced much of northern Europe's population.

"In some places, hunter-gatherers and incoming farmers seem to have mixed very quickly," says Iain Mathieson, a geneticist at the University of Pennsylvania, who was first author of the paper. "But, mostly, the two groups remained isolated, at least for the first few hundred years. These hunter-gatherers had been living there for thousands of years, and it must have been quite a shock to have these new people show up -- with a completely different lifestyle and appearance."

Karavanic, a professor in the University of Zagreb's Department of Archaeology, was the leader of archaeological excavations of the Paleolithic/Neolithic site of Zemunica cave, from which several human remains were unearthed and used in the study. The discoveries gave needed information on origin and background research.

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Jankovic, along with Mario Novak, a research associate at the Institute for Anthropological Research in Zagreb, were involved in the bio-archaeological study of human remains from several of the study samples.

The involvement of Jankovic and Karavanic in this study started through Novak, who visited UW last year to present a talk. Jankovic and James Ahern, former head of UW's Department of Anthropology and now a UW associate provost, collaborated with Novak on several previous publications.

Before the arrival of farming in southeastern Europe, the region saw interactions between diverged groups of hunter-gatherers. This interaction continued after farming arrived. After the first appearance of agriculture in the mid-seventh millennium B.C., farming spread westward via a Mediterranean route and northwestward via a Danubian route. Farming was established in both Iberia (Portugal and Spain) and central Europe by 5,600 B.C.

Ancient DNA studies have shown that the spread of farming across Europe was accompanied by a massive movement of people closely related to the farmers of northwestern Anatolia. But, nearly all of the ancient DNA from Europe's first farmers is from central and Western Europe, with only three farmers reported from southeastern Europe, the paper says.

To understand the dynamics of this migration process, Jankovic, Karovanic, Novak and many other researchers contributed to the analysis of genome-wide ancient DNA data from 225 skeletal remains of individuals who lived in southeastern Europe and surrounding regions between 12,000 and 500 B.C. These areas included the Balkan Peninsula, the Carpathian Basin, the North Pontiac Steppe and surrounding regions.

"These results reveal the relationship between migrations, admixture and subsistence in this key region and show that, even within early European farmers, individuals differed in their ancestry, reflecting a dynamic mosaic of hunter-farmer interbreeding," says Ron Pinhasi, co-director of the study and an anthropologist at the University of Vienna in Austria.

While the study has clarified the genomic history of southeastern Europe from the Mesolithic to the Bronze Age, the processes that connected these populations to those living today remain largely unknown, the paper states. An important direction for future research will be to sample populations from the Bronze Age, Iron Age, and Roman and medieval periods, and compare them to present-day populations to understand how these population transitions occurred, according to the paper.New University of Colorado Boulder-led research has established a causal link between climate warming and the localized extinction of a common Rocky Mountain flowering plant, a result that could serve as a herald of future population declines.

The new study, which was published today in the journal Science Advances, found that warmer, drier conditions in line with future climate predictions decimated experimental populations of Androsace septentrionalis (Northern rock jasmine), a mountain wildflower found at elevations ranging from around 6,000 feet in Colorado's foothills to over 14,000 feet at the top of Mt. Elbert.

The findings paint a bleak picture for the persistence of native flowering plants in the face of climate change and could serve as a herald for future species losses in mountain ecosystems over the next century.

"Much of our historical data about species' population-level responses to climate change comes from observational studies, which can suggest but not confirm causation," said Anne Marie Panetta, lead author of the study and a post-doctoral researcher in CU Boulder's Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology (EBIO). "Here, we show the mechanisms directly at work."

To conduct the study, which spans 25 years, the researchers set up experimental plots in the Warming Meadow, a field site located at the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory (RMBL) in Gunnison, Colorado. Since 1991, the Warming Meadow has used suspended infrared radiators to warm plots year-round in order to mimic temperature increases, creating the world's longest-running active-heating climate change experiment.

The Warming Meadow's radiators raise average soil temperatures by about three degrees Fahrenheit, decrease growing season soil moisture by up to twenty percent and advance the spring snowmelt date by up to a month in order to simulate predicted effects of climate change.

"The level of warming and the drier conditions in this experiment are not only realistic, but actually at the lower end of expectations for the next 50 to 100 years," said Panetta. "Our estimates could be conservative. We have simulated a level of change that some systems have already seen and others will see."

The study revealed that in plots where A. septentrionalis naturally occurs, warming caused precipitous declines in the abundance of both its seedlings and established plants at reproductive ages, driving population sizes close to zero. The dramatic effect on multiple stages of the plant's lifecycle highlights the challenge of developing effective management policies for revitalizing a threatened population.

"We had thought that the plant's evolutionary adaptations might save it, or that natural seed dispersal might help it survive," said Panetta. "But the fact that we've seen extinction happen regardless bodes poorly."Midwife-friendly laws and regulations tend to coincide with lower rates of premature births, cesarean deliveries and newborn deaths, according to a new U.S.-wide "report card" that ranks all 50 states on the quality of their maternity care.

The first-of-its-kind study found a strong connection between the role of midwives in the health care system -- what the researchers call "midwifery integration" -- and birth outcomes. States with high midwifery integration, like Washington and Oregon, generally had better results, while states with the least integration, primarily in the Midwest and South, tended to do worse. The findings were published today in the journal PLOS ONE.

"Our findings suggest that in states where families have greater access to midwifery care that is well integrated into the maternity system, mothers and babies tend to experience improved outcomes. The converse was also demonstrated; where integration of midwives is poorer, so are outcomes," said Melissa Cheyney, a licensed midwife, medical anthropologist and associate professor in Oregon State University's College of Liberal Arts and one of the study's co-authors.

As with most population health studies, the statistical association between the role of midwives and birth outcomes doesn't prove a cause-and-effect relationship. Other factors, especially race, loom larger, with African-Americans experiencing a disproportionate share of negative outcomes. However, almost 12 percent of the variation in neonatal death across the U.S. is attributable solely to how much of a part midwives play in each state's health care system.

"In communities in the U.S. that are underserved -- where the health system is often stretched thin -- this study suggests that expanding access to midwifery is a critical strategy for improving maternal and neonatal health outcomes," said Saraswathi Vedam, an associate professor in the Department of Family Practice at the University of British Columbia, who led the team of U.S. epidemiology and health policy researchers responsible for the study.

About 10 percent of U.S. births involve midwives, far behind other industrialized countries, where midwives participate in half or more of all deliveries. Each state has its own laws and regulations on midwives' credentialing, their ability to provide services at a client's home or at birth centers, their authority to prescribe medication and the degree to which they are reimbursed by Medicaid.

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"A large body of cross-cultural research has actually demonstrated similar relationships between midwifery care, systems integration and improved maternity care outcomes," Cheyney said. "This study is important because it suggests that the same relationships hold true in the United States. There are significant policy implications stemming from this work."

The research team created a midwifery integration score based on 50 criteria covering those and other factors that determine midwives' availability, scope of practice and acceptance by other health care providers in each state.

Washington had the highest integration score, 61 out of a possible 100, followed by New Mexico at 59 and Oregon at 58. North Carolina had the lowest score, 17. The complete list, with links to each state's report card, is available online at http://www.birthplacelab.org/how-does-your-state-rank/.

An interactive map created by the researchers reveals two clusters of higher midwifery integration -- one swath stretching from the Pacific Northwest to the Southwest, and a cluster of Northeastern states.

Vermont, Maine, Alaska and Oregon had the highest density of midwives, as measured by the number of midwives per 1,000 births. The lowest midwifery integration was in the Midwest and Deep South.

The study used higher rates of vaginal birth and breastfeeding as positive maternity care outcomes. Higher rates of caesarean birth, premature births, low birth weight and newborn deaths were indicators of poor outcomes.

The Deep South, which not only had lower integration scores, but also higher rates of African American births, had the worst rates of premature birth, low birth weight and newborn mortality. The West Coast states of California, Oregon and Washington consistently scored well on those measures.Heroin is worse than other drugs because people inject it much sooner, potentially resulting in increased risk of injection-related epidemics such as hepatitis C and HIV, a Keck School of Medicine of USC study shows.

As more people use opioids, many switch to heroin because it's more potent and cheaper -- a trend that complicates disease prevention as health officials crack down on opioids, said Ricky Bluthenthal, first author of the study and a professor of preventive medicine at the Keck School of Medicine.

Stigmatizing drug use is an ineffective way to address a public health outbreak, he added.

"The market is saturated with opiates. That cat is out of the bag," Bluthenthal said. "At this point, we have to figure out what we're going to do about opioid abuse because the opioid crisis is leading to downstream infectious disease epidemics such as acute hepatitis C."

Published in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence on Feb. 15, the study surveyed 776 people in Los Angeles and San Francisco about their drug use. Researchers limited the investigation to heroin, methamphetamine or speed, powder cocaine and crack cocaine.

About 99 percent of participants who used heroin, regardless of demographics, eventually injected the drug -- nearly three times the injection rate of people who used crack cocaine. The second most injected drug was meth or speed, with 85 percent of users reporting that they moved to injection.

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Heroin had the shortest incubation period -- about half a year -- from initial drug use to drug injection. It took meth and speed users about twice that time and powder cocaine users nearly five times that length of time to begin injecting.

"Heroin is less expensive than opioids and more potent," Bluthenthal said. "So transitioning to heroin is reasonable. Heroin is much more efficient when injected, and that's why we see this trend."

On the road to a solution

As the nation tries to clamp down on the opioid epidemic, it may inadvertently drive people to heroin more quickly, Bluthenthal said. The real solution, he noted, is to get people better treatment for their opioid addiction.

From 2002 to 2015, there was a six-fold increase in the number of overdose deaths involving heroin, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

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Hepatitis C linked to injection drug use has increased three-fold over a 10-year period, the study stated, citing research from the University of Cincinnati Medical Center.

"We want to interrupt people from escalating their drug use from legal prescription opioids to illicit heroin use," Bluthenthal said.

Possible solutions include drug consumption rooms, supervised injection facilities, syringe exchange programs, overdose prevention education and naloxone distribution, Bluthenthal said. Naloxone is an antidote for opioid overdose.

"We're always trailing the epidemic: We don't know there is a problem until the bodies and infections start showing up," Bluthenthal said. "We now know people are moving from opioids to heroin to injection. We missed the opportunity to change that progression, so we need to move more aggressively to reduce opioid abuse and to implement safer venues to consume drugs. The end result will benefit public health."

Daniel Chu and Thomas Valente from the Keck School of Medicine, Alex Kral and Lynn Wenger from RTI International and Philippe Bourgois from the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA also contributed to this study.

The study was entirely supported by federal grants amounting to $1,656,797 from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (R01DA027689, R01 DA038965) and the National Cancer Institute (P30CA014089).A barrage of firecrackers spitting red and purple confetti signaled the start of San Franciscos Chinese New Year Parade on Saturday evening, welcoming in the Year of the Dog.

Thousands lined downtown streets, bristling with excitement and jockeying for the best views of the glittering floats, bands and costumed marchers that winded their way from Market Street to Columbus Avenue.

Among the biggest crowd-pleasers: a gigantic, self-propelled red shopping cart, sponsored by Lucky Supermarkets, with an exposed engine that rumbled like a hot rod.

Known as one of the largest celebrations of Asian culture outside of Asia itself, the Chinese New Year Parade has taken place in San Francisco since the 1860s and remains an important cultural gathering for the city.

We begin the new year with a fresh start, and thats what were celebrating, said Grace Yuen, vice president of the San Francisco Chinese Chamber of Commerce, which has organized the parade and its accompanying events since 1958. The event, she said, represents a time for families to come together to welcome a bountiful new year.

Its a family gathering, but the whole world can come here to San Francisco. We draw everybody in here, Yuen said.

Cassandra Taylor of Fremont said shes lived in the Bay Area for 13 years but had yet to attend San Franciscos storied parade. Equipped with a lawn chair, she arrived more than two hours early to find a prime viewing spot.

Im so excited, Taylor said. This has been on my bucket list. Im loving it.

Just before the parade began, Norman Smith, holding the head of his dog costume in the crook of his arm, said hes been marching in the parade for the past three years alongside his daughter, who attends Jose Ortega Elementary School in San Francisco.

Its great. I get to wear a mask and prance around like a dog or a pig or a rooster, Smith said, referring to whatever one of the 12 animals the Chinese zodiac may call for in a given year. Smiths woolly dog getup helped keep him warm against the sharp February breeze that brought out plenty of warm coats. Many in attendance huddled in blankets or clutched warm drinks.

Im going to lose five pounds in here, Smith said.

Perhaps the most anticipated part of the parade was the events traditional final act  a snaking, 288-foot-long dragon, animated with the help of 48 volunteers. The horned, bright-orange-and-yellow beast was purchased new this year for the parade by the Chinese Chamber of Commerce.

Kyle Campbell, who was preparing to take his spot around the dragons midsection, was celebrating his fourth year as part of the dragon. Its a lot of fun, he said, on top of the fact that the dragon volunteers get a new sweatshirt each year that they get to keep, inscribed with the years zodiac sign. I might go for all 12, Campbell joked.

Earlier in the day, thousands flocked to Chinatown to take in the sights, sounds and smells of the 29th annual Chinese Community Street Fair.

Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts.

As the scent of roasting chestnuts wafted through the air, throngs of people ambled past an estimated 120 booths offering anything from canned abalone to samples of spicy chicken soup to handmade jewelry to free spinal exams.

Raucous lion dances, accompanied by pounding drums, crashing cymbals and firecrackers, popped up all over the neighborhood, drawing huge crowds of onlookers, some of whom had to clutch their ears as the sound rattled off the narrow streets.

Ryan Woo of San Francisco  proudly serving as the tail in one of the trio of lion costumes  said the celebratory dance harkens back to an ancient story of a Chinese village besieged by evil demons. To fight back, Woo said, the villagers came up with these lion costumes to scare the demons off. The loud music and the firecrackers will ward off all the evil that came during the previous year.

Woo has practiced martial arts and lion dancing at the Yau Kung Moon kung fu studio for 17 years. Performing the lion dance well in the two-person costume requires concentration, he said, and a good rapport with ones partner. You have to know your partner so you can become one lion, he said.

Its just fun to celebrate our culture and have fun together.The idea was to build a little village and give it away as a gift. It hit Lee Merschon on Oct. 10, two days after the North Bay fires began to spread.

Merschon runs an event-planning company in Los Angeles. Sitting at home there, watching reports about the fires on TV, he didnt understand how bad they were. Then he started getting phone calls from friends in Northern California who camp with him at Burning Man, the annual counterculture gathering in the Nevada desert.

Lee, this is it, said Jeff Evans, whose home in Napa County was nearly destroyed in a fire years earlier. This is what the containers are for.

The containers. Every August at Burning Man, 70,000 people convene on a sun-blasted patch of Nevada desert and build a temporary city. Merschons piece of Burning Man is Camp Epic, a campsite he founded in 2012. While many Burners eat and sleep in RVs, the 150 inhabitants of Camp Epic live in six heavily modified metal shipping containers. Each is basically a small house: a rectangular prism 40 feet long, like a giant Tetris block, built by a Nevada company called Quick Space that manufactures storage trailers and mobile offices.

The containers hold up better than RVs in the harsh glare and wind of Burning Man, Merschon says. They have electrical systems, ventilation, beds, shelves, mini-fridges. They dont have windows, on purpose. At Burning Man, you can have 50 mph winds in a sandstorm that looks like Mad Max, he says. But inside a container, It seems like everything is normal.

Thats why, even before the wildfires, hed wondered whether the containers could be called into service in a disaster zone, providing a basic place to live after a hurricane or earthquake.

Then the October wildfires struck, and thousands of homes went up in flames.

This is what the containers are for.

The plan formed quickly in Merschons mind: People need housing. We have these containers. Theyre sitting in storage in Reno. Lets send them to people who need housing. Lets send them to the city of Santa Rosa, the center of devastation.

It felt like a sensible, responsible thing to do. The containers were metal. They couldnt catch fire like wooden structures. And Quick Space had built them to comply with Nevadas residential housing code. What could be simpler?

At least, thats what we thought, Merschon says.

Over the next four months, though, he and dozens of volunteers got a crash course in why it can be so hard to erect housing in California. Santa Rosa officials say that the group had unrealistic expectations. The volunteers say they were obstructed by delays and red tape.

We kind of went down a rabbit hole, says Carmen Mauk, one of the groups leaders. They couldnt simply give their gift, they discovered; they had to wait, and wait, and then alter it at great cost, and then wait some more.

The Burners moved fast. The same day he spoke to Jeff Evans in Napa, Merschon called another camper, Jen Martini, who lived in Santa Rosa. Her mother had lost her house, almost all of her belongings and the family cat in the Tubbs Fire. Martini said shed go to Reno and prepare the cubes for transport.

Merschon also contacted Mauk, who would become the heart and soul of the project. Mauk, 47, is a former resident of Santa Rosa. The Tubbs Fire had turned the house she used to rent into rubble and ash.

Mauk has more than a decade of experience in disaster relief. She got started in 2005 after Hurricane Katrina, when she traveled to the Gulf Coast of Mississippi with about 100 other Burner volunteers. They beat federal relief workers there, and began doing debris removal, tearing down damaged houses. They thought of the work as a gift; at Burning Man, a cashless society, the entire economy runs on gifts.

Carlos Avila Gonzalez/The Chronicle

Mauk then founded a nonprofit, Burners Without Borders. Its volunteers went to Peru after an earthquake and built school classrooms and composting toilets. They went to Haiti after its 2010 earthquake. They went to New Jersey after Hurricane Sandy in 2012.

Now, Mauk was going back to Santa Rosa.

She knew that people had been struggling to find housing there even before the fires  only 1 percent of the citys rental stock was vacant  and when she heard that almost 9,000 homes and other buildings had been destroyed, she wondered about the fate of working-class people who keep its economy humming: teachers, vineyard laborers, construction workers. How could the region recover if its workers couldnt find shelter?

Mauk and other Burners contacted affordable housing groups. All said that the situation was desperate. They had lists of clients begging for any kind of housing.

There were no housing options before, says Lorena Sotelo, who assists Sonoma County farm workers at California Human Development, a large nonprofit. Now its even worse.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency had yet to arrive. Its first temporary trailers wouldnt be habitable until Nov. 13, and many in need of shelter would avoid them anyway, fearing deportation, say Sotelo and others who work with undocumented clients. (FEMA has reported low demand; as of January, only 189 of 3,200 people eligible to live in the trailers had asked to do so.)

Across the region, in parking lots and along the beaches, people were sleeping in cars, in the cold, with no bathrooms, no security. At the Free Store in Healdsburg, a kind of emergency supply depot for shell-shocked families, Ariel Kelley met a family with two young sons sleeping in the back of their truck. When she heard about the shipping-container project, Kelley was excited. Dubbed Oasis Village, it seemed like the fastest way possible to get at least some people into beds.

The projects goal was a modest one: provide 76 beds for 76 people for up to nine months. If it worked, it would help 76 people stay in the area who might otherwise have to leave.

Mauk and the Burners put out a call for funds and volunteers; 250 people offered manual labor, and $30,000 in donations flowed in. A businessman who owned a cannabis greenhouse in an industrial part of Santa Rosa offered a piece of land. The six shipping containers arrived on Oct. 26, along with a 53-foot trailer that Merschon and his campers had also adapted into a living space. The structures were arranged in a rectangle around a 100-by-50-foot courtyard.

Carlos Avila Gonzalez/The Chronicle

On Oct. 31, the Burners applied for a temporary use permit from the city of Santa Rosa. While waiting to hear back, a rotating crew of volunteers spruced up Oasis Village. They put new bedding on the twin and queen beds inside the containers, and added heaters.

They also set up one of the containers as a kitchen, with donated cookware, and brought in separate trailers with showers and bathrooms. To make the site feel more welcoming, they covered the dirt courtyard with compacted gravel and artificial turf, and erected a semipermanent, heated tent above it, to serve as a communal area.

It wasnt luxury living. Still, nonprofit agencies had clients who wanted to move in. The Free Stores Kelley also heads Corazon Healdsburg, a nonprofit that works to find families affordable housing. Fifteen families told her they were interested; it beat sleeping in their cars.

From the Burners point of view, Oasis Village was now ready. They werent just proposing to build housing; they had built it. Seventy-six temporary units, complete and available. All it needed was the citys blessing, and people could begin moving in.

We here  any local jurisdiction  has one set of rules, says Jesse Oswald, permit intake manager for the Santa Rosa Planning and Economic Development Department. California Building Code, Title 24. This is how we build things.

Oswald had no objections to the concept of Oasis Village, he says. He thought it was a creative solution, a cool project. But it was his job to make sure Oasis Village met the state building code before he signed any permits. He and his staff had to abide by the code, which is there to ensure the health and safety of residents. And it doesnt distinguish between emergency temporary housing and any other type. Oasis Village, a cluster of shipping containers, would have to go through the same permit process as a new single-family home in Santa Rosas Coffey Park neighborhood, which was destroyed during the fires.

The Burners didnt realize this until they started talking to city planners. According to all involved, these were friendly conversations. But the Burners soon found them frustrating. The planners appeared overwhelmed; it often took weeks to get answers to questions. When the answers came, they werent what the Burners wanted to hear.

To obtain permits, the Burners would need to show that the containers met California residential code  a daunting challenge. The retrofittted containers had been built to Nevada residential code by a company that wasnt on Californias list of approved providers. From Santa Rosas perspective, the containers were black boxes, full of potential liability. Was the wiring safe? Was there unhealthy Chinese drywall on the inside? (There wasnt.)

I have no way of knowing how it was even assembled, says Oswald. If I sign on the dotted line, I have to say Im really comfortable with 70 people living in these things.

Merschon saw things differently: Everybody was covering their butts because they didnt want to get sued later.

Carlos Avila Gonzalez/The Chronicle

It dawned on the Burners that the city wouldnt sign off unless expensive alterations were made. The site, they were told, needed access for disabled people. An ADA-compliant shower would cost at least $4,000.

Of course were going to have ADA compliance, Mauk said, but not on the first frickin day we open.  Hello, theres an emergency housing situation here!

Then there was the issue of windows. The containers didnt have any. To meet the code, windows would have to be cut into the containers doors.

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.

Its $250 a door, Mauk says. Theres 15 doors. Everything becomes very expensive very quickly.

One day, chatting with one of the planners, Mauk started to get a little riled up over the windows. Why delay the project for the sake of windows, she asked, when people were out there sleeping in their cars?

According to Mauk, the reply came: Well, cars have windows.

He saw the ridiculousness in it, too, Mauk says, looking back. He was trying to help me understand. Yes, cars have windows, and theyre built to a standard, and thats why theyre allowed to come into California.

By that point, Merschon was done. Done with the city, done with the whole project. When friends asked about it, he changed the subject. He wondered, darkly, if Santa Rosa was putting up roadblocks to Oasis Village because it didnt care if poor people left the city.

Mauk felt differently. She thought the planners wanted the project to happen, but didnt have the power. We were met warmly from the beginning, she says. Its just that their hands are really tied, having to follow state laws.

She sent a letter to Gov. Jerry Brown and Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, asking the state to make an emergency declaration that will allow for expedited temporary housing. She received no response from either office.

The system is not working, Mauk says. Nobody is listening.

Others were also frustrated. Adrian Chorley, the affordable housing director at California Human Development, visited Oasis Village in December. He was impressed, he says. And the thing is that Carmen has done this before. She has actually set up a project in Haiti  with none of the problems we had here.

He thought Oasis Village looked like an RV park. Maybe not a place for families with young children, but a perfectly acceptable place for single adults, perhaps, or for the construction workers pouring into Santa Rosa to rebuild peoples homes but with no place to live themselves.

He couldnt believe that the city wouldnt sign off on the needed permits. I quite literally stood there and said, What, are you kidding? Theyve provided housing.

As January began, the Burners were out of money, and enthusiasm. They had spent $30,000 to merely transport the containers from Reno and prepare the site. Actually running the project would require another $80,000. They applied for a grant from a fire relief fund administered by the Redwood Credit Union, but the grant was turned down. The credit union said the problem was the projects lack of permits. Mauk says that in conversations with Redwood, permits were never discussed.

The Burners guessed that if they tried to find other funding, they might be able to house people by March, at best. The containers had to go back to Nevada by August. Too much time had been lost.

So, on a warm and sunny Saturday in early February, Oasis Village came down. Mauk and a dozen volunteers stripped the beds, gathered up the kitchenware, and donated the sheets and pots and pans to charity.

In the months since the fires, the housing crisis in Sonoma County has worsened. One of the largest contractors planning to rebuild homes in Coffey Park, DeNova, announced in January that it was pulling out, saying it was unable to find enough workers. Officials say that 30,000 housing units must be built in the next five years to meet demand.

Chorley says thats unrealistic. Well be lucky, quite honestly, if we can build 2,000 to 3,000 units in the next five years.

Kelley says its incredibly disappointing that the Burners never got to house people, and thinks government should have been more flexible. When youre faced with this kind of a disaster, you hope that people are able to think outside the box, she says. Health and safety have to be paramount, but at the same time, there are creative solutions to every problem. You just need to have willing participants who recognize the urgency.

Nonprofit groups say they are hearing from some clients that they cant make it here. Theyre leaving the region. Theyre going to Texas, Arizona, Las Vegas, Sotelo says. I cant do anything. You know how you feel when you know the need is there and you cant do anything? I dont know what to say anymore.

The Burners have left, too. Theyll never do another project in California, they say.

We showed up, Merschon says. We built a town. It was ready in two weeks. We said, here you go. And they wouldnt take it. We give them a gift  how could they not take it?

But Im reminded, he says, that the real world doesnt work that way.Academy voters choice of best picture March 4 will be scrutinized for attributes well beyond its artistic merits.

Americans who feel underrepresented or mistreated have made it clear in recent months that they will call out perceived injustices in every aspect of public life. Already politicized by the #OscarsSoWhite campaign a few years ago, the Academy Awards are now also the highest-profile event for an industry at the center of the #MeToo movement.

If the top Oscar prize goes to a film about a heterosexual white man (or men), the Academy is going to hear about it.

There are plenty of chances to avoid that, among nominated films. They start with Jordan Peeles race-relations/horror story Get Out and Greta Gerwigs mother-daughter film Lady Bird. Still in their 30s and up for directing Oscars (the fifth black man and fifth woman ever nominated), Peele and Gerwig are Hollywoods current darlings, its faces of the future. A best picture win for Get Out or Lady Bird would signify, after last years Moonlight win, that the Academys recent efforts to diversify its membership hit their mark.

The same-sex romance Call Me By Your Name also strikes a chord for diversity. Ideas of inclusion and belonging underpin The Shape of Water, whose mute lead character (Sally Hawkins) conspires with her gay best friend (Richard Jenkins) and her co-worker (Octavia Spencer) to rescue a sentient fish-man (Doug Jones, plus computers) held captive by the government.

Based on the pre-Oscar film awards, Shape is a front-runner, along with Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. In that film, a grieving mother (Frances McDormand) empowers herself by confronting her local police department  including a racist cop played by Sam Rockwell  on its lack of progress in investigating the rape and murder of her daughter.

Criticized by some for its racist characters perceived redemption arc, Billboards nevertheless offers timely subject matter. And a best picture win for it, Shape, Lady Bird or the Meryl Streep-led longshot The Post would be the first for a film with a female protagonist since Million Dollar Baby 13 years ago.

Then again, the virtually female-free Dunkirk might have an outside chance at winning in a race with no clear favorite. And Academy voters always have had a complicated relationship to the zeitgeist, choosing some best picture winners that reflected the countrys mood and others that were out of touch.

Seriousness, after show tunes: For much of the tumultuous 1960s, the top Oscar went to Technicolor musicals and epics. In 1968, the Academy began to catch up, naming 1967s In the Heat of the Night, in which Sidney Poitiers detective confronts racism in a small Southern town, best picture.

Oscar voters still had to sing, had to dance, choosing Oliver the next year. But the Academy capped one of Americas most turbulent decades by honoring the gritty Midnight Cowboy, which for a while had been rated X partly for homosexual implications and augured the new American cinema of the 1970s.

Gold ceiling: The womens movement factored strongly in 70s cinema. But for all the unmarried women and Norma Raes, no film with a female lead won the best picture prize in that decade. Unless you count Annie Hall, and we dont, because Woody Allen was its protagonist. Terms of Endearment broke the streak in 1984.

Right instinct, wrong film: In 2002, Halle Berry became the first (and still only) black lead actress winner, and Denzel Washington the first black lead actor winner in nearly 40 years. These triumphs for them were embarrassments for the Academy, calling attention to its previously backward voting patterns.

Diversity henceforth became a key part of the Oscar discussion. So you can see how, four years later, voters would seize on an ensemble film that took on race relations in Los Angeles, where most Academy members live.

But winner Crash was not the artistic nor social breakthrough its chief rival, the same-sex romance Brokeback Mountain, would prove to be. Crash was one of the better films to come out in 2005. Brokeback was a revelation that since has become a classic.

The Weinstein effect: Slumdog Millionaire, winner in 2009, was a rags-to-riches tale that reflected the mood of a nation in the thick of a recession. A win the next year for The Hurt Locker, a reminder of the protracted Iraq war, put the Oscars on a mini-roll of relevance. It would have been a streak, had The Social Network, with its prescient forecast of social medias pathological grip on the culture, not lost to master Oscar campaigner Harvey Weinsteins The Kings Speech, a charming but by-the-numbers biography of King George VI.

It will be interesting to see how Weinsteins absence shapes the best picture narrative in coming years.

Nailing it: Last years envelope mix-up stole Moonlights moment but not its power. This was a best picture like no other  a lyrical yet unflinching coming-of-age story focused on a poor, black, gay young man, complete with a hopeful ending unusual for a gay-themed Oscar film.

Moonlights win was a sign of progress to which one could cling in divisive times. Also, it marked a rare instance in which the actual best picture won.Hi Mick LaSalle: Do you think the shift in the publics awareness of sexual harassment will alter how we perceive older movies? For example, how will the new consciousness view someone like Harpo Marx chasing and grabbing at pretty girls?

Ken Kirste, Sunnyvale

Hi Ken Kirste: If people see Harpo Marx as dangerous and anarchic, they see him in the right way. That character is anything but safe. Hes disturbed and disturbing, intentionally so. (When I was a kid, he scared me, especially when he played the harp.) The inevitable shifting perceptions with regard to public mores invariably transform how we see movies from other eras. Thats fine. But the value of earlier work is not how well it comports with the sentiments of some future time it wasnt remotely thinking about, but rather how well it expresses its own true soul.

Dear Mick: My best actor Oscar goes to Daniel Day-Lewis for Phantom Thread over Gary Oldman for Darkest Hour. Why is the Academy so keen on biopic performances?

Arnie Hoffman, Sunnyvale

Dear Arnie: Generally speaking, I think its easier for peers to award their colleagues for being someone else rather than for being themselves. If you vote for George Clooney in Michael Clayton or Up in the Air or for Holly Hunter in Broadcast News, you are celebrating a performance you could never possibly give, because those great performances are so tied to the personalities of the respective actors. But if you celebrate Nicole Kidman in The Hours or Jamie Foxx in Ray, its easier on the ego. Then youre celebrating a transformation, and its easy to imagine oneself winning an Oscar for undergoing a similar transformation. Then theres also the fact that many people in the Academy arent actors or even associated with acting, and so they have the same misconceptions about acting as the general public, that its all a matter of putting on a mask, when its really about the ability to take the mask off. However, I have to disagree with you about Gary Oldman in Darkest Hour. There are some chameleonic performances that are revelatory  Day-Lewis performance as Abraham Lincoln was one of them. Everyone who ever tried to play Churchill has failed, and I do mean failed, as in bombed, as in cringe-inducing, as in not worth watching: Brian Cox, Albert Finney, Richard Burton, Timothy Spall, John Lithgow, Bob Hoskins ... Oldman took time to look at the actual man, and what he saw was someone with humor and energy, who was endearing and full of fun and also such a character that some people didnt take him seriously. He studied him, and then he burrowed in. He should win the Oscar, and Id say that even if Day-Lewis hadnt won three Oscars already, including one he shouldnt have, for There Will Be Blood.

Good morning, Mick: If you were not a film critic and saw fewer movies, what would be your criteria for choosing which movies to see? The plot? The actors/director? The reviews? Awards won?

Paul Sheinfeld, Novato

Good morning, Paul: If I were not a film critic, Id probably see four or five movies a week, but Id rarely go to a movie theater. Instead Id catch up on things that Im interested in and that Ive had no time to see. Id go to a new movie maybe once a month and make my choices based on all the criteria you mentioned, though mostly the cast and the story. For example, of all the movies out now, if I were a consumer, Id have definitely gone to see Darkest Hour and probably would have seen I, Tonya, in each case, because of the subject. And I very well might have seen Mollys Game, because of whos in it. This means I would have missed a lot of good movies, but I would have also seen other good movies. I have at least 40 French movies on my DVR that Ive never had time to watch. Some have been on there for years.WASHINGTON  The manager of a San Joaquin Valley water district seen as a model for how to manage toxic agricultural runoff was jailed last week in Fresno on charges of embezzlement and burying 86 drums of toxic waste on the water districts property.

The arrests of former Panoche Water District General Manager Dennis Falaschi and four others on Thursday could further muddy congressional passage of a multimillion-dollar settlement between the federal government and the nearby Westlands Water District over selenium-tainted irrigation runoff that led to an environmental disaster at the Kesterson National Wildlife Refuge in 1983.

San Joaquin Valley Republicans, led by Rep. David Valadao of Hanford (Kings County), have been trying to push the settlement through Congress for two years, over opposition by Bay Area Democrats who call the deal a taxpayer giveaway.Their last attempt, in December, included a similar deal for the smaller Panoche, Pacheco and San Luis water districts north of Westlands known as the northerly districts.

Rep. Jim Costa, a Fresno Democrat allied with Republicans on water issues, had introduced the legislation for a settlement for the smaller districts. Water districts are public agencies that distribute public water, and in farming areas, they are typically controlled by farmers.

California Attorney General Xavier Becerra filed felony charges against Panoche district officials, including Falaschis son, Atomic Falaschi, alleging their embezzlement of more than $100,000 in public money for slot machines, landscaping, home remodeling, loans, car repairs and other personal expenses. Of the 10 felony counts, eight were related to embezzlement allegations and two to the charges involving hazardous waste disposal.

The investigation into the districts finances began after the California Department of Toxic Substances Control found the drums of hazardous waste buried on the districts property.

The Panoche water districts drainage program was held up as the model for the Westlands settlement and the architects of that model now have their mug shots in the post office, said Rep. Jared Huffman, D-San Rafael, who has battled congressional approval of the deal. The criminal charges touch on the management of federal drainage funds, he said, and just added another huge waving red flag that hopefully will cause Congress to slow down.

Johnny Amaral, deputy general manager for Westlands, said the Panoche arrests should have no effect on the legislation before Congress because Panoche is independent of the Westlands settlement.

We do not anticipate that actions involving agencies that are not party to the settlement will affect the settlements chances of approval, Amaral said.

The proposed settlement was negotiated by the Obama administration after years of litigation, and has been endorsed by the Trump administration. The agreement relieves the federal government of its obligation to provide $2.7 billion to drain selenium-polluted runoff from Westlands, a district that waters 600,000 acres of cropland on the arid west side of the San Joaquin Valley.

That obligation stemmed from the governments decision in 1960 to extend the Central Valley Project to the arid west side of the San Joaquin Valley, despite the knowledge that the soils are laden with salts and selenium, a mineral lethal to wildlife and humans.

Under the settlement terms, Westlands would be forgiven the $375 million it still owes the federal government for the construction of the 1960s-era extension of the Central Valley Project that delivers water to the district, which runs along Interstate 5 from Mendota in Fresno County to Kettleman City in Kings County. The district also promises to deal with the drainage problem on its own.

Although federal agencies have recommended that Westlands retire up to half its cropland to prevent further drainage problems, the settlement requires the retirement of only 100,000 acres where farming has already been abandoned because of drainage problems.

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.

Late last year, House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy of Bakersfield attempted to attach the Westlands settlement, along with one for Panoche and the other northerly districts, as a rider to a big military authorization bill.

But the effort was blocked by Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain, R-Ariz., after the Interior Departments inspector general raised alarms about significant questionable costs in a Panoche demonstration water treatment plant intended to show that irrigation runoff can be treated.

Critics draw a parallel with Westlands history of internal accounting problems in 2016, paying a $125,000 fine to the Securities and Exchange Committee for misleading investors in a bond offering, which its general manager, Tom Birmingham, had conceded was a little Enron accounting.

The justification for the Westlands mega-deal has been that local districts manage toxic drainage more effectively and with some federal help ... they can solve the problem, said Hal Candee, a San Francisco attorney for environmental groups in pending drainage litigation. Yet now current and former leaders of the model district for this local approach are charged with crimes directly related to the management of toxic wastes and the management of public funds.

Observers expect that the next opportunity for the drainage settlement to pass Congress will be as a rider to giant spending bill set for consideration next month.In light of indictments handed down against 13 Russian nationals by Special Counsel Robert Mueller for attempting to interfere in the 2016 election, both liberals and conservatives have gravitated to the narrative that the Russians succeeded in dividing Americans, fostering tribalism and creating discord in our politics. I get why that chorus has become so loud. This line of argument is convenient for the political parties.

Republicans want to deflect attention away from Muellers investigation into possible collusion between the Russians and the Trump campaign and avoid questions about why  in Trumpland  so many roads lead to Moscow. They think the way to do that is to blame the Obama administration for not doing a better job of stopping Russian interference.

Democrats want to continue to hammer away at their claim that the Russians cost them the election by, for instance, using social media ads to convince voters not to support their partys nominee. After all, this is cheaper and easier than leaving Washington and traveling to the Rust Belt with an economic plan that lures back working-class voters.

Even so, I dont buy the idea that the Russians divided America. And neither should you. This line of thinking gives too much power to foreign actors. Worse, it doesnt assign enough responsibility to the people who really created chaos, generated animosity and polarized the electorate in the last election.

The evidence is depressingly clear that it was Americans who divided America. And much of the blame falls squarely on the shoulders of two Americans in particular: Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump.

Its not just that these two individuals were the most deeply flawed presidential candidates offered up by the major parties in modern U.S. history. And its more than the fact that they spent months engaged in a race to the bottom and ultimately represented a disheartening lose-lose choice for voters.

Its also that the types of slash-and-burn campaigns they chose to run  during both the primary and general elections  tore apart the nation and brought out the worst in Americans.

In the Democratic primary, Clinton tore into rival Bernie Sanders, telling CNN in January 2016 that the Vermont senator was offering unrealistic big ideas that were light on specifics, overplaying his anti-establishment credentials, focusing too much on income inequality, and being soft on gun control. She also seemed to paint Sanders supporters as suckers who were so delighted by proposals like single-payer health care and free public college tuition that they didnt seem to care that Sanders never explained how he would pay for the giveaways. Later, in a book she wrote after losing the election, Clinton blamed Sanders  and his attacks on her character  for the fact that polls showed a majority of Americans thought she was untrustworthy.

And, of course, during the general election, the Democratic nominee famously disparaged Trump supporters as a basket of deplorables.

For his part, during the GOP primary, Trump attacked, well, anyone and everyone. He viciously clawed at just about every other Republican on the ballot, various members of the partys establishment, and anyone else who got in his way or had anything negative to say about him. In debates, he lobbed personal insults at opponents Jeb Bush, Ben Carson, Lindsey Graham, Marco Rubio, Rand Paul, Carly Fiorina and Ted Cruz.

Trump started his campaign by impugning the character of Mexican immigrants, describing them as criminals, rapists and drug traffickers. In time, he would also crudely attack women  particularly female journalists or politicians who dared to challenge him. From there, he moved on to attacking Muslim Americans, Hollywood actors, union bosses, corporate CEOs, former presidents, members of Congress, foreign heads of state and a certain Mexican judge who was born in Indiana. In fact, the only people whom Trump didnt criticize were Third World strongman dictators, white supremacists and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Everyone else was fair game.

And, for each of these candidates, those antics were just the warm-up acts. They really let the fur fly when they attacked each other  with Clinton basically calling Trump a misogynist, and Trump responding that Clinton was a nasty woman.

What a mess these two made of the American political landscape. Hopelessly in love with themselves, but without the slightest bit of shame, they left the country in shambles.

But do tell me again how it was the Russians who divided America. I just love a good fairy tale.

 2018 Washington Post Writers GroupSAN DIEGO  California Democrats sent a loud message to Sen. Dianne Feinstein, one of the nations best-known and longest-serving politicians, by not endorsing her for re-election at their state convention that ended Sunday.

Feinstein, the states senior senator, didnt just fall short of winning the endorsement of her partys activist core  she nearly lost it to her main challenger, state Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de Leon. In a sign of how rapidly the Democratic Party is moving to the left in reaction to President Trump, barely a third of delegates backed Feinstein, while the underfunded de Leon  running as a potential leader of the resistance movement  fell just six points short of the 60 percent needed to win the state partys backing.

If nothing else, the snub produced a burst of embarrassing national attention for Feinstein, a senator since 1992 and a fixture in Democratic politics on the local, state and national levels for five decades. And it gave de Leon, who trails Feinstein in the polls, a badly needed credibility boost.

The delegates also offered no endorsement in the race to replace termed-out Gov. Jerry Brown. Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom came closest, with 39 percent. He was followed by state Treasurer John Chiang (30 percent) and former state Superintendent of Public Instruction Delaine Eastin (20 percent). Former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa  who is near Newsom at the top of recent polls  finished far back, with 9 percent.

Delegates did reach the 60 percent endorsement threshold in some high-profile congressional races where several candidates are running. National Democratic leaders are targeting at least seven GOP-held seats in districts that Hillary Clinton won in 2016 as part of their strategy to flip 24 seats in November and take control of the House.

Party leaders hope the endorsements might help push to the sidelines some of the Democrats who didnt receive them. They see a danger in some winnable districts of too many Democrats splitting the partys votes in the June top-two primary, potentially allowing two Republicans to advance to November.

We have an overpopulation problem, state party Chair Eric Bauman told delegates Sunday. He encouraged them to gently steer their friends out of the race by saying, Isnt there another office you want to run for? Isnt there some other way you can express your public service?

The big endorsement shocker was the rejection of Feinstein, and de Leon, D-Los Angeles, seized on it. The outcome of todays endorsement vote is an astounding rejection of politics as usual, and it boosts our campaigns momentum as we all stand shoulder to shoulder against a complacent status quo, he said.

Unlike Feinstein, de Leon supports single-payer health care and opposes extending permission for the National Security Agency to obtain Americans email and other personal records without obtaining a warrant. Both stances endear him to party activists, who are generally more left-leaning than the larger universe of rank-and-file Democratic voters.

The endorsement votes represent the ascendency of the more progressive wing of the party thats aligned with Sen. Bernie Sanders, independent-Vt.

What this shows is that weve won the war of ideas within the Democratic Party, said RoseAnn DeMoro, executive director of the National Nurses United, a 150,000-member union that has endorsed de Leon. I think the times have moved the party.

Many Berniecrats have won seats on local central committees in the past year and attended the convention as delegates, and the vote on a Senate endorsement is an expression of that, said Dave McCuan, a professor of political science at Sonoma State University.

Something is going on with the Democratic Party  its becoming way more liberal, McCuan said.

Jae C. Hong/Associated Press

Its not unusual that Dianne Feinstein would have a difficult time winning over Democratic activists at a state party convention, he added. Shes a centrist, shes signaled her interest in working with the (Trump) administration, and she doesnt give them any red meat.

But, McCuan added, This is the high-water mark for the de Leon campaign. Where does he go from here?

Winning the partys nomination outright could have meant an estimated $2 million in additional fundraising, according to party insiders, plus a boost in de Leons anemic statewide name recognition. In an interview on The Chronicles Its All Political podcast, de Leon said many potential donors  and pollsters, vendors and others important to a campaign  have told him that theyd like to help him but fear losing other political business by crossing Feinstein.

Thats biggest crock Ive heard in my life, Feinsteins top political strategist, Bill Carrick, said Sunday. He owns his own fundraising problems.

Carrick downplayed the significance of Feinsteins poor showing at the convention, saying, We didnt have ambitious goals. We wanted to make sure he didnt get the endorsement. With that accomplished, he said, we feel that we are in pretty good shape.

Thats because the races fundamentals remain largely the same.

While virtually all likely California voters know Feinstein, polls show, two-thirds dont know de Leon. Feinstein led de Leon by 46 percent to 17 percent in a January survey by the nonpartisan Public Policy Institute of California.

Nearly two-thirds of likely Democratic voters responding to the survey preferred Feinstein.

And Feinstein is way ahead of de Leon in the money race. Her campaign has nearly $10 million on hand  de Leon has $359,261  and Feinstein has additional millions in personal wealth that she can tap.

While the delegates vote will give an adrenaline boost to de Leons campaign, Feinstein has been here before.

In 1990, she was booed at the state Democratic convention for supporting the death penalty when she was seeking the partys nomination for governor. That year, delegates endorsed the more liberal state Attorney General John Van de Kamp. It didnt matter, as Feinstein won the primary before losing the general election to Republican Pete Wilson.

On Saturday, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, who has endorsed Feinstein, downplayed the value of endorsements in high-profile races.

While these are important for the base of activists, I think most people dont look at many endorsements, Garcetti said. For those high-level races, they (voters) figure out who you are. I think its important for this activist base, but I dont think it decides elections.

Then Garcetti paused and said with a smile. I dont know if I should say that at the California Democratic Party convention.With the return of rain to the Bay Area, drivers should remember to flip on their headlights whenever it's coming down hard enough to turn on their windshield wipers.

After all, it's the law. A subsection of the California Vehicle Code, amended in 2004, requires drivers to turn on their lights anytime their wipers are "in continuous use because of rain, mist, snow, fog or moisture."

But the law doesn't seem to get much attention from motorists - drivers with their lights off are as common as puddles when it rains - nor, apparently, from the California Highway Patrol.

According to CHP records, officers issued just 36 citations statewide for violations of the new law between July 2005, when enforcement of the law began, and September. Of those tickets, 27 were written to motorists in Bay Area counties.

That's not enough for Mary Lou Lyon, a retired high school teacher who lives in Cupertino. She wants to see more attention paid to the law.

"I think it needs more publicity," she said. "I talk to (drivers who don't turn their lights on in the rain) and they drive down the street but they don't hear me. I flip my lights at them but they don't know why."

Lyon's strong opinions about the topic led to the law, which she and another constituent suggested to state Sen. Joe Simitian, D-Palo Alto, in his annual "There Oughta Be a Law" contest, in which constituents suggest laws. A majority of the state's legislators and the governor agreed with Lyon and passed the bill in 2004.

It became law Jan. 1, 2005, with the first six months serving as an educational period in which citations were not issued. Tickets for violating the law come with a fine of about $100, though the exact amount varies by county.

Lyon, who retired 14 years ago, has been teaching a driving safety course to seniors for the last decade. Many older drivers, and quite a few younger ones, especially those who are color blind, have difficulty seeing other vehicles, persons or objects in the rain or fog, she said.

That's the logic behind the law, which also exists in 28 other states.

"People need to realize that (the headlight requirement) is not for them to be able to see," she said. "It's for them to be seen."

Simitian said he's not as concerned about the number of citations issued as the number of drivers obeying the law.

"We may be a long way from 100 percent compliance," he said. "But anecdotally, a lot more people seem to be turning their lights on when their wipers are on."

Fran Clader, a CHP spokeswoman, said the low ticket tally may be due to some officers citing violators under a more general section of the state's vehicle code, which requires cars to be outfitted with two working headlights, and mandates they be used "during darkness or inclement weather."

Other reasons for the low number of citations could be that drivers quickly flick on their headlights when they spot a CHP officer, Clader said, or the fact that rainy weather tends to keep officers busy with more pressing matters.

"When it's raining, lots of our officers are busy on crashes and speed enforcement," she said. "And we do get a lot of voluntary compliance, which is what we want anyway - turn on your headlights, slow down, drive carefully."

Online resources:

Read the law:

links.sfgate.com/ZBSTChina says new US sanctions threaten cooperation over North Korea

US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin announces what he said was the largest North Korea-related sanctions in a bid to disrupt North Korean shipping and trading companies and vessels and to further isolate Pyongyang, in the press room at the White House in

Reuters, Beijing :

China reacted with anger on Saturday to new U.S. sanctions aimed at increasing pressure on nuclear-equipped North Korea, saying the unilateral targeting of Chinese firms and people risked harming cooperation on the problem.

The United States said on Friday it was imposing its largest package of sanctions aimed at getting North Korea to give up its nuclear and missile programmes, and President Donald Trump warned of a "phase two" that could be "very, very unfortunate for the world" if the steps did not work.

In addressing the Trump administration's biggest national security challenge, the U.S. Treasury sanctioned one person, 27 companies and 28 ships, according to a statement on the U.S. Treasury Department's website.

The sanctions' targets include a Taiwan passport holder, as well as shipping and energy firms in mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore. The actions block assets held by the firms and individuals in the United States and prohibit U.S. citizens from dealing with them.

In a terse statement, China's Foreign Ministry said the government had always fully and thoroughly enforced United Nations resolutions on North Korea, and absolutely did not allow any of its citizens or companies to contravene them. China will "seriously handle" in accordance with the law those found to have done so, it added.

"China resolutely opposes the U.S. side enacting unilateral sanctions and 'long-armed jurisdiction' in accordance with its domestic law against Chinese entities or individuals," the ministry said.

"We have already lodged stern representations with the U.S. side about this issue, and demand the U.S. side immediately stops such relevant mistaken actions to avoid harming bilateral cooperation in the relevant area," it added, without elaborating.

China has repeatedly expressed opposition to any sanctions against North Korea not done within the framework of the United Nations, and insisted it is fully enforcing the existing - and already very tough - sanctions.

China's January trade with North Korea fell to the lowest level since at least June 2014, the latest sign that China has kept up pressure on its isolated neighbour in line with United Nations trade sanctions.

China remains North Korea's largest trading partner and sole major ally, though overall trade has fallen in recent months as the sanctions take effect.

The latest U.S. sanctions name two Chinese shipping firms - Shandong province-based Weihai World-Shipping Freight and Shanghai-based Shanghai Dongfeng Shipping Co Ltd.



Oakland Mayor Libby Schaafs warning that U.S. immigration agents were preparing to conduct a major enforcement operation in the Bay Area put advocates for immigrants on alert, and heightened the tension between federal and local authorities over Californias limited cooperation with deportation efforts.

Several people were reported to have been detained by U.S Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents around the region Sunday, but it was not clear whether the reported arrests were part of a larger immigration enforcement action.

Hotlines for immigrant advocacy groups at the same time were flooded with calls as reports and rumors of ICE activity swirled.

At least one person was detained by ICE agents in Napa around 9:40 a.m., said Susan Shawn, co-director of the North Bay Organizing Project. ICE agents also detained people with deportation orders Sunday in El Sobrante, Pinole and Atwater (Merced County), said Maricela Gutierrez, executive director of the San Joses Services, Immigrant Rights and Education Network, or SIREN.

The Power, Not Panic immigrant alliance said Sunday night that advocates had confirmed 11 arrests in Northern California, including five in Merced County, two in Sacramento County, and one apiece in Monterey and Napa counties.

Officials did not provide further details on the arrests.

The Chronicle reported in mid-January that federal officials were preparing for a big Northern California operation designed to send a message that immigration policy will be enforced in the sanctuary state.

At a Sunday afternoon news conference, Schaaf said she learned about the immigration operation from multiple sources that she would not identify. She said the information did not come through official channels.

My understanding is this is ICE activity, and it will be Bay Area-wide, she said.

ICE officials gave a statement to KGO-TV on Saturday night, saying, There are ICE operations every day and it is unclear what the mayor is referring to. ICE did not respond to several email requests for comment by The Chronicle.

Schaaf said she sought legal counsel before taking to social media Saturday evening with an alert about immigration action. She called the warning an ethical obligation.

She acknowledged sending the alert could perpetuate fear within immigrant communities, but nevertheless, said it was her duty. This is an opportunity for people to learn their rights and responsibilities, she said.

San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo said Sunday that he had learned of a few isolated arrests, and urged families to avail themselves of legal resources without giving in to fear.

I want to make sure that families are not keeping their kids home from school, and theyre not refraining from taking sick family members to the doctor because of some fears that are being stoked by ICE activities, he said.

ICE has taken a series of enforcement actions in California in recent weeks, while expressing frustration with sanctuary laws, which by restricting cooperation between local and federal authorities seek to persuade immigrants not to live in the shadows. President Trump said Thursday that he was thinking about pulling ICE out of California, but it appears that his administration is doing the opposite.

An operation in Los Angeles this month resulted in 212 arrests of immigrants suspected of being undocumented, ICE said. Federal agents also told 122 businesses there that they will be auditing their hiring records to determine whether they are following immigration law, according to officials. Last month, immigration agents visited 77 Northern California businesses in one week, demanding proof that employees were allowed to work in the United States.

Schaaf referred anyone targeted by immigration enforcement officials to the website of Centro Legal de la Raza, a legal services organization that advocates for the immigrant community.

Its hotline had received an influx of calls since Schaafs announcement from worried residents asking for more information, said Malena Mayorga, a coordinator for the Alameda County Immigration Legal and Education Partnership. The group works in conjunction with Centro Legal as part of a rapid response network that seeks to deploy observers to ICE operations, document interactions and enlist legal defense for families.

Hundreds of volunteers were notified of the potential sweep Sunday, and attorneys were standing by, Mayorga said. We are doing everything we can to make sure that things are running as smoothly as possible and that we have as many people available as possible.

Advocates at SIREN sent text messages to 2,000 community members reminding them of their rights should a federal officer show up at their door, Gutierrez said.

This is the message that has been going out since Trump got into office  a message of tearing families apart. But families are resilient. We are strong. We are powerful, she said, explaining that the groups hotline was expanded to 24 hours, with three attorneys on call.

Schaaf said residents should understand their legal rights in advance of federal actions. She noted that Oakland public schools have strict protocols in place to protect students, that city police officers are prohibited from participating in ICE enforcement, and that state law limits business owners in assisting ICE.

I have reached out to local leaders and partners in our immigrant communities to share this information, Schaaf said. Our shared message is clear: We want residents to prepare, not panic. We understand ICE has used activity rumors in the past as a tactic to create fear; our intent is for our community to go about their daily lives without fear, but resiliency and awareness.

The Chronicle reported last month that a planned ICE operation in Northern California was expected to go after people who have been identified as targets for deportation, including those who have been served with final deportation orders and those with criminal histories. According to a source familiar with the plans, the number of arrests could increase if officers come across other undocumented immigrants in the course of their actions and make what are known as collateral arrests.

The tension between the White House and liberal leaders in California intensified after the July 2015 killing of Kate Steinle on a San Francisco Bay pier. The undocumented immigrant shooter, Jose Ines Garcia Zarate, had previously been released from San Francisco County Jail under the citys sanctuary ordinance, even though immigration officers had asked that he be turned over for a sixth deportation.

After Garcia Zarate was acquitted of murder charges in November, Thomas Homan, the acting director of ICE, blamed the city for Steinles death, saying the shooting could have been prevented if San Francisco had simply turned the alien over to ICE, as we requested, instead of releasing him back onto the streets.

While San Francisco was a pioneer as a sanctuary city, statewide legislation signed by Gov. Jerry Brown last year limits the circumstances under which jails across California turn over undocumented inmates to the federal government. It also forbids police officers from arresting people on civil immigration warrants and from joining federal agents in task forces intended to enforce immigration laws.

Under the Trump administration, ICE has repeatedly warned that if the agency cant detain people from local jails, it will be forced to arrest them in the communities that hold such policies.

Because sanctuary jurisdictions like Los Angeles prevent ICE from arresting criminal aliens in the secure confines of a jail, our officers are forced to conduct at-large arrests in the community, putting officers, the general public and the aliens at greater risk and increasing the incidents of collateral arrests, Homan said.

Last week, when he threatened to remove federal immigration authorities from California, Trump said, If I wanted to pull our people from California you would have a crime nest like youve never seen in California. ... In two months theyd be begging for us to come back.Seeking an added layer of gun safety, a Bay Area police department has begun issuing its officers gun safes and orders to use them.

The Redwood City Police Department, becoming perhaps the first in the state to do so, began equipping its 110 uniformed officers with the safes two months ago. So far, they seem to be a hit with the rank and file.

"It's definitely something positive for officers that take their weapons home," said Detective Rhonda Leipelt, head of the Police Officers' Association.

"They have someplace to put it, and they know it's safe."

That's the point, said Redwood City police Sgt. Joe Rodrigues, who runs the program. And anyone who fails to use the department-issued 8-pound, Kevlar- coated gun safe could pay a stiff price if a gun accident were to occur at home: departmental discipline or criminal charges.

"We have a responsibility as a law enforcement agency to provide our officers with some type of home security system for their weapons," Rodrigues said.

While many police agencies -- including San Jose, San Francisco, Alameda and the San Mateo County sheriff's office -- issue gun locks to officers, only a few in the nation provide gun safes.

Redwood City purchased the safes from Frazen Security Products Inc. for a discounted $60 apiece. Each safe can hold two guns. The department will provide additional safes to officers who have more than two weapons.

Interest in gun safety in the homes of police officers grew out of a 1991 state law making gun owners responsible for keeping loaded guns out of the reach of children.

The head of the association that represents the state's professional police weapons trainers said he saw no problem with requiring off-duty officers to keep their weapons locked in a safe at home.

Police officers' families deserve protection from the tools of the trade, said Larry Nichols, president of California Rangemasters Association, adding that many of today's young officers lacked the military experience of past generations of cops and needed to have the safety lesson reinforced.

Bob Blankenship, president of the California Police Chiefs Association, said he hoped Redwood City's emphasis on safety would help change the lax attitude about gun security in the United States.

About 17,000 people a year are treated in emergency rooms for nonfatal gun accidents, a 1996 study estimated. And a study last year found guns and children living side by side in 11 million American homes, with unsecured guns in 43 percent of those homes.

Gun control organizations such as Handgun Control Inc. have long argued that lax storage and firearms accidents go together. Spokeswoman Nancy Hua said the organization liked the sound of Redwood City's plan, particularly in light of a February study by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission that found that many gun locks could be opened with a paper clip or simply by dropping them.

"We think it's a good idea for every gun owner, whether in law enforcement or not, to have a good safe," she said. "Far too many people think that hiding (a gun) in a top drawer is sufficient."

Rodrigues said he, too, used to keep his service gun on a top shelf, figuring that it was too high for his infant children to get to. But he is reminded about the son of a fellow officer at another department who killed himself with a weapon his father brought home from work.

"You think about what you see on TV, and everyone thinks that will never happen to us, but it easily can," he said. "I didn't want to be what I see on TV."

Leipelt, too, sees the value in having a gun safe or two around the house.

"I'm getting ready to have a child, so I think it's great," she said. "Now my husband (a Santa Clara officer) is jealous, he doesn't have one. We'll buy one for him, too."Conventional wisdom has long held that getting seven to eight hours of shut-eye a night is important for your next-day performance and your longer-term health. But according to a new study, travel can rob you of some of those precious hours.

Based on that study from Mattress Advisor  which polled 1,000 persons who traveled recently  here are five suggestions for keeping travel-related sleep deprivation to a minimum.

1. Drive instead of fly, if you can. The survey results indicated that air travelers lost significantly more sleep time than auto travelers. For a one-day trip, airline passengers estimated they lost 2.7 hours of sleep, vs. just 1.2 hours for drivers. The deficit adds up with trip length: On a seven-day trip, flyers lost an average of 5.7 hours of sleep, while auto travelers lost just 3.0. (I agree that I sleep better when driving instead of flying-- however, I have found that if I drive late into the night, then check into a hotel, it takes longer than normal to relax and fall asleep.)

TravelSkills with Chris McGinnis sponsored by . See More Collapse

2. Find a method that helps you nod off when youre away from home. According to the survey, a good book was the preferred sleep inducer, cited by 25.6 percent of road trippers and 25.0 percent of air travelers. Booze seems to help some  17.9 percent of flyers and 13 percent of drivers said a drink or two serves their sleep purposes (well, it helps them get to sleep; it might not help them stay asleep). If you read books on your phone or tablet, be sure you have installed a night mode or night shift app that dims the screen and cuts out blue light.

3. Allow time to return to normal. After the trip ends, you cant just suddenly jump back into your normal routine. The survey found that auto travelers needed an average of 1.3 days to get back to a normal sleep schedule after their trip ended, and airline travelers needed 2.1 days. The longer the trip duration, the longer it took travelers to return to normal sleep patterns  for a trip of eight to 14 days, the average was 1.9 days for road travelers and 2.8 days for flyers. (For me, the toughest returns are when flying back to mainland US from Hawaii or Australia-- especially in winter. Talk about post-vacation blues!)

4. Dont overdo it with business trips. The survey found that business travel takes a bigger toll on sleep than leisure or personal trips do. On a typical seven-day trip, a business travelers sleep loss averages 9.5 hours, or more than a full nights rest. The study suggests part of the problem may be that road warriors tend to eat lousy food and avoid their regular workout routines when they travel. (I'm guilty of that! I finally stopped packing running gear several years ago.)

5. For overseas trips, turn to the bottle  not for alcohol, but for supplements or medicine. Mattress Advisor said more than one in five business travelers report using the hormone melatonin to adjust sleep schedules disrupted by crossing multiple time zones. Some travelers rely on more powerful alternatives, such as Tylenol PM or even Ambien, the company said. But whatever you take, doing a test run at home is probably a good way to avert unintended consequences  such as falling asleep in your first meeting of the morning. Or worse, you could end up causing an inflight ruckus and then have to blame it on the Ambien.

And heres a bonus sixth tip: Dont schedule an early-morning departure flight. It might seem like a good idea that will get you to your destination as soon as possible, but when you figure in the time it takes to get to the airport and go through security, etc., and the additional sleep you lose due to night-before-departure anxiety, its probably just not worth it. (Personally, I think all flights departing before 7 am should be outlawed! I get almost no sleep on the night before an early morning flight.)

What tips or tactics do you use to get better sleep when traveling? I always pack my own eye mask and silicone earplugs to help sleep soundly on planes or in noisy hotel rooms-- see 4 Cheap but indispensable things to pack in your go bag. Please share your sleep tips below.

You can read the full study from Mattress Advisor here.

--Chris McGinnis

Read all recent TravelSkills posts here

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Chris McGinnis is the founder of TravelSkills.com. The author is solely responsible for the content above, and it is used here by permission. You can reach Chris at chris@travelskills.com or on Twitter @cjmcginnis.Frightening video of a bag on fire aboard a China Southern Airlines flight is making the rounds on social media today.

Channel News Asia is reporting that a bag stowed in an overhead bin caught fire as passengers were boarding a China Southern widebody preparing to take off from Guangzhou for the two hour flight to Shanghai.

The South China Morning Post says that the fire was caused by a portable mobile phone charger battery pack.

ALSO: Lufthansa swaps planes at SFO & LAX

The owner of the bag is cooperating with authorities investigating the incident.

Here's a video of the incident from the China Aviation Review:

The fire was quickly extinguished and did not do much damage to the plane-- nonetheless a replacement aircraft was flown in and passengers took off three hours late.

MORE: How to use Google Flights to get the best fare deals

A scary sight indeed and a good thing it did not happen while the plane was in the air.

--Chris McGinnis

Read all recent TravelSkills posts here

Get TravelSkills via email! Sign up here

Chris McGinnis is the founder of TravelSkills.com. The author is solely responsible for the content above, and it is used here by permission. You can reach Chris at chris@travelskills.com or on Twitter @cjmcginnis.A man was arrested early Sunday after holding two women at gunpoint and sexually assaulting them at a party supply store in Fremont, authorities said.

The incident was reported about 8:45 a.m. Saturday shortly before the opening of a Party City store, at the Fremont Hub Shopping Center, 39100 Argonaut Way, according to the Fremont Police Department.WASHINGTON  A redacted, declassified memo released by Democrats on the House intelligence committee Saturday seeks to counter a narrative that Republicans on the committee have pushed for months  that the FBI and Justice Department conspired against President Trump during his presidential campaign, abusing a secret surveillance process to spy on one of his operatives in its Russia investigation.

The Democratic memo was released Saturday after weeks of delays. The White House on Feb. 9 objected to its release, citing national security concerns. That sent the Democrats back to negotiations with the FBI over how much of the memo needed to be blacked out.

Trump had no such concerns about an earlier classified memo written by Republicans, which he declassified Feb 2 over objections from the FBI. In that memo, Republicans took aim at the FBI and the Justice Department over the use of an anti-Trump dossier compiled by former British spy Christopher Steele in obtaining a secret warrant to monitor the communications of former Trump campaign foreign policy adviser Carter Page.

The Democratic document attempts to undercut and add context to some of the main points from the GOP memo, including the GOP assertion that the FBI obtained the surveillance warrant without disclosing that Steeles materials were funded by Democrat Hillary Clintons campaign and the Democratic National Committee. Republicans had said that federal authorities had not disclosed enough to the court about the political nature of the work, but the Democratic memo contends that the Justice Department disclosed the assessed political motivation of those who hired him.

The Democratic memo also asserts that the FBIs concerns about Page long predate the Steele dossier, and that its application to monitor his communications details suspicious activities he undertook during the 2016 presidential campaign. That includes a July 2016 trip to Moscow in which he gave a university commencement address.

Trump has said the GOP memo vindicates him in the Russia investigation led by special counsel Robert Mueller. But congressional Democrats and Republicans, including House Speaker Paul Ryan and Rep. Trey Gowdy of South Carolina, who helped draft the GOP memo, have said it shouldnt be used to undermine the special counsel.

Partisan disagreements on the intelligence committee have escalated over the past year as Democrats have charged that Republicans arent taking the panels investigation into Russian election meddling seriously enough. They say the GOP memo is designed as a distraction from the probe, which is looking into whether Trumps campaign was in any way connected to the Russian interference.

The top Democrat on the intelligence panel, Rep. Adam Schiff of Burbank, said Saturday that the memo should put to rest any concerns that the American people might have as to the conduct of the FBI, the Justice Department and the court that issued the secret warrant.Mexican leader's visit with Trump shelved over wall

AFP, Washington :

Mexico and the United States have shelved tentative plans for a visit to Washington by President Enrique Pena Nieto as tensions persist over a proposed border wall, US media reported Saturday.

Pena Nieto had already cancelled a visit in January last year because of US President Donald Trump's insistence that Mexico pay for the wall, which he wants as part of his efforts to curb immigration.

The White House had said in mid-February that the two presidents were working on arranging a meeting.

But The Washington Post, which first reported cancellation of the provisional meeting, said both countries agreed to call it off after a testy telephone call ended in an impasse over the border barrier.

The phone call took place last Tuesday.

Citing US and Mexican officials, the Post said Trump "would not agree to publicly affirm Mexico's position that it would not fund construction of a border wall that the Mexican people widely consider offensive."

Pena Nieto's visit had been considered for February or March, the Post said, but the Mexican leader wanted to avoid public embarrassment. Building the border wall was a primary pledge of the 2016 presidential campaign by Trump, who says the barrier is necessary for his country's security.

Asked about the reports, a Mexican presidential source told AFP there would be no comment. "There's nothing additional to the last Tuesday statement," the source said, referring to comments after the phone call.

Both countries said at the time that they agreed in their call to boost cooperation on security, trade and migration.

In addition to disagreement over the wall, Trump's attacks on Mexican immigrants and threats to scrap the North American Free Trade Agreement have strained relations between the neighbors.

The leaders did meet once, on the sidelines of the G20 summit of major economies in Hamburg, Germany, last July.



Tentative plans for a trip by Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto to the White House have been scrapped after he and President Trump spoke by phone and tangled once again over Trumps plans to erect a border wall, according to news reports.

The two leaders spoke for about 50 minutes Tuesday and devoted much of the conversation to the wall, the Washington Post reported. Citing unidentified sources, the Post said Trump once again insisted that Mexico pay for the wall. Pena Nieto once again said Mexico would not.

The Post said one Mexican official said Trump lost his temper, while U.S. officials described him being more exasperated.

While both Washington and Mexico City confirmed that Trump and Pena Nieto spoke Tuesday, both sides provided only sketchy accounts of the call. Reuters reported that both governments agreed now was not the time for Pena Nieto visit to Washington.

Reports suggested that Pena Nietos advisers had been closely considering both the potential benefits and pitfalls of a meeting since the Mexican secretary of foreign relations, Luis Videgaray, returned from Washington this month with word that the Trump administration would be receptive to a visit.

But ultimately the volatility of Trump and the lack of certainty about his commitments and actions led Mexican officials to defer the meeting, columnist Raymundo Riva Palacio wrote Friday in the El Horizonte newspaper of Monterrey.

The major sticking point to a White House visit is the possibility that the Mexican president could end up looking bad or even being humiliated should the unpredictable Trump renew his insistence that Mexico pay for his plan to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.

The theme is the same that they have clashed about publicly on other occasions, the border wall, Riva Palacio wrote.

Any public perception emerging from a White House meeting that Trump bullied Pena Nieto  or that the Mexican president was submissive to his U.S. counterpart  could have substantial political blowback in Mexico during a presidential election year.PARKLAND, Fla.  The Florida sheriff whose department responded to the high school massacre defended his leadership Sunday while insisting that only one of his deputies was on the scene as the gunman killed 14 students and three staff members.

Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel told CNN that investigators are looking into claims that three other deputies were on the scene but failed to enter the school when the chance to save lives still existed. To date, the investigation pointed to only one deputy being on campus while the killer was present, he said.

Israel also labeled as absolutely untrue reports that the deputies waited outside even though children were inside the building needing urgent medical treatment.

Israel and the sheriffs office have come under withering scrutiny after last weeks revelation that deputy Scot Peterson did not go in to confront the suspected shooter, 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz, during the Valentines Day attack. It is also facing backlash for apparently mishandling some of the 18 tipster calls related to the suspected shooter. The tips were among a series of what authorities now describe as the clearest missed warning signs that Cruz, who had a history of disturbing behavior, posed a serious threat.

Gov. Rick Scotts office said Sunday that he asked the Florida Department of Law Enforcement Commissioner Rick Swearingen to investigate the law enforcement response to the shooting. The agency confirmed it would start the investigation immediately.

State Rep. Bill Hager, a Republican lawmaker from Boca Raton, has called on Scott to remove Israel from office because of the missed red flags.

Israel vowed not to resign, saying he has shown amazing leadership. He said Hagers letter was full of misinformation and shameful, politically motivated.

House Speaker Richard Corcoran stepped up the pressure Sunday, calling on Scott to suspend the sheriff.

In the years leading up to this unspeakable tragedy, Sheriff Israel, his deputies, and staff ignored repeated warning signs about the violent, erratic, threatening, and antisocial behavior of Nikolas Jacob Cruz, Corcoran said in a letter signed by dozens of lawmakers.

Israel insisted that lapses were being investigated. He told CNN that a deputy who responded to a Nov. 30 call referring to Cruz as a school shooter in the making was being investigated by internal affairs for not filing a report. The sheriff said the employee was placed on restrictive duty.

There needed to be report. And thats what we are looking into  that a report needed to be completed, it needed to be forwarded to either Homeland Security or a violent crimes unit, Israel said.

National Rifle Association spokeswoman Dana Loesch told ABCs This Week that critics shouldnt blame her organization, gun owners or semiautomatic weapons for the shooting, but Cruz for his own actions and the Broward Sheriffs Office and the FBI for failing to stop him despite warnings that he was a potential school shooter.

Can we actually look at what really could have prevented this? Loesch said. That firearm did not walk itself into the school. ... The Broward County Sheriffs Office allowed that firearm to go into that school.

The FBI has acknowledged that it failed to investigate a tip about Cruz that the agency received on Jan. 5.

David Hogg, senior at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School who has become a leader to the student movement, said on ABC that Loeschs comments were disgusting. He said Loeschs goal is to distract the American public and to benefit the gun manufacturers.

Stoneman Douglas students have been pushing for tougher gun laws. Most want AR-15s banned and the age for buying rifles in Florida raised to 21, as it is for handguns. Many want all semiautomatic rifles banned.

Students return to classes on Wednesday.LAS VEGAS  Check your bags, dump the weed.

McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas is offering travelers a chance to dispose of any marijuana they might have on them before hopping onto a flight. The amnesty boxes have been installed at the airport and soon will be located at smaller airports in North Las Vegas and Henderson  20 dope boxes in all.

More than half are already in place at various passenger drop-off sites and airport car rental sites.

Christine Crews, spokeswoman for McCarran, said the boxes were installed after the Clark County Commission voted last year to ban marijuana possession on airport property to keep the facility in line with federal law.

Possession of marijuana for recreational use was legalized by Nevada voters in 2016 and took effect Jan. 1, 2017, despite the drug still being classified as illegal under federal law. Nevada and seven other states along with Washington, D.C., currently allow marijuana to be sold for recreational consumption.

Las Vegas isnt the first airport to offer amnesty buckets for travelers to dispose of their weed. After Colorado legalized recreational marijuana six years ago, the Colorado Springs Airport set up amnesty boxes for people to dump their marijuana before takeoff.

But the states largest airport, Denver International, chose not to adopt such a plan, spokeswoman Stacey Stegman said in an email.

Weve had very few instances of people coming to a checkpoint with MJ (marijuana). If they do, they are asked to discard it and the police confiscate it, she said. No one has been in trouble for this. Also, weve not had problems with discarded MJ. All has gone well.

The legalization of marijuana in a patchwork of states is forcing industries and government to grapple with a product that is bought, sold and consumed in a legal gray zone. Banking regulations, which fall under federal law, have made legal marijuana businesses largely cash-run enterprises. And, while its legal to possess and consume on private property, it remains illegal to smoke pot in public.

Airports are just the latest venue to adapt to the new laws and a more mellow view by the public about marijuana consumption.

Crews said the amnesty boxes are a convenient way for people to comply with the airports ordinance that prohibits pot on site. The boxes are also designed to prevent people from trying to reach in and remove disposed drugs.

California, which has also legalized recreational marijuana use, has several international airports and officials at the Los Angeles World Airports and San Francisco International Airport said they didnt have the boxes.1 House explosion: Federal authorities are investigating a suspected natural gas leak that caused an explosion at a newly renovated house in Dallas, killing a 12-year-old girl and injuring four other members of her family. A team from the National Transportation Safety Board arrived Sunday to look into the blast. Firefighters on Friday found the home shattered but no fire. Linda Rogers was pronounced dead at a hospital. Two other gas-related problems were reported last week in the neighborhood where a construction crew has been working.

2 Art heist: A reputed mobster who authorities believe is the last surviving person of interest in the largest art heist in U.S. history is facing sentencing in an unrelated weapons case. Robert Gentile, 81, is set to be sentenced Tuesday in federal court in Hartford, Conn., where he faces up to six years in prison. Authorities seized firearms from his home that he was not supposed to possess because he is a convicted felon. Prosecutors have said they believe the Manchester resident has information about the still-unsolved 1990 heist at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston. Thieves stole an estimated $500 million worth of artwork, including works by Rembrandt and Johannes Vermeer. Gentile has denied knowing anything about the theft.Bangla Olympiad at ITHS to mark Language Day

Information Minister Hasanul Haq Inu, MP and Prof Dr Md. Harun-Ur-Rashid Askari, Vice Chancellor, Islami University, Kushtia are seen with the winners of Bangla Olympiad at the presentation and gala ceremony of the contest held at International Turkish Ho

Campus Report :

International Turkish Hope School (ITHS) has organized Inter-school Bangla Olympiad to mark the International mother Language Day at its main campus recently. The school has been organizing this Olympiad for the last eight years in the month of February to honour the langyage hero of Bangladesh. The Olympiad has witnessed a major participation of the most prominent English Medium and English Versions of the National Curriculum Schools of the capital, says a press release.

This year, a staggering number of contestants from numerous renowned schools around Dhaka participated in six different categories and showcased their talents in the field of Music, Poem Recitation, Essay Writing, Drawing, Group Dance, and Extempore speech. With the involvements of the prominent intellectuals, artists, linguists, academicians and media personnel the Olympiad gained an enormous momentum within a very short time. A total of 1500 participants from 62 different schools with their 88 branches have participated in this 7th Inter-school Bangia Olympiad. The presentation and gala ceremony was held on Sunday at its auditorium. The winning students along with their parents, school principals, coordinators were present at the program. The chief guest of the program was Information Minister Hasanul Haq Inu, MP and the guest of honour was Prof Dr Md. Harun-Ur-Rashid Askari, Vice Chancellor, Islami University.

In his speech the Information Minister emphasized on remembering the history of our language movement and the sacrifices of the martyrs. Also to become a responsible citizen as this country has a rich history of culture and heritage of its own. Building own identity as Bangladeshi is important among this generation he added.

Guest of Honour appreciated this kind of arrangement by ITHS. He was pleased to see English medium students being so proficient in BangIa and taking so much interest in Bangladeshi Culture. Both the chief guest and the guest of honour urged all the students to give first priority to Bangia language which is their mother tongue. They opined study in an English medium school is never a barrier to learn to respect the language and culture and heritage.

Bangla Olympiad is an annual inter-school competition envisioned for the purpose of cultivating students' interest in Bangla and stimulating their intellect through the use of their mother tongue.Menlo Park Police / Menlo Park Police Department

Angered by the noise coming from a party at his neighbors home, a Menlo Park man fired an assault rifle in his backyard Saturday, prompting a shelter-in-place order and then a manhunt in the usually peaceful Silicon Valley city, police said.

While the suspect, identified as 36-year-old Jose Gutierrez, has not been captured, authorities said they recovered an AR-style rifle in his home that they believe was used in the incident.Lecture on 'Entrepreneurship with Diversity' at DIU

Dr Md. Sabur Khan, Chairman, Board of Trustees of Daffodil International University hands over a memento to Anowar Hossain, Founder Chairman of Anwar Group of Industries at the 12th DIU Industry Academia Lecture Series on Entrepreneurship Development held

Campus Report :

The Industry Academia Lecture Series on Entrepreneurship Development of Daffodil International University (DIU) was held on Saturday at 71 Milonayoton of the University. DIU Career Development Center (CDC) organised the event.

This was the 12th session of the series lecture on Entrepreneurship Development dubbed as 'Entrepreneurship with Diversity'. Anowar Hossain, Founder Chairman of Anwar Group of Industries delivered lecture at the session while Dr Md. Sabur Khan, Chairman, Board of Trustees, DIU delivered the welcome address.

The program was also addressed by Prof Dr Yousuf M Islam, Vice Chancellor, Mahabubur Rahman, Former President of Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industries (DCCI), Monowar Hossain, Hossain Mehbub, Hossain Khaled, Md. Abu Taher Khan, Director, CDC and Syed Mizanur Rahman, Director (Student Affairs) of DIU. Country's renowned industrialists, business leaders, economists, teachers, researchers and elites of the civil society were present at the program.

Anwar Hossain urged the young students to be industrious as well as to be educated on morally and ethically holding the social values in their character. He said, it is not enough to achieve an academic certificate only; rather you should also get an ethical certificate.

Otherwise the academic certificate wouldn't effective to your career.

Mahbubur Rahman, Former President of DCCI said, I worked with Anwar Hossin for a long time and had a great intimacy with him. Several times disagreements have happened among us.

But at the end of the day we were united at last. He has no formal education but he learned a lot from his real life experience. It's proven by Anwar Hossain that how to reach top of level from Zero.FREMONT (BCN)

Police are asking for the public's help in an investigation into an armed robbery and sexual assault this morning at a store in the Fremont Hub shopping center.

Someone called police at about 8:50 a.m. about an armed robbery and sexual assault at the Party City store at 39210 Fremont Hub.

A man entered the store shortly before the business opened. Police said he was armed with a handgun and held two female employees at gunpoint while he sexually assaulted them.

The man fled and the victims called police. Several units responded and officers canvassed the area, but did not develop any leads.

Police described the suspect as a black man wearing a black-rimmed hat with white lettering on it, a black sweatshirt with a white shirt underneath, dark pants and white shoes.

Police said they are asking for help from any witnesses and anyone who has surveillance video of the area. Call the Police Department at (510) 790-6800, extension 3.

Anonymous tips can be sent by texting TIP FremontPD followed by a message to 888-777.State funding has enabled the Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Office to acquire a vehicle for a mobile substation, according to sheriff's officials.

Recently, the sheriff's office was awarded financing from the California State Homeland Security Grant Program to purchase a Dodge Ram Promaster Van, deputies said.Immigration agents may conduct an operation today in Oakland and other parts of the San Francisco Bay Area, according to a statement Saturday night from Mayor Libby Schaaf.

The mayor said she got the information Saturday from multiple credible sources.

Schaaf is encouraging residents to consult resources on immigration such as http://www.centrolegal.org/acilep/ to understand their legal rights and options in case they are detained or know someone who needs legal representation.

Schaaf said she is sharing the information so residents are prepared and not to panic anyone.

Oakland school officials have strict procedures in place to protect students and families and Oakland police officers are prohibited from taking part in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations, according to Schaaf.

California law prohibits business owners from helping immigration agents with enforcement and bars federal agents from going into employee-only areas.

Schaaf said she does not have any information on the specific places where immigration agents may conduct their operations.

As recently as Thursday, President Donald Trump threatened to pull immigration enforcement agents out of California, which was met with amusement from some members of the public.

Trump said doing so would make the state a "crime nest like you've never seen," a claim that lawmakers and activists disputed.

A homemade pipe bomb was delivered Saturday morning to the Novato Police Department and has since been rendered safe by a University of California at Berkeley bomb squad, police said.

A Novato resident brought the bomb into the Police Department on Machin Avenue at 11 a.m.

Police said the resident found the bomb earlier Saturday morning near the side of the road at Olive Avenue and Deer Island Lane.

The bomb was about 8 inches long and in a plastic tube with a silver metallic powder inside.

Police said officers immediately closed the Police Department lobby and Machin Avenue to vehicles and pedestrians.

The Police Department and Machin Avenue have since reopened.

At least one person died Saturday afternoon in a highway crash in unincorporated Santa Clara County southeast of Gilroy, California Highway Patrol officials said.

The crash was reported at 2:11 p.m. on eastbound state Highway 152 just east of Lake Road.

As of 4 p.m., CHP officers were still at the scene. No other details were immediately available.

Police are asking for the public's help in an investigation into an armed robbery and sexual assault Saturday morning at a store in the Fremont Hub shopping center.

Someone called police at about 8:50 a.m. about an armed robbery and sexual assault at the Party City store at 39210 Fremont Hub.

A man entered the store shortly before the business opened. Police said he was armed with a handgun and held two female employees at gunpoint while he sexually assaulted them.

The man fled and the victims called police. Several units responded and officers canvassed the area, but did not develop any leads.

Police described the suspect as a black man wearing a black-rimmed hat with white lettering on it, a black sweatshirt with a white shirt underneath, dark pants and white shoes.

Police said they are asking for help from any witnesses and anyone who has surveillance video of the area.

A firefighter was injured in a house fire Saturday afternoon in Los Altos Hills that caused more than $1 million of damage, Santa Clara County Fire Department officials said.

The fire was reported at 12:59 p.m. in the 25000 block of La Rena Lane where crews arrived to find smoke and flames coming from the roof of a roughly 2,000 square foot home.

Firefighters called for a second alarm and had the fire under control at 1:27 p.m.

The two occupants of the home were able to get out before firefighters arrived, but will have to live elsewhere for a while, fire officials said.

A firefighter suffered injuries not considered life-threatening because of a fall off a roof. The firefighter was taken to a hospital.

Fire officials said the fire is under investigation but is not considered suspicious.

A two-alarm fire caused about $350,000 of damage Saturday morning to a Taco Bell in Fremont, a fire battalion chief said.

A fire alarm sounded at 6:22 a.m., sending firefighters to a restaurant at 39080 Argonaut Way in a strip mall in the Fremont Hub shopping center, Battalion Chief Steve Silva said.

Firefighters didn't have far to go though because Fire Station No. 1 is across the street.

As the doors to the station were going up, firefighters called for a first alarm.

The smoke from the fire was gray at first but turned black and Silva feared the building and not just the contents were on fire.

He called for a second alarm.

Silva said crews found flames above the kitchen in some ducting in the attic.

Sprinklers were going off and the water kept the fire from spreading to other businesses.

Firefighters knocked the fire down by about 6:40 a.m. No one was injured.

Water, electricity and gas was initially shut off to all the businesses in the strip mall, but all utilities are back on in each business except Taco Bell, Silva said.

The fire is under investigation.

Police are asking for the public's help in finding a man they say stole two large racks of California Lottery Scratcher tickets from a Petaluma cigarette store Friday night.

The man went into Discount Cigarettes at 5320 Old Redwood Highway around 11:19 p.m. Friday and asked to buy cigarettes, police said. While the clerk was busy with the transaction, the suspect grabbed the racks and ran to a getaway car in front of the business.

The vehicle was last seen getting onto northbound U.S. Highway 101 from Old Redwood Highway, according to police.

Suspects are cashing in winning lottery tickets in the Santa Rosa area, police said, and have netted around $500 worth of lottery winnings at different locations.

The suspect is described as a white man in his thirties with brown hair and a brown mustache, wearing a black sweatshirt with "Thrasher" in orange on the front, blue jeans and black shoes.

A suspect has been arrested in connection with three bank robberies that occurred in January and February in San Jose, police said.

Oscar Radillo, 29, of San Jose, was arrested at the Great Mall in Milpitas and booked into the Santa Clara County Jail on suspicion of robbery Feb. 13, according to police.

In all three robberies, a suspect entered the bank and handed the teller a note demanding money, then fled with the cash, police said.

The first robbery was at Bank of the West at 6213 Santa Teresa Blvd. on Jan. 4 around 1:05 p.m., the second robbery was the next day at Bank of the West at 908 Blossom Hill and the third was on Feb. 7 at Chase Bank at 555 West Capitol Expressway, according to police.

An Oakland hiker who went missing this week in Yosemite National Park was located safe on Friday.

Alan Chow, 36, had been missing since Tuesday, according to park officials.

Chow was spotted from a National Park Service helicopter around noon on Friday above Wapama Fall in the Hetch Hetchy area.

Park officials conducted an extensive search of the area during the past several days.

Chow suffered minor injuries and was transported to the Hetch Hetchy Ranger Station on Friday.

He has been reunited with his family.

Officials said Chow stayed in his tent, was able to stay hydrated and had an adequate food supply.

Approximately 60 people took part in the search effort since Tuesday.SL leaders held over extortion charges

UNB, Chittagong :

Two local leaders of Awami Sechhasebak League were arrested on Saturday from different places of the port city in a case filed over extortion charges.

The accused were identified as Debashis Nath Debu and ATM Monjurul Islam Ratan, executive members of the city unit Sechhasebak League, said Mohiuddin Mahmud, officer-in-charge (OC) of Panchlaish Police Station.

According to the case statement, the arrestees demanded extortion of Tk 1 crore from Bandhan Nath, an expatriate of Purba Nasirabad area under Panchlais Police Station of the city, while he was constructing a building on a piece of land in 2016.

On February 9, 2016, the arrestees injured Bandhan Nath by firearms after he refused to meet their demand.Security beefed up at Ctg Port

Chittagong Bureau :

The Chittagong Port authorities have issued some instructions expressing security concerns following the seizure of foreign alcoholic drinks from an unauthorised boat sent by freight forward agency GBX Logistics Limited to a foreign ship berthed at the outer anchorage.

A port official told on Friday that the GBX incident might seem insignificant, but could lead to a security threat. "Theft or any other unwanted incident on a ship will get huge foreign media coverage and damage the Chittagong Port's reputation as an international one," he said, requesting anonymity.

"That's why the shipping agents have been given the letter with warning and instructions," he added. The port authorities sent the letter to Bangladesh Shipping Agents' Associa-tion on Feb 15 after five bottles of foreign alcoholic drinks were found in a GBX Logistics boat sent to a ship, MV OEL Lanka, on Feb 9. In their letter, the port authorities asked the shipping agents to refrain of sending anyone other than authorised people to foreign ships, to inform the port's radio control while sending a small vessel, and not to bring unauthorised or dangerous goods from foreign ships ashore in order to ensure national security.

GBX Logistics, the local agent of international container shippers Hapag-Lloyd, is also accused of dodging millions in taxes and money laundering. The High Court is hearing a writ petition filed over the issue.The port official who spoke to the media persons on condition of anonymity said, "A boat bound for an anchored foreign ship must have authorised representatives of the agent.

The shipping agents must follow the guidelines to ensure the port's security. Otherwise, the port will lose admissibility on security ground."Shipping Agents' Association President Ahsanul Huq Chowdhury told that the agents should be careful while sending people to foreign ships following the International Maritime Organisation or IMO Convention. "

Bail extended in Zia Trust case

Staff Reporter :

A Dhaka court on Sunday extended the bail of BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia until Monday in Zia Charitable Trust graft case.

Judge Md Akhteruzzaman of the Special Judge Court-5 passed the order after Khaleda Zia's lawyer Barrister Moudud Ahmed submitted a petition seeking an extension of her bail.

The same court on February 1 gave Khaleda Zia ad-interim bail till Sunday and asked her to appear before it the same day.

Since she was earlier convicted in Zia Orphanage Trust graft case and now in jail, she cannot appear before it.

On the other hand, Public Prosecutor Mosharraf Hossain Kajol moved a petition for issuing production warrant action against Khaleda Zia.

It the court passed the production warrant and the jail authorities produce her before it today (Monday), Khaleda can seek bail in the case, Kajol said.

But the court is yet to give any order in this regard.

The anti-graft body filed the Zia charitable corruption case in August 2011 with Tejgaon Police Station accusing four persons, including Khaleda Zia, of abusing power to raise funds for the trust from unknown sources.

The three other accused are: Harris Chowdhury, political secretary of the then prime minister Khaleda Zia; Ziaul Islam Munna, assistant private secretary (APS) to Harris; and Monirul Islam Khan, APS of former Dhaka city mayor Sadeque Hossain Khoka.SAN DIEGO  State Senate leader Kevin de Leon, hoping to land the California Democratic Partys endorsement for his longshot U.S. Senate campaign, intensified his attacks on incumbent Sen. Dianne Feinstein on Saturday, saying the days of Democrats biding our time, biting our tongue and triangulating at the margins are over.

Without directly naming Feinstein, a fellow Democrat who was first elected to the Senate in 1992, de Leon told delegates at the state party convention that some will have you believe this Senate race is about congressional seniority, not ideas or values; that being good sometimes is good enough.

By the time the votes of 3,400 delegates are counted early Sunday morning, the Los Angeles legislator will know if his candidacy will get a much-needed boost and whether progressives tired of Feinstein will have a shot at ousting her. If he were to win the partys endorsement  or even block Feinstein from getting the 60 percent support needed to secure it  it would be huge, de Leon told The Chronicles Its All Political podcast.

Theres no doubt that a California Democrats reject Feinstein headline would send a tremor through the nations political establishment and breathe life into de Leons campaign.

But its long-term value might be limited. While the Democratic nod would enable de Leon to draw on the state partys infrastructure and some of its cash, the fundamentals of the race would still be largely the same. Feinstein led de Leon 46 percent to 17 percent in a January survey by the nonpartisan Public Policy Institute of California. Nearly two-thirds of likely Democratic voters prefer Feinstein. And with an estimated personal net worth of $53 million, she has access to as much cash as she needs.

Winning an endorsement, or even holding Sen. Feinstein to a draw by denying this incumbent her party's endorsement, would be a coup for Kevin de Leon, said Thad Kousser, a professor of political science at UC San Diego.

It would be a surprising sign that California's Democratic establishment is not lining up behind one of its most experienced and popular officeholders, Kousser said. But it would not be a death knell.

De Leons campaign has had a hard time getting off the ground.

Kent Nishimura/TNS

For starters, virtually every California voter knows Feinstein, while nearly two-thirds of voters dont know enough about de Leon to form an opinion. Feinstein has $9.8 million on hand and could tap millions more as one of the wealthiest members of the Senate; de Leon has raised less money than Buffy Wicks, a first-time Democratic Assembly candidate in Oakland, and has $359,261 on hand.

3 1 of 3 Denis Poroy/Associated Press Show More Show Less 2 of 3 Denis Poroy/Associated Press Show More Show Less 3 of 3





Their race is a microcosm of two distinctly California stories at a time when the state Democratic Party is becoming more progressive and less white. Feinstein, 84, is the oldest child of a wealthy physician, raised in San Franciscos ritziest neighborhoods. De Leon, 51, the youngest son of housekeeper, was raised in a San Diego barrio just a few miles from where he addressed delegates Saturday.

In some ways, de Leons candidacy has forced Feinstein to the left, especially since August, when she enraged progressives by saying she hoped Trump had the capacity to change and if he does, he can be a good president.

Ever since then, shes been trying to walk back that remark to progressives, who have an outsize presence at the convention.

At some of the more left-leaning convention caucuses this weekend, Feinsteins supporters passed out flyers describing her as our progressive champion and containing a quote from the Washington Post describing her as one of the most liberal members of the chamber. Three times, it mentions how she opposes Trump. Feinstein voted to confirm 11 of Trumps 22 Cabinet or administration appointees, in the lower third among Democratic senators.

But at the more Feinstein-friendly womens caucus Saturday morning  where she received a standing ovation when she walked into the room  supporters handed out similar-looking flyers, except that Feinstein was merely called our champion. Those flyers dont mention Trump at all.

De Leon tapped into misgivings about the fervor of Feinsteins Trump resistance during his speech Saturday. He criticized her for supporting the Iraq War, the Patriot Act and the federal governments warrantless surveillance program.

We speak truth to power, and weve never been fooled into believing Donald Trump can be a good president, de Leon said. California Democrats  we fight on the front lines  we dont equivocate on the sidelines.

Yet he acknowledged his predicament: It is hard for him to trash a pioneering politician who still enjoys widespread respect in the party.

I respect my opponents service, de Leon said. This race isnt personal, but the values we are fighting for  California values, Democratic values, fundamental human rights values  are as personal as it gets.

During her speech to the full convention Saturday, Feinstein focused almost entirely on what she has called her mission to eliminate assault weapons. Invoking the recent school shooting in Parkland, Fla., that killed 17 people, Feinstein said this is not what our schools should be ... and Im dedicated to change that.

But she has a long way to go with many of the partys activists. She has rarely attended state party conventions in recent years. A moderator at the Latino caucus noted, she hasnt been here in 25 years. Then the group endorsed de Leon.

De Leon has spent the past several months visiting Democratic clubs across the state, trying to woo many of their delegates. He frequently began his remarks, as he did to the labor caucus, by invoking his humble roots.

Brothers and sisters, I am one of you, de Leon said. Together we fought for $15 minimum wage and other labor-friendly legislation.

Feinstein, meanwhile, barely mentioned labor at the labor caucus Friday, instead talking about being a woman on a mission to ban assault weapons.

Just as you care about wages, hours and working conditions. We all have to care about the safety of our streets, our schools, our workplaces, Feinstein said, quickly adding that she believes that she has always voted with labor during her Senate career.

Yet some at the convention werent ready to ditch Feinstein.

Do I agree with everything she says? No, said Melinda McGraw, a Los Angeles resident. But with all of that experience she has  especially now  its essential that we keep her.

Joe Garofoli is The San Francisco Chronicles senior political writer. Email: jgarofoli@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @joegarofoli

De Leon speaks

Kevin de Leon talks to The Chronicles Joe Garofoli about his campaign for U.S. Senate on the Its All Political podcast: www.bit.ly/its-all-politicalWASHINGTON  Will your vote be safe this year from foreign adversaries working to undermine U.S. democracy? Some of the nations governors arent so sure.

State leaders of both parties worried aloud Sunday about the security of Americas election systems against possible cyberattacks ahead of this falls midterm elections, aware that Russian agents targeted more than 20 states little more a year ago, and the Trump administration has taken a mostly hands-off approach to the continued interference.

U.S. intelligence leaders report Russian hackers are already working to undermine this Novembers elections, which will decide the balance of power in Congress and in statehouses across the nation.

In my lifetime, Ive never seen anything like this. Its scary, said Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo, a Democrat. The biggest concern is when you have a president and an administration that denies the problem and doesnt acknowledge the existence of the problem, its hard to believe that theyre going to be offering any real solutions or funding to make our system more secure.

Election security has been overshadowed by a near-constant string of chaos and controversy out of the White House over the last year. As most of the nations governors gathered in Washington for a weekend conference, issues such as gun violence, President Trumps leadership and the economy dominated most hallway conversations. Yet nonpartisan experts and both Democratic and Republican elected officials suggest there is no issue more critical to American democracy than the integrity of the nations elections, which are facing unprecedented cyberattacks.

The Trump administration has so far done little to help secure the mishmash of 10,000 local voting jurisdictions across the nation that mostly run on obsolete and imperfectly secured technology. Russian agents targeted election systems in 21 states ahead of the 2016 general election, the Department of Homeland Security says, and separately launched a social media blitz aimed at inflaming social tensions and sowing confusion.

The search for a solution has been shaped by partisan politics.

While Democratic governors lashed out at the Trump administration for ignoring the threat, some Republicans, such as Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin, insisted the news media are overstating the problem. Several other Republicans, however, were openly concerned about outside interference but declined to criticize the Trump administrations inaction.

Theres obviously nothing more important than protecting the mechanism of democracy, and theyve shown that they can at least meddle if not directly influence, Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam, who leads the Republican Governors Association, said of Russian hackers. Were paying attention to it.

Earlier in the month, senior officials from the Department of Homeland Security participated in a series of coordination meetings with state and local election officials and private companies to discuss cybersecurity for the nations election infrastructure, the White House said last week. A Trump spokesman, however, declined to respond to the governors concerns when asked to comment Sunday.

Trump rarely mentions the Russian threat. The president has instead repeatedly condemned special counsel Robert Muellers probe into Russian election meddling as a witch hunt.

Muellers team has charged 13 Russian individuals and three Russian companies in a plot to interfere in the 2016 presidential election.

I do think hackers are a threat for the nation, said Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin, a Republican. Weve seen a lot of foreign influence trying to break into our election cycle.

Few governors could detail what specific steps are being taken to strengthen election security when asked. Democrats in particular suggested that the Trump administration has done almost nothing.

Its one of the most, if not the most, immediate threats, said Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper. So now weve been able to prove that Russia hacked. Whats our response? Does our country have a response?BEIRUT  Despite a drop in intensity, shelling and bombardment in the Syrian capital and its eastern suburbs killed at least six people Sunday following the U.N. Security Councils unanimous approval of a resolution demanding a 30-day cease-fire across Syria, opposition activists and residents of Damascus said.

Attacks on residential areas appear to have shifted to strikes on front lines where some of the most intense fighting took place throughout the day between government forces and their allies against insurgents. State media said troops pushed into the eastern suburbs, reports that the opposition denied.

Opposition activists reported clashes on the southern edge of the rebel-held suburbs, known as eastern Ghouta, and two air strikes late Saturday, shortly after the resolution was adopted. During the day Sunday, more shelling and air strikes were reported in eastern Ghouta and Damascus.

The drop in violence came after a week of intense air strikes and shelling that killed more than 500 people in eastern Ghouta and left dozens dead or wounded in the government-held Damascus, which rebels pelted with mortar shells.

This has been the calmest night since last Sunday, said Rami Abdurrahman who heads the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, referring to the start of the bombing campaign on Feb. 19.

Syrian state TV said the army captured several buildings in the rebel-held suburb of Harasta and pushed into several other areas on eastern Ghouta that is besieged by government forces from all sides. It also said troops captured the small towns of Nashabiyeh, Hazrama and Housh al-Salihiyah on the southeastern edge of eastern Ghouta.

The Ghouta Media Center, an activist collective, said members of the Army of Islam insurgent group repelled the Syrian armys attacks on several fronts adding that many soldiers were killed.

The push by the army, although still limited, appears to be similar to steps taken in rebel-held eastern neighborhoods of the northern city of Aleppo that government forces captured one after another until rebels eventually agreed to leave the city in December 2016, marking President Bashar Assads biggest victory since the conflict began in 2011.Quite how much cobalt this grey sector generates is the main "known unknown" in any analysis of world production. A "creuseur" descends into a tunnel at the mine in Kawama. About 100,000 cobalt miners in Congo use hand tools to dig hundreds of feet underground with little oversight and few safety measures, according to workers, government officials and evidence found. Credit:Michael Robinson Chavez/Washington Post But it is an undisputed fact that it has been seeping into the official supply chain for years. Speaking at a London Metal Exchange (LME) seminar in October, Tony Southgate, head of cobalt marketing at Eurasian Resources Group, warned that "it's almost inevitable (...) there are mobile phones in this room" containing cobalt from child labour in the DRC. The arrival of automotive companies to the dysfunctional cobalt market could in theory be a game-changer.

The issue has moved to the top of the LME's own agenda after complaints that one of its registered brands, produced by China's Yantai Cash Industrial, could include metal sourced from the dark side of the DRC cobalt sector. The LME has written to producers asking for assurances on ethical and socially responsible minerals sourcing, while Yantai told the Financial Times that it is conducting its own due diligence exercise. Magic mineral: Most of the world's cobalt comes from the DRC. Legal opacity Child labour is only one of multiple problems posed by the DRC to the emergence of an efficient raw materials chain for commodities used in batteries.

The legal and financial framework around the country's mining sector is both opaque and tinged with political interference. A recent study by US advocacy group The Carter Center described state mining company Gecamines as operating a "parallel state" and concluded that $US750 million ($943 million) from DRC's copper mine privatisation process cannot be tracked reliably. Such allegations are vehemently denied by the DRC government, but legal controversy is never too far away in the DRC mining sector. Glencore, one of the leading operators in the country, has been sucked into a controversy surrounding the role of Israeli billionaire Dan Gertler in the acquisition of assets now operated by its Katanga Mining subsidiary. Another operator, Groupe Forrest, is in legal dispute with Gecamines after the latter blocked access to its production site this year and awarded mining rights to another entity, Bloomberg reported.

This particular three-way court tussle is having a direct market impact because production at the site has been halted, taking about 5,000 tonnes of cobalt out of the supply equation this year. The future is (DRC) cobalt Frankly, if the rest of the world could, it would happily not source any cobalt from the DRC. And the likes of Tesla and Apple are trying to do just that, working with potential future producers in Canada and the United States to create their own cobalt supply chains. There is no shortage of junior miner contestants in this ethical cobalt beauty contest, but right now the DRC is the dominant producer. And it's going to remain so for the foreseeable future.

Six of the top 10 cobalt-producing assets last year were located in the DRC, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence. In 2022 the number will rise to nine out of the top 10, it forecasts. ("Cobalt - Supercharged as supply chain risk increases") Quite simply, unless someone works out how to engineer cobalt out of the lithium-ion battery, the world is going to need a lot more cobalt and it's still going to get most of it from the DRC. Dangerous dependency This is a dangerously concentrated dependency, leaving a whole supply chain beholden to the political, legal and ethical uncertainties surrounding the DRC's mining sector.

The only comparison, S&P Global suggests, is a similar concentration of platinum production in South Africa. When that country was roiled by a wave of industrial action in 2014, it translated into a 20 per cent dent in global supply that year. At least there were above-ground platinum stocks to fill the supply gap. Whether there would be sufficient inventory of cobalt to buffer the market against serious disruption in the DRC is a very moot point. The arrival of automotive companies to this dysfunctional market could in theory be a game-changer if they stimulate more supply and force a collective industry move to responsible sourcing. A template already exists in a programme aimed at improving transparency in the tin-tantalum-tungsten mining sector of central Africa, including particularly challenging operating environments such as Kivu Province in the DRC.

Right now, however, a company such as Volkswagen is still at the early stage of simply trying to secure enough units to deliver on its electrification promise. Attempts to lock in future supply at prices below current levels have not yet yielded any tangible results. VW and other automakers are learning, to quote Rebecca Gordon, head of technology metals at CRU, "the value of cobalt in the ground". Investing at the mine site would be one way of simultaneously ensuring supply in outright tonnage terms and in socially acceptable terms. Most car companies are still understandably wary of getting involved at such an upstream part of a supply chain.Hundreds still crossing Naf river

AFP :

Hundreds of desperate Rohingya Muslims are still pouring over the Myanmar border into Bangladesh every week, bringing harrowing accounts of torture and murder, six months after a military crackdown sparked the massive refugee crisis.

One of the recent arrivals, Nur Mohammad, said his village in Myanmar's Rakhine state was surrounded by Buddhist vigilantes for days before they were allowed to leave.

"The Moghs (Buddhists) torched our houses, kept us confined and starving," Mohammad said. "Villages are razed to the ground. We walked for days through mountains to reach here."

Thirty-year-old Enayetullah was among the 200 Rohingya who crossed the Naf river into Bangladesh on Friday.

Most of his neighbours had left earlier, part of a 700,000-strong Rohingya exodus since August 25, leaving behind desolate and burned-out villages. "We stayed all these months hoping the situation will be fine. But in recent weeks, security forces have taken away our young men. If they abduct 10, only one returns," Enayetullah told AFP. Enayetullah also accused Myanmar security forces of torching his shop, prompting him and his three brothers to flee their home in Mognapara village near the town of Buthidaung.

The military crackdown in the north of Rakhine has been termed "ethnic cleansing" by the United Nations and the United States. While Bangladesh and Myanmar talk of repatriating the refugees, the influx continues. Some days 200 people cross the border, on others a few dozen make the perilous journey. More than 2,500 have entered the overflowing camps in Bangladesh so far in February.

Hundreds of Rohingya villages have been torched in the crackdown, according to refugees and monitoring groups. Human Rights Watch said Friday that another 55 villages have been razed since November.

The Rohingya have been systematically stripped of their legal rights in mainly Buddhist Myanmar in recent decades and face rampant discrimination.

Myanmar denies seeking to eradicate the minority but refuses to give UN investigators access to an area where thousands of Rohingya are believed to have been killed. In November Bangladesh and Myanmar signed an agreement to repatriate some 750,000 Rohingya over two years. Last week Dhaka sent a list of 8,000 names to Myanmar for verification.

But Rohingya leaders bluntly refuse to return. The UN says anyone who goes back must be a volunteer, while Myanmar shows no sign of accepting the Rohingya as full citizens.Investment to deliver the strategy not compatible with current debt levels, it warned - and pointed out the the weight of debt was about to fall with its term loan maturing in less than two years. Investors were better off in the safe waters of the Boardriders $1 a share bid than out in the choppy surf of a public company which would require further asset sales or equity raisings to keep afloat. What would have really flummoxed investors was the fact that their boardroom rebel, Billabong founder Gordon Merchant, was not partial to their cause. This was the guy, all those years ago, who punked out on a $3.30 a share offer from private equiteer, TPG, and declared he would not accept less than $4 a share. And he even showed his faith in the new strategy with multi-million dollar stock buying sprees in recent years.

During one of his most recent share acquisitions, he was picking up stock at more than $2 a share. But the board has been able to point to Merchants acceptance of the current bid to bolster their case for shareholder approval. It might just be that Merchant is moving on. He turned 74 last October, as he confided in an interview with surfing legend - and close friend Mark 'Occy' Occhilupo - the early days at Billabong were the fun ones.

It is now 45 years since he founded Billabong, making shorts around that fabled kitchen table. Merchant and Occhilupo - who got his big break on the world surfing tour when Merchant stepped in with a Billabong sponsorship - talked of the old days, mixing surfing anecdotes with Billabongs relentless global expansion. The deal to appoint Bob Hurley - an American board shaper - as its US distributor, was a handshake, said Merchant. Bob has now established Hurley as a surf brand in its own right. But you got the feeling that Merchant at 74 might be deciding its time to let the business go and return to where it all began - out in the surf.

Daily yoga sessions - a necessary part of his surfing ritual - means he can now do the splits. Its all part of growing old and if you want to still be active he told Occy. And as he said, he never really had a vision of global domination. I think, basically, its persistence. I never really had a plan. Smooth sailing

Nevermind Blackmore shares taking another tumble last week - after the vitamin makers new CEO, Richard Henfrey, bellyached about ingredients shortages and said it would take some time to get back to the promised land of a $100 million profit. Luckily company founder, Marcus Blackmore, has hobbies that help distract him from the impossible market expectations of this pill popping ASX darling. Blackmore is preparing for the Sydney Harbour Regatta in a few weeks with his latest Hooligan - which he purchased out of Argentina where it sailed under the name, Azzuri. Blackmores executive director Marcus Blackmore. Credit:Tim Bauer Weve made modifications to the keel in New Zealand, the boats been repainted and the mast goes in this week. We have a good boat  but its about crew and sails as well, Blackmore said in a media release from the Regatta operators.Facebook and Googles role in creating "filter bubbles" online, by using algorithms to show people content that aligns with their views, is under scrutiny as part of a wide-reaching probe into the digital giants.

Digital companies and publishers are able to have their say on the issues raised in a paper released by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission on Monday looking at whether online platforms have affected the ability of media organisations to create journalism and news.

The role of digital platforms in changing news consumption and taking advertising revenue is under scrutiny.

The ACCC is investigating the impact of digital platforms on news content and advertising revenue for publishers, changes in the news being published and the data collected by social media companies and search engines.

The paper specifically references contentious online algorithms and how they affect the presentation of news.In BHP's case they included Australian asset manager BT Investment Management, part-owned by Westpac Bank with $98 billion in funds under management, and big European asset managers Deutsche and Nordea. Also voting yes were a clutch of industry super funds from Australia, and the US$300 billion-plus Californian pension fund CalPERS. And then there was Schroders - the London asset manager that, according to Bloomberg data, ranks among BHP's top 10 shareholders. And as for Elliott and its stake? It hasn't disclosed how it voted, and declined to tell Fairfax Media when asked.

The good oil Oil Search faced a resolution from Melbourne NGO Market Forces in May, calling for the disclosure of risks posed to the oil and gas explorer and producer's operations from climate change. In a rare move, proxy advisors ISS and CGI Glass Lewis recommended their clients vote in favour - "to reinforce shareholders' interests in receiving climate change disclosure, accompanied by the fact that the Board is willingly providing and improving its disclosure on this matter," ISS wrote. Indeed, at the AGM in Port Moresby, chairman Rick Lee was at pains to set out Oil Search's climate credentials, including its commitments on transparency, saying the company was "passionately interested" in the issue.

Proxy Insight's research shows that the asset management arms of Norges Bank - a top 20 shareholder, according to Bloomberg - HSBC, Aviva, BMO Global, BNY Mellon, Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo all voted with Market Forces. As did Australian industry funds Local Government Super, Hesta, TWU Super and Club Super; and giant North American pension funds CalPERS, CalSTRS, and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board. Market Forces, after considering the action taken by the company, agreed at the meeting to withdraw the resolution - but not before a screen revealed the agenda item had attracted the support of 20 per cent of stock voted - a significant bloody nose for a board. These sorts of shareholder resolutions, targeting environmental and social issues, have in the past attracted little support in Australia - on occasion getting less than 1 per cent of the vote. But the Oil Search and BHP votes, along with the voting disclosures compiled by Proxy Insight, show how support for them is spreading beyond the ethical investment and activist realms to the mainstream. There are more resolutions being filed and, investors say, the tiny NGOs coordinating them are getting better at drafting resolutions that investors will actually vote for. Which is important when those NGOs will often have different priorities to the globe-striding institutions whose support they seek.

"We are not returns-driven, but I think there is a growing recognition in the mainstream investment world of the power of this method," says Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility executive director Brynn O'Brien. It was the ACCR that homed in on BHP and its peak body memberships, bringing into focus an issue that was being discussed among companies and investors world-wide. Others have focused on the disclosure of climate risks - a pressing issue for many investors. New chairman Ken MacKenzie speaks at BHP's AGM in November. Credit:Bloomberg But it is a trend that is sparking headaches for boards, with some directors arguing the resolutions are time-consuming and costly, and at times demand information that companies have already agreed to provide. The Australasian Investor Relations Association has called for a tightening of the rules on who can lodge resolutions, amid concerns that the use of them "could get out of control" - greatly increasing the workload on boards and management in the process.

But the groups coordinating the resolutions say their work is getting results, and some in the investment community agree. "Anecdotal comments from the director community suggest that responding to shareholder resolutions is massively time-consuming and potentially distracting for boards," says Dan Smith, general manager of proxy advisor CGI Glass Lewis. "But it forces them to confront issues important to some shareholders that had previously been given low priority." Packed agenda Market Forces is considering potential resolutions for several upcoming AGMs, including QBE and Santos.

The ACCR was this week searching for the required 100 shareholders needed to lodge a peak-body focused resolution as the deadline looms ahead of Rio Tinto's AGM in May. "We have met with the ACCR and are having a constructive dialogue with them around climate change policy issues and the role of industry associations," a Rio Tinto spokesman said. For its part, Market Forces does not regard double-digit tallies as successes. "We need to focus on the 80 per cent who, for some reason, don't think disclosure of climate risk is worth voting for," says executive director Julien Vincent.

BlackRock is the world's biggest asset manager, and its voting decisions are closely watched. Credit:Bloomberg The number of investors supporting such resolutions is still dwarfed by those who vote against them. Some resolutions in 2017 were certainly fizzers, with motions at CBA and Downer EDI securing only about 3 per cent support - athough the likes of Deutsche and pension giant ABP backed the CBA vote. Last month, the corporate regulator reported the average vote on such resolutions in 2017 was just 6 per cent. However, the votes on several of the best-supported resolutions were not included because, for various reasons, they did not proceed to a formal vote at the AGMs - even though institutions' proxy votes had already been lodged. The picture behind the scenes is more complex than the headline numbers suggest, Smith says.

"To be clear, the nominal low votes in favour of resolutions dont mean that action isnt happening behind the scenes, or that companies arent listening," he says. "Just look at BHP with the MCA membership." In the Europe and the US, environmental and social issue-focused shareholder resolutions are more common, and - as seen with oil giants ExxonMobil and Occidental last year - sometimes even get up. But Australian investors have traditionally been wary. A key issue is that, unlike in other jurisdictions, shareholders in Australia can't put forward advisory resolutions on issues deemed to relate to the management of the company. To get around this, groups first put forward resolutions to change the company's constitution to allow advisory resolutions - a "clunky and unhelpful" system, says Ed John from the Australian Council of Superannuation Investors, which wants reform of the laws.

Constitutional change is considered a step too far for many Australian investors, who refuse to back such motions (this was not an issue at Oil Search, with PNG corporate law allowing shareholder proposals). And because these first resolutions never succeed, the subsequent resolutions do not formally proceed, even though most investors have already directed their proxies. But there's also the fact that Australian investors, unlike those in the US, have good access to boards and directors, and can often raise concerns in face-to-face meetings - a less adversarial and, it is argued, more constructive form of engagement. So what has changed? First, Paris. Investors, as they seek to price risk in their own portfolios, want companies to start using a landmark set of reporting rules nailed down by the G20's Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) last year, anchored on the Paris agreement's pledge to keep global warming to "well below" 2 degrees. The resolutions at Santos, Oil Search and Origin called for disclosure in line with the TCFD rules.

Regulators have also put financial institutions on notice over the need to consider climate risks. And institutions world-wide, keen to burnish their responsible investor credentials, are becoming more willing to flex their muscles on so-called "ESG" - environment, social and governance - issues. Decision points At the Origin AGM in October, a resolution based on climate disclosure won almost 14 per cent of the vote (Origin and BHP published the votes on all their shareholder resolutions, including those that did not formally proceed). And at Woolworths the following month, big industry funds including Australian Super, CBUS and HESTA joined Deutsche in voting for an ACCR resolution on human rights reporting. The final tally on that vote was not known, as the ACCR withdrew the resolution before the AGM after commitments from the company.

Investors were selective about which resolutions they backed. Australia's biggest industry fund, Australian Super, voted for the human rights resolution at Woolworths and the climate resolution at Origin, but against those at Oil Search and Santos. It declined to comment. BT Investment Management voted for the resolution at BHP, but against others including those at Woolworths and CBA. It says it keeps its reasons for voting on specific resolutions confidential, but its preference remains to "engage directly with the company and advocate for change privately". Colonial First State Global Asset Management, whose shares were voted in support of a Santos resolution on climate change reporting, says the group does not "see a shareholder resolution as the end point for any issue and instead incorporate the concerns expressed into our ongoing engagement program".

And AMP Capital's Karin Halliday has said publicly that the investment manager abstained from voting on some shareholder resolutions last year, a move she said had led to more dialogue with companies. AMP is yet to release its proxy voting record for last year's main AGM season. MLC Investments and Macquarie Investment Management Global both voted against the climate resolutions at Santos and Oil Search (they have also not yet disclosed for the later AGMs). And among Australia's other industry funds, Local Government Super, VicSuper, HESTA and MTAA backed multiple resolutions while opposing others, and CBUS voted against all the climate resolutions while supporting the human rights resolution at Woolworths. Kristian Fok, chief investment officer at CBUS - which is active in investor groups targeting climate change risk - says the fund considers each resolution on a case by case basis, but cites the constitutional change issue as a factor in its decision-making. CBUS supports ACSI's push to give shareholders the power to lodge non-binding advisory motions at AGMs. "Shareholders have successfully used this mechanism in other jurisdictions to make improvements on important issues such as climate change and human rights," Fok says.

Among offshore institutions, Deutsche Asset Management - the arm of Germany's Deutsche Bank with US$875 billion funds under management - backed multiple resolutions including those at Woolworths, BHP and Commonwealth Bank. It has made measuring climate change risk a priority. Deutsche Asset Management voted for multiple shareholder resolutions in Australia. Credit:AP "If a company has good governance in place, then usually environmental and social issues are also covered and taken care of," says the group's head of corporate governance, Nicolas Huber, who says Deutsche "strives" to support shareholder proposals. "We take a close look at each proposal, and if it is transparency related, and helps reduce environmental and social risks, then we support it." The US's biggest pension fund, the US$300 billion CalPERS, was also an enthusiastic supporter, backing all but the climate change resolution at Commonwealth Bank. It declined to comment.

Dozens of other pension funds from North America and Europe - including the US$400 billion Netherlands giant ABP, the Ontario Teachers Pension Fund and CalSTRS - also threw their support behind multiple proposals. Then there were the passive investment behemoths Blackrock, Vanguard and State Street, whose voting decisions are closely watched - mainly because of their sheer market power. They have been selective in their support for climate resolutions in the US. In Australia, State Street Global Advisors chose to abstain at Commonwealth Bank and Santos. State Street's head of ESG investments and asset stewardship, Rakhi Kumar, says the group will vote against management on resolutions if "company disclosure, practice and board governance structure were found to be inadequate, or did not meet market practice". "We abstain on resolutions if companies have demonstrated progress or are receptive to our feedback during the course of engagement."

Voting records released to date for Vanguard show it did not support the resolutions at Santos and Oil Search. At BlackRock, its head of investment stewardship in Asia Pacific, Pru Bennett says it did not support any Australian resolutions last year. "If we thought issues raised in a shareholder proposal were valid and we had a refusal from the company to address the issue or to engage... we may in those cases support the shareholder proposal," she says. Fair game? When it comes to shareholder resolutions on environmental or social issues, Bennett is sympathetic to some of the complaints coming from companies.

"It's very frustrating when there's a shareholder proposal requesting greater disclosure, or that is critical of the company, and when we review [what] that company is doing on the subject [it] has been very transparent and the shareholder proposal is based on disclosure of up to two years ago," she says. "These things can be very distracting to management." This was a key argument of Santos, in responding to a Market Forces climate resolution last year. "The company... already factors in climate change related risks and opportunities into its strategic and planning processes, and reports comprehensively on relevant climate change metrics," it said. Oil Search says it was already "on track" to adopt the TCFD rules before Market Forces' 2017 resolution landed.

(Market Forces says it closely examines companies' public disclosures before deciding whether to proceed with resolutions.) Some companies take a sanguine view, with one describing the resolution process as "fair game". "If the resolution has merit, then you deal with it." But the AIRA, whose members liaise between companies and investors, says there is potential for the number being put forward to get out of control, unreasonably increasing the workload on board and management in the process - especially if the laws were changed to make it easier to lodge advisory motions. AIRA chief executive Ian Matheson proposes scrapping the rule that allows a resolution to be placed on an agenda with the support of 100 shareholders - leaving in place the requirement for 5 per cent of issued capital.

It's a measure, he says, that would acknowledge the amount of time it takes companies to deal with the proposals. "One hundred shareholders these days is such a minuscule number for most companies," Matheson says. Some of the climate resolutions had been constructive and led to "enhanced disclosure" by companies, Matheson says. But on the ACCR's human rights-focused resolution at Oil Search, he says that "what they were asserting was complete rubbish", pointing to the work the company had done for the PNG community. O'Brien strongly rejects Matheson's criticism of the ACCR's Oil Search resolution, saying they showed a lack of understanding and that the proposal had highlighted "serious risks" to the company. (Oil Search has said its current approach "adequately addresses" potential human rights risks). "It is not a straightforward task to recruit 100 individual shareholders in any company," O'Brien adds. "The process usually takes several months, and long conversations with many groups, including large Australian investors, about the need for the resolution, the research basis for it, and the likelihood that it will improve a companys performance against key risk indicators."

Full disclosure The Proxy Insight research is based on disclosures from investors around the world. But it only shows part of the picture, because the extent to which investors are transparent about how they vote, and when they choose to release this information, varies wildly. Members of Australia's Financial Services Council - such as AMP and BTIM - are required to disclose their voting records on their websites within three months of the end of their financial year, which is why there is more information on the Oil Search and Santos votes, whose AGMs were held in the second half of 2016-17, than those whose AGMs were in November. Others disclose more frequently, and some don't disclose much at all. Government-owned institutions the Future Fund and the Victorian Funds Management Corporation, for example, just publish an aggregate of their voting decisions and their proxy voting policies, with the Future Fund saying it "engages privately" with companies on governance matters. O'Brien, among others, points to a "disconnect" between institutions calling for increased disclosure on some issues, while practicing less than full transparency on their own governance matters.Bill Gates sat down with talk show host Ellen DeGeneres for the first time this week.

Gates is the founder of Microsoft and cofounder of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and is the worlds second-richest person with an estimated fortune of $US91.8 billion ($117 billion), according to Bloombergs index.

Gates officially became a billionaire when he was 31  the youngest billionaire in history, at the time. But the boost to his bank account didnt send him on a spending spree, Gates said during his interview with DeGeneres.Facing racist comments while door knocking for Australian Red Cross is nothing compared to what some fund-raisers have endured. Australian Red Cross volunteer Naveed Ahmed remembers "something sparking" when Friday prayers at his mosque in Lahore, Pakistan, were interrupted by gunmen on May 28, 2010.

"It was a grenade. We had 10 seconds to get out," he said.

"When I looked back, there were people dead, including my father," said Mr Ahmed, now 25, of St Marys, who recently completed a degree in project management at Sydney University.

The attack on the Ahmadi mosque killed 22 members, including Mr Ahmed's father who was an imam.Some Uber observers were sarcastically relieved that new CEO Dara Khosrowshahi's first meeting with employees on Wednesday went without a single sexist gaffe.

That part of Uber's history is probably behind it, given Khosrowshahi's reputation for low-key levelheadedness and the stellar record of his former company, Expedia, in hiring women (they make up 52 per cent of its staff and a quarter of tech employees, compared with 36 per cent and 15 per cent respectively at Uber).

But a less frat-like culture could make Uber a better employer without making it a more profitable company. On the business execution front, I have misgivings about Khosrowshahi at Uber.

These misgivings aren't about his worst business decision -- to pass on the ground-floor acquisition of Booking.com because its margins were too low and Expedia was, he thought, doing fine buying and reselling rooms from big hotel chains.Students come home from school with a swag of just-learned phrases and concepts rolling off the tongue.

One may well be "da Vinci Decathlon".

Teams competing in a da Vinci Decathlon round in Sydney. Credit:Scott Cameron

A tough, yet friendly interschool contest of the mind, it is named after thinker-scholar-artist Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519), the flamboyant genius whose triumphs, from conceiving of a flying machine to painting that soulful portrait of the Mona Lisa, continue to resonate.

The event demands lateral thinking, sparks furious, if amicable rivalry among students and forges bonds.A spike in calls to sexual assault helplines as Australian universities start orientation week activities has prompted student and advocacy groups to push for the establishment of an independent taskforce to monitor and publicly report on sexual violence on campuses.

"There's always a distinct increase in calls during 'O-Week'," executive officer of Rape and Domestic Violence Services Australia Karen Willis said.

Sexual assault helplines say there is a spike in calls from campuses during university O-Weeks. Credit:Paul Jones

"[The increase in] calls from university campuses will go for about a month because people don't call straight away, they'll think about it for a while or tell friends or supporters who will call."

Most Australian universities are holding orientation activities this week and next week.Christian Dior dress, $10,500, and boots, $2390. Credit:Bec Parsons She grew up in the Perth inner-city suburb of Mount Lawley, the youngest of four daughters to Greek parents. Her Cypriot-born father, Costas, worked as a teacher and translator, while her mum, Athena, staffed the canteen at a Greek language school. The Demetriades are a close-knit family: Andrea gets on well with her sisters (who call her the favourite), describes her dad as "a big softie" and regularly refers to her mother in conversation. But she says the girls were brought up to be tough. Sir The Label Emelie shirt, $220. Ellery Milky Way skirt, $750. Credit:Bec Parsons "You'd get 99 per cent for something and Dad would say, 'But where's the one per cent?' And you'd go, 'Oh God!' " Andrea groans with mock exasperation. "But they're very warm. I had a beautiful upbringing. I can't complain about anything."

Dance was Andrea's original passion  she still carries her delicate frame with a dancer's poise  and she attended classes four days a week, learning ballet, jazz and tap. Even though she won the drama prize and scored full marks in the subject at Chisholm Catholic College, it didn't occur to her to pursue acting. Instead she auditioned successfully for the dance stream at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts, aged 17. She took an acting unit, and only then realised where her true abilities lay. "I liked that you could tell stories through using your voice as opposed to dancing," she says, "and I felt I was probably never good enough to be the best at that." She switched to a communications degree at Curtin University and joined student productions. To her surprise, she was accepted into NIDA at 19 and moved to Sydney. Although she was initially overwhelmed by its big-city pace, she adapted quickly. "I love Sydney," she enthuses. "It's gorgeous, it's sparkly, it's a real magical place  expensive, but magical." Andrea's proper start in the industry came when John Bell cast her in Bell Shakespeare productions of Shakespeare's Pericles and Twelfth Night. Her compelling role in Crownies ensured widespread recognition of her talent and she has been a fixture of the Australian acting scene since, starring both on television and on stage in plays such as Pygmalion and Antigone.

But she still struggles with self-belief. "You know, I probably haven't had the best confidence," she says slowly. "I'm constantly judging myself. I'm very lucky that I've had directors like John Bell and Peter Andrikidis who have believed in me. They empowered me and armoured me to go, 'No, you can tell this story.' " It's clear that nobody is harder on Andrea than herself. Although she's wonderfully engaging, and comfortably jokes around with the crew during her fashion shoot for Sunday Life, she's reluctant to look at the pictures being taken and confesses that she doesn't like watching her performances on screen, either. There isn't a trace of diva about her; she is solicitous about everyone's well-being, very tactile and  rare for a performer  is as interested in hearing other people's stories as she is talking about herself. "I've always had to work a bit harder," she insists. "I don't know if I've ever been naturally good at anything." Andrea is resolute that professionalism and hard work are required to be a successful actor. "You've got to give it your all because this industry is so cutthroat," she says bluntly. "It doesn't have to be about talent. It's about perseverance and luck. You've got to be a good person to work with. You have to be professional, you have to rock up on time, you have to have your lines learnt." She says her strong work ethic stems from her migrant heritage. Andrea was reared on her maternal Greek grandmother's stories of the sacrifices her family made to build a new life in Australia. Although she always considered herself an Aussie growing up  "My Greek's really bad!"  as a well-known actor she now feels a responsibility to model diversity on screen and on stage.

"You've got to be there for the generation below," she says earnestly. "I'd hope that young boys and girls who have a diverse background can go, 'I identify as Australian and I see her on television; hey, I am Australian.' "I guess if you see yourself on TV, you belong to the community. I think Australia is doing very fing well at [accepting its multiculturalism] and I'm very proud to be a part of it." Andrea is also proud that her industry has led the way in the fight against sexual harassment and assault in the workplace with the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements. But she believes the effort should be focused on underprivileged women who can't speak up, rather than powerful actors who can "afford therapy" and legal teams. She says she's lucky not to have experienced sexual harassment herself, but reveals that she has had moments of racial harassment at work. Andrea remains close with some of her original Crownies co-stars, especially Marta Dusseldorp and Ella Scott-Lynch, whom she admires for combining successful careers with having children. "Any woman in this industry who can do it with kids, I find that so inspiring," she says passionately. "I'd love to have kids myself, one day."

Andrea is currently in a long-term relationship with actor Joseph del Re, who she calls "the love of my life". Set up by a mutual friend a few years ago, the pair live together in inner-city Sydney and have worked together in productions, including Antigone. But for now she has her sights set on America. Despite its unforgiving nature, she really likes LA. "You feel like everything's possible and nothing's possible," she says of the city's duality. "You go, 'I've got the world in my hands' and then you go, 'I don't even know who I am.' It's a real glamour damage kind of situation." Andrea is adamant she couldn't have tried her luck there earlier in her career, conscious she needs her wits about her in a town crammed with actors on the make. "You gotta go quite tough  or naive," she laughs. "You have to be fearless when you go there, you have to take it on the chin, but it's great because there is so much work." And Andrea is prepared to persevere until she lands that coveted American role. "I feel excited," she says, her brown eyes shining. "A phone call can change your life. That's what I love about acting."Squinters star Sam Simmons has told Brisbane residents to get over their traffic gripes and enjoy using Brisbanes "fun" bridges.

The 41-year-old comedian stars in the six-part comedy Squinters which follows the peak-hour commute of different people.

Despite spending most of his time in the series behind the wheel of a car, Simmons only learnt to drive when he was 40.

Sam Simmons stars in the six-part comedy Squinters.

If you watch Squinters closely theres actually quite a few scenes where Im not wearing a seatbelt, thats how little I knew about driving, he said.Rohingya repatriation: BD wants continued pressure on Myanmar

Bangladesh has said it will not repatriate anybody 'without his or her will' but urged the international community to keep up pressure on Myanmar for creating conditions in Rakhine to make Rohingya repatriation sustainable.

"I urge the international community not to lose focus on Rohingya issue and continue to exert pressure on Myanmar," said State Minister for Foreign Affairs M Shahriar Alam on Sunday. He said keeping up pressure on Myanmar is necessary so that it remains sincere and committed to the repatriation process and fulfill its obligation of creating conducive environment with ensured livelihood in safety and dignity in Rakhine.

The State Minister was addressing the launching of the report 'Childhood Interrupted: Children's Voice from the Rohingya Camps in Cox's Bazar' in the city. Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission Kazi Reazul Hoque and Country Director of Save the Children Mark Pierce were also present. The State Minister said continued deprivation, persecution, disenfranchisement and military atrocities against the whole community of Rohingyas are the root causes of the crisis. "We need to recognise that the problem has its origin in Rakhine and its comprehensive solution has to be found there. Bangladesh is only unjustifiably bearing the brunt of it- till today- as the flow did not stop," he added. Shahriar said Myanmar must be convinced to allow international humanitarian assistance into Rakhine as well to ensure a healthy childhood of the returning children. "I also request friends in the international community to continue to provide assistance to the Rohingyas including their children." Bangladesh is offering shelters to over a million forcibly displaced Myanmar residents- the Rohingyas. Unlike in the past, this time it has been the largest and fastest exodus of Rohingyas into Bangladesh, particularly after August 2017. The State Minister said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina took a bold and timely decision to shelter them in Bangladesh territory. "However, their arrival in massive numbers is causing enormous social, economic and environmental strains in Bangladesh."

Around 58 percent of the displaced people have been described as children (under 18 years old).

"It's deeply disturbing to note that among the camp population, around 26,000 Rohingya children lost one of the parents and around 7,000 lost both," he said adding that currently they are under some kind of informal foster care. The State Minister said the primary focus of the government has been to ensure safe, voluntary and sustainable return of the displaced Rohingyas including the children. Since November 2017, the government has successfully negotiated and concluded three agreements to repatriate these people, he said.

The State Minister said Bangladesh has recently handed over a list of 8,032 individuals as first batch and waiting for the commencement of the repatriation. "We acknowledge special requirement of the children in the camps.

However, unfortunately we find that their future depends on the progress of overall repatriation process," he said. He said Bangladesh is offering as best as it can, but it is not their home. "It's the collective responsibility of all in the international community to help these children to get back to their homes."



The much loved actress Emma Chambers - who starred in The Vicar of Dibley - has died at the age of 53.

She was best known for playing Alice Tinker in the BBC's gentle sit-com, written by Richard Curtis, about a female vicar and her eccentric parishioners.

Her agent John Grant said Ms Chambers died from natural causes on Wednesday evening and would be "greatly missed".

Doncaster-born Chambers also starred as Hugh Grant's sister Honey in Richard Curtis' Bafta-winning film Notting Hill.The world's coral reefs, already enduring multiple threats from bleaching to nutrient run-off from farming, also face another challenge - this time from below.

New research, published in the journal Science on Friday, has found the sediments on which many reefs are built are 10 times more sensitive to the acidifying oceans than the living corals themselves. Some reef bases are already dissolving.

Not loving it enough: coral reefs face multiple threats from climate change, including as it turns out, from below.

The study used underwater chambers at four sites in the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, including Heron Island in the Great Barrier Reef, and applied modelling to extrapolate results for 22 reefs in three ocean basins.

As oceans turn more acidic, the corals themselves produce less of the calcium carbonate that forms their base. Instead of growing, the reef bases start to dissolve.She also had cerebral palsy. An ongoing inquest by Coroner Jacqui Hawkins is examining the appropriateness of her medical care in the last six months of her life, and a decision by Royal Melbourne Hospital doctors to put her in palliative care at age 21. It is also is investigating the standard of care provided to Sarah by Annecto, the disability provider that operated her residential care home in Melbournes western suburbs, in addition to the role of the Department of Health and Human Services. Sarah Hammoud in the final days of her life. A volunteer community visitor from the Office of the Public Advocate told the court that the Niddrie shared home that Sarah lived in was one of the more troubling residences she would visit in the region.

Ms Whitehead said she believed Sarah was at risk after the visit in January 2016. She was concerned about a lack of appropriate equipment and risks to staff after being told five people had already been hurt handling Sarah. Also noted was the cleanliness of Sarahs bed, which Ms Whitehead said was very dirty with brown stains, and feeding practices that could put Sarah at risk of choking. Another community visitor, Sheila Narayan, who would later be appointed Sarahs guardian, said while staff at the home seemed to have a lot of affection for Sarah, there were apparent shortfalls in their understanding of her medical treatment. Ms Narayan said she was also concerned about the time it took for Sarah to be provided major equipment after an assessment in late January 2016.

She said in early March she was still waiting for a hi lo bed with crash mat, as Sarah was often found on the floor of her bedroom in the middle of the night. Because there was only one person working at night, Sarah would be made comfortable on the floor until another staff member arrived in the morning, Ms Narayan said. The court heard that Sarah always wore a helmet, because if she was upset she would get up from her wheelchair and fall to the floor. And a paediatrician who saw Sarah from the age of nine said she had problems with extreme self-harm, including face slapping and head banging. Medical records show that Sarah was first diagnosed with olecranon bursitis (swelling at the tip of the elbow) in 2013, which recurred over the years despite numerous rounds of antibiotics.

Her condition took a dramatic turn for the worse on March 5, 2016, when she was admitted to the Royal Melbourne Hospital with a fever and wound on her left elbow. It was discovered that she likely had osteomyelitis, a serious bone infection and widespread septicaemia, a life-threatening bloodstream infection. Her condition was so grave that doctors decided that she should be discharged back to her residential care facility and receive palliative or supportive care. The treating general medical unit decided that her care should be focussed on comfort, and that her underlying infection was not likely to be cured, wrote Associate Professor Brian Le, a doctor at the hospital. Sarah landed back in hospital again a few days later with a horrific tongue injury, including partial amputation of the tongue and gross evident gangrene.

Professor Le wrote that she was in septic shock and in a terminal phase of care. She died in the palliative care ward on March 21, 2016, in the presence of her family. Sarah's mother Susan Alsaeed wiped away tears when talking about her daughter. Sarahs mother, Susan Alsaeed, attended the first day or the coronial inquiry and said she was unhappy with the care her daughter received from Annecto.Hospitals are meant to heal the sick, but waiting in emergency departments for hours or days on end could be doing more harm than good for thousands of mentally ill patients.

The Australasian College for Emergency Medicine on Monday issued a warning about the impact of unacceptably long waits for beds for vulnerable patients, including suicidal young people and the acutely psychotic.

At an estimated 34 per cent of emergency departments, it is a daily occurrence for mental health patients to wait eight hours or more for a bed, even after being assessed as sick enough for hospital care.

Simon Judkins, president the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine, says waiting times for mental health patients are unacceptable. Credit:Jason South

Patients are often forced to stay in busy and brightly lit emergency rooms for more than 72 hours, said Dr Simon Judkins, president of the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine.Traditionally, this was accomplished by offering a range of services, from discounted health fund and gym memberships, and medical screening services, to activity-based programs such as in-house massages and yoga classes. But simply giving employees lots of information about their health and telling them what to do doesnt work. Research has shown that these programs dont often change behaviour or help us to build new habits. If we are faced with too many choices, for example, our self control is quickly depleted. So instead of simply presenting employees with options that are good for us, companies can borrow from behavioural economics and nudge us to change our behaviour. Many workplaces are already using this design, covering a range of factors including lighting, air quality, materials, furniture, physical activity, and food. Take the stairs, for example. In traditional offices lifts are generally positioned centrally, making them the easiest option. If you wanted to take the stairs that often means using the fire stairs, with the added risk that you might be locked out when you try to re-enter on another floor.

By simply moving the staircase into a central position you can make them the most convenient option for quickly moving between floors. This is common practice now at a wide variety of companies such as the Boston Consulting Groups New York offices. But lets not stop there. By using experience design, employees can be incentivised in other ways to take the stairs. Timber walls, natural lighting, art and music can be used to align with our natural preferences for attractive and calming environments, and nudge employees to take the stairs. At the offices of Delos in New York, sensors in the stairs record the number of trips employees take during the day. Every time an employee uses the stairs, a drop of water is added to an electronic waterfall display. The more times you take the stairs, the bigger the waterfall gets. This use of technology represents a bit of gamification within the workplace. Its like a scorecard for stair use, and every trip comes with a visual reward that gradually adds up.

By creating well-designed, centrally located eating areas and providing healthy food choices, organisations can also encourage employees to make better food choices. In one study researchers from Yale teamed up with Google to try and nudge employees towards healthy choices. Simple changes in the office cafe had huge results. Replacing loose M&Ms with small packages reduced service sizes by 58 per cent, and putting up prominent signs increased the number of employees eating certain vegetable dishes by 74 per cent. Research also shows that air quality and lighting at work can have significant effects on brain function and productivity. Poor oxygen levels, toxic gases from furniture, and toxic chemicals are commonplace in modern workplaces, while poor lighting can cause headaches, eye strain, and tiredness. Workplaces can be designed to counter some of these problems, by using circadian lighting systems for instance. Circadian lighting follows the patterns of natural light over the course of a day. Sleepy in the morning? The system will provide the right amount of light to wake you up. Circadian lighting results in your body releasing melatonin at the right times, helping employees unwind after work and improving sleep quality. Using air filtration systems, as well as materials and furniture that dont contain chemicals like formaldehyde, can significantly contribute to employees well-being and productivity. Providing natural ventilation, views of nature, and greenery in the workplace have also been shown to improve employees wellbeing and productivity.

Investing in office design has been seen as a nice to have, but the research shows that it can also be seen as an investment. The costs of employee illness and lost productivity are high and even simple changes can have huge impact. And while employees may be concerned about companies designing environments to engineer behavioural choices, this inclusion of behavioural insights is widespread, and can be seen in areas as diverse as city planning and retail. By providing environments that support and encourage employee well-being organisations can ensure that well-being is not something that people have to make a choice to opt-in on. LoadingIn her statement, she said she would be closing the business in order to uphold a commitment to not taking on advertising.

"Seven years into a movement, five years into a business, I feel my work in the realm is done," Wilson wrote.

"Recently I've realised that to remain true to my original commitment, I must pivot course," she wrote, later adding, "I'm an educator, a communicator. Not a money-spinner."

Wilson said she made the decision to depart the business 12 months ago, intending to sell. However, staying with the business during a transition period for a potential new owner was something Wilson said she "could not and would not do".

"But, you see, for a business that has the founder's name and noggin all over it, my stance didn't gel in the market," Wilson said. "I suspect many also had a hard time understanding why a founder would want to walk from a successful business."

Wilson, who edited Cosmopolitan magazine in the mid-2000s and has worked as a columnist for Fairfax Media and News Corp, said she would be sticking with advocacy but shifting her focus, noting she had "more education campaigns to ignite".

"The anxiety discussion, the food-waste movement this is where I need to be," she said. "As I say, my job is done in the sugar-free space and it would be remiss of me stay on board just to extract money for myself."Hillary Clinton during the presidential debate with Donald Trump at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York. Sept. 26, 2016. Credit:AP

In the wake of a cataclysmic loss to Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton has remained a central figure in the Resistance era of American electoral politics. Even now, one year into Trump's presidency, the ringing anthem of his Democratic critics has been Still With Her.

It's then no surprise to learn that Hillary Clinton's book What Happened - a personal recollection, documenting her experience as the first female presidential candidate nominated by a major US political party - has been devoured by her fans, making it one of Amazon's best sellers of 2017.

Hillary Clinton's book tour is now scheduled to make waves here in Australia in May, and for a whopping $195 you'll be able to have an evening with Hillary Rodham Clinton in balcony seating, and this, mind you, doesn't include a copy of her book. For that you'll have to fork over $495 for a VIP ticket that comes with access to a pre-show party.

Before the general election, polling conducted by the Lowy Institute revealed that Donald Trump was an unfavourable candidate among Australians, with just 11 per cent preferring him over Hillary Clinton as the next President of the United States.Anyone who understands history - or has seen The Crown - knows that certain people still stay in silent competition with their exes for, like, ever.

According to recent reports, Justin and Jen were quite content to stay boyfriend and girlfriend indefinitely, occupying the East and West coasts of the US respectively. Then something happened. Brad Pitt married Angelina Jolie on August 23, 2014. Less than a year later, on August 5, 2015, Jen and Justin threw themselves a wedding. Then, Angelina filed for divorce from Brad in September 2016. Just over a year later - ta-da!

But love, to paraphrase glam-metal band, Def Leppard, also bites. Proof of this observation might be found in the shadow of Brad Pitt, and how, no matter which narrative we're ordered to follow, it will continue to loom over Jennifer Aniston's love life. Now, call me a conspiracy theorist; a truther, but I think this is by design.

Remember when Princess Margaret begged her sister, the Queen to announce her engagement before her ex could announce his? Remember in When Harry Met Sally it was Sally's jealousy over her ex-boyfriend, Joe, marrying the woman who was supposed to be his "transitional person", that prompted her to start kissing Harry?

There are those who claim that Jen is the happiest she's ever been. They've claimed this since 2005, so her happiness must be at record levels by now - hope she's ok. Then there are those who claim that, without Brad Pitt, Jennifer Aniston, Patron Saint of the Girl Next Door Left For A Harlot, would not exist.

Whichever view you have, it must be said, that, even in her obituary, Aniston will not be written about without some mention being made of her first ex-husband and the scandal he caused. Which prompts this question from your old Aunt Susan; because I couldn't help but wonder ... do you ever truly escape your ex?

If your name is Minnie Driver, and your then-boyfriend, Matt Damon, dumped you on Oprah during the press tour of the movie you both starred in, Good Will Hunting, the answer is a definite no. Every time poor Matt opens his mouth, Driver is there to tell him to shut it. Like, on Tuesday, Driver told The New York Times, apropos of nothing, that Damon, "represented every intelligent, nice white male who feels it is their job to comment on the way that women metabolise stuff". This, after Damon already publicly apologised for his remarks. Driver had to watch her ex Damon win the Oscar for best screen-writing alongside his pal Ben Affleck and pretend to be happy for him. That was in 1998 and it seems twenty years has done nothing to dim her rage. Message received: do not cross Minnie. Or, maybe cross Minnie, but don't get more famous than Minnie and become a beloved golden boy and fixture of American cinema.

And perhaps this is the key to getting over your ex. (Well, apart from the standard option of moving on and enjoying your life). Perhaps you must ensure they never usurp you in the few key areas of status or fame or new love. Or perhaps you never really get over them. Jolie and Pitt are yet to officially divorce. Indeed, they are still producing wine together, having released their latest pink rose this week. What this means, we can only speculate. But if that's a fictional narrative I'm projecting, I'm more than OK with that.Welcome to the Red Zone: the first week of semester one at university, and the most dangerous time of the year to be a woman on campus.

A report undertaken by End Rape on Campus Australia, a student advocacy group, called The Red Zone, has found that 1 in 8 attempted and completed sexual assaults in the Sydney University residential colleges occur during a single week of the year  O'Week. Also known as Orientation Week, traditionally held between February 26 and March 2  and designed for students to get to know each other, via organised meetings, and ritualistic hazing, before lectures begin the following week.

According to the report, 1 in 12 Womens College students will experience attempted or completed rape during their time at college. But they are never in as much danger as they are the first week of term.

The NSW Rape Crisis Centre has confirmed that they receive an increase in calls for help from university students during and immediately following O Week. We dont need a calendar to know when O Week is on says Karen Willis, the Executive Officer of the NSW Rape Crisis Centre. We can tell every year from the spike in calls to our rape crisis service.

An explosive report released by End Rape On Campus Australia today has uncovered a much more graphic picture of the hazing, sexual assault and ritualistic humiliation at the University of Sydney colleges, particularly during O-Week. The Red Zone Report includes:This statement from the former Prime Minister exposes an extensive disregard for a woman's right to determine whether to cover her body or reveal it, in whatever capacity she so chooses. No one of consequence is demanding that bikini-clad beach goers "apologise" for their swimwear, but on the other hand rarely does a week go by without inane commentary about how un-Australian it is for Muslim women to not conform to standards set by others. The tough guy routine of feigning an unapologetic attitude when no one has asked for you to abandon your own personal inclinations is as toxic as it is absurd.



For Muslim women, it may feel at times as though they are forced to battle their own Hydra of Lerna, the mythical, serpentine creature who, for every head chopped off would not die but instead produce more heads in their place.

It isn't enough that inter-communal, gender-based discrimination can lead to their fashion choices being characterised as too risque, but even when they try to develop their own fashion subcultures in order to create products that suit their taste they're stripped of national identity by those outside of their communities. Y

You are not Muslim enough. You are not Australian enough. The pressures of conformity that permeate every avenue women take can make the world feel cold, and unwelcoming, especially for those who are trying to make their own way forward. Still, women from all walks of life are made to deal with politicians and establishment intellectuals who urge them to reconsider life choices, despite having no direct or indirect material impact. Tony Abbott, and his budgie smugglers, are both best kept out of the papers, and the fashion industry.UNSC demands 30-day truce across Syria

BEIRUT/UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) :

The U.N. Security Council on Saturday demanded a 30-day truce across Syria as rescuers in the country's eastern Ghouta region said bombing had not let up long enough for them to count bodies during one of the bloodiest air assaults of the seven-year war.

Shortly after the unanimous vote by the 15-member council, warplanes struck a town in eastern Ghouta, the last rebel enclave near Syria's capital, an emergency service and a war monitoring group said. Warplanes have pounded the region for seven straight days while residents holed up in basements.

U.N. chief Antonio Guterres appealed on Wednesday for an immediate end to "war activities" in eastern Ghouta, where nearly 400,000 people have lived under government siege since 2013, without enough food or medicine. While Syrian ally Russia supported the adoption of the U.N. resolution, Russian U.N. Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia cast doubt on its feasibility. Previous ceasefire deals on the ground have had a poor record of ending fighting in Syria, where President Bashar al-Assad's military has gained the upper hand.

"What is necessary is for the demands of the Security Council to be underpinned by concrete on the ground agreements," Nebenzia told the council after the vote. He later told reporters it was unrealistic to expect an immediate ceasefire and that the parties had to be encouraged to work for it.

After several days of delay and last-minute negotiations to win the support of Russia, the council adopted the resolution - drafted by Sweden and Kuwait - demanding hostilities cease for 30-days "without delay" to allow aid access and medical evacuations. "We accept that it might take a number of hours before it can all be fully implemented ... we just have to keep the pressure up, implementation is key now," Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom told Reuters.

Russia did not want to specify when a truce would start, so a proposal for the truce to begin 72 hours after adoption was watered-down to demand it start "without delay." Further talks on Saturday added a demand for all parties to "engage immediately to ensure full and comprehensive implementation."

"As they dragged out the negotiation, the bombs from Assad's fighter jets continued to fall. In the three days it took us to adopt this resolution, how many mothers lost their kids to the bombing and shelling?" U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley told the council. "We are deeply skeptical that the (Syrian) regime will comply," Haley said.

A surge of rocket fire, shelling and air strikes has killed more than 500 people since Sunday night, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. The dead included more than 120 children.Emergency services have received more than 200 calls for help from Canberrans hit by Sunday's deluge.

Canberra received more than February's average rainfall on Sunday. It recorded 66.2mm by 2pm, compared with the average rainfall in Canberra for February of 51.2mm. Some parts of the city were hit by more than 60mm in just a few hours.

It caused flash flooding in parts of the city and forced several roads to close.

Police are pleading with Canberrans to drive to the conditions, and avoid flooded areas.The release of a serial armed robber who went on a violent rampage while on bail has prompted tough new bail laws in Western Australia.

Bail laws forcing judges and magistrates to explain their reasons for granting bail to serious offenders will be introduced in state parliament on Wednesday.

WA Attorney-General Jim McGinty says the laws were designed to make the judiciary more accountable and allow the community the right to know if serial armed robbers, paedophiles and other serious offenders are released.

Their introduction follows a high-profile blunder when a Perth magistrate released serial armed robber Jason David Wimbridge on bail in 2005 while he was on parole for an earlier armed robbery.

Wimbridge cut off three fingers of a man whose home he invaded.Who would blame Malcolm Turnbull if he had felt relieved as the wheels of his jet rose from the tarmac en route for Washington? The prospect of meeting even the mercurial Donald Trump would have seemed far preferable  far easier to manage  than another weekend amid the unseemly brawling of his colleagues and Coalition partners.

As things have turned out, what started as a storm in Barnaby Joyce's teacup has grown into a whirlwind powerful enough to blow him out of office, and to create a little turbulence even as far away as Washington. Mr Joyce has now stepped down in the interests, he says, of "the people in the weatherboard 'n' iron". The interests of those regional Australian voters were being ignored because his private affairs had become a distraction. Leaks and leakers, according to Mr Joyce, were to blame. New allegations of sexual harassment, made by a member of the West Australian party, suddenly added more pressure  although they have not been tested and it has been reported that the complainant did not even want them made public. Mr Joyce has denied the allegations.

What started as a storm in Barnaby Joyce's teacup has grown into a whirlwind powerful enough to blow him out of office. Credit:AAP

Certainly his private life had made trouble for the National Party, whose more moralist MPs, like the member for Mallee, Andrew Broad, had consulted their branches and were told he should go. His resignation therefore will probably be good for his party. In removing a large distraction which has been obscuring for more than a fortnight any effort the government has made to get on with its program, it will be good for the government as well. Whether it will be good for the nation, and specifically for its political culture, is another matter.

With Mr Joyce's resignation, Mr Turnbull has achieved what his forceful but ill-thought-out intervention in the affair last week aimed to do. But the cost has been high. His so-called bonking ban makes investigating ministers' private lives now a matter of legitimate public interest. As an aside, it will be interesting to see how Gladys Berejiklian manages the revelation that one of her ministers has been propositioning a fellow MP. Let us hope she is more adroit than the Prime Minister.When was the last time you dialled a number and ordered a taxi? For most of us the days of ringing up for a ride are long gone in the age of Uber, GoCatch and other apps, but for our parliamentarians, making a phone call is still the only way to book a Comcar.

The Department of Finance is set to shake up the antiquated system, releasing a tender for a company to develop a software system to allow Comcars to be booked online - and it has to be mobile friendly.

The Comcar system is moving into the 21st century with an online booking system. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

Commonwealth MPs, the Governor General and federal judges are the main users of Comcars, the fleet of (mostly) white Holden Caprices that ferry them from place to place.

The system, which is available in all Australian capital cities and runs 24 hours a day, seven days a week, currently requires someone to phone a staff member in the Finance department to book a car, but the department wants to move the system online.We must not disregard the role the church can and is playing in building a better future.

The Catholic Church is at a crossroads in its existence in western societies around the world. It has come under threat before, but more and more, the church finds itself struggling to stay relevant in increasingly secular and sceptical societies. In these societies, to be a believer is to go against the norm; going to church is deemed unusual; and professing a faith in a supposedly archaic institution is illogical.

I grew up Catholic and enjoyed my upbringing in connection with the church. This included the values, the morality and sense of community religion provided for me. As a result, I am something of a rarity as a 29-year-old male and still a practising Catholic. I also teach in an all-boys, Catholic secondary school. I enjoy my work immensely.

It saddens me greatly to see the shame many members, clergy and lay alike, have brought to those in their care, and to the church community as a whole. They have created an unbearable amount of pain and suffering for so many people within Australia and world-wide. Much of this hurt is ongoing, and to many people, feels unresolvable and unforgivable. The church community must take responsibility for this. There is nowhere else to sheet the blame.

While this criticism is undeniably fair and deserved, the institution itself, and many of its members, have done, and continue to do substantial and life changing good inspired by Jesus' example of love. Today, I encourage people, as they look at the failings of those who horrifically betrayed the vulnerable and their community, not to condemn the entire community, but to see what good has been, and is still being achieved by the church.John Fitzgerald, Crows Nest Teachers: stand up to be shot down What a great idea - train teachers and have them carry concealed weapons! ("'I hear you": Trump talks of arming teachers", February 23). So first thing a gunman does is take out teachers! I'm sure I wouldn't be volunteering. Kris McKeon, Cowra The photograph said it all ... there was Donald Trump, gesticulating as he harangued a group of teachers, parents and students about how arming teachers was a great idea. Look at their faces - to say they were not impressed would be an understatement. Perhaps they were thinking that more guns in the classroom might mean more accidental deaths. Whatever, this absurd idea is about what we would expect from this (pardon me, Mr Keating) nincompoop.

Peter Paige, Woolwich If the social media impact on the presidential election can be repeated by students protesting against gun laws, major reform will follow, provided the students maintain the rage. John Donnellan, Berala Restricting access has worked in Australia and would work in America. It appears that criminals do not commit mass shootings but the mentally deranged. People could still own semi-automatic rifles but would need to justify their use and ownership e.g. hunting. I am a gun owner and am opposed to any further restriction in Australia but the problem in the US with easy access to semi-automatic rifles needs to be addressed. Brendan Manning, Frenchs Forest

A few years ago on a study tour in Israel we stopped for fuel beside a bus full of children on a school excursion. The young teacher carried a holstered pistol visible beneath her sweater. She stated that firearm training was a component of teacher education and that it was compulsory to be armed in this way when travelling with groups of children. David Grover, Chatswood Billy Graham: rapture and revulsion Billy Graham was by all accounts a good man; and yet he is almost a perfect harbinger of everything wrong with America today ("Billy Graham, Queen's adviser and pastor to presidents, dies", February 23). As Richard Nixon's close religious adviser, he regularly spruiked Nixon's goodness, and in a very real sense became an enabler for the political crimes of (until now) America's most notorious president. This paved the way for what was perhaps the most notable feature of the 2016 presidential election  the manifest moral void at the heart of modern American evangelism. Bo Vilan, Potts Point

The secret of Graham's success was that he stuck to the simple core of the Christian message. Unlike much of the modern church he did not swing to the political left or the hard-hearted bigotry of the religious right. He was humble, friendly, encouraging and caring. I met him in 1959 in Sydney  one of his most successful "crusades". His legacy will last for a long time. Geoff Hinds, Merrylands I saw Graham in Brisbane in the '60s and came away thinking I had just witnessed Hitler's star pupil in stadium hysteria. Very creepy, and scary for a kid. I was an atheist from that day forward. Ken Manley, Stanmore Graham resolved early in his ministry that he would not be alone with any woman other than his wife. Perhaps that's the lesson most in Canberra need to heed.

Donald Howard, Elderslie Graham's best education, to the world, which doesn't seem to be remembered, was that Jesus was brown skin and wasn't for whites only. Mukul Desai, Hunters Hill Hat fails to obscure the phew. So long, Barnaby To submit a letter to The Sydney Morning Herald, email letters@smh.com.au

And still the Akubra remains, but what a day! ("Barnaby resigns", smh.com.au, February 23). Janice Creenaune, Austinmer So Mr Joyce will be departing to the backbench. This then would be a good time for one of the politicians who have continually spruiked Mr Joyce's retail salesmanship for regional Australia to detail his alleged achievements. Sadly, I can only recall his disastersdual citizenship, climate change denial while championing coal, the Murray/Darling basin crisis, support of Adani, moving the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority to his electorate and his hypocrisy over the Gardasil vaccine and the SSM debate. Rhonda Seymour, Castle Hill The Joyce affair has much in common with some other events which have bombarded the public in recent times. These include the date of Australia Day, the republic and, dare I say it, same-sex marriage. These topics receive enormous media coverage, are highly entertaining and carry on for week after week. However, they do not contribute to the good of the nation but rather are a distraction from the important issues that confront our leaders. I refer to things like the economy, wage growth, infrastructure and many others. Please, can we move on from these peripheral issues and deal with more relevant matters.

Frank Payne, Killara One of the concerns with the Barnaby Joyce affair is that it is distracting the government from dealing with important issues facing the country. However, I am all in favour of anything that distracts politicians from tackling crucial problems, since, given the intellectual calibre of most of them, they are more likely to worsen things than make them better. Let us recall that Belgium went for 18 months without any government at all and suffered no ill-effects, so we can certainly bear a few weeks of governmental inattention without great concern. Patriotic citizens, perhaps, should be looking for an emerging "news" story to take up the slack, as interest in Joyce wanes and we face the potential problem of politicians actually wanting to govern. Bruce Hyland, Woy Woy Few of us recognise the Joyce affair for what it is: the regular cleansing ritual celebrated from time to time by our parliamentary community. As in days of old, the elected leader chooses a goat from the herds of the community. All members then heap on it their sins perpetrated since the last ritual. Overladen, the goat is driven to the outer darkness. The ritual is called scapegoating. That goat today is Barnaby. After the ceremony the remaining self-righteous community members experience the same feeling of redemption as practising Catholics of old after confession. As with other penitents it takes but a moment to return to old habits  obfuscation, selective dishonesty, deeply entrenched self-interest, inhumanity. But the ritual does little to persuade politicians to work for the future of Australian people. Frank Burrows, North Sydney

With Abbott and Joyce on the backbench, it seems Canberra will have its own feral pest problem to address. Wayne Duncombe, Glebe "The band is back together"? Geez, that was a short tour. Bill Young, Greenwich Barnacamp baby you are totally worth it. Please tell your parents to focus on your arrival and to get out of our lives and to get into your life. All the best to you, Barnacamp baby.

Josine Reid, Mona Vale Heartfelt hypocrisy Yesterday morning I watched with dismay as Malcolm Turnbull laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington Cemetery. Dismay because, at this moving ceremony, the Prime Minister placed his right arm across his chest and put his hand over his heart. When did this Americanism become part of Australian culture? My father, a decorated WWII POW, would have been turning in his grave along with many of his mates. Ian Taylor, Elizabeth Bay River realities

Ross Gittins writes that city-dwellers earn their living in ways that don't damage the environment ("Self-interest blocking water fix", February 21). Surely these same people consume food and fibre, much of it grown on land cleared of native vegetation and grown with the assistance of irrigation. Therefore, they impact on the ecosystem just as surely as those who grow their food and fibre. This simplistic approach is extended to discussions of the "mighty Darling River", apparently destroyed by irrigation. However, the first European to reach the Darling River was Charles Sturt on February 2, 1829. He found the river to be nothing more than some small ponds and noted in his journal that "I found it extremely salt, being apparently a mixture of sea and fresh water". Who was irrigating in 1829? The Murray-Darling Basin Plan is an attempt to balance the environmental, social and economic requirements for water use and is based on the best available science and evidence. It should be given a chance to succeed, free from the sniping of Ross Gittins and opportunistic political voting by the Greens and Labor in the Senate. Neil Fettell, Condobolin With parts of the Darling looking more like fire trails I question why the press is not following up with investigations into the ongoing water theft in our water systems? Why are governments and the controllers of our various media organisations looking the other way? Do the large irrigators, growing completely inappropriate crops for Australia like rice and cotton, have that much sway? Nothing to see here, move on. Graham Hansen, Denistone

Stand up, Qantas Qantas has just made record profits. Many early Qantas pilots were WWII RAAF Bomber Command pilots who set the high standards that Qantas has built its reputation on. Qantas should fly these WWII RAAF Bomber Command pilots to England, first class, for the opening of the International Bomber Command Centre in Lincoln (Letters, February 22). Come on Qantas, come on. Bob Ashby, Cronulla Music scene still rocking Bede Kennedy infers the Sydney live music scene is dead and buried ("Now it's musicians who need live aid", February 22).I have seen five acts already in 2018. I've got Underground Lovers tickets and am catching Lowride, both in March. Sydney live music dead? Hardly.

John Payne, Dulwich Hill Kimberley under threat The proliferation of cruise ships isn't just threatening Venice (Letters, February 22). They are affecting the Kimberley coast. There at least 12 vessels now cruising one of Australia's most fragile, and largely unspoilt, remote areas, putting around 1700 boots on the ground several times a season. Most operators stop in the same locations. It's important that Kimberley cruising is controlled before his largely pristine coast and near hinterland is damaged beyond repair. Allen Clark, Mount Kembla Lifted by the damning

So Clive Hamilton, on the book launch trail, offers an extract on the problem of Chinese money in the Labor Party and is immediately set upon by Paul Keating and Bob Carr. I'm thinking Clive's editor is busy adding their comments to the back cover? Phil Bradshaw, Naremburn Barely watchable Peter Beattie declares that rugby league must expand or die ("Bears back in hunt for NRL return" February 23). I would have thought the first priority would be to make it watchable. Max McKinnon, Forresters Beach

Postscript "Turnbull puts in rules to stop relationships that will encourage the media to uncover more of them, Joyce goes public in order to keep his private life private, Trump wants to give more guns to more people to stop people being shot," observed Robert McHugh, of Medowie. "What planet did these people come from?" It was that kind of week. Most of the correspondents who broached the Barnaby Joyce matter would have hailed his resignation announcement on Friday afternoon, but there was a feeling among some that a regrettable "pile-on" had taken place. Barbara Bedford, 91, of Wauchope, contrasted the treatment of Joyce with that of Bob Hawke in the ABC documentary. "What a disgrace our media is, to slander a person who did a first-class job as a Nationals leader." "I wonder if Joyce's great mistake was to leave his family for a woman," posed Ian Porter, of North Wahroonga. "If he'd left them for a man, the howls of indignation may well have been drowned out by those applauding his 'courage', 'integrity' and 'self-fulfilment'. Or, perhaps, a very awkward silence." "What exactly is a retail politician?" asked Don Squires, of Lake Cathie. "How is this MP different from a 'wholesale' politician? Is there some test that I can apply to discover whether my local representative is wholesale or retail? Which category is likely to yield the best margin to me as a constituent?"Clubbing together The article on Oatley ("Plans for open space a 'travesty'", February 18) would leave most readers with the erroneous impression that most of the local "community" is opposed to the proposed development of the Oatley Bowling Club site. The site in question is unused, difficult to access and serves no public benefit. The current proposal is for about 50 per cent of the site to be developed as an aged-care facility and for the remainder to be converted to usable public recreation space adjacent to the Myles Dunphy Reserve (which is unaffected). I am sure a majority of people in our (ageing) population would see the benefit in the council proposals if they were clearly explained to them. I trust the council is not unduly influenced by a vocal, but well meaning, minority in the community whose instincts are to resist change and object to the sort of sensible proposal being developed by the council which is clearly to the benefit of the wider community. John Woodward Oatley Political pedestal Yes, Jay Nauss, as one who has never practised the "new morality" (whatever that is) I do happen to hold politicians to a higher standard than the rest of the community (Letters, February 18). When someone is a heartbeat away from leading this country then I do not expect him or her to be a hypocrite; is that so difficult to grasp?

Dave Horsfall North Gosford See, it goes like this, Peter FitzSimons. It's just possible that a career public servant like Vikki Campion ("Come back John Clark, we need you", February 18), recognised for her qualifications and experience, became aware of the job opening in Senator Canavan's office, and decided to make the move; as many public servants and private employees do every day. Of course, your misogynist streak and antipathy for Barnaby Joyce blinded you to that possibility and yes, you "were missing something". You don't have to be sleeping with Barnaby Joyce to get a job in Canberra. But Ms Campion is a woman, right? And mate, we know there's no other way she would have got the job. Julian Emilio Cabarrus North Parramatta Flagging an issue Lyall Rissler (Letters, February 18) asked any Canadian would they prefer to keep their distinctive national flag with its maple leaf or revert to the old one with the good old Union Jack in the corner. I wonder what the response would be? Has he ever heard of a republic called Switzerland, which affords its citizens the highest standard of living? But then again, he appears to be happy living in a colony run by a sycophantic government that puts any foreign interest above that of the colonists.Does this mean that the great Darling River and our lakes at Menindee may get their water back? What about coal mining and conservative support for Adani? No Barnaby, time for a review? Ian Campbell, Newington Joyce harmed unfairly by media decision to publish private matter

As the daughter of a journalist I witnessed firsthand the struggle between harm and benefit when deciding whether or not to publish a story. In Barnaby Joyce's case the harm to an individual has overwhelmingly outweighed the benefit to the public and it seems to me that no such yardstick has been applied in the decision to go to press.



There is no evidence that Barnaby's affair has impacted on his job, nor that the appointment of Vikki Campion was inappropriate based on her qualifications and experience.



According to statistics a staggering 85 per cent of jobs are obtained through networking and friendships in the workplace. Without condoning workplace affairs over 30 per cent of workers admit to having had an affair with a co-worker.



The real tragedy is the marriage breakdown and this is a private matter for the Joyces not the media nor the general public. When weighing up the decision whether or not to publish a story my father adopted the belief "Primum non nocere" - "first, do no harm" - often associated with the medical profession but is a fundamental principle which the media would do well to adopt in situations where the harm outweighs the good.

Elizabeth Maher, Bangor



One's private life does not interfere with one's position in any other profession. Why does it apply in Parliament?

Thousands fall out of love, but it does not affect their career  why should it be so for politicians?

Barnaby Joyce has been an amazing fighter for the rural industry and this hiccup has not interfered with any of his parliamentarian duties! The result of this is abysmal. We need him back! Go Barnaby! Pammie McCloy, Young I'm glad some of the people moralising about Joyce weren't around when the men brought the adulterous woman into the temple to meet Jesus. The story might have had a very different ending. Tony Brownlow, Cronulla Was Barnaby misquoted when saying he would "head to the backbench and continue work on a book"? Surely he would have said "head to the backbench and continue to work hard for the good people who elected me as their representative in Parliament". Maybe his constituents are entitled to more than "working on a book" for the generous $200,000+ pa they pay him.



Terence Rutter, West Pennant Hills

Those of us in traditional houses in small regional towns had no trouble at all in hearing clearly Joyce's "weatherboard and iron" ("Weatherboard Nine? Joyce stirs linguistic pot", February 24-25). The only time we can't hear clearly is when heavy rain on the corrugated iron roof drowns out the radio and TV.



Rob Wills, Point Lookout (Qld) Imagine if "the adults" weren't in charge??

Brett Jack, Bonnyrigg Heights

China facts tell different story To submit a letter to The Sydney Morning Herald, email letters@smh.com.au

[According to] Clive Hamilton I am somehow a complicit agent of the Chinese state because I have dared to point to Malcolm Turnbull's monumental hypocrisy on China ("Labor's growing cancer must be cut out", February 19). In government, I legislated to ban all foreign donations to political parties. Turnbull as Liberal leader refused to pass it in the Senate. I also brought down a Defence White Paper that doubled the submarine fleet, increased the surface fleet by one third, and publicly challenged the Chinese rationale for the rapid expansion of their own military. Turnbull accused me of wanting a war. We also banned the Chinese firm Huawei from providing IT hardware and software to the Australian NBN. Turnbull in government tried to overturn our decision. I regularly incurred the wrath of various Chinese leaders by defending human rights in Tibet, arguing for the proper legal treatment of Australian citizens before Chinese courts, rejecting various Chinese foreign investment applications which did not satisfy the national interest, as well as contesting vigorously Chinese climate change policy at the Copenhagen Conference. Hamilton conveniently ignores all the above in his political diatribe. There are three questions that Turnbull and his new academic acolyte must answer in the current debate on "foreign influence": why has Turnbull suddenly changed from being an apologist to being a McCarthyist; what is the evidence of China's effective official subversion of the Australian state from within, what is their success in doing so, where are the facts, where is the data, rather than simply relying on politically charged innuendo; and third, if there is a substantive new problem, then in what particular respect are our current laws, regulations and police and intelligence powers inadequate for dealing with it? Kevin Rudd, 26th Prime Minister of Australia City never sleeps

Driving east on Lachlan Street, Zetland, last Thursday night, I witnessed the frustration of drivers as they sought to get out of the densely populated Gadigal Avenue and into the main traffic stream. Many were simply driving out on the incorrect side of the road and then jockeying their way into the Lachlan Street flow. There is a whole lot more high-rise going up in that already densely populated area, especially at the intersection of McEvoy and Bourke Streets. I wonder for how much longer our 19th-century road systems can cope with the demands of future development ("How dense should Sydney get", February 23). Michael O'Brien, Newtown How to beat pokies One wonders when we will ever get a politician in NSW who will have the foresight and determination to ban poker machines ("Power broker", February 24-25). They were legalised in 1956 in this state and it is high time for this social experiment to be reviewed and evaluated independently. The available evidence is that they cause harm but this government was weak in its response to a ban on greyhound racing and in all likelihood will be even weaker in respect of gambling. A day will come, however, when an adventurous politician will garner popular support on this or other latent issues  one cannot fool all of the people all of the time.



James Athanasou, Maroubra A place for guns

I shake my head at those experiencing a visceral reaction to Trump's "Arm Teachers" plan (Letters, February 24-25). We live in a society that finds armed protection for cash, jewels, public buildings, politicians and celebrities to be perfectly acceptable. Yet that same society recoils in horror at the idea of armed protection for children. Am I the only one thinking that we have this the wrong way around?



Scott Hillard New Lambton So, according to Malcolm Turnbull, Australian and American values are the same until  oops  it comes to guns when we are completely different. I hope there isn't undue foreign influence being exerted on him. Richard White, Leura NT inaction appals The abuse and rape of the two-year old Indigenous toddler spurred warnings and pleas by her family to officialdom ("Warning over removal of children", February 23-24). The NT Families department says "none of the more than 20 notifications had been sexual in nature" thus excusing inaction. So what abuse did the victim suffer? Is "just" violence not as damaging as rape? If the family was worried about the child, surely that would be enough reason for her transference to a safe environment. This is entirely different to dragging children from their family environment and sending them to unloving homes. Seems like the warning "Remember the stolen generation" is an excuse for failure, a do-nothing-and-see-what-happens attitude. Suffer the little children.

Wendy Crew, Lane Cove Too long in the picture I wonder if anyone else shares my concern about the lengthy tenure given to those in this city for major art gallery directors? ("Gallery director's job advertised, incumbent to apply", February 24-25). Edmund Capon was at the helm of the Art Gallery of NSW for 33 years  that was a very long time for his vision to dominate a major cultural institution. Should there not be some debate around this, especially when this public service position is offering a massive salary?



Lyndall Nelson, Cremorne Tendentious theology I agree, Geoff Hinds, that, on the whole, Billy Graham stuck to basic evangelical Christianity (Letters, February 24-25). But I disagree that he was in any way "neutral" in politics and other matters of US policy. I recall, some time after 1967, the film His Land, which featured Billy Graham with Cliff Richard. Based on a highly dubious theological interpretation, it had them both lauding and glorifying in the outcome of the Six-Day War in the Middle East. From my standpoint, that was one blot on the good evangelist's copybook.



John Boutagy, Mosman

Can but dream Several readers have expressed an interest in joining the Put Ross Gittins In Charge of Australia Party  I would gladly join, but may I also nominate Elizabeth Farrelly as Co-Person In Charge? My sanity is restored every time I read one of their thoughtful, meaningful columns ("The lie that's sucking the life out of Sydney", February 24-25). Kristina Vingis, Church Point In uniform, and out Contrary to popular belief the placing of one's hand over the heart, as a salute, is not an Americanism (Letters, February 24-25). The tradition was started by some British veterans of the South Africa (Second Boer) War, 1899-1902, at a memorial service, just after the war, in London, and there is photographic evidence.



Christopher Jobson, Monash (ACT)Australian victims of notorious St John of God Brother Bernard McGrath have urged New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern to include churches in a child abuse royal commission after McGrath's fight against extradition from New Zealand stopped the Australian royal commission from a public inquiry into the Catholic order.

Victims, their families and advocates in Australia and New Zealand are mobilising after the New Zealand government established the child abuse royal commission on February 1, but controversially failed to include sport- and faith-based institutions, and restricted investigations to sexual and physical abuse allegations between 1950 and 1999 where the state was involved.

Bernard McGrath. Credit:Judith Whitfield

Ms Ardern and Children's Minister Tracey Martin said the royal commission could investigate abuse cases involving children under state care in church facilities but the inquiry was "about the people, not the institutions".

The restriction could rule out up to 50 per cent of complainants, critics say.As a result, NSW Police moved the events to an Australian Defence Force range, but a police spokesman maintained "all the right boxes had been ticked".

Public interest lawyers at the Environmental Defenders Office of NSW stepped in on behalf of locals to stop three further sessions in late 2017, arguing the range, known as Samuels' Run, was not yet approved and the high-powered gunfire was disrupting the community.

In August, as police ramped up their counter-terror capabilities, 47 officers from the NSW Public Order and Riot Squad descended on the 2000 hectare property near Collector for two week-long live fire training events.

Lawyers have accused NSW Police of holding unlawful rifle training on an unlicensed shooting range near Goulburn.

The site is owned by Australian Target Systems, the main provider of shooting facilities to the Defence Force. Two months after the training, the company lodged a development application with the local council to build a specialised range on the property that would train police in lethal force.

Both NSW Police and the QueanbeyanPalerang Regional Council told Fairfax the 2017 training was carried out under a special provision that allows authorities to set up temporary "emergency services facilities" without council approval.

"Under this [law] NSWPF is permitted to assess and approve ... the training exercise on the Samuel's Run land," a police spokesman said.

A second approval to use the site as a range was also granted, the spokesman said, but did not provide further details.

In their letter to NSW Police in October, EDO lawyers argued the range was not set up by or on behalf of police and was instead part of the company's private enterprise, therefore they had "no legal basis to use it for [their] exercises".9th anniversary of Pilkhana carnage observed

The nation yesterday observed with a heavy heart the 9th anniversary of the February 25-26, 2009 Pilkhana carnage, in which 74 people including 57 army officers were killed, in a befitting manners.

Representatives of the President and the Prime Minister and the Home Affairs Minister, chiefs of the three services, secretary of Public Security Division of the Home Ministry, Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) director general and family members of the martyrs laid floral wreaths at the Military Graveyard in Banani from 9am, said an official release of BGB. One-minute silence was also observed to pay respect to the martyrs and a munajat was offered seeking eternal peace of their departed souls. After paying tributes to the martyrs, BGB Director General Major Abul Hossain told media, quoting the prosecution, that the trial in the case filed under Explosive Substances Act will be completed by this year. Family members of the martyrs demanded declaration of the February 25 as 'Shaheed Sena Dibos' and immediate punishment of the masterminds involved in the killings of army officials. To mark the anniversary, the BGB, the erstwhile Bangladesh Rifles (BDR), took up an elaborate programme across the country. Khatme Quran was held at all the regions, sectors, organisations, and units of the BGB after Magrib Fazr prayer yesterday while Milad and doa mahfils were also held at the mosques and BOP (border observation post) of the BGB. On February 26, special doa and milad-mahfil will be held at Bir-Uttam Fazlur Rahman Khandker auditorium in Philkhana after Asr prayer at 4.45pm. Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan is expected to be present as the chief guest in the programme. Senior Home Secretary, Director General of BGB, close relatives of the martyrs, officers working at the Philkhana, GCO and other employees, among others, will participate in the function. On February 25 in 2009, several hundred BDR soldiers took up weapons against their superior officers at Darbar Hall coinciding with the "BDR Week" inside the Pilkhana headquarters and killed 57 officers including the then BDR chief Major General Shakil Ahmed.

The 36-hour-long mutiny finally ended on the next day when the mutineers were forced to lay down their weapons. On January 23, 2011, the BDR was renamed as Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) under a massive reconstruction drive, that also included changes of the uniform, the flag and the monogram. As part of the move, a new law was made stipulating death for mutiny. Under the subsequent actions, mutineers were exposed to trial under the BDR Act and several thousands of BDR soldiers were jailed for different periods up to seven years by some special courts. Earlier on November 6, 2013, a Dhaka court awarded death penalty to 150 members of the erstwhile Bangladesh Rifles and two civilians for their role in the massacre of 74 people, including 57 army officers, at the BDR Pilkhana headquarters in 2009. It sentenced 161 others, including ex-BNP lawmaker Nasiruddin Ahmed Pintu and ward-level Awami League leader Torab Ali, to life imprisonment for their involvement in the carnage. The court also handed down rigorous imprisonment, ranging from three to 10 years, to another 256 people, mostly BDR jawans, in the BDR carnage case filed with the Lalbagh Police Station on February 28, 2009. Earlier on November 27 in 2017, the High Court (HC) confirmed death for 139 out of 152 convicts who were given capital punishment by lower court in BDR carnage case.

Among rest of the convicts, the court commuted death penalty of eight to life-term imprisonment and acquitted four others. Another death row convict died earlier. Besides, the court upheld life-term for 146 convicts, awarded different terms of imprisonment to 196 and acquitted 41 others.

Out of the total convicts, 28 did not file appeal against the lower court verdict and three died during hearing of the appeals and death references.

A Serbian court has ruled that two Australians arrested over a $500 million cocaine haul are to be extradited to Australia.

Prominent steel businessman Rohan Arnold, Canberra builder Trisan Waters and Arnold's businss partner David Campbell were arrested in a dramatic raid on a luxury hotel in Belgrade in January.

Police allege they were involved in the importation of 1280 kilograms of cocaine that was intercepted by authorities, concealed in steel on a Chinese container boat in Sydney last April.

The trio were arrested as they were allegedly in the middle of handing over a bag containing a pistol and $1 million in a mix of foreign currencies.Mobile phones worth $80,000 have been stolen in a burglary at a department store on the NSW Central Coast.

A burglar broke into the store in Erina early on Saturday morning and stole the phones before leaving through a back door.

Police have described the burglar as wearing a dark-grey hooded jumper, light grey tracksuit pants, black joggers with white soles and red gloves.

AAPDiane Erickson of West Ryde was pleased to see some good reports about Australia Post (C8) for a change, as her husband "has worked there for 38 years and is the 'go-to' person for lost items. He is always getting calls about missing post and usually manages to locate them. Annoyingly, although admittedly handy, he also has the same unerring knack at home."

Another bouquet instead of the usual brickbat for our postal services (C8). "I posted a large book to Bulgaria which would have cost $80 by air but only $35 by sea, so it went by sea," writes Philip Zillman of Manly. "I was told it would take three months  it arrived in eight days."

According to Peter Bower of Naremburn's Telstra landline bill, "a call to a non-Telstra mobile for two minutes 33 seconds cost $1.63, while a three-minute 22-second call to a mobile in the Florida cost $1.39. That's 55 per cent more per minute to chat with someone 14 kilometres away in Petersham than 15,000 kilometres away."

Sad memorials to accident fatalities at roadsides are an all-too-common occurrence, especially when travelling on country roads. "Driving along the Lakes Way at Rainbow Flat in NSW," writes Anne Sefton of Forster, "I passed a simple white cross neatly inscribed 'KOALA'. Someone cared."

"Getting drenched on my ride to work confirmed a long-held theory of mine," postulates John de Bres of Rose Bay. "If the Bureau of Meteorology predicts there is a 10 per cent chance of rain, there is a 90 per cent chance of it landing on me."The boy began thinking about killing people when he was in year 7.

Five years later, the year 12 student visited Elise Lowick, a private psychologist on Sydneys north shore, who diagnosed him with major depressive disorder, generalised anxiety disorder, adjustment disorder and narcissistic personality traits.

Dr Elise Lowick was found to have engaged in unsatisfactory professional conduct.

Dr Lowick, a specialist in emerging psychosis, was employed to deliver intense therapy beyond that which the boys school could provide.

But she blurred the boundaries of their relationship in a series of inappropriate text messages that would threaten her professional registration.The parents of Stuart and Thomas Kelly will call for university hazing to be outlawed after filing statements with the NSW Police alleging Stuart was driven to suicide by relentless bullying at a University of Sydney college he attended.



The statements, obtained by Fairfax Media and contained within The Red Zone, a damning new report on college culture, allege St Pauls failed to properly investigate the circumstances leading up to Stuarts death including being tormented over his role in the lock-out laws and alcohol being forced down his throat.

The Kellys have told police they want a coronial inquest held into Stuart's death in July 2016 and the events that took place at St Paul's college while he was in their care. They believe he may have been assaulted, possibly sexually, during his short stay at the college.

University of Sydney vice-chancellor Michael Spence said the university would support a coronial inquest into Stuart's death.

"We would do anything in our power to help the Kelly family find answers," he said.Adrian Piccoli says parents should focus more on their child's education. Credit:Ben Rushton

Adrian Piccolis comments on Anglo-Australian parents prioritising sport over education may spark a superficial debate, but they fail to address Australia's educational decline on the world stage.

Why shift the blame to parents? Why not face up to the the long-term failure of our federal and state governments to deliver a world class education system for all Australians?

The fact some students from non-English speaking backgrounds do better at NAPLAN does not mean that parents from English-speaking backgrounds dont prioritise their children's education.

Not every student from a non-English speaking background does well at school. And just because you value sport as a parent, it doesn't mean you see education as less important for your child.Queensland's auditor-general is to investigate a $28 million state government deal with mining magnate Ken Talbot struck a day before he began paying money to former minister Gordon Nuttall.

Opposition Leader Jeff Seeney wrote to Auditor-General Glenn Poole last month calling for an investigation into the loan, which he says smacks of a tax avoidance scheme.

Under the 2002 deal, Mr Talbot's company Australian Premier Coal (APC) received a $28 million government loan to shift road and rail infrastructure so the Coppabella mine could access coal deposits.

But the company is repaying the loan as an infrastructure charge rather than as capital expenditure, meaning the repayments are tax-deductible.

The opposition says the deal would save the company $8 million.Tasmanian Premier Will Hodgman is emphasising the state's healthy economy and its own economic management credentials in the lead-up to the election. Credit:Janie Barrett The Farrell family, which currently has a monopoly over every machine in every pub and club in the state, as well as in both of Tasmania's casinos, realised it would have to cede some ground. It proposed a system in which its monopoly would be broken up, and pubs and clubs would take over the licences for the machines already installed in their venues. This was a particularly generous scheme to the Sydney-based family because it had already bought the 12 most lucrative pokies pubs in the state. It closely resembles the one the Liberal Party adopted. The Club Hotel in Glenorchy, a lower socio-economic area on the outskirts of Hobart, where poker machines are more concentrated than in the affluent areas of the city, displays its political signage. Credit:Janie Barrett The Farrells were used to getting their way in Tasmania. Over 50-odd years of running Tasmania's gaming industry they had built a fortune estimated at around $500 million, and no party had dared challenge them yet.

What the Farrells had not detected, what the Tasmanian Liberals had not detected, is that White's elevation to Labor's leadership was not the only change in the political climate. With David Walsh, the founder of Mona, wanting to establish a pokies-free high-roller casino on the site of his famed gallery, the Liberal government established a parliamentary inquiry. Observers say the Farrell family seemed unconcerned by this development  after all, Labor was represented on the inquiry by shadow treasurer Scott Bacon. Bacon is well known around Tasmania not only as a bloke not afraid of a flutter of his own  he prefers the nags  but as the son of former premier Jim Bacon, who in his time had backed the Farrells' business operations. Scott himself had been no enemy of the gaming industry when he served as tourism minister in a previous government. In the inquiry, Bacon heard compelling evidence from outside experts about how the machines manipulated players' perceptions of their odds of winning. He heard that they generated little employment and sucked money out of communities. He heard compelling testimony from Robert Kreshl, a recovering pokie addict who once lived in a drainage ditch while working full-time to sustain his habit. There was something else the Farrells didn't know. Before White began her political career as a staffer for a Labor MP, she had carried a tray at the faded jewel in their crown, the Wrest Point Casino.

"I had to work in the gaming rooms around the pokie machines and I saw people who were lonely," she explains. "I saw people who were so exhausted from sitting at the machine for so long without taking a break that they fell off their chair and had to be taken to hospital. I saw people wet themselves at the machines because they did not want to leave because they thought their next spin was going to be their lucky spin. I saw people who peed in the coin cups because they did not want to leave. So I saw how addictive the machines are." White and Bacon began to kick around potential policies in response. According to observers there were some in Labor that wanted to take a more moderate stance. They could run with harm-minimisation measures of the sort proposed by the industry, they could impose lower maximum bets. But evidence had been presented at the inquiry that suggested none of these measures would make much difference. White decided to go all-in. Pokies would be removed from all the state's pubs and clubs and hunted back to the two casinos. Representatives of the Farrell family were summoned to a meeting before the public announcement was made. One of them was so shocked he began to "twitch", says one observer. The public announcement stunned the state. Recalling the day it happened, as he drinks a beer in a Hobart pub  where he is welcomed warmly despite the pokies out the back  Bacon says that the fact there was not a single leak is evidence of the broad support for the policy. It is also clear that the policy has served another purpose for Labor and for White. It draws a dividing line not only between Labor and Liberal, but between new and old Labor, new and old Tasmania. It casts White as a tough leader, one with the principles to take political heat for a policy she believes in.

And the pain has been significant. At one level, the campaign in Tasmania is being fought over familiar ground: Labor talking up its credentials in social services and backing up White's campaign with a roster of visiting federal heavyweights, including Bill Shorten, Tanya Plibersek and Katherine King; Will Hodgman's Liberal Party emphasising the state's healthy economy and its own economic management credentials and chucking a twist of law and order into the mix, with a proposal to toughen laws against protesters. But because of the amount of money coming in from groups supporting and opposing Labor's pokie policy  including a campaign called "Love your Local" backed by the Federal Group and its allies in the Tasmanian Hospitality Association  the pokies issue is dominating the campaign. Many of the state's pubs are draped in banners urging a Liberal vote and social media and airwaves are jammed with advertising on the issue. White insists the attention is to Labor's benefit and is fracturing the Liberal Party. "I think internally the Liberals are in quite a lot of pain over this issue. You've got an interesting make-up of Liberal Party members on this issue, some of whom are are close to religious organisations. Religious organisations in Tasmania have been very vocal in their opposition to poker machines in pubs and clubs and they have been lobbying very heavily those Liberal members who have religious affiliations. "Even after we announced our policy, some of those faith leaders were still sure that the Liberals would change their position, they thought that the Liberals would adopt Labor's position, so there would be tension in the Liberal Party between those who would have a political perspective and think that this is good for the Liberal Party, and others who would be getting a lot of pressure from their constituency to remove pokies."

Tasmanian Premier Will Hodgman dismisses this. In an interview he graciously endured during a jet-boat ride in the middle of a campaign-stop showcasing the government's tourism policy, Hodgman says the Liberal Party room is united in supporting not only the party's pokie policy but its support of the Farrell family, which runs not only casinos and pubs but high-end resorts. He backs people's freedom of choice to play pokies, and says they provide not only critical employment but important leisure activity. "The businesses we are talking about are small pubs and clubs spread across the state, they are at threat. It may be a matter that the Labor Party cares less about, but for us, a party that strongly supports jobs across the state, it is something worth fighting for." The Farrells, he says, are very generous contributors to the Tasmanian community. For Labor, the heady days of December are long gone. No public polling has recently been conducted but there is a sense that the deluge of pro-Liberal advertising is taking its toll. Labor insiders believe the party has been swamped by mainland pokies interests determined to kill the policy lest it spread. Clubs NSW and Clubs Australia say they might have been approached for advice, but say they have not funded the anti-Labor campaign.

Either way, the industry on the island itself is big enough to do its own damage, and with Tasmania's donation transparency laws the weakest in the country, we might never know how much they spent. Internal Liberal polling suggests the party is now enjoying a substantial lead with a week to go. Though political analysts doubt the reliability of that data, there is a strong sense that Hodgman has the wind at his back. There is a perception that White's Labor has not only been outspent, but out-organised and out-campaigned. When you talk to Labor insiders now you learn that most have accepted that a win even a win taken with the support of the Greens - is out of reach. The Liberals hold 15 seats and Labor seven in a 25-seat house. If White can take four seats, she considers herself  and her pokies policy  safe. If she takes five, she will force the Liberals into minority government, historically a poisoned chalice in Tasmanian politics.Under the microscope, they look like little red bubbles, swelling with green slime. The bubbles stretch, and then burst in a shower of goo.

This never-before-seen process may be a crucial trigger for autoimmune diseases like arthritis.

It was midnight when Professor Benjamin Kile first saw the vision, sitting awake at midnight at his computer in the Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute.

I felt like I was part of NASA, getting pictures from the dark side of the moon, he said. It was obvious immediately that this was something no one had ever seen before.Rachael and Jonathan Casella, with baby Mackenzie. Credit:Gabrielle Byrnes

When Rachael Casella was pregnant with her daughter Mackenzie, she chose to undertake myriad tests to optimise the chances of a healthy baby and pregnancy. But at no stage was she offered a straightforward saliva or blood test to see if she was carrying the Spinal Muscular Atrophy Type 1 gene.

The couple, who featured in a report on 7.30 on the ABC on Thursday night, lost Mackenzie to the disease when she was just seven months old. They had to endure the slow devastation of watching their daughter lose her muscle strength, her movement, her ability to feed, to swallow and finally to breathe before her first birthday.

Yet such tragedy could have been prevented if they had known about a simple genetic test they could have taken before or when Rachael was pregnant. The test for the SMA Type 1 gene has been available for some time through a pathology company that also screens for cystic fibrosis and Fragile X. Unfortunately it costs about $400 and parents do not receive a rebate through Medicare. And as Rachael and her husband, Jonathan, discovered, most GPs are not even aware of its existence.Project consultancy fee, vehicle purchase cost 4-time up

Anisul Islam Noor :

The fees and other expenditure for the consultant firm of Dhaka-Jessore rail link project through Padma Bridge has awfully raised from Tk 237.14 crore to Tk 1031.83 crore, according to sources close to the project.

Of the expenditure, over Tk 100 crore will be spent only to purchase 81 cars, 30 motorbikes and three ambulances. However, the cost of purchasing vehicles was initially estimated at Tk 20.5 crore.

Besides, 25 cars will also be supplied from other closing projects of Bangladesh Railway.

This information was revealed in the Revised Development Project Proposal (RDPP) of the Padma rail link project, which has been finalised by the railway recently.

The proposed vehicles for the consultant firm include seven VIP jeeps and the estimated cost of each jeep has been fixed at Tk 1.10 crore. As well, 30 more common jeeps, 34 double cabin pickups and seven microbuses will also be bought. And their estimated prices will be Tk 85 lakh, Tk 60 lakh and Tk 50 lakh respectively. During the feasibility study that completed in 2015, the expenditure was estimated at Tk 237.14 crore.

Meanwhile, the project was approved in the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) for construction of 169 kilometers of Dhaka-Mawa-Jessore rail line in 2016. At that time the cost of consulting sector was Tk 908.76 crore.

According to RDPP, Tk 40 crore will be spent for the construction of the office for consultants, Tk 10 crore for purchasing furniture and other equipment, and Tk 12 crore for buying computer, software and other office stationeries.

The Director General of Bangladesh Railway Amjad Hossain told The New Nation that the requirement of vehicle was estimated as per the ratio of 169 kilometers of railway construction as well as supervision.

He argued that 57 vehicles were purchased while connecting railway link over Jamuna (Bangabandhu) bridge project. So, the number of vehicles is not additional considering it (Padma Bridge) as a mega project.

Actually, there is no procedure that such a special facility is available to consultants on any project running under the railway or any other organisation. Even the original Padma bridge project the cost was estimated at Tk 516.64 crore for the consultancy sector.

Though the vehicles will be bought for the consultants, they will be used by senior officials of the railways and the ministry. Railway Minister, Railway Secretary, Railway Director General and the Project Director will take one each of the four VIP jeeps. A speedboat has been kept for them also. Officials will use some of the proposed jeeps and pickups, which will be bought for consultants.

The 30 motorbikes bought for consultants have been made part of the railway officials, although 18 separate cars are being purchased separately for railway and ministry officials under the project.

It is shown in expenditure analysis that the consultant's honorarium has been estimated at Tk 247.78 crore. They can spend Tk 145.87 crore in support of staff. The foreign consultants can spend Tk 26.25 crore for travelling and as honorarium. Besides, they will also be able to spend Tk 10 crore for taking specialize opinion for the project.

It is to be mentioned that the estimated cost of the project was Tk 34,988.86 crore in 2016. Of this, China will provide Tk 24,749.5 crore as loan. Based on the G to G, the China Railway Group will implement the project.

But in the revised proposal, the cost of construction of the railway will increase to 40,080.44 crore.

The construction works are expected to commence in 2018 and scheduled to be completed by 2022.

There are calls for better drug education in schools, as police continue investigations into the overdose of seven Gold Coast high school students.

Six of the Saint Stephen's College year 10 students had been released from Gold Coast University Hospital by Friday afternoon, while the remaining patient was reportedly recovering well.

Paramedics attended Saint Stephen's College in Upper Coomera after several students fell ill from a drug overdose. Credit:AAP

All seven were rushed to hospital on Wednesday, with some in a critical condition, after ingesting an unknown drug.

Police are still awaiting the results of toxicology reports to confirm which drug was involved but were investigating reports it was the Russian designer drug phenibut - an anti-depressant used to treat anxiety and insomnia - that may have been bought online.Dan Gaffney at home in the Blue Mountains. Credit:Wolter Peeters

A chemotherapy drug called Velcade made Dan Gaffney's death from terminal cancer seem a little further away than before. In contrast to other drugs he had tried without success, it improved a key marker of his multiple myeloma by about 70 per cent.

The deep bone pain that typifies his type of cancer disappeared and, unlike most people, Mr Gaffney, 55, had no side effects after 11 cycles of chemo.

But last November Mr Gaffney's access to the drug under Medicare's Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme was terminated because it is only approved for 11 treatment cycles.

The only avenue for Mr Gaffney's doctors to win Medicare approval to resume treatment is to show his cancer has worsened  and he has got sicker  since he stopped, and prove that his cancer did improve on the drug.Olympic great Ian Thorpe felt embarrassed to be Australian when he witnessed the plight of Aborigines first hand on a visit to Arnhem Land.

"I think it's shocking," Thorpe said on Wednesday as he joined Aboriginal track star Cathy Freeman in a campaign to improve indigenous health care.

"In seeing this, I really am embarrassed to be an Australian because we haven't done enough.

"Mostly that is because people are not aware of what is going on.

"Australians are very generous people.Transfield Services was worried about asylum seekers potentially rioting as it looked to clean mould off the inside of tents at the Nauru detention centre, leaked emails show.

The immigration department and then centre operator Transfield (now Broadspectrum) were warned about mould health risks to asylum seekers and staff in a top-secret 2014 report.

Transfield may have misled a Senate inquiry over its efforts to fix a mould problem at Nauru Detention Centre. Credit:Angela Wylie

The report by microbiologist Dr Cameron Jones said airborne and surface-bound fungal and bacterial cells and spores are capable of causing disease "by direct infection, toxicosis or by allergy".

At least 20 former detention centre staff have become seriously ill from mould exposure, including an Australian teacher who now has a cognitive disability.Allegations of offending do not justify the forfeiture of human rights. The presumption of innocence is fundamental to our western criminal justice system; it sets us apart from totalitarian regimes that rely for their very existence on the repressive power of arbitrary detention.

Let's remember that the bail process is not intended to assess whether the accused is guilty of committing a crime. Rather, it is an exercise in the management of risk  risk that the accused will fail to appear in court, or risk that the accused will reoffend. Lately, this purpose has been hijacked by politicians more afraid of the risk of public opinion. They've given us a bail process that is accusation, judgment and punishment all rolled into one.

The media have played their role too, by targeting magistrates and bail justices who grant bail to alleged offenders who then commit further crimes. There have been calls for sacking bail decision-makers who allow this to happen three times. One commentator even went so far as to suggest that they should face charges themselves!

Determining bail is difficult. The magistrate or bail justice is given little information on which to base a decision and only a few minutes to digest it. It is all too easy, with the benefit of hindsight, to criticise bail decisions that inadvertently lead to a heinous crime. However, such incidents are very uncommon.

It has been said that good policy is informed by the broad range of cases that come before our justice system, not by single or unusual cases. The reforms to bail that are under way in Victoria have been driven in response to a few horrifying but rare crimes. How far are we prepared to go in weakening the presumption of innocence, a foundation of our justice system, as we compel magistrates and bail justices to become ever more risk averse in their decisions?There has been a rare hepatitis A death in Victoria as the state experiences a spreading outbreak of the very infectious disease.

Victorians deputy health officer Dr Brett Sutton confirmed a man recently died from locally acquired case of hepatitis A, a viral infection of the liver.

There have been 42 confirmed cases of the disease in the past two months in Victoria, with another 23 still being confirmed.

The health department said all those affected so far are men, many who are gay or bisexual, or injecting drug users.

Dr Sutton has urged those at risk of infection to get a free vaccineIt was compelling TV. Viewers were told to wait four days to hear the results for the popular presenter, who said: This test is so important for boofhead blokes like me because we never go to the doctor, we never think about our health.

Koch followed this up with a filmed blood test to examine prostate specific antigen (PSA) levels to detect possible signs of prostate cancer.

"Just try and relax there a bit," a urologist said to the 61-year-old while he was lying on his side, trousers around his knees, having a digital rectal exam.

Koch was aware of some of the potential consequences of these tests. He flagged the risk of having a doctor whip out your prostate, which he acknowledged could lead to impotency.

But he framed this as though it was a thing of the past, saying: The treatments are so vast these days that its not as bad as all that, and youve got to get checked. You must get checked.

If you didnt know much more about these tests, you might have felt compelled to book yourself in to see a GP or urologist this week. You might have also felt you had no choice.

This could not be further from the truth. More than ever, men like me are making a rational decision not to have prostate cancer screening tests. This is because they tend to do more harm than good.

The trouble is, Channel Seven gave men the impression these tests were life saving without breaking down the specific benefits and harms for viewers. Nor did they quantify the chance of these benefits and harms so men could truly weigh this up for themselves.This year could see China and Russia with a counterterrorism capability to deploy smart killer drones using facial-recognition technology to eliminate persons deemed to be "terrorists". Many such persons would be considered by Australians to be activists, separatists or insurgents - rather than "terrorists".

Some terrorist groups are also using drones, but they are unsophisticated and used for more basic purposes, such as surveillance, collecting intelligence, videoing propaganda footage, and dropping munitions.

IS may well be the microcosm of all that's evil in the world, but there's no shortage of evil outside the caliphate either.

While terrorism remains a common-denominator topic at international government meetings, there is still no agreed international definition of terrorism, or consensus about which groups are "terrorist" and which are not. Each nation therefore usually focuses on the groups it considers to be its main enemies.

Australia has 25 proscribed terrorist organisations on our national list, New Zealand 18, the UK 74, and the US 61.He could simply give up, perhaps with some grand gesture of sacrifice on the altar of some pretended principle. He could sit helplessly waiting to be knocked off, whether by a party rival or the electorate. Or he could simply plod along within the existing harness, doing the best he can with what he has and what he can get away with, hoping that time, circumstance and perhaps the misfortunes of his enemies (whether before or behind him) will one day allow him to do more. Perhaps even  O frabjous day!  to be himself, if he can remember what that was. And perhaps even with some respect, whether for his humility in his trials, his patience and steadiness under the whip, and his realism and pragmatism. It might even have been character-forming, given that many of his supporters once feared he might be too headstrong, too given to insisting on his way or the highway, too little inclined to listen and to attend. The Liberals and the Nationals have generally worked together comfortably enough, even if the alliance has prospered only when they have had clear goals beyond individual and group survival. It's not a marriage, and the players (apart from Malcolm Fraser, Peter Nixon and Sinclair 40 years ago) have not even been political bedmates or personal friends. But the parties' partnership has usually been profitable to both. They can squabble, particularly about the distribution of the goodies and patronage that come from being in power, but each must ultimately compromise. A full-blown split causes loss of office, which is, in political terms, death. The Nationals (and their predecessor, the Country Party) have, historically, focused more crudely on the plunder of government than on the principles by which public goods are rationed out. The Liberals have long had a tendency to look away in embarrassment at the greed and the corruption of spirit displayed when Nationals exercise power. Yet the Nationals have generally seemed steadier, more disciplined, more socially conservative and less likely to fragment than the ever-fractious Liberals. Turnbull must pretend to enjoy the shit sandwich he is eating; indeed, to have chosen it of his own accord.

The Nationals' addiction to trinkets and a transactional relationship with electors once had it described as a prostitute. In 1974, Billy Snedden showed a characteristic lack of feel, as he watched parties flirting with the Democratic Labour Party, when he asked: "Who's churching the old whore now?" It swiftly proved that the "old whore" of the metaphor was the then Country Party, not the DLP. Last week, I remarked that Joyce should be made to resign not for his private indiscretions but for his performance as a member, minister and party leader. I found this quoted by a conservative commentator, who described it as an urban view. This cut me to the quick, since I think of myself as a rural lad at heart, and of sound National, or Country Party, stock. An ancestor attended one of the party's founding meetings about 100 years ago and remained loyal to his death, even if he occasionally bewailed its having become (in NSW) a party for rural toffs of the Protestant persuasion, rather than the alliance of townsfolk, rural workers and cockies he had romantically expected. Still, as he once remarked, the Prots in those sectarian days would allow the Catholics a right of veto over who misrepresented them in Parliament. About 80 years ago, for example the (Protestant) manager of a nearby rural property ran off with the station owner's wife. He married her, and they settled several hundred kilometres away, forgotten by all but a few locals. About 30 years, an intervening war and the end of the wool boom later, the man developed aspirations to be a Country Party candidate. We Catholics had large families, and my ancestor put out a three-line whip and used every tie of blood to have them oppose the attempt in Country Party branches. The candidate failed to win preselection. I was young and naive at the time, and very bemused. Surely a man was not unfitted for public office simply because he was divorced, I asked? Surely, pious Catholics (as my grandfather assuredly was) would follow Jesus' advice not to judge?

My ancestor insisted he was not visiting his morals on the poor chap. Heaven forbid, he said (if unconvincingly to me). But he feared that, if others found out about the man's "murky" past, they might judge him adversely; not be as understanding as they themselves would be. Their desire was to see a Country Party man (in those days it was always a man) elected; the best way of ensuring this would be to make sure that he wasn't the sort of candidate of whose character some voters would have doubts. That's been Joyce's problem, right from the start. And not only in his own electorate, but in typical National constituencies. We understand, of course, because we are broad-minded and tolerant and know that everyone is human. But will everyone else? Joyce had some success at attracting votes, and Queenslanders in particular seem to like his incoherence, incapacity to finish sentences and pretence that he is just one of the boys down at the pub. And they have loved the exuberance with which he threw other people's money at pet ideas and local projects. Some owed him, personally and professionally, and that involved some appreciation of his virtues as well as his faults. Actually, the evidence (for example, during the same-sex marriage referendum) suggests that rural electorates are only slightly more socially conservative than most urban ones. We may be all sinners, in spite of our high aspirations, but Joyce was deeply vulnerable to hypocrisy charges, because he had foisted his moral views on others. That's not a charge one could make against, say, Warren Truss, John Anderson, Charles Blunt, Sinclair, Doug Anthony or even Jack McEwen, even if most of them were a little more straight-laced than average. Any look back at the party's history suggests that the idea of tight and instinctive loyalty to leaders is largely invention. The party, first, is very state-based, and its fundamental character differs in each area. (The first Catholic National from NSW, incidentally, was Tim Fischer in 1971  into state parliament  and he sneaked in, as it were, by representing a constituency close to Victoria, where Catholics in the Nationals were not uncommon.) Most Victorian Nationals have no great affinity with their siblings in NSW or Queensland, or, for that matter, tradition of capacity to form partnerships with Liberals. The Queensland party, at state and federal level, is deeply divided (the more so after a fusion of sorts with the Liberals). No one does backstabbing and disloyalty like the Country Liberal Party in the Northern Territory. The West Australians, when they can get candidates up, are almost from another planet, and are humoured, at best, if only because their presence suggests the National Party is actually national. In South Australia and Tasmania, all National Party seedlings have died. It will not be precedent or mere unthinking loyalty that settles the Nationals leadership. It should be a cool calculation of personal self-interest, party interests and Coalition interests. That may, of course, involve some assessment of the damage Joyce could cause if he throws a tantrum at the result.A US GetUp! could counter the financial power of the National Rifle Association and instill the fear of democracy into the hearts and minds of US political candidates. Gutsy TV ad campaigns suggesting that Senator Bloggs supports child murder, or that Representative Smith sells himself to the arms industry backed up with the prospect of cash donations from US GetUp! to wean them off the NRA tit is going to be more effective than mere rational or emotional appeal for action. You have to match the large donations of the few with the small donations of the many. In Australia 97 per cent of GetUp!'s donations are under $100. In the past year it has raised $53 million, all completely disclosed, unlike the NRA's finances which have to be tweaked from multiple sources. Translated to the large US population, the $53 million would come $800 million. Watch out NRA. That might at least get the US to the maximum level of gun control that the Constitution permits, and even beyond that to either a constitutional change or better funded legal support to defend gun control measures against Supreme Court challenges, particularly an attempt to put the "right to bear arms" in its proper context. The wording is: "A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the People to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed." Well the US has got a "well-regulated militia". It is called the US Armed Forces, not to mention the police. So there is no need for the people to "bear arms" to secure the state. To the contrary, people wandering around with assault rifles makes the state less secure.

Tertiary education: more than just jobs and growth Education budgets in Australia and the US are suffering enough without people like Princeton Professor Bryan Caplan chiming in with his new book: "The Case against Education. Why the Education System Is a Waste of Time and Money". In the US it is worse than here. Students without wealthy parents graduate with a mountain of debt. At least in Australia there is a reasonably orderly and affordable system of repayment through the tax system. Caplan, quoted in these pages last weekend by my usually lucid and insightful colleague Peter Martin, argues that students do not learn a great deal at university; that most of them would be better off learning on the job; that the only thing a degree is worth is as a signal to a prospective employer that you are the sort of person who perseveres and knuckles down; and that what is learnt at university is of little use to employers. But graduates earn more money over their lifetime on average than non-graduates. The question is why.

In an ideal world, students would go to university and learn lots of things that are useful to employers and increase their productivity. Thus society has a bigger cake to share. In Caplan's world, on the other hand, the degree is just a signal to an employer who then pays the graduate more even though their degree is pretty much worthless and does not add to the size of the economic cake. In this model graduates get an unjustly larger share of the same finite cake at the expense of everyone else. If only employers could do their own sifting rather than relying on the signal of the degree, society would be better off because it would not have to waste money on all that useless education, Caplan's argument runs. Martin, and to a lesser extent Caplan, at least acknowledge that students at least learn some useful things in vocational courses like law and medicine. Even so, getting an education as a means of getting a job is less than half the story.

Even from the view of an economist, a job and the income from it is only half the story. What about the spending side? How do you spend the money you get from this income? And how do you spend your time when you are not earning this income? Education, especially higher education, helps people answer those questions. Indeed, answering those questions draws on education more than the question of how do you earn your income. Earning income is invariably a fairly narrow occupation. Spending income and spending time are far more varied, more complicated and in many ways more difficult. Nearly all disciplines at university require and understanding of some or all of the following: the scientific method, logic and the marshalling and testing argument, critical thinking and statistics. These things help people engage with the world; contribute to public, private and corporate life; and arm them against being duped by people selling goods, services or themselves. It might not make for a bigger cake, but it certainly means that there are fewer rotten bits in it.2 die as truck falls from bridge in Sunamganj

Two people were killed after a goods laden truck fell into a ditch from Bailey Bridge that collapses in Sunamganj early on Sunday.

Two people died and a third was injured after a truck fell into a ditch from a bridge that collapsed in Sunmanganj. The incident has been reported from Chhatak Upazila of the north-eastern district.

The victims were riding a truck on Bailey Bridge in Lakshmibaor that collapsed early on Sunday, said Sunamganj Additional Superintendent of Police Md Habibullah.

The truck fell from the bridge killing two people-Hamid Mia, 30 and Abul Kalam, 25 -- on the spot, he told bdnews24.com. The truck driver, who is yet to be identified, was rushed to MAG Osmani Medical College Hospital in Sylhet with serious injuries, he added.

The truck was headed to Boglabazar in Sunamganj.Malcolm Turnbull hasn't had German Chancellor Angela Merkel's problem of not being able to find a suitable coalition partner, but he has a coalition problem none the less.

His Barnaby Joyce problem shows once again that maintaining the Liberal-National coalition comes at an enormous cost and it is an arrangement which deserves far greater attention and transparency. Instead it is clouded in secrecy and taken for granted. The Coalition, which commentator Peter Brent correctly describes as a strange beast, is more often than not treated as a single party in which the Nationals are a sort of rural outlier, like a Labor Party faction, rather than a fully-fledged separate political party.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

But even given some similarities to a faction (dictating who their ministers will be, for instance) and given the fact that in Queensland the two parties are actually one Liberal National Party, the Nationals are very much a separate entity.

The two parties are usually described as senior and junior partners in the Coalition. The arrangement is sometimes described as a marriage, which seems strangely apt in the present circumstances, even if it is a marriage of convenience in which there are no alternative suitors.The Coalition government is only a few months away from handing down its fifth consecutive budget deficit. But last week, Finance Minister Mathias Cormann was taken off budget preparation duties to be acting prime minister so that Malcolm Turnbull could go to the United States and Barnaby Joyce could take some leave and hold media conferences. To say the government has lost focus is an understatement.

Donald Trump has lost focus, too. His wall along the Mexican border is yet to be built or paid for by the Mexicans, the US coal industry is yet to surge and, most significantly for Turnbull, the US President has been unwilling to reduce the US budget deficit. Indeed, Trump's budget is set to deliver a deficit of nearly $US1 trillion.

Banker's Association chief Anna Bligh with Business Council chief Jennifer Westacott. The council wants US-style corporate tax cuts, which had worsened that country's massive deficits. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

While the Coalition and the Business Council of Australia talk endlessly about Trump's recent tax cuts and how the US economy is creating jobs, neither group seems keen to discuss Trump's record-breaking deficit. Indeed, given that the Coalition was elected on a promise to rapidly restore the budget to surplus, and given the Business Council was so obsessed with the need to reduce the deficit back in 2013 that its former president, Tony Shepherd, ran Tony Abbott's audit commission, the strategic silence coming from the loudest voices in Australian public debate is remarkable.

The Australian business community's current hero is no fiscal conservative. On the contrary, not only is Trump an old-fashioned Keynesian, his budgetary policy is on track to be far more stimulatory than the deficits that Kevin Rudd and Wayne Swan delivered in Australia after the global financial crisis. But in the topsy-turvy world of Australian politics, the groups that led the attack on Rudd's fiscal stimulus are now boosters for the effectiveness of Trump's stimulus.Washington DC: Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has declared his visit to Washington DC a success after "frank and productive meetings" with US President Donald Trump, military leaders, business executives and more than 40 state governors.

They gave Mr Trump and first lady Melania RM Williams boots as gifts during Friday's four-hour visit at the White House.

Ms Turnbull also gave Ms Trump a scarf made by a small business located in the Wentworth electorate.

"This has been a very, very valuable visit," Mr Turnbull told reporters on Saturday before leaving for Maryland's Andrews Air Force Base and the long flight home.The Turnbull government will reverse course and allow businesses to buy overseas carbon credits to meet Australia's emissions reduction targets, a policy long questioned by climate experts and once labelled "dodgy" by Tony Abbott.

Backed by industry and some climate change observers, the move allows big businesses to purchase emissions reductions in other countries - most likely at lower prices - to offset their own carbon production.

Environment and Energy Minister Josh Frydenberg on Tuesday gave "in-principle" support to joining 60 other nations - including Canada, New Zealand, Japan and South Korea - in an international trading market once rules are finalised after 2020.

"Our thinking is to find the lowest-cost abatement," Mr Frydenberg said on Tuesday. "When it comes to helping the environment, it doesn't matter if you've reduced a tonne of CO2 here in Australia or in another country."Of course there is a chance that when Barnaby Joyce is replaced as the Nationals leader and deputy prime minister on Monday he will return to the backbench to quietly serve the people of his seat and the interests of his party.

This is what one would once have expected of a party leader, but it is not what people are expecting of Joyce. Loosed of the (slack) bonds of cabinet solidarity, we can now expect Joyce to join Tony Abbott on the backbench and focus on two of his key concerns - Malcolm Turnbull, and the causes that Malcolm Turnbull stands for.

When he first left Queensland for a lower house seat in New England, Joyce quoted Cicero in his inaugural speech. Of all the occupations by which gain is secured, he declared, none is better than agriculture, none more profitable, none more delightful, none more becoming to a free man.

This notion that his constituency has an unfettered moral right to the endless exploitation of Australian resources has long been a key theme of Joyces.

He put it in more familiar terms before an errant hot mike during a political meeting in a pub last year.The Turnbull government's new national energy guarantee could introduce a de facto carbon price, measuring the cost of emissions for the first time since the Abbott government scrapped the carbon tax in 2014.

The long-awaited energy plan, released by the government on Tuesday, requires electricity retailers to ensure improved reliability levels while also reducing carbon emissions in line with Australia's Paris Agreement commitments.

Buried in the detail of advice presented by the new Energy Security Board to state and federal governments is a mechanism to be added to the National Electricity Market in two stages in 2019 and 2020 that could produce a default carbon price.

"Some electricity retailers will not be able to meet the required emissions profile, while others will overachieve," it reads. "Therefore a secondary exchange will occur between retailers to balance their portfolios."History might have seared these Labor indiscretions into collective memory, but Terry Barnes - a top adviser to Tony Abbott in the latter years of the Howard government - insists the Tories were no less naughty when they were in power. "Most MPs and staffers worked hard, many played hard and a few played very hard indeed," he recalls. "Condoms in the Meditation Room were the norm in my day, and what happened on tour stayed on tour." That infamous room, a quiet alcove above the grand Mural Hall in the centre of Parliament, was built for prayer and reflection. Each semi-private nook contains a seat, some floor space and a plaque pointing to Mecca. These days it is sparse but in its infancy, the room was packed with ridiculous, kitschy Christian babble", in the words of long-serving former Labor operative Justin Di Lollo, who recalls a number of grey plastic Jesus figures superglued on to fake pine crucifixes. I took it upon myself to relieve the room of most of it, he says. Since then, the Meditation Room has become notorious - in the sort of wink-wink, nudge-nudge innuendo indulged by colleagues on the hill - as the go-to venue for a bit of on-site action. Di Lollo, who started just weeks after the new Parliament House opened in 1988, reckons he went in there more than 100 times over a decade but "for all of the many, many, many stories that one hears, I have never in all of those visits seen any nefarious nocturnal activity or evidence thereof".

Other hot spots for hanky panky were cleaned up and squeezed out years ago. Di Lollo remembers a number of windowless "guest rooms" with green vinyl lounges dotted around the building. "There are various stories of a bit of rooting going on in there," he says with a hint of nostalgia. One contemporary staffer tells of an especially "hot and risque" moment with a journalist that was "the closest I've ever come to having sex in Parliament House". But the danger of being discovered loomed large. "He didn't have an MP suite at his disposal, so it did shift a lot of risk on to my side," the staffer said. They ended up going back to the journalist's house.

In truth, most of the sex between staff, press and lobbyists happens out of Parliament - not difficult when most people are staying at nearby hotels. Evenings during sitting weeks tend to follow a familiar path, from boozy events in the building to dinner in Kingston to  particularly on Wednesdays - the Public bar in Manuka, where the party often goes until 3am. Though the venue has changed over the years there has always been a place for the political class to blow off steam on the night before everyone leaves town. Locals seem to know to stay away on a Wednesday night, when the hordes from the hill descend. "They definitely have a good time when theyre here," says Scott Barrie, the bar manager at Public who presides over the suit-and-tie swamp. "They all get real pissed but theyre always really polite and they never act out at all. Barnaby Joyce is fighting to hang on to his career. Credit:Peter Hardin Barrie takes a laissez-faire view on the whole spectacle. "Eighty per cent of them would be guys," he observes, rightly. "Theyd just be smashing beers. What they do once they leave, I don't know."

This reporter can vouch that hook-ups between staffers and journalists are common, and Public is ground zero. And rest assured, people do not discriminate on partisan grounds. But, as Murray Watt notes, none of this should come as a shock. "If you get any sort of venue where there are large numbers of younger people gathering together with a few drinks involved, it's not surprising that sometimes people go home with each other," he says. "That happens every Friday night in every town in Australia. Canberra's no different." Alcohol can be a lubricant and a liability around Parliament. It is omnipresent, dished out for free at black tie dinners, office parties and countless drinks events put on by lobby groups and other associations. Ewen Jones, a boisterous and much-loved Liberal MP who lost his seat at the last election, says it was like being in the chocolate factory. But it was also fraught with danger. I love being on the drink. What I didnt get when I went to Canberra is people use a glass of wine as something around which to have the conversation they need to have, he says. Me, I would drink it like it was beer, and I ended up making a fool of myself on more than one occasion. I fell over in the whips office trying to find a seat and nearly took out Bronwyn Bishop. [Liberal MP] Russell Broadbent actually took me aside and said mate, you better watch yourself.

Lest you get the wrong impression, make no mistake: ministers and shadow ministers resolutely don't have the time for such shenanigans. They're up at 5am running laps around the building, doing media interviews and preparing for 16-hour work days. And even the raucous corridor parties have largely subsided, according to old hands, though there are still reckless moments. Labor veterans fondly recall the end-of-session parties during the Rudd/Gillard years. "They were wild. People were so drunk. Theres no way someone wasnt f--king in someone elses office," one attendee says. Others describe that government's tortured last months as a long bacchanale. Certain offices develop a culture and, by extension, a reputation. Then-treasurer Wayne Swan's team was notorious for enjoying a good time. Nobody would be surprised to see Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young at a party. The spirit of the old days might be dulled but it limps on with a restraint befitting the modern age. Although we were sometimes a bit horny, we never did anything inside the building, says one recently-departed Liberal staffer. I think most people are professional enough to take it to the hotel room. In the end, the overwhelming sentiment among those who discussed the topic of sex this week was simply bewilderment that anyone found time to copulate in the corridors of power.Mr Trump said Australia and the US were very different countries with very different sets of problems". But I think were well on the way toward solving that terrible problem that happens far too often in the United States," he said. Mr Trump lent more weight to the idea of giving teachers the right to carry weapons, saying the gun free zones in American schools only attracted those who wanted to launch attacks. Youre not going to solve it with gun-free spaces, he said of the problem.

Malcolm Turnbull spoke of "one hundred years of mateship" ahead of a meeting with Donald Trump. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen Mr Trump talked of stronger background checks on gun buyers, a ban on bump stocks that increase firing rates as well as the right for staff members to carry guns in schools. He cited the Valentine's Day shootings in Florida, where an armed guard avoided going in to protect students during the crucial opening minutes of the attack, to argue that teachers should have weapons because they cared more about the students. The joint press conference came after Mr Trump welcomed Malcolm Turnbull and his wife Lucy to the White House and said he wants to come to Australia to cement the countrys terrific relationship. President Donald Trump walked through the White House grounds with Malcolm Turnbull after an honour guard welcome. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

We will be there, he said when asked if he would like to visit Australia. Mr Trump gave Mr Turnbull a ceremonial welcome to the White House with an honour guard for the Prime Minister and his wife, Lucy. They then walked along a colonnade with the first lady, Melania. The two leaders then spoke in the Oval Office before having a working lunch with top advisers covering action on trade and military deals. Earlier, Mr Turnbull met with US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin backed tough new US sanctions against North Korea. Loading

The Trump administration announced its biggest sanctions ever on Friday, aimed at punishing companies that do business with the rogue regime of Kim Jong-un. It came after North Korea refused to meet Vice President Mike Pence on the sidelines of the Winter Olympics in South Korea. In a press briefing at the White House, Mr Mnuchin said Mr Turnbull was very supportive of the new actions after they discussed the issue at their meeting ahead of the formal announcement. Australia already imposes sanctions on North Korea under the auspices of the United Nations but it may have to consider whether to join the latest US actions. Mr Mnuchin, who has known Mr Turnbull for years because they were both partners at Goldman Sachs, said he had "a very, very productive discussion" with Mr Turnbull. We had a very productive discussion on North Korea, hes very supportive and weve encouraged him to work with us on sanctions, Mr Mnuchin said.

Loading As he sat with Mr Turnbull in the Oval Office, Mr Trump said: The relationship we have with Australia is a terrific relationship and probably stronger now than ever before." Were working on trade deals, were working on military and protection and all of the things that you would think we would be discussing today. We have a big meeting set up in a little while and we have a luncheon set up also and we have all of our representatives surrounding us and a lot of good things will come out of this visit. So Mr Prime Minister, we very much appreciate you being here.Australia's new data breach laws require businesses and government entities to disclose hacks and leaks that cause "serious harm", with fines of up to $2.1 million for those who don't comply, but experts say the agency responsible for enforcing them may not have the resources to do so.

The Notifiable Data Breaches (NDB) scheme  which came into effect on Thursday  is likely to cause a swell in reported breaches. Former NSW Deputy Privacy Commissioner Anna Johnston, now head of Sydney-based private consultancy Salinger Privacy, questioned whether the Privacy Commissioner could enforce the new laws, considering it hadn't been allocated any new funding by the Turnbull government.

Outgoing Privacy Commissioner Timothy Pilgrim.

In an interview with Fairfax Media, Privacy Commissioner Timothy Pilgrim  who recently announced his retirement  did not deny it would be tough to keep on top of the office's growing caseload, revealing there were already long wait times for existing matters in his office.

"I haven't received any additional funding to date for the Notifiable Data Breaches Scheme," Pilgrim said. "The allocation of funding  resources to government agencies, as you would understand  is a matter for government.No bail to Khaleda yet

Staff Reporter :

The High Court on Sunday concluded hearing on the bail petition of BNP Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia in Zia Orphanage Trust graft case in which she was sentenced to five years imprisonment.

The court pending its order on the petition saying it will deliver its order after receiving the case records from the lower court.

The HC bench of Justice M Enayetur Rahim and Justice Shahidul Karim conducted the hearing.

The bench on February 22 ordered the lower court to send the case records to this bench in 15 days.

Nearly 300-400 pro-BNP lawyers and activists gathered in front of the court room as the court earlier the day set for hearing the bail petition.

On Thursday, Khaleda Zia filed the appeal petetion with the High Court challenging the special court's verdict that sentenced her to five years' imprisonment in graft case and also seek bail in the case.

On February 8, a Special Court sentenced Khaleda Zia to five years' rigorous imprisonment after it had found her and five others guilty in the graft case.

The court also sentenced Khaleda Zia's elder son Tarique Rahman, who is now the acting chairman of BNP, and four others to 10 years' imprisonment each, and fined them a total of Tk 2.10 crore, saying that all the six convicts have to pay the fine in equal amounts.

The Anti-Corruption Commission had filed the case with Ramna Police Station in July 2008, accusing the six of misappropriating over Tk 2.1 crore that came from a foreign bank as grants for orphans.

Earlier on the day, the two justice partially leave court room after seeing huge lawyers from pro-BNP and pro-government were gathered in the room. Then Khaleda Zia's lawyers make the pro-BNP lawyers out of the room, later the judges enter the room again.

Apart from these, the pro-BNP lawyers showed demonstrations in the court premises chanting slogans demanding Khaleda Zia's bail as the court ended hearings without any order.

Khaleda Zia's lawyer AJ Mohammad Ali took part on hearing on the other hand Attorney General Mahbubey Alam challenges the petition.

Australian sailor Lewis Bennett has been charged in the US with second-degree murder over the death of his wife who went missing at sea while they were on a honeymoon cruise last May.

The FBI said on Tuesday that Bennett, 41, was taken into custody at the federal courthouse in Miami on a federal second-degree murder charge for his alleged involvement in the death of Colombian-born Isabella Hellmann.

Lewis Bennett has been charged with the murder of his missing wife Isabella Hellman. Credit:Facebook

The FBI's surprise announcement came as Bennett was sentenced in a Miami court on Tuesday to seven months' jail for transporting stolen gold and silver coins.

Bennett is accused of killing Hellmann with "malice aforethought" and then intentionally sinking the couple's catamaran to make it look as if there had been a boating accident, the FBI said.Jersusalem: The mushrooming corruption scandal plaguing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took a surprising new turn on Tuesday, with an allegation that one of his closest advisers had sought to bribe a judge into dropping a criminal investigation involving the Prime Minister's wife.

At the same time, Israeli police said they had arrested several of Netanyahu's friends and confidants, as well as top executives of Bezeq, the country's biggest telecommunications company, in a widening inquiry into whether Netanyahu had traded official favours for favourable news coverage.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, delivers a speech during the International Security Conference in Munich. Credit:Sven Hoppe

The new allegations significantly raise the level of political and legal peril the Prime Minister faces, suggesting that he or some in his camp could be exposed to charges of obstructing justice.

Netanyahu was already embattled after police recommended a week ago that he be prosecuted for accepting what they said were bribes worth nearly $US300,000 from wealthy businessmen seeking government favours.George Zimmerman was acquitted in the high-profile killing of unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin. Credit:AP Black children taught by white teachers were particularly at risk for suspension, the data showed again and again. (Although the reverse was not true. Black teachers did not move to suspend white children at higher rates.) Nearly 7 million kids in the nation, some as young as four, were suspended in 2011 and 2012, when we were at Cleveland. Still, suspensions, for as widely as they were used, were a failure. All they did, as the data indicated, was alienate young people from school, teachers and often their peers. For a year our small team sat in circle with the young men. We talked about racism and homophobia. An image of Michael Brown, who was killed by the police in Ferguson, Missouri, on the tie of his father, Michael Brown senior. Credit:DEMETRIUS FREEMAN We talked about classism and sexism. We pulled apart concepts of addiction, and not so much addiction as in drugs but as in all of the behaviours that can compel a person to behave in ways that are detrimental. Our vision was to interrupt the process that had led the young men to see themselves outside of their own dreams.

Richie eventually became the editor of the school newspaper and for the Valentine's Day edition one year, he supported a young woman writer who, like many of the students, had been reading Eve Ensler and wanted to proclaim V-Day as a day to celebrate and honour vaginas. When They Call You A Terrorist by patrisse khan-cullors and asha bandele. Credit:RYAN PFLUGER Richie commissioned art to accompany the story and when the paper came out, he made it front-page news, along with a huge picture of a vulva. The school administration went wild, confiscating all the copies of the paper, threatening Richie with suspension. He stood his ground. He said it was their responsibility to talk about sexual assault, their duty to force people to think about women's sexual organs differently. Richie was called for interviews from as far away as India. Eventually the school backed down from their censure of and threats against him. The experience changed him and by the time he was 18, he moved out of his parents' home. He found a small apartment in Reseda, not far from Cleveland, and got a job with the LA Unified School District, working with students not so different than the student he had once been. Life was going well. September 2016: A program produced in memory of Terence Crutcher, the 40-year-old unarmed man shot and killed by police officer Betty Jo Shelby, in the lap of a woman during his funeral in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Credit:ILANA PANICH-LINSMAN

Without warning, the district cut his hours. And that was that. Richie, a tall, young Black man who was living on his own and who had tattoos, and who was good enough to be hired but not good enough to really include and provide a career path for, was left in limbo and desperate. And his rent was due. Later, after he was arrested, he said to me that when he felt desperate, the voice he heard in his head was the one he was raised with: men don't ask for help. Men make it happen. You had already done so much for me, he said to me in the LA County Jail visitor's room. I didn't want to hurt anyone. I just needed to pay the rent. And in fact no one was physically hurt, although I'm sure they were terrified. But Richie was still handed a sentence of 10 years.

As I write these words, I don't only think about all the killer cops, the cops who lied, the cops who never got charged or when they were got acquitted. I also think about men like Brock Turner, the Stanford star swimmer, who raped a woman and got six months. Six months because the judge said Turner couldn't make it in prison, that prison wasn't for him. But it was made for Richie? November 2017: Officer Wayne Isaacs, centre, is found not guilty in the July 2016 shooting death of Delrawn Small, an unarmed black man, in New York. Credit:New York Times On this hot July day in Susanville we are talking about a million things, although eventually everything will come back to what is unfolding in Central Florida and Trayvon Martin's killer: will he walk? The world knows that, against a 911 operator's orders, this man chased down and killed 16-year-old Trayvon Martin. A Black boy who was just walking home. Walking with a can of Arizona Iced Tea and a pack of Skittles he'd bought for his little brother. Walking and speaking on his cell to his friend Rachel, a girl who was bullied and a girl he protected. Walking and wearing a hoodie like teenagers everywhere wear hoodies.

We learn that the man was ordered by a police dispatcher to stop. We learn that the man pulled the trigger on this unarmed child who weighed what, 20, 30 kilos less than the man with the gun? We learn that the man believed he had a right to do what he did. And we are scared that a jury of this man's peers would agree. We are scared because of the work and time it took even to get the man arrested. We could be talking about Emmett Till. This is who I think about throughout the course of the trial and the weeks and months leading up to it.

When someone in my neighbourhood committed a crime, let alone murder, all of us were held accountable, my God. Metal detectors, search lights and constant police presence, full-scale sweeps of kids just walking home from school - all justified by politicians and others who said they represented our needs. Where were these representatives when white guys shot us down? Mourners during a prayer at the funeral of Terence Crutcher. Credit:New York Times Were it not for the brave and determined young people who formed the Dream Defenders joining forces with the brave and heartbroken parents of Trayvon, Sybrina Fulton and Tracey Martin, and had there not been sit-ins, protests, occupations, and Al Sharpton, this boy's name would be on no one's tongue, save for his family and the friends who loved him. Seven hours after it begins, the visit with Richie ends, and we head back to the motel we are staying at in the small town. Of the just under 20,000 residents, nearly half, 46 per cent, live in one of the town's two prisons. Once a place where loggers and miners worked, today Susanville's singular growth industry is prisons; roughly half of all the adults who live here work at one of the two facilities.

It feels like we are trapped in a black-and-white photograph from the Deep South in the 1950s. All you can feel are the walls and the bars, the gun towers and barbed wire, which is only offset by the random appearance of soldiers who are based near Susanville. The sense of impending war. What must it be like to live hoping for and invested in war and crime because without them the people of Susanville must believe that the world would collapse? The motel has a microwave. We eat and we get on my laptop. Eating and waiting for the verdict to come in. I start seeing the timelines update. The killer is acquitted of the first charge. And then he is acquitted of all of them. I go into shock. I lose my breath. No! This is impossible.

But as soon as I deny it I know that it is true, and I am overcome with embarrassment and shame. And then I start crying. And I feel wrong about crying. My tears make me want to hide. I feel the weight of being with two Black women who are younger than me in this prison town, and I wonder if it came down to it, would I be able to protect them, protect us? And then my friend Alicia, who I'd known for seven years at this point, writes a Facebook post: btw stop saying that we are not surprised. that's a damn shame in itself. I continue to be surprised at how little Black lives matter. And I will continue that. stop giving up on black life. black people, I will NEVER give up on us. NEVER. And then I respond. I wrote back with a hashtag: #BlackLivesMatter

Alicia and I brainstorm over the course of the next few days. Alicia reaches out to her friend Opal Tometi, a dedicated organiser who ran Black Alliance for Just Immigration, based in Brooklyn. Opal develops all the initial digital components we need to even get people to feel comfortable saying the words Black Lives Matter, for even among those closest to us, there are many who feel the words will be viewed as separatist, that they will isolate us. Co-founders of Black Lives Matter, from left, Alicia Garza, patrisse khan-cullors and Opal Tometi at Credit:New York Times After a few days I return to Facebook and I begin to post. I write that we are going to begin organising. I write: I hope it impacts more than we can ever imagine. Telling the story of black people and police

Another story that does not get told when they tell the story of California is the story of occupation, of what it means for so many of us who are Black or Latino to live unable to escape the constant monitoring by police, the idea that your very existence, the brown of your skin, is enough to get you snatched up, enough to get you killed. We've always known this but in 2012 and 2013 we were able to use to social media to animate a national conversation. We knew it when Oscar Grant was killed in Oakland, sitting still and compliant on the floor of the Fruitvale BART station. We knew it when Amadou Diallo was killed. Forty-one bullets. Some through the bottom of his feet. We knew it when Sean Bell was shot and killed getting into a car after his own bachelor's party in New York.

We knew when we read about Clifford Glover, a boy of 10 living in Queens, New York, in April 1973. Little Clifford was shot by police while simply walking with his stepfather down a street in their South Jamaica, Queens, neighbourhood. The killer cop, Thomas Shea, who was acquitted, simply offered as his defence that he didn't see anything except the child's colour. July 2015: Gwen Carr, mother of Eric Garner, who died after a police officer used a choke hold on him in 2014, holds a photo of him at a news conference in New York. Credit:New York Times In the state of California a human being is killed by a police officer roughly every 72 hours. Sixty-three per cent of these people killed by police are Black or Latino. Black people, 6 per cent of the California population, are targeted and killed at five times the rate of whites, and three times the rate of Latinos, who have the largest number of people killed by police. Who is protected? Who is served?

I wonder if any of our kids ever get the proverbial slap on the wrist. The "C'mon son. You can do better than this." The, "Let's go talk to his parents. Maybe he needs therapy." Did anyone in law enforcement ever say about one of our kids, "Jail would destroy him, so let's find another way to help." Did we ever get a first chance, let alone a second? What did Trayvon Martin get? What did Clifford Glover? Rekia Boyd, who was sitting in a Chicago park with friends in 2012, talking and laughing, when an undercover cop accosted them and shot her 22 years of life and possibility into oblivion? April 2015: A protest in Baltimore over the death of Freddy Gray in police custody. Credit:New York Times The raid ... and the stench Outside my door, there are at least a dozen police in full riot gear. I am a single woman, unarmed and 157 centimetres. Every single one of the people standing before me, their faces disguised by helmets, their bodies shielded in Kevlar, has a weapon trained on me or on my home.

A Latino officer is the one who engages me. Someone tried to shoot up the station, he begins. We think they may be hiding in one of the Village cottages. No one is here, I say. Why are you shaking then? he pushes, aggressive but not nasty. Because all these guns are pointed at my home, I say, and gesture with my eyes not with my arms, a lesson from Know Your Rights.

I open the door and re-enter, and back inside JT grabs me and hugs me and together we try to breathe. Minutes pass, who knows how many, but we hear the police again. They are speaking right outside our window and, it seems, as loudly as possible. I recognise the voice of the Latino officer who had been the one to address me. I think she's afraid because someone is inside. Like influencing her, he says. I inhale deeply. They are inventing a reason to come in even though they don't have a warrant, I say to JT, who agrees. The banging on my front door begins again, and this time we are told that we are to come out.

JT and I look at one another and we look at his tiny six-year-old girl. I wonder, is this how it ends for her, for us? I don't say this, of course. What we do say to one another is that we need to get out of this alive. August 2015: Police on the streets of Ferguson, Missouri, during demonstrations the night after an 18-year-old black man, Tyrone Harris, was shot and wounded by police during protests marking the first anniversary of the fatal police shooting of Michael Brown. Credit:New York Times As protective as he is of me - JT will become one of the first Black Lives Matter organisers - I know his dark-skinned, 193-centimetre, 90-plus-kilos frame will present as an opportunity, an excuse for violence. We decide that JT and Nia Imani exiting first followed by me is the safest way to leave. We pray that they will not harm a father and daughter but we know that if at any moment JT is alone, they will kill him. Immediately, the police surround the three of us, who are not armed and who are dressed like three people who were sitting in their house and planning out their day.

Ten, maybe a dozen, cops force us at gunpoint - and by we, I mean also six-year-old Nia Imani - into the courtyard in front of our cottage while the others swarm past us and enter my home like angry hornets. They are in my home for hours. Later when I hear others dismissing our protest for equity by saying All Lives Matter or Blue Lives Matter, I will wonder how many white Americans are dragged out of their beds in the middle of the night because they might fit a vague description offered up by God knows who. How many skinny, short, blond men were rounded up when Dylann Roof massacred people in prayer? How many gawky white teens were stopped and frisked after Columbine or any of the mass shootings that have occurred in this nation, the immeasurably wide margin of them by young, white men. August 2017: After gridiron footballer Colin Kaepernick begins protesting the slaying of black youth by police, a counter-protest outside the National Football League's headquarters in Park Avenue, Manhattan, condemns "Colin the Commie" and displays the Israeli flag and the "Thin Blue Line" flag in support of police. Credit:New York Times Try to imagine this with me: You are a graduate student whose work is in Chinese medicine. Your dream is to be a healer. And maybe while you are sleeping in your wife's bed, which is in a cottage that is part of a cooperative village where artists live and children come for free painting classes, maybe you are dreaming that you are saving a life, and in the midst of that dreaming, you are yanked out of bed by armed men dressed in riot gear, who possess no warrant, who have snuck into your bedroom through an unlocked back door. Their only reasoning is that you "fit the description".Tehran: All 65 passengers and crew were feared dead in a plane crash in central Iran on Sunday after the domestic flight came down in bad weather in a mountainous region.

A spokesman for Iranian carrier Aseman Airlines had told state television everyone would have been killed, but the airline then issued a second statement saying it could not reach the crash site and could not "accurately and definitely" confirm everyone died.

The crashed Aseman Airlines plane is believed to be more than two decades old. The airline has started upgrading its fleet and in 2017 announced a $3 billion deal to buy 30 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft, similar to the one pictured. Credit:ELAINE THOMPSON

The airline had initially said 66 passengers and six crew were on board the twin-engined turboprop ATR 72 that was flying to the south-western city of Yasuj. But it later said there were a total of 65 people on board, as one passenger had missed the flight.

The Aseman-operated plane crashed near the town of Semirom after taking off from Tehran's Mehrabad airport, emergency services spokesman Mojtaba Khaledi told ISNA news agency.The family of an Australian man accused of spying in the United Arab Emirates fears he could face a firing squad and may have been tortured in prison.

Naim Aziz Abbas, 63, was arrested in October last year in Dubai on suspicion of espionage, it's been reported.

His brother Adil, who lives in Sydney, has told the ABC the charges were "fabricated" after Naim was questioned by an intelligence officer during meetings in a coffee shop.

"I ask you Australia, please help my brother," he said.

"The case is fabricated and he's being accused of espionage for Qatar against Dubai, and this is ridiculous."Financial backers are willing to incur overheads of more than 50 per cent in contracts with universities  even more in the private sector. But the same luxury is not afforded to not-for-profit agencies. Donors want development and humanitarian projects on the cheap. This includes the Australian government.

Charities also face perverse incentives not to be transparent about their failures. The British government is now threating to drastically slash the level of funding it gives to Oxfam. Such public crises are often cited by donors as reasons not to give to charities or to cancel their existing support.

Charities trade off a very fragile promise of trust. Unlike businesses, philanthropy doesnt offer the giver tangible physical goods or services. You may hate a company but love their products, so you are still tempted to use them regardless of how loathsome you believe their corporate ethics to be.

But with a charity, the donor parting with their hard-earned cash gets nothing more than an assurance that the money is getting to the right place and making a difference to someones life. The level of public anger that is generated when a rogue charity is appears to have misused a donation is intense.

So when a charity discovers a breach in its policies  grave or relatively insignificant  there is little incentive to report it. It is likely to adversely impact their brand, their income and in turn their ability to help those they seek to serve.Vienna: Austria's new government is allowing secretive groups with links to the far right to exert control over powerful positions in the state, according to former Chancellor Christian Kern.

Kern told reporters that it was the job of his successor, Sebastian Kurz, to halt the creeping takeover by members of fraternities linked to the nationalist Freedom Party, the conservative chancellor's coalition partner.

Christian Kern, Austria's former chancellor Credit:Bloomberg

Kern, a Social Democrat, was speaking after anti-semitic songbooks were found in the possession of two of the shadowy groups, prompting the Austrian Jewish community to boycott official Holocaust memorials last month.

"There's a massive, creeping restructuring of our state," Kern said in Vienna on Friday. "A secret society, the fraternities, is infiltrating the state's structures. They are taking senior posts in the bureaucracy, in the universities, in companies, they are sitting in ministers' cabinets and have significant responsibilities."Two senior European officials were on their way to Libya on Sunday to try to solve the case of six foreign medics sentenced to death for deliberately infecting Libyan children with HIV, the children's families said.

Driss Lagha, chairman of the Association for the Families of the HIV-infected Children, said EU External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner and German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier would visit the children's families in the eastern city of Benghazi.

In Berlin, the German Foreign Ministry confirmed Steinmeier was travelling to Libya with Ferrero-Waldner for two days of consultations aimed at winning the release of five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor detained since 1999.

"The EU and the German EU presidency are appealing to Libya to exert the necessary influence so that they can be released as soon as possible," a ministry spokesman said.

The six foreign medics were convicted in December of deliberately infecting 426 children with HIV in a highly politicised trial that has hampered attempts by OPEC-member Libya to restore full relations with the West.Grey District on the West Coast has followed Christchurch and Buller District in declaring a state of emergency as the remnants of tropical cyclone Gita bears down on central New Zealand.

The council says the declaration is precautionary at this stage as the worst of the weather is yet to arrive.

Raroa Rd in Aro Valley, Wellington is closed as power lines are felled by ex-Cyclone Gita. Credit:Stuff.co.nz

Residents have been urged to stay inside and not to travel unless absolutely necessary.

Earlier on Tuesday, a state of emergency was declared for Christchurch and Buller.Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton has confirmed Israel helped Australian authorities thwart an alleged plot to blow up an airliner flying out of Sydney last year.

His comments followed remarks by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday that Israeli intelligence services had prevented the downing of an "Australian airliner" as part of wide-ranging international intelligence-sharing.

Referring to the case last July of an alleged plot to bring down an Etihad Airways plane, Mr Dutton confirmed Israel had provided the original tip-off to Australian intelligence officials.

"I can confirm it. In doing so I want to thank the Israelis very much. Obviously we've got a very close working relationship with them," he told Sky News on Thursday.World powers have a duty to end bloodshed in Syria

Michel Duclos :

Some kind of agreement between world and regional powers would be absolutely crucial to any peaceful solution for Syria. This should have been obvious since the beginning of the conflict. Yes, horrified, sympathetic or indifferent, the world has witnessed the uprising of a people against a ferocious dictatorship. It was above all the insurrection of anger. Yes also, the international community had to deal and still has to deal with a terrible terrorist threat. But, it's equally true that the conflict in Syria has always been about the concerns of the regional powers, the rise of Iranian influence in the region, the specific interests of Turkey, the apprehensions of Israel, the willingness of Russia to score points with the western world, the hesitations of America and so on.

Strangely enough, that regional and international dimension has been minimised by the United Nations.

The UN mediation has mainly focused on the desperate quest for a dialogue and hopefully some form of understanding between the Damascus regime and a representation of the opposition. In the same time Russians have always played a leading role in shaping the road map of the UN, in a first stage because of their massive use of their blocking power at the UN Security Council (series of vetos), and in a second stage because of their military investment on the ground. The illusion has long prevailed that the Russians were in fact in a position to drive the Syrian-Syrian dialogue towards a solution consistent with a Russian peace.

This illusion was supported by the relatively positives results of the Astana process, with the help of Turkey and Iran, and has culminated in the pathway to Sochi. This illusion is more or less evaporating. One could think it is time to develop an alternative approach, based on the need to work on looking at a possible alignment of the interests of regional and world powers. No doubt that such a proposal seems to be more difficult to implement - some would say more quixotic - than ever. And still more unpracticable than the current UN-Russian approach.

Let's stress two or three reasons why it is worth considering a regional/international angle. First, nobody can believe any more that after the seven years of hate and atrocities, death and destruction, a dialogue between the regime and the opposition, without a proper international framework, can lead anywhere.

Second, the net result of what has been done until now is the division of the country into various zones of influence. Nobody can pretend that this is a reliable recipe for the return of stability. On the contrary, and this would be my third point, we are now entering a dangerous phase in which regional and world powers are on the brink of direct military confrontation, as one have seen in Afrin, Deir-ez-Zor and last Saturday after the penetration of an Iranian drone in the Israeli skies.

Someone had already suggested that a closer dialogue between world and regional powers would be appropriate. President Macron did. He made the proposal of a contact group around such a new format.

The proposal was not welcome, maybe because it came too late; things were already entrenched and it was impossible for France to change the course of current international processes (Geneva, Astana and so on). Or maybe, it was premature. But, now that Russian and Israeli jets are downed, Turkish helicopters as well, Russian soldiers or mercenaries are killed on the banks of Euphrates and elsewhere, now that an Iranian drone and maybe half of the Syrian air defenses have been destroyed, decisions-makers should realise that it is time to take a deep breath and think again.

A step in the right direction may have been made with the setting up of a small group, led by the United States and comprised of France, UK, and other countries from the region. They met in Paris at the ministerial level on January 23. The aim of this group is not to constitute an alternative source of leadership but to contribute to any international process.

If this turning point is reached, two issues would really matter. First, no mistake should be made on the agenda. The fundamental question now is to see how to avoid that the de facto partition of the country spills over into a regional conflict or at least into a permanent risk of escalation. It does not mean that on behalf of stability the Damascus regime stays unchanged forever or that a genuine cease-fire stops being an absolute priority. It means that both the regional aspects and the domestic aspects of the Syrian tragedy have to be tackled together.

Second, a rapprochement between Russia and the US small group should at some point lead to a Dayton type conference.

Dayton, which in 1995 put an end to the wars in ex-Yugoslavia, is not, for all sorts of reasons, a proper model for ending the never-ending war in Syria. But what could be kept from Dayton, in due time of course, that is to say after a careful preparation, is the method: a meeting in which all stakeholders should sit at the same table and stay in the room as long as needed to find an agreement. A peace agreement. A peace agreement for Syria and for the Middle-East.



(Michel Duclos is the Former French Ambassador to Syria. Courtesy: Asharq Al Awsat).

High School student Emma Gonzalez comforts a classmate during a CNN town hall meeting. Credit:MICHAEL LAUGHLIN "My daughter, running down the hallway, was shot in the back with an assault weapon, the weapon of choice," Guttenberg told the forum as Rubio stood stone-faced. "It is too easy to get. It is a weapon of war. The fact that you can't stand with everybody else in this room and say that, I'm sorry." The room erupted in applause for Guttenberg and repeatedly booed as Rubio sought to explain his opposition on a proposed assault weapons ban. The bill, he said, is riddled with loopholes that would make it easy for criminals to get around. Parent Fred Guttenberg watches a monitor honoring the 17 students, including his daughter, and teachers who were killed at Marjory Douglas Stoneman High School. Credit:MICHAEL LAUGHLIN "First, you have to define what it is. It basically bans 220 specific models of gun," Rubio said, prompting applause from the audience.

He continued, saying that the bill also allows for "2,000 other types" of guns that operate the same way but are not classified as assault weapons. Loesch repeatedly deflected questions about the need for more restrictions on the availability of guns, insisting instead that keeping guns out of the hands of the mentally ill or people with criminal records would keep students safe. "I don't believe that this insane monster should have ever been able to obtain a firearm, ever," Loesch told Emma Gonzalez, a senior at the high school. "None of us support people who are crazy, who are a danger to themselves, who are a danger to others, getting their hands on a firearm." But her answers prompted angry taunts from the audience. At times, she struggled to answer, but she steadfastly refused to back down on the NRA's position opposing new gun restrictions. She said the group opposed raising the legal age for purchasing an assault weapon to 21 from 18, an idea that Trump had earlier signalled support for. Students who are old enough to serve in the military should be allowed to own firearms, she said.

Diane Wolk Rogers, a history teacher at the high school, confronted Loesch by asking her to defend the idea that allowing the suspect, a 19-year-old, in the killing to own an assault rifle represents "a well-regulated militia" as is written in the Second Amendment. Loesch said the phrase was meant to protect the rights of anyone who "could operate and service their firearm," an answer that drew loud yelling and more boos from the audience. Rubio, for his part, had offered opening remarks that he clearly hoped would deflect criticism during the event. He expressed grief for those who were affected by the shooting, but he said that people in the United States needed to find ways to disagree "without accusing one another of being evil people." But the audience, including Guttenberg, did not hold back in criticising Rubio's position on gun control. Guttenberg repeatedly asked whether Rubio believed that "guns were the factor in the hunting of our kids." The senator said he agreed, but he insisted that other types of laws would better prevent such attacks in the future. He said that he would support a bill to increase the minimum age for the purchase of an assault weapon to 21. And he said that he backed improvements to background checks and a ban on bump stocks, which can convert semi-automatic weapons to fire automatically.

Students and teachers at the event also had questions for Florida's other politicians, including two Democrats, Senator Bill Nelson and congressman Ted Deutch. One young student talked about how her best friend was gunned down in front of her, and she asked Nelson about background checks, and how to improve them. Another student, whose brother was killed in the shooting, bluntly said to Deutch that "my friends and I are worried that we are going to be murdered in our classrooms." He asked what Deutch was going to do about it. "As a starter," the congressman said, "I'm going to introduce legislation to make sure that assault weapons are illegal in every part of this country." The audience burst out in applause.

But Rubio, who ran for president in 2016, was the primary target of ire from people at the forum, who repeatedly challenged the senator's positions on gun control and his willingness to accept donations from the NRA. The issue of donations was raised by a junior at the high school, who stood just metres from Rubio and asked him whether he would renounce money from the gun advocacy group in the future. When Rubio refused, the audience booed loudly. "People buy into my agenda and I do support the Second Amendment," Rubio said, repeatedly refusing to say he would stop accepting money from the group. "The influence of these groups comes not from money, the influence comes from the millions of people who support the agenda." Deutch at one point engaged in a brief debate with Rubio, saying that a gun that allowed the shooter to fire off 150 rounds in six to seven minutes "should be banned." Later, Chris Grady, a student at the high school, thanked Rubio for appearing at the forum, unlike Trump and Scott, who both turned down invitations from CNN to participate.A gunman, identified as a former student, opened fire at a Florida high school on Wednesday, killing 17 people and sending hundreds of students fleeing into the streets before he was arrested, authorities said.

The bloodshed at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland was the latest outbreak of gun violence that has become a regular occurrence at US schools and colleges.

A woman consoles another as parents wait for news regarding a shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, on Wednesday. Credit:Joel Auerbach/AP

Below are some of the worst US school shootings in the past 20 years:

Benton, Kentucky, January 23, 2018Li Peng, then chairman of the Chinese parliament, visits John Howard in Canberra in September 2002. Credit:Andrew Taylor The 2002 gas deal was the starting gun for the "China is our future" craze that now dominates elite thinking in this country, exactly as Beijing planned it. Fifth column in Australia One of China's most effective instruments of economic statecraft is the making of dire but vague threats of economic harm to a country that displeases it. It works because governments believe the threats. As we will see, China is willing to make countries suffer. In Australia, China's threats are amplified by a corporate fifth column that has grown around the bilateral economic relationship, a business elite unwittingly beholden to a foreign master and undermining Australian sovereignty from within. This cohort of business leaders and their advisers shuttle between the two countries doing deals and making "friends" (with people whose backgrounds and motives they only think they know).

They present themselves as operating in the "national interest", but it is no coincidence that our "national interest" always happens to coincide with China's. Their understanding of the options available has been narrowed by their enthrallment to Beijing. June 2010: Then vice-president and now President Xi Jinping, left, shakes hands with Fortescue Metals Group CEO Andrew Forrest as prime minister Kevin Rudd looks on in Canberra. Credit:AP Apart from the sway of China's powerful friends, there is a more diffuse reason for our sensitivity to economic pressure: the enormous influence of free-market thinking whose unspoken assumption is that the economy must come before everything else, including our freedom. China apologists repeatedly downplay or evade the importance of freedom and the threats to it. Or they insist that economic growth is the best way to guarantee freedom, as if money can buy the rule of law rather than corrupt it. In their globalist commercial worldview, national sovereignty is increasingly a relic of the past. As one senior Australian official sardonically put it to me: "Who cares about the blood?"

'China is our destiny' China is vital to Australia's future because of our economic dependence on it. Or so it is said. It's truer to say that the perception of our economic dependence gives China immense influence over Australia. It's widely believed, for example, that only our close economic relationship with China saved us from the 2008 global crash. Even though China did nothing for Australia other than continue to buy from us the iron ore and other resources it needed to fuel its growth, there is a widespread view that Australia should be grateful to China for saving us, that we owe China. Many Chinese believe this too. October 2003: Jiang's successor, Chinese president Hu Jintao, is congratulated by prime minister John Howard, opposition leader Simon Crean and MPs including future PM Julia Gillard after his address to a joint sitting of Australia's parliament. Credit:Pat Scala When a difference of view emerges, over the South China Sea, for instance, it is not uncommon for China's netizens to berate Australia for our ingratitude (often coupled with comments on how uncivilised we are). Instead of pushing back and turning the argument around - you should thank us for agreeing to fuel your boom with our resources - our commentators and politicians echo the view that we are somehow indebted to China.

Perceptions of our vulnerability to China's whims weaken our resolve to resist the growing penetration of the Communist Party's influence in Australia. Sensing this, Beijing repeatedly reminds us that a continued healthy economic relationship depends on a harmonious political relationship, with harmony guaranteed when Australia conforms to Beijing's wishes. As the head of ANU's National Security College, Rory Medcalf, writes: "Essentially, Beijing wants from its commercial partners the same deal it has with its own people - economic benefits in return for acquiescence on politics and security." Malcolm Turnbull gives a speech at Australia Week 2016 in Shanghai. Credit:Andrew Meares It's worth commenting here on how the "China is our destiny" argument has played out in the public debate. Linda Jakobson of China Matters - a non-profit company founded to "stimulate a realistic and nuanced discussion of China" - bemoans the "emotional outcry" over certain Chinese investments. It's true, she admits, that "every senior business person in China is closely connected to the party", but, hey, that's how it is in China, so what are people worried about?

If we could have a "grown-up debate", Jakobson asserts, we'd realise that without Chinese investment we would spend less on hospitals and schools, so let's not have any more "public spats" and just get on with it. A more sceptical commentator, Geoff Wade, shreds this kind of apologetics, showing the contradiction between party influence in Chinese corporations and the belief that those companies are only interested in profits: "Capital ... goes where the Chinese state wants it to go." So if state-directed Chinese capital is buying up Australian energy infrastructure, telecommunications and ports, having a "public spat" over it is more grown up than burying one's head in the sand. Chinese President Xi Jinping and Madame Peng Liyuan with a Tasmanian devil during their 2014 visit to Hobart. Credit:AAP In her 2017 book with Bates Gill, Jakobson argues that China and Australia-China relations are complex and subtle, so much so that it is hard for the authors to give a clear answer to any question.Berlin: German police are investigating an Australian-born British woman for suspected incitement after she questioned the Holocaust during a far-right protest in the eastern city of Dresden.

A spokeswoman for Dresden police says Michele Renouf was one of two people being investigated for remarks made at the neo-Nazi rally on Saturday commemorating those killed in the 1945 Allied bombing of the city.

The neo-Nazi rally in Dresden on Saturday. Credit:Monika Skolimowska

Videos of the rally posted online show Renouf saying the only Holocaust perpetrated in Europe was against German civilians. Publicly denying the Nazis' well-documented murder of an estimated six million Jews is a criminal offence in Germany.

Dresden police spokeswoman Jana Ulbricht said on Sunday that officers ordered the rally dissolved after determining that two speakers had broken the law.Baghdad: Iraq is conducting the trials of hundreds of foreign women who have been detained  along with their children  since August when Islamic State strongholds started crumbling.

As the fight against Islamic State in Syria grinds on, Iraqi troops stationed near the border continue to call on US forces (pictured) for help with intelligence and launching strikes. Credit:AP

The central criminal court issued the sentences "after it was proven they belong to the Daesh terrorist group and after they confessed to marrying Daesh elements or providing members of the group with logistical aid or helping them carry out terrorist attacks," said Judge Abdul-Sattar al-Birqdar, referring to the militant group using an Arabic acronym.

All the verdicts are subject to appeal, he said.Israeli security stands around the wreckage of an F-16 that crashed in northern Israel earlier this month. Netanyahu's difficulties come at a time of high tension in the region. Credit:Rami Slush Here is a guide to Netanyahu's career, some possible candidates to succeed him, and what effect any change in leadership might have on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and across a Middle East in which Iran, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and other regional powerbrokers are all watching closely. Does Netanyahu have to resign? Netanyahu is under no strict legal obligation to quit following the police recommendations. Indeed, he has given every indication that he intends to remain in office while pursuing a legal battle. Benjamin Netanyahu has accused the police of plotting to overthrow him. Credit:Debbie Hill

There has been little public pressure from coalition partners for him to step down, although that could change as fellow politicians and the Israeli public study details of the cases. There was speculation before the police recommendations were made public on Tuesday that Netanyahu might call early elections, seeking a public mandate that would make a prosecutor think twice before moving against him. Benjamin Netanyahu sits next to Israeli Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon, left. Credit:RONEN ZVULUN However, several polls in recent months have shown his popularity ebbing. And Netanyahu said in a televised address on Tuesday night that he was "certain" the next elections would be held on schedule. They are not due until November 2019. How did Netanyahu become such a dominant figure in Israeli politics?

Netanyahu has been in power on and off since 1996. The son of right-wing Israeli historian Benzion Netanyahu, he was born in Tel Aviv in 1949 and moved to the United States in the 1960s when his father got an academic job there after years at odds with Israel's left-wing ruling establishment. July 2016: Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife Sara fly to Uganda to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Entebbe raid, in which the prime minister's brother died. Credit:URIEL SINAI He is the middle of three brothers, all of whom served in elite Israeli commando units. The eldest, Yonatan "Yoni" Netanyahu, became a national hero after he was killed in 1976 leading an assault team that stormed Entebbe Airport in Uganda to rescue Israelis and other airline passengers taken hostage by radical Palestinian and West German hijackers. Netanyahu says his brother's death "changed my life and directed it to its present course". Media performer: Benjamin Netanyahu outlines his objections to an international nuclear deal with Iran at the UN General Assembly in September 2012. Credit:Richard Drew

Telegenic, and speaking fluent American-accented English, he first gained domestic and international attention as Israel's ambassador to the United Nations during the first Palestinian intifada (uprising) that broke out in 1987. But in Republican policy circles during the Reagan administration his writing on terrorism had already earned him a following. His knack for dealing with the media was demonstrated during a January 1991 interview with CNN during the Gulf War, when he put on a gas mask and continued speaking after a siren sounded to indicate an Iraqi missile attack. Israeli flags fly near the golden Dome of the Rock in the al-Aqsa mosque compound in the occupied Old City of Jerusalem. Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected the formula of "land for peace" in dealing with the stateless Palestinians, instead advocating "peace for peace" while settlement of occupied territory continued. Credit:Oren Ziv He used his public profile as a springboard to secure the leadership of the right-wing Likud Party, running on a platform of opposition to the 1993 Oslo interim peace accords spearheaded by US president Bill Clinton, Israel's then-prime minister, Yitzhak Rabin, and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. Rabin was assassinated in 1995 - after a campaign of incitement that many of Rabin's supporters and his wife Leah linked to Netanyahu - and Netanyahu was elected prime minister the following year, the youngest-ever Israeli to hold the position and the first to be born in Israel.

Benjamin Netanyahu, in his first term as PM, remembers former prime minister Yitzhak Rabin during a Knesset meeting in 1998. Some close to Rabin blamed Netanyahu for the incitement that preceded Rabin's assassination by a right-wing zealot in 1995. Credit:RUTH FREMSON Despite assuring his US allies that he would continue the peace process embarked upon by Rabin, Netanyahu revealed in private remarks to Israeli settlers in Ofra - made in 2001 but revealed in 2010 - that his opposition to the Oslo accords remained. "America is a thing you can move very easily," he told his audience, unaware that he was still being filmed. "I de facto put an end to the Oslo accords." Critics assailed what was seen as a divisive style of leadership, and after losing the election in 1999 he spent a period in the second rank of Israeli politics, overshadowed even within his own party by former general Ariel Sharon. Returning to prominence after Sharon left Likud and then suffered an incapacitating stroke in 2005, Netanyahu was elected for his second term in 2009 - 10 years after his first. Netanyahu will become Israel's longest-serving leader if he serves the full four years until elections are next due. Netanyahu had a strained relationship with US president Barack Obama, especially over his opposition to the July 2015 Iran nuclear deal.

But he has been much closer to US President Donald Trump. US President Donald Trump meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the World Economic Forum in Davos in January. Credit:AP "On matters pertaining to the Middle East, [Netanyahu] has been President Donald Trump's mentor, guru and partner. In some ways, his senior partner," writes American-Israeli columnist Zev Chafets. "Trump got to the White House without apparently knowing the difference between the West Bank and the West Side Highway. The prime minister comes with a lifetime of expertise, experience and a well-developed Republican world view. Fox News founder Roger Ailes had two photographs on the wall of his office: General George Patton and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu." So proud is Netanyahu of his relationship with Trump that he has a picture of the two shaking hands at the top of his Facebook page. He is likely to use his relationship with the leader of the world's most powerful country in any future appeal to the Israeli public.

Who are the potential successors? Opinion polls suggest that Yair Lapid, head of the centrist Yesh Atid ("There is a future") opposition party, is the strongest candidate to succeed Netanyahu if he is forced out. But other candidates could enter the race, which would shift the balance. Yair Lapid, head of the centrist Israeli party Yesh Atid. Credit:AP Within Netanyahu's Likud Party, a number of members of his cabinet are vying to succeed him, including Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan, Intelligence Minister Israel Katz and former Education Minister Gideon Saar. None has shown strong signs of planning to depart significantly from Netanyahu's right-wing policies. Outside Netanyahu's party, Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman and Education Minister Naftali Bennett are possible candidates. Both head far-right parties in Netanyahu's governing coalition and are former chiefs of staff to the prime minister.

"Until another party presents an alternative candidate for prime minister that can make people feel safe, then nobody is going to push to oust him," said Gil Hoffman, a political columnist at the Jerusalem Post newspaper. Rivals and partners: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, right, and Israeli Education Minister Naftali Bennett of the far-right Jewish Home party. Credit:AP "People talk of his survival like he's an injured animal," Hoffman continued, "but he's very successful. "The Israeli public thinks that all politicians are corrupt," he said. "In Israel, there's respect for people with elbows. He has them." What would Netanyahu's departure mean for the Middle East?

A cloud over Netanyahu's political future would compound the uncertainty surrounding prospects for a resumption of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks that collapsed in 2014. If Netanyahu steps down, a successor from within Likud would need the support of the party's hardline central committee, which passed a non-binding resolution in December calling for annexation of the Israeli-occupied West Bank, captured by Israel in a 1967 war and which would form the main territory of any conceivable Palestinian state. Recent tensions along the Syrian and Lebanese borders have not so far proved to be a major factor in domestic political calculations, as even Netanyahu's political opponents say they do not believe his legal troubles would affect his decision-making on security matters. Netanyahu is no stranger to investigations. In 1997, during his first term, police wanted him to stand trial in an influence-peddling case involving the appointment of an attorney-general. While he was between terms, police recommended in 2000 that Netanyahu and his wife, Sara, be prosecuted on suspicion of bribery and theft of state gifts. Neither set of recommendations ripened into charges. Two bigger corruption cases have edged close to Netanyahu without directly entangling him as a suspect. Confidants - including his personal lawyer and the lead negotiator in some of Israel's most delicate diplomacy of recent years - are suspected of wrongdoing in a 2 billion ($3.14 billion) deal to purchase submarines and patrol boats from Germany's ThyssenKrupp.More than a dozen calls were made to authorities with warnings about the accused shooter, 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz, before the attack. Israel said on Sunday that most of them were handled appropriately but that in two of the calls "we're not sure if deputies did everything they could have or should have." Israel said an internal investigation into the agency's handling of the shooting is ongoing. "We will investigate every action of our deputies, of our supervisors," he said, "and if they did things wrong I'll take care of business in a disciplinary matter, just like I did with Peterson." During a six-minute rampage inside the Parkland high school, police say, Cruz fatally shot 17 students and faculty before blending in with the fleeing teenagers and escaping the campus. He was taken into custody later that afternoon. He now could face a potential death sentence. Police from the neighbouring city of Coral Springs have said three other Broward deputies besides Peterson were waiting behind cars outside the school when they responded to the shooting. Israel said on Sunday that only Peterson, then the school resource officer, was at the school during the shooting. Officer Scot Peterson during a school board meeting of Broward County, Florida. Credit:Broward County Public Schools via AP

A spokeswoman for Israel's office, in a statement released late Saturday, insisted there was "no confirmation, at this time, other deputies did not enter the school when they should have." She said this claim continues to be investigated. The Coral Springs police said in a statement that they were "aware of media reports" but were not going to comment due to the ongoing investigation. The Washington Post has been unable to reach Peterson, who has not spoken publicly. Andrew Pollack, the father of Meadow Pollack, one of the students who died in Parkland, addressed Peterson during an appearance on Fox News on Sunday morning. "There is a one deputy that worked there. Peterson. He worked there and he's a coward," Pollack said. "He stood by the door. I know for a fact that he could have made it to the third floor and saved all six victims, if he wasn't some little ... Words can't even describe the way that I think about him. But I am not trying to think about that stuff because that's just negative and it's just going to make me toxic."

Some survivors of the attack have said they understand Peterson's reluctance to go inside given that he may have been afraid, while others have expressed frustration at the warning signs missed over the years. But they also said most students are focusing their anger on pushing for new gun control laws rather than blaming anyone for failures leading up to or during the shooting. "I'm not angry; I understand that things happen," said Carly Novell, a 17-year-old senior who survived the massacre. "But really the only way that it could have been prevented is gun control. It all leads back to the gun. He couldn't have killed all these people if he didn't have a gun." Since the Columbine massacre in 1999, it has become widely accepted police protocol to respond to active shooters by rushing the scene and stopping the threat. The Broward Sheriff's Office has not responded to a request to release its active-shooter policies, but Israel had said the deputy should have rushed inside. Israel's office released a letter late Saturday night he wrote to Scott in response to Hager's call for Israel's removal from office.

Israel, who was re-elected in 2016, stressed in the letter that Peterson was the only law enforcement officer on the campus during the shooting itself. He also wrote that Coral Springs police officers received the initial emergency services call and went inside the school first without realising the shooter had left four minutes earlier, suggesting that these officers believed they were pursuing an armed attacker or attackers. In his letter, Israel wrote that these Coral Springs officers were followed by others from that department and Broward Sheriff's deputies. However, his letter does not say when any of the responding officers learned the gunfire had ended and the shooter had fled, nor does it say whether his deputies waited outside the school first before going in. Israel's office has declined to make him available for an interview with The Post. His interview Sunday on CNN was his second appearance on the cable network in under a week. On Wednesday, he participated in a televised town hall the network hosted in South Florida that included survivors of the attack, their relatives and Loesch, the NRA spokeswoman. During the interview Sunday, Jake Tapper, the CNN anchor who also hosted the town hall, asked Israel whether he knew that Peterson failed to go inside when the sheriff appeared at the town hall and was sharply critical of the NRA spokeswoman. Israel said they were still investigating reports about Peterson at the time and that it was not the appropriate time to tell the families about the deputy's actions. "I couldn't disclose it then," he said. "That's not the way you do things, over a news camera. You do it individually, with compassion."

Officials have been sharply criticized for how they handled the litany of red flags littering Cruz's life before the shooting. Cruz repeatedly came to the attention of law enforcement officials, social services investigators and school authorities, but none of that prevented him from passing a background check and buying the AR-15 police said he used to carry out the shooting. The FBI admitted that it never investigated a January tip saying that Cruz could shoot up a school. The Broward sheriff's office also said it received at least two similar warnings, but there is no evidence either of these led to any investigation. The Broward sheriff's office said it has launched internal reviews of how it handled the two prior warnings, which were among 23 calls the agency said it received relating to Cruz or his family. In a February 2016 call, a tipster warned that Cruz "planned to shoot up the school." The information was relayed to Peterson, the sheriff's office said, but it remains unclear what happened after. In November 2017, another tip came in to the Broward sheriff's office this time from a caller warning that Cruz was collecting guns and knives and might be "a school shooter in the making." Cruz's mother had died that month and he was briefly living with a family in Palm Beach County.Hours before meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, his journey hit a dead end when the Canadian high commissioner invited a Sikh extremist named Jaspal Atwal (who has been convicted of attempted murder and was previously affiliated with a terrorist group) to a dinner to honour Trudeau in Delhi. Atwal was found guilty of trying to kill an Indian minister in 1986; he was also blamed for an assault on Ujjal Dosanjh, the former premier of British Columbia.

How did Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, the world's favorite liberal mascot - a feminist man, with movie-star good looks, a 50 percent female cabinet and a political lexicon that has replaced "mankind" with "peoplekind" (making millions swoon) - end up looking silly, diminished and desperate on his trip to India this week?

By the time Atwal's invitation was rescinded - Trudeau called it "unfortunate" - Atwal had already posed for photographs with Trudeau's wife, Sophie, in Mumbai, as well as with other members of his entourage.

"It's a disaster," Vishnu Prakash, former Indian high commissioner to Canada, told me. "I am convinced Trudeau was blindsided. Whoever drew up the list screwed up and dealt him a fait accompli. But it is also symbolic of how Khalistanis have penetrated the system."

Justin Trudeau and his wife, Sophie, in India earlier this week. Credit:AP

Since Trudeau won the election in 2015, the 1980s have returned to haunt Indo-Canada ties. Sikh secessionists who supported a separate country (Khalistan) unleashed a bloodbath in the state of Punjab in the '80s. Indira Gandhi, then prime minister, sent the army to purge the Golden Temple (the holiest place of worship for Sikhs) of militants who were hiding inside. She was assassinated by her own Sikh bodyguards, followed by anti-Sikh riots in which more than 3,000 were killed. In 1985, the Air India jumbo jet "Kanishka" flying from Montreal to Delhi was blown up by Sikh terrorists, leaving 329 people dead.

Knowing all of this, Trudeau still attended a Khalsa parade in May, where many of these militants were feted. So, his India trip was already mired in tensions when the Atwal snafu broke. Then, Canadian media released more photographs showing an apparent familiarity between Atwal and Trudeau back home. Nearly half a million Sikhs live in Canada and account for 1.4 percent of the population. Trudeau was such a favourite among them that he is jokingly called Justin Singh. Now he has competition. Jagmeet Singh, who recently took over the reins of Canada's New Democratic Party, is considered left of Trudeau's left. He even refused to condemn the terrorist who blew up the Air India plane.A Eriauchenius milajaneae known only from one remote mountain in the southeast of Madagascar. Credit:Nikolaj Scharff Since E workmani's discovery, the number of known pelican spider species has exploded. It ballooned again this month with the unveiling of 18 additional species that hail from Madagascar, home to the largest branch of the strange spider family. Wood and Nokolaj Scharff of the University of Copenhagen and the Natural History Museum of Denmark described the new species (along with eight others) in the journal Zookeys. The total number of pelican spider species in Madagascar now stands at about 40, but Wood believes there could be up to 40 more waiting to be found. It's common for arachnids to hide in leaf litter during the day, making them hard to spot even if you're looking for them, she said. There have been times when Wood went searching for a particular species but found a whole new one instead.

"Every time someone goes there, it seems there's a new species that turns up," she said. Many of these species, such as the triangular-headed Eriauchenius pauliani, are known from only one or two museum specimens. "I really want to collect this spider alive and just see what it's doing, but so far this species has proven to be quite elusive," Wood said. "I hope it's still alive. The last specimen was collected in the 1960s." During a 2008 expedition in Andohahela National Park, Wood searched in vain for a species she'd described based on two females and a juvenile specimen stored in the collection of the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco. In the Zookeys paper, she named the spider Eriauchenius milajaneae, after her daughter Mila Jane, "in the hope that one day she will go to Andohahela to find this spider."

Wood's fascination with pelican spiders (and the four other members of the superfamily Palpimanoidea) goes back 10 years. Previously, she unravelled the secrets of trap-jaw spiders, a related family with lightning-fast mandibles. "From the beginning, I'd look at these [pelican] spiders and I wanted to know why they looked the way they did," she said. By building out the species' evolutionary relationships, Wood and colleagues hoped to uncover answers about how these spiders developed their strange traits. Pelican spiders probably spread more than 180 million years ago, while the super-continent Pangea was still intact. The spiders that ended up on the northern continent of Laurasia (which became North America, Europe and Asia) eventually went extinct. Living pelican spiders are found only in Madagascar, South Africa and Australia. Fossilized pelican spiders have shorter necks and jaws than their modern-day descendants. As the spiders' features stretched out, they were able to take advantage of a new and dangerous prey: other spiders.

If that's not weird enough, consider this: Their heads are stretched into a tubular structure that gives the appearance of a separate "head" and "neck." The spiders' mouths are actually below the "neck." The head-like bulb is loaded with muscles to power their highly manoeuvrable jaws, which they use to impale their prey. "Other spiders can potentially harm them [with] venom or silk," Wood said. "Essentially, they're attacking their prey at a distance and keeping it very far away until it's dead." Pelican spiders may sound intimidating, but they're actually afraid of anything that isn't their potential prey. "I've never been bit by one," Wood said. "They're going to be very scary if you're another spider, but for everything else they're just going to drop to the ground. They're not fighters at all."Parkland, Florida: The suspect in one of the deadliest school shootings in modern US history confessed to police that he "began shooting students that he saw in the hallways and on school grounds" once on campus, according to a police arrest report released on Thursday.

Nikolas Cruz, 19, carried a black duffel bag and a black backpack, where he hid loaded magazines, the report said. He arrived at the school in Florida in an Uber at 2.19pm on Wednesday and made his way into Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, where he pulled out a semi-automatic AR-15 rifle, according to details described by authorities at a news conference on Thursday.

A video monitor shows school shooting suspect Nikolas Cruz, centre, making an appearance before Judge Kim Theresa Mollica in Broward County Court on Thursday. Credit:SUSAN STOCKER

Cruz shot people in the hallways and inside five classrooms on the first and second floors of the freshman building. He eventually discarded the rifle, a vest and ammunition in a stairwell, blended in with fleeing students and got away, authorities said.

After leaving the school, Cruz walked to a Walmart and bought a drink at a Subway. He also stopped at a McDonald's. He was arrested by police without incident as he walked down a residential street at 3.41pm.Female Nobel Laureates by the side of Rohingya women

THREE female Nobel Peace Laureates are in city on a weeklong trip to Bangladesh to see for themselves Rohingya women who were tortured and raped by Myanmar military before fleeing refugee camps in our country. During their visit, Iran's Shirin Ebadi, Yemen's Tawakkol Karman and Northern Ireland's Mairead Maguire have planned their visit at a time when more strong voice of sanity should come to stop ethnic cleansing by Myanmar military. They will assess during their visit the violence against the Rohingya women and the refugees' overall situation. Nobel Women's Initiative, a platform of six female peace laureates established in 2006 has taken the move when distressed Rohingya women need their help all the more. We know they have audience world-wide and their involvement will take the issue to new height.



They are scheduled to meet government and local communities leaders, human rights organizations and diplomats to try to ascertain the challenges Rohingya women are facing. The trio will also see the role of local and international organisations providing support to the Rohingya women in the camps and elsewhere.



The Nobel Women's Initiative, in partnership with local Bangladeshi women's organisation, Naripokkho -- is hosting the delegation to show the plight of the refugees and violence Rohingya women were subjected to. Lucky were those who arrived in Bangladesh. Many women along with their male family members perished to torture and bullets. The laureates will spend time in Dhaka and in refugee camps near Cox's Bazar. It is sad when women Nobel Laureates are trying to stand by the Rohingya women, another laureate from Myanmar is causing most of the trouble. This is unfortunate indeed.



The initiative has also network in Myanmar women's rights organizations. In an email Tawakkol Karman said she and her colleagues were standing "in solidarity with displaced Rohingya women and calling for Rohingya women's voices to be heard."



The question that begs to be asked is that who will take the Myanmar government to task for its inhuman actions. Definitely the regional powers of South and South-East Asia are not upto the task. Some powerful countries are blocking way for some others to mobilize real action in the ground to save the Rohingyas and help them return to their lost home. We are left with the voices of conscience like the Nobel Women's Inititative to at least ensure that some light is shed on the plight of the Rohingya.



We are disturbed by the policies of the neighbors who are lending support to Myanmar military in its ethnic cleansing of the Muslims from a Buddhist majority nation. Unless the regional or world powers do something it is extremely unlikely that Myanmar will take back the Rohingyas and surely their initiative will contribute to resolve the problem.



Vatican City: Pope Francis renewed a commission on clergy sexual abuse on Saturday, confirming a US cardinal as its head, as the Vatican promised to give victims a greater say in its work.

The renewal of the commission and the confirmation of Cardinal Sean O'Malley of Boston as its head comes as the pope is dealing with an abuse scandal in Chile that has created one of the greatest image crises of his papacy, which marks its fifth anniversary next month.

The first, three-year mandate of the commission ended in December and its future had been uncertain.

Its first term was marred by two high-profile resignations, that of Marie Collins of Ireland and Peter Saunders of Britain. Both were victims of clergy sexual abuse when they were young and both stepped down in what they said was frustration over lack of change and insufficient cooperation by top Vatican officials.London: The right of the Prince of Wales to become the next Head of the Commonwealth is expected to be decided at a major meeting of the 53 countries that comprise the organisation in late April.

Leaders from the countries will gather in London for the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting (CHOGM), which is expected to be the final one to be attended by the Queen.

Prince Charles is not guaranteed to lead the Commonwealth after the death of the Queen. Credit:Alastair Grant

There, the countries are likely to set out the plans for who will replace the Queen as Head of the Commonwealth in a long communique issued at the end of the meeting, The Telegraph understands.

The Queen, who turns 92 in April, was proclaimed head of a much smaller Commonwealth at her coronation when she became head of state in seven of its eight members.Lima, Peru: When it comes to plotting a brazen prison escape, there may be few stratagems more effective - or soulless - than swapping places with your unwitting identical twin.

That was the ploy adopted by Alexander Jheferson Delgado, a convicted sex offender and burglar, who has just been recaptured more than a year after escaping prison by drugging his twin brother and then dressing in his clothes.

Peruvian sex offender and burglar Alexander Delgado drugged his identical twin brother in his cell and escaped from jail. He said he just wanted to see his mother. Credit:Peruvian Interior Ministry

The escape happened on the morning of January 10, 2017, when Alexander's twin, Giancarlo Stuard Delgado, showed up at Piedras Gordas prison to visit his sibling and bring him food and letters from other relatives.

After meeting in a common area of the prison, which sits on a particularly bleak stretch of Pacific coastline north of Lima, the 28-year-old brothers went to Alexander's cell. There, the convict offered his unsuspecting sibling a sedative-laced soda.The firearm industry was riding high during the run-up to the 2016 election.

Hillary Clinton was favoured to win, and an array of gun rights advocates warned of a looming Second Amendment crackdown.

Earlier that year, then president Barack Obama had stoked similar fears by proposing to expand federal background checks. Firearm purchases soared.

That hoariest of right-wing boogeymen - a new Democratic administration hellbent on taking everyone's guns - had returned.High over the Pacific Ocean on Tuesday, the casing blew off one of the engines on United Airlines Flight 1175.

Passengers heard a loud bang and felt the plane shake violently. Those seated on the right side looked out of their windows and saw pieces of metal flying.

By the time the plane touched down safely in Honolulu about 40 minutes later, the engine was bare, its innards on full display.

It was not clear as of Tuesday evening what had caused the malfunction. Ian Gregor, a spokesman for the US Federal Aviation Administration, said the agency was investigating.Bogota: A space program for Bolivia might seem a low priority given the South American nation's internal challanges of poverty, inequality and lack of infrastructure.

Enter China, with the know-how, launch facilities and an established hunger for Latin American raw materials.

Australia boasts five Optus communications satellites (comsats) and recently launched three other satellites, but Central and South American countries have traditionally lagged behind in this area.

China has been busy building up space contracts with nations in the region. Venezuela launched its third satellite from Chinese soil in October and Bolivia is expected to get a second comsat from China by 2022.LIMA: At least 44 people died and 20 others were injured in southern Peru on Wednesday when a passenger bus fell off a cliff on the nation's most important highway  the second such bus accident this year on the notoriously dangerous road.

The two accidents prompted outrage that the authorities are not doing enough to prevent such tragedies. In January, 51 people died when a bus plunged off a cliff along a foggy stretch of road so infamous it is known as the "devil's curve."

A crashed bus lays on the bottom of a cliff in Arequipa, Peru, killing at least 44. Credit:AP

Both accidents occurred on the Pan-American Highway, which stretches the length of the country parallel to the Pacific Ocean. Despite its importance, most of the road is narrow, with a single lane going each way as it meanders through the Andean hills.

Sadly, the roadside is dotted with crosses memorialising where people have died in road accidents. The bus that plunged 260 feet off on Wednesday had passed a sign saying "Drive Carefully." A few feet away, a sign pointing in the other direction warned drivers of the serpentine road ahead.The Detroit city centre with Windsor, Ontario, on the horizon, across the Detroit River which forms the US-Canada border. Credit:ALEX MACLEAN He said he had had to fend off sceptics and theorists who believe that the hum is related to secret tunnelling, UFOs or covert government operations. Provost, a retired insurance salesman, said his work was a blend of obsession and hobby. "I've got to keep going," he said. "I'm not going to quit this." Windsor Arena, which closed in 2012. Reports of the Windsor hum first surfaced in 2011. Credit:Fabrizio Costantini The hum is not limited to Windsor, a city of about 220,000 people on the Detroit River. Provost said he had received reports from McGregor, Ontario, 30 kilometres to the south, and from east of Cleveland, about 145 kilometres away.

Tracey Ramsey, a member of the Canadian House of Commons, said in a phone interview that she regularly gets calls from constituents about the health effects of the hum. Residents have complained of headaches, sleeplessness, irritability and depression, among other symptoms. Boarded-up houses in the Sandwich neighbourhood of Windsor, Ontario. Credit:JOHAN HALLBERG-CAMPBELL "It's something they are desperate for an answer to," she said. Tracing the noise's origins is complicated by who hears it, and when and where. Tim Carpenter, a retired consulting engineer who specialised in geotechnical engineering and machine vibrations and is an administrator of the Facebook page, said not everyone can hear it.

"It's as if you had a fire hose moving back and forth and the people who have the water falling on them hear the noise, and if you're outside that stream, you don't hear the noise," he said. Researchers have found no trends related to gender or age for the "hearers." Dr Darius Kohan, director of otology and neurotology at Lenox Hill Hospital and Manhattan Eye, Ear and Throat Hospital, said that the low-frequency hum was unlikely to cause long-term hearing damage but that it could be as debilitating as tinnitus, a persistent ringing in the ears. Scott Barton, an assistant professor of music at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Massachusetts, said that infrasound, which is below 20 hertz, can create a sense of unease because it is unintelligible to human hearing but still detectable. While it is possible to be accustomed to certain noises (the hum of an air-conditioner, for example), this low-frequency noise is challenging because it has been so inconsistent, he said. Seeking intervention by government regulators for the hum is difficult because regulations typically address decibel levels that can lead to hearing loss or damage, not those that affect quality of life, said Rebecca Smith, a sound engineer and doctoral student at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, who researches urban noise.

"Think about the sound of a dog barking," she said. "It doesn't need to be loud enough to physically damage you to be really annoying and distracting." The University of Windsor report said the hum's likely source was blast furnace operations on Zug Island on the Detroit River, which is densely packed with manufacturing. Activists complained that US Steel, which operates the furnaces, has been uncooperative and secretive. A company spokeswoman did not respond to requests for comment. A principal investigator on the study, Professor Colin Novak, told CBC News in 2014 that researchers needed more time and cooperation from US authorities to pinpoint the source. "It's like chasing a ghost," he said. Hums similar to Windsor's have been reported in at least a dozen communities worldwide, the study said. In the United States, high-profile hums have been reported in Taos, New Mexico, and Kokomo, Indiana. Researchers studied the Taos hum in 1993 but did not pinpoint a source. Karina Armijo, the town's director of marketing and tourism, said in a telephone interview that complaints had subsided.

"I have never heard the Taos hum, but I've heard stories of the Taos hum," she said. "There's not been a lot of buzz about it in the last few years." A 2003 study in Kokomo by the acoustics and vibration consulting company Acentech prompted two industrial plants to install silencing equipment, providing relief to some residents but not all, a 2008 paper about the study said. "In fact, one affected resident had become so disturbed that she moved more than 700 miles away to relieve her symptoms," it said. Carpenter said it was possible a major source of the Windsor hum could be eliminated and other mechanical sources would replace it, entering the "heard spectrum". "It's possible that no matter what is done to relieve or attenuate the noise, it might never be enough," he said.Munich: Amid anxiety about President Donald Trump's approach to global affairs, US officials had a message for a gathering of Europe's foreign policy elite in Germany: pay no attention to the man tweeting behind the curtain.

US lawmakers  both Democrats and Republicans  and top national security officials in the Trump administration offered the same advice publicly and privately, often clashing with Trump's Twitter stream: the United States remains staunchly committed to its European allies, is furious with the Kremlin about election interference and isn't contemplating a preemptive strike on North Korea to halt its nuclear program.

But Trump himself engaged in a running counterpoint to the message, taking aim on social media at his own national security adviser, H.R. McMaster, for not tell the Munich Security Conference that the results of the 2016 election weren't affected by Russian interference  a conclusion that is not supported by US intelligence agencies.

The determination to ignore Trump's foreign policy tweets has been bipartisan.Under pressure from angry, grieving students from a Florida high school where a gunman killed 17 people last week, US President Donald Trump ordered the Justice Department on Wednesday to issue regulations banning bump stocks, which convert semi-automatic guns into automatic weapons like those used last year in the massacre of concertgoers in Las Vegas.

A day earlier, Trump signalled that he was open to supporting legislation that would modestly improve the national gun background check system, and on Wednesday, he posted on Twitter that Democrats and Republicans "must now focus on strengthening Background Checks!"

But Trump's first embrace as president of any gun control measures was dismissed by gun control supporters as minor. The National Rifle Association supports the background check legislation and also backs bump stock regulation, although not an outright ban.

Speaking at the White House days after a shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, Trump said he had directed Attorney General Jeff Sessions to develop the regulations.Job-seekers demand reform in quota system

Hundreds of job-seekers staged demonstration at Shahbagh intersection demanding merit system in govt jobs be reformed. This photo was taken on Sunday.

Staff Reporter :

The students of different universities and colleges staged demonstration in their respective institutions and demanded reformation of quota system to recruit Bangladesh Civil Service (BCS) cadres for government jobs at Shahbagh and across the country.

Currently, 44 per cent recruitment is based on merit while rest on quota system.

Almost 1000 students of different universities and colleges started their sit-in programmee at Shahbagh around 11.00 am. They carried placards with slogans for reforming the quota system. The protesters called off their programmee at 12.30 pm.

Huge law enforcers were deployed in the area.

Later, a four- member delegation went to Prime Minister Office to submit a memorandum of five points.

The students in their memorandum preferred the merit system to the quota system of recruitment. They called for reduction of quota system to permanent 10 percent in place of prevailing 56 per cent. In case of shortage of candidates under the quota system, meritorious students should be considered.

In Chittagong, around 300 students of Chittagong University has formed a human chain in front of Central



Shaheed Minar demanding the reformation of quota system on Sunday.

Meanwhile, thousands of Rajshahi University students formed a human chain on the Paris Road.

According to two clauses of the Article 29 of the Constitution of the People's Republic of Bangladesh:

(1) There shall be equality of opportunity for all citizens in respect of employment or office in the service of the Republic.

(2) No citizen shall, on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth, be ineligible for, or discriminated against in respect of, any employment or office in the service of the Republic.National security adviser HR McMaster said on Saturday that evidence of Russian interference in the 2016 US election was "now really incontrovertible" after indictment of 13 Russian individuals and three companies.

Speaking at an international security conference in Munich, Germany, McMaster lent credence to a widening scandal that President Donald Trump has routinely dismissed as a hoax.

"The evidence is now really incontrovertible and available in the public domain," McMaster said. The US was becoming "more and more adept at tracing the origins of this espionage and subversion," he said.

The indictment announced on Friday describes a vast, secret, social-media campaign financed by a Russian entrepreneur with ties to President Vladimir Putin that worked to harm Hillary Clinton's candidacy and promote Trump.The US army's embattled medical chief apologized Monday to lawmakers for longstanding problems that made care at a showcase army hospital a bureaucratic nightmare for soldiers wounded in Iraq.

Lieutenant General Kevin Kiley, the army surgeon general, said he was sorry for the shabby living conditions of convalescing soldiers at Walter Reed Medical Center and acknowledged there was an urgent need to simplify procedures.

"Simply put, I am in command," he said in testimony before a House subcommittee. "And as I share these failures, I also accept the responsibility and the challenge for rapid corrective action."

Army Secretary Francis Harvey was sacked last week by Defense Secretary Robert Gates because of the army leadership's failure to take seriously problems uncovered at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in a series of Washington Post stories.

Gates was surprised and upset that Harvey named Kiley to be temporary commander of the hospital after its current chief Major General George Weightman was relieved of command last week.When a New Zealand woman came face to face with a black drone in the darkness outside her bedroom window she was not alone.

The late-night incident now has Marita Maass of Upper Hutt considering selling her home.

The Civil Aviation Authority has had an increase of complaints about drones being flown near houses.

Information released by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) under the Official Information Act show that she was far from alone with her run-in with a drone flown by an unknown operator. It seems drones frequently breach privacy to the extent that authorities are called in.

One, whose privacy was invaded from the air, fired at a drone with a shotgun and another threatened to shoot one from the sky. Earlier this year a man from Motueka on the south island said a peaceful stroll turned "really creepy" after a mysterious drone followed his family along the beach.Deanna Snow, left, and Patty Hadjuk, both of Murrells Inlet, enjoy the oysters during last year's event at On the Half Shell.WASHINGTON  NASA's vision for lunar exploration includes landing astronauts, from NASA and its partners, on the surface of the moon by the late 2020s, the agency's acting administrator said Feb. 20.

Speaking at a Space Transportation Association breakfast, Robert Lightfoot described a 2030 vision for NASA and space activities enabled by the administration's fiscal year 2019 budget request released last week, ranging from a "totally commercial environment" in low Earth orbit to exploration of the moon.

"At the moon, we'll have people transiting from the platform back down to the surface of the moon," he said. "We'll have a constant set of flights going back and forth that will allow us to do the work that we want to do on the moon." [Pence: To Lead in Space, US Needs Less Red Tape]

The platform is the Lunar Orbiting Platform  Gateway, a human-tended facility in cislunar space formerly known as the Deep Space Gateway. That facility is one key element of the lunar exploration plans in the budget proposal, which calls for construction of an initial power and propulsion element that would be launched commercially in 2022.

Another element of the plan calls for continuing a set of funded agreements with industry known as Next Space Technologies for Exploration Partnerships (NextSTEP) to study designs for a habitat module for the gateway. Several companies are currently working on habitat module designs under NextSTEP.

The budget also calls for a "series of more capable landers" for lunar missions, starting with small commercial landers. A call for proposals for an initial robotic lunar lander mission, based on responses to a past request for information, should be released in the near future, Lightfoot said. [In Photos: President Donald Trump and NASA]

Those initial small landers would be followed by larger missions, but how those evolve over time into spacecraft capable of carrying people to the lunar surface and back isn't described in detail in the proposal. However, that broader lunar exploration effort is expected to leverage contributions from both commercial and international partners.

"What we're looking for is the latter part of the decade for humans to the moon," he said in response to an audience question about timelines. Asked if those people would be NASA astronauts or those from partner space agencies, he responded, "Yes."

That overall approach to lunar exploration is based, Lightfoot said, on a 45-day report commissioned by Vice President Mike Pence at the first meeting of the National Space Council Oct. 5 outside Washington. "The outcome of the 45-day study was codified in the budget," he said. The study itself has not been released by NASA or the White House.

Lightfoot represented NASA at the next meeting of the Council Feb. 21 at the Kennedy Space Center. "I'll get an opportunity to brief the other Council members on what we did from our last action, the 45-day study," he said. "We'll see where it goes from there." He added he was looking forward to discussion on regulatory reform at the meeting, an issue that has only peripherally involved NASA.

In his speech he discussed another element of that vision, transferring activities in low Earth orbit to the commercial sector. That includes ending NASA funding of International Space Station operations by the mid-2020s, while stimulating the development of commercial capabilities through a program that the budget proposal projects spending $900 million on over the next five years.

"Industry is ready. They feel like they're ready to take that on," Lightfoot said. "We need to get things on orbit that we can go to other than government-funded locations."

That proposal generated criticism even before the formal release of the budget proposal, with several key members of Congress opposing any effort to end ISS funding in 2025. Ligthfoot alluded to that in his comments. "I think this will drive a great discussion, in my opinion, around when is that time to get off the station and have something available," he said. "Based on my phone calls that I made about the budget, I'm sure this is going to get a lot of conversation on the Hill."

Lightfoot said he's also had "plenty of conversations" with the station's international partners about the proposal. More are planned for the Second International Space Exploration Forum scheduled for March 3 in Tokyo. "I've got meetings with all our partners next week, individually," he said. "They all understood where we were and what we were doing, but wanted to talk about it."

This story was provided by SpaceNews, dedicated to covering all aspects of the space industry.WASHINGTON  A discussion of China at the latest National Space Council meeting took a more nuanced view of the country than is typical in such conversations, seeing the rising space power as a competitor and adversary but also a potential partner.

A panel discussion on national security space at the Council's Feb. 21 meeting at NASA's Kennedy Space Center focused primarily on the growing capabilities of, and the growing threat posed by, China's space efforts, including the development of counterspace capabilities that could disrupt American space systems in the event of a conflict.

"Russia and China are each developing counterspace capabilities to use during a potential future conflict with the United States to reduce U.S. and allied advantage and effectiveness, eroding our information advantage," said Susan Gordon, principal deputy director of national intelligence. [Pence: To Lead in Space, US Needs Less Red Tape]

The National Space Council, meeting Feb. 21 at the Kennedy Space Center, heard testimony about both the threats and opportunities of China's space program. (Image credit: NASA/KSC)

"China has the best politically supported and best resourced foreign space program that we have seen in many years," she said. "Its years of intense activity are beginning to bear fruit."

Dean Cheng, senior research fellow at The Heritage Foundation, also discussed the threats posed by China's space capabilities, both technical and organizational, during the panel discussion. "It is now exploiting not only new technologies to expand its space capabilities, but also undertaking new organizational approaches and innovations," he said.

He noted China's space program was largely run by the military, including much of its industry. "China's space industrial complex is not so much a revolving door as a broad atrium for Chinese aerospace engineers and managers amidst all these state-owned enterprises, and the result is far closer to a single integrated space enterprise, with relatively few demarcations between the military and the civilian," he said.

That also applies to the growing number of private space ventures in China that, at first glance, appear to be separate from that larger military-controlled industry. "Given the interest in melding civilian and military capacity, as well as past evidence of behavior in the telecom sector, it is vital to recognize that these private firms, at the end of the day, respond with alacrity to central government directives," he said.

However, Jeff Manber, chief executive of NanoRacks, saw opportunity working with such companies and others in China. The company flew an experiment from a Chinese university to the International Space Station last year, the first Chinese payload to go to the station.

"The United States cannot simply ignore China's commercial space ambitions," he said. "China is quietly developing a robust commercial space industry. I say 'quietly' because Americans are barred by our own regulations and our own mindset from participation in this marketplace."

Manber called for a "stern but fair" agreement with China that could allow American space companies to do business in China, citing "legitimate concerns" about technology transfer that today bar such activities. Later in the hearing, U.S. Marine Corps Gen. Joseph Dunford Jr., chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, asked Manber about how to balance concerns regarding technology transfer to China with opportunity to cooperate with Chinese businesses.

"It's very difficult, in our industry, to strike the right balance between competitiveness and assuring that America safeguards its technology," Manber responded. He noted his company worked closely with NASA to ensure no technology transfer took place when flying that Chinese payload. He added that other countries have been flying their satellites on Chinese rockets, including those built by Canadian and Danish companies that flew on recent Long March launches.

He said the United States should go into any discussions about cooperation with China from a position of strength, having identified key technology transfer and intellectual property protection issues that need to be protected.

"As the president has said, we want to revamp and reconsider our relations with China, and I can see no better opportunity than to do it here, where we're not involved today but we're clearly leaders of the free world," Manber said.

The National Space Council offered no indication of where it stood on potentially increasing cooperation with China. After Manber's comments to the Council, its chairman, Vice President Mike Pence, offered only a two-word comment: "Well said."

This story was provided by SpaceNews, dedicated to covering all aspects of the space industry.Comilla court orders execution of Khaleda arrest warrant by Apr 24

UNB, Comilla :

A court here on Sunday ordered police to execute the warrant for the arrest of BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia and 48 other BNP leaders and activists by April 24 next in a case filed over the 2015 arson attack on a bus in Chouddagram upazila that left eight people dead.

Additional Chief Judicial



Magistrate Joynab Begum passed the order and fixed April 24 for the next hearing of the case, said court police inspector Subrata Banerjee. Accepting the charge-sheet against 69 BNP leaders and activists, the same court on January 2 last issued the arrest warrant for the BNP chief and others as they did not appear before it on the day. Eight people were killed and at least 20 others injured when miscreants hurled a petrol bomb at a bus at Jogmohanpur in Chouddagram during the BNP-led alliance's movement on February 3, 2015.The following headlines and articles appeared in the Stamford Advocate decades ago on Feb. 26

11 years ago

City may work to save gems

Plans to redevelop two downtown landmarks on the National Register of Historic Places have revived debate about how to protect the citys architectural gems.

F.D. Rich Co.s proposal to tear down the rear of the Atlantic Street Post Office to make way for a Ritz-Carlton hotel and plans by St. Andrews Episcopal Church to sell the land beneath its historic rectory have prompted legislators to review the laws governing properties on the National Register.

The Board of Representatives State and Commerce Committee plans to meet to discuss whether additional protections are needed to save the last remnants of Stamfords past while the city is in the middle of a downtown building boom.

20 years ago

Local reliance on food banks on the rise

More people are relying on emergency food donations to feed themselves and their families, according to local agencies and a statewide survey.

In 1997, the Food Bank of Fairfield County gave away 507,000 pounds of food, up from 451,000 pounds in 1996, director Mary Biggs said.

Food is definitely going out as fast as it comes in, Biggs said. Each year the numbers keep going up, but we dont know the cause.

30 years ago

City reps debate mutual housing

Two members of the Board of Representatives are questioning whether a novel housing concept planned for West Main Street should be moved to another part of Stamford.

The representatives, Frank Molio, D-9, and Annie Summerville, D-5, expressed concern that West Main Street is a poor choice for the concept, called mutual housing. But backers of the plan said the street would support the housing in which residents own and operate units through their membership in a board of directors, but cannot sell the units for a profit.M ilkmen and milkwomen are making a comeback in London as millennials have started using glass milk bottles in a bid to cut down plastic waste.

Dairies in the capital told of a "phenomenal" upsurge in interest from younger customers at the start of the year amid growing public upset over plastic waste.

Both UK-wide company milk&more and east London dairy Parker Dairies have seen increased demand for glass bottles in 2018, citing David Attenborough's Blue Planet II as the "catalyst" for the new uptake.

The firms said younger consumers and families seem willing to pay more for the service in a bid to help the environment.

milk&more has gained more than 2,500 customers since the beginning of the year

It comes amid conflicting reports of a resurgence in glass doorstep deliveries in the UK.

While it was reported there was a 25 per cent hike in the number of deliveries in the UK over the last two years, Dairy UK told the Standard it could not confirm the figure.

The industry body said figures showed doorstep deliveries make up 3 per cent of milk sales in the UK  around 1 million pints per day  and glass milk bottles make up 3 per cent of all milk sales.

But depot manager of Parker Dairies Paul Lough said interest of late in glass bottles has been absolutely phenomenal.

Parker Dairies: the east London dairy has a fleet of 25 electric milk floats / Parker Dairies

He said the dairy, which has a fleet of 25 electric milk floats covering all of east London, the city and the West End, has gained 382 new customers since the beginning of the year.

Of these new calls, 95 per cent are having milk delivered in glass bottles.

Mr Lough said: Before Christmas we were taking 30 calls a month, and since New Year we are getting 30 calls a week.

The dairy has seen a 4 per cent increase in sales since December, with an extra 1800 pints being sold each week.

Glass milk bottles can be reused up to 25 times before they are recycled into new bottles / Parker Dairies

Mr Lough attributed the new interest to the "regeneration" of the East End since the Olympics.

"People are much more environmentally conscious and so they are asking if we do glass, he said.

And the dairy has attracted a younger clientele, Mr Lough said, meaning the firm has expanded its product line to cater to the new demographic.

Without a doubt [they are younger], he said. That is why we are trying to change our product list.

We do sourdough and honeys we sell 250 loaves a week to new customers.

Meanwhile, UK company milk&more said it has gained more than 2,500 new customers in the last month  the equivalent of five new milk rounds.

And some 90 per cent of these customers across the country are ordering in the iconic glass bottles.

In London, milk&more has added the equivalent of a whole new round, the company said.

The company  which occupies Hanworth Dairy in south west London - was bought by dairy giant Muller from Dairy Crest in 2016, which pledged to save glass milk bottle doorstep delivery and boost the service.

Dairies offer locally sourced produced such as sourdough bread alongside milk

Dairy Crest had planned to shut down the dairy and review milk&more in light of declining interest in milk deliveries, with plans to phase out glass bottles.

But Muller said it wanted to reverse the plans and rejuvenate and expand milk&more.

Milkman Ian Beardwell has been doing the same round in Wimbledon for Hanworth Dairy for 27 years.

He said: Since Blue Planet that has been the catalyst of the revival in glass.

milk&more milkman Ian Beardwell has done the same round for Hanworth Dairy for 27 years

I used to do 550 calls before and in four weeks Ive gained another 35 to 40 calls  90 per cent glass.

The trend for new customers has always been to come on board with plastic. But I have always done glass. I think they forgot that I do glass people just didnt realise.

One lady has just come back to me in the last four weeks. I hadnt been delivering to her for the last 10 years. She told me she just got lazy.

Patrick Muller, managing director of milk&more, said: The glass bottle is an exciting product we think that it has a future.

We believe the tradition of the milkman has some fantastic elements that are relevant now. They are a reliable presence for pre-breakfast delivery, they offer an exciting product range including locally sourced produce, and can be a part of the community.

We just have to make them relevant for the modern consumer.

He said new customers were aged around 35 years old, coming from young families with a double income.

Mr Muller added: Its popular with families, so people that care about the local community and local produce.

They want the story behind their produce but they dont have the time to get it.

We talked with customers and they said they enjoy the experience of the glass bottle - the childhood memories - and they want to reduce their plastic wastage.V icar of Dibley star Emma Chambers died after suffering a suspected heart attack, a friend has said.

Former BBC executive producer Jon Plowman broke the news on Radio 4 this morning, saying: "It's no age to have a heart attack, as I understand it."

Mr Plowman, who produced the Vicar of Dibley and later became head of comedy at the BBC, added: Emma was a gifted comic actress who made any part she played look easy.

She was adored by the cast and crew.

Emma Chambers in pictures 1 /7 Emma Chambers in pictures Emma Chambers, who has died aged 53, arrives at the charity world premiere of The Clandestine Marriage in 1999 PA Chambers and Joan Collins at the charity world premiere of the film The Clandestine Marriage PA Chambers arrives for the World Premiere of Notting Hill, in which she played Honey PA Chambers arrives at the World Premiere of Notting Hill PA Archive/PA Images Chambers, who also played Alice Tinker in The Vicar of Dibley, at the Comedy Awards in London aged 34 PA Archive/PA Images Chambers at the British Academy Television Awards at Grosvenor House in London PA Archive/PA Images Chambers in the late 1990s BBC series How Do You Want Me? PA Archive/PA Images

Chambers died of natural causes at the age of 53 on Wednesday evening, but the news of her death was not announced until Saturday.

Her agent, John Grant, said in a statement: We are very sad to announce the untimely death, from natural causes, of the acclaimed actress, Emma Chambers.

Over the years, Emma, created a wealth of characters and an immense body of work. She brought laughter and joy to many, and will be greatly missed.

At this difficult time we ask that the privacy of the family and loved ones be respected.

Tributes have poured in for the actress, best known for playing lovable Alice Tinker in The Vicar of Dibley and ditzy Honey in Notting Hill.

Dawn French, her co-star in the Vicar of Dibley for between 1994 and 2007, paid tribute by posting a photo on Twitter of the pair lying on the sofa together.

She wrote: "I was regularly humped like this by the unique & beautiful spark that was Emma Chambers.

"I never minded. I loved her. A lot"

She added in a statement: "Emma was a very bright spark and the most loyal and loving friend anyone could wish for. I will miss her very much."

Hugh Grant, who acted alongside Chambers in Notting Hill, said on Twitter: Emma Chambers was a hilarious and very warm person and of course a brilliant actress. Very sad news.

Chambers, who also had a role in a television adaptation of Martin Chuzzlewit, won the British Comedy Award for best TV actress for her role in The Vicar of Dibley in 1998.S now is forecast for the next five days in London and the south-east as the UK braces for a blast of cold air from Siberia to send temperatures plummeting below zero.

Forecasters said the freezing temperatures could spark travel chaos and power cuts as Britain is gripped by its coldest February week in five years.

Bitterly cold air from Siberia, nicknamed the Beast from the East, is forecast to envelope the country and bring significant and disruptive snowfall.

The Met Office told the Standard snow was forecast for London and the south-east on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday this week.

The UK is about to be gripped by its coldest February week in five years / Getty Images

Met Office Meteorologist Alex Burkill said he could not rule out snow falling pretty much anywhere in the UK in the coming days.

He warned motorists of potential delays on the M25 during the Monday morning rush hour when the first of the wintry showers is expected.

Cold Weather 'Polar Vortex' arrives in London 1 /5 Cold Weather 'Polar Vortex' arrives in London People in winter coats and scarves cross Waterloo Bridge, in central London, as freezing air from Russia is to grip the UK in what is set to be the coldest late February in five years PA PA PA PA PA

Mr Burkill said: Tonight its going to be cold again, dropping to -3C or -4C with largely clear skies for much of the night before tomorrow morning when we will see a few snow shower towards the east of London, including eastern parts of the M25.

We could see some problems for the morning rush hour.

Mr Burkill said snowfall could be quite frequent and persistent on Tuesday, while further wintry showers were expected for Wednesday.

A woman walks across the Millennium Bridge, in central London, in windy conditions as freezing air from Russia is to grip the UK in what is set to be the coldest late February in five years / PA

On Thursday, it will be windy and feel very cold. The temperatures will barely climb above freezing but it will feel as if it is between -5C or -10C, he added.

Significant snow is forecast overnight into Friday coming from the South West. A few cm of lying snow is expected for people waking up on Friday morning.

The Met Office has issued yellow be aware warnings for snow for Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. It is currently considering upgrading Tuesdays warning to amber and issuing another warning from Thursday night into Friday.

The warnings are in place for London and the south-east, the east of England, the Midlands, the north of England and Scotland.

It has been bitterly cold in the capital this weekend but conditions have been dry and bright with lots of sunshine.

The lowest temperatures in London and the south-east were -1.4C in Iver Water and -2C in Wisley.

The coldest recorded temperature in the UK was -9.2C Altnaharra in northern Scotland.

Health officials have warned of the risks of exposure as temperatures plummet and urged people to look out for the most vulnerable around them.

Dr Thomas Waite, of Public Health Englands extreme events team said: Cold temperatures, indoors and out, pose real health risks to many and every winter we know that thousands of people get ill and even die following exposure to cold conditions.This week's UK forecast

Here is the latest from Met Office meteorologist Charlie Powell on this week's forecast for the whole of the UK.

He said: "The UK is on track for some really cold weather this week. It's not going to be record-breaking, but it'll be pretty exceptional - winds are going to make it feel minus 10C (14F) to minus 15C (5F) during the day.

"We will see the first signs of that tonight in the shape of snow showers working all the way down the east coast.

"That continues into Monday, with snow showers moving across the country during the day before reaching Wales.

"Winds are then going to strengthen and we could see some easterly gales through the eastern Channel and east Anglia by the middle of the week.

"That's going to make it feel really cold, daytime temperatures on Wednesday and Thursday will be struggling to get above freezing for most of the country."

He added: "By Thursday evening, there are growing signs there could be some significant snowfall across southern England.

"Unusually for Britain, the snow is going to be quite dry, so it will blow around and gather in drifts and we could see some blizzard conditions.S amuel L Jackson has lashed out at Donald Trump over his plans to arm teachers in schools, branding the US President a muthaf*****.

Mr Trump suggested earlier this week that giving teachers guns could stop further mass school shootings.

It came after 17 students and staff members were murdered during a Valentine's Day gun rampage at a Florida school.

And Mr Jackson pulled no punches when he took to Twitter to make his feelings on the proposal clear.

He said: Can someone thats been in a Gunfight tell that Muthaf***** thats Never been in a Gunfight, the flaws of his Arm The Teachers plan??!!

The 69-year-old Pulp Fiction actor's viral tweet has been shared almost 80,000 times and liked more than 260,000 times.

The Valentines Day massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School has sparked mass youth-led protests across the United States demanding stricter gun control laws.

Donald Trump endorses armed teachers during White House session over school shootings

He said schools could arm up to 20 per cent of its teachers to stop "maniacs" trying to attack them.

"This would be obviously only for people who were very adept at handling a gun, and it would be, it's called concealed carry, where a teacher would have a concealed gun on them," he said.

They'd go for special training and they would be there and you would no longer have a gun-free zone.

Florida school shooting: Rally - In pictures 1 /10 Florida school shooting: Rally - In pictures Arrival: the students were welcomed by fellow teens in the state capital Reuters The group plan to hold a demonstration on Wednesday Reuters A high school student places a candle representing one of the victims of the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School outside the North Carolina State Capitol building during a demonstration calling for safer gun laws, in Raleigh, North Carolina Reuters Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School survivor Ryan Deitsch arrives with fellow students at Leon High School in Tallahassee AP Students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School are welcomed as they arrive at Leon High School, prior to their meetings the next day with Florida state legislators, following last week's mass shooting on their campus in Tallahassee, Florida Reuters Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School survivors arrive at Leon High School in Tallahassee AP Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School survivors Tanzil Philip (left) is comforted by fellow student Diego Pfeiffer as Philip speaks to Leon High School students after arriving in Tallahassee AP Proitest: Students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School hold signs while waiting to board buses in Parkland, Florida EPA Trip: the grieving students travelled 400 miles to the Capitol in Florida EPA High school students observe a moment of silence in memory of the victims of the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, during a demonstration calling for safer gun laws outside the North Carolina State Capitol building in Raleigh Reuters

The US leader proposed getting rid of gun-free zones across the country, claiming they encourage shooters to attack because bullets arent coming back at them.

He backed up his proposal with a series of tweets on Thursday, as the under-pressure NRA bolstered his offered free weapons training.

Their leader Wayne LaPierre said: "We must immediately harden our schools.T he new Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+ are finally here and they're a pretty good looking smartphones.

Coming in four colours: Midnight Black, Titanium Grey, Coral Blue and the brand new Lilac Purple, this is the smartphone to take on the iPhone X.

Samsungs head of IT and mobile communications division, DJ Koh, took to the stage at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona to unveil the phone.

Heres what you need to know.

Samsung Galaxy S9 and 9+: the specs

The next in line in the Samsung Galaxy range are not so different from their predecessors. The new Galaxy S9 will have a 5.8inch Quad HD+ Curved Super Amoled infinity screen, just like the Galaxy S8.

The bigger phone of the two, the Galaxy S9+ smartphone, will have a 6.2-inch Quad HD + Curved Super Amoled infinity screen, like the Galaxy S8+.

Memory wise, the S9 has 4GB RAM with 64GB of memory available, as well as space for an SD card. The Galaxy S9+ improves on this with 6GB RAM and 128GB memory, as well as the SD card holder.

In the UK, the phones are being shipped with Samsungs 10nm, 64-bit Octa-core processor. The smaller phone will have a 2.7 GHz Quad and 1.7 Quad, whilst the bigger phone will have 2.8 GHz Quad + 1.7 Quad.

The smartphones also have AKG stereo speakers, which support Dolby Atmos, to give the effect of 360-degree sound, whether youre listening with headphones (via the headphone jack) or through the phones speakers.

But what we really care about with the new phone is the camera. The cameras have a super speed dual pixel sensor, with dedicated processing power and memory, to make your photographs DLSR-quality.

As well, the new phones include features such as super slow-mo, so you can create slow-motion video that captures 960 frames per second.

In addition, the cameras both feature dual aperture, which aims to take pictures the way a human eye sees them. The hype around the new smartphone cameras has been built up a lot so it will be interesting to see if they live up to their promises.

And finally, the new smartphones are IP68 water resistant, so you can drop one in up to 1.5 meters of water for up to 30 minutes. However, it is recommended that you dont try this out.

Samsung president of mobile communications business DJ Koh presents the new Samsung Galaxy S9 smartphone / LLUIS GENE / Contributor / Getty images

What else do I need to know?

The new Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+ are here to take on Apples Animojis with AR Emoji. This uses a data-based machine learning algorithm which analyses a 3D image of the smartphone owner and maps out more than 100 facial features to create a 3D model of themselves.

You can completely customise your emoji, from hair, to accessories and clothings. Then you can send them to all of your friends, regardless of what smartphone they use, to share your feelings as video or stickers.

In addition, Samsung has been improving on its artificial intelligence assistant, Bixby. Bixby has been completely integrated into the camera to offer real-time object detection and recognition.

A new feature, named Bixby Food, will launch in the UK in the coming months which allows smartphone owners to take a picture of their food and see all the calories and information about it.

As well, theres Bixby Live Translation so you can translate foreign languages and currency in real time.

What will the Samsung Galaxy S9 cost and when is it released in the UK?

Dont worry, you dont have long to wait. Pre-orders are open now in the UK from Samsungs website and select retailers like O2 and EE.

Customers who pre-order the new smartphones before 7 March will receive their devices on 9 March. This is a whole week before the Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+ UK release date, on March 16.

The Samsung Galaxy S9 will cost 739. If youre looking at the Samsung Galaxy S9+, it will set you back 869.

Samsung says it will be offering various trade-in deals for customers as well.

If you buy through O2, prices start from 44 per month for the S9 and 49 per month for the S9+.

Alternatively, prices start from 53 for the S9 on EE and 63 per month for the S9+.

What are people saying about the new smartphones?

Nick Clarke, Mobile Buyer, at Argos said: As Samsung is one of our best-selling phone brands, were confident that the new Samsung S9 will be hugely popular with our customers. Samsung fans will love the infinity display but the real game-changer is the dual aperture camera which offers improved low-light performance, putting it on a par with a traditional DSLR camera.On Wednesday, February 21st, the UKs Minister of Defence, Conservative Gavin Williamson, announced that the United Kingdom is changing its fundamental defence strategy from one thats targeted against non-state terrorists (Al Qaeda, etc.), to one thats targeted instead against three countries: Russia, China, and North Korea. He acknowledged that a massive increase in military spending will be needed for this, and that savings will have to be found in other areas of Government-spending, such as the health services, and in military spending against terrorism.

The headline in the London Times on February 22nd was Russia is a bigger threat to our security than terrorists. Their Defence Editor, Deborah Haynes. reported:

The threat to Britain from states such as Russia and North Korea is greater than that posed by terrorism, the defence secretary said yesterday, marking a significant shift in security policy.

Gavin Williamson suggested to MPs that more money and a change in the structure of the armed forces would be needed as part of a defence review to meet the challenge of a state-on-state conflict, something that Britain has not had to consider for a generation. 

It is a departure from the national security strategy published in 2015, which listed international terrorism first, and chimes with a decision by the United States last month to declare strategic competition from countries such as China and Russia as its top focus instead of counterterrorism. 

He described the Kremlins increased assertiveness, such as a ten-fold increase in submarine activity in the North Atlantic, a growing Russian presence in the Mediterranean region and their involvement in the war in Syria. But then you are seeing new nations that are starting to play a greater role in the world, such as China. 

Asked whether Mr Williamson accepted that this would have a knock-on effect for how Britains military was structured and its readiness for war, Yes it does, Mr Williamson replied.

Just as happened when UKs Prime Minister Tony Blair made his country the U.S. President George W. Bushs lap-dog in the invasion of Iraq in 2003, UKs Prime Minister Theresa May makes her country U.S. President Donald Trumps lap-dog now in the invasions to come, of North Korea, Russia, and China.

The press in the U.S. and its allied countries (such as UK) might have a difficult time persuading their populations that expanding military expenditures in order to conquer Russia, China, North Korea, and  as U.S. President Trump wants also to include  Iran (but hell probably use Americas ally Israel for that part of the operation), could be difficult, because, for example, on the same day, February 22nd, Gallup reported that by a margin of 59% to 37%, Americans disapprove of Trump on the issue of Relations with Russia, and back on 23 March 2017, Public Integrity headlined "The public favors cutting defense spending, not adding billions more, new survey finds" and reported:

President Trumps proposed budget for 2018 isnt following public sentiment, a new survey finds.

The survey, by the University of Marylands Program for Public Consultation (PPC), found that while Trump has proposed a $54 billion boost to federal spending for the military, a majority of Americans prefer a cut of $41 billion. While Trump has proposed a $2.8 billion increase for homeland security, a majority of Americans favor a $2 billion cut. 

Trumps proposals were at odds with the preferences of both Republicans and Democrats. 

A majority of GOP respondents said they wished to keep the so-called base or main defense budget at the current level, although they favored cutting $5 billion in spending from a budget for overseas contingency operations, specifically in Afghanistan and Iraq. 

Those results, in turn, were strikingly similar to the conclusions of a 2012 survey by the Center for Public Integrity, PPC, and the Stimson Center, a nonprofit policy study group in Washington, D.C. When respondents were asked in that survey what they would do with Obamas base defense budget, the majority favored cutting it by at least $65 billion, from $562 billion down to $497 billion. 

The situation is likely to be even more difficult in UK, where according to Gallups polling in 2017, as reported in their Rating World Leaders: 2018, residents in UK who were asked Do you approve or disapprove of the job performance of the leadership of the United States? answered 63% Disapprove, and 33% Approve, and the net approval (-30%) had declined 26% from the prior President Obamas rating (-4%), in 2016.

Consequently, in order for the leaders to do this, there will need to be a total divorce from even the claim of being democracies, because, on such a momentous decision as to whether or not there should be a Third World War (and if so, whether Iran should be a target in it), going against the overwhelming public opinion wouldnt be possible except in what is effectively a dictatorship (such as the U.S. has been scientifically proven to be). So: actually achieving this will be a stretch, but at least in the United States  a proven dictatorship  its possible.

Whereas the press, both in the U.S. and UK, willingly pumped the lies of the Government, that according to the IAEA Saddam Hussein was only six months away from having nuclear weapons, they might not do it this time against actual nuclearly armed nations, because there probably arent yet, and wont soon be, enough billionaires bunkers deep underground  such as here, and here, and here, and here, and here, and here, and here, and here, and here, and here, and here  to protect them from even the nuclear blasts, much less anything at all to protect anyone at all from the resulting nuclear winter and global famine. So, perhaps, greed will finally meet its limit: sheer self-preservation. Its one thing when a foreign country, such as Iraq  or Libya, or Syria, or Yemen  is destroyed, but quite another matter when the world itself will be. The degree of insanity that the military-industrial complex is now assuming to exist amongst the general public, might simply not be there, at all. Finally, Western governments weapons-manufacturing firms might need to face the steep declines in their stock-values that all of them so richly deserve, and thats been held off already for decades too long  since at least 1991, when the Soviet Union and its communism and its Warsaw Pact military alliance all ended, and all thats left available as bogeymen who must be killed in order to save the world, is: Russia, China, North Korea  and maybe (if the Sauds and Israel are to have their way), Iran.

Its not yet clear just when  if ever  the democratic countries in The West (the U.S. and its allies, the billionaires there) will reach the limit of their imperial greed. But if the world is their limit, then there is no limit at all, because the world itself will end, before this limit is reached. And, now, its not only Donald Trump who is leading the way there, but Theresa May has joined his luxurious march, to global oblivion.As usual, the West has demonstrated its ability to fire off a quick response when it comes to slamming Russia for something it has not done. This time its about Eastern Ghouta, a Damascus suburb under terrorist control. The accusation? Russia and its ally Syria are guilty of killing innocent civilians, thanks to their "devastating" attacks and "siege-and-starve tactics." Its the same old story  no actions against terrorists are permissible because of the risk of collateral damage. The Western media have jumped on the anti-Russia bandwagon as readily as if they were orchestra members carefully following the tempo of their conductors baton. US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley wasted no time chiming in.

One has to do some digging into the problem to see whats really happening in Eastern Ghouta. It was reportedon Feb. 21 that talks to end the hostilities had broken down because the terrorists had refused to lay down their arms. The anti-government groups, including the notorious Al-Nusra(Hayat Tahrir alSham), have prevented civiliansfrom leaving this dangerous zone. They are obstructing the humanitarian operations of international aid agencies, such as the Red Cross and World Food Program. The UN has repeatedly expressed its concern over the situation in the region, urging that humanitarian access to the area be safeguarded.

The presence of armed jihadists in Eastern Ghouta, which is at the root of the problem, is never mentionedin Western press reports. The attacks on Russias embassy in Damascus, carried out by the same guys who are causing the suffering of civilians in Ghouta, receive little or no media attention.

Russian aircraft did not conduct air strikes on this suburb. The Western accusations are groundlessand offer no details. The Russian military has been involved in humanitarian efforts to help the refugees fleeing this dangerous area. It was Moscow alone who called for the urgent UN Security Council meeting to discuss the situation.

The Syrian authorities have never made a secret of their intention to rid the area of jihadists. A ground offensive might be coming soon, but would that be a bad thing? Isnt it the duty of any government to provide security to its citizens by fighting the terrorists who are holding civilians hostage? Terrorists from Eastern Ghouta regularly shell Damascus, killing civilians.

The sooner the suburb is liberated, the better for everyone. If the anti-Assad fighters were real patriots, they would have left the populated areas a long time ago. Instead, they use civilians as human shields. Arent they the ones to blame for this dire situation? But no, the Western media call them rebels, not gangs of ruthless murderers. The terrorists in Ghouta wont surrender because they are pinning their hopes on the West to help them out.

What about the caused by the air strikes by the US-led coalition? What about the suffering of the local peopleduring the US-led operation to liberate the Iraqi city of Mosul from ISIS? More civilians than ISIS terrorists died during the battle for Mosul. US airstrikes left large numbers of civilians dead in Raqqa. When questions were asked, the answer was always the same  civilian casualties are unavoidable in war. But if thats true, then why has the spotlight been turned on the operation in Eastern Ghouta, which is being described as a human tragedy, while the civilian casualties inflicted during the US-led operations in the Iraqi towns of Ramadi, Fallujah, Mosul, and Raqqa received quite different coverage in the Western media? Huge numbers of civilian casualties have been described as collateral damage and the unfortunate, yet inevitable, side effect ofurban warfare. This double standard could not be more blatant.

Terrorists are at the heart of the problem but they can only put up resistance if someone is supporting them. Remember the multiple revelations about the US arming terrorist organizations in Syria? Al-Nusra commanders have confirmed this information.

Nothing is clear-cut in war. Dodgy dealings and very strange alliances abound.We will learn a lot more about the Syrian war as time goes by. If the terrorists had not received any material aid, there would have been no need to conduct operations to liberate large urban areas from their clutches, thus causing civilian deaths. Everything should be done to minimize any terrible fallout, but there is no way to escape human suffering when combat actions take place in towns and cities.

Eastern Ghouta used to be a de-escalation zone but the Al-Qaeda linked groups operating there are not bound by any agreement. The only solution is to wipe them out. The quicker it is done, the more human lives will be saved. Deprived of Western support and any hope of some kind of deal, the terrorists would surrender. But while the West tries to protect the rebels and shift the blame for everything onto Russia and its allies, the jihadists will continue to resist.Jonathan MARSHALL

Whatever happened to the Donald Trump who tweeted in 2013, Lets get out of Afghanistan  we waste billions there. Nonsense!

Army CH-47 Chinook helicopter pilots fly near Jalalabad, Afghanistan, April 5, 2017. The pilots are assigned to the 7th Infantry Divisions Task Force, 16th Combat Aviation Brigade.The unit is preparing to support Operation Freedoms Sentinel and Resolute Support. (Army photo by Capt. Brian Harris)

And whatever happened to the reality TV star who used to tell under-performers, youre fired?

Today, as commander in chief, President Trump is indefinitely extending the Afghan wars record as the longest in U.S. history. Hes wasting $45 billion to wage it this year alone. And hes not even thinking of firing his huckster generals who claim that sending a few thousand more troops and stepping up the bombing will be a game changer.

Much like the Vietnam War, every days news of war from Afghanistan puts the lie to optimistic claims of a military solution. A recent BBC study concluded that Taliban forces are now active in 70 percent of the country, more than at any time since the end of 2001. Unofficial U.S. estimates of their strength have soared from about 20,000 in 2014 to at least 60,000 today.

Afghan government forces number several times as many, butlike their counterparts in the Vietnam Warthey lack the one thing the U.S. cannot provide: the will to fight a protracted campaign against a committed enemy, in the words of Bill Roggio, editor of the Long War Journal at the hawkish Foundation for Defense of Democracies.

The Taliban have proven that no place in Afghanistan is safe from their long arm. At the beginning of February, they infiltrated a bomb-laden ambulance into Kabul, just blocks from a meeting at the Afghan Ministry of Defense with the head of the U.S. Central Command. Its blast killed more than 100 people and injured 235. It followed only days after Taliban gunmen stormed the Intercontinental Hotel in Kabul, killing at least 20 people, including four Americans.

Inspector General Finds No Progress

The latest Inspector General report on the status of Operation Freedoms Sentinel, issued Feb. 18, declares that U.S. and Afghan government forces made no progress last year in expanding their control of the country or in forcing the Taliban to the peace table, one of the administrations stated goals.

In addition, the report said, there were growing concerns about whether Afghanistan will be able to hold parliamentary elections as planned in July 2018, and the country was struggling to provide assistance to nearly two-million internally displaced persons.

The report also highlighted the lethality of Taliban operations against Afghan military and police forces, but it declined to offer numbers, noting that the U.S. military had classified them at the request of the Afghan government.

To justify its optimism, the Trump administration has touted its ostensibly new tactic of bombing drug labs to deny the Taliban revenue. The Inspector General notes that such operations were undertaken as far back as 2009, to no end:

The United Nations reported that opium poppy cultivation in Afghanistan set a new record in 2017. Cultivated land increased 63 percent over 2016 levels and potential opium production set a new record at 9,000 tons. The United Nations stated that the Afghan governments strategic focus on protecting population centers in 2017 might have made rural populations more vulnerable to the influence of anti-government entities who pay local farmers to grow poppy and protect farmers from government eradication efforts.

Similarly, U.S. military operations have failed to suppress Afghanistans version of ISIS, which recently conducted several spectacular terror attacks in Kabul. The U.S. command made no discernible progress on convincing Pakistan to close its borders to insurgents. Last but not least, the Afghan government remains a mess, riven by factional fights between President Ashraf Ghani and provincial warlords.

An Incoherent Policy

Meanwhile, unaddressed by the IG is the basic incoherence of a policy of bombing the Taliban into reconciliation. On paper, Washington aims to force the Taliban to the negotiating table, acknowledging that outright victory is impossible. But only this January, President Trump told members of the UN Security Council, we dont want to talk with the Taliban, and a spokesman for President Ghani said recently, We never negotiate with groups who resort to crime and the brutal killing of people and then claim responsibility for it.

That sounds like a policy of stalemate if ever there was one.

For years, we have been pursuing a strategy that will not win, but at the same time, we are doing just enough to ensure that we do not entirely lose, concedes Kevin Hulbert, former CIA station chief in Kabul. The way forward will be determined by clarifying our objectives, which to this point, have remained ambiguous at best.

Clarifying our objectives would certainly help, but just as important are clarity about U.S. interests and capabilities.

Ever since 9/11, policy makers have largely taken American interests for granted. Yet aside from fantasies about developing Afghanistans mineral wealth, its hard to make a serious case that American lives and treasure will be more at risk from getting out of Afghanistan than continuing an endless war. The only significant interest at stake is political: no president wants to lose such a war.

And as to capabilities, the Obama-era surge proved that even with 100,000 troops, the United States cannot win a war against committed, indigenous insurgents who enjoy unlimited funding and protected foreign sanctuaries. Unlike the United States, the Taliban have nowhere to go. They will wait us out, even if that means fighting for another 16 years.

A decade ago, a top-level policy analysis requested by President George W. Bush admitted, The United States is not losing in Afghanistan, but it is not winning either, and that is not good enough. Those words are as true in 2018 as they were in 2008. The situation is still not good enough, and theres no chance of it getting any better. Its time for President Trump to wake up and say youre fired! to anyone on his team who pretends otherwise.

consortiumnews.comPhu Bai Vietnam, March 14, 1968 - As a family of South Vietnamese look on, this Marine platoon commander keeps radio contact prior to a sampan landing in support of operation Houston, 15 miles south of Phu Bai, Vietnam. Sampan Landings are believed to be another "first" established by the U. S. Marine Corps. Photo by W. F. Dickman

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We need your help! Our subscription base has slowly been dwindling. We need your help in reversing that trend. We would like to add 20 new subscribers this month.

Each month we count on your subscriptions or contributions. You can support us in the following ways:If you were a teenager in the 1980s, you were bound to have bopped along to one or more tunes from The Mockers, and maybe even set up your tape recorder to record them off the radio.

While Forever Tuesday Morning never quite made it to number one in the local charts (it peaked at number two), it was an undeniable favourite and is a shoe-in on the playlist when the band plays at Totara Street in Mount Maunganui on Thursday, March 1.

The Mockers are touring in celebration of the release of their deluxe edition DVD/CD set The Mockers Live, recorded at The Powerstation in Auckland in 2017. Support act for the Tauranga show is fellow Kiwi legend Gareth Thomas from Goodshirt.

Joining forces for The Mockers show are New Zealand-based Andrew Fagan (vocals), Brett Adams (guitar), plus Geoff Hayden (bass), who is travelling from London, and Australian-based keyboard maestro Tim Wedde.

The Mockers enjoyed three Top 10 albums and six hit singles, and played to huge crowds across the country throughout the 1980s, riding a wave of New Wave pop success with other Kiwi favourites Dance Exponents and DD Smash.

Our reunion show at Totara Street back in January 2017 was one of our favourite gigs of the tour, says Andrew, so we jumped at the chance to come back and bring some 1980s flavour to the venue again.

Other hits by The Mockers include Swear Its True and One Black Friday.

The show gets underway at Totara Street at 8pm on Thursday, March 1. Tickets are $57 and on sale via: www.evenfinda.co.nz

Shoulder pads, leg warmers and blue eyeshadow are not compulsory.Yes, the decision belongs on the local level

No, no one should be able to dictate whether people wear masks

Vote

View ResultsForecasters are currently focusing on an active front moving up the South Island today, bringing strong winds ahead of the front as well as significant falls of rain.

The front is forecast to be close to Ashburton around 1am Monday morning and near Palmerston North by 1pm Monday.

The front delivers a period of heavy rain to the west of the South Island and parts of the lower North Island, says MetService meteorologist Andy Best.

Severe northwest gales are forecast for eastern areas of central and southern New Zealand, and there may be a short period of heavy rain about Wellington tomorrow morning on a southerly wind change.

The front continues to move north during Monday and Tuesday, and a ridge of high pressure builds over the South Island in the wake of the front. Clearing skies and light winds associated with the ridge will bring cooler temperatures than of late.

For example, Alexandras minimum temperature is expected to be 6C overnight Monday/Tuesday and Dunedin sees a maximum of 25C expected today, dropping to a maximum of just 15C on Monday. Christchurch can expect a maximum of 26C today thanks to the strong northwesterlies, with a high of only 17C on Tuesday.

The ridge is expected to drift eastwards towards the Chatham Islands on Wednesday and Thursday, leaving New Zealand under a northeast airstream.

Looking ahead, Wednesday brings cloudy conditions for most of the North Island, with a few showers in the north and west, and isolated showers elsewhere. The majority of the South Island stays mainly fine with rain developing in the north. The outlook for Thursday, showers for most of the North Island, mainly fine with increasing high cloud in the east of the South Island, but rain elsewhere, possibly heavy in Westland and Fiordland.Cracks that could cause crashes have been found in the towbars and connections of some of the largest truck-trailers on New Zealands roads.

One trailer came off entirely and hit a bank, another almost came loose and in a third case, the driver spotted what the Transport Agency later said was a "potentially catastrophic" crack in a walk-around check.

More structural cracks have also been found in an unspecified number of other semi-trailers.

The Transport Agency has put out two safety alerts for almost 3000 truck trailers across the country, including all refrigerated semi-trailers, of which 1800 must be urgently re-certified.

Truckies are being warned to pay special attention during daily checks and stop using the trailers immediately if they find a crack.

However, its cracks that are hidden from routine visual inspections that are most prone to failing.

"Doing nothing is not advisable and may cause a crash from your semi-trailer separating," says one of the Agencys two alerts issued on 14 February.

This happened last August in Nelson-Marlborough, the Agency says.

"The trailer failed, it disconnected from the vehicle, it travelled along the side of the road, it crashed into a bank and stopped," the Agencys operational standards manager Craig Basher says, although he did not know what road it was on.

"Any [such] incident has the potential for killing someone."

The second case was in December, with a refrigerated semi-trailer.

"The driver of an articulated truck and trailer combination noticed the trailer was not sitting as expected and was able to bring the vehicle to a stop without a disconnection occurring."

Internal cracking in the connecting skid plate that could not be seen by visual checks was the cause.

In the third case on 8 February this year, cracks that could have failed "catastrophically" were spotted by a driver on a walk-around check, says Craig.

The agencys alerts are on its website but the latest case did not prompt a media advisory in mid-February.

The two safety alerts cover:

* 1842 trailers of all types certified by Peter Wastney of Peter Wastney Engineering at Wakapuaka near Nelson; these must all now be urgently re-certified, though the Transport Agency has not yet set a deadline.

* About 1000 semi-trailers.

"While the on-road failure occurred with a refrigerated MaxiTRANS trailer and we are aware of structural cracks found on other refrigerated MaxiTRANS trailers, any semi-trailer can have a failure. However, those without the ability to visually inspect the skidplate structure are most susceptible to unforeseen failures. These can include refrigerated trailers, tankers, bulk transporters, etcetera," the Transport Agency said.

The Auckland office of Australian-owned MaxiTRANS did not respond to three requests by RNZ for comment.

Operations manager Jan Augustine said the company knew about the issue but RNZ might need to be referred to Australia, where the companys headquartered, for a response.

Mr Wastney told RNZ it was not a public safety issue then hung up, twice.

He was suspended as a certifier in August, and as a chartered professional engineer last week.

The August and February failures were related to his work.

"Independent reviews of those drawbeams and drawbars have identified that they were not adequately designed for the loads to which they had been certified," the Agency said.

Kelvin Barclay, who heads the Heavy Vehicle Certifying Engineers group at Engineering New Zealand, said the two alerts were unprecedented in a certification industry set up only in the late 1980s.

"What happens when theres an uncoupling between the truck and a trailer is the brakes on the trailer automatically come on, but obviously it takes some time for it to come to a stop and in that time its basically out of control, so could go anywhere," Mr Barclay said.

Steel fatigue was the underlying issue and the cracks just a symptom of that, he said. Trailers were re-certified after 10 years and accurately calculating the fatigue at that time was vital.

On the semi-trailers, the connections need dismantling to check for cracks, with thick grease getting in the way, and a borescope also has to be used.

The routine daily checks "are not going to find the internal cracking but they will find other, external signs that there may be other cracking", Mr Basher said.

Operators are being told to pay attention at over 300,000kms, which a trailer can easily do in about 18 months. "However, in some designs cracks may develop in a much shorter timeframe," its safety alert said.

Work was going on to get operators to cut inspection portals to check for cracks, Mr Barclay said.

As of Friday, the Transport Agency did not know how many truck operators had responded to its two safety alerts, how many cracks had been found or many trailers were being fixed.Click the image above to watch the video

In todays weather forecast we are expecting a mainly fine day, but with cloud and light rain at night. Also light winds.

Its a one-clothing layer day today with a high of 26 and an overnight low of 17 degrees.

Low tide is at 10.10am and high tide at 4.10pm. Theres a sea swell of 0.4m, sea temperature is 22 degrees and sunset tonight is at 7.57pm.

If youre going fishing today, the best fish bite time is between 8.30am and 10.30am and 9pm and 11pm.

This day in NZ history in 1844 there were Pistols at dawn resulting in a deadly duel in Wellington.

William Brewer died of wounds received during a pistol duel with another Wellington lawyer, H. Ross. The duel followed a quarrel over a case in the Wellington County Court.

In world history on this day in 1154 William the Bad succeeded his father, Roger, in Sicily. In 1790 as a result of the Revolution, France was divided into 83 departments. In 1914 Russian aviator Igor Sikorsky carried 17 passengers in a twin engine plane in St. Petersburg. In 1924 U.S. steel industry found an eight-hour day increases efficiency and employee relations.

In 1951 the 22nd Amendment was added to the US Constitution limiting the Presidency to two terms. In 1968 thirty-two African nations agreed to boycott the Olympics because of the presence of South Africa. In 1993 a bomb rocked the World Trade Center in New York City killing five people.

Today is the birthday of French novelist and poet Victor Hugo. Born in 1802, he wrote Les Miserables. It is also the birthday of Levi Strauss. Born in 1829 he was the creator of blue jeans and once said "An expert knows all the answers - if you ask the right questions."

To check out activities for today, please go to our Whats on page.

Have a great day!The SPCA List of Shame has been released today, highlighting 11 of the most shameful cases of animal cruelty in 2017.

The list includes a five year old Lab starved to death, a duck with its beak blown up by a firecracker and a neglected horse left in pain with a deformed eye and engorged head injury.

The List of Shame is being released ahead of the 2018 SPCA Annual Appeal from 9th to 11th March, which aims to raise awareness and funding to support the 15,000+ animal welfare complaints SPCA receive each year, along with ongoing education to prevent animal cruelty.

We need the publics support to end this shameful cruelty in New Zealand. We receive almost no government funding to run the SPCA Inspectorate, which costs approximately $9 million every year," says SPCA Chief Executive Andrea Midgen.

The face of this years campaign is Sully, a spaniel-poodle cross owned by a woman previously prosecuted by the SPCA and disqualified from owning animals. While in her care, Sully experienced extreme psychological trauma that led to severe anxiety and the inability to make eye contact.

I found him locked in a garage where he was living with his owner and another dog. There is evidence to support the dogs were never let outside, and never interacted with anyone other than his owner, resulting in serious emotional trauma and severe separation anxiety," says Melissa, the inspector who rescued Sully.

After months of successful rehabilitation, Sully now lives happily with his new family at a home on Aucklands North Shore with a big back yard.

This years List of Shame contains some shocking cases of neglect and cruelty, including 600 starving chickens, roosters, and ducks with severe feather loss found in an overcrowded environment trying to feed on the decomposing birds around them, and a dog hit by a car with de-gloving injuries to the bone on both hind legs left by its owner to suffer with no veterinary aid.

We know this list is very upsetting, but this is the reality of what our Inspectors see in their jobs. These horrific cases of neglect and violence towards animals reinforces the vital need for the SPCAs work, says Andrea.

The SPCA is here to stand up for any animal that is physically abused, abandoned, neglected, tortured and in pain. It is a very big job and we need all the support we can get.

Donations for this years SPCA Annual Appeal can be made to street collectors around the country from Friday 9th to Sunday 11th March, or online http://www.spcaannualappeal.org.nz/.

1) Sully, a spaniel poodle cross, was owned by a woman previously prosecuted by the SPCA and disqualified from owning animals. He was found living in a dark room, underweight and covered in matts in his coat that prevented him from moving

freely. After a court order to forfeit Sully into the care of the SPCA and months of rehabilitation, Sully was adopted by a new loving family. The owner is being prosecuted and due to her failing to appear at court, a warrant for her arrest has been issued.

Sully was chosen as the face of the 2018 SPCA Annual Appeal because he demonstrates just how vital the SPCAs work is. Without dedication from the SPCA Inspectors, vets, canine team, animal behaviourists and his foster family, Sully would not be living the happy life he is today.

2) A man was sentenced to home detention after keeping a large number of birds in abhorrent condition. Upon arriving at his property, an SPCA Inspector found 600 chickens, roosters and ducks being kept in overcrowded conditions. The birds were walking around in thick mud and faeces, among the bodies of dead birds. They were so hungry that they were trying to feed on the decomposing birds. A large number of birds were removed by the inspector. A veterinarian examination determined that the health and prognosis of the birds was so poor they were unlikely to regain full health, even with intensive treatment. Sadly, they had to be euthanised to end their suffering. The man was prosecuted by the SPCA and sentenced to six months home detention, 150 hours of community work, and ordered to pay veterinary and court costs to a total value of $3840. He was also disqualified from owning animals for 10 years.

3) It wasnt until Tasha collapsed and was unresponsive that anyone sought help for her. The five-year-old Labrador cross was rescued by an SPCA Inspector and taken for immediate veterinary treatment. Sadly, she died the same day due to the severity of

her condition. Tasha was so emaciated that she had the lowest possible body

condition and clinical signs indicating chronic starvation. She had flea allergic skin disease, a sore on her leg and fur loss consistent with a collar wound. Tasha would have endured a huge amount of pain and was probably suffering for a considerable period of time. Her owner pleaded guilty to ill-treatment of an animal, was disqualified

from owning animals for 10 years and fined $2000.

4) In a very disturbing case of animal cruelty, a young mallard duck was found with catastrophic fireworks-related injuries that SPCA veterinarians suspect were intentionally inflicted. The duck was found still alive, and in extreme pain. Her beak was destroyed and she had suffered a degloving injury. The injuries she sustained could only have been caused by a firework, likely purposely put in the ducks mouth.

These catastrophic injuries were irreparable and the kindest thing SPCA veterinarians could do was end her suffering. Despite launching a full investigation, SPCA Inspectors never found the person or persons responsible.

5) An SPCA Inspector found Kasey and Keita living alone inside a house among rubbish, faeces and very little food and water. Keita was pregnant and underweight and Kasey was suffering from a bad ear infection. Their owner told the SPCA the dogs had been living alone in the house for a year and he had been only visiting once a week.

After an SPCA investigation, the owner was banned from owning dogs for five years, sentenced to 120 hours community work and ordered to pay $3183.80 in reparations to the SPCA. Both Kasey and Keita were forfeited to the care of the SPCA, where they made a full recovery.

6) Jimmy was dumped at a beach, malnourished and with bad wounds, bruising to his head and an irreparable eye injury. His injuries suggest Jimmy suffered blunt force trauma to his head  likely inflicted purposely by a cruel person. SPCA Inspectors launched a full animal welfare investigation, but have not found the person or persons responsible. Jimmy amazed SPCA staff with his kind soul and loving temperament  and even wagged his tail while veterinarians stitched up his eye. He is still recovering at a foster home, but once healed, Jimmy will be adopted by a loving family and finally get the love and care he deserves.

7) Several animals had to be euthanised to alleviate their suffering, after their owner failed to treat their obvious injuries and ailments. The owners animals included a goat with an irreparable fracture, and a cat suffering from kidney disease, painful dental disease and two untreated fractures. The woman was sentenced to 300 hours community work and 9 months supervision, including attendance of any programmes recommended by probation.

She was ordered to pay $2000 reparations, $500 towards legal costs, to forfeit ownership of her two cats to the SPCA and was disqualified from owning animals for five years. A cow with a severe, untreated eye injury was also found on the womans property but was identified as belonging to her associate.

He was also prosecuted and sentenced to 150 hours community work, ordered to pay $788.20 in reparations and a contribution of $500 towards solicitor costs and disqualified from owning animals for five years.

8) SPCA Inspectors arrived at a paddock to find a grey horse, Frosty, in obvious pain and distress. Frosty had undergone eye removal surgery and the sutures had been left in and his head was grossly enlarged and misshapen. The Inspectors immediately called a veterinarian, who said that Frostys facial swelling, eating and breathing difficulty were obvious even from a distance and should have been tended to immediately. Sadly, due to the extent of his injuries, the veterinarian recommended Frosty be euthanised on humane grounds. Frostys owner was prosecuted by the SPCA and sentenced to 260 hours community work, disqualified from owning horses for 5 years and ordered to pay reparations of $1468.41.

9) When Lemuska the staffy was hit by a car, he sustained such terrible injuries he couldnt move. He suffered open, degloving wounds on both hind legs so severe that the bone was exposed. Despite these obvious injuries, Lemuskas owner didnt take him for veterinary treatment.

An SPCA Inspector immediately seized Lemuska to take him for urgent veterinary treatment. Sadly due to the extent of his injuries and the severe and distress he was suffering, there was no choice to end Lemuskas suffering. Lemuskas owner was prosecuted by the SPCA and sentenced to 150 hours of community work, and ordered to pay reparations of $197.31 and court costs of $60. He was also disqualified from owning animals for two years.

10) Four dumped kittens were rescued and brought back to health by the SPCA after they were found in a bin liner. Just six weeks old, the tabby kittens were very lucky to have survived the ordeal. They were given vet care, food, and spent time with a foster family before each being adopted by loving families. Abandoning an animal is an offence under the Animal Welfare Act 1999, but the SPCA Inspectors investigation into finding the person responsible was not successful. Unfortunately, animals being dumped and abandoned is not uncommon - stories like this can be found at

every SPCA Centre across New Zealand.

11) Sandflys routine dental check-up was botched so badly by the equine dentist, it caused irreversible damage to his pulp tissue. The equine dentist removed half to two thirds of two cheek teeth without pre, or post-treatment sedation or pain relief. Two months later, Sandfly stopped eating and was diagnosed with an infection in

one of his teeth.

The SPCA prosecuted the equine dentist responsible for Sandflys

treatment and he was ordered to pay a fine of $2,500 payable to the SPCA and reparation of $2,500 vet costs payable to the ponys owner. Because of the irreversible tissue damage, Sandfly is being kept on long-term oral antibiotics and a tooth extraction will be required.Any workers failing to show the green pass will face suspension without pay. Those who evade checks would be fined between US$705 and US$1,763. | Read MoreBanking regulator Wayne Byres is expected to face questions about an official probe into fraud risk in the $1.6 trillion mortgage market when he appears at Senate estimates this week, after it was confirmed major banks provided the regulator with external audits on the topic at least nine months ago.

The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) in late 2016 kicked off a review covering mortgage fraud control, and in response to a Freedom of Information (FOI) request from Fairfax Media, APRA said it received external audits from five major banks in April and May last year.

APRA launched a review into the accuracy of banks' information about borrowers financial circumstances in late 2016 but has not released the findings.

APRA declined to release the audits under FOI laws, citing strict secrecy provisions in the APRA Act, and said it had not produced a final report on the topic "yet".

Even so, APRA chairman Mr Byres is likely to be asked about the review in Canberra this Thursday, when he may also face questions about the royal commission into financial misconduct.Online betting volumes are sinking at Tom Waterhouse's troubled gambling company, William Hill Australia, due to new laws banning bookmakers from offering lines of credit to customers.

William Hill, the UK's second-largest bookmaker, has revealed wagers through its Australian business fell 15 per cent in the six months to December, which the company attributed to the national ban on credit-betting that took effect last week.

Bookmaker Tom Waterhouse is CEO of William Hill's Australian outpost. Credit:Rob Homer

Amounts wagered had risen in the first half of 2017, but dropped off in the second, the London-listed company said, "as we prepared for the implementation of the credit-betting ban".

"Offering credit or deferred settlement has been prohibited from 17 February 2018," the company said. "Approximately 30 per cent of William Hill Australia's amounts wagered comes from customers using credit betting."Surprisingly, Direct Selling Australia doesnt collect average earnings per person, saying the earning discrepancies between full-timers and hobbyists wouldnt paint an accurate reflection of the industry. Due to the diversity of our members, their models and the way independent salespeople choose to engage with members, we have found (the collection of earnings data) to be of little value, executive director Gillian Stapleton says. Commissions too low A Thermomix consultant confided shes leaving the business due to low earnings and the constant message from the company that shes not selling enough machines, despite only wanting to work part-time in the business to be home with her youngest. Grace Mazur holds the franchise for Thermomix in Australia. Credit:Tony McDonough

Consultants are paid $220 commission on each Thermomix sale, which increases to $290 if they sell four or more machines at a demonstration, she explains on the condition of anonymity. Thermomix hasnt increased its consultant commissions in seven years. Preparation takes a couple of hours, you have to provide ingredients and theres petrol costs to come out of that. Unless you work in the business full-time, I dont think theres enough money to make it worthwhile, so Im leaving, she says. Thermomix declined to comment. The high achiever Of course, there are some high profile industry success stories, if you look hard enough.

Melbourne woman Karalee Lawson has reached the highest promotion in Rodan + Fields, a skin care business new to Australian shores. Lawson drives a company Lexus and tells me she has more than 1000 people in her network. She quit speech pathology to join Rodan + Fields, and hasnt looked back. Karalee Lawson quit speech pathology to join Rodan + Fields. Lawson wouldnt confirm her earnings, instead sending through the companys product disclosure statement, which claims the average income for someone who has reached her level within the company is $837,975, not including expenses or bonuses and incentives.

But dont give up your day job just yet. Its probably fair to say that product disclosure statement isnt an entirely accurate reflection of what Lawsons actually earning, given these company documents often purposefully omit data from distributors who earn next to nothing to beef up their averages. Lawson claims to work just 20 hours a week, saying she mostly hosts bubbles and skincare events. She denies that shes part of a pyramid scheme. It has the organisational structure more of a tree. I prefer to call it community commerce, Lawson says. I know theres an icky feeling with direct selling. People are naturally sceptical. I invite that scepticism. I was that person. Avon leaves Australia

And in perhaps the best example that not all survive in this industry, direct selling stalwart Avon recently announced it will pull out of Australia by the end of this year. Industry newcomer InnerOrigin swooped in days later, inviting Avon representatives to join their health and wellness online marketplace. InnerOrigin co-founder David Nomchong says: The old direct selling models, like Avon, Isagenix and Tupperware are all struggling because they lack the ability to adapt rapidly in our digital world. Our business model is technologically enabled, meaning business interactions are primarily happening in the virtual world, through various social media channels and in-house pantry previews, Nomchong says. An ethical approach

If youre thinking about getting into the industry, you need to apply some ethics to your approach, asserts Melbournes Tracey Hall. She spent years in direct selling, and now works as an ethical mentor for the direct selling industry. People working in this space who are trying to recruit friends and appeal to family to buy your products need to stop. Theyre being held back by a scarcity mindset, and theyre going nothing for the industrys reputation, the Melbourne founder of the Ethical Direct Selling Group says. Tracey Hall is the Melbourne founder of the Ethical Direct Selling Group. I always used out-of-the-box thinking when it comes to sales. I would approach people who gave me good service, like staff at the shopping centre, or someone helping me purchase shoes. A genuine love for products youre selling is important, too, she says. Theres no point getting into direct selling if you dont want to put the products on your face.The proportion of Australian 15-year-olds who are reaching international baseline levels in maths, reading and science has fallen significantly over a decade, and federal Education Minister Simon Birmingham says parents need to start doing more to stem the country's declining performance.

Only 79 per cent of year 10 students reached the international baseline level for maths in 2015, compared with 87 per cent of students in 2006, according to a new report released on Sunday by the Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth (ARACY).

About 82 per cent of students reached the benchmark in reading in 2015, down from 86 per cent in 2006. Baseline proficiency in science also fell, with 82 per cent of students reaching the benchmark in 2015, compared with 87 per cent in 2006.

"If there are an increasing number of students not meeting those benchmarks in any subjects, we'll find they're likely to struggle in life, find it hard to get a job and, statistically, they are more likely to get in trouble with the law," Grattan Institute's school education program director Pete Goss said.Imagine for a moment if so-called "ethnic gangs" had killed one person a week for a year, what would be the reaction?

That it is not speaks volumes about the extent to which such violence has been normalised.

A woman is killed by her partner or ex-partner each week in Australia. This should be a national outrage.

Lethal Indifference is a passionate response to the horrifying reality of domestic violence across this country.

At the play's heart is one young woman telling the story of another - who did not live to tell her own.

We know from the outset this tale will not end well. For the young narrator, a publicist for a family violence legal centre, has been to a coroner's inquest.

She tells the story she heard there of Reema, a young Indian bride who escaped through a window of the Melbourne flat in which her taxi-driver husband Ajay had locked her and where he had repeatedly bashed, starved and raped her.

The one-woman play is set entirely in the twenty-something publicist's bedroom; that most intimate of spaces, a place to sleep, love and dream, where she should feel safe.The 68th annual Berlin International Film Festival got underway not with a film as its centrepiece, but an Australian television series. The Foxtel-Fremantle reboot of Picnic at Hanging Rock was in the spotlight as the annual film festival got underway. Two other series, Romper Stomper and Safe Harbour, were also featured in the festival's new television program. But it was Picnic that stole the show, and secured a flattering review in the Hollywood Reporter, smoothing the way for an almost universally positive reception when it launches. The Hollywood Reporter called the idea of a reboot "audacious [because the original is] vividly cemented in collective memory", calling it a "revitalising fresh take that's off to a fun start and looks like it's only going to get juicier". Composer signs off from Doctor Who Doctor Who is to lose its iconic composer, Murray Gold. Gold has served as the series composer for 13 years, artfully delivering a soundscape which has notably defined the series. Among Gold's acoustic highlights are the Ood's Songs of Captivity and Freedom, the musical eulogy for David Tennant's Doctor, Vale Decem, and a number of tracks featuring the ethereal sound of English soprano Melanie Pappenheim, notably the themes associated with the character of The Doctor. Gold's final soundtrack for the series was on the Christmas special Twice Upon a Time. The stars of Picnic at Hanging Rock: (From left) Samara Weaving, Madeleine Madden, Natalie Dormer and Lily Sullivan. Credit:Foxtel Superbrain's happy return

Neighbours star Annie Jones is returning to Erinsborough, almost three decades after she left the neighbourhood. Jones, who played Jane Harris  best remembered as "Plain Jane Superbrain"  starred in the series in its infancy, and her character was linked to some of the show's biggest early stars, notably Kylie Minogue, Jason Donovan and Guy Pearce, who played Charlene, Scott and Mike, respectively. The last of those three, Mike Young, was Jones' on-screen boyfriend. Neighbours has dipped into its heritage lately with the return of another past-era character, Clive Gibbons, played by Geoff Paine. Jones previously returned to Neighbours in cameos timed for the show's 20th and 30th anniversaries. Pearce joins The Innocents Guy Pearce, meanwhile, has secured a role in a new Netflix supernatural thriller, The Innocents. The series is an original commission for the streaming platform from Britain, part of its expansion of "originals" from mostly US-originated content to a suite of international programs. (Another recent international commission, Germany's Dark, drew almost universal acclaim.) The Innocents is created by Hania Elkington and follows two teenagers who begin to manifest unusual powers. Pearce will play a character named Halvorson. The series, from British production company New Pictures, is expected to launch later in 2018, though Netflix has not confirmed a date. Jeffrey Tambor will not return to the hit series Transparent. Tambor's exit confirmedKelly Guthrie Raley's post, which was picked up by Fox News, had more than 600,000 shares as of Sunday afternoon:

On Thursday, a Florida middle school teacher weighed in with a Facebook post that has since gone viral, declaring it's the parents.

It's the guns. It's the kids. It's gang violence and broken health care and corrupt politicians and violent video games. It's the drugs. It's Russia. It's President Trump.

Two weeks ago, a 19-year-old with an AR-15-style assault weapon was accused of walking into a Florida high school and killing 17 people. This week, the nation is embroiled in a debate about who's to blame.

"I grew up with guns. Everyone knows that. But you know what? My parents NEVER supported any bad behaviour from me. I was terrified of doing something bad at school, as I would have not had a life until I corrected the problem and straightened my ass out. My parents invaded my life. They knew where I was ALL the time. They made me have a curfew. They made me wake them up when I got home. They made me respect their rules. They had full control of their house, and at any time could and would go through every inch of my bedroom, backpack, pockets, anything! Parents: it's time to STEP UP!"

Comments read, "Parents have got to do better" and "These horrible acts of violence will continue to happen if their REAL cause is not addressed." The sentiments Raley expressed were pervasive on social media: Tweets and Facebook posts blamed a lack of parental discipline for shootings like the one at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.

But how much are parents to blame? Is lenient parenting part of the problem?

After the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, Connecticut when 20-year-old Adam Lanza fatally shot 20 children and six adults, the National Science Foundation asked researchers to look at what is known and unknown about youth violence. Published in 2016, the report found families do play roles that can either increase or decrease violence. It did not, however, find support for "harsh" parenting, which is viewed as a risk factor.

Researchers said children who had a lower risk of youth violence had "close attachment bonds with consistently supportive caregivers" and experienced "effective and developmentally sensitive parenting."The redevelopment of Fishermans Bend is one of the biggest Australian urban planning projects ever contemplated. It will double the size of Melbourne's CBD. The new residential and business precinct will be home to a population the size of Ballarat's  about 100,000. This is an opportunity to create one of the world's best urban environments, and to provide some of the infrastructure and amenities required by the sustained surge in the number of Melbourne's residents. But there is also a risk that poor planning and political ineptitude will lead to a catastrophic failure. Lamentably, the process so far has the worrying whiff of a planning and political fiasco.

The state government has intervened to halt dozens of high-rise towers, putting billions of dollars of investments in doubt, and potentially causing a long-running legal and bureaucratic debacle. It has long been rightly critical of the decisions of former planning minister and current Opposition Leader Matthew Guy. It is curious it has taken the government three years to act.

Fishermans Bend. Credit:Craig Abraham

It has frozen the projects pending an independent review into the development rush caused by Mr Guy's unexpected and unforeshadowed decision several years ago to rezone the land. Unlike Docklands, which was built on mostly public land, 90 per cent of Fishermans Bend is privately held, so the rezoning created windfall gains for local property owners and speculators.

Mr Guy, ignoring the advice of his own top advisers, acted before the government could acquire the necessary land for parks, schools, public transport and other infrastructure, so such crucial purchases will be at massively inflated prices; he created a potentially huge cost for taxpayers.A man has been brutally bashed and left for dead on the side of the M1 on the Gold Coast after a road rage incident turned violent overnight.

After speaking with witnesses, detectives are searching for a white van or minibus, which was carrying up to 13 people, as the victim fights for life in the Gold Coast University Hospital.

Police are hunting 13 people in a white van or minibus after a man was left for dead on the M1. Credit:Twitter - @TheTodayShow

Emergency services were called to a stretch of the M1 between Yatala and Pimpama about 9.45pm after passing motorists witnessed the incident.

Investigations suggest the driver of a Subaru Forester station wagon and occupants of the minibus were involved in a road rage incident before they both pulled over. Police do not have any information regarding what sparked the disagreement.The Barr government plans to pull in more than $2 billion in land sales revenue over the next four years with profit margins of up to 44 per cent that are "gouging" homebuyers to boost government coffers, a former ACT Treasury official says.

Chief Minister Andrew Barr last week officially gave the City Renewal Authority and Suburban Land Agency their directions for this year and the next three years, including the agencies' revenue profit margin targets out to 2020-21.

Former ACT Treasury policy director Dr Khalid Ahmed says the government's high land sales profit margins are hitting Canberra homebuyers with a 'double whammy'. Credit:Rohan Thomson

The targets show the government expects the land agency to rake in $2.189 billion in land sales revenue from this financial year to 2020-21, while the renewal authority will get $74 million over that period, resulting in $733 million in dividends from the agency, though that figure was not released for the authority.

From those revenue targets, the government expects profit margins for the land agency's sales to be 41 per cent this year, falling to 30 per cent for the following two years and down to 27.9 per cent in 2020-21.As Nationals gather in Canberra to elect a new leader on Monday morning, Labor plans to step up its campaign for the Coalition agreement to be tabled.

Despite the depths of the crisis, Mr Turnbull went to lengths to explain that the only people with the power to act decisively against Mr Joyce were his party room colleagues - a novel situation for a sitting Prime Minister.

While the Nationals leader finally announced his resignation on Friday, the tense stand-off at the executive's top level, had sentenced the government to a fortnight of misery swamping its core business and extinguishing hopes of a poll recovery that might have been under way.

Malcolm Turnbull's inability to swiftly resolve the Barnaby Joyce crisis despite his deputy's "appalling and grave errors of judgment" has bolstered the case for the Liberal Party's secret power-sharing deal with the Nationals to be made public.

Publication would bring Australia into line with similar power-sharing agreements in Britain and New Zealand - arguably the closest Westminster-style parliamentary democracies - where past and present governments led by both progressive and conservative parties have published their contracts for all to see. Labor frontbencher Joel Fitzgibbon has been fighting a sustained battle to get access to the confidential agreement between Mr Turnbull and the leader of the Nationals but so far, public pressure, freedom of information applications, and even action in the courts, have been met with stubborn resistance.

Mr Turnbull has previously stated that the agreement is not a document of the government but rather is a private agreement between the leaders of the two political parties.

That is despite the agreement's stipulations going to the very formation of the government itself and its policy priorities, and despite the fact that government resources have been deployed to fight its publication in proceedings before the Adminsitrative Appeals Tribunal and the Federal Court.

Surely there is nothing more fundamental to our democracy than the arrangements that allow Malcolm Turnbull to form a government and the community is entitled to know what he has promised hell do or not do," Mr Fitzgibbon told Fairfax.

The prime ministers of New Zealand and the UK have released the documents which deliver them government and Malcolm Turnbull should do the same. If he does not, people are entitled to conclude he has something to hide."Washington: Donald Trump gave Malcolm Turnbull an impressive welcome to the White House last Friday, but we are starting to see what the US President wants in return.

First, he wants Australia by his side as he bulks up military capacity in the western Pacific. Joe Dunford, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, is eager to ramp up the number of US Marines in Darwin in order to send a message about American power to friends and foes around the region. This will go ahead because it steps up the pace on an agreement between Julia Gillard and Barack Obama from 2011.

Second, he wants Australian support for tougher action against North Korea. The new US sanctions against the rogue state are a serious challenge to Kim Jong-un because they suggest the US is willing to intercept shipments of oil, perhaps turning the measures into a blockade. That requires ships. Turnbull has offered verbal support for the sanctions but must choose whether to offer more.

Third, Trump would love to see Australia mount a freedom-of-navigation operation through the South China Sea to send a message to Americas strategic competitor about its island bases in contested waters. Turnbull will not say whether this will happen, a big difference from Britains public statement of intent to send one of its ships through the sea. Should he adopt the British approach?The state government says it will provide answers on the high number of low birthweight babies born in the Latrobe Valley.

A group of doctors believe toxic emissions from the region's three giant power stations are to blame for the low birthweights, as well as high mercury concentrations in dolphins living in the Gippsland Lakes.

The doctors have urged the Environmental Protection Authority, which is reviewing the licences of the valley's power stations, to impose much tougher environmental restrictions on the big electricity generators.

Victorian Health Minister Jill Hennessy

Health Minister Jill Hennessy said on Sunday that the Labor government was committed to finding out why the incidence of low birthweights in the valley was nearly 2 per cent higher than the Victorian average.Washington DC: Malcolm Turnbull has told the governors of more than 40 US states that America's leadership in the world is in the interest of both nations.

The prime minister gave the keynote address at the National Governors Association gathering in Washington DC on Saturday, a day after meeting US President Donald Trump at the White House.

Mr Turnbull talked up the need for infrastructure investment in the South Pacific, the importance of America's role in securing the region, and the benefits Australia expects from the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership that Mr Trump pulled the US out of last year.

"We do not expect the US to return to the TPP anytime soon," Mr Turnbull said.The Turnbull government continues to lavish infrastructure money on NSW at four times the rate, per resident, received by Victorians, according to a new analysis by the state government.

Funding of just $105 per resident is flowing from Canberra to Victoria between 2016 and 2021, State Treasurer Tim Pallas said on Sunday, while $411 will be pumped into NSW for each resident of the state.

'Dudded': Victorian Treasurer Tim Pallas. Credit:Louise Kennerley

Mr Pallas said the shortfall for Victoria, of more than $6 billion during the next five years, could pay for a duplication of the massive level crossing removals project and employ 4500 workers.

The Treasurer will re-ignite the war between Victoria and the Commonwealth on Monday morning when he publishes the new analysis by his department showing Victoria is getting the least Commonwealth infrastructure spending per resident of any state.An artist's impression of the new Apple flagship store to be built at Federation Square in Melbourne.

As someone who was involved in the conceptual development, design and construction of Federation Square I have been keen to hear the cogent and irrefutable arguments for why an Apple Store on the square is a must have.

Consequently, I listened eagerly to the open house debate at Federation Square on February 13.

Up to then, like everybody else, I had only read vague and unsubstantiated claims that the Apple Store would deliver.

The pro case wheeled out the ''A-team'' with speakers as good as they could get, including one of the original architects, the Victorian Government Architect, the CEO from the Committee for Melbourne and the CEO from Federation Square Management Pty Ltd.Chinese President Xi Jinping. Credit:AP

Beijing: China is set to lift the limit on a president serving a maximum of two terms, potentially paving the way for Xi Jinping to continue in power.

The proposed changes to the constitution were announced by the state news agency Xinhua on Sunday.

Since becoming president of China and general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party in 2012, as well as the head of its military, Xi has amassed significantly greater power than his predecessors.London: Some of Britain's biggest aid charities are facing a catalogue of abuse and harassment allegations. It comes as the charities prepare to submit reports on how they are protecting children and vulnerable people to Penny Mordaunt, the International Development Secretary on Monday.

The claims include 20 incidents of sexual harassment and two involving safeguarding at Action Aid, while Water Aid said it had dismissed four staff members in the past five years for sexually harassing colleagues. Christian Aid said it had investigated two cases of sexual misconduct overseas in the past 12 months, while Catholic charity Cafod said it had uncovered two incidents of sexual misconduct since 2010.

The British Red Cross has revealed that 21 members of its staff have left due to sexual misconduct for paying for "sexual services" and a further three UK-based staff are currently being investigated.

Britain's International Development Secretary Penny Mordaunt. Credit:AP

Yves Daccord, the director-general of the International Committee of the Red Cross, launched an internal investigation following the string of revelations from other humanitarian agencies.Beirut: Iran says pro-Damascus forces will press ahead with attacks on an insurgent enclave near the Syrian capital, as ground fighting raged on there in defiance of a UN resolution demanding a 30-day truce across the country.

Turkey, too, said its military operations in another theatre of war in the north of Syria would not be affected by the unanimous Security Council vote demanding the truce to allow for aid access and medical evacuations.

Members of the Syrian Civil Defence group carrying a young man who was wounded during airstrikes and shelling by Syrian government forces, in Ghouta, a suburb of Damascus, Syria. Credit:AP

Anti-government rebels said they clashed with pro-government forces near Damascus on Sunday, as rescuers and residents said warplanes struck some towns in the eastern Ghouta pocket.After any major attack, you are likely to find in some dark corner of the internet conspiracy theories that the survivors or victims made it all up or were part of a troupe of paid "crisis actors."

Such theories emerged after the massacres in Las Vegas in October; at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, in 2016; and at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, in 2012. It happened again this month, after 17 people were killed in the school shooting in Parkland, Florida.

Those conspiracy theories have been amplified in the internet age, but they are a part of a long, troubled history of dismissing the voices of those seeking change.

Senior student David Hogg, who narrowly escaped being shot at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, was targeted by right-wing conspiracy theorists. Credit:AP

"This theme that anyone agitating for change must be either an outside agitator or must have been paid or put up to it is one that runs throughout American history," Kevin M. Kruse, a history professor at Princeton University, said in a phone interview.The Washington Post reported the visit was called off because Trump  in a phone call with Pena Nieto last week  refused to publicly acknowledge that Mexico would not pay for his proposed border wall.

Washington: A proposal for Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto to visit US President Donald Trump at the White House has been postponed indefinitely, according to two officials familiar with the planning.

Mexico's President Enrique Pena Nieto has repeatedly pushed back against a Donald Trump proposal for Mexico to pay for a border wall. Credit:AP

Pena Nieto, who leaves office in December, still hopes the meeting will happen at some point, said the officials, who asked not to be identified discussing the private planning.

Both the White House and Pena Nieto's office said the leaders had spoken by phone, with Trump offering condolences to the families of victims of a helicopter crash in Oaxaca and Pena Nieto expressing solidarity and support following the high school shooting in Parkland, Florida.

The US statement said Trump reiterated a commitment to expanding ties on security, trade and immigration, but the statement made no mention of the wall or Pena Nieto's visit.

The press offices of Mexico's foreign relations ministry and presidency declined to comment beyond the statement on the phone call. Neither side would respond to the Washington Post report.

Trump's promise to make Mexico pay billions of dollars for a wall to stop illegal immigration was a central platform of his presidential campaign, which he began by labelling some Mexican immigrants criminals and rapists.Nutson's Weekly Auto News Nuggets February 19-25, 2018; Rear Crash Ratings, Consumer Report Quality Report; MB-Geely; Hey Waymo; Diesel Dilemma; Daytona #3 Wins Again; Toyota Tundra Recall







AUTO CENTRAL, CHICAGO - February 25 2018: Every Sunday Larry Nutson, Senior Editor and Chicago Car Guy along with fellow senior editors Steve Purdy and Thom Cannell from The Auto Channel Michigan Bureau, give you TACH's "take" on this past week's automotive news in easy to "catch up" news nuggets. For More search the past 25 year's millions of (Indexed By Google) pages of automotive news, automotive stories, articles, reviews, archived news residing in The Auto Channel Automotive News Library.

Hey Over the air TV viewers, you can now enjoy The Auto Channel TV Network "Free and Clear" on WHDT Channel 3 in Boston and on many local cable systems. All South Florida auto fans can continue to watch The Auto Channel TV Network on WHDT-TV Channel 9 in West Palm Beach as well as cable channel's 17 and 438, channel 9 Miami. WHDN launched its full schedule (including The Auto Channel)of broadcasting in the Naples-Fort Myers market on digital PSIP channel 9.1 channel, look for us On Roku, Hulu and on TUNAVISION.

Nutson's Weekly Automotive News Nuggets - Feb 19-25 2018:

* Consumer Reports' just released 2018 ranking of auto brands is based on a number of factors including crash tests, Consumer Reports' own testing and analysis of vehicles, and a survey of more than a half million Consumer Reports subscribers. It's the first year that Hyundai's luxury brand Genesis was included and it came out on top, bumping Audi to second followed by BMW, Lexus and Porsche. At the bottom of the list are Fiat, Jeep, Land Rover, Alfa Romeo and Mitsubishi. Within individual segments Toyota dominated.

* IIHS tested six new vehicles for rear-crash prevention and the BMW 5-series and Subaru Outback got top rankings in preventing such mishaps. The institute, which represents the insurance industry, gave the cars superior ratings in rear crash-prevention when equipped with rear automatic-braking, parking sensors and rear cross-traffic alert. The Cadillac XT5, Infiniti QX60, Jeep Cherokee and Toyota Prius received advanced ratings in the IIHS rear crash-prevention test that takes into account how the vehicles perform in a series of car-to-car and car-to-pole tests with different approach angles.

* The first U.S. commercial ride-hailing service without human drivers has been approved. Waymo, a unit of Alphabet Inc., got a permit in late January from the Arizona Department of Transportation to operate as a Transportation Network Company. The designation lets Waymos fleet of driverless Chrysler Pacifica minivans pick up and drop off paying riders in Arizona through a smartphone app or website.

* Diesel engines continue to be in the news. Porsche has said it will no longer offer diesel powered vehicles instead favoring battery-electric powertrains. And Mercedes is in the news being investigated for the possible use of a defeat device in its diesel vehicles. Mercedes no longer offers diesel engined vehicles in the U.S.

* A German court this week delayed making a decision on whether diesel cars can be banned from major cities, a decision that could affect the resale price of millions of vehicles in that country. Judge Andreas Korbmacher promised a decision next week. The issue is being closely watched as sales of diesel cars has been falling for a variety of reasons. Hardware is available to improve emissions by up to 70%, reports one safety group, but that can be very expensive.

* Audi is introducing a vehicle-integrated toll payment system on some models so that car owners dont have to stick an additional device onto their windshields to pay for road tolls. The Integrated Toll Module (ITM) is a toll transponder built into the vehicles rearview mirror. The technology is compatible with existing tolling agencies nationwide, which can be linked with a drivers new or current account, according to Audi.

* It looks like the federal government will begin phasing out tax credits for Tesla buyers sometime this year. The federal credit only applies to the first 200,000 eligible vehicles from a manufacturer. Tesla will reach that cap as the new main-stream Model 3 begins to be delivered to customers in substantial numbers. Once a manufacturer reaches that cap the tax credit gets reduced to $3,750 for six months, then $1,850 the following six months. Will the waning tax credit affect Model 3 sales? Stay tuned.

* Making news in the financial community this week was the chairman and primary owner of Chinese automaker Geely, Li Shufu, buying into Daimler AG in a big way. With a holding of 9.69% of Daimler stock, he now becomes the largest single stockholder. Conflicting reports have that purchase representing a strategic investment to facilitate Geely access to electric car technology, or as simply an individual investment, depending on whom you ask.

* Veteran Ford exec, Raj Nair, suddenly left the company this week because of inappropriate behavior. Nair left the post of president of North America. Nair and several other execs had gotten big retention bonuses just a year ago as Mark Fields was about to be replaced. No word on what the behavior was, but in filings with the SEC it appears he is loosing out on millions in bonuses. Nair was immediately replaced by Kumar Galhotra who is coming from Lincoln

* Toyota is recalling about 8,800 Tundra pickups from the 2017 model year and another 65,000 Tundra and Sequoia SUVs from the 2018 model year. The 2017 pickups are being recalled to fix a possibly loose second-row seat that could increase the risk of injury in a crash. A separate recall involves some 65,000 Tundra and Sequoia 2018 model year vehicles for a possible defect that could shut down stability control and other systems.

* In the 60th running of the Daytona 500 the No. 3 Chevrolet, driven 20 years ago by Dale Earnhardt for the win, was back in victory lane. Austin Dillon put the Richard Childress Racing No. 3 Chevrolet in the lead on the final lap to take the checkered flag. Dillon drove the car number made famous by Dale Earnhardt Sr. 17 years to the day that Earnhardt was killed in a crash on the final lap of the race.

* This 60th Daytona 500 was the most diverse ever. Second place finisher Darrell Bubba Wallace, Jr., behind the wheel of his Richard Petty Motorsports No. 43 Chevrolet, made history as the first black driver to race in NASCAR's top level race since Wendell Scott broke down racial barriers in 1969. Danica Patrick ran her last and final NASCAR race and Daniel Suarez of Mexico made his first Daytona 500 start.

* The Smithsonian's National Museum of American History will mark 2018 as the Year of the Tractor with two new displays on the past, present and future of agriculture. "Precision Farming" opened on January 19 within the museum's "American Enterprise" exhibition.

* As we learned at the recent collectable car auctions in Arizona, seven of them altogether, pickups are just about the hottest collectables in the market. In the past year, reports Hagerty Insurance, keeper of all these numbers, some of these trucks have appreciated between 25 and 33%. Some of the hottest models are the Chevy Cameo, Dodge Power Wagon and more rare Internationals of the 1950s. These trucks neednt be restored or original to be appreciated by collectors.Consumer Reports Names 10 Top Pick Cars for 2018







Chevrolet Bolt debuts as Top Pick for Compact Green Car, Toyota Camry takes top honors as Midsized Car, and Ford F-150 named as best Full-Sized Pickup

YONKERS, NY - February 25, 2018: Consumer Reports today announced that seven new vehicles that made its 2018 Annual Top Picks listthe Toyota Corolla and Toyota Camry, Chevrolet Bolt, Toyota Sienna, Ford F-150, BMW X3, and Audi A4. The Top Picks list of 10 cars and trucks was released at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., before the respected Washington Automotive Press Association.

The all-electric Bolt earned Top Pick honors in Consumer Reports (CR) new Compact Green Car category. The distinctive-looking hatchback delivers very good range, brisk acceleration and tight handling at a mainstream price of $38,424 as tested.

We put the Bolt through our battery of rigorous tests and drove it thousands of miles, both at our test track and on public roads, said Jake Fisher, Consumer Reports Director of Automotive Testing. With the ability to go up to 250 miles on a charge, the Bolt is a good option for someone who might never have considered an EV before.

Three of CRs 10 Top Picks were repeats from the 2017 list, the Chevrolet Impala, Subaru Forester, and Toyota Highlander.

CR named a total of four Toyota models to its Top Picks list, the most of any manufacturer. In addition to the compact Corolla and the midsized Camry, Toyota also has the top-rated Highlander midsized SUV and the Sienna minivan. Getting named a Top Pick is no small feat, but impressive reliability and standard Automatic Emergency Braking and Forward Collision Warning helped Toyota secure those four spots. The only other manufacturer with more than one vehicle in the Top Picks list is Chevrolet, with twothe Bolt and the Impala, a large sedan.

The F-150 tops the full-sized pickup truck category. The best-selling vehicle in America is an impressive workhorse that pulls ahead of the pack thanks to its weight-reduced design and fuel-efficient turbocharged six-cylinder engine.

In order to be designated a Consumer Reports Top Pick, a model has to have an exemplary Overall Score in its vehicle category. This single number consolidates the findings from four key pillars: road-test performance, predicted reliability, owner satisfaction, and safety. A car that beats its competition by these measures is truly extraordinary. Consumer Reports 2018 Top Picks list, Car Brand Report Card and more are available in the Annual Auto Issue, and online at CR.org.

CRs 10 Top Picks by Category:

LARGE CAR: Chevrolet Impala ($39,110 as tested). The Impala continues to be a gem among large cars, providing a driving experience thats akin to a luxury car. The spacious, quiet cabin is well-dressed with high-quality materials and trim. Handling is commendable, as proven in CRs accident-avoidance maneuver, and when confronting corners at CRs 327-acre Auto Test Center in Connecticut.

COMPACT CAR: Toyota Corolla ($20,652 as tested). This practical, fuel-efficient sedan has all the virtues that small-car shoppers seek, backed by its strong reliability track record. The Corolla has a relatively roomy interior, with a spacious backseat. Handling is secure and its ride quality is a cut above for its class. The ho-hum engine with middling power wont excite drivers, but delivers 32 mpg overall.

COMPACT GREEN CAR: Chevrolet Bolt ($38,424 as tested). The Bolt offers consumers further proof that mainstream electric cars can deliver strong driving performance. This pure electric is built around a 60-kWh battery pack that holds a generous charge, reducing any anxiety of running out of power and getting stranded. The driver sits high up in the Bolt, with a commanding view on par with a small SUV.

COMPACT SUV: Subaru Forester ($27,145 as tested). This is a practical, smartly packaged small SUV that emphasizes fuel economy, room, visibility, and reliability over trendiness or flash. People can get in and out easily, theres plenty of passenger room, and it drives well. The standard 2.5-liter engine provides decent performance and offers exceptional fuel efficiency.

MIDSIZED CAR: Toyota Camry ($26,364-$28,949 as tested). The Camry has earned its reputation as a competent, well-rounded family sedan. With its recent redesign, Toyota added more styling flair and better handling. Fuel economy also improved to 32 mpg overall in CRs tests with the base four-cylinder engine. The hybrid LE version returned an impressive 47 mpg overallalmost up there with the Toyota Prius.

MIDSIZED SUV: Toyota Highlander ($41,169-$50,875 as tested). Three-row SUVs have become the vehicle of choice for many families. They provide all-weather traction and roomy interiors without looking like a minivan. The Highlander stands out with its good performance, fuel economy, and reliability. Its large enough to accommodate eight passengers but small enough for relatively easy parking.

MINIVAN: Toyota Sienna ($38,424 as tested). Minivans are the ultimate solution for moving people and their stuff. In this segment, the Sienna offers the best all-around package with a comfortable ride, an energetic powertrain and respectable fuel economy. The spacious cabin features convenient folding seats and available seating for eight.

FULL-SIZED PICKUP TRUCK: Ford F-150 ($52,535 as tested). An impressive and innovative workhorse, the F-150 pulls ahead of the pack thanks to its weight-reduced design and turbocharged six-cylinder engine. This pickup delivers a standout 19 mpg overall, quick acceleration, and effortless towing ability from the potent 2.7-liter turbocharged V6 engine.

LUXURY COMPACT CAR: Audi A4 ($48,890 as tested). The A4 shines by being sporty, luxurious, and polished in a competitive category. Its very satisfying to drive, with nimble, secure handling helped by its minimal body roll and responsive steering. The powerful turbocharged four-cylinder engine accelerates with gusto, proving ever-eager to make a quick getaway, yet fuel-efficient.

LUXURY COMPACT SUV: BMW X3 ($53,745 as tested). Redesigned for 2018, the X3 tops its class. This luxury compact SUV combines driving enjoyment, comfort, slick technology, and utility in an appealing package. Its sharp, sporty handling encourages drivers to seek curvy roads.

Complete details on Consumer Reports Top Picks for 2018, Car Brand Report Card, Best and Worst Lists and other key findings are available in the Annual Auto Issue of Consumer Reports or online CR.org. Watch a livestream of CRs media conference on Facebook, Twitter and Youtube.

Consumer Reports testing procedures are the most comprehensive of any U.S. publication or Web site. More than 50 individual tests are performed on every vehicle, including evaluations of braking, handling, comfort, convenience, safety, and fuel economy. Roughly 6,000 miles of general driving and evaluations are racked up on each test car during the testing process. CR buys all its test cars anonymously from dealers and does not accept free samples from automakers for any of its ratings or evaluations.

For live coverage of CRs breaking news, connect on Twitter at @ConsumerReports and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ConsumerReports.13-Year-Old New Mexico Boy Was Raped and Burned Before He Died

New details have emerged about the death of a teenage boy who investigators found buried in a shallow grave on the side of the road near his home in New Mexico in late January.

Jeremiah Valencia, 13, was sexually assaulted and burned, and forced to live in a dog kennel before he was allegedly beaten to death in November, 2017, new court documents filed by the Santa Fe County Sheriffs Office have revealed, reported Santa Fe New Mexican.



The court documents revealed that an autopsy showed the teenagers body had lacerations consistent with sexual assault and portions of his body had possibly been burned.

Family have since told detectives that Valencia was forced to live in a plastic dog kennel as punishment, and forced to wear adult diapers, reported the newspaper. The autopsy noted that the 13-year-old was buried wearing one of those adult diapers.

Detectives have obtained search warrants from a judge and are now looking for evidence to corroborate the new details. The autopsy report has yet to be released to the public.

So far, court documents have revealed that police discovered blood not visible to the naked eye inside Valencias bedroom when using a special light to search the house, reported the newspaper. More blood was found in another bedroom of the house belonging to Thomas Wayne Ferguson, 42, the boyfriend of Valencias mother, Tracy Ann Pena, 35.

When detectives interviewed direct family, they heard conflicting accounts of what happened.

Fergusons biological son, Jordan Anthony Nunez, 19, told investigators that Ferguson punched Valencia in the face and stomach then dragged him to the back of the residence. He played loud music for the rest of the night and it was unclear what else happened then.

According to a statement Valencias sister made to investigators, Ferguson and Nunez washed Valencias body to clean the blood off him before wrapping the body in a blanket. His mother found the lifeless body in the boys bedroom.

Pena initially old police that her son had run away. Later, she told investigators that she discovered her son dead after returning home from jail on Nov. 26. She then confronted Ferguson about what had happened, after which Ferguson removed Valencias body from the room, placed him in a vehicle, and drove off, according to the affidavit. Pena didnt ask Ferguson further about the incident out of fear of what her boyfriend might do to her, she told investigators.

Pena had confided in an fellow inmate while she was incarcerated Nov. 24-26 that Ferguson was responsible for her sons death, reported the Santa Fe New Mexican. It was this inmate who tipped-off investigators on Jan. 25 which lead to the recovery of Valencias body.

Ferguson told police that Valencia was injured while playing with Nunez and that he didnt call for help because he feared he would be accused in the boys death, reported KOAT7.

Ferguson has an extensive criminal record which includes a rape, kidnapping, and aggravated battery charge from 2014 when police discovered hed been holding his then-girlfriend hostage, reported the Santa Fe New Mexican.

Nunez told investigators that Ferguson was an abusive father. He also told authorities that he did not initially report the abuse because of his fear of Ferguson.

Pena, Ferguson, and Nunez, 19, have all been arrested in relation to the death.

Pena and Nunez have been charged with child abuse resulting in death, tampering with evidence and conspiracy to commit evidence tampering, while Ferguson was indicted by a grand jury last week on first-degree murder and 17 other felony charges, including kidnapping, child abuse and tampering with evidence, reported the newspaper.

Ferguson has yet to be charged with sexual assault. All three suspects are being held without bond.

NTD reporter Zack Stieber contributed to this report

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How Doctors in China Turn into MurderersFighters from the separatist Southern Transitional Council gather on Feb. 25, 2018, at the site of two suicide car bombings that targeted the headquarters of an anti-terror unit the day before, in the southern Yemeni port of Aden. Five people, including security officers and a child, died in the blasts at the headquarters of an anti-terror unit in the Tawahi district, Aden security chief General Shallal al-Shae said. (Saleh Al-Obeidi/AFP/Getty Images)

At Least 14 Dead in Attack on Yemen Counter-Terrorism Base

ADENAt least 14 people were killed and 40 wounded when Islamist car suicide bombers and gunmen tried to storm the headquarters of a counter-terrorism unit in the southern port city of Aden on Saturday, security and medical sources said.

The ISIS terrorist group, in a statement carried by its Amaq news agency, claimed responsibility for what it described as two martyrdom operations targeting the camp in Tawahi district in south-western Aden.

The agency provided no immediate evidence for the claim.

Security sources said two suicide bombers detonated two cars laden with explosives at the camps entrance while six gunmen tried to storm the facility.

They were all killed by guards and their bodies taken to a military hospital, a medical source told Reuters.

Aden police said in a statement on its Facebook page that security forces had foiled a major attack on the camp.

All the  terrorists were liquidated immediately before they could reach the outer gate of the anti-terrorism headquarters, a police statement said.

Security sources and medics said three security men, a woman and two children died in the attack, while 40 other people, many of them civilians, were wounded.

The attack was the first of its kind in southern Yemen since gun battles erupted in January between southern separatists and President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadis government over control of the city.

Aden is the temporary capital of Yemens internationally recognized Hadi government, which is now operating out of Saudi Arabia.

Backed by a Saudi-led Arab coalition, Hadis government has been battling the Iran-aligned Houthi movement since 2015 in a war that has driven the country to the verge of famine.

Residents described two large explosions in the area that sent up a cloud of gray smoke while ambulances raced to evacuate the wounded.

In a statement carried by the state-run Saba news agency, Hadi described the attack as a cowardly act aimed to destabilize security in the temporary capital  but it will not dissuade people from their will to achieve security, safety and decent living.

Al Qaeda and ISIS have exploited the war in Yemen to carry out assassinations and bombings, mostly in lawless southern Yemeni areas nominally controlled by the government.

By Mohammed MukhashafAtlanta Area CDC Worker Went Home Sick, Disappeared

A worker at the Centers for Disease Control and Preventions went home sick on Feb. 12 and has not been seen since.

Dr. Timothy Cunningham, a 35-year-old epidemiologist at the CDC in Chamblee, Georgia went home on Monday, Feb. 12, telling his supervisor he was feeling sick. His car, wallet, and phone were found in his home in Bolton, just ten miles away.

Anterio Cunningham is convinced his brother wouldnt just walk away from a great job at the CDC, a beautiful home and the dog he so dearly loves.

My first mind is that something has happened especially considering the length of time hes been gone, his brother, Antero Cunningham told Fox News. Not having his phone, leaving his dog Bo alone, he just wouldnt voluntarily check out like that.

Dr. Cunningham had just been promoted to Commander within the U.S. Health Service Corps. According to ABC News, Cunningham had been chosen to deal with public health emergencies like Ebola and the Zika virus.

Cause for Concern?

Dr. Cunninghams friends and family have been searching since he disappeared, canvassing his neighborhood, distributing flyers, and using social media networks, his close friend David Calloway told NBC News.

Family members told NBC that they all stayed in close contact with each other; Cunningham spoke with his sister almost daily. Her last communication with the missing man was around 7 a.m. on Feb. 12.

Tim had been in communication with us extensively on Sunday [Feb. 11], and I pinpoint Sunday because there were some exchanges via phone as well as text that alerted me to be concerned about our son, his father Terrell Cunningham told NBC. He offered no details.

Beloved in the Community

Timothy Cunningham was well-known in Atlanta, well liked, and well respectedrewarded in fact.

Dr. Cunningham was named as one of Atlanta Business Chronicles 40 Under 40 Award winners in November of 2017, an award given to those who scaled the ranks to make their mark in their industries and lead their communities.

In 2014 he won the Outstanding Atlanta award, for service, leadership and achievements of Atlanta young professionals.

A GoFundMe page set up to fund the search for him has raised more than $21,000, as of Feb. 24.

Anyone with information is urged to call 911 or the Atlanta Police Homicide/Adult Missing Persons Unit at 404-546-4235.

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Neighbors React to Parents Arrest After Their 13 Children Found Shackled, Malnourished in HomeFather Slams Driver Who Left a Threatening Note on His Disabled Daughters Car

A father has criticized an unnamed driver for their ignorance after the driver left a threatening note on his disabled daughters car for parking in a disabled parking space.

Alan Tanner, 52, from the United Kingdom took to social media to call out a vile note that a driver left on his wifes car when she and their 23-year-old daughter, Paige, went shopping at the Woodley precinct in Reading, Berkshire, on Feb. 19, reported MailOnline.

The note threatened to report the pair for parking in a disabled parking space and accused them of being selfish because Paige had no sign of disability.

Paige, who suffers from the chromosome disorder tetrasomy 18p  a condition that has left her unable to do anything for herself and in need of constant support  has a valid disabled badge, reported the news website.

The family said they were upset by the note and slammed the person for being cowardly and judging a book by its cover.

I think its completely cowardly. I would like them to see her for a week and then they would see why she needs that blue badge, Tanner told MailOnline.

Do you have to be in a wheelchair now for people to accept youre disabled?

You shouldnt judge a book by its cover. On top of that my daughter is severely disabled and it is ignorant for someone not to notice that.

My wife devotes her life to being Paiges full-time carer, she cant look after herself, take care of her hygiene or walk long distances.

I would like to enlighten people and make them realize that disabilities come in all shapes and sizes. For my family wed like an apology  I dont think Ill ever get it though, he added.

In Tanners Facebook post on Feb. 20, he said he hopes the driver would get to see his message.

So to the person that wrote this letter, do not judge unless you know the full details of someones disability. Paige is not a young girl as you stated but a 23-year-old adult who is severely mentally disabled and requires 1:1 support at all times, he wrote.

I hope the person who wrote this gets to see this, he added.

Many social media users have offered their support to the family.

According to the National Institutes of Health, tetrasomy 18p is a rare disorder associated with birth defects affecting the heart and other organs. The disorder results in a shortage of growth hormones, and delayed development of motor skills including sitting, crawling, and walking. Sufferers may also experience seizures, vision problems, mild to moderate hearing loss, gastrointestinal problems, and abnormal curvature of the spine.

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Kayaker Rescues Iguana Swimming Miles From ShoreHouse Intelligence Committee Releases Democratic Rebuttal to GOP Memo on Surveillance Abuse

The House Intelligence Committee released a Democratic memo on Saturday, Feb. 24, composed as a rebuttal to a Republican memo detailing abuses of government surveillance against the Trump campaign.

The rebuttals core theme is that the FBI and the Justice Department did not abuse the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) process, omit material information, or subvert this vital tool to spy on the Trump campaign, the memo states.

The Democratic memo was approved for release earlier this month by the House Intelligence Committee but did not receive White House authorization because it contained sensitive information that needed to be redacted before the memo was made public. The FBI and DOJ claimed that, if not redacted, the document would reveal the governments sources and methods, ongoing investigations, and other sensitive information.

House Intelligence Committee releases Dem rebuttal to GOP FISA memo  Pages 1-4. https://t.co/1epxkUIGHV pic.twitter.com/GvDUUASIBZ  Fox News (@FoxNews) February 24, 2018

Despite backing the actions of the FBI and the DOJ, the Democratic memo fails to address the most troubling revelations from the GOP document, which showed that top officials at the two agencies knowingly used an unverified dossier to apply for a spy warrant, withheld the political origins of the dossier from the FISA judge, and wouldnt have applied for a warrant without the dossier.

The Democrats instead argue that in fact, DOJ and the FBI would have been remiss in their duty to protect the country had they not sought a FISA warrant and repeated renewals to conduct temporary surveillance of Carter Page, someone the FBI assessed to be an agent of the Russian government, the memo says, adding that the officials met the rigor, transparency, and evidentiary basis needed to meet the surveillance courts probable cause requirement.

(Click on image to enlarge map)

Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif) said in a statement that the rebuttal should put to rest any concerns about wrongdoing by the intelligence agencies.

Our extensive review of the initial FISA application and three subsequent renewals failed to uncover any evidence of illegal, unethical, or unprofessional behavior by law enforcement and instead revealed that both the FBI and DOJ made extensive showings to justify all four requests, Schiff said in a statement, according to Fox News.

The dossier in question was created by British ex-spy Christopher Steele and paid for by Hillary Clinton and the DNC. Fusion GPS was the firm that hired Steele to write the dossier, while Steele wrote the document. The GOP memo also revealed that Steele was biased against Trump and did not want him to win the election.

The White House called the Democratic memo a politically driven document that didnt answer the troubling issues raised in the GOP memo.

As the Majoritys memorandum stated, the FISA judge was never informed that Hillary Clinton and the DNC funded the dossier that was a basis for the Department of Justices FISA application, White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement.

In addition, the Minoritys memo fails to even address the fact that the Deputy FBI Director told the Committee that had it not been for the dossier, no surveillance order would have been sought, she added.

A Republican source who spoke to Fox News also dismissed the rebuttal, saying that the Democrats want the public to look at the trees, and not the forest, the big picture that DOJ and Justice relied heavily on the dossier to surveil an American citizen, and withheld from the court that the research was funded by the DNC and Clinton campaign.

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President Trumps First State of the Union AddressHow the Digitalization of Everything Is Making Us More Lonely

Technology should help to connect people, not replace them

The UK government recently appointed its first minister of loneliness. The move came in response to increasing concern of a loneliness epidemic sweeping Western society.

Psychologists define loneliness as a subjective, unpleasant experience that occurs when the desired level of meaningful social contact is less than what is available. The prevalence of loneliness is increasing and the association between loneliness and ill health is now clear.

In the U.S., loneliness affects one-fifth of the population. In the UK, it is experienced by more than a third of those over the age of 50.

Feeling Lonely? Talk to the Robot

Public officials have suggested that digital assistants, such as Amazons Alexa, might be suitable companions for isolated older adults. This is by no means the first time that well-meaning people have seen artificial intelligence as a suitable substitute for human companionship, and older people have often been the target of these innovations.

A few years ago, a robot seal called Paro was seen as a solution to loneliness. The seal has been used as a companion bot in care homes since 2003 and has been shown to enhance the care environment and reduce residents feelings of loneliness. A cute, mute, cuddly white seal. It is not hard to see how Alexa might seem like better company. At least it can talk.

Sadly, technology has been largely ineffective in meeting the needs of those feeling lonely. In fact, it may be adding to the problem.

When we feel lonely, we desire connection. Yet our need for a more connected society seems to be colliding head-on with a neoliberal ideology in which there is an increasing drive for efficiency and profit maximization in both the private and public sector.

While we desire human contact, digital alternatives are often cheaper than everyday acquaintances. This has resulted in more and more aspects of our lives becoming digital by default, which has subsequently reduced our opportunities for everyday social contact.

This is nothing new, but it has accelerated. It started with banks replacing tellers with ATMs. Now, most supermarkets have self-scan checkouts, and were probably heading towards entirely automated supermarketsAmazon is leading the way with its no-checkout supermarket. We buy digital train tickets that are checked by machines, and we use digital catalogs to find library books, often without having to set foot in a library (which is just as well, since many have closed). We have become a click-and-collect society.

Increasingly, the physical is being replaced by the digital, which is fundamentally changing our experiences of the everyday, and in turn, reducing our opportunities to connect.

The public sector, facing increasing pressure to behave more like the private sector, has also heard this digital siren call. Unfortunately, the opportunities presented by such technological innovations might also be distancing us from those most in need of human contact.

For example, the UKs National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has approved the use of online cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for those suffering from depression and generalized anxiety disorder. For a while now, it has been recognized that people can find it easier to open up to a machine and these technologies also provide the opportunity for around-the-clock care. However, a concern is that digital CBT may leave people feeling like they are being palmed off into the care of an app during a time when they need human contact the most.

Weak Ties

One of the most commonly cited concerns of automation is that it will lead to unemployment, but what if it robs us of human connectivity as well? Fully autonomous, driverless vehicles will certainly remove the everyday chitchat between taxi driver and passenger. Such everyday contacts (often referred to as weak ties) have been shown to provide important support, particularly to those at risk of social isolation.

But digital technologies might also give us opportunities to connect in new and exciting ways. For example, social media gives us the opportunity to connect with other people when we so desire.

At Christmas, Sarah Millican, a British comedian, used Twitter to connect people who were feeling lonely, using the hashtag #joinin. This gave people the opportunity to feel included during a time that can be particularly isolating.

Social media may have an increasing role to play in connecting us with one another, as more and more industries become digital by default. The sociologist Barry Wellman said that people are not hooked on technology, they are hooked on each other . As the markets need for efficiency sees technology moving us further apart, we need to explore ways it can bring us closer together.

Chris Allen is a clinical academic research fellow of health sciences at the University of Southampton in the UK. This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.Police Searching for Gang of 13 Involved in Brutal Roadside Attack

Police are appealing to anyone who has information about a horrific road rage attack on Feb. 24.which left a man with life-threatening injuries after he was assaulted by up to 13 people.

Brock Prime, 29, from the Gold Coast was rushed to hospital in critical condition after he was allegedly threatened and assaulted by a group of people on the M1 Pacific Motorway in Queensland, Australia, according to a police statement.

A 29-year-old man critically injured in assault by group after altercation on the M1 at Yatala last night. https://t.co/Ib3914vJfK pic.twitter.com/7M0dOEL79n  Queensland Police (@QldPolice) February 24, 2018

According to initial investigations, a Subaru Forester station wagon and a white van stopped on the side of the motorway between Pimpama and Yatala around 9:30 p.m. and a physical assault ensued.

Witness reports have indicated that a tyre iron was possibly used as a weapon during the assault which left Prime with serious head injuries, reported the Gold Coast Bulletin.

Police are currently looking for up to 13 occupants of the van who fled the scene before police and emergency services arrived.

Family members of Prime have also appealed to the public for help in identifying the Gold Coast concreters assailants. Primes brother Jonty told the Courier Mail that he wants people to know his brother is a loving and hardworking man who gave up everything to support his family after their fathers passing last month.

He hopes his appeal will help catch the culprits sooner.

Id like everyone to know his character as well as he is a very loving hard working man who gives up everything to take care of my sister, mum and I as my dad recently passed just last month, Brock has done his best to take up his role, Jonty told the newspaper.

He works six days a week and gives it all to us to make sure we have a roof over our head and food on the table.

All the support and information we can get is greatly appreciated, he added.

Gold Coast lawyer Campbell MacCallum who is familiar with the family told the Courier Mail that Prime was bashed pretty badly.

Hes got multiple fractures including compound fractures of the legs, MacCallum said.

Detectives have yet to be able to speak with Price who is still unconscious in hospital, reported the Courier Mail, citing a spokesperson from Queensland Police.

We need some information from more witnesses to fill in a few blanks, the spokesperson said.

Being the M1 there were people travelling in the area that may have seen what happened.

Theres nothing to suggest they were known to each other but it will form part of what the police will be looking at.

Queensland Police held a press conference at 1:30 p.m. today appealing to the public for information about the incident.

MEDIA CONFERENCE 1.30pm: Serious assault, M1 Yatala

Detective Inspector Mark Thompson will appeal for witnesses and public assistance. Visit >>>> https://t.co/RZwa34lbUU  Queensland Police (@QldPolice) February 25, 2018

If you have information for police, contact Policelink on 131 444 or submit information using the online form 24hrs per day.

From NTD.tv

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Corvette ChaseSudanese President Omar al-Bashir (C) waves a walking stick as he rides in the back of a pickup truck in an advancing motorcade in Nyala, the capital of South Darfur province, on Sept. 21, 2017. (Ashraf Shazly/AFP/Getty Images)

South Sudan Military Officers May Have Committed War Crimes

NAIROBIU.N. investigators said on Friday they had identified more than 40 South Sudanese military officers who may be responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity.

It was a sharp departure from previous U.N. reports that documented crimes but not perpetrators.

Oil-rich South Sudan gained independence from neighboring Sudan in 2011 but slid into civil war in December 2013. More than 4 million people, a third of the population, have been uprooted by violence.

The investigators from the U.N. Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan said their findings are based on interviews with hundreds of witnesses, satellite imagery and nearly 60,000 documents dating to the outbreak of the war.

Their report, released on Friday, makes the case for individual command responsibility for widespread or systematic attacks on civilians by senior military officers, including eight lieutenant generals, and by three state governors.

A government spokesman said they were willing to hold people to account for any crimes. The government will prosecute anyone responsible for any crimes. This is a responsible government, foreign affairs spokesman Mawien Makol told Reuters.

So far, there have been very few prosecutions of South Sudanese military or government officials for crimes against civilians.

The U.N. report details what it calls appalling instances of cruelty against civilians who have had their eyes gouged out, their throats slit, or been castrated. It said such violence occurred during five major battles between government troops and rebels in 2016 and 2017.

The report contains testimony from a mother who witnessed her son forced to rape his grandmother while his family was held hostage, and an 85-year-old woman who said she was gang-raped before watching the execution of her husband and son.

It also documents what commission member Andrew Clapham called a clear pattern of ethnic persecution, for the most part by government forces who should be pursued for crimes against humanity.

The conflict has pitted President Salva Kiir Mayardits ethnic Dinka community, to which most of his army commanders belong, against Nuer rebels under his ex-deputy Riek Machar.

Whether the investigators evidence will result in prosecutions depends on the African Union.

Under a 2015 peace deal that fell apart in 2016, the AU and South Sudan were supposed to set up a hybrid court, consisting of South Sudanese and other African judges, to try atrocities.

A year ago, the U.N. commission said the AU was making itself complicit in South Sudans bloodshed by failing to set up the court. It called again on Friday for the court to be established.

The court could be set up straight away and the prosecutor could begin working on indictments, said commission chief Yasmin Sooka. Under the peace agreement those indicted can no longer hold or stand for office.

Elections are due this year, according to the 2015 peace pact. But governments, including the United States, are trying  so far to no avail  to get the warring sides to observe a ceasefire before any vote is held.

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How Doctors in China Turn into MurderersTrump: WTO Created China, at the Expense of the United States

WASHINGTONPresident Donald Trump pointedly blamed the World Trade Organization for enabling Chinas rise at the expense of the United States, in remarks to CPAC (Conservative Political Action Conference) on Feb. 23.

The World Trade Organization created China, said Trump to thousands of attendees. China has been a rocket ship since. And now, last year, we had almost a $500 billion trade deficit with China.

I have great respect for President Xi, but we cant have that, said Trump. We have to do what we have to do.

Under my Administration, the era of economic surrender is OVER, Trump wrote in a tweet.

Besides China, Trump also criticized Mexico and NAFTA. We have a $100 billion trade deficit with Mexico, Trump said. What does that tell you? It tells you that NAFTA is no good.

Trump sees Chinas economic relations with the United States and the world in an overall negative light, a view that has traditionally been the minority among the economists on international trade, who largely favor free trade. However, this negative view of trade relations with China has quickly gained prominence in recent years as skeptics of Chinas rise have become more vocal. Many were picked by Trump to spearhead the administrations attempt to reshape U.S. trade policies.

Peter Navarro is a Harvard-trained economist and University of CaliforniaIrvine professor whom Trump appointed to head the newly created National Trade Council at the beginning of the Trump administration.

Navarro is well-known for his outspoken criticism of the Chinese regime and Chinas trade practices and has consistently argued that the admission of China to the international trade system by the United States and the West has only allowed the Chinese regime to become more well-financed and well-resourced, while at the same time the regime exports authoritarianism and commits military aggression.

The Trump administration has taken various measures against Chinas unfair trade practices. On Feb. 16, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross released reports recommending high tariffs on imported steel and aluminum, explicitly naming China and other countries dumping of products as a threat to U.S. national security.

An increasing number of experts in national security have also begun to question Chinas economic relations with the United States and the world.

Despite their rhetoric, Chinas leaders regard trade and investment as domains of strategic competition rather than simple win-win cooperation, said Aaron Friedberg, a professor at the Woodrow Wilson School of Princeton University in testimony before the House Armed Services Committee on Feb. 15. There is very little evidence that  they intend to abandon their present approach.

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WATCH: Death by China  How America Lost its Manufacturing Base

*Note from the director Prof. Peter Navarro: As you watch this film, it is important to always distinguish clearly between the good and hard-working people of China, and their repressive Communist government now victimizing both American and Chinese citizens alike.Soldiers stage an attack during an annual drill at the military base in the eastern city of Hualien, Taiwan, on Jan. 30, 2018. (Mandy Cheng/AFP/Getty Images)

US Officials Visit Taiwan for High-Level Talks, Committing to Continued Arms Deals

During a recent visit of U.S. officials to Taiwan, representatives from both countries reiterated commitment to the U.S.-Taiwan alliance, emphasizing the relationships importance to maintaining stability in the Indo-Pacific region.

The visit comes amid increased tension between China and Taiwan. After the Kuomingtang fled mainland China to the island of Taiwan following the Chinese Communist Partys takeover of the country in 1949, it established the Republic of China there. To this day, Taiwan operates independently of mainland China. However, the Chinese regime still claims sovereignty over the island, regarding it as a province that broke away.

After Tsai Ing-wen was elected president of Taiwan in 2016, relations between Beijing and Taiwan have been strained. Tsai and the Democratic Progressive Party she leads do not recognize Beijings one China policy and are generally more skeptical of the intentions of the Chinese regime. In recent months, Beijing has also stepped up military drills near Taiwan, adding to hostilities.

Against this backdrop, U.S. Senator James Inhofe, co-chair of the Senate Taiwan Caucus, led a delegation of 19 lawmakers and Congressional aides to Taiwan to discuss partnerships between the two countries as well as regional security.

At a press conference on Feb. 21, Inhofe reiterated the importance of Taiwan to the United States strategy in the Indo-Pacific, noting that the relationship was reciprocal and has not diminished, according to Central News Agency, Taiwans official news agency.

We are arguably your best partner and youre our best partner, too, Inhofe said.

Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen said she hopes to work with the United States to maintain a free and open Indo-Pacific, adding that the two countries are a good partnership because we all believe that freedom and human rights are essential factors to maintaining the regions stability, peace, and prosperity.

As long as both parties hold fast to those values together, the Taiwan-U.S. relationship will not be easily infringed upon. she said.

Inhofe added that the United States will continue to sell arms to the island, noting that many U.S. manufacturers are interested in negotiating a deal. The Chinese regime has continually opposed the United States arms sales to Taiwan. A $1.42 billion arms deal announced in June 2017 drew Beijings ire.

U.S. Senator Michael Rounds similarly expressed that the United States intends to continue an alliance with Taiwan, which includes providing equipment and training.

While both parties did not elaborate on what specific items they discussed, Inhofe did note that the delegation talked about the possibility of a trade deal involving U.S. exports of natural gas, as well as American agricultural produce such as corn, wheat, and soybeans.

The delegation arrived in Taiwan on Feb. 20 and stayed until Feb. 22.

Zhong Yuan contributed to this report.

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How Doctors in China Turn into MurderersHARTFORD  The first battle of the 2018 election campaign will take place Monday when lawmakers consider the man who might become the first openly gay state Supreme Court chief justice in the United States.

Its shaping up to become a proxy fight, with conservative Republicans, including two gubernatorial hopefuls, importing Washington-style partisanship against Democrats and a disliked governor in his final year. The atmosphere has been heightened by homophobic internet attacks from fringe groups.

Stuck in the middle is Connecticut Supreme Court Justice Andrew J. McDonald, of Stamford, whose nomination to replace Chase T. Rogers will be the subject of a public hearing Monday morning before the General Assemblys Judiciary Committee.

McDonald was a longtime legal adviser to Dannel P. Malloy, dating back to Malloys tenure as Stamford mayor. A former state senator who was co-chairman of the Judiciary Committee, McDonald left the General Assembly following Malloys 2010 election as governor to become his Capitol legal counsel. Malloy nominated him for a post on the Supreme Court in 2013.

One of the smartest people

McDonald declined to comment, but the governor said that his former adviser has the experience to lead the high court.

Hes brilliant, Malloy said. Hes one of the smartest people I have ever met. All I ask is that he be judged on the answers to questions and on what hes written. At the end, if there are reasonable differences, so be it.

Malloy and Democrats, with a nominal majority in the Senate and a narrow 79-72 edge in the House, are critical of GOP attempts to take a tactic from Washington and push for a delay in the appointment of a new chief justice until after the next governor takes office in 2019.

Criticism of McDonald has been led by Tim Herbst, the former Trumbull first selectman, and Rep. Prasad Srinivasan, R-Glastonbury, both of whom are running for governor.

As recently as Wednesday, during a GOP debate in West Haven, Herbst railed against McDonald several times, criticizing his links to Malloy.

Ill tell you what the swamp is, Herbst said. When the governor of the state of Connecticut nominates his best friend and political adviser to be the chief justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court with limited judicial experience.

A website called thefamilycourtcircus.com, referred to McDonalds nomination under a headline called Jewdicial Sodomites. The ultra-conservative Breibart news site, claims that opposition is growing against McDonald because he is a progressive judicial activist.

In 2009, McDonald, as co-chairman of the Judiciary Committee, came under fire from Catholics after scheduling a public hearing on a bill that would have rewritten century-old church incorporation rules. The legislation was filed on behalf of parishioners dealing with million-dollar embezzlement cases in Greenwich and Darien. Roman Catholic officials considered the bill a threat to the state law that makes individual parishes liable for legal action, protecting the dioceses. Church officials bused in hundreds of church members from throughout the state to protest.

Republican Senate Leader Len Fasano, of North Haven, said that he will listen to Mondays testimony and he has been reading through decisions McDonald has written.

More Information Supreme Court Associate Justice Andrew J. McDonald Age: 51 Education: Stamford public schools; B.A. from Cornell University, 1988; Law degree with honors from UConn School of Law, 1991. Bench experience: State Supreme Court, confirmed 2013. Chairman of the Connecticut Criminal Justice Commission, 2016. Legal experience: Gov. Dannel P. Malloy's general legal counsel 2011-13. Private legal practice, commercial litigation with Pullman & Comley, LLC 1991-2011. Legal affairs director and corporation counsel for the city of Stamford 1999-2002. Elected experience: State senator from Stamford 2003-11. Stamford Board of Representatives, 1993-95. City's Board of Finance from 1995-99, two years as chairman. Personal: McDonald and his husband, Charles, live in Stamford. See More Collapse

I like Andrew, personally, Fasano said. I think hes a good guy, but its about where he believes the role of the Supreme Court is.

Sen. Michael McLachlan, R-Danbury, a veteran five-term member of the Judiciary Committee, said the big question is whether McDonald is qualified to run the Judicial Branch. McLachlan has filed several requests with the Judicial Branch in connection with McDonalds nomination.

A dangerous trend

This is a very unusual job in government, McLachlan said. Youre appointed and youre never answering to voters. Youre supposedly answering to the Legislature. Justice McDonald has been on the court for five years, but without judicial-management experience. He wasnt a chief judge in a Superior Court district.

Meanwhile, a group of the states top lawyers has warned all 151 House members and 36 senators that recent reviews of judicial nominees indicate a dangerous trend ... increasingly partisan in tone and increasingly focused on political concerns.

The 45-member group, which calls itself the Ad Hoc Committee of Concerned Lawyers, includes the deans of the University of Connecticut, Yale and Quinnipiac University law schools, as well as the states major law firms and organizations.

Senate President Martin M. Looney, D-New Haven, said McDonalds experience in the Legislature, in the Capitol as the governors counsel and his current Supreme Court tenure make him uniquely qualified.

Looney said that while some might characterize McDonald as an activist judge, there are many decisions in which he has supported the Legislatures role. Looney said McDonalds understanding of the totality of state government makes his candidacy even more attractive.

Hes lived it all, rather than just dealing with it in theory, over the last 15 years, Looney said.

A tradition of qualifications

Andrew is a good friend of mine, someone I served with, said Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff, D-Norwalk. He is eminently qualified to be chief. I am deeply disappointed and frustrated by the Republicans in our state who may use Andrews nomination for some kind of political tool because they may not like him personally, or the person who appointed him.

Sen. Beth Bye, D-East Hartford, expects there will be opposition during the hearing.

There are definitely some folks lining up against him, Bye said. I think its because of his strong advocacy for LGBT rights. The courts are there to stand up for people and for individual rights. But there are other groups that were not happy with his stands.NORWALK  The March for Gun Control is planned for Saturday from St. Pauls on the Green to Norwalk City Hall.

State Sen. Bob Duff, D-Norwalk, Norwalk Mayor Harry Rilling, state Rep. Chris Perone, D-Norwalk, and representatives of other groups gathered in City Hall on Sunday afternoon to announce the march, part of the continued reaction to the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., that killed 17 students and educators.

Duff said the march would start at 11 a.m. at St. Pauls, 60 East Ave., and end at the citys Concert Hall, 125 East Ave.

He said Connecticut has taken action on gun violence on a state level, but we need to see action at the national level.

This is such an important issue in todays world, Rilling said, and it is time for action. We see these things happening across the country, people being slaughtered by these weapons that shouldnt even be allowed to be on the streets.

Rilling, former police chief, told those assembled in City Hall on Saturday he used to be an NRA-certified firearms instructor. Then came federal legislation attempting to ban Teflon-coated bullets, which Rilling said were designed only to pierce the armor of a police officer.

I gave up my certification, I gave up my membership, and I said I do not want to be affiliated with this organization, he said.

Perone talked about how legislators were banding together in New England to take action that has been hard to achieve in Washington, D.C.

Kara Baekey, of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, also spoke.

We are sick and tired of having to feel afraid to send our children to school, she said.  ... It takes all of us, we need to be active, we need to raise our voices.NORWALK  Good-bye, My Fancy is the next film in the free Norwalk Community College film series for the winter and spring, which will screen at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 1 in the East Campus Forum Theater.

In an era loaded with films that featured roles for women that were complex, nuanced, and quite challenging  evidenced by the work of Elizabeth Taylor, Joanne Woodward, Barbara Stanwyck and Kate Hepburn  Good-bye, My Fancy features the immortal Joan Crawford in one of her best-ever roles. This little-seen film from 1951 was directed by the talented Vincent Sherman and features Crawford as a congresswoman who returns to her alma mater to receive an honorary degree.Registration is open for winter session of the Lifetime Learners Institute at Norwalk Community College for people 50 years of age and older who are seeking to enrich their lives.

Spring session runs from March 12 to May 12.. Paid courses, which cost $30 plus a $50 annual membership, will be offered on Wednesday and Thursdays. Additionally, Lunch and Learn programs are Fridays with refreshments at 12:15 p.m. followed by the program at 1.

Visit www.lifetimelearners.org for more information. Registration is available online on the website or by check mailed or brought into the office.

Learn how three sisters from Norwalk  Clara Mossman Hill, Helena Hill Weed and Elsie Mary Hill  struggled for suffrage and womens rights during the 20th century.

Lecturer Alice Warren teaches eighth-grade U.S. history at Fairfield Woods Middle School. She earned a bachelors degree from Mount Holyoke College and a masters degree in womens studies at Southern Connecticut State University, with a focus on womens history. While in that graduate program, she became involved with the Connecticut Womens Hall of Fame, first researching and rewriting the biographies of the original inductees, and now serves on the Hall of Fames Consulting Scholar Committee. Warrens thesis about the Hill sisters was the result of her deep interest in the contributions made by Connecticut women to the causes of social justice and equal rights.

The lecture takes place at 2 p.m. Sunday, March 3 at the Norwalk Historical Society Museum, 141 East Ave. Parking at Norwalk City Hall, 125 East Ave. The museum is the red brick house with a blue double front door. Admission is $5. Tickets are available at www.norwalkhistoricalsociety.org.

MAIN STREET

The Norwalk Hispanic Chamber of Commerce invites residents to come meet the owner of Norwalks new Chick-fil-A, Archer Bullock, who will offer insights on how to open a franchise business.

The event takes place 5:30-7 p.m. Thursday, March 15 at Capris Cuisine, 170 Main St. RSVP at norwalkhispanicchamber@gmail.com.

The winter exhibit at the Norwalk Parking Authoritys Maritime Garage Gallery, Worth a Thousand Words features artists renderings that convey storytelling. The exhibit runs through May 11. The gallery is located in the Maritime Parking Garage exhibit space, 11 North Water St.

Worth A Thousand Words was curated by Nadia Martinez. The 32 pieces in the exhibit show artists stories, emotions, concerns, memories, and ideas about life, nature, hope, world events and humanity.

The city of Norwalk is updating its Plan of Conservation of Development (POCD), otherwise known as the citywide plan. In March, nine interactive meetings will be held in different parts of the city.

Join your neighbors to share whats going on in your neighborhood and what you would like to see happen in the next 10 years. You will also have the opportunity to review and comment on the Draft Citywide Vision Statement.

The Brookside neighborhood will hold its meeting from 7-9 p.m. on Monday, March 12 at Norwalk City Hall, 125 East Ave.

The Rowayton Civic Association will hold its annual Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday, March 31.

Residents are invited to hop on over to the Rowayton Community Center, rain or shine, to meet the Easter Bunny and participate in RCAs annual Easter Egg Hunt.

Parents, are asked to drop off six plastic eggs filled with candy, snacks or coins for each participating child to Paul Curtin at 11 Burchard Lane between noon and 8 p.m. on Friday, March 30. Eggs may also be dropped off at the Rowayton Community Center field before 9:30 a.m. on the day of the hunt.

Mix a Hitchcock masterpiece with a juicy spy novel, add a dash of Monty Python and you have The 39 Steps, a fast-paced whodunit for anyone who loves the magic of theater.

This two-time Tony and Drama Desk Award-winning treat is packed with nonstop laughs, over 150 zany characters (played by a cast of four), an onstage plane crash, handcuffs, missing fingers, and some good old-fashioned romance.

In The 39 Steps, a man with a boring life meets a woman with a thick accent who says shes a spy. When he takes her home, she is murdered. Soon, a mysterious organization called The 39 Steps is hot on the mans trail in a nationwide manhunt that climaxes in a death-defying finale. A riotous blend of virtuoso performances and wildly inventive stagecraft.

Performances will be held from March 2-18 at Music Theatre of Connecticut, 509 Westport Ave. Showtimes are Fridays at 8 p.m., Saturdays at 4 and 8 p.m., Sundays at 2 p.m.Varian Medical Systems, Inc. designs, manufactures, sells, and services medical devices and software products for treating cancer and other medical conditions worldwide. It operates through Oncology Systems and Proton Solutions segments. The Oncology Systems segment offers hardware and software products for treating cancer with radiotherapy, fixed field intensity-modulated radiation therapy, image-guided radiation therapy, volumetric modulated arc therapy, stereotactic radiosurgery, stereotactic body radiotherapy, artificial intelligence based adaptive radiotherapy, and brachytherapy, as well as quality assurance equipment. Its products include linear accelerators, brachytherapy afterloaders, treatment accessories, and quality assurance software; and information management, treatment planning, image processing, clinical knowledge exchange, patient care management, decision-making support, and practice management software. This segment serves university research and community hospitals, private and governmental institutions, healthcare agencies, physicians' offices, medical oncology practices, radiotherapy centers, and cancer care clinics. The Proton Solutions segment designs, develops, manufactures, sells, and services products and systems for delivering proton therapy for the treatment of cancer. The company has a strategic agreement with McKesson Corp. to supply treatment delivery systems and planning, services, and radiotherapy information system solutions to its U.S. Oncology Network and Vantage Oncology affiliated sites of care; and a strategic partnership with Siemens AG to represent Siemens diagnostic imaging products to radiation oncology clinics in the United States and other select markets. Varian Medical Systems, Inc. was formerly known as Varian Associates, Inc. and changed its name to Varian Medical Systems, Inc. in April 1999. The company was founded in 1948 and is headquartered in Palo Alto, California.

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Can't Afford to Save for Retirement? Take These 5 Steps: High Earners, This Includes You

It's really easy to pepper your thoughts with detrimental excuses about not saving for retirement. Have you heard yourself say the following  even if you just say them in your head? "I don't have time to figure out how to save for retirement." You tell yourself you'll do it later.

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Ltd., Brakes Foodservice NI Limited, Buchy Food Service, Buckhead Beef Co., Buckhead Meat & Seafood of Houston Inc., Buckhead Meat Company, Buckhead Meat Midwest Inc., Buckhead Meat of Dallas Inc., Buckhead Meat of Denver Inc., Buckhead Meat of San Antonio LP, Buzztable Inc., CAKE Corporation, Central Seafood Co., Christys Wine & Spirits Limited, Clafra Aktiebolag, Colorado Boxed Beef Co - Specialty meat-cutting division, Corporacion Frionet Sociedad Anonima, Crossgar Foodservice, Crossgar Foodservice Limited, Crown I Enterprises Inc., Cucina Acquisitions (UK) Limited, Cucina Finance (UK) Limited, Cucina French Holdings Limited, Cucina Fresh Finance Limited, Cucina Fresh Investments Limited, Cucina Lux Investments Limited, Curleys Quality Foods Limited (Third Party), Davigel Belgilux S.A., Davigel Espana S.A., Desert Meats & Provisions, Distagro, Doerle Food Service, Doughtie's Foods Inc., Dust Bowl City LLC, Eko Fagel Fisk o mittemellan AB, Enclave Insurance Company, Enclave Parkway Association Inc., Enclave Properties LLC, European Imports, European Imports Inc., Figg Inc., Freedman Meats, Freedman Meats Inc., Freedman-KB Inc., Fresh Direct (UK) Limited, Fresh Direct Group Limited, Fresh Direct Limited, Fresh Holdings Limited, FreshPoint, FreshPoint Arizona Inc., FreshPoint Atlanta Inc., FreshPoint California Inc., FreshPoint Central California Inc., FreshPoint Central Florida Inc., FreshPoint Connecticut LLC, FreshPoint Dallas Inc., FreshPoint Denver Inc., FreshPoint Hawaii LLC, FreshPoint Inc., FreshPoint Las Vegas Inc., FreshPoint North Carolina Inc., FreshPoint North Florida Inc., FreshPoint Oklahoma City LLC, FreshPoint Pompano Real Estate LLC, FreshPoint Puerto Rico LLC, FreshPoint San Francisco Inc., FreshPoint South Florida Inc., FreshPoint South Texas Inc., FreshPoint Southern California Inc., FreshPoint Tomato LLC, FreshPoint Vancouver Ltd., Freshfayre Limited, Fruktservice i Helsingborg AB, GHS Classic Drinks Limited, Gilchrist & Soames Inc., Gilchrist & Soames UK Limited, Guest Packaging LLC, Guest Supply, Guest Supply Asia Limited, Guest Supply Singapore Pte. Ltd., International Food Group, Isakssons Frukt & Gront AB, J & M Wholesale Meats, J. Kings Food Service Professionals, J. Kings Food Service Professionals Inc., Kent Frozen Foods, Les Ateliers Du Gout, Liquid Assets Limited, M&J Seafood Holdings Limited, M&J Seafood Limited, Manchester Mills LLC, Mayca Autoservicio S.A., Mayca Distribuidores S.A., Menigo Foodservice AB, Mitshim Etatu Supply LP, Newport Meat Company, Newport Meat Northern California Inc., Newport Meat Pacific Northwest Inc., Newport Meat Southern California Inc., Newport Meat of Nevada Inc., North Star Holding Corporation, North Star Seafood, North Star Seafood Acquisition Corporation, North Star Seafood LLC, PFS de Mexico S.A. de C.V., Palisades Ranch Inc., Pallas Foods, Pallas Foods Farm Fresh Unlimited Company, Pallas Foods Unlimited Company, Pauleys Produce Limited, Promotora del Servicios S.A. de C.V., Restaurangakdemien AB, Restaurant of Tomorrow Inc., Rohan Viandes Elaboration SAS, SMS Bermuda Holdings, SMS GPC International Limited, SMS GPC International Resources Limited, SMS Global Holdings S.a.r.l., SMS International Resources Ireland Unlimited Company, SMS Lux Holdings LLC, SOTF LLC, SYY Netherlands C.V., SYY Panama S. de R.L., Serca Foodservice, Servicestyckarna I Johannes AB, Servicios Ameriserve S.A. de C.V., Shenzhen Guest Supply Trading Co. Limited, Societe Civile Immobiliere (SCI) Bianchi Montegut, Societe Civile Immobiliere (SCI) De Boiseau, Societe Civile Immobiliere (SCI) De Garcelles, Societe Civile Immobiliere (SCI) J.D. Lanjouan, Societe Civile Immobiliere (SCI) Le Dauphin, Specialty Meat Holdings LLC, Stockflag Limited, Stockholms Fiskauktion AB, Supplies on the Fly, Sysco Albany LLC, Sysco Asian Foods Inc., Sysco Atlanta LLC, Sysco Autoservicio S.A., Sysco Baltimore LLC, Sysco Baraboo LLC, Sysco Bermuda Partners L.P., Sysco Boston LLC, Sysco Canada Holdings S.a.r.l., Sysco Canada Inc., Sysco Central Alabama LLC, Sysco Central California Inc., Sysco Central Florida Inc., Sysco Central Illinois Inc., Sysco Central Pennsylvania LLC, Sysco Charlotte LLC, Sysco Chicago Inc., Sysco Cincinnati LLC, Sysco Cleveland Inc., Sysco Columbia LLC, Sysco Connecticut LLC, Sysco Corporation, Sysco Corporation Director's Deferred Compensation Plan Trust, Sysco Corporation Employee's 401(k) Plan Trust, Sysco Corporation Executive Deferred Compensation Plan Trust, Sysco Corporation Good Government Committee Inc., Sysco Corporation Retirement Trust, Sysco Corporation Supplemental Executive Retirement Trust, Sysco Corporation Supplemental Unemployment Benefits Plan Trust, Sysco Detroit LLC, Sysco Disaster Relief Foundation Inc., Sysco EI VI S. s.r.l., Sysco EU II S.a.r.l., Sysco EU III S.a.r.l., Sysco EU IV Capital Unlimited Company, Sysco EU IV S. s.r.l.., Sysco EU V S. s.r.l., Sysco Eastern Maryland LLC, Sysco Eastern Wisconsin LLC, Sysco Foundation Inc., Sysco France Holding SAS, Sysco France SAS, Sysco George Town II LLC, Sysco George Town Limited S. s.r.l.., Sysco Global Finance LLC, Sysco Global Finance LLP, Sysco Global Holdings B.V., Sysco Global Resources LLC, Sysco Global Services LLC, Sysco Grand Cayman Company, Sysco Grand Cayman II Company, Sysco Grand Cayman III Company, Sysco Grand Rapids LLC, Sysco Guernsey Limited, Sysco Guest Supply Canada Inc., Sysco Guest Supply Europe Goods Wholesalers LLC, Sysco Guest Supply Europe Limited, Sysco Guest Supply LLC, Sysco Gulf Coast LLC, Sysco Hampton Roads Inc., Sysco Hawaii Inc., Sysco Holdings II LLC, Sysco Holdings LLC, Sysco Indianapolis LLC, Sysco International Food Group Inc., Sysco International Inc., Sysco Iowa Inc., Sysco Jackson LLC, Sysco Jacksonville Inc., Sysco Kansas City Inc., Sysco Knoxville LLC, Sysco Labs Europe Limited, Sysco Labs Pvt. Ltd., Sysco Leasing LLC, Sysco Lincoln Inc., Sysco Lincoln Transportation Company Inc., Sysco Long Island LLC, Sysco Los Angeles Inc., Sysco Louisville Inc., Sysco Memphis LLC, Sysco Merchandising and Supply Chain Services Canada Inc., Sysco Merchandising and Supply Chain Services Inc., Sysco Metro New York LLC, Sysco Minnesota Inc., Sysco Montana Inc., Sysco Nashville LLC, Sysco Netherlands Partners LLC, Sysco North Central Florida Inc., Sysco North Dakota Inc., Sysco Northern New England Inc., Sysco Philadelphia LLC, Sysco Pittsburgh LLC, Sysco Portland Inc., Sysco Raleigh LLC, Sysco Resources Services LLC, Sysco Riverside Inc., Sysco Sacramento Inc., Sysco San Diego Inc., Sysco San Francisco Inc., Sysco Seattle Inc., Sysco South Florida Inc., Sysco Southeast Florida LLC, Sysco Spain Holdings SLU, Sysco Spokane Inc., Sysco St. Louis LLC, Sysco Syracuse LLC, Sysco Technologies Cayman Ltd., Sysco Technologies LLC, Sysco UK Holdings Limited, Sysco UK Limited, Sysco UK Partners LLP, Sysco USA I Inc., Sysco USA II LLC, Sysco USA III LLC, Sysco Ventura Inc., Sysco Ventures Inc., Sysco Virginia LLC, Sysco West Coast Florida Inc., Sysco Western Minnesota Inc., The SYGMA Network Inc., Upsys, Victua SAS, Walker Foods Inc., Waugh Foods, and Wild Harvest Limited.Suncor Energy Inc. operates as an integrated energy company. The company primarily focuses on developing petroleum resource basins in Canada's Athabasca oil sands; explores, acquires, develops, produces, transports, refines, and markets crude oil in Canada and internationally; markets petroleum and petrochemical products under the Petro-Canada name primarily in Canada. It operates in Oil Sands; Exploration and Production; Refining and Marketing; and Corporate and Eliminations segments. The Oil Sands segment recovers bitumen from mining and in situ operations, and upgrades it into refinery feedstock and diesel fuel, or blends the bitumen with diluent for direct sale to market. The Exploration and Production segment is involved in offshore operations off the east coast of Canada and in the North Sea; and operating onshore assets in Libya and Syria. The Refining and Marketing segment refines crude oil and intermediate feedstock into various petroleum and petrochemical products; and markets refined petroleum products to retail, commercial, and industrial customers through its other retail sellers. The Corporate and Eliminations segment operates four wind farm operations in Ontario and Western Canada. The company also markets and trades in crude oil, natural gas, byproducts, refined products, and power. The company was formerly known as Suncor Inc. and changed its name to Suncor Energy Inc. in April 1997. Suncor Energy Inc. was founded in 1917 and is headquartered in Calgary, Canada.

Read MoreEdward Burtynskys great big photographs ooze uncomfortable truth, though the artist himself, careful not to preach, once took a more ambivalent stance. But at the Art Gallery of Hamilton, where a few dozen of the 76 pictures he recently donated to the museum are now on view, an unintended synergy freights even his earliest images with the unleavened urgency they demand. Terrible beauty, Burtynskys esthetic calling card, remains present, never fear. But these days, terror comes first.

The Burtynsky show, Witness, is surrounded by Water Works, an engaging, alarming exhibition that largely concerns itself with the accreting perils of depleting, poisoning or otherwise contaminating our most precious resource. The AGH, for its part, cries coincidence. But seriously: To get to his pictures, you have to first walk right through it, and taken together, they send alarm bells ringing: Effect, meet cause.

Maybe thats too literal for this business of art, which for as long as most of us can recall has traded on the oblique and ineffable  a certain kind of agnosticism, lest the offence of taking an actual position disqualify you from the unifying art world ethos of studied indifference.

Still, I wish theyd take credit. That long-established silo has finally started showing cracks  Canada 150, with its justified pileup of complaints around celebrating colonial havoc, surely helped  and here we are, in a public art gallery, talking about real things happening in the actual world this very minute. Imagine that.

Water Works is surely a place to check old ambivalences at the door. While it meanders gamely into the realm of the ineffable and poetic, a pall  part alert, part lament  pervades. Blue Republic, a Toronto collective, draws words and symbols on the rocky shore of Lake Ontario with water, only to see them dry up and vanish; Ann MacIntosh Duffs spare, sublime waterscapes are unearthly, minimal to the point of disappearing. Nearby Paterson Ewens Red Sea, a boiling vat of crimson under a blazing sky, does more than suggest the end. It takes us there.

Just a few steps from here, you slip through the double doors and into Witness, where poetic rumination on pending disaster cross over into Burtynskys suddenly stark-seeming reality.

Maybe its just a sign of the times. With biblical-proportion floods, droughts, hurricanes and whatever else pummeling every part of the planet with increasing regularity, its hard to look at such things as the vascular prongs of the Colorado River, parched and retreating from the dessicated Mexican plains in Burtyskys aerial view, without anxiety rising at the back of your throat.

Witness is billed as a mini-survey spanning every era of Burtynskys 30-year career, but a river runs through it, linking nearly every picture of the heavy industry he most often captures to their water-consuming ways: Silvery feathers of oil residue along the surface of a tailing pond in Northern Albertas oilsands, the parched forms of dryland farming in Spain, the reflection of oil derricks in Kazakhstan in the mirror-slick pools at their feet.

You can see it as an unofficial primer for The Anthropocene, the ne plus ultra of Burtysky exhibitions so sprawling and comprehensive that its footprint will occupy large swaths of the National Gallery in Ottawa and here the Art Gallery of Ontario at the same time in September. (A further nudge: Jennifer Baichwal and Nicholas de Pencier, the filmmakers with whom Burtynsky collaborated on their 2013 film, Watermark, have a chilling video piece included here, of hulking bergs of ice mounded imposingly at the foot of Niagara Falls. Theyve teamed up again for The Anthropocene, a film due out later this year).

For the uninitiated, the term anthropocene refers to nothing less than the accumulated ills human activity has piled up on our hapless planet (biologist Eugene Stoermer coined it in the 80s to define the epoch in which humanity, and our callous urges for cars, fast food and indoor plumbing, was the primary force shaping planetary dynamics; others began wielding it to refer to it as the driver of the ballooning crisis of climate change).

That being the case, you could reasonably guess no footprint could be large enough. For now, though, Witnesss nominal ambiguity  sort of, but not really; Burtynsky declared his environmental sensitivities some years ago  bends sharply into critique alongside Water Works more explicit complaints.

Push through the next set of doors and into Water Works increasingly plaintive protest and youll see what I mean. The show leavens its grievance, careful not to let protest overtake art. Betty Goodwins Swimmer, a long drape of paper pinned to the wall in which an ochre, lifeless figure hovers in a hazy swatch of paint the sickly colour of dried kelp, may not exactly be sunshine and rainbows, but hectoring its not.

But it never shirks from its complaint, either. Water Works leaves it to the experts: Carole Conde and Karl Beveridge, the local art worlds long-unheeded conscience, who make it plain. They built their art career on tireless advocacy for labour, immigrants and environmental issues while the art world at large clustered in galleries contemplating aphoristic texts pinned to the wall or ambiguous forms, safely insulated from the world out there  a chill Burtynsky no doubt felt himself in his early career, wilfully positioning his works as neither condemnation nor celebration.

Conde and Beveridge offer no such equivocation. Fall of Water, a chaotic photographic mash-up from 2006, is a monument to water abuse writ large: Modelled after Dutch Renaiassance master Peter Breughels The Fall of the Rebel Angels, in which archangel Michael leads his troops against Lucifers hordes, Conde and Beveridge recast roles for modern times. Water giants Nestle and Dasani, the devils own, battle poor villagers for the right to something clean to drink. It would be the perfect hyperbolic metaphor for a very real calamity, if it werent so close to the actual truth. Ask residents of Guelph about that.

Sitting here next to Ruth Cuthands chilling works, ambiguity slips further away. In a vitrine, a clear glass pitcher is encircled by drinking glasses, all of them full. In the transparent fluid, an array of brightly coloured microbes  amoeba, paramecia, bacteria, gastrointestinal gremlins all  backstroke blithely along.

Theyre spectacularly beautiful, luminous and finely made. Theyre also the artists response to the cascading water-quality disasters at the Attawapiskat First Nation, which has endured years of substandard water infrastructure and the sickness it allows to fester. The piece is called Boil Water Advisory #3, suggesting an open-ended project  a thought depressing enough to spur action, but with the Federal government facing an infrastructure shortfall, so far, not much good.

Nearby, Cuthand, who is Cree from Saskatchewan, is able to highlight it for the perennial dilemma it is: Intricately beaded panels with names like Giardia and Shigellosis glimmer, gorgeous, each of them a parasite found in drinking water in reserves. They were made just this month.

Across the way, Ed Piens shimmering cutout in reflective blue Mylar repeats the theme: Sea Change, he calls it, which seems hopeful at best. In it, human-size parasites and contaminants like mercury and lead tangle in a net with people and sea creatures not-obviously still living. Pien made it in collaboration with author Merrell-Ann S. Phare, the director of the Centre for Indigenous Environmental Resources and the author of Denying the Source: The Crisis of First Nations Water Rights (her text, in sparkly rhinestones, adorns the nearby wall).

Its an unblinking indictment and a position fully taken. Indeed, if ever there was a moment in the art world here to throw off agnosticism, this would be it, and a quick stroll back into Witness is damning validation.

Afloat in the South China Sea, a city-sized encampment of fish farmers stretches off to the horizon, bending the ocean itself to its rapacious will. In Scottsdale, Arizona, a sprawl of cul de sacs dotted with identical homes, many with swimming pools, butt up against an unseen barrier past which only parched desert lies.

Look back now, to one of Burtynskys earliest, most celebrated pictures here, where toxic tailings of arsenic pool in scorched earth near Sudburys nickel mines, a hot, glistening orange. Ambiguous? Hardly. The art world finally caught up with him. He meant it all along.

Witness continues to May 21; Water Works to May 27 at the Art Gallery of Hamilton. The Anthropocene opens at the National Gallery in Ottawa and the Art Gallery of Ontario in September.James Laxer, an author, York University professor and former federal NDP leadership candidate, has died at the age of 76.

Laxer died of natural causes on Friday in Paris. He had been travelling through Europe with his spouse, Sandy Price, while researching a new book on Canadas role in the Second World War.

Laxers son Michael said his father had been travelling since just after Christmas and planned on returning to Toronto in March.

Its just a shock. We were not expecting it, Michael told the Star. We all thought he was in very good health, but it appears to have been heart-related.

In addition to Price, Laxer leaves four children, Michael, Kate, Emily and Jonathan; four grandchildren, Nathaniel, Julia, Benjamin and Robert; and siblings Linda and Gord.

We were very close. He has always been a major figure in my life, said Michael.

Laxer was born in 1941 in Montreal and played a central role in Canadas left-wing nationalist movement in the early 1970s. He received a BA from the University of Toronto and an MA from Queens University.

In 1969 Laxer, along with his father, Robert, and political economist Mel Watkins, formed the Waffle, a far-left socialist movement known for its support for Quebecs right to self-determination and an independent Canadian labour movement.

Laxer then ran for the leadership of the federal NDP in 1971 against David Lewis, who was expected to win. Laxer received one-third of the vote  a surprisingly strong showing.

The Waffle manifesto had been issued prior to that and he was not expected to do terribly well, but he completely shocked both the party and the political pundits, said Michael.

Having been dubbed a party within a party, the Waffle members were ordered by the provincial NDP council in Ontario to either disband or leave the party. Laxer did the latter, then ran for Parliament in 1974 as an Independent candidate.

He didnt come close to winning, said Michael. But I think it was more about him proving a point.

The Waffle  also known as the Movement for an Independent Socialist Canada  disbanded, but Michael believes it had a huge and lasting impact on the Canadian left and within the NDP.

Laxer went on to teach political science at York University, where he remained until his death. He wrote numerous books on Canadian history, politics and economics, and had contributed op-ed columns to the Star since the 1980s. One of his most recent pieces, published in September, called for a radical makeover of the federal NDP. In late 2016, he presciently noted in another column that the gun question is at the centre of a dangerously widening civil conflict in the United States.

Jordan Himelfarb, the Stars deputy editorial page editor, praised Laxer as an op-ed editors dream: a talented writer who could comment with authority on a wide range of issues and whose ideas and conclusions, while reliably on the left, still often surprised.

Himelfarb noted: As a political historian, he had a special talent for finding contemporary resonances in understudied stories. And, in his responses to current events, he remained committed to the democratic-socialist principles that he famously fought for in his political life.

 He saw democratic socialism as the best response to the rise of right-wing extremism and the growth of inequality, arguing that it was time to fight for a Canada that was egalitarian, green and sovereign. In his capable hands, those ideas didnt sound so quixotic.

In the 1980s, Laxer hosted a current affairs show, The Real Story, on TVOntario. He also co-wrote and presented a five-part documentary series in 1986 that examined Canadas socioeconomic relationship with the U.S. Reckoning: The Political Economy of Canada won a Gemini award.

Laxer also served on the board of environmentally minded advocacy organization the Council of Canadians for a number of years, as did both his father and brother. In a Facebook post on Sunday, the groups national chairperson, author and activist Maude Barlow, called him a great beacon of progressive thought and a role model for so many.

Jim Laxer was a clear voice of reason and justice for many decades, Barlow elaborated in an email to the Star. He had a strong moral compass that never let him down. Over and over, Jim stood for the best in progressive politics in Canada and guided us all to be our best selves. We will miss him terribly and are deeply saddened at his loss.

While Laxer had many accomplishments, Michael said he will remember his father most for the summers they spent at the family cottage in Muskoka, near Gravenhurst.

He loved to tell his goofy jokes and he was always trying to make people laugh and feel good, Michael said of his father. He had a big heart.

A political activist himself who ran for the NDP in the 2000 federal election and for Toronto city council in 2014, Michael said he grew up in a vibrant political household.

Robert Laxer, Michaels grandfather, was a member of the Communist Party of Canada during the Great Depression. He was also a freelance journalist when he served in the Second World War.

Politics is in our blood  being involved in the left and trying to create a more just and fair Canada, Michael said.

With files from Ben RaynerTanya Granic Allens campaign to be leader of the Progressive Conservatives has received the endorsement of a self-proclaimed white nationalist.

Paul Fromm tweeted Friday Check out Tanya Granic Allen for PC Leader. I just joined, and included a link to a registration form on Granic Allens website.

Fromm is director of the Canadian Association for Free Expression, which is dedicated to free speech, immigration reform, and restoring political sanity, according to its website.

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The Southern Poverty Law Center, an American civil rights organization that tracks hate groups, describes Fromms association as working against the Canadian Human Rights Commission to defend anti-Semites, racists and Holocaust deniers from persecution under hate crime and human rights legislation.

Fromms teaching licence in Peel region was revoked in 2007 due to his participation in white supremacist groups and events.

All of us have a right to participate in the political process, Fromm told the Star, and said hes looking to become a member of the PC party.

I admire someone who comes more or less from the outside, who has taken a strong stand.

He said the PCs under Patrick Brown have strayed far, far, far from the feelings of many people in the grassroots, mentioning among other things the support for that ridiculous sex-ed program, which I think is offensive to all sorts of people, referring to the Liberal governments revamped sexual education curriculum introduced in 2015.

Granic Allen, a social conservative, has been outspoken in her opposition to the new curriculum. Her campaign did not return the Stars request for comment Saturday regarding Fromms support.

The PCs will announce their new leader on March 10.CHARLOTTE, N.C.Well-wishers lined freeway overpasses and small-town streets to honour the late Rev. Billy Graham as his motorcade crossed his beloved home state of North Carolina for four hours on Saturday from his mountain chapel to namesake library in the states largest city.

Adults and children stood behind wooden barricades and yellow tape, police officers saluted, and admirers captured the moment on cellphones along the route. Fire trucks parked on overpasses along Interstate 40.

Pallbearers, followed by family members, carried the coffin into the Billy Graham Library in Charlotte, which will serve as a backdrop for the evangelists funeral.

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Franklin Graham said he was fulfilling a promise to take his fathers body to Charlotte. He said was overwhelmed by the outpouring of love we are seeing as we travel.

The motorcade for Americas Pastor, which began at the training centre operated by Grahams evangelistic association in Asheville, N.C., was a chance for residents in some of the evangelists favourite places to pay tribute. Graham often shopped or caught trains in Black Mountain, N.C. He made his home in the nearby community of Montreat.

He has never really revelled in all of the celebrity. Its come with the territory, said Joe Tyson, a family friend who runs a furniture store in Black Mountain, where he watched the procession. But theyve managed to live a very normal life for such famous people. And I think hed be very proud that his neighbours turned out and quietly celebrated his reward and his passage into heaven.

Graham, who died Wednesday at his home in North Carolinas mountains at age 99, reached hundreds of millions of listeners around the world with his rallies and his pioneering use of television.

A viewing will be held at the Billy Graham Library in Charlotte on Monday and Tuesday. Graham will also lie in honour in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda on Wednesday and Thursday, the first time a private citizen has been accorded such recognition since civil rights hero Rosa Parks in 2005.

The procession was part of more than a week of mourning that culminates with his burial Friday.

A man played bagpipes at a highway rest area near Marion, where an overpass was draped with flags from about 15 nations. In Black Mountain, a group sang Amazing Grace.

Motorists lined sidewalks and medians as the motorcade rolled through Charlotte and neared the Graham library, which was closed as mourners laid flowers and awaited arrival of the evangelists casket.

He was so bold, he so boldly confessed the word of God, said Madeline Reid. And I believe because of his service to humanity, that hes truly gonna be great in the kingdom of heaven.

Ruby Sparks, 85, attended a Graham youth ministry meeting in 1951, when she was a college student in Greensboro, N.C., and met him in 1970.

He was such a wonderful man of God, and a messenger of God, she said.

Asked if there would ever be another force like his, she replied: I doubt it. Perhaps, in my next, in another lifetime. Not in my lifetime.

Leighton Ford, the evangelists brother-in-law, said he was thankful for the show of support and also a little sad.

I think hed say, Its not about me. Its about the Lord,  Ford said. I remember at his last stadium meeting here in Charlotte, the mayor of Charlotte told us he was writing out the platform of Billy, and everybody was cheering, and Billy said, Wait a minute. Its not about us. Its about Him. 

Graham will be laid to rest at the foot of a cross-shaped walkway at the library in Charlotte, buried in a simple prison-made plywood coffin next to his wife, Ruth, who died in 2007. His coffin was built by inmates at the Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola, La., who typically construct caskets for fellow prisoners who cannot afford one.

The funeral will be held in a tent in the main parking lot of Grahams library in tribute to the 1949 Los Angeles tent revivals that propelled him to international fame, family spokesperson Mark DeMoss said. About 2,000 people are expected at the private, invitation-only funeral.WASHINGTONThe Trump administration is considering using restraining orders to take guns away from people considered dangerous, two people familiar with the matter said.

Under extreme risk protection orders, firearms can be confiscated from people found to be at risk.

The administration is studying an Indiana version of such a law, and is also considering other measures, according to the people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

U.S. President Donald Trump appeared to begin refining his proposals for combating school violence on Saturday, tweeting that arming teachers as a deterrent against such often deadly violence  an idea he championed in recent days  is Up to States.

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Armed Educators (and trusted people who work within a school) love our students and will protect them. Very smart people. Must be firearms adept & have annual training. Should get yearly bonus. Shootings will not happen again  a big & very inexpensive deterrent. Up to States, Trump tweeted.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the presidents tweet.

The White House has yet to offer a complete plan to address school violence amid the public outcry sparked by the Florida shooting, including addressing who would bear the financial cost. Trump said in the tweet that arming educators and paying their bonuses would be very inexpensive.

At the White House Thursday, Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi described to Trump similar efforts in her state to allow law enforcement agencies to seize firearms from people deemed to be a danger to themselves or others.

Good, Trump responded.

At a Florida town hall on CNN Wednesday, Republican Florida Sen. Marco Rubio said he supported restraining orders.

Some gun rights groups have embraced the idea because it would not impose new regulations on firearms themselves.

California, Connecticut, Indiana, Oregon and Washington have laws that allow authorities to temporarily take weapons away from people believed to be a danger to themselves or others. Anyone subject to such an order would not be allowed to buy or otherwise obtain more guns while the order was in effect.

The Trump administration is looking at encouraging states to enact the legislation, possibly by provide grants as a reward to states that adopt the idea, one of the people said.

Deputy Press Secretary Raj Shah said Thursday that the White House was looking at such laws.

I think some states have had these red-flag laws, for example, that remove firearms after you go to a judge for potentially dangerous individuals. Thats something thats being done right now in a variety of states, right? They have due process rights for these individuals. It seems to be working in certain areas. Thats something that were looking at and other places were looking at, Shah said.

The proposal came as the White House has been casting about for a response to widespread demands for action, including new gun laws, after the Feb. 14 shootings in a Parkland, Fla., high school in which 17 people died.

With files from The Associated Press

Read more about:WASHINGTONOntario Premier Kathleen Wynne says were very worried about the possibility that U.S. President Donald Trump will impose a tariff on Canadian steel and aluminum.

It would hurt us, Wynne said in an interview Saturday in Washington, saying it would increase the cost of cars.

Wynne was visiting to promote free trade at a meeting of the National Governors Association. She said her meetings with governors confirmed her belief that the prospects for reaching a North American Free Trade Agreement deal have improved since the fall.

On steel and aluminum, Trump is contemplating a variety of options: a global tariff or global quota, which would hit Canada; a tariff only on specific countries, which would exclude Canada; or a mix of tariffs on some countries and quotas for others.

Trumps complaint is the dumping of low-cost steel from countries such as China. Wynne said Canada is also a victim of dumping.

To the degree thats a challenge for the United States, its a challenge for Canada. So I think we need to have a North American strategy around dumping steel, and have a partnership on that, as opposed to being in competition with one another, she said.

On her last visit to Washington, two weeks prior, Wynne announced that Ontario would retaliate against New York state if it did not give the province an exemption from its Buy American law that requires certain state agencies to use American-made steel and iron for their projects.

An exemption is unlikely, since the law has already been signed. Wynne said Saturday that she has not heard anything from New York since she issued the threat.LAREDO, TexasAs vehicles line up at the Border Patrols checkpoint a half-hour drives north of the U.S.-Mexico border, its agents have around 10 seconds to check each driver and decide which few they will stop for additional inspection.

Its a situation challenged constantly by smugglers, sometimes with deadly consequences. In July, 10 migrants died after a tractor-trailer packed with people made it through Laredo North, only to be discovered two hours later in a Walmart parking lot in San Antonio. Dozens of others streamed out of the trailer, gasping for air.

The Border Patrol considers its 34 permanent interior checkpoints along the United States southern border such as Laredo North a crucial layer of its strategy to stop smuggling. The checkpoints inside the U.S. can be up to 100 miles (161 kilometres) from any border, in addition to the ports of entry where people face inspection when coming into the country.

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But agents who work the Laredo North checkpoint say theyre understaffed and sometimes overwhelmed by traffic. And while top Border Patrol officials say U.S. President Donald Trumps proposed border wall would help them cut the number of overall smuggling cases, some critics dont believe a wall would reduce illegal immigration and is drawing attention and money away from the checkpoints and other critical needs on the border.

The Trump administrations latest budget proposal includes $1.6 billion (U.S.) to start building a wall that the administration has estimated will cost $18 billion. It asks for funding to hire more Border Patrol agents. It also includes $33 million to build a new Border Patrol station in Freer, Texas, northeast of Laredo. But it doesnt directly address needs at other checkpoints, and it proposes zeroing out new spending on tactical infrastructure like roads used by border agents and replacement border fencing.

The proposal also would end funding for efforts to find and destroy border tunnels built by cartels to get under existing barriers. Border security experts have warned that constructing a wall will lead to smugglers trying to dig more tunnels.

Rep. Henry Cuellar, a Laredo Democrat who sits on the U.S. House subcommittee directing homeland security funding, wants U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the Border Patrols parent agency, to invest in additional scanners and other improvements at Laredo North, as well as interceptor boats and radio towers for remote border areas. Cuellar also says the government should fund retention bonuses to keep agents from leaving the patrol.

Theyre taking money away from proven law enforcement systems to put it into this 14th century solution, Cuellar said.

A CBP spokesperson declined to comment on the budget request.

Built in 2006, Laredo North sits 30 miles (48 kilometres) north of the Rio Grande, the river separating the U.S. and Mexico in Texas.

All of the approximately 9,000 daily vehicles that pass Laredo Norths seven lanes get an inspection. An agent checks immigration documents and talks to each driver. A camera reads licence plates, and another agent guides a dog around each passenger vehicle to search for hidden people or drugs. A fraction of vehicles are sent to a secondary inspection, where agents interview the driver further and search the vehicle. The occasional tractor-trailer is directed to a mobile X-ray machine that scans the interior of the truck.

Opponents argue the checkpoints unlawfully restrict the movement of immigrants in the U.S. illegally who live in South Texas, pointing to incidents like the brief detention of a 10-year-old Laredo girl with cerebral palsy who needed surgery at a hospital north of the checkpoints. A Government Accountability Office study released in November said problems with Border Patrol data made it impossible to determine how effective the checkpoints are.

Agents do make big catches at such checkpoints. In January, agents at another Laredo checkpoint discovered 76 people inside a tractor-trailer that had been flagged for extra inspection. But the Border Patrols largest union says agents have low morale and believe large loads of people and drugs are able to get through.

Our agents are understaffed and overworked, said Hector Garza, the Laredo representative of the National Border Patrol Council. Even though they have all these forces against them, they go out there and try to do their best.

Local Border Patrol officials argue that a wall would help agents catch more people at the border, cutting down on the number of cases making it to the checkpoints. In many smuggling cases, authorities say, migrants enter separately and are bundled into trailers on the U.S. side.

But Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera, an expert on migration who is an associate professor at George Mason University, believes that if a wall is built, immigrants would just find other ways to enter the U.S., including paying smugglers to bring them over in tractor-trailers. Rather than cross the Rio Grande, they would count on successfully sneaking through established ports of entry and interior checkpoints, she argued.

What is the route or what are the means people are going to take? Correa-Cabrera said. The ones that they perceive as safer.

After illegal border crossings hit a 45-year low last year, according to the Border Patrols statistics, the agency says apprehension numbers have started to rise. Despite the Trump administrations efforts to discourage people in Central America from migrating to the U.S., authorities in both the U.S. and Mexico are still catching trailers filled with people who sometimes pay $5,000 or more to cartel-controlled smugglers to be taken north.

As for cases like the one in July where 10 people died, Jason Owens, the chief Border Patrol agent for the agencys Laredo sector, said his people are trained to make quick decisions about whether to order an extended inspection. But the number of vehicles at times obscures the ability of the agents to concentrate on the legitimate threats, he said.

It hits all of us very hard, Owens said. Nobody wants to see somebody perish trying to make it into this country to seek a better life for themselves.

Read more about:COXS BAZAR, BANGLADESHTheir houses are often made of plastic sheets. Much of their food comes from aid agencies. Jobs are few, and there is painfully little to do. The nightmares are relentless.

But six months after their horrors began, the Rohingya Muslims who fled army attacks in Burma for refuge in Bangladesh feel immense consolation.

Nobody is coming to kill us, thats for sure, said Mohammed Amanullah, whose village was destroyed last year just before he left for Bangladesh with his wife and three children. They now live in the Kutupalong refugee camp outside the coastal city of Coxs Bazar.

We have peace here, Amanullah said.

On Aug. 25, Rohingya insurgents attacked several security posts in Burma, killing at least 14 people. Within hours, waves of revenge attacks broke out, with the military and Buddhist mobs marauding through Rohingya villages in bloody pogroms, killing thousands, raping women and girls and burning houses and whole villages. The aid group Doctors Without Borders has estimated that at least 6,700 Rohingya were killed in Burma in the first month of the violence, including at least 730 children younger than 5. The survivors flooded into Bangladesh.

Six months later, there are few signs Rohingya are going home anytime soon.

Burma and Bangladesh have signed an agreement to gradually repatriate Rohingya in safety, security and dignity, but the process has been opaque and the dangers remain. New satellite images have shown empty villages and hamlets levelled, erasing evidence of the Rohingyas former lives. And with 700,000 having fled Burma since August, more Rohingya continue to flee.

So for now, the refugees wait.

If they agree to send us back, thats fine, but is it that easy? asked Amanullah. Myanmar (Burma) must give us citizenship. That is our home. Without citizenship, they will torture us again. They will kill us again.

He said he would only return under the protection of UN peacekeepers: They must take care of us there. Otherwise it will not work. 

Buddhist-majority Burma doesnt recognize the Rohingya as an official ethnic group, and they face intense discrimination and persecution.

On Sunday, two female Nobel Peace laureates visited refugee camps in Coxs Bazar and talked to rape victims. Human Rights Watch has said in a report that Burma security forces raped and sexually assaulted women and girls before and during major attacks on Rohingya villages.

Katia Gianneschi, a spokesperson for the Nobel Womens Initiative who accompanied Yemens Tawakkol Karman and Northern Irelands Mairead Maguire to the camp, said in an email that the women talked to the victims and heard their stories. Another laureate, Irans Shirin Ebadi, will join her colleagues on Monday.

The Nobel Womens Initiative, established in 2006, is a platform of six female Nobel Peace laureates.

The three laureates, who are on a weeklong visit to Bangladesh to meet the refugees, especially Rohingya women, accused Burma leader Aung San Suu Kyi and her countrys military of unleashing atrocities, and said the international community should bring those responsible to justice.

Minara Begum, 25, who was raped and tortured by soldiers, told reporters after the laureates visit that they hugged her and held her tightly and cried as they heard the stories of brutality and repression.

They were overwhelmed, they cried with us, they could not hold their tears, Begum said. I was also touched by their eagerness to know our sad stories.

Karman said in an email Saturday that she and her colleagues were standing in solidarity with displaced Rohingya women and calling for Rohingya womens voices to be heard.

She said Rohingya women are twice victimized  for being Rohingya and for being women  and are affected by the ethnic cleansing and are also subject to high levels of sexual and gender-based violence.

Rohingya womens unique needs are largely unmet in refugee camps in Bangladesh, she said. Less than 20 per cent of displaced Rohingya women who have survived sexual violence have access to post-rape care.

Meanwhile, the children in the camps face a particularly difficult time. The UN estimates children are the heads of 5,600 refugee families.

A survey of childrens lives inside the camps showed they faced an array of terrors, from girls reporting concerns of harassment near the camp toilets to fears that elephants and snakes could attack them as they collect firewood.

We cannot expect Rohingya children to overcome the traumatic experiences theyve suffered when exposed to further insecurity and fears of violence in the camps, Mark Pierce, country director for Save the Children in Bangladesh, said in a statement.

The study was prepared jointly by Save the Children, World Vision and Plan International.

The overwhelming message from these children is that they are afraid, Pierce said. This is no way for a child to live.

The situation will worsen soon. Seasonal monsoon rains will begin pounding the refugees plastic-and-bamboo city in April.We lost a great Canadian political trailblazer and civil rights activist last week.

It is difficult to find the words to honour the powerful legacy left by Howard McCurdy following his passing at the age of 85. The mark he made on Canadian politics is impossible to measure.

McCurdy served two terms as the second Black Member of Parliament in the House of Commons, he is also the last Black politician to pursue leadership of a federal party when he put his name forward for NDP leader in 1989.

Born in London, Ont., McCurdy spent his formative years in Amherstburg, Ont. His political action began early as a teenager, organizing alongside civil rights activists in the pursuit of a more just society and a better future for his family and his community.

He was elected as an alderman in Windsor in 1979 and served two terms before his time representing the federal ridings of Windsor-Walkerville and later Windsor-Lake St. Clair. His contributions during each period of his political career garnered respect from political colleagues, media that covered the issues he advocated for, and local community members alike. His accolades for this work include both the Order of Ontario and the Order of Canada.

McCurdy was an academic before the start of his political career. He obtained a Bachelor of Arts from Western University, later a Bachelor of Science from Assumption University in Windsor, and continued his studies toward a PhD in microbiology and chemistry from Michigan State University.

McCurdy was the first Black tenured faculty member at a Canadian university, serving 25 years as a professor at the University of Windsor.

During his time at Michigan State, McCurdy founded and served as president of the universitys chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. The organization sought the elimination of race-based discrimination and the advancement of political, educational, social and economic equality of rights.

McCurdy traced his own ancestry back 150 years, arriving in Canada through the Underground Railroad, and instilled in his children and his community an appreciation and understanding of their history. His talented daughter Leslie McCurdy continues to bring the voices of our ancestors alive in beautiful live performances.

He continued in his pursuit for equality and fought against anti-Black racism with the founding of the Guardian Club in Windsor in 1962, and later the founding of the National Black Coalition of Canada in 1969. These organizations laid groundwork that Black Canadian organizers continue to build on today, both locally in Windsor and across the country.

Leading from within institutions is hard work. McCurdy was a thoughtful and brilliant leader who carried his lived experience as a Black man in Southwestern Ontario to every political table and corridor he encountered. He organized and bridged the experiences of Black Canadians across the country. He built genuine and lifelong relationships with his own community members, political influencers and decision makers across party lines.

Well never know every private conversation McCurdy had leveraging his political relationships in efforts to address issues that affected Black Canadians, but its clear from his public remarks he was committed to moving the needle forward. He set a fierce example of the importance of standing in your truth and bringing not only your own experience, but also the stories and lived experiences of community members to your work. Im thankful for advocates across the country today, working both within and on the outside of institutions, who have been inspired by his tireless work.

While debating the governments Employment and Equity Act on Oct. 21, 1985, McCurdy delivered a moving speech to remind his colleagues that though Hon. Lincoln Alexander, the first Black Canadian MP, stood as lieutenant-governor of Ontario, the battle still had not been won.

My political career began when I was 13 years old  it began when I could not shoot pool in the pool hall in my town and I could not bowl in the bowling alley where I set pins.

In a 2012 interview, McCurdy recalled how far weve come while acknowledging how far we still have to go to improve the lives of Black Canadians.

His legacy reminds us that while it is important to celebrate our success fighting anti-Black racism in Canadian communities and institutions, there is still more work to be done.

Tiffany Gooch is a Liberal strategist at public affairs firms Enterprise and Ensight and an advocate for increased cultural and gender diversity in Canadian politics.

Read more about:At no time is a political party at greater risk than during a bitter leadership battle. With coalitions of thinly veiled differences that run across clan and ideological divides, a partys institutional fabric can be fatally ripped in a bloody leadership campaign.

That is the thoroughly irresponsible risk to which Patrick Brown is subjecting his political tribe.

He can shake off dating staffers half his age; revolting, but not illegal. He can deny attempting to sell his favourite date site, a Barrie bar, to a prospective Conservative candidate, with eyebrow-raising timing. He will have a harder time explaining how one third of the party memberships sold under his leadership turned out to be frauds.

Harder still: who paid for his dozen or so trips to India and the Mideast in recent years? His hardest challenge is explaining that his entire inner circle, the men and women who gave up two years of their lives to help elevate him from obscurity to victory  after taking all this in  departed en bloc.

That the party will suffer for years as a result of his narcissism is a given, how much and how long is all that remains to be seen. How did this come to pass? In part, because the Mike Harris and Tim Hudak generation were shown the door by the Brown team. They may have earned their banishment in terms of successive self-inflicted defeats, but they sliced off nearly two decades of party history and experience all at once.

The Liberal Party of Canada went through a decade long civil war as a result of the vanity of two men. One can, therefore, sympathize with the young team around Justin Trudeau, who sent every one of the lieutenants to either leader to purgatory.

Sadly, the consequence was to cut themselves off from some of the best minds in Canadian politics: a generation of Liberal strategists and former ministers. The absence of their access to that collective political wisdom has emerged over and over in weak political and communications management.

New Democrats have just come through a similar six lost years, between the death of Jack Layton and the arrival of Jagmeet Singh. The failure of Thomas Mulcairs leadership had roots similar to the Liberal and Tory experience: a leader and his team who knew little about the institution they were given command of.

Those who ignore the fragile bonds of a political party, who ignore unhappy riding presidents, who look to poll numbers for proof of future success, make serious strategic blunders.

As someone thrust into a senior political management role at a completely irresponsible age and experience level, I was terrified. But the elders wisely surrounded me with adults  literally dozens of wise uncles and political aunts. I reached out to them daily, at first in near panic. Among the lessons they hammered home were that most political mistakes were predictable, had already been made, and had a series of tested political remedies.

For institutions essential to a functioning democracy, political parties are almost uniquely archaic institutions, culturally and organizationally: their history is mostly oral, their principles and values passed from veteran to newbie verbally, and their real decision-makers and opinion-influencers are often well-hidden from all but the cognoscenti.

It was with considerable relief, therefore, that this aging political hack watched the kids responsible for the first Jagmeet Singh convention in action last weekend. They were determined to do things their way but not so arrogant as to refuse the support of the grey hairs.

The conventions star as chair was a savvy Saskatchewan woman labour executive, Barb Byers, who deftly kept the volatile beast of a 2,000 person convention in line. The floor managers were a fascinating blend of a few Broadbent-era boomers, some greying Layton veterans, and dozens and dozens of earnest activists in their twenties.

So, to those young radicals who rail against the old elites, who demand the wholesale execution of all of yesterdays failed compromisers after a leadership change; and to those aging veterans struggling to hang on, refusing to let the next generation take the reins, when they are passionate and hungry, even if they are still frighteningly green  give your heads a shake!

The new boss and the old party need you both.

Robin V. Sears, a principal at Earnscliffe Strategy Group, was an NDP strategist for 20 years.

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South San Francisco, Sybase, Syclo, TopTier Software, Triversity, Vimercate, Virsa Systems, Visiprise, Wicom Communications, and conTgo limited.CLIFTON PARK  A New Jersey man was arrested in Clifton Park for allegedly trying on Wednesday to use another person's identify to buy four iPhones at the Verizon store on Southside Drive.

Kevin S. Pena-Santiago, 27, is also accused of possessing a forged passport and social-security card and of providing a false name to deputies from the Saratoga County Sheriff's Office, police said.Troy

It's minutes before 6:30 a.m. on a Tuesday, and the dark streets of downtown Troy are nearly radio silent, save for a few car engines rumbling to a stop and the subsequent echoes of car doors closing. People exiting their cars open the door to the Psychedelicatessen, and are greeted with a jingling bell, wafts of coffee and toasted bagels, and a group of roughly 30 people seated on couches and chairs in a colorful room inside the cafe.

"Do you think it's hard to balance a career with the person you're in a relationship with if they have a different work timeline?" Roberta Singleton asked the group. "Do you think you have to have a balance of how much you work in order to work with someone?"

"I guess for me just finding that work-relationship balance is challenging because I don't work normal set hours," one man responded.

"You're so passionate about your work and your job, but also want to transition to finding the person, and I think that's super tough and tricky," Jessica Cole said.

This is the scene at various Troy establishments every Tuesday morning, as a group called the Power Breakfast Club gets together to discuss topics ranging from Bitcoin and grant writing, to balancing love lives or fitness with your career.

"Power Breakfast is a community, really," said Jamel Mosely, one of the founders of the Power Breakfast Club, and creative director and founder of Mel eMedia. "It's an amazing group of people, and we get together and discuss a different theme every week."

The group, of which the majority of members are young people of color, gets a turnout of 30 to 40 people each week, and has nearly 450 followers on their Facebook page. Many of the members have what the founders call multidimensional identities  a sixth grade math teacher who is also a fitness trainer, a social worker and yoga instructor, a financial planner and DJ.

"My thing is providing a space for people to come together and grow together, and I felt like Power Breakfast is a perfect space for them to do so," said Singleton, another founder of the club and an office administrator at Troy's 1st Playable Productions.

"Structure, accountability, community is exactly what it is," added Cole, another founder of the club and a PhD candidate in University at Albany's Fellow, Educational Psychology and Methodology program. "I want to provide people a catalyst to follow their wildest dreams."

And follow their wildest dreams they do. The founders said there are attendees of the Power Breakfast Club who have switched career paths, launched new podcasts and written books  and have attributed their success and inspiration to the Power Breakfast Club.

Tabetha Wilson is one of those people. An employee with the New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance, Wilson wanted to launch a podcast for her capstone project with the New Leaders Council, and started a podcast, The Radius, in July 2017.

"I started that around the same time as I started attending Power Breakfast, and they were so supportive," Wilson said. "I got inspired by my peers that have actual businesses and have done the startup process, and I knew I could take this to whatever level I wanted to take it."

By setting goals and intentions in a motivated, supportive and nonjudgmental environment, Wilson said the Power Breakfast Club has only been a positive impact on her and her peers.

Hirah Mir, who is in the same PhD program as Cole and works for the New York State Office for People with Developmental Disabilities, attended one of the first Power Breakfast meetings.

"I like knowing that if I ever need professional development in a certain area or want to work on an initiative in my community, I don't have to do it by myself," Mir said. "We can collaborate and bridge each other's missions."

Sign up for The Knick  Get the latest news and some area history with our afternoon newsletter.

One of the major draws to the Power Breakfast Club for Mir, though, was the diversity of the group.

"Being a minority in Albany and also being in academia, after the (2016 presidential election) I felt like I didn't have a community to turn to," she said. "I thought maybe I need to find spaces in the community where I feel comfortable and safer, and less isolated."

The founders of the Power Breakfast Club were aware of the need to create a space and resources for communities of color when they started the group.

"The toughest part about this area is there's not the mass amount of people of color in successful positions that we can find in a big city," Mosely said. "There's no hub. But when you come to Power Breakfast, you can find that."

Having this hub for people of color is particularly crucial in order to empower the community, Cole said.

"A lot of times there are similar groups we're a part of, but we're infringing on somebody else's base," she said. "We don't want to have to leave our culture at the door to be successful, we want to be able to sustain our culture without worrying about (equating) ourselves with negative narratives."

Changing that negative narrative is perhaps one of the most important aspects of the Power Breakfast Club  it is normalizing the success of people of color.

"It's time for people to not be so surprised when black and brown people are doing stuff," Singleton said. "I am tired of having surprised reactions when I tell people I'm a manager or have had this education."

Cole echoed Singleton's sentiments.

"It's important we continue to change the narrative and not be diverted from our work," Cole added. "It's not our responsibility to explain to people we are doing great stuff, but it's our responsibility to do great stuff. If you're watching, awesome. If you're not watching, fine. We're still going to be doing what we're doing."Steven Spielberg's Oscar-nominated "The Post" has revived interest in the newspaper battles of the 1970s, the lives of Washington Post publisher Katharine Graham and executive Ben Bradlee and the risks of publishing the top-secret documents known as "The Pentagon Papers."

It also brought attention, however brief, to one of the country's signature First Amendment rulings: The New York Times Co. v. United States was a 6-3 decision in 1971 rejecting the Nixon administration's argument that releasing the Pentagon Papers endangered national security. Much of the movie focuses on the Washington Post's decision to publish the papers after a federal court injunction against the Times, which broke the story.

The ruling serves as the victorious climax to the press' battle against the government. And nearly a half-century later, the decision remains a major landmark in the history of freedom of the press.

"The decision powerfully reaffirms that even the most important government interests (such as national security) generally can't justify suppressing factual reporting, and courts have repeatedly cited it for that proposition," said Eugene Volokh, a professor of law at UCLA and a former Supreme Court clerk. "The decision also makes clear that courts generally aren't allowed to issue injunctions restraining speech."

The Pentagon Papers were commissioned by the defense department in 1967 to provide a history of the country's involvement in Vietnam. One of the contributors, Daniel Ellsberg, had become disillusioned with the war and saw the study as a chance to show how the public had been deceived for years by the government. Ellsberg leaked what became known as the Pentagon Papers to the Times, which published its first report on June 13, 1971. After the Nixon administration obtained an injunction in federal court, the Post and other newspapers published their own accounts. The Supreme Court is generally more conservative than it was in 1971 and scholars differ over how the Pentagon Papers cause would be decided now.

 Associated Press

'Notting Hill' actress Chambers dies at 53

British actress Emma Chambers has died at the age of 53.

Her agent John Grant said Saturday that the actress known for her roles in "The Vicar of Dibley" and "Notting Hill" died of natural causes. He did not elaborate.

He says "over the years Emma created a wealth of characters and an immense body of work ... she brought laughter and joy to many."

Chambers was well known in Britain for her role as Alice Tinker in the long-running "The Vicar of Dibley" comedy.

 Associated Press

Brown to give free Masters of Fine Arts

Brown University is providing scholarships to cover the tuition for all master's degree students studying acting and directing.

The Ivy League university in Rhode Island announced the change Friday.

It says it wants to ease student debt, diversify the pool of actors and directors in training, encourage innovation in the arts and ultimately redefine whose stories are told on stage.

The university will begin providing the funds in the 2018-2019 academic year and anticipates 40 to 50 students will receive the scholarships, which also will be extended to future students. Patricia Ybarra chairs Brown's theatre arts and performance studies department. She says even successful artists often can't repay debt, which deters students from low-income and middle-income families from applying to MFA programs.

 Associated Press

'Bachelor' loses fatal crash appeal

The Iowa Supreme Court has denied an appeal filed by an Iowa farmer-turned-reality television celebrity charged with leaving the scene of a fatal accident.

Chris Soules asked the Iowa Supreme Court to dismiss the felony charge before it goes to trial. The judge declined last month and Soules appealed.

He contends Iowa law doesn't require drivers surviving fatal wrecks to wait for police. State prosecutors say it does.

The high court Friday denied his request to hear the appeal. Soules appeared on "The Bachelor" and "Dancing With The Stars" in 2015. He struck a tractor driven by a neighbor on April 24 last year in northern Iowa. He called 911 and waited for first responders but left before police arrived.

 Associated PressJacob wasn't old, maybe 24, when he bolted into the Albany winter on Friday, Feb. 10, 1764. It was his second try at freedom in seven months. He wore green leggings, buckskin breeches and a red worsted cap.

Two days later, an advertisement ran in the New-York Mercury offering $5 for anyone who returned him to his owner, a man named George Ray. The ad is vivid and meticulous in its detail, inadvertently humanizing a man regarded by society as an object to be peddled and an outlaw to be seized.

He was short: "5 Feet 6  Inches high without Shoes."

He was scarred: "on the right side of his Forehead, one on his left Temple (both just on the Edge of his Hair) and another on the Crown of his Head," with "two large Pock-marks on the upper Part of his left Cheek."

He was bent: He had "crooked Legs, the Calves of his Legs remarkably high, a lump on each shoulder by being flogg'd from Time past, stoops forward in walking, and hangs down his Head."

And he was eloquent: Jacob was "of an insinuating address, very apt to feign plausible Stories, and may perhaps call himself a free Negro."

What else he might have said, the ad doesn't specify. But the nature of slavery means that few tales told by the enslaved have survived into the present. Their words weren't documented, much less heard. Their lives weren't protected, much less valued. And the nature of history itself means that the narrative of slavery in the region and the state  the understanding and processing of it, the accumulation and interpretation of facts over generations  has a void where those captives once lived.

The question, moving forward: What to do? How to reconcile the present with the past? Scholars and other participants in the conversation have no clear answer, but the dialogue swirls  around how to recast that narrative, what to include and how to address those blind spots in the history.

"When you tell a story, you have to include all of the partners in that story  just telling me one aspect of it doesn't begin to give an understanding of exactly what happened," said Oscar Williams, head of Africana studies at the University at Albany. "So the more voices you have, the better understanding you can have  in understanding what happened in New York state, let alone this country, in regards to slavery."

"That story has to be told. It's an ugly past that we have to really open our eyes to," said Charles Barron, the state assemblyman from Brooklyn behind a slavery-reparations bill now with the Ways and Means committee. He's often struck by that past on his commute from New York by train. "Every time I get off the stop at Albany-Rensselaer, I can't help but remember that the Rensselaers were among the biggest slaveholders in the state."

And yet, said Deborah Emmons-Andarawis, curator of Historic Cherry Hill, the old Van Rensselaer family manse, "When visitors come, many of them don't know that there was slavery in New York." Addressing such facts "makes people uncomfortable, which is understandable. I mean, it's an uncomfortable topic," said Samantha Hall-Saladino, executive director of Ten Broeck Mansion. "But it doesn't mean that we get to pretend it never happened. ... We have to talk about it." Ignoring it "does a disservice to the people that lived those histories."

People like Jacob. The ads offering a reward for his return are included in "In Defiance: Runaways from Slavery in New York's Hudson River Valley, 1735-1831," a 2016 compilation by Susan Stessin-Cohn and Ashley Hurlburt-Biagini. The book is one of many sources  along with manumission documents, census reports, Underground Railroad records and other data  included in the New York State Slavery Records Index, a new, comprehensive, searchable database created by a team at John Jay College of Criminal Justice.

The aim, said Ned Benton, one of the professors who created the index, was to gather and present the information. How it might be used in recasting the narrative of slavery he can't say. "We are a resource to communities, and we're a resource to scholars, but we're not speculating on exactly what kinds of uses or what consequences the information should have," he said. But the facts are there. "It's the truth. Anyway, it's the truth."

In the Northern states, he said, "We have a narrative about slavery that's more focused on the Civil War  and in which we're cast as the liberators. But you know, if you dial back, and go back to the time of the Revolutionary War or the century before that, slavery was much more prevalent in the north."

The percentage of Africans, enslaved and free, living in New Netherland  the Dutch colony that included what is now New York City and the Capital Region  ''was at least between 6 and 8 percent,'' said Sam Huntington, historic site assistant at Crailo State Historic Site in Rensselaer. In New York City, he said, it was probably significantly higher  10, 15 percent. Crailo is home to a long-running exhibit on slavery that weaves its history seamlessly with the history of the Dutch in the region. "Just to tell the story accurately  about who was here, what their lives were like, and what they were doing  you can't tell it without telling the history of the enslaved population," Huntington said.

The local history begins in 1626, with the first known instance of slaves being brought to New York City. It carries on through the Dutch presence in New Netherland, including the patroons who held sway in what's now the Capital Region, the enslaved people who worked in fields and barns and mansions owned across the state, the banks that profited from the national slave trade.

It moves on through the Revolutionary War to 1799, when New York passed its "gradual emancipation" act freeing enslaved children born after July 4  but kept them indentured for decades. It continues into 1817, when an update to the law freed any slaves born before the 1799 act  but not until 1827. It keeps going past 1827, with loopholes allowing Southerners to bring slaves into New York for nine months without setting them free, and arrives at 1850 and the Fugitive Slave Act, which compelled Northerners to apprehend Southern runaways.

Such legislation, riddled with clauses favoring the enslavers over the enslaved, is all part of New York's "bogus attempts at emancipation," said L. Lloyd Stewart, author of "A Far Cry From Freedom: Gradual Abolition (1799-1827)  New York State's Crime Against Humanity." Albany County, which then included much of the Capital Region, was "the largest county of enslavement in all of New York state," he said. "And Albany has a very sordid history with respect to enslavement."

Of the 2,530 Albany County records listed in the John Jay index, many are spare in their details. U.S. Census data include no names for the enslaved and no identifying characteristics. But in records culled from other sources, glimpses of humanity emerge.

Included are listings of runaways from the South, headed to Albany; runaways from Albany, headed who knows where; freed former slaves, their manumission documents now held in the Albany County Hall of Records; and "Black Loyalists" who fought for the British in the Revolutionary War and then migrated to Canada, granted their freedom by the crown.

More Information For more articles by Amy Biancolli and Paul Grondahl on this series, go to https://timesunion.com/specialreports. See More Collapse

Search the database specifying "Albany" and "BON"  a tag for "Book of Negroes," a document listing more than 3,000 such loyalists  and three records turn up. All are tinged with tiny details hinting at whole lives: York Lawrence, 30, a "stout fellow" who rode to Nova Scotia on a ship with an auspicious name, L'Abondence "abundance." "Adam Way, 80, worn out"  of course he was. "Scipio, 31," another "stout fellow" on a ship with an auspicious name  the Prosperous Amelia. He was formerly owned by Philip Schuyler of Albany, the record notes.

Yes, that Philip Schuyler. The Revolutionary War general and U.S. senator is one among many regional enslavers in the database. "It's what rich people did," said Paul Stewart, co-founder with his wife, Mary Liz, of the Underground Railroad History Project of the Capital Region (and no relation to L. Lloyd).

Failure to acknowledge such local facts of slavery isn't surprising, he said. "One of the things that I think is interesting is the way in which we forget about history  or we kind of have these little blocks about history." And New York state, said Mary Liz Stewart, has a block about slavery: "It wasn't this great, safe haven and this wonderful place that so often is the way it's cast  you know, those Northern free states  in the standard retelling."

Judy-Lynne Peters, the other John Jay professor spearheading the index, agreed. "As a native New Yorker, I grew up thinking that slavery was a phenomenon that happened somewhere else," she said. "We were never taught that there were slaves in New York  it was those bad Southerners. And the reality is quite different."

In part, Lloyd Stewart said, this lack of understanding is rooted in a reluctance to face it. Americans "don't want to talk about the past," he said. "They don't want to talk about slavery. They don't want to talk about enslavement and what was done to people, to Africans and African descendants. ... They say, 'That's a long time ago.' They say, 'The history is dead.' But history isn't dead. It's not even past. It's still existing."

In the book of runaway slave ads, the dead spark to life.

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There's Harry. In his late 30s, "of a very black colour, strong made, and a little above the middle size He is a great talker, and speaks the German, Low-Dutch and English very fluently  he is much addicted to drinking."

There's Gin. "A small sized Mulatto Wench. about 23 years old. She took with her a variety of clothing, among which were 3 calico gowns, one pink. It is supposed she was enticed away by a black fellow by the name of Dick, a notorious thief."

There's Jack. "About 33, speaks but little English, about 5 1/2 feet high ... has an outward Bend in his right Foot, which obliges him to brace the hind Part of his Shoe round his Ancle to keep it up, both his Great Toes are nearly frozen off."

Gradually, the full history  with its Harrys and Gins and Jacks  is being incorporated into the narrative. "We can't keep ignoring it," Mary Liz Stewart said. At Schuyler Mansion in Albany, plans are being made for a 2019 look at the lives of enslaved people following Philip Schuyler's death in 1804; at least five of 11 slaves were manumitted.

"Just having a discussion about slavery in this country in and of itself" would help, Williams said. "The most important thing is that we have a clear understanding of what the institution was, what it entailed, and at the same time, how the institution still impacts us today. And I really don't have a magic wand."

With the reparations bill, Barron's aim is actual, material compensation  although how much and what it might entail is not yet part of the conversation. He wants to "sit down with the leadership in the Assembly" and discuss forming a commission to "go out and study the economic and psychological impact of the enslavement of African people in New York state."

In L. Lloyd Stewart's view, one benefit of the bill would be the chance to "get the story down"  an occasion for the state to look long and hard at its own history. While Barron does see it as a means for educating, changing the narrative alone won't suffice. "It's not enough to just acknowledge that it happened. It's not enough to say, 'I'm sorry.' You have to come up with a remedy."

As for all those street names honoring enslavers across the state, Van Rensselaer included: "Change 'em," he said. "Change 'em. Change the names."

Jacob's name, meanwhile, can be found in a book, a database and two newspaper ads more than two and a half centuries old. History doesn't record his last name. It doesn't say whether he was caught after his second attempt at freedom.

But it does say one more thing: "It is supposed he had with him, a black and white spotted Dog."

He called it Venture.

abiancolli@timesunion.com  518-454-5439  @AmyBiancolli

Slave. Master. Many scholars now decline to use these words, adopting instead terms that aim to restore the personhood of those so long deprived of it. Instead of slave, enslaved person. Instead of master, enslaver.

"It just dehumanizes the people when you just say 'slaves,'" said Heidi Hill, historic site manager at Schuyler Mansion and Crailo State Historic Site. The idea is "to use terms that don't come from that European lexicon that we've always used in the past to interpret this history. You know, put the person and the humanity first."

The new language also underscores the act behind the atrocity. "It was an active process of enslavement that went on throughout those people's lives," said Sam Huntington, historic site assistant at Crailo. "The action in the word, I think, gives it more scope."

The records, of course, use the old words. "We don't want to change the historic language, but how do we speak about this history? Whose story do we tell?," asked Mary Liz Stewart, co-founder of the Underground Railroad History Project, which is restoring the Stephen and Harriet Myers residence in Albany.

And instead of talking about runaway slaves, she added, "Let's say 'freedom seekers'  which acknowledges the human agency that goes into making a very risky decision."

 Amy BiancolliAlbany

Scott Ritter, the former United Nations weapons inspector who was arrested and imprisoned for unlawful contact with a minor, has returned to Bethlehem.

Ritter was paroled from state prison in Pennsylvania in September. A call to his home wasn't returned on Thursday.

A vocal critic of the 2003 invasion of Iraq, Ritter has resumed his trenchant writing on U.S. policy in the Middle East: He has authored at least three online articles for Huffington Post since October, including one warning that the creation of a U.S.-backed "Free Syrian Army" represents a "figment of American creative thinking."

Ritter, 53, was an intelligence officer in the Marine Corps and then a weapons inspector for the U.N.

Upon leaving the U.N., he criticized the organization for not enforcing disarmament in Iraq after the 1991 Gulf War.

But as the U.S. was preparing to invade in 2003, Ritter gained prominence for his contention that the country had no real weapons of mass destruction.

Later the same year, Ritter made headlines when news surfaced that he had been caught in a police sting in 2001.

Police said that he had tried to lure a 16-year-old girl  actually a Colonie undercover officer posing online  to a Burger King in Menands. That case was later adjourned in contemplation of dismissal  essentially dropped  and the record was sealed. At the time, Ritter suggested that the case was a smear campaign designed to silence him.

Less than a decade after that arrest, Ritter found himself in similar legal trouble.

He was convicted in 2011 in Monroe County, Pa., after Barrett Township police presented evidence that in 2009 he had masturbated in front of a webcam being viewed by an undercover officer who was posing as a 15-year-old girl.

Ritter reportedly went by the handle "delmarm4fun."

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Though the case dragged on  a New York appellate division court at one point ruled that some of the evidence was inadmissible  Ritter was convicted on six counts, including felony unlawful contact with a minor. Sentenced to up to five and half years, he was sent to Laurel Highlands state prison in Somerset County, Pa., in March 2012.

Records show that the Pennsylvania parole board in June concluded Ritter had demonstrated positive behavior; had a "motivation for success" and had completed the programs needed for release.

Under the terms of his parole, Ritter can't possess weapons, must refrain from alcohol, and has agreed to drug testing and "outpatient sex offender treatment."

He can't have contact with anyone younger than 18 without approval from parole officials.

rkarlin@timesunion.com  518-454-5758  @RickKarlinTUIn late November, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo flew to Buffalo, New York, for a fundraising trip, a quick two-stop jaunt that brought in more than $200,000 in donations for his re-election campaign.

The events, one at an Embassy Suites hotel and the other a more intimate gathering at a private residence, were hosted by two men familiar to Cuomo  and to state government.

One host, Steven J. Weiss, had been appointed by Cuomo to the New York State Housing Finance Agency in 2011 and the state board of the Roswell Park Cancer Institute in 2016. Government records show that Weiss has donated $53,000 to the governor's campaign since being picked for the housing agency.

The other, Kenneth A. Manning, had been named by Cuomo to the same cancer research institute board in 2015, as well as another public authority. Records show Manning has donated $50,500 since his appointments.

That type of arrangement  appointments go out, campaign cash comes back in  has vexed government reformers in Albany for generations. Things were supposed to change in 2007, when Eliot L. Spitzer, then the newly elected governor, issued an executive order barring most appointees from donating to or soliciting donations for the governor who made the appointment. Cuomo renewed the order on his first day in office.

But a New York Times investigation found that Cuomo has quietly reinterpreted the directive, enabling him to collect about $890,000 from two dozen of his appointees. Some gave within days of being appointed.

The governor also has accepted $1.3 million from the spouses, children and businesses of appointees, state records show.

In some cases, a husband and wife each won state appointments and then kept contributing. In others, the appointees stopped donating after receiving state posts, but their families continued writing checks. One appointee and his wife donated 11 times while he was serving. Another has given Cuomo, personally and through companies tied to him, more than $500,000.

The executive order explicitly forbids appointees from soliciting donations for the governor. Yet multiple appointees have done so, like Weiss and Manning in the fall, raising a considerable additional amount for Cuomo.

Cuomo's donor-appointees span the state's vast network of boards and authorities. They have served as trustees of both the city and state university systems, on the panel overseeing economic development and on the board of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which runs New York City's subways and buses. Most positions are unpaid, but they hold great power and prestige: Board members can approve multibillion-dollar contracts and multimillion-dollar grants, oversee the distribution of tax breaks, and have broad influence over everything from the state's highways to local arts projects.

In response to questions about the donations from appointees, Cuomo administration officials said they believed that the order only applied to appointees who could be fired at any time by the governor, not those serving set terms. Under that interpretation, donations by board members of many of the state's most powerful authorities would be allowed.

"The purpose of the order is to prohibit employees and board members who serve at the pleasure of the governor from making political contributions," said Alphonso B. David, Cuomo's counsel. "It does not apply to every single person who serves in government, to individuals who volunteer for government, or to individuals who were appointed by the Senate and cannot be removed by the executive. A different reading simply divorces the purpose of the order from its language."

The Cuomo interpretation differs from what some officials say in their own internal ethics rules, from the interpretation of independent government watchdogs and from what Spitzer himself said he intended when he crafted the order.

"The executive order was intended, and did, in fact, apply to all gubernatorial appointees, regardless of the need for Senate confirmation, or any term applicable to their service," Spitzer said in an interview.

The order does not differentiate between types of authority appointees. It simply says that "no member of a public authority appointed by the governor" can donate or solicit donations.

Richard L. Brodsky, a former 14-term member of the State Assembly and longtime watchdog of state authorities, questioned the Cuomo reading. "It doesn't make any sense to claim somehow the language does not include all his authority appointees. It does," he said.

Image of a Political Reformer

The prohibition on appointee giving is hidden in plain sight, incorporated in Cuomo's own campaign website.

"No state agency officer or employee who serves at the pleasure of the governor or their appointing authority or members of state public authority or other boards appointed by the governor may contribute to and/or fundraise for Andrew Cuomo 2018," the website says. Similar language has been included on invitations to fundraisers for the governor going back to 2011.

The order originated on Spitzer's first day in office, part of a set of sweeping mandates under the banner of "eliminating politics from government decision-making." Gov. David A. Paterson signed a revised version of the order when he took office.

Cuomo, who fashioned himself as a political reformer from the day he launched his 2010 bid for governor in front of Tweed Courthouse, included his renewal of the order as part of an ethics package adopted on his first day in office.

After seven years, watchdogs say Cuomo's ethics record, despite some new measures, has been mostly a disappointment, from his disbanding of the Moreland Commission on public corruption to his aggressive use of campaign-finance loopholes.

To tally the donations Cuomo has received from his appointees, The Times compared a New York State Authorities Budget Office database of hundreds of the governor's nominations and appointments against the state's campaign finance database. Both databases are public.

Reporters then vetted the matches, searched for others and excluded authorities not covered by the executive order, such as the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey, an interstate agency. Appointees named to their posts by previous governors and not reappointed by Cuomo also were excluded.

The total also does not include donations raised at fundraisers hosted by appointees, since they are difficult to track.

The analysis identified about $890,000 in donations from 26 appointees. An additional roughly $830,000 came from family members, and $490,000 from firms owned or controlled by appointees.

All told, 37 of Cuomo's appointees have donated $2.2 million either directly or indirectly to the governor's campaign since 2011. And those people had donated another $2.2 million before being appointed to their state posts.

Dani Lever, Cuomo's press secretary, said donors were only a fraction of his appointees. "Clearly, most board members are not campaign contributors, and most campaign contributors are not board members," she said.

At the Epicenter of the Arts

Aby J. Rosen, a colorful real estate developer and art collector, is a major donor whom Cuomo installed as chairman of the New York State Council on the Arts less than six months into his governorship. It is an enviable posting at New York's cultural epicenter, a position responsible for overseeing tens of millions of dollars in arts grants across the state.

Rosen has a long history as a Cuomo donor. In 2002, when Cuomo first ran for governor, Rosen was one of his largest contributors, and also rented Cuomo campaign space in one of his company's buildings for one-sixth the advertised rate. (His opponent complained they were skirting contribution limits.) When Cuomo ran a second time in 2010, Rosen again was a major donor. He and his wife gave more than $85,000 between 2007 and his 2011 appointment to the arts council.

The money kept flowing afterward  more than $40,000 since from Rosen, and $50,000 from his real estate holding company, RFR Holding, according to government records.

While on the arts council, Rosen also appears to have provided private aircraft for Cuomo. In December 2011, Rosen's firm contributed nearly $3.3 million in "travel" expenses to Cuomo on the same day the governor's schedule shows him taking a private aircraft from Albany to New York City for a fundraiser. Rosen made another $3 million in-kind donation to Cuomo's campaign in December 2013; that day the schedule again shows the governor taking a private aircraft to a fundraiser. Rosen did not return requests for comment.

Rosen served on the arts council until February 2016. Three months later, he agreed to a $7 million settlement with New York's attorney general for failing to pay taxes on artwork he had bought or commissioned, in some cases during his tenure on the council.

To replace Rosen as chair, Cuomo promoted another major campaign donor already on the arts council, Barbaralee Diamonstein-Spielvogel, an author and longtime arts advocate.

Diamonstein-Spielvogel has donated $27,500 to Cuomo's campaign since he reappointed her to the council in 2013. Her husband, Carl Spielvogel, was reappointed by Cuomo to the board of the State University of New York in 2015. He has given $20,000 since then.

The Spielvogels could not be reached for comment. But a woman who answered the phone at their home and identified herself as the assistant to Spielvogel, who is 86, said that Spielvogel "never contributed unless she was asked," and that she recently refrained from making a contribution to Cuomo because she had heard about the executive order for the first time.

"She looked up the law herself," said the woman, who declined to give her name. "She is very particular about obeying whatever the letter and spirit of the law is."

Other arts council appointees have donated, too. Cuomo nominated Jonathan Sheffer on May 16, 2011; three days later, records show that he donated $10,000 to the governor's campaign. He served until 2016. Sheffer said he has donated to Cuomo for years and that the timing of his May 2011 donation was "coincidental."

Council member Laura Aswad has contributed $25,000 to Cuomo's campaign since he appointed her, and Jaynne Keyes has contributed $10,000 since her appointment.

Keyes is married to Michael J. Del Giudice, a former top aide to Cuomo's father, the former Gov. Mario M. Cuomo. Aswad is married to Joseph W. Belluck, who has served for years on the State Commission on Judicial Conduct and the board of the State University of New York. He was reappointed by Cuomo to the judicial conduct commission in 2012 and has given $56,000 since then.

Belluck said he was unaware of the executive order until several months ago, when he was told that he could not donate because he was on the State University of New York board.

Cuomo's counsel called the order "extremely vague" but said that "we believe our interpretation is the most consistent with the purpose of the order." (Even under Spitzer's more stringent interpretation, records show that some appointees still contributed to his campaign.)

Contrary to Cuomo's interpretation, ethics handbooks of some state boards still bar donations by board members. "No board member, pursuant to executive order, may make or offer to make any monetary contribution to the campaign of the governor," according to the ethics code for MTA board members.

Because an executive order does not have the force of law, it is not clear if violating it would prompt any repercussions. The order itself says "penalties" could include "dismissal or other appropriate sanction," but the person who would enforce that would be Cuomo.

"All of this shows why you don't do ethics by executive order," said Lawrence Norden of the Brennan Center for Justice of the New York University School of Law. "This kind of thing helps to drive cynicism about Albany."

At the Tip of Manhattan

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Perhaps nowhere are the connections of Cuomo's appointees more apparent than on the board of the Battery Park City Authority, a public benefit corporation created to own and manage 92 acres of land in lower Manhattan.

The authority has power over a valuable sliver of New York: Battery Park City includes the Brookfield Place development, the global headquarters of Goldman Sachs and luxury hotels and restaurants, in addition to homes for about 10,000 residents. The authority controls development and maintains the public spaces in the area, and can impose de facto taxes on residents. None of the seven board members live there; some have a history of large political donations.

Take the chairman, Dennis Mehiel, for example. He built a fortune in the shipping container industry and was the Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor in 2002. He donated $92,000 to Cuomo's campaigns before being appointed to the authority in June 2012, government records show.

Less than a month after he was confirmed to the job, his wife, Karen, gave $20,000 to the governor's campaign account. She has given $105,000 more in the years since, while Mehiel himself has contributed $10,000, and companies associated with him have kicked in an additional $35,000.

Another board member, Lester Petracca, the president of a construction firm, has given $85,000 to Cuomo's campaigns since being confirmed in June 2013, records show. His wife, Tracy, contributed $105,000.

In all, four men have been on the Battery Park City board at least a year; three have donated personally or through their companies during their tenures.

A spokesman for the Battery Park City Authority declined to comment. Mehiel and Petracca did not return requests for comment.

Residents called the donations problematic. Anthony Notaro Jr., the chairman of Manhattan Community Board 1, said the authority board was too powerful to be filled with "the governor's close friends and fundraisers."

Others Around the State

Similar stories are scattered across state government.

At the New York Thruway Authority, Cuomo has placed his longtime Republican ally Joanne M. Mahoney, the Onondaga County executive. Since her 2015 appointment, she has given $10,000 to his campaign through her political committee, finance records show. Mahoney did not respond to messages seeking comment.

At the City University of New York, Cuomo installed as trustees the prominent lawyer Brian D. Obergfell in 2012, and the construction firm founder Sandra Wilkin and the public relations executive Ken Sunshine in 2016. Since their appointments, they have contributed $45,000, $37,500 and $5,000, respectively, records show. A university spokesman said, "The order does not apply to the CUNY board of trustees."

At the MTA, Cuomo in June appointed one of his biggest donors, the real estate developer Scott Rechler; a company tied to Rechler donated $65,000 to the governor in December. Including donations before the appointment, Rechler, his family and his companies have given Cuomo more than $500,000. Rechler declined to comment.

At the New York Convention Center Operating Corp., which oversees the Javits Center, there are a half-dozen major Cuomo donors.

Among them is George J. Tsunis, a hotel magnate who, along with his wife, Olga, has contributed more than $180,000 to Cuomo's campaign, who named him to the board in June 2016. Within a month of being appointed, Olga Tsunis donated $15,000 and made a $5,100 in-kind donation for "event costs," presumably for a fundraiser, government records show. In June 2017, George and Olga Tsunis hosted a Cuomo "summer barbecue" fundraiser at their Long Island home, according to an invitation obtained by The Times.

George Tsunis' name was in boldface type at the top. The small print included the disclaimer that state appointees were not allowed to "contribute to and/or fundraise for Andrew Cuomo 2018."

Within two weeks of the barbecue, George Tsunis got a second posting  to the Battery Park City Authority.

George Tsunis did not respond to messages seeking comment.

At the Empire State Development Corp., the powerful authority that runs the state's economic development programs, Cuomo nominated Howard Zemsky as president and chief executive in 2015. Zemsky and his wife, Leslie, have combined to donate $125,000 to Cuomo's campaign. All of Howard Zemsky's donations came before he was appointed; all $95,000 of his wife's donations came afterward.

In July 2015, Leslie Zemsky donated $25,000 on the same day that the governor's calendar shows he was meeting with Howard Zemsky, along with officials from Uber.

A Political Relationship

In Buffalo in November, Weiss, a lawyer with a specialty in affordable housing who had spent five years as one of Cuomo's appointees on the New York State Housing Finance Agency, served as host for the governor.

The arc of their political relationship is not uncommon.

Weiss gave his first $25,000 to Cuomo's campaign three weeks after joining Cuomo's transition team in 2010. By May 2011, Cuomo had forwarded Weiss' name to the state Senate as his nominee for a spot on the state's housing finance agency, according to emails obtained by The Times. (Cuomo did not immediately publicly announce Weiss' nomination at the time.)

On June 1, 2011, Weiss contributed another $25,000 to Cuomo's campaign, according to government records. Six days later, Weiss was confirmed to the housing agency, where he served until the summer of 2017. He has been on the Roswell Park Cancer Institute board since 2016. Weiss did not respond to requests for comment, nor did Manning, the other appointee who hosted a fundraiser that night.

In January, Cuomo reported having $30.5 million in his campaign bank account. It is the largest pile of contributions of any Democratic politician in the country.WESTPORT  Harvey Weinstein sold his two remaining properties in Westport to town resident Andrew Bentley for $16 million earlier this month.

The Feb. 2 sale came in the wake of sexual assault and harassment allegations leveled against the media mogul and little over a week before New Yorks attorney general filed a lawsuit against the Weinstein Company, the film studio founded by Weinstein and his brother.

Weinstein bought the Greens Farms early-1900s colonial home at 26 Beachside Ave. with his first wife, Eve Chilton, in 1994 and co-owned the beachfront property until the couple divorced in 2004 and Weinstein became the full owner, according to tax assessor records. In 2000, Weinstein bought the adjoining property at 28 Beachside Ave. for $4,000,000 and kept it as an empty lot.

While not his primary home, Weinstein held fundraisers for both Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton on the properties.

Down the street from the film producer, married couple Andrew Bentley and Fiona Garland bought 124 and 128 Beachside Ave. in 2010 for $2,100,000 and $11,585,300, respectively. In the years since, Bentley has gobbled up three more properties on Beachside Avenue, the most recent acquisitions being Weinsteins former properties.

Ive never met or seen Weinstein, Bentley said of his former neighbor, who was known to spend weekends at his Westport home with his former wife Georgina Chapman and the couples two young children before a slew of sexual assault and harassment allegations against Weinstein came to light in October.

Bentley said the property transaction was completed through the real estate company Coldwell Banker. Tax assessor records show Bentley bought 26 Beachside Ave. for $10 million and Weinsteins adjoining property for $6 million.

In the coming months, Bentley said he plans to work with the architectural firm Roger Ferris and Partners, which has an office in Westport, to come up with ideas for the property, and ostensibly a new home to put on the currently empty 28 Beachside Ave. property, which Bentley said is zoned as a building lot.

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Well let them use their imagination and come up with the coolest thing they can think of, Bentley said.

As for Weinstein, he has since been fired from the company that bears his name. It was on the verge of a fire sale until New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman filed a suit Feb. 11 against the Weinstein Company for allegedly violating state and local gender discrimination and sexual abuse and harassment laws. The purchase may be back on, however, following a productive talk on Wednesday between Schneiderman and the group of interested investors, according to TheWrap.Nokia wasn't just rolling out a line of entirely new smartphones at Mobile World Congress today. It also unveiled a new version of an old favorite that's certain to stoke some serious nostalgia among flip phone fans.





(Image credit: Caitlin McGarry/Tom's Guide)

The Nokia 8110 4G is an updated version of the late '90s stalwart made famous by both its appearance in The Matrix and its distinctive curved shape. HMD Global, which now develops phones under the Nokia banner, rebooted the 8110 with 4G connectivity. But this is still the same design that made '90s kids utter a Keanu Reeves-like "Whoa." You slide down the phone's front panel to answer a call.



While the Nokia 8110 4G comes in the traditional black, Nokia is also offering a yellow version of this 79 device, for those who take that "banana phone" description quite literally.

MORE: Best Unlocked Smartphones - Phones Under $200, $300, $500

The Nokia 8110 4G is more than just a nostalgia trip, though. Even though it's a flip phone, it's loaded with device-friendly versions of Gmail, Google Maps and Outlook. You'll also find Facebook on the phone, along with some games. (And yes, that includes a revamped version of the Snake game that proved so popular on flip phones back in the day.)



This is the latest entry to Nokia's Originals family, which updates the flip phones of yesterday to meet the demands of today. Last year, Nokia rolled out a 3G version of the Nokia 3310 to much acclaim.



It's unclear if the new 8110, launching in May, will find its way to the U.S., as flip phones remain far more popular in other markets. Still, the 3310 eventually landed on these shores, many months after it debuted at the 2017 edition of Mobile World Congress. Here's hoping we see a U.S. release of the 8110, if only to allow flip phone aficionados in the U.S. to enjoy their modern-day Matrix moment.The explosion in electric vehicles with even more demand in the near future is putting cobalt supplies at its max. Cobalt, an important metal ingredient in lithium-ion batteries, has tech companies scrambling to secure large, multi-year contracts directly with cobalt mining companies, skipping the traditional route of a middleman company brokering the deal. Apple is one such high-profile company pulling up a chair at the negotiation table to secure its future access to battery supplies.

Currently, smart phones and tech gadgets represent 25 percent of all cobalt usage

According to TechCrunch.com cobalt prices have tripled over the last 18 months to above $80,000 a metric ton, with new pressures coming directly from EV automakers. Currently, smart phones and tech gadgets represent 25 percent of all cobalt usage. A typical smart phone, like Apples iPhone, uses roughly eight grams of refined cobalt. An electric vehicle, on the other hand, can use 1,000 times that amount, according to Bloomberg Technology.

While automakers and tech giants buying right from the source might sound good for business and cobalt pricing, the collateral damage could result in human suffering. A January 2016 report from Amnesty International suggests cobalt mining companies arent being held accountable for child labor violations, especially in the Democratic Republic of the Congo where more than 50 percent of the worlds cobalt is mined. AI suggests automakers and tech giants arent doing enough to circumvent such human rights violations.

A typical smart phone, like Apples iPhone, uses roughly eight grams of refined cobalt

Since that 2016 report, Apple has published its list of cobalt suppliers and stated it would not source from small-scale mines in the Congo until confirmation of the appropriate protections were taken to guard against the lingering practice of child labor.

Most recently, Amnesty International has published a November 2017 update to its list of tech giants and automakers indirectly supporting child labor. Apple ranks as the leader of change, with minimal blind spots in its cobalt supply chain, followed by BMW and Tesla. Further down are on the next tier is General Motors, Volkswagen, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, and Daimler. Unfortunately, Renault and Chinas BYD rank lowest in actively avoiding cobalt suppliers with child labor violations.

As cobalt becomes evermore important and coveted, automakers and tech giants will have to work side by side in addressing the child labor issues in the cobalt industry. Of course, cobalt pricing and supplies hang in balance. However, the dark cloud of bad public relations looms overhead if violations arent addresses.

References

Read our full speculative review on the 2021 Apple iCar.

Read more Apple news.

Read more technology news.

Source: ElectrekHello. We are travelling to Jamaica in two weeks and would appreciate some advice. We were planning to use private transport (Joe Cool or Ashton PItt) from the airport to Luxury Bahia. Is this still recommended with everything going on (haven't heard much lately)? We were also hoping to do an excursion - Dunn's River Falls and/or Blue Hole. Is it recommended to do an excursion via private transport or safer via a preorganized group tour? If private, would we be able to squeeze both into one day or would it be too rushed? We want to enjoy our time and are OK with leaving one for a future trip :)

One final question - Club Mobay at the airport - we will definitely purchase for departure. Wondering if it's worth it for arrival (we arrive at 10:30 am).

Looking forward to seeing Jamaica for the first time! Thanks for your feedback!3 destinations is maximum you should do in 2 weeks. Instead of Whitsundays and Cairns, I suggest Port Douglas and skip Whitsundays.

I love Uluru, but you really don't have time for it unless you stop one of the other destinations. You could squeeze it in if you skip Blue Mountains and GOR.

Edited: 3 years agoWe are Australians planning to travel in New York state in October 2018 and are looking for places to visit (outside of NYC). We will have a car and are prepared to venture into adjoining states but only have about a week free on our itinerary so don't want to go too far. We are also interested in recommendations for places to stay.

Also, happy to listen to any ideas about what we should be careful of - we are seasoned travelers but have not spent a lot of time in the US before.Re: Drive from SJO to La Fortuna/Monteverde in evening

1. Re: Drive from SJO to La Fortuna/Monteverde in evening

No.

You should spend the first night by SJO (not in San Jose city), or, if really, really needed, hire a private driver for the first transfer in the dark.

It gets dark in CR before 6 pm.

I would look for a hotel that provides free airport shuttle and includes breakfast.

If you do the drive in the morning, you will enjoy the beautiful views more.It depends on a lot of things, how you feel after long flights, what time your plane lands, airfare options available to you etc.

The first time I visited Japan, I went to Kyoto first and then Osaka. I flew from New Zealand to Narita, then took a domestic flight to Itami, then flew back home from Narita. The cost of an air ticket flying Auckland-Narita-Itami, then Narita-Auckland was only NZ$50 more than a straight Auckland-Tokyo return so it was worth it. I also arrived early enough in Tokyo for there to be a connecting flight. You may also be able to fly into Kansai airport and out Narita for a price that is not too much different from a return airfare to Narita, so it's worth checking different airfare options.

Depending on what time you arrive, you may also be able to catch a train to Kyoto that day. Allow about 4 hours for this, although it may be slightly less, depending on type of train and connections.Thanks JCT for your further research on the agencies' accounting details. All I'm saying is that "stupidly low" or not - it seems very odd (and arguably not very cost-effective) for the JR Pass company to rely on an army of international agencies to distribute a *preliminary* paper voucher 'round the globe (I mean we're not even talking the final authentic voucher for goodness sake), when they could simply do that from an office right there in Japan (and make it immeasurably easier for foreigners to at least get the (did I mention?) *preliminary* paper voucher sent to their Tokyo, etc. hotel.

And I must say, it also seems odd that the subject of these companies somehow perpetually "losing money" on the Pass has come up here repeatedly. Yes, of course it's a great savings for tourists that want to expand their exploration of Japan to the further corners of the country. And yes - like most any business, profits are going to vary between services (e.g. in this case "routes"). But - enticing tourists to economically explore a wider range of the country, not only encourages the spreading of tourist dollars (for hotels, food, local souvenirs, etc.) to the further reaches of Japan (a *good* thing for smaller, more rural local economies, no?), but... surely the smart Japanese wouldn't continue a tourist train pass program if overall it was a *losing* venture.

That said... "As for postal - why not get it sent to the Narita Airport post-office like the wifi companies do."

Thanks much for this. Back in my earlier comment (#2) I asked if there was "...perhaps a place at Narita that I can have it shipped to?", so good to know. However, as I likewise acknowledged in my #4 comment (MapleG, please take note), yes - the inbound transfer on Kaisei Access Express is minimal, and I now believe it's possible to have the prelim voucher sent directly to my Tokyo hotel (still waiting to hear back from my hotel on the email, phone, etc. details so that I can... you know, provide them to the agency in South Korea or some such when I purchase the... you know preliminary JR Pass voucher).Re: New York, New York - good for first visit?

35. Re: New York, New York - good for first visit?

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We remove posts that do not follow our posting guidelines, and we reserve the right to remove any post for any reason.There is no one standard itinerary as there is so much to do in NYC & people vary so wildly. As has been suggested get ahold of a guidebook, either by purchasing one or taking one out of the library, make a list of *your* attractions, group them by location using the maps in the guidebook & then divide by day. Post the resultant list here & we can help you tweak it.

As for discounted theater tickets, go to Broadway Box, Playbill & TheaterMania & check their lists of discounted theater tickets.To add to Linda's very rational viewpoint, I agree an owner occupied two family house is less of a quandary.

In my neighborhood there are two that I am aware of that have caused problems. One was a two family bought by a speculator who did not live there, rented out both apartments and did not take good care of the property - causing major headaches (noise, trash, even a spectacular and messy sewer backup) for my friend who lives next door.

Another had bunk beds for 6 to 8 people in each bedroom of the two bedroom one bath unit creating a serious overcrowding situation that took a long time to resolve because the fire inspector had difficulty gaining access.

it should be easy to inquire about the hosts knowledge of and length of history in the neighborhood to get a better idea of what the situation is.

Edited: 3 years ago- A fire in Kitui county has gutted down property and incinerated crucial records worth millions

- The fire broke out around 1am on Sunday, February 25 and raged on past the early hours of the morning

- Affected departments include Tourism and Culture, Human Resources and Payroll, Education and ICT as well as Minerals and Natural resources.

- County workers and residents helplessly watched on as firefighters took ages to respond to calls

A fire that broke out in the wee hours of Sunday morning, February 25, has ravaged property worth millions in over five government departments in Kitui county.

It is said that equipment and information estimated to be worth millions of shillings were incinerated during the 1am inferno that raged on until early morning.

Send 'NEWS' to 40227 to receive all the important breaking news as it happens

TUKO.co.ke has established there was no response from the local fire department which was said to have one fire-truck at its disposal that had apparently broken down.

READ ALSO: Nyani adaiwa kuiba KSh 20 milioni kutoka kwa nyumba ya seneta, Nigeria

The cause of the fire is yet to be discovered however, it is suspected that such fires could be craftily engineered at times to kill evidence of corruption and destroy crucial records. Photo:Star

The fire spared nothing in its wake as county workers and residents helplessly watched as the complex was consumed by the blistering inferno.

The cause of the fire is yet to be discovered, however, it is suspected that such fires could be craftily engineered at times to kill evidence of corruption and destroy crucial records.

READ ALSO: Police officers left homeless after fire razes 54 houses at Central Police station, Nairobi

In a similar incident. TUKO.co.ke previously reported how scores of police officers based at Central Police Station, Nairobi were left homeless after a huge fire razed their iron-sheet-houses on Friday, February 23.

READ ALSO: Government bans countrywide tree harvesting following acute drought in the country

Firefighters from the Nairobi City County battled the fire suspected to have been caused by an electrical fault. Photo:Ndiema Titus/Twitter

Firefighters from the Nairobi City County battled the fire suspected to have been caused by an electrical fault.

READ ALSO: Deputy President Ruto presents Bungoma county with gifts and goodies worth KSh 300 million

The five county departments are situated in the private complex that is leased by the Kitui county government.

Affected departments include Tourism and Culture, Human Resources and Payroll, Education and ICT as well as Minerals and Natural resources.

ALSO WATCH: Homa Bay shook as governor Cyprian Awiti is out on TUKO tv

Source: Tuko- Police have revealed Mbarak Abdi Huka, as the primary suspect behind a foiled Nairobi terror attack

- Mbarak was gunned down in Isiolo following a shoot-out with police during a routine patrol on February 15

- He was said to be behind terror attacks in Lamu county and regions around the Kenya-Somali border

- He was also said to be a student of Sheikh Guyo Gorsa, a suspected militant currently behind bars

Police have revealed the identity of one of the suspected al-Shabaab militants said to have been planning a major terror attack in Nairobi, after he was shot dead in Isiolo on February 15.

Mbarak Abdi Huka was gunned down by police following a shootout with officers who identified him while conducting a routine patrol.

Send 'NEWS' to 40227 to receive all the important breaking news as it happens

READ ALSO: Nyani adaiwa kuiba KSh 20 milioni kutoka kwa nyumba ya seneta, Nigeria

The suspect was said to have been 27 years of age and was the last born in a family of four hailing from Saku constituency, Marsabit county.

In later years, he became a part time teacher at Taqwa Madrasa where he met head teacher Sheikh Guyo Gorsa, a suspected member of al-Shabaab militia.

Police reveal identity of prime suspect involved in thwarted Narobi terror attack

In a statement seen by TUKO.co.ke, police said they recovered five AK 47 rifles; 36 fully loaded magazines; one magazine with 22 rounds and one empty magazine; 36 unprimed hand grenades; 18 Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs); three military knives; and a black al-Shabaab flag.

While in Somalia, the slain Al-Shabaab operative was trained as a foot soldier in Jilib and thereafter settled in Barawe, the statement read.

READ ALSO: One student killed, 19 others injured in school bus accident

Over the years Mbarak was known to have risen in the ranks and unleashed terror upon civilians living along the Somalia border and especially within Lamu county.

READ ALSO: Deputy President Ruto presents Bungoma county with gifts and goodies worth KSh 300 million

He rose through the ranks to command his own sub-unit that would terrorize Kenyans in areas along the Kenya-Somalia border, especially within Lamu County, it stated.

READ ALSO: Forget it, Kalonzo will not take oath like Raila - Wiper leaders

Over the years Mbarak was known to have risen in the ranks and brought terror to Kenyans along the Somalia border and within Lamu county. Photo: Intelligencebriefs.com

Mbarak first appeared on the police radar after the Lamu-Tana Delta attacks of June 2014, and was also involved in an attack on the KDF base in Lamu back in 2015.

His alleged mentor Sheikh Guyo remains in custody where an appeal to be released on bail was rejected by the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).

This was due to evidence that implicated Guyo as a member of al-Shabaab militia.

ALSO WATCH: Homa Bay shook as governor Cyprian Awiti is out on TUKO tv

Source: Tuko.co.keTwo provocateurs ripped the poster, and police officers are trying to take the activist to the police station.

The enforcers in the Russian-occupied Bakhchisaray have detained a Crimean Tatar woman who staged single-person pickets outside the Khan's Palace holding a poster saying "Hands off the Khan's Palace."

"We have received information that Crimean Tatar Elmaz Akimova who staged single-person picket with a poster saying "Hands off the Khan's Palace" was detained in Bakhchisaray" lawyer Emil Kurbedinov wrote on Facebook.

Read alsoRussia destroying 16th Century Crimean Tatar Khans Palace in occupied Crimea"Two provocateurs ripped the poster, and now police officers are trying to take the activist to the police station. Civil defenders are going to the scene," he added.

As UNIAN reported, Deputy Chairman of the Mejlis of the Crimea Tatar People Ilmi Umerov earlier said Ukraine should appeal to international organizations for help in the rescue of the world-renowned Khan's Palace in the occupied Crimea from Russia's so-called 'restoration work,' which destroys its identity," according to RFE/RL's Krym-Realii media project.

The Khan's Palace in Bakhchysaray was placed on UNESCO's World Heritage Tentative List back in 2003, but the necessary work for establishing its international status was unfortunately not completed. According to Edem Dudakov, the former head of the Crimean Committee on Inter-Ethnic Relations and Deported Peoples, if the work now underway continues, the complex which includes the Palace itself, a hall for receiving visitors, two mosques, a harem and other buildings, will lose any chance of gaining UNESCO recognition in future.

It is also a major attack by an occupying force on a monument of considerable historical and cultural importance for the Crimean Tatar People and for Ukraine The complex was built as the main residence of the monarchs of the Crimean Khanate - the state of the Crimean Tatar people  and was the political, religious and cultural centre of the Crimean Tatar community until the collapse of the Khanate in 1783.

Restoration work on any building of historical significance needs to be carried out by specialists with maximum use of the same materials and technology. Instead, the work has been passed to a construction firm called Kiramet with no relevant experience.The Russian occupation groups continue to violate the ceasefire in Donbas.

Russia's hybrid military forces mounted four attacks on Ukrainian army positions in Donbas in the past 24 hours; there were no casualties among Ukrainian soldiers.

Read alsoDay in ATO: Russian proxies continue firing from Minsk-banned weaponsThe Russian occupation groups continue to violate the ceasefire, using weapons that have already had to be withdrawn from the contact line, the headquarters of Ukraine's military operations posted on Facebook.

In the evening, Russian mercenaries once again flagrantly violated the Minsk accords in the Luhansk sector, employing 152mm artillery systems near the village of Pidlisne.

The enemy fired 82mm mortars and heavy machine guns on the Ukrainian army positions near the villages of Krymske. The occupiers also fired grenade launchers and small arms on defenders of the villages of Lobacheve, and used small arms to provoke Ukrainian soldiers into combat confrontations near the villages of Stanytsia Luhanska.

It was earlier reported that Ukrainian members of the Joint Center for Ceasefire Coordination (JCCC) and the OSCE CMM patrol found 152mm shell craters outside Pidlisne.Militants used mortars, grenade launchers, and small arms.

Russia's hybrid military forces mounted five attacks on Ukrainian army positions in Donbas on Sunday, February 25, with one Ukrainian soldier reported as killed in action (KIA) and another one as wounded in action (WIA).

Read alsoNo shellings by militants recorded in Donbas Saturday"A total of five shootings by occupiers have been recorded since the earlier hours of Sunday morning. Unfortunately, one Ukrainian soldier was killed, while another was wounded as a result of enemy attack. We express condolences to the relatives and friends of the serviceman who gave his life for Ukraine," the headquarters of Ukraine's military operations said in a statement.

In the Luhansk sector, militants used 82mm mortars near the village of Zaitseve. The enemy also fired grenade launchers and small arms on Ukrainian strong points near the villages of Krymske and Novoluhanske.

In the Donetsk sector, the occupiers opened fire from 82mm mortars and small arms outside the village of Vodiane, as well as fired small arms near Butivka coal mine.(@FahadShabbir)

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 25th Feb, 2018 ) :The Chairperson of Prime Minister Youth Programme Leila Khan on Sunday revealed that 500,000 laptops would be distributed among talented and deserving students by 2020 alongwith broadband internet devices across the country to improve their learning through technology.

The Federal government's initiative taken in 2014, under Prime Minister's Scheme for Provision of laptops, was aimed at encouraging and supporting deserving students to digitalize the mode of studies in public sector universities, she said.

The scheme's Primary objective was to assist students from middle and lower middle class to use latest qualitative tools for their research studies. Research and Public Relation Officer, Abdul Shakir informed that scheme was targeted to facilitate 100,000 students per year for which an amount of Rs.

5.1 billion and Rs. 21.3 billion was earmarked for FY 2013-14 and FY 2014-2018 respectively. He said that a single laptop costs Rs. 44,000, so the government would be investing billions of rupees to secure the future of the young generation of the country.

Shakir said, some 200,000 more laptops would be distributed in next two years, taking the total figure to 500, 000 adding that 300,000 laptops had been distributed till date. Regional Coordinator at Higher Education Commission (HEC), Qaim Ali Shah, highlighting the salient feature of the scheme said it prioritized MS and Ph.D students as their studies involve research work.

The scheme, which earlier covered all provinces, was extended through HEC to Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) and FATA on the direction of Senate Standing Committee in 2014. Recently Diploma Associate Engineers were also included in the scheme by the government, Qaim said.

Ishtiaq Khattk , a student of M. Phil, called the facility an educational boon for students going through their research in qualitative higher education. The wireless broadband device being provided along with laptop was also useful as 20GB in Rs500 was sufficient for a student as compared to other internet packages being offered in the market.(@ChaudhryMAli88)

 Karachi, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 25th Feb, 2018) : The Anti car Lifting Cell (ACLC) arrested four members of a bike lifter gang and recovered 10 stolen/snatched bikes hereon Sunday.  According to details, taking notice of an increase in car/motorcycle lifting incidents in the metropolis, the ACLC conducted operation in different areas of Karachi.

During operation, four member of a bike-lifter gang were arrested with 10 stolen/snatched motorcycles.  The detainees in the preliminary investigation admitted their involvement in car/motorcycle lifting incidents across the city.  The ACLC impounded the recovered bikes and the nabbed culprits were being interrogated after registering cases against them. (@rukhshanmir)

LAHORE, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 25th Feb, 2018 ) :Gastro Summit 2018, held under the aegis of Pakistan Society of Gastroenterology, concluded here at a local hotel where 200 research papers in a record number were presented.

These papers focused on modern treatment of diseases of liver, stomach and hepatitis and highlighted the use of endoscopic ultrasound. In his concluding address Principal Post-graduate Medical Institute Prof Dr Ghais-un-Nabi Tayyab said that with the continuous efforts of the seniors in medical field Pakistan had entered the comity of developed nations.

He said that hepatitis was spreading widely and the Punjab government had paid special attention to it. Annually Rs3.5 billion are being spent to provide free-of-cost medicines to the patients and setting up separate wards of Gastroenterology is also a priority of the government, he added.

Prof Ghias-un-Nabi acknowledged the participation of Family Physician Association in Gastro Summit 2018 and welcomed Dr Mian Tariq Mahmood in the conference. Principal PGMI said that young doctors could benefit from the international summit and provide latest medical facilities to the patients.

Talking to the media, Prof Ghias said that efforts were being made to make hepatitis-free society and 1457 new posts of dedicated and skilled manpower doctors and staff had been created in the separate Gastroenterology wards of Punjab province and its credit goes to Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

He said that more than 70,000 patients are expected to benefit annually from endoscopy procedures, while 400,000 patients would be visiting hepatitis clinics also. The principal said that so far 281,678 patients had been registered while 196,936 were screened for Hepatitis B & C.

Meanwhile, 172,208 patients have received vaccination for Hepatitis B and 54,489 got free medication. Organisers of the conference, Prof Sumail Zafar, Dr Israr-ul-Haque Toor thanked the national and international guests and said that it was an honor for Pakistan having delegates from the USA, UK, Canada and Turkey.

Moreover, foreign delegates of the conference visited historical places of Lahore. They expressed special gratitude to traditional hospitality of Lahoritis and said they would remember the tour for a long time. APP/mnb/rsdThe best bang for your buck! This option enables you to purchase online 24/7 access and receive the Sunday, Tuesday & Thursday print edition at no additional cost * Print edition only available in our carrier delivery area. Allow up to 72 hours for delivery of your print edition to begin. Print edition not available for Day Pass option.---prof Ghias Un Nabi Says, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 25th Feb, 2018) : Held under the aegis of Pakistan Society of Gastroenterology, the "Gastro Summit 2018" concluded here at PC Hotel on Sunday where 200 research papers in a record number were presented which were directly focused on the modern treatment of the diseases of liver, stomach and hepatitis and light was thrown on the use of endoscopic ultrasound.

Addressing the concluding ceremony, Principal Post Graduate Medical Institute Prof. Dr. Ghais un Nabi Tayyab said that with the continuous efforts of the seniors in medical field Pakistan has entered in the comity of developed nations and with the help of Almighty Allah for major diseases people can avail best and modern treatment in their own country.

He said disease of hepatitis is a wide spreading and Punjab Government has given special focus to it. Annually 3.5 billion rupees are being spent to provide free of cost medicine while including separate wards Gastroenterology is also priority of the government, he added.

Prof. Ghias un Nabi Tayyab acknowledged the participation of Family Physician Association in Gastro Summit 2018 and welcomed Dr. Mian Tariq Mahmood in the Conference. He said that family physician is most important segment of the medical field and said that Pakistan Society of Gastroenterology played pivotal role by uniting different organization on one platform for the betterment of doctors.

Principal PGMI said that young doctors can get benefit of this international summit in their day to day work and provide latest medical facilities to the patients. Later, talking to media, Prof.

Ghias ul Nabi Tayyab disclosed that efforts are being made to make hepatitis free society and 1457 new posts of dedicated and skilled manpower doctors and staff has been created in the separate Gastroenterology wards of Punjab Province and its credit goes to the Chief Minister Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif.

He told that by providing this facility more than 70,000 patients are expected to benefit annually from endoscopy procedures while 400,000 patients would be visiting hepatitis clinics also.

Principal PGMI told that so far 281,678 patients have been registered while 196,936 patients were screened for Hepatitis B & C.

Meanwhile 172,208 patients have received vaccination for Hepatitis B and 54,489 got free medication. Prof. Ghais un Nabi Tayyab called upon the young doctors to get benefit of the latest research and medical development and apply it for treatment of lever, stomach and other diseases.

He said that disease free Pakistan would be a gift for the new generation and as a doctor we all should endeavor to create awareness and train every citizen to make safe from medical problems in future.

Organizer of the Conference, Prof. Sumail Zafar, Dr. Israr ul Haque Toor thanked the national and international guests and said that indeed it was an honor for Pakistan having delegates from USA, UK, Canada and Turkey which would increase standard of treatment in our public sector hospitals.

On the last day of the conference, foreign doctors gave presentations on the gastroenterology, endoscopic ultra sound, ERCP, EUS and fatness and its treatment. Different training sessions and group discussions were also held there in which Pakistani doctors expressed their interest.

Guests were also awarded souvenirs by the management of the conference. Moreover, foreign delegates of this conference paid visits to the historic places of Lahore and expressed deep interest there.

They expressed special gratitude towards traditional hospitality of Lahoritis and said they would remember this tour for long time and wish to come again. They also lauded the efforts of Prof. Ghias un Nabi Tayyab and Dr.

Israr ul Haque Toor on holding of such an organized conference which was attended by such a large number of guests and said that they would return from Lahore with sweet memories.(@ChaudhryMAli88)

GILGIT, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 25th Feb, 2018 ) ::Governor Gilgit Baltistan, Mir Ghazenfer Ali has summoned the 24th session of GB Legislative Assembly, Monday, February 26 at 11.00 am in Assembly hall Gilgit said a notification.

Important issues including prevailing political situation etc will be discussed during the session. All arrangements have been made for the session. APP/shb/ash/(@ChaudhryMAli88)

MIRPUR (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 25th Feb, 2018 ) , Feb 25 (APP)::President of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), Sardar Masood Khan has said that the Indian occupied Kashmir - the paradise on earth - was on fire and the world community was not sending any firefighters or peacekeepers to extinguish the raging fires there.

He made these remarks while addressing a convention of British Councilors, Lord Mayors and Mayors in London, hosted by the Pakistan High Commission in the United Kingdom, a message received here on Sunday said.

He paid tribute to Pakistan High Commissioner Ibn-e-Abbas for successfully organizing and hosting the event and congratulated the councilors of Pakistani and Kashmiri extraction for their successful integration into the British political fabric.

He said that this was no accidental fire, but Indian occupation forces were the "arsonists" who would not let any firefighter enter into the region and extinguish the fires. And the world was busy appeasing India and the arsonists instead of sending peacekeepers to the region because they say they have their economic interests tied with that country.

The president also said Jammu and Kashmir was the most obscure conflict in the region where thousands of people are killed, maimed, tortured, and incarcerated every year. Unlike other conflicts, Kashmir has little visibility on the international radar screen and Kashmir is also the least reported conflict, he said.

The United Nations Security Council and the United Nations Secretary General, instead of hiding behind bland statements, should intercede to take full cognizance of the situation in the Indian occupied Kashmir and stop massacres, killings, and illegal detentions.

India would never agree to the UN Secretary General's good offices but why should the SG be deterred by India's non-compliance? The president asked: Has the UN not intervened in South Sudan, Mali, Central African Republic, Yemen, and Libya, without waiting for the consent of the parties to the conflict? Sardar Masood said the UN Security Council should, instead of acting as a bystander in the Kashmir dispute, should take full cognizance of the matter and play its rightful role.

He appealed to the Councilors, mayors and lord mayors to raise the visibility of the Kashmir dispute in the parleys in the legislative bodies, conventions and conferences.

This, he said, could be done by raising questions on the floors, moving resolutions, and holding events on the sidelines.

He said Pakistan should stop talking to India on Kashmir because of three reasons: Kashmir is an international, not a bilateral, dispute; secondly, India has closed all doors for bilateral dialogue; and thirdly, the rounds of bilateral engagement so far have proved to be a mirage and totally unproductive.

The real pressure for the solution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute will come from the international forums and global civil society. The AJK president clarified that Jammu and Kashmir never was and never will be an integral part of India.

"That's a falsehood coined by India, which it cannot sustain or justify, as is evident from the situation on the ground", he said. He also underlined that Kashmir was a trilateral issue between Pakistan, India and the people of Jammu and Kashmir and the Kashmiris were the most important party in this dispute because they have to decide their political future in accordance with the UN Security Council resolutions.

He said India wants to resolve the Jammu and Kashmir through the use of unbridled and brutal state terrorism; whereas Pakistan believes in dialogue, diplomacy and the rule of law as written into the UN Charter.

Kashmiris were not, he said, terrorists but were waging a peaceful movement for the libertarian of their own homeland. "This is neither terrorism, nor a crime by any law or standard; this is a legitimate aspiration", he said.

The president introduced Azad Kashmir as a destination for investment, commerce and economic activity. He apprised his audience how Azad Kashmir had become part of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor and a hub for economic activity focusing on roads, hydropower generation, high quality and higher education, universal access to health, organization of tourism as an industry, exploitation of extractive industry, and development of the agriculture sector.

He told his audience that work on the Rathua Haryana bridge will be completed with speed. APP/ahr/majISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 25th Feb, 2018 ) :Only 53 percent of people would be able to get safe drinking water till 2030 if the pace of improvement of water resources remained same, lagging far behind the set goal of reaching 100 percent population under Sustainable Development Goal (SDG).

"The pace of improvement should be three-times more than the present one, which required sustainable investment in infrastructure and human resources", said a report of Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources (PCRWR).

The report titled "Water Quality Status of Major Cities of Pakistan 2015-16", issued recently revealed that most of the samples (57 percent) monitored were found microbiologically contaminated.

The other contaminations included arsenic six percent, turbidity eight percent, chloride 15 percent, nitrate six percent TDS 11 percent, hardness six percent and iron 10 percent. The report further added that the drinking water quality situation in Sindh and Balochistan provinces was found almost similar as in the previous monitoring years.

Whereas, some improvements have been seen in some cities of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Through treatment of drinking water sources only microbial contamination, it would be possible to make drinking water supply safe up to 80 percent, the report said. C:hum/P:hum/L:abk/R:abk(@rukhshanmir)

Pakistan Navy's operational exercise Ribat-2018 commenced with opening brief held at Karachi, Vice Chief of the Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Kaleem Shaukat, graced the occasion as chief guest.

KARACHI, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 24th Feb, 2018 ) :Pakistan Navy's operational exercise Ribat-2018 commenced with opening brief held at Karachi, Vice Chief of the Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Kaleem Shaukat, graced the occasion as chief guest.

RIBAT series of exercises are focused on validating Pakistan Navy (PN) war fighting concepts under evolving multi-faceted threats ranging from conventional to sub conventional warfare, said an official press release here on Saturday.

The exercise would also encompass joint operations of PN with PAF at extended ranges into the Arabian Sea. In his address, the Vice Chief of Naval Staff emphasized on the combat readiness of Pakistan Navy and that joint operational exercises are the essence of modern warfare which affords real-time training to undertake defence of the motherland against any aggression.

He urged all the participants not to be deterred by the numerical superiority or greater wherewithal of the enemy as Islamic history is full of incidences of smaller Muslim forces defeating larger enemies through their superior strategy, faith in ALLAH (SWT) and own just cause.

He expressed hope that the exercise will prove to be professionally rewarding for both the combat and support elements of PN and PAF. Besides, operational units of Fleet Command, units from Coastal and Logistics Commands are also taking part in the exercise.

Special emphasis will be laid in the exercise to enhance interoperability between naval and air assets and validation of war plans. The exercise will continue till March 6 in the North Arabian Sea and will culminate with a fire power demonstration by combat units of Pakistan Navy and Pakistan Air Force.RAWALPINDI, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 25th Feb, 2018 ) :The pharmaceutical traders would go on strike from March 5 to protest against amendments in the drug acts. Talking to media, President of Pharmaceutical Association Arshad Awan said they would shutter down for not fulfilling the promises in the draft against the Amendment of Drug Act 2017.

He said pharma industry was flourishing in the country and contributing in national exports at high volume. "We are not against the amendments, however, our rights should be protected." He said those involved in manufacture and sale of spurious medicines were enemy of humanity and should be awarded deterrent punishment.MIRPUR (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 25th Feb, 2018 ) , Feb 25 (APP)::Both treasury and opposition benches in AJK unanimously agreed over early implementation of the decision to transfer of all administrative powers of AJK Council to AJK government and to make AJK Legislative Assembly a fully powerful and strong institution of legislation.

It was announced in a joint official statement after a meeting between Prime Minister AJK, Raja Muhammad Farooq Haider Khan and President of Pakistan Peoples Party AJK, Chaudhry Latif Akbar on Sunday.

Chaudhary Muhammad Matloob Inqalabi, Chaudhary Pervaiz Ashraf, Sardar Javed Ayub and Azadar Shah were also present in a detailed meeting among the heads of the two parties of the state. It was decided to transfer all the subjects including the financial matters, legislation power including amendments in AJK interim constitution Act 1974, tax recovery and others from AJK Council to AJK Assembly.

The Constitutional Committee of all the political parties comprised since 2012 will fully co-operate with each other for the implementation of this much awaited initiative. It was also decided in the meeting to further enhance the discussion and suggestion process between all political parties after the approval made by the government of Pakistan on other important matters including the abolishment of the Kashmir Council.

Latif Akbar assured the AJK prime minister for their support in constitutional amendment. It was also agreed to set aside politics on the important issues of the AJK especially achieving its rights and assured full support to enhance the authoritative powers and administrative powers of Azad Jammu and Kashmir government. APP/ahr/majRAWALPINDI, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 25th Feb, 2018 ) :Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation (PTDC) is making all-out efforts for the promotion of tourism in the country and due to PTDC's efforts, Pakistan government has allowed group tourists visa on arrival for the tourists of several countries including the US and UK said Managing Director, PTDC, Ch.

Abdul Ghafoor Khan. Talking to APP, he said, PTDC has succeeded to arrange facility of Tourists Visa on the arrival to the tourists come to Pakistan from abroad. The MD said that the leadership of the incumbent government is paying attention for the promotion of tourism in the country.

The tourists will be given multiple entry 30-day visas. The visit to Pakistan will need to be organized through a designated tour operator. The tour operator will be required to furnish tourist documents to the FIA Immigration Office with a requisite undertaking.

Business visa on arrival will also be issued to citizens from 68 countries. Last month, PTDC approached authorities concerned to review visa policy for foreign tourists. "We will focus on overseas Pakistanis and foreign tourists during year 2018, Ch.

Ghafoor said. He said that visa policy for foreign tourists was required to be reviewed to facilitate more tourists from across the world." "We had also requested civil aviation to provide places at all international airports in the country to set-up Tourism Information Desks," he said.

He said that the PTDC is also appointing focal persons in big cities of the country and coordinators for tourism in all tourism-generating countries to increase tourist influx to Pakistan, who will work as a bridge between tourism departments and tourists.

24 countries including China, Finland, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Greece, the United Kingdom and the United States are the countries eligible for the new policy. According to PTDC, tourism has been on the rise in Pakistan, with more than thrice the number of international tourists travelling to the country in 2016 as compared to just three years ago.

International tourists have more than tripled since 2013 to 1.75 million in 2016, while domestic travellers have jumped 30 per cent to 38.3m. "We are also making efforts for the promotion of domestic tourism and the people while considering PTDC their own department should benefit from its facilities," he added.

Ghafoor Khan, the citizens who wanted to see beautiful places of Pakistan must visit tourist attractive destinations of the country. The MD referred to the UNWTO Conference organized recently by the PTDC which has created soft image of Pakistan among the world states.

He said, the services of City Tour Bus Services for Islamabad has also been launched which is operating successfully. The PTDC would shortly introduce Chartered Flights and Helicopters for visits to the tourist destinations.

The establishment of Tourist Police on the pattern of New Zealand is also being considered, he added. Ghafoor Khan said, the PTDC in near future would ink agreements with Iran, Uzbekistan, Mauritius and Belarus to work jointly for the promotion of tourism in Pakistan.(@FahadShabbir)

Karachi, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 25th Feb, 2018) : Pak Sarzameen Party Chairman Mustafa Kamal said on Sunday that until and unless MQM is not removed from the politics of Karachi, the issues faced by the metropolis could not be resolved.

Addressing members of business community, he said that MQM is enjoying the perks and privileges in the municipal government system but on which performance they would reach out to their voter in next general elections.

"When they will reach out to voter, they will ask as to why water, sewerage and other issues were not resolved," he said.

He said that the MNA's, MPAs and other people at the authority level are enjoying protocols but doing nothing for the masses.

He said that those MPAs and MNAs who joined PSP had left all of the perks they were enjoying at that time. "At the time when we raise voice against this injustice, the only punishment to speaking against this evil was death but we remand committed to our cause," he said.

He asked the business community members as to if they had any other option than the PSP in the city. "What I have told sometimes back has proved now," he said.KARACHI, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 25th Feb, 2018 ) :The recently formed Sindh Mental Health Authority (SMHA) on Saturday organised a seminar to create awareness about the Sindh Mental Health Act (SMHA) 2015.

It was presided by Chairperson of Sindh Mental Health Authority Senator Dr. Karim Khuwaja while Prof Dr Syed Haroon Ahmed was the chief guest, said a press release issued here on Sunday. The event was attended by psychiatrists, psychologists, media persons and officials of the Sindh government.

Addressing the seminar, Dr Karim Khuwaja said the SMHA was designed to protect basic human and civil rights of persons with mental illness and to improve the quality of care provided to them. According to the law, courts of protection and district magistrates would be assigned especially to hear cases, he added.

Dr Khuwaja stated that the event, which was focused on mental health professionals, was a first step towards raising awareness and sensitizing different groups of stakeholders about the law. Future sessions were planned for members of the judiciary and lawyers, media, and general community and consumers of mental health services, he added.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr Syed Haroon Ahmed reiterated the importance of sensitising the judiciary and the lawyers community. Dr Rubeena Kidwai presented a brief history of mental health laws in Pakistan and acknowledged the crucial role of many advocates and campaigners for the cause of mental health law over the last thirty years whose efforts led to the establishment of SMHA.

Dr Muzaffar Husain, a UK-based psychiatrist and expert in forensic psychiatry, conducted a lively, informative and interactive session on basic clauses of SMHA. He underscored the conditions under which "detention" or involuntary admission was necessary, such as when a person with mental illness poses serious threat to self or others.

Journalist and rights activist Dr. Ayub Shaikh, in his speech, pointed out that there were 129 Tehsils in Sindh but there were not enough psychiatrists/mental health professionals to cover the whole populations of Sindh.

He suggested that the Sindh Government should ensure that each of the Tehsils of Sindh should have at least one well-trained and qualified psychiatrist. Dr. Zia Awan, Advocate of Supreme Court, highlighted the need for the Sindh Mental Health Authority to conduct strategic planning and develop a budget for implementing the law in its true spirit.

Dr, Pervaiz Ahmed Makhdoom, a specialist in Medical Jurisprudence, highlighted that in each legal case, there are numerous professionals as stakeholders but the stakeholders have limited understanding of each other's perspective, therefore there was a need to highlighted the need for inter-professional training. APP/amh/mkmLAHORE, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 25th Feb, 2018 ) :Eminent lawyer S M Zafar on Sunday said the Senate and National Assembly elections should be held on time as it was the right of the people.

Addressing a seminar organised by the Press Institute of National Affairs (PINA) here, he said the masses did not want confrontation between institutions. PINA Secretary General Altaf Hassan Qureshi said the seminar had been organised for getting positive suggestions to steer the country out of the present situation.

Dialogue at national level was very important, he added. He said political parties should not take up their issues in the courts. Other speakers said that creative thinking and awareness among the masses was need of the hour.

They said that every institution should work within the given constitutional limits. They added that parliament had failed in playing its role which was requirement of the current situation as parliament was the place where issues should be resolved.

The speakers suggested that Senate elections should also be held through direct polling and such parties should be given represenation which failed to obtain five per cent votes. Professor Shabbir Anwar, Rauf Tahir, M Mehdi, Javaid Nawaz, Rehmat Ali Mujahid, Professor Dr Rasheed Ahmad and Sajjad Mir addressed the seminar. APP/msh/asm(@ChaudhryMAli88)

LAHORE, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 25th Feb, 2018 ) :Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif has congratulated the newly-elected Lahore High Court Bar Association (LHCBA) President Anwarul Haq Pannu, Vice President Chaudhry Noor Sammad Khan and other office-bearers.

The chief minister, in his message of felicitation here Sunday, said the LHCBA had assumed an effective role in the implementation of rule of law and supremacy of the Constitution and that role was expected from the newly-elected leadership that they would use their energies and resources for the welfare of lawyers and to solve their problems.

He said the lawyers community had always played a historical role for the stability of democratic system and to restore the independence of judiciary. Their part was imperative for providing immediate justice to the general population, he added. APP/msh/asm(@FahadShabbir)

HYDERABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 25th Feb, 2018 ) :The chairman Sindh Irrigation and Drainage Authority (SIDA) Muhammad Nawaz Chandio informed that for the first time in Sindh the provincial government was formulating a water policy to meet agricultural and other requirements of precious natural resource water.

Talking to the media after a consultative meeting with the farmers in the office of Sindh Chamber of Agriculture (SCA) here Sunday, he said in that regard the SIDA was collecting recommendations from all the stakeholders in every district of Sindh.

Chandio told that an important meeting over the water policy was scheduled for February 27 in Karachi. He assured that the natural waterways in the districts of southern Sindh would be restored.

The SIDA's Chairman also assured that adequate natural storage systems would be restored and formed for some 8 million cusecs of water which was wasted during the flood season.

The chairman SIDA has claimed that around 4,000 cusecs water from Sindh's share in the Indus river is being stolen daily.

"The Sindh government is fighting the case to get its due share of water," he said. He requested the farmers to identify their problems and offered SIDA's help to resolve the same.The SCA's President Qabool Muhammad Khatian, General Secretary Zahid Bhurgari and other office bearers suggested that Bhasha Dam should be built to prevent water scarcity in future.They also asked Sindh Government to restore Manchar, Keenjhar and other lakes and waterways to enhance supply of irrigation water and to serve the purpose of storage as well.

APP/zmb/ali(@ChaudhryMAli88)

 Sukkur, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 25th Feb, 2018) : Two women among three people were killed when armed men opened fire on the opponents to settle old rivalry hereon Sunday.  Police said that armed culprits barged into residence of a member of opponent group located in Gaddani Phatak, Sukkur and opened indiscriminate fire people present in the house.

As a result of firing three people including Sadiq Gadani, his wife and a relative woman were killed on the spot and the assailants fled the scene after committing triple murder.  The bodies were shifted to hospital for postmortem and the police after registering a case against the culprits started raids for their arrest. LAHORE, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 25th Feb, 2018 ) :The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in collaboration with the Higher Educational Commission and the Institute of Communication Studies, Punjab University, will organise two international conferences on media from February 27 to March 1.

Senior subject specialists, researchers and journalists from North America, Norway, Malaysia, Indonesia, Afghanistan, Nepal and Bangladesh will take part in both international conferences to be held at the Punjab University.

Senior journalists and communication experts from all over the country will also contribute in the conferences. The first one-day conference on "World Trends in Freedom of Expression and Media Development; A Pakistani Perspective on UNESCO Report" will be held on Feb 27, and the second on "Working Within and Against the Structures: Women, Media and Transnational Perspective" from Feb 28 to March 1.

Vice Chancellor University of the Punjab Prof Dr Zakarya Zakir, ambassadors of Norway and Sweden, In-charge Institute of Communication Studies Punjab University Dr Noshina Saleem, Dr Bushra Hameed-ur-Rahman, senior journalists Sohail Warraich, Talat Hussain, Salman Ghani, Naseem Zahra, Mazhar Abbas, Tanveer Shahzad, Azam Chaudhry, Katrina Hussein, Humaira Awais, Nosheen Naqvi and others will also participate in the conferences.

During the three days, there will be total 9 sessions, in which research papers will be presented and debates will take place on several topics. These conferences are unique as over 100 international scholars, journalists and media experts will express their views under one roof. APP/mnb/asm/rsdA youth killed his sister over domestic issue in the limits of Bahlak police, here on Saturday

FAISALABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 24th Feb, 2018 ) :A youth killed his sister over domestic issue in the limits of Bahlak police, here on Saturday. Police said that, one Adeel of Chak No 609-GB Chahmeeran killed his sister Ambreen (20), with a sharp-edge weapon over domestic dispute. The police took the body into custody and started investigation.(@ChaudhryMAli88)

Phnom Penh, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 25th Feb, 2018 ) :Cambodia's ruling party performed well in controversial Senate elections on Sunday, a senior official said, in a vote derided as a "farce" by critics as it proceeded without a viable opposition.

The vestiges of Cambodia's democratic project crumbled late last year when strongman Hun Sen oversaw a crackdown on the press, civil society and the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party, which was disbanded in a court ruling not long after its leader was arrested on treason charges.

Though the Senate vote arouses little interest in Cambodia because the upper house is seen as a rubber-stamp body and candidates are elected by other officials rather than the public, the result is a clear prelude to the national poll set for July.

"We won a lot of seats," Cambodian People's Party (CPP) spokesman Sok Eysan told AFP, declining to share specific figures. "We understand the number of seats we got, but we will wait for the NEC (National Election Committee) to announce the results." In an earlier interview he brushed off allegations that the election was undemocratic.

"CPP is regretful that we lost a main challenger but we cannot help them because they violated the law," he said, referring to the opposition party. The majority of the 62-seat Senate is elected by thousands of local councillors and National Assembly members.

But the opposition CNRP will have no say as its parliamentary and commune seats were redistributed to other parties following its dissolution in November.

The CPP now holds more than 95 percent of the commune councillor positions, enough to sweep the vote.

Turnout was more than 99 percent, the NEC said at a press conference after voting closed. A total of four groups, including the royalist Funcinpec Party, are contesting the poll. It is the first time that the Senate election is being held without a main opposition party.

The six-year-term Senate was formed in 1999 and its first election was held in 2006. Opposition figure Sam Rainsy, who helped co-found the CNRP, said in a statement from abroad that the Senate election was a "farce" and urged the international community to condemn it.

Western democracies and rights groups have slammed Hun Sen's effort to clear out rivals. The EU and the US have pulled support for the July election, while Germany has suspended preferential visa treatment for private travel for Hun Sen and his family.

Sebastian Strangio, author of "Hun Sen's Cambodia", said the main effect of the CPP's recent clampdown "has been simply to remove the pretence (of a functional democracy) and entrench a new era of less apologetic one-party domination." In Sunday's election 58 seats are voted on by the councillors and lawmakers, while the country's king and the National Assembly each put forward two candidates to reach the total of 62.(@rukhshanmir)

Baghdad, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 25th Feb, 2018 ) :An Iraqi criminal court on Sunday sentenced to death 15 Turkish women after finding them guilty of belonging to the Islamic State group, a judicial official said.

Another Turkish woman accused of membership of the jihadist group was given a life sentence, the official said, adding they had all acknowledged the charges against them. Iraq, which has detained at least 560 women, as well as 600 children, identified as jihadist or relatives of suspected IS fighters, is wasting no time in putting them on trial.

In January, a court sentenced a German woman to death on charges of providing logistical support to IS, and a Turkish woman was earlier this month also handed the death penalty. Human Rights Watch denounced the rulings as "unfair".

Earlier this week, a Baghdad court sentenced a French woman, Melina Boughedir, to seven months in jail for entering Iraq illegally but ordered her release on time already served.

Baghdad declared military victory over IS in December, after having expelled the jihadists from all urban centres they had held in northern and western Iraq since 2014.

According to experts, an estimated 20,000 people are being held in jail in Iraq for alleged membership of IS. There is no official figure. Separately, authorities in Iraqi Kurdistan said in early February they had detained some 4,000 suspected IS members, including foreigners.

Iraq's anti-terrorism law empowers courts to convict people who are believed to have helped IS even if they are not accused of carrying out attacks. It also allows for the death penalty to be issued against anyone -- including non-combatants -- found guilty of belonging to IS.As the ruling Cambodian Peoples Party of Prime Minister Hun Sen is poised to win this weekends Senate election, consolidating the premiers grip on power, observers have warned that a CPP victory will push the country further towards one-party rule.

Sundays election will see 58 of the Senates 62 members elected by a vote of members of parliament and more than 11,000 commune councilors across the country. The remaining senators are appointed by parliament and the king.

Yong Kim Eng, president of the People Center for Development and Peace (PDP-Center), said the CPP was now unchallenged, having removed all checks and balances on its rule.

We are concerned about it because a democratic process legislative functions should have a system of checks and balances. There is no other party in any of the legislative branches that can check, debate, discuss the important work of the government effectively, he said.

The CPP dissolved the countrys main opposition party, the Cambodian National Rescue Party, in November. The CPP went on to take most of the 5,007 commune seats that the CNRP won at the last local elections, giving it a huge majority in the Senate election.

Schanley Kuch, a Cambodian political analyst residing in Maryland, said the CPP would take any measures possible to win the Senate election

Cambodia will have a one-party government. It totally contradicts what it has stipulated in the Cambodian constitution, he said.

If the government is under an individual, there will not be checks and balances, he added.

Korn Savang, an election monitor at Comfrel, said no party was in a position to challenge the CPP in the election. We can see that almost 100 percent of the voters are from the ruling party, he said.

Sam Kuntheamy, executive director of the Neutral and Impartial Committee for Free and Fair Elections in Cambodia (NICFEC), said the ruling party will win almost all of the seats in the election.

There cant be checks and balances because there are only 44 members of the parliament from new parties and the CPP controls 79 seats. And then there are 58 senators ... so almost all are under the control of the ruling party.

Sok Eysan, a ruling party spokesman, denied that the CPP was forming a one-party system.The Trump administration is responding tepidly following North Koreas expression of willingness to hold talks with the United States.



We will see if Pyongyangs message today, that it is willing to hold talks, represents the first steps along the path to denuclearization. In the meantime, the United States and the world must continue to make clear that North Koreas nuclear and missile programs are a dead end, said a statement issued by White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders.



She emphasized that the U.S., South Korea and the international community broadly agree that denuclearization must be the result of any dialogue with North Korea. The maximum pressure campaign must continue until North Korea denuclearizes. As President Trump has said, there is a brighter path available for North Korea if it chooses denuclearization.



Sanders, in South Korea, accompanied President Donald Trumps daughter, Ivanka, to Sundays closing ceremony of the Winter Olympic Games in Pyeongchang.



The head of the Norths visiting delegation to the ceremony agreed, in a meeting with South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Sunday, that North Korea-U.S. relations must develop along with the South-North Korea relationship, while noting [Pyongyang] has enough intention to hold North Korea-U.S. dialogue, according to spokesman Kim Eui-kyeom of the Souths Presidential Blue house.



The remark was attributed to General Kim Yong Chol, the head of national intelligence in North Korea.

Kim was in the same VIP box for the sporting events closing ceremony with the U.S. official government delegation, which included the uniformed commander of the American and U.N. forces on the Korean peninsula, U.S. Army General Vincent Brooks.



There was no interaction with the North Korean delegation. The U.S. presidential delegation's attendance at the closing ceremonies was the culmination of a successful trip where we celebrated the Olympic Games, U.S. athletes and our strong alliance with South Korea, according to a senior U.S. administration official.



It is unclear if Sundays statements from North Korean and U.S. officials will lead to any breakthrough between the two countries, which have no diplomatic relations.



Thats great they want they want to talk to the United States  but about what? Is it about the nukes? asks Georgetown University Visiting Professor Balbina Hwang, who served as a senior special advisor on North Korea at the State Department during the presidency of George W. Bush.



North Korea has repeatedly insisted its nuclear weapons are not a subject for negotiation.



Washington is now to consult with Seoul about the Norths willingness to talk, according to the State Department.

We are in close contact with the Republic of Korea about our unified response to North Korea, said the statement, echoing the White House, that Seoul and Washington agree that the improvement of relations between North and South Korea cannot advance separately from resolving North Koreas nuclear program.

A former State Department spokesman during the Obama administration calls the initial Trump administration reaction responsible." Retired Navy Admiral John Kirby said on Twitter the U.S. response maintains denuclearization as end goal, vows continued pressure ... but keeps door open to talks. Hopefully, it represents the next step in a delicate diplomatic dance underway.



Earlier, North Koreas Foreign Ministry issued a warning about the imposition of the latest announced U.S. sanctions against Pyongyang.



As already proclaimed many times, we will regard all blockades as an act of war against us, and we will never try to stop the United States, if it really has pluck to confront us roughly, said a foreign ministry spokesman, who was quoted by the Korean Central News Agency.



In countering precisely this intimidation from the United States, we have possessed nuclear weapons, the treasured sword of justice, to defend ourselves, the statement added.

U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Friday what he called the largest ever set of sanctions against North Korea and threatened a phase two if the measures aren't effective.



The sanctions target one person, 27 companies and 28 ships registered in China and seven other countries with the intent of eliminating North Koreas illicit shipping and trade. They block assets held by the companies in the United States and prohibit U.S. citizens from interacting with them.



Since August of last year, the United States has helped oversee three rounds of U.N. Security Council sanctions against North Korea. The pressure has not stopped Pyongyang from conducting more nuclear and missile tests.



The new sanctions effectiveness depends on whether they can successfully be implemented. The United States has limited leverage over many of the shipping companies involved in helping North Korea evade sanctions, warns Gary Samore, former White House Coordinator for Arms Control and Weapons of Mass Destruction.



A lot of the companies working with North Korea are very small, says Samore. And they dont care whether they work with the United States.



China responded angrily Saturday to the new sanctions, maintaining they are counterproductive to efforts to halt Pyongyang's nuclear and long-range missile development programs. China's foreign ministry also demanded the U.S. immediately lift the sanctions "to avoid harming bilateral cooperation in the relevant area."



The two Koreas have had no diplomatic relations and Seoul was not a signatory to the 1953 armistice that ended a three-year civil war on the peninsula.A new bill in the US Senate could see the most severe sanctions imposed on Cambodia in decades.

The Cambodia Accountability and Return on Investment (CARI) Act includes conditions on new assistance to Cambodia, a visa ban on more Cambodian officials, asset freezes, opposition to all new loans and assistance from international financial institutions, and the prohibition of debt relief.

The bipartisan bill was introduced by Sen. Linsey Graham, Sen. Ted Cruz, Sen. Dick Durbin, Sen. Patrick Leahy, and Sen. Ben Cardin on February 8.

The CARI Act is consistent with the long-term support the United States has provided to democracy and human rights in Cambodia since the U.N.-sponsored elections in 1993, Tim Rieser, a foreign policy aid to Sen. Leahy, told VOA Khmer in an e-mail.

Rieser said that this will make clear that the repressive policies of the ruling Cambodian Peoples Party are not in the interests of Cambodias development.

Today, Cambodia is once again a one-party state, as it was prior to the 1991 Paris Peace Agreement, he said. That is not what the Cambodian people voted for in any of the elections since 1993.

The CARI Act requires the government to respect the rights and responsibilities enshrined in the Constitution of Cambodia, including restoring civil and political rights of the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party, media and civil society organizations, returning the positions of elected officials, and releasing all political prisoners, including journalists, activists, civil society activists and opposition party members.

The visa ban will cover senior government officials including military, military police, national police, and the judiciary. The ban extends to officers and employees of entities, including international commercial facilitators and offshore entities, owned or controlled by the officials. Their immediate family members are also affected.

The US Department of State is required to submit a report on the sanctions, as well as a list of those banned officials, to congressional committees, according to a copy given to VOA Khmer.

Any violator of the asset freezes will be subjected to penalties by way of a fine of up to $250,000 or $1,000,000, and 20 years imprisonment.

The restriction shall remain in effect until the Secretary of State determines and reports to the appropriate congressional committees that free and fair parliamentary elections have taken place in Cambodia that includes the full and unimpeded participation of the Cambodia National Rescue Party and members of that Party, according to the bill.

The sanctions can be lifted only when the Secretary of State certifies that Cambodia has strengthened regional security and stability, especially in the South China Sea disputes, and international sanctions imposed on North Korea.

The bill would mark the most severe sanctions on Cambodia since 1997 when the United States cut off aid after Hun Sen ousted his co-Prime Minister Norodom Ranariddh in a bloody coup. The ban was lifted in February 2007.

In the backdrop of Hun Sens authoritarian impulses and bombastic rhetoric is Xi Jinping and the growing influence of the Peoples Republic of China throughout Southeast Asia, Sen. Ted Cruz said in an e-mail to VOA Khmer. This same influence, which is enabling Hun Sen to dismantle all remnants of free speech and fair elections within Cambodia, is targeting universities, businesses, and mass media within America.

Sen. Cruz said he will lead efforts to counter Chinas influence in its various forms.

Restoring democratic reforms in Cambodia depends on making the cost of siding with Beijing too great for Hun Sen, he added.

Chheang Vannarith, a researcher at the Iseas-Yusof Ishak Institute, believes that by including the South China Sea disputes and North Korea in the bill, it will draw more interest from the White House.

"President Donald Trump does not care much about human rights and democracy, but he is interested in security issues, he said. Therefore, if the condition is based on regional security, especially the South China Sea and the DPRK, President Trump will pay more attention to that and take more effective measure.

But Vannarith added that this could be difficult for Prime Minister Hun Sen to follow because Cambodia has a close relationship with China.

"As per Cambodia's response, I do not think it would be possible to follow or comply with any US resolution on its foreign policy, especially in relation to Cambodia-China relations, he said.

The international community and the United States have condemned the Cambodian government for jailing the CNRP's president, Kem Sokha, in September and dissolving his party the following month.

Ben Marter, a spokesman for Sen. Durbin, said the leverage the U.S. government can use in such cases has diminished under the Trump administration.

With the Trump Administration abdicating its diplomatic leadership around the world, China and Russia are increasing their spheres of influence at Americas expense, he wrote in an e-mail to VOA Khmer.

The CARI Act also authorizes a propaganda program in the Khmer language highlighting Chinas past support for the Khmer Rouge regime and the role of the international community, especially the United States, in supporting the implementation of the Paris Peace Agreement.

Since 1993, Cambodia has received billions of dollars in international aid and loans from international institutions for development. But over the past 10 years, Beijing has increased its aid and loans to Cambodia, which has weakened Western influence.Host Carol Castiel speaks with Elliott Abrams, Senior Fellow for Middle Eastern Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, about his new book Realism and Democracy: American Foreign Policy After the Arab Spring. Abrams tells VOA that chaos is the real enemy of political progress and that a breakdown of law and order is what allows extremist groups like ISIS or al Qaida to move into the vacuum. Abrams says the U.S. should do more to promote democracy not only because it is a better form of governance for the Arab world but also because it is in the long-term national interest of the United States.Inside today's edition: West African pop, afrobeats,hip-hop and voodoo music; Song of the Week "Midnight Starring" by South Africa's DJ Maphorisa ft Busiswa; and Heather's face-to-face interview in Harare with award-winning pop star Jah Prayzah. Plus more great music from Senegal, Tanzania and Malawi. Don't miss it!Brazil's government is seeking the extradition of a Brazilian man it said was arrested by U.S. authorities at his Miami home early on Saturday, allegedly for shipping automatic weapons to the South American country.

The arrest of Frederik Barbieri, confirmed by a Brazilian law enforcement officer, comes one week after Brazil resorted to the military to try to control violence and crime in Rio de Janeiro, where heavily armed drug gangs control the city's slums.

The United States is the largest source of guns entering Brazil that end up in the hands of armed criminals and drug traffickers, according to a Brazilian police report seen by Reuters last month.

Brazil has sought Barbieri's arrest since 60 automatic riles, including AK-47s and other combat rifles, were found at Rio de Janeiro airport in June hidden in a shipment of pool heaters.

Barbieri denied involvement in gun running at that time, but Brazilian police have suspected his involvement since a container of ammunition was found in his name in 2010 at the port of Salvador in northeastern Brazil.

Fabricio Oliveira, head of the Federal Police's disarmament unit in Rio, told reporters that Barbieri was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement who seized 40 automatic weapons at his Miami home.

Brazil's Ministry of Justice said it has already asked for his extradition and is waiting for a Brazilian court to approve additional documents requested by U.S. authorities.

U.S. citizen

Barbieri moved to Florida in 2012 and obtained U.S. citizenship, which could rule out his extradition and lead to his prosecution in the United States.

"The US continues to be the largest indirect source of illegal handguns and assault rifles as a result of unrestricted sales in stores and fairs in American cities," the Brazilian Federal Police report seen by Reuters said.

The December 2017 report said a study of more than 10,000 arms seized by police in Brazil since 2014, mostly in Rio de Janeiro, found that roughly 1,500 guns originated in the United States. The guns often traveled through a third country before arriving in Brazil, with Paraguay being the top intermediary.

Guns from the United States tended to be assault rifles and higher caliber handguns, while guns already circulating in Brazil or arriving from other countries were smaller handguns.

Eight foreign stores were named selling the most high caliber guns that ended up in Brazil, with five located in Florida, although a store in Paraguay was the largest individual seller, the report said.Cameroon has deployed more troops to its English speaking regions after another wave of attacks on public buildings and the kidnapping of military and government officials by suspected armed separatists.

Defense Minister Joseph Beti Assomo says although many soldiers have been killed, the military remains determined to fight and defeat armed separatists who are bent on destroying Cameroon. He says the troops are out to ensure security, public order and the respect of state institutions.



Assomo did not give the total number of government troops in the English speaking regions, but local media says there are thousands.



Assomo says the troops were deployed following repeated attacks on government officials, public buildings and schools by suspected armed separatists fighting for what they call the independence of the English from the French speaking regions of Cameroon.



Cameroon's government says at least 30 soldiers have been killed since armed attacks began in November. Several government officials and soldiers have been kidnapped and their whereabouts are not known.



Cameroon President Paul Biya declared war on the separatists last November.



The unrest began when English-speaking teachers and lawyers in the Northwest and Southwest regions, frustrated with having to work in French, took to the streets calling for reforms and greater autonomy. It degenerated with separatists calls for independence.



On October 1, the secessionists groups declared the independence of Ambazonia saying Julius Ayuk Tabe, who was in exile in Nigeria, was their president. Armed conflicts erupted, prompting a military crackdown.



Ayuk Tabe and forty seven other separatist leaders were arrested January 5 in Nigeria and have not been seen since.



The separatists have announced on social media they will continue fighting until their leaders are released and they gain independence.



In a February 10 address, Biya said calm had returned to the English speaking regions, even though the conflict continued.



The UNHCR reports that tens of thousands of English speaking Cameroonians have crossed into Nigeria and their humanitarian needs are increasing.Flash protests for and against secession from Spain marked Spanish King Felipe's visit to Barcelona to inaugurate an international exhibit of cell phone producers. It was his first trip to the Catalan capital since an October regional vote for independence.



Separatists poured onto streets, plazas and balconies Sunday banging pots in what has become a ritual act of defiance since Spain's central government imposed direct rule in November, dissolving the regional government.



A swelling crowd of protestors surrounded the city's Baroque Music Palace as the King arrived for the inaugural dinner, forming a symbolic yellow ribbon around the building to highlight the detention of leaders.



But flag waving supporters of unity with Spain also held rallies in the city center to welcome the king, leading to street clashes with separatists indicating the extent to which Catalonia's society is divided. At least two arrests had been reported by Sunday evening.



Tensions have grown in recent days, after Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy suggested using direct rule provisions to reintroduce Spanish as the main language in Catalan schools.



Catalan teachers' unions have threatened strikes and mass protests to block the measures. "It would be a pedagogic disaster if Madrid tried to control our educational system through a kind of inquisition"the head of the Catalan Teachers' Union, Ramon Fonts, told VOA.



Echoes of Franco



Separatists have equated efforts to impose central control on education to the dictatorship of Francisco Franco of a half a century ago that banned speaking Catalan. But proponents of the measures say post-Franco governments have devolved too much power to regional authorities, which have used the local language to promote separatism and advance their own political interests.



"It's about allowing parents the right to decide in which language they want their children to be educated" said Raquel Cavisner,spokesperson of Convivencia Civica, a Catalan organization promoting unity with Spain. She says that Catalan language "immersion" in schools is a "discriminatory system" that puts children from Spanish speaking families at a disadvantage.



Current Catalan legislation fixes the portion of class time in which teaching can be conducted in Spanish at 25 percent. Such basic courses as mathematics are taught in Catalan, as is Spanish history. "Spanish is generally taught as a foreign language"a Barcelona school teacher said.



While secessionists continue to control the regional parliament, following emergency elections last December, polls consistently show Catalan opinion to be about evenly split. Pro-independence parties received 47 percent of the vote,but the largest vote getter of all seven parties competing in the elections was a unionist center right group, Ciudadanos, which proposes Spanish as main language.



Mixed responses



Resistance to the imposition of Catalan was manifested by hospital workers last week in the Balearic Islands, which would be encompassed in a projected Catalan state. They protested against legislation requiring Catalan for jobs in the health service. "You cure with medicine not with language" chanted about 3,000 nurses and doctors.

But thousands of Catalan independence supporters filled a theater in Barcelona Sunday to hear their exiled leader Carles Puigdemont say via video from Belgium that King Felipe would only be welcomed in the Republic of Catalonia if he "apologized" for opposing independence.



Barcelona Mayor Ada Colau and the president of the Catalan parliament Roger Torrent snubbed Felipe, by boycotting the inauguration of the Mobile World Congress, despite earlier assurances to international sponsors they would not to allow politics to interfere with the event.



Radical Committees for the Defense of the Republic associated with the "anti-capitalist" Catalan Unity Party, scuffled with police as they tried to block access to the convention hall, following a video address by their exiled leader Ana Gabriel.



Secessionist spokesmen blame the exile and jailing of their leaders for their inability to form a government since winning elections two months ago. Marcel Mauri of the pro independence Omnium Cultural says their united opposition to Madrid's moves to take control of education could influence pro-independence parties to resolve their differences and announce a government in the next few days.To understand why Chile, one of Latin Americas most socially conservative nations, is losing faith in the Roman Catholic Church, visit Providencia, a middle-class area of Santiago coming to terms with a decades-old clergy sex abuse scandal.

Providencia is home to El Bosque, the former parish of priest Fernando Karadima, who was found guilty in a Vatican investigation in 2011 of abusing teenage boys over many years, spurring a chain of events leading to this weeks visit by a Vatican investigator.

A Chilean judge in the same year determined the Vaticans canonical sentence was valid, but Karadima was not prosecuted by the civil justice system because the statute of limitations had expired.

So many Chileans were shocked in 2015 when Pope Francis appointed as a bishop a clergyman accused of covering up for Karadima, and defended that choice in a visit to Chile last month.

Socially conservative

Chile remains largely conservative on social issues. It only legalized divorce in 2004, making it one of the last countries in the world to do so. Chiles ban on abortion, one of the strictest in the world, was lifted in 2017 for special circumstances only. Same-sex marriage remains illegal.

Yet El Bosque, like many other Chilean parishes, no longer has the large crowds attending Mass that it did in the 1970s and 1980s, when Karadima was a pillar of the Providencia community.

Karadima did a lot of damage to the Catholic Church, said Ximena Jara Novoa, 65, a hairdresser who lives in a neighboring community but has worked in Providencia for 45 years. She once counted Karadimas mother and sister as clients.

If I had been from this neighborhood, I would not let my son go to church anymore, she said in an interview.

Empty pews, less trust

A poll by Santiago-based think tank Latinobarometro in January 2017 showed the number of Chileans calling themselves Catholics had fallen to 45 percent, from 74 percent in 1995.

In the same survey, Pope Francis, who hails from neighboring Argentina and is the first Latin American pontiff, was ranked by Chileans asked to evaluate him at 5.3 on a scale of zero to 10, compared to a 6.8 average in Latin America.

The pope surprised many Chileans last month by defending the appointment of Bishop Juan Barros, who considered Karadima his mentor and is accused by several men of covering up sexual abuse of minors committed by the priest.

Barros, of the southern diocese of Osorno, has said he was unaware of any wrongdoing by Karadima.

Just before leaving Chile, the pope testily told a Chilean reporter: The day I see proof against Bishop Barros, then I will talk. There is not a single piece of evidence against him.

It is all slander. Is that clear?

The comments were widely criticized and just days after his return to Rome, Francis made a remarkable U-turn and ordered a Vatican investigation into the accusations.

Challenging the church

Residents of Providencia, once dotted with mansions belonging to the most powerful families in Santiago but now home to largely upscale high-rise apartments, said the abuse of children by the charismatic Karadima was an open secret as far back as the 1970s.

It was always rumored, everything was talked about. People knew, Novoa said quietly.

But challenging the powerful church in the once predominately Catholic society was not previously accepted.

That is changing.

The Vatican special envoy sent by the pope is scheduled to hear testimony from more than 20 sex abuse victims before he leaves Santiago.

Archbishop Charles Scicluna, the Vaticans most experienced sex abuse investigator, also spent four hours in New York speaking to Juan Carlos Cruz, one of Karadimas most vocal accusers.

On Thursday, a group of people who say they were sexually abused by members of the Marist Brothers congregation in Santiago asked Vatican officials to investigate their cases, too.

The Vaticans defense of Barros has been compounded by the perceived lack of punishment of Karadima.

Miguel Angel Lopez, a professor at the University of Chile who grew up in Providencia and met Karadima several times when the priest visited his Catholic school, said the legal loophole that allowed the clergyman to escape punishment had infuriated Chileans.

The fact that Karadima didnt go to jail is one of the reasons people dont trust the church much, Lopez said. They were very angry.Christian leaders in Jerusalem have closed the doors to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, considered the holiest site in Christianity, to protest a new Israeli tax policy and a proposed property law.



The Greek Orthodox, Roman Catholic, and the Armenian Apostolic leaders accused Israel of a "systematic and unprecedented attack against Christians in the Holy Land".



They said the site, that daily draws thousands to the place where Christians believe Jesus was crucified, buried and later resurrected, will remain closed until further notice.



The Christians are angry that the Jerusalem municipality plans to tax their various assets around the city.



Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat has said the city is owed $186 million in uncollected taxes on Church assets. He said all churches were exempt from the tax changes, and that only Church-owned "hotels, halls and businesses" would be affected.



The protest was also aimed at a bill that would allow the state to expropriate land in Jerusalem sold by churches to private real estate firms in recent years. Israeli lawmakers say the bill is meant to protect homeowners against the possibility that private companies will not extend their leases of land on which their houses or apartments stand.



The churches, which are major landowners in the holy city, say it violates a long standing status quo and that it will make make it harder for them to find buyers for church-owned land - sales that help to cover operating costs of their religious institutions.



At a news conference in front of the church's bolted wooden doors the church leaders said the bill "reminds us all of laws of a similar nature which were enacted against the Jews during a dark period in Europe".

A suspected drug chief known as the "Pablo Escobar of Ecuador" was extradited to the United States on Saturday, Colombia's chief prosecutor's office announced.

Washington Edison Prado had tried unsuccessfully to prevent extradition by claiming membership in the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, a status that would have made him eligible for a type of amnesty under a peace deal.

The prosecutor's office said in a statement that Prado was escorted by a detail of 50 commandos and agents of various police agencies as he was turned over to U.S. authorities.

U.S. officials accuse Prado, also known by the alias "Gerald," of shipping more than 250 tons of cocaine to the United States.

Police say he ran the most sophisticated smuggling route on the Pacific coast of South America, and they compared it to Escobar's Medellin cartel of three decades ago because it sought to dominate the entire cocaine supply chain from production to its distribution in the U.S.

Police say his group sent as many as 10 go-fast boats a week, each carrying around a ton of cocaine.

He allegedly began as a boatman running drugs along Ecuador's coast and rose to become head of a small army of smugglers spread across five countries.

Prado was arrested in Colombia in April on an indictment by a Florida federal court.The majority of people believe cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is successful more often than it tends to be in reality, according to a small U.S. study.

This overly optimistic view, which may partly stem from seeing happy outcomes in television medical dramas, can get in the way of decision-making and frank conversations about end of life care with doctors, the research team writes in American Journal of Emergency Medicine.

CPR is intended to restart a heart that has stopped beating, known as cardiac arrest, which is typically caused by an electrical disturbance in the heart muscle. Although a heart attack is not the same thing  it occurs when blood flow to the heart is partly or completely blocked, often by a clot  a heart attack can also cause the heart to stop beating.

Odds of surviving

Whatever the cause of cardiac arrest, restarting the heart as quickly as possible to get blood flowing to the brain is essential to preventing permanent brain damage. More often than not, cardiac arrest ends in death or severe neurological impairment.

The overall rate of survival that leads to hospital discharge for someone who experiences cardiac arrest is about 10.6 percent, the study authors note. But most participants in the study estimated it at more than 75 percent.

The majority of patients and non-medical personnel have very unrealistic expectations about the success of CPR as well as the quality of life after patients are revived, said lead author Lindsey Ouellette, a research assistant at Michigan State Universitys College of Human Medicine in Grand Rapids.

Patients and family members should know about the realistic success rate and survival numbers when planning a living will and considering a Do Not Resuscitate order, Ouellette said.

We think it is best to have the latest and most accurate information when dealing with this life-impacting decision, whether or not to undertake or continue CPR, she told Reuters Health in an email.

Good TV, not good information

To gauge perceptions of CPR, the researchers surveyed 1,000 adults at four academic medical centers in Michigan, Illinois and California. Participants included non-critically ill patients and families of patients, who were interviewed during random hospital shifts.

In addition to asking about general knowledge of CPR and personal experiences with CPR, the researchers presented participants with several scenarios and asked them to estimate the likelihood of CPR success and patient survival in each case.

One scenario involved a 54-year-old who suffered a heart attack at home and required CPR by paramedics. About 72 percent of the survey participants predicted survival and 65 percent predicted a complete neurological recovery.

In a scenario describing a trauma-related cardiac arrest in an 8-year-old, 71 percent predicted CPR success and 64 percent predicted long-term survival of the child.

Many people felt if a person was successfully revived, they would return to normal rather than possibly needing lifelong care, Ouellette said.

At the same time, more than 70 percent of respondents said they watched TV medical dramas regularly, and 12 percent said these shows were a reliable source of health information.

Tempering unrealistic expectations may not make for good TV, but perhaps we can get a better idea of just how these dramas may impact the views people hold about CPR and other aspects of medicine, she said.

Medical act, not miracle

People think about CPR as a miracle, but its another medical act, said Dr. Juan Ruiz-Garcia of Hospital Universitario de Torrejon in Madrid who wasnt involved in the study. Im not really sure what people would choose if they knew the real prognosis of it, he told Reuters Health by phone.

CPR should be part of the conversation about end-of-life care and advanced directives among families, said Carolyn Bradley of Yale-New Haven Hospital in Connecticut.

When doing CPR at a hospital, we tend to move the family away, but weve created a situation where families may not be there for the final moments, she said in a phone interview.

Have a critical conversation with your health care provider and go with questions about what would happen during CPR, she said. What does it look like? What happens to my body? Who will be around? It could be the end-of-life. Statistically, it is.As immigration agents step up raids in California, fear is widespread in the immigrant community.

Federal authorities rounded up more than 200 people in 122 workplace raids in Los Angeles last Friday, part of a nationwide effort by the Trump administration to target so-called sanctuary jurisdictions.

California became a sanctuary state January 1, barring police in most cases from asking people about their immigration status. President Donald Trump has threatened to withhold federal safety grants from sanctuary cities, and on Thursday he suggested withdrawing immigration enforcement agents from California to leave the state on its own in fighting criminal aliens.

"If we ever pulled our ICE out, and we ever said, 'Hey, let California alone, let them figure it out for themselves,' in two months they'd be begging for us to come back. They would be begging. And you know what? I'm thinking about doing it," he said at the White House during a meeting on gun safety.



Withdrawing ICE runs counter to the strategy Trump's administration has been pursuing since he took office. Last Friday's raids followed earlier ones in northern California.



Immigration enforcement officers say more than half of those arrested in Los Angeles had felony convictions for serious offenses or for multiple misdemeanors.



Climate of fear



The raids are compounding a climate of fear say immigration attorneys who offer free services at a weekly legal clinic at Dolores Mission Catholic Church in the Boyle Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles.This community takes its name from an Irish settler and has been home to immigrant Jews from Eastern Europe, Russians and Japanese and now Central Americans.

"I think it's important for people to inform themselves of their immigration eligibility, if there is any, of possible defenses if they are placed in removal proceedings, and we encourage obtaining this information from an immigration attorney," said Yanira Lemus, supervising attorney with the Loyola Immigrant Justice Clinic of Loyola Law School that offers the weekly legal clinics.



One of those waiting to see a lawyer, Jorge Ramirez, came to the United States at 19 from Guatemala. "It was going to be one or two years," he recalls. "And then one or two years became three years, and now it's been 20 years."

He has temporary legal status and hopes to make it permanent. "This is a land of opportunity," he said. "You can get anything you want, but you have to work really hard, study, do the right thing."



Others in this immigrant community worry about the upcoming end of temporary protected status for some immigrants from El Salvador, Nicaragua, Haiti and Sudan, which had been granted for those from countries experiencing conflict or disaster.



"There is a different range of emotions, from fear and anxiety and concern.Also a sense of resilience," said Ellie Hidalgo, a pastoral associate at Dolores Mission Church and School.

She says many families have mixed status with U.S.-citizen children but parents or grandparents who are undocumented. Many of the families, she says, have known no home outside of the United States for several years or several decades.



For the Trump administration, immigration roundups fulfill promises to remove criminal aliens and enhance the nation's security.



Immigrant advocate Hidalgo says, "These measures at a very literal level are tearing families apart."Governors assessing the fallout from the latest school shooting said Saturday that the gun control debate has changed after the sorrow in Florida, a shift driven by public outrage and student activists.

But they are skeptical Congress can seize the moment, overcome its partisan divide and enact measures intended to prevent more tragedies, so governors are preparing to take the lead and have states push ahead with new gun restrictions.

The Feb. 14 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, that claimed 17 lives is drawing much of the attention at the National Governors Association meeting in Washington. School safety and gun violence are expected to dominate the governors discussions Monday with President Donald Trump at the White House.

'A different environment'

Theres no question were in a different environment, said Gov. Bill Haslam, R-Tenn. Theres a lot of folks looking like, is it common sense to rule out someone to buy a beer at 20, but well let him buy an assault rifle?

Trump has not made any proposals to Congress. He spent much of the past week voicing support for strengthening federal background checks of gun buyers, banning bump stock type devices like the ones used in last years Las Vegas massacre, and keeping assault weapons out of the hands of anyone younger than 21.

In public discussions last week with students and teachers, state and local leaders, he mused about the need for more mental institutions and allowing some trained school personnel to carry concealed weapons. Trump said he phoned Republican congressional leaders Friday, and White House officials said Trump is looking to begin meetings with lawmakers this coming week on considering a legislative response to the shooting.

In a tweet Saturday, he lowered expectations that he would promote on Capitol Hill the idea of putting gun-adept teachers and staff in schools with concealed firearms.

Democratic governors

Democratic governors at the conference said they had little faith that Trump, who enjoyed significant support from the National Rifle Association during his 2016 campaign, would keep his word about trying to find a legislative response or that the issue would retain his attention.

What can you trust coming out of the presidents mouth on this particular issue? Particularly when you know that the NRA invested $30 million making sure he got elected, said Gov. Dannel Malloy, D-Conn., who dealt with the aftermath of the 2012 elementary school shooting in Newtown.

The Democratic governors of New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Rhode Island announced a partnership last week to address gun violence. The agreement would allow the governors to share data on suspects and gun purchasers.

Congress needs to act, but were not going to sit around and wait for them to act. Were taking action on our own to keep people safe, said Gov. Gina Raimondo, D-R.I.

WATCH:US Governors, VIPs Meet to Discuss Trade, Innovation, Key Issues

Republican governors

Even Republican leaders fretted about the prospects for progress in Congress, which failed to pass gun control or background check legislation after the Connecticut shooting and has long ground to a halt on issues such as health care and immigration.

Gov. John Kasich, R-Ohio, told The Associated Press on Friday that he has convened a diverse group of advisers on gun policy to help him develop new approaches. He also said he was looking to raise Ohios minimum age for purchasing semi-automatic rifles like the one used in the Parkland shooting.

Governors are watching GOP Gov. Rick Scott, who announced Friday that he would seek to raise the minimum age for purchasing any firearm in Florida to 21, and strengthening rules meant to keep guns away from those with mental health issues. It would mark the strongest gun control laws in the state in decades, defying the NRA, but falling short of what gun control advocates have demanded.

We are a strong Second Amendment state and so our focus is going to be on keeping children safe, keeping our schools safe, said Gov. Bill Walker, an independent from Alaska. I think hes taken some very significant steps. Were going to look at that in Alaska but were going to do it on terms that works for Alaska.

'Years of inaction'

Gov. Jay Inslee, D-Wash., accused Scott of scrambling to try to cover up 30 years of inaction and 30 years of being under the thumb of the NRA and 30 years of putting our children at risk.

Theyre making some little tiny baby steps to cover up their tracks because now theyre running for other office, thats the situation in Florida, Inslee said. Scott is expected to launch a campaign for Senate in the coming months.

The governors acknowledged the fresh voices of young people affected by the recent shooting, who have led school walk-outs and other protests both in Florida and across the country.

I see these kids and I dont see them letting go, said Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rossello. I see them charging through.U.S. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke revamped a plan for a sweeping overhaul of his department Friday with a new organizational map that more closely follows state lines instead of the natural boundaries he initially proposed.

The changes follow complaints from a bipartisan group of Western state governors that Zinke did not consult them before unveiling his original plan last month. The agency oversees vast public lands, primarily in the U.S. West, ranging from protected national parks and wildlife refuges to areas where coal mining and energy exploration dominate the landscape.

Zinke said in an interview with The Associated Press that his goal remains unchanged: decentralizing the Interior Departments bureaucracy and creating 13 regional headquarters.

Regional map redrawn

The redrawn map, obtained by AP, shows that states such as Colorado, New Mexico and Wyoming would fall within a single region instead of being split among multiple regions. Other states remain divided, including California, Nevada, Montana and Oregon.

Aspects of the original map remain, with some regions labeled according to river systems, such as the Upper Colorado Basin and the Missouri Basin. But the new lines tend to cut across geographic features and follow state lines, not boundaries of rivers and ecosystems.

The new proposal resulted from discussions with governors, members of Congress and senior leaders at the agency, Interior officials said.

Many department changes

Zinke, a former Republican congressman from Montana, has imposed major changes at the 70,000-employee Interior Department. He has rolled back regulations considered burdensome to the oil and gas industry and reassigned dozens of senior officials who were holdovers from President Barack Obamas administration.

The vision of retooling the departments bureaucracy plays into longstanding calls from politicians in the American West to shift more decisions about nearly 700,000 square miles (more than 1.8 million square kilometers) of public lands under Interior oversight to officials in the region.

Some Democrats have speculated that Zinkes true motivation for the overhaul is to gut the department, noting that more than 90 percent of its employees work outside Washington, D.C.

Zinke contends that hes trying to streamline Interiors management of public lands by requiring all of the agencies within the department to use common regional boundaries, including the Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service and Fish and Wildlife Service.

Congress has the final word on the proposal.European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker is embarking on a Western Balkan tour to promote the EU's new strategy for the region.

Juncker's tour to the six Balkan countries that remain outside the European Union starts in Macedonia, where he will hold talks with Prime Minister Zoran Zaev on Sunday.

Earlier this month, the European Commission unveiled its new strategy to integrate Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, and Serbia.

Among the six countries, the commission considers Serbia and Montenegro as current front-runners toward accession and the new strategy says they could be allowed in by 2025 if they meet all the conditions.

Juncker has warned that this was an "indicative date; an encouragement so that the parties concerned work hard to follow that path."

"The EU door is open to further accessions when, and only when, the individual countries have met the criteria," the EU road map said.

It insisted that the six countries still have many obstacles to overcome before joining the bloc, including regarding corruption, the rule of law, and relations with their neighbors.

EU member states Croatia and Slovenia are still locked in a border dispute stemming from the breakup of Yugoslavia in the 1990s.

Macedonia and EU-member Greece are engaged in UN-mediated talks to resolve a 27-year-old dispute over the name of the former Yugoslav republic.

The EU-sponsored dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina has produced agreements in areas such as freedom of movement, justice, and the status of the Serbian minority in Kosovo -- as well as enabling Serbia to start EU accession talks and Brussels to sign an Association Agreement with Kosovo.

Juncker strip to the Western Balkans comes after Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov traveled to Belgrade this week for a two-day visit aimed at bolstering longstanding ties with Serbia.

During the visit, Lavrov welcomed Serbias drive to join the EU, but also vowed that Moscow would remain engaged with the Balkan country no matter what happens.

"We always wanted partners to have a free choice and develop their political ties," Lavrov said at a news conference with President Aleksandar Vucic, who is leading Serbia through a delicate balancing act.

Although Serbia is seeking to join the EU, it continues to nurture close ties with Moscow and has said it will not join the EU's economic sanctions against Russia over its aggression in Ukraine.Garrison Keillor described several sexually suggestive emails he exchanged with a former researcher who accused him of sexual misconduct as "romantic writing" that never resulted in a physical relationship, and the radio host rejected the idea that because he was her boss  and the driving force of a hugely popular radio program  it could be sexual harassment.

The woman responded, via her attorney, that Keillor's power over her job made her afraid to say no to him.

In one of his first extended interviews since Minnesota Public Radio cut ties over the allegations against the former A Prairie Home Companion host in November, Keillor said he never had a sexual relationship with the woman, a freelance contributor to the show at the time.

"No button was unbuttoned and no zipper was unzipped," Keillor told The Associated Press. "I never kissed her. ... This was a flirtation between two writers that took place in writing."

Keillor also downplayed his power over the woman by portraying himself as uninvolved in the mundane operations of the radio show he created nearly a half-century ago and built into a powerhouse that attracted millions of listeners nationwide each Saturday evening, spun off assorted businesses and tours, and inspired a movie.

"I was not really the boss around Prairie Home Companion," Keillor said. "I was a writer sitting in a dim office at a typewriter, back in the old days." He also said: "I had no control over her whatsoever. She worked at home."

Power imbalance

The woman said in an emailed response through her attorney that Keillor "had the power to provide or take away job assignments and opportunities. He also acknowledged several times that power imbalance between us, recognizing how his conduct could be offensive when it was coming from the person for whom I work."

She also said she wasn't interested in anything but a "collegial" relationship with Keillor.

"He was my mentor and employer," she said. "As such, he had power over me. Every time I said 'no' or tried to avoid him I feared I was saying 'no' to my future."

The Associated Press does not typically name alleged victims of sexual harassment unless they have chosen to go public.

MPR spokeswoman Angie Andresen said the station stood by its handling of the claims against Keillor. In January, the company said the woman had accused Keillor of dozens of sexually inappropriate incidents over several years, including requests for sexual contact and explicit sexual communications and touching.

"Our decision was not based on flirtations or fantasies, but based on facts confirming unacceptable behavior in the workplace by a person in a position of power over someone who worked for him," Andresen said by email.

Kelly Marinelli, founder of Solve HR Inc., a human resources consulting company in Colorado, said even when a relationship seems reciprocal, there could be problems when one person is the boss.



"In a situation where someone has power over another person and whether or not they continue to receive work ... it's very difficult for that to be a real mutual, consensual relationship," she said.

AP views emails

Before the interview, Keillor's attorneys allowed the AP to view hundreds of emails between Keillor and the woman dating from 2004 to 2017, on condition that they could be described but not quoted directly.

Some were work-related, including details from her research and Keillor's critiques. But many were personal, sharing details about their families and emotional struggles from their home email accounts, and some were overtly sexual.

The tone began changing in 2013, as the pair began sharing more about their lives and signing off by saying they loved and missed each other. By 2014 and 2015, the emails became more amorous. They both shared wishes or fantasies of being intimate, sometimes in detail. In one July 20, 2015, email, Keillor wrote of his desire to reach into the woman's blouse and hold her breast in his hand. Keillor was married at the time and still is.

"I agree that there are adolescent passages in there, but there were some by her and some by me," Keillor told the AP.

"We were two writers and we wrote back and forth and sometimes we slipped into what one could call romantic writing," he said. "But this was between two people who hardly ever laid eyes on each other. She was never required to be in the office."

Keillor also wrote several times about wanting to touch the woman, kiss her or be naked with her. She replied in kind. The emails also included some explicit acknowledgements by Keillor of their work relationship, with him apologizing for some of the emails and noting that he was the person she worked for  but that he didn't feel like her boss.

One incident recalled

When MPR cut ties with Keillor in November, his public statement at the time acknowledged one incident  placing his hand on a woman's bare back in what he portrayed as an accident. He said then it was the only incident he could remember.

A timeline provided along with the emails said it was in July 2015 when Keillor's hand went inside her shirt and he touched her back as they embraced while at lunch. That was the same month in which he sent the email about holding her breast. In a July 2016 email, as he neared retirement, Keillor apologized to the woman; she replied that she forgave him.

Keillor was accompanied in the interview by his attorney, Eric Nilsson, who highlighted the woman's status as a freelancer.

"There's an important distinction between an employee and an independent contractor. This woman was an independent contractor," he said.

Until his retirement in 2016, Keillor, 75, entertained millions weekly on A Prairie Home Companion, the show he created in 1974.

MPR faced a backlash from some listeners when it ended its relationship with him, in part because it provided scant details of the allegations against him. It later gave more details based on what the company said was a 12-page letter from the woman.

MPR has removed archived Keillor shows from its website and no longer rebroadcasts shows he hosted. It also ended broadcasts of The Writer's Almanac, his daily reading of literary events and a poem. Talks between Keillor and MPR over transitioning their business relationship have gone nowhere since early January.The U.N. refugee agency reports the Mauritanian Government is issuing birth certificates to thousands of Malian refugee children who were born in Mbera camp, conferring important legal protections upon them.



Refugee children who lack a birth certificate more often than not are considered as stateless. They have no identity. Legally, they do not exist and are stripped of basic rights.



The U.N. refugee agency welcomes the decision by the Mauritanian authorities to issue birth certificates for some 7,600 Malian children born in Mbera, a sprawling refugee camp along the Malian border in southeastern Mauritania.



UNHCR spokeswoman, Cecile Pouilly, called the Mauritanian Government's certification of these births a ground-breaking development for refugee protection in the country.

"They have also set up a system allowing for all newborns in the camp to be directly registered from now on. This is good news because it will help us fight against early and forced marriages and it is also important if at one point people are able to repatriate on a voluntary basis, of course, and when security allows," she said.



Since birth certificates provide proof of age, Pouilly said this can be crucial in identifying cases of early and forced marriages. This, she notes also will allow aid agencies to assist children at risk.



Around 52,000 Malian refugees live in Mbera camp. It was established in 2012 when widespread insecurity in northern Mali prompted thousands of people to seek refuge in Niger, Burkina Faso and Mauritania. Aid agencies agree persistent violence in northern Mali is likely to discourage large scale returns any time soon.



In the meantime, the UNHCR and partners continue to provide life-saving assistance in Mbera camp. But, Pouilly indicated this is fast becoming a mission impossible. She said her agency has had absolutely no response to its $20 million appeal for humanitarian operations in Mauritania this year.The Nigerian government confirmed Sunday 110 girls are missing after a Boko Haram attack in a northeastern town, after days of silence from officials.



The Information Ministry says the girls from the Government Science and Technical College in Dapchi, Yobe State, are unaccounted for after suspected Boko Haram militants invaded their school on Monday.



Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari said Sunday additional aircraft are being deployed, along with troops previously dispatched, to search for the missing girls.



Heavily armed fighters in trucks stormed the town of Dapchi late Monday, reportedly specifically asking for the girls' school.



Authorities initially denied any girls had been kidnapped, suggesting instead they were hiding in the bush after the attack.



Boko Haram, which loosely translates as "Western education is forbidden," pledged allegiance to the Islamic State in 2015 and has launched a number of attacks on schools. The militia horrified the world when it abducted 276 girls from a boarding school in Chibok almost four years ago.New fighting erupted Sunday near Damascus in spite of the United Nations' demand for a 30-day cease-fire to allow rescue and medical workers to enter the region.



The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said one child was killed and more than 12 people suffered breathing difficulties after a suspected chlorine attack in the rebel-held eastern Ghouta district near Damascus on Sunday.



Russia's defense ministry said "leaders of armed groups are preparing a provocation to use toxic substances to accuse the regime of using chemical weapons", in a statement that also said the situation in Eastern Ghouta "continued to worsen".



In addition, nine people were killed and another 31 injured outside the Syrian capital, boosting the death toll to more than 500 in clashes over the last week.



Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman said there appeared be fewer air strikes but that fighting had intensified on the ground.



State media said government forces pushed into the capital's eastern Ghouta area, but opposition forces denied Damascus's troops had advanced. The Ghouta Media Center, an activist collective, said members of the Army of Islam insurgents had blocked the Syrian army, killing many soldiers.



Iranian General Mohammad Baqeri said Tehran, whose government backs Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, and Damascus would honor the U.N. resolution. But Baqeri also said the truce did not cover the area of the Damascus suburbs "held by the terrorists."



Ghouta-based activist Ahmad Khanshour said, "The Assad regime and his allies have shown no respect to the Security Council by launching their most intense offensive on Ghouta from several directions hours after the resolution was adopted."



State news media said the insurgents breached the truce by firing 15 shells at government-held areas.



U.N. chief Antonio Guterres, who has described eastern Ghouta under the bombardment as "hell on Earth," said the ceasefire must be "immediately" implemented.



Eastern Ghouta, is home to some 400,000 people, which the government has blockaded since 2013  resulting in severe shortages of food and medical supplies.



The suburb, about 17 kilometers east of Damascus, is under the control of two Islamist factions and Syria's former al-Qaida affiliate.U.S.-led diplomatic efforts appear to have persuaded ousted Afghanistan provincial governor Atta Mohammad Noor to postpone this week's planned anti-government demonstration.



Noor governed the northern Afghan province of Balkh for 13 years until he was removed from office in December by President Ashraf Ghani. But he refused to quit and dismissed the presidential order as illegal.



In his bid to press the central government to meet his demands, Noor planned to lead a massive rally of thousands of vehicles packed with supporters for a three-day sit-in protest in Kabul starting Tuesday. But the ousted governor told reporters Sunday in the provincial capital, Mazar-i-Sharif, that he is postponing the protest.



"We have been asked by the influential figures, civil activists, our international partners and people from different walks of society to postpone our upcoming rally in Kabul," said the ousted governor. He did not elaborate but pledged to announce a new date for the protest very soon.



The planned anti-government rally was to coincide with an international conference in Kabul Wednesday where President Ghani will present his government's comprehensive plan for promoting peace with the Taliban-led armed opposition. Noor said the protest has been postponed to ensure it does not hamper the "Kabul Process" meeting which is being held to help Afghanistan.



His remarks came a day after visiting U.S. permanent representative to NATO, Kay Bailey Hutchison, stressed the importance of peacefully resolving political differences. She told reporters in Kabul on Saturday that during her four-day visit to Afghanistan she and several colleagues from NATO traveled to Balkh province.



"What we are doing is saying to our Afghan leaders, settle this, let's go forward. We are not taking a role in it but we are certainly saying this is part of reconciliation and moving forward," Hutchison told reporters.



General John Nicholson, who commands U.S. and NATO troops in Afghanistan, also spoke at Saturday's news conference and strongly urged Afghan political leaders not to allow political differences to hamper security efforts.



"We respect your political process and your political evolution, we respect your politicians. As a military commander, my only request would be that politics not undermine security and we keep in mind our primary goal of helping this country get to a peaceful reconciliation," Nicholson noted.



The political dispute threatens to undermine Afghan parliamentary elections later this year.



Noor in his speech Sunday again accused Ghani's administration of not resolving any of the issues facing the country, including Taliban and ISIS insurgencies, rising ethnic tensions, and economic challenges facing poverty-stricken Afghans.



"The wave of resistance in the wake of my dismissal is not about Balkh. It's about resisting the rule of a small clique and to find solutions for challenges facing our people," asserted the fired governor.



Noor reiterated that his Jamiat-e-Islami party, which shares power in Ghani's central government, has made a set of demands and will not back down from it. The powerful non-Pashtun politician wants among other things powers to appoint his successor and the provincial police chief.



Last week the governor of Samangan province, which borders Balkh, also refused to accept removal orders from the president but reversed his decision days later after Ghani reportedly promised him another governmental position.



Under President Donald Trump's Afghan war strategy, U.S.-led troops are increasing battlefield pressure on the Taliban-led insurgency to contain its influence and force it to come to the negotiating table for peace talks with the Kabul government.



The U.S. strategy has witnessed increasing intensity in airstrikes against the insurgents and the Taliban has also retaliated with increased attacks, including suicide bombings.



The insurgent group, which controls or contests about 44 percent of Afghanistan's territory, has refused to engage in any peace talks with the government and insists on holding such a dialogue with the U.S. only. The Taliban maintains that only Washington, and not what it calls the "puppet" Afghan leadership, can determine the fate of the war in Afghanistan.



U.S. officials, however, have called on the Taliban to directly engage in a peace and reconciliation process with what they say is the legitimate Afghan government.A Pakistani court has summoned several TV reporters from the countrys largest private TV station over accusations of ridiculing last years ruling that barred Valentines Day celebrations and its media coverage across the country.

On February 14, Geo TVs popular Report Card show dedicated a 15-minute segment to discussing the justification of the courts ban on Valentines Day coverage and celebrations.

Two of the panelists in the show questioned the rationale of the ban.

Hasan Nisar, a prominent Lahore-based political analyst, declared the restrictions illogical and ridiculous for society.

I do not even have anything to say on it, its funny, Nisar said.

Echoing Nisar, Imtiaz Alam, a leading reporter and panelist of the show, said the restrictions were useless.

How can the court interfere as it is against the fundamental rights of the people? Do we have Taliban regime in Pakistan? Alam asked.

This is a cultural martial law and curfew to enforce the extreme ideologies. This is a sick mindset, and the moral policing through PEMRA [Pakistan Electronic Media Authority] is shameless, Alam said.

Court order

Last year, on February 13, Islamabads High Court declared Valentines Day celebration un-Islamic and imposed a ban on any public or official celebrations.

The government reinstated the ban for a second consecutive year earlier this month to comply with the courts ruling.

PEMRA also issued a fresh directive to remind its TV and radio licensees to refrain from promoting the day on their stations.

Respondents are directed to ensure that nothing about the celebrations of Valentines Day and its promotion is spread on the electronic and print media, PEMRAs notification reads.

On charges of failing to adhere to the courts order and PEMRAs instruction, Islamabad court summoned the Geo TV host, two guests and the chief executive officer of the station to appear before the court next week and defend themselves in a contempt-of-court case.

This act of the host and the participants apparently is tainted with malafide, ulterior motives, aims to undermine the authority of the court and to disrespect the order passed by the court, which clearly comes within the definition of the contempt of court, the court said, according to local media.

The ban on Valentines Day celebrations and sensitivity toward it are not new in Pakistan. Some political and religious groups, such as Jamaat-i-Islami, have carried out rallies and protests against the celebration of the day, declaring it unethical and un-Islamic.

There have been instances in the past where local authorities prohibited the February 14 festivities in different cities across the nation.

In 2016, President Mamnoon Hussain also warned Pakistanis to stay away from celebrating Valentines Day, declaring it was not a part of Muslim tradition, but of the West.

General debate

Valentines celebrations have increased in Pakistan over the last decade, particularly among the countrys youth.

The enforcement of the ban on its celebration and media coverage for a second consecutive year has sparked a larger debate among some of the countrys liberal and conservative circles.

A section of the society defends the celebrations and considers them harmless, though for others the day does not have any place in their religious practices or their traditions.

Pakistan, for the most part, is a conservative Muslim society. Public displays of affection are not the norm and often are viewed as unacceptable.

But some Pakistanis, like Saleema Hashmi, a Lahore-based artist and renowned educator, believe the system is focusing on irrelevant issues at the expense of more important and pressing issues the country faces.

Dont our courts have better things to do instead of passing rulings on celebrating a mere romantic day? she asked. I do not understand how celebrating or denouncing Valentines Day can impact our religion, traditions, social or cultural norms.Their houses are often made of plastic sheets. Much of their food comes from aid agencies. Jobs are few, and there is painfully little to do. The nightmares are relentless.

But six months after their horrors began, the Rohingya Muslims who fled army attacks in Myanmar for refuge in Bangladesh feel one immense consolation.

Nobody is coming to kill us, thats for sure, said Mohammed Amanullah, whose village was destroyed last year just before he left for Bangladesh with his wife and three children. They now live in the Kutupalong refugee camp outside the coastal city of Coxs Bazar. We have peace here.

On Aug. 25, Rohingya insurgents attacked several security posts in Myanmar, killing at least 14 people. Within hours, waves of revenge attacks broke out, with the military and Buddhist mobs marauding through Rohingya villages in bloody pogroms, killing thousands, raping women and girls, and burning houses and whole villages. The aid group Doctors Without Borders has estimated at least 6,700 Rohingya were killed in Myanmar in the first month of the violence, including at least 730 children younger than 5. The survivors flooded into Bangladesh.

Six months later, there are few signs Rohingya are going home anytime soon.

Citizenship

Myanmar and Bangladesh have signed an agreement to gradually repatriate Rohingya in safety, security and dignity, but the process has been opaque and the dangers remain. New satellite images have shown empty villages and hamlets leveled, erasing evidence of the Rohingyas former lives. And with 700,000 having fled Myanmar since August, more Rohingya continue to flee.

So for now, the refugees wait.

If they agree to send us back thats fine, but is it that easy? asked Amanullah. Myanmar must give us citizenship. That is our home. Without citizenship they will torture us again. They will kill us again.

He said he would only return under the protection of U.N. peacekeepers: They must take care of us there. Otherwise it will not work. 

Buddhist-majority Myanmar doesnt recognize the Rohingya as an official ethnic group and they face intense discrimination and persecution.

Array of terrors

The children in the camps face a particularly difficult time. The U.N. estimates children are the heads of 5,600 refugee families.

A survey of childrens lives inside the camps showed they faced an array of terrors, from girls reporting concerns of harassments near the camp toilets to fears that elephants and snakes could attack them as they collect firewood.

We cannot expect Rohingya children to overcome the traumatic experiences theyve suffered when exposed to further insecurity and fears of violence in the camps, Mark Pierce, country director for Save the Children in Bangladesh, said in a statement.

The study was prepared jointly by Save the Children, World Vision and Plan International.

The overwhelming message from these children is that they are afraid, Pierce said. This is no way for a child to live.

The situation will worsen soon. Seasonal monsoon rains will begin pounding the refugees plastic-and-bamboo city in April.A month ahead of presidential elections, thousands of Russians rallied in the capital city of Moscow Sunday in honor of Kremlin critic Boris Nemtsov, who was murdered on this day three years ago.

In a rare sanctioned opposition gathering in Russia's capital, many carried flags, portraits of Nemtsov, placards and flowers in frigid temperatures as low as minus 14 degrees Celsius.

Moscow police, who are often accused of underestimating opposition crowd sizes, said that 4,500 people attended the rally. Pro-opposition monitors said the figure was over 7,000.

Former presidential candidate Alexey Navalny, an anti-corruption campaigner who has been blocked from participating in the elections over legal problems widely seen as manufactured to keep him out of the race, was reported to have been in attendance.

Nemtsov, one of Russian president Putin's most vocal critics, was shot in the back late at night while walking across a bridge just meters from the Kremlin in 2015. He was working on a report examining Russia's role in the conflict in Ukraine at the time of his death.

Last year, a Russian court sentenced Saur Dadayev to 20 years in prison and four accomplices between 11 and 19 years. Dadayev initially pleaded guilty, but later recanted, saying he was tortured into the confession.

While the verdicts were welcomed by supporters of Nemtsov, the investigation and trial were condemned for failing to uncover the masterminds of the killing or addressing the motive, which is widely believed to be political.A band of thunderstorms reaching across the lower Mississippi Valley into Ohio on Saturday killed two people and threatened more flooding in an area that has seen evacuations because of high water.

The storm system packing hail, high winds and possible tornados was forecast to drop from 2 to 4 inches (5 to 10 cm) of rain by early Sunday from Arkansas into the Ohio Valley.

Much of the area was under flash flood warnings or watches after being saturated by rain in the past week or so, the National Weather Service said.

Its a pretty high-impact event over a very large area, Bob Oravec, a forecaster with the agencys Weather Prediction Center in College Park, Maryland, said by telephone.

Emergency declarations

Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb issued a disaster emergency for 11 counties because of damage from widespread flooding, especially from the Kankakee River in northern Indiana.

In Ohio, Governor John Kasich declared an emergency in 17 counties along the Ohio River and in the southern part of the state because of high water and storm damage.

A man in northeast Arkansas and a woman in south-central Kentucky both were killed as the storm that also included heavy winds, rain and hail muscled its way through the area.

In northeast Arkansas, an 83-year-old man was killed after high winds toppled a trailer home. Clay County Sheriff Terry Miller told KAIT-TV that Albert Foster died Saturday night after the home was blown into a pond.

In rural, south-central Kentucky, 79-year-old Dallas Jane Combs died after a suspected tornado hit her Adairville home Saturday evening, Logan County Sheriff's Department told television station WKRN.

Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin asked that all citizens to take weather warnings seriously.

Three dead in flooding

Flooding has claimed at least three lives this week, including a 1-year-old girl in Michigan, according to media.

A 52-year-old woman was found dead in her car that was submerged in a ditch in Illinois and a 53-year-old man was killed in Oklahoma when his car was swept away by flood waters, media reported.

Hundreds of people have been evacuated over the last several days as rising waters reached their homes and nearby roads. Communities provided sandbags to home and business owners and set up dozens of shelters to house displaced residents.The Syrian capital and its embattled eastern suburbs were relatively calm Sunday despite some violence that killed at least three people, following the U.N. Security Council's unanimous approval of a resolution demanding a 30-day cease-fire across Syria, opposition activists and residents of Damascus said.



The activists reported low-level clashes on the southern edge of the rebel-held suburbs, known as eastern Ghouta, and two airstrikes late on Saturday night, shortly after the resolution was adopted. During the day Sunday, some more shelling and airstrikes were reported by activists in eastern Ghouta.

The relative calm came after a week of intense airstrikes and shelling that killed more than 500 people in eastern Ghouta and left dozens dead or wounded in the government-held Damascus, which rebels pelted with mortar shells.



"This has been the calmest night since last Sunday," said Rami Abdurrahman who heads the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, referring to the start of the bombing campaign on Feb. 19.



The Observatory said Sunday's shelling killed three people and wounded 27 in several areas in eastern Ghouta. The opposition's Syrian Civil Defense, also known as White Helmets, said the three were killed in the towns of Saqba, Beit Sawa and Hammouriyeh.



State news agency SANA said insurgents breached the truce by firing 15 shells Sunday on government-held areas on the edge of Ghouta.



Ghouta-based opposition activist Anas al-Dimashqi said the night was calm but warplanes and drones were flying over rebel-held areas. He said several explosions were heard Sunday in Ghouta.



Dr. Sakhr al-Dimashqi, a surgeon at a clinic in Ghouta, told The Associated Press that several shells hit some towns in the suburbs, adding that they received six wounded people at the clinic where he works.



"The shelling today is not as intense as over the past week," he said.



The two largest and most powerful rebel factions in Ghouta, Failaq al-Rahman and Army of Islam issued statements saying they will abide by the cease-fire unless they are forced to fire in self-defense. Both called for the "immediate delivery" of emergency aid.



The resolution excludes members of the Islamic State group and al-Qaida-linked fighters. Ghouta is also home to a few hundred members of the al-Qaida-linked Levant Liberation Committee.



Russia's Foreign Ministry said Sunday that the fight against IS and al-Qaida's affiliate will continue, despite what it described as attempts by certain external players to engage "international terrorists and groups of opposition militants joining them to implement plans that are still nurtured to overthrow the legitimate authorities of Syria and dismember the country."



It added that "the terrorists won't get any respite."



Damascus residents said there's more traffic in the streets, compared to previous days and most schools and universities were open on Sunday. They said some private schools were still closed, especially those close to the front lines with Ghouta.



Some residents of the capital said they were unhappy with the truce, adding they believe the rebels will violate it and that the Syrian army should crush the gunmen outside the capital.



"The army has given them many truces, more than they deserve and the result was more shells," said Damascus resident Abdul-Razzak Khaleifah, 37. "The army has the right to retaliate to defend the homeland and the civilians."



Saturday's vote at the United Nations came after the vote was delayed from Friday. Russia's U.N. Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia had repeatedly called an immediate cease-fire unrealistic.



In a bid to get Russian support, sponsors Kuwait and Sweden amended the draft resolution late Friday to drop a demand that the cease-fire take effect 72 hours after the resolution's adoption.



After two hours of additional negotiations on Saturday, the Security Council unanimously approved the resolution demanding a 30-day cease-fire across Syria "without delay" to deliver humanitarian aid to millions and evacuate the critically ill and wounded.



After the vote, many council members urged stepped-up efforts to ensure a cease-fire and get assistance to millions in need.



Russia has been a main backer of Syrian President Bashar Assad since the country's conflict began seven years ago. In 2015, Moscow joined the war on Assad's side tipping the balance of power in his favor.



In northern Syria, the Observatory and the Lebanon-based Al-Mayadeen TV said Turkish troops shelled the Kurdish enclave of Afrin where Turkey and Syrian opposition fighters it backs have been on the offensive since Jan. 20.



The Turkish military and their allies took three more villages from the U.S.-backed Kurdish militia near the town of Afrin on Sunday, according to the Turkey's official news agency. The military announced one Turkish soldier was killed on Saturday, bringing the army's death toll to 33 since the launch of the Afrin operation last month.



The main Kurdish militia, known as YPG, said in a statement that it will abide by the U.N. cease-fire but will continue fighting as usual against IS.Czech authorities detained a former leader of a Syrian Kurdish political party under an Interpol red notice that was based on Turkey's request for his arrest, Turkey's official news agency and a Kurdish official said Sunday.



Anadolu news agency said Salih Muslim, former co-chair of the Democratic Union Party, or PYD, was detained on Saturday in Prague.



A Kurdish official close to Muslim said the former PYD leader was in Prague attending a conference. After a Turkish participant took a photograph of him, Czech police detained the Syrian politician, following a request by Turkey.



Czech police say that have arrested and placed in detention a 67-year-old foreigner at the request of Turkey's Interpol. No further details were immediately released by Czech police.



Muslim was put on Turkey's most-wanted list earlier in February with a reward for $1 million.



Turkey considers the PYD a "terrorist group" linked to outlawed Kurdish insurgents fighting within Turkey's own borders.



The party is the leading political Kurdish force in northern Syria, and Muslim remains highly influential even after stepping down as co-chair last year.



The Kurdish official said the former PYD leader was invited to Prague to take part in a conference held once every six months to discuss issues linked to the Middle East such as the Syrian crisis, Turkey, and the Arab-Israeli conflict.



The official, who is also in Prague, spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release information about the conference.



Anadolu said Turkey is submitting an extradition request for Muslim. An extradition request would have be approved by a Czech court and by the justice minister. Muslim is a Syrian citizen.



On Jan. 20, Turkey launched an incursion into northern Syria, seeking to rout the U.S.-backed Syrian Kurdish militia, known as the People's Protection Units or YPG, from the enclave of Afrin. The YPG is the armed wing of the PYD.



Turkey shares a 911-kilometer border with Syria. The YPG controls much of the territory along the border.After a testy exchange this past week over a proposed U.S. border wall, Mexico President Enrique Pena Nieto canceled plans to visit the White House, according to a report Saturday by The Washington Post.

Pena Nieto and Trump spoke Tuesday, spending a considerable amount of their nearly hourlong call on discussions of the border wall, according to sources who spoke with the Post.

During his run for president, Trump made it a campaign promise that he would have a wall built along the U.S.-Mexico border to help reduce illegal immigration. He told his enthusiastic crowds that Mexico would pay for it.

In the phone call Tuesday, however, the two men argued over that issue. Pena Nieto wanted the U.S. leader to say publicly that Mexico would not pay for the building of the wall, but Trump refused.

One Mexican official said Trump lost his temper during the phone call, but U.S. officials countered that he was instead frustrated and exasperated, the newspaper reported.

There had been plans for the Mexican leader to make an official visit to the White House in the coming weeks. A planned visit in 2017 was scrapped after the two men disagreed over the proposed wall and the North American Free Trade Agreement.President Donald Trump said he has asked the Pentagon to stage a military parade in the nations capital on Veterans Day.

Trump was interviewed live via telephone by Jeanine Pirro, host of Justice with Judge Jeanine on Fox News, Saturday night. They discussed the recent mass school shooting in Parkland, Florida, as well as other issues, including a proposed military parade.

He told Pirro that the parade would be held probably Veterans Day, which is celebrated Nov. 11, but I like July 4th. He said it would be up and down Pennsylvania Avenue, the street in Washington that runs from the White House to the U.S. Capitol.

Well see if we can do it at a reasonable cost, Trump said. If we cant, we dont do it.

He said the parade would include a lot of flyovers of Air Force planes.

The Veterans Day holiday this year coincides with the 100-year anniversary of the end of World War I.

The military reportedly favors the November date to divorce the aura of the parade and its symbolism of U.S. military strength as much as possible from the contentious U.S. political scene, since the parade would then fall days after congressional elections, set for Nov. 6.

The inspiration to hold a military parade began after Trump watched Bastille Day events in Paris last July 14, when he and first lady Melania Trump were the guests of French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife, Brigitte.

White House correspondent Steve Herman contributed to this story.U.S. President Donald Trump is sparring with a key Democratic lawmaker over allegations that the FBI engaged in surveillance abuses in 2016 as it sought to win court approval to monitor a Trump aide's contacts with Russia.

Congressman Adam Schiff, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, told CNN Sunday, "The FBI acted appropriately." His comment came hours after the minority Democrats on the panel released their rebuttal to a memo disclosed three weeks ago by Republicans contending that the law enforcement agency acted improperly in pursuing clandestine surveillance of Trump aide Carter Page.

The Democratic memo pushed back against the Republican claim that the FBI failed to disclose the political motivations of a former British intelligence officer, Christopher Steele, the author of a controversial dossier on Trump's links to Russia that was partly used by the FBI in seeking approval from the Federal Intelligence Surveillance Court to monitor Page.

The Republican memo, crafted by House Intelligence Committee chairman Devin Nunes, a California congressman, claimed that the Steele dossier was "an essential part" of the surveillance application submitted to the court without disclosing that it was research paid for by Democrats and the campaign of Hillary Clinton, Trump's 2016 election opponent.

Schiff's memo said there were "multiple sources" supporting the Page surveillance, not just the Steele dossier, and that the FBI had already been investigating Trump campaign links to Russia for seven weeks before it learned of the Steele dossier.

In a string of Twitter comments Saturday, Trump said, "The Democrat memo response on government surveillance abuses is a total political and legal BUST. Just confirms all of the terrible things that were done. SO ILLEGAL! Dem Memo: FBI did not disclose who the clients were - the Clinton Campaign and the DNC. Wow!"



The U.S. leader called Schiff a "total phony" and again disparaged multiple Washington investigations into his campaign's ties to Russia. "This whole Witch Hunt is an illegal disgrace," Trump said, blaming his predecessor, former President Barack Obama, for not thwarting Russian meddling in the election.

Schiff said, "I'm not surprised the White House tried to bury this [Democratic] memo as long as they could," saying the Steele dossier was "part of a complete whole." He said the FBI's bid for the surveillance of Page accurately stated that Steele was hired by politically-motivated U.S. entities and that his research appeared to be aimed at discrediting the Trump campaign.

During an interview Saturday with the Fox News program Justice with Judge Jeanine, President Donald Trump said the Democrats' memo was "a nothing."



"Well, all you do is you see this Adam Schiff  he has a meeting, and he leaves the meeting and he calls up reporters. And then all of a sudden they have news and you're not supposed to do that. It's probably illegal to do it, Trump told the host, Jeanine Pirro.

Schiff and other Democrats on the House Intelligence Committee alleged the Republican version of the story omits and misrepresents facts. They also accused Trump of ignoring concerns about releasing sensitive information when releasing the Republican version of the memo, and holding the Democratic one for political reasons rather than security concerns.

FBI Director Christopher Wray had also expressed concerns about the Republican memo, saying it left out key information.

As the Democratic memo was released, Nunes told a conservative gathering outside Washington, We wanted it out. We want it out because we think it is clear evidence that the Democrats are not only trying to cover this up, but theyre also colluding with parts of the government to help cover this up. ... What you basically read in the Democratic memo is, they are advocating that its OK for the FBI and DOJ [Department of Justice] to use political dirt paid for by one campaign, and use it against the other campaign.The sheriff in the Florida county where a troubled 19-year-old man carried out a horrific mass shooting rampage vowed Sunday to investigate every aspect of his department's response to the mayhem as it unfolded and the numerous missed signals about the gunman's volatility it had received in the weeks before.

Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel told CNN, "We will investigate every action of our deputies." But he heaped scorn on one of them, Scot Peterson, the veteran lawman who stayed outside the Parkland, Fla., high school two weeks ago rather than charging inside to confront the suspect, Nikolas Cruz, as he allegedly gunned down 14 students and three adults.

"It makes me sick to my stomach that he didn't go in," Israel said of Peterson, calling his actions "dereliction of duty." Israel said that when he saw the video of Peterson outside the school during the shooting, he suspended him without pay last week. Peterson has resigned.

Israel said Broward internal investigators are looking at reports that at least three other deputies also arrived on the scene without entering the school while the attack was unfolding near the end of the school day on Feb. 14. In addition, he said investigators are reviewing 18 calls to the Broward sheriff's office about Cruz in the weeks before the shooting, in which callers said they believed he was amassing an arsenal and was a threat to carry out an attack on a school.

"One deputy was remiss. Everything else is fluid," Israel said. "We understand everything wasn't done perfectly."

One Florida lawmaker called for Israel's resignation, but the sheriff said he would not quit. Israel said he has given "amazing leadership" to his agency.

The U.S. debate over the proper response to try to thwart future school shootings is intensifying, but whether the killings will move Congress to act is open to question. In a country where the U.S. Constitution enshrines gun ownership, lawmakers have been loathe to impose tougher gun controls, even in the face of previous mass shootings in recent years.

President Donald Trump has suggested arming some gun-adept teachers and paying them a bonus to keep a concealed weapon at the ready to confront a shooter.

A small number of local school districts in the U.S. have already instituted such a system of classroom protection, but numerous national educators are opposed to the idea. Trump also has said he favors increasing the legal age for all gun purchases from 18 to 21, an idea adamantly opposed by the country's powerful gun lobby, the National Rifle Association.

Trump said he would leave it up to individual states to decide whether to arm teachers. But Rick Scott, the governor of Florida where the shooting occurred and a supporter of Trump, said he opposes the idea.

"I disagree with arming teachers. My focus is on bringing in law enforcement," Scott said. "Let law enforcement keep us safe, and let teachers focus on teaching."

NRA spokeswoman Dana Loesch told ABC News, "If parents and teachers voluntarily choose to be armed, I think that's something schools will have to come up with and determine for themselves."

CNN said its latest national poll shows growing support for more expansive gun controls, with 70 percent favoring new restrictions, compared to 52 percent in an October poll not long after a mass shooting in Las Vegas killed 58 people.Venezuela is now accepting candidate registrations for its April 22 presidential elections, but opposition politicians and the United States are rejecting the terms of the poll.

Tania D'Amelio, an official of the National Electoral Council (CNE), said nominations would be accepted through Monday. The council will announce which nominations are accepted by Thursday.

Opposition politicians have accused the CNE of being under the thumb of President Nicolas Maduro.

The presidential elections, with Maduro seeking a new term that would keep him in office until 2025, are traditionally held in December. They were moved forward by the ruling Constituent Assembly, which is controlled by the governing party.

Maduro called Wednesday for snap legislative elections for the National Assembly, proposing to bring them forward by nearly two years to coincide with the April 22 poll. And he hit back at the opposition MUD coalition, which had said it would not take part in the early elections without guarantees they would be free and fair.

"We are going to [hold] the elections come rain, shine or lightning, with or without the MUD," said Maduro.

U.S. rejection

But the United States, which under President Donald Trump has been deeply critical of Maduro's leadership in crisis-torn and economically suffering Venezuela, on Saturday rejected the call for an early legislative vote.

"We reject ruling party calls to replace the democratically elected National Assembly simultaneously, rather than in 2021, as provided for under the 1999 Constitution," said a State Department statement. "Deepening the rupture of Venezuela's constitutional and democratic order will not solve the nation's crises."

The statement called for "a free and fair election" involving full participation of all political leaders, the immediate release of all political prisoners, credible international observation and an independent electoral authority.

The opposition Democratic Unity Roundtable (MUD) said Wednesday that it would not register presidential candidates, believing there were no guarantees of transparency. But it left the door open to taking part if conditions were improved.

Delcy Rodriguez, president of the Constituent Assembly, has said that that body will consider possible dates for the legislative vote when it meets next week.Zimbabwes former president Robert Mugabe has reportedly told the African Union that President Emmerson Mnangagwas government is unconstitutional and continues to harass his wife, Grace, who cries everyday due to state intimidation.

The privately-owned Zimbabwe Independent reports that detailed notes leaked to the newspaper of a meeting between Mugabe, his wife, government officials and African Union Commission chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat at his Borrowdale mansion in the capital, Harare last Monday, indicate that the former president is bitter about his removal from office by Mnangagwa and the military.

He is quoted in the newspaper as saying the AU should help to restore normalcy and democracy in Zimbabwe as the Zimbabwe Defence Forces grabbed power and handed it over to Mnangagwa.

To start with, the political and security situation in Zimbabwe has radically changed since November 15 last year; certainly not for the better, but for worse  Its tragic and sad that in Zimbabwe since November 15 government and state institutions have been taken over by the military which is now part of the current unconstitutional administration. I was pressured by the army to resign; I did so in order to avoid conflict and bloodshed in my country. I was worried because it had been brought to my attention that people had been intimidated, illegally seized, attacked, homes had been raided at gunpoint and destroyed, and weapons confiscated from other state security agencies.

MNANGAGWA IN POWER ILLEGALLY

The army had been unconstitutionally deployed without permission of the commander-in-chief and soldiers continue to be used in this operation. So from a constitutional point of view, he (Mnangagwa) is there unconstitutionally. Mnangagwa is in power illegally, yet some of his officials dare call me a dictator. What dictator? Maybe a dictator for dictating that we must take over our land and give it to the people; maybe a dictator for demanding that our people must be empowered. If thats why they call me a dictator, I have no problem with that.

According to the newspaper, he quizzed Home Affairs Minister Obert Mpofu about his so-called dictatorial tendencies.

The one sitting next to you (Mpofu) used to be my minister, but now I hear he had the temerity to call me a dictator  Am I a dictator, sir (Obert Mpofu)?

The newspaper reports that a seemingly unsettled Mpofu, who once signed a letter he sent to Mugabe as the former presidents prodigal son, said he never viewed him as a dictator.

At the same time, Mugabe is said to have informed the AU commission chairperson that his wife is crying everyday as she is being harassed by government agents.

MY WIFE IS CRYING DAILY

 They told you (AU), I was safe, but how can I be in this environment? My wife is crying daily. They are persecuting her; that is obviously directed at me. What am I without my wife and family? We are not safe  Why are they harassing people? Some of them are overzealous. How do you arrest a whole university vice-chancellor (Levy Nyagura) over lies about a PhD? Some of these people are just idiots; they are ignoramuses.

It wasnt easy  I used to see her (Grace) here working hard day and night. I would assist her here and there, so how can someone wake up and claim she didnt work for it? This is harassment.

The Zimbabwe Independent noted that Mugabe stressed that there is no democracy in Zimbabwe and so it would be unlikely that the government will conduct free and fair elections.

RESTORE NORMALCY AND DEMOCRACY IN ZIMBABWE

Im going to tell the truth; there is no more democracy anymore in Zimbabwe. How can it be there when the military is ruling? Im saying this as Robert Mugabe and, of course, I am not afraid of anyone. I was imprisoned for 11 years by the Rhodesians so there is nothing to fear. Please (Mahamat) dont appease them (Mnangagwa government). Be honest and tell them the truth, guide them forward. We want you to assist to restore normalcy and democracy in the country and stop this thing of ruling through guns.

He also demanded, without elaborating, that the government should give him his benefits.

Some of the people who attended the meeting included Mugabes wife, AU Commissioner for Political Affairs Minata Samate Cessouma, an AU interpreter, Home Affairs Minister and Zanu PF secretary for administration Obert Mpofu, chief secretary in the Office of the President and Cabinet Misheck Sibanda, Zimbabwes former ambassador to Namibia Chipo Zindoga, and a former diplomat in Angola now a senior official in the Foreign Affairs and International Trade ministry.

Mahamat also met with Mnangagwa, Foreign Affairs and International Trade Minister Sibusiso Moyo and Speaker of Parliament Jacob Mudenda and several state officials.

He was on a fact-finding mission to Zimbabwe.

The African Union says there was no military coup in the southern African nation, which Mugabe had ruled with an iron fist for more than 37 years.Rome schools will be closed on Monday 26 February due to a risk of snow and severe frost, according to Italian news agency ANSA.

The closure will affect all schools, including kindergartens, across the Rome area.

There will be a reduced number of public buses in circulation in Rome on 26 February however the metro underground service should be running as normal.

The capital's parks, villas and cemeteries are also expected to close.Please enable cookies on your web browser in order to continue.

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By signing up you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy PolicyIn 2015, there were 7,610 licensed child-care slots in homes or centers for about 22,000 children younger than 3 in the District, according to a report by DC Appleseed and the D.C. Fiscal Policy Institute. And the District is one of the most expensive places for child care in the country, with an average monthly cost of $1,868 for infant care at a center, according to the Economic Policy Institute.He has done so thanks to a procedure once considered risky: More than 9 percent of the first 150 patients to receive the procedure at one hospital in 1966 and 1967 died before they were able to be sent home. That figure went down to 3 percent in 1999 for a large comparable group of American and Canadian patients. Today, 14 years after Vignulis surgery, deaths before being discharged from the hospital are between 1 and 3 percent, and surgeons have refined the procedure  and the rehab that follows  even more.Birthday wishes

Call 281-422-8302 or email david.bloom@baytownsun.com to wish someone a happy birthday. We will print your birthday wish on Page 2 of The Sun.

Happy Birthday WishesAbbott said Republicans will come to understand the significance of Obamas efforts in both the electoral process and the legal redistricting process. If you have a governor who vetoes the redistricting process, they will have an opportunity to fight it out in court, he said. Thats precisely the scenario right now in Pennsylvania. We want to make sure we dont have any replication of what has happened in Pennsylvania.In an earlier interview, Theophilos had said he has had no choice but to sell or lease land held by the church to finance its day-to-day business in Israel and the Palestinian territories, as well as in Jordan and Qatar  all areas under his jurisdiction. He also had to pay off debts left over from bad real estate deals executed by his predecessors, he said.GREENWICH  The numbers are in for the Undies Projects Mardi Bra undergarment donation drive, and a total of 1,076 bras have been divvied up for distribution to the needy.

Co-founders Lucy Langley and Laura Delaflor dropped off 400 of those bras  350 new and 50 gently used  to Neighbor-to-Neighbor on Thursday. Director Nancy Coughlin said she is amazed at the way the town jumped in wholeheartedly for the Undies Project, which is a relatively new cause.

It was really not on anybodys radar, Coughlin said, when you think of donating gently used clothes. One of the great side effects of what Lucy and Laura are doing is raising awareness.

What does it mean to struggle financially, she said, and what does it mean to not have what you need? People are more educated about it now.

In addition to Neighbor-to-Neighbor, bra donations will be sent to: Clothes to Kids Fairfield County, Homeless Outreach Team, Homes with Hope, Inspirica, Kids in Crisis, Kids Kloset, Mothers for Others, Open Door Shelter, Pacific House, Person to Person, Project Return and YWCA Domestic Abuse Services, among others.

Donations for this years Mardi Bra came from local businesses in Greenwich, Stamford, Darien, Norwalk and Westport that had donation bins on site. Some businesses and groups also held in-house drives, including Titan Advisors in Stamford, Berkshire Hathaway in Greenwich and Old Greenwich, Curry and Kingston in Cos Cob, First Congregational Church in Greenwich, and Terrain in Westport.

Last year we collected just over 2,000 bras, said Langley, so a little down on last year. But every single donation is valuable and goes toward helping someone in need, so we are very happy with this years donations and the wonderful generosity of the local communities.

We would like to expand into other communities like New Canaan, Weston and Wilton next year as these are untapped for bra donations as yet, she said.

Coming up, the Undies Project will be embracing two new fundraising opportunities.

Greenwich Academy has chosen the Undies Project for its GATOR-Aid Day on March 9. The school will host a fundraiser to collect underwear donations. And Connecticut Parachutists Inc. in Ellington will host an underwear fundraiser in late June for the group.

The organization is also continuing with other events  including the Undie Sunday in May to collect underwear donations from local churches and synagogues and Cocktails and Comedy in October, a benefit cocktail and comedy show featuring Jane Condon and Ross Bennett at St. Catherine of Siena Church.The anguish and anger that abounds in Winnipeg this week would be best channelled in looking ahead to rescue the next Tina Fontaine before its too late.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 24/2/2018 (1301 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Opinion

The anguish and anger that abounds in Winnipeg this week would be best channelled in looking ahead to rescue the next Tina Fontaine before its too late.

Distressingly, there are many like her: youth from First Nations communities who enter the care of Child and Family Services, are failed by institutions that are supposed to protect them, and are preyed upon by predators who lurk in cities everywhere.

Tina Fontaine mourners march Friday. (Winnipeg Free Press file photo)

Let future historians record that the three-week trial was a watershed in Manitoba. It was the time when Manitoba decided the problems have been studied enough. It was the time when Manitoba decided to hasten systemic change. For Tinas sake.

Even after the trial that led to a not guilty verdict against Raymond Cormier, the public doesnt know important details of the final minutes of the life of the Anishinaabe teenager whose body was found in the Red River in August 2014.

We dont know how she died. And, after Thursdays acquittal, we dont know who killed her.

But Manitoba is well aware, too well aware, of the societal problems that led Tina to the streets, where she met ill-intentioned people that no 15-year-old girl should befriend, such as 56-year-old Cormier.

The acquittal sparked countrywide reaction, some from people who shouted stock opinions with only cursory knowledge of the trial and of Manitobas social problems. At least the national reaction didnt include federal politicians crossing the line that protects the independence of juries and criticizing the verdict. As the prime minister did earlier this month, in the acquittal of Saskatchewan farmer Gerald Stanley in the 2016 death of Colten Boushie, a 22-year-old Cree man.

Independent legal observers say the Cormier jury did its job, which was to acquit if it had a reasonable doubt. The case against Cormier was flimsy.

There was no direct evidence such as DNA, witnesses or a confession that was indisputable. Possibly, it would not have gone to trial if there had been a preliminary hearing, the process designed to weed out weak cases.

The people who marched in Winnipeg on Friday and the people camped out on the legislative grounds, say they want to honour Tina.

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A way to honour her is to finally move beyond the countless studies that have examined the historic problems that plague Manitoba as a result of colonialism. The atrocities, including residential schools and the Sixties Scoop, have been well-documented.

It would honour the memory of Tina if this highly publicized case was the incentive to accelerate action on the root causes of the oppression of First Nations people that has been Canadas shame.

An appropriate guide to addressing those causes is the report delivered in 2015 by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Some recommendations have been acted upon, many have not.

Its to be hoped the need to change is heard and shared by the legislators on Broadway, by federal politicians who largely fund First Nations and have been repeatedly urged to dismantle the Indian Act, by officials from Child and Family Services, by police officers who regularly encounter runaway kids heading for trouble, and by judges who can sentence Indigenous offenders with a Gladue report, which takes into account an offenders Indigenous background.

Of all the voices on this matter, none should be heeded more than the voices of Indigenous people. They can speak for themselves, and its essential they be heard by people at the top of societys power structures.

As Niigaan Sinclair, an associate professor in the department of native studies at the University of Manitoba, wrote in the Free Press on Thursday: "We must help educate others and join in a march together. We must help build families. Communities. Revoke, write and implement law. Consult meaningfully. Share land and resources. Demand change and never stop till it happens."MINNEAPOLIS  In their first assessment of this seasons influenza vaccine, federal U.S. health officials said last week that the current vaccine is 36 per cent effective overall.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 25/2/2018 (1300 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

MINNEAPOLIS  In their first assessment of this seasons influenza vaccine, federal U.S. health officials said last week that the current vaccine is 36 per cent effective overall.

The report left many people wondering if its worth getting a flu shot  the answer is yes  but it also helped explain why the United States flu season has been particularly severe this year and illuminates how researchers hope to produce a better vaccine in the future.

This years vaccine falls in the middle range of seasonal effectiveness rates, which have varied from 10 per cent to 60 per cent since 2004. But the vaccine is only 25 per cent effective against H3N2, the strain of influenza that is circulating widely and causing most of the infections this year.

"Frankly, H3N2 causes the more severe seasons," said Dr. Edward Belongia, who leads vaccine effectiveness research at Marshfield Clinic in north-central Wisconsin.

"We see more hospitalizations, we see more deaths. Those are the years when we most need an effective vaccine  but those are the years when we see the least protection."

The Marshfield Clinic pioneered the current method of estimating vaccine effectiveness in the United States in 2004 and has remained central to that research ever since. It is one of five federally funded sites where outpatient clinics test vaccine effectiveness. To do that, they compare vaccination rates among patients who see their doctors for respiratory illnesses but dont have the flu with rates among patients who see their doctors for actual influenza.

The variability in vaccine effectiveness depends on many factors, including how well vaccine makers anticipate the various flu strains that will hit the United States as they circulate across the globe. Manufacturers typically have to start making vaccine months before the flu season begins in earnest, requiring a certain amount of guesswork and leaving the possibility of a mismatch between the vaccine they produce and the dominant strains that ultimately emerge.

"It is a flawed vaccine, but it is what we have at the present time," said Dr. Priya Sampathkumar, an infectious-disease specialist at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. "We need to continue to work on the vaccine. Every year, it is a guessing game what to include in the vaccine."

But the manufacturing process itself can also weaken protection against some strains, including the severe H3N2. Even when the right viruses are selected to be included in the vaccine, problems can be caused by the most common method of growing vaccines: cultivating it in hens eggs.

"They are difficult to grow in eggs and the process induces mutations," Belongia said. As a result of the mutations, the vaccine loses efficacy at fighting real-world viruses.

Belongia said this argues for more research into alternative cell-based vaccine-growing technologies, and eventually the development of a universal vaccine that provides protection against all strains.

"The long-term game plan is a universal vaccine," he said.

A universal vaccine would take the guesswork out of selecting flu strains for the virus. It also might provide lifetime protection, eliminating the need for the annual shot.

Compared to a decade ago, researchers understand much more about influenza and vaccines, Belongia said. Rather than simply examining different strains of the virus, scientists can now examine different molecular subtypes to see how they are affected by vaccines. Belongia has researched whether vaccine is more effective when people get shots every year, and whether its effectiveness wanes over the course of a single season.

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"The good news is were asking questions now that no one was even asking 10 years ago," he said. "Thats progress, but we still have a long way to go."

But even at 36 per cent effectiveness, doctors say a flu shot is valuable: it protects the public by limiting the spread of the flu and it can reduce the symptoms among individuals who do get infected.

"It may not protect you from getting the illness. It will protect you from getting as ill," Sampathkumar said. Significantly, she added, vaccination has been shown to reduce hospitalizations and prevent deaths.

Because the flu is so widespread, even a vaccine with limited effectiveness can save thousands of lives, Belongia said.

"If it is a bad season  and this is a bad season  thats going to prevent thousands of hospitalizations and deaths," he said. "Twenty-five per cent vaccine effectiveness translates into thousands of prevented hospitalizations and ICU admissions and many deaths prevented."

 Minneapolis Star TribuneMINNEAPOLIS  Does the key to unlocking the enduring mystery of the Kennedy assassination lie abroad, in Belarus, Cuba or Mexico?

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 25/2/2018 (1300 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

MINNEAPOLIS  Does the key to unlocking the enduring mystery of the Kennedy assassination lie abroad, in Belarus, Cuba or Mexico?

A review board created in the 1990s to declassify U.S. government assassination secrets tried to secure important information from those countries. It was unsuccessful.

But as the window for the 25-year-long declassification of John F. Kennedy assassination documents closes on April 26  with experts warning a smoking-gun document is unlikely to turn up in the remaining files to be released  pursuit of definitive answers is likely to shift overseas.

"The biggest cache of records that are still out there, the real treasure trove, is the Oswald KGB surveillance records," said John R. Tunheim, now a federal district judge in Minnesota, who from 1994 to 1998 headed the Assassination Records Review Board.

That bipartisan body was created after Congress passed a law in 1992 starting the clock for release of all JFK assassination records. The action was prompted by an outcry after Oliver Stones hit movie JFK discredited the official version of Kennedys assassination.

In the 1990s, Belarus was still home to a five-foot-high stack of KGB surveillance documents on alleged Kennedy assassin Lee Harvey Oswald.

The 20-year-old marine defected to the Soviet Union soon after he was discharged in 1959 and was given a factory job in Minsk, the capital of what today is Belarus. He worked there until returning to the United States in 1962.

Tunheim and colleagues declassified tens of thousands of U.S. documents in those four years, and set a timetable for complete release of documents that had been redacted. Many have trickled out over the past 25 years under schedules set by the board.

Then, last year came four large document releases by the National Archives. The veil was supposed to be fully lifted by October 2017, but U.S. President Donald Trump extended the deadline to April 26.

More than 34,000 documents were posted online by the National Archives last year, many with redactions. More than 22,000 documents still have not been released in full.

Most of those at least partially released have not been complete surprises, dampening anticipation of a big reveal by the end of April.

'I am convinced he destroyed everything because he knew it was coming. He knew he was going to get fired. I don't know how he did it, but he got rid of just about everything before he was gone because there were huge gaps in the record"  John R. Tunheim, former head of the Assassination Records Review Board

When Tunheims panel began declassifying the documents almost 30 years after JFKs death, many were missing. Some of those had been under the control of the powerful CIA counterintelligence chief James J. Angleton.

"I am convinced he destroyed everything because he knew it was coming. He knew he was going to get fired," Tunheim said in an interview in January. "I dont know how he did it, but he got rid of just about everything before he was gone because there were huge gaps in the record."

That view is shared by Jefferson Morley, author of a new biography of Angleton called The Ghost. In an interview, Morley called "defunct" the official version that Oswald was a lone-wolf gunman who came out of nowhere to kill an American president.

"Oswald was under counterintelligence surveillance from 1959 to 1963," Morley said. "Everywhere he went, he touched CIA collection operations, code-named secret intelligence operations, whose product was delivered to Angleton."

In the 1970s, congressional hearings showed how the CIA had misled the Warren Commission, which issued its report in 1964. The CIA again came under fire for misleading the House select committee on assassinations.

Those missteps by the CIA, ostensibly aimed at hiding from public view how it carried out spycraft and meddled in the affairs of foreign governments, helped fuel todays theories of "conspiracy and cover-up," said Peter Kornbluh, a senior analyst with the National Security Archive at George Washington University.

Now, virtually every alternative theory of possible culprits and motive for the JFK killing seems to get new life with each release of documents.

Fidel Castro? Government documents show how the CIA sought to kill him, giving him a motive to retaliate. The mob? Files prove the agency worked closely with mobsters in Cuba and Chicago as they plotted to kill Castro. Texans in the CIA? Documents released last year showed that Earle Cabell, mayor of Dallas at the time of the killing, had been a CIA asset since 1956. His brother Charles was a top CIA official forced by Kennedy to resign less than a year before the assassination on Nov. 22, 1963.

As time was running out on his review board  which concluded its work on Sept. 30, 1998, with a lengthy report  Tunheim travelled to Minsk and tried to copy the entire Oswald surveillance record.

"I was going to pay US$100,000 for copying charges. I probably would have been criticized over that, but it was such a gem of a file," Tunheim said. "I have seen many of them; Ive had a lot of them read to me."

Every time the review board came close to securing the Minsk files, tension with Belarus flared. Its leader then and now  Alexander Lukashenko  is fiercely pro-Russian and has clashed with successive U.S. administrations.

"We could never get it in the time we had available," Tunheim said. "And that covers every damn thing that Oswald did over his three or so years in the Soviet Union. Its an amazing file and there is a copy of it somewhere in the Kremlin files someplace."

The review board did acquire about 500 pages of Minsk documents, many of them from author Norman Mailer, who had been there first and acquired some for use in his 1995 book Oswalds Tale: An American Mystery.

What might the rest of those files contain? Much of it is likely mundane, but some JFK conspiracy theorists believe Oswald was helping train Cuban fighters while in Minsk. The files, now believed to be locked up in Russia, might also shed light on the KGBs efforts to monitor Oswald once he returned to the United States.

One of the review boards major accomplishments was releasing the files on Operation Mongoose  a Kennedy administration plot to overthrow and possibly kill Cuban leader Fidel Castro.

Once the Mongoose files were made public, Tunheim had copies delivered to the Cuban interest section, which worked out of the Swiss Embassy in Washington.

"The complete set of them, everything. We put together a box and said, Send it to Fidel, your president," Tunheim said.

The hope was that goodwill would beget goodwill.

"He wanted to meet, but the State Department didnt allow it," the judge said, chalking it up to concerns that at the time, no one wanted to run afoul of the powerful chairman of the Senate foreign relations committee, Jesse Helms.

The North Carolina Republican had co-authored legislation to toughen the Cuba trade embargo. Relations were also frayed by the 1996 downing by Cuba of civilian aircraft operated by the anti-Castro group Brothers to the Rescue.

Some lower-level meetings took place in the Bahamas, and the Cuban government shared some documents, but told Tunheims team it didnt have much since "defending the revolution" took so much effort.

"Castro intuited right away that CIA propaganda assets were trying to blame the assassination on Cuba, and the records we now have confirm that," said Morley, who is also editor of the website JFK Facts. Cubas documents could shed light on anti-Castro groups, he said. "They heard lots of talk, coming from inside the anti-Castro movement. What they heard after the assassination would be very interesting to know, and important."

The JFK documents released by the National Archives last year confirmed the CIA activity designed to destabilize the Castro regime, and the extent of spying on the Cuban Embassy in Mexico City.

Much of the spying effort was led by Texan David Atlee Phillips, a Fort Worth native whose alleged relationship with Oswald has also been the subject of speculation by conspiracy theorists.

The Fort Worth Star-Telegram, on Oct. 4, 1975, reported Phillips told a local gathering that he was "reasonably convinced" Oswald had acted alone.

Cuban exile leader Antonio Veciana has maintained for years that Phillips, using the assumed name Maurice Bishop, was Oswalds handler, and he saw the two together in Dallas a month before the assassination. Now elderly and in ill health, Veciana said in December he stands by his account.

Phillips, who died in 1988, was a high-level CIA official in Cuba before and after Castros arrival in power. Transferred later to Mexico, he was tasked with watching all traffic and calls into and out of the Cuban and Soviet embassies.

And thats where the United States southern neighbour fits into Tunheims view that important answers may still come from abroad.

Some of the most significant documents left classified for most of the past 25 years and released last year deal with Oswalds trip to Mexico City weeks before the assassination.

During that time, Oswalds calls to the Cuban and Soviet embassies are believed to have been recorded. Tunheim recalled being told by the CIA the recordings were not thought of consequence at the time and were recorded over.

"We know they existed at some point in time. I also know that our deal with the Mexican government was that they got a copy of everything we recorded," Tunheim said. "I am convinced that that probably exists somewhere, whether someone has taken it home or its in a closet or attic someplace."

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Tunheim had seen documents showing CIA leaders had either seen transcripts of or heard the recordings. He flew to Houston in 1998 to meet with CIA officials from the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City, asking them to see what they could dig up.

"They promised to follow up and I never heard another word from them."

Among the calls that would be of most interest is the intercept of Oswalds Oct. 1, 1963, call with Valeriy Vladimirovich Kostikov, described in documents released last year. Kostikov was not only a consul general, the documents said, but also a KGB officer who had been part of Department 13  the sabotage and assassination unit.

Just hearing Oswalds voice would be important.

What little audio of Oswald that exists publicly comes from an interview he gave in New Orleans in a pro-Cuba protest. His limited on-camera footage features a brief denial that he killed Kennedy, calling himself "a patsy." Two days after the JFK assassination, Oswald was shot to death by Jack Ruby as he was led from his Dallas jail cell.

 McClatchy Washington BureauPhotos: Warner Bros./MGM/United Artists

Some films are happy just to get nominated for Best Picture. But these classics didnt even make the final cut of contenders.

At the 90th edition of the Academy Awards on March 4, nine films will vie for the coveted Best Picture trophy. No matter which of those feted contenders eventually emerges victorious, all of them have now joined an illustrious group  especially given that, over the course of the academys nine decades, quite a few all-time greats have failed to receive recognition in that category. How these classics could have been denied a shot at the awards top prize is, in hindsight, more than a bit baffling, no matter the stiff competition they might have faced in the year of their release. Whether its proof that the passage of time is required to determine true greatness or evidence that the organizations tastemakers arent as astute as theyd like the public to believe, the academys track record in this regard is less than flawless (to say the least). With a wealth of candidates from which to choose, these are our picks for the 15 worst Best Picture nomination snubs in Oscar history.

City Lights (1931)

The American Film Institute ranked Charlie Chaplins 1931 masterpiece as the 11th greatest U.S. film ever made, but back in 1931, the academy thought it was inferior to (sarcasm alert!) such well-known and admired movies as Skippy, East Lynne, and Trader Horn. Oof.

My Man Godfrey (1936)

Despite being a commercial smash and earning six other nominations, William Powell and Carole Lombards enduringly great screwball comedy was denied entry into the 1936 Best Picture race, proving  not for the last time  the academys bias against comedy.

His Girl Friday (1940)

The first adaptation of Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthurs play The Front Page, made in 1931, earned a Best Picture nom. Yet when it was redone, in superior fashion, by director Howard Hawks with stars Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell, it didnt make the cut  no doubt because Grants other screwball effort that year, The Philadelphia Story, was chosen to compete for the award.

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The Third Man (1949)

Starring Joseph Cotten and Orson Welles, Carol Reeds film noir (based on Graham Greenes novel) is widely regarded as one of cinemas crowning 20th-century achievements  although not by the academy, which instead preferred the Deborah Kerr-headlined King Solomons Mines.

Singin in the Rain (1952)

Gene Kellys An American in Paris had won six Oscars (including Best Picture) at the prior years show, so in 1952, the academy decided to leave the stars legendary follow-up out of the nights biggest race  a mistake of mind-boggling proportions.

Rebel Without a Cause (1955)

Likely too revolutionary for voters at the time of its release, Nicholas Rays unforgettable portrait of tumultuous teenager-dom  highlighted by James Deans iconic performance  was an academy omission that, 63 years later, is difficult to excuse.

The Searchers (1956)

Though the academy wasnt particularly apt to nominate Westerns in its major category, John Fords 1956 The Searchers now occupies a (if not the) peak position in the genres storied history, so its failure to secure a Best Picture nomination  when William Wylers Friendly Persuasion did  is a gaffe for the record books.

Some Like It Hot (1959)

There are few comedies as beloved and critically acclaimed as Billy Wilders gem starring Jack Lemmon, Tony Curtis, and Marilyn Monroe. In 1959, though, the academy wrongly thought it unworthy of inclusion.

Psycho (1960)

The list of stellar Alfred Hitchcock films to not earn a Best Picture nomination is long and includes Notorious, Vertigo, North by Northwest, and The Birds. Nonetheless, at the top of that embarrassing-to-the-academy rundown stands 1960s Psycho, the Master of Suspenses peerless tale of scary showers and scarier mothers.

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

As with Rebel Without a Cause, Stanley Kubricks unconventional classic was presumably just too much for the old-fashioned academy to properly process, although that hardly lets them off the hook for failing to honor one of cinemas genuine all-timers.

Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)

With Star Wars already in the Best Picture running, its no enormous surprise that the academy left out Steven Spielbergs 1977 sci-fi drama. Regardless, that doesnt make the groups fondness for The Turning Point (11 noms, no wins) over Close Encounters any more defensible from a historical standpoint.

sex, lies, and videotape (1989)

Steven Soderbergh subsequently earned two Best Picture nominations in 2000 for Erin Brockovich and Traffic, but he couldnt get similar recognition for his breakthrough 1989 feature debut, which  aside from winning the Cannes Film Festivals Palme dOr  helped create the modern American independent film movement.

Thelma and Louise (1991)

Ridley Scotts 1991 cross-country saga may have earned six nominations, but when it came time to hand out the evenings final statuette, it had no shot  because its deserved Best Picture nomination had instead been given to (take your pick) Bugsy or Beauty and the Beast.

Boogie Nights (1997)

Even though 1997 was a tremendous year for American movies, the academy went conservative with its Best Picture nominations  leaving Paul Thomas Andersons Boogie Nights (a modern classic by a visionary director) on the sidelines while the likes of the slight As Good as It Gets and The Full Monty got the chance to lose to Titanic.

Mulholland Dr. (2001)

David Lynchs nightmarish tale of showbiz ambition and murderous intrigue topped numerous critics polls as the best film of the aughts. In the eyes of the 2001 academy, however, it wasnt even as good as In the Bedroom, which was  to put it mildly  an opinion of head-smacking craziness.

Read more from Yahoo Entertainment:FCC Chairman Ajit Pai was honored by the National Rifle Association with a handmade Kentucky long gun as part of its Charlton Heston Courage Under Fire Award to mark his efforts to repeal most of the FCCs net neutrality rules.

Pai was given the honor during an appearance on Friday before the Conservative Political Action Conference, where he appeared on a panel along with fellow FCC Republicans Michael ORielly and Brendan Carr.

Carolyn Meadows, a second vice president of the NRA, said that the award is for someone who has stood up under pressure with grace and dignity and principled discipline. She noted that the award is not given every year, but Rush Limbaugh, Phyllis Schlafly, Vice President Mike Pence, Sheriff David Clarke and Roy Innis were past recipients.

We cannot bring it on stage, she said, adding that it will be housed in our museum with a plaque to you. When you can receive it we will give it to youYou will love it.

Pai thanked her for the honor.

FCC spokesman Brian Hart said, The CPAC award was a surprise and the chairman was honored. The presenters announced onstage that they will keep the award at their museum. Ethics rules may prevent Pai from accepting the award while he holds the public post.

Dan Schneider, the executive director of the American Conservative Union, called Pai the most courageous, heroic person that I know. He noted that he and his family had received countless threats as the repeal vote approached and that his property has been invaded by the George Soros crowd. Pai said that his family were harassed and received threats, and signs were placed near his home.

In a December party line vote, the FCC repealed most of the agencys net neutrality rules, which prohibit internet providers from blocking or throttling online traffic, or from selling fast lanes to sites to give them speedier access to consumers. At the CPAC event, Pai said that the rules were stifling to internet freedom and choked investment. The FCC also repealed its classification of internet service as a title II common carrier, akin to that given to a utility.

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The FCC left in place rules that require internet providers to disclose how they handle web traffic.

The FCCs net neutrality order was published in the Federal Register, with an effective date of April 23. A number of groups, including nearly two dozen state attorneys general, are seeking to challenge the FCCs repeal in court. The publication also triggers a timeline for Congress to vote to restore the previous rules. Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) is leading the effort to pass such a measure via the Congressional Review Act, and Democrats say they are just one vote shy of the 51 needed for passage in the Senate. Lawmakers on Capitol Hill have 60 legislative days to act.

The NRAs CEO, Wayne LaPierre, addressed the CPAC crowd on Thursday, and bashed the media for its coverage of gun violence. Dana Loesch, a spokeswoman for the group, also criticized coverage, telling the CPAC audience that many in legacy media love mass shootings. You guys love it. Now Im not saying that you love the tragedy but I am saying that you love the ratings. Crying white mothers are ratings gold to you and many in the legacy media in the back. She was referring to reporters and news crews covering the event.

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'Parks and Recreation' Team Rips Into NRA for Using Amy Poehler GIF

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Subscribe to Variety Newsletters and Email Alerts!Royal Wedding Countdown: Meghan Markle Preparing for Her Big Day With the Help of Designer and Aide

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry will officially be tying the knot at St. George's Chapel in...

Deal or No Deal

...and each and every week, ET will be breaking down all the latest updates as they gear up for their May 19 nuptials.

BIGGEST NEWS OF THE WEEK

While there was plenty of royal news that flooded our inboxes this week, we were most excited about getting an update on Meghan's wedding dress! We already knew that she had selected a dress designer (thanks to her stylist-turned-pal, Jessica Mulroney), but now we know what she'll be wearing on her special day is officially in the design process!

A source told ET earlier this week that Meghan has already met with the dress designer, and is busy adding unique touches to the couple's big day.

We also found out that the Los Angeles native has been appointed a secretary to handle her increasingly busy royal schedule and duties. Amy Pickerill, a former Kensington Palace press officer, was announced on Monday as the new assistant private secretary in the office of Prince Harry.

As for Meghan and Prince Harry's actual wedding day, expect a lot of security. Ken Wharfe, the late Princess Diana's former bodyguard, told ET on Thursday that police will make sure nothing is overlooked for the massive occasion, and no expense will be spared.

"From my own experiences -- and speaking to colleagues within the last few weeks -- Scotland Yard and neighboring police forces that will be part of this operation will be only too aware of how important it is to make sure that no stone is left unturned, and you know, one talks in this day of austerity of finance," he said. "Trust me on this occasion, finance has nothing to do with this. Scotland Yard, together with Thames Valley Police -- which will be policing this event -- money is not an object, and they make sure that the very best of security is put on display to make sure that security is not compromised."

And after the soon-to-be-married couple's anthrax scare last Monday, we wouldn't be surprised if there's even more heightened security as they continue their royal duties ahead of their nuptials.

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ROYAL RUMOR ROUNDUP

Looks like Megan and Kate Middleton have been spending even more quality time together! The former Suits star often goes from her Nottingham Cottage to Kate's humble abode to have tea or exchange advice, according to US Weekly.

[Meghan] shares tips shes read about healthy eating," a source told the publication.

And while it's not a rumor, it seems as if people are comparing Meghan to Princess Diana more and more frequently. According to multiple reports, the bride-to-be has been making secret visits to comfort victims of the Grenfell Tower, much like when Diana would also sneak away from Kensington Palace to visit hospital patients.

"Meghan's visits mean so much to us. She has a special place in our hearts," one community member, who met the soon-to-be-royal, told E!

OUT AND ABOUT

After making a trip to Scotland, Meghan and Harry took a break from the spotlight this week -- but did have time for a fun date night.

The engaged couple attended a Hamilton show at the Victoria Palace Theatre in London's West End last Friday night. One of the show's cast members, Leslie Garcia Bowman, even took to Twitter to express his excitement over having the couple in attendance.

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SERVIN' UP SUITS

If you've been following along with our royals countdown each week, then you're well aware that we've been binge-watching Meghan's show, Suits, since the beginning. This week, we were super happy to see Meghan, who plays aspiring lawyer Rachel Zane, try on an Anne Barge wedding gown during the "Cold Feet" episode of season 5.

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When the episode originally aired on the USA network last year, Meghan spoke with Glamour, revealing some of her personal favorite bridal styles.

"Delphine Manivet and Christos Costarellos are faves of mine for their uniqueness and beauty," she gushed at the time. "I will always be a fan of Ellie Saab. J. Mendel is spectacular as well, especially for more structural designs."

Watch Meghan model her character's wedding dress in the video below:

SPARKLE LIKE MARKLE

Because our muscles are still kinda hating us from trying Meghan's favorite Pilates class last week (more on that HERE), we decided to take it easy this time by having a "treat yourself" night. We sat back, relaxed and drank like Meghan. Yes, turns out, girl loves a good wine!

"God, do I love wine; a beautiful full red or a crisp white," she revealed in an interview with The New Potato in 2013. "But if its cocktails, I love a spicy tequila cocktail, negroni, or good scotch (neat)."

Shane Mahood/USA Network/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images

RATHER REGAL LOOKS

The queen-to-be truly shined! The seven-month pregnant Duchess of Cambridge looked exquisite at the 2018 BAFTAs, Britain's equivalent to the Oscars, on Feb. 18.

The expecting mother donned a dark green Jenny Packham gown with cap-sleeves and a black ribbon to accentuate her baby bump. Kate accessorized her regal look with emerald and diamond earrings and a matching necklace.

WPA Pool/Chris Jackson/Getty Images

NEXT IN LINE

Onto Prince William and, of course, more Kate!

The Duchess began her week alongside Sophie Countess of Wessex, by hosting the Commonwealth Fashion Exchange reception at Buckingham Palace. The brunette beauty arrived wearing a black-and-white floral print Erdem lace dress with black heels, and talked to designers and artisans from around the Commonwealth about their work.

Dominic Lipinski - Pool/Getty Images

Meanwhile, the Duke of Cambridge proved he's the coolest dad around town, taking a spin on a motorcycle during his trip to Triumph Motorcycles and MIRA Technology Park in Warwickshire on Feb. 20. Rocking a sleek black motorcycle jacket, he took a test drive on a red Triumph Tiger 1200.

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Both William and Kate continued their royal duties the following day by paying a visit to the Fire Station Sun, one of Sunderland, England's most iconic buildings. There, they put on hard hats and reflective vests as they ventured to the Northern Spire, a new bridge over the River Wear that is scheduled to open later this year.

Chris Jackson/Getty Images

Queen Elizabeth II also had quite the interesting week! Her Majesty graced fashionistas with her presence at London Fashion Week, where she presented the inaugural Queen Elizabeth II Award for British Design to Richard Quinn. The 91-year-old head of the monarchy looked enthusiastic as she sat front row next to Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour at the emerging British designer's runway show.

Queen Elizabeth was sophisticatedly dressed in a powder blue Angela Kelly skirt and matching jacket with black gloves and a chic handbag.

Yui Mok - Pool/Getty Images

Lastly, what we've all been waiting for will finally happen. The Fab Four -- Kate, William, Meghan and Harry -- will all attend the first annual Royal Foundation Forum on Wednesday. And you can bet we'll be going all out for the royal couple's first engagement together since Christmas!

And that's a wrap on your weekly royals update. Join us next week for another roundup, and stay tuned to ETonline.com daily for the latest on the royal family!

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Related Articles:The touch tank at the aquarium is the hot spot for kids of all ages to go rub elbows (and fins) with marine creatures.

But some animal lovers may wonder: Do the animals enjoy the constant pats and pokes? In the case of stingrays, the answer is maybe.

We know that one of the big questions with these exhibits is, What does it mean for the animal? Dr. Bill Van Bonn, vice president of animal health at Chicagos Shedd Aquarium, told Chicago Tonight. And we know the animals not going to tell us.

So instead of waiting for the rays to speak, Shedd decided to perform a study on close to 60 of their stingrays and found that the sea creatures are at least impartial to these interactions, and might even enjoy them.

Researchers examined 58 cownose rays living at touch tanks and off-exhibit tanks at Shedd over the course of a year. During regular check-ups, researchers tracked 38 health markers to see how living in a touch tank was affecting the rays heart rate, weight, blood cell count, cholesterol and more.

At the conclusion of the study, led by Columbus Zoo and Aquarium staff veterinarian Jimmy Johnson, researchers found the rays living in the touch tank have similar vitals to the rays living in the off-exhibit tank, aside from slight differences in heart rate, blood lactate levels and low-density lipoproteins.

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.

During this study, the aquarium also noticed a ray behavior that seems to suggest that the animals enjoy contact, often spotting the rays gliding over to interact with human by choice, especially when back rubs were involved.

We think we have pretty strong evidence that they dont get anything negative out of it, Van Bonn said. In fact, theres evidence that they do get something out of it and they seem to enjoy it.Some say that the best way to stop shootings is a "good guy with a gun." But school resource officer Scot Peterson proves why this theory is just a myth.

Every time the U.S. experiences a mass shooting, gun control opponents and advocates alike debate the best way to prevent another tragedy. One of the most pervasive arguments is that killers can be stopped by giving good guys more guns. But in the Parkland, Florida shooting on February 14th, school resource deputy Scot Peterson was unable to stop the massacre.

On February 22nd, Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel told reporters that Peterson was at the school when the shooting began, armed and wearing his uniform. But security camera footage revealed that, after the shooter opened fire, the Broward County deputy hesitated to enter the school. All told, Israel said the resource officer stood outside the building for at least four minutes. The Parkland shooting was over in six minutes.

When reporters asked what Peterson should have done, Israel responded that he should have Addressed the killer. Killed the killer.

According to the South Florida Sun Sentinel, Peterson was suspended without pay on February 22nd. He resigned and announced his retirement that same day.

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Many were quick to condemn Petersons actions, calling him a coward. And while its true that Peterson failed to carry out his duties as a resource officer, the point is that this could happen to any good guy with a gun. Its hard to know how people will react in crisis situations; sure, they may spring to action, but they could also freeze, like the Parkland school resource deputy. An FBI study of 160 mass shootings between 2000 and 2013 found that armed people who werent law enforcement (including security guards) ended only 3.1 percent of shootings.

Even the most well-trained good guy might not be able to take out someone armed with a semiautomatic rifle like Florida shooter Nikolas Cruz. According to the Harvard Political Review, police in large metropolitan areas like New York City or L.A. have average hit rates that are generally lower than 50 percent, showing just how difficult it is to act under pressure.

Despite the fact that theres no proof that more guns save lives, many still believe it. After the Parkland shooting, President Donald Trump and other lawmakers have proposed arming teachers as a solution to gun violence. But Petersons inaction is just one example of how arming the good guys wont necessarily stop the bad guys. We need to stop perpetuating this myth and find a solution that works.The recent shooting in Parkland, Florida has led to the hashtag #BoycottNRA. Here are some pro-NRA companies you can protest.

The February 14th shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida has ignited the debate about gun control. The NRA has been frequently highlighted in this discussion, with many calling out pro-NRA politicians lack of action. And today, February 23rd, several formerly pro-NRA companies cut ties with the organization.

Membership in the NRA comes with a variety of financial perks, including discounts on everything from travel to wine clubs. But as the hashtag #BoycottNRA has begun trending on Twitter, companies have been scrambling to separate themselves from the organization. On February 22nd, Enterprise and First National Bank of Omaha were among the first to revoke their support. Symantec, the parent company of Norton and LifeLock, tweeted on February 23rd that it would no longer offer discounts to NRA members. And the home security company SimpliSafe told ThinkProgress that it would no longer offer two free months to NRA members. Insurance company MetLife also announced its decision to pull support of the NRA on February 23rd.

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But even though many companies are revoking their support for this organization, there are still many who offer benefits to members. Here are some pro-NRA companies you can boycott to send a message.

Car rental companies

Car rental companies Hertz, Avis, and Budget are among those that havent renounced their support of the NRA.

Hotel booking services

The hotel booking service HotelPlanner.com told Bloomberg that it would not stop supporting the pro-gun organization.

FedEx

Those who belong to the NRA Business Alliance can receive up to a 26 percent discount on shipping with FedEx, according to the companys website.

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Moving companies

Allied Movers and the van rental company North American Van Lines both offer benefits if you belong to the pro-gun organization.

Health companies

Some health companies offer special plans or discounts to NRA members. The insurance company eHealth offers a plan exclusively for members. And the discount prescription program Paramount Rx offers discount cards to those in the organization.

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TV providers

Apple, Amazon, AT&T, Google, and Roku all provide access to NRATV. On February 23rd, the activist group Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America wrote to these companies demanding that they remove NRATV from their listings.

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The NRA has a powerful influence over the United States, and if we want to pass meaningful gun control laws, this needs to end. Enough is enough: We need to stop gun violence.It comes with four wheels, and it's not a Volvo.

It's not been long since Kylie Jenner brought her and boyfriend Travis Scott's daughter, Stormi Webster, into the world at the beginning of February, but as time passes, we're learning more and more about Jenner and Scott as they embark on parenthood together. Today's headlines have to do with a little something called a "push present," and in true Kardashian-Jenner style, Kylie's takes "extra" to a whole new, $1.4 million meaning.

For those unfamiliar with the phrase, "push present" refers to a gift given to a woman by her partner after she quite literally "pushes" out their baby. Typically, for those who participate in the exchange, "push presents" are given in the form of jewelry or some other precious keepsake. Unless you're a Kardashian-Jenner, that is.

On Saturday, the new mom, 20, took to her Instagram Stories to show off the extravagant push present she received from Scott. Jenner gave her 104 million followers an exclusive peek of a very shiny new toy: a $1.4 million black La Ferraria new, limited edition model from the storied Italian car manufacturer of the same name.

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This isn't the first time we've seen a lot of cash change hands when it comes to celebrities and their push gifts. When Mariah Carey delivered her twins in 2011, she received a $12,000 diamond-and-pink-sapphire necklace from then-husband Nick Cannon. After Beyonce delivered Blue Ivy Carter in 2012, Jay Z gifted her with an (appropriately-colored) near-10 carat blue tanzanite ring, estimated at $35,000.

Although Kylie's shiny black Ferrari, equipped with red leather interiors and butterfly doors, doesn't exactly scream "I'm a new mom," I sayas a woman who understands that delivering a child can be physically and emotionally grueling (though equally life-changing)enjoy the hell out of it, Kylie.

Related:

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-Kylie Jenner's Daughter Already Has Her Own Kylie Cosmetics CollectionIn Black Panther, the Dora Milaje are the personal bodyguards to the King of Wakanda: TChalla, otherwise known as Black Panther himself. They are fierce warriors, handy with a lethal spear, and unlike most armies, are comprised entirely of women. Translated to The Adored Ones in English, theyre repped in the movie by Okoye (Danai Gurira), the general of the group. They are also entrusted as the gatekeepers of their country, which has famously never been colonized.

The Dora Milaje may sound like a fable or an imaginary group concocted by comics writers. But they actually resemble a group of lesser-known women from West African history. Dating back to possibly as early as the 17th century, there was a group of women warriors in Africa dubbed the Dahomey Amazons, a name [coined] by European explorers in reference to the mythical female soldiers. However, these great warrior women were known amongst their people as the Ahosi (kings wives) or Mino (our mothers). The Dahomey women were among the only all-female documented in modern military history. And these warriors were no myth they were the real deal and the ones entrusted with protecting the king on a daily basis.

Residing in the present-day Republic of Benin, the Dahomey were of the Fon, a large ethnic group in West Africa. According to Stanley Alpern, author of the only full-length Engish-language study about the Dahomey, they were first drafted to guard the palace doors. According to the royal dictate during King Agaja's reign (1708-1740), No man [shall] sleeps within the walls of any of [my palaces] after sunset but myself. Man were banned from living in the palace, so guards had to be women. A letter written by an English trader named William Snelgrave made mention of four women with muskets behind his throne.

Not exactly a feminist utopia, every Dahomey warrior woman was considered married to the king, although he rarely took up sexual relations with them. Instead, the women were seen as his sisters, daughters, and soldiers. It is said any man who saw it fit to inappropriately touch one of the women faced imprisonment or death.

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The Dahomean female soldiers were known for their decapitation. They went through fierce and rigorous physical training, which consisted of arms exercises, making use of prisoner enemies as their targets for executions. The women wrestled one another, climbed walls, underwent vicious physically painful tasks, and were sent to fend for themselves for up to nine days with small rations to build and test their endurance. They were even more applauded for how their clothes stayed clean and tailored, their tools kept sharp, and their marches crisp and quiet.

Sure sounds familiar to the Dora Milaje, right? And people highly anticipating Black Panther made the comparison long before the movie even premiered in theaters. Fans pointed out similarities between T'Challa's army and the Dahomey Amazons back when all we had was a peek at the Marvel film.

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The Dahomey Amazons were originally recruited from foreign captives and prisoners. Between the middle of the 18th and 19th century, the Dahomey army's numbers swelled from about 600 to about 6,000, with some estimates putting the total at about 8,000. Many observers at the time counted thousands of female warriors among the army's ranks.

The Dahomey kingdom, with the help of the Amazons, conquered neighboring nations, taking thousands as captives of war, and the land grew greatly in size up until the latter half of the 19th-century.

And what became of the Dahomey warriors? It appears that as the French began colonizing parts of Africa, the warriors fought back. But they were no match for the sheer force of the French and their firearms. According to most sources, the last of Dahomeys women warriors passed in the 1940s. But other accounts allude that there may have been some of these soldiers alive into the 60s and 70s.

The Dora Milaje first appeared in Black Panther Vol. 3 #1 by Christopher Priest, the first widely known African-American comics writer. He helped further build the fantastic world of Wakanda, the Black Panther, Dora Milaje, and more. His imagination was largely responsible for its success, but its not too far-fetched to believe his inspiration was rooted in the beautiful wonders of warrior women from ancient African history.

Related: No, White People Aren't Being Attacked at Black Panther Screenings

Check this out:Rarely does a Donald Trump tweet go unanswered, if not unchallenged. And his latest missive, one bearing superlative accolades for his elder daughter is no exception.

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Photo: Getty Images

Within moments, the challenge to find someone better, or smarter, was afoot. Everyone from anyone else to Dennis Rodman was quickly nominated to take her place.

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The ensuing discussion just goes to show how crucial communication style and choice of grammar can be when attempting to send a message to the masses. Within the span of 19 words and a handful of grammatical errors, Trump begged for scrutiny about Ivankas character, intelligence, and suitability for representing the entire population of the United States. And Twitter, above any other platform, did not disappoint in rising to the occasion.

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Is all this just mincing words? Perhaps, but words matter. By posing the declaration that one cannot have a better, or smarter, person representing our country, he is also effectively throwing a whole swath of officials purportedly qualified to undertake foreign diplomacy under the bus. Is this simply an example of a fathers pride, or is it a vote of the entire government, including himself, whos supposed to be the numero uno head honcho?

What about his own second-in-command, Mike Pence  is he not qualified to represent the United States? Or Secretary of State Rex Tillerson? What about the elected officials in Congress who are officially second and third in the U.S. presidential line of succession? How about the ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley? Technically speaking, the first person on the list to represent the United States in South Korea could have/should have been the current ambassador, but as one smart tweeter pointed out, we dont actually have one:

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And last, but most certainly not least: What about all those athletes?

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Its a tangled web you weave when you hire your own children to work for you. Doing so in a private business is anyones right, of course. But to do so in public service just means all that much more scrutiny can and should be applied. The label of nepotism has a lot of negativity surrounding it, for good reason. There are laws against it in government, after all. By definition it is simply the practice of showing favoritism for relatives or friends, particularly by giving them jobs. And in one simple tweet, it seems that Trump has owned up to this notorious practice by disqualifying everyone who isnt his daughter for one simple, albeit crucial job.

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Why Is Tyga Drunk-Dialing Kylie? New Details Suggest He's Not Over Their Breakup

Although Kylie has clearly moved on to bigger and better things with Travis Scott, Tyga is still reportedly calling the makeup mogul after a few drinks and confessing his love for her.

Tyga is on tour in Europe but that has not stopped him obsessing about Kylie, hes still blowing up her phone, an insider told Hollywood Life. He usually calls after his show when hes had a few and his guard is down. He drunk dials her and cries about how lonely he is without her.

According to Celebrity Insider, Tyga admitted his latest album is about his lost love. The rapper recently released KYOTO and pours his heart out in some of the songs.

U Cry is supposedly about how he is waiting for Kylie to love him back.

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Yeah we always go back, back, forth and forth, the lyrics say, referring to the celebrity couples previous on-and-off relationship that ended 11 months ago. Every time you go out/Yeah, it gets you nowhere, the song continues, I been waitin right here.

Tyga admitted that Kylie was the inspiration behind his new album in a Valentines Day interview with Complex.

RELATED: Tyga Thinks He's The Father Of Kylie Jenner's Baby Stormi, According To New Report

I wouldnt have made this album [without going through that], he said in the interview. I needed God to test me. I needed him to put me through fire and make me feel what its like.

Kylie has moved on and is living her best life with her daughter and baby daddy, despite the drunken calls from her ex.

Instagram

Kylie is very happy with Travis right now, but she still loves getting the calls from Tyga, its such a huge ego boost, the source leaked to Hollywood Life. Kylie doesnt feel guilty about it because she never picks up the phone when Tyga calls. She just lets it go to voicemail and then shell listen to his long messages with her friends when Travis isnt around.

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RELATED: New Details About The Cryptic Messages Tyga Might Be Trying To Send To His Ex Kylie Jenner After The Birth Of Her Baby

Their relationship is solid, according to the source. Travis isnt worried about Tyga and doesnt feel the need to go through Kylies phone.

Travis has no idea this is all going on, he knows Tyga wants her back but he doesnt know about the calls, the insider continued. Travis isnt up in Kylies business looking at her phone, hes not at all controlling that way so its easy for her to hide this.

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Kylie never answers her exs calls so its really not a big deal anyway, so we hope. Tyga has even complained to Travis about his continued love for Kylie.

"Scott has been encouraging Tyga to get over it and move on from Kylie," a source told Hollywood Life. "Tyga has been complaining to Scott about his unresolved feelings for Kylie."

The rapper is also convinced he is Stormi's dad, not Travis.

"Tyga feels like he belongs in the Kardashian family and he still wants a DNA test to determine paternity of the new baby, which might be his last chance at actually being in the family," the source continued. "But Scott is not having any of it.

Kylie's ex is adamant they should be together, but would he stoop as low as drama to break her and her current man up?

Related:

RELATED: Jay-Z Finally Explained Why He Cheated On Beyonce

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read moreKano (Nigeria) (AFP) - More than 100 girls are missing after a Boko Haram attack on a school in northeast Nigeria earlier this week, parents told AFP on Friday.

Parents in Dapchi, in Yobe state, said had they set up a support group after Monday's raid, which has revived memories of the 2014 abduction of more than 200 girls in Chibok.

"Our first step was to compile a comprehensive list of all the missing girls. So far, we have compiled the names of 105," said Bashir Manzo, the chairman of the newly created group.

Heavily armed jihadists stormed the boarding school in the remote town, forcing terrified students to flee into the surrounding bush.

But with many girls failing to return home, fears are growing that dozens of the girls have been kidnapped.

Hopes were raised on Wednesday evening, when the spokesman for Yobe state governor Ibrahim Gaidam confirmed the abduction and said "some" of the girls had been rescued.

But Gaidam on Thursday questioned whether there had been an abduction, while his spokesman apologised and said they had been "misled" for publishing inaccurate information.

Manzo, whose 16-year-old daughter, Fatima, is among the missing, said the schoolgirls' mothers and fathers would seek a meeting with Gaidam.

"We believe he was misinformed. The school authorities from the beginning denied and kept denying that our daughters were taken," he added.

"We will see the governor and seek his help, as well as anyone who matters that can in one way or another assist in ensuring the freedom of our girls."A confederate flag hangs outside a home. (Photo: Getty Images)

Though she vowed to die before lowering her then beloved Confederate flag on her property, a South Carolina woman recently had a change of heart and brought down the flag. Despite never having served as any sort of national flag of the defeated Confederacy, the so-called rebel flag has doggedly preserved its symbolic meaning for more than 150 years  for some, a symbol of heritage; for others of racism, treason, and defeat. It was exactly those battle lines that Annie Caddell decided to agitate when she first posted Confederate symbols on her porch and yard in her new  predominantly black  neighborhood in 2010.

Following the display of her particular version of Southern pride, neighbors sought to convince Caddell the display was unappreciated, if not offensive. They did so at first through a petition with hundreds of signatures, then through a community fund that erected a fence to hide the flags. Caddell responded by digging in her heels, raising the flagpoles even higher, and settling in for a fight to the death, in her own words. And she almost got her wish, when she recently had the harrowing experience of a heart attack and triple bybass heart surgery.

After seven long years of battling my community over my Confederate flag, I made the decision that I would like to have unity in my community, she told the Post and Courier newspaper last week. I never considered how offended they truly were. I didnt care. Well, I finally had an eye-opening experience. Its not about what I feel.

After her brush with mortality, Caddell put an end to her standoff and reached out to a local community leader who has led the charges against other such controversial displays. The two worked together to remove her symbols and find an appropriate venue for them: a museum.

While Caddells dispute with neighbors over the meaning of the Confederate battle flag came a bit earlier, it was convicted mass murderer Dylan Rooffs brutal slaying of nine members of a South Carolina church that brought the symbol back into the public spotlight in 2015. The battle continues to this day, but perhaps Caddells change of heart stands as a symbol of new directions in the debate of hate versus heritage.

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Democrats on the the House Intelligence Committee on Saturday released a memo prepared as a counter to the one overseen by the committees chairman Devin Nunes that was publicized earlier this month.

Overseen by Rep. Adam Schiff, the ranking Democrat on the committee, the memo from the Democrats attempts to contextualize the Nunes memo, which argued that the FBI displayed bias in obtaining a FISA warrant for former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page. That memo alleges that the FBI failed to disclose Christopher Steele, who compiled the notorious Steele dossier, was working for Fusion GPS or the firms founder Glenn Simpson, and that Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe  who is stepping down said the FBI would not have sought a warrant without the dossier.

The Democratic memo counters that the FBI did not omit such information when obtaining an application, that its rationale for obtaining a FISA warrant on Page was clearly laid out, and that the application for a warrant on Page came after he had terminated his association with the campaign. The memo also says that Steeles findings in the dossier had no bearing on the FBIs decision to initiate an investigation into Russian election interference and possible collusion with the Trump campaign, noting that the FBI had launched an investigation in July of 2016, and received Steeles information that was contained in the dossier almost two months later.

The memo was released Saturday following negotiations between the Democrats on the committee and experts in the FBI and Department of Justice, according to a fact sheet provided by Schiffs office. No new information has been declassified, and the portions the memo redacted contain classified information. The House Intelligence committee had voted to release the Democratic counter-memo earlier this month, but President Trump had previously declined to release it, sending it back to the committee on February 9. In a letter sent that day to the committee, White House Counsel Don McGahn said the President decided not to release the memo because it contained numerous properly classified and especially sensitive passages, but offered the Department of Justice to assist in reworking a draft that could meet standards for release.

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The White House said in a statement that the President supported the release of the memo for transparency purposes, but called it a politically driven document that failed to answer the questions raised in the Nunes memo.

This politically driven document fails to answer serious concerns raised by the Majoritys memorandum about the use of partisan opposition research from one candidate, loaded with uncorroborated allegations, as a basis to ask a court to approve surveillance of a former associate of another candidate, at the height of a presidential campaign, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a response on Saturday. As the President has long stated, neither he nor his campaign ever colluded with a foreign power during the 2016 election, and nothing in todays memo counters that fact.

The President followed with a tweet of his own nearly two hours later: The Democrat memo response on government surveillance abuses is a total political and legal BUST. Just confirms all of the terrible things that were done. SO ILLEGAL! he tweeted.

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The American people now clearly understand that the FBI used political dirt paid for by the Democratic Party to spy on an American citizen from the Republican Party. Furthermore, the FISA court was misled about Mr. Pages past interactions with the FBI in which he helped build a case against Russian operatives in America who were brought to justice, the statement read. It defies belief that the Department of Justice and FBI failed to provide information to a secret court that they had provided to an open federal court regarding their past interactions with Mr. Page.

Read the memo here.Ten-year-old Omar who was injured in an air strike in Eastern Ghouta that killed several members of his family - AFP

The UN's ceasefire in Syria's rebel-held enclave of Eastern Ghouta was cast into doubt less than 24 hours after the Security Council voted to uphold it, as residents woke to regime airstrikes and Iran vowed to carry on fighting in areas it deems held by terrorists.

Iranian General Mohammad Baqeri said both Tehran and Damascus would respect the 30-day ceasefire, but he also said the truce did not cover parts of the Damascus suburbs held by terrorists.

Clean-up [operations] will continue there," he said.

Syrian president Bashar al-Assad and his allies have long used the term terrorist as a catch-all for those on the receiving end of airstrikes, barrel bombs and shelling.

Syrians rescue a child following a reported regime air strike in the rebel-held town of Hamouria, in Eastern Ghouta Credit: ABDULMONAM EASSA/AFP/Getty Images

While Sunday was calmer than the days preceding it, the Syrian Civil Defense, known as the White Helmets, said six people died in shelling on Sunday, while another watchdog put the death toll at eight.

Following days holed up in dark basements, some locals said they crept outside for the first time, only to be sent scrambling for cover at the sound of warplanes, rockets and shelling.

On Saturday, after intense diplomatic wrangling, the Security Council adopted a resolution calling for the ceasefire in Syria "without delay", to allow for aid deliveries and medical evacuations.

In Eastern Ghouta, a suburb of Damascus just 15km east of Mr Assads palace, more than 500 people were killed in six days of bombardment before Saturday's vote.

The area is the last bastion for anti-government militants in central Syria, and has been the site of asymmetric battles as Syrian government forces, aided by Iranian militias and Russian air power, have pounded the densely populated area.

The week of pitched battle follows nearly five years of full or partial siege. Aid has been allowed in just once in 2018, and the supply of food sent in was enough to feed just a fraction of the 400,000 people thought to be living there.

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Aid agencies and rights watchdogs have accused Damascus and its allies of deliberately targeting hospitals and the areas healthcare infrastructure.

Medics still inside the enclave say they have been overwhelmed by massive numbers of casualties, with no clinics, supplies or medicines to treat them.

Photos and videos of dead and wounded children and malnourished toddlers have painted a picture of horror in an area on Mr Assad's doorstep. According to humanitarian groups, child malnutrition levels in Eastern Ghouta are the worst in the whole of Syria.

Ghouta dispatch

On Sunday, Pope Francis said Syria had been martyred and called for aid access and an immediate end to the violence.

But it is unclear if this will come to pass, even with the unanimous adoption of the resolution at the Security Council on Saturday.

On Sunday, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, both long-time advocates of a ceasefire, spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The Kremlin reported that the call served to highlight the importance of common efforts to implement a ceasefire.

But a German government spokesman said the call was an opportunity to urge Mr Putin to put maximum pressure on the Syrian government to stop fighting in the enclave.

Members of the United Nations Security Council vote for ceasefire to Syrian bombing in eastern Ghouta, at the United Nations headquarters in New York Credit: REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz

Russias cooperation in enforcing the ceasefire will be crucial, and has already been called into question.

The Russian negotiating team at the UN drew international ire after it delayed the vote by a day while it sought to water down the wording and resist a specific date being set for the ceasefire to start.

An earlier draft stipulated a 72-hour lead time, but the text adopted on Saturday does not.

Russia has called on the anti-government fighters inside Eastern Ghouta, many affiliated with the hard-line Army of Islam group, to adhere to the ceasefire.

A Syrian man wounded in air strikes receives treatment at a make-shift hospital in Eastern Ghouta Credit: AMER ALMOHIBANY/AFP/Getty Images

The bombing goes on just hours after the Security Council resolution was passed, and yet again children are back in their underground basements trying to shelter from the violence," said Sonia Khush, Save the Childrens Syria Response Director.

"If the negotiations in New York are to mean anything at all to children in Eastern Ghouta, the bombing must end now and vital food and medical supplies must urgently be allowed in."

Saturdays resolution specifies weekly humanitarian aid deliveries and medical evacuations of the critically sick and wounded, but there has yet been no word on when these will be.By Jon Herskovitz

(Reuters) - Alabama's aborted execution last week of an inmate with severely compromised veins led to more than 10 puncture wounds in the man from failed needle placements and left behind a bloodied death chamber, his lawyer said.

On Thursday, Alabama tried to execute by lethal injection convicted murderer Doyle Hamm, 61, who has spent more than half his life on death row. After about 2-1/2 hours of trying, the state called it off because of issues with Hamm's veins it said could not be resolved before a death warrant expired at midnight.

It was a gory, botched execution. They gave up when they could not find a vein, Bernard Harcourt, a professor at the Columbia University Law School who is representing Hamm, said by email on Sunday.

The execution has come under federal court review, with a U.S. district judge calling for the state to preserve evidence, including the clothes Hamm was wearing.

Alabama Department of Corrections officials were not immediately available to respond to Harcourt's comments.

States including Oklahoma and Arizona have also conducted botched executions that raised questions about death chamber protocols in the 31 U.S. states with the capital punishment.

"I wouldnt necessarily characterize what we had tonight as a problem," Jeff Dunn, Alabama Department of Corrections commissioner, told reporters shortly after the execution was called off.

There were two sets of medical personnel who tried to place a line in Hamm's groin area or in an area between his knees and feet, Harcourt said, adding the inmate, who was examined by a doctor after the execution attempt, had at least 12 puncture wounds.

In court filings in the days before the planned execution, Hamm's lawyers said he had terminal cancer and a history of intravenous drug use that had severely compromised his veins.

They said Alabama was rushing through a specialized execution protocol, increasing the chances of a flawed procedure.

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The state responded at the time it knew what it was doing and could handle the lethal injection. It has not indicated if it will seek a new execution date.

The plan called for the insertion of intravenous catheters into Hamms leg or central vein, legal papers showed.

Our case was that this would be tortuous and bloody and they wouldnt succeed," Harcourt said.

(Reporting by Jon Herskovitz in Austin, Texas; Editing by Peter Cooney)Bollywood superstar Sridevi Kapoor, one of the biggest names in Hindi cinema, has died aged 54 after suffering a heart attack in Dubai, her former manager said Sunday.

The death of Sridevi, reportedly while attending her nephew's wedding in the emirate late Saturday, prompted an outpouring of grief from fans and fellow actors as well as condolences from Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

"I have no words. Condolences to everyone who loved Sridevi. A dark day. RIP," tweeted actress Priyanka Chopra.

Sridevi, born Shree Amma Yanger Ayappan in the southern state of Tamil Nadu, made her acting debut at the age of four and her career spanned more than four decades.

She worked in India's regional Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam-language films before making her Bollywood debut in 1979.

"It is shocking and sad," her former manager Punkej Kharbanda told AFP. Her husband was with her at her death, he said.

Sridevi made a name for herself with a string of blockbuster films including "Chandni", "Mr India", "Mawali" ("Scoundrel") and "Tohfa" ("Gift").

Her first smash hit was the 1982 Tamil film "Moondram Pirai" and she played the same role in its Hindi remake, "Sadma" ("Trauma").

Her portrayal of a woman suffering from amnesia has been described by many critics as a milestone.

Kamal Haasan, her co-star in "Sadma", paid tribute on Twitter.

"Have witnessed Sridevi's life from an adolescent teenager to the magnificent lady she became. Her stardom was well deserved," Haasan tweeted.

"Many happy moments with her flash through my mind including the last time I met her. Sadma's lullaby haunts me now. We'll miss her," he added.

Local police made arrangements to handle the swelling crowds gathered outside Sridevi's home in Mumbai's Lokhandwala neighbourhood.

Many were expected to wait till the family returns to Mumbai late Sunday evening with the body, for a cremation likely to be held on Monday.

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"I came rushing here after reading news pertaining to Sridevi's death. She was our female Amitabh Bachchan (one of the biggest Bollywood stars) and I have watched all her movies," Vimal Khandakade told AFP.

"I have always been a big fan and loved her performances... I will wait till her body is brought back and want to bid her farewell."

Shoumik Mahapatra, 16, said he had grown up watching Sridevi's movies: "She was so colourful and bold and I was always impressed by her character. I am very shocked by the news."

- 'Continued grace' -

In an interview with The New Indian Express in 2013, Sridevi spoke of missing out on a carefree childhood when she began working as an actor.

"I lost out on going to school and college life but I got into the film industry and worked without a gap -- from child actor I went straight to heroine. There was no time to think and I was grateful for it," she said.

"In order to get something you have to lose something. You can't have everything in life. So I am happy with what I got."

Sridevi was awarded the Padma Shri, India's fourth highest civilian award, for her services to the film industry.

She was especially admired for her ability to overcome language barriers and work in different regional film industries.

Sridevi appeared in around 300 films and was set to see her older daughter Jhanvi make her Bollywood debut.

Leading Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar expressed shock at her "untimely demise".

"A dream for many, had the good fortune of sharing screen space with her long ago and witnessed her continued grace over the years," Kumar tweeted.

Madhuri Dixit, whose fame rivalled Sridevi's, said the world "has lost a very talented person who left behind a huge legacy in film".

Prime Minister Modi said he was saddened by the news. "She was a veteran of the film industry, whose long career included diverse roles and memorable performances," Modi tweeted.

"My thoughts are with her family and admirers in this hour of grief."

Film critic Rajeev Masand said Sridevi "would be missed", noting the star's shy and introverted off-camera personality.

"Never known anyone who was so painfully shy, so quiet off screen, who just transformed into a force of nature when cameras came on," Masand tweeted.

"She was an interviewer's nightmare, but the movie-buff's dream... Thank you for the movies."

Sridevi is survived by her husband, film producer Boney Kapoor, and their two daughters.The employer of a Filipina maid who was found dead in a freezer in Kuwait has been arrested in Lebanon.

Nader Essam Assaf, a Lebanese national, was arrested in his home country in connection with the death of Joanna Demafelis. His wife, also a suspect, is yet to be detained.

Philippine Foreign Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano on Friday confirmed that he had informed President Rodrigo Duterte of the news.

Trending: The Vatican is Training More Exorcists, With Reports of Demonic Possession Soaring

"President (Duterte) welcomes the news that Nader Essam Assaf is now in the hands of authorities in Lebanon," Cayetano said in a statement.

"Assaf's arrest is a critical first step in our quest for justice for Joanna and we are thankful to our friends in Kuwait and Lebanon for their assistance."

02_24_Filipina_Kuwait

AFP/Getty

Don't miss: Trump Misquotes Fox News in Attack on Top Democrat for Distorting Facts

The firebrand Filipino leader has vowed to bring justice to the family of Demafelis after her murder sparked uproar in the Philippines.

The murder led to a ban on Filipino workers traveling to Kuwait.

Demafelis' body was found on February 6 in Kuwait City, more than a year after her disappearance.

Most popular: CPAC Analysis: Trump's Success Leaves Conservatives With Little to FearExcept Trump's Troubles

Duterte has railed against the treatment of the hundreds of thousands of Filipino workers who live in the Arab world, saying they can be physically abused and worked an inhumane number of hours.

He has threatened to extend the employment ban for Filipino workers to other countries and said the government is working to "find out the places where we deploy Filipinos and our countrymen suffer brutal treatment and human degradation."

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Hundreds of thousands of Filipinos work legally across the Middle East but thousands do not, making the job of protecting them a more difficult task for the Filipino government

As many as ten million Filipinos work abroad, representing a tenth of the country's 100 million population. Many of them are maids, seafarers and laborers, and send the money they earn home to help their families and, in turn, the Philippine economy.

This article was first written by Newsweek

More from NewsweekThe California Democratic Party rebuked its senior senator early Sunday by declining to make an endorsement in the states U.S. Senate race.

State Senate leader Kevin de Leon, a fellow Democrat mounting a progressive challenge to Sen. Dianne Feinstein, won the support of 54 percent of the delegates at the partys convention in San Diego over the weekend. Only 37 percent of the delegates backed the 25-year incumbent, who is seeking her fifth term in office.

The backing of 60 percent of the delegates was needed to secure the partys official endorsement.

In a statement following the vote, de Leon hailed the result as an astounding rejection of politics as usual, one that signaled growing momentum for his campaign.

California Democrats are hungry for new leadership that will fight for California values from the front lines, not equivocate on the sidelines, de Leon said. We all deserve a leader who will take our climate action to Washington, and will fight each and every day to protect our human and civil rights, our immigrant families and Dreamers, champion universal health care and create good paying middle class jobs.

The vote is seen as a sign of nagging discomfort among progressives to Feinsteins centrist and hawkish brand of politics. Her skeptical view of single-payer health care, anti-marijuana stance, and her votes in favor of some President Donald Trumps nominations to key administration jobs rankled activists at the core of the states Democratic Party.

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Yet Feinstein, who will turn 85 years old later this year, is still expected to cruise to victory over her relatively unknown opponent. She holds a lead over de Leon of nearly 30 percentage points  46 percent to 17 percent  in a recent poll conducted by the Public Policy Institute of California.

Feinstein also has a considerable fundraising advantage. While the senator started the year with nearly $10 million in the bank, her rival had only about $360,000 cash on hand.

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California Democrats didnt endorse in the governors race, the states other marquee contest this year. Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom led with 39 percent of the delegates, compared with 30 percent for state Treasurer John Chiang, 20 percent for former state schools chief Delaine Eastin, and 9 percent for former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.

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This article originally appeared on HuffPost.California Democrats were split over progressive and moderate forces over the weekend at the party's annual state convention, resulting in the failure of the party to endorse candidates in both the United States senator and state governor's races.

At the convention in San Diego, the party snubbed senior Senator Dianne Feinstein by declining to endorse her bid for re-election in the upcoming 2018 midterm elections in November, and offering more votes to insurgent opponent Kevin de Leon. Feinstein was first elected to the seat in 1992 and has served in the U.S. Senate for over 25 years.

Feinstein received a slim 37 percent of the votes, while the party showed favor towards the progressive de Leon, who received 54 percent of the vote. Candidates need to garner 60 percent of the vote to earn the California Democratic Party's endorsement. Under California's Top Two Candidate Open Primary system, candidates from all parties will be listed on the primary ballot. The names of the top two candidatesregardless of their party affiliationfrom the primary election on June 5 will then appear on the general election ballot in November.



GettyImages-903925340

Photo by Zach Gibson/Getty Images

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Kevin de Leon received roughly 500 more votes to Feinstein's 1,023 and said the vote was "an astounding rejection of politics as usual," according to Politico. The top two system applies for state and congressional elections in California and in Washington state. With the system in place, it is possible for two candidates from the same party, like Feinstein and de Leon, to face off in the November general election.

Despite being snubbed by California Democrats, moderate Feinstein is ahead of de Leon in state polls. She also has far more fundraising dollars over her progressive opponent.

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California State Senate leader de Leon targeted Feinstein in a Saturday speech at the convention. "Im running because Californias greatness comes from acts of human audacity, not congressional seniority," he said, according to The Sacramento Bee. "Who do you trust to have the courage of your convictions?"

Don't miss: Who Will Be Invited to Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's Wedding?

He also alluded to August 2017 remarks by Feinstein that President Donald Trump "could be a good president" if he could learn to change, saying that he was "never fooled into believing that Donald Trump can be a good president."

Heading into the congressional midterm elections, both Democrat and Republican parties have deep internal divisions. While Democrats across the nation are united in opposition to President Donald Trump, the party is divided on social and religious issues, as well as the global involvement of the United States, an October 2017 Pew Research report on political typology revealed.

During the 2016 Democratic Party presidential primaries, left-leaning voters were divided between progressive Bernie Sanders and centrist Hillary Clinton. The division lasted long after the 2016 primaries and permeated the 2017 gubernatorial primaries as well as the Democratic National Committee chairman race.

2018 midterm elections take place on November 9. Polls as of February 21 show Democrats leading Republicans by 8.5 points, 45.0 to 36.5, according to Real Clear Politics.

This article was first written by Newsweek

More from NewsweekComedian Chevy Chase was kicked in the shoulder after he chased and then confronted a driver who cut him off, New York State police say.

The road rage incident took place in New Jersey on Feb. 9, police told The Journal News, after a 22-year-old man from Long Island cut off Chase in South Nyack.

The 74-year-old ex-Saturday Night Live star told police he believed his 2015 Dodge Ram truck had suffered damage following the incident, and gave chase across the Gov. Mario M. Cuomo Bridge over the Hudson River.

The second driver pulled over and he and Chase began a verbal argument, NBC Chicago reported, before Chase suffered a kick to the shoulder.

The 22-year-old man told police he kicked Chase in self defense, and claimed the comedian had attempted to punch him.

The Caddyshack star insisted that a passenger inside the car had greeted him with an extended middle finger, according to a report by TMZ.com.

If I were a lot younger Id bust your nose, Chase allegedly declared, according to TMZ.

The 22-year-old was given a ticket for second-degree harassment, and is due in court in South Nyack on March 5.By Ben Blanchard

BEIJING (Reuters) - China reacted with anger on Saturday to new U.S. sanctions aimed at increasing pressure on nuclear-equipped North Korea, saying the unilateral targeting of Chinese firms and people risked harming cooperation on the problem.

The United States said on Friday it was imposing its largest package of sanctions aimed at getting North Korea to give up its nuclear and missile programmes, and President Donald Trump warned of a "phase two" that could be "very, very unfortunate for the world" if the steps did not work.

In addressing the Trump administration's biggest national security challenge, the U.S. Treasury sanctioned one person, 27 companies and 28 ships, according to a statement on the U.S. Treasury Department's website.

The sanctions' targets include a Taiwan passport holder, as well as shipping and energy firms in mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore. The actions block assets held by the firms and individuals in the United States and prohibit U.S. citizens from dealing with them.

In a terse statement, China's Foreign Ministry said the government had always fully and thoroughly enforced United Nations resolutions on North Korea, and absolutely did not allow any of its citizens or companies to contravene them.

China will "seriously handle" in accordance with the law those found to have done so, it added.

"China resolutely opposes the U.S. side enacting unilateral sanctions and 'long-armed jurisdiction' in accordance with its domestic law against Chinese entities or individuals," the ministry said.

"We have already lodged stern representations with the U.S. side about this issue, and demand the U.S. side immediately stops such relevant mistaken actions to avoid harming bilateral cooperation in the relevant area," it added, without elaborating.

China has repeatedly expressed opposition to any sanctions against North Korea not done within the framework of the United Nations, and insisted it is fully enforcing the existing - and already very tough - sanctions.

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China's January trade with North Korea fell to the lowest level since at least June 2014, the latest sign that China has kept up pressure on its isolated neighbour in line with United Nations trade sanctions.

China remains North Korea's largest trading partner and sole major ally, though overall trade has fallen in recent months as the sanctions take effect.

The latest U.S. sanctions name two Chinese shipping firms - Shandong province-based Weihai World-Shipping Freight and Shanghai-based Shanghai Dongfeng Shipping Co Ltd.

Reuters was unable to locate contact details for the Chinese companies.

The United States also named Taiwan citizen Tsang Yung Yuan and designated two of his companies in the sanctions list.

Taiwan's Foreign Ministry said it was in touch with the United States and would investigate its citizens and entities suspected of helping North Korea. It also called on Taiwan firms and citizens not to break U.N. sanctions.

Reuters was unable to reach Tsang or his companies, Pro-Gain Group Corporation and Kingly Won International Company Ltd, for comment. Tsang declined to talk to a reporter from Taiwan's Apple Daily on Saturday morning, according to video footage from the newspaper.

The self-ruled island's Justice Ministry said authorities have launched a probe into Tsang and his two companies, Taiwan's Central News Agency reported.

(Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Additional reporting by Yi-Mou Lee and Fabian Hamacher in TAIPEI; editing by Alexander Smith, William Maclean)Colleges nationwide are standing by their future students, as teenagers across the country demand stricter gun control laws in the wake of a deadly school shooting in Parkland, Fla., earlier this month.

The movement has been led and inspired by survivors of the shooting at Parklands Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, who have in the following days and weeks organized rallies, protests and marches; met with President Donald Trump; and gone toe-to-toe with lawmakers including Florida Sen. Marco Rubio. They have been joined in protest by young people across the country, prompting praise from former President Barack Obama.

As the ripple effect spreads across the country, colleges and universities from Boston to Seattle have assured prospective and admitted students that peaceful protesting will not affect their admission status.

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Three of Floridas top universities  the University of Florida, the University of Miami and Florida State University  had up to Saturday remained largely silent on the issue. But in a statement provided to TIME, University of Florida spokesman Steve Orlando said peaceful protesting would likely not have an impact on admissions.

Simply participating in a protest is not something UF would consider as a negative in the admissions process, Orlando said. Student conduct that leads to in-school discipline or is found to have violated the law are reviewed on a case-by-case basis.

TIME could not immediately reach the other two schools for comment.A cow in Poland celebrated as an icon of freedom for her dramatic escape from slaughter has died from stress after being recaptured.

The red Limousin beef cow was caught Thursday near the village of Siestrzechowice and loaded onto a truck back to captivity, but she died during transportation, The Associated Press reports.

Her escape, which happened on Jan. 23, garnered attention worldwide after being reported by Polish website Wiadomosci in February.

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Workers were leading her towards a slaughterhouse-bound truck in southern Poland near Lake Nyskie. The cow fled, smashing through a metal fence and breaking the arm of a farm worker, according to the BBC. She then dove into the water and swam out to an island in the middle of the lake. There, she managed to evade capture for weeks.

Her fans included Polish politician Pawel Kukiz, who told Sky News, If all citizens could show such determination as this cow then Poland would be a much more prosperous country.

In the end, it took a team of five people and three shots of sedatives to recapture her. According to the AP, had she lived, she would have been kept at a local governors farm, though its not entirely clear what her fate would have been there.

Reports of the cows freedom break came on the heels of stories of another rebel cow in Poland. That cow escaped from a farm in the fall and, months later, a biologist spotted her living among a herd of wild bison in the countrys Bialowieza Forest.

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Baby calf

IMGP0885.JPG

Good moorning

Lovely sunset at Point Sur.

White cow in the countryside, Shanxi Province, China

Cows in pasture

organically farmed, ecological farming, sustainable,Organic, Authentic, Biological, Biologic, Biologically, Bio, Natural, Naturally, Eco, Ecological, Ecologically, Friesian, Cow, Cows, Cattle, Livestock, Horn, Horns, Sunlight, Sunset, Sunrise, Sunray, Sunbeam, Sunbeams, Fog, Haze, Mist, Brume, Landscape, Farm, Farming, Farmer, Farmland, Field, Grass, Grassland, Meadow, Graze, Grazing, Meadow milk, Milk, Pure, Fair, Honest Calm, Pasture, Travel, Cloud, Sky, Outside, Nature, Countryside, Agriculture, Agri Business, Trade, Tranquil Scene, Togetherness, Horizontal, Full Length, Outdoors, Standing, Grazing, Domestic Animals, Cow, Tree, Sun, Cloud, Pasture, Beauty In Nature, Medium Group Of Animals,

In Springtime, Tatiana the Scottish Highland cow stands for her portrait. And, I realized that I risked my life (I'm sitting on the ground in front of her) with a point-and-shoot. Proof that a fun and relevant photo doesn't take a big sensor. I have to remember this next time I want to upgrade my camera.

The Strength to Endure

A dairy cow chewing grass in a field

Cow standing in field

BOY AND COW

Kuh auf der Alm in Asterreich

cows eating grass in a cowshed

Close up of cows in field

Typical mountain cow with bell in the Central Alps of Italy

Cows

Daqing,Heilongjiang Province,China

Cow lying in pasture

Moo, In a field by my cousin's house.

Taken near Marstrand, West Coast of Sweden

North Devon Red Ruby cattle herd grazing in the rolling countryside, Black Dog, Devon, England, United Kingdom, Europe

Cow on Schlappoltalm, Allgaeu Alps, Bavaria, Germany, Europe

:)

Ghent countryside

Affinity I

Mattis was born at aHof Butenlanda a an animal sanctuary in Germany a because his mother Dina escaped from a dairy farm just a few days before he was born. He just turned three, which means he is now fully grown up, but still spends most of the day together with Dina.

Cow at Tuggeranong Homestead

Dina escaped from a dairy farm to Hof Butenland a an animal sanctuary next to. Just a few days later, she gave birth to her first calf aA Mattis. Because of that, she was able to raise her own child a which would have been impossible at a dairy farm a and both will never be sent to a slaughterhouse. Dina is now six years old and would have probably sent to a slaughterhouse at age 4a5. Mattis is now 3 and would have been slaughtered at a very young age, because he is male.

cow

Magda

Walking the British countryside...

Norway Alps

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This article originally appeared on HuffPost.In the early 1990s, while helping rebuild Kuwait after the Gulf War, Manuel Medina sensed that technology was about to take a huge leap forward.

By the mid-90s, I was totally hooked on the internet. I just felt that internet was going to change our lives, Medina told Yahoo Finance. So I wanted to find a way to be able to play in this field. And I started by doing what I knew, which was the infrastructure.

Medina, now 65, embarked on a 20-year journey that would lead him from building physical infrastructure for the emerging internet to building digital infrastructure to protect ubiquitous data.

Cyxtera CEO Manuel Medina in Kuwait. (Photo: Courtesy of Manuel Medina)

It would take 17 hops to Chicago

Medina, then CEO of Terremark, began building infrastructure for telecommunication companies in the form of telecom hotels  facilities where various internet carriers could rent space. By 1999, the growing industry needed more and more bandwidth to make the global internet more efficient.

The carriers asked Terremark to build a massive data center in Miami to serve as an exchange point for data traffic from Latin America. The Network Access Point (NAP) of the Americas, which opened in 2001, quickly became home to more than 80 network service providers and carried about 95% of the traffic between Latin America and North America.

The NAP of the Americas, now operated by Equinix, is 750,000 square feet and designed to withstand Category 5 hurricane-level winds. (Photo: Terremark)

If you were in Panama on the 9th floor of a building, and you were sending an email to someone on the 10th floor of the same building, it would take 17 hops to Chicago, exchange, and then come back to the 10th floor, Medina explained. What we did is solve that. We created this neutral exchange point, and all of the carriers connected to the fiber ring at the NAP. We solved a major latency issue if you were anywhere south of Key West.

The Cuban-American businessman had realized, before the internet became globally integral, that the web of fiber optic cables being built around Latin America would need a nexus in the U.S.

The analogy I used to use was: If I had the opportunity to own Miami International Airport, I would, said Medina, who arrived in Miami from Cuba in 1965. And people didnt get it [the internet] because our lives werent dependent on it. But for some reason, I saw it, and thats really what changed me.

Story continues

A Terremark presentation from February 2004 shows how NAP of the Americas had become part of the global internet infrastructure. (Photo: Sec.gov)

After establishing NAP, Terremark began to facilitate other operations for its clients.

I said, If you are going to exchange traffic here, then it makes a lot of sense to put your servers, your storage, and your network equipment here,' Medina said. And if youre going to have all of this stuff here, then it makes a lot of sense for us to begin providing you with other services.'

In 2003, Terremark began adding security to its offerings. Once you get that trust  and that is the most difficult thing  then its easier to have that dialogue go up in a different direction than just Let me sell you real estate.

Whatever it costs, connect me

Terremarks business skyrocketed in October 2005, according to Medina, after Hurricane Wilma hit Miami. The most intense tropical cyclone ever recorded in the Atlantic basin, Wilma developed into a Category 5 hurricane with winds of up to 185 miles per hour and knocked out power for 10 days.

You had people saying, Oh my God! Im going to go out of business! I have no idea what I have,' Medina recalled. We actually had people coming with their servers in the back of their pickup trucks to the NAP with cash saying, Whatever it costs, connect me. And people realized that you could no longer live without your data. So one of the most important aspects of this is that no matter what happens, youre always up and running.'

With the success of the NAP of the Americas, one of the most massive infrastructures of its kind in the world, Medina knew that providing that critical service would become its own industry.

Hurricane Wilma. (Photo: NOAA)

Throughout the 2000s, Terremark expanded to operate 13 data centers in the U.S., Europe and Latin America. In 2011, Verizon bought Terremark for $1.4 billion and Medina stepped down as CEO. (Verizon, the parent company of Yahoo Finance, sold its data centers business to Equinix in 2016.)

We are at the cusp of a security revolution

In 2012, Medina founded the global private equity firm Medina Capital to invest in ascendant technology companies. In May 2017, in partnership with private equity firm BC Partners, Medina Capital announced the creation of the Cyxtera.

The new company, composed of $2.8 billion in acquisitions, combines 57 data centers and related colocation services from CenturyLink with Medina Capitals cybersecurity portfolio. Medina sees an evolved version of Terremark: more data centers and colocation services (but without managed hosting), better security tools, augmented expertise and investment in cutting-edge analytics.

If I had unlimited capital, and you said to me, Go build 57 data centers in all of the major markets in the U.S. and Europe and Asia, it would probably take me about five to 10 years to do that, Medina said. Were buying this footprint thats already existent, already having acquired a number of the software products that we wanted.

While CenturyLinks 57 data centers make up the majority of the Miami-based company, Medina said that integrating the cybersecurity acquisitions  Cryptzone, Catbird, Easy Solutions, Brainspace, and the January 2018 addition of offensive-minded security company Immunity (pending regulatory approval)  will be key to pushing the boundaries of securing data in 2018 and beyond.

We are at the cusp of a security revolution, Medina said. The same thing we were seeing [with the cloud] in 2007, 08, 09  that transformation that everyone was so skeptical about. The same thing happened with the internet itself.

You cannot hack what you cannot see

Data centers have always been central to securing the internet, and the traditional way to protect data was by protecting the perimeter  both physically with fences and access cards and digitally with firewalls and virtual private networks (VPNs). If the networks perimeter is breached, internal company data becomes vulnerable.

But with the emergence of mobile and the cloud, access to a traditional network is potentially anywhere. Consequently, risks to a networks perimeter have increased dramatically.

Pipes at a Cyxtera data center in New Jersey. (Photo: Michael B. Kelley/Yahoo Finance)

Security is broken. Its fundamentally broken, Medina said, citing various breaches over the last few years. You cannot keep doing the same thing and expect to get different results. With the cloud [and] virtualization, security is totally different than in a traditional environment. And you cannot do it the same way.

Cyxtera Chief Information Security Officer Leo Taddeo worked on both offensive and defensive cyber operations as FBI Special Agent in Charge of the Special Operations/Cyber Division of the New York Office. Speaking to Yahoo Finance at a Cyxtera data center in New Jersey, Taddeo explained that breaches often share three themes: the abuse of user credentials, the upping of privileges so attackers could steal more sensitive data and the use of lateral movement to further infiltrate networks.

To deny those tactics, Cyxtera employs a Software Defined Perimeter (SDP) model. The companys crown jewel is proprietary software that creates one-to-one network connections between the user and the resources they access with everything else invisible. The Zero Trust architecture creates a network environment much more segmented and user-specific than traditional perimeter security.

The most interesting part of our software  what really boggles peoples minds  is that when you are allowed to those resources, you create a one-time encrypted tunnel between you and those resources, Medina said. And you dont see anything else. And you cannot hack what you cannot see.

An example of how a software defined perimeter works. (Photo: Cyxtera)

Taddeo, who said that he was reluctant to leave the FBI before becoming an adviser to Medina Capital in 2015, said that he considers SDP to be a game-changer since it disrupts how threat actors can plan attacks in the first place.

Its much harder to change strategy than malware, Taddeo said.

The adversary gets a vote

Also known as a black cloud, SDP originated at the DoDs Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA). The approach is used internally by Google, which has completely transitioned away from VPNs but has not yet made it to the vast majority of enterprises.

Cyxtera wants to bring the technology to small to medium-size businesses that need services to protect their cloud infrastructure (in addition to large enterprises with specific needs and government agencies).

There are a bunch of normal companies that dont want to have to focus on the latest and greatest threats, and yet the latest and greatest threats are definitely focusing on them, Dave Aitel, CEO of Miami-based Immunity, told Yahoo Finance.

If youre not working for Facebook or Google, if you go a little further down the market into the bread-and-butter businesses, the future is not there yet, Aitel added. Even middle-size businesses that are not technology businesses have not had the opportunity to get the technology they need to combat modern threats.

Googles architecture is made up of a number of carefully coordinated components, which can be used as reference for any organization looking to move toward their own like-minded zero-trust environment.  Google (Photo: Google)

Chris Day, Cyxteras GM of Threat Management and Analytics, explained that working with Immunity meant that Cyxteras security architecture and technology could be truly tested.

Until you put somebody with not only the right tools but also the right skill set and mindset to act like an adversary into the system and tell them Go!  I dont think you can ever be sure, Day said. And you have to do it periodically.

The overall goal is not to prevent every single breach. That would be unrealistic since, as Day noted, the adversary gets a vote. Instead, the aim is to reduce the number of threats to the network and contain the damage of any breach by treating both the user and the network as potentially hostile.

I want to be in a position where I assume that Im going to have compromised systems in my environment, Day said. Our goals are to detect that compromise quickly enough so we can mitigate it quickly enough so that the adversary gains little to no benefit from that attack. And ideally, we gain useful intelligence from that.

Aitel said that Immunity brings tools and expertise to Cyxtera with the aim of catching a different breed of hackers. Not the standard hackers that everyone else is catching but the next level, because they look like us.

The Congress Hall ahead of the World Economic Forum annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, on Jan. 22. (Photo: Reuters/Denis Balibouse)

Its really the first inning

Day, who worked for Terremark as chief security officer, said that SDP is a foundational technology that Cyxtera is improving with aggressive penetration testing by Immunity, machine learning applications from Brainspace and fraud protection tools from Easy Solutions.

What Im actually trying to do is impose a cost on adversaries, Day added. Then they have to work a lot harder than they do today. Because right now they dont have to work that hard.

Medina believes that the combination of colocation services, security tools, expertise and analytics makes 9-month-old Cyxtera the best commercial application of SDP. And after playing his part in building the global internet ecosystem, Medina now wants to help defend it.

Its really the first inning  where we were with the cloud in 08, 07, Medina said. We just had a major, major enterprise buy the software in the last quarter to replace their entire VPN. This is where I believe the revolution is happening.

Follow Michael B. Kelley on Twitter @MichaelBKelley.

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READ MORE:House Intelligence Democrats released a heavily redacted memo countering the GOP document on Saturday that claims top FBI and Justice Department officials allegedly abused their powers in surveillance by spying on a former aide to President Donald Trump.

Earlier this month, Trump stopped the release of the Democrats' memo after the committee unanimously voted to release it. Some lawmakers from both parties believed the rebuttal should be viewed since the GOP memo was released a few weeks ago.

Representative David Nunes and his staff, who wrote the GOP memo, accused officials of the FBI and Justice Department of unfairly spying on the Trump campaign. Trump said the GOP memo "totally vindicates" him in the investigation into if the Trump campaign conspired with Russia to help win the election.

Trending: Trump's Approval Rating Just Fell To Match His All-Time Low

914610976

Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images

The rebuttal memo claims to "correct the record" on what Democrats call a "transparent effort to undermine" the FBI, Department of Justice (DOJ), and the Russia investigations.

Here are some of the key takeaways from the 10-page memo:

Don't miss: California Democrats Divided Ahead of 2018 Midterms, Senior Senator Snubbed by State Party

Christopher's Steele's reporting did not assist in the FBI's decision to initiate an investigation in July 2016: The memo states that Steele's reporting on the dossier did not play a role in starting the Russian interference into the 2016 election. The memo states that Steele's reporting "did not reach the counterintelligence team investigating Russia at FBI headquarters until mid-September 2016," which was seven weeks after the FBI opened its investigation.

Story continues

FISA was not used to spy on the Trump campaign: The Trump campaign and Carter Page ended their relationship "months before DOJ applied for a warrant." The warrant was submitted "less than three weeks" before the election.

The FBI was investigating Page before and after the campaign: Despite that most of the information about Page was heavily redacted from the memo, the memo states that the FBI was investigating Page "during the campaign, transition, and following the inauguration." He had been on the FBI's radar since 2013 and interviewed him several times about his Russian contacts. The FBI also found some "suspicious activity" during the campaign when he traveled to Moscow to give a university commencement address, which is usually given by well-known prominent figures.

Most popular: New NASA Cassini Image Shows Exact Spot in Saturns Atmosphere Where the Spacecraft Crashed

The Department of Justice never paid Steele for the dossier: It was previously stated in the GOP memo that the DOJ paid Steele for his information on the dossier, but the released memo states that "Steele ultimately never received payment from the FBI for dossier related information."

The DOJ provided substantial evidence about George Papadopolous and Russia's connected efforts: The memo states that Papadopolous interactions with Russian agents "coupled with real-time evidence of Russian election interference" and "provided the Court with a broader context in which to evaluate Russia's clandestine activities and Page's history and alleged contact with Russian officials."

Bruce Ohr was not a Steele contact with the DOJ: According to the memo, Ohr told FBI officials about his relationship with Steele in November 2016. His wife's contract at Fusion GPS did not interfere with the hiring of Steele because the firm hired him separately. This occurred weeks after the election and months after the Court approved the original FISA application.

Peter Strzok's and Lisa Page's text messages do not interfere with the FISA application: Text messages between the two are not politically biased, according to the memo. The memo states that the texts between the two affiants are completely "irrelevant to the application."

This article was first written by Newsweek

More from NewsweekA Donald Trump and Mike Pence weekly newsletter laments the horror of the Parkland school shooting that killed 17 people, then ends with a contribute button so people can give money ... to Trump and Pence.

The newsletter, paid for by Donald J. Trump for President Inc, was emailed Friday to supporters.

(Photo: Screenshot/Trump Pence Newsletter)

The first Trump tout in the newsletter, headlined President Trump  Week 57: Safer Schools, said that the president and first lady Melania Trump visited with victims and first responders following the shooting and met incredible people they will never forget. The piece is accompanied by a photo of Trump and the first lady at the hospital bedside of a Parkland shooting survivor wrapped in bandages.

The message adds: The President is now engaging in an important national conversation about school safety and ways to prevent any future attacks. President Trump is taking steps towards banning gun bump stocks and strengthening background checks for gun purchasers. The President has made his intent very clear: making our schools and our children safer will be our top priority.

Screenshot of the Feb. 24 issue of the "Weekly Trump Pence Newsletter" mailed to supporters. (Photo: Screenshot/Trump/Pence Newsletter)

Other stories note Trump handing out medals of valor to law enforcement officers, his infrastructure plan and a confidence boom among small businesses.

The newsletter ends with a red CONTRIBUTE link as well as a link to VISIT OUR STORE.

(Photo: Screenshot/Trump Pence Newsletter)

Despite Trumps proposed plan to strengthen background checks for gun purchases, he and Congress rolled back tougher checks on people with mental illnesses who purchase guns a year ago. The Obama-era regulation would have barred guns to people receiving Social Security checks for mental illnesses.

The suspected shooter at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, Nikolas Cruz, was reportedly treated for mental illness.

Trumps proposed budget also cuts funds for the background checks system by millions of dollars.

Survivors arent likely to see the aftermath of their tragedy as something to tout in a fundraising newsletter. Students and parents of the school have slammed Trump, other politicians and the National Rifle Association for lack of action on stricter gun control to avert future tragedies.

Story continues

Parkland mom Lori Alhadeff, screamed at Trump on a CNN video to do something the day her 14-year-old daughter, Alyssa, was killed. You can stop the guns from getting into these childrens hands, she cried.

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A mother furiously asks President Trump to please do something about guns. She had just made funeral arrangements for her 14-year-old daughter, who was killed in the Florida school shooting. https://t.co/YgkQtilJ33 pic.twitter.com/USKFvWAoPe  CNN International (@cnni) February 15, 2018

Teachers have slammed the presidents recommendation that 20 percent of teachers be armed in schools so they could shoot it out with attackers.

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Also on HuffPost

This article originally appeared on HuffPost.By Jan Strupczewski and Gabriela Baczynska BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Poland's ruling party must do everything it can to stop anti-Semitic remarks that are hurting Poland's standing in the world and putting its interests at risk, European Council President Donald Tusk told a news conference on Friday. Tusk, a former Polish prime minister, said after he met Poland's Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki that discussions with other European leaders showed the situation of Warsaw was "very serious". "I told the prime minister the situation ... has a direct impact on Polish interests, Poland's reputation and Poland's standing in the world," Tusk said, adding that Morawiecki understood that. "There is only one solution. Everything needs to be done to stop ... the wave of bad opinions about Poland, which today resembles a tsunami, and the second wave of silly and indecent incidents, anti-Semitic statements in Poland," he said. "The ruling party has all the instruments to stop both these waves if it really wants to. We have all worked hard ... over the last 30 years on good relations of Poland with the world, including Israel and the Jewish community. We cannot allow someone to ruin all that within a few weeks," he said. "It is not too late for concrete action, just as it is not too late for common human decency," he said. Poland angered Israel, the United States and Ukraine in February when it passed a law that imposes prison sentences of up to three years on anyone using the phrase "Polish death camps", or for suggesting "publicly and against the facts" that the "Polish nation" or state was complicit in Nazi Germany's crimes. Speaking to journalists at a conference of world leaders in Munich last Saturday, Morawiecki further angered international opinion by suggesting Jews themselves had a hand in the Holocaust. Asked to explain the law, Morawiecki said: "You're not going to be seen as criminal if you say that there were Polish perpetrators, as there were Jewish perpetrators, as there were Russian perpetrators as well as Ukrainian perpetrators  not only German perpetrators." Naming "Jewish perpetrators" in the same breath as Nazis triggered outrage in Israel and added to growing concern about the rise in nationalism in Poland and tacit government support for far-right views since the Law and Justice (PiS) government took power in late 2015. (Reporting by Jan Strupczewski and Gabriela Baczynska; Editing by Matthew Mpoke Bigg)Watch news, TV and more on Yahoo View.



When Coral Springs police officers arrived at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, FL, on Valentines Day, they saw not just the officer assigned to the school but three more Broward police officers with pistols drawn but taking cover behind their cars as a gunman was inside killing 17 students and staff, CNNs Jake Tapper reported Friday, citing sources.

When those Coral Springs police entered the building, the four original Broward officers on scene did not join them, sources told CNN. Its unclear whether the shooter was still in the building when they arrived.

One day earlier, Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel held a press conference at which he acknowledged the armed deputy on duty at Stoneman Douglas High never entered the building where last weeks slayings were occurring.

Since Columbine in 1999, it has been standard protocol for authorities on site not to wait for backup or reinforcements but to engage the gunman immediately and disrupt the spray of gunfire. Instead, the deputy who was on duty at Stoneman Douglas on February 14, in uniform and armed, chose instead to stand outside the building for at least four of the six minutes it took the gunman in to dispatch 17 former classmates and school staff, a distressed Israel told reporters Thursday afternoon.

Tapper reported that video from the school campus is being reviewed and a report will be released next week. The Lead anchor said officials have cautioned that the official account could differ from officers initial recollections, as often happens in these high-stress situations.

CNNs report was on air a couple hours after President Donald Trump again pitched the NRAs proposal to arm teachers at public schools to protect students from shooters, in the wake of this countrys latest school semi-automatic weapon mass shooting.

Related stories

NRA's Dana Loesch Calmly Left CNN Town Hall As Attendees Chanted "Shame On You": VIDEO

Story continues

Eli Broad Joins Oprah Winfrey, Clooneys, Katzenbergs, Spielberg And Capshaw In Donations To End Gun Violence: Who's Next?

'Stand Up For Something' Being Used As Rallying Call For Gun Violence Prevention MovementMEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Four police officers in western Mexico have been arrested on suspicion of abducting three missing Italian men for local gangsters, state prosecutors said on Saturday. The three men reportedly went missing on Jan. 31 after being detained by police at a gasoline station in the municipality of Tecalitlan in southern Jalisco state, the home of Mexico's second biggest city, Guadalajara. The Jalisco attorney general's office said four Tecalitlan police officers, three men and a woman, had been held on suspicion of carrying out the forced disappearance of the Naples natives Raffaele Russo, Antonio Russo and Vincenzo Cimmino. Jalisco attorney general Raul Sanchez said the arrested police officers had told investigators they had been ordered to hand over the three men to a local criminal gang. Authorities are still trying to locate the Italians, and investigations are continuing, he told a news conference. It was not clear why the police had been told to abduct the men. Jalisco is home to the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), one of Mexico's most powerful drug gangs and one notorious for infiltrating the police. Sanchez could not say whether the Italians had been handed over to members of the CJNG. (Writing by Dave Graham; Editing by Chris Reese)By Madeline Chambers

BERLIN (Reuters) - Several senior German conservatives called on Saturday for their party to shift to the right to win back voters, throwing down the gauntlet to Chancellor Angela Merkel before she announces her choice of cabinet ministers on Sunday.

The Christian Democrats (CDU) vote at a party meeting on Monday on whether to back a coalition deal with the Social Democrats (SPD), which would hand Merkel a fourth term at the top of a grand coalition and keep them in office for another four years. SPD members also have to vote on the agreement.

Although the CDU is widely expected to back the deal - and approve Merkel's ally, Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, as CDU general secretary - there are rumblings among conservatives that the party needs fresh blood and a new political direction.

"Sometimes the conservative element of the conservative bloc could be more prominent," CDU premier of the state of Schleswig Holstein, Daniel Guenther, told the Neue Osnabruecker newspaper.

Senior Bavarian CSU conservative Alexander Dobrindt told the Passauer Neue Presse: "The conservative bloc must cover the spectrum from the centre to the democratic right."

Merkel has drawn most criticism for a bailout of Greece in the euro zone debt crisis and her open-door migrant policy. Her conservatives bled support to the far-right in the Sept. 24 election, slumping to their lowest level since 1949.

Her six cabinet picks from her CDU will send a signal about the direction of policy in the next four years. Long-standing ally Peter Altmaier is widely tipped to take over the economy ministry and Ursula von der Leyen to keep defence.

One question is whether Jens Spahn, 37, an arch-conservative state secretary in the finance ministry, who spoke out against Merkel's refugee policy, will get a post.

The CSU and SPD will announce their cabinet posts later.

In her 12 years as chancellor and nearly 18 years as party leader, Merkel has positioned the CDU in the centre ground.

Story continues

END OF MERKEL ERA?

But many are looking to a post-Merkel era and handing the powerful finance and foreign ministries to the SPD to secure a coalition deal further undermined her authority. To ward off critics, she has promised "renewal" in her team.

Merkel took a step towards backing a successor by announcing Saarland state premier Kramp-Karrenbauer, 55, as her choice for CDU secretary general.

Dubbed "mini-Merkel" by some media, Kramp-Karrenbauer may not be different enough for some in the party.

However, her Catholic, western German background contrasts with Merkel's Protestant, eastern roots. While socially conservative, known for opposing gay marriage, Kramp-Karrenbauer is a strong supporter of the minimum wage and workers rights.

Before she can formally form a government, Merkel needs SPD members to vote 'yes' in a postal ballot for a renewal of the 2013-2017 grand coalition. The outcome, to be announced on March 4, is unclear although there are some signs that the deal will go through.

If SPD members reject the deal, the most likely scenarios are a new election or a minority government.

Andrea Nahles, who is likely to be chosen as SPD leader in April, campaigned for a 'yes' vote in Potsdam on Saturday as part of a nationwide tour.

"Critics spoke out ... But I am pleased to say there was a clear majority here for 'yes' which gives us momentum in the last few days in our push for a majority," she said.

Many members are reluctant to share power with Merkel again, fearing voters will punish them after their worst post-war result in the September election which has led to deep divisions in the party, a leadership row and a further slump in the polls.

The SPD's Jusos youth wing, led by Kevin Kuehnert, is on its own 'no grand coalition' tour. In a bid to heal the SPD's deep wounds, some leading figures, including Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel, called for Kuehnert to have a big role in future.

(Additional reporting by Reuters Television; Editing by Janet Lawrence and Alexander Smith)Berlin (AFP) - The leaders of Germany and France urged Russia Sunday to exert "maximum pressure" on Syria for an "immediate" implementation of a UN ceasefire in the war-ravaged country, Berlin said.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron stressed in a telephone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin "that it is crucial that the (UN) resolution be implemented quickly and comprehensively," Merkel's office said in a statement.

"They call on Russia in this context to exercise maximum pressure on the Syrian regime to achieve an immediate suspension of air raids and fighting."

The statement said Merkel, Macron and Putin had all welcomed the UN resolution on a ceasefire for at least 30 days "particularly to allow humanitarian aid into and evacuations out of the war zone".

Merkel and Macron stressed that a ceasefire could be "the basis to advance efforts toward a political solution in the context of the UN-led Geneva peace process".

"Germany and France continue to be willing to work with Russia and other international partners toward this goal," Merkel's office added.

The leaders held talks after the UN Security Council on Saturday unanimously demanded a 30-day truce in Syria.

More than 520 civilians are thought to have died in a week of heavy bombardment by Syria's regime of the rebel enclave of Eastern Ghouta, just outside Damascus.

After the council vote, which had support from Moscow, Syrian warplanes backed by Russian air power launched new raids on Eastern Ghouta, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

The Britain-based monitor said at least 41 civilians were killed in Saturday's strikes, including eight children. Russia has denied taking part in the assault.

Seven more civilians were believed to have been killed on Sunday, and Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman said that although there appeared to be fewer air strikes, fighting had intensified on the ground.

In a statement issued by the Elysee palace on Sunday, Macron stressed that France would be "extremely vigilant so that the resolution adopted at the UN would not go unheeded and that concrete and rapid progress on the level of needs is made on the ground to alleviate the suffering of civilians" as called for by the United Nations and humanitarian organisations.

"France is ready to actively support them," Macron said, adding that France's Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian will go to Moscow on Tuesday.Its already been a banner year for David Harbour, whose Stranger Things fame has helped him fulfill his dream of dancing with penguins in Antarctica.

After responding to the viral requests of devoted fans who asked him to do them favors like appear in their school photos or officiate their wedding, Harbour reached out to Greenpeace with an appeal of his own. Hey @Greenpeace , how many retweets to send me someplace to tell emperor penguin couples I think they have terrific parenting ideologies? he tweeted on Jan. 21. Perhaps hone the Hopper dance with the males.

Amazingly, Harbourwho has 870,000 Twitter followerswas able to achieve the 200,000 retweet goal set by the environmental advocacy group in hours. It took ya less than 5hrs, he wrote the next day in thanks. Im a little shaky n sweaty, heart pounding. Ive never said this to a multi-user weblike platform of tons of computers connected worldwide, butInternetI think I love you.

Harbour has since made his way south to hang outand, of course, dancewith some of the penguins living in the real-world Upside Down of Antarctica, giving TIME a behind-the-scenes look at his journey along the way.

[A] highlight for me was getting to interact with these adorable penguins, which I have so admired in documentaries, he told TIME. And, you know, seeing how little they care about humanity. It really is the first place Ive been to in the world that I come across places where I feel like its completely untouched by human hands. And I think thats so magical and wonderful that a place like this still exists in the world.

The 42-year-old actor was brought along on a mission that revolved around forming a 1.8 million square km sanctuary to protect whales, penguins and other Antarctic wildlife. Greenpeace is demanding a sanctuary down there, a protected marine zone, explained Greenpeace ship captain Paul Ruzycki. It will be the largest in the world. I think its a brilliant idea

Harbour also spoke about the importance of this work in the Antarctic. I think another thing thats been extraordinary about the trip has been meeting all the people that are involved in protecting this place, he said. These are people that are very passionate about protecting the environment[They] have a tremendous respect and a deep love for nature and you feel it in their being.

Watch the full video above.New York (AFP) - Italian luxury fashion brand Gucci on Friday followed a slew of US celebrities in announcing a donation of $500,000 to next month's student march on Washington demanding tougher gun controls.

The donation, first reported by Women's Wear Daily and confirmed by a Gucci spokeswoman in the United States, gives another huge boost to what is considered an unprecedented youth mobilization against gun violence following last week's shooting in Florida.

"We stand with March For Our Lives and the fearless students across the country who demand that their lives and safety become a priority," the label said in a statement.

"We have all been directly or indirectly impacted by these senseless tragedies."

The rally is scheduled to take place on March 24, with sister rallies planned across the country to demand that US Congress come up with effective legislation to address the epidemic of gun violence in the United States.

The Washington Post says organizers expect up to 500,000 people to attend, according to their event permit application.

The rally is being organized by students from the Florida high school where a 19-year-old armed with a semi-automatic rifle killed 17 people in Parkland, Florida.

On Monday, George Clooney and his human rights lawyer wife Amal, Oprah Winfrey, director Steven Spielberg and his actress wife Kate Capshaw, and film producer Jeffrey Katzenberg and his wife Marilyn each also pledged $500,000.

Gucci creative director Alessandro Michele told Women's Wear Daily that he was "truly moved" by the courage of the Parkland students.

"My love is with them and it will be next to them on March 24. I am standing with March for Our Lives and the strong young women and men across United States who are fighting for their generation and those to come," he said.

Tapping into the millennial market, Gucci's pre-fall advertising evokes the French student protests of 1968, with Gucci-wearing rebels occupying a campus demanding change.The Daily Beast

NewsmaxNewsmax host Grant Stinchfield absolutely lost his mind Wednesday night when a veteran helping Americans and Afghan allies flee Afghanistan offered the mildest of criticism of former President Donald Trump. Joe Saboe, an Iraq War veteran who recently founded the rescue organization Team America, appeared on Stinchfields eponymous Newsmax program to discuss his groups efforts in assisting those looking to escape Afghanistan following the Taliban takeover.The first few minutes of the inteEvangelist Billy Graham, in 1955, who died this week - www.alamy.com

More than any other person in the 20th century, Billy Graham, who died this week aged 99, was the voice of America.

And what a voice! When I saw him give his last sermon in New York in his last crusade in 2005, he was 86 and suffering from fluid on the brain, prostate cancer, a pelvic fracture and Parkinsons disease.

Yet you wouldnt have known it: he looked film-star terrific with his flowing mane of snow-white hair, sober dark suit and crisp, white shirt.

And then there was the voice  resonant and thick with the southern accent of his native Charlotte, North Carolina.

Graham was no sweet-talking huckster like Jim Bakker, the televangelist jailed in 1988 for embezzling money from his South Carolina Christian theme park. That evening in New York, he did have the backing of a 1,200-strong choir, belting out Amazing Grace behind him. But really, that 80,000-strong crowd in Flushing Meadow, Queens, were entranced by the voice of one man alone.

He spoke slowly but intelligently, with no showbiz schmaltz, hectoring or wild, rhetorical flourishes. In his youth, he talked much more quickly  he was nicknamed Gods machine gun for the speed and volume of his delivery. By 2005, he had slowed down, to great effect, and cut out the Bible-thumping of his younger days.

In three sermons over that weekend in 2005, he preached to 200,000 people  a drop in the ocean compared to the 210 million hed addressed around the world, including huge audiences in Britain, in his lifetime.

Graham was a master of the dramatic pause. The crowd, made up of all races and ages, went wild when he took to the stage. He waited  and waited  before hitting the peroration of his sermon: Were all sinners, every one of us, and radical change is needed for all of us to be accepted by God. Im asking you tonight to be born into Gods family. God will fill the void in your heart, searching for peace and meaning. Let the Lord Jesus come into your heart.

Story continues

The sermon was a mixture of scripture and serious Christian thought, combined with elegiac, jokey memories of the beginning of his career, 66 years earlier.

I gave my first sermon in North Florida in 1939, he said, adopting a lighter tone, There was an old, pot-bellied stove in the middle of the room. I had four sermon outlines in my pocket. I preached all four in 10 minutes. It was an anti-climax. I hope tonight isnt an anti-climax.

No, the crowd roared.

It was an intensely moving experience.

I had arrived an agnostic  albeit one christened and confirmed in the Church of England. And I left an agnostic, too. When Graham invited forward the congregation  as he always did in his sermons  to accept Jesus as their saviour, I didnt feel the urge to join them. But I did admire the uncynical, optimistic faith of both the congregation and Graham himself.

Graham was a brilliant salesman; he had, after all, started life as the most successful door-to-door salesman in the Carolinas in the 1930s

That optimism was the optimism of America, combined with its continuing open embrace of Christianity. This week, President Trump opened up his White House discussion with relatives of the victims of the Florida school shooting with a long prayer from a pastor. Theresa May is a committed Christian, but you cant imagine a filmed Downing Street seminar beginning the same way.

If you head inwards from the east and west coasts of America  as I did as the Telegraphs New York correspondent between 2005-06  you find tens of millions of Americans who share Grahams outspoken Christianity, which seems alien to British Christians, who tend to keep their faith to themselves.

In a deeply devout country  which is still 74 per cent Christian  Billy Graham was the elder statesman of American preachers; by far the most famous and by far the most respected. And by far the most electorally useful. It was said that Grahams support of a presidential candidate garnered them 16 million votes.

No wonder Bill Clinton popped up on that summer evening in Flushing Meadow to hail Graham as a man I love.

Graham had been around for so long that hed preached in front of Clinton (born in 1946) when he was just a little boy.

The young Clinton, brought up in the segregated south in Arkansas, had then admired Grahams refusal to address a segregated audience. I was just a little boy, and I never forgot it and Ive loved him ever since, said Mr Clinton. Hes the only person I know who Ive never seen fail to live his faith.

Graham is greeted by former US President Bill Clinton in 2007 Credit: Davis Turner /Getty

Graham was a registered Democrat all his life. But both Democrat and Republican Presidents, from Harry Truman in 1947 onwards, rushed to get Grahams endorsement  particularly as a man of God who took against Communism during the Cold War and backed a free enterprise, capitalist economy. President Reagan gave Graham the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1983. Graham also helped George W Bush to give up his heavy drinking and turn towards high political office.

Billy Grahams personal life was unencumbered by lurid infamy, though some of his views, such as his vocal disapproval of homosexuality, understandably drew widespread criticism. He remained happily married to his wife, Ruth, for 64 years until her death in 2007. In 1948, he and his advisers composed the Modesto Manifesto, drawn up in a hotel room in Modesto, California, which stipulated that the money he raised had to be spent in an altruistic way. As such he was never hit by the scandals that struck Jim Bakker and their peers.

On that evening in 2005, the Graham operation was undeniably a slick one, with teams of trained counsellors waiting to meet the inquirers who came forward, and to present them with a copy of St Johns Gospel.

Graham was, admittedly, a brilliant salesman; he had, after all, started life as the most successful door-to-door salesman in the Carolinas in the 1930s. But there was no hard sell; no one approached me for money that night.

The Modesto Manifesto also laid out the Billy Graham rule, under which he was never alone with a woman other than his wife - a rule to which Mike Pence, the American Vice President, also ascribes.

From that day on, I did not travel, meet or eat alone with a woman other than my wife, wrote Graham. We determined that the Apostle Pauls mandate to the young pastor Timothy would be ours as well, Flee, youthful lusts.

Billy Graham and Queen Elizabeth Credit: Billy Graham Evangelistic Association

He applied the rule to everyone, including Hillary Clinton and the Queen, who formed a strong bond with Graham. This week, the Queen sent condolences to the Graham family on his death.

Graham had a gift for appealing beyond his own Calvinism to those of different denominations  like the Queen, who holds her Church of England faith dear, not least as the Defender of the Faith.

The most memorable stain on the character of Golden Graham character developed with Richard Nixons arrival at the White House. At Nixons inauguration in 1969, Graham backed him to the hilt, addressing God, saying, Thou has permitted Richard Nixon to lead us at this momentous hour of our history.

Graham managed to detach himself from Nixon at the time of the Watergate scandal. But he was pitched into controversy in 2002, when 400 hours of Nixon tapes were released. Nixon was recorded making anti-Semitic remarks, which were backed up by Graham.

Graham was recorded saying of Jews, Theyre the ones putting out the pornographic stuff. This [Jewish] stranglehold has got to be broken or the countrys going down the drain.

Graham was still backtracking on those remarks three years later when I heard him speak in 2005 in Flushing Meadows  where the first meetings of the United Nations were held after the Second World War.

Graham speaking at the Berlin Olympic Stadium in 1954 Credit: Werner Kreusch /AP

Here, in 1948, they voted to establish the great state of Israel, said Graham, The great state of Israel was born right here.

Graham got into trouble again in 1993, when he said in Columbus, Ohio, Is AIDS a judgment of God? I could not be sure, but I think so.

Again, he backtracked on his words  a rare slip-up for a man who had until then been a consummate media-handler. His newspaper column, My Answer, was syndicated across America, with more than five million readers; the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association broadcast on radio and television across the world, making it the biggest religious media organisation on the planet.

It was quite a journey for someone whod first started preaching to alligators, birds and bullfrogs in the swamps near the Florida Bible Institute where he studied in the late 1930s.

I could hear that journey across America  and the history of America  in his voice that evening: in those Southern tones; in the Biblical oratory that went back to the Founding Fathers, to his Scottish Presbyterian ancestors, to Plymouth Rock and all the way back to Jesus Christ.Olympic Athletes from Russia walk under the Olympic flag at the Opening Ceremony. (REUTERS)

PYEONGCHANG, South Korea  Just hours before the start of the Closing Ceremony of the 2018 Winter Games, the International Olympic Committee voted not to allow the Olympic Athletes from Russia the chance to march under the Russian flag to close out the PyeongChang Olympics.

The IOC executive board had recommended that a suspension against Russia for doping violations remain in place at least through the end of these games. Russia had been barred from competing under its own flag at this Olympics as a result of widespread and coordinated doping efforts at the 2014 Sochi Olympics.

While the Russian delegation had met most of its obligations to the IOC, two separate doping cases discovered during the PyeongChang Games were apparently enough to give the IOC pause about restoring Russias status. The decision means none of the medals Russian athletes earned during these Games (16 so far) will count toward Russias total, and the record books will have Olympic Athletes from Russia listed as the competing nation.

The IOC would have considered lifting the suspension because the OAR delegation as such respected the decision of the IOC Executive Board taken on the 5th of December 2017, IOC president Thomas Bach explained of the executive boards decision. However, two Olympic athletes from Russia failed doping tests here in PyeongChang. This was hugely disappointing 

According to a Washington Post report on Saturday, Russian spies hacked several hundred computers used by Olympic officials during the Opening Ceremony of the 2018 Games. According to the report, analysts surmise the disruption was retaliation against the International Olympic Committee for banning the Russian team from the Winter Games due to doping violations.

Its not clear if the IOC membership considered the report in rendering its decision.

More Olympic coverage from Yahoo Sports:

 Meet the unlikely, unfazed and unparalleled gold medalists of U.S. Olympic curling

 Canadian Olympian arrested after alleged drunken car theft in PyeongChang

 The 2018 Olympic moments that will make you cry

 Green Beret competing in Olympics for more than a medal

 Vic Wilds rant contains a deep, dark truth about Olympics

Tehran (AFP) - An ex-intelligence minister in Iran on Sunday criticised the handling of an environmentalist's death in prison, saying the public would not believe he was a spy unless the case was handled by a "competent agency".

Ali Younessi, who was intelligence minister under reformist president Mohammad Khatami between 2000 and 2005, shone a rare light on the turf war between Iran's multiple security agencies in his interview with the daily Iran newspaper.

He referred to the case of Kavous Seyed Emami, 63, the Iranian-Canadian citizen who founded the Persian Heritage Wildlife Foundation. He died in prison this month after being arrested along with seven members of his NGO on espionage charges.

"Unfortunately the intelligence ministry has no jurisdiction over this case," said Younessi, who now serves as an advisor to President Hassan Rouhani on religious minority affairs.

"I believe the case should be given to the intelligence ministry... Given the events that have occurred, if a competent and legal agency does not intervene and doesn't give its opinion on the dead individual or those under arrest, public opinion will not believe they are spies even if they are convicted."

The authorities say Emami committed suicide, but the family have questioned the verdict and say they were threatened by security forces.

Iran has a wide array of security agencies, which often act independently of each other and are responsible to competing centres of power.

Younessi did not name the agency running the case, but the Revolutionary Guards run a powerful intelligence service that is separate from the government's intelligence ministry.

- Photographer murder case -

Younessi also gave details of the infamous case of Zahra Kazemi, an Iranian-Canadian photographer who died from head injuries after being arrested for taking photos outside Evin prison in 2003.

"The prosecutor at the time insisted she was a spy," he said, referring to the notorious Tehran prosecutor Said Mortazavi, who was last year jailed for his part in another custodial death during protests in 2009.

Story continues

"We sent two counter-espionage experts from the ministry to investigate this woman in a hotel. After the interview, the two experts concluded that from a technical and scientific standpoint, Zahra Kazemi was not a spy," said Younessi.

But Mortazavi refused to listen to their verdict, he said, and handed the case back to the police.

In Younessi's version of events, Kazemi, who was 54, died from a brain haemorrhage caused at the moment of her arrest.

She "was beaten because she refused to hand over her items and her head hit a concrete road divider, which caused a haemorrhage", he said.

That goes against a statement from the reformist government at the time, which said Kazemi was violently beaten in prison -- a view supported by her family and their lawyer who say she was tortured and sexually assaulted.

The judiciary initially claimed she died of a stroke and only later that she was injured in a fall.

An intelligence agent, Mohammad Reza Aghdam Ahmadi, was acquitted of her murder in November 2005 and subsequent trials failed to find anyone accountable, while Canada blocked an attempt by the family to sue the Iranian government.

Younessi said the handling of the case had damaged Iran's international reputation.

"For having reacted badly, with stubbornness, and for accusing others and politicising the affair, the Islamic republic of Iran imposed a heavy political cost on itself," he said.

The case soured relations with Canada for years.

Canada withdrew its ambassador after Iran refused to hand over Kazemi's body for an independent post-mortem, and eventually severed diplomatic relations entirely in 2012 over a range of differences.On the second day of the Republican National Convention, Ohio Minutemen gather in downtown Cleveland to express their feeling on the Second Amendment in Cleveland, July 18, 2016. (Photo: Carolyn Cole/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

Like all Americans, I have a Second Amendment right to own a firearm. I may not choose to exercise it, but the Supreme Court, in the 2008 case of District of Columbia v. Heller, is pretty clear on the subject. I dont even need to be part of a militia, which is good, because I wouldnt know how to join one. So I accept gun ownership, in principle, as part of my birthright, and acknowledge that the same rights accrue to people who might, for one reason or another, hate me. As journalist Mickey Kaus once wrote, if liberals interpreted the Second Amendment the way they interpret the rest of the Bill of Rights, there would be law professors arguing that gun ownership is mandatory.

Why would I need one, though, except to commit a crime? Why does anyone?

For hunting, obviously. Although I do not hunt, I recognize it as essentially harmless, except to the animals who are killed, and to people who get shot by mistake, including occasionally the hunters themselves. But shotguns and single-shot rifles are rarely used in crimes and I know of no serious proposals to ban them.

For target shooting, as a sport. I have done this, and I enjoyed it. Encouraging better marksmanship is a worthy national goal, and if we keep it up, the U.S. Olympic team might hope to someday win a medal in biathlon.

For personal defense. I consider myself an expert in this field, having lived in New York City my whole life, including some years in the 1970s when I would go home on the subway after leaving work at 1 a.m. There were occasions when I wished I had a handgun, but with the benefit of reflection, its obviously a million times better that I didnt, for me as well as for all the obnoxious drunks who nearly threw up on my shoes. Having survived to this point, I am content to entrust my safety to the very excellent protection of the NYPD, but I also recognize that other Americans, in different circumstances, might come to a different conclusion. If  hopefully, after weighing the dangers of a handgun being found by a child, or fired by accident, or used to commit suicide or murder a family member during an argument  a competent adult decides he or she needs one, then by a 5-4 majority on the Supreme Court, they have that right.

Story continues

But the subject on everyones mind now is not handguns but rifles, in particular assault-style rifles such as the AR-15, which are the weapon of choice in random mass shootings such as the recent ones in Parkland, Fla., Sutherland Springs, Texas, and Las Vegas. Why would a law-abiding American citizen want to own one of those?

To wage war against the government. There are many contenders for the worst ideas to emerge in the wake of the Parkland massacre, but Id like to nominate this column by National Review writer David French  the same guy whose name was briefly floated as a sane conservative third-party alternative to Donald Trump in 2016. French argued against banning semiautomatic assault-style rifles on the grounds that we might need them to fight a reprise of the American Revolution. After all, you cant take on the United States military with guns meant to shoot ducks and paper targets. French acknowledges that ordinary citizens wouldnt stand much of a chance against the 101st Airborne, but, he writes: For the Second Amendment to remain a meaningful check on state power, citizens must be able to possess the kinds and categories of weapons that can at least deter state overreach, that would make true authoritarianism too costly to attempt.

And: To properly defend life and liberty, access to assault weapons and high-capacity magazines isnt a luxury; its a necessity.

The idea that Americans should arm themselves to fight state overreach is a staple of gun-rights groups and politicians occupying the political terrain that runs rightward roughly from the NRA to the edge of the earth. It goes back at least to Thomas Jefferson, who wrote that the tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with blood of patriots and tyrants. In 2010, Republican Senate candidate Sharron Angle notoriously floated the idea of Second Amendment remedies against Congress. Texas Sen. Ted Cruz invoked it in a 2015 fundraising email, which prompted Sen. Lindsey Graham to respond tartly that we tried that once in South Carolina. In view of how the Civil War turned out for the Confederacy, I wouldnt go down that road again.

Indeed. If Cruz is seriously concerned about having to fight governmental tyranny, he might want to reconsider his support of President Trumps military buildup, which could only make it harder. As long ago as the 1950s, when there were mutterings in the South about renewing the hostilities that were suspended at Appomattox, Louisiana Gov. Earl K. Long taunted the arch-segregationist political boss Leander Perez: What are you going to do now, Leander? The Feds have got the atom bomb.

Well, one solution would be to get your own atom bomb. As far as I can tell, no one is seriously asserting that the Second Amendment conveys a private right to own nuclear weapons  not even the National Rifle Association, probably not even Gun Owners of America, a group composed of people who consider the NRA insufficiently zealous and which claims 1.5 million members. The group does, however, seek to legalize machine guns, which would at least slightly improve the odds of going up against the Marine Corps.

A lot of this is just posturing, of course: The NRAs key stakeholders are gun companies, and it serves their interests to hype the threat that jack-booted government thugs are coming to arrest grandma and confiscate her derringer. The NRAs Dana Loesch made news last week with a claim that the mass media loves mass shootings because of the ratings they bring. Leaving the despicable nature of the charge aside, it is a fact that publicized incidents of gun violence have benefited the firearms industry by spurring sales to patriots scared that this time Nancy Pelosi really is coming to take away their guns. Remington filed for bankruptcy this month amid a general slump in gun sales that set in right after the 2016 election, when gun owners could relax in the knowledge that Hillary Clintons evil designs on the Second Amendment had been thwarted.

But quite a few Americans apparently agree with French on the danger that Washington might someday decide to pick up where George III left off and reimpose the Stamp Act or force Americans to quarter troops in their homes. Banding together in militias like the so-called Three Percenter movement, they are preparing to meet that threat with AR-15s.

Members of self-described patriot groups and militias run through close-quarter combat shooting drills during a Three Percenter United Patriots field training exercise, which they describe as the largest patriot event in the country, outside Fountain, Colo., July 29, 2017. (Photo: Jim Urquhart/Reuters)

Of course, the same qualities that make assault-style rifles so precious to self-appointed defenders of American freedom also make them the weapon of choice for those who want to kill as many schoolchildren as possible. A ban on the sale of these weapons took effect in 1994, with a 10-year sunset provision. After it expired in 2004, it was not renewed. There is little evidence that the ban did much to reduce gun violence, or even reduce sales of the weapons it was meant to control. With minor modifications in design, functionally equivalent variants of the AR-15 slipped through the cracks. The chances of the same ban being reinstated now are probably nil, in a political climate in which Donald Trumps first instinct after the Parkland shooting was to call for arming schoolteachers so they could shoot back. In a Saturday interview, Trump went further and suggested raising the minimum age to buy a rifle from 18 to 21. Trump confidently predicted that the NRA would go along with the new age requirement, which the group has long opposed.

The NRA has informed Trump that hes mistaken.

One way to achieve at least some of the benefits of banning assault weapons would be to limit the number of bullets they can hold. The gun-control organization Sandy Hook Promise is circulating a petition for a law to ban rifle magazines holding more than 10 rounds, forcing shooters to stop to reload more often. The young man who shot up Sandy Hook elementary school carried 30-round magazines, but even so, according to Nicole Hockley, whose son Dylan died in the attack, 11 children managed to escape in the seconds it took him to swap in a new one. If Trump seriously believes in arming teachers, limiting magazine size should be a change he supports, because even if they managed to draw their handguns, their only hope of standing up to a gunman firing off an AR-15 is to wait for him to reload.

I predict that assault-style rifles will be around for the foreseeable future, and I suspect one will be used again, sooner or later, to slaughter Americans in a church or office or school. And  call me naive  but I would much sooner entrust my freedom to Americas justice system, which is also part of the Constitution, than to a bunch of middle-aged guys running around the woods in camo pants, no matter what kinds of guns they have.

I hope I am never forced to put my life on the line to defend liberty, and if it should happen, I hope I have the courage to do so. But thats not a risk I would take with the life of someone elses child.

_____

Read more from Yahoo News:Christian leaders have closed the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem, said to be built on the site of Jesuss crucifixion and burial, in a protest at Israeli tax policy which they say unfairly targets Christians.

In a rare move, leaders from the Greek, Armenian and Catholic denominations said they were indefinitely closing the church because of a systematic campaign by Israeli authorities.

GettyImages-469304518

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Trending: Trump Campaign Used Photo Of Florida School Shooting Survivor In Email Asking For Donations

As a measure of protest, we decided to take this unprecedented step of closure of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, the Christian leaders said in a joint statement.

The statement criticized a recent bill passed by the Israeli parliament that allowed the Israeli state to take over Christian buildings leased to private companies, and plans to begin imposing taxes on Christian church properties.

The move is the first time the 1,000-year-old church has been closed since 1990, when it was shut in protest at Israeli settlers taking over a Christian building.

The church has long been a major pilgrimage site for Christians from around the world, with the first church on the site built on the orders of Roman emperor Constantine I.

This article was first written by Newsweek

More from NewsweekMelania Trump made an appearance earlier today at the White House alongside her husband to meet and greet Australia's Prime Minister Malcolm Tunrbull and his wife Lucy, the former lord mayor of Sydney. For the occasion, Trump returned to form in a strongly tailored coatdress from the label she relies upon the most: Dolce & Gabbana. She punctiated the military-inspired ensmble with Manolo Blahnik stilettos.

The look fell in line for the First Lady's signature silhouettes, but contrasted the ensemble Trump donned when she met Turnbull last May, a cheerful, cornflower yellow Dior dress. And while Trump often wears a waist-cinching, '80s-inspired belt, she opted to go without any extraneous accessories, save for her signature pumps.

See this weeks best dressed celebrities:

10 Best Dressed: Week of February 19, 2018

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New York Fashion Week in 60 SecondsBerlin (AFP) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel has decided to give a cabinet role to an outspoken critic within her conservative party, as she looks to quell surging discontent in the right wing of the group, a senior party official said Sunday.

Merkel is to name 37-year-old Jens Spahn as health minister in her new cabinet later Sunday, Saxony state leader Michael Kretschmer of Merkel's Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party said, confirming media reports.

"It's a good sign because he is a dedicated politician who has shown for years that he is acting in the interests of this country," said Kretschmer, who belongs to the CDU's right wing.

"He will certainly be a good health minister."

Merkel has been stung by criticism from within the ranks of her CDU party after a tricky September election left her struggling to secure a continued "grand coalition" that would enable her to launch a fourth term governing Europe's biggest economy.

Spahn has been at the forefront of the backlash, slamming Merkel's centrist policies, particularly on immigration, and advocating a sharp conservative shift.

The country's major parties are all facing pressure from the far-right AfD party which has railed against a mass influx of refugees that peaked in 2015.

- Loyalists in key posts -

The potential inclusion of Spahn in her cabinet line-up could help to defuse the internal rebellion ahead of a CDU congress set for Monday.

Beyond the health post, Merkel is expected to fill the remaining CDU ministries with loyalists, keeping Ursula von der Leyen at the defence ministry, putting close ally Peter Altmaier on the economic affairs brief and placing Julia Kloeckner in the agriculture job.

However Merkel's conservatives have had to relinquish key cabinet positions -- including the powerful finance minister -- to convince the Social Democrats (SPD) to again govern in coalition.

The SPD still needs to approve the arrangement, with the results of a crunch membership ballot due to be announced on March 4.

If its members vote "no" in the postal and online ballot, Germany faces more political paralysis and likely snap elections that would threaten an end to Merkel's 12 years in power.

The CDU is set to vote on the deal at its meeting on Monday, but with the expected move to assuage her critics, approval is thought likely to be a formality.Washington (AFP) - Mexico and the United States have shelved tentative plans for a visit to Washington by President Enrique Pena Nieto as tensions persist over a proposed border wall, US media reported Saturday.

Pena Nieto had already cancelled a visit in January last year because of US President Donald Trump's insistence that Mexico pay for the wall, which he wants as part of his efforts to curb immigration.

The White House had said in mid-February that the two presidents were working on arranging a meeting.

But The Washington Post, which first reported cancellation of the provisional meeting, said both countries agreed to call it off after a testy telephone call ended in an impasse over the border barrier.

The phone call took place last Tuesday.

Citing US and Mexican officials, the Post said Trump "would not agree to publicly affirm Mexico's position that it would not fund construction of a border wall that the Mexican people widely consider offensive."

Pena Nieto's visit had been considered for February or March, the Post said, but the Mexican leader wanted to avoid public embarrassment.

Building the border wall was a primary pledge of the 2016 presidential campaign by Trump, who says the barrier is necessary for his country's security.

Asked about the reports, a Mexican presidential source told AFP there would be no comment.

"There's nothing additional to the last Tuesday statement," the source said, referring to comments after the phone call.

Both countries said at the time that they agreed in their call to boost cooperation on security, trade and migration.

In addition to disagreement over the wall, Trump's attacks on Mexican immigrants and threats to scrap the North American Free Trade Agreement have strained relations between the neighbors.

The leaders did meet once, on the sidelines of the G20 summit of major economies in Hamburg, Germany, last July.

Mexico goes to the polls this July as Pena Nieto approaches the end of his term, with his Institutional Revolutionary Party deeply unpopular.WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump and Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto postponed plans for the Mexican leader's first visit to the White House, after a testy phone call involving Trump's push for a border wall, a senior U.S. official said on Saturday.

"The two leaders agreed now was not the immediate right time for a visit but that they would have their teams continue to talk and work together," the official said.

Mexican officials had been talking about a summit between Trump and Pena Nieto in the next few weeks, without specifying when.

The Washington Post, which first reported the delay earlier on Saturday, said the two leaders spoke for about 50 minutes on Tuesday. But the discussion led to an impasse when Trump would not agree to publicly affirm Mexico's position that it would not fund construction of the wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.

A Mexican official said Trump lost his temper during the conversation, the newspaper reported. But it said U.S. officials described Trump as frustrated and exasperated, because he believed it was unreasonable for Pena Nieto to want him to back off his campaign promise of forcing Mexico to pay for the wall.

Mexicos foreign ministry said it had nothing to say about the call, other than a statement on Tuesday that said Trump had expressed condolences for a helicopter crash in Mexico and both sides had committed to advancing the bilateral agenda of trade, migration and security.

The wall, a key item for Trump's political base of supporters, has become a sticking point in talks to keep alive a federal program that protects from deportation young people who were brought to the United States illegally as children.

In his latest budget proposal to Congress, Trump requested $23 billion for border security, most of it for building the wall.

Pena Nieto, who met Trump in July on the sidelines of a G20 summit, canceled an earlier meeting after Trump threatened to impose a tax on Mexican imports to pay for the wall. Trump also met the Mexican president once during the 2016 election campaign.

(Reporting by Steve Holland in Washington and Dave Graham and Frank Jack Daniel in Mexico City; Writing by David Morgan; Editing by Chris Reese)A photo of Dun Briste  a layered, chunky tower of rock rising off the western coast of Ireland skyrocketed to the top of Reddit last week. But the post's captivating title  "What millions of years look like in one photo"  isn't exactly accurate, a geologist told Live Science.

The sea stack is old, but "almost certainly doesn't represent millions of years" of geological processes, Maria McNamara, a paleobiologist at the University College Cork, in Ireland, told Live Science in an email. "Rather, [it likely formed in] tens to hundreds of thousands of years," she said.

Its rapid formation (geologically speaking, at least) doesn't make this structure any less marvelous. The view of the sea stack from Ireland's County Mayo is stunning, which may explain why the picture has received about 57,300 up-votes on Reddit since its posting on Feb. 9. The layered, sedimentary rock formed during the Carboniferous, a 60-million-year-long period lasting from about 359 million to 299 million years ago. That's long before dinosaurs roamed the Earth. (In other words, the sea stack formed millions of years ago, but it formed very quickly.) [In Photos: The UK's Geologic Wonders]

It's unclear whether Dun Briste has any fossils from the Carboniferous period. But if it does, they would likely be the remains of creatures that lived during that time period, including corals, brachiopods (clam-like creatures) and crinoids (sea animals that look like flowers), McNamara said.

When it formed, Dun Briste was still connected to the mainland. Looking at the sea stack's layers and edges, McNamara noticed that the structure shows evidence of onlapping strata, or layers. This indicates there was a rise in sea level long ago, she said.

"As the land surface was flooded [as sea levels rose], sediments were laid down progressively inland," McNamara said.

Story continues

In 1393, an arch leading to the 150-foot-tall (45 meters) sea stack collapsed during a storm, according to Dunbriste.com. This may explain why it was named Dun Briste, which is Gaelic for "broken fort," according to the website.

In 2016, daredevil Iain Miller climbed the cliff, according to the Daily Express, a news outlet in the United Kingdom. That's the first time a person had set foot on top of the sea stack since 1990, when a group of climbers summited the stack, the Daily Express reported.

Before that, a team of scientists helicoptered to the top of Dun Briste in the 1980s. They reportedly found the remains of a medieval house and a broken quern stone, that is, a stone used for grinding corn, according to Castlebar.News, a news publication in west Ireland.

Original article on Live Science.

Editor's RecommendationsULAANBAATAR (Reuters) - Smog in the Mongolia's capital, Ulaanbaatar, is causing a public health crisis, especially among children, with treatment costs likely to put the cash-strapped country under increasing strain, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) said.

The government needed to take urgent action to limit smog-induced health problems, UNICEF and Mongolia's National Center for Public Health said in a study, adding that a failure to act could push treatment costs up by a third by 2025, amounting to a further 4.8 billion tugrik ($2 million) a year in the capital.

"Air pollution has become a child health crisis in Ulaanbaatar, putting every child and pregnancy at risk," UNICEF Mongolia Representative Alex Heikens said in a release.

"The risks include stillbirth, preterm birth, lower birth weight, pneumonia, bronchitis, asthma, inhibited brain development and death," he said.

Pollution levels in Ulaanbaatar had become worse than that in cities such as Beijing and New Delhi, UNICEF and the public health agency said in their report, released on Thursday.

Concentrations of breathable airborne particles known as PM2.5 were as high as 3,320 micrograms per cubic meter at one monitoring station on Jan. 30, they said.

Average PM2.5 readings for January stood at about 206 micrograms in Ulaanbaatar, according to Reuters calculations based on incomplete government data.

The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends annual average PM2.5 concentrations of no more than 10 micrograms. PM2.5 in Beijing stood at 34 micrograms in January, down 70.7 percent from a year earlier.

Mongolia has struggled with pollution in its capital, where an influx of out-of-work herders migrating from the countryside has seen the population double in less than two decades.

The government has offered subsidies for more-efficient wood- and coal-burning stoves and it is also providing free electricity at night in some districts.

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But smog levels spike in the bitterly cold winters, especially in poor "ger" neighbourhoods, named after the felt tents in which many migrants live.

Many ger households burn coal or even trash to keep warm and the smog they produce has led to a surge in respiratory and heart disease and stoked anger and protests.

"Reducing air pollution levels is the only long-term sustainable solution to protecting children's health," Heikens said.

"In the meantime, thousands of children will continue to suffer unless urgent action is taken."

(Reporting by Terrence Edwards; Editing by David Stanway, Robert Birsel)By Michelle Nichols and Ellen Francis UNITED NATIONS/BEIRUT (Reuters) - The U.N. Security Council on Friday delayed a vote on a demand for a 30-day ceasefire in Syria, where pro-government warplanes have been pounding the last rebel bastion near Damascus in one of the deadliest bombing campaigns of the seven-year civil war. A draft resolution aimed at ending the carnage in the eastern Ghouta district and elsewhere in Syria will be put up for a vote in the 15-member council at noon (1700 GMT) on Saturday, Kuwait's U.N. Ambassador Mansour Ayyad Al-Otaibi said. Al-Otaibi said negotiations were centered on the language of one paragraph that specifically demands a cessation of hostilities for 30 days, possibly starting 72 hours after adoption, to allow aid access and medical evacuations. "We have not been able to close the gap completely," Olof Skoog, Sweden's U.N. ambassador, told reporters. "We're not going to give up. ... I hope that we will adopt something forceful, meaningful, impactful tomorrow." The delay followed a flurry of last-minute negotiations on the text drafted by Sweden and Kuwait after Russia, a veto-holding ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, proposed new amendments. "Unbelievable that Russia is stalling a vote on a ceasefire allowing humanitarian access in Syria," U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley posted on Twitter. Previous ceasefires, however, have had a poor record of ending fighting in Syria, where Assad's forces have gained the upper hand. The towns and farms of eastern Ghouta have been under government siege since 2013, with shortages of food, water and electricity that worsened last year. Earlier on Friday, the densely populated enclave was bombed for a sixth straight day, witnesses said. The civilian casualties and devastation there are among the worst in Syria since the government captured rebel-held parts of Aleppo in 2016. At least 462 people have been killed, including at least 99 children, and many hundreds injured, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said on Friday. Syrian state media reported one person was killed and 58 injured in rebel shelling of sites in Damascus, including a hospital. Clouding any potential ceasefire is the Syrian government's frequently used tactic of pushing rebels to surrender their strongholds after long sieges and military offensives. Insurgents in eastern Ghouta have vowed not to accept such a fate, ruling out an evacuation of fighters, their families and other civilians of the kind that ended rebellions in Aleppo and Homs after heavy bombardment in earlier years. "We refuse categorically any initiative that includes getting the residents out of their homes and moving them elsewhere," Ghouta rebel factions wrote in a letter to the Security Council. Eastern Ghouta has 400,000 people spread over a larger area than other enclaves the government has recaptured. Late on Thursday, government aircraft dropped leaflets urging civilians to depart and hand themselves over to the Syrian army, marking corridors through which they could leave safely. PRESSURE ON RUSSIA Leading up to the Security Council vote, all eyes have been on Russia amid concerns it would block the resolution or seek to water it down. Moscow has a history of standing in the way of Security Council measures that would harm Assad's interests. Germany and France were among the nations to ratchet up the pressure on Russia, with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron asking Russian President Vladimir Putin to support the resolution. Earlier, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Moscow wanted guarantees that rebel fighters will not shoot at residential areas in Damascus. Damascus and Moscow say they only target militants. They have said their main aim is to stop rebel shelling of the capital, and have accused insurgents in Ghouta of holding residents as human shields. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said government planes and artillery hit Douma, Zamalka and other towns across the enclave in the early hours of Friday. There was no immediate comment from the Syrian military. Medical charities say more than a dozen hospitals were hit, making it nearly impossible to treat the wounded. A witness in Douma who asked not to be identified said by telephone that the early morning bombing was the most intense so far. Another resident, in the town of Hamouriyeh, said the assault had continued "like the other days." "Whenever the bombing stops for some moments, the Civil Defence vehicles go out to the targeted places. They work to remove the debris from the road," Bilal Abu Salah said. The Civil Defence there said its rescuers rushed to help the wounded after strikes on Hamouriyeh and Saqba. The emergency service, which operates in rebel territory, says it has pulled hundreds of people out from under rubble in recent days. Hamza Birqdar, the military spokesman for the Jaish al-Islam rebel faction, said it had thwarted nine attacks by pro-government militias trying to storm a front in the southeast of Ghouta. (Reporting by Ellen Francis in Beirut and Michelle Nichols at the United Nations; Additional reporting by Dahlia Nehme in Beirut and Stephanie Nebehay in Geneva; Writing by Ellen Francis and Paul Simao; Editing by James Dalgleish and Will Dunham)Ex-Trump aide was working on behalf of then Ukrainian leader when he allegedly paid Hapsburg Group, which included former top European officials, in 2012 and 2013

Paul Manafort released a statement defending himself against untrule piled up charges. Photograph: Susan Walsh/AP

The investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 US election by the special counsel Robert Mueller has brought to light a secretly financed pro-Russian lobbying effort that employed former senior European politicians.



According to new charges filed in a Virginia court on Friday, the Europeans known as the Hapsburg Group were led by a former European chancellor and allegedly covertly paid by Paul Manafort, Donald Trumps former campaign manager.

At the time of the alleged payments, in 2012 and 2013, Manafort was working on behalf of the then Ukrainian president, Viktor Yanukovych, and his pro-Moscow Party of Regions.

In the new charges against Manafort and his business partner, the Trump campaign aide Rick Gates, Mueller stated that the two men secretly retained a group of former senior European politicians to take positions favourable to Ukraine, including by lobbying in the United States.

The plan was for the former politicians, informally called the Hapsburg Group [an alternative spelling of Habsburg, the royal family of the Austro-Hungarian empire] to appear to be providing their independent assessments of Government of Ukraine actions, when in fact they were paid lobbyists for Ukraine.

In a June 2012 memo, labeled Eyes Only, Manafort outlined what he described as a Super VIP part of the effort, to assemble a small group of high-level European highly influential champions and politically credible friends who can act informally and without any visible relationship with the Government of Ukraine.

The group was to managed by a former European chancellor who is referred to on the charge sheet as Foreign Politician A.

Chancellor is the title of the head of government in Germany and Austria. Justice department filings  which were filed retroactively  indicate that it was the former Austrian chancellor Alfred Gusenbauer who went to meet congressmen in 2013 accompanied by two lobbyists working for a company called Mercury.

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The company was one of two lobbying firms hired to represent the European Centre for a Modern Ukraine, a Brussels thinktank Muellers office says was set up by Manafort and Gates to act as a front for Yanukovych. The news was first reported by Politico.

Gusenbauer told die Presse he had two coffees with Manafort, one in the US and one in Europe, and did not receive money for it or at least not consciously so. He said he had been paid by a US or British company for his engagement on Ukrainian issues but could not remember which.

The Social Democrat who was chancellor in 2007 and 2008 told the Austrian Press Agency he had never worked on behalf of Yanukovych or the Party of Regions, but had advocated a Europe-facing future for Ukraine.

A Mercury lobbyist also accompanied the former Italian prime minister Romano Prodi to meetings on Capitol Hill a few months before Gusenbauer.

Romano Prodi. Photograph: Simona Granati - Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images

A Prodi spokeswoman emphasised that the former prime minister had no recollection of being in Washington or meeting with lawmakers.

Prodi then defended his work in a statement, saying he had worked for many years to improve relations between the European Union and Ukraine and had numerous meetings and given public speeches  some of them paid - in various European capitals.

These are serious and perfectly consistent initiatives for a former president of the European Commission, the statement said.

Prodi said he did not recall the March 2013 meetings in Washington that were noted in the Politico story but said he was sure that they were simply meant as a chance to expose his point of view on the situation in Ukraine.

Prodi denied lobbying or being part of a secret lobby and said he had not received any money for the activities.

A spokeswoman for Prodi would not answer questions about whether Prodi knew Manafort. The former prime minister told the New York Times he had received funds from Gusenbauer for their joint work on Ukraine and the EU.

Prodi was president of the European Commission from 1999 to 2004. In 2013  the year Prodi met US lawmakers, according to the lobbyist filing  he wrote an op-ed for the Christian Science Monitor in which he called Ukraine an important source of economic growth and energy security for Europe as well as a bridge to Russia.



Prodis ties to Russia have been a source of controversy and intrigue in Italy. He staunchly denied an unfounded and unproven allegation made in 2006 by Alexander Litvinenko, the Russian state security official who was murdered in London later that year, that he had links to the Soviet KGB.

Prodi threatened to sue Litvinenko and an inquiry into the matter, led by prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, was shut down.

After the filing of new indictment in Washington, alleging large-scale bank and tax fraud on top of money-laundering and other charges filed in October, Gates struck a plea agreement with Mueller, agreeing to cooperate with the investigation into possible collusion between the Trump campaign, on which he was a senior official, and the Kremlin.



Manafort, who is under house arrest, issued a statement saying: Notwithstanding that Rick Gates pled today, I continue to maintain my innocence. I had hoped and expected my business colleague would have had the strength to continue the battle to prove our innocence. For reasons yet to surface he chose to do otherwise.

He added: This does not alter my commitment to defend myself against the untrue piled up charges contained in the indictments against me.Dubai has once again improved its innovation performance climbing one spot to rank 14th among 30 global cities on the 3rd Dubai Innovation Index, outperforming major business destinations such as Berlin, Madrid, Shanghai and Sao Paulo.



The findings of the latest Index were released by the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry on the sidelines of the Chambers participation in UAE Innovation Month 2018.



Compiled by Dubai Chamber in collaboration with PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), the Dubai Innovation Index measures innovation output on a city and industry level and provides analysis on key challenge areas as well as strengths. Through the Index, the Chamber aims to strengthen awareness and enhance participation of Dubais private sector in the innovation efforts of the emirate.



The top-performing cities on the latest index were Hong Kong, which climbed two spots to rank first globally, followed by New York (2nd), London (3rd), Singapore (4th) and Seoul (5th). Dubai and San Francisco were the only two cities that showed consistent improvement in their rankings over the last few years.



The latest Dubai Innovation Index Report highlighted considerable headway made by Dubais government in adopting long-term innovation strategies, while it has also launched various initiatives to foster innovation across all segments of society and support the emirates transition to a knowledge-based economy.



The innovation score of Dubais private sector increased by 3 per cent this year, after a 6 per cent rise from 2015 to 2016. A significant improvement in Dubais Skills and Talent score was observed, further emphasising the importance of developing human capital to encourage innovation throughout all of the emirates economic sectors.



The Indexs findings were compiled following in-depth surveys conducted by a large sample of Dubais business community, including representatives of leading companies and institutions. The results showed that 92 per cent of survey respondents said they believe that developing the right business strategy that supports and encourages innovative thinking will improve their firms innovation capabilities.



Private companies agreed that the government should focus on setting formal policies and regulations to protect intellectual property, launching initiatives to boost innovation output (most notably through incubators, innovation awards, and accelerators), and financing and funding through government-backed innovation funds.



The report noted that innovation enablers in Dubais private sector have strengthened over the last year as more company adopt measures to enhance their capabilities and participate in innovation-related activities, while it also highlighted opportunities for both the private and public sectors to further develop the innovation infrastructure and enforce Intellectual Property regulations and laws.



Furthermore, the Index revealed that Dubai has witnessed remarkable improvement in its economic and social environment, which reflects the leaderships commitment to promoting innovation as a means to drive progress, growth and development.



Hamad Buamim, president and CEO of Dubai Chamber, said: The results of the latest Index show that Dubai continues to make great strides in its transition to a knowledge-based economy and global innovation hub. Efforts to foster innovation have been introduced across all segments society, with notable achievements made within the citys public and private sectors.



Buamim noted that the third edition of the Index points to an urgent need to develop skills and talent in a fast-changing business world, adding that additional investment in education, research and development is needed to improve in this area and ensure that youth have access to new job opportunities.



He explained that Dubai Chamber launched the first Innovation Index in 2015 with the aim of fostering a culture of innovation within Dubais business community, evaluating the citys innovation performance and identifying key strengths as well as areas where it needs to improve.



Moreover, the results of this years study show that recommendations outlined in the previous Dubai Innovation Index had a significant impact on Dubais current innovation scores. Initiatives were put in place by both the private and public sectors to improve education, import talent from abroad, and embrace the newest technologies across various sectors.



The 3rd Dubai Innovation Index proposed a set of recommendations to create a solid innovation ecosystem. The report called for increased collaboration with educational institutes; focusing on consistent and continuous product development; fostering collaboration with the global ecosystem; and providing more funding opportunities for entrepreneurs and SMEs.



Dr Anil Khurana, partner for Strategy and Innovation at PwC, said: PwC is proud to be part of the third edition of the Dubai Innovation Index, and highly committed to supporting Dubai in driving its innovation aspirations. The Index framework has evolved and further demonstrated its practicality by enabling Dubai to use the insights from the Innovation Index in its ongoing progress towards being a leading innovative city.



Digital innovations are having a disruptive impact and global cities are facing acute pressure to build their innovation capabilities to remain competitive, Dr Khurana added. The study highlights three main areas of development for Dubai that will benefit both private and public organisations for their future needs, namely: developing the education system; investing in research and development (R&D); and building a strong entrepreneurial ecosystem.



The Dubai Innovation Index, released annually by Dubai Chamber, falls in line with the organisations strategy to stimulate innovation in Dubais private sector which is based on three main pillars, namely: enablers of innovation; measuring innovation; and honouring innovators in the Dubai Innovation Index. The Chamber plans to invest Dh100 million ($272,000) in innovative projects and initiatives in the coming years that serve the local business community and enhance the competitiveness of Dubais economy.  TradeArabia News ServiceKyle Mizokami

Security,

Could it happen again?

The Navy's 4 Most Powerful Battleships Ever Unretired 3 Times (Think North Korea and Russia)

On June 25, 1950, the forces of the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea, backed by the Soviet Union, invaded pro-American South Korea. The invasion triggered an intervention by the United States, and USS Missouri was sent to provide support for American forces. Although Missouri did not directly participate in the amphibious landing at Inchon, it did support the landing by bombarding nearby Samcheok, South Korea, in order to convince North Korean forces the invasion would take place there instead. Afterwards, Missouri traveled to the port of Busan, where it became the flagship of Vice Adm. A. D. Struble, Commander, Seventh Fleet.

The Second World War marked the end of the Age of Battleships. Aircraft carriers, with their flexible, long range striking power made battlewagons obsolete in a matter of months. American battleships, once expected to fight a decisive battle in the Pacific that would halt the Japanese Empire, were instead relegated to providing artillery support for island-hopping campaigns. Yet after the war Americas battleships would return, again and again, to do the one thing only battleships could do: bring the biggest guns around to bear on the enemy.

The U.S. Navy ended World War II with twenty-three battleships of all types. By 1947, the Navy had shrunk to peacetime levels that preserved half of the number of wartime aircraft carriers but cut the number of battleships on active duty to just four. Of the four remaining ships, all were members of the latestand lastrun of battleships, the Iowa class: Iowa, New Jersey, Missouri and Wisconsin. By the outbreak of the Korean War in June 1950, only one battleship, Missouri, remained on active duty.

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On June 25, 1950, the forces of the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea, backed by the Soviet Union, invaded pro-American South Korea. The invasion triggered an intervention by the United States, and USS Missouri was sent to provide support for American forces. Although Missouri did not directly participate in the amphibious landing at Inchon, it did support the landing by bombarding nearby Samcheok, South Korea, in order to convince North Korean forces the invasion would take place there instead. Afterwards, Missouri traveled to the port of Busan, where it became the flagship of Vice Adm. A. D. Struble, Commander, Seventh Fleet.

Missouri continued to support the UN offensive into North Korea along the peninsulas east coast, conducting bombardment missions in late October 1950 in the Chongjin, Tanchon and Wonsan areas. Afterwards, it used its vast number of antiaircraft guns, consisting of twenty five-inch guns, eighty forty-millimeter guns and forty-nine twenty-millimeter guns, to protect U.S. carriers from air attack. In December, after the Chinese entry into the war, Missouri provided naval gunfire cover for the U.S. Armys X Corps, which, along with the First Marine Division, was evacuated by sea from Hunguam.

The Chinese intervention, and the realization that the Korean conflict would not be a short war, prompted the Navy to reactivate the remaining three Iowa-class battleships. New Jersey was activated on November 21, 1950; Wisconsin on March 3, 1950; and Iowa itself was reactivated on August 25, 1951. For the remainder of the war, the four battleships served in the naval gunfire support role, providing direct artillery support for ground troops, bombardment of specific enemy targets, and harassment and interdiction fire against enemy supply lines. Although the range of their sixteen-inch guns limited the battleships to targets within twenty miles of the Korean coastline, operating from both coasts that still put a quarter of the country under their guns.

The Korean War ended in 1953, but the U.S. Navy, fearing a return to hostilities, did not immediately send its battleships back to mothballs. Missouri was decommissioned in 1955, followed by New Jersey in 1957, and finally Ohio and Wisconsin in 1958.

In 1967, faced with rising tactical aircraft losses in the Vietnam War, the United States recommissioned USS New Jersey to provide firepower that didnt risk losing pilots. By September 30, 1968, New Jersey was back in action, shelling North Vietnamese Army forces near the North/South Vietnam Demilitarized Zone. The battleship shelled coastal targets located by spotter aircraft from the aircraft carrier USS America, and supported the First and Third Marine Divisions. New Jerseys Vietnam service would prove short, however, as the ship was decommissioned again the following year.

The 1980 election of President Ronald Reagan, who had run on the promise of a six-hundred-ship U.S. Navy, proved an opportunity to reactivate the four Iowa-class battleships yet again. All four Iowa-class battleships were upgraded with new combat systems, deleting many of the smaller five-inch guns, in order to accommodate sixteen Harpoon antiship missiles, thirty-two Tomahawk cruise missiles, and four Phalanx CIWS close-in weapon systems. Each ship retained its nine sixteen-inch gunsthe new, modern Navy had no naval guns over five inches in diameter, and the big guns of the battleships would prove invaluable in the event of an amphibious landing.

The first ship to be reactivatedfor the third timewas New Jersey. Returned to service in December 1982, within nine months it was back in action, supporting U.S. Marines acting as peacekeepers in Beirut, Lebanon. The 1983 bombing of the Marine barracks in Beirut killed 241 peacekeepers. In retaliation New Jersey conducted two naval fire missions against Druze and Syrian forces in the region believed responsible for the attack. In 1987, Missouri and Iowa participated in Operation Earnest Will, the escorting of reflagged Kuwaiti tankers to protect them from Iranian attacks.

The battleships also conducted Cold Waroriented missions. In 1986, New Jersey became the first American battleship to enter the Sea of Okhotsk, considered the Soviet Unions backyard and a bastion for the Soviet Navys ballistic-missile submarines.

By the late 1980s the Soviet Union was visibly on the decline, and starting in 1989 the Navy made plans to retire the battleships yet again. On August 2, 1990, Saddam Hussein invaded and occupied Kuwait, and in response a massive American sea, air and land force was sent to defend Saudi Arabia. While Iowa and New Jersey were in the process of being decommissioned, Missouri and Wisconsin were deployed to the Persian Gulf. During Operation Desert Storm, the campaign to liberate Kuwait, both battleships fired Tomahawk missiles at Iraqi targets and bombarded Iraqi ground forces. As the Missouri did during the Korean War, both battlewagons conducted naval fire missions to convince Iraqi forces an amphibious assault was imminent, tying up thousands of Iraqi Army forces that were forced to defend the coastline.

By 1992, all four battleships were again deactivated, and today they are museum ships in Hawaii, California, Virginia and New Jersey. Although there are frequent calls to return them to service, that seems unlikely: although their big guns are still useful, the ships require nearly two thousand crew each, making them expensive to operate. While theoretically possible to modernize and automate them, no serious study has been performed in how to adopt them to modern warfare. The four legendary ships Iowa, New Jersey, Missouri and Wisconsin will likely remain museums as long as they are afloat.

Kyle Mizokami is a defense and national-security writer based in San Francisco who has appeared in the Diplomat, Foreign Policy, War is Boring and the Daily Beast. In 2009 he cofounded the defense and security blog Japan Security Watch. You can follow him on Twitter: @KyleMizokami.

Image: USS Iowa in 1984. Wikimedia Commons/U.S. Navy

This first appeared in June.

Read full articleBy Felix Onuah ABUJA (Reuters) - One hundred and ten girls are missing after an attack on a school in northeast Nigeria by suspected Boko Haram insurgents, the information ministry said on Sunday, in what may be one of the largest abductions since the Chibok kidnappings of 2014. The Islamist militant group attained international notoriety after abducting more than 270 schoolgirls from the town of Chibok. That case drew global attention to the insurgency and spawned high profile social media campaign Bring Back Our Girls. Boko Haram, whose name translates as "Western education is forbidden" in the Hausa language widely spoken in northern Nigeria, has killed more than 20,000 people and forced two million to flee their homes in a violent insurgency that began in 2009. President Muhammadu Buhari, the 75-year-old former military ruler elected in 2015 after vowing to crush Boko Haram, has described the disappearance of the girls after Monday's attack in the town of Dapchi, Yobe state, as a "national disaster". The insurgents drove into the town of Dapchi on Monday and attacked the girls' school, sending hundreds of students fleeing. Some of the attackers were camouflaged, with witnesses stating that a number of students thought they were soldiers. "The federal government has confirmed that 110 students of the Government Science and Technical College in Dapchi, Yobe State, are so far unaccounted for, after insurgents believed to be from a faction of Boko Haram invaded their school on Monday," the information ministry said in a statement. There had been confusion over the number of those missing, with estimates ranging from about 50 to more than 100. State police, Yobe government and others had given different figures while a parent representing families of girls who disappeared on Friday told Reuters 105 were missing. Yobe state government added to the confusion when it said on Wednesday that dozens of the girls had been rescued, only to issue a statement the next day saying the schoolgirls were mostly still unaccounted for, sparking anger among locals. The Nigerian Air Force on Sunday said the chief of air staff had "directed the immediate deployment of additional air assets and Nigerian Air Force personnel to the northeast with the sole mission of conducting day and night searches for the missing girls". "The renewed efforts at locating the girls are being conducted in close liaison with other surface security forces." Information Minister Lai Mohammed, who was part of a delegation of ministers who met parents and teachers in Dapchi and announced the number of missing girls, also said police and security officials had been deployed to schools in the state. (Additional reporting and writing by Alexis Akwagyiram, Editing by William Maclean)North Korean sub on display in Gangneung. (via Wikimedia Commons)

GANGNEUNG, South KoreaEven as South Korea puts the finishing touches on an Olympics that might possibly bear some real peace dividends with North Korea, there are always reminders that the nation has lived under a threat that Americans cant even imagine.

Five miles from the Olympic arenas, along the rocky, barbed-wire-guarded coast of Gangneung, there stands a submarine, perched on a mount in a small park. The sub is a Cold War-era relic, painted a garish green and deep red, and its unremarkable, as subs goexcept, of course, for the mangled iron that is its stern.

This is a North Korean spy submarine, and its the centerpiece of one of the more remarkable incidents of international espionage in recent world history.

September 15, 1996. The submarinea Sang-O class sub with 26 crewmen aboardslips into South Korean waters and sends three commandos into South Korean territory with the intent of spying on local naval installations. Two days later, while trying to bring the commandos back aboard, the submarine ran aground, crushing its rudder and rear propeller.

All attempts to free the sub from the rocks failed, and the North Koreans thus switched into escape mode. They destroyed all sensitive documents and equipment on the sub, and then abandoned it to flee into rural South Korea. Their goal: reach the DMZ, about 50 miles north along the coast.

While leaving the sub, though, the North Koreans were spotted. A local resident alerted the authorities, and that set off a 49-day manhunt as South Korea sought to run the North Koreans to ground however possible.

Of the 26 crewmen aboard the sub, 13 were killed in action. Eleven more were killed by their own men, apparently in retaliation for grounding the sub. One was captured, and later defected to South Korea, and only one apparently made it back to North Korea. The Red guerrillas were mopped out completely, reads an ominous-undertone sign beside the sub.

The incident, in which 11 South Korean soldiers and six civilians were also killed, infuriated the South Korean government and threatened to scuttle peace talks that had been underway for several years. North Korea initially attempted to claim that the sub had unintentionally wandered into enemy waters, a claim that didnt even stand up to a candles worth of scrutiny. North Korea later issued a statement that expressed deep regret for the submarine incident  that caused the tragic loss of human life, and promised to prevent similar incidents in the future.

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I am pleased that Pyongyang has pledged to prevent the recurrence of such an incident and has expressed its willingness to work with others for durable peace and stability on the peninsula, then-President Clinton said in a statement.

Today, the sub stands mounted at Gangneung Unification Park, a trophy that the South Koreans proudly display. Its no accident that the sub faces a gargantuan decommissioned South Korean battleship, an effective visual metaphor for how South Korea sees itself against its northern neighbor. Theres always the hope for peacehence the Reunification in the name of the parkbut theres always the awareness that wars never far away, either.

The North Korean sub, with damage visible underneath. (Jay Busbee/Yahoo Sports)

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Jay Busbee is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Contact him at jay.busbee@yahoo.com or find him on Twitter or on Facebook.The NRA appeared to suggest there was no clash between the organization and President Donald Trump over gun control following discussions in a reduction on the age limit to buy guns.

NRA spokesperson Dada Loesch said the organization had made its position on raising the age limit clear, in that it would not support such a move, but suggested they remained on the same side as Trump.

Well the NRA has made their position incredibly clear, Loesch said in an interview with ABCs This Week on Sunday.

Trending: Argentina Aims Machine Gun and Cannon Fire at 'Illegal' Chinese Fishing Boat in Eight-Hour Chase

Well I do want to caution people, because I know that people are trying to find daylight between President Trump and five million law-abiding gun owners and law-abiding gun owners all across the United States, she continued.

Trump

MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images

These are just things that hes discussing right now. I think that its great that as president, he had all of these individuals, all of these constituents come into the White House, he had this listening session. Hes really looking for solutions. He wanted to hear what they had to say, and thats what hes doing, she added.

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Despite the NRAs attempt to maintain a united front with the president, Trump has suggested raising the minimum age to purchase an assault rifle to 21, in defiance of the views of the gun organization.

And Trumps comments on an age limit ban may have given hope to those hoping to push for more restrictive gun laws. Indeed, GOP representative from Florida said on Sunday he believed Trump was a man of action who could push through a ban on assault weapons.

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I don't have the numbers, but I think we can get the president on board and members of Congress onboard to say, 'Let's put that same kind of pause on onboard right now where we look at who's having access, what do they have access to,'" Representative Brian Mast said in an interview with CBS Face the Nation on Sunday.

This article was first written by Newsweek

More from NewsweekA cap and shirt are displayed at the booth for the National Rifle Association (NRA) at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) at National Harbor, Maryland - REUTERS

The NRA has lashed out at companies which have severed ties with the gun lobby, branding it as "political and civic cowardice".

Delta and United airlines joined a wave of companies ending their association with the National Rifle Association as the backlash against the powerful gun lobby group spreads in the wake of the Florida school massacre.

The exodus of corporate names, ranging from a major insurer to car rental brands and a household moving company, began after the NRA launched a counter-offensive against a student-led campaign for tighter US gun laws.

In a statement on Saturday, the NRA accused companies of a shameful display of political and civic cowardice.

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The NRA's five million members have, until now, enjoyed a raft of favourable deals from the NRA's corporate partners.

In tweets on Saturday, Delta and United said they were no longer offering NRA members discounted rates and they would ask the NRA to remove their information from its website.

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The issue of gun control, and the NRA's role in opposing it, became the focus of renewed national debate after a former student killed 17 people on Feb. 14 at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in the Fort Lauderdale suburb of Parkland, using an AR-15 assault rifle he had purchased legally.

Among the first to end their co-branding memberships were Hertz and Enterprise holdings - the parent company of major car rental firms Enterprise, Alamo and National.

First National Bank of Omaha, which offers the "Official Credit Card of the NRA" - with benefits including five per cent cash back on petrol and sporting goods - also announced it was ending the arrangement.

Read more | Florida school shooting

Symantec, which offered anti-virus software, has stopped offering NRA members a discount which slashed the price of its top package from $110 to $48.

Chubb Insurance has confirmed it will no longer underwrite "NRA Carry Guard" policies, although the company took the decision three months ago.

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The sweeping corporate desertion of the NRA follows a social media campaign under the #BoycottNRA hashtag, which has named and shamed companies with ties to the gun lobby group.

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Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, which was founded after the 2012 shootings in Sandy Hook, has sent letters to streaming television companies demanding they axe NRA TV from their line-ups.

Such is the groundswell of anger that a number of companies which severed their links with the NRA some time ago have publicly disowned the organisation on social media.

In the past the NRA has not been averse to orchestrating a boycott campaign of its own, notably in 2000, when it targeted Smith & Wesson, which had cut a deal with the Clinton administration.

The gun manufacturers were accused of "caving in" after agreeing a package of measures including restrictions on sales, the introduction of locking devices and limits on clip sizes.

Gun owners deserted Smith & Wesson, which suffered a 40 per cent slump in gun sales.Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf speaks during the 2016 Cannabis Business Summit & Expo on June 22, 2016 in Oakland. (Photo: Justin Sullivan via Getty Images)

The mayor of Oakland on Saturday night warned the citys residents of potential raids being conducted by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

In a statement released at the end of the day, Mayor Libby Schaaf said she learned from multiple credible sources that, within the next 24 hours, ICE would be gearing up for operations in the Bay Area of Northern California, including Oakland.

She said her warning was not intended to panic residents, but protect them. Schaaf didnt provide exact locations because she said she didnt know which areas ICE would be targeting.

My priority is for the well-being and safety of all residents  particularly our most vulnerable, Schaaf said in a statement tweeted just after sunset on Saturday.

And I know that Oakland is safer when we share information, encourage community awareness, and care for our neighbors.

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Last summer, Oakland city council voted to end an agreement the city had with ICE that allowed police to work with ICE. Oakland then strengthened its status as a sanctuary city in January by barring any city officials from cooperating with ICE in any capacity.

The citys decision to double down on protecting undocumented residents came in January after immigration agents raided about 100 7-11 stores across the country before sunrise to arrest undocumented workers. Dozens of the targeted stores were located in Northern California.

Schaaf reminded citizens of these laws in her Saturday statement, while also noting a state law that prohibits business owners from helping ICE agents and bars federal agents from employee-only areas.

ICE officials told ABC 7 News that they werent aware of which specific immigrations operations the mayor was referencing.

There are ICE operations every day and it is unclear what the mayor is referring to, the agency said.

In her statement, Schaaf said that Oakland is a city of law-abiding immigrants and families who deserve to live free from the constant threat of arrest and deportation.

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I believe it is my duty and moral obligation as a mayor to give those families fair warning when that threat appears imminent, she said.

Also on HuffPost

Ashton Kutcher

Ashton Kutcher spoke out onstage as host of the 23rd annual Screen Actors Guild Awards on Jan. 29, 2017. His remarks came just two days after President Donald Trump signed an executive order barring citizens of seven Muslim-majority nations from entering the United States for three months.



"Everyone in airports that belong in my America! You are part of the fabric of who we are, and we we love you and we welcome you."

Julia Louis-Dreyfus

Julia Louis-Dreyfus during the 23rd annual Screen Actors Guild Awards spoke out about how she was "horrified" by the immigrant ban, being the child of an immigrant herself.



"I am American patriot. I love this country and because I love this country, I am horrified by its blemishes. And this immigrant ban is a blemish and it is un-American."

Alyssa Milano

Alyssa Milano took to Twitter to support her friends.



"My best friend Alaa Mohammad Khaled is Muslim His parents were Palestinian refugees His brother is DJ Khaled RefugeesWelcome"

Taylor Schilling

Taylor Schilling with the cast of "Orange is the New Black" during the 23rd Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards.



"We stand up here representing a diverse group of people, representing generations of families who have sought a better life here, We know that it's going to be up to us and all of you to keep telling stories. What united us is stronger than the forces that seek to divide us."

Kerry Washington

Kerry Washington wears a safety pin during the 23rd annual Screen Actors Guild Awards.



"Ill be wearing one of these tonight. On my arm. To show solidarity. We will not stop fighting for our safety & the safety of our fellow citizens and human beings. Actors are activists, no matter what, because we embody the worth and humanity of all people."

George Takei

George Takei posted on Twitter, sharing an article that made people think about the immigration ban. He wrote, "I hope we're all paying attention."

Dev Patel

Dev Patel stopped on the red carpet to speak out during the 23rd annual Screen Actors Guild Awards.



"I've just flown in from India and to fly into what was a nightmare, to realize that this is actually happening right now in the world, in a country where I live, it's heartbreaking. The first thought that came in my head was just thousands of children and mothers and young fathers that have turned up to these shores with hope, and they're being swatted away. It's just so divisive and negative and wrong. It's scary, it's really scary."

Seth Rogen

Seth Rogen took to Twitter sharing where a protest was being held.

Sophia Bush

Sophia Bush took to Twitter in support of human rights.



She later tweeted, Bravo to the courts. At least some folks in charge adhere to the Constitution. #NoHate #NoFear #RefugeesAreWelcomeHere.

Sarah Paulson

Sarah Paulson addressed the ban during the 23rd annual Screen Actors Guild Awards.



I would like to make plea for everyone, if they can, any money they have to spare please donate to the ACLU to protect the rights and liberties of people across this country.

David Harbour

David Harbour addresses the ban while accepting an award for "Stranger Things" during the SAG Awards.



"Now, as we act in the continuing narrative of 'Stranger Things,' we 1983 Midwesterners will repel bullies, we will shelter freaks and outcasts, those who have no home. We will get past the lies, we will hunt monsters. And when we are at a loss amidst the hypocrisy and the casual violence of certain individuals and institutions. We will, as per Chief Jim Hopper, punch some people in the face when they seek to destroy the weak, the disenfranchised and the marginalized!"

Mark Ruffalo

Mark Ruffalo shared on social media what he really thought about the immigration ban.

Mahershala Ali

Mahershala Ali during the 23rd annual Screen Actors Guild Awards.



"When we get caught up in the minutiae and the details that make us all different, I think there's two ways of seeing that. There's the opportunity to see the texture of that person, the characteristics that make them unique, and then there's an opportunity to go to war about it and say that this person is different from me, I don't like you, let's battle."

Miley Cyrus

Miley Cyrus shared a multicolored image about standing alongside immigrants in the United States.

Michael Moore

Michael Moore took to Twitter in outrage.



"To our Muslim neighbors in the world: I & tens of millions of others are so very sorry. The majority of Americans did not vote 4 this man."

Emma Stone

Emma Stone also addressed the ban during the SAG Awards.



We have to speak up. Staying silent only helps the oppressor, not the victim. Right now I hope that people seeing things that are being done that are unconstitutional and inhumane would say something."

Lily Allen

Singer Lily Allen took to social media to express her opinion about the immigration ban, calling it "a heinous act."

Simon Helberg and Jocelyn Towne

Simon Helberg and Jocelyn Towne brought a sign to the 23rd annual Screen Actors Guild Awards.

Mira Sorvino

In February 2017, an appeals court decided against Donald Trump's proposed travel ban.



Actress Mira Sorvino tweeted after court ruling, saying, Thank God!!And TY to all the judges, and lawyers and citizens who protested! This is our America! #nomuslimban #lovenothatemakesamericagreat.

Albert Brooks

After the appeals court ruling, Albert Brooks tweeted: Looks like the appeals court is not getting that Ivanka Trump gift basket.

Denzel Washington

Denzel Washington is seen backstage at the SAG Awards.



I think we as Americans better learn to unite, We need to put our elected officials feet to the fire and demand that they work together or they wont get back into office."

Rob Reiner

Rob Reiner took to Twitter after the Immigration Ban became public.

Kumail Nanjiani

"Silicon Valley's" Kumail Nanjiani tweeted: "As someone who was born in Pakistan I can tell you coming into America is VERY difficult. A #Muslimban accomplishes nothing but hate."

Emmy Rossum

Emmy Rossum shared on Twitter, "Refugees are FLEEING TERROR. They are not terrorists. #muslimban."

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This article originally appeared on HuffPost.By Ali Sawafta and Nidal al-Mughrabi RAMALLAH, West Bank/GAZA (Reuters) - Palestinians reacted on Friday with anger to reports that the United States will move its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem within months, saying this could destroy the prospect of a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict. Clashes erupted in Gaza and the occupied West Bank earlier on Friday in a weekly protest against U.S. President Donald Trump's stance on Jerusalem, which has also angered Arab political and religious leaders across the region and dismayed European allies. Palestinians claim East Jerusalem -- seized by Israel in 1967 and later annexed -- as the capital of a future state. Saeb Erekat, the Palestinian's chief negotiator in peace talks that have been frozen since 2014, said the U.S. move showed a "determination to violate international law, destroy the two-state solution and provoke the feelings of the Palestinian people as well as of all Arabs, Muslims and Christians around the globe". Erekat, who is also secretary-general of the Palestine Liberation Organisation, said: "Trump and his team have disqualified the U.S. from being part of the solution between Israelis and Palestinians; rather, the world now sees that they are part of the problem." Trump announced in December that the United States would recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital, setting in motion the embassy move and contravening decades of policy by the international community. A U.S. official told Reuters on Friday that the United States was expected to open its embassy to Israel in Jerusalem in May. This would be shortly after Israel's 70th anniversary. "This is an unacceptable step. Any unilateral move will not give legitimacy to anyone and will be an obstacle to any effort to create peace in the region," said Nabil Abu Rdainah, a spokesman for the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas. Abbas has rejected U.S.-led Middle East peace efforts as "impossible" since Washington's decision. Abu Rdainah said the only way to achieve peace, security and stability was Abbas's proposal -- outlined in an address to the United Nations Security Council in New York on Tuesday -- that an international conference should be held to kick-start the peace process, including a "multilateral mechanism" to oversee it. Abbas is still in the United States after undergoing medical checks in Baltimore on Thursday but will leave on Saturday, Abu Rdaineh said. In Gaza, a Hamas official, Sami Abu Zuhri, said: "Moving the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem is a declaration of war against the Arab and Muslim nation, and the U.S administration must reconsider its move." Twenty five Palestinians were wounded by Israeli army gunfire during clashes along the fence with Israel in Gaza on Friday, a Gaza health ministry spokesman. Protesters threw stones at the Israeli troops. Palestinian health officials said at least 20 Palestinians, most of them in Gaza, have been killed in protests against Trump's decision since the Dec. 6 announcement. (Reporting by Ali Sawafta and Nidal al-Mughrabi, Writing by Stephen Farrell, Editing by Angus MacSwan)By Ola Lanre DAPCHI, Nigeria (Reuters) - Parents of schoolgirls newly abducted in northeastern Nigeria plan to join the Bring Back Our Girls movement that gained global prominence in a bid to win freedom for their girls, a community leader said on Friday. Islamist militant group Boko Haram is suspected to have kidnapped scores of girls on Monday from a school in Dapchi village, Yobe state. Most are thought to be teenagers. It would be the largest mass abduction since Boko Haram took more than 270 schoolgirls from the northeastern town of Chibok in 2014, sparking an online campaign that went viral and spurring several governments into action to try and find them. Many of those girls remain in captivity, though some have escaped or been ransomed. A roll-call at the school in Dapchi on Tuesday showed 91 students were absent, though estimates of the number of missing range from around 50 to more than 100. Parents said they have set up a committee in the village, which is around 100 kilometres (62 miles) from state capital Damaturu. "We have compiled 105 names of missing girls which we intend to give to the Bring Back Our Girls people in (the capital) Abuja," said committee chair Bashir Alhaji Manzu, whose teenage daughter, Fatima Bashir, is missing. The group would present its case to President Muhammadu Buhari, he said, adding that the group was angry with the government's response to the kidnapping. Boko Haram wants to create a state adhering to a strict interpretation of Islamic law. Its name roughly translates as "Western education is forbidden" in the Hausa language widely spoken in northeast Nigeria. The group has killed more than 20,000 people and put over 2 million to flight since its insurgency began in 2009. On Friday, Buhari said he was sending more troops and reconnaissance aircraft to look for them. "This is a national disaster," he said. "We are sorry that this could have happened and share your pain." Earlier this week Buhari sent security forces and a ministerial team to the area. "Some ministers came but they didn't even speak with any parent, principal or teachers of the school," he said. In a further sign of community anger, villagers confronted a convoy carrying Yobe state governor on Thursday when he said 76 girls reported to have been rescued were in fact still missing. Amina Usman, a 15-year-old student, was among the pupils who escaped the attack on Government Girls Technical College. She said she was washing when she heard gun fire and saw what appeared to be soldiers in vehicles. She fled when she realised that they were attackers and ran into the bush, later meeting a teacher and other escapees. "We met other girls and the teacher counted all of us. We were 65 girls in all .... I thought I will never see my parents or family again," she said, adding that she was too scared to return to the school. Kachalla Bukar, whose 14-year-old daughter was among those missing, said he had been told the insurgents fooled some students into thinking they had come to offer protection. "When we went to school on Tuesday she was not among girls that have been found. Her colleagues ... gave us our daughter's school box with her personal belonging .... That was when we realised our daughter is actually missing," he said. (Additional reporting by Felix Onuah in Abuja and Stephanie Ulmer-Nebehay in Geneva; Writing by Alexis Akwagyiram and Chijioke Ohuocha; Editing by Matthew Mpoke Bigg)Paul Manafort leaves US District Court in Washington, DC February 14, 2018: REUTERS/Leah Millis

Before serving as Donald Trumps campaign chair Paul Manafort enlisted former European politicians to clandestinely lobby on behalf of Ukraine, according to a new indictment from Special Counsel Robert Mueller.

In a series of indictments, Mr Mueller alleged that Mr Manafort and his associate Rick Gates deliberately concealed from the US government proceeds from their lobbying work on behalf of Ukrainian political entities and failed to report their lobbying activity.

A superseding indictment filed this week alleges that Mr Manafort and Mr Gates secretly retained a coterie of former senior European politicians, informally dubbed the Hapsburg group, to advance Ukraines agenda. Mr Manafort allegedly wired them more than 2 million euros from offshore bank accounts, according to the indictment.

The group was intended to appear to be providing independent assessments of Government of Ukraine actions, when in fact they were paid lobbyists for Ukraine, the indictment says.

While Mr Gates pleaded guilty to conspiracy and lying to government investigators, Mr Manafort has denied any wrongdoing.

Notwithstanding that Rick Gates pled today, I continue to maintain my innocence, Mr Manafort said in a statement. I had hoped and expected my business colleague would have had the strength to continue the battle to prove our innocence. For reasons yet to surface he chose to do otherwise. This does not alter my commitment to defend myself against the untrue piled up charges contained in the indictments against me.

The indictments of Mr Manafort and Mr Gates flowed from Mr Muellers investigation of Russian efforts to influence the 2016 presidential election. Mr Manafort at one point served as chairman of Mr Trumps presidential campaign.

Mr Muellers team has also secured guilty pleas from former campaign aide George Papadopoulos and former campaign adviser Michael Flynn, who also briefly served as Mr Trumps National Security Adviser. Both men admitted to lying about contacts with Russian emissaries.

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Last week Mr Mueller indicted 13 Russian nationals, alleging an elaborate years-long campaign to disrupt American politics and sway the 2016 presidential contest.

Throughout Mr Muellers investigation Mr Trump has repudiated the notion of collusion between his campaign and the Russian government, dismissing Mr Muellers probe as a witch hunt distorted by a political agenda.Etisalat has teamed up with Ericsson and Intel to launch a 5G innovation competition targeting engineering students from renowned universities in UAE.



The competition will run for eight weeks with participation from student teams from different levels of study invited to submit projects on the best 5G use cases focusing on technologies like artificial intelligence in the UAE.



Saeed Alzarouni, senior vice president, Mobile Network, Etisalat, said: We are pleased to collaborate with Ericsson and Intel in this 5G University competition, which promotes industry and academic community efforts to foster and strengthen future technological advancements. It could not have come at a better time, in the wake of the celebration of UAE Innovation Month in February and Etisalats successful pre-commercial launch of 5G ultra mobile broadband at certain locations in Dubai and Abu Dhabi last year.



We are thrilled to support and significantly contribute to the UAEs national innovation strategy. In addition to the 5G and smart technologies, Etisalat is committed to continuing our digital transformation journey by further developing new capabilities including artificial intelligence, robotics, cloud computing, network virtualisation, automation and Internet of Things.



Petter Jartby, head of Global Customer Unit Etisalat at Ericsson, said: At Ericsson, we are proud to be forging the way for 5G as we think that innovation and technological advancement is vital for positive progression. We believe that by running this competition we will see not only great ideas but be able to educate young people on how 5G will be used to make life better for everyone. We are excited to see what use cases the students come up with and hope that this will inspire them to become involved in the innovative world of 5G in the future.



In December last year, Etisalat announced the launch of the regions first 5G broadband experience. A pre-commercial 5G network was deployed in certain locations within UAE including Abu Dhabi and Dubai.



The UAEs Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) had given operators the go-ahead to provide 5G services, enabling them to begin building network infrastructure. The shift towards 5G will enable the UAE to achieve its global competitiveness targets, particularly its stated goal of achieving the world's first position in smart government services and one of the top 10 in IT infrastructure readiness.  TradeArabia News ServicePerpetual Motion - Embracing Your Inner Motorcycle Self

Why we stop playing pirate and embrace our inner MC-self

For many, the idea of something is often as satisfying as the thing itself. As an example, I know all of the alpha destinations associated with Harley-Davidson's line of big motor small frame Dyna bikes. Why? Because I want one, or so I think. I go through the 'Grams, bookmarking the bikes which satisfy my burgeoning desire to be that dude, i.e. the one with the ten-inch T bars, Club Style fairing and paint matched Simpson helmet. Yet the trigger remains un-pulled and my garage remains devoid of Davidson.

Why? Because like so many people, I yearn for a thing and am happy knowing all about it without owning it. Not yet at least. Conversely, I could own the thing and not use the thing, like countless Americans with big, glossy baggers in their garage. A few months ago, I helped my recently retired uncle sell his Street Glide. He owned it, rode it rarely, but was satisfied knowing it was in the garage and available for beer-aided petting sessions when his bros came round to BBQ.

Another example of this phenomenon comes in the form of costuming. Cccasionally, and only for short sprints in the summer months my aforementioned unclethe Vice President of a prominent companywould pull on his black leather engineer boots, cover his cabeza in a bandanna, and fire up his Harley. Again, satisfied feeling a part of somethingor at least seeming to be. Like me and my Dyna bookmarks on Instagram, or the fact that what I wear when riding depends on the kind of bike I'm on. It's a conscious decision to look a certain wayI dress one way if I'm going to ride an ADV bike, and another way if I'm going to ride an Italian sport bike.

Embrace Your Inner MC Self (6)

So, I wonder, why do we associate happiness with conformity? Satisfaction with association or ownership? I'm not alone in the idea that 'owning' or 'appearing' can often bring a greater level of gratification than 'doing' or 'being' the thing itself. Because let's be honest, sometimes you want to play pirate, or space trooper or handsome Italian go-fast guy, or a bro-y, take-no-shit flatbiller on an FXR.

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In an effort to better understand, I'd like to take ten steps back and try to sort out the psychology behind wishing and was-ing. Should we blame our have-everything-all-the-time culture wherein we can see, acquire, and emulate whatever is fixed on our cultural radar at any given time? Did the forefathers of cultural cool measure themselves against a pre-existing playbook? I'd like to think no, and that cultural phenomena occur naturally and randomly based on circumstances surrounding a subculture or an industry.

Hot Rods, as an example, were how guys getting home from WWII got to go fast. Steve McQueen is another example. His everlasting cool can be associated with his desire to do dope shitrace motorcycles in Baja, drive race cars, drive Jaguars off-road, etc. If you were to look subjectively at McQueen's lifestyle, you'd notice he was always using the latest and greatest. A scene from On Any Sunday, where McQueen is getting ready to race Glen Helenor maybe the Catalina GP? wearing an open-faced helmet and a visor with these weird little wings on it. Those little wings were there as an attempt to make the the lid, and McQueen, a bit more aerodynamic. They weren't there for looks, and McQueen certainly didn't care about looking cool on the track. Instead they were there to increase his ability to go fast, and, perhaps, to win. Now though, the latest iteration of motorcycle enthusiasts clamor for a classic McQueen aesthetic, one which was originally intended to be a performance enhancer. I can't help but think that if Steve lived contemporaneously he'd be wearing a carbon fiber helmet, the latest leathers, and looking for ways to shave seconds off a lap, not make the pages of Teen Heart Crush, or whatever.

Embrace Your Inner MC Self (4)

To assume that what you want and what you need are synonymous is the same silliness that leads people to buy into big mortgages and then freak out a few years later, sell everything, and live in a van instead. Instead of diving head first into a lifestyle choice based on Instagram and YouTube videos you've been bingeing on, maybe just play pretend for a while and see how things shake out? Or is it just as bad as buying into the bullshit, putting on the proverbial costume, and playing pirate from Friday til you go back to your office at 08:00?

Dont worry, Im as confused as you are. What I do know, however, is authenticity comes naturally. You cant force cool. Sometimes, though, what you want and who you really are dont vibe.Thats alright, because the look or style or culture youve been obsessing over probably isnt who or what youll be happy with. Maybe youre just a motorcyclist, and this is also alright. Because being a motorcyclist is much cooler than being like most people, right?

Photos: Kyra SacladanKuwait City (AFP) - A delegation of Philippine labour officials were in Kuwait City Sunday to assess the impact of a new ban on Filipinos working in the emirate, a source of much-needed remittances.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte earlier this month announced a departure ban for Filipinos planning to work in Kuwait, after the murder there of 29-year-old Joanna Demafelis.

Her body was found in a freezer and a Lebanese-Syrian couple suspected of her murder have been arrested in the Syrian capital, Damascus, after an Interpol manhunt.

Philippine Deputy Minister of Labour and Employment Ciriaco Lagunzad said the delegation was looking at the side effects of the ban, which will likely impact many families dependent on remittances from relatives who work in Kuwait.

Speaking on the sidelines of a meeting with the Filipino community in Kuwait, he told AFP the ban would not be lifted until his government secured safety guarantees.

"I would like to find out from the associations, the organisations of Filipinos whether the other Filipinos working here are in good condition and safe," he said.

"It cannot be business as usual. Unless the conditions change -- and that will be subject to negotiations -- the ban stays."

Among the key demands are that Filipino workers be allowed to keep their cellphones and passports, which currently can be confiscated by employers.

Anna del Mundo, who met the delegation at the Philippines' embassy on Saturday, said her recruitment agency had already been hurt by the ban.

She said the agency had hired around 100 nurses for a Kuwait hospital but they were now stuck home due to the ban.

Anna Bunda, who also works in the recruiting sector, said she planned to lobby the Philippines' Overseas Workers Welfare Administration to lift the ban for skilled workers -- who she said enjoy greater protection under a different entry visa.

"There are a lot of opportunities for the Filipinos" in Kuwait, she said. "I hope that the government will hear us."

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But the attendees also included domestic workers, tied to their employers by the "kafala" or sponsorship system prevalent in the Middle East.

"I had to go to the embassy because I was in a car accident and my sponsor demanded that I pay for the treatment," said a former maid, who said she fled her employer.

A second labour delegation tasked with negotiating a bilateral treaty for domestic workers is slated to arrive in Kuwait City next week, Philippines Ambassador Renato Pedro Ovila told AFP.

Authorities in Manila say some 252,000 Filipinos work in Kuwait, many as maids. They are among over two million employed in the region, whose remittances are a lifeline to the Philippine economy.As Florida representative calls for banning AR-15 rifles, others in his party look toward more moderate concessions

Students and residents sign a memorial in honor of the Stoneman Douglas high school shooting victims. Photograph: Larry Marano/Rex/Shutterstock

In the aftermath of the Parkland shooting, as American high school students stage walkouts to protest lawmakers lack of action on gun control, some Republicans are beginning to offer concessions. But most are still resisting the major demand from young advocates: a renewed ban on assault weapons.

On Friday, Donald Trump repeated his preferred responses to Parkland: new emphasis on background checks and arming teachers to create offensive capability in schools.

But Brian Mast, a Republican representing a closely contested swing district in Florida, broke with his party, announcing in a newspaper column that he believed AR-15 rifles and other military style weapons should be banned.

Mast, an army veteran who lost both legs in Afghanistan and was awarded the Purple Heart, cited his military experience.

My rifle in the army was very similar to the AR-15-style semiautomatic weapon used to kill at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Mast wrote. I cannot support the primary weapon I used to defend our people being used to kill children I swore to defend.

Seventeen people were killed in Parkland.

Mast, who said he regularly carried a concealed handgun, wrote in the New York Times that the availability of tactical rifles made it less likely he would be able to defend himself or others with his handgun.

His congressional district is one Democrats hope to flip in the November midterms. Outside money has been pouring into the race from donors to both parties, a sign of the districts importance to the larger fight for the House of Representatives, the Treasure Coast Palm reported.

Mast wrote that he did not support confiscating weapons Americans had already purchased but would support a ban on future purchases of certain weapons. More discussion was needed to determine how to define assault weapon, he wrote, and what firearms besides guns modeled on the AR-15 should be banned.

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The 1994 federal assault weapon ban, which expired in 2004, defined a list of banned guns according to certain military-style features, a choice gun rights advocates have long criticized as too focused on cosmetics.

The way assault weapon was defined under the law allowed manufacturers to make small tweaks to existing weapons and continue to sell them.

A justice department-funded evaluation of the ban concluded there was no clear evidence it had contributed to an overall reduction in violence, and suggested that the impact of a renewed ban would be small at best and perhaps too small for reliable measurement.

Rifles of any kind are used in only about 3.6% of all gun murders, according to the best available data from the FBI. Handguns are used in the majority of gun murders in the US.

But as military-style guns have become the weapon of choice for mass shootings, public outrage has created a new push to renew the ban.

Many Republicans appear to be hoping that more moderate compromises may be enough. For a party that has blocked any substantive gun control legislation since the 2012 Sandy Hook elementary school shooting, in which 20 young children and six adults were killed, the support of any gun control measures at all marks a significant shift.

The Florida governor, Rick Scott, a gun rights advocate, said on Friday he would endorse raising the legal age to buy a rifle to 21. The Florida gunman, who was 19, was able to legally buy a military style rifle before he could buy a beer.

Earlier in the week, a National Rifle Association spokeswoman told the Hill the group did not support raising the legal age to buy a rifle.

Scott also endorsed a law creating gun violence restraining orders, which would give families and law enforcement officials a way to petition a court to temporarily block an unstable person from buying or owning guns.

That is a policy with strong support from both researchers and gun violence prevention groups. Scott also said Florida needed to tighten domestic violence gun laws and ban bump stocks.



Scotts limited concessions mirrored the compromises the Florida senator Marco Rubio offered in a televised town hall with Parkland shooting survivors on Wednesday night.

Rubio also said he would consider supporting a ban on high-capacity ammunition magazines, which experts call the most functionally important part of the 1994 ban.

Parents and student survivors of the massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas high school made it clear they wanted a full assault weapon ban, a demand that received repeated cheers and standing ovations on Wednesday.Former Trump Aide Rick Gates attends a hearing on his fraud, conspiracy and money-laundering on 7 February 2018 in Washington, DC: Aaron P. Bernstein/Getty Images

President Donald Trumps former deputy campaign manager, Rick Gates, has pleaded guilty to charges brought on my Special Counsel Robert Mueller in the Russian investigation.

Mr Gates' plea addressed two counts: conspiracy against the US and making false statements to federal authorities. Mr Gates filed his plea at the federal courthouse in Washington, DC the afternoon of 23 February and no date has been scheduled for his sentencing hearing as yet.

Separately last October, Mr Gates and former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort were charged in relation to work the pair longtime business associates in Ukraine. The 12 counts included conspiracy against the US, conspiracy to launder money, being an unregistered agent of a foreign principal, seven counts of failure to report foreign bank accounts and transactions, and submitting false Foreign Agent Registration Act forms as well.

Both men had pleaded not guilty to those charges at that time but it is known that the pair earned millions from working with Viktor Yanukovych, the former Ukrainian president and a longtime ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The charges recently filed in Virginia relate to the money and the indictment alleges that Mr Gates "hid the existence and ownership of the foreign companies and bank accounts, falsely and repeatedly reporting to their tax preparers and to the US that they had no foreign bank accounts."

He also is expected to plead guilty about lying regarding a meeting Mr Manafort reportedly had with a member of Congress and a lobbyist in 2013 to discuss Ukraine.

The charges don't name the lobbyist or the Congress member but filings with the US Justice Department show Mr Manafort and lobbyist Vin Weber of Mercury Public Affairs met with Republican Representative Dana Rohrabacher on that date as part of an effort on behalf of Ukrainian interests.

Mr Manafort responded in a statement: "I continue to maintain my innocence. I had hoped and expected my business colleague would have had the strength to continue the battle to prove our innocence. For reasons yet to surface he chose to do otherwise. This does not alter my commitment to defend myself against the untrue piled up charges contained in the indictments against me.

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He had written in a letter to family and friends, first obtained by ABC News, that despite my initial desire to vigorously defend myself, I have had a change of heart".

The reality of how long this legal process will likely take, the cost, and the circus-like atmosphere of an anticipated trial are too much. I will better serve my family moving forward by exiting this process," he wrote.

He added that the consequence is the public humiliation, which at this moment seems like a small price to pay for what our children would have to endure otherwise."

Mr Gates has a young family and the deal he has struck with Mr Mueller earlier this week will likely spare him some jail time.

ABC News reported that a source said it was "gut-wrenching" decision for the former aide who also faced a significant financial burden.

Mr Gates testimony could be a blow to Mr Manafort, who stopped cooperating with the subsequent Congressional investigations into alleged collusion between Russian officials and the campaign team once Mr Mueller's indictment was filed.

However, it is unclear what Mr Gates could offer Mr Mueller's team given that none of the charges filed against him either in October or the more recent charges in Virginia have to do with work he did on the 2016 campaign.

While Mr Manafort was fired in August 2016 on suspicion of his foreign ties, Mr Gates stayed on the team and even served as a consultant to the transition team after Mr Trump's election victory.

It was during this time that former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn had reportedly spoken with former Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak. He pleaded guilty late last year to lying to the FBI about the December 2016 conversation.

The retired three-star Army Lieutenant General had also misled Vice President Mike Pence, then-White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus, and then-Press Secretary Sean Spicer about conversations he had with Mr Kislyak, who had then repeated the false claims to the public.

George Papadopoulos, a foreign policy aide during the campaign, also pleaded guilty for lying to Mr Mueller's team about a meeting with a Russian national.

Mr Gates' plea also comes on the heels of the stunning indictment last week that laid out a broad operation of election meddling by Russia, which began in 2014, and employed fake social media accounts and on-the-ground politicking to promote Trump's campaign, disparage Hillary Clinton and sow division and discord widely among the US electorate.Saying goodbye to Billy Graham The casket containing the late U.S. evangelist Billy Graham is received by his family and others at the Billy Graham Library in Charlotte, N.C., March 1, 2018. (Photo: Leah Millis/Reuters)

Mourners are gathering to pay their respects to the Rev. Billy Graham at a funeral that marks the culmination of more than a week of tributes to Americas Pastor.

The service, scheduled to start at noon Friday, is to include performances by musicians who shared the stage with Graham at his crusades. The Rev. Franklin Graham will deliver the main funeral address for his father after personal messages from Billy Grahams three daughters and younger son. President Donald Trump is expected to attend, but isnt scheduled to speak.

The funeral planning began a decade ago with Billy Graham himself, and grew into his familys desire to capture the feeling of the crusades that made the worlds best-known Protestant preacher of his era.

His fingerprints are on this service for sure, family spokesman Mark DeMoss said in a phone interview. The Graham family has long considered that his funeral eventually would really be his last crusade.

Graham, who died last week at age 99, brought a message of salvation to millions during visits and live broadcasts to scores of countries. While the invitation-only crowd Friday on the grounds of his Charlotte library is limited to 2,000 or so, internet livestreams are allowing many more to watch.

The service features songs from gospel musicians who performed at Grahams events: Linda McCrary-Fisher, Michael W. Smith and the Gaither Vocal Band. They are all friends who sang for Graham at his home in recent years, DeMoss said.

Afterward, Billy Graham will be buried next to his wife in a memorial prayer garden at the library, with his grandchildren serving as pallbearers. His casket was made of pine by inmates at the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola. The grave marker reads: Preacher of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.

The funeral serves as the culmination of more than a week of tributes that included crowds lining the road for a procession from his home in the mountains to Charlotte, where Graham grew up. Approximately 13,000 people  including former presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton  filed past his casket during a public viewing in Charlotte this week. And on Wednesday, Graham became the first private citizen since civil rights icon Rosa Parks in 2005 to lie in honor at the Capitol Rotunda in Washington. (AP)

See more news-related photo galleries and follow us on Yahoo News Photo Twitter and Tumblr.Ouagadougou (AFP) - More than 80 people go on trial before a military court on Tuesday over the failed 2015 coup in Burkina Faso, including two top generals accused of masterminding the plot.

The case is being seen as a test of the credibility of justice in the former French colony which has been blighted by numerous coups and mutinies since gaining independence in 1960.

The two main defendants among the 84 on trial are generals Djibrill Bassole and Gilbert Diendere -- key allies of former president Blaise Compaore who was chased from power in October 2014.

They are accused of involvement in a coup launched the following year by Compaore's old presidential guard against the transitional government that took power after the veteran leader's fall.

The elite unit known as the RSP briefly took the country's leaders hostage before the coup was thwarted by street protesters and support from the army which attacked the plotters' barracks.

Fourteen people died and 270 were injured in the unrest.

Coup leader Diendere, the former head of the RSP, and his co-defendants are accused of a range of crimes including undermining state security and murder.

Former foreign minister Bassole is also accused of treason over a recording of him reportedly telling the speaker of parliament in neighbouring Ivory Coast of his support for the coup plot.

All risk heavy penalties, including the death sentence, according to judicial sources.

Security will be high for the opening of what is expected to be a lengthy trial, with hundreds of members of the security forces at the court and its environs, according to security sources.

Christophe Lompo, the deputy secretary general of the ABCE, an association set up for victims of the attempted coup, said the trial "would give them hope that they can heal their wounds and seek reconciliation".

It should be an opportunity for those in the dock to "admit their crimes and demand forgiveness from the people", he added.

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- 'We want the truth told' -

"We are hoping for the light to be shed, the truth to be told and for damages and compensation to be given to relatives of the victims and to those injured," ABCE president Honore Sawadogo added.

The Burkinabe Movement for Human and People's Rights (MBDHP) described the case as a "life-size test of the credibility of the Burkinabe judiciary", often accused of being under the control of those in power.

Bassole's party, the New Alliance for Faso (NAFO), denounced what it said was the "government's stranglehold on the military tribunal".

"Too many unfair and arbitrary decisions have been made against me in flagrant violation of my rights for me to be able to have confidence in military justice," Bassole himself said in an interview with the private newspaper Le Pays on Tuesday.

Diendere has hired five lawyers for the case, according to a member of his entourage, speaking on condition of anonymity.

"He is ready for this trial, he is ready for everything to come out," he said.

"This is also a trial for Burkina Faso... it is through this that the people will test our judiciary."

Diendere has called for senior army officials to appear as witnesses in the case, along with current president Roch Marc Christian Kabore and transitional leader Michel Kafando, according to judicial sources.

Some analysts say the trial could also shed light on other non-resolved cases in Burkina Faso, such as the assassination of Thomas Sankara in 1987 or journalist Norbert Zongo in 1998, where the names of Diendere or Campaore's presidential guard often come up.(Reuters) - Only one sheriff's deputy failed to stop the gunman who killed 17 people at a Florida high school, the Broward County sheriff said on Sunday, dismissing reports that other deputies did not enter the school during the attack as unverified.

Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel also said his department acted properly in at least 16 of the 18 calls it received before the massacre, warning that Nikolas Cruz, the 19-year-old suspect, was dangerous.

Israel rejected a call for his resignation from a state legislator and defended his department on the CNN program "State of the Union" on Sunday from criticism that deputies missed warning signs about Cruz, a former student at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.

Governor Rick Scott on Sunday asked the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to investigate the law enforcement response to the shooting, his office said in a statement, adding that the department would begin the probe immediately.

Authorities accuse Cruz of opening fire with an AR-15 semiautomatic rifle on Feb. 14, killing 14 students and three faculty members.

The shooting reignited an intense debate about gun safety laws, with Stoneman students emerging as national voices calling for gun control. They have challenged the National Rifle Association, a politically powerful defender of the U.S. constitutional right to bear arms.

Israel has acknowledged that an armed deputy assigned to the school, Scot Pederson, remained outside during the seven minutes that Cruz was inside the school.

Pederson resigned after he was suspended with the intent to fire him, Israel said.

News organizations, including CNN and NBC, have reported that at least three other Broward deputies also failed to enter the campus during the shooting, citing unnamed sources from the Coral Springs Police Department, which also responded.

"Our investigation to this point shows that during this horrific attack, while this killer was inside the school, there was only one law enforcement person, period, and that was former deputy Scot Pederson," Israel said.

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Israel did not rule out that the investigation could find other deputies who were guilty of dereliction of duty.

The sheriff's office is also investigating whether it missed danger signs about Cruz from two phone calls warning he might be dangerous, Israel said. Proper steps were taken after 16 other calls about Cruz.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation also said it failed to follow proper protocols after it received a tip that Cruz possessed a gun, had indicated the desire to kill and could potentially commit a school shooting.

FBI officials have told families of victims they "deeply regret" their mishandling of the matter.

(Reporting by Daniel Trotta in New York; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)Emirates Argentina Business Platform, which aims strengthen trade ties between the UAE and Argentina, is to open its office in Jebel Ali Free Zone (Jafza) in Dubai, UAE.



The agreement follows a meeting between Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Group Chairman and CEO of DP World and chairman of Ports, Customs and Free Zone Corporation, and Miguel Braun, Argentine Secretary of Trade and a high-level delegation visiting the UAE.



The Business Platform promotes commercial relations between the UAE and Argentina by connecting producers of goods and services with different types of consumers. The two sides discussed ways to cooperate and strengthen trade relations by enhancing the presence of Argentine companies through incentives and services provided by Jebel Ali Port and Free Zone.



Bin Sulayem said: With our strong presence across South America, Jafza is keen to build on enduring partnerships with Argentina and other Latin American countries. Our investments in Argentina make us an ideal partner with the ability to link markets, products, and commodities to Mena markets via Jebel Ali Port and the Free Zone.



Our extensive reach and the UAEs strategic geographic location will help boost the competitiveness of Argentine goods in the region. We look forward to encouraging businesses in the UAE to communicate with counterparts in Argentina to establish beneficial commercial and industrial partnerships using the Platform as a bridge linking the two markets.



Gabriel Osatensky, managing partner of the Emirates Argentina Business Platform, said:"The Platform is the cornerstone for enabling the movement of Argentine products to UAE, Middle East and North African markets, encouraging cooperation between Argentine producers and local suppliers. From our new base in Jafza we will be able to help Argentine companies identify investment opportunities across the region and grow their businesses.



Jafza offers incentives such as exemption from import and re-export duties and seamless e-services making it easier for businesses to establish operations in the Free Zone.



Argentine companies trading in agricultural, meat and other food products can benefit from Halal certificates granted by the Standards and Metrology Authority following growing global demand for halal fish.



DP World operates Terminales Rio de la Plata (TRP) in the heart of Buenos Aires, handling containers, general cargo and cruise vessels. The company is also located in Brazil, Peru, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador and Suriname.



Argentina is Latin America's third largest economy and has plans to strengthen its presence in the Middle East, especially in the GCC.  TradeArabia News ServiceIn this article:

President Donald Trump has dipped into his greatest hits during a speech at a conservative CPAC forum, reciting song lyrics that were a recurring feature of his campaign trail repertoire.

Entitled the Snake, the Al Wilson song serves as a cautionary tale about the danger of immigrants for Mr Trump. It features a woman who foolishly embraces a dangerous predator.

Think of it in terms of immigration, Mr Trump told his audience.

During the presidential campaign, Mr Trump prefaced reading the lyrics by talking about the perils of accepting Syrian refugees. He called during his run for a ban on Muslim immigration, and while in office he has repeatedly sought to block immigration from Muslim-majority nations.

Since assuming the presidency Mr Trump has constantly warned that a porous border is allowing criminals and drugs to flow into America, bolstering his case for a border wall. He has had similar criticisms for Americas legal immigration process, saying mechanisms like a diversity visa lottery and refugee admissions offer a route into America for terrorists and other people who endanger public safety. He also read the Snake during an event marking his first 100 days in office.

Here are the lyrics in full:

On her way to work one morning

Down the path alongside the lake

A tender-hearted woman saw a poor half-frozen snake

His pretty colored skin had been all frosted with the dew

Oh well, she cried, I'll take you in and I'll take care of you

Take me in oh tender woman

Take me in, for heaven's sake

Take me in oh tender woman, sighed the snake

She wrapped him up all cozy in a curvature of silk

And then laid him by the fireside with some honey and some milk

Now she hurried home from work that night as soon as she arrived

She found that pretty snake she'd taken in had been revived

Take me in, oh tender woman

Take me in, for heaven's sake

Take me in oh tender woman, sighed the snake

Now she clutched him to her bosom, You're so beautiful, she cried

Story continues

But if I hadn't brought you in by now you might have died

Now she stroked his pretty skin and then she kissed and held him tight

But instead of saying thanks, that snake gave her a vicious bite

Take me in, oh tender woman

Take me in, for heaven's sake

Take me in oh tender woman, sighed the snake

I saved you, cried that woman

And you've bit me even, why?

You know your bite is poisonous and now I'm going to die

Oh shut up, silly woman, said the reptile with a grin

You knew damn well I was a snake before you took me in

Take me in, oh tender woman

Take me in, for heaven's sake

Take me in oh tender woman, sighed the snakeBeirut (AFP) - Air strikes and rocket fire hit the Syrian rebel enclave of Eastern Ghouta for a seventh straight day on Saturday after the United Nations again delayed a vote on a ceasefire.

The Damascus government launched a devastating bombardment of the enclave just outside the capital last Sunday that has now killed at least 474 civilians, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The Britain-based monitor of the war said three civilians were killed and 12 wounded in Russian air strikes on the Eastern Ghouta town of Harasta early Saturday.

Moscow, which intervened militarily in support of its Damascus ally in 2015, has denied any direct involvement in the Eastern Ghouta bombardment.

The Observatory relies on a network of sources inside Syria and says it determines whose planes carry out raids according to type, location, flight patterns and munitions used.

US President Donald Trump on Friday said Russia's recent actions in Syria were a "disgrace".

Friday's civilian death toll in the enclave -- under siege by the Syrian army since 2013 -- totalled 41, including 17 children, according to the Observatory.

The UN Security Council had been due to hold a vote on Friday on a resolution calling for a month-long ceasefire to allow aid deliveries and the evacuation of seriously wounded civilians.

But the vote was postponed until 1700 GMT on Saturday as Western powers bickered with Russia over the wording.

Control of Eastern Ghouta is shared between two Islamist factions and Syria's former Al-Qaeda affiliate, and Russia insists there can be no ceasefire with the jihadists or their allies.

Russia has been pressing for a negotiated withdrawal of rebel fighters and their families like the one that saw the government retake full control of second city Aleppo in December 2016.

But all three rebel groups have refused.

World leaders have expressed outrage at the plight of civilians in Eastern Ghouta, which UN chief Antonio Guterres called "hell on earth", but have so far been powerless to halt the bloodshed.

The enclave is completely surrounded by government-controlled territory and its 400,000 residents are unwilling or unable to flee the deadly siege.Miami (AFP) - Students and teachers returned Sunday to a Florida school for the first time since 17 people were shot dead there, consoling each other even as they called for swift action to address gun violence.

"Imagine (being) in a plane crash and then having to get on the same plane every day and fly somewhere else -- it's never going to be the same," David Hogg, a survivor of the February 14 shooting at a Parkland, Florida high school, told ABC television's "This Week."

The school held a voluntary "orientation" Sunday, with teachers and staff due back starting Monday and classes resuming on Wednesday -- a prospect described as "daunting" and "scary," but which is also a step for survivors to move forward after the attack.

One teacher who had already been back told NPR radio that the shock of returning to a classroom left exactly as it had been during the carnage -- notebooks still on desks, the calendar still set to February 14 -- made her so physically ill she had to leave.

But Cameron Kasky, a student who survived the slaughter, tweeted a picture of people on campus, saying: "It is GOOD TO BE HOME."

"I have all my friends here with me and it just makes me feel like I'm not alone in this situation," student Michelle Dittmeier, who attended the orientation, told ABC.

Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School also received support from alumni, with previous graduating classes making banners to decorate the school, WSVN TV news reported.

In nearby Fort Lauderdale Sunday night, religious leaders gathered for an inter-faith vigil that left 17 chairs empty in memory of the victims, WSVN reported, after protesters gathered outside the Kalashnikov USA gun manufacturer in neighboring Pompano Beach.

"Gun reform now!" said one of the protesters' signs, while another called for the "death factory" to be shut.

With ardent demands by students like Hogg for action, President Donald Trump has said he is open to raising the minimum age for gun purchases and to banning so-called bump stocks, which can effectively convert semi-automatic weapons into automatic firearms, but which were not used in the Parkland killings.

Story continues

Speaking at the Governors' Ball ahead of meetings with the top officials from all 50 states on Monday, Trump said school safety is a top priority: "I think we'll make that first on our list."

- 'Red flag' law -

A new CNN poll, conducted a week after the Florida shooting, shows surging public support for stricter gun laws -- surpassing levels seen even after other horrific shootings in recent years -- and for a ban on powerful semi-automatic weapons like the AR-15 used in Parkland.

Overall, 70 percent of those surveyed said they supported stricter gun laws, up from 52 percent in October, and 57 percent favored a ban on semi-automatic arms, an increase from 49 percent.

The United States has more than 30,000 gun-related deaths annually.

Florida Governor Rick Scott has laid out a plan to station a police officer at every public school in the state, raise the legal age for gun purchases from 18 to 21 and pass a "red flag" law for authorities to more easily remove guns from the mentally ill or people with violent histories.

The age change and "red flag" law are staunchly opposed by the influential National Rifle Association, of which Scott is a member.

Scott, who holds the NRA's highest rating of A+, noted on "Fox News Sunday" that "there will be some that disagree. But... I want my state to be safe."

Dana Loesch, an NRA spokeswoman, told ABC that her organization opposes most of the proposed gun measures.

Instead, she placed blame on politicians, for their inaction, and on law enforcement -- specifically the Broward County Sheriff's Office, which she said had ample warning of the violent tendencies of Nikolas Cruz, 19, who is charged in the killings.

She accused the sheriff's office of "abdication of duty" for not arresting Cruz sooner.

- 'A terrible idea' -

In an often-contentious interview on CNN, Sheriff Scott Israel strongly defended his officers' work.

Of the 23 calls to his department about Cruz's erratic or threatening behavior, nearly all were minor and had been handled appropriately, and a few others were being investigated, he said.

Trump has also proposed arming some teachers, a step many educators passionately oppose.

Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, told C-Span in an interview that "it's a terrible idea, period, full stop."

Children, parents and teachers, she said, "want schools to be safe sanctuaries for teaching and learning, not armed fortresses."

Delaney Tarr, another young survivor of the Florida shooting, said she was girding herself as best she could to return to school.

"It's daunting... (and) scary because I don't know if I'm going to be safe there," she told Fox.

"But I know that I have to."Demonstrators at the March for Action on Gun Violence in Broward County in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., on Feb. 17. (Photo: Joe Skipper/Reuters)

Support for stricter gun laws has jumped 18 points since October, with 70 percent of Americans calling for action, according to a new poll released Sunday by CNN.

Responding to the question Do you favor or oppose stricter gun control laws? seven in 10 respondents said they were in favor.

The gun control debate was reignited earlier this month after 17 people were killed at Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla. When the same question was asked in the wake of the Las Vegas shooting in October, only 52 percent of respondents said yes.

Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., said on Meet the Press Sunday morning that he hoped his bill with Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., to expand background checks had a chance at a vote.

Ive spent a lot of hours on the phone and communicating other ways with my colleagues this week, said Toomey. I do think there are some members who were not supportive in the past and are reconsidering. I havent gotten anyone who said, Yes, sign me up, but there are definitely members who are reconsidering. The presidents expression of support for strengthening our background check system is very constructive.

Slideshow: Florida school shooting prompts gun-control rallies >>>

The bill, originally crafted in the wake of the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., fell in April 2013 after four Democrats and 41 Republicans voted no. It failed again in 2015 in the wake up the San Bernardino, Calif., mass shooting. It seems unlikely any sort of gun control legislation could pass the House, where the conservative faction is demanding to include a measure that would allow gun owners with concealed-carry permits to take their weapons across state lines.

Rep. Brian Mast, R-Fla., a combat veteran who lost his legs in Afghanistan, wrote a New York Times op-ed this weekend explaining why he now supported a ban on assault weapons. He elaborated further on CBS News Face the Nation.

It pains me to know that I went out there willing to defend my country, willing to give everything with almost the exact same weapon thats used to go out there and unfortunately kill children in Parkland, said Mast. I think theres a very real opportunity here for response and here for action, and thats what really brought me to my change of heart in talking about this.

Story continues

Students from Montgomery County, Md., rally in solidarity with those affected by the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2018. (Photo: J. Scott Applewhite/AP)

Slideshow: High school students across the U.S. protest gun violence >>>

The CNN poll released Sunday found 57 percent approval for a ban on the manufacture, sale and possession of rifles like the AR-15, which was used in the Stoneman Douglas shooting. A similar proposal was floated by Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., during a town hall Wednesday evening. While Rubio seemingly meant to imply such a measure would be impossible, he was met with raucous applause by the crowd in attendance.

President Trump, whose position on gun control has varied, is still at odds with the National Rifle Association on one proposal: raising the age limit for buying assault rifles from 18 to 21. NRA spokeswoman Dana Loesch said Sunday morning on ABC News This Week that the group still opposed that proposal. Trump has also urged his Justice Department to look into banning bump stocks, a device used by the Las Vegas shooter that allows semiautomatic weapons to be fired like full automatics. The state of Washington began the process of banning the device last week.

Trumps proposed plan of arming teachers was dismissed as a distraction by Rep. Ted Deutch, a Democrat who represents the Parkland area, suggesting time would be better spent focusing on background checks, bump stocks and mental health.

Slideshow: Gun control rally in Tallahassee; Parkland students meet with lawmakers >>>

Attempting to keep gun control in the news, the Never Again movement  founded by survivors of the Parkland shooting  has scheduled a series of March for Our Lives demonstrations on March 24, with the main rally occurring in Washington, D.C. The GoFundMe for the march has already exceeded $2.5 million including much-publicized donations from the likes of George and Amal Clooney, Stephen Spielberg and Kate Capshaw, Oprah Winfrey and the fashion company Gucci.

Read more from Yahoo News:Istanbul (AFP) - Authorities in the Czech Republic detained one of the most prominent leaders of the Syrian Kurds at the request of Turkey, officials said Sunday, as Ankara pushes a military operation against Kurdish militia in northern Syria.

Saleh Muslim, long a figurehead of the Syrian Kurdish movement, was detained on Saturday night at an upmarket Prague hotel, Czech and Turkish officials said.

Turkish officials said Ankara was already working to have Muslim, the former co-chair of the main Syrian Kurdish political movement, the Democratic Union Party (PYD), extradited to face terror charges in Turkey.

The arrest comes as Turkey presses a military operation against the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) militia -- the military wing of the PYD -- in the enclave of Afrin in northern Syria.

Ankara sees the YPG and PYD as the Syrian branch of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which for over three decades has waged an insurgency against the Turkish state and is banned by Turkey, the US and the European Union as a terror group.

Muslim is wanted by Turkey over a February 2016 bombing in Ankara that killed 29 people that the Turkish authorities blamed on Kurdish militants.

He has been charged in the case and faces 30 life sentences if found guilty. Muslim has rubbished the charges.

"The PYD chief has been arrested," President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told cheering crowds in the southern city of Sanliurfa. "Our hope is the Czech Republic will hand him over to Turkey."

- 'Interpol notice' -

Czech police confirmed a 67-year-old foreigner was being held after being detained on Saturday based on a Turkish Interpol notice.

"Ankara Interpol staff were informed of the arrest. The police will take the standard steps in line with the law," it said.

"Our wish is that he is extradited," Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdag said, noting both Turkey and the Czech Republic were parties to the European Convention on Extradition.

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The Turkish justice ministry said if Muslim is remanded in custody by a Czech court, a formal extradition request will be sent to Prague.

Turkey's desire to see Muslim tried is a far cry from the early phase of the seven year Syrian civil war when he was a relatively frequent visitor to Ankara for talks.

Ankara was hopeful it could persuade the PYD turn against the Damascus regime of President Bashar al-Assad but this never came to fruition.

Muslim features on a Turkish interior ministry wanted list, with a 4 million lira (860,000 euro, $1 million) bounty for his arrest.

- 'Contrary to law' -

Should Muslim be extradited to Turkey, his arrest would be one of the biggest captures of a wanted Kurdish leader by Turkey since the detention of PKK founder Abdullah Ocalan in a 1999 operation in Kenya.

Muslim was replaced as co-chair of the PYD last year, but remains a member of the diplomatic committee of the TEV-DEM political coalition that administers the Kurdish-controlled areas of northern syria.

"This act is contrary to the general values and international laws. The Turkish State has no right to prosecute or arrest any person who is not one of its citizens," TEV-DEM said in a statement, confirming Muslim is a Syrian citizen.

Muslim was in Prague for a meeting supported by the United States and had been due to leave the city on Sunday, a Kurdish official told AFP in Beirut.

Muslim has moved freely around Europe in recent years and it was unclear why Czech authorities would have decided to move now on the Turkish arrest warrant.

Turkey meanwhile has insisted a unanimous demand by the UN Security Council for a 30-day ceasefire in Syria would have no effect on its Afrin offensive.

"It will continue until the final terrorist is destroyed," Erdogan said, claiming that "bit-by-bit, Afrin is falling".

Syria's Kurds have taken advantage of the country's devastating civil war to seize control of large parts of their traditional heartland in the north, declaring autonomous rule.

This has raised deep concerns in Turkey, which fears that the establishment of a successful Kurdish political entity on its southern border could serve as an example and rear base for the PKK.

bur-tgg-mm-sjw/serLast week, former student Nikolas Cruz stormed a Florida high school with an AR-15 semiautomatic rifle, murdering 17 people and injuring 14 others in the largest mass school shooting since 2012's Sandy Hook Elementary massacre.

The media frenzy that's followed has attempted to profile the 19-year-old and decipher what could have prompted him to unleash violence on his former peers at Parkland, Florida's Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Amid revelations of gun obsession, mental health issues and family tragedy, an all-too-familiar line has made its way into the mix: Cruz was likely bullied.

While an estimated one in 10 million bullied students in the U.S. actually go on a shooting rampage, the word "bullied" is consistently circulated in wake of a shootingincluding at a listening session between Parkland students and President Donald Trump on Wednesday.

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Dave Cullen, author of the investigatory tome Columbine, told Newsweek that people are "desperate for answers" after school shootings, and sometimes lurch toward conclusions "with good intentions," but not enough meaningful information.



The situation "may have much more to it, and it may be harder to understand," said Emily Bazelon, author of Sticks and Stones: Defeating the Culture of Bullying and Rediscovering the Power of Character and Empathy. "But if you slap a label on something, you risk missing the more complicated, underlying reality."

Bullying becomes a label

There are various reasons bullying emerges as a possible motivating factor after school shootings.

Bullying affects an estimated 28 percent of 12-to 18-year-old U.S. students and is often linked to another commonly referenced reason behind school shootings: mental health disorders. Some who have been frequently bullied experience lasting ramifications, such as depression and anxiety. A central point of Trump's supposed crusade against gun violence is tackling "the difficult issue of mental health."

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While a significant portion of bullied students may become depressed, only 8 percent become "angry, and aggressively so," said Dorothy Espelage, a psychology professor at the University of Florida.



"They become what we call the bully victims," Espelage told Newsweek. "They become very angry, they may act out aggressively online. They may not hit back, but they definitely ruminate."

About 71 percent of school shooters felt "persecuted, bullied, threatened, attacked or injured" leading up to their rampage, according to Secret Service data. Bullied high schoolers are also more than twice as likely to bring guns or knives to school as their non-bullied peers.

A few school shooters have acknowledged bullying as a driving force behind their attack. Caleb Sharpe, a 15-year-old who killed one student and injured three others in Washington state last September, wanted to "teach everyone a lesson about what happens when you bully others," according to case documents.

These perceptions have stuck with the public. Eighty-six percent of students think other kids picking on [other students], making fun of them or bullying them causes teenagers to turn to lethal violence in schools, according to a National Voices for Equality, Education and Enlightenment survey.

Don't miss: Trump Wants Death Penalty For Drug Dealers

A profile of a school shooter "does not exist"

When Cruz gunned down 14 students and three staff members, references to bullying surfaced  even though the district has not disclosed whether it investigated any bullying. Superintendent Robert Runcie told the Miami Herald he was unaware of any harassment against Cruz.

920795756 (1)

Mike Stocker-Pool/Getty Images

Coverage from the Herald drew from source accounts and depicted Cruz's experience on the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School's campus as "a dark place where he was mocked and ridiculed for his off behavior."



A former neighbor of Cruz's, Paul Gold, told the Herald that factors such as bullying shouldn't serve as an excuse for Cruz's behavior, but added, "if you wanted to create a kid who was a serial killer, this is how you would do it." Attorney Jim Lewis also told CNN that Cruz "was a smaller kid and [there's] some indication there might have been some bullying going on."

"We know these kids," a contributing writer for TIME said. "The kids who are bullied, ostracized."

In actuality, we don't know them.

There are more than 25 million middle and high school students in America. More than a quarter report being bullied, and an estimated 200,000 bring some type of weapon to school over the course of a month.



But only a few will ever carry out a school shooting.

A profile of a school shooter "does not exist," the FBI surmised in a threat assessment report. Generalized assumptions that school shooters were bullied perpetuate a false idea that school shooters all fit a moldor that bullied students are at risk of becoming school shooters, said Peter Langman, a private practice psychologist and school shooting expert.



"Most kids in high school and middle school are teased at some point, maybe feel excluded," he said. "That does not create mass murder."

"I want to know more"

When psychology professor Espelage hears a school shooter was bullied, her response is always, "I want to know more ... what else?"

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"What were the other risk factors?" she said. "What put him at risk for victimization?"

Classifications of school shooters are expansive and inconclusive, the FBI threat assessment report found. Using categories such as personality and social dynamics, the report identified more than 45 potential behaviors and traits associated with shooters; the list spans nine pages of the 52-page report.

If Cruz was indeed bullied, the conversation should also note his own, non-passive behavior. Cruz was reportedly often moody and "seemed to delight in antagonizing others," according to The Washington Post. He picked fights, stole people's mail, threw rocks and vandalized property.

This portrayal sharply contrasts descriptions of 15-year-old alleged shooter Gabe Parker, who gunned down two peers at a Kentucky high school in January. Classmates had described him as a "shy" sophomore who played trombone for the high school band. The Courier-Journal cited one student who "heard the rumors that he had been bullied, but could not say whether or not it was true."

Virginia Tech shooter Seung-Hui Cho was reportedly bullied but isolated himself from others. Cho "almost never opened his mouth and would ignore attempts to strike up a conversation," according to various media reports.

"Social isolation is a critical component if they have no one to turn to and they don't have that support," Espelage said.

When Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold killed 13 people at Columbine High School in 1999, the media immediately labeled them as bullied loners seeking "revenge against the jocks." Subsequent investigations would largely debunk this line, and start to highlight the crucial role their personalities played.



Harris was a psychopath with a notable friend group, and he dated around. Klebold battled depression but had college plans, and had taken a date to prom days before the shooting. Neither were extreme social outcasts, later reports stated.

"It's not just [that the bullying] happened, it's who it happened to, and who that person is psychologically speaking," Langman noted. He pointed to Harris: "He was incredibly grandiose, he fantasized about raping girls, he fantasized about dismembering and mutilating human bodies with a knife. He was sadistic."

Cullen said initial reports that Harris and Klebold acted on account of bullying "destroyed all hope for most of the nation ever understanding [Columbine]" and its complexities.

"The media need to realize that some kids who didnt really know the perp assume [there's been bullying], because we taught them thats the profile," he said. "We should try to get to the bottom of it and candidly convey what we can."

Looking past the phrase "bullied" and delving into the realand sometimes darkfacets of human persona isn't always easy, Bazelon said. But it's necessary.

"Figuring out the anatomy of a school shooting is like figuring out the anatomy of a suicide," Bazelon said. "It's just so sad that we keep having to do this."

This article was first written by Newsweek

More from NewsweekMarvelsrecord-breaking film Black Panther offered a stunning look into the fictional future of African style, but it also paid homage to another native style  one further east.

Anthony Francisco, a senior visual development illustrator for Marvel,told BuzzFeedthat the garb worn by some of the Dora Milaje was partially inspired by Filipino tribal artifacts and other Asian themes.

About80 percent of the costume, however, consisted of African influences, according to Fashionista.coms interview with the illustrator.

The Dora Milaje is the elite, all-female group of the Wakandan special forces.

The Asian inspiration was just natural for Francisco. He grew up in the Philippines and saw African artifacts mixed in with tribal Filipino decor in his relatives homes, he told BuzzFeed. He drew inspirationspecifically from the Ifugao tribe, avillage of people who live at the base of the Cordillera Mountain Range in the north of Luzon island.

The Ifugao people are known for theirancient rice terraces, a UNESCO heritage site built by the ancestors of the tribe in 100 B.C. The American Society of Civil Engineerssuggests they were a sustainable watershed management system that was ahead of its time.

The Ifugao tribe continues to preserve its rich cultural elements, including weaving, beading and traditionalnarrative chants.

Ifugaotranslates in Englishto people of the Earth, fitting for the imagery in Black Panther.

Ifugao women show their traditional costumes as they stand among rice terraces built by their ancestors and maintained by the tribe.

An example of an Ifugao beaded hairpiece.

This tribal inspiration stands out on the uniform of Okoye (played by actress Danai Gurira).

Francisco told BuzzFeed that the strip of beadwork over the Wakandan generals abdomen was inspired by a table runner at his aunts home. The small golden rings hanging from the tassles at the side of her uniform were meant to be good luck charms, drawing from thesuperstitious beliefsthat circulate in the Philippine Islands.

Some of the island inspiration can be see on Okoye, Danai Gurira's character on the left.

Marvels illustration team didnt just pull from Filipinos, they also were inspired by Japans iconic warrior, the samurai.

Story continues

Francisco said that the Dora Milajes shoes were meant to look like the split-toed boots worn by samurai. These boots, known asjika-tabi, are also worn by workers (farmers, construction workers, etc.) and by traditional Taiko drummers.

Speaking to the Fashionista, Francisco said 80 percent of the Dora Milaje uniform was inspired by the Maasai in southern Kenya and northern Tanzania.

The warriors arm bands and neck rings were inspired by the women of the South African Ndebele tribe.

The other cultural elements breaks down like this: Five percent Samurai, five percent ninja, and five percent Ifugao tribe, he told the fashion blog.

In an Instagrampost, Francisco said that working for Marvel and designing the outfits for the Dora Milaje was a dream job.

I wanted to make an impact in our community and make an iconic, fierce woman warrior in [Okoye] that is also funny and loving and loyal, Francisco wrote.

A post shared by Anthony Francisco (@anthony_francisco_art)on Jan 17, 2018 at 11:57pm PST

This article originally appeared on HuffPost.Donald Trump has always been rather sensitive about this hair.

On several occasions during the 2016 election campaign, in an attempt to convince people it was real and not a wig, he asked people in the crowd to take hold and pull it.

So it it was something of a surprise when Mr Trump, in a seemingly unscripted moment, admitted that like many men of a certain age, he was struggling against baldness.

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I try like hell to hide that bald spot, the President said, taking to the stage at the Conservative Political Action Conference outside of Washington, as he looked at live footage that showed the back of his head.

Putting his hands on on head and smoothing down his hair, he added: It doesnt look bad. Were hanging in.

Michael Wolffs controversial book, Fire and Fury: Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House, claims Mr Trumps eldest daughter, Ivanka, is among those who do not think much of the way the President styles his hair.

She is said to have often described the mechanics behind it to friends, Mr Wolff wrote.

An absolutely clean pate  a contained island after scalp reduction surgery  surrounded by a furry circle of hair around the sides and front, from which all ends are drawn up to meet in the centre then swept back and secured by a stiffening spray, it quoted her as saying.

Last year, Harold Bornstein, who is said to have been Mr Trumps long-term doctor for many years, told the New York Times the real estate magnate used a prostate-related drug to promote hair growth.

Earlier this year, Ronny Jackson, an US admiral and physician who documented Mr Trumps annual medical, reported the President was was taking Propecia, a medicine to prevent baldness.

This month, video footage of Mr Trumps hair being blown right, left and centre as he boarded Air Force One to travel to Florida went viral.President Donald Trump said that his chief of staff, John Kelly, will decide whether to give a waiver to Jared Kushner if the presidents son-in-law and senior adviser remains unable to obtain a security clearance.

I will let General Kelly make that decision, Trump said at a joint news conference at the White House on Friday with Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull. I have no doubt hell make the right decision.

Trump said that Kelly respects Jared a lot and that his son-in-law is doing some very important things for our country. But while effusive in his praise for Kushner  labeling him an extraordinary dealmaker  the president said he wouldnt decide whether his senior adviser retains access to classified information.

I wont make that call. I will let the general, who is right here, make that call, Trump said.

Kelly last week ordered an overhaul of the White House security clearance process, following the disclosure that former Staff Secretary Rob Porter maintained access to highly classified information despite being unable to obtain a permanent clearance because of allegations of domestic abuse by two former wives. Porter has denied the allegations.

Kushner, whose portfolio includes the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, is among several top White House aides who have had access to highly sensitive information for more than a year without a permanent clearance.

Interim Clearances

Kelly set a policy discontinuing high-level interim clearances for White House employees whose applications have been pending since at least June. The new rules were to take effect Friday.

The White House has so far declined to answer questions about how the new rules would affect Kushner. Press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Tuesday that the new policy wont affect the valuable work Jared is doing. White House spokesman Raj Shah declined Thursday to say how many staffers would lose their clearances.

Trump said there were many people on that list but that those struggling to obtain clearances included people with not a problem in the world.

Its a broken system, Trump said. It shouldnt take this long.

House Oversight Committee Chairman Trey Gowdy last week opened an investigation into the Trump administrations handling of the allegations against Porter and also asked the White House for more information about all security clearances that are pending or have been adjudicated since Trump took office.Bahrain's Electricity and Water Authority (EWA) is set to build a pilot power plant that will produce up to five megawatts (MW) of electricity from renewable resources, said a report.



The project, which will come up on 12 hectares of land at Al Dur in the Southern Region of Bahrain, is being built at a cost of around BD6.5 million ($17.1 million).



The plant will produce 3 MW of solar energy and 2 MW of wind energy, reported BNA.



The project comes in line with the National Renewable Energy Plan approved by the government to achieve five percent of the total renewable energy consumption in Bahrain by 2025, it stated, citing the country's Electricity and Water Affairs Minister Dr. Abdulhussain Mirza.



He was speaking to the media after visiting the renewable energy pilot project site accompanied by EWA's chief executive Shaikh Nawaf bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa and officials of the Sustainable Energy Unit.



The minister said this is the first time wind energy was being used in Bahrain.



Dr Mirza said the interest in renewable energy comes at the directives of the wise leadership to encourage the use of clean energy to achieve sustainable development.



"The efforts by the EWA are an important step towards achieving the national sustainable development goals (SDGs)," he added.ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey said on Saturday a decision by the United States to open an embassy in Jerusalem in May disregarded decision by the United Nations and Organisation for Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and showed the United States insisted on damaging peace. In a statement, Turkey's Foreign Ministry said the decision was "very worrying". The U.S. State Department said on Friday it would open an embassy in Jerusalem in May to coincide with Israel's 70th anniversary. In December, President Tayyip Erdogan hosted an OIC summit of more than 50 countries in Istanbul, where Muslim leaders condemned the U.S. decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital. (Reporting by Tuvan Gumrukcu; Editing by Janet Lawrence)Ankara (AFP) - Turkey on Sunday welcomed the unanimous demand by the UN Security Council for a 30-day ceasefire in Syria, but insisted that its own operation against a Kurdish militia in the Afrin region was not affected.

With support from the Damascus regime's ally Russia, the Security Council on Saturday adopted a resolution on the ceasefire to allow for aid delivery as concern rises over the humanitarian situation in the rebel enclave of Eastern Ghouta.

"We welcome the resolution adopted by the UN Security Council in response to the worsening humanitarian situation all across Syria, in particular in Eastern Ghouta," Turkey's foreign ministry said in a statement.

But it added that Turkey "will remain resolute in fighting against the terrorist organisations that threaten the territorial integrity and political unity of Syria."

Last month Turkey launched a military operation against the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) militia in the western enclave of Afrin in northern Syria.

The operation has raised tensions with Washington, which works closely with the YPG in the fight against jihadists in Syria.

But Turkey sees the YPG as the Syrian branch of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which for more than three decades has waged an insurgency against the Turkish state and is banned by Turkey, the US and the European Union as a terror group.

"There is no question of this decision (by the UN Security Council) having any affect on the operation that Turkey is pursuing," Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdag said in televised comments.

Without directly mentioning the decision at the UN, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also indicated that there would be no let-up in the operation.

"It will continue until the final terrorist is destroyed," Erdogan said in the southern city of Sanliurfa. He said that Turkey had killed more than 2020 "terrorists" in the operation, but it is not possible to verify this figure.

Story continues

The YPG however said in a statement it was prepared to halt all military operations -- except those against Islamic State jihadists -- "while reserving the right to retaliate... in case of any aggression by the Turkish army."

It said that the ceasefire demand applied to Afrin and it was ready assist the entry of any humanitarian aid into the region.

Acting on Turkey's request, Czech authorities this weekend detained Saleh Muslim, the former co-chair of Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD), the political wing of the YPG. Turkey wants him extradited to face terror charges which he denies.By Steve Holland and Christine Kim WASHINGTON/SEOUL (Reuters) - The United States said on Friday it was imposing its largest package of sanctions to pressure North Korea to give up its nuclear and missile programs, and President Donald Trump warned of a "phase two" that could be "very, very unfortunate for the world" if the steps did not work. In addressing the Trump administration's biggest national security challenge, the U.S. Treasury sanctioned one person, 27 companies and 28 ships, according to a statement on the U.S. Treasury Department's website. The United States also proposed a list of entities to be blacklisted under separate U.N. sanctions, a move "aimed at shutting down North Korea's illicit maritime smuggling activities to obtain oil and sell coal." North Korea has been developing nuclear-tipped missiles capable of reaching the U.S. mainland and Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un have exchanged taunts that have raised fears of war. In August, Trump threatened to go beyond sanctions by bringing "fire and fury like the world has never seen," although his administration has repeatedly said it prefers a diplomatic solution to the crisis. Speaking at a news conference with Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, Trump made apparent reference to military options his administration has repeatedly said remain on the table. "If the sanctions don't work, we'll have to go phase two," Trump said. "Phase two may be a very rough thing, may be very, very unfortunate for the world. But hopefully the sanctions will work." The sanctions' targets include a Taiwan passport holder, as well as shipping and energy firms in mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore. The actions block assets held by the firms and individuals in the United States and prohibit U.S. citizens from dealing with them. The U.S. Treasury said the sanctions were designed to disrupt North Korean shipping and trading companies and vessels and further isolate Pyongyang. They are also aimed at ships located, registered or flagged in North Korea, China, Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Marshall Islands, Tanzania, Panama and the Comoros. Last month, three Western European intelligence sources told Reuters that North Korea shipped coal to Russia last year and that it was then delivered to South Korea and Japan in a likely violation of U.N. sanctions. FRUSTRATED TRUMP Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said the new sanctions would help prevent North Korea from skirting restrictions on trade in coal and other fuel through "evasive maritime activities." "The president is clearly frustrated and rightly so over the efforts that have failed in the past and also over the uptick in testing and the advances we've seen in the North Korean program," a senior administration official told reporters. At another briefing, Mnuchin stood next to enlarged photos he said showed December 2017 images that revealed ship-to-ship transfers of fuel and other products destined for North Korea in an attempt to evade sanctions. He said he could not rule out the prospect of the United States boarding and inspecting North Korean ships. Mnuchin said virtually all shipping currently being used by North Korea was now under sanction and the U.S. government had "issued an advisory alerting the public to the significant sanctions risks to those continuing to enable shipments of goods to and from North Korea." Mnuchin said the number of sanctions steps taken by the United States against Pyongyang since 2005 was now 450 with approximately half imposed in the last year. Christopher Ford, assistant secretary of state for international security and non-proliferation, told reporters sanctions already had affected North Korea's weapons programs and this was shown by the lengths North Korea was going to try to evade sanctions. Jonathan Schanzer of the Washington think tank Foundation for the Defense of Democracies said Friday's move was "the largest tranche of DPRK (North Korea) sanctions" released by the Treasury Department. "The only thing missing here today is action against Chinese banks," he said. "We know they continue to undermine our efforts to isolate North Korea." Tougher sanctions may jeopardize the latest detente between the two Koreas, illustrated by the North's participation in the Winter Olympics in the South, amid preparations for talks about a possible summit between North Korea's Kim and South Korean President Moon Jae-in. Nevertheless, South Korea welcomed the U.S. sanctions saying they would "alert those who are illegally trading with North Korea and therefore bolster the international community to carry out resolutions from the U.N. Security Council". Japan also supported the new sanctions, Defence Minister Itsunori Onodera said, according to the Kyodo news agency. Taiwan said it was in touch with the United States and would investigate its citizens and entities suspected of helping North Korea. It also called on Taiwan firms and citizens not to break U.N. sanctions. Reuters was unable to locate contact details for the Chinese companies listed in the new U.S. sanctions. In a commentary carried by Korean Central News Agency on Saturday, North Korea said it never intended to aim its nuclear weapons at South Korea, adding the weapons will only be aimed at the United States. 'WARM CLIMATE' North Korea last year conducted dozens of missile launches and its sixth and largest nuclear test in defiance of U.N. Security Council resolutions. It defends the weapons programs as essential to deter U.S. aggression. It has been more than two months since North Korea's last missile test. Kim said he wants to boost the "warm climate of reconciliation and dialogue" with South Korea, which hosts 28,500 U.S. troops, after a high-level delegation, including his sister, returned from the Olympics. In an extension of that rapprochement, the North agreed on Friday to hold working-level talks on Tuesday for the Pyeongchang Winter Paralympics on the North's side of the border village of Panmunjom. In December, the United Nations approved a U.S.-drafted measure limiting North Korea's access to refined petroleum products and crude oil, which North Korea said amounted to an act of war. In January, Washington announced a round of sanctions and urged China and Russia to expel North Koreans raising funds for the programs. The U.N. Security Council banned North Korean exports of coal on Aug. 5 under sanctions intended to cut off an important source of the foreign currency Pyongyang needs to fund its weapons programs. The new U.S. sanctions were announced while Trump's daughter, Ivanka Trump, is visiting South Korea. At a dinner with Moon at Seoul's presidential Blue House, Ivanka Trump said the United States wanted to "reaffirm our commitment to our maximum pressure campaign to ensure that the Korean Peninsula is denuclearized." Moon said North Korea's participation in the Olympics had "led to lowering of tensions on the peninsula and an improvement in inter-Korean relations" and were thanks to President Trump's "strong support for inter-Korean dialogue." Ivanka Trump's visit to South Korea coincides with that of a sanctioned North Korean official, Kim Yong Chol, vice chairman of the North's ruling Workers' Party's Central Committee blamed for the 2010 sinking of a South Korean navy ship that killed 46 sailors. His delegation will attend the closing ceremony and also meet Moon. The Blue House has said there are no official opportunities for U.S. and North Korean officials to meet. (Reporting by Christine Kim and Dahee Kim in SEOUL and Steve Holland in WASHINGTON; Additional reporting by David Brunnstrom, David Alexander, Doina Chiacu and Makini Brice in WASHINGTON, Fabian Hamacher in TAIPEI, Ben Blanchard and Pei Li in BEIJING and Michelle Nichols at the UNITED NATIONS; Writing by David Brunnstrom and Yara Bayoumy; Editing by Nick Macfie, Bill Trott and Grant McCool)By Darren Staples LEICESTER, England (Reuters) - An explosion destroyed a convenience store and a home in the central English city of Leicester on Sunday, injuring at least six people, officials said. British police said there was no immediate indication that the explosion was linked to terrorism. Pictures and videos posted on Twitter showed flames leaping into the sky from the site which was reduced to rubble. "All emergency services are currently dealing with this," the police force said in a statement. "Please avoid the area." Later it said the blast was being investigated with the fire service. "At this stage there is no indication this is terrorist related," Leicestershire police said. A local hospital said two patients were in a critical condition and four people had less severe injuries. A photograph published by the Leicester Mercury newspaper showed a blaze and the rubble of a destroyed building which the newspaper said housed a convenience store and a flat above it. "We heard an absolutely massive explosion. It was pretty frightening," the Mercury quoted an unidentified resident, who lives a few streets away, as saying. "We went to look out of the upstairs windows and saw loads of smoke, and then a few seconds later massive orange flames." The city's fire department said it sent six fire engines after the reports of a large explosion and a building collapse. The Leicester Mercury said debris had been blown across the road in front of the site. Police said a number of other buildings were damaged and homes and businesses in the area had been evacuated. (Additional reporting by Andrew MacAskill; Editing by William Schomberg and Guy Faulconbridge)The Assad regime has heavily targeted Eastern Ghouta - Anadolu

The United Nations on Saturday passed a resolution calling for a 30-day ceasefire across Syria, but Western diplomats said they were sceptical the Syrian regime would actually end its ferocious assault on the rebel-held suburb of Eastern Ghouta.

After days of intense negotiations, Russia agreed not use its veto to scuttle the UN security council resolution, which calls for a halt to fighting as well as the delivery of humanitarian aid and the evacuation of the wounded from besieged areas.

The unanimous passage of the resolution was hailed by Western diplomats, who had pushed hard for a deal amid a week of intense Syrian regime bombing of Eastern Ghouta. Hours before the vote, the civilian death toll climbed above 500.

Nikki Haley, the US ambassador to the UN, castigated Russia for days of delays which slowed the passage of the resolution. In the three days it took us to adopt this resolution how many mothers lost their kids to the bombing and the shelling?

A picture taken on February 20 shows smoke plumes rising following a reported regime air strike in the rebel-held town of Hamouria, in the besieged Eastern Ghouta region Credit: ABDULMONAM EASSA/AFP/Getty Images

It remains to be seen what impact the deal crafted in meeting rooms at the UNs New York headquarters in New York will have on the ash-filled streets of Eastern Ghouta. Mrs Haley said the US was deeply sceptical the regime will comply with the ceasefire and called on Russia to pressure Assads forces to respect it.

Russia demanded that the resolution not include a specific time for the ceasefire to go into force. The text instead reads that it should begin without delay, making it unclear when the fighting would actually stop.

The ceasefire does not extend to terrorist groups such as the Islamic State or al-Qaeda. Both Russia and the Syrian regime accuse large swathes of the Syrian rebels of being al-Qaeda members, giving themselves a broad license to continue strikes.

Russia used this loophole in previous agreements to continue bombing indiscriminately, said Elizabeth Tsurkov, a research fellow at the Forum for Regional Thinking, an Israeli think tank.

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Members of the United Nations Security Council vote for ceasefire to Syrian bombing in eastern Ghouta, at the United Nations headquarters in New York Credit: REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz

One Western diplomat said they feared the exemption on al-Qaeda might render the resolution worthless but that they were still hopeful its passage at UN would compel Russia to at least reduce the violence in Eastern Ghouta.

The people are happy but they do not trust the regime and its allies, said one man in Eastern Ghouta, after hearing the news from New York.

The council had been due to vote on Friday but the vote was delayed.

Nikki Haley, the US ambassador to the UN, tweeted her frustration, demanding a vote, as the discussions continued late into Friday afternoon.

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More than 500 people have been killed since the assault began Sunday night, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

New air strikes on the Syrian rebel enclave of Eastern Ghouta on Saturday took the civilian death toll from seven days of devastating bombardment to more than 500.

A Syrian rescuer helps a man at the site of Syrian government bombardments in Douma Credit: HAMZA AL-AJWEH/AFP

This is about saving lives, said Sweden's UN Ambassador Olof Skoog.

"UN convoys and evacuation teams are ready to go. It's time for the council to come together and shoulder its responsibility to urgently avert a situation that is beyond words in its desperation, he said.

Russia is one of five permanent members of the Security Council that can veto a draft resolution. It has done so repeatedly throughout Syrias civil war, torpedoing numerous efforts to stem the bloodshed even as its air force carries out bombing runs on behalf of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, a close ally.

Russia had described civilian testimonies from the embattled area as mass psychosis earlier in the week, and blocked a UN Security Council vote.

Ghouta dispatch

On Friday, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel wrote a joint letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin, calling for an immediate truce in Eastern Ghouta.

France and Germany condemn in the strongest possible terms the deliberate and indiscriminate attacks against civilian populations, including very large numbers of children, and against civil and medical infrastructure in clear violation of the most fundamental international humanitarian law, it read.

The letter included a condemnation of the attacks on Damascus by opposition fighters inside Eastern Ghouta, but ended with a call for Russia to assume its full responsibilities.

In a statement released Friday, the European Union called for an immediate ceasefire and access for aid trucks, citing a moral duty to protect civilians.

Damascus (South West Syria) territorial control map

"The European Union is running out of words to describe the horror being experienced by the people of Eastern Ghouta," the bloc said.

US president Donald Trump said Russia and Iran's behavior in Syria was a 'disgrace'.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu also spoke out Friday.

"Russia and Iran must stop the regime," he said.

Turkey, Iran and Russia are co-signatories on the de-escalation agreement. Mr Cavusoglu said the offensives in Eastern Ghouta and Idlib were "contrary" to the agreements negotiated by the three countries.

How Russia's secret mercenary army came up against the US in Syria

Eastern Ghouta is the last holdout of Islamist and opposition fighters near the capital. The densely populated area has been under siege since April 2013 and has become synonymous with civilian suffering  either through starvation and lack of access to medical supplies, or under intense aerial bombardment.

On Friday, helicopters dropped barrel bombs on homes in the Hamorieh neighbourhood, and warplanes strafed the residential neighbourhood of Ein Tarma.

According to Save the Children, more than 70 per cent of buildings in Ein Tarma have been destroyed or damaged. Infrastructure across Eastern Ghouta has sustained heavy damage, and some areas have not had water or electricity for two years.

Twenty-two hospitals and clinics have bombed since Sunday. Medical charities have accused the Syrian government of deliberately targeting healthcare facilities, which is a war crime.

Hala, 9, receives treatment at a makeshift hospital following Syrian government bombardments on rebel-held town of Saqba, in Eastern Ghouta Credit: AMER ALMOHIBANY/AFP

Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) said 13 hospitals it supports have been destroyed or damaged this week and that medical staff were struggling to cope with repeated mass-casualty influxes.

The latest surge in violence in Eastern Ghouta is thought to be the first phase of an assault that will eventually include ground troops and will follow the same arc as Syrian government forces battle for east Aleppo.

In Aleppo, the population was starved and endured weeks of air raids, after which ground troops moved in and fought block by block until the entire area was back under government control.

Surviving civilians and militants were then bussed to Idlib province, one of the last areas of Syria still controlled by anti-government forces.United Nations votes to allow humanitarian access and evacuations



Moscow mired in Syria as Putins gameplan becomes bogged down

Members of the United Nations security council vote on a resolution demanding a 30-day humanitarian ceasefire across Syria. Photograph: Craig Ruttle/AP

The UN security council voted unanimously on Saturday for a month-long ceasefire across Syria to allow for humanitarian deliveries and medical evacuation.

The demand for a 30-day ceasefire was made effective immediately but it was far from clear what impact, if any, the resolution would have on Syrias battlefields. Minutes after the vote, the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that Syrian regime warplanes had bombed eastern Ghouta, a besieged rebel enclave of 400,000 people.



The Syrian regimes envoy to the UN, Bashar Jaafari, appeared to shrug off the authority of the resolution, insisting his government had a right to defend its territory and would continue to fight terrorism, wherever it is.

The vote on the resolution, proposed by Kuwait and Sweden, had been put off for three days in the face of Russian objections but the version that was approved on Saturday was little changed from the original. The vote was postponed for two hours on Saturday as Russia made a last-ditch attempt to water down its language.

Throughout the week, regime forces kept up their bombardment of eastern Ghouta. The medical aid agency MSF said hospitals and clinics it supported in the Damascus suburb had reported more than 520 deaths and more than 2,500 wounded in just the past five days.

It has taken us far too long to agree this resolution, said the senior diplomat representing the UK in the council, Stephen Hickey. While we have been arguing over commas, Assads planes have been killing more civilians in their homes and in their hospitals imposing unbearable suffering.

Bashar Jaafari. Photograph: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

Under the terms of the new resolution, the UN demands that all parties cease hostilities without delay and engage immediately to ensure full and comprehensive implementation of this demand by all parties, for a durable humanitarian pause for at least 30 consecutive days throughout Syria, to enable the safe, unimpeded and sustained delivery of humanitarian aid and services and medical evacuations of the critically sick and wounded, in accordance with applicable international law.



Story continues

The truce does not apply to military operations against Islamic State, al-Qaida and the Nusra Front and other terrorist groups as designated by the security council.

The resolution demands access for humanitarian deliveries and medical evacuation, in particular to the 5.6 million people in 1,244 communities described as being in acute need, of which almost 3 million are in hard-to-reach and besieged areas.

Previous ceasefires in Syria, over more than seven years of conflict, have not fared well. The last major ceasefire negotiated on a high level with Russia, in eastern Aleppo in late 2016, collapsed on the day it was due to take effect. The rebel enclave there was overrun by pro-regime forces, many of them Iranian-controlled militias.



A clause in Saturdays resolution called for the UN secretary general, Antonio Guterres, to report back to the council in 15 days on its implementation.

That is likely to be subject to as much dispute as the resolution itself. The Russian UN envoy, Vassily Nebenzia, warned: We will not countenance any subjective interpretation of the resolution that has just been adopted.

The French envoy, Francois Delattre, said his government would hold regional powers with forces in Syria  Russia, Iran and Turkey  to account in upholding the ceasefire.

Nothing would be worse that to see this resolution remain a dead letter, Delattre said. For this reason France will be extremely vigilant on all of these points in the hours to come and in the days to come.

He added: Our generation will be judged on whether or not we manage to put an end to the Syrian tragedy.

The defeat of Isis strongholds has sharpened competition for control of Syrian territories between regime forces and their Iranian and Russian backers, and rebel groups with US, Turkish and Arab support.

Since launching cruise missiles at a Syrian regime airbase last year in retaliation for the use of nerve gas, the Trump administration has shown little interest in intervening to protect civilians and has wavered over how much effort and resources it wants to invest in protect its interests and allies.

In January, the US secretary of state, Rex Tillerson, appeared to unveil an ambitious set of new war aims that included establishing a bulwark against Iranian influence, ensuring the departure of the Assad regime and creating conditions for the return of refugees.

On Friday, Trump contradicted Tillerson, insisting the US was only in Syria to fight terrorist groups.

What Russia and what Iran and what Syria has done recently is a humanitarian disgrace, I will tell you that, Trump told reporters at the White House while hosting the Australian prime minister, Malcolm Turnbull.

But he made it clear the US was not going to intervene: We are there for one reason. We are there to get rid of Isis and go home. We are not there for any other reason, and weve largely accomplished our goal.Washington (AFP) - The United States will relocate its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem in May, coinciding with Israel's celebration of the 70th anniversary of its independence, US officials said Friday.

The decision sparked a furious reaction from Palestinians, who object to the US recognition of the disputed city as Israel's capital and call May 14 -- which in 2018 marks 70 years since Israel's declaration of independence -- Naqba, their "day of catastrophe."

The choice of the date, a year earlier than originally forecast, is likely to further cloud efforts to restart peace talks between the Israelis and Palestinians, putting in greater doubt the traditional US role as an "honest broker."

"We are planning to open the new US Embassy to Israel in Jerusalem in May. The Embassy opening will coincide with Israel's 70th anniversary," a State Department spokesperson said.

In December, President Donald Trump broke with decades of policy to announce US recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital, drawing near global condemnation, deeply angering the Palestinians and sparking days of unrest in the Palestinian territories.

Until now, the US embassy has been located in Tel Aviv.

The new embassy will be located temporarily in a US consular building in Jerusalem's Arnona neighborhood, the US official said, while Washington seeks a permanent location.

It will initially consist of the ambassador and a "small team," the official added.

- 'Blatant violation of international law' -

The Palestine Liberation Organization decried Washington's decision as a "provocation to all Arabs."

"The American administration's decisions to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital and choose the Palestinian people's Naqba as the date for this step is a blatant violation of international law," PLO number two Saeb Erekat told AFP.

He said the result would be "the destruction of the two-state option, as well as a blatant provocation to all Arabs and Muslims."

Story continues

The US move to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital broke with generations of international consensus that the city's status should be settled as part of a two-state peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians.

Israel claims all of Jerusalem as its capital, while the Palestinians see the eastern sector as the capital of their future state.

Trump said his defiant move -- making good on a 2016 presidential campaign pledge -- marked the start of a "new approach" to solving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Israelis and Palestinians alike interpreted Trump's move as Washington taking Israel's side in the conflict -- a view reinforced by the White House's recent decision to withhold financing for the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA).

Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas delivered a rare address to the UN Security Council on Tuesday, calling for an international conference to be held later this year to launch a new, wider Middle East peace process and pave the way to Palestinian statehood.

The revised schedule on the embassy move comes after US Vice President Mike Pence pledged only last month to move the embassy to Jerusalem by the end of 2019 in a speech to Israel's parliament that saw Arab lawmakers expelled after they shouted in protest.By Andreas Rinke and Madeline Chambers BERLIN (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she would promote her most prominent critic from within her conservative party, 37-year old Jens Spahn, to a coalition cabinet, in a sign she has heeded calls for renewal to revive her grumbling party. Although she has agreed a deal with the leaders of the Social Democrats (SPD) for a new "grand coalition", Merkel needs the blessing of both camps to be sure of a fourth term. Approval from SPD members is far from certain. She announced her choice of six cabinet ministers from her Christian Democrats (CDU) before the party votes on the deal on Monday. There are as many women as men and Merkel said she was the only one who is over 60 years of age. She said she had put together a young, dynamic team which represents something of a new start for the party which slumped to its worst result since 1949 in a September election, bleeding support to the far right Alternative for Germany (AfD). "It was my task to present a tableau of people that is future-oriented and that offers a good mix of experience and new faces," said Merkel. "This is anything but easy." Handing Spahn the post of health minister is an indication that she wants to assuage her critics who have called for fresh blood and a new direction. Spahn is a champion of the party's right who has fiercely attacked her open-door asylum policy. A deputy finance minister since 2015, he was previously the CDU's health expert and he makes little secret of his ambitions to rise to the top. "Jens Spahn is not the only one to make critical comments. That is okay and nevertheless there is the task of making a good difference in Germany. I believe he wants to contribute to that, just like all other cabinet members," said Merkel. While the decision is a sign of how much Merkel's position has weakened, it may be a shrewd move to stretch an olive branch to her most outspoken critic to keep him on board. Initial reactions were broadly positive. Carsten Linnemann, head of the Mittlestand Association of the CDU/CSU, no fan of a grand coalition, welcomed the move. It is "a convincing team of experienced heads and people bringing new energy who represent the breath of the CDU," he told the Funke media group. "Now we need a new emphasis in terms of substance and must ensure our conservative element is recognisable and that and we can hold our own in a grand coalition," he said. Many in the CDU were angry that Merkel agreed to give the SPD the powerful finance and foreign ministries to do a deal. WANING AUTHORITY Merkel also, as expected, will put long-standing ally Peter Altmaier in charge of the economy ministry and keep Ursula von der Leyen, whose star has faded after being tipped as a possible successor to Merkel, as defence minister. The CDU head in the state of Rhineland Palatinate Julia Kloeckner will take agriculture. Other CDU ministers are new faces. Anja Karliczek, 46, will take over as education minister and Helge Braun, 45, will take over the chancellor's office. After 12 years as chancellor and almost 18 years as CDU chief, Merkel's authority is waning and the party is starting to think about her successor. In the last few years, Merkel has faced parliamentary revolts from some conservatives over international bailouts for Greece, and much grumbling over her liberal refugee policy. A further blow came in November when she failed to agree on a coalition deal with two smaller parties, forcing her to turn to the SPD with which she shared power from 2013 to 2017. A reluctant partner, having seen support fall to its lowest since World War Two in the election, the SPD announces the result of a members' postal ballot on March 4. The outcome is unclear but there are some signs that they will give their nod. If members vote "no", the most likely outcome is a new election or possibly a minority government. Some analysts say the prospect of a new election will spur SPD members into voting 'yes' because their party has slumped further in opinion polls. An Emnid poll on Sunday showed the SPD down two points from a week ago at 17 percent. In response to growing rumblings in her party about her future, Merkel had promised to "renew" her government. She took a big step to grooming a successor last week by nominating ally Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, premier of the tiny western Saarland state, to take over as CDU general secretary. The SPD and CSU will announce their cabinet choices later. (Additional reporting by Thorsten Severin; Editing by Jane Merriman, John Stonestreet and William Maclean)Dubai Airports celebrated Kuwaits National Day on February 25 by organising a special welcome for Kuwaiti visitors arriving at Dubai International Airport (DXB) on Thursday.



Members of Dubai Airports' National Identity team, which includes representatives from Dubai Airports, the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs in Dubai, General Directorate of Airport Security, Dubai Customs, and Dubai Civil Aviation Authority, demonstrated Arabic hospitality by welcoming Kuwaiti visitors arriving into Dubai International (DXB) with roses, sweets, and Kuwaiti flags.



A Kuwait Airways flight was also accorded a water salute at DXBs to mark the special occasion.



Kuwait is one of the most important destinations for DXB with four airlines - Emirates, flydubai, Kuwait Airways and Al Jazeera - operating about 140 weekly direct flights between Dubai and Kuwait. - TradeArabia News ServiceA New York City mother was sentenced to 16 years in prison after pleading guilty to manslaughter under extreme emotional disturbance.

Tiona Rodriguez was shopping in a Victorias Secret as a teenager in 2013, PIX11 reported, and was stopped by security when she was accused of stealing jeans. Thats when they reportedly noticed a foul odor and found the dead child. She was 17 at the time, according to the New York Post.

She could have faced life in prison if the case went to trial, the Post reported. Authorities found messages in her phone callously referring to the boy, which led prosecutors to charge Rodriguez with murder.

Take this st and dig a hole, put it somewhere, lol, then we go eat IHOP,' one message read.

The District Attorney said Rodriguez delivered the baby in friends apartment bathroom and intentionally killed the newborn, according to PIX11. The baby reportedly weighed 8 pounds at birth and died of homicidal asphyxiation.

Rodriguez also had a child at 14, which her family was not aware of until she gave birth, PIX11 reported. She also gave birth in 2012, though that child did not survive, according to the network.What should we do with Ahed Tamimi ? If I had to write an essay on how to make Israel foolishly lose a PR war against the entire world in order to gain a few votes in the next elections, this is what I would write about.

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I would describe what our politicians did with the slap and the kick a 16-year-old blonde girl gave an IDF officer who entered her houses backyard in the village of Nabi Salih about two months ago.

As an IDF officer in regular and reserve service, I was often in charge of soldiers who had to disperse protests or deal with hostile residents in the villages and cities of Judea and Samaria. After seeing the video if the slap, and as someone who knows what kind of delusional scenarios can be created within minutes under these conditions, I can tell you that the officer and the non-commissioned officer who was with him acted commendably. They did exactly what I would expect IDF fighters to do.

Ahed Tamimi in court (Photo: Reuters)

Because an IDF officer doesnt just have to be an officer, dear politicians; he has to be a gentleman too. And a gentleman must be able to take a slap from a girl, and even a kick, without responding. Thats the way it is. What a shame that our fiery defense minister, who was discharged from the IDF with the rank of corporal after fearlessly serving in the army as a quartermaster (sorry, I couldnt help myself), doesnt know what a captain and a staff sergeant in the IDF know.

So for the information of Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman, who is very fond of the death sentence, and for the information of the prosecutors and judges at the Ofer Military Court, heres what I think we should do with Ahed Tamimi, who is being held by us in custody until the completion of the legal proceedings:

She should be taken without any delay to the home of the parents of the officer she slapped and should be seated on the sofa in the living room. His mother should offer her coffee and cake and make sure she finishes everything on her plate. Then, they should show her the family albums, with pictures of the young officer as a child and as a youth her age. And then she should be sent home. Thats it.

Hatred cannot be defeated with hatred

I know, this is a minority opinion. Here are seven reasons why I think this is the right thing to do, instead of all the nonsense we have already done, and are set to do, with Ahed Tamimi.

1. A country which panics and rages and is irritated by a slap and a kick is a country with a glass jaw. Israel is a nuclear power (according to foreign reports), and its incapable of dealing with a slap and a kick? If we get so stressed out by such a viral video, what will we do when we have missiles flying over our heads, possibly very soon, some even hitting their targets occasionally?

2. More than 1.7 million people from all around the world, mostly women, have signed a petition in the Avaaz website calling on Israel to free Ahed Tamimi immediately. Each of these signatures is another achievement for those who are not only undermining the occupation, but also Israels right to exist as an independent state in the Middle East. And we are foolishly playing into their hands.

Tamimi and her mother preparing for a protest in 2012 (Photo: AFP)

3. We have no chanceand I say this as a psychoanalyst who knows a thing or two about communicationsof winning a PR battle against a pretty blonde girl. Thats just the way it is. There are battles which must not be fought, and this is one of them. A clever English saying advises us to choose your battles wisely. You have to know where and when to fight, and where and when not to. Its what the IDF has done, and is still doing, on the northern front. Its a shame that when it comes to the Ahed Tamimi issue, our defense minister and prime minister are only looking at the coming elections rather than at the national PR effort.

4. And what exactly did you want Tamimi to do? To throw rice at our soldiers? To offer them cardamom coffee, together with her mother? After all, they entered their home and settled in their yard, uninvited. Thats why I think there is only one proper Zionist response to what she didto bring her to the officer and gentlemans house, have her sit down in the living room and show her once and for all what it means to have a Jewish mother, and what happens to someone who gets into trouble with her. Because for her sake, she better eat up that cake till the very last crumb.

5. And seriously, our panic around the Tamimi affair is blurring the difference between a murder and a protest, and thats not only foolish but also dangerous. Since Tamimis slap, Rabbi Raziel Shevah has been shot to death and Rabbi Itamar Ben Gal has been stabbed to death in Judea and Samaria. But judging from the traffic on the internet and on social media, Tamimis act was much worse. And not just on the web. The graffiti Death penalty for Ahed Tamimi, which was sprayed in her village in the middle of the night, point not only to cruelty but also to real stupidity in the extreme right-wing camp. Its no longer just a moral problem, but a cognitive problem as well. Dear settler brothers, its time for some self-examination. Some of your children have gone off the rails.

6. I cant say it any more gently: We have made fools of ourselves in the Tamimi affair. Its pathetic. An entire country without a sense of humor. Because Ahed Tamimi is neither Anne Frank nor Joan of Arc. Anne Frank was murdered, Joan of Arc was burnt at the stake, and Ahed Tamimi knew very well she was in no danger whatsoever. She wouldnt dare do what she did to Hamas or ISIS fighters. But the fact that we raided her village in the middle of the night to arrest this dangerous terrorist in a widely-covered operation doesnt point to national pride but rather to cowardice and defeatism. Im pretty sure (without knowing if its true) that the idea to arrest her didnt come from the chief of staff or from the Shin Bet director, but from the petrified and hysterical politicians running this state.

7. The bottom line is that hatred cannot be defeated with hatred. Hatred can only be defeated with love. When there is no choice, and there is an imminent life-threatening situation, you shoot quickly and accurately, you shoot to kill. When there is no choice, you use force. In all other cases, you must think very carefully, and only then act. And you mustnt act from your gut, but from your mind and from your heart. How could we have forgotten that?A new wave of airstrikes and shelling on eastern suburbs of the Syrian capital Damascus left at least 22 people dead and dozens wounded Saturday, raising the death toll of a week of bombing in the area to 500, as the UN Security Council unanimously approved a resolution demanding a 30-day cease-fire across Syria.

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The weeklong bombardment has overwhelmed rescuers and doctors at makeshift hospitals, many of which have also been bombed. Activists say that terrified residents have been hiding in underground shelters where dozens of people can be crammed into small places.

The latest wave of bombings came after the UN Security Council delayed a vote on a resolution demanding a 30-day humanitarian cease-fire for two days to try to get Russia on board

Russias UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia had repeatedly called an immediate cease-fire unrealistic.

In a bid to get Russian support, sponsors Kuwait and Sweden amended the draft resolution late Friday to drop a demand that the cease-fire take effect 72 hours after the resolutions adoption.

After two hours of additional negotiations on Saturday, the Security Council unanimously approved a resolution demanding a 30-day cease-fire across Syria without delay to deliver humanitarian aid to millions and evacuate the critically ill and wounded.

The UN convoys and evacuation teams are ready to go, Swedens UN Ambassador Olof Skoog told the council just before the vote.

After the vote, many council members urged stepped up efforts to ensure a cease-fire and get assistance to millions in need.

Russia has been a main backer of Syrian President Bashar Assad since the countrys conflict began seven years ago. In 2015, Moscow joined the war on Assads side tipping the balance of power in his favor.

Syrian opposition activists say Russian warplanes are taking part in bombarding Damascus suburbs known as eastern Ghouta, where many people are hiding in underground shelters with little food and medical supplies amid a tight government siege.

There is no electricity, no water, no flour, no bread and no baby formula, said paramedic Siraj Mahmoud in an audio message calling for a short break in airstrikes so residents can get food for their children. There is nothing inside Ghouta.

Syrian opposition activists said that government forces used phosphorous bombs in their attacks on the suburbs, but the claims could not be independently confirmed.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said airstrikes that hit several suburbs left 22 people dead in different areas, including 10 in the suburb of Douma.

The oppositions Syrian Civil Defense, also known as the White Helmets, said 23 people were killed.

The Observatory said that since the latest wave of bombardment began Sunday, 510 civilians, including 127 children and 75 women, have been killed in eastern Ghouta.

The White Helmets said it has documented the names of 420 people who have been killed since Sunday, adding that dozens more have still not been identified.

Syrian state media reported that rebels fired mortar shells on Damascus, Assads seat of power, killing at least one person and wounding seven.Under the banner: Anti-expulsion, pro-south Tel Aviv, some 20,000 people gathered on Levinski street near the Tel Aviv bus station Saturday night to demand the government find a humane solution to the difficulties facing the neighborhood and oppose the expulsion.

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Tugud Omer Adam from Sudan addressed the crowd: We did not choose to come to south Tel Aviv. They are not handing out maps to Levinski Street in the Sinai Desert. When we arrived in Israel, we were handed a one-way ticket to the New Bus Station.

He continued: I ask myself: How the hell will I survive the militias? The human traffickers? The desert? How will I find the strength to survive? You are giving us hope. Because of you here tonight I have faith in the Jewish heart, Tugud told the protesters.





Thousands protest expulsion (Photo: Yariv Katz)

Expulsion scheduled for Passover, Holiday of Freedom

The protest was organized by Shula Keshet, a resident of the southern neighborhood of Neve Shaanan and activist in the movement South Tel Aviv Against the Expulsion. Keshet said: They say the expulsion has not yet begun, well it already has. They say that it will begin on Passover, and I say that the Holiday of Freedom will be stained with the disgrace of the expulsion. South Tel Aviv is for renewal, for public housing, for spreading the refugees throughout the country and for a dignified life for all. Anybody hears us? Anybody see?

Shula Keshet (Photo: Eli Segal)

center of drugs and prostitution ; a crowded ghetto through sending tens-of thousands of migrants and asylum seekers here, to a violent place for women and children and the elderly.

She went on: They say that the expulsion will be our (neighborhoods) renewal and I am saying that the expulsion will only add insult to the injury and serve as another step in the process of destruction.

(Photo: Yariv Katz)

They say: your citys impoverished take precedence to the foreigner, and I say: what is actually happening is that (the government policies dictate that) the wealthy take precedence to the poor and the asylum seekers.

The event was chaired by the journalist Merav Betito who said at the opening: On Passover, when we are celebrating, the expulsion will be in full swing. We will dress in white and they will be hungry and lacking on the way to the unknown. They, who are desperate for rescue and shelter, are doomed to be disregarded.

This is not the way of the Jewish people, Betito declared, This is not a matter of left or right. We are here to remind our leadership of what kind of Jewish leadership we expect of them. We are in solidarity with the residents of south Tel Aviv, so do not call us leftists, call us Jews.





(Photo: Yariv Katz)

MK Dov Henin (Joint List) also participated and he said that he is protesting tonight against the expulsion and the Chaotic policy in south Tel Aviv. The government offers incitement and hatred instead of solutions; we are demonstrating together that something else is possible.

A local resident, Zehava Vaknin also spoke: Our daily difficulties did not begin with the arrival of the asylum seekers. Instead of the mayor and prime minister taking care of the residents of the southern neighborhoods, they are building towers for the wealthy. Why jail people who have fled war? I was scared to walk the streets, not because of the asylum seekers, but because the streets are so dark in the neighborhood.

Police said that the protest permit was valid until 22:30. The police will work to ensure the well being, security and safety of the protest participants and just as importantly, will ensure that the protest does not exceed the permitted times, does not cause undue harm to the routine of the general public and goes according to the law, they said.

(Photo: Yariv Katz)

Police also said that there would be zero tolerance for those seeking to disturb the public order or attempt to harm demonstrators. They called on protest organizers to be responsible and ensure tempers do not flare.

Pro-expulsion counterprotest

Nearby, a simultaneous counter-protest took place under the heading People for the expulsion, remembering Esther Galili. It was attended by a few hundred people. Galili, 70, was killed near her home by an asylum seeker from Sudan.

Ayala Sinuani, Suzi Cohen and Sheffi Paz are leading the pro-expulsion campaign. They said: This year, on the anniversary of the death of Esther Galili, the extreme left is holding a protest in south Tel Aviv . One can see the depth of their brazenness and hypocrisy. They are not for south Tel Aviv, they do not even recognize south Tel Aviv. The residents here have lost their sense of security, of mobility, and now they are trying to take the last thing that is left, our identity.

Right wing protest

Doron Avrahami, a resident of south Tel Aviv who came to support the expulsion said: This is our home. We live here, this is the center of our life. We came out with flags to show who the real residents of south Tel Aviv are. They are not the leftists who came from all over to support the infiltrators although they do not live here. Galili was killed by an infiltrator who was sentenced to eight years. An Israeli citizen who attacked an infiltrator because he thought he was a terrorist was sentenced to 10 years. What kind of justice system do we have? he asked.

An activist from the right wing Im Tirtzu organization, Alon Schwartzer, said: Once again we see today who is for the people of south Tel Aviv and who is against the State of Israel. It is time the people of the New Israel Fund and their friends stop harassing, together with thousands of infiltrators, Israeli society and residents of southern Tel Aviv especially. Whoever makes comparisons between Israeli society and Nazi Germany is participating in a campaign against the State of Israel.

Two arrested for threatening to harm protesters

Police have detained for questioning two suspects who issued threats to harm protesters during the anti-expulsion of African migrants event, in Tel Aviv. The two had posted inflammatory messages on Facebook and police have confiscated a pistol from one of them who wrote I am armed.

Police stressed that it was forbidden to enter the protest area armed.Walla! News CEO Ilan Yeshua has given as many as eight detailed testimonies in Case 4000 since first being contacted by Israel Securities Authority (ISA) investigators in December 2017, Ynet and Yedioth Ahronoth have learned.

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Yeshua's testimonies included recordings , documents and other evidence linking Shaul Elovitch, the controlling shareholder of the Bezeq telecommunications company to an alleged quid pro quo relationship with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Following Yeshua's testimonies, IAS and police investigations received permission from Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit to launch an undercover investigation, which included wiretapping.

From right to left: Bezeq owner Shaul Elovitch, PM Netanyahu's former advisor Nir Hefetz and Walla! CEO Ilan Yeshua (Photo: Orel Cohen, Motti Kimchi and Amit Sha'al)

Ynet and Yedioth Ahronoth revealed last week that Yeshua had provided the "golden evidence" in the investigationa recording of Elovitch issuing explicit orders on the favorable coverage that should be given to Netanyahu and his family on the Walla! website.

It has now been revealed that in addition to the recordings provided by Yeshua, the police also have transcripts of phone conversations after eavesdropping on the suspectsElovitch, Netanyahu's former media advisor Nir Hefetz and Communications Ministry Director-General Shlomo Filber

In July 2017, in the middle of the investigation into the Bezeq affair , the ISA received intelligence information that the offenses committed by the company are not only related to its financial activity, but also include criminal offenses linked to Prime Minister Netanyahu. The intelligence reports mentioned Yeshua's name as someone who might be able to shed light on the affair.

After being updated on the developments in the investigation, the Israel Police's Lahav 433 Unit asked to receive the material, but the ISA insisted on completing the investigation into the financial offenses and submitting recommendations for indictments before moving on to the bribery offenses.

In December 2017, Yeshua was summoned to the ISA offices for a testimony and began cooperating with the investigators. Keeping the entire affair from his employees at Walla!, Yeshua arrived at the ISA as many as eight times and provided detailed testimonies on the pressure he had been subject to.

"It seemed he had really been waiting to get everything off his chest," says a source in the law enforcement system. Yeshua not only testified, but also provided the investigators with a recording of Elovitch instructing him on the desirable coverage of the Netanyahu family, as well as with documents, email correspondences and articles pointing to the favorable coverage.

As Yeshua began testifying, the material was handed over to the State Attorney's Office and a special police and ISA team was granted permission to launch an undercover investigation, including an unusual permission to wiretap some of the suspects.

Sara Netanyahu's message to Iris Elovitch

"I was in severe personal and professional distress at the end of 2015," Yeshua told the police in his testimony. "I turned to attorney Eyal Rosovsky, who has been accompanying me ever since. Later I started documenting the requests and pressure from Shaul Elovitch and his wife Iris."

Yeshua reportedly told police that Shaul Elovitch "looks nice and smiley, but the Elovitch family is a crime family," Channel 2 News reporter Amnon Abramovich reported on Friday.

Sara Netanyahu (R) and Iris Elovitch (Photos: Orel Cohen, Motti Kimchi)

"Elovitch said he wanted to make Walla! News a national-right website. That is a lie. At times there were instructions to attack Naftali Bennett, demands to really go after Bennett hard. It was allowed to write things against the right wing and Likud ministers and Lieberman and everyone else. Just not against Bibi, Sara and son Yair," Yeshua said, referring to the prime minister by his nickname.

According to Yeshua, he decided to cut ties with the Elovitch family around the end of 2016. "To limit myself and limit the site, I recruited, on my own, independent and serious journalists: Ya'akov Eilon, Aviram Elad and Oren Nahari," he said. "In 2017, he (Elovitch) tried to have the board of directors dismiss me. He couldn't reveal the true reason (the Netanyahu family). I presented a business and professional plan that convinced the board."

Channel 10 News reported on Friday that police have WhatsApp chats between the prime minister's wife, Sara Netanyahu, and Elovitch's wife Iris, who is also under arrest.

According to the report, the chat transcripts show Mrs. Netanyahu rebuking Mrs. Elovitch because Walla! News editor-in-chief Aviram Elad was not fired after another article she did not like.

"This can't continue like this, I thought we had talked about this. This is going on for too long. Why do I need to read such things on your website? Do something about it," Sara Netanyahu wrote to Iris Elovitch.

The Elovich couple's remand has been extended until Monday.

Nir Hefetz, the Netanyahu family's former media adviser, will also remain under arrest until Monday. He is a suspect in both Case 4000 and in Case 1270, in which he allegedly offered Judge Hila Gerstel the attorney general's position in return for closing a case against Sara Netanyahu.

Police said Sunday they would not request that his arrest be extended for Case 1270. No remand extension will be sought for Eli Kamir, the former Bezeq strategic advisor involved in the affair, and he will be discharged under restrictive conditions. Kamir is currently being investigated by police.

Iris Elovitch's lawyers issued the following response to Channel 10's report: "This is a serious, unlawful leak which distorts reality, intentionally ignoring important facts whichif presentedwould prove that Iris Elovitch committed no offense whatsoever."

An aide to Prime Minister Netanyahu commented, "This is another clear attempt to harm the prime minister through distorted leaks concerning his wife. Despite the wild and unrestrained behavior which has reached new heights over the past week, the truth will win and Prime Minister Netanyahu will keep leading the State of Israel responsibly and protecting its security."The funeral procession for Rabbi Shmuel Auerbachleader of the radical Jerusalem Faction of the Lithuanian ultra-Orthodox sect will begin at 11am and heavy delays can be expected as his followers and disciples pack the streets to escort him on his final journey.

Eulogies will be read out for the rabbi at 11am at the Ma'alot HaTorah yeshivawhich he headedin the Sha'arei Hesed neighborhood in Jerusalem, where he resided for most of his life. At 12:30pm, Auerbach will be escorted to the cemetery.

His coffin will be escorted through HaGra, KKL, Diskin, Derech Ruppin, Sderot Ben Tsvi, Sderot Weizman and Sakharov before being buried at the Har HaMenuchot cemetery, the largest in Jerusalem.The controversial Polish Holocaust Law imposing jail terms for suggesting the country was complicit in the Holocaust will not be implemented until further discussions in the Polish Constitutional Court and until Israeli and Polish delegations have met to consider rewording it, according to the Polish justice minister.

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The law was approved at the beginning of February by President Andrzej Duda, triggering a major diplomatic feud between Poland and Israel, with the latter condemning what it described as Polish attempts to shirk responsibility for its role in the Nazi Jewish extermination program.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu instructed the Israeli Foreign Ministry to express its reservations about the law, and to arrive at an understanding before the law is implemented.

To that end, according to Hadashot news, an Israeli and Polish government delegation will meet in a bid to amend the law so that it is mutually acceptable to both sides.

Polish PM Mateusz Morawiecki and Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu (Photos: Reuters, Emil Salman)

Polish Foreign Minister Zbigniew Ziobro, who also serves as the countrys state prosecutor, was interviewed on Friday by the Polish news agency PAP and indicated that the law will not be implemented at this stage, despite being ratified, until the Constitutional Court makes a ruling.

The words of the justice minister and the state attorney are binding on the judicial system.

Ziobro sought to highlight during the interview that the law does not prohibit references to crimes committed by individual Poles and groups and added that it will not apply to Holocaust survivors, journalists or academics.

Israels Ambassador to Poland Anna Azari met a few days ago with Ziobro where the two agreed to remove barriers preventing delegations from the two sides meeting to discuss the matter.

Polish President Andrzej Duda (Photo: Reuters)

In doing so, the Poles responded to the Israeli condition that it would only accept a delegation flying to Israel for the sake of working together to find a solution that would see a change in the drafting of the law.

The Poles assembled a team comprising five experts and the two sides, beset by the diplomatic deadlock, agreed that the delegations would reach an agreement on the issue.

Auschwitz death camp (Photo: AP)

Director-general of the Israeli Foreign Ministry Yuval Rotem hailed the development. This is a significant achievement that came about after continued discussions. We will continue with our dialogue in order to reach an understanding on the matter, he said.

Poland found itself rapidly falling out of favor with Israel after a string of controversial actions and statements emanating from the right-wing government provoked Jerusalem.

The Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki sparked outrage last Saturday after a photo on his Twitter page showed him paying his respects to a Polish underground movement that collaborated with the Nazis during World War II.

Morawiecki visited the memorial site in Munich, exacerbating the developing enmity after he made controversial remarks to Yedioth Ahronoth journalist Ronen Bergman, claiming there were also "Jewish perpetrators" in the Holocaust.The widow of Rabbi Itamar Ben Gal, who was stabbed to death three weeks ago in a terror attack in Ariel, slammed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday morning over his failure to respond to a request to approve the construction of 800 housing units in Har Brakha and turn the settlement into a city.

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Yoav Horowitz, the prime minister's chief of staff, visited the Ben Gal home about two weeks ago and read out a letter Netanyahu had written the bereaved family. He also said he would "do everything" to approve the settlement's zoning plan.

Miriam and Itamar Ben Gal with their children

In a direct message to Netanyahu, Miriam Ben Gal said Sunday: "These days, it's important for me to support the prime minister. While he is going through difficult times, I know he keeps running the state's affairs. Having said that, I don't understand what's stopping him from responding to terror. This isnt something that can be left unanswered. I'm having trouble understanding what's holding him back.

"We would like to hear the prime minister himselfand not just mediatorsannouncing as early as this morning a decision to approve construction in Har Brakha in response to the terror attack, thereby turning it into a city. This is the chance to make it clear to the damn murderer and to his senders that this is the result of the murder and that this is the answer to terror. I'm having trouble understanding what's stopping the prime minister from announcing a decision which doesnt even require a vote but simply a personal decision. It will be our comfort."

Miriam Ben Gal at her husband's funeral in Har Brakha (Photo: Ohad Zwigenberg)

Yossi Dagan, head of the Samaria Regional Council, said: "This is a decision that cannot be postponed. This decision, to approve the construction of 800 housing units in Har Brakha and to turn it into a city as a response to the terror attack, should be made immediately to make it clear to terrorists as well that terror leads to the construction of the Land of Israel, that terror won't weaken us."

There are some 5,000 residents living in Har Brakha. The zoning plan for the settlement has been approved in the past, but not in full. Some 800 housing units are awaiting approval after being put on hold during the era of former US President Barack Obama. Samaria residents believe that approving the full zoning plan, as well as the 800 homes, could help double the settlement's population.Israel Railways announced Sunday afternoon that train operations would resume usual operations shortly after a technical signalling malfunction in the Shefayim area caused delays earlier in the day throughout Israel.

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The delays came after train operations were renewed Saturday night following temporary closures of lines for infrastructure work last week traveling from northern Israel to Tel Aviv.

With around half of the countrys trains delayed, overcrowding on carriages and packed platforms became a common sight.

(Photo: Rami Segal)

From the Tel Aviv HaShalom train station, trains were delayed bound for Rehovot by 45 minutes, to Modiin by 50 minutes, to Beer Sheva by 50 minutes, to Rishon LeZion by 40 minutes, and to Hod HaSharon by half an hour.

(Photo: Shir Malka)

Due to a signalling malfunction in the Shefayim area delays were registered in the train network, Israel Railways said in a statement.

Train lines heading for Beit Shemesh, Ashkelon and Rishonim will conclude their journeys at the Tel Aviv Savidor Central railway station due to the malfunction.

I have been waiting for more than half an hour for the train and it still isnt here, complained Yoav, who was waiting to travel from HaShalom train station to Beer Sheva.

As it is, Sunday is already packed because of soldiers (going to their basesed.) and now theres already a malfunction after the trains were closed.

Numerous delays on train timetable

Leah, a single mother working two jobs, was outraged over the train delays from Modiin to Tel Aviv. I had to pay NIS 150 for a taxi to get to an urgent meeting on time, she vented.

The southbound train from Netanya that was supposed to leave at 8:51am was canceled, another frustrated passenger told Ynet. The passengers were asked to switch to another train that got to the platform at 8:57am and after two minutes the journey was stopped.Thousands of people attending the funeral procession of Rabbi Shmuel Auerbach, the leader of the radical Jerusalem Faction of the Lithuanian ultra-Orthodox sect, who passed away over the weekend, were told during one of the eulogies that they are facing a "war of destruction" and must "happily" choose prison over drafting into the IDF.

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Addressing the crowds of mourners before they carried Rabbi Auerbach's body to its final resting place in Jerusalem, Rabbi Tzvi Friedman, a prominent rabbi associated with the Jerusalem Faction, dedicated his eulogy to the public struggles waged by Auerbach.

We are in a war of destruction. No man should turn up (to the IDF recruitment office). Dont be scared of the police. Go to prison happily. They can fill the prisons. It wont help them. He single-handedly directed the struggle while facing ridicule from others, Friedman said.

(Photo: Amit Shabi)

When the problem recently began with the drafting of women, he was already broken," signaling that the sect intends to continue to wage its campaign against mandatory conscription.

"All the haters from all sides should not delude themselves into thinking that the battle is lost. It will continue with full rigor. All the chatter of the politicians is all nonsense. He was able to stand up to the drafting of men, but drafting women broke him, he added.

(Photo: Amit Shabi)

Rabbi Avraham Dov Auerbach, the deceaseds brother, delivered an eulogy too, lauding the sect's leader's strength.

He was a humble and quiet man, but he had the power of truth without bearing a grudge. The truth cannot be enforced. We didnt understand how this quiet man could do such things. Some thought that he didnt understand, but he was Mordecai the Jew, who knew everything that was done, he said.

(Photo: Amit Shabi)

Auerbachs followers carried his body, wrapped in a black and white prayer shawl laid on an austere wooden stretcher, through HaGra, KKL, Sderot Ben Tsvi, Sderot Weizman, Ussishkin, Bezalel and Sakharov as they brought him to be buried at the Har HaMenuchot Cemetery, the largest in Jerusalem. The streets were closed by police during procession.

Rabbi Auerbachs body was marched from his home in the Sha'arei Hesed neighborhood of Jerusalem to the Ma'alot HaTorah yeshivawhich he headedin the neighborhood before eulogies were read out. Hundreds of policemen were deployed across the planned route toward his final resting place.



Entrance to the city was closed via Highway 1 from 11:30 am until the funerals conclusion.

Moreover, the police announced that private vehicles will not be permitted to enter the site and therefore called upon members of the public to use public transport.

(Photo: Ohad Zwigenberg)

In an effort to avoid a recurrence of the chaos that has characterized past funeral of revered rabbis, the police have also warned people against climbing fences, buildings, street signs, utility poles and rooftops.



We will respond with zero tolerance against actions that can endanger peoples lives, a police statement said, adding that attendants must distance themselves from the vehicle carrying Rabbi Auerbachs body.

Auerbach, 86, died in his home in the Sha'arei Hesed neighborhood of Jerusalem after suffering a heart attack. He was evacuated to the citys Shaare Zedek Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.

Rabbi Auerbach led his group's aggressive struggle against the enlistment of yeshiva students into the IDF and the arrests of Haredi draft dodgers.

(Photo: Amit Shabi)

In recent years, Rabbi Auerbach has distinguished himself from the mainstream ultra-Orthodox sector mainly by means of an uncompromising fanatical battle against the " draft law ."

In the run up to the last Knesset elections, he called on the ultra-Orthodox to refrain from voting , as opposed to in previous elections.

Rabbi Auerbach (Photo: Ohad Zwigenberg)

He objected to any negotiations between representatives of the sector and the Shaked Committee for Equal Sharing of the Burden, objected to their pragmatic approach on enlistment, and ordered yeshiva students not to report to the conscription offices at allnor to seek deferment of their IDF service.

As a result, several of them were arrested, which prompted thousands of Haredim across the country to hold violent demonstrations in Jerusalem, Bnei Brak, Beit Shemesh, Safed and Modi'in for several days in a row, blocking traffic and clashing violently with both police and drivers.The UN agency for children says 85 percent of Syrian refugee children in Jordan live in poverty, 38 percent are not in school and almost half of those under the age of five don't have access to proper health care.

Sunday's findings by UNICEF are based on responses from hundreds of families among Jordan's 660,000 registered refugees.

Some 5.5 million Syrians have fled civil war in their homeland since 2011, most settling in neighboring countries where they struggle to survive.

Robert Jenkins, the agency's Jordan representative, says the findings show that refugee children "are facing a more challenging time in meeting their minimum basic needs."

He called on donor countries to step up at a time of growing need.

UNICEF in Jordan lacks $145.7 million for child programs in 2018.Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday morning welcomed the American decision to move the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem in May 2018, to coincide with Israel's 70th anniversary celebrations.

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"This is a great moment for Israel's citizens and a historic moment for the State of Israel with substantial, historical and long-term ramifications," Netanyahu said at the start of the weekly cabinet meeting.

"President (Donald) Trump, you are a great friend to the State of Israel and we thank you," the prime minister added.

Prime Minister Netanyahu. 'A historic moment for the State of Israel' (Photo: Alex Kolomoisky)

The embassy is expected to open on May 14, the day Israel declared its independence 70 years ago.

In a speech on Friday to a gathering of conservatives in suburban Washington, Trump recalled his controversial decision, saying he withstood enormous pressure to make the move.

"I put the word out that I may do it. I was hit by more countries and more pressure and more people calling, begging me 'Don't do it. Don't do it. Don't do it,'" Trump said.

"I said we have to do it. It's the right thing to do. It's the right thing to do, we have to do it. And I did it."

He said the campaign against moving the embassy was "incredible," but noted the campaign in favor of moving the embassy was also incredible.

US President Trump. 'A great friend to Israel' (Photo: Reuters)

Knesset Member Ahmad Tibi of the Arab Joint List wasn't as happy as Netanyahu about the American announcement. "President Trump's Jerusalem speech was unnecessary, wrong and unwise, and the decision to move the embassy to Jerusalem in short while raises questions on whether this is an attempt to help a friend in need," Tibi told Ynet on Sunday morning.

The move, MK Tibi said, serves as proof that the current US administration is biased in favor of Netanyahu but isn't actually helping Israel.

"This administration is standing firmly behind Benjamin Netanyahu. Anyone in the administration who has the State of Israel's best interest in mind should go for implementing the two-state vision and ending the occupation and the control over the Palestinian people.

MK Tibi. 'Trump's Jerusalem speech was unnecessary, wrong and unwise' (Photo: Gil Yohanan)

"This administration of President Trump and his three settlement-supporting musketeers is closer to trying to mediate between the Bayit Yehudi and Likud parties than between Israel and the Palestinians."

As for US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley's comment that Trump's peace plan was nearly ready and would be presented soon, but that it wouldnt be loved by either side, Tibi said: "I don't believe this representative, one of the American administration's most blatant representatives. I'm sure Netanyahu is well aware of the details of this plan and I can tell you he's losing sleepand not because of this plan.

"The Palestinians know what this plan will include in general, and they're very unhappy about it because it's far from the minimum of the minimum they're able to consider. This isn't a deal and it isn't ultimate in any way."Church leaders in Jerusalem shut the Church of the Holy Sepulchre on Sunday in protest at a new Israeli tax policy and a proposed land expropriation law which they called an unprecedented attack on Christians in the Holy Land.

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Roman Catholic, Greek Orthodox and Armenian church leaders said the holy site, a popular stop for pilgrims and where many Christians believe Jesus was crucified and buried, would remain closed until further notice.

A statement by the leaders accused Israel of a systematic and unprecedented attack against Christians in the Holy Land in pursuing a new tax policy and a proposed land appropriation law.

Reuters

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"These actions breach existing agreements and international obligations which guarantee the rights and the privileges of Churches, in what seems as an attempt to weaken the Christian presence in Jerusalem," the church leaders said in their statement, expressing their great concern.

"This reminds us all of laws of a similar nature which were enacted against the Jews during dark periods in Europe.

"This systematic campaign against the Churches and the Christian community in the Holy Land is a flagrant violation of the existing status quo. Recently this systematic and offensive campaign has reached an unprecedented level as the Jerusalem municipality issues scandalous collection notices and orders of seizure of Church assets, properties and bank accounts for alleged debts of punitive municipal taxes, a step that is contrary to the historic position of the Churches within the Holy City of Jerusalem and their relationship with the civil authorities.

"This systematic and unprecedented attack against Christians in the Holy Land severely violates the most basic, ab antique and sovereign rights, trampling on the delicate fabric of relations between the Christian community and the authorities for decades."

Church of the Holy Sepulchre. 'A systematic and unprecedented attack against Christians in the Holy Land' (Photo: EPA)

As part of a battle with Finance Ministry over budgets to the capital, the Jerusalem Municipality informed the Finance, Interior and Foreign ministries and the Prime Minister's Office that it had started collecting property tax debts of more than NIS 650 million from some 887 properties across the city, which belong to churches and United Nations institutions.

Municipality officials said these properties did not include houses of worship, which are exempt from paying property taxes by law, but rather properties used for non-prayer activities, including commercial activities.

Churches are exempt from paying property taxes as part of an agreement with the state, but the Jerusalem Municipality says it is not being compensated by the state for the money it is losing by not collecting these taxes.

After the protest move, an Israeli cabinet committee delayed by a week its scheduled consideration on Sunday of a bill that would allow the state to expropriate land in Jerusalem sold by churches to private real estate firms in recent years.

The stated aim of the bill is to protect homeowners against the possibility that private companies will not extend their leases of land on which their houses or apartments stand.

The churches are major property owners in the city. They say such a law would make it harder for them to find buyers for church-owned land - sales that help to cover operating costs of their religious institutions.

Church leaders on Sunday (Photo: Mab-CTS)

"This abhorrent bill ... if approved, would make the expropriation of the lands of churches possible," said the statement by Theophilos III, the Patriarch of Jerusalem, Francesco Patton, the Custos of the Holy Land, and Nourhan Manougian, the Armenian Patriarch of Jerusalem.

MK Rachel Azaria, who sponsored the legislation, said in a statement she agreed to delay the committee's discussion by a week so that "we could work with the churches" to try to resolve the dispute.

Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat said on Twitter it was illogical to expect that church-owned commercial property, including hotels and retail businesses, would continue to enjoy tax-exempt status.

"Let me make it clear: we are not talking about houses of worship, who will still be exempt from property tax, according to law," he wrote.

Outside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, pilgrims voiced their disappointment at finding its doors shut.

"I am very upset. It's my first time here and I made a big effort to get here and now I find it closed," said Marine Domenech from Lille, France.The government unanimously approved Sunday a building plan for the Netiv Haavot neighborhood in the West Bank, which will include the allocation of funds for the construction of 350 new housing units.

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The decision comes as part of the governments moves to regulate the Gush Etzion neighborhood, part of which was slated for evacuation next month in accordance with an order by the High Court of Justice (HCJ).

Today, the Cabinet will approve a budget for the Netiv Ha'avot outline. The residents of Netiv Ha'avot have been waiting for a long time for this, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in his opening Cabinet meeting remarks.

Evacuation of structure in Netiv Ha'avot (Photo: Ohad Zwigenberg)

I would like to thank my colleague, Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon, for the joint work, especially with two people, chief-of-staff Yoav Horowitz and Ronen Peretz from my office, they did outstanding work on both this matter and placing the first homes in the community of Amichai last weekthis is a double blessing, he added.

Netanyahus announcement was welcomed by Education Minister Naftali Bennett (Bayit Yehudi) and his fellow party member Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked.

The government has taken the correct and moral step by opting to regulate area 91, he said in reference to the designated area for construction.

Residents of Netiv Haavot fell victim to the appeals made by left-wing organizations. The HCJ decision was wrong and it is our duty to minimize, as much as possible, the problems that were created for the residents. For every home that is dismantled as a result of the appeals filed by left-wing organizations, a community will be established in accordance with the law that they will not be able to move.

Gush Etzion Council head Shlomo Ne'eman also welcomed the decision, describing it as a major accomplishment for Zionist ideology.

PM Netanyahu (Photo: AFP)

This is a massive achievement for the Zionist enterprise in Judea and Samaria, he said. The crime of demolishing homes won't be atoned for by new construction, but will bring about hope for the Zionist enterprise in Gush Etzion.

In recent months, the Justice Ministry and the Attorney Generals Office have been attempting to find a solution for the residents of Netiv Haavot. In the meantime, a plot was found for the future evacuees who will be allowed to move there for three years while they work to legalize the outpost.

In total, 17 structures were ordered to be evacuated by the HCJ, which would have constituted the largest evacuation since Amona last February.



Last November, Israeli security forces completed the first demolition in the Netiv Ha'avot neighborhood in the Elazar settlement Wednesday of a carpentry shop, after the HCJ ruled that it was built illegally on privately-owned Palestinian land.

The order was part of a larger injunction calling for the demolition of a total of 17 illegal structures from the Gush Etzion settlement by March 2018.A Palestinian who was convicted in early February for murdering a 29-year-old pregnant Israeli woman, Michal Halimi, last summer was given a life sentence Sunday and another five years that will be served for other crimes he committed.

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In addition, Mohammed Harouf, a resident of Nablus, was ordered by the Tel Aviv District Court to pay NIS 258,000 compensation to the Halimi family.

Harouf confessed to the charges against him and was convicted as part of a plea bargain.

Mohammed Harouf and Michal Halimi. Murdered for being Jewish (Photo: Yair Sagi)

The plea bargain signed by Harouf attributed the murder to nationalistic motivations despite the fact that the original indictment was devoid of such charges.

Due to the plea bargain an amended indictment was served in which the defendant confessed to the facts of the amended indictment and was convicted, said presiding Judge Raanan Ben-Yosef at the conclusion of the sentencing.

According to the amended indictment, after words were exchanged in a telephone conversation between them the decision was made by him to murder Halimi for nationalistic reasons, he continued.

The punishment of a plea bargain is insufficient. He is a cruel murderer. It is only due to the fact that we are aware of the importance of the plea bargain did we not reject it and respected it by placing a question mark over it.

Michal Halimi's grave (Photo: Motti Kimchi)

Harouf, he added, received a lighter sentence by dint of the fact that the state did not seek to determine in the ruling that the murder was an act of terror according to the law.

It was not evidentiary difficulties led to a plea bargain, he emphasized. The evidence was there.

Harouf was arrested last August on suspicion of murdering Halimi from Geva Binyamin. She went missing on May 23 for two months and her body was eventually found near the city of Holon.

The murder scene in Holon (Photo: Israel Police)

According to Harouf, he met Halimi in Holon before strangling her, striking her in the head with a rock and covering her body in the sand before leaving the site in the victim's vehicle. The court sentenced him, along with murder, for stealing a vehicle, conspiracy to commit a crime, attempted fraud using a debit card and entering Israel illegally.

The convict murdered (Halimi) when she was carrying a baby in her womb, strangled her and threw rocks on her. He didnt even bury her and left her covered in leaves, sand and wheels, said the prosecution during previous court discussions.

Michal Halimi went missing in May of last year. Police launched an investigation which revealed that she had left her home voluntarily and was likely staying in the home of a young Palestinian from Nablus who she was involved with. The two posted joint photos on Facebook and announced their intention to get engaged.

On July 24, Halimi's body was found in the Holon area following an extensive search.Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to be questioned, likely under caution, as part of the Bezeq corruption investigation (Case 4000), this coming Friday. He is also expected to give testimony in the submarines affair (Case 3000), in which he is not a suspect.

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Police are investigating suspicions Bezeq majority shareholder Shaul Elovitch and Netanyahu had a quid pro quo relationship in which Bezeq enjoyed regulatory benefits in return for favorable coverage of the Netanyahu family on Walla! News, which is owned by the telecommunications giant.

Prime Minister Netanyahu (Photo: AFP)

arrested in Case 4000 . Shlomo Filber, the suspended director-general of the Communications Ministry, has signed a state's witness agreement in the case.

Meanwhile, police have decided not to ask for a remand extension for media adviser Eli Kamir in another investigation, but his remand was extended until Thursday after he became a suspect in Case 4000.

Kamir was initially arrested as part of the investigation into Case 1270, in which he and Hefetz are suspected of offering former District Court Chief Judge Hila Gerstel the attorney general's position in return for throwing out a case against Sara Netanyahu.

Police and the Israel Securities Authority (ISA) have been questioning Kamir under caution since the morning hours Sunday in Case 4000 on mediation for bribery suspicions.

Media adviser Eli Kamir (Photo: Motti Kimchi)

The Bezeq board of directors convened for an urgent meeting Sunday after the return of acting chairman David Granot from vacation. During the meeting, Shaul Elovitch, his son Or and Or's wife Orna announced their resignation from the board.

Walla! News CEO Ilan Yeshua, who gave police as many as eight detailed testimonies in Case 4000, was the one who provided investigators with the "golden evidence" in the investigationa recording of Elovitch issuing explicit orders on the favorable coverage that should be given to Netanyahu and his family on the Walla! website.

It has now been revealed that in addition to the recordings provided by Yeshua, the police also have transcripts of phone conversations after eavesdropping on the suspectsElovitch, Hefetz and Filber.

In July 2017, in the middle of the investigation into the Bezeq affair, the ISA received information that the offenses committed by Bezeq are not only related to its financial activity, but also include criminal offenses linked to Prime Minister Netanyahu. Yeshua's name was mentioned as someone who might be able to shed light on the affair.

After being updated on the developments in the investigation, the Israel Police's Lahav 433 Unit asked to receive the material, but the ISA insisted on completing the investigation into the financial offenses and submitting recommendations for indictments before moving on to the bribery offenses.The government unanimously approved the appointment of Amir Weissbrod as Israel's ambassador to Jordan. The Foreign Ministry will send an official request to Jordan to approve the appointment in the coming days.

Weissbrod replaces Einat Schlein, who was forced to step down following the shooting incident at the embassy last year and the ensuing political rift between Israel and Jordan.BEIRUT - Czech authorities detained a former leader of a Syrian Kurdish political party under an Interpol red notice that was based on Turkey's request for his arrest, Turkish and Syrian Kurdish officials said Sunday.

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Salih Muslim, former co-chair of the Democratic Union Party, or PYD, was "caught." Speaking in Sanliurfa Sunday, Erdogan said, "Our hope, God willing, is that the Czech Republic will hand him over to Turkey."

Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdag said Turkey requested Muslim's detention for extradition after locating him in a Prague hotel. Bozdag called Muslim the "terrorist head."

A Kurdish official close to Muslim, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the former PYD leader was in Prague attending a conference. After a Turkish participant took a photograph of him, Czech police detained the Syrian politician Saturday, following a request by Turkey.

Czech police say that have arrested and placed in detention a 67-year-old foreigner at the request of Turkey's Interpol. No further details were immediately released by Czech police.GAZA CITY - A team of Egyptian officials is in the Gaza Strip to renew efforts to push for reconciliation between the rival Fatah and Gaza factions.

Two Egyptian intelligence officials and a diplomat arrived in Gaza on Sunday, along with several government ministers from the Fatah-led Palestinian Cabinet in the West Bank.

A delegation of Hamas leaders has been in Egypt since Feb. 9 in what is believed to be a stepped up Egyptian pressure campaign on the group.The Gazan Interior Ministry conducted a surprise drill on Wednesday for Hamas and other security and rescue forces in the strip, using information from the IDF's Home Front Command on seeking shelter in time of attack.

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The exercise, which lasted about 12 hours, drilled different scenarios of Israeli attack on the Gaza Strip, which were based on incidents that took place during the 2014 Operation Protective Edge.

And so, Gazan children learned that during an Israeli attack, they must go into a shelter. But because the strip doesn't have proper bomb shelters like in Israel, children are told to seek cover between four walls. They were also told to lie on the ground with their hands covering their heads.

The exercise also included different scenarios along Gaza's borders with Egypt and Israel. Large numbers of Gazan police forces were deployed throughout the strip, while Hamas forces drilled scenarios of Israeli attacks, including ground invasion. Rescue forces, meanwhile, drilled the evacuation of wounded.Campaigning began in Egypt's presidential election on Saturday with incumbent Abdel Fattah al-Sisi likely to romp to victory in the absence of a serious challenger in the two-candidate race.

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The former army chief will face the head of the liberal Ghad party, Mussa Mustapha Mussa, after the other potential contenders withdrew or were arrested ahead of the March 26-28 polls.

In January, a coalition of eight opposition parties and 150 public figures called for a boycott of the election, branding it a "charade."

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi (Photo: Reuters)

Egypt's National Election Authority has urged the media to be "objective" and banned government officials from "trying to influence the outcome of the election, positively or negatively."

Sisi's campaign spokesman Mohamed Bahaa Abu Shukka, in statements aired Saturday by television stations, said campaigners will canvass the country door to door to encourage people to vote.

They will visit factories and farms to explain to voters the importance of taking part in the election even if Sisi is seen "as the favorite candidate," Abu Shukka said.

Banners by Sisi supporters glorifying him and calling for his re-election are strung across the streets, and the president's every move and official meetings get wide media coverage.

Sisi election banner (Photo: AFP)

Before becoming president in 2013, Sisi led the military in ousting the country's first freely elected leader, the Islamist Mohamed Morsi.

He stormed to victory in the following year's presidential election after security forces crushed all his Islamist and liberal opponents and sent hundreds of them to prison.

His critics say he has silenced all forms of political opposition during his first four-year term.

"How can we speak of an election when there is no guarantee of a free vote?" Hamdeen Sabbahi, a former presidential candidate, told a news conference as the opposition called for a boycott in January.

Among key figures detained ahead of the polls were Abdel Moneim Abul Fotouh, a former leading member of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood, and former army chief of staff Sami Anan.

Former Egyptian army chief Sami Anan (Photo: AP)

Abul Fotouh, who had joined the call to boycott the election, was also put on a terror list and accused of spreading false news that could harm Egypt's interests.

On Sunday, the public prosecutor's office said it had decided to "sequester the assets of the Muslim Brotherhood leader (Abul Fotouh) and other people who have been placed on terrorist lists."

It said an ongoing judicial probe had shown Abul Fotouh's funds were being "used to carry out terrorist activities."

Abdel Moneim Abul Fotouh (Photo: AP)

The interior ministry said following his arrest that Abul Fotouh, a former leading member of the Muslim Brotherhood and candidate in the 2012 presidential election, had contacts with the group's members in exile "to sow trouble and instability."

The army detained Anan, saying he announced his candidacy illegally while still a registered officer. He was seen as the most credible election rival to Sisi.Rabbi Shmuel Auerbach, the leader of the extremist Jerusalem Faction of the Lithuanian ultra-Orthodox sect, left a void in his passing Saturday which many either hope, or fear, may impair the group's struggle against army conscription.

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The Faction has been waging their uncompromising war against the draft since the High Court of Justice (HCJ) canceled in September an amendment ratified by the Knesset in 2015 to the Conscription Law, which lowered the annual quota on the number of Haredim required to draft into the IDF.

Anti-draft protest (Photo: Reuters)

It is still unclear who will succeed Auerbach, or whether the Faction's would be able to fully recover from the blow of his passing, but his followers made a point to stress that their struggle against the draft will continue unhindered.

Rabbi Avraham Menkes, a spokesman for the Committee to Save the Torah World and a close associate of Rabbi Auerbach, told Ynet this morning that the Rabbi's followers will continue on his path.

"It is not a struggle against enlistment, it is the great will of not only of our Rabbi, but of the revelation at Mount Sinai, to be adhering to Torah, to be laboring in Torah study.

"It has nothing to do with Rabbi Auerbach, it has to do with all the great sages of Israel from time immemorial. We will always be adhering to the Torah of God and learning the Torah, and we will defend it at all times."

Rabbi Auerbach (Photo: Ohad Zwigenberg)

In recent weeks, after several months of relentless demonstrations and roadblocks, there has been relative calm, with the Faction's protests being put on hold.

It is estimated that this was a conscious decision of Rabbi Auerbach's "Committee to Save the Torah World," which stemmed both from tactical considerations and due to their rabbi's precarious medical condition.

His sudden death and the slow progress in formulating a new amendment to the Conscription Law in the Knesset, though, are prompting the group to threaten to renew the protests.

Haredi arrested in Anti-draft demonstration (Photo: Ohad Zwigenberg)

The HCJ's annulment is set to come into effect in the coming summer, and with no alternative yet to be formulated, the tight schedule is putting pressure on the Haredi representation in the Knesset.

The Council of Torah Sages (represented in the Knesset by the Hassidic faction headed by Deputy Health Minister Yaakov Litzman) hinted last week to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that it expects him to approve a replacement legislative amendment on the issue even before its approval in the expected state budget in the coming weeks.

The faction's goal is now twofold: to promote the issue to be more prominent on the public's agenda and embarrass the mainstream ultra-Orthodox politicians, portraying them as compromisers and weak.

Rabbi Auerbach's funeral (Photo: EPA)

Kikar Hashabbat Commentator Israel Cohen estimates that the renewal of the protests depends on the ability of Rabbi Auerbach's heir to strive like him for an uncompromising confrontation with the state and his followers' willingness to pay a personal price for it.

"Rabbi Shmuel was both an extremist and a very charismatic person," Cohen said. "He was the glue that connected all the rabbis in the Faction. It will be very difficult to find someone who will step into his shoes, but if there is unity, agreement on the successor or heirs and adherence to the goal, it will be possible to at least maintain existing (protocolsed).

"However, as long as there is no heir to Auerbach, it is difficult to know where the struggle is headed."The Israeli Navy opened fire on Sunday at a Palestinian boat off that strayed from a permitted fishing area in the northern Gaza Strip towards Israel, killing one of the three men on board.

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The Navy opened fire after the boat ignored verbal warnings and warning shots, the IDF said. The soldiers than reportedly boarded the vessel and attempted to treat one of the fishermen, who was seriously wounded from the gunfire, but he succumbed to his wounds.

Two others were taken into custody for questioning.

Blood on the deck of the Palestinian vessel

The Gaza fishermen's union, however, claimed the boat was targeted as it was making its way back to Gaza, and Nizar Ayyash, the secretary of the Gaza fishermen's syndicate, said in a statement that the men did not violate the maritime limit.

The union and his family named the dead man as 18-year-old Ismail Saleh Abu Reyala. Fishermen called an immediate two-day strike.

Israel maintains a naval blockade on the Gaza Strip, which is dominated by Hamas Islamists. It patrols the waters to stop arms from being smuggled into the enclave and to stop terrorists trying to attack or infiltrate its territory from the sea.

"Israeli forces targeted a Palestinian fishing boat which was on the way back to Gaza shore, which led to the death of one fisherman and wounding two others," the fishermen's union said.

An IDF spokeswoman said a Palestinian vessel with three suspects aboard was shot at after it had deviated from the designated fishing zone in the northern Gaza Strip.

"Naval forces called on the suspects to stop and when they did not comply, warning shots were fired into the air. Upon their continued advancement, shots were fired towards the vessel. Subsequently, one of the suspects was severely injured and he later succumbed to his wounds. The other two suspects were handed to security forces for interrogation," she said.

The side of the vessel, riddled with bullet holes

Fishing is one of the biggest industries in the Gaza Strip, a coastal enclave of almost 2 million inhabitants.

Over the past two years, Israel has detained dozens of Gaza fishermen who have strayed beyond the border, a senior naval commander said.

Boats are not allowed to stray beyond a fixed limit to the north towards Israeli waters, and Egypt keeps similar limitations to the south-west. Israel restricts fishing to a seasonally adjusted zone of between six and nine nautical miles.The pilot and navigator of an Israeli F-16 downed by Syrian anti-aircraft fire failed to defend themselves as required, according to the conclusions to the IDF's investigation into the incident, which were made public on Sunday.

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A summary of the investigation released by the IDF said that the crew had chosen "to complete the mission and not defend themselves sufficiently. Their actions did not correlate with standard procedure while under enemy fire."

The events of February 10 began in the early morning hours when an Iranian drone infiltrated Israel. An IAF Apache helicopter shot it down, while fighter jets were scrambled to attack 12 Syrian and Iranian targets in Syria in retaliation. On their way back to base, the Israeli planes came under Syrian anti-aircraft fire, with one missile exploding near one of the planes and bringing it down.





The F-16 crash site (Photo: Reuters)

The investigation into the incident, which was presented to IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot, determined that the advanced planning for the operation was done properly, and the intelligence for the mission was sufficient, leading to the successful destruction of the targets, which were marked prior to the retaliatory strike.

In total, the Syrian aerial defense apparatus launched 27 missiles at IAF planes throughout the night and early morning as events unfolded, 13 of them were fired while Israeli jets were attacking the Iranian drone's control and command center. One of the missiles, a large long-range outdated SA-5 missile, hit the Israeli F-16.

One of the anti-aircraft missiles fired by Syria at the IAF planes (Photo: EPA)

The warning systems in the F-16 that was hit were found to be in order and alerted the pilot and navigator of the threat on time. The seven other planes that went out on the bombing mission were all able to defend themselves from enemy missiles by and completed their tasks successfully.

Despite this, the downed F-16's team failed to deploy countermeasures.

The pilot and navigator failed to take heed of the SA-5 missile, which locked onto their plane. The Israel Air Force determined that to be a "professional error."

"In the operational theatre, there were a number of planes that did indeed defend themselves against the Syrian launchings while completing their mission. One of the planes that did not defend itself, was hit," senior IAF officer told reporters.

The F-16 crash site (Photo: AFP)

The crew should have defended themselves as a priority over completing the offensive mission, the officer said.

He said the "heart of the event" was "the hiatus between their completing the mission successfully and taking defensive measures and ensuring survivability."

"The mission was completed successful and still, the plane should not have been downed, that is the standard we expect and we train for this," he said.

He did allow that the air force's control center could have been more persistent in alerting the pilots to the missile that locked onto their plane, "in a way that might have gotten the other shoe to drop sooner for the pilots."

The IAF officer also noted the amount of Syrian anti-aircraft missiles fired at the Israeli jets was bigger than in past incidents, but this was taken into account when preparing for the mission. The teams on the other planes that went on the mission were instructed to attack the drone's control and commander center if the leading plane, which was eventually hit, is busy defending itself and cannot complete the mission.

Nevertheless, the investigation concluded that the pilot and navigator's decision to abandon the plane after it was the right one.

The Russians, with whom Israel frequently communicates in order to avoid aerial confrontations over Syria, had no connection to the launching of the drone, the officer added.

"There was no Russian involvement in the incident," he said.

IDF chief Eisenkot visited the Ramon Air Base and spoke with the pilots there. "I want to express immense appreciation to you for what you're doing and for the way in which you contribute to the strength and might of the State of Israel," Eisenkot told the airmen.

"Many times, the road to significant operational achievements requires us to take risks," he added.

Eisenkot with the navigator from the downed F-16 (Photo: IDF Spokesman's Office)

Eisenkot said the investigation into the incident "was professional and in-depth, and I am confident the operational lessons will be learned."

Air Force Commander Maj. Gen. Amikam Norkin also praised the airmen. "I want to praise the actions of the aerial defense systems, which led to the discovery and identification of the Iranian drone, as well as the actions of the fighters who shot down the drone, destroyed the Iranian control and command trailer and the additional Syrian and Iranian targets, delivering a significant blow to the Syrian aerial defense systems. All of these actions significantly hurt Iran's entrenchment attempts in Syria," he said.

Eisenkot and Norkin visiting the Ramon Air Base (Photo: IDF Spokesman's Office)

Norkin also praised the quick extraction of the pilot and navigator. "Less than 52 minutes passed from the moment they bailed out to receiving treatment at the hospital," he said.An image in which a photo of Zionist Union leader Avi Gabbay was replaced with that of a chimpanzee has been making the rounds on social media after an interview he gave Yedioth Ahronoth, which was highly critical of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

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Netanyahu, Gabbay told Yedioth's weekend supplement 7 Days, "is ending his career as the Israeli version of (former Italian prime minister) Berlusconi."

"It's convenient for Netanyahu to run his legal battles from the prime minister's seat. To that end, there is no political price he's not willing to pay, there is no system he's not willing to eliminate, there is no state official he's not willing to crush," Gabbay continued.

Zionist Union leader Avi Gabbay (Photo: Alex Kolomoisky)

"Netanyahu is like the auto-immune diseases that attack the body," he concluded.

The Zionist Union condemned the photoshopped image of Gabbay as an ape, saying it is racist. The party alleged that radical right-wing elements were behind the photo and claimed the comparison was done because of Gabbay's Mizrahi ethnicity.

Zionist Union MK Amir Peretz slammed the photo on his Facebook page, saying, "Where have all of the right-wing commenters gone? All of those who put out automatic comments and condemnations in a Pavlovian response? Where are all of those who told us about the 'condescending and elitist left wing'? Why are we not hearing from them when right-wing activists replace the photo of the Labor party chairman Avi Gabbay, who is of Moroccan origins, with the photo of an ape? Where are all of the prominent right wing figures? All of those who were (justifiably) alarmed when Garbuz spoke at the square? Your hypocrisy is revealed, and the public is beginning to understand that you don't care about real change and the fight against racism. All you care about is to attack the 'Left.'"

MK Eitan Cabel also slammed the photo on his Twitter page, writing: "Right-wing activists are displaying racism of the lowest kind. It is probably hard for them to see a Mizrahi man heading a party, and they stoop to the lowest level in posting this photo."

Likud MK Miki Zohar did condemn the photo, writing on Twitter: "The ape photo put instead of Avi Gabbayis neither appropriate nor dignified."

At the same time, Zohar also slammed Gabbay's comments in the interview, saying "The comparison Avi Gabbay made between the PM and serious illnessesthe man simply loses it every time."

Gabbay himself was not bothered by the photo, saying "I don't get worked up over it, it is a testament to who they are, not who I am."The IDF will impose a general closure on the West Bank, as well as close Gaza border crossings, during the Purim holiday.

The closure will begin on the night between Tuesday and Wednesday and will end on the night between Saturday and Sunday.

During the closure, only humanitarian, medical and unusual cases will be allowed through the border crossings.Every winter, the embassy of France in Israel invites a visiting delegation of leading chefs to this country to spend a week collaborating with local chefs in creating memorable gastronomic experiences. This annual project, now in its sixth year, goes by the name So French, So Food, and attracts the nations most prestigious restaurants as participants.

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This year, Oratorio, the flagship restaurant of the Elma Arts Complex Luxury Hotel in Zikhron Yaakov, joined the enterprise as one of the few kosher establishments to host a So French, So Food chef. Resident Chef Gil Aviram welcomed Parisian Chef Julien Roucheteau into the Oratorio kitchen, where the two created a six-course tasting menu that was served for three evenings this month.

Roucheteau is the chef de cuisine of the restaurant La Scene Theleme, which holds not only a coveted Michelin star but also three toques (chefs hats) awarded by Gault & Millau, Frances other internationally renowned guide to gastronomy.

The first course of the degustation menu was pickled salmon with young potatoes in oil infused with yuzu and herbs, alongside red and white grapefruit. The freshness of the raw fish was evident, and enhanced nicely by the citrus of the fresh fruit and in the oil.

Next was beetroot ravioli stuffed with a melange of beet, cilantro and assorted nuts, in chicken jus with lemongrass and ginger. The ravioli in this case was not a pasta pocket but rather layers of razor-thin slices of beet carpaccio, alternating with the excellent, complex filling.

The third course featured yellowtail tataki crusted with black and white sesame, accompanied by rice chips and black eggplant cream. The white sea fish was exceedingly fresh and flavorful, and complemented superbly by the dollops of mellow eggplant cream.

The cooked fish course was oven-roasted sea bream in Jerusalem artichoke cream, with slivered capers and Jerusalem artichoke fries. The perfectly cooked fish simply melted in the mouth, in a delicate cream that was sheer ambrosia, while the crunch of the artichoke chips and zesty capers elevated the dish to a sublime level.

The meat course was seared beef tenderloin with kumquat confiture, mashed and confit carrot, and citrus foam. The grilled medallions of prime beef were positively succulent, embellished by a unique sweet and tart fruit condimentand carrot side dishes prepared in such a way that this common root vegetable yielded extraordinarily exceptional flavors.

The winery chosen to provide the wines for this special menu was nearby Netofa, of the lower Galilee. The winemaker himself was on hand to pair the food with one white and one red from his Tel Qasser vintages.

Dessert consisted of fresh strawberries marinated in vanilla and whiskey, with licorice jelly, white chocolate ganache with clementine, chocolate ganache with hazelnut praline, pistachio cream and dried strawberries. There was a lot going on in this delicious finale, which fortunately did not have to rely on milk substitutes in a rarely successful attempt to emulate dairy desserts.

Discerning diners from far and wide came to Oratorio to enjoy a kosher So French, So Food culinary adventure of the kind that observant Jews seldom get to experience.

Oratorio @ the Elma Arts Complex Luxury Hotel

Kosher

Yair Street 1, Zikhron YaakovIn Ghana, and elsewhere around the globe, one thing that is associated with stardom is the acquisition of luxurious cars.

Many of Ghanas celebrities can boast of owning a good number of cars, such as the likes of Shatta Wale, who has about 10 powerful cars to his name; andJackie Appiah who recently flaunted her 2018-customized Maserati on social media. The list goes on and on.

READ ALSO: I now understand why fake pastors are predicting death for my son  Shatta Wales dad

However, Kalybos, comedian and actor, seems to hold a different view about owning posh cars.

He has stated, according to a report by Ghanacelebrities.com, that he would in no way spend his hard-earned money on acquiring luxurious cars.

According to Kalybos, he is very comfortable with this Toyota Camry, therefore, he sees no importance in adding another to it.

He added that buying a lot of cars, and posh ones for that matter, is not his priority, and that he is focusing on some important projects he needs to undertake.

READ ALSO: Ebony's response to her managers when they asked her about her 17 tattoos

I would be a big pathetic fool to buy another car in addition to my Toyota Camry when I have a lot of important projects to work on, Kalybos said..

Kalybos, born Richard Asante, further disclosed that he first wants to build his own house, and that is his top priority now, not cars.

Star Gist on YEN brings you an exclusive interview with upcoming music star S3fa:

READ ALSO: Video of Ebony busily working at a washing bay proves she was indeed a hard working girl

Know someone who is extremely talented and needs recognition?

Your stories and photos are always welcome. Get interactive via our Facebook page

Source: Yen.com.gh- Police officials in peace missions at South Sudan have been suspended

- All 46 member personnel have been recalled after allegations of sexual misconduct

- Ghana's police department is yet to comment on this development

Ghana's police department working with the U.N. peace mission in South Sudan has been suspended following allegations of sexual assault against them.

What this means is that all 46-member unit from Ghana will have to stop protecting civilians in Wau until investigations are over.

READ ALSO: We've made consultations and prayed over death prophecy - Lil' Win's manager reveals

Ghana's police peace mission in South Sudan (Photo: Myjoyonline.com)

A statement by the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) indicates that some members of the FPU (Formed Police Unit) allegedly engaged in transactional sex."

According to the statement, on 8 February, a complaint alleging that members of the Ghanaian Formed Police Unit (FPU) were engaging in sexual activity with women living at the UN Protection of Civilians site in Wau."

The suspension follows an earlier warning by the minister of defense, Dominic Nitiwul, in 2017 to soldiers in peace missions to stop having sexual activities with civilians.

He said violating this directive amounts to misconduct, and one risks being sacked from the army if he/she goes contrary to the directive.

READ ALSO: God will reveal the truth about Martin Amidu, Atta Mills - Valerie Sawyer

Meanwhile, the police department here in Ghana is yet to comment on this development.

Star Gist on YEN brings you an exclusive interview with upcoming music star S3fa:

Send us a message via our official Facebook and/or Instagram page to get it published on YEN.com.gh.

Source: Yen- Pastor Mensa Otabil of the International Central Gospel Church has topped the2017 social media rankings as the most influential pastor on social media

- Bishop Obinim was able to win a place in the ranking by clinging to the 10th position

- Bishop Dag-Heward Mills of Lighthouse Chapel came up second

The Ghana Social Media Rankings has measured the performance of all popular Ghanaian pastors who have official accounts on Facebook and Twitter.

In total, only ten top pastors made it to the list with Pastor Mensa Otabil of the International Central Gospel Church (ICGC) coming on tops with a total of over 2 million followers both on Facebook and Twitter.

READ ALSO: Ghana's police peace mission in South Sudan sacked for sexual misconduct

The newest entrant was Bishop Obinim of the Founder and Leader of International Godsway Church who came last as the powerful pastor in Ghana with about 100, 000 followers on both Facebook and Twitter.

Below is the full list of top ten pastors:

Below are the 2017 Top 10 Most Influential Radio Stations on Social Media:

1. Dr. Mensa Otabil

2. Bishop Dag Heward-Mills

3. Archbishop Nicholas Duncan Williams

4. Apostle Prof. Opoku Onyinah

5. Bishop Charles Agyin-Asare

6. Rev. Sam Korankye Ankrah

7. Prophet Kakra Baiden

8. Bishop James Kwaku Saah

9. Prophet Victor Kusi Boateng

10. Bishop Daniel Obinim

The pastor to have taken the second place was Bishop Dag-Heward Mills of the Lighthouse Chapel International with Bishop Duncan Williams of the Action Chapel coming up third with about 870,000 followers on both Facebook and Twitter.

READ ALSO: We've made consultations and prayed over death prophecy - Lil' Win's manager reveals

The ranking which is based on the GSMR Score was analysed from their Social Media followings, Growth Difference, Engagements, Post Reaches and Mentions.

The 2017 Ghana Social Media Rankings was conducted by Avance Media, CliQAfrica, eazzysocial and Dream Ambassadors Foundation GH in partnership Pearl Richards Foundation.

This ranking helps us understand how much of a mini-congregation these pastors get to preach to on social media. What this means is that the number of followers by these pastors largely impact on their power and influence across the country.

Star Gist on YEN brings you an exclusive interview with upcoming music star S3fa:

Send us a message via our official Facebook and/or Instagram page to get it published on YEN.com.gh.

Source: Yen- Former president Rawlings has renewed his NDC membership

- He has also paid his dues to the party up until 2020

- He renewed his membership at the party's PWD branch at the Korle Klottey constituency

Ghana's former president, H.E. Jerry John Rawlings, during the opposition National Democratic Congress's recent re-registration drive renewed his membership to the country's biggest opposition party.

The former Head of State on Friday joined the party's rank and file to pay his dues to the main opposition party till the year 2020 at the PWD branch of the party's Korle Klottey constituency on Friday, February 24th.

READ ALSO: Kumkum Bagya star dies at 54

President Rawlings renews NDC membership

According to Starrfmonline.com's report, the founder of the main opposition party reportedly quickly left the party's registration area once he received his party card.

Ghana's immediate former president and potential presidential candidate for the 2020 general elections, H.E. John Dramani Mahama, already renewed his NDC membership months back.

The opposition NDC has recently been on a drive to re-register its party members in an attempt to reorganize in order to return to political power from the NPP at the 200 general elections.

READ ALSO: NPP man collapses due to party primary results

Do you have any story to share with YEN? Get featured! We are available on Facebook

Source: YenUKA Podcast - Reflecting on Tokyo

Written by Ross Locksley on 25 Feb 2018

Ross and Mr Seb have found some wine, and in their penultimate night in Tokyo, sit around the virtual fire and discuss life in Tokyo, from shopping to travelling, with some hints, tips and screw ups for you to learn from. The last of our Tokyo podcasts starts here! Courtesy of Aleksey Dmetsov - Fotolia.com





Starting its life in 1894 as Riverview Park Zoo, Henry Doorly Zoo grew into one of the worlds best and largest zoos with more than 950 animal species and some of largest exhibits in the world. The Lied Jungle occupies 80-foot tall building covering 1.5 acres. You can peek behind a curtain of water of a 50-foot tall waterfall and watch animals in the largest indoor jungle in the world. Walk along a trail on the jungle floor or on a raised walkway and see blue monkeys, common squirrel monkeys, black howler monkeys, pygmy hippopotamuses , scarlet macaws and many others.

An enormous geodesic "Desert Dome" contains examples of geologic features from some of worlds biggest deserts and is home to many animals that are well suited to an arid environment such as central bearded dragons, collared peccaries, greater roadrunners, desert cottontails, swift foxes and others. There are two rides that can take you around the zoo and the attached Walter and Suzanne Scott Kingdoms of the Seas. There is also a carousel for kids and a Skyfari, an aerial tram that takes visitors from the Butterfly and Insect Pavilion to the lion exhibit.

3701 S 10th St, Omaha, Nebraska 68107, Phone: 402-733-8401

You are reading "Fun Things to Do in Nebraska this Weekend with Friends" Back to Top or More places to see near me today, what to do, weekend tripsMedie is a village not far north of Accra, Ghana's capital city. Medie is not a place many Westerners visit, although that may change in time. We are there because the elder brother of a close friend has died of lung cancer ("He wasn't Y2K-compliant," jokes our friend, familiar with the Y2K bug although he's never used a computer) and we are there for the last six hours of his two-day wake.

Like the others, she's clad in skirt and blouse with an extra yard of fabric wrapped shawl-fashion. Unlike the others, she wears a coarse rope around her waist. Sometimes another woman leads her by it, into the dancing, out of the dancing. Sometimes it just dangles. We are in the town of Medie. The bound woman is a new widow: the dancing is her husbands wake.

Under a large shady tree, several dozen men in embroidered bata kari (the smocks traditional to Northern Ghana) cluster together singing. Three men play balafon, the Dagadi xylophone with wooden keys and buzzing gourds. One man plays sticks; one man drums. The combination of rhythms is so complicated it sounds like chaos to my untrained ear.

Every now and then a throng of women exits the shade of the womens tent and dances, shuffling steps and rhythmic pauses, bent forward, arms out like birds' wings. It is a dance everyone seems to know. A few of the women wail, including the roped widow.

An old woman pulls my arm and brings me into the dance. The children laugh: I am a spectacle, the white woman who doesn't know what she's doing. "Follow me," she says, and starts moving. "Follow me."

Fortune. Photo taken in 2004.

Our friend Fortune is with us, acting as cultural interpreter. "Funeral traditions vary depending on the tribe," she explains. "In some peoples, the widow must go barefoot from when the husband dies until the end of his funeral and wake-keeping. Some widows must wear black. Some must wear rope."

Fortune is a smallish woman with hair pulled back and laugh lines around her eyes. She befriended my husband when he lived in Ghana, six years ago. Once she was a trader, buying and selling beads and cloth in Nigeria, Togo and Ghana. These days Nigeria is unfriendly, Togo is questionable, and she doesn't have the necessary capital to trade anyway. She knows everyone, and speaks at least four languages (English, the national tongue; Ewe, the language of her people; and the additional tribal languages of Ga and Twi). Fortune is divorced, a rarity in Ghana.

"There are remarriage rules for widows," Fortune tells us. "Often, if the woman has children, she must marry a man from the husband's family, so that the children stay in the family." There is a pause. "Of course, if a woman dies the husband is free." She doesn't roll her eyes at this, not exactly, but her expression and tone have the same effect. 'Go figure,' she seems to be saying. 'When a man dies his wife gains restrictions; when a woman dies, her husband can do anything he wants. Where is the fairness in that?'

Osu. Photo taken in 1993.

The wake ends around six. As the tents are dismantled, dark clouds gather: we are sure it's going to pour, but the rain never comes. We return to Accra, to a neighborhood called Osu, where Fortune and her husband Patrick used to live. They're down on their luck at the moment: she's living with her mother, he's sleeping on a cot in an Osu furniture storage shed.

We arrive to find their living room set outside the storage shed, on the dirt floor of the compound. We sit on their sofas, under the starry sky, and talk about politics: the upcoming Ghanaian election, Hillary Clinton's run for the NY senate seat. Fortune disappears into the shed. When she emerges she bears a feast: omo tuo, twice-cooked rice balls, with a spicy groundnut stew. It is among the best meals I've eaten anywhere. Prepared on a single charcoal brazier, behind closed doors.

The daythe longest one of our tripends with our dinner at Fortune's. By the time we reach our room it has been night for hours. We have cleansed our palates with fresh pineapple; once we climb the stairs to our room we are almost too tired to brush our teeth.

When I close my eyes Africa swims around me. The sounds and smells and images, everything my brain has stored up from the day, closes over me like the ocean.

When I close my eyes the old woman beckons again. "Follow me," she says. She is leading me into the funeral, into every sprawling market, into the homes of our friends, into the world I want to understand. "Follow me."

I am still following.

This essay was published in the now-defunct The Women's Times in February, 2000. Reading Ethan's recent post Ghanaian Ambitions made me want to dig this up; it's amazing to hear about how Accra has changed. I hope to return there someday.

All images courtesy of Ethan's flickr stream.

I just finished Michael Twitty's book The Cooking Gene. It's a deep exploration of southern cooking, African cuisine, slavery and its continuing impacts, and how food shapes our sense of where we come from and who we are.

I'm an outsider to the African American cultural history this book chronicles. But I know good memoir when I read it, and this is good memoir. It's also a rich, complicated exploration of race and history and memory. And from time to time it's also a meditation on Jewishness and food, and on those subjects at least I feel some reasonable semblance of expertise. Twitty chose Judaism as a young adult, taking on the mitzvot and the Jewish people's long history along with the histories of his genetic ancestors. (In addition to being a culinary historian, he's also a Judaic studies teacher. Wow do I wish I could bring him to my shul to teach my b'nei mitzvah kids.)

*

I read this book on my phone, on airplanes to and from my own birthplace in south Texas. If I'd read it on paper, I would have annotated the heck out of the volume: there would be underlined passages and exclamation points in the margins at the passages that moved or surprised me most.

As it is, I don't have quotations to share with you. I can only reference some of the passages that have stayed with me: the part where he writes about cooking on a plantation using his ancestors' tools and ingredients -- the part where he traces ingredients from Africa, transplanted along with the people for whom they were familiar -- the part where he writes about tracing his white ancestry (because white slaveholders raped the women they "owned," and therefore he is descended from slave owners as well as slaves) -- the part where he offers quotations from historical sources about the "Middle Passage" and what slavery actually entailed -- the part where he's teaching seventh graders about the Holocaust, and slavery comes up, and one of the kids tells him it was a long time ago and he should "get over it" -- the part where he writes about picking cotton and almost glimpsing the ghosts of his ancestors around him, noting that the ashcake they ate in the fields was truly the bread of affliction. (I will hear echoes of that this Pesach when I take my first bite of matzah.) The conversations with Low Country chefs and experts who are preserving Gullah food and culture, and with southern "good old boys" who are Confederate re-enactors -- and the agony of not being able to trace his whole family tree, because during slavery families were broken apart and records didn't preserve data because these human beings were considered chattel, not human beings...

What moves me most is Twitty's combination of love for where he comes from, and willingness to approach his history (which serves as a synecdoche for African-American history writ large) with generosity. He celebrates soul food without ignoring its roots in slavery and scarcity. He doesn't turn a blind eye to the horrors of slavery, nor the ugly ways in which those horrors still shape the relationship between whites and people of color in this country today. And, he makes the conscious choice to pursue connection, even with the descendants of those who enslaved his forebears, without spiritual bypassing or pretending away the damage done to African American communities to this day. Maybe that's why this book feels redemptive to me.

*

Reading The Cooking Gene, I found myself thinking a lot about the foods with which I grew up as a white (Ashkenazi) Jewish woman with immigrant grandparents in south Texas, and the foods I've embraced as an adult seeking a more multicultural approach to cooking and eating, and how race and history play into all of these.

I was particularly struck by Twitty's tracing of West African ingredients and flavors into American forms. I learned to love (and to cook!) Ghanaian food thanks to my ex-husband Ethan. He lived in Ghana for a year on a Fullbright grant right after college, and has returned there often since then. I only went to Ghana with him twice, but those trips impacted me. (See Dancing with the widow, an essay from 2000.) Our son has a Akan day-of-the-week name, and was blessed with Ghanaian moonshine and a libation poured to the ancestors at his naming ceremony where he also received his Hebrew name.

My two trips to Ghana don't make me an expert on anything, but they give me a personal connection with the place and the people I met while I was there. That feeling of connection intensifies the awfulness of reading Twitty's words about slavery. (On my first trip to Ghana I visited Cape Coast Castle, one place where slaves were loaded aboard ship to sail across the sea in unthinkable conditions toward even more unthinkable futures.) And that feeling of connection intensifies my delight at recognizing African ingredients transplanted into the southern American culinary vernacular, and recognizing the indigenous and African roots of some of the foods I grew up eating. (Here's a blog post from Twitty about the Colonial roots of southern barbecue -- a story that you can also read, in somewhat revised form, in the book.)

If you are interested in food, memory, race, or American history, this book is absolutely worth reading. (And if you are not yet interested in the culinary traditions of the African diaspora, I expect you will be by the time you finish.) I recommend it highly.

Posts by other folks:Russia remained the top crude oil supplier to China in January, data showed, beginning 2018 on a strong note after the start-up of an expanded trans-Siberia pipeline and as Beijing released more crude import quotas to independent refiners. As Reuters writes in an article "Russia remains China's top oil supplier as pipeline expands", Angola and Iraq took the second and third positions for the month, leapfrogging Saudi Arabia, which was the second-largest supplier to China in 2017. Russian supplies came in at 5.67 million tonnes, or 1.34 million barrels per day (bpd), up 23.4 percent from a year earlier, data from the Chinese General Administration of Customs showed on Saturday.

The January number compared with 1.194 million bpd in December.

Last month, data showed Russia notched up its second year as Chinas largest supplier in 2017, surpassing Saudi Arabia - OPECs top exporter - by some 150,000 barrels each day.

The strong Russian exports to the worlds largest crude oil buyer came as a second East Siberia-Pacific Ocean (ESPO) pipeline, as well as expanded domestic connections in China, started commercial operation in January.

In a reshuffle of the pack, Angola ranked second with 4.68 million tonnes, or 1.1 million bpd, of crude in January, down 5.4 percent from a year earlier.

China imported 4.45 million tonnes, or 1.05 million bpd, of crude from Iraq, up 28 percent from a year ago.

Saudi Arabia supplied 4.29 million tonnes, or 1.01 million bpd, to China in January. That was down 15 percent from the same year-ago rate and compared with 1.11 million bpd in December. Even so, exports from the kingdom are expected to rise to record levels this year as Saudi Aramco ramps up supplies to Chinese state oil firm CNOOC, as well as the Huajin refinery owned by defense giant NORINCO.

Chinas total crude oil imports last month soared 20 percent from the same month a year earlier to a record rate of 9.57 million barrels per day, beating the previous peak of 9.17 million bpd.

Customs data also showed Chinas oil imports from the United States soared to 2.01 million tonnes last month, or roughly 472,508 bpd. That compares with just 257,861 tonnes a year ago.

In 2017, U.S. shipments, which benefited from OPEC-led supply cuts, averaged about 153,000 bpd.Turkey's strategic position China's modern Silk Road project makes it a strong partner for the countries involved and renders the country a gateway to European markets. As Daily Sabah writes in an article "Turkey a gateway to Europe for modern Silk Road", the Belt and Road Initiative covers China, Kazakhstan, Caspian Sea, Azerbaijan and Georgia. In 2013, Chinese President Xi Jinping announced the Belt and Road Initiative to build a trade and infrastructure-based network, connecting Asia with Europe and Africa along the ancient Silk Road trade routes. "One Belt, One Road," refers to the "Silk Road Economic Belt," which recreates the ancient, land-based Silk Road trade routes from China across Central Asia, into to the Middle East and Europe, also known as the "Modern Silk Road."

The route of the modern Silk Road starts in China and passes through Kazakhstan, the Caspian Sea, Azerbaijan and Georgia and will extend to Europe via Turkey, which constitutes one of the main corridors of the project, called Trans-Caspian Corridor.

Also covering the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars (BTK) Railway, a key to the Silk Road project expected to carry nearly 1 million passengers and 6.5 million tons of freight annually before unlocking a freight transportation potential of up to 50 million tons per year, the corridor will facilitate freight and passenger transportation from China to Europe, and Russia to South Asia and Africa.

In 2013, within the framework of the Modern Silk Road Second International Transportation and Logistics Business Forum, an agreement for the establishment of the Coordination Committee for the Development of the Trans-Caspian International Transportation Route was signed by the Kazakhstan National Railway Company, Azerbaijan Railways, and Georgia Railways. The committee was later established in 2014 with a view to increasing the freight transportation on the Trans-Caspian International Transportation Route.

With the involvement of committee members, an international association for the Trans-Caspian International Transportation Route was formed last year. Turkey became the permanent member of the committee with a protocol signed last week.

Association Chairman Kanat Alpysbaev said the Trans-Caspian corridor was completed with the launch of the BTK Railway.

Underscoring the importance of Turkish State Railways' (TCDD) participation in the committee, Alpysbaev informed that the amount of freight transported on the Trans-Caspian corridor will jump to 4 million tons this year from last year's 2 million tons. This target will be achieved easily with Turkey's membership, he said and added that 1 million of freight is expected to be transported through Turkey per year. Alpysbaev informed that Turkey ensures the connections to theTrans-Caspian corridor since the country is strategically located and close to the Caucasus and Central Asia.

"A large portion of the 4 million tons of freight to be transported on the Trans-Caspian corridor will be composed by Kazakhstan's wheat products. The corridor will also be used for the transportation of coal and metal products. From Turkey, textile products and construction materials will be transported," the chairman said.

Trans-Caspian International Transport Route International Association Vice Chairman Javid Gurbanov said with the realization of permanent membership of Turkey for the Trans-Caspian route, also known as the Middle Corridor, fellow countries will be united by rail. Pointing out that China and Europe will be united via Turkey, Gurbanov said the transport has begun through Turkey. Gurbanov noted that the deficiencies in the corridor will be resolved over time and that the cooperation will contribute to all member states. Gurbanov also mentioned that they would like to increase the amount of freight transported in the future to 17 million tons in the corridor planned to transport 4 million tons of cargo this year.

TCDD General Director Veysi Kurt said the Trans-Caspian transport corridor constitutes a significant part of the line known as the historical Silk Road, which runs from China to Europe. Stressing that Turkey will now have a say in the international association consisting of rail and port authorities over the corridor as well as the ship management authorities on the Caspian Sea, Kurt said international logistics and transport serving a very important hinterland ranging from China to Europe and from Russia to South Asia and to Africa can be carried out on the corridor. Kurt noted that over 100 million tons of freight are ready to flow through the corridor, adding that the said transport will be realized after completion of the logistics service on the railway line.The National Assembly (NA) Tsarukyan Faction will vote in favor ofAmbassador to UKArmen Sarkissians candidacy as the next President of Armenia, News.am reports.

NA Tsarukyan Faction head, Prosperous Armenia Party Chairman, and tycoon Gagik Tsarukyan stated about the aforesaid at his meeting with the MPs of this faction.

He said Sarkissians views are in line with those of the Tsarukyan faction.

The presidential election will be held at the parliament on March 2.President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev signed a decree on Feb. 22 to increase the personal presidential scholarship and amend the decree "On establishment of a personal presidential scholarship", dated June 11, 2002, Azvision.az reports.

According to the decree, the personal presidential scholarship will be set at 1,450 manats from March 1, 2018, as appreciation of the merits of individuals who have made a great contribution to science, education, culture, economy, public administration, and to further strengthen their social protection.Turkey on Feb. 24 welcomed a U.N. Security Council decision for a 30-day cease-fire in Syria, Hurriyet Daily News reported.

The U.N. Security Council adopted a resolution in Syria without delay.

We welcome todays decision of the U.N. Security Council to end the conflicts without delay and to call for a humanitarian cease-fire for at least 30 days, in order to allow access to emergency humanitarian aid and medical evacuations in the wake of the worsening humanitarian situation in Syria, particularly Eastern Ghouta, the Turkish Foreign Ministrys spokesman Hami Aksoy said in a written statement.

Since the beginning Turkey made an effort to end the conflict and to reduce the tension on every platform and supported the international community in their steps in this regard. The six observation points we have established in Idlib until today are a concrete manifestation of our efforts, it added.

Aksoy said Turkey expressed its concern on the worsening humanitarian situation in Eastern Ghouta and called for an end to the increasing violations of the regime.

On this matter we shared our concerns with the regimes guarantors Russia and Iran, stating that the regimes attacks on civilians and the violation of the cease-fire led to the interruption of our common efforts in the de-escalation zones, it added.HA NOI  Vietnamese stocks are expected to rise further with the benchmark VN-Index forecast to surpass its all-time peak of 1,170 in 2007 on rising investor confidence in the market outlook, analysts say.

The benchmark VN-Index gained 2.49 per cent to close at 1,102.85 points on Friday, after dropping 1.02 per cent to finish at 1,076.03 points on Thursday.

The southern market index gained 4.07 per cent in three sessions last week.

The HNX Index on the Ha Noi Stock Exchange rose 1.24 per cent to end at 126.24 points, recovering from its one-day decline of 0.92 per cent to end the session at 124.70 points on Thursday.

The two stock indices witnessed a weekly rise of 4.07 per cent and 1.55 per cent, respectively, as money flowed into large-cap stocks, driving up the market.

An average of more than 239.82 million shares were traded in each session, worth VND6.8 trillion (US$298.5 million).

The UPCOM Index on the Unlisted Public Company Market (UPCoM) inched up 0.43 per cent to finish at 59.56 points. It lost 0.15 per cent to finish at 59.28 points in the previous session.

Furthermore, the unlisted market index gained 1.81 per cent after the three trading sessions of the week.

According to Duong Van Chung, head of MB Securities Cos northern branch, during the beginning of February, the market fell sharplythe VN-Index was dragged down below 1,000 points.

I recommended investors to purchase more stocks as after Tet, the market will likely to turn upward and could possibly exceed its peak of 1,130 points set before the Tet holiday, and even surpassing the all-time peak of 1,179 in 2007, Chung told tinnhanhchungkhoan.vn.

With the growing momentum during the last week, I expect that the VN-Indexs recent peak of 1,130 points will be broken in the next week, led by the strong cash flow poured into financial-banking stocks, he added.

Vietcombank shares (VCB) have increased by 23.2 per cent since the beginning of the year. The figures for Bank for Investment and Development of Viet Nam (BID) and Vietinbank (CTG) are 44.3 per cent and 18.1 per cent, respectively.

According to Chung, Viet Nam s stock market is a small frontier market, which is strongly affected by the fluctuations of the world stock market.

The market has much potential. I think in 2018, the market will experience highly volatile trading condition as investors will be trading more actively than before instead of buying and holding stocks for a long-term, Chung said.

In March, the VN-Index may move up to reach 1,182 points to a maximum of 1,225 points, Chung forecast.

Hoang Thach Lan, head of individual client analysis at Viet Dragon Securities Company, said the VN-Index is expected to continue to rise next week, due to investors increasing their stock proportion in the pillar stocks, supporting the overall market.

In theory, the VN-Index will inevitably exceed its all-time peak of 1,170. With the current uptrend, perhaps the Index will surpass that record next week, Lan said.

However, in terms of technical analysis, my indicators showed that there are more risks than a few months ago. In the worst-case scenario, the Index would continue to increase more to surpass the peak and then suddenly decline deeply for a long period, Lan added.

He said the uptrend of Petroleum stocks is backed by oil price rebounded.

Brent crude price closed Friday at $67.31, up 0.6 per cent from last years ending figure and up 50.1 per cent from last years lowest hit on June 21.

PetroVietnam Gas Joint Stock Corporation shares (GAS) have climbed 8.8 per cent since the beginning of this year.

According to Bao Viet Securities Company (BVSC), large-cap stocks will likely extend gains early next week, supporting the overall market. However, the market may experience some volatility when VnIndex approaches the old peak.

Meanwhile the BIDV Securities Co (BSC) said in its report that investors may consider increasing their stock proportion in the pillar stocks of the market, because these stocks are attracting major cash flows in the market.  VNSBy Giang Vuong

In Lak Commune in the Central Highlands province of ak Lak, elephant doctor ang ang Long is fighting a desperate battle to not only keep overworked beasts alive, but to provide the right conditions for them to mate so that they do not die out.

We visited the doctor as he was about to leave for a trip to Cambodia to treat an elephant. I have only 30 minutes. Im in a hurry, Long said.

For the giant beasts that have become ill, 30 minutes can save their lives.

Im actually a normal herbal doctor and hold no secrets, he said. I have many years of experience caring for my herd of elephants and I have drawn some experience in treating them. I inherited knowledge from my father as well.

In the past, when elephants were sick, they were often released back into the forest. The sick elephants would seek leaves and herbs to treat themselves. But now forests have been largely destroyed; there are few medicinal plants left, Long added.

Long said elephants were big animals that were generally in good health. Most of their diseases are caused by working too hard and carrying loads that are far too big.

In recent years, elephants tend to have more tumours in their bodies. The tumours stem from polluted food and water, which leads to lack of nutrition and resistance in their bodies, he added.

Long often uses the bark of loc vung (fish poison tree or barringtonia), and leaves of tram (Jamblon or syzygium cumini) and some salt boiled to rinse off the injured areas. After sterilising the injury, Long uses soil taken from the nest of termites or fermented rice to cover the open injury.

Both substances have antibiotic functions and kill parasites and work very well for elephants with tumours, Long said.

Few months ago, a 40-year-old elephant was brought to him with a rather long open injury on his back. The festering wound was infected with parasites making a nest inside.

I sterilised the wound, covered it with herbal medicine for nearly a month until it dried and healed, he said. That elephant was a little old. Younger ones recover more quickly, just 10 days.

Although he treats elephants using traditional techniques, Long said when performing surgery, all tools must be sterilised.

After the operation, it is difficult to stitch an injury because of the thick skin. I often insert herbs and pills in the injuries and wipe away insects, he said.

Long is also known as a good match maker for elephants, although few couples can give birth to babies.Dedicated: Associate professor Nguyen Thi Hoai, who used to be a cancer patient herself, has been inspired to find reasonably-priced cancer medicines from herbs of Vietnamese ethnic minorities in central Viet Nam. Photo cadn.com.vn

Viet Nam News by Bich Ngoc While most women may be interested in shopping or having coffee with friends, Nguyen Thi Hoai finds her passion and happiness in scientific research. Hoai is an associate professor and head of the Pharmacy Faculty at the Hue University of Medicine and Pharmacy in the central province of Thua Thien-Hue. One of her prominent studies is about the discovery of antioxidant and anti-cancer properties of 30 kinds of medicinal herbs used by the Pa Ko and Van Kieu ethnic minorities in central Viet Nam. With the study, Hoai received an award granted to outstanding Vietnamese female scientists by LOreal-UNESCO. I have heard much about the ethnic herbalists with their folk remedies for cancer and other diseases. After researching, I found out that many patients had their conditions improved after using such supplemental remedies, says Hoai. "Therefore, I was determined to study the compositions of those medicinal herbs to understand their properties to treat diseases. In 2011 and 2012, Hoai travelled frequently to the mountainous areas of the central province of Quang Tri to seek the precious herbs. It proved to be a tremendously laborious task as it was not easy to persuade the locals, whose source of living is dependent on the medicinal herbs, to reveal their secrets. Besides collecting information from soldiers, local womens associations and youth unions, I used to spend days living and integrating with the residents to win their trust, recalls Hoai. As soon as she got the samples, she spent years studying them in the lab. She concluded that 30 kinds of medicinal herbs can fight cancer. Hoai compiled data on 14 kinds of herbs that can prevent cancer and 16 others that have antioxidant properties. She has also conducted a study on filtering the capacities of antioxidants and destroying cancer cells in 30 other herbal species. The highlight of her study is the identification of two herbs with the strongest potential, their chemical constituents and biological effects, which can form the basis of further study. They are Uvaria grandiflora Roxb. ex Hornem that can eliminate cancer cells and Archidendron Clypearia that contain antioxidants. Hoais other studies have also been highly received, like the study on Hedyotis species in the family Rubiaceae, which has the capacity to inhibit the growth of cancer cells. The herb has been used as a component of supplemental medicines in treating cancer in China.

Learning process: Associate professor Nguyen Thi Hoai instructs students of the Pharmacy Faculty at Hue University of Medicine and Pharmacy to conduct experiments in the lab. Photo khoahocphattrien.vn

Staring cancer in the face

Born in 1977, Hoai chose to follow the scientific path after graduating from the Ha Noi University of Pharmacy instead of becoming a pharmaceutical sales representative with high salary.

She successfully defended her PhD thesis with the highest marks and became the youngest associate professor of Hue University at 35.

Up to now, Hoai has been in charge of six ministerial research projects and 84 researches that have been published in scientific magazines, 21 of which have been published in international magazines and conferences.

Surprisingly, the young scientist used to be a cancer patient herself. She was diagnosed with thyroid cancer, but her disease could not dampen her passion for scientific research.

I almost collapsed when doctors told me I had cancer. I was overwhelmed with sadness, but at the same time I thought I needed to be stronger and make full use of my time to get treatment and conduct research, Hoai says.

She underwent three operations and then radiotherapy, which made her understand that diseases can take away many things from a person, notably health and time.

Even though she seriously followed her treatment regimen, she never took a break from her studies.

Once when I was pursuing a ministerial research topic, I spent the whole night writing until dawn. I want to fulfil all my intentions. I see myself having too many things to do. I arrive at the lab everyday, and most of the time I work until the very last day of the year before Tet (Lunar New Year). After Tet, I wish the labs doorkeeper opens it early so that I can get to work, Hoai says.

Her passion for science and spirit to overcome fate has inspired her students and colleagues.

Hoai has always accomplished her duties during her 18 years at the Hue University of Medicine and Pharmacy, says Vo Tam, vice dean of the university and Hoais colleague and teacher. Admiringly, she was inspiring her students, ceaselessly conducting researches and helping patients with better ways of treatment even as she was struggling against a fatal disease. She has set a good example for many students and colleagues.

Luckily for her, Hoais condition became stable. She was told that the cancer cells inside her body had been tamed.

But the young scientist had no time to rejoice. She is busy conducting further studies on medicinal herbs.

It takes a great deal of time to study medicinal herbs. For example, it takes nearly 20 years to study the Crinum latifolium plant before extracting its ingredients for medicines, she says.

The plants that I have studied have just been experimented in the lab. At the moment, I am looking for other ways to further my study. If I receive financial support, I will go back to live with the ethnic Pa Ko and Van Kieu to collect more samples, study them more thoroughly and conduct clinical experiments before having them produced into medicines.

Until then, these medicinal herbs can be grown on a large scale, she says, adding that she hopes to improve the lives of the local people with their traditional medicines while patients can benefit from good-quality and reasonably-priced medicines.

I think being able to live and work every day is a great source of happiness, Hoai says. VNSPhuoc Buu

The country has welcomed the Lunar New Year, and 2018 is the Year of the Dog.

The dog is the favourite domestic animal of the Vietnamese. As the country celebrates the New Year, stories about dogs can be heard everywhere.

In ancient times, when life was completely dependent on farming and husbandry, the Vietnamese used to keep six domestic animals  dogs, horses, goats and pigs, as well as buffalo and chickens. As in many countries around the world, dogs were the closest among these to humans, and they always shared the living space of people, while the other animals lived in sheds or cages.

Dogs were raised for both domestic and farming and husbandry needs. At home, they assisted people in looking after their property; while in the field, they helped to drive away attackers from the cultivated land. Psychologically, dogs acted as companions for those working alone in the wild or in the fields.

The dog thus has its own position in Vietnamese culture. According to one study, dogs find mention in almost 70 Vietnamese proverbs and sayings, some of which are commonly used by the people in their daily communications.

Cho ngap phai ruoi, or The dog got a fly in its mouth while yawning, refers to a coincidence or someones achievement being caused by luck. Cho gia giu xuong, or The old dog holds the bone, describes an incapable person who is nevertheless greedy for a position or property.

Proverbs also mention the bites of a dog. Cho can ao rach, or Dogs bite the torn shirt, describes a troubled person getting into another trouble. Cho can can giau, or The angry dog bites the fence, refers to a person overreacting in anger. Cho cai can con, or The bitch bites her babies, describes the cruelty of a woman towards her children.

Many Vietnamese raise dogs at home. Some treat them with love and care, while others can be cruel. Some proverbs involving dogs also have an insulting denotation. Perhaps Meo ang cho iem, or "Whorish the cat, meretricious the dog", is the most typical, used to describe a couple engaged in an indecent relationship.

The Vietnamese also worship dogs. Residents of many localities across the country during the era of the monarchy created and worshipped stone dogs, placing them in front of community temples, home entrance gates or at an altar in their front yards.

They believed that dogs lived with them in yang life, while stone dogs accompanied their yin life. Many people lit incense and placed food on the dog altars, just as they did with their ancestors whom they worshipped.

Legend states that people in that era also prayed to the stone dogs, asking for fairness in their personal disputes, just as they did with their gods.

In the local religion, dogs are presented as part of a holy Vietnamese animal: the nghe, an animal with a dogs body and lions head. The nghe is considered to be the only truly Vietnamese holy animal and is typically used in feng shui arrangements and decorations in religious buildings around the country.

Nghe are presented in different sizes, shapes and decorative patterns and were cast in stone, iron, or bronze across several dynasties.

Today, the Vietnamese continue their love affair with dogs, but not everyone raises them the same way. Many raise dogs at home in traditional ways in the role of a domestic animal, while others have learned the concept of raising dogs as pets from Western culture.

Those who follow the domestic-animal tradition often raise dog species that are endemic to Viet Nam, including cho co, or the Canis genus dog. Some others feel a little freer to raise dog breeds ranging from Canis to Berger.

Pet owners adopt all kinds of dogs, from the tiny teacup dog to the large Tibetan mastiffs, from aggressive bull dogs to graceful poodles. The trend is popular among both wealthy middle-aged men and young singles.

However, the consumption of dog meat in the country has to some extent destroyed the dog-loving reputation of the Vietnamese.The Co Tu ethnic community has been struggling to preserve its culture and traditional customs that have mostly faded away with rapid urbanisation. This group lives in Ta Lang and Gian Bi villages of Hoa Bac Commune, situated in a vast valley between the two nature reserves of Bach Ma in Thua Thien-Hue and Ba Na-Nui Chua of a Nang. The community is now trying to develop eco-tourism to revive its culture. Bui Hoai Nam reports

Phan Thi Thien, a 34-year-old woman belonging to the Co Tu ethnic group, recalls the pre-wedding customs practised by her people  when a pig is offered as a wedding gift by the grooms family, and the brides family presents chicken or ducks to the grooms for pre-wedding parties.

This is one of the rare customs that have been preserved by the Co Tu for the past two centuries  when the community settled in the area.

My weddings offering from the grooms family is one of the oldest traditional customs that our community has preserved. Its a celebration of happiness for both families when relatives are invited to pre-wedding feasts, Thien says.

House on stilts, a symbolic accommodation of the Co Tu people, is no longer seen in the community now that brick walls and metal roofs have replaced traditional houses, she says.

The Co Tu still speak their own language in daily life, but they have changed their lifestyle to look modern as the townfolk.

Our village is 40km west of a Nang City and with easy connectivity; we are very close to the people of the city. So the Co Tu can learn modern ways from them, says Thien.

She also says that the traditionally woven brocade costume and traditional dances are only seen once a year at the villages festival in June when villagers have finished their crop cultivation.

Rural life: A Co Tu man drives his buffalo with rattan from the forest in Hoa Bac Commune. Eco-tour services in the mountainous area will help ease forest exploitation by the Co Tu community living near the Ba Na-Nui Chua nature reserve.  VNS Photo Bui Van Tuan

Bui Van Cam, 85, head of Gian Bi Village, recalls that the first generation of the Co Tu set foot in the area some 200 years ago.

A group of the Co Tu arrived from the mountainous Tay Giang District in Quang Nam Province to build new villages in the valley. Our community still adopted the traditional culture and customs in the new land, but they started fading from the late 1980s, Cam says.

Only the language has been preserved; the written word had disappeared long time ago. The Co Tu people stopped weaving ethnic clothes as industrial textiles became more fashionable and popular among the old and young alike, says Cam, the eldest in the village.

The tan tung da da dance (to express gratitude to heaven) and gong play of the Co Tu are rarely hosted by the village anymore, he says. He attributes it to poverty and unstable income to host traditional festivals regularly.

He recalls that traditional houses on stilts were built from big logs chopped down from the forest, and each village often built a guol (long communal house) for villagers to gather during festivals and meetings. The house was also meant for the spiritual protection of the community, he says.

Illegal logging in jungles to construct traditional houses is now banned, and almost all modern houses are built with State subsidy, says Cam.

Disappearance

The Co Tu people living in the two villages have adopted the family names of the Kinh (Vietnamese majority) people. The inh, Bui, Phan and Nguyen clans are popular in the community, but traditional family names such as Arat, A Tieng, Clau, Bh Riu or A Lang are not used anymore, as it is among the Co Tu community living in Quang Nam.

Traditional scene: A carving of Co Tu people is seen on a wooden beam of the Guol house. Wood carving is a traditional craft of Co Tu people.  VNS Photo Cong Thanh

Bui Van Sieng, 70, from Gian Bi Village says the emigration of the Co Tu along the mountain range from Hai Van Pass in a Nang and the lowland areas of neighbouring Quang Nam was a major reason for the disappearance of the traditional family names of the Co Tu.

The Co Tu mixed freely with the Kinh people during the mass movement. Some women from the Co Tu community married Kinh men, and their children were given the fathers family name, Sieng says.

They (young generation) speak both Vietnamese and the Co Tu language. They also practise the traditional culture and farming methods of the Co Tu, as well as their means of communication, but they have the family names of the Kinh, he says.

Its great intermingling of cultures, but a detailed research on the changes in the family names is yet to be done, he says.

The wooden masks and sculptures on timber columns of the Co Tu are not seen in the newly built long house in Gian Bi Village.

Although spread over 10,000ha of prime forest  30 per cent of the total 33,000ha of Hoa Bac Commune  the Co Tu people in Ta Lang and Gian Bi villages still live in poverty.

Hoa Bac Commune has a population of some 4,000, of which more than 700 were Co Tu, living on an area of 33,000ha (95 per cent is native forest) with rich biodiversity. However, villagers of Ta Lang and Gian Bi, who live off poorly planned exploitation of livestock and forestry production, are still among the poorest in the commune, says Thai Van Hoai Nam, deputy chairman of Hoa Bac communal peoples committee.

The Co Tu people breed more than 1,000 buffaloes and cows, but they are left to graze on farms or the forest, Nam says, adding that well-planned farms are yet to be built in the community.

We have called for investments in hi-tech farms and organic agricultural businesses to improve the living standards of the Co Tu community. Making provision for eco-tour services will be a sustainable solution for the locals while easing forestry exploitation, Nam says.

Village hub: A Guol house is a major rendezvous point of all Co Tu people.

inh Van Nhu, 38, who is the party secretary of Gian Bi Village, says acacia farms have emerged as a positive occupation for more than 132 households, who are farming on 400ha and earning an average income of more than VN12 billion (US$530,000) after five years.

Nhu says residents also earned from Payments for Forest Environmental Services (PFES), getting VN100,000 ($4.4) per hectare a month.

Some 81 households have joined the forest patrol teams to keep an eye on 5,000ha of primary forest. Some households have joined the ranger teams of the Ba Na-Nui Chua protective forest management board to raise awareness among the community about environmental conservation, Nhu says.

The Co Tu man says that despite the hard work, villagers still live in poor conditions, earning an income of just VN1.2 million per month ($53).

He blames the unstable market price of acacia for the risk undertaken by the log farm owners, who are mostly from the Co Tu community.

The price of a tonne of acacia wood sharply dropped from VN1.2 million in 2016 to VN970,000 ($43), while the labour and other production costs remained high. The labour often accounts for 50 per cent of the output cost, while saplings and fertilisers add to the production cost, he explains.

Profitable crops, including coffee and pepper, must be planned for mass production in the area, he says.

Nhu says community-based tourism and eco-tour services will help villagers of Ta Lang and Gian Bi improve their living standards, while reviving their traditional culture.

The young Co Tu people can revive their culture by learning from the elderly and by conducting cultural activities and performances while serving the tourism sector, he says.

New way

Hoang Van Long from the a Nang Institute of Socio-Economic Development says studies and programmes with support from international organisations have been undertaken to seek sustainable development for the Co Tu living in the two villages.

The community-based tourism was started among the locals to raise their awareness about the need to protect the forests. They should understand the importance of the rich biodiversity of the Ba Na-Nui Chua nature reserve, thus preventing possible illegal logging and hunting in the forest, Long says.

If they can earn better from community-based and eco-tour services, they will give up exploitation of forestry products, he adds.

Rhythms: A Co Tu man plays the drum during a festival in Gian Bi Village.  VNS Photo Cong Thanh

He said the two villages are close to the Ba Na-Nui Chua nature reserve  which is one of the richest area in biodiversity in a Nang City.

The locals can earn from the nature-based eco-tour services and by showcasing their traditional culture rather than logging or hunting illegally, according to Long.

Biologist Bui Van Tuan from the a Nang-based Centre of Biodiversity Conservation, GreenViet, a NGO, says the Ba Na-Nui Chua nature reserve can be protected well with positive participation from the local community.

They are the best guardians of forest and wildlife. They should understand that protecting the forest will bring them more benefits than destroying the nature and wildlife illegally, Tuan says.

He says the nature reserve  6km away from Ta Lang and Gian Bi villages  is home to a population of the red-shanked douc langur (Pygathryx nemaeus), an endangered primate recognised by the International Union of Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

A community-based tourism pilot project has been started in the two villages with the aim to revive the traditional ethnic culture.

Tasty snack: Banh sung trau (sticky rice cake in horn shape) is made by Co Tu people. The cake is offered for the harvest festival in June.  VNS Photo Cong Thanh

A group of 40 villagers were called to set up teams to prepare their cuisine, perform dances and gong play, offer home-stays and serve as tour guides.

inh Xuan Hai, 27, who plays the drum, says he earns a living from masonry, but he could spare time to serve tourists.

We offer gong and dance performances to tourists staying in our villages. We introduce them to our traditional culture, cuisine and nature, he says, adding that providing tourism services will give him a stable income in the future.

Thien, who has also joined the dance team, says she could earn more from tourism than the acacia farm and livestock.

Its fine when we earn money from our traditional culture, at the same time preserving and boosting our culture, she adds.  VNSby Hoang Ho

Since the first time my mother made me shushi five years ago, Ive been fascinated with Japanese food and culture. Last week, my appetite for Japanese food rose strongly and I started to look at several eateries in Ha Noi. I asked my friend Keisuke Ishiguro to choose one and invited him to go with me. As a Japanese working in Ha Noi for five years, he has tried in many places.

This time, our destination was Akaari located in a peaceful street beside Van Mieu, the Temple of Literature. Opposite the ancient structure is a lovely white house decorated with Japanese lanterns. This made a good impression for me. The elegant design of the restaurant is perfect for shushi, sashimi and all the other Japanese foods, especially seafood.

There are more than 100 Japanese restaurants in the capital, why did you choose Akaari? What is the best thing about it? I asked.

Just go in, try the food, experience the atmosphere and you will understand why, Ishiguro replied confidently. When we entered through a simple wooden sliding door, the staff greeted us with a familiar Japanese welcome  Irasshai mase (welcome honourable guest). I was amazed by their friendliness.

The kitchen is in front and fresh food is stored inside glass cabinets. The dining room was really comfortable. Tables were separated by big cozy booths which provided absolute privacy. Many more customers arrived, mostly businessmen and women.

We began our lunch with a Japanese trademark appetiser eda-mame (Japanese beans) for VN42,000 and ginnan (ginkgo nut) for VN45,000. While the beans were buttery and fresh, the ginnan was dry, sticky and slightly greasy and a little bit bitter, but was still pleasurable. That was just the start.

I let my Japanese friend order the main dishes. Ishiguro suggested sashimi (VN620,000), tobikko-to-wakame sarada (seaweed with flying fish-roe salad) for VN168,000, kaki soup (oyster soup) for VN120,000, gindara shio (grilled snowfish with salt) for VN238,000 - all with sake of course.

We started with sashimi and salad. The chef make such a delicate and attractive dish. Three slices of salmon and red-roe and yellow-roe herring placed neatly on big perilla leaves looked delicious. Alongside were dried seaweed and sliced turnip.

We used the seaweed to roll-up the salmon, herring, perillas and turnip to create a delicious summer roll. With wasabi soy sauce, the taste was wonderful. We could feel the freshness of the fish while enjoying the crunch of seaweed and other vegetables.

The flying-fish roe salad was made with wet seaweed, which provided a novel experience: fresh, salty and slippery. Together with sesame sauce and sliced cabbage it combined to make a perfect taste. I was impressed with the roe. Inside my mouth, the roe popped open and the delicious, salty delicacy from the sea just melted in my mouth.

Ishiguro suggested: Try mixing it up and use the salad with the sashimi, it will be much better. I tried, and certainly agreed.Wetzel County Schools Superintendent Ed Toman has released the following statement regarding the Monday, Feb. 26 school closure, due to the statewide work stoppage:

Friday, February 23, at 4:30 pm, state union leaders announced the work stoppage would continue through Monday, February 26. This announcement came as a surprise to many.

After gathering information from various sources locally and statewide, Wetzel County Schools will remain closed on Monday, February 26 due to the statewide work stoppage. The status of Tuesday, February 27 is unknown at this time. An update will be provided as quickly as it is known.

All 261 day employees WILL work Monday.

Wetzel County Board of Education will examine the school calendar and MAY covert March 28, March 29, March 30, April 2 and April 3 into instructional days at the March 5 Board of Education meeting. This would remove the Spring Break and provide an earlier ending to the school calendar year.

ALL Extra Curricular activities, practices and games after the school day WILL continue as scheduled.

The West Virginia State Board of Education will be meeting on Tuesday night in Charleston to discuss possible legal action concerning the work stoppage.

Your continued support is valued and appreciated.America has welcomed the Nazis.

I dont mean Nazis in the sense of everyone I disagree with is a Nazi. I mean honest-to-goodness Nazis with swastikas on their flags and chants against Jews on their lips. They are here in todays America, and theyre on the march.

How did it come to this? How did the United States of America go from nearly 75 years of celebrating the defeat of the Third Reich by the Allies to insisting that one should never, ever punch a Nazi?

I believe that media reaction to the outcome of the 2016 presidential election set the national dialogue sliding down a slippery slope that has now led us to this shameful state of the nation.

Nazi Airtime

Within hours of Hillary Clinton conceding the presidential election to Donald Trump in November, mainstream media reports began to be published and aired that sought to explain to the businessmans victory to shell-shocked Democrats. From the Guardian to the New York Times, the recurrent theme in opinion pieces in the days immediately after the election was that middle-class, urban, educated Democrats needed to understand the working-class, rural, less educated Americans who voted for Trump.

One problem with this first wave of hot takes was that they tended to gloss over the racist resentment that fueled much of the fervor for the Republican candidate and instead focused almost exclusively on economic issues, as if none of us had seen the black men being beaten at rallies or heard the audiences enthusiastically cheering endless stump speeches inciting hatred of immigrants and Muslims.

Coverage of white nationalist Richard Spencer had already begun to overlap with reporting on Trump supporters before the election, with Mother Jones and other outlets increasingly fascinated with the pseudo-intellectual hipster image presented by the University of Chicago graduate.

The number of articles on Spencer increased exponentially after members of his own audience raised their arms in Nazi salutes as he finished a mid-November speech in Washington, D.C.s Ronald Reagan Building on with the words, Hail Trump! Hail our people! and, Hail victory!  English translations of Third Reich slogans with the president-elect in place of the Fuhrer.

The truly surreal cultural moment occurred when Spencer attended Trumps Jan. 20 inauguration and was punched during an interview on the street shortly after the ceremony. Journalists began asking ethicists and college students if it was morally acceptable to punch a Nazi. This is arguably the point at which the U.S. media really turned a corner.

There had been absolutely no legal consequences for the Republican presidential candidate encouraging the beating of protestors and straight-facedly discussing the assassination of his Democratic rival. Yet liberals began to wring their hands and clutch their pearls over the fact that one punch had been thrown at one person who was openly advocating an ideology once considered so pernicious that the Allies killed approximately four million German soldiers to eradicate it.

On Aug. 11, during the Unite the Right rally attended by Spencer, Augustus Invictus, David Duke, Henrik Palmgren, Stephen McNallen, and other far-right figures, a 20-year-old white supremacist drove a car into a crowd of anti-racist protestors in Charlottesville  using a favorite tactic of Islamic extremist terrorists  and killed Heather Heyer while injuring 19 others. Heyers mother received so many threats from Nazis that she decided to bury her daughter in an unmarked and secret grave.

If the world were sane, Americans of positive intent would be united in facing those fomenting this home-grown terrorism. The world isnt sane, and the supposedly liberal media denounced by conservatives as hopelessly in thrall to leftist dogma moved to the next logical step in its train of coverage that began the day after the election. Think pieces began to appear arguing that, just as Democrats had to understand Trump voters, we all need to understand Nazis.

The New York Times has led the way here with in-depth pieces such as its feature profile of a white nationalist in Ohio that gave him plenty of room in the nations newspaper of record to expound upon his hateful worldview. CNN devoted nearly seven minutes to an interview with a former leader of the American Nazi Party who is running unopposed in an Illinois Republican primary for the U.S. Congress. The network gave an actual Illinois Nazi the opportunity to denounce the Jews media on television screens in over two hundred countries.

If the idea is that giving an international platform to hate speech will somehow cause it to wither away, thats simply a wrongheaded notion that shows a misunderstanding of how such ideologies spread. Shortly after Trumps election, NPRs All Things Considered devoted over eight minutes to an interview with Richard Spencer. His opening statement on the air was, This is the first time weve really entered the mainstream, and were not going away. I mean this is just the beginning, and Im very excited. He continued, What I want is influence. And sometimes influence can be invisible. If we can get these ideas out there, if people can see the compelling and powerful nature of them, I think we really can change policy.

Unbelievably, Spencer repeatedly told his interviewer that she was giving him a megaphone to spread his ideas, and her producer somehow decided that putting him on the networks primary news program was a good idea. As with CNN, there seems to have been some misguided idea about shining a light. In both cases, major news networks enabled men who were on the extreme fringes of American society just two years ago to broadcast their hate to arguably the largest audience Nazis have head since 1945.

Consequences

The message is being heard. The number of hate groups has been growing since the 2000 census suggested whites would hold minority status by mid-century, and recruitment of new members surged after the election of President Trump. What seems to go over the heads of mainstream media figures is that one Nazi telling a CNN host that shes part of the Jews media live on the air and another rubbing the nose of a seemingly oblivious NPR host in the fact that shes amplifying his message to the point where hes very excited are propaganda victories that actually raise their status in the eyes of young white men open to what theyre selling.

A watershed moment in the increasing acceptance of Nazi ideology in contemporary America was President Trumps public response to the violence in Charlottesville, which has had an out-sized influence on multiple segments of U.S. society. After denouncing the left for violently attacking the other group, he repeatedly insisted that there was blame on both sides and notoriously declared that there were very fine people on both sides.

The far right celebrated the presidents remarks. Spencer stated that he was really proud of him for his comments that bucked the narrative of Alt-Right violence. Former Ku Klux Klan grand wizard David Duke responded, Thank you President Trump for your honesty & courage to tell the truth about #Charlottesville & condemn the leftist terrorists in BLM/Antifa. Asatru Folk Assembly founder Stephen McNallen cited the presidents remarks and wrote, Trump gave us an opening and we must exploit it to the hilt.

The influence of the very fine people comment has spread beyond the right. The slippery slope of coverage that slid from understanding Trump voters to publishing profiles of white nationalists to handing the microphone to Nazis can be seen as the medias version of the presidents statements. Yes, these are people who espouse a rhetoric of hate, the articles say, but they are also the nice neighbors who live next door

With every normalizing feature article published, people become a little bit less shocked by the rhetoric. Maybe modern America simply doesnt have the attention span or the moxie to sustain outrage long enough for it to turn into direct action. Instead, we share the articles on social media and watch as family and friends comment that, yes, these Nazis are horrible people, but did you hear what immigrants are doing to white women in Sweden?

Recently, statements by former neo-Nazis have gone viral through reposts by well-meaning people. A video produced by Al Jazeeras AJ+ channel features two former white nationalists who insist that Nazis must not be violently opposed or even spoken to in a harsh tone of voice. We need to treat them with empathy, compassion, and respect, says one. We need to uphold their dignity, says the other.

I have seen an increasing number of white people of moderate and liberal persuasion push this narrative and insist that we must never meet violence with violence, but must instead listen to what white nationalists have to say and engage in thoughtful dialogue with them. Its totally unsurprising that white nationalists would forward this idea, since spreading their message is an openly stated goal. What has changed recently is the readiness of so many self-declared non-racist white people to fall for this line as hard as the NPR host fell for Spencer.

How we got to this moment seems clear. Media and social media have led us to a psychological space in which it seems completely logical to invite white nationalists over for a beer. Theyre Trump voters. Theyre disaffected victims of the economic downturn. Theyre our next-door neighbors. Its important that their views be heard. So the argument goes.

Ask a person of color, a refugee, a Muslim, a Jew, or a member of the LGBTQ+ community what they think of all this, and you may get a different perspective. Robert Jones, Jr. has said, We can disagree and still love each other unless your disagreement is rooted in my oppression and denial of my humanity and right to exist. When your worldview is built on the grossest racism, anti-Semitism, and other pure forms of hate, there is no common ground upon which to build dialogue. There is no middle ground between multicultural democracy and Nazism.

Hate Is All Around

Corporate media tells us we have to hear the Nazis out, give them a voice in the mainstream, and consider their feelings. Conservative politicians continue to pussyfoot around the so-called alt-right, following the presidents lead on denouncing neo-Nazis and white nationalists while insisting that there are very fine people among them. Republicans are canny enough to know which of the two major political parties members of this demographic are likely to support, and theyre not going to throw away all those votes.

Normalization has arguably been an overused term of late, but the shoe fits this foot. What was unthinkable just a few years ago is now commonplace. We see Nazis interviewed on the news networks  not as part of documentaries on fringe hate groups, but as coverage of their campaigns for the U.S. Congress. We hear elected representatives adopt the rhetoric of white nationalism without a blush. We see our family, friends, and colleagues argue that punching Nazis is always bad and that we need to instead listen quietly to their concerns in order to gently change their minds.

Do I think we should all go out into the street and assault Nazis? Absolutely not. I dont think Ive punched anyone since about fourth grade. I do wonder what my father would say about all this, having lived through and escaped from extermination camps in the Second World War. He would get furious if he ever caught me watching Hogans Heroes as a kid, insisting that Nazis were no joke. He dedicated his adult life to education and standing against nationalistic hate, yet he died of cancer as an American president was insisting that we torture prisoners in the ways that my father was tortured by camp guards as a child.

Even then, as the United States was changing and heading onto a darker path in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, I dont think many would have predicted the mainstreaming of actual Nazism that we now face. But here we are.

In the last several months, Ive seen members of the American Heathen community appear to be more comfortable with those who have spent years in Nazi organizations than they are with members of the demographics these groups target.

Ive heard otherwise decent people insist that inclusive Heathens must focus on winning over racist Heathens in prisons and hate groups, that we must welcome them into our religious organizations, our online groups, and even our homes so that they can be weaned away from hate. Ive watched them salute a far-right extremist for setting aside his hatefulness while at work and being civil to a gay co-worker, as if one deserves a cookie for managing to rise to the level of basic human decency and control his hate just enough to not commit workplace hate-crimes.

When asked about reaching out to African-American and Muslim communities, these same Heathens say, What, do you want us to start knocking on doors in black neighborhoods? When asked about supporting Black Lives Matter, they state, We dont get involved in politics. White prison gangs, yes; black neighborhoods, no. Nazi outreach organizations, yes; Black Lives Matter, no. This is a strange sort of inclusivity.

I disagree with this, but people can disagree agreeably. It becomes an insoluble issue when President Trumps condemnation of anti-Nazi protestors as an equal evil to Nazis becomes internalized and when those who stand against racism  whether in the Heathen religions or in the larger society  are condemned as extremists in a misguided attempt to appear fair and equitable.

There has recently been a noticeable uptick on social media of people stating that they are against extremism on either side. This is exactly the position of Trump that was applauded by David Duke and company, because they knew that it gave them a psychological victory over those who oppose their hate. A swathe of the American public has been convinced that standing against Nazism is an equivalent evil to Nazism, that denouncing anti-Semitism is just as bad as espousing it. This is a victory for the worst hatemongers. This is insane.

I reject the idea that opposing hate is somehow as bad as promoting Nazi ideologies. This false equivalency is destructive to the very foundations of a civil society. Americas paralysis in the face of growing native Nazism today denies the sacrifice of all those who died on the battlefield stopping foreign Nazism in the Second World War. For any who claim to respect their ancestors, this is a Schande, a shame that ruins the reputation of any who allow this abomination to flourish in our society.

I reject the idea that we must understand, empathize, and respect those who openly advocate and commit violence against people of color, practitioners of minority religions, and members of the LGBTQ+ community. We must declare this behavior unacceptable. There must be no place for it in our society.

If it is considered extreme to declare zero tolerance for Nazis, so be it. I will honor all those from all nations who stood against Nazi Germany in the past by standing against Nazi America today. You can invite a Nazi over for a beer if you want, but turn around that 1945 mantelpiece photo of your grandfather in uniform before you answer the door.

***

The views and opinions expressed by our diverse panel of columnists and guest writers represent the many diverging perspectives held within the global Pagan, Heathen and polytheist communities, but do not necessarily reflect the views of The Wild Hunt Inc. or its management.past daily news Sep 13 (1) Sep 09 (15) Sep 06 (12) Sep 04 (10) Sep 03 (10) Aug 31 (17) Aug 29 (14) Aug 26 (13) Aug 22 (11) Aug 21 (12) Aug 19 (21) Aug 14 (6) Aug 13 (10) Aug 10 (10) Aug 08 (9) Aug 07 (10) Aug 06 (10) Aug 05 (8) Aug 03 (8) Aug 02 (7) Aug 01 (7) Jul 31 (14) Jul 29 (1) Jul 27 (7) Jul 25 (5) Jul 24 (10) Jul 22 (11) Jul 19 (16) Jul 17 (6) Jul 16 (10) Jul 15 (13) Jul 12 (7) Jul 11 (5) Jul 10 (8) Jul 08 (8) Jul 07 (3) Jul 06 (5) Jul 05 (8) Jul 04 (11) Jul 03 (8) Jul 02 (7) Jul 01 (5) Jun 30 (8) Jun 28 (7) Jun 27 (8) Jun 26 (7) Jun 25 (8) Jun 24 (6) Jun 23 (6) Jun 22 (9) Jun 20 (5) Jun 19 (9) Jun 18 (8) Jun 15 (9) Jun 13 (13) Jun 11 (11) Jun 09 (19) Jun 06 (10) Jun 04 (10) Jun 03 (8) Jun 01 (6) May 31 (5) 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Nov 15 (25) Nov 14 (17) Nov 13 (21) Nov 12 (18) Nov 11 (9) Nov 10 (15) Nov 09 (9) Nov 08 (9) Nov 07 (12) Nov 06 (8) Nov 05 (4) Oct 29 (1) Oct 01 (1) Jul 29 (1) May 11 (1) Jul 11 (1)Ecuadors Foreign Minister Maria Fernanda Espinosa said the United Kingdom is unwilling to talk with the Andean country about the release of Julian Assange, who has been living in Ecuadors London embassy since 2012 after being granted political asylum.

Assange has been unable to leave the Ecuadorean embassy for almost six years due to an active arrest warrant in the U.K. If he leaves he will be arrested, and he fears extradited to the United States.

Espinosa says she tried to establish a mediation process on Jan. 9 with the U.K. to resolve the unsustainable situation Assange is in, but on Friday she announced her attempts were unsuccessful.

"On the issue of mediation, I have to say very honestly that it has not been successful because two parties are needed to mediate. Ecuador is willing, but not necessarily the other party," the minister explained.

London has refused to give Assange diplomatic status after he was granted Ecuadorean citizenship. A spokesman from the U.K. Foreign Office stated: "Ecuador knows that the way to resolve this issue is for Julian Assange to leave the embassy to face justice."

Assange took refuge in the Ecuadorean embassy to prevent extradition to Sweden, where he was accused of sexual aggression in August 2010. Fearing he would then be extradited to the U.S. to be tried for releasing U.S. diplomatic and military secrets on WikiLeaks, Ecuador decided to grant him political asylum.

The Swedish case against Assange was dropped last May, but a U.K. judge upheld his arrest warrant last week, arguing he violated the terms of his parole. In February 2016, the United Nations working group on arbitrary detentions said Assange had been arbitrarily detained by Sweden and the U.K.Mark Schmitt in the Boston Review:

A month before the 2008 presidential election, the cover of The American Prospect, which I edited at the time, depicted an empty Oval Office and the headline, The President Doesnt Matter (As Much As You Think). Inside we ran articles about the institutions of Washington, such as the Senate Finance Committeeand its feckless chairman, Max Baucusand the Federal Reserve, explaining the limits they would impose on the scope of change that might be possible under an Obama administration.

The issue fell flat on the newsstand, and the Prospects board of directors was apoplectic about the cover. Even if my colleagues and I were right, the publisher complained, the cover wasnt appropriate to the moment.

We were right, as it turns out. But its also true that it wasnt an appropriate moment to make that point, because no one wanted to hear it. Remember when all we could talk about was the possibility of a transformational president? In the thrill of what was, for many of us, the first decisive Democratic victory in our lifetimes, and what seemed to beand probably isa demographic shift in the electorate toward the younger, the nonwhite, and the socially tolerant, it was too easy to imagine that the 30-year conservative era dating from roughly halfway through the Carter administration had ended with a bang and that change on the scale of an FDR or a Reagan was possible.

In that moment, many liberals forgot an insight that they had painstakingly learnedor should have learnedin the Bush era: conservative dominance was not just a matter of electing a president, but of building, in the words of former Senator Bill Bradley, a stable pyramid of organizations focused on policy development, grass-roots mobilization, and media, at the top of which youll find the president. That president could be almost anyoneeven, as if to prove the point, George W. Bushbecause the ideological and organizational infrastructure is more important. Democrats, Bradley argued in a 2005 New York Times op-ed, invert the pyramid, vesting all hope in individual presidential candidates, who are expected to build their entire infrastructure from scratch. Three years later Obama did exactly that.

More here.Andrew Meier at Bookforum:

Steve Coll is the closest thing American journalism has to a High Priest of Foreign Correspondence. Two-time Pulitzer Prize winner, former managing editor of the Washington Post, former president of the New America Foundation, staff writer for the New Yorker, and current dean of the Columbia School of Journalism, Coll still manages to practice high-minded reportage, the species now maladroitly branded fact-based. Coll began his rise nearly thirty years ago in New Delhi, as a wide-eyed rookie newspaper correspondent for the Post. In 1993, after jihadists detonated a truck bomb beneath the World Trade Center, his editors called. Posted to London, Coll caught wind of a wealthy Saudi exile in Sudan, Osama Bin Laden. Not many had yet heard of Al Qaeda. In Ghost Wars, Colls acclaimed 2004 history of the often-secret actions, debates, and policies that had led to Al Qaedas rise amid Afghanistans civil wars and finally to the September 11 attacks, he returned to the region. Now, after a decade of research and 550 interviews, he offers Directorate S, an epic sequel that picks up on the eve of Massouds assassination.

Coll has proven himself an obsessive devotee of geopolitical catastrophe of the Central Asian variety. He is also a deft guide to the shadow world. Few books delve as deeply into the personnel of the CIA and the Taliban, offering a daunting array of characters (the cast list alone runs five pages).

more here.As he sought to wrest the California Democratic Party's endorsement away from longtime Sen. Dianne Feinstein, her upstart challenger, Kevin de Le-n, made an impassioned argument to state delegates Saturday that the time had come for a new generation of leadership in the Senate.

While he was not able to earn their endorsement outright, he did secure enough votes (54%) to prevent one for Feinstein, who received just 37 percent of the delegates' votes.

In an aggressive speech at the California Democratic Party convention, De Le-n said Democrats deserve a progressive senator who fights on the "front lines," who doesn't "equivocate on the sidelines."

"I'm running for US Senate because the days of Democrats biding our time, biding our talk, are over," said De Le-n, who is the leader of the California Senate. "Leadership comes from human audacity, not from congressional seniority."

He faulted Feinstein for her initial approach to President Donald Trump -- which infuriated Democratic activists here -- mocking her for saying last August that she believed Trump "can be a good president" if he had the ability to "learn and to change."

Charging that Feinstein is out of step with the progressive direction of the party, De Le-n pointed to a litany of issues where he said he disagrees with the senior senator, including school vouchers, allowing federal agents to spy on American citizens, and her past support of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

He said he would never have supported prosecuting 13-year-olds as adults "in a criminal justice system propped up by institutional racism" (an apparent reference to her support for the 1994 crime bill). De Le-n also chided Feinstein's approach to immigration, charging that he would never use the so-called Dreamers "as a bargaining chip."

"We demand passion, not patience. We speak truth to power," said De Le-n said. "And we've never been fooled into thinking that Donald Trump could be a good president. ... Being good sometimes is not good enough."

Feinstein did not mention her Democratic opponent at all.

In the wake of the mass shooting in Parkland, Florida, she focused her remarks on her decades-long advocacy for an assault weapons ban, which was phased out in 2004. She criticized Trump for suggesting that teachers should be armed.

"I thought after Sandy Hook there would never be another school shooting, yet after Sandy Hook, 400 people have been shot in over 200 school shootings," Feinstein said. "Last year, 26 of us in the Senate introduced a new assault weapons ban, and passing it now is my quest. It's my mission. I am absolutely committed to achieving this."

"Now is the time to take those weapons of war off our streets," she said to applause.

De Le-n got a far warmer welcome than his opponent on the convention floor. But he had to receive 60 percent of the delegate votes to get the Democratic endorsement, a threshold he did not meet.

De Le-n enjoys a close kinship with many of the state delegates, who tend to be far more liberal than the average California voter.

Even had De Le-n notched the endorsement, Feinstein is still heavily favored to win in November -- in part because of her nearly unlimited resources, and her support among California independents and some Republicans.

Dan Newman, a Democratic strategist for Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom and US Sen. Kamala Harris, said a party endorsement for De Le-n would be "the apex of his campaign," but that it was unlikely to have an impact on the outcome in the Senate race because of Feinstein's near universal name recognition.

"He still faces an electorate that largely doesn't know who he is, and the tremendous amount of respect and reverence for Senator Feinstein because of her decades of work, particularly on the issue that is energizing Democrats more than any other right now," said Newman, who supports Feinstein.

Governor's race

Delegates began voting Saturday evening on endorsements for the statewide races, including the US Senate seat and the California governor's race. The endorsement battle was far more competitive in California governor's race where John Chiang and Gavin Newsom were locked in a close race for the party's nod.

"The time for timidity is over," said Newsom, touching on his history of becoming the first mayor to marry same-sex couples, passing the state's highest minimum wage, and pushing for the first citywide universal health care plan when he was mayor of San Francisco. "My opponents in this race have spent a lot of time telling us what can't be done."

"My whole life we have faced down skeptics, defeatist Democrats who have suggested we need to pick our battles," Newsom said. "California has never succeeded by playing it safe."

Former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, made the case that his life experience growing up in poverty had prepared him for the challenges of the governor's office.

"Millions of Californians are worker harder than ever before, and they are still falling further and further behind," Villaraigosa said. "There are two Californias, one rich and getting richer, and another where millions of hardworking families are still struggling to make their California dream come true. But it doesn't have to be this way. They call us the Golden State and we can shine again."

Villaraigosa, who has long trailed Newsom with his fundraising efforts, threw a few jabs in his rival's direction. At one point, he noted that he learned about poverty and the middle-class struggle through his own life experience, not at "a panel at Davos."

Without mentioning their names, Chiang took shots at both Newsom and Villaraigosa. He alluded to the fact that both weathered embarrassing episodes when their past marital problems spilled into the public eye.

"You deserve a governor with integrity to lead and the character to make every Californian proud," said Chiang, who is state treasurer. "You deserve a governor you can trust, a governor with the credibility to go after sexual harassers."

Chiang tried to position himself as the best candidate to stand up to Trump, noting he had experience standing up to "racist bullies" when he was a child.

After the votes were tallied, no consensus was reached for a gubernatorial candidate. Newsom received the highest percentage of votes with 39%, followed by Chiang with 30%, Delaine Eastin with 20%, and Villaraigosa with 9%.

The endorsement caucuses Saturday night could also could be a key factor in narrowing the field in the seven congressional races in California that are key to Democrat's hopes of winning back the House of Representatives.

Party officials are concerned that the large field of Democratic candidates in several races -- including the contests to replace retiring Republican House members Darrell Issa and Ed Royce -- could actually put Democrats in a scenario where they split the vote, creating a path for the Republican candidates.

Though voting took place in those congressional races Saturday night, the results will not be final until they are certified on the convention floor Sunday.SAN DIEGO -- A California teen has been sentenced to six months in prison for smuggling in a Bengal tiger cub from Mexico.

The defense attorney for 18-year-old Luis Valencia told the court Tuesday in San Diego before his sentencing that his client had a lapse in judgment and wanted the endangered tiger as a pet.

But prosecutors argued Valencia's cellphone data showed he was running an animal smuggling business and boasted about getting thousands for monkeys, jaguars and lions.

The 6-week-old cub was found on the passenger-side floor in Valencia's car in August at a San Diego border checkpoint. The tiger cub was named Moka, and now lives at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park.

Tigers are endangered and it's illegal to import them without a permit.

Exotic animal smuggling has grown into a lucrative business in Mexico, the BBC reports. Earlier this month, Mexican police intercepted a tiger cub after someone tried to mail it -- in a plastic crate -- from the Mexican state of Jalisco to the state of Queretaro.

A sniffer dog discovered the 2-month-old cub, who had been sedated.SAN DIEGO (AP) - Winning seven U.S. House seats currently held by California Republicans is critical to Democrats' hopes of taking back Congress in the midterm elections.

But first, they've got to narrow the field.

An all-out battle is underway at the California Democratic Party's annual convention in San Diego to win an endorsement. It's a stamp of approval heading into the June primary that brings support from activists and party cash.

Republican President Donald Trump's election has inspired high numbers of Democrats to run in districts once considered safe for Republicans. But party leaders worry too many Democrats in the field could give Republicans an inadvertent boost.

It's a problem that's particularly acute in two Orange County districts held by retiring Republican Reps. Darrell Issa and Ed Royce, where five and seven Democrats, respectively, are running.

(Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)WASHINGTON (AP) - Congress has released a redacted, declassified memo that aims to counter GOP allegations that the FBI abused government surveillance powers in its investigation into Russian election interference.

The release comes after weeks of back and forth over how much of the Democratic document would be redacted. The White House objected to its release Feb. 9, citing national security concerns. Democrats have since negotiated with the FBI on what should be blacked out.

President Donald Trump had less concern about an earlier classified memo written by Republicans, which he declassified Feb. 2 over strong objections from the FBI. Trump claims the GOP memo "vindicates" him in the ongoing Russia investigation led by special counsel Robert Mueller, though other Republicans have disagreed.

(Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)https://www.aish.com/jw/me/The-Olive-Branch-on-the-Temple-Mount.html

Two American Congressmen discover its a crime to bend down and pick an olive branch on this sacred spot.

Two American Congressman on a fact-finding mission to Israel last week found out far more than they ever expected when they visited the site of the Temple Mount.

Just before a planned visit with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Congressman David McKinley of West Virginia and Congressman Scott Tipton of Colorado decided to preface their meeting by going to the spot which for Jews is the holiest place on earth. They wanted to see for themselves what Jews experience on this most sacred site which, in the interest of peaceful relations with the Muslim world, Israel conceded to the control of the Waqf, the Islamic religious authority.

What happened to them is almost beyond belief.

The Congressmen, like tourists everywhere, thought it might be nice to bring home a souvenir. Spotting an olive branch on the ground, Congressman McKinley bent down to pick up the universal symbol of peace. The Waqf, the Muslim organization given authority over the Temple Mount, forbid people who are not Muslim from bending down, the equivalent of bowing. Similarly, nothing may be taken off the Mount by outsiders, whether it is an olive branch or even a stone or pebble.

So the Muslim Waqf insisted that the Congressmen be detained by the police, turning the olive branch into a symbol of irrational hatred.

The source of the olive branch as a symbol of peace comes the Torah. In the aftermath of the great flood, Noah sent out birds from the ark to check if the waters had receded sufficiently in order to return to dry land. The raven he sent out first found no place to rest and returned, alerting Noah that the time had not yet come. Next he sent the dove, but with similarly disappointing result. Finally, on the 301st day of the great flood, Noah sent the dove once more, and this time the dove came unto him in the evening, and, lo, in her mouth was an olive leaf plucked off, and Noah knew that the waters were abated from off the earth (Genesis 8:11).

It was a sign, too, that Gods anger had been appeased. It meant the end of destruction and devastation. God had completed his punishment of the generation that worshiped violence and was filled with corruption. It was time for a new beginning.

So the olive branch became a symbol of peace and good tidings. In ancient Greece, olive wreaths were awarded to Olympic victors. On July 4, 1776, a resolution was passed that allowed the creation of the Great Seal of the United States. On the Great Seal, there is an eagle grasping an olive branch in its right talon. The olive branch has 13 olives and 13 olive leaves to represent the thirteen original colonies.

However the American Congressmen learned that extending an olive branch of understanding, of love and of brotherhood on the Temple Mount is not part of the vocabulary of the mounts present managers. Congressman Tipton summed up the status on the Temple Mount and the Middle East quite clearly when he stated that The irony isnt lost (that) they (the Muslims) have a problem with the olive branch. The Congressmen strongly denounced the manner in which the Muslims forbid freedom of worship to non-Muslims. They were appalled, they said, when they saw that Jews are literally treated like herds of cattle  on the holiest site to the Jewish people. What made this even more painful to them was witnessing firsthand how Muslims treat the Temple Mount with total disrespect, discarding rubbish and debris everywhere and acting with total disregard to the sacredness of the area.

In this era of so-called peace talks it would be wise for us to acknowledge another message the Midrash teaches in connection to the dove bringing back the olive branch to Noah. What is the deeper significance of the olive branch, the rabbis ask, and why do we need to know that the dove held it in her mouth? Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki , the foremost biblical commentator, better known simply as Rashi (1040-1105) quotes the following teaching of the Talmud: The dove said, Better, let my food be as bitter as an olive from the hands of God and not as sweet as honey from the hands of flesh and blood.

The message is clear: The olive branch teaches us that rather than placing our trust in the promises of peace from man, we should place our trust in God. Even if in the moment, that may seem a bit bitter, ultimately, it is this promise and covenant that will prevail.

And it is God Almighty who promised us that the site of the first and second temples will eventually be host to the third  under Jewish control but enlightening the entire world with its message of peace and of love for all of mankind.The Rev. Rob Lee greets the congregation at First Presbyterian Church of Birmingham after preaching in the worship service on Sunday, Feb. 25, 2018.

The Rev. Rob Lee, who says he is a relative of Confederate General Robert E. Lee, visited Birmingham Sunday morning and preached against racism.

"The gospel is inherently political," said Lee, preaching at First Presbyterian Church of Birmingham. "Jesus was inherently political. And Jesus is deeply concerned with what Birmingham is doing. Jesus is deeply concerned with how we react to the world, with how we react to horrific events like Parkland in Florida, with the Pulse nightclub shooting, with Las Vegas, with the Confederate statues, with tax reform. Jesus is concerned because what we do matters."

The Rev. Robert Wright Lee IV, who says he is a great-great-great-great nephew of General Lee, caused a national controversy when he appeared on Aug. 27 at the 2017 MTV Video Music Awards to denounce the statue to General Lee in Charlottesville, Va. He spoke 15 days after Heather Heyer was killed by a car as she protested against white supremacy in Charlottesville.

Lee's praise for Black Lives Matter in the MTV speech caused controversy at the church where he was pastor, Bethany United Church of Christ in Winston-Salem, N.C., and he resigned shortly afterwards.

Told after the service that Birmingham put a black cardboard box around its memorial to Confederate soldiers following the controversy over the General Lee statue in Charlottesville, Lee suggested that taking it down might be a good option.

"We've got to contextualize it or take it down," said Lee. "It's an idol. It's an idol of white supremacy."

In his sermon at First Presbyterian Church in Birmingham, Lee recalled that as a youth, he had a Confederate flag hanging in his bedroom at his home in Statesville, N.C.

As he began to feel a calling to the ministry in the United Methodist Church, his confirmation mentor, a black woman named Bertha Hamilton, told him he needed to take down the flag and come to terms with his family's role in promoting slavery if he wanted to become a minister.

"There's always a certain amount of pride in your ancestors," Lee said in an interview with AL.com. "The actions of the ancestors were problematic."

General Lee took a more progressive stand after the Civil War and opposed Confederate statues, including to himself. "He did not want a monument," Rob Lee said.

"Robert E. Lee is known for promoting education after slavery during Reconstruction," Lee said. "I recognize that. He also enslaved people."

Rob Lee said he is a direct descendant of General Lee's brother, Charles Carter Lee. The family traces its ancestry back to the founding fathers of the United States. Richard Henry Lee and his brother, Francis Lightfoot Lee, were signers of the Declaration of Independence. Their ancestor, Richard Lee I, arrived in Virginia in 1639, made a fortune in tobacco and started the politically influential Lee family in Virginia.

"You can be proud of your ancestors, but also point out what they did wrong," Lee said.

Racism and idols to slavery must be opposed, he said. "It's pernicious."Thousands from across the state filled Railroad Park in Birmingham Saturday morning for the End Heroin Bham Walk.

The event, put on by the Addiction Prevention Coalition, hopes to spread awareness and hope to those battling addiction and their families.

"We get a lot of people online who say, 'Oh great. Another walk," said APC Brand Ambassador Danny Molloy. "We do this because this is one of the only places that I know that can bring so much change, so much hope and so much recovery in one place."

Those in attendance Saturday ranged from politicians, police and health professionals to those living in recovery, addicts and friends and family members of those who died from an overdose.

"When we think about our communities today, so much of what we look at what divides us. Whether it be on political grounds or where we may live or where we may go to church. This issue unites us because it's about lives," said Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall, who participated in the walk.

Marshall helped establish the Alabama Opioid Overdose and Addiction Council.

"What I appreciate about this effort is to say that we will stand together to save those who are touched by it, to say that there is hope for those who seek it, but most importantly, that we will stand together to say enough is enough and that we need to save the lives of those who want to get help."

Silence the stigma

"Addiction" is still a dirty word in many American homes despite substance abuse's wide, ugly footprint on the country.

Nearly 64,000 people died from an overdose in 2016, according to most recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. More than 42,000 of those fatal overdoses in 2016 are attributed to opioids such as heroin, fentanyl and other prescription painkillers.

Birmingham mom Susan Ferguson-Bradley walked for her son Saturday morning. She helps run The Addict's Mom, a group created to provide support for mothers of children battling addiction.

"I feel like my job is to reduce the stigma around addiction," she said. "I struggled. I felt like I had failed as a mom."

Her son died of a drug overdose at her home in 2016. She found him locked inside a bathroom in her home. He was 30 years old.

"We have to get the message out to kids to not even approach drugs," she said.

Alabaster woman Sidney Haynie holds a sign at the End Heroin Bham Walk at Railroad Park in Birmingham on Feb. 24, 2018. Haynie said she has been drug-free for eight years.

Sidney Haynie stood quietly on the walking trail around Railroad Park waiting for the walk to begin.

She held a sign that read, "With the exception of the brain, the cells in your body are replaced fully every seven years, which means I now have a body that heroin never touched."

Haynie, now 26 and living in Alabaster, said she started using heroin when she was 15 years old. She's been drug free for eight years.

"People like me, living in recovery, are few and far between. I want people to know that it can be done," she said.

Her journey wasn't easy. She spent time in jail and faced alienation from some of her friends and family.

"When you're an addict, sometimes family and friends don't want anything to do with you. It's like they think it will rub off on them."

Walking in recovery

Birmingham man Jason Edwards with his dog, Tank, holds his lanyard, which represents the 457 days he says he has been drug-free. Edwards attended the End Heroin Bham Walk at Railroad Park on Feb. 24, 2018.

Jason Edwards smiled as he showed people his lanyard, where he had written "457 days." Lanyards with a blank space below the words, "I walk for" were available at the event.

"I've been clean 457 days," he said with a huge smile. "There's lots of people in recovery here."

Stephanie Smith attended the walk for two people: herself and her best friend, Courtney, who died of an overdose.

Smith is now on the dean's list at Lawson State Community College and plans to transfer to the University of Birmingham this fall to study forensic pathology.

"I never thought when I was bad off that I would be going to medical school," Smith said.

Stephanie Smith holds a picture of her best friend, Courtney, who died of a drug overdose. Smith was a former user but has been in recovery for six years. She hopes to begin studying forensic pathology at UAB this fall.

The Wiggins family was also all smiles at the walk.

Amy Wiggins walked for her husband, Joseph Wiggins, who has now been drug-free for eight years.

"What's amazing about being here is so many people will just walk up to you and start sharing their stories. There's so much healing in a testimony," she said. "We are not alone. Every family is touched by drugs in some way, yet we try to hide it."

Joseph was released from prison last year and has remained drug-free since.

Walking in memory

Madison man Jeff Huntley holds a sign with a picture of his son, Nick, who died of a drug overdose in May 2016. Huntley and other of Nick's friends and family attended the End Heroin Bham Walk Feb. 24, 2018 in Nick's memory.

Madison dad Jeff Huntly attended the walk with a team of friends and family walking in memory of his son, Nick.

Nick died of a fentanyl overdose in May 2016. Nick was a 23.

"Addiction, it doesn't discriminate," Huntley said. "Sometimes it doesn't matter how many times you took them to church or how much you told them right from wrong."

"So many are worried people will judge them because their child is struggling with addiction, especially in a more affluent area like Madison."

Stephanie Shin holds a sign commemorating her father, Gene Moore, who died of a heroin overdose in October 2015. She attended the End Heroin Bham Walk at Railroad Park Feb. 24, 2018.

Stephanie Shin attended the walk by herself. She held a sign that read, "I love and miss you Dad."

Her father, Gene Moore, died of a heroin overdose in October 2015.

"We need more prevention and awareness," she said. "Dad started with smaller opioids and ended with heroin. It snowballs."

Her father's death influenced her decision to pursue a career in law enforcement. She will begin studying criminal justice at UAB in the fall.

Walking for hope

Event volunteer Delain Smith wiped tears from her eyes as she talked about her son, Mitchell, who has been battling heroin addiction for 12 years. He's currently in prison.

"Thank God," she said.

"We're praying for a long-term recovery instead of a prison sentence," she said as tears fell down her cheek.

Delain Smith holds a sign with names of people still battling addiction. She was a volunteer at the End Heroin Bham Walk at Railroad Park on Feb. 24, 2018.

She said Mitchell has been in prison before. He was released last February and started using again four months later when he met a girl who also previously used.

She held a sign at the registration table with at least a dozen names of people still battling addiction.

"Today is heartwarming. For the other moms who don't have hope, i try to give them hope. There is always hope for recovery if they're still alive," Smith said.

Students leading the way

Birmingham area students lead the End Heroin Bham Walk at Railroad Park in Birmingham on Feb. 24, 2018.

Students from Birmingham area schools lead the walk. They carried a banner that said "students leading the way towards hope."

Tarrant student Jasmine Lomax helped carry the banner. Although she is young, she has been affected by addiction and is ready to see change.

"It's hard to see drugs in your family and growing up seeing drugs in your family. There's only so long you're unknowing about drugs in your family and stuff. I wish I could have not known about drugs for longer," she said.

She said she is reaching out to her family and wants to see some of her family members stop using heroin.

A portion of proceeds from the walk will help to provide scholarship for those seeking addiciton treatment, but cannot afford the associated costs.If Alabama teachers start carrying guns in school, as some lawmakers want, could they be financially or even criminally liable if their gun wounds or kills an innocent child or adult?

Probably not in public schools, at least, if the gun-carry law is carefully written, agree an Alabama law professor and a veteran trial attorney. But there are many "what-if" questions, starting with whether a state law would also protect teachers who carry and use a gun in one of Alabama's private schools.

State Rep. Will Ainsworth (R-Guntersville) says he will introduce a bill to allow trained, certified teachers to carry weapons on school campuses. The state would pay for their training, but not the teachers' weapons. Ainsworth, who is running for lieutenant governor, is responding to the shooting that killed 17 students and staff at a school in Parkland, Fla. this month.

"You need to be real careful how you draw the law up," said Huntsville attorney Mark McDaniel. McDaniel has practiced law for 41 years, lectures on law at area colleges and was an attorney in the case of Hammad Memon, a notorious North Alabama student killer.

"How is the law written?" University of Alabama law professor Jenny Carroll said early in a discussion of Ainsworth's plan.

'A lot of factors'

Liability "is going to depend on a lot of factors," Carroll said. "Why and when did the teacher pull the gun? How is the law written? If it's written to encompass teachers having permission as state actors to carry a weapon, then they're probably going to get immunity as a state actor. As long as they're acting within the course of what their obligations and duties are, they're probably insulated from liability, just like a police office would be."

Carroll noted that a review board can find that a police officer improperly discharged his weapon, but as long as he is acting reasonably within his responsibilities, "he has what's called qualified immunity."

"But what's the situation if the teacher, accidentally, shoots a student? Which could happen." McDaniel said. "And then you go into who trained the teacher and was the training sufficient, and you get into all of those questions."

Carroll and McDaniel are both concerned about bringing new guns into schools. "You're creating a situation where there's a weapon in that classroom from the get-go," Carroll said. "Normally, when you talk about school safety issues, you talk about things like making sure weapons don't make it into school."

"Let's say there's some situation where there's a fight and some student grabs the teacher's gun and shoots somebody," McDaniel said. "There's all kinds of liability that could come from that. You've got students -- a lot of students -- with problems. You've got fights going on in schools. You've got things going on, and the students know the teacher's got a gun there?"

Armed teachers secret?

Ainsworth has said his plan requires that the identity of teachers with guns isn't known to students or the public. But there would be a way to let police know, he said.

McDaniel was one of the attorneys involved in legal issues around a 2010 middle school shooting by Hammad Memon in Madison. "It was one of those cases where the guy had exhibited a lot of problems at school and at home and just took the gun to school and walked up behind (Todd Brown) and shot him in the head," McDaniel said. Both students were 14 and in the ninth grade, and there were some 70 students in the hall when the shot was fired. Memon is serving 30 years in Alabama prison today.

"To this day, I hear from people who say that they are still affected by what they saw," McDaniel said.

"Things happen quick. It's not like you have a whole lot of time to react," McDaniel said. "If a teacher had a gun, would Todd Brown be alive today? The answer is 'no.' It happened so quick."

What if he kept shooting?

But what if Memon kept shooting in that hallway full of middle-schoolers?

"You could certainly make an argument that if the teacher had a gun and the person kept firing, and the teacher came out and was able in all that chaos to see the person and shoot the person without shooting one of the 70-something students in the hall, certainly the teacher would not be liable," McDaniel said. "But what if somebody else gets shot? The parent of the child who got shot? There are going to be a lot of questions asked."

And what about teachers and employees of private schools? Would they be protected from liability if they fired a gun to stop a school shooting?

"It would depend," Carroll said. A private school teacher might be liable if something went wrong with a gun they brought to campus. But the private school "could assume the liability for the teacher who brought a weapon onto campus as part of the school's security protocol," Carroll said.Attaining the rank of Eagle Scout is a big deal. It means you've been tested, and proven yourself over and over to be smart, loyal, strong and selfless.

So imagine how big today is for the Purinton family.

The three Purinton boys -- Kip, Kameron and Kody-- are all three getting their Eagle Scout medals this afternoon in a ceremony at Good Shepherd United Methodist Church in Madison.

"It's a good feeling," said their mom, Cindi Purinton. "I'm extremely proud of all of them."

The final test in the march to Eagle Scout is completing a community service project.

The oldest, Kip, who will be 19 in less than two weeks, almost didn't make it. He had two extremely ambitious projects -- converting an outdoor classroom pond at Sparkman High School into a wetland, and transforming a water purification plant behind Sparkman into a hydroponics lab -- that didn't pan out.

The outdoor classroom needed a drainage ditch that would have cost upward of $20,000, and the hydroponics lab required ownership of the plant, which couldn't be acquired before Kip's 18th birthday.

"I was running out of time. Eighteen is when you age out of Boy Scouts," said Kip, a member of Troop 7086. "I have given all of my work on this to another Scout in my troop, so hopefully he can start where I left off."

He ended up building seven portable lecterns for the outdoor classroom at Sparkman, to make learning about nature easier for students for years to come.

Kameron, who turns 18 this summer, built and placed 10 bird houses around Endeavor Elementary School.

While searching for an Eagle Scout project, he knew he wanted to do something for Endeavor. His former elementary school will always hold a special place in his heart.

"How could I turn down the opportunity to help the same school that helped me grow as the person I am today?" said Kameron, also a member of Troop 7086.

While looking for his own project, Kody, 16, learned that many Eagle Scout projects end up being forgotten and falling into the disrepair after the Scout moves on. He thought about finding several former Eagle Scout projects and fixing them up, but stumbled on a project of his own while doing the research.

A friend had built a fire pit at Grace Presbyterian Church as his Eagle Scout project. It didn't need any fixing up, but the church building manager told him that it really needed a walkway from the sidewalk to the firepit.

"The walkway made it safer for anyone walking to the fire pit," which was in the middle of a grassy field, said Kip, a member of Troop 7094. "I learned so much from that project, more than I ever thought I would."

Making Eagle Scout is a great accomplishment and a lot of hard work, but there are definitely advantages, Kip said. Members of the National Eagle Scout Association get discounts at all kinds of places, he said, and if you enlist in the military, "it usually means an automatic rank advancement."

"The perks are awesome but I also know that I have a higher standard to keep," Kip said. "The Scout Law will always apply to me -- trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean and reverent. Once an Eagle always an Eagle."

Kip and Kameron are already serving as Cub Scout den leaders, and will work at the Cub Scout Day Camp this summer, "so they are giving back," Cindi Purinton said.

"Scouting is an awesome program," she said. "If you have elementary school kids, go ahead and put them in Cub Scouts. It teaches them so much."

Haskins writes about points of pride statewide. Email your suggestions to shaskins@al.com, or tweet them to @Shelly_Haskins using #AlabamaProudFormer Alabama Sen. Luther Strange has been on the hunt for a job in Washington over the past few weeks, according to Politico.

A report cites three people familiar with Strange's plans say he is weighing whether he can get a job at a federal agency, set up his own consulting shop or land at a law firm. They say he will probably split his time between Alabama and the nation's capital.

It's also possible he could get a position in the Trump Administration, given his background as Alabama attorney general and the relative ease with which he would be confirmed. Strange also had a record of support for the Trump Administration while serving in the Senate.

Where might that be? Sources say the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Strange, appointed to Jeff Sessions' former seat, lost the Republican primary to former Chief Justice Roy Moore last year, even with President Donald Trump's endorsement. Moore then went on to lose to Democrat Doug Jones.

Read Politico's report here.Multiple law enforcement agencies are currently searching 300 acres of property in Elmore County in connection with an almost two decades old missing persons case.

District Attorney Randall V. Houston, who serves Elmore, Autauga and Chilton Counties, announced today that the search is connected to the 1998 disappearance of Traci Pittman Kegley.

Kegley, 30, was last seen in Elmore County in April 1998. Her abandoned 1993 Geo Storm was found on secluded Old Georgia Road on April 26, 1998. Personal belongings, including her purse and identification, were found at the scene, and her two-year old child was left in car.

Her family believes she was probably the victim of a crime given that they don't believe she would leave her child in the car alone.

She had separated from her husband earlier in 1998 and her divorce was made final 16 days prior to her disappearance. She was living with her mother at the time and was due to start a new job at a dental office in Montgomery the day after she went missing.

Houston said a search warrant has been executed in Elmore County, based on information from confidential sources, which led to the ongoing search. Various agencies are involved, including SBI, AEMA, SW Panhandle Search and Rescue K9, sheriff's offices from Elmore, Lee, Tallapoosa, Autauga, Blount and Chilton counties, and police departments from Opelika, Prattville, Wetumpka and Auburn, among others.

There is a $10,000 reward from the governor's office in the case. A press conference is scheduled for later this afternoon in Tallassee.

Anyone with information is asked to call the State Bureau of Investigation at 1-800-392-8011, Crimestoppers at 334-215-7867 or the Elmore County Secret Witness Line at 334-567-5227.Seven oldish white guys this week killed a bill that would have eased penalties for small-time marijuana possession in Alabama.

By themselves.

Rep. Jim Hill, the Republican chairman of the House Judiciary Committee was one. He was joined by Republicans Dickie Drake, Allen Farley, David Faulkner, Mike Holmes and Tim Wadsworth.

They snuffed the thing out like a joint at a Tuscaloosa frat party where the cops were knocking on the door. Easy Peasy.

But nobody killed it more than Rep. Paul Beckman, the Republican from Prattville. He kissed it with death by demanding the bill get a voice vote. It ensured, in that gutless crowd in this election year, it would never make its way out of the committee for a full debate.

So they killed it. And who can blame them?

Lawmakers were busy, trying to make sure Alabama's elementary teachers pack heat. They were busy, doing next to nothing to ease Alabama prison overcrowding.

They had God to invoke. And moralistic pandering to perform. Forget pot. Just be glad they didn't ban dancing.

Keep in mind we're not talking about legalization, but a bill that would punish those who have less than an ounce of pot with fines instead of jail time. It made sense in a state known for mass producing criminals and stockpiling them in overcrowded prisons that it can't pay for and can't keep safe.

Rep. Patricia Todd, a Democrat from Birmingham who is not seeking another term, brought it to the House. And Dick Brewbaker, a Republican from Montgomery who is also not seeking re-election, brought it to the Senate, which passed out of committee by a 6-4 vote Wednesday.

The Alabama House Judiciary Committee considers a marijuana bill. (PRNewsFoto/Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment)

Brewbaker argued that too many potential workers are driven from jobs because they are stuck, as young people, with criminal records that follow them too long.

"Nobody in here wants to hang felonies or drug conviction misdemeanors on a bunch of college kids," he said. "We're arresting more people for marijuana than opioids."

But it didn't make any difference.

In the end the politics of piety won in a committee. Keep putting people away, because it's the Alabama way.

Brewbaker insists there's bipartisan support for such a bill, and "It's going to happen, just a matter of when."

Just not now.

It's no surprise that the bill died, I guess. What was unusual was how Brewbaker broke news of its death.

He tweeted it Wednesday. Like this:

"Marijuana reform is probably dead. House bill failed in House judiciary. All that work, up in smoke."

Marijuana reform is probably dead. House bill failed in House judiciary. All that work, up in smoke.  Dick Brewbaker (@dick_brewbaker) February 21, 2018

A little humor. A little melancholy.

What came after, though, was rare. Democrats and Republicans tweeted appreciation for Brewbaker. Not because of dope. Not because they agree with him all the time, but because they saw in him a thing that's rare in Montgomery: Reason.

As one tweeter wrote: "This is going to sound crazy coming from a registered Democrat, who doesn't always agree with you...but we need you to stay in the legislature...we have to pass common sense laws to move this state towards progress."

Sen. Dick Brewbaker speaks Tuesday, May 2, 2017, on the Senate floor in the Alabama State House in Montgomery, Ala. (Julie Bennett/jbennett@al.com)

Brewbaker replied with one of the most honest assessments I've seen from a sitting politician.

"I appreciate that, but being in the legislature is bad for people (at least me) spiritually. No one can swim around in that sea of flattery forever and not have it affect them. It's time for me to go. Redemption isn't found in politics."

Maybe it's easy to say those things when you no longer need a vote. But it is truth seldom told by politicians, about politics.

I don't think Brewbaker has to worry so much about redemption. In many ways, he has found it.

John Archibald's column appears in The Birmingham News, the Huntsville Times, the Mobile Register and AL.com. Write him at jarchibald@al.com.Doctors and activists demand action with over 25,000 unwanted babies born a year and as dangerous abortions continue.

Casablanca, Morocco  About two years ago, Zohras boyfriend abandoned her when he discovered she was pregnant.

Suddenly, she was faced with an unwanted pregnancy.

In Morocco, abortion is criminalised and punishable by prison and fines, except in the cases of married women whose medical reports prove that the pregnancy carries a physical threat. Even in such cases, a husbands approval is mandatory.

I wish for no woman to go through my misery. I did not have a choice and I endeavoured a lot, says the 34-year-old from Casablanca, who decided not to terminate the pregnancy.

Her daughter is now 18 months old.

There are 27,000 single mothers in the kingdom who have found themselves with an unwanted baby, according to a study carried out by INSAF (Institution National de Solidarite avec les Femmes en detresse), a womens rights NGO.

I was living with my boyfriend for two and half years. Everything was fine until I got pregnant, remembers Zohra, tears filling her eyes.

When I got to my eighth month of pregnancy, my boyfriend abandoned me.

According to INSAF, more than 500,000 births in Morocco were out of wedlock in 2009.

Our hands are bound by the law

Professor Chafik Chraibi is a gynaecologist at Les Orangers hospital in the capital, Rabat, and runs an association fighting against backstreet abortions  AMLAC.

He told Al Jazeera that several women approach him seeking terminations every day.

I receive different women with unwanted pregnancies resulting from rape or incest. I also receive parents who bring their underage or mentally ill daughters. This is why I fight. Chafik Chraibi, gynaecologist

Many women seek help from us, but our hands are bound by the law restricting abortions, he says. The same women keep coming back, some with serious bleeding or infected wounds following unsafe attempts to get rid of the baby.

Some women do secret abortions by some doctors, who are not necessarily gynaecologists, in their private offices for a very high price.

Others, he explains, attempt to end their pregnancies themselves.

I receive different women with unwanted pregnancies resulting from rape or incest. I also receive parents who bring their underage or mentally ill daughters. This is why I fight.

For Chraibi, Moroccos abortion law does not take into consideration all of the risks that lead to negative social, mental and physical consequences for both mothers and babies.

Aicha Chenna, a womens rights advocate says many women consider aborting or abandoning their child after birth [Maha Naami/Al Jazeera]

The law doesnt consider pregnancies that might lead to depression or maybe to suicide, he says. A pregnancy outside marriage is considered a scandal in Morocco. Such cases are looked at by society as a disgrace. Those pregnant women end up becoming single mothers. They become rejected by the society and subjects to harassment.

He claims that between 600 and 800 abortions are carried out each day in in the north African nation.

As long as the secret abortion surgeries go well with no problem, the authorities do not intervene, but when something goes wrong, both mums and doctors are sent to prison. This is the problem in our country, too many restrictive laws and people will always find their ways around it.

Support and solutions

Association Solidarite Feminine (ASF, or Womens Solidarity Association) is a leading organisation supporting single mothers and their babies.

Based in Casablanca, ASF provides accommodation, food, kindergarten expenses, medical treatment, legal and juridical assistance and professional skills training.

ASF does not have a shelter, but helps mothers to find rent near its headquarters.

The organisation is run by Aicha Chenna, a veteran womens rights and single mothers advocate with 58 years experience.



She says most unwanted pregnancies are the result of an unaccomplished engagement or marriage, rape or a love story built on a lie.

Many women consider aborting or abandoning their child after birth, a second mistake after having had sex without marriage, she tells Al Jazeera.

The woman who leaves her newborn in the street is one who got to a point where her mind is so messed up and she needs help.

Chenna says that single mothers should be taken care of.

We do not encourage women to have sex and get pregnant out of wedlock. But any woman has the right to protection.

One solution, she says, is more open sex education in Moroccan schools.

Educating our youth, including sexual education in schools, would prevent them from falling in these mistakes. We should be building schools, not prisons where we send young women and men and doctors.

When Zohras relationship broke down, she was also rejected by her parents.

It was cold and I didnt have a place to give birth, she says, adding that she searched for NGOs that could accommodate her.

Wiping tears from her cheeks, she adds: It was very hard and I dont want to talk about it again.

I asked around and people directed me to INSAF in Casablanca. When I went, they told me they had no place left, it was full. So, they directed me to another one named SAMU Social, in Bourgone district. SAMU helped. They took charge of me in a hospital and took me in for two months, and then it was time for me to leave.

Two months after giving birth, Zohra was redirected to ASF. Today she is one of 50 women the NGO supports, and has learned skills that will help her find employment, including spa techniques and cooking.

Religious debate

Abortion remains an open debate in Morocco, a majority Muslim country.

While Chraibi, the doctor, and Chenna, the activist, advocate for legalising some forms of abortion, others consider the move firmly against the principles of Islam.

Abortion is forbidden in Islam unless the life of the mother is in danger and that there is a choice to be made between her life and that of the baby. Miloud Kaouass, professor of Islamic Studies

Doctor Miloud Kaouass, professor of Islamic Studies at the Unversity of Kenitra, tells Al Jazeera that abortion is an assault on another human being that we try to murder.

Abortion is forbidden in Islam unless the life of the mother is in danger and that there is a choice to be made between her life and that of the baby.

Zohras time at ASF is drawing to an end. Single mothers can stay with the organisation for up to three years, a period that allows them to gain the skills to find work and become independent.

With ASFs guidance, Zohra also managed to get her baby girls father to legally recognise the child as his daughter.

I strived so that my daughter doesnt lose her rights. So, when I gave birth I went back looking for the father of my daughter. He agreed to register her as his child, says Zohra, with a glint of hope in her eyes.

Now she has her papers and can go to the primary school. And even if she asks me about her father, I can show him to her.

The only thing I wish now is for God to forgive me for the mistakes I committed.Indian-administered Kashmir  Suhaib, a five-year-old boy, is unaware of the tragedy that befell him two years ago.

His father Aijaz Ahmad Thoker was killed by Indian forces in 2016 while returning home during protests following a prayer service for the slain rebel commander, Burhan Muzaffar Wani.

Thokers was the first killing in Kashmir following Wanis death.

My son has no idea about the death of his father. Hes too innocent to understand what death means, said Asifa, Suhaibs mother.

Whenever he asks about his father, I dodge (the issue) by saying he has gone to perform Hajj (the Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca).

According to Save the Children, the conflict is responsible for 37 percent of Indian-administered Kashmirs 200,000 orphans. As a result of the fighting, orphanages are appearing across the valley.

Kashmir is a Himalayan territory divided between Indian and Pakistani control, with both countries claiming the territory in full. The two states have fought three wars, of which two were exclusively over Kashmir.

An armed rebellion against Indian rule began in 1989 and has claimed thousands of lives.

Another 8,000 Kashmiris have been subjected to enforced disappearances and their fate cannot be confirmed.

Fierce gunfights between rebels and Indian forces are almost a daily occurrence and children often bear the brunt.

Inside orphanages children are continuously at risk of vicarious traumatisation, said psychiatrist Dr Arshid Hussain.

They see world through the prism of orphanages  these children should be raised with their extended families and be enrolled in normal schools.Robert Mueller has been a very busy man over the last week. The former FBI director and special counsel leading the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 US presidential election and possible collusion between the Kremlin and the Donald Trump campaign has stepped up his operation in a big way. Dozens of charges have been issued, guilty pleas have been filed, deals have been made, and one trial is set to begin in a federal courtroom later this year.

On Friday, February 23, Mueller struck a plea bargain with Rick Gates, the former deputy campaign chairman of the Trump campaign, a deal that would trade a lesser prison sentence in exchange for full, complete, and unreserved cooperation on matters related to the special counsels inquiry. Based on the charges, Gates  a father of young children  could have spent decades behind bars if he refused to cooperate and if his case went to trial. That was more than enough incentive for the former Trump campaign official to take a deal with Muellers office, the fifth guilty plea agreement Mueller has struck over his nine months of work.

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Where all of this legal manoeuveing leaves President Donald Trump is still an open question. To date, Trump can take a marginal amount of comfort in knowing that none of the charges filed by Muellers prosecutors pertain directly to Trump campaign operations or touch Trump personally. The one man who presumably knows the most about the inner workings of the campaigns workings, former campaign chairman Paul Manafort, remains tight-lipped despite the bevvy of fraud, money laundering, and illegal lobbying charges filed against him. The question of collusion  whether Trump ordered, tolerated, or knew about campaign staffers cooperating with the Russians to hurt Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton  has still not been proven. Indeed, Trump himself never tires of mentioning this fact publicly: after Mueller indicted 13 Russians and three companies for attempting to influence the American political system, the president quickly tweeted that the special counsels office had yet to find members of the Trump campaign actively participating in the scheme. The results of the election were not impacted, Trump confidently declared. The Trump campaign did nothing wrong  no collusion.

If President Trump genuinely wants the special counsel investigation to go away, he will need to turn an entirely new leaf and let his lawyers handle his defence.

Unfortunately for the president, possible collusion is only one part of the special counsels investigation. By virtue of Trumps own actions, from his firing of FBI Director James Comey and his thwarted termination of Robert Mueller last year to the presidents misleading statement about his sons meeting with a Kremlin-connected lawyer during the campaign, the investigation is as much about potential obstruction of justice as it is a grand Trump-Russia conspiracy. And that is where Trump could get into serious trouble; while there is no evidence yet of collusion, there is a lot of smoke on obstruction.

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When the pressure is on, Trump has demonstrated a unique ability to cause more legal and political problems for himself. Either due to his own lack of impulse control, his desire to cover up past sins, or loyalty to his own staffers, Trump has made one bad mistake after another. He has exhibited a pattern of straying into dangerous waters in order to shut down or discredit the investigation, in one instance even asking senior intelligence officials within the government to refute or disapprove any allegations of collusion with Moscow. And with every bad decision Trump makes, Robert Mueller is given that much more ammunition to continue his inquiry. Every statement issued or tweet written is a goldmine if information for prosecutors on the presidents state of mind and his motives. While they may not lead to anything, all of these comments provide the special counsels office with clues on which rock to turn over.

The prediction by Ty Cobb, one of President Trumps lawyers, that Muellers inquiry will be wrapped up in early 2018 appears to be dead wrong. Mueller, a diligent federal prosecutor with decades of experience, will not terminate his inquiry until every stone is turned, every lead is tracked down, and every witness that knows something is deposed. We can expect more subpoenas, more depositions and interviews, more guilty pleas, and more indictments in the weeks and months ahead. The longer the investigation proceeds, the more likely President Trump will make another mistake.

If President Trump genuinely wants the special counsel investigation to go away, he will need to turn an entirely new leaf and let his lawyers handle his defence. If the last nine months have proved one thing, it is that the last person Trump should be taking advice from is himself.

The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial stance.As we enter the sixth month since this crisis erupted, thousands of Rohingya children are still living in fear.

Fred Witteveen is a co-author of this article. He is the national director of World Vision Bangladesh.

Do you remember being a child, wide awake at night, breath drawn, every creak and whisper of breeze a monster under the bed, an intruder down the hall? Then as day breaks, childish fear evaporates and the nights terrors are forgotten.

For hundreds of thousands of children who are right now living in the sprawling refugee camps in southern Bangladesh, fear does not fade when the sun rises. The nights are long. And each day brings a new worry.

Today marks six months since these children were ripped away from the stability of their homes. Six months of trying to make sense of the horrors they have seen and this strange and often scary place.

In the words of a 12-year-old boy: We live a captive life here. There is not enough space for us to play. We cannot do anything we want to do.

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Almost 60 percent of refugees whove arrived in Bangladesh since August 25 are aged under 18, some 378,000 children. Many witnessed brutal violence and killing. Some saw their villages burned to the ground.

More than 2,680 children have been separated from their parents, either orphaned or lost in the chaos of escape from Myanmar. This is a childrens emergency of the highest order.

In December, Plan International, Save the Children and World Vision held a series of in-depth consultations with 200 children and 40 mothers affected by the crisis.

Childhood Interrupted: Voices from the Rohingya Refugee Crisis launches today so we can share their stories to create change. Its vital we hear what children have to say, because they are most affected by this devastating crisis.

When asked what they need to improve their lives, children were very clear: they want to learn and play, feel safe, eat and live healthily, and for their families to earn an income.

Children told us their worlds have been torn apart. Theyve gone from living in a community where they had close friends, a routine and safe places to play, to a chaotic, overcrowded and frightening place.

Many yearn for their homes and belongings, or grieve for dead or missing relatives. Some miss being warm at night and cool during the day.

The report reveals that fear is endemic, and many children spend their days on high alert. They are particularly fearful of being kidnapped, hearing tales of children who have been snatched in the dark.

We are aware of 32 recorded cases of trafficking in the camps to date, according to the International Organisation for Migration. However, the unrecorded number likely to be much higher. History reminds us that wherever children are caught up in an emergency, those who prey on the vulnerable are often nearby.

Girls told us they are scared to leave their tents to go to the toilet, especially after dark, for fear of being harassed or assaulted.

The nearby forest was also identified as a place to fear. Children reported being afraid to go there to collect firewood, worried that forest men would attack them.

An 11-year-old girl told us: We cannot go to [the] forest at night because it is very risky. There was a girl who was raped when collecting firewood at night.

And often, children get lost. Even experienced aid workers find these camps overwhelming. There are few directional signs in an endlessly sprawling labyrinth of tarp and bamboo. It is a confusing and massive place for an adult, and must feel infinitely more bewildering and enormous for a child.

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Children told us they feel unhealthy and worry about getting sick. They experience diarrhoea, coughs and colds, respiratory problems, eye problems and skin diseases. More than 5,000 cases of diphtheria have been reported, killing 24 children.

Food is a constant worry, too. Families are allocated 25kg of rice every 15 days. Many families reported having to ration. They eat the same meal of rice and lentils, and lack the nutritional variety to have energy and to grow. Children wish they had vegetables, fish and meat like they used to eat back home.

Few children here have access to education, one of the best forms of protection from abuse and exploitation like child labour or trafficking. Children told us they wanted to attend school, to learn and develop skills that will help them in the future.

For an adult, this place is tough. For a child, it is a waking nightmare.

But even in such an overwhelming place, there are small comforts. Children said the call to prayer five times a day helps them feel safe and connected to their host community. Theyve come to trust and even feel comforted by the presence of the Bangladesh military and they told us aid workers are kind to them and help them feel protected.

As we enter the sixth month since this crisis erupted, the priority now is to ensure children are safe and feel free to play, learn and live without fear.

When asked what they need to improve their lives, children were very clear: they want to learn and play, feel safe, eat and live healthily, and for their families to earn an income. Some suggested practical improvements like better lighting to make is safer to go to the toilet at night. Some wanted bigger shelters enabling greater privacy. Almost all wanted to go to school.

Its vital that, in the coming weeks and months, our resolve only strengthens to do more for these children. We cannot fail them. We must hear their voices.

The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial stance.Gaza Strips 12-year land, air and naval blockade has resulted in the deaths of more than 1,000 Palestinians.

The Gaza Strips collective of charitable organisations said more than 1,000 Palestinians have died as a result of the ongoing Israeli blockade on the coastal enclave.

The coordinator of the organisations, Ahmad al-Kurd, also said on Sunday that five premature babies born in the past few days died because of a lack of available medical treatment.

Out of the 1,000 or so victims of the blockade, 450 died as a result of the collapse of the health situation in Gaza, such as the lack of medical supplies and the crisis of medical referrals for outside treatment.

Gazans continue to face a desperate situation because of the blockade with water and electricity shortages, as well as a lack of medicines and doctors unable to perform surgeries.

Kurd said the use of alternative electricity by residents of the Gaza Strip since 2006 has caused the deaths of 100 people.

The use of candles, firewood or generators has resulted in house fires that claimed the lives of children and adults alike, he said.

Furthermore, the number of workers who were killed in the fields of agriculture, fishing and commercial tunnels has reached 350.

Heinous crime

One fisherman was killed on Sunday after the Israeli navy fired at his boat. Two other fishermen were wounded.

The spokesperson of Palestine Fishermens Union said the vessel was targeted as it made its way back to Gazas port.

The fisherman killed was 18-year-old Ismael Abu Riyaleh, said Nizar Ayyash, adding the other two, Ahed Abu Ali and Mahmoud Abu Riyaleh, were taken into Israeli custody.

https://twitter.com/qudsn/status/967826691174338562?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

Translation: The fisherman Ismael Abu Riyaleh who was killed by the occupation during his work in Gazas sea.

According to the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR), all Israeli attacks on Palestinian fishermen have taken place within the six nautical miles zone.

Hamas spokesperson Abdulatif al-Qanoo said, The killing of a Palestinian fisherman by the Israeli naval forces is a heinous crime that the Israeli occupation bears responsibility for.

In a statement, the Israeli army said the boat had breached the fishing zone.

The naval force followed instructions to arrest the three suspects onboard, which included warnings and firing in the air and at the boat, the statement said. One of the fishermen was seriously injured as a result and later died in hospital.

Under the Oslo Accords, Palestinians are permitted to fish 20 nautical miles from Gazas coast, yet for years Israel has shrunk the zone to six nautical miles.

It is estimated there are 4,000 fishermen in Gaza who provide for 50,000 people.

Disaster area

Kurd described the Gaza Strip, where two million Palestinians live, as the worlds largest prison.

Gaza is a disaster area in all areas  health, environmental, social, and energy, he said.

Solutions must be found to the crisis of power cuts that last between 18-20 hours a day, he added.

The Palestinian government must provide the needs of the Gaza Strip regarding medical supplies, social assistance, pay the salaries of government employees, and exert pressure to open the border crossings, Kurd said.After a suspected Boko Haram attack, Nigerian minister says 110 schoolgirls remain missing, according to state media.

Nigeria has confirmed that 110 Nigerian schoolgirls remain unaccounted for after fighters believed to belong to the Boko Haram armed group attacked a school last week, the countrys state-run news agency reported.

Nigerias Minister of Information and Culture Alhaji Lai Mohammed announced on Sunday that 110 female students remain missing, the Nigerian News Agency (NAN) said.

The schoolgirls were abducted after armed fighters stormed the Government Science and Technical College in Dapchi, in the northeastern state of Yobe, on February 19.

In total, 906 students were at school when the attack took place, Mohammed said.

The security forces are leaving no stone unturned in their search for the girls, the minister said, after a meeting between state and federal officials in Damaturu, another city in Yobe state.

Police and civil defence officials are being deployed to all the schools in Yobe, Mohammed added.

We are back here in Yobe as part of efforts to provide some succour to the parents of the girls, to let them know that they are not alone and also to reassure them that we will not rest until we have found the girls.

Nigerias air force will deploy reconnaissance planes and soldiers to help in the search, President Muhammadu Buhari said.

Parents concerned

The Yobe state government had issued a statement on Thursday saying some girls were rescued, but retracted it within 24 hours, saying the information was not credible.

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The incident has raised fears among parents of children at the school in Dapchi, who said it reminded them of a mass abduction carried out by Boko Haram fighters in April 2014.

At the time, the armed group abducted 276 Nigerian schoolgirls from the town of Chibok. More than one-third of those girls remain unaccounted for.

Zainab, a 14-year-old schoolgirl, was one of the students to be abducted in Dapchi.

Last week, her father, Sule Ali, told Al Jazeera that Zainabs mother was sent to the hospital after hearing the news that her daughter was still missing.

She fainted on hearing that her daughter wasnt found. The grief is too much for her, he said.

More than 20,000 people have been killed and two million others forced to flee their homes in northeastern Nigeria since Boko Haram launched a campaign in 2009, aimed at forming a breakaway state.

Over the years, the armed group has kidnapped thousands of adults and children.Africa: Alarm as parts of endangered animals sold openly

Traditional medicine plays an important part in many African cultures, but in South Africa, some animal conservationists say endangered and threatened species  such as leopards  are being used to make it.Besieged civilians in Eastern Ghouta await UN aid

It remains unclear whether the resolution which demands a 30-day pause in fighting will bring any relief for besieged civilians in Eastern Ghouta.Communist party wants to amend constitution that will allow President Xi Jinping to stay in power for a longer period.

Chinas ruling party is considering scrapping term limits for the president and vice president, it announced on Sunday.

The Communist party of China has proposed to change the countrys constitution so that the president and vice president can serve more than two consecutive terms.

Currently, there is a limit of two five-year terms for both presidents and vice presidents.

The amendment would allow current President Xi Jinping, 64, to be elected again during the next elections in 2023.

Although not final yet, Al Jazeeras correspondent, Divya Gopalan, said the change is very likely to happen.

This still has to go through parliament, but as everyone knows Chinas parliament is filled with people loyal to the ruling establishment, so theres going to be very little opposition, she said from Hong Kong.

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He now will become Chinas most powerful man, perhaps a cult of personality somewhat like Mao Zedong, Gopalan added.

Details of when the constitutional reforms will be introduced into parliament were not made public yet in Sundays announcement.

According to Gopalan, Xi laid the groundwork for Sundays announcement in October last year when he presented a 30-year vision for China.

During the 19th National Congress, no clear successor for Xi was appointed, leading to speculation that he planned to stay in power after his two terms in office.

At the same event, Xi pledged to continue his anti-corruption campaign that has made him many powerful enemies over the past five years.

He has targeted a lot of people in power that were opposed to him, wiping out basically any opposition, Gopalan explained.

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Critics of Xi also say that under his term China has become more of a surveillance state.

Hong Kong people are also worried by Sundays plans, as it was under Xi the biggest crackdown on any democracy movement in Hong Kong took place, Gopalan said.

In January, protesters took to the streets to express their frustration at what they say is Chinas tightening grip on the territory.

Xi Jinping staying for longer than two terms is a concern for many who were hoping for more freedom for Hong Kong, but also for those hoping that China would open up more, not just financially but also politically, Gopalan said.Deadly air attacks pound Houthi-held Hodayda

Three days of air attacks by the Saudi-led coalition have pounded a rebel-held region in western Yemen, displacing thousands of people already in severe need of humanitarian aid.Congo security forces violently disperse demonstrations in Kinshasa calling for President Joseph Kabila to step down.

At least one person has been killed and two others injured in the Democratic Republic of Congo as security forces dispersed anti-government protesters, local media and human rights activists said.

Security forces shot live ammunition and tear gas at demonstrators as they tried to march in the capital, Kinshasa, on Sunday to demand that President Joseph Kabila step down.

Organised by the Catholic Church, the marches were meant to start after Sunday mass, but armed forces surrounded the citys main churches and blocked several roads, Reuters news agency reported.

Jean-Mobert Senga, a Congo researcher for Amnesty International, said security forces fired live ammunition at peaceful protesters in the citys Saint Augustin and Saint Benoit neighbourhoods.

The population is fuming in anger in the neighbourhoods, he wrote on Twitter.

Ida Sawyer, Central Africa director for Human Rights Watch, said a Congolese activist was shot dead outside St Benoit church, as security forces disperse peaceful protesters yet again.

Internet and SMS services had been cut since Sunday morning, Sawyer wrote on Twitter, amid reports of others wounded, arrested across [the] country.

Calls for elections

The Catholic Church has organised a handful of protests since the end of last year, after the Congo failed to hold presidential elections.

Under a 2016 agreement, brokered by the church, between the Congolese government and opposition groups, Kabila agreed to organise presidential, legislative and provincial elections by the end of 2017.

But, at the end of December, the president announced the vote would be postponed until the end of 2018 to account for delays in voter registration.

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Election officials have hinted that polls may not be possible even then because of financial and logistical constraints.

The delays have led to increasing frustration among many Congolese citizens.

In January, at least five protesters were killed after security forces opened fire on banned demonstrations in Kinshasa.

Though led by church-affiliated activists, the protests have been supported by Congolese civil society groups, who fear Kabila is trying to establish a dictatorship in the country.

Congo is going through a particularly turbulent time in its history, the Civil Society Action Collective, a coalition of civil society groups, said in a statement before Sundays march.

The power in place persists by executing a scorched-earth strategy to keep itself in power, the coalition said.

One of the main organising groups also wrote in a statement before the protests that our people no longer believe in the political will of our current leaders to ensure a peaceful transition of power, Reuters reported.DR Congo deadly crackdown on anti-government protests

Churchgoers had planned to take part in marches against President Joseph Kabila, following Sunday services. But security forces surrounded churches and blocked roads to stop them from going ahead.Italy elections: Rival rallies spark tensions ahead of vote

Thousands of police have been deployed for protests in Rome, Milan and other Italian cities tasked with preventing clashes between anti-fascist and far-right protesters during an election campaign that has increasingly been marred by violence.Hundreds of asylum seekers from Middle East and Africa are hosted in a remote Cypriot centre where conditions are bleak.

Kofinou, Cyprus  Half an hour south of Cypruss capital, Nicosia, metal fencing slices through lush grassland at the foot of a rocky hillside.

To get here, cars spill out from a major motorway onto a country road and wind down to a security gate on the edge of a sloping field.

Inside the wire-rimmed perimeter, rows of prefabricated trailers line rubbish-strewn pathways.

These container-like structures, whose sides are covered in graffiti and childrens drawings, house about 300 people, most of whom are from the Middle East and Africa.

Moments before the gate of the Kofinou reception centre for asylum seekers opens, a fistfight breaks out just metres away.

The quarrel is brief, but tension hangs in the air long after it ends.

The instigator has psychological problems, bystanders say, and has apparently caused trouble before. As for the victim? He shares a tiny room with him.

Sewage running through the Kofinou reception centre [Dimitris Sideridis/Al Jazeera]

The state-run Kofinou centre opened in 2004 to host a maximum of 120 people. A decade later, in 2014, the authorities increased its capacity and today the camp can be home to as many as 400 people.

Refugees and asylum seekers reside here as they wait for a decision to be made on their asylum claims. But without a specific time limit on their stay, many end up living in the centre for several months, or even years.

Living conditions are grim.

At the far end of the isolated centre, past idling men and boisterous children, a stream of raw sewage trickles down the sun-beaten cement.

The overflow is constant, ending in a pond of stagnant water, and the air is heavy with the stench of uncollected rubbish.

While most of the residents avoid this area, Bassam, a 41-year-old ship mechanic from the Syrian coastal city of Tartus, has no choice  the unit housing his six-member family is just a few steps away.

I took my children twice to the doctor because of this [sewage], he says, indignantly, through a translator one morning in February, as he gives his shy seven-year-old son a haircut.

Every day, it gets worse and worse, he adds, making a few final deft jabs with a bright red comb and black clippers.

The other day, my boy here told me, were not allowed to go out any more  it feels like being in prison.

The sewage problem has been going on for years.

Standing nearby, Makis Polydorou, head of Cypruss asylum service, which is responsible for the centres overall management, says a sewerage truck comes by regularly to clean the area.

However, he admits this is not a lasting solution. Unfortunately, the problem remains, he says, adding that authorities are working for a permanent fix, without offering a timeframe.

We cannot hide; a mistake was done here.

Bassam and his six-member family have been living in the centre for less than a year [Dimitris Sideridis/Al Jazeera]

Ever since its 2014 expansion, the centre has been full or close to its maximum capacity. Yet, the dramatic spike in the number of residents has not been followed by an increase in staff.

As a result, residents complain of serious health and safety risks due to inadequate cleaning services, while delays in the maintenance of facilities, including problems with air-conditioning and heating systems, only exacerbate the worsening living conditions.

These [units] are ovens in the summer and freezer boxes in the winter, says Anastacia Wieclawska Kyriakou, mother and baby volunteer co-ordinator for Kofinou We Care, a group which supports the asylum seekers.

There are toilets that do not work in homes and mothers with young children have to walk for 100 metres in the middle of the night to take children as young as two to the toilet, she adds.

I defy anybody to stay in this camp for 48 hours.

The remoteness of the centre adds to its residents predicament.

Theres nothing to do. We wake up, we eat something and we sleep again  nothing else, says Bassam. We dont have a real life.

Unsurprisingly, anger often boils over, fuelled by long-standing grievances over poor living conditions, delays in processing their asylum claims and a lack of future prospects. Last week, some residents set rubbish bins on fire and caused extensive damage to a number of facilities.

A kitchen stove provides heating in one of the centres rooms [Dimitris Sideridis/Al Jazeera]

From 2002 to mid-2017, only two percent of asylum applications (2,351) were approved for refugee status in Cyprus, which allows asylum seekers to live and work legally, according to UN refugee agency data.

About 15 percent (6,887) of applicants were given subsidiary protection, a status below that of refugee. The rest of the applications  83 percent (44,376)  were either rejected or otherwise closed.

While many European Union countries do not differentiate between the two tiers of protection, the Cypriot government four years ago introduced changes which took away family reunification rights from people with subsidiary protection.

The amended laws also did not protect them from expulsion prevention and did not give them immediate access to valid travel documents.

Human rights advocates say the changes were politically motivated and aimed at preventing people from attempting to reach Cypruss shores at the height of the refugee crisis.

The logic of the policy that was followed was its better not to come to Cyprus, go to another country, says Doros Polykarpou, executive director of KISA, a Nicosia-based NGO.

The governments official line, he argues, is we do the minimum that is required of us according to our [EU] obligations, but we dont want to encourage them [asylum seekers] and let them think that they can visit our paradise'.

Polydorou, the head of the asylum service, rejected the allegations Cyprus was working to keep asylum seekers out through strict policies, and defended the agencys decision-making record on asylum requests.

Its not a matter of percentages, he says. There are criteria, and each individual case is examined on its own merit.

Humanitarian groups say the conditions at the shared kitchens have deteriorated to a state of being a health risk [Dimitris Sideridis/Al Jazeera]

At the start of last year, nearly 3,100 asylum seekers had pending applications in Cyprus.

A vast majority of the applicants lived independently, while 112 were unaccompanied children hosted in special reception centres and 307 lived at the Kofinou centre.

In Kofinou, families are typically placed in units with two rooms  one for each family  and a shared bathroom.

In some cases, large families are given both rooms, but in others, family members can be forced to sleep on mattresses on the cramped floor of their single room.

Meanwhile, between two and four single persons  often all strangers to one another  must share a small room and use a communal bathroom outside their containers.

A broken toilet in one of the communal bathrooms [Teo Kermeliotis/Al Jazeera]

Those communal bathrooms are overrun with problems. A layer of mould coats the surface behind several of the showers, basin faucets are frequently broken, and doors are unhinged. In one of the cubicles, a toilet bowl lies upside down, ripped from the ground.

Hot water is a rarity, residents also say.

Nearby, in one of the shared kitchens, the situation is equally bad. The floor is covered in a shallow pool of liquid, fed by the constant leaking of ruptured water pipes. Black mould is visible here too, spreading in and around the hobs, many of which are not working.

How can anyone cook anything here? Edi, a fifty-something Albanian resident, asks furiously. Everything is rotten.

Mohammeds home in Deraa, Syria was destroyed in June 2015 [Dimitris Sideridis/Al Jazeera]

Mohammed, 46, used to be a chef in the Syrian city of Deraa, but he doesnt spend much time in the shared kitchen.

Sitting inside the poorly-lit trailer that has housed his family for the past 15 months, he jumps off a stool and flips open his phone.

An amorphous mass of brown-hued rubble lights up the small screen. These ruins used to be his house, he says.

The flattening of their two-storey home by heavy shelling in June 2015, on the third day of Ramadan, left Mohammed, his wife and their three young children with no option but to flee Syrias long-running war  first to Turkey and then Cyprus.

Today, inside the confines of the Kofinou centre, Mohammed  tired-looking but greeting visitors with a gentle smile  appears roundly out of place.

Speaking through a translator, he says all he wants is to start a new life outside the centre, which he says is home to a lot of drug use, making him fear for the wellbeing of his children.

Across the packed room, his wife agrees.

Whats important to us is the future of our children, their safety and privacy, she says, holding the couples 10-day-old fourth child on her lap.

Our dream is to find a place [outside] and get out of here.

Yet, moving out and integrating into Cypriot society, as well as planting new roots on the island, is not easy.

The centre can host up to 400 people [Dimitris Sideridis/Al Jazeera]

Like almost all Syrians seeking asylum on Cyprus, Mohammed was not granted refugee status but subsidiary protection.

This was three months ago and since then, he says he has been searching in vain for a house in Nicosia.

We are a family, we are supposed to get 280 euro [$345] a month for the house but the house is 400-500 euro [$490-$615] a month, says Mohammed.

The houses are either so expensive or the ones with affordable rent, landlords dont agree to rent to Arabs or [asylum seekers], he continues. And this is happening with everybody, not just with me.

Mohammed says he had similar experiences while searching for a job in restaurants, as well as dealing with state officials.

Ive tried a few times to find work but sometimes they say to me they dont [want to hire me] because Im an Arab, and other times because of the language, and the age, he says.

If you mention the word that you are a refugee, they will not rent to you, says Kyriakou, from Kofinou We Care.

Institutional racism is also a problem, and I dont know why because we are a refugee nation, she adds, referring to the uprooting of hundreds of thousands of Cypriots following the islands division in 1974.

The Kofinou centre lies on a field at the foot of a rocky hill [Dimitris Sideridis/Al Jazeera]

Polykarpou, of KISA, says there are three reasons for what he calls harsh attitudes towards asylum seekers.

The Cypriot society is self-centred and phobic, he says.

The long-standing Cyprus issue has defined collective thinking to the point that we worry too much about the alteration of our demographic situation and this stems from history, the experiences, the countrys psyche and the problem that exists.

He also says that the populist, xenophobic far-right, feeding off the despair of a crippling financial crisis and a backlash against foreigners, gained ground on Cyprus in recent years, just as stricter policies towards refugees became the norm across Europe.

Lets not fool ourselves, Europe is finding it difficult to assume its responsibilities in regards to the refugee crisis and each country is trying to push refugees to a neighbouring country.

Caught in all this, Mohammed says he is still not ready to give up, despite his hardship.

Im scared about the future, but Im not yet hopeless, he says from inside his trailer.

If you became hopeless, that means you will lose everything, and we have to be strong to be able to raise our children. But inside, we are hurting, we are in pain.

*The names of the centres residents have been changed to protect their identityAmong the envoys is a high-ranking official and a diplomat in charge of relations between North Korea and the US.

A delegation of high-ranking North Korean officials has entered South Korea on Sunday to attend the closing ceremony of the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics.

Among the delegates are Kim Yong-chol, a high-ranking party official, and Choe Kang-il, a diplomat in charge of relations between North Korea and the United States.

The North Korean envoys crossed the demilitarised zone into South Korea on Sunday morning.

The 72-year-old Yong-chol, who is blacklisted under the sanctions imposed by South Korea on its northern neighbour, is seen as one of the main people responsible for the sinking of a South Korean naval ship in 2010, which killed 46 sailors.

He is currently head of United Front Department, a unit of the Workers Party of Koreas that is in charge of relations with the South.

Yong-chols attendance led to protests by South Koreas main opposition party and relatives of the sailors who died in the 2010 sinking of the South Korean naval ship.

A Seoul-led investigation accused the North of torpedoing the South Korean navy ship Cheonan on 26 March 2010, an allegation the North has denied.

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During that incident, Yong-chol was head of North Koreas reconnaissance bureau, which is tasked with overseas intelligence gathering.

South Korean activists and representatives of the main opposition party voiced their unhappiness of Yong-chols arrival by waving protest signs calling for his arrest.

Another member of the delegation attending the closing ceremony is Choe Kang-il, a high-ranking diplomat and deputy director-general for North American affairs at North Koreas foreign ministry.

Kang-il presence has led to hopes the US and North Korea will have a meeting to discuss the recent increase of hostilities between the two countries.

Ivanka Trump, daughter of US President Donald Trump, was also in Pyeongchang to attend the closing ceremony for the US.

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Originally, a meeting between the US and North Korea was planned for the opening ceremony, which was attended by Kim Yo Jong, sister of North Koreas leader Kim Jong-un.

However, shortly before that encounter was to take place, North Korea cancelled the talk, according to the US.

On Friday, the US also announced the heaviest ever sanctions against North Korea, in an attempt to prevent North Korea from further developing its nuclear programme.

The measures  aimed at disrupting North Korean shipping companies and vessels  are aimed to heighten pressure on North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, a US treasury department statement said.

Despite negotiations between the US and North Korea not happening and the US announcing new sanctions, the two Koreas held their first official talks in more than two year.

The Olympic Games held in South Korea have led to a rapprochement between the North and South, with North Korea sending athletes and cheerleaders to attend the sporting event held in the South.

The two countries also made the landmark decision to compete under one flag during the Winter Olympics.Czech authorities detain former leader of Syrian Kurdish political party PYD at Turkeys request, officials say.

Salih Muslim, a prominent former leader of the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) in Syria, has been arrested in the Czech capital, according to Turkish security officials and the PYD.

Party officials in northern Syria confirmed his arrest to Al Jazeera over the phone, adding that it was not clear if he would be handed over to Turkey.

Muslim was arrested in Prague on Saturday, Turkish officials told state-run Anadolu news agency on condition of anonymity.

Turkey considers the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) in Syria and its armed wing, the Kurdish Peoples Protection Units (YPG), to be terrorist groups with ties to the banned Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).

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The PKK has waged a decades-long armed fight against the Turkish state that has killed tens of thousands of people.

The arrest came after Turkey called on the Czech Republic to arrest the former co-leader and sent warrants for his arrest to Prague, Turkish officials said.

The Turkish interior ministry had offered a bounty of nearly $1m on Muslim, who is listed as one of the most wanted terrorists in Turkey.

Muslim will be produced before a court, the officials said, adding Czech authorities would decide whether or not he would be remanded in custody.

Czech authorities also asked Turkey to submit the necessary documents for Muslims extradition, Anadolu reported.

Turkish security officials and the justice ministry have begun the administrative process for the extradition of Muslim.

Turkey  together with the Free Syrian Army (FSA) rebel group  last month launched an air and ground offensive into Afrin in the northwest of Syria to vanquish the US-backed YPG fighters near its border.President Pena Nieto and his US counterpart, Trump, refuse to compromise on who will pay for wall on US-Mexico border.

A planned visit by Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto to the White House has been called off after a heated phone exchange with US President Donald Trump, US media reported.

The Mexican leader was planning his first official visit  either this month or early March  to Washington since President Trumps inauguration, but it fell through on Saturday after their failure to find common ground on a long-standing dispute over Trumps proposed border wall.

The two leaders agreed now was not the immediate right time for a visit but that they would have their teams continue to talk and work together, Reuters news agency quoted a senior US official as saying.

The phone conversation  which reportedly lasted about 50 minutes  came to a halt when Pena Nieto pushed for public recognition of Mexicos refusal to pay for the wall.

According to the Washington Post, US officials said Trump grew frustrated with Pena Nietos refusal to recognise the centrality of the wall to his campaign promises.

President Pena Nieto is himself looking to bolster his credentials in advance of his countrys presidential elections set to take place in July.

This is the second time a meeting between the two leaders has been cancelled.

Pena Nieto was scheduled to meet Trump shortly after the latter had taken office in January 2017 but pulled back in response to a tweet lamenting any such meeting as futile if Mexico was unwilling to pay for the badly needed wall.

The walls funding has been the subject of endless debate with Trump vowing to make the southern neighbour pay for its construction.

Trump had previously hinted at the possibility of imposing an import tax on Mexican goods entering the country as a way to generate funding for the wall.

The latest Trump budget includes an estimated $25bn dedicated to border security, the vast majority of which will be channelled towards to the erection of the wall.US museum launches Poor Peoples Campaign exhibition

A museum in Washington, DC has dedicated an exhibition to an iconic human rights movement sparked by Martin Luther King 50 years ago.North Koreas response comes days after the United States announced the heaviest sanctions ever against Pyongyang.

North Koreas government has heavily criticised new economic sanctions by the United States, calling them an act of war on Sunday.

Like we have said repeatedly, we would consider any restrictions on us as an act of war, and we will not stop the US if it really has the nerves to confront us in a rough manner, North Koreas foreign ministry said according to KCNA, the countrys state-run news agency.

The two Koreas have cooperated together and the Olympics was held successfully, the statement continued.

But the US brought the threat of war to the Korean Peninsula with large-scale new sanctions on the DPRK (Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea) ahead of the Olympics closing ceremony.

The US government announced the new sanctions, which aim to prevent North Korea from further developing its nuclear programme, on Friday.

The sanctions, introduced on Friday by US President Donald Trump, prohibit US citizens from dealing with more than 50 vessels and companies, and one person, located in countries including North Korea, China, Taiwan and Hong Kong.

Assets held by the firms within the US will also be blocked.

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Trump called the measures the heaviest sanctions ever imposed on a country before in an address in Washington on Friday.

He cautioned the US will have to go to phase two if the sanctions dont have Washingtons desired effect.

Steven Mnuchin, the US treasury secretary, said the measure will significantly hinder the Kim regimes capacity to conduct evasive maritime activities.

[Those activities] facilitate illicit coal and fuel transports, and erode [North Koreas] abilities to ship goods through international waters, Mnuchin added.

The president has made it clear to companies worldwide that if they choose to help fund North Koreas nuclear ambitions, they will not do business with the United States.

China, North Koreas closest ally, said in a response to the US sanctions that unilateral actions could undermine cooperation between Beijing and Washington.

The Chinese foreign ministry said it had lodged stern representations with the US over the measures.

The Chinese side firmly opposes the US imposing unilateral sanctions and long-arm jurisdiction on Chinese entities or individuals in accordance with its domestic laws, Geng Shuang, a foreign ministry spokesperson, said.

The new US sanctions come two months after the UN Security Council said it was imposing its toughest sanctions yet on North Korea.

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The Security Council unanimously voted to ban nearly 90 percent of refined petroleum exports to North Korea, and order North Koreans who work abroad to return to the country within 24 months, on December 22.

North Korea announced in November it had successfully conducted a new intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) capable of reaching the US mainland.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-uns government conducted several missile tests last year, drawing condemnation from the international community.

Tensions on the Korean Peninsula appear to have eased in the last few weeks, however, with South Korea expressing it was cautiously optimistic of making progress with inter-Korean relations in the wake of a visit by North Korean officials during the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang.Rare visit to South Korea by North official spawns peace talks offer to US, but Washington says disarmament comes first.

In a rare step towards diplomacy between longtime enemies, a North Korean envoy making a rare visit to South Korea said his country is willing to open peace talks with the United States.

Kim Yong-chol, in South Korea for the end of the Olympics, said on Sunday North Korean leader Kim Jong-un wanted to improve ties with Washington and had ample intentions of holding talks, according to the Souths presidential office.

He made the remarks during a meeting with South Korean President Moon Jae-in, who is eager to engage the North after one of the most hostile periods in recent years on the Korean Peninsula.

In a statement on Sunday, the White House said Pyongyang would have to show it is committed to achieving the complete, verifiable, and irreversible denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula if talks were to be held.

We will see if Pyongyangs message today, that it is willing to hold talks, represents the first steps along the path to denuclearisation, it said. In the meantime, the United States and the world must continue to make clear that North Koreas nuclear and missile programmes are a dead end.

Drive a wedge?





President Moon  who was invited a day after the opening ceremonies to Pyongyang for a summit with Kim Jong-un  also said Washington and Pyongyang should quickly meet to fundamentally solve the standoff on the peninsula.

Kim later sat in the VIP box at Olympic Stadium in Pyeongchang for the Olympic closing ceremonies, just metres away from US President Donald Trumps daughter, Ivanka, and the top US military commander on the peninsula, General Vincent Brooks.

Moon has yet to accept the Norths invitation for a summit, but he has advocated engagement.

But he must first strike a balance with Washington, which has a policy meant to isolate and sanction the North until it agrees to give up its nuclear weapons. Some analysts believe Pyongyang is trying to drive a wedge to win concessions from Seoul.

Kim Yong-chol was head of the Norths military intelligence when 2010 attacks on South Korea took place and is currently a vice chairman of the ruling partys central committee tasked with inter-Korea relations.

With decades of experience, he is one of the most powerful people in the Norths ruling regime. Seoul decided to temporarily take him off of a blacklist to allow the visit.

Outside Olympic Stadium, just before the ceremony, more than 200 anti-Pyongyang protesters waved South Korean and US flags, banged drums and held signs saying Killer Kim Yong Chol go to hell. They denounced the South Korean governments decision to allow the visit.Papua New Guinea to host APEC, biggest event in its history

Despite significant financial help from foreign countries, there is concern the small Pacific nation will not be ready in time to host its biggest international event  the APEC diplomatic summit.Manila, Philippines  Thirty-two years since it ousted its last dictator, the Philippines faces the possibility of having another one.

As the country commemorated the People Power revolution of 1986, more than 1,000 people gathered on Sunday at the events memorial to condemn President Rodrigo Duterte whom they called a dictator in the making.

It is important to stand up now, especially since last year, we saw that this administration blatantly disregarded our history, that they buried the dictator Marcos, said protester Jason Del Rosario. Now see the same authoritarian tendencies from the current regime.

In November of 2016, Duterte ordered a clandestine heros burial for Ferdinand Marcos. Duterte, who openly idolises Marcos and claims close ties to his family, skipped Sundays commemoration as he did last year, leaving only a media statement calling for unity and solidarity.

When the non-violent People Power uprising sent Marcos and his family fleeing the country to Hawaii, he had been president for more than 20 years  a regime marred by massive corruption and rampant human rights abuses.





Duterte currently faces accusations of crimes against humanity at the International Criminal Court over his war on the illegal drug trade, in which as many as 20,000 people may have been killed in police raids or vigilante shootings.

Duterte is also pushing to amend the 1987 Constitution drafted after the fall of Marcos, and shift the form of government from unitary to federal. As Dutertes allies at the House of Representatives see it, the transition would reset term limits and have him remain in power, although Duterte himself claimed no intention of staying on.

Dictator, Fascist

Last week, Duterte banned journalists from covering him saying he was hurt by their news organisations reports that criticised him or his aides. Although the move was unprecedented, it followed a series of verbal and legal attacks on reporters.

When protesters chanted slogans and sang anthems from the 1986 revolt on Sunday, it was with both nostalgia and urgency.

Its like we have lost our liberty because the one in power wants federalism, which to me is just a ploy to bring back the dictatorship, said Maria Luisa Salandanan as she clutched her groups banner. Everything that we fought for back in the day is now under threat.

We are standing up against the killings sponsored by this administration. Second, we protest the unjust detention of personalities like Senator Leila De Lima. We also support Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno, added Marybelle Mendegoria, listing the presidents political nemeses.

De Lima is in jail on drug trafficking charges; Sereno faces an impeachment complaint for alleged corruption. They both criticised Dutertes policies before running into legal troubles.

Duterte is also at odds with the Office of the Ombudsman, led by his in-law Conchita Carpio Morales, which has initiated an investigation of his familys undisclosed wealth.

The protesters decried the administrations contempt for checks-and-balances, chanting Marcos, Duterte: diktador, pasista  Marcos, Duterte: dictator, fascist.

Yellowed

Despite everything Duterte is accused of, he enjoys a comfortably positive approval rating based on recent opinion polls. Every point of criticism appears only to affirm his iconoclastic image, further endearing him to his supporters.

A political dark horse, Duterte built his campaign on peoples widespread frustration with the government, which has erstwhile been led mostly by traditional politicians from elite clans.

Foremost among those political clans was the Aquino family, whose place in Filipinos imagination was sealed by the People Power revolt.

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The 1983 assassination of Senator Benigno Ninoy Aquino Jr, Marcos top critic, fomented the public outrage that led to the 1986 uprising, which catapulted his widow Corazon Cory to the presidency, which she held until 1992. After her death in 2009, her son, then-Senator Benigno Noynoy Aquino III, won the presidency in 2010.

Dutertes affinity for the Marcoses and disdain for the elites personified by the Aquinos explains his tepid view of the People Power revolution.

In his canned message for the first People Power anniversary of his presidency, Duterte said, No single party, ideology, religion, or individual could claim credit for the bloodless revolution  in the same way that no single party, ideology, religion, or individual could claim a monopoly of patriotism.

It was a jab at the Liberal Party, frontlined by the Aquinos, which used the imagery and symbolism of the People Power revolution in their succeeding political campaigns. For instance: the colour yellow.

In 1983, to welcome him from exile, Ninoy Aquinos supporters put up yellow emblems along his path from the airport, where he was shot dead as he disembarked from his plane. Since then, Cory Aquino often wore yellow in public. Yellow then became the Liberal Partys campaign colour.

Nowadays, the term dilawan, which means yellowed, is used disparagingly by Dutertes supporters to refer to the Aquinos, members of the Liberal Party, and their supporters. Consequently, the People Power revolt has come to be associated with the yellows.

Thats our problem. We focus on individuals, said political analyst Dindo Manhit, president of Stratbase ADR Institute, a think-tank based in Manila.

Thats why its called the People Power Revolution. It has nothing to do with Cory Aquino. And I blame individuals, who are too allied with Cory Aquino, who simplify it that way. She was an icon of democratic change but we have to remember, it was the peoples revolution. People stood up. She benefited from it, he added.

Manhit pointed out the Philippines lacks a genuine political party system. The countrys so-called political parties are built around personalities, not ideologies. And although regular elections give the public a chance at determining the leadership, their political participation mostly ends at the poll precinct.

So all these things, its also a failure of our institutions. And why have they failed? Because we have allowed them to be hijacked by political leaders. And the nature of political leadership is you are driven by your own political purposes or ambitions, said Manhit.

From the outside

Filipinos tend to gloss over their history, Manhit said, and so they tend to run into the same problems.





Its the peoples fault also. Why do we hinge our future always on somebody who will save the day for us? That means one person. Was it a Cory Aquino? Was it a Noynoy? asked Manhit.

And today, is it a Duterte?

But if anything, the Philippines current political climate is making up-and-coming politicians regroup and rethink.

Senator Paolo Benigno Bam Aquino  nephew to Ninoy and cousin to Noynoy  continues to channel his forebears: black-rimmed square eyeglasses and hairstyle reminiscent of his uncle, and loyalty to the Liberal Party when many others have jumped-ship.

He told Al Jazeera while People Power delivered on the promise of restoring democracy, it failed in another. The other promise was not fulfilled, and that was the economic side: social justice, equality, more opportunities for our countrymen  that one was not fulfilled.

Its what drove people to look for a maverick leader such as Duterte.

But for an Aquino like himself, the senator said there is only one thing left to do.

Its pretty clear to me. You do what you think is right. In 1986, they didnt know that they would win, said Aquino, referring to his aunt Cory and her allies.

When they faced the military tanks, they didnt know that they wouldnt die. So  for many of us who are in power and in critical positions, we need to do what we know and what we think is right, no matter what the consequences are, politically or socially or electorally.

For Manhit, though, the best testament to the effect of the People Power Revolution is Duterte himself.

One thing to remind the president is, he became mayor of Davao because of People Power. People should also remember that the leader of the anti-Marcos movement in Davao was the mother of Mr Duterte, Manhit said.

I believe we have political growth at the national level because we keep on electing new faces. If theres no political growth, do you think Duterte will be president? That somebody from the outside can win?Rohingya reflect: Six months since Myanmar exodus

Hundreds of Rohingya Muslims are still pouring over Myanmar border into Bangladesh every week, bringing accounts of torture and murder, six months after a military crackdown sparked the massive refugee crisis.Lebanese citizen Nader Essam Assaf handed over to Lebanon after his arrest in Syria, Lebanese authorities say.

Lebanese authorities in Beirut are interrogating a man suspected in the death of a Filipina maid whose body was found stuffed in a freezer in Kuwait, security and judicial officials said.

A judicial official said on Saturday that Lebanese citizen Nader Essam Assaf was handed over by Syrian authorities to Lebanon on Friday.

The February 6 discovery of Joanna Demafelis body in the apartment in Kuwait City, where it had reportedly been kept for more than a year, spurred outrage and refocused attention on the abuse of Filipinas working as maids abroad and even prompted Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte to ban the deployment of new Filipino workers to Kuwait, where many of the abuses had been reported.

Nader Essam Assaf and his wife are suspects in Demafelis death. The judicial official said that it appeared that when Assaf felt that the case might be discovered in Kuwait, he fled to Syria along with his wife hoping that he would not be caught.

However, Syrian authorities detained Assaf and later handed him over to Lebanon, as he is a Lebanese citizen, the official said, while Assafs wife, a Syrian national, remains in Syria.

A senior official with Lebanons General Security Directorate refused to provide details other than that the man is being held by the agency and undergoing questioning.

Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to brief reporters.

Lebanese media outlets reported that Assaf is from the northeastern region of Baalbek, but he grew up in a neighbourhood south of Beirut.

On Friday, the Philippines foreign secretary had said that the suspect was under arrest in Lebanon.

The Philippine ambassador to Kuwait said he has received almost 6,000 complaints of abuse of Filipino workers last year and President Duterte has said Demafelis death highlighted the mistreatment of domestic workers in the Gulf.

However, Kuwaiti officials have criticised the Filipino worker ban, saying Dutertes statements have only served to complicate the situation further.Rebel-held enclave near Damascus attacked from multiple fronts, hours after Security Council calls for 30-day truce.

Syrian government forces have launched a ground and air offensive in Eastern Ghouta, witnesses said, hours after the UN Security Council voted unanimously in favour of a resolution calling for a 30-day ceasefire in Syria.

President Bashar al-Assads forces began fighting opposition groups from multiple fronts in the rebel-held enclave near Damascus on Sunday morning, while Syrian warplanes continued to shell the besieged area for the eighth consecutive day.

Hayet Tahrir al-Sham, formerly known as al-Nusra Front, is one of the many opposition groups in control of some areas in the enclave.

The biggest group is Free Syrian Army-linked Jaish al-Islam that says it has captured and killed a number of soldiers as they tried to make their way inside the city, Al Jazeeras Osama Bin Javaid said.

Reporting from Gaziantep in neighbouring Turkey, Bin Javaid confirmed there were multiple attempts by the government to storm the area from several sides.





Rebel sources in control of the enclave were resisting the attacks, he reported, saying the fighters struggled to hold their positions on multiple fronts.

Opposition fighters say they will uphold the UNs ceasefire call, but will respond to any aggression as they reserve the right for self-defence.

The ceasefires aim was to evacuate residents of the Damascus suburb, which is under siege, and to allow for the flow of food aid and medicine.

Last week, deadly air raids and artillery fire launched by Russian-backed Syrian forces exacerbated a dire humanitarian crisis in the besieged enclave, home to some 400,000 people.

According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), more than 500 civilians were killed as a result of the aerial bombardment campaign that began on February 18.

It is worth noting that before this [ground offensive] began, there has been relentless bombardment in many of the places in Eastern Ghouta, where those rebel defence lines were, Bin Javaid said.

Eastern Ghouta is the last remaining rebel-held area east of Damascus and has been under siege by Assads forces since 2013, in an attempt to drive rebel forces out.

According to Bin Javaid, government forces have been specifically targeting underground tunnels and hideouts.

It seems that the government now is adamant to enter Eastern Ghouta.

Meanwhile, the head of Irans armed forces Mohammed Baqri, said on Sunday Syria will respect the UNs call for a ceasefire, but will continue attacks against what he called terrorists and on areas controlled by Hayet Tahrir al-Sham.

UN resolution ceasefire on Syria does not cover Eastern Ghouta; mop-up operations to continue in suburbs, Tasnim quoted Baqri as saying on Twitter.

Syria and its allies, Russia and Iran, are fighting against opposition groups in Idlib province as well  one of the last remaining rebel-held areas in Syria.

Both Eastern Ghouta and Idlib were meant to be two of several de-escalation zones agreed upon a year ago by Russia, Iran  both government allies  and Turkey  a backer of the armed opposition.

Lifesaving operations

Mohamad Katoub, advocacy manager on behalf of hospitals and medical facilities in East Ghouta, stressed that the biggest challenge is the shelling that is targeting humanitarian infrastructure.

Speaking to Al Jazeera from Gaziantep, Katoub noted rescue teams cannot move because of the destruction of the buildings and the continuous attacks.

In the last six days, we lost 40 percent of our capacity to respond to the injuries and to the people in need of medical services in this area, he said.

Without adequate sanitation or food, pregnant women, patients with chronic diseases and children in need of vaccination are at risk of disease, he further noted.

Now, we need lifesaving operations, Katoub said, referencing the thousands of civilians who are wounded.

We dont have high hopes from this UNSC resolution  this is not the first UNSC resolution, which called for immediate aid inside Ghouta.

Security Council resolution





The vote on the UNSC resolution, sponsored by Kuwait and Sweden, had been delayed several times as council members tried to convince Russia to agree to its terms.

A meeting was originally scheduled for 11am local time (16:00 GMT) on Friday, but negotiations over the wording of the resolution had its sponsors make amendments to avoid a Russian veto.

As a result, the resolution did not specify a given time for the ceasefire to come into effect.

The UN special envoy for Syria, Steffan de Mistura, had stressed the urgent need for a ceasefire to stop the horrific heavy bombardment of Eastern Ghouta and the indiscriminate mortar shelling on Damascus.

And earlier this week, the UN and other international bodies expressed outrage at the number of civilian casualties.

Hundreds of thousands of people have died in fighting during Syrias seven-year civil war, and millions have been forced to flee the country.As fighting along the border between India and Pakistan rages, more than 1,000 Kashmiris flee the violence.

Srinagar, Indian-administered Kashmir  Hundreds of residents have fled their homes along the border following an escalation of cross-border attacks between India and Pakistan.

Nasir Ahmad Naqash, deputy commissioner of northern Baramulla district, told Al Jazeera ceasefire violations have intensified in Uri sector first time in 15 years, as the area has been largely peaceful since the 2003 truce signed by the nuclear-armed South Asian rivals.

More than 1,000 villagers have fled their homes due to the shelling. Many people have been provided shelter in the campus by the government while others have gone to live with their relatives, Naqash said.

Nazir Ahmad, 40, a resident of Churunda village, 120km from the main city of Srinagar, fled his home on Saturday and is living in a state-run higher secondary school with his family in Uri town.





On Saturday, we heard the announcement from the other side asking civilians to shift to safer places. It panicked everyone and most of the villagers left their homes. This is for the first time in many years that the shelling has intensified, he told Al Jazeera.

Danger

Ghulam Nabi, a resident of Silikot, another affected village in Uri sector, demanded that civilians living in the line of fire be moved to safety.

We appeal government to provide us land in some safer places. We dont want to live among the shells and bullets that have put our lives in danger, he said.

Residents said Churunda, Silikot, and Tilawari villages along the border have been most affected by the latest violence.

Tensions between India and Pakistan intensified after an attack on an army base in Sunjuwan area in Jammu city.

In the attack, that took place earlier this month, seven soldiers were killed as India blamed Pakistan for the assault.

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Following the attack, Indian defence minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, warned Pakistan it will pay for its misadventure.

Hundreds flee

The deadly cross-border shelling continues intermittently since the beginning of this year, displacing hundreds of residents.

Officials say more than 15 people have been killed since January on the Indian side, including civilians, besides damage to houses and livestock.

The 2003 ceasefire agreement between the two archrivals is in tatters as nearly 100 people, including security forces, have been killed in the past three years on the Indian side.

Border areas in Jammu were calm on Sunday but officials said uncertainty meant people feared returning to their homes.

The ceasefire violations continue since May last year, but there was a sudden rise from January this year More than 600 people continue to remain in camps due to the fear, Shahid Iqbal Chowdhary, a senior administration official, from border town Rajouri told Al Jazeera.

{articleGUID}

The two countries continue to accuse each other of the ceasefire violations and killings.

Muhammad Faisal, Pakistans Foreign Office spokesman, said in a statement the Indian army killed a civilian and injured three others in Nikial sector in Pakistan-administered Kashmir.

Pakistan has accused India of killing 18 people in border skirmishes this year.

Despite a 2003 ceasefire, India and Pakistan regularly trade fire across the so-called Line of Control (LoC), the military demarcation between the Indian and Pakistani controlled parts of Kashmir.

India regularly accuses Pakistan of aiding fighters in crossing the LoC to attack Indian positions. Pakistan denies the allegations.Holding the Key: Jerusalems Church of the Holy Sepulchre

A look at Jerusalems Church of the Holy Sepulchre, its turbulent history and the different denominations using it.Residents in one building at The Ridge at Gainesville are without power after a Gainesville man crashed a stolen car into the apartment complex near Butler Plaza, Gainesville Police said.

Ahmadric Tyree Stone

Ahmadric Tyree Stone, 19, was driving a stolen black BMW SUV south on Southwest 38th Terrace when he sped up and hit the side of Robert Bryce Haines 2016 Nissan Sentra, Haines said. The 23-year-old was turning left into the apartment complex, located at 3718 SW 24th Ave., at about 5 p.m.

After being hit, Haines said he saw Stone crash into the building before blacking out. The crash left Haines with head and shoulder injuries. Haines was taken to UF Health Shands Hospital for his injuries but was later released.

I came back to my senses, and I realized we were hit, the Gainesville resident said. I dont know why he was in such a rush.

After crashing into the side of an apartment building, Stone got out of the car and ran through the apartment complex, GPD Lt. Audrey Mazzuca said.

Mazzuca said multiple The Ridge residents called police to give updates on Stones whereabouts.

This was awesome cooperation between citizens and law enforcement, she said. We had multiple citizens calling in. Hes here, hes there, hes rolling over vehicles. We had officers who knew the area, who were in the right places at the right time.

Jeffrey Haydu, a UF biology junior, was leaving his apartment to go to Publix when Stone ran into his garage and asked for help.

He was saying You got to help me, you got to help me. Someones trying to hurt me, Haydu said. I told him Id call the cops, and he said not to. I knew something was wrong.

Meryl Kornfield Gainesville resident Ahmadric Stone, 19, crashed a stolen car into an apartment building at The Ridge of Gainesville at about 5 p.m. on Saturday, Gainesville Police said. The building is without power, and residents will be evacuated for two weeks.

Haydu, 20, said Stone then got into the backseat of his car and crawled over the center console into the drivers seat. He tried backing out of the garage but the drivers door hit the garage door railing and broke halfway off the car.

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Stone jumped out of the passenger door window and ran off, with police following. Haydu called police but officers only responded to his apartment, which is about 500 feet from the building Stone crashed into, after they detained Stone. This was about 15 to 20 minutes after the attempted carjacking. Haydu said the scene in his garage was fast.

It was like out of a movie, he said.

Officers eventually stopped Stone about a mile from the apartment complex at the Outback Steakhouse on Butler Plaza, located at 3760 SW Archer Road.

Stone was taken to UF Health Shands Hospital for medical issues he complained of after running. GPD later charged him with unarmed carjacking, hindering communication with police and resisting arrest without violence, Mazzuca said. The car Stone crashed into was reported stolen to Alachua County Sheriffs Office. Mazzuca said she did not know when the car was stolen or where it was stolen from.

Stone was taken to the Alachua County Jail on Sunday morning and is being held without bond, pending a first appearance today.

Stone also hit the buildings electrical box, knocking it over and onto the ground, shutting off power to all of the apartments in that building. Katherine Gonzalez, a UF biochemistry and political science sophomore, woke up her roommate, Maria Moriyon, a UF veterinary graduate student, at about 7 p.m. when she came home and the power was off. Gonzalez and Moriyon were told by The Ridge management they needed to evacuate for two weeks for repairs and inspections.

Clutching flashlights in their hands Saturday night, Gonzalez and Moriyon hurried to gather their belongings to move to another building. Moriyon, who has an exam today, is worried about moving to a new place.

The apartment management is providing empty apartments in the community to residents who were evacuated, Gonzalez said.

They are really being nice about it considering that this was so random, Gonzalez said.

Contact Meryl Kornfield at mkornfield@alligator.org. Follow her on Twitter at @merylkornfield.

Ahmadric Tyree Stone, 19, crashed a stolen car into another car and an apartment building at The Ridge of Gainesville at about 5 p.m. Saturday . The building lost power, and residents will be evacuated for two weeks.Donald Trump channels Archie Bunker on gun control

Donald Trump surveys the death at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, hears the laments of the grief stricken and then tells everyone itd be good idea to bring more guns into school. You let the teachers have them. You give them a little bit of a bonus, so practically for free, you have now made the school into a hardened target.

More guns equals less crime, then? No:

The notion [that more guns mean less crime] stems from a paper published in 1997 by economists John Lott and David Mustard, who looked at county-level crime data from 1977 to 1992 and concluded that allowing citizens to carry concealed weapons deters violent crimes and it appears to produce no increase in accidental deaths. Of course, the study of gun crime has advanced significantly since then (no thanks to Congress). Some researchers have gone so far as to call Lott and Mustards original study completely discredited.  Now, Stanford law professor John Donohue and his colleagues have added another full decade to the analysis, extending it through 2010, and have concluded that the opposite of Lott and Mustards original conclusion is true: more guns equal more crime. The totality of the evidence based on educated judgments about the best statistical models suggests that right-to-carry laws are associated with substantially higher rates of aggravated assault, robbery, rape and murder, Donohue said in an interview with the Stanford Report. The evidence suggests that right-to-carry laws are associated with an 8 percent increase in the incidence of aggravated assault, according to Donohue. He says this number is likely a floor, and that some statistical methods show an increase of 33 percent in aggravated assaults involving a firearm after the passage of right-to-carry laws.According to the National Crime Victimization Survey, 467,321 persons were victims of a crime committed with a firearm in 2011, which includes the 11,000 or so gun-related homicides.

According to the National Crime Victimization Survey 2011, 467,321 people were victims of a crime committed with a firearm in 2011, including the 11,000 or so gun-related homicides. Guns are pretty good at threatening people. Bang. Bang. Youre dead.

In 2010 the FBI recorded 12,996 homicides  8,775 were committed with guns; 1,704 with knives; 540 with blunt objects; 11 with poison. People murder, then, with the nearest most lethal object to hand. Or they become more devious: in 1927, Americas deadliest school massacre was carried out with dynamite.

But what about guns just going off?

In 2010, unintentional firearm injuries caused the deaths of 606 people. From 2005-2010, almost 3,800 people in the U.S. died from unintentional shootings. Over 1,300 victims of unintentional shootings for the period 20052010 were under 25 years of age.

Matt Steinglass notes:

Gun-rights advocates often argue that theres no point taking away peoples guns, because you can kill someone with a knife. This is true, but in practice people are nowhere near as likely to get killed with a knife. In America, of those 14,022 homicides in 2011, 11,101 were committed with firearms. In England and Wales, where guns are far harder to come by, criminals didnt simply go out and equip themselves with other tools and commit just as many murders; there were 32,714 offences involving a knife or other sharp instrument (whether used or just threatened), but they led to only 214 homicides, a rate of 1 homicide per 150 incidents. Meanwhile, in America, there were 478,400 incidents of firearm-related violence (whether used or just threatened) and 11,101 homicides, for a rate of 1 homicide per 43 incidents. That nearly four-times-higher rate of fatality when the criminal uses a gun rather than a knife closely matches the overall difference in homicide rates between America and England.

But police having guns is good, right?

Not one but four sheriffs deputies hid behind cars instead of storming Marjory Stoneman Douglas HS in Parkland, Fla., during Wednesdays school shooting, police claimed Friday  as newly released records revealed the Broward County Sheriffs Office had received at least 18 calls about the troubled teen over the past decade. Sources from Coral Springs, Fla., Police Department tell CNN that when its officers arrived on the scene Wednesday, they were shocked to find three Broward County Sheriffs deputies behind their cars with weapons drawn.

Stoneman Douglas had an armed guard who did not engage the killer.

There is no consensus over guns in the US. Maybe the focus should be on the wrong kind of people having guns?

All the talk is of guns. But why do the State and ordinary people own them in the first place? And if anyone needs to be denied gun ownership, why shouldnt everyone be made gun free?

Paul Sorene

Posted: 25th, February 2018 | In: News, Politicians Comment | TrackBack | PermalinkTraining company CAE revealed at UMEX event in Abu Dhabi today that over recent months, UAE Air Force RQ-1E remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) aircrews have completed several courses being delivered by its Maritime Middle East (MME), including an RPA Sensor Operator Fundamentals Course and RPA Aircrew Fundamentals Course.

In addition, the first class of cadets at the Khalifa Bin Zayad Air College will soon complete the RPA Fundamentals Course jointly developed and delivered by CAE MME and the Khalifa Bin Zayad Air College. CAE MME is CAE's Abu-Dhabi, UAE-based joint venture company.

The courses are all part of the comprehensive training solution for RPA systems being developed by CAE under a contract signed last year to provide academic, simulator, and live flying training for the UAE Air Force's fleet of RQ-1E Predator aircraft.

"We are pleased to contribute to the training and proficiency of UAE Air Force and Air Defence personnel on the way to becoming remotely piloted aircraft pilots and sensor operators," said Ian Bell, CAE's Vice President and General Manager, Middle East/Asia-Pacific. "RPA systems have become a critical asset for modern combat operations, and they require highly skilled aircrews. CAE is honoured the UAE Air Force selected us to develop and deliver a comprehensive training program for their remotely piloted aircraft."

The initial courses are teaching UAE Air Force personnel about unmanned aerial systems concepts and theory, including flight characteristics and sensor theory. This includes learning about different types of unmanned systems and general aviation concepts as well as operational concepts for deploying remotely piloted aircraft to support operations.

CAE MME is currently establishing a training centre for the UAE Air Force where all RPA type conversion and mission training will be conducted. CAE has designed and developed the courseware and comprehensive curriculum for academic training and will soon begin delivering courses specific to the UAE Air Force's RQ-1E Predator medium-altitude long-endurance (MALE) RPA. To support the ground-based training system, CAE has already delivered desktop trainers and will be delivering a full suite of additional synthetic training equipment, including Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) mission trainers and high-fidelity, type-specific mission trainers.

In addition to delivering the classroom and simulator training, CAE MME instructors will provide the live flying instruction for UAE Air Force RQ-1E Predator RPA aircrews. Recently, a cadre of CAE MME instructors completed General Atomics' intensive RPA live-flying training program in Yuma, Arizona and were qualified specifically on the RQ-1E Predator.

The actor died late in the night reportedly due to cardiac arrest in Dubai at the age of 54.

Mumbai: The sudden demise of veteran actor Sridevi has left the Indian film industry in shock with many Bollywood celebrities expressing their grief on social media.

The actor (54) died late in the night reportedly due to cardiac arrest in Dubai, where she had gone to attend her nephew Mohit Marwah's wedding.

Minutes after the news of her death broke, many Bollywood actors like Amitabh Bachchan, Priyanka Chopra, Sushmita Sen, Sidharth Malhotra and Riteish Deshmukh took to Twitter to pay their condolences.

The first one, however, was megastar Amitabh Bachchan who in a cryptic tweet wrote, "   ,        !! (Don't know why, feeling a strange restlessness)"

T 2625 -    ,        !!  Amitabh Bachchan (@SrBachchan) February 24, 2018

"I have no words. Condolences to everyone who loved #Sridevi . A dark day. RIP," tweeted Priyanka Chopra.

I have no words. Condolences to everyone who loved #Sridevi . A dark day . RIP  PRIYANKA (@priyankachopra) February 24, 2018

Comedian Johnny Lever, while expressing grief, sent prayers to the late actor's family, which includes husband Boney Kapoor and daughters Khushi and Janhvi.

"Deeply saddened and shocked to hear about #Sridevi Ji. My prayers and condolences to the family," he tweeted.

"Really Shocked and disturbed to hear that Sridevi Maam is no more. #RIP #Sridevi," wrote Sidharth Malhotra.

Really Shocked and disturbed to hear that Sridevi Maam is no more #RIP #Sridevi   Sidharth Malhotra (@S1dharthM) February 24, 2018

Actor Shilpa Shetty's husband -- Raj Kundra -- posted, "Heartbroken by this news!! She was One of the finest kindest souls I ever knew. Speechless shocked. #RIP#Sridevi this is just not right at all! May god give all the family strength at this darkest hour."

Im in a state of shock, cant get over this heartbreaking news.Such a beautiful soul, may you rest in peace Sri ji . Will miss u terribly #Sridevi pic.twitter.com/v6cL9rWkC5  SHILPA SHETTY KUNDRA (@TheShilpaShetty) February 25, 2018

Riteish tweeted, Terrible terrible news . Am shocked beyond words. SRIDEVI ji No More RIP,, while Sushmita wrote that she has been inconsolable since the news broke. I just heard Maam Sridevi passed away due to a massive cardiac arrest. I am in shock cant stop crying "

Terrible terrible news.... Am shocked beyond words. SRIDEVI ji No More ...  RIP  Riteish Deshmukh (@Riteishd) February 24, 2018

Actor Nimrat Kaur tweeted, Absolutely devastated to hear about the passing of #Sridevi. What a dark black terrible moment in time. Gutted.

Compelled at this unfortunate hour to be reminded of the age old idiom -    ,    ... numb at this grave untimely loss. There never was, nor will there ever be anyone quite like you. What a profoundly sad night. #TheOriginalEverything #RIPSridevi pic.twitter.com/tH04Rgzj7C  Nimrat Kaur (@NimratOfficial) February 24, 2018

"An absolute icon. Gone too soon, #Sridevi. Too soon," Jacqueline Fernanadez tweeted.

An absolute icon. Gone too soon, #Sridevi. Too soon...  Jacqueline Fernandez (@Asli_Jacqueline) February 24, 2018

Just woken up to the tragic and shocking news of the passing of our dear Sridevi ji. Heartfelt condolences to Boneyji and her family, tweeted Boman Irani.

Just woken up to the tragic and shocking news of the passing of our dear Sridevi ji. Heartfelt condolences to Boneyji and her family.  Boman Irani (@bomanirani) February 25, 2018

Woken up to Absolute Shock and Disbelief ! Tragic news ! Im at a loss of words,cant comprehend this at all! Why? Gone Too soon ,Sri , my heart goes out to Boneyji,jahnvi and Khushi at this moment. Condolences and Prayers, tweeted Raveena Tandon.

Woken up to Absolute Shock and Disbelief ! Tragic news ! Im at a loss of words,cant comprehend this at all! Why? Gone Too soon ,Sri , my heart goes out to Boneyji,jahnvi and Khushi at this moment. Condolences and Prayers . #sridevi  Raveena Tandon (@TandonRaveena) February 25, 2018

"I just heard Maam Sridevi passed away due to a massive cardiac arrest. I am in shock...cant stop crying...", Sushmita Sen tweeted.

I just heard Maam Sridevi passed away due to a massive cardiac arrest. I am in shock...cant stop crying...  sushmita sen (@thesushmitasen) February 24, 2018

"Life is so fragile & unpredictable ! You will always live in our hearts forever . #RIPSridevi #Chandani", actress Preity Zinta tweeted.

Life is so fragile & unpredictable ! You will always live in our hearts forever . #RIPSridevi #Chandani pic.twitter.com/mQl7ou8eze  Preity zinta (@realpreityzinta) February 24, 2018

Sridevi was seen in last year's revenge-drama "Mom" opposite Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Akshaye Khanna. She shot for a special appearance in superstar Shah Rukh Khan's upcoming film "Zero" which releases in December.

Sridevi is survived by husband Boney Kapoor and two daughters Janhvi and Khushi.Sridevi surrendered to cardiac arrest, and unfortunately, Janhvi Kapoor wasnt even present during the time.

Boney Kapoor at an event, Mona Kapoor at an event, Boney with Sridevi at an event.

Mumbai: Tragedy has once again struck Boney Kapoors house. Sridevi breathed her last in Dubai on Sunday morning, where she had gone to be part of her nephew Mohit Marwahs wedding.

The actress surrendered to cardiac arrest, and unfortunately, Janhvi Kapoor wasnt even present because she was busy shooting for her debut film Dhadak, which is slated to release in July this year.

Sridevi, who herself last worked in Ravi Udyawars Mom after her powerful comeback with Gauri Shindes English Vinglish, will not be there to witness her daughters Bollywood debut, which is a tragedy repeated once again.

Back in 2012, Boney Kapoors first wife Mona died due to cancer on March 25, which was just two months before her son Arjun Kapoor made his debut with Ishaqzaade, which released in theatres on May 11.

Mona Kapoors death was a loss Arjun Kapoor could hardly bear. He has often mentioned how her death has affected his life. The actor also had strained relations with Sridevi, as can be seen that any time he was asked about her, the actor said that she wasnt his mom.Sridevi breathed her last in Dubai, where she had gone to attend her nephew Mohit Marwahs wedding.

Last pictures of Sridevi.

Mumbai: Sridevi breathed her last in Dubai, where she had gone to attend her nephew Mohit Marwahs wedding. The 54-year-old actress surrendered to cardiac arrest, but her beauty and grace even in her last moments was beyond imagination.

Sridevi gave a new meaning to glamour at the wedding ceremony as she looked every bit eternally beautiful no matter what. Here are some of her last pictures:

Antara Marwah A post shared by Sridevi Kapoor (@sridevi.kapoor) on Feb 20, 2018 at 11:05am PST

 A post shared by Sridevi Kapoor (@sridevi.kapoor) on Feb 21, 2018 at 8:30pm PST

 A post shared by Sridevi Kapoor (@sridevi.kapoor) on Feb 22, 2018 at 4:43am PST

Gone too soon, Sridevi. R.I.P. May your family gain all the strength for the loss.Veteran Bollywood actress Sridevi passed away in Dubai on Sunday morning.

Mumbai: Veteran Bollywood actress Sridevi, who lasted a remarkable career spanning over four decades, passed away in Dubai on Sunday morning. She was 54.

Sridevi, wife of producer Boney Kapoor, reportedly died due to cardiac arrest in Dubai, where she, along with her family, attended her nephew Mohit Marwah's wedding.

As we remember the actress, heres taking a look at some of her unseen pictures:

Some unseen pictures of Sridevi.

Some unseen pictures of Sridevi.

Some unseen pictures of Sridevi.

Some unseen pictures of Sridevi.

Some unseen pictures of Sridevi.

Some unseen pictures of Sridevi.

Some unseen pictures of Sridevi.

Some unseen pictures of Sridevi.

Some unseen pictures of Sridevi.

Some unseen pictures of Sridevi.

Some unseen pictures of Sridevi.

Some unseen pictures of Sridevi.

Some unseen pictures of Sridevi.

Some unseen pictures of Sridevi.

Some unseen pictures of Sridevi.

Some unseen pictures of Sridevi.

Some unseen pictures of Sridevi.

Some unseen pictures of Sridevi.

Some unseen pictures of Sridevi.

Some unseen pictures of Sridevi.

Some unseen pictures of Sridevi.

Some unseen pictures of Sridevi.

Some unseen pictures of Sridevi.

Some unseen pictures of Sridevi.

Some unseen pictures of Sridevi.

Some unseen pictures of Sridevi.

Some unseen pictures of Sridevi.

Some unseen pictures of Sridevi.

Some unseen pictures of Sridevi.

Some unseen pictures of Sridevi.

Some unseen pictures of Sridevi.

Some unseen pictures of Sridevi.

Some unseen pictures of Sridevi.

Some unseen pictures of Sridevi.

Some unseen pictures of Sridevi.

Some unseen pictures of Sridevi.

Some unseen pictures of Sridevi.

Some unseen pictures of Sridevi.

Some unseen pictures of Sridevi.

Some unseen pictures of Sridevi.

Some unseen pictures of Sridevi.

Some unseen pictures of Sridevi.

Some unseen pictures of Sridevi.

Some unseen pictures of Sridevi.

Some unseen pictures of Sridevi.

Some unseen pictures of Sridevi.

Some unseen pictures of Sridevi.

Some unseen pictures of Sridevi.

Some unseen pictures of Sridevi.

Some unseen pictures of Sridevi.

Some unseen pictures of Sridevi.

Some unseen pictures of Sridevi.

Some unseen pictures of Sridevi.

Some unseen pictures of Sridevi.

Some unseen pictures of Sridevi.Prime Minister announced the ban on Rs 500 and Rs 1000 Indian rupee notes, on November 8, 2016.

PNB lodged two financial fraud complaints of Rs 11,400 crore and Rs 280 crore against Nirav Modi, his family members and Mehul Choksi. (Photo: Nirav Modi website)

Mumbai: Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) MP Majeed Memon has quoted a report alleging that the accused celebrity jeweller, Nirav Modi had deposited cash worth Rs 90 crore at one of the branches of the scam-hit Punjab National Bank (PNB), hours before the announcement of demonetisation.

"When Nirav Modi left India, at that time it was reported that some hours prior to Prime Minister's announcement of demonetisation in 2016, Nirav Modi deposited 90 crore rupees of cash in one branch of PNB, and he probably exchanged it for bullion or something," Memon said, and added, "I think that there should be proper investigation to see if there is any element of truth to it."

Memon also took to Twitter to convey the same, and hinted on suspicion of connivance between the accused and the BJP-led government at the Centre, by adding, "What does it suggest?"

Prime Minister announced the ban on Rs 500 and Rs 1000 Indian rupee notes, on November 8, 2016.

For the unversed, PNB detected a 1.77 billion dollar (Rs 11,400) scam earlier this month, in which Nirav Modi acquired fraudulent letters of undertaking from one of its branches for overseas credit from other Indian lenders.

Mehul Choksi, Modi's uncle, is also being probed for his involvement in the fraud.

PNB lodged two financial fraud complaints of Rs 11,400 crore and Rs 280 crore against Nirav Modi, his family members and the owner of Gitanjali Gems.St Kitts has become the perfect place for Nirav Modi to stay as it does not have an extradition treaty with India.

Nirav Modi's 'planned' exit from India, is similar to one by Winsome Diamond Group promoter Jatin Mehta, who is also considered one of the biggest corporate defaulters. (Photo: PTI)

Mumbai: The disgraced diamond czar Nirav Modi and has family have moved to his new hideout, Sylvan St Kitts, located in the eastern Caribbean, according to a report in Mumbai Mirror.

Sources in the diamond trading communities of Mumbai and Surat said that the 48-year-old diamantaire has also bought a villa at St Kitts, which is helping him in acquiring citizenship of the Caribbean island nation.

He has been planning this for a while now. In fact, he visited St Kitts along with his family last week, a source revealed to Mumbai Mirror.

St Kitts has become the perfect place for Nirav Modi to stay as it does not have an extradition treaty with India, despite being part of the Commonwealth.

While Indias treaty partners have treaty obligations to consider Indias requests, in the absence of a treaty, it is a matter for the foreign country to consider, in accordance with its domestic laws and procedures, whether the country can agree to Indias extradition request on the basis of an assurance of reciprocity.

According to the St Kitts and Nevis governments website, applicants can win citizenship through an investment program.

Applicants may qualify for citizenship through a contribution to the Sugar Industry Diversification Foundation (SIDF). For a single applicant, a non-refundable contribution of Rs 1.6 crore (USD 250,000) is required.

Applicants may also qualify for citizenship through an investment in a pre-approved real estate project, which may include hotel shares, villas, and condominium units. The minimum real estate investment required by law is Rs 2.6 crore (USD 400,000) for each main applicant.

Now that his passport has been revoked by the MEA, he will set up another diamond trading unit in either Singapore or Hong Kong," another source said.

He can do this and continue to evade Indian authorities, because neither of these countries will extradite him, since he will be a St Kitts citizen soon, he added.

The Indian Government on Saturday revoked the passports of celebrity jeweller Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi, key accused in Rs 11,400 crore Punjab National Bank scam.

The ministry of external affairs (MEA) sent an email informing Nirav that his passport stands revoked under section 10 (3) (C) of the Passport Act.

Also read: PNB fraud case: Govt revokes passports of Nirav Modi, Mehul Choksi

Modi, Choksi and others are being investigated by multiple probe agencies after the fraud came to light recently following a complaint by the Punjab National Bank. The complaint alleged that they cheated the nationalised bank to the tune of Rs 11,400 crore, with the purported involvement of a few employees of the bank.

Nirav along with his wife Ami, brother Neeshal and Mehul Choksi left India in the first week of January before the Punjab National Bank accused them of committing the fraud. They have not returned to India since then.

Nirav Modi's "planned" exit from India, is similar to one by Winsome Diamond Group promoter Jatin Mehta, who is also considered one of the biggest corporate defaulters.

Jatin Mehta, who is now a citizen of Saint Kitts owes Rs 6,800 crore to 15 banks in India.

Until the PNB declared its fraudulent transactions, the Winsome Diamond Group scam was country's second largest banking fraud after Kingfisher Airlines.Information and Broadcasting Minister Smriti Irani, an actress herself, also grieved the veteran actress's death on twitter.

'She was a veteran of the film industry, whose long career included diverse roles and memorable performances. My thoughts are with her family and admirers in this hour of grief. May her soul rest in peace,' Modi tweeted. (Photo: Twitter)

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday mourned the death of veteran bollywood actress Sridevi on Twitter.

"Saddened by the untimely demise of noted actor Sridevi. She was a veteran of the film industry, whose long career included diverse roles and memorable performances. My thoughts are with her family and admirers in this hour of grief. May her soul rest in peace," he tweeted.

Saddened by the untimely demise of noted actor Sridevi. She was a veteran of the film industry, whose long career included diverse roles and memorable performances. My thoughts are with her family and admirers in this hour of grief. May her soul rest in peace: PM @narendramodi  PMO India (@PMOIndia) February 25, 2018

According to the family sources, the actor, wife of producer Boney Kapoor, reportedly died due to cardiac arrest late in the night in Dubai, where she had gone, along with her family, to attend her nephew Mohit Marwah's wedding.

Information and Broadcasting Minister Smriti Irani, an actress herself, also grieved the veteran actress's death on twitter.

"Sridevi - a powerhouse of acting , a long journey embellished with success comes to a sudden end. My condolences to her loved ones and fans," she said.

Sridevi - a powerhouse of acting , a long journey embellished with success comes to a sudden end. My condolences to her loved ones and fans.  Smriti Z Irani (@smritiirani) February 25, 2018

The actor is survived by husband Boney Kapoor and two daughters Janhvi and Khushi.The Prime Minister announced the 'GOBAR dhan' initiative which will encourage use of biogas energy.

He stressed on the role that artificial intelligence and technology can play in ensuring welfare of the poor and underprivileged. (Photo: ANI)

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said that India is walking towards an era of 'women-led development'.

Addressing the nation through his monthly radio program, Mann ki Baat, Prime Minister Modi said India is heading towards women-led development from only women development.

"India is heading towards women-led development from only women development. We are discussing development under the leadership of women," he said.

He then went on to talk about the role that artificial intelligence and technology can play in ensuring the welfare of the poor and underprivileged.

"I urge the scientists to find ways in which we can enhance lives of our 'divyang' brothers & sisters through artificial intelligence," he said.

"Science and technology are value-neutral," the Prime Minister said, "It depends on us what work we want a machine to do. Hence, human objectivity becomes important."

Modi then went on to laud the spirit of inquiry, saying one must not rest till "one gets the answer to all the questions."

Modi also thanked the forces that reach out for rescue operations immediately after disasters happen.

"We have many unnamed, unsung heroes in the Fire and Rescue services, National Disaster Response Forces, Armed Forces and in the Paramilitary forces who bravely reach out during emergencies without caring about their lives," said Modi.

He also appreciated organisations like NCC and Scouts who also help during such situations.

The Prime Minister went on to say that apart from purely natural disasters, most calamities occur because people are not vigilant enough and do not follow the rules.

"We must become a risk-conscious society, understand values of safety. In our culture, we often speak about the protection of values, but we also have to understand values of safety. We must make it a part of our lives," he said.

The Prime Minister also stressed the importance of biodegradable wastes, announcing the "GOBAR dhan" (Galvanizing Organic Bio-Agro Resources) initiative under the Swachh Bharat Mission, which will encourage the use of dung, farm waste, kitchen waste for biogas energy.

"New jobs would be created through #waste collection and transportation. Online trading platform would be set up to run 'Gobar Dhan Yojana' smoothly; it will connect farmers to buyers," said Modi.

He lauded the Trash Mahotsav that recently took place in Chattisgarh.

The objective behind it was to utilise waste creatively & to spread awareness about ways to reuse garbage.

Modi also congratulated people of Elephanta Islands as three villages get electricity for the first time after spending 70 years in darkness, saying it was in a new phase of development.

He ended his speech with Holi greetings.India had given detailed evidence to the Sri Lankan Government regarding his involvement in terror activities.

NIA investigations have revealed that it was during his posting at the Pakistani high commission in Sri Lanka in 2014 when he had planned the terror strikes.

New Delhi: National Investigation Agency has started the process for getting a Red Corner Notice issued against a Colombo-based Pakistani diplomat, Amir Zubair Siddiqui, for hatching a conspiracy to carryout terror attacks on the US and Israeli consulates across Southern India. NIA had also filed a chargesheet against Siddiqui a few days ago.

Sources said NIA was in the process of finalising all the documents related to the case to be sent to Interpols headquarters in Lyon, France, which is the competent authority for issuing the Red Corner Notice.

NIA investigations have revealed that it was during his posting at the Pakistani high commission in Sri Lanka in 2014 when he had planned the terror strikes.

The Pakistani diplomats name had come up during the custodial interrogation of a Sri Lankan resident Sakir Hussain, who was arrested in a joint operation by the Intelligence Bureau and the Tamil Nadu police in 2014. Hussain is currently in jail as he had pleaded guilty in court.

During interrogation Hussain had claimed that he had done a detailed survey of the US consulate in Chennai and Israeli consulate in Bangalore to conducting terror attacks and that two terrorists for this purpose were to be flown in from Maldives. NIA officials claimed that Siddiqui was posted as a visa counsellor at the Pakistan High Commission in Colombo but was sent back to Islamabad as

India had given detailed evidence to the Sri Lankan Government regarding his involvement in terror activities.

The US security agencies too had provided evidence to their Indian counterparts regarding communication between Hussain and one Shahjee, a Pakistani national who was allegedly introduced to the accused allegedly by the Pakistani diplomat. The US authorities had helped NIA in providing details regarding exchange of e-mails between Hussain, Shahjee and Siddiqui who was using his personal account for communicating with the other accused. Investigations also revealed that Siddiquis e-mail account was being operated using the Internet Protocol (IP) address of the Pakistan high commission in Colombo.

The terror operation had been code named wedding hall and the terrorists were called cooks. Spice was the code name for the bomb devices which were to be planted at the consulates., they said.

NIA had taken over investigations into the case from the Tamil Nadu Police. NIA conducted detailed investigations into the case claiming that Hussain along with the Pakistani diplomat had planned to execute terrorist acts at foreign consulates and to circulate high quality fake Indian currency notes with a view to threaten the security and monetary stability of the country.Karnataka is to go to polls in the next few months as the tenure of the 224-member Assembly ends on May 28.

New Delhi: The Congress on Sunday announced a 43-member state election committee for Karnataka, which is due to go to the polls around April-May. The committee, announced by party president Rahul Gandhi, will be headed by state unit chief G. Parameshwara. Besides chief minister Siddaramaiah and AICC general secretary in charge of Karnataka K.C. Venugopal, the secretaries in charge of the state and all MPs would be part of the SEC.

Members who are part of the committee include senior party leaders from the state Mallikarjun Kharge, D.K. Shivaku-mar, Dinesh Gundurao, S.R. Patil, M. Veerappa Moily, B.K. Hariprasad, Oscar Fernandes and Margaret Alva, party general secretary Janardan Dwivedi said in a statement.

Karnataka is to go to polls in the next few months as the tenure of the 224-member Assembly ends on May 28.

The BJP is working hard to oust the Congress and has said it would contest the Assembly polls under former chief minister B.S. Yeddyurappa.

The JD(S), which has allied with the Mayawati-led BSP, another major player in the state, may be the deciding factor in case none of the two major parties get a simple majority.

Mr Gandhi began the second leg of his pre-election tour in Karnataka on Saturday. He will be travelling for three days across seven districts in the Bombay-Karnataka region, which played a key role in the Congress win in the 2013 polls. He will be travelling through what is considered as the heartland of the Lingayat community, which forms the bulwark of the BJPs support base in Karnataka.The doctor, who has been missing since August 2017, is a prime suspect in the death case of fellow doctor Shashwat Pande.

The high court has directed the metropolitan magistrate hearing the matter to list the case at least once every month to review the progress made in the investigation. (Photo: PTI)

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court has asked the trial court to review once a month progress of the probe into the disappearance of a St Stephens Hospital doctor as well as into the alleged murder of his colleague of which he is accused.

A bench of justices S Muralidhar and I S Mehta passed the order disposing a plea filed by Vandana Gupta who had moved the court to ascertain the whereabouts of her son Dr Suyash Gupta.

The bench has recorded in its order that a status report was filed by the Delhi Police detailing the probe undertaken by the Sabzi Mandi Police to ascertain the whereabouts of the doctor.

It also stated that the report could not be shared with the doctors mother at this stage. This status report, therefore, be kept in a sealed cover by the registry and not be permitted for inspection except under orders of the court, it added.

The doctor, who has been missing since August 2017, is a prime suspect in the death case of fellow doctor Shashwat Pande. Addressing the concerns of the mother that the status reports were merely cut-paste copies of earlier reports and that no real progress was being made in the case, the bench noted that every possible effort was being made to find him.

Having gone through the status reports presented thus far, including the one presented to it in a sealed cover, the court is unable to accept the above submission. The petitioner should rest assured that every possible effort is being made by the police from all possible angles to unearth the truth, the order states.

The high court has directed the metropolitan magistrate hearing the matter to list the case at least once every month to review the progress made in the investigation. In her habeas corpus, the mother through her counsel Jayant Bhatt had sought the high courts intervention to direct the police to find her son who has been missing since the day of the killing.

Pande was working as an intern in the radiology department of the hospital and was found dead inside the hospitals CT scan lab in August 2017. His throat had been slit, presumably with a surgical blade.The doctor, who has been missing since August last year, is a prime suspect in the death of fellow doctor S. Pande.

New Delhi: The Delhi high court has asked the trial court to review once in a month the progress of the probe into the disappearance of a St Stephens Hospital doctor and the alleged murder of his colleague of which he is accused.

A bench of justices S. Muralidhar and I.S. Mehta passed the order disposing of a plea filed by Vandana Gupta, who had moved the court to ascertain the whereabouts of her son Dr Suyash Gupta.

The bench has recorded, in its order, that a status report was filed by the Delhi police detailing the probe undertaken by the Sabzi Mandi police to ascertain the doctors whereabouts. It also stated that the report could not be shared with the doctors mother at this stage.

The doctor, who has been missing since August last year, is a prime suspect in the death of fellow doctor S. Pande.

Addressing the concerns of the mother that the status reports were merely cut-paste copies of earlier reports and that no real progress was being made in the case, the bench noted that every possible effort was being made to find him.

Dr Pande was working as an intern in the radiology department of the hospital and was found dead inside the hospitals CT scan lab in August last year. His throat was slit, presumably with a surgical blade.

Having gone through the status reports presented thus far, including the one presented to it in a sealed cover, the court is unable to accept the above submission. The petitioner rest assured that every possible effort is being made by the police from all possible angles to unearth the truth, the order stated.

The court directed the metropolitan magistrate hearing the matter to list the case at least once every month to review the progress made in the probe. In her habeas corpus, the mother through her counsel had sought the high courts intervention to direct the police to find her son missing since the day of the killing.The steering committee has been calling the state governments loan waiver scheme as one that has cheated the farmers.

The steering committee has been calling the state governments loan waiver scheme as one that has cheated the farmers.

Mumbai: The states steering committee of farmers agitation has decided to launch an aggressive agitation against state government from March.

The committee members held a meeting in Aurangabad on Saturday to decide on the next course of action. The committee will raise the issue of total loan waiver, support prices for crops and implementation of the Swaminathan Commission during its agitation.

The steering committee has been calling the state governments loan waiver scheme as one that has cheated the farmers.

They had promised loan waiver to 89 lakh farmers. We have demanded a complete loan waiver. Forget about our demand, but this government has even failed to keep its own word. This is cheating farmers. Thats why we will hit the road against the government, said Dr Ajit Navale of Kisan Sabha.

Different programmes are being arranged in March, April and May for the protest. The Kisan Sabha is planning to bring a morcha of one lakh farmers to the Assembly on March 12.

The farmers walkathon will begin from Nashik on March 6. There will also be a one-day fast by all farmers on March 19, which is the day when the states first farmer suicide took place. A jail bharo agitation is also being planned for April 30.ED would need Nirav Modis conviction under PMLA to recover loan.

Mumbai: The Enforcement Directorate (ED), as part of its probe in the PNB scam, has seized 21 immovable properties worth Rs 523.72 crore under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The crackdown on immovable properties began after the government moved the Mumbai bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) to confiscate all the properties owned by Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi.

This property seizure comes after the ED had frozen Rs 30 crore in a bank account and seized shares worth Rs 13.86 crores in a Nirav Modi company. They had also made an unusual discovery, where they found a huge quantity of imported watches stacked in 176 steel almirahs, 158 corrugated boxes & 60 plastic containers.

The ED has provisionally attached some of the properties belonging to Modi in connection with PNB fraud. However, looking at the procedures the ED needs to comply with and only one conviction so far under PMLA, that too in Jharkhand, there is a long way to go for recovery of money from the attached properties. Since properties are provisionally attached, the ED would first need to confirm the attachment and would also need Modi to be convicted to go ahead with recovery of money from those attached properties.

When contacted, advocate Hiten Venegaonkar, who is handling a number of ED cases, explained the procedure involved in attaching a property. Under PMLA, the ED officers have right to provisionally attach properties. In short, it means that the ED authorities have come to a conclusion that these properties are arising out of proceeds of crime and therefore they are attaching it. But that action of attachment is subject to adjudication.

He said the adjudication takes place under section 8 of PMLA. After attachment the provisional attachment case would be forwarded to the adjudicating authority, which will issue notice to the property owner.

After conducting hearing of ED officers and the person who is holding, possessing or owning the property, the authority will decide if the provisional attachment is to be made, he said.

According to him, once adjudicating authority comes to a conclusion that this property is arising out of proceeds of crime then it will confirm the provisional attachment and than it will become the final attachment.

A former ED official on condition of anonymity said that the purpose of attaching property is to recover the proceeds of the crime. When it is noticed that the income of the crime is converted into movable and immoveable properties then those are attached, so that those could be auctioned and money could be recovered.

However, the officer said that attached properties could be sold only after the accused is convicted and so far there has been only one conviction under PMLA in Jharkhand and that too is stayed by the high court, as an appeal has been filed against the judgement.

This appeal is now pending before the court. This means the stage of auctioning property under PMLA has not yet come.

Attached Properties

A penthouse (created by joining three flats) worth Rs 81.16 crore

A flat worth Rs 15.45 crore in the sea-facing Samudra Mahal apartments in the Worli area

A farmhouse and adjoining land, worth over Rs 42.70 crore, in the Kihim area of beachside Alibaug

A 53-acre solar power plant, valued at Rs 70 crore, in the Karjat area of Ahmednagar district

Two office properties, worth about Rs 80 crore, in the name of Mark Business Enterprises Private Limited in the Lower Parel area of MumbaiCanada is a reliable source for high quality uranium and foodstuffs, including pulses.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his family left India on February 24 after a long seven-day safari through the country that gyrated between the sublime and the ridiculous. The Toronto Star editorially dubbed it a very bad trip that may carry a steep cost.

The ridiculous veered around the speculation that host Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not even tweet a welcome, by now standard Modi fare for arriving state guests. Furthermore, Mr Modi did not receive Mr Trudeau at the airport, again done selectively by the Prime Minister, or accompany him to Ahmedabad, Mr Modis hometown. All this was taken as a snub to Mr Trudeau due to his Liberal Party patronising pro-Khalistani elements in the Canadian Sikh diaspora. The explanation probably lay in bad programming as normally state visits begin in New Delhi, with trips across India undertaken thereafter. Its reversal and longish duration fed the negative stories. Even the well-meant attempt by the Trudeau family to go native sartorially was ridiculed by some in India and abroad. The Toronto Star, tongue in cheek, wrote that Indians dont actually dress like that, except may be on their wedding day. But truthfully, Mr Trudeaus bha-ngra moves at the Canadian high commissioners reception were vintage Punjabi.

The Khalistan issue emerged as Mr Trudeaus visit to Amritsar approached. Punjab chief minister Capt. Amarinder Singh had last year used the pro-Khalistan argument against his then resurgent Aam Aadmi Party opponents, alleging they had links to Canada-based Khalistanis. The matter resurfaced when Capt. Singh later refused to meet Canadian defence minister Harjit Sajjan, on an official visit to India last year, on the same grounds, despite his distinguished military past. Now Capt. Singh proclaimed he would meet Mr Trudeau but not his Sikh ministers.

The subterranean tension erupted again when it was discovered that Jaspal Atwal, convicted for the attempted murder of a visiting Punjab politician in 1986, was an invitee to the Canadian high commissioners reception for Mr Trudeau. Although Mr Atwal was promptly disinvited, the issues wider implications lingered. For instance, how did he get a visa for India and furthermore get invited? The external affairs ministry promised an answer after an inquiry. But it put the Canadians on the backfoot over relations between the Liberal Party and the Sikh diaspora, which had been riling India as recently even gurdwaras in Canada had banned the entry of Indian diplomats. Strangely, a day later, a story appeared that in fact Mr Atwal was part of the outreach to recanting Khalistanis, whose names were removed from the blacklist to generate mutual goodwill. If that was indeed so, then why the fracas?

The Amritsar trip went smoothly with the Union government deploying recently-inducted Sikh minister and former distinguished diplomat Hardeep Singh Puri to receive and accompany Mr Trudeau during his Golden Temple sojourn. The Akalis, allies of the BJP, were left little space as the focus shifted from the beautiful pictures of the Trudeau family in and around the Golden Temple, to them actually making chapattis in the langar kitchen serving free food to devotees and even non-Sikhs, rich and poor. The meeting with Capt. Singh was short but meaningful, as he handed over a list of Sikh provocateurs in Canada attempting to fuel trouble in Punjab. No doubt the capture of Sikh gurdwaras by a vociferous minority of radicals must also have been discussed. Mr Trudeau needs to seek a balance between the freedom of speech and religion and incitement of sedition in nations of origin by Sikhs or Tamils, or any other ethnicity.

The two Prime Ministers eventually met on February 23 and issued a joint statement, which captures the above dilemma, noting at the start that while both nations value democracy, diversity, pluralism and the rule of law, cooperation rests on respect for sovereignty, unity and the territorial integrity of both. Both agreed to cooperate in fields like civil nuclear issues, education, audio-visual, intellectual property and sports. The need to expand bilateral economic and commercial relations, which hover around $8 billion annually, was also noted. Canada-US trade for instance is $2 billion daily. With US President Donald Trump seeking re-negotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (Nafta), a pact of the US, Canada and Mexico, and Canada joining the Trans Pacific Partnership minus the US, scope exists for diversification of trade and investment relations. A Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement is under negotiation.

Canada is a reliable source for high quality uranium and foodstuffs, including pulses. But this relationship needs to transcend producer-buyer relationship to full spectrum partnership in agriculture and horticulture. An energy dialogue is established as Canada leads in tar sand exploitation and is a net oil exporter. Canada overcame perceived betrayal at India using plutonium from a Canada-gifted nuclear research reactor Cirus in its 1974 nuclear test. After India got a waiver from the Nuclear Suppliers Group, Canada reopened uranium sales to India.

At the strategic level, there is shared concern over the observance of the United Nations Convention on the Laws of the Seas (UNCLOS) and freedom of navigation and overflights throughout the Indo-Pacific, a phrase re-echoing an Indo-US construct. Both called upon the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (North Korea) to abide by UN Security Council resolutions and the Maldives to restore democracy and constitutionalism. While Canadas desire to host more Indian students was noted, so was Indias desire to get Canada to liberalise immigration for skilled Indians. The last is important as the United States, under Mr Trump, despite whatever assurances India may extract, is moving relentlessly towards curtailing immigration.

All told, Mr Trudeau and his family captured the popular imagination by their costumes and family-on-vacation approach, besides courting the Sikh diaspora at home, numbering over 400,000  almost one-third of the total and 1.4 per cent of Canadas population. India, a bit clumsily, registered its concerns about the Khalistani fringe inordinately dominating the popular discourse. Hopefully, the bruises will soon heal, and a better relationship emerge.The Maldives was the last South Asian country to be decolonised, which was in 1965.

The name Maldives derives from the Sanskrit Maladvipa (meaning garland of islands). In Tamil, the garland of islands can be translated as Malai Theevu. The first settlers in the Maldives were people of Dravidian origin. A strong underlying layer of this Dravidian population and culture survives in Maldivian society, with a clear Tamil-Malayalam substratum in the language.

The Maldives is one of the worlds most geographically dispersed countries, as well as the smallest Asian country by both land area and population, with around 428,000 inhabitants. But it is the geography of the Maldives that makes it important in the increasingly contested Arabian Sea part of the Indian Ocean. The low-lying Maldivian islands with an average elevation of about 1.5 meters spreads over 1,192 coral islands grouped in a double chain of 26 atolls is spread over 90,000 sq km, making it a nation of 99 per cent water.

The atoll chain is the visible part of a 960-km-long submarine ridge running north to south that makes it almost a wall to navigation from the eastern side of the Indian Ocean into the western side. At the southern and northern part of this island chain are the only two passages through which ships can pass safely. These are the designated sea lines of communication (SLOCs) through which the major parts of Middle Eastern oil transits to countries like Japan and China. The busier northern SLOC passes between Indias Minicoy Island and the northern most Maldivian atoll. This geography gives the Maldives a strategic importance far beyond its size and heft.

The Maldives was the last South Asian country to be decolonised, which was in 1965. The British maintained military bases on Gan and Hittadu islands till 1978, when Britains dwindling finances obliged it to shut them down. The United States still maintains a powerful presence in the region, in Diego Garcia, further south of the Maldives, about 1,800 km from the southern tip of India. Diego Garcia is just 35 sq km in size but enough facilities have been built on it to adequately project US power across the region. It has two parallel 12,000-foot-long (3,700-metre) runways, expansive parking aprons for heavy bombers such as the supersonic B-1 Lancer and the Cold War workhorse, B-52 Stratofortress, 20 new anchorages in the lagoon, a deep-water pier, port facilities for the largest naval vessels in the American or British fleets, aircraft hangars, maintenance buildings and an air terminal, a huge 1.34-million barrel fuel storage area, and billeting and messing facilities for almost 30,000 combatants and support personnel. The US will most certainly not view kindly any permanent positioning of China in the region.

The Maldives went through a period of political uncertainty from 1965 to 1978, when Maumoon Abdul Gayoom began his 30-year rule as President. Mr Gayoom was a staunch friend of India and in 1988 an Indian military intervention saved his presidency from a small army of Sri Lankan Tamil mercenaries employed by Mr Gayooms predecessor. Mr Gayoom ruled with a heavy hand and opposition to him kept growing. In 2008 Mohammed Nasheed, a British-educated opponent, succeeded Mr Gayoom. Mr Nasheed was Amnesty Internationals 1991 Prisoner of Conscience. Mr Gayoom arrested him about 20 times in all. But his struggles won him many friends not only in Britain but also more importantly in India.

But the Gayoom faction never really accepted Mr Nasheed and its machinations that kept things on a boil till they finally forced Mr Nasheed out of office in 2012. Much as India helped Mr Nasheed along when he was out of office, Mr Nasheed himself was not averse to playing the China card, something which got him on the wrong side of the then Indian ambassador in Male. Therefore, when the need arose, India did not exactly rush to the rescue of Mr Nasheed. But something else happened during the Nasheed presidency that opened a door to Chinas entry into the Maldives.

In 2012, Mr Nasheeds successor President Mohammed Waheed cancelled the previous governments decision to award the $500 million contract to manage Male international airport to an Indian company, GMR.

It seemed as if it was a punishment to the Indian establishment, which seemed to be supporting Mr Nasheed. Many in India even suspected Chinas hand in it.

From the early 2000s, there have been reports in the Indian press, some of it very obviously motivated by Western agencies, about Chinas attempts to seek a naval base in the southern Maldivian chain. The Marao atoll has often been named as one of the pearls in the somewhat dubious string of pearls that China was allegedly building around India. Most serious Indian analysts do not take such formulations seriously, but suspicions persist.

As the competition between India and China intensifies, and as China slowly but surely builds its presence in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR), with a port under construction at Gwadar in Pakistans Balochistan province and at Djibouti, a PLA Navy presence near the strategic passages across the Maldivian wall of atolls seems ever more plausible. In India, the demonstrated Chinese capability of building islands on even semi-submerged formations in the Spratly chain gives rise to more serious apprehensions about Chinas ultimate intentions.

Indias influence in its neighborhood was dealt a stunning blow recently with the Maldives entering into a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with China signed by President Abdulla Yameen (former President Gayooms half-brother) on December 8, 2017. This undoubtedly took the Narendra Modi government by surprise even as it was patting itself on the back for having stood up to the Chinese at Doklam on the Bhutan-Tibet border. China has opened its pocketbook and has also made the Maldives a component of its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

In addition, Mr Yameens government has signed more benign agreements to cooperate in promoting tourism, improving healthcare and assisting in coping up with climate change. Climate change is a very important issue in the Maldives, with the island nation seriously running the risk of becoming a subterranean state in a few decades. Chinese expertise in raising islands out of water might serve it in good stead.

The question for India is whether to deal with this issue now, when it has the means to enforce its will on the Maldives, and as former President Nasheed has entreated it to do, or continue with its traditional policy of not overtly intervening in the internal affairs of other countries? Whether it should persist with this policy, specially when the Chinese presence is expanding at the frenetic pace we have seen in the past decade, is Indias dilemma.

As India ponders its options, there were reports of a Chinese flotilla of 11 ships, including at least one frigate, a 30,000-tonne amphibious transport dock and three support tankers, entering the Indian Ocean region from the Sunda Strait between Java and Sumatra. These fears proved premature as the PLAN flotilla turned eastward towards the Lumbok Strait between Bali and Lumbok, taking it back into the South China Sea, which is where India would like Chinese power to be contained in at all times.



The writer, a policy analyst studying economic and security issues, held senior positions in government and industry. He also specialises in the Chinese economy.The aim of the blasphemy laws is crush people who believe differently.

Human rights groups such as Amnesty International say the blasphemy law is increasingly exploited by religious extremists. (Photo: AFP)

Rome: Rome's ancient Colosseum was lit in red on Saturday in solidarity with persecuted Christians, particularly Asia Bibi, a woman condemned to death under Pakistan's blasphemy laws.

Hundreds gathered on a rainy night outside the Roman amphitheatre that is a symbol of the martyrdom of early Christians to hear the husband and daughter of Asia Bibi.

The Catholic woman has been living on death row in Pakistan since 2010, when she was condemned for allegedly making derogatory remarks about Islam after neighbours objected to her drinking water from their glass because she was not Muslim.

Human rights groups such as Amnesty International say the blasphemy law is increasingly exploited by religious extremists as well as ordinary Pakistanis to settle personal scores.

"The aim of the blasphemy laws is crush people who believe differently," Archbishop Nunzio Galantino, secretary-general of the Italian bishops conference, told the gathering.

The law does not define blasphemy and evidence might not be reproduced in court for fear of committing a fresh offence. There are no penalties for false accusations.

Asia Bibi's case drew international attention after the murder of two politicians who tried to intervene on her behalf.

At the Rome gathering, her husband Ashiq Masih said his wife was innocent of blasphemy. "This is just hate against Christians, who are considered impure," he said.

The husband and daughter, who broke down in tears as she addressed the group, were earlier received by Pope Francis, who told her: "I think often of your mother and I pray for her".

European Parliament President Antonio Tajani, who has been tipped as a possible Italian prime minister after next week's election, said that persecution of Christians was "a genocide".

"A message must be sent from this place. It is the duty of Europe to defend these values (of religious liberty) wherever on earth they are trampled on," Tajani said.

Rebecca Bitrus, a Nigerian Christian woman who was held for two years after she was abducted by Boko Haram Islamist militants, told of how she was repeatedly beaten and raped.

During the event, organised by the Catholic group "Aid to the Church in Need," there were live link-ups with Aleppo, Syria and Mosul, Iraq, both of whose minority Christian populations have been hit hard by wars.People from around the world visit the Polk County History Center to learn about everything from the citrus industry and the countys role in World War I to the phosphate mining industry.

Crumbling plaster prompts restoration plans

Thousands visit the Polk County History Center each month

Work is expected to begin in March



Lately, the county has been working to keep the historic building intact.

The centers striking neoclassical architecture is also a main attraction. It was the countys third courthouse.

Its a treasure and not only a statement to our political process but also our heritage and our culture in the county, historic preservation manager Myrtice Young said.

Young said the museum averages more than 3,500 visitors a month.

Bernard Maloney, from Rochester, New York, stopped in on Saturday.

Its the first time Ive been to this museum so Im just trying to absorb all I can, Maloney said.

With the building being so prominent, Young said it was difficult watching the plaster on the interior walls start to crumble.

Devastating certainly to us because we consider it one of the most important parts of the history center. The story is the building. The beautiful architecture, Young said.

The building was built in 1908. Over the years, she said water seeped into the exterior stone and brick.

As moisture whips in behind here, we get this bubbling effect. And it dries and you can see it just crumbles off the wall, Young said, describing the plaster on the interior walls.

Polk County already spent $330,000 to fix the exterior, according to Young. Now, the center will use a $100,000 state matching grant it received to repair the interior walls.

The grant was essential. It was so exciting that were able to continue and complete this process of restoration, Young said.

Contractors are still going through the bidding process. Bids are due Feb. 28.

Young expects the work to begin in March. Its a six-month long project.

While some exhibits may be off limits, Young said the museum will remain open during that time.Monster Underwater Volcano Off Oregon Coast is Subject of Cannon Beach Talk

Published 02/24/2018 at 5:45 PM PDT

By Oregon Coast Beach Connection staff





(Cannon Beach, Oregon)  Beneath the waves off the Oregon coast lurk some powerful reminders the Earth is still a very active planet. They're called submarine volcanoes, and they are the true monsters of the deep, with a handful of them around 300 miles offshore from this placid, scenic part of the state. (Photo above: a vent at the Axial Seamount, courtesy NOAA).

The Haystack Rock Awareness Program of the north Oregon coast and the Cannon Beach Library Lecture Series join together in March to host a talk on the underwater volcanic chaos going on beneath the waves. The next talk in the series is Wednesday, March 14 with famed Hatfield Marine Science Center researcher and professor Dr. Bill Chadwick, presenting a lecture entitled Axial Seamount: The most Active Volcano in the Pacific Northwest.

The Axial Seamount lives up to its moniker of being the most active submarine volcano in the northwest Pacific Ocean. It soars to a depth of 1400 meters below sea level and it sits stewing and gurgling approximately 300 miles off the Oregon coast. Axial Seamount was the site of the world's first underwater volcano observatory called NeMO and has erupted most recently in 2015, 2011 and 1998. Because it is so active, Axial has been chosen as a key node on the new cabled observatory, which is part of the National Science Foundations Ocean Observatory Initiative (OOI).

Dr Chadwick is a Research Professor at Oregon State Universitys Hatfield Marine Science Center in Newport, Oregon, and he is acting head of the Earth-Ocean Interactions Program at the NOAA Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory.

It was during his college years around 1980 when Mount St. Helens erupted, and that was the event that inspired him to begin studying volcanoes. He received his B.A. at Colorado College where he majored in geology, then going on to immediately work in the field. Initially, he worked at Mount St. Helens with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), then moved on to obtain a PhD in geology at University of California at Santa Barbara, doing his post-doc with the USGS in Menlo Park studying Galapagos volcanoes. In 1989 he came to Oregon State University and has been working with that facility ever since.

His current research interests include investigating how magma is supplied and stored at active volcanoes, how lava is emplaced during submarine eruptions, and how underwater eruptions affect the chemistry and ecosystems of hydrothermal vent sites.

The next in the lecture series is on Wednesday, April 11, featuring Katie Volke, Director of the North Coast Land Conservancy. Her talk is entitled Life in the Coastal Edge, where she'll explore various aspects of the natural world on the Oregon coast. Before working with the conservancy, she spent much time doing field work with the Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, and Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.

The Cannon Beach Library Lecture Series is held the second Wednesday of each month, November to April at 7:00 to 8:30 p.m. Cannon Beach Library, 131 N. Hemlock St, Cannon Beach, Oregon.

Friends of Haystack Rock supports the Haystack Rock Awareness Program in cooperation with the City of Cannon Beach, promoting the preservation and protection of the intertidal life and birds that inhabit the Marine Garden and the Oregon Islands National Wildlife Refuge at Haystack Rock. Currently, the Haystack Rock Awareness Program is celebrating over 30 years of educating and protecting the marine environs surrounding Haystack Rock, including the Oregon Island National Wildlife Refuge, Oregon State Marine Garden and State Park. Cannon Beach Hotels / Lodging for this event - Where to eat - Map and Virtual Tour More on Cannon Beach below:



















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An article on Food Engineering

Motor And Drive Innovations Give Food Manufacturers More Power Options

By Kevin T. Higgins, Managing Editor Feb 21 2018

Powering production in food plants is not as simple as throwing a switch. Peak-time charges, outages, surges and other factors can complicate calculations of cost and reliability and require solutions that go beyond standardizing on premium motors.

The good news is that OEMs are delivering solutions on multiple fronts, from systems approaches to power delivery and servo options to sanitary design improvements and smart motors.

Maintenance is leaping from Internet of Things hype to shop-floor predictive maintenance with a condition monitoring device from ABB Inc. (www.abb.com). Called the Ability Smart Sensor, the device is priced in the low three figures and monitors vibration, current and temperature to assess bearing condition, operating temperature, air gap eccentricity and rotor winding health.

Initially, food maintenance technicians can check the health of motors through a smart phone app; in April users will be able to upload data to a cloud server for trending and other analytics, according to Kyle Davis, smart sensor technical support engineer in ABBs Greenville, S.C. facility. With the Internet of Things (IoT), new features like percent loading can be added with a firmware release.

Slightly larger than a deck of cards, the sensor is attached to a motors fins with a two-part epoxy. The unit is motor agnostic, though it will be factory fitted to severe duty NEMA motors manufactured by ABBs Baldor Reliant division when availability catches up with demand.

Compatible with motors up to a NEMA 449 frame, the diagnostic tool is specific to the motor it is attached to, Davis explains. End-users register the sensors serial number and the motors load bearing size, frequency and other specifications to generate diagnostics specific to it.

A traffic light display of green, yellow and red lights provides an at-a-glance assessment of the motors in a facility. A numeric score also is delivered. Anything over six is an alert, with service recommended at the next opportunity, he says. Over 10 is critical.

Thousands of the smart sensors already are deployed in Europe. U.S. installations were delayed until UL certification was secured. Based on early results, end-users are realizing a 70 percent reduction in downtime.

Its that extra tool in your bag and your first line of defense to assess condition and move you to predictive maintenance, Davis concludes.

Integration of drives with drum motors minimizes surface areas for food contamination for easier cleaning and sanitation. Integration of controls will boost the efficiency of those units. Photo: Van der Graaf Inc.

Energy consumption also is reduced, though given the power loss that occurs when rotating motion is converted by a gear or drive, a systems approach is needed for optimal performance. SEW Eurodrive demonstrated that truth with Movigear, the mechatronic drive system that combines motor, drive and inverter.

The concept is coming to drum motors in the second quarter when Toronto-based Van der Graaf Inc. (www.vandergraaf.com) commences production of its integrated DFI frequency inverter within a drum that includes the motor and drive. Owner Alex Kanaris calculates the energy savings at 70 percent.

Drum motors have a 30-year track record of powering conveyor belts, though reliability issues and food-waste accumulation kept them out of many food-production environments, particularly meat and poultry. Kanaris credits his firms work in the mining industry with helping it resolve the reliability issue. Sanitary design led to improvements like a 316 stainless steel drum with motor, gear drive and all moving components enclosed. Compared to a conventional drum with an external drive and no permanent magnet, the system produces about a 25 percent energy savings.

Its a three-phase motor with an electromagnetic field in the rotor that boosts the stator, he says of the assembly. The addition of a digital frequency inverter enables speed control with an IoT connection. The drum assembly comes with its own IP address, though it also can be controlled through a local network.

Incorporating the frequency inverter into the assembly increases the importance of the motor encapsulation process that Van der Graaf calls vacuum pressure impregnation. Epoxy typically is added to the motor cavity to encapsulate wiring and harden the windings to prevent premature failure. Any air pockets in the epoxy can pick up a charge from static electricity and destroy the motor when it discharges.

Motor OEMs are upgrading the water-tightness of their motors to extend useful life in harsh high-pressure washdown environments, such as production areas in meat and poultry. Photo: Interroll Corp.

To eliminate voids, Van der Graaf submerges the motor in varnish and applies vacuum during a one-hour process. You end up with almost zero air pockets, says Kanaris. This step, along with synthetic lubricant in a gearbox that is closed to atmosphere and not prone to oxidation, gives the firm confidence in guaranteeing 50,000 hours of run time between oil changes.

Servo and induction options

Interroll Corp. (www.interroll.us), Wilmington, N.C., also supplies sanitary drum motors. According to Steven Olszanowski, product engineer-drum motors, the OEM will replace its synchronous motors with steel gearboxes with drums powered by either an asynchronous induction motor or a synchronous motor with a permanent magnet.

Interroll introduced a synchronous servo motor seven years ago, installing it in slicing machines as well as drums. The asynchronous option extends the application possibilities.

Servo drives are old hat for Kollmorgen (www.kollmorgen.com), though the Radford, Va., OEM also supplies AC induction motors. Regardless of what type of motor is used, difficulties in cleaning and the existence of areas that can serve as water receptacles were the top two motor complaints in a survey commissioned by Kollmorgen and conducted by the Virginia Tech Food Science and Technology Dept., according to Bill Sutton, market development manager.

Those findings led to a redesign of the companys AKM servo motors, which carry an IP65 or IP67 rating, neither of which is sufficient for high-pressure washdown with caustic chemicals. The result is the AKMH, short for advanced Kollmorgen motor hygienic.

In a comparison test with the AKM and a competitors motor, surfaces were inoculated with a nonpathogenic strain of E. coli in three areas: labels and surface finish, seals and fasteners and cabling. While microbes were detected post-washing on the other two motors, no bacteria was detected on the AKMH, which was designed to meet the 10 sanitary design principles established by the American Meat Institute.

The use of 316 stainless steel with a 32-micron surface finish helped achieve that result, Sutton says, along with a cable connection that uses a bushing interface instead of a more typical metal-to-metal interface.

Picker machines that remove the feathers from chickens after slaughter pose one of the harshest work environments for motors, suggests Donald Stier, marketing manager at SEW-Eurodrive Inc. (www.seweurodrive.com), Lyman, S.C. Typically, those motors last two months, and each machine can have a dozen or more motors, making machine downtime virtually unavoidable. After SEW installed a unit with a food-production option of specialized components in a picker, the motor-and-gear combination ran for four-plus months.

A fully encapsulated stator and conduit box and an IP69K stainless steel power connector are part of the added protection, along with PTFE seals and a keyless hollow shaft bushing system.

Nord Gear Corp. (www.nord.com), Waunakee, Wis., is a direct competitor of SEW. Nord engineers have focused on manufacturing standard reducers with the corrosion-resistance of stainless steel without the high cost. The result is Toph-2, an electrically catalyzed process in which the aluminum housing is bathed in an alloy that provides a hard, rough surface that permanently bonds to the substrate. The housing resists corrosion, is less expensive than stainless steel and allows the motor to run much cooler, extending service life.

Nidec Motor Corp. (www.nidec.com) boasts one of the largest portfolios of motors, drives and gears, though the St. Louis-based division of a Japanese OEM is far from a household name. U.S. Motors, formerly the fractional motor division of Emerson, is Nidecs best-known North American brand. Nidecs other acquisitions include three divisions that make right angle gears, points out Tim Albers, director-product management. Everything from micro-watt motors to 10,000 hp units are manufactured.

A recent addition to the portfolio is Forecyte, a battery-powered wireless sensor for condition monitoring of rotating equipment. Unlike the ABB sensor, it doesnt monitor current, but it does measure vibration and temperature. It also lacks some of ABBs features, Albers allows, but is a useful diagnostic tool for compressors, pumps and other equipment.

There has been a lot of talk for a long time about IoT, but now the infrastructure actually exists, he notes. Instead of investing six figures to create a foundation for a system with uncertain ROI, tools like Forecyte are giving manufacturers the opportunity to dabble in it for $10,000-$15,000, he adds.

Upgraded sanitary design features, including tighter seals and an IP69K rating for water exclusion, were featured by Baldor Reliance Motors at the recent International Production & Processing Expo in Atlanta.

Baldor Reliance debuted its expanded and upgraded line of Food Safe motors at Januarys IPPE Expo. The real sweet spot for stainless steel motors is up to 5 hp, but we get a lot of customer requests for larger and larger ones, explains David Steen, product manager-definite purpose motors at the Fort Smith, Ark., manufacturer (www.baldor.com). The line now ranges from 0.5-30 hp.

Cast stainless steel feet replace sheet metal feet, and a perfectly round conduit box sealed with an O-ring eliminates any possibility of water pooling. Crevices and contours that might collect water also were smoothed out, according to Steen.

Prior generation stainless steel encapsulated motors also were IP69K rated for water, but weve improved some of the sealing, he adds.

Higher IP ratings are more rule than exception for motor manufacturers as they tighten construction to extend life in harsh washdown environments. Condition monitoring is poised to become a common feature, once sensor costs decline even further. And integration of controls with motor and drive components promises to reduce reactive power loss to levels thought impossible in the not so distant past.Posted 2/25/18

As I returned home from formally welcoming the seventh Virginia-class nuclear attack submarine, fourth ship in the United States Navy named in honor of Missouri to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, I am full of Pharma major Dr Reddy's on Sunday said it has received the establishment inspection report (EIR) from the US Food and Drug Administration for its formulations facility in Srikakulam, Andhra Pradesh.

The company, without mentioning the contents of the EIR, said the USFDA has maintained OAI (Official Action Indicated) status at its API manufacturing plant in Srikakulam.

The US drug regulator has asked the company for more details, it said.

"FDA has asked us for more details. We are providing those details and continuing to engage with FDA for resolution of pending issues," Dr Reddy's said in a regulatory filing.

An OAI status is equivalent to finding of objectionable conditions at the audit site and also an indicator of regulatory and/or administrative sanctions by FDA.

The USFDA issues an EIR to an establishment that is the subject of an FDA or FDA-contracted inspection when the agency decides to close the inspection.

In April 2017, the company had informed about the completion of the audit at its API manufacturing plant in Andhra Pradesh and issuance of two observations by the US drug regulator.

Dr Reddy's had said that it was addressing those issues.The air outside Sridevi's residence is heavy with grief as fans of the veteran actor continue to queue up to catch one last glimpse of their 'Chandni'.

Sridevi, 54, died late at Saturday night reportedly due to cardiac arrest in Dubai, where she had gone to attend her nephew Mohit Marwah's wedding.

Ever since the news broke out, Sridevi's Lokhandwala home - where she used to live with her husband Boney Kapoor and two daughters Janhvi and Khushi - witnessed a steady stream of ardent fans assembling outside her house to pay their respects.

According to an Airports Authority of India source, a private jet is being flown to Dubai to carry the late actor's mortal remains.

The aircraft which will bring Sridevi's body is likely to depart from Mumbai around 1 pm and will arrive in Dubai at 4 pm. It is expected to reach Mumbai around 8 pm.

Meanwhile, no celebrity has visited her residence yet.

Two police vans have been stationed and the security, too, has been beefed up to avoid any commotion outside her residence.

The actor, who started off her career down South as a child artiste, became a prominent Bollywood star in the early '80s with box-office hits such as "Mawaali" (1983), "Tohfa" (1984), "Mr India" (1987) and "Chandni" (1989) among others to her credit.

Her outings in "Sadma" (1983), "ChaalBaaz" (1989), "Lamhe" (1991), and "Gumrah" (1993) earned her critical acclaim, establishing her as one of the most sought-after actors of her era.

Sridevi went on a hiatus for 15 years after starring in home production -- "Judaai" -- co-starring with her brother-in-law actor Anil Kapoor and Urmila Matondkar.

It was director Gauri Shinde's "English Vinglish" in 2012 that marked her comeback to the silver screen.

Sridevi was last seen in revenge-drama -- "Mom" -- alongside Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Akshaye Khanna. She shot for a special appearance in superstar Shah Rukh Khan's upcoming film -- "Zero" -- which releases in December.Skirmishes between Indian and Pakistani forces were only adding to people's sufferings and governments of both the countries should find a way to restore peace at the borders, Conference chief Farooq Abdullah said today.

Unless they (India and Pakistan) find a way out, away from this (border skirmishes), people on both sides will continue to suffer and many will die. Many of our soldiers will also die and a similar situation will be on their side," he said.

The government of India must find a way forward, the NC chief said.

What that way forward is, is up to the prime minister to decide. I am too small to suggest anything to him. But I will say the same thing to the Pakistani side, to the premier of that side. The time has come when this bloodshed must stop, and peace must be restored on the border and in the state here as well as in the area they hold on their side," the former chief minister told reporters at the sidelines of a function here.

In response to a question about heavy Pakistani shelling along the Line of Control (LoC) in Uri sector of north Kashmir, he said the shelling was not one sided but going on from both sides.

"They are shelling us and we are shelling them back. They shell us one per cent, we shell them 10 per cent as Army chief has said," he said.

On Pakistani troops targeting civilians, Abdullah said a bomb does not know where it is going to fall. The shelling is resorted to frighten the people, he said.

The NC leader's comment comes against the backdrop of a series of ceasefire violations by the Pakistani forces along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir.

Asked about amnesty gratned by the state government to stone-pelters, the member of parliament said those released should realise that the time has come when they have to think of their careers and how to take the state out of turmoil.

"We are a tourist state and no tourist will come if there is turmoil. People will suffer, they will continue to suffer and in the long run it will be the state that will become backward," he said.

On reports of pelting of stones on a military station at Sunjuwan on Saturday, Abdullah said he had no knowledge about it. However, he said, if it had happened, the government should investigate and see whether the stone-pelters released by it were involved in the case or someone else.

Expressing concern over attempts to pitch one community against another, he said Prime Minister Narendra Modi should try and build an India of our dreams which is for all of us, whether you are a Muslim, Hindu, Sikh or Christian.

He said the prime minister is not only for Gujarat, but for the whole country.

Abdullah also sought to defend former Union Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar over his purported casteist slur against Modi.

Asked about Aiyar's presence at Congress headquarters, he said one thing you must know, Aiyar is a Tamil and Urdu is not his language. He has picked up some Urdu during his posting in Pakistan. And when he used that term, he did not mean what was made out of it by the BJP, Abdullah said.The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has told the Delhi High Court that it has not fixed the notice period for pilots but has just laid down the guidelines under the Civil Aviation Requirements (CARs), and the power to decide the duration has been left with the

The aviation regulator told the court that the CARs (or rules) on the notice period were issued after approached it expressing concern over any sudden efflux of pilots. The also claimed they spend considerable time and effort in training them.

The lawyer representing the DGCA told Justice Rajiv Shakdher the regulator does not cancel the licence of a pilot for violation of the CARs on notice period, and instead the airlines decide (on cancellation) according to the contract they have with the pilot concerned.

"How can airlines be given the power (of cancellation of licence)?" the court asked and listed the matter for further hearing on May 16.

The court was hearing pleas moved by several pilots' associations challenging the CARs of 2009 and 2017 issued by the DGCA on notice period to be served by commander pilots and co-pilots.

Under the CARs of 2009, the notice period was increased to six months from the earlier three months, which is the international practice, the pilots associations have said.

While the CARs of 2009 were under challenge in the high court, the 2017 CARs were issued which increased the notice period to be served by the commander pilots to one year. However, the notice period to be served by co-pilots was not changed.

The associations, including the Society for Welfare of Indian Pilots, Indian Pilots Guild and Federation of Indian Pilots, have contended that violation of the CARs has legal consequences  the cancellation of their licence.

They have also contended that notice periods are a matter of contract between the airline and the pilot.

Under the CARs of 2017, the notice period may be reduced if the airline provides a no-objection certificate to a pilot and accepts his resignation earlier than the period stipulated in the amended rules.Achanged financing framework for hybrid-annuity model (HAM) projects in the highways sector is creating better margins for construction companies and resulting in improved execution of projects. The Union government pumps in 40 per cent of the equity portion in HAM contracts. Since fund disbursement from the government is on time and happens during the construction phase itself, projects do not get stuck because of financing reasons, said an official.

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Digital EditorE-commerce players such as Amazon and Flipkart may get exemption from having to generate an electronic-way bill (e-way bill) under the goods and services tax (GST) if there are multiple deliveries on the same trip. The e-way bill is set to be introduced on April 1 for interstate movements of goods worth at least Rs 50,000, and in a phased manner for intrastate movements subsequently.

This is one of the proposals to be tabled before the GST Council on March 10. The Council will also take up other measures to simplify the e-way. A slew of changes in the e-way bill are ...Tyler Yount, City of Chattanooga's Director of Special Projects lays sod at fellow co-workers Sidney McDonald's soon to be home

City of Chattanooga's Chief of Staff, Stacy Richardson prepares the soil to lay down sod on Saturday, February 24 for #TeamSidney Day

Mayor Andy Berke and the City of Chattanooga staff poses with soon to be homeowner and fellow co-worker, Sidney McDonald.

Volunteers are a big part of what makes Habitat for Humanity of Greater Chattanooga Area successful. On Saturday, the volunteers were actually co-workers of the soon to be Habitat homeowner and City of Chattanooga employee, Sidney McDonald.





Saturday to place the final touches of a home built for one of their very own. Mayor Andy Berke and a dozen of City of Chattanooga employees devoted theirto place the final touches of a home built for one of their very own. Mr. McDonald has been employed with the City of Chattanooga for the past three years. He is best known as City Halls official greeter. Mr. McDonald has been employed with the City of Chattanooga for the past three years. He is best known as City Halls official greeter.





"Sidney is a colleague, a friend, and an outstanding public servant who helps so many Chattanoogans in so many ways throughout the year, said Mayor Andy Berke. He does a wonderful job of taking care of City Hall -- the people's house -- and my staff and I are honored to partner with Habitat for Humanity to make sure he's got a great new home of his own."





The construction of Mr. McDonalds two-bedroom wheelchair accessible South Chattanooga home will be completed by the first week of March. Upon the homes completion, he will become Habitats 277th homeowner. The home was funded by the Tennessee Housing Development Agency (THDA), Rivermont Presbyterian Church and the City of Chattanoogas Department of Economic & Community Development.



While the 1.77 billion dollar Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud shook the economy, the ASSOCHAM on Sunday urged that business lending should not be allowed to halt.

The chamber further argued that any pause in business lending would be demoralising, and would set in among the top functionaries and employees of the state-owned banks, something the country can ill-afford at a time when the credit growth was about to recover and the economy was set to grow at a higher pace.

"While we may seek long-term solutions like privatisation of the banks, the need of this hour is to rally around honest bank officers and the honest business entities which have built trust on each other. Let one or a few black sheep not derail our financial system, which is resilient enough to withstand this kind of shocks, though ideally such jolts are better avoided and averted through systemic reforms," said ASSOCHAM Secretary General D.S. Rawat.

Amid reports of clamping down certain impractical rules and procedures for trade finance, the ASSOCHAM said must not "over-react" to the situation as it can have a detrimental impact on trade.

"The letters of credit or letters of undertaking are an internationally accepted system of global trade. While we need to ensure safe and sound functioning of the system and not allow loopholes like those in the PNB system of money or guarantee transfer, let not over-react and hit the trade and industry," the ASSSOCHAM said.

The chamber also urged the Ministry and Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to send strong messages across different stakeholders about the robustness of the Indian financial sector, and make their stance against offenders clear.

"By all means, punish the offenders at a fast speed and set examples; but the business should not be allowed to halt. There is a need for vigilance among all the lenders, even in the private sector. After all, in an ever-connected world, there are several common technology pathways, which can be subverted. It is about time to restore confidence and move on," it said.

For the unversed, PNB detected a 1.77 billion dollar (Rs 11,400) scam earlier this month, in which noted jewellery designer Nirav Modi acquired fraudulent letters of undertaking from one of its branches for overseas credit from other Indian lenders.

Mehul Choksi, Modi's uncle and the owner of Gitanjali Gems, is also being probed for his involvement in the fraud.

PNB lodged two financial fraud complaints of Rs 11400 crore and Rs 280 crore against Nirav Modi, his family members and Mehul Choksi.Christian leaders on Sunday took the rare step of closing the Church of the Holy Sepulchre built at the site of Jesus's burial in Jerusalem in protest at Israeli tax measures and a proposed property law.

It was not immediately clear how long the closure of the church, announced by Christian officials at a news conference and which began at around noon (1000 GMT), would last.

The church is considered the holiest site in Christianity, built where Christians believe Jesus was crucified, buried and resurrected, and is a major pilgrimage site.In a yet another strong disapproval of the way US President functions, Apple Co-founder Steve Wozniak on Saturday said that he "cannot stand" Trump.

"I can never stand The way he treats people is very negative. I may like his policies, but from now on, I will make sure I never attend any event where members of his family are present," said Wozniak at the two-day ET "Global Business Summit" here.

Jr, son of US President, spoke on the first day of the summit. Trump Jr was earlier scheduled to speak on "Reshaping Indo-Pacific Ties: New Era of Cooperation" but it was changed to a fireside chat at the last moment.

The US President's average approval rating for the first year in office -- 38.4 per cent -- is the lowest in American history for any president. He has also been accused by several women of "sexual harassment".

This was not the first time Wozniak made such comments against Trump.

In an interview with the Time Magazine, Wozniak talked about how Trump's behaviour toward women and children appalled him.

"Donald Trump is a very rude person. Would I ever want a child of mine to grow up talking that nastily about other people? Absolutely not. It just offends me. I watched what's going to be an ad, I guess, of him making comments about women and I was just crying out loud, right here in this chair in my office," he was quoted as saying.

Wozniak also said that technology taking away privacy is really bothersome.

"Technology is taking away our privacy. Everything I do is accumulated by Google, Amazon etc and that's bothersome," said Wozniak, also nicknamed "The Woz".

"...but Apple doesn't do that," he added.

Wozniak also spoke about what prompted him to co-found Apple with late Steve Jobs and how the Silicon Valley grew over the years.

"One thing I've found in my life is that it doesn't matter what you know as long as you want to do things," he said, adding, "If you want to start a company, you should not just have an idea on a piece of paper. You should have a working model, a business plan."

He told the gathering that he got a job with HP to design their product without an engineering degree. They interviewed and hired him on the spot.

"Growing up, there were no books describing what a computer was. I didn't think there were jobs in computers, I just wanted to know how to make these things," the technology entrepreneur said.

"I knew Steve Jobs for five years before Apple. He didn't know anything about insides of a computer, he wasn't an engineer but he knew how to look at products. Steve wanted to live a zero money life, he was more of a true hippie," he added.

According to "The Woz", Jobs was good in learning everything about the company and he was good in engineering.

He said that the Silicon Valley grew organically with engineers and hardware, but to be successful, "every city needs to find its own formula."

The innovator also heaped praise on Jobs and Elon Musk by saying that both the innovators were very good salesmen.

"Favourite entrepreneur? hmmmm Elon Musk. He has the vision; He has a large family and he had to build a large car. Tesla. Super charger stations is a great idea," he said.

On the future of jobs, Wozniak said that there would be social displacement but the next generation would have different types of jobs.Eleven micro-irrigation companies have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Andhra Pradesh government at Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) Partnership Summit on Sunday.

On the first day of the summit, the State government signed the MoU's to assist the micro- irrigation companies in establishing their respective manufacturing units in the state.

The proposed manufacturing units are expected to be built in the plastic park hub of Anantapur in Andhra Pradesh.

The summit organised by the CII in association with the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India, and the State Government of Andhra Pradesh is aimed to increase the public-private investment in the state.

While addressing the summit on Saturday, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu stressed on increasing the ease of doing business in the state.

He said, "We are (Andhra Pradesh) number 1 in Ease of Doing Business. I am sure that India will do really well. Our aim is to appear in World's Top 5 when it comes to Ease of Doing Business".

The Three-day CII Partnership Summit will end on Feb. 27.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)An anti-terrorism court in Pakistan has acquitted 12 people of child abuse charge over the lack of evidence in one of the 29 cases registered in Kasur in 2015.

The prosecution had produced 16 witnesses against the accused during the course of the proceedings but ATC-IV Judge Chaudhry Muhammad Ilyas did not find them convincing.

The acquitted people were charged with committing sodomy with a teenage boy and also filming the act, however, the prosecution failed to establish its case, reported the Dawn.

The infamous child pornography incident in Kasur was first reported in 2015 wherein at least 280 boys under the age of 14 were raped and filmed. The videos were then sent to the parents and families of the victims to extort them.

Kasur has been in the limelight for recurring cases of child abuse in the area.

According to the Express Tribune, a total of 141 cases were reported in 2016 from Kasur.

Earlier this month, an ATC had awarded death sentence to the rapist and murderer of seven-old-girl Zainab in a high profile case that had sparked anger across the country.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)During a recent meeting of the Tennessee Valley Veterans Benefit, Jim Bob Nation and Frank Fejeran presented Capt Marty Nix of the Civil Air Patrols Choo Choo Senior Squadron with a check in the amount of $240.00. The check represents a donation to Wreaths Across America, a non-profit organization whose mission is to place a holiday wreath on the headstones of every veteran buried at all the National Cemeteries every December.



Gary Reeves, the president of the Tennessee Valley Veterans Benefit said, Our mission is to serve and honor our veterans. During the four years that the organization has been in operation, members have raised funds which are used to support projects like the Ringgold Cross & Flag Fund and The Fisher House. Reeves continued, Both of these organizations honor our vets and their families, and when we found out about Wreaths Across America, we recognized that their mission fit nicely with ours.

The Tennessee Valley Veterans Benefit is a non-profit organization that raises money to help local veterans in need. Mr. Reeves said, Every dollar goes to the cause of funding things like home repair, building wheel chair ramps, or other Vet needs as approved by the Tennessee Valley Veterans Benefit members.



Choo Choo Squadron Commander, Major Kelly Williamson said, Our squadron has been supporting Wreaths Across America for about a decade, and we are thrilled to receive this donation from the Tennessee Valley Veterans Benefit. This $240 donation will sponsor 16 more wreaths to be placed on the headstones of our veterans at the Chattanooga National Cemetery this December. 



Membership in the Tennessee Valley Veterans Benefit is open to all who would like to help serve the needs of local veterans and honor their service. Being a veteran is not a requirement for membership. The group meets several times each year, usually at the Anchor of Hope Baptist Church in Rossville, following their monthly prayer breakfast. For more information about joining the organization, or making a donation to support their efforts, call Gary Reeves at (423) 580-9558 or send a message through their Facebook page: www.facebook.com/tvbenefitride /



Mr. Reeves said, We are already working towards collecting more funds to support these fine veterans organizations, and hope to make a larger donation to Wreaths Across America next year.



Civil Air Patrol, the longtime all-volunteer U.S. Air Force auxiliary, is the newest member of the Air Forces Total Force. In this role, CAP operates a fleet of 560 aircraft, performs about 90 percent of continental U.S. inland search and rescue missions as tasked by the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center and is credited by the AFRCC with saving an average of 80 lives annually.

Afghanistan's Ministry of Defence (MoD) on Sunday said that at least 25 insurgents have been killed in ground and airstrike operations carried out by Afghan forces across the country.

Tolo News quoted the MoD as saying that the forces conducted 14 clearance operations, 21 special operations, and 44 air support operations.

During the operations, 14 others were injured and five were arrested, including one IS terrorist.

The MoD further said the operations were conducted in Nangarhar, Laghman, Ghazni, Kandahar, Uruzgan, Zabul, Farah, Faryab, Takhar, Sar-e-Pul, Nimroz and Helmand provinces.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)With the Science Day around the corner, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday paid tribute to eminent contributors in the field of science particularly physicist C.V Raman, on whose honour the day is observed.

"Whenever we talk of science, the first name that comes to mind is that of Bharat Ratna, Sir CV Raman. We celebrate Science Day on February 28 every year, because it was on this day that he discovered the phenomenon of light scattering and was also awarded Nobel Prize for his this discovery which is popularly known as the 'Raman effect'," the Prime Minister said in his monthly address, 'Mann ki Baat'.

In his 41st edition of the Mann Ki Baat programme, Prime Minister Modi recalled other great scientists of the country who greatly contributed in the field of Mathematics, medicine, and science.

"In Mathematics, we have the glorious tradition of Baudhaya, Bhaskara, Brahmagupta and Aryabhatta. In the medical field, Sushruta and Charaka made us proud. In the field of science, Sir Jagdish Chandra Bose, Hargobind Khurana and Satyendra Nath Bose are the pride of India. Boson particles have even been named after Satyendra Nath Bose," he said.

In his radio address, Prime Minister Modi also remembered philosopher Maharishi Aurobindo, who actively participated in the Indian movement for independence from British rule.

"Today I am at Auroville, 'karam bhoomi' of Maharishi Aurobindo," Modi said, and added, "As an ascetic , he questioned every aspect of life. He found answers to all questions and showed path to humanity. In the discovery of truth, it is important to ask questions pertinently. This, in fact, is the real inspiration behind scientific discoveries."

In the spirit of this occasion, Prime Minister Modi touched on the role of technology and artificial intelligence in the welfare of the people.

Further, the Prime Minister congratulated "the entire scientific community.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)The second week of March will witness Andaman and Nicobar Command hosting a multinational mega event 'Milan 2018'.

The Indian Navy will host the multi- MILAN series of exercises at Port Blair in Andaman and Nicobar islands from March 6 to March 13, 2018.

Under the aegis of the Andaman and Nicobar Command, it is being held at Port Blair with the underlying theme of 'Friendship Across the Seas'.

Besides fostering co-operation through naval exercises and professional interactions, Milan also provides an excellent opportunity to the participating navies to come together in a spirit of collaboration and mutual understanding to nurture stronger ties.

Milan made modest beginnings more than two decades ago when it was first held in 1995.

The first edition saw the participation of four littoral navies. The event achieved strident success during the ensuing years owing to high standards of professional content of the event.

From an event of sub- regional context, Milan has now grown into a prestigious international event and encompasses participation by maritime forces from not just the Bay of Bengal and South East Asia but the larger Indian Ocean Region (lOR).

Milan will witness a diverse mix of professional exercises and seminars, social events and sporting fixtures.

The interactions at the event encompass sharing of views and ideas on maritime good - order and enhancing regional cooperation for combating unlawful activities at sea.

The inaugural address will be delivered by Navy Chief Admiral Sunil Lanba besides presentations by eminent speakers.

The social interactions planned include a display by bands of the Indian Navy and Indian Army, ship visits and colorful cultural evenings.

Several events of Milan 2018 will be open to the public including displays by skydiving team, beating the retreat and Naval continuity drill.

An International City Parade will be held along the Marina Park Road, with marching contingents from all participating foreign naval ships as well as the Indian Armed Forces.

The parade will include a fly-past and aerobatic display by military aircraft and demonstrations of various military operations.

Milan 2018 aims to showcase the rich heritage and pristine natural beauty of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands to the foreign visitors.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)A team of the Special cell under the Delhi Police on Sunday arrested an arms and ammunition supplier.

The accused Shripal Singh, 29 is also involved in theft and cheating, said police. He was arrested from Sarai Kale Khan area of New Delhi.

The police have recovered 20 live cartridges of 32 Bore and a motorcycle, said an official.

According to the police, Singh had been earlier booked in three cases under Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (1985), theft and cheating.

The accused is a resident of Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh and carried a cash reward of Rs. 1 lakh.

Earlier in November 2017 the Special Cell has busted a gang and arrested ammunitions supplier Mahipal and Sandeep Yadav who revealed the names of Shripal and Prempal Singh. Prempal was earlier arrested in January 2018.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda on Sunday launched an all-out attack on Manohar Lal Khattar led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government.

While addressing a public rally in Hodal, the former Chief Minister said the law and order situation in the state has collapsed.

"The miscreants are not scared of the government. The law and order situation of the state has been disrupted. Neither our children are safe in schools nor our daughters are safe in homes," Hooda said.

He added: "In some places, petrol pumps are being looted. Every type of crime is happening in Haryana. Even murder has become a small incident."

The Congress leader further questioned the state government on spending Rs 22 Crore to deploy 150 companies of Paramilitary forces for the security of BJP President Amit Shah's recent state visit.

"When BJP President came to Haryana, the state govt spent Rs 22 Crore to deploy 150 companies of Paramilitary forces for his security. How can they provide security to people of Haryana if they can't provide security to their party's President?," Hooda asked.

The former chief minister alleged that the state government has failed on many fronts.

"Today in Haryana, the farmers don't get proper price for their produce, labours don't get work, education is not being imparted in the schools, hospitals don't have doctors, and there is unemployment. The farmers don't get water on their farms, panchayats don't have money," Hooda said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)China on Saturday asked the United States to "withdraw" the sanctions imposed on North Korea.

Calling the move as "long-arm jurisdiction", China demanded the US to also revoke the sanctions levied against Chinese companies and individuals.

"China is strongly opposed to the United States' long-arm jurisdiction and unilateral sanctions on Chinese entities and individuals based on its domestic laws," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said in a statement.

"China has been fully and completely implementing relevant UN resolutions on the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), fulfilling its due responsibilities, and never allowed Chinese people and companies to engage in any activities violating UN resolutions", Geng said, adding that any violations would be dealt with seriously.

Beijing has urged Washington to immediately cease the wrong practice in order to avoid tension and obstacles between the two sides, the Xinhua reported.

The US on Friday slapped new sanctions on North Korea, targeting 56 vessels, shipping companies, and trade businesses, of which Chinese firms and personnel are involved.

It also included a Taiwanese citizen named Tsang Yung Yuan in the list, who has coordinated North Korea coal exports with a Russia-based North Korean broker.

Tsang has a record of sanctions evasion activities, according to the US Treasury Department.

In an advisory, the Treasury Department, the US State Department and the US Coast Guard, have also warned the public of significant sanctions they could face if they help to enable any shipments of goods to and from North Korea.

The advisory has also alerted the industries of North Korea's deceptive shipping practices.

The new sanctions come as the US President Donald Trump's daughter and senior adviser Ivanka is in Pyeongchang in South Korea to attend the closing ceremony of the Winter Games on Sunday.

The US and North Korea have long been engaged in back-and-forth barbs over the latter's threat of a nuclear attack, ever since Trump became the president last year.

Trump threatened to rain "fire and fury" on North Korea and also called North Korean leader Kim Jong-un as a "Little Rocket Man", while North Korea denounced Trump as a "mentally deranged" US dotard.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)The death toll from two suicide car bomb blasts that ripped through the Somali capital on Friday, has risen to at least 38 people, according to government sources.

Earlier, At least 18 people were killed and 20 others were injured, according to Aamin Ambulance service.

Abdulkadir Abdirahman Adan of the Aamin Ambulance Service said the bombings targeted the presidential palace and a hotel. He said that most of the victims were civilians.

The twin bombings came two days after the Somali government had issued a "possible terror warning" in Mogadishu.

The militant group al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for the attack.

The group frequently carries out suicide attacks in Somalia and parts of East Africa.

In December last year, 18 police officers were killed when an al-Shabaab fighter blew himself up inside the country's main police academy in Mogadishu.

Furthermore, the Mogadishu bombings on October 14 and 28 last year claimed more than 350 lives and injured over 400.

Somalia has been plagued with insecurity, violence and political chaos in the last three decades. Infighting between the forces of the Federal Government of Somalia, assisted by African Union peacekeeping troops, and various militant Islamist groups and factions, have claimed thousands of lives.

The al-Shabaab group advocates the formation of Somaliland, located in the southern part of the country.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)The US House Intelligence Committee has released a classified Democratic memo in redacted form that counters Republicans' claims that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) abused government surveillance powers in its Russia probe.

The Democratic memo was released after days of negotiations between committee Democrats and the Justice Department over redactions of classified material.

Parts of the 10-page document, written by top Democrat Adam Schiff of California, were redacted to avoid revealing intelligence-gathering sources and methods.

Releasing his party's document on Saturday, Schiff tweeted, "Some time ago, Republicans on our committee released a declassified memo that omitted and distorted key facts in order to mislead the public and impugn the integrity of the FBI. We can now tell you what they left out."

His tweet contained a link to the 10-page, partially redacted document, which was posted to the panel's website.

The memo defended both the FBI and Justice Department's role in obtaining the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) warrant.

The memo argued that the FBI had valid justification for obtaining warrants to run surveillance on Carter Page, a former foreign policy adviser to President Donald Trump, long before it received information in a dossier compiled by former British spy Christopher Steele, reported China's state-run news agency Xinhua.

President Donald Trump responded on Twitter, calling the Democratic memo "a total political and legal BUST" that he said "just confirms all of the terrible things that were done".

The president added: "SO ILLEGAL!"

In early February, Trump declassified a four-page memo which was crafted by Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee, and commissioned by Devin Nunes, the panel's Republican chairman.

Both memos are part of the House Intelligence Committee's ongoing investigation into alleged collusion between the Trump campaign and the Kremlin and Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)In spite of a 30-day ceasefire, at least seven people have been killed due to fresh airstrikes by the forces loyal to Syria's Russian-backed president Bashar al-Assad regime in the Eastern Ghouta.

"Nothing has changed," The CNN quoted Dr. Hamza Hassan as saying on Sunday morning from Arbeen Hospital in Eastern Ghouta.

This development came hours after the U.N. unanimously adopted the resolution to implement ceasefire across Syria.

"The airstrikes are continuing. A maternity hospital has just been hit in Saqba (a town in Eastern Ghouta) and is out of service," Dr. Hassan said of the offensive from the Russian-backed Syrian regime on the rebel-held enclave.

U.N. Humanitarian coordinator Panos Moumtzis said at least seven people are believed to have been killed since the ceasefire announced by the U.N.

Yesterday, the U.N. Security Council (UNSC) unanimously backed the ceasefire resolution to allow for humanitarian aid deliveries and medical evacuations.

Nearly 500 people, including 100 children, have died and hundreds more injured in the last seven days, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR).

Eastern Ghouta, which houses around 400,000 residents, has remained under a crippling regime siege for the last five years.

In May last year, Russia, Iran, and Turkey signed an agreement to set up de-escalation zones, in order to prevent airstrike-related incidents in some parts of Syria.

The de-escalation zones include- Idlib province, some parts of Latakia province, Hama and Aleppo provinces, Homs, Eastern Ghouta, Daraa and al-Quneitra provinces in southern Syria.

Syria has been embroiled in a civil war since 2011. Protesters have been long demanding the resignation of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad over his autocratic rule.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)The co-coordinator of Indian side representing the Eminent Persons Group (EPG), Bhagat Singh Koshiyari, has said that the report on India, Nepal treaties will be widely accepted.

Koshiyari , in a press conference held in Kathmandu after the seventh round of EPG Meeting, asserted that impact of the report will be positive.

"Today we are very fortunate, very lucky that we are about to reach to a conclusion on the treaties. We have tried to touch beyond the areas which are given to us," Koshiyari said.

"Basically, the stress was on how can we co-operate in development with each other, how we can be helpful to each other, how can we look after the interests of each other," he added.

The joint mechanism formed by India and Nepal in 2016 to review the treaties between the two countries has headed for its conclusion with the preparatory task of report making is initiated.

"We have discussed over it in such length and breadth, I can say that the report which we will give to both the governments won't disappoint anyone," he further said.

The Eminent Persons Group which will be expiring after Four months will hold its next meeting by end of March in New Delhi.

"The date is yet to be fixed but as of now, it is sure to hold in last week of March. The most probable date for the meeting to commence in Indian national capital New Delhi is between 25 to 27 March," One of the officials working closely with the members of Nepali EPG told ANI on condition of anonymity.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)The Walker County Planning Commission on Thursday night voted unanimously to recommend denial for a rezoning request for a planned 156-unit low income development across from Ridgeland High School. The final decision will be by the five-member Walker County Commission after a second public hearing on Oct. 14. County officials had noted that " It was just recently brought to ... (click for more)

The Hamilton County Health Department reports an increase in the number of COVID-19 deaths below the age of 50, over the past three months. During the most recent winter surge, four percent of deaths were age 50 or younger. Since the beginning of July, 22 percent of deaths have been below the age of 50. We extend our sympathy to all of our community members who have lost ... (click for more)Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Farooq Abdullah on Sunday appealed to India and Pakistan to find out a way to restore peace in the state.

He urged the Government of India and Pakistan's Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi to restore peace in Jammu and Kashmir.

Talking to the media, Abdullah said, "Unless they find a way out, the people on both sides will suffer and many of our soldiers will also die. I think the Government of India must find a way forward. I will say the same to Pakistan's Prime Minister. Time has come when this bloodshed must stop and peace must be restored."

On February 18, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti had said that India and Pakistan should talk to each other and mutually solve the Kashmir issue.

India and Pakistan have fought several wars, precisely three, over Jammu and Kashmir, which is claimed by both the countries.

Several comprehensive dialogue processes have been initiated by various governments, which have been dropped every time following militant attacks.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel will hold talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday over the Syria ceasefire resolution, the France presidency said in a statement.

The talks come hours after the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on Saturday unanimously backed a 30-day ceasefire resolution in Syria to allow for humanitarian aid deliveries and medical evacuations.

According to France's presidency said that the ceasefire resolution adopted was "an essential first step", and would be "extremely vigilant" over its implementation, according to local media reports.

The resolution comes in response to the seven-day airstrikes and bombings in the Eastern Ghouta region in Syria that has claimed over 500 lives so far.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres appealed on Wednesday for an immediate end to "war activities" there and had referred to the Syrians living in the Eastern Ghouta enclave near Damascus as "Hell on Earth".

Earlier, the UNSC was supposed to vote on the ceasefire in Syria on Thursday, which is seeing a bloody six-year-old civil war.

Negotiations stumbled over Russian demands that the rebel groups fighting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces should comply with the resolution.

Russia, which is also a permanent member of the Security Council vetoed 11 times to protect the Syrian government.

The draft resolution put forward by Kuwait and Sweden, earlier called for a nationwide resolution to go into effect within 72 hours after the resolution is passed. Medical evacuations and aid deliveries would start 48 hours after adopting the resolution. However, the plan did not materialise.

The Bashar-led Syrian government and its close ally Russia have repeatedly said that the motive of airstrikes is to target militants.

They have said that they seek to stop mortar attacks injuring dozens in Damascus, and have accused the militants in Eastern Ghouta of capturing and holding people as "human shields".

Moscow, which intervened militarily in support of its Damascus ally in 2015, has denied any direct involvement in the Eastern Ghouta bombardment.

The Syrian military forces have not commented on the resolution so far.

At least 35 civilians were killed in Saturday's strikes, including eight children. A night of heavy bombardment sparked fires in residential districts, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said in a statement.

Eastern Ghouta, which houses around 400,000 residents, has remained under a crippling regime siege for the last five years.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)The 'Dream Girl' of Bollywood, Hema Malini on Sunday mourned the sudden demise of veteran actor Sridevi, who breathed his last on Saturday.

The 69-year-old said her death is a big loss to the Indian film industry

"The news has left me in deep shock. She was a wonderful actress, who, through her talent, inspired and influenced so many people. It is a big loss for Bollywood," Malini told ANI.

In a heartfelt note, superstar Aamir Khan remembered the veteran star and said he feels 'deeply disturbed."

"I am deeply disturbed and saddened by the untimely and tragic passing away of Srideviji. I have always been a huge fan of her work. Equally I have always been an admirer of the grace and dignity with which she conducted herself. My heartfelt condolences to everyone in the family. I join all the millions of her fans in mourning her demise. Ma'am, we will always remember you with love and respect. a," said the 'Dangal' star.

Mourning the demise, filmmaker Madhur Bhandarkar said he cannot believe the veteran actress is no more.

"The entire nation is shocked. I still can't believe it that Sridevi ji is no more. She had done countless legendary roles, it's very very sad," Bhandarkar told ANI.

Filmmaker Ashoke Pandit paid his condolences to the family and said, "Whatever movies she did, her performances were unmatched. My heartfelt condolences to her family. The entire industry is in 'Sadma' by hearing this news."

Veteran actor Ranjeet said the 'Chandni' of Bollywood was "a humble and beautiful lady."

"Unbelievable. She was a humble and beautiful lady. She was an amazing artist who had the ability to convey everything through her eyes. It feels like we are all in an airport departure lounge waiting for our announcements," the 71-year-old told ANI.

Actor Annu Kapoor said he wanted to accept the news of Sridevi's demise as a 'rumour'.

"I wanted to accept it as a rumour, but in the end it was a reality. Wherever she is, may her soul rest in peace. Our prayers are with her family. Nation mourns, she was a heartthrob for cinema lovers. We will always remember her," Kapoor said.

Bollywood's first female superstar, Sridevi died in Dubai after cardiac arrest. She was 54. Sridevi is survived by her husband - producer Boney Kapoor - and daughters Jhanvi and Khushi.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)United States President Donald Trump's son Donald Trump Jr. has underscored that he "loved" Indian media as compared to the "aggressive and brutal" American media.

Trump Jr. said, "I am the first person in the history of India to say I love the Indian media. They are so mild and nice."

He related to an incident when he said that Indians have smiling faces despite the hardships.

Trump Jr. said that the 'spirit' in India is very much different from what is observed in other parts of the world, which makes the country 'unique'.

He also went on to praise the overall business environment in India saying that it was easier to do business in India as compared to China.

The Trump scion lauded the Narendra Modi-led government over the pushing of economic reforms.

Trump Jr. is on a week-long visit to India to endorse his luxury real estate project, the Trump Towers in Gurugram, Pune, Mumbai and Kolkata.

He called on several real estate developers at Oberoi Hotel in Delhi and met with the members of real estate firms- M3M India and Tribeca Developers.

According to business partners in India, many units in the Trump Towers are selling about 30 percent per square foot higher than the current market rates. Trump Jr.'s visit to India is expected to reinforce the trend.

India is Trump Organisation's biggest international market, with four real estate projects underway in Mumbai, Pune, Kolkata, and Gurugram.

The Trump Organisation has more business entities in India than in any other foreign country, financial filings show, with licensing bringing in estimated payments of 1.6 million dollars to 11 million dollars since 2014.

Trump Jr.'s visit to India comes after his sister, Ivanka, visited Hyderabad in November last year to attend the Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES).

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)The former Vice President of the Maldives, Mohamed Jameel Ahmed, has raised concerns over the growing political unrest in his country and has called for an urgent intervention by the community.

The 48-year-old lawyer-turned-politician has asked India to lead the efforts to restore democracy in the island country.

India has expressed "deep dismay" over the Maldivian parliament accepting President Abdulla Yameen's recommendation of extending the state of emergency by another 30 days, in a manner that New Delhi dubbed as a matter of concern.

Jameel, who is now living in exile in London, said, "For the extension of emergency, Article 255 of Maldives Constitution requires that there must be an appropriate forum, which needs a strength of 43 members of the Parliament. Having not that number the government decided to go ahead with 36 members of the Parliament. Clearly, the extension is 'illegal' and 'unconstitutional.' The emergency, therefore, is invalid and unconstitutional."

President Yameen had first declared the emergency on February 5 following the Supreme Court's order of releasing a group of opposition leaders, who had been convicted in widely criticised trials.

Among them was exiled former Maldivian president Mohamed Nasheed.

The former vice president said that the people of the Maldives only have hope from the community.

Jameel added, "The people of the Maldives have tried all available measures to restore democracy. The judiciary has given its judgment, the Parliament has tried, the constitutional institutions have tried and they all are unable to restore rule of law and democracy in the Maldives. Now, in such circumstances, my opinion is that international community must come to help. I believe India must lead the international effort to restore democracy in the Maldives using all available legal mechanism that is within the international law."

Adding that the people of the archipelago are suffering, as the judiciary is under siege and the parliament is dysfunctional, Jameel said, "The entire democratic process has collapsed. The request in such a scenario is where would they go? I believe India, which is our nearest neighbour and biggest democracy in the world have a legal and moral responsibility to help the people of the Maldives."

In recent years, the growing Chinese footprints in South Asia and the Indian Ocean region has been a cause of conflict. There has been a rapid expansion in the ties between Male and Beijing.

Jameel blames President Yameen for deliberately creating problems so to remain in power.

He said, "The entire situation was brought upon by President Yameen alone. He is someone who is having said he is ready to stay in power even if he has to sell the country to someone else."

The former vice president opined, "I am not saying that during his regime a lot of companies from different parts of the world including China have tremendously gained and a lot of these big projects went to Chinese companies which would not have stood the test of democratic means. But, I do not have any particular reason that China would have delineated the people of Maldives and side with the person who is highly unpopular and surely unelectable. So, I would believe that China would be happy to see the Maldives stable and democracy flourishes in the country."

Amidst the political crisis, the Election Commission of the Maldives on Friday announced that the first round of presidential elections will be held in early September.

Jameel denounced the move by saying, "I do not believe that at the moment there is a situation where we talk about having an election. This is just a drama that President Yameen is trying to suggest that the things are better."

He added, "No, you are talking about a country whose entire opposition is either in prison or in exile. None of the opposition members is free and able to contest the election. Whose judiciary is under siege, Supreme Court is under siege and Chief Justice was literally dragged out of the chamber and detained. Does the international community believe in such a scenario free and fair election is possible? Surely no!"

Expressing his dismay, Jameel continued, "No one is there to contest an election. Not a single opposition leader is free including his own brother, who served the nation for 30 years, President Gayoom is in detention. I do not believe there is a conducive environment to hold a free and fair election.Indian Army demonstrated the search and destroy operations tactics on day two of the ongoing joint military exercise with Seychelles People's Defence Forces.

The Indian contingent consists four officers, five Junior Commissioned Officers, and 36 personnel from other arms and services.

India and Seychelles are conducting eight counterinsurgency/counterterrorism exercises named 'Lamitye', which means friendship.

The joint exercise started from February 24 is scheduled to end on March 04.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)They may have laid a path of terror and destruction in Iraq and Syria, but the dreaded Islamic State (IS) group has spread its wings beyond these terror-ravaged countries to the unlikeliest places on Earth.

Since declaring its caliphate in June 2014, the terror group has carried out or inspired more than 140 terror attacks in 29 countries outside Iraq and Syria till 2017, The Sun reported.

In Europe, the IS have claimed a number of attacks in cities such as- London, Barcelona, Manchester, Paris, Nice and Stockholm to name a few.

Their latest recruitment grounds include honeymoon isles and expat enclaves including New Zealand and South Africa.

Here are some of the other countries the dreaded terror group has formed an unlikely foothold:

1. China

The IS sees China as its next major global target after reportedly securing a recruiting foothold in the country's badlands.

In a recent video, the group pledged to "shed blood like rivers" in attacks against Chinese targets.

"We are the soldiers of the Caliphate, and we will come to you to clarify to you with the tongues of our weapons, to shed blood like rivers and avenging the oppressed," it said in a statement.

According to experts, the IS has eyed China owing to its treatment of ethnic minority Muslims, the Uighurs, in Xinjiang province in the western part of the country.

A Washington-based think tank has found that around 114 Uighurs have since joined the terror group, the highest number of foreign fighters from any one region of the world, outside of Saudi Arabia and Tunisia.

2. Trinidad and Tobago

The Caribbean country, home to around 1.3 million people, has the highest rate of IS foreign recruitment in the Western hemisphere.

Around 30,000 Britishers visit Trinidad and Tobago every year.

Some 125 nationals of the island country are believed to have travelled to Syria and Iraq to join the barbaric group's failing attempt to establish an Islamic caliphate.

It is feared these recruits could return and start launching attacks on embassies or tourist groups.

The country's foreign office has warned, "Terrorists are likely to try to carry out attacks in Trinidad and Tobago. Attacks could be indiscriminate, including in places visited by foreigners."

The island country has a thriving international oil and gas industry and the potential terror threats have worried the US more.

3. New Zealand

A New Zealand Security Intelligence Service (NZSIS) watchlist has revealed that at least 40 people in New Zealand have links to the IS.

One of only two known faces of New Zealand "jihadis" (militants), Mark Taylor, is on a US watchlist as a global terrorist.

Taylor has actively encouraged terrorist attacks in Australia and New Zealand, according to the report and has changed his name to Abu Abdul-Rahman.

He was reportedly last seen in Syria, but his whereabouts remain unknown.

4. South Africa

The kidnapping and killing of the British-South African couple in Cape Town have led the British government to issue a travel advisory warning of possible terror attacks on the South African soil.

"Terrorists are likely to try to carry out attacks in South Africa. Attacks could be indiscriminate including in places visited by foreigners such as shopping areas in major cities" the advisory read.

Several days after they vanished last week South African elite force, the Hawks counter-terror operatives swooped on a man and woman they are holding under protracted surveillance.

5. The Maldives

The island country is becoming infamous as a fertile recruiting ground for the IS as it has seen a rise in extremism in recent years, coupled with the current political turmoil.

From a population of 400,000, at least 200 young Maldivians are believed to have fled to the Middle East to fight for the dreaded terror group.

In April last year, a Maldivian blogger who mocked "ISIS thugs" on the internet was reportedly hacked to death in the island country.

6. Canada

Nearly 200 "foreign" fighters, who fought alongside the IS in Iraq and Syria are known to have returned to Canada in recent years.

"Terrorism now remains the most immediate threat to national security", the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) said in a recent annual report.

The public report, which covered from 2014 to 2016, warned the terror group continues to use its large online presence to recruit people on social media to travel to Syria and Iraq.

"These extremists also pose a potential threat if they return to Canada. For instance, they may radicalise others, help with logistics and financing for those who may want to travel abroad, or engage in attack planning here in Canada," said CSIS director Michel Coulombe.

The security agency cited several examples, such as the attack on Parliament Hill in October 2014 and the killing of terrorist suspect Aaron Driver in August 2016 in its report.

A man stabbed a police officer several times before mowing down four pedestrians in a suspected terror attack in Edmonton. An IS flag was found inside the vehicle.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)The Pakistan Army on Sunday at around 4

The Pak army used small arms, automatics weapons and mortars in the Nowshera sector along the Line of Control (LoC).

Indian army is retaliating effectively.

Earlier in the day, the Indian Army hit out at the Pakistan Army by calling it 'coward and unprofessional'.

Addressing a press conference, Brigadier YS Ahlawat of 12th Indian Infantry Brigade said,"Since February 19, Pakistan Army has been continuously carrying out ceasefire violations along the LoC in Uri sector. Displaying extreme cowardice and unprofessionalism, it has been targeting innocent villagers and causing damage to their houses through mortar shelling."

Brigadier Ahlawat further said that the Indian Army has been giving a befitting reply by retaliating to the incessant firing from the other side of the border.

India and Pakistan, in January 2003, agreed to a formal ceasefire along the International Border, the Line of Control and the Actual Ground Position Line in Jammu and Kashmir. But unprovoked firing and shelling from Pakistani posts have become recurrent over the last few weeks.

The recent spate of ceasefire violation incidents has left four security personnel killed and dozens of civilians injured in Rajouri, Baramullah, Kathua, Kupwara and the Valley.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Tamil superstar Kamal Haasan has paid a heartfelt tribute to veteran actor Sridevi, who died of a cardiac arrest on Saturday.

Talking about the legendary actress, Haasan had misty-eyed reminiscences of the days when the two stars met on the sets of filmmaker K. Balachander's movie.

"Sridevi Kapoor, an astounding talent. It was not luck but well-deserved. She worked for it from her childhood. I have known her from her teens. She was still a child when she came to work with me and Balachander, my mentor," said the 63-year-old.

"When she came, she was not as talented as she was but she developed every day; she learnt. I was astounded by her climb and every step of it she worked for. She was very fond of me and I was very fond of her."

"The kind of dedication she had truly matched mine and so it's no wonder that we were fond of each other."

Remembering his last meeting with the Chandni of Bollywood, Haasan said, "I saw her last month. We are not prone to showing emotions but somehow we both hugged each other and I am very grateful for that hug."

"'Sadma's songs ring in my ears now. I think that's a great lullaby for this talented, beautiful Sridevi," he said.

He also paid his deepest condolences to the family.

Sridevi is survived by her husband - producer Boney Kapoor - and daughters Jhanvi and Khushi.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)A 23-year-old Kashmiri student is reported to be missing from All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Bhubaneswar since February 9.

Suhail Aijaz Kataria, from north Kashmir's Kupwara district, was pursuing MBBS at the institute from 2016.

Suhail's father, Aijaz Ahmad Kataria, told ANI that on February 6, his son called him asking for money which he had deposited in his bank account on February 7.

"Our contact with him snapped from February 9. We initially thought he was busy with his studies and hence was unable to talk frequently. However, on getting no news of him till February 20, we left for Bhubaneswar sensing something wrong," he added.

According to the bank statement, there was no withdrawal of money.

One of Suhail's friends told ANI, "He had been telling us since a month he is going for his cousin's wedding and left on February 9. He said he will be back by February 16 or 17. When he did not come back, I called up his home and got to know there is no wedding. He had three to four phone numbers but all of them are switched off."

The police said his last location traced through the mobile is Kolkata.

A police team will leave for Kolkata tomorrow in suspicion of Suhail's any link with Bangladesh Jehadi outfits because a letter has been found from his room with many suspicious words and he had written that 'I quit'.

Director General of Police (DGP), Odisha, Rajendra Prasad Sharma said, "He also asked his friends to forgive him and wrote he had much more work to do in the world. He was depressed as he failed in some subject. We are in touch with the Kolkata police to trace him and find the possible reasons of his disappearance. One of our teams will go to Kolkata tomorrow."

Police have registered a case of missing person in this incident.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Ferry services on the Qiongzhou Strait in south China's Hainan Province resumed at 12:20 p.m. Sunday after hours of suspension due to heavy fog, according to local authorities.

Heavy fog disrupts once again ferry services on the Qiongzhou Strait in south China on February 25, 2018. [Photo: VCG]

The fog lasted between Saturday night and Sunday morning, triggering multiple suspensions of ferry services, local meteorology and maritime departments said.

Before the ferry services were resumed, nearly 8,000 cars carrying tens of thousands of passengers were still waiting at the ports to leave Hainan for Guangdong Province via the Qiongzhou strait.

Passengers are heading home after spending their Spring Festival holiday on the island. Hainan, known for its tropical climate and clean air, is a popular destination for Chinese tourists in winter.

According to the local government, about 90,000 vehicles containing over 400,000 tourists had arrived on the island during this year's Spring Festival holiday lasting from Feb. 15 to Feb. 21.

Shipping on the Qiongzhou Strait, the only way for cars to leave the island for Guangdong, was suspended Wednesday night due to heavy fog. Ferries resumed Thursday morning as visibility improved.



Prominent former leader of the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) in Syria, Salih Muslim, has been arrested in Prague, according to Turkish security officials and the PYD.

The party officials confirmed his arrest to Al Jazeera over the phone, and said that it was unclear if he would be handed over to Turkey.

Turkey considers PYD in Syria and its armed wing, the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG), to be "terrorist groups" with ties to the banned Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

The PKK has waged decades-long armed fight against the Turkish state, which has killed tens of thousands of people.

The arrest came after Turkey called on the Czech Republic to arrest the former co-leader and sent warrants for his arrest to Prague, according to Turkish officials.

Moreover, the Turkish interior ministry had offered a bounty of nearly USD 1 million on Muslim, who is listed as one of the "most wanted terrorists" in Turkey.

Muslim will be produced before a court, the officials said, adding that Czech authorities would decide whether or not, he would be remanded in custody.

Further, Czech authorities have asked Turkey to submit the necessary documents for Muslim's extradition, according to Anadolu.

Turkey, along with the Free Syrian Army (FSA) rebel group, had launched an air and ground offensive into Afrin, in the northwest of Syria last month, to vanquish the US-backed YPG fighters near its border.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Ramanjit Singh alias 'Romi, the main conspirator in the November 2016 infamous Nabha Jail break case in Patiala District of Punjab, has been arrested by Chinese law enforcement agencies and Hong Kong Police.

Police in Punjab have received an Interpol alert confirming the development. He was arrested in connection with a robbery, and now Punjab Police has taken up the matter with the Ministry of External Affairs to get him extradited.

They had roped in the Interpol to help them to trace and nab 'Romi' after three gangsters who were arrested in February, last year, including jail escapee Gurpreet Sekhon had told the police interrogators that 'Romi' had provided funds for the November 2016 Nabha jailbreak and had even set up a "control room" in Hong Kong to coordinate the movement of the jailbreak escapees using the Internet and WhatsApp.

'Romi' was known to have close links with Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), and is believed to have a major role in coordinating and establishing links between terrorists and gangsters in Punjab, and particularly with those residing in the state's Majha, Malwa and Doaba regions.

According to the police, he figured prominently in the recent sectarian killings that took place across Punjab.

'Romi' was first arrested in Patiala in June 2016 and was sent to the high security jail in Nabha where he established close relations with Harminder Singh alias "Mintu, the chief of the Babar Khalsa, through Gurpreet Singh Sekhon.

In August 2016, Romi jumped bail and escaped to Hong Kong from where he planned the jail break of the Nabha Jail.

It may be recalled that on November 27, 2016, 15 gangsters of the above regions of

Punjab entered the Nabha Jail armed with sophisticated weapons and freed six hardcore prisoners, including two terrorists and four hardcore gangsters.

Media reports have quoted Punjab Police sources, as saying that till date 36 persons have been arrested in connection with the Nabha jailbreak.

Out of six inmates who fled the maximum security jail, four -- Neeta Deol, Gurpreet Sekhon, Aman Dhotian and KLF chief Harminder Singh alias Mintoo were re-arrested.

The fifth escapee -Vicky Gounder - was killed in a police encounter, while the sixth -- Sikh Militant Baba Kashmir Singh continues to roam around free.

Before his arrest in Hong Kong, Ramanjit Singh alias Romi, aged 29, had a Red Corner Notice Control No. A-2627/3-2017 issued against him, which remains active as on date.

The latest radical-cum-terror module busted by Punjab Police that was held responsible for the murder of seven persons who were associated with the RSS, Shiv Sena and Dera Premmi, was traced to a module managed by Romi in Hong Kong.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)At least nine Taliban militants have been killed during the operations of the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces in Afghanistan's northern Baghlan province.

The militants were killed during Alburz-24 operations, reported Khaama Press, citing the Afghan military, as saying.

The operations, which were conducted in Turmosh valley in Tala Barfak district, destroyed a check post established by the militants.

The check post was being used to collect money from the vehicles carrying coal, the report said.

No comments have been received by the anti-government armed militant groups including the Taliban militants with respect to the report, so far.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) MP Majeed Memon has quoted a report alleging that the accused celebrity jeweller, Nirav Modi had deposited cash worth Rs 90 crore at one of the branches of the scam-hit Punjab Bank (PNB), hours before the announcement of demonetisation.

"When Nirav Modi left India, at that time it was reported that some hours prior to Prime Minister's announcement of demonetisation in 2016, Nirav Modi deposited 90 crore rupees of cash in one branch of PNB, and he probably exchanged it for bullion or something," Memon told ANI, and added, " I think that there should be proper investigation to see if there is any element of truth to it."

Memon also took to Twitter to convey the same, and hinted on suspicion of connivance between the accused and the BJP-led government at the Centre, by adding, "What does it suggest?"

Prime Minister announced the ban on Rs 500 and Rs 1000 Indian rupee notes, on November 8, 2016.

For the unversed, PNB detected a 1.77 billion dollar (Rs 11,400) scam earlier this month, in which Nirav Modi acquired fraudulent letters of undertaking from one of its branches for overseas credit from other Indian lenders.

Mehul Choksi, Modi's uncle, is also being probed for his involvement in the fraud.

PNB lodged two financial fraud complaints of Rs 11,400 crore and Rs 280 crore against Nirav Modi, his family members and the owner of Gitanjali Gems.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)North Korea has expressed willingness to hold talks with the United States in a bid to improve relations.

According to the South Korean news agency, a senior official of the North's ruling Worker's Party in charge of inter-Korean relations Yong-chol told South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Sunday that North Korea has "enough" willingness to hold talks with the U.S.

Yong-chol made the remark during a meeting with Moon in PyeongChang, the host city of the 2018 Winter Olympic Games.

"President Moon pointed out that U.S.-North Korea dialogue must be held at an early date even for an improvement in the South-North Korea relationship and the fundamental resolution of Korean Peninsula issues," Yonhap quoted South Korean Presidential Spokesman Kim Eui-kyeom as saying.

"The North Korean delegation too agreed that North Korea-U.S. relations must develop along with the South-North Korea relationship while noting (the North) has enough intention to hold North Korea-U.S. dialogue," he added.

This development came after the U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday announced new sanctions on North Korea, specifically targeting the country's shipping and trading companies to further isolate the communist country economically.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)In wake of the constant ceasefire violations by Pakistan, the Indian Army on Sunday hit out at the Pakistan Army by calling it 'coward and unprofessional'.

Addressing a press conference here, Brigadier YS Ahlawat of 12th Indian Infantry Brigade said,"Since February 19, Pakistan Army has been continuously carrying out ceasefire violations along the LoC in Uri sector. Displaying extreme cowardice and unprofessionalism, it has been targeting innocent villagers and causing damage to their houses through mortar shelling."

Brigadier Ahlawat further said that the Indian Army has been giving a befitting reply by retaliating to the incessant firing from the other side of the border.

The Army official also added that the villagers have been evacuated and the Army has swung into action to provide relief to them

"Villagers have been evacuated to a government school in Uri. The Army has swung into action and provided immediate relief to villagers including food, medicine, drinking water, and sleeping bags," added the brigadier

India and Pakistan, in January 2003, agreed to a formal ceasefire along the International Border, the Line of Control and the Actual Ground Position Line in Jammu and Kashmir. But, unprovoked firing and shelling from Pakistani posts have become recurrent over the last few weeks.

In the recent ceasefire violation incidents have left four security personnel killed and dozens of civilians injured in Rajouri, Baramullah, Kathua, Kupwara and the Valley.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)The sudden demise of veteran actress Sridevi, prompted an outpouring of affection from prominent figures across the country.

Joint by many, Sudhir Mishra an Indian film director and screenwriter, also grieved the death of Sridevi.

Sudhir Mishra said,"Sridevi was an ideal cinema actor. She had the capability to hold the responsibility of the entire movie on her shoulders. She could easily adapt herself to any kind of role that wAS given to her in a movie. Her demise is not only a loss for Bollywood but for the entire country."

He further told ANI that Sridevi was an icon and he is speechless over the untimely demise of the actress.

Johhny Lever, famous noted actor and comedian in Hindi cinema, tweeted, "Had met #Sridevi ji last month at the Mumbai Police show, and like always she had a beautiful smile on her face and we spoke in our mother tongue Telugu...A great actress and a lovely person, she will be deeply missed. #RIP (sic)"

The actor died late on Saturday in Dubai after a cardiac arrest, while travelling to the city to attend a family wedding.

After acting in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada films; she made her Bollywood debut in 1975's Julie. While landing her first starring role in the 1979 drama 'Solva Sawan'; she went on to star in a string commercial successes, including Himmatwala (1983) - which cemented her place as one of Bollywood's top stars, Mawaali (1983), Maqsad (1984), and Waqt Ki Awaz (1988).

Raj Babbar, Hindi and Punjabi film actor and politician belonging to Indian National Congress, tweeted, "Deeply shocked at the untimely demise of #Sridevi ji. She was one of India's finest - a very natural actor who excelled in every role she did. A rare combination of talent & charm. May her soul rest in peace (sic)."

Meanwhile, Fans have gathered outside the residence of Sridevi in Andheri. One of her fans said, "We are shocked and still cannot believe the news of her death. Very saddened and pained by her demise. Her acting skills were remarkable.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Puducherry Chief Minister V Narayanasamy on Sunday condemned Prime Minister Narendra Modi's remarks during a rally in the Union Territory.

The CM called the comments of Prime Minister Modi as unfortunate and depicted his belief in the victory of the Congress in the upcoming assembly elections in three states.

Earlier in the day, Prime Minister told a rally that after the Assembly elections in Karnataka, the Congress will remain in power only in one region in South India - Puducherry.

Commenting on the Prime Minister's remarks, Narayanasamy told ANI: "It is unfortunate that the Prime Minister, holding the highest position, said this. Congress will win Mizoram, Meghalaya, (and) Karnataka".

He further said that if assembly elections are held now in Haryana and Maharashtra then the Congress party is already in a position to win in both the states.

He added, "Situation is changing today and the people want (the) Congress government".

While addressing the rally, the Prime Minister also took a dig at Narayanasamy and said that after losing Mizoram, Meghalaya, and Karnataka assembly elections; the Congress is going to exhibit him as a specimen for being only Congress Chief Minister.

Prime Minister Modi also blamed the previous political parties governing Puducherry of doing injustice with the people.

He said, "Puducherry has all the resources and willpower but why is its development not up to the mark? Why is it not number one? Are women and youth getting opportunities to move ahead? Are the industries prospering here? Parties, who governed Puducherry, did injustice to people here".

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Sunday offered condolences to the family of veteran actress Sridevi, who passed away on Saturday night in Dubai.

"Shocked to hear about the sudden and untimely death of one of India's favourite actress, Sridevi. Sridevi was an incredibly talented and versatile actress whose vast body of work spanned a range of genres and languages. My condolences to her family. May her soul rest in peace," Gandhi tweeted.

The Twitter handle of the Congress Party also paid tribute to Sridevi.

"We regret to hear about the passing away of Sridevi. An actor par excellence. A legend who will continue to live in our hearts through her stellar body of work. Our deepest condolences to her loved ones," the tweet read.

The Congress also posted three more tweets detailing her accomplishments.

Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi also lamented the demise of the 54-year-old actress, "Shocked 2hear of passing of Sridevi. Sudden, totally unexpected death in dubai, as of farookh sheikh. Healthy, agile, mobile & youthful, belying even her limited 54 years, her impish curiosity, exemplified in english vinglish, contrasts with her superb vampish hawa hawaii!"

A Padma Shri recipient, Sridevi passed away on Saturday night due to a cardiac arrest in Dubai, where she was attending a family wedding with her husband Boney Kapoor and her younger daughter Khushi.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)In a bid to tighten internal controls in the banks, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has asked banks to integrate SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication) with its core banking solutions (CBS) by April 30.

The central bank's direction comes in the view of the Rs 11,400 crore fraud that was detected by the Punjab National Bank (PNB) at one of its branches in Mumbai last week.

Diamond jewellers Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi allegedly acquired fraudulent letters of undertaking (LoU) from PNB to secure overseas credit from other lenders.

The LoUs were not recorded in the PSU lender's books and therefore were undetected for a long time.

Indian Banks Association (IBA) chairperson Usha Ananthasubramanian said there is an urgency to fast-track SWIFT-CBS linkage.

A memo has also been sent to banks regarding the RBI mandate, she added.

Earlier, the RBI had released a statement asserting that it had confidentially cautioned and alerted banks on the possible misuse of SWIFT, on at least three occasions since August 2016.

"The risks arising from the potential malicious use of the SWIFT infrastructure, created by banks for their genuine needs, has always been a component of their operational risk profile.

"The RBI had, therefore, confidentially cautioned and alerted banks of such possible misuse, at least on three occasions since August 2016, advising them to implement the safeguards detailed in the RBI's communications, for pre-empting such occurrences." the RBI said in a statement.

In the wake of SWIFT-related fraud involving significant amount, reported recently by Punjab National Bank (PNB), RBI in the statement also reiterated its confidential instructions and mandated the banks to implement, within the stipulated deadlines, the prescribed measures for strengthening the SWIFT operating environment in banks.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Holy Sepulchre, the sacred church in Jerusalem, was on Sunday shut after a dispute between Christian leaders in the holy land and Israeli authorities over the future of multiple church-owned properties and lands that Christians say should be protected by international law.

The move at the site that each day draws thousands to the place where Christians believe Jesus was crucified, buried and later resurrected comes after the Jerusalem municipality began collecting taxes on church properties in the city.

According to the municipality, the churches owe more than $185 million on certain properties used for commercial purposes.

The closure is a response to proposed legislation that could block the churches from making commercial deals with investors on land they leased long-term to the Israeli government nearly 70 years ago, The Washington Post reported.

In front of the church's bolted wooden doors, the leaders of the Greek Orthodox, Catholic and Armenian churches in a media briefing said Israel was waging a "systematic campaign against the churches and the Christian community in the Holy Land, in flagrant violation of the existing status quo".

"Recently, this systematic and offensive campaign has reached an unprecedented level as the Jerusalem municipality issued scandalous collection notices and orders of the seizure of Church assets, properties and the bank accounts for alleged debts of punitive municipal taxes," the church leaders said.

The leaders said the step breached agreements and international obligations by Israel towards the church and it "seems as an attempt to weaken the Christian presence in Jerusalem".

The closing of the church's doors comes after US President Donald Trump decided to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and move the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to the holy city.

Local Muslims and Christians have said that such a move could upset the religious balance in Jerusalem, a city holy to all three religions.

Palestine has said the formal recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital and transferring the embassy there makes it impossible for the US to be a fair broker in any future peace process between Ramallah and Tel Aviv.

Trump on December 6 lauded Israel for building a country "where Jews, Muslims, and Christians, and people of all faiths are free to live and worship according to their conscience and beliefs".

The latest dispute between church leaders and Israeli lawmakers appears to be a litmus test for that.

The Israeli parliament on Sunday agreed to hold off discussing the legislation to "ease tensions with the church leaders and find a compromise".

Palestine Liberation Organisation Secretary General Saeb Erekat, however, said the dispute showed the "dramatic reality of the Palestinian people in Jerusalem, and particularly of our churches."

Most of the Christians in Jerusalem, Israel, and the West Bank are of Palestinian heritage.

"It's time for Trump and his administration to realise the consequences of their encouragement for the Israeli policies of occupation and exclusivity in Jerusalem," Erekat said.

Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat said the new taxation policies would not affect the churches and would cover only properties belonging to church authorities that are used for commercial purposes.

"In Jerusalem, all are equal under the law - Christians, Muslims, and Jews alike. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre - as is the case for all of Jerusalem's churches, synagogues, and mosques - is exempt from municipal taxes," Barkat said in a statement, adding hotels and office spaces owned by various churches "are not exempt from municipal taxes, regardless of their ownership".

Rachel Azaria, the Israeli lawmaker behind the legislation, said her bill was not designed to take away property belonging to religious institutions but focused on large tracts of land leased by church authorities to Israel after the state's creation in 1948.

Several years ago, it was revealed that the land upon which hundreds of residential apartment blocks and national institutions sit was sold by the Greek Orthodox Church in million-dollar commercial deals to private developers. If approved by parliament, the law will confiscate the lands sold by the church in private deals and prevent similar transactions in the future.

"This is not about religion; this is about money," said Fleur Hassan-Nahoum, a member of the Jerusalem City Council, who helped draft the legislation. "The church is trying to profit in the millions on the backs of thousands of Jerusalem residents who might lose their homes."

Greek Orthodox Church leaders in Jerusalem also have been at odds with their own followers, who have accused Patriarch Theophilos III of selling off church property without their consent.

Theophilos in an earlier interview had said that he had no choice but to sell or lease land held by the church to finance its day-to-day business in Israel and the Palestinian territories as well as in Jordan and Qatar - all areas under his jurisdiction.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)A school-owner was apprehended from Hyderabad airport on Sunday on grounds of allegedly spreading communal hatred among the students.

M.M. Akbar, the managing director of Peace International School, Kochi, was allegedly spreading communal hatred among students through books which were not prescribed in the Central Board of Secondary (CBSE) curriculum, which the school tends to follow.

In lieu of reports from the district collector and department, the Kerala government has now issued an order to shut the school down.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President Amit Shah on Sunday said the government of Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is going to sink after state assembly elections result.

"In upcoming elections result, the boat of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah government is going to sink. By 2022, not only poor of Karnataka but every poor of India will have a 'pucca' house. This is a promise by Narendra Modi government," Shah said while addressing a public gathering here.

Shah claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has always been concerned about the sugarcane farmers

"Prime Minister Modi has always been concerned about the sugarcane farmers and the first thing he did after coming to power was to stop the import of raw sugar. Also, whatever raw sugar was imported for industrial purposes, an import duty of 40 percent was levied on it," he said.

He also said the BJP will restart the local sugar mills which are closed at the moment after winning the Karnataka assembly elections.

"The very first thing that the BJP government would do after winning Karnataka assembly elections is that it will restart the local sugar mills which are closed at the moment," he said.

He also offered prayers at Sri Manikeshwari Matha in Kalaburagi's Sedam Taluka.

Shah also interacted with sugarcane farmers in Humnabad and said, "I assure our farmer brothers that the next government in Karnataka will be of the BJP which will be fully committed to the welfare of farmers."

Shah and BJP state Chief Minister candidate BS Yeddyurappa visited Sharana Basaveshwara Temple in Kalaburagi.

Karnataka is one of the few states where the Congress is in power.Union Cabinet Minister of Textiles and Information and Broadcasting Smriti Irani mourned the death of the legendary Bollywood actor Sridevi.

The charming actor, who was just 54, died late at Saturday night reportedly due to cardiac arrest in Dubai.

The minister recalled the last presence of the late actor at the International Film festival at Goa in November 2017.

She said that in spite of the actor standing all alone on the stage at the Goa event, she managed to fill the space with her charm and presence.

Smriti Irani further said that the actor never demanded any protocol. She knew her mind and in spite of facing various challenges throughout her life, she lived with dignity.

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The minister further admitted that Sridevi acted as a silent mentor for her to help polish her acting skills.

Smriti Irani said to be in awe of the actor Sridevi who donned the avatar of Charlie Chaplin in Mr. India. She called her to be a female version of Robinhood for many young girls of her time.

She further praised her comic timing and called her as an effortless actor.

She said, "As I bid farewell to my favourite star who defined joy in my childhood, I pay homage to an actor who through her body ofwork ascertained that a female actress' place in a commercial Hindi movie is not only to compliment her male counterpart. It's farewell to a star whose last words to me will ring true forever - 'where else would I be if not here (film industry)'.

The entire Bollywood industry and political dignitaries outpoured their shock and grief upon the sudden demise of the Bollywood's first female superstar.

Sridevi is survived by her two daughters, Jhanvi and Khushi Kapoor, and her husband Boney Kapoor.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)President Ram Nath Kovind on Sunday mourned the sudden demise of veteran actor Sridevi.

Taking to his Twitter handle, President Kovind recalled the work of the legendary actor and wrote that she would always be an 'inspiration for others'.

"Shocked to hear of the passing of movie star Sridevi. She has left millions of fans heartbroken. Her performances in films such as Moondram Pirai, Lamhe, and English Vinglish remain an inspiration for other actors. My condolences to her family and close associates (sic)," President Kovind Tweeted.

Terming Sridevi as "a powerhouse of acting", Union Minister Smriti Z Irani also expressed condolence on the demise of the veteran actor.

"Sridevi - a powerhouse of acting, a long journey embellished with success comes to a sudden end. My condolences to her loved ones and fans (sic)," Irani Tweeted.

Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan also took to his social media handle to express grief over the great loss and said that the actor's work and mesmerising personality will always keep her alive in everyone's memories.

"Shocked to know that Senior Bollywood Actress Sri Devi Ji suffered a massive cardiac arrest & is no more with us. My thoughts are with her family, friends & millions of fans around the globe. Her fantastic work & mesmerising personality will always keep her alive in our memories," Pradhan said.

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu also recalled Sridevi as a proud actress with her unparalleled acting skills.

"As a multilingual actress, especially for the Telugus, she( Sridevi) became the most favorite heroine. She remains as a proud actress of India with her unparalleled acting skills," Naidu said.

Congress party leader and MP Shashi Tharoor also expressed shock over the untimely passing of Sridevi.

A Padma Shri recipient, Sridevi passed away on Saturday night due to a cardiac arrest in Dubai, where she was attending a family wedding with her husband Boney Kapoor and her younger daughter Khushi.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)The demise of the first female superstar of Bollywood, Sridevi has left Bollywood and her fans in a deep state of shock.

Sridevi died in Dubai on Saturday after a cardiac arrest. She was 54.

Members of the film industry took to Twitter to express their grief over her shocking demise and offered condolences to the family.

Minutes before the news of her death broke, her 'Khuda Gawah' co-star Amitabh Bachchan posted a tweet saying he was feeling uneasy.

His tweet has left the Twitterer wondering if Big B had a premonition about the death of the veteran actress.



"Na jaane kyun, ek ajeeb si ghabrahat ho rahi hai (Don't know why, there's a weird anxiety)," the 75-year-old tweeted.

T 2625 -    ,        !!  Amitabh Bachchan (@SrBachchan) February 24, 2018

The 'Pink' star and Sridevi featured in 'Inquilaab' and have also shared screen space in 1986's 'Aakhree Raasta'.

One of her earliest films as an adult lead was opposite Tamil superstars Kamal Haasan and Rajinikanth.

Sridevi was only 13 when she was cast alongside two of her favourite proteges in K Balachander's 'Moondru Mudichu' (1976).

The superstars, too, took to social media to express their grief.

"I'm shocked and very disturbed. I've lost a dear friend and the industry has lost a true legend. My heart goes out to her family and friends. I feel the pain with them #RIPSridev ... you will be missed," tweeted 'Thalaivar'.

Im shocked and very disturbed. Ive lost a dear friend and the industry has lost a true legend. My heart goes out to her family and friends. I feel the pain with them #RIPSridev ... you will be missed.  Rajinikanth (@superstarrajini) February 25, 2018

Mourning her death, Haasan said how he is now 'haunted' by the melody from their best-known Hindi film together.

"Have witnessed Sridevi's life from an adolescent teenager to the magnificeint lady she became. Her stardom was well deserved. Many happy moments with her flash through my mind including the last time I met her. Sadma's lullaby haunts me now. We'll miss her," he posted.

Have witnessed Sridevi's life from an adolescent teenager to the magnificeint lady she became. Her stardom was well deserved. Many happy moments with her flash through my mind including the last time I met her. Sadma's lullaby haunts me now. We'll miss her  Kamal Haasan (@ikamalhaasan) February 25, 2018

Her 'Chandni' co-star Rishi Kapoor, tweeted, "Woken up to this tragic news. Absolute shock. Sad. Heartfelt condolences to Boney and their two daughters!"

Woken up to this tragic news. Absolute shock. Sad. Heartfelt condolences to Boney and their two daughters!  Rishi Kapoor (@chintskap) February 25, 2018

Sridevi is survived by her husband Boney Kapoor and two daughters, Janhvi, who is filming her debut project 'Dhadak' and was not in Dubai with the family, and Khushi.Noted actor Sridevi's mortal remains will reach India on Monday, said

the official spokesperson of producer and late Sridevi's husband Boney Kapoor.

"Late Sridevi Kapoor's body will arrive in India tomorrow. We will update you on all further information as and when it's available to us," an official statement by Kapoors said.

It added: "Boney Kapoor, Jhanvi, Khushi and the entire Kapoor, Ayyappan and Marwah family are deeply bereaved and shocked with the untimely loss of Sridevi Kapoor. They thank the entire media for their prayers, support, and sensitivity during their time of grief," the statement reads.

The actor, who was in Dubai for a wedding, reportedly had a fainting spell in her bathroom after which she was immediately rushed to Rashid Hospital in Dubai but could not be saved.

The demise of the first female superstar of Bollywood, Sridevi has left the film industry and her fans in a deep state of shock.

The Bollywood icon was known for her iconic roles in Hindi movies like Mr India, Chaalbaaz, Nagina, Sadma, and many more. She had more than 250 acting credits to her name including those in regional languages like Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, and Kannada.

Sridevi started her career as a child artist in Tamil movie industry and made her Bollywood debut in 1975's Julie. In fact, in 2013 she was awarded Padmashri for her contribution to Indian cinema.

She is survived by her husband Boney Kapoor and two daughters- Janhvi and Khushi.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)The United States Consulate in Mumbai on Sunday lamented the sudden demise of "legendary Bollywood superstar" Sridevi.

"We lament the sudden demise of legendary Bollywood superstar #Sridevi, whose work touched lives around the Our condolences to her family and fans. RIP #Sridevi," the US Consulate in Mumbai, lettered in a Twitter post.

In a major jolt to the Bollywood industry, the 54-year-old actress died of cardiac arrest in Dubai.

The actress was in UAE along with her husband Boney Kapoor and her younger daughter Khushi to attend a family wedding.

Bollywood actors including Riteish Deshmukh, Priyanka Chopra, Bhagyashree, Sushmita Sen, Nimrat Kaur, Richa Sharma took to twitter to express grief over the loss.

Expressing shock over the news, Riteish tweeted, "Terrible terrible news.. Am shocked beyond words. SRIDEVI ji No More . RIP."

Priyanka Chopra and Sushmita Sen also could not believe the news and expressed their condolences on Twitter. Priyanka tweeted, "I have no words. Condolences to everyone who loved #Sridevi . A dark day . RIP."

"I just heard Ma'am Sridevi passed away due to a massive cardiac arrest. I am in shock.cant stop crying.," wrote Sushmita.

Sridevi was known for her iconic roles in Hindi movies like Chandni, Lamhe, Mr India, Chaalbaaz, Nagina, Sadma, and many more.

The Padma Shri awardee actress had also made a mark with her stellar performances in Tamil, Telugu, Hindi, Malayalam and Kannada films.

The actress was last seen in Bollywood movie 'Mom' in 2017,

Her daughter Janhvi is set to make her Bollywood debut this year with Karan Johar's directorial Dhadak.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Veteran actress Sridevi has passed away, a family member said. She was 54.

The actress, who was in Dubai for a family function, reportedly suffered a cardiac arrest.

Confirming the news of her death, Sridevi's brother-in-law and actor Sanjay Kapoor, told IANS: "Yes, it is true."

Sanjay, however, could not reveal more details as he was on his way to Dubai.

Sridevi was in Dubai to attend the marriage function of actress Sonam Kapoor's cousin Mohit Marwah, along with husband Boney Kapoor and younger daughter Khushi Kapoor.

Sridevi has known for her performance is some of the iconic films like "Mr India", "Nagina", "Sadma", "Chaalbaaz", "Chandni" among many others. The Padma Shri recipient was last seen in "Mom" in 2017.

The news of death came as a shock for everyone in the film industry.

Here is what some of the Bollywood personalities tweeted:

Nimrat Kaur: "Absolutely devastated to hear about the passing of #Sridevi. What a dark black terrible moment in time. Gutted."

Sushmita Sen tweeted: "I just heard Ma'am Sridevi passed away due to a massive cardiac arrest. I am in shock...can't stop crying..."

Madhur Bhandarkar tweeted: "Unbelievable Shocking & Heartbreaking to hear about the demise of #Sridevi, one of the talented Actress of Indian Cinema. Prayers and strength to the family. #OmShanti"

Priyanka Chopra: "I have no words. Condolences to everyone who loved #Sridevi . A dark day. RIP."

--IANS

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(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) and its partners plan to invest Rs 550 billion in Andhra Pradesh as the southern state on Sunday received total investment commitments of Rs 1.75 trillion from various across sectors.

and partners propose to make investments in energy, electronics manufacturing, digital infrastructure and other sectors over next five years, officials said on Sunday.

The Mukesh Ambani-led group signed MoUs for this purpose with the Andhra Pradesh government on Sunday, the second day of the CII Partnership Summit.

The investments committed by and partners are expected to generate 25,000 new jobs in electronics, petroleum, retail, agri-processing, e-governance and other sectors.

India Gas Solutions Private Ltd, a 50:50 joint venture company of and BP International Ltd (BP) in the business of marketing gas and LNG in India, signed a MoU with the state government, committing an investment of Rs 400 billion

RIL and BP plan to develop offshore gas discoveries in Block KGD6 in the Krishna Godavari basin, through three projects with investments up to Rs 400 billion, officials said.

Development of the three projects is expected to bring a total of 30-35 million cubic metres (1 billion cubic feet) of gas a day of domestic gas production on stream, phased over 2020-2022 and will create considerable direct and indirect employment during the construction phase over the next 5 years.

RIL and BP plan to pursue skill development programmes as part of the execution of these projects.

Reliance Jio Infocomm, a subsidiary of RIL, will also invest Rs 150 billion to set up a world class electronics manufacturing unit on 150 acres in Tirupati, where it plans to manufacture Jio phones, set-top boxes and other electronics devices.

The company will also create digital infrastructure in Amaravati, the new state capital.

This investment in the fields of digital infrastructure, citizen services and industrial development, is expected to generate over 20,000 new jobs.

The MoUs were signed by the officials of India Gas Solutions and Reliance Jio Infocom with the state government officials in presence of Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu and Kiran Thomas, President, Reliance Industries Ltd.

"Every project that we signed MoU with the government is going to be implemented in a time-bound manner, starting from next three months to three years," P.M.S Prasad, Executive Director, RIL, told reporters later.

He further said the projects related to e-governance and entrepreneurship programmes would also be executed within the time span agreed with the government.

On the second day of the CII-Partnership Summit, the Andhra Pradesh government signed a total of 285 MoUs with various involving an investment of nearly Rs 1.75 trillion. This is expected to generate employment for 2.86 lakh people.

The energy sector alone accounts for the investment of nearly Rs 1.12 trillion. Ten MoUs worth Rs 94.06 billion were signed in aerospace and defence sectors.

The MoUs envisage investment of Rs 53.37 billion in textiles, Rs 35.34 billion in food processing, Rs 50.90 billion in health and Rs 39,281 crore in other sectors.

On the first day of the Summit, the government had signed 79 MoUs that can bring in investments worth Rs 44,246 crore and create 98,291 jobs, according to the updated information provided by the state government.With an eye on the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP top leadership including Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hold discussions with party Chief Ministers and Deputy Chief Ministers here on February 28, officials said on Sunday.

In the day-long deliberations, organisational preparedness, implementation of ambitious central schemes, preparations for the Lok Sabha polls, the Centre's ambitious plan to provide health insurance to 10 crore poor families across the country and "One Nation-One Election" idea, are likely to figure prominently.

The Bharatiya Janata Party has 14 Chief Ministers and Deputy Chief Ministers in states like Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat and Jammu and Kashmir. In Bihar and Jammu and Kashmir the BJP is a coalition partner with the Janata Dal-United and People's Democratic Party (PDP), respectively.

According to the officials, the BJP leadership has sent a five-point note to come prepared for the meeting, which has been a yearly affair after Modi took over the reigns in 2014.

In a letter written by BJP General Secretary Bhupendra Yadav, the Chief Ministers and the Deputy Chief Ministers have been asked to present the details of booth level preparations along with creation of "Shakti Kendras" and appointment of "Panna Pramukhs" .

The states have also been asked to present the status of implementation of central schemes targeted at the poor, and socially and economically weaker sections like Jan-Dhan, Mudra, Ujwala, housing and others schemes.

A three-page note on "One Nation-One Election" has also been sent asking the Chief Ministers to form committees under the leadership of a senior leader either from government or organisation so that the issue can gain momentum in public discourse.

They have also been asked to involve NGOs and other social youth organisations.

The meeting will take place on a day when the results for by-polls for two Assembly constituencies in Madhya Pradesh and one in Odisha will be announced and the budget will be presented by Madhya Pradesh government.

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan is likely to miss the inaugural session which will be addressed by Amit Shah. He may attend the concluding session which will be addressed by the Prime Minister.

The sources said a session for devising strategies to win 120 Lok Sabha seats, which the BJP has never won, will also be held.

A senior BJP leader involved in the party's strategy told IANS that the purpose of the meeting was to counter the anti-incumbency of the NDA government at the Centre and in the BJP-ruled states where the party is in power for long and has done exceptionally well in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls by winning majority of the seats.

In Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, Goa, Assam, Delhi, Jharkhand and Bihar, the BJP won majority of the seats in the 2014 polls.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)The BSF has seized a Pakistani boat in the Nal creek in the border district of Kutch in Gujarat, official sources said on Sunday.

The boat seized on Saturday night is bigger than the ones the Border Security Force (BSF) generally seizes in this fish and sea food-rich area.

Senior BSF officials said a patrol team of 108 Battalion spotted the boat though nothing suspicious was found. "The boat had only some fishing equipment and fish."

The BSF had seized a similar big boat from near Kotavari Creek area on February 20 though nothing suspicious was found in this case too.

The Coast Guard had on February 13 arrested seven Pakistani fishermen and seized their boat on the International Maritime Border Line off the Jakhau Coast, also in Kutch district.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)The CBI on Sunday registered a bank fraud cases against a Uttar Pradesh based private sugar company, its top officials along with unknown bank officials for allegedly causing loss of Rs 109 crore to Oriental Bank of Commerce, officials said.

According to Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) officials, the Hapur-based Simbhaoli Sugars Ltd in 2011 fraudulently diverted funds received as loans for sugarcane farmers and self help groups.

CBI also conducted searches at offices of the company and residences of its officials at eight places, including one location each in Hapur and Noida, and six locations in Delhi.

"Searches are being conducted at eight premises including residences of Directors, factory, corporate office and registered office of the company in Delhi, Hapur and Noida," CBI spokesperson Abhishek Dayal told IANS.

The agency has named the company's Chairman and Managing Director, its Directors, CEO, Chief Financial Officer and unknown bank officials and other private persons, under charges of criminal conspiracy, cheating, forgery slapping sections under Prevention of Corruption Act for causing loss to the bank.

Officials said that the Bank sanctioned a loan amounting to Rs 148.60 crore in 2011 to the private company for financing individual, Joint Liability Groups, Self-Help Groups under the tie-up arrangement under the RBI Scheme to 5,762 sugarcane farmers supplying sugar produce to said private company during the period from January 25 to March 13, 2012. It has been alleged that the company has diverted funds for personal use.

According to complaint, the account turned Non Performing Asset (NPA) on March 31, 2015 and was later declared as alleged fraud by the bank to RBI on May 13, 2015 for an amount of Rs 97.85 crore.

It was further alleged that in addition to the existing NPA as on March 31, 2015, the bank, under multiple banking arrangements, had sanctioned another corporate loan of Rs 110 crore to the sugar company on January 28, 2015, to pay its outstanding loan of Rs 97.85 crore, and adjusted the total liability of Rs. 112.9 crore of said private company on June 30, 2016 by way of deposit of this new corporate loan.

The corporate loan, too turned into an NPA on November 29, 2016, thus resulting in its first outstanding loan of Rs 97.85 crore (as alleged fraud) and the corporate loan of Rs 109.08 crore (as fresh outstanding).

CBI is now investigating the matter, officials said.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Come April, the opposition in the may lose its edge in the numbers game and the power to stall any government bill, as the ruling BJP-led NDA coalition is set to catch up with its rivals, though a clear majority will elude them for a while more.

As 58 MPs, including three Nominated and one Independent, are set to retire in April, the math is going to change. It is set to favour the Democratic Alliance (NDA), and the trend may continue in the elections to the Upper House later too with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) having solid majorities in a number of state assemblies, especially the ones it won after the 2014 Lok Sabha polls.

With this, while the Congress-led opposition's numbers will come down to around 115 from the present 123, the numbers of the BJP, its allies and sympathisers together would climb to around 109 from the present 100-odd members.

And the gap, once wide enough to let the opposition invariably have its say, will keep narrowing further in the coming months.

Of the 55 retiring members (excluding those Nominated), 30 belong to the opposition camp while 24 belong to the BJP and allies. Of them, a large number of NDA candidates are set to return while the opposition will lose a chunk of its members.

As things stand now, the Congress-led opposition has 123 MPs (including 54 of the Congress) in a house of 233 elected members (apart from 12 Nominated), while the NDA has 83 members (including 58 of BJP) plus four Independents who support the BJP (these include MPs Rajeev Chandrashekhar, Subhash Chandra, Sanjay Dattatraya Kakade and Amar Singh).

Also, for all practical purposes, the All India Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), that has 13 members in the Rajya Sabha, is also with the NDA. This means the NDA's effective strength in the upper house of Parliament is 100.

The gap was wider till just a few months ago. This meant that during any battle between the government and the opposition in the Upper House over bills and major issues, it was the opposition that invariably had its way. The recent example was the triple talaq legislation that the opposition stalled in the upper house, demanding that it be referred to a Select Committee.

For over less than four years, the Narendra Modi government had faced quite a few embarrassments in the thanks to the majority of the opposition, forcing it often to take the money bill route to avoid a clash in the house. Under the Constitution, a money bill needs to be passed only in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha cannot stall it.

However, after April, the NDA will be in a far better position.

Of the 100 BJP-allies MPs, 24 are retiring. Which means, the government will be left with 76 MPs (including AIADMK). But at least 30 from the NDA are set to get re-elected. So the number will rise to 106.

Add three members that the government would nominate to the upper house and the final NDA tally will roughly be 109 MPs.

Further, there are fence-sitters such as the Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS), the Indian Lok Dal (INLD) and the YSR Congress, which are not virulently against the BJP and would not oppose the government unless for very compelling reasons.

Now, for the Congress and the rest of the opposition, they are set to lose 30 MPs (including one Independent, A.V. Swamy) through retirement and would be left with around 93 members. The Opposition may win roughly 22 seats, which means that its final tally after April is likely to be around 115 members.

The gap has clearly narrowed and the government may not be at the mercy of the opposition during crucial votes and can have its way in the Rajya Sabha if it musters its numbers by deftly wooing "floater" MPs.

The three newly-elected Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) members may remain equidistant from both the BJP and the Congress, though the party is friendly with some of the major opposition parties like the Trinamool Congress.

In an interesting development recently, the AAP actively participated in the opposition's walkout and the day-long boycott of the Rajya Sabha over long intra-day adjournments of the Upper House by Chairman M. Venkaiah Naidu.

The AAP, which was not welcome at any opposition meetings earlier, particularly those held in Parliament House, was invited to speak at a joint opposition media interaction on the day. But nobody can be sure as to how long this bonding would last.

Partywise tally of those retiring in April-May from the opposition's side include 13 from the Congress, six from the Samajwadi Party, three of the Trinamool Congress, two each of the Nationalist Congress Party and Biju Janata Dal and one each of the CPI-M, the Bahujan Samaj Party and the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha.

From the ruling side, 17 MPs of the BJP, three of the Janata Dal United, one of the Shiv Sena and two of the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) are retiring.

In terms of state-wise vacancies to be created in April, the highest number is from Uttar Prdaesh (9), followed by Maharashtra (6), Madhya Pradesh (5), Bihar (5), Gujarat (4), Karnataka (4), West Bengal (4), Rajasthan (3), Odisha (3), Andhra Pradesh (3), Telangana (2), Uttarakhand (1), Himachal Pradesh (1) and Chhattisgarh (1).The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) is all set to purchase 25 high-end drones to equip itself to better conduct anti-Maoist operations and deal with militants in Jammu and

The tendering process for the procurement of the drones has started and they are expected to be introduced by the CRPF - the country's largest paramilitary force - in the next three-four months, a Deputy Inspector General-rank officer told IANS on the condition of anonymity.

A pre-bid conference for the procurement of the drones was held on September 12, 2017, and the online and offline tender was opened on October 26, 2017, with a validity of six months.

These drones -- each costing around Rs 15 lakh -- are being purchased to help the CRPF personnel during surveillance, reconnaissance and detection in day and night operations in Jammu and and in the dense forests of Maoist-hit states like Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra.

The 25 new drones will join CRPF's existing fleet of 40 and help the force get real-time inputs and avoid attacks on its troopers.

"The drones will have the capacity to integrate geo-referenced master maps -- provided in at least one of the commonly used digital map formats -- with real-time and clear video during flights at heights of around 250 metres. They will also have better quality zoom control and thermal imaging for night operations," the CRPF official said.

He also said that the new drones would be able to detect human-sized targets at 300 metres or more and have additional features when compared to the CRPF's existing Indian-made light drones, named "Netra".

"These drones will also comprise a ground control station with data link equipment, daylight camera payload, night camera payload, universal battery charger with power supply system," he added.

The move is part of CRPF Director General R.R. Bhatnagar's focus on better equipping the force and improving its infrastructure, the official said.

The tender, issued on August 25 last year with the submission date on January 2, invited an "online global tender" in a two-bid system for the supply of 25 micro Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAVs).

The 57-page tender notification seeks a two-year guarantee from the manufacturers, who have to supply the drones within 90 days of winning the contract.

The notification says the tendering firms have to register with the National Small Industries Corporation to undergo re-verification of their manufacturing capacity and clarifies that in case of denial for re-verification, they will be disqualified.

"All the tenderers are required to demonstrate the equipment and product offered by them before a board of officers (to be detailed by DG CRPF) at 201 Cobra Battalion Headquarters (Chattisgarh) for assessing the technical suitability and performance of the equipment as per tender enquiry specifications.

"Offers of those firms are liable to be ignored, whose equipment or product are not found as per tender enquiry specifications. Price bids of only those firms will be opened whose technical bids as well as performance of their equipment so demonstrated are found acceptable as per requirement," says the notification.

Training of 75 CRPF personnel to handle the drones and minor repairs at the 4 Signal Battalion of the force in Neemuch, Madhya Pradesh, are part of the conditions laid down in the document, another CRPF officer said.

According to the officer, although the Maoist threat has diminished with the security forces increasing their "area dominance", intelligence reports suggest they are trying to reorganise themselves - and high-end gadgets like the drone will help in fighting them.

The over 300,000-strong CRPF is mandated to provide internal security in Jammu and and Maoist-affeted areas.

(Rajnish Singh can be contacted at rajnish.s@ians.in <mailto:rajnish.s@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.)Writer-lyricist Manoj Muntashir says dialogue writers in India have not been able to get as much recognition and limelight as the famous screenwriting duo of Salim-Javed.

Famously called Salim-Javed, Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar are known for the words and dialogues they gave in 24 films during 1971-1987, including cult movies like "Sholay", "Seeta Aur Geeta", "Zanjeer", "Deewaar", "Kranti" and "Don".

"Dialogue writers after Salim-Javed duo, have been in a sad state of affairs, that nobody has actually been given that kind of recognition and nobody has been put on the forefront. But that could have the reason that dialogue writers maybe like to stay in the backdrop and not the limelight," Muntashir told IANS.

Besides making headlines for his Hindi dialogues that he lent to the "Baahubali" films, Muntashir has penned the Hindi version of Hollywood film "Black Panther". The Marvel Studios' project released in India on February 16.

The writer said that "every living being has a super power" that needs to be recognised.

"There are certain things which are programmed with you. Every existing living being has a super power, is gifted with some trait for sure. We all have a superhero within but we have to find out our strengths in us, ourselves and hone it. My super power is 'words'.

"It is not that difficult for me. It looks like donning different hats but in the end it is playing with words only," he said.

--IANS

ks/sug/bg

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Hansal Mehta was planning to approach Sridevi for his project. The filmmaker is saddened by the sudden demise of the veteran actress, and has now decided to dedicate the project to her.

As the news of Sridevi's death shocked the entire nation on Sunday, Mehta took to Twitter to share his grief.

"There will never be another Sridevi. I was about to approach her for a film. That film will now be dedicated to her. If it finds an actor," he posted.

The actress died on Saturday night at around 11 p.m. after suffering cardiac arrest in Dubai.

Sridevi was in Dubai to attend the marriage function of actress Sonam Kapoor's cousin Mohit Marwah, along with husband Boney Kapoor and younger daughter Khushi. Her elder daughter Jahnvi, who is due to make her Bollywood debut, was in Mumbai.

Sridevi was last seen in "Mom" last year.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)The sudden demise of Sridevi has left the country shocked, and filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma has cursed God for killing the veteran Bollywood actress.

Varma expressed his shock and anger by posting a lengthy emotional note on Twitter. Sridevi, who was in Dubai for a family function, reportedly suffered a cardiac arrest on Saturday night. She was 54.

He posted: "I so hope I am still having a bad dream, but I know I am not. I hate Sridevi. I hate her for making me realise that she too is finally only just a human being. I hate that her heart too has to beat to live.

"I hate that she too has a heart which can just stop like anybody else's. I hate that I lived to see the messages informing me of her death. I hate God for killing her. And I hate Sridevi for dying. I love you Sri wherever you are... and I will always love you."

The filmmaker earlier thought it was a nightmare or a hoax.

"I thought that either it's a nightmare or a hoax and I went back to sleep. An hour later I woke up to check and there were around 50 messages informing me of the same," he added.

Varma reminisced the time when the late actress, who was last seen in "Mom" in 2017, came out with a Telugu film back in 1978.

He wrote: "Back in the times when I was in engineering college in Vijayawada, I happened to see her first Telugu film 'Padaharella Vayasu'. I was awestruck with her beauty and I walked out of the theatre in a daze thinking that she cannot be a real person and she has to be some fantasy form who somehow has taken a human shape.

"Then I saw her various other films, all of which constantly created a higher benchmark of both her talent and her beauty. She was like a creation of God which he does whenever he is in a very special mood as a very very special gift to mankind. My journey to Sridevi started when I was preparing for my debut film 'Shiva'. I used to walk from Nagarjuna's office in Chennai to a neighbouring street where Sridevi used to live and I used to just stand and watch Sridevi's house from outside her gate."

Varma shared that it was Sridevi's beauty that inspired him to pen the script of "Kshana Kshanam" -- which released in 1991.

"'Kshana Kshanam' was intended by me as a love letter to her. Throughout the making of the film, I just couldn't take my eyes off her charm, her beauty,her personality and her demeanour was a new discovery for me," he wrote.

Varma wanted to come out with a special announcement about his next project on Sunday. But decided to hold on to it due to the demise of the actress.

"At this grief stricken moment of the demise of Sridevi, neither me nor Nagarjuna are in a state of mind to release the title and release date poster of #NagRGV4... It will be announced later," he tweeted.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)India on Sunday congratulated China for being elected Vice President of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), an inter-governmental body to combat money laundering and terror financing among other financial crimes, expressing the hope that it will uphold its objectives.

"Congratulations to China on its election as Vice President of Financial Action Task Force at the FATF plenary meetintg on February 23," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar tweeted.

"We remain hopeful that China would uphold and support the objectives and standards of FATF in a balanced, objective, impartial and holistic way," he said.

China's election to the FATF assumes significance as Pakistan is set to be put in the watchdog's grey list, which puts countries under the scanner for not implementing the body's objectives, in June this year.

In what can be seen as a significant diplomatic victory for India, China stood down against voting for "all weather friend" Pakistan not to be put in the FATF's grey list which names countries for not implementing the body's objectives.

Three votes from the FATF's 37 members are needed for a country not to be put in the grey list.

China, Turkey and Saudi Arabia, leading the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) that votes as one bloc, were against Pakistan being put in the grey list.

However, the US managed to prevail upon Saudi Arabia not to stop Pakistan being put in the grey list while New Delhi reportedly worked out a deal with Beijing, assuring China a larger role in the FATF.

Pakistan worked hard to get out of the grey list in the FATF plenary session in Paris on February 22-23.

Eventually, though it was not included in the nine nations named for the grey list, the FATF decided that Pakistan, accused of providing safe havens for terrorists, will be put in the grey list in June.

Th FATF plenary sessions are held in February, June and October every year.

Pakistan, which was previously on the grey list from 2012 to 2015, on Saturday slammed the decision as "politically motivated" that may affect its future cooperation.

Meanwhile, India and China, during Indian Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale's visit to Beijing on February 23-24, agreed that "sound development of relations" between them will help in bringing stability to today's world.

Gokhale, a former Ambassador to China and a fluent Mandarin-speaker, held talks with Chinese State Councillor Yang Jiechi, Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Vice Foreign Minister Kong Xuanyou.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)And now, legislators are looking to combat violent video games by imposing a tax.

Meanwhile, in the state of Rhode Island, Representative Robert Nardolillo is hoping to bring in new legislation which would add an extra 10% tax to "M" rated video games to fund "counseling, mental health programs, and other conflict resolution activities". Nardolillo also claims that the tax is necessary because, under the First Amendment, states can not legally ban the sale of these video games to minors and the only way to combat gun violence in schools is to provide funds for programs which reduce "aggression caused by games". Nardolillo says his plan will "counteract the aggression they may cause". And they are most certainly not responsible for the mass shootings taking place in America. Nardolillo's proposal aims to offset this by increasing tax and funnelling that money into mental health provisions. With conflicting studies regarding video games and their affect on violent behavior, it does tend to be one of those go-to focal points for blame. The revenue generated from the bill would be placed in special accounts for school districts to pay for mental health counseling and other services.

"Our goal is to make every school in Rhode Island a safe and calm place for students to learn", Nardolillo said in a news release. "By offering children resources to manage their aggression today, we can ensure a more peaceful tomorrow". And recent research actually suggests that there is no link between violent video games and behaviour.

The video game industry has received its fair share of controversy and criticism over the decades, and there are those who believe that many violent acts committed by young people are caused by exposure to #Violent Video Games. You see these movies, they're so violent and yet a kid is able to see a movie if sex isn't involved, but killing is involved. While I wholeheartedly support the proposal to fund counseling and other mental health programs, I'm not convinced the video game industry should shoulder the responsibility of exclusively funding them.President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday mourned the death of veteran actress Sridevi, who died in Dubai after suffering a cardiac arrest.

"Shocked to hear of passing of movie star Sridevi. She has left millions of fans heartbroken. Her performances in films such as 'Moondram Pirai', 'Lamhe' and 'English Vinglish' remain an inspiration for other actors. My condolences to her family and close associates," the President tweeted.

Modi also took to Twitter, saying: "Saddened by the untimely demise of noted actor Sridevi. She was a veteran of the film industry, whose long career included diverse roles and memorable performances. My thoughts are with her family and admirers in this hour of grief. May her soul rest in peace."

Sridevi, 54, was in Dubai to attend the marriage function of actress Sonam Kapoor's cousin Mohit Marwah, accompanied by her husband Boney Kapoor and younger daughter Khushi Kapoor.

Congress President Rahul Gandhi also condoled the death of the vertan actress saying that she was an incredibly talented and versatile actress.

"Shocked to hear about the sudden and untimely death of one of India's favourite actress, Sridevi. Sridevi was an incredibly talented and versatile actress whose vast body of work spanned a range of genres and languages. My condolences to her family. May her soul rest in peace," Gandhi tweeted.

Union Minister of Textiles and Information and Broadcasting, Smriti Irani described Sridevi as a powerhouse of acting.

"Sridevi - a powerhouse of acting, a long journey embellished with success comes to a sudden end. My condolences to her loved ones and fans," Irani said in a tweet.

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh also condoled the actress's death saying that her sudden demise was a big loss to the film industry.

"Anguished to learn of the sudden demise of veteran film actor Sridevi. She had a long and successful career in the film industry with several remarkable performances. Her demise is a big loss to the film industry. My thoughts are with her family and fans. May her soul rest in peace," Rajnath Singh said in a tweet.

Union Coal and Railway Minister Piyush Goyal said: "Deeply saddened by the untimely demise of versatile actor Sridevi. Her contribution to Hindi cinema is unparallel and will be remembered for generations to come. My condolences to her family and countless admirers."

Sridevi has known for her performance is some of the iconic films like "Mr India", "Nagina", "Sadma", "Chaalbaaz", "Chandni" among many others. The Padma Shri recipient was last seen in "Mom" in 2017.

In 2013, she was conferred Padma Shri, India's fourth highest civilian award.

--IANS

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(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Governor C.V. Rao on Sunday expressed shock and grief over the demise of veteran film actress Sridevi.

Describing her as "Bollywood's Woman Superstar", Rao said: "Sridevi was one of the most talented and versatile actresses who dominated the silver screen for nearly three decades. She scripted some of the most memorable performances through her numerous films."

Conveying his heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family, Rao said her demise "is an irreparable loss for the world of Indian cinema" and paid his last respects to her memory.

Fadnavis said he was shocked to learn of the sudden and sad demise of "a legendary and veteran actress Sridevi".

"We lost a brilliant actress who ruled Indian cinema for decades together with her exemplary acting skill," Fadnavis said.

The actress, 54, breathed her last on Saturday night at around 11 p.m. She was was in Dubai to attend the marriage function of actress Sonam Kapoor's cousin Mohit Marwah, along with husband Boney Kapoor and younger daughter Khushi.

Veteran Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and former actor Shatrughan Sinha said the "entire film fraternity and Indian movie lovers across the country and the world are left in a state of shock and sadness due to the sudden and untimely demise of Sridevi".

"The show business will go on, but will not be the same without the nation's favourite Sridevi. The nation will remember you as one of its most talented actors and stars," Sinha said in a tribute.

Yuva Sena President Aditya Uddhav Thackeray said: "Still can't believe the news about Srideviji is true. Have no words. Our condolences to the family."

Maharashtra Congress President Ashok Chavan tweeted: "Sad to know about the untimely demise of veteran actress Sridevi. May her soul rest in peace."

Describing her as an "incredibly talented actress", Mumbai Congress President Sanjay Nirupam said we have lost "one of the greatest actresses of our time who excelled in the diverse roles she did".

Leader of Opposition in Maharashtra Council and Nationalist Congress Party leader Dhananjay Munde said: "Sridevi ruled the hearts and minds of her admirers with her acting skills, beauty, and dancing skills."

Maharashtra Navnirman Sena President Raj Thackeray said: "The untimely death of Indians legendary actor Sridevi has left her fans in a state of 'Sadma' (shock)."

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Maharashtra Governor C.V. Rao and Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and on Sunday expressed shock and grief over the demise of veteran film actress Sridevi.

Describing her as "Bollywood's Woman Superstar", Rao said: "Sridevi was one of the most talented and versatile actresses who dominated the silver screen for nearly three decades. She scripted some of the most memorable performances through her numerous films."

Conveying his heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family, Rao said her demise "is an irreparable loss for the world of Indian cinema" and paid his last respects to her memory.

Fadnavis said he was shocked to learn of the sudden and sad demise of "a legendary and veteran actress Sridevi".

"We lost a brilliant actress who ruled Indian cinema for decades together with her exemplary acting skill," Fadnavis said.

The actress, 54, breathed her last on Saturday night at around 11 p.m. She was was in Dubai to attend the marriage function of actress Sonam Kapoor's cousin Mohit Marwah, along with husband Boney Kapoor and younger daughter Khushi.

Veteran Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and former actor Shatrughan Sinha said the "entire film fraternity and Indian movie lovers across the country and the world are left in a state of shock and sadness due to the sudden and untimely demise of Sridevi".

"The show business will go on, but will not be the same without the nation's favourite Sridevi. The nation will remember you as one of its most talented actors and stars," Sinha said in a tribute.

Yuva Sena President Aditya Uddhav Thackeray said: "Still can't believe the news about Srideviji is true. Have no words. Our condolences to the family."

Maharashtra Congress President Ashok Chavan tweeted: "Sad to know about the untimely demise of veteran actress Sridevi. May her soul rest in peace."

Describing her as an "incredibly talented actress", Mumbai Congress President Sanjay Nirupam said we have lost "one of the greatest actresses of our time who excelled in the diverse roles she did".

Leader of Opposition in Maharashtra Council and Nationalist Congress Party leader Dhananjay Munde said: "Sridevi ruled the hearts and minds of her admirers with her acting skills, beauty, and dancing skills."

Maharashtra Navnirman Sena President Raj Thackeray said: "The untimely death of Indians legendary actor Sridevi has left her fans in a state of 'Sadma' (shock)."

--IANS

qn/ksk

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)A meeting of the Kirad Mahasabha held in Kota on Sunday witnessed a melee for some time after Sadhna Singh, wife of Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, was named its President.

The 11th convention of the body was addressed by Chouhan as also Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje Scindia, who was the chief guest on the occasion.

The trouble started when a group of persons present at the function did not appreciate the announcement made at the fag end of the convention about Chouhan's wife Sadhna Singh becoming the mahasabha chief, creating a ruckus for a while.

However, police presence helped the situation from turning ugly, informed sources said. The event was chaired by Chouhan.

Earlier, speaking at the convention, she talked of ambitious schemes introduced in the state for the welfare of farmers and growth of villages.

"Loans of Rs 50,000 have been waived off, which will benefit 25 lakh farmers in Rajasthan," she added.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto has called off an official trip to the US to meet his American counterpart Donald Trump after a tense phone call brought the two leaders to a policy-driven standstill, a White House official has confirmed.

Pena Nieto was tentatively planning the trip for March but the visit has been put on hold following the phone call which took place on February 20, the official told CNN on Saturday.

According to The Washington Post, which first reported the cancellation, officials from both countries told the daily that Pena Nieto "called off the plan after Trump would not agree to publicly affirm Mexico's position that it would not fund construction of a border wall".

The White House official told CNN that any meeting would be awkward and counterproductive given Trump's vow that Mexico would pay for the wall.

The official said the call was "less hostile" than the one that occurred between the two leaders a year ago, but "no more productive" than that call either.

A Mexican official told The Washington Post that Trump "lost his temper".

US officials described the President as being "frustrated and exasperated, saying Trump believed it was unreasonable for Pena Nieto to expect him to back off his crowd-pleasing campaign promise of forcing Mexico to pay for the wall".

According to The Washington Post report, the two leaders "devoted a considerable portion" of this year's call to discussing the wall.

According to the daily, officials from both countries confirmed that Pena Nieto's "desire to avoid public embarrassment and Trump's unwillingness to provide that assurance, proved to be the dealbreaker".

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Presenting the International Gandhi Award 2017 to Dr M.D. Gupte and Dr Atul Shah, Vice-President M. Venkaiah Naidu on Sunday called for spreading more public awareness on leprosy in India.

Gupte and Shah were awarded for their work towards care and eliminiation of leprosy which the Vice-President said was a blot on humanity.

In 2012-13, India recorded 83,000 leprosy cases, a prevalence of 0.68 per 10,000 population.

The International Gandhi Award was instituted by the Gandhi Memorial Leprosy Foundation to commemorate his services and scientific approach towards leprosy.

The two awards are given every alternate year to individuals or institutions for making outstanding contribution in the field of leprosy.

Gupte was feted for his outstanding contribution to a global programme on elimination of leprosy whereas Shah was lauded for humanitarian services to alleviate the suffering of leprosy patients, an official statement said.

Pointing out that Gandhi's thoughts and actions are relevant even today, Naidu said that Gandhi ji took a keen interest in leprosy patients and leprosy work even when there was no specific cure for the disease.

"Today, there is a lot of fear, superstition and stigma attached to leprosy," he said.

Naidu stressed the need to intensify efforts towards early detection of leprosy, provide equitable access to appropriate treatment and provide integrated leprosy services.

"There is need to empower the socially discriminated against through advocacy and information dissemination," Naidu said.

"Over the years, the scourge of leprosy has remained a blot on humanity... more than the medical condition, the social stigma attached to the disease is a cause for concern," Naidu said.

"There is also need to conduct research on developing diagnostic tests and new vaccines," the Vice-President said.

"... until April 1, 2012, as many as 33 states and Union Territories had attained leprosy elimination of less than 1 case per 10,000 population. As many as 542 of the 640 districts achieved this distinction by March 2012," he added.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Syrian government forces on Sunday continued their airstrikes and shelling of Eastern Ghouta, a rebel-held suburb of the capital Damascus, hours after the UN Security Council (UNSC) approved resolution demanding a 30-day nationwide cease-fire.

On Sunday morning, two airstrikes targeted the town of al-Shifonia, while government troops launched missiles against Harasta, Karf Badna and Jesren, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), a UK-based war monitor.

Despite fighting between government troops and the Jaysh al-Islam (Army of Islam), the SOHR reported that Saturday night was the calmest in the region since the government forces intensified their attacks on Eastern Ghouta as there were no casualties.

The attacks involved the use of heavy arms and were the first to take place in al-Shifonia since February 18, when the government forces started their campaign.

Also on Sunday, six surface-to-surface missiles were launched at Harasta, four targeted Karf Badna and Jesren and another four were launched at Hamouriyah, while al-Shifonia suffered two airstrikes, according to the SOHR.

The UNSC on Saturday unanimously approved a resolution demanding a 30-day, nationwide cease-fire in Syria, including Eastern Ghouta.

Under the cease-fire deal continued military operations will be authorised against groups regarded as terrorist organisations by the UN, including the Islamic State and Nusra Front, who now call themselves Tahrir al-Sham, which the Syrian government says is present in Eastern Ghouta.

A week of intense attacks on Eastern Ghouta killed at least 510 people, including 127 minors, according to latest figures.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Researchers have developed a new system that uses JavaScript decryption algorithms embedded in web pages to patch security holes left open by web browsers' private-browsing functions.

Researchers from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) described the system "Veil" that makes private browsing more private, at the Network and Distributed Systems Security Symposium in San Diego.

"We asked, 'What is the fundamental problem?' And the fundamental problem is that [the browser] collects this information, and then the browser does its best effort to fix it," Frank Wang, an MIT graduate student, said.

"But at the end of the day, no matter what the browser's best effort is, it still collects it. We might as well not collect that information in the first place," Wang added.

Generally, a browser won't know where the data it downloaded has ended up. Even if it did, it wouldn't necessarily have authorisation from the operating system to delete it.

"Veil" gets around this problem by ensuring that any data the browser loads into memory remains encrypted until it's actually displayed on-screen.

Rather than typing a URL into the browser's address bar, the user goes to the "Veil" website and enters the URL there.

A special server -- which the researchers call a blinding server -- transmits a version of the requested page that's been translated into the "Veil" format.

Once the data is decrypted, it will need to be loaded in memory for as long as it's displayed on-screen. That type of temporarily stored data is less likely to be traceable after the browser session is over.

"Veil" would provide added protections to people using shared computers in offices, hotel business centres, or university computing centres.

It can be used in conjunction with existing private-browsing systems and with anonymity networks such as Tor -- which was designed to protect the identity of web users living under repressive regimes.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)British actress Emma Chambers, best known for her role as Honey Thacker in "Notting Hill", is dead. She was 53.

Her agent said Chambers died of natural causes on Wednesday evening, and said the actor "brought laughter and joy to many, and will be greatly missed". She is survived by her husband Ian Dunn, who is also an actor, reports theguardian.com.

Chambers is also known for playing Alice Tinker in "The Vicar of Dibley". Dawn French, the star of "The Vicar of Dibley", described her as "a unique and beautiful spark".

Her "Notting Hill" co-star Hugh Grant tweeted that she was "a hilarious and very warm person".

Her agent, John Grant, said: "We are very sad to announce the untimely death, from natural causes, of the acclaimed actress Emma Chambers.

"Over the years, Emma created a wealth of characters and an immense body of work. She brought laughter and joy to many, and will be greatly missed."

Grant added: "At this difficult time we ask that the privacy of the family and loved ones be respected."

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)A policemen deployed to guard a senior separatist leader here was shot dead by militants here on Sunday, police said.

This attack came hours after another police constable was shot dead in Badgam district.

Militants attacked constable Farooq Ahmed guarding senior separatist leader, Fazl Haq Qureshi in Soura area, injuring him seriously.

"The injured constable was shifted to Sher-e- Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS) Soura where he succumbed to critical injuries," a police officer said.

The militants also took away Ahmed's service weapon.

Earlier on Sunday, militants shot and killed policeman Kultar Singh near the Chrar-e-Sharief shrine in Badgam and snatched away as his service rifle as they fled.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)